And more.

"The east shall shake the west awake
And ye shall have night for morn"

- James Joyce / "Finnegan's Wake"

America is not at war, the Marine Corp is at war. America is at the Mall

Modern Beijing

I can't access my blog so I thought i'd try a post using other methods. This is modern Beijing. Like no other.

"The east shall shake the west awake
And ye shall have night for morn"

- James Joyce / "Finnegan's Wake"

America is not at war, the Marine Corp is at war. America is at the Mall

---

Chasing Chip

China's cities are tiered according to their size and development and yesterday we headed out to a tier 4 city called Ba Zhou, and then even further afield into the rural economy to get a feel for what it means when a household mobile phone purchase requires a few months or more of saving. I've really been looking forward to this part of our work because as I've pointed out before it doesn't take too much effort to win over the cosmopolitan elite with bells and whistles but the solid working people from the rust belts and further afield work hard for their money and it takes considerably more respect and sensitivity, not to say thinking, in order to understand more fully the contexts of their lives. The pampered classes like you and I are a pushover in this respect. First off I was struck by the polythene sheeting for the windows of one household above. It was pretty chilly but warm tea was served and we were treated as welcome guests with apples and oranges and even cigarettes left by a clean ashtray.

Cooking is done with a coal fired oven and I got thinking of Graham and his Pheasant plucking which took 45 minutes over here, and how much more work it woud take to cook the thing, not to mention the cleaning and maintenance. I regret now that I didn't get a shot of the steaming dumplings under the lid of this one. Its not quite the same as taking a phone call over the new Smeg Oven while peeling off the cling film wrap from some Sainsbury's pork chops is it?

Yes it's a huge living room compared to many city dwellers but all I could think of was how much harder it would be to heat up with those polythene windows. Good for the kids to crawl about in the summer though. On the right is one of those huge posters depicting a non existant idylic rural scene such as smoky waterfalls, that are so popular right across Asia.

There are two types of coal used in these parts and this is the lumpy stuff that gets broken down to feed the oven. Behind me is the local coal dealers stock pile.

Which is purchased by the households and then kept in dryer conditions because gas mark 5 to get the frozen pizzas nice and crispy isn't so easy to achieve when dealing with damp fuel.

Then there are the coal briquettes which are used for the relatively primative central heating. They are more efficient in terms of quality and the size that allows them to burn stronger but also for longer. I was particularly excited by the winter cabbages being stored here because when I heard about the whole 'stocking 200 heads of cabbage' for winter in Chinese households I couldn't quite imagine how it worked but in the cold of winter its practically a fridge outside and so they are maintained. I'm also rather fond of cabbage in soups, as well as buttered with some creamy mustard. Out here though its pretty much a staple food.

I couldn't help but imagine that this scene hasn't changed since the the middle of the century and further back really. It wouldn't take too much to knock out a Hovis inspired Ad for those phones evoking the romance of a bygone era would it? Point being its far from gone yet.

This Gentleman was the happiest and simplest guy I've met in ages. Only recently married his house was decked out with all new mod cons including the winter bed behind him which is harder than the summer bed because of a thinner mattress to allow the heat from the oven outside to permeate through. When oil reaches three hundred dollars a barrel maybe we'll all be a bit more frugal with how we use energy with ideas like this. It was also interesting figuring out why he'd switched from three consecutive international mobile phone brands to his intention to buy a local brand next. Initially his reasoning was that all technology is the same so why pay a premium but with some thoughtful probing it turned out his new wife was now in charge of the purse strings. Fair play to him I thought. Women make for great houshold finance directors, although I'd be inclined to communicate that those local brands are in fact a false economy.

One more oven shot from the Gentleman above, you can tell I like them can't you? I got the feeling that this one would be less frequently used to begin with, as he and his new wife took communal meals with his parents who live close by after building him his new home. I forget the Chinese word for this style of living. I like the way that relationships are maintained through meals though. They don't share the living space together but food helps to keep a sense of familial involvment doesn't it?

And here is their equivalent of a 7-eleven convenience store for those last minute veggie purchases maybe forgotten to be picked up at the local weekly market shop. There were quite prominent mobile phone operator tariff communications in that establishment too.

Those ovens do require feeding with some decent kindle to get that coal going, and this 53 year old woman seemed to be making reasonably light work of the load needed for her household. All in all it was a fascinating day but I got the feeling that I'd like to have done a couple of nights braving the winter chill and getting into the routines of their lives to really understand what it means to sell a liberating and democratising piece of technology such as a mobile phone to these folks.

A New Dawn

I've had some messed up sleeping patterns for a couple of months now, and I was kind of hoping that the continental move and time zone difference would cancel that out. It hasn't and so I finally got to sleep between 5 or 6 in the morning earlier today a wee bit worried that I'd be fading very quickly. However I felt quite perky on getting up and thought I'd take a snap of the view from my new apartment to share with you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you "The Jing". The air here is frequently polluted but this morning (as indeed was the first morning I spent here in September) felt like a morning for heroes. The glare from the sun on the buildings was so strong that I nearly broke out into a chorus of 'The future's so bright I gotta wear shades'. Well OK I lied about that bit but what's a blog for if I can't blag a bit right? So really I hailed a taxi and made my way into my shiny new work place.

Shanghai

Nothing special here but a few clips and pics from The Shanghai. The city has its own light that I don't think I've quite seen anywhere else. It also has that feel during the day when away from the skyscrapers of being on a film set like a few minor details and its straight into the time from way back when. I like the way the laundry is hanging to dry indicating that there is no space inside. Needs must and all that.

Poverty is present in all big cities and this is a scene which can just as easily be seen in London or New York. It was taken in a shop entrance and I felt like I was invading his privacy but also by using a sepia colour it dramatizes the throw back to an earlier time. Yet otherwise the following clip could be anywhere in some senses.

Merry Bleeding Chrimbo

The idea of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ always strikes me as a good thing. Depending on who you speak to the man could well have been a freedom fighter that spoke about love and peace, the John Lennon of his times, or a rebel that upset the Jewish faith. Some people don't even think someone special existed but its a hell of a construct to insert a fictional character into history with ideas that have spread around the world and are, in many instances, not so far from some of the other major religions including the social responsibility stuff from Islam and most of the eight major precepts of Buddhism.

I'm rereading Bulgakov's The Master and the Margarita at the moment (thanks Sasha) and I'm still blown away by that scene where Pontius Pilate has a splitting headache and fundamentally doesn't want to crucify Jesus but is under enormous pressure from the president of the Sanhedrin, the high priest of Judaea to crucify this awkward vagrant philosopher and let the common criminal Barabbas go free instead, as was the custom during the Passover to commute a sentence for one individual. Its so vivid that it might well be one of my most favourite chapters in any book ever. It brings to life, a life and death decision that possibly changed the world.

Why am I talking about this? Well as I've pointed out elsewhere if you try and bring up politics and religion in general discourse today people think you're nuts. They really think you've lost the plot. Yet is it just me that looks at the insane Christmas consumption frenzy (as the planet heats up) and thinks that the rest of the world has gone nuts? Don't get me wrong I think its a great time for children along with an opportunity to talk about some the ideas that were shared a couple of millennium ago. But what we have now, is so far removed from the idea that started it all I now have no time at all for the whole Shitmas gig.

Just last night I took a scout around Beijing's Nan Jiu Ba Jie in the SanLiTun area to see if I could find any decent DJ's and sure enough I did, although I had to work my way through the usual expat dribble of crap hip hop, drunk for life anthems and low-so discourse. But on leaving one place I saw this poster and as much as I think too few women know how important top quality lingerie really is I couldn't help concluding that this poster captures the essence of Christmas in the 21st century. A self indulgent piss up with the chance for an office party leg over followed by mince pies, Christmas pudding, liquor galore and gifts all round without a hint of what the gift of giving is really all about.

History of Blogging

From Rinaz

Virgin Ata - lantic ; We salute you

I like the randomness of different travel modes and rarely do much thinking about what form of travel will be best. I like variety. I've taken fourth class trains to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, heaving with noisy chickens and snoring rice farmers in intense heat, or more memorably one dangerous 26 hour coach journey from Rangoon to Ngapali beach on the Bay of Bengal in Burma (easily the most beautiful and tranquil beach in the world I've come across). The driver on that particular trip used vocal instructions to a "co-driver" pulling a piece of string which led out the window and underneath the bus to control the breaks. I was OK with that (I had no choice actually) but late into the darkest of nights towards the end of the journey I was compelled to use some ferociously strong language as the driver started nodding off and careering across the road until he was jolted awake by some innate ability to save his and our lives.

I was the only one witness to notice we were facing impending death as my co-passengers were asleep, so despite having only a few words of Burmese I made it clear I would personally throttle him if he fell asleep again by roaring at him in language that would have made mid 80's Millwall fans proud, and gesturing wildly like I was wringing a chicken's neck. This worked a treat and he woke up permanently at this although the snoring passengers were none the wiser.

So it was with some surprise that I received a text from Virgin Atlantic the night before my flight asking for my passport number. We were all having a few cleansing departure ales the night before and eating my red rose that darling Sasha gave me, so I couldn't oblige at the time.


I called first thing the next morning and to my surprise was confirmed as having a chauffeur to Heathrow which kind of made me feel a bit spesh. But once you've flown Bangladeshi/Ethiopian Airlines or Air India its all Bisto after that as Ricky B would say. I was however highly impressed with the whole experience because once inside, the very pleasant driver checked me in with his mobile phone, and within no time at all I was driven into the new Virgin Atlantic 'Upper Class' entrance and passed through the whole shebang within minutes. Without even time to conclude that I wasn't going to have my socks X rayed by a surly Heathrow security attendant, I sashayed into the Upper Class lounge. Virgin have got it going on and I wont even go into the massage treatment on board the plane or the bar that allows travelers to socialise and mingle a little.

Here's a brief 'squirt' as they say in the TV trade, of the lounge. I was most impressed with the food selection which included brilliant breads, roll mop herrings, fresh anchovies and lots of yummy salty things that only the Scandinavians know how to do best. All in all, Virgin Atlantic have got it going on. We salute you.

testing if pics can be attached too email blog posts :)

--
Charles Frith
+44 792 3448067

'America is not at war, The Marine Corps is at war, America is at the mall'

Planning Scoff

This is Mr Humphrey or 'Word of Mouth Will' as he is known in some circles. He is easily the best networker in the Plannersphere and a bit of a bugger too I might add, but as he was cheeky enough to launch this blog without my consent (classic punk planning I might add and something I blogged about over here) I guess I'd better give a tip of the ol' hat to this little scamp. Will was kind enough to bid me farewell a couple of nights ago, so I'll post this photo in the manner I would most wish to remember him by. Tucking into the excellent scram of Maoz Falafel in Soho, and comparatively quiet ;)

Photoblogging 2.0

I have a bunch of snaps from the Nokia N95 which in general has quite a cool camera facility even thought it blows chunks when it comes to speed. First off is the window to BBC Radio, Broadcasting House on Portland Place which stopped me in its tracks because it had a BBC Acorn computer in the window.

This is like tech porn for people like me who saw the P.C. revolution take off with computers like this and the incredible ZX81 and Spectrum which are easily responsible for a whole generation of top notch computer scientists. So thanks Sir Clive Sinclair who also invented that remarkably prescient but rejected Sinclair C5 that my friend Matt Catt turned up to a party in and instanly blew up the whole of London's oh so trendy collective by being both hip and more crucially, sustainable.

Later on I saw this protestor outside the Chinese Embassy further up the road on Portland Place.

I nipped into Soho later and thought how well the sex shops just get to the point when it comes to typography and layout


I can't help thinking about Lederhosen Lloyd at this juncture before having a bit of a dirty laugh with Angus at this point for asking me THAT question while being filmed. Which while we're on the topic. This movie seems timely doesn't it missy?

I thought Fiona's shoes were looking fab the other night. Top tip gentlemen, always notice a womans shoes or you aren't noticing anything.


But I didn't hang around for that party as I was up the next day nice 'n early doing my magic light trick in my NAKED hands.

But not before tucking into the finest breakfast I've been enjoying outside of the Breakfast Club in Soho. Ladies & Gentlemen, The Mayflower Cafe on London Road's Sausage, Egg, Black Pudding, Grilled Tomatoes, Tea & Sliced Crusty. Awesome eh? I swear that bacon looks like maps of England and Croatia draped over the unusually lengthy sausage.

This is why I've put on at least a stone while in the UK and why I'm hitting the gym in the not very distant future. Feeling awesome and powerful after this quintessential British breakfast I felt in the mood to tackle this guy with some metaphysics. I think he liked me because he let me take his picture.

He looks like he is levitating ever so slightly in this shot. And right behind him you can see the Elizabethan Whitgift Alms Houses in Croydon, right next to Alders I think which kind of sums up the area for insenstive town planning. I believe they are going to exhume the River Wandle that was filled in the 60's to make way for roads. More on that later.

Further on down I met an ill mannered chap who represented some anti European lobby/party. Well they have got a point haven't they but seriously, Its not the end that is wrong. It's the means. I hope that people appreciate we aren't going to solve global warming on our own. We need big chunky respected institutions and the E.U. has greater gravitas than the Whitehouse and the Beijing Politburo combined. The E.U. isn't also obsessed with the growth growth growth growing unsustainable growth word. Growing growing gone I say.

So look, I'm sorry to get onto my socks but if Coleman can talk about his so can I because I've been packing over the weekend and I have a simple question. How the hell do I have seven odd socks. I'm sorry to burden you with this. But a reasonable explanation would be of succour. I'm also short on socks.

And while we're at it those Design Conspiracy boys are a bit fly by night with some questionable screen printing. Look how the original silk screen print of the longest city name in the world has gone to pot from when it was fresh over here in June.

Yesterday I also saw the Innocent ethos in action thing for the first time at Harrods supermarket. Raising money for the elderly. Funny how doing good is so much more respected than preaching good right? Most marketing people still dont quite get it yet though.




Which has nothing to do with my favourite Turkish restaurant that serves up this awesome spread for a fiver on a Sunday night after a long day at the orifice.

On a brighter note thought I absolutely love this birthday card that Audrey received for her birthday and thought I'd snap it before it was lost to posterity.

another test post

This looks interesting too. thanks russell.

http://www.aql.com/site/sms2email.php

--
Charles Frith
+44 792 3448067

'America is not at war, The Marine Corps is at war, America is at the mall'

Substandard

Sorry about the quality of picture but I was so angry I was probably shaking the camera with when I took it on the (ahem) subway. Anyway it says "Try our authentic sweet chilli chicken subs"

I've always thought that Subway make a sub standard sandwich, like its done the sub way or something, but they've particularly pissed me off with this kind of advertising which is every reason why our profession is viewed as on a par with politicians and snake oil salesmen. The sheer subterfuge of selling a sandwich that has fuck all to do with Thailand apart from a couple of cents worth of substitute generic sweet chilli sauce really pisses me off.

Bread and all the fillings inside this Turd de Blanc have nothing to do with the Thai diet and if you are under the impression that you've gone all ethnic by eating this nonsense then I can assure you that the only thing authentic about this torpedo are the plastic sachets of sweet chilli sauce most often found in Western fast food outlets in Thailand.

If you want to see a real agency talk about Subway I suggest you take two minutes to check out this incredible video.

Update: I managed to take some better snaps last night. Discover Thailand my ass.

Update: Subway are to remove Yoga Mat chemicals from their bread.

Scamp

Scamp from BBH has cracked out one of the best print executions I've seen in a long time. This is why I love the print genre so very much. If there is anybody here from around the world who doesn't understand it, I'd love to hear from you because its well worth explaining. I particularly like print because I can linger on them without pressing pause or go back and read it if I like something without using up more electricity.

Digital Backflips

NFGman

Well most of you know that I'm heading to the Wild East again and before I go I want to thank y'all. I've truly never met a more interesting and friendly bunch of people than in London this time round. It's been my fourth stay in our shining example of a multi-ethnic and cohesive metropolis that I love so much. I'll also miss the insanely rich architecture, chunky history, spectacular food, argy bargy pubs and most of all, you lot.

Sadly for me, but brilliant for you (hurrah), there will be internet restrictions for me in the future and this will probably mean less activty in doing what I love more than posting here, which is leaving comments on your blogs. It will also mean that this gaff will have less frequent posting and probably slow as hell comment moderation so I ask that you all kindly bear with me on being slow to respond or reciprocate in any digital way please? I'd really appreciate that and while Cocomment isn't as good as it used to be it's still the best at keeping an eye on incoming or outgoing comment activity.

But this is important to me because a blog is for life and not just for Christmas..... (chuckles)

OK I'm laying it on a bit but I'm quite fond of a little melodrama and it doesn't really work in Asia so cut me some slack this once. I'll be travelling quite lot, and able to post freely in the countries that aren't afraid of Blogger, Typepad and Wikipedia to name a few.

I also wouldn't be too harsh on countries that are still growing into the 21st century. You know, if we think about say the Balkans conflict, and multiply that by thousands, you get the big picture why a country cannot always give its people the full freedoms that we are so lucky to enjoy here in the West without it turning into a freaking mess. If indeed that liberty applies to the United States anymore, where as far as I can see even my educated and progressive American friends daren't say anything in the digital domain against the current regime in power. You know, stuff like invading another country for oil, lying about the motives for it, and all executed after one of the most questionable election victories in U.S. political history which we all forgot about because of that convenient terror terror terror terror terror (are you bored yet?) terrorist act. I say convenient because its not like the agenda was kept a secret or anything, by the well known names who signed the bottom of this declaration in 1997.

Anyway, many of you know that I have a deep affection for the United States. I grew up under its benevelont, generous and protectful arm during the Wirtschaftwunder of post war Germany. So its not through bitterness but sadness that I'm stirred up a bit like this. Particularly when the finger pointing begins about who fights hardest to secure the freedom which only ever really resides in our minds. Or as Ben Franklin put it best 'Anyone that is willing to sacrifice freedom for safety, deserves neither".

But getting back on track, the reason for this post is that its my first test post via email (and thus mobile phone...Kaching!). If you can can all bear with me while I go through lots of experimentation and make plenty of mistakes I expect to see Punk Planning looking a bit shabbier regarding formating or even just making much sense, while I play with the settings so that I can continue to break censorship rules. Because y'all know I'm fond of breaking rules right?

(sent via email with my standard signature below)

"The east shall shake the west awake
And ye shall have night for morn"

- James Joyce / "Finnegan's Wake"

America is not at war, the Marine Corp is at war. America is at the Mall

The true origins of hip hop

I wrote about hip hop over here with an excellent Google video on the origins of hip hop but it seems I got a few facts wrong.

Food 2.0

One of my favourite twitterers is noodlepie who blogs over here. I really like it when he decides to cook something in the evening and nips out to the market to buy the fresh produce. I find it inspiring and I'm a wee bit jealous till I get my kitchen sorted out.

In the meantime all I can do is take the occasional picture of the food I'm eating and blog it. This has made me think I need to get stuck into Jaiku again now that Google have bought the company and temporarily put a hold on new members.

It does feel like the future is heading into a Jaiku/Facebook and location based contextual information mashup. I can't wait for that day. The day when I'm waiting for a plane or train and I can hook up with likeminded individuals who have time to kill and who can also teach me more in 20 minutes conversation than any book could. Now I like books, I'm currently rereading The Master and Margarita but I don't think there is any other better face to face time than chewing the fat with someone I know a little bit about as a result of blogs or whatever other social media is available. Even a few pictures can tell me a lot. So here is my Haggis moment at Heathrow.

Then my favourite Turkish joint in Croydon which does all this for a fiver


I had lunch with Rory the other day. It was a much grander affair and well worth the trek over to Docklands for the best conversationalist in town. No time to snap the food but I can vouch for First Edition's yummy Lamb. Here's the layout I caught while waiting for the great man to arrive.


Then there was that awesome Scone on Picadilly that stopped me outside the window and lured me inside with thick cream and heaps of fresh berries too.


Then there was that Champagne and Chips moment last night. I went for the Rock at the Rock & Sole in Covent Garden with dirty hand cut chips. It was lovely


And no food post would be complete without a pic of Lloyd Davies of Perfect Path tucking into a Breakfast Club Breakfast of Champions


At this rate I'm going to be resembling the Pied Piper pork-pie-star himself Rob Campbell which I guess means I should get on the Diet Tangos ASAP

Update: Quite by coincidence Graham Holliday of Noodle Pie has blogged about a response I made to his twitter over here on his Guardian Blog for food.

The Hub

I went to The Hub not so long ago and was bowled over by the energy in the place which is ironic because they are all social entrepreneurs and very adept at saving energy for themselves and their clients. I want to show you a short film clip of their most creative hot spot. Right at the end I've revealed where it was filmed. Neat huh?

Tell the truth. Its more creative than most advertising agency departments isn't it?. Why? Because we need to tear down the department walls. Like yesterday.

Move Over Darling

That's China for ya babies. They gonna rock this century. Then its India.