A few years back I wrote about finding an Indian restaurant tucked away into an old truck stop along I-80 in western Nebraska. The post was titled Butter Chicken on I-80. I tell everyone I know who travels that route to stop in for some great Indian food. Since most people think scrambled eggs, bacon, […]
Best Books of 2019
I do enjoy a good book, whether reading it the old fashioned way or listening to an audio version while driving or flying across the planet. In no particular order, here are the ten best books I read this year: The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution, by Peter Hessler What can I say? […]
China is Complicated
Anyone who hangs around me even a little has heard me say, in response to almost any question about China, “It’s complicated.” This picture that I took outside the Haidian Church in Beijing last week illustrates my point. It’s got everything…. Chinese national flag Neon sign Giant Cross Political banner next to the church Surveillance […]
An Olympic Flight Path
It’s a long story, but I’m in Beijing for a short visit. The inbound flight path from Detroit to Beijing yesterday took us over the mountains to the northwest of the city, where the alpine events of the Winter Olympics will be held in 2022. They’re getting ready!
Thanksgiving Reading
We’re heading up the freeway and along the north shore of Lake Superior today for our annual Thanksgiving getaway at Lutsen Resort. It will be 5 days of relaxing, eating, and enjoying the scenery. Hopefully a bit of snowshoeing as well, since we have a big snowstorm raging today. I also plan to put away […]
Movie Review: The Farewell
Shortly after I moved from Changchun to Beijing in 1998, I began studying one on one with a Chinese professor at a local teachers college. On the first day of class he told me, quite matter-of-factly that, since he was not a member of the Chinese Communist Party, we could talk about anything. He wasn’t […]
