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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.