nothing is also a report

Today I walked around my new city. There was dirt but no crime. There were prostitutes and cyclists. There were policemen, supercilious but quiet. It was a lot like Los Angeles, but with better weather. There were street hawkers. People had told me there were none, in this corner of East Asia.

My internet friends Darth Sidhe, Anonymous Noises, Findhorn, and Hooded Man had all told me about life below Beijing. This corner of the world is as dark as any other, they said. And more complicated. Why? Because people tell so many lies about it.

And so, because I am of the old Northern tradition, I had to see it for myself. I think that this country will either become Swiss or Suicide. It is so very Swiss, minus the seven hundred years of tradition which keep the Swiss alive. Like the Swiss, they believe in being the biggest army in the region, thus enforcing neutrality. Like the Swiss, they hire out for money. Like the Swiss, they would love to guard the Pope for money. And probably, they would like to be paid to live in Vatican City too.

But it is also like Reykjavik. And maybe Oslo. I will say why when I am clearer about this place.