Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my life in Shanghai! As covid-19 continues to plague the US, and you all are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside (I still am!) and maintaining social distancing practices, I hope that my blog highlights that there will be a recovery from covid-19 (which is sadly far away in the US). Once things improve, I hope you’ll look forward to small interactions with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find that these interactions will be highlights for you as well. In Shanghai, life has returned to a new normal, though new outbreaks may still occur. However, we are all in this together and if we wear masks and cooperate with social distancing guidelines things will improve.
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Life in Shanghai
I hope that this latest entry continues to find all of you, your families, and your friends remaining safe and healthy! Moreover, even though there are a ton of troubling things that are happening in the US that I’m sure are preoccupying your thoughts, whether it’s the senseless shooting of Jacob Blake, forest fires in California, or the Hurricane in the Gulf Coast, I hope all of you are still remembering to be vigilant with regards to covid-19, especially as schools begin to reopen in person. With that in mind, I know that this past week was the start of the academic year for many of my readers (at least all of those who work at Skidmore College with my parents :)). Regardless of whether you’re teaching online or in person, I hope that the start of what I imagine will be a tiring and different semester was good. Hopefully, your students are excited to be back in class. Also, if you are teaching in person, I hope that you are reminding all of your students to maintain social distancing practices. As the examples of many large universities (most recently looking at you Alabama) have shown, college campuses appear to be a super spreader for covid-19.
Before discussing my life in Shanghai, I want to share a few political thoughts. First, as evidenced by the senseless shooting of Jacob Blake, it’s abundantly clear that the entire United States policing system needs to be reformed. Regardless of whether you think Jacob Blake did anything wrong (I don’t believe he did), it is not the job of police officers to serve as judge, jury, and executioner. Moreover, the fact that we live in a country where 17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse (and his mother who drove him to Kenosha, WI also needs to be blamed) can cross state lines to murder peaceful protesters only further highlights the systemic and deep-seeded problems within our country. The fact that a 17 year old white boy can murder 2 innocent people and shoot a third and still be alive while innocent black men and women are being murdered is all the evidence that anyone should need to understand that the whole system (especially the police unions) need to be reformed and that all police officers need to be held accountable for their actions just like every one else. On another thinking point, why does it take college plus 3 years of law school and passing the bar exam to legally practice the law, yet it only takes as little as 6 months of training to enforce it. Maybe we need to require law enforcement officers to be better trained in the same ways we require lawyers and judges.
At times like this, it’s imperative to remember to vote and hold the people who make our laws accountable. Seeing the highlights of the DNC and RNC in the last two, make it abundantly clear that we have one party that believes in diversity and inclusion. That same party believes that we can be better that we have to listen to scientists and work to better the country for everyone. In contrast, the other party is now ruled by a racist, sexist, and homophobic tyrant. It buries itself in lies, racism, and fear. I believe that the US needs fundamental change that the current administration is unwilling to admit or enact. The current administration is complicit in the continued deaths of black and brown people in the US, the further restrictions of their right to vote, and the deaths of over 180,000 people in the US as a result of covid-19. I implore all of you to vote and to encourage your friends and students (who are eligible) to vote as well. So, if you plan to vote by mail, please request your ballots as soon as possible.
To change gears here. As the school year begins here as well, it’s remarkable to see just how strikingly different the situations are in the US compared to China. As far as I know, all schools are meeting in person (thought masks are required). The only restriction is that students aren’t allowed to travel outside of Shanghai. Other than the small outbreaks in Xinjiang and Beijing (months ago), covid-19 has been held completely in check by the Chinese government. Currently the vast majority (nearly all) of cases are imported cases of Chinese nationals (and a few foreigners) returning to China for work. In Shanghai, there are 61 cases. The recovery rate is up to 92.4%. There are now no cases in Beijing! For China as a whole, the recovery rate is at 94%. So, as I’ve emphasized, if you require strict lockdowns and 14 day quarantines, the covid-19 can be controlled.
This was another fairly productive Astronomy week. I spent most of my time working on two different projects than what I’ve previously been working on. I’m waiting on feedback on my Stellar Mass-Halo Mass Relation and Luminosity Function Analyses, so I spent most of the week working on my DESI research on the spectroscopic completeness of Brightest Central Galaxies and likely cluster members. I’ve been able to determine which targets would need to be observed to yield a complete sample! I also got started on another new project I’m working on with my friend and colleague Yuanyuan Zhang. We’re starting to look at DES-ACT clusters for an analysis of the light profiles of the central galaxies. ACT is the Atcama Cosmology Telescope (a 6 meter telescope in Chile), this is a high redshift survey, which covers out to redshift of 1 (overlapping with the redshift range that Emmet studies!). So, when I get some interesting results, I’ll discuss those more in depth. 🙂 Additionally, this week, I had the opportunity to lead the Zu Group meeting for the first time! It was a fun experience (hopefully Ying will let me do it again). It also forced me to pay better attention to some of the students presentations (which can be hard when we’re meeting online). However, it was interesting to hear what everyone had been working on this past week.
Before talking about my week, I want to note, that it is slightly starting to cool. It’s still super hot and humid, but instead of it being almost 100 degrees, it’s now peaking in the low 90s. Sadly, it’s still way to humid for me to run in the mornings, but I’m optimistic that in a few weeks, it’ll be cool enough (at least for some early morning runs)!
While most of my week was spent working, I did take some time for a few fun activities! On Wednesday, my friends and I got together to play Improv games! We tried a few new ones we had seen at the improv show that we went to a few weeks ago. My favorite is a story telling game where one person points at the participants and then they tell the story until the host points to another person! So you have to be quick on your feet to react while also telling a cohesive narrative. I really enjoy the story telling aspect of Improv! The acting/over-acting emotions is a little trickier for me though. However, I’m really happy that we’re doing it! It’s a great break in the middle of the week!
On Saturday, I went with my friends Heather and Shimi to a Pop-Up Afrika market (a market supporting black owned businesses and artists in Shanghai). Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate so it was smaller than expected, but it was cool to go check out. There were musicians performing at the market, too. The steel drum was really cool to listen to!
The market used what looked like a music/art studio space, which I thought was really cool! I thought my Dad would especially like seeing the guitars!
On Sunday, Moishe House hosted a games afternoon! In addition to playing with Lucky :), we played Splendor (which was fun once I figured out how it worked), and cards against humanity! It was a lot of fun hanging out with my friends and playing games on a hot afternoon!
After games, we went up to the roof of the apartment building the Moishe House is in and watched the sunset. The building is 40 stories tall and has an excellent view of downtown Shanghai!
In addition to my fun stuff, I also took some cool photos around Shanghai, which I wanted to share!
This week, I also did a lot of cooking! I made orange cauliflower, which was a hit at Improv! I also made a tofu satay with peanut sauce and broccoli for me! Lastly, I made a vegan cashew queso for the games afternoon, which was super popular with my friends and everyone wanted the recipe!
Jewish Life in Shanghai
This Friday, Kehilat Shanghai had their monthly Family Shabbat! I’m friends with the women who organize it, so I was thrilled to be invited again! There was a fantastic crowd of almost 30 people this week! There were many families where certain family members had just recently arrived back in Shanghai (with their children). So, it was really nice to see all the different children running around and playing with one another. It brought back fond memories of attending Henry and Max’s birthday parties while I was living in Ann Arbor. :). Below you can see some photos from the evening including photos of the candle lighting, kiddush (blessing over the wine and grape juice), and hamotzi (blessing over the bread/Challah)! I’m really glad that I was invited. It was another opportunity to get to know more members of the wonderful Shanghai Jewish community!
For Family Shabbat, pizza is always served. However, this week, the organizer got special vegan pizza (with vegan cheese) for me! You can see it in the first picture! While I never expected to have good pizza in Shanghai, I definitely didn’t expect great vegan pizza!
This was another very nice week, highlighted by the games afternoon and Family Shabbat. The first half of this week will be research focused. However, on Friday, I’m leaving Shanghai for the first time!! I’ll be travelling to Moganshan (a nearby mountain, ~ 200 km away from Shanghai) with some of my friends, including Heather, Shimi, and Hannah Maia for a weekend of hiking and relaxing in nature! I look forward to sharing some amazing photos with you all! Though I will note that there’s a chance that my next post arrives on Monday, since it’s unclear right know what time I’ll return home and whether I’ll be too exhausted to write my next entry.
I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my week! I hope this update reminds you that the covid-19 situation can improve (though the process of recovery can’t be rushed) and that when it does, small gatherings and hangouts make it special! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about Shanghai or covid-19, please let me know.
In peace,
Jesse
Hi Jesse, it sounds like you had another great week. Thank you for your comments about the Jacob Blake shootings. All of the posts I’ve seen arguing for the police also seem to forget that cops aren’t judge, jury, and executioner. I agree about increased schooling for police officers. It is rather strange how little schooling they have vs lawyers and doctors, but only one of them carries a deadly weapon with them. In terms of your work, what redshift is the DESI survey going to be complete out to? Also, what specifically are you probing with the BCGs with Yuanyuan? That redshift range is super relevant to me. I’m glad that the improv and other games were a big hit. The views of Shanghai from the roof were really cool. It looks like the family Shabbat was too! I really miss in person gatherings. I’m glad you got vegan pizza! You’ll have to find out where they got it. I hope you have a safe, healthy, and productive week and have a great time in Moganshan! Take lots of pictures!
Love,
Emmet
Love,
Hi Emmet! Thanks! We’re currently looking at making DESI complete for the SDSS redMaPPer catalog, which is complete in Halo Mass out to z~0.35. For the ACT-DES overlap, we haven’t 100% decided, but Yuanyuan is planning to study the ICL and it’s evolution. I’ll probably look at the SMHM relation, though later on we want to look at the Luminosity Function. They got the vegan pizza from Homeslice (I’ve seen it on the Vegans of Shanghai group), we can get it when you’re here! Thanks! I’ll make sure to take tons of photos!
Thanks, Jesse, for another informative and entertaining blog. Two or three very quick thoughts:
I am not sure I agree that the problem with law enforcement is inadequate training. I think the bigger question is who self selects to join the police force in all its iterations (state, local, federal, county etc). I know when I was growing up in Glasgow I learned that one of the bullies in my elementary school who was also a petty thief joined the police force.. In this country, if you have a gun fetish then is there a more rewarding way to spend your days? And these days when police departments have become so militarized (tanks in Kenosha?, military grade assault weapons, and the like) those who join , in my opinion, join to protect and serve but to control and execute. I tend to think that the metaphor that is often used ” a few bad apples” is completely inappropriate. You can remove a bad apple and the rest of the basket is fine. What we have is a cancer and that cancer has metastasized. It’s not police “brutality” that we are witnessing it is lynching and as you say the cops are judge, jury, and executioners.
I would also offer a friendly amendment to your point that the problem with the GOP (and the current administration) is that their leader , our president, is racist, misogynist, and homophobic. If that was the problem then the solution is not so hard. An election would eliminate it. But the real problem is that the GOP itself, is pandering to to the most base, nativist, no- nothing, tribalist, ideology of the lumpen and they have successfully fooled their adherents to believe that their best interests is not in demanding more equality from the privileged but more from those who have even less privilege than they have. Divide and rule. Trump is not Mussolini (though I think he thinks he is). He is a snot on the face of our nation. But the problem is not the snot. We can, we must, wipe that snot off in a moment. No, the real problem is the cancer that is now growing in every institution: criminal justice, education, healthcare, the economy, finance – I would say also the dominant Church in the USA – evangelical Prostestants. – When Pence can praise , praise, Arpaio as the champion of the law (sic) – there’s the red rag to the bull in the china shop which is our nation – and to remove this cancer is going to take a great deal of work and in my more pessimistic moments I am unsure that the society we live in and which we constitute can be saved.
To end on a brighter note – that Pizza with vegan cheese, that was bought or home cooked? For our shabbat meal this week i made a vegetarian but not vegan eggplant lasanga (the filling is ricotta or a soft cheese with some parmesan cheese and spinach; the sauce is a marinara with lots of mushrooms and garlic; and the pasta replacement is pre-roasted (450 F 20 minutes) , large eggplants sliced 3/4 inch thick lengthwise (uses about 2 eggplants to provide for two layers to a 9 X13 dish (8 slices). Then the whole shebang is topped with mozzarella (baked for about 25 -30 minutes at 350 F)
Hi Bernard! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and insights. I think your point about who decides to join the police is 100% spot on. We talked a little about that at our last BLM discussion as well. Your cancer analogy is also perfect, much better than a bad apple. I think your points about the Republican party, are much better said than what I could say. I agree that sadly this is not a problem that will disappear after the election. Unless radical changes are made, it will likely continue to persist moving forward.
In more upbeat news, the vegan pizza was from a pizza restaurant (those do exist here!). Your Shabbat meal sounds lovely, though! Hope you and Lisa continue to stay safe and healthy.
Hi Jesse! I am glad to see things are going well for you! I hope your research keeps going well 🙂 I can’t wait to see your project when it’s done. The weather is starting to get nice here, too – it makes walks / runs a lot more pleasant to have nicer weather!
Hi Juliette! It’s great to hear from you! I hope I can finally wrap up some of my projects! I’m working on like 4-5 different ones, so eventually I should have some papers that I can share! I hope your research is going well, as well! Glad you’re starting to get nicer weather! Hopefully in a few weeks I’ll be able to start running multiple times per week again! Let’s try to find a time to catch up soon! Hope you and Michael are staying safe and healthy!
Hi, Jesse.
I really enjoyed your post this week and share your political views. I never really thought about the training that police officers receive, and I am sure it does need revamping. It reminds me a bit of how my father of blessed memory felt that medical students needed to be educated on humanistic patient care because a good doctor needed bedside manner as well as medical knowledge. So he created a lecture to ensure that medical students would learn about humanism. I know our police force certainly could use a whole course on how to protect rather than coerce and lead rather than scare the citizens they should be looking out for. Really our country is such a mess right now with the pandemic still raging, racism, rioting, hurricanes, and forest fires. I guess that is why I enjoy teaching where this semester I live in the nineteenth century! Of course, there were problems too, but since it took so long to travel places (only 6-8 miles an hour by carriage with decent roads), there was a sense of insularity and protection that I long for in our global world.
My semester got off to a good start. My first-year students seem to love Jane Austen, and the Bronte students are very eager, too. My teaching times are adjusted to allow more time for in-person classes to safely change, but I am glad to be teaching remotely.
I am excited that you plan to make citrus marmalade! I am making peach barbecue sauce and plum jam. Saratoga Apple did not allow me to pick due to the pandemic, but I was able to come to the store and select some wonderful plums. And the kitchen is nearly done–after two months, that is exciting news.
I always enjoy reading your posts and seeing your pictures. I am excited to hear more about your trip and to hear about how your research is progressing.
Much love,
Mom
Hi Jesse,
Appreciate your views on our current political situation. It must be quite a trip to be in China and hearing the news in the US—definitely a role reversal. Unfortunately between now and election day things will only get worse in the US.
Peg and I strive every day to find solace with family and friends and services at Temple so we can limit the 24 hour news cycle and maintain our sanity.
Good luck to you,
Art
Hi Art! It’s great to hear from you! I think the biggest difficulty for me is that often times I go to sleep (~ 11 am EST) and then wake up (7pm EST) to more depressing news. So, it feels like I just get hit with everything first thing in the morning. I’m glad to hear that you and Peg are doing well and using friends, family, and Temple Sinai to maintain sanity. I try to do that as well, but often times when I gather with my ex-pat friends we end up talking about the US. I hope that you, Peg, and the rest of your family are staying safe and healthy!
Thanks Mom! I think Bompa’s wisdom is definitely right on, that you do need a humanistic touch to some of our current issues. I’m glad to hear that you’re students are excited to be back in class and that you’re off to a good start of the semester. The peach bbq sauce and plum jam sound delicious! I’ll definitely make sure I take tons of photos to share! Hope you’re second week of classes goes well!
Dear Jesse,
I agree with your comment about police needing more training. I read that police departments are recruiting many returning soldiers, who in my opinion may be experiencing PTSD.
I would like to see more social workers attached to or imbedded in our police forces.
I think its wonderful that you and Emmet share the same field. It must be fun to discuss what you are doing with each other.
Take care. Thank you for your insights. Enjoy your weekend.
Monna
Thanks Monna! Your suggestion of adding social workers is a great point. I think if we transitioned police to de-escalation and conflict resolution, all tools a social worker would help with, instead of resorting to violence first, then we would go a long way to making positive change. In terms of Astronomy, it is fun that Emmet and I work in the same field! We often talk about new papers or can use each other as sounding boards for new interesting results! Hope you continue to stay safe and healthy!
Hi Jesse! I got a bit behind in your blog and was wondering why there wasn’t a new post today – and now I know! I hope you’re having a nice hiking trip and have a great week!
Thanks Ryan! I had an awesome trip (as you’ll see in my next post)! Hope you are also having a great week!