Jul/100
spanish new gastronomy festival
wow. how awesome is this?
i would really like to go to juan mari azrak or martin berastraguei’s dinners. anyone want to join me? no, i’m serious. hit me at the email if you want to go.
May/100
expo post #3, ozomatli rocks the expo, but not without some issues
los angeles band ozomatli played in shanghai’s zhongshan park 3 years ago at the yue festival and their latin funk, hip-hop, reggae, rock party tunes were a lot of fun and they reminded me of home (los angeles). according to wikipedia, the basis for their sound would be “what you would hear if you drove with your car windows down along sunset boulevard – that mix of music.” seeing them at the yue festival in 2007 was great fun . . .
so when i heard that the usa pavilion was inviting them to play a concert at the shanghai world expo, i jumped at the chance to go. heading down there with my college friend abbie, we got to expo gate #2 at 8:15pm intending to purchase an evening ticket. well, the ticket office was closed and the people there said there was no way to buy a ticket for the evening. “sold out” they said – the only way might be to buy through conveinence stores.
“so where are the cloest convienence stores?”
this was answered with a shrug. well, i had a wild-card and was able finagle two emergency tickets (thanks mla!) but there were at least 20-30 other visitors there specifically for the concert. expo organizers need to plan for this eventuality – and also, if you’re only going for an event, be sure to buy your ticket early! ticket offices close at 8pm!
well, after 20 minutes of arguing at the gate, we finally show up to see ozo. even with the rain, and the crappy sound (in the back it was fine, but when we made our way up front, the vocals were turned way down) – they were amazing. i’ve never seen a band connect with a crowd of non-fan chinese people so well. they played with so much energy, that guys in bad suits and aunties and young people were all up and dancing around. it was so fun. sure i’ve seen great crowd reactions from chinese crowds at shows like linkin park or any of the punk shows i’ve been to, but ozo completely won over an audience that i’m going to presume 95% had never heard them or of them before.
this from a show ozo did the following night (looks like mao shanghai to me) but you can feel the energy in the band.
May/100
spotted in hongkou
after the shanghai shenhua/beijing guo’an derby saturday night
PIRATE HAIBAO
May/100
expo post #3 sleeping cops
seen during the training day (april 20th) – check out the sheer number of PAP officers who are snoozing during training.
May/102
expo post #2 herbie hancock rocks shanghai
one of the really cool things about living overseas – well, our cultural opportunities are not as frequent as they would be in san francisco, la, or even houston, but when they are, we get a much more up close and personal touch.
because of the largesse of some friends working at the usa pavilion at the shanghai world expo, we were treated to 4th rows seats to see jazz legends dee dee bridgewater and HERBIE HANCOCK play at the expo performing arts stage last friday, not only that, but it was free. FREE!
suffice to say, sharing a small, intimate concert venue with such esteemed -jazz- musical legends is beyond my ability to translate onto a blog post, but it was truly a special evening.
See the rest of my photos here
Apr/104
shanghai expo post 1
surely of a million posts this summer.
because of work, i was at the expo site today. some quick tips:
1. do not take a taxi – pudong nan lu gets super backed up – its normally a 20 minute drive from my door – today it took an hour. and it’s not even peak period yet – today was just sort of security testing and systems testing – supposedly there was only 1/5 the expected guests today.
2. the expo is HUGE. wear comfortable shoes. plus its going to get hot.
3. food – lines were long all over today, except for the more expensive places. drink machines were plentiful, however, very few people know how to use them and there’s a 5 minute wait per person while they try to figure out how it works. very frustrating. i’d go to eat at off-hours, pack a lunch or go to one of the pricier sit-down places. the longest lines were at the cheapest places (lawsons)
4. people are not paying attention to what they’re doing. there will be thieves . .. and also you will bump into a million people as they all try to get the best photo in their camera. without regards to being in the middle of a crowd.
5. security lines are already outrageously long. come prepared to wait.
good luck and see you there this summer!
Apr/104
spotted in shanghai: new world expo taxi
check it out! its pretty cool. haven’t taken a ride in one yet though.
Nov/090
giant flying saucers
with next year’s expo in shanghai, the pace of construction at the expo site over on the other side of the pujiang river in pudong (or pu-jersey as some here like to call it) is in full gear. today i had the privilege to take a look inside the shanghai world expo performing arts center that, along with the china pavilion, will be one of the center pieces of the shanghai world expo 2010. it also looks like a giant flying saucer.
i don’t have any commentary. just look at the photos of the construction, will ya?
Sep/092
haibao and the wizards
yes, that is nba all-star caron butler, former wizards/bullets big man gheorghe muresan and nba hall of famer wes unseld posing with haibao – the mascot of the shanghai 2010 world expo.
special shout out to the haibao in the photo, andrew p.!