Another tremor…

On the Carole King scale of measuring earthquakes it was about like this…

I hope the quakes stop because I’m not sure if I can find any more awful renditions of “I Feel the Earth Move” on YouTube….

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The Earth moving under my feet

Annie and I, along with many others across the Midwest, experienced our first earthquake this morning. We were asleep when our bed started to shake.

“Was that an earthquake?” Annie turned to me and asked.

“Nah”

We both went back to sleep.

If you are wondering what an earthquake is like in Indiana. It’s kind of like this:

As opposed to one in California, which, I imagine, is more like this:

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Cheesy Press Release

For some reason I started getting travel-related press releases by email and mail.

Yesterday I received a packet with a map encouraging me to take a road trip to visit “116 tasty points of interest across America’s Dairyland” – Wisconsin. The following sentence says it all:

“The possibilities for fun are endless, including information about specialty cheese shops and cheesemaking facilities, where you can meet many of the nation’s most awarded cheesemakers, tour their “workshops” and sample some of Wisconsin’s best products.”

Among the things that I include on my endless possibilities of fun list are NOT “information about specialty cheese shops” or “cheesemaking facilities” or “cheesemakers.”

Even though I will never visit one of Wisconsin’s 116 tasty points of interest, I would like to encourage the Milk Marketing board to continue…

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Chinese Student says CNN faked images

One of my favorite NPR shows is On Point with Tom Ashbrook. Monday On Point aired from Beijing where they talked with three students about the Olympics, Tibet, China’s place in the world, and the Chinese perception of the USA.

The students, like China, are driven. In fact, I would argue that they have at least three times the amount of drive as most of us Americans. While it was neat to hear about the exciting possibilities they see in their own and China’s future, some of what they had to say was less than exciting.

One of the girls said that CNN faked images from the riots in Tibet. She said that CNN dressed up Nepalese, who she could tell were Nepalese because of their…

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Wal-Mart saving the world one funny light bulb at a time

Yep, that Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott:

Companies should create businesses that focus on building products and services for the poor. “Such a system would have a twin mission: making profits and also improving lives for those who don’t fully benefit from market forces,” he plans to say….
In particular, he said, he’s troubled that advances in technology, health care and education tend to help the rich and bypass the poor. “The rate of improvement for the third that is better off is pretty rapid,” he said. “The part that’s unsatisfactory is for the bottom third — two billion of six billion.”

In the next three years, we would like to build a very different system. We believe that there should be one framework of social and environmental standards for all major global…

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In the hands of a higher power

I finished editing the book yesterday. Now it’s in the hands of a higher power – Richard, my editor.

I’m happy with how it all went and I enjoy reading it, which is really saying something because I wrote it and I’ve read each word a bazillion times. I should be sick of it.

Back in December when I signed the contract for the book, I was somewhat worried with how soon Wiley wanted it. I had never written anything over a few thousand words and wasn’t sure if three months would be enough time to pump out a book that I would be happy with. As it turns out I wrote at least 25% more book than I was contractually obligated to write. I’ve cut…

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Happy Bengali New Year

Last year on this day I celebrated Pohela Boishakh with Bibi Russell and her gang of models, weavers, and fashion designers. Basically the day was the exact opposite of a New Year celebration in the USA.

Instead of staying up late we got up early.

Instead of drinking lots of alcohol we drank lots of water because alcohol isn’t really socially acceptable in Bangladesh; not too mention if we didn’t drink water, we would have died of dehydration.

Instead of dancing with our hips, we danced with our shoulders.

(I’m the one in the yellow shirt)

Pohela Boishakh

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Three thousand words: My wife the Ninja

Yesterday we were playing with Annie’s nephew when she busted out the kick-ass-kung-fu-guy-gets-knocked-down-and-then-hops-back-up-to-kick-your-butt move. I’m not sure if she has ever impressed me more. Just another reason why I (can’t) don’t beat her.

Anne Fu 1

Anne Fu 2

Anne Fu 3

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Sweatshops on NPR

This past Christmas Talk of the Nation did a 35-minute spot on sweatshops. I listened to it last night. If you want to know about the “Anti-Sweatshop Bill” in congress and what it has to do with cat and dog fur, you should give it a listen….

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Holy Willie and the China Olympic Boycott

The upcoming Chinese Olympics made writing about China even more difficult. My book comes out in November and I don’t want to date it so I had to skirt the subject. I do talk about human rights and try to do so somewhat objectively, although I suspect it probably isn’t to hard to tell where I stand.

Since I can’t address the Olympics and the storm surrounding it directly in my book, I’ll do so here.

Personally, I think China is reaping what it has sewed. The government seems to do whatever it wants to preserve its own power and grow its own economy while ignoring the suffering it inflicts on its own people and that of others around the world. Not that other governments haven’t done…

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