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Redesigning Sinosplice

I meant to mention this sooner, but as is so often the case around here, I got caught up doing other things. Most people in the China blogsphere are well-aware of Sinosplice, a blog and Chinese learning resource by Shanghai-based expat John Pasden.

Last week Sinosplice.com went live with a completely new design, and I’m quite proud to have been a part of it. John’s blog is one of the blogs I “came to China on” and have continued to follow in my time living here. Interim John and I have become friends, and I was quite excited when…

Nothing To Envy: Fascinating book about North Korea

Living in China you can’t help but be exposed to whispers of the “old days” pre-reform. Whether it be the portraits of Mao in taxis and Tiananmen, the massive USSR-inspired government buildings, the general apathy most people over 40 have towards their job (well, actually, that might be universal).

The guidebooks give crash courses in it, many many novels have been written about it. When people repeat the catch-phrase, “China Rises”, communist marching and star-studded banners wave through the mind.

But China’s changed, it’s no longer the place it was in the 50s-70s. Not even close. It’s barely the place…

Creating wallpaper

I’ve created a new Flickr set for a little hobby of mine – creating desktop/Web site backgrounds or wallpapers. They are admittedly quite amateurish to the amazing stuff already out there, but I get a kick out of it.

So much of my day is spent designing stuff with a very specific purpose, it’s nice to have an outlet whereby I can let my creativity just go where it may. Alright, how much creativity can there be in a simple textured background? Not much, but the majority of the ones in there now were just quickies. However, I’m looking…