Eye luv skool.

Sure, you are a member of a championship team… But your t-shirt says you’re an idiot!

You see what happens when you give out scholarships for non-academic purposes?

One saving grace… the misspelling of "Virginia" could have been much worse.

Let me pose a few questions…

If Nazi Germany had not killed non-Arian’s, and Imperial Japan had not killed non-Japanese; but instead:

… separated them.
… not allowed them to be German/Japanese citizens.
… only allowed a certain number of them into the country.
… not allowed them the same benefits as German/Japanese citizens.
… mandated regulations to specifically treat them differently.
… generally, indirectly, propagate the idea that they are not as good as German/Japanese.

Would that have been ok?

What is the difference between:

1) Forcibly creating a one race society and teaching that your race is better.
2) Creating a one race society and teaching pride in that one race society.

Is it intention? If the result is the same… what difference is there really?

Would South Africa been “better” had, instead of Apartheid, they simply moved blacks out of South Africa?

Along the same lines… Would Australia’s history been acceptable had they just carted aborigines out on boats?

Was early America correct in moving Native Americans into reservations?

When Pearl Harbor happened, was choosing the lesser of two evils, and placing Japanese Americans into concentration camps, the "right" thing to do?

Would slavery been more “appropriate” had they just used enough slaves for their purpose, and allowed them to be self managing, in separate areas?

And now… my final question.

Why is it that China does not have citizenship procedures or naturalized citizenship laws for non-Chinese (race)?

*whistling and rolling my eyes as if to pretend I didn't just do that*

I wonder what is the mainland’s stance is on those non-Chinese who are citizens of Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau?

Shaving Sleek Skin Flavored Juice

Can someone please explain this to me? It was in my BeiJing hotel room, when I returned from the U.S.

SHAVING SLEEK SKIN FLAVORED JUICE

I’m not sure if I am supposed to shave with it, or drink it while eating someone’s liver and fava beans.

I’ve told my students this before… Go to the companies, show them their errors, and hand them your resume. If the company can get over losing face, see that they look foolish and could save/make money, you will get a job.

They really need to get on the ball in BeiJing, if they want to fix this before the Olympics. I believe the main supermarket still has the old “F*ck the Fresh Fruit Section”. (But, it IS in a FRENCH supermarket. Maybe I’m scolding the wrong people on this one... I mean... who knows what the French do with fresh fruit.)

I’m not saying “MORE ENGLISH”, I’m saying… if you are going to use it, try hiring a qualified employee who knows English, and don’t just sell the job to the highest bidder, or give it to a party member, 二奶, or relative.

Yet another one...

Another year older, thank goodness I don’t look the same.


I started to get some e-mail about my 20 year high school reunion. Since this song came out at the beginning of my senior year, and since the words strike a chord with me, I thought I would include it on the post.




Like a Rock
Bob Seger

Stood there boldly
Sweatin’ in the sun
Felt like a million
Felt like number one
The height of summer
I'd never felt that strong
Like a rock

I was eighteen
Didn’t have a care
Working for peanuts
Not a dime to spare
But I was lean and
Solid everywhere
Like a rock

My hands were steady
My eyes were clear and bright
My walk had purpose
My steps were quick and light
And I held firmly
To what I felt was right
Like a rock

Like a rock, I was strong as I could be
Like a rock, nothin’ ever got to me
Like a rock, I was something to see
Like a rock

And I stood arrow straight
Unencumbered by the weight
Of all these hustlers and their schemes
I stood proud, I stood tall
High above it all
I still believed in my dreams

Twenty years now
Where’d they go?
Twenty years
I don’t know
Sit and I wonder sometimes
Where they’ve gone

And sometimes late at night
When I’m bathed in the firelight
The moon comes callin’ a ghostly white
And I recall
Recall

Like a rock. standin’ arrow straight
Like a rock, chargin’ from the gate
Like a rock, carryin’ the weight
Like a rock

Like a rock, the sun upon my skin
Like a rock, hard against the wind
Like a rock, I see myself again
Like a rock


I just want to go back to a time in my life where I can get away with drawing a picture like this, without being put into a mental facility. (This was hanging up at the KFC in the center of the city.)

Timing

It's never a good idea to take a day trip, the day of the largest winter storm in over 60 years...

I'm stuck in ShenYang until the 7th... when trains and buses start running again.

我想妈妈。

我很怀念她。。。

*Sigh* ignorance is bliss…

Since I arrived in China, the constant stream of propaganda has done many things for me, but the biggest thing it has done, is to enlighten me on the propaganda that my own country sometimes dishes out. (Although a lot less blatant, and on a much smaller scale than China.)

But, these past few weeks, a few things have popped up that have caught my eye…

First, what did VP Dick Cheney say in response to the UK pulling troops out of Iraq? Why, he said it was a sign that things were working.

*shaking head in utter astonishment*

Then, old Kim Yong Nam, #2 in the DPRK, came out and said that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was a dying wish of their founding leader Kim Il Sung, and that the DPRK was making efforts to realize that wish.

*shaking head in utter astonishment*

Talk about spinning things.

Go Go Gadget…

Yes, it’s “Gadget Time” for Kyle.

I finally decided it was time to retire “Old Blue”, my Panasonic G-51 mobile phone:


I replaced it with a JinPeng (金鹏) E-1129:


I had not had any “major” problems with the Panasonic, but it was getting old. Every so often, the screen would turn purple and I’d have to beat on it to get it working right. But overall it was a nice phone, just old.

I was walking through one of the major department stores in town, when I stopped to look at the phones. I usually don’t buy anything at the department stores, as they are always overpriced, and there is no haggling with them. (That last statement plays an important part in my purchase.)

After looking at a few, I noticed the JinPeng phone and asked to look at it. It had MP3, MP4, Camera w/video, and it came with its own 128M T-Flash card. It was priced at 799元, which wasn’t very high (JinPeng is not “quality” brand). This is when something interesting happened.

My rudimentary Chinese skills actually PAID OFF for me. I tried to tell the lady I was not interested in MP4, and asked if she had one that was cheaper, without MP4. She misunderstood me and thought I was trying to haggle with her…

Let me reiterate… everyone knows there is NO haggling at the two department stores in town; they mark them, and the price does not drop.

She looked at me, sighed, and said “699元"; when I asked which one, she handed the same phone back to me. Well, after making sure there was no misunderstanding, I bought the phone.

I decided to take my “savings” of 100元 and go buy myself a 1G T-Flash card.

After I bought my last gadget, my scooter, I gave my bicycle to the old watchman who works on the fourth floor. I think it was only fair to give my old mobile phone to the lady who works there during the day. She does not have one, but she has a primary school aged daughter, and I think it would server the mother well to have something to keep in contact with family whenever she can.