User Comments - chinkerfly
chinkerfly
Posted on: Pregnancy Series 3: Prenatal Checkup
February 18, 2009, 03:17 AM@John Don't think water birth is a Chinese thing, I heard it's actually something people do in the U.S. too, those who know what it is anyway (according to the wikipedia entry above it originated in the Soviet Union and France). From what I've heard it's a more natural way to give birth and makes it easier on both the mother and the newborn.
@chinachica another congrats from me! Hope all goes well, expect to hear more comments from you on these lessons. :)
Posted on: Eating Dead Flesh 猪吃死人肉
February 17, 2009, 04:34 AMReally interesting and unexpected poem. I don't know whether the title is more off-putting or intriguing, I guess in my case curiosity won the battle. I appreciated the tao-like interpretation too
Posted on: 学术抄袭
February 12, 2009, 07:55 PMGreat topic. Plagiarism and cheating is always a subject that comes up among expats in China.
I agree with Changye, the concept of intellectual property rights is very loosely adhered to in many levels of Chinese society. I also agree with Pete that some of that may stem from a fundamental cultural difference. In the beginning it was difficult for me to twist my head around the logic that encourages people to constantly look to what's been done in the past to find the best expression of what needs to be said today. But the more I thought about it, the more I found that it's a natural progression from some cultural attitudes that I appreciate and support. Respect for elders, deference to those that laid the way for you, learning from the past... And with so many thousands of years of history, who wouldn't feel like everything good has already been said and done?
As Chinese people continue to open themselves up to Western influences, it's only a matter of time though that they will start thinking more critically about the past and find more value in attempting to create something unique and original. Change will also come when Chinese people toss off imposed modesty and embrace the possibility that what they say and do can be potentially greater than anything that's been said or done before. Americans are full of that kind of ego. :)
Posted on: Simple Electrical Stuff
February 11, 2009, 09:38 PMWhenever I hear the word 傻 I think of 傻瓜, but I didn't here many Mandarin speakers use that phrase, is it more of a Southern/Cantonese thing?
Posted on: Drinking Alone Under the Moon 月下独酌
February 10, 2009, 03:09 AMIt was really nice to be able to hear this read so many different ways, thanks Pete for sharing that link, I especially liked the Cantonese versions.
I think I like a combination of two translations for the last line the best - Amy Lowell &/or Florence Ayscough and for the second line same as Pete's favorite:
"For a long time I shall be obligated to wander without intention...
[But we shall] meet again at the far end of the Milky Way."
This poem makes me sad! But in a good poetic sort of way. :)
Posted on: Health Check
February 09, 2009, 04:10 AMOh! All this time I thought 血脂 meant cholesterol. I guess I was wrong! So blood lipids, eh?
I'm curious how overweight do you have to be to have a professional doctor in China say that you're too fat? I may be biased but I get the feeling that the tolerance is lower than in the U.S. I can't imagine a doctor in the U.S. saying directly to a patient, "You're too fat" unless they're uncommonly obese.
Posted on: Mexico City
February 05, 2009, 10:07 PM@Bill Gilroy! The city of garlic festivals! I love how you can smell the city as you approach it on the highway. Never met anyone that actually lived there before. Does everything you own become saturated with the delicious scent of garlic? :) 我很好奇！
Posted on: A Day at the Races
February 04, 2009, 03:49 AMWow this was a tough one! Must be because I know next to nothing about horse racing. The one time I went to the racetracks I couldn't understand a word of what anyone was saying, and they were speaking English. :) Don't know if I agree with the guy's betting logic, but it sounds like he got really lucky there in the end.
Posted on: 沙漠寻踪
June 18, 2009, 07:51 PMCurious how the "related lessons" algorithm works on the lessons. For lessons like these that are in a set could a link to the set page be provided somewhere near the top? maybe in the intro? For those of us who are coming in late it's nice to be able to go back and listen from the beginning.