ABC in the PRC

Yeah, Locke! From Elizabeth Economy: Chinese Media Knock U.S. Ambassador to China for Being Too Popular.

(Reuters)

"A series of candid photos of the ambassador with his family -- carrying their own luggage, riding in a minivan, and flying economy class -- elicited a tidal wave of ... popular attention" from the Chinese public, who are holding him up as a sharp contrast to their own officials. However, government-run newspapers have taken offense and are criticizing this public adulation.

Well, Ambassador Locke might not speak Mandarin, but this low-key and frugal behavior seems pretty Asian (American) to me. ABC's represent!

P.S. At APEC, I witnessed first-hand how the minister of a certain Chinese government body had three people haul his luggage for him, among other ostentatious things.

Derby Time!

Lots of hipster animals for the Shirt.Woot Derby this week. Some that I like are displayed below. You can click to vote for them in the Derby:

"Indie Turtle" (here)

"Neighborhood Thrift Store" (here)

"Couldn't Care Less Bear" (here)

"No Thanks" (here)

I also liked these thumbnails on the site:

ab  

cd    

e

a. "Panda Dance" (here)

b. "Neighborhood Thrift Store" (here)

c. "Couldn't Care Less Bear" (here)

d. "So Meta" (here)

e. "Scoff. Cooler than you." (here)

Gevulot

'I used to like it, crafting, making things out of the coral. You visualise a thing. You find the words that it is. And you sing them to väki; it grows and makes it. And in the end you have something that is truly yours, a new thing in the world.'

-- Mieli, on how she made Perhonen. From The Quantum Thief

What's it for?

An appalling expose in Danwei about how some Chinese students blatantly fabricate their college applications, usually through the connivance of "educational consultants."

In the back of our minds, we all know there are people who fake their apps, but seeing it leveled so clearly is shocking and a bit horrible to contemplate. This kind of behavior is really quite troubling, on an ethical level and a personal level.

These people are stealing places that would have been open to a deserving student from a low-income family who may have the aptitude and the credentials, but not the money to pay exorbitant amounts for "polishing" services. (BTW that is another thing our humanities program can offer: a truthful letter of recommendation -- an honest appraisal of an applicants' ability to do college-level work and genuine interest in broadening horizons. The instructor has a good BS meter).

Please read the article for yourselves. I am aghast! When did such dishonesty become acceptable? If the whole system is predicated on cheating your way to the top, it demeans and devalues the honest work that others have done. I understand the desire to study at a top university in America, but it in no way justifies buying your way in or misrepresenting who you are.

College and the application process is an opportunity to express who you are, in an open, honest and sincere way. This is who I am. This is how I come to be who I am, where I am, how I am; and these are the things I believe in. Accept me on the merits of who I am, and what I have done, and the principles for which I stand.

Cheating completely defeats the purpose of a university education, because it is not only about acquiring technical skills or learning to navigate personal relations, though these are indeed important. Higher education presents a unique, life-transforming opportunity to discover oneself.

I wish to be somewhere I belong, to be accepted for who I am. I want to be part of a community that welcomes me precisely for being myself. Only then can I know that this place is where I truly belong.
 
If I can only get somewhere by fundamentally misrepresenting myself, how can that be the right place for me? It defiles the sanctity of the institution to which I am applying, and it disrespects my own identity by forcing me to distort my person. It is a losing proposition, and destructive to both the university and to the student who attempts to fake his or her way in.

Can you look your peers in the eye? Can you engage your professors with a straight face? Can you sign the Honor Code without shaking? Moreover, can you look in the mirror and live with the person that looks back? Cognitive dissonance is a bitch, and one day you will pay for it. On a gentler note, how can you not wish to be who you are? That is all one can ask for in this world. Many times, there are other pressures, responsibilities and obligations that wear on us. University is our chance to express ourselves, to have an opportunity to be who we really are: 當自己的人.

Tomorrow is Classic 明天會更好

A musical collaboration among the major artists of the Mandarin-speaking world. The year was 1985, baby! "明天會更好" (Tomorrow Will Be Better) How many of them can you recognize? (Listed in Chinese and English).

And a reprisal by a new generation of singers, a quarter century later:

中秋節 is coming!

Since the Mid-Autumn Festival will take place in a few days (sometimes referred to as the "moon festival"), I shall post a couple of excerpts that I like, from a story called "月牙兒" (Crescent Moon).

《月牙兒》, 老舍著：

"愛這個月牙因為看著它，使我心中痛快一點。他在夏天更可愛，他老有那麽點涼氣，像一條冰似的。我愛它給地上的那點小影子，一會兒就沒了；迷迷糊糊地不甚清楚，及至影子沒了，地上就特別的黑，星也特別的亮，花也特別的香——我們的鄰居有許多花木，那棵高高的洋槐總把花兒落到我們這邊來，像一層雲似的。

......

我敢在院中走了，一個春天的月牙在天上掛著。我看出它的美來。天是暗藍的，沒有一點雲。那個月牙清亮而溫柔，把一些軟光兒輕輕送到柳枝上。院中有點小風，帶著南邊的花香，把柳條的影子吹到牆角有光的地方來，又吹到無光的地方去；光不強，影兒不重，風微微地吹，都是溫柔，什麼都有點睡意，可又要輕軟地活動著。月牙下邊，柳梢上面，有一對星兒好像微笑的仙女的眼，逗著那歪歪的月牙和那輕擺的柳枝。牆那邊有棵什麼樹，開滿了白花，月的微光把這團雪照成一半兒白亮，一半兒略帶點灰影，顯出難以想到的純淨。這個月牙是希望的開始，我心裡說。

......

二十

我又找了胖校長去，她沒在家。一個青年把我讓進去。他很體面，也很和氣。我平素很怕男人，但是這個青年不叫我怕他。他叫我說什麼，我便不好意思不說；他那麼一笑，我心裏就軟了。我把找校長的意思對他說了，他很熱心，答應幫助我。當天晚上，他給我送了兩塊錢來，我不肯收，他說這是他嬸母棗胖校長棗給我的。他並且說他的嬸母已經給我找好了地方住，第二天就可以搬過去。我要懷疑，可是不敢。他的笑臉好象笑到我的心裏去。我覺得我要疑心便對不起人，他是那麼溫和可愛。

二十一

他的笑唇在我的臉上，從他的頭髮上我看著那也在微笑的月牙。春風象醉了，吹破了春雲，露出月牙與一兩對兒春星。河岸上的柳枝輕擺，春蛙唱著戀歌，嫩蒲的香味散在春晚的暖氣裏。我聽著水流，象給嫩蒲一些生力，我想象著蒲梗輕快地往高裏長。小蒲公英在潮暖的地上生長。什麼都在溶化著春的力量，然後放出一些香味來。我忘了自己，我沒了自己，象化在了那點春風與月的微光中。月兒忽然被雲掩住，我想起來自己。"

Seediq Bale - Taiwanese historical epic

A new film from the director of Cape No. 7, the smash hit from Taiwan. Seediq Bale tells the story of resistance by an aboriginal tribe against the Japanese in the 1930s. It looks like an epic film, mixing the emotional resonance of a variety of tales: the 300 at Thermopylae; Squanto, the Native American who helped the Pilgrims survive their first years in the New World, who bridged cultural divides; Avatar and the preservation of home culture; resistance by Indian tribes against westward expansion, led by chiefs like Crazy Horse. A general spirit of anti-colonialism seems to prevail. There are some stunning nature shots, and it's pretty cool that the actors speak in the aboriginal language. (Trailer below.)