As Seen by TV

I was strolling around the city this past weekend doing some shopping and happened to stumble upon a parade in preparation…

Sweating in the rain is a new sensation for me… mix that with some hardcore air-conditioning and, well, you can do the math.  So now, I’ve been sick (again) for a while, and not happy about it.  Got caught in a downpour on Guangyuan Road on my way back from the bank this weekend.  Luckily I had my cam with me, but yeah that’s about it really, sorry no excitement to report!

Wow, has it really been a couple months?? That’s no good, I’ll be working on that.
Been busy, been sick… let’s just say it’s been hectic.

Here are some quick shots I went out to capture last week when I saw the sky was going to be a good one… all these were taken no more than a 5min walk from my new apartment.  The pictured movie theater was opened several months ago, it’s a nice faux-art-deco structure actually.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say about that.

Recently moved into a new apartment… 17th floor, which means I have a view!

Well, I’m somewhat of a New Yorker myself… born in Morningside and matured (somewhat, actually maybe not) in Brooklyn.  So I know me a block party.  Close… Converse set this one up on Moganshan Road with head-lining musical act Jeru the Damaja, a legendary 90′s underground MC.  I’d seen him before in NYC, but never this close and this out-of-step with his listeners… but that’s not his fault, that’s almost solely the fault of the Chinese.

The police department shut this party down early citing “noise complaints”, which is utterly hilarious in it’s own right, never mind the 24/7 construction (even at 6am on Sunday’s), or the constant car horns, or the firecrackers outside every wedding or business openinig, etc. It’s just sad that the police/government has to clamp down on any form of creative expression, especially in concern with things they don’t understand (like music and art; or just life in general). Jeru said it himself when someone shouted out “f*ck the police, f*ck the government” to which he replied “yeah, you can say that, but I surely can’t say that sh*t cuz I still gotta get outta here.”  True.

Anyway, about the pics… some stuff with graffiti, some “typical” NY food, a dope MC, and some dude getting his hair cut (which for some really strange reason was a massive success with the photographer/videographers in the crowd).

Peace & Love.

Taken over a month ago (yeah, I know… but it’s been a busy couple weeks for me) this was one of the first spring-like days to hit Shanghai.  Originally I had wanted to see the “pr0tests” dealing with the Jasm1ne Rev0lution… but what we found were almost 100 “undercover” agents stationed all around the Peace (irony?) Cinema… it was a tense and creepy scene (made more so by getting stared at by each and every one of them; foreigner + camera = no good).  So instead, we just walked around People’s Square and enjoyed the nice weather. 

Well, here they are.  Night #5 of Chinese New Year in Shanghai… once again putting my life in danger… and in the aftermath both camera & photography covered in ash.  All completely worth it.

Keep in mind it wasn’t foggy at all that night… those are all clouds from the firework explosions going on in every direction.  It’s mayhem at it’s finest and most beautiful. 

Enjoy.

CLICK HERE to see the post from last year: CNY – Year of the Tiger (2010)

Day 4 of Chinese New Year… went for a stroll around Xujiahui (actually, the first 3 are from around my office).  Fireworks in every direction, every night for almost 2 weeks long… Shanghai almost literally turns into a warzone.

The night of day 5 is when all hell breaks loose (besides New Years Eve of course)… and those pictures will be uploaded soon.  The images of  Chinese New Year day 5 from last year still holds the record for the highest traffic to my blog, ever… so, why not check out that post again HERE (warning: dope photography!).  This year’s to follow soon!