the text and images below are posted from beijing, berlin, buenos aires, hong kong, los angeles, new york, sado island, shanghai, tokyo and zürich. there are a few of us, and this is the space in between.

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theworldas.jpg
2 min ago: O is not very optimistic at the moment. 2 hours ago: M is Phewwww…. 8 hours ago: A is at home. 14 hours ago: N is spending the weekend at the most beautiful capital of the world. 16 hours ago: A is designing a city. 19 hours ago: E is in Athens!!! on Thursday: M is exploring Murphy’s law for infants. on Thursday: J is o danny boy, the pipes the pipes are blowing. T is at a party. on Wednesday: V is pissed off that he has to work on Sunday.. Y is Londoning. S is going to Prague for a long weekend… M is happy waiting for s and l! I is drrrrrrrrrrrr. on Tuesday: Y is at home. A is depressed because she is getting sick. I is running out of time. on Monday: M is just tired. N is worried. E is staying up too late, as usual. last Sunday: K is trying not to punch her tv everytime the little man speaks. C is currently one track-minded. last Friday: A is at work. J is saving the world. Maybe. last Thursday: M is ready for take off. A is clueless once more….*sigh*… life! last Wednesday: A is looking forward to go to the swimming pool. last Tuesday: D is the luckiest man in the world! last Monday N is needing a curtain. I is tired…

Posted by f | reply »


dreaming city

morning: bicycle repairing. stationery store. hutong. window maker. xian restaurant. telephone service. liquor & cigarettes. pirated software store. beauty salon. adult toy store. henan restaurant. hutong. telephone service. beauty salon. hangzhou restaurant. beauty salon. dongbei restaurant. beauty salon. drycleaners. grocery store. chengdu restaurant. beauty salon. mahjong & tea. hostel. lottery. adult toy store. mini market. liquor & cigarettes. beauty salon. hostel. night: hostel. beauty salon. liquor & cigarettes. mini market. adult toy store. lottery. hostel. mahjong & tea. beauty salon. chengdu restaurant. grocery store. drycleaners. beauty salon. dongbei restaurant. beauty salon. hangzhou restaurant. beauty salon. telephone service. hutong. henan restaurant. adult toy store. beauty salon. pirated software store. liquor & cigarettes. telephone service. xian restaurant. window maker. hutong. stationery store. bicycle repairing.dreaming city i walk through the street twice every day, east to west in the morning, west to east in the night, from one side to another, from an urban area to another. in between is a street that, according to some people, will eventually be replaced by modern buildings. but this temporary street is obviously burgeoning. it hosts migrants coming from the whole country, who mix mandarin with dialects, who, as depicted in a documentary by an unknown underground filmmaker some years ago, are allured by the two chinese words of bei jing, and came here with a belief that their capital is always big enough for them. they are — the young couple, having no kid but an ugly dog, which never bathes, selling stationeries to high school students from across the street; also a young couple, making windows for people living in the highrises across the street, sleeping on a visible bed, cooking in the street, mother breastfeeding months old baby in the street; a middle-aged woman, brushing teeth in the street, washing face in public, feeding a one-leg chicken; construction workers, calling home thousands of miles away, walking across the street, resting outside the two-storey building temporarily set on construction sites, eating mantou as regular meals while a hungry abandoned dog staring at them. this temporary neighborhood is only hundreds of meters but looks like having everything they need for a life. although there are no heating and there will soon be snowing, there are the telephones to call home, mahjong to kill time, restaurants to taste hometown cuisine, adult toys to, you know. and it’s all worth it because here is their dreaming city.

Posted by haxi | more »


online habit: bookmarks

two kinds of people in terms of using the function of “bookmark this page.” type one: claiming he remembers all daily-read domains (e.g. yahoo.com, gmail.com, flickr.com, friendster.com) so these pages aren’t in bookmarks. rather, “bookmark this page” is used literally. when he is doing some research, and when he comes across some interesting research, he bookmarks it for later review. the links in his bookmarks aren’t checked daily, and may never be checked again. type two: claiming being organized helps better surf the web. she only bookmarks pages that she assumes she will check back tomorrow. she uses “manage bookmarks” every week, deleting, renaming. yahoo.com comes the first in her “mail” folder under the “bookmarks” folder; gmail.com is the second. flickr.com is the first in “tech nerd.” she feels online surfing has been restricted, because other than the bookmarked pages, she doesn’t know anything else.

* * *

— outlook

  • theguyoverthere
  • donews
  • bloglines
  • 弦在烧
  • let me prh
  • 47大街工厂
  • the way i am
  • 世界就在我脚下
  • no
  • 西藏文化网
  • fanfusuzi
  • — tech nerd

  • flickr
  • mosh
  • bababian
  • douban
  • myspace
  • craigslist
  • — mail

  • yahoo
  • gmail
  • — forums

  • smth
  • liumeng
  • talk china
  • — reading

  • 中越战争备忘录
  • books sina
  • village voice
  • the onion
  • popmatters
  • — languages

    —— english

  • englishbaby!
  • npr
  • this american life
  • crazy for friends
  • ———— writing

  • prompts for blog entries
  • writing.com
  • restaurant reviews
  • —— tibetan

  • fodian
  • —— chinese

  • 宋词赏析
  • —— nihongo

  • coscom
  • reading material
  • goo dictionary
  • reading tutor
  • nhk
  • —— others

  • mylanguageexchange
  • shanghaihua
  • — music

  • npr all songs considered
  • cd reviews
  • pandora
  • — movies

  • verycd
  • — projectsnow

  • lifeality login
  • mit opencourseware
  • mit writing
  • — temp

  • blogshares
  • allinhere
  • wikipedia
  • fingerboarding
  • anonymouse.org
  • recycle band
  • Posted by haxi | more »


    three routes leading to three different sites of Tender, each on a river

    To the West, the route to “Tender on Gratitude” (Reconnaissance) passes through Kindness, Little Attentions, Assiduity, Willingness, Great Services, Sensibility, Tenderness, Obedience, Constant Friendship; losing one’s way might mean falling into Negligence, Inequality, Coolness, Lightness, and Forgetfulness, only to find oneself confronted by placid Lake Indifference. To the East, the way to “Tender on Esteem” means surviving Great Effort, Galant Letter, Love Letter, Sincerity, Big Heartedness, Probity, Generosity, Exactitude, Respect, and Benevolence; failure leads through Pride, Indiscretion, Perfidiousness, Slandermongering, and Maliciousness before arriving at the stormy Sea of Emnity. Finally, the direct route to “Tender on Inclination” passes through the town to the Dangerous Sea; beyond lies the unmappable Unknown Lands.

    pays de tendre [Anthony Vidler in “Terres Inconnues: Cartographies of a Landspace to be Invented,” reading Francois Chauveau’s Carte du pays de Tendre (1654)]

    Posted by f | more »


    京都を知るということ: a project document, getting to know your city, we walk in circles every day

    このプロジェクトは、「passing通用すること」−周囲の人に気づかれないように特定の場所に入り込もうとすること、失敗すると解っていな がらも京都 の日常生活に忍び込もうとすること‐の問いかけとして開始されました。しかし、「言語」、そして「出自」に対する問いかけは、よりいっそうアイデンティ ティ意識を高めることになり、そして「passing」は「passing back and forthやりとりをすること」といった意味でより私の関心をひくようになりました。言語や意味の交換は、私にとって人やもの、場所の間の距離をたどる ための手段となったのです。どこへ行こうとも−アーバン・プランナー、旅行者、あるいは地元住民、どのような者としてであれ−、私たちは自 身を取り巻く環境と関係を取り結ぼうとする 生来の、そして本能的なマッピング・プロセスを持っています。しかし、地図が私たちにもたらす最大の錯覚とは、土地は整然とした図面や格子で表現され、川 は図式化された形として表現されているにも関わらず、そこに信頼性や具体的な客観性があると思わせてしまうことです。実際、都市の表象としての地図は、空 間に固定された地点の軌跡であるが故に「物語」の多様性を示しているともいえるのです。したがって、京都を学ぶことは、実際の変数を知るというより、同時 に起こる「活動の結果」について知ることになるのです。同じ意味において、アイデンティティは行為に基礎を置いています。ミシェル・ド・セ ルトーは「何かをしようとする意志(un vouloir-faire)」によって人間を評価します。そしてその意志は私たちが、普段繊細なメタ・コミュニケーションの中でバランスをとっている現 実と願望、ありのままのものと加工されたもの、伝えられたものと受け取られたものの間にあるギャップにあると私は考えます。そこでは、かつて確実性を持っ てとらえられていた時間と場所はもはや確実性を失うのです。‐そして、私たちは日々円を描いているのです。This project began as a question of ‘passing’, of trying to insert oneself into the situation invisibly, of slipping into the daily life of Kyoto in a premeditated failure of assimilation. But very quickly, language and the question of nativity led to a much more relational sense of identification, and ‘passing’ became much more interesting in the sense of ‘passing back and forth’. Language and the exchange of meaning became the tools with which to trace the distances between person, object and place.Wherever we go, whether as tourist, native resident or urban planner, there is an inherent and instinctive mapping process with which we engage our surroundings. But the greatest illusion of the map, however, is its misleading sense of authority, of concrete objectivity in the face of a neatly laid out plan, a grid or a logically designed river. In fact, the map, as an image of the city, is a multiplicity of narratives inasmuch as it is a trajectory of points fixed in space. To learn about Kyoto becomes less about a real mapped variable than a simultaneous ‘result of activities’.In the same sense, identity becomes based upon production. de Certeau measures being by “un vouloir-faire”, or will to do, and it is within these gaps between reality and aspiration, natural and fabricated or transmitted and received that we find the rhythms of a delicate meta-communication. The former rooted-ness of time and place are no longer valid. We walk in circles everyday.

    Posted by 丫 | reply »


    and then i realized, i only have four…

    inside3.jpg from top left: bedroom closet drawer, shoe cabinet drawer, bedside table top drawer, bedside table bottom drawer. more stuff. (i forgot the fridge drawer, it’s empty, i never use it).

    Posted by a | more »


    before lunch, february 7, five months, twenty minutes

    kyoto_sky.jpg

    today’s lesson (best with headphones): wake up, turn off the alarm clock, turn over in bed, get up, get out of bed, turn on the heater, go to the toilet, flush the toilet, wash your hands, dry your hands, open the window, wake up my husband, turn on the tv, make the bed, brush my teeth, rinse out my mouth, gargle, shave, wash my face, dry my face, take off my pyjamas, put on my shirt, dress my child, comb my hair, boil water, go get the newspaper, read the newspaper, make my lunch, grind the coffee beans, make coffee, get the milk out of the fridge, drink the milk, put on some lotion, put on makeup, put on my tie, see my husband off, feed the dog, water the plants, lock the doors, turn off the light, put on my shoes, close the door, take out the trash, cross at the crosswalk, wait for the light to change, cross against the light, show my train pass at the ticket wicket, climb up the stairs in the station, wait for the train, get on the train, by a newspaper at the newstand, doze off on the train, hang on the strap, bump into someone, get pushed by someone, step on someone’s foot, change trains, run onto the train, go out of the ticket wicket, get on the elevator, push the elevator button, punch my time card, take my seat, light a cigarette, smoke, put out my cigarette, look for some documents, go through the documents, make a phone call, answer a phone call, take a note, hang up the phone, give someone a message, input text into the word processor, work with the calculator, hand in the documents, organize my material, make copies, send a fax, attend a meeting, speak at the meeting, take notes at the meeting, open my drawer, open a letter, write a letter and send it, meet a client, exchange business cards, go out for lunch, pay the bill, receive the change, get a receipt, write up an invoice, clear the table, wash the dishes, dry the dishes, do laundry, put the laundry in the dryer, iron the clothes, vacuum the floor, tidy up the room, mop the floor, clean the yard, mow the lawn, watch a tv drama, take a nap, look for the discount store in the flyer, go shopping, gossip with the next-door neighbour, go pick up the kids, meet my friend at a café, stand and read in the bookstore, wait in line at the cashier, rent a video, catch a taxi, walk home, unlock the door, turn on the lights, take off my tie, hang my coat, take off my makeup, take a shower, take a bath, shampoo my hair, put conditioner on my hair, wash myself, dry myself, dry my hair, open a beer, play with the kids, tell the kids a fairytale, put the kids to bed, set the alarm clock for 7 o’clock, get into bed, go fishing by boat, go for a picnic, go cycling, go for a drive, get gas, fill up the tank, check the route on the map, look out of the window, take a rest, get lost, jump in the lake, read a book under a tree, take pictures of the kids, prepare a barbecue, carve a pumpkin, light candles, give treats to the kids, wear a witch costume, watch a horror film, have a nightmare.

    Posted by 丫 | more »


    中国一年回顾 . china year in review

    . flora mobile. 2005/05/03, 20:48:50, Dashanzi.

    Am coming back home .is a really good art . Talk to u tomorrow.

    . flora mobile. 2005/05/03, 20:56:45, Dashanzi.

    What pity SHRIT! You tell me please tomorrow .No drink.

    . alison mobile. 2005/05/05, 22:35:27, home, Chaonei beixiaojie.

    Girl u already got your hands full with some masterful creations! I just help where i can on the small things! C u sat

    . john. 2005/05/08, 14:46:40, home, Chaonei beixiaojie.

    Fuck u cunt

    . alison mobile. 2005/05/18, 16:02:32, home, Chaonei beixiaojie.

    The travel agents number is 8406 5828 i forget her name but its an older woman tell her u are Fang1 Mei3 Ang2 friend

    . kai xuan. 2005/06/07, 22:04:16, Bellagio, Chaoyang area.

    哈哈!好啊,我请客啊,你来美院有事吗?DO YOU UNDERSTAND MY CHINESE?

    . +8613810986673. 2005/09/08, 22:29:33, home, 慧新北里.

    何颖雅?哈哈。接到你的信息我马上就想到你那副可爱的样子,讲中国话讲不好,很逗的样子!你好吗?希望能有机会再见到你啊!

    . chango. 2005/09/18, 03:47:47, 旧鼓楼大街.

    Chicken and the egg.

    . 大壮. 2005/09/21, 18:38:50, subway line 1, almost to fuxingmen.

    小何,我明天有事请,我就不能和你门去了,咱们改日细聊.

    . 王颖. 2005/09/22, 20:45:34, bus 5, north of 景山公园.

    一定不要礼拜日,我家上不了望。你跟他商量吧!

    . chango. 2005/10/06, 00:28:25, home, 慧新北里

    Oh your voice is addictive! Been listening to your recordings. They are meditative.

    . anouchka mobi. 2005/10/18, 18:50:55, work, 八宝山.

    finally. strings of light floating in the sky. maybe because i like being part of something that is dying. an abrupt stop. the grandest square in the world.

    . 雅良. 2005/10/18, 00:25:22, anouchka’s house, 豆瓣胡同.

    那个山找到了,我们可以去找,在北京石景山区的妙峰山

    . anouchka mobi. 2005/10/23, 13:23:58, walking somewhere, was it 朝内北小街 or 和平离?

    practika, which yolk to choose and how to get to the sea… a vision of everyone in my subway carriage simultaneously starting to cry one tear at a time…

    . 姬娜. 2005/10/27, 13:03:31, 915 bus, near 东直门.

    好呀 真高兴有你的消息 明天若有空 来家里 咱聚聚

    . 石头. 2005/11/05, 20:12:23, 南锣鼓巷, 这里cafe.

    不过我房间特别乱 你们不要嫌?啊

    . 王静. 2005/11/07, 14:24:15, work, 八宝山.

    我觉得还是小孩好,开开心心的活着,即便有了烦恼,第二天也会忘记

    . anouchka mobi. 2005/11/12, 19:01:31,通州, walking with 崔凯旋.

    she was so happy with her mother’s ass couldn’t stop laughing and looked at the moon

    . fan yue. 2005/11/19, 18:14:16, 新射界construction yard.

    不用谢,我会去的!以后有要帮忙的就给我打点话

    . 谢婷婷. 2005/12/08, 09:58:40, number 2 bus, passing 天安门.

    小资从来不穿深色的袜子 哈哈你有去门了?

    . 10601083441256. 2005/12/08, 17:17:31, work, BCIS, 百子湾南2路77号.

    Hi:-)是Sally,义卖还好么?希望一切都好…对不起,颖雅,我没有帮到你什么…无论在个一买的结果怎样,你都尽心了,对 么?

    . richard. 2005/12/18, 21:01:06, 愚公移山.

    Some routines yes but it wasn’t my choice! I am labelled! I am boring!

    . 利youling. 2005/12/24, 21:22:08, supermarket, basement of Kenzo building, 东直门.

    恩!每天开心!

    Posted by 丫 | reply »