Go! Team in Shanghai

Went to an awesome concert this weekend, the Brit band Go! Team came to Shanghai for a one night concert. The often somewhat empty Absolute House was packed with I believe 2/3s of the foreigners in Shanghai. I also appreciated running into not one of my editors but both of them (I’ve taken up freelance writing again…) Yay for running into your bosses at bars.

The night was pretty bitter sweet though since this is Rohan’s last night in Shanghai. He’s gotten too cool for the rest of us and is moving to Beijing this week. We accept we can’t hold a candle to being the Man at Super 8 Hotels (China division) but I think he’s going to miss Shanghai (it’s like choosing DC over NYC, you just don’t do that).

Anyway, I’ll post the rest of the pictures later but here are a few from Saturday night:

Check out the rest of the picts from the night

Point taken

So I found an great time waster: Stumbleupon.com. On my first go around with it, I came across this site. Here it is reposted for your reading pleasure:

Why Can’t I Own a Canadian?

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a east coast resident, which was posted on the Internet. It’s funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them:

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord – Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness – Lev.15:19- 24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination – Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? – Lev.24:10-16. Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted fan,
Jim

His First

Though I would post this momentous occasion, Todd made his first Hydrogen bomb recently. Granted the pop was less than impressive (this time). It’s nice to know you can make a decent bomb with a reversible hydrogen fuel cell, two bottle caps, water and a match.

This is one of the fuel cells his company sells. Also check out one of the more colorful blogs about it.

 

Thanks Allure

Just when I’ve gotten to a country where I don’t have 6 friends all sharing my name (although I do missed the friends, I don’t miss the name jokes), I get this article… I appreciate the deep reporting and amount of research that went into this. I do agree about Chris’ though.

Jessicas Are All Pretty Bitches

“It wasn’t like I was Jessica or something. All the pretty girls were named Jessica.” So says Liv Tyler in the new issue of Allure magazine, where the Lord of The Rings elf-lady laments her given name (bestowed upon her by her rock-band groupie mother Bebe Buell after Bebe spotted Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann on the cover of, uh, TV Guide). And although Liv Tyler is now older, probably prettier and definitely richer than all the Jessicas who made her life such a living hell, the actress brought up an important point: What is it with Jessicas? An informal, 3-person poll around the Jezebel office concluded thus: Jessicas are not only pretty, they’re also often kind of evil!

Anna, for one, has had uniformly bad experiences with most of the Jessicas she’s come across (back-stabbing, unnecessarily competitive, conniving, and don’t get her started on Seinfeld’s wife) as has Moe (“They’re mean, popular, showered with attention. I mean, my best friend is named Jessica but it’s not like I”m going to go out looking for ‘Jessicas’ to befriend.”) And don’t get Jenny started either: (“I do not like Jessicas. They are the blonde mean girls, the ones who talk to you with an expression on their faces like they think you’re a big fat loser. Jessicas are just not nice girls. Jessica at camp was a bitch. And I went to college with Jessica Biel. And I do have a beef with her!”) Okay, then! Jessicas — even (or especially!) the famous ones! — suck! But when it comes to names that inspire hatred or admiration — logical or otherwise — can we blame nature or nurture? Do Jessicas suck because they were simply born that way or because they became that way through the normal parry and thrust that is childhood socialization? And is the same true for women with “nice” names like, say, Emily or Julie or Stephanie or Elizabeth or Sarah? We’re gonna investigate this further — in the midst of dodging the verbal bullets sure to come our way from those who know and love a Jessica! — in later posts, but let us know in the comments. And don’t be shy — give it up for the boys too. (Never trust a Chris, we like to say!).