Hi everyone, and welcome to the December edition of the M31 newsletter! I'm Jean Snow, and this is where I share monthly updates on what I'm up to here in Shanghai. Let's get to it.

What's M31? It's a name I used close to two decades ago as my sort of publishing imprint/company label for the activities I was doing while I lived in Tokyo, and I've decided to revive it. It's simply inspired by my birthday of May 31. The logo you see above was designed by Ian Lynam, and is part of a set of 31 logos he created for me back in the late 2000s, which I've decided to start re-using for this newsletter.

All the activities I organize in Shanghai have dedicated groups in WeChat, where you'll get the latest updates, and so please contact me to be added to any of them.

PauseTalk

On the PauseTalk side of things, no big updates since last month except that I've decided to postpone the upcoming Vol. 100 to sometime in January (instead of December). With a PechaKucha Night planned for early December (see below), and the second-half of December feeling like it might not be the best time to do an event, with many busy during the holidays, I felt like it was best to wait a bit.

I'll settle on a date in the coming weeks, and share it in the usual places (the PauseTalk website and in the WeChat group).

You'll find archives of past events on the PauseTalk website, which includes recaps for each session.

PechaKucha Night

In November we had our Vol. 48, which was a fun event, held in yet another new space for us (pictured above).

Our next PechaKucha Night (Vol. 49) is happening next week, on Thursday, December 11, and it will take place at a lovely space called Haworth. As I've already mentioned, this will be the 20th event George and I have produced since re-launching the series in 2023, and we decided to have a theme this time, "Transformation." Also, I'll be doing a presentation -- something I've been doing every December, so it's turning into a tradition -- about "The Movies That Made Me," in which I talk about my passion for movies, and how various movies influenced me throughout my life. I'm also introducing the "PechaKucha Mix" for the first time in Shanghai -- basically, an improv activity in which I create a presentation, and will have someone present it without having seen the slides. This time, our "someone" will be two members of a local improv troupe, so should be lots of fun.

And looking even further, we are already circling January 22 for our first PKN of 2026, which will be our Vol. 50, which is a nice milestone to celebrate as well.

You can always check our Shanghai page on the official PechaKucha website to see the listings for the latest events.

FOTO5

The latest themes we explored in the FOTO5 group were FAMOUS, EYES (my contribution is pictured above), NATURE (and I did a part 2 as well, as I had traveled to Chengdu), and COOKING. This time, I reacted with a 100WORD comment to one of the photos that had been shared for the EYES theme.

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It was a dangerous time to be meeting, considering the current escalation, but his handler had been clear. Contact at this time was essential, as there was an update to the operation that needed to be shared immediately.

He was dreading it but was expecting it.

It was a burn notice.

Despite everything he had done for his country (even if it was an adopted one), and the sacrifices made, trust had been lost, and now this.

Looking up, he then noticed the camera.

--

It was for this photo:

If you're interested in participating in the FOTO5 photo club, contact me so I can add you to the group on WeChat.

Shanghai Design Pins 📍

Here are some of the latest Shanghai Design Pins📍 that were shared in the group since last month.

Shanghai Design Pins 📍 is a group on WeChat where we share design-related spots (and events) in Shanghai -- contact me to be added.

One More Thing

Last Friday night ended up being quite good -- after the end-of-day apéro at the studio, I had a burger at Goodman -- certainly one of my favorite burgers in town -- and then we went to a couple of cocktail bars, ending at Pop Corner, which has a lovely retro atmosphere inside (and is also quite popular, as we tried going first, it was packed, so ended up going again later when it was less crowded).

Well, that does it for this December edition of the newsletter. If you're in town, do come to our upcoming PechaKucha Nights (or even PauseTalk), and here's hoping for a great start to 2026.

For more on me, you can alway have a look at my personal website (where I share the newsletters in case you missed them) -- I've been blogging since 1998 -- or for lighter stuff (and lots of movie reviews) you can follow me on Bluesky.