Goodbye Blogger, Hello Wordpress

It's time to say goodbye
to many sweet days with Blogger.

The Jade Teaspoon has moved to Wordpress
http://thejadeteaspoon.wordpress.com
and hopes to see you soon.

A Mongolian scholar of yore knows that to understand the world,
one needs to start with the globe.

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to publish to my blog from within Mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing. With every post, I hereby protest the oppressive nature of the Chinese government blocking access to any part of the web.

gobi life

Views from the PECTOPAH, the Mongolian stretch of the Trans-Siberian Express:

Home for 15 hours

Pulling into the Station

Sleeping the Night Away on a Plastic Bottle Pillow

Smiles from a Friendly Fellow Passenger

'Ger' (yurt) Residence on the Open Gobi Steppe

Bactrian Camel and Her Babe


Sunrise over the Gobi

Land of Horses and Horizons


Outskirts of Ulaanbaatar

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within Mainland China. Without access to a much-appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to publish to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing. With every post, I hereby protest the oppressive nature of the Chinese government blocking access to any part of the web.

eggplants & vehicles

"Eggplants are vehicles for flavor."

Over the years, I've drawn on these wise words of my good friend, Evan, many a time while in the kitchen.

While other vegetables are also vehicles for flavor -mushrooms, zucchini, and tofu- the versatile eggplant is one of my familiar favorites:

red sesame sauces the eggplant

First, a brief overview on how I classify eggplants into the following two types: prime and over-ripe.

If preparing the eggplant is an intimidation, what of purchasing and knowing when an eggplant is ripe?

eggplant do's

The 'prime' eggplant will have shiny skin and a body that is firm to the grip.

The skin color should be a deep forest indigo, with nary an undesirable brown patch. Whiteness at the stalk or base indicates a young, 'prime' eggplant.

The inner flesh should be white and a solid sponge-like mass. The seeds will not yet be visible. The flesh may still be slightly green near the skin, but this is not a problem.

A 'prime' eggplant -in my kitchen- is actually a bit under-ripe, green at the ends - just as I like my bananas!

eggplant don'ts

The skin of an 'over-ripened' eggplant will be soft and showing signs of wrinklage. If a gentle squeeze leaves an impression, do not buy! Of course, if the eggplant is already in your house, there are ways of reviving it (see below).

The resulting inner flesh will be limp and beginning to show brown variegated lines; the seeds are visible and maturing, creating a texture sensation that brings a wrinkle to the nose.

water good

A tip on maintaining freshness: eggplants like water.

If the eggplant starts to deflate with age, float it in a tub of water (before cutting it in anyway) and it will slowly [and mostly] rehydrate into its original shape and firmness. However, if the skin has already browned, I do not recommend this; it will take on water like a leaky boat!

Likewise, if after cutting you soak it, a soggy sponge you will find. This is not recommended.

to skin or not to skin

As for eating, the naturally tough skin of a young eggplant turn off many, and thus they miss out on the wonderful flesh of the eggplant.

A cultural note that I have learned while living in the East: Northern Chinese tend to remove the skin. Southern Chinese leave the skin on. And both turn their nose up at the other's doing!

I usually spare the skin, for reasons of adding color, diversifying texture, and retaining vitamins. If I properly roast the eggplant wedges before adding any water to steam, I find that the skins acquire a paper-like texture, breaking down for greater palatability.

But for the staunchly eggplant wary, the skin can be easily removed, without any upset to most recipes.

the knife

One last tip on cutting: The Chinese cut oblong vegetables on a quarter turn (i.e., slice at an angle, turn 90º, slice at an angle, turn 90º, etc.)

This ensures that every chunk has some skin on it, while also ensuring that each chunk is mostly flesh.

It also serves a thermal application by allowing the wedges to cook up nicely around the thinner edges while staying a bit firmer at the center.

the recipe: red sesame sauces the eggplant

I cooked up this particular dish, pictured above, in my kitchen last year, on the fly and with great results.

Unfortunately, I had not measured accurately, so I can only offer the below approximation:

ingredients

2-3 T vegetable oil
6-8 cloves garlic
1-in ginger, peeled
1 eggplant, large oblong
water, to steam
35-70 g tomato sauce
1 dollop sesame paste
1 T sugar
salt, to taste
spring onions, to garnish

method

Meanwhile, peel the garlic and ginger, and then smash them [individually] with the broadside of the knife blade.

Meanwhile, heat a generous amount of vegetable oil in a wok over medium flame.

A secret of mine is to drop a tiny clove of garlic in the oil right away; when it starts to sizzle, the oil is primed for adding vegetables. The fragrance serves as a nasal reminder and the sizzling offers an audible warning that the oil is cooking away, should I be minding the makings of another dish.

Mince, then sauté the smashed garlic and ginger over medium flame until golden.

Chop the eggplant into wedges, starting at one end and by turning 90º with each cut. Add directly to the garlic and ginger and oil, and continue tossing over medium heat:

roast, roast, roast my... eggplant

Roast the eggplant, adding a bit of oil to the bottom of the wok, so as to prevent burning. When the skins are sufficiently starting to paperfy, add water as necessary and cover with lid, to steam:

almost good enough to eat right now

Before the eggplant softens through, move the entire mass of eggplant, garlic, and ginger up the side of the wok, making way for the next step.

Add the tomato sauce, sesame paste, sugar, and salt (to taste) at once to the center of the pot, stirring as it boils:

caramelized goodness

The sauce will caramelize into a flavor sensation that can then be tossed with the eggplant.

Lastly, garnish with fresh or roasted sesame seeds and slivered spring onions:

ready to serve and savor

This dish keeps well, over the lowest flame, until the dinner bell rings -making it one of the few Chinese-style dishes that can suffer through a wait, if necessary.

Serve over a bed of fluffy white rice -or wheat noodles- and share with friends!

As this dish above shows, the eggplant is one vegetable vehicle worth a culinary ride!

(Thank you, Daydra, for inspiring the content of this post with your question!)

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much-appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to publish to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing. With every post, I hereby protest the oppressive nature of the Chinese government blocking access to any part of the web.

swiftest stallion

It was on a south-bound train, a few hours out of Beijing, that my lens caught this painted mosaic beyond the track:

Train #1403 slumbers along at unremarkable speeds, but even still, I am not quick enough to make meaning of these Chinese characters. My camera often acts as my ancillary faculty, and this snapshot proved no exception.

I awaited the opportunity to discover the wisdom written into these characters, above these colorful stallions.

writing on the wall

人无我有，人有我优，人优我精，人精我名

the swiftest stallion eats the greenest grass?

A bit of digging and a first translation later, a summary: The individual that prospers does so, [such that or so that] the community may benefit from it; you may even end up benefiting the most.

Or... perhaps it's not so much about helping others at all.... it's about taking initiative and the rewards to be gained.

After writing and pondering over the above, I think it is quite similar to the words of the well-known Benjamin Franklin, a Deist: God helps those who help themselves.

More so, it seems to say that you need to keep one step ahead of your neighbor, if you want to succeed.

line by line

人无我有 [rén wú wǒ yǒu]
Where others all but lack, I must gain.
人有我优 [rén yǒu wǒ yōu]
Where others simply gain, I must excel.
人优我精 [rén yōu wǒ jīng]
Where others merely excel, I must prosper.
人精我名 [rén jīng wǒ míng]
Where others only prosper, I will have fame.

interpretation

It would seem these stallions are not out for a teasing trot, nor an easy canter. In fact, these stallions are neck and neck, all-out galloping.

This is my first attempt to translate such an idiom or poem, and I am reminded that poetry -especially- is up for interpretation. Poetry [and its interpretation] is depth reflecting on beauty.

That it faces the train tracks, seems that the mural was erected especially for those riding the rail.

Of the millions riding this coal-eating, iron-striding horse, I wonder how many eyes actually meet these words.

Or are they too busy, racing too quickly, to see?

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to publish to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing. With every post, I hereby protest the oppressive nature of the Chinese government blocking access to any part of the web.

hangzhou baozi

My morning class is now over, and lunch time is near.

I take to the busy streets of Beijing and head toward my favorite diner: a small hole in the wall that specializes in steamed buns and steamed dumplings.

The small restaurant is impossible to miss; circular stacks of bamboo steamers rise like culinary skyscrapers from atop the barrel of boiling water. Steam pours through the trays, around the stacks. Every so often a woman ducks out into the open, shuffles the trays and disappears again, back into the restaurant she's processing even more buns :

flour + steam = baozi

I used to duck in for take-out and buy a tray of garlic-chive and egg steamed buns for just ¥3.5 (just over USD0.50), then continue on my way homeward. But lately, I've decided to stick around for a sit-down meal.

Vegetarian buns are sold out at the moment, which I infer only from her pause and simple comment, "wait awhile." A simple reply of "okay" is enough to put in my order.

I regret not asking how long a wait it will be, but I realize that time is an honest teller. So, I take my seat and listen to the TV that blares from the front corner: an ancient soap with characters befuddled in a time of war.

My gaze follows the woman, who stands at the front of the restaurant, her seasoned hands dusted with flour and crusted with tendrils of dough:

bamboo manger: where baozi are born

Her husband appears from a door at the back, and silently delivers two bowls of broth to the girls at a neighboring table. I decide soup will be a wonderful way to pass the time, and place another order with him, which he silently takes into the shop's rear kitchen.

In China, one *drinks* soup [喝糖]. Below, a simple egg drop soup in hot water, with a double sprig of seaweed and cilantro for aroma:

scrambled egg drops the soup

Before I had time to drink mine, the wait for steamed buns proved fruitful; a tray made just for me:

garlic & chives egg the baozi

A boazi and tang (dumplings and soup) set, complete with a friendly serving of red chili & oil, black malt vinegar, and dark sweet soy:

the friendliest chili you'll ever taste

Still not tempted? Visit the bun shop for yourself:

the Hangzhou Diner

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to publish to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing. With every post, I hereby protest the oppressive nature of the Chinese government blocking access to any part of the web.

google error

Google has recently stated that it is investigating a new approach to its dealing with China.

Security breaches aimed at the search giant also struck out at several other entities, targeting what seems to be the accounts of human rights activists.

I wonder if someone as unknown as myself could be among the unnumbered individuals targeted. I am doubtful, but I would be honored.

exemplary

This comes after Google first gained access to the mainland, back in 2006. But to do so, Goggle submitted to the stipulation of filtered searches within China and so compromised its motto of "Don't be evil."

In condoning the blatant censorship of the People's Republic of China, Google continues to say that censorship is not only permissible, but exemplary.

I applaud Google and furthermore challenge Google to take this new approach very seriously. While compromise must be made between any two parties, a compromise of values is simply to condone the lesser.

powerless

Powers that be have the responsibility to use power for good. Who enjoys its power at the expense of those without, renders that power useless.

When will Google use its power to make a stand for what it believes in, to make a stand for those who cannot?

The magnitude of its actions is not a simple matter of beliefs, for it has the potential to undo the brainwashing of years and to better ensure the guarantee of human rights through transparency.

forbidden fruit

Google.cn may not be a household word here in China, but for those who are familiar with the internet, it is a recognizable giant in the world of search. Especially for those interested in foreign affairs, western culture, etc. It also serves a minority of people in China, foreign and local, who search using English as the input text.

It's not difficult to search for blocked content on the Chinese internet.

Below, I simply typed in the name of the People's Square, the Gate of Heavenly Peace. It is a site of great tourist interest, located adjacent and south of the Forbidden City:

Digging deeper: an image search for "tiananmen+square+massacre+in+1989" yields the following:

However, trying to open the link attached to the photo in the bottom left yields a misleading apology from Google:

很抱歉，在 www.google.cn 上没找到您要访问的网页
[We're very sorry, the webpage you are looking for could not be found by www.google.cn]

disclosure

Look closely. Bravo, Google!

With every search that it cannot will not complete, Google admits error:

public confession

To be fair, the same search on www.google.com (without the use of a VPN), however actually showed this today - a first!

forbidden fruit: graphic thumbnails

Usually such thumbnails are ghosted as the five blanks above. Interestingly, I was even able to open links to each page, including raw criticism and denunciation of the 1989 Massacre.

So, what's the scoop, Google? China?

How much longer will sighted eyes be blinded, how much longer will mouths with voices be silenced?

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to publish to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing. With every post, I hereby protest the oppressive nature of the Chinese government blocking access to any part of the web.

little robin

With every utterance of control, there is an ego born of pride, of false knowing and incomplete understanding.

For as much as we control, so are we controlled by that which is around us. As much as we analyze this process, even more so do we become a part of it.

It is sheer ignorance, if the naiveté of humanity, that permits even us to step outside of that which consumes us, that which is a part of the whole, and is the whole itself. That we might suggest that our will is not its will, that our error is not its error.

It is another arrogance to say that our error is but its error, to deny our actions on its behalf.

For all that began with nature will again end with nature - that is, entertaining the contrived concept of a beginning and an end. All that meets the eye is but a piece of the whole, the whole being a cycle of which there is no witness of a beginning and without certainty of an ending.

Our eyes see with limited sight. Our minds breathe with limited life. It is this inability to conceive of that which endures all, that which is all - that defines our being a part of the process - and not outside of, beyond, or above all.

How closely tied is our instinct to our adeptness. For it is our instinct to learn, to grow, to adapt. And so, mankind has, and will, continue in a way that always will.

Why does the sun differ from the moon? For the same reason, or lack thereof, that we are not mere beasts. We are no different, though our tongue speaks not the same.

However superb we elevate our humanity about the robin, still we know not its thoughts.

Might we entertain that its thought leaves ours behind, that it lives in a world to which we are but a busy simplicity, ever concerned with fabrications of an imagination cultivated? But we do not know what the robin thinks or even wills.

If there comes a day when we do see eye to eye with the skirting robin - will we be prepared for such complexity, as we now understand not?

Is it possible that we, too, may evolve in a parallel way, and as such, these two days may never coincide as one? So the robin and man, ever in watch, ever to question, never to know.

It is this longing and lacking that drives the cycle and leads us only to tomorrow.

We are never a farther step from today.

[c. 20071014]

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to publish to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing. With every post, I hereby protest the oppressive nature of the Chinese government blocking access to any part of the web.

on respect

Over the years, I have pondered much the notion of respect –what it does mean and what it does not mean. While it may be foolish to try to define it rigidly or simplistically, I find value in pursuing a truer understanding of it. To disregard the exploration of the abstraction or ambiguity surrounding respect, is to simply default to a superficial definition of respect.

a question

How do the terms ‘survivalism’ and ‘selfishness’ pertain to ‘respect’?

Survivalism may encompass an act or a choice made, cognitively or otherwise, that without being made would lead to the destruction of the self, and by exaggerated extension, the human race. Literally, to survive is to simply to continue [the] existence [of an entity, being.]

Selfishness may describe those actions or choices made, on matters that do not endanger the continuation of one’s existence, and in fact, may create frivolous benefits at the expense of another’s survival. Literally, to be selfish is simply to lack consideration of others.

intersection

I believe these two concepts intersect [or diverge] at a common point, namely respect. I summarize ‘respect’ as “the cognizant compromise of the superfluous desires of the self for the preservation of the basic needs of another.”

When I directly devalue the needs of another at the mere gratification of myself, do I disrespect another. When I value another’s intrinsic rights by relinquishing my desires unessential, do I respect another. Without an intrinsic understanding of this, one is even incapable of respecting the self, and by extension, another.

Disrespect is born via the cognitive acknowledgment, or ignorance of, the sometimes subtle and highly relative distinction of ‘need’ vs. ‘want’.

defining by opposite

Defining what is a ‘need’ or what is ‘essential’ is no abecedarian task. Similarly, defining what is ‘superfluous’ or what is merely a ‘desire’ is better left to the omniscient.

But reality defies the ideality of accurately distinguishing between ‘needs’ and ‘wants’, and so demands otherwise; the one left to practice respect is, ultimately, the common person –you and I.

Perhaps a need is but something we have, if even without wanting it; a desire is but something we want, if only without having it. In quantitative terms, a ‘need’ might have a negative value; a ‘want’ might have a positive value, with survival hovering only at a neutral value between, zero.

Looking at the meanings opposite of ‘survival’ and ‘selfless’, only then, may it be possible to gain a better understanding of where or how these concepts truly intersect to better realize respect, as not only a relative abstraction, but as a tangible reality.

That which speaks not of survival speaks not of life. It speaks of peril and all that perishes.

That which speaks not of the selfish speaks of all that is selfless. It speaks not only of generosity and all that is altruistic, but also of applied philanthropic action.

what it is

Respect is a choice; it is not a simple definition carved out of infallible stone. It is a choice made by the fallible, by the common person, which speaks of a regard for life, of a concern for others.

Respect speaks of sought-out understanding –both of the self, as well as a willed understanding of others.

And living mindfully in the balance between.

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to publish to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing. With every post, I hereby protest the oppressive nature of the Chinese government blocking access to any part of the web.

officialdom

the red stamp of officialdom

This red stamp validates and sublimely summarizes the last four months of my service as a visiting English Teacher, partnering up with EduChina and Shangqiu Experimental Elementary Schools of Henan Province.

Two months ago, I requested a letter of recommendation, and my superior insisted that a personalized recommendation could not compare to this certificate; it is the thing that employers will look for... and so be dazzled by.

Below is my 聘书 [pinshu, Certificate of Appointment] with EduChina, China's largest educational service provider:

it's official: my EduChina Certificate of Appointment

中国教育学会中育教育发展研究中心特聘JESSICA老师卫中国教育学会实验学校英语口语教学简直教师。

[Chinese Society of Education and Education Research Center for Educational Development distinguishes Teacher JESSICA as a part-time Spoken English Teacher for the Chinese Society of Education Experimental School.]

I am amused, in fact, for I fear that only Chinese companies will take it seriously.

But at least it's official.

critically

For obvious starters, my surname is missing; I am represented, in full, only by my given name.

I briefly imagine that I have a following who know me simply as "...Jessica..." -in a way that I am not confused for another Jessica, nor are others confused for me.

But this is not a reality, and I am thankful for it.

Secondly, 2009年9月20日, the date printed at bottom right (i.e., September 20, 2009) is actually a date before I had worked for, let alone heard of their organization.

Had I not started working for them until the end of October?

Thirdly, the certificate simply states that I have been appointed as an Oral English Teacher. It says no more about what I have contributed; it says not why they would recommend me in the future to others.

Have I left them speechless?

offense in no sense

No matter how convincingly or logically one may argue, it seems that a personalized and thoughtfully tailored recommendation letter is a simple frivolity.

I would take it personally, but I cannot.

This is standard business in China.

An easily reproducible certificate bearing a 盖章 [gàizhāng, an "official" red stamp] is the more desirable.

The red stamp has the final say.

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to publish to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing. With every post, I hereby protest the oppressive nature of the Chinese government blocking access to any part of the web.

counterfeit coal

No part of this post is written with explicit intent to compare the literal and figurative, and any resemblance to any character that died in 1976 may be purely coincidental.

Introducing the Chinese ¥100 bill -two of them, to be exact:

detect the twin: indubitable identical and fraternal fake

Let me explain.

Over the last month of 2009, I came to be the unwitting owner of two fake ¥100 banknotes.

Interestingly, I could only have received them from a student of mine, and it implies either their knowing of the counterfeit bills, or that they two were unaware of their being counterfeit.

rejection

I was made aware of their fakehood by several vendors: the taxi driver, the grocery store clerk, the phone card street vendor. Nobody wanted my pink bills.

Was it simply because of the small tear, running vertically? The torn off corner? Was this simply the coal left for me at the end of a lackluster year?

eagle eye

It seems the answer is not so straightforward. Upon a closer look, the differences are neither minute nor few.

Challenge: if you scan the photos but do not skim the following text, can you spot the fake?

Using my neighborhood as a natural light-table, here is a comparison of two bills. First, with flash, then without:

see any differences?

how about now?

With a back light, the real Mao on the left is more 'lively'. The fake Mao on the right appears more opaque, and it should; it is simply another layer of ink to obscure the light. Additionally, the '100' watermark at left is noticeably absent on the counterfeit right:

watermark or wash out?

Looking closer still, in plain sight, the fake (right) offers a 'watermark' that is no more than a fleshy ink (note, the real watermark (left) can be seen even from looking at your computer screen from a different angle):

ghostly or yellowed?

The close-up below addresses two aspects: the iridescence of the '100' at left (real), and the luster-lacking design at left (fake):

iridescent does it... and does it not

Another method, impossible to convey virtually, is the textured surface of certain areas of the note. Mao's left hairline is subtly raised, as is the '1oo' and emblem below, as well as the curved ridge of lines extending below (the latter being present in recent printings). The fake, at right, offers some, but not all of this rich texture. You'll have to trust me on this.

Holding the note at edge and looking left across the top right, you will find that a perpendicular look at the oval 'emblem' of a fake note offers nothing more. The real ¥100 note, however, has a a '100' hiding inside:

how many '1oo' can you see?

In the below image, the real note is at left, the fake at right. There are obvious differences in the pattern clarity and color subtlety. Generally speaking, the fake is never as delicate; in fact, it is often rather bold:

textured lines: all in the touch

The difference is that the magnetic strip at top (fake) is merely a painted green line, whereas the real magnetic strip actually shows depth in color against the neighboring ink:

magnetic strip or painted line?

The offset of the magnetic strips is no alarm, unfortunately; not all magnetic strips are equally spaced along the horizontal.

flipside

Looking at the back side of the ¥100 note, more differences await:

ZHONGGUO RENMIN YINHANG: People's Bank of China

The color differences in the pattern below would only raise concern if comparing side by side, and even then, this alone cannot discern the counterfeit bill:

color differences

Below, design subtlety shows through on the fake (top) and real (below) bills, as do color intensity (note the swirled crests within the double zeroes). Additionally, the blue and red mosaic tiles are truncated at the bottom left:

missing mosaic...

This below image makes it difficult to see any difference, but it is possible to tell that the '100' bleeds through from the front, legible still:

barely visible... but there!

Note the differences in design below: the fake (top) has a more unified color hue than the real bill (below). Also, the fake leaves little guesswork in deciphering the repeated 'RMB100' lettering, as compared with the subtlety below it:

under scrutiny: the stark and subtle

Looking at the iridescent magnetic strip, other detail differences appear.

Some results using flash:

Fake is dull. Real is iridescent.

Without the presence of flash, another detail comes to light:

Fake has inversed '¥100'. Real is iridescent, but without clarity of text.

lessons learned

A few words of warning:

Beware the crisp bill that speaks stiffly of unsophisticated paper brittle, not the minted cloth robust.

Beware the clean tear on a new bill, not yet worn with the use of trusted years.

Spend a few minutes getting to know your money, issued straight from the bank.

When in doubt, compare with a trusty bill in your pocket.

And lastly, trust in people, but never in money.

dead giveaways

Mao might be dead, but these counterfeits are being given away like spittle to the wind.

My days of blindly accepting payment from a trusty source, however, are over. I will pass a shrewd eye over any bill, be it received in straightforward friendship or slippery foeship.

As for the fate of the two counterfeit bills in my possession?

Lucky for me, I discovered my fakes before the bank would've, as the notes would have been confiscated. And so, they will become a memorable part of a scrapbook from my time in China, the land of real fakes.

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to publish to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing. With every post, I hereby protest the oppressive nature of the Chinese government blocking access to any part of the web.