R.I.P. John Wooden.  I’m not a big college basketball fan, but he was pretty awesome.

This is great too–haunting words to be sure.

I’m ready. I wish it would happen now. But I’m not going to try to hurry it. I’m not afraid of death. I’m not going to intentionally hurry it up, but I’m not afraid. I’ve been so blessed in my life. I’m thankful for so many things. My children, my 13 great-grandchildren, all live within an hour or less, and I see them all regularly. How many times does that happen? Within an hour or two, I can see the ocean, I can be in the mountains, I can be in the desert, I can be at Disneyland, I can be at an athletic event. There are so many things. I have been so blessed. And out yonder, I’ll be with Nellie again.

Buccigross: [Compared to high-def television] it’s weird how terrible standard definition television is now. You watch a standard-def game and it’s just terrible.

Simmons: C’mon, t’s 2010. Do we even need the standard channels anymore? Can’t we all just have HD at this point?

-From Bill Simmons’ April 15 NHL Playoffs Preview Podcast

Living in China means you give up some stuff.  While all you bastards back home look down on those without HD TVs, I’m getting excited just to watch Game 2 of the Canucks-Kings series over a blurry internet connection tomorrow morning.

So China’s had it in for Google for a while now.  It blocked them last April under very flimsy charges that they were pushing porn (charges  later proven to be false), and now Google’s come back accusing the government of hacking the email accounts of human rights activists in China.  But good on Google for sticking up for itself.  It buckled a bit when it promised to self-censor Google.cn and now it’s getting it’s balls back, in a very smart way.  I can’ see Google pulling out–worldwide domination would be impossible if you’re not in China–but at the same time China would seem backwards as hell for censoring the world’s largest Internet company.  (Whether or not China sees this as a backwards move is another story; their hubris can be incredible.)  And as far as I can tell, most of China’s netizens are sympathetic to Google’s concerns.

I have a friend who works for Google here, and according to him, Google’s known about the attacks for almost a year now.  It’s unclear why they didn’t act sooner, but the timing makes China’s attacks on the search giant clearer–it’s the old “you can’t fire me, I quit!” strategy.  The initial Baidu-influenced reasons offered for the initial attack aren’t nearly as convincing–Baidu is already killing Google here in China.

By the way, did anyone else catch the lead story from yesterday’s China Daily?  ”Hackers attack Baidu [China's biggest search engine]“.  Way to shift the blame.   (And truth be told, a savvy PR move.)

Just about anyone on a budget who’s been to Shanghai has been to Windows, whether they wanted to or not.  It’s the kind of place you bring friends to because it’s THE dive bar in town.  Over the years a few have opened and closed, but the two longtime staples were always Windows Scoreboard (the original) and Windows Too (the dirty dirty hookup bar).  They’re not classy, but they know their target market and they hit it: RMB10 beers and burgers, two-for-one happy hours from 1am-2am, and beer pong on Saturdays.

Anyways, Windows Too got shut down a few months ago after getting busted for drugs/prostitutes/probably a combination of both, and it’s remained mysteriously quiet since.  Not anymore.  According to a friend working at Scoreboard, it’ll be opening back up for business on Dec. 16…mark your calendars.

In other news, Windows Scoreboard is now showing full hockey games.  But they’re also seriously thinking of raising prices from RMB10 to RMB15 in favour of more happy hours.  Whatever.  If there’s hockey I’ll be there.

Alright, so I’ve kinda been MIA for the last ten days or so, but it’s not really my fault.  My internet cut out at home and it’s been a big hassle getting it fixed.  It’s also been a pretty hectic time–I’ve just accepted a new post as City Weekend’s new Wine & Dine editor so there’s lots to do in these next couple weeks in transition.

BUT, I did get to take some time out last night to go to the filming of the second-season premiere of Asia Uncut, a Leno/Letterman-type show that’s being filmed in SH.  Last night’s guests?  Meadow Soprano (Jamie-Lynn Sigler), Bollywood actor/cricket personality Mandira Bedi and infamous HK (homemade) movie star Edison Chen, making his first appearance since the whole picture scandal broke.  Then I snuck on set with Shanghaiist editor Elaine Chow (her take here) and snapped a couple pics before getting kicked off.  Good times.

Because going backwards burns more calories.

A rough video I made from short clips I made while riding the Alleycat.  The audio’s horrible–if it’s not clear, I had bike problems from the start.  The crank kept coming loose so I tried to stop to get that replaced, but the shop ended up not having the parts I needed.

Not included: my half-hour argument with a taxi driver after getting hit, and me hitting the finish line after three hours of riding.

Links if this all seems weird to you:

• What’s an Alleycat race?
• Route map
• Weekend recap from race organizer Tyler Bowa
• Pics from the weekend on Flickr

Enjoy!

“The first woman was about 25 years old. She paid for half an hour but soon got tired and spent the rest of her time just chatting to me.

“The second customer also only lasted for a few minutes but they both looked much happier afterwards. It does people good to let off some steam.”

Xiao reportedly charges 100 yuan (£9) for a 30-minute session.

China’s leadership needs to be even more far-sighted than Obama is. China is replacing the American consumer as the motor of the world economy.  Since it is a smaller motor, the world economy will grow slower, but China’s influence will rise very fast.

For the time being, the Chinese public is willing to subordinate its individual freedom to political stability and economic advancement. But that may not continue indefinitely – and the rest of the world will never subordinate its freedom to the prosperity of the Chinese state.

-George Soros in a piece from Project Syndicate

Looking for something to do this weekend?  Come out to the Alleycat Race this Saturday.  Free entry, lots of prizes, lots of fun.

Find out more in this piece I penned for City Weekend.