It's Picture Time!

I had a request for more pics in my blog. Since my new phone comes with a 2 megapixel camera, I figure it's a good time to see what this baby can do to fulfill that request.

First up, is the last photo I took with my old phone. Yes, it's another LKF night in Hong Kong. But this time it's with my friend Alice (on the left) who is visiting from Vancouver. She introduced me to her cousin (on my right) who moved here from Japan earlier this year. They look tall or I look short in this pic, because I'm standing further down the steep street than they are.


I brought my new camera phone with me to Shanghai last week and this pic is one of the first shots I took there. It's a picture of Tomorrow Square which is currently my favorite building in Shanghai. The Marriott hotel is at this building, which might explain its spaceship-like appearance. I learned that the Marriott is owned by the Mormons who really like this type of architecture. I'm fascinated by this building because it fits a modern, mythical style of architecture I would like to use in a personal creative project I'm developing.

OK, day shots are easy. But my previous camera phone couldn't handle low light evening shots. Turns out this phone has problems in low light conditions too. But it fares a lot better than my previous phone as these next two photos demonstrate.

This pic is of one of the many jazz bars found in Shanghai. One of the reasons I love Shanghai is because of its historical relationship with jazz in the 1930's. Jazz happens to be my favorite genre of music and that era happens to be my favorite era of the 20th century. Combine those traits with the vibrant, dynamic city that juxtaposes the old with the new, East with the West and you'll know some of the reasons why Shanghai is currently my favorite city in Asia.

The guy in this photo is from a new company called Red 5. It's an American company funded by Koreans which just opened a division in Shanghai. His claim to fame is that he started the cinematics group of Blizzard Entertainment, currently king of the MMOGs with their phenomenally successful World of Warcraft. My business partner and travel buddy introduced me to him and his co-workers, whom we had dinner with at the swanky Indian restaurant this picture was taken in.

The last photo, I'll include in this blog is an advertisement I found to be extremely funny. It's an ad to learn English. But what cracks me up is the not-so-subtle message it is sending about how you can hook up with a rich, white expat if you join this program. For obvious reasons, it also appeals to all the white expats with Asian fetishes in Shanghai. My friend, Billy told me the dude in this photo kinda reminds him of me. Well...I wouldn't mind being tied up to her! :P

There you have it. These photos should cover my blog photo quota for at least a couple entries.