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BEIJING UNBOUND: A Novel
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Literary Influences in Beijing Unbound (3) Crossing the Line
My serialized novel is now in print. I asked Anthropic's Claude to look for literary influences. Its instant response is at once fawning, totally…
"Claude, Gemini, and the Audacity of AI Book Reviews" or "Two bots read my novel. One of them wouldn't shut up."
Anthropic's Claude is writer-friendly in a cloying way: "The novel's genius is showing how surveillance doesn't destroy relationships—it BECOMES the…
An out of this world film from far above China
"Blue Planet Outside the Window" offers one woman's view on the unbearable banality, boredom, and unforgettable views from space.
The after-images of photographs and film
War photography is the star in "Flags of Our Fathers" (2006) "Under Fire" (1983) "Hearts and Minds" (1974) Now Chinese director Shen Ao takes a hard…
DONGJI RESCUE: An otherwise buoyant propaganda reel about the valorous Chinese rescue in 1942 of British POWs from a doomed Japanese ship…
The film packs elements of the Titanic, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Dunkirk, Mutiny on the Bounty, Aquaman and Apocalypse Now into a complex, colorful and high…
PHOTO ESSAY: Following the Liangma Flow
A fetid, neglected waterway dating to Yuan Dynasty gets a new lease on life due to a dash of enlightened city planning amidst chock-a-block posh urban…
PHOTO ESSAY: Houhai--In search of an imaginary past (2)
Wandering through the back alleys of Beijing's historic Houhai is a reminder that despite the dislocations of commercialism, neglect and obsessive…
NO LONGER THE SHINING CITY ON THE HILL
It is said that empires are not destroyed from without but from within, and the Trump administration, by demoniacal design or criminal incompetence, is…
Driving change one electric car at a time
Despite political tensions and trade barriers, Chinese electric cars are rapidly gaining ground in Southeast Asia, offering a clean and affordable…
Trump has no business being at a World War Two victory parade, let alone Putin.
Should US president Donald Trump join the planned September 3, 2025 World War Two victory parade at Tiananmen?
Joseph Nye's hard push for soft power
The Kennedy School dean's contributions have played a pivotal role in shaping the U.S.-China relationship, setting a no-nonsense tone and elevating the…
SOMETHING'S HAPPENING HERE...
It's a bitter irony for all Americans that a republic founded in opposition to tariffs imposed by the distant Mad King George should find itself under…
China Story
China Story
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