Jottings from the Granite Studio

Last month, 7′6″ Yao Ming had a shot blocked by 5′9″ Knick guard Nate Robinson. If there was ever a moment when Yao seemed to epitomize his country’s struggles over the last few centuries, there it was….even more so when you look at the video and realize that Robinson got away with a poke in [...]

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A quick note from last month: The Granite Studio was included in the 9th Asian History Carnival. The Korean studies blog Kotaji did an excellent job hosting. The Carnival is always a great source for new blogs and the latest in Asian history around the web.

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Signs that not all is well in today’s China A-Go-Go, from today’s IHT:

BEIJING: Protests and riots have become the most destabilizing factor in China and pose a challenge to the Communist Party’s ability to rule, the official Xinhua news agency said Friday.
Xinhua called for “prudent” use of force in handling “mass incidents” — an official [...]

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The professor of the class for which I am a TA this quarter, ended his lectures yesterday by quoting the Columbia University historian Carol Gluck who once said, “In the future, not learning about Japan will not be an option.” Given that Professor Gluck is a historian of Japan, one can understand her enthusiasm, more [...]

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Warning: The following post has nothing to do with China but a little to do with history.
Today is not only Pearl Harbor day but also the 50th birthday of one Larry Joe Bird, known forever as “The Basketball Jesus.”
It’s easy to forget just what a special player Bird was and too many people who are [...]

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Just as an experiment, ask somebody you meet this morning what is special about today’s date. I spring this on my students each year and I’m always pleasantly surprised that most know the answer right away. I am also generally scared at the increasing number who don’t. Perhaps more disturbing are the students who give [...]

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When your Mom posts a comment wondering where you are, it’s time to dust off the keyboard. Sorry for my relative absence this month, the university where I study has three 9-week quarters each year (Yes, I know…) and it creates a weird backlog of work each November. On top of which I am doing [...]

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