The Next Best Thing To Being There
Skype beeped, and my son answered. I looked at him and was not impressed. “Put a shirt on,” I said. “You look like some creepy guy who lives at his mother’s house and spends all day online.” “Um, I’m 14, so I have to live at my mother’s house,” he said. “I just woke up.” [...]
China, India, and Problems with Gender Imbalances
Today’s New York Times had a story about how women in Williston, ND are feeling harassed. It’s one of the North Dakota communities that has seen a huge influx of men because of the growth of the energy industry. And, the women are feeling threatened. In India, a young woman died after a gang rape, [...]
Infrastructure Spending, in China and Elsewhere
China has been spending enormous amounts of money on infrastructure. The US should be spending more money in infrastructure. Brazil is embarking on an infrastructure program in advance of the 2016 Olympics. Is this good, bad, or ugly? For the most part, infrastructure is good. We need roads to get around, railroads and shipyards to [...]
A Chinese Classroom
This was one of my classrooms at Southwest Jiaotong University this summer. It’s so old-fashioned, isn’t it?
China, Japan, and the Communist Party Central Committee
China is in an interesting state right now. There were protests over the weekend, some violent, against the Japanese and against the Americans for not taking a firmer stand against the Japanese. Even Chengdu had protests, and that’s not a city known for being feisty. The peppers in the food make the women beautiful, I [...]
Travel, Experience, and Snobbery
I love to travel, and I am so fortunate that I have been able to go so many places, see so many great things, and meet so many interesting people. I think that travel gives us perspective on other people and places that can help us all get along better, and it helps us learn [...]
A Wrap-Up of My China Trip
I’m back in the states! Here are my general observations on this past summer: Noodles. I love noodles. I am looking for noodle recipes and probably making a trip soon to Chinatown for supplies. Chengdu is known for food, and even a vegetarian can eat well (assuming, of course, that she likes noodles and spice!) [...]
There is no secret ingredient.
This photo shows a Taoist temple on Qingcheng Mountain, the birthplace of Po the Kung-Fu Panda. Kung-Fu Panda is big here in Chengdu, since Po is a native son, and I’m told that he is typical of people of Chengdu: friendly, loves to eat, interested in peace and not war. Ever since I saw the [...]
Questioning Conventional Wisdom on China and Entrepreneurism
While I am in Chengdu, I am trying to talk to anyone I can who is part of this new economy here. One person I talked to asked me what my article was going to be about, and I told him that I didn’t know because I hadn’t talked to enough people yet. But this [...]
