Equanimity in the Face of a War with Goats

Some non-threatening goats I saw last year in Zhuhai, China (photo previously shared here)

A brief break from all things China ...

If I am ever misquoted by a newspaper, I might appreciate it more if it leads to a result similar to the recent misquoting of Richard Robinson, founder of the Brighton Science Festival in the UK (HT Tania Branigan). In its apology The Argus explains:

We would like to clarify that the quote “I have become increasingly convinced that we are heading for a disastrous confrontation and that the 21st century will be remembered for a terrible war between mankind and goats” was a reader question and not a response from Mr Robinson.

The next paragraph, “People often underestimate how dangerous a goat can be – I personally know six people who have become severely injured by goats, and the annual death toll racked up by goats is over 2,000,000”, is also a reader question and not a response from Mr Robinson.

The Argus is happy to correct this and would like to apologise for the error.

I'm glad they were happy to correct the article. I imagine some readers received quite a jolt from the original version. The apology is currently circulating online for obvious reasons. What is often missing, though, is Robinson's deadpan response, one that stayed true to his outlook on life, the universe and everything:

The reassurance provided by a purely objective, existentialist view of life is that one can view with equanimity the scenario in which we humans are displaced by almost any other animal on the planet, including goats. It is all one, in the grand chaotic riot of things.

See the full article here for more of Robinson's thoughts and his lighter (or darker?) response to the followup question.

And more here soon on other topics also part of the "grand chaotic riot of things".

An Island in Yangjiang's Moyang River

In Yangjiang's Jiangcheng District there is a somewhat finger-shaped island which first caught my attention because of its older buildings. It may be debatable as to whether the island should be considered separate from a larger island surrounded by the Moyang River, and I can't find a name for the specific area on any map. It is crossed by Jiaoqiao New Road (滘桥新路) with Jiao Bridge (滘桥 ) on the western side and Moyang Bridge (漠阳桥) on the eastern side. Of the online maps I examined Sogou provided the most relevant details, so I will link to the location on their map (Chinese) here.

Jiaoqiao New Road (滘桥新路)

Below are a set of photos in the order they were taken on a walk I took slightly south of Jiaoquiao Road to as far as I could find roads, sometimes just dirt, towards the southern tip of the island. They provide a taste of the contrasts which can be found even in this small area of Yangjiang and detailed context for an upcoming post about one of the many friendly people I met there.

Smart Wife Swords in Yangjiang

Before arriving, I knew Yangjiang was known for knife manufacturing, in particular the company Shibazi. So I was not surprised to pass an apparent competitor to Shibazi one day while walking through the city.

But the name of the company, "Smart Wife", did attract my attention. I briefly pondered the challenges their branding would face in a market like the U.S. and took the above photo. As I stood there, I saw something in the store which compelled me to go inside.

It wasn't their giant knife.

It also wasn't their questioning whether you would dare touch the blade of their knives with your tongue.

And toy canons would also not have been enough to draw me inside.

Instead, it was their display of swords and axes for sale.

As I examined them more closely, I noticed they all had blunt edges. Although they could presumably still cause damage, they probably wouldn't get you far in Middle Earth. But at least touching them with your tongue shouldn't be a problem, and they can serve well for wall mounting.

One sword had an especially curious design I would not have expected to find in Yangjiang.

I asked one of the staff about its Star of David symbol. She said she didn't know its meaning, so I refrained from asking if it was a Maccabean sword. I later noticed other knife stores in Yangjiang with similar swords for sale, but I didn't see any others with the Star of David.

That concludes this light look at a Smart Wife store. In a later post, I will highlight a different side of Yangjiang's knife industry. Somebody has to make the knives.

An Old Place With a New Face in Yangjiang

In Yangjiang, Guangdong province, China

A Missing Plane in Asia

Sometimes you wake up, open an Internet browser window, stare for a few moments, and then think "Oh no ..."

Such was the case today when I learned Malaysia Airlines flight 370 carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing had gone missing. It's not a positive sign when hours after losing contact with a large plane an airline says, "At the moment we have no idea where this aircraft is right now." As currently listed by Malaysia Airlines, a majority of the passengers are from China:

Nationality	Total
China/Taiwan	154 including infant
Malaysia	38
India	5
Indonesia	7
Australia	6
France	4
USA	3 including infant
New Zealand	2
Ukraine	2
Canada	2
Russian	1
Italy	1
Netherlands	1
Austrian	1

I have flown on Malaysia Airlines several times--roundtrip from Shanghai to Chennai with a layover in Kuala Lumpur and another time from Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh. Reuters reports Malaysia Airlines "has one of Asia's best safety records", and, similar to James Fallows, I have a positive impression of the airline. I'd rate all of my experiences flying with them as better than average.

An international effort to find the plane is underway, and the U.S. Navy is sending the destroyer warship USS Pinckney and a P-3C aircraft. After over 12 hours since contact was lost and daylight now gone, no signs of the plane have yet been found. Assuming the plane has crashed, there are a variety of possibilities for the cause (HT James Fallows).

One week ago in Kunming, China, there was a horrendous massacre at a railway station. It seems this week in China will end on a sad note as well. My thoughts are with everyone affected in China and elsewhere by either event.

A Far Away Place in the Middle of Yangjiang

I have shared photos of people playing xiangqi (Chinese chess) in Changsha here, Zhuhai here, and Liuzhou here. More recently, I saw two men playing the game in Yangjiang's Beishan Park atop a lush hill. They kindly welcomed me. As I watched, I enjoyed a sense of peacefulness in a place that felt much farther away than the several minutes walk from the city surrounding it.

Thirty Yangjiang Scenes

I arrived in Yangjiang (阳江), Guangdong province, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) westward from Zhuhai and Macau along Guandong's coast, with little knowledge about it (map). Some of the upcoming posts will focus on what I found and learned in a fascinating city.

This post includes a set of scenes from the most developed area of Jiangcheng District (江城区). If you take an intercity bus to "Yangjiang" this is likely where you'll end up. The photos were all taken within an approximately 10 square kilometer (4 square mile) area, and I walked to all of the locations. Along with showing some slivers of everyday life, they highlight the area's variety of environments and modes of transportation. It's not difficult to go from a wide road for new apartment complexes to a narrow alley winding by old traditional-style homes.

Many scenes would likely be labeled as mundane by Yangjiangers, and that's fine. The aim is not to provide material for a promotional video like Dongguan's but instead to provide a more down-to-earth look at Yangjiang and some context for later posts.