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December in Beijing 2011

Rick — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:09:51 +0000

Had a great Thanksgiving with some American friends. Yes, a traditional meal. New friends and old. Thanks to David and Ruby for the invite. One of the best I’ve ever attended.

First snow of the year in early December! People here love the snow in Beijing (Almost no snow last winter. Perhaps even no snow.) But snow today and more expected in the coming week. Very cool!

My autobiography, in Chinese, will be out in a few weeks in China. Not sure about HK and Taiwan yet…hope soon also. You can search my Chinese name for more information about the book in a few weeks. Hope you like it!

What’s ahead?

Looks like a busy December ahead. I’ve had some friends visiting Beijing recently and more on the way this month. Fun to connect and re-connect with friends. Stories to share for sure…

Got some projects coming up soon. You’ll hear about them.

December is a celebration month…let’s stay in touch…

Rick 李柯

Early November-Autumn continues in Beijing

Rick — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:28:41 +0000

I went to the 25^th anniversary of Easy FM last week. Yeah, I was on that station quite a few years, so wanted to attend. Ran into a few great Joy FM listeners who came up to say “nihaoareyou?” Took some pix with them. Special to connect into a warm part of our past. I did hear from a few net people who watched it online. They wondered if any of the DJs were actually there because they didn’t see us. I can tell you a few of us were there. And I bumped into a few of the current staff in the crowd.

Saw publishers of my book a few days ago. It’ll be out in Chinese in about a month. Tell you more soon.

Weather hasn’t been very good lately in Beijing. Haven’t skated. I wonder if it is doing me good or harm to skate in this “fog” weather? Haha.

I was teaching English speaking recently at Firefox. You know. They make browsers. Very cool people there. It was a pleasure to spend some weekly time with them. It is the browser I use on my computer, so I knew a lot about their product.

American Thanksgiving is coming up in a few weeks. Whenever I think about it, I think everyone in the world, all 7 billion, should take time out every week to give thanks for what they have. A weekly, or daily moment, makes much more sense to me!

What do you think?

Rick

李柯

January 4th – Sanmao 三毛 20 years ago

Rick — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:07:35 +0000

From my upcoming book:
“on January 4, 1991, I was I was half-watching the news on TVB in Hong Kong while preparing to go out for dinner.
And I heard the news suddenly and clearly, “…and in Taiwan today, famous author 三毛 Sam Mo (her Cantonese name) was found dead in a hospital in Taipei from an apparent suicide.”
People still ask me if I had any idea that this would happen.
Well, I can tell you that I was absolutely expecting her to arrive a few days later in Hong Kong to work on that project she had started. I was shocked at first, and then the deep sadness set in. We were supposed to travel and get to know China, and each other, better. These are only some of the emotions that one goes through when losing someone so close, so suddenly…
I did not suspect at all that she would take her own life.”
Remembering her on this day…20 years later
Rick

李柯

My Fave Xmas Pic (again)

Rick — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:04:44 +0000

I think I post this picture every year…

It remains my favorite…worth posting again!

Taken in Hou Hai, Beijing

Happy Hols!

skating, chinese wedding and aladdin 3-D May 2010

Rick — Thu, 27 May 2010 02:20:00 +0000

Went inline skating over the weekend as I usually do. 4-wheel Salomons on Saturday, and 5-wheels on Sunday for distance and speed around the city…Skated to Hou Hai for early coffee next to the lake and then ended up in the afternoon at Beijing Exhibition Center Theater near the zoo. It was to see a performance of Aladdin 3-D…I was surrounded by children and their parents. I totally enjoyed sharing the performance with all those kids, as I am often like a kid myself! It was a live show of singing, dancing, acting, and excellent 3-D portions. Totally worth it if you get the chance to see it, and Parsons (DBA Mr Magic) is an old friend who steals the show in his many appearances. Very funny! And you don’t have to be a kid to enjoy it.

On Sunday, I stated skating in Wangfujing and went to hou hai for coffee, and then to The Village SLT, and then to Lido area, then back to Wangfujing. I can skate for 5 or 6 hours easily around the city. I skated through a hutong and saw a traditional Chinese wedding. So colorful. Glad I had my camera.

I like seeing weddings… especially traditional ones in the street…

Rick 李柯

21st Century National English Speaking Competition

Rick — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:26:21 +0000

Last weekend was very cool..Once again I hosted the China Daily 21st Century Cup, this time in Beijing at my old home, The Friendship Hotel. This year I co-hosted with Jane Zheng whom I first met a few years ago when she was working with Radio Beijing on “Touch Beijing.” In fact, she almost became a co-host of Joy FM at one time. It’s always amazing to me to hear the contestants from many cities in China speaking almost perfect English! Congratulations to all the participants; they are very talented! And it was great to meet so many who were there to support the event. Looking forward to doing it again next year!