Archive for July, 2007

Another year, another ridiculously drunken birthday party. This time in the VIP room at the new Paramount Party Club, I celebrated with fantastic friends, both old and new, until the early hours of the morning. Let’s just say I spent a good amount of time hanging out in the bathroom with people pounding on the [...]

So my birthday was two days ago. I spent it with my family, who was visiting and took me and Lydia to South Beauty. I think the event would have been more special if they didn’t ALWAYS have dinner at South Beauty, mostly because they like to stick to what’s safe and what’s close. Still, [...]

I had always wanted to introduce my expatriate friend Jason to Yuxin, regarded as one of the best Sichuan restaurants here in Shanghai, so finally we decided to have a mid-week supper to take a break from work and have some delicious spicy fare. As he usually does, Jason invited his driver, Xiao Pan, up [...]

There are a handful of reasons why you’re better off watching a DVD at home then venturing out into a movie theater here in Shanghai:

No buttered and salted popcorn. For some reason, the Chinese never got around to ripping-off this movie-going essential. Instead, caramelized popcorn is the only thing you’ll find at the concession stand. [...]

Excerpted from today’s New York Times:
Surgeon General Sees 4-year Term as Compromised
By Gardiner Harris
Published: July 11, 2007
WASHINGTON, July 10 — Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona told a Congressional panel Tuesday that top Bush administration officials repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations.
The administration, Dr. Carmona said, would [...]

This morning it’s going to be another one of those dreaded early meeting days. My office is located so far away from Shanghai civilization that normal city taxi drivers never venture out here; in fact, the county has its own taxi service, so on one of those are days when we venture out to grab [...]