AIM exchange of the day

V: i've never been to taiwan. what's been the big draw so far?
L: the people
V: locals, expats, abcs?
L: ti's a small big city
L: made some great friends so far
L: mix of abs and locals

*****

V: ic. i find the people in shanghai are so-so, personality-wise. if i were to leave here today, there's probably only 1 or 2 people i'd keep in touch with as friends. however, in terms of business or other enterpreneurial-type things, this town is bursting with talent and energy. it's a weird dichotomy.
L: yeah, i definitely got that feeling for hte short time i was there

I've started work and am facing an identity crisis. I guess the lack of sleep is playing a big part. Yes, I am now proudly working banker hours. Well, not quite, the latest I've been stuck at the office is 7:30, that's about 11 hours in the office. My friends in NY have dealt with much worse. Oh well. But you know, ironically, now that I've started working, I've had several people call me with job offers. It's like how chronically single guys suddenly become chick magnets when they're in a relationship. Well, in both fronts, I've pledged to keep my options open. Although I feel a little slimey for thinking that way...

Much of Sunday was spent chillin out at a champagne lunch hosted by Eric, a guy from New York that I met randomly at a networking event last month. He's new in town and is looking to find people to hang out with. Anyway, phatty meal, with Apple crepes, croissants, scones, brie, fruit salad, and the aforementioned bubbly. Word. And I just showed up in my ratty 30 kuai track pants that I bought in Guangzhou. I think my ghettoness is genetic. It'll take another generation or two to get snuffed out. Anyway, this guy had a sweet apartment which seemed pricey to me (nearly 3 times my rent) but it comes out to around US$800. Now in New York...

I'm sure that the Bali blast is gonna start to rattle all of us Western expats in Asia. Although I hadn't made any plans to go to Bali, I was invited once about a year ago (though my friends ended up not going for scheduling reasons). What this does do, is definitely continue to discourage me from Indonesia, and possibly Malaysia, too. I always had two reasons to avoid Indonesia: a) I'm American and Muslim countries aren't exactly the safest places to be for us. b) I'm Chinese American, and the memories of the reports of the anti-Chinese riots in that country are still fresh in my mind.

But yeah, that club in Bali is totally the type of place that I would've hung out at if I had visited there. Luckily China isn't a hotbed for Islamic terrorism, but isn't it only a matter of time before Muslim separatists from Xinjiang and the rest of Western China start targetting the Eastern Chinese coast? I'd think Shanghai's return to the capitalist world and it's cosmopolitan atmosphere would make it a nice target. It's a scary thought. Another reason to cut back on the partying...

Spotted in Shanghai:

Canto-pop queen Anita Mui partying last night at Guandii. I was towards the front of the line at the club (hey, it's no secret, I'm no VIP) when she was escorted into the club with her posse after her big Shanghai concert. Dude, the woman is pushing 40, but was dressed in a baggy track suit with a beanie on her head, a pair of shades, and inch-thick caked on make-up. Blecch. It got more surreal inside later that night when she made her way out of the VIP lounge and onto the dance floor, grinding her crew of what looked like 17-year-old wannabee HK B-boys. She was wearing a David Beckham jersey (she's supposedly a huge fan), and just looked like she was in high school. It was pretty funny stuff, considering that I associate her with my aunts, who were fans of hers in the 80s. Personally, I've never seen the appeal. I don't like her music, or her movies, and she's not particularly attractive (many people think she looks like a guy). I'll take Teresa Teng any day!

Too bad I'm in Shanghai. I really want to see David Henry Hwang's new remake of Flower Drum Song. Hwang gives his thoughts on his new work in this week's Sunday New York Times.

Hwang hits on a couple of a key theme that I feel is important as consumers and creators of "ethnic" art. That what we may consider stereotypes, were at one times breakthroughs. Like Hwang, Flower Drum Song has always felt like a guilty pleasure. I first saw it, ironically, in an Asian American Studies class, where I think the purpose was to look at how white America saw APAs in the 50s and 60s. But I actually really enjoyed it, seeing it for what it was, a real breakthrough work in that era. I even went back to read C.Y. Lee's original novella. As we move forward, we don't have to accept stereotypes, per se, but we should respect the work of those that came before us, with a firm understanding of the contexts of each artist's work. Instead of just bitchin' everyone out like Frank Chin...

Anyway, a few quotes that I liked from Hwang's piece:

• When I began writing "M. Butterfly," for example, I knew very little about opera and considered Puccini's heroine, Cio-Cio-San, to epitomize the stereotype of the submissive Asian woman. Yet by the time the show opened, I had gained new respect for Puccini's work and intentions. In his own time, the composer had done something bold and progressive by making his Japanese heroine the virtuous character and rendering her American lover as the cad or villain. One era's cultural breakthroughs may calcify and become stereotypes through time. Culture is a living thing, constantly changing and evolving; intercultural work has always existed, as artists have incorporated new influences through migration, conquest and commerce. In this light, the very notion of authenticity became much more complex and elusive.
  
  
• I have come to embrace that explanation; you cannot necessarily judge attitudes of earlier eras by today's standards. Moreover, I began to realize that one generation's breakthroughs often become the next generation's stereotypes.
  
  
• At its core, a stereotype is bad writing: a one- or two-dimensional cutout devoid of humanity, and therefore prone to demonization. Whether your characters are cooks, laundrymen, computer scientists or gangsters, if they are well written, they will exude humanity, which is ultimately the most effective weapon against stereotypes, and the most visceral measure of authenticity.
  

After an 18-day hiatus, I now have a new apartment, possibly a new job, and more importantly...

A NEW CABLE INTERNET CONNECTION!!!

Woohoo. The added bandwidth will help me flood your caches with more of my mindless chatter. I'm sure you just can't wait!

Other things worth mentioning:

• As I mentioned last time, North Korea is starting a Special Administrative Region, which would supposedly allow unfettered capitalism at the border town of Sinuiju, just across the Yalu River from China's teeming Communists with a capital 'C'. Well, the original choice to oversee the DPRK's little experiment, Chinese-Dutch Yang Bin, got arrested for tax evasion. There's a bit of a back-story to this, as it seems that Beijing wasn't consulted about this new economic zone, or the tapping of an ethnic Chinese (who does most of his busines in China). So the arresting of Yang is most likely no mere coincidence. So Pyongyang has responded with a new choice: Ex-South Korean Prime Minister Park Tae-joon. I guess the North Korean government is pretty desperate, cause putting a South Korean in charge is a pretty bold move considering the the two Koreas are still technically at war.
  
  
• Apparently, Congress has lost it's mind. This week the Senate gave President Bush authorization for use of force against Iraq under the War Powers Act. This Slate piece goes over the implications of this week's Congressional action.