Stop discrimination in job recruitment

BEIJING, Feb. 10 -- If a person were denied a job opportunity because of his or her height, gender or blood type, who would be held responsible?

Two out of three of the 73,176 people questioned in a recently released survey said they had been discriminated against in regards to employment.

The survey was jointly conducted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and a portal called China Human Resources Development last year.

In recruitment advertisements, discriminative prerequisites of age, gender, height, specific location of household registration and even blood type are often listed.

These tight requirements deprive those who may have outshined, in their practical capability, the people who meet the conditions of the opportunity to get a specific job.

In March 2003, university graduate Zhou Yichao took an examination for a civil servant position in Zhejiang Province. He passed the exams, but was turned down because he carried the hepatitis B virus.

The enraged graduate killed an official with the local personnel department and was given the death penalty and later executed.

In Hunan Province last year, a university graduate was refused a civil servant position simply because he was one centimetre shorter than the specified height.

In another case, an applicant was denied an opportunity to work as a salesman just because he had AB blood. He was told that people with AB blood type were not good at socializing with other people and therefore would not make good salespeople.

In an extreme case, 10 women were forced to divorce their husbands because their firms had a stipulation that married women would not have any chance of renewing their labour contracts. As a result, they had to make a choice to keep their husbands or their jobs.

Surplus supply of labour is undoubtedly one of the major reasons why discrimination in recruitment persists.

The vast pool of labour has made it possible for employers to set thresholds of any kind to sift from oversupplied applicants for the exact type of employees they want.

But some requirements they set do not justify their demands.

Unless the job itself demands a person is tall or short, applicants' heights do not have anything to do with their ability to be a good employee.

Whether a female is attractive or not has no bearing on her capability as a secretary or office clerk. But this is often set as a requirement for a job.

In a humanistic perspective, these requirements reflect a discriminating attitude toward certain groups of people and are often insulting.

In a judicial perspective, the criteria run counter to the spirit of the Constitution, which stipulates that all citizens have the right and obligation to work.

The country's Labour Law says that no citizen should be discriminated against in employment based on their gender, ethnicity or religion.

The law concerning the protection of handicapped people says that the State protects the right of the disabled people to work.

It is apparent that the specific requirements previously mentioned go against the fundamental principle of these judicial stipulations.

We have a goal to build a harmonious society, which must be a civilized one. These discriminations do not belong to a civilized society, in which everyone is supposed to be equally offered opportunity and benefits.

Some suggest that we need a law to specify legal codes against such specific discriminations.

We do need such a law, which could provide victims of employment discrimination a legal weapon to protect their rights and interests.

Chinese man 'jailed due to Yahoo'

The internet giant Yahoo has been accused of providing China with information that led to the jailing of a second internet writer.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders claims that Yahoo released data which led to the arrest of Li Zhi.

The online writer was jailed for eight years in 2003, after posting comments that criticised official corruption.

Last year Yahoo was accused of giving information to Beijing which led to the imprisonment of reporter Shi Tao.

Reporters Without Borders called on Yahoo to release the names of all internet writers whose identities it has revealed to the Chinese authorities.

'Rigorous procedures'

Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako insisted that in its dealings with China, the company "only responded with what we were legally compelled to provide, and nothing more".

"We were rigorous in our procedures and made sure that only the required material was provided," she told the AFP news agency.

But she added that: "The government of China is not required to inform service providers why they are seeking certain information, and typically does not do so."

Reporters Without Borders said it was not acceptable for the firm to say it simply responded to requests from the authorities without knowing what the data would be used for.

"This argument no long holds water," the group said in a statement. "Yahoo certainly knew it was helping to arrest political dissidents and journalists, not just ordinary criminals."

Strict control

The Chinese government enforces strict laws on internet use, blocking content it considers a threat, including references to the Tiananmen Square massacre and notable dissidents.

But major international firms wanting to do business in China, the world's number two internet market, are coming under increasing pressure from rights groups not to conform to Beijing's conditions.

Four major US-based companies - Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Cisco - have been accused of collaborating with China to censor the internet.

In September, Yahoo was accused of helping the Chinese authorities identify Shi Tao, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in April 2005.

Google came under fire last month after it announced it would block politically sensitive terms on its new China site, in agreement with conditions set by Beijing.

US lawmakers are due to meet later this month to discuss the ethical responsibilities of US-based internet companies doing business in China.

disclaimer: the above cartoon is in no way affiliated with Matt Groening or Oprah Winfrey, and should be enjoyed at your own peril.

Pumpkins reunited?

News has it that Billy Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins/Zwan drummer Jimmy Chamberlin are, in the tradition of Jake & Elwood Blues, "getting the band back together". What the band consists of is anyone's guess. I would have thought at least James Iha would have signed up, but no-one close to the band seems to be giving out any info. As Billy put it in a recent Myspace post, "The surprise I have in store for you all will be announced soon enough....hold on to your horses. After all, good things surely comes (sic) to those who wait....Don't you just love the suspense?" Cryptic enough?

James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, D'arcy Wretzky,
and Billy Corgan - somewhere, sometime last decade.

"My services are there for Billy whenever he needs them," said Melissa Auf der Maur, former bassist for Hole and honorary Pumpkin after original bassist D'arcy Wretzky left in 2000. She recently told MTV, "I love the Pumpkins, and to play those songs again would be nothing but fun for me. It was a big part of my life. The coolest thing would be if D'Arcy was around, but I don't know where she's at and I don't think they do either. But I feel very comfortable being second best."

Melissa Auf der Maur, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, and Billy Corgan
sign CDs at Tower Records in Chicago, early 2000

A spokesperson for Azoff Management confirmed Thursday (February 2) that Corgan and Chamberlin have signed on with the firm as Smashing Pumpkins, and that the two are writing new music. Corgan and Chamberlin are said to be recording(!) a new Pumpkins album, and planning a tour later this year. For those of you who can't wait, here's a live archive from 1988-2000.

Now we just need Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr to get back together as "The Beatles".

====
For the record, Melissa met the Great Pumpkin back in the early 1990s when he was playing a gig in her native Montreal. A friend of hers threw a bottle at the stage and it hit Billy, so she went backstage to apologize, and he wound up introducing her to Courtney Love.

In my humble opinion, and I am going to get in big trouble for saying this, not only is Melissa hotter than D'arcy, she is also a better musician and added more to the Pumpkins than her predecessor. So I hope the new line-up includes the lovely Melissa, and D'arcy can stay on her horse farm in Michigan.

Oh, as a totally shameless plug here, check out Melissa's STORE and BLOG!

Tribune's pot sticker posse stalks best in town

Jade East's pot stickers won praise for their fillings.

(Tribune photo by Michael Tercha)

By Phil Vettel
Tribune restaurant critic
Published January 26, 2006

Finding an acceptable pot sticker in this town is easy. Finding a great one takes a little roadwork.

That's the principal lesson of At Play's most recent food odyssey, in which I and three other Chicago Tribune staffers--a Pot Sticker Posse, if you will--spent two days driving around Chicago looking for fried-dumpling excellence.

Why pot stickers? We like them, for one thing. You can get them just about anywhere. And for a humble nibble, a good pot sticker has a lot going for it--a blend of pork and cabbage with aromatic spices, sealed in a half-moon of soft, steamed dough and pan-fried just long enough to crisp up the bottom. Plus, the Lunar New Year kicks off this weekend (for events, see Planner on page 3).

The posse consisted of Tribune food and wine reporter Bill Daley (if you missed his Good Eating story on Chinese dumplings--and shame on you--you can read it at chicagotribune.com/ food); reporter and ethnic adventurer Monica Eng, who will eat absolutely anything; and reporter and Hong Kong native Kevin Pang, whose father is in the restaurant-supply business.

And me. I own a mini-van.

Armed with a list of nominees, we set out for two afternoons of dumpling diving. We did all our eating in the post-lunch-rush afternoon, to keep the playing field as even as possible. We kept track of the prices (there are some good bargains out there) and even measured each dumpling to see if there were significant size differences (there weren't).

Our modus operandi was consistent. We would call in an order and time our arrival so that we were ready when the pot stickers were. We would eat in the car, argue the various merits and demerits, then call the next restaurant on the list.

We evaluated taste, texture and seasonings and combined them all into a single dumpling score ranging from 1 to 4, 1 meaning "Why Bother?" and 4 indicating "Don't Miss It!"

We traveled north and south, and not terribly far west. And here's what we found:

WON KOW
2237 S. Wentworth Ave., 312-842-7500.
Boy, did we love the pot stickers at this Chinatown veteran. The plump dumplings (6 for $3.95, a real bargain) had that classic crescent shape, good flavor and "an al dente elasticity to its bite," according to Pang. The wrapper was dense but, to me, "not overchewy." "Plenty of green onion in the filling," praised Eng. This was the posse's unanimous choice for the best pot sticker in our survey.
Rating: 4

Dee's
1114 W. Armitage Ave., 773-477-1500
The most balanced dumplings, flavor-wise, were at this Lincoln Park spot. The pot stickers (6 for $5.75) were "ripe with sweet porky goodness," in Daley's estimation, while Pang praised the "nice peppery taste" but griped that "the wrapper wasn't crisp enough." I liked the water chestnuts in the filling.
Rating: 3.5

Jade East
2511 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-883-9797
Jade East offers pork or chicken pot stickers (6 for $4.50). Daley called the pork version "gutsier and tastier," but Eng countered "I like the chicken ones a lot." The dough was thickish ("too thick for my tastes," offered Pang), but pleasing to the teeth. "Not a lot of greens in the filling," said Eng, "but it's a good, coarse meat filling." The golden-brown color was accompanied by minimal crispiness. Why our order came with one single complimentary crab Rangoon is anybody's guess, but a bonus is a bonus.
Rating: 3

Phoenix Restaurant
2131 S. Archer Ave., 312-328-0848
Thin, near-translucent wrappers on these pot stickers (a pricey 3 for $3.25) reminded us of Japanese gyozas--which made the delicate crunch of the fried parts (browned on two sides) much more dramatic in contrast. Inside, the mix of pork, shrimp and vegetables was chunky and coarsely textured, "and the sweetness of the shrimp and cabbage really comes through," added Pang. We liked the paper doilies on the bottom of the polystyrene container; they added a bit of refinement and soaked up some of excess oil that marred these dumplings somewhat.
Rating: 3

Mei Shung
5511 N. Broadway, 773-728-5778
"Nice pleats," said Daley of Mei Shung's plump dumplings (6 for $3.25), classic crescents stuffed with a compact hunk of pork that had some seasoning (hints of ginger, scallion) but could have used a smidge more. The thick dough was a bit chewy but the dumplings were still semi-crisp despite confinement in an unvented polystyrene container. "They looked expertly fried," said Pang. Add a bit more seasoning and crispness and you might have a winner.
Rating: 3

Furama
4936 N. Broadway, 773-271-1161
The pork in these dumplings (4 for $2.85) had a pleasant creamy texture, attributable to a greater-than-average amount of fat. The dumplings were very brown, almost scorched; there was almost no crispness, suggesting they had been held in a moist environment after frying, or possibly reheated. Our double order had been crammed into a single take-out container, not a pleasant sight.
Rating: 2.5

Mars Restaurant
3124 N. Broadway, 773-404-1600
On texture alone, these pot stickers (6 for $4.50) would be a hit, but the posse found the filling "distractingly salty" (Daley's words) and a "pepper taste that was a bit annoying" (Pang's), though Eng found the flavor "robust." But we all liked the crunchy, crisped edges. "I would have liked a bit more pork flavor," griped Pang, who also burned his tongue on the piping-hot dumplings.
Rating: 2

China Doll
1246 N. Wells St., 312-943-9300
The posse didn't have much good to say about these pot stickers (7 for $4.45). The texture was deemed "just OK" by Daley and "flavorless" by me and others--though Eng opined that a "vinegary dipping sauce" would perk them up. And if China Doll's pot stickers ever come in contact with a fry pan and oil, you couldn't prove it by our colorless samples--"a lame attempt," said Eng. Pang delivered the coup de grace: "Bland, soul-less dumplings that look like they came straight from the freezer."
Rating: 1.5

Ed's Pot Sticker House
3139 S. Halsted St., 312-326-6898
The posse wasn't quite sure what to make of the house special pot stickers (6 for $5.95), odd and extruded shapes that looked more like meat-filled breadsticks than pot stickers. (I dubbed them "pot fingers" for their finger-food friendliness.) Shape, schmape; what bothered us was the filling, which was bland and had a dense, processed texture. "For a place whose namesake is `pot sticker,' I'm not knocked out," complained Eng. "Nice crisp tubes," allowed Pang, "and sizzling hot when we got them." "The funky shape is no excuse for filling that needs seasoning badly," summed up Daley.
Rating: 1

- - -

Pot sticker packaging gets us all steamed up

One of the interesting dilemmas of carryout pot sticker orders is: How do you best package them?

Most of the restaurants we visited packed the pot stickers into hinged polystyrene containers--the default doggie-bag setting. Pot stickers did all right in these boxes, but hot dumplings plus insulated container equals condensation, which can quickly turn the crispiest pot sticker into a soggy disappointment. We countered that effect by trying to arrive at each restaurant a minute or two before our order was ready, but found condensation even so.

Ed's Pot Sticker house, which packaged its unusual, breadstick-shaped pot stickers into a container designed for hot dogs, was the only restaurant clever enough to poke a couple of holes into the container lid, allowing steam to escape.

And what of the traditional, multifold, Chinese take-out containers? They're great for preventing leaks and locking in heat, but that's bad for pot stickers. Won Kow uses these containers, but, perhaps because of the dumplings' thick dough--and because we ate them within a minute of paying for them--the pot stickers didn't suffer unduly. The dumplings at Furama fared worse, particularly because two orders of pot stickers had been crammed into a single container. The ones on the bottom weren't just soggy; they were also smushed.

So which is the best way to package pot stickers to go? Those ugly polystyrene boxes are best, especially with a few hole punches to allow steam to escape. Of course, that allows heat to escape as well, so hurry home.

pvettel@tribune.com

----------

Tell us where to find your favorite pot sticker. And what makes a perfect one? E-mail it to atplay@tribune.com and put "Pot Sticker" in the subject field or send to Chicago Tribune, At Play, Pot Stickers, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60611.

Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune

No booze or jokes for Googlers in China

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Chicago's smoking ban

Sad news

Chris Penn, R.I.P.

Sean Penn’s publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said the Penn family “would appreciate the media’s respect of their privacy during this difficult time”...... uh, we all know how well Sean and photographers get along, right?

Remember when Sean Penn pounded on Steve Dallas (in the 1980s comic strip "Bloom County") with his forehead? Penn beat the crap out of Steve Dallas for photographing him vomiting in an alley. After he recovered from back surgery, Dallas ran down the options of whom to sue:

• Penn was out, because juries love celebrities, plus he may go nuts and beat him up again…
• Opus was out, because even though he got Dallas into the mess, you never, ever sue poor people.
• He also debated suing Madonna but thought the better of it because, “she too may return to beat up the plaintiff.”
• In the end, he decided on the Nikolta Camera Company, which was “swimming in dough.”

http://www.berkeleybreathed.com/pages/index.asp

New CDs up in the webstore

For all you who've been wondering what's up with the record label I run, Aaugh! Records, we have some new releases in stock:

"Mindless" by Arsov

Alex Arsov is a songwriter and musician from Slovenia, and this is his debut on Aaugh! For this project he teamed up with vocalists Sara J. and Boris Benko, everything else on this disc was played by Arsov (except for a couple of saxophone or viola parts on one or two songs). A few of the songs sounded like Depeche Mode to a co-worker of mine.

"Island Habitz" by Split Attitude

Split Attitude is a rock'n'reggae band fro the island of Saipan in the Pacific Ocean (Saipan's a US territory located close to Guam and the Philippines). The guys play once a week in a bar in the tourist district of Garapan, mostly covers of AC/DC, U2, Bob Marley, and some harder alternative rock bands I can't remember the name of right now. They jammed out some really good originals on this disc, mostly in English with some of the lyrics in Chamorro (including the local favorite "Pak Pak Paki" about WW2). Includes a live version of "Mr. Police Mon".

COMING SOON

Artist: Neurobic
Title: Exercises
Release: February 2006
A dance-based collaboration between Arsov, Sara J., Housemouse, Goldlust and SHIZU'.

Artist: SHIZU'
Title: none yet
Release: March 2006
A talented young female vocalist from Japan.

Check out our website (www.aaughrecords.net) for more details, and links to the artists websites.

Endorsements: All our Cds are made by Kunaki, and the T-shirts are printed by Spreadshirt in the US & Europe.

Google censors itself for China

Leading internet search company Google has agreed to censor some of its services in China in order to satisfy Beijing's restrictions
on free speech.

Google hopes the new web address for China will boost its access to one of the world's largest internet markets.

The company says the decision to censor content was hard, but says it has more influence if it is present in China.

Critics warn the censored version could restrict access to thousands of terms and web sites for Chinese users.

Topics which may be blocked include independence for Taiwan and the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

Google's move in China comes less than a week after it resisted efforts by the US Department of Justice to make it disclose data on what people were searching for.

'Inconsistent'

Google has offered a Chinese-language version of its search engine through its US-based system for several years.

However, users in China have often been frustrated as government controls have blocked the service or slowed response times.

Google hopes its new address will make the search engine easier to use.Its e-mail, chat room and blogging services will not be available because of concerns the government could demand users' personal information.

Officials said they planned to notify users when access had been restricted on certain search terms.

The company argues it can play a more useful role in China by participating than by boycotting it, despite the compromises involved.

"While removing search results is inconsistent with Google's mission, providing no information (or a heavily degraded user experience that amounts to no information) is more inconsistent with our mission," a statement said.

Julian Pain, internet spokesman for campaign group Reporters Without Borders, said Google's decision to "collaborate" with the Chinese government was "a real shame".

The number of internet search users in China is predicted to increase from about 100 million currently to 187 million in two years' time.

A survey last August revealed Google was losing market share to Beijing-based rival Baidu.com.

Reconstruction from an old blog from 2001

RED ELVISES
Fitzgerald's, Berwyn, IL April 10th, 2001 By Comrade Rick














L to R, Zhenya(G), Igor(B), Oleg(D); photo by Kenneth Garp

Hello all,

As this is my first RE concert review, I should probably start at the beginning... My first introduction to the guys was a copy of "Bellydance" sitting on someone's desk at work. Needing some tunes during a long evening, I popped in the disc, thinking it wouldn't be any good. Boy was I surprised! The production values and musicianship as well as their sense of humor made me an instant fan.

Fast forward to April 2001; I cross the parking lot at Fitzgerald's and parked in front of the entrance is a huge red van with a Russian guy named Igor rummaging through suits in the back. "We start in a little while", he tells me. "I'm just choosing my clothes for the evening." Inside on the stage two more guys work at setting up a drum kit, microphones, amplifiers and proceed to do a soundcheck. "There is too much feeding back", Oleg tells the sound man from behind the drums. "Something is too high." An audience of maybe 50 or so people cluster around tables with beer and popcorn, waiting expectantly for the show to begin. "How's the popcorn?" asks Zhenya from the stage. "I may get some later."

During the first part of the set, most of the audience stayed seated. Maybe that's because this is a working class suburban Chicago audience and it's the middle of the week. Maybe it's because last time the Reds played this stage they had an opening act, the very good local band Satya Graha. Maybe no-one knew what to make of the new 3-piece lineup. So midway through the set Zhenya Rock (his official name, it's on his license!) told the crowd, "If you like to sit down, that's OK. But for those who like to dance, the dance floor is right up here!". A good number of us proceeded to the front to dance and drink like maniacs (I'm still tired and hungover). At one point, when Igor asked everone to show their beer, one man near the bar yelled "I have tequila!" to which Oleg responded, "Tequila, it does the body good!".

Here's the setlist, which I managed to scribble on a bar napkin during the set.

1) Welcome To The Freak Show
2) San Antone
3) She's Running Away
4) Who's Your Daddy?
5) It's Over Now
6) I'll Be Back
7) Scorchi Chornye
8) Three Alley Cats
9) Telephone Call From Istanbul
10) Rocketman
11) I Wanna See You Bellydance

**INTERMISSION**
During the intermission, Zhenya wandered over to my table with beer and popcorn and was instantly enraptured by a Bulgarian girl sitting at the table who had only been in the US for one week. Oleg and Igor had to send Mr. Fabulous to pry him from their English-Russian-Bulgarian conversation for the second set.

12) Groovin' To The Moscow Beat
13) Gypsy Heart
14) Red Lips, Red Eyes, Red Stockings
15) Kegga Beer And Potato Chips
16) Bedroom Boogie
17) Not That Kind Of Guy
18) Please Don't Tell Me What I Did Last Night
19) Susanna
20) Strip Joint Is Closed
21) Sad Cowboy Song

**ENCORES**
22) Lovepipe
23) Juliet
24) Voodoo Doll (my request, thanks Z!)

Afterwards I had a talk with Igor, Jackdaw (whose custom decaled car the band signed afterwards), my new friend Alma mostly about web pages and bad movies... including "Leningrad Cowboys", the band's real story according to Igor; "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", which he still hasn't seen but I'm sending him a copy of; "Blues Brothers", which Igor learned his English from!

Driving me to the train later, Alma pulled into Wendy's drive through and the Redmobile was right in front of us! She yelled into the intercom, "TELL THOSE GUYS IN THE VAN THEY ROCK!!!" (which the drive-thru girl did, by the way).

Igor signing Jackdaw's car outside of Fitzgerald's. That's Alma holding the flashlight. I'm just out of the frame! photo by Jackdaw


The Elbo Room, Chicago, IL April 11th, 2001
I tried to call in sick today to catch tonight's gig, but my boss would't hear of it...

I got off work at 11:00 p.m. and rushed straight up to the Elbo Room- just in time for the intermission! A lot of folks from the night before were there, as was Megan, whose bellydancing routine earlier in the set I had missed. Last year when I met her she was wearing these cool red leather pants. This year she had a blue pair on.

The band started their second set and played some tunes they hadn't the previous night, like "Girl From Malibu", "Boogie On The Beach" and some others (I guess I was having too much fun to remember what they were).

After the show someone decided it would be a great idea if we all went to the Green Mill (Al Capone's old hangout as well as John Cusack's in "High Fidelity"). No one in the band was too sure what that was until someone else mentioned that it was Tom Waits' kind of bar and that settled it. I didn't have a ride so Oleg told me to get in the "captain's seat" (i.e. I rode "shotgun"). I could tell the guys were tired and hungry and probably wanted to just eat something and collapse so I suggested the possibility of Chinatown. Oleg kept saying, "Yeah, let's just ditch everyone and go to Chinatown!" (about 5 or 6 different times, while playing with a bass fish pillow and jamming out to Midnight Oil on the radio). Crossing the street outside the bar, someone pulled up to the intersection blasting hip-hop and I heard Igor say, "Awww, yeeeaaahh".. Kind of made me wonder if their next album's gonna be Russian gangsta rap.

Chicago bouncers are a mean lot and the Green Mill's doorman turned away a few in our group for being either underage or not having ID's (including the girl hanging out with Zhenya). So we all stumbled back onto the sidewalk. Oleg, not to be deterred from having a good time grabbed Igor's shoulder and pointed at a sign in the near distance. "Look!" he said, loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear, "It's the Thailand Food Corporation!" Meanwhile Zhenya set up a camera on a street lamp and proceeded to try to take a group photo.

Green Mill and Thailand Food Corporation, January 2006 (photos by Rick)

Last I saw of the Red Elvises, Igor was saying something about stopping at a gas station to buy some food (probably potato chips)...

---
JACKDAW'S ELBO ROOM NOTES:
Wednesday, April 11, 2001. Parking on a Chicago side street at 3 AM is nearly impossible; Ron had to wake up before 8:00 to move the car, which he'd parked in front of a school. Some more sleep, then breakfast at a Greek diner, a look at the local Salvation Army store (I bought a red skirt, and a pair of leopard-print high-heeled mules to go on the Nice Shoes shelf), and some reconnaisance around Chicago, to find Willie's place (he'd invited us to dinner) and The Elbow Room, which wasn't open yet, so we couldn't hang the banner up ahead of time. 75 degrees, hot and muggy. Ron discovered that the film he'd had in his "good" camera the night before was Kodachrome slide film, so no one-hour photos for us.

Turkey dinner with all the trimmings at Willie's, somewhat delayed by Ron having to go back to Rikki's (our neice) to pick her up and bring her along so Willie could drive her to the show (the Redmobile is a 2-seater, a logistical difficulty I had overlooked.) Rikki is an art student, and Willie's significant other is an artist, gallery owner, and thoroughly charming woman; she charged us all with the task of trying to get Zhenya to do a show of his paintings at her gallery.

On to the Elbow Room: pouring rain and no place to park, then a mad dash to the club. Waiting in the street-level bar until the doors for the downstairs dance room opened at 9:15. RE not there yet; warm-up band the Stray Toasters, who'd come to Fitzgerald's the night before to see RE (this was the only night they had an opening band.) RE arrived, and Willie and Ron helped them carry equipment in and downstairs (no ramps or elevator.) I played Pencil Fairy, and we hung up the banner, but we were off to the side in a sort of low cave area, so I doubt if anyone saw it. Rick, whom we'd met at Fitzgerald's the night before, spotted us and came over. Ron and I dressed as red-dashiki-clad Twinkies; by this time, we had decided to save our RE shirts for daytime promotional wear.

Better rested, and after seeing Rick writing down a set list at Fitzgerald's, I managed to get a pretty good account of who was doing what, and when, except for singing. The initials are names first, instruments second.

ZG, IB, OD: Running Away; San Antone; Space Cowboy; Red Lips Red Eyes Red Stockings; 200 Flying Girls; Who's Your Daddy?

ZG, OB, ID: Scorchie Chornie; 3 Alley Cats (Z put on Phelan's stocking cap and rapped part of song); Boogie on the Beach; Love Pipe

ZG, IB, OD: Rocketman (Z grabbed crutch that a girl had leaned against stage, and used it as a 'bow' on guitar strings); I Wanna See You Bellydance

BREAK, then ZG, IB, OD: Move to the Beat (new song? not on albums; title unsure); Harriet (with Oleg playing bass and drums, Igor singing); Juliet (new song, maybe Romeo & Juliet, great!); I Will Come Back; Flaming Cheese

IG, OB, ZD: I'm Not That Kinda Guy (Z removes shirt...slight farmer tan!); Please Don't Tell Me What I Did Last Night; Susanna; (somewhere in here I lost track of who played what) Strip Joint is Closed (audience member picked up tambourine, did a good job); Sad Cowboy Song (triple drum 'solo', all of 'em banging away at once); Girl From Malibu

ONE MORE: Closet Disco Dancer

Rikki had been dancing down in front for most of the night, joined by Marty, who showed up during the break, I think. Zhenya must have liked how Rikki danced, because he autographed a guitar pick for her, even though she'd been too shy to get up on stage during "Bellydance." Mr. Phabulous and his table of goodies had remained upstairs; this was probably a good thing, because, by the end of the night, the downstairs floor was wet and the very walls were sweating from condensed exhaled breath. Willie had to go home, but, after teardown, the rest of us tried to go to an after-hours club to unwind with a nightcap.

Unfortunately, after Rick rode with the band to show them the way, and Rikki rode with Marty to direct her, and we followed as best we might, the club refused entry to anyone without an ID. Mr. Z and his lady friend didn't have theirs (neither did Ron, but we didn't get that far) and the commissar at the door got snippy when Z asked if they couldn't just mark them as 'not drinking'. "What, am I talking Japanese here? no one comes in without an ID!" Jeeze. That pretty much broke up the party; the guys went off to their hotel, and Marty and Rick came back with us to Rikki's to chat for awhile. Ron had to park in front of the school, again. (It was hilarious when the doorman at the Green Mill told Zhenya, "What, am I talking Japanese here? no one comes in without an ID!" because Oleg immediately told the doorman, "It's OK, he dosen't know Japanese anyways!" -Rick)

Jackdaw & Ron groovin' to the Moscow beat!
photo: Kenneth Garp

Just when you thought it was safe to go online shopping....

From eBay's "Weird Stuff" category, comes the "Coughing and Screaming Ashtray"!

oleai's tacos

oleai's tacos
Originally uploaded by kevinv033™.

Pictures like this are gonna make me homesick for Saipan.

Photo-0013.jpg

Photo-0013.jpg
Originally uploaded by rixmail99.

Photo-0007.jpg

Photo-0007.jpg
Originally uploaded by rixmail99.

Name change should stop the snickers

Fuk King Kwok was waiting for his driver's license to be printed when his name was called and a chuckling Illinois secretary of state employee offered some advice.

"She [said] this is a dangerous name," the Chinese immigrant recalled. "She [said] the name translated is not so good, maybe I should change [it]. The word I hear is not so good."

Not so good, indeed.

That clerk, like so many other Americans who have said his name since he came to Chicago in 1999, didn't pronounce his first name the proper way -- "fook."

Instead, she and the others would pronounce his name with an "uh" sound instead of the "oo" -- in other words, like the granddaddy of all swear words.

"And my middle name is terrible, too," he admitted. "That combination becomes very terrible."

Last month in Cook County Circuit Court -- three years after that clerk offered the advice -- Fuk King Kwok changed his name.

He's now Andy Kwok.

"Before I came to United States, no problems," he said, before nervously laughing. "But in translation to English, it sounds like . . . the word . . . you know ... sometimes language is not so convenient and sometimes I'm embarrassed, you know?"

Best part about U.S.? Privacy

The process of legally changing your name is simple enough. Kwok paid the $328 and filled out the one-page form himself.

A judge's signature made it official and ensured the only time Kwok will hear that word is if he's near someone foul-mouthed.

DePaul University language professor Yingcai Xu said problems like Kwok's aren't common -- and even he gave a slight laugh after writing Kwok's name.

"It could very likely cause a problem," he said, adding it's a Cantonese name that "could mean 20 or 30" things in that language -- none of them vulgar.

"This is a very special case," he said, "because there are not many names, even pronounced wrong, that would lead to any bad sense."

Kwok said that in China, his name translates to "a very good meaning" and nothing at all like that embarrassing pronunciation.

He said he's always liked the name Andy -- "Andrew" even better -- and while living in Hong Kong, sometimes went by it.

The 38-year-old mechanical engineer said he came to the United States for work reasons and "to try to experience different culture."

Despite the pronunciation trouble with his name, he said he likes America, especially Chicago, but most of all, he likes his privacy.

Aware of the potential for "jokes on me," he initially declined an interview request, but remained adamant about declining a photo.

"I'm not public at all," he said.

Ms. Porn reverts to maiden name

Monica Pinas and Mary Jo Porn have something in common.

They are among the hundreds who, in the last few years, have filed documents in Cook County Circuit Court to legally change their names.

Monica Pinas became Monica Star -- and the reason the 21-year-old Chicago woman sought the change came when she appeared before a judge and he, like others, incorrectly pronounced her last name as "penis."

"It's embarrassing," she said.

Porn, meanwhile, decided after a divorce that she'd drop her married name and return to her maiden name of Tavormina.

The 50-year-old Orland Park woman's attorney, Stephen Thacker, said he urges clients going through a divorce to hang on to the right to resume a maiden name, so as to save this kind of separate court action.

Every day, a handful of name changes are filed in Cook County. Most are tied to parental issues, while others can be more personal.

April Showers, 49, became Denise Moore last year, while Boladale Dehinde Adeyemi, 18, became Boladale Anthony Olumide Omotayo Omotoyingo. Both declined comment.

Godlordkingchrist

Michael Heard became Godlordkingchrist Heard, but the 58-year-old Chicagoan couldn't be reached to discuss his change.

Last month, Samuel Hicks changed his name to Samuel Adams -- but hardly out of respect for the Revolutionary War hero or because he likes the beer.

The Riverdale man's attorney, Charles Pulliam, said his client has always gone by Samuel Adams and his kids are even Adamses, but his birth certificate, unbeknownst to him, had his father's last name -- Hicks.

His brother, who has always gone by Hicks, found his birth certificate said "Adams" and he changed that around the same time.

"It used to be so common, in days gone by, to call yourself whatever you wanted," Pulliam said. "When people came up from the South, sometimes they didn't have any paperwork."

Chicago Sun Times

Lies, Lies, Lies

I guess a generation is growing up in this world thinking that it's OK to lie. We used to have people around, role models like Abraham "Honest Abe" Lincoln or George "I Cannot Tell A Lie" Washington. Now lies are everywhere, from Bill "I Did Not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman" Clinton and George "Saddam Has Weapons Of Mass Destruction" Bush to Hwang Woo-Suk and James Frey.

Puts me in mind of a great song by the Violent Femmes:

Violent Femmes' "Lies" as on Add It Up (listen)

Well I'm reading this poem and it
it's so profound and
and I like its rhythm and I
I like its sound
by a very famous poet
no critic can criticise
and then I
I pause a moment and I start to realize it's telling
lies lies lies lies
lies lies lies lies
lies lies lies lies lies lies lies

On the motel TV I dig the evangelist
he'll tell you all about that
well he'll tell you all about this
he's preaching up a storm about the Sea of Galilee
he's mixing up the truth with something funny I start to see
he's telling
lies lies lies lies
lies lies lies lies
lies lies lies lies lies lies lies

Well I never had this problem with nobody in government
I guess I always figured they never meaned what they meant
and God help us not to be so stone surprised
when we wake up in the stars with the skies in our eyes
if we keep telling
lies lies lies lies
lies lies lies lies
lies lies lies lies lies lies lies

Microsoft shuts down Chinese blog

By JOE McDONALD - Associated Press Writer
Saturday, January 7, 2006 at 10:06 EST

BEIJING — Microsoft Corp. has shut down the Internet journal of a Chinese blogger that discussed politically sensitive issues, including a recent strike at a Beijing newspaper.

The action came amid criticism by free-speech activists of foreign technology companies that help the communist government enforce censorship or silence dissent in order to be allowed into China's market.

Microsoft's Web log-hosting service shut down the blog at the Chinese government's request, said Brooke Richardson, group product manager with Microsoft's MSN online division at company headquarters in Redmond, Wash.

Although Beijing has supported Internet use for education and business, it fiercely polices content. Filters block objectionable foreign Web sites and regulations ban subversive and pornographic content and require service providers to enforce censorship rules.

"When we operate in markets around the world, we have to ensure that our service complies with global laws as well as local laws and norms," Richardson said.

Richardson said the blog was shut down Dec. 30 or Dec. 31 for violating Microsoft's code of conduct, which states that users must be in compliance with local laws in the country in which the user is based.

The blog, written under the pen name An Ti by Zhao Jing, who works for the Beijing bureau of The New York Times as a research assistant, touched on sensitive topics such as China's relations with Taiwan. Last week, he used the blog to crusade on behalf of a Beijing newspaper.

Reporters at the Beijing News, a daily known for its aggressive reporting, staged an informal one-day strike after their chief editor was removed from his post. The editor's removal and the strike attracted comments on Chinese online bulletin boards, which censors then erased.

Online bulletin boards and Web logs have given millions of Chinese an opportunity to express opinions in a public setting in a system where all media are government-controlled.

But service providers are required to monitor Web logs and bulletin boards, erase banned content and report offenders.

Foreign companies have adopted Chinese standards, saying they must obey local laws.

Microsoft's Web log service bars use of terms such as "democracy" and "human rights." On the China-based portal of search engine Google, a search for material the Dalai Lama, Taiwan and other sensitive topics returns a message saying "site cannot be found."

Last year, Web portal Yahoo! was the target of criticism when it was disclosed that the company provided information that was used to convict a Chinese reporter on charges of revealing state secrets.

Reporter Shi Tao was sentenced to 10 years in prison based on an e-mail that he had sent abroad with details of a memo read out at his newspaper about media controls.

In September, a Chinese journalist was sentenced to seven years in prison on subversion charges after writing articles that appeared on Web sites abroad that are blocked in China.

China also is in the midst of a crackdown on online smut. The police ministry said last month that it had shut down 598 Web sites with sexually explicit content and arrested 25 people.

David Wolf, a Beijing-based technology consultant, said that while Microsoft might be hurt abroad by controversy over its actions in China, Chinese Internet services routinely exercise similar censorship.

"They simply do it as a matter of course," said Wolf, managing director of Wolf Group Asia. "When you're looking around China, there is nothing that Microsoft and Yahoo have to do that is any different from what Chinese companies already are doing."

27 Red Elvises Live 8 Moscow

27 Red Elvises Live 8 Moscow
Originally uploaded by www.thelive8concert.com.

Igor Yuzov of the Red Elvises motions to the crowd at Live8, Moscow, Russia (July 2005)

Junkets and other junk

Reprinted without permission from the Marianas Variety:

ACCORDING to a recent article in Marianas Variety, PSS and the Board of Education are giving two MHS staff an all-expenses paid excursion to the nation’s capital, spending over $8,500 in only two days (not including flight time, layovers, stopovers, etc.).
I’m puzzled how two lower-level employees of the CNMI government are authorized to blow through that much cash on a, here comes a bad word, JUNKET (because that’s what it is, right?) when even our very own governor is cutting back on these types of excursions (even though he did send the AG in his place).
I’m assuming the aforementioned employees are flying first-class, staying at a first class hotel (let’s say, the Watergate) and traveling to and from the convention via chauffeured limo. For $8,500 they better bring back a heck of a lot of souvenirs, seeing as their spending money runs to $1,350 — EACH — per day! Sweet grandmother’s spatula! That’s a lot of “I (heart) DC” T-shirts! And a whole lot of mini-Lincoln Memorials and White House postcards, too!
Here’s a revolutionary idea — BUDGET the trip! Whoa! You mean actually fly coach, stay at a youth hostel, and experience DC’s fine Metro subway system? And while they’re at it forgo the champagne and caviar and actually EAT AT SUBWAY! Or Mickey D’s; you get the point. Basically, they’d only rack up around $4,000. Can’t be done? Or can it? If they really have to, they can sell plate lunches on Beach Road or do car washes, that sort of thing. Like other school groups do to raise funds for off-island trips. And give the money back to PSS to buy books, school supplies, that sort of thing. Maybe remit some payments to their vendors.
Better yet, give me the $8,500. I’ll spend it RIGHT HERE ON SAIPAN. You see, I have not had a full-time job in 6 months (what’s referred to in today’s job market as “long-term unemployment”) and could use that $8,500 (or the balance of $4,500 saved by the counselors flying coach) to pay for rent, my car loan, groceries, gas, utilities etc. I’ll personally account for every penny of it, too. I might eat at Subway myself.

RICK VAUGHN
Finasisu, Saipan
March 18, 2005

I AM writing to respond to the letter by Rick Vaughn last week, which criticized a trip taken by two PSS employees to Washington, D.C. He imagined that they flew first class, stayed at the Watergate Hotel, and rode in a chauffeured limousine to the conference.
In reality, they flew coach on the approximately 12 hour flight from Narita to Detroit and then on to D.C. They stayed at the Days Inn, and they rode the Metro bus and the subway.
I know this because I know the people who took the trip and talked to one of them. I also called PSS central office and had it confirmed by the acting commissioner.
The trip was federally funded, and the CNMI was required to send staff as part of the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind initiative.
I hope Mr. Vaughn, who seems to have a vivid imagination and a lot of time on his hands, will do his own fact checking before writing any more fanciful letters to the editor.

VICKI KING TAITANO
Capitol Hill, Saipan
March 22, 2005

YOU stated in your letter that I seem to have a fanciful imagination and a lot of time on my hands.
I think my imagination is no more fanciful than those who believe that because something is “federally funded” (and what isn’t, here in the CNMI?) means that it’s free money to do with whatever they want. Many people here on these islands disparage the federal government and hate the idea of paying taxes but that is exactly where all these “federal funds” come from. After my letter appeared in the Variety (and Tribune) last week many people approached me, telling me that they agreed 100 percent.
“Locals,” too, and plenty of ‘em. Now, I may not be “local,” as my friend Jim Davies put it the other day in his letter, but still have mouths to feed and bills to pay. Something in me tells me that these “federal funds” could be better spent instead of being pocketed or fed into poker machines. I know for a fact that the people who write these federal grants (where the funds are requested from the Bush administration in D.C.) do not actually see the fruit of their efforts. And I’m not sure the students at MHS will, either.
If you actually believe what someone told you over the phone from PSS Central Office, then I can believe what they told me through the Variety from the very same office. Maybe I’m not the only one with a fanciful imagination. Or maybe I’m just being a realist. If you believe I have too much time on my hands, help me get a job.

RICK VAUGHN
Finasisu, Saipan
March 24, 2005

I would love to know what the guy

in this getup actually uses

as a pickup line

in bars.

(photo taken in Shenyang by gastonfernandez)

Good Night, and Good Luck

...if you're going to see only one bio-pic this season, make sure it's Good Night, and Good Luck. It probably won't win any Oscar nominations, at least not for its actors, but it's a finely wrought piece of work. David Strathairn stars as the famous radio/tv journalist Edward R. Murrow. But rather than cover his entire life or even the more famous London years, the film focuses exclusively on his confrontation with Senator Joe McCarthy in 1953-4. Shot in gorgeous black-and-white, Good Night evokes the feel of what it was like to be involved in the early days of television: the live shows, the 1950s subtext, the feeling that you were in uncharted waters and almost making it up as you went along. You could create prime-time, hard-hitting journalism and turn right around and do soft interviews with celebrities of questionable importance. The latter is represented by a hilarious interview Murrow did with Liberace ("So, have you given any thought to getting married?"), but the focus is on Murrow and Fred Friendly's ground-breaking show "See It Now."

George Clooney, who not only directs and stars as Friendly, also co-wrote the script with actor Grant Heslov, and they make the brilliant decision to let Murrow's words stand on their own. So many scenes are just Strathairn, who's always had a quiet intensity about him, reciting segments of "See It Now." But Clooney and Heslov have chosen monologues that resonate far beyond 1953. We hear Murrow decry the fear-mongering of McCarthy and the consequent curtailing of civil liberties. We see Murrow question the falseness of men who are hiding behind patriotism and piety in order to ruin the lives of people who disagree with them. And we hear Murrow denounce those who would use the pretext of Communism to grab and exercise power in un-Constitutional ways. It's clear that Clooney wants to rebuke both the current Bush administration as well as the largely docile press. But he doesn't let the audience off the hook, either. The movie opens and closes with segments of a speech Murrow made in 1958 in which he foretold the power of television to lead its viewers to escapism and to insulate them from the realities of life. He warns his audience to be on their guard. What would he think of us today?

Good Night, and Good Luck is a film that resonates so strongly that it's difficult to judge in its own time. I have little doubt that North Country and Capote will receive their Oscar praise and then quickly slip into the video store aisle with other unimportant works that leave nary a mark. But we might not know the full impact or quality of Clooney's film for several years. I do know, though, that it is staggeringly relevant and one of the most important films of the year.

-The Phantom Tollbooth

Toxic leak threat to Chinese city

Major pollution of a river has forced the suspension of water supplies to the northern Chinese city of Harbin, home to 3.4m people, authorities have said. "Benzene levels were 108 times above national safety levels," said China's Environment Protection Administration.

The contamination after an accident at a chemical plant is expected to pass through Harbin on the Songhua river for the next two days, officials said. Some schools and businesses have closed and flights out of Harbin are sold out. "Everyone wants to leave Harbin and it is very difficult to buy tickets," a factory manager told Reuters.

Benzene is a highly poisonous toxin that is also carcinogenic.

Chinese press critical
Fifteen hospitals have been placed on stand-by to cope with possible poisoning victims.
Officials are also on alert in Russian towns further down the river. More than 16,000 tons of drinking water is being brought into Harbin by road, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua said - though this is less than Harbin's residents normally use in a day.

Mistrustful
The government initially said the stoppage would last four days, but a water company official has told the BBC there is no set timetable for the resumption of supplies. BBC Beijing correspondent Louisa Lim says residents of Harbin distrust government statements, having originally been told the stoppage was for routine maintenance.

The initial announcement of water stoppages led to panic buying of water and food, exhausting supermarket supplies and sending prices soaring. "The city was full of ridiculously large queues. People were buying water in massive quantities," English teacher Craig Hutchinson told the BBC News website. Other residents told the BBC they felt more inconvenienced than worried.
"I can say that we feel safe and fine. Even though people... may not be able to shower, at least they can drink and cook with good [bottled] water," hostel manager Yang Yan said.

Dangers of benzene:
*Colourless, highly flammable liquid distilled from petroleum
*Used as a cleaning agent, solvent, in dyes and paints
*Lethal to humans exposed to it in high levels
*Chronic exposure leads to progressive degeneration of bone marrow and leukaemia

The order to cut off the water comes after a 13 November explosion at a petrochemical plant in Jilin city, about 380km (230 miles) up the Songhua river from Harbin. Five people were reported to have been killed in the blast, and more than 60 injured. The explosion forced the temporary evacuation of some 10,000 residents, but people have since been allowed to return home.

The Beijing News showed pictures of dead fish washed up on the banks of the Songhua river near Jilin city, but the authorities said there was no sign that chemicals in the river had contaminated the water supply. The high levels of benzene were found upstream of Harbin, but the contaminated river water was expected to reach the city on Thursday morning and take two days to pass through. Officials insisted enough water would be brought in to meet the needs of residents.

Environmental officials in Russia said they were also monitoring the Amur river, which is fed by the Songhua and is the main water source for the city of Khabarovsk. Harbin is in China's north-east Heilongjiang province, and is one of the country's coldest cities, with overnight temperatures this week falling to -12C.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Are you in the area? Have you or anyone you know been affected by the decision to cut off the water supplies?

My son is an exchange student in Harbin. They have been told not to use the water for 10 days including showers, etc. Water from local wells are OK. All water is sold out, but fortunately, the locals haven't discovered Gatorade. Any confirmed details would be appreciated.
Charlie Goodrich, Lexington, MA, USA

At first glance, the Harbin city authorities look not candid enough towards the residents. However, compared with all the other cities along the Songhua river between Jilin and Harbin, all of which should have already been affected by the polluted river water and yet have been quiet on this, the Harbin city authorities are still doing a better job.
theo (Chinese national currently living in Singapore)

I am just waiting for any news on this. My sister is in Harbin teaching and sent me a flurry of disturbing emails- the most perturbing is that there is brown oily water that smells of urine coming out of her pipes. Also some officials have left the city where she is. She has yet to respond to my seven emails and I am eagerly awaiting any news. She also said that she believes that they have known about this water situation days before announcing it.
Kem Kramer , Toronto

I have my oldest brother who is currently working in Harbin, China. We contact him every couple of days and he has let us know of the devastation that is occurring due to there been no water. He has been told the shower he had the day before yesterday is the last one until the end of the week at the earliest. He lives with four other English boys, as they are all teachers working to teach Chinese children English. They had been told that there was no water but not given enough time to save clean water for them to live from. There seems to be a lot of anguish across the country but at least we know he is well so far. we just hope that the showers they all had when the chemicals went into the system will not harm them in any way.
Victoria Hutchinson, Redcar, England

Updates

Figured I'd post updates, just in case anyone wondered what I've been up to lately:

1) I've been working on CDs by Arsov and Split Attitude for release in the online store;
2) I just updated my page on myspace (finally, after much persuading!);
3) I just got a new job at a sales office for a messenger company in the Loop;
4) I have also been considering taking a part-time job in the evenings either at the book store or the record store I used to work at;
5) I have been invited to attend a wedding in Vietnam in February, and want to use the opportunity to research some ESL schools in Hong Kong while I'm in the neighborhood;
6) and just had a couple of really excellent homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Comments? Want a Gmail account? Lemme know.

-Rick

P.S.
7) Oh yeah, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe opens December 9th! Groovy!