Neil, my new assistant Fang Fang, and I took the bus to Putian yesterday to see the Southern Shaolin temple there (it’s up a mountain). Then we took another bus to Quanzhou to see their Southern Shaolin temple (also par way up a mountain). There are three temples that claim to be the true Southern Shaolin temple. ‘Twas a rather long day, and we spent a huge amount of time on buses, but I really enjoyed exploring. I have a Flickr set of our day’s sightseeing.
Part of the temple complex, originally uploaded by Andrea See.
Pfft. Alarming rise in number of child cannabis victims!!! Oh no!
In 2002, David Blunkett, the then home secretary, announced that cannabis would be reclassified from a Class B to a Class C drug.
That year, 198 under-16s were admitted to Scottish treatment programmes in connection with cannabis use.
The latest figures have revealed that by 2004, the year in which the law downgrading the drug was passed, the number of children treated for cannabis use almost doubled to 382.
The following year 376 child cannabis users entered rehab schemes.
Experts said children entering treatment would have been taking cannabis for years, as such help was generally sought only after the habit had become “problematic”. They warned the true number of Scots under 16 using the drug would be far higher.
So, naturally:
She said: “This horrifying rise in the number of children being treated for cannabis addiction coincides with the downgrading of cannabis.
“Surely this is evidence, if it were needed, that the Labour government’s decision to reduce cannabis from a Class B to Class C drug was a massive mistake.”
At the time of the controversial decision, Mr Blunkett told the Commons that cannabis would be downgraded to distinguish between “drugs which kill and drugs that cause harm”.
But the United Nations’ drugs watchdog this week attacked the government’s policy change.
Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN office on drugs and crime, claimed it sent a confusing message to young people.
UN experts also warned that a major increase in the potency of cannabis meant that it now posed health risks similar to those of heroin.
Gaille McCann, a founder of the Mothers Against Drugs campaign group and a Glasgow councillor, said downgrading the drug had increased its “social acceptability” and the situation appeared to be getting worse.
Now. The reason why most kids experiment with drugs, pot or otherwise, is because they’re not supposed to. If pot was socially and legally acceptable, you may get a short-term spike from people going, “Wahey!!”, but that would fall away because the illicit nature, the naughtiness, of the activity is gone.
You will never be able to rid the society of addictive drugs. There will always be drug users and drug addicts. It is ridiculous to expect any government to wipe out drugs, and then blame them when it doesn’t work. High Society is right; we have lost whatever war there was (is) on drugs. What we need to do is to educate people openly about the effects of drug use, without using overly dramatic and scary pictures. Regulate the supply of drugs so that what addicts get is clean and not cut with detergent or whatever it is they get cut with. Improve on treatment programmes for people who want to get off drugs — if they’re forced into it, they’ll never quit.
I don’t see the same vehemence over alcohol, which can cause a deadly addiction too. Did the complete and utter failure of Prohibition in the United States not give anyone a clue? Or is alcohol different, because governments tax it and it’s a major social lubricant?
(Disclaimer: I don’t do drugs. I do not mix in circles where there is much drug use — that I know of, anyway.)
Wow, this is the first time I’ve had a few spare moments to go looking at the news. What do I find? Something Neil and I have talked about plenty of times (and obviously, we weren’t the only ones) — Singapore would do well to introduce one card that people can use to pay for pretty much everything.
The new e-payment system will make it easier and more convenient to pay, and this is likely to boost consumer spending.
So, more impulse buys — good, eh*? If only there were a way for them to hook up the stall owners at MAAD, where I am planning on visiting at least once while I’m in Singapore. Ah, Singapore. We only want to shop shop shop and eat eat eat.
* I forget my economics equations, but if we add to the, er, income and take away from savings, surely that evens out? Or are the weights of the contributions different?
Help us get rid of our furniture so our cheapskate landlord doesn’t get his grubby hands on stuff we paid for.
I’ve been waiting to say this for a while:
We’re leaving Xiamen!
Thank fuck for that!
Woo! We’ve decided it’s time to go. I’m tired. I haven’t had a vacation in a long time. Even when I was on vacation my mind wasn’t on vacation, I was always worried about the magazine. In fact, even now, after we leave, I will not only be looking for work, I will STILL be working on the magazine — because, frankly, I can’t really think of anyone who will do what I did, i.e. work my arse off for it because Goddammit I’m going to make it happen no matter what and no petty little person who thinks we are bad evil people just because we did what she couldn’t is going to stop me.
(I have a new assistant who will do the running around and talking to people.)
I will have been here for three years by the time we get on that plane (Neil has been here just over three years). Three years in a place I never had the intention of visiting, let alone living, is a mighty long time.
This is not to say that I don’t appreciate the experiences I have had in Xiamen. I am proud of what I’ve accomplished, and I will be shipping a cartload of magazines home. If I’d been anywhere else, I would not have had the chance to do something like What’s On Xiamen and learn so much about publishing. No way.
Another good thing (I’m gritting my teeth as I say this, by the way) is that my Mandarin Chinese has improved by leaps and bounds. I can now switch pretty instantly between speaking English and Mandarin Chinese. My vocabulary has grown so much (I even know the Chinese phrase for ‘vocabulary’).
I am now cynical beyond all known limits, however. I now know for a fact that Chinese people can be extremely self-loathing and it’s not just my father who’s a racist chauvinist pig. When dealing with Chinese people in business, expect the worst and hope for the best, but chances are you’ll get the worst.
And it’s not just the Chinese, by the way. Foreigners in Xiamen are just as bad, if not worse. Too many behave as though what they do in business or leisure is done while in ‘holiday mode’, i.e. there will be no consequences. They have forgotten the old adage, Be careful of the toes you step on today for they may be attached to the arse you have to kiss tomorrow.
One! More! Month! Yeah!
Having been pretty busy of late (What’s! On! Xiamen! isgoingtobetheofficialguidebookforthe World! Choir! Games! Thatseriouslyrocks), I’ve not been keeping up to date with important Singapore news, such as that headline grabber of some bloody interactive website the Straits Times has launched to make up for the crappiness of their news one.
Do you feel a rant coming on?
Fucking hell, what’s this “celebrity bloggers” pap? You know who a real celebrity on the blogging scene is? Someone who’s done the time, someone who works hard on their website and spends years honing their voice, not to be famous, but because they just love doing it. These journalists and MTV “Veejays” are merely (barely) famous people (and don’t even get me started about the lone existing blogger of the lot, blogwhores are not “celebrity bloggers” either) used to subvert the genuine independence of personal writing online and create a virtual, but very confining set of “rules” for what a “good” blog should be.
The thing I loved about blogging in Singapore back then was that virtually no one knew what the word meant. Now it’s become this ridiculous trend, this thing that the powers that be have decided must be co-opted into the nation’s approved-of culture. Why can’t they leave anything alone? The fun of personal sites and writing is that it’s freeform, it’s not bound by any rules or guidelines. Now they’ve got fucked up blogging competitions in SCHOOLS, they’re starting up this ludicrous Stomp blogging thing, soon they’re going to have courses for blogging and then they’ll start scoring blogs nationally along some scale with points for how many pertinent topics are covered with each post. It’s like ‘O’ level maths in words.
I’m from what might be considered the old school of blogs when it comes to Singapore — I’m not the first blogger in Singapore, but I’m definitely one of the early ones. Blogging becoming popular is one of those things, it tipped and people really got into it, I have no problem with that. I was tickled when Kristen’s site, Krisalis, was mentioned in an article in a Straits Times supplement years ago. But why oh why oh why does this government (or whatever “privatised” media or institution) have to stick their nose in something that, in my opinion, is an intensely personal expression of the self? Even my mother (who is allowed to be nosy about my life, she is my mother after all) doesn’t read or care too much about my blog. She knows it’s there, she might check it twice a year or something to see if I’m saying anything embarrassing, but she mostly lets it be because it’s MY thing.
And what the hell wrong is there with that?
I am mega busy. I am procrastinating before I get back to work.
And I got a great haul of beads and sewing notions. I can’t do anything with them yet, though. Meaningful crafting time will have to wait. Reading the news is also taking a back seat. I’d hoped this month wouldn’t be busy. Ah well.
Forget about coming to China to teach English and its attendant frustrations… it would be so much cooler to go live in a Spanish village for ten days. Kind of corny, but I like the idea.
Hahahahahaha. Researchers suspect that the building of the Three Gorges Dam has caused an increase in giant jellyfish off the coast of Japan.
- met the Chongs for dinner at Sun Dance
- went home and watched the special features from Red Dwarf season four (I’m developing a liking for Chris Barrie for some reason)
- went to Megan’s birthday party at the commune (met the dog and three out of four cats)
- watched England play Paraguay (what a lame match) and Sweden play Trinidad and Tobago (that one was more fun)
- had a bacon butty (if your definition is pretty broad) at Javaromas
- had dinner at a Dongbei restaurant we’d only been to one other time before (and that was almost three years ago)
- watched Walk the Line (I have new respect for Joaquin Phoenix, I have to say)
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed. It’s a shame a human life has to end in such violence, but you reap what you sow.
Received a call today from What’s On Xiamen’s advertising salesperson. Turns out that the Sofitel sales and marketing people have told her that they are very unhappy with the fact that since the Sheraton‘s opened, Sheraton‘s name comes before Sofitel in our listings. Even though it has been explained clearly that the listings are arranged alphabetically within each section, and editorial decisions have always been made separately from advertising, “they may have to reconsider advertising in the magazine if Sofitel appears after Sheraton in the next issue.”
I would rather saw off my left arm with a dull wooden ruler than capitulate to an advertiser’s pathetic attempt at bullying. Here are a few tips so Sofitel Plaza Xiamen can “stay ahead of the competition”:
- Change the spelling of your name so it comes before all other hotels. I suggest AAAAAA Saaaafitel. Doesn’t look stupid at all.
- Don’t bother advertising in the only local English magazine foreigners read. There are lots more hotels who would love the space you’ll vacate.
- If you’re so afraid of Sheraton being a better hotel, I think you’ve got far more to worry about than where your name is in the listings.
Don’t push your luck, I’ve been through this before. I don’t acquiesce meekly when an advertiser demands something. I’ve had loads of advertisers try to gain free exposure — if you want an article about your business in the magazine, give me a good reason that is everything to do with being relevant, interesting, and useful to our readers and nothing to do with financial transactions.
Don’t threaten us with something as stupid as breaching the advertising contract two Chinese companies, bound by Chinese commercial law, have signed. In fact, don’t even think of threatening our advertising sales staff. Call me. Go ahead. I double dare you.
Roger, if you have a problem with me pointing the finger squarely at Sofitel staff for behaving so poorly, I suggest you instruct Sofitel staff to behave less poorly.
(Roger, I am also aware that it is unlikely you told your staff to try and bully us in this way — but let’s try and make sure they don’t do it again, shall we?)
Market of Artists and Designers (MAAD for short) is a flea market for original, creative works. If only I could be there (and have enough product to get a table).
- had dinner at the Singapore restaurant
- waited for the webhosts to clean out my account and start from scratch (till 6am)
- had dinner at Georgie and Gary’s (mango chicken salad, zucchini and feta patties, and foccacia… yum… I think I ate too much)
- went to Sun Dance to hear Runar and Ellen (we were late, but the arrival of the Don appeared to — as always — make a difference)
- headed over to The Londoner for a bit
- had a late lunch of claypot rice
- went to the Giant shop (and bought a small light for the back of my bike)
- celebrated Layla’s birthday at The Londoner
- came home and crafted (while Neil watched Charlie)
- went for supper at the barbecue
How much can I covet this bag? It’s grey, it’s leather, it’s a fucking scooter.
… the cat, now named Luna, was delivered to her new owners yesterday. Alex and Christian have already taken her to the vet, who says she’s got worms, ear mites, mild anaemia, and feline infectious peritonitis. As long as she stays healthy (and her immune system is strong), he said she may never show symptoms.
She was quite apprehensive when we took her out of the flat, and mewed all the way till we arrived at her new home. She was perfect after that, checking out her new digs and having a good time. So she’s a little xiaojie — she loves whoever provides her with the lifestyle she’s become accustomed to.
Heh.
Her new favourite spot, originally uploaded by Andrea See.