Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 continues to plague the US, and you are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside and are social distancing, I hope that my blog highlights what the world can look like after a recovery from covid-19 begins, which can only happen by following the practices listed above. Once things improve (which is not now), I hope you enjoy small gatherings with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find these interactions meaningful and enjoyable. In Shanghai, life has returned mostly to normal. Since outbreaks may still occur, it’s important that you wear masks and cooperate with social distancing guidelines so things improve.
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Life in Shanghai
I hope this latest update finds all of you continuing to stay safe and healthy. As cases drastically rise in the US, I remain very worried about all of you. So, I hope that you are all taking covid-19 seriously by wearing your face masks, washing your hands, and staying inside as much as possible. While it is promising that there are two potential vaccines that should be available soon, please remember that when the vaccine is released not everyone will be able to get it right away, so it is paramount to take precautions in the interim.
I’m not going to spend as much time talking about politics as in prior weeks, but I do want to note two things. First, the Republicans and Trump acolytes who refuse to acknowledge that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the election are terrifying. It scares me to think that this is the new normal, only accepting results when they are in your favor. This is the behavior of a child. This is undemocratic and treasonous actions. Cronies like Mitch McConnell who refuse to condone this behavior are no better and must be called out for it. Second, it frightens me that there have been over 200,000 cases of covid-19 in a single day and people refuse to do anything. Despite the administrations continued absence of leadership, everyone needs to take covid-19 seriously. So, again, I ask you all to not celebrate Thanksgiving in large groups (I mean outside the immediate family you live with). Marketplace (the American Public Media podcast) shared some very troubling reports that suggest that in groups greater than 10, the likelihood of an attendee being exposed to covid-19 is very high. So, please don’t put yourself in any unnecessary risky situations.
Unlike in the US, China has covid-19 under control. There’s still fear of a second wave, so precautions (like masks) are still taken on subways, buses, and taxis. However, the number of active cases is down to 65. All but 4 are imported (the 4 are residents in the area of Pudong I mentioned last week, which is quarantined). There are just 4 cases in Beijing. The recovery rate for Shanghai sits at 94.5%, while the rate for China as a whole is 94.3%.
In terms of Astronomy, this was a very productive (and very busy week). I’m just putting the finishing touches on my DES research on the Stellar Mass – Halo Mass Relation, which we plan to send to my co-authors this week! I’m excited to finally be finishing this analysis, and can’t wait to share it with the Astronomy community! I also spent a lot of time working on my Luminosity Function analysis as well. We’re still figuring out some of the issues with our different background measurements, but overall, we’re getting a good sense of how we plan to proceed for our actual science argument. I also spent some time updating the target list for our DESI secondary target proposal of spectroscopically complete galaxy clusters, using the most recent forecasts of what DESI is expected to observe. So, overall, I’ve spent a lot of time working on research, but got some positive and exciting results out of it, which makes me excited!
Despite all the work I had to do, I made time to go for two runs. The weather was very hot this week (upper 70s) until Wednesday, after which, Shanghai finally entered fall. We’re now experiencing cooler weather, with high temperatures in the 50s. Though not quite fall in Saratoga or Ann Arbor, I really enjoy the crisp cool air and needing to wear my favorite sweaters again! While I was running and walking around the city, I also saw a bunch more cool things to share with you!
I also did make time for some fun activities! On Friday, my friends and I got together for another Improv night! It’s been over a month since we last met, so it was great to flex my improv muscles again! We played a lot of different story telling and acting games. I’m generally better at the story telling or scenario games and not quite as good at the purely improvisational games. My favorite that we played this time was where each person had to write down a saying, song lyric, and action on a piece of paper. Those 3 pieces were then randomly distributed. While we were acting out scenes, we periodically had to pull the pieces of paper out and do what was on the paper immediately, which led to some funny improvisational moments!
On Saturday, before the weather got rainy, I went to the Yu Gardens! While I didn’t go into the actual gardens, the weather forecast was pretty bleak, I love walking around that area and seeing the different decorations and street art!
I thought the giant koi fish set in the sky were really cool! I also stopped by my favorite anime toy store and got some My Hero Academia figures (two will go to Emmet)!
Before I left, I had to see the traditional buildings set on the water filled with gigantic koi fish, which are always beautiful to see, regardless of the weather!
Jewish Life in Shanghai
On Sunday, Kehilat Shanghai had another Adult learning session. This time, we had a book talk by Rabbi Avram Mlotek, author of the new book Why Jews Do That, who is a politically progressive, modern orthodox Rabbi and social activist! I helped organize the talk and really enjoyed getting to hear Rabbi Avram describe how explaining many key aspects of Judaism to people that he works with (through an organization called Base Hillel) in their 20s and 30s and their partners who are not Jewish inspired him to write the book. Given the makeup of Kehilat Shanghai, he was an excellent guest for our community. The book was designed to answer many of the questions that people often have about Judaism, from the complex, How do I know if I’m a Jew, to the fun, Is there a Jewish Halloween! Many of the anecdotes and examples he used combined different pop culture references with Talmud and rabbinic liturgy to make a really engaging book. I look forward to reading my copy!
This was a very work intensive week, as expected, so it was a little quieter week for me. Next week is Thanksgiving (I have two Thanksgivings to go to!). So, I want to take the time to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! While I know this won’t be like any other celebration many of you have attended, I hope that all take the time to reflect on what you are Thankful for. I’m thankful for my health, my family’s health, the love and support of my family, the many supportive and caring friends I have here, and the opportunity to share my experiences with all of you!
I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my week and seeing the Yu Gardens again. If there’s anything you’re curious about with regards to my life in Shanghai, please let me know.
In peace,
Jesse
Hi Jesse,
Happy Thanksgiving, almost! How odd to recall that last year was
your first Thanksgiving out of the country and we felt so sad that
you couldn’t be with family. Now you are surrounded by your friends and able to be out and about, while we can’t travel to be with loved ones or to go out. I am thankful that we all are healthy and able to weather this is reasonable comfort – its so much worse for so many others.
I thought of you last night when I made my cranberry relish, from
a NYTimes recipe. I use it with all kinds of things – oatmeal, yogurt, as well as our vegetarian side dish Thanksgiving. Keren
is foregoing turkey this year since it’s just the two of us, but we’ll
enjoy all the other traditional foods we love.
Stay well, productive, connected and grateful!
Love, Judy
Hi Aunt Judy! Great to hear from you! You’re right about the role reversal this year. Last year I was really sad because I didn’t have anyone to spend the holiday with and it wasn’t really enjoyable, so I’m really happy that’s no longer the case for me, but saddened by the situation in the US. Thanks for the suggestions for how to use the cranberry relish, I was going to have some of mine for breakfast as well! Glad to hear that you’re still going to celebrate the holidays even if it’s just the two of you. Hope you, Uncle Keren, Zack and Jared all continue to stay safe and healthy!
Hi Jesse,
I’m glad to hear that the number of cases are still very low in Shanghai and that people are more alert about a second wave. It’s still startling how quickly the cases have spiked and yet how little the government seems willing to enact any restrictions. I’m terrified to see what the numbers look like after Thanksgiving. I also agree that the lack of concession be almost Republicans is ridiculous and I hope it will be remembered with shame by many Americans. I’m glad to hear that your DES paper is almost ready to submit! Hopefully Yuanyuan likes it an doesn’t have too many suggestions. What ever happened to the projected that was sparked by a conversation with Alexie’s former postdoc? I know you’re hoping to publish/submit a few different papers in 2021, so hopefully this can get that off to a good start. I’m glad that Shanghai has finally entered fall and that your runs are a little more comfortable. I really like the pictures you sent. Those anime/comic statues are so cool! Thank you for the my hero academia statues! I love seeing all the displays! They have a ton of Dragonball Z statues that are awesome and I like seeing the DC selection, too! Those tiny ones are cool. I love seeing all of the artwork near the Yu gardens. Was that the monkey king? The giant koi fish was also really cool. I love seeing the Yu gardens again too. I feel like it’s a bit of a touchstone for the blog and it’s nice to see something that looks so traditional. The book talk sounds really interesting. I’ll be intrigued to read it! I’m glad you’ve been able to don fun things with your friends and have other fun things planned for Thanksgiving. It’ll be a quiet one here, but that’s what we do to stay safe. I hope you have a great and productive week. Stay safe and healthy!
Love,
Emmet
Hi Emmet! I agree with you that after Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the US could be really bad. I hope Yuanyuan is excited by my paper as well and doesn’t have too many suggestions. The project based on my conversation with Song is still ongoing, it’s just hard to continuously run all these MCMC codes simultaneously. Ying wants me to focus a bit more on the Luminosity Function as well as finalizing the measurements for that paper, so I’ll spend a bit of time doing that this week!
I’m glad that you liked the anime/comic statues, I always have fun when I go there! I think that is the monkey king, it is a Chinese legend after all! The Yu Gardens are kind of like a touchstone for my time in Shanghai. I know they’re a bit of a tourist trap, but I really enjoy how they get decorated for different holidays. Hope you also have a productive and safe week!
Hi Jesse!
Lovely to read about your week!
Will it ever get really cold?
So nice that you can keep running.,, and it’s great to see all the great art!
I too love the giant carp in the sky!!!
And it’s awesome to see the live carp too!
Years ago, when I visited Japan, we went to see the schools in Yamatokoriyama..,
And they raised the koi there.,.!!!
Big tanks in the ground, filled with flashing gorgeous swimming colors!
Whe our group visited the elementary school, they arranged for us to play a game:
Each of us had a plastic baby pool put in front of us…with small koi swimming about.,and then it was a challenge;
To see how many koi we could scoop up in a few minutes!… while all the students watched and cheered us on!!
There certainly was a knack to it.., but it was fun.., and funny for the students!
They also made folded paper koi hats for us to wear!
Good luck with all your work!
The improv sounds like a lot of fun!
Take care!
XoxPam
Hi Aunt Pam! Great to hear from you! Shanghai is pretty far south, so it never really gets that cold here. Last winter we got no snow and it never went below freezing, which is nice, but I. like snow! Thanks for sharing the story about the koi fish. That sounds like a great time! I completely agree with you about the hanging koi, super cool! Hope you have a safe and nice Thanksgiving!
Another fascinating blog, Jesse. Thanks. R. Mlotek spent a few months at the synagogue I attend in Riverdale (the Bronx). His father, I think, helped translate the current Fiddler on the Roof into Yiddish (or was it from the Yiddish into the English subtitles.. I am not sure) I have to check out his book.
Not an epidemiologist but it strikes me that if the US as a whole required everyone with very few exceptions to be locked in for 3 weeks say from January 1 (and so giving states and localities the opportunity to provide everyone with food and other necessities barring emergencies for those 21 days) we could halt the spread of this virus. Our wishy washy response that allows us all to continue to spread this virus because we are constantly exposing ourselves to new sources of the virus is nuts! There is nothing “essential” except healthcare, and public safety. End of story.
Regarding the junta we have.. I wonder if Trump’s refusal to concede defeat is more a political strategy than anything else. Not sure whether I am giving him or his advisors more sense than they have but if they keep on claiming that the election was stolen then I think that in Georgia the likelihood that the GOP will come out to vote is more likely than they will come out if he concedes and they need to win the two seats still up for grabs in Georgia in January if they want to hold on to the Senate. So I imagine that McConnell and his neo-fascists are urging Trump to keep this ball in the air to encourage right wing voters. In other words this has very little to do with any realistic understanding that Trump may squat in the WH… But then the banks and the NYC AG are fast closing in on Trump to make him burnt toast days after January 20th.
Stay safe and stay well.
I also forgot to mention that Trump went to play golf rather than engage in any meetings with G20 over the pandemic. Of course the cretinous failed reality TV performer cannot hack video conferencing (he refused that presidential debate that was to be videoed ) but it shows his commitment to trying to mitigate the appalling spread of this disease with the obscene death rates we are experiencing in the US.
Hi Bernard! The Jewish community really is a small world. Rabbi Avram mentioned that his father was involved in Yiddish performance, so I think that you are correct!
You’re take on the virus is completely spot on. I think really locking everyone down for 3-4 weeks would be best. Not sure if there’s the infrastructure in place for that, but that’s the only real viable option forward, in my opinion.
You’re points on trump are also very compelling, though I think you may be giving certain members of his group too much credit. The fact that he continues to play golf and never actually does anything to help with the virus is very disgusting and only shows that he doesn’t care about anyone other than himself.
I think you may be right about Trump (I know you are!) only thinking about himself so the pols who are going along with him are doing so perhaps less for strategic reasons (to keep his base fired up so that they vote GOP in Georgia in January) and more for tactical reasons – if they concede then Trump’s lackeys may demand those pols face primaries in 2 years (or 4 years) and that terrifies many of them so they are either silent as trees or they applaud Trump’s insane antics. Being in office is far more important to them than democratic principles… PS I hear that a senator in New Jersey is asking NY to disbar Giuliani from practicing law because of his behavior outside of the courts (inside he admits that he has no case…)
This is an excellent point. The GOP is terrified of Trump and his base, which is a bad sign for any true return to civility and normalcy in the US.
Jesse, You may be interested to know that R. Mlotek walks the walk as well as the talk. Here’s an article from the current online edition of The Forward about Mlotek’s action in support of those immigrants on hunger strike in a jail in NJ.
https://forward.com/culture/458962/jewish-clergy-protest-rally-to-support-immigrants-on-hunger-strike-at-new/?utm_source=PostUp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Newsletter%20USE%20THIS%20ONE&utm_maildate=11/25/2020
Thanks for sharing this. Glad to learn more about Rabbi Mlotek’s activism!
and interestingly, I just learned that two rabbis from my synagogue in NYC also attended that protest with him.
Happy Thanksgiving, Jesse. Stay safe.
B
Hey Jesse,
It’s awesome you were able to go to improve again – sounds like you had a fun time! I really like the pictures you shared of the koi fish and the my hero academia figures.
Have another nice week!
Thanks Ryan! I thought you’ld like the My Hero Academia statues! The koi fish were really cool, so I’m glad you liked those as well!
Hope you have a safe and healthy week!
Jesse, I loved reading your blog thus week. It is wonderful news that your DES paper is almost ready to submit. You have worked very hard on this to get out all the kinks, and I hope the review process goes smoothly.
The pictures of the koi fish were really neat. No cats this week? Be sure to post a cat next week. I am eager to see how Daniel’s kitten is growing!
It is wonderful that you will have two Thanksgivings this year. Luckily Emmet will be with us, but we will all miss you very much.
I am thankful for you!
Love,
Mom
Hi Mom! I’m glad you enjoyed this week’s blog! I hope to update you soon that the paper is submitted to the collaboration. No cats this week, but I should see the kitten this upcoming week. I’m glad that Emmet is home to celebrate Thanksgiving with you and Dad. I’m also very thankful for our family. I hope that you continue to stay safe and healthy.