Mick

Surreal is what it is. Reminds me of a Dali painting, where things that don't go together somehow occupy the same space. Strange.....

Just incredible, Carl. It has been a real honor and a joy to watch this project evolve.

I think Jeikun makes a much-needed point here. As a veteran of the first visa Black Hole, I understand all too well what it is like to see processing times balloon to unimaginable lengths. In our case, something that was supposed to take five to six months tops, took almost 18 months. Others were even longer. No matter what the politics are, I think it is wise to get ready for longer waits. If they are not going to expand staff, yet at the same time have a flood of new applications that are supposed to take precedent (whether by executive order or some new legislation), the only result is longer wait times. One of the worst things about the first Black Hole was how there was no rhyme nor reason as to how things were done in terms of order of processing. The other thing that drove me mad was lack of information as to what was going on. You could not get a straight answer out of anybody about anything. They even told us on one occasion that the "visa printing machine" was broken. For that reason, if you are in the pipeline when all this comes down, educate yourself thoroughly about what is going on, that way you can discern rumor from fact. Even in its infancy back in those Black Hole days, CFL was very helpful in this regard, as well as giving great support and friendship. Again, forget the politics and get busy preparing yourself for what may be a reality in the near future.

I would agree that this has the potential to devolve into a Black Hole like scenario, where newer cases are processed before older ones, rather than being put at the back of the line.

Congrats and best wishes for a much faster process from here on out.

I doubt you are sunk. A lot of folks even get approved without an interview. Where did this interview take place, if you don't mind my asking? Way back when we had ours (December 2004), it was a very pleasant and cordial affair with few questions. Perhaps the fact that we had our daughter, age seven months at the time, with us gave them enough evidence. That question about your father in laws name must have been a curve ball for sure. I wish I could be more help, but I have never heard any details of a case where AOS has been refused. I am sure it happens, but I have not seen any such cases. Like I said, I don't think this sinks you by any means.

I really liked that ad honoring the farmer. It wasn't until right at the end when the Ram truck appeared. Although I didn't always agree with him, Paul Harvey was an American treasure. He even did a radio piece on this little town I live in, and not too flattering either. One of the local titty bars entered a float in the annual Christmas parade, creating quite a scandal when the "elves" started disrobing on Main Street. Of course, all the guys were craning their necks to get a better view, while the mothers all tried to cover the children's eyes. It made the national news and a week later, Paul Harvey went off on this little hamlet and its decadent practices.

Having worked on a profesional pyro crew for over 15 years, I can give a little insight. Black powder fireworks are very sensitive to static charges something so minor as sliding a box across a truck bed can set off a shell. Once one goes off, the whole lot goes up in a chain reaction. Usually if you here of a crew meeting with disaster, it is due to mishandling of a box leading to disaster. Because of this, DOT has strict guidlines about the transport of fireworks as to how the are boxed and even what major bridges they can be carried over. In 2006, while eating breakfast in Beijing, I watched 2 men unloading gas cylinders from a flatbed truck. They would let the cylinders drop off the side about 5 feet, bouncing off the pavement. I cringed everytime I watched this happen. I can't say how the fireworks were stacked for transport, but if care wasn't taken it would be easy to create a hazard. As for my comment on the bridge failures, as Mick stated, yes there are many bridges in bad shape here, but we are talking about much older struckures. Here in NYC bridges range up to over 100 years old. The subway is over 100. Is SF, both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge are 75 years old. If these are not maintained properly you will have problems. Much of China's infrastructure is much younger than that. If structurs are failing only after say 10 years or 20 years, there is something more wrong than just poor maintanance. I would agree with what you say completely about the problems in China being the result of something more than just aging or proper care. Most of those structures are relatively new. As came to light after the 2008 earthquake, shoddy building materials and poor construction practices were often to blame for the collapse of buildings, bridges, etc. Our problems are mostly due to aging.

My intention in saying what I did was not to start any kind of political debate, but instead, merely point out that just as China faces infrastructure problems, perhaps ours are even worse. Doug, I am sure your intention was not to sidetrack this discussion, just as I didn't mean that. So fellas, and ladies, let's just keep the politics out of it. That can be discussed over on the other board that Doug mentioned.

Bridges and dams here in the U.S. are in a deplorable state of disrepair. About six months before the I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis/St. Paul, I was part of a team of writers/reporters working on a story for PBS. My part of the assignment involved investigating dams and bridges in a four state area that included Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. What I discovered was truly horrifying. Even more troublesome was the fact that what I found out was pretty much reflective of what others found in across the board. If we don't take measures to rectify this, things are going to get very dicey. It's not so much a case of bad construction. Many of these bridges and just about all of the dams were well-built, but they are just plain too old.

As they say, "Been there, done that." During my years living in China, I usually tried with all my resolve to keep from traveling during the annual migration. Most times, I was able to avoid this and for that I am grateful. Even a short journey can be a veritable nightmare. Somewhere in the bowels of Candle is my write up of taking a bus from our campus to downtown, not a more than six miles, tops. Still, it was New Years Eve. In the write up, I discuss sitting next to a man with a live goose in a burlap bag. The goose, no doubt the guest of honor at the upcoming feast, was none too happy and took it out on my shins. He would peck me and each time he did, the old man apologized and slapped the goose in the head with a rolled up magazine, which did nothing to improve the goose's mood.

Fifty years ago, few would have believed that bottled water would be a big seller. So now, who will make a fortune selling canned air? Or maybe sell it in something like scuba gear, with small, portable tanks.

I followed the link to your gallery. Really nice photos and like tsap said, looks like you guys had a ball. We lived in Shantou, which is not too far south of Xiamen. Went up there for several visits and loved the place, especially the island area (I forgot the name).

Tsap, you mentioned the burial benefits. I am not sure of how the procedure works, but I know my Dad already has a plot in the Veterans' Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida, right next to my Mom who was buried there back in 1989. As spouse of a vet, she was also entitled to the benefit. My Dad turns 93 on March 31 and is still going strong (he may well outlast me). Whenever he does pass, however, most of the associated expenses are covered. I recall that when my Mom died, the VA even covered the transportation expenses of moving her body from where my folks lived (Venice, Florida) up to Bushnell, a trip of a little over 100 miles. There are all kinds of benefits if you know where to look. I know one thing for certain, my Old Man deserves it. He was an ambulance driver, went ashore on Day Two at Omaha Beach.

Such great news! Congrats and best wishes for a great future together. Four months is really fast.

This discussion about spitting and hocking up loogies brings back a vivid memory of my first few weeks teaching in China. I had given my writing students an in class exercise which required them to produce a short essay. I was walking up and down the aisles kind of keeping an eye on what they were doing and how they were doing. Just as I was coming up a middle aisle, one young lady turned her head to the left and lowering her chin slightly, she let fly. I was, unfortunately, unable to avoid the flight path of this phlegmatic projectile and it landed on my new sports shoe with a loud splat. I was somewhat startled to say the least, but I felt even worse for the poor girl. She turned every shade of red imaginable and could not look me in the eye. I just kept walking, stepped out in the hallway and, shaking my foot with great vigor, dispatched the quivering blob from my shoe onto the concrete floor. From that point on, anytime I was walking down the hall or the street and I heard someone clear their throat or make a sound akin to an old Dodge on a cold morning, I gave them a wide berth.

I know what you mean, Dennis. During my years in China, there were periods of time that I grew tired of the "directness." Yet, at the same time, Chinese folks can be very indirect at times, beating around the bush a hundred different ways rather than getting to the point. Like you said, you really have to take the whole package. When I taught English Lit over there, one of the stories we read was Oscar Wilde's 'Portrait of Dorian Gray," in which the man doesn't age but his portrait does. We typically had interesting discussions about the Chinese and American cultures views on aging.

Those are some really great photos. The Chinese yo yo is just fascinating to see when the user is very skillful. Down in Shantou, there was a monk at one of the monasteries who was incredible with one of those. The other photos looks like a playground for the elderly or something to that effect. Looks really cold from the way folks are dressed.

Now that was quite a ceremony! Hope you have an even better one.

Earl Weaver also passed away yesterday or the day before. What a character Weaver was. For a long time he held the record for being thrown out of the most games (I think Bobby Cox) finally surpassed him. He had a running grudge with Ron Luciano, the ump that used to have the dramatic ways of calling a guy out. Luciano once threw Weaver out of both games of a double header and on another occasion tossed him out of a game when he brought the lineup card out to home plate before the start of a game. When I moved to Miami in 1983, the Orioles still trained there in the spring. I used to love to go to their spring training games just to see Earl Weaver.

Stan the Man was one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of cleats, that's for sure. A lifetime batting average of .331 puts him in a very elite fraternity. I saw him play in spring training several times as a kid. Back in those days we lived near Payne Park in Sarasota, Florida, spring home of the White Sox for many years. The Cards trained up in Tampa/St. Pete and used to come down to Payne Park for Grapefruit League games.

Reminds me so much of my years in China. God, I miss that place so much. The parks, especially in the early morning hours, are filled with people doing all manner of things. In Hefei, the inner city is circled by what is called "Ring Park" and it is really lovely. They dug out and widened the ancient moat and the ring of water forms the basis for the park. Qigong, Taiji, and ballroom dancing. They even had a group of old guys who had birds in cages and they would congregate so their birds could socialize. Before it was declared evil and illegal, the park in Hefei was filled with folks practicing Falun Gong. There was also a group of ladies who used to gather and do the Taiji Fans. Just incredible.

That is without a doubt the most helpful document I have ever seen dealing with this subject. Thanks so much for posting this. I have most of this info, but it is not organized in such a logical and clear fashion. Again, I really appreciate you posting this, Andrew.

Li also insists that it is more of a performance, designed as a comedy.

This photo reminds me so much of the SARS outbreak in early 2003. Li and I were living down in Guangdong, not far from where the virus originated. There was a run on these masks and the store shelves were empty. Also, everyone bought up all the vinegar in order to burn it in the house to purify the air. Talk about price gouging - a small bottle of vinegar was going for 200 rmb. If we could, we would have come back to the States as, with my heart condition, the last thing I needed was SARS. Unfortunately, that was impossible. We were stuck in the famous visa Black Hole with an approved visa but no ability to pick it up.