Now I'm drunk as hell
On the piano bench
And when I press the keys
It all gets reversed
The sound of loneliness
Makes me happier

- Poison Oak, Bright Eyes

In the wrong gear,
As you twist the handlebar
Gliding past the lake with the dying sun
Hands stained from the rescue effort.
Stars are overrated, stupid blinking.
Cold wind, softness warmth, strong
Heart rate should be lower.
Yellow moon hangs over traffic lights
On the road home.

New Zealand next week! I can hardly wait. I'm dying to see those white mountains, the pure rivers, the road framed by rolling hills and bare winter trees. In my head I can already see it all.
I've got clothes and bags strewn across the bedroom floor (I'll pack soon I swear), sheets of paper detailing flights and hotels and things to bring, iPod loaded with driving music. There's always one big thing to look forward to in a year, and this New Zealand trip will be the climax. Everything afterwards will just be one long post-coital cigarette.

I am of Chinese heritage and I am ashamed by the duplicity and lack of transparency of the Chinese Government, especially at the Beijing Olympic Games.
The Games have been one big propaganda tool, and the worst thing is that millions of 'patriotic' Chinese are willing to defend the Government instead of realising that the actions of the Chinese Government bring shame to the Chinese people.
I wonder now if my blog will be banned in China.

I dream of a democratic China.

I do not support the Olympic Games in China. When China won the bid for the Games, many people said China was undeserving because of its history of human rights abuses. Many more however supported the move, saying the Olympics would allow the country to open up, to be a more responsible world player and work towards improving human rights and freedoms.

With the Games only weeks away, nothing could be further from the truth. The Government has evicted roughly 3 million residents from the capital to make way for highways and stadiums, and spent about $200 billion in construction costs, more than 300 times as much as it spent on rural health care in 2006. China has maintained censorship of the internet and media, increased repression and human rights abuses, and gaoled more dissidents and so-called 'terrorists' under the guise of creating a 'harmonious' Olympics.
Awarding Beijing the Games was meant to be a catalyst for change, a change for the better, but the reality is that the Government is using them as a political tool. The present environment in China is sadly far removed from the ideals embodied by the Olympics.