I spent the past two months making a pair of swords for the kids. The Inspiration A few months ago, when I began making Fei Xue, I struggled with how few reference images existed. In both the movie and the adapted manhua, the sword was featured in significantly fewer scenes than Can Jian, and none
Articles for April 2024
Taiwan 2024 (7/7) – Haircut
This final post from our Taiwan trip is all about me… Because this happened: The Why For weeks, people asked the question. I really didn’t have a great answer aside from it felt like time. The long hair made life difficult in many ways, but I did treasure it dearly. While I had usually attributed
Taiwan 2024 (6/7) – Earthquake
During peak morning commute hour on Wednesday, a massive earthquake struck Taiwan. Prologue This trip gave us an opportunity to try Taiwan’s High-Speed Rail (HSR) because we made plans to visit my aunt and Hong’s aunt, who lived in parts of the island far from the capital. People had warned us about crazy traffic on
Taiwan 2024 (5/7) – Hanfu
On day 4 of our trip, our family dressed up in 漢服 Hanfu for a professional photo shoot. Inspiration Last year, my uncle and aunt went back to Taiwan and did a “wedding” photo shoot that young couples conventionally do between engagement and the big day. The two of them had left Taiwan young and
Taiwan 2024 (4/7) – Family
Ba For two people who aren’t very talkative, hanging out in person was so much nicer than talking on the phone. Ba’s love language mostly involves gifting stuff. Because I had been talking about my guava craving in recent years (usually in the context of how I’ve sometimes splurged to pay American prices for it),
Taiwan 2024 (3/7) – Food Part 2
The eating continues… Night Markets Night markets are a must-do when in Taiwan. So, imagine our frustration when jet lag and rain prevented us from going during our 2019 visit. This time we vowed to over-correct that regret, and hit up five night markets over 8 days: 臨江街 Linjiang, 饒河街 Raohe, 南機場 Nanjichang, 高雄六合 Liuhe
Taiwan 2024 (2/7) – Food Part 1
It may feel embarrassing to plan a whole international trip around food. But alas! No shame in that if the destination is Taiwan. Food is this island’s cultural heritage, national pride, and primary export. Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is world famous but its boba culture may be more influential. It’s possible that more people are familiar
Taiwan 2024 (1/7) – Going Home for Spring Break
We spent this year’s spring break in Taiwan. It was kinda overdue as we hadn’t been back to visit my parents in five years. Throughout their lifetime, Xuan and Ting had seen more of Singapore and Thailand than they had Taiwan. It was a bit awkward to be proud world travelers while our kids weren’t