Back to Beijing - A Food Market Tour

One of the (many) great things my mum and I did together in Beijing, was take a tour of a Chinese fresh food market (commonly known as a 'wet market') with someone who knew it all. I had been living in China for over half a year, and was long confident with the whole market experience, but there were so many questions I didn't even realise I had. Like; what was the difference between those eight different kinds of mushrooms? And which tofu do I use for stirfrys and which do I use for a soup or stew? Why are there, like, fifty bajillion different kinds of white rice? And don't even get me started on the sauces and spices section...

   

 

 

Needless to say, that morning was intensely educational and my cooking has since benefited greatly. 

Markets will always be one of my favourite kinds of places in China. Food is at the heart of this country, and there is no place to witness this with more clarity than at the local market. Markets are the true 'window' into daily life that most tourists say they are looking for. There is something so ordinary and yet profound in these places. The market that I frequent here in Jinan is possibly my favourite of all those I have ever been to. (Yeah, I'll blog about it sometime soon.) 

  

That stuff is actually rock sugar. Yeah. Kook as it sounds, it's healthier for you
than normal sugar and very popular here in China. They use hammers to break it apart for sale.

  

From my personal perspective, the market also offers a plethora of way-good photo opportunities. Food photography is only the greatest thing in the world ever, and markets are just the the bomb-diggity for getting great images. The sacks of grains and the bright vegetables in all their glorious textures, the intense meat displays... all of these elements combine to make one of the singularly most visually-stimulating experiences China has to offer. The humble market place also presents ample portrait-taking opportunities. In the hustle and bustle, a camera is all too easily hidden (read: treated with complete disregard).

   

This particular market in Beijing was a little fancier than the usual deal. For starters, it was inside a building and had electricity and fridges. Apart from that, it was surprisingly clean and not freakishly busy. Not to worry, though! This general niceness gave us plenty of time and space to really learn about the produce in front of us.

 Most markets in China also have bakeries. This is excellent because bakeries are full of tast treats. The bakery products do differ significantly from those you would find in Australia (and anywhere else in the world, duh) but once you learn the words for; 'sweet', 'savoury', 'coconut', and 'your favourite' - then you're fine.

One particular thing I really took away from this experience, was the value of eating seasonally. Not only does it work out cheaper, but it benefits the environment and food that is actually in-season always tastes better. 

It's easy to tell what's in season at the markets in China, because there will be a total glut of it, and it will be cheap and easy to get. In watermelon season, for example, there are just trucks and trucks full of watermelons all over the place. Farmers with lorries and crates will be parked on the sidewalk with a set of scales selling directly to the public! It's a little harder in supermarkets and grocery stores in other (read: more developed) countries, but eating seasonally is now something I do. I'm not saying I'll never splurge on a punnet of strawberries in August... but it's an attitude towards produce that I've happily adopted.

  

  
  
 Although sometimes it's not quite the 'riveting' experience I like to paint for you here.

  

The thought for this post came about because today I am going out before class to take pictures of my favourite wet market here in Jinan. Which also happens to be the location of my current favourite Uyghur noodle restaurant... Hahahahah how predictable - it's great! Anyways, more soon.

    

I just really like pretty, bright pictures of fresh fruit.

And thanks for reading! Lots of people reading at the moment - not only flattering but also very motivating... so shanks.

And on the way home, a cat in a window. You're welcome.

on Hunter S. Thompson - 1/3

I thought it was about time that I took a peek into the phenomenon that is Hunter S. Thompson. I have read so many of his great quotes around the place. I’ve seen a few portrait photos of him looking super cool. I knew he did stuff with Rolling Stone magazine and is pretty much the king of substance abuse. I knew that he had something to do with Jonny Depp and that he was intensely American, and that he was the guy that the cool kids like.

That’s it. Until two days ago, that was the extent of my knowledge of Hunter S. Thompson.

I had the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas DVD in my optical drive for at least three weeks before I finally sat down with some sandwiches and watched it. Why had I waited so long? Because I was expecting the movie to be taxing. I was expecting it to be a difficult and involving watch. Was it? Short answer – yes. Long answer – fuck yes. At the risk of sounding silly, I’m going to use the perfect word for the visual impression of this movie. That word is ‘yuck’. So yucky that it’s difficult to sit through. The trouble is, it’s also a little bit of brilliant. The obvious movie comparison to make would be to Trainspotting. I’ve read that book and seen that movie, and anyone else who also has, also knows what I mean by ‘yuck’ and yet ‘brilliant’. Don’t mistake me, I think Fear and Loathing misses the mark a lot of times. It doesn’t approach the brilliance of Trainspotting, but you can see the potential.

I mean, there is just so much drug taking. SO MANY DRUGS. It’s like a movie version of an encyclopedia of drugs. I hadn’t even heard of half that shit before, and these guys were taking crazy combos of three at a time. I spent half the movie wondering how they weren’t dead. If I drank as much as Duke did I would probably be hospitalised, not to mention the cocaine and then mescaline and then the crazy vial of pure adrenalin stuff (adrenochrome?) ? I just. I mean. I dunno. Speechless. Just think of the mothers. Think of their mothers!

No, I’m kidding. I didn’t think about their mothers at all. There was no time. It was one thing after another, and yet nothing happened. Getting serious for a second, you should actually know that the movie has absolutely no discernable plot and really only two characters. One of whom is essentially Mr. Thompson himself played by Mr. Depp, and the other his ‘attorney’ who is such a disgusting and gross dude that looking at him made me feel sick, let alone seeing him vomit repeatedly. So much throwing up. AGH. I know, I know, its all insane. Nobody is denying that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is insane. 

It almost pioneers that classic status of was-a-box-office-failure, but now-has-a-massive-cult-following. In other words, they made more money selling their posters and ‘directors cut’ DVDs than at the cinemas. Apparently it was originally advertised as a ‘wacky comedy’. HA. HA. HA. Those poor, unsuspecting ticket-buyers…

It is filled with good music references. Yes. It has some inventiveness. Yes. But if truth be told, it’s just not that good. I was a little bit bored, and I don’t think that was a unique response of mine. It is childish in the way it selfishly expresses itself and sits there demanding you pay attention, regardless of whether it’s actually interesting or not. I’m going to leave you with the mental image of massive human-like reptiles in a blood-filled orgy in a Las Vegas casino bar. Yeah.

Do I feel bad for choosing Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as my first Hunter S. Thompson experience? Yes, yes I do. I have The Great Shark Hunt sitting here on my desk, and I could (read: should) have at least read some of his written work before watching the movie. It’s too late to dwell on it now though. 

I'll get back to you when I'm a little way through it.

Melancholy Autumn Dawn

I was in a very reflective mood after having stayed up all night this Wednesday passed. At about four thirty in the morning on the Friday, I saw the sun beginning to come up over the buildings outside my window, and decided to go out. I threw on my coat and a scarf and boots, and took a couple of hours around campus.

It was beautiful, and breathtaking because it was so fucking cold. I thought the tip of my nose might be lost forever. All of us early/laters had such vivid steam rising from our exhaling mouths, like eager little ghosts running from our bodies into the air. As if we were speaking to each other as we passed, our strangely visible breaths communicating silently.

The trees are still undressing themselves at the moment, not totally naked until mid-December. It's beautiful to look up through their scratchy branches and see some remaining stars.

 

Letters to a Young Contrarian

It took me five hours to read Letters to a Young Contrarian from top to bottom. It’s not really bragging about fast reading – I mean, the book isn’t that long. What it really was, was a rollercoaster for my brain. Mr. Hitchens is undoubtedly a genius of sorts, and whilst his writing isn’t particularly difficult to follow, it certainly stirs a lot of intense thought in the engaged reader.

The book is one of the best non-fictions I have ever read in my life. So much so that I don’t even feel the need to hype it too much. If you are a young person and intent on living an independent life, then this book might present itself as a kind of gospel for you. I made notes on almost every page, and have already re-read about half of the chapters. The blurb on my copy accurately states that “Hitchens pointedly pitches himself in contrast to stagnant traditions across the ideological spectrum. There is no one writing today with a greater understanding of the importance of disagreement – to personal integrity, to informed discussion, to true progress, to democracy itself.”

I mean, he does show off a bit. There is the insane use of non-common words, the regular mentioning of a few “good friends” who happen to be mega rich/famous/successful, and he has this super annoying habit of finishing a chapter with a quote that’s in another language with no translation. So what saves it? It’s funny. Like, actually entertaining and enjoyable. Much like the speeches Mr. Hitchens presents himself, this book hooks you in then keeps you that way. It has the content and the style that combine to make him as great as he is.

I feel like this book is beyond the need of a review. It has surpassed that level of scrutiny, so instead of really reviewing it, I’d like to share with you all the words I learnt from reading this book. I hope you don’t know too many of these or else I’ll feel like a big idiot. Sure, I got a lot of meaning from context, obviously, but I still had to look them up. Safe to say he prides himself on a rich and varied vocabulary…

Soixante-huitard – a person who lived through, influenced or was influenced by the ‘events’ of 1968, soixante-huit. “Soixante-huitards” are reputed to be strongly anti-authoritarian, anti-establishment and very individualistic. The word is often used as a term of disparagement, as soixante-huitards are blamed by many French conservatives, including Nicolas Sarkozy, for exercising a strong but not always constructive influence over the evolution of French institutions in the forty years since the “events”.

Quatre-vingt neuf – It’s just French for eighty-nine. Damn it, Hitchens, why does that need to be in French?

Iconoclast - A person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions / A destroyer of images used in religious worship.

Curmudgeon – A bad-tempered or surly person. (Sounds like some kind of weapon, no?)

Repine – To feel or express discontent, to fret.

Anomie – Lack of the usual social or ethical standards in an individual or group.

Propitious – giving or indicating a good chance of success / favourably disposed to someone.

Immolations – killing or offering as a sacrifice. (Definitely didn’t know that one.)

Epistolary – Relating to or denoting the writing of letters or literary works in the form of letters: "an epistolary novel". (Yeah, should have know that.)

Caustic – able to burn or corrode.

Excoriating – to censure or criticise severely / damage or remove the surface or skin.

Sophism – A fallacious argument, especially one used deliberately to deceive.

Precept – A general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought / a writ or warrant.

Fatuities – an absurdity or ludicrous folly.

Chiaroscuro – from the Italian for “light and dark,” a term used to describe art that uses strongly contrasting lighted and shaded areas. (Clearly the meaning is broader when used philosophically.)

Tautology – A phrase or expression in which the same thing is said twice in different words / a statement that is true by necessity or by virtue of its logical form

Sapience – wisdom / ability to apply knowledge or experience or understanding or common sense and insight. (That’s a good word.)

Interlocutor – A person who takes part in a dialogue or conversation.

Fatuous non sequiturs – couldn’t find a definition… anyone?

Ashram – A hermitage, monastic community, or other place of religious retreat for Hindus.

Acolyte – A person assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession / an assistant or follower.

Redolent – Strongly reminiscent or suggestive of something. (That’s a good one.)

Despotism – The exercise of absolute power, especially in a cruel and oppressive way.

Yore – Of long ago or former times. (Oh yeah, I knew that one.)

Cogitate – Think deeply about something; meditate or reflect.

Apotheosis – The highest point in the development of something, the culmination or climax / the elevation of someone to divine status / deification.

Corollary – A proposition that follows from (and is often appended to) one already proved.

Callow – Inexperienced and immature, particularly in young people. (Oh, burn.)

Stasis - A period or state of inactivity or equilibrium / a stoppage of flow of a body fluid.

Symbiotic – used of organisms, especially of different species, living and often in a relation beneficial to each. (Yeah okay, I remember this one from school.)

Regnant – Currently having the greatest influence / dominant or ruling.

Acquiescence – acceptance without protest.

Obfuscation – Render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible / to bewilder someone.

“Sub specie aeternitatis” – Latin for "under the aspect of eternity", an honorific expression describing what is universally and eternally true, without any reference to or dependence upon the merely temporal portions of reality.

Unfettered – Released from restraint or inhibition.

Obloquy – Strong public criticism or verbal abuse / disgrace brought about by public abuse.

Extirpate – To root out and destroy completely. (Woah, good one.)

Dissonance – A tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements. (Actually I remember this from music lessons.)

Atrophy – To waste away.

Solipsism – The view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist.

Proselytise – To convert to another faith or religion.

Servile – Having or showing an excessive willingness to serve or please others. (Makes sense.)

Antigone – Daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, the subject of a tragedy by Sophocles. She was sentenced to death for defying her uncle Creon, king of Thebes, but she took her own life before the sentence could be carried out, and Creon's son Haemon, who was engaged to her, killed himself over her body.

Vanguard – A person or group of people leading the way in new developments or ideas.

Prescient – Having or showing knowledge of events before they take place.

“vox populi as vox dei” – The voice of the people as the voice of God.

Demagogue - A political system with a leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument

Plebiscite – The direct vote of all the members of an electorate.

Misanthropy – A dislike of human kind.

Simulacrum – An image or representation of someone or something / an unsatisfactory image or substitute.

Prestidigitator – Someone who performs magic tricks to amuse an audience / a slight of hand entertainer.

Fatuous – Silly and pointless. (Good word!)

Jingoism – flag waving / an appeal intended to arouse patriotic emotions

Coterie – A small group of people with shared interests or tastes, especially one that is exclusive of other people.

Skein – A length of string or yarn knotted and coiled / a tangled or complicated arrangement, state, or situation.

“Post genome universe” – The world after the scientific discovery of the genome. (Right?)

Impugn – Dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of a statement or motive) / to challenge or call into question.

Sectarian – A member of a sect / denoting or concerning a sect or sects.

“summer soldiering” – Willing to fight when the situation is good, when it’s all warm and easy.      

Complicity – The state of being involved with others in an illegal activity or wrongdoing.

Irredentists – A person advocating the restoration to their country of any territory formerly belonging to it.

Preponderance – superiority in power or influence.

Envoi – An author’s concluding words. (Cool. File that for later use.)

Peroration – The concluding part of a speech, typically intended to inspire enthusiasm in the audience.

Crepuscular – Resembling or of or related to twilight. (As in, actual twilight when the day is ending. Nothing to do with teen vampire/human/werewolf love triangles.)

Okay done!

My Envoi: (haha see what I did there?)

This dude has vocab. That's for sure.

So now when you go and buy the book you can just print this out and use it as a kind of dictionary/glossary! The words are even in the order that they appear! You’re welcome.

Also, this is a good website for some excerpts from the book, if you aren’t sure whether this might be 'your kinda thang' or not. But it should be. 

Also, apparently this is actually one of a whole series of books that begin with “Letters to a Young …”. I also intend on reading the one “to a Young Lawyer” by Alan Dershowitz, the one “to a Young Chef by Daniel Boulud”, and the one “to a Young Poet” by Rainer Maria Rilke. These are all easy to find.

Now go read!