In case you are a college football fan....

There is a bar, called "Bubba's," in Shanghai, where you can get nice Bowl action. Here is the schedule:

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the team at Bubba’s! We thank you for your patronage these past few years and look forward to seeing all of our great customers in 2009. We wish you the best for this New Year.
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> The following lists the bowl games we will feature at Bubba’s to close out the NCAA 2008 season. Most games, unless indicated by “Live,” will be shown same day delayed at the times indicated. Rankings are based on AP.
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> Thursday, 12/25
> Hawaii Bowl/Notre Dame vs Hawaii (1 and 6 p.m.)
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> Sunday, 12/28
> Champs Sports Bowl/Florida State vs Wisconsin (1 and 6 p.m.)
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> Tuesday, 12/30
> Alamo Bowl/#22 Northwestern vs #25 Missouri (6 p.m.)
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> Wednesday, 12/31
> Holiday Bowl/#13 Oklahoma State vs #15 Oregon (6 p.m.)
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> Thursday, 01/01
> Sun Bowl/#18 Pittsburgh vs #24 Oregon State (1 p.m.)
> Chick-fil-A Bowl/#14 Georgia Tech vs #15 LSU (5 p.m.)
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> Friday, 01/02
> Capital One Bowl/#16 Georgia vs #19 Michigan Stage (1 p.m.)
> BCS Rose Bowl/#5 USC vs #6 Penn State (4 p.m.)
> BCS Orange Bowl/#12 Cincinnati vs #21 Virginia Tech (7 p.m.)
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> Saturday, 01/03
> Cotton Bowl/#8 Texas Tech vs #20 Ole Miss (1 p.m.)
> BCS Sugar Bowl/#4 Alabama vs #7 Utah (5 p.m.)
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> Tuesday, 01/06 (LIVE)
> BCS Fiesta Bowl/#3 Texas vs #10 Ohio State (LIVE, 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. replay)
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> Friday, 01/09 (LIVE)
> BCC Championship/#1 Florida vs #2 Oklahoma (LIVE, 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. replay)
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> We’ll also be doing full coverage of the NFL playoffs and a LIVE showing of the Super Bowl. For game times or questions, please drop me an e-mail at kennethjoewalker@gmail.com.
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> As always….see you at Bubba’s!
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> KJ

A Short Documentary on China by One of My Students

In summer 07, I took three U of I undergrads to China for a documentary project. Some of the footages they took were turned into this short:
http://connectcontest.state.gov/video/a-friend-in-nanjing
Your comments are welcome!

Books about Shanghai

Aaron asked me to recommend books about Shanghai. While there are many excellent books on many other famous cities in the world, such as Paris and Rome, good books about Shanghai for general interests are rare. Please feel free to grab any of those tour books on Shanghai. For in-depth readings, I highly recommend Shanghai Modern (by Leo Lee). It gives a fascinating introduction to Shanghai's history as a semi-colonial city and how the city became a converging point for various political and cultural conflicts.

What to Pack

1. Camera, if it's a conventional camera, you can easily get films in China; if it's digital, bring enough memory cards with you if you don't bring a laptop. I can burn DVDs for you out of my laptop as the last resolve if you run out of memory. If the camera comes with a charger, don't forget to bring the charger with you.

2. Your passport, cash or traveler's check, driver's license, the SAO folder which includes your insurance information and the flight itinerary.

3. Your regular medication.

4. Tylenol or Advil or your preferred over the counter painkiller, diareaah medication, your asthma inhaler.

5. Winter clothes: warm coat, fleece and/or sweater, scarf, gloves, hat, warm socks.

6. A pair of sneakers.

7. A nice set of dress if you want to go out with the group. We are going to celebrate the New Year in style!

8. An Illinois T-shirt or shirt. Be prepared to leave the shirt or an extra new shirt to your Chinese friend that you have made. I respect everyone's stance on the Chief issue. Feel free to wear the Chief logo. But as a respect to the Chinese people, I don't think you should give presents in the Chief logo. I personally was offended when people wearing the Chief shirts yelled at me "Fighting Chink," which was the small Illinois town Pekin's high school mascot.

9. Dental floss, cold sour cream, moisturizer, deodorant.

10. Your cell phone, IF it's quad band, unlocked from the network and uses SIM card.