Year of Pictures: Week I

I made it through my first week of picture taking without forgetting once! I think I have to be careful that this little project doesn't become a chore and actually helps me develop my photographing abilities...so many things I want to do better. I should be independently wealthy...

 

November 17: You've already seen this one, but it was the best one of the day...

November 18: Sarah and our yu xiang rou si （鱼香肉丝）—the latter of which is not completely in focus.

 

November 19: Post on Anfu Lu (安福路)

November 20: Detail of my scarf in a cab.

November 21: Wasted Day

 

November 22: Pillow Feather

November 23: The throwaway picture of the week...my teensy closet. Smaller than the rest because it's such a boring picture, but I've only been to the gym today...

Which pic do you like best and why? Anything you'd alter?

I've got a photo shoot tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Birthday Recap No. 3: Cooking Class + An announcement!

In lieu of another long-ish row of pictures...I thought I'd do a collage of my birthday present from Sarah—a Chinese cooking lesson! So exciting. Chinese food is a mystery...a delicious mystery. There are so many different cuisines and tastes. It's a shame to live here so long and have no idea how anything is cooked.

Sarah found a cooking school that does at home lessons called the Flying Chef. They bring everything to your door from ingredients to cooking utensils. Amazing and a very good idea and something we couldn't afford to do in America.

Chef Li (love him. He was so warm and even gave me a hug) arrived promptly at 10:10 and started getting to work. The lesson wasn't so much hands on as watching, which was actually good. 1. Chinese kitchens are small and mine is quite large in comparison to most. 2. He explained why and how he did everything which was a wealth of knowledge and he had previously lived in Germany so I got the sense that he understood the differences in how East & West prepares cuisine. 3. Everything in Chinese food needs to be cut up...best to have someone with a machete and several decades of Chinese cooking under his 10 gallon chef's hat.

The class is sort of designed for a larger group than 2 so we had A LOT of food. It was like Chinese Thanksgiving by 1:00 when everything was finished. I have lots of leftovers and it's seriously some of the best, freshest Chinese food I've ever eaten (did I mention that I live in China?)

Hopefully, I'll detail the how-to's in future posts.

And...

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Hopefully you didn't scoll quickly to the end of the post to get to this announcement. It's not that exciting...but here it is...

To make sure I don't go long stretches without taking pictures of anything, I've decided that this year (the 365 days from this birthday to the next) I'm going to take at least one photo a day and chronicle them week by week. 

In addition to my Nikon D60 and my little Sony, I just got this amazing camera as a birthday present from my roommates. I had coveted it when I went to that antique market and they went back and found it well over a month later. I'm so excited. I took it on Friday to the camera market to get it cleaned out and the repair lady seemed optimistic that it would still work. I'm really hoping so. If not, I'll still love it...it's very old Shanghai.

Anyway, I expect you to keep me accountable if I don't seem to be posting any pictures.

Birthday Recap No. 2

My birthday was this week, in case you didn't get the memo I sent out to everyone on my email list. I really like birthdays and since there's a larger affair going on this weekend, I wanted to do a small, swankier meal at one of the restaurants in town that I've been pining away for for years—the classy M on the Bund. 

All day I was dreaming of their famous pavlova, which I'd only heard of...yum! A rare splurge!

I brought my point and shoot, which I think I've forgotten how to use...hence the collage in the middle.

I took a cab wearing large earrings I got for a previous birthday. And no, I have no idea where that light came from...apparently you get a halo on your 28th birthday. Did not see that written in the fine print, but I'll take it.

 

I convinced 3 of my girlfriends to get all dolled up and join me for dinner. They're quite beautiful don't you think? Then we (or maybe I) proceeded to order everything on the menu. No regrets people. 

Birthday Recap No. 1: Gnome sighting

Gnomes are elusive creatures, but sometimes on your birthday...they just might show up on your doorstep with a bouquet of purple flowers.           

If and when this happens to you, don't expect to catch them there on your stoop because by the time you see them, they're already inside.

You don't have to believe me, but you should. I'm speaking from experience...

 

The first thing you need to know is that it's hard to get a good picture of them. Remember: they are elusive.

Gap Finally Opens in China!

Gap is finally in Shanghai. Last Wednesday night was their launch party and I got to go check out the store before the public rush. Oh Gap, how I love thy simplicity in a world of bright colors and sequins.

I got to go under the guise of writing an article for CNNgo and (ahem) I may or may not have left with three to five Gap items in tow (paid for of course). Have a look at the article here!

Shanghai At Night

I don't really love taking pictures at night. I mean whoop whoop–bright lights. There is none of the warmth of the afternoon or freshness of the morning...actually. I think I might just like taking pictures in the afternoon. That could be problematic. 

But...if ever there was a place to take pictures at night, it's Shanghai. Goodness knows they use their fair share of neon. I was giving some visiting friends a little tour of the sparklier parts of the city last week so I took advantage of the fluorescent-laced skyline and got a few pics.

 

I don't know why, but I really like this picture. [East Nanjing Rd.]

More pics after the jump...

Kitchening: Healthier Pumpkin Bread with Molasses

Even though pumpkins are available here year round, pumpkin bread, butter, cookies, pasta, etc, etc just aren't as appealing in warm winter months. I've been doing my own pumpkin puree the past two years and it totally pays off. I get sweet orange organic pumpkins. Cut them in half. Scoop out the seeds and roast them cut side down at 350 until tender. Scoop flesh and ta da. I don't actually puree. If they're cooked long enough, they fall apart on their own so no need to muck up another appliance!

But the recipe...(it got a little brown in the oven, by the way. I blame China.) I was searching high and low for a molasses pumpkin bread with no luck–it was eithe r plain pumpkin or have-a-little-pumpkin-with-your-molasses bread. So I found one with honey and tweaked the bejuizes out of it. It turned out delish and since people were still talking about it this week, I thought I'd share it with the world (or the 5 people who read my blog)...

Pumpkin Molasses Bread
Adapted from Cooking Light

1/2  cup  sugar
2  large eggs (or 4 egg whites)
1  cup   pumpkin puree
1/2  cup  plain low-fat yogurt
1/4  cup molasses
1/4  cup  honey
1  teaspoon  vanilla extract


2   cups whole wheat flour (or AP flour)
1  teaspoon  baking soda
1  teaspoon  salt
1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
1/2  teaspoon  ground cloves
1/2  teaspoon  ground nutmeg

1/2  cup (ish)  raisins (or craisins)
1/3  cup (ish)  pecans

Shameless Self-Promotion: Shanghai's Eco Design Fair

My latest article on the very cool Eco Design Fair which is held twice annually in our metropolis. It's pretty amazing how Shanghai's ascetic has grown in the five years I've been here, and I'm all for more well-designed, non-hemp sustainable products.

If you're in the area, the fair is this Saturday at Jianshan Market. More details here.

Just Finished: The Unlikely Disciple

While The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University is probably not timeless, it is definitely timely. Kevin Roose, an aspiring journalist from Brown University takes a semester off school to "study abroad" at the ultra-uber-conservative Christian Liberty University, known for its larger-than-life founder Jerry Falwell and its strict rules. Hiding the fact that he is a non-religious Quaker looking to write a book about his experiences, Roose emerges himself into a world that is wholly foreign to him.

What he encounters is hilarious, horrifying, and humbling (nice alliteration, no?). Few people fit the stereotypes that his concerned family and friends expect and Roose finds himself genuinely enjoying most of the people he meets at Liberty. Although he continues to disagree with their anti-gay, anti-abortion, Republican worldview, he does find himself changing as regular Bible reading, prayer, and church going become part of his life.

Roose even gets the opportunity to interview Jerry Falwell in what turned out to be his last interview and finds that the controversial leader of the Moral Majority also has a very likable side.

Just Finished: The Woodlanders

What a perfect name for a book. What a perfect book to read in October. And oh how nice to get back to some classic literature--there's something so much more grounded about it. Perhaps its the 100 years or so years it's had to be mulled over.  I am so bad at writing book reviews...anyway.

The Woodlanders is my second Thomas Hardy book and while not as heart rending as Jude the Obscure it is does have plenty of weight. Much like Jude the Obscure focuses primarily on Jude, The Woodlanders is a novel about a group of people who inhabit a small wooded area called Little Hintock. The whole novel is covered in leaves as Hardy describes this hub in the woods where nature and the seasons are almost a character unto themselves.

There is no one main character in the novel, but several major players and they are connected by the themes of love, desire, and loyalty.

Photos of fallen Fulu Jie

After my discoveries biking the other day, I wanted to return to a little area I saw on this tiny road called Fulu Avenue. The area is being slowly torn down (the character written below Chai means destroy or tear down) while a few houses remain intact enough for people to remain living there. 

I met an elderly woman washing clothes who was very excited to talk to me, which is unusual when I'm wielding a camera. I don't think she lived there but somewhere nearby and was using an outdoor faucet because the water is running free of charge amidst the rubble.

Unlike a lot of Chinese here, she was not so gung ho about having these old areas torn down to be replaced by bland high rises. I didn't take a picture of her, unfortunately. I just don't have enough gumption to ask yet, knowing how skittish it can make people here...so here are a few mostly people free pictures.

 

More photos after the jump...

Just Finished: The Dud Avocado

Oh scandalous cover! I get so many people trying to read my book covers on the metro that I tried to keep this one carefully tucked away. Oh well...it's art people.

The Dud Avocado (author Elaine Dundy) was apparently received with very high praise when it was first published in the 50s. As Groucho Marx wrote, "I had to tell someone (and it might as well be you since you're the author) how much I enjoyed The Dud Avocado. It made me laugh, scream, and guffaw (which, incidentally, is a great name for a law firm)."

It's the witty story of a young American woman full of wanderlust. Recently graduated from college, her eccentric uncle gives her a comfortable allowance so she can go abroad and sow her wild oats, so to speak.

Sally Jay Gorce is the girl and words like zany and madcap don't quite do her (or the predicaments she gets herself into) justice--although they do fit in with the 1950s language of the novel. Living in Paris' Left Bank, she aimlessly hobnobs with a hodge-podge of people--artists, ne'er do wells, directors, an Italian diplomat, etc. All the while making a number of questionable decision which are a skillful combination of hilarious and unfortunate.