China

Welcome to the 1,000 Club!

Less than a year after I hit 500 libraries, I’m pleased to announce Nixon in New York has now hit the 1,000 mark (I’ve enclosed the screenshot for posterity).

Still waiting to get into Dartmouth to complete the Ivy League sweep. Same with Wesleyan so I can finally call “bingo” on the Little Three.
I’m now in Southern New Hampshire University — so the next time I see one of their many commercials on TV, I can say “Thanks for putting my book in your library!” Your move, University of Phoenix.
I’m in several public libraries now, including those in Boston, Toronto, Greenville, SC, Cleveland, New York City, Skokie, Oklahoma City, Fairbanks, AK, Preston, UK, Dubai and Shanghai. What do all of those cities have in common? Easy. They all have my book now.
I’m only in two university libraries in my hometown of Pittsburgh: Carlow College and Robert Morris University. Here’s hoping I can get into Pitt, CMU and Duquesne soon.
I’m in the All Saints Library in Manchester, UK. I didn’t know Manchester had a library named after the second most successful girl-group of the late 90s in the UK. Too band they couldn’t have named it the Take That Library.

As the tide of the civil war began turning against them and victory by the Chinese Communist Party looked inevitable, Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomingtang decided to activate their insurance policy: a small island that had only recently been returned to them following Japan’s surrender in World War II.

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Jack Bauer’s Greatest Hits (UPDATED)

Originally published in 2010 prior to the end of 24‘s original broadcast run. Updated to include 2014’s 24: Live Another Day, as well as some additional content.

“Nice work, Jack. Have you noticed that there’s always a body count wherever you go?” — George Mason

“He said you were a born killer. Is that true?” — Jonathan Wallace

During his time on 24, Jack Bauer killed a lot of people. Main characters. Supporting characters. Featured stars. Unnamed Extras. You name it, Jack has probably killed it. As such, it was very difficult to narrow down the list of Jack’s greatest moments. And let’s face it. He also had plenty of badass moments where he didn’t kill anyone – instead relying on his wit, charm, resourcefulness, and powers of persuasion.

So, in honor of one of my favorite shows, I give you “Jack Bauer’s Greatest Hits” (A/K/A “The Moments that Made Amnesty International Cringe”).

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The Folly of Collecting Chinese Coins

The phrase “buyer beware” may not have been invented for people shopping in China, but it might as well have been.

After all, China is infamous for its pirated products. Whether its movies, software, watches, luxury goods, or toys (and at one point, music – but that seems to be changing – although that’s only because they haven’t figured out how to pirate Pandora or Spotify yet), Chinese counterfeiters make fake versions of almost any consumer good imaginable. In fact, some enterprising Chinese pirates have moved on from the consumer goods market, setting up things like fake Ikeas and Apple stores, and even fake law firms. Thanks to lax copyright law enforcement, pretty much the only thing in China that hasn’t been illegally copied and then passed off as the real thing has been the Great Wall (and give them time – someone will probably figure out how to do it). That’s why, when a hoax story about fake pork buns with cardboard inside made the rounds on the Internet a few years ago, everyone believed it.

All of this is just a roundabout way of saying: “Don’t buy coins from China – because they’re probably fake.”

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World War II Puppet State Coins: Manchukuo and Vichy France (UPDATED)

How did they teach you to be just a happy puppet dancing on a string?
How did you learn everything that comes along with slavish funnery?
Tell me something, if the world is so insane
Is it making you sane again to let another man tug at the thread that pulls up your nodding head?
“You Happy Puppet,” 10,000 Maniacs

I recently purchased some coins that had been issued by World War II-era puppet governments. I find these coins to be fascinating in a number of respects. For one thing, it’s always interesting to possess a coin that has outlived the government that issued it. Additionally, these coins illustrate many important themes, and are an indelible part of the overall history of World War II.

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“24: Live Another Day” Trailer Review

At a time when the use of “enhanced interrogation” techniques is back in the news, it’s fitting that the crown prince of torture, Jack Bauer, returns to the airwaves in May for the first time since 2010. Yesterday, FOX released an extended trailer for Season 9 (ORIGINAL WAS REMOVED- I’VE LINKED TO A FAN-EDIT THAT IS SIMILAR)- which will feature 12 episodes that jump around in time instead of the usual 24 episodes occurring in real time. If that cuts down on filler plots like Terri’s amnesia or Kim’s cougar problem, then I’m all for it.

When we last left our hero, he had finally gotten with the extremely cute and mentally unbalanced Agent Renee, only to lose her to a Russian sniper. So, he did what anyone would do. He waged a one-man guerrilla war against the United States and Russia by taking out several Russian diplomats while threatening to kill a former President of the United States. Of course, he escapes and ultimately ends up spending the next few years on the lam, reinventing himself as a reporter with an autistic son.

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Album Review: “Chinese Democracy” by Guns ‘N Roses

Another one of my old favorites from my Livejournal blog. If I could add anything, it would be that the album does NOT get better with age.

I have no idea if Axl Rose is a Star Wars fan.

On the one hand, I would doubt it. After all, Axl doesn’t strike me as the kind of sci-fi nerd that would wait in line for tickets and dress up like Obi-Wan Kenobi at Comic-Con.

On the other hand, the galactic soap opera that is Star Wars could very well have served as an inspiration for some of Guns N’ Roses’ high-concept and utterly confusing videos from their heyday in the early 90’s. “Don’t Cry” showed Axl’s domestic trauma and battle against his inner demons, kind of like Anakin Skywalker’s struggle with the Dark Side and his dysfunctional relationship with his son. “November Rain” showed Axl at his happiest, only to lose everything at the end, kind of like how Anakin seemingly lost everything as he made his transformation into Darth Vader. “Estranged,” uh, showed Axl playing with dolphins. I don’t have a Star Wars parallel for that one. Maybe the Ewoks? Maybe whatever Jar Jar Binks was supposed to be?

Why do I bring up Star Wars? Because, like Chinese Democracy, the Star Wars prequel trilogy took decades to develop and produce, cost untold millions, and generated such ridiculously high expectations upon its release that there was no way the final product could ever live up to the hype. With Chinese Democracy, Axl Rose has finally released his Star Wars prequel trilogy. It only took 14 years, an estimated $13 million (as of 2005), and more band members than we can count (including two separate tenures by guitarist Robin Finck, whose contract expired twice before the album was even close to seeing the light of day).

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Browsing Category

Browsing Category

Welcome to the 1,000 Club!

Coins from Taiwan

Jack Bauer’s Greatest Hits (UPDATED)

The Folly of Collecting Chinese Coins

World War II Puppet State Coins: Manchukuo and Vichy France (UPDATED)

“24: Live Another Day” Trailer Review

Album Review: “Chinese Democracy” by Guns ‘N Roses