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I wonder if the Chinese stock market fall was related to the end of the Spring Festival, with all of its crazy spending.

Today I sent off an e-mail to the webmaster of Penn and Teller’s site with a link to the Impetuous Man box.  We’ll see if I get any sort of reply. 

I also just got through watching PAN’S LABYRINTH.  Can I be a kill-joy and say I wasn’t that into it?  I  was annoyed that the day-for-night shooting wasn’t done that well — you could tell that footage was actually shot in the daytime.  That seemed sloppy to me.  I WAS thinking, though, that if I had watched it in a theater, or if I had watched it when I was younger, it would have made a much bigger impact on me.  I think I’m somewhat jaded because I’ve seen so many good movies.

This has to be one of the most complicated things I’ve ever read:

Surprisingly, Dr. Yamanaka of the Toranomon Hibiya Clinic, says there may be a scientific explanation behind why young Japanese men today have developed a phobia toward dining at the wire.

“Because of all the preservatives in food, people today can consume enormous quantities of organic phosphorus. Once a certain amount of organic phosphorus builds up in the body, it attaches itself to calcium and is expelled through waste products. But what this means is that a large build-up of organic phosphorus leads directly to a calcium deficiency,” Yamanaka tells Weekly Playboy. “Then you’ve got the human nervous system, which is made up of sympathetic nerves and parasympathetic nerves. Parasympathetic nerves feed only on calcium. When the body doesn’t have enough calcium, the parasympathetic nerves don’t work as well as they should. That sends the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves all skew-whiff. When the sympathetic nerves work stronger than the parasympathetic nerves, it becomes easier to get nervous and aroused. ‘Rage’ attacks have been discussed pretty frequently in recent years and they’re probably triggered by this mechanism. If there is a decreased sexual desire or erection problems, it probably means the parasympathetic nerves aren’t working as well as they should be.” (By Ryann Connell)

From “Why Japanese Guys Don’t Give Head,” Daily Mainichi.

An interesting question posed by a character on the Japanese kids’ show SUPERCHANGE.

Yesterday while at the net bar, all of a sudden my throat really hurt. Today it wasn’t any better and I’m running a low-grade fever.

What a pain in the ass! I just got over the flu!

Impetuous Man!

Originally uploaded by MFinChina.

I found this onsale today amongst a lot of sex aids on Fangbing Xi Lu. At first I thought the man on top was the omnipresent Canadian TV celeb Da Shan, and then I decided it looks more like Teller — or is it Penn? — the talking one from the Penn and Teller duo.

I was waiting for the elevated train today at Jinshajiang Road, and looking out, I saw new rubble art!  A while back, I noticed a big Bank of China logo made of smashed concrete.  This time there was also a vodka bottle and “Absolut ECNU” made out of broken bricks.  Interesting!  I wonder who’s doing it?

Peking opera girl in action.

Originally uploaded by MFinChina.

to cleanse your mental palate after reading the Wash. Post article. I saw this girl on TV. I think they said she was only four.

From the Washington Post, on the experiences of injured GI’s.

The Hotel Aftermath

When I got back from my trip to Fujian, I found Alice was really sick.  She’d lost a lot of weight — I’d guess about half her body weight, and she was feverish and shivering.  She wouldn’t eat or drink.  I asked the dog man to take her to the vet, and because he didn’t seem willing, I went to a local vet to ask questions, ask about fees and stuff.  I gave dog man the vet’s phone, but he wasn’t willing to call.  Since then, Alice has gotten thinner and thinner, and today I saw that she’s taken a turn for the worse.  I brought her some chicken broth (she’d been drinking a little water lately), but she refused it.  I really think she’s not long for this world.  I tried to persuade the dog man to call the vet again, and I think finally he may do it.  I’m afraid it’s too late now, though.  It’s like a week and a half since I got back here, and then she had already been sick for several days.

After spending about four days in Xiamen, Teya and I decided to go out to the countryside to look at the Hakka minority’s earth buildings, or tulous. We arranged a driver to take us to one about four hours out into the countryside, and on the way got to see a lot of amazing buildings.

Actually, at one time US intelligence specialists saw pictures of tulous beamed back to earth by satellite, and they thought they were missile silos! They’re just that large and strange-looking.

The next day we arranged for the driver to take us around to different ones, so we could take pictures, go in and look around, and chat with the natives. We went one one in a little village, and there was a bunch of old people sitting around at the entrance. Then two little boys appeared. One was about two, and the other was about six. The six-year-old was very excited to see us and took charge. He held my hand and directed us to sit down on a bench and have a rest. Then he said, “喝茶，喝茶 (drink some tea, drink some tea),” and when his granddad poured us tea he warned us that it was hot. We chatted with everyone, but the little boy was very excited and wanted to show us around. He took me by the hand and said he’d help us look at everything. “这是我的土楼！(This is my tulou),” he kept saying. He showed us where everything was, explained what would be done there, and then mimed everything for us. For instance, when we got to the place where people washed their faces, he mimed washing his face, and when we got to the showering place, he mimed washing his face and his bottom. He was really funny! He showed us where they keep rabbits, cook, store, stuff, watch TV (they have satellite!) and sleep. Teya asked him about his favorite shows, and he told us he likes Ultraman. Then he took us outside to visit all the animal pens in the village and showed us the communal toilets where people throw their crap in the morning (at night they use a pot). He also showed us the scar on his forehead from where his granny’s tooth had knocked him when he was a baby. He wrote down his dad’s name for me, and gave me his parents’ cell phone numbers, for some reason.

After spending a fun half-hour or so with him, we got in the car and left. Suddenly, our driver told us the boy was handicapped. I was surprised because he was really precocious (although his native language is Hakka he could speak Putonghua really clearly) and funny, plus he seemed to be in really good physical health. I asked what was wrong, and the driver said that although he is a boy, he doesn’t have anything “down there.” I was confused at first and thought he was transgendered, but it turned out he was just born with nothing, not even a urethra. He had to have several operations so he could urinate. The driver said he is really embarrassed about it because he is the only boy in the village who has to sit down to go to the toilet, and feels he is not as good as other people. Maybe that explained why the boy said “You don’t need to take my picture” when we wanted to. I told the driver I think the little boy is so smart and interesting he will be able to have a good lifestyle and happy life anyway. I hope so, anyhow! Imagine being a little boy in that predicament!

I got a tourism brochure with the name of the tulou on it, and he gave me his dad’s name, so I bet I can send him something nice in the mail. I’m thinking of a nice book he can read and share with the other kids around him. He has a very good mind, and I hope that can help him lead a happy life.

Don’t Droppings!

Originally uploaded by jasonkrw.

Oooh! I LOVE this sign!

Taken in Japan, by jasonkrw.

Yes, it is pig here, but it is boar in Japan. I’m not sure why.

For many of you, the good news is that the Year of the Pig is a great year to have a baby!  In fact, in terms of giving kids luck, this will be the luckiest Year of the Pig in 600 years!  As a Pig, your kid will be lazy, but it won’t matter.  She’ll be lucky, and will always have plenty of good things to eat and drink.  Lots of people will usually be willing to lend her a hand when she needs it.  And, as you might notice because of the pronouns I’ve used, it’s an especially good year to have a daughter (but boys will be lucky too).

The downside is that this year tends to be one for natural disasters.  Floods, storms, etc. are likely.  So be prepared.  Explosions are apparently also likely.  There is a mixture of fire and water this year that will make things unstable.

Here’s a link to South China Morning Post’s special New Year insert. You can click on links that let you see your fortune for the coming year, based on your Chinese horoscope sign.
Chinese New Year

I was looking at a Shanghaiist article today about subtitle translation teams, and as the computer is slow, I scrolled down to the bottom before the picture came up.  What did I see, but “Photo from MFinChina’s Flickr page.”  At the same time, my other browser window was on Sinosplice, and I was shocked to see a picture I had taken! 

Here are the links:

Shanghaiist

Sinosplice

I’m pretty excited, since they were properly attributed and everything.

I’m still sort of listless. 

It dawned on me the other day that listless is one of those words like ruthless and a few others.  Today, anyhow, you can be ruthless, but you can’t have ruth.  You can be listless but you can’t have list. 

Although I don’t have much energy, at least my temperature is now back down to 97.2, actually a little lower than my normal, lizard-like 97.4.

When I was on my trip a met a few cool little kids. 

One night after dinner, Teya and I were walking around next to Xiamen University.  I was looking at some CDs, and when I turned around, I saw she was talking to a little boy who was selling something.  I came over to see, and found that the boy was really photogenic, strangely so, and was also super-articulate.  He was giving her this well-reasoned shpiel about why she should buy these dangly cell-phone charms.  He said they would make great gifts for people back home, etc.  He was just so charming that I started talking to him too, just for fun.  To sort of pay him back for the chat, I actually bought two (at a jacked-up price, I’m sure).  Then I asked if we could take a picture of him.  The boy said yes, but then the man he was with (his big brother) said we had to get rid of the picture in one year.  I wasn’t sure what he was saying, so Teya and I went back and forth for a while trying to figure it out. 

Then the kid, whose Putonghua was really clear, explained.  He said he was a member of the Hui minority, and according to their tradition, you can’t have a picture of someone for more than one year.  I’d never heard of that before.  I do know, though, that there are a ton of different kinds of Hui people.  The Muslim restaurant near my house is run by a Hui family from Qinghai.  Some of their employees are from Lanzhou.  The Lanzhou guys shave their heads every Chinese New Year, but the Qinghai people don’t.  The Lanzhou guys said it’s traditional for Hui people in their hometown to do this.  What I mean is, Huis are a pretty diverse bunch, although they all belong to one ethnic group and belive in Islam.

After we finally figured that out, I had a little chat with the kid about Islam.  He really knew a ton about it, and we were able to ask him a lot of questions.  Like for example, I wanted to know if Hui people fasted during Ramadan and at what time a Hui boy was considered a man.  He told me they did fast starting age 12 (bad for people working in restaurants — it must drive them crazy to serve food all day!) but were only considered men when they turned eighteen.  I told him I had a lot of Muslim friends in high school, and I asked him if he read the Koran.  He said yes, and advised me that I could go to the net bar, go online, and read it in English there.  Well okay!

Then Teya took my picture with him.  It came out really well, and in fact, he came out looking all modelly, as if he were striking a pose.  It was really funny!  But unfortuantely that was one of the pictures that disappeared when my camera malfunctioned.  At least now he can be sure I won’t keep the picture for more than one year!

I just found out the Chinese word for fontanel, a.k.a. “the soft spot on the baby’s head,” is 脑门, “brain door.”  I learned that while watching RAISING ARIZONA, which is showing right now on CCTV-6.

Sometimes He Even Gets a Bear Claw

15-year-old boy #1: So, like, I know they used whales for, like, their blubber and shit, but I thought there was something else they killed ‘em for.
15-year-old boy #2: Dumbass. They kill whales for their tusks, everybody knows that!
15-year-old boy #1: Oh, right… But I thought that’s what elephants were for.
15-year-old boy #2: Nope. Their ears.
15-year-old boy #1, baffled: Their ears?!
15-year-old boy #2: Yep, my dad goes down to the bakery every Sunday and gets an elephant ear and a coffee. I swear.
15-year-old boy #1: That’s some fucked-up shit!

–Faye’s Starbucks

Overheard by: Stop elephant cruelty! Save the elephant ears!

–from www.overhearinnewyork.com

There were a few reasons I went to Xiamen last week.  First, I needed a vacation.  Second, it’s warmer than Shanghai.  Third, I haven’t been there yet.  Fourth, Teya’s husband’s sister said it was her favorite place in China, so Teya wanted to go too.  Fifth, I wanted to see if it would be a place I’d want to work in the future.

Once I got there, one of the most striking features of Xiamen was the massive numbers of sex shops.  Along Zhongshan Road, a main shopping street near the ferry pier, there was one every fifty feet or so.  There were tons of people selling all sort of sex elixers and fake viagra and stuff in little stalls in the streets off of the main road.  I went into a two-kuai store looking for a needle and thread, and what did I find, but tons of Chinese translations of Japanese shonen ai comics!  (I bought one of course, called “Ningen Club.”)  Teya and I were totally astonished, and didn’t know why there was so much sex stuff on sale there.  She also wondered what people would tell their children about it, since there were always tons of children playing next to the street stalls, which were selling stuff in boxes that had big pictures of men putting their penises in women’s vaginas (everything was clearly visible) on the front.