User Comments - tvan
tvan
Posted on: Napkins, Facebook, and Ctrip -- What a Combination!
April 19, 2009 at 7:47 PMChuck Norris'/查克羅禮士的 Asian connection is that he was a bona-fide karate champion cum actor. This fight scene from Return of the Dragon w/ Bruce Lee launched him into stardom and is a classic of the early chop-socky movies, particularly from 7:00 on.
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 10: Lao Wang Plans to Sue
April 17, 2009 at 7:34 PMbodawei
"I'd like to know HOW I am being sworn at when I'm sworn at."
That's exactly the right attitude towards learning profanity, i.e. to know when and how you're being sworn at, not for swearing. I think that using profanity in context requires sublime fluency. It's too easy to give more offence than intended.
Or worse. Once I was angy at a group of train attendants and spouted out the best ocurses that I could come up with off-the-cuff. I was ready for a fight, but instead, they all started laughing... which really made me mad!
Posted on: How Many Zeroes?
April 15, 2009 at 3:47 AMvann000, Pete lies!!! ;-) However, if it makes you feel any better, many Chinese go through the same thing dealing with Western numbers, at least when spoken.
Posted on: Salt and Pepper
April 11, 2009 at 7:17 PMmlamps, Sichuan peppercorn is usually 花椒/hūajiāo/flower pepper. Sometimes it is also called 山椒/shānjiāo/mountain pepper.
Posted on: How Many Zeroes?
April 7, 2009 at 3:08 AMbababardwan, with the exception of 萬/万/Wàn (10,000) and 億/亿/Yì (100,000,000), simplified and traditional numbers are pretty much the same. (Don't know about 兆; I've never had to work with trillions in accounting.) I couldn't find any simplified versions of Calkins list above.
Speaking of accounting, this is a major headache for me.
Posted on: Hong Kong Visa Run
March 25, 2009 at 4:11 AMChrisstudent, why not? There is also a concept in Western culture that politics and religion/philosophy should not be discussed in polite society. This tends to make for very polite and very inane conversation. Personally, I feel that both are very important components of our lives that deserve passionate, open discussion.
And speaking of passionate, I don't let some a-hole politician in Malaysia/Singapore/PRC/U.S. tell me what I can and can't discuss. Likewise, if you have opinions on the U.S., by all means let 'er rip.
Posted on: Dog Meat and Animal Rights
March 23, 2009 at 7:03 PMThat brings a whole new meaning to the term, "Best of Breed."
Posted on: Dog Meat and Animal Rights
March 23, 2009 at 1:28 PMfrosty1, I've also eaten dog on numerous occasions. Like another poddie above, I had it in Southern China (Guangxi) and, for some reason, assumed that's where it was most popular. (Changye pointed out that error above.) The pooches I ate were roasted similar to Cantonese roast duck and hung out to air in an open market. They looked a bit like small pigs; you bought one and brought it to a nearby roadside stand that specialized in completing the meal. I'm not much of a fan of exotic meats, but I thought dog was quite tasty, especially the crispy skin/crust.
I guess we all draw a line somewhere. I once worked with a guy who was a fruitarian. He only ate plant products that didn't kill the plant, mostly nuts and fruit. I draw the line at monkey but, again, if I was living in an African rainforest with a starving family, that line would shift pretty quickly.
Posted on: How Long?
March 23, 2009 at 4:41 AMurbandweller, Cantonese pronunciation of 师父/師父sounds more like "she" fu, as in the English (not pinyin) "she." Did your school have Taiwanese? They frequently pronounce shi as si.
Posted on: Rise and Shine!
April 22, 2009 at 12:55 AM@joncui, the above is a give and take on some personal comments directed towards Pete by jevious. You're not missing anything.
However, to give some character learning without generating overload, 丑陋/chou3lou4 means ugly. 英国人/Ying1guo2ren2 means Englishman, so 丑陋的英国人 means ugly Englishman. It was used in context of Pete being a throwback to early Colonial-era English due to his photo posted earlier, which insulted all Chinese, which caused Pete to be a throwback to the Opium War-era colonials yada yada yada.
Anyway, hopefully jevious can start a new post and leave the Newbies to follow Xiaofan's advice: 大家不要吵架。 Da4jia1bu2yao4chao3jia4/ Come on everybody, quit arguing [and get back to studying Chinese].