User Comments - darylk
darylk
Posted on: Flowers and Bugs
March 9, 2008 at 6:01 PMLoved this lesson. As an avid gardener, I love bugs--they eat other bugs and keep the garden healthy. In my humble opinion, there's no such thing as a good "clean" garden.
Posted on: MSN and QQ
March 4, 2008 at 5:33 AMAccording to Wikipedia: "The original name of QQ was OICQ (believed to have meant either Open ICQ or Oh, I seek you)." It was changed b/c of possible trademark violations.
Posted on: Bank Hours
February 25, 2008 at 1:35 AMThanks for clarifying, Jenny, the usage of shang ban. I never knew that it can also mean "open for business"! Thanks, too, for looking into the vocabulary issue.
Posted on: Bank Hours
February 24, 2008 at 5:23 PM银行周末要上班吗？ (Is the bank open on the weekend? I think the Chinese is incorrect--shouldn't this read "kai men"? not "shang ban"?
Posted on: Bank Hours
February 24, 2008 at 4:34 PMIs it possible to hack a cpoddie's vocabulary list? I think mine has been hacked. The definitions in English have been replaced by German. For example, "you" no longer says "have" but rather "haben." Is anyone else having a similar problem?
Posted on: The Fourth Tone
February 7, 2008 at 5:17 AMWhere was the slow mo? That's been my favorite part of the tone lessons. I4 felt4 a4 bit4 deprived4 (just joking!)
Posted on: Whatever...
February 5, 2008 at 4:00 PMJenny, kudos to you for an extremely imaginative lesson. I never would have thought of doing a non-conversation. The pop song was great as well. I've been listening to a lot of Chinese pop and generally find it impenetrable. At the same time, I know that there is a lot of repetition in the pop lyrics. Maybe you could do a lesson (elementary or intermediate) on the top 10 phrases heard in Chinese pop songs!
Posted on: The Third Tone
February 3, 2008 at 2:07 PMI find that telling myself stories is very useful for remembering the characters. I second another user's recommendation of the new Matthews book published by Tuttle for learning to write and read characters. However, when it comes to pronunciation, I find that the best way to learn to say the words is simply to play the chinesepod recordings over and over again and to imitate many times. For me it's crucial to learn a word's sound correctly from the very start. I find it hard to correct my speech errors once they've taken hold.
Posted on: The DVD Ploy
January 30, 2008 at 3:22 PMEnjoyed this lesson. Here's another ploy that men seem to think works in cold climates. Woman sits in coffee shop. Man brings over a single mitten (which he carries around his pocket as a pickup prop). Man says to woman: I found this beautiful mitten. is it yours? Woman says "no." Not sure how the guy thinks this ploy is going to develop past this point but I swear that it was a common one at my university.
Posted on: How have you been?
March 10, 2008 at 3:14 AMInteresting that the character for "busy" seems literally to mean "lost your heart." What a great and deep way to think about the busy-ness that always threatens to distract us from the most important things in life.