User Comments - darylk
darylk
Posted on: The 80/20 Rule
August 28, 2008 at 4:19 PMI was rather surprised by the appearance of li4qi4 or "physical strength" in this context. Isn't the project manager really using her brainpower or creativity to solve these business problems?Why then is it "physical efforts to be directed in the right place?"
Posted on: Language Power Struggle
August 26, 2008 at 3:35 AMGreat lesson. John puts it well: One can really empathize with the party who wants to learn English but one also wants to pursue one's own Chinese studies. I sometimes strike a balance by trying to insist on speaking Chinese while in China but then helping Chinese academics with their written English. Since I"m not focused at this point on learning to write Chinese characters,this strategy seems like a pretty fair bargain. Then if I'm really feeling strong,I try to explain in Mandarin to my Chinese colleagues why their English usage is either correct or not correct--but that's a pretty hard thing to do!
Posted on: The Panda's Secret Wish
August 12, 2008 at 11:11 PMKe ai de! The vocabulary regarding wishes/yearnings is great and I loved the gentle tone of this story. Perhaps there is some pathos in the xiong mao's face--a touch of adult sadness in a body that somehow seems to belong to an overgrown kid. That's why this joke would not work if you substituted a zebra wanting to get rid of its stripes for the panda.
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 1: A New Manager
June 23, 2008 at 5:53 PMLots of useful vocab in this lesson. I, too, recall Wu Gang and Zhao Jianguo complaining about Wang Laoban in an earlier lesson. Maybe they're discovering "better the devil you know than the one you've not yet met"! Maybe the new boss will try to fire them but then discover under China's new labor law that his hands are tied.
Posted on: China Fruit and Pre-Marital Sex
June 21, 2008 at 4:06 AMI'm not sure about how bashful the Chinese are when it comes to sex. I've had young Taiwanese students ask me about tops and bottoms in America. They seemed to know more than I do.
Regarding an earlier Dear Amber: I would echo the caution re buying jia de/fake designer goods in China and then bringing them home. I believe that France has a new law imposing severe penalties on anyone caught at the airport with reproductions of French goods (hermes, vuitton, dior, etc.)--fines and maybe even prosecution. It doesn't matter whether you bought the goods in good faith, were given them as gifts, etc. If you've got 'em in your possession, you're in trouble.
Posted on: Pageant Final Episode
June 3, 2008 at 12:25 AMWhat a good series. I'm sort of sorry to hear it come to an end. But at least JiaJia does not seem to have suffered any permanent damage in this brush with fame.
Can't wait to hear what the next lower intermediate series will be!
Posted on: Gifts Chinese People Like and 'Chinatomy' Premiere!
May 27, 2008 at 5:37 PMBTW, if you have maple syrup and you want to use it in a meat dish, here's a maple mustard chicken thighs recipe you might like.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_50909,00.html
Posted on: Gifts Chinese People Like and 'Chinatomy' Premiere!
May 27, 2008 at 5:04 PMOther gift ideas that I've found were "hits":
1. those itty-bitty booklights
2. Book bungees from Levenger
3. High quality extra-small T-shirts from the Gap. They may be made in China but my Shanghainese friends say they are of much better quality than what they can get at reasonable prices in Shanghai.
4. Jalapeno jelly--good on roasted pork.
5. those colorful luggage straps that go over blackbags to make your luggage stand out.
6. Makeup and perfume are not so popular in my experience with women over 40. Food is a better bet.
7. Game UNO if you can teach your friends how to play it. Otherwise, they may have trouble with the instructions in English.
Thanks for the great ideas re dried berries, razors, scented candles
Posted on: Taipei
May 23, 2008 at 3:42 AMI lived near Shilin night market for a summer. These night markets really come alive only at night. I ate pretty much everything but was warned by locals to be careful about the shaved ice--not always so sanitary. My Taiwanese friend, in fact, got really sick after eating some of the ice at this particular night market. So may be best to stick with cooked foods. 101 is pretty amazing. The "0" in the number on the building is in the shape of a Chinese coin. I recommend Googling to get a close-up of the architecture of 101 so you can appreciate some of these nice design touches.
Posted on: Keys, Wallet, Phone
September 11, 2008 at 2:29 AMNice useful patterns in this lesson. A bit tough doing the exercises because some parts of them seem to be in simplified characters and other portions use the complex versions. Perhaps there's been a mistake?