Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Quick Update!
WE GOT THE LOCATION!!! YEA!!! This is the moment we have been waiting for! SO excited!!! We have the process of our business paperwork in order, we will be official by the beginning of June! Went to Hong Kong last week for a Visa run and saw the Banksy Robs Hong KOng exhibit, which was fun! Our friends the Beales have many Banksy's and I got a kick out of looking at what number the ones were at the museum and making notice that Andy's numbers were a lot closer to one than these! :) I also saw a friend, ROger Deleon, who I haven't seen since elementary school! I hope him and his girlfriend will be out to visit us here sometime. The gig at JZ went so well, couldn't have gone any better! Frank, who is in the best shape of his life, blew the house down! We had an amazing turn out of friends come, about 30 (On a Saturday night to a jazz club... I love it!) We had a great private booth over looking the stage... and our Chinese partner came with 3 of her friends. She loved it and was right up there dancing and clapping along! Everyone had a great time and really came through for us too, speaking Chinese with our special guests, making sure they put in the right words or us... I felt so proud and blessed! Frank really knocked them out! The crowd was in the palm of his hand, and you could tell the band was thrilled to be playing with such a pro! He did New York New York, and it was practically riotous with people singing along, dancing on couches, the feeling in the room was "Wow!" and it is so nie to show our friends a taste of what our nightclub and shows are about! Then we went to Shelter, which is arguably the hippest club right now, in an old bomb shelter with tunnel-like rooms. We knew the DJ's, two Icelandic girls, and we had a whole crew of people go. Funny, I saw the first punk-looking girls I've seen here in Shanghai... it's funny because while their hair was 3 colors and they had shitty haircuts and ripped clothes, they were completely self-conscious about it, but B+ for trying! Note on HK, sorry this is a bit scattered, I hadn't planned to write this much now, but...note on HK... It is one giant shopping mall. The is no authenticity, no sunlight, and the people all look worn and beat. It is definitely not China, and for anyone who was there before the take over, I think you will be shocked at the dramatic change. Norm and I both agree it feels soul-less, which I understand it didn't used to be. And it doesn't feel Chinese either, and quite frankly I couldn't wait to get back to real CHina! We've had a stomach bug today... I think Norm poisoned us with bad home-made juice this morning but he highly objects to that accusation. Hopefully it will be all better tomorrow! I've been watching the Fritz Lang 1922 silent movie called Dr. Mabuse! It is 4 hours long and I last about 20 minutes a night before I fall into a complete trance and drift off to sleep... I look forward to it every night now, and I think I have discovered a new passion for silent films! It is unbelievable the movies you can get here... more classics and rarities than you could find in NY! Ok, I'm to bed and Mabuse! I'll write more details about the club thing soon... wrote a whole progress report about everything accomplished thus far, maybe I'll throw that up on here... we'll see! Big hugs and love, Amelia
Friday, 18 April 2008
Shanghai Nights...
The very talented singer from our show, Frank Bray is in town! Tonight he is performing at the most popular jazz club in Shanghai, the JZ Club, with a 20 piece big band! The big band is fabulous, but often the singers they use can't hold their own next to them.. tonight will be an exception! We have our Chinese partner coming with some very important higher-ups and officials (including The Man), as well as our whole crew of friends! It is nice to be so secure about what we have to show them, Frank is always spectacular and I have yet to see any singers on his level here in Shanghai.
We got to show off our town and our friends to Frank last night on a typical Friday night in Shangers! After a day of blissfully riding our bicycles all day in the sun and massages we didn't bother having dinner before we went to the first party at 7:30 at a friend's art gallery. 3 of our friends work in the offices on the 2nd floor there and they have made the first floor into a gallery. The exhibition was... well, circles, in circles, in circles... done with tops of buckets... VEry colorful, and surprisingly cheerful and worked. There was a performance by "Mr. Bucket," who got my vote for having the best costume design I've seen in awhile. He sort of sauntered around like a clown, moving one of the art pieces to the music... it was definitely something else! Amazing how many people we know in this town, I can count 20 people off the top of my head that we knew there, probably more. Our core group of friends are riotous Aussie guys, but last night we had a nice group of girlfriends out giving the guys a run for their money! So from there we all piled into cabs and went to the Men's Vogue party on the Bund. This was a very good time... OH forgot to mention, I might as well say this upfront... there was good food and drinks at all these events and the only thing we paid for all night was the cabs! Norman was saying that in the eighties in NY you could go out every night of the week and freeload if you knew the right people, and that is pretty much how it is here these days! So this VOgue party... One thing I liked was a glass "store front" type window with treadmills behind the glass where the male models "walked" in place. I saw the best looking Chinese man I've ever seen last night, tall, striking, it is always notable when you see a stunning CHinese man, many stunning woman, but men are hard to come by. Anyways, after the models were off, Todd says to me, "I can't just stand here and drink anymore" and I said "Well lets go cause some mischief then!" So we marched, very importantly through the curtains, into the backstage where all the dancing girls were changing (they mostly looked like tranny strippers we all agreed!), and walked right over and got onto the stage where him and I proceeded to do a dance routine on the treadmill in between laughing so hard we were nearly falling over... lasted a good minute or so before some PR girl started to scream at us like we were ruining the party, we rushed out of there only to hear it was the best thing that happened all night from our friends! HAHA! So much fun! Then we went to the Hamilton House for a party that wasn't partying, well, that is until we showed up! Frank busted some moves that were last seen in 1992 (for good reason!) :) After running amok there we decided that we Had to swing by one more party since we hadn't seen Ukachi all night and he is a vital member of our posse! (This is us moving onto our 4th party of free drinks and food...you can fill in the gaps!) So we went to MoCA (Museum of COntemporary Art where our friend Diana is the curator. We had missed the performance of the German Beastie Boys, but caught up with the rest of everybody we know in Shanghai! I swear...we saw practically everyone with very few exceptions out living it up last night at one place or another! All very cultural, of course. We were there for the art! :) Ugh... the 3 of us each had a cheese sandwich before finally settling down last night to bed. And honestly, I feel quite well this morning considering! At one point I was convinced we had lost Frank, after he tried to squeeze into the front seat of the cab, basically sitting on Panthea while Norm and I tried to tell him to sit in the back with us... instead he got out and got into another cab with Todd and Tim, but our cab pulled off before we saw that he got in with them and I was sure we would find Frank wondering the streets with no cell phone, address, or Chinese...! Ha, he beat us to the party though, him and the Aussies are practically brothers now! Those 3 even made another stop in between 2 of the parties for tequila shots, since their cab apparently wasn't moving fast enough for them! All told, an exceptional night out! I had a moment of self-consciousness standing in line for the bathroom when I felt like a true amazon woman (reaching about 6 foot in my heels), all the girls around me were at least a foot shorter, some of them could fit into my body twice it seemed! Then later I decided I really liked being able to see over the majority of peoples head, makes it easy to spot my friends, and feel like the models must feel in NY!
Been eating some great food here! I think I am hooked on the way they do eggplant, now there is no turning back! (singing and whistling in the background)... I thought I had experienced "The constant song" syndrome with Norman and Joey, but between Norman and Frank I can hardly hear myself think! Between whistling and harmonies (well at least from one of them!)... Sometimes it is quite lovely, like last night in the street when they stopped traffic in a rendition of "You've either got or you haven't got Sttttyle!" Other times I must take a deep breath and remind myself "This too shall pass" ! Frank has been a lovely house guest though, has really been taking advantage of the cheap massages too. I had to cut back because I was really close to becoming a massage parlor junkie.
So I am very excited to say that Norm and I are doing our tri-month-ual Visa run this next week to Hong KOng, and we have timed it so we get to go to the opening of the Banksy, Damion Hirst exhibition! Here's a link:
http://www.changethethought.com/banksy-robs-hong-kong/
Panthea will be there too, and it looks like I am going to meet up with Roger DeLeon, who I went to elementary school with and haven't seen since I was 12! Crazy huh? Then we are planning to stop in Macau on our way back! Met a french woman who runs and choreographs dancers there and is looking to relocate her troupe to Shanghai, in August! We might know a place for a few of them, ehh?!
So the status of the building goes like this: Our guy (The Man) told us that if the old people aren't out by this Wed. he'd send the cops after them! At which point we could retain the building in four weeks, putting us at around mid May, and the timing couldn't be more perfect! The Man is coming tonight to the gig at JZ! I'm wearing my best dress and will put on my famous smooging face! (Ummm...I don't know how to spell that word, sorry) I had thought this would be a welcomed opportunity to stay sober for the evening, treat it very professionally, etc. Then I was reminded that Chinese business men are famous for drinking the green tea whisky by the shot and it was considered poor manners (and bad business) if you didn't keep up in the festivities. Maybe our men aren't that type though (hopefully) but we are already planning on picking up their tab for the evening... so again hopefully they aren't that sort! Oh well, I think it will be very fun and look forward to it!
I have two eyes again finally, maybe I wrote that before. Funny I have had to reintroduce myself a lot now that I am back to having two eyes, and have traded in my black wig for my long blondish hair (which I got permed recently and now I look like I constantly have "morning after hair" which works for me I must say!) I wanted a Chinese eye-patch which is like a metal plate with holes in it stuck straight on the face, but they wouldn't give me one. Now That would've been hardcore!
Oh... I forgot. Quick comment. So everyday on facebook I get "group" invitations: From my American friends to join the Free Tibet groups, support the Dali Lama groups.... from my Chinese friends groups like "World, do you know Anything about CHina?" "We Love China," "Supporting China" "Tibet Was, IS, and Always will be part of China," "Anti-separation of Tibet" ...you get the picture. I wrote a whole essay on this topic just for fun (yeah, I'm a major dork...now that I'm out of college I assign myself term papers!) as my feelings about the whole matter are constantly being challenged. I have decided not to share it though as some of the things I say are controversial and I have no interest in arguing this passionate subject against my friends who have various backgrounds and education on this issue, though I am always interested in people's personal feelings about it. I can say one thing though that has become fairly obvious to me: China will never give up Tibet, and would sooner tell the rest of the world to go fuck themselves than give it up. The more attention Tibet gets internationally the worse the Chinese are coming (and will come) down on them. Makes one wonder... well, a lot of things. Here is the intro though, I don't mind printing this:
" I remember being 15 and going to the Tibetan Freedom Concert in DC. I swear, none of us teenage Americans could point to Tibet on a map, or had any concept of what we were going to help free them from by attending this concert. I just went for Radiohead and the Beastie Boys and Jane's Addiction, and hey, if Their party was "Free Tibet" I wanted to go too. Thinking back now, I have a hard time making the connection between how Tibet ever benefitted from this concert. As far as I could tell the awareness that was raised was based on vague names like the magical myth of the Dali Lama, and we all believed we were creating world peace by being in various states of drug induced euphoric states. One thing that is for sure is that they made the "band"wagon the one everyone wanted to be on. "
It goes on, but like I said, people are in jails here for saying the wrong thing. Maybe what I am saying is the right thing, and the truth is my decision not to publish it has little to do with the threat of backlash, which is not a threat to laowais here, (so don't worry Mom!), but more because this is such a controversial topic and it is a smart move I believe not to make a public stance on my private politics... (Like some stupid fucking singers do...ah-hem) Though I did enjoy the process for many reasons, and happy I took the time to really think it through and research it.
If you get a chance I can recommend reading Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's speech to Peking University that he delivered last week in fluent Mandarin. Also, New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark did an interview on the BBC, Hardtalk I believe, and she handles the questions about China SO intelligently, bringing up issues about how the US and UK have had their own problems with their various minority groups... I'm not even going to try, she says it so brilliantly I can't achieve it, but look for the clip if you have a minute, I suspect it is on youtube or you could get the transcript online. Either way, they both should be considered examples of the positions the world's leaders should be taking on this issue, they are a lot closer to getting a response/change/Consideration! than the way some other "leaders" are handling things. Anyways, my soapbox is about to break! That's all for now! Thanks for listening!~
We got to show off our town and our friends to Frank last night on a typical Friday night in Shangers! After a day of blissfully riding our bicycles all day in the sun and massages we didn't bother having dinner before we went to the first party at 7:30 at a friend's art gallery. 3 of our friends work in the offices on the 2nd floor there and they have made the first floor into a gallery. The exhibition was... well, circles, in circles, in circles... done with tops of buckets... VEry colorful, and surprisingly cheerful and worked. There was a performance by "Mr. Bucket," who got my vote for having the best costume design I've seen in awhile. He sort of sauntered around like a clown, moving one of the art pieces to the music... it was definitely something else! Amazing how many people we know in this town, I can count 20 people off the top of my head that we knew there, probably more. Our core group of friends are riotous Aussie guys, but last night we had a nice group of girlfriends out giving the guys a run for their money! So from there we all piled into cabs and went to the Men's Vogue party on the Bund. This was a very good time... OH forgot to mention, I might as well say this upfront... there was good food and drinks at all these events and the only thing we paid for all night was the cabs! Norman was saying that in the eighties in NY you could go out every night of the week and freeload if you knew the right people, and that is pretty much how it is here these days! So this VOgue party... One thing I liked was a glass "store front" type window with treadmills behind the glass where the male models "walked" in place. I saw the best looking Chinese man I've ever seen last night, tall, striking, it is always notable when you see a stunning CHinese man, many stunning woman, but men are hard to come by. Anyways, after the models were off, Todd says to me, "I can't just stand here and drink anymore" and I said "Well lets go cause some mischief then!" So we marched, very importantly through the curtains, into the backstage where all the dancing girls were changing (they mostly looked like tranny strippers we all agreed!), and walked right over and got onto the stage where him and I proceeded to do a dance routine on the treadmill in between laughing so hard we were nearly falling over... lasted a good minute or so before some PR girl started to scream at us like we were ruining the party, we rushed out of there only to hear it was the best thing that happened all night from our friends! HAHA! So much fun! Then we went to the Hamilton House for a party that wasn't partying, well, that is until we showed up! Frank busted some moves that were last seen in 1992 (for good reason!) :) After running amok there we decided that we Had to swing by one more party since we hadn't seen Ukachi all night and he is a vital member of our posse! (This is us moving onto our 4th party of free drinks and food...you can fill in the gaps!) So we went to MoCA (Museum of COntemporary Art where our friend Diana is the curator. We had missed the performance of the German Beastie Boys, but caught up with the rest of everybody we know in Shanghai! I swear...we saw practically everyone with very few exceptions out living it up last night at one place or another! All very cultural, of course. We were there for the art! :) Ugh... the 3 of us each had a cheese sandwich before finally settling down last night to bed. And honestly, I feel quite well this morning considering! At one point I was convinced we had lost Frank, after he tried to squeeze into the front seat of the cab, basically sitting on Panthea while Norm and I tried to tell him to sit in the back with us... instead he got out and got into another cab with Todd and Tim, but our cab pulled off before we saw that he got in with them and I was sure we would find Frank wondering the streets with no cell phone, address, or Chinese...! Ha, he beat us to the party though, him and the Aussies are practically brothers now! Those 3 even made another stop in between 2 of the parties for tequila shots, since their cab apparently wasn't moving fast enough for them! All told, an exceptional night out! I had a moment of self-consciousness standing in line for the bathroom when I felt like a true amazon woman (reaching about 6 foot in my heels), all the girls around me were at least a foot shorter, some of them could fit into my body twice it seemed! Then later I decided I really liked being able to see over the majority of peoples head, makes it easy to spot my friends, and feel like the models must feel in NY!
Been eating some great food here! I think I am hooked on the way they do eggplant, now there is no turning back! (singing and whistling in the background)... I thought I had experienced "The constant song" syndrome with Norman and Joey, but between Norman and Frank I can hardly hear myself think! Between whistling and harmonies (well at least from one of them!)... Sometimes it is quite lovely, like last night in the street when they stopped traffic in a rendition of "You've either got or you haven't got Sttttyle!" Other times I must take a deep breath and remind myself "This too shall pass" ! Frank has been a lovely house guest though, has really been taking advantage of the cheap massages too. I had to cut back because I was really close to becoming a massage parlor junkie.
So I am very excited to say that Norm and I are doing our tri-month-ual Visa run this next week to Hong KOng, and we have timed it so we get to go to the opening of the Banksy, Damion Hirst exhibition! Here's a link:
http://www.changethethought.com/banksy-robs-hong-kong/
Panthea will be there too, and it looks like I am going to meet up with Roger DeLeon, who I went to elementary school with and haven't seen since I was 12! Crazy huh? Then we are planning to stop in Macau on our way back! Met a french woman who runs and choreographs dancers there and is looking to relocate her troupe to Shanghai, in August! We might know a place for a few of them, ehh?!
So the status of the building goes like this: Our guy (The Man) told us that if the old people aren't out by this Wed. he'd send the cops after them! At which point we could retain the building in four weeks, putting us at around mid May, and the timing couldn't be more perfect! The Man is coming tonight to the gig at JZ! I'm wearing my best dress and will put on my famous smooging face! (Ummm...I don't know how to spell that word, sorry) I had thought this would be a welcomed opportunity to stay sober for the evening, treat it very professionally, etc. Then I was reminded that Chinese business men are famous for drinking the green tea whisky by the shot and it was considered poor manners (and bad business) if you didn't keep up in the festivities. Maybe our men aren't that type though (hopefully) but we are already planning on picking up their tab for the evening... so again hopefully they aren't that sort! Oh well, I think it will be very fun and look forward to it!
I have two eyes again finally, maybe I wrote that before. Funny I have had to reintroduce myself a lot now that I am back to having two eyes, and have traded in my black wig for my long blondish hair (which I got permed recently and now I look like I constantly have "morning after hair" which works for me I must say!) I wanted a Chinese eye-patch which is like a metal plate with holes in it stuck straight on the face, but they wouldn't give me one. Now That would've been hardcore!
Oh... I forgot. Quick comment. So everyday on facebook I get "group" invitations: From my American friends to join the Free Tibet groups, support the Dali Lama groups.... from my Chinese friends groups like "World, do you know Anything about CHina?" "We Love China," "Supporting China" "Tibet Was, IS, and Always will be part of China," "Anti-separation of Tibet" ...you get the picture. I wrote a whole essay on this topic just for fun (yeah, I'm a major dork...now that I'm out of college I assign myself term papers!) as my feelings about the whole matter are constantly being challenged. I have decided not to share it though as some of the things I say are controversial and I have no interest in arguing this passionate subject against my friends who have various backgrounds and education on this issue, though I am always interested in people's personal feelings about it. I can say one thing though that has become fairly obvious to me: China will never give up Tibet, and would sooner tell the rest of the world to go fuck themselves than give it up. The more attention Tibet gets internationally the worse the Chinese are coming (and will come) down on them. Makes one wonder... well, a lot of things. Here is the intro though, I don't mind printing this:
" I remember being 15 and going to the Tibetan Freedom Concert in DC. I swear, none of us teenage Americans could point to Tibet on a map, or had any concept of what we were going to help free them from by attending this concert. I just went for Radiohead and the Beastie Boys and Jane's Addiction, and hey, if Their party was "Free Tibet" I wanted to go too. Thinking back now, I have a hard time making the connection between how Tibet ever benefitted from this concert. As far as I could tell the awareness that was raised was based on vague names like the magical myth of the Dali Lama, and we all believed we were creating world peace by being in various states of drug induced euphoric states. One thing that is for sure is that they made the "band"wagon the one everyone wanted to be on. "
It goes on, but like I said, people are in jails here for saying the wrong thing. Maybe what I am saying is the right thing, and the truth is my decision not to publish it has little to do with the threat of backlash, which is not a threat to laowais here, (so don't worry Mom!), but more because this is such a controversial topic and it is a smart move I believe not to make a public stance on my private politics... (Like some stupid fucking singers do...ah-hem) Though I did enjoy the process for many reasons, and happy I took the time to really think it through and research it.
If you get a chance I can recommend reading Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's speech to Peking University that he delivered last week in fluent Mandarin. Also, New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark did an interview on the BBC, Hardtalk I believe, and she handles the questions about China SO intelligently, bringing up issues about how the US and UK have had their own problems with their various minority groups... I'm not even going to try, she says it so brilliantly I can't achieve it, but look for the clip if you have a minute, I suspect it is on youtube or you could get the transcript online. Either way, they both should be considered examples of the positions the world's leaders should be taking on this issue, they are a lot closer to getting a response/change/Consideration! than the way some other "leaders" are handling things. Anyways, my soapbox is about to break! That's all for now! Thanks for listening!~
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
The Miss Amelia Fan Club Newsletter
(You can join the club on facebook!)
Hi there! Thank you so much for being a part of The Miss Amelia Fan Club! As the group has just reached 200, I wanted to take this opportunity to update you about what is happening over here!
Our site for the club, Gosney and Kallman's "CHINATOWN" has been promised to be in our hands by the first week in MAY! It is an incredible, magical site! Built in 1931 by a famous Japanese designer, as a "Nishi Honganji," which is a Japanese, "friendly society" meeting hall, in the style of Hindu architecture with an allusion to the "Chaitya" Hall.... !!!!!
THAT being said, it is like no other building in Shanghai (Or in the World for that matter!) and looks like it was built just for us!
We suspect we will open the week after the October holiday, but might not announce the opening, only letting our friends (and of course Fan Club members!) in first.... Our website is also being built at the moment, will let you know when that is up.
There is already an incredible international buzz about this place! Look for mentions in May's "That's Shanghai," "RACK" magazine, as well as "TALK "magazine!
Lastly, I wanted to mention that the famous Frank Bray is in town and will be singing with the Big Band at JZ THIS Saturday night! Frank is the incredibly talented singer from our show and I really hope you will take this opportunity to check him out!
Hope you are all well! Thanks for your support!
Sincerely,
Your very own,
Miss Amelia Kallman
Hi there! Thank you so much for being a part of The Miss Amelia Fan Club! As the group has just reached 200, I wanted to take this opportunity to update you about what is happening over here!
Our site for the club, Gosney and Kallman's "CHINATOWN" has been promised to be in our hands by the first week in MAY! It is an incredible, magical site! Built in 1931 by a famous Japanese designer, as a "Nishi Honganji," which is a Japanese, "friendly society" meeting hall, in the style of Hindu architecture with an allusion to the "Chaitya" Hall.... !!!!!
THAT being said, it is like no other building in Shanghai (Or in the World for that matter!) and looks like it was built just for us!
We suspect we will open the week after the October holiday, but might not announce the opening, only letting our friends (and of course Fan Club members!) in first.... Our website is also being built at the moment, will let you know when that is up.
There is already an incredible international buzz about this place! Look for mentions in May's "That's Shanghai," "RACK" magazine, as well as "TALK "magazine!
Lastly, I wanted to mention that the famous Frank Bray is in town and will be singing with the Big Band at JZ THIS Saturday night! Frank is the incredibly talented singer from our show and I really hope you will take this opportunity to check him out!
Hope you are all well! Thanks for your support!
Sincerely,
Your very own,
Miss Amelia Kallman
Saturday, 5 April 2008
New Pics!
Wow... just realized it has been a long time since I updated my flickr site. They are a bit out of order, but put up about 50 new pics! It's www.flickr.com/photos/ameliakallman in case you are interested.
Friday, 4 April 2008
Hey there!
How about that! I can finally see my own blog! After checking out some friend's blogs though, mine appears quite boring. It's funny, I don't write that often because, no offense to anyone, sometimes I think I have a ton of other things I could be doing with my time etc. I've never been too into computers, my myspace page is still blank, and I would have no idea how to even begin putting up a background, so mine now looks, well, old I guess. Sooo last year! So here is the latest... Still waiting to hear from the club site, though our backer says she thinks we will know in 2-3 weeks and is pretty sure it will be a Yes! I have been contacting some speciality acts, people are very eager to come here to perform. We are starting a business, most likely forming one with one of our backers, which will give us better Visas and allow us to bring people over to perform. Looking into getting an apartment/office close by... Ideally we would like to have a 2 bedroom place were we can house performers when they come and use the other room as an office... could work. There will be an office at the club of course, but one close to where we live would be nice too, and it would be great if we could rehearse there as well... We'll see. Are meeting a lot of very helpful people here and learning a lot from them. I am channeling ideas at the moment and brainstorming constantly. At this point it looks like the club is going to be called "Gosney and Kallman's Shanghai" and will open in October.
We fasted for 3 days on juice and tea, lost a bunch of weight, felt really good. I learned a lot too in the process. It was mostly to detoxify and even time you eat your blood goes to your stomach, so this gives your blood a chance to clean itself, and your other organs a chance to get the attention they often lack. YOu feel sort of high from it, and surprisingly I wasn't terribly hungry. My energy was a bit low though. Norm broke it on the third evening and I was going to hang on another day, but then we went to the opening of this new boutique Hotel called JIA Hotel, and there was a free buffet as long as the eye could see of foods one normally can't afford to indulge in!! It was torture! Free champagne, cocktails, everything. Well... I decided this was as good a time as any to break my fast! Norm and I ate little pieces of a few things (and a few pieces of chocolate!) and Boy! Did we enjoy tasting food! It was so delicious! It was crazy for me too, because I saw people eating plate fulls and plate fulls not tasting a thing, and then all my friends who were drinking glasses and glasses of the free champagne get drunker and drunker, and I have to admit, I am usually the type to get in there on the free champagne, so it was a bit of an eye-opening experience for me to see everyone from a sober point of view. We then went to a friend's birthday party in a huge apartment, smokey, full of hipsters, loud music, lots of drinks... And I was the one who said "Honey I have to go home," and Norm was the one who wanted to stay. It's usually the other way around! Overall a really good experience though!
I meant to write this blog about a week ago because after that I was feeling so healthy and good. I have been doing yoga everyday, working out, getting regular massages, steaming, relaxing, eating right. I've impressed myself with how much I like being real healthy and into the healthy lifestyle that was forever escaping me in NY. But then... Well, here's the story...
I rubbed my eye last Thursday and thought "Why is my eye sore?" Then I worked as a dancer at a party at the re-opening of the very popular club Bar Rouge, here on the Bund. It was a very nice gig, thursday-Saturday, 3 5-10 minute sets of dancing on little tables with 3 other pro dancers, in conservative, kinda cute costumes and wigs, with boas etc. I made really impressive money for the amount of work I did, twice as much as dancers make in NY, and I mean in US dollars it's twice as much! So that was fun, but I woke up on Friday morning with a big, red, nasty stye on my right eye. Then I had to work two more evenings in full eye make-up, with fake eyelashes etc. It got infected, and by Sunday it was swollen shut. Norman made me an eye patch so people wouldn't cross the street when they saw me! I went to see the doctor on Monday, which is a fascinating experience in itself! You go in, pay 17 kuai (roughly $2.20) to be seen, take a number, wait, your number comes up (they actually took me earlier since they had an English speaking doctor available and I think I was scaring the children in the waiting room!), he examined me, wrote a prescription, then I went downstairs, paid for the prescriptions at one counter, then walked twenty feet to the other counter where they gave it to me. No Insurance bullshit, no drug company bullshit. I got eye-drops and 2 things of ointment, the whole experience, medicine included, cost me $10 US dollars. Unreal. There is something to be said for that! So here was the kicker for me though... I'm in the waiting room or a hospital, sick people everywhere, and I go to the bathroom, where there is no toilet paper (very common here, you just have to remember your own...and trust me, sometimes you get caught without!) and No Soap!! In a hospital! Isn't that nuts!!??
So anyways, I have been rocking a black wig and eye-patch ever since. My eye is practically back to normal now, but I just bought a shirt that has a face of a girl with black Louise Brooks hair in an eye patch that looks so much like me, I am obliged to wear my wig and eye-patch and my new shirt at least for one more weekend. It has become a fashion statement of sorts!
Speaking of fashion! We went to the Salvador Ferragamo party here the other night. Quite a big deal, with a huge exhibit at my friend's museum, MoCA, celebrities. It was nice. A little too much like window shopping at a store you know you can't afford, so you walk out more depressed than anything by the end, but here there was a party at the end, which was very nice! Oh, and speaking of shoes! (Sorry boys!) I think I have mentioned once or twice it is very hard for me to find shows that fit me here, but today when I went next door to get the shirt (Norman discovered the shirt actually and went to buy it for me, but got in a fight with the salesperson, so he said he couldn't go back in, but I had to go in and buy it!) They had just gotten a shipment of shoes from Charlotte Russe! I'm guessing these guys never made it to the states, so there were some shoes my size! I got a great high black shoe for 50 ($7) and 2 pairs of summer heeled sandals for 10 kuai each!! (that is $1.40 for a pair of heels!) Of course I came home and looked them up on the internet. The blacks they were selling for 39.99 and the other two pairs were 24.99 each! I'm very excited for myself!
The weather here is beautiful! We've been having fresh juice shakes every morning out on the balcony in the sun! Also been enjoying the NY TImes, which I recently discovered I have an online subscription to! (Wish I found that out earlier!) and Wikipedia is back up, along with youtube, and blogs! Things are nuts! Oh! And our new favorite thing too is I discovered we get international radio stations on itunes, so now we constantly have WBGO, the NY jazz station that was the soundtrack of our lives at the Chelsea, on all the time. I have to admit, I get some perverse pleasure out of hearing "Right now it is 38 degrees and raining, high of 45 today, chance of thunderstorms," though I know I shouldn't say that too loud or the weather gods will hear me!
I'm going to call it quits for today, I will try to put up new pictures soon, but now you know why there haven't been many taken of me lately! Too bad, I was all ready to do a photo shoot, as I haven't been this slim and fit in a while, and then this eye thing happened. Oh well, soon enough! Norman is deliciously well and fit and as handsome as ever! That's all for now! Thanks for reading!
xxx
Amelia
We fasted for 3 days on juice and tea, lost a bunch of weight, felt really good. I learned a lot too in the process. It was mostly to detoxify and even time you eat your blood goes to your stomach, so this gives your blood a chance to clean itself, and your other organs a chance to get the attention they often lack. YOu feel sort of high from it, and surprisingly I wasn't terribly hungry. My energy was a bit low though. Norm broke it on the third evening and I was going to hang on another day, but then we went to the opening of this new boutique Hotel called JIA Hotel, and there was a free buffet as long as the eye could see of foods one normally can't afford to indulge in!! It was torture! Free champagne, cocktails, everything. Well... I decided this was as good a time as any to break my fast! Norm and I ate little pieces of a few things (and a few pieces of chocolate!) and Boy! Did we enjoy tasting food! It was so delicious! It was crazy for me too, because I saw people eating plate fulls and plate fulls not tasting a thing, and then all my friends who were drinking glasses and glasses of the free champagne get drunker and drunker, and I have to admit, I am usually the type to get in there on the free champagne, so it was a bit of an eye-opening experience for me to see everyone from a sober point of view. We then went to a friend's birthday party in a huge apartment, smokey, full of hipsters, loud music, lots of drinks... And I was the one who said "Honey I have to go home," and Norm was the one who wanted to stay. It's usually the other way around! Overall a really good experience though!
I meant to write this blog about a week ago because after that I was feeling so healthy and good. I have been doing yoga everyday, working out, getting regular massages, steaming, relaxing, eating right. I've impressed myself with how much I like being real healthy and into the healthy lifestyle that was forever escaping me in NY. But then... Well, here's the story...
I rubbed my eye last Thursday and thought "Why is my eye sore?" Then I worked as a dancer at a party at the re-opening of the very popular club Bar Rouge, here on the Bund. It was a very nice gig, thursday-Saturday, 3 5-10 minute sets of dancing on little tables with 3 other pro dancers, in conservative, kinda cute costumes and wigs, with boas etc. I made really impressive money for the amount of work I did, twice as much as dancers make in NY, and I mean in US dollars it's twice as much! So that was fun, but I woke up on Friday morning with a big, red, nasty stye on my right eye. Then I had to work two more evenings in full eye make-up, with fake eyelashes etc. It got infected, and by Sunday it was swollen shut. Norman made me an eye patch so people wouldn't cross the street when they saw me! I went to see the doctor on Monday, which is a fascinating experience in itself! You go in, pay 17 kuai (roughly $2.20) to be seen, take a number, wait, your number comes up (they actually took me earlier since they had an English speaking doctor available and I think I was scaring the children in the waiting room!), he examined me, wrote a prescription, then I went downstairs, paid for the prescriptions at one counter, then walked twenty feet to the other counter where they gave it to me. No Insurance bullshit, no drug company bullshit. I got eye-drops and 2 things of ointment, the whole experience, medicine included, cost me $10 US dollars. Unreal. There is something to be said for that! So here was the kicker for me though... I'm in the waiting room or a hospital, sick people everywhere, and I go to the bathroom, where there is no toilet paper (very common here, you just have to remember your own...and trust me, sometimes you get caught without!) and No Soap!! In a hospital! Isn't that nuts!!??
So anyways, I have been rocking a black wig and eye-patch ever since. My eye is practically back to normal now, but I just bought a shirt that has a face of a girl with black Louise Brooks hair in an eye patch that looks so much like me, I am obliged to wear my wig and eye-patch and my new shirt at least for one more weekend. It has become a fashion statement of sorts!
Speaking of fashion! We went to the Salvador Ferragamo party here the other night. Quite a big deal, with a huge exhibit at my friend's museum, MoCA, celebrities. It was nice. A little too much like window shopping at a store you know you can't afford, so you walk out more depressed than anything by the end, but here there was a party at the end, which was very nice! Oh, and speaking of shoes! (Sorry boys!) I think I have mentioned once or twice it is very hard for me to find shows that fit me here, but today when I went next door to get the shirt (Norman discovered the shirt actually and went to buy it for me, but got in a fight with the salesperson, so he said he couldn't go back in, but I had to go in and buy it!) They had just gotten a shipment of shoes from Charlotte Russe! I'm guessing these guys never made it to the states, so there were some shoes my size! I got a great high black shoe for 50 ($7) and 2 pairs of summer heeled sandals for 10 kuai each!! (that is $1.40 for a pair of heels!) Of course I came home and looked them up on the internet. The blacks they were selling for 39.99 and the other two pairs were 24.99 each! I'm very excited for myself!
The weather here is beautiful! We've been having fresh juice shakes every morning out on the balcony in the sun! Also been enjoying the NY TImes, which I recently discovered I have an online subscription to! (Wish I found that out earlier!) and Wikipedia is back up, along with youtube, and blogs! Things are nuts! Oh! And our new favorite thing too is I discovered we get international radio stations on itunes, so now we constantly have WBGO, the NY jazz station that was the soundtrack of our lives at the Chelsea, on all the time. I have to admit, I get some perverse pleasure out of hearing "Right now it is 38 degrees and raining, high of 45 today, chance of thunderstorms," though I know I shouldn't say that too loud or the weather gods will hear me!
I'm going to call it quits for today, I will try to put up new pictures soon, but now you know why there haven't been many taken of me lately! Too bad, I was all ready to do a photo shoot, as I haven't been this slim and fit in a while, and then this eye thing happened. Oh well, soon enough! Norman is deliciously well and fit and as handsome as ever! That's all for now! Thanks for reading!
xxx
Amelia
Monday, 17 March 2008
A long one...
So a lot of stuff is happening! I have spent a bunch of my blogs talking about the great and magnificent things that I love about China, but must take a minute to speak otherwise. There is a panic happening in China right now as the Olympics get closer. We can get CNN in our house because it is Filipino cable, so I have been watching closely what is happening and have heard the real death tolls etc. The cable at the gym though is not and while CNN is available as soon as footage or commentary come on it goes to black. The newspapers barely cover it. The headline in the Shanghai Daily says, "Tbet Capital returns to normal after Violence, " going on to say only ten were killed (when it was over a hundred), and said they did not enforce martial law, which is a well known lie. I don't even want to spell out the word right now.
Then, thanks to Bjork and her lovely comments about the place declaring independence, every musician coming here is getting the full treatment. Harry Connick Jr. just played here and an hour before his set the authorities "Offered advice" about what he could and couldn't perform, meaning half his songs were out and he had to instead perform the ones they requested on a list, which he hadn't even brought the music for. I mean, Harry Connick Jr.? THEN! Incubus was here the other night and while one member was in the hospital there were 2 members supposedly asked not to perform. Two members played a short acoustic set and it wasn't until the last song and the encore that the turntable-st (the sound they are known for) and the drummer went onstage to perform. The word hasn't gotten out about what the heck happened, but everyone was really upset and disappointed, with tics costing 500 rmb ($70) which is expensive by Shanghai standards.
Then the final frustrating straw for me today was reading a Hong Kong expat magazine which had a whole article referring to young ladies as 'Future tai tais" (wives).
Anyways.... In other news....
One of our Chinese partners for the club got us a meeting with THE man. The head of the whole Hongkou district in which the site we want is in. Basically, our woman is best friends with China's biggest sports star, a retired soccer player, who is best friends with THE man, and together they brought in Norm, they had a meeting for two hours and it couldn't have gone better! Our woman said we accomplished in 2 hours what normally takes 6 months! This guy exuded power and snapped and people would run. He made some phone calls, talked and listened and basically assured us the place was ours as soon as he could get the other people out. (it's vacant but the previous lease holders still have some rights, but he said if they aren't out nicely in 2 weeks he'd put the cops on them!) He used to be head of police and is a secretary of something in The Party. Assured us it would all be good, giving him a translated version of the proposal tomorrow. Just an example of this guys power, he said "You know there isn't a lot of parking near there etc" and Norm explained: not a problem, and he said, "No, you don't understand, I rearrange traffic for you." Apparently he is also traffic commissioner!
So that is great and we are getting together everything we can to be ready to go as soon as the keys are in our hands! In other news, our really great friends here, Sophie and Peter, just had their first baby, a little doll named China Clementine! She is so cute and little! Apparently the Chinese are giving Sophie jip for having her out this early. I just found out that in the Chinese culture the babies and mothers aren't outside of the house for the first month and both mother and baby are not allowed to wash during that time either. She has now learned the phrase in Chinese "Foreigners are not the same." Because she was early, she got to attend her own baby shower! A group of 6 of us went to a spa! I had a facial (I'm still glowing!) and an hour of yoga, and catered lunch out on the roof. It was really lovely!
Went to the antique market the other day and practiced my Chinese. I bought 2 little Chinese Comic books, one of Charlie Chaplin and one of 'Zolou" (Zorro!) that use the images from the tv show (That's for you mom!) for 5rmbs each and then I bought a sexy lady figurine for my vanity. I talked the woman down from a hundred rmbs to 25! I can now say things like, "Beautiful? (because everything is 'Peyouliung') That's not beautiful!" "I have that and I bought it for way less!" "That guy was only asking .... for that!" "He's crazy!" (About Norm!) I like it, but my boyfriend doesn't like it and says No!" It's good fun! I also got lost the other day and was able to ask people for directions and understand their reply! This might sound provincial, but these are very big leaps for me! I even knew the first guy was full of it when he told me 'Go six blocks that way!" You got to watch them! One thing about the Chinese is they will never admit they don't know directions someplace! The next guy told me right though!
On Saturday night a group of ten of us got all dressed up and went to a friend's for drinks and then to dinner, and then to JZ Club where our friend JQ was playing trumpet in The Big Band! It was spectacular and very encouraging! 16 piece jazz band, 2 singers, and the place was rammed! We had a great time! Then last night a friend of friends came over for dinner and it turns out Norman, Joey, and me all have people and places in common with him. He used to be the singer of the group The Toasters and now is a creative director and deejay here in Shanghai. The first time I met Cavo Joey, him and I were dishing out ideas about things to do here, ideas etc, and he said, "I left NY because no one was having These conversations anymore." We all agreed. Funny, the first time I met him I said to Joey, "I'm impressed how polite he is." And Joey said, "You mean for a Rude Boy?" That Rude Boy reference completely went over head at the time, but now I see the humor in that comment! I also had to bite my tongue a bit when they were all talking about clubs in '83 from saying, "You mean the year I was born!?" haha, I saved that one for you guys! :)
Joey leaves tomorrow and I have to say, we are really going to miss him! The house has been so lively and we have all been joking, laughing, and singing stupid songs constantly! He'll be back though! Norm and I are gearing up for a fast, and by gearing up I mean I think we are going to Blue Frog tonight for 2-for-1 burgers and drinks! :) The timing is right and we are doing it safely. One thing that I wanted to comment on was how healthy I feel both physically and mentally. I find myself eating great, exercising everyday, meditating and yoga-ing, taking advantage of the steams and jacuzzi, and going to bed and waking up early. My skin is looking great, I spend most of my days not in make-up or ever thinking about appearances. I feel really solid and good for the most part, happy with Norm, new friends and life here. Wish I wasn't so far away from old friends and my family, and wish a few people understood me better, but I'm really happy with where myself and things are at, and that is really what matters. Other things I miss: My Britney mags! I used to use those to get through my workouts and now I'm forced to read grown up mags like the New Yorker! My IQ is redeeming itself I guess! Manga-Tac glue. The radio. Being around people who are always playing me new music! (Sigh!)
Oh! Also, I started a new blog for the Chinatown (The name we like for the club!) It is: http://ameliakallman.expat-blog.net/ I chose this site because it is international blogging, meaning I can read my own (it's not blocked) and so can others here in China. I'll put some new pic up now! Thanks for reading!
Then, thanks to Bjork and her lovely comments about the place declaring independence, every musician coming here is getting the full treatment. Harry Connick Jr. just played here and an hour before his set the authorities "Offered advice" about what he could and couldn't perform, meaning half his songs were out and he had to instead perform the ones they requested on a list, which he hadn't even brought the music for. I mean, Harry Connick Jr.? THEN! Incubus was here the other night and while one member was in the hospital there were 2 members supposedly asked not to perform. Two members played a short acoustic set and it wasn't until the last song and the encore that the turntable-st (the sound they are known for) and the drummer went onstage to perform. The word hasn't gotten out about what the heck happened, but everyone was really upset and disappointed, with tics costing 500 rmb ($70) which is expensive by Shanghai standards.
Then the final frustrating straw for me today was reading a Hong Kong expat magazine which had a whole article referring to young ladies as 'Future tai tais" (wives).
Anyways.... In other news....
One of our Chinese partners for the club got us a meeting with THE man. The head of the whole Hongkou district in which the site we want is in. Basically, our woman is best friends with China's biggest sports star, a retired soccer player, who is best friends with THE man, and together they brought in Norm, they had a meeting for two hours and it couldn't have gone better! Our woman said we accomplished in 2 hours what normally takes 6 months! This guy exuded power and snapped and people would run. He made some phone calls, talked and listened and basically assured us the place was ours as soon as he could get the other people out. (it's vacant but the previous lease holders still have some rights, but he said if they aren't out nicely in 2 weeks he'd put the cops on them!) He used to be head of police and is a secretary of something in The Party. Assured us it would all be good, giving him a translated version of the proposal tomorrow. Just an example of this guys power, he said "You know there isn't a lot of parking near there etc" and Norm explained: not a problem, and he said, "No, you don't understand, I rearrange traffic for you." Apparently he is also traffic commissioner!
So that is great and we are getting together everything we can to be ready to go as soon as the keys are in our hands! In other news, our really great friends here, Sophie and Peter, just had their first baby, a little doll named China Clementine! She is so cute and little! Apparently the Chinese are giving Sophie jip for having her out this early. I just found out that in the Chinese culture the babies and mothers aren't outside of the house for the first month and both mother and baby are not allowed to wash during that time either. She has now learned the phrase in Chinese "Foreigners are not the same." Because she was early, she got to attend her own baby shower! A group of 6 of us went to a spa! I had a facial (I'm still glowing!) and an hour of yoga, and catered lunch out on the roof. It was really lovely!
Went to the antique market the other day and practiced my Chinese. I bought 2 little Chinese Comic books, one of Charlie Chaplin and one of 'Zolou" (Zorro!) that use the images from the tv show (That's for you mom!) for 5rmbs each and then I bought a sexy lady figurine for my vanity. I talked the woman down from a hundred rmbs to 25! I can now say things like, "Beautiful? (because everything is 'Peyouliung') That's not beautiful!" "I have that and I bought it for way less!" "That guy was only asking .... for that!" "He's crazy!" (About Norm!) I like it, but my boyfriend doesn't like it and says No!" It's good fun! I also got lost the other day and was able to ask people for directions and understand their reply! This might sound provincial, but these are very big leaps for me! I even knew the first guy was full of it when he told me 'Go six blocks that way!" You got to watch them! One thing about the Chinese is they will never admit they don't know directions someplace! The next guy told me right though!
On Saturday night a group of ten of us got all dressed up and went to a friend's for drinks and then to dinner, and then to JZ Club where our friend JQ was playing trumpet in The Big Band! It was spectacular and very encouraging! 16 piece jazz band, 2 singers, and the place was rammed! We had a great time! Then last night a friend of friends came over for dinner and it turns out Norman, Joey, and me all have people and places in common with him. He used to be the singer of the group The Toasters and now is a creative director and deejay here in Shanghai. The first time I met Cavo Joey, him and I were dishing out ideas about things to do here, ideas etc, and he said, "I left NY because no one was having These conversations anymore." We all agreed. Funny, the first time I met him I said to Joey, "I'm impressed how polite he is." And Joey said, "You mean for a Rude Boy?" That Rude Boy reference completely went over head at the time, but now I see the humor in that comment! I also had to bite my tongue a bit when they were all talking about clubs in '83 from saying, "You mean the year I was born!?" haha, I saved that one for you guys! :)
Joey leaves tomorrow and I have to say, we are really going to miss him! The house has been so lively and we have all been joking, laughing, and singing stupid songs constantly! He'll be back though! Norm and I are gearing up for a fast, and by gearing up I mean I think we are going to Blue Frog tonight for 2-for-1 burgers and drinks! :) The timing is right and we are doing it safely. One thing that I wanted to comment on was how healthy I feel both physically and mentally. I find myself eating great, exercising everyday, meditating and yoga-ing, taking advantage of the steams and jacuzzi, and going to bed and waking up early. My skin is looking great, I spend most of my days not in make-up or ever thinking about appearances. I feel really solid and good for the most part, happy with Norm, new friends and life here. Wish I wasn't so far away from old friends and my family, and wish a few people understood me better, but I'm really happy with where myself and things are at, and that is really what matters. Other things I miss: My Britney mags! I used to use those to get through my workouts and now I'm forced to read grown up mags like the New Yorker! My IQ is redeeming itself I guess! Manga-Tac glue. The radio. Being around people who are always playing me new music! (Sigh!)
Oh! Also, I started a new blog for the Chinatown (The name we like for the club!) It is: http://ameliakallman.expat-blog.net/ I chose this site because it is international blogging, meaning I can read my own (it's not blocked) and so can others here in China. I'll put some new pic up now! Thanks for reading!
Monday, 10 March 2008
The latest....
Today I have been slightly traumatized because a girl riding her bike in front of me went down. I'm not sure what happened, but the poor thing! I stopped and traffic stopped and there was blood. When I left she was up and it looked like some nice people were going to get her to a doctors or something, but it left a terrible feeling with me. It looked like her leg got caught maybe, because her feet never came out to help break the fall. Whoa. Glad it wasn't me, but definitely makes you think!
So Bjork was here in Shanghai the other night! Put on a good show, all female horn-section, but she seemed tired. She did a song called 'Declare Independence' and used those lines along with 'Tibet' and is now being investigated by the government for 'upsetting' so many people etc.
One of our backers has gotten us the hook up at the location we want and tomorrow is a big meeting with her and the head guy of the building, so keep your fingers crossed, but it looks promising!!!!
I've been writing a lot lately, doing the whole 'morning pages' again, which is great. Joey's teaching me guitar, and I am calculating my next strategic moves. Everything is coming along nicely though!
This last weekend we went to 5 parties over 4 days and 2 art openings! Pretty crazy! Lots of fun, and very refreshing the friendships we've made here. Though I do have the occasional bad day when I seriously miss my parents and a few particular people from the states. Norm and some friends threw a "International Gentleman Douchebag's" party at a small Japanese whiskey bar on Thursday which was a big success. I've been making a lot of clothes and hats lately. Just made a second trip to the fabric market and got a dress made, bra made, blouse taken in, and a purse made for less than $50 US dollars! I'll put up some new pics on my flickr site soon!
So Bjork was here in Shanghai the other night! Put on a good show, all female horn-section, but she seemed tired. She did a song called 'Declare Independence' and used those lines along with 'Tibet' and is now being investigated by the government for 'upsetting' so many people etc.
One of our backers has gotten us the hook up at the location we want and tomorrow is a big meeting with her and the head guy of the building, so keep your fingers crossed, but it looks promising!!!!
I've been writing a lot lately, doing the whole 'morning pages' again, which is great. Joey's teaching me guitar, and I am calculating my next strategic moves. Everything is coming along nicely though!
This last weekend we went to 5 parties over 4 days and 2 art openings! Pretty crazy! Lots of fun, and very refreshing the friendships we've made here. Though I do have the occasional bad day when I seriously miss my parents and a few particular people from the states. Norm and some friends threw a "International Gentleman Douchebag's" party at a small Japanese whiskey bar on Thursday which was a big success. I've been making a lot of clothes and hats lately. Just made a second trip to the fabric market and got a dress made, bra made, blouse taken in, and a purse made for less than $50 US dollars! I'll put up some new pics on my flickr site soon!
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