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.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
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.
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