The Book Club will meet Tuesday, January 9, 2018, at The Park, to discuss Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, THE MASTER AND MARGARITA, in which Satan arrives in both Roman Jerusalem 2000 years ago and in Moscow in the stalinist 1930's and turns out to be the most interesting and dramatic dude in town (think Milton's PARADISE LOST).
The Kunming Book Club has a wechat group in which many regular attendees participate, but meetings are open to all. Readings, locations and times of meets are chosen by attendees. New participants welcome.
That's creeping up on Chinese New Year, so you might want to check early on tickets to Jinghong. From Jinghong on you can probably just buy tickets the day before at the bus station.
Yahoo is not a brilliant site for news, but it works consistently for me here - perhaps there was a glitch for a week or so once, but that was a long time ago, can't quite remember.
I am a foreigner and at my local PSB I have never needed my landlord to go with me to register, I just needed lease and photocopy of his ID the first time, when I moved in. Later trips in and out of the country, I just had to show up with my passport - did this last week.
Interesting article. My thought is that money might well work this way, but that perhaps a god way to handle the situation is to make such gifts dependent on the recipients' keeping their kids in school - after all, the kids don't deserve to be hampered by their unequal starts in life just because their parents do this or that with the money. Such an approach has been tried, on a very small scale and with small amounts of money, in Yunnan, and has been successful in keeping the kids in school.
@ Haali: I'm suspicious of official money-handling in the name of the poor as well, but I think maybe you misunderstand the problems that the poor have in handling money in an exploitative society, and their unfamiliarity in doing so - so I don't buy "and deserve to". Seems to me that education is something that, if someone gets it, it can't be taken away or lost in unequal competition with those who have more in terms of cash, ownership or power.
Not quite what you'd call a jumping place, but not bad at all for rather standard US-type meals, not overly expensive, and with a really good salad bar that's cheap, or free with most dinner dishes after 5:30PM. You can get a bottle of beer or even wine if you really want to, but I've never seen anybody do it - maybe that's just to take out. Chinese Christian run, and they hire people with physical disadvantages, who are pleasant and helpful. Frequented by foreign (mostly North American) Christians and Chinese Christians - was started by a Canadian couple associated with Bless China (previously, Project Grace), who are no longer here, but no religious pressure or any of that. Steaks are nothing special, and I avoid the Korean dishes, which I've had a few times but which did not impress me.
As a shop and bakery, it's very good bread at reasonable prices, of various kinds (Y18 for a good multigrain loaf that certainly weighs well over a pound. Other stuff too, like granola and oatmeal that is local, as well as imported things, including American cornflakes and so forth, which some people seem to require.
Large portions, seriously so with the pizza, which is Brooklyn/American style, I guess. Convivial, conversational, good place to drink with good folks on both sides of the bar, especially after about 9PM.
Report: Ancient Yunnan rock art at risk
发布者Two thousand yuan. Huh.
Provincial authorities get serious about poverty
发布者Interesting article. My thought is that money might well work this way, but that perhaps a god way to handle the situation is to make such gifts dependent on the recipients' keeping their kids in school - after all, the kids don't deserve to be hampered by their unequal starts in life just because their parents do this or that with the money. Such an approach has been tried, on a very small scale and with small amounts of money, in Yunnan, and has been successful in keeping the kids in school.
Provincial authorities get serious about poverty
发布者@ Haali: I mean I don't necessarily buy the "and deserve to".
Provincial authorities get serious about poverty
发布者@ Haali: I'm suspicious of official money-handling in the name of the poor as well, but I think maybe you misunderstand the problems that the poor have in handling money in an exploitative society, and their unfamiliarity in doing so - so I don't buy "and deserve to". Seems to me that education is something that, if someone gets it, it can't be taken away or lost in unequal competition with those who have more in terms of cash, ownership or power.
Friction of terrain: Cycling through Zomia (part IV)
发布者@ Peter: US ordinance lying around in Southeast Asia - reminds me of an old Tom Lehrer song from around 1962:
'"Ven za rockets go up who cares where they come down,
That's not my department,"' says Wernher Von Braun.