liturgy of a neighborhood

this article from 'the curator', IAM's web publication, inspired me to consider the liturgy of my own neighborhood. living in a city as chaotic and overwhelming as shanghai, it's those small practiced patterns, those pockets of haven found in the nooks and crannies of crowded streets, that allow us to not only maintain sanity but see the beauty and often-hard-to-find tranquility in the city. i think the author best sums it up here:

"Urbanites seek refuge from the traffic and workweek cacophony, and our activities are almost unconscious liturgical repetitions. We work with our hands in our home or in an office, completing similar tasks over and over again. We frequent our favorite places to eat, drink, and refuel. We are created to gravitate to rhythm, order, beauty, and our incarnational five senses. Or perhaps we rebel against these forces, our fallen dance." (Simmons)

my apartment sits above a busy street, an intersection frequently marked by construction and traffic jams. but it's a nice jaunt across an overpass and a quick stroll to the french concession, hands-down my favorite area in this city. there are certain spots i retreat to, rituals of rest and restoration that have become part of my liturgy for this neighborhood.

coffee tree is my office away from the office. tucked away in quaint ferguson lane, this quiet cafe with soothing music and big windows induces a certain industriousness in me whenever i decide to work from there. i think something about their ginger tea actually makes me more productive! plus there is also an adorable decor store and wonderful gallery in the same lane, for when i need a break.

going to jz club to catch some good live jazz has been a long-time ritual for me. having gotten to know many of the musicians through their performances at our gallery, it's nice to go and catch a show where i'm not working or having to be "on" to receive guests. jz is almost always on my itinerary for when i am hosting out-of-town visitors--it's a nice respite from the glitter-and-glam and bump-and-thump of the usual shanghai nightlife.

for beers on the patio and the occasional indulgence in a fatty cheeseburger, boxing cat brewery has become my favorite spot. this is one practice that i try not to partake too much in...

a new addition to my neighborhood liturgy is yoga 109, a boutique-style yoga studio hidden behind a parking lot on fuxing road. i love yoga and it's nice returning to it after too long of a hiatus. the classes are small, the instructor is friendly, and it's only a 15 to 20-minute walk from my apartment.

and there is of course, just ambling about the tree-lined streets, dreaming of renovating old lane houses and peeking in store windows--often medicine enough for the soul. there is a greater sense of rhythm and continuity in these older, more residential neighborhoods: watching old men play chess in the parks, listening to the women laugh and gossip as they sit on benches, fanning themselves... it's almost as if you can feel the methodical movements of life being carved out in this city. i suppose we need this sort of liturgy of life for our own peace of minds, but perhaps it's also to know we matter, that our existence makes some sort of imprint in this sea of millions. as we seek and participate in things that are good and beautiful, perhaps we long to be part of an enduring goodness and beauty as well, weaving our own lives into the life of the city, transcending the concrete and steel to build something more permanent.


cups of coffee: 2

mood: breathe....1....2....3.....

the things that still hold true

in turning 29 + 2 today, i realized that inside, i'm still just a big kid. and there are things that will always hold true for me, no matter how much experience, maturity or knowledge i gain through the years. par exemple:

- the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking will always be my favorite

- given the choice and the ability, if i could be anything in the world, i'd want to be a mermaid

- where there's music, there's gotta be dancing

- a grassy hill demands a nice roll or two down it

- running barefoot by the ocean will always make me happy

- there is always a story to be told and an adventure to be had

- i'm never too old to hug and kiss mom and dad, even in public

- there is always a happy ending, it's just a question of when it happens

on another note, following up on my previous movies post is this article in paste magazine about the enduring popularity of 'where the wild things are'. my favorite bit at the end of this well-written piece:

But Where the Wild Things Are has something these other books don’t have. A great secret. And here’s why it endures: Wild Things is not really a children’s book.

Oh, children unquestionably love Wild Things—what child wouldn’t gobble up a tale where the hero gets it all? Max chases the dog with a fork, threatens to eat his mom. When punished, he fantasizes an anger so profound, a vengeance so monumental, that it flattens all in its path. The most fearsome adversaries bow and scrape before his wrath. He inflicts an eyeball-to-eyeball humbling on the poor woolly behemoths … Hah! You’re not so big and bad after all, are you, my 
pussycats?

And then? Once Max’s anger is slaked, once love and loneliness begin to fill his heart again—why, he comes back home.

Don’t we all want that?

HE FOUND his supper waiting for him and it was still hot.

Well done, Max. You have your cake and rumpus, too. You got it all.

Where the Wild Things Are gives mom and dad a book that fully acknowledges the catharsis of anger and the wondrous healing power of imagination. It also shows that discipline is a requirement, even as it gives parents a way to show a child that discipline is love, too.

Even better, after misbehavior and punishment, when regret and loneliness are the last embers glowing in the black ashes of anger, when a child misses mom or dad and wants to come home, he always can.

Unconditional love reels Max back.

It’s better than any wild rumpus could ever be.

And it’s not just children who crave that promise. It’s their parents, and those hipsters, too—anyone who once was a child. It’s everyone, it’s all of us.

that's the story of the gospel itself, isn't it? we are creatures of rage and vengeance, blinded by our own desires and driven by our anger and selfishness, yet at the end of the day, we are all just scared, lonely children, desperate to be loved and longing so much to come home. and we are given the opportunity, welcomed by a heavenly Father who disciplines us but also loves us with a love that covers and heals. beautiful.


cups of coffee: 1, accompanying the nice breakfast my brother made for my birthday!

mood: ever grateful, ever joyful

movies! movies!

films currently on my must-see list....coming to a theater (or dvd vendor, in china's case) near you!

inglorious basterds - new little ditty from quentin tarantino. i've been hearing rave reviews from friends about this--one already saw it twice. brad pitt looks brilliant in this.

where the wild things are - this looks simply amazing from every vantage. i love director spike jonze's style, and the soundtrack promises to be pitch-perfect. i remember the monsters in the book from my childhood days to be a bit scary, but they look like cuddly bear-dogs in the film with wonderfully human attributes.

bright star - love story between poet john keats and fanny brawne. the passion in this film is contained in the language--poetic ecstasies, well-versed declarations of burning devotion and trascendence and so forth. the english literature major in me is getting giddy just thinking about it.

alice in wonderland - big fan of the tim burton, johnny depp and helen bonham-carter triad. this film looks like sheer creative genius, though definitely not a version of 'alice' for the kiddies.

whip it - last but not least, a fun film for girls' night. ellen page stars as a beauty pageant reject who finds herself by joining a rowdy all-girl roller derby team. drew barrymore directs and stars in it.

ah.....looking forward to staying in and getting cozy in the cold, damp shanghai winter nights coming up......


cups of coffee: 1 1/2

mood: laaaaaaazy

lovely things

i am forcing myself to take a day off.

so i started the day with a skype call....for work. i know, i know, but i'd already schedule it a week ago and it was hard to coordinate with the time difference and all. and then i proceeded to spend the rest of the morning firing off a string of work-related emails.

i did manage to take a nap, though, and do some grocery shopping. thinking of whipping up scallops with white wine sauce over linguine tonight....mmmmm....

and now i'm indulging in one of my favorite pastimes, browing design blogs for lovely things that i would love to own. this is window shopping in the 21st century!

here are some lovely, lovely finds:

beautiful letterpress cards from egg press. simple and wonderful.

i love this adorable party invitation:

i'm not too old to use this, right?
(images from eggpress.com)


these plates are amazing. from ceramist marge margulies, based in california.

this series, entitled "eclipse", is my favorite. her work pops with color and moves with gentle fluidity. there is not an awkward line in the composition of her delightful dishes.
(image from artist's website)

here's another lovely plate from "a plate a day" blog. they literally post a plate per day.
i love how elegant and modern this plate from the "elements" series is.
(image from "a plate a day")

last but not least, a little goody from threadless.com, home of ingenious t-shirt designs:

"cookie loves milk". brilliant.
(image from threadless)

cups of coffee: 2

mood: unwiiiiiiinding

thought for the day

"If any one would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness, and all perfection, he must tell you to make a rule to yourself, to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you. For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing."

- from A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life by William Law


cups of coffee: working on 1

mood: mellow

art-fully yours

art week in shanghai is over. a full week of exhibit openings, receptions, parties, work.....whew!

both the sh contemporary and shanghai art fair were smaller this year (many international galleries were wary of participating with the global economic recession), and i found both shows okay on the whole.

here are a few images of artworks i particularly liked:

at shanghai art fair: paintings done by a japanese artist (i forget the name), represented by bund66 art gallery. meticulous and beautiful. tiny chairs, silver squares, houses and ladders, painted umpteenth times and accumulating in beautiful swirls that seem to rise straight out of the canvas. simultaneously serene and striking.

here's a close-up of two larger paintings. i love the silver one on the left!

at sh contemporary. cool installation!

i was so pleasantly surprised to see this! an exhibit containing a few contemporary tapestries from 'banners of persuasion,' which i had read about just a couple of months ago. these tapestries were presented by james cohan gallery at sh contemporary. i love tapestries and am extremely envious of anyone with stitching skills because i can barely sew a button and my attempts at embroidery are nothing short of atrocious.

such a jarring image from the tapestries exhibit.... 'a warm summer evening in 1863' by kara walker

LOTS of thoughts from the art fair experience, especially in dealing with the chinese masses who are still developing art appreciation and a sense of aesthetics, but too tired to process. more later....

cups of coffee: 2

mood: TIRED

ode to jimmy

(alternate title: do i own the cat or does he own me?)

you--a streak of striped ginger fur
tearing through the rooms with soft-pawed gallop,
hiding beneath beds and tables,
pouncing forth to sneak a lick from my yogurt cup
or flash a claw across my badly-shredded couch.

you meow and purr and chirp,
perhaps relating to me the state of your litterbox
and how you demand a more thorough cleaning,
or how you find the new flavor of cat food
a bit lacking in salmon.

maybe you are trying to tell me about
the scenes outside the window--
that strange world beyond the thick pane of glass--
the screeching and yelling, horns blaring, thunder rolling,
a world of shifting shapes and patches of light.

but mostly you attack specks of dust
with the agility and prowess of your feral relatives,
tapping into some primordial instinct to hunt--
and survive--
before you yawn and stretch,
and lay down, all limbs akimbo,
to worship the sun with your tummy up,
dreaming of chasing spots of light
that bounce and float
in endless space.


the shanghai art fair opens to the public today! our gallery is participating for the first time, more info here. wish us luck!


cups of coffee: 1, with yummy soy milk

mood: ready to go