What’s the female term for phallic. Like “wow the Washington Monument is really just a big phallic symbol”.
How do you describe that for a woman.
Like a Gergia O’ Keefe painitng
“ Come on Georgia, we know they aren’t flowers, you’ve been painting vaginas all these years, you’re artwork is so ______”
Maude Lebowski, in the Big Lebowski, says “My art has been commended as being strongly vaginal which bothers some men.
My friends and I came up with some responses even if i don’t know if any of them are fit for print here they are possibly one of the more enjoyable parts about looking at art yesterday, if I exclude getting to wear a sports coat.
But is the term really just vaginal
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Just found out
很多mazel tov Obama...and to you the stick a congradulations is in order , it is easy to get so little attention during a a slow news cycle
week in review a week late
I would do much better in the era of the pony express...
these are my thoughts the week before the elction,,,,
I went to the Kanye West concert on Monday night. It was the first international act to come to China since the Olympics, or maybe just the first one that I was interested in.
Adrock does not like Celine Dion.
The concert dates actually got pushed back several times in the last few months, but it did finally happen. Previously acts like Jay-Z and more recently Nas were rumored ,
and for Nas tickets even sold, but then the Chinese government revoked their visas and they fell through.
So I was happy to see Kanye. It was much better than my usual Monday night. I love hearing live music and Kanye , as much as I think his ego is too big, does have a couple good songs and the places he is taking a lot more chances with hip hop than anyone else is these days.
I left the show feeling slightly disappointed though. I’m going back and forth over whether this was Kanye’s fault or not.
I love seeing live music because I feel like I am a part of the music being created that there is a give and take between the performer and the audience. That the performers respond to the crowd’s energy and visa versa.. I didn’t get that feeling from Kanye. Sure he was spinnin around happily as if he had already found out that his hometown boy already won the election (I’m assuming he voted for Obama, though with the money he makes maybe he doesn’t like his tax cuts) and yes, he was working both sides of the crowd, but it felt like he was going through the motions . That it was the machinations of a staged professional. .
The other fun of going to a concert is feeling like you paid to see something that you wouldn’t hear anywhere else. The way this is accomplished in hip-hop is by free-styling, audience call and response, or by the DJ extending his breaks. Save a few moments of call and response. There was no feeling that this concert was different from one he would play anywhere in the world, but actually gave me the feeling it was worse.
I understood this to be a continuation of a tour that he did this summer at bonarroo, made famous for his not coming out because of technical difficulties with the computer screens and animation for the show. Causing delays until 4 in the morning and the drugged out audience to start throwing beer on stage. But there were no electronic videos or other special productions, for a billed “Glow in the Dark Tour”, the lighting was that of a no-name band playing a club. merely stage lights that changed colors, which weren’t even neon.
I don’t know if this was a result of Kanye not carrying enough to make the show special because of a lack of audience, or a result of the Chinese government which requires the act to submit every word of the songs that they will sing in order to give out a visa, because fucking Bjork has to come and start chanting “Free Tibet” during her concert.
The result was that every song or medley he went through seemed to be lack improvisation and feel like a retread of his practicing five years ago for a music video.
There were two moments that felt like they weren’t just taken from the album. One didn’t even invlovle Kanye, when his band starting playing :Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey to which the expat crowd enjoyed singing. The other involved him featuring a asian singer named Vaness Blu during “Touch the Sky” (though Vaness might benefit from a name change)
As I said some of this was not Kanye’s fault. My seats weren’t that great and when my friends and I moved down another section we all felt that the concert improved. Personally I think a smaller venue would have been better suited for the concert, but a smaller venue doesn’t really exist in Shanghai, especially if promoters are going to make money on bringing Kanye into the country, though my friends and I thought charging one ticket price and letting everyone on the floor, might have solved the problem. I also doubt promoters were looking to book another plane for all stage equipment when just beinging him over would allow them to make money.
Kanye and his ego no doubt recognized the myriad of empty seats or perhaps he expected it. Because in a way it felt like he was coming to China to say that he did and not to really impress anyone.
My own expectations of a light show of a light show and freestyles from a “rapper” more famed for his work DJing, may have been too much to ask, but it was A nice change of pace for the nightlife of Shanghai and a chance to see an artist I probably woudn’t have been able to get tickets to in the States for his only performance in China.
these are my thoughts the week before the elction,,,,
I went to the Kanye West concert on Monday night. It was the first international act to come to China since the Olympics, or maybe just the first one that I was interested in.
Adrock does not like Celine Dion.
The concert dates actually got pushed back several times in the last few months, but it did finally happen. Previously acts like Jay-Z and more recently Nas were rumored ,
and for Nas tickets even sold, but then the Chinese government revoked their visas and they fell through.
So I was happy to see Kanye. It was much better than my usual Monday night. I love hearing live music and Kanye , as much as I think his ego is too big, does have a couple good songs and the places he is taking a lot more chances with hip hop than anyone else is these days.
I left the show feeling slightly disappointed though. I’m going back and forth over whether this was Kanye’s fault or not.
I love seeing live music because I feel like I am a part of the music being created that there is a give and take between the performer and the audience. That the performers respond to the crowd’s energy and visa versa.. I didn’t get that feeling from Kanye. Sure he was spinnin around happily as if he had already found out that his hometown boy already won the election (I’m assuming he voted for Obama, though with the money he makes maybe he doesn’t like his tax cuts) and yes, he was working both sides of the crowd, but it felt like he was going through the motions . That it was the machinations of a staged professional. .
The other fun of going to a concert is feeling like you paid to see something that you wouldn’t hear anywhere else. The way this is accomplished in hip-hop is by free-styling, audience call and response, or by the DJ extending his breaks. Save a few moments of call and response. There was no feeling that this concert was different from one he would play anywhere in the world, but actually gave me the feeling it was worse.
I understood this to be a continuation of a tour that he did this summer at bonarroo, made famous for his not coming out because of technical difficulties with the computer screens and animation for the show. Causing delays until 4 in the morning and the drugged out audience to start throwing beer on stage. But there were no electronic videos or other special productions, for a billed “Glow in the Dark Tour”, the lighting was that of a no-name band playing a club. merely stage lights that changed colors, which weren’t even neon.
I don’t know if this was a result of Kanye not carrying enough to make the show special because of a lack of audience, or a result of the Chinese government which requires the act to submit every word of the songs that they will sing in order to give out a visa, because fucking Bjork has to come and start chanting “Free Tibet” during her concert.
The result was that every song or medley he went through seemed to be lack improvisation and feel like a retread of his practicing five years ago for a music video.
There were two moments that felt like they weren’t just taken from the album. One didn’t even invlovle Kanye, when his band starting playing :Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey to which the expat crowd enjoyed singing. The other involved him featuring a asian singer named Vaness Blu during “Touch the Sky” (though Vaness might benefit from a name change)
As I said some of this was not Kanye’s fault. My seats weren’t that great and when my friends and I moved down another section we all felt that the concert improved. Personally I think a smaller venue would have been better suited for the concert, but a smaller venue doesn’t really exist in Shanghai, especially if promoters are going to make money on bringing Kanye into the country, though my friends and I thought charging one ticket price and letting everyone on the floor, might have solved the problem. I also doubt promoters were looking to book another plane for all stage equipment when just beinging him over would allow them to make money.
Kanye and his ego no doubt recognized the myriad of empty seats or perhaps he expected it. Because in a way it felt like he was coming to China to say that he did and not to really impress anyone.
My own expectations of a light show of a light show and freestyles from a “rapper” more famed for his work DJing, may have been too much to ask, but it was A nice change of pace for the nightlife of Shanghai and a chance to see an artist I probably woudn’t have been able to get tickets to in the States for his only performance in China.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Random Thoughts
How many people does it take to parrallel park a car in China. I usually see atleast two people at a time directing the driver when to back up, etc. Today I saw 4 people doing it.
You could really be anything for Halloween here. Anything can be made here for enough money, but doing any costume with a suit would be a piece of cake. Dumb and Dumber tuxedoes would almost be too easy, but then who really wants a fitted orange tuxedo.
Just playing a scenerio out. The Chinese want to get to the moon. I would bet that they will be able to do it, assuming they do. When they plant the Chinese flag on the face of the moon, does that mean the US needs to go back up and take it off. How else to protect the property rights that people like Tom Cruise have bought?
Do we just let them take it, like in exchange for clearing us out of our debt, they can have half of the moon, Is this what leads us into the next war?
Another scenrio, Bill Cowher is coming back to Football, someone is going to pay him a lot of money to return. Although the rumors with Daniel Snyder and the Redskins who most likely have the deepest pockets have been squashed, that doesn’t mean they can’t start up again, Even some one like the Cowboys might be interesting to Cowher because they have the money and a good quarterback because Cowher apparently doesn’t want to walk into a rebuilding situation.
But What about the Cleveland Browns, who are going to get rid of Romeo Crennel, they have the players, just a terrible coach, and it seems that in Brady Quinn they might have a QB. (He was the reason ND was good, and not Charlie Weiss’s coaching, even if it doesn't translate on the pro level) and Cowher is a former Clevand player. I’d like to say I can never imagine Cowher after his years with the Steelers taking the job of their most historic rival and playing them 2 times a year. But money might talk a lot more than relations.
Was Puffy being serious when he makes idle threats and then cackles after them in "What's Beef", it is not exactly intimidating. Holding Vanilla ICe upside down off the balcony of a penthouse until he hands over the rights to his song is.
Speaking of Rappers from the 90's confusing me, Big Pun might have out done Puffy. What 300 pound Latino thug says "Loser" like a schoolgirl, as he does between verses in "It's So Hard" an otherwise good song.
You could really be anything for Halloween here. Anything can be made here for enough money, but doing any costume with a suit would be a piece of cake. Dumb and Dumber tuxedoes would almost be too easy, but then who really wants a fitted orange tuxedo.
Just playing a scenerio out. The Chinese want to get to the moon. I would bet that they will be able to do it, assuming they do. When they plant the Chinese flag on the face of the moon, does that mean the US needs to go back up and take it off. How else to protect the property rights that people like Tom Cruise have bought?
Do we just let them take it, like in exchange for clearing us out of our debt, they can have half of the moon, Is this what leads us into the next war?
Another scenrio, Bill Cowher is coming back to Football, someone is going to pay him a lot of money to return. Although the rumors with Daniel Snyder and the Redskins who most likely have the deepest pockets have been squashed, that doesn’t mean they can’t start up again, Even some one like the Cowboys might be interesting to Cowher because they have the money and a good quarterback because Cowher apparently doesn’t want to walk into a rebuilding situation.
But What about the Cleveland Browns, who are going to get rid of Romeo Crennel, they have the players, just a terrible coach, and it seems that in Brady Quinn they might have a QB. (He was the reason ND was good, and not Charlie Weiss’s coaching, even if it doesn't translate on the pro level) and Cowher is a former Clevand player. I’d like to say I can never imagine Cowher after his years with the Steelers taking the job of their most historic rival and playing them 2 times a year. But money might talk a lot more than relations.
Was Puffy being serious when he makes idle threats and then cackles after them in "What's Beef", it is not exactly intimidating. Holding Vanilla ICe upside down off the balcony of a penthouse until he hands over the rights to his song is.
Speaking of Rappers from the 90's confusing me, Big Pun might have out done Puffy. What 300 pound Latino thug says "Loser" like a schoolgirl, as he does between verses in "It's So Hard" an otherwise good song.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
They might have to carry JoePA off the field, and it still might not be enough
I’m happy for Penn State. I don’t consider myself a Penn State fan. I like to have some allegiance to Michigan for some six degrees of Kevin Bacon connection that my sister, mother, cousin went there and I once saw a game there and like most Big Ten schools , under Lloyd Carr they subscribed to a philosophy that works well in Steelers football, Run the ball and play great D.
Besides the Family connection, these things manifest themselves at Penn State as well. I’ve even been to a few games there, my favorite instance being Homecoming 2000 when I got to see my camp counselor cry when Penn State lost a perfect season to a terrible Minnesota team. That weekend I also experienced for the first time, on my way to the Bob Dylan-Phil Lesh and Friends show, why Santonio Holmes keeps marijuana in his car. Plus the school is in Pennsylvania (that’s where I’m from!), though I already had a rooting interest in Pitt over Penn State.
But with both of those teams out, and Penn State playing the way they are, I would much rather them play in the Championship game (with in state players) than see Texas or Alabama. I might even get my wish, and then the feel good story of the season would play itself out, with JoePA getting a chance to ride off into retirement as his players carry him off the field after winning the National Championship.
I just don’t see it happening…I mean the National Title could surely come to Happy Valley, but I just don’t see JoePa stepping away that easily, (no pun intended). He still wants to coach. It is a matter of semantics to discuss how much “coaching” he does anymore, and a dicey situation to try to ouster out a living legend especially after a national title, but I can’t see him just giving up control of the one thing he has known for decades.
Maybe the title will be enough validation and he will want to walk away on top. But I think he is sticking around because more than a national title he wants the All-Time wins record. If Bobby Bowden (his closest competition) would step down, I think you would see Paterno do likewise, but he doesn’t want to leave the game with the chance that his greatest legacy would be overtaken in his lifetime.
Penn State could be in for a Brett Favre Summer
Besides the Family connection, these things manifest themselves at Penn State as well. I’ve even been to a few games there, my favorite instance being Homecoming 2000 when I got to see my camp counselor cry when Penn State lost a perfect season to a terrible Minnesota team. That weekend I also experienced for the first time, on my way to the Bob Dylan-Phil Lesh and Friends show, why Santonio Holmes keeps marijuana in his car. Plus the school is in Pennsylvania (that’s where I’m from!), though I already had a rooting interest in Pitt over Penn State.
But with both of those teams out, and Penn State playing the way they are, I would much rather them play in the Championship game (with in state players) than see Texas or Alabama. I might even get my wish, and then the feel good story of the season would play itself out, with JoePA getting a chance to ride off into retirement as his players carry him off the field after winning the National Championship.
I just don’t see it happening…I mean the National Title could surely come to Happy Valley, but I just don’t see JoePa stepping away that easily, (no pun intended). He still wants to coach. It is a matter of semantics to discuss how much “coaching” he does anymore, and a dicey situation to try to ouster out a living legend especially after a national title, but I can’t see him just giving up control of the one thing he has known for decades.
Maybe the title will be enough validation and he will want to walk away on top. But I think he is sticking around because more than a national title he wants the All-Time wins record. If Bobby Bowden (his closest competition) would step down, I think you would see Paterno do likewise, but he doesn’t want to leave the game with the chance that his greatest legacy would be overtaken in his lifetime.
Penn State could be in for a Brett Favre Summer
Overhyped
I’m not really in a position to talk about the game, I didn’t see it and was more than a little confused reading that James Harrison was playing long snapper for the Steelers, until I read a little bit more about the game. As I read about Roethlisberger’s 4 INT, a touchdown being taken away for holding, and a defense that had a goal line stand but was on the field too long because of a dismal 3rd down success rate. I started to think that maybe the loss wasn’t attributed to that play alone.
In his thoughts after the game, Don Banks of SI.com said he doesn’t see the Steelers playing into January because they are missing some indescribable thing. Perhaps what Don Banks isn’t seeing is that the Steelers have been one of the best teams in the league with pro-bowlers missing significant time on both sides of the ball (Casey Hampton, Willie Parker) to say nothing of all the other injuries the Steelers have been plugging in players for. But by watching the game I might realize how he could, at this juncture in the season, come to his opinion.
The Pittsburgh media has been quick to blame Santonio Holmes for his share in the loss. He definitely was missed in the passing game, even with Nate Washington remembering he is in a contract year and forgetting to drop the ball. A touchdown loss to the promoted “best team in the league” isn’t something to beat yourself up about missing two of your biggest threats on offense. However if we lose the next couple games suddenly we are right back in the pack.
It feels a lot of the concern is that the National media advertised this game as a preview of the Super Bowl. Suddenly it was a must win game because it would tell the country that the Steelers were the best team in the league. In reality the game was one of the least important ones on the schedule and even though now they will make a big deal about the Steelers inability to beat the NFC east all this week. The Redskins game is equally unimportant. They are not in our division. Beating the Colts and the Chargers could be the difference between being a 2 seed or fighting for a wild card spot with a team we could have knocked out of the playoff race. Beating the Redskins gives us another win.
The Giants game and the Redskins game are glorified barometer games, and what it told the league is that the Steelers are a quality team that still needs to sure up a few things. Opinion of the Steelers didn’t slip too much after the game, with many in the national media still believing it could be the Super Bowl match-up.
I’m not saying I didn’t want to win the Giants games or next week, but I would much rather be coming into form later in the year than being considered the best when it doesn’t matter and there are still 9 weeks for anything to happen.
The Steelers have a lot of things that they can do better, but they have time to get those things fixed. Even though we lost, they have to feel good that the Defense has yet to play a bad game, (one sure way to get to championships) and the Offense should be much better when healthy and fully stocked.
In his thoughts after the game, Don Banks of SI.com said he doesn’t see the Steelers playing into January because they are missing some indescribable thing. Perhaps what Don Banks isn’t seeing is that the Steelers have been one of the best teams in the league with pro-bowlers missing significant time on both sides of the ball (Casey Hampton, Willie Parker) to say nothing of all the other injuries the Steelers have been plugging in players for. But by watching the game I might realize how he could, at this juncture in the season, come to his opinion.
The Pittsburgh media has been quick to blame Santonio Holmes for his share in the loss. He definitely was missed in the passing game, even with Nate Washington remembering he is in a contract year and forgetting to drop the ball. A touchdown loss to the promoted “best team in the league” isn’t something to beat yourself up about missing two of your biggest threats on offense. However if we lose the next couple games suddenly we are right back in the pack.
It feels a lot of the concern is that the National media advertised this game as a preview of the Super Bowl. Suddenly it was a must win game because it would tell the country that the Steelers were the best team in the league. In reality the game was one of the least important ones on the schedule and even though now they will make a big deal about the Steelers inability to beat the NFC east all this week. The Redskins game is equally unimportant. They are not in our division. Beating the Colts and the Chargers could be the difference between being a 2 seed or fighting for a wild card spot with a team we could have knocked out of the playoff race. Beating the Redskins gives us another win.
The Giants game and the Redskins game are glorified barometer games, and what it told the league is that the Steelers are a quality team that still needs to sure up a few things. Opinion of the Steelers didn’t slip too much after the game, with many in the national media still believing it could be the Super Bowl match-up.
I’m not saying I didn’t want to win the Giants games or next week, but I would much rather be coming into form later in the year than being considered the best when it doesn’t matter and there are still 9 weeks for anything to happen.
The Steelers have a lot of things that they can do better, but they have time to get those things fixed. Even though we lost, they have to feel good that the Defense has yet to play a bad game, (one sure way to get to championships) and the Offense should be much better when healthy and fully stocked.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Shanghai's multiple choice question
Why does the sky look like this?
a) fog
b) pollution
c) something far worse
d) all of the above
Pimps of Thieves On the Run
The Pimps of Thieves album continues to be delayed as fans wonder whether they will see the Album first promised to them in 2002.
Principal Robert McMurray was in charge of Taylor Allderdice High School where Pimps of Thieves first showed so much musical promise, as well as acumen for self promotion, as their tags littered the school and its desks, was increasingly supportive of their efforts.
“ I tried to foster a learning environment that was conducive to the arts, we were willing to overlook replacing a desk here or there because we had students being creative, coming to classes, finding a way to improve their lives,”
But after 6 years and as release dates come and go, or possibly a sign he has thrown his lot in with another Allderdice alum Wiz Khalifa, he concedes “it does feel a bit like vandalism now.”
2002 was also the last year Pimps of Thieves was shown to be performing together though the members of the band are quick to point out there is no ill will between them, and it is merely the result of making paper stacks which has forced them into different regions of the United States.
“ The second song we ever wrote was making fun of a kid who is now our international manager, how is that ill-will?” counters frontman D Green. “Sure work has moved us around the country, but we’ve always been a lot of moveable pieces around the backbone of myself and the Drums, Mail-man. People understand that, they are fine with it. The biggest in house problem we ever had was to let go of Tony Touch after the first record, which was a little awkward at the time because his mom was our only groupie. But things have changed, he’ll be back on the album in someway. Isn’t that looking out for your friends? “
The use of rhetorical questions can’t stop the casual fan from asking when is the CD going to come out already.
Message boards and fan sites are littered with requests for the non-existent album, though most of them are in Turkish, as their foreign fans, excited by the Bush-hating anthem “the establishment” , are looking with anticipation to the day they can run home from the store and struggle to take of the plastic and stickers of the brand new cd, now content to just download the new tracks.
The reasoning for the delays are as numerous as they are eclectic.
Some message boards suggest that a friendly rivalry has developed between Dr. Dre and Pimps of Thieves over who can delay their album longer while still keeping up fan interest.
Pimps of Thieves ardent support of the Pirates have led some fans to believe the delays are the result of a failed marketing strategy to release the album when Pittsburgh is on an emotional high, after the pirates have a .500 season.
While other fan sites have intimated that they are having the same issues as Kanye West is following up his latest album, mainly finding a way to fit his ego on anything less than a double CD.
“It’s not a question of material, or a lack thereof, we have everything ready to go, but with the economy the way it is…”
Comments like these, as well as more recent jabs at the Government, and the possibility of a McCain-Palin my ass ticket, have fueled the most popular theory that Pimps of Thieves are waiting until after the election to release the CD so they can add a contemporary take on the state of American politics.
Whatever the reasons, Pimps of Thieves fans just hope they won’t have to speculate much longer.
Principal Robert McMurray was in charge of Taylor Allderdice High School where Pimps of Thieves first showed so much musical promise, as well as acumen for self promotion, as their tags littered the school and its desks, was increasingly supportive of their efforts.
“ I tried to foster a learning environment that was conducive to the arts, we were willing to overlook replacing a desk here or there because we had students being creative, coming to classes, finding a way to improve their lives,”
But after 6 years and as release dates come and go, or possibly a sign he has thrown his lot in with another Allderdice alum Wiz Khalifa, he concedes “it does feel a bit like vandalism now.”
2002 was also the last year Pimps of Thieves was shown to be performing together though the members of the band are quick to point out there is no ill will between them, and it is merely the result of making paper stacks which has forced them into different regions of the United States.
“ The second song we ever wrote was making fun of a kid who is now our international manager, how is that ill-will?” counters frontman D Green. “Sure work has moved us around the country, but we’ve always been a lot of moveable pieces around the backbone of myself and the Drums, Mail-man. People understand that, they are fine with it. The biggest in house problem we ever had was to let go of Tony Touch after the first record, which was a little awkward at the time because his mom was our only groupie. But things have changed, he’ll be back on the album in someway. Isn’t that looking out for your friends? “
The use of rhetorical questions can’t stop the casual fan from asking when is the CD going to come out already.
Message boards and fan sites are littered with requests for the non-existent album, though most of them are in Turkish, as their foreign fans, excited by the Bush-hating anthem “the establishment” , are looking with anticipation to the day they can run home from the store and struggle to take of the plastic and stickers of the brand new cd, now content to just download the new tracks.
The reasoning for the delays are as numerous as they are eclectic.
Some message boards suggest that a friendly rivalry has developed between Dr. Dre and Pimps of Thieves over who can delay their album longer while still keeping up fan interest.
Pimps of Thieves ardent support of the Pirates have led some fans to believe the delays are the result of a failed marketing strategy to release the album when Pittsburgh is on an emotional high, after the pirates have a .500 season.
While other fan sites have intimated that they are having the same issues as Kanye West is following up his latest album, mainly finding a way to fit his ego on anything less than a double CD.
“It’s not a question of material, or a lack thereof, we have everything ready to go, but with the economy the way it is…”
Comments like these, as well as more recent jabs at the Government, and the possibility of a McCain-Palin my ass ticket, have fueled the most popular theory that Pimps of Thieves are waiting until after the election to release the CD so they can add a contemporary take on the state of American politics.
Whatever the reasons, Pimps of Thieves fans just hope they won’t have to speculate much longer.
Monday, October 6, 2008
加油 钢人 加油
Sunday Night football is my new favorite thing because I get to watch the Lers in China live. and I couldn't have been happier. A depleted Lers squad showed me something going into the bye week for some much needed rest. We might quietly be a formidable team if we can ever get healthy, to get the kind of production we got from 4th string running backs and back-up line men has me feeling pretty good.
The O looked strong in the first half and the D looked great throughout though seemed to tire in the second when we couldn't move the ball at all and they had to stay on the field but they were legitamately a bullshit interference call in the endzone and an interception return away from holding jacksonville to 7-10 points.
Game Balls have to go to the chinese announcers for calling Big Ben, 大Ben (da, big in chinese if you didn't figure it out yet) the entire game and not giving in to Bill Simmons pleas to shorten it or say Ben Rothlisberger, (I can't figure out what he wants). Though the game ball gets taken right back because they chose to refer to melwelde moore by his last name instead of transliterating his first, which would have been a lot more fun to hear as he ate up the jacksonville D.
大Ben gets one too. I still can't believe how strong and how accurate that pass was when he was being drapped by a Jaguar on the final drive.Though I actually have come to expect it. Might be the only quarterback in the league that can make that play. Can the comparisons to Carson Palmer end now?
Got to give them to the D-Line, playing with only 4 players, I thought we weren't supposed to have any depth, Hoke and Kirshkie were all over the place, they were disrupting everything. when was the last time the jags didn't run all over us? Probably the last time we won.
Finally one goes to Nate Washington, you caught a pass!!!!!!!!!!!! more than one actually!!!!!!!!!! I don't even think you dropped one making it hard for me to make you my least favorite plater on the team. and then you restored the natural order of things by taking a taunting penalty because one of their coaches was intimating that you juggled the catch incomplete. Giving me a reason to be upset with you. Appreciate it.
The O looked strong in the first half and the D looked great throughout though seemed to tire in the second when we couldn't move the ball at all and they had to stay on the field but they were legitamately a bullshit interference call in the endzone and an interception return away from holding jacksonville to 7-10 points.
Game Balls have to go to the chinese announcers for calling Big Ben, 大Ben (da, big in chinese if you didn't figure it out yet) the entire game and not giving in to Bill Simmons pleas to shorten it or say Ben Rothlisberger, (I can't figure out what he wants). Though the game ball gets taken right back because they chose to refer to melwelde moore by his last name instead of transliterating his first, which would have been a lot more fun to hear as he ate up the jacksonville D.
大Ben gets one too. I still can't believe how strong and how accurate that pass was when he was being drapped by a Jaguar on the final drive.Though I actually have come to expect it. Might be the only quarterback in the league that can make that play. Can the comparisons to Carson Palmer end now?
Got to give them to the D-Line, playing with only 4 players, I thought we weren't supposed to have any depth, Hoke and Kirshkie were all over the place, they were disrupting everything. when was the last time the jags didn't run all over us? Probably the last time we won.
Finally one goes to Nate Washington, you caught a pass!!!!!!!!!!!! more than one actually!!!!!!!!!! I don't even think you dropped one making it hard for me to make you my least favorite plater on the team. and then you restored the natural order of things by taking a taunting penalty because one of their coaches was intimating that you juggled the catch incomplete. Giving me a reason to be upset with you. Appreciate it.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Bad News for the Economy might be good news
I haven't heard much about Palin, slanderous campaign ads, or Tina Fey's impersonation since wall street and the economy went belly-up which I think is a good thing. The election is going to start getting back to the issues instead of personal attacks. Which I think is bad news for people (ie the Mccain-Palin ticket) who don't know the issues, can't talk (or bullshit) about them, and whose stance on them reminds everyone how little reform exists in their proposals.
The issues would have started to take center stage in the next few weeks as the debates started, but getting back to the issues should help the Dems by ending the bump McCain got from the Palin nomination even earlier.
The issues would have started to take center stage in the next few weeks as the debates started, but getting back to the issues should help the Dems by ending the bump McCain got from the Palin nomination even earlier.
外－curious
The term for a foreigner in China is 外国人 （ waiguoren）(wai sounds like why) . It means outside country person and thus means foreigner. One of my goals here has always been to make some sort of phrase or description that would catch on with the expat community, I started out with waiguoren dazhe (waiguoren discount, to describe the mark-up on goods and the refusal of store owners to haggle over price when they are dealing with a foreigner) but it didn't seem to catch on, with most people telling me that it was called good business. But I threw this term out in a taxi ride a couple days ago and it got a bit of a laugh, so I think I might be on to something, wai-curious.
Sometimes when you walk around China you feel like a bit of a rock star, lots of people are looking at you, they tell their friends who turn around to look at you, they want to take pictures of you, and sometimes you feel like an animal in the zoo for the same exact reasons. The pleasure or annoyance with these actions is usually a result of whether you are having a good or bad day.
The staring doesn't seem to me to have any ill-intent behind it. They are just curious (as it is normally one of the first questions they will ask) where you come from. I have had guesses that I am from France, Germany, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Canada, the US, some Chinese have even suspected I am from the west of China. I have wondered with my friends when the staring will stop happening, but we don't see it ending any time soon, whether or not the Shanghainese start accepting foreigners in their city and find it uninteresting to look at us, there will always be an influx from the countrysides and smaller cities, whose people have not grown up seeing foreigners.
But while the staring is a result of curiosity, this is not wai-curious.
There are Chinese people, usually in the 45-70 range, though occasionally some younger folks like to enter the mix, who simply like to observe the actions of foreigners, almost like they are preparing a report that they might have to one day give to the government. They are different from other Chinese not because they won't ask a foreigner a question, but because they won't even respond to the Chinese who work at the foreign hangouts, eateries, etc. who see their confusion and want to know if they need any assistance as if it is beneath them, and answers would only get in the way of their thoughts. (though this may be a Chinese cultural thing with the older men not feeling the need to respect or answer a younger man)
for example,
wai-curious are the men who walk into Subway restaurant and stare at you and what you are eating, and then at the line that is forming for these odd things that they have never seen, then looking at the food out in the open under the display case, then look at you again, never saying a word. All the while the Chinese "sandwich artists" are asking them if they would like to order something, if they want to get in line, or if they need any help. to which they never respond and eventually walk out.
wai-curious are the men who pass a bar on their bike while staring at the foreigners outside drinking, and then turn around to make another pass to look again. Rarely building up the nerve to go in.
I also like to think that these people go home and make broad generalities about foreigners to their friends and family over dinner as they have become experts on foreigners from watching them for a few minutes, mostly cause that is what I end up doing after watching the Chinese all day. More than likely they just go home, change into their pajamas (if they already don't have them on) watch a little TV, gamble, and go to sleep though.
Sometimes when you walk around China you feel like a bit of a rock star, lots of people are looking at you, they tell their friends who turn around to look at you, they want to take pictures of you, and sometimes you feel like an animal in the zoo for the same exact reasons. The pleasure or annoyance with these actions is usually a result of whether you are having a good or bad day.
The staring doesn't seem to me to have any ill-intent behind it. They are just curious (as it is normally one of the first questions they will ask) where you come from. I have had guesses that I am from France, Germany, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Canada, the US, some Chinese have even suspected I am from the west of China. I have wondered with my friends when the staring will stop happening, but we don't see it ending any time soon, whether or not the Shanghainese start accepting foreigners in their city and find it uninteresting to look at us, there will always be an influx from the countrysides and smaller cities, whose people have not grown up seeing foreigners.
But while the staring is a result of curiosity, this is not wai-curious.
There are Chinese people, usually in the 45-70 range, though occasionally some younger folks like to enter the mix, who simply like to observe the actions of foreigners, almost like they are preparing a report that they might have to one day give to the government. They are different from other Chinese not because they won't ask a foreigner a question, but because they won't even respond to the Chinese who work at the foreign hangouts, eateries, etc. who see their confusion and want to know if they need any assistance as if it is beneath them, and answers would only get in the way of their thoughts. (though this may be a Chinese cultural thing with the older men not feeling the need to respect or answer a younger man)
for example,
wai-curious are the men who walk into Subway restaurant and stare at you and what you are eating, and then at the line that is forming for these odd things that they have never seen, then looking at the food out in the open under the display case, then look at you again, never saying a word. All the while the Chinese "sandwich artists" are asking them if they would like to order something, if they want to get in line, or if they need any help. to which they never respond and eventually walk out.
wai-curious are the men who pass a bar on their bike while staring at the foreigners outside drinking, and then turn around to make another pass to look again. Rarely building up the nerve to go in.
I also like to think that these people go home and make broad generalities about foreigners to their friends and family over dinner as they have become experts on foreigners from watching them for a few minutes, mostly cause that is what I end up doing after watching the Chinese all day. More than likely they just go home, change into their pajamas (if they already don't have them on) watch a little TV, gamble, and go to sleep though.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Re-Gifters
Yesterday was Mid-Autumn festival, the chinese harvest holiday, and an excuse to give out terrible desserts called moon cakes. Apparently you are supposed to buy moon cakes for your relatives and friends, though I was told by people that have to do these things, that you don't neccesarily see them on the day off, so you can give them moon cakes that have been gifted to you, cause why would you ever want to eat something that tastes so terrible.
It got me thinking, the big holiday gifts here are all things that can be re-gifted money,mooncakes, or fruit which require no thought into who you are giving it to (unless the person is allergic to fruit). I like to thing in America people put a little bit of effort into buying gifts for the big holidays, something that they think the recipient would like, or would have some meaning to them. It doesn't mean they will be right, and more than likely the gift will be returned, but at least the effort is there. (or they cop out and give them money or a gift certificate, so maybe we aren't all that different)
It got me thinking, the big holiday gifts here are all things that can be re-gifted money,mooncakes, or fruit which require no thought into who you are giving it to (unless the person is allergic to fruit). I like to thing in America people put a little bit of effort into buying gifts for the big holidays, something that they think the recipient would like, or would have some meaning to them. It doesn't mean they will be right, and more than likely the gift will be returned, but at least the effort is there. (or they cop out and give them money or a gift certificate, so maybe we aren't all that different)
I woke up monday morning and flipped on the TV to the most wonderful sight in the world, The Pittsburgh Steelers playing live on Chinese Television. Apparently my friend was correct about NBC having made a deal with Chinese TV to broadcast the sunday night games. I was ecstatic, my french roommates friend who was on the couch reading asked if it was the Super Bowl, I told him it might has well be for the Brownies (He did not understand the joke), though he did seem to intrinsically know that Santonio's big catch was a good thing.
I unfortunately was not in the best state of mind for watching the game, having apparently decided at some point the previous evening to start drinking baijiu. baijiu for those of you that don't speak Chinese literally means really strong alcohol that tastes horrible no matter if you buy the 50 cent bottle or the 20 dollar bottle. Actually it's rice wine, though it tastes like I would imagine formaldehyde would, and in the 5000 years of tradition and history that this country has somehow no one has been able to create a better tasting alcohol.
Well watching the steelers hung over is still better than watching the little field tracker on ESPN the website, telling me on a 30 second delay that willie parker ran 3 yards and then showing the corresponding run with a gold line going three yards on a field.
It wasn't the prettiest game and the conditions didn't seem to suggest that it would be the high scoring affair that the game against the Texans was, but it was still enjoyable to watch nevertheless.
I got to see Aaron Smith dominate, and even BIg Ben make the Nate Washington face, where he looks up in disgust after Nate drops another pass that hits him in the hands, though after reports of Big Ben having a separated shoulder maybe that was actually the face of a person in pain.*, and I got to see the Lers take their 10th in a row from the Brownies and what seems to be control of a weaker than I expected division.
(2-0 after two games, I will take it)
*They will never do this, nor do I think that a week off will help him recover that much, so perhaps I just talked myself out of it, but what would be the harm of resting Big Ben for the week. Although the Eagles are a good barometer game, it can't be much of one because it is early in the season, and it is against a team from the NFC that will have almost no impact on our playoff implications. Ben could use the week to get healthy and then come back strong against the Ravens, Jags, and Bengals all of which are much more important games to win than the next one. Plus we could see what we have in Leftwich. Though if you can throw the ball 50 yards with a separated shoulder, how hurt can you really be?
I unfortunately was not in the best state of mind for watching the game, having apparently decided at some point the previous evening to start drinking baijiu. baijiu for those of you that don't speak Chinese literally means really strong alcohol that tastes horrible no matter if you buy the 50 cent bottle or the 20 dollar bottle. Actually it's rice wine, though it tastes like I would imagine formaldehyde would, and in the 5000 years of tradition and history that this country has somehow no one has been able to create a better tasting alcohol.
Well watching the steelers hung over is still better than watching the little field tracker on ESPN the website, telling me on a 30 second delay that willie parker ran 3 yards and then showing the corresponding run with a gold line going three yards on a field.
It wasn't the prettiest game and the conditions didn't seem to suggest that it would be the high scoring affair that the game against the Texans was, but it was still enjoyable to watch nevertheless.
I got to see Aaron Smith dominate, and even BIg Ben make the Nate Washington face, where he looks up in disgust after Nate drops another pass that hits him in the hands, though after reports of Big Ben having a separated shoulder maybe that was actually the face of a person in pain.*, and I got to see the Lers take their 10th in a row from the Brownies and what seems to be control of a weaker than I expected division.
(2-0 after two games, I will take it)
*They will never do this, nor do I think that a week off will help him recover that much, so perhaps I just talked myself out of it, but what would be the harm of resting Big Ben for the week. Although the Eagles are a good barometer game, it can't be much of one because it is early in the season, and it is against a team from the NFC that will have almost no impact on our playoff implications. Ben could use the week to get healthy and then come back strong against the Ravens, Jags, and Bengals all of which are much more important games to win than the next one. Plus we could see what we have in Leftwich. Though if you can throw the ball 50 yards with a separated shoulder, how hurt can you really be?
Friday, September 12, 2008
I'm so vain, I probably think this blog is about me
How does Blogger decide how many times my blog has been viewed? Does it count the number of times that I go to my blog to look to see if anyone is reading it? Does it only count a view if it comes from a different IP address? If the same person visits the page twice does it count as two views?
Right now I have 37 views, but I feel like at least 30 of those are from me going on to see if anyone is reading it and leaving a comment. So far I only know of 4 people that have read a blog entry because of comments left, so the number of times that I have been registered as reading my blog could be as high as 33 (hurray subtraction!) or about ten percent of the people reading my blog are not me (that .108 mark is coincidentally around the Pirates winning percentage since their "blockbuster" trade)
Perhaps I should pander to my known audience and discuss Nazi's, fast food, Team USA Basketball, and Chinese grooming and body art choices? But really we (the royal) need to bring in new readers without alienating the old ones. I thought the solution would be three straight blogs about the Steelers (I mean who doesn't want to talk about the Steelers all the time) but that doesn't seem to be working either.
It could take some soul searching.
Right now I have 37 views, but I feel like at least 30 of those are from me going on to see if anyone is reading it and leaving a comment. So far I only know of 4 people that have read a blog entry because of comments left, so the number of times that I have been registered as reading my blog could be as high as 33 (hurray subtraction!) or about ten percent of the people reading my blog are not me (that .108 mark is coincidentally around the Pirates winning percentage since their "blockbuster" trade)
Perhaps I should pander to my known audience and discuss Nazi's, fast food, Team USA Basketball, and Chinese grooming and body art choices? But really we (the royal) need to bring in new readers without alienating the old ones. I thought the solution would be three straight blogs about the Steelers (I mean who doesn't want to talk about the Steelers all the time) but that doesn't seem to be working either.
It could take some soul searching.
Why I miss Tom Brady
I don't...
But for selfish reasons I wanted the New England Cheaters to be at full strength when we played them in the playoffs. As a Steeler fan, this decade has been defined by a Super bowl and two losses in AFC championship games to the Cheaters. The first loss was not a result of the Pats dominance but rather a game that swung rather drastically on special teams. (and while their were allegations of cheating, we dominated them on O and D in that game that unless they were taping our field goal blocking schemes, it didn't seem to help them) and the second loss was a massacre in Big Ben's first season at the helm when we were lucky to even get past the Jets. I'm not one for speculation and we lost both games. I don't need them back. But I've always felt the Steelers needed to beat the team that was keeping them from the Super Bowl.
In the steelers super bowl year the Broncos beat the Cheaters in the division round, so I could argue we beat the better team in the Broncos, but I would have rather had the Steelers get the monkey off their back by beating the Cheaters, the way the Colts were able to two years ago.
With Brady out suddenly the Cheaters look rather pedestrian, there aura is gone, and even if they were to get to the playoffs and we were to meet and play it wouldn't feel the same. Maybe Brady never comes back as the same player, the Pats never return to the level that they were at...the monkey remains.
But for selfish reasons I wanted the New England Cheaters to be at full strength when we played them in the playoffs. As a Steeler fan, this decade has been defined by a Super bowl and two losses in AFC championship games to the Cheaters. The first loss was not a result of the Pats dominance but rather a game that swung rather drastically on special teams. (and while their were allegations of cheating, we dominated them on O and D in that game that unless they were taping our field goal blocking schemes, it didn't seem to help them) and the second loss was a massacre in Big Ben's first season at the helm when we were lucky to even get past the Jets. I'm not one for speculation and we lost both games. I don't need them back. But I've always felt the Steelers needed to beat the team that was keeping them from the Super Bowl.
In the steelers super bowl year the Broncos beat the Cheaters in the division round, so I could argue we beat the better team in the Broncos, but I would have rather had the Steelers get the monkey off their back by beating the Cheaters, the way the Colts were able to two years ago.
With Brady out suddenly the Cheaters look rather pedestrian, there aura is gone, and even if they were to get to the playoffs and we were to meet and play it wouldn't feel the same. Maybe Brady never comes back as the same player, the Pats never return to the level that they were at...the monkey remains.
O Frabjous Day! Callooh! Callay!
My friend told me that NBC has partnered with G-sports China to show Sunday Night Football games on Chinese Television. Just the thought that I could actually watch the Steelers play the Brownies live gets me so excited I didn't even have words to describe it so I had to make some up, (or more correctly borrow them).
I have never seen this G-sports channel, but I will find out where I can see it. I can't wait to watch the steelers finally take the lead in the lifetime series away from the Brownies. Or just watch Steeler football so I can do a legitimate commentary on the game and see for my own eyes how my squad is looking this year.
I just hope that my information is accurate. I'm already too excited and in the back of my mind I know I will turn on the TV monday morning (12 hour time difference) only to find out they are replaying the chinese mixed doubles badminton finals from the Olympics.
I have never seen this G-sports channel, but I will find out where I can see it. I can't wait to watch the steelers finally take the lead in the lifetime series away from the Brownies. Or just watch Steeler football so I can do a legitimate commentary on the game and see for my own eyes how my squad is looking this year.
I just hope that my information is accurate. I'm already too excited and in the back of my mind I know I will turn on the TV monday morning (12 hour time difference) only to find out they are replaying the chinese mixed doubles badminton finals from the Olympics.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Steelers preview- so late, so cocky
Editor's note: Preview was written a day before the first game was played and with no knowledge that the Lers would dominate a texans team he was a bit worried about, or that Brady would get injured (mildly pleased) his antics for the New England Cheaters override any good will he gets for being a michigan wolverine. but then 李岩 got his 喝酒 on before he remembered to post it.
I'm excited for the Steelers season as I am every year, unfortunately they don't show the games in China, except for the Super Bowl and sometimes AFC NFC championships in sports bars. But I will survive, and the lers wil thrive with me in China (When the steelers play when I'm out of the country the steelers are 23-8 (.741) including that magical 15-0* when I was studying abroad in italy, but the horrible season coming off the SUPER BOWL playing for a retiring coach with a QB who should have taken the season off to recover from almost dying. I will take a .741 win percentage this season, though it shows how stats can be manipulated. So really I'm just .500 in the country I;m now in, not so good. (that's the dream of the Pirates, we expect a bit more out of the Lers. Maybe that stat is saying that I should go back to Italy.)
Steelers O.
It could be a big year again for big Ben, he has some serious weapons around him. I have dreams where they line up in two tight end-two running back formations. Some in which they even throw the ball out of it.
If nothing else they got two of the best names of the draft. Limus Sweed and Rashard Mendenhall, if they play half as well as I enjoy saying their name we could make a serious run.
There is a lot of talent to be excited about. Nate Washington is even thinking about catching some balls this year instead of dropping most of them
I'm not as worried as most about the o-line. think they will handle themselves well, but I think we will use a bit more no huddle, shorter drops, to get the ball out of ben's hands sooner. making it easier to protect him.
A lot of people are talking about Santonio having a break out year, and I think he will have a big one, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Heath Miller get a lot of balls. He seems like he is underrated around the league, though I'm probably wrong and he is a favorite target of Big Ben. The boy sure can run and catch and he never seems to get stopped in his tracks, but pick up yards after contact. he was given a lot of consideration for Adam's All Madden Player of the Year, until he broke essentially every criteria for it.
Steelers D
Welcome back Aaron Smith, it seemed the football world finally noticed how crucial you are to the steelers ability to stop the run. We are getting a bit older up front, but just having a healthy Smith, and keeping Polamalu healthy the D should continue to be one of the leagues best. Of course having Dick Lebeau calling the plays doesn't hurt either, nor does Lamarr Woodley getting to start.
It scares me that we've yet to find someone that can outplay Deshea Townsend at cornerback. I'm not saying Deshea is bad, but I would think one of these young guys we have drafted in the last four years would be able to supplant him by now, so he can go on to become a secondary coach for the Steelers. Wouldn't be surprised to hear that Darren Perry pays off Tomlin to start Townsend so Townsend doesn't retire and take Perry's job.
Like a little more depth at Safety too. But if Polamalu can stay healthy it won't matter (and this might be the year I finally can name a student after him)
Big Ben vs. Carson Palmer
I saw this from ESPN the websites preview of the Steelers and one thing seemed extremely out of place.
QB Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger had 3,154 yards passing and 32 touchdowns in '07. He is close to joining the NFL's elite quarterbacks and could solidify his spot next to Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer with an even bigger year in 2008.
Carson Palmer hasn't even won a playoff game and he is in the same sentence as Manning and Brady, while another Super Bowl winner Big Ben, who led the Steelers to the Superbowl, is still trying to reach that upper tier
Excuse me a moment while I get on my soap box... When did Carson Palmer become a better quarterback than Ben Rothlisberger, I am not saying that Carson Palmer is bad, he is one of the better quarterbacks in the league**, has the heisman and the USC pedigree, and the is the proto-typical pocket passer, but that does not a better NFL quarterback make. If I am not mistaken winning counts in this league. and one of the quarterbacks BEN is a winner and the other Palmer is not, We can blame all of the loses on Carson, but they are both the leaders of their team Ben leads his team to victory and Carson sulks, complains, and qets quoted in SI articles about how he hates the steelers.
Carson seems to get credit for completing 1 pass in a playoff game (the only year he has been above .500). It was a nice throw, but their was no guarantee that the Bengals would have won that game, games are not won and lost on the first throw of a game. Its as if he won the Superbowl. But the person who actually won the Superbowl that year Ben, gets forgotten. granted he had a poor year the next year after playing poorly in the actual superbowl taking some luster of his performance, People say he is a product of a system. But he has never really had a great line, makes plays out of nothing (people laud Steve Young for his ability to scramble, but this quarterback skill is always conveniently left out of comparisons between Ben and Palmer), and when the system was changed when we switched coaches he had his best year, perhaps suggesting the system was holding him back. I've read message boards that he doesn't have the numbers and can only throw short passes and hand the ball off, but when you look at the numbers he is usually ahead of Palmer in categories like yards per pass. Most of his quarterback numbers are up there with the best in the league, shouldn't Carson be having incredible stats like Ben cause all anyone hears is how great his receivers are.
(there is some other bit about the leadership Palmer has, if he had leadership why are there so many problems every year on his team)
How about Palmer has another winning season and then we can start thinking of putting him in the company of Peyton, Brady, and Ben. Probably asking him to win a playoff game or god-forbid a superbowl is too much to ask.
I called you out Carson. Go on TV and talk shit on me, blow my blog up.
NFL Toughest Schedule.
THis to me is a joke, something for the pundits to spend an afternoon argueing about. The league changes so much from year to year that how a team played the year before has almost no relevance to how they will play the next year. At the end of the year the steelers will not have played the hardest schedule in the league, it will be another team. What scares me is that this year the Steelers seem to play all the good quarterbacks in the league, a good quarterback usually can keep a team hovering above mediocrity. I have to say I'm a bit worried about that. We play against a lot of QBs that can win a game for their team (McNabb, Garrard, Rivers, Palmer, Brady, Romo, Manning), not a lot of rookies or journeymen at the helm of the teams we are playing this year (sans Ravens) , but even that can change as people start to get injured.
Sometimes their is so much information available that we need to muzzle it until actual games start being played.
Adam's All Madden Player of the Year.
Started while watching who was dominating while Mac was playing madden, or who i liked on the steelers and we decided to impove his skill to make dominate and it has been a extremely accurate barometer of how a person will play or their improvemnet. Past recipients include Aaron Smith, Larry Foote, Clark Haggans and Lamarr Woodley.
IN order to be chosen it has to be a players rookie campaign, or his first year taking on a major role on the team, (starter, key sub), he can't be a proven big name (leaving out the likes of Big Bens , Polamalus, and Hamptons) and although there is no official rule there might as well be one that it has to be a defensive player (The Big Nasty D gets me more fired up than the O, but that might be the Pittsburgher in me, but they make Styx songs rowdy) It has also been pointed out to me that most of my selections are linebackers and 50% have been Michigan linebackers (I like to hedge my bets and pick comodities that are proven) and Lamarr Woodley is an animal.
THis year I am not braking tradition, except for the pick being a little too obvious (but no one seems to care about this when they hop on the Jets bandwagon for most improved team) Lawrence Timmons, yes he was the first round pick last year but he didn't get a lot of run, and didn't seem to make the impact that Lamarr did in his limited action, but what impressed me was that he always seemed to be around the play and come up with the ball on fumbles (a skill that can't be taught) I;m looking for big things from him this year, and think his improved play will make up for the age of some of the guys upfront.
Predicition:
I can see the Lers going anywhere from 10-6 to 12-4. I know they are going to play some shitty games, every team does, sometimes you win them and sometimes you don't. But I think we will win more than we lose. I do think the division will be tougher than people think and not because of the Browns (Derek Anderson does not scare me, nor do I see Winslow and Edwards playing all 16 together again, (though Brady Quinn feels like the real deal. I can definately see the Bengals being competitive with their coach on the firing block and they still supposedly have an offense of course that assumes Carson Palmer has leadership abilities like everyone says. Also sometimes a little shake-up is all a team like the Ravens needs though they seem to be a year or two away and if Ed Reed, like Polamalu, is hurt they are a lot less formiddable. But I think The Lers will win the division again. and that the Brownies are soft. As for the playoffs, no point in projecting it now, its all about getting to the dance, because if you are there you have a shot.
* the Jets-Steelers playoff game in which the Jets missed two field goals in the final 2 minutes, and the lers won in OT was the first game I had seen all season, I was so excited to finally watch this team that had dominated the regular season, only to watch them play so shitty and luckily squeak out a win. I watched it in Boulder and according to eye-witness reports apparently grabbed the head of one of the girls that came over to watch the game at Mac's house and started shaking her head violently saying "I can't believe it" . I don't think her or her friend ever talked to Mac again. But Definately a magical moment in the my steelers upbringing.
** I sometimes am surprised with how many quarterbacks their are at the College level, that their aren't enough that around that only about 15 teams have legit quarterbacks. and even of this group only about 5 with whom you are confident going into every game.
I'm excited for the Steelers season as I am every year, unfortunately they don't show the games in China, except for the Super Bowl and sometimes AFC NFC championships in sports bars. But I will survive, and the lers wil thrive with me in China (When the steelers play when I'm out of the country the steelers are 23-8 (.741) including that magical 15-0* when I was studying abroad in italy, but the horrible season coming off the SUPER BOWL playing for a retiring coach with a QB who should have taken the season off to recover from almost dying. I will take a .741 win percentage this season, though it shows how stats can be manipulated. So really I'm just .500 in the country I;m now in, not so good. (that's the dream of the Pirates, we expect a bit more out of the Lers. Maybe that stat is saying that I should go back to Italy.)
Steelers O.
It could be a big year again for big Ben, he has some serious weapons around him. I have dreams where they line up in two tight end-two running back formations. Some in which they even throw the ball out of it.
If nothing else they got two of the best names of the draft. Limus Sweed and Rashard Mendenhall, if they play half as well as I enjoy saying their name we could make a serious run.
There is a lot of talent to be excited about. Nate Washington is even thinking about catching some balls this year instead of dropping most of them
I'm not as worried as most about the o-line. think they will handle themselves well, but I think we will use a bit more no huddle, shorter drops, to get the ball out of ben's hands sooner. making it easier to protect him.
A lot of people are talking about Santonio having a break out year, and I think he will have a big one, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Heath Miller get a lot of balls. He seems like he is underrated around the league, though I'm probably wrong and he is a favorite target of Big Ben. The boy sure can run and catch and he never seems to get stopped in his tracks, but pick up yards after contact. he was given a lot of consideration for Adam's All Madden Player of the Year, until he broke essentially every criteria for it.
Steelers D
Welcome back Aaron Smith, it seemed the football world finally noticed how crucial you are to the steelers ability to stop the run. We are getting a bit older up front, but just having a healthy Smith, and keeping Polamalu healthy the D should continue to be one of the leagues best. Of course having Dick Lebeau calling the plays doesn't hurt either, nor does Lamarr Woodley getting to start.
It scares me that we've yet to find someone that can outplay Deshea Townsend at cornerback. I'm not saying Deshea is bad, but I would think one of these young guys we have drafted in the last four years would be able to supplant him by now, so he can go on to become a secondary coach for the Steelers. Wouldn't be surprised to hear that Darren Perry pays off Tomlin to start Townsend so Townsend doesn't retire and take Perry's job.
Like a little more depth at Safety too. But if Polamalu can stay healthy it won't matter (and this might be the year I finally can name a student after him)
Big Ben vs. Carson Palmer
I saw this from ESPN the websites preview of the Steelers and one thing seemed extremely out of place.
QB Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger had 3,154 yards passing and 32 touchdowns in '07. He is close to joining the NFL's elite quarterbacks and could solidify his spot next to Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer with an even bigger year in 2008.
Carson Palmer hasn't even won a playoff game and he is in the same sentence as Manning and Brady, while another Super Bowl winner Big Ben, who led the Steelers to the Superbowl, is still trying to reach that upper tier
Excuse me a moment while I get on my soap box... When did Carson Palmer become a better quarterback than Ben Rothlisberger, I am not saying that Carson Palmer is bad, he is one of the better quarterbacks in the league**, has the heisman and the USC pedigree, and the is the proto-typical pocket passer, but that does not a better NFL quarterback make. If I am not mistaken winning counts in this league. and one of the quarterbacks BEN is a winner and the other Palmer is not, We can blame all of the loses on Carson, but they are both the leaders of their team Ben leads his team to victory and Carson sulks, complains, and qets quoted in SI articles about how he hates the steelers.
Carson seems to get credit for completing 1 pass in a playoff game (the only year he has been above .500). It was a nice throw, but their was no guarantee that the Bengals would have won that game, games are not won and lost on the first throw of a game. Its as if he won the Superbowl. But the person who actually won the Superbowl that year Ben, gets forgotten. granted he had a poor year the next year after playing poorly in the actual superbowl taking some luster of his performance, People say he is a product of a system. But he has never really had a great line, makes plays out of nothing (people laud Steve Young for his ability to scramble, but this quarterback skill is always conveniently left out of comparisons between Ben and Palmer), and when the system was changed when we switched coaches he had his best year, perhaps suggesting the system was holding him back. I've read message boards that he doesn't have the numbers and can only throw short passes and hand the ball off, but when you look at the numbers he is usually ahead of Palmer in categories like yards per pass. Most of his quarterback numbers are up there with the best in the league, shouldn't Carson be having incredible stats like Ben cause all anyone hears is how great his receivers are.
(there is some other bit about the leadership Palmer has, if he had leadership why are there so many problems every year on his team)
How about Palmer has another winning season and then we can start thinking of putting him in the company of Peyton, Brady, and Ben. Probably asking him to win a playoff game or god-forbid a superbowl is too much to ask.
I called you out Carson. Go on TV and talk shit on me, blow my blog up.
NFL Toughest Schedule.
THis to me is a joke, something for the pundits to spend an afternoon argueing about. The league changes so much from year to year that how a team played the year before has almost no relevance to how they will play the next year. At the end of the year the steelers will not have played the hardest schedule in the league, it will be another team. What scares me is that this year the Steelers seem to play all the good quarterbacks in the league, a good quarterback usually can keep a team hovering above mediocrity. I have to say I'm a bit worried about that. We play against a lot of QBs that can win a game for their team (McNabb, Garrard, Rivers, Palmer, Brady, Romo, Manning), not a lot of rookies or journeymen at the helm of the teams we are playing this year (sans Ravens) , but even that can change as people start to get injured.
Sometimes their is so much information available that we need to muzzle it until actual games start being played.
Adam's All Madden Player of the Year.
Started while watching who was dominating while Mac was playing madden, or who i liked on the steelers and we decided to impove his skill to make dominate and it has been a extremely accurate barometer of how a person will play or their improvemnet. Past recipients include Aaron Smith, Larry Foote, Clark Haggans and Lamarr Woodley.
IN order to be chosen it has to be a players rookie campaign, or his first year taking on a major role on the team, (starter, key sub), he can't be a proven big name (leaving out the likes of Big Bens , Polamalus, and Hamptons) and although there is no official rule there might as well be one that it has to be a defensive player (The Big Nasty D gets me more fired up than the O, but that might be the Pittsburgher in me, but they make Styx songs rowdy) It has also been pointed out to me that most of my selections are linebackers and 50% have been Michigan linebackers (I like to hedge my bets and pick comodities that are proven) and Lamarr Woodley is an animal.
THis year I am not braking tradition, except for the pick being a little too obvious (but no one seems to care about this when they hop on the Jets bandwagon for most improved team) Lawrence Timmons, yes he was the first round pick last year but he didn't get a lot of run, and didn't seem to make the impact that Lamarr did in his limited action, but what impressed me was that he always seemed to be around the play and come up with the ball on fumbles (a skill that can't be taught) I;m looking for big things from him this year, and think his improved play will make up for the age of some of the guys upfront.
Predicition:
I can see the Lers going anywhere from 10-6 to 12-4. I know they are going to play some shitty games, every team does, sometimes you win them and sometimes you don't. But I think we will win more than we lose. I do think the division will be tougher than people think and not because of the Browns (Derek Anderson does not scare me, nor do I see Winslow and Edwards playing all 16 together again, (though Brady Quinn feels like the real deal. I can definately see the Bengals being competitive with their coach on the firing block and they still supposedly have an offense of course that assumes Carson Palmer has leadership abilities like everyone says. Also sometimes a little shake-up is all a team like the Ravens needs though they seem to be a year or two away and if Ed Reed, like Polamalu, is hurt they are a lot less formiddable. But I think The Lers will win the division again. and that the Brownies are soft. As for the playoffs, no point in projecting it now, its all about getting to the dance, because if you are there you have a shot.
* the Jets-Steelers playoff game in which the Jets missed two field goals in the final 2 minutes, and the lers won in OT was the first game I had seen all season, I was so excited to finally watch this team that had dominated the regular season, only to watch them play so shitty and luckily squeak out a win. I watched it in Boulder and according to eye-witness reports apparently grabbed the head of one of the girls that came over to watch the game at Mac's house and started shaking her head violently saying "I can't believe it" . I don't think her or her friend ever talked to Mac again. But Definately a magical moment in the my steelers upbringing.
** I sometimes am surprised with how many quarterbacks their are at the College level, that their aren't enough that around that only about 15 teams have legit quarterbacks. and even of this group only about 5 with whom you are confident going into every game.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
I'm not from England or Xinjiang
A lot of my friends tell me that I hate China because most of the “differences in Culture” I point out, sound to their ears like complaining. But I do like Shanghai and nights like last night when I get to interact with locals who are just excited to talk with me are part of the reason.
I stopped into a ma la tang place (essentially cheap soup to which you can add ingredients) to eat some dinner last night when I got off from work around 10PM. I overheard the owner saying that I was English, so I corrected him in Chinese that I was American.
When I sat down to eat he sat down with me, he couldn’t believe I wasn’t English ( the other guy that worked there couldn’t believe I wasn’t from Xinjiang, which is probably another post altogether). In between being amazed that I used my left hand to eat (which means that I’m smart), general questions about how long I’ve been here, how much I liked it, whether I wanted more broth, and complimenting (as only the Chinese can tell white lies) my Chinese ability, he still refused to believe that I wasn’t English. (His friend was still a bit on the fence about me being from Xinjiang as well).
He wanted to know where my father was from, to which I said America. Then he wanted to know where my grandfather was from, America again. Eventually he asked me where my family originated. I said that I thought it was Austria, Hungary, or Czechoslovakia
I didn’t know how to say them in Chinese, (not surprisingly) he didn’t recognize them written in English. But the man was determined.
He went to another store and comes back 2 minutes later carrying a 8x8 map of the world and together we go through the countries ( I though am not entirely sure where they are located, world geography is not my forte) and the Chinese translations aren’t exactly sounding like the names I am familiar with. So he starts banging on the window of the foot massage parlor next door, which is closed, the lights off and the people sleeping.
He shows them the paper I have the names written on and they don’t know, during this time his son looks in a dictionary and finds them. The boss, pleased he now has the answer, goes back to the massage parlor and wakes them up again to tell them where I’m from.
I then explain as best I can, that I am not Hungarian, but American, that my grandfather was born in America, he’s not Hungarian either, but American. And his father might even have been born in America as well (made me want to learn my family history a little bit) Then I got confused what he was having a hard time believing because he was saying that English people came first came to America so I have to be English. Apparently they did not teach immigration in his schooling. I tried to explain that while England did have colonies in America, there were other countries that inhabited America, in addition to tons of people in the 1800's, 1900’s who immigrated there. I don’t know if he understood though with my tones and a my lack of vocabulary.
When I finished I asked for the bill, which he told me was about 1 US dollar, to which he asked how much ma la tang would be in the states. I told him we didn’t have it, but soup might be about 5 US dollars. He seemed interested.
Whether or not he thinks I’m English, Austrian, or American. I hope he doesn’t start raising the price of the soup.
I stopped into a ma la tang place (essentially cheap soup to which you can add ingredients) to eat some dinner last night when I got off from work around 10PM. I overheard the owner saying that I was English, so I corrected him in Chinese that I was American.
When I sat down to eat he sat down with me, he couldn’t believe I wasn’t English ( the other guy that worked there couldn’t believe I wasn’t from Xinjiang, which is probably another post altogether). In between being amazed that I used my left hand to eat (which means that I’m smart), general questions about how long I’ve been here, how much I liked it, whether I wanted more broth, and complimenting (as only the Chinese can tell white lies) my Chinese ability, he still refused to believe that I wasn’t English. (His friend was still a bit on the fence about me being from Xinjiang as well).
He wanted to know where my father was from, to which I said America. Then he wanted to know where my grandfather was from, America again. Eventually he asked me where my family originated. I said that I thought it was Austria, Hungary, or Czechoslovakia
I didn’t know how to say them in Chinese, (not surprisingly) he didn’t recognize them written in English. But the man was determined.
He went to another store and comes back 2 minutes later carrying a 8x8 map of the world and together we go through the countries ( I though am not entirely sure where they are located, world geography is not my forte) and the Chinese translations aren’t exactly sounding like the names I am familiar with. So he starts banging on the window of the foot massage parlor next door, which is closed, the lights off and the people sleeping.
He shows them the paper I have the names written on and they don’t know, during this time his son looks in a dictionary and finds them. The boss, pleased he now has the answer, goes back to the massage parlor and wakes them up again to tell them where I’m from.
I then explain as best I can, that I am not Hungarian, but American, that my grandfather was born in America, he’s not Hungarian either, but American. And his father might even have been born in America as well (made me want to learn my family history a little bit) Then I got confused what he was having a hard time believing because he was saying that English people came first came to America so I have to be English. Apparently they did not teach immigration in his schooling. I tried to explain that while England did have colonies in America, there were other countries that inhabited America, in addition to tons of people in the 1800's, 1900’s who immigrated there. I don’t know if he understood though with my tones and a my lack of vocabulary.
When I finished I asked for the bill, which he told me was about 1 US dollar, to which he asked how much ma la tang would be in the states. I told him we didn’t have it, but soup might be about 5 US dollars. He seemed interested.
Whether or not he thinks I’m English, Austrian, or American. I hope he doesn’t start raising the price of the soup.
Good Bar
What you don't see in the picture is the Cleveland Browns cornerback missing the ball as Randel El catches it, Unforetunately the newly added televisions cover him much better than a Brownies cornerback ever could.
A lot to like about a bar that serves dollar beers and shots and has players that will forever be in steelers lore on the walls, now if they could only start showing Football instead of soccer.
Elevator etiquette in Shanghai
1. As soon as the elevators doors open get on, you don't have to wait for people to get off the elevator first, (this goes for any public service with sliding doors ie. Subway, Buses.)
2. If possible light a cigarette immediately before you get on the elevator or while on the elevator. Hopefully you can also stand next to the chinese sign that prohibits smoking. If you can't wait for people to get off the elevator it only makes sense that you can't wait the 30 seconds it takes for the elevator to get to your floor to smoke in a room that actually has a window.
3. As soon as the door opens at a floor that is not your own, make sure to press the "close door" button. You may be closing it on people getting on the elevator, but it is their fault for not following rule number 1. and getting on the elevator while the door is opening.
2. If possible light a cigarette immediately before you get on the elevator or while on the elevator. Hopefully you can also stand next to the chinese sign that prohibits smoking. If you can't wait for people to get off the elevator it only makes sense that you can't wait the 30 seconds it takes for the elevator to get to your floor to smoke in a room that actually has a window.
3. As soon as the door opens at a floor that is not your own, make sure to press the "close door" button. You may be closing it on people getting on the elevator, but it is their fault for not following rule number 1. and getting on the elevator while the door is opening.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
She can hold my caucus, but I wouldn't vote for her
After Obama selected Biden I read that the polls had he and McCain even, and I was going to write a blog asking is America serious but now I have to ask “Is John McCain serious”?
Did he really just spend the last few months telling anyone that would listen that Obama doesn’t have enough foreign policy experience or experience in general to lead the country, and then pick a VP with even less experience and even less foreign policy experience just so Hillary’s backers would swoon over the fact that a woman could easily control the most powerful position in the land, even though that woman has almost nothing in common with their chosen female candidate.
While, also, trying to use his choice to show how Un-washington he really is and how old guard Obama is by choosing Biden.
Perhaps the republican party will beat us over the head because she is a self made woman, a family woman, and possibly the first VPILF. Though I just found out that McCain was a prisoner of war, I would have thought they would have done a much better job of getting that out.
Good Job by McCain of taking away the momentum of the democratic party from the convention by electing a VP out of nowhere, but I’m interested to see his long term plan. For a man who can’t even remember how many houses he has, in his lust for the spotlight, he might have forgotten to make one. I’m hoping his shortsightedness will start moving those polls back where they were a few months ago.
Did he really just spend the last few months telling anyone that would listen that Obama doesn’t have enough foreign policy experience or experience in general to lead the country, and then pick a VP with even less experience and even less foreign policy experience just so Hillary’s backers would swoon over the fact that a woman could easily control the most powerful position in the land, even though that woman has almost nothing in common with their chosen female candidate.
While, also, trying to use his choice to show how Un-washington he really is and how old guard Obama is by choosing Biden.
Perhaps the republican party will beat us over the head because she is a self made woman, a family woman, and possibly the first VPILF. Though I just found out that McCain was a prisoner of war, I would have thought they would have done a much better job of getting that out.
Good Job by McCain of taking away the momentum of the democratic party from the convention by electing a VP out of nowhere, but I’m interested to see his long term plan. For a man who can’t even remember how many houses he has, in his lust for the spotlight, he might have forgotten to make one. I’m hoping his shortsightedness will start moving those polls back where they were a few months ago.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Confused
I would think for all the non-chinese that have tattoos of Chinese characters on their bodies, some Chinese person would have a tattoo in english.
I feel much better about the Crocs epidemic in China...
Now that I know they are wearing mostly knock-offs
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Usain Bolt-High Times Man of the Year?
With his historic runs, coupled with the success of the entire Jamaican track team, who has done more to disprove that marijuana has no affect on athletic performance.
What is the protocol for asking someone if they are a neo-nazi
My last roommate was a 20 year old french girl. When she first arrived in the apartment, my itunes displayed that I could look at her music. I am always interested in hearing new bands and music and so I clicked on the link to see and hear what was in her music library. I found lots of bands I didn't recognize and some that I did but they were all heavy metal, and I wasn't too interested, then I came across a name I did...Adolf HItler.
She had seven speeches on her computer by Adolf Hitler. I wanted to ask her what they were there for, but there really is just no good way to ask somebody “Hey I was wondering if you hate the Jews because you have a bunch of Adolf Hitler speeches on your computer.”
My other roommate at the time had a german boyfriend and I didn't even know how to approach him about it. “Hey could you translate these speeches by Hitler, so I can see what they are talking about to determine whether I should be amciable with my new roommate who may or may not hate my people.”
I ended up not bringing it up, and it never became an issue. Maybe she hated jews and just didn't know I was jewish. I actually ended up having a better relationship with her than any of the other 3 roommates I've had here.
Another french guy just moved in, though I have yet to check his itunes. Hopefully his biggest vice is that he likes to smoke cigarettes.
She had seven speeches on her computer by Adolf Hitler. I wanted to ask her what they were there for, but there really is just no good way to ask somebody “Hey I was wondering if you hate the Jews because you have a bunch of Adolf Hitler speeches on your computer.”
My other roommate at the time had a german boyfriend and I didn't even know how to approach him about it. “Hey could you translate these speeches by Hitler, so I can see what they are talking about to determine whether I should be amciable with my new roommate who may or may not hate my people.”
I ended up not bringing it up, and it never became an issue. Maybe she hated jews and just didn't know I was jewish. I actually ended up having a better relationship with her than any of the other 3 roommates I've had here.
Another french guy just moved in, though I have yet to check his itunes. Hopefully his biggest vice is that he likes to smoke cigarettes.
I knew it was too good to be true
Spanish basketball prodigy, already being compared to Pistol Pete and Steve Nash, enough game to maybe be the number 1 pick in the 2009 NBA draft. Normally that would be enough, but to have one of the most fun names to say in all of sports, He could be legendary.
Just saying his name made me feel like all the problems I was having in Shanghai, finding work, dealing with visas would work themselves out.
But I knew it was too good to be true. I was having way to much fun saying Ricky RUUUUUUUBBBBBBBBIO, there had to be a silver lining. and when I visited his wikipedia page there it was staring me in the face. Mocking me.
How can Ricard Vives be his real name? Ricard Vives is a name for three-point specialists with slow quirky releases . Ricky Rubio is the name of a star.
You let me down "Pretty" Ricky. But I'm going to forget it ever happened (much the same way that the hip hop community did with Jay-Z's Kingdome Come Album), I'm going to pretend that I never visited the wikipedia page, that because people can change whatever they want on that site, that someone made up your name and that it is still indeed Ricky RUUUUUUUBBBBBBBBIO.
Just saying his name made me feel like all the problems I was having in Shanghai, finding work, dealing with visas would work themselves out.
But I knew it was too good to be true. I was having way to much fun saying Ricky RUUUUUUUBBBBBBBBIO, there had to be a silver lining. and when I visited his wikipedia page there it was staring me in the face. Mocking me.
How can Ricard Vives be his real name? Ricard Vives is a name for three-point specialists with slow quirky releases . Ricky Rubio is the name of a star.
You let me down "Pretty" Ricky. But I'm going to forget it ever happened (much the same way that the hip hop community did with Jay-Z's Kingdome Come Album), I'm going to pretend that I never visited the wikipedia page, that because people can change whatever they want on that site, that someone made up your name and that it is still indeed Ricky RUUUUUUUBBBBBBBBIO.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Ketchup packets are a form of currency in China
They trade at 8 packets: 1 yuan. If the Cultural Revolution goes down again, or the market crashes people are going to start using McDonalds ketchup packets as legal tender. How else to explain why McDonald's can't give me more than 1 packet when I order a meal.
I'm sorry for liking ketchup, in the states you can have as much as you want, why is McDonald's hoarding all the ketchup. I always ask for more and they reluctantly give me a second packet, to which I again ask for more, and the cashier will look around to see if her boss is around before slipping me a third packet. The worried look on her face, makes me not want to test my luck.
It's ketchup! I'm not asking for a free sandwich. I realize that liquids cost more to ship over to China, but I would doubt the ketchup is even made somewhere else and is shipped in. It's not like China doesn't have tomatoes. (At least Burger King, uses Heinz)
Give me some ketchup. Make up the difference somewhere else, like on the Chinese who eat there a lot more often and don't want any, or the Belgium who like their fries with mayonnaise.
It is not like I'm asking for something absurd like free refills.
I'm sorry for liking ketchup, in the states you can have as much as you want, why is McDonald's hoarding all the ketchup. I always ask for more and they reluctantly give me a second packet, to which I again ask for more, and the cashier will look around to see if her boss is around before slipping me a third packet. The worried look on her face, makes me not want to test my luck.
It's ketchup! I'm not asking for a free sandwich. I realize that liquids cost more to ship over to China, but I would doubt the ketchup is even made somewhere else and is shipped in. It's not like China doesn't have tomatoes. (At least Burger King, uses Heinz)
Give me some ketchup. Make up the difference somewhere else, like on the Chinese who eat there a lot more often and don't want any, or the Belgium who like their fries with mayonnaise.
It is not like I'm asking for something absurd like free refills.
Friday, August 15, 2008
How do you spell Ridiculous in Chinese
I was upset yesterday that I was going to miss the US vs. Greece basketball game because I was going to be at work, but during work I received two text messages from friends that the game wasn’t on. This after the US vs. Angola game was also not shown on Chinese TV.
I have to say when I am wrong, I am wrong.
I thought that the Chinese would either show the Olympics two ways, every channel would be showing the Olympics all the time, or a few sports channels and the main stations would show Chinese events and the US basketball team, I guess that is what a person thinks when more people in China play basketball than there are in the US, and people love Kobe and Lebronious as as much or more than Yao Ming . There is a reason why China- Angola and China- Spain weren’t the most watched games in basketball history, and it’s not just because of an American audience.
The Chinese instead choose to re-air the China vs Angola game from earlier in the day. Maybe they did it because it was the first game China won this Olympics, and with the replay this morning it takes China's record to 3-2 . (with losses to the US and Spain, and three wins against Angola.) and they want their people to feel they are doing well and see a national hero in Yao.
I would assume the first time they re-aired the game was because the Chinese played in the afternoon when not everyone could watch the game. So they showed it at night, but that doesn’t seem to be an excuse for me to not show the US game.
If NBC has enough pull to get the basketball pushed to 10 at night so it could be aired closer to noon than dawn in the states, then how does the country hosting the Olympics which has already been able to use 13 year olds and not keep their promises to the IOC, not have the ability to get those games played at night in primetime.
How can they not play the China game and then the US game or the US game then the China game in the 6-8-8-10-, or 10-12 spot. It’s not even like the games are that long.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they blacked-out the US basketball games in China after the beatdown we gave them. It’s not like they weren't drawing enough viewers to US games to justify advertising costs. . I guess the people would rather watch air pistol shooting ( can there be a less exciting sport to watch) , synchronized diving, and badminton, the sports the China cleans up in.
I can’t say that I’m excited for the rest of the Olympics though, if this is the case. China is the one calling them "梦八“ (Dream Team 8) not me, we all want to see them play, let's start showing their games again and remember our Olympic motto:
ONE WORLD ONE DREAM
I have to say when I am wrong, I am wrong.
I thought that the Chinese would either show the Olympics two ways, every channel would be showing the Olympics all the time, or a few sports channels and the main stations would show Chinese events and the US basketball team, I guess that is what a person thinks when more people in China play basketball than there are in the US, and people love Kobe and Lebronious as as much or more than Yao Ming . There is a reason why China- Angola and China- Spain weren’t the most watched games in basketball history, and it’s not just because of an American audience.
The Chinese instead choose to re-air the China vs Angola game from earlier in the day. Maybe they did it because it was the first game China won this Olympics, and with the replay this morning it takes China's record to 3-2 . (with losses to the US and Spain, and three wins against Angola.) and they want their people to feel they are doing well and see a national hero in Yao.
I would assume the first time they re-aired the game was because the Chinese played in the afternoon when not everyone could watch the game. So they showed it at night, but that doesn’t seem to be an excuse for me to not show the US game.
If NBC has enough pull to get the basketball pushed to 10 at night so it could be aired closer to noon than dawn in the states, then how does the country hosting the Olympics which has already been able to use 13 year olds and not keep their promises to the IOC, not have the ability to get those games played at night in primetime.
How can they not play the China game and then the US game or the US game then the China game in the 6-8-8-10-, or 10-12 spot. It’s not even like the games are that long.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they blacked-out the US basketball games in China after the beatdown we gave them. It’s not like they weren't drawing enough viewers to US games to justify advertising costs. . I guess the people would rather watch air pistol shooting ( can there be a less exciting sport to watch) , synchronized diving, and badminton, the sports the China cleans up in.
I can’t say that I’m excited for the rest of the Olympics though, if this is the case. China is the one calling them "梦八“ (Dream Team 8) not me, we all want to see them play, let's start showing their games again and remember our Olympic motto:
ONE WORLD ONE DREAM
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Since it is China's coming out party...
does that mean the Shanghainese men are going to come out of the closet.
I don’t want to imply that they are gay, but metrosexual doesn’t seem to cover them.
Obviously my feelings have a little to do with how they dress, they are very fashion conscious, and seem to prefer wearing pink and purple and some perm their hair more than the the girls do. It also does nothing for their masculinity that there is no distinct size or shape difference between men and women in China. I know girls that would love to be able to fit into the clothes that the Shanghainese men wear. I think the last time my waste was their size, I was in 4th grade. I don't throw around the adjective "lithe" to often, but it seems to describe them well.
Shanghainese men, more than any other men in China don't seem to follow the societal roles I've always associated with men. I can see why a Shanghainese man would be a catch if I was a chinese woman though. They do all the cooking and cleaning in the house, and even though they work and are likely the breadwinner in the family, instead of choosing how to spend their money, they give their earnings to their wife to be given an allowance.
Though what puts them over the edge is the touching. Granted America is very homophobic place. and I came from there to China where the men walk down the streets with their arms around each other. It is refreshing to see people that have no concerns about the way they interact with their friends being "gay". But I draw the limit awhile before the " inner thigh massage" that some of the boys give each other here.
It is a bit strange. Maybe it's a massage culture, but it is an aspect of shanghainese, or chinese, culture that I can do without. I don't need a guy in the bathroom of clubs giving me a back massage while I'm at the urinal.
I don’t want to imply that they are gay, but metrosexual doesn’t seem to cover them.
Obviously my feelings have a little to do with how they dress, they are very fashion conscious, and seem to prefer wearing pink and purple and some perm their hair more than the the girls do. It also does nothing for their masculinity that there is no distinct size or shape difference between men and women in China. I know girls that would love to be able to fit into the clothes that the Shanghainese men wear. I think the last time my waste was their size, I was in 4th grade. I don't throw around the adjective "lithe" to often, but it seems to describe them well.
Shanghainese men, more than any other men in China don't seem to follow the societal roles I've always associated with men. I can see why a Shanghainese man would be a catch if I was a chinese woman though. They do all the cooking and cleaning in the house, and even though they work and are likely the breadwinner in the family, instead of choosing how to spend their money, they give their earnings to their wife to be given an allowance.
Though what puts them over the edge is the touching. Granted America is very homophobic place. and I came from there to China where the men walk down the streets with their arms around each other. It is refreshing to see people that have no concerns about the way they interact with their friends being "gay". But I draw the limit awhile before the " inner thigh massage" that some of the boys give each other here.
It is a bit strange. Maybe it's a massage culture, but it is an aspect of shanghainese, or chinese, culture that I can do without. I don't need a guy in the bathroom of clubs giving me a back massage while I'm at the urinal.
Olympic Thoughts
One of the oddest things I saw happened on the first day, I still in shock just cause I can't imagine it ever happening in the US.
This Chinese air rifle athlete I guess was supposed to win the competition and didn't even get a medal. After she was inconsolable. There might not be crying in baseball, but there is indeed in 10m air pistol shooting. It wasn't strange that she was crying, and talking about how she felt that she let down her country, didn't live up to her expectations, etc. What floored me was that at the end of the interview the interviewer gave her a long hug, as if to say it is alright and that the chinese people know she tried her hardest.
Maybe I am jaded, but I just can't imagine an interviewer consoling an athlete after a loss. I can imagine the athlete going for it with someone like Erin Andrews or Rachel Nichols, but not the other way around. When I picture interviewer-interviewee interactions, I think of Jim Gray telling saying to Pete Rose "When are you going to admit that you bet on baseball".
in other news. I loved the US vs. China game
Everytime Yao touched the ball the chinese announcers would go wild as if he just hit a game winning three. I'm talking about if he caught a pass in the post they used every superlative they knew.
I'm glad we dropped 100 on China. My students still call US basketball "the Dream Team", if China wasn't going to win, the US might as well have appeased their fans.
Craziest thing I heard all night though, I was watching the Chinese TV English Station and this announcer is explaining how China showed great skill and were extremely competitive. I'm still trying to figure out who he was trying to convince. They lost by 30 some points, that isn't competitive. Was he trying to give Chinese people pointers on what to say to Foreigners when they talk about the game? (I always thought the Chinese didn't want to lose face) Is this a case of nothing be wrong with China on government television?
In 30 years, probably sooner actually, China is going to have a squad, then talk to me about skill.
I miss American Coverage. There is way too much about the Chinese. That came out the wrong way. Obviously I'm in China and they are going to show the events that the Chinese team are in, if I were in America the coverage would be skewed accordingly. what I really mean to say is I want to see some Olympic coverage, not just highlights of the Chinese winning medals.
Granted this complaint is a result of coverage on the first two days, which didn't have much to show or much in the way of exciting sports. I'm happy that the little 48kg weightlifting chinese girl won the first gold medal for China, but I saw her highlights atleast 100 that night, at one point they even cut away from live swimming to show highlights of her winning, while on the other olympic channels they were interviewing her parents, and having her on talk shows.
This coverage repeated itself the next day with the Chinese Archery team, their gold and their highlights.
Some other events must have have been taking place, how about some other highlights. I'm just happy that they like swimming here, so they are actually showing Phelps.
They have beeb showing a lot of US volleyball as well, but I don't think it has anything to do with the volleyball players father being killed, more to do with the fact that the american coach is Chinese.
Not surprisingly their has been no coverage on the news of the killing. Obviously an isolated incident and has nothing to do with the Olympics, but isn’t it a bit worrisome that anyone can get into a tourist site and so close to the Olympic sites with a weapon.
Through informal research done in my english classes it seems my Chinese students would prefer China to win the most gold medals over winning the most medals. Winning Golds seems to be the way the chinese measure their success. the Chinese list themselves first on the medal count because they have the most gold medals even though the USA has more total medals.
Why don’t we have a handball team.
I'm sure the chinese pushed hard for synchronized diving to become part of the Olympics, I'm convinced its only here so the Chinese can bad their medal count.
They are already great divers, plus they have the added advantage of all being the same size.
This Chinese air rifle athlete I guess was supposed to win the competition and didn't even get a medal. After she was inconsolable. There might not be crying in baseball, but there is indeed in 10m air pistol shooting. It wasn't strange that she was crying, and talking about how she felt that she let down her country, didn't live up to her expectations, etc. What floored me was that at the end of the interview the interviewer gave her a long hug, as if to say it is alright and that the chinese people know she tried her hardest.
Maybe I am jaded, but I just can't imagine an interviewer consoling an athlete after a loss. I can imagine the athlete going for it with someone like Erin Andrews or Rachel Nichols, but not the other way around. When I picture interviewer-interviewee interactions, I think of Jim Gray telling saying to Pete Rose "When are you going to admit that you bet on baseball".
in other news. I loved the US vs. China game
Everytime Yao touched the ball the chinese announcers would go wild as if he just hit a game winning three. I'm talking about if he caught a pass in the post they used every superlative they knew.
I'm glad we dropped 100 on China. My students still call US basketball "the Dream Team", if China wasn't going to win, the US might as well have appeased their fans.
Craziest thing I heard all night though, I was watching the Chinese TV English Station and this announcer is explaining how China showed great skill and were extremely competitive. I'm still trying to figure out who he was trying to convince. They lost by 30 some points, that isn't competitive. Was he trying to give Chinese people pointers on what to say to Foreigners when they talk about the game? (I always thought the Chinese didn't want to lose face) Is this a case of nothing be wrong with China on government television?
In 30 years, probably sooner actually, China is going to have a squad, then talk to me about skill.
I miss American Coverage. There is way too much about the Chinese. That came out the wrong way. Obviously I'm in China and they are going to show the events that the Chinese team are in, if I were in America the coverage would be skewed accordingly. what I really mean to say is I want to see some Olympic coverage, not just highlights of the Chinese winning medals.
Granted this complaint is a result of coverage on the first two days, which didn't have much to show or much in the way of exciting sports. I'm happy that the little 48kg weightlifting chinese girl won the first gold medal for China, but I saw her highlights atleast 100 that night, at one point they even cut away from live swimming to show highlights of her winning, while on the other olympic channels they were interviewing her parents, and having her on talk shows.
This coverage repeated itself the next day with the Chinese Archery team, their gold and their highlights.
Some other events must have have been taking place, how about some other highlights. I'm just happy that they like swimming here, so they are actually showing Phelps.
They have beeb showing a lot of US volleyball as well, but I don't think it has anything to do with the volleyball players father being killed, more to do with the fact that the american coach is Chinese.
Not surprisingly their has been no coverage on the news of the killing. Obviously an isolated incident and has nothing to do with the Olympics, but isn’t it a bit worrisome that anyone can get into a tourist site and so close to the Olympic sites with a weapon.
Through informal research done in my english classes it seems my Chinese students would prefer China to win the most gold medals over winning the most medals. Winning Golds seems to be the way the chinese measure their success. the Chinese list themselves first on the medal count because they have the most gold medals even though the USA has more total medals.
Why don’t we have a handball team.
I'm sure the chinese pushed hard for synchronized diving to become part of the Olympics, I'm convinced its only here so the Chinese can bad their medal count.
They are already great divers, plus they have the added advantage of all being the same size.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Olympic Preview
Toughest Ticket
NBA Groupies- Maybe someone on the US team would fly a girl to another NBA city for a night, but even without the visa issues, they aren't flying them to China. Lebronious and Co. are here for business and even if they do mix in a little pleasure it is going to be with the local talent.
Runner-up US Basketball, Popular Chinese events. Probably one of the bigger stories before journalist arrived and saw the pollution. The Chinese gov't didn't want empty seats for any of the games, so they horded tickets to ensure they would go to Chinese people who would be around to watch. Athletes were even having trouble getting the complimentary 2 tickets for their events, meaning that the average tourist is going to have a tough time getting into the big events.
Most Pressure
Liu Xiang- It has to be. He is the face of the Olympics and with good measure. He is handsome and excellent at a sport the whole world, not just the Chinese, watch. However being on every ad means the Chinese expect him to not only win the gold medal, but set a new world record. Anything less would be a failure.
the only problems (according to shenellyville) are he hasn't raced in a long time, is prone to false starts, and while he was the best in 2004 there is a Cuban that now holds the world record.
I think the expectations are a bit high, but I hope he wins. just so he can enjoy the perks that come with beating the pressure in his own country. I'm also afraid they might kill him if he doesn't (that was sarcasm, China)
runner-up Michael Phelps, until he loses a race.
Least Pressure
China- Yes preparing for the Olympics is stressful but they knew it was going to be. It would be a lot more so, if other Countries, or the IOC, actually forced them to meet the goals they outlined in their bid for the games about pollution, human rights, etc.
Runner-Up India
It is amazing that two countries with so many people can have such divergent ideas about the importance of succeeding in sports and the Olympics. 17 medals all-time. Is India just happy if they finish a race?
Biggest Story
The Pollution
At least until the actual games start the pollution, or "fog" as Chinese officials are calling it, are dominating the headlines. It is bad, It is not as bad as it was a month ago, but it is bad, and when people leave China after the Olympics it will return to the way it has been. The factories will reopen, cars will be back on the street, construction will resume. This is a country going through their Industrial revolution on a scale the world has never seen. The bad air quality is a trade-off to reach modernity and more money. It is not like the Chinese care about what is going in their lungs, they suck down cigarettes day and night. It is not a developed country, and so when journalist accustomed to blue skies come to Beijing it is one of the first things they notice. Americas skies were not clean when we were building skyscrapers left and right.
What amazes me is that a country that worries so much about losing face and has complete control over their peoples' actions that they would allow it to become the issue that it has. The measures that they took to curb pollution have been working, but they were only enacted 3 weeks ago. They could and should have been put in place a year to six months ago.
The "fog" will make Beijing look bad. Television will not be able to get good looking Goodyear blimp type shots of the stadiums, but when the games start the press will start following the action and unless the pollution affects the events no one will talk about it except to say that the skies are grey. But the athletes should not be apologizing for wearing masks, the Olympic Committee should have done a better job of taking care of the problem.
Runner-up every Olympics some athlete comes out of nowhere to become a national hero, most likely it will be someone no one has mentioned in any Olympic previews. and it is what makes the Olympics great.
Best Competition
US vs China
For selfish and nationalistic reasons I want the US to win the most medals, but they are going to get a serious run from the Chinese. The host country always gets a bump in the medals they win, plus their is a clear home field advantage (the Chinese are accustomed to the "fog" ), and the are almost guaranteed to win certain events like badminton and ping pong. where as a lot of western countries could steal medals away from the US in their better events. It kind of reminds me of the 2004 election where the US would play the role of the democratic party and some country like Russia would be the green party and steal some votes (medals) away, but it wouldn't affect the republicans (china) ability to get their normal amount. But are the Chinese only interested in gold medals or total medal count? Will they include hong kong and taiwan's medals to bump up their own medal count?
I've always felt that America needs a competitor, we thrive on competition and I'm glad that China has stepped up to replace the USSR at least in sports. So I think we will take them. We are going to get like a 100 medals from swimming alone, with those new bathing suits.
Runner-up
US women's gymnastics vs China (you know those 14 year old Chinese girls who are magically now 16 are going to be sick)
Tyson Gay vs. the Jamaicans (fastest man alive, really just a competition to see who gets to use it as a pick-up line)
Coverage
There is going to be way too much of it, and the information will be to widespread to hold any surprises. At least I will get to watch it live instead of having to wait 12 hours on a tape delay. I'm finally on the right end of this time difference normally I'm getting up at 6 in the morning to watch the final four or Superbowl.
Though I wonder if there is some sort of protest, western TV networks will show it, I know China won't.
I'm actually most worried that China will cut out of some event I want to see like the 100 meter dash to show a replay of some Chinese victory in synchronized diving. but if it is anything like the propagandized coverage of the earthquake, the Olympics will be on every station 24 hours a day, it's going to be the only news in town.
NBA Groupies- Maybe someone on the US team would fly a girl to another NBA city for a night, but even without the visa issues, they aren't flying them to China. Lebronious and Co. are here for business and even if they do mix in a little pleasure it is going to be with the local talent.
Runner-up US Basketball, Popular Chinese events. Probably one of the bigger stories before journalist arrived and saw the pollution. The Chinese gov't didn't want empty seats for any of the games, so they horded tickets to ensure they would go to Chinese people who would be around to watch. Athletes were even having trouble getting the complimentary 2 tickets for their events, meaning that the average tourist is going to have a tough time getting into the big events.
Most Pressure
Liu Xiang- It has to be. He is the face of the Olympics and with good measure. He is handsome and excellent at a sport the whole world, not just the Chinese, watch. However being on every ad means the Chinese expect him to not only win the gold medal, but set a new world record. Anything less would be a failure.
the only problems (according to shenellyville) are he hasn't raced in a long time, is prone to false starts, and while he was the best in 2004 there is a Cuban that now holds the world record.
I think the expectations are a bit high, but I hope he wins. just so he can enjoy the perks that come with beating the pressure in his own country. I'm also afraid they might kill him if he doesn't (that was sarcasm, China)
runner-up Michael Phelps, until he loses a race.
Least Pressure
China- Yes preparing for the Olympics is stressful but they knew it was going to be. It would be a lot more so, if other Countries, or the IOC, actually forced them to meet the goals they outlined in their bid for the games about pollution, human rights, etc.
Runner-Up India
It is amazing that two countries with so many people can have such divergent ideas about the importance of succeeding in sports and the Olympics. 17 medals all-time. Is India just happy if they finish a race?
Biggest Story
The Pollution
At least until the actual games start the pollution, or "fog" as Chinese officials are calling it, are dominating the headlines. It is bad, It is not as bad as it was a month ago, but it is bad, and when people leave China after the Olympics it will return to the way it has been. The factories will reopen, cars will be back on the street, construction will resume. This is a country going through their Industrial revolution on a scale the world has never seen. The bad air quality is a trade-off to reach modernity and more money. It is not like the Chinese care about what is going in their lungs, they suck down cigarettes day and night. It is not a developed country, and so when journalist accustomed to blue skies come to Beijing it is one of the first things they notice. Americas skies were not clean when we were building skyscrapers left and right.
What amazes me is that a country that worries so much about losing face and has complete control over their peoples' actions that they would allow it to become the issue that it has. The measures that they took to curb pollution have been working, but they were only enacted 3 weeks ago. They could and should have been put in place a year to six months ago.
The "fog" will make Beijing look bad. Television will not be able to get good looking Goodyear blimp type shots of the stadiums, but when the games start the press will start following the action and unless the pollution affects the events no one will talk about it except to say that the skies are grey. But the athletes should not be apologizing for wearing masks, the Olympic Committee should have done a better job of taking care of the problem.
Runner-up every Olympics some athlete comes out of nowhere to become a national hero, most likely it will be someone no one has mentioned in any Olympic previews. and it is what makes the Olympics great.
Best Competition
US vs China
For selfish and nationalistic reasons I want the US to win the most medals, but they are going to get a serious run from the Chinese. The host country always gets a bump in the medals they win, plus their is a clear home field advantage (the Chinese are accustomed to the "fog" ), and the are almost guaranteed to win certain events like badminton and ping pong. where as a lot of western countries could steal medals away from the US in their better events. It kind of reminds me of the 2004 election where the US would play the role of the democratic party and some country like Russia would be the green party and steal some votes (medals) away, but it wouldn't affect the republicans (china) ability to get their normal amount. But are the Chinese only interested in gold medals or total medal count? Will they include hong kong and taiwan's medals to bump up their own medal count?
I've always felt that America needs a competitor, we thrive on competition and I'm glad that China has stepped up to replace the USSR at least in sports. So I think we will take them. We are going to get like a 100 medals from swimming alone, with those new bathing suits.
Runner-up
US women's gymnastics vs China (you know those 14 year old Chinese girls who are magically now 16 are going to be sick)
Tyson Gay vs. the Jamaicans (fastest man alive, really just a competition to see who gets to use it as a pick-up line)
Coverage
There is going to be way too much of it, and the information will be to widespread to hold any surprises. At least I will get to watch it live instead of having to wait 12 hours on a tape delay. I'm finally on the right end of this time difference normally I'm getting up at 6 in the morning to watch the final four or Superbowl.
Though I wonder if there is some sort of protest, western TV networks will show it, I know China won't.
I'm actually most worried that China will cut out of some event I want to see like the 100 meter dash to show a replay of some Chinese victory in synchronized diving. but if it is anything like the propagandized coverage of the earthquake, the Olympics will be on every station 24 hours a day, it's going to be the only news in town.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Mach3
Why are razors with 3 blades being sold in China. Is it only for the foreign community? Is it for rich chinese to show off their money. ("I can buy the most expensive razor just like the foreigners"). It can't be for actual use. I don't even need three blades, the chinese barely grow facial hair, how can they. concerning 90% of chinese men, the amount of facial hair they grow makes tweezers seem excessive.
NFL thoughts
I met up with my friend from camp, Jesse Danoff, on saturday on his way back to the states after traveling around Asia. It was nice to catch up with him. I don't think I had seen him since I was going into 11th grade, but as with most of the people from my camp, when you see them it is like no time has past at all. I would show highlights of Danoff earning the nickname DQ, but unforetunately youtube didn't exist then.
We had a lot to talk about regardless with him having lived in China, and being a huge Pittsburgh sports fan. We realized that the Pirates might have a competitive season in 2017 if everything goes right, and that Steelers injuries are not national news unless they involve Ben Roethlesomething (nice pick cowher) or Troy Polamalu. We were both broken up about our punter getting injured, though really only because of this play
While talking to him, this idea popped in my head about what Green Bay should do with Favre (this is before he was being welcomed back), and before it becomes the sensible thing to do I want to say that I had thought of it.
Why are the Packers not considering trading Aaron Rodgers
This never got mentioned when the conversation came up, probably cause Green Bay insisted he was their starter, but what is the down side in trading him, he's played one game in his career last year (the Dallas game) and played well. So he would look like an upgrade to anyone shopping for a QB. It gets rid of the quarterback controversy immediately. His contract is almost up meaning Green Bay is going to have to shell out top QB money for him because they don't have proof that he isn't that good. PLUS he will want to stick it to them in his contract for leading him on the last three years.
They just drafted Brian Brohm who went from consensus #1 pick when he didn't come out two years ago, having arguably a better year for a worse team, and falling a couple rounds in the draft. So you quite possibly have the steal of the draft and another "1st rounder" to put out there when Favre does retire, or at least another rookie to string along for the next 3 years as Favre waffles again.
Rodgers hates the Pack, he's been waiting for years to be the signal caller for a NFL team, finally gets his chance, and they take it away from him again. He's already coming to Lambeau field on a vendetta, a trade wouldn't change that. Or does he just hate Favre? It was frosty when Favre questioned why they even drafted him and said he wouldn't tutor him, now he's coming back to take the job Rodgers has waited for, and told all summer to anyone that would listen that he is the Green Bay STARTING quarterback. I don't see the downside of getting rid of him, if like all the pundits say, Favre is still better.
It's the NFL no one will care that management lied as long as they win.
I wish I could have been there when Rodgers heard that GB was taking Favre back. He probably created a new swear word.
- what every happened to that whole shooting fiasco with Marvin Harrison. One of the biggest enigmas and loners in the league gets in a brawl at his phili bar, where later people are shot with his gun, and the story just disappears. admittedly he's no Pacman Jones, but that is a pretty juicy story to just die.
-I'm so happy the Pats lost the Super Bowl and I don't have to spend the rest of my years refering to them as the greatest team ever. (even that sentence was disgusting to write)
We had a lot to talk about regardless with him having lived in China, and being a huge Pittsburgh sports fan. We realized that the Pirates might have a competitive season in 2017 if everything goes right, and that Steelers injuries are not national news unless they involve Ben Roethlesomething (nice pick cowher) or Troy Polamalu. We were both broken up about our punter getting injured, though really only because of this play
While talking to him, this idea popped in my head about what Green Bay should do with Favre (this is before he was being welcomed back), and before it becomes the sensible thing to do I want to say that I had thought of it.
Why are the Packers not considering trading Aaron Rodgers
This never got mentioned when the conversation came up, probably cause Green Bay insisted he was their starter, but what is the down side in trading him, he's played one game in his career last year (the Dallas game) and played well. So he would look like an upgrade to anyone shopping for a QB. It gets rid of the quarterback controversy immediately. His contract is almost up meaning Green Bay is going to have to shell out top QB money for him because they don't have proof that he isn't that good. PLUS he will want to stick it to them in his contract for leading him on the last three years.
They just drafted Brian Brohm who went from consensus #1 pick when he didn't come out two years ago, having arguably a better year for a worse team, and falling a couple rounds in the draft. So you quite possibly have the steal of the draft and another "1st rounder" to put out there when Favre does retire, or at least another rookie to string along for the next 3 years as Favre waffles again.
Rodgers hates the Pack, he's been waiting for years to be the signal caller for a NFL team, finally gets his chance, and they take it away from him again. He's already coming to Lambeau field on a vendetta, a trade wouldn't change that. Or does he just hate Favre? It was frosty when Favre questioned why they even drafted him and said he wouldn't tutor him, now he's coming back to take the job Rodgers has waited for, and told all summer to anyone that would listen that he is the Green Bay STARTING quarterback. I don't see the downside of getting rid of him, if like all the pundits say, Favre is still better.
It's the NFL no one will care that management lied as long as they win.
I wish I could have been there when Rodgers heard that GB was taking Favre back. He probably created a new swear word.
- what every happened to that whole shooting fiasco with Marvin Harrison. One of the biggest enigmas and loners in the league gets in a brawl at his phili bar, where later people are shot with his gun, and the story just disappears. admittedly he's no Pacman Jones, but that is a pretty juicy story to just die.
-I'm so happy the Pats lost the Super Bowl and I don't have to spend the rest of my years refering to them as the greatest team ever. (even that sentence was disgusting to write)
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Thoughts on the Team USA game
I need to apologize to Kobe
I have never liked Kobe, that he can speak lots of languages, that he was a prima donna, that he complained about not having a team when his ego was the driving force behind its break-up, that he sometimes does that LL Cool J "licking his lips" thing. I would often justify my dislike, thinking that he was a bad person and associate him with a crime he didn't commit, while I would give a free pass to people who were caught committing crimes (J-Kidd)
During his MVP campaign , I had to endure the talk about how he changed as a player, leader, etc. and was pleased to watch it unravel in the finals. But after watching him yesterday, my perception of him has changed.
I realized I really just didn't like him because he has more game in his left pinky than I do in my entire body, but he makes this team work. I didn't think a superstar would subjugate himself to the role of defensive stopper, but all he seemed to be interested in was playing shut down D. In the second half, he showed that he can still go off offensively at any time, but he seems to relish the challenge of playing Defense, and is completely comfortable letting others carry the offensive load. His willingness to play Defense changed the outlook of this squad. Instead of talking about 12 superstars each looking for their own shots, I spent most of the afternoon talking to my friends about the US D, and that all starts with Kobe.
The US is a team, and one that plays D
As stated above players like Kobe are accepting of their roles and excelling at them. Tayshaun Prince knows he is in for D, Michael Redd is comfortable getting limited minutes to be a 3 point specialist. There is also know me first attitude. No one seemed to care who was getting points, who was getting playing time, in fact it didn't seem to matter who scored at all, there biggest concern was not letting the other team score.
I can't remember a time when I associated Team USA for Defense and hustle, but that is how I am starting to view this team. They are going for steals on every dribble, overplaying passing lanes on every pass, contesting shots, its as if they have decided the other team will not dribble into the 3 point area. The hustle was outstanding too, I saw James and Wade both sprinting out of bounds to save loose balls (in an exhibition match)
Size isn't an issue
Because of this shut down D, a lot of possessions the other team isn't even getting a shot up, if you don't have to rebound what does it matter how big you are. If anything it has been a hindrance as Dwight Howard is picking up fouls because he is being forced to play outside the 3 point line. Though Dwight had 4 fouls, Coach K gave a lot of run to Chris Bosh who has the height and more speed than Howard or boozer to guard players on the outside.
Coach K read my emails
Once I figured out how to spell his last name it was easy to send him emails reminding him that just because Jason Kidd was grandfathered onto the Team doesn't mean he has to play more than the two point guards that are better than him. J-Kidd does look 5 years younger playing with these guys and he can still distribute, but he is no Chris Paul and Coach K finally sat him down and let Paul run the first team, to be spelled by Williams. (Though the Paul/Williams back court was awesome and one of the reasons why watching TEAM USA is so cool)
D-Wade is back
He looks like he did in the Finals, the Heat should be decent this year if Beasely can fill it up the way people think he can.
Melo should play in Europe
for some reason, he seems to excel in the international game. He should take the Euro's and tell anyone that will listen that his dream has REALLY always been to win a european championship.
CP3 is CP13
CP 三 is now CP十三. Why couldn't he get number 3 like he usually wears for the hornets. The only person who kept his normal number was Melo. Why can't they wear their normal numbers. Did Team USA retire all the original dream team numbers, Do the numbers only go up to 20?
Minghang district, where the game took place, is really far away
How is this part of Shanghai, the taxi's didn't even start out at the same amount. It took 3 subway lines and 50 minutes just to get there.
Chinese People love foul shots
Maybe they don't understand the game, or maybe they understand it so well that they see it as picking up points while the clock is stopped, but the most applause for both the US and Russian teams came when they were fouled and went to shoot, not when they dunked or hit a big 3 pointer.
Chinese People love superstars
Kobe was the story of the game, but not for the way he played, but for how many chinese were there just for him. THey love him. I thought they would like Lebron (his nickname is "Little Emperor" here) even more. And I don't think it is a case of KObe just being in the finals.
In general the chinese just love superstars. I think that is why the US basketball team is their favorite, even more so than any chinese team. It is a collection of famous names.
I feel confident about this squad
They are scoring, they are committed to D, they have adjusted to FIBA rules better than any other year (they are taking the ball as soon as it hits the rim) there style of play suits the players that they have on the team.
A lot has been made of other teams not playing their best players or trying to goad the US into a false sense of confidence, and maybe the games would have been closer with better competition and using all of their sets, but I am sure we have yet to see everything that the US is going to do, so far they have been winning with D and hustle, and winning big. I would say they are at about 85% to win the gold. I'm definately afraid of teams like Spain that can handle the ball, (because we have been feasting off turnovers), Argentina, (because they are built like us a bunch of versatile 6'3'' to 6'9" guys, with probably a bit more height) and maybe Greece.
Frankly all it takes is one loss from teams that no longer fear the US in the medal round and we won't be playing for the Gold. But I like our chances a lot more than I previously did.
China has 4 Internets
..and it looks like they will be watching all of them for the Olympics. (for perspective my college house in Colorado Springs had 6 sometimes 7 internets.) Apparently they have opened up blogger, and some other previously blocked websites before the olympics, likely to make it easier to catch dissent. I never planned on writing anything about the person whom Bill Murray's character in caddyshack mentions is a long hitter and a poor tipper (at least monetarily) or other issues that may bother china,and I still don't, but I will definitely be tempering my posts.
It has confused me why China blocks blogs. What I try to write, is directed to a western audience, who I realized when I went home after the sichuan earthquake, doesn't have the perspective that I do, and is in turn a much much harsher critic of China. What I would tell them would probably dilute their vitriol. Also no one is reading my blog, especially not chinese people who don't understand english and don't realize that you can get on a website even if it doesn't end in .com.cn. (perhaps this is what the gov't is worried I will tell them)
However I realize not everyone is like me. It only takes one person to suggest an idea on an open platform such as this for it to get legs. Frankly, they can run their country however they want, I am the one who chooses to live here.
It has confused me why China blocks blogs. What I try to write, is directed to a western audience, who I realized when I went home after the sichuan earthquake, doesn't have the perspective that I do, and is in turn a much much harsher critic of China. What I would tell them would probably dilute their vitriol. Also no one is reading my blog, especially not chinese people who don't understand english and don't realize that you can get on a website even if it doesn't end in .com.cn. (perhaps this is what the gov't is worried I will tell them)
However I realize not everyone is like me. It only takes one person to suggest an idea on an open platform such as this for it to get legs. Frankly, they can run their country however they want, I am the one who chooses to live here.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Chinglish
Every few weeks one of my friends sends me something from this website
they are funny and sometimes when I walk around, I will see a sign that makes me laugh and take a picture of it. I lost my favorite, which was a reminder to not squat, but sit, on the toilet seat.
My students don't ask what Chinglish is, and if they did I don't know if it would be polite for me to say "How you speak English"
but talking with them I realized that they do not view their English as Chinglish. I guess I don't view my Chinese in this light either, but it made me think their are a few kinds of Chinglish.
1. How the Chinese speak English
This is the one I think of when I hear the word, and teaching I spend most of my day hearing and correcting it. It is mostly an exact translation of how they speak Chinese and therefore I find it pretty helpful in learning their language, because it allows me to see how they form sentences, how they get around using prepositions, as well as their word choice.
2. My Chinese
I guess this would be the opposite of their english. But I guess the Chinese don't consider this Chinglish because it would entail consider their english as such. Also their is the issue that native English speaking foreigners aren't the only foreigners here, so can it still be Chinglish if I am from Germany and speaking Chinese.
3. Translation of Chinese Idioms
Whenever my middle school students would say one, everyone in the class would laugh and say "Chinglish", so I assume this is what they believe to be Chinglish. Chinese people of all ages seem to laugh, especially when I say them.
ie. 我给你一些色， 看看 （wo gei ni yi xie se, kankan)
Chinglish: I'll give you some color, see see
meaning: I'll beat you up, I'll hit you
笨蛋（ben dan)
Chinglish: stupid egg
Meaning: you are stupid
This seems a lot like the first category , and I guess you could argue that all my categories could be considered part of the first category because they are things Chinese people say in English. The difference to me is a chinese person would only say these things to other chinese, not a foreigner.
In class they might mess up and say "You very stupid" instead of saying "You are stupid" because of they don't use linking verbs in chinese, but they would never say "you are a stupid egg".
4. Simple English expressions
Some english words are simple, common, and thus have become part of everyday Chinese speech, such as OK, Hello, and Bye Bye.
It seems like it is the cool think to do now in Shanghai to say "Bye Bye" instead of "zai Jian" (the chinese for the same thing)
4a. often the english in the Chinese will be combined, especially by cab drivers. They will say OK but add 吗 (ma) at the end to make it a question. or add 了 (le). I love saying "Bye Bye le" when saying goodbye to chinese people.
4b. When you only know one word in English, "Hello" repeated as many times as you need, means anything you want it to mean
ie. "Hello"
"Look at what I am selling"
"Buy what I am selling"
"Give me money because you are foreign"
"Aren't you tired of this whole Brett Favre fiasco?"
" Why are you walking away"
5. English words translated into Chinese
words like hamburger, didn't exist in China, before McDonalds set up shop here. So they had to create a word for it. Chinese people can not say Hamburger because they think that the actual word is their translation "hambaobao"
6. Words to which their are no translation yet.
There are so many new words entering the chinese language as they become more globalized that many 1 character words have become 2 characters so they can be differentiated, because there are only so many sounds in the language. Sometimes they don't even bother giving a word a translation or transliteration.
I can't think of an example of the top of my head, but Chinese people will be talking in chinese and all of a sudden they will slip in an English word. It will surprise me and I will look at them and they will laugh and say in chinese "the foreigner is trying to understand us"
they are funny and sometimes when I walk around, I will see a sign that makes me laugh and take a picture of it. I lost my favorite, which was a reminder to not squat, but sit, on the toilet seat.
My students don't ask what Chinglish is, and if they did I don't know if it would be polite for me to say "How you speak English"
but talking with them I realized that they do not view their English as Chinglish. I guess I don't view my Chinese in this light either, but it made me think their are a few kinds of Chinglish.
1. How the Chinese speak English
This is the one I think of when I hear the word, and teaching I spend most of my day hearing and correcting it. It is mostly an exact translation of how they speak Chinese and therefore I find it pretty helpful in learning their language, because it allows me to see how they form sentences, how they get around using prepositions, as well as their word choice.
2. My Chinese
I guess this would be the opposite of their english. But I guess the Chinese don't consider this Chinglish because it would entail consider their english as such. Also their is the issue that native English speaking foreigners aren't the only foreigners here, so can it still be Chinglish if I am from Germany and speaking Chinese.
3. Translation of Chinese Idioms
Whenever my middle school students would say one, everyone in the class would laugh and say "Chinglish", so I assume this is what they believe to be Chinglish. Chinese people of all ages seem to laugh, especially when I say them.
ie. 我给你一些色， 看看 （wo gei ni yi xie se, kankan)
Chinglish: I'll give you some color, see see
meaning: I'll beat you up, I'll hit you
笨蛋（ben dan)
Chinglish: stupid egg
Meaning: you are stupid
This seems a lot like the first category , and I guess you could argue that all my categories could be considered part of the first category because they are things Chinese people say in English. The difference to me is a chinese person would only say these things to other chinese, not a foreigner.
In class they might mess up and say "You very stupid" instead of saying "You are stupid" because of they don't use linking verbs in chinese, but they would never say "you are a stupid egg".
4. Simple English expressions
Some english words are simple, common, and thus have become part of everyday Chinese speech, such as OK, Hello, and Bye Bye.
It seems like it is the cool think to do now in Shanghai to say "Bye Bye" instead of "zai Jian" (the chinese for the same thing)
4a. often the english in the Chinese will be combined, especially by cab drivers. They will say OK but add 吗 (ma) at the end to make it a question. or add 了 (le). I love saying "Bye Bye le" when saying goodbye to chinese people.
4b. When you only know one word in English, "Hello" repeated as many times as you need, means anything you want it to mean
ie. "Hello"
"Look at what I am selling"
"Buy what I am selling"
"Give me money because you are foreign"
"Aren't you tired of this whole Brett Favre fiasco?"
" Why are you walking away"
5. English words translated into Chinese
words like hamburger, didn't exist in China, before McDonalds set up shop here. So they had to create a word for it. Chinese people can not say Hamburger because they think that the actual word is their translation "hambaobao"
6. Words to which their are no translation yet.
There are so many new words entering the chinese language as they become more globalized that many 1 character words have become 2 characters so they can be differentiated, because there are only so many sounds in the language. Sometimes they don't even bother giving a word a translation or transliteration.
I can't think of an example of the top of my head, but Chinese people will be talking in chinese and all of a sudden they will slip in an English word. It will surprise me and I will look at them and they will laugh and say in chinese "the foreigner is trying to understand us"
California Uptight Band by Flatts and Scruggs
After losing all my music when my hard drive died, some friends gave me their collections. I have a lot of songs again and look forward to listening to them, heard "California Uptight Band" for the first time a couple days ago. I don't know how I lasted this long without hearing this song before. One of my favorite bluegrass bands singing a song about the Grateful Dead. (at least that's who I like to think it is about)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Mascots
Concerning the Shanghai World Expo,
Maybe I'm old school, but I want to go back to a time when World Expo's didn't need mascots, when people decided to go to World Expo's because of the exhibits and architecture. When people would go to ride a ferris wheel for the first time. Or view the eiffel tower. If you want to get kids to go, start calling it a fair again.
But who needs a mascot, especially one that doesn't even remind me of World expos, but toothpaste commercials and dentist appointments.
As for the Olympics,
its one of the greatest sporting events ever, if you can't get excited about nations competing against one another, you probably aren't going to tune in because of five mascots.*
As for the Steelers,
I hope the bizarro Village Person Steely McBeem that they called a mascot last year never rears it ugly head again. Perhaps the Steelers needed to create something horrific to balance out the universe because the 75th anniversary unis were awesome. But there is no need for the Lers to have a mascot...or cheerleaders.
*If you are going to have them you might as well make money off them. You can't just buy one of the mascots as a stuffed animal or gift, you have to get all five, or else chinese girlfriends throw a tantrum about not loving them enough (so I've heard).
Easiest job in Shanghai
My first day in Shanghai I reached the intersection of two streets and waited for the light to turn red, when it did the crossing guard blew his whistle and I began to cross the street only to stop a second later as I had to dodge a few bikes, then some mopeds, then some cars. That was also the last time I listened to a crossing guard here.
I've realized that the crossing guards seem to have two jobs. The first is that they ONLY stop bikes going straight. Not bikes or mopeds turning left or right, not cars turning left or right, and sometimes not even the bikes going straight. Leaving me, the pedestrian, to fend for myself while crossing the street.
Originally I thought because in America, the crossing guard helps you cross the street that the ones here would stop these vehicles, giving me the right of way when the little green man is lit. Whether because everything is different here, or more likely, there are so many people, his second job is actually to keep people on the sidewalk, before the lights change and the green man signals I can risk my life crossing the street.
Because he doesn't make it any easier to cross the street and the pedestrians are forced to look after themselves, no one listens to the crossing guard. People stand on the street ignoring the crossing guards whistles to get on the sidewalk, people cross the street whenever they feel like it.
The only time people or drivers listen to the crossing guards is when the cops, people with actual authority, are directing traffic.
So there is no requirement that they do their two jobs, and during rush hour cops do it for them. The hardest part of their day seems to be standing outside in the hot weather.
Though it can't be fun asking people to do something the entire day and having no one listen to you.
*** yesterday I saw some teachers from the middle school I worked at last year, holding red flags, standing with the crossing guards. It was nice to see them, if only because they are always excited and surprised to see me. I learned that they were volunteering raising the flag each time someone didn't listen to the crossing guard and stood on the street, in order to guilt them into getting back on the sidewalk.
I thought of two things. 1) that only works cause no one wants to lose face 2) the crossing guards have even more help doing their jobs
Sunday, July 27, 2008
I've got a feeling...
I was going to write something about the Pirates, how they seem to go on a winning streak and then an even worse losing streak, how there seems to be some rule about only 1 pitcher being able to have a good season for them each year, regardless of how they did the year before. How I am one of maybe 6 fans they have left. How nothing will change for them until there is a salary cap and new ownership, how we look like we got nothing for Xavier Nady...but who cares?
THE STEELERS SEASON HAS STARTED!!!!!!
I'd much rather discuss what the steelers D will look like with my boy Lamarr Woodley getting to play more than 80 snaps. and the O possibly lining up in double tight end sets with willy parker and rashard mendenhall both in the backfield.
Bring on the hardest schedule in the league.
Do we have different medical books
I've been a bit sick recently, so I haven't been on the blog. I actually went to the hospital (no one just goes to a doctor here, just the hospital) where I was told I had an infection. Anyway I am in this room where they give everyone IVs and people in the room are also sick, so like me they are coughing. However none of them are covering their mouths when they cough.
I always thought that we spread germs when we cough, so we should cover our mouths. I guess in China they don't feel that way. This is not something like Korean Fan Death, that I think is crazy, but funny because it is not going to affect my health. (http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death)
I don't want to get whatever sickness the chinese guy next to me has because he is being lazy. I thought this stuff was common knowledge.
I can't wait to find out that no one covers their mouths when they cough because of some inane reason like some emperor of some dynasty didn't have a hand so he couldn't cover his mouth when he coughed, and made a decree that no one would so he wouldn't feel embarrassed. Or if someone has the audacity to tell me that it is healthy.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Another thought on Team USA
What is Jason Kidd doing on this team. Did he get grandfathered in, all any of the pundits were talking about last year is how old he is playing (and is). I guess this team was put together a few years ago when he was playing much better, but we don't need a third point guard. we have the two best in the game in Chris Paul and Deron Williams, plus D-wade, Kobe, and Maximus James's father can all bring the ball up the court.
Maybe he brings veteran leadership, but it seems the one thing this team is lacking is height, replacing a PG with another PF or C would solve that problem.
I'm sure Coach K knows more about it than I do though.
Adrock is excited-rock
I just got tickets to the USA Basketball Challenge, or the exhibition matches Team USA is playing in Shanghai before the Olympics. I can't wait.
I think I have only seen 1 or 2 NBA games live in my lifetime, and Gordon Girichek was the best player on the court. Now I get to see the "little emperor" himself Lebronious Microphonious Sphere Monk, D-Wade, Melo my man, CP三, DAREn Williams, Dwight, and the rest of the team play together. Not only do I get to see the best players in the world , but very few people will ever get to see this team play live.
As an added bonus they are playing Russia so I can break out all the Russian I learned in 2nd grade. If for some reason there is a need to say "Please turn the sign around" in russian I will be all over it.
Dear Chinese Women
I realize that you don't like to tan, and so use umbrellas to keep the sun off your body. That is a good idea. However, I would appreciate if you stopped hitting me in the face with them as you walk by me.
Your umbrella, or parasol, is not an extension of your body. It can be moved. Lifting your hand up just a few inches when you walk by me will raise the umbrella over my head, while still keeping you shaded because it will still be over your head. We both win, You stay in the shade and I don't get hit in the face by the rods on your umbrella.
Perhaps you don't like this option because it involves too much lifting, so let me suggests some other alternatives. merely turning your wrists will change the angle of the umbrella allowing me to pass easily under or around it. Or you could switch the hand that the umbrella is in when you pass me putting the umbrella a few more inches away from my face.
I would appreciate it,
Adrock
PS. I also realize that when everyone in the country has straight black hair, it is hard to set yourself apart from other women. I can easily see how dyeing your hair helps achieve this goal. However stop dyeing your hair blonde. It looks terrible.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Confused
Where are all the people playing Chinese Checkers. I've been here a year and a half and haven't seen one person play it. How does no one play the one game I associate with the Chinese.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Crocs have taken over this country
It is not a highlight of my stay in China to walk down the street and see Middle-aged men, smoking cigarettes walking around in only their underwear, (it is an uncomfortable side effects of the pajama party) last year these same men, were doing this in chinese sandals, or barefoot. But now they have discovered Crocs.
I thought I left these monstrosities behind when I left the hippie infested areas of CC and music festivals, but they have found me.
And its not just partially nude middle aged men, its everyone. They are all so happy to have caught on with the latest fashion craze, if only a year late.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)