To Abe Sauer and other writers I have no respect for,

It makes me angry when I read articles about China, written by people who really don’t know what they’re talking about. Recently in the news, there’ve been many stories about fake Apple stores and other fake products specifically in Kunming. The people writing these articles really have no idea. I live in Kunming… I’ve seen the stores. They’re not ripoffs, they’re just stores. The Apple product’s, but they exist because there are no official Apple stores.

And then there’s the case of the fake IKEA. It’s actually pretty cool. It looks exactly like IKEA. But it’s the only place to buy good furniture in all of Kunming. There is no IKEA.

So before you start criticizing something you know nothing about, take my word for it, there’s a lot more time than what you’ve heard.

We found an office we’re looking at renting here in Kunming. It’s in BeiChen (the north foreign corner). It’s not big, but seems adequate, it’s on the first floor at the very back of the complex.

We’re looking at building in a rehearsal space, office and storage for audio equipment yet to be purchased. It wouldn’t quite be enough if we get into warehousing microphones, cables and things of that sort, but it’s a start. We still need to get to that point before worrying about it.

This afternoon I made a last minute treck up to Shanghai to meet my dad and spend a few days looking for a new apartment here in Shanghai. We decided that between the family we spend enough on hotels in northern China that it makes renting an apartment in the city a worthwhile investment as well as a comvenience and comfort.

See you back in Kunming on Monday!

Polymath’s first real show- November 19th, 2010, in the city of Kunming. We played on the side of the modeling runway in the most prestigious shopping square in Kunming, surrounded by curious asians of all ages.

The band of four captivated the audience, opening the show with the new single, “Feels So Right”.

Last night I left my apartment and grabbed a taxi on the street heading for the club district in Kunming. I laid down across the back seat of the cab as I often do during long taxi rides. All of the sudden, the taxi driver pulls to the side of the road and a girl gets in my cab. Remember, only two minutes prior to this I’d hired the driver, right outside my apartment complex and now he’s making the decision -without prior consent, to share my taxi with a complete stranger!

Normally, this kind of thing wouldn’t bother me, and it didn’t… but I spent the whole taxi ride for the next 20 minutes contemplating what had just happened! Is this normal? Did this really just happen? How much did she pay the driver when she got out of the cab more than half-way to Kundu? What do I say to the driver?!

The scene got a little messy when the driver realized I wasn’t going to pay the full taxi fare… Nothing can be expected here and soon nothing surprises you. It just is what it is.