I adopted Peanut from the Westchester Pet’s Alive organization and I am really sad to find out that he unfortunately passed away either from the cold or natural causes.  Heat in the house was broken for two of the coldest days on record in NYC.  For those of you who do not know that 32F = 0C.  It was -1F in NYC when we had heat problems in the house so you know that it was really cold.  People survived under the blankets but apparently it was too much for my baby.

May Peanut rest in peace.  In a few months, I will consider adopting another rabbit but until then, maybe others would consider adopting the loving giant rabbits.

Home needed for Atlas, the Glasgow Rabbit the Size of a Dog. – http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/35530468

Current Mood: Really sad about Peanut as mom picked him out.  She loved the broken pattern because it reminded her of Mutt, our star rabbit who was the smartest of all the ones we have had.  (We have had 8 since I was a child and fostered more…).  Not in the mood to finish writing my final exam for the graduate class nor the syllabus for the undergraduate class.

Happy Valentines Day everyone.  Currently in the heart of the Shanghai shopping area and enjoying the window shopping that is all the name brands of 5th Avenue.  Love the beautiful art sculptures which are just decorating the shopping plaza and hated the Dali Exhibit which there will be a significant post about museum education later on.

Confused by the sheer number of people in the shopping area and the lack of people who are actually purchasing the goods.  Got a copy of M&M because I love the coats from Max Mara and even have a really awesome suit from them that I purchased at half the price in Lord and Taylor a few seasons ago.  Now you all know that I love nice things but I really do not see the need to spend the typical person’s average monthly wage on an article of clothing that you can at best only wear for a few weeks a year.

I am particularly concerned by the fact that there are a lot of wealthy people in China from all over the nation but the need to express wealth through material things and the lack of empathy for those who cannot afford the same luxuries is rather disheartening.

I also think it is particularly funny that many people cannot comprehend the concept that “even if you could afford those items, why should you purchase those items?”  I would rather blow money on the best places to eat, a nice natural vista, a cultural attraction than an item of clothing that is not only outrageously priced in the US but extremely outrageously priced in China because of their version of the VAT.

Now there are some items of clothing that I totally understand spending a ton of money on:

1.  A wedding dress for someone who never plans on getting married again.  (I do not understand weddings because I think they are a waste of money but I know that some people dream of this event their whole life).
2.  A celebration dress for the day you are officially declared cancer free – you need to wait 5 years for that so a little spent on that is fine.
3. The mink coat that the family is passing on for generations.
4. A really important event like the White House Ball or something along those lines which you are likely to never get a chance to attend again.
5. If you are dying – you might as well spend and wear whatever you want because you are not going to have the chance to do that for much longer.

On the other hand, I really do not see why any child should be wearing Armani from the time they are five through their teenage years, especially when you are representing the Communist Party at a local Communist Party function.  Did we happen to forget that the Communist principles are about equality?  Most Chinese people I know cannot go and buy an Armani suit for a child…

Armani Communist’ divides China – http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35496562

Current Mood:  Fortunate to be able to afford certain nice things.  Fortunate to be raised to see that you do not always need luxury items.  Wanting to spread the word that material things come and go but experiences and knowledge stay with you until old age, dementia, or any other number of unforeseen issues but for the most part – free 😀

My family rarely talks about the Cultural Revolution in China as it was not remembered fondly on their end.  Mostly my family members think of the Cultural Revolution as a terrible time of disruption as some of them were forced to go to the countryside to work in areas where there was no food.  Many of the family members ended up scattered around the world because they just wanted out of the chaos and starvation.

On the other hand, mom in particular was very happy with Mao.  She thought that he was rather liberal and believed in equal rights for women.  She rather liked his policies, especially because she was one of the youngest girls in our family.

Reading this article during Chinese New Years made me feel like my mom and grandfather were around and arguing over Chinese political issues as they always did during family events.

Not sure if all of the items mentioned in this news magazine article are true because there seems to be some literary license, reliance on interviews, and ideas subject to verification but it was very interesting to learn the following:

1. Mao did not like fruit.
2. Mao re-gifted the mango from a Prime Minister of Pakistan to ordinary workers.
3. Mao sent 3,000 workers to Qing Hua University armed with nothing but “the Little Red Book,” to take on students armed with spears and sulfuric acid.
4. Mangoes were paraded around China and immortalized in wax.
5. Mangoes were not common fruits in the 1960s.  (Especially mind boggling for me because I think that some of the best mangoes come from the Guang Dong area).

China’s Curious Cult of the Mango – http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35461265

Current Mood:  Feeling warm and fuzzy hashing out historical political and familial references with my favorite relatives in China.

I happen to love Madonna as I think that she has been rather smart about the acting, singing, and writing projects that she has selected through the years.  Unfortunately, when you do not hire the right person to do your research then you end up in political and cultural hot water in Asia.

The Chinese fans were apparently unhappy with her image in a flag that looks very Taiwanese and the Taiwanese fans are very unhappy with her image in an unpopular party’s flag.  The flag is the old symbol of the KMT during a period called the “White Terror” where an estimated 18,000-30,000 people were murdered in their attempt to control Taiwan.

Madonna Causes a Commotion in Taiwan – http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35502837

Current Mood: This is why sometimes, I feel like having a Chinese face but fully western upbringing is terrible for cultural relations.  If this had not been in the news, I would have no idea what the images meant.  While I feel sympathy for Madonna’s staff who created this controversy, I also would like to think had this been me that I would have researched the image more.  Even I think that the symbol looks very similar to the current Taiwanese flag.

There are lots of issues in the political debates within the US of late.  Most importantly if you listen to the potential democratic and republican nominees, there are issues of “God.”  notice in the Democratic debates it is all about believing in God and in the Republican debates it is all about how religious you can be.  Are you a strict Christian?  Are you an Evangelist? Are you a typical Christian?

Well the Chinese have taken the need to debate about religion out of their political system by just out right banning religion for Communist Party leaders past and present.  It is an interesting solution to Separation of Church and State.  This is something that probably could never be accomplished in the U.S. as we pride ourselves in Freedom of Religion for all but I wonder if in some ways a ban along those lines might force people to focus more on the political and economical issues during debates versus who is more pious…

Religious Ban for Chinese Communist Party Ex-Officials – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-35502211

Current Mood: Going to be sick for Chinese New Years because there is a tickle in the throat.  The tradition of the last five and now 6th year continues.

On the way home from the train station, I got into the first cab that the taxi stand guy directed me to and learned that when taxi drivers do not want to drive to my school’s district they just pretend that they do not know where they are going.  So the original cabby asked if my school was in a district that had no schools.  Therefore, I left the cab thinking he was a new driver because he looked fairly young.

I got into the second cab and the driver said that the original taxi driver lied to me and refused to go to my area because there was nobody to pick up due to Chinese New Years Vacation.  He told me that the original cabby was silly and illogical because had I challenged him then he would have looked like an idiot driver.  He told me that I was being too simplistic in my thinking.  He was a very nice man.  I probably should have tipped him even though it is not customary to tip taxi drivers in China.

Current Mood:  Regret for not tipping the taxi driver and feeling stupid for taking people on their word.

For those of you who have played the game Crazy Taxi, this was one night of taxi driving that left me happy to arrive at the train station in one piece.  It also made me sad that I do not know where my Sega Dreamcast went.

I saw the taxi and thought this looks like the one I took at Guang Gu where in the end the guy admitted that he was not a real taxi because he does not have a meter.  It turns out that you can buy the glowing/lit taxi lights on the Chinese version of ebay/amazon, called tao bao but the meters are not for sale because the taxi companies usually confiscate them.

Anyhow, someone from our group flagged the guy down and we sat in the cab and we started looking for the meter.  When we asked the guy about the meter, he pointed to where the clutch would be and I realized that we were indeed sitting in a “black” or illegal cab.  I thought well we are already late and we need to get to the train station.  As long as we get there in one piece then we should be fine.

Unfortunately, on the way to the train station I thought we were playing a game of crazy taxi.  I heard someone tell the drive that we were trying to catch a train and then the driver swerved onto oncoming traffic.  So picture us packed in the cab and playing chicken with a truck in a dead on collision.  We then swerve across four lanes of traffic and get back into the correct lane.  This is when I decided that I need to look at the glass half full – so basically I told everyone in the cab that the driver was just trying to get us to the train on time.

After the beeping there was a gas break in the middle of our ride to the train station.  There was this constant peeping and I saw a yellow light on the dash and assumed it was a check engine light.  But I was wrong.  It was the lack of gas light.  The guy drove us to a gas station to fuel up before we finished the trip.  This took care of the beeping and added a few minutes to the stressful trip.

After gassing up the car we once again swerved into traffic and almost got T-ed by an oncoming taxi.  However, we made it to the rest of the way without incident until he refused to drop us off at the train station.  He wanted to leave us at the on ramp going to the train station.  Eventually he reneged and drove us to the train station parking lot.  Because he had no meter and did not want to name a price we gave him what we thought was fair and then ran for the train.

Current Mood: Trip started out relaxing, was stressful in the middle, ended relatively relaxing if you do not include the taxi ride.