Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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History Binge!
I just got back from a weekend trip to Xi’an, and my brain is full. (Bao la!) I was ben-less, alas, as he was finishing up his trip to the Apple WWDC in SF…but I got to meet up with our friend Mark instead! So I did have company, and met some interesting people, learned […]
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Snippets of Seoul
I’m in Seoul for four days while Ben is home at the Apple Worldwide Developers’ Conference. I could live here — there’s lovely outdoor space in the city, plenty of yummy veggie food, an excellent subway system, and not much smog! Now, if I can only find good thai food… -=:=–=:=–=:=- Baskin Robbins has a […]
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Camel Tracks
Ben and I just spent the Dragon Boat Festival (no more zong zi, please) holiday weekend in Ningxia and Inner Mongolia! Check out the photo album for way too many photos of dunes, camels and rock carvings. More descriptive post coming soon, after I get all the sand out of my shoes…and backpack…and pockets…and hair…
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My favorite engrish yet
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Dancing by the Lake
Thanks to my co-worker (and general emergency translation contact) Susy, we found dancing in Beijing! It was basically like the Pavillion (older asian couples doing ballroom and hustle), but outside and by a lake…and with occasional bollywood songs. And line dancing! No line of dance, though. (Makes for chaotic waltzes and very compressed […]
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China Customs
About a week after arriving here in Beijing, we got a call from Deb’s coworker Susy that our extra luggage had arrived. We had given her number to the baggage people since we didn’t have Chinese cell phone numbers yet when sending our bags. This delay was actually by design. Asian airlines seem to have […]
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What? I haven’t blogged about shoes yet?
I must be slacking. It’s been a week and a half and I haven’t commented on footwear in Beijing. Ok, so if there is a theme shoe, it’s sneakers. In particular, converse-style canvas low tops, both name-brand and knockoff. The daily commute is definitely dominated by all-things-sneakered (plus loafers for the guys), from bland & boring […]
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The Great…staircase?
After our pollution-fraught wander around the 798 Art District on Saturday, we escaped to the mountains on Sunday. The three of us crammed into a hired car with a paid guide and schlepped to the Huanghuacheng section of the Great Wall! It was pretty luxurious to have a guide, I have to say. We were essentially […]
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Pattern Repetition
China likes its patterns. China likes repeating those patterns. Often this makes for some pleasing landscaping and architecture. It also makes for some disappointing touring. Here are two examples. Suzhou Street in the Summer Palace. A replication of a canal city, this tourist trap (one entrance, one exit, one way walking) had 5 stores repeated […]
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Ben and Deb in Their Natural Habitat
In reference to this post, I was able to observe the wild Ben and Deb in their natural habitat. Take a look at this stunning photo:
Got any book recommendations?