archéologie des jeux vidéos, vie privée au téléphone, polémique sur eolas, etc.
Daily Soufron
- Un système qui permet de récupérer votre sélection d'info via votre mobile : Stitcher vous lit vos informations
- Et à l'inverse, voici un service qui récupère des informations pendant que vous téléphonez : Dial Plus Fetches Information As You Talk
- Britannica lance une version gratuite pour les bloggers et quelques innovations : Encyclopedia Britannica ‘Soft-Launches’ WebShare Widget System
- Réseaux sociaux : Toujours en croissance !
- C'était à prévoir... facebook devient un élément utile aux enquêteurs pour obtenir des éléments de preuve : British Police Use Facebook to Gather Evidence
- Génial... en récupérant une vieille archive d'une société de jeux vidéos, des gens ont découvert toute une série de prototypes de jeux développés par cette boite autour de 1989 : Secret History of Infocom’s Never-Released "Restaurant at the End of the Universe" Game [Milliways]
- Milliways : Infocom’s Unreleased Sequel to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
- Eolas persiste à dire que les aggrégateurs de flux rss ne sont pas des hébergeurs de service sur Internet et qu'ils ne peuvent pas bénéficier de la LCEN... tout le monde lui explique qu'il dit n'importe quoi, mais bon... : Eolas et la Secte du Kiosque à Journaux
- Le self-consumérisme sur Internet, ca marche... : Matelsom a répondu à mon mail
- Between two consenting corporations...
- Incroyable réinterpretation de Star Wars en Steam Punk... mention spéciale à l'étoile noire qui devient une machine de babbage géante en orbite destinée à calculer des équations capables de détruire des planètes : The Massive Solar-Orbiting Electro-Mechanical Analytic Engine, Mark 6 [Concept Art]
- When Otaku Collide : Trainspotting + 8-Bit = This
- Object Darwinism
- Funny/Creepy old comic book ad
- New HELLBOY II poster
- The Machine That Made Us
- Strangers in a Strange Land
Funny/Creepy old comic book ad
Voir en ligne : Funny/Creepy old comic book ad
Stitcher vous lit vos informations
"
Vous avez déjà rêvé que quelqu’un vous lise votre blog préféré le matin pendant que vous buvez votre café? Et bien Stitcher est le logiciel qui vous manquait.
En utilisant les flux audio de vos sites/blogs préférés, vous pourrez maintenant créer des chaines qui délivreront uniquement l’information désirée. Imaginez vous en train d’écouter cet article, puis d’apprendre que demain il fera beau et enfin que vous équipe de foot préférée vient de gagner 2-1 … Plus vous l’utilisez, plus Stitcher apprend à vous connaître, afin de ne vous délivrer que les informations qui vous intéressent. Tout cela gratuitement.
Emballé? J’espère alors que vous avez un iPhone, car le dernier né d’Apple est le seul appareil compatible à l’heure actuelle! Cependant, ce partenariat semble n’être que le premier d’une longue liste qui -on l’espère- ne tardera pas à s’allonger. L’inscription se fait pour l’instant sur invitations uniquement.
"Voir en ligne : Stitcher vous lit vos informations
British Police Use Facebook to Gather Evidence
"Amy Bennett writes "Move over police scanner and most-wanted poster. The Greater Manchester Police force has created a Facebook application to collect leads for investigations. The application delivers a real-time feed of police news and appeals for information. A 'Submit Intelligence' link takes a Facebook user to the police Web site where they can anonymously submit tips. Another link leads to the videos on YouTube featuring information on the police force, ongoing investigations and other advisories." As reader groschke writes, though, "Their access to user data raises significant civil liberties problems. They may be able to see more of your data than your friends or network members can — and you also expose your friends' data when you add the application. All without needing a subpoena or warrant."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
"Voir en ligne : British Police Use Facebook to Gather Evidence
Encyclopedia Britannica ‘Soft-Launches’ WebShare Widget System
"
Wikipedia too open, too free for you? Still prefer to rely on old-school professional editorialism? Then the folks at Encyclopedia Britannica have something for you which you might enjoy. It’s called WebShare, and what you as an “online writer and publisher” are given is free access - upon registration - to Britannica articles, small portions of which can be embedded in webpages via a widget system to share with readers.
In practice, WebShare seems to be something best described as a rough release. Britannica, in a brief news piece on its site describing the debut, announces that the company has “‘soft-launched’ the WebShare site” and further states that “a ‘hard launch’ of the initiative is being planned.
Being a somewhat unpolished release, there are a number of caveats to the WebShare system, some of which I imagine are unintentional. For one, when browsing a webpage with a WebShare embed with the Firefox browser, edition 2.0, the widget technology employed by Britannica can occasionally make for seemingly clumsy scrolling. Beware of where exactly you place your cursor. (Perhaps your experience will differ.)
Also, even more unfortunate is the unwelcome display of a blackened window that shows up over an article to obstruct nearly all primary text and imagery. This window appears to be shown only occasionally if the visitor is unregistered with the service, and the obstruction can nonetheless be closed if clicked off regardless of one’s affiliation of WebShare, but the effort required to make use of the online reference is likely enough to quickly drive the reader back to the tried-and-true Web collaborative Wikipedia, an invention born and bred in the cloud.
Surely WebShare will advance to an appreciable point, but even when that time comes, I cannot imagine that it will make any sort of real competitive drive at the industry’s open-source mainstay. The widget system as it stands today looks more a gimmick targeted at youth than anything else. Wikipedia, on the other hand, is without graphical nonsense on the visual side of things and has a breadth of relevance for matters from animalia to properties of the Web 2.0 space to the day’s news.
---
Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:
New Google Docs on Wednesday: What Features Do You Want?
Hulu Opens Up A Bit More, Adds Video Sharing Features
Microsoft Live Search Gains Market Share
AIM Share Launches - Bookmarking Meets IM
DivShare Launches Facebook App
comScore’s Analytics Tweaks Hurt Yahoo & Help Google
Sharogle Loses Rev-Share Opportunity with Google
Voir en ligne : Encyclopedia Britannica ‘Soft-Launches’ WebShare Widget System
Object Darwinism
Eolas et la Secte du Kiosque à Journaux
"Eolas et la Secte du Kiosque à Journaux
On dirait un titre de roman pour la jeunesse, genre Les disparus de Saint-Agil, malheureusement la réalité est tout autre...
Dans son billet Affaires Fuzz, Dicodunet, lespipoles et autres : et si le juge avait raison ?, Maître Eolas,...
Ads & Marketing Translator - Laboratoire de traduction et de réflexion
"Voir en ligne : Eolas et la Secte du Kiosque à Journaux
New HELLBOY II poster
Matelsom a répondu à mon mail
"
Matelsom a répondu au mail que je leur avais envoyé à propos de la campagne agressive d’emailing lancée par un blog catho en réaction à leur publicité mettant en scène un couple gay.
“Notre position sur le sujet est très claire et ne bougera pas, puisque cela fait partie des valeurs de l’entreprise. Toute l’équipe se joint à moi pour vous remercier de votre mail. Vous trouverez également en pièce jointe la réponse de notre PDG à ce sujet” m’écrit le responsable Communication de la société.
“Hier, un blog de catholiques extrémistes a posté un message que je trouve parfaitement intolérant et insupportable” écrit Emery Jacquillat, PDG de Matelsom, dans un communiqué. “Notre position sur le sujet est très claire et ne bougera pas, puisque cela fait partie, selon moi, de nos valeurs de marque et d’entreprise.”
Et il ajoute : “Matelsom s’adresse à des gens en phase avec leur époque : l’homosexualité existe, elle fait partie de la société, qu’on le veuille ou non. Sa présence dans la publicité permet au contraire de ne pas cacher cette situation, comme s’il s’agissait de quelque chose de honteux. Le discours clairement rétrograde de certains présentant l’homosexualité comme un mal ou une maladie, est grave.”
"Voir en ligne : Matelsom a répondu à mon mail
Réseaux sociaux : Toujours en croissance !
"
Voici les statistiques de Nielsen Online des réseaux sociaux les plus populaires (aux US uniquement) en termes de visiteurs uniques pour le mois de Mars:
MySpace: 60.3M (versus 55.4M en février)
Facebook: 24.9M, ( versus 20.0M en février)
LinkedIn: 7.8M, (versus 7.4M en février)
Croissance par rapport à l’année dernière:
MySpace: +8%
Facebook: +98%
LinkedIn: +319%
La récente acquisition de Bebo par AOL a marqué un modeste intérêt pour le réseau social anglais, qui connaît une croissance en passant de 2.25M de visiteurs à 2.48M (ce qui est négligeable si on prend en compte les 2 jours de calcul en moins du mois de février)
socnetdata - Get more documents
"Voir en ligne : Réseaux sociaux: Toujours en croissance!
Dial Plus Fetches Information As You Talk
"
Dial Plus is a new service in public alpha looking to provide cellphone users with instant access to data relevant to the phone numbers they call.
Upon dialing or receiving calls from businesses, users are presented with directions, business hours, and/or menus. During personal calls, the service fetches contact profiles from social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn.
At first glance, the concept seems a little useless. I’ve never really had an urge to read through a friend’s Facebook profile while I was chatting on the phone, and unless you have a headset, it’s going to be tough to browse anything while chatting. The company’s demo video isn’t too convincing, either (it’s also painfully similar to the ubiquitous iPhone ads).
But after seeing Dial Plus in person, I think that the platform has some potential - it felt nice having the phone look things up for me automatically in the background, and made me question why smartphones don’t do this already. If Dial Plus can get enough developer support for the planned widget platform, the service has a chance to do well for itself.
The company has high hopes but a long way to go. Currently available are alpha versions of the software running on Windows Mobile phones, with support for platforms including the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry on the way. Users must download a thin client, but all information is provided through the phone’s native browser.
Dial Plus is going to need to provide a complete product very quickly if they want to succeed. A number of other companies including Korean startup Callgate are already well-established and offer some of the same features. And with the release of the iPhone SDK and Android, we’re going to see this space fill up pretty quickly.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
"Voir en ligne : Dial Plus Fetches Information As You Talk
Secret History of Infocom’s Never-Released "Restaurant at the End of the Universe" Game [Milliways]
"
One of the coolest text adventure games of the 1980s was Infocom's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, based on Douglas Adams' bestselling novel of the same name. Though the game was wildly popular, and a sequel to it was rumored repeatedly, nobody has ever known exactly what happened to that sequel. Until now. Andy Baio, the investigative journo-technologist at Waxy, has received a mysterious network drive from which he recovered all the notes, plans, emails, and information about what Infocom was going to do with the sequel that would have been called Milliways. And he's published it for all to see.
Baio writes:
From an anonymous source close to the company, I've found myself in possession of the "Infocom Drive" — a complete backup of Infocom's shared network drive from 1989. This is one of the most amazing archives I've ever seen, a treasure chest documenting the rise and fall of the legendary interactive fiction game company. Among the assets included: design documents, email archives, employee phone numbers, sales figures, internal meeting notes, corporate newsletters, and the source code and game files for every released and unreleased game Infocom made.Some of the highlights include weird infighting emails between people obviously frustrated with the bureaucratic process of game design. And sad emails about how Infocom's finances are hurting. My favorites are moments when people talk about groups of two or three people designing a game — and complain when more are going to be brought in.
We also learn that the software infrastructure of the game might have actually become a character in the game itself. Designer Stu Galley wrote in an email:
I've been talking with Tim Anderson about using the New Parser in this game. It still needs a lot of development, and in the end it may prove to be slow in operating, but it promises to be very capable. Now here's the question: should the game itself make a big deal out of the New Parser? For example, the game could begin with the parser introducing itself to the player, asking the player to type a few sentences to "warm up" the parser, before getting on with the story itself. The parser could take on a personality, explaining that this is its first job, that it means well but it may not succeed. Perhaps it gets depressed and refuses to work at all. Perhaps the parser is in fact Marvin's new aural interface module, depressing him even further.Want the full story? Check out Baio's amazing writeup.
Milliways: Infocom's Unpublished Sequel to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy [Waxy.org]
Voir en ligne : Secret History of Infocom's Never-Released "Restaurant at the End of the Universe" Game [Milliways]
The Massive Solar-Orbiting Electro-Mechanical Analytic Engine, Mark 6 [Concept Art]
"
In some circles of the steampunk Star Wars universe this is known as the "Death Star," and it generates billions of calculations all day long in an effort to work with Arcane Mathematics and find a "Unified Force Theory" that can destroy entire planets.
Artist Eric Poulton has put together a series of pieces that reimagine Star Wars in a steampunk setting, and the coolest piece is probably this Engine/Death Star. Poulton says:
Inside is kilometer after kilometer of tubes and wheels, cranks and gears, all spinning and clacking, spitting out an endless series of numbers for the Imperials scientists to decipher.
It sure looks a lot more threatening than the real thing, and just knowing it could potentially kill you with the power of math is a bit offsetting. Poulton has also worked on a total conversion steampunk mod for Unreal Tournament called "Clockwork Cannons," and lends his art to videogames for his day job.
Voir en ligne : The Massive Solar-Orbiting Electro-Mechanical Analytic Engine, Mark 6 [Concept Art]
Between two consenting corporations...
"
Is proprietary software really that bad? Or is it a fair contract between consulting corporations? The answer is "It depends" and "Not really." Both depend on the strictures a vendor puts in place to inhibit its ability to lock a customer into its software. In MySQL's case, MySQL has no intention to lock customers in, as far as I can tell. It just wants to convince customers to pay so that it can prove its worth.
MySQL is contemplating introducing extensions to its core database that are only available to paid subscribers, for compelling reasons. This is not, as has been suggested, in and of itself proprietary. Red Hat does the same by providing an initial gate to its RHEL code which only a paid subscriber can access unless they get it from an existing customer of Red Hat's.
The question is not the open-source legitimacy of an otherwise open-source binary wrapped in a closed contract. This is simply a way of preventing services (like the Red Hat-provided compilation of that binary from source code) from free redistribution.
The question is one of redistribution of binaries.
There are actually ways to do this that let MySQL balance open source with closed permissions. I've drafted language for a license grant below that I think does this. It's not open source, but might be a way to balance its need for more cash growth with continued emphasis on community growth.
..."
Voir en ligne : Between two consenting corporations...
When Otaku Collide : Trainspotting + 8-Bit = This
"
What happens when trainspotting otaku team up with retro game otaku?
This: All of the different tunes that play on Tokyo's Yamanote loop train line, rendered in 8-bit Famicom chiptune sound.
It's common knowledge in Japan that many train stations on the Yamanote have different melodies that play when the doors open. You can even buy a soundtrack CD with all of them.
(Astro Boy fans should pay careful attention to what happens when the train reaches Takadanobaba, the character's birthplace, at the four-minute mark.)
The music was created using a keyboard plug-in called the Magical 8bit Plug, created by Japanese chiptune band YMCK.
8-Bit Yamanote Line [Japan Probe]
"Voir en ligne : When Otaku Collide: Trainspotting + 8-Bit = This
The Machine That Made Us
"Originally posted in The Technium
Computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum recently passed away at the age of 85. Weizenbaum invented the famous Eliza chat bot forty years ago. Amazingly this pseudo-AI still has the power to both amusing and confuse us. But later in life Weizenbaum became a critic of artificial intelligence. He was primarily concerned about the pervasive conquest of our culture by the computational metaphor -- the idea that everything interesting is computation -- and worried that in trying to make thinking machines, we would become machines ourselves. Weizenbaum's death has prompted a review of his ideas set out in his book "Computer Power and Human Reason".
On the Edge Nick Carr says this book "remains one of the best books ever written about computing and its human implications. It's dated in some its details, but its messages seem as relevant, and as troubling, as ever. Weizenbaum argued, essentially, that computers impose a mechanistic point of view on their users — on us — and that that perspective can all too easily crowd out other, possibly more human, perspectives." He highlights one passage worth inspecting.
The computer becomes an indispensable component of any structure once it is so thoroughly integrated with the structure, so enmeshed in various vital substructures, that it can no longer be factored out without fatally impairing the whole structure. That is virtually a tautology. The utility of this tautology is that it can reawaken us to the possibility that some human actions, e.g., the introduction of computers into some complex human activities, may constitute an irreversible commitment. . . . The computer was not a prerequisite to the survival of modern society in the post-war period and beyond; its enthusiastic, uncritical embrace by the most "progressive" elements of American government, business, and industry quickly made it a resource essential to society's survival in the form that the computer itself had been instrumental in shaping.
That's an elegant summary of a common worry: we are letting the Machine take over, and taking us over in the process.
Reading this worry, I was reminded of a new BBC program called "The Machine That Made Us." This video series celebrates not the computer but the other machine that made us -- the printing press. It's a four part investigation into the role that printing has played in our culture. And it suggested to me that everything that Weizenbaum said about AI might be said about printing.
So I did a search-and-replace in Weizenbaum's text. I replaced "computer" with this other, older technology, "printing."
Printing becomes an indispensable component of any structure once it is so thoroughly integrated with the structure, so enmeshed in various vital substructures, that it can no longer be factored out without fatally impairing the whole structure. That is virtually a tautology. The utility of this tautology is that it can reawaken us to the possibility that some human actions, e.g., the introduction of printing into some complex human activities, may constitute an irreversible commitment. . . . Printing was not a prerequisite to the survival of modern society; its enthusiastic, uncritical embrace by the most "progressive" elements of government, business, and industry quickly made it a resource essential to society's survival in the form that the printing itself had been instrumental in shaping.
Stated this way its clear that printing is pretty vital and foundational, and it is. I could have done the same replacement with the technologies of "writing" or "the alphabet" -- both equally transformative and essential to our society.
Printing, writing, and the alphabet did in fact bend the culture to favor themselves. They also made themselves so indispensable that we cannot imagine culture and society without them. Who would deny that our culture is unrecognizable without writing? And, as Weizenbaum indicated, the new embedded technology tends to displace the former mindset. Orality is gone, and our bookish culture is often at odds with oral cultures.
Weizenbaum's chief worry seems to be that we would become dependent on this new technology, and because it has its own agenda and self-reinforcement, it will therefore change us away from ourselves (whatever that may be).
All these are true. But as this exercise makes clear, we've gone through these kind of self-augmentating transitions several times before, and I believe come out better for it. Literacy and printing has improved us, even though we left something behind.
Weizenbaum (and probably Carr) would have been one of those smart, well-meaning elder figures in ancient times preaching against the coming horrors of printing and books. They would highlight the loss or orality, and the way these new-fangled auxiliary technologies demean humanity. We have our own memories, people: use them! They would have been in good company, since even Plato lamented the same.
There may indeed be reasons to worry about AI, but the fact that AI and computers tend to be pervasive, indispensable, foundational, self-reinforcing, and irreversible are not reasons alone to worry. Rather, if the past history of printing and writing is any indication, they are reasons to celebrate. With the advent of ubiquitous computation we are about to undergo another overhaul of our identity.
"Voir en ligne : The Machine That Made Us
Milliways : Infocom’s Unreleased Sequel to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
"
From an anonymous source close to the company, I've found myself in possession of the "Infocom Drive" — a complete backup of Infocom's shared network drive from 1989. This is one of the most amazing archives I've ever seen, a treasure chest documenting the rise and fall of the legendary interactive fiction game company. Among the assets included: design documents, email archives, employee phone numbers, sales figures, internal meeting notes, corporate newsletters, and the source code and game files for every released and unreleased game Infocom made.
For obvious reasons, I can't share the whole Infocom Drive. But I have to share some of the best parts. It's just too good.
So let's start with the most notorious — Milliways: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, the unreleased sequel to Infocom's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. For the first time, here's the full story: with never-before-seen design documents, internal emails, and two playable prototypes. Sit back, this might take a while.
Note: I've pieced together this history from emails and notes from the Infocom Drive. I haven't contacted any of the people mentioned, so if you're a primary source or authority, please get in touch so I can make corrections.
Update: Don't miss the comments section. Infocom alumni Dave Lebling, Steve Meretzky, Amy Briggs, and Tim Anderson all comment on the story, Zork co-author Marc Blank helps correct an error, and writer Michael Bywater provides an alternative view of the events.
Continue reading... "Voir en ligne : Milliways: Infocom's Unreleased Sequel to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Strangers in a Strange Land
"It’s easy to feel outnumbered in a country of 1 billion people, especially for non-natives. But more and more foreigners are finding ways to make China feel like home.
Morgan Alexander Jones (MoJo)
age 26
“There are a lot of black people in this country now ... and they speak Chinese, too.”
Where did you move from?
Brooklyn, New York.
How long have you been in China?
Three and a half years.
What do you do?
My main job is as a radio host for a luxury lifestyle and jazz show called Soulfire. The entire show is in Mandarin Chinese. My other main job is as a hip hop MC. I do my own solo work traveling around the country, hosting, rapping, and beatboxing for hip hop programs around China. But my big project right now is with my group Redstar. Redstar is a hip hop trio consisting of a Chinese-American producer by the name of DJ Sickstar, local Shanghainese rapper Tang King, and yours truly. We’ve been working together for about two years and we’re finally coming out with our first album sometime this summer. It will change hip hop.
Any funny stories?
A Chinese girl was walking past me and muttered a strangely straightforward phrase in Chinese: “Wow, there are a lot of black people in this country now.” So I turned around and yelled back to her “Yeah, there are a lot of black people in this country now ... and they speak Chinese, too.”
What do you miss most?
I miss buying deodorant for cheap. Deodorant out here is like seven or eight bucks a pop.
How much do you hang out with other expats?
Half and half. I don’t really count. I think I’m mostly around Chinese people. I guess part of that is because I’m married to one. But then again, I think my wife is more American than me and I’m more Chinese than my wife. Go figure.
Any plans to come back?
I do plan on coming back. But I don’t think it will be permanent, or at least not yet.
Sherry Smith
age 28
“I moved to China to earn less than someone living below the poverty level in the U.S.”
Where did you move from?
Before Shanghai, I lived in Wuhan, China. Before that, I lived in Jackson, Mississippi.
How long have you been in China?
Two and a half years.
What do you do and how did you end up doing it?
I work at a Microsoft joint venture with the Shanghai municipal government. (Trust me, it just sounds fancy.) My title is quality support specialist. When I worked in Wuhan, I taught maritime English to Chinese sailors.
Why did you move?
I wanted to get out of Mississippi, and China is on the other side of the world ... literally. I said to myself, “I’m too smart to be paid by the hour.” So I moved to China to earn less than someone living below the poverty level in the U.S.
What should people in America know about China?
Americans aren’t the only ones who are fiercely patriotic. And the number of people learning English in China is larger than the entire population of the United States. Learn Chinese.
What do you miss most?
I miss my bra collection! I had 79, but my friends only let me bring 14.
Any plans to come back?
I don’t know when I’ll move back for good. I haven’t been home since I left in 2005. I’m curious to see how much I’ve changed.
Mike Mou
age 28
Where did you move from?
New York.
How long have you been in China?
Five years.
What do you do in China?
I’m now working as a senior brand manager for an up-and-coming streetwear label called Eno. We are building stores across Mainland China focusing on urban Chinese youth, one of the most fascinating and fastest-growing groups in China. The learning curve is fast and the challenge to create a cool Chinese brand is something that’s great to be a part of.
Why did you move to China?
I’ve been coming to China since I was a teenager. On my first trip to China, I visited a remote village on the Yangtze River. This was 10 years ago, and there were not as many foreigners here as there are now. I was acting as a translator between the local and tourist groups and it was a great feeling, being this cultural bridge between two worlds. My love just grew from there. Fast forward to 2003, the hype of China’s growth and development really attracted me here, from a career standpoint. Also, my ability to speak Chinese and bicultural background couldn’t really be leveraged in the U.S. China is a huge, relatively untapped market and developing faster than most Westerners can imagine.
Anything else to say?
You can’t study animals at the zoo; you gotta come to the jungle.
Dan Washburn
age 34
“If fluency is your goal, you really need to quit your job and dedicate a chunk of time to being a full-time student of Chinese.”
Where did you move from?
Gainesville, Georgia—about 45 minutes northeast of Atlanta—where I was a sportswriter for a daily newspaper called The Times.
How long have you been in China?
Since August, 2002.
What do you do and how did you end up doing it?
Like seemingly every other foreigner you’ll meet here, I am a freelance writer. I’m working on a book—Par for China, an insider look at golf in China. I’m also managing editor of Shanghaiist, a blog that has grown to become one of the most popular English-language websites about China since I founded it in the summer of 2005. I also help run an online store—Mudan Boutique—that offers locally designed jewelry, clothing, handbags, and other gift items.
Why did you move?
Four years in the Bible Belt were enough for me. I ended up in Shanghai not because it was tops on my list—I didn’t even have a list—but because it was the scenario that materialized the quickest.
How much Chinese do you speak?
Enough, but definitely not as much as I’d like. If fluency is your goal, I think you really need to quit your job and dedicate a chunk of time to being a full-time student of Chinese.
How much do you hang out with other expats?
Quite often—they are everywhere in Shanghai now. Really, there’s been a dramatic increase in the number of foreign faces you see on the streets in just the short period of time I’ve lived here.
Any plans to come back?
You sound like my mom. My wife and I have a standard response when people ask us how long we plan on staying here: indefinitely, but not permanently.
John Sorrell
age 27
Where did you move from?
Franklin, Ohio.
How long have you been in China?
Five years.
What do you do?
Right now I am a youth pastor for expats.
Why did you move?
After I graduated college, I had lived 21 years in Ohio. I wanted to get out and live somewhere different. So the other side of the world was a perfect fit.
How much Chinese do you speak?
I would consider myself conversational, but my conversations just remain very short.
How much do you hang out with other expats?
It’s not exactly legal to do what I do with Chinese students. So I work exclusively with expats, because in that field I am fully legal in my role.
Any interesting stories?
We have adopted several phrases to help us cope during those times that you just can’t understand why China is the way it is. My favorite is “China wins again.” This is used for when something happens that you just can’t change. Right now China’s up 1 million to zero.
What should people in America know about China?
We can learn a lot from the level at which they revere an education. I would never wish the Chinese student life upon anyone (way too much pressure and stress) but I respect the ones who make it through.
Any plans to come back?
Not for a while. Youth pastors and youth leaders are all over the States, but here they are few and far between. There are thousands of expat kids all over Asia who want mentors, pastors, and leaders.
Lisa Movius
age 31
Where did you move from?
Ann Arbor, San Diego, Providence, and San Francisco.
How long have you been in China?
I first studied in Beijing in 1997, and moved to Shanghai permanently in 1998.
What do you do and how did you end up doing it?
I’m a freelance writer. I first started writing while doing other jobs here as I discovered there was a lot of amazing alternative cultural activity in Shanghai that was being overlooked by both the Mandarin- and English-language press here.
Why did you move?
I finished college, needed somewhere to go, and picked the most familiar place.
How much Chinese do you speak?
What is this “Chinese” you speak of? I am fluent in spoken Mandarin, I understand Shanghainese, but can only speak a little of it, although am learning. I have picked up a little Cantonese, can sometimes follow it, but it’s minimal. How’s your European?
How much do you hang out with other expats?
I have almost zero interaction with expats. They live in their
high-walled wealthy suburban ghettos, I live in China; the two rarely interact.
What do you miss?
I miss good tacos and falafel, but have learned to make them. Uncensored bookstores. And clean air.
Any plans to come back?
I have spent a third of my life, my entire adulthood in China. It is my home. There is no “back” for me.
Jon Lombardo
age 27
“All the Chinese gents at my gym meticulously and publicly blow-dry their pubic hair.”
Where did you move from?
I was living and working in New York City before I moved to Nanjing in August 2004. I moved to Shanghai—where I now live—in April 2005.
How long have you been in China?
A little more than three years.
What do you do and how did you end up doing it?
I currently work for a consumer-finance company named China Risk Finance. We are trying to become the Chinese equivalent of Capital One. I am director of internet strategy. I am in charge of the unit that markets credit cards online. Since I joined, we have grown the company from 25 to almost 1,100 employees.
Why did you move?
I studied in China during my junior year of college and I was fascinated by the energy and opportunity available to young professionals here. At that point I knew that I would probably need to return to China.
Any funny stories?
All the Chinese gents at my gym meticulously and publicly blow-dry their pubic hair. I have honestly not been witness to that anywhere else.
What should people in America know about China?
Whenever people hype China, remember that China is still two-thirds farmers. That means there are roughly 800 million farmers here. That is the real China. Even I don’t go to those places.
Any plans to come back?
I am definitely looking forward to getting back to the U.S. I am pretty sure that I can learn to love eating shitty Chinese food again."
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