Tag: Writing

We’re Not in the Middle Kingdom Anymore, Toto…
July 23, 2013

We’re Not in the Middle Kingdom Anymore, Toto…

I have a feeling I may need to change the name of this blog, or at the very least acknowledge that its impracticality is about to soar to new heights of uselessness.     I have, you see, buggered off. I’m actually in rainy, green …

25 Comments
Radio Silence: How to Write Publicly When All of Your Journeys are Private
March 9, 2013

Radio Silence: How to Write Publicly When All of Your Journeys are Private

I’m a surprisingly private person. I’ve only started realizing that recently. This may come as news to you, given that I’m blurting this out in a decidedly public medium and have blurted out all sorts of revealing bits and pieces about myself over the past …

31 Comments
Strangled Gasps of Creativity (or Why I’ll Probably Never Be a Published Author)
November 5, 2012

Strangled Gasps of Creativity (or Why I’ll Probably Never Be a Published Author)

  When I was 10, I was already the proud author of approximately a dozen unpublished novels. By unpublished, I mean, read only by myself- or perhaps by anyone who managed to sneak into my bedroom, haul the stacks of notebooks out from their not …

28 Comments
Mapping the Amorphous City: I Attempt to Plot a Walking Tour of Shanghai
April 16, 2012

Mapping the Amorphous City: I Attempt to Plot a Walking Tour of Shanghai

  One thing I have learned from two years of writing here (and from approximately 30 years of writing in general) is that I can be factual, accurate and interesting- but never all three at the same time. Most of my university career was spent …

15 Comments
Amber Roshay Moved Back to the US and Wrote About it (And Also Wrote a Book That We’re Giving Away Here)
April 12, 2012

Amber Roshay Moved Back to the US and Wrote About it (And Also Wrote a Book That We’re Giving Away Here)

Some of you might remember the lovely Amber Roshay from her interview last year. She was the one whose students had prepared an awesome and very emotional surprise party for her. She’s also a very good friend of mine- one who happened to leave Shanghai and move …

24 Comments
I’m Nothing if Not Versatile. PS Dear Shanghai, I Don’t Hate You Any More
November 19, 2011

I’m Nothing if Not Versatile. PS Dear Shanghai, I Don’t Hate You Any More

    As I sink deeper into my hermit-like faux-unemployment and entertain myself with the delusional quest to make flatbreads out of every conceivable noodle dough,  I find myself somewhat at a loss for words here. I mean, this is, in theory, a blog about …

19 Comments
An Impractical Review of Matador U’s Writing Program
October 7, 2011

An Impractical Review of Matador U’s Writing Program

[UPDATE: Spring 2015- Since writing this a few years ago, at the beginning of my writing career, I’ve since been commissioned to do a feature 2000 word article for a Dutch print travel magazine, 3 GPS smart phone walking tours of Shanghai for Pocket Guides, …

23 Comments
And Now For Something Completely Different: Impractical Shanghai Revisited
September 10, 2011

And Now For Something Completely Different: Impractical Shanghai Revisited

When I started this blog a year and a half ago, I really did intend to be at least vaguely useful in my writings about Shanghai. I think I mentioned one blind massage place (still excellent, by the way), a few Lanzhou la mian joints …

15 Comments
A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #15: Miranda Ward of A Literal Girl
August 21, 2011

A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #15: Miranda Ward of A Literal Girl

This one has been a long time coming. Today I bring you the lovely and talented Miranda Ward of A Literal Girl. Poor Miranda’s interview and photo folder lay dormant while I was off galavanting in the wilds of Sri Lanka last month, neglecting most …

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Notes on the First Anniversary of my 7th Blog
April 18, 2011

Notes on the First Anniversary of my 7th Blog

Origins I started this blog near the end of last April, impulsively, after I read the words ‘ephemera and detritus’ in a comment on a blog I’ve long since lost track of.  Possibly from Salon’s now defunct Broadsheet. Rather than just noting it down and …

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This Week’s Mop (and a meditation on getting my writing ass in gear)
May 31, 2010

This Week’s Mop (and a meditation on getting my writing ass in gear)

Actual thoughtful writing should resume soon- we had a big, tiring weekend away in Nanjing for work and didn’t see daylight for two days. I tried writing a few things on my iPod on the train ride home but the touch screen is small and …

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Berfumery and Hosbitality in Cairo
April 28, 2010

Berfumery and Hosbitality in Cairo

  We will start with Mohammed Ali and the perfumists of Cairo. We wandered down the mad and busy streets between the meydans, searching for a cafe, a restaurant, anything for a hint of food. Do Caireans eat?  There are bags and watches and travel …

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