I’ve been out of Beijing for two days now. I’m staying with a friend in Hong Kong, where the large plasma screens all over the city have the Games on. Looking from the outside now it was quite an experience to be in the epicenter- being able to sit in the Bird’s Nest, witness the [...]

I saw the group ahead of me as I walked down the stairs of the subway. They were all huddled around a large flat-screen. I stopped to see what they were looking at, and there was Liu Xiang’s face. He looked strong and determined as he warmed up on the track. This was his first [...]

There is a crucial cultural component to Chinese relationships- face. Face is like a form of currency, you can get it, give it and lose it. To receive face is extremely important in establishing a reputation and having a standing in society. In this respect, the Chinese government is a great example of how far [...]

I used to wrestle for Boulder High way back when (2000-2004). When at BHS I also wrestled for Colorado Team Excel, coached by Steve Knight. At the time Steve was also an assistant coach to the US Wrestling Team in Colorado Springs. About a month ago I shot him an email asking how I could [...]

I went to my first Olympic event ever yesterday. My good friend, Theron Haan, whom you might remember from a previous post, gave me call and invited me to go to the fencing (sabre) quarter and semi-finals. As it turns out, Andrea Lagan, the US Fencing Team Director of Sports Performance and a Team Manager, [...]

After all these buzz-kill, serious posts I decided to do a warm and fuzzy one. I was on my way to watch my friend’s modern dance performance when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Crocs! Remember those rubber shoes with holes that everyone wore (still wears?) in Boulder. I heard that the [...]

I decided to show you in person the censorship issues in China. Here’s a quick example of how “sensitive” searches can kick you off sites like Wikipedia and Google. Pretty good all around example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bck3Zoattg
(It took me many hours to put this post up. The internet was a lot slower when I was editing this [...]

 
I don’t know why this isn’t screaming across news headlines. Buried in a report I can no longer find on the BBC website (my search engine crashes when I look for it…) only 45,000 foreigners are here for the Olympics. (All I can find now is a BBC report that says “…tens of thousands of [...]

 
 Yeah, I know it’s hackneyed but I’ll write about it anyway. The first thing you’ll notice about Beijing is the pollution. The heavy fog, mist, smog, smist or whatever it is that drapes the city in a gloomy cloud really can affect your mood. Being from Boulder I’m used to a brilliant blue sky. So, [...]

(I wrote this the day after the Ceremonies, but didn’t get a chance to post until today). China put on one of the greatest shows on Earth last night. I wouldn’t know, actually I have yet to see the Opening Ceremonies. I had quite an experience last night. My friends and I were determined to [...]