User Comments - cagster
cagster
Posted on: Antiperspirant in China
July 2, 2008 at 12:31 AMIf I hadn't just posted and didn't have this post-posting adrenalin rush surging, I might have not commented on, "Now I don't smell bad." Okay, keep in mind this is written with a smelly sense of humor in mind ... pun intended.
pulosm, I personally haven't smelled your armpits and please don't offer, but the offenders are typically the last ones to notice. Maybe you should ask a few people for their opinions?
Oh, too early for Shanghai Disney 2012 lessons or Expo 2010 lessons?
Posted on: Antiperspirant in China
July 2, 2008 at 12:16 AMNothing to do with deodorant, but has anyone watched the show "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" on the Travel Channel?
In the Shanghai episode (downloadable on iTunes maybe), Anthony Bourdain travels to Yangchen Lake to eat these ludicrously expensive Hairy Crabs ... I can empathize because I splurge for my favorite seafood, the lobster, which my Chinese dictionary says are called "Dragon Shrimp."
High tech crabs, the authorities laser etch the crabs with identifying numbers because copy crabs crawl all about.
Maybe a Hungry Traveler lesson? I searched for "hairy" and found an upper intermediate lesson called "Choosing a Wine" that mentions the Hairy Crab.
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 1: A New Manager
June 30, 2008 at 3:45 AMhai2shi4 ji2 si3 wo3 le
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 1: A New Manager
June 26, 2008 at 9:10 PMbtw, amber, i think you need to rethink and edit your answer about turtles, maybe listen to the lesson too ;-)
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 1: A New Manager
June 26, 2008 at 8:14 PMThis lesson reminds me of the "The Young and the Restless," a famous American soap opera, which might also be used as a play on words for PBS' series "Young & Restless in China."
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/youngchina/
Bear with me (English learners, not bare with me, or maybe so ;-) ... I am trying to premise myself and lead into something, and I don't work for PBS. But, (there's always a butt especially if you bare with me) ... doh! ... stop that ... ok, but, I do think this series drenches light onto the mysteries of business v. life v. change in China.
There an episode or section (a 节目 jie2 mu4) named "2004: "It Feels Like Riding a Roller Coaster"" ... this episode mentions "Returning Turtles."
I did not (and probably still don't) know why turtles would be used to refer to returning Chinese who have lived abroad for years.
Now the post by "billm" above mentions "a story about 青蛙和海龟" ... and how the "turtle is worldly" ... wow! ... could there be a connection?
Hmm, I like turtles and often liken myself to them in personality. However, I'm now in a state of high confusion because I grew up thinking turtles were shy, not coming out of their shells often, far from worldly. I'm freaking out here :-) ... buark! ... someone please tell me the story/history of the Chinese and the turtle.
Posted on: I Just.... 刚 & 刚才（gāng & gāngcái）
June 25, 2008 at 11:17 AMThanks changye, I have been an admirer of your insightful posts for some time.
btw: It took over a week to train my rooster to stand on my hand. My rooster's name is 好吃的 ... I'm puzzled to why he runs away clucking in panic when I call his name. (I raised "fire chickens" as a youth ... wow, one of those feet would be a meal.)
Anyway, I wrote a little about nouns and verbs and then erased everything because it felt like I was splitting feathers.
I googled a little and found something:
http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2006/03/20/chinese-parts-of-speech
changye, is your English name John?
Getting back to the lesson, I also found the following relevant example (relevant to the lesson, not a "noun" v. "adverb" debate):
http://www.cctv.com/program/happychina/20040816/101966.shtml
[[[[[ 例 014
误：特别是刚才毕业的大学生，失业是个大问题。
正：特别是刚毕业的大学生，失业是个大问题。
名词“刚才”指刚才过去不久的时间，这里是说“毕业”这种情况发生在不久以前，应改“刚才”为副词“刚”。
The time noun 刚才 refers to a time in the past. However, what the sentence implies is that the event of “刚才”should be replaced by “刚”. ]]]]]
Interesting, Happy China lessons from the CCTV ... 学汉语 (xue2 han4yu3):
Posted on: I Just.... 刚 & 刚才（gāng & gāngcái）
June 24, 2008 at 4:15 PMchangye ,
All my dictionaries say 刚才 is an adverb, no noun variations.
Maybe you are writing a less formal sentence pattern?
Posted on: Wait!
June 24, 2008 at 2:38 AMThere's a scene in "The Painted Veil" where Naomi Watts bends and reaches to touch what she knows to be certain death. Her Chinese companion emphatically repeats something several times, something I couldn't figure out even after rewinding maybe 10 times. I seem to remember it as "bu4 yao4," but until now, "not want" didn't make sense. Hmm, makes sense, if I remember that scene correctly ... doh, now I'm not sure it was "bu4 yao4."
Can 别 (bie2) be used too as a stand-alone exclamation to say "don't" with the same attention getting impact?
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 1: A New Manager
June 23, 2008 at 10:12 PM精武體育會 = 精武体育会
Posted on: Antiperspirant in China
July 2, 2008 at 7:54 PMdaolin,
wo3 ting1shuo1 diet factors into human odors, hai2 mei2you3 ting1shuo1 shen2me of scientists isolating a stink gene. Whoa! Gene therapy is much better than surgery.
Maybe Chinese dishes "ferment" differently in human bodies. I live close to Gilroy, CA, which claims to have some of the best garlic around. I know for sure garlic odors leak through the skin / sweat glands.
My poor chicken gets not respect.