Absurdity, Allegory and China

The Second Major League
Baseball Game in China
When I saw Jet Li
throw out the first pitch,
I thought, man, he throws
just like my sister
threw
the night she hurled
the rock at my head
and took out
the living room clock.
I was lucky.
Then,
I kept my mouth shut
too.
© 2009, Jim Gourley
Listen to: The Second Major League Baseball Game in China

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As the news of China’s growing unemployment continues to underscore the problems in the countryside, fueling fears of more social instability – a buzz phrase that essentially means that anyone with the least bit of sense is worried about the proverbial shit hitting the fan – an article in the Washington Post does nothing to [...]

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One of the Chinese facts of life is that cheap DVDs have a knack for finding ways into your house. Don’t ask me how, because I won’t tell, though I will say that although I don’t buy any, I have been a facilitator. Peccavi. And I will sleep like a baby tonight, especially after watching [...]

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After several days in Beijing I’ve returned to Tianjin. In the eleven (11) Chun Jie celebrations since I’ve moved to China, I have spent nine (9) of them in Tianjin. Beijing may be the capital of the country, but Tianjin knows firecrackers. I doubt I’ll make the mistake again of not being in Tianjin when [...]

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Though it is no longer news that the Chinese scholar John DeFrancis died earlier this month, The China Beat has a very good essay by David Moser, Academic Director of the CET Beijing Chinese Studies program. Remembering John DeFranics is well worth a look. He was truly a remarkable man.
Prior to his arrival on the [...]

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A Poem For the New Presidency
A friend asked me if Obama is a lama.
I said I think he’s more like a Rama.
He fired back, they’re both into dharma!
And all I could add was (comma),
“I don’t know, to me he’s just Obama!
But maybe he really is a lama.
Just don’t try to make him a Brahma.
He’s got [...]

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More from Mary Wozniak from the Fort Myers, FL News Press, January 20, 2009, Lennar replaces Chinese drywall in homes
Residents inhabiting a dozen Southwest Florida homes are being relocated so the builder, Lennar Homes, can rip out Chinese drywall that corrodes interior fixtures and may cause long-term health hazards.
Lennar is paying all costs of relocation [...]

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Woke up this morning and can’t stop wondering about Dick Cheney in a wheelchair. I watched the whole affair, or at least until after the poem – which limped and did nothing for me. The CNN coverage held up well, though the Facebook aspect was totally lame. Though I knew beforehand that “The Dick” would [...]

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As I watch the crowds on the Mall from my computer in China it is difficult not to recall this past March 31st when I tried to walk to Tiananmen Square to get a glimpse of the much-hyped Olympic Torch as it arrived in Beijing. It was a very private, invitation-only affair with guests and [...]

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The drywall mess centering on Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. is growing every day, though still not a word from the domestic or foreign media within China. The silence from the domestic media outlets is understandable: they are state-controlled and therefore have no interest in addressing more bad news regarding anything Made in China. But [...]

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