thats right beaches...

I do love the beach. I am not sure if it is the fresh air the frolicking in the surf(yes I frolic) or the damn fine food. but i do love the beach. The island I am on is really nice . There is just enough to do that I wont get bored in the next week. The big plans for today was to buy a ferry ticket off the island and with that done I can relax and start drinking. You know me ever the responsible one, I wouldnt drink before fulfilling my responsibilities. Tomorrow I will get a kayak and try to circle the island. Oh fun. If I make it you will of course know because i will blog about it, however there is a good chance I will get blown out to sea and die. Well there isnt really a good chance of that in fact there is little to no chance, but it is fun to imagine isnt it, that is what i want you to do when you have nothing to do imagine me on a kayak lost at sea. And when I have nothing to do I will look out over the ocean drink some beer or rum and enjoy my vacation.

thai me up thai me down

I made it to bangkok. Yesterday was spent killing the day in shenzhen. I had tried to update the old blog but the Internet cafe I went to blocked to site. It was quite the experience seeing the chinese government hard at work. It made me start to think about the vast amount of censorship that happens in china. A most recent example is the speech by Obama for the inauguration. There was a mention of communism, to quote,

"Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint."

Not exactly the kind of thing that one would believe needs to be kept from the masses for their own protection or to maintain the harmonious nature of society. Yet the powers that be in china felt it was such a threat that they cut it from the broadcast on the chinese TV coverage. Now my question for those that support the censoring of speech is this, what can one person say that is so bad , so forceful, so completely detrimental to you that it is better not to hear it? I can't think of anything, but if you can please tell me. Anyway now I have to go to the rain station to buy tickets to the port where I will cross to an island. Hope that the population of thailand is less than that of china, and I can get tickets. I am sure I can and if not I will openly swear at the ineptness of the system.

like a prom dress

I am off to thailand and the beaches and sun and booze. Finally I get to leave and start my hard earned vacation. Post will be lighter for the next two weeks but I will try to keep it updated, though you can imagine that I will be lounging in the surf mostly naked, enjoying the water and sand. You all have fun in the cold winter of discontent.

happy new year

It is the chinese new year today for all of those that dnt know. It will become the year of the rat. That sneaky bastard. See the rat is the start of the cycle because it hitched a ride on the ox to go to the council. As it got near to place it was supposed to be it jumped off the ox and ran to be the first to arrive, thus being the first to be in the lunar cycle. This should tell you a little about how different the world looks to our respective cultures. While I and most americans see the rat as a cheating conniving little fucker that should be thrown out of any races in the future. The chinese see it as clever. They say it used its wit to outsmart the rest of the animals and are happy to reward it with the first place. Now this seems trivial but imagine a whole culture that believes it is ok to let someone else do the hardwork of life for you. If you are there first to take credit for it you are to be rewarded. Now try to imagine being a teacher in this culture. Plagirism, fine its being clever. Others taking graduate school exams for you, clever boy. Using your mother and father to get into the better schools or get better grades. Oh how smart you are. And why should they do the hard work themselves? The students will tell you that if they do the work on their own it wont be as good as someone else who was clever enopugh to buy it on the web or copy it from an expert. It is a really vicisous circle. One that is 12 years long. Ends with the pig then back to the rat.

As has been pointed out to me it is in fact the year of the cow/ox now as the rat has just finished. I apologize if this caused a confusion in your holiday plans and had made you buy ratty things and not cow stuff. My deepest regrets for this. I will try to get back to being perfect.