Smile magazine - a Shanghai contribution

I recently contributed to the November cover story of Smile magazine, the inflight magazine for Cebu Pacific based in Manila. My former colleague and friend Noelle de Jesus asked me to provide some shopping tips for Shanghai. Here's the result (you can open the story in a new tab for a larger version):

Book Review: The Art of Fielding - a disappointing read

Earlier this year, I read an interesting article in Vanity Fair entitled "How A Book Is Born" which recounted the story of how author Chad Harbach toiled on writing his manuscript for a decade, finally got it in front of book agents and publishing houses and ultimately published to wide acclaim (with one of the most striking cover designs of the year, see above). It was an interesting article and piqued my interest in the novel itself, which was getting massive buzz.

Having just finished the novel, I'm sad to say it was a mediocre experience. A compelling premise let down by a bloated delivery, surprisingly shallow characters and tedious plot. The original Vanity Fair article is a far more intriguing read. And obviously contributed hugely to the buzz! It's unavailable online, but you can purchase it here. A little more info on the article here:

How a Book Is Born: The Making of The Art of Fielding by Keith Gessen.

The highly anticipated novel The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach, has just been published. But what is the riveting story behind the story—and what does it take to make a bestseller these days? As author and n+1 co-founder Keith Gessen reveals in this 17,000-word e-book (expanded from the article appearing in the October issue of Vanity Fair), the passage from MFA classroom to national book tour is its own treacherous, absorbing—and wildly unpredictable—adventure. Harbach, Gessen’s friend and colleague, was a struggling writer who toiled relentlessly for ten years on The Art of Fielding, before it eventually hauled in a $650,000 advance. At each step of the way several vivid characters fought tooth and nail to ensure the book’s survival, including Chris Parris-Lamb, Harbach’s passionate young agent; Michael Pietsch, a renowned editor at the publishing house Little, Brown; and Keith Hayes, the book’s tireless designer. In this e-book of sweeping scope and fascinating, behind-the-scenes detail, Gessen pulls back the curtain on the insular, fiercely political, and cutthroat literary world of Manhattan—a place where the “Big Six” publishing houses, owned by multinational conglomerates, reign supreme, while smaller houses are left to fend for themselves. Gessen exposes the modern-day book business for what it is: a largely uncertain enterprise—but rife with courageous, enthusiastic individuals—struggling to redefine itself in the face of its own digital revolution.

Album on high rotation - "El Camino" by The Black Keys

LOVING this new album from the Ohio rock duo, The Black Keys. Perfect bluesy rock.

Check out their live performance of the first single, "Lonely Boy" on The Colbert Report.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Black Keys - "Lonely Boy"
www.colbertnation.com
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2011 Review: The 45 Most Powerful Images of 2011

Buzzfeed has published an excellent round-up of some key news events of the last year as told through photography. Go here to see all 45 pictures.

(Reuters / ASAHI SHIMBUN)

A woman cries while sitting on a road amid the destroyed city of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan after the massive earthquake and tsunami.

2011 Review: in Lego!

This is pretty cool. As reported in The Guardian, some of the major news events of the last year have been re-created in Lego. Check out more pictures here and here.

The Royal Wedding

Obama and his security team watch Osama Bin Laden's killing

Occupy Wall Street

2011 Review: Best and Worst Magazine Covers

While I have not seen every single magazine at newsstands, I do try to keep up to date with as many covers as I can by browsing online. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but here are my picks for best and worst this past year. I judge by concept, brand and audience synergy, styling, coverlines, creativity and overall impact. For me, the worst covers have terrible styling and picture selection and have missed the mark considerably in terms of their audience/brand suitability.

BEST MAGAZINE COVERS 2011

 

WORST MAGAZINE COVERS 2011

Lady Gaga makes the cover of Vanity Fair again.

It's pretty impressive that Lady Gaga has made the cover of Vanity Fair again. Her last cover was just over a year ago in September 2010. She must really sell magazines.

Meryl Streep lands a Vogue cover. Aged 62. Alright!

Congrats to American Vogue for putting Meryl Streep on the cover and giving us a rest from the twenty-something starlets. Well played Anna Wintour.

A Christmas Getaway

As this will our last Christmas pre-kids, we've decided to head away for one last holiday. Because I've grounded myself from flying, we found a great deal at a new hotel just a two hour drive from Shanghai. It's called Naked Stable Private Reserve. And "naked" means "eco", not "nudist". Check out our digs. Nice!

2011 Review: Songs of the Year

These are the top 10 tunes that got a major run on my iPod "most played" list in 2011:

"Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People

"Rolling in the Deep" by Adele

"Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye, featuring Kimbra

"Feeding Line" by Boy & Bear

"Otis" by Kanye and Jay-Z

"Night Air" by Jamie Woon

"The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" by Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Battery Kinzie" by Fleet Foxes

"Calgary" by Bon Iver

And my guilty pleasure: "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5

I'm having a bikie baby

Apparently, at 27 weeks, my baby is able to hear sounds in utero. I fear I may be having a bikie baby as we've become addicted to the TV series "Sons of Anarchy", about a motorcycle club in Northern California. Great acting, great scriptwriting, lots of drama. Perfect.

Either that, or he/she will be a Real Housewife. I'm not sure what's worse?!

Getting ready for baby, aka "get your wallet out"

Who knew such a small person needed so much paraphernalia?! And who knew HOW MUCH baby stuff is out there to buy? Luckily, both my sisters have had babies this year, so they have been very helpful in providing comprehensive lists of what's necessary and what's not. I can tell you I was shocked at their initial list of "must buy" items! My husband almost passed out.

That said, I do have slightly different needs to them, i.e. I don't have a car or a house. This will be an apartment baby in a big city where I'll be walking and catching cabs or trains a lot. Everything needs to be compact and light. And we don't have a great deal of room to store unnecessary items. I also had a strict budget. But I did want to buy quality products if they were worth it. Thankfully I have a saviour - Ikea!!! - so I plan to buy most of my nursery furniture from there -- cot, feeding chair, change table, etc. Best of all, I know the safety standards will be good for baby.

In many ways I'm lucky to be having my baby in Shanghai as there's not a great deal of choice. There are only a handful of baby shops and boutiques - many with severely inflated prices!! - and I have had to spend a fair amount of time researching if products are even available here in China at all.

I've taken a gradual approach and have been slowly buying stuff each month so we wouldn't have a massive blow-out in one paycheck. I did have a bit of a shopping spree when we were in Singapore a few months back. I took the opportunity to buy up a lot of stuff I knew I either couldn't find here, or that I knew was significantly cheaper. Glamorous stuff like a breast pump and bottles. But at prices 40% cheaper than Shanghai, it was worth it.

Here's some of the haul thus far...

Pram and Baby Capsule - Baby Jogger City Mini and Maxi Cosi CabrioFix car seat with car seat adaptors. Bought from Baby318. I was initially going to splash out and buy a Bugaboo Bee Plus, however I opted for the Baby Jogger for a number of reasons. Firstly, it's light. Secondly, it's a one-handed fold. Thirdly, it was half the price. I didn't mind spending the cash if it was worth it, but I found the Bugaboo to be too heavy, too hard to fold on my own and the baby was too low to the ground.

  

Cot - Gulliver crib from Ikea. Simple, budget-busting and safe.

Bouncer - Bloom Baby Rocker. Bought second-hand for less than half the retail price on the Shanghai Mamas classifieds. I'll probably end up with a Fisher-Price all-singing, all-dancing brightly coloured rocking chair/swing/bouncer, but I'll give this designer looking rocker a go first...

Nappy Bag - Skip Hop messenger bag "Dash" from Lollipop. Not too big as I want to keep as streamlined as possible. Yes, this may be a pipe dream, but I'm going to try.

White Noise Machine - Sleep Sheep from Lollipop (it attaches to the cot with some ties at the back, so it looks like a fluffy toy, not a white noise machine). Usually I hate fluffy toys, but this thing is cute.

Infant carrier - Ergo carrier with infant insert from First Few Years in Singapore (it was 20% off).  I was initially tempted by the Baby Bjorn, but after a fair bit of research, I decided on the Ergo as I can use it from newborn to toddler, it distributes weight more evenly across the hips and should prove to have more longevity when the baby becomes heavier.

Muslins and Blanket - Aden & Anais muslin swaddles and muslin dream blanket. On special from Mothercare in Singapore.

Swaddle Wrap - Kiddopotamus from Mothercare in Singapore (half price!). I bought this as I'd read great reviews. But mostly I just wanted to buy it because of the name. My husband had seen the name on my list and was like, "what the #*% is a Kiddopotamus?!!".

As for clothes, I've found it very difficult to find neutral, non-gender clothes. Absolutely every shop has defined girls and boys newborn, baby and toddler collections. Does no-one have a delivery surprise anymore? But I have persevered and have managed to amass a fairly decent collection of cute white, grey, red and navy onesies and more. My favourite places have been Gap, H&M and Marks & Spencer and I did stock up on Bonds pieces from Australia. But I've tried not to go too nuts as I'm very aware that babies grow. And quickly  So my rule has been to only buy on special. So far, so good....

I've also ditched a few things from my list as would-be-nice-but-I'll-see-if-we-can-do-without. Tell me if I'm wrong but I'm not buying a baby monitor, nappy bin or fancy bedding.

"Hold it away from me and set fire to it"

This has been around for a few months, but it's worth another viewing. A compilation of Nigella's best bits. I think I lost it at "clam flesh".

Kate Moss does Ziggy Stardust

Say what you want about Kate Moss' messy personal life, but you can't really argue about her ability to model - and sell magazines. I'm loving this French Vogue cover inspired by David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust character. I particularly love how clean this cover is. No distracting coverlines, just a striking concept and image.