With plans set to drive with my sister and mom to Wichita, Kansas for the weekend, I checked out my trusty Rand McNally Road Atlas, which I never go anywhere without, to see how far it would be to make a side trip over to Coffeyville, KS. For those of you who have read my […]
Who Was Liu Xiaobo?
You may have seen on the news on Thursday that imprisoned Chinese dissident and Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo passed away from liver cancer in a hospital in northeast China. He had been sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2009 for his part in the writing of “Charter 08,” a document calling for political reform […]
Recommended Reading: Non-fiction
I recently saw someone on Twitter ask for non-fiction book recommendations. I promptly made a list of some of my favorite non-fiction books; however, since I’m generally hesitant to jump into Twitter conversations, I decided to share my list here. Bottom line: I love reading non-fiction, and as you will see from this list, I gravitate […]
Independence Day Viewing
Today is Independence Day in the United States, sometimes known simply as “The Fourth of July,” or simply “The Fourth.” With apologies to my British readers (not really), it is the day we commemorate telling the King of England to “scram!” Or, as the Chinese might say, “Liberation!” I know that most July Fourth activities […]
All the Tea in China
Last week, the Boston Globe’s photography platform The Big Picture featured a collection of photos highlighting tea culture and production in China. Here’s the description: According to a legend, tea was first discovered by the legendary Chinese emperor Shennong in 2737 BC. Today, China is the world’s biggest tea producer, selling many varieties of tea leaves […]
