Reviewing The AFI Top 100 Movies
Over the past two years, we have watched every single one of the top 100 Hollywood movies of all time, as compiled by the American Film Institute in 2007. The full list is below.
Shamefully, out of these hundred pre-2007 American films, I hadn’t seen a whopping 67 of them before this exercise. I loved the classics; I tolerated the musicals; I slogged through the westerns and war films; and I never want to set eyes on a Marx Brother EVER AGAIN.
To save you from embarking on the same silly idea, here are two years’ worth of my insultingly reductive one-sentence reviews, which each include a mark out of ten for enjoyment & rewatchability:
CITIZEN KANE (1941) - Citizen Trump. 8/10
THE GODFATHER (1972) - Epic mafiapalooza. 9/10
CASABLANCA (1942) - Refugees, rogues and romance. 10/10
RAGING BULL (1980) - A feel-bad movie about abuse and self-destruction. 5/10
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) - So corny, only redeemed by its great production numbers. 7/10
GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) - The life of a headstrong woman in the old South. 6/10
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) - Four hours of camels. 7/10
SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) - Gruesome arbitrary horror. 9/10
VERTIGO (1958) - Women acting as props in a world of creepy men. 8/10
THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) - Dark & psychedelic. With catchy songs. 8/10
CITY LIGHTS (1931) - Who knew a silent film could be so funny, and so moving? 7/10
THE SEARCHERS (1956) - Visually stunning, casually racist, semi-subversive cowboy flick. 6/10
STAR WARS (1977) - Nice small film, someone should make a franchise out of it. 8/10
PSYCHO (1960) - Tawdry and tense Hitchcock classic. 8/10
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) - Monolithic (pun intended) genius. 8/10
SUNSET BLVD. (1950) - I’m ready for my cynical Hollywood nightmare, Mr DeMille. 7/10
THE GRADUATE (1967) - The alienation, the generation gap, the love triangle. And plastics. 8/10
THE GENERAL (1927) - A wartime romp about a man and his train. 4/10
ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) - I coulda been a contender instead of a bum watching this great crime drama. 9/10
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) - It’s true, it is. 8/10
CHINATOWN (1974) - Forget it Jake, it’s an L.A. suspense thriller with no relation to Chinatown. 7/10
SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) - Duplicity and immorality, but... nobody’s perfect. 10/10
THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940) - The dismal dignity of the poor economic migrant. 7/10
E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) - So magical. I’m not crying, you’re crying. 9/10
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) - Atticus Finch for President. 9/10
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) - Corruption, fake news, and senators without a backbone. Brutally timeless. 9/10
HIGH NOON (1952) - 24 meets Blazing Saddles. 7/10
ALL ABOUT EVE (1950) - A masterclass in acting the hell out of brilliantly written dialogue. 10/10
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) - Femme fatale film noir crime classic. 7/10
APOCALYPSE NOW (1979) - Impressive boat trip of madness. 7/10
THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) - Second-rate suspense in suits. 3/10
THE GODFATHER PART II (1974) - Less engaging version of The Godfather Part I. 6/10
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975) - Violent and disturbing portrayal of control vs. chaos. 8/10
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937) - A bossy girl manipulates labourers and animals to do her bidding. 6/10
ANNIE HALL (1977) - Well la-di-da, it’s a pair of neurotic New Yorkers. 7/10
THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957) - Gentlemanly madness in the blazing sun. 5/10
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) - The best film about the complexity of human emotion that no-one’s ever heard of. 8/10
THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) - A lucky escape from someone who slowly goes mad with power and greed. Relatable. 7/10
DR. STRANGELOVE (1964) - Conspiracy theorists with their finger on the nuclear button. Also relatable. 7/10
THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) - A lovely romance, with superfluous Nazis. 8/10
KING KONG (1933) - Booming, screaming, and roaring. Oh and a story about Man’s disrespect of nature. 5/10
BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967) - Sexy, violent, and ultimately as impotent as Clyde himself. 4/10
MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) - Like Taxi Driver (#52 on this list). But with a man-baby and dream sequences. 7/10
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) - Classic comedy about feminism and class. 8/10
SHANE (1953) - Yet another western, this time through the gaze of an irritating child. 6/10
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) - Bus-riding, carrot-eating, wedding-jilting sexy silliness. 7/10
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) - Sexiness, Stress, Stanley and STELLA! 6/10
REAR WINDOW (1954) - Snooping and suspense. With a dead dog thrown in. 7/10
INTOLERANCE (1916) - Gigantic audacious unwieldy storytelling from a century ago. 6/10
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001) - You. Shall not. Pass (judgement on this great adventure trilogy). 8/10
WEST SIDE STORY (1961) - It’s alarming how charming this is. Despite the shonky acting and weird makeup. 6/10
TAXI DRIVER (1976) - Misogynistic leering violent sleazefest. 6/10
THE DEER HUNTER (1978) - Does the world really need a gratuitous 3-hour movie about Russian roulette in Vietnam? 4/10
M*A*S*H (1970) - More like M*I*S*H*M*A*S*H. 3/10
NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) - Confusion, criminality and crop-dusters. 8/10
JAWS (1975) - The terror and stupidity of opening up beaches despite obvious dangers. Soooo relatable. 7/10
ROCKY (1976) - We’re all just bums from the neighbourhood trying our best. 6/10
THE GOLD RUSH (1925) - Alaskan starvation tomfoolery. 5/10
NASHVILLE (1975) - Seventies celebrity, exposed through intersectional storytelling. 4/10
DUCK SOUP (1933) - Bizarre irreverent farce. Bizarrevarce. 3/10
SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (1941) - A great bus chase, a great joke about Pittsburg, but otherwise... meh. 5/10
AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973) - Like Happy Days with a great 60s soundtrack. And nothing else. 3/10
CABARET (1972) - Skewed performative mirror of Weimar Berlin. 5/10
NETWORK (1976) - I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take the degradation of news journalism any more. 7/10
THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951) - It’s a jungle adventure romance with a terrible score, Mr Allnut. 6/10
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) - Poison darts, bad dates, melty faces and, best of all, red lines superimposed on maps. 8/10
WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966) - Dysfunctional couples drink a boatload of brandy and argue in different theatrical configurations. 6/10
UNFORGIVEN (1992) - Where the antihero kills all the other antiheroes. 5/10
TOOTSIE (1982) - Semi-woke, semi-sexist Hoffman drag race. 7/10
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971) - Crime and justice and other strangely compelling nastiness. 7/10
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998) - Gruesome, gory and grim. 7/10
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) - A great story, a great Morgan Freeman voiceover, but actually not much else. 7/10
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) - A couple of charming robbers run away to Bolivia. 6/10
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) - The classiest horror. Never mislay your pen! 8/10
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967) - Murder mystery with undercurrents (and just currents) of racism. 7/10
FORREST GUMP (1994) - CGI and schmalz. 6/10
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976) - Procedural docudrama. More docu than drama. 7/10
MODERN TIMES (1936) - Chaplin with a conscience. 6/10
THE WILD BUNCH (1969) - Trains and bridges and guns, bang bang. 4/10
THE APARTMENT (1960) - True love and male privilege. 8/10
SPARTACUS (1960) - Pervy biblical epic 6/10
SUNRISE (1927) - Murderous husband has a shave and chases a piglet. 4/10
TITANIC (1997) - Superb storytelling, awful dialogue. 7/10
EASY RIDER (1969) - Cult counter-culture classic... that also happens to be crap. 4/10
A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935) - Anarchic grating singing nonsense. 2/10
PLATOON (1986) - Relentlessly miserable portrayal of war. 6/10
12 ANGRY MEN (1957) - A brilliant lesson in how to negotiate with blowhards and bigots. 8/10
BRINGING UP BABY (1938) - You know, the usual madcap leopard/brontosaurus story. 7/10
THE SIXTH SENSE (1999) - Still amazing, even when you know the twist. Every day. 10/10
SWING TIME (1936) - Goofy & adorable. Except for the blackface. 6/10
SOPHIE'S CHOICE (1982) - A totally authentic portrayal of what happens when broken people find each other. 8/10
GOODFELLAS (1990) - Sheer menace. 8/10
THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) - One great car chase, bookended by utter shite. 3/10
PULP FICTION (1994) - Hyper-stylized expletive-laden crime caper. 8/10
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971) - Small-town 50s Texas in all its sexy tragic monotony. 7/10
DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) - Simmering racial tension gets turned up to boiling. 9/10
BLADE RUNNER (1982) - A dystopia where you’re never sure who is capable of human emotions. DysTrumpia. 6/10
YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942) - Cloying patriotism with moments of heart. 5/10
TOY STORY (1995) - A harrowing tale of envy, delusion and mob rule. 9/10
BEN-HUR (1959) - Loooong. And gaaaay. 6/10
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The Job of an Independent Podcaster
So what actually is the job of an independent podcaster?
It’s now halfway through 2020 and I’m approaching the 1-year anniversary of the Mosaic of China podcast. So I thought I would have a go at writing my own job description.
1) Technical Production
Audio Equipment Set-Up
Web Hosting & Content Aggregators Set-Up
2) Artistic Production
Format & Content Design
Brand & Art Design
Sound & Music Design
Web & Social Media Design
3) Content Production
Series Content Production
Guest Outreach, Research & Coordination
Studio & Interview Production
Editing & Post-Production
4) Audience Outreach & Marketing
Copy Writing & Image Sourcing
Web & Social Media Community Management
Marketing & Audience Building
Most people think that recording interviews is the main part of my job, so it might be a surprise to see it tucked away in part 3c) of the list above. In fact, most of my time these days is spent in guest coordination, sound editing, and audience outreach.
I hope this helps to demystify the effort it takes to get a project of this kind up and running. My question for anyone else in the podcasting arena is, does this correlate with your experiences? What have I missed out?!
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The Sage Kings of Karaoke
There’s a reason why karaoke is so popular in China and other East Asian societies with a Confucian heritage: it’s an important catalyst for group social harmony.
The Sage Kings of ancient China used the rites of music to help bond their subjects together. It’s no coincidence that the Chinese Communist Party emphasised the use of patriotic songs to instill doctrinal fervour. And today, many Chinese corporations still use company songs, alongside collective exercise routines, to inspire loyalty.
Today's compilation episode from Season 1 of Mosaic of China is all about the podcast guests’ favourite songs to sing at “KTV”, the Chinese version of karaoke. Out of all the questions asked to guests on the show, this one elicited the biggest array of emotions: from joy and pride, to embarrassment and… sheer terror.
It’s a shame that group social harmony doesn’t always guarantee group *vocal* harmony. But since no-one really cares about that… what would be *your* go-to song to sing at karaoke?
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Just Shut Up And Listen
In my decade as a headhunter and year as a podcaster, I estimate that I have had meetings with around 10,000 people. And if I had to hone down my 3 top tips for getting the most out of interviews, they would be simple:
Just shut up and let your guest speak;
Mirror the energy of your guest, don’t allow it to be the other way around; and
Listen deeply.
If you could condense your interview technique into just 3 top tips, what would they be?
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Curiosity Killed The Sinophobe
There is an in-built problem with making English-language content about life in China.
On the one hand, it is hard to reach those outside China, who may prefer not to seek out stories about a country they view entirely with suspicion.
And on the other hand, it is hard to reach those inside China, who may see themselves as “China Experts” who are beyond learning from the experiences of others.
I have tried to break through this dichotomy by creating a podcast focused on two things: human stories and fanciful trivia. Blending the novel, the engaging, the informative and the entertaining, my hope is to appeal to anyone around the world who is both curious and open-minded.
This is one of the topics that I discuss with fellow podcaster Joshua Ogden-Davis in the special end-of-season episode of Mosaic of China. I don’t like being on the other side of the interview table, so please enjoy listening to me squirm!
The COVID-19 TV Bingeing Guide
In the spirit of selfless civic duty, I have spent the last few years watching an unhealthy amount of TV, just so that one day I can offer you this menu of binge-watching, to be enjoyed while sitting at home in your fetid undergarments.
To qualify for my personal🥇GOLD LIST🥇, these series need to fulfill the following subjective criteria:
I’ve watched them fully,
In recent years,
And I recommend them from start to finish.
🔹 30 Rock
(2006-2014, 7 seasons. Lovable goofiness).
🔸 After Life
(2019-Present, 1 season. Am not a Gervais fan, but this is a sublime piece of work).
🔹 Arrested Development
(2003-2019, 5 seasons. Arch humour with great running gags).
🔸 Billy on the Street
(2011-2017, 5 seasons. Rudeness, elevated to an art form).
🔹 Bojack Horseman
(2014-2020, 6 seasons. Dark comedy about an amoral misanthrope way past his prime. Relatable).
🔸 Breaking Bad
(2008-2013, 5 seasons. Crime, cancer and an incredible character arc).
🔹 Broadchurch
(2013-2017, 3 seasons. High suspense plus Olivia Coleman equals brilliance).
🔸 Chernobyl
(2019, 1 season. Bleak and catastrophic masterpiece).
🔹 The Crown
(2016-Present, 3 seasons. The royalty, in a highly watchable historical soap opera).
🔸 Curb Your Enthusiasm
(2010-Present, 10 seasons. Cringeworthy farcical nothingness).
🔹 Dead To Me
(2019-Present, 1 season. Deftly-executed gallows humour).
🔸 Derry Girls
(2018-Present, 2 seasons. Irreverent Northern-Irish black comedy with a massive heart).
🔹 Downtown Abbey
(2010-2015, 6 seasons. Like watching 50 hours of Gosford Park).
🔸 Fleabag
(2016-2019, 2 seasons. If you haven’t watched it yet, just do it. That is all).
🔹 Game of Thrones
(2011-2019, 8 seasons. Epic storytelling. The first fantasy TV series I ever genuinely liked).
🔸 The Good Place
(2016-2020, 4 seasons. Starts as a high-concept comedy and turns into so much more).
🔹 Grace & Frankie
(2015-Present, 6 seasons. Light and frothy comedy, redeemed by its charm and honesty).
🔸 The Great British Bake-Off
(2010-Present, 10 seasons. Pure calorific escapism).
🔹 The Kominsky Method
(2018-Present, 2 seasons. Poignant and understated masterclass in comedy acting).
🔸 Mad Men
(2007-2015, 7 seasons. The high watermark of drama depicting 60s sex and cynicism).
🔹 The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
(2017-Present, 3 seasons. A perfect period piece portraying comedy chutzpah in the 50s).
🔸 Orange is the New Black
(2013-2019, 6 seasons. Prison comedy-drama which dips in the middle, but nails the ending).
🔹 Ozark
(2017-Present, 3 seasons. Surprisingly gripping redneck narco crime thriller).
🔸 Parks and Recreation
(2009-2015, 7 seasons. Smart sitcom silliness).
🔹 Queer Eye
(2018-Present, 5 seasons. I know my emotions are being manipulated, but I don’t care).
🔸 Rick & Morty
(2013-Present, 5 seasons. Original, creative, snarky, puerile genius).
🔹 Rupaul’s Drag Race
(2009-Present, 12 seasons. OTT reality show showcasing OTT talent).
🔸 Russian Doll
(2019-Present, 1 season. Dark, druggy, mysterious version of Groundhog Day).
🔹 Sex Education
(2019-Present, 2 seasons. Comedy, drama, teenage angst and Gillian Anderson).
🔸 Schitt’s Creek
(2015-2020, 6 seasons. Starts absurd. Turns endearing. Ends up “simply the best”).
🔹 Sherlock
(2010-2017, 4 seasons. What happens when quality writing, acting and production coincide).
🔸 Stranger Things
(2016-Present, 3 seasons. I don’t usually watch horror or sci-fi. So these guys must be doing something right).
🔹 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
(2015-2019, 4 seasons. Odd. Hilarious).
🔸 Veep
(2012-2019, 7 seasons. An uncannily authentic portrayal of U.S. politics. Oh wait sorry it’s supposed to be a satirical comedy).
🔹 The West Wing
(1999-2006, 7 seasons. Brilliant, smart, moving, idealistic, political nirvana).
🔸 The Wire
(2002-2008, 5 seasons. A drama that takes its time to explore the intersection of politics, society and crime).
Please show me yours. (I mean your gold lists, not your undergarments).
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Getting Through the Traudom
I have coined a new phrase for our times. It’s “traudom”: a mixture of trauma and boredom.
Embracing a hobby is a great way to get through today’s traudom. Please take inspiration from the creative talent of Denny Newell, who has spent the last 26+ days creating a cocktail-themed alphabet book. Not only did this labour keep him happily distracted for hours each day, but the thought of sampling these cocktails together in the future has helped to keep smiles on our faces.
Stay Healthy and Stay Happy
A message to friends.
Thank you so much for your electronic support over the last 6 weeks. You have helped keep me sane, and keep me smiling. I will not forget it.
For many of you, the situation is now reversed, and you’re at the beginning of your surreal journey into the OCD Wonderland of self-isolation. I imagine I will be posting less from Shanghai and instead be trying to return the favour as much as possible.
Stay healthy and stay happy everyone, they’re both as important as eachother.
❤️🖤🧡💜💛💙💚🤎
The Epidemiologist, The Citizen, and The Privacy Advocate
The pandemic is going to be studied for many years to come. Not just by virologists, but by social scientists and technology ethicists.
The latest development in Shanghai has been the 随申办 (Suíshēnbàn) app. It’s a service you download onto your phone that runs a continuous contagion assessment on you. It’s not mandatory, but for the last two weeks it has been getting increasingly difficult to enter certain buildings without showing your colour code.
Green means you are clear to enter. Orange or red means you can’t enter, and you should consult medical experts as soon as possible. Maybe it knows you’re a confirmed COVID-19 patient. Maybe you’ve arrived from outside China and shouldn’t be out of quarantine yet. Maybe it tracked you to a metro car with someone who later tested positive for the virus.
It’s an epidemiologist’s dream. It’s a citizen’s electronic peace of mind. And it’s a privacy advocate’s dystopian nightmare.
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Good News, It’s Severe Inconvenience and Economic Injury
THE POSITIVE NEWS. It has been around 7 weeks since the coronavirus came to Shanghai, and now we’re approaching something nearer “normal”. People are slowly being allowed to return back from their hometowns, and return to work.
THE REALITY CHECK. This has only been possible because of strict adherence to the rules of social distancing. No panicking, but at the same time, no cutting corners. A period of severe inconvenience and economic injury has been a small price to pay to be in this situation today.
A HOPEFUL CONCLUSION? The world can point to China’s relative lack of openness and directness for mishandling the outbreak. And China can point to the world’s relative lack of competence and discipline for mishandling its containment. I’ve given up on the hope that global threats like this will force all sides to transcend their hard-wired tribal mentality. But my remaining hope is that at least both sides can learn from each other’s strengths and mitigate their weaknesses.
Who is Your Audience?
“The starting point to writing is knowing who your audience is”. These words, spoken by Gigi Chang on the latest episode of Mosaic of China, inspired me to write this short piece.
LinkedIn: Your audience is in a professional mindset, so keep your writing concise. Storytelling can be used as a device to elicit interest, but shouldn’t be used in isolation.
Instagram: Your audience is in a happy mindset, so keep your writing positive. Release your inner frivolity and snark, but don’t overshare your negativity or vanity. Leave that for...
Twitter: Your audience is in an antagonistic mindset, so simply avoid. I love my friends there, but the platform brings out the worst in them. Please try and convince me otherwise, I promise to hear you out.
Facebook: Your audience is in a generous mindset, so write what you want. Assuming that you have carefully curated your friends there, write content from all three categories above, and be as personal as you feel comfortable.
WeChat: The same as Facebook, but in Chinese.
What have I missed out?
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The Gift of Boredom
For those of us not in immediate danger, the Coronavirus epidemic has given us a consolation gift. The gift of boredom.
Were it not for the weeks of self-confinement in February 2020, I would not have sat down in front of the piano for the first time in a year. We would not have had daily home-cooked meals. We would not have reorganised our closet and donated boxes of valuable items to our neighbours. And of course I wouldn’t have written this post.
This experience has taught me to accept more boredom into my life, and to allow more time for boredom in my working day. Because for me, boredom breeds creativity; creativity breeds contentment; and contentment breeds productivity.
Small Businesses in a Crisis
In a crisis, small businesses face the biggest challenges. But also the biggest opportunities.
I remember co-founding my headhunting company in Singapore in the middle of the global financial crisis in 2008. It was tough, no question about it. But while all of our larger competitors were turning inward and focusing on damage control, we were small and nimble enough to do the opposite. We continually reached out to our external stakeholders. We treated them as human beings, showing genuine solidarity and compassion. And while we hemorrhaged cash along with everyone else, we also built a level of trust and goodwill that endured for many years into the recovery.
Today, I received this surprise care package from Jessica Gleeson at the skincare company BrighterBeauty. It includes skin protection, face masks, protective gloves, home-baked cookies and some light reading.
That’s how you do it.
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Mindset is Everything
The situation in China continues to be affected by strict policies of self-confinement. In Shanghai today, getting into most buildings and residential estates requires you to wear a mask, and submit yourself to temperature checks. This photo was taken by The New York Times contributor Rebecca Kanthor at the end of my 小区 lane in Shanghai, where the gates have now been locked, and only residents can enter and exit.
As brutal as this sounds, I don’t feel under siege. And as inconvenient as these restrictions are, I don’t find them stressful. I find them comforting. There’s a stoicism in my community of Chinese neighbours that is very calming. And everyday changes to regulations are being superbly well-organised and communicated.
It makes me feel that China and the Chinese people are on top of this. And it makes me feel that mindset is everything.
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Taking Care in China
A phrase I’m hearing a lot from family and friends overseas is “Take care”. Well, we are taking this literally, and here’s the list:
Wearing gloves when outdoors.
Changing gloves after use, and washing them.
When in public, not touching our faces or eyes, even when they itch.
Wearing face masks when outdoors.
Limiting personal contact with others, including shaking hands or hugging.
Keeping at least one metre away from anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
Washing all towels twice a week, and ensuring none are ever left damp.
Limiting touching objects that could be handled by other people.
Not sharing food communally, and washing kitchenware between meals.
Opening windows every day to let the room air out.
Apart from “Take care”, the other phrase that has new meaning for me is “I’m being very OCD”. I’ve always avoided this throw-away expression, since it must enrage people who actually suffer from these anxiety afflictions. But for once I feel like I do have a small window into this exhausting life, one that could easily make you want to eschew society entirely. I’m grateful for this lesson in empathy towards those who live this as a perpetual reality.
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The Humanity of Shanghai
And so we’re back in Shanghai.
I just walked down our street to buy some milk, and as expected the place was deserted. But our 85-year-old neighbour climbed up the steps to our apartment to welcome us home; I had a lovely conversation with the street cleaner about whether I knew who had lost a glove she had found; and the lady at the grocery store, who never usually gives me more than a grimace, today flashed me a smile. (Well, I guessed it was a smile from behind her mask. Maybe it was just a larger grimace.)
This is my first morning back since returning from the Chinese New Year holidays. But already I am feeling the humanity of Shanghai like never before. Here’s hoping that we all don’t forget this too quickly once things return to normal.
Confinement Versus Exile
Returning to Shanghai presents a messy choice. Confinement in China versus exile overseas. In the end, I’ve chosen Option A.
Thank you for all your private messages of concern. It has been quite an agonising decision to make, especially with the UK Government’s damagingly alarmist approach. But Shanghai is my home. So in the end my choice was easy.
And after all, self-quarantine won’t be very different from my normal #ManCaveLife.
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Brexit Torture
So Brexit day has finally arrived. Bugger.
As the exotic torture of the last few years finally comes to an end, let’s not go into mourning. And let’s not wallow in victimhood. Because... maybe we Brits will all end up being happier.
Yes, as a nation, we’re now one step closer to terminal insignificance. You don’t need to live overseas to be aware of this, although it certainly helps. But here’s the thing: maybe we can fashion ourselves into the funny eccentric uncle of the world. The one who used to be something important, but now enjoys tinkering on the sidelines just trying to be liked. Hell, it works for me! Maybe this is the role that Britain was always destined to play.
So please allow this eccentric uncle to give you some friendly advice. It only works if you are truly resilient. You need to be all the more strong, as you face being undermined by your adversaries and secretly ridiculed by your friends. You can do this, but don’t expect your relationships to ever be the same again.
And while it’s tempting to enjoy life as an island, with no complicated encumbrances, you need to stay connected to others. Because sometimes it’s only the eccentric uncle who can break up the fights that flare up between feuding family members. And if there’s one other thing that Brexit has made more likely, it’s the return to an age of disunity and war.
So, cheer up, Britain! You’re a funny eccentric uncle now.
Career & Coffee
The two simplest pieces of advice I can give to anyone who feels stuck in their career today is:
Find a good career advisor you can trust. Not just someone who tells you what you want to hear. Not just someone who tells you about jobs in the market. But someone who truly listens.
Listen to the Career & Coffee Podcast. 16 episodes released over 8 weeks, specifically targeting people who are feeling stuck.
I don’t think I gave much practical advice in my episode, but I’m sure the other 15 will be amazing. Thank you for the fun interview, Ann Calman and Amelia Novakovic.
A Shout-Out To Warwick Law School
Warwick Law School asked me to write something that would help attract more students from Asia to its undergraduate law course. Here's what I came up with.
