My woman wouldn’t let me leave Shanghai.
Just kidding that’s not us in the video, and I didn’t miss my plane, but I am extending my stay in Shanghai. Not like I have a job to get back to. Not really anyway. If anyone needs a professional stalker, let me know.
Still in Shanghai. I watched a couple movies in theaters recently. I mention “in theaters” because here in China, any movie playing in theaters can be bought on DVD, sometimes even legally. Unlike theaters in the U.S., movies can have different prices. If I remember right, they range from about 30 RMB to 90 RMB (about $4 to $12 USD). It depends on the time of day, how long the movie has been out, and the movie’s popularity. Oh and I find the seats way more comfortable than the ones at the theaters back home (California).
The Warlords / 投名状
Wow this was one crappy movie. Takeshi Kaneshiro can model but he shouldn’t act. You can take any of his scenes from this movie and turn it into a facial cleanser commercial. The battles were boring and looked fake, and the musical score was a ripoff of Pirates of the Caribbean.
The Assembly / 集结号
Pretty good. This movie is about a soldier who fought for the Chinese Communists against the Nationalists, and later the Americans in Korea, but it refrained from portraying any side as good or bad. It’s simply one guy trying to get his deceased brethren the recognition they deserve. The battle scenes were first rate, like Saving Private Ryan, Flags of Our Fathers, etc.
That’s all for now.
I had a blog called Advice for Noob Photographers where I kept telling people not to become professional photographers, but I don’t update it anymore. It was too depressing. I’ll copy some articles over to this blog sometime.
For better advice about becoming a pro photographer, head over to Ken Rockwell’s website. He recently wrote an article titled How to Afford Anything, which of course caught my attention because I can’t afford nothing (except right now because I’m in China, where I can afford noodles). The article is geared toward photographers, as is the rest of his site. After reading the article, I felt a lot better about never buying flowers for my woman.
As you may or may not know, I’m currently in Shanghai. Partly why I haven’t been updating this blog is that I’m enjoying my time away from the computer. Another reason is I can’t concentrate. I’m staying with my woman and I’m sorry but when I’m writing, I need my surrounding to be quiet! Or at least void of words. Or, at the very least, void of words directed at me.
But the main reason is I’m not sure why I should update it. It’s not that there’s nothing to write about. I’m on the other side of the world, and there’s a lot I can share, but why? What exactly does keeping this blog updated do for me aside from chew up time? When Lisa asked me why I update it, the best answer I could come up with was that I’ve been doing this for about 10 years.
Still in Shanghai. Lisa and I went to a Laochengxiang (老城厢) area the other day. I took a bunch of random photos. Enjoy.
Check this out. Lambency Flash Diffuser for 75% less than Gary Fong’s Lightsphere. Of course if it’s a knockoff of the Lightsphere, you should respect Mr Fong for inventing it and not get it, just like the Adobe Photoshop Actions he invented. Don’t even think about making a similar diffuser on your own or millionaire Gary Fong [will sue] [and ruin] [your life].
By the way, be sure to check out Fong’s most awesome invention: laptop feet! Only $9.95! Don’t get the $1 stuff available at the local hardware store.
(Photo: dealextreme.com)
I said no more shooting weddings for me, but I’d gladly make an exception for some of these.
