Shanghai Vixen

You know a brand is desperate when their celebrity attendee is a whore.

A good day. One story filed, another ran, interviews and party for a third. Hugo Boss: it was my second ever fashion party two years ago, days after the Jifu break-up, I was a total mess, didn't know anyone in the fashion world then, and had a wardrobe malfunction. Last year they had a tiny party, where I od-ed on the free champaigne and danced madly with all the very large german men.  

It was the launch of their new Bund flagship. Bund stores don't sell anything, but they give big face to fashion brands. It's like saying, we're so successful, we can afford to spend a million yuan a month renting a huge store that sells nothing! Anyhow, it was a fairly good party. "These things all feel exactly the same after a couple dozen," observed my Gay Greek friend. Indeed. But still, I do enjoy getting to dress up and drink free champaigne. I'm predictable that way.

Boss is also fairly good at inviting interesting people, not the usual mobs of PR flaks, so there were some arts press and a MoCA staffer there to hang out with, which makes for less insipid conversation. RC and HF, a Canadian journalist and her Chinese designer husband, one of my very favorite couples in Shanghai, came out, and it was great fun having them there. As busy folk all, I see far less of them than I would like, plus it was fun to have similarly-disposed companions to snark with.  Ever since MR, who covered fashion for one of the local English rags, moved back to England, I've been without set companion with whom to comiserate about the weirdness of high fashion. If I ever start finding this world un-bizarre, it means I need to change jobs, and pronto!

Last Year's Model was in the show, naturally. Haven't talked to him lately. We've evolved to a place where we're simply amused by each other, I think. I kept making eye contact and funny faces at him while he was on the catwalk, and was highly entertained by his struggle to maintain his composure. Yes, I'm evil.

Early in the event, I was talking with my favorite gay Shanghainese PR flak. (Fashion PR people tend to be totally pretentious and complete flakes, but F is neither, just a sweet, cool, down to earth guy. His boyfriend is very cool too. I'm not sure what he's doing in fashion at all, I guess it's one of the few industries in China being openly gay is an advantage, rather than a setback.) He asked if I knew Li something, I didn't, and then informed that she was their celebrity for the night. "So what's she famous for?" "For being a third wheel" - a mistress. "You mean she plays one in film or TV?" "No, she is one." Wha?! Later on I asked Gay Greek, who I was surprised to learn knew way too much about his minor Chinese celebrities - but I shouldn't have been, he works for a tabloid after all. He informed that she'd won some beauty pageants, and acted in a few D movies, but mostly was in the tabloids a lot for being the kept woman of a succession of Hong Kong big shots.

In other words, she's famous for being a whore.

So, is fucking old guys for money an easier way to fame and fortune than, say, trying to be a good writer, or making films or art? Apparently so. Well, good for her.

I just so don't get the celebrity fixation. This Miss Li was so generic looking, tall and thin with big round eyes. Part white, I think, because no Chinese has a nose that long. Even when they're stunning, celebrities are just people. Good actors, directors I have a lot of respect for, but still, just funny-looking primates like the rest of us. Most of the supposedly "beautiful people" in Asia, to me, just aren't. While some of the most stunning Asian women are considered ugly because they have a few curves and/or interestingly unconventional faces.

I recently had the following exchange with Peaceful Peasant; people say she looks like Maggie Q, who was at the Bulgari party earlier this month.

Peaceful Peasant wrote: 
"Maggie...never was my cup of tea. Photographed from the right angles she can be pretty, but i always thought she was too skinny and there was something undefiniably crass about her look. My beauty standard tends more towards the likes of Isabella Rosselini. I'm sure I'm spelling her name wrong, but you know what I mean."

I responded:
"Maggie's interesing just for being a Vietnamese/Polish-American working in Hong Kong, as you know I find such multiplicities amusing. She is just kinda generic otherwise, though. I love Rosselini. When I learned to draw in high  school, I did portraits of her from her Lancome ads in magazines. I love the dramatic angles of her face.  My issue with Asian beauty standards is that a  very bland, doll-like look is fetishized, and it's just not interesting. When I assess female beauty, I go for whether I would enjoy drawing her face. Expression and vivacity also count for a lot."

I love Dorothy Parker. I don't identify - I'm neither dark nor drunkard enough - but I quite appreciate her sensibilities, her bitter wit.  And I do feel a little like this these days:

Okay, this one is just funny. The momster just can't wrap her little brain around the whole I'm an agnostic! thing.

Hi [Vixen], thank you for writing.

I understand "busy" so don't worry about that.  I hope that you
can find an un-crazy way of doing such intense work with all
the deadlines.

It is important to watch the stress level.  Look at what happened
to me after all the stress on me 1979-1985 with ---, and even
before that he was a hard person to live with (but not negative
all the time, and sometimes even loving).

[Crazy Uncle], by the way, is getting worse, and in some ways is almost
making --- look like a saint.  I mean that. [Crazy Uncle] is very very
troubled, and he's lashing out at [San Diego Cousin, Crazy Uncle's daugher] in some unbelievable
ways, and Mom is disturbed by his words and actions (very),
and [SD Cousin] is turning to [Sane Uncle, the DC doctor] for what to do.

[Crazy Uncle], in letter form, scolded her for wanting to be a doctor, and
said that she should go back to her earlier goal of wanting to
be a nurse (can you believe that?). Then he said that he was
only going to pay $250.00 a month to help her instead of the
promised $500.00, (and [Sane Uncle]/Mom are paying the other $500, which
now will have to be $750.00). They want to seee [SD Cousin] have the
education and not have huge debts at the end (I'm sure they would
have helped you had they not already done so as much as they did,
plus expenses on Mom/Dad's end were mounting.  [Sane Uncle] ordered me
not to get a student loan to help you, by the way, and Dad told me
to go ahead).  Now that the house is bringing in money, it does
 make things easier.

I have a hunch that we are going to end up being a very close
family (minus [Crazy Uncle and wife]) because we are going to need to encourage
and support one another emotionally.  I am learning more
(again) about Satan and how he is a defeated foe, and how we
can be victorious over the blows/distractions/etc. that he (does)
send our way. I know that I am seen as a POWERFUL FORCE
FOR GOOD by Satan, and it is anyone who has the power to
do great things for God who he goes after in big ways. I am
quite sure I am on his "go after" list, handed out to some of
his demons (who do his work), and I plan to become a power-
house for God through all this, and through a renewed powerful
prayer life. I shared some of this with God (about the ultimate
battle against of evil against GOOD, and Satan against God. I
doubt that you learned very much about this at Christian school
as the Baptists do not get in to this much. The Charismatics do,
and they are often the most mighty ones in REAL PRAYER THAT
DOES REAL THINGS that one can meet.

This is not meant to be a sermon.

I'm sure you will be hearing from [SD Cousin], once she sorts out the
immediate problems, like how can she start med. school and
not work at In/Out Burgers.  I felt like we had our first good
conversation ever.

Well, I have to go EAT. I'm low on food, and on days like this
it is easy to almost forget to eat (yes, truly). I need to borrow
some bread from the girls next door (3 new ones, and really
nice, all go to UCSD, undergrads).

Closing scripture:

"Greater is HE who is in you than he who is in the world" (forget
the scripture right now).

Not exact wording: He (God) will not allow any child of God to
be touched by the devil.

Example. Job was TESTED (partly, I think so that we could have
the book of Job, and see God's viewpoint on suffering in a deep-
er way). It is almost humorous to read when you see the really
bad "counsel" he gets from his 4 friends and wife, and the re-
jection (they judge him, it is HIS fault for having problems--ever
seen that before?).

Lucifer goes before the throne of God and tells God that Job will
curse him if he is allowed to test him. God knows Job and his
strong faith, and so God ALLOWS him to be tested--FOR A WHILE,
it is obvious that Job remains steadfast. God, then, gives him
many good years (like at least 140 extra) and ten more children
and lots of livestock, and he becomes a very wealthy and great
man.

With powerful prayer we can BIND Satan, truly, and render him
powerless from HARRASSING US. I certainly know what that is
(I spend two all-nighters back to back looking for all the new
things that are missing, and in the last few weeks have come to
be certain that no human could being doing as much theft as
is going on here, often just moving things from one place to
another--demons CAN do that).  BUT NOT WHEN POWERFUL
PRAYER TO RESIST HIM STARTS UP...THAT IS REGULAR. THIS
IS WHAT GOD HAS BEEN TRYING TO GET THROUGH TO ME...
AND I KNOW THAT THE PEACE THAT I HAVE BEEN NEEDING SO
THAT I CAN WRITE, SPEAK, ORGANIZE WHITNEYWORKS PLUS
ABUSE ALERT (AS AN EDUCATIONAL SITE TO HELP PREVENT
ABUSE SITUATIONS FROM STARTING, OR TO STOP THEM IN
THE EARLY STAGES, PLUS TO HELP THE MANY WHO ARE LIMPING
OR WORSE, AS I WAS FOR SO MANY YEARS.  (Many women
will be writing articles on different topics, men too, so it will never
seem to be "my" site. It will be seen as a team effort, and per-
haps I will just organize it in an unseen way (nationally) and
although God will give me the credit for all that is done in
faith and in obedience to Him, PEOPLE will not see me as any
force in it.  Except for entering some of my poems. No maybe
not even that. I want it to sound like EXPERTS who have spent
years in abuse work. I am an expert only in my own experience,
but I of course know more than that.

Must go eat.

Hope you can get mental rest as well as physical rest and a
true reprieve.

(Soon, I want us to talk about medical insurance. You really do
need to have it).

All for now.  Love, MOM

P.S. the time may come when [Sane Uncle]/Mom pay off your college loan
for you.  Who knows.  It is not impossible. But, [DC Cousin, Sane Uncle's daughter] starts
college in 3 years (that soon?).  Perhaps by then I will actually
be bringing in an income and be off SSI. Wouldn't that be fabu-
lous. IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD
(that is a scripture verse, forget the quote. I am very rusty on
what is where now, but that is OK, God understands!).

Again, this was not intended to be a sermon. I am just so relieved
that I know I can move forward now, AND IN A VERY POSITIVE
WAY, WITH TRIUMPH!

I have been AWOL for ages, I know, I know. Autumn in Shanghai is like this. I'm juggling so much work, I think my head will explode. Bleh.

As always, the more I have going on worth writing about, the less I have time to write about it.  So a quick wrap-up, in recent weeks:

I survived the Biennale rush, and it was all kind of disappointing this year. The official shows, the satellites were all rather meh.

I went to Beijing to cover a Valentino event, and saw the cute Korean. No progress. I flirted with him pretty blatantly, very chatty and touchy, and nothing. It was like hitting on a brick wall. We went out twice this trip. Either he's just not into me, or he really is that repressed. I officially give up. I not so desperate as to be throwing myself at brick walls.

Lots of other events, fashion, theater and music, meeting lots of new people. At the big Beach Rock concert on the 17th, maybe cos it was heavily a couple scene, so single women were few, maybe because it was punks instead of poppers so I didn't have the usual "property of Jifu" that is stamped on my head around music types, but I seriously got hit on a lot. Like five different guys. It was disconcerting. Flattering, but my days of dating scruffy musicians are so very over.

My mom has been sniffing the bible glue again lately, and sent me a scary/funny email all about SATAN! Need to post that.

I was offered a full-time job of opening a bureau for my main client, whose bosses were visiting Shanghai last week. I hope I managed to convince them that the status quo of me as super-stringer is preferable. Although the money IS tempting.

I am making a sincere effort to not drink on weekdays, in the interests of getting rid of the ring of flab around my midsection.  Some if not complete success. Doesn't help that I'm too busy to hit the gym as regularly as usual. And I left my Mp3 player cord in Beijing, and working out sucks without music. Time to buy an iPod finally? Hmm.  I want to visit the US for Christmas, and want to get back into at least my normal shape by then.

Much of web putzing time has been wasted lately posting on a site called singleasianmale.com. It's pretty funny. One the one hand, I want to cheer on the Asian-American guys trying to get more game. On the other hand, most of them are such small-minded, culturally ignorant, often racist bananas that it reminds me of why I gave up on ABCs in the first place.  But it also is a reminder that there are all sorts of guys with all sorts of attitudes out there, the good as well as the stupid, even in subcultural echo chambers like Asian-America.

I've made a couple of interesting new friends. A couple of cool art and music people who I look forward to getting to know better.

The book is a bit stalled, but I'm still picking away on it. I won't go to the US for Christmas unless I have a chapter and a half done on it. This marks a step down from my initial two and a half chapter target for year's end, but oh well.

Tomorrow's Hugo Boss. And today: I have some articles to go write! Bleh.