We're hanging out at The Local for the Rotaract charity pub quiz tonight, which begins just a little after 8 pm (50 rmb for team up to five). Come join us if you'd prefer not to read links.
Typhoon Usagi, with winds of up to 110 mph, began lashing southern China over the weekend, leaving at least 25 people dead in Guangdong province. At least one hippopotamus also finds itself stranded.
A tidal bore, in which "the leading edge of an incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travels up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current," as defined by Wikipedia, caused hundreds to gather at the bank of Qiantang River Haining, Zhejiang Province yesterday.
This is what we were afraid of with the anti-rumor campaign: thin-skinned officials out in the middle of nowhere -- specifically, places where it's difficult for watchdog organizations or institutions (media? ha!) or individuals to keep authorities accountable -- cracking down on one's freedom to express anger, frustration, or any host of other very human emotions that this country would prefer stay bottled up in the repressed chambers of our being.
SCMP has video of a wicked traffic accident in Hong Kong's Central on Wednesday, reportedly on Garden Road. A blue truck carrying construction waste, for whatever reason, races around a bend, cutting off one car and ramming another before face-planting into a barricade and coming to a stop. Eight cars were damaged, including two Mercedes-Benzes.
There's a chance you've known this for a while, since it was first reported on September 6 (by Indo-Asian News Service, of all places), but Li Na will face Novak Djokovic in a "battle of the sexes" on September 27 to mark the 10th year of the China Open at Beijing's National Tennis Center. It's a wonderful little PR stunt, pitting the world's top-ranked men's player against the women's No. 5 playing in her home tournament.
