May 2009
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
« Apr   Jun »
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Month May 2009

Entries 5 Total

Oracle Bones

I’m in the process of reading Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler. Hessler was a Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, Boston Globe, and National Geographic and also spent time in China with the Peace Corps.

If you haven’t read it I highly recommend it; even though I’m not finished with it the book presents a captivating look at aspects of Chinese society and history on a more personal level.

Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler: a great read.

The anecdotes and experiences related by Hessler show a side of China that I think sometimes gets lost in the talk of international trade and human rights. By telling stories that focus upon Chinese individuals Hessler does a brilliant job of portraying life in Beijing and throughout China.

Below is the description from Amazon:

A century ago, outsiders saw China as a place where nothing ever changes. Today the country has become one of the most dynamic regions on earth. In Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler explores the human side of China’s transformation, viewing modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world through the lives of a handful of ordinary people. In a narrative that gracefully moves between the ancient and the present, the East and the West, Hessler captures the soul of a country that is undergoing a momentous change before our eyes.

Posted on May 30, ’09

Bookmarks for May 29th

In order to share what I’ve found to be useful/interesting/etc. while browsing around below are my links for May 29th. You can find my full set of bookmarks at my Delicious account.

Posted on May 29, ’09

Bookmarks for May 19th through May 21st

In order to share what I’ve found to be useful/interesting/etc. while browsing around below are my links for May 19th through May 21st. You can find my full set of bookmarks at my Delicious account.

  • Twitter passes Bebo and Linkedin – A in-depth and statistical look at Twitter's growth (and the correlating Myspace decline). Surprising since it's coming from the MSM. American news organizations could learn something from The Guardian.
  • jQuery Sparklines – Interesting jQuery plugin that allows for some pretty cool graphs to be created. Would be interesting to use for stocks and/or local temperature.
  • Livestream.com – A great rebranding of what was already a good service. Appears that they're now making a small profit as well. Good to hear.
Posted on May 21, ’09

Build them to last – time for new urban development

I found this today via Andrew Sullivan’s blog. Well put together video explaining the need for sustainable urban development. Not only would this be something that would be better for the earth, but it would lend itself to greater human communities and probably make everyone a happier person. Watch it!

Posted on May 21, ’09

Dowd, gender, and a horrible Guardian article

With the recent news that Maureen Dowd of the New York Times plagiarized Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo there have understandably been a slew of article about the topic. Unfortunately, a columnist at the usually stellar Guardian writes this:

Dowd, with her valley-girl accent, was always going to stand out from that pool, and the fact that she is one of the few women swimming in it is her least attention-grabbing quality. [emphasis added]

What may I ask is the point of that emphasized portion? Does Dowd’s gender and status as one of the few truly high profile national columnists really have anything to do with the fact that she 1) apparently plagiarized a well-known blogger and 2) made a pretty flimsy excuse as to how it happened?

No, it doesn’t and because of the irrelevancy of Dowd’s gender a serious columnists at a major media outlet should not try and draw a connection where none exists. This seems to be a shameless way to attempt to stoke even more controversy into an already controversial subject.

The reality is that this issue has not risen to controversial popularity because of some twisted national gender bias. Dowd is not under the microscope because she is a woman. Instead, this is an issue because it shows that some national columnists (irrespective of gender) believe that they can get away with anything, including treating bloggers and those outside the halls of midtown Manhattan like crap.

Shame on you Guardian for bringing gender controversy into a issue that is devoid of gender! Sorry, end rant.

Posted on May 19, ’09