User Comments - rods

Posted on: A Trip to Nanjing

Great pics Xiao_Liang! I'd say that scenery is way better than "just all right." The guy in the dialog must be near sighted. Thanks for sharing. :)

Posted on: Asking the Time

I think I gotta disagree with you on this one xiao_liang (about whether the old lessons are worth saving, not the "piercingly exciting" part 哈哈). As I mentioned in another thread, I think Ken had a unique perspective and brought some valuable cultural insights to those early lessons. His reminiscences of his early days in China really helped me get into each lesson.

Ken also talked about the Chinese Pod teaching method. The "back line build up", remember this as a "chunk," or "like Otto Jespersen says ...". I found this extremely helpful since some of the techniques I'd used to learn other languages weren't completely transferable.

It probably wouldn't make sense to leave the old and new lessons side by side in the Newbie lists. That might confuse new users. But maybe C-Pod would consider sticking those older lessons in an 'Archive' file somewhere. After all, they're just going to take up a bit of disc space somewhere--doesn't really cost anything. My two cents.

Posted on: Buying High Quality DVDs

Whew! Thanks ajr1 & bodawei. I thought I'd fried a synapse or something.

Posted on: Getting Satellite TV

(If I typed it right) it's this guō 锅 . Same as for a pot, or wok. I think, you still get the .pdf transcript with the basic subscription. It also contains the supplemental vocabulary list to which cloonis referred.

Edit: Oops. Sorry Baba, must have posted this a second too late!

Posted on: Text Messages

Don't feel bad wenjong. I had to read that one a few times too.

Edit: Actually, since the Chinese is " ... duanxin shuo, ni nu'er bing le," and the English translation is enclosed in quotation marks, shouldn't it be Your daughter?

Is the expression 'shenme shenme shuo' used for both direct and indirect quotes?

Posted on: Text Messages

Good point! Like early ticker tape. The dictionary says that tiáo can also be a "short note", besides being a measure word (but I'm not sure if the definition is referring to a "note" as in a message, or to a music "note"). Tiáo can also be an item; article; or clause. Maybe that's the connection.

Posted on: Awkward Silence

*ng* That's why I figure this should have been a video-podcast. We're just missing so much of the nuance ... the facial expressions, gestures etc. But maybe it's not too late. If C-Pod would be willing to sell the rights, I think this thing could be the next big hit. Maybe Tom Hanks could star. Or that volleyball. Or what was that movie? Lost in Translation. Didn't it have an elevator scene? Terminal had that escalator, but that's not going to work. Come to think of it, there was an elevator in Ghost Busters as well. I wonder if Harvey Weinstein might be interested ...?

Posted on: Awkward Silence

Probably needs a lesson for climbing the stairs, another for descending 呢?

Posted on: Awkward Silence

I'm wondering, then, if maybe it's one of those whacky 2 door elevators. I almost got lost in one of those things the other day.

Posted on: Awkward Silence

Sorry guys! I just don't get it. You say this zàijiàn means good-bye. But the characters are zài - again, or something and jiàn - see, or meet or whatever. So, what zàijiàn really means is till I see you again. So tell me John, or Dilu, what if I don't see this person again? Maybe she takes the stairs on her way out and I'm left standing there in the elevator looking like an idiot. Then what, huh? People lookin' at me. Saying I'm a liar. I dunno, you guys really blew it this time!

;)