Hi Everyone! Welcome back to Astronomer in Shanghai. I hope that all of you are doing well and staying safe and healthy. As the weather is finally cool in Shanghai, and transitioning to winter for many of you, I hope that those of you in colder climates are still doing well (and not buried under snow yet). For those of you in the Buffalo area, I hope you are safe and didn’t get buried under too much snow. I hope that all of you have had a nice and enjoyable fall and wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

As I’ve done the last few months, I’ll begin by updating all of you on the current covid-19 situation in Shanghai. As I’m sure some of you are aware, China officially eased some of the covid restrictions that had been put in place. However, zero covid is still very much the primary policy. Some of the main policy changes included reducing the quarantine time for new arrivals into China from 7 days at a hotel and 3 at home to 5 days at a hotel and 3 at home. (That said, being allowed home for those 3 days is at the discretion of your neighborhood committee and is by no means guaranteed). They also got rid of quarantining people who were secondary close contacts (i.e., close contacts of people who themselves were close contacts of people who tested positive for covid-19). However, while these policy changes are certainly a step in the right direction, they are still very tiny steps and there’s still a very long way to go before things reach a level of normalcy that exists in the US and elsewhere around the world. There has been an increased pressure for people to be vaccinated, but this still leaves me puzzled as to why China has refused to allow the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines be used (though there were promising reports that thanks to a meeting from the German ambassador that the Pfizer vaccine may soon be made available for ex-pats living in China. If that does happen, Emmet and I will both sign up as soon as possible). While these policy changes are a step in the right direction, I really wish that China would ease policies related to travel in a transparent way (they’ve announced some easing, but it is still unclear how that will be enacted), in particular travel around China, as I’d love to more easily visit Emmet in Beijing (or have Emmet visit me) and not worry about getting stuck in another city.

Despite these policy changes, the actual situation hasn’t changed that much. Shanghai still requires that you be tested within 72 hours to go on public transportation and to enter large shopping spaces. As a result of this, I’m generally being tested at least 3 times per week and since my last blog post, have been tested 16 times. As a result of the new policies, Shanghai ended mass testing, so there’s no longer the testing that was done directly in my neighborhood. That said, I’m fortunate that I can walk around the corner to get tested, since it’s still a part of everyday life. Although the situation in Shanghai appears to be okay (there are a small number of cases ~10-20) each day, elsewhere in China, the situation is more worrisome. In Guangzhou (southern China, near Hong Kong), there have been 10s of thousands of cases and rumors of a city-wide lockdown. In Beijing, where Emmet is, cases have started to flare up to a few hundred a day, leading to many people being asked to work from home, lots of schools being forced to go online, and the closure of dine-in restaurants (thankfully Emmet and his cat, Goldie, are both safe and healthy).

Overall, I hope that the situation will improve soon in Beijing and Guangzhou and that policy restrictions will continue to be loosened over the coming months.

Astronomy in Shanghai

This was another very busy and productive month of Astronomy research. For the most part, I split my time between doing research/writing and doing new job applications (mostly for postdoctoral positions at universities in the US). So, far, I’ve submitted 23 applications (still about 15-20 to go). While each application isn’t as time consuming as it was the first time I put all my application material together (since I can reuse the same research statement), I do spend a lot of time going over department websites to figure out which faculty I could work with and writing cover letters. Once I know where I’ll be going next, I’ll make sure to let all of you know.

In terms of Astronomy research, this was another productive month. First, I received only minor revisions for my DES Intracluster light paper! While I haven’t started those yet (because of the job applications), I plan to address them in the coming month. Once the paper is published, I’ll share the link here!

Additionally, I’ve made significant headway on Project Population, my analysis of the conditional luminosity function done using both SDSS-redMaPPer and the Yang (2021) cluster catalogs. I’ve actually finished all the science and am almost done writing the paper! It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, but Ying and I are trying to get this out by the beginning of December to help with my applications! We have some very interesting results about how the different cluster finders and their methods for identifying the cluster centers result in different populations of red and blue galaxies. We also use weak gravitational lensing measurements to show that despite these differences in the galaxy populations, we don’t see large discrepancies in the estimated halo mass. Once the paper is posted on arXiv, I’ll share the link here and discuss it in depth a bit more!

One fun thing that I got to do this past month was give a guest lecture at NYU: Shanghai! Thanks to one of my friends from Trivia, I was invited to go in and give a guest lecture on my research (and galaxy clusters/dark matter) in English for Academic Purposes: Gaze into Space! I had a fantastic time visiting NYU: Shanghai! The students seemed to really enjoy meeting me and asked excellent questions (ranging from background questions about what inspired me to study Astronomy, to more technical questions about parallel universes and the nature of dark matter)! I hope that I have the opportunity to do more teaching or guest lecturing in the future!

On another positive note, I’ve finally been back to SJTU’s campus! After 8 months of exclusively working from home, I’ve now been back at SJTU twice. The first time was to collect all the necessary forms for my visa renewal (which is now completed) and the second time was for my research group meeting. Going forward, I’m planning to go in 1 time per week for the group meeting (since Ying, my supervisor, is still not going in more than 2-3 times per week). The process of entering campus is a bit annoying, though. I have to apply to enter campus the night before, which is a formality, since they just want to see your green QR health and travel codes. Once you enter campus, they scan you in and you can only leave campus once, or else you have to apply again to enter. Moreover, it’s entirely unclear to me how the campus shuttle works, since I have to apply to enter the Minhang campus, but take the shuttle from Xujiahui. So, instead, I’ve been taking the metro, which is a bit more of a schlep.

Despite the annoyances of schlepping out to campus, it was really nice to be back! While it was much quieter and less lively than I remembered, it was nice to see some of my colleagues, many of whom I had only seen virtually or communicated with via WeChat for the past 8 months! Plus, the campus is very beautiful, so I’m glad that I’ve gotten (and will continue to have) the opportunity to go in this fall/winter.

One other cool thing was that ~ 2 weeks ago, there was a full lunar eclipse visible in Shanghai! I could see it from just outside of my apartment! It was really cool watching the moon slowly transition to being a full eclipse (Blood Moon)! While I wish I had been somewhere with fewer buildings in the way, I’m glad that I was able to see it!

Plus, I let the Kehilat Shanghai community know about the eclipse and many of the community members were also able to go out and see it!

Life in Shanghai

Given all of the work that I’ve been doing this past month on job applications and writing a new research paper, there wasn’t a ton of time for fun activities. Most of my free time has been spent trying to unwind, exercise, cook, or playing with Scottie and Charlie. I’m still going to F45 4-5 times per week, but it’s finally cool enough here that I can run comfortably! So, I’ve been doing that 1-2 times per week as well!

Despite the busier work month, there were some fun highlights, including two different trivia nights and dinners with friends that I’ll share later!

Despite Halloween, not really being celebrated in Shanghai (outside of the expat communities), I did want to share some of the fun Halloween decorations that I saw around the city (mostly in places that cater to younger people or expats). I even bought myself some Halloween candy and my Mom sent me a goody bag via Baopals!

I also wanted to share some cool photos from around Shanghai! Despite having lived here for over three years, I still find the city so beautiful and love to walk around because I never know what I’ll see!

I also saw some cool comic and anime related or inspired things!

There was also this awesome Bleach display at the Lawson’s (a Japanese convenience store) around the corner from my department in celebration of the new Bleach anime!

Lastly, over the past two months, I’ve noticed tons of these cute cat statues all over Shanghai! Though, it seems like they’re no longer up now. While I have no idea why they were up in the first place (they seem to be in commercial locations), it reminds me a lot of the horses that are decorated/designed by artists and setup around Saratoga or the Buffalo statues around Buffalo!

In addition to the always adorable Scottie and Charlie, I also saw some of the cute cats at F45 and in the neighborhood!

Scottie and Charlie

Despite me now going in to the office once a week, I’m still getting plenty of time with Scottie and Charlie. I’m not sure they really understand why I leave on some days, but I know they’re always happy to see me (and get fed)! It makes coming home a lot nicer, too! Overall, this was a fun month for them, filled with some new toys to play with and somehow a new high perch for Scottie!

Most importantly, they continue to be absolutely adorable! They love cuddling with one another (and me) and always know how to cheer me up when I get stressed about work or job applications.

They’re also just as adorable when by themselves!

This month, Scottie continued to explore and find new places to sit!

Charlie also continues to be super playful and loves to play with me! Scottie also wanted to play with the feather toy, but Charlie wanted it a bit more 🙂

Food in Shanghai

The main culinary adventure this month was a fantastic hotpot dinner that my friend Sarah organized (including my friends Kate & Ilan)! We went to a vegetarian hot pot restaurant that was amazing! From the fun appetizers (like chik’n nuggets, spring roles, kaofu, jiaozi – dumplings) to the amazing xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) to of course the fantastic hot pot! It was so much fun and so delicious! I have wanted to try xiaolongbao (Shanghai style soup dumplings), so that was one of my favorite parts (since they are traditionally not vegetarian)!

We had a fantastic mushroom broth, featuring exotic mushrooms from Yunnan (Western China). You can also see the most gorgeous display of vegetables (mushrooms, greens) and a wide array of mock meats (different tofus, and vegetarian sausages) for the hot pot! I used a lot of different mushrooms, tofu, and other vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli! I can’t wait to go again! Plus, since everything was vegetarian, I didn’t have to worry about selecting the wrong broth or cooking item!

In addition to this amazing hot pot experience, I had some other great meals! Tacolicious had two awesome vegetarian/vegan specials this past month. First, they had a vegan (made from Zrou, a chinese brand of mock meat) burger topped with vegan chili! Then they also had a nopales (cactus) taco! I don’t think I’ve had nopales before, but it was really great! And nopales are apparently grown in China!

Additionally, when I went to NYU: Shanghai, I had a lovely lunch ahead of time with the Professor who invited me and my friend who invited me, including a falafel bowl, coconut raspberry milkshake, and miso tofu!

While most of what I had was savory food. I also had an interesting Shanghai specialty lemon cake when my supervisor Ying and I met at a coffee shop in Pudong to finalize the plans for our luminosity function paper. It was also really nice to see Ying in person, as it had been 7 months since we saw each other face-to-face.

Plus, how could I not share this adorable photo of how Oreos are packaged in China!

In addition to the amazing food I enjoyed with friends, I also did a lot of cooking for myself! It’s been cooler, so I’ve been making a lot of different curries! Some of the highlights include Pra Ram Tofu (twice), Malai Tofu, Sticky sesame cauliflower, spinach and chickpea curry, and sweet potato and chickpea curry. I also made delicious vegan chocolate chip cookies for this month’s Family Shabbat!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

This past month, was a bit quieter for Kehilat Shanghai. We had a lovely Family Shabbat this past weekend as well as two fun trivia nights (that I’ll share the questions from below). However, the main highlight was two weeks ago when Roberta (from Kehillat Beijing) was stuck in Shanghai, so my friends Shimi and Heather hosted a lovely Shabbat dinner!

It was so nice to gather with friends and have a relaxing Shabbat (and not have to do the organization myself)! I look forward to more Shabbat gatherings in the coming months! An added bonus was that since Roberta sees Emmet almost every week for Shabbat in Beijing, she was able to bring Emmet some of my homemade jam and a book for him! For those of you wondering, travel is possible, but there is no guarantee you won’t get stuck and SJTU needs to approve any travel I take.

I also participated in two fantastic Zoom talks organized by Historic Shanghai about the history of Jews in Shanghai. The first was by author Liliana Willems who spoke about her experiences growing up in Shanghai (as a refugee from the WWII/the Holocaust). She also spoke about her book, Stateless in Shanghai. The second was this morning, and was a discussion led by Marina Cunningham, where she discussed her experience growing up in Shanghai (in a Russian Jewish family) and the experience of staying in Shanghai until the late 1950s. Shanghai has such a rich and fascinating history and I’m so grateful that I have so many opportunities to learn about it. It was particularly interesting to hear more about the Jewish experience in Shanghai after WWII, as much of what I’ve learned has centered on just that time period (and the Shanghai Ghetto experience is different from those who lived in Shanghai before and after WWII).

What I’m Reading and Watching

This month, I want to highlight two manga/graphic novel series the I finished. The first is Fairy Tail! It’s a 63 volume manga epic that Emmet and I had started reading when we were beginning graduate school! Although Emmet had finished it prior to moving to Beijing, it took us longer to find a way for me to read it legally online. However, during the lockdown, Emmet and I found that it was available on the INKR app! Fairy Tail is a fun series about the adventures of Natsu Dragneel and his wizard guild mates as they go on jobs to defeat evil wizards and monsters and ultimately save the world! I loved this series and have really enjoyed all of Hiro Mashima (the author/artists) works, so was thrilled that I could read it digitally!

The second series was Hilo, by Judd Winnick! Hilo is an all-ages graphic novel series about a robot boy who falls to earth and the adventures he has with his best friends DJ and Gina. I had met Judd Winnick when he visited Ann Arbor while I was a grad student and had bought the first volume then. However, I was able to pick up the rest of the series, volumes 2-8, (more will come out later) at the Foreign Language Bookstore over the summer! It’s such a fun series and one I definitely recommend for kids as the story and art are both filled with so much heart and love for the superhero genre!

I also finished a few TV series. I finished watching the latest season of The Flight Attendant on HBOMax, which shows the out of control adventures and downward spiral of Kaley Cuoco’s lead character’s life and battle with alcoholism. I also watched Night Sky on Amazon Prime, which was an interesting sci-fi concept where the lead characters have a portal that takes them to another planet under their backyard shed. The world building of the porals and who was using them was interesting, but unfortunately the show was cancelled so didn’t ultimately get to be lead to anything. I also finished watching the 2nd season of Ozark and am looking forward to continuing to watch the rest!

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, seeing the fantastic food I’ve enjoyed, and hearing about a relatively normal month in Shanghai, with tons of 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 November and that all of you have a lovely Thanksgiving filled with friends and family!

In peace,

Jesse

Trivia

October:

Round 1: Things that are Orange?

ž1). Otto the Orange is the mascot of this University in New York?
2). William of Orange was a noble who later became King William the III of England.  Prior to this, he led this revolution in 1688, supported by the Protestants.  Bonus: Where is the Province of Orange?
3). žThough Fanta’s most popular flavor is orange, name the other 8 flavors of Fanta that are currently sold (neither orange or orange sugar free).
4). žThough this sports team has a different color in it’s name, it’s helmets are not that color, instead, they are orange.
5). žInstead of jam, this type of preserve ižs often made with oranges, using the rind.
6). Garfield, the comic strip cat, is a classic orange tabby cat. Name his owner?
7). žIn 2005, this work of art was installed in Central Park by Christo and Jeanne-Claude featuring a series of saffron-colored nylon fabric.
8). žIn Hinduism, these ascetic wandering monks or holy men often wear orange clothing.
9). žDespite it’s flag being red, white, and blue, athletes from this country always compete wearing orange.
10). žThis television network, home to many of my childhood classics from Rocket Power to Rugrats, has a logo featuring an orange splat.

Answers: 1). Syracuse 2). The Glorious Revolution — Southern France 3). Orange cream, Dragon Fruit, Pineapple, Strawberry, Grape, Peach, Pina Colada, Berry 4). Cleveland Browns 5). Marmalade 6). Marmalade 7). The Gates 8). Sadhu 9). Netherlands 10). Nickelodeon

Round 2: Monster Mash (by Emmet)

1). The Golem Is the quintessential Jewish monster.  This man of clay is brought to life by writing this word on his forehead (Please give the Hebrew and English).  He is returned to his slumber by putting this word on his forehead (Please give the Hebrew and English)
2). žThis British TV show (which had a US remake that aired on the SyFy channel in the early 2010s) features a werewolf, vampire, and ghost all living together.
3). žHoward Carter famously discovered this Mummy’s tomb in 1922
4). This “Mother of Frankenstein’s Monster” is also a famous Daughter.  Name both the author and her mother.  Bonus points if you can name the book that the author of Frankenstein’s mother is best known for
5). This real historical figure is commonly believed to have served as the inspiration for Count Dracula.  Name him and the historical kingdom he was the Prince of. 
6). These two mythical monsters are known for seducing men and women (respectively) into sexual relations
7). What are the names (and monster type) of the two leading love interests in the Twilight series?
8). Although more famous for playing Wolverine, Hugh Jackman also played this legendary monster hunter in this self-named film. 
9). žThese mythical Japanese swordsman monsters are known for their raven-like wings and red skin.  They were also believed to teach the way of the sword to Minamoto no Yoshitane.
10). žLess of a monster and more of a mythical figure, this Monkey King of Chinese folklore served as the inspiration for Goku in Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga (proper name only) 

Answers). 1). Emet (אמת) – Truth; Met (מת) – Death 2). Being Human 3). King Tut 4). Mary Shelley; Mary Wallstonecraft; A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects 5). Vlad Tepes; Wallachia 6). Succubus; Incubus 7). Jacob (therianthrope – werewolf is acceptable); Edward (vampire) 8). Van Helsing 9). Tengu 10). Sun Wukong

Round 3: Connections

1). žThough he didn’t live up to his hype, this American soccer player became the youngest man ever to sign in the MLS, when he signed with the DC United at Age 14
2). žThis city was founded in 1630 by Puritan settlers arriving in the Americas.  It hosts Americas first subway system and public library and is home to many institutions of higher learning
3). žName this rhyming named turtle who appears in children’s books and is also an estimated 90 year old turtle who lives at the New England Aquarium.
4). žName the mother of Jacob and Esau?
5). žThis fictional mathematician who specializes in Chaos Theory was portrayed by Jeff Goldblum in the Jurassic Park Series
6). žName this Jamaican singer, musician, songwriter and pioneer of reggae
7). žThis California-based fast casual dining chain with more than 300 locations (mostly in the US) was modeled on Chipotle, but for Pizzas.  LeBron James is one of the original investors in the company
8). ž In the Pirates of the Caribbean series, this ship was captained by Davy Jones?
9). žIn 2022, this man became the first Norwegian-born tennis player to compete for a grand slam championship (when he did so twice)
10). What is the Connection

Answers: 1). Freddy Adu 2). Boston 3). Myrtle the Turtle 4). Rebecca 5). Dr. Ian Malcolm 6). Bob Marley 7). Blaze Pizza 8). The Flying Dutchman 9). Casper Ruud 10). Famous Ghosts

November

Round 1: Thanksgiving Foods

1). žThis popular starchy tuber comes in a variety of colors, both inside and out.  Including brown, yellow, orange, red, or purple skin and white, orange, or purple inside.
2). Name this popular Turkey substitute in the US, with a name based on a portmanteau.
3). žThough these terms are often used to mean the same thing, what is the technical difference between stuffing and dressing?
4). Pumpkin pie spice is traditionally a combination of these 5 ingredients?
5). žThough not always the most popular side dish, this dish is traditionally topped with crispy, crunchy, fried onions.
6). žPotatoes are used in all manners of Thanksgiving food.  They are native to the Americans and are thought to have been domesticated 7-10,000 years ago.  Name specifically where Potatoes are thought to originate?
7). žEating or drinking the juice from too much of this ingredient can lead to diarrhea and upset stomach.
8). žSouthern families traditionally serve Macaroni and Cheese at Thanksgiving dinner.  However, the first recipe for the modern interpretation of Macaroni and Cheese appeared in 1769 in a book published in this country?
9). žThis green, sour, apple popular in apple pie originated in Australia in 1868.
10). žName this member of the Gemmifera cultivar group of cabbages grown for its edible buds, which has long been popular in Belgium.

Answers: 1). Sweet Potato 2). Tofurky 3). Where they are cooked 4). Ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg 5). Green Bean Casserole 6). Andes region of South America 7). Cranberries 8). England 9). Granny Smith Apples 10). Brussels Sprouts

Round 2: The World Cup

1). ž5 Countries have hosted the Men’s World Cup twice.  Name them
2). Only one country has participated in all 21 Men’s World Cups, name it
3). žThe World Cup hosted by these two countries in 2002 featured the most host cities and host stadiums.
4). Name this country that has won a record 5 world cup.  Bonus, Name these two countries that have been runner up the most?
5). žJust Fontaine, a striker for this country holds the record with the most goals in a single World Cup with 13 in 1958
6). žMiroslav Klose of Germany holds the record for most overall Men’s World Cup goals with how many?
7). žName the year and champion for the first Men’s World Cup?
8). žThe women’s World Cup was first held in 1991, hosted in what country and won by who?
9). žDespite many countries competing for the World Cup, in total, only how many countries have actually won?
10). žThough Miroslav Klose holds the record for the most goals for men, this Brazilian superstar holds the record for women, with 17.

Answers: 1). Germany, Brazil, Mexico, France, Italy 2). Brazil 3). Japan & South Korea 4). Brazil; Argentina-Netherlands 5). žFrance 6). 16 7). Uruguay – 1930; 8). China; USA 9). 8 10). Marta

Round 3: “Remember, Remember, the 5th of November” (by Emmet)

1). žOn November 5, 1572, this famous Danish Astronomer (famous for his incredibly intricate naked eye observations) observed a supernova in the Cassiopeia constellation. 
2). žFamously Guy Fawkes Night, November 5 in the UK remembers when Guy Fawkes was arrested for trying to place explosives under this house of Parliament in 1605
3). žOn November 5, 1639, the first post office in what would become the United States was established in this colony
4). žOn November 5, these five presidents were elected president of the United States (One in 1872, one in 1912, one in 1940, one in 1968, and one in 1996 )
5). This famous Jewish musician (part of a famous musical duo), who once recorded under the stage name Tom, was born on November 5, 1941
6). November 5, 1955 is the day that this film character returns to in Back to the Future
7). This musical, featuring famous storybook characters like “Little Red Riding hood”, “Cinderella”, and “Jack” was released on November 5, 1987 (name the musical and the person who wrote the music)
8). In honor of the 400^th Anniversary of Guy Fawkes night, this movie (based on a graphic novel) was released in 2006 (although it was delayed off the November 5^th intended release date)
9). žThe Chang’e, this country’s first lunar satellite, entered orbit around the moon on November 5, 2007
10). žOn November 5, 2018, this NASA probe became the 2^nd man-made object to leave the Solar System and enter the Interstellar Medium

Answers: 1). Tycho Brahe 2). The House of Lords 3). Massachusetts Bay Colony 4). Ulysses S. Grant (1872); Woodrow Wilson (1912); Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1940); Richard Nixon (1968); Bill Clinton (1996) 5). Art Garfunkel 6). Marty McFly 7). Into the Woods – Stephen Sondheim 8). V for Vendetta 9). China 10). Voyager 2

Round 4: Things I am Thankful For

1). žAstronomy: Last week, this type of event was visible in Shanghai?
2). žHealth: This type of booster shot has been released by Pfizer and modern to protect against both the original and Omicron strains of Covid-19
3). žFamily: Although I haven’t seen my family in three years, I’m grateful for this apple application that makes it easy for me to video chat with them
4). žFood: That I know no longer have to eat this long stalky Chinese vegetable, with leaves on the end that was commonly provided to me during the lockdown.
5). žCats: Cats don’t have thumbs, instead they have this type of nail/claw on the inside of the leg 
6). žTV: That Netflix renewed this show, based on a comic book series by Neil Gaiman, for a 2nd season
7). žSports: That this tennis player won his record setting 21st (and later 22nd) grand slam in 2022 when he came back from a 2 sets to love deficit to defeat Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open
8). žBooks: That this author of The Road is releasing two new novels, The Passenger and Stella Maris, the first since 2006.
9). žPolitics: That thanks to John Fetterman flipping the senate seat from this US State, the Democrats were able to maintain control over the Senate.
10). žMovies: That this actor was announced to be returning as Superman following his cameo in Black Adam? 

Answers: 1). Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon) 2). Bivalent 3). FaceTime 4). Celtuse/Woju 5). Dew Claw 6). The Sandman 7). Rafael Nadal 8). Cormac McCarthy 9). Pennsylvania 10). Henry Cavill

Round 5: Connections

1). žMovies: That this actor was announced to be returning as Superman following his cameo in Black Adam? 
2). žName this American rock band from Nashville, Tennessee composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill, who’s hit songs include Sex on Fire and Use Somebody?
3). žName this long running food network program about the baking artistry of Duff Goldman and his band of friends/co-workers originally set in Baltimore, Md.
4). žName this author of books including The Game, White Fang, and Call of the Wild?
5). žName this American comedian and former cast member of Saturday Night Live, who’s notable works include The Emperor’s New Groove, Joe Dirt, Rules of Engagement, The Benchwarmers, and Hotel Transylvania
6). žName this singer, whose most popular song is played during the 8th inning of every home game at Fenway park for the Boston Red Sox.
7). žName this popular video game, first released in 2002, which was done in collaboration between Disney and Square Enix?
8). žName this American rapper and Actress whose debut album was All Hail the Queen and later appeared in tv shows/films including The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Ice Age, Hustle, and The Equalizer (reboot).
9). žName this comic book character played or voiced by actors including Mark Hamill, Jared Leto, and most recently Barry Keoghan.
10). What is the Connection?

Answers: 1). The Cavern Club 2). Kings of Leon 3). Ace of Cakes 4). Jack London 5). David Spade 6). Neil Diamond 7). Kingdom Hearts 8). Queen Latifah 9). The Joker 10). All parts of a deck of cards

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). žAt Rosh Hashanah, we read the story of the Akedah, the “sacrifice” involving this father and son?
2). žHow many US Presidential pairs of fathers and sons have there been?
3). žThis first family of NFL quarterbacks won 4 Super Bowls and played for the Saints, Broncos, Colts, and Giants.  
4). žThis 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). žWill and Jaden Smith first starred together in this 2006 film, based on a true story.
6). žThough 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). žIn “Straight Outta Compton,” this actor, Ice Cube’s son, played his father?
8). žOne 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). žThis 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). žRobert 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). žThe profession of Michelangelo, Donatello, Bernini, and Rodin
3). žThis football star, currently playing for Paris Saint-Germain, has won the golden boot a record 6 times.
4). žThe recently retired Sylvia Fowles holds the WNBA career record for rebounds and Field Goal Percentage and won two championships for this WNBA team.
5). žThe Sea of Tranquility, where Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, is one of these, that results from impact.
6). žIn 2017’s Wonder Woman, David Thewlis portrayed this Greek God.
7). žThis 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). žThis 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). žžThe 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). žAlthough 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). žThis 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). žThis 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). žThis 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). žThis “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

Hi Everyone! Welcome back to Astronomer in Shanghai! I hope that all of you have had a wonderful summer! For those of you who work in academia, are teachers, students, or have kids in school that the start of the school year has gone well and so far been uneventful.

Before I dive into the different more interesting and fun experiences of the past month, I wanted to update you all on the covid-19 situation in Shanghai. As I’m sure many of you are aware because of the impact on the global economy, there still continue to be city-wide lockdowns throughout China (this time in Chengdu, a city of 21 million people in western China, near the panda reserves). Thankfully, Shanghai has been spared another lockdown. The number of cases remains incredibly low, with only a few being found each day. However, the government remains incredibly strict about both the testing policies and ability to lockdown neighborhoods and individual buildings. We have to be tested at least every 3 days to use public transportation and enter public spaces and at least 1 time per week. Since my last post, I’ve been tested 14 times, each time negative. There are still testing stations set up all over the city, often with long lines (see above). Also, my dentist required a test within 24 hours of my appointment, so some places are even more stringent. That said, I’ve been fortunate to not have to deal with any further lockdowns.

The same cannot be said for my colleagues at SJTU. On Tuesday, the campus went into another indefinite lockdown. With many students arriving back on campus after the summer, coming from all around China, there was a heightened nervousness of students testing positive upon arrival, which unsurprisingly happened. However, there’s been very little, to no transparency about the situation. Other than messages asking if people need blankets, pillows, or toiletries as well as sign ups for using the showers, there’s been no announcement about how long this lockdown will last. Moreover, on Saturday night, they announced that due to a recent close contact, the Astronomy and Physics building will be sealed for the next 7 days, which is stricter than I’ve heard about in other parts of Shanghai, and signals that there may be additional cases on campus. Thankfully, my supervisor, Ying, was not on campus this time, either. However, many of my fellow postdocs have been stuck in the office. While I was not planning on regularly going into campus (mostly because I enjoy working from home with Scottie & Charlie), I had been planning to return to campus this past Wednesday for our group meeting. That said, it’s incredibly frustrating that SJTU once again finds itself in this situation, but also feels like a severe over reaction for a single case. Hopefully, following the October meetings, policies in Shanghai and the rest of China will relax and at some point I’ll be able to go to campus.

Additionally, mainland China just had it’s first reported case of Monkeypox, when a foreigner tested positive upon arrival in China. In response, the local CDC issued a statement saying to avoid touching all foreigners (not just those recently arrived), which is incredibly racist. As the global pandemic has changed, especially when the situation was better in China than the rest of the world), many around China have blamed any outbreaks on foreigners , so this added finger-pointing is really frustrating and disheartening. As someone who hasn’t been home in almost 3 years, I find it very troubling that people continue to use foreigners as scapegoats for any infections.

Astronomy in Shanghai

Despite another month of working entirely from home, this was an incredibly productive month. About two weeks ago, I submitted my paper on the evolution and characteristics of the intracluster light in galaxy clusters using the DES-ACT sample for publication in MNRAS (Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society) following a successful DES Collaboration Wide Review Process!! 🙂 For those of you interested, we also posted the paper on arXiv, where anyone can read it. I won’t go into depth on the paper here, since I’ve done that over the last few months, but the main focus is on how incorporating the faint light from the ICL into the measurement of the massive central galaxy’s stellar mass yields a tighter correlation with the underlying dark matter halo mass. For any of you who do take the time to look at it, let me know if you have any questions. Special thanks to my colleague, mentor, and friend Yuanyuan for her help with with this analysis and sharing her expertise on the ICL. I’ve long been fascinated by the ICL (since I started working with Prof. Chris Miller at UMich) and am excited to finally have the opportunity to publish on it and look forward to more opportunities to continue to study diffuse light! Additionally, thanks to the suggestion of my co-author and collaborator, Ricardo, we’re writing up a DES Outreach article about the paper, which I’ll make sure to share with all of you once it’s online! I also plan to have one of the SJTU grad students help me translate that article into Chinese to share as well!

In addition to all of my excitement with my new paper, I’ve made a lot of really fantastic headway on Project Population, my luminosity function analysis. We’ve got some really fascinating results looking at the impact of the different cluster finders (redMaPPer and the Yang catalog) as well as color on the luminosity function and I think we have a strong physical understanding of some of the differences that we’re identifying. Moreover, I’ve been working with one of the SJTU grad students to incorporate weak lensing dark matter halo mass estimates into our analysis to help strengthen our analysis. Overall, I’m very excited about this project and look forward to wrapping up this analysis and also to writing it up in the coming weeks.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m also investing a lot of time thinking about the future and have been spending a lot of time drafting teaching and research statements for job applications that will start being due in October. Though I know the next few months will be stressful with all the applications, it’s exciting to think about the future and to start to set teaching and research goals for myself. Thanks in advance to all my fantastic friends, mentors, and family members who have offered to read through some of my statements and provide me feedback!

Life in Shanghai

Given all of the work that I did with finishing the paper and research (as well as starting to prepare for the High Holidays — more on that later), it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that there weren’t quite as many social highlights this month. Though I’m hopeful to intersperse some fun activities as a way to relax during job application season.

Thankfully, it is finally starting to cool down in Shanghai. While it’s definitely not the cool, crisp fall days that I love, it’s now only in the low 80s most days, this has allowed me to start running again (when the air pollution isn’t too bad)! I’m still going to F45 most days as well, since exercise is one of the ways I decompress from the stresses of work and job applications.

With the weather now being a little bit more manageable, I was able to do some fun activities outside with some of my friends, without melting! One highlight of this past month was the F45 end of the summer party! Though probably a bit rowdier than what I normally do for fun, it was fun getting to hang out with many of my friends and trainers from the gym and nice to get out of the heart of the city (the party was hosted in the suburbs ~ 1 hour from where I live). It was a lot of fun to spend the afternoon playing catch, volleyball, and spike ball as well as some classic field day games!

This past month, I also said goodbye to my friends Hannah Maia and Sydney who both moved back to the US a few weeks ago. It’s been sad that so many of my friends have moved from Shanghai this past summer. I don’t think there are many other of my friends who are planning to move this academic year, though next summer may be more of the same. Despite that, it was fun getting to see Hannah Maia and Sydney (and many of my other friends) one last time before they left as well as getting to do some final F45 sessions together! Even though it’s sad to see so many of my close friends leave, it’s nice knowing that I’ll have friends in so many different places around the US (and the world)!

As usual, there were also a bunch of cool photos and other things seen around Shanghai that I wanted to share with all of you, from anime posters, to Oatly advertisements, to a guy in some sort of cosplay suit when it was 100 degrees!

Also, in addition to the many adorable photos of Scottie and Charlie, I also wanted to share some cute photos of the cats that live near F45 who are very friendly when I’m entering/exiting the studio!

One other highlight I wanted to share is that I’ve passed the 700 day mark of learning Mandarin on Duolingo! Although mandarin is very difficult and I can’t say that I’m really able to communicate well in it, I now do recognize a lot more words and am able to do simple things like order food or ask a question at the grocery store. However, always being able to understand the answer can be a bit tricky, since Shanghai’s dialect differs from traditional mandarin.

Scottie and Charlie

As always, Scottie and Charlie continue to be absolutely adorable! They bring me so much joy (and cuddles) each and every day and I’m so grateful that I have them in my life. As some of you may recall, my friend Sydney saved them when they were a few weeks old and took care of them while they were very young. So, it was really nice for me to have Sydney over to see them before she moved back to the US. Scottie and Charlie are slowly warming back up to other people (I think not seeing anyone else for 3 months during the lockdown confused them and made them a bit scared of other people), so it was nice to see them both bond with Sydney!

This has been a month of growth and excitement for Scottie and Charlie, particularly Charlie. As you may recall, Scottie has been jumping and sitting on my back for the better part of the last few months. Well, at long last, Charlie is now doing it to. Though, Charlie also likes to play with my hair, something Scottie does not do!

Scottie has also continued to be fascinated with my beard, licking it every day (almost as soon as I hop in bed). Charlie will sniff it, but he hasn’t started licking it, yet.

They also love to snuggle on top of me!

They also love snuggling with one another (often in their catbed)!

Even when they’re not cuddling together, they’re absolutely adorable!

As I said earlier, both boys have continued to explore every corner of my apartment and have even found a few new places to jump around!

And speaking of new places, at long last, Scottie and Charlie finally realized that they can jump up on top of my refrigerator (time to move the cat food), which was something Solo did all the time when he would visit me. They now frequently jump up there to survey the apartment!

As you can see, Scottie and Charlie can now jump above my kitchen cabinets. I didn’t realize it, but the ceiling above the kitchen is metal panels (to cover wiring), on Friday, Charlie terrified me by disappearing in between the cabinet and the ceiling and then crashing down from the ceiling. Thankfully Charlie is fine and the ceiling wasn’t damaged. However, as a result, I’ve covered the crawl space between the ceiling and cabinet with cardboard boxes (you can see them in Scottie’s photo) to prevent future such “adventures.”

Food in Shanghai

Last weekend was the Mid-Autumn or Moon festival. One of the popular ways to celebrate is by eating mooncakes a circular pastry dough surrounding a thick filling. However, many often have an egg in the center (or use lard as the main fat in the pastry). However, Godly, one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants (and one the oldest vegetarian restaurants in all of China, was selling them, so I got to enjoy some as well! I had red bean ones as well as others filled with nuts and seeds. They were very tasty! I also wanted to share the cool card that the SJTU Astronomy department shared.

This month, I also got food from one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants, Vegetarian Lifestyle, which just reopened from the lockdown! I enjoyed kaofu, mushrooms with sprouts, spicy tofu, seitan meatballs, spicy rice cakes and potatoes, cauliflower dry pot, and tofu! The tofu and the rice cakes were my favorites!

Also, as Emmet has shared in his recent blogs, he’s been attending Chinese vegan cooking classes. As a benefit for me, Emmet’s taught me how to make the dishes. We made Ma Po Tofu, sichuan stir fried sword beans, stir fried cumin mushrooms, and spinach with peanuts (no photo). Emmet is a great teacher and It was great fun to get to cook some authentic Chinese food. I look forward to sharing some of these recipes with friends and family back home!

I also made a bunch of other tasty dishes this month! Some highlights include the seitan nuggets following my friend Bernard’s recipe, kung pao tofu, and cauliflower curry!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

In last month’s post, I shared that I had the opportunity to chant torah at this year’s community B’nei Mitzvah. Since I didn’t have photos then, I wanted to share some of the lovely photos of me from the event!

This past month, we also had two Shabbats, one farewell Family Shabbat for Hannah Maia and another regular Community Shabbat. Even though we’ve lost some community members, some people who were able to leave during the summer are returning to Shanghai, so we still have a nice group gathering each month! Special thanks to our community member Michael for making more delicious challah!

Additionally, as I’ve done the past two years, this year, I will once again be leading the Kehilat Shanghai community High Holiday observances. While they’ll be a bit smaller than past years, we’re still expecting a lovely turnout. Thankfully, a lot of community members have volunteered to help with readings, which is great. In addition to service leading, I’ll be delivering a D’var Torah and chanting torah. For those of you who are celebrating Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I hope that you have a meaningful holiday and a safe and easy fast. I look forward to sharing with you the highlights of our celebrations next month.

What I’m Reading and Watching

With all the research work, I’m still working my way through the third Witcher book, so did not finish reading anything this month. However, I did finish some enjoyable TV series. I just finished the 2nd season of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime series, which was fantastic. For any anime fans, I highly recommend this show. I also finally watched HBO’s Watchmen television series. While it was a loose sequel to the Watchmen graphic novel, the social commentary and backstory are significantly more compelling and interesting than the actual “superhero” part of the show. I also finished the first season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series on Amazon Prime. Though at times, it felt a bit to much like real life, John Krasinksi played a compelling Jack Ryan and I look forward to starting the 2nd season. I also finished Apple TV’s Suspiscion, something of a whodunnit where everyone has secrets to hide. Although this is a genre that I greatly enjoy, I didn’t find that the narrative came together clearly at the end. I also greatly enjoyed watching the US Open. While I missed most of the non-night matches, I had a lot of fun rooting for Rafa Nadal for the first few rounds. Although I was disappointed that he lost in the 4th round, it was exciting to see great performances by Casper Ruud and the rise of US Open Champion Carlos Alcaraz!

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 and take a look at my paper (if interested), as well as enjoy 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 September and beginning of Fall!

In peace,

Jesse

Hi Everyone. Welcome back to Astronomer in Shanghai! I hope all of you are doing well and having a safe, happy, and healthy summer. I know that it’s been a scorcher of a summer around the world (Shanghai included), so I hope that you are all staying cool and hydrating when you are outside.

As many of you were avidly following the lockdown situation in Shanghai, I’ll begin by updating you that thankfully Shanghai has remained open for another month. However, things are not totally back to normal. PCR tests are still required within 72 hours (of the test result being published) to enter public spaces and use public transportation and at least 1 covid test is required every week (or you get a yellow health code). In total, there have been very few cases in Shanghai this month, which is a relief. However, every time there is a case, the district where that case is requires us to get tested 2 times within 3 days. Annoyingly, because the local district governments are very concerned about preventing outbreaks, this practice often continues far longer (as it currently is in Xuhui, where I live). So, even though this was a relatively calm month covid wise, I still ended up taking 16 PCR tests and 16 antigen tests in a little over a month since my last post. Thankfully, every one has been negative. While I understand the need to be cautious, this does feel like overkill and can be frustrating. Fortunately, there is a hospital around the corner from my apartment so when they’re not testing in my neighborhood, I don’t have to go far. While I know the situation in the US and around the world is quite different (in terms of prevention and vaccine trust), I hope that all of you are continuing to stay healthy and vigilant.

Even though the covid-19 situation in Shanghai remains under control, there have been a few larger outbreaks around China. In particular, the vacation destination, Sanya, in Hainan was locked down as a result of a few hundred cases, leaving thousands of tourists stranded. So, there is still some stress and anxiety for me about traveling around China. Moreover, there’s also concern about what will happen at the beginning of the school year. There are reports of schools (K-12) requiring daily PCR tests and entire classrooms/schools being locked down if people test positive. At this point, SJTU has not announced their policy for the fall, so I don’t know if this will impact me. In addition to the human toll of the constant PCR tests, I also wanted to comment on the business toll. As a result of the 2 month lockdown and relatively slow recovery, many of the stores and restaurants in my neighborhood have closed. These are mostly smaller stores (not chains) that sell things like clothing or designer goods, but it’s clear that this lockdown had a devastating economic impact for people in Shanghai as well as around the world.

The other topic that I’m sure many of you have seen/discussed is the growing tension between China and the US, which was further escalated by Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. I don’t want to go into the nuances of Chinese politics (mostly because I really don’t understand Chinese politics), but having talked to my friends within the US Consulate, it’s clear that this is causing a lot of stress/anxiety. This is not something that is concerning just for Americans, it’s also riled up many of my colleagues, particularly those who have never spent time in the US. As such, I’ve seen colleagues share nationalist articles condemning Pelosi and the US for violating the One China policy. However, I’ve also seen other friends post/share articles expressing fear and anxiety over these growing tensions (while this includes some Chinese nationals, more of these were expats), which I relate to. I hope that these tensions will ease over time, but that may not be for a long while.

Astronomy in Shanghai

As I hinted at earlier, I have spent this month working exclusively from home. While the campus is open, you still need to request permission to enter and my supervisor, Ying, has not been going in during the summer either, so other than chatting with my friends, I haven’t missed much. Overall, this was another productive month. Most of my efforts this month were focused on my DES Intracluster Light paper, Project Outskirts, and on my analysis of the Luminosity Function, Project Population.

For my ICL paper, I am quickly moving through the DES review process. I’m currently in the Collaboration Wide Review (I have gotten comments/suggestions from a few colleagues) and have my telecon on the paper late on Monday evening (morning EST). Other than working on clarifying the arguments and removing some of the wordy text, most comments have been either typos or stylistic edits and more importantly, people seem to be interested in the science! Hopefully that telecon will go well and I’ll be able to wrap up the DES review process and have the paper submitted for publication near the end of the month!

For Project Population, I’ve made a significant amount of headway in the past month. This paper will focus on how halo mass, galaxy color, and cluster finding methodology impact the Luminosity Function. I’ve also figured out how to do Abundance Matching, a popular tool to link massive clusters based on different mass proxies for the first time. 🙂 Overall, we’re seeing some very interesting trends related to the impact of whether a red sequence based cluster finder is used (which is what Emmet and I both have used in the past) or instead a friends of friends analysis (identifying all nearby galaxies regardless of color is used). Our results seem to suggest that there are faint blue galaxies that the red sequence methodology misses, but that the friends-of-friends method also lacks/splits some of the structure of red clusters. Overall, I’m hopeful to be wrapping up this analysis and then start writing it up as soon as possible.

Additionally, I finally figured out some of the bugs for Project Proxy, my side project analysis of different halo mass proxies, so I’ve been able to start measuring the different weak lensing parameters again. 🙂

Also, to update all of you, I renewed my contract at SJTU (through August 2023), for what I’m planning is to be my last year in Shanghai. I’ll be applying for new positions in the fall and will keep you all updated once I figure out what my plan is for the next academic year.

Life in Shanghai

As I mentioned at the start of this post, it has been an incredibly hot summer around the world and Shanghai has been no exception. This has been the hottest summer on record in Shanghai for decades with temperatures every day reaching to almost 110 degrees with 80-90% humidity. While Shanghai is always hot and humid in the summer, based on my previous 2 summers here, it’s not usually quite this hot. Moreover, it never cools off at night. If the high is 110, the low is in the 90s, which makes it terribly uncomfortable for me to be outside or go for a run. On a positive note, the F45 Xuhui branch was able to reopen, so I’ve been going to the gym most days! The oppressive heat this past month has really limited what I’ve chosen to do because it’s just so uncomfortable outdoors.

Despite the heat, I still managed to do some fun activities (though not all have photos), including catching up with my friends Heather and Shimi and making jam one last time in Shanghai with my friend Hannah Maia (who’s moving back to the US at the beginning of September). Hannah Maia and I made peach mango jam! The peaches were excellent when I made peach jam with my Mom (on FaceTime) and since peach mango is one of the more exotic flavors that my Mom makes, I wanted to try making it, especially since it’s so much easier getting mangoes here!

Hannah Maia and I have made so many different flavors together (lychee, strawberry, fig, persimmon, cherry, and peach mango)! It’s been a great experience trying all these different kinds of jam and I’m so glad that we got to do it one more time! Plus, the jam turned out great and ended up with a beautiful color!

As more and more things were opening back up, I decided to go to to the Foreign Language Bookstore to pick up some new books! I got the next two books in the Witcher Series, Artemis by Andy Weir (who wrote the Martian), and books 2-8 in the Hilo graphic novel series by Judd Winnick! While there were some other books that I couldn’t find (the next two books in the Three Body Problem trilogy and The Last Kings of Shanghai), it’s always neat to look through the Bookstore and see what’s there!

On my few excursions into the heat, I also saw some cool things I wanted to share with you!

Additionally, on top of the many adorable photos of Scottie and Charlie, I also saw some cute cats around my neighborhood, including a family of cats that live by F45!

Scottie and Charlie

This was another fantastic month for Scottie and Charlie topped off with their first birthday on August 15th! While not everything was fun for them (they had to get rabies shots and also get their chins shaved to treat their cat acne, due to their plastic food dishes–this is now under control), they’ve continued to bring great joy to my life from keeping me company while working to keeping me from working! Plus, they’ve both continued to spend lots of time snuggling with me (when not snuggling with one another)!

One new highlight was that this month I got a cat tree structure from my friends David and Nati (who moved back to the US). Charlie greatly enjoys it and spends lots of time on the high perch. However, Scottie is a little afraid of it (I think because it smells like other cats).

Even though Scottie doesn’t like the cat tree, he has his own perch. Scottie has continued to jump up to the bar over my shower! Thankfully, he has now figured out how to get down. He usually does it in the morning, but I have no idea why it’s so interesting for him, since there’s nothing he can get to up there?

Even doing normal things they’re both incredible adorable and cute!

And they’re even cuter when they’re snuggling or playing with one another!

But my favorite part is when they cuddle with me! Scottie in particular remains fascinated with my beard and often jumps on top of me and starts licking/grooming it. Also, Scottie’s continued to hop on my back whenever he can!

Additionally, I wanted to share this amazing video of Scottie playing with his new favorite toy, a laser pointer, that my Mom got for him on Baopals! Since he’s lost weight (down from 6.5kg to 5.8kg) it’s amazing to see how high he can jump!

While Charlie isn’t quite as interested in it, he still loves his crinkle balls and plays fetch with them (and me) all the time. Often, I wake up to 2-3 crinkle balls by me on my bed that Charlie found to play fetch during the night!

Food in Shanghai

Since It was so hot this month, I didn’t venture out to restaurants very much, but I did do a lot of cooking. First off, I made bread again!

I decided to bake bread because I wanted to make a mushroom sandwich (see below) and thought it’d be fun to make my own bread for it!

Here are some of my other culinary highlights for the month! You can see my open face mushroom sandwich, palak tofu, chocolate brownies, dal makhni, and sweet and sour tofu!

Also, since I’ve been missing Chinese food, I ordered food for 3 meals from another of my favorite vegan restaurants!

I enjoyed spicy cauliflower and tofu dry pot, tofu, fried lotus root, gluten shreds (veggie pork), stir friend sword beans, and stir friend eggplant. My favorites were the sword beans and the gluten shreds!

Also, during Dragon Boat Festival, people traditionally eat zongzi, glutinous rice dumplings. I had ordered some through the Vegans of Shanghai group, but they arrived about a month late, so I’ve been slowly enjoying them! I got sugar flavored, orange flavored, and red bean flavored!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

For the first time in almost 6 months, we had a full month of events within the Kehilat Shanghai community! While many of our members have moved, there’s still a really nice group of us here in Shanghai! Towards the end of July, we had a lovely family Shabbat that served as a farewell for our former Kehilat Shanghai President, Bruce, and his family!

This past Friday, we also had our first Community Shabbat in over 6 months! It was so nice to see everyone again and get to do a Kabbalat Shabbat service in person, as opposed to on Zoom! Special thanks to Alex and John for hosting and to our community member Michael for making two delicious challahs!

Additionally, we had another in person trivia night! I wrote three rounds (shared at the end) and Emmet wrote the other two (also shared at the end). While I miss my friend and co-host David, it was great fun to gather in person and test everyone’s knowledge! Additionally, this past Saturday, one Kehilat community member’s daughter had her Bat Mitzvah! Since they were looking for extra Torah readers, I got the opportunity to chant torah, which was lovely! I haven’t gotten any photographs from the event yet, but when I do, I’ll share some! 🙂

Overall, it’s been so nice to be able to gather together as a community again! I look forward to more of these smaller events as well as our upcoming High Holiday celebrations (which I’ll be leading here for the third time).

What I’m Reading and Watching

Since I didn’t get to the bookstore until recently, I didn’t finish any books this month (I’m currently reading the third Witcher book). However, with the heat and working from home, I did finish quite a few streaming shows. I know that I’ve mentioned For All Mankind before, but I just finished the third season (on Apple TV) and absolutely loved it! This is an alternative history show centered on the premise that the Russians landed on the Moon first and that the Space Race continued long after 1969. This third season focused on getting humans to Mars (in the 1990s)! As an Astronomer, I loved seeing the different technologies and scenarios on Mars that were posited. If you’re a history or Space fan, I highly recommend it! Additionally, I also greatly enjoyed the second season of Alex Rider on (Freevee via Amazon Prime). This is based on the book series I read as a kid (and that they even had at the Foreign Language Bookstore!) of the same name about a teenage spy working for M15. Even though I read the books a long time ago, it’s great to see it being adapted now! Lastly, I finished Slow Horses (Apple TV), a British spy show starring Gary Oldman. While this was a bit of a slow burn, I ended up really enjoying the different conflicts and politics between the spy agencies in England. 🙂 Additionally, I hope that all of you tennis fans enjoy the upcoming US Open in a few weeks! I’ll be cheering for Rafa!

Thank you for so much for reading and for your interest in my life and experiences in Shanghai. I hope that this update highlights that things are close to returning to a “new normal” (yet again). 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 you all enjoyed the photos of my life in Shanghai, especially those of Scottie and Charlie! I hope that all of you have a safe, happy, healthy, and productive month and end of the summer.

In peace,

Jesse

Trivia

Rivals:

1). The NBA’s first great rivalry was a battle between these two Centers, both all time greats, one who played for the Boston Celtics and another who played for the Philadephia/San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles Lakers

2). This president’s cabinet was nicknamed The Team of Rivals by Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin

3). One of the most tragic sports rivalries was between these two figure skaters, ultimately resulting in one skater being attacked and the other ended up being banned for life .

4). One political rivalry in the UK in the late 1930’s centered around these two men who would succeed one another as Prime Minister.

5). This college football game, played annually towards the end of November, between these two midwestern institutions is the biggest rivalry in College Sports.

6). Between 1992 and 1995 every Grand Slam Tennis event was a final between these two women?

7). These two founding fathers had a bitter rivalry that ended in a duel when one killed the other.

8). These were the two main gaming companies to emerge from the video game crash of 1983 and lead what is known as the third generation of video game consoles.

9). Name these two rival gangs in West Side Story.

10). As a result of a 2018 film (which features the name of one of these women), these two female royals were viewed as bitter rivals. However, their rivalry was quite different because these two women, cousins, never met, only corresponding through letters. Though the conflict still ended bitterly with one signing the others death warrant.

Answers: 1). Bill Russel and Wilt Chamberlain 2). President Abraham Lincoln 3). Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding 4). Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill 5). Michigan vs. Ohio State 6). Steffi Graf and Monica Seles 7). Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton 8(. Nintendo and Sega 9). Jets and Shark 10). Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots

Fictional Spies

1). Perhaps the worlds most famous fictional spy, James Bond, played by Sean Connery first appeared in what movie?

2). This character, created by Robert Ludlam, has appeared in four movie, starring Matt Damon.

3). Sydney Bristow was the name of the character played by Jennifer Garner in this long running ABC TV show, created by JJ Abrams.

4). This prolific fiction author, who wrote over 20 spy novels, worked for M15 and M16 in the 1950s and 196s. Notable works include: The Spy who Came in from the Cold, The Little Drummer Girl, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

5). This super spy was created by Stan Lee, Don Rico, and Don Heck in Tales of Suspense as a Russian spy and antagonist to Iron Man, who would later defect to the US, join S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers.

6). Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin were the two leading characters, both spies, in this TV show, later adapted as a movie.

7). Though not Tom Cruise’s most successful movie, that would be Top Gun 2, the Mission Impossible series features Cruise starring as this super spy?

8). In the Americans, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys star as Russian Spies who have infiltrated the US as deep cover agents going by this family name?

9). Following his “death” in Forever Evil, this former Robin abandoned his Superhero identity to become Agent 37 within Spyral?

10). This well known and classic children’s character is a fictional spy that first appeared in the Louise Fitzhugh novel published in 1964. This character has since appeared in many movie and TV adaptations.

Answers: 1). Dr. No 2). Jason Bourne 3). Alias 4). John le Carre – David John Moore Cornwall 5). Black Widown – Natasha Romanoff 6). The Man from Uncle 7). Ethan Hunt 8) The Jennings Family 9) Dick Grayson — Nightwing 10). Harriet the Spy

Connections Round

1). In 1980, this volcano erupted, killing 57 people and lowered the average temperature by 0.1 degrees Celsius

2). This “Pizza Pizza” chain was founded in 1959 by the Ilitch family in Detroit

3). This baron was a poet whose most notable works include poems with the titles Ulysses, Morte d’Arthur, and the Charge of the Light Brigade

4). This nursery rhyme character (first collected by James Orchard Halliwell in 1842) and DC comics villain was Born on a Monday and Buried on a Sunday.

5). This hellblazing comic character was created by Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, Rick Veitch and John Totleben in 1985 and has been portrayed in live action by Keanu Reeves and Matt Ryan.

6). This prolific Washington Capitals goal scorer ranks third all time in goals behind Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky, but many expect that he will surpass Gretzky before retiring.

7). The name of this hand expression where you curl your three middle fingers while extending your thumb and pinky finger.

8). This blunt and controversial comedian became the first woman to host a late night television talk show (from 1989-1993) and became well known for her comedic red carpet award show celebrity interviews.

9). This villainous Star Trek character first appeared in the 2nd Star Trek film.

10). What is the Connection?

Answers 1). Mount St. Helen’s 2). Little Caesar’s 3). Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 4). Solomon Grundy 5). John Constantine 6). Alexander the Great 7). Shaka 8). Joan Rivers 9). Khan Noonian Singh 10). Famous Historical Leaders

I’m Melting (Emmet’s Category)

1. This trendy cheese entrée features heating a large portion of a cheese wheel and pouring the melted cheese over fries, meats, and other foods
   
2. “I’m melting, I’m melting” is the most famous line of this literary character
   
3. Melting dark chocolate in a culinary manner, called tempering, should be done at approximately what temperature?
   
4. Approximately what fraction of the polar ice caps have melted over the last decade?
   
5. French cuisine has an iconic take on the classic grilled cheese.  What is the name of this sandwich and the key ingredient (beyond bread and cheese). (2pts)
   
6. While we typically think of ice melting into liquid water, this process describes the direct transformation of ice into water vapor
   
7. This airport recently closed due to the extreme heat causing the tarmac to melt
   
8. The pop song “I Melt With You” was originally recorded by what band?
   
9. During the Japanese earthquake/tsunami event in March 2011, three of the six nuclear reactors at this power plant experienced nuclear meltdown
   
10. Though not exactly melted butter, this dairy product is quite popular in Indian cuisine?

Answers 1). Raclette 2.) The Wicked Witch of the West 3.) 120 – 130 F (50 – 55 C) 4.) ~ 13% 5). Croque Monsieur (Ham) 6.) Sublimation 7.) London Luton Airport 8.) Modern English 9.) Fukushima Daiichi 10.) Ghee

Crazy 8’s (Emmet’s 2nd Category)

1. In Adam Sandler’s song 8 Crazy Nights, this athlete is said to have converted to Judaism (he actually never converted)
   
2. He was the 8^th President of the United States
   
3. These are the 8 vegetables that are part of the original V8 juice
   
4. What colors are in a standard box of 8 Crayola Crayons
   
5. While Helen Willis Moody was the first tennis player to win at least 8 of the same Tennis Major, who was the first tennis player (male or female) to win 8 of the same Tennis Major (either the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, or US Open) in the Open Era in Singles?
   
6. In Buddhism, the Eightfold Path is symbolized by what?
   
7. The Beatles Song “Eight Days a Week” was originally released as part of what album (US or UK are acceptable)
   
8. Although he only appears briefly, this actor portrayed the Eighth Doctor in Doctor Who
   
9. Although it looks like an 8 on its side, the scientific name of the infinity sign is what?
   
10. This is the 8^th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Franchise (in order of release date)

Answers 1.) Rod Carew 2.) Martin van Buren 3.) Beets, celery, carrots, lettuce, parsley, watercress, spinach, tomato 4.) Red, Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple, Orange, Brown 5.) Martina Navratilova (1987, Wimbledon) 6.) Dharma wheel (Dharmachakra) 7.) Beatles for Sale (UK), Beatles VI (US) 8.) Paul McGann 9.) Lemniscate 10.) Thor: The Dark World (Thor 2)

Hi Everyone. Welcome back to Astronomer in Shanghai! I hope all of you are having a safe, happy, and healthy first month of the summer. I hope you are enjoying the warm summer weather and if it’s not too hot, getting to spend some time outside with friends and family.

Even though Shanghai is no longer locked down, I am going to spend the first part of this entry updating you all on the current covid-19 situation (because sadly, it’s not as simple as everything being back to normal). Before doing so, I want to again thank all of you who have continued to reach out to me either via the blog, e-mail, or have checked in with my parents. It’s really heartwarming to hear from you all.

In my last entry, ~ 4 weeks ago, I described how on June 1st, Shanghai officially reopened. Thankfully, that reopening has remained true. However, each time there is a reported case of covid-19 (outside of central quarantine) the neighborhood where that person lives goes into lockdown and individual buildings where close contacts of the person who was infected live are also locked down (though this lockdown is shorter). While this has not happened to me, it has happened to a few of my friends. So, even though Shanghai hasn’t locked down again, I remain on edge about the current situation and have continued to maintain a stockpile of food for myself and Scottie and Charlie.

For the latter half of June, until about the first week of July, things seemed to be slowly returning to normal. On June 30th Gyms finally reopened and restaurants were able to resume indoor dining (though at less than maximum capacity). Unfortunately, over the past two weeks, the situation in Shanghai has become a bit worse. I’m sure many of you saw the Washington Post articles describing the situation, which noted that many in Shanghai were preparing for the possibility of a 2nd lockdown. Thankfully, at this point, another lockdown has not happened. I saw so many rumors posted about a 2nd lockdown on WeChat, that it became quite stressful for me to look at WeChat last week. The ramped up stress surrounding Covid-19 in Shanghai had a number of causes. First, there was a sizeable outbreak in neighboring Anhui Province, which had some people fearful of cases spreading. Second, there was an outbreak of ~ 200+ cases associated with a KTV bar (a karaoke bar, which is extremely popular here). Third, the first confirmed cases of the BA.5 variant of covid-19 were detected in Shanghai (the same variant that is currently widespread in the US and Europe). As a result of these events, there was additional PCR testing, as well as the closing of many bars, KTV establishments, and sadly for me, gyms in different parts of Shanghai (each district can decide what to close, and in Xuhui, where I live, gyms and pools are currently closed). Moreover, for ~ 10 days the number of reported cases was rising daily in Shanghai from ~0 to ~ 70 per day (the significant majority of which were in central quarantine). Thankfully over the past few days the number of cases plateaued and then has been decreasing (currently down to ~ 30). Hopefully this downward trajectory continues and things will be able to reopen once more.

On the topic of PCR tests, I mentioned last month that we are required to take PCR tests at least every 72 hours to enter stores and use public transportation. Additionally, each weekend, we have to take another PCR test (this is to make sure that people who are not going out are still being tested). While these tests all remain free (for now), it remains rather stressful to have to be tested so frequently. Moreover, as a result of the spike in cases, over the past two weeks, we’ve been required to be tested on both Tuesday and Thursday in Xuhui district, in addition to the Weekend (Sunday for me) testing. In total, since my last entry on July 19th, I’ve had 13 PCR tests and taken 13 at home antigen tests as well. While occasionally, I had to take an extra test to make sure that I could go somewhere (like the vet), most of this is trying to fit in the 72 hour requirement. While I would rather be free to move around and just have to test than to be locked down, the frequency of testing has become somewhat annoying.

I also wanted to comment about the testing situation with respect to the heat. Shanghai is currently experiencing it’s summer heat wave, yet the volunteers who test us are still doing so in full hazmat gear, which under this circumstance can’t be comfortable (though some testing areas, like in my compound, move the volunteers to a building with AC). While I’m grateful for the hard work and dedication of these volunteers, I hope that this continuous testing ends soon.

While life in my neighborhood has mostly returned to normal, I did want to highlight that that’s not the case in all parts of Shanghai. I was walking by my old neighborhood in Xintiandi and was startled by how altered it looks.

For those of you confused at what you’re seeing, you can still see the barricades that were set up to isolate and divide buildings and neighborhoods. These were primarily setup in places with large numbers of cases. While I’m not entirely sure of the current situation in the Danshui road neighborhood (though almost all the stores and restaurants seemed to have closed), I’m fortunate that I chose to move from my apartment in Xintiandi to my apartment in Xuhui, where the situation never escalated to that level.

Thankfully, as of writing this, Shanghai has not gone back into lockdown, each of my PCR tests and antigen tests has been negative, and it remains relatively easy for me to get food delivered (though the deliveries are still being made to the shelves by the gate and not to my front door as before). I hope that things improve and that the restrictions within Shanghai lessen in the coming weeks.

Astronomy in Shanghai

Given the recent cases in Shanghai, it should come as no surprise that I’m still working exclusively from home. While SJTU has reopened, you need permission to enter campus and are not allowed to take public transportation to get to campus (I live ~ 30km from campus). Moreover, my supervisor, Ying, is also not going into campus at the moment. That said, I’m still trying to be as productive as possible while working from home.

In terms of Project Outskirts, my DES ICL project, the paper has been resubmitted to the DES internal reviewers. I’m hopeful that this paper will continue along the DES review process (next step collaboration wide review) and be submitted for publication later this summer. Once it’s submitted and posted on arXiv, I look forward to sharing it with you all! 🙂

Much of my time has been spent on Project Population, my luminosity function project. Currently, I’m comparing the measurements of the luminosity function using two different cluster finding catalogs the redMaPPer catalog (which relies on elliptical galaxies with a red color that lie along the red sequence to detect clusters) and the Yang cluster catalog, which uses a more traditional friends-of-friends group finder algorithm (looking at overdensities in all galaxies). By using these two different catalogs, we’re hoping to identify whether there’s any bias in our cluster selection or luminosity function measurement. We’re still fine tuning some of the mechanisms for this comparison, but so far, we’ve been able to look at the impact of color (red vs. blue galaxies) and radial distance on the luminosity function. I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to start writing up this analysis later this summer and submit it for publication in the fall, as well.

Additionally, I’ve finally gotten back to work on Project Proxy and should have some interesting results on that project soon. Emmet and I have also been working on Project Low-Z, where I’m currently attempting to download the SDSS fits data so that Emmet can cross-correlate the optical and radio properties of the clusters. Lastly, after a long delay, I’m finally starting to work more on my DESI projects! So, even with one project wrapping up, I still have a lot of different things that I’m working on.

I also wanted to take the time to talk about my excitement about the new images from JWST (the James Webb Space Telescope)! I hope all of you have already seen them, but if not here’s a great link. The images are stunning! I loved the comparison between the Hubble and JWST images because it highlights just how fainter JWST can detect and the added benefit of the IR light! In terms of my research, the most fascinating image is the first image of the Deep Field and galaxy cluster! While I don’t have any plans to use JWST in the immediate future (my friend Dr. Guillaume Mahler, who was a postdoc at Michigian when I was there, has already published a paper using the JWST data working with Prof. Keren Sharon, who served on my dissertation committee, and others), I do think that it opens up many avenues of research for me. In particular, though not the usual large samples that I study, any JWST images of clusters would allow us to study the faint ICL in both the optical and IR wavelengths. Moreover, the much deeper data may also allow us to more accurately constrain the faint end of the luminosity function, a region where there is often little data and large measurement noise at higher redshifts due to the brightness limits. So, just like many of you (I hope), I’m excited to see and learn more from JWST!

Life in Shanghai

As I previously mentioned, I thankfully was never locked down this past month. However, since I’m still working from home, my schedule remained relatively similar. For the remainder of June, I would do the daily F45 Zoom classes in the morning, then work and play with Scottie and Charlie (taking some breaks to read comic books and eat). Once F45 reopened on June 30th, I switched to going to the gym in person (it was really nice to see some of my workout friends again). However, this past week, when Xuhui closed all gyms, I switched back to online workouts (this time from Zeus fitness). I hope I’m able to go to the gym soon and get back into my more normal routine (branches in other districts aren’t closed, but the heat has discouraged me from going further away).

Before I discuss some of the fun stuff, I wanted to comment on the weather. Over the past few weeks, it has been extremely hot in Shanghai. Temperatures have reached as high as 105 F, with ~ 90% humidity. While this comes as no surprise to me (I’m very grateful for my AC), this year was actually hotter than normal. In fact, some of the days this past week were the hottest on record since the late 1800s! While I know Shanghai won’t cool off anytime soon (it will by October), I’m hopeful that the temperatures drop just a bit so it’s more comfortable being outside, even if only for a short while.

Since I wasn’t locked down this past month, I was able to get to do a few more fun things, as well as getting to see more of my friends! One highlight was a movie night with some of my friends to see CODA! If you haven’t seen CODA, I highly recommend it. I found both the story and the acting to be excellent. In particular, the interactions between Ruby and her father Frank after he “hears” her singing were very powerful!

Another fun activity was a group run that one of my friends from F45 organized for her birthday! While it was way too hot (already ~ 85 F at 7am), it was a lot of fun to run to the Bund and to see the Bund again!

While I probably won’t be going running anytime soon, I look forward to a few more runs to the bund during the fall!

Another highlight of this past month was making jam! Once again, I made jam with my Mom on FaceTime! My Mom is a master jam maker, so it was great to have her walk me through the steps of making peach jam! Unlike the yellow peaches that are common in the US, I made peach jam using the Chinese honey peach and they made a delicious and beautiful jam!

It was such great fun to make jam with my Mom again! I look forward to sharing more of my jam with Emmet (if he’s ever able to visit) and my friends here in Shanghai!

With Shanghai opening up, I also ventured back to the IAPM mall to go to the Apple store. There is a really cool kids play area that I had to photograph!

I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but during the lockdown I won a free item from Lululemon (from a giveaway that F45 did)! So, this past month, a couple of my friends from F45 and I went to explore the store (located in a mall right near the Xuhui SJTU campus) and use our coupons. I picked out a nice new pair of running shorts!

I also saw some really cool Gundam statues and some other comic book and anime stuff during my time shopping!

Lastly, I saw some cute cats around or near my compound (not including the always adorable Scottie and Charlie)!

Scottie and Charlie

This was a very eventful month for Scottie and Charlie! Though not fun for them, the main highlight was that they were finally able to get neutered! Thankfully, both of them had an easy recovery (and still looked absolutely adorable with cones on, though I felt bad for them when they kept bumping into things and had trouble getting to their food dishes). Annoyingly for me, both figured out how to pull the cones off, so I had to constantly be putting them back on (especially for Charlie, as you can see below)!

However, they also got a bunch of new toys to play with (fishing wands and more crinkle balls)! After being neutered, Charlie started playing fetch with the crinkle balls with me again, which I absolutely love doing with him (he does it every day :)). Now, Scottie likes to steal the balls from Charlie and bat them around, too. 🙂 So, we all have fun! Though Scottie also likes to play with my shoes and sandals!

Scottie’s also continued to hop on my back (and I always try to take photographs)! Plus, both of them have continued to climb on top of me while I’m working out! Scottie has also taken to cleaning my beard!

Most importantly, they love each other (and me) and I’m so grateful that I adopted them 4.5 months ago!

Food in Shanghai

After months of exclusively cooking for myself, I did treat myself to some delivery (though of course I’m cooking a ton as well). Though some restaurants have closed as a result of the lockdown, most of my favorites have reopened for both dine-in and delivery.

This month, I enjoyed an amazing sesame crusted taco special from Tacolicious! It was a really fantastic fusion of Asian and Mexican flavors! I hope they add it to the regular menu!

Since I had been missing my favorite Chinese foods, I also enjoyed a fantastic delivery from Godly (for two lunches), one of my favorite vegan restaurants in Shanghai. Interestingly, Emmet and I just realized that there is also a branch of Godly in Beijing! I enjoyed homestyle tofu, cabbage with vermicelli noodles, sauteed mushrooms, kaofu (spongy seitan) with mushrooms, and vegetarian duck (made out of rolled tofu skins)! It was a real treat to enjoy Godly’s food again and I hope to go in person with friends when the weather cools off a bit. I also bought frozen dumplings for me to enjoy next week!

In terms of my own baking and cooking, I made some delicious apple pie bars as well as peanut butter thumbprint cookies filled with my homemade strawberry jam (which I made for a fun game afternoon with my friends, Heather and Shimi)!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

As I mentioned in my last post, many of my friends within the Kehilat Shanghai community are leaving Shanghai this summer. So, it was wonderful to have a few fun events to see people one last time. Towards the end of June, Kehilat was able to gather for a Tov (the religious school) farewell party! While I don’t always go to the Tov activities, I wanted to go to see some of my friends that I hadn’t seen in person in months! It was also a really nice opportunity for me to see my friend Ha and her family off before their move. During the farewell party, I got to publicly thank Ha for all her help and hard work in making the Kehilat Shanghai community so wonderful over the last few years! While there will be a few more of these farewell events later this summer, I’m glad we had the opportunity to thank some of the amazing volunteers who (along with me and others) make this such a special community.

While we didn’t have any in person Shabbat’s (we’re still looking for possible spaces), we did have a return to in person Trivia! Sadly, it was the last trivia night that I’ll get to host with my friend and co-host, David, who just moved back to the US with his family. However, this trivia night was certainly an interesting experience. Because restaurants are still subject to random FDC checks, we actually ended up having to sit outside (thankfully Logan and Tacolicious set up fans, cooling spray, and free cold drinks on their patio) after the FDC came and told us there were too many people in our side room. While it wasn’t quite as comfortable as being in the AC, it was so much fun to gather again for Trivia! I wrote two rounds, which I share below.

While it’s sad to see my friends leaving Shanghai, it’s exciting to think of all the places I’ll have friends around the world that I’ll hopefully get to visit in the future!

What I’m Reading and Watching

This month, I finished reading my last physical book (I guess a trip to the foreign language bookstore is in my future), when I finished The Witcher: Sword of Destiny. This is the 2nd book in the Witcher series and I really enjoyed it and will definitely try to get the next one. It introduced Ciri, who is central to the Netflix TV show (that I also enjoy)!

In terms of TV shows, as I’m still working from home (and can avoid a 2+ hour round trip commute), so I’ve been able to enjoy binge watching some great streaming shows including Reacher, an adaptation of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels, which is vastly superior to the Tom Cruise Movie. I also watched Peacemaker, a spinoff show from James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. As a DC comic fan, this was great fun with a lot of humor led by John Cena in the titular role. I also finished Turn: Washington’s Spies which tells the story of Abraham Woodhull and the Culper spy ring used by the Americans in the Revolutionary War! For anyone with an interest in American history, I highly recommend this show. It was interesting to see the different sides of the American revolution and be introduced to historical figures that are often overlooked when we study the Revolution in school. Lastly, though not streaming, I did watch a lot of Wimbledon. While I was disappointed that Rafa had to pull out because of his abdominal tear, it was a great run and has me excited for the US Open towards the end of the summer.

If you’ve gotten to the end, thank you for reading and for all of your interest in my life. I hope that this update highlights how my life is slowly returning to some semblance of normalcy, just with a lot of PCR tests. If you have any questions about anything I’ve written, or about the JWST images, don’t hesitate to reach out either in the comments or via e-mail. I hope that you all enjoyed the photos of my life in Shanghai as well as those of Scottie and Charlie! I hope that all of you have a safe, happy, healthy, and productive month.

In peace,

Jesse

Trivia

Famous Jews

1). This band, featuring lead singer Sam Harris, known for songs including Unsteady and Renegades is made up of 3 Jewish men and the band members say Schecheyanu before every show.

2). Name this recently departed actor who twice won Italian of the year in New York (despite not being Italian) who was known for roles in films including The Godfather and Elf.

3). This Canadian rapper and former star of DeGrassi is also a Toronto Raptors superfan.

4). This Comedian also known for roles in The After Party and Girls Trip described her journey of discovering her Jewish identity in her Comedy Special Black Mitzvah.

5). This star of Wonder Woman was born in Rosh Ha’ayin, Israel.

6). This former 3rd baseman for the Boston Red Sox and nicknamed the Greek God of Walks was nicknamed up by Billy Beane in Moneyball.

7). This singer and actress appeared in Glee and starred in Uncut Gems, but is best known for singing the song “Let it Go”

8). This 4x WNBA Champion and 5x Olympic Gold Medalist is the All time leader in assists in the WNBA and makes up one half of what is likely the most athletic couple in sports with Megan Rapinoe.

9). This trained neuroscientist, actress, vaccine skeptic, and current host of prime time Jeopardy.

10). This author known for books including Summerland, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Answers: 1). X Ambassadors 2). James Caan 3). Drake 4). Tiffany Haddish 5). Gal Gadot 6). Kevin Youkilis 7). Indina Menzel 8). Sue Bird 9). Mayim Bialik 10). Michael Chabon

Heat, Hot, Temperature

1). The hottest recorded temperature on Earth occurred on July 10th, 1913 in Death Valley in the US. To within 3 degrees Celsius, give that temperature.

2). Which planet in the solar system has the hottest average temperature?

3). The phrase “He’s heating up, He’s on fire” appeared in this classic video game.

4). This pyromaniac Flash villain was played by Dominic Purcell in the TV shows The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.

5). Including the Miami Heat, how many teams in the NBA have non-plural names.

6). This is the study of the relationship between heat, work, temperature, and energy.

7). Heat, the 1995 movie about of group of high-end professional thieves starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Val Kilmer was directed by this director who also directed The Insider, Collateral, and Public Enemies.

8). When stars run out of fuel, they contract to increase the pressure and temperature of the star. This process can be used to create elements up to this metal on the periodic table.

9). To the nearest 500 degrees Kelvin, how hot is the surface of the Sun?

10). This 19th album released by Stevie Wonder in 1980 features songs including Rocket Love, All I Do, Master Blaster, and Happy Birthday.

Answers: 1). 56.7 degrees C (134.1 F) 2). Venus 3). NBA Jam 4). Heatwave 5). 4 (Utah Jazz, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder) 6). Thermodynamics 7). Michael Mann 8). Iron 9). 5778K 10). Hotter than July

Hi Everyone. Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! I hope that all of you are continuing to stay safe, happy, and healthy. For those of you who work in academia or are teachers, I hope that the start of the summer has been relaxing and enjoyable for all of you. Also, Happy Father’s day to all the father’s reading this, especially my Dad! I hope that you all have a fun day! Additionally, Happy Juneteenth to those in the US!

The Covid-19 Lockdown

I know many of you have expressed concern about the covid-19 lockdown of Shanghai. Before providing all the details on the situation (the official lockdown is over!), I want to thank you for reaching out to me either via e-mail, responding to my previous blog post, or checking in with my parents. Being so far away from my family, I really appreciate knowing that you have been thinking of me. In my last two entries, I went through the timeline of the covid-19 outbreak in Shanghai, which began in mid-March, through the middle in May. So, I’ll begin there.

In my last update, I discussed how at the beginning of May, Shanghai again implemented strict covid-19 policies, even though the number of cases was rapidly dropping around the city. As a result, during much of May, I was unable to leave my compound/neighborhood (without permission, which was generally only given for medical appointments and flights out of China). Thankfully, I was able to get food deliveries, so unlike at the beginning of the lockdown in April, I was much less concerned with getting food for myself or my cats.

Despite being kept in my neighborhood, we were still required to be frequently tested. On May 19 and May 20, my neighborhood was tested. As per usual, we were required to do the antigen test prior to going down for the PCR test. This pattern continued on both May 22nd and 24th. Thankfully, every time, I have tested negative and there were no further cases within my compound. For those of you who are curious, I generally found out that we need to be tested either the night before or that morning via a message in one of the community WeChat groups.

Around this time (the last week of May), I began to see rumors about the lockdown ending. I saw on WeChat that some of my friends compounds were issued passes allowing them to leave their compounds for 2-3 hours at a time. Thankfully, on May 25th, my neighborhood issued these passes (we were a few days later than some of my friend’s compounds because of the low vaccination rate among the elderly, 60+, in my neighborhood). However, even with this sign of opening up, testing didn’t relent. To use the passes, you had to have had a negative PCR test within 48 hours, so, unsurprisingly, on May 26th, 27th and 30th, we had to be tested again. Thankfully, once again, I was negative and there were no further cases in my neighborhood.

On May 27, I left my compound for the first time in almost a month. I didn’t do anything special, I just went for a 3 mile walk (1 big loop that is part of a run I like to do). Below are some of the photos that I took.

As you can tell from the first few photographs, Shanghai was eerily quiet. I didn’t really see many people and it felt very odd. Some highlights, in the first row, you can see that at this point, the subway/metro was still closed. In the second row, you can see the tiny testing booths that are setup all around the city to help facilitate the frequent PCR tests that are required. In the third row, you can see someone getting their hair cut. Unlike in the US, where many people grew out their hair and/or beards during lockdown, in Shanghai, people couldn’t get hair cuts fast enough. In the fourth row, you can see a little tent village that was set up. While I’m not 100% sure what this is for, based on what I’ve read, I believe that this is likely where delivery drivers were sleeping. There were news reports that many delivery drivers were not allowed back into their own neighborhoods, despite needing to test negative every day (both by PCR and antigen) to deliver packages. Shanghai runs on the back of these delivery workers, who are paid very little, so it was disheartening to hear how poorly many of them were treated. Lastly, in the bottom row, you can see that there were some areas with small signs of life.

Thankfully, things continued to move in a positive direction. On June 1st, Shanghai announced that the lockdown was over! Unfortunately, this was not the end of the covid-19 stress. To go to any stores or use public transportation, people are required to have a negative PCR test within 72 hours. Moreover, if/when people test positive or are close contacts, they’re still sent to quarantine facilities, a prospect that remains very scary. So, even though starting from the beginning of June, I was able to go out, there now exists the added stress of interacting with someone who was positive or a close contact and that leading to being taken away from my home and cats.

Even though we’re now free, for the most part, I’m spending the vast majority of time working from home. On June 1st, I did go out, mostly to get a PCR test, but I ended up running into my friends Hannah Maia and Sydney (as well as a few other people I know from F45). After not seeing any of my friends in person for almost a month, it was really nice to just walk around and chat with some of my friends!

I even was able to get ice cream (peach and matcha) to celebrate! Since it’s now summer, and very hot, it was a nice way to celebrate the first day of “freedom.”

Three days later, I went and got another PCR test, thankfully again negative. This time, I went to a little setup station in Pocket park (a nearby dog park). However, over the first couple of days in June there were a few sporadic cases around Shanghai (a trend that has unfortunately continued). On June 5th, we were told (at 8pm) that we would have to be tested that evening (no explanation for why was given). I later learned that there was a case 3 blocks away, so the neighborhood committee decided that everyone in the Tianping subdistrict of Xuhui (where I live) would need to be tested for 3 straight days.

Thankfully every time, I have tested negative and after the 7th, we were able to go back to getting tested every three days.

However, there have still some larger outbreaks, one related to a hair salon (where workers tested positive and there were hundreds of close contacts), so Shanghai remains on edge. Moreover, another policy was instituted, requiring every person to get at least 1 PCR test each week or have their QR codes turn yellow. Apparently, there were many people who were not testing because they were either not leaving their homes or not going to public places and the government feared these “silent” or “hidden” cases were causing the sporadic cases. So, each weekend. every district is now required to have mandatory community PCR testing. Showing that this will be around for a while, this testing was announced to continue through the end of July.

Over the last week or so, things have been relatively normal for me. I’ve been able to go to import stores and fruit stores and have my groceries delivered. I’ve had to be tested again (again I went to Pocket Park, which is my regular testing place). For each test, I have to present a card from my neighborhood committee, showing I live in Xuhui, then show my green QR code, then wait in line. Usually it takes a few minutes and then we get the results within 8-12 hours.

One benefit of both the lockdown easing (deliveries reopening) and the lockdown ending is that it’s been significantly easier getting food. Almost all the delivery services that I use (Eleme, Meituan, Hema) are back up and running so I no longer have to worry about what foods I can get, whether I’m getting enough protein to eat, or what certain Chinese vegetables are. I did get a few more gifts from the Shanghai government (more flour) and I also did a fun group buy of Ritter Sports chocolate (I probably got too much, but it won’t go bad anytime soon – also, Ritter Sports chocolate is really great)!

In total, in the past month, I’ve taken 15 PCR tests and 15 antigen tests (not counting the ones I took today). Thankfully each one has been negative. While I’m not quite as stressed out about each PCR test, it’s still nerve wracking to be tested so frequently and feels somewhat unsustainable (though I currently have 40+ antigen tests in my apartment that have been given to me and all other residents by the neighborhood committee). Moreover, I’ve continued to be fortunate. While my compound has remained open, many compounds have gone back into lockdown either for 14 days or 1 week as a result of close contacts or individual cases, including the neighborhoods where two of my friends live. So, there’s still a lot of anxiety for those of us in Shanghai. Though the worst of this round of pandemic lockdowns appears to over, it still feels like China’s attitude towards covid-19 and those who get sick is unnecessarily harsh and punitive. While the rest of the world has accepted that they must live with covid-19, China still appears to be hanging on to the belief that dynamic zero is feasible and the only way to move forward. Moreover, this weekend, we received a notice encouraging all people over 60 who are not vaccinated to do so. It’s unclear why this didn’t happen sooner, but I hope that those numbers increase.

For those of you who are wondering, how Emmet’s doing, I want to let you all know that Emmet continues to be safe and healthy in Beijing. The city has done a similar reopening to what happened in Shanghai, and like Shanghai, they’ve also had surges of addition cases, though slightly higher at about 10-20 cases a day. As a result of the most recent outbreak, despite the Beijing policy being PCR testing every 72 hours, Emmet has been tested almost daily for the last few weeks. At the moment, it’s unclear when these restrictions will be lifted and whether we’ll be able to go visit one another.

Although I don’t want to comment on the economic toll of the lockdown, since I can’t add anything insightful to that, I do want to comment on the human toll. At least for the expat communities within Shanghai, the lockdown, combined with the stress inducing policies for families, pets, or close contacts has caused many of the Kehilat Shanghai community members and many of my friends to decide to leave China. While this is a decision I completely understand and respect, it is one that makes me incredibly sad. While I’m hopeful that I’ll get to see all of my friends at least once in person before they go, it’s sad not knowing if/when I’ll see many of these people again and it makes every in person gathering somewhat sadder because it’s usually the last time I’ll see someone. My Shanghai community, particularly the Kehilat Shanghai Community has been so vital to my life and enjoyment of my time in Shanghai, so it’s sad knowing that about half my friends will no longer be in Shanghai by the end of the summer.

For those of you who are wondering, I won’t be leaving China just yet, mostly because the vast majority of postdocs will be announced in the fall and thus I would be unable to get a new position until summer/fall of 2023. However, I’ll keep you all updated on the postdoc search as it progresses, since that will occupy much of the fall/winter.

Astronomy in Shanghai

As I mentioned, I’ve continued to work from home this past month. Thankfully, a few weeks ago after ~ 73 days of living in the office, my supervisor, Ying, was finally allowed to return to his home. This past week, SJTU announced that if you want to come to campus you must have a negative PCR test within 48 hours and get tested immediately upon arrival. Additionally, you aren’t allowed to go to any of the common spaces (including the canteen), unless you are on campus for 3 straight days without leaving. Furthermore, you aren’t allowed to take public transportation to enter campus. Because I’m able to work from home without any difficulty, and currently don’t have any need to go to campus, I’ll be working from home for most (or all) of the summer.

In terms of research, this was another fairly productive month. Last month, I mentioned that my paper for Project Outskirts, my intra-cluster light analysis (with my collaborator Yuanyuan) was starting the DES internal review process. I received very positive and helpful feedback from both reviewers and am almost done addressing all their comments. Overall, it’s definitely a tighter and clearer manuscript and I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to progress to the DES Collaboration wide review in July!

The other project that I spent most of my time on is Project Population, my Luminosity Function analysis! This is actually going to be split into two different papers. One will focus on the evolution of the Luminosity function with redshift, cluster halo mass, and color (separating old red galaxies and younger blue galaxies) and the other paper will focus on the impact of BCG dominance (through the BCG stellar mass and magnitude gap) on the Luminosity function! I’m working on putting together the final data analysis and will start drafting these papers soon!

I’ve also made some headway on Project Proxy, my analysis on whether different halo mass proxies impact the Weak Lensing measurement. I’ve finally figured out the bugs in my MCMC code and am just waiting on some new Weak Lensing measurements from collaborators to continue.

Additionally, Emmet and I are starting a new project together combining his expertise in characterizing the properties of Bent Double Lobed Radio AGN with my expertise in low-redshift cluster properties and statistics to characterize the properties of the low-redshift COBRA clusters! Even though Emmet and I chat about our work all the time, it’s fun to actually get to work on a project together!!

Life in Shanghai

Although Shanghai has reopened I’ve been very cautious about what I’ve been willing to do. While I know some people are running around trying to see friends and get back to their full and active social lives, I’ve decided to ease my way back into things. So, most of my activities have not changed very much. I’m still doing the Zoom F45 classes every morning at 8:30 (soon to be 7:30) since the gym is not able to open. There have been a few fun social activities like gathering with friends to celebrate my friend Sydney’s birthday, but for the most part, other than going for a few more walks, my life remains similar to what it was during the less restrictive portion’s of the lockdown. My hope is that as things normalize, I’ll be able to do more in person activities with my friends.

Unsurprisingly, much of my life has been preoccupied with Scottie and Charlie! My adorable and lovable cats are both doing very well! Though they may make it hard for me to get enough sleep, since they tend to wake me up a little after sunrise (by 6am), I can’t imagine my life without them!

Here’s a series of photos of them being adorable!

And here’s even more cute shots of Scottie and Charlie together!

This past week, I also took Scottie and Charlie to the vet for the first time (they’d been before I adopted them). They were able to get their third vaccine and will be neutered next week!

As you can see neither Scottie nor Charlie was particularly happy to be there. Unfortunately, Scottie has become very skittish around other people. When my Ayi (my cleaning lady) comes, he hides under my bed or behind the curtains. He did the same thing when Sydney came to help me bring Scottie and Charlie to the vet. I’m hopeful that as I begin to have friends over again, that he’ll start to warm up to other people.

In addition to all my cute photos of Scottie and Charlie, I also wanted to share some cute photos of the neighborhood cats!

Even though I didn’t do as much socializing this month, it’s been nice to ease my way back into seeing people. It’s still weird being in large groups, even outside, since for so long basically all my interactions were virtual. However, I look forward to some more fun activities (and probably more farewell parties than I’d like) later this summer.

Jewish Life in Shanghai

We’ve continued to have many virtual Kehilat Shanghai events this past month. Since Beijing has had cases flare up, Emmet and I have been co-leading Zoom services each week! It’s great fun to lead together and I hope that we have the opportunity to do it together in person later this summer/fall! Even though attendance hasn’t always been robust, I really appreciate the opportunity to reflect on the week.

Additionally, my friend Hannah Maia organized a talk with a Holocaust survivor from Hungary, living in Los Angeles, for the Kehilat community. It was very moving hearing her talk about her childhood and vivid experiences as a child. I’m grateful that we had the opportunity to learn from her.

We also had another fun Zoom Trivia night! I wrote three rounds of trivia questions (included at the end) and Emmet’s team, made up of his colleagues at Tsinghua won! I’ll have to treat them to dinner (the prize) whenever I’m able to visit Beijing!

Lastly, this past Friday, some of the community members organized an in person Family Shabbat! This was particularly meaningful since my friend Ha’s family will be moving to Singapore at the end of the month and one of our other board member’s, Dan, is moving back to Israel with his family. It was so much fun to see everyone for the first time in almost 3 months and come together for a final Shabbat. Although, I hope that I’m able to see them again before they leave, I’m so grateful I had this opportunity. As I’ve said here many times before, as a single person living in Shanghai, I’m so grateful that the families within the Kehilat community, in particular Ha and Nadav, have invited me into their circle and always include me! It’s led to many wonderful friendships that I hope to maintain even when we’re all no longer living in Shanghai. 🙂

What I’m Reading and Watching

With life still not quite back to normal, I’ve still been able to read and watch a lot of things. I’m working my way through both the 2nd season of The Witcher and the 2nd book in the series! Both of which I’m greatly enjoying!

Some other highlights are The After Party on Apple TV. It’s probably because I’m two years away from my 15th high school reunion (something I have no plans or desire to attend), so I was the target audience, but I really enjoyed this mixture of whodunnit murder investigation and mid-late 2000s high school nostalgia! I also really enjoyed the first season of Alex Rider on Amazon Prime! Emmet and I have been reading the Alex Rider book series since we were in middle school (though there are a few recent books we need to read) and it was great fun to watch the series, about a teenage British M15 spy, come to life! I’m looking forward to watching the 2nd season later this summer.

TV wise, the main highlight for me was watching Rafael Nadal win the French Open for a whopping 14th time, his 22nd major overall! As many of you know, I’m a huge Rafa fan and love watching him play! While it wasn’t always convenient for my sleep schedule, It was so impressive seeing him battle through his foot injury to overcome Felix Auger-Aliassime in the round of 16, Novak Djokovic in the quarters, Sascha Zverev in the semis, and Casper Ruud in the finals! Rafa is a true champion and his attitude and perseverance is something I try to take with me in my own life and work. Rafa is the greatest tennis player of all time! It was a fantastic tournament on both the men’s and women’s side with Iga Swiatek dominating the tournament and winning her 2nd French Open Title! I’m looking forward to Wimbledon and hopeful that Rafa can put together a strong tournament on the grass!

Thank you so much for all of your interest in my life. I hope that this update brings you some relief to know that the situation is improving (though still not normal). If you have any questions about anything I’ve written, particularly about the lockdown, please don’t hesitate to reach out either in the comments or via e-mail. If you’re looking for other resources to understand the situation in Shanghai and China, I highly recommend looking at the Economist. I hope that you all enjoyed the photos of Scottie and Charlie as much as I enjoyed taking them. I hope that all of you have a safe, happy, healthy, and productive month.

In peace,

Jesse

Trivia

Adaptations — Given the lead actor, the character they play, and the author, name the book or book series

1). Henry Cavill — Geralt of Rivia; Andrzej Sapkowski

2). Tom Hanks — Michael Sullivan; Max Allan Collins & Richard Piers Rayner

3). Matthew McConaughey — Mickey Haller; Michael Connelly

4). Robin Wright — Buttercup; William Goldman

5). Taraji P. Hanson — Katherine Johnson; Margot Lee Shetterly

6). Bradd Pitt — Tyler Durden; Chuck Palahnuik

7). Elisabeth Moss — June Osborne; Margaret Atwood

8). Tom Hiddleston — Jonathan Pine; John Le Carre

9). Saorise Ronan — Jo March; Louisa May Alcott

10). Frances McDormand — Fern; Jessica Bruder

Answers: 1). The Witcher, 2). Road to Perdition, 3). The Lincoln Lawyer, 4). The Princess Bride, 5). Hidden Figures, 6). Fight Club, 7). The Handmaid’s Tail, 8). The Night Manager, 9). Little Women, 10). Nomadland

Before and After — The popular Jeopardy category, where the last word of the first answer is the first word of the 2nd answer

1). The 2nd leading scorer in NBA history and this novel by Rol Dahl

2). The most famous NBA player from China and this popular and well known Chinese American chef who resides in Boston and has appeared on or hosted TV shows including East Meets Wests and the revival of Iron Chef.

3). This star of Baywatch and this CNN host who is a member of the Vanderbilt Family

4). The fifth musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein based on Margaret Landon’s novel and this Will Smith starring movie based on science fiction stories by Isaac Asimov.

5). This 2x reigning Olympic Gold medalist in the Women’s half pipe (snowboarding) and this retired Belgian tennis star who won 4 majors, including 3 US Opens.

6). This 1971 movie starring Clint Eastwood as a tough as nails San Francisco Police Inspector and Erik Weisz.

7). The Queen of Soul and the longest serving president in US history.

8). This star of the Hunger Games and this 1962 British historical epic based on the book Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

9). This American Rockband known for song’s including Dark Star and Uncle John’s Band and this 1989 teen drama staring Robin Williams.

10). This historical drama about Idi Amin’s regime in Uganda and the workplace of Inspector Lestrade.

Answers: 1). LeBron James and the Giant Peach 2). Yao Ming Tsai 3). Pamela Anderson Cooper 4). The King and I, Robot 5). Chloe Kim Clijsters 6). Dirty Harry Houdini 7). Aretha Franklin D. Roosevelt 8). Jennifer Lawrence of Arabia 9). The Grateful Dead Poet’s Society 10). The Last King of Scotland Yard

What happened in the World while Shanghai was Locked Down?

1). On April 3rd, Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared at this award ceremony, urging viewers to help Ukraine in any way they could.

2). On April 7th, this justice is confirmed to the US Supreme Court, making her the first black woman to serve on the court.

3). On April 12th, Alyssa Nakken became the first woman to coach on field during a Major League Baseball game when she coached for this team.

4). On April 24th, Emmanuael Macron win’s his 2nd term as President defeating this opponent.

5). On April 25th, Elon Musk comes to an agreement to buy Twitter for this amount of Money.

6). On May 2nd a draft of an opinion written by this Supreme Court Justice was leaked overturning Roe v. Wade.

7). On May 10th, Apple announced it was discontinuing a product which ended the production of this long running product.

8). On May 13th, this object at the center of the MW was observed for the first time with the Event Horizon Telescope.

9). On May 14th, this Ukrainian group wins Eurovision.

10). On May 22nd this team wins it’s 2nd consecutive Premier League title and 4th in 5 years.

Answers: 1). The Grammy’s 2). Ketanji Brown Jackson 3). San Francisco Giants 4). Marine Le Pen 5). 44 Billion Dollars 6). Justice Samuel Alito 7). Ipod 8). Sagittarius A* 9). Kalush Orchestra 10). Manchester City

Hi Everyone. Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! I hope that all of you are staying safe, happy, and healthy. For those of you who work in academia, I hope that you have had an easy and stress-free end of the spring semester.

The Covid-19 Lockdown

I know that many of you remain concerned about the covid-19 lockdown of Shanghai. Before diving into that, I want to thank all of you who have reached out to me either via e-mail, responding to my previous blog post, or checked in with my parents. I really appreciate knowing that you are thinking about me. In my last entry, I went through the timeline of the covid-19 outbreak in Shanghai, which began in mid-March. So, if you haven’t read that entry, please do. Here, I’ll update you on the situation starting in mid-April, right around the beginning of Passover.

The last thing that I mentioned was that Shanghai had designated three types of neighborhoods, based on the number and recency of cases. That designation system has, for the most part remained intact. For the last two weeks of April, things were actually okay (not normal, but not terrible). My neighborhood hadn’t had any cases since April 1st, so we were a precautionary area and allowed to have deliveries and to leave. Other than doing 2 covid tests on the 22nd and 26th (that were city mandated), life appeared to be returning to normal at least in my neighborhood. Thankfully, again I was negative at both tests. The only change to the testing procedure is that they now require us to do an at home antigen test prior to the PCR test. If we test positive in the antigen test, we are supposed to be given a PCR test separate from everyone else. Additionally, the tests have shifted to being done within our neighborhood (instead of at designated testing sites) and are generally both quick and orderly (with results usually within 8-12 hours).

At the same time, the case numbers finally started to decrease and have continued to do so even now. Case numbers were divided up based on whether the case was identified in strict lockdown (either in a neighborhood that was completely closed off or in the quarantine centers) or in precautionary neighborhoods, like mine. Surprisingly, by the end of April, the number of cases in the precautionary areas actually reached 0 for a few days (and thankfully has stayed close to that number, with a few cases popping up day to day).

During this time (end of April), I even left my neighborhood twice. Both times to exchange some goods with my friends Hannah Maia and Sydney who live ~ 2 blocks away. While I probably could have gone for longer walks (I have friends who would go for 2+ hour walks), I wasn’t comfortable walking around the city because I didn’t get the sense that even if we were allowed to leave that we were supposed to be outside of our apartments (there were reports of police officers asking people to go home).

As you can see, when I walked around the part of Xuhui where I live, it was empty. While the area where I live is not as crowded as the downtown area, these are areas where I run, and it’s never this empty during the day (only when I’m walking to my 6:15 am F45 class have I ever seen these streets empty).

On April 30th, after almost a month of no cases, there was a reported case in my neighborhood. Thankfully not in my building. As a result Buildings 4-6 (I am in 9) were locked down for a week and all residents had to be tested every day. However, nothing really changed for me. As a result of this 1 case, I had to be tested twice on May 3rd and May 5th. Thankfully, my results came back negative yet again.

As you can see, they even started to disinfect some of the apartments (in the building where there was a case) and the trash/recycling in the compound.

Around the 8th was when things really started to tighten up and become even more draconian. Before discussing that, I want to reiterate, that by this point, the number of cases was dramatically lower than the peak. Though there were still a few thousand cases every day, over 99% of those cases were in areas that were locked down or in central quarantine. Moreover, there were more people sent home having had two negative tests within 24 hours in the quarantine facilities than there were new cases. So, it seemed like the outbreak had finally reached a turning point and was looking like it was nearing an end.

Instead, on May 8th, the city announced a policy of a “week of silence;” a period of time in which deliveries were asked to be slowed or halted and during which nobody would be allowed to leave their compounds. The only exceptions were to leave China or to go to the doctor (both required permission from the neighborhood committee). While I had been getting some deliveries (I’ll discuss food in a bit), my compound never halted deliveries, so this wasn’t a big issue for me.

At the same time, a somewhat unclear and much more frightening policy was announced claiming that if there was 1 single case in a building, then everyone in the building would be taken to the quarantine centers. By building, I’m talking about apartment buildings, not single family homes. While this policy was likely designed for lane house apartments (I lived in a lane house my first year), where most residents share kitchens and bathrooms (I did not) and are thus close contacts, there were also reports of this being implemented in apartment buildings where people don’t share bathrooms and kitchens (though in some cases only the entire floor or those within 1-2 floors were asked to leave). Regardless these new policies made the entire situation stressful. Even though I knew I wasn’t taking any risks, I couldn’t be sure of what my neighbors were doing. Many times, when I’ve gone to take out the trash or pick up a delivery, I’ve seen old men outside smoking or chatting, or even getting their hair cut without wearing masks.

The situation became much more stressful for me, because some of my friends were impacted by these policies. One of my friends tested positive for covid-19 and was sent to the quarantine facility. From what he told me, it sounded absolutely miserable. He’s thankfully at home now, though his wife and baby son, are still in a hotel. Hopefully they’ll all be reunited at home soon. Moreover, two of my friends were in an apartment where they were told they would be taken to the quarantine centers, despite never testing positive. They, along with other neighbors refused to leave, and have thankfully been able to stay safe in their apartment. So, despite the drastic reduction in cases, especially in the precautionary areas, it still remains a very tense and stressful situation.

Thankfully, during this time, my neighborhood has not had any additional covid-19 cases. However, we did have two more covid-19 tests on the 11th and 12th. I was again, thankfully negative. As of now, we still can’t leave our compound, but we are allowed to walk around, take out trash, and pick up deliveries.

To take somewhat of a step back, I spent a lot of time in my previous post discussing the food situation. On that front, things have gotten a little bit better as some stores have reopened allowing us to get deliveries. Additionally, JD.com has been doing deliveries as well, so I’ve been able to get juice, dried fruit, nuts, and cat food that way. However, most of my food is still coming from packages from the government or via neighborhood group orders. Generally, we’ve gotten a food box each week to 10 days. Below are some of the free boxes. Sometimes they’re big and full of produce, other times they’re small with ingredients to make a local dish. Some of the highlights were oranges, eggplants, bok choy, yuba (dried tofu — it’s great), and some cleaning supplies!

To supplement all of this free food (which I remain grateful for), we’ve also done group buys of vegetables and flour. The main highlights for me were all the greens. I love eating salad, but have had to cut back on that since it’s hard to get enough leafy greens.

Additionally, one of the local import stores has also reopened and is doing delivery using eleme, a delivery app. Through this, I’ve been able to get more canned beans, chickpeas, cereal, gatorade, juice, and chocolate. While many of these are luxuries, I really appreciate that I’m still able to get some of the foods that I want.

So, as you can see, even though this process has been incredibly difficult, I am by no means running out of food (neither are Charlie and Scottie). While there are reports, particularly in the poorer areas of Shanghai, of residents starving, that has not been the case for me.

Now that I’ve updated you on the situation in Shanghai, I want to emphasize how lucky and fortunate I’ve been. In total, I’ve had to take just 6 PCR tests in the last month and probably ~ 10-12 at home antigen tests. Thankfully every one has been negative. I haven’t had to confront being asked to leave my apartment or cats, I have enough to eat, and I am generally doing okay. However, the same is not true for all of my friends, and this remains a very frustrating and stressful situation. Unfortunately, I still have no sense when this will end. There are reports that the goal is to eliminate community spread (outside the closed off areas) in the next few weeks. However, it’s unclear what this will mean (in terms of reopening). Hopefully the policies will ease and Shanghai will be able to start reopening. While it’ll likely be late June/July before things return to normal, I look forward to when I can go for walks and see my friends outside.

While the situation in Shanghai remains stressful, I also want to update you on the situation in Beijing. Since Emmet’s update 2 weeks ago, Beijing has continued to have an outbreak of covid-19, though significantly smaller than what Shanghai is experiencing. They’ve had between 30-50 cases each day. While this doesn’t seem like a lot, Beijing, being the capital, takes this incredibly seriously. Tsinghua, where Emmet is a postdoc has closed its campus and residents have been required to get covid tests every 2 days to go to any public places (including grocery stores). Additionally, all residents this weekend have to get tested on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. While I’m grateful that Emmet hasn’t been locked down like I have been and has been able to more easily get food (he has a lot of food stored away in case they do get locked down), I hope that the situation in Beijing also improves soon so that we can visit one another and so that Emmet can be under less stress as well.

Before jumping back to discussing the more normal aspects of my life, I wanted to comment on the continued invasion of Ukraine. I remain incredibly impressed by the bravery of the Ukrainian people. However, it’s very scary to see how this is playing out, particularly in the posturing of further unprovoked escalations by Russia. I hope that this unjust invasion will end soon and the Ukrainian people are able to recover.

I also wanted to comment briefly on a few things back in the US. First, I wanted to check in with my family and friends in Buffalo, NY (my mother grew up in Buffalo and my Aunt, Uncle, cousins, and family friends still live there). I was alarmed to hear about the racially motivated mass murders at a Tops grocery store and saddened to hear that 10 people were killed. It remains clear that white nationalism/racism is the biggest threat to the safety of America and I hope that this problem can finally be addressed. Additionally, I wanted to comment on the Supreme Court’s apparent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. I was horrified to see that America appears to be taking such a dramatic step backwards. It’s particularly troubling given that the majority of people support a woman’s right to have an abortion. It remains increasingly problematic and unjust that our government (the Republican party) seems hell bent on restricting women’s rights (and those of minorities). Even with a different president, at times, it feels incredibly disheartening to be an American.

Astronomy in Shanghai

Now that you understand the current covid-19 situation, I wanted to update you on my work. Unfortunately, SJTU remains entirely locked down. My supervisor, Ying, has been stuck on campus for over 2 months and nobody is allowed to leave campus or pass goods between the gate. I really have no sense of when the campus will reopen, but find it unlikely that I’ll be returning to campus any time before the summer. However, despite being locked down, I’m still doing a lot of work and making progress on my research.

First, I wanted to let you all know that for Project Outskirts, my analysis of the evolution of the intracluster light, the faint light that surrounds the central galaxy in a cluster, we just initiated the DES Internal Review process! For those of you who don’t remember, the Dark Energy Survey (DES) collaboration, requires all papers have a collaboration review prior to publication. This is done in two stages, first an internal review, then a collaboration wide review. While the process will likely take a few months, I’m excited to get more feedback on this work and to hopefully have it submitted for publication by the fall.

I’ve also made some very nice headway on Project Population, my study of the luminosity function. We’re actually looking at the impact of the intracluster light on the luminosity function, dividing the analysis into two radial regimes (0-300kpc & 300-1000kpc). We’ve also looked at the differences in the luminosity function for populations of different colors, both bluer (younger) and those that are redder (older or dust obscured) than the galaxies on the red sequence (cluster members). So far, we’re seeing some interesting trends when we do this division. We’re also redoing some of our analysis to measure the impact of the magnitude gap on the luminosity function to determine whether we see differences for the red and blue populations as well. I’m optimistic that some of these results will lead to a few interesting papers from this work and that I’ll start getting to write up these results soon!

Additionally, I’ve also been working on Project Proxy, my halo mass estimation project. Unfortunately, I’m still trying to figure out what’s causing some of the differences between my analysis and Ying’s. However, I’ve identified some differences and hope that upon further analysis I can remove some of the degeneracies. Additionally, I’ve finally started doing some work on my DESI analysis of massive galaxies. I can now successfully run the required code, so hopefully Song (my collaborator at Tsinghua on that project) and I can determine what sample we want to analyze first.

In addition to all of my research, I also participated in two online conferences. The first of which was a fascinating meeting on galaxy clusters hosted by the Space Telescope Science Institute, entitled Galaxy Clusters 2022: Challenging our Cosmological Perspectives. While I only gave a poster (on my research on the luminosity function), I listened to some really interesting talks and had a few nice conversations. It was also really nice to catch up with Prof. Ian dell’Antonio, who was both mine and Emmet’s undergraduate thesis advisor! The following week, I also participated in the PoSTER (Poster Symposium Targeting Early-career Researchers) on galaxy evolution. I presented the same work and got to have some more nice discussions about my work. This conference had a few sessions that were in Asia/Australia friendly times, which was great! It was really nice to not have to stay up super late to present.

While conference are starting to convert back to in person or hybrid models, I wanted to note how much I’ve appreciated having virtual conferences. With China’s borders still closed, it will remain exceedingly difficult to go to any conferences outside of the country. So, I’ve really appreciated that even though I haven’t been able to meet new people and make friends in person, I’ve had the opportunity to share my research with many people. As the covid-19 recovery continues here and around the world, I hope that some conferences will continue to be virtual.

Additionally, though not related to my work, I hope that all of you saw the fantastic image of Sagittarius A*, the super massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. This is the 2nd image of a black hole taken by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration and is another really amazing image! It’s amazing to visually confirm what many Astronomers have long theorized about, with regards to what is at the center of our galaxy!

Life in Shanghai

Since this is yet another month where I’ve been stuck in my apartment, you’re probably wondering how I’m staying sane. Thankfully, I’ve been able to develop a good routine for the weekdays. I get up around 7 (Scottie and Charlie are usually very hungry and wake me up by then, sometimes much earlier). Then at 8:30, I do a virtual F45 workout! I’m so grateful to all of the trainers for leading these. It really helps to do a workout to start my day and makes me more productive. After this, I eat breakfast, then do work until ~ 2pm, when I have lunch. I then do work until ~ 7pm, then take a break, fix dinner, and watch some TV. Additionally on Mondays and Thursdays, I’m taking a Mandarin class for faculty/staff that’s organized by SJTU (the same one I took in person last spring), which has been good in helping me learn a bit more Mandarin. While my daily routine is monotonous, and it can be difficult to do work for long periods of time, I have plenty of things to do to take breaks. Mostly it’s playing with Scottie and Charlie (my cats), but other times it’s reading comics or playing Scrabble on Facebook. However, I’ve found that the routine and workouts have really helped me maintain some level of normalcy during this decidedly not normal time.

As I mentioned, my primary distractions (even when I am trying to work) are Scottie and Charlie! As you can see, they’re absolutely adorable! They’re both fantastic and loving cats. As you can see, they’re both lap cats. Scottie and Charlie are always taking turns sitting on my lap. They don’t like it when my laptop is there. 🙂

Another highlight was playing with the boxes that some of the free government provided food and group buys came in!

They also love to “play” with me while I’m doing my F45 classes in the morning! Sometimes Scottie will jump on my back while I’m doing planks or pushups and Charlie will crawl up next to me while I’m doing crunches or stretching or ask to play fetch with a crinkle ball!

Scottie’s also decided that if he can’t sit on my lap, he’s happy to sit on my back! Charlie hasn’t done that yet, though he loves to sit behind me on the couch!

They also love to keep me company while I’m doing work!

Most of the time, they’re just fun and adorable!

But most importantly, they love each other!

In addition to my plethora of photos of Charlie and Scottie, I also saw the neighborhood cats a few times. Thankfully people are still feeding them.

The other highlight of this past month was than on April 24th, I turned 31! This was certainly a different birthday than any other that I’ve experienced. Last year, I was able to celebrate with my friends in person. Unfortunately, that was obviously not in the cards for me this year, which was rather disappointing, since I had been hoping (before the lockdown) to try to do something with Emmet (in person) sometime around our birthday. However, I still got all of my friends (including Emmet) together for a birthday Zoom hang out! While not as fun as being together, it was really nice to see everyone and catch up! Since I still wanted to mark the day, I made myself a strawberry cake (using strawberries from a group buy) and vegan chocolate ice cream!

Later in the day, I also had other fun birthday chats as well with my parents and Emmet, as well as with my cousin Margaret and her family, and my Aunt Pam. Thank you to everyone who reached out and helped to mark the day. Despite not being as fun as last year, it was really nice to do something special! Hopefully, once this lockdown ends, I’ll be able to have some belated celebrations with Emmet in Beijing and with my friends here in Shanghai.

Food in Shanghai

While I haven’t done any food deliveries in the past month, I did want to share with you some of the culinary highlights from food I’ve been making. Since I’m staying at home all the time, I’m cooking a bit more than usual, but also with ingredients I haven’t used before.

First, it wouldn’t feel right to not at least acknowledge the matzo pizzas from Passover. I remain grateful that Chabad was able to deliver matzo to us to mark the holiday.

Following Passover, I did a bit more cooking and baking. Some of the highlights were a delicious noodle soup using the fresh noodles I was given and the vegetarian meatballs I bought. I’ve also been making tons of stir fried eggplant, which I’ve been enjoying for lunch. Lastly, I also made two very delicious zucchini breads using my flour and government gifted zucchini.

The main baking highlight of this past month was this past week when I made bread for the first time! We were given yeast and since I have over 10kg of flour, I thought I’d try! I followed the King Arthur flour recipe for hearth bread. It worked out great!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

As I mentioned in last month’s post, Kehilat Shanghai pivoted to virtual events. Each week, we have a Zoom Shabbat. I’ve lead many of these, including one two weeks ago where Emmet and other members of Kehillat Beijing joined! While it’s not the same as gathering together, it’s been really nice to see everyone and to check in with how they are doing.

Currently, the plan is to keep doing these virtual gatherings each week until we can return to in person events. Given all the stress with the current situation, I greatly appreciate the calming presence of Shabbat.

Additionally, I attended a fascinating Zoom discussion organized by the Australia-China Young Professionals Initiative about the history of Jewish families in Shanghai, predominately the Sassoons and Kadoories. One of the speakers was Jonathan Kaufman, the author of The Last King’s of Shanghai. As soon as things reopen, I’m going to try to buy that book at the Foreign Language Bookstore. While I’ve learned a lot about the history of Jews in Shanghai, it remains a fascinating and interesting subject and one I always enjoy learning more about.

Lastly, we had our first Zoom Trivia night, which was a rousing success! We had about 30 people (6 teams) join us! I hosted, putting together 2 fun rounds (shared at the end). We tried to have fun rounds that were humorous and used puns about the lockdown. Overall, it was a much needed stress reliever for all the attendees. Plus, it was really nice to see everyone and to be laughing about answers!

What I’m Reading and Watching

Unsurprisingly, without the ability to go anywhere, I’ve been watching a bunch of different TV shows and movies as well as reading a lot of comics, manga, and books! Additionally, even though the Utah Jazz lost, I’ve also been watching some of the NBA playoffs and look forward to watching the French Open (Vamos Rafa!) in a few weeks! Here are some of the highlights of what I’ve been watching and reading.

At long last, I finally was able to see The Batman! While I unfortunately wasn’t able to see it in theaters, I watched in on HBO Max (where you can still stream it) on April 23rd as an early birthday present. And boy, was I not disappointed! It was a fantastic movie! As many of you know Emmet and I are both comic book fans and Batman and the greater Batman universe has always been one of our favorites. The Batman brought a new and distinct take on the character. I loved the way Matt Reeves, the director, treated Gotham as a character. Robert Pattinson’s Batman/Bruce Wayne was excellent as well and for the first time we got a sense of psychologically what would drive someone to be Batman. There were other standout performances by Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle, Paul Dano as the Riddler, and an unrecognizable Colin Farrel as the Penguin! I’m already excited for the sequel and definitely plan on watching it again!

I also finished the last season of Lucifer on Netflix! This was a show based on the comic written by Mike Carey, which is about the adventures of Lucifer after leaving hell. Though the show is only loosely inspired by the source material, Lucifer has been one of my favorite shows and I really enjoyed how the show wrapped up its final season!

In terms of reading, I finished Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology! If you aren’t familiar with Norse Mythology, I highly recommend Gaiman’s retelling. The short stories that make up the book were quite enjoyable and interesting! Additionally, I also finished the manga series Kuroko’s Basketball, a manga about Seirin High School’s men’s basketball team. Unlike in the US, in Japan, comics cross multiple genres including sports! As both a basketball and manga fan, this was a fun series that I highly recommend.

If you’ve gotten this far, thank you so much for all of your interest in my life. If you have any questions about anything I’ve written, particularly about the lockdown, please don’t hesitate to reach out either in the comments or via e-mail. As I said, in the meantime, Scottie, Charlie, and I are all doing okay. If anything dramatic (like an end to the lockdown) occurs before my next post, I’ll make sure to do a brief update. I hope that all of you have a safe, happy, healthy, and productive month.

In peace,

Jesse

Trivia Questions

Streaks

1). John Dingell, a Democratic Representative from this state was the longest serving member of either the house or senate, serving for 59 years and 21 days.

2). This shining monarch, ruled for 72 years and 110 days, making him the longest serving (historically verified) monarch in history.

3). While 1 day on earth, the time it takes the earth to spin 360 degrees is 23 hrs, 56 mins, and 4 seconds, this planet has the longest lasting “day” of 243.16 Earth days.

4). Ken Jennings holds the record for most consecutive wins on Jeopardy. How many games in a row did he win?

5). This tennis legend holds the record for most consecutive match wins, with 74 match wins won in 1984, including wins at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

6). Last month, Kate Jayden, of Derbyshire UK, set the record of completing these endurance events in consecutive days, with 100.

7). This spinoff, originally starring Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler and Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson is the longest running primetime live action American television series, with 23 seasons.

8). Premiering on January 26th, 1988 at the Majestic theater, this musical is the longest running Broadway Musical at over 33 years.

9). This genre-redefining song, released in 2019 spent a record 19 weeks as the Billboard #1 Hit.

10). Pakistani athlete, Jahangir Khan, holds what may be one of the most unbreakable records in sports, winning 555 straight matches between 1981 to 1986, competing in this racquet sport.

Connections Round

1). žHideo Nomo became the first Japanese athlete to leave the Nippon Professional Baseball league and sign a contract with Major League baseball in 1995, when he signed with this team. 

2). This character’s nickname at Hogwarts was Moony?

3). This company is best known for selling a unique fruit cocktail.

4). Nicknamed The Queen of Tejana music, this poster is famous for songs including Como La Flor?

5). This planetarium in Chicago was the first planetarium built in the USA.

6). Name this birthplace of California, the first site that was visited and settled by Europeans on the West Coast by the Spanish in 1542.

7). This iconic game company known for games such as Risk, Bop it, Sorry, and Monopoly?

8). This science fiction film character, who first appeared in 1979, was portrayed by Sigourney Weaver.

9). This actor/actress had starring roles in movies including Wonder Woman and Forrest Gump.

10). What is the connection?

Streaks: 1). Michigan 2). Louis XIV 3). Venus 4). 74 5). Martina Navratilova 6). Marathon 7). Law & Order SVU 8). Phantom of the Opera 9). Old Town Road by Lil Was X (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) 10). Squash

Connections 1). Los Angeles Dodgers 2). Remus Lupin 3). Ocean Spray 4). Selena 5). The Adler Planetarium 6). San Diego 7). Parker Brothers 8). Ellen Ripley 9). Robin Wright 10). Famous Fictional Thieves

Hi Everyone. Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! I hope that all of you are safe, happy, and healthy. For those of you who are celebrating Passover, I hope that you have been able to enjoy one or two nights of Seders, done either virtually or if you’re lucky enough, in person! For any of you celebrating Easter this weekend or zobserving Ramadan, I hope that you also are having enjoyable holidays.

The Covid-19 Lockdown

I know many of you are concerned about the current covid-19 situation in Shanghai. First, I want to thank all of you who have e-mailed me, commented on my last post, or reached out to my parents. It’s very comforting to know that so many of you are thinking about me. I’ve read a lot of the articles that the New York Times has published and many of them are very reminiscent of my experiences. Additionally, I found that Jennifer Pak’s (American Public Media’s (APM) correspondent in Shanghai) piece on Tuesday’s episode of the APM podcast Marketplace was the best description that I’ve listened to so far. Here, I’ll try to explain my experiences with all of you.

Before I begin, I want to emphasize that I am doing okay. I currently have enough food and am healthy. From talking to friends, I’ve been fortunate and my experience has not been nearly as bad or difficult as others.

As I mentioned in my previous brief update, Shanghai is currently locked down as a result of a spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Unsurprisingly, the situation has not changed much in the last few days. There are currently ~ 20-25,000 new cases reported each day (~80-90% asymptomatic). Shanghai has ~ 26-27 million residents, so those numbers are still low, but for a country that follows a Dynamic Zero Covid policy, those numbers are quite high. Every day, the numbers are published by the Chinese CDC and reported in Mandarin and English, so I am confident in the numbers being reported. Since my last long update was in the middle of March, I’m going to walk you through a chronology of what happened and what everything means.

As I noted in my previous entry, the concept of cases in Shanghai became real for me on March 9th, when cases were detected on SJTU’s campus. Since then everyone who was currently on campus has been stuck there, including my research supervisor, Ying. As I previously said, I’m incredibly grateful that I hadn’t arrived on campus on March 9th, when they sent the message urging everyone not to come in. I’ve been fortunate to instead spend time at home with my cats, Scottie and Charlie.

In the week following, I was asked, by SJTU, to stay at home, and not leave, except to get grocery deliveries and take PCR tests at the nearby hospital. However, things started to get worse for Shanghai during that time. On the 16th, my neighborhood (the little lane of apartment buildings that share an entrance) as well as the rest of the neighborhoods in Xuhui, the district that I live in, required everyone to take 2 PCR tests. This process continued multiple times throughout the next week. Sometimes the tests were at a local middle school around the block from my apartment, other times (as shown on the right) the tests were in our compound. Each time, we would be tested two days in a row. Thankfully every time during this period, I tested negative. We were also given the first of many at home covid-19 tests. My main frustration at this point was getting information. The neighborhood committee was informing us of testing times by shouting out instructions with a megaphone, which given my low level of comprehension in Chinese was difficult.

Because of a case in a neighboring building, my compound went into a period of community health monitoring from the 21st through the 28th. During this time, I had to go get 2 more covid-19 tests (this time back at local hospitals). Again, my results were negative. On March 26th, Shanghai announced a phased lockdown for the two halves of the city (Pudong and Puxi). Pudong, the opposite side of the river to where I live, would go into lockdown from March 27th until April 1st, followed by Puxi, the side of the river I live on, which would be locked down from April 1st to the 5th. It was at this time that people started to panic about having enough food, myself included. Many of the import stores (small grocery stores that carry many imported non-perishable foods) were starting to sell out of food or have long delivery times. Grocery stores were running our of vegetables and meat (not that this matters for me, but it did for my neighbors). Thankfully, as you can see, I was able to get a lot of food ahead of time. I stocked up on canned beans (a lot of chickpeas), pasta, and tempeh, dried fruit, cereal, oats and more. I bought fruit and vegetables to last me through the week, assuming that this would end close to April 5th.

While stocking up on food or shopping for a week is a common practice in the US, the same is not true for Chinese locals. Many homes have much smaller refrigerators because people, especially the elderly, have things like eggs and milk periodically delivered and go out to buy fruits and vegetables at wet markets every day. So, while this kind of purchasing has worked for me, it’s been harder on many locals.

On April 1st, Puxi went into lockdown. Unfortunately, as a sign of things to come, Pudong stayed in lockdown. I had my first of this round of covid testing done on April 1st, followed by another on the 3rd. I was also given more at home tests, though with little instructions for when to take them. Thankfully, all my test results continued to stay negative. The tests on the first day were a little hectic, though. People weren’t spaced properly.

However, by the time the tests rolled around on the 3rd day, the spacing was much better.

Now, you’re probably wondering, with all these tests, how I was finding out my results. Shanghai (and China) have set up an online health cloud portal. Each person registers in advance and has their own personal QR code. When it’s your turn to get the PCR test (the mouth test), they scan your code. You can then check the app on WeChat or Alipay (the all in one payment platform run by Alibaba) to see your test result. Results usually show up anywhere between 6 and 24 hours afterwards.

I will note that even at this point, the process of finding out when we would be tested was hectic. I was still notified by someone from the neighborhood committee shouting in a megaphone (in Chinese) that it was time to get tested. Thankfully with some help from my friends and neighbors, I was able to go and get tested each time.

The primary difference between this lockdown and the soft lockdowns before is that deliveries were not allowed. During this time, I got my first box of food from the Xuhui District Government (see below). Each district gave out food, but they differed depending on your neighborhood. There was a box of meat that I gave to my neighbors as well. Inside I got potatoes, onions, daikon radish, cabbage, and carrots. I also got celtuce, the large vegetable I’m holding. I discovered that I could stir fry it or also turn it into pickles!

By the time the 5th rolled around, the situation in Shanghai had not noticeably changed. Cases were still rising, so it was unsurprising that the lockdown was continued indefinitely.

For those of you who are unaware, when you test positive in Shanghai, you don’t get to stay at home and wait to get better, even if you’re asymptomatic. You are instead taken to a central quarantine facility or a hospital (if symptomatic). This also includes your close contacts (so family members, roommates, neighbors you came into contact with without a mask). These close contacts are worth noting because the majority of cases (like 90%) appear to be former close contacts taken to these facilities. These central quarantine facilities are large expo centers or sports stadiums that have been converted into “dormatories.” At best, they are cubicles with cots and shared bathrooms. The closest approximation I can think of is the New Orleans Super Dome following Hurricane Katrina. Essentially, these people (largely asymptomatic people and close contacts) are placed in a crowded and generally unsanitary environment. For foreigners, the situation is somewhat unclear (if asymptomatic). some have been allowed to stay home, while others have been taken to the quarantine centers. I don’t know much more about these facilities, but it makes the prospect of getting sick quite worrisome. Additionally, the whole situation surrounding pets if you get sick is worrisome. There was a video of a corgi who was killed when the dog tried to chase after its owner when the owner was taken into quarantine. Additionally, there are other rumors of pets being killed if their owner tests positive, which is a terrifying prospect. Additionally, there are many reports of animals needing food because their owners were taken into quarantine. Thankfully, my neighborhood and local area has multiple pet groups, so I have connections to get help for Charlie and Scottie if needed.

By the end of the 5th, people, myself included, were also beginning to panic because they were running out of food. While I still had plenty I was concerned that I was running out of fresh food and protein. I even made a google doc listing all the food in my apartment. It was and remains exceedingly difficult to do individual grocery orders. Platforms such as DingDong and Meituan were only taking orders at 6am with a first come first serve policy. I tried to do this, but by the time I got to checkout, there were no delivery slots left (and my list of 30 items was down to 6). Other platforms like Hema and Elema were shutdown or not operating in my area. The most successful way to get food was through group deliveries. Thankfully before lockdown, I had connected with my friend Anna, who also lives in my compound (a few buildings over). She added me to a group of expats (there are a lot more of us than I realized) in our compound. So, we started providing information about getting food orders, doing deliveries together, and any information about when the covid tests would be. However, it took a few days for these deliveries to be processed and for food to arrive.

During this time, I began to panic that I didn’t have enough food for Scottie and Charlie. While I knew that I’d be fine, I knew I couldn’t explain to them that I was out of food. While I had over 3kg of food, I was nervous. Plus, since I don’t eat meat, I didn’t have anything I could cook for them. Thanks to connections within a Xuhui pets WeChat group, I was connected to a store that was still taking orders and arranging for deliveries. It was a bit stressful since first, the store took orders in an attempt to stock their inventory, then based on what they got, allowed us to actually order. Thankfully, I was able to buy a 5.6 kg bag of catfood and an extra 6L bag of litter. The food and litter were delivered by a courier (who had special permission to leave and had tested negative). While it was expensive, I was more than happy to pay extra so Scottie and Charlie would have more than enough food!

By the time any of the food deliveries began to arrive, it was already the 9th of April. In the interim, I had a late night covid test (at 10pm, after waiting in line for over 90 minutes). This test also came back negative and as of today is the last covid-19 test that I’ve had to take. Though I’ve taken multiple at home antigen tests. Additionally, at this time, to support the massive amount of testing, Shanghai had moved from the health cloud and instead integrated directly into the Alipay health code. So, now everyone has an all in one health code and code that they can scan when they get their PCR test. Unfortunately this process was confusing for many on the first day, particularly the elderly, which kept the lines long that night.

With the help of my neighbors we ordered more vegetables (I got chinese chives, cucmbers, bok choy, chinese spinach, and lettuce) as well as vegan meat balls! One of the vegan restaurants, Carrot and Cleaver, that I’ve been meaning to try was selling frozen vegan meatballs, so I jumped on the order. I definitely ordered too many, but now my freezer is full of them. We even did a group order of oatly. So, after Passover, I can have cereal again!

Additionally, my neighborhood also started doing group purchases. We set up so many WeChat groups. One for my building, one for each type of food we ordered, one for pet owners, one for the neighborhood. Though not all the purchases were successful, we were able to start ordering food. It’s been interesting to see what was deemed essential. Some things like rice, meats, and vegetables were quite obvious. However, many of the expats complained that bread wasn’t deemed essential until much later and much to my dismay it took over a week to finally do a group order for fruit. However, I could see that things were starting to get out of hand when group orders for cigarettes, cakes, soda, KFC, and alcohol began popping up. Even though this is the primary way to get food, it’s clear that everyone still wants and is trying to get their personal favorites.

The first group order that was successful was vegetables! I got daikon raddish, more celtuse, mushrooms, pea tendrils, cabbage, tomatoes, onion, and honeydew! So, my fridge started to fill up with fresh food again.

Throughout this period of time, I also got two more packages from the government.

I got oranges (yay fruit!), dried mushrooms, cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, and carrots as well as noodles and a 5kg bag of white rice! Even though it was difficult to get food, the government was certainly making sure we had enough. However, I want to note that each household gets the same amount of food, so while I had more than enough food, families were in a much trickier situation, since they were given the same amount as me.

On April 11th, Shanghai announced a three phase system of lockdown. If there were recent cases in your compound, within a week, then you were locked down. If there were no cases within the week, then you had to do 1 week of health monitoring. If there were no cases within 2 weeks, then you were free to move around, but strongly encouraged not to leave. For a few days, my compound was in limbo. Our latest case was on April 1st (it’s unclear if this was an abnormal result or a positive case). The Xuhui government had not announced what the status of the 77 Yueyang neighborhood was. Finally on Friday, April 15th, we were told by the neighborhood commitee that we were in the third group and had the ability to walk around. However, because many of the neighboring compounds had more recent cases, we are still strongly encouraged not to leave. While I will leave my apartment to take out trash a bit more frequently now, I’m still staying at home. Moreover, the Xuhui government still doesn’t have my neighborhood listed as being open, so it’s unclear exactly where we stand.

Following the announcement of the 11th, some of the import stores and other shops started to reopen and deliver goods. Some of my neighbors and I pooled together to buy some luxury items, like cereal, oats, chocolate, and dried fruit! While not necessities, it was nice to get some of the foods I’ve been missing.

On the 15th, we got our latest, and most generous box of goods from the government! I got fresh noodles, red bean boazi, carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, garlic, ginger, peppers, mushrooms, silken tofu, and baked firm tofu! I was so excited for tofu!

We also got meat and milk, but I donated those to the neighborhood give away pile. One of the nice things that has emerged is that everyone in the neighborhood is helping people out. People are trading foods they don’t want or can’t eat or donating it to others. We setup a table where people can leave food they don’t want to share with others in the middle of our compound.

Additionally, at long last, the fruit order that my neighbors put together arrived! After hoarding fruit for the better part of two weeks, I’m excited to have more citrus to enjoy!

That gets you all up to speed. As of now, as you can all see, I have plenty of food for me to eat (and plenty for Scottie and Charlie as well). In total, I’ve gotten somewhere around 15-20 PCR tests. If I include the antigen tests, it’s probably between 25-30 tests in total. Thankfully every test has come back negative. However, the neighborhood committee keeps giving me more at home tests. I currently have > 15 at home antigen tests in my apartment. So, I’m taking one every few days.

Now that you understand the situation from my perspective, I want to reiterate that I’ve been incredibly fortunate. My compound has had almost no cases, so we are still allowed the personal freedom of being allowed to walk around, though they do not want us to gather. Moreover, the testing is done in batches of 10, so I’ve had a few friends describe how they received a call from the Chinese CDC telling them that their test was in a positive batch so they would have to be retested (thankfully my friends were still negative). I know this would have totally freaked me out, so I’m glad that it didn’t happen. Additionally, many of my friends are still getting PCR tests daily. So, I’m again lucky that there have been no new cases in my neighborhood.

While this whole process has been incredibly stressful, there have been some positive and lighter moments that I wanted to share. First, I’ve gotten to know more of my neighbors. I also now know my two immediate next door neighbors! I had only really ever met 2 other people who live in my compound, now I know a lot more! Moreover, it’s heartwarming to see people help each other. I’ve done my part as well. When we got our first government box, after explaining that I don’t eat meat, I donated the meat to one of my neighbors and his family. Moreover, they’ve reciprocated by giving me vegetables and peanuts! Additionally, those neighbors have made sure that I’ve gotten the government boxes as well as making sure that I know it’s time to test and I’ve carried up their orders of fruit and other heavy items.

When we got the second government box with meat, I was able to trade my meat for extra oranges! Doing so, I met a new neighbor . When we were chatting, she noticed my Jewish star necklace and asked if I was Jewish or Israeli. A few days later, she messaged me to wish me a Happy Passover, which was really nice!

My favorite, and perhaps humorous, experience was with the volunteers who are doing all the PCR tests, the unsung heroes of this situation. Prior to the lockdown, one of the volunteers was struck by the fact that my beard and hair were different colors. A few weeks later, while I was waiting in line to be tested (during the lockdown). The volunteer said “I know you, your beard and hair are different colors!” 🙂 It was the same woman, who was taking my PCR test. While I obviously stand out in Shanghai, it was fun to be remembered. Maybe when the situation improves, I’ll run into the same woman again,

Overall, I know that this situation is frustrating and generally somewhat miserable. That said, I’m trying to take as positive an attitude as I can. I know that many others are suffering far more than I am, either due to more difficulties getting food, being separated from their families, or getting sick, so I want to again reiterate how fortunate I’ve been.

Astronomy in Shanghai

Now that I’ve explained the current situation in Shanghai, you may be wondering, what have I been doing to keep busy. Obviously, I’m still doing work. I’m lucky that my research is all done on the computer, so I’m able to still be productive. At long last, my Dark Energy Survey Paper on the Stellar Mass – Halo Mass relation was published by the Astrophysical Journal. It’s available online here! If you’re interested and unable to download it, let me know and I’ll e-mail you the PDF. 🙂

The other main Astronomy highlight this month was that during the initial lockdown, I was doing remote observing for DESI, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument. For those of you unfamiliar, DESI is a new spectroscopic survey that will use the spectroscopic information to map the 3D positions of galaxies in the nearby Universe. From April 3rd – 6th, I was the support observer recording information about each observation. This was a great distraction from all my stress surrounding the covid-19 lockdown and frequent testing. Thankfully Charlie and Scottie were well behaved and made it easy to observe each day from ~ 10am – 3pm. Below you can see two different views of the All Sky Camera from when I was observing.

Most of my remaining work time was spent on my luminosity function analysis, Project Population. I’ve been working with multiple observational data sets (both the low-redshift Yang Catalog and higher redshift SDSS-redMaPPer catalogs) to measure the luminosity function. I’ve also been using the mock that I spent months perfecting as a great resource in my analysis. Right now, we’re investigating whether splitting the data by magnitude gap, a tracer of central galaxy growth that my dissertation was built around, impacts the different satellite population. So far, we are only detecting differences on the bright end, which would suggest that most of the galaxy’s involved in merging to form the central galaxy are bright galaxies and that the magnitude gap tells us more about the central galaxy than the population in general.

I’ve also continued to work on Project Outskirts, my project on the Intra-Cluster Light. The latest draft of this analysis is almost complete, so we plan to start the DES collaboration wide review process in the coming weeks! Additionally, I’ve spent a fair amount of work on Project Proxy, my weak lensing halo mass proxy project. I’ve spent a lot of time investigating how to construct a Bayesian statistical pipeline to measure the parameters associated with the lensing model (the concentration and halo mass). Unfortunately at the moment, I’m running into some issues with degeneracies between the parameters. However, I should also be able to start writing this project up soon, as well.

Life in Shanghai

Since I haven’t really left my apartment (other than to get food or covid tests) in the last month, you’re probably wondering what else I’ve been up to. Though I’ve done a lot of work, I’m not working all the time. Thankfully since the covid-19 outbreak started a few weeks ago, the gym I go to, F45, has been doing Zoom classes! I’m super grateful and appreciative to all the trainers who have been running them! While they aren’t as fun as being in the actual gym, since I can’t leave my apartment to go running, I’m really fortunate that I’ve been able to exercise almost every day.

Since I’ve been home, the other thing that takes up a lot of my time is playing with Charlie and Scottie! Charlie is the smaller brown and white cat and Scottie is the larger black and white cat. I’m so lucky to have them! They love sitting on my lap (almost all the time, even when my laptop is there), snuggling on the couch or on my bed, chasing each other around, playing with crinkle balls (Charlie especially), and cuddling with each other! As you can see they are absolutely adorable and have brought me so much joy this past month!

Although it terrifies me, one of their favorite things to do is to climb up the screen in front of my closed window! They’re both excellent climbers (even after I trim their nails) and can get both up and down!

I also wanted to share some fun videos I took of Charlie playing fetch and Charlie and Scottie playing with the ball toy that my Mom got for them!

Even though I hardly left my apartment, I still saw a few things in Shanghai I wanted to share with you all. 🙂 You can see Eileen Gu (Gu Ailing), the Chinese free-skier who won three medals in the Olympics and a cute cat in one of the stores on Fuxing Rd.

Jewish Life in Shanghai

Unsurprisingly all of Kehilat Shanghai’s in person events have been cancelled or postponed. However, that didn’t stop us from gathering as a community. I personally find Shabbat services very calming and centering and with all the chaos around us in Shanghai, I decided that when Shanghai went into lockdown we would start doing weekly Zoom Kabbalat Shabbat services, which I have lead each week. Each week we’ve gotten ~15 attendees, which was great! Since I live alone, it has been really nice to catch up and see some of my friends within the community!

Additionally, we had a fascinating talk that my friends Hannah Maia and Rebecca Kanthor organized with Jerry Linderstraus, a former Shanghai resident, who had fled the Holocaust in Germany and moved to Shanghai when he was 11. Though I’ve heard many second hand accounts of what it was like to be in Shanghai during WWII, hearing Jerry’s account was very powerful! Shanghai was an almost unrecognizable city then, compared to what it is now. Even though fleeing to Shanghai led to safety, it didn’t lead to an easy or comfortable life in China. Moreover, it was clear that unlike today, the language barrier that existed between the Jewish refugees and the Chinese locals was nearly impossible to overcome. While I’ve gone to the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum many times, I hope to spend more time reading about the different experiences of the earlier waves of Jews in Shanghai (The Last Kings of Shanghai is high on my reading list).

This Passover was certainly far different from the past two years. Unlike the last two years, this year, was the first year that I had to celebrate Passover entirely on Zoom. While I had attended Zoom Seders with my parents back in the US the past few years, this year, all three of the Seders I attended were on Zoom.

However, you’re probably wondering, with all the food shortages and difficulty getting food, was I able to get matzo? I was! Thanks to Chabad and the hard work of the Israeli Consulate in Shanghai, everyone who wanted matzo was able to have matzo delivered to them! Though it was much more expensive than previous years, I was so grateful to receive all of my matzo! As you can see I got 1.5 kg of regular Yehuda Matzo, a kg of Shmurah matzo, and a box of Matzo meal! I have so much that I’ll probably snack on it as a cracker after Passover! Though I don’t always enjoy or attend the events that Chabad hosts, I’m so grateful that they, with the assistance of the Israeli consulate (who arranged the delivery logistics), took the effort to get me and other community members matzo so we could celebrate Passover!

Using the matzo meal and all of my government veggies, I even was able to make vegan Matzo Ball soup and my Dad’s recipe for charoset (minus grape juice, which I was unable to get)! Even though it didn’t quite feel like Passover without the ability to gather, it certainly smelled like Passover in my kitchen!

In total, I had three fun and enjoyable Seders. On the first night of Passover, I joined with Hannah Maia, and a few other of our friends for a fun and quick Passover Seder and gathering! Even though it wasn’t the same as being gathered around the table together, it was really nice to spend the evening going through the ritual items on the Seder plate and then catching up!

On the second night, I had the Kehilat Shanghai Community Seder. Kehilat Shanghai has been so fortunate that even in 2020, the covid-19 situation in Shanghai was under control or non-existent enough that we could safely gather. I had the pleasure of leading the community Seder each of the past two years. This year, I was planning to co-lead the Seder with my friend Alex (we led the high holidays together). However, by the latter half of March, we realized that we would have to pivot to Zoom. While disappointing, Alex and I decided to make the most of it. We didn’t want to just flip through the pages of a Haggadah, we instead wanted to create a fun and immersive experience. So, Alex and I got to work assembling a power point haggadah, we put in fun Passover ensembles, including Six13’s fantastic Billy Joel Passover parody, we incorporated the Dayenu video from the Maccabeats, and a fantastic and adorable video of the children of the Kehilat community doing the Four Questions! So, on the Second Night, Alex and I led what turned out to be a wonderful, meaningful, and fun zoom Seder! We had over 50 logins on Zoom and probably close to 100 people join us, including many of my friends within the community! Since Emmet didn’t have plans for the 2nd night, he even joined us from Beijing, which was really special! Everyone who attended seemed to love the videos and appreciate the readings and associated images. While it was a lot of work together, Alex was a fantastic partner on the project, and it was so heartwarming to hear how much it meant to everyone to be able to celebrate together at such a difficult time!

My final Seder was with my parents on their 2nd night! We were joined by my Aunt Pam, cousin Robbie, and his partner, Stefanie! Since I’ve been unable to celebrate with my family in person each of the last three years, I’m so grateful that my parents have done Zoom Seders each year! It’s so wonderful to go through my childhood Haggadah and be reminded of all my favorite readings and moments throughout the Passover Seder! Though it’s weird to be attending a Seder at breakfast time, It was so great to celebrate with my family and get to experience my Dad leading the Seder again! I look forward to when I’ll be able to attend in person!

In total, this was a very different and unique Passover, likely one I’ll never forget. While I hope that next year, my Passover celebrations are in person, I’m so thankful for all the family, friends, and community members that I was able to celebrate with!

In addition, in this year’s community Seder, we included prayers for the people of Ukraine during the Yachatz section and the 10 plagues. Given that we have Ukrainian community members, including my friend Kate, it was important that our community help in any way that we could. Even with all the chaos surrounding us, Kehilat Shanghai, did a fundraiser through the JDC to support the Jews of Ukraine. In total, we raised around RMB 43,000, which was then generously matched by Kehillat Beijing founder, Roberta Lipson, to raise RMB 86,000 ~ $13,500. If you are able, I hope that you can also donate to support the humanitarian crisis that this senseless invasion has caused. As I discussed in my last post, I’m horrified by all the reports of genocide and war crimes that are being committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine. I pray that Putin backs down and that the situation comes to a resolution that allows the citizen of Ukraine to be safe and return to their homes.

What I’m Reading and Watching

Unsurprisingly, since I’ve been locked down, I’ve been doing a lot of reading, both books and a ton of comics! I find that these really help to take my mind off the stress of the covid-19 situation. I’m currently two-thirds through Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, which is fantastic! Prior to reading, I was only loosely familiar with the characters in Norse myths, but not the actual stories. The book is a collection of different myths and it’s really fun to read a new one every few nights. I also finished the 1st book in The Witcher series, The Last Wish, and will start the 2nd book after I finish Norse Mythology.

I haven’t watched a ton of great TV this month. I did finish the last season of Killing Eve, which was overall somewhat disappointing. While I find the Villanelle character quite interesting, the story throughout the entire season was hard to follow. I also have been periodically watching movies. I watched Don’t Look Up, which many of my friends had recommended that I see. Unfortunately, I can’t say I really enjoyed that movie. There were some obvious Astronomy problems, including lights on inside the telescope (generally when observing you use red lights, not white light) as well as the fact that these Astronomers never contacted an actual expert in orbital mechanics (like my friend Juliette!) to confirm their results before contacting NASA. On top of that, I felt like everything was just way too over the top and on the nose, making it somewhat of an uncomfortable and unenjoyable experience. The movie that I really enjoyed this month was Sing, an animated movie about talking animals entering a singing competition. Maybe it was because of all the stress in Shanghai, but it was so much fun to escape to a totally made up world and disappear in fun music for a while! I’m looking forward to watching the sequel!

If you’ve gotten this far, thank you so much for your interest in how I’m doing and for reading. I hope that you found the first half of this post informative about my experiences in Shanghai. If any of you have questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reply or e-mail me. I’m happy to answer any questions. I also hope that you enjoyed seeing more of Scottie and Charlie! Lastly, I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my Passover Seders! If you celebrated, I hope that you to were able to have a meaningful and enjoyable Passover celebration. I hope that by the next time I write, the situation in Shanghai is improved and beginning to open up. Keep your eyes out for a few more microposts if the situation changes. In the meantime, I hope that all of you have a safe, happy, healthy, and productive month. Thank you again for reading and for thinking of me.

In peace,

Jesse

Hi Everyone. I know that many of you are very concerned for me as a result of the recent covid-19 outbreak and city-wide lockdown in Shanghai. So, I wanted to send a short message to let you all know that I am doing okay. Thanks to neighbors and friends within my neighborhood, I have plenty of vegetables, rice, and vegan meatballs for me to eat and plenty of cat food for Charlie and Scottie, too. I’ll be writing a longer, more detailed post, this weekend and will share with you much more about my experiences so far. However, since I know many of you have either reached out to me or my parents, I just wanted to let you know that I’m okay. Also, for any of you celebrating Passover this weekend, I hope that you have lovely and meaningful Seders, whether in person or on Zoom. Additionally, for those of you who are celebrating Easter this weekend or currently observing Ramadan, I hope that you also have a meaningful holiday.

In peace,

Jesse

Hi Everyone. I hope that this latest update continues to find all of you safe and healthy. While I know that covid-19 restrictions appear to be loosening in much of the US, I hope that all of you are continuing to be proactive, being safe, and taking some precautions as the temperature warms.

As some of you are aware, there has been a surge of cases all over China over the past few weeks. While previously, much of this was confined to Hong Kong, recently, this has been occurring in the mainland as well. Unfortunately, for the first time in almost two years, Shanghai has a real outbreak (still just hundreds of cases, so small by US standards). I’ll go into some more details shortly, but I wanted to first let you all know that I am safe and healthy and currently locked down in my apartment. I can still order groceries for delivery, but basically the only time I can leave my apartment is to go get a delivery (or throw out trash) or have a nucleic acid test.

The outbreak began to trickle out about 2 weeks ago. However, the outbreak became real for me on Wednesday, March 9th, when SJTU sent a message to all faculty and staff telling them not to come to campus unless it was an emergency. I received this message at 7:30 am while I was walking to get the bus to the SJTU Minhang campus. Thankfully, I was not already on campus, since the campus has been locked down since and continues to do so. There have been a number of cases (mostly asymptomatic) among the undergraduate students. Unfortunately, my supervisor Ying Zu along with other faculty, staff, and postdocs has been stuck on campus since. The faculty and staff have even had to help distribute meals to undergraduate students locked down. Overall, the situation remains stressful, particularly on campus. So, I’m super grateful that I have been able to be at home.

The following day (1am on Thursday), SJTU announced that all faculty and staff who had been to the Minhang campus in the prior week (including me) would need to get 5 nucleic acid test (on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, and 14th days) and stay and isolate at home for the first week. I was able to do this at a nearby local hospital. I was done with the first three tests and about to do the 4th test, when my neighborhood announced that it (along with the rest of the Xuhui district, where I live) would be doing a mandatory 48 hour soft lockdown. This lockdown started on Wednesday, March 16th. I had to get 2 additional nucleic acid tests at the local middle school. Thankfully, all 5 of these tests so far have come back negative. However, out of precaution (and possibly because of cases in the subdistrict–not my neighborhood) the lockdown has continued and on March 19th, I had another nucleic acid test. I was supposed to have another test today, March 20th, but that was postponed because of inclement weather (heavy rain — the tests are done outside). For those of you wondering, this same situation is happening for nearly all of my friends (or did already) around Shanghai. So, this is not unique to my neighborhood.

So, at the moment, much of Shanghai remains shut down. The city has not done an official lockdown, but is taking many precautions to prevent the outbreak from spreading. Even though I’m locked down, I’m much happier to be locked down at home than be stuck in the office for the last two weeks. Although the situation has been stressful, I want to emphasize how helpful a lot of people have been. Whether it’s been colleagues helping me find where I could get a nucleic acid test, volunteers helping to make sure I had the proper QR code to get my test results, neighbors making sure I knew where to go, or even the friendly workers answering my questions after taking my mouth swab (one was curious why my hair and beard are different colors), I really appreciate the positive way many people have responded. Going forward, I’ll do my best to keep a positive attitude. I will keep you updated about the situation in Shanghai, but at the moment it’s very fluid (so, it’s unclear how long I’ll be locked down).

Although the covid-19 situation here has been occupying much of my mind, I want to comment about the situation in Ukraine. I, like many of you, have been closely following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. My friend Kate is from Odessa and her family still lives there, so I’ve been in communication with her a lot over the past few weeks, trying to offer support and any help that I can give. I’m horrified by the continued attacks on innocent women and children as well as the false narratives that the Russian government is planting in the media. Though I haven’t discussed this with my colleagues, It’s been interesting (and at times troubling) to see what they’ve posted on WeChat. Some have posted messages in support of Ukraine and the courage their citizens are showing, while others are sharing the same Russian propaganda. From another angle, as a sports fan, it’s been interesting to see how the world has reacted. Regardless of what anyone says, sports and politics are intertwined, so I’m glad that along with the harsh economic sanctions, Russia is also facing the public embarrassment of not being allowed to compete (though I hope these measures don’t become like what the IOC has done in the past) in many events. It’s been heartening to see athletes take a stand against this Russian invasion, particularly in tennis, with Ukrainian players like Elina Svitolina donating her winnings as well as Andy Murray. However, it’s also scary to see athletes like the boxers, the Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko , and tennis players Alexandr Dolgopolov and Sergiy Stakhovsky have to volunteer to fight. Moreover, tennis is one of the few sports where you’ve seen Russian athletes actively stand up against the war, particularly Andrey Rublev. In addition, it was wonderful to see the Ukrainian team have so much success in the Paralympics, but distressing to hear that many have no home to return to. I pray that Russia backs down and ends it’s invasion. However, Ukraine needs our help now. If you have the ability to financially donate to causes supporting the humanitarian effort in Ukraine, please do so. I’ve already donated to help displaced animals in Odessa as well as to Kehilat Shanghai’s fundraiser through the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). I’m going to continue to donate to help this humanitarian crisis and I hope that you will as well.

The combination of covid-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine made this a very heavy month. Despite that, there were some fun highlights as well. So, below I share some of those with all of you.

Astronomy in Shanghai

Now to Astronomy! I just received word that the editing process of my accepted paper on the evolution of the Stellar Mass – Halo Mass relation has finally been finished. So, it will be published in the next ApJ publication! Once I get the published pdf (and link), I’ll share it with you all (hopefully by my next post).

In terms of actual research, I’ve spent a lot of time working on Project Outskirts, my study of the Intracluster Light (ICL). This project has come together quite quickly. I have a nearly finished draft of the analysis! I’m just finalizing some of the science figures at the moment. This is another paper that I’ve done as part of the Dark Energy Survey (working with my friend and collaborator Dr. Yuanyuan Zhang). So, we’re hoping to start the internal DES review process for this paper in April!

Despite the lockdown, I’ve also continued to make headway on a lot of my other projects based at SJTU. For Project Population, my study of the Luminosity Function, I’ve been able to successfully measure how the magnitude gap impacts the luminosity function for the Yang group catalogs (these are a low redshift sample). Overall, we’ve found some evidence for low mass groups that the magnitude gap does impact the LF in a manner that we’d expect. Since the Luminosity Function essentially measures how many galaxies there are of a given brightness and the magnitude gap is a proxy for mergers between the Central galaxy and the satellite galaxy population, we would expect that for clusters with high magnitude gaps, you would see a lower luminosity function (or at least a dip). However, in this sample we don’t have quite enough clusters to determine a trend in the high mass regime. To further address this, we’re starting to look at our higher redshift redMaPPer sample and an updated higher redshift Yang Group catalog.

In terms of Project Proxy, I’ve been working to add additional parameters into my Bayesian analysis, so that I can model the impact of miscentering of the BCGs on the halo mass as well. While I’m running into some bugs at the moment, I’m excited to see how the different halo mass proxies impact these new parameters and find some interesting results!

Lastly, my DESI research. I’ve finally been able to get started on my DESI project studying the outskirts. I’ve finally been able to run the code and will continue to define our sample and work through a test scenario as well. Also, I was asked to co-lead the new Galaxy Clusters working sub group, within the c3 (clusters, cross-correlations, and covariance) working group! So, I’ll be doing a bit more service for DESI (along with observing). I was honored to be asked and am excited to get more involved with DESI!

Overall, this was another productive month. My goal is to be able to start writing up Project Proxy and Project Population in the next few months, so hopefully I can make more strides in finalizing that research!

Life in Shanghai

As I’ve shown in many of my recent posts, I love cats. Over the past few months, I’ve been having my friend Anton’s cat Solo stay with me when Anton was out of town. Unfortunately, Anton and Solo moved to Shenzhen (Southern China across from Hong Kong). So, I won’t get to have Solo stay with me. While I’ll miss Solo, I’m grateful for the time I got to spend with him and that he showed me that I can easily have a cat stay in my apartment. Thankfully, I did get to see Solo and Anton one last time before they moved.

After I found out that Solo was moving, my friend Sydney, asked if I would be interested in fostering two kittens. Sydney had found this litter of kittens at the start of the school year near the school that she works at and had been looking for a new foster for two of them. After seeing their adorable photo, I knew that I wanted to meet them.

So, on Saturday, February 29th, I had two new kittens, Charlie and Scottie (he was previously named Spot) come to live with me. They’re 7 month old brothers. We bonded immediately. Though they were a little skittish at first, by the end of the first day, they were sitting on my lap and two days later sleeping on top of me! I realized after about 1 week that I was too attached to them to just foster them. So, I adopted them! So, without further ado, here are the newest members of my Shanghai Family, Charlie (the little brown one) and Scottie (the bigger black and white one)! I hope that many of you eventually get to meet them!

They’ve brought me so much joy and happiness these past few weeks! I’m so glad they they get along well and love each other. They love sitting on my lap and cuddling with me. They also love playing with crinkle balls and chasing each other around my small apartment. On a funnier note, they both love popping their heads into the shower and playing with the water! Though at times I wish they’ld make it a bit easier for me to do work (or write this blog), it’s made being stuck at home for the past two weeks much more fun and enjoyable!

In addition to Charlie and Scottie, I still had a lot of other fun things, including two birthday parties! The first was a surprise party for my friend John! His husband, Alex, organized an 80s/90s prom-themed party! As you can see, I did my best to channel the 80s, with a bow-tie and cummerbund (made out of a ribbon) as well as my hair worn in the style of Fabio.

Even though I didn’t recognize most of the music, it was a lot of fun celebrating John with many of our friends!

The second party was my friend Clem’s 40th birthday brunch at the W Hotel! It was great to get to live on the extravagant side and enjoy the fancy brunch (the deserts were the real culinary highlight) and celebrate Clem! Also, so glad I got to do one last fun outing before Shanghai was locked down.

In addition to some fun birthday party’s, I also saw a lot of cool things out and about that I wanted to share with all of you! I love that when I’m walking around Shanghai, there are always so many interesting things to see, from store exhibits, to things on the street!

Along with my own adorable animals, I wanted to share some cute photos of some of my friend’s dogs. First you have some photos of my friend Kim’s dog, Otis. Kim and Otis moved back to the US, so these are from her farewell party. Second, you have some photos of my favorite dog, Pina (who belongs to Kate and Ilan)!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

Prior to the covid-19 shutdowns in Shanghai (all Kehilat Shanghai events have since been cancelled/postponed), there were a lot of fun events within the Jewish community that I wanted to share.

Towards the end of February, Kehilat Shanghai organized another tour of the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum. While I’ve gone to this museum many times, this time was particularly special because on of our community members, Yael, led a guided tour of the museum. Yael has done a lot of research into the history of the Jewish community in Shanghai, including interviewing surviving Jews who fled to Shanghai to escape the Nazis. Hearing Yael’s detailed and fascinating accounts about what it was like in Shanghai at that time, especially for the children, really helped shape the narrative of the museum and made the experience far more enriching than any of the other times I’ve been to the museum!

Additionally, my friend Hannah Maia organized an early Purim activity of cookie decorating! Below, you can see the cookies I decorated in the shapes of a mask, crown, groger, hamantaschen, wine glass, and mishloach manos.

Even though it was a few weeks early, I’m glad that I was able to do something fun with some of my friends to celebrate Purim! Plus, the cookies tasted great!

In addition to those two fun events, we also had a lovely family Shabbat gathering towards the end of February. While unfortunately we haven’t been able to gather since (because of covid-19), I look forward to upcoming Shabbat gatherings once things return to normal.

Lastly, we had a fascinating adult education discussion, the first in a series centered around the LUNAR: The Jewish Asian Film Project. Since many of the members of the Kehilat Shanghai community come from mixed Jewish and Chinese families, this was a really insightful discussion (led by LUNAR participants as well as some community members who are my age) about their experience growing up as part of both communities and how they relate to both identities, whether through food or past experiences. I found the experience very informative and I’ll continue to learn and work to make the Jewish communities that I’m a part of more accessible and open to everyone. If you’re interested in the series, here’s the link to the YouTube channel.

What I’m Reading and Watching

I’d love to have started off this section by writing about The Batman! As many of you know, Emmet and I are huge comic book fans and Batman is one of our favorites. I’m incredibly excited to see The Batman, which opened in China on March 18th. Sadly, the current covid-19 situation has me locked down and many, if not all, of the theaters in Shanghai closed. I hope that I’ll be able to see it in a week or two. That said, there is excitement to see it in China. If you’ve been able to see it, I hope you enjoyed it! Please, no spoilers though. I can’t wait to go with some of my friends to see it as soon as we can!

Since I’ve been in a soft lockdown for the last few weeks, it’s given me a lot of time to catch up on some streaming and reading. Here are some of the highlights. I, like I’m sure many of you, watched the 4th season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. While I don’t want to spoil anything, I will say that while I loved the end of the season. However, I was left somewhat disappointed that we spent 8 episodes without much really happening or any changing in terms of Midge’s career and the show’s status quo. That said, I’m hopeful that the next season will address this. In terms of reading, I’m almost done with the first book in The Witcher series, The Last Wish. I’ve enjoyed the 1st season of the Netflix show and many of the comics that I read, so am excited to keep reading more of The Witcher series. I also finished the last volume of The Unwritten, a DC Vertigo comic series (that finished ~ 10 years ago). The Unwritten is somewhat of a spin on Harry Potter, but unique because it is based around the idea that the protagonist,Tom Taylor, is both a real person, the son of the author of the Tommy Taylor novels (a series of Harry Potteresque books about a heroic boy magician at a wizarding school), as well as a fictional character (in the Tommy Taylor novels) and how the collective subconscious of the world blends the two together. Overall, I really enjoyed the series and highly recommend it if you enjoy fantasy comics!

If you’ve gotten this far, thank you for reading everything. While the first half of this post was not particularly fun, I hope that all of you have found this update informative and enjoyable! For those of you who have not seen pictures of Charlie and Scottie already, I hope that you find them adorable! I look forward to sharing more photos of them in the coming entries. Hopefully, by the time I write to you all next, Shanghai will have fully recovered and reopened. In the meantime, I hope that all of you have a safe, happy, healthy, and productive month.

In peace,

Jesse