Wrapping and Pan-frying Dumplings
Sichuan Dry-Fried Green Beans
Thai Lemongrass & Ginger Iced Tea
Art by Zhang Xiaogang, one of the 8 artists offered his own museum in SichuanWhen is freedom of artistic expression celebrated in a one-party state? When it brings in the big bucks, of course.
China's modern art scene is thriving, and art collectors aren't the only ones who have taken notice. To bolster development and tourism, the local government in Sichuan offered 8 contemporary artists - including Zhang Xiaogang, Fang Lijun, and Wu Shanzhuan - their own museums to operate in Dujiangyang, a city near the provincial capital of Chengdu. Construction is slated to begin soon with an investment of $13 million; the museums are scheduled to open in October 2008.
From The New York Times,
“I was very happy when I heard that they were going to give me my own museum,” said Mr. Wu, 47, whose radical red character paintings and nude performance art are well known here and abroad. “Right now, I have no idea what I’m going to do with it. In the future all the artists will sit down and discuss how these museums will be operated.”
Dance music pioneer Paul Oakenfold has been doing shows in China for over 10 years. In a recent Guardian article, he discusses the club scenes in not only Shanghai and Beijing, but also Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Jinan. Tom Pattinson, an editor at TimeOut Beijing, includes a list of club picks in China.
Beijing's "Bird's Nest" StadiumAi Weiwei, sometimes-controversial artist and designer of Beijing's Olympic Stadium, has announced his wishes to disconnect himself from his much-publicized creation. Ai had designed the "bird's nest" stadium with Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron, but is now having second thoughts. He has recently expressed his disapproval of the Chinese government's "tendency to use culture for the purpose of propaganda." (Ai spent his childhood years in China's remote Xingjiang province, where his father, the poet Ai Qing, had been exiled during the cultural revolution.)
What remains unclear is what specific event(s) prompted Ai's decision, since he has always been a critic of the state, and designed the stadium as a critic of the state. Whatever the answer, in this case the "art for art's sake" mode of thinking doesn't cut it anymore.
More Beijing indie rock to check out:
According to Shanghaiist, Carsick Cars "is known for being the ones handpicked by Sonic Youth to open for them in Beijing. What brought Carsick even more attention was the fact the Chinese government decided to step in a few hours before the curtains fell and pull them from the lineup. To make up for it, Sonic Youth is having Carsick flown to Europe for 3 shows this month. And well, who in the hell are we to argue with SY's choice in bands?"
Their Myspace page has a short bio, a few songs, and YouTube videos.
Our journey from New York began on July 31st. After spending a frenzied month packing, giving away 90% of our possessions, and saying good-bye to friends and family in New York and Boston, we hopped on a train bound for Florida, the first destination in our passage to China.
The decision to leave was not an easy one. After all, we had only been in our nice new apartment for 10 months, just settling in. Better professional opportunities were beginning to present themselves. New York was home. So, then, why leave?
The dilemma we faced is a common one shared by many 20- and 30-somethings who are "still young": to settle into a niche that is comfortable, or to abandon comfort in favor of an exciting, though terrifyingly uncertain path.
Plenty of people lead wonderfully rich lives without ever living abroad. I was already in an ever-changing and ever-surprisingly city. A city full of amazing people, culture, and food, and enough material for any budding writer to fill up a lifetime's worth of books. The fear that haunted me for over a year was that if I left, I would miss out on New York.
Then another realization fought back, and won. If I stayed in New York, I would miss out on the rest of the world.
And so the adventure begins.
In which I recap all the books I've managed to read in the past month. This month: 4, because we were leaving New York and had to make the best of the time left, and because getting rid of an apartment full of stuff is very, very, very exhausting.
On Beauty, Zadie Smith - Both hilarious and empathetic, this novel's all-too-human characters fall victim to surface beauty in both direct and indirect ways. Smith effortlessly vears from one character's thoughts to the next, personifying uppity British academics as successfully as young inner-city black males.
The Disappointment Artist, Jonathan Lethem - In this series of linked essays Lethem expounds on his cultural influences from his early teens to the present, including Kubrick, Godard, Cassavetes, Philip K. Dick, Raymond Chandler, Don Delillo, The Talking Heads, David Bowie, and many others. Rather than just name-dropping, the essays reveal that submergence in art was a way mold himself into a writer, to cope with his hippie upbringing, and to forget his mother's illness and subsequent death during his most formative years.
The sea of people on the ground were there for M.I.A. at the Siren Music Festival.
Judging Nuyorican's open mike slamI just spent the last two nights at two legendary downtown spots for slam poetry: the Bowery Poetry Club and the Nuyorican Poets Café. In my next life I would like to come back as a slam poet. The competitors at the Bowery's East Coast Regional Slam - hailing from NYC, Boston, Jersey, Columbus, and Baltimore-DC - were some of the most rhythmic, articulate, ballsy, and entrancing people I have ever seen on stage.
The Nuyorican hosts an open slam on Wednesdays, drawing much fewer people than it's famous Friday slams. It was still a lot of fun and a great showcase for local talent. Jake and I helped judge the competitors, which ranged from cringe-worthy to very impressive. One of my favorites was a woman who faked a spot-on orgasm, no pun intended. Needless the say, the male judge at another table was less impressed.
The Japanese are geniuses when it comes to developments in high-tech toilets. Now their "washlets" - which include features such as seat warmers, multiple flush settings, bidets, and even massage settings - are showing up on some All Nippon Airways (ANA) flights. Hey, what a coincidence. We were considering flying Nippon to China. Our motivation was a mini-vacation layover in Tokyo for $25 extra, but the small chance of experiencing the washlet at high-altitude may be a more compelling reason. Rumor has it that washlets will even become standard on Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets.
Natural air conditioningJacob and I are spending a summer without air-conditioning in the apartment. Half of the reason was cost (machine and electricity), and the other half was environmental. Which doesn't mean we're spending our free time inside on 90 degree days. Parks in New York are, on average, 10 to 15 degrees cooler than anywhere else outdoors in the city. Tonight we escaped to Central Park, spread a blanket out, and enjoyed the cool plushiness of the grass as we ate baguette and camembert. Nature's air conditioning...what could be better?
Gridskipper also posted a map of gardens in NYC where you can enjoy cool plushy grass and look at nice flowers. Manhattan is the only borough without an official "botanical garden", but it does have the Conservatory Gardens in Central Park and Fort Tryon's Cloisters.
Which goes to show there are options for cooling off in hot hot hot temperatures besides sitting on your AC all day.
