Pessimism and Other Crowd Pleasers

The midsummer moment seemed absurdist enough for Samuel Beckett: a woman launched into monotone observations amid a Midtown crowd on Tenth Avenue. She turned out to be discreetly scalping tickets to a sought-after dramatic reading of Beckett. They were snapped up in minutes on the theater steps, as if the deal were the Boss in open air, not Ralph Fiennes performing Beckett in signature gloom.
A case of “Worstward Ho,” as the laureate once despaired of humanity? More likely an endorsement of his grim concession: “Words are all we have.” Either way, it was an encouraging scene in the city’s fifth season — the one in which so many residents flee on vacation that those remaining have room to re-hone their appetite for this place.
The Beckett crowd, so avid on the way in, so musing on the way out, was worth attention. So were the two young men bearing surfboards, grinning obliviously as they crammed onto a subway car of angry passengers. (“I can’t go on. I’ll go on,” was applicable choreography from Beckett.)
Witnessing the city’s resilient turnings led to quarreling with him, too. (“The sun shone having no alternative on the nothing new.”). Wrong. Look over there in the sunshine of Columbus Circle at that sidewalk table of what seem to be evangelicals working the city throng. On closer inspection, they turn out to be volunteers from NYC Atheists Inc. — laid-back, amiable disbelievers — manning their weekly post outside the circle’s luxury shopping mall.
The sighting bolsters the fable of the city’s possessing a melting-pot soul. But a few blocks away, Mr. Fiennes is in firm soul denial on stage, portraying a life-worn Beckett grumbler. The mix of words and silence is spellbinding. It survives the sacrilege of someone’s cellphone ringing amid a deep riff of pessimism. The effect afterward is to make the city feel even more itself; outside, the streets are brighter for fallibility.

Transportation “On The Move” in Beijing!

Last week marked some big changes in the way people living and visiting Beijing will get around the city during the Olympics.
Proving the pace at which Beijing is changing, when I got back last Monday from a 10 day trip through China I was bombarded with news of changes that took place while I was away.
Even though the changes span every sector, having just spent a week and half riding the rails through the guts of the country, transportation is hot on my mind.
It’s also a hot topic on the minds of Beijingers.
The long anticipated Airport express, Line 10, and Olympic branch subway routes were opened up after over 5 years of construction.

All three lines are specifically designed to help handle the high volume of visitors Beijing will be seeing during the Olympics.

For guests arriving at the airport, the Airport Express line will provide a quick and cheap way to get to the heart of Beijing. Now instead of the 70 Rmb ($10 U.S.) cab ride into town, Olympic visitors can hop on the Airport express line and pay 25 Rmb ($3 U.S).

Once they reach the last stop of the Airport Express they can transfer to the Line 10 subway which services the major hotel areas.

The line 10 also transfers to the Olympic branch line where riders can connect with most major Olympic venues.

With the new line 10 easing pressure off of the other routes, it is now guaranteed that Olympic guests won’t have to engage in the elbow to elbow brawling that usually takes place while trying to board the Beijing subway during rush hour.

Although, at a mere $4 U.S. a pop, I get the feeling foreign guests will be opting to take taxis most places anyways.

For those taking taxis, the policy requiring odd-even license plate numbers to alternate driving days went into effect Sunday.

The new policy has expected to take somewhere around 3 million cars of the roads.

Already this has had a dramatic impact on Beijing’s car congestion.

I first witnessed the difference on Tuesday night when instead of the 45-minute stop and go ride I usually take to my favorite restaurant, the ride was a smooth 20 minutes. Where there was once a four lane highway filled with unmoving motors there is now a light sprinkling of traffic.

Coincidentally, the air pollution levels for the last two days have been minimal.

Beijing also began running two brand new double decker busses designed for foreign friends looking to explore the city.

With air-conditioning, extra-wide soft seats (to fit the larger foreign frames), Imax style windows, and Chinese/English commentary, the new busses will whisk 60 passengers through the historical and Olympic related sites of the city in luxury.

Though it’s very unlikely that any expats will find themselves taking public busses, Beijing also began running 10 out of 34 new bus routes.

As for me, after spending over 55 hours on the rails, 30 which were spent standing (they actually issue standing tickets), I have decided that I will avoid public transportation for a while.