I just wrote and recorded my first overtly political song. China is bad place to start distributing material with an anti-government feel. I wonder if the Chinese government care that I critique the US government from abroad. Anybody got any experience with that?
Take a listen.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Chinese Food
I haven’t eaten Chinese food in years. Why would I when their southern neighbor Thailand has food that is far tastier and is much less likely to leave me feeling as if I drank a quart of motor oil? I know that what we get here in the US is not REAL Chinese food but American Chinese food. Even so, I have a sneaking suspicion that real Chinese food is infinitely worse than any day after General Tzo’s bathroom grumblings I’ve faced thus far in my life. Maybe it is the plum soda I tried from an Asian market down the street, or the chicken feet and chunks of bone I’ve encountered at apparently authentic Dim Sum in San Francisco. Somebody tell me I’m wrong! Tell me that I will find great food. I swear I’m not picky.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Traveling in Style
My passport is about to expire. When I first got it my freshmen year in high school it seemed impossible to imagine what the world would be like in 10 years. 2008, by then we will either have world peace or all be dead. I suppose still I think the same way about 2018. Hmmm…
I need a new passport to apply for my 2 year visa so I got to the business of renewing, which is damn expensive. After sending in all my forms and my extra $60 to have the renewal rushed I had to wait a few weeks. But when it came I wasn’t disappointed. The new passport has quite a facelift and is surprisingly beautiful. Check out the difference in the Info pages.
Old Passport
The old passport was merely a collection of pages. The new one contains intricate art on each page including inspiring quotes. There are pictures of the railroad, ships, cowboys and plains. For those of us with multicultural sensitivities there are quotes by Native Americans, MLK Jr,, women and a totem pole. The picture with a totem pole also has a bear and shows an appreciation of nature. I’m including a photo as proof.
I need a new passport to apply for my 2 year visa so I got to the business of renewing, which is damn expensive. After sending in all my forms and my extra $60 to have the renewal rushed I had to wait a few weeks. But when it came I wasn’t disappointed. The new passport has quite a facelift and is surprisingly beautiful. Check out the difference in the Info pages.
Old Passport
New Passport
The first words that greet the reader of the new passport are Abraham Lincoln's, “… and that a government, by the people, for the people and of the people, shall not perish from this earth.” I love ole’ honest Abe. The old passport started with the official, “The Secretary of the State of the United States of America hereby requests all whom it may concern to permit the citizen/national to…blah, blah, blah.” Obviously! It is a passport.
The old passport was merely a collection of pages. The new one contains intricate art on each page including inspiring quotes. There are pictures of the railroad, ships, cowboys and plains. For those of us with multicultural sensitivities there are quotes by Native Americans, MLK Jr,, women and a totem pole. The picture with a totem pole also has a bear and shows an appreciation of nature. I’m including a photo as proof.
Being a nerd for both history and good quotes I thoroughly enjoyed leafing through its pages. I plan to enjoy it again when I find myself on long border crossing bus rides. I don’t find myself often impressed by the government. On this occasion I’m making sure to enjoy it.
Favorite Passport Quote:
The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class- it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.
Anna Julia Cooper
Favorite Passport Quote:
The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class- it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.
Anna Julia Cooper