My Seagull (camera, not bird)

A few months ago I found an old Seagull camera at that same camera market where my little box camera came from and even though it was completely busted up on the inside, I bought it (it was a steal at 80RMB). I got it fixed and bought a 50mm lens. And now several hundred RMB later, it works! And even though I probably could have purchased one that already worked for nearly the same price, I've now bonded with this one. We've been through a lot together.

Seagulls are China's oldest camera brand and are based in Shanghai. My model is from the 80s (I think) and is modeled after a Minolta SLR. Funny thing's I've discovered since taking my first roll.
1- There is a light meter. Very handy to know that and will explain why some of the following pictures are off.
2- Not only is there a light meter, but there is a setting for ISO speed...also very helpful and explains why the first set of pictures are way off. Thankfully I'm inquisitive or I might have been very discouraged, thinking that my light meter was way off...

Here are some of the firsts shots in B&W. More in color to come. All of the ones below are taken at Fulu Jie (from which you've seen pictures before) save the first which was on my way there.

At first I thought these kittens were dead. They weren't.

Favorite movie line referring to weeds...."so are dandelions but that doesn't stop kids from making wishes on them."

A lot more of the houses were torn down this time than a few months ago when I last came. I spoke to an elderly man who said there were still 8 families amongst the houses still standing and that the 'laoban' or boss had run out of money. I assume he meant the developer.

Strange Smells at the Clinic

The first evening I was in China back in the summer of 2002, I thought I was going to vomit. The smells almost did me and I'm not one to be easily nauseated. Luckily, I got over it–the smell of stinky tofu (literally fried moldy tofu) on the streets, fermented mildew from clothes that didn't dry fast enough in my "hotel", and I couldn't even recognize some of the other smells. Now many of these scents have become familiar thought I still can't identify all of them...

Yet sometimes there is a smell that is quite distinct–a smell that reminds me of the stairwell near my freshman dorm where the guy down the hallway would light up his contraband...yes, the smell is marijuana. And quite often when I pass the little medical clinic down the street (the one with the steady stream of weathered and hunched elderly Chinese people), I smell that same scent of hash. I asked my co-workers, and it doesn't seem that medical marijuana is available here so I have only one conclusion–the old folks are illegally getting high at the "clinic". (Actually, I have another conclusion, but this one is far more interesting.)

I tell you...do not underestimate the elderly Chinese.

Mao Was Here

More pictures! This time of a partially condemned area near Xintiandi in Shanghai. Xintiandi, which means new heavens and earth was an original meeting place of the communist party in the traditional shikumen (a stone colored brick) style. They tore down the area and then rebuilt it with similar architecture. It's now a popular, high falutin' shopping/dining area. But that has very little to do with these pictures, which I took on a Saturday. There were hardly any people in the area, though it seemed a few still lived there...

Mao was here.

This place was boarded up, but a whole in the door showed a window on the other side and an old wicker chair still in there. I really liked the perspective.

Looky here...another picture of a bike. What are the odds?

Not sure if this is a good picture, but I like it's washed out-ness for some reason.

Wen: culture.

Chinese People

I've been working on the elusive skill of taking Chinese people's pictures. It's so unfortunate that they shrink from the lens because they are so photogenic, interesting and beautiful whether young or weathered.

Taken with my box camera. She asked a customer, "why is she taking pictures of me." "Maybe it's her hobby," he said.

Also with my box camera. I thought this girl was lovely. She had a nice personality too. Didn't really mind the camera...although she thought it was weird I was taking pictures of the steamed dumplings she was selling.

A man looking walking through the wet market.

This guy was one of many who thought it was hilarious that I was taking pictures of the wet market, but he let me take his picture. I think he's eating a sunflower seed.

Does this guy scare you as much as he scares me? He's lookin' for you. He's gonna find you.

Nanjing and the Gray Haze

Nanjing, a historic city that was one of China's capital cities, is a mere 90 minutes from Shanghai. I finally made it there a few weeks ago on a photography expedition with a friend of mine. It was great to get out of Shanghai for a few days, but it was so gray while we were there that I didn't get as many good pictures as I was hoping. 

"They" say that gray days are great for photo taking but this was a permeating gray haze. Still had a great time and got some good pics--including a few odd signs (China never disappoints on that front.) 

The last picture is my favorite so you have that to look forward to...

 A very Chinese looking Mosque.

 Lunch options at a back alley noodle shop.

 The Nanjing Japanese Massacre Museum. Very well done museum detailing the brutal Japanese invasion of the city in which 300,000 people were killed in the span of six months. Just awful and explains why China has a hard time getting over their anti-Japanese sentiments.

A wall of names of those killed during the invasion.

This was part of the window display at a shop in a mall across the street from the museum. I mean what...?

Fried dumplings. Delish! I love this picture.

The ascent to Sun Yat Sen's Mausoleum

Do you see the haze?

Flags at Jiming Temple. There are about 50 more pictures of these from every angle conceivable.

I do not know what this says. I should figure it out, but it might ruin the strangeness and that would be a shame.

Uncontrollably love this picture of the city wall. I like to think of it as being in England or France. I'm pretty sure there is some dashing literary figure just around the bend.

A Short Film on Superheros

A friend of mine had a super-hero themed birthday party on Saturday (and no, it wasn't a kid's birthday party). We were all supposed to come dressed up, but I was out all day and didn't have time to put together a makeshift costume. To really capitalize on the theme, we made a short, silent film which was really fun. Everyone whipped out their creative talent.

Plot:  Villains try to take over Shanghai by bombing it with balloons, but never fear Timonator, the Incredibles, Wandawoman, and Sneezetastic are here to save the day.

The original has Superman's theme overlaid but was muted by Youtube so hum it to yourselves if you need the full effect:

Recently Watched: Virgin Suicides, Morning Glory, & Eat Pray Love

One of my favorite things about cooking is watching movies and TV shows while cooking because just watching movies and TV shows by yourself and not doing anything creative seems like a waste most days...also when do I otherwise have two hours to devote just to movie watching? There are Bible studies to be doing, books to edit, books to read, pictures to take, pictures to edit...you see my dilemma.

So I had a bunch of food prep to do this past week and recently a lot of files to move around on my new Mac and here's what I watched.

The Virgin Suicides: As the name suggests, this movie is about a string of suicides, which is a gruesome subject but this is a thoughtful, if underdeveloped movie about confinement, society, and the allure of the unknown. The five Lisbon girls grow up in a suburban neighborhood in Michigan during the 70s and while they go to school, they are mostly kept under lock and key by their strict Catholic parents. Their beauty and their seclusion make the already beautiful girls  more alluring, even more so after the youngest daughter inexplicably commits suicide. The film is narrated by a neighbor of the Lisbons who has since grown up but cannot shake the nostalgia or mystery surrounding the girls. He and his friends track down every piece of information they can find to try to figure out what lead to the family's demise and to put their own haunted memory of the girls to rest. While much is left unknown, the film does adroitly capture the time period (great soundtrack) and a feeling of angst, loneliness, and mystery that comes with both memories and tragedy. I'm very tempted to read the book...

Morning Glory: A nice, not too sappy, feel good movie with Rachel McAdams who I can't help but like. McAdams' character is a producer for an early morning TV program when she gets the boot due to budget cuts. Crushed because her dream is to be a TV producer, she hunts for a new job and eventually gets one at the failing morning program of a major network (think a step down from CBS's morning show). She's almost doomed to fail with no co-anchor for Diane Keaton's character, an extremely corny weatherman, and no budget. When she lands a begrudging Dan Rather-esque Harrison Ford, she has to figure out a way to win him over, boost ratings, and learn to do something other than watch the news at all hours. I really liked this movie. It had real heart and some gumption and best of all, humor. Sweet and as I said, hardly sappy at all. There was a little romance but I liked that the center of the story was about a woman who gets a crack at her dream...ok now I'm being sappy. In case anyone thought this was a new version of Up Close and Personal...never fear. The romantic bits are nothing to do with Harrison Ford.

Eat Pray Love: You've probably all seen this. Woman goes to find herself after a failed marriage and learns to let go and to forgive herself. Having never read the book (which I hear can be annoyingly self-centered), I didn't have much expectation about this movie. It was interesting. Not as funny as I thought it might be and definitely a bit self-centered, but an ok movie. I definitely disagreed with a lot of the mumbo jumbo advice she got from religious gurus 1, 2, and 3 but I could also understand the desire to get away and live, so if anyone wants to buy me a ticket to Italy, Bali, or India I might take you up on it. Will not be reading this book.

My own Sartorialist

The Sartorialist blog features photos of stylish people on the streets of Paris, Florence, etc. The people are usually looking at the camera and smiling. My version isn't like that. I take pictures from far away with my long lens, and they don't even see it coming (because if they did, they would not be smiling). . Here are two random shots I took recently at People's Park. Get inspired.

Kitchening: Pita bread, a skillet cookie, and a tart

I've been cooking up a storm and I often take pictures that you just never happen to see so I thought I'd give you a rundown of a few delicious dishes with mostly links because that's easier than pretending that I "adapted" them.

Pita Bread

Here you see my very oddly shaped pitas risen.

Once the pita come out of the super hot oven, they get the sauna treatment in a (old) paper bag (obviously I reuse this bag).

I got this highly rated recipe from Allrecipes.com. Obviously mine aren't super round...I don't really try that hard because I usually make them to dip in my hummus, not fill up with falafel. 

I mix these on the dough setting in my bread machine and usually have to add at least a cup of flour or it's too gooey. Might be Chinese flour and Shanghai humidity.

The trick to getting the pocket to form is rolling them out a little thinner than you'd think. And not to worry if your oven doesn't go all the way up to 500 degrees. I set mine on the highest setting and it works out fine.

1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees F /45 degrees C) 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions:

1.	Place all ingredients in bread pan of your bread machine, select Dough setting and start. When dough has risen long enough, machine will beep.
2.	Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
3.	Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas a softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months.

Whole Wheat Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

Great for a crowd...just watch out how long you cook them. They can get a little dry or be undercooked in the center. I like these with half whole, half flour.

Citrus (mostly Lemon) Tart with Ginger Oat Crust

(for Pi Day, of course) 

I mixed two recipes and came up with one pretty delish tart--my first tart ever actually.


The Ginger Oat Crust came from a diabetics website so I switched all the substitutions (margarine, fake sugar) back into the real deal and added some extra ground ginger for good measure. I also use ginger nut cookies because that's what I had. Those have a little extra bite to them as well.


Citrus tart a la Martha. It didn't all fit in my little precooked ginger oat crust and made a bit of a mess getting it to the oven. Also cooked for nearly 50% longer than the directions said, but it tasted good in the end. The filling was essentially an uncurded lemon curd. I think I'll go with a lemon curd next time. I actually used the left over filling on the stove and turned it into curd which I sandwiched between my first ever macaroons (pictures to come).

Behind My Apartment & Beyond

There are/were a bunch of laofangzis (old houses) behind my apartment. Last year I took an hour or two and walked around taking pictures (during which time I got shoved by an old lady and stopped two children from playing with a dirty syringe in the ruins of an old building). The light broke through the crowds a few weeks ago on an otherwise dreary day so I went out there again taking photos.

Much has changed. An entire block of the condemned buildings that were there last year are gone completely while others are still waiting for the bulldozers even as people still live in them. Here I've got a couple of photos from that little walk as well as some freebies from the People's Square area.

 Not a great picture, I know, but can you believe someone is receiving organic milk while all around them is rubble? I didn't even know you could get organic milk delivered here. 

 I think the guy inside the window caught me but...Ha! with my telephoto lens I got you awesome looking elderly man. Chinese old people are so photogenic.

 This picture and the next one are the same just with two different looks. This sugar cane had so much texture and there's a fascinating character or something written on that one in gold. 

It looks very fanciful but I imagine it's the name of whoever grew it.

 I have a compulsion to take pictures of old doors. Just can't help myself.

 Moving out of the old neighborhood to somewhere near People's Square...These guys are named Tweedle Dee & Tweelde Dum but they dress up like Thing One & Thing Two for Halloween.

 Big old metal Chinese doors. Forbidding and photogenic. The emperor is hidden in there somewhere. Do not tell Bernardo Bertolucci

 

I should look up what this says...

The first buds of the cherry blossoms. I love how this turned out. 

It looks like the vine is going to grow right out of the picture.