THOMAS PODVIN’S FREELANCE WORK
Freelance writer - translator - Editor

http://www.chinese-furniture.com

A marvelous, eccentric site for aficionados of classical Chinese furniture. Webmaster Curtis Evarts was a former curator at the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture in Renaissance, California. Consequently, he knows his ta from his chuang. The fact that Evarts uses this site to plug his own consulting services is forgivable since he has compiled an invaluable resource for collectors and dilettantes alike. Not only does the site provide a useful point of contact for collectors and dealers but it also hosts an event calendar, furniture bookstore, historical data, information on museum collections and a newsletter. One of the site’s most appealing pages is devoted to the “Piece of the Month” which is an educational appetite-whetter for those expats willing to break the money-pig. The site is beautifully illustrated with images of prints from hand scrolls and ancient paintings putting the various pieces into both a social and historical context. Who knew that the folding stool (deck chair) was once used for mounting horses?

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

http://www.blogherald.com

Blogs (or web logs to the uninitiated) have been with us since the late ‘90s so it’s no wonder that a site such as The Blog Herald has popped up to act as a news and information source for all things blogging. The site goes about its business with a great degree of solemnity providing statistics, studies and columns on its “blogosphere” as well as other interesting tidbits. Take this one for instance: “60 percent of Chinese bloggers are female because girls are more emotional while boys are busy playing online games.” Yes, you heard it here first (that is unless you’ve already visited this site). The Blog Herald itself is a blog, having been selected by technology consumer CNet.com in its list of the Top 100 blogs. Like most other blogs, it will no doubt draw an audience of like minds and preach to the converted.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

http://wwww.uglydress.com

Internet technology provides many types of services, from cultural to informative to commercial. The web is the perfect way to see the high and low, as well as great and dull of this world. Or, one can spend endless hours on utterly demented websites like “Ugly dress”. Here, the simple and unpretentious concept is to show the very worst of bridal wear, the special outfits that brides made their friends wear on their special day. Yes, this site displays some truly horrendous sartorial mistakes and lives up to its name. This database is a temple of abominable taste. Webmaster Keesha Myas has managed to survive numerous assassination attempts after compiling all the dreadful pictures she received (and categorized) from all over the globe: Ass Widener; Bad Color, Pattern and Shape; Hello Kitty Wedding Dress; Big Ass, Short Skirt; Bad Tuxedo; Condom Dress and so on. Check out the Pregnant Prom Dress, if you dare.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
October 2005 issue

http://www.shanghaiist.com

Writer Dan Washburn, famous for his city blog, Shanghai Diaries, launched an even more ambitious blog last July; Shanghaiist. This website follows the ‘Gothamist’ concept: a series of highly-successful city blogs founded by Jake Dobkin in New York in 2002. Gothamist.com is one of New York City’s most popular independent websites, with 1.5 million pages viewed per month. It features daily posts about news, events, entertainment and food. London, Los Angeles, Toronto and Paris are among the eleven cities with “-ist” web-magazines. On the look out for whatever happens in Shanghai, a city Washburn clearly loves, it didn’t take him long to make the first “-ist” in Asia a very successful website. Six staff and twenty contributors are necessary to review Shanghai’s gossip, local and national papers, and up-to-date listings. Both Gothamist and Shanghaiist were named a ‘Forbes Favorite’ in Forbes magazine’s ongoing ’Best of the Web’ series.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
October 2005 issue

http://wwww.talktalkchina.com

Talktalkchina.com’s three writers -- DD (Hong Kong), Dan (Shanghai) and Dawanr (Beijing) – offer entertaining, acerbic commentary on contemporary life in China. This non-commercial site features a blog on everyday topics such as ‘happy’ families, English proficiency, Dashan or the “Laowai Death Stare” and other topics near and dear to your heart. And all in a good cause: the stimulation of lively, intelligent debate between Chinese and non-Chinese. Love and Peace, brothers!

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
September 2005 issue

http://www.expatauction.com

Online shopping is a profitable, and highly addictive, practice in the West, but purchasing over the Internet in China is still something of a risky business. Indeed, oftentimes sending electronic payment online is the equivalent of throwing your money away. No more. Shanghai expatriates and locals alike can finally relax, Expatauction.com allows browsers to buy and sell through private auctions or partner with web stores.Categories range from home accessories (hardly used Ikea lamp, anyone?) to antiques (a Qing Dynasty desk from Jiangsu province), and just about everything in between: clothing, books, collectibles, movies, computers, jewelry, music, business, recreation and games, you name it.
Targeting local and worldwide customers, the site, cohosted by that’s Shanghai, offers both feedback and rating options, in other words the very essence of trust-based transactions, if we do say so ourselves. So what does Expatauction.com offer that you can’t find on Ebay.com? Well, the website and its partners provide free home or office delivery (within the Shanghai Inner Ring Road), factory warranties, authenticity certificates (for antiques and art) and even a seven-day return policy for some products, as well as auction-based, localized classifieds for Shanghai and English product information. Japanese and German versions are coming soon.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
September 2005 issue

http://www.storewars.org

"Not long ago, in a supermarket not so far away…"
In May 2005, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) launched this online Star Wars movie spoof to attract a new generation of organic-food consumers. The five-minute animated mini-feature has vegetables in fancy dress posing as organic rebels. Meet Cuke Skywalker, Princess Lettuce, Chewbroccoli, Ham Solo and Darth Tader! Produced by Free Range Studios, this a great way to get the kids to eat their veggies and a great tool for the OTA to encourage global sustainability through promoting and protecting the growth of diverse organic trade.
If you liked this one, you'll love The Meatrix (www.themeatrix.com).

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
August 2005 issue

http://aventurinaking.blog.com/beijing/
Nineteen-year-old Aventurina King knows what it's like to experience rejection. Like most writers, she’s had work rejected by publishers and felt the frustration (and money concerns) that are part and parcel of a young writer's struggle for recognition.
Her New York-based blog (though the author resides in Beijing) provides a showcase for her work. And good work it is. King's unpretentious, sympathetic tales examine life in China, including the culture gap, changing lifestyles, food, entertainment and street life. Her witty and eloquent daily comments provide site visitors with a cool insight into life and the capital and, of course, a window of the French/American writer to attract a publisher.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
August 2005 issue

http://www.jitterbug.com/origins/index.html

This mini-site from the online entertainment magazine, Jitterbug Fantasia, explores the possible origins of Star Wars phenomena. Playfully compiled by Kristen Brennan, the site offers a selection of original material that may have inspired George Lucas to create the series, including the serial Flash Gordon, Kurosawa movies, the Lord of the Rings, Dune, 2001: Space Odyssey, Ben-Hur, The Wizard of Oz and so forth.
Brennan attempts to explain how Lucas borrowed from these diverse sources with "such intelligence, insight and compassion" to create his enormously successful series. Brennan isn't accusing Lucas of plagiarism, rather she offers an insightful look at the how the creative process works.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
August 2005 issue

http://www.snda.com

Chinese video game operator Shanda, founded in late 1999, has grown to become one of the biggest companies to offer online video game services . Shanda sells both imported games from around Asia, as well as home-grown products, including South Korea’s "The Legend of Mir II" and the Chinese "The World of Legend", the two most popular online games in China in 2003 and 2004.
Specializing in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPG) (their latest release was the cute "Magic Land"), the company also offers less demanding entries ("The Three Kingdoms"), in addition to electronic chess and board games. The site also includes an entertainment/literature portal (stories based on magic fantasy, science fiction and online games), and also a network platform for online PC games (the classic "Warcraft"). In two words, Shanda is "geek heaven"!

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

http://www.oneaday.org
Without daily practice, the possibility of mastering Chinese is as remote as Mars. Which is why oneaday.org¡¯s concept, learn an idiom a day, is so wonderfully practical. Since its launch in September 2004, this minimalist site displays Chinese idioms with pinyin and English translation. In addition, it includes an archive section and a search engine, both of which are handy tools for increasing your colloquial vocabulary. Learn how to say "Better to be a piece of broken jade, than an unbroken tile" and impress your local friends.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

http://www.talesofoldchina.com/

You won’t find much about the complicated love/hate relationship between Westerners and Chinese people in history books. Which is a shame as these deeply-rooted patterns of interplay continue to affect the social behavior of both parties – and in much the same way. Tales of Old China attempts to decipher the complicated relationships between east and west of the past, poisoned, as they were, by arrogance and mutual incomprehension. This site provides an informative database of materials, in English, from 1840 to 1950. Required reading for modern, would-be colonialists, and anyone with an interest in China.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue