China Ends Olympics with Giant Corncob

I've never been so glad to see the end of an Olympics come about. China has understandably been very proud and happy to host the 2008 Olympics but for the last six months it has been rammed down our throats to a degree that was, at times, unbearable. I thought nothing could be worse than living in a state with a lottery and millions of advertising dollars to promote it. But I've had the Beijing Olympics symbols burned into my eyeballs and now I'm seeing Fuwa (those irritating little mascots) in my dreams.

The closing ceremony last night was an appropriate climax to the Games. The centerpiece was a giant structure resembling a corncob with aphids running all over it. The show was kind of a cross between 2001: A Space Odyssey and Peewee's Playhouse. There were giant drums, people floating in air, opera singers, goose-stepping soldiers, and pop bands. The Communist Party officials looked on enigmatically - as if faced with eating a plate full of cheese. It didn't make any sense - but that was the best part.

The Deluge

I was awakened this morning by a rare thunderstorm and a heavy rain that intensified quickly. By the time I was out the door headed for the bus the streets of our neighborhood were flooded. The rain poured down onto Shanghai's pavements faster than the drains could absorb the deluge. The raised expressway over Yanan Road reminded me of the log ride at Six Flags as water slapped against the concrete sides and other cars and buses. By the time we got to the building where I work people were wading across the street with water up to their knees. The Shanghai Daily reported that it was the worst in a hundred years.

A Brain Wasted

I happened to catch two contrasting TV interviews today that shook me. The first one was of a woman in West Virginia that was being asked about the presidential candidates and among the incredibly ignorant things she slurred, in a language I could barely recognize as English, was that she wasn't going to vote for the black one because "we've had too much trouble with that race" - then she added that she thought he (she didn't know his name) was a Muslim. Then a few minutes later on another channel I caught an interview with Barack Obama's half brother in Nairobi, Kenya. The half-brother lived in a tiny house made out of scraps - but he had a little library and he spoke wisely and clearly. He had made what he could out of a primary education and gone further by educating himself. The contrast between these two people should make anyone living in the richest nation on Earth and with access to a free public education ashamed if they haven't made any more use of their brain than the West Virginia woman has.

Olympics and Squids LIce

Back in Shanghai after a quick trip to Beijing. No time to see any Olympics but the preparations for the Games were everywhere. Good prices on under-occupied hotels that were disappointed by the low turnout of foreign tourists. While exact numbers are not known it seems safe to say that tens of thousands of would-be foreign visitors were denied visas to come to China because of the country's paranoia over security and potential protests. The Marriott I was in was unusually quiet.

It rained most of the time I was in Beijing but the streets were clean, orderly, and not very crowded. Beijing instituted a driving plan that allowed even-numbered license plates on the streets one day and odd-numbered the next. If Beijing was like that every day it would be a much nicer place to live or visit. They might want to take it one step further and allow only bespectacled people out one day and the spectacle-challenged out the next.

Getting back to Shanghai by air was not easy. I had a flight on Air China but when we got to the gate we found we were on a Shanghai Airlines B777. No explanation of course. After an hour on the plane we had still not moved from the gate when we were informed there was a technical problem. After another half-hour they served our hot meal as we sat at the gate. Another half-hour passes and they tell us to get off the plane because the technical problem persists. We were not offered any instructions on what to do so I just followed most of the other passengers and sat down near the gate. We watched as our luggage was off-loaded but after another half-hour we were told to get back on the same plane. At this point we are almost three hours late and we have no idea what is going on but the plane is making strange noises and the stewardesses are peering nervously out of the windows at the wings. The lights go out and we sit in darkness for 15 minutes. The lights come on and we start taxiing out to the runway and the power goes out again and we come to a standstill. The power comes back on and the pilots gun it down the runway - hoping no doubt to take off before the power cuts out again. En route back to Shanghai the lights keep going out but we do land safely. I suppose you might have guessed that by now.

Here's a photo of one of the snacks Shanghai Airlines served us in the dark - some squids lice

Off to Beijing

In the morning I'll be off to Beijing for a day or two on business. No time for the Olympics I'm afraid but I am taking a pair of pajamas in case I have time to take a walk around the hutongs.

China cuts off access to iTunes

This post at Salon tells why China has shut off access to iTunes in China - it's more of the same old story - petty behavior by an insecure government.

A Bit of the Olympics

Although the Beijing Olympic organization said all tickets to the Olympics were sold out I had no trouble getting tickets to see Germany and Brazil's women's soccer teams play tonight in Shanghai. The Olympic soccer matches are being held in Shanghai. It was easier getting the tickets than getting into the stadium. It seemed like a goodly portion of the People's Liberation Army had the area surrounded. Spaced about 10 feet apart, soldiers ringed the massive stadium. Platoons of smartly dressed soldiers marched around the perimeter at a run. Armored personnel carriers were placed strategically around the area. One had to show tickets to even get close to the stadium.

Once inside, we had great seats near the field and near the center. The humidity was nearly unbearable however. Fortunately it didn't start raining until after the game and after we were in the taxi going home. It's hard enough to get a taxi in the rain in Shanghai - add a throng of people and it would have been impossible.

A Rainy Week Ahead

It looks like this week will be a very rainy week in Shanghai. While it isn't raining today (Sunday) it might as well be. The humidity is near 90% - so miserable that after a quick trip to McDonalds and Carrefour this morning I decided to stay in the rest of the day and watch the Olympics.

Hitching Rides with Buddha

I just finished reading Will Ferguson's "Hitching Rides With Buddha" a story about his hitchhiking journey the length of Japan in the late 90s. He travels from Cape Sata in the south to Cape Soya at the north. He makes this trek in coordination with the seasonal wave of the cherry blossoms that begin in the warm south and move northward as the spring warmth moves north. Ferguson is a Canadian that lived in Japan for five years teaching English and being mistaken for an American. He speaks Japanese well enough to have many interesting conversations with the people that give him rides. Hitchhiking is not a common practice in Japan so the people that tend to stop for him are a bit unusual - for Japanese. Ferguson is a humorous writer so the book is entertaining as well as enlightening. Watch for his chapter on Japan's rudest city - it may be the best part.

Hu Plays Basketball

Everything is Olympics in China these days. Everywhere I turn there are Olympic signs, logos, events, TV and news - even in Shanghai. This is not surprising since this is the first time that China has hosted the Olympics, but by the time this is over, I'll be ready. The newspapers are filled with wonderful news about all aspects of the Olympics, or auyunhui as the Chinese call it. Last week we were even treated to photos of China's starched leaders showing off their skills in various sports. Here, we see President Hu not exactly slamdunking a basketball.

Slow Internet

The Internet has been very slow since the Olympic Games started last weekend and I assume that it is because so many Chinese are online watching Olympic streaming video and reading news. At the same time, the filtering / censorship of news sites continues. True, China stopped blocking a few websites like Wikipedia and the BBC during the Olympics but they started blocking other websites. The Huffington Report for example is blocked in China now. News stories that contain specific words continue to be blocked. So it's a mixed bag.

Taxicab Confessions

There's a story circulating currently that taxis in Beijing and other cities in China have been equipped with remote microphones that enable the police and taxi companies to monitor what is being said in the taxis. This reportedly started three years ago in Beijing - supposedly to protect the drivers but I have no doubt that it's also used by the police to listen in on suspect conversations. The taxi drivers can notify HQ of suspicious people via a hidden button. For more read this.
No doubt CCTV (China Central TV) could turn this into a hit TV or radio show in China similar to HBO's Taxicab Confessions series that filmed passengers in taxis spilling their guts to taxi drivers.

Surviving on the Road

I wandered around the Xintiandi and People's Park area of Shanghai today. The weather was not bad - no rain and below 90F. I tried relaxing at the Coffee Bean in Xiantiandi but the clatter and chatter were too much, I couldn't think or relax in that noisy place. I took bus 925 home. The walk from the bus stop to our home is a bit dangerous these days. As the city builds a subway under the street they have forced vehicles, bikes, motorbikes and pedestrians to all squeeze into a narrow area between two walls. There is no sidewalk and the buses and cars veer into the bike and pedestrian lanes in their effort to pass each other. It's a harrowing half-mile.

Tightened Security

With the Olympics only a week away the Chinese have beefed up security measures - even as far away as Shanghai. Guards have been posted around the high rise building I work in and police have set up mobile checkpoints along the streets and are stopping cars for ID checks. Of course, much of this security is quite shallow. For example, the guards around our building are obviously untrained and as long as someone ignores the signs directing people to stop for an ID check the guards don't challenge them. Anyone that lives in China knows that most people ignore signs.