Thursday morning roundup

In China, censorship (of a case of abused connections) backfires, with “My father is Li Gang” having become the Chinese answer to "I'm hiking the Appalachian Trail" (or maybe "I take a wide stance"). I love it (it being, even the Chinese government can't keep satire down, not that a young woman had to die because of some spoiled $hit who thought he was above the law), Anyway:

But censorship officials were seeking to control a message that had already spread widely.

On Oct. 20, a female blogger in northern China nicknamed Piggy Feet Beta announced a contest to incorporate the phrase “Li Gang is my father” into classical Chinese poetry. Six thousand applicants replied, one modifying a famous poem by Mao to read “it’s all in the past, talk about heroes, my father is Li Gang.”

Satire, however, only gets you so far; not powerful drunk and distracted drivers kill people, too.

The New Yorker kindly provided an update on Rory Stewart, once my celebrity crush. If I weren't already over it, the article would help.

In other news, all hail the New Yorker food issue. I may love the food issue as much as I love food itself. Just kidding.

Apparently, Willow Palin spells as well as her mother. Speaking of Alaska... Gail Collins' column boils down to 'meh'.

Are you f*ing kidding me? I was just at Farragut North on Tuesday, for a dentist appointment. Thankfully, no concrete-falling incidents at the time.

I highly recommend Superior Donuts. Yes, it was uneven, yes Max was over the top (and the exaggerated Russian stereotypes bothered me less than the anything-but-Russian accent).