Xpat Magazine December, 2005
Speed of winds from hurricane Katrina (mph): 160
Speed of winds from Supertyphoon Haitang (mph): 145
Proportion of New Orleans underwater at the time of writing: 80%
Largest case of genocide in history: the destruction of the Native American community — between 2 and 100 million people exterminated
Number of people killed in 9/11 attacks: 2992
Number of dollars that George W. spent tracking down the evildoers who exterminated the United States original inhabitants: 0
amount per citizen the US Government spends on the War in Iraq: $766
amount per citizen the US Government spends on Tsunami Relief: $1.18
minimum count of civilians who have died in the Iraq War: 23,645
Number of Iraqis who have crashed airliners into American buildings: 0
Number of civilians that died due to the Vietnam War according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor: nearly 2 million
Tallest wave (m) of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: 30
Height from which the 1958 tsunami in Lituya Bay, Alaska washed trees from the mountainside: 500 meters
Height (km) of the column of ash released when Vesuvius erupted: 32
Gruesome reason that many Vesuvius victims were found with the tops of their skulls missing: heat caused their brains to explode
Temperature in F? at the center of the explosion of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki: 7000
Estimated number of people who died as result of the nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki: 200,000
Estimated number of people who died from the Black Plague: 200 million
Number of people scientists estimate that the Avian Flu could kill worldwide if it “acts similarly” to the Spanish Flu: 180 to 360 million
Number of people who died in the 1997 Hong Kong Avian flu scare: 6
Number of poultry subsequently destroyed: 1.5 million
Number of hours it took to kill the birds: 72
Number of disasters appearing in Wikipedia’s Top Ten Natural Disasters List that occurred in China: 7
Percent of women who “have experienced attempted or completed forced sex by an intimate partner or ex-partner”: 12 to 25
The female to male ratio of HIV infection in Africa: 6:1
Length in hours of Britney Spears’ first marriage: 55
Days between the annulment of Britney’s first marriage and her second wedding: 256
Number of children Britney should have by the time you read this issue of Xpat: 1
Photography courtesy of Kevin Lin
Xpat Magazine December, 2006
When Kevin Lin, a postgraduate student and Taiwan’s most famous endurance athlete, agreed to an interview with Xpat I was stoked. Kevin is an internationally renowned ultramarathon champion. He races distances measuring in the hundreds of kilometers through extreme climates such as deserts and arctic snowfields. He was recently commissioned by Matt Damon’s movie company, LivePlanet, to join a team of three endurance athletes that will run over 4000 miles across the Sahara desert in less than 80 days (more than two marathons per day). If you mention his (Chinese) name to your Taiwanese friends they will undoubtedly nod in recognition. This was going to be a groundbreaking interview for Xpat – our first real celebrity.
But, when it came to actually scheduling the interview, Kevin’s phone was always busy or went unanswered. After a few brief e-mail attempts to pin him down to a time and place it became clear that between training, shooting the movie, and writing his thesis, Kevin would not have time to meet the editor from little ol’ Xpat.
In a last ditch attempt to save the interview I e-mailed Kevin a list of questions and received Kevin’s reply a few days later. When I read his responses it was clear that he written them while standing in line at 7-11 waiting to buy a Supau.
So, it didn’t turn out has great as I’d hoped. But nonetheless, here it is for your perusal: the Xpat exclusive interview with Taiwan’s Ultramarathon Man – chinglish and all.
Xpat Magazine: How old are you?
Kevin Lin: 1976/11/19
XPAT: How long have you been running ultamarathons?
KL: Probably….over than 10yrs.
XPAT: How many ultamarathons have you run? Where were they?
KL: Ha……too many….
XPAT: What did you place in each?
KL: I won sometime. But I took 2 or 3 place usually.
XPAT: What’s your current ranking?
KL: I did first place in 4 desert event in 2006. Gobi3/Acatama1/Sahara2/Antarctica3
XPAT: What’s your daily training routine?
KL: (Run) 150km~280km per week.
XPAT: What do you usually eat in a day?
KL: Ha….I can eat any thing. No special foods for me.
XPAT: What’s your favorite unhealthy food?
KL: Probably….COKE
XPAT: Why did you start running ultramarathons?
KL: I love to see the world and to feel all different body system. Include psychology and physical.
XPAT: I’ve heard that you were scheduled to start production of Running the Sahara in October. Have you started working on the movie?
KL: Yes I do. The live planet was came to TPE to filming for me last month. And we also filming in Chicago city in Aug 2006.
XPAT: What is Running the Sahara about?
KL: This is 3 man from US and Canada and Taiwan man to run the 6500km in Sahara in 3 month. www.runningthesahara.com
XPAT: What will you do in Running the Sahara ?
KL: RUN…..and RUN and RUN….ha….In fact that we will take care and make donation for local children.
XPAT: What are your personal goals with making Running the Sahara ?
KL: Finish and to write thesis on my master degree.
XPAT: I’ve read that Running the Sahara is also going to discuss the Sahara desert and the people that live there. Can you tell me a bit about this?
KL: Hnnnn. Actually I don’t know. This is movie secrecy. I can not talk to much this movie. Because I have contact with liveplanet.
XPAT: When will you start the run? How long will it take? When do you expect to finish?
KL: 11/1. and 80km per day. We hope can finish it before 2/1.
XPAT: Are you doing anything special to train for this ultramarathon?
KL: No. just living health and keep to exercise everyday.
XPAT: Is it possible that you may die on the trip?
KL: Maybe.!!!! I know that running 6500km in the sahara desert is very serious project. We all try to image and prepare lot of thing to avoid accident. So, we have very strong goal to finish.
XPAT: What would be the most likely problem that could lead to disaster on this trip?
KL: Probably virus and local robbers and mine.
XPAT: Have you ever encountered a dangerous situation during an ultramarathon before? Can you tell me about it?
KL: Dehydrate. Because I lost my route.
XPAT: How does your girlfriend feel about the risks of running ultramarathons?
KL: Ha… I don’t know.
XPAT: What do you consider to be your greatest victory?
KL: Yes. This will be human victory.
Xpat Magazine June, 2006
In Xpat’s never-ending endeavor to bring you cool, cutting-edge, flip-your-wig-back art, we present this interview with Taipei’s Museum of Contemporary Art. MOCA is one of the most progressive museums in Taiwan supporting innovative and unusual art from sculpture to multimedia to interactive installations. We recommend stopping by. You’re guaranteed to see at least seven things you never imagined you’d see in your life (or even thought existed).
Xpat: How long has MOCA been open?
MOCA: Since May, 2001.
Xpat: How big are you?
MOCA: Total 1,350 ping.
Xpat: How many visitors do you receive annually?
MOCA: About 74,000 visitors.
Xpat: Wouldn’t it be funny if I asked a girl those questions and she answered that way?
MOCA: No.
Xpat: How many exhibitions do you host at one time?
MOCA: One or two.
Xpat: How long does a typical exhibition run?
MOCA: Two to three months.
Xpat: Do they ever get tired?
MOCA: Excuse me?
Xpat: (sniggering) I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I’ve been waiting to pull that one on you for weeks.
MOCA: That’s ok.
Xpat: What exhibitions are currently running?
MOCA: The two exhibitions that we have now are: 50 Years of Italian Fashion, and A Glimpse of Contemporary Art in Taiwan. They end on June 4.
Xpat: You don’t say? Have you run any pop-art exhibitions in the past?
MOCA: Yes, occasionally. For example: Fiction, Love, and XUltra New Vision in Contemporary Art
Xpat: What exhibitions are next?
MOCA: Slow Tech, from June 24 to Sept.3.
Xpat: What is contemporary art?
MOCA: It’s hard to define.
Xpat: Sort of like the term ‘vicissitude.’ That’s pretty hard to define, too. It means “the quality of being changeable,” but most people don’t know that. Even most English teachers don’t know that. Actually I didn’t know that either, but I was just fiddling with my electronic dictionary here…
MOCA: Huh? Are you drunk?
Xpat: No! … uh, not really…um…. What are some of the best exhibitions you’ve hosted?
MOCA: We appreciate every exhibition.
Xpat: Who are some of the most prominent contemporary artists?
MOCA: We appreciate every artist.
Xpat: Who are the most prominent contemporary Taiwanese artists?
MOCA: We appreciate every Taiwanese artist.
Xpat: Would you say that MOCA is an appreciative institution?
MOCA: Yes.
Xpat: What different mediums of exhibitions do you host?
MOCA: We host exhibitions including painting, sculpture and interactive installations.
Xpat: What’s MOCA’s mission?
MOCA: … (deep breath) Facing the current trends of globalization and post-modernism, MOCA has intimately combined the fields of architecture, design, fashion and multimedia art. The spreading domain of Asian art does not wander aimlessly, cover its face, or fawn on the rich and powerful, and it is willing to be relegated to the sidelines. It is only willing to change with time, and to give form to ideas.
Our exhibitions range from ones that fill the whole museum to small installations. By collaboration with international and local curators and artists, we hope to reflect a vision that is both global and regional.
Xpat: That’s awesome. Care for a shot of Jager?
MOCA: No. I’m going home now.
Xpat: Thank you very much for your time.
MOCA: Boo hway. (translation: no problem, chuckles).
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei City, Taiwan
39 ChangAn West Rd., Taipei 103
Tues~ Sun, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Admission: NT $50
Tel: 02.2552.3720; Fax: 02.2559.3874
www.mocataipei.org.tw
An interview with Sam Brown, founder of www.explodingdog.com
A faux interview with George W. Bush in which I ask fake questions and inject real George W. gaffe’s, or bushisms, as answers
My dedication of the third issue of Xpat Magazine to my father in the letter from the editor.
The story of the string of misfortune on my arrival in Taiwan that resulted in my founding Xpat Magazine.
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