A lively example of entropy in motion, these hutongs South of the Lujiabang fabric markets reminded me of areas of Beijing. I found the aforementioned food item, xidan, at a stall at the end of the road where the old buildings ended and the apocalyptic wasteland of demolition began.
Look closely if you dare (click the image to see it at full resolution). Those are no ordinary eggs –unless you expect beaks with yours.
This seems a bit similar to the Filipino food “Balut”, a mainstay of eating challenges on US-oriented reality tv competitions. Often the competitors gag and bow out. I’ve always figured I’d pass such a challenge without issue, as the dish in question probably tastes fine. But when faced with Balut’s Chinese cousin, I skipped the opportunity. I showed the photo to a shanghainese friend, who said the dish is called xidan and is very good for health problems. I asked if it works, and she said,”of course.” So there you have it. Xidan. Yum.(9915 KB)
Watch on posterous
When I saw this sticker I laughed aloud2, then reflected on the fact that if my parents had sported this on their Toyota station wagon when I was growing up, I’d probably have been a better student. Fear of unknown unknowns3 is a great motivator.
OK, so the bumper sticker has nothing really to do with the “Tiger Mom” meme, but that phrase is all over the net and the whole concept alternately interests me and cracks me up. My theory is that any truth to Mrs. Chua’s newly-named stereotype has little to do with being Asian4, and much to do with the fact that it wasn’t easy for people to immigrate to the US from China in the 1960s-80s and the process disproportionately selected for the hard-scrambling type. Many of those immigrants later decided5 to imbue in their kids the same drive that served them in getting through that filter. It’s just like the Johnny Cash song “A Boy Named Sue“, but with the parental focus being toughness mental rather than physical.
But no need to be so serious; The best Tiger Mom jokes I’ve come across so far are the article “New Parenting Book Sparks Outrage” from The Onion, and Jen Kwok’s “Tiger Mom Rap!”.
 A sparkly owl coat, seen on the streets of Songjiang, Shanghai, China. If you’re ever curious if a given photo was shot in Shanghai, just look for guys carrying their girlfriends’ designer purses –it appears to be the local custom. |  My new sweater proclaims that I am "having a Fine Time with your Friends" and exhorts all that "You Must be a Eiffel Knit Life". Word. |
Rachel encounters a sidewalk butcher shop on the streets of Hengdian. Hengdian is a 4 hour drive from Shanghai. Many movies and TV shows are filmed on the town’s huge sets, which include a full-scale1 replica of Beijing’s forbidden city.
Shot with a Canon 550D/T2i running the Magic Lantern firmware. Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 lens, Steadicam Merlin. Internal mics for audio, one channel without digital gain, one with about 18db.
If you are so inclined, you can download the video and watch it in higher quality from its vimeo page.
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