Brrr...time for some reading?

Wang Hui - Co-editor of China's leading intellectual journal, Dushu (Reading) and Professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing)

Brr. Brr. Or so goes every East Coast resident right now. The weather over here is definitely changing and changing fast. What ever happened to the gradual shift in weather patterns? California, sigh.

Well, cold weather definitely means people should be in hibernation mode soon. What a better way to battle those chilly fall nights than with an interesting article. Here's one that should provide you with some talking points for tomorrow's printer conversations:

Wang Hui and China's New Left

Major claim: "It is the central government's more recent obsession with creating wealth in urban areas -- and its decision to hand over political authority to local party bosses, who often explicitly disregard central government directives --that has led, he said, to deep inequalities within China. The embrace of a neoliberal market economy has meant the dismantling of welfare systems, a widening income gap between rich and poor and deepening environmental crises not only in China but the United States and other developed countries. For Wang, it is the task of intellectuals to remind the state of its old, unfulfilled obligations to peasants and workers."

Bring on the counterarguments. Debate.

The Blow - True Affection
(addictive song that I stole from this wonderful blog...snap your fingers!)

TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me
(Return to Cookie Mountain = great album. NY band. check it out)
Wiki's description of them:

"New York City avant-garde indie-rock vocal band formed in 2001 whose music spans genres as diverse as free jazz, a cappella/doo-wop, trip-hop and electro."

Mew - The Zookeeper's Boy
(crazy synths, guitars, and angelic Danish vocals) = discovery via Pitchfork Media and their excellent Infinity Mixtape