User Comments - bababardwan

Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 11: Wang in the Doghouse

suxiaoya,

How does that work though? Does it notify you if there are any subsequent comments in the thread,or does it notify you if there are comments in the thread addressed to oneself ? Also,I presume it notifies via the email that one used when originally subscribing.Is it possible to change that email address without affecting subscription?

Posted on: Tea Tasting

To whit I think the only expression in Pete's translations I wasn't totally familiar with [just goes to show how much American culture we Aussies have been exposed to...they do call the last 100years the American century after all ]  was "busting my hump" but I thought context made it pretty clear what it meant and I greatly enjoy coming across new expressions like that.I agree with what RJ said on the other thread.I want both literal and idiomatic and personally think both are important.The rollovers give the literal and Pete gives the idiomatic so I feel I have the best of both worlds.I think it's best to keep the translations brief and to the point how they are and not go into a long winded diatribe about different translation possibilities there.Surely having these discussion tabs is the perfect place [in fact one of the main points of having it] to further elucidate translation meaning where it has been unclear and also to look at different interpretations around the world.I think such discussions can then also reinforce the vocab and enrich our understanding.But I can't fault/question Pete's method here.

Posted on: Tea Tasting

Miantiao,

I knew that one and nearly posted the answer,but then I thought nah too obvious,it's probably a Chinese version of the joke.On reflection,maybe it's more of a Queensland joke.

Thinkbuddha,

So that's still going on? I remember as a kid a classic thing from English culture was a little old lady sitting some troubled person down [ "luv" ] to discuss things over a cuppa

Posted on: Tea Tasting

The last line of the dialogue reminded me of that old joke,where A would respond with something like:

吁，吁；现在大家要虫子

。。but from the podcast and this comments section I see that it's commonplace,so even less of a joke.

lotsofwordsandnospaces,

I did lol at your post about the overheard convo.Somehow I could hear Billy Connolly coming out with something like that.

As for tea cooling you down,I thought the theory went something like it was just a small amount of heat,but enough to trigger off your body's cooling mechanisms..such as a subtle sweat.Not much first hand experience at this as I'm not much of a tea drinker,but definitely didn't miss the opportunity to go to a tea ceremony in Taiwan and bring some 乌龙茶 home.I think if I went to China I would definitely get into it.I also had some of the Chrysanthemum tea and quite enjoyed it.At least I think that's what it was .This flower opened up like a bath bomb.Quite a little spectacle happening in that cup.Don't recall any bugs though.

Posted on: Funny Rice

RJ,

Oh well;good on ya for giving it a go.Still you got some practice/interaction and a great riddle out of it.Maybe try it on some pre teen kids.They're usually much more fun with that sort of thing I reckon.

Raygo,a1pi2

one with everything/change from within...great joke.

guo2bao3

"May be because she was shocked to discover that Mrs Flower had more than one child !"

...that's very funny.

Posted on: Xinjiang Delicacies

Taklamakan desert here [marked with C ]

Hehe,a new romantic twist,but will she end up looking like a stalker if she follows him to other provinces,or will she turn out to be an undercover agent ?

Yeah,it's great getting all the cultural and historical background.A bit of something for everyone in this.

Posted on: Funny Rice

raygo,

Keep those Chinese medical student's joke's coming.

Posted on: Funny Rice

RJ,

'Course I'm not suggesting that one swallow makes a summer;in general I don't go for generalising.Everyone is individual after all,but it can be interesting observing trends within a culture.Anyhow,I had a lot of fun with it so yeah,'ave a go mate...I hope you get a laugh..or at least break some ice. :) Yeah,can't wait to get your update on it.

ps I didn't push my luck and try my earlier above lame attempt at a pun[I'm obv not Mr Squiggles of the joke world].The good atmosphere may have suddenly died,hehe.

Posted on: Blow out Your Candles

shenyajin,

That's really helpful seeing how a character can turn up in different words and then example sentences.Xiexie.I have a much better feel for xu2 now.I'd love to see more of this cross referencing of characters.

Posted on: Funny Rice

CPod,

Thankyou so much for this joke.Raygo's second post on this thread rang true at the time [not that I would doubt him..always full of great insights...it just seemed familiar somehow] but his:

"but I've noticed that Chinese people generally delight in word-play."

...has just been verified on my end now having just come from trying it on some local Chinese.They loved it.They were right into it from the start.After asking the initial 你说；大米的妈妈是谁。。they stopped me in my tracks as they excitedly tried to remember the answer.They came up with 爆米花 [popcorn...saying it had something to do with grandmother...can anyone explain where they were coming from?] ，which I though was close but could only think of saying 差不多。When I told them the answer the seemed to think it was hilarious and also seemed to ring some bells.Such delightful people.Let's have more of these jokes.I enjoy them for what they are and they've proven to be a great way to relate.