Newley Purnell

I had a bunch of photos from my time in Taiwan floating around in iPhoto and sort of forgot about ‘em. I’ve uploaded them to flickr. Check ‘em out here. There’re some gems, in particular, of Jill and I with our students. Like this one (though it’s a bit fuzzy).

I’ll never forget the kid on the far right. His name was James. He had a birthmark the size of a hamburger on his upper left arm. It was dark brown and hairy. Before important tests, all of the students would gather around James and rub his birthmark “for good luck.” He always smiled and acquiesced sheepishly. He had a calm demeanor and his concentration perpetually wandered during class — he was invariably more interested in drawing oddly compelling-looking aliens instead of doing his work.

One time, the kids were supposed to be filling in the coloring sheets I’d given them. I walked over to James and noticed that instead of doing that, he had taken a bright yellow highlighter out of his pencil box and was determinedly inking up the entire back of his hand. He wasn’t disturbing anyone so I let him continue.

I’m still sifting through emails that piled up last week; while I find my footing, here’re a few items of interest:

–Be sure to check out Dana’s re-vamped Number One Hit Song.

–CJR: “A Technical Guide for Editing Gonzo: Hunter S. Thompson from the other end of the Mojo Wire”

–ClickZ: “Study Bolsters Blog-Related PR Practices”

The trend toward PR agencies setting up blog-specific practices got a boost this week, as a new study found that more than half of journalists use blogs in the course of their work.

–Taiwan Tiger:

In the neverending attempt to conserve and save money here in Taiwan (not like anyplace is exempt from that, of course….), comes this gem. My school, instead of placing separate toilet paper dispensers in each stall of the faculty bathrooms, has a central dispenser…

–The writing process simplified: “Sniff. Explore. Collect. Focus. Select. Order. Draft. Revise.”

BBC: “Thousands of mourners have attended the funeral parade of a veteran crime boss in Taipei, Taiwan.”

“POTTY PLATES: A theme restaurant where food is served on toilet-shaped plates is packing them in, as customers look for humor with their victuals.”

I simply cannot believe I missed out on eating at this place last year. I’d heard rumors of its existence but never checked it out. Friends in Kaohsiung who’re reading this: ever been there? What’s it like?

…New York. My favorite:

Thug kid: Yo man, Welsh is the place to be. They drink as much as the Irish, but they don’t got the rep for it yet. –Times Square

Related: Overheard at Costco in Taipei.