MILD SAUCE!!

Yesterday afternoon I was chatting with my friend Mike about random stuff, and we got onto the topic of game show bloopers.  So this morning, as I was eating breakfast, I was searching YouTube for some clips, and I stumbled upon this gem - it's not a blooper, but perhaps the greatest Wheel Of Fortune contestant of all time.  His name is Raymond, and well, just watch..

Season's Greetings!

MQI Burger?

A blatant knock-off of one of my most beloved Japanese burger joints - Mos Burger.  Is nothing sacred?..

Salt

I recently bought this bear from my friend's shop in Shanghai. She hand makes these amazing stuffed toys, as well as bags, t-shirts, and other cool little items with great character illustrations on them.

If you need any last minute Christmas gift ideas, stop by her store, called Salt, at:

Unit #14, 36 Yongjia Road (Near South Shanxi Road)

or check out their online shop at:

www.neocha.com/salt

Happy Festivus

I'm not sure if there was some festival or celebration going on that day, but there seemed to be a lot of balloons being sold.  The burst of colours was a nice contrast to the otherwise pretty grey surroundings.

Galaga Anyone?

This has got to be the oldest of old skool arcades.  Brings back memories of playing video games at the local corner store.

What's In A Name

Forget those other businesses that attempt to describe themselves in their names, like "Great Seafood Restaurant" or "Good Hot Pot".  This one takes the prize for ballsy self-proclaiming statements.

Ear Wear

It's getting pretty chilly here in China, especially when that wind kicks up.  And people use a lot of different ways to keep warm, but this is the first time I've ever seen anyone rock ear muffs as awesome as these:

Actually, you can't even really call them "muffs".  They are more like ear "socks", and unfortunately, what you can't see from here is that they are connected by an elastic chin strap.

Open To The Public

No, this guy is not ducking behind a low wall, playing hide-and-seek with his best friend.  He is taking a dump in the "stall" beside me at a shopping mall in Hubei.

Below is my urinal/toilet, and you can see the remnants of my neighbour's hard work that just skidded past as he "flushed".

Well, you kind of have to admit, it's not a bad design - I mean, such a simple solution - just one trough.  My only question is: If you're that guy, why in the world wouldn't you go down to the LAST stall, so that everyone doesn't have to see your goods floating down the line??..

Laundry Day

Ah, what a nice crisp winter day!  Perfect for hanging out my laundry and my meat to dry.

I found this on my trip this past weekend to Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province in Central China.

Graf Script

I really like this fluid style of graf.

Beer Testing - Round 5

The next to go up against Harbin Beer is Asahi Draft.

Defending Champ

Name: Harbin Beer

Origin: Harbin, China

Alcohol: 3.6%

Price: USD0.40/can USD0.11/100mL

Challenger

Name: Asahi Draft

Origin: Beijing, China

Alcohol: 3.6%

Price: USD0.41/can USD0.12/100mL

Tasting notes:

Imagine taking half a can of beer, and adding half a can of water. That's basically what Asahi Draft tasted like. I gave it a 3.5/10. Mike was more generous with a 4.5/10. Final score: 4/10.

With a score of 5.5/10, Harbin Beer wins again!

Good Head

Wall Paper

This reminds me of writing on lined paper in school..

Fuzzy Airplane

Yes, it's blurry, and I can't remember why exactly I wanted to take a picture of this, but in the end, there's something about the combination of the sharp contrasting red and the soft black that I really like..

Heart Surfer

An odd, yet interesting stencil I found on my recent trip to San Francisco.  To me, it looks like a lady sky surfing.  Someone else said it was a lady standing in her own shadow.  What do you think it is?..

Beer Testing - Round 4

Going for 4 wins in a row, Harbin Beer's next challenger is Yanjing Beer.

Defending Champ

Name: Harbin Beer

Origin: Harbin, China

Alcohol: 3.6%

Price: USD0.40/can USD0.11/100mL

Challenger

Name: Yanjing Beer

Origin: Beijing, China

Alcohol: 2.8%

Price: USD0.41/can USD0.12/100mL

Tasting notes:

Yanjing Beer was the official sponsor of the Beijing Olympics, and had the tagline, "Inspire the world, taste the dream." Well, it lived up to half of the slogan, because it was pretty much a nightmare. Really fizzy and no taste. Both Mike and I gave it a 4/10.

Harbin Beer, with a score of 5.5/10, wins decisively and is now 4-0. How long can this middle-of-the-road beer continue this winning streak?..

New Kicks

One of my boys over at Nike hooked me up with some new kicks: Dunk Low Premium SB - Space Tiger (Randy Colvin).  Based on his skateboard, it features a star pattern on the toe box and side panels, and a tiger print on the tongue, heel tab, and insole.

Beer Testing - Round 3

Now a 2-time winner, the next challenger for Harbin Beer was Suntory Ice.

Defending Champ

Name: Harbin Beer

Origin: Harbin, China

Alcohol: 3.6%

Price: USD0.40/can USD0.11/100mL

Challenger

Name: Suntory Ice

Origin: Shanghai, China

Alcohol: 3.1%

Price: USD0.42/can USD0.12/100mL

Tasting notes:

The special selling point of Suntory Ice is that it is brewed with "pure natural mineral water". Well, it sure tasted like water alright. The worst so far. I gave it a 4/10. Mike gave it a 3.5/10. Final score: 3.75/10.

An easy victory for Harbin Beer, with a score of 5.5/10.

Dancing Guy

For those of you who love It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia as much as I do, this is for you.  If you've never seen the show before, you'll probably be wondering, "What the hell is this?"  But I'll bet you won't be able to turn away..

Beer Testing - Round 2

With Harbin Beer winning the inaugural challenge, next we put it up against another Blue Diamond Beer.

Defending Champ

Name: Harbin Beer

Origin: Harbin, China

Alcohol: 3.6%

Price: USD0.40/can USD0.11/100mL

Challenger

Name: Blue Diamond

Origin: Beijing, China

Alcohol: 3.7%

Price: USD0.34/can USD0.10/100mL

Tasting notes:

This Blue Diamond is slightly different than the previous one in that this one is not "Refine". So we were expecting it to come out a little tougher, perhaps a little rougher around the edges, and with a bit more bite. However, it was just as unremarkable. Its slogan is "For all seasons and all people." Now, that's a nice lofty goal, but in my experience, whenever you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody. This was no exception. It got a 5/10.

So with a score of 5.5/10, Harbin Beer managed to edge out the Blue Diamond to defend it's title.

Fast Track

Sorry, this is a geeky guy post, but if you ever wanted to know how fast 431km/h looks like, ride Shanghai's airport express train, or watch this video.  Note that that is a freeway alongside the train, so although most of the vehicles look like they're barely moving, they are all traveling at over 100km/h.

Beer Testing - Round 1

If you've spent any amount of time with me at all, you will know 2 things about me:

1. I like beer.

2. I like trying new things.

Well, the math is simple. You put 1 + 2 together, and it equals: I like trying new beer.

However, it's always been difficult to really keep track of what beers I've tried and what each one tasted like. So I've decided to start keeping an informal record of all the beers I've been able to sample.

I figure I will make it a head to head elimination competition to see what will ultimately become my favourite beer. Now, I know right off the bat, there are some problems with this, as you might ask, "How can you compare an ale to a lager? Or a malt liquor to a wheat beer?" Well, admittedly, you can't really. But to keep things simple, this rating system is based purely on my personal tastes and really it comes down to the question, "Would I drink it again if I had a choice?"

I should state up front, my preference is for light, easy drinking ales, that go down smooth and have minimal aftertaste. I will try to start with the cheapest beers and work my way up. I will also try to have guest judges alongside me when possible, in order to average out the scores.

Maybe later as I get more beers into the competition, I will figure out a way to categorize. But for now, it's just straight up, no holds barred, one on one action, kind of like UFC in the old days, when you'd have a sumo wrestler vs. a boxer.

So with all that said, here are the first 2 contenders:

1.

Name: Blue Diamond Refine Beer

Origin: Beijing, China

Alcohol: 3.7%

Price: USD0.41/can USD0.12/100mL

2.

Name: Harbin Beer

Origin: Harbin, China

Alcohol: 3.6%

Price: USD0.40/can USD0.11/100mL

Tasting notes:

The Blue Diamond was pretty bland. On the upside, however, it was light and had no aftertaste, so theoretically, you could easily drink a lot of this. However, it got pretty boring after about half a can. At this inaugural testing, I had the honour of having my long time buddy Mike D. (sorry, no, not the one of the Beastie Boys fame), travel all the way out from Toronto to take part. I rated this a 4.5/10. He gave it a 5/10. Final score: 4.75/10.

The Harbin, a subsidiary of Budweiser, was pretty much the same, but with perhaps just slightly more taste. So both Mike and myself gave it a 5.5/10.

Winner, by unanimous decision: Harbin Beer.

Corny

I was recently at the supermarket, looking for something to quench my thirst, when I came across this:

I was curious - what would a corn drink taste like?  The misspelling of "CORN" should have tipped me off that there was something not quite right about this, yet I still went ahead and bought it.

Would it taste light and sweet like fresh-picked summer corn?  Or would it be slightly thick and creamy like creamed corn?  Maybe it would have little kernels of crunchy corn in there that were a flavour burst of corn goodness when you bit into them?

It was none of those things.

It tasted like you know when you buy a regular can of corn, there's water in the can that you have to drain out?  Well yep, that's basically what I was drinking..

My Apartment

For those of you interested, here's where I spend most of my free time these days.

House of Barbie

Barbie is opening it's first in the world, flagship store right here in Shanghai next month.  I was invited to the pre-launch party the other night.  This is a picture of one of the artworks at the event.  Apart from having a real life Ken and Barbie there to take pictures with, it was interesting to see how Barbie is trying to reposition itself to appeal to an older, more hip, urban consumer.  Among other things, the 6 floor store is going to include a spa, a restaurant, and a place where you can actually design outfits and customize your very own Barbie doll.

Living Tree

Just something I shot recently while I was in the U.S.

Thanks Dad

So I just came back from our Disney creative camp in Florida.  It was cool meeting the designers and character artists from the other regions.  Some of the highlights were getting to meet John Lasseter, the creative head of Pixar studios, and being taken on a behind the scenes tour of Disney World (if only you knew...).

We also had a project to do prior to the camp, which we had to bring with us to exhibit.  The brief was to create a piece which reflects the specific event or object in your life which led to this creative career path.

I think my turning point was when my dad gave me his old Nikon F camera.  It got me interested in photography and from there, things just kind of fell into place.

(And see - I managed to use that window sticker pattern from my previous post - I knew it would come in handy!)

What was YOUR turning point?

Wasted Youth, Pt. 2

An extra 30 minutes in the air for some reason.

Airline: United

Route: San Francisco - Shanghai

Delayed flights: 2

Total time spent waiting: 1 hour

Wasted Youth, Pt. 1

This is about the zillionth time my flight has been delayed. And I'm sitting here thinking (because I don't really have much else to do) about how many hours of my life have been wasted away due to bad weather, air traffic control, cancelled flights, and just general airline f*ck ups. So starting today, I'm going to keep a running total:

Airline: United

Route: Chicago - San Francisco

Delayed flights: 1

Total time spent waiting: 30 minutes

Jazz-tastic!

People still do this??

Well, if you were wondering what to do

with your old headband and spandex unitard,

your prayers have been answered.

It might just be the best

(or at least funniest) thing you ever do.

Canadian Thanksgiving

I am home in Vancouver right now, visiting my family.  I'm not sure about where you live, but here, our local cable network plays this "fireplace" video at night when there is no programming to air.  It's something you can turn to in case your home doesn't have a real fireplace, but you still want to set the mood with that special someone...

So this past Monday was Thanksgiving in Canada.  I was flipping through the tv channels, waiting for the turkey to be done, when I came across this "seasonal" version of the fireplace.

Super Hair Designer Shop

I can't tell you how much I LOVE this illustration.  It was in the window of this old school barber shop in Tokyo.  They must have had this poster up since like 1982.

Window Stickers

You know sometimes people stick a kind of vinyl sheet on their windows instead of having curtains?  They usually have some super ugly floral or kaleidoscopic pattern on them though.  Well, this is Japan's version of the window sticker.  Hope dope is that?  I think I'm gonna use this pattern in my next piece.

Waiting Patiently..

I know it's a bit weird, but I felt a little sad for these guys.  Maybe because they seemed so lonely, just waiting there for someone to come play with them.  Maybe because they looked like they had seen better days, yet they still lay there so patiently, hoping to make some little boy or girl laugh and smile again..

It's Back!

After the deep fried cherry pie, this is my 2nd favourite long lost McDonald's food item.

Ah, the fond memories of this 80's oxymoron - the boneless "rib" sandwich.  Am I wrong though?  I don't seem to recall the original having lettuce or mayo on it?  Maybe it's a Japanese thing, as they tend to like mayo on a lot of stuff, and the lettuce is probably to make it more "healthy".

I Shot A Cover!

No, not a magazine cover.  A manhole cover.  I love the simplicity and strength of this pattern.  And the white spray - it makes the flower look like a stencil.

Sunrise

So I just got back from a week in Tokyo.  I don't care how many times I've been there - I never get tired of it.  But I really just took it easy this trip, and enjoyed the little things, like the stillness of a quiet residential street at 6 a.m.

Just Go Ahead

Recently I went to Beijing for China's largest Sportwear Expo.  All the big brands were there - Nike, Adidas, Puma..but there were also a lot of local brands that I'd never heard of.  I can't even count how many had logos that were variations of the Swoosh.  But I loved this twist on "Just Do It." the most.        

Milk X Magazine 2nd Anniversary

Went to the Milk X Anniversary Party the other night.  It was at a cool venue overlooking the river.  And they had a nice outside area for people to hang out.  But the best part was the full buffet!  At first, I thought it was a bit weird to be serving more than just appetizers at a fashion show (you know, it's hard for people to look cool when they're trying to eat a full plate of food standing up).  But my qualms quickly left me as I carved into my roast beef and potatoes..  Thanks Milk X!

What's for dinner, deer?

At a recent restaurant I was taken to.  I've eaten deer meat before, but normally when I order venison, I don't really expect the head!  And yes, those are it's nads sitting there quietly next to it.

The Vogue

1st prize to anyone who can figure out what the hell this is supposed to mean???

GUTS

This kid's got GUTS! (or so his badge says..)  I took this at a shopping mall in Tianjin, a city in northern China close to Beijing.  As you can see, their advertising is a little dated.  1996??

Nuts About Airline Snacks

On my flight the other day from Shanghai to Shantou, a (relatively) small city of 5 million in southern China, I was given this little packet of joy by the flight attendant.  Not just ordinary peanuts, but NUTLETS.

Helmet Hair

Oiled to a fine sheen and parted with loving care, this is perhaps the most amazing example of helmet hair I've ever seen.  I'm at the airport in Shanghai, waiting for my flight.  But I'm not so sure how confident I feel about the airline I'm flying on after checking in with this guy.

Y-5

You know how my peeps roll in China.  They gots to have the freshest gear when they step.  So forget Yohji Yamamoto's Y-3 crap for Adidas.  That ish is so over.  Get with the program, son.  We're all the way up to Y-5 now!

Assorted Speculation

At the hotel breakfast buffet on my recent trip to Beijing.  They may as well have wrote, "NOT SURE".  Needless to say, I skipped this dish.

I'm not a WHAT?

As a designer, you gotta love this graphic.  Because the person that designed this either:

1. has total disregard for anything else except for pure graphic aesthetic, or

2. is preying on the fact that most Chinese people have absolutely no understanding of English.

Shanghai For Life...

...or at least 4 months. That's how long I've been here now. So I thought you might like to know what I've been up to and what life is like here. In general, it's been pretty great so far.

Here is the view from my serviced apartment when I first moved here. That is Huaihai Park down below and you can see my office just on the other side of the park in that low office building.