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Totally self-referential:  here's a picture calsea took of me taking a picture out my hotel window.


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Thus far calsea and I are having a wonderful, and very interesting, time in Los Angeles.  There has been good food, interesting people, surprising encounters and a bit of adventure.  The picture below is taken of the moon over Wilshire Canyon Boulevard from The Angelino Hotel.


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I was thoroughly delighted by the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. These were directed by Zhang Yimou, an accomplished Chinese Film directory of films such as "Hero" and "The House of Flying Daggers."

Last year we had the opportunity to see "Impressions of Sanjie Liu" in Yangshuo, China. This was an outdoor theatre piece ( Read more... )

This amazing trip is at an end and I am grateful to start the long trek home tomorrow.  It will be two travel days of more than 24 hours with an overnight in Moscow.  This has been truly amazing.  Siberia is not at all what I thought it would be and Vladivostok reminds me more of Seattle than any other city.  Given that it was a closed city for so ( Read more... )

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