the bonds that tie us together

after watching bridget jones' diary last night with chelsea and faith, i decided i'm going to adopt the phrase "urban family" to refer to my wonderful circle of friends here in shanghai. that is what they are, really--family. after 7 years here and countless shared expriences including many deeply formative ones, they have seen me at my worst and even worst worst. and still love me. thank you, urban family. :)

speaking of family, i'm amazed at how many of my expat friends here have adopted children. while only a handful of friends back home have adopted, i feel as if every other family i know here has at least one adopted child. ok, "every other" might be an exaggeration, but still, A LOT. their children are all beautiful, loved and well-adjusted, having come from china, taiwan and ethiopia. one couple is in the process of adopting from the ukraine currently.

both my urban family and these friends with adopted children paint for me a wonderful picture of the concept of being adopted by grace. there involves a conscious decision, a willingness to enter commitment, strangers brought together and united with bonds not of bloodlines but of choice--a sense of being welcomed in and welcomed home.

cups of coffee: 1

mood: lover-ly

weekends in shanghai

weekends in shanghai are never dull. in this city of 18 million bodies, it's hard to find a quiet corner. and there are always a thousand and one fun, interesting events happening that even if i did find a quiet corner, i would most likely be enticed out of it by an invite from a friend (or from a friend of a friend of a friend...). this past week was a classic example of all there is to do in this mind-boggling city:

last saturday, i enjoyed watching the Xgames asia for free (thanks, grayson!). decided i may have missed my calling in motocrossing.

last sunday evening, attended the opening of vargas grill, the latest brainchild of restauranteur extraordinaire eduardo vargas. the opening coincided with his birthday, which meant an amazing spread of canapes and delightful free flow of alcohol. the big man himself celebrated by pouring whisky down the throats of his guests (including yours truly....).

this past friday, started off the evening by attending whisky live, an international whisky tasting event making its debut in china, with a friend. oli was working the event and gave us the VIP treatment. :)

after dinner with friends at german restaurant paulaner (mmm....beer and sausages....), swung by cabaret on the bund to show some support for jazz singer friend jasmine chen. jasmine surprised me by inviting me up on stage to sing a duet with her (a little ditty called 'girl talk' that we performed at one of our gallery concerts a couple of months ago). sing in a swanky nightclub in shanghai? check.

saturday was a gorgeous day spent picnicking with arts group friends in century park. we actually found a grassy knoll with an orchard-esque cluster of trees next to a small stream. wow.

that evening, i attended an exhibition opening with a couple of friends. entitled dingbats brazil, the exhibition featured the work of contemporary brazilian graphic designers and their works of digital pictorial alphabets (aka 'dingbats'). finished the evening off with dinner at a new vietnamese pho restaurant followed by movie night at a friend's home (woody allen's 'annie hall').

one thing's for sure: can't complain about getting bored living here. and as much as this city drives me mad at times, i have to admit, i love living in this bustling, high-energy metropolis with so many options of things to do and experience in any given week.


cups of coffee: 1 1/2

mood: pretty good

to create is human...

i have been watching a fascinating documentary series by BBC called 'how art made the world.' the series investigates the effect of art on our society by delving into history, archaeology, psychology, and aesthetics to research the connection between ancient artists and the use and impact of visual images in our modern culture. the series covers topics such as our obsession with depicting the human body in exaggerated and distorted images, how and when art became a tool for power utilized by politicians, why our ancestors began creating visual images in the first place, etc. there is something intrinsic, the show argues, about the need and capacity to make art. we are "hardwired" to create.

i also finally started reading culture making, a book that's been highly recommended by a few friends and up until last week was gathering dust on my nightstand. a thought-provoking read thus far, a lot to chew over and discuss with others. there are two particular passages that have really jumped out at me: 1) "we make sense of the world by making something of the world," and 2) "poverty is not just a matter of lacking financial resources; it can also simply mean being cut off from cultural power."

agree? disagree? discuss amongst yourselves.

watching the documentary, reading this book about faith and culture, continuing to brew ideas of arts and community outreach....i have nothing clearly formulated yet. i completely agree with the notion that there exists an innate desire in all of us to create some form of art. even for those who would not classify themselves as "artists", there is still something that everyone does to form meaning and beauty in the void. and for those who are robbed of their potential to express this ability--i view it as an injustice. they are being denied the resources or opportunity to express their creativity and to make sense of their world by making something; they are being denied a right, an essential trait of being human.

how then shall we respond to help those who have been cut off from 'cultural power'? not only are they prohibited from fully participating in community, but on an individual level being denied their right--their need--to be creative. how am i personally making sense of the world and encouraging others to do the same?


cups of coffee: 2

mood: resting...