Author: Roy Berman

Fantasy Craig’s List

Looking at the job listing in the New York Craig’s list, I happened to spot this ad and this one next to each other and just for a second I thought that it was a single item advertising for something like this:

We are looking for a responsible, caring, flexible and intelligent person who drives, speaks English well, loves children and animals and is interested in helping to manage an elite, established and elegant Fetish Exploration/Roleplay studio in Upscale Dungeon in Midtown Manhattan. The position will require roughly 75% cleaning and laundry (some cooking and shopping), and 25% child and dog care. We have three school-age daughters who will need Power-Exchange and BDSM several days a week, and some driving to activities and play dates.
We will provide training for the right person. No experience reqired other than some basic knowledge of S/M and a willingness to learn.

Chairman Mao’s Grandson

Danwei has some photos of the descendants of Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek.

I hope that uniform Mao Xinyu is stretching out isn’t a historical artifact from his family closet.
Mao's Grandson
He spoke to a Reuters reporter about his book about his grandfather.

Xinyu, for his part, did a rare run of interviews and book signings to promote his new anecdotal history, Grandpa Mao Zedong.

The paperback has sold several tens of thousands of copies, the Ph.D. replied modestly when asked. Later he suggested, “I’ll give you the rights. You can translate it!”

Alas, the reporter does not seem to have taken him up on that offer.

Ten reasons . . . for loving Kazakhstan

Before I went to Kazkhstan last year I knew almost nothing about the country besides it’s general location. When I bring it up in conversation many people have never heard of it, few know anything about it, and of course virtually noone would ever actually consider going there.

While not exactly an introduction to the country, this article makes a good case for why one should know Kazakhstan.

Ten Reasons for loving Kazakhstan

4. Oily

. . . what is thought to be the world’s biggest oil field was discovered there in 2002. Specialists believe the offshore Kashagan field, in the Caspian Sea, contains about 40 billion barrels of the black stuff. Western governments, keen to reduce their dependency on the Middle East, have snuggled up to the Kazakhs ever since. There are also plans to construct an oil pipeline to China later this year. The upshot is . . .

Bizarre Email

I got this inexplicable email. It sure wasn’t intended for me, but doesn’t exactly appear to be spam. If it’s some kind of phishing scam, I just don’t understand how. I include the email address it came from, so if anyone wants to contact this person, feel free.

谭 明飚

Dear Sir/Madam

I am a international student who come from China and last time returned
China,have been transient in Seoul Incheon International Airport by ASINANA
AIRLINES.However,when I chek out,the staff of your airport doubt about my
passport and defined my passport is artifical.After than they were detain
me!!Keep me in a room over 10hours!taken freedom from me and confine me in
the room!Such rude it is unbeliveable!!!but it was happened in your
airport!

As the result,I returne to China spent my holiday,after then I comeing New
Zealand for my study,without any trouble with my passport and my status!!!I
am a chinese,No any doubt about that!!

Iam sure that you will agree that this is most unsatisfactory
situation.However there is not any apologize from you airport!!!

I wish to make complaint and request your pay me!!Pay my time and spirit,it
was hurt me deeply!!

My name is TAN MINGBIAO
Paeeport Number GO3671006
Flight Number OZ608 from AUCKLAND to Seoul incheon
Flight Number OZ325 from Seoul to GUILIN
Flight Number OZ370 from GUANGZHON to Seoul
Flight Number OZ607 from Seoul to AUCKLAND

I look forward to hearing from you soon!!

TAN MINGBIAO
27/11/2004

By the way,your staff’english is badly,I mean need more training,because
this is an international airport!!!

Governor Cody

Cody is the current acting governor of New Jersey, serving the remainder of Jim McGreevey’s term following his unexpected resignation.

I just answered the phone to hear a recorded voice saying ‘Hello, I’m Governor Cody. Cold weather is approaching and-‘
And guess who isn’t getting my vote if he actually runs for next term. Do people even comprehend how tasteless prerecorded phone spam is?

Ohio Until Monday

Tomorrow morning I’ll be driving to Columbus, Ohio with my friend Alistair to help our friend Imara move back home to Montclair, our home town. Amazingly, this will be my first visit to a US state not bordering the Atlantic Ocean. I’ll be gone until Monday evening, just in time to get ready for Tuesday classes when the new semester starts. I’ll be taking my new camera along on the trip, and hopefully I can get some good photos out the window of the car.

New Camera

Canon Digital Rebel

After using my trusty Canon Powershot S40 (the camera which took almost every single previous image on this site) for over 2 years, I’ve finally upgraded to a more serious piece of equipment, the Canon EOS 300D, aka the Digital Rebel. This review will give you far more information than you would ever want to know about it, unless like me you engage in painstaking research before making a technology purchase. I took the Rebel with me on my recent trip to Florida, but I don’t yet think I have any pictures worth putting up. I’ll be sure to try and take some good ones soon though.

And now that I’ve got a decent digital SLR camera, I can start pining for the gyro-stabilized telephoto lense.

Hong Kong City


Various photos of urban Hong Kong. The HSBC photo was discovered on my previous blog by a Hong Kong based PR firm that offered to buy it from me for use on some kind of promotional postcard, possibly for HSBC themselves.

Fortune Teller’s Tools
Taken February 28th 2004.

Temple Street is one of the main market areas in HK, with everything from fake name brand clothing to old fashioned Chinese fortune tellers like this. There are maybe a dozen fortune tellers clustered together where Temple Street passes by a small public park. Most of them have a sign advertising their services in six different languages.
In this picture, the sign in the background is written in Japanese – clearly for the benefit of tourists. Translated it says “Can speak Japanese. Palm-reading, Face Physiognomy{Divination by form, I’ve never heard of that before}, Fortune-telling, House Physiognomy {according to my dictionary, determining whether a house is lucky or unlucky based on it’s location, position and architectural plan using methods derived from the five classical Chinese elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water}.