zeitgeist 时代精神

milk powder case and the blame game

speaking — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:33:00 GMT

I watched the press conference on CCTV and I thought it was just ridiculous. Every government official was trying to "pass the bucks" or blame someone else for what had happened. We are talking about lives of little babies now. Way too outrageous. The government officials apparently are "wearing the same pair of trousers" as the Sanlu company. Personal interests again are put ahead of public interests. In the minds of these corrupt officials and company employers, human lives are nothing, money first. What is the use of LAW anyway in this country? It is total lawlessness.

And they were stupid enough to blame it on the farmers. How could the farmers know such kind of complicated chemical matter called melamine? I would believe it if you say farmers add water into milk. These things also happened in other countries. For example in 2007 pet food was contaminated in America and caused the largest pet food recall in history. But the visibility of the media helped spread the case and resolve the issues.

Summer out, autumn in

speaking — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:03:00 GMT

The Olympics took a lot out of me... eyes glued onto the TV screen for a really long long time and I didn't got to bed until midnight. Not a die hard sports fan, yet this patriotism thing just pushed you to watch almost every sport. I don't know Jack about diving or gymnastics but I watched enough to make me feel tired.

That American - Phelps is something. I guess sometimes when you are at the top you just don't have to look back or look down.

That redemption NBA gamers team -- they are talented but I hate the way they present themselves on an international stage.

The Yao-Jackson hug is the highlight of the closing ceremony.

Talking about cheating and lying, we Chinese are not alone. Ask the Australians or Barcelonians how they lip-synced... So those who want to bash China and stand on a high moral ground. Just shut up and cry in a dark corner.

Amy, Stephonia and Joanna

speaking — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 09:30:00 GMT

Amy, Stephonia and Joanna

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. (A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)

What is great about Everybody loves Raymond is the way it discloses things. No one would expect Robert, a giant walking disaster as some say, to have three women in his life. Robert even talked about a dilemma. He is no good with relationships. Amy is what most would say an ideal future partner. She laughs at your jokes, she is a traditional girl and she values family and she knows how to make two happy. Many would be surprised to know Amy saved her virginity for Robert the big idiot. Yeah, that is Amy. In this day and age, let's admit it.... it is confusing and let's just think about what Charles Dickens said about his day and age. Many women are in such a hurry to lose their virginity to some guy to prove you-know-what. Joanna then is the typical HEDONIST. She would do it with anyone anytime as long as she is in the MOOD. She doesn't care whether it is her ex-husband Robert or a guy on the street. Yet men always have a love-and-hate relationship with JOANNA. As those misogynists say, the only way to avoid headaches is to be away from women. That is not likely to happen for most guys. Confucius is so eager to prove his CLEANNESS when he came back to his disciples he tried to clear things out. Then Nanzi must have a Joanna in her, um?

Stephonia is like the perfect lover you want to have. She is the DREAM girl for most guys. She has perfect hair, confident behind and inviting bosom. She is different from the typical Italian women in a way i would say she is very much Americanized. She is even more American than Amy. I mean Amy is way too reserved compared with Stephonia. Yeah Stephonia is more exotic and sexier.... The thing is: HEAT can burn you in a romance if that heat is with you all the time. People need some off time or down time....

Sometimes when you are losing, you are winning.

speaking — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:55:00 GMT

I participated in this Pingpong competition at my university. Colleagues from a dozen departments play against each other. Yesterday I won one doubles match and lost 2 so I was eliminated from the "sweet 8" list. I belonged to "bitter 16" category. Anyway I was happy I won something. The matches I lost ARE worthwhile because I fought with a good spirit and dealt with the losses with a good sense of humor. Pingpong is a game of finesse so it takes a lot of practice and patience before you can stand amongst those who are competing at a high level of the game.

Sometimes when you are losing, you are winning because you have learned something from others.

Mastering yourself makes your fearless.

Mastering others is strength.

Maybe Laozi is right. Self knowledge and knowledge about others are both very important in getting somewhere in the world.

One thing popped up in my mind yesterday and I thought people in the ancient times were so much wiser....

Zengzi said, "I daily examine myself on three points--- In planning for others have I failed in unconscientiousness? In intercourse with friends have I been insincere? And have I failed to practice what I have been taught?"

I like what Zengzi said.... 吾日三省吾身，为人谋而不忠乎？与朋友交而不信乎？传不习乎？

drama queen

speaking — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:03:00 GMT

Having read Honghuang's blog (she has this high-profile family background, google it if you want to know), I begin to redefine what a DRAMA QUEEN means. The dictionary definitions might be more or less the same: a drama queen is someone who is melodramatic or acts in a dramatic manner. Some might defines it as a person who overreacts to a situation.

Honghuang (洪晃) uses this expression 事儿妈 to refer to a drama queen. This Chinese expression of course is very characteristic of Bejing dialect. Whether this usage is accurate is still debatable. Some of the Internet definitions even say drama queen is a positive term to mean someone who is sensitive and knows what is happening around him or her.

In Malaysia, a retired lecturer attempted to sue a columnist for calling him a dram queen lecturer. The lecturer had good reason because in Malaysian English or Manglish "drama queen" is homesexual slur. Queen or queer --- these words do have homosexual connotations.

I think it is dangerous to call a man a "drama queen"....

booksmart or streetsmart

speaking — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:49:00 GMT

In Everybody Loves Raymond, Frank said he is streetsmart, not booksmart. I have teaching the fourth years for two years now. What I expect of my students is perhaps to be streetsmart. Survival skills are especially important in a big city like Shanghai. Being booksmart alone cannot prepare the students for the future. They need some knowledge outside the classroom.

Few students are streetsmart. Examples: Many students don't even say hi to their teachers on campus. They never erase the blackboard or pour some tea for the teachers. I am not saying I expect services from my students. I am saying courtesy is most important when they walk out of classrooms and go into work. Show respect. Learn to work with other people. These are what I call streetsmart.

Media spin-- China in the eyes of the West

speaking — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:42:00 GMT

It takes time for people to see how "democratic or free" the western world is. Anything, even a brawl on the street would turn into something of social unrest or instability here in China. The western media is OVERLY biased against China and what is happening in China. I think for a lot of western journalists they let their emotions rule over them and simply discard professionalism. As long as it is about China, it is okay for them to put a negative spin on it. Sensationalism is what it has come to.

Those who have been to China would have very different things to say. I have watched ABC or CNN and listened to BBC or VOA for some time and it is almost a routine to hear them badmouth China.

Hamlet --- Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center

speaking — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:14:00 GMT

Last time, the Center had this TEMPEST Shakespearean play on stage. I remember it was presented by the Northern Broadsides. This time it is going to be TNT. I always love plays. I love to read the scripts and feel the power and heat of the words while conjuring up images or moves of a particular scene. It is hard to fall in love with plays when the pop culture is so pervasive and everything.... A few colleagues of mine went to the TEMPEST performace with me and we even had a little chat with the peformers and took some photos. They are very nice people and we told them we enjoyed their performance. We knew they were going to have an encore presentation an hour later so we didn't want to make them more tired by chatting them up.

I am really looking forward to the coming Hamlet performance...

Photos of 2 actors in TEMPEST. I took some photos of them after the performance.

Yao-haters and Yao-bashers should be sent to concentration camps

speaking — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:20:00 GMT

I guess Yao haters would really like to be in company with Adolf Hitler. For Hitler, hate is the very source of strength that keeps him aggressive. For some people, hatred just comes naturally and easily. And a lot of Chinese fans even use Hitler's theory of "racial supremacy". They say Yao is not playing physical and moving too slow and stuff. These haters say the blacks are the best athlets and Yao is soft and always gets bullied on the court....

Hoopchina is a junk yard home for Yaohaters. They worship Tracy Mclady and they constantly bash Yao even he gets 30 points and 17 rebounds. They would say he is just filling up the stats sheets and no use at all. Well I just hope somebody high up there in heaven prepares a special place for these Yaohaters.

phone it in --- a mean thing to say

speaking — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:23:00 GMT

Quote

“She was in Los Angeles and I was in Albuquerque…And she broke down in tears. And I played my part and she played her part. She phoned it in.”

- Actor Tommy Lee Jones jokes about doing a scene over the phone in In the Valley of Elah. (Entertainment Weekly)

Meaning

to give a poor performance; not to try very hard

Use

Phoning it in means pretty much the same thing only it usually has to do with a performance that has no energy. It comes from the idea that a really lazy actor or singer might try to deliver a performance over the phone rather than actually coming in to work.

People use phoning it in a lot when they’re talking about concerts and movies. It can also be used to talk about other types of performances, like you’re performance at work. If you knew you were going to quit your job for months before you did, and you stopped trying very hard, you could say you were phoning it in near the end.

Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandon did a scene where they are talking on the phone in In the Valley of Elah. He explains that he and Sarandon were actually on the phone and in different cities when the scene was shot. He makes a joke that Sarandon phoned it in because she literally gave her performance over the phone.

Normally, to say someone phoned it in is a mean thing to say. But Jones is only kidding. He actually thinks Sarandon did a very good job. It just happens that she did it over the phone!

Examples

“They’re not playing well at all. This team just doesn’t care. They’re totally phoning it in.”

“The show was OK. The singer was kind of phoning it in though. He seemed distracted.”

Grammar Point

A few people guessed the correct meaning of phone it in, but nad1a had the best guess because she knew that Jones was making a joke.

New year in, Old Year out

speaking — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:35:00 GMT

I was shocked by the video clip about CCTV 5 sports commentator Zhang Bin's wife. This woman, supposedly lost her job or something got to the stage and grabbed the mike... There you go, the sad story of a woman being cheated by the husband. I didn't watch it live but man, that is gross... Privacy is so fragile in front of the media. Anything can be blown out of proportions on TV. I understand there must be something wrong with their marriage life. But who doesn't have a problem with their marriage in this day and age? Do we need to publicize it to make people know how much you are suffering from this stifling lifeless marriage?

Zhang Bin, according to his wife, is leading a double life. Many men do that nowadays I guess. Marriage as an institution has never been this fragile in Chinese history. I guess for a lot of people marriage is not a responsibility anymore. It is just a motel of somekind. You know when you get tired and such, you go back to the motel and have a cup of tea and grab something good to eat .At night you have a bedfellow. That is all. And women are doing that too. Many become mere golddiggers or money grabbers. They dont care about family or marriage. They need a place to feel good about themselves.

CCTV 5 is going to play a big role in the coming olympics. I am sure none of this marriage blah blah will appear on the TV screen anymore. But I just hate these wound-licking things .... when you see too much of these, you become insensitive ....

The Legend of the Swordsmen 笑傲江湖

speaking — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 19:33:00 GMT

Every time I listen to this song (沧海一声笑), I get this refreshed feeling--- What is good life compared with a good walk in the woods, talking to friends...? Huang Zhan 黄霑, a talented man. You got to go into the minds of great swordsmen to write such a good piece of music. I don't know how he did it.

podcasts for download- NLO

speaking — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 11:48:00 GMT

Great shows.

Episode 2: Spam & Street People

Episode 3: Leftovers

Episode 4: A Star Is Born

Episode 5: Big Cameron

Episode 6: Precious Moments

Episode 7: Shark Week

Episode 8: Breaking The Law

Episode 9: Adam The Crybaby

Episode 10: Our 10th Show Ever

Episode 11: Double Down

Episode 12: Patrick Is Grumpy

Episode 13: Sponsored By Hate

Episode 14: Love & Waffles

Episode 15: Flour Power

Episode 16: Chocolate & Child Abuse

Episode 17: Twisting Titties

Episode 18: Worst Show Ever I

Episode 19: Egg On Our Faces

Episode 20: Heaven In A Raindrop

Episode 21: Adam Walks Out

Episode 22: The Blacker the Berry

Episode 23: Roshambo

Episode 24: Analyze This

Episode 25: In Full Effect

Episode 26: Sin O' Men

Episode 27: Give Me A Break

Episode 28: Who's The Victim?

Episode 29: Hit Points Are Gay

Episode 30: How You Say?

Episode 31: Mother's Day

Episode 32: Three Is A Crowd

Episode 33: The Power of Numbers

Episode 34: Honey Sucker

Episode 35: Jewbilee

Episode 36: More Than Words

Episode 37: Sniffing Glucose

Episode 38: Easy As ABC

Episode 39: Worst Show Ever II

Episode 40: Expo Schmexpo

Episode 41: Camel Bomb

Episode 42: Shooting Starr

Episode 43: To The Moon

Episode 44: Dishwasher Safe

Episode 45: Phuck Phonebooks

Episode 46: Awkward

Episode 47: Tech, No?

Episode 48: To The Batmobile

Episode 49: All Up In Your Chimney

Episode 50: Enough With The CGI

Episode 51: Who's The Asshole?

Episode 52: Sellout Handbook

Episode 53: The Getting Is Good

Episode 54: All Aboard

Episode 55: Nick Spar

Episode 56: The English Channel

Episode 57: Needling Nick

Episode 58: Large Packages

Episode 59: Shot Through The Heart

Episode 60: Easy Come, Easy Go

Episode 61: Phoning It In

Episode 62: Nick at Night

Episode 63: Fuck Susan Miller

Episode 64: Meet The Press

Episode 65: Sanny Franny

Episode 66: Uninvited Guest

Episode 67: Chocolate MILF

Episode 68: Seeing Green

Episode 69: Skeet From God

Episode 70: Cunt Show

Episode 71: Black Boxes

Episode 72: Blackaroni & Sleaze

Episode 73: Paying Your Dues

Episode 74: Fuck The Fans

Episode 75: Where Is The Problem?

Episode 76: Too Soon?

Episode 77: Great Balls of Fire I

Episode 78: Great Balls of Fire II

Episode 79: Good Night & Good Luck

Episode 80: Our Anthem

Episode 81: That Loving Feeling

Episode 82: Jim's Not Funny

Episode 83: Worshipping Wackos

Episode 84: Stood-Up Stand-Ups

Episode 85: Baby Steps

Episode 86: The Truth Hurts

Episode 87: Calling All Comics

Episode 88: Lacking Originality

Episode 89: Dirty Deeds

Episode 90: Everybody Poops

Episode 91: Giving Ten Percent

Episode 92: Crickets

Episode 93: Mo' Money, Mo' Problems

Episode 94: Bosox & Binary

Episode 95: Let's All Get Along

Episode 96: Super Bean

Episode 97: R34L17Y

Episode 98: Feel The Rain

Episode 99: Pipe Smoker

Episode 100: It Really Works

Episode 101: Premium Cheese

Episode 102: Fuck Stephen Hash

Episode 103: Tonka Pony

Episode 104: Tantric Terrorism

Episode 105: Delicious & Nutritious

Episode 106: Fertilizer Foot

Episode 107: The Gay Son

Episode 108: The Big Show

Episode 109: Tube Boob

Episode 110: Tipping Is Encouraged

Episode 111: FTW! WTF?

Episode 112: Blow & Go

Episode 113: Expos, eh?

Episode 114: $70.24

Episode 115: Allegedly

Episode 116: Wetting The Bed

Episode 117: Condoms and Cupcakes

Episode 118: Barbed Through The Heart

Episode 119: Fuck Adam In His Title-Making Ass

Episode 120: Addicted To Love

Episode 121: Cooking With Fat

Episode 122: Special Edition

Episode 123: Scary Good

Episode 124: Chew On This

Episode 125: Limited Liability

Episode 126: Showortuguese

Episode 127: Pop Culture Politics

Episode 128: MMPFP

Episode 129: A Tale of Two Chewys

Episode 130: Kill Yourself

Episode 131: MMPFP Redux

Episode 132: The Citrus Demon

Episode 133: Is This Thing On?

Episode 134: I'm A Loser Baby

Episode 135: Missing Inaction

Episode 136: Extermination and Sauce

Episode 137: Goodbye To Hollywood

Episode 138: Kids These Days

Episode 139: The Softer Side

Episode 140: Strep Poker

Girl attempting suicide, crowd entertained

speaking — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 15:30:00 GMT

http://news.163.com/07/0103/06/33T2I7ME0001124J.html

You just don't need to go any further to know that this is happening every day. And the pathological side of people is certainly satiated.

This girl, as reported, attempted to jump off the building possibly over a broken relationship with her boyfriend. And as the police and firemen were trying to talk her out of doing so. The crowds demonstrated how ugly and evil their minds could be. Some even urged the girl to do it quick because they were tired of no action. And there was even a guy playing guitar in another building while watching this incident.

I am wondering: Are they also fervent fans of Supergirls too? Supergirl show were all the rage last year. Did this show bring out the best out of these fans, and at the same time, the worst out of them? They are brain-numbed...

I am not blaming anybody. The media-ocrity is so prevalent that few can keep awake.

my favorite book

speaking — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 08:55:00 GMT

WAMU this morning (in fact right now) is doing this program a favorite book that you have read. My favorite book has to be Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi. I, like most people, am blinded by the popular myth that ancient texts are no longer useful anymore. They have been outmoded by modern speech and writing. It is difficult for me to find wisdom or wit, or even knowledge (I often find over-educated people spewing prejudices). I just want to read a book that is simple, direct and really delivers a message.

Since the May Fourth Movement, many people (including Lu Xun) have bashed, criticized and gave up reading Confucian texts, Taoist texts. They said on many occasions that these texts had been used by feudalists to promote their ideology and oppress ordinary people. The way I see it, these texts are the very things that lay a solid foundation for our Chinese way of thinking and living. Think you can find TRUTH in other foreign texts (they are supplements)? Being a Chinese, I UNDERSTAND that I need to read more about our own culture, our own values.