Hello! Hope this finds you all well! So today is Norman's birthday! I made him his favorite bran muffins this morning (miraculously good! I had to do them in the microwave because we have no oven!), stuck a candle in them and sang Happy Birthday! I got him this devilish Peach Amaretto Pecan Honey Butter which is amazing! And lots of second hand books by his favorite author, the R. Crumb's Heros of Jazz, Blues, and Country, and my folks got him a Mother's of Invention CD and a game called Quidler, a scrabble-like card game, that is right up our alley! I celebrated my birthday earlier in the month, got some great books that I had asked for from my family and some beautiful jewelry from Norman, we had a great dinner at one of the best restaurants in town! Tonight we are going for burgers and then having drinks with friends at our favorite CI-5 bar, the teeny tiny whole-in the-wall Japanese Whiskey bar we like!
I was fortunate enough to take off some time to go visit my parents for a week last week. I went to PA to see my grandparents, and even made a wedding of one of my oldest friends! It was really lovely to spend some quality time with my family, it was just what I needed! Next time I promise I will call people, but this time was so short I really wanted to focus on hanging with my family, which I'm very glad I did, so please don't be offended or take it personally that I didn't get in touch with anyone, I wouldn't have had time to see anyone anyways. Next time I will come back with Norman and we will do the east-coast tour, maybe having some wedding reception-type parties, hopefully making it up to NY to see everyone there too. I wasn't sure when the next time I would have this time off, so I was very happy to be able to make it back! Poor Norman stayed here and had to work. My parents gave us the most amazing, sensational wedding gift! It is a blanket made from one of our wedding pictures! Truly incredible and we love it!
The business is going great! The money is coming in, we are getting talent, the demolition is done and the space looks gorgeous stripped back to the walls! Construction begins this week! The thing holding us up the most is the unbelievable paper trail that needs to be completed! All our papers go to the government on Wed. for approval, we think we are in good shape though! One disappointment was we hired a secretary girl who we thought would be great, but she decided to study abroad instead, which is fine, but she did this important test for the tax department for us, and basically wasted our time and money...
At The Glamour Bar a few weeks ago a burlesque troupe from the states came and performed. Every night they were there it was packed, which is very encouraging! We had a front row table and had a personal crowd of about 30 people, all very enthusiastic! As Norm would say though about the girls, "They are Seattle. We are F$#%'n NEW YORK!" It was a great night out though!
Just added pics and a few movie clips to http://www.flickr.com/ameliakallman so check those out if you get a chance! Some funny Chinese pics there too! The Olympics was a big pain in the ass for the expats here, a lot of people had to leave the country, but hopefully they will loosen up a bit now.
Funny story from the other day... So you have to register with the police every time you get a new chop on your passport, so I go and, this is very exciting: they have finally got a computer! So no more filling out forms and filing them, I can go right into the computer! Except... it relies on the internet, and the internet here has just been the worse!! So they couldn't get it up to put me in! Oh dear! Finally, they restarted the computer and figured it out! The police station is funny though... from the front it looks kind of official, with a cop standing behind a desk with a crest above it, but then you step back and it is about as charming as a gas station bathroom! Ashtrays full of cigarettes, junk yard chairs recycled, and then a computer! Kind of funny! Other funny China stories... Well we bought someone a Ridiculously expensive Mont Blanc wallet the other day (The real thing!) as a bribe... seemed to work, but geez!! A wallet?! We keep saying we are going to put our pajamas on one night and go out and join the locals around the small television set on the street one night here... last time we went by it was Chinese midgets doing Opera!! Hmm... I'm sure I'll think of a bunch more as soon as I sign off!
Lots of love! xxx
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Arthur
Hello! So if you haven't heard the latest on the club news please read the blog below this one first! Lots and lots of work now. Norm's been a bit a stressed over the whole thing, I get the job of being the cool and collected one at the moment, these roles are bound to flip in a month or so! This month really is the toughest one. We have a few weeks to make everything work, which it will, but it is stressful. Enough about that though, we are in a great position, and besides being extremely tired and not getting out much socially these days, we are very happy and confident!
Recently had a visit here from an old friend of Norman's, Adriana Keigl, who was a founding member of Kid Creole & the Coconuts. She was a lot of fun! She was here with a family and their 2 twin six year old girls who I baby sat for a few days.
While she was here we got word that our dear friend Arthur Weinstein passed away. He had been struggling with cancer. He and Norman were best friends, going back hundreds of years. Arthur was a trip! One of the original 'Gentleman Douche-bags' I believe, which according to the inner circle of International Gentleman Douche-bags, to be called one is a top, most-respectable honor. He was known for his bluntness and honesty, and not giving a shit about what other people thought (Not quite sure how else to phrase that after thinking about if there is a more eloquent way of stating that, but why should I give a shit?! haha).
An example I remember hearing from someone who went to Art Basal with Arthur a few years ago went like this: One of the big name artist had an opening there and you can imagine the art was way post-modernistic, way too intellectual for mere mortals to understand, yet everyone was kissing the guys ass, telling him how great it was, but really no one has a clue what the heck it is about, or what reaction or feeling it is trying so hard to provoke, and that's when Arthur comes in and says what everybody else was thinking but didn't have the balls to say; " What is this Shit? This is the worst shit I've ever seen! You call this Art?!" Or something to that affect! Apparently it became the talk of the town, and Arthur became everyone's hero getting the red carpet treatment the rest of his time in town!
My story though is one of Arthur's hidden altruistic nature, a side of him I felt so privileged to see. There was a woman in the hotel who had a thirteen year old daughter from hell. Single mom, she got very very sick. She was suffering, refused to get help but couldn't take care of (well control might be a better word) her daughter and needed help. She hired me to help out getting her daughter ready for school (she had some disabilities), hanging out with her after school and evenings because the mom was too sick. Well, Arthur was the one who literally carried this woman to the hospital (and she wasn't petite). He arranged for care for her daughter while she was there, called her several times a day to check up on her, and if he hadn't gotten her to the hospital when he did they said she would've died in a few days. It takes someone with a pretty big heart to go out of their way for a neighbor like that. Stanley Bard called it a mitzvah. I hate to say it but I don't know many people who would've stepped up like that. While the mother was in the hospital we threw the girl a birthday party and filled it with the motliest of crews! It was Arthur, Colleen, Dahlia, myself, two actual clowns (Norman and Berman) dressed as actual clowns, and I think Pete and Victor from the desk came too! It was one of those Chelsea Hotel Family moments I'll never forget! The whole circumstances surrounding this situation were really unfortunate on many levels that don't need to get into, but my point is, Arthur had a huge heart: Bigger than he'd ever let on to having, but I think everyone who knew him well could see it there!
Geez, don't really know what to say after that. I had planned to write more, but this seems like all I want to do for the moment, leave it on these happy memories of very great man. I'll write more soon! For more on Arthur's life check out:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/nyregion/13weinstein.html?ex=1373860800&en=a8728a82987b0c12&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Also, I'll put a few pics of him up on my flickr site. Added some great ones from Moganshan too- new ones done by my photographer friends!
Updated the club site too which for the moment is: www.myspace.com/chinatownshanghai
Love, Amelia
Recently had a visit here from an old friend of Norman's, Adriana Keigl, who was a founding member of Kid Creole & the Coconuts. She was a lot of fun! She was here with a family and their 2 twin six year old girls who I baby sat for a few days.
While she was here we got word that our dear friend Arthur Weinstein passed away. He had been struggling with cancer. He and Norman were best friends, going back hundreds of years. Arthur was a trip! One of the original 'Gentleman Douche-bags' I believe, which according to the inner circle of International Gentleman Douche-bags, to be called one is a top, most-respectable honor. He was known for his bluntness and honesty, and not giving a shit about what other people thought (Not quite sure how else to phrase that after thinking about if there is a more eloquent way of stating that, but why should I give a shit?! haha).
An example I remember hearing from someone who went to Art Basal with Arthur a few years ago went like this: One of the big name artist had an opening there and you can imagine the art was way post-modernistic, way too intellectual for mere mortals to understand, yet everyone was kissing the guys ass, telling him how great it was, but really no one has a clue what the heck it is about, or what reaction or feeling it is trying so hard to provoke, and that's when Arthur comes in and says what everybody else was thinking but didn't have the balls to say; " What is this Shit? This is the worst shit I've ever seen! You call this Art?!" Or something to that affect! Apparently it became the talk of the town, and Arthur became everyone's hero getting the red carpet treatment the rest of his time in town!
My story though is one of Arthur's hidden altruistic nature, a side of him I felt so privileged to see. There was a woman in the hotel who had a thirteen year old daughter from hell. Single mom, she got very very sick. She was suffering, refused to get help but couldn't take care of (well control might be a better word) her daughter and needed help. She hired me to help out getting her daughter ready for school (she had some disabilities), hanging out with her after school and evenings because the mom was too sick. Well, Arthur was the one who literally carried this woman to the hospital (and she wasn't petite). He arranged for care for her daughter while she was there, called her several times a day to check up on her, and if he hadn't gotten her to the hospital when he did they said she would've died in a few days. It takes someone with a pretty big heart to go out of their way for a neighbor like that. Stanley Bard called it a mitzvah. I hate to say it but I don't know many people who would've stepped up like that. While the mother was in the hospital we threw the girl a birthday party and filled it with the motliest of crews! It was Arthur, Colleen, Dahlia, myself, two actual clowns (Norman and Berman) dressed as actual clowns, and I think Pete and Victor from the desk came too! It was one of those Chelsea Hotel Family moments I'll never forget! The whole circumstances surrounding this situation were really unfortunate on many levels that don't need to get into, but my point is, Arthur had a huge heart: Bigger than he'd ever let on to having, but I think everyone who knew him well could see it there!
Geez, don't really know what to say after that. I had planned to write more, but this seems like all I want to do for the moment, leave it on these happy memories of very great man. I'll write more soon! For more on Arthur's life check out:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/nyregion/13weinstein.html?ex=1373860800&en=a8728a82987b0c12&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Also, I'll put a few pics of him up on my flickr site. Added some great ones from Moganshan too- new ones done by my photographer friends!
Updated the club site too which for the moment is: www.myspace.com/chinatownshanghai
Love, Amelia
Copy/Paste job
Hello there! So A lot has happened and is happening. I'm going to start this one with a copy and paste job that covers a lot of the Club info. You may have received parts of these, so if it all looks familiar just skip it... (Also I'm editing little bits for blogging reasons!)
Ahem:,
PART 1
Firstly, 'Chinatown Shanghai' received it's business license and Norman and I are now official residents and business operators in The People's Republic of China! (Not an easy task considering the current restrictions and conditions due to the Olympics! )
The rest of the news deserves a slight diversion into the stressful back-story of the event!
We now have an investor working with us who has been here 20 some years and is dealing with the government side of things, making us legal, lending his incredible guanxi (meaning 'influence'), and time and effort to our project.
His people discovered the sentence written in some document somewhere that says one cannot have entertainment in a heritage building (as ours is). Though it gives no explanation why, it has to do with fear of raising evil/dead spirits! There are obvious exceptions to this rule, but we needed to get word from the people who give the word that we are indeed an exception, because no one wants to sign a lease and then find out the project can't happen, right?!
The government department that holds the lease to building gave us a warning on Friday that if we didn't sign a lease today (Monday) they had someone else who would sign the lease, and we will have missed our chance (even though the building has been vacant for 6 years and the only reason it is now available is because We pushed for it...sigh)
...and the government guy that our investor knows very well and could give us the good word is in the hospital and can't be reached, plus our investor leaves for vacation with his wife Monday night at 6pm, and now we are beginning to fear the worst...
Amazingly, He pulled his incredible guanxi and many many strings to get us a last minute meeting Monday afternoon in front of the Governor of Hongkau, the Head of Commerce and Foreign Investment, the Head of Culture, and the Head of Parks and Recreation for a meeting! That is a feat in itself to get all the most powerful men in Shanghai in one room together! So, had the meeting. Gave them a description of the future of nightlife in Shanghai, a description of the show, showed them carefully chosen pictures, and.... We got an all around thumbs up from every last one of them! They love it! Showed their full support, and have said they all want seats for the opening night! Hallelujah! All is a go!!
We then went and signed the lease, and are now proud possessors of the most beautiful building for a Norman/Amelia club in this weird and wonderful city!
PART 2
This is just a snip-it of my fan club newsletter I sent out, Norman wrote a lot of it, I edited, just nicely worded, thought I'd share:
1) Our Statement:
Shanghai in the Thirties enjoyed a reputation as the great Pleasure city of the Orient, and Hollywood seared unforgettable images of an urbane, stylish, and elegant world of sultry nightclubs and the beautiful people that filled them into our collective mind.
With the opening of ‘Gosney and Kallman’s CHINATOWN’, that vanished world once again lives! Plush, Old World decor, vivacious, sophisticated entertainment, and exceptional service, all presented with panache in our unique venue. We will fulfill the dreams of those who look for the 'Something different,' rather than the same old disco and lounge scene, and reward the adventurous who seek the very best.
Gosney and Kallman passionately believe that Shanghai, and it’s growing number of visitors seeking the best in nightlife and entertainment, are ready for this kind of exceptional venue, a place that all who attend will remember and recommend, and that will join the short list of truly memorable nightspots worldwide. Our goal is not to open another passable establishment, but to create an outstanding, world class, and highly successful benchmark for Shanghai, Asia, and the world!
2) The Premises:
We have finally signed the lease on our dream come true and are now the proud owners of one of the loveliest buildings in Shanghai! Our remarkable premises, built in 1931 as a Buddhist temple, is located in the rapidly developing Hongkau district. It is truly one-of-a-kind; A unique architectural edifice that seems to have waited for just exactly our purpose! With a capacity on two floors of around 150 people, the
site is large enough for our extravagant stage productions, but intimate and exclusive enough for the ambience and atmosphere that our elite and up-scale clientele will demand.
3) The Show:
The show itself features original performers, extravagant costuming, and timeless routines with a fresh face, all carefully blended into a heady mix of Vaudeville, Burlesque, Broadway, and exuberant good fun! Our live pit band of talented musicians, our chorus line of international showgirls, and our knowingly chosen speciality acts from all over the world, are presented at timely intervals throughout an evening, and patrons feel they are in that nightclub they saw in an old movie: Glittering, sexy, and totally enthralling!
I go on to talk about auditions! This is the first time ever having to specify 'Speak English!' Kind of funny!
Ahem:,
PART 1
Firstly, 'Chinatown Shanghai' received it's business license and Norman and I are now official residents and business operators in The People's Republic of China! (Not an easy task considering the current restrictions and conditions due to the Olympics! )
The rest of the news deserves a slight diversion into the stressful back-story of the event!
We now have an investor working with us who has been here 20 some years and is dealing with the government side of things, making us legal, lending his incredible guanxi (meaning 'influence'), and time and effort to our project.
His people discovered the sentence written in some document somewhere that says one cannot have entertainment in a heritage building (as ours is). Though it gives no explanation why, it has to do with fear of raising evil/dead spirits! There are obvious exceptions to this rule, but we needed to get word from the people who give the word that we are indeed an exception, because no one wants to sign a lease and then find out the project can't happen, right?!
The government department that holds the lease to building gave us a warning on Friday that if we didn't sign a lease today (Monday) they had someone else who would sign the lease, and we will have missed our chance (even though the building has been vacant for 6 years and the only reason it is now available is because We pushed for it...sigh)
...and the government guy that our investor knows very well and could give us the good word is in the hospital and can't be reached, plus our investor leaves for vacation with his wife Monday night at 6pm, and now we are beginning to fear the worst...
Amazingly, He pulled his incredible guanxi and many many strings to get us a last minute meeting Monday afternoon in front of the Governor of Hongkau, the Head of Commerce and Foreign Investment, the Head of Culture, and the Head of Parks and Recreation for a meeting! That is a feat in itself to get all the most powerful men in Shanghai in one room together! So, had the meeting. Gave them a description of the future of nightlife in Shanghai, a description of the show, showed them carefully chosen pictures, and.... We got an all around thumbs up from every last one of them! They love it! Showed their full support, and have said they all want seats for the opening night! Hallelujah! All is a go!!
We then went and signed the lease, and are now proud possessors of the most beautiful building for a Norman/Amelia club in this weird and wonderful city!
PART 2
This is just a snip-it of my fan club newsletter I sent out, Norman wrote a lot of it, I edited, just nicely worded, thought I'd share:
1) Our Statement:
Shanghai in the Thirties enjoyed a reputation as the great Pleasure city of the Orient, and Hollywood seared unforgettable images of an urbane, stylish, and elegant world of sultry nightclubs and the beautiful people that filled them into our collective mind.
With the opening of ‘Gosney and Kallman’s CHINATOWN’, that vanished world once again lives! Plush, Old World decor, vivacious, sophisticated entertainment, and exceptional service, all presented with panache in our unique venue. We will fulfill the dreams of those who look for the 'Something different,' rather than the same old disco and lounge scene, and reward the adventurous who seek the very best.
Gosney and Kallman passionately believe that Shanghai, and it’s growing number of visitors seeking the best in nightlife and entertainment, are ready for this kind of exceptional venue, a place that all who attend will remember and recommend, and that will join the short list of truly memorable nightspots worldwide. Our goal is not to open another passable establishment, but to create an outstanding, world class, and highly successful benchmark for Shanghai, Asia, and the world!
2) The Premises:
We have finally signed the lease on our dream come true and are now the proud owners of one of the loveliest buildings in Shanghai! Our remarkable premises, built in 1931 as a Buddhist temple, is located in the rapidly developing Hongkau district. It is truly one-of-a-kind; A unique architectural edifice that seems to have waited for just exactly our purpose! With a capacity on two floors of around 150 people, the
site is large enough for our extravagant stage productions, but intimate and exclusive enough for the ambience and atmosphere that our elite and up-scale clientele will demand.
3) The Show:
The show itself features original performers, extravagant costuming, and timeless routines with a fresh face, all carefully blended into a heady mix of Vaudeville, Burlesque, Broadway, and exuberant good fun! Our live pit band of talented musicians, our chorus line of international showgirls, and our knowingly chosen speciality acts from all over the world, are presented at timely intervals throughout an evening, and patrons feel they are in that nightclub they saw in an old movie: Glittering, sexy, and totally enthralling!
I go on to talk about auditions! This is the first time ever having to specify 'Speak English!' Kind of funny!
Monday, 30 June 2008
new pics
I just posted about 100 new pics to go along with everything I say below! There is wedding, dancing, Moganshan... Enjoy! :) xx
Late Breaking News....
Hey there! Writing a blog is a funny thing. Especially from China, as I have SO mUCH to say, but often refrain from making a lot of the real poignant comments because I don't want to 'red flag' myself and not be able to check my emails for a week for saying too much. Then there is also the people who read this ie you! I am so pleased that I can provide something like this to give a glimpse into this part of the world and very much appreciate those of you who have taken the time to write me personal messages back, sent cards and letters, etc. I really aim to please though and only like to write when I feel moved to and can do it all justice for you fine folk! That being said, sorry I've been lame and posting one about once a month, but I don't want to bore you guys with the insignificant minutia of my everyday life! So here tis the round up, best I can do! But hey! I just realized I left about a year ago (will be in 2 weeks)! Wow!
Where to begin? (I think all m blogs start like this, No?)
I don't think I ever got to tell you about Pangea Day. Pangea day was a project a female film-maker envisioned, got a grant from somewhere and executed about 2 months ago... THis was a 4 hour show broadcast over the internet and on some tv stations all over the world At The Same Time! The idea is that for those 4 hours the entire world could be connected. What they did was distribute cameras all over to some of the poorest places in the world and asked people to make a film. Kodak was the sponsor I believe. The result was some very touching, very funny, very innovative, and informative videos made by pros and amatuers from all over. Of course it concluded with a long film the organizer did. So here's the deal....
My friends got word about this, heard it was being broadcast virtually everywhere in the world EXCEPT CHina, and in every language Except Chinese! And so 2 of my close friends took on this massive undertaking of getting a private venue (No way the Chinese would be happy to show something thy can't see previously, especially if there is any chance of political commentary etc.) and organized this 12 hour film festival. The time Shanghai got because it was broadcast live from LA was 2am-6am! The Film Fest. here started at 6pm and featured local film-makers, Chinese and Foreign, who never get to show their movies here in China. There were some great films shown... One I especially loved was called 'State of Mind' (I believe) about North Korea's Mass Games.... Wow, I recommend it to anyone, I think it is out there. It followed 2 young girls her work year in and year out on these intricate gymnastic routines to perform for Kim Jong's birthday.... that year they did 20 performances in his honor, about 3000 people if not more, and Kim never showed up for any of them. The way these girls talk about him too is like he's a cross between Jesus and Elvis (go figure), and it gives a real glimpse into life there.... a constant radio stream from the political party that can not be turned off and goes 24/7, only one tv station that shows propaganda commercials and anti-America propaganda. Every night the lights automatically turn off at, I think, 8pm... and they all sit around and say 'Damn Yankees!"
Anyways.... So we were the only group of people in China to get to witness this event, and I'm so pissed that people in the US didn't know about this, or take it seriously enough to be a part of it because it was truly a spectacular and moving feeling to be a part of. Granted, our group was probably enjoying it the most because by 2am we were all a bit sauced, but felt really cool that we were getting to be a part of this! They even gave a shout out to Shanghai on the air! The whole format was a bit more 'American Idol'-ish than we had expected... At one point though they got everyone to share a good minute of laughter... Well it was very cool, you get the picture.
The Korean thing reminded me, slight side note here... I read an article about a secret 'Second Hand' clothes market here, and you know I was on my bike and out the door seconds later! Well the place they were talking about was (I was going to say shit, but let me define that precisely) just like any other Chinese clothes market, were the clothes are over done, unfitting, basically: cheap looking, and most importantly... There was nothing Old about them! Upset I began to leave when I spotted something across the street and decided to have a look... and there it was! Those cheeky editors had mislead on purpose so no one else would find the real one across the way! Nothing here is very vintage due to all those 'lost' years, the clothes started from some time in the 80's... But! I managed to pick up a windbreaker white jacket with red Korean writing on it that I am convinced is from the mass games, and also a pair of genuine white bell-bottoms that are actually from the 70's! I have a feeling I have the only 'Vintage Chinese' bell bottoms that exist today!
Moving on.... So a few weeks ago I had another exemplifying weekend! On Thursday night my girlfriend and I were paid dancers at a Mod party! We had great costumes (white short dresses, my Peter Burstin boots, big eyelashes, I had a beehive thing going on) and practiced all the moves from funny old gogo clips on youtube, and performed synchronized moves on stage... So much fun! I was really impressed with how many people came out, were dancing, and dressed! It felt like a relief to hear some good old classics that you could actually dance to rather than all the crap they frequently play in clubs these days. The next one is in a few weeks and I think this one will be bigger and better!
Then on Friday I danced on stage with one of the most popular bands in CHina! (Literally!) I had no idea how big these guys were until after I accepted the job and started asking around. They are called 'New Pants,' get played on MTV, have a huge following, any Chinese person I asked were super impressed, a few said 'Their songs were the first I learned to play on my guitar' etc! The event could've been a bit more organized, but all in all, went very well! I rocked out in 5 inch sequence boots, skirt, and Hulk Hogan T-shirt... The band were really fun and I had about 30 friends there to see!
Then Saturday morning Norman and I were paid to go to a press conference so they had 'foreign' faces in the audience! It was really funny... tons of photographers, kids getting awards, unveilings, speeches... I have no idea what it was about! I had to tell the people sitting behind me (also paid foreigners) and the douche-bag sitting next to me (ahem, take a guess) to be quiet and stop making stupid comments through out the whole thing. Seriously. It's an hour of our time, We are here representing foreigners, try not to be an asshole for an hour, yeah? Boys. Never grow up! So the finale was a fashion show! They had 3 tiers of Chinese models. One group was girls around my age who all looked like they had graduated one of those courses where you pay $1000 and now you are a model, and 2 groups of mature women. The mature women were Very interesting though! The way they modeled was So precise and So Chinese! If you have seen any of the old cigarette ads etc... it's like they hold their head at an angle just so which goes with your left hand here and your right hand here... really interesting! The best part for me was the final outfits they put these poor women in.... (I have to take a deep breath for this one!) So... They were all in variations of the same dress.... the long sleeves and slit in the long dress was black netting, the whole body of the dress was pineapple-bananna yellow sequence, and then in different places on each dress was a huge, gaudy, green leafy thing like the top of a palm tree, with pink coconut looking things... I mean Wow! Anywhere else in the world this would be a joke... A really Funny, expensive one too!
Still haven't quite recovered from that. Anyways... Business is happening SO good! We have gotten our initial investor who is a fabulous Danish multi-millionaire, has lived here 22 years, speaks flawless mandarin, has a common interest of jazz, and has come on to be our handler of all things Govt. He has been there done that in this country and has a team of people he is now loaning us to do all our licensing, agreements, etc. He is kind of the answer to our prayers so that is extremely good news! We also got lucky and got a very smart and talented business minded guy working with us full time. He is negotiating our deals with the liquor companies at the moment. One thing that is nice here is that they still do that! In NY it's illegal to accept sponsorship like they give here... the negotiating price starts at a 2 million rmb investment... and hopefully that's just a starting point, but it is really not bad at all! We are now inside the premises. I don't know if I've made it clear in the past, but we have gotten lucky big time on scoring this space! We have other friends who have been trying to secure an old govt owned building for 2 years now... we got ours in about 6 months. So it used to be a K-TV (karioke club aka house of prostitution), and it has a 30 foot high cement pyramid with the head of King Tut on it above a small, cut out stage! (Don't worry, we took lots of pics, but it is definitely coming down!) Then around there are huge cement Egyptians and the tables- get this- the base of the tables are bent over slaves with their arms tired up around their backs! Oh... interestingly enough... they ran the business there for all those years with No bathrooms!!!!! They used to bathrooms next door!!!!! Can you believe it? So, we will be installing bathrooms... so funny. And we also got friends of ours who operate the hottest restaurant in town to supply our "$100 hot dogs" !
On a personal note, I've been a little fed up with people lately. Not everyone, but a lot of people. Some of the humor I used to find in things like the archaic banking system here, where you can stand there for 30 minutes while they hand copy about 10 forms, stamp each one 6 times, and act like they have never done this before in their life, are beginning to lose it's charm! Sometimes I have to seriously resist the urge to push someone who is beeping there horn for No Reason right off their bike. Apparently the first thing they teach people in driving school here is to look both ways then blow your horn (seriously). Things like if my bike is 3 inches in the wrong direction parked outside, inside of politely moving it, I'll be summoned to go down and move it 3 inches so someone doesn't have a conniption fit! And then I went to this party the other night at the radio station my friend owns and there are all these snobby Russian models/prostitues who, no matter how sweet, open fun dancing, cool I was being wanted nothing to do with me. Norm says they were just jealous, but why? Come on people... get over yourselves, it's a lot more fun! It was like high school all over again! And then there are the people back home... one in particular won't stop giving me attitude, or giving it in the 'I'm not giving you attitude' attitude kind of way (which I thought I invented, haha!) ... I guess because I'm not in stinking America now? I'm really at a loss and getting really tired of being nice so they can just be passive aggressive. And there are also a few people who I considered close enough friends that I sent them a personal email about my marriage and they have yet to say a thing... I don't know, it was a pretty big deal, even people I don't know very well or like even at least had the courtesy to congratulate me!
Wow I feel better, how about you?!
So there is that side a bit at the moment... someone said to me the other day they have a bipolar love affair with Shanghai... I kind of understand what he means, but I'm lucky I got Norman and both of us keep each other looking on the bright side and laughing and happy most of the time! Married life has been terrifically rewarding. People keep asking if it has changed things... Funny, before I was saying 'No, just some people's perception of me, him, us" but now I can honestly say I have noticed changes... Like for me, it really raises the stakes about myself... Like I want to be as good as I can be for him and me, I am more interested in taking care of myself, less likely to get pissed off over a little thing, more likely to come right out and say 'This is my hormones at this time of the month not me" when I do get pissed about little things! I'm very happy.
This is turning out to be a long one, maybe I'll put it in chapters! So last weekend Norm, I and 8 of our friends went down and then up to Moganshan, a lovely retreat area in the mountains. You might remember we went there over New Years. Well it was just gorgeous! So much green, fresh air, waterfalls, lakes.... We stayed in a beautiful old home, Norm and I got the honeymoon suite... the house has two large balconies on each floor and a big front patio area over looking a lake and trees that go off into the distance. Getting there was a bit challenging, but we had a blast once there! Our friend owns a lodge up there and had a roast waiting for us, we went on hikes, played stupid high school drinking games, fought over whose ipod we would listen to, had a delightful outside authentic Chinese dinner.... the place we stayed at has 2 live-in Ayis who cooked for us, cleaned up after us, brought in stuff when it rained, etc, which is quite a luxury! I'll post some pics, but check in because I hope our pro photographer who was on hand, the famous Rodney Evans (who just shot Apple's next big campaign) will give me some pics from it shortly.... Norm had an impromptu photo shoot in a waterfall and I in a waterfall that happened on the balcony!
Been hanging with some great people out here. Just met our friend's daughter who they adopted from an orphanage here last year when she was four. The child is just a beautiful angel! Never stops smiling this huge contagious grin, very interested, performed songs for us, just as cute as pie! I'm back to learning Chinese again, but doing it on my own with ChinesePod... They just started Spanishpod, Italianpod etc. It all comes out of Shanghai, broadcast for free all over the world, has lessons step by step... I highly recommend it! Ok, I think this is long enough! I will post pics now on www.flickr.com/ameliakallman I know I've been a bit lame with it lately, so I'll probably put up a whole bunch! Thanks for listening to my rants and Raves! Lots of love and good fortune! Amelia
Where to begin? (I think all m blogs start like this, No?)
I don't think I ever got to tell you about Pangea Day. Pangea day was a project a female film-maker envisioned, got a grant from somewhere and executed about 2 months ago... THis was a 4 hour show broadcast over the internet and on some tv stations all over the world At The Same Time! The idea is that for those 4 hours the entire world could be connected. What they did was distribute cameras all over to some of the poorest places in the world and asked people to make a film. Kodak was the sponsor I believe. The result was some very touching, very funny, very innovative, and informative videos made by pros and amatuers from all over. Of course it concluded with a long film the organizer did. So here's the deal....
My friends got word about this, heard it was being broadcast virtually everywhere in the world EXCEPT CHina, and in every language Except Chinese! And so 2 of my close friends took on this massive undertaking of getting a private venue (No way the Chinese would be happy to show something thy can't see previously, especially if there is any chance of political commentary etc.) and organized this 12 hour film festival. The time Shanghai got because it was broadcast live from LA was 2am-6am! The Film Fest. here started at 6pm and featured local film-makers, Chinese and Foreign, who never get to show their movies here in China. There were some great films shown... One I especially loved was called 'State of Mind' (I believe) about North Korea's Mass Games.... Wow, I recommend it to anyone, I think it is out there. It followed 2 young girls her work year in and year out on these intricate gymnastic routines to perform for Kim Jong's birthday.... that year they did 20 performances in his honor, about 3000 people if not more, and Kim never showed up for any of them. The way these girls talk about him too is like he's a cross between Jesus and Elvis (go figure), and it gives a real glimpse into life there.... a constant radio stream from the political party that can not be turned off and goes 24/7, only one tv station that shows propaganda commercials and anti-America propaganda. Every night the lights automatically turn off at, I think, 8pm... and they all sit around and say 'Damn Yankees!"
Anyways.... So we were the only group of people in China to get to witness this event, and I'm so pissed that people in the US didn't know about this, or take it seriously enough to be a part of it because it was truly a spectacular and moving feeling to be a part of. Granted, our group was probably enjoying it the most because by 2am we were all a bit sauced, but felt really cool that we were getting to be a part of this! They even gave a shout out to Shanghai on the air! The whole format was a bit more 'American Idol'-ish than we had expected... At one point though they got everyone to share a good minute of laughter... Well it was very cool, you get the picture.
The Korean thing reminded me, slight side note here... I read an article about a secret 'Second Hand' clothes market here, and you know I was on my bike and out the door seconds later! Well the place they were talking about was (I was going to say shit, but let me define that precisely) just like any other Chinese clothes market, were the clothes are over done, unfitting, basically: cheap looking, and most importantly... There was nothing Old about them! Upset I began to leave when I spotted something across the street and decided to have a look... and there it was! Those cheeky editors had mislead on purpose so no one else would find the real one across the way! Nothing here is very vintage due to all those 'lost' years, the clothes started from some time in the 80's... But! I managed to pick up a windbreaker white jacket with red Korean writing on it that I am convinced is from the mass games, and also a pair of genuine white bell-bottoms that are actually from the 70's! I have a feeling I have the only 'Vintage Chinese' bell bottoms that exist today!
Moving on.... So a few weeks ago I had another exemplifying weekend! On Thursday night my girlfriend and I were paid dancers at a Mod party! We had great costumes (white short dresses, my Peter Burstin boots, big eyelashes, I had a beehive thing going on) and practiced all the moves from funny old gogo clips on youtube, and performed synchronized moves on stage... So much fun! I was really impressed with how many people came out, were dancing, and dressed! It felt like a relief to hear some good old classics that you could actually dance to rather than all the crap they frequently play in clubs these days. The next one is in a few weeks and I think this one will be bigger and better!
Then on Friday I danced on stage with one of the most popular bands in CHina! (Literally!) I had no idea how big these guys were until after I accepted the job and started asking around. They are called 'New Pants,' get played on MTV, have a huge following, any Chinese person I asked were super impressed, a few said 'Their songs were the first I learned to play on my guitar' etc! The event could've been a bit more organized, but all in all, went very well! I rocked out in 5 inch sequence boots, skirt, and Hulk Hogan T-shirt... The band were really fun and I had about 30 friends there to see!
Then Saturday morning Norman and I were paid to go to a press conference so they had 'foreign' faces in the audience! It was really funny... tons of photographers, kids getting awards, unveilings, speeches... I have no idea what it was about! I had to tell the people sitting behind me (also paid foreigners) and the douche-bag sitting next to me (ahem, take a guess) to be quiet and stop making stupid comments through out the whole thing. Seriously. It's an hour of our time, We are here representing foreigners, try not to be an asshole for an hour, yeah? Boys. Never grow up! So the finale was a fashion show! They had 3 tiers of Chinese models. One group was girls around my age who all looked like they had graduated one of those courses where you pay $1000 and now you are a model, and 2 groups of mature women. The mature women were Very interesting though! The way they modeled was So precise and So Chinese! If you have seen any of the old cigarette ads etc... it's like they hold their head at an angle just so which goes with your left hand here and your right hand here... really interesting! The best part for me was the final outfits they put these poor women in.... (I have to take a deep breath for this one!) So... They were all in variations of the same dress.... the long sleeves and slit in the long dress was black netting, the whole body of the dress was pineapple-bananna yellow sequence, and then in different places on each dress was a huge, gaudy, green leafy thing like the top of a palm tree, with pink coconut looking things... I mean Wow! Anywhere else in the world this would be a joke... A really Funny, expensive one too!
Still haven't quite recovered from that. Anyways... Business is happening SO good! We have gotten our initial investor who is a fabulous Danish multi-millionaire, has lived here 22 years, speaks flawless mandarin, has a common interest of jazz, and has come on to be our handler of all things Govt. He has been there done that in this country and has a team of people he is now loaning us to do all our licensing, agreements, etc. He is kind of the answer to our prayers so that is extremely good news! We also got lucky and got a very smart and talented business minded guy working with us full time. He is negotiating our deals with the liquor companies at the moment. One thing that is nice here is that they still do that! In NY it's illegal to accept sponsorship like they give here... the negotiating price starts at a 2 million rmb investment... and hopefully that's just a starting point, but it is really not bad at all! We are now inside the premises. I don't know if I've made it clear in the past, but we have gotten lucky big time on scoring this space! We have other friends who have been trying to secure an old govt owned building for 2 years now... we got ours in about 6 months. So it used to be a K-TV (karioke club aka house of prostitution), and it has a 30 foot high cement pyramid with the head of King Tut on it above a small, cut out stage! (Don't worry, we took lots of pics, but it is definitely coming down!) Then around there are huge cement Egyptians and the tables- get this- the base of the tables are bent over slaves with their arms tired up around their backs! Oh... interestingly enough... they ran the business there for all those years with No bathrooms!!!!! They used to bathrooms next door!!!!! Can you believe it? So, we will be installing bathrooms... so funny. And we also got friends of ours who operate the hottest restaurant in town to supply our "$100 hot dogs" !
On a personal note, I've been a little fed up with people lately. Not everyone, but a lot of people. Some of the humor I used to find in things like the archaic banking system here, where you can stand there for 30 minutes while they hand copy about 10 forms, stamp each one 6 times, and act like they have never done this before in their life, are beginning to lose it's charm! Sometimes I have to seriously resist the urge to push someone who is beeping there horn for No Reason right off their bike. Apparently the first thing they teach people in driving school here is to look both ways then blow your horn (seriously). Things like if my bike is 3 inches in the wrong direction parked outside, inside of politely moving it, I'll be summoned to go down and move it 3 inches so someone doesn't have a conniption fit! And then I went to this party the other night at the radio station my friend owns and there are all these snobby Russian models/prostitues who, no matter how sweet, open fun dancing, cool I was being wanted nothing to do with me. Norm says they were just jealous, but why? Come on people... get over yourselves, it's a lot more fun! It was like high school all over again! And then there are the people back home... one in particular won't stop giving me attitude, or giving it in the 'I'm not giving you attitude' attitude kind of way (which I thought I invented, haha!) ... I guess because I'm not in stinking America now? I'm really at a loss and getting really tired of being nice so they can just be passive aggressive. And there are also a few people who I considered close enough friends that I sent them a personal email about my marriage and they have yet to say a thing... I don't know, it was a pretty big deal, even people I don't know very well or like even at least had the courtesy to congratulate me!
Wow I feel better, how about you?!
So there is that side a bit at the moment... someone said to me the other day they have a bipolar love affair with Shanghai... I kind of understand what he means, but I'm lucky I got Norman and both of us keep each other looking on the bright side and laughing and happy most of the time! Married life has been terrifically rewarding. People keep asking if it has changed things... Funny, before I was saying 'No, just some people's perception of me, him, us" but now I can honestly say I have noticed changes... Like for me, it really raises the stakes about myself... Like I want to be as good as I can be for him and me, I am more interested in taking care of myself, less likely to get pissed off over a little thing, more likely to come right out and say 'This is my hormones at this time of the month not me" when I do get pissed about little things! I'm very happy.
This is turning out to be a long one, maybe I'll put it in chapters! So last weekend Norm, I and 8 of our friends went down and then up to Moganshan, a lovely retreat area in the mountains. You might remember we went there over New Years. Well it was just gorgeous! So much green, fresh air, waterfalls, lakes.... We stayed in a beautiful old home, Norm and I got the honeymoon suite... the house has two large balconies on each floor and a big front patio area over looking a lake and trees that go off into the distance. Getting there was a bit challenging, but we had a blast once there! Our friend owns a lodge up there and had a roast waiting for us, we went on hikes, played stupid high school drinking games, fought over whose ipod we would listen to, had a delightful outside authentic Chinese dinner.... the place we stayed at has 2 live-in Ayis who cooked for us, cleaned up after us, brought in stuff when it rained, etc, which is quite a luxury! I'll post some pics, but check in because I hope our pro photographer who was on hand, the famous Rodney Evans (who just shot Apple's next big campaign) will give me some pics from it shortly.... Norm had an impromptu photo shoot in a waterfall and I in a waterfall that happened on the balcony!
Been hanging with some great people out here. Just met our friend's daughter who they adopted from an orphanage here last year when she was four. The child is just a beautiful angel! Never stops smiling this huge contagious grin, very interested, performed songs for us, just as cute as pie! I'm back to learning Chinese again, but doing it on my own with ChinesePod... They just started Spanishpod, Italianpod etc. It all comes out of Shanghai, broadcast for free all over the world, has lessons step by step... I highly recommend it! Ok, I think this is long enough! I will post pics now on www.flickr.com/ameliakallman I know I've been a bit lame with it lately, so I'll probably put up a whole bunch! Thanks for listening to my rants and Raves! Lots of love and good fortune! Amelia
Monday, 9 June 2008
Is it June already? :)
Hey there! Sorry, I know it has been awhile! My apologies! Jumping right back in...
So Norman is an International Male Model now! He did one campaign for friends of ours when we first arrived as a boxing coach, and just did his second job for China Telecom! This one is a big print campaign that will be all over Beijing during the Olympics! I saw an ad on Craigslist and submitted him and he got it! They said they want to use him more too! I just got word I booked a commercial for the Olympics! I suspect it will only air here in China, but hopefully I can get a copy and put it on youtube or something! I am also working at a party this coming Saturday as a Mod dancer with a friend of mine, which should be fun!
So when Norm and I aren't modeling (haha) we have been working very hard getting this club thing going. Should get the keys this week, everything there has gone great! We are looking at a late Oct/Nov. opening. In the meantime we've taken on another project. Our friend is the landlord of this newly renovated building and there are essentially 2 rooms that connect. One will be all for seating, the other has the bar where we will specialize as a wine bar, but it is open during the day as a healthy/premade food store/delivery service. Between us and another partner we have all the connections to bang this out pretty fast and the area/customer base is very much there, so that is exciting news!
The weather has been lovely here for the most part, but we have seen a lot of showers lately. Have been attending and participating in a lot of benefits for the earthquake victims. A Chinese girl friend of mine went there to help out and said that the survivors she encountered were being fairly positive and optimistic about things.
Our friends Scotty and Sylvia came for visit, which was very nice! Met some interesting people through them as well. I got in the paper again for my 'dance credentials,' I know you are as surprised as I am, but when it came down to it I actually had a lot to say! And, if I may add, I have over 300 people in my fan club now! Unbelievable! I'm pretty impressed by that in fact!
If you are interested here is a link to the myspace page for the club:
http://www.myspace.com/chinatownshanghai
and also, I'm happy to say I discovered myself on IMDB the other day, here is that link:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2160585/
And then of course, the big news, which most of you know... Norman and I got married! It is a lovely, crazy story and if anyone is interested I have the whole thing written out and would be happy to share. I've been debating a bit about making it public, since in this day and age me putting it up here means anyone anywhere can read it and it is such a personal thing... but ultimately I've (obviously) decided for it! I think I got pushed over when a guy I had given one of my new fancy cards to called and asked me on a date! I awkwardly said, "No, I'm sorry, my husband and I are very busy this week!" haha! Thank you to everyone who has given us their kind blessing! I am truly touched, even burst into tears after receiving a card today from my grandparents! Oh! And none of this Mrs. Gosney stuff please! Mrs. Amelia is as far as I can take that one and I have no plans to change my name! Married life is lovely by the way! More soon! Love always, Amelia
Ps... I posted this earlier today and just came back to edit some opinions that I decided I'm better off not publishing. Sorry, they were good, maybe in a personal email if anyone if interested, I'd be happy to share! xx
So Norman is an International Male Model now! He did one campaign for friends of ours when we first arrived as a boxing coach, and just did his second job for China Telecom! This one is a big print campaign that will be all over Beijing during the Olympics! I saw an ad on Craigslist and submitted him and he got it! They said they want to use him more too! I just got word I booked a commercial for the Olympics! I suspect it will only air here in China, but hopefully I can get a copy and put it on youtube or something! I am also working at a party this coming Saturday as a Mod dancer with a friend of mine, which should be fun!
So when Norm and I aren't modeling (haha) we have been working very hard getting this club thing going. Should get the keys this week, everything there has gone great! We are looking at a late Oct/Nov. opening. In the meantime we've taken on another project. Our friend is the landlord of this newly renovated building and there are essentially 2 rooms that connect. One will be all for seating, the other has the bar where we will specialize as a wine bar, but it is open during the day as a healthy/premade food store/delivery service. Between us and another partner we have all the connections to bang this out pretty fast and the area/customer base is very much there, so that is exciting news!
The weather has been lovely here for the most part, but we have seen a lot of showers lately. Have been attending and participating in a lot of benefits for the earthquake victims. A Chinese girl friend of mine went there to help out and said that the survivors she encountered were being fairly positive and optimistic about things.
Our friends Scotty and Sylvia came for visit, which was very nice! Met some interesting people through them as well. I got in the paper again for my 'dance credentials,' I know you are as surprised as I am, but when it came down to it I actually had a lot to say! And, if I may add, I have over 300 people in my fan club now! Unbelievable! I'm pretty impressed by that in fact!
If you are interested here is a link to the myspace page for the club:
http://www.myspace.com/chinatownshanghai
and also, I'm happy to say I discovered myself on IMDB the other day, here is that link:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2160585/
And then of course, the big news, which most of you know... Norman and I got married! It is a lovely, crazy story and if anyone is interested I have the whole thing written out and would be happy to share. I've been debating a bit about making it public, since in this day and age me putting it up here means anyone anywhere can read it and it is such a personal thing... but ultimately I've (obviously) decided for it! I think I got pushed over when a guy I had given one of my new fancy cards to called and asked me on a date! I awkwardly said, "No, I'm sorry, my husband and I are very busy this week!" haha! Thank you to everyone who has given us their kind blessing! I am truly touched, even burst into tears after receiving a card today from my grandparents! Oh! And none of this Mrs. Gosney stuff please! Mrs. Amelia is as far as I can take that one and I have no plans to change my name! Married life is lovely by the way! More soon! Love always, Amelia
Ps... I posted this earlier today and just came back to edit some opinions that I decided I'm better off not publishing. Sorry, they were good, maybe in a personal email if anyone if interested, I'd be happy to share! xx
Saturday, 3 May 2008
First CHINATOWN Press!
I am also very proud to say we have gotten our first bit of press!:
"For those of you who still long for that Old Shanghai world of smoky gentlemen's clubs, white tuxedos, and glamourous showgirls, your desires may soon be fulfilled. Come late summer, New York promoters Gosney and Kallman will be bringing a touch of burlesque cabaret to the city with their inimitable line up of variety acts, chorus line dancers and big band singers. Tentatively called CHINATOWN, the team behind NYC"S Slipper Room, the Box, and the Guilty Pleasures Speakeasy promise "Nouveau Victorian meets Vegas."
-Paul Collins "THAT'S Shanghai" May 2008, on stands now!
"For those of you who still long for that Old Shanghai world of smoky gentlemen's clubs, white tuxedos, and glamourous showgirls, your desires may soon be fulfilled. Come late summer, New York promoters Gosney and Kallman will be bringing a touch of burlesque cabaret to the city with their inimitable line up of variety acts, chorus line dancers and big band singers. Tentatively called CHINATOWN, the team behind NYC"S Slipper Room, the Box, and the Guilty Pleasures Speakeasy promise "Nouveau Victorian meets Vegas."
-Paul Collins "THAT'S Shanghai" May 2008, on stands now!
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