January 2011
84 posts
Life at the Houser-Scott house
Dad: WALK! WALK! THAT'S A WALK!
Mom: What? Are you going for a walk?
Dad: No, [some team playing against UW] just travelled! *long sigh* What has become of the game of basketball??
Mom: I notice you're still watching, so you haven't given up on the sport yet.
Dad: No...I still have hope that one day it will return to its roots.
Primero Hay Que Aprender Español. Ranhou Zai Xue... →
This article manages to be both really cheesy and stupid and also true and insightful.
Cheesy and stupid:
“The standard way to ask somebody a question in Chinese is “qing wen,” with the “wen” in a falling tone. That means roughly: May I ask something? But ask the same “qing wen” with the “wen” first falling and then rising, and it means roughly: May I have a kiss?
That’s probably why...
Uyghur Student Sentenced to Death →
This is absolutely tragic.
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in...”
– Eisenhower on the Opportunity Cost of Defense Spending (via wilwheaton)
December 2010
84 posts
In which my mom's patience with my love of China...
Me: Ni ku zhe dui wo shuo, tong hua li dou shi pian ren de--
Mom: What are you singing, the Chinese national anthem?
Me: No, a cheesy pop song from a few years ago.
Mom: I wish you would sing a human rights anthem.
Time for a Drink: the Michelada | Serious Eats :... →
I was introduced to THIS tonight, and I wondered why I hadn’t encountered it before. I see many of these in my future.
Villager’s Suspicious Death Ignites Fury in China... →
This is really, really tragic. I know that it highlights the problem of local—rather than national—corruption, but this kind of corruption is made possible by the lack of accountability structures and a system based solely on maintaining state power rather than behaving in a transparent or just way. While the government accepts some criticism of these local incidents, because it...
Dear Beijing,
I miss you already.
Beijing sneers at Vatican’s ‘dangerous’ complaints... →
Sleep...
…How I miss you, and yearn for the day when we can be as close as we once were.
Citic to build Beijing's tallest building | China... →
Because this is just what Beijing needs—a taller building.
Quick China Note:
Today’s hanzi (writing) class lesson—from the textbook—was about Sun Yatsen. Among other things, I learned that he did not like spicy food. Or bananas. And that all Chinese have always honored his memory (except for those long portions of recent history wherein anyone with any KMT connections was persecuted) (not that I am a big KMT or Chang Kai-shek fan, obv). This is a...
In Syracuse, They Let It Snow - NYTimes.com →
My first thought was—I hope it gets buried. My second thought was, I will really miss Christmases there, and I will miss his parents. They were lovely, generous and loving. I will miss playing with Cody (their dog) in the snow. I will miss dominoes and drinking cheap beers, and the way they would always stock up on diet cokes when we were coming. I will miss Christmas cookies that were...
E-Mail Use Falls as Young Chat and Text -... →
I actually think that this is a BAD sign*; it’s an example of progress not necessarily being a good thing, which probably means I’m not cool, though I already knew that. Here’s why: email replaced letters, which means you send something instantly, which may not be as thought out or words weighed as carefully (likely not as well written, either)—I have certainly, this very...
Some books I want
Rachel Anderson (past mentor/past and current role-model: formerly of the BFJN, now working for fair lending practices and being a mother in D.C.) brought this book to my attention: Blessed are the Organzed: Grassroots Democracy in America, by Jeffrey Stout, which is a study of IAF groups. Having worked with an IAF affiliate in Boston, I am especially interested in this work, especially as I...
Books of the Year: Page turners | The Economist →
A lot of China on this list! Oh yeah, also other people and places existing and doing worthwhile and momentous things. But, it is worth noting that China takes up a good portion of the list.
Jottings from the Granite Studio →
Back to my series on my favorite (and most important) China blogs, this one is great! An PhD student in Chinese history on Chinese current events in historical context.
Oh, young adulthood, tame gchat convo edition:
annascott206: sometimes I miss being out of control
jessben: hahahah
jessben: i was hoping to find some pics of us at antico. oh wait actually there was one. but we were fat
annascott206: hahaha
jessben: but you are drinking out of a wine bottle
annascott206: oh, man, so classy
jessben: and we're like standing in front of the oven where we're not supposed to be
annascott206: we owned that place
“There are those who don’t understand our tryst,
Seeing thick nasty smog, turns...”
– Cup of Cha || An Ode to Beijing’s Brown Air
Now go read the rest of the poem! So true!
What were China’s top stories in 2010? - China... →
Did a commentary on this, then accidentally erased it. Too annoyed by this fact to try to recover gist from the foggy recesses of my brain. For now, here’s what you need to know: this article reproduces the China Daily newspaper’s list of Top 10 China News Stories of 2010 and then offers its own list of top stories, which have all been huge here and abroad, while not one appeared in...
WatchWhite News Anchorwoman’s Fluent Chinese Shames Many Netizens - chinaSMACK
One day my Chinese will be like this…only I will not become an anchorwoman for state T.V.
Chinese cities are surrounded by mountains of... →
SICKSICKSICKSICKSICK!!!!!!
China Digital Times (CDT) China Fishing Boat... →
This cannot bode well for, well, anyone.
Not Without My Tom Ashbrook...
Dear Chinese government,
I find it mildly suspicious and intensely annoying that I can download every other podcast episode in the world EXCEPT the episode of On Point with Tom Ashbrook about China and the Nobel. Maybe I am being paranoid, but it is a remarkable coincidence, especially since I have tried about 10 times, and the episodes before and after in my queue [yes, that’s right,...
Friend-tested funny China story
Nothing particularly eye-catching on the China blogs recently, although I could be missing it. But this does not mean absurdity has abated. Here is a story that made a sad friend laugh tonight:
Last night, after the Hutong School Christmas party, a massive group of us—decked out in Santa hats—headed over to Latte, a club favored by my roommate because it is “like a massive...
Let It Dough! - NYTimes.com →
Have I told you how much I love Christoph Niemann? Here, we have the creation story, told with cookie dough; the similarities with the traditional narrative end after the first frame, but the creative use of sprinkles and cookie cutters do not (end). Here is slide one—but, do yourself a favor, click on the link above, and check out the whole thing. (And, while you’re on the Times...
In Case You Were Wondering...
Today I wrote a little “about me” section for this little blog, and included in it a reference to my new life plan, so I thought I would explain myself here, in case you were interested in the details. Until the time I left for Beijing, I was an M.Div. (Masters in Divinity—the degree you get if you plan on going into pastoral ministry, not a degree to master divinity, in general)...
China Daily Show →
New favorite China website—have NO idea how they get away with this. Either have routed it through 500 IP addresses or are outside the country but with excellent knowledge of the culture/current events. Incredible!
WWJD? Something Different Than Papa Bear - The... →
“But being a Christian, I know that while Jesus promoted charity at the highest level, he was not self-destructive. The Lord helps those who help themselves. Does he not?” -Bill O’Reilly
*SIGH*
ATTN: Bill O’Reilly—just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean that you can go around making ludicrous, extra-biblical claims about Christianity. Membership in a...
I think James Fallows appreciates the same things...
“Yes, I know, you could have a “serious” reaction on several levels to the news clip below. But as soon as I saw it I burst out laughing and thought, “That’s what I miss!” When living in China I would see things like this every day. It’s from a report in the Economist on Chinese-Saudi relations and tensions, including Chinese companies building a...
“Yesterday I mentioned what I thought was an amusing but crude hoax: a story out...”
– OK, It Seems the Panda-Men Are Real - James Fallows - International - The Atlantic
Public Radio International: Reporter’s notebook:... →
This series is supposed to be amazing. Have heard it praised to the skies on one of my favorite things ever, the Sinica Podcast on current events in China, hosted by Pop Up Chinese, to which you should already be subscribed, if you care about China and, thus, the future of the world.
publicradiointernational:
by Mary Kay Magistad
Going down a coal mine may not be at the top of your list of fun...
OK, in case you weren't going to follow the link...
…here is my favorite excerpt, especially coming from Regent College, where we talk until we’re blue in the face about “engaging culture”:
The problem with all of this, however, is that it’s based on a faulty premise. All this talk about engaging culture and being missionaries to your culture is a contradiction of terms, and, I believe, is why evangelicals tend to lose...
The Absurdity of Mark Driscoll's "Cultural... →
Wonderful, insightful article by Fitz, over at Patrol. Check it.
Cold*
I am moving my perpetual “live” complaining about the cold, directed at friends (and strangers) here to “virtual” complaining about the cold (sorry, this doesn’t mean I’m going to stop complaining aloud as well). I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO COLD IN MY LIFE. 我所有的生活没有感觉这样冷！(proper grammar? don’t know, don’t care).
In case, like Lars Wall, you have no concept...
Really, weather underground?
I think that the notice, “today is forecast to be much warmer than yesterday,” sort of loses all meaning when today’s forecast does not include the temperature cracking the freezing mark.
