I don’t know what’s more pitiful — that the editor would say that or the journalist that interviewed him actually published it.

I guess George Benson, Al Jarreau, Kanye West, Air, the Paralympics, the China Open, Turandot, a dozen new restaurant and bar openings and about 100 other events around town — all happening in September — doesn’t add up to much in Time Out’s books.

Every other publication, Chinese or otherwise, was absolutely packed with Olympic content. What did TimeOut not know that everyone else did?

I wonder, did Song make much money during the Olympics, and if it did, did Mr. Pattinson have much to say about that?

While there certainly were a number of corporate parties and events during the Games (i.e. Adidas party, Speedo party, Club Bud, USA House)…the celeb watch on this blog has demonstrably shown that numerous celebs ventured out to places as diverse as Bling, Blok8, China Doll and mixed it up with the locals.

Beijing nightlife during the Games “very dull?” Did the Time Out Beijing editor see the rooftop terrace at Kokomo during the Games?

Ibiza it was not but Beijing nightlife certainly could not have been characterized as very dull.

Do you think HQ in London has a clue about what is going on with its magazine in China?

Cheers, Boyce

from http://www.newsweek.com/id/147780:
The nightlife guide Time Out Beijing is planning a double issue for August and September: there’s not enough going on to fill two single issues. … “In the month of the Olympics, there’s less to write about than at any time in the last few years,” says the magazine’s editor, Tom Pattinson. “It’s either a private party, or it’s not happening.”

from http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-fun26-2008jul26,0,2...
“It’s really a shame,” said Tom Pattinson, editor of Time Out, an entertainment listings magazine, whose July issue for Beijing lists the best bars and nightspots. “Beijing had really bloomed in the past 18 months, but the next few months will be dull.”

from http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/jul/28/olympicgames2008.china:
“Instead of showcasing Beijing as the great modern cultural city that actually it is, people are going to see something more likely to conform to the negative stereotype now … You’ve got beer gardens being told ‘No beer in the garden,’” said Tom Pattinson, editor of Time Out Beijing.

from http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/kinming_liu/2008/07/the_no...
Tom Pattinson, editor of English-language entertainment listings magazine Time Out Beijing, said the prospects for Games-time nightlife looked “very dull.” “All those athletes who want to let their hair down and get drunk for the first time in four years are going to have a hard time doing it,” he said.

I would need to practice having “no fun” to really make that look work, but it goes against my nature.

Two weeks of fun: with friends, with strangers, in bars, on rooftops, in stadiums, on streets. Hard to believe it is already over.

Cheers, Boyce