I no sum of u don't consider this BBQ,
but it b th best we have in Dongguan:)
4th of July left ovrs ........
b opn from China?
X-strait flights?
RMB/NTD xchange?
What this Asia coming 2 .......
Billionaires, Swiming pools & movie stars .......
The Chief
Thanks to all you drinkers for coming out to the brewery in Wu Re last Saturday for my going away gathering. A drunk time was had by all.
I'll post some pics later when the kids are sleeping.
As for our last couple of nights in Taichung, we'll be on Soho St with the kids Sunday night round 6 for some pizza and final farewells.
Tonight, I don't know what's happening. Probably some preliminary packing. Some vodka too.
I don't have anyone's number anymore so if you wanna grab a bevvie tonight gimmee a call on my land line - 23146323.
Also, if you're supposed to be taking something out of my house, come get it before Monday.
Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Heaven, God went missing for six days.
Eventually, Michael the archangel found him, resting on the seventh day.
He inquired of God, "Where have you been?"
God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds,
"Look Michael, look what I've made."
Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?"
"It's a planet," replied God, "and I've put LIFE on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance."
"Balance?" inquired Michael, still confused.
God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth, "For example, Northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth while Southern Europe is going to be poor; the Middle East over there will be a hot spot. Over there I've placed a continent of white people and over there is a continent of black people," God continued, pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot and arid while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."
The Archangel, impressed by Gods work, then pointed to a large land mass the top corner and asked, "What's that one?"
"Ah," said God. "That's Canada, the most glorious place on Earth. There's beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, streams and an exquisite coast-line. The people from Canada are going to be modest, intelligent and humorous and they're going to be found traveling the world. They'll be extremely sociable, hard-working and high achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as diplomats and carriers of peace. I'm also going to give them super-human, undefeatable ice hockey players who will be admired and feared by all who come across them."
Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then proclaimed. "What about balance, God? You said there will be BALANCE!"
God replied wisely. "Wait until you see the loud-mouth bastards I'm putting next to them."
Enjoy and all the best!
I am at work, but I have to take the afternoon off to watch the kid. Actually, she'll be sleeping, so I guess I am just there in case of emergency. Which leaves me with a delicious dilemma of what to do with my time home (almost) alone.
I was thinking about celebrating the 4th of July this afternoon as follows:
PLAN A
1. Enjoy all-American lunch of frozen burritos and spicy habenero Doritos.
2. Crack an ice-cold Miller beer. (made in the USA with Union pride.)
3. Play a game of Civ 4 as the Americans.
PLAN B
1. Eat a bian-dang...mmmmm, bitter melon.
2. Drink warmish boiled water.
3. Help with household chores...maybe hang up some laundry to dry?
Cross-strait flights. Tomorrow everything will be okay because...you know...cross-strait flights. Chinese tourists casually throwing around money like the cellophane from their cigarette packs. The initial daily limit of Chinese tourists is 3,000, increasing to 10,000 in 4 years. Tomorrow will only see 687 tourists arriving (90 of which are either officials or journalists).
The Taipei Times devotes its entire second page to Cross-Strait Flights! Four world-class articles and a picture of police practicing handling mock demonstrators sitting in front of a poster-sized picture of CKS Hall. I'd definitely buy that for a dollar!
Highlights:
Taiwan citizens, who are influenced heavily by hyper-polite Japan, fear Chinese will yell, spit or cut in on queues, all of which are an anathema to many Taiwanese.
What? He is in Taiwan, right? Not Thailand?
Marriage saving addendum: After showing this to my wife (and ducking) I explained to her that I agreed in part but there is still room for improvement. Taiwanese have also shown themselves to adapt very quickly from terrible practices to near-trendsetters. Now I can sleep with both eyes closed tonight.
Mr. Jennings also states that Chinese, unlike the Taiwanese, will also haggle on the prices of small purchases, merchants at tourist hotspots say.
Well that may be so. But isn't that like debating the merits of absolute zero versus -300F?
Let's start with this from Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄).
He said yesterday the government would not remove signs representing the country because of the arrival of Chinese tourists, adding, however, that it could not force the private sector to act against its will.
Wow, this guy either has a pair or he forgot that his boss, Mr. President Ma, did just that when he was mayor of Taipei and pulled the ROC flag for the Olympic flag while also displaying the Chinese flag.
Look at the second part of the statement about not forcing the private sector to act against its will. In regard to the cross-strait flights, Taiwanese and Chinese airlines were supposed to be allowed to choose the airports they would like to fly in and out of. They both chose only two - Taoyuan International and Songshan in Taipei. And then, government acts.
After a complaint from Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), however, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) asked Uni Air for one round-trip flight between Kaohsiung and Guangzhou tomorrow.
TransAsia Airways would probably not have considered flying to the east coast if it were not for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Fu Kun-chi’s (傅崑萁) willingness to pay for a charter flight between Hualien and Xiamen. ( At least she's footing the bill.)
The Taichung City Government also managed to have a Mandarin Airlines flight leave from Chingchuankang Airport (in Taichung) to Xiamen, although the return flight will land at Magong in Penghu County. Mayor Hu 萬 歲 !
Well, the government has definitely done their part. What are you going to do to make sure you get a piece of the pie?
*Welcome guys and gals from I-NCKU
Th Tonka highway........
The migrating birds fly low over the sea.
Shadless windows admit no light.
The wingless dove protects its nest.
The toothless tiger rules the restless jungle.
Yes, it is a day late, but I figured one of our Canadianer contributors would have taken care of this.下 一 項
Would you like to learn how to cook Taiwanese and Chinese food? Here is one place in Taichung I found in my new cookbook from local Taiwanese celebrity chef, Ah-Ji Shi (阿基師). Their English translation is Cooking Supplementary Class. You might wonder about their choice of URL, though. Scroll over it and check it out.
下 一 項
Here is a good quiz.
1. Who was the first black congressperson in the U.S. congress?
2. What decade did this person enter congress?
3. What state did this person represent?
Try not to google the answers and see how close you can get. Answers will come later if no one gets it.
The Missoula Osprey (A ball, Arizona Diamondbacks) decided this year they would have a new promotion. $10,000 dollars would go to a lucky fan if certain rarities occurred during the correct inning (hitting the foul pole with a homer, back to back to back homers, 4 stolen bases in an inning, etc.)
On the first night of the promotion, during the first inning, they announced one lucky fan would win the money if a triple play was turned. The visiting Billings Mustangs promptly loaded the bases. The crowd began to rumble. The rumbling finished when a long fly ball to left was hit by the cleanup man. Our groans were turned to laughter when, in true Taiwanese baseball fashion, the left fielder dropped the ball. However, the Osprey are quick on their feet. The left fielder fired the dropped ball to third base to get the force out. The thirdbaseman, realizing the runner from first had taken a wide turn around second, fired it to the secondbaseman and caught the offender in a pickle. Eventually the thirdbaseman would apply the tag. In the meantime, the cleanup batter, sensing trouble on the base paths, tried to sneak into second behind the play. The alert shortstop went to cover the bag, the thirdbaseman gunned it over and the tag was applied. For those keeping score, the play would read: 7-5-4-5-6 (with a run scoring on the play and no error on the left fielder). For one lucky fan, he would be counting $10000. Three nights later, against the Helena Brewers, the Osprey would turn a more conventional triple play (5-4-3), but it would not net anybody a paycheck. Dating back to last October, that's three triple plays turned by the Osprey, a bizzare statistical anomaly.
The snow finally seems to have finished for the season, our last dusting coming on June 14th. I ultimately received four inches at my house that week. Thank god spring is here. Spring means many things here in Montana, not the least of which is that girls start dressing in less (or more depending on your point of view) appropriate attire.
Now this lack of clothing makes men's loins stir to be sure. Fortunately the women get frisky, too. I recently hooked up with a young lass who left a hicky on the back of my neck. I haven't had a hicky in aeons, but there it is, all bright and red. Of course that means I have to lay low for a couple of days, but it's kind of nice to know women are still willing to leave their mark on unsuspecting males.
In other news from this side of the ocean, the Houston Astros have recently released pitcher Shawn Chacon after he choked the general manager, Ed Wade. Shacon said he told Wade he didn't want to go to the office, but Wade just wouldn't listen. Meanwhile, the Astros still can't score runs, prevent other teams from scoring runs , or basically do anything right on the baseball field.
In a related story, I have begun a boycot of the state of texas. On a recent 36 hour visit to the lone star state, I was arrested. I got to spend 14 hours in lockup, listen to a night court judge laugh when I told him I why I was in jail, and hang out with various other vile offenders of the law (the old black man next to me had written a bad check in 1993 for $37). Unlike him, I was not in on a warrant (nor for building a sweat lodge), I was in for running a stop sign on my way to get ice for my sister-in-law's surprise party. When the officer informed me he was writing me a ticket for no insurance as well running the stop sign (although I had the insurance in my hand), I questioned why he was doing that. When he chose not to answer that, and instead repeated that he was writing me a ticket for no insurance and failure to stop at a stop sign, I again showed him my insurance. I was told to step out of the car. When i asked him if he was going to arrest me, he asked me if I wanted him to. I said no, I just want you to not write me a ticket for no insurance when I have it in my hands. He told me to step out of the car. I unlocked the door, he pulled it open, jerked me out and put me in the back of his car. When I was finally processed, I discovered I had been charged with failure to stop at a stop sign. The no insurance claim was no where to be found. Needless to say, a complaint has been filed against the arresting officer.
texas has said, and the Supreme Court has agreed, the police can arrest you for any offense of the law because an officer 'cannot be expected to know what is a jailable and what is a non jailable offense.' In Montana, however, an officer has to have a reasonable belief that the offense is jailable. I'm sticking with the Montana rule on this one. And a one year boycot of texas is now in effect. It would be permanent except for the family ties and Continental/American connections out of houston and dallas.
Maybe you're going about it the wrong way, Red A. Get yourself one of these to prepare your vittles for digestion and I bet the wife will let you eat whatever you want. Even in spite of a heavy blanket of sweet mayonnaise, diners still found their way to, and ate, the shrimp and pineapple. Even after one Canadian, Andre, tried to de-wing the god for a nosh, he remained standing and proud ( after he was stood back up by the drop-mouthed Taiwanese at the table). Even after another Canadian, Josh, tried to clean him of cigarette ashes on his...um...upper, inner thigh, he remained firm.
In all fairness to Andre, the god's wings were facing him and he just looked like a big, fat carrot. In Josh's defense, he was cleaning it up because we couldn't take it with us. We had to give it back and he had no way of knowing if the next patron preferred regular or menthol.
Here is the current dietary situation at the Red A household:
I graduated from high school and college, but in Taiwan, by the time you become12 years old, you will have lapped me several times in graduation ceremonies. There are graduation ceremonies for everything: pre-school, kindergarten, cram school, elementary (Jethro, you are vindicated), junior high, senior high and college. I am sure there are others, but I am certain about these. These are full blown ceremonies with gowns, speeches and diplomas. The week before, these students, who have been humping it for years to pass the next entrance exam to ensure their admittance into a good school, take time to organize a banquet to celebrate...their teachers.
Yep. If you taught a class for any amount of time, you are invited to a Teacher Appreciation Banquet 謝 師 宴 (xie4 shi1 yan4 / ㄒㄧㄝˋ ㄕ ㄧㄢˋ). The week prior to the banquet teachers will begin receiving invitations and other things. Handmade cards, flowers and gifts (here, a graduation bear) clutter our desks and office.
The banquets themselves vary from casual, buffet style to reserved-room 12-course Chinese style. All were fine, with some of the food being excellent.
The most enjoyment came from being with the students themselves. I saw one of my 9th-grade students, Danny, eating eating oysters with a knife and fork. I thought it was important that he knew the proper way to down an oyster. So, before seeing the actual oyster I told them that real men just put a little lemon and hot sauce on it and slurp it down straight from the shell. Then it arrived. It was about the size of a Nerf football cut in half with a giant whale loogi laying on top of it. Surely I could do this. I most assuredly almost did not. My mouth was wedged full and immobile with a third of it, with another third clogging my throat and the final third was poised, dangling, ready to drop into my stomach should my salavic juices claim victory and pry loose the vacuum seal held by this most ornery of oysters. Finally, as if the oyster was just playing with me to show me who was really in charge, the death grip was released and it cannonballed into my stomach. Not so much enjoyment for me, but the kids couldn't stop laughing and filming with their cell phones as I contorted and staggered around.
The school year is over for me and I will not see many of these kids again. A good number will and do return to visit. Regardless of whether I see them again or not, I know that I will be able to do it all over again next year. I cannot see myself doing anything else.
Students, 謝謝你.
.
Time flies. Our departure date is set for the 7th, less than 3 weeks from now. As expected I'm busier than hell but I have cleared my schedule for one more tour of the Beer Factory on the afternoon of Saturday the 28th. Come celebrate the end of the semester and the onset of summer vacation (for some of us) with cold beer and bad jokes. All yall are welcome and I'd love to see as many of yous as possible.
If you'd like to see the kids before we go, come on by the house for a visit.
Also, my land speeder is still for sale (at a reduced price!). But it's okay 'cause I'm never coming back to this planet again anyway.
I would like to be able to have both Chinese characters and BoPoMoFo in my Word files.
Anyone know how to do that, or something close to it?
Inlets in Taiwan, Ice lets in Canada.
The search for oil, and threats of military presence.
A week of classes is left before final exams and summer vacation. Cue my supervisor's rush to the junior high office with the contracts for the foreign teachers. We usually give it a very cursory glance, focusing on the minimum hours and salary amount and sign.
This year I hesitated. We had found out that some of the things we neglected were no longer there, such as our guaranteed yearly raise and 6 paid days of medical leave (of which I have not taken one day in six years). Our fault for not looking closely and trusting them to at least come to us and explain their reasons. When asked about the omissions, they ( the higher-ups, the poobahs ) said that they thought we would read the contract (Ouch!) and they really didn't have to explain their reasoning behind their actions (Boo!Hiss!).
Well, I turned in my signed contract and am waiting to see if the overlords are more vigilant than I (item 6) in contract review. If not, I will start a sign-up list for rides next week.
Taipei is to ban free, disposable chopsticks from 24-hour shops and supermarkets, an official said Saturday. The Taipei City Government said that starting later this month, several 24-hour convenience shop and supermarket chains will stop giving away disposable chopsticks with packed food, lunch boxes and instant noodles. Participants in the campaign are 7-Eleven, Family Mark, Circle K and Hi-Life 24-hour shop chains as well as three supermarket chains - Wellcome, Matsusei and Pxmart. "These shops and supermarkets are taking the lead. We hope other shops, restaurants and roadside food stalls can follow suit and stop using disposable chopsticks," said Su Fen-hui, from the city government's environmental protection bureau, said.
Dutch lifecycle analysis: The biggest problem with reusable coffee cups is the water and energy required to clean them. Washing a porcelain cup and saucer once, in an average dishwasher, has a greater impact on water resources than either a paper cup or a Styrofoam cup. In contrast, porcelain cups have less impact on air, energy consumption, and volume of trash. If a reusable coffee cup is used twice before being washed, then it becomes energy-efficient relative to Styrofoam cups after 114 uses, and less than 100 uses to be energy-efficient relative to paper. Even fewer reuses are required for the reusable mug to be more air pollution–efficient and landfill volume–efficient.
Moose's tooth, Broken tooth and Mt McKinley
"The High One"
Missed it by that much.............
Just wanted everyone to know that on this June 9th, 2008, it is currently snowing at my house. Are you shitting me? I remember Montana Springs being whimsical, but two nice days of weather do not a Spring make.
Th CAT issue II .....
Building a better boyhood 4 tomorrow
A nightengale sang in Berkely Square
At a party in Changhua back in the day, I think at Kevin and Rain's (sp) house, some chick claimed she spoke French with a Belgian accent to our derision and amusement. That being Tom, myself, and maybe the J-hole?
Did you know?
TKA is open to the public.
When I'm calling you.
Ooh ooh ohh, ooh ooh ohh.
Not there yet.....
But the Big 50 is just around the corner:)
There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover.
I know this because I actually had to use a dictionary when reading a reprint of a 1936 Mickey Mouse comic book to my kid.
It used the word "lavaliere" which was apparently suitable for a kids comic book from 1936.
Also, the comic book featured mouse orphans, Horace the Horse, and an angry, drunk looking proto-Donald Duck.
We just rented a Mickey Mouse DVD last night that was really old cartoons, probably from the same era. It had escaped "killer" gorillas being tear gassed, Mickey shooting ghosts with a shotgun, and Donald giving firecrackers to kids coming to trick or treat.
Its a huge difference from the modern Mickey Mouse Clubhouse where everyone's special and even the extremely mild villain Pete isn't really so bad.
I also note that two cartoons looked like the inspiration for some modern movies:
Duck Pimples for Roger Rabbit and Lonesome Ghosts for Ghostbusters.
Link to Lonesome Ghost on Youtube. If you are really bored. I only watched them because my kid made me.
3.3 Km,
September 23,
The Lake
Registration closes 8/20
About 1700 to enter, but it is not a race. You get a number, and a bathing cap.There is a group rate.. but you need to have a group...I have been practicing for a while at the gay pool.. and I ain't ready, but time is on my side.
Any who
Brit Paul expressed some interest. The Kiwi I work with likes a challenge. I haven't seen AJ in months (maybe he is training). Ry is swimming to Canada. J-hole wants a floating ashtray and A-rod doesn't want to be one of the two people that drown every year.
Any one else?
Yes Ry, I know Ry. If Elliot would have let me get a word in I would have asked him.
Sitting at a table with the Janet, Ry and Elliot is like entering a skipping rhyme and never getting to the second line "Miss Lucy had a baby / She put it in the ...."
1995 Opel Astra. Roomy, easy to park. Well maintained. Tinted windows. Good for city driving or excursions into the mountains. Includes 2 child seats. Asking 65,000 NT O.B.O.
My landlady would like to continue renting our house after we leave. 
It's 15 a month and sits in the middle of a ridiculously quiet residential street near Zhong Ming Elementary School, 3 blocks from Fairies.
Two stories, 3 bedrooms and 1/2 a bath on the 2nd floor and a spacious back porch. Big Kitchen, good yard, large family room and 4th bedroom on the ground floor. Pantry too!
Big family size fridge also available for a good price.
Let me know if you're interested and I'll arrange a viewing.
Taichung June 11th 7:30.
Tickets 800 to 1500
Taichung Chung-Shan Hall
www.mna.com.tw
www.ks-2008asiantour.com
The first one comes from Doritos. Tai-Ke flavored Doritos. Yes, Tai-Ke. I expected to find betel nut and Mild Seven listed in the ingredients, but did not. The actual flavor is stir-fried clams ( Tai-Ke comfort food, I guess. My wife gave an emphatic Yes! when I told her about it. She also said the chips do have a bit of the stir-fried clam taste.) Here's a instructional video in Mandarin and Taiwanese teaching you how to make the clams. Even if you don't speak either of the languages, it's pretty easy to follow. After you heat the oil ( he uses salad oil, peanut oil is also widely used), add the garlic, chilies and ginger together. Then come the clams, rice wine, soy sauce paste, barbecue paste, a little water if needed, basil and sesame oil in sequence.
Good food, Friends, family event and lots of alcohol :)
New location was a hit among the locals....
Borman
Went to a hunting dog competition this Saturday with a couple of friends. There were four major phases of the competition:
1. Fetch two ducks at about 300 yards each (photo to the left). In the photo you can just make out one of the shootists in the distance (the other was to the right of the building).
2. Run-swim, run-swim, run-swim, run-swim at about 400 yards (bringing back the duck).
3. Aerial (catching a frisbee off a dock, jumping about 25 feet into a pond).
4. Swim two hundred yards to get a bird shot over the water.
I'm not much of a dog man, but the competition was pretty neat. This was the only Chesapeake Bay Retriever in the festivities -- it was mostly golden retrievers and black labs. However, the owner of Chewa had invited us out, so he's the photo that was taken.
Finished my second year, thank God. Managed a week off where I made it down to Grand Teton N.P. The weather was dodgy at best, but it was nice to have some stillness. Went for a hike where I confronted this little booger from about 15 feet. I"m not sure who, but it appears one of us is in jail.
For those of you who haven't seen the Tetons, here they are through fog, mist and snow.
As you can see, winter hasn't fully abated here yet, though today we did manage to get up to 15 degrees or so. I have begun my new job as a canary, checking out gas leaks and walking the hills of Montana. Pretty much anything is better than sitting at a desk these days, even working for the man.
Annual Waigoren Get Plastered Fest goes Saturday, May 24. Venue has changed from Sogo to the park on Wu Chuen across from the Art Museum. Normal excellent lineup of bands and always good food to be had. See what the booze situation is this year, hopefully not a repeat of "Corona Light" sponsor, WTF? FuBar will be there, and PJ will be serving up his chili spillin' margeritas and most of the watering holes are represented. Always a great time, at least till the double vision starts. The record for drunk foreigners is all of 'em. Let's try to beat that mark, whatta ya say?
