Peaceful Rise

I feel that my creative juices will start flowing soon... but in the meantime here are some comics from my old website: More to come...

I've been reading hundreds of articles on bird flu from various Chinese media for work.  The point is basically to look at changes in media openness through a particular case study.  For the most part it's mind-numbingly dull, as the reports are just page after page of government boosterism, but occasionally I find an amusing article here and there.  My favorite was this picture from CCTV's Focus , showing the effective measures the government took to prevent spread of the disease: I wish you could get a 360 degree view of the scene.  I think this guy in a white plastic suit is just standing by himself in the middle of nowhere waiting for trucks to come by.  Also key is the disinfecting sprayer he's using, which is the same model I bought for use on Kite Runner .  We filled it with a mixture of water and glue and used it to stick shredded paper on trees.  It broke after a day.

I have but few words tonight. I will first share with you a cartoon I drew several years back when I was a fiery little upstart, before I had truly learned to appreciate the glory of the Communist Party:

So, I'm not going back to China just yet. I got a job for a little thinktank in Harvard Square, thanks to one of my classmates from Oberlin, who I ran into completely by chance when I went to play wiffleball down the street one Tuesday night, because kung fu was closed that week. Go figure. I'm writing a paper on journalism in China, which isn't particularly exciting for me, but which is exciting for my bosses, who are paying me, so that's good enough for me. Hopefully once I get through this paper, I will think of a more exciting topic, and maybe, perhaps, will genuinely enjoy my job. At any rate, I'm looking for another apartment. I was thinking of moving out to Allston with my friend Pat, but it's too hard to find a two-bedroom apartment for a reasonable price, and on second thought, it's actually pretty convenient being out in Davis on the red line. I'm scouring Craigslist for available rooms, and this time I will make extra sure to check for ...

It's been a month and a half since I lost my job at Diesel, and I've decided to return to China. When I came back to the States, I didn't really know what I would do, but I figured I most likely wouldn't come up with any ideas, and just go back to Beijing. But I decided I wanted to try sticking it out for a while and seeing what possibilities I could explore while supporting myself in the States. When my friend Sarah recommended I come work at Diesel, I thought it would be a good way for me to get out of the house and meet some fellow Americans, and get an idea of what kind of jobs would be worth pursuing around here. Well, actually, I don't think I even really wanted to think that far in advance. I just wanted to take a bit of a break from thinking and just make coffee and sandwiches for a while. Of course that was cut short, so I've been forced to reconsider my future at a bit of an accelerated rate. What I've decided is, I'm ready to go back. I ...

So yesterday morning I met up with the 4 American special effects crew on this new movie and got in a van with them to go to Yi Xian, which is where they will be shooting. I explained to them up front that I had not signed on for the whole shoot, and was actually hoping to meet them first and see what I was getting into before I decided. Anyway, we passed through the town of Yi Xian, which was a complete dump, and then continued on to the middle of nowhere, which is where the shooting locations and housing are. The housing they had arranged for the foreign crew was this miserable little tourist resort, which was the best you could get in the area, and which was not even as good as my hotel in Kashgar. When the special effects guys expressed their dissatisfaction, the location manager suggested we take a look at the accommodation for the Chinese crew, in order to gain a greater appreciation of their high class treatment. Then we drove around more dirt roads to look at 3 shooting lo...

So, now The Kite Runner is almost over and I seem to have agreed to join on with another movie , starting immediately. My original plan was to take a well deserved break, hang around in Beijing until the 20th, fly home and then decide what I want to do next. But the special effects crew for this movie is coming over for a scout starting this Friday and will be here for a couple of weeks, and I thought I should at least meet them and see if I like them. They will be going home for Christmas, which will allow me to at least take a break for a couple of weeks, and then I can decide if I want to stay with them on the movie when they come back or not. I'm leaving for a town a couple hours away from Beijing soon to finish up the last two shooting days on Kite Runner, after which I am scheduled to come back and immediately travel to Hebei with these American SFX guys. I will not pass go, I will not collect my pay, and I will not attend the China wrap party. But whatever, the thought...