Brian Eckert

Writer. Wanderer. Dreamer. Skeptic. Man.

Category: Nonfiction

Close Encounters of the Transgendered Kind

Any man with half a libido and a shred of honesty will admit, if only privately, that he’s put to himself the question of whether he’d get down with a shemale. Tonight, Seth and I face this moment of

Expat Adventures in Neverland

While it’s difficult say when, exactly, one goes from being a Lost Boy of China to a Dirty Old Man of China, it’s easy to tell the difference. One remains a child at heart. The other could very well support child prostitution.

A Speech Contest Day Miracle

Because they are run like businesses, not schools, these academies are primarily interested in producing profits, not proficient English speakers. The result is a legion of young Koreans who dedicated

Jingle Bell Rock

The man in that picture could not possibly have sensed that his upwardly mobile aspirations would one day leave him estranged from the very life and family he’d hope to build, that being a parent and husband would be little more than a hobby he practiced in his free time. I almost feel sorry for him.

The Fog of Beijing Life

Artist Ai Weiwei, freed after 80 days of internment by the Chinese government, violated the terms of his release by penning a stream-of-consciousness polemic against Beijing in Newsweek online, using words such words as “desperation,” “violence,” and “slaves” to describe the capital city. Ai’s comments closely followed the announcement that Chinese police may gain the authority to detain suspects […]

20.4 Hours in Hong Kong

The people move like clockwork in rhythm with colored lights and ticking hands. The city controls their movements. They are unable to escape its gravity.