Bye bye cabbage...see you next year

The cabbage is all but gone. Draped on wires or forgotten in piles stacked between walls and trees. I hope no one is still expecting to eat any of these. (On a similar note I have an apple on my desk that is turning into an experiment. It has been here almost 3 weeks. It started sweating the first 2 weeks, and then it turned darker shades of browny-red. Someone poked it which made me very unhappy).

They have taken x-mas to it's logical conclusion

Who needs Christ when you've got Snow White?

EDIT: Of course! Cindarella...NOT Snow White. I shouldn't have made this mistake.

Underground

This was one of the better experiences of the area so far. I found an abandoned building that hasn't been finished. There are lower levels and I'll try to get back to explore the lower depths. These are long exposures that make it seem deceptively light down there. Partly felt like a tomb, partly "24 hours" later kind of feeling when I was poking about. I wonder what a chinese vampire would look like?

Edit: 28 days later...or 28 weeks later, you can take your pick of the two. I messed up yet another reference. And actually there is a funny movie called 28 hours later in which the description reads: "A party-goer wakes up after a night of disco fun to discover the city of Kuala Lumpur devoid of humans." Beijing is kinda close to KL and that city is crazy! Last time I was there police were firing their shotguns in the air to try and kill murders of crows.

The Van Gogh "Manure Heap" or the "Monet Garden"

I'm considering trying to write an article on this place. It has been motivating to wander around and see how it develops. I feel like I am in another world when I wander around this place. I've started to meet some of the workers and am surprised by their enthusiasm when they see me. Well that's not totally true, some are excited while others think I shouldn't be there. If anyone can find this painting ("Manure Heap") or a reference to it I would really appreciate it.

Mao Jacket

I saw this sculpture some 6 years ago when it was being made. It was interesting to see it installed and to see the 798 art district turned into a commercial gallery zoo. They even have dinosaurs in cages when you enter the area.

Strange dig from afar

It looked like a grave which interested me. I've seen other graves in China that are not much different from this. The funerals here are pretty intense with everyone dawning white sheets and pointed hats. i wont get into that but will briefly say that this is an uncomfortable subject over here. I recently asked where all the dead people go and got some very off put expressions. I then attempted to explain that I wasn't trying to talk about religion and the afterlife (another touchy subject) but that grave yards fascinate me. That didn't make things better (how do I explain that I wrote about Dracula, the suspension of time, and photography IN school without sounding creepy?). There are a LOT of people in China and I have never seen a cemetery or graveyard, yet alone a funeral home, or anything death related. It's like nobody dies over here. They just disappear.

Mobile of cleaning

What you can't see is what this guy is looking at. He stayed in the cleaner for awhile as a guy on a bike fell down in front of the bus. He (the guy on the bike), wouldn't move until the cops came and even then claimed the bus had hit him and wouldn't get up without someone giving him money for his trouble. Apparently these sorts of things happen all the time as the Audi's, Mercedes, BMW's, and other luxury cars zoom around really poor peddlers desperate to get home for the Chinese new year. They sometime go for the buses in hopes of snagging the government into some sort of payout. Sad but true. At the time I just liked this weird looking cleaner and the story was just a bonus, kinda like the bright safety vest he is wearing. As if flashing top light, bright blue panels, and reflective side tape wasn't enough.

Cabbage and more cabbage

Look at these succulent cabbages. Right now they are hung up and no longer on the ground. I am realizing that at 1 RMB per cabbage (20 cents) they don't necessarily need to eat them, rather they are strung up on fences and near doors as a sign of good luck. Suddenly that giant fake cabbage at the start of this blog is making more sense. I saw a smaller version of the fake cabbage at a Beijing market...I think I'm going to try and hunt it down.

Bunny...speakers. Yes!

I promised the previous post was the last in the "cute animal" theme, but how could I not listen to these? I made a video where they danced but it just looked really silly.

i want to call him Puss & Boots

This is whitey. OK, that's not his name and I think he would be offended if you called him that. He has been a cat around here for the last 5 years and I don't know his name. If anyone has a suggestion please leave it in the comments and i can tell it to everyone and ask him if he likes it. Seriously, he keeps the earth cleaning (look closely at the second photo) and is the first cat I've seen to eat a yam and bacon in one sitting. In the last picture he looks funny. Check out his/her eyes. (it is true, i don't know the gender). That is it for the cute animal posts for awhile.

Gaurd dog#1

Following up on the "pandas" is a guard dog (first in the series). He isn't scary but gets you to stand still in awe. I hate little dogs but they are like little foxes over here. Like little midget foxes. His "master" can be heard off camera. But we all really know who picks up the poo.

Pandas are everywhere

I see this everyday while I wait for the bus. Wanted to dedicate this to all the special Pandas out there. If you come out here I'll take a portrait of you all making a phone call. Oh you didn't know? They are phone booths!

Tianjin museum

Finally back from some trips, this time to Tianjin and along the way the Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall. I'm always fascinated by the museum aesthetic and the stillness it creates. The museum had everything from a huge stone sculpture of Zhou, to his limo, to his private airplane. I also got to take a photo standing next to him (a wax figure) which was really strange.

Dalian - North East on the sea

Apologies for such a long delay in posts. Back to some seriousness. I got lost at sea and wound up crawling out of this shell in Dalian. It was bigger than three cars!

History repeats iteself

Father (Mongolian shot of fire wine)

History repeats itself

Son (on the left). Or, "The Stalker and the Zombie"