Of nine nations, non-censorship, free books & an Obama of hair

I’ve come across a few interesting things online in the past week or so and I thought I’d share them with you.

1 First up is an article by Patrick Chovanec in The Atlantic breaking down the 1.3 billion people in China into “a mosaic of several distinct regions, each with its own resources, dynamics, and historical character.” It’s called The Nine Nations of China. As the article and sweet interactive map point out, all of China’s population doesn’t actually share the same language, history, and culture as we tend to think. I’ve added The Nine Nations of North America to my “to read” list, which is where Chovanec says he got some of the inspiration for his Nine Nations of China.

2 President Obama visited China as part of his four-stop Asian tour, which also included visits to Singapore, South Korea, and Japan. While in Shanghai he conducted a town hall-style meeting, of sorts. I don’t think I need to say too much about it because commentary on his now-infamous quote where he refers to himself as “a big supporter of non-censorship” can be found all over the net. Of particular note, here are two posts about it at Shanghai Scrap and Granite Studio.

Obama’s performance reminded Shanghai Scrap of “an overly coached American businessman on his first trip to China, so concerned about what he should or should not say that he forgets what he wants to say in the first place, and ends up going home with nothing but a hotel bill and empty promises.”

And Granite Studio says, “Well, that’s just great, Barack. Thanks! I personally oppose not getting ice cream for my birthday and I am firmly in support of not-drunk airline pilots.”

In the end, the President ultimately got censored in the Chinese news media anyway. This blog is also denied access in China.

3 Next is the discovery of Gary Thomas’ new book, Pure Pleasure, as a free eBook over at his homepage. Also, John Piper’s bestselling book Desiring G0d is Xtian Audio’s free audio download of the month, so go download it before November is over!

4 And lastly, to return to our President again, check out a Chinese hairdresser’s replica of Obama made from human hair, as well as proof of some other weird Obama mania in China.