A Chinese woman known only as Mrs. Wang has purchased a Tibetan Mastiff dog for a whopping $582,135!

The mysterious buyer, known only as Mrs. Wang, first met the dog while traveling China’s Qinghai province, and has another Tibetan Mastiff that she plans to breed with the new 18-month old pup. The new dog, whose name was White Root, was renamed Yangtze River Number Two. The dog and its new owner were met at Xi’an airport by a motorcade of 30 luxury cars and ready-made fans waving banners and signs to welcome him to his new home.
Mrs. Wang managed to …read more

A pneumonic plague outbreak has occurred in Ziketan, China. Three people have died thus far and the town of Ziketan has been sealed off. The location of this plague is very remote, and the population of Ziketan relatively small, so health officials think this outbreak will probably remained contained to that area.

People contract the plague through the air with an infection to the lungs. It is an extremely dangerous disease and can cause death within 24 hours. Most cases of the plague occur in Africa.
Image: sxc.hu.

China, with its fascinating history and culture, appeals to many travelers, but its confusing language and seemingly exotic food make it a destination that often gets pushed down the must-visit list.  If you’d like to experience what China has to offer, but aren’t interested in tackling the country on your own, a China river cruise lets you get up close and personal with the sights and sounds of the country while maintaining a comfortable home base of operation.
Viking Cruise Line offers a 12-day itinerary, Imperial Jewels of China, that gives you the highlights of the country while traveling from Beijing …read more

Ok. I’m not pregnant. It was an April Fool’s Day joke. I’m sorry. Go ahead and throw that tomato, but truth be told, the whole post sort of shook me up a bit. Really.
I wrote that post from the perspective of actually being accidentally pregnant – as an actor would preparing for a role in a movie, I suppose. I tried to take on the thoughts and fears and excitement I would have felt. Those feelings were real. And for a moment – no, a while – I was actually a little disappointed not to be pregnant.
I had never questioned …read more

I read an interesting piece today on condom makers. Apparently, like many products today, they can be made cheaper in China.
USAID, United States Agency for International Development, a federally funded program that distributes 10 billion condoms to poor countries, in an attempt to help curb the spread of AIDS. They will no longer be distributing American-made condoms.
“Of course, we considered how many U.S. jobs would be affected by this move,” said a USAID official who spoke on the condition that he would not be named. But he said the reasons for the change included lower prices (2 cents versus …read more

The family adjacent to our home is from China. Every morning a 6:00am sharp, the matriarch of their family, possibly in her 70’s…is out in her back yard doing some form of Chinese exercise/meditation. Some of the movements appear to be quite strenuous, or at least take a good amount of concentration and sometimes make her look like a character from an Asian film.
Since they’ve lived here, this older woman hasn’t missed a day of morning exercises. I am lucky if I get 3 push-ups done in a week. Son and daughter-in-law of this woman are both bio-quantum-engineer genius-types…and their …read more