not that there’s anything wrong with that
i go to a gym in shanghai. it’s a nice gym: big and clean and very modern. it’s got three levels — all connected by escalators — with walls of mirrors and lines of neon lights and tall windows that look down upon huai hai zhong lu. it’s got tv sets and techno music and more exercise equipment than i’ve seen in one place … anywhere. hell, it’s even got spinning classes. what i’m trying to say is that my gym in china — a country still relatively new to the whole gym thing — is amazingly … um … normal.
01.30.2004, 9:21 PM · Observations · Comments (7)
america in decline: first the war, now the mullet?
if jimmy fallon’s hair is a barometer for america’s screw-everybody-else attitude — and i think we all know that it is — then we’re in a heap of trouble. because fallon, for some ungodly reason, has chosen to sport … gasp … a mullet.
01.27.2004, 10:05 PM · Television · Comments (3)
the top 20 albums of 2003
apropos of nothing, i am posting my top 20 albums of 2003 … and i am doing it in late january 2004. you may ask: why? a valid question, indeed. but if i can stop one chinese kid from listening to linkin park, then this list was worth the trouble.
20. quasi :: hot shit
19. the decemberists :: her majesty …
18. outkast :: speakerboxx/the love below
17. the strokes :: room on fire
16. califone :: quicksand: cradlesnakes
15. broken social scene :: you forgot it in people
14. manitoba :: up in flames
13. radiohead :: hail to the thief
12. jay-z :: the black album
11. death cab for cutie :: transatlanticism
10. the unicorns :: who will cut our hair when we’re gone?
09. my morning jacket :: it still moves
08. clearlake :: cedars
07. the wrens :: the meadowlands
06. the constantines :: shine a light
05. grandaddy :: sumday
04. the postal service :: give up
03. the new pornographers :: electric version
02. cat power :: you are free
01. the shins :: chutes too narrow
a second opinion (from richmond eustis) …
10. eels :: shootenanny!
09. bobby bare jr. :: young criminals starvation league
08. quasi :: hot shit
07. the decemberists :: her majesty …
06. bonnie prince billy :: master and everyone
05. the new pornographers :: electric version
04. ted leo & the pharmacists :: hearts of oak
03. dean wareham & britta phillips :: l’avventura
02. calexico :: feast of wire
01. cat power :: you are free
please feel free to post your list below.
01.27.2004, 4:21 PM · Music · Comments (5)
new photos: flying and fireworks
and happy new year.
i owe you two of those, i believe. one for parts west. one for parts east. i’ve been incommunicado since way back in 2003 — no matter what calendar you go by. i am such a bad blogger.
but at least i carry a camera. and that’s what i’m here to tell you about today.
01.26.2004, 3:25 AM · Photos, Site News · Comments (1)