Harmonious societies

China's current domestic social policy is oriented towards the construction of a 'harmonious society', very nice buzzwords of which even Karl Rove would likely approve ('surge' anyone?). Check out this delicious anecdote:

My neighbor Feng, a postal worker with a lazy eye and unerring sense of
humor, had consumed an inharmonious amount of baijiu, the official firebrew of
China. Late into the evening he stood up and announced: "The Beijing government
is always talking about building a harmonious society, but we already have a
harmonious society right here in this courtyard!" The assembled guests roared
their approval. A few minutes later Feng puked in the corner, and our
celebration of harmony was over for the night.

Slumping

This is one of my favorite pieces of architecture that I've seen in a while.

Feels to me like the silver parts of the building are slumping up against the brick, like an idle laborer smoking a cigarette, or someone waiting on the streetcorner to meet a friend. Nice. From a nice Slate slideshow.

Apple Evilness

So I was wondering what exactly was going on with Apple of late...what with the iPhone tanking, and then this weird pricing thing. Well...my favorite sports columnist (who isn't a sports columnist, but an academic who writes one for fun) has hit the nail on the head: the New Apple is becoming the Old Microsoft:

Last week, many owners of the iPhone, whose value is falling faster than
American housing -- "iPhones now on sale for 20 cents," a mall announcer said in
the background of the latest "Simpsons" episode -- were dismayed to realize that
downloading the latest software update from Apple permanently disabled their
phones. Apple planned it that way! It seems iPhone buyers had been using patches
and switch resetting to circumvent the electronic lock intended to prevent the
phone from working with any carrier other than AT&T. This people-oriented
approach seems like exactly what the Old Apple would have encouraged. But the
New Apple seems to want to become the Old Microsoft, so the company decided to
punish its own customers. When Apple offered a software update for the iPhone,
buried in the disclaimer was a warning that if you had unlocked your iPhone to
dial in a service other than AT&T, the software update would permanently
ruin the phone. No one would ever click "I Accept" if aware that clicking "I
Accept" would destroy his or her property! Apparently, Apple not only assumed
that no one ever actually reads corporate disclaimers but was hoping no one
would actually read the disclaimer.

Freedom

...comes at a brutal price.Burma...two days ago. more on this later.

This will make you laugh for days

Some guy got rejected by the Jockey Club when he asked to name is thoroughbred Nutzapper. Well, Slate is all over that, and according to them they rigorously review every name:

prospective names are screened by a team of censors, matched up against urban
slang dictionaries, and run through phonetics software to ensure they don't
sound different than they look

Sounds kinda like what states and provinces do when you apply for a vanity plate. Seems fairly straightforward. Well, it turns out the Jockey Club is HILARIOUSLY incompetent at this screening process. Some of the names that Slate turned up:

• Blow Me (1945)
• Get It On (both 1971 and 1986)
• On Your Knees (1977 and 2005)
• Spank It (1985)
• Go Down (1963) - whose sire was named Service
• Jail Bait (1947 and 1983)
• Barely Legal (1982 and 1989)
• Date More Minors (1998)

Are these guys even awake when they are approving these names? The list goes on.

• Cunning Stunt (1969)
• Golden Shower (1955)
• Cherry Pop (1961 and 1978)
• Cum Rocket (1969)
• Ménage Á Trois (1974)
• She's Easy (1978)
• Adultress (1979)
• Strip Teaser (1980)
• Rhythm Method (1982)
• Bodacious Tatas (1985)
• Tit'n Your Girdle (1988)
• Kinky Lingerie (1991)
• Hard Like a Rock (1995)
• Sexual Harassment (1997)
• X Rated Fantasy (1999)

OMG....and they rejected Nutzapper?