Tag: First-hand

  • Oof.

    Oof. I’ll be back alive soon with much to come. Meantime, I’ve been doing some local tourist stuff in Beijing, and the pictures are showing up on my Flickr account. If you’re in China, use Firefox and this extension to view the images. This photo is from the summer palace (颐和园) where a man may…


  • Video: Li Tieqiao's Magic Mouthpiece

    As promised here is a video clip of experimental saxophonist Li Tieqiao (李铁桥) from his show with Xiao He (小河) at D-22 this week. Here, he plays the mouthpiece without the horn. Later, he played the horn without the mouthpiece, apparently creating sound trumpet-style directly into the neck.


  • The Fancy Footwork of Xiao He (20 Seconds)

    Xiao He (小河) is a prominent experimental and folk musician here in Beijing. He’s been part of several groups variously described as bands, troupes, etc. Last night, I saw him live for the first time at D-22 in a show with a saxophonist named Li Tieqiao (李铁桥), who made sounds with his horn very few…


  • Predicting the Future With Jonathan Spence

    I caught Jonathan Spence, the Yale historian responsible for a large stack of richly researched writing on China, at a lecture he gave last night to a Yale alumni group in Washington, D.C. (I was a plus-one.) The lecture was supposed to discuss what Chinese history can teach us about China’s future. Spence seemed less…


  • U.S.–China Interparliamentary Exchange: Valuable, and Possibly Easier Under Democrats

    The main organizer of the U.S.-China Interparliamentary Exchange said Sept. 6 he won’t be completely disappointed if his party loses control of the U.S. Congress in November. Even though House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) created and funded the exchange, “it would be even easier with the Democrats in charge, though I pray against that,” said…