I'm holding this piece of small device we call a cellphone in my hand. Actually, I'm hanging to it for dear life even though I feel a profound hatred for it. The only thing that stops me from throwing it against the wall is the fact that my wife lives in it. Yes, it's true. My wife is so tiny that she fits in my phone, living her life away without me. What a world we live in!   

We discussed in Part 1 of this blog that once people reach middle age, their metabolism slows down. Activity levels often decrease. Yet eating patterns typically remain more or less unchanged. This means threatening clouds looming on the horizon as far as weight issues are concerned. Oh joy. More calories going into your body with less being burnt or otherwise negated in some way, only means one thing. Trouble. Amidst the rubble and the unending stubble of our inevitably ageing and often lonely lives.

In todays's society, being tall and slim is the new elitism. A lean cowboy physique means you must be smarter and more successful than a shorter, fatter person, right? Of course, this stereotype is in reality quite wrong. But it's hard to shake. Just look at Justin Trudeau, Canada's Prime Minister, to see what I mean. Does anyone reading this - ignoring your political persuasion for one moment -  genuinely believe if PM Trudeau was a short, plump man, that he'd have reached the heights that he has today?

This article is a continuation from Part 2 of this series. It presents a random assortment of ideas flowing within a bubbling stream of consciousness concerning China and in fact, significant global issues generally. Once again, I ask that you please contain your excitement and despite your natural inclination, hold your approbation and applause. Thank you in advance. For those who were polite enough to stand, you may now please be seated.

I know the subject of this blog doesn't relate to Chinese dating, online dating and/or international relationships, and I need to apologize for that. However, I couldn't hold myself back from writing this article for a personal reason. There is a blogger on CLM, whom I'm going to name later in the article if you bear with me, who, like a parrot, keeps repeating his preferred words of nonsense in almost everything he writes about as of late. And what really pisses me off is that he does this condescendingly, calling us, ordinary people, CLM members, and bloggers, sheeple. Well, he's flat out wrong.

            For five centuries, China was the most powerful nation on Earth and poised to dominate the world.  Why didn't it?  Professor McNeill saw the answer in Chinese culture in general and Confucianism in particular.  Chinese iron production began to drop in the 13th century.  The same foundries that had been producing 30,000 tons of iron a year in the 11th century were barely producing 8,000 tons per year by 1260 and had ceased production altogether by 1736.  The Ming Dynasty forbade private merchants to engage in foreign trade in 1371, a ban that was not lifted until 1567 and by then the initiative had already been lost to the Portuguese.  In 1433, the Chinese navy stopped sailing into the Indian Ocean and in 1436 the Ming Dynasty issued a decree forbidding the construction of sea-going vessels.

After spending some time in the intriguing kingdom of China, here are some further random thoughts about the place. This article is a continuation from Part 1 of this series. Please try to contain your excitement. Hold any applause till later.

There's been much talk, of late, of various topics that have nothing to do with what CLM is all about.

            Two of the classes which I took at the University of Maryland were Modern Military History 1494-1815 and Modern Military History 1815-Present both of which were taught by Dr. Jon Sumida.  The main text for both courses was the same book The Pursuit of Power by William McNeill.  Dr. Sumida was a protégé of McNeill's while he was a graduate student at the University of Chicago and he had helped write the book by providing some of the research upon which it was based.

I've visited China five times and lived there for about a year teaching English.  With your cognisance, perhaps I can share a few reminiscences with you about it. Both good and bad. Warts 'n all. This article will in fact form part of a short series on this topic.  For the information of those who've heard so much about this mysterious kingdom but not yet had the opportunity to visit it.

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