The city of Chongqing is one of the largest cities in the world, located near the headwaters of the Yangtze River, practically in the center of China.

According to the Weather Underground, the 27th of December, 2002 was a cold, clear day -- temperatures between 35 and 37 degrees Fahrenheit, winds steady between two and seven miles per hour.

The moon that night was just about in its last quarter.

And a woman was giving birth.

China is a country with too many children. There are laws, but people are people, and sometimes, babies just happen, whether you can afford them or not, whether you're breaking the law or not. Most people in China can't afford a baby, especially if it's a girl.

So, on the 3rd of January, 2003, this new mother brought her little baby to #7 Shuang Bao Road, a busy public place, and left her there. This happened at night -- that was the night of the new moon, the darkest night of the month, and foggy -- so she wouldn't get caught by authorities. Abandoning your baby is also illegal, even if it means your baby will have a chance at a far better life, far, far away from home. The authorities found the newborn later that night and brought her to the nearby orphanage, the Fuling Social Welfare Institute.

So. This is that baby.

Her name, from the Fuling Social Welfare Institute, is Fu Hui Xiang. Apparently, all the babies at Fuling are given the surname Fu Hui. In America, she will be known as Sophia Flower Xiang Balfour.

Have any of you been to Songfight?

I've just discovered it (thanks to Fluxblog) and I'm quite taken with it.

It's a site where they have a new topic every week, people upload mp3s of songs on that topic, and they fight for dominance - or at least, votes and positive reviews on the related messageboard.

There are some real gems in archives....

...from the humorous ("More Than Soup" winner Starfinger)

... to the poetic ("Toronto Star" winner Josh Woodward)

...to the strangely moving ("21" contender Roymond).

(That last is based on a recent column in the Toronto Star, which earns some sort of self-referential cleverness points. But it also features a typewriter and a surprise female vocal at the end, so all is forgiven.)

It seems to have been running for quite some time. I'd love to see the model taken up by record labels or mainstream music distributors... just to see if 50 Cent could win a songfight against Christina Aguilera. But in my world, both of them would be out cold if they dared challenge most of what I've found in the songfight archives.

I may try it myself....

...not that I'd have stood a chance against the mighty (and renowned) MC Hawking in the "What We Need More Of Is Science" competition, which he so rightfully won with this brutal set of high-tech rhymes.

I feel schooled, and I wasn't even IN it.