Reading the “Dark Night of The Soul” by Saint John of the Cross. it’s quite interesting. And there’s a marvelous amount of familiar psychology that should make the moderns grin ruefully in recognition. I also think that this would make for an interesting trope or narrative structure for some kind of gangster film starring a washed up assassin. YOu know how it goes.

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IMG_6937 Fujian hakka meeting

IMG_6937, originally uploaded by monkeyking.

These men are representatives of Hakka families in the HUkeng village area of Yongding county, Fujian province. The government is requisitioning their land and so far, the convention has been to give them money–about 23-26K per mu–but the problem is that this money runs out fast, and when it does, they will have no other source of income. Some people will go into business, and others might find other jobs, but still, the question of what to expect and what to ask for and how to negotiate with the local government has been heatedly debated.

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-02

• when u only eat one meal a dat make it a munchies meal. #
• @catshanghai you mean huaihai lu casbah by ambassy? yeah their pizzas dont make any lists but i like em as far as being cheap and edible. #
• @jconceptz maybe just audacity…in fact thats the only one for windows that i know of #
• @sushipanda i sho love dem crackers. #
• @cmar55 too bad you can’t tweet that pig-squealing-before-its-slaughter sound that i made to illustrate my point and summarize your life. #
• @catshanghai casbah is all right…pizzas are good. no wifi though. i guess for the better, the place is too small for sedentary hipsters #
• @ISpyShanghai “nose running like usain bolt”–i have to say that #
• @ISpyShanghai “nose running like usain bolt”–i have to say that’s an original and highly disturbing simile #
• the centrality of conversation for integral hermeneutics…or a cheeseburger and a visit to the rents in hangzhou. choices choices #
• you can freelance for china daily in the US or canada http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1031206 #
• @doubleaf 爭鳴文章原文在哪里呢 #
• @doubleaf 你不是說那個被刪改了嗎 #
• couldnt hold out longr. had another meal. feels good to scarf. #
• 剛下了depeche mode的新專輯。有點小小的期待。。。。 #
• @jconceptz haikou post? what is that? i wrote it on shanghaiist? #
• RT @chineinfo: Guide Chine Relations entre la Chine et les Etats-Unis de 1971 à 2008 http://tinyurl.com/df3ykd #
• the only elliott smith songs on the google china music thing are from the album XO #
• ok fuck google china music, the only Bell Biv Devoe songs they have are “poison” and “do me.” i want the obscure stuff. the b-sides, demos. #
• ever wondered what led zeppelin is in chinese? 齐柏林飞船(Led Zeppelin)　 #
• @zuola　哈哈性取向有那么重要嗎 #
• dudes and dudettes, the google china music thing is FAST….clocking 90 and sometimes 200k a second. #
• RT @RSS_Liberation: La France et la Chine se reconcilient sur le dos du Tibet http://bit.ly/OTwO #
• @goldkorn think its kinda subjective. function wise no clear winner. i dont think zuosa has a search bar which is a big minus. #
• @galexkeene what appstore? isnt that hosted in the US? im talking about google music china which might be hosted in china. so itd be quicker #
• @cmar55 dont let the chumps get u down #
• 21 yrs old when i wrote this song, 31 now but i won’t be for long. time hurries on and the leaves that are green turn to brown. 1967 liv … #
• major surprise bday party at exit…makes me wonder why my friends never do that shit for me. well not since i turned 17 #
• trying to listen to depeche mode album but loud music and hot women at exit are making this more difficult than expected #
• FB RT: Mickey Napalm 我要星期五。 我要很啤酒。looks the napalm’s been high and dry for too long #
• @aprilfong you go grl #
• @galexkeene GFW guy prolly got drunk and started dicking around with the controls at apptd times so his friends could download porno #
• time to cut ties with all the lies u been living in #
• Im in it to win it. the game of life that is. what a classic board game. #
• time to cut ties with all the lies u been living in #
• whats with me and this particular bobby brown song #
• without french subtitles cant understand frogs at munchies. wait y am i here again? #

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Twitter Updates for 2009-04-01

• @galexkeene thanks,. unfortunately wont get to work more on them until the macbook comes back from the shop #
• my cats chen mimi and chen xiaohu turn 4 and 2 today. oh how it all goes by. #
• @sioksiok a cab driver in xiamen who was from henan told me that if he had a stable job he could get a hukou in less than 3 years. #
• @Dane_Disimino i did indeed see that movie. though i sometimes regret that fact, hehe. #
• sometimes i am tempted to read stuff like “unhappy china” b/c if i could translate it i might get some attention in the blogosphere #
• on the other hand, i think nationalism fuckin sucks. i’d ditch my US passport for an EU one so i could work there and smoke more weed. #
• chinese nationalism: well i’m not “afraid” of it way whiteboyz in US gov are. just think its a terrible orientation towards too short life. #
• @sioksiok shanghai one already has some changes pending, there was media coverage recently. #
• @cmar55 what makes you think they are bad. tea+coffee=energy+antioxidants. what more could you want from a liquid. #
• i find it bizarre that wordpress.com is no longer blocked in china #gfw #
• @galexkeene fat catz jumping on macbook=space b/w LCD and casing=dust and shit inside. that’s my theory at least. covered by applecare. #
• @Dane_Disimino wait what? there was a part two? did you not see it? #
• @cmar55 sure we all die, but i’m gonna die like a stud and not like a douchebag. that’s the nature of human freedom. sartre said so. #
• @galexkeene yeah that would blow. i think it depends on availability of parts. new screens cost 1500rmb, so i have no choice #
• don’t hurt tony Almeida #
• man jack bauer you oughta bang agent renee walker during your last hour on earth. #
• @Chinkerfly just b/w you and me and everyone following us on twitter, you look pretty hot in that picture #
• it seems that today is also milan kundera’s 80 bday? #
• @alexcg im using spicebird right now,,,seems all right. very linuxey #
• RT @zuola: 成都环保工作者、作家、原《文化人》主编 谭作人， 因”涉嫌颠覆国家政权”被拘留http://tinyurl.com/c8qzna #
• this was sent using the gmail chat function in spicebird…to twitter! #

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Twitter Updates for 2009-03-31

• torrents for iphone apps http://www.mininova.org/tor/2034512 #
• @ednaczhou facebook was like friendster and that ilk, twitter grew more from BBS’s and blogs, so different patrimony. #
• @ednaczhou certainly there is confluence now, esp w./ new fb design. but i have to say most FB peeps i know are not about tech. twits are. #
• Reading: “大四情侣留下遗书后坠楼双双身亡(图)_网易新闻中心” ( http://tinyurl.com/cotvl9 ) #
• Reading: “中国私人财富报告公布” 300k ppl in china worth at least 8-10 million RMB and 10k have over 100 million rmb ( http://tinyurl.com/ca6dnu ) #
• someone should hire me to do media monitoring. i just realized how much money PR firms charge for that. its ridiculous. #
• lazy tuesday afternoon coffee at cantinaa agave #
• @lisamovius hehe i did some PR work for them #
• tv news says that careerbuilder has or will have a a chinese site soon. i care only because i need more ways to find a job #china #
• the chinese Esquire magazine has Sean Penn on the cover and subhed: 同志们，你们辛苦了–using common slang for gays, referring to his role in MILK #
• more 陆元敏 black and white pictures in shanghai http://tinyurl.com/d7z4os #
• @AlexBowman wonder if this isa good time to go vacation in iceland #
• i have the sudden and vehement urge to drink #
• didnt think i would find the work of emmanuel mounier on the torrent search engines but i had to give a try. god i wish i could get books! #
• Reading: “3G时代谁能称霸 顶级3G手机全面PK-手机数码-淘宝 资讯” a good run down of the 3G situation in china ( http://tinyurl.com/c9e66f ) #
• @aguett nope but i just learned about it, that’s why i was scouring the web for information about it. downloads really slow unfortunately #
• RT @news_journalism: ‘Twitchhiking’ freelancer Paul Smith completes journey http://tinyurl.com/ctcskp #

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IMG_7098, originally uploaded by monkeyking.

this old guy was just sitting there, immobile. it was raining and no one had anything better to do. but he didn’t pretend like he did, which the ret of us were doing.

Twitter Updates for 2009-03-30

• sponge is a nice program for mac: you can delete apps find out size of files weed out duplicates. #
• @herralzen i know QIM has traditional chinese, but i think its greyed out for me since i didnt register or pay for it #
• @herralzen go to the macx.cn software page #
• @jennwong did you mean the xietu lu and luban lu market or some other one #
• @lisamovius where was this despised article? #
• @alexcg my friends all complained as well, so now i just delinked it. the FB people that complained tend to be in the ’suck at tech’ group. #
• does anyone in shanghai have a copy or ever heard of the BBC’s “human all too human”? #
• @alexcg FB is just secondary email system+local events+gawking at pictures of your friends’ single friends. #
• parents are supposed to arrive today or tomorrow. have to figure out what drinking nights i should sacrifice. but thks 4 bringin ipod ma! #
• anyone used that facebook integrated version of tweetdeck? the one released bout 2 weeks ago? #
• quicksilver is very good at cataloging safari browsing history, ala spotlight, but sucks at cataloging anything from firefox? why #
• my alma mater has a n teresting program in the psych dept on chinese culture and behaviors http://culcog.berkeley.edu/berkeleyprog.html #
• @msittig a question for you: is there gifted (ziyou) education on the mainland, ala the bronx school for science and math #
• @jennwong yeah i go there a lot too….always interested in seeing older film cameras and hoping to find a bargain on a neglected gem #
• why didnt anyone tell me there was foxmarks for safari #
• i thought wordpress.com was supposed to be blocked in china? #
• @julieliu huh? wrong person i think? #
• Reading: “La Chine et ses migrants – nong mingong – face à la crise” ( http://tinyurl.com/cdztpt ) #
• @philososaurus lucky is the feline that gets elevated to the level of dasein #philosophy #
• @aguett what documentary was this ? the bbc;s “human all too human”? #
• they confirmed taht the guy who killed the PLA soldier was a tibetan #
• @sagebrennan since when are numbers in china un-impressive. well, ok i can think of some, eg # of ppl that dont get up while plane taxis. #
• # of girls that would want to marry me given that i have no prospects no job and am perpetually covered in cat hairz, etc. no stats needed. #
• @jconceptz hehe totally. but its growing out finally. thank god i have so many hoodies in my closet, men in black or peewee herman style #
• http://tinyurl.com/cr3nys #
• @lisamovius ouch #
• RT @technaute: La Chine rejette les accusations de cyberespionnage http://tinyurl.com/ch5gtf #
• RT @chineinfo: Actualité Chine – Déplacement de 4 millions de Chinois le week-end dernier à l’approche de la .. http://tinyurl.com/djlppn #
• i think i have to do qingming jie with my parents as well. pay respects to tha ancestors n all #
• RT @susansontag: Camus: It is not necessary to deliver oneself to others, but only to those whom one loves. #
• i keep tweetdeck searching for tweets about heidegger. its interesting what it comes up with. lots of frustrated phil and politics students #
• reminds me of all those political theory classes i took at berkeley. ersatz intellectuals. lefties with low IQs. middle aged eco-dads. #
• RT @joshmull: Got sent a clip of FOX attacking “liberal propaganda” in text books. Hilarious. Ahh, Public School, that sure was a Liberal… #
• egads just saw something where a PR company X partner would charge over 3000rmb/hr in emergency cases. fuck, cant even make that in a month. #

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Twitter Updates for 2009-03-29

• loads of people stopped following me after i said there was something redeeming about the movie “knowing”. i didnt say it was good! #
• be back in SHANGHERS tonight. reunited with the cats that always beat yours in the shanghai cat beauty contest. #
• gulangyu is really nice. no cars, just annoying tourists on foot. wish i could buy and refurb a nice colonial home, then write a novel. #
• comparative physiology suggests that sleep began 180 million years ago and dreaming some 50 milloin years later. #
• i was hoping that xiamen airport restaurant would be less of a ripoff than most airports but guess not…at least there is wifi #
• http://news.163.com/special/000139CM/TibetJinian.html tibet to become a xiaokang society by 2020. all those critics of chinese developme … #
• we can see khmer rouge leaders on trial, but you’ll never see bush or cheney on trial. though they should be. #
• @goldkorn agreed. if it there was earth hour everyday for the next twenty years, though, the savings might be worth something #
• instead of offering me 52rmb in change, airport restaurant offered 50rmb+wrigleys gum worth 2. i took the 2rmb instead. WTF #
• http://twitpic.com/2kjsg Netease news feature title bar: liberation day for a million serfs–chinese commie speak for the liberation of … #
• it’s great PR, if you buy it: China has, in the last fifty years, liberated a million tibetan serfs and are 10yrs from xiaokang society #
• therefore china has done more for human rights than most other countries, including that hypocritical hegemon, the USA #
• my prediction is that there is a few starbucks in lhasa before the next decade is over #
• Reading: “西藏民主改革展览承办方要法新社更正错误” they want AFP to apologize, for saying that the weapons in the exhibit were the weapons used to invade ti … #
• Reading: “外媒：不是中国不高兴，是作者不高兴” –netease run down of western media take on “unhappy china” ( http://tinyurl.com/c7xm9s ) #
• “说实话，选取标题“中国不高兴”只是为了书好卖。这不是我们取的。”王说，如果要作者自己选，他们会选择《中国今后３０年的目标》或类似的标题。但谁愿意读那种东西呢 #
• @jennwong what were you doing at the camera market #
• letter from the fake panchen lama to the people: china is glorious, thank god for china. http://zuosa.net/zhpr.u #
• fuck humanity i should have stuck with mathematics and taught at a community college. minimizing all contact w/ animals that dont have p … #
• would it be cheaper to get a Thai SIM card and roam around SE asia or just get global roaming with china mobile? #
• love those american commenters that say “what did you expect when terrorist Hamas attacks a stronger neighbor.” why i dont want to go back #
• go back to the US, that is. its fucking corrupt. what does it mean to be the land of the free when half the people are fucking morons #
• so it seems that sun has a chinese IME for mac os x leopard, and here is the link http://soft.macx.cn/soft3448.htm i am dling now havent … #
• preliminary trial of sun IME makes it seem ok…but like QIM no traditional chinese, only FIT has that #

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Twitter Updates for 2009-03-28

• there is at least one redeeming thing about nicholas cage movie KNOWING #

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