Belated weekend journal, gentle reader . . . No Chinatown, but did go tearing off on a crazy art pilgrimage -- and I don't even like modern art.  But it was the last weekend for Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates" in New York's Central

Because Japanese giant Mister Donut got there first.Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . . Doughnuts . . . Here's a really funny quote from the story though: "It's the best donut you can get in Taiwan, but it's not as good as Dunkin Donuts," Fu told th

Here's another commentary on the Larry Summers flap, this time from a sardonic Princeton English prof.Check out this blurb:There is fair amount of schadenfreude in what is the currently hottest topic in the groves of Academe, the topic of President L

Here's a critical look at Columbia from . . . wait for it . . . left-happy New York paper, The Village Voice, of all things.But the title is "Columbia Implodes!" and it's worth reading for the latest on that Ivy campus's problem with bias i

Hot off the presses -- Egypt, under basically one-party rule for a quarter-century, has just announced democratic reforms and multi-party elections.The fabulous blogger American Future is all over this story, posting numerous links to both news repor

Slick Willie is in Taiwan, urging China and Taiwan to work together for common economic goals.Still, money can't buy you love -- or democracy.But Clinton enjoys a certain popularity on my island, since he visited 4 times while he was Arkansas governo

Check out this photo . . .Where would you think this is?  Cloudcuckooland here on the winter-bound East Coast?Nope.  It's a scene from Taiwan last week -- snow in Taroko Gorge!  Taiwan almost never gets that cold . . .Yipes.

Student protests in the news today, gentle reader! A sit-in at Yale!But it wasn't about the "usual" subjects of old-time sit-ins. Nope, this time the students were demanding . . . more financial aid.  It's a different era, I guess:NEW HAVE

Road kill candy!Of course, animal rights activists are offended:TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) -- Animal rights activists are disgusted by a new candy from Kraft Foods Inc. that's shaped like critters run over by cars -- complete with tire treads.The fruit

Another twist on this blog's interest in academics . . .The publication Christianity Today now has a webpage devoted to to the battle for Baylor University's vision -- handy collection of articles both recent and not so recent covering the current si

VERY interesting indeed.  Here is a little snippet:Akihiko Tanaka, a security expert at Tokyo university, says support for Taiwan in Japanese society has broadened in recent years. "There is a strong sentimental attachment to people like Lee Te

Check out this from Slovakian Prime Minister Dzurinda:Ladies and gentlemen, I'm very happy that the President of the United States is, for the first time, in Slovakia. This day is historical for my country. I have had very good debate with President

Snow!  And lots of it.  Cloudcuckooland campus has declared a snow emergency.  And it should.  The air is freeeeeeezing!The white stuff started falling about noon, and it is still coming down now, some 10 hours later.  By the time the snowstor

Yes. Check out this news story:LONDON (Reuters) - A blind man has been arrested in Scotland after witnesses reported he sank his teeth into his guide dog and kicked her across the road, police said on Thursday.

Kinda cool!Check out this blog entry and a lot of cool pix from the pro-Bush rally in Belgium.The numbers weren't too big, but do check out who was there:  some 20 Belgians and 60 Iraqis gathered in front of the US Embassy.Keep your eye on the Bush

Well, I never thought I'd read this in the German papers.  But it seems some Europeans might be changing their minds about Bush.  I doubt it's as much idealism as sheer pragmatism (Bush is here for the next 4 years and they've got to work with him,

Bush is in Europe and the protestors are out again.  Same old screams against war, same old accusations of imperialism and oiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil. same old "Bush = Hitler" analogies, same old same old same old, right?Or not.Check out

Get a load of this headline, from AFP via Yahoo! News:"EU seeks to appease US over ending China arms ban"Well, that's about the best kind of appeasement Europe's been up to in recent memory.

It's cold and snowy, I've a pile of nerd work to do today, and we all need a break, so let's look at something fun and frivolous in the news!  Check out the brightly lit fun currently going on in Taiwan: lantern festivals!Do check out fabulous phot

Another update on the coalition of the willing, able, and ready to support freedom -- spotlight on our long-time friend, Australia and John Howard.The Dutch contingent is about to leave Iraq.  So Howard has decided to send more Aussie troops to pic

While China's famous for its one-child-only policy, Hong Kong just started promoting a 3-child policy.A senior official in Hong Kong has told couples they should consider having three children to try to stem the territory's falling birth rate. Chief

Nerd rant ahead. OK, you've been warned. By now I'm sure everyone is sick and tired of the whole Harvard mess over what Larry Summers said.  (Here's the transcript of the man's actual words -- go decide for yourself if you think he really is the evi

Figure out what your dialect's like -- and whether it favors North or South.  We don't mean "accent," though. We're talking mostly about vocabulary usage.Here's a fun little survey.  It's all supposedly based on Harvard Computer Society D

A few days ago, I noted that there was a flap on Princeton's campus over some gay-themed Valentine's flyers.The flyers, remember, had photos of gay couples cozying up under the slogan "Love = Love."I went on my own campus this morning and f

You should take a glance at this, gentle reader -- one of a steady stream of student-written letters and articles in Ivy campus papers lately.  Students are thinking about politics in America, and it may come as a surprise to the Ivory Tower Establi