It’s expensive to renounce your U.S. passport
June 12th, 2008 by wtanakaIt's the coverage of the random but useful stuff like this that I really like about the Economist (and non-mainstream-American media in general)
. . . become law by June 16th, any American who wants to surrender his passport has only a few days to do so before facing an enormous penalty.
That penalty is buried in an innocuous piece of legislation with the veto-proof name, Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) act.
Fallow Field of Wild Flowers
June 12th, 2008 by wtanakaShangri-La, Yunnan, China read more…
Red Panda
June 11th, 2008 by wtanakaRed Pandas
June 11th, 2008 by wtanakaPig Parts
June 11th, 2008 by wtanakaDisplay table in front of a restaurant with pig snouts and feet
Chengdu, Sichuan, China
中国四川省成都市
Sack of Eggs
June 11th, 2008 by wtanakaOlympic Torch in Shangri-La
June 11th, 2008 by wtanakaThe Olympic torch passed through town today. I woke up at around 6, not especially for the torch, but because I've been waking up around early (5-6 a.m.) every morning recently.
The torch started out in the horse racing track. The army has been camped out there since March, but I figure they've temporarily cleared out for the torch and for the horse festival, which has been delayed until tomorrow.
My male dog has puppies
June 7th, 2008 by wtanakaI realize this morning that I haven't heard my dog for a while. I go outside.
"Squeak!"
No response.
I notice that the door downstairs is closed. "Uh oh," I think, he's starved to death in there. Usually I leave the door open so that I don't accidentally forget he's inside. Zhuoma seems to have closed it when moving some things from what was previously her shop back to the house. I push open the door and call out some more. Still no repsonse.
Moving down the hierarchy of needs
May 28th, 2008 by wtanakaIf moving up the hierarchy of needs causes more worries (like environmentalism:
