Joey Fatone a guest judge on ‘Dance Your Ass Off’
“Dance Your Ass Off” serves up a prom-night theme tonight as the contestants perform jazz-funk routines.
Oh, and there’s a local connection: Central Florida’s Joey Fatone will be the guest judge. The ‘N Sync star knows the dance-contest routine after taking part on “Dancing With the Stars.”
“Dance Your Ass Off” airs at 10 tonight on Oxygen.
R.I.P. China Blogs?
We were amused to see that the most recent Sinica podcast was ominously titled “Death of the China Blog,” since here at China Beat we feel very much alive. To our relief, however, the discussion (among host Kaiser Kuo, Imagethief’s Will Moss, and Danwei’s Jeremy Goldkorn — who was good enough to do an interview with us last month) ended with the happy conclusion that while the China blogosphere has changed quite a bit in the past few years, it’s still going strong. We heartily agree.
We are sad to see one blog we’ve grown quite attached to go on hiatus for a bit: over at Six, Alec Ash has announced that he’s taking a break and will reinvent and relaunch his site in the coming months. Fortunately, we can still follow Alec’s writings in other venues, as he has a piece on China’s young climate-change activists at The Economist, as well as an article in Prospect magazine about foreign students in China (available to subscribers only).
Though the Sinica podcasters discussed only the English-language China blog scene, we’ve also become aware of a couple non-English blogs that we’ve begun following, and with the improved quality of Google Translate, fluency in a foreign language isn’t required to read them. In Italian, check out Cineresie; for Spanish-language China news, head over to ZaiChina.
So, it doesn’t seem that the time has come yet to proclaim the death of the China blog, but tune in to the Sinica podcast for a lively and well-informed discussion of the great China blogs on the web today. We’re happy to say that we heard some kind words about China Beat, and very much return the sentiment — these Sinica podcasts have quickly become one of our weekly “must-listens.”
PBS sets John Lennon profile, modern-day Sherlock, Ken Burns’ ‘Tenth Inning’
PBS today announced premiere dates for fall programming.
“American Masters” will look at the last decade of John Lennon’s life. The program, with the working title “John Lennon — New York City,” will air Nov. 22, shortly before the 30th anniversary of Lennon’s murder in New York. Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Elton John and photographer Bob Gruen take part in the profile, which will feature home movies and outtakes of Lennon in concert.
“The Tenth Inning,” an extension of Ken Burns’ “Baseball,” will arrive Sept. 28 and 29. “Baseball” played on PBS in 1994. The four-hour “Tenth Inning” will feature the stories of Joe Torre, Cal Ripken Jr., Pedro Martinez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
Also coming from PBS:
***”Circus,” a three-part look at the Big Apple Circus. It will air Nov. 3, 10 and 17.
***”God in America,” a three-part program from “Frontline” and “American Experience.” PBS says the program “examines the potent and complex interaction between religion and democracy, the origins of the American concept of religious liberty and the controversial evolution of that ideal in the nation’s courts and political arena.” Key Americans profiled include Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, William Jennings Bryan, Clarence Darrow, Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell. Oct. 11-13.
***”Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook,” Oct. 6, 13 and 20. A look at American song from an expert on the topic who also happens to be a terrific singer.
***”Masterpiece Mystery!” will offer a new series of “Wallander” with Kenneth Branagh on Oct. 3, 10 and 17. “Sherlock” presents Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes in the London of today. Martin Freeman plays Watson. Oct. 24, 31, Nov. 7.
***”The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That!” is a series that debuts Sept. 6. Martin Short supplies the vote of the Cat in the Hat.
***”Great Performances” presents Renee Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky performing in St. Petersburg. Sept. 1.
***”American Masters” celebrates Israel “Cachao” Lopez in “Cachao: Uno Mas” on Sept. 20. Lopez died two years ago in Coral Gables. Andy Garcia produced the program and narrates it.
***”Nature” examines “Cuba: The Accidental Eden” on Sept. 26.
***”Nova” presents “Building the Great Cathedrals” on Oct. 19.
***”Frontline” has its season premiere Oct. 19.
***”Independent Lens” starts a new season Oct. 19 with “The Parking Lot Movie,” a look at parking lot attendants in Charlottesville, Va. “Art & Copy” arrives Oct. 26 and takes a look at men and women in advertising.
‘The Bachelor’: Vienna Girardi visits Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon
Happy days are here again for Vienna Girardi. The Sanford contestant on the last “Bachelor” today visited Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park at Walt Disney World.
Earlier this month, she was shedding tears on national television over her breakup with “Bachelor” star Jake Pavelka.
But there were no tears today, because Pavelka is out of the picture. Todd Anderson took this photo.
The Jake-Vienna saga will be recounted in a special “20/20″ — called “The Stories Behind the Rose” — at 10 p.m. Monday. “The Bachelor” airs on ABC. The network and Walt Disney World are Disney properties.
“Mao in Transition to Becoming Mao”: Rebecca Karl on Her Forthcoming Book
By Jeffrey Wasserstrom
Some time back, I did a Q-and-A with Rebecca Karl about her forthcoming trade book on Mao. Now that its publication date is drawing near, I decided to do a short follow-up and she was good enough to oblige once again by answering a few questions:
JW: I see from Amazon.com that the cover for your book is up there and that some sample pages are also available for browsing. When exactly will the book be available?
RK: Duke University Press is sending me advance copies at the end of July; that means the book should be available for purchase by mid-August, at the latest.
JW: Is there anything you can tell us about how the cover fits in with or reflects the arguments in the book or differs from the kinds of representations of Mao on other recent books?
RK: I asked the designer specifically not to have a red cover, and not to have a picture of Mao that everyone associates with the apogee of his rule (the Mao kitsch version). Those are features of most covers for books on Mao. I wanted a picture of Mao in transition to becoming Mao. That is because one major argument of the book is that Mao, rather than just being born Mao, became who and what he was in history — in interaction with his local and global environment and with the challenges he and his comrades faced. To convey this historical process, I originally bought in the Shanghai Cultural Revolution museum a woodcut print of a contemplative Mao from 1938, holding a calligraphy brush and gazing out a window towards some mountains. It depicts a peaceful and calm Mao, although to my eye, it also conveyed a sense of Mao’s contemplation in tension with the mountains beyond. I submitted that to the Press as my desired cover art. It turns out that I have absolutely no sense of graphic design: the image was awful for a book cover. It felt dead and lifeless. Heather Hensley, my cover designer, tried her level and gifted best with it, but there was nothing she could do to make it work. Instead, she found a picture of a youngish-looking Mao running a meeting in Yan’an (the 1930s Communist base area) during the War of Resistance against Japan (what in the US is called the Pacific War portion of WWII). This is a moment when Mao and China are transformed, so it is perfect to depict the active argument of the book. The subdued but powerful color scheme was Heather’s idea, and I like it immensely: it contrasts with and yet gives life to Mao’s gesticulations; it also evokes the sense of an old photograph (which it is!).
JW: And if you don’t mind a slightly off-the-wall question, any thoughts to share with our readers on the recent flurry of attention to the relevance of Mao’s thought for being a successful manager or entrepreneur a la this recent China Daily story?
RK: As I write in the preface to the book, when I first began to teach a course on Mao at NYU in 2005, I found my classes filled with undergraduate business majors, who wanted to learn about “guerrilla marketing”, which they’d been taught derived from Mao’s theories of guerilla warfare. I assured them they would learn nothing about marketing from me, although they’d learn a lot about Chinese history and Mao Zedong. The attempt to “apply” Mao to managerial tasks and capitalist marketing are hilarious to me — he was as anti-managerial and anti-capitalist as it comes! — but it is surely a symptom of our times. So the question is not off-the-wall, but rather precisely a-propos!
Salsa Dancing Lessons : Salsa Dancing: Step 4
Repeating “quick, quick, slow” helps beginner dancers learn Salsa dancing. Learn step four of Salsa dancing in this free Salsa dancing video lesson.
Expert: Brie Kaanoi
Bio: Brie Kaanoie has been singing and dancing professionally since the age of 4.
Filmmaker: Sam Lee
Duration : 0:2:51
[youtube Hzkf7aATCU0]
Casey Anthony: Jose Baez says prison inmate supplied more potential witnesses
Local stations handled the latest Casey Anthony news quickly today.
Anthony attorney Jose Baez has filed a second motion to block the release of a phone conversation he had with a state prison inmate. Prosecutors had planned to release the call. Judge Belvin Perry has a copy of the call between Baez and inmate Robin Lunceford, who alleges that two inmates created false information about Anthony.
WESH-Ch. 2’s Bob Kealing explained that Baez “in this motion, tells Judge Belvin Perry that this inmate provided him information about more potential witnesses. And he wants time to check out what she has to say.” Perry is deciding whether to have a hearing on the call issue and has asked the prosecution to respond, Kealing added.
WFTV-Ch. 9 anchor Bob Opsahl explained why Baez wants the calls sealed — Baez’s motion today refers to one call. ”Baez claims the calls are privileged information because they are work product of the defense,” Opsahl said. “If the judge doesn’t go for that argument, Baez is also asking for time to investigate the inmate’s claims before the calls get released to the public.”
WOFL-Ch. 35 anchor Bob Frier highlighted potential witnesses supplied by Lunceford. ”Casey’s attorney wants time to interview the witnesses and investigate their claims,” Frier said. ”But he does not want the names or the phone call itself released to the public.”
Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.
WESH also looked at costs in the Anthony case. “State records show tax dollars have started flowing for Casey’s defense,” Kealing reported. The total from March to June was $3,564. The Justice Administrative Commission rejected a Baez invoice for $490 for a court reporter. Baez would be responsible for any bill that the JAC doesn’t cover, said attorney Richard Hornsby, who offers analysis for WESH.
Musings on a Museum: A Trip to Xibaipo
By Kenneth Pomeranz
A short trip to China earlier this month took me to Beijing to give a talk, to Shijiazhuang for a conference, and, briefly, to the Hebei countryside — my first time in quite a while in rural North China. And it once again proved that every trip teaches you something, but often not on the expected topics. (One little detail that I found telling: most of the Beijing-based academics who were at the Shijiazhuang conference told me it was their first time there. True, Shijiazhuang is not a tourist hot spot, but it is a provincial capital, with over 2 million people in the city, and it’s barely 2 hours away by fast train.)
One of the talks I was giving was on environmental history, and I’ve become more or less obsessed by North China’s water shortages — so naturally I arrived in the middle of summer rains with everything looking green. That doesn’t mean the water problems aren’t real, of course, but this time around I didn’t learn much about them. (There was a desperate shortage of life-giving fluid — I went without coffee for two and a half days — but that’s another matter.) On the other hand, I learned an awful lot when our hosts in Shijiazhuang took us to a place that I hadn’t expected to find all that interesting: Xibaipo.
Xibaipo, in Southwestern Hebei along the edge of the Taihang Mountains, was part of one of the CCP’s 19 base areas during the war against Japan; it became the party’s principal headquarters after a Nationalist offensive drove them out of Yen’an in 1947, remaining so until March of 1949. (Mao arrived in May of 1948.) It was the site of the key national conference on land reform, and the place from which some of the Civil War’s decisive battles were planned. It was opened as a museum in 1978, and if I heard correctly, it has logged 240 million visitors since then. (Very few of them are foreigners, according to our guide, and I saw no other obvious foreigners during our visit.) Americans can think of it as a sort of cross between Valley Forge and Independence Hall, or what such a place might be if it were plunked down in Appalachia — Pingshan is on the Chinese government’s official list of poverty-stricken counties.
Xinhua office
Much of the site is taken up by reconstructions of the homes and offices of major CCP leaders who were here: Mao, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Dong Biwu, and others. (The originals were destroyed as part of a dam-building project — OK, you knew I’d get water issues in there somehow.) Jiang Qing’s room is also clearly marked, but was locked during my visit. All of these are quite Spartan — simple beds or kangs, chairs, and desks, and very little decoration besides a photo of the couple in each residence and some maps, which did not look nearly detailed enough to plot any campaigns on, in the military headquarters. Many also featured some very simple tool suggesting participation in manual labor: a spinning wheel near the bed, a grinding stone in the courtyard. (I have no way of knowing how closely this corresponds to what the place looked like in 1948.) The photos — some probably wedding pictures, some not — are among the most interesting details. Most show the couple standing or sitting close enough that one can’t be sure whether they are touching, both looking straight ahead, only the woman smiling. One wonders whether this is coincidence, or whether, like so many aspects of CCP family and gender policy in these years, they were carefully calibrated compromises between the urban, May 4th heritage of so many CCP leaders and the much more conservative values (at least as the leadership saw it) of their peasant base. The explanations that were provided — both by signs and by our guide, a local middle school student — were generally matter-of-fact. The crowds that filed though were pretty quiet and serious: I saw no expressions of great revolutionary fervor, but I didn’t hear any jokes, either, and one of the most popular places to take a photo of oneself seemed to be by the plaque that had the pledge recited by people joining the Party.
Portrait of a CCP couple at Xibaipo
An adjacent museum building had one large room devoted to land reform, one to military campaigns, and one to Party personnel and meetings. The land reform room was, at least for me, genuinely moving: hand-written land deeds, handbills announcing the rules of land reform (plus an early draft of the policy with lots of cross-outs), photos I’d never seen before of very excited peasants under a “land to the tiller” banner, and wooden farm tools that reminded you of just how hard farming in this region had been.
Draft of the land reform policy
"Land to the Tiller!"
By contrast, the room devoted to military affairs evoked very little emotion, perhaps in part because there was virtually no hint of whom the war had been fought against. I don’t recall the Guomindang being mentioned by name, nor were there the comments about generic “reactionaries” that would certainly been part of the text not that many years ago. The Japanese were also absent; this area was a base during the Anti-Japanese War as well, but it had far fewer big-name residents during that time, and the exhibit pretty much ignores that era. The guide pointed out one chair that was apparently made from metal harvested from a U.S.-made warplane, but that was about the only hint of who was on the other side. The one table of the museum shop that was devoted to books held the expected biographies of Mao, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, and Deng Xiaoping, but more surprisingly also featured titles about the lives of Chiang Kai-shek and Song Meiling. On the cover of his biography, a graying Chiang smiles slightly and looks into the far distance, seeming particularly paternal and benevolent — one more sign of the continuing Robert E. Lee-ification of Chiang on the mainland. (Indeed, the way the US forgot what the Civil War had been about and substituted a tale of “heroes in blue and gray” might not be a bad model for the way the Civil War is being recast in some recent Chinese media — and lest we think we’re past that, US 1 heading south out of D.C. is still Jefferson Davis Highway. Rehabilitating Chiang seems a lot less peculiar than that.) Meanwhile, any indication of the complex emotions of war was also absent — the pictures and statues showed everyone being implausibly unflinching and heroic, as in a painting of Mao and his troops crossing the Yellow River. (This one made me wonder if the artist had seen the famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware, and evoked the same reflex response: “Sit down, already! Do you want to capsize this thing?!”) Walking through the long, narrow, very dimly lit tunnel that served as an air-raid shelter was actually a much better reminder that war is scary — or at least that’s how it worked for me.
Crossing the Yellow River
Then, of course, there was the stuff for sale — both in the official shop, and on the tables of the many vendors outside. A lot of the merchandise was the same: Mao memorabilia, banners and shirts saying “Xibaipo,” assorted knick-knacks (many with no clear relationship to the site), the usual (allegedly) Qing dynasty copper cash, a few political biographies, and lots of wooden, plastic, and metal toys. The toys that seemed most like they meant something — though I don’t know what — were small metal planes, tanks, and cannons, which appeared to be made out of bullet and shell casings. But these were not art from found objects, like the toys and mobiles made from Coca-Cola cans that you sometimes see elsewhere. The “casings” were bright and shiny, and showed no signs of any previous use — so either they are made from casings that were extra, and never got filled with powder, or there’s a factory that’s making things that look like bullet and shell casings but are intended all along to be made into toys that will evoke the idea of having been made from casings. I saw these in at least one other place in Hebei (Langya Shan, also a revolutionary heritage site, but one where many people seem to go for the scenery), and China Beat editor Maura Cunningham tells me she recently saw something like them in a shop in Philadelphia’s Chinatown. In short, your guess is as good as mine.
"Bullet toys" for sale
And that, in the end, is how I feel about a lot of what I saw in Xibaipo — there are probably a lot of interesting stories here, but I didn’t stick around long enough to figure out how many of the intriguing details were indicative of something bigger versus how many just pointed to one person’s idiosyncrasy as expressed on one day. At some sites, it’s very clear that somebody in charge is trying for a particular effect, and either did or didn’t achieve it, but here I was much less sure what I was seeing: a message that hadn’t changed, but just doesn’t resonate the way it used to? A lack of consensus among different participants about what the message should be? A new message not yet shorn of its rough edges and internal contradictions? The guide for a group right ahead of ours wore a PLA uniform; ours wore sneakers and a pair of old-looking black pants with a tear, and had a happy face sticker next to her microphone. But they both had wooden clappers and used them to accompany what I think was the same rapid-fire patter about the site at the last stop on the tour. The souvenir tables featured the toys made from ”bullets,” but also carved wooden squirrels and a local version of Russian nesting dolls. And the CCP’s opponents in the Civil War were essentially missing — but of course, all the domestic tourists know who they were, at least superficially. So I came away unsure what I had seen — but there would be a lot to learn here about history, memory, and tourism in the PRC for somebody who would hang around a while.
Casey Anthony: Papa George cuts off jail money
There was a little Casey Anthony news today, and WFTV-Ch. 9 supplied headlines. Anthony doesn’t have any money in her jail account, WFTV reported tonight.
How did this come to be? “George Anthony has not put any money into jail account for nearly two months, not since the news broke that he wrote Casey an angry letter responding to her allegations of sexual abuse,” anchor Martie Salt said.
Yes, such allegations would anger a parent.
The bottom line? Anthony owes the jail more than $41, Salt added.
WFTV also reported that Judge Belvin Perry had appointed a special magistrate to watch over the Anthony defense team when it looks at Texas EquuSearch records.
Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.
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