http://pksax.com/words Paul Klemperer Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:49:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Simple Answers For Impatient People. Phez Kimono, international gadfly and guest commentator, muses on why people prefer simple answers over complex truths... When we were mere children, screaming and rough-housing and generally making life miserable for any adults within earshot, one strategy to calm us down was to put a connect-the-dots picture ... http://pksax.com/words/?p=71 May 31. I feel like I've been walking non-stop for 2 weeks now. After the rigorous schedule I kept in Beijing with my sister (Forbidden City, Great Wall, Summer Palace...) I thought my legs would toughen up, but all that walking (China is big!) felt like I'd been worked over ... http://pksax.com/words/?p=70 May 26. Shanghai. I took a late afternoon flight from Beijing to Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai, sandwiched between two Chinese businessmen. It was a fairly typical experience, which is to say a mind-bending pairing of contrasts. The gorgeous flight attendants in their blood red Jackie-O style uniforms pampered ... http://pksax.com/words/?p=69 May 24. Images of Beijing. In the hutong: old woman sitting in a tiny convenience store. At her feet a white rooster pecks at the floor. middle aged couple walking down the street in matching striped pajamas. The authorities in Shanghai have clamped down on public wearing of pajamas, but here ... http://pksax.com/words/?p=68 May 23. Sunday evening in Beijing. The last 2 nights I went to the East Shore Jazz Club, a jewel of a bar in the Houhai lake area. Friday night had a great trio, and Saturday night soprano saxophonist Liu Yuan led a great quartet through straight ahead jazz ... http://pksax.com/words/?p=67 May 19. Finally have some time to reflect on the last week. After Dongguan, I flew to Zhengzhou where I met my sisters Wendy & Joyce. Wendy & her s.o. Steve Brower were invited as visiting artists to do projects at Sias University in Xinzheng, near Zhengzhou. Joyce, ... http://pksax.com/words/?p=66 May 10. It rained in Hong Kong as I left Sheung Wan and clumsily wheeled my rolling sax case and various other bags down & down into the bowels of the MTR. The plan was to meet Ojie, one of the musicians who play in Dongguan, and he would be ... http://pksax.com/words/?p=62 May 9 Last night, Saturday, I got to play with some old friends here in HK. Tommy Chung, blues guitarist, was rocking the house at the Melting Pot, and after a ginger beer, I broke out the tenor and joined him on a few classics like The Thrill Is Gone. ... http://pksax.com/words/?p=63 May 7, Hong Kong. I was going to stay with a friend in the Mid-Levels area on HK island, but her yappy pug dog had other ideas, growling and barking nonstop for 8 hours. So I, like many travelers on the cheap, found a guesthouse across the bay. I ... http://pksax.com/words/?p=61 May 5. After a full day of touristification in Shanghai yesterday, I am now sitting in Hongqiao Airport awaiting a delayed flight to Shenzhen, and from there to Hong Kong. The weather was too good to last, and I woke up to pouring rain. Of course I had packed ... http://pksax.com/words/?p=60