[My Weekender] with Ting
Posted on January 31, 2008
Ting is a Tattoo artist from Harbin. Together with her partner Dylan Byrne she operates the tattoo parlor "Shanghai Tattoo". Read our previous introduction of Ting and Dylan here.Assuming there is anyone remaining in Shanghai over the Spring Festival to read this, congratulations, you're infinitely better off than those stranded on a train half way between here and Yunan. So if you're set for the holidays, and have stocked up on enough dumplings and fireworks to see you through, then sit back and read up on what that tattooist with the green mohawk is getting up to.
Tragically in my business most of my weekend will be spent working as the shop opens from midday to midnight. Friday morning my partner, Dylan, will probably fall out of bed after drinking far too much in C's at the Antidote party so I'm sure our first stop will be the Figaro Coffee shop for a little pick-me-up. Then it's time to open the doors at Shanghai Tattoo and draw pictures on customer's skin that will last forever and ever... well as long as they do anyway. Some hot and spicy noodles at my local Mi Fen will be a necessary filler come dinner time and hopefully I can get my pool fix in at Window's Scoreboard and possibly check out Racks too ¨C can't stand the hiphop though! Dylan will probably split and hit LOgO so I'll head over to meet some friends at Weihai Lu 696. A very talented bunch of artists in residence and great people to hang out with.
more with Ting here
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Video: Putting on a Duvet
Posted on January 29, 2008
How many of you have trouble putting on a duvet over your comforter? I know, I do. The corners always bunch up, and there are ripples in the middle. Here's...Filed Under Apartment Living | Comments Off
The Art of the Pole
Posted on January 29, 2008
A veteran of the poles of I Love Shanghai, Bar Rouge, M2, MAO and Windows Scoreboard, Shanghai's most famous pole dancer, Jacqui Davis, came to the city in 2006. Now, a couple years later, Jacqui is heading off to London to pursue her professional certification in pole dancing. Before she left, SmSh caught up with Jacqui to ask her about her time performing and teaching pole dancing in Shanghai.When did you come to Shanghai?
I finished university and wanted a change so I decided to teach English in China for a year. I chose Shanghai ¡®cos the weather doesn't get as cold as Beijing.
How come you're leaving?
Well, originally it was going to be a move to Beijing for a fulltime
dancing job, but that fell through so now it is off to London to get my pole instructors certification. And to try and do as much training on the poles as I can.
When did you first get interested in pole dancing?
It would have been about five or six years ago. I went to a club and saw a girl hanging from the top of a pole by her legs. It looked like a hell of a lot of fun and decided to learn. In Australia, I was performing pole for about two years and teaching it for one year before moving to Shanghai.
How is teaching pole dancing in China?
Here I just do walk-in lessons that are divided into Level 1 (beginners) or Level 2 (intermediates). Most of my students that stuck with it were western, but I still had some Chinese girls that really got into it. A lot of the Chinese girls are at a bit of a disadvantage to start with since they are usually a bit weaker than the western girls.
read on here
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Curtained Room Dividers
Posted on January 25, 2008
Apartment Therapy highlights a hotel's very effective use of curtains as room dividers. I'm thinking of adding some myself to my apartment, around my bed. If they're sheer enough, I...Filed Under Apartment Living | Comments Off
[My Weekender] with Ben Akinyemi
Posted on January 24, 2008
Benjamin is a journalist from London. He has spent many years traveling the world but finds himself visiting Shanghai for the first time. Unfortunately, he only has the weekend to enjoy the delights of the city but he is determined to have as much fun as possible...So, what do you do if you only have 48-hours in the wonderfully frantic city that is Shanghai? With so much to see and only two days to see it, compromises must be made. While I would like to give this city the time and energy it truly deserves, it would take more than six months to really appreciate the gems this city has to offer.
Fresh from an excruciatingly painful 12-hour flight from London, and with the clock already ticking, I decide my first port of call should be the Xiao Nan Guo. This Spa is a real off-the-beaten-track affair, and with a helping hand I am soon beginning to 'find' my inner-self, whilst also overcoming the aches and pains caused by my overindulgence with the drinks' trolley on the flight over.
As the city is sprawled out over roughly 6,000 square miles, I decide to leave the real exploring for my next visit. For now I stick to the immediate area surrounding The People's Square. It would seem that here there is an assortment of activities to suit almost everybody's tastes.
more with Ben here
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I Love Chicks
Posted on January 24, 2008
The weekends are usually jam-packed with things to do in the concrete oasis known as Shanghai, but this Friday night is just staggering. Jin the Emcee, Jason and Blake along with the super skills of Team Canada are at Volar. Mixmaster Choyce Kutz is opening for the always-impressive Basement Jaxx at Muse. The inspirational DJ Shortkut of the World Famous Beat Junkies will be dropping bombs at The Shelter for the Uprooted Sunshine Sound System. Even Sasha will be across the Huang Pu at The Wall doing that thing that top five DJs do.read on hereFiled Under Living | Comments Off
Ridgid R4330 Planer Shaves Wood to Deli-Thin Slices
Posted on January 24, 2008
The Ridgid R4330 Planer is versatile, portable and surprisingly affordable.Filed Under Home | Comments Off
Spicing Up Your Walls When Painting is Off Limits
Posted on January 23, 2008
Some landlords don't allow renters to paint their apartments—a total bummer if white's not a part of your color scheme. Sticky wall vinyls are a way around this. Not only...Filed Under Apartment Living | Comments Off
[Revisited] Ambrosia
Posted on January 23, 2008
Ambrosia has been a fixture on the French Concession dining scene ever since Conde Nast Traveler named it "one of the best new restaurants in the world" in 2003. Since then, they've seen a lot of new neighbors move in, with nearby Dongping Lu and Hengshan Lu hosting an impressive variety of options.Ambrosia, however, remains one of our favorite secrets, especially for lunch. It's a bit of a splurge, but with a setting and service this good, it's worth a visit with reasonable frequency. All considered, the basic lunch set is one of the best deals in town. 128 RMB gets you a hearty 8-course meal cooked to order, and at your leisure. Two of the items -- another flavorless pumpkin soup (why is this so trendy?) and an only-average tempura -- could use a little work, but everything else is worthy of praise. Large portions of teppanyaki chicken and beef, saut¨¦ed vegetables, scallops and salad, with tropical fruit and coffee (note: kiwi and coffee do not mix) at the finish, and you're leaving satisfied, which usually isn't the case with lunch specials. If you do need more, there's a selection of more expensive lunch sets, up to the 220 RMB set including lobster fried rice and beef with foie gras.
read on here
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Space / Time on the Bund
Posted on January 21, 2008
Upon entering the Shanghai Gallery of Art from the rather wet and mind-numbing cold on the Bund, I was grateful to receive a warm greeting by enthusiastic Art Director Mr. David Chan, who then offered an insightful tour of Lin Yilin's solo show, "A Spatio-temporal Tunnel."Chinese born artist Yilin, now currently living in New York, started as a performance artist, taking his pieces to the streets of Guangzhou. In the southern city, he co-founded the collective "Big Tail Elephant," which undertook radical and confrontational performance art dealing with modernization in the urban space. In one work, a builder engaged in the act of building, tearing down and rebuilding a brick wall in the middle of a busy street in Guangzhou. The piece is intended as commentary against the frenzied pace and commercialization of the city scape. The directly confrontational nature of the piece, as well as the themes of modernization and the transformation of urban space, are elements which resurface in Yilin's solo show at the SGA.
Yilin's solo exhibit at the SGA, entitled "A Spatio-temporal tunnel," stages a tunnel that critically investigates the artist's interest with time and space, and features work he has produced over the past two years. His first works on display are 10 video monitors entitled "Problem," filmed with students while the artist was in Norway. Each presents a strange situation in a public setting, and are quite mesmerizing. One screen depicts Yilin and an accomplice at a subway station permanently facing away from the platform as trains come and go. Rebellion against the flow of life one might ask? I'm still unsure, but the image is arresting. "Participation is important in Yilin's work," stresses Mr. Chan, "having people in his work give it meaning."
read on here
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