Weekly Recap For February 11-17 2018

Happy Year of the Dog!

Chinese New Year was quiet for us in Shanghai. We got to see the lanterns at Yuyuan Bazaar and we walked around one of the old canal neighborhoods last weekend, but the week was busy for me at work up until vacation started at the end of school Wednesday. Since then, most of our efforts have been spent on cleaning the apartment and getting ready for the arrival of visitors tomorrow.

I've also been doing some reading and reviewing.

Comic Reviews On Comic A Day

Xenoglyphs Volume 1 by Omar Spahi and PJ Catacutan from OSSM Comics. (7.5/10).

Confessions of an American Ling Master Preview #0 by EJ Barnes and Al Ackerman. (7/10).

Superman #10 by John Byrne and Karl Kesel from DC Comics in 1987. (6/10).

Book Reviews On Goodreads

Burmese Days by George Orwell. (3*).

The Thief of Always by Clive Barker. (5*).

Supporting

I am supporting my friend Jim Henderson's request for help with debts.

Looking Ahead

This will be a big week for us, hosting our first visitors in quite a while and giving them the grand tour of Shanghai. We'll figure out the agenda once they arrive, but plans are likely to include the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Bund, the New Years lanterns at Yuyuan (after dark this time!), the Natural History Museum, and lots of local food. Expect lots of pictures on Instagram.

As February comes to an end, we'll need to make a decision about Spring break plans. We've also got the annual Summer trip home to plan for June/July. We're excited about going to see Black Panther (not released here until March), and I'm looking forward to the release of Magic: The Gathering: Dominaria in the Spring, as well as the arrival of Wrestlemania season.

Dandelion Studios Website Update

Just a quick update: We decided recently not to renew our dandelionstudios dot com domain. We're looking forward to doing some new creative projects in the coming months and years, but we'll be operating from our various social media platforms.

Weekly Recap For February 4-10 2018

This was a busy week at the day-job, so I slacked off a lot of my daily goals. I did have a nice day out last weekend checking out the World Expo Museum and the West Bund with the Kiddo and his friend. Today was my school's Chinese New Year party, with a ton of delicious food. We then headed to Yuyuan Bazaar to see the Chinese New Year lanterns, We'll be doing a lot more sightseeing in Shanghai over the next two weeks, so expect to see lots of pictures on Flickr and on Instagram.

I also did a few reviews this week.

Book Reviews on Goodreads

Magic Tree House #23: Twister on Tuesday by Mary Pope Osborne. (3*).

Comic Reviews On Comic A Day

Cecil #1 by Jonathan Todd. (7.5/10).

Supporting

I am supporting Traci Marcovitz with help with student debt.

Looking Ahead

Chinese New Year is coming up this week. We get a week and a half off from work/school. We'll be hosting visitor here in Shanghai for most of that time. We have plans for a lot of local sightseeing. We were at Yuyuan Bazaar today, and I'll be taking the Kiddo to the historical district of Qibao (and the massive Vanke Mall for lunch) tomorrow. We might head back to Yuyuan to see the lanterns at night some evening this week. Our guests arrive next Sunday, and we'll be hitting many of the major Shanghai sights with them: the Bund, the Pearl Tower, the Natural History Museum, People's Square and Tianzifan are all on the list.

We've got the Kiddo's birthday in March, and then April vacation. We're planning to travel somewhere within China in April, but not sure where yet. And we'll be back in the US for parts of June and July.

Weekly Recap For January 28 - February 3 2018

No more snow as January came to an end, but Shanghai continues to be cold. Royal Rumble and NXT Takeover proved to be fun events, and I'm still catching up on some bits of WWE programming from that big weekend. We've got Chinese New Year coming up in a week and a half. Looking forward to the Year of the Dog!

Comic Reviews on Comic A Day

All in the Family Part 2: Angel by LB Lee. (9/10).

Crosswind #1 by Gail Simone, Cat Staggs,  and Image Comics. (8/10).

Cerebus #288 by Dave Sim, Gerhard, and Aardvark-Vanaheim. (6/10).

Book Reviews on Goodreads

Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants by Dav Pilkey. (4*).

Junie B. Jones Is Captain Field Day by Barbara Park. (4*).

Supporting

My friend Paul Dyson runs the Boston Marathon to raise money for the Krystle Campbell Scholarship at UMass Boston, which was established in memory of Krystle Campbell, a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing. I am supporting the 2018 Run For Krystle Team's fundraising.

Looking Ahead

Hoping to get to play in a Magic: The Gathering draft tonight, followed by a day of adventure in Shanghai with the Kiddo and his friend tomorrow. Chinese New Year break comes up in a week and a half, and we'll have friends visiting from Vietnam, so more chances to explore the city.

Looks like we will be traveling somewhere within China for Spring Break. We're currently examining our options. And looking way ahead, we'll be back in the USA (mostly in New England) for a few weeks in June and July.