Mick

I saw Dashan on TV quite often during my years in China, plus he made an appearance at our university in 2000 or 2001 or thereabouts. He is a very popular figure.

Okay, is it Jesse or Cheffy or some other big bad egg?

That is quick! Good luck as things move forward.

That would be a "Chingjun" dish, Tom. Yum Yum. How bout some Sweet and Sour Crawfish?

That is a most interesting article. Thanks for posting. I shared it on my Facebook timeline. The economies of China and the US are increasingly intertwined. It is interesting to see an increased amount of Chinese investment in American manufacturing.

Early on in our relationship, I discovered that Li was far better at handling finances than I. As a result, I handed over all my pay to her and she has done an incredible job with managing our money. In our current set up, all our income, hers and mine, go into a joint account by direct deposit.

Congrats on clearing another hurdle along the way. I have no idea about how they set up the interview these days, but I am sure Don or Randy will know.

Ernie Banks was not only a great baseball player, but was also a great human being. His teammate and roommate on the road, Billy Williams, often said Ernie always had a smile on his face. Famous for saying, 'It's a great day, let's play two," Ernie was, as you said Tom, a great ambassador for the game of baseball. He was the first of the power hitting shortstops and was an anomaly in the days when most shortstops were light hitting, great fielding, players. Often shortstops were " all glove and no stick." Ernie had both, a glove and a stick. He hit over 30 homers six times and won back to back MVP awards in 58 and 59 (or maybe it was 57 and 58). In 1960, he didn't win the award but did hit 41 homers and won a gold glove. He eventually had to move to first base because of a bum knee. RIP Mr. Cub.

Nailed me right on the head - Birmingham, Montgomery, Jackson.

"Mick" is a nickname I picked up as a kid and even to this day, many people know me by that name, rather than my given name, which is Dwight. I was given the nickname Mick because I played baseball sun up to sun down. I was fairly good at the sport and because I played center field and was a switch hitter, my friends called me Mick, after a famous baseball player named Mickey Mantle, who was a switch hitting center fielder. The name just stuck I guess. I have used that as my pen name all my life - most of my published writing is under the name Mick.

One factor that may be slowing things down is the fact that you filed on November 25. This means you had three major holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years during the period right after filing. Things slow down during the holidays, mostly due to closings and people just generally move more slowly during this time of year, at least at work. Just a thought. . .

The Ice Festival is just incredible. I always wanted to go when I lived in China, but never made it up to Harbin.

Our first rule of thumb for New Years Eve is "do not go out - stay home." There are far too many drunks on the road for travel to be safe. We usually spend a quiet evening at home, watching television or a movie (or in my case, football). We often stay up to watch the ball fall in Times Square, signaling the New Year. At least Li and Salina do. I am usually asleep by then. Whenever I think of New Years Eve, I always remember the first New Years Eve Li and I spent together. We had a late meal at the revolving restaurant on the 28th floor of the Holiday Inn in Hefei (capital of Anhui Province). We rang in 1998 with a long kiss in front of the elevators. Ah, the romance. . . . .it is incredible to think we have been together such a long time.

I like both views, front and back. I always say it is best to have a broad perspective on any issue. And talk about yer tiny hineys!

Congrats and best wishes for a great future!

Such sad news. Joe Cocker was one of a kind, with a voice like no other. And his bizarre stage movements initially made folks think he was spastic. I saw the movie Mad Dogs and Englishmen several times when it was out back in the early 70s. It was a documentary of a tour he did with a great band, which included Leon Russell. So very sorry to hear of his passing.

Li and I attended a mass held in that Cathedral. It was a very powerful experience to say the least. We could not celebrate the Eucharist as we are not Catholic, but it was a great service nonetheless. There is also nice little grotto with the Virgin Mary outside.

My wife was very afraid of driving, especially on busy roads, when she first started behind the wheel. Nowadays, she is relaxed and confident while driving. And I also might mention that over the years, she has been hit from the rear three times, the last time just a few weeks ago on Black Friday. Even though these mishaps have occurred, she continues to drive without much anxiety. The way she overcame her fears was by just continuing to drive, over and over again. She started out on quiet country roads and gradually worked her way up to busy Interstates. Practice, practice, practice - those are the three key words. With time, you will find that driving is like second nature to you - even something you enjoy.

I love Shamian Island and have many great memories from there. Li and I spent some of our most memorable times there, especially when we were dealing with the Black Hole and the early visa struggles. The Consulate was down at the end of the street the White Swan Hotel was on. All in all, I don't much care for Guangzhou as it is very crowded, polluted, and hot beyond belief. The humidity sucks the energy out of you like a climatic vampire. Also, I much prefer the food from northern China as opposed to Cantonese. So from these statements, it should be easy to discern why GZ is not one of my favorite places. Shamian Island is like a different world - as is Six Banyans Temple, which I also enjoyed very much.

That is great to hear blue rock! Congrats and best wishes on a great future.

At the university in China where Li and I taught and lived for our last four years over there, the school ran a Chinese language program, specifically geared for foreign born Chinese. The school had Chinese students, university aged, from America, Canada, Malaysia, Australia, England, Thailand, and several other locales. These kids had it rough as the native Chinese all thought they should be fluent in Chinese. The students had trouble getting across the idea that they were, in fact, at the school in order to become fluent in Chinese. These students often came by our apartment, as that was one of the few places they could speak English. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, Li and I held an "open house" where our students could come by to practice their English. Some of the foreign born students used to come by as well, but the native Chinese speakers often gave them a hard time, simply because they could not wrap their heads around the idea that someone that looked Chinese could not speak Chinese.

I agree 200% with what Carl just said. I have been a member of this board since 2002 and I cannot count the number of times I have seen cases where attorneys screwed up the process due to faulty or outdated information. It has happened time and time again. Yes, they can be of some help if you have an "out of the ordinary" issue in your case, but otherwise, it is better (and a lot cheaper) to handle it yourself.

I visited many temples during my years in China. I loved the smaller temples in out of the way settings, like many that are nestled in the crags and hollows of southern Anhui, not too far from Yellow Mountain. In Shantou and Chao Zhou, the area I lived in located on the northeast coast of Guangdong, there were many, many temples. Some were funded and built by wealthy overseas Chinese from this area. I studied qigong at a temple complex, Dragon Springs, that was in walking distance of the campus where I lived. I know what you mean about the serenity in some of these places, especially the ones in busy, urban areas. You walk through the gates from a bustling, urban street and it is almost like entering another world. The Six Banyans Temple in Guangzhou used to be like that. I am not sure it still is. It was the home temple of Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch of the southern school of Chan Buddhism and is a famous landmark. My thinking on the authenticity issue is that for the most part, temples are genuine. If I ever visited a fake one, I am not aware of it. What I think will happen is this: The "Certificate of Authenticity" just provides another means for local officials to practice bribery. My fear is most "certificates" will be bought and paid for with little concern for "authenticity."

I have a number of former students living and working in Shenzhen. My first year in China was spent in Hefei, up in Anhui Province. After that, I spent four years in Shantou, which is just up the coast a few hours from Shenzhen.

Yep, artistic for sure, especially the original, uncensored post.