The skyline of Shanghai seen from the Bund, as distinctive as it is, doesn't do justice to the scope of the city. (Although the nighttime view is pretty spectacular with colored strobes, flashing lights and a giant video display on the Aurora building on the right. Watch out Times Square.)

Twenty to thirty story buildings, mostly apartments and condos, go on and on.

Although life is modern in the city, one thing missing, maybe because of power concerns, is electric clothes dryers. People hang their laundry out the windows or on the porch. The Three Gorges Project should alleviate many of the city's power problems.

Many restaurant kitchens are open-air.

People seen to be always moving. Car registrations are expensive and most folks, and in some cases whole families, use motorbikes or bicycles or mopeds to get around.

These guys, parked for a smoke, are stylin' with their sunglasses and cool 'safety' helmets.

Posted by jjdaley at 9:13 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (3)

The old and the new. Lanterns hang with a backdrop of high-rise condos.

Construction is everywhere. Over 3000 high-rises have gone up in the last few years.

The explosion of building has led to a mish-mash of architecture.

Under the traditional silk robes, these girls are wearing jeans and sneakers.

Bikes are the primary means of transportation in Shanghi. Motorbikes are second.

A street scene.

People from the rural areas come into the city hoping to find a job but often end up on the streets begging.

Irene, our intrepid guide and interpreter.

A Buddha statue.

There are plenty of McDonalds, but KFC is more popular with young people in Shanghi.

A woman makes an offering outside a temple.

Three street scenes, above.

A wedding party. The lead Caddilac containing the lucky couple has flowers scotch taped to the outside of the car.

Another member of the wedding party pulls ahead to video the procession on a busy street.

China-cola.

A food stand in the old city.

Jade statue of the reclining Buddha.

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A quick post. In from the airport after 20 hours of flying, I took a walk around the neighborhood outside the hotel on the west side of Shanghi. Here are a few photos using the point and shoot.

Note: outgoing email isn't working so I'll catch-up using webmail later on.

Posted by jjdaley at 9:58 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (2)

Off to China for a couple of weeks. Blogging will be dependent upon finding internet access. Wendy Chao, who recently returned from a trip there, tells me that connections are spotty, at best. (She also graciously filled me in on the public bathroom olfactory situation and even helped out with a few face-masks, which, she notes, are strongly advised.)

Starting out in Shanghai, then hop-scotching around the country, ending up in Beijing.

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I'm really a hack at the grill, so this short article, Everything You Thought You Knew About Grilling Is Wrong was helpful.

Posted by jjdaley at 10:06 AM | Permalink

Fill a fluorescent tube with gasoline, light it, and you have a light saber, just like Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Before the explosion, that is.

Posted by jjdaley at 9:58 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (2)

I missed linking to this on Sunday. It's an amazing story of coincidence and fate.

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Some good news from Georgia where those "Evolution is a theory, not a fact" stickers have been taken out of the textbooks.

Posted by jjdaley at 9:44 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (6)

Alex Beam goes to bat for Nick Ciarelli, the owner of Think Secret, the Apple rumor site being sued for disclosing trade secrets. But Beam makes the typical mistake of comparing Cirelli, who spilt the beans on the details of Apple product releases, to the likes of Woodward and Bernstien.

I think it's a mistake for Apple to sue Ciarelli, but let's not go overboard.

Is it too obvious to point out to Beam that there's a substantive difference between the Government withholding records of wrongdoing and Apple withholding information on it's product designs? This isn't the Pentagon Papers.

Posted by jjdaley at 9:24 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (4)

During an meeting between Globe editorial writers and John Kerry, it sounds like Joan Vennochi put Kerry on the spot.

Last January while on Meet the Press, Kerry told Tim Russett that he would sign the form to release his military records. Vennochi asked him yesterday what happened to that promise.

It just so happens, says Kerry, that the form was signed just a couple of days ago, but he hadn't yet sent it in to the DOD, pending a review of his staff. To her credit, it doesn't sound like Vennochi bought it.

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Blogging in one language and thinking in another? I don't think I could pull that off. This guy seems to have it down.

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In the WaPost, Howard Kurtz writes about the fallout from the Newsweek Koran story. There's something in Time on the subject, a piece by Carole Simpson at ABC and numerous articles by others.

There's nothing really new in the recapitulation. It was a screw-up, not much argument there. Why it was run and how much damage it all does to the reputation of the MSM remains in the eye of the beholder.

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Although it seems to be pretty pervasive, not everywhere has broadband internet access yet. Many of the places that don't aren't way out in the wilderness, either. And getting connected sometimes means taking matters into your own hands.

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Time Magazine has a list of its Top 100 Movies of All Time. No Battleship Potemkin in sight, nor even a Shrek.

Posted by jjdaley at 8:24 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (8)

Forget resolutions on global warming and international trade. This is how City Councillors should earn their money. Jumping jacks on City Hall Plaza and a doughnut-free zone in the cafeteria? Who could be against that.

Posted by jjdaley at 8:05 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (2)

This is why I love Wikipedia. Trying to sort out the best all time movies has never been this easy.

So does Battleship Potemkin win out over Shrek 2?

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Talk about an upgrade.

Posted by jjdaley at 7:34 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (2)

Michael Feldman has some thoughts on what's behind Bob Lobel's on-air behavior. (He also has the comic strip that got all this started.)

Having run into Bob making his way out of Fenway on several occasions, I have some opinions of my own (which I'll keep to myself to avoid getting sued.)

All this doesn't make him a bad guy. But the price of celebrity is public scrutiny, especially when things aren't going so well. Good luck to Lobel. I hope things work out.

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Despite the cold and the rain, Summer must be here because the giant inflatable padlock went up today.

Also, a traffic island flower salesman looks out for Saturday afternoon customers as the rain falls.

Posted by jjdaley at 9:23 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (4)

A 1975 four-door Escort, 60,000 miles, decent shape, driven on Sundays by a little old priest from Krakow -only $5 Million.

A businessman from Illinois is selling a car owned by Pope John Paul II at auction in Las Vegas.

(Hat tip to Carpundit who because of technical difficulties wasn't able to post about this himself.)

Posted by jjdaley at 12:30 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (3)

A lot of people use the bare-bones Google page as their home-page. A new beta feature will let them customize it with news and weather, mail, etc. The Google News page is a better bet for now, with more customization options.

Posted by jjdaley at 12:17 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (3)

That's how long low budget filmmakers had to write and produce a compelling short movie. It's the opposite of the Heaven's Gate approach which was to spend a fortune and take forever to make a long un-watchable movie.

Posted by jjdaley at 12:08 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (3)

Moving the Cape Wind Farm to Otis is an interesting idea, outlined in an op-ed by Paul Schneider. If the costs and wind strength are comparable, why not? The ascetics crowd would be happy with their pristine big-money views preserved and the alternative energy people would still get their turbines turned.

Posted by jjdaley at 12:00 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)

For me it's not really about who's torture is worse or even more explainable. Torture, despite Alan Dershowitz's arguments, is torture and should be condemned -no matter what the justification. The argument is really about American media coverage of atrocities. Which torture, ours or theirs, is more news-worthy?

Is what the Times covered yesterday more important than what's happening to other hostages and other prisoners only because Americans are the perpetrators? Granted, the Times is an American paper and this is an American story. But that raises the question of what it means to be an American paper covering the world in a time of war.

Al Jazeera, who routinely report and display hostages and beheadings for their propaganda value seem to get all this. Despite their history of airing beheading videos, they refused to show photos of Saddam in his underwear, according to the Globe, for "professional and moral reasons."

I don't think the Times should have sat on the torture story (although I do think Newsweek didn't have enough of a story to run with) but it's also important that we don't fall into the trap of seeing atrocities committed by others as 'dog bites man' and those committed by us 'man bites dog.'

Posted by jjdaley at 11:45 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (2)

If getting to the Apple store for a chat with a Genius takes you out or your way, it may be good news that there are several new sites planned for eastern Mass: Burlington, Braintree and Hingham.

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It's an interesting finding: words can influence how we perceive smells. Roto-Rooter may be due for a name change.

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This is what happens when you make theater employees work all night.

Posted by jjdaley at 7:19 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (2)

The WaPost has details on the Paris Hilton phone hack and how it may be part of a bigger wave of intrusions, including the Lexis break-in.

Posted by jjdaley at 7:12 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (2)

Tom Friedman makes the point that even though Newsweek screwed up, the bigger crime was the killing of Muslims by Muslims in the rioting.

In the same issue, the Times exposes brutal treatment of prisoners held in American custody. Is that worse than this only because we're better than them. That seems to be the implication, although I don't buy it.

We should endeavor to be as decent as the circumstances allow, and punish gratuitous cruelty by our own. But the energy we expend in hand-wringing would be better spent in condemning the everyday over-the-top brutality of the people we're up against.

(BTW, here's an image of The Sun's front page, showing Saddam in his underwear. Imagine having to endure seeing this on every newsstand on the way to work, as folks in Britain are doing today.)

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Home prices in Massachusetts are too high relative to income and, according to a report, are expected to fall as a result.

Home prices have been too high for some time now, and although I'm no economist, I'd say that until supply increases dramatically and demand drops, I wouldn't hold my breath on lower prices.

Posted by jjdaley at 6:37 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (18)

Looking for a cheaper alternative to high priced diesel fuel? At $2.95 a gallon, environment-friendly biodiesel isn't it.

Posted by jjdaley at 7:43 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (7)

Neo-Nazis and spammers have something in common. (One of those worm-generated Nazi spam messages was spotted locally yesterday. It was in German, which fortunately, defeats the purpose of spamming the US.)

Posted by jjdaley at 7:30 AM | Permalink

It seems that it wasn't aliens or satanists after-all. The cow mutilation cases from the 70s and 80s in the Southwest look to one seasoned investigator like the work of ...Researchers.

It's very sensitive. He can't say more, so the mystery continues.

Posted by jjdaley at 7:16 AM | Permalink

If you've ever tried to build page elements from scratch using CSS you know how confusing the hierarchy can be. (Well, maybe not everyone who tried it was confused, but I certainly was.)

Something like this would have been useful.

Posted by jjdaley at 7:07 AM | Permalink

So the facts were wrong. At least 17 people died as a result and US national security interestes and our international relations have been damaged.

The publisher regrets the story and admits it shouldn't have been published and it's now been retracted.

So how do we square all that with this statement by Mark Whitaker, Newsweek's editor:

"Everybody behaved professionally and by the book in this case." Mr. Whitaker said no disciplinary action was being taken against the reporters because they did everything they should have done. "Grounds for discipline would be unethical behavior, fabrication, sloppy reporting or unwillingness to acknowledge the severity of the problem, and none of those things happened in this case."

Is he suggesting that judgement is not a required element of "by the book" journalism? So what DO you have to do to get in trouble over at Newsweek?

Posted by jjdaley at 6:33 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (2)

Instapundit on the Newsweek Koran story:

These guys don't understand the difference between covering a minor domestic "gotcha" story and national security matters. To them, there isn't a difference. If they're that clueless, it's no surprise that they don't know how to respond when they're caught.

He has links to lots of other blog coverage and comment on the issue.

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I remember when fiction was for men. Now, navigating through Borders is an exercise in avoiding the chick-lit. This will be helpful in deciphering the covers, at least.

Posted by jjdaley at 8:38 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)

I'm a big fan of Google Maps and of the fact that it's open to XML hacks. Wired has a story on a few implementations. One of my favorites, not mentioned in the story, is myGmaps, which allows you to build and annotate custom Google maps.

Posted by jjdaley at 8:30 AM | Permalink

Although the title of the new magazine targeting middle-class Latinos in Los Angles is in Spanish, Tu Ciudad (Your City) will be published in English only. It's a way for second and third generation Latinos who "live their lives in English" to continue to maintain a shared heritage. And, it's a way for advertisers to tap into that flourishing demographic.

Posted by jjdaley at 8:21 AM | Permalink

Big social issues are usually much more complex than a two page news story can detail. That said, this is, on the surface, an interesting look at how class informs health decisions.

But I don't buy the implied idea that smoking and poor eating habits are not about willpower, personal discipline, deferred pleasure, the ability to plan for the future, or just plain common sense, but instead are about being educated or informed. Or that some people can't afford to eat healthy food.

The author throws the admittedly elusive word "class" around quite a bit, but what exactly is it? Income, education, IQ, old money, new money, race, culture, common sense?

It all blurs together into class, sure, but in the end it comes down to individuals and decisions. Including one individual who decided to spend hundreds of dollars on sushi at lunch. And that's one of those supposedly smart, high-class types. He could have saved a few bucks and tried the sushi at Star Market like us lower class folk do.

Posted by jjdaley at 7:59 AM | Permalink

The best Star Wars ever? At least one reviewer thinks so.

Posted by jjdaley at 7:34 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (4)

When it comes to ethics, it looks like fifth graders have a clearer view than some business executives. And, for that matter, members of Congress.

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I was fooling around with the site templates and without thinking, overwrote, saved and rebuilt (I know, I know) -ending up with gibberish.

Luckily I found an old saved copy of my MT templates and restored the page, albeit to an old version. I lost quite a few links, and if your site is one, I apologize and promise to try to get things fixed soon.

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Data here, data there. The key to integration seems to be finding a way to use metadata.

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The pay phone isn't dead yet, at least not in South Station. But cell phone use continues to grow, to the detriment of both pay phones and home land-lines. One big loser on the decline of the latter is the polling industry.

Oh, and one downside from too much use of cellphones: old age.

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Norman Porter, with absolutely nothing to lose, wants to take a lie detector test. Taking it and passing it gets him out of jail presumably. Failing it leaves him where he is. How can he go wrong, especially since lie detectors are generally considered more akin to a crap shoot than a scientific process.

He admits that he committed the robbery that left one person dead and another with a non-fatal gunshot wound. He earlier admitted that he fired the fatal shot. Now he implies that he merely fired the non-fatal shot. And, to boot, he escaped from prison avoiding the jail time he was mandated by law to serve. His accomplice died in prison.

So forgive me if I don't find the ever-calculating Porter to be a sympathetic character.

Posted by jjdaley at 2:53 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (3)

Newsweek is backtracking on the Koran in the toilet story which sparked riots in several countries leading to scores of deaths and the destabilization of the Afghan government.

"We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst," Editor Mark Whitaker wrote in the magazine's latest issue, due to appear on U.S. newsstands on Monday.

A contrite "oops" may not cut the mustard on this one.

Posted by jjdaley at 2:31 PM | Permalink

Steven Johnson calls watching a DVD of a TV show's entire season in just a few sittings, "extreme time-shifting." He thinks it brings out otherwise hidden complexities in the writing and plot.

I've tried it and in the case of The Wire, The Sopranos, or even Curb Your Enthusiasm, I would have to agree. But in something like 24 (I tried to watch an entire season in two 12 hour sittings. Zzzzzzz.) it only underscored the ridiculousness of the plot.

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Bored, stuck in traffic on a trip down Rt. 3 last night I took these random shots out the driver's window.

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