Archive for February, 2005
後天
One of the phrases that stumped me when I was learning Chinese was 後天 (hòutiān) meaning “the day after tomorrow.” This confused me because the character 後 means “rear, back, or behind” as well as meaning “later” (as in a sequence). As a beginning student I had learned the first meaning, as in 後面 (hòumian) [...]
Escher
(via Alas, a Blog, who found it here) UPDATE: Flickr is great! I found another one using the Flickr “escher” tag! {photos, m.c. escher, legos}
Danger
Officially, more than 6,000 Chinese miners lose their lives each year in industrial accidents. The real figure is believed to be much higher, however, because operators often conceal accidents to avoid fines and costly shutdowns. China produces 35 per cent of the world’s coal but accounts for 80 per cent of fatalities globally. The death [...]
Why?
I tried mailing a document to a friend in Arizona. It got returned. Why? We regret that your mail is being returned to you because of heightened security measures. All domestic mail, weighing 16 ounces or over, that bears stamps …. MUST be presented to a retail clerk at a post office. Like “Chemical Ripi” [...]
Roundup
Around the web: Who the heck is Kurban Said? Every Calvin and Hobbes (via Incoming Signals) Fascinating Occupations Seven Mistakes Superheroines Make Why malpractice insurance premiums have gone up recently. They Shoot Journalists, Don’t They? France: Passengers to face trial for preventing a violent deportation (via Obsidian Wings) {roundup, kurbian said, calvin and hobbs, flickr, [...]
Google, the movie
Via Fables of the Reconstruction: Get movie listings on your cell phone or on your computer from Google. {google, movies, sms}
Help Desk
A new ad campaign from IBM “shows a young Chinese girl asking to join a virtual classroom because her village is too far from the nearest school.” Thanks to IBM she can take her seat next to American kids in a Matrix inspired classroom. What the ad doesn’t show you, however, is that the virtual [...]
Googlism
Via Jonathan Benda I discovered Googlism, a site that “will find out what Google.com thinks of you” (at least circa 2004, at which point Google blocked them from conducting new queries). The results can be funny, absurd, astonishingly accurate, or outrageously wrong. I won’t tell you which is which, but here are the results for [...]
The Crackers
I really was going to go see The Gates today, but you know – it was cold, and I was tired, so I took a nap instead… To make up for my laziness, I present you with The Crackers! I also recommend watching Stephen Colbert, of The Daily Show, discussing how The Gates will “put [...]
Dissertation
No need to wait for the book, the curious can download my dissertation right now: Learning “Local” Languages: Passive Revolution, Language Markets, and Aborigine Education in Taiwan This dissertation examines contemporary linguistic markets and language policy in Taiwan in terms of the historical processes of state formation, class alliances, and identity politics, drawing upon Pierre [...]
An anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, 
