Picture: Food: Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is one of the unsung heroes of Japanese food and a famous dish in the Kansai region of the country. It is basically a type of savory pancake made on a grill and covered with mayo and Bull-Dog sauce. This one, which I proceeded to eat in an okonomiyaki restaurant in Tsukaguchi, Hyogo prefecture, in the fall of 2001, had pork and squid inside.

Picture: Phone: Food: Kaiserschmarrn

This particular version was found at the Sunday brunch in the Vienna Cafe on Shaoxing Rd. in Shanghai in the springtime of 2007.  
(http://www.viennashanghai.com/)
I look forward to actually getting to Austria one of these days and having it there.

Picture: Phone: Food: Deep Fried French Toast

I took this picture of a piece of deep fried french toast with butter on top at the locally-infamous Shanghai Xin Wang Cha Canting on Changle Rd. in March of 2006. The restaurant had a special on this particular item between 2 and 4 in the afternoon, at which time it was 13 RMB (at the time, around US$1.50) for a piece of french toast and a cup of tea and I used to go eat it every day to keep myself from wasting away to nothingness.

In this particular picture, my friend is poking the french toast with his fork while opining something to the effect of 'I'm surprised you haven't died of a heart attack yet."

Picture: Phone: Food: Yuanyang Hot Pot

This isn't much to look upon but it doest the job of making you warm and full. The left side is peppery spicy and the right side is boringly mild. I took this picture on an extremely cold day in December of 2006, most likely at a restaurant on Huaihai Rd. in Shanghai.

Picture: Food: Pizza

Living in Italy, I tend to eat a lot of pizza anyways, but still the pizza made by my dad compares favorably with anything I have had in a restaurant.

Key points:

• His oven has two tiled racks in it. The pizza is cooked first for five minutes on the bottom rack and then for five minutes on the top rack. This does good things for the crust, which ends up being crispy on the outside and very slightly bready on the inside.
  
• 
  
• Secondly,the dough he uses is generally slightly thicker than the norm,  which makes his pizza more filling and also easier to eat using one's hands because it doesn't get floppy.
  
• 
  
• Third, he uses cornmeal on his pizza paddle rather than flour- the corn meal bakes into the bottom crust of the pizza and makes it crunchier.
  
• 
  
• Finally, he puts a bit of sugar in his pizza sauce, which sets off the flavor of the cheese and ingredients quite nicely.
  

This particular shot came from December of 2003.

Picture: Humor: Crushing the Knight

I noticed this sticker during a trip to Venice in the beginning of October of 2008. It reads:
'Venice is my house, and I don't want you in my house'
The knight, of course, is a reference to the Lega Nord.

Picture: Humor: Palin Pumpkin

I am neither clever enough to think this up, nor talented enough to pull it off.

Working in late October of 2008, the creators' prediction for the election turned out to be remarkably prescient.

Picture: Humor: Always check your acronyms

February 17, 2008

Dear Shanghai Media & Entertainment Group,
Regarding your choice of acronyms...

Picture: Humor: Awry Menu Translation

I noticed this menu at a cafe in Shinjuku, Tokyo in May 2008:

Item 1: English- 'New York style caesar salad' Japanese- 'Draft beer'
Item 2: English- 'homemade soup' Japanese- 'glass of wine (red/white)'

This can be nothing if not deliberate.

Picture: Humor: Instant Noodle Package

In various parts of the world, the way the man in the middle is making the sign for '2' could be interpreted as an obscene gesture, so I was happy to see that it had finally made it onto the side of an instant noodle package last spring.

Pictures: Phone: Shanghai Taxi License #9736

January 14, 2008, 10:18 AM --- by the looks of it this picture was taken under the Yan'an Rd. The driver had three stars.

Picture: Phone: Shanghai Taxi License #6242

Sunday November 11, 2007, 3:08 pm --- I was just out for a Sunday afternoon perhaps.

Picture: Phone: Shanghai Taxi License #4710

Febuary 16, 2008, 3:18 PM --- This driver not only has a very low number, but also managed to get a red license, meaning that his grade was at least 3 stars, but the amount of stars was masked out by the white sticker.

Picture: Phone: Shanghai Taxi License #766

December 8, 2007, 12:18 pm --- I think this was a privately-employed driver who said that he drove a taxi because he thought the life was freer- he had worked in an office but quit because he couldn't stand his boss.

Picture: Phone: Shanghai Taxi License: #741

I
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007, 4:45 PM --- I've no idea where I would have been going but most likely it was work-related.

Picture: Humor: French Tintin Cover

I purchased this postcard, which was eventually mailed to my brother, in a Tintin specialty shop in Daikanyama in Tokyo during June of 2007.

The combination of the title with the almost baffled look on their faces caught my attention: I don't know why the heck Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock and Piotr Skut are doing on an oil drum raft in the middle of the ocean, and they don't seem to either.

The English title of this particular episode of the adventures of Tintin was 'The Red Sea Sharks', put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Picture: Humor: Finger Curry

During a work lunch in 2007, I happened to see this menu- someone has written 'Yubi Karee' - 'Finger Curry', instead of 'Ebi Karee' - 'Shrimp Curry'. Only 38 RMB!

Picture: Humor: No Entry Allowed...

 'Cleaning work in progress' would have been a more appropriate phrasing for this sign, which was posted at an office building on Huaihai Rd. in Shanghai in 2006.

Picture: Humor: Please Stay Back From the Door

Of course, the sign reads 'please stay back from the door' --- on this day in the second half of 2006,  somebody didn't feel like paying attention.

Picture: Humor: Tomato Frenzy

Early one morning in June of 2006 as some friends and I were having breakfast at on Nanchang Rd. in Shanghai, a crate of tomatoes fell off a passing produce truck and shattered on the road. The driver of the truck stopped, jumped out, and decided it wouldn't be worth the trouble of getting the tomatoes back. After he pulled away, what ensued could be described as a 'human feeding frenzy', as several people, including a grandmother with her produce cart, cleared off the fallen crate of  tomatoes within a minute. 

Picture: Parma Cathedral: Lit-up picture

This is more of a modern take on these portraits, as it is lit both around the head and from below the feet.

Picture: Parma Cathedral: Chapel with Circular Picture of Christ

This chapel features a large picture centrally.

Picture: Parma Cathedral: Chapel with Statues

This chapel is heavy on the statues and also has a red-black color scheme.

Picture: Parma Cathedral: Black - Gold Chapel

This chapel had a fairly detail-rich picture in it. I also liked the black columns on either side of the painting.

Picture: Parma Cathedral: Blue - Gold Chapel

This chapel has a blue and gold theme going. 

Graffiti: Bologna: Lo Gnomo

The gnome is just hanging out on top of another tag. On closer inspection it seems that he has no hands, or they may be stuck in his pockets. I came across this picture in September of 2008 while walking out to San Luca under the porticos.

Graffiti: Bologna: Pompadour Kid

This guy is everywhere in my section of town. I have taken to calling him 'the pompadour kid' for lack of a better name. 'angry Calvin' is another one that I use to describe the picture. This is a smaller version than some of the other ones aroundbut I liked the background when I took this picture in October of 2008.  

Graffiti: Tokyo

This tag adorned a wall near Hachiyamacho in west Tokyo. This picture was taken in May of 2007, but it may no longer be there. The name of the artist eludes me at this moment in time. 　　　

Graffiti: Venezia: Fuse Box

This tagged fusebox was partially covered over by flyers by the time I took this picture in October of 2008. It is in a small square in Santa Croce in Venice.

Graffiti: Bologna: Red Door

This adorns the grating outside of a shop near Porta Saragozza in Bologna. I think it looks nice, but I am really not understanding the artistic significance of the scary flying baby at all.

Photo: Party: CD Club and the World Cup

This picture was taken during the World Cup in 2006. Clubs in Shanghai often tend to show the World Cup and Euro Cup matches --- with the time difference most of the games are on at 2-3 in the morning. They are running the game scores (in Chinese) in blue writing above the green laser.

Picture: Party: AvB

Taken around 5 am in the morning on November 21st or so, 2005. He's looking well chuffed.

Picture: Party: DKD Nu party

This picture is from February 2005. It's quite hard to get the effect from glow sticks right, but I thought this picture came out well. 

Picture: Party : Union Music at Fabric

This picture was taken at a party in Fabric on Jianguo Rd. in Shanghai in 2006. This venue was notoriously hard to keep going- it went from being a high-concept French-Japanese supper club (similar to La Fabrique in Shibuya), to a dance club, to a live house before finally being basically shut down.

Picture: Phone: Party: Nic Fanciulli

This picture was taken at the now defunct Club G-Spot in Shanghai on Dec. 10, 2006.

The soundsystem in this venue was notably good, as it was the only place in China which had a system installed by Craig 'Shorty' Benabeu.

I'm not saying that there weren't other reasons for the club going out of business, but something tells me the management's great choice of a name probably didn't help matters any.

Picture: Car: Skyline family edition

This car was parked somewhere in Wanchai in Hong Kong in springtime in 2007. It's not everybody that has a Nissan Skyline as their family car...

Picture: Car: Gutted Subaru

I came across this car while I was walking in the foothills above Minoo, in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, in October 2005, while looking for monkeys. It is a derelict, a 'haisha' in the local parlance--- as it is costly to junk a car in Japan, one often sees cars that have been left in parking lots, fields, and less-travelled roads

Picture: Car: Toyota Supra

This car has a Jilin provincial license plate on it, but was parked in the alley near my flat in Shanghai in the second half of 2005. It's probably a 20 hour drive from Jilin to Shanghai, although I was thinking that there may also be ferries going from Liaoning across the East China Sea to Shandong, from where it is much closer to reach Shanghai.
It's an automatic though- what a waste.

Picture: Car: Mazda 626

This car handled really well, even in the snow, and was fun to drive, although at times it was a bit lacking when climbing hills at highway speeds. This picture is from the summer of 2003.

Picture: Car: VW Beetle

I saw this VW Beetle on a side street near the Parma River.
It was a cold day in January of 2009. I had tortelli di zucca for lunch with some roasted potatoes and lambrusco at a restaurant in downtown Parma. It was a bit of a dull day but relaxing.

Drawing: Chocolate Fondue

Thinking about this one is making me hungry...
The text reads 'it tastes good' in Mandarin.

Drawing: Blengins and Girl

By outsider artist Henry Darger of Chicago, who wrote a 15,000 page manuscript (illustrated) while working as a janitor. 

Drawing: Red King

This picture by John Tenniel accompanied the following text in the book:

`He's dreaming now,' said Tweedledee: `and what do you think he's dreaming about?'

Alice said `Nobody can guess that.'

`Why, about YOU!' Tweedledee exclaimed, clapping his hands triumphantly. `And if he left off dreaming about you, where do you suppose you'd be?'

`Where I am now, of course,' said Alice.

`Not you!' Tweedledee retorted contemptuously. `You'd be nowhere. Why, you're only a sort of thing in his dream!'

`If that there King was to wake,' added Tweedledum, `you'd go out -- bang! -- just like a candle!'

`I shouldn't!' Alice exclaimed indignantly. `Besides, if I'M only a sort of thing in his dream, what are YOU, I should like to know?'

`Ditto' said Tweedledum.

`Ditto, ditto' cried Tweedledee.

Drawing: Voynich Manuscript

Nobody knows what the writing in this book, known as the Voynich Manuscript, means, or even what language it's in. It seems to be a textbook dating from several hundred years ago. It's quite a curious thing. 
A set can be found at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3e/sets/72157600089509882/

Drawing: by Wesley Willis

I was always a fan of Wesley Willis' music, as well as his personality when he made appearances on the Howard Stern Show, but I never actually saw his art until recently. Naturally, I had heard people talk about it, but seeing is better. His use of perspective and color is great, as are the textures of the buildings and the sky. An underappreciated genius to be sure.

Picture: Macao: Fernando's

On this day in 2008 it was below freezing in Macau, so getting a taxicab anywhere took an investment of serious amounts of time. I was working in a 2-person team running around the strip in downtown Macau  just-to-find-a-fuggin-taxi. After an hour and a half, during which time we contemplated chucking the whole endeavour and just going back to Hong Kong on the next hydrofoil, or at least stopping to eat a pork chop sandwich, we finally managed to secure a spot in a taxi, and were soon zooming across the bridge to Taipa with fireworks from the cai shen holiday exploding all around us, and then on to Coloane where we would have dinner at Fernando's. We had been waiting all week for Portuguese food and we weren't going to let either freezing cold or a lack of vehicles stop us, by Odin's Raven.

Picture: Singapore on a Hot Day, Taken From Above

This picture was taken during a break from a work training session that I was attending in Singapore in August of 2005.  It was probably 38 degrees outside that day and even though I walked the 200 meters from my hotel to the office as slowly as I possibly could, by the time I reached my destination I was drenched with sweat. Still, when the weather is that hot, no excuse is required to drink copious amounts of cold beer---what a happy coincidence.

Picture: Mountains and Clouds

This picture is of a valley in the Alps de Tires in South Tyrol-Alto Adige, in Italy, in September of 2008. It is dark both because it was cloudy that day and because I was hiking up around sunset and attempting to reach a mountain refuge before the sun went down. This was the only cloudy weekend of that September, so naturally I had decided to go mountain climbing on that weekend. I rented a very sporty VW and tore up the Autostrade for 3 hours before arriving in Bolzano, and then took another 40 minutes to get up into the mountains and find the trailhead, stopping on the way at the supermarket for a bottle of booze and some trail snacks. The hike was good, and I did just manage to get indoors around seven, before it had become totally dark and rainy outside. The shelter had excellent German food, and I had goulasch with potato dumplings for dinner, with a glass of vin Brule', a draft beer, and a piece of sacher torta for dessert.
'This is the proper way to rough it', I thought to myself.

Picture: Phone: Sun Through Tree

This picture was taken in a park near Daikanyama in Tokyo on a sunny day in 2007 when I had nothing better to do. The clouds were quite beautiful that day, and even though this was taken using a phone camera, I like the effect of the sun through the tree leaves. The park was a favorite place of mine in that section of the city, and I often went there to read or rest if I had been walking for a long time. There was an upper and lower park as well- the upper park was dingier but quieter, shady, with old people walking around, old benches, and some bum houses hidden in the back. The lower park had more of a family-friendly atmosphere, with a playground, swingset, and a lot of open sunny space.

Picture: Edited: Looking East Towards The Bund

I took this picture early in the morning. This window was in the hallway outside of my flat, the plant on the right-hand side belonged to my neighbors. They were a nice family of four, the father used to talk to me a lot about tai chi, his time during the cultural revolution, and other things. Even though he never seemed to be outside, he had a deep tan, and although he smoked almost constantly, I once saw him going for a swim in the river in the springtime. Often the windowsill to the left of the plants would have a bowl of greens or some fish thawing on it. The family took cooking in turn, it seemed, with the grandmother doing the majority of the cooking but also the husband and wife chipping in occasionally. Other than the occasional chat, I really didn't speak to my neighbors, but I always had an image of them in my mind as being nice people, and that's how I will remember them.