The “Chinatown Project” is the third and so far last personal project that I shot of objects against a white background.

At 18 I traveled the first time to Malaysia. The way of living in Germany and in the States is very similar but Asia is different. The food, the religion, the language and the way of living had almost nothing to do with my upbringing in Germany and because of that I had a tremendously exciting trip.

Most interesting to me was the food. I vividly remember the colorful markets in Malaysia with all these different fruits and vegetables many of them unknown to me. I set out to try as many different kinds of food as I could during my 10 day visit and I did. Our guide Lee was particularly excited when I took a liking in “Durian” a strongly smelling strange tasting South East Asian fruit that is in Asia considered the king of fruits but usually is shunned by Westerners.

The old excitement comes back every time I visit New York’s Chinatown. I always considered it photography heaven. As in Malaysia you can find  here all these different fruits, vegetables, poultry and seafood.

I shot 54 images and edited them down to 20 and recently uploaded them to my website. (You have to scroll down).

This is it for still life at the moment. I’m moving on to upload the photographs of musicians and the portraits that I shot in the last couple of months so stay tuned!

“Chinatown” Williamsburg/Brooklyn/”Chinatown Project”/Dried Mushrooms June 2009

Please check out my website at carstenfleck.com

感恩施加摩尼佛从兜率天曾降世为我们说正法。 感恩药师玻璃光如来的十二大愿。感恩我住在夏威夷，美国最有佛教的州。感恩我住在瓦胡岛，夏威夷群岛之最有佛教宗派的岛。感恩我住瓦胡岛北海岸，该岛之最美丽的地区。感恩我所有参加的佛教宗派，尤其是佛光山中心、唐人街的观音庙、还有（日本）哈雷一瓦净土宗传道部。

NAMO BHAGAVATE BHAISAJAYA-GURU-VAIDURYA-PRABHA-RAJAYA
TATHAGATAYA
Xing Ping

After the sudden and unexpected demise of Vancouver’s Workspace, many people sprung into action.  There was discussion at BarCamp, there was a meeting in Chinatown, there are efforts underway to expand the Network Hub or for businesses and organizations to let people use their space on an adhoc basis, all in an effort to offset the loss of Vancouver’s first and most famous coworking space.

So I thought, what about BOB?

It had always been in our plans to make available for use by others our main floor at 163 East Pender, but the brain trust was thinking along the lines of event and meeting space.  I proposed making the space also available to coworkers, many of whom were now homeless after the closure of Workspace.  After creating a drawing of our space and writing a vision document, we achieved ‘buy in’ internally and set about seeing what the costs would be.

Building Opportunities with Business (BOB) is a non-profit organization that is championing an inclusive revitalization process for the inner-city that values existing businesses and residents. BOB is a connector, a resource and a facilitator working to: strengthen the inner-city’s community capacity; identify and build on untapped business opportunities; improve employment opportunities and retention; and increase investment in Vancouver’s inner-city.

To further our mission we would like to make available to select partners, individuals, and businesses the main floor of 163 East Pender Street.  We hope that this open shared work space can contribute to the revitalization of the inner-city by providing a space for creative professionals to flourish, for ideas to peculate, to cross pollinate, for businesses to grow, a place where stuff gets done.

What we’re offering is a work surface, be it a desk, a chair, a table, a couch, or the bay window, wherever you’re most comfortable.  Of course we’ll offer wi-fi and other niceties such as an electronic white board and a projector to facilitate discussion and creative thinking. There’s a fridge for your food, a microwave, filtered water cooler, and secure storage for your bike.  The room will be decorated with ever changing art from inner-city artists and galleries plus historic Chinatown is just outside the door to provide inspiration.

Target Audience

We’re looking for creative professionals, progressive thinkers, the socially responsible and ecologically conscious who want to be surrounded by others of like mind.  Folks who want more than a cubicle and a 9 to 5 and dream of bigger things and a better Vancouver to call home.  People who want to support BOB, to see our vision become a reality.

Shared Work Environment

BOB will offer our partners a clean, safe, productive, professional environment in the heart of Chinatown, filled with kindred spirits, and empower them to make an impact.

For Individuals

Individuals, known as associates, will have their own electronic fob to come and go as they please Monday to Friday.  BOB staff will make the space available and provide support between 9 and 5. The coworking hours are 9 AM until at least 8 PM on weekdays, subject to the availability of an approved caretaker and not withstanding any exclusive event bookings.  Our intention is to provide at least eight consecutive hours of access daily.  After 5pm a caretaker will be on hand to ensure a professional and productive environment is maintained and the shared workspace is secured fully at the end of the day.  24 hour access and regular weekend hours are not being offered at this time.

For Organizations

163 East Pender is also a space to hold gatherings, meetings of ten to twenty can take place around the central table, and larger gatherings of over a hundred have also been successful.  Inquire at events@bobics.org to reserve the main floor for your next AGM or networking event.

BOB needs to use the main floor from time to time for our business development seminars, employer breakfasts, and job fairs.  Best efforts will be made to schedule these events between 8am-12pm Tuesdays and Thursdays allowing the space to be used Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings by others.  Weekend and evening events are also possible and will be examined on a case by case basis.

Enough of the marketing speak, where is this idea at?

We have desks, WiFi, and fobs so people can start working out of coworking@BOB now if they like.  We are charging a flat $200 per month, plus GST of course.  Some of the furniture and upgrades to the facilities are not completed, such as tiling in the bathroom.  Tilers in Vancouver are busy people it seems. BOB has already had many events and meetings in the space, we’ll be having our Christmas Open House there on December 16th so anyone who wants to see the space or learn more should contact coworking@bobics.org.  I also set up a special Twitter account just for letting associates know what is going on at the space and am also working on getting Divvy up and running.

Thanks for all the help of the coworking community in getting our space to this state, now all we need is some coworkers, so if you know anyone looking for a cheap but professional place to work out of, send them my way.

We're looking for some coworkers to fill these desks.

I am thankful for the fact that two of my good friends from home came all the way from other, distant East Coast locations to spend Thanksgiving break with me and each other.

I am thankful that both of them snore–it’s a comforting sound right now.

I am thankful for my roommate who puts up with their snoring.

I am thankful that my English teacher pushed back the due date for the first draft of the final paper by two days, which, if I work really hard for two days, means I have no real work to do during break at all.

I am thankful for the people who left behind some stuff to cook with in the kitchen

I am thankful for digital cameras because they allowed me to record the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I am thankful that I was raised in San Francisco and went to the high school I went to and did the programs I did because I am able to think critically about the fact that minor celebrities are placed on top of commercial parade floats (like Energizer) for a reason.

I am thankful for scholarships.

I am thankful for C.’s gentle*manliness*. Because you don’t have to be rude to be manly.

I am thankful for subway maps and Post-its because they helped me plan out visually what to do with the two visiting letters of C.A.L.

I am thankful that my mom hasn’t bothered me every day this week. No offense, mom.

I am thankful for Rachel because she is awesome and knows a lot about New York and helped me locate the Nice Green Bo restaurant because she remembered what street it was on when I didn’t. And because she was really sweet to my New-York-weirded-out friends.

I am thankful for my ability to put together a creative writing application in a day.

I am thankful for Westside Market and their rotisserie chicken that they didn’t run out of despite the fact that it’s the holidays.

I am grateful for $8.25 all-day MTA passes–now I know there’s an easier way to get back to campus when I’m too lazy to walk from 6 blocks away.

But most of all, I am thankful for life’s ability to make things work out well. If that means there’s some god or another out there taking care of it, then so be it, and if not, then I will just celebrate the greatness of life itself.

Mayi and moi gave JJ her farewell lunch here…so sad that JJ is leaving Shenton way as she found another job in the east, but of course happy that she got a better offer

Moi’s stir fry prawns omelette with rice
Egg is so fluffy and nice!!  Everyone stole bites from moi’s plate hahha can’t resist

JJ and Mayi ordered the chicken cutlet and pork cutlet bento lunch set
All so delicious!!!!

Gyoza – also very yummy!

All so full and moi skipped dinner cos still so full at dinner time!

From the same owners of Sangokushi, they opened another outlet at Far east square, next to Mr. Teh Tarik.

Same tastiness yum yum!!

天津飯 – crab meat with egg on rice…so delicious!!

Ah oi’s omu rice – she said it was very good as well

Jake “J.J.” Gittes (Jack Nicholson):  È ricco e troppo rispettabile per volere il suo nome nei giornali.

Noah Cross (John Huston): Certo che sono rispettabile. Sono vecchio. I politici, gli edifici brutti e le puttane diventano rispettabili se durano abbastanza.

C. 27  11/25/09

Yesterday, on Tuesday, November 24th, a great Jewish figure in Washington, D.C.’s recent history, passed away. Abe Pollin, who was 85 years old, was best known for bringing professional basketball and hockey to D.C. Pollin was the owner of the Washington Wizards (formerly the Bullets), the Mystics, and the Capitals.

Washington’s professional basketball and hockey teams used to play in Landover, MD at the USAir Arena, formerly the Capital Centre. Pollin was responsible for the building of the Verizon Center, formerly the MCI Center (the new home to these teams) in 1997 and the transformation of Chinatown and its surrounding neighborhoods. According to Wikipedia, “the Arena is not only a popular venue for sports and concerts, but helped to turned “Gallery Place/Chinatown” neighborhood into one of the prime sites for commercial development in Washington.”

In addition to Pollin’s involvement in DC’s sports, he also had a history of involvement in the real estate market, building his first major project, The Robert Towers near the Pentagon and named for his first son. His final project, “a 500-unit luxury [apartment] complex in Chevy Chase, was the Irene, named for his wife” (Express).

Abe Pollin will be greatly missed by his family and the Washington Jewish and sports communities. May he rest in peace.

Abe Pollin, owner of the Washington Wizards and Verizon Center and former owner of the Washington Capitals, died yesterday. Listening to local talk radio today, many people in the community are mourning his loss. (And, Michael Wilbon has an excellent remembrance of Pollin in today’s Washington Post.) Surprising, to me, their reflections did not focus on him as a person; the average fan did not know Abe Pollin as some ‘know’ Jerry Jones, for example. Rather, almost all the commentators I heard reflected on his contributions to the health of the city.

In the past year, scrutiny and criticism of businesspeople has increased in the midst of the global economic meltdown. In that context, it was surprising to hear a businessman praised precisely for being a good businessman.

Pollin brought two major professional sports teams to the Washington area, first to Landover, Maryland, and then into the city. Moving the Wizards and the Capitals into the MCI Center (now the Verizon Center) in Chinatown was especially noteworthy. For more than 30 years, that part of the city was nearly uninhabitable; most people would never think of getting off at the Chinatown Metro stop. Just 15 years ago, few people could have imagined a thriving, vibrant entertainment and shopping hub there. But Pollin imagined just that.

His vision carried the new arena from idea to groundbreaking to fruition to an anchor in a revitalized area of the city. Of the $260 million price tag for the arena, Pollin spent $200 million of his own money; the District only paid $60 million for some infrastructure improvements. Pollin needed certain things from the city to make the project work, but he did not hijack the taxpayers into shouldering the burden of it. The city has not better spent $60 million in a long time.

Of course, Pollin benefitted financially from the arena. But the city has too. Streets are far safer in Chinatown now; thriving businesses pay much more in taxes than the decrepit, limping-along businesses did. Millions of people have benefitted too, enjoying new store and restaurant options, a good downtown theatre, and sporting and other events held at a high-class arena.

These are the improvements that caused all the talk show callers to fondly remember a man they hardly knew.

I was sent a link on Facebook about this new bar that opening up in Chinatown called the Keefer bar. The link was sent to me by a Vancouver DJ who I befriended so that I keep updated on local shows and events. I checked out the website and the bar is actually a part of a new collective of local residences. Needless to say, it looks INCREDIBLE. Stylish, aesthetically pleasing, modern, and classy.

Three features that I find particularly interesting are the bar aspect of the residences called The Keefer Bar, Douglas Couplands’ artistic contribution to the building, and the glass bottomed pool!!

1. The Keefer Bar is mainly influenced by the residences’ location in Chinatown. The bar will offer Asian inspired appetizers and creative cocktails that utilizes ingredients found in the neighbourhood. I can’t wait to visit this place and get me an Asian inspired dirty martini or lychee flavoured cocktail of some sort!

2. The fact that Douglas Coupland is going to offer his artistry to the Keefer is pretty neat as well. The Vanouver-based Coupland is mainly known for his clever and quirky novels, however few know about his contribution to the art world. I’m excited to see the kinds of works that will be available for viewing.

3. GLASS BOTTOM POOL. This feature doesn’t need much explaining except that it’s a GLASS BOTTOM POOL. I wonder if it will be available to the public? Would love to take a swim in that baby.

I visited The Keefer Bar website and noticed that Radiozero has provided the site with a mixtape. We all know how I feel about Radiozero and DJs (AWESOME). Unfortunately, I need to free up my hard drive for more space before I can take a listen. I bet its just as sweet as all their other mixtapes, though. I wouldn’t expect anything less.

[EDIT: THE MIXTAPE IS FAN-EFFING-TASTIC. Lucky for me I already have the podcast, so my hard drive can be used for more useful things - like this 15 page paper I am currently supposed to be work on. Anyway, favourite track would have to be Something in Common by Free Energy, but it sounds spectacular as whole. Tyler Fedchuk, you are one cool dude.]

Article from SCOUT magazine

The Keefer Bar

The Keefer also has its own Facebook page with a photo essay and information.

Apparently it is set to open up in November 2009, but who knows. Regardless, I’m totally excited to check this place out.

Secret passageways under Chinatown, remnants of a bygone Bowery beer hall, a rooftop film studio…Author David Freeland writes of these and more in his book Automats, Taxi Dances and Vaudeville: Excavating Manhattan’s Lost Places of Leisure.  Freeland seeks to find continuity through history, using the lens of leisure activity in New York. He is more interested in what’s hidden and forgotten, the “fossils and impressions of former existences,” as he explained in a talk at Columbia GSAPP on November 19th.  Though a historian by practice, his process is more archeological than pedagogical. He says that “looking at discordant architectural and design related spots can give you clues to the history of the place.” His inherent curiosity led him to uncover the original roof of the Atlantic Garden beer hall on the Bowery, which by all accounts had been completely demolished. Looking up at the ceiling of a souvenir shop in Times Square, he noticed patterns that turned out to be the remnants of a once elaborately decorated automat (waiter free restaurants with vending machines) from the early 20th century. Most poignantly, none of the buildings he writes about are landmarked, despite the history behind them.

Here’s a look at a few locations from his book that you can check out:

Underground Passageway in Chinatown

Doyers St. 1890 (Source: Flickr user Straatis)

On numbers 5-7 Doyer Street in Chinatown, the Chinese theater once stood on this curvilinear street. Folklore says that the obtuse angle of this street contributed to gang warfare, as rival gangs could approach each other from opposite ends of the street unseen. An underground escapeway leading from the theater to Chatham Square still exists, now populated by acupuncturists, feng shui and travel agencies. Actor Ah Foon was escorted through this tunnel in 1909 one night, knowing that his days were numbered after repeatedly taunting a rival gang in performances. He made it safely to his apartment but was shot on the landing in the middle of the night.
What to See: Enter on Doyer Street, between Pell St and the Bowery, from a doorway east of the yellow Co Co Fashion sign, descend through multiple staircases and wander along hallways until a staircase leads you out onto Chatham Square. Untapped pictures of this forthcoming…

The Atlantic Garden, 50 Bowery and 20-22 Elizabeth Street (backside)

Interior of the Atlantic Garden (Source: NYPL Digital Gallery)

The largest and most famous of the Bowery beer halls, this sumptuously decorated building opened in 1858. It had its own brewery, shooting gallery, an all female orchestra, a giant mechanical music box (the orchestrian) and movie screens. The battle over a Sunday liquor license lasted over forty years, with constant raids and arrests of bartenders, waiters and the owner himself. Despite all this, the Atlantic Garden was one of the more democratic sites in 1880s New York—a place for immigrant families (predominantly German and Italian, but there were even some Asians!) to escape the swelter of the tenements.

20-22 Elizabeth St. (Source: Curbed)

The clue for Freeland: the roof shape. From there, he discovered a 19th century stone projection off the roof.

What’s Left: On Elizabeth Street, now occupied by the Jing Fong Restaurant and the Cantoon Garden Restaurant. On Bowery, a row of jewelry stores.

How to Get There: N/Q/R/W/J/M/Z/6 trains to Chinatown

Ultimately, what is Freeland’s message? The epilogue encapsulates his wide-eyed, detective-like perspective. Not a strict preservationist, he wonders how history will be passed down when the physical signs disappear:

When future New Yorkers explore their neighborhoods, what will they see? Will they be able to trace history…by finding visual cues and investigating them? New Yorkers are a curious lot…The challenge they will face in the future is that exploring history becomes more difficult once the physical markers themselves are gone.

The New York Times carries a completely redact-worthy essay by composer Glenn Branca, entitled “The End of Music?”  Apparently the only people who write music that matters live in Malibu and New York.

Fortunately I have a few retorts:

1) North Korean MCs are on the way, as discussed in my forthcoming article “North Korean Hip Hop?  Reflections on Musical Diplomacy and the DPRK” in Acta Koreana (Seoul: December 2009).

2) Interesting things are happening at the MTV Music Awards (e.g., Lady Gaga) but these in fact have already been surpassed by the north German rap group Fettes Brot (trans.: “Fat Bread”)

3) Classical music is still thundering along.  I’m the principal cellist of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra; this weekend we ripped through Hadyn Symphony #104, the Bruch Violin Concerto, and Mozart Symphony #38.  These are still gutsy pieces, especially the Mozart.  No CCP, no New China; no Mozart, no new Beethoven.

Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, Nov. 21, 2009 -- Adam Cathcart, cello, extreme right

4) There is a connection which the NYT author is missing, completely, between music performance and enjoyment of fine Chinese dining in Seattle’s “Tai Tung,” the restaurant founded in the heat of anti-Japanese resistance in 1936.  Perhaps it was a good thing I spent some time with Chairman Mao’s 1938 essay “On Protracted Warfare” before these arrived, perhaps from the cauldron of Yanan:

The likes of which I have never seen in Peking

Buried on the second floor of an unassuming little mall in Chinatown lies a bustling, no-frills dimsum resto. The rapid turnover was impressive, even at 1pm on a Sunday with a crowded waiting area, and once seated it was easy to get a cart server’s attention. Dish selection was decent, especially the fragrant lotus-wrapped sticky rice; the taro cake was a little tough and we were once served cold deep fried taro-wrapped pork.  The tab for 5 dimsum dishes was an astonishingly cheap $18, sans tip (it would have been a few bucks more had they had chive dumplings).

1111 Rue St. Urbain, Unit M05 (2nd floor) at Blvd. Rene Levesque O.

metro: Place d’Armes

Mein 1. Eintrag während ich in der Schule lerne

naja, wir haben gerade Deutsch und es ist langweilig. :/

Helena und Selma haben Probleme mit Hr Klasselehrer, wegen .. halt darum halt.

HOMO FABER !

Xiuping stinkt

long shot from the back of the gallery

close up of gallery with viewers observing art work

The exhibition has a strong focus on digital art and personal interaction through sound provided by the headphones each guest would receive. The title is: Chinatown’s Digital History to make it clear to the audience what the exhibit is about.

Today we had to take a BUNCH of pictures of our models and they turned out to look really neat! Here it is!

[ Another New York Trip ]: the end of Day 4!

By the time it was dinner, we were soaked by the rain and our poor feet were exhausted. I have been craving to go to Joe Shanghai since the first time I ate there, but since I usually visit New York alone and this is not an eat-by-yourself place, I haven’t been back since. The wait for our table was an hour long, so we just hopped across the street to Foot Heaven (and yes that’s the real name) and got some foot massages while we wait. Once we got our table at the restaurant, three orders of Shanghai dumplings warmed our empty tummies. Our day ended with those long awaited shanghai dumplings. It was so super delicious.

It's so hot that I wonder if I might morph into one of the sidewalk woks

I have a confession. What has lead me to Manila’s Chinatown isn’t entirely the food but more so the Big Binondo Food Wok tour that we’re about to embark upon. But to be more precise it’s whose steps I’m retracing. And so my fascination with the rock-star of the culinary world, aka Anthony Bourdain continues, much like his own obsession with pork products. As our delightful tour leader Ivan Man Day,who I might add has taken on celebatory status in his own right, whisks us through the markets I’m secretly thrilled at my quasi-meeting of Bourdain by one degree of separation. I try hard to not grill Ivan but I do establish that I’m not the only one gushing as he regales just how professional, intelligent and well-researched Bourdain is. Taking my idol’s lead I put aside my dreamy thoughts and focus on the food as much as one can while trying to not to melt on the spot. It’s not even worth mentioning how hot it is except to say that I begin to wonder if I might actually morph into the one of the sidewalk woks.

Check out one of Ivan’s tours at Old Manila Walks http://www.oldmanilawalks.com/index.htm

grand finale: 2009 wedding season!

lian + mark: married! chinatown – washington, dc.

last night i photographed lian + mark’s absolutely epic celebration in dc’s chinatown! from the gorgeous catholic mass to the intriguing chinese tea ceremony to the wild filipino money dance and the photo booth antics – it was amazing! one of the guest’s summed it up perfectly when he offered a hearty congrats to the newlyweds and declared “you guys know how throw a party!” it was the perfect finale to an outstanding year of love + excitement – more photos to come soon!

There are so many yummy stuff here, claypot rice and tze char to name a few.

Another yummy treat here is the steamed yam cake

This stall is mended by an old uncle and another 2 old aunties and it’s located at a little corner.

The yam cake just tastes so different from the rest of the yam cakes out there, a very unique flavor to it, very delicious.

Carrot cake was equally memorable

Toi went over to the other stall which sells economy beehoon and yam cake as well, this other stall also has quite a bit of a queue.  Toi bought beehoon and mee and soon kueh

Fried kway teow…so so only

We finished off with a bowl of chendol yum yum

The weekend before Thanskgiving break. Kinda irks me to know that there is still work that needs to be done, and this project for Dialectical Practice I’m going to need all the time I can get. I started my sketches for the intro (index page) and the first part of Chinatown. I’ll probably do two more sketches: the other side of the neighborhood and one of the residential streets. If I can have enough time to squeeze in more drawings I will. But I’ll also need to start building this project in Flash—will probably start Sunday.

As for field work, I haven’t heard back from the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. Losing precious time and will call them up Monday, hopefully get an interview Tuesday morning, before Thanksgiving break.

I’ve attached a photo from my sketchbook. This is the first half of the area. Still need to add shading.