ISpyShanghai » That’s Shanghai

That’s June 20089

Swiss James — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:10:13 +0000

Here’s my magazine article for this month. The magazine’s website, by the way, is here [That's Shanghai], although if you manage to find my bit anywhere on that, you’re better at this stuff than me.

I had an interesting experience in a Mexican restaurant this month when a guy at the next table was flicking through the magazine whilst waiting for his food. He was getting closer and closer to my page, and I was getting more and more anxious.

Just before he was about to turn onto my bit so I could see his reaction, the food turned up and he put the magazine down. It was easily the most frustrating experience of my life so far.

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That’s #2

Swiss James — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:39:15 +0000

The second monthly column is out in “That’s Shanghai” (first one is here)- pandemonium has broken out on the streets as people rush to get a copy, if you are one of those who was injured in the melee than I apologise.

Click to see it largee sizee

You’ll notice that there’s a photo of a shoe included in the column that I’ve never put online. That’s not because I’m fobbing you off with the dregs, it’s because I made a solemn oath not to have any overlap between the this site and that page.

That, however, is proving tough since I normally see something cool- take a photo, write about it within the next day or so.

Or receive an email of some shoes, sit on them for about 3 months and then soak up all the praise when I think the person who sent it in might have stopped reading. Whichever.

Instead I now have to decide whether something would look better online or printed (i.e. whether I can write 100 words about it, or stretch it to 250).

Maybe it would be better to take an approach where the column is more of a roundup / rewrite / extended Director’s cut with deleted scenes version of the blog?

Basically what I’m fishing for here is comments that say:

Swiss- I don’t care how often you recycle the same old tat.
And what’s more, I promise I won’t tell the editor of That’s Shanghai that you’re doing it. Inshallah

( The link to leave a comment is on your right).

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That’s I Spy Shanghai

Swiss James — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 04:41:07 +0000

At the risk of looking like a complete attention whore (Emma says I’m more like an ‘attention stripper’) – let me just say

LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!

This is the latest edition of That’s Shanghai- a magazine for expats in Shanghai, and is the first one to carry my new regular column.

One thing I’ve learnt writing this is that the editor of the magazine has to meet with a Communist party apparatchik in a windowless, underground room before every issue.

With a cigarette clenched tightly between thin lips, the official will read through all of the copy (that’s magazine speak for “words”) for any dodgy content. When I received a call to say that a part of the column had fallen under the censors’ red pen I was fascinated to see which bit it could be.

The section where I alledge that blind masseurs are sexual predators?
The allegation that taxi drivers in Pudong are all crooks?
The many calls to overthrow the capitalist roaders and fight for a true Marxist state?

No. It was a list of 4 cocktails that I enjoy.

One of the shots is named “The Chairman Mao“, which apparently is a bit of a taboo (!).
Instead we could either call it “The Great Veteran Chinese Revolutionary Leader Cocktail” or…

Don’t bother going into the Blue Frog and asking for a “Red Firecracker”, they’ll have no idea what you’re talking about.

(But for Marx’s sake don’t tell anyone I told you that.)

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