南锣鼓巷夜景 (Nanluoguxiang)

I had no idea of where to find the Beijing hutongs, so was watching as we rode cabs through the city on the way to the hotel and to meetings. After returning early Sunday from Baotou, my work companion asked the hotel concierge about the best options for getting to the Great Wall and Tian'anmen Square (compare descriptions here and here). We had the rest of the day off so figured we would go to the Wall first, and the area around the Forbidden City after getting back.

As it turned out, the hutongs were in the downtown area near Beihai Park, so after getting back from the Great Wall we had the cab driver we hired for the day drop us off. After walking along the lake in the park for a while, we 
figured out that the stylized tourist map was not to scale, and the Forbidden City - still a long walk away - was closing soon, we exited the East Gate. We wound our way through a series of narrow streets and alleys, quickly viewing life there - grocery stores, carpenters working rough sawed lumber, a chicken coup on the roof of a home, people coming and going. We made our way forward, keeping 

our left side always towards what we thought was the wall around Beihai Park - a bearing point like the North Star. Our likely route was along Jingshan West Street, and then keeping to the left and north through Gongjian Hutong - passing Beijing Xicheng Shenchahai Elementary School. When we got back to De'anmen E Street near entrance to Beihai Park, we crossed the street and walked east by rows of shops and restaurants until we came to the sign for Nanluoguxiang - I remembered the entrance sign to this place from the year before. (1)

As we turned into South Luogu Alley (English for Nanluoguxiang), I tried to quickly re-oriented myself with familiar-remembered places. 

Walking to the right down a side street, we looked for the restaurant I ate at last year. After passing the brightly painted police station on the left, across the street on the right was the non-descriptive restaurant entrance. I asked the waitresses who were standing just inside whether we could look to see the central courtyard - and there it was. I asked how late they were opened, and one replied and asked if we wanted to make a reservation. The restaurant had just opened at 5:00 PM, but it was too early for dinner, so we walked back to the lane. Flying overhead were magpies - a few sparrows were perched on the edge of a roof, who then flew into a tree as we approached.

What was new this time, was that most of the people I noticed walking the street were young Chinese, not foreign tourists. This was even more apparent when we tried to hail a cab at the end of the lane - many young people coming and going - constantly being dropped off while others caught cab rides, off to other places on an early Sunday evening. When Google'ing Nanluoguxiang, it turned out that even the CRI (Chinese Radio International) reports that this street is a trendy area for young people. The shops are chic boutiques - no brand names, just cool. When I came out of one of the shops, a college-aged woman  

asked me to take a picture of her standing in front of one of the store signs with her cell phone - my companion mentioned the photo was probably now on a Facebook page somewhere. Before coming to China this time, the two things I wanted to buy were a framed print of a farm scene done in Chinese peasant art style, and a CD of traditional Chinese music (remember my odd music tastes). The peasant art store I remembered from last time was no longer there, but we did come across a small music shop called Source. (2) The proprietor was a youngish man with long hair who introduced himself as "Stephen." When I asked about "traditional or folk" music, he led me to a part of a shelf with Chinese labels and pulled out several albums. I picked one to listen to, and he offered us a cigarette while we listened. My camera was out of battery charge, so I regret that I don't have a picture of the shop and its proprietor.(3) Stephen called the disc I chose Chinese Indie - how about that? (4)  I took the business card he offered me, and when home looked up the Weblink for Source and found that it is an outlet for a modern arts association - Yan Club Arts Center.

It is an endeavor to try to find out more about a music artist from China when all of the information on the CD jacket is in Chinese. The ISBN and  ISRC numbers didn't help, but I was able to find out that the

record label - Modern Sky Entertainment - is the largest in China. Clicking on that site, and finding the Badhead label, I found the record cover with the artist I was looking for - but wouldn't you know it, all of the information for this album is in Chinese. However, by using the Google Translator Tool, it turns out that the artist is named He Ping 小河 (translated: Brook), and his album is described as: Highly experimental alternative folk singer color, "good pharmacy (5)," lead singer, the experimental concept of his music is: with one another, mutual liberation, and in his music contains a deep feeling of freedom and love. Translation: Chinese Indie, just as Stephen described it when listening to the disc in his shop.

Some thoughts of the artist follow:

—有的人做音乐是在做人，有的人做音乐是在做科学家，有的人做音乐是为了革命，有的人做音乐是在做诗人，有的人做音乐是在做暴徒，有的人做音乐是在做小偷，有的人做音乐是为了卖身……
—我相信音乐不是自私的，我做音乐是为了我们一起幸福……

That translate:

Some people make music in life 
Some scientists are doing is making music
Some people do music is to the revolution 
Some people do music is to be a poet
Some people do music is doing the mob
Some people do music is to the thief
Some people make music to sell their bodies
I believe that music is not selfish
I do music is happy for us   

Just like the young woman on Nanluoguxiang who asked me to take her picture with her cell phone, technology is prevalent throughout China - the My Space page for 小河 and his band can be accessed by clicking here.  
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(1) A map of the vicinity of Beihai Park and Nanluoguxiang can be accessed by clicking here.
(2) Source, No. 14, Banchang Houtong South. The Website for Yan Club Arts Center also mentions a restaurant called Source. I cannot tell by the map whether it is the same one I had eaten at last year, or not, but the description on the Website mentions a courtyard eating area as well.
(3) For more pictures of activity along Nanluoguxiang, go here and here.
(4) Indie refers to Independent music. A Website specializing in distributing independent music can be found clicking here.
(5) This is the name of the band Glorious Pharmacy.

Beijing Skyline - One of Them

I just returned from my second trip to China. Most noticeable to me this time was the absence of what seemed exotic, which was replaced by a feeling of being in a comparative anatomy class - what was learned last time was applied to new observations this trip. Even though China is half way (12 times zones) around the world, I had benchmarks to begin with on this time around. A driver from the Embassy was at the airport to pick up our entrourage - I didn't have to fend for myself in a cab as last time because I arrived a day late, not having accounted for 

jumping ahead a day when I set up my first ticket because of crossing the International Date Line; the line of Poplar trees along the Airport Expressway (机场高速) was as I remembered it, but the scaffolds were gone that braced the many full-sized trees that had been planted in the city before the 2008 Summer Olympics; when watching the road signs when riding in a cab, I no longer just saw the the English names, but noticed the patterns of Chinese characters - like bridge (硚); a number of the delegate faces at the meeting were familiar the next day, not all strangers that I had never met before and with whom I could only talk through a translator; and even though there was a side trip to Inner Mongolia the next day, and was one of only two people with European facial features, this was China - I have been here before.

My last trip was at the end of April the year before, spring-time with occasional rains (click here and here for perspectives from that trip) - this trip was in the middle of September - harvest was well underway, everything was dry, and dust was everywhere, especially in Baotou. There are so many people in China that size is relative with so many people everywhere. With the Beijing Capital International Airport serving 30 million people being huge with multiple terminals - like O'Hare in Chicago - it is surprising that the airport at Baotou (BAV) had only two gates that serve its 12 million - a frontier town in the west away from Beijing. (1) Maybe that is how it was for St. Louis in the 18th Century, when that was the jumping off place to the old west.

I will have to think more about relaying details of other sights from this trip.
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(1) I spent last Saturday night in Baotou, and can confidently report that there was no sign of disruption to air service Sunday morning when I caught an early morning flight back to Beijing due to the reported sighting of an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) Saturday night - the report said that the UFO had interrupted several flights, but that service was restored by 10:00 PM. Then again, the presence of a UFO in the vicinity may account for the loss of the electronic record of my traveling companion's ticket from the Air China computer system. (2) Regardless, the good news was the excellent ticketing service provided by the Air China personnel who quickly issued a replacement ticket to an already sold out flight - even though there was still an empty seat beside me.

(2) This was more likely due to something wrong with the government contract ticket service, than due to computer glitches at the terminal - there is nothing like foreign travel and wondering if your travel partner will be getting out of Dodge City with you.

125 Pounds of Gear - Second Lieutenant in the House

Over thirty years ago we vacationed around Victoria on Vancouver Island - across from Vancouver, British Columbia. While there, we toured a replica of Anne Hathaway's home; she was William Shakespeare's wife. I remember our tour guide telling us about the meaning behind some Olde English sayings that we use today. A notable one was the "pitter patter of little feet" which back then referred to the sound of wooden elevated clogs that were attached to the bottom of shoes to keep ones' feet out of the swill that was often on floors - so particularly the sound of women's feet pitter-pattering while doing their tasks in the house, and not the sound of the little feet of children running about.

Our bedroom is upstairs in the house, so we don't regularly hear the sounds of our youngest son the Ensign who has been living with us this summer while he has performed his temporary duty after graduation

and while waiting to report in October to begin his flight school. It is pretty much the same for his company-mate who already has begun The Basic School at Quantico for Marine officers, but who often comes to our home on weekends to get some sleep, eat, and do his laundry. He stays in our first floor guest room - the one with the sign over the door indicating it is for Second Lieutenant

Mahuna - but sleeps in a lot (kind of like Plebe year all over again). Both are pretty well mannered, and do a good job of cleaning up after themselves. But this week had a new twist - week-long field training in torrential rains necessitated him taking his gear to a car wash for hosing down before coming to our place. His equipment was then laid out across patio chairs and table to dry out. We understand when fully outfitted with gear including armor, weapon, and ammunition - a marine weights an additional 125 pounds. It is hard to imagine how one walks quietly over hill and dale, and through brush thickets and down trails.

Needless to say, Saturday morning I woke up to the sound of rain falling and immediately remembered "rain/Jason's stuff/outside." Primal instincts kicked into gear - my wife and I jumped out of bed, dressed quickly and dragged everything into the house so the drying process wasn't a total loss. Later at breakfast, our Junior Officer called it situational awareness - me, I think it is a vestige of still being a parent, even though the four kids (plus a marine) are all grown up. As for Jason - he was still asleep; quite aware of his surroundings: peaceful environs and hopefully sweet dreams.

In a few weeks we will for sure be birders with an empty nest. And in a modern sense - will miss the sounds of the pitter patter of little feet. No matter how large the souls of the shoes.

Turn in the Weather, Season

I heard on the news while driving to work yesterday, that the D.C. schools open in two weeks - the 312th day of the year. Straight-forward reporting that gives a clue that the summer in winding down, as well as the little things like the HVAC on Georgetown East Elementary School occasionally turning on after being off for the summer recess; comments on a local radio talk show about an upcoming interview with the District's superintendent of schools; and so forth - all tell-tale signs that summer is on a downhill slope. Our garden is showing similar signs of decline - many kinds of flowers have passed their prime, so the gold finch are spending as much time on them eating as on the finch feeder - cone flower, black eyed Susan, and sunflower.

The impatiens and spearmint plants are still in flower, as is the Rose of Sharon shrub - and with them, some new pollinators have appeared as well. This morning I saw a Pearl Crescent butterfly (a), a yet- to-be-identified bumble bee, perhaps Bombus bimaculatus (b), and a Sphinx Moth (c). All persistently going from one flower to the next. There was also the same butterfly I
saw last week - I just haven't been able to get a picture yet and make a positive identification - larger than the pearl crescent, but with somewhat similar coloration. This morning there were also Herring Gulls flying far over head, even calling as they passed by. A murder of American Crows were in the tree across the backyard fence squawking as they do, until I got too close and the flew off down the back of the row of houses in our neighborhood, and then back again. There was a House Wren on the fence between our house and our neighbors, along with some invertebrates clinging to the tree next to the fence.

The nice weather outside, the casual watering and weeding around the garden; a quiet Saturday afternoon walking around and looking for sights I haven't noticed before; barbecue for the Navy ensign and Marine second lieutenant who are here the weekend - a nice way to think about the summer starting to come to an end.
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Travel Schedule Quiz

I have three significant work trips over the next three months - not including vacation to the Central California Coast where I will make a serious attempt to try and figure out sea birds. I usually have no time to do any serious birding with my schedules on these kinds of trips, but it is fun to imagine what it would be like to sit around for a couple of days and just spend time looking. Given the three options in the neighboring panel, guess the order of the trips and match the appropriate field guide:

1. China (a)          
2. Argentina/Uruguay (b)
3. Hawaii (c)
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The answer is a fact error found earlier in this blog entry.

Modern Marvel - Zapper

Fluorescent glow,
Attractant lure.
In the dark,
Bright white flashes,
Simultaneous cracks of sound -
Like snapping whips.
One 'squeto after another.
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When putting up with the high-pitched sound of wings vibrating near ears, palms swatting almost aimlessly through the air, and then unnoticed bites that leave itchy welts behind... there is nothing like
the sweet revenge of electric currents running through two metal surfaces with a small gap in between that is just the right size for a mosquito's body to complete the circuit - the Flowtron Blacklight Bug Zapper is just the right device to deliver with satisfaction.

It was such a nice evening, that we had to eat out on the patio. We had learned from my brother-in-law that if an air fan is put out near the table, the mosquitoes will leave you alone. I also set up the bug zapper on a hanging basket crook, but since it was still

fairly light outside, there were few victims while we sat around the table. When the after-dinner conversation with our house guest wound down and the sun setting, the device went into full action. Even after retiring back into the house, we found pleasure in leaving the patio door open with the screen in place - just to hear the sounds of arching electricity - the sizzle of electrons running through moistened organic material as it was deconstructed.

The zapper we bought suits our needs, but if you have extra cash to spare, and are really into high-technology contraptions, there are even more sophisticated devices such as the MT-350 Flowtron Mosquito PowerTrap Plus where "Vacuum action draws the biting insect pests into a removable collection tray where they dehydrate and die for fast, clean and easy disposal." As advertised: Mosquitoes are Attracted to PowerTraps... Instead of You! All of this has been carefully researched I am sure, to ensure the menace of the dreaded mosquito is abated - in the comfort of the backyard.

Update's UPdate

Here is a quick report on the status of Jamie Moyer from CBSSPORTS.com per the previous post.
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Moyer avoids surgery, aims for 2011: Though Phillies SP Jamie Moyer has given up on the idea of pitching again in 2010, he told MLB.com he likes his chances of pitching in 2011 after a second

opinion from noted orthopedist Lewis Yocum earlier this week convinced him he doesn't need surgery.
"He's optimistic with rehab this thing can heal and heal properly," Moyer said. "I like his thinking. ... If I had surgery, it's a year, year and a half where I can't do anything. That puts me at 48 1/2, 49 [years old]. What's the liklelihood of pitching? Where am I going to find a job? But if I rehab and rehab diligently and give it time to heal -- and then prudently start rehab and take my time with it -- I'm ready to go [by Spring Training]."
(Updated 07/29/2010).

Injury Report
Elbow - 15-day DL. Out for the season (Updated - 7/29/10)

Fantasy Analysis

Moyer has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament and a strained tendon in his left elbow, which would be a significant injury for anybody, not to mention a 47-year-old. Then again, Moyer isn't your average 47-year-old. The soft-tossing left-hander has continued to succeed at the major-league level despite his advanced age and even looked like a viable mixed-league option at times earlier this season. Still, he has a difficult road back. You can obviously cut him in seasonal formats. (Updated 07/29/2010).

Season Update

Since my last post about Jamie Moyer at the beginning of the month, there have been three losses, an upward creeping earned run average, and now this - not good news for my favorite pitcher. Also, my oldest son and his family went to a Mariners game in Seattle last week - Boston beat my team in 13 innings. On top of all that, he and his family were all decked out in Red Sox fan garb. This is definitely not a good week in baseball for me.

Phillies' Moyer Not Ready to Call It a Career Just Yet

It's uncertain whether the 25-year major-league career of Jamie Moyer ends here. Until doctors present him with a full diagnosis next week, Moyer doesn't want to speculate publicly about his future. However, when asked, the 47-year-old pitcher said he was indeed holding out hope on making a return this season.

"That's my goal," Moyer said at his locker before Friday's game. "But again, without having a full diagnosis, I think it's only fair [to wait]. I think that's the competitor in myself, that I want to pitch. But if my arm doesn't allow it to happen, then it's not going to happen.

"But right now, I believe I'm going to make some sort of - I don't want to say 'comeback,' but I'm going to make some sort of an attempt to be able to get out and pitch competitively."

After throwing 18 pitches in the first inning Tuesday in St. Louis, Moyer was replaced by Drew Carpenter, who had been recalled earlier that day from triple-A Lehigh Valley.

On Friday, Moyer said he didn't feel anything unusual prior to Tuesday's game, other than the day-to-day aches and pains players normally endure. Moyer was put on the 15-day disabled list with sprained ulnar collateral ligament and strained flexor pronator tendon in his left elbow.

"I didn't really feel I had a major concern about anything at that point, up to that start," he said.

Moyer will undergo further tests to determine the severity of the sprain. He said Friday that he's not sure when a prognosis will become available or when testing will be complete. However, he said it's possible he will hear from doctors sometime in the middle of next week.

On Thursday, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Moyer's "going to be out quite some time."

Moyer's MRI exam on Thursday showed injuries. Surgery remains a possibility. He underwent two operations during the off-season, neither to his pitching elbow, and returned with a clean bill of health, working his way into the Phillies' rotation.

Through 19 starts this season, Moyer went 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA. He becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

Moyer said he feels the need to fulfill his contract and work toward putting himself in a position where he could return to the mound. And while the possibility looms that he's perhaps played his last game, he doesn't want to concede that just yet.

"It's one of those situations where you don't want it to have happened," he said. "But if it happens, it happens. There's nothing I could do. I can't turn back and change anything. The injury's the injury. You live with it. I really feel I can look myself in the mirror and know that if that was my last outing, then, you know what, so be it. I've given it my best and I've really enjoyed my career. But at this point, I'm not looking at that being the case."

By Mario Aguirre

Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted on Sat, Jul. 24, 2010