Category Archives: culture

Not Two: Stillness and Digital Life at a Korean Monastery

Posted on January 11, 2012 by An Xiao

Pico Iyer has a lovely article out in the latest New York Times focusing on "The Joy of Quiet". It’s a great read and has a few lovely gems: In barely one generation we’ve moved from exulting in the time-saving devices that have so expanded our lives to trying to get away from them — [...]

Expanding the Definition of Avatar: Artists, Avatars and Self-Portraiture

Posted on October 29, 2011 by An Xiao

Artists and avatars. I’m always very conscious about the way I use my avatar, the message it sends to the world. Some call it branding, some call it self-expression, some call it communication. But my avatar represents me in some fashion. Kyle Chayka in LA Weekly wrote a thought-provoking essay about artists and their online [...]

Harvest Celebrations and Back in Beijing

Posted on September 12, 2011 by An Xiao

Back in Beijing after nearly a month in Korea. Left Seoul just as they began celebrating Chuseok, which friends translated as “Korean Thanksgiving.” And then I arrived in Beijing for Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie: 中秋节), where we drank, sang songs and ate mooncakes. It’s interesting to think about the many harvest-themed festivals in the industrialized [...]

Greetings from Gwangju, Korea

Posted on August 19, 2011 by An Xiao

Despite being only about 1000 kilometers (~600 miles) by the way the crow flies, the journey from Beijing, China to Gwangju, Korea requires nearly a 12 hour odyssey. Early wake-up in Beijing, cab ride in the morning sun to Beijing Capital International Airport, land in Seoul Gimpo International Airport (lovely, by the way–much faster and [...]

At the Old Drum and Bell Towers in Beijing

Posted on June 26, 2011 by An Xiao

Swung by the Old Drum and Bell Towers area this weekend to see Chak Man Lei’s tango dancing, as part of Stephanie Rothenberg’s Travel Office, an art installation/performance art intervention she’s set up in Beijing. The area reminds me a bit of Brooklyn, a historic part of Old Beijing quickly gentrifying and attracting “hipster” types [...]

The Enduring Value of Soho

Posted on June 3, 2011 by An Xiao

A sign outside Jianwai SOHO, a home office complex in Beijing’s Central Business District. The enduring real estate value of the word “Soho” is amazing to me. It apparently started as a hunting cry that became associated with a fashionable part of London. Then New York sprouted SoHo, of course, which has arguably outshone its [...]

Aesthetic Minimalism, Ethical Minimalism

Posted on May 30, 2011 by An Xiao

When I moved to Asia, I packed up only two carry-on size luggages. “That’s it?” my friends asked. “That’s it,” I said. I couldn’t think of anything else. I had my casual clothes. My nice clothes. A couple dresses, a few pairs of shoes. Jewelry. Electronics, of course. If I needed something, I figured I [...]

My Talk at co[LAB] Manila and Why the Philippines Rules Social Networking

Posted on May 13, 2011 by An Xiao

Great afternoon helping kick off co[LAB] Manila’s new Spark Series, a series of talks and workshops designed to inspire Manila’s creative and entrepreneurial community. A bit of a homecoming for me, as I’ve not lived in Manila since I was a wee one, and I must say it was quite lovely. The space itself is [...]