How to learn Swedish in 1000 difficult lessons

Things change, no matter how much it seems the world keeps sliding backwards and to the right.

The husband and I watched a fascinating television documentary last night about Jin Xing, a former Chinese military officer who has become a woman and is now one of China's most celebrated modern dancers and choreographers - her stagings of "Carmina Burana" and "Shanghai Tango" were apparently wildly successful. (She's also played the part of a Lara Croft-like heroine in a Korean action flick, among other movies, and owns her own nightclub and performance space in Beijing. She's a veritable culture maven.)

I guess with the Chinese government supporting her, you can't really call Jin Xing a sexual outlaw anymore.

The Swedish word for the day is hoppfull. It means, of course, hopeful.

- by Francis S.