Vidcast: Guangzhou, Canton
Kids Playing at Swords (cute!!!) While the Old Timers Sing Local Opera
Hai Zhu Guangchang (Sea Pearl Square), Canton

An American Guqin Player, Testing Google's Chinese Translation, and Correcting the Record, or,
Your Narrator's Fame-o-meter Reaches New Heights with this
Shanghai Evening Post Article

As if Mr. Qiao's image advisors didn't have enough on their mind, now there's this digital cloud (Google's Beta Chinese translation of article) mucking up his data stream.

Take this passage, for example, where we learn about our narrator:

American small town responding to the blond
Qiaoshu Chinese [Mr. Qiao] in the United States grew up on a small town, the small town of only 150 individuals, a church, a store and a post office, but has beautiful scenery and quiet life.

No problems there. Here's how Qiaoshu China (Mr. Qiao) first learned about Guqin:

Then, he caught one of the antique shops, bushes do roof, the front horizontal inscribed board asks "official conservatory in Han dynasty Guoqin Museum" these words. Is within walking distance to enter, Hall before a square table, two people are inside drinking chat, a wall hanging of calligraphy works beside me great circular gold fish tank, but also stocks a bird cage pearl. He walked into a margin, while they have doubts, do not know what it is a place.

Guoqin heart : Ways shocked by the
See guests entered, the owner immediately invited to drink tea, also told Qiaoshu China "This is our best tea, sampling all? "Qiaoshu Chinese curiosity to ask" What is here? "They replied that it was" guqin Museum, "Qiaoshu China asked what" guqin, "and then they began to chat in English have a brighter future, is a better three hours."

Mr. Qiao doesn't remember ever having "chat in English have a brighter future" with Mr. Lu or Mr. Feng in the Guqin Shop. And Qiao never learned about the Saona on television. Perhaps the journalist knows better.

Owner is a graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Composition, another person is his pot [??Mr. Feng], they together -- jazz, classical -- music -- Before the liberation of pop music, history -- Shanghai, China -- all used to watch the stones. Qiaoshu Chinese side said that they drink tea while chatting, try later, his teeth have been Dachan.

Yes, Mr. Qiao drank tea until it felt like his teeth would fall out. After mastering some songs, Qiao goes to a temple in Zhejiang.

Qin : He wrote poetry for girls
What is surprising is that Qiaoshu China quickly learned more than 10 sticks song, like the famous "Water deal", "Melody", "Chun Xiao hum", "Jiu Kuang", "Yin-man parade", "Guan Shanyue" in his head down as that of all general. "everything out of the slow twirl mind," to draw friends say, a move Qiaoshu China is one of pride.

The school has a small trial showed Qiaoshu China wants, that guqin music in the embrace of nature, can play a best sound, he went to Zhejiang bridges behind beloved guqin a township called "Shou Holy Mosques" ancient temple. The foot of a hill monasteries, to fall back on the dense bamboo grove, beside the brook is chosen. He sat down beside the small bamboo grove Lane, opposite the mouth waves lap, listen to the bamboo leaves rustle, began playing "Melody."

Song ended, he found a young girl he was listening to the music instrument, phonograph -- they opened up, girls from Shanghai, China Qiaoshu she told him Guoqin shells very good, he also was to write a poem. Qiaoshu Chinese remember poetry into the yard as the sun is on, Tibet deeply moved her.

Qiaoshu Chinese feel that this is his favorite ancient Chinese scholar "active time" life [gen du, we think], working after sunrise and sunset and interest rates, air down playing piano and reading, read books, like the United States David Lord has beautiful scenery in the Lake Waerdeng [Walden Pond] spend the day, away from the hubbub secular and live a simple and natural life.

Mr. Qiao's attorneys would like Google Translation to know that "Qiaoshu China" has never written poetry for girls. Hopefully the final version of Google Translator (Simplified Chinese) will correct that mistake.

Buying a Laptop in Hong Kong:
Is it Worth it?
yes, but only if you're in Mainland China

Flickr set: Shanghai to Hong Kong.

Everyone I talked to said, "just go to Hong Kong to get your computer." There's no tax on electronics.

I wanted to go to Hong Kong anyway. I had a friend to visit in Guangzhou (three hours away by train). I also wanted to get out of Shanghai. Plus, it didn't hurt to get a new Mainland Chinese visa (especially when my employer is paying for it).

So did I actually "save" any money? Yes and no.

The Hong Kong price was negligibly cheaper than the US. Counting shipping from the US to China, the price was quite a bit cheaper.

The price was considerably cheaper than mainland China. At least a few hundred dollars.

I was buying a top-of-the-line laptop. For lower priced machines, I wouldn't recommend going to Hong Kong.

The IBM x60 I bought more than paid for my transport (from Shanghai to Hangzhou by train (first class=50 yuan), Hangzhou to Guangzhou by plane (round trip, including taxes 1300yuan), Guangzhou to Hong Kong (about 300 yuan) and Hangzhou back to Shanghai (50 yuan) So in total, I spent about $200 US on transport and another $60 or so on lodging. Food was extra.

I also bought a Kodak V610 digital camera. It's a sexy beast with a 10x optical zoom. World's smallest. I took a lot of spy shots because the camera doesn't look like it can zoom more than three meters. (I fooled people). But I didn't save more than a few dollars than if I'd bought the camera in the US.

Hong Kong is fun, if hot and rushed. It's like I imagine the Chinese novel "Dream of the Red Mansion" to be like. Every dinky, creaking little elevator opens to a different scene. It's a little like Shanghai, except more cramped and with a different dress code. Shanghai is pajamas to business casual. Hong Kong is pinstripes.

Hong Kong is different from two years ago. There are more Mainlanders there with their bad manners and sense of ownership. And their poultry smuggling.

Guangzhou is the place to buy cheap MP3 players. Their vegetarian food is also top notch.

If you're interested in going to Hong Kong just to save money on a computer, it's probably not worth it. Unless you live in Macau or Guangzhou and going to Hong Kong is like a commute, you're going to spend all the money you save on your computer on transport, food and lodging. Hong Kong's not cheap (unless you're buying technology, cosmetics or name brand clothing).

Conclusion: go to Hong Kong if you like cities you're not afraid of small spaces and expensive noodles. It's still an interesting place.

For the Record:
Joshua Wicherham is Indeed the Author of this Blog
in China, anyway

If you're looking for the Mr. Qiao Shuhua featured in the Shanghai Evening News, look no further. Joshua Wicherham [sic] is indeed the same Joshua Wickerham who keeps this blog. You can expect a transcript and translation of this fairly accurate Chinese article about my guqin exploits...soon...ish.

From Stifling to Cramped:
Or Pressing the Eject Button
Shanghai to Hong Kong (and a few stops in between)

Due to the Shanghai government's super special security precautions, half of the city is shut down this week to provide safe zones for Asian presidents. Even late last week, from a 27th floor perch on banks of quickly gentrifying Suzhou Creek, a friend and I could see police staking out offices. (Snipers out of site). People are being asked to leave their apartments and government employees have a five day weekend. My colleagues and I are close enough to the action that we too were told to take a holiday.

It's not that the newly hung flower baskets and cleaner streets aren't pleasant, but the likely closure of many of the roads I use on a daily basis was enough to make me want to go somewhere. And because of the confusion and stupidity of people at buy.com, one of the most pressing issues on my mind was that I still don't have a reliable laptop.

So how does that lead to Hong Kong?

As one friend put it, "everything with a battery is cheaper in Hong Kong." And given that Mainland Chinese laptop prices are prohibitively expensive and the price of shipping a laptop from the US is the price of a ticket to Canton, here I am. But I've got to get out of this closet of a hostel and into the steaming streets. Which, in their own Blade Runner like way, are just as stifling as anything I left behind.

Crap:
My Mobile Doesn't Work
in Hong Kong

Photo: Shanghai Sunset:
Or, Why I do Environmental Work in China

This is Shanghai at 5pm. A mix of twilight, sunset, and gloom. One of the 15% of days that the government says pollution is below acceptable levels. Your narrator's man-onthe-street standard-o-meter has yet to find one above.

The Wild Wild East? Colleague Involved in Shanghai Gun Standoff
Your Narrator Posts His Two Cents at Shanghaiist

Here's a link to my post: The wild wild east? Gun drama at Hongqiao Airport

Vidcast: Unveiling the Magic Radish:
A Magic Show
from San Luis Obispo (and the ABAAK archives)

Undaunted by Susan's carved Radish fish (pictured at right), Ken spends an hour in the kitchen preparing his radish carving. After sounds of whacking, microwaving, and cleaving, Ken brings his creation out to the Christmas tree for us to have a look....now you can have a look too. How does it compare to Susan's?

We Laughed, We Cried, We Were Shat Upon
La Cueva El Guacharo (The Cave of the Oil Birds)
Susan reports from Caripe, Venezuela

I've since returned from my travels in Venezuela nearly two weeks ago now, but my last jaunt into South American splendor proved postworthy. After a Solera-filled, drawn-out goodbye to all my friends, and my boss, Wilmer in the Botanical Garden of the Orinoco, I headed to Caripe, Venezuela with Seth, my ant-studying friend from Massachussetts that I met on the botanical expedition to the Sierra de Lema. We were seeking La Cueva El Guacharo, or "The Cave of the Oil Bird", discovered by Alexander Von Humboldt back in 1799 where he described a new species. The Guacharo (Steatornis caripensis) is in the same order (Caprimulgiformes) as the insectivorous nightjars, and whippoorwils, but the Guacharo is unique in several respects. This considerably larger nocturnal bird utilizes echolocation (like bats and dolphins) to navigate from its cave-ledge dwellings, and it is entirely fructivorous, subsisting principally on the fruits of trees in the botanical families Burseraceae, Lauraceae (Cinnamon and Avocado) and Arecaceae (palms). The name Steatornis, latin for "fat bird" comes from the fact that the hatchlings of this species are extraordinarily fat, their bodies rich in oil. For this valuable oil, they are harvested by natives. The oil can be used for cooking, or any other purpose, and has a shelf-life of more than one year. The lanterns of a christian mission built near to the cave burned this oil for many years.

The Guacharo is an endangered species, threatened by habitat destruction. It is found in the Andean region as far south as Bolivia, and as far north as the island of Trinidad, though La Cueva El Guacharo has the single largest population in the world, home to an estimated 10-15,000 individuals.

Seth and I arrived an hour or two before sunset in the quaint montain village of Caripe after a day and a half of travel, ferrying across the Orinoco river, and busing through the scorched (and sometimes burning) plains. We hailed a taxi (that happened to be operated by a Krishna with Goth sensibilities and a penchant for bad Hitler jokes) that took us the ten or so kilometers to the entrance of the cave. It was massive. Its mouth probably was 40 feet high, and the enterance was lined with the beautiful, medicinal and deadly Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet) flowers. The lumberyard-spice aroma of Burseraceae overpowered us. We, along with the lone, friendly park ranger and the bronze statue of Alexander Von Humboldt were the only people there that night. We entered the mouth of the cave, and sat down, staring into its fragrant, echoing depths. We could hear the first calls of the Guacharos, bouncing out at us. They were distant and prehistoric. Electric ravens. We looked at each other in wonder, and sat in wordless anticipation for nearly two hours, waiting for the sun to set, and hearing the sounds of the birds grow in proximity and intensity. At last we saw the silhouette of the first, rooster-sized bird break the outline of the edge of the cave, its wings dark against the fading blue sky, dappled with the evening's first stars. The sounds of their calls became deafening, and were accompanied by a million echolocating clicks as hundreds of birds swarmed out above us. They brought with them the ancient smell of the depths of the cave and the aromatic Burseraceae, the stiff breeze of their beating wings blasting us as they flew overhead. We sat in uninterrupted wonder for another hour, watching the stragglers flap out in search of far-off canopy fruit until our Taxi driver showed up to take us back to the hotel. The next day we took the guided tour of the nearly two kilometer cave. The floor of the cave was covered in discarded seeds, droppings, and the occasional little white egg-shell. Above us we could hear the echoing squackings of the Guacharos. Our guide spoke in rapid, slurred spanish and carried a single lantern to guide us through the slippery and narrow bowels of the caves' interior. "You may feel something drop onto you from the ceiling. If it's cold, it's just moisture dripping. If it's hot, you'll know what it is..." The cave had little rivers and mountains, and natural sculptures of all kinds. There was a palm tree, a giant turtle, the leaning tower of pisa and an entire family of people, complete with the hunched grandmother, and young mother holding her baby.

The guide was extremely adept at maneuvering the lantern to tell the stories of the stalagmites and stalagtites, casting shadows of rock formations onto the cave's wall. He asked a woman on the tour to stand in a certain spot. He moved his lantern around, and in the shadow in the wall she was in the hands of a giant who was shaking her over his head. The language barrier did not hinder too much some of his stories. He showed us a couple embracing. Then he made them dance a merengue. Then he made them do other things I will leave to your imagination, dear reader. He took us deeper and deeper, through narrower and narrower passages, at times, single file on all fours. He showed us a musical stalagmite with a hollow sound when rapped with knuckles. It plays various notes depending on where it is struck, with tone and technique not totally unlike a steel drum. He led us back a different way, and we soon stepped back into the light. At the visitor's center there was a line of faucets with corn cobs provided to scrape our guano encrusted feet before our crazy taxi driver came for us once again.

Lucha Libre:
Mexican Wrestling
in Cuernavaca, Mexico

Video of Mystico getting slammed by his opponent. Some great moves. The first of many videos on A Backpack and a Keyboard. =)

Big Saint the Small Dog
My 4 Month Old Roommate
in Hongkou District, Shanghai