Blogcritics Author: Mat Brewster

The Shanghai Diaries: Beijing and the Great Wall

Mat Brewster — Thu, 3 Jul 2008 07:32:50 EDT

After nearly a year in China, we finally made it to Beijing and the Great Wall.
Before even coming to Shanghai we knew that we would eventually be taking a trip to Beijing and then the Great Wall. It is simply what you do when you are in China. Or what you should do. Or something. When I say that we made the journey a couple of weeks ago it is understood – only what is natural. When you look at the calendar and...

The Shanghai Diaries: Olympic Fever

Mat Brewster — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:17:03 EDT

I'm finally starting to catch Olympic fever.
Attention to detail type people will have noticed that I have not yet spoken one word on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. There are reasons for this, and I shall now enunciate them. Truth be told I'm not much for sports of any kind. Sure I might play a pick-up game here and there when the mood strikes me, and I have been known to catch the...

The Shanghai Diaries: Should I Stay, Or Should I Go?

Mat Brewster — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:39:58 EDT

It is time to decide whether we will stay in Shanghai another year, or go home.
When my wife and I moved to Shanghai some nine months ago, we knew we would eventually move back to the States. The plan was to stay for one, maybe two years with the possibility of extending that for another year or two. After that we knew we would have to come home.As anyone who has spent an extended time in a foreign land can tell you, there...

Random Shuffle - Frank Sinatra, John Mellencamp, Eric Clapton, and Wilco

Mat Brewster — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:15:18 EDT

I've got my music collection on shuffle and I'm talking about traveling, the difference physical albums and mp3s, and other things.
“Love and Marriage” - Frank SinatraFrom Sinatra Reprise: The Very Good YearsDownload the MP3Am I the only one who thinks of the old TV show Married...With Children, when I hear this song? That show, trashy as it was, became my introduction to Sinatra. I suspect I'm not the only one who found old blue eyes through it. For that alone,...

The Shanghai Diaries: Holiday in Yangshuo

Mat Brewster — Wed, 7 May 2008 07:25:44 EDT

It seems all I've done while living in China is travel and it is always a hassle. Sometimes though, it is well worth it.
“Where are you going for the June holiday?” I ask my friend Heather. It is a question I shall ask and be asked dozens of times over the next couple of weeks. It will then be followed by, “What did you do over the holiday?” These are variations of the same questions I have been asking, and have been asked since coming to...

Music Review: Kate Rusby - Awkward Annie

Mat Brewster — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:15:33 EDT

It's like stumbling into someone's living room and finding it full of family singing for the sake of the song. A simple and pure joy.
About once a year or so my wife's extended family gets together in Nashville, TN for a singing (or a sangin' as they say in those parts.) We gather in one living room or another, pass about the old church hymnals and sing. We sing old spirituals. We sing new songs that look difficult and fun. We sing everybody's favorites. We sing to...

Random Shuffle - Regina Spektor, They Might Be Giants, Elvis and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Mat Brewster — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:44:39 EDT

I'm putting my music collection on shuffle and talking about karaoke, marital differences, getting older, and other random silliness.
“Fidelity” - Regina SpektorFrom Begin to HopeMy wife and I are different people when it comes to music. My wife is a radio listener. When we got married she had maybe 30 CDs. When it comes to naming her favorite bands, I'd have a hard time coming up with a list. I think she would too. I can come up with her top two (They Might Be...

The Shanghai Diaries - The Madness of Crowds

Mat Brewster — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 01:27:22 EDT

As we make the decision to leave China I find the ever maddening crowds, even more frustrating.
My wife and I have decided to move back to the States for good in July. There are many reasons for this decision ranging from my lack of real career options to my wife's need to be somewhere where she'll actually finish her dissertation. It was a hard decision in some ways, but I must admit I'm really rather thrilled to be headed...

The Shanghai Diaries - Field Trips

Mat Brewster — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:44:57 EDT

Busted buses, list kids, and sleeping with sharks.
It has been five weeks since my last diary. Five. Freaking. Weeks. When I started this column my intentions were to write a post every week. That rarely ever happened but I was knocking out about 3 a month. Yet here I am with more than a month between now and my last word on my experiences in China. What happened? As usual, it was several...

Music Review: R.E.M. - Accelerate

Mat Brewster — Tue, 1 Apr 2008 01:13:40 EDT

R.E.M is back. Sort-of. And with loud guitars.
The crowds are gathering, the fanboys form a line. They all sing a chorus of “R.E.M. is back.” I join that crowd, but stand in the back and mutter under my breath that they may be back, but they aren't the same. I'll sing along to that fanboy song, but I'll sing it soft and to myself.I can't help but wonder that if this...