Monday, March 30, 2009

It's Official
















I just Shanghai Crushed.

The frame is a 2009 "Trotter" 54cm (way to short)
John Deere Green and Yellow with Yellow Rims and 
Golden Novatech Hubs. 42x18 Gear Ratio. It runs front
and rear brakes. I intend on keeping it that way for 
Shanghai. 

The bike is way to small and the gearing is way shorter
than anything I am used to back home. The Handlebars 
are way too wide, I am gonna have to chop them down
a bit.

But she's mine. And I love her.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Venting.























It's good to get that off my chest.

The Matrix.























I am fairly certain that this is
the physical location of the
Matrix. Why else would you
need so many wires and in
such excessive amounts?













I have seen some pretty crazy moped decals during my
time in Shanghai but this one struck me as odd. It is 
sponsored by Dassault Systems Catia. Not the Company
Dassault Systems, but the actual CAD software that they
produce/sell. Apparently it was also sponsored by Toyota.

Garbage/Recycling Man












Instead of using huge Waste Management trucks to haul
garbage around, China uses a seemingly endless army of
these guys. These gentlemen ride around on cargo bikes
ringing bells to let you know they are coming. They stop
at every garbage/recycling can to empty/sort them onto
their bikes. Often times if you have something that can
be scrapped they will offer reimbursement for your 
garbage. Some of them specialize (i.e. Metal only, Paper
only, Compost only, etc.).

Sinopec.























So far, Sinopec is the only brand of gas
station I have seen.  

Sin+OPEC=Gas

Chaos.















This air conditioner is Chaotic.

Harbin Beer.























Since 1900.

Harbin is the city where Harry grew 
up. He calls it a small industrial town.

It's Population is 5,470,000 people.

It's the 41st largest city in the world
by population.

Seafood Aisle.
















I made a "freshness" flow chart for you guys:

McFish Fillet>Big Boy's Perch>Sushi>This Stuff.

Kids.









These kids were playing basketball with each other, only
they substituted a ball for a used battery and a hoop for 
the bowls at the top of those columns. A problem made 
itself transparent to the children when the young boy 
managed to throw the battery into the bowl and neither
of the adolescents were tall enough to retrieve it. I was 
walking past as the boy was attempting to scale the back
of the young girl and chin-up to the rim. Before the kid 
fell and hurt himself, I intervened by reaching into the 
bowl and returned the battery to the youths. We shared
a small laugh and the children giggled about either how 
surreal this "language free" moment was or how silly 
my mustache looks.

Closed:




























For renovation. 

Mazda 2 Hatch























Sorry if the proliferation of car pictures
is upsetting any of the viewership, but
its cars like this that look respectable,
are economical and are affordable are 
not made available to U.S. citizens. 
The Mazda along with the Ford Fiesta
are sporty feeling, handle well, have 
decent cargo capacity and in the case
of the Fiesta Eco-Netic have been able
to achieve 65+ miles per gallon. This is
without the aid of cumbersome hybrid
technologies that could fail further down
the road. The Mazda and Fiesta could 
been tough competition for the Fit/Yaris/
Esteem/Versa. In 2008 the subcompact 
market was the only one to see a sales
increase. 

Might have been nice to have a car 
representing an American Auto 
Manufacturer up for sale.

Having said that, the Fiesta is 
manufactured in Germany, Spain,
China and soon to be Mexico. The
Mazda is produced in Hiroshima
and Hofu, Japan.

Texture: Part Deux
















Crispy.

Playground.























This was the first picture I took on what
would become an 14 mile walk from the 
Yangpu District to the Peoples Square 
and then back.

It reminds me of the scene from The
Terminator 2: Judgement Day, when 
Sarah Connor is watching kids play
on a playground through a fence when
the Machines finally turn on mankind.

Welcome Expo,














deliver civilization, build up new spirit

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Mercedes Benz E190























On my saturday morning walk around
my neighborhood I experienced some
pretty unsettling things. Things that 
are handled differently between various
cultures, humanitarian conundrums, 
sanitary nightmares and paradoxes of
the human condition. 

But then I saw this sick old E190 with
S63 AMG badging on the back and I
smiled, took a picture of it and walked
home to do my laundry.

Thanks, Karl and Gottlieb

Abstract Expressionism.























I was on my weekly saturday morning
walk around my neighbor hood when
I came to the realization that Shanghai
is a lot more interesting when view the
random paint splatters that cover almost
every surface as a canvas for amateur 
artists aspiring to inspire the world 
around them with impromptu art. 

If you take it at face value, you think
Shanghai is just really dirty.

It's infinitely more interesting thinking
that there are 20 million budding Jackson
Pollocks participating in this city-wide
surreptitious community art project. 

While I do not read Mandarin characters,
















I can only assume that whomever tagged this transformer
was a huge AC/DC fan.

Either that or they were trying to warn me about the 
dangers of tampering with an unlocked transformer 
strategically placed at street level.

Probably the AC/DC thing, though.

Phone Booth.























China Telecom phone booth. It seems
like every phone booth I see in Shanghai
has partition between booths shattered.
None of them are completely compromised,
just splintered like this one.

Chang'an Panel Van























I cannot stress enough to you how thin
this vehicle is. It has to be roughly 1/2
if not less than 1/2 the width of an H2
and possible only 1/3 the length. However,
its probably only a few inches shorter. 

Short wheelbase, Tall, Thin,Rear wheel 
drive, skinny tires and drum brakes. 
Possibly the most exhilarating/terrifying
driving experience on rainy days.

Shanghai Drift. Yo.

Love Shack.













Love Shack, Baby.

Oh Bicycle.
















How I miss thee. I am surrounded by roughly 14.3 million
bikes in the Metropolitan Shanghai area. 

But not one of them is mine.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Friday Night Dinner























Friday Night a group from TEAMS went
out to celebrate Amanda's (another intern)
last day in the Studio. We went to this 
place in Pudong. It was the communal
style dinning (we order several items
and eat a little of everything). This dish
was the one that interested me the most.
It was a deep red with noodles, fish, cabbage
red peppers, onions and potatoes. The
waitress brought out a small gas hot plate
to keep it hot which made it bubble.

It was interesting.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Mail Time.



































This letter was dated on the 2nd of March.
It was post marked on the 10th of March.
It was marked by China post on the 20th of March.
It arrived in Shanghai on the 23rd of March.

21 days.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

How I end my Sunday.
















After a long day of walking without direction. I settle in
with my Pocky and my Pepsi. Time to watch a pirated
copy of the first season of 30 Rock.

Gridded.























Inner.
Inner City.
Inner City Pressure.

Recycle Love.























These people like each other. A lot.

Wesley: Part Deux























As previously mentioned, Wesley and
I took a walk today. We essentially
wandered around looking for open 
buildings and saw how far up we 
could climb. We found quite a few
buildings like the one pictured above
that were very "used" looking but 
inside the suites themselves were very
modern looking design studios. One
that caught my eye was the "North
American Design Studio" which to 
my knowledge (i.e. google search) 
does not exist in North America.

There is a lack of color here.













































Hey look! Some images that are not straight on images of
walls. Thoughts?

Beard Papa's









Beard Papa's is a Japanese based pastry shop. Their 
mascot is unnaturally comforting looking.

Photo Session: 5















































Second Sunday in a row spent aimlessly walking the streets
of Shanghai with Wesley. We checked out East Nanjing Rd.
and then walked down to the Bund where we crossed the
Huangpu River by ferry to the Pudong district. The dude
is Shanghai's first Mayor Chen Yi, which sounded a lot
like "Cheney" when Wesley said it. We checked out some
temples and architecture and then headed for home. 

I like sundays this way.

Easy like Sunday morning.















Nick Hagen iChatted me this morning and took me into
his bathroom to urinate. To avenge him, I screen grabbed
him peeing and posted it on the internet.

Zwaaaaaa.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Dumplings for one.


















Dumplings for one are always depressing, because having
dumplings with you was such fun. Dumplings for one.

When you have dinner alone in an entirely foreign city,
you end up superimposing your situation into Of Montreal
songs.

It's Cute.

Lunch
















There is a restaurant about a mile from my apartment
called "Paris Baguette". They serve things like this. 
It was called the "Tunny Italian Panini". It was neither
Tunny (Tuna?) nor was it Italian. Rather, it was chicken
with caramelized grilled onions and lettuce. 
I ordered it not really caring was it was made of, because
it was cheap, toasted and familiar looking. 

Plus, it came with a Sprite Can adorned with a 
Chinese pop star.

Ryan Visits Ikea.

















































































It seemed like sun never stops shining 
on everyones favorite Scandinavian 
housewares retailer. My grayest day 
was broken by my 2 hour visit to the
Shanghai Ikea. Although prices at the
store were comparable to those of the
Ikea in Canton, those price are decidedly
expensive to the average Chinese citizen.
There is one exception to this statement:

The Food.
 
You can get an ice cream cone for 1RMB.
A foot long hot dog with unlimited free 
refills on fountain drinks (pepsi products)
was 5RMB. My time spent going to the Ikea,
walking around the Ikea and returning home
from the Ikea were the most staggeringly crowded, 
boundary testing, personal bubble crushing hours 
of my life.

and I blame it on the free refills.

A Gray Saturday.













































Today was the gloomiest day I have 
spent in Shanghai. The clouds/fog 
made visibility extremely limited. In
the morning I could not see Jinmao 
Tower from my apartment which is 
only 4 kilometers away. 

Granted, I did desaturate these images,
but its how I felt all day and I wanted 
to illustrate that to you.

Back, and by popular demand.























Harry Wang. 

A gentleman and a Scholar.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Saint Patrick's Day.













I did not eat Corned Beef.
I did not drink Guinness.
I did not sing Danny Boy.
But i'll be damned if I wasn't the Greenest person in Shanghai.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Funny Money.























Every bill has Chairman Mao.
100RMB=$14.62
50RMB=$7.32
20RMB=$2.92
10RMB=$1.46
5RMB=$0.73
1RMB=$0.15
.5Yuan Coin=$0.07
.1Yuan Coin=$0.01
.02Yuan Coin=$0.002

In the 1980's the government
discontinued the use of hundredths.
Now money is only divided into
tenths. 

Night Moves.
















I'm just workin' on my night moves.