ha, that left-hand turn lane comment was a low blow. i actually have a bruise from getting a little to snuggly with a fellow commuter and his girlfriend (riding sidesaddle on the back) in the bike lane during rush hour on Wed evening. when we bumped and she fell almost fell off, she said, “You can’t yell at him, he’s a foreigner, he won’t understand.” (She was right; my Chinese friend told me this later.)

cultural differences include the road, and you can have different ‘driving cultures’ where the set of common assumptions and expectations varies from place to place. China’s is so different from the West that when new foreigners arrive (we just initiated some newbies in August), they are usually awed and terrified the first time they see rush hour. Many walk for a month or so before they warm up to the idea of riding a bike. I still remember seeing my first intersection in action…

Nice — hilarious!

Joel, Stewart and Colbert don’t have the air of superior “smartness” that Maher has. Sometimes I feel like he is talking down to me when he’s delivering jokes.