User Comments - tiaopidepi

Posted on: I Want This

The best film about 旗袍 (qí páo, Mandarin dresses) is 花样年华 (huā yàng nián huà, In the Mood for Love) by 王家卫 (Wáng Jīa Wèi, better known in English as Wong Kar Wai.) People claim this movie is about unrequited love between 张曼玉 (Zhāng Màn Yù, a.k.a. Maggie Cheung or "the most beautiful Chinese actress ever") and 梁朝伟 (Liáng Cháo Wěi, a.k.a. Tony Leung or "not so bad looking himself".) In truth, this film is about 旗袍. Maggie wears a different dress in every scene which lends a sense of inpermanence to the few emotions that she does reveal. Toward the end of the film she wears a dress that she wore near the beginning--the only time she repeats her wardrobe. Maybe this is a hint that despite her long journey she has ended up in the same place she started.

The panda joke was funny but I find pirate jokes funnier. 哈儿哈儿哈儿!

Posted on: Olympic Excitement

NBC Olympics (http://www.nbcolympics.com) will have streaming video available in the US but they're delaying the broadcast until it's already been shown on TV. The videos are shown in very high quality--some even HD 1080i. I've watched the gymnastics practice and a soccer game already and they're very good quality.

Before prime-time tonight, however, I'll have to rely on the links you've provided me here. It's amazing and sad how such an amazing non-professional event ended up with so many "digital rights" associated with it.

Posted on: Microsoft

"Microsoft" is a contraction of "microcomputer" and "software". Computers of the size which we all used today were called "microcomputers" when they were first invented. This helped to differentiate them from "minicomputers" which were the size of a "Mini Cooper". OK, I'm lying, they weren't that big. But if you took out the electronics from inside Yao Min could comfortably stand in the empty box.

"Minicomputers" were called "mini" because at the time they were invented, a computer would have a hard time fitting on a Shanghai subway car. When no one else is on the car, that is. For those of you who can't actually picture an empty subway car in Shanghai, a "mainframe" computer was big.

Other notes:

1. Taiwan and the PRC have different words for almost every technical term I can think of.

2. When I saw Steve Ballmer talk last year in Beijing (at the People's Hall, no less!), he was introduced as "Steve Ballmer". Thankfully, no one tried to translate his name into something silly like 四体我  巴哦马儿.

3. Changye, everyone is well aware of how software is sold in China. As you note, it's sometimes a charitable gesture to produce Chinese-language software. But we still produce it. And in my opinion, it's profitable to make Chinese-language software if you don't measure profits only in dollars.

Posted on: Microsoft

And you almost met someone who works for Microsoft in Redmond, John, expect that you sometimes take long lunches. I stopped by the old (scary) studios on December 12th last year but your whole crew was still at the noodle shop well into the early afternoon : )

I'll visit Microsoft Shanghai again one day and I'll make sure to stop by the new offices when you're not at lunch. Unfortunately, I have little free time when I'm there...Microsoft keeps us very, very busy. It takes a long time to make really profitable evil.

Posted on: Fat Camp

@sturawl: I have had a fine education, thank you, as has had eyux, who noted the irony in my post.

My point is not that Americans literally invented television, automobiles, or fast food. It is merely that we have raised this life of leisure to an art form. I posted to highlight the misconception that all Americans are fat and lazy whereas residents of other nations are helplessly falling prey to America's nasty influence.

Americans certainly did not invent obesity though we have quite a bit of it. Many people have fat around their bellies. Others have fat between their ears.

PS: The first patent on television, according to Wikipedia, was also by a German. I've always thought it was the Scotsman who invented television but it turns out my education may be suspect after all.

Posted on: Fat Camp

In all discussions of why Americans are fat when the rest of the world is thin, I tend to think back to a diet book published some time ago called French Women Don't Get Fat. I've been to Paris and seen their McDonalds packed with French women. And guess what? French women do get fat.

Americans' reputation comes from our status as the leading post-industrial nation. We invented fast food, automobiles and television. But the rest of the world is quickly catching up to our decadent lifestyle.

Posted on: Internet is Down

I remember when computers were slow. I would start compiling (something that took an hour or more) and go out for coffee with my friends. Then we got a better computer and we barely had time to sit back at our desks and chat with each other while the compiler churned away at our code.

Now computers are fast enough that nothing takes more than a couple of minutes. The computer demands all of my attention so I work alone. I don't even have time to scratch my poor cat behind the ears. If the internet does die it pretends to still be loading that page long enough to keep my eyes stuck on the screen.

When the internet goes down it should be interpreted as a blessing from the heavens. If your text messaging and phone service dies at the same time you should immediately go to a temple and demonstrate your gratitude.

Posted on: Instant Noodles

Ando Momofuku believed that the world would have peace if everyone had enough to eat.  He claimed this is why he dedicated his life to the instant noodle.

Of course, his family owned a salt factory : )

Posted on: China Fruit and Pre-Marital Sex

I really hope China doesn't become a degenerate nation like America. Americans are doing all kinds of disgusting things with fruit--cooking them down into jellies and jams, baking fruit pies, making fruit smoothies. And the fruits Americans eat are just not right! Blueberries, apples, cranberries...it's unimaginable! There are some people in America who believe tomatoes are a fruit!

Thank you, Amber, for daring to discuss such a controversial topic. I myself am not afraid to talk about fruit but I know that a lot of people on CPod are uncomfortable with the topic. I hope this page doesn't get blocked by the Great Firewall because of those explicit fruit pictures you posted. The ones near the top are OK but near the bottom where you show the fruits being undressed...it's scandalous!

Posted on: When is the meeting?

Yep, both ways are reasonable. Whatever helps you learn! I prefer CPod's method for the podcasts but I do "direct translation" with my textbook.