Here in Malaysia the skies have been heavy with smoke-haze and even the most smoghardened veterans of L.A. on our crew are finding it daunting. The haze, what the locals here call Jerabu, is a direct result of C0-2 rich peatland burning out of control on the island of Sumatra (western Indonesia and Borneo). As… Read More »

This September 23rd marks the 800th birthday of Kublai Khan, greatest of the Mongol rulers (after his grandfather Genghis), brilliant statesman, founder of China’s Yuan Dynasty, and, as historian John Man puts it bluntly ‘the greatest CEO in world history.’ It’s been a privilege to bring this larger than life historical titan to the global… Read More »

It was one year ago this month that we lost our dear friend Ju Kun in what has become known as the biggest aviation mystery in history. I remember the day all too well. It was an early Saturday morning, March 8th, when I drove from my rented townhouse to Pinewood Studios in Johor Bahru.… Read More »

During his 17 years as special emissary to Kublai Khan, Marco Polo celebrated the lunar new year in both the Chinese and Mongolian traditions, the former during his three years on political assignment in Quinsai (today’s Hangzhou) and the latter during his more frequent stays in the City of the Khan’ (today’s Beijing). The Mongolians… Read More »