31
Jan
2007

Boo and Reboo

Some definitions:

Boo

  1. A sound uttered to show contempt, scorn, or disapproval. (source: Dictionary.com)

  2. Boo is a term that is derived from the French word “beau” meaning beautiful. In 18th century England it meant an admirer, usually male. It made it’s way into Afro-Caribean language perhaps through the French colonisation of some Caribean islands. [Boo now means] girl or boyfriend. (source: UrbanDictionary.com)

Reboo

  1. rumble (source: Dictionary.com)

  2. Something that is cool, is reboo. Reboo is a word used

    3. …
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5 Comments | Posted in personal
29
Jan
2007

Flickr, YouTube, and Google Video Problems in China

For the past two days or so, none of the little button images on any Flickr pages will load. This is what I see above each image on the individual photo page:

broken Flickr image links

The actual photos load fine. Fortunately most of the site navigation is text, but the little buttons above each image are image files, and none of them display. What’s worse is that there are no alt tags or tooltips for them, so I have to guess if I …

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17 Comments | Posted in personal
28
Jan
2007

WordPress Upgrade Today

My web host, DreamHost, offers a really great one-click install feature through its control panel. Using it, you can install the latest version of WordPress ridiculously easily. Even better, you can upgrade any WordPress install with a simple click… as long as that WordPress installation was installed using the one-click install system.

So here’s my problem. I have recognized the awesomeness of the one-click install/upgrade system, but if I want to take advantage of it, I have no …

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7 Comments | Posted in personal
26
Jan
2007

Stupid or Stay?

As academic director at ChinesePod, one of the things I deal with is the language questions of the users. Some of the questions are easy, and others are incredibly difficult. One of the types of questions I enjoy answering most are the ones that I had myself a few years back. Here is one such question (from this lesson):

Just curious. Why does the transcript use the character 呆 dāi and not the character 待 dāi? Doesn’t the character

…
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21 Comments | Posted in language
24
Jan
2007

Roujiamo Delivers!

Some of the best news I got all last week was that my favorite food in the Zhongshan Park area now delivers. It’s just this tiny stand, but they now bring this deliciousness right to your doorstep. I think it’s something like a 10 RMB minimum order. Sounds like a good excuse for a 肉夹馍 party to me.

肉夹馍

If you don’t have the fortune of knowing what roujiamo is, check out these photos. If you detest the vile weed…

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17 Comments | Posted in personal
21
Jan
2007

ICBC’s Creative Character Writing

I’ve written about this before. I like creative ways of writing of Chinese characters. Here’s a simple one by 工商银行 (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China):

融汇贯通

The characters read 融汇贯通, a kind of financial service the bank offers. The red part in 融 is the bank’s logo. The red part in 汇 looks similar to the bank’s logo, but actually more closely resembles half of an old-style Chinese coin, with the square hole in the middle. (The character …

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7 Comments | Posted in language
20
Jan
2007

The Chinese Voices Project

Clavis Sinica is a piece of software similar to Wenlin. It helps you read Chinese by giving you definitions of words when you hover over them. I don’t use Clavis Sinica; in my research I’ve found that it’s pretty widely regarded as an “OK” tool but inferior to Wenlin in the quality of its dictionary.

But now Clavis Sinica is offering some very useful resources on its website: the Chinese Voices Project. In the page’s own words:

Welcome

…
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13 Comments | Posted in personal
18
Jan
2007

Fame and Celebrity in the New China

It’s not new, but it was too good to go unlinked to:

BARTHOLOMEW FRANKS AND THE SPECIAL FEW—A STORY OF FAME AND CELEBRITY IN THE NEW CHINA

BY PABLO

CHENGDU, CHINA—Bartholomew Franks knew he was a Seriously Important Person the first time he was recognized on the street by a complete stranger.

“I was just walking around, thinking about velcro, when suddenly this complete stranger walked up to me, all smiling, and said ‘hallo.’ ” The man was a local

…
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6 Comments | Posted in personal
17
Jan
2007

The Computer Buying Game

Last Sunday I bought a new computer. I’m about to move into my new place, and I suppose I’m still in the throes of consumerist passion. It just seemed like a good time to plunk down a neat stack of cash to buy the system I’ve been wanting for a while. I haven’t had a new computer since 2002, when I bought one in Hangzhou with Wilson. It was time.

Then this week I learn from a blog post that …

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26 Comments | Posted in personal
15
Jan
2007

Yellow Snow

Q: What do these Chinese women have in common?

yellow snow

A: They all have the Chinese name 黄雪, which in English means “Yellow Snow.” (Comedic gold, this is!) The surname Huang is fairly common, and it’s not unusual for girls’ names to include the character 雪.

If you want to see more Chinese yellow snow, you can do a Baidu search for 黄雪. Unfortunately, the term more often seems to refer to snow in northern China (and Korea) …

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4 Comments | Posted in personal
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