- East Shore Jazz Club on Qianhai is one of my new favorite spots and by the look of the house last night, it’s probably one of yours too. Jazz pianist Bob King played a crazy set in which he deconstructed any number of jazz classics. It was atonal, challenging, and wonderful. Unfortunately I have a head cold that would kill a small- to medium-sized walrus and so I couldn’t stay for the whole thing, but I really regret not doing so.
- Today is “Greet the Station Chief” day at the police station across the hutong from our apartment. There’s a big red banner and a long table that has a couple of uniformed officers milling about. So far nobody’s asked them anything, and I suspect they’re not unhappy about that.* Last week, I was taking a walk in our local park when two “police volunteers” with basic English showed me their identification and asked for my papers. Since I was wearing running shorts and an Arsenal jersey at the time, I didn’t have any pockets or papers. They took down my name and address and promised to “have someone go to my apartment later.” Ah, Beijing 2008! Feel the excitement! Feel the dream!
- On a related note, Arsenal is 5-1 and at the head of the table. For those football/soccer fans not familiar with the “Ewing theory,” this essay is required reading.
- I’ve spent more money on home furnishings from the vendors on the little side street behind IKEA, than I have actually spent in IKEA.
- Yesterday was supposed to be a “Car Free Day” in Beijing. I crossed the second ring road around lunchtime and if there really was any less traffic yesterday than usual then it totally fooled me.
- Does anyone else think that Ershou Meigui/Second Hand Rose could be called “Dongbei’s answer to the Dropkick Murphy’s”? Traditional instruments, punk rock mentality, modern takes on traditional song structures, incomprehensibly accented singing, reckless disregard for personal or public health? Genderbending? (Yeah, I know it’s a kilt, but I’m reaching here.) Okay. You’re right, I’m really reaching here.
- Played my first hands of poker in nearly two years last night and lasted about an hour. To be fair, we had reservations at East Shore so I was rushing a bit, but it was pretty obvious that I suck. However, hope, like mildew, springs eternal. I once went to AC (Atlantic City to you non-East coasters) with my Dad. Around 11 pm one evening, I bumped into him coming out of the casino. “How much did you lose?” I asked. “Son,” he replied, “you’re going to need to be more specific with the term ‘lose.’ ‘Lose’ implies that I lost money, i.e. I don’t know where that money is. I KNOW where my money is. It’s all right over there in the chip tray at table 14, and I’m coming back tomorrow to retrive it. Now, good night.”
Happy Sunday.
*UPDATE 10:09 a.m.: Now the table has a few older ladies standing around the cops yelling at them and the station chief has that look on his face that says, “I really should have canceled this and gone to see my ernai this morning.” Poor bastard.
3 responses so far ↓
1 davesgonechina // Sep 23, 2007 at 1:43 am
On a related note, Arsenal is 5-1 and at the head of the table. For those football/soccer fans not familiar with the “Ewing theory,” this essay is required reading.
Agreed. My friends and I independently formulated and tested the Ewing Theory in a Time Warner cable-enabled laboratory setting and arrived at the same conclusions. It was excruciating to find that Pat Riley, supposed genius, was unable to comprehend this basic principal.
2 無名 - wu ming // Sep 23, 2007 at 2:57 am
non-wingnut chosen as japan PM, for a change.
it should be interesting to see how china reacts to a lack of PM visits to yasukuni.
3 Froog // Sep 26, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Ewing Theory?
Yes, well, there are all kinds of reasons why the departure/absence of a major star may be a catalyst for improved performance in a sports team. Very, very rarely, though, I suspect, is the phenomenon strong enough to lift a team to a title.
This smacks of the self-delusion of the fan of an underachieving side, or the desperate superstition of the sports gambler trying to find a long-odds win to get himself back in the black.
Besides, American sports do tend to be far more focused big-name individuals, so the effect may be more pronounced there. It’s very seldom that a football (’soccer’, if you must) team is so defined by a single star player. (There is a case to be made that the loss of Cantona, and later of Roy Keane, unsettled Man U enough to temporarily lose their dominance in those seasons - but those are the only recent examples I can think of, and contentious.)
Thierry Henry may have been Arsenal’s most charismatic star, but he was hardly the be-all and end-all of the team. His departure appeared so momentous largely because they haven’t yet found convincing ‘replacements’ for Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Dennis Bergkamp, Freddy Ljungberg, Patrick Vieira… He was the last of the greats from that era. Now, a new team is being forged.
Enjoy it while it lasts. Arsenal are on a streak. That’s all. They’ve had a relatively easy start to the season, had a bit of luck here and there. They play some lovely football, but they’re a very young side, and I fear the squad still lacks depth.
Of course, Chelsea may flounder for a while without Mourinho, and Liverpool consistently fall just short of their potential. And it doesn’t look as if your North London rivals are going to be any kind of serious threat. So, you might well finish second. Good luck.
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