User Comments - RJ

Posted on: Essential Math Terms

I dont know what "maths" are (I feel like I have a speech impediment every time I try to pronounce this "maths" abomination.) but I would say they are just teaching to count by factors of 10: 10, 100, 1000, 10,000.

Back to maths. It is not plural. One doesn't say My majors are mathematics, you say my major is mathematics. It is a collective noun. Singular. Just like gymnastics. There are no gyms teachers.

I dont know why this one bothers me so much,. Usually I would just say oh yeah thats the way they say it over there, culturally sensitive guy that I am, but maths makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Does math hurt your ears as much as maths does mine? So much for we are all the same :-) So, are there any famous Aussie mathsmaticians?

http://www.word-detective.com/2011/05/04/math-vs-maths/

Posted on: Shopping for the Husband

Jesus, you guys are all over the map. Grambers made a general statement that made perfect sense to me. If you are going to pick it apart with a microscope at least stick to what he actually said. His comment was in reference to China's political view of itself as the center of the world and all other counties as outer barbarians. A well known issue over the centuries in dealing with China. A stance that they have kept in spite of much evidence to the contrary and it has cost them dearly. He is saying this is invalid and that we are all the same and points to the irony of the Olympic motto by a country that has obviously not heretofore felt this way and has made no apologies for it.

Grambers,

now you know why I avoid political arguments. The irony of the Olympic motto was not lost on me but I viewed it as a concession (progress) even if they didn't mean it, they said it, and in politics that has meaning. I don't care much how the Chinese govt views itself, the genie is out of the bottle now, and economic forces will drive the winds of change. I got your point but I'm not sure a shopping list taken from a Chinese lesson created by a company with a heavy Western slant is much proof of anything, but I also figured you got that as well. A bit tongue in cheek, but an excuse to make a point as it were.

btw- 例外论 is exceptionalism in Chinese, but Im not sure it would be used the same way you are using it. Below is the link to an article on exceptionalism written by a Chinese author that you might find interesting.

http://blog.foolsmountain.com/2008/07/20/chinese-exceptionalism-yili-he-renqing/

Bodawei- on arbitrary matters we are different, on a human level we are all the same. As countries, there is no manifest destiny. And no, I wouldn't like to make love to a chimpanzee (although you should be careful asking such questions these days.) The flip side of that tends to prove as humans, we are the same. Anyway the whole thread was worth the chuckle I got out of this one.

Where is Tal when you need him?

Posted on: How to Eat a Hairy Crab

I find the "friction" between John and Dilu quite entertaining and just good-natured ribbing between friends, although it also represents the emotions that live within all of us at some level. John dishes it out and Dilu holds her own in defense. Nothing was said with malice. I really enjoyed this lesson.

Posted on: Teaching Japanese Go

Thanks for following up on this Greg.

Posted on: Teaching Japanese Go

guolan,

thats funny.

Grambers,

I think Easily is a mistranslation but we will need some help with this one.

Posted on: Teaching Japanese Go

single minded infatuation. Infatuated with only one at a time, stays focused. I think.....

Posted on: How to Eat a Hairy Crab

Indeed, there is no accounting for taste but I tend to think that the widespread love of them in China is a partially learned response and that the concept of 正宗 is a total farce that has become part of the game. BTW- It is generally illegal to import, transport, or possess live Chinese hairy crabs in the United States, since here and in The EU they are considered an "invasive species". One man's invader is another man's delicacy. Actually I enjoy eating them myself, but it is a bit of an effort to do so.

Posted on: How to Eat a Hairy Crab

John,

You have described the 上海毛蟹 experience from a foreigner's perspective quite well. Lots of work, little benefit, but you do need to culture up a bit. The funny thing is that with all the concern about fake crabs, most are satisfied, like the guy in the lesson, when told they are authentic. Wanting to believe may be enough however, since even experts cant tell the difference in taste tests between crabs from different lakes. According to the recent NPR article below, very few crabs are born in lake Yangcheng anymore. They are all transplants and "authenticity" depends on how long they spend in Yangcheng lake. Evidently even 3 months is enough. These short-timers are called 洗澡蟹。So the next time you find yourself immersed in the Chinese glow surrounding hairy crabs, you can derive some satisfaction from knowing they are probably fake, (100,000 tons of "authentic" Yangcheng crabs were sold last year but only 15,000 tons were harvested from lake Yangcheng.) and even if they are "real", they are probably fake.

Psst, want to buy some hairy crabs?

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/10/141134793/somethings-fishy-about-chinese-hairy-crabs

Posted on: Clearing the Table

something like "again/also grab a few napkins and come over/bring over.

Posted on: A Month in Recovery and Being Civilized

Passion

The word at 1206 is "constitution". As used here it means the general state of one's health.

1731- an old Hen. (woman).