I’m heading up to Beijing tomorrow, and may be without internet access until next Thursday.  Somehow, I will survive.  In the meantime, surprise me.  Ask questions in the comments, post pictures of pets, tell the best thing that has happened to you in … [Read more...]

Beautiful day in Shanghai.  Lots of words written.  Almost got hit by seven different motorcycles and bikes—not in the road, but on the sidewalk.  Big sidewalk.  Very big.  Me, not as big as the sidewalk.  And yet, somehow, I kept getting … [Read more...]

Hong Kong is a force of nature, man.  I love it.  I love it in small doses, in big doses, every which way you name it.  Spent the days just wandering, wandering and writing, writing and eating—and in the late afternoons, because the hotel was near a movie … [Read more...]

I’ll be in Hong Kong for the next couple days, with limited access to email (maybe, maybe not, no way to tell yet).  All of you, stay safe.  I’ll blog if I can. … [Read more...]

The Naughty Family Pet Company, I have been told, is the oldest pet store in Shanghai.  Dogs are sold there—and cats—and there’s a vet hospital and boarding facility that is decorated on the inside with stone walls that look a bit like castle chic (and as … [Read more...]

Woke up at the crack of dawn, and walked down to my favorite Starbucks to get some work done.  And I did.  Quite a lot, actually.  Also, in the three months or so that I’ve been gone, one of the girls that works there has gotten engaged, and most of the … [Read more...]

I think it’s been about ten years since I stepped foot inside a zoo.  I don’t like them, though I believe when done right, they serve a purpose; possibly instilling a desire to see a world where wild creatures can exist beyond walls and cages, which are … [Read more...]

Had to travel over to Suzhou this morning, and it was a perfectly lovely drive—except for the traffic jam that stretched forever and forever down the road.  That was not so groovy.  I did, however, manage to see a lot of interesting things while parked on the … [Read more...]

Well, I’m here in Shanghai.  And, thanks to a friend’s advice—and the power of technology—I have managed to thwart (temporarily) the Great Firewall, and post on Livejournal.  I am a rebel!  Flight:  Rather excellent.  We were … [Read more...]

Michael Crichton died. I cannot hardly believe that.  Everyone has a story left to tell—and whether you loved his books or not—he had words still to give, and now they’re gone.  I’m flying to China tomorrow.  Don’t know if … [Read more...]