Blogaround

1. A Chinese Village Bet Its Future on Tourism. Then, COVID Hit. (March 1) "The village’s 200 or so inhabitants belong to the Yao ethnic minority that lives on both sides of the China-Laos border. Many local men go to Laos to find a wife. Most older people do not speak Mandarin, only Yao."

Also, Sixth Tone is writing a series on the tradition of "bride prices":

Who’s Profiting Off China’s Bride Prices? (February 22) "In rural parts of north China, such as Henan, Shandong, and the northern parts of Anhui province, the bride’s parents generally don’t keep the money for themselves, for fear of being accused of having sold their daughter. Instead, the money is passed to the bride for use in married life."

How to Price a Bride (March 2) "In this instance, the bride’s family was willing to lower its request in line with Bai’s expectations, but as an upstanding local family, they felt they couldn’t open negotiations with a below-average bride price. Instead, they waited for Bai to counter before immediately offering a compromise. Although it may seem unnecessarily roundabout, this negotiation process was essential to satisfying the moral sensibilities of both families."

This must be more of a thing in rural China and not in cities. I married a Chinese man and didn't get any money for it...

And one more from Sixth Tone: Citing Privacy, Wuxi Deletes 1 Billion Pieces of COVID-19 Data (March 3) "'The deletion of such data is in line with existing laws and safeguards the personal privacy of citizens against possible theft and misuse in the digital era,' stated a government notice, adding it reflected a 'people-centered' philosophy for governing data."

2. A deluge of artificial stories: The chatbot crisis at Clarkesworld (February 22) "Which leads to the current question that wiser minds than mine are currently conking skulls over: How does one continue to advance egalitarian and equity-oriented practices on a creative front, when new technology is leveling the playing field in the most brute force way imaginable—by steamrolling over any player with an open-door policy?"

3. A few things in defense of EA (March 4) "Earning to give might be weird, but its main effect is to cancel out the weirdness of extreme utilitarianism. It allows EA folks to basically reach the same conclusion that normies reached by not thinking about it that hard."

4. Let's talk endorsements (March 5) "First, though, my sense is that endorsements function slightly differently in Christian publishing. In many cases, an endorsement stands as a guarantor of theological orthodoxy (as particular camps define orthodoxy). ... Complementarian? Great, that’s all I need to know: 'This book is brilliant, everyone should read it.' End up on the right side of the lgbtq divide? 'This book is a must-read.'"

5. Pastors (and Others) Exempt from Tithing (March 5) "Pastors, if you decide to give regularly, I suggest you choose another entity besides your congregation as the recipient. It’s just weird to give back to the one that pays you."

6. The Fundamental Flaws in Josh Butler’s Argument (March 6) "Ephesians 5 Is Not About Sεx" Yes THANK YOU for saying this.

And another post also from Jackson Wu: The Poor are Honored through Exile (February 21) This is interesting, though I'm not sure I agree with it- I'm very skeptical of the idea that there could exist society-wide disasters that harm rich/elite people more than they harm poor people. But I like how Wu is bringing up the concept of God not treating the entire society as equally guilty, but viewing the poor as *not* deserving of the punishment that the upper class suffered.

7. P!nk - F**kin' Perfect (Lyric Video) I've shared this song before, but, I'm ex-evangelical and it's one of my favorite songs.