Spotlight on Mark Levine

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Who is Mark Levine?

A spotlight on Mark Levine, whom I have known for years.
In his own words:
I am an American sociologist who has lived in China since 2005. Since arriving I have taught at a number of different universities but my main teaching job since 2007 has been at Minzu University of China in Beijing. I currently teach Public Speaking, American Culture and Oral English.
I am a guitarist/songwriter/singer. I have written more than 60 (English-language) songs about life in China and have performed the and many Chinese songs in 10 Chinese Provinces. I have performed before several audiences of more than 50,000 people, sung at The National Center for the Performing Arts and Beijing’s MasterCard Center as well as in bars, factories, fields and 20 Chinese weddings. My performances have been seen on more than a dozen different Chinese TV stations.
In Side Out is a musical duo that I have formed with Chinese folk musician Fu Han. Ms. Fu performs on her er-hu (a two-string, bowed Chinese instrument) and I play guitar. Singing both Chinese and English-language songs, we share the vocals.
My book, Stories from My Chinese Journey, was published in China by New World Press in April 2014.
See: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhlevine/

Hilton Hotel with FCGroup

On 23 December 2014, one of the many events with a spotlight on Mark Levine. The FCGroup has been the leading networking event group in Beijing. That event was again in the Zeta Bar of the Hilton Hotel.

Beijing Foreign Studies University

On 22 April 2016, at BFS, the evening “East meets West” featured a program by Mark Levine and Fu Han, attended by some well-know Chinese and foreign guests.
Among the foreign guests several winners of the China Friendship award, and also the famous Isabel Crook, our CCTV host Edwin Maher, Michael Crook and many others. See also the picture with Ms. Huang Huanbi, the wife of late Israel Epstein.
Mark also presented his book “Stories from My Chinese Journey”.

 

Chongyang Festival

I have invited Mark afew times at the official Chongyang Festival celebration. I still hope I can have him at the next celebration so he can sing his Chongyangjie song.
See here the clip he made about the Festival:

See here one of the celebrations:

The 6th Chongyang Festival in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse

Legend Beer food and girls

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Gilbert, the photographer

Being a regular, I am asked to document the Legend Beer food and girls, something I do with pleasure.
As said, the food and the beer are good. And some of the girls are just stunning. I don’t comment on the male models as this is not my area of expertise!

See Legend Beer food and girls

See some of the dishes and the customers. I am always introduced as the “famous photographer”, funny.
Dishes: roast chicken, roast lamb, hamburger, sausages, Korean chicken. My favorite beer is the Gongti IPA (Workers Stadium IPA), 5.5%, pretty bitter.

Beijing XL Bar and Restaurant

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Hidden but well-known

Beijing XL Bar and Restaurant is hidden behind the German restaurant Hacker-Pschorr on Xindong Lu. But since Jane took over as manager, the place is well known and often packed. Previously Jane was the manager at Nearby The Tree, since she left there the place did not manage to survive and it is now taken over by Schillers, as their original place was razed – one of the many victims of the “clean-up” (the building belonged to the army…).

Schillers seems to do pretty well, see how it changed little of the original interior of Nearby The Tree.

Busy place

Beijing XL Bar and Restaurant took over many of the old clients of The Den (also forced to close – the army…) and also took over the monthly NVP drinks (Nederlandse Vereniging Peking) from Nearby The Tree.
XL also hosts gaming and dart evenings.
Food and drinks are OK and reasonably priced.

Digibesity books and articles

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Alone Together

Digibesity books and articles: Alone Together, by Sherry Turkle
Sherry explores where technology is taking us and how society adapts to answer new questions brought on by the rise of mobile technologies, robots, computers, and other electronic gadgets. In particular, Turkle raises concerns about the way in which genuine, organic social interactions become degraded through constant exposure to illusory meaningful exchanges with artificial intelligence. Underlying Turkle’s central argument is the fact that the technological developments which have most contributed to the rise of inter-connectivity have at the same time bolstered a sense of alienation between people.
See more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherry_Turkle

Yes smartphones are useful

Of course the new  technologies are great and allow to do us so much and more efficiently. But they should remain tools and not replace our human life.
See this excellent article:
“Hooked on our smartphones”
By Jane E. Brody – 9 January 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/well/live/hooked-on-our-smartphones.html

Extract:
The near-universal access to digital technology, starting at ever younger ages, is transforming modern society in ways that can have negative effects on physical and mental health, neurological development and personal relationships, not to mention safety on our roads and sidewalks.

“Why We Can’t Look Away From Our Screens”

Interview with author Adam Alter by Claudia Dreifus, 6 March 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/science/technology-addiction-irresistible-by-adam-alter.html

In a new book, “Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked,” the social psychologist Adam Alter warns that many of us — youngsters, teenagers, adults — are addicted to modern digital products. Not figuratively, but literally addicted.

More about the book:
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked
by Adam Alter
Intro Barnes & Noble:
Welcome to the age of behavioral addiction—an age in which half of the American population is addicted to at least one behavior. We obsess over our emails, Instagram likes, and Facebook feeds; we binge on TV episodes and YouTube videos; we work longer hours each year; and we spend an average of three hours each day using our smartphones. Half of us would rather suffer a broken bone than a broken phone, and Millennial kids spend so much time in front of screens that they struggle to interact with real, live humans.
In this revolutionary book, Adam Alter, a professor of psychology and marketing at NYU, tracks the rise of behavioral addiction, and explains why so many of today’s products are irresistible. Though these miraculous products melt the miles that separate people across the globe, their extraordinary and sometimes damaging magnetism is no accident. The companies that design these products tweak them over time until they become almost impossible to resist.

Rotaract Beijing starts 2017

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

A new year and lots going on

Rotaract Beijing starts 2017: the two clubs are now pretty busy.
Here some updates

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA)

RYLA is an intensive training program for young adults. In China we focus on 18-30 year olds. Our RYLA is a four day group retreat of 25 young leaders geared at honing their personal awareness and leadership skills in a dynamic and exciting experience of exploration and adventure
RYLAs are designed for young adults with proven leadership ability and commitment to community service. It will help you discover your potential and develop the skills you need to be a leader in your community, career, and everyday life.
Time and place: Moganshan Bamboo Forest (four night retreat, 10 km from Shanghai), 1 to 4 April 2017
More: http://www.rylachina.org/

See here some pics, our Rotaractors from Beijing were also present.

Some of our meetings

On 30 January: social in Blue Frog, Sanlitun.
On 27 February meeting in SOHO Sanlitun.
On 6 March meeting in SOHO Sanlitun.
On 22 March the Rotaract volunteers visit the migrant children’s school with MCF (Migrant Children Foundation).
On 27 March, Gilbert presents his book Toxic Capitalism in Cafe Ruhe (Pacific Century Place, Sanlitun), the new venue.