Why don't we do it in the road, er, on my blog?

It's time for some blatant self-promotion. I will soon be starting part-time work for a local journalist/author named John MacIntyre, best known for his column "figuratively speaking," which is syndicated in more than 40 newspapers and magazines in the U.S. and Canada, including the Halifax Herald. My job should involve looking up stats for the column and editing/compiling bits of John's new book series, "The ___ Book of Everything." Do check them both out.

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In other news, here's a bit of an oddity. Shanghai of China fame has decided to build a large theme park dedicated to... a Dane.

Figures forgotten by the selection committee apparently include Sun Yat Sen, the father of modern China; Deng Xiaoping, the father of China's economic renaissance; and Confucius, the founder of much of China's cultural heritage and social philosophy. Further to this, the park will not be dedicated to Sun Tzu, China's most famous military author; nor Mao Zedong, the CCP's longtime Chairman; nor anyone associated with the Communist Party. Nor can we include any of Ancient China's famous literary alumni on the roster: Luo Guanzhong (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), Cao Xueqin (A Dream of Red Mansions) and Wu Cheng'en (Journey to the West).

Nope, no, nadda. Instead, Shanghai is pandering to the tiny, 4-million-person Danish vote by building a USD $12.5 million park dedicated to Pastry author Hans Christian Andersen. You know, the tall, blonde Scandinavian dude who famously wrote "The Ugly Duckling," "The Princess and the Pea," "The Emperor's Clothes" and "The Little Mermaid."

The reason for the park:

[Project developers] said they chose Andersen because of the "impressiveness" of his stories and his "hardworking" background.

Perhaps Chinese officials felt they weren't attracting enough, uh, hardworking Danish tourists? In any case, the park will open by the end of the year. Danes, be sure to bring your kids and get your "impressive" face on. Oh wait. The park is more than 10,000km from your homeland. Uh, sorry about that.

再见。