Chicago Blues Fest 2025!
Information below:
Click for Chicago Blues Fest Details
The restaurants downtown are very busy thanks to this event. Merchandise sells well, too.
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Sunday, April 13, 2025
520 Vendors at Otter Classic Bike Race - MC Weekly reports!!!
I read in the Monterey County online that there are 520 vendors at the Otter Classic Bike Race this year and 70,000 attendees! Incredible. I think the traffic was well organized this year, too.
Comment by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Friday, April 11, 2025
Salinas International Airshow - October 4 to 5, 2025
The Salinas International Airshow is set for October 4 to 5, 2025.
Tickets on sale now.
Click below for more information:
Click for Salinas International Airshow Information
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
July 4th Party suggestions by Ruth Paget
Most upscale grocery stores have a bakery department where you can order a sheet-pan flag cake for July 4th with some advance planning.
Hot dogs can be dressed up with warm sauerkraut and brown mustard.
Horseradish-mayonnaise is a nice dip for sliced, grilled vegetables.
Mustard-mayonnaise perks up hamburgers with lettuce and tomatoes.
A red, white, and blue tablecloth is a nice touch.
Kids can blow bubbles, learn the words to the national anthem (you can get paid to sing this as an adult as gig employment), and play memorization games.
Happy 4th of July in advance.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Whalefest is April 12 and 13 in Monterey, California reposted by Ruth Paget
Whalefest is set for April 12 and 13 (2025) in Monterey, California - tours, talks, and family events - for more information, click on the event link below:
Have fun and plan early!
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Thursday, April 10, 2025
Asian Cultural Experience Salinas - 4/26/25 by Ruth Paget
The 26th Asian Cultural Experience is happening in April 26, 2025 in Salinas. This event is organized by the Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese communities in Salinas.
For more information click on the press release link below:
Asian Cultural Experience information
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
The Poppy War Reviewed by Ruth Paget
The Poppy War Reviewed by Ruth Paget R.F. Kuang’s
The Poppy War is a fantasy-historical fiction novel that is loosely based on the period of Chinese (Nikara in the novel) history called The Rape of Nanjing or the Nanjing Massacre by Japan (The Federation of Mugen in the novel) during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937 – 1945).
Rin, the book’s main character, a dark-skinned peasant girl from the South, tests in the military academy at Sinegard, which rigorously prepares its students for a war that has not happened yet, but that will according to daily reminders from professors.
The entire school becomes mired in war much sooner than the characters think. The horrific atrocities induce many of the soldiers and leaders to use opium to continue fighting, particularly as food supplies dwindle and to invoke warrior deities.
In the two Opium Wars prior to the Sino-Japanese Wars, the Chinese fought to keep opium out of the country. However, by the time of The Poppy War that Kuang writes about, the Chinese population had begun to widely use opium (derived from poppies like heroin) despite its being illegal. As you read through The Poppy War, you can see its varying effects on soldiers, especially leaders.
One of the great lessons of The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang is that despite efforts to prepare for defensive war, a country can still suffer greatly and be invaded by other countries seeking land and/or wealth.
The Poppy War illustrates in devastating detail the atrocities of war in Nikara. This makes for difficult yet important reading for readers who are interested in real-life careers as:
-diplomats -war crimes assessors
-translators
-military personnel
-psychologist, especially for therapists dealing with victims of gang rape by enemy troops
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang uses the fantasy format to relate a historical incident like The Rape of Nanjing to make it supportable for readers who probably would have trouble reading about it in history books.
In the end, The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang acts as an excellent introduction to 20th century Chinese history.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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