Reading Roundup (XII) - LaoBaiXing Rage, Noir Influences, Blogs Created (and Abandoned) by the Second

Articles I've recently read with my comments in italics, and other miscellany:

A Chinese City's Rage At the Rich And Powerful, by Edward Cody.
["... the riot had become a battle against a system that encouraged local police to protect rich outsiders instead of sticking up for a local boy ... the party that assumed power in China 56 years ago as a champion of peasants and workers seems to have switched sides, backing capitalist businessmen instead of the poor as part of a new get-rich ethic in which bribery plays a big role ... The stakes... are high. If the violent outbursts get out of control, they could undermine China's boom and, ultimately, the party's grip on power." Social unrest here is in the front of my mind every time I step out the door.]

Jason Starr talks about the writers and movies that have influenced him.
["Many of the authors published by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard have influenced me a great deal. Jim Thompson, of course, but also Willeford, Williams, Goodis, and Cain. Later, I read Patricia Highsmith, so I couldn't really say she was an influence, but I think she's one of the best and still underappreciated in this country. Elmore Leonard and especially George V. Higgins have also been big influences on me. Beyond crime fiction, Hemingway, Carver, Delillo, Dick and other writers who write in simple, clean prose have always appealed to me. A lot of playwrights have influenced me greatly as well--Beckett, Shepard, Fo, Durrenmatt, Pinter, Mamet, to name some of my favorites ... I know I have been heavily influenced by noir cinema from the forties and fifties, especially movies such as Double Indemnity, The Killing, Pick-up on South Street, and Kiss of Death, to name several of my favorites. Crime movies inspired me to read crime fiction and then to write it." I haven't read any of Starr's books, but I eagerly look forward to doing so.]

State of the Blogosphere, August 2005, Part 1: Blog Growth.
["Technorati is now tracking about 80,000 new weblogs being created every day, which means a new weblog is created about every second. About 55% of all blogs are considered active - that is, 55% of all weblogs have had a posting in the last 3 months. In addition, 13% of all weblogs (currently 1.8 Million blogs) update at least weekly." I would consider only those blogs that are updated at least once a week as "active." If you're updating your site less than that, let alone once every three months, it's as good as dead.]

Trading with the Hourly Trend: US Dollar Index

Fuzzy likes the US Dollar Index from the short side since the hourly trend flipped down last Wednesday. Patiently waiting for low-risk spots to appear is what the game is all about....

US Dollar Index, Hourly Chart (24 hr.)