User Comments - auntie68
auntie68
Posted on: What is a Chengyu?
April 17, 2008 at 2:50 AMMaking such comments openly, in public, means that they can be responded to -- within normal "BB" bounds of decency --, by my peers, who are free to deflate them, lampoon them, refute them, poke fun at them, or even agree with them. If my comments are about a non-issue, they will simply be buried under more important posts coming after them. Having said that, I can see how a learner might feel short-changed if the comments threads are cluttered by comments which aren't directly relevant to lessons/ studying Chinese.
Posted on: What is a Chengyu?
April 17, 2008 at 2:38 AMHello. I've just been mildly (and politely) scolded by CPOD for leaving "extra comments contributing to disruptive discussion that doesn't help other learners" instead of only e-mailing my comments directly and discreetly to them, but heck: I do agree with dave and azerdocmom. Nothing against Aric. Maybe it's my age talking. But CPOD is already so fundamentally cool that I find myself wondering whether you actually need sarcasm or a "cool DJ" style to underline that coolness. Irony is not a quality that translates that well into different languages and cultures, anyway. I've recommended CPOD to friends who appreciate the very broad and deep -- and friendly -- Mandarin teaching offered by CPOD, and the feedback is that they absolutely love the content (and Jenny and John and Ken and Connie and the voice actors) but the "coolness" does make it difficult for, say, a China-based CEO to listen to and enjoy podcasts openly without worrying that his Chinese staff or the company driver are going to snicker at him because of the cool intros. I know -- instantly - that this is going to go down the wrong way, no matter how I try to frame it, but I just want to say, these people are not "full" of themselves, they are not people taking themselves too seriously on a normal day, it's just that the "coolness" can be obtrusive. Sometimes it seems forced.
Posted on: 钻石
April 17, 2008 at 12:24 AMThanks, changye!
Posted on: What is a Chengyu?
April 16, 2008 at 9:48 AMhenning, I think goulniky was referring to a "Long-Playing record", the vinyl kind (I think the earlier versions were made from something like bakelite or vulcanite, which was normally black).
Posted on: 钻石
April 16, 2008 at 9:43 AMThank you lujiaojie!
Posted on: Haircuts
April 16, 2008 at 9:41 AMIf you are speaking Singapore-style, you can lose the "-人". You're a 榴莲头! It sounds even better in Cantonese -- laao4leen2taao6 (or 3-2-3 in hanyu pinyin tones)!!!
Posted on: 钻石
April 16, 2008 at 9:34 AMHi wildyaks. I'm not a native speaker, but my (loose) understanding of that phrase, in the context, was, "Well, it's not as if diamonds ever mugged you or put a gun to your head and said, "Buy me or else!". Implying - "So what's your problem with diamonds?" The word 招惹 means to provoke, take on, engage in a challenging way... I think.
Posted on: Haircuts
April 16, 2008 at 8:33 AMIn Singapore, the "slang" name for a buzz cut/ crew cut in Chinese is: 榴莲头 (liu2lian2tou2; "durian heat") after that spiky fruit which is almost exactly the size and shape and weight as a human head. I heard of the smell of durians being described as: "a camembert and a munster forgotten in a sewer". Perhaps that's the reason why you don't see many of them on supermarket shelves outside Southeast Asia.
Posted on: 钻石
April 16, 2008 at 6:41 AMP/s: I apologize for being so 罗嗦. I am excessively fascinated by the dramatic way in which everyday life can change in a tiny, new, artificial country, within the space of only one or two lifetimes. Today, Orchard Road and Scotts Road are the heart of Singapore's shopping belt; in the 1930s, no taxi (very rare) or trishaw would accept to take somebody to Scotts Road after dark, because it was mainly jungle, there was no street lighting, and there were... too many tigers.
Posted on: 澳洲总理秀中文
April 17, 2008 at 4:41 AMdaixiong, derek -- I don't know if Australians are aware of the very hopeful and positive feelings which Kevin Rudd has won for your country across Southeast Asia. Sure, there is nervousness (especially in Muslim states used to being lectured at by PM Howard) that Australia might get too cosy with China, but basically, the feeling here on the ground where I am (in Singapore) is that finally the Australians have earned themselves a PM who will do justice to the immense amount of good which Australia already has been, and IS doing in SE Asia. Your guys were among the first to arrive in Aceh after the terrible Boxing Day Tsunami, with all the right kinds of help: substantial amounts of money (not only promises), truly generous allocations of your own military equipment that you devoted to civil reconstruction and disaster relief, and an incredible amount of civil society help. This will never be forgotten. I always thought that this historic contribution by your country was never been recognized enough, perhaps now you have a PM whose choice of words won't distract from such real contributions.