My take:
THE DINNER, by Herman Koch, begins a bit slowly but then progresses to a wonderful sardonic portrayal of the behaviour of the type of people who have money, reputation, fine clothes, perhaps a 'successful' political career, and a rather stupid narcissism, who maintain a deeply false image of themselves by walking into expensive restaurants and having waiters and restaurant managers grovel before them. I read about 50 pages and found myself laughing more and more at the very fine observations of behavior, then I took a nap, looking forward to the mounting ridiculousness of these clowns when I woke up. Then, when I woke up, I found that the nature of the story changed abruptly to very dark considerations of urban brutality and hypocrisy, and revelations about the, literally insane, violent characters, who are not at all what I had thought they were - with continuing spurts of absurd, dark, violent humor. I did nothing that day but read this fine novel, beginning to end - I found it as much of a page-turner as any good detective story, except that it was brilliant, original and a really significant contribution to anyone interested in modern urban life and the hollow pretensions and dangers of the stupidly rich and famous.
Example: psychotic man beating school principal to a pulp, looks up to find he is being watched by many students, spots his son, waves and smiles, without stopping.
Herman Koch is a very fine, observant, intelligent writer.
The next book club meeting will be on Wednesday, November 15, 18:30, at The Park. The book will be SEX AT DAWN, by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha, available (VPN needed) from docs.google.com (downloadable) and, apparently, elsewhere.
The Kunming Book Club has a wechat group in which many regular attendees participate, but is open to all. Readings, locations and times of meets are chosen by attendees. New participants welcome.
Changshui once again closed by fog
Posted byProblem comes from systemic, actively-promoted reliance on air travel, which by any reasonable standard is neither necessary (except for real emergencies (e.g., Philippine relief), not just speeded-up business relations) nor sustainable for the atmosphere, natural-resource usage, etc.
In short, get a horse.
The Help Out — Philippines Fundraiser
Posted byBlobbles, I agree - but largest/best effect in past performance needs to be examined carefully, that's all - on a $ for $-value basis, and also on the appropriateness of the aid delivered, who gets it, etc. There is also sometimes the question of hidden agendas, such as certain types of 'assistance' offered by the US Agency for International Development, which has been involved in warmaking and promoting economic exploitation - but this is a bit off track and leads to the whole question of 'development', which is often a misleading term. I also think the combination 'criminal/revolutionary' might be separated out a bit.
Kunming to monetize street vendor chaos
Posted byThere really is a problem with having the chengguan do the regulation, since they are sometimes a bit brutal. The main problem with the interference with vehicle traffic, however, is that there is too much vehicle traffic, not too many street sellers. As for the audio speakers, I find them annoying, and I think it's absurd to imagine that they actually enable anybody to sell more items and make more money, especially in areas where everybody's got one. But I don't really think the idea of Noise Pollution has hit home here, and probably won't for quite awhile.
Kunming to monetize street vendor chaos
Posted bymmkunmingteacher, I sympathize about street marketing in general, though I don't call it 'lovely charm', and am happy to accept the minor inconveniences that it sometimes causes. However, anything can get out of hand, as Wenhuaxiang has (with potentialities for, and realities of, actual violence), and there is nothing 'un-Asian' about the idea of regulation (I take it you are not from an Asian culture, all of which are different from each other).
The Help Out — Philippines Fundraiser
Posted bySuggestion for Americans: skip the Thanksgiving dinners, send the cash to the Philippines. Suggestion to retail restaurants serving such dinners: send you profits to the Philippines. Suggestion to everybody: watch how people really behave, given the choice. Suggested thought experiment: why is it like this, really (obvious answers to be reconsidered)?