User Comments - bill
bill
Posted on: 你好 (Nǐhǎo) is a Many-Splendored Thing
August 20, 2007 at 8:53 PMAuntySue 和大家， I'm pretty sure most of you were not around when "Have a nice day was coined" in America. I was, and was closer to your age during the "Summer of Love" in San Francisco. I put that latter in "" because really, that Summer was a reaction to the Vietnamese war that was tearing the country apart. People were tired of the nightly news reports of napalmed villages, and young american boys coming back in body bags. Drugs were an escape for some, etc. "Have a nice day" was an effort to simply pass a little good will to another, smile, say, hey, we are here, two human beings at the same time and place, and that in itself is a small miracle. Over time, sure, like everything else it became commercialized but its roots will always be with me, and I always respond, "you too," "toi aussi," 也你(?). I've always figured it is better to pass on a little good will whenever you have the chance. Have a nice day everyone (-: And you cannot imagine the memories that brings back to me of those times ... just tears in my eyes and a very tight throat ... you know the feeling I'm sure. 和平， Bill
Posted on: 你好 (Nǐhǎo) is a Many-Splendored Thing
August 20, 2007 at 7:26 PM大家今天快乐 (-: (-: 大笑！Bonjour tout le monde, comment allez-vous? Pas mal。 怎么样？不错。Buenas dias ! G'day ! 和平， Bill
Posted on: Asking for English Books
August 8, 2007 at 3:46 PMWould've liked to have seen an example with the counter or measure word for books like: 两本书 (liang3ben3shu1) or "two books." Bill
Posted on: Track and Field
July 31, 2007 at 6:34 PMPS> By the way, in french "track and field" is "athlétisme" pronounced more or less, "ath-lay-teaz-muh." In the UK it's "athletics."
Posted on: Track and Field
July 31, 2007 at 6:25 PMI would think that "reverse order" is a better choice than "backwards." Thus, for the Chinese, Western addresses, etc, are in "reverse order." I think the Chinese addresses for example are more closely related to how they are viewed on a map. One sees the country, zooms into the city, then the street, and finally the address. All in perspective from where you are sitting. That's what 's fun about learning a new language. You get a peek into how others think. No right or wrong. 和平， Bill
Posted on: "Thinking" in Chinese: 觉得 (juéde), 认为 (rènwéi) and 以为 (yǐwéi)
July 28, 2007 at 12:20 AM以为看她了 后日落 她觉得 我爱她吗？ 新月知道 ... 和平， Bill
Posted on: Negating Verbs: When to Use 没有 (méiyǒu), When to Use 不 (bù)
July 26, 2007 at 5:44 PMJust discovered 请问 by accident. What a great teaching tool! 多谢， Bill
Posted on: Chinese Seasonings
July 19, 2007 at 4:32 PMA late note: I learned 香油 was sesame oil. 和平， Bill
Posted on: She's Easy
June 26, 2007 at 5:52 AMfran1942, I really disagree with you. Historically, women have been possessed, controled, cajoled, tortured, etc, etc, out of a male's need to control, and because of a lack of birth control women were pretty much enslaved. Men simply feared the power of a women's sexuality. Well, an acquaintance of mine, Carl Djerassi, was part of a team invented the birth control pill. Little did we know where that would lead. The liberation of the human female was launched. I say bravo ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Djerassi To believe we are locked into a past, into sometime of social cultural, developmental dead-end because of "basic foundations of male/female behavior," is as frightening as it is short sighted and naive. This has nothing to do with something as trivial as being politically correct. Sexist was perhaps too weak of a word. The liberation of females goes hand in hand with the liberation of males who are often slaves to their own possessiveness. Ah well ... and to think there are places in the world where they still "circumsize" women. As Bob Dylan said, "The times they are a changin ..." 和平， Bill
Posted on: I can't write it
August 23, 2007 at 3:00 PMJohn， Seems we need to mention 能 along with 会 and 可以。 A: 我不能去上厕所! wo3 bu4neng2 qu4 ce4suo3. I can't go to the toilet! B: 怎么了？ zen3me le? What's wrong? A: 没有卫生纸。 mei3you3 wei4sheng1zhi3. There's no toilet paper. B: 我有一张报纸。 wo3you3 yi1zhang1 bao4zhi3. I have a news paper. Bill