Hi Everyone! Welcome back to Astronomer in Shanghai. I hope that all of you are doing well and staying safe and healthy. As summer finally turns to fall and the weather starts to cool (even here in Shanghai), I hope that all of you are still able to enjoy time outside. For those of you who work in academia as teachers, professors, or are students, I hope that the start of the fall semester has gone well and continues to do so.
Before I dive into the more enjoyable parts of this update, I wanted to update you all on the Covid-19 situation in Shanghai (and China). I’m sure many of you are aware that China is still staunchly defending and promoting its dynamic zero covid policy. Unlike the rest of the world, which has put a significantly greater emphasis on vaccination and accepted the idea that we have to live with covid, at least for the moment, China appears unable/unwilling to budge. Although the government has emphasized vaccination, there’s been no movement on either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines being allowed into China. This past month, the Covid-19 situation has become increasingly more frustrating. During Golden Week and the Chinese National Day (the first week of October), which celebrate the founding of the People’s Republic of China, many people around the country travel. Prior to the National Holiday, there were small pockets of tens to hundreds of cases around China, and a few cities like Chengdu were still recovering from their own lockdowns. However, as a result of the mass transit during the holiday, there was a spike in cases in Shanghai. I want to be clear that a spike in cases means that there are between 30-50 cases a day (most in isolation/quarantine, where people who test positive or are close contacts are taken), so this is still very small numbers (for a city with 25+ million people). However, because of the dynamic zero covid policy this is treated very much like a huge outbreak. So far, I’ve been fortunate. There has not been a close contact in my building (which would result in a 48 hour lockdown). However, many of my friends have had to deal with this (maybe it’s the benefit of living in a small building). That said, Shanghai has doubled down on testing. Instead of just 1 mandatory test each week, each district is required to carry out two tests each week (the 72 hour restrictions to enter public spaces are still in effect as well). Towards the end of Golden Week, I was required to be tested for 4 straight days despite no cases or close contacts in my neighborhood. Moreover, any travelers entering Shanghai must test each day for the first three days of their trip to Shanghai. As a result of the increased cases, since my last post, I’ve been tested 16 times (in 28 days), which given the 72 hour requirement feels unnecessary. Moreover, in addition to locking down neighborhoods, different districts have put in place restrictions on bars and restaurants. Overall, I’ve been fortunate and the situation in Shanghai doesn’t appear to be nearly like what it was in March. However, it does feel as though the city is once again on edge (I’ve been stocking up on canned goods and cat food as well).
Last month I mentioned that SJTU locked it’s campus down again following a case on campus. Thankfully after about 3 weeks they allowed people to leave the campus and it’s my understanding that there are no longer cases on Jiao Tong’s campus. However, as a result of the cases in Shanghai, the campus still has not reopened and classes are on Zoom. So it’s been 7 months since I’ve been on campus. While I love working with Scottie and Charlie sitting next to me, I’m envious that Emmet is able to go to Tsinghua’s campus in Beijing. It’d be nice to meet with my colleagues occasionally. Moreover, It’s rather surreal that in the 3 years I’ve worked at SJTU, there’s so far been a 9 month and a 7 month period where I haven’t been able to go to campus. While I enjoy working from home and am productive, I wish I had the option to go in.
As of now, it’s entirely unclear if this policy can or will change. Some people have suggested to me that things may change after this week’s Party meetings in Beijing. However, it’s unclear how things can realistically open up because of how far and long this has gone. Moreover, there’s still a strongly touted sense that opening up or relaxing restrictions would result in mass deaths since China has not allowed either the Pfizer or Moderna Vaccine to be used and is still struggling with vaccinating it’s elderly population.
Astronomy in Shanghai
As I mentioned last month, my paper on the evolution of the intracluster light using DES-ACT data was submitted for publication in MNRAS! While I’m still waiting for the referee report, I did want to share the press release that we wrote for the paper! Feel free to take a look at it!
A lot of my time this month has been spent working on my research statement and teaching statement (and cover letters) for my postdoc and faculty applications. I’m grateful for the help that I’ve received from Emmet and my parents, as well as my friends Yuanyuan, Juliette, and Heather! As I’m sure many of you know, it’s very stressful applying for jobs, so I appreciate that so many people have been able to provide me feedback or serve as sounding boards for my choices of positions. So far, I’ve had one application due, but that number will greatly increase in the coming weeks. I anticipate that I’ll again apply for ~ 40+ jobs almost exclusively in the US or Canada.
Outside of job applications, I’m still spending a lot of time on Project Population, my conditional luminosity function analysis. I’ve finalized some really fascinating results comparing the redMaPPer cluster populations to those from the Yang catalog in an attempt to understand the differences in cluster systematics and the impact of cluster identification method on our measurements. I’m just beginning to write the analysis up as we’re just waiting on our final weak lensing measurements. Additionally, I’ve also started to do some more DESI research again and have started determining the spectroscopic completeness (so far) of redMaPPer clusters.
Life in Shanghai
The day after Yom Kippur was my three year anniversary of being in Shanghai. Reflecting back on the past three years, it’s really hard to believe that I’ve been here for so long and that I haven’t seen my parents in over three years. While I’ve enjoyed my time in Shanghai and made many wonderful friends (many of whom are no longer here), it’s hard not to reflect on how much Covid-19 has impacted my time here. I haven’t been able to travel around China (or even visit Emmet in Beijing) or other parts of Asia as I anticipated and I greatly miss seeing my parents in person. I’m hopeful that this 4th (and likely last) year in China will allow me to visit other cities (and at least Emmet in Beijing).
As I’m sure you can understand, the majority of my time this month was spent working on job applications and research. What little else was spent in preparations for the High Holy Days for Kehilat Shanghai (more on that later). So, there weren’t a ton of fun activities this month outside of a few nice meals with friends! On a positive note, it’s finally running weather again! After months, the temperature is finally “cool.” While it’s still warm by Saratoga Springs standards, the high temperature most days is only in the low 70s, which is perfect running weather. So, I’ve been able to intersperse running into my F45 routine!
Though I don’t have any pictures from it, prior to Rosh Hashanah, we had another in person Trivia night! I wrote two categories and Emmet wrote 1, which are included at the end. It was so great to see everyone! Unfortunately, we had to postpone October’s trivia night to this week (due to the rise in cases), though I’m grateful we’re able to be back at Tacolicious so soon.
Even though I didn’t do that many fun activities this month, I saw a lot of cool things from anime inspired statues to beautiful flowers to cool advertisements while I was walking around Shanghai to meet up with friends, go to the consulate to mail my 2022 ballot (Please Vote!), walk to get my flu shot, or visit the Foreign Language Bookstore!
Along with the plethora of adorable photos of Scottie and Charlie, I wanted to share some cute photos of neighborhood cats and my favorite dog, Pina!
Scottie & Charlie
This was a very nice month for Scottie and Charlie. With me continuing to work from home, Scottie and Charlie have gotten even more time to snuggle with me and with one another!
Even when they’re not snuggling or playing together, they’re absolutely adorable!
They’re even finding new places to climb or new ways to look adorable! You can see that Scottie was exploring the inside of a Greenies cat treat box (his head wasn’t stuck, he was trying to lick the bottom)! Charlie and Scottie both looking at other things but ending up looking in the mirrors, and Scottie’s newest high perch in my bathroom!
Food in Shanghai
This month, I went out to eat at a restaurant for the first time in months when I joined my friends Heather and Shimi and some of their neighbors for a fantastic vegetarian meal!
We enjoyed squash/pumpkin soup, sauteed greens, fried rice, mapo tofu, braised tofu, vegetarian steak, Chinese eggplant, cauliflower hot pot with dried tofu (yuba) as well as berry and sesame ice cream for desert! It was a fantastic meal! I think the braised tofu and cauliflower were my favorites! It’s been so long since I had a meal with people (outside of their own home) and it was really nice to get to visit a restaurant in person again. Hopefully the renewed bump in cases won’t prevent me from getting meals with my friends again.
Additionally, I had two fantastic vegan meals from delivery/take away! The first was from Duli, my favorite vegan fusion restaurant. I enjoyed cauliflower fritter baozi and a gongbao pizza, which had tofu, peppers, basil, and Sichuan peppercorns. Also, after getting my flu shot, I picked up food from Carrot & Clover a nearby vegan restaurant and enjoyed a coconut soup noodle bowl with vegetarian meatballs and eggplant!
As usual, I also did a lot of cooking this month!
Some of the highlights include a tofu and peanut butter curry, Ethiopian mushroom tib (and the same dish as a crostini sandwich), then cumin roasted mushrooms, spicy sword beans, and stir fried sichuan Chinese eggplant! I also made an apple cake for a Rosh Hashanah dinner that my friend Sarah hosted and apple pie cookies for Sukkot!
Also, I wanted to share some photos of different Chinese mochi that I enjoyed this month!
Jewish Life in Shanghai
This past month featured both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. For those of you who celebrate, I hope that you had enjoyable and meaningful observances with your communities. For the third time, I lead the Kehilat Shanghai observances for both holidays. Even though it was a lot of work (reviewing the service outline, learning torah portions, writing two d’var torah sermons on the idea of the High Holy Days as a test for Rosh Hashanah, and the meaning of fasting and Kol Nidre for Yom Kippur, organizing and assigning volunteer readers, not to mention the logistical tasks with the hotel where we hosted our services), it was very rewarding to hear such positive and appreciative feedback from all the community members who came and participated! When I think back on my time in Shanghai, I don’t think I ever anticipated leading High Holiday services, let alone doing it three times. While it’s always exhausting, I’m grateful that I was able to provide the spiritual outlet for many within our community.
While I don’t have a ton of photos from this years services, I do have a few that different community members took throughout the services! On the left you can see me with my friends Heather and Shimi (and their newborn daughter) who we honored with the candle lighting as a way to welcome their daughter into our community!
Even though we are now a much smaller group than last year, it was so wonderful to see everyone and gather together to celebrate the New Year! I’m so appreciative of all the people who volunteered to help with readings or set up and especially to my fellow Executive Committee Member, Kitty, for helping to organize and plan all the logistics of the holidays!
Also, this past weekend, the Kehilat Shanghai community hosted a wonderful Sukkot Havdalah! A special thanks to the Israeli Consulate and my friend Shimi for supplying us with a Lulav and an Etrog! Bec, who organized the event, even provided materials so we could all maker our own lulav’s, which was very neat! It’s still quite warm in the evening here, so it was wonderful gathering last night for a fun meal in the Sukkah!
What I’m Reading and Watching
At long last, I finally finished a book! I finished the 3rd Witcher book (the first in the main story, the first two I read are prequels), Blood of Elves! As a fan of both the TV series and the comic adaptations, I really enjoyed this latest book and seeing which parts of it the Netflix series chose to adapt! I’ve got the next book already and will read it after I finish reading Andy Weir’s Artemis.
With the High Holidays and job applications, I didn’t finish that many streaming shows this moth. Though I did want to point out two highlights! I finished watching the first season of The Sandman, based on the epic comic book series from Neil Gaiman! I thought it was fantastic! This is one of the better and more faithful adaptations of comic book source material that I’ve seen. I loved the rich and intricate world that Gaiman built and getting to see it visually was amazing! As a huge fan of the comic, I highly recommend it, especially if you’re a fan of fantasy! I also finished the last season of See on Apple TV, which stars Jason Mamoa in a world where the vast majority of people have long since lost their sight and the first children with sight are starting to be born (after hundreds of years without sight). This has always been a concept that I was intrigued by and I loved aspects of how they built a world where fighting and transport can happen without sight. So, if you’re looking for an action/sci-fi/post apocalyptic story, this is quite enjoyable! Additionally, I finished watching the latest seasons of the animes Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean! Demon Slayer is one of the best anime I’ve seen in a long time and I loved both the Demon Train and Entertainment district arcs! JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is the latest chapter in the long running saga of the Joestar family and was great fun as well!
If you’ve gotten this far, thank you for so much for reading my blog and for your interest in my life and experiences in Shanghai. I hope that you enjoy this update, hearing about the Kehilat Shanghai High Holy Days, as well as the adorable photos of Scottie and Charlie! If you have any questions about anything I’ve written don’t hesitate to reach out either in the comments or via e-mail. I hope that all of you have a safe, happy, healthy, end of October!
In peace,
Jesse
Trivia
Fathers and Sons
1). At Rosh Hashanah, we read the story of the Akedah, the “sacrifice” involving this father and son?
2). How many US Presidential pairs of fathers and sons have there been?
3). This first family of NFL quarterbacks won 4 Super Bowls and played for the Saints, Broncos, Colts, and Giants.
4). This pair of father and son, both authors, have written horror books such as The Shining, The Green Mile, The Fireman, and the comic series Locke & Key
5). Will and Jaden Smith first starred together in this 2006 film, based on a true story.
6). Though none of the Beatles son’s have been nearly as famous as their fathers, these two have had sustained (and currently have) success as active musicians, one performing with The Who, and the other with a successful solo career.
7). In “Straight Outta Compton,” this actor, Ice Cube’s son, played his father?
8). One example of a father and son pair, both famous, but in different fields is director Duncan Jones and his more famous father, this late singer.
9). This father and son pair feature the 1983 French Open Champion and this retired NBA player who won 2 National Championships with the Florida Gators.
10). This father and son Hockey duo, nicknamed the Golden Jet and the Golden Brett became the first pair to both be in the NHL Hall of Fame and only duo to each score 1,000 career points.
Answers: 1). Abraham and Isaac 2). 2 3). The Manning Family 4). Stephen King and Joe Hill 5). The Pursuit of Happyness 6). Zack Starkey and Dhani Harrison 7). O’Shea Jackson Jr. 8). David Bowie 9). Yannick and Joakim Noah 10). Bobby and Brett Hull
Connections Round
1). Robert Sarver, the owner of this NBA team was recently suspended for a year and fined 10 million dollars for racist and sexist actions, a punishment that many felt was not severe enough.
2). The profession of Michelangelo, Donatello, Bernini, and Rodin
3). This football star, currently playing for Paris Saint-Germain, has won the golden boot a record 6 times.
4). The recently retired Sylvia Fowles holds the WNBA career record for rebounds and Field Goal Percentage and won two championships for this WNBA team.
5). The Sea of Tranquility, where Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, is one of these, that results from impact.
6). In 2017’s Wonder Woman, David Thewlis portrayed this Greek God.
7). This Irish American tailor became a spy during the American Revolutionary War and was originally portrayed in Hamilton by Okieriete Onaodowan and Kelly AuCoin in Turn: Washington’s Spies
8). In ~ 5 billion years, the Milky Way and this other large nearby galaxy will merge
9). This primary student antagonist of the Harry Potter series, portrayed by Tom Felton in each movie.
10). What is the Connection?
Answers: 1). Phoenix Suns 2). Sculptor 3). Leo Messi 4). Minnesota Lynx 5). Crater 6). Ares 7). Hercules Mulligan 8). Andromeda 9). Draco Malfoy 10). Constellations
All About Apples (Emmet’s round)
1). The Fuji apple, like its namesake, was developed in Japan. While most of us associate Mount Fuji with Japan today, this artist popularized the images of Mount Fuji towering over Japan in his “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji” series
2). Although the Gala Apple comes from New Zealand, one of the most famous gala’s, the Met Gala, is known for highlighting some of the most artistic and outrageous fashions among celebrities. What decade was the first Met GALA held?
3). This cult hit movie, which shares part of its name with an apple that was clonally propagated at Cornell University, is about a group of record store employees trying to stop their store from being sold to a big box brand.
4). This birth stone for October is also the name of this type of apple
5). Although ROME is most famously the capital of Italy, the ROME Apple is named after a place in what state?
6). Sharing his first name with a type of apple, this actor portrayed George McFly in Back to the Future
7). This apple, a cross between the Braeburn and the Royal Gala, is the only type of apple named after one of the Seven Deadly Sins
8). This apple, which supposedly has a hint of vanilla, shares its name with a flower with a mythical creature in its name that is native to Europe, North America, and Northern Africa
9). This apple, which was developed in New Zealand, has a name that might make one think it should have come out of either New Orleans or Utah
10). This “sour apple” is the third most popular apple in the US
Answers: 1). Hokusai 2). 1940s (1948) 3). Empire Records 4). Opal 5). Ohio (Rome Township, Ohio) 6). Crispin Glover 7). Envy 8). Snapdragon Apple 9). Jazz apple 10). Granny Smith Apple
