New Year ← The Urban Country

2012: A Year Of Adventures 1

Dec

2012

James on a paddle boat in Hubei Province, China (April 2012) Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country Like all good things, 2012 has now come to an end. 2012 was a year full of adventures and many “firsts” for me. I spent the first four months of the year living in China, on ...

2012 Year End Blog Summary 1

Dec

2012

Amsterdam – March 2012 – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country The following is a chronological summary of select content that we published to this blog throughout 2012. In January while I was pedaling on a bike in China we reported that Apple’s Macintosh computer almost became known as the “Bicycle”. Meanwhile, 81-year-old ...

2012: Year End Blog Statistics

Dec

2012

Highlights 135,452 visits 103,455 unique visitors 220,074 page views Most popular articles of 2012 10 Observations About Bicycling in Amsterdam (March)- 4,165 views, 16 comments 81-Year-Old Gene Hackman Hit On His Bike (January) – 3,393 views, 52 comments Dear Bicycle Helmet (June) – 3,340 views, 25 comments When School’s Out In Amsterdam (March) – 2,587 ...

2011 Year End Wrap Up 26

Dec

2011

James posing as a hipster on a fixie in Baltimore, Maryland in October 2011 – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country As we approach another new year, I have been reflecting on the events of 2011 and how they have shaped both myself and this website. In many ways, 2011 has been a ...

2011: Year of the Rabbit 3

Jan

2011

Photo “Who (Bicycle) Framed Roger Rabbit?” courtesy of John Henderson Welcome to 2011 – the year of the rabbit (officially beginning on Chinese New Year – February 3rd). Rabbits are born in the years 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999 and 2011, and possess the following personality: People born in the year of the ...

2010: Year In Review 6

Dec

2010

Photo “Heels and Wind Chill –16” courtesy of Mikael Colville-Andersen To close out 2010, I carried on the annual tradition of compiling a video from the various footage I took on my camera throughout the year. To stay on topic for The Urban Country, this year’s video is less personal/sentimental and more related to bicycling ...

2010: The Year of the Tiger

Jan

2010

I can hardly believe that another decade has now ended – how fast time passes. We are now in 2010 – the year of the Tiger (officially beginning on Chinese New Year – February 14th, 2010) Tigers do not find worth in power or money. They will be completely honest about how they feel and ...

2009: The year of the Ox (Cow)

Jan

2009

Welcome 2009! According to Chinese Astrology, 2009 is the year of the Ox (Cow) beginning on Chinese New Year, January 26, 2009: “Pragmatic and down-to-earth, Ox people are motivated to work hard and have no respect for lazy or careless people. Although they can be easily trusted and find it easy to put trust in ...

2008: The Year of the Rat 2

Jan

2008

Welcome 2008! This is my third year of making predictions and resolutions in the New Year (See 2007, 2006). This year is the Chinese Year of the Rat. “Rat has strong associations with material success such as wealth and other luxuries of life. It is their aggression, charm, hard work, discipline and passionate nature that ...

2007: The year of the Pig 10

Jan

2007

2007 is the Chinese year of the pig (effective February 18th, 2007). The pig is nice to a fault and possesses impeccable manners and taste. People born in the year of the pig will be happy and honest and are highly intelligent, forever studying, playing and probing in their quest for knowledge. Resolutions for 2007 ...