Brackets Brackets Brackets

The annual rituals must be observed, even when in a foreign land.

This is a shot from several weeks ago when 3 Duke fans (including your truly) and 4 UNC fans gathered at a downtown Shanghai sports bar at 10:00 am in the morning to watch the 2nd Duke-Carolina game live from the Philippino satellite feed. "I'll have a Bloody Mary and some fries please."


FF: Duke, Memphis, UConn, Florida
Duke beats FL 76 to 68 in the final.

John has a new guitar!

I did not bring any of my musical instruments to Shanghai and was starting to miss playing the guitar so yesterday we hit the music stores clustered around the Shanghai Music Conservatory and I after much strumming brought home a new Toyama six-string acoustic guitar with gig bag and pick for just over 400RMB or about $50 US.

I also played an Ayers guitar which was OK but too expensive @ over $1000 US and several Johnson guitars which are made in China as a joint venture with AXL, a US company, but the Johnsons were strung with a crappy mix-match of strings and were not tuned so it was just not possible to get a good idea of the sound or action.

Then it was way cool to sling the gig bag over my shoulder and hop on the subway for the ride home.

I've got blisters on my fingers!

Chaozhou Part 1

I have posted Part 1 of the "extended" version of our early January trip to Chaozhou at http://meckleyearth.livejournal.com/.

Plum blossoms

Last Sunday we went on an excursion to a local park to enjoy the plum tree blossoms. XinZhuang Park has been known for over 50 years for its large collection of plum trees that blossom in early spring. On Sunday, the locals were out in force to enjoy the blue skies and fragrant blossoms.

Upon arriving, I took a few minutes to study the park rules that were conveniently posted in English. I didn't want to spoil the whole outing by getting busted for inadvertently "practicing medicine" or "lying about" or engaging in "feudalistic activities". There were quite a few park rules. I have included them here for your perusal.


Luckily for me, photography was permitted. I took this shot of a fragrant plum blossom.


Many other people were also taking photos of the plum blossoms. It's a good thing that each tree has many blossoms. An average tree can accommodate about 3 photographers at a time.



Sometimes you can be lucky enough to find a tree all to yourself with plenty of room to maneuver for the optimal shot like this limber fellow.


Also in the park that day were many groups of amateur musicians and singers performing traditional Chinese folk songs in a "jam session" atmosphere. This group was particularly good.



And one last photo.

Lights! Camera! Photos!

The 15th of day of the New Year is Lantern Day. It is the first full moon of the year and marks the end of New Year celebration. It is also the third night (after New Year's Eve and 4th Day) of major fireworks.

The Yuyuan area in downtown Shanghai was all decked out for Lantern Day during the New Year holidays.

Is that Snow White and Price Charming?












A pile of money for prosperity.




Tie a ribbon and make a wish.




Tradional Lanterns.




The other major areas of the city also seemed more festive.

NanJing Dong Lu pedestrian mall.












Pudong on a foggy evening




The Bund was all lit up too, but our photo came out horribly.