Jottings from the Granite Studio

I’m clearly not getting enough roughage in my diet…

Can we all get on board with the idea that whatever you feel about Τibet, the PRC, or the price of cabbage in Zhengzhou, when protesting the Olympic torch relay: leave the athletes alone? Is that too much to ask? And this goes for both sides.

That said, […]

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Some notes from Saturday’s Dodgers/Padres game here in Beijing.

Overall, we had a great time. It was a beautiful day for baseball. A little chilly and windy perhaps, but nice sunny skies.

Wukesong Baseball Stadium was not particularly impressive, but suitable for the purpose. It has an obvious “won’t be around in 2009″ feel with temporary […]

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Who knew musicians could cause such disharmony?
We went to the Harry Connick, Jr. show on Tuesday night and had a good time but the performance wasn’t as stellar as I had expected. Harry’s voice was a bit off for some reason. Maybe it was a cold; maybe it was a bit of those Beijing ‘blue […]

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Richard of The Peking Duck and I are hosting a dinner on Friday, March 7. We haven’t exactly settled on a venue yet (suggestions welcome for someplace with a large private room, cocktails and–preferably but necessarily–Peking duck on the menu). The plan is for 7:30 drinks and an 8:30 dinner.
These are always lively gatherings with […]

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I have another post, based also on an observation by Liang Qichao, over at The Peking Duck which will likely generate a bit more commentary than this brief meditation on the joys of urban parks, but after a pleasant post-brunch stroll through Ritan Gongyuan, I thought parks to be worth a post of their own:
As […]

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I flaked on Froog last night. I was completely beat from a day of translating documents and just didn’t have the energy to go out after midnight to watch the FA Cup game between Manchester United and Arsenal. I have a hunch that I’m in for a raft of crap about how my tepid support […]

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This week was Valentine’s Day, and no matter what you think of market-driven holidays, it does provide a good occasion to take your wife out for a quiet dinner in an otherwise hectic week. Wanting to avoid the overpriced and crowded Valentine’s Day “specials” at the Chaoyang restaurants, we decided to go local: Dongcheng style, […]

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Last night, in between mass consumption of jiaozi and the occasional trip outside to blow shit up, we gathered around the television for the annual CCTV New Year’s Gala. I’m a cornball at heart and I actually get a kick out of the program, so in the spirit of Chunjie, I thought I’d pass along […]

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So…the Patriots lost. Proof–if such was necessary–that betting against the I-Ching is just not the best of ideas. Nevertheless, it was an excellent game watched in good company,* and Tim of Texas Tim’s proved a congenial host.
And hey, 18-1 ain’t too shabby. Now, I will go and repeat that line over and over […]

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So Froog and I finally decided on Texas Tim’s Roadhouse for the Super Bowl. Breakfast, post-game Mexican food buffet and a big screen. The Rickshaw was a good alternate, but we’d rather have one giant screen over lots of little screens. Froog’s friend Tulsa told us that NBC might be filming the crowd at Goose […]

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