High Times in China: 2700 Year-Old Weed Discovered

The Canadian (of course) Press reports that the oldest stash of weed was recently discovered in northwestern China.

The cache of cannabis is about 2,700 years old and was clearly "cultivated for psychoactive purposes," rather than as fibre for clothing or as food, says a research paper in the Journal of Experimental Botany.

The 789 grams of dried cannabis was buried alongside a light-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man, likely a shaman of the Gushi culture, near Turpan in northwestern China.

The extremely dry conditions and alkaline soil acted as preservatives, allowing a team of scientists to carefully analyze the stash, which still looked green though it had lost its distinctive odour.

Man, those ancient Chinese were always ahead of the times.

[Via]

IN DA CLUB

There's a club in Beijing called "Sex and Da City."

Sex and da City opened in 2003, Ms. Shen said. She and about a dozen friends had been out at the World of Suzy Wong Club, and everyone agreed they might as well open a bar of their own. When they convened to discuss the idea again in the daytime, the group had dwindled to five. When it came time to talk about investing money, Ms. Shen said, it was down to four women.

That night, Ms. Shen said, she went home and watched HBO. And right there was a show—she had already been a fan—about “exactly four girls,” pursuing independence and glamour in the big city. Before Ms. Shen and her partners went to the bank, another one of them dropped out, but she had settled on the name. Replacing “the” with “da” is, by Chinese standards, a fairly respectful nod to intellectual-property rights.

I think the club name is actually an upgrade. Has anyone ever been to this new hot joint?

Read more here.

[Via Gridskipper]

WEDDING PHOTOS DURING CHINESE EARTHQUAKE

Kottke linked to a shocking collection of photos taken by a photographer documenting a couple's wedding that occurred at the same time as when the tragic earthquake in China hit.  If not for the subject matter, these photos are incredible.

View more here.

View more here.

UN NEEDS TO FORCEFULLY STEP INTO MYANMAR

I would wholly and unconditionally condone a sizable UN military force stepping into the catastrophic and worsening situation in Myanmar. I nominate China to spearhead or lead this effort. Thoughts? The Times reports that Myanmar's military junta is seizing aid supplies while denying entry to outside aid workers, including UN experts. Unofficial estimates place the dead at over a 100,000.

One United Nations official said he had never seen delays like this before in delivering relief supplies and aid officials. In Indonesia after the tsunami in 2004, he said, an air bridge of daily flights was established within 48 hours.

“The frustration caused by what appears to be a paperwork delay is unprecedented in modern humanitarian relief efforts,” said Mr. Risley. “It’s astonishing.”

There is no other moment other than the present crisis that requires the Chinese government to step up to the plate and demonstrate its leadership. No other country or organization has the political or military influence to compel the Myanmar government to open its borders so the disaster in their country can be addressed. This rather than the pomp and glitter of the Olympics will be more effective means for China to convey the substance behind their claim that they are a leading nation among nations, and ought to be treated as such.

DROPPING KNOWLEDGE: CHINESE HISTORY

Holy forbidden city, I must have missed this lecture in the Chinese History class I took my sophomore year that was taught by a archetypal college professor who wore tweed blazers and would puff on a tobacco pipe during class:

"The emperor chose his night companion from nameplates presented to him by a eunuch," says Yuan. A high-ranking eunuch, the Chief of the Imperial Bedchamber, would remove the woman's clothes to ensure that she carried no weapons or poisons, roll her up in a quilt and carry her on his back through the courtyards to the emperor.

[...]

Passions and ambitions stewed in this world within a world. In Chinese lore, more than 200 concubines died on the orders of the 16th-century emperor Shizong. Seeking to end their misery, 16 members of his harem stole into his bedchamber one night to strangle him with a silken cord and stab him with a hairpin. The emperor lost an eye in the struggle, but the empress saved his life. Court executioners then tore the limbs from the concubines and displayed their severed heads on poles.

To read more...click here.