In the Aftermath

I have arrived to the nations capital just in time for the official period of mourning after the Quake of May 12th and multiple aftershocks. This is apparently the first time China has allowed the Media to be such an integral part of a natural disaster and the healing process that follows. Times are slowly changing...

National Days of Mourning
May 19, 20, & 21

3 minutes on Monday May 19 at 2:28 pm the streets stood still as the horns blared.

These symbolic gestures are the kind of thing that remind you that there are some universally understood truths. There are many cultural differences to be found and considered, but when natural disaster strikes, the whole world can stand still together. It is something we are all vulnerable to and therefore can be sympathetic towards. Even on the street, you can see a small difference in how people are treating one another. You see lending helpful hands here and there in a society where it is more common to see an "every man for himself" attitude. A light of hope at a devastating time for China.


Some BEIJING BASICS:

Though it is a time for reflection, there is always some humor to be found in the human condition.

A. That's Beijing
Is the Village Voice of Beijing, but in magazine format.
Check out some of TBJ's online offerings:

1)
My favorite singles ad is titled "Let's end the boring time."

2)



3) 1982
Warhol on the Wall


B. Insider's Guide to Beijing
A great guide book and offers the best Mandarin Phrasebook to communicate your everyday needs, such as...

1) (On ordering a drink.) Make it stiff!
Yao lie yidiannr!

2) (On ordering food.) Are there internal organs in that dish?
Zhei dao cai you neizang ma?

3) (On ordering my favorite locals cocktail.) Chivas and green tea.
Zhihuashi he lucha.


C. Urbane
China's Design Art Architecture Lifestyle Travel Magazine

You can pick up a copy at most foreigner frequented spas, bars, or restaurants
or get a free 12 month subscription by emailing them directly.

This months issue has features on One Way Street Library, a Master Diver who wants to teach the Chinese to dive, and Moganshan (once Shanghai's version of the Hamptons).


(D - Z: TBD)

PS Beijing's new airport designed by Norman Foster (also the designer of the world famous Hong Kong Airport) opened this February (must have been after my departure) and is "reputedly the world’s largest building – approx. 1.3m sqm mostly under one roof." Upon arrival, I was in shock and awe.
It was a completely opposite experience to when I arrive just after Christmas 07. The transformation is amazing. The whole city underwent a major growth spurt during my 2 and a half months state side.
Check out some photos of the airport, now Olympic ready.

Capital Airport
2003-08 Foster + Partners

Upon Arriving for the second time...

I believe in accepting indirect routes as opportunity for adventure.
For this trip out, I took a flight through Newark to Hong Kong via ATL.
It has been years since I have been in the Newark Airport. Things have changed.
The once thing I'm always wishing for in an airport existed here. The airport spa.
Last minute chair massages, nails or waxes! Yeah. I was really impressed with the changes. What I remembered of this place was something simpler, more streamline, and smaller. Just functional. Now, I might consider flying in or out of this place next time, considering LGA ultra short runway, and JFK's traffic, though easy to avoid with public transport.

15 hours after departing the New Newark, I found myself in New York time, but 12 hours ahead. I wound my watch ahead and tried to wrap my head around traveling 15 hours to get 12 hours ahead. The best part of the flight was watching Lost in Translation mins before landing. Laughing out loud at Bill Murray and the feeling of foreign-ness. It was a great place to put my head before landing.


Why I <3 Hong Kong ( <3 = heart )

I've only been here as a small child and had no memories. The only connection I have to it now, is that I have been dreaming of visiting with Henry there in his childhood place and thinking about how cool it would be to learn to sail and live by the ocean.
Hours before I left Atlanta to board my first plane, I got the dreaded call from Henry, saying that the earthquake news is keeping him at work and he would no longer be able to meet me in Hong Kong for our long weekend for our reunion tour! As an optimist, I decided to make the most of it and accept the things I cannot control. Life with a journalist. Turns out it was a perfect opp to remind myself how well I can travel solo. Besides, HK is about the easiest places to be. Arrived in the very well appointed airport. Put my extra luggage in lockers and took the airport express into Hong Kong! Super smooth. Easy to get a cab and was at my hotel in less than an hour door to door. I wouldn't know what the game plan was til I could check email and find out what Henry planned during my flight. Was ready to spend a couple days and take the train to Beijing, but luckily he booked me on a flight out the next afternoon, giving me enough time to do somethings in the city by myself.

Dinner in LKF, a touristy area I might have avoided if I had known what to expect, but it was good to see and have a quick Indian supper, fortunately just above street level that I could escape the frat party. After my delicious chicken tikka marsala, I strolled toward SOHO (South of Hollywood) and found the atmosphere there a bit closer to my taste in terms of a dinner date kinda feeling. Saw some commercial gallery spaces and photographed in the night light for a while. Then an early night at the Bishop Lei, which I would recommend to anyone looking for location and low key place to stay. Its connected to a Catholic Church and is run by the Archdiocese OF HK. Pretty rad story and all that you could need from a hotel, sans fluff. A rec from friends I really respect and know a thing or two about architecture.

Bright and early, I joined the hundreds of HK-ers strolling through the Botanical Gardens/ Zoological Park, which is free BTW and amazingly lush. I saw all the plams I could ever wish for and a beautiful Jaguar, baby monkeys, and so many birds. Photos soon to be on Flikr...Walked and found my way through to the Tram up to the Peak. Something all tourists do for the view of Victoria Harbor. Somethings are worth it, though you have to endure feeling like part of the pack. It was a great early morning thing to do. Then I had scoped out a dim sum place that I could go to before having to prepare for the airport again! Luk Yu Tea House, right next to the LKF area, but the streets are in use by cars by day and the streets feel more manageable. I tried three different types of dumplings (which rank up there as one of my favorite foods, by design and taste).

K- running out of puter juice, so TBC.

Later!

Please write to me. I miss ya'll already.

XXX
SJL

First Will

This month back in New York was about taking care of business.
I am cleaning house and made my first Will.
Defined Power of Attorney and did my health care proxy.

Had to think about what life and death means to me.
What things of market value & things with personal value
I have accumulated.
And who to leave my things.
How I want my physical being handled.
What kind of ceremony I would prefer after my departure.
It does not need to feel heavy with emotion.
It is all very practical and necessary.

After my father passed away, my family had to process much more than our emotional sense of loss.
It was a lot of business. Getting the estate valuated. Filling taxes (you've got 9 months from the day your loved one passes). Enacting and following through with the Last Will. All this after the immediate arrangements that must be made at the time of someone's passing. It all made me think I had to create these documents to make life easier for the family I leave behind.

I came up with a plan, but left things as flexible as possible.
To my surprise, it was a really good process for me to assess and
consider the things that are most important to me.
I signed. It is official. My Will is complete.

If anyone has the desire to get themselves set up,
I can recommend a great estate lawyer.
Just keep in mind, that NY state law dictates that without a Will in place,
the default is that everything goes to your parents.
(This may be just as you'd want it, or if not,
do yourself and loved ones a giant favor, and write up a Will.
There are affordable ways to do this if your wishes are really simple.)
A song that has been echoing in my head...

If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
-deathcabforcutie

Shows in New York

April 2008

I am trying to cram in all my institutional shows while I'm in town.
Here is my list. Comments to follow.


ICP
1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036

Archive Fever: Uses of the Document in Contemporary Art
Curator Okwui Enwezor


Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 5th Avenue (at 89th Street)

Cai Guo-Qiang: I Want to Believe
Feb 22 - May 28, 2008


Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street
New York, NY 10021

Biennial 2008
March 6, 2008 - June 1, 2008


The Metropolitan Museum
1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street
New York, New York 10028-0198

Gustave Courbet
February 27, 2008–May 18, 2008

If you haven't seen The Origin of the World, don't miss it.
L'Origine du monde, 1866
18 1/8 x 21 5/8 in.

Photography on Photography: Reflections on the Medium since 1960
April 8, 2008–October 19, 2008

Lee Friedlander: A Ramble in Olmsted Parks
January 22, 2008–May 11, 2008

The Story of Stuff

In cleaning out my apt and making out a will,
I had to consider the value of everything I kept in my apt.

In reducing my load, I had to trash things I could not donate or pass along to friends or family.

Dana sent me this link about the Story of Stuff.

Watch it all the way through.
It will make you think twice about consumption and our habits.

And a letter from another friend, Casey:

April 16, 2008

Dear Friends and Family,

In collaboration with a few other top-notch students of sustainability, today I'm launching a project aimed at creating a better future and I'd love for you to be apart of it!

We call the project 'Changing Tomorrow', and with it we hope to empower thousands of people to take steps towards living in a way that will guarantee all of us a secure and prosperous future. Changing tomorrow IS possible, and how we change tomorrow will be determined by the individual choices that each of us makes today!

The process is very simple:
The first thing to do is to view our video at http://www.youtube.com/user/ChangingTomorrow. It's a brief and uplifting story about how people are taking action today to reduce their carbon emissions and combat global climate change.

Once you've seen the video, you'll be directed to visit our blog http://changingtomorrow.blogspot.com/. There you'll have the opportunity to comment on the video and select among a list of choices of personal actions that YOU will commit to in doing your part to ensure a better future!

After viewing the video and making your contribution to the blog, we hope you'll help us spread the word! In order to affect massive change, we're going to need massive participation, so we hope you'll help us get the word out there!

We're really excited about launching this project to you, our friends and family, and about the potential that this project has for unifying and moving a whole lot of people towards a very important objective. Your feedback on the project, the video, and the blog is very welcomed!

Thanks for joining us in this great effort and for your part in contributing to changing tomorrow!!!

Casey

Point is, we are all trying to make change in our own way. This week is a week dedicated to thinking about our place in our environment. If we all just begin to think differently about how we participate in this market economy and use our buying power for good, we might just make a lasting difference.

HAPPY EARTH WEEK.

Thank you all for caring and wanting to make a difference.

XO
SU