Hello, Little Child (or, Chinese Benjamin Button)

Random child, found with this random painting set-up, in a random deserted garden at the Summer Palace in Beijing.

I'm not sure where he came from, or more pressingly, why he is sporting that impressive mustache. But seriously, how adult does he look with that easel and that facial hair.

Also: I say "Hello, little child" a lot. It comes from this episode of Harry Potter Puppet Pals (Brilliantly funny. You MUST watch. I'll wait.)

...Hilarious, right? So, every time I write "Hello, little child," it's not meant to be in that creepy pedo way, but rather in that puppet-y Voldemort way. And now you know.

Beijing, blue as can be

[Summer Palace, June 09]

According to tweets from Beijing folk, the skies are still quite clear at the moment, thanks to some cloud science/magic by the CCP (depends on who you ask).

But you know, Beijing doesn't always need a national holiday to look nice. Sometimes, Beijing likes to drive the clouds away and look pretty just cause it feels like it. ^This was one of those days.

Backstory: One day in late June, I spontaneously hopped a train to Beijing. During the nine-hour ride, I started to wonder if perhaps I had been a bit too impulsive. Upon arrival, I took one look at the gorgeous weather and knew it was the universe telling me I made the right decision. I mean, if there was any one time I was going to see the Summer Palace, Houhai, and the Olympic Green...that week was it.