WARNING: This blog is GAY

Dear Tai:

Thanks for your wise criticism.

I already learnt of the possibility for bloggers to be taken for gays. What I didn't know is that the very blogs we write manifest sexual tendencies.

I might as well make a very clear warning for any possible visitor. DON'T EXPECT A MACHO BLOG. Tai has spoken:

This blog is gay, 同性恋, mariposón, homo!!

Coming to think of it, what is it in a blog that makes it a gay blog, and not a lesbian blog, or nechrophilic? Does it come from using terms such as Nourish/ Delicate? Is it because of the clear phallic elements in the main picture (the chopsticks)?

Can the two chopsticks over the bowl on a broken surface, be an overt reference to onanism?


Anyway... Those of you who think a blog's gayness might get contangious, please get out of this blog, the gayest in the galaxy, preferably by clicking on the adds to the left.




(Thanks to Sinosplice, as always, for the pinyin tip.)

Ct: A Chinese Proverb.

Chinese proverbs are an excellent way to know their culture, while we are told a lesson.

Today I have chosen one of my favourite ones:

塞翁失马

The story begins when an old man of the frontier loses his horse (that's what the proverb recalls). The horse fled into a dangerous area, so it was impossible to bring it back.

However, thought to himself: "Who says this may not be a blessing one day?"

Several months later, the horse came back along with a group of fine horses. The man was congratulated by relatives and friends, but he thought: "Who says this won't turn out to be a misfortune?"

The old man's son loved the new horses so much, he often took a ride on them. Since the horses well not well tamed, he fell off one of them one day, and became crippled. The old man thought: "Who says this may not be a blessing in disguise?".

Some time later, the area were the old man lived was invaded. Most young people living in the frontier regions had to join the army to fight the invaders. About nine out of every ten of the draftees were killed in the battle. As a cripple, the old man's son did not have to fight, so that he survived the border war.

"Therefore, a blessing may turn out to be a misfortune and the contrary also be true".



NOTES：
塞(sài)：frontier. 失(shī)：lose. 马(mǎ): horse
翁(wēng)：ancient Chinese word, meaning "old man".


How many modern examples could we find of this?

CH: dao1 / li4 dao1 pang2

Characters with dao1 (Knife) can refer to cutting, carving, actions which require the use of a knife, etc. Li4 dao1 pang2 is evolved from dao1.

CH: Ren2/ Dan1Li3 Ren2

Characters with this radical refer usually to human beings, or activities related to them.

Thesis/Shanghai Birch/Spam

Warning: Pointless entry.

• I've finished my thesis and it kicks asses! Yay!

• My blog in Blogcult is down, along with the host. They were kind enough to leave w/o saying a word.

However, all through my life on this planet I have learnt not to trust the others, and much less if they offer things for free, which is why I saved all the stuff I had on Shanghai Birch. Most of it is cybernetic rubbish and deserves oblivion, anyway.

• I have received an email:

Subj: Your help is greatly appreciated

First, I thought they would offer be a great deal with a bank account full of bucks in Nigeria. But they didn't:


Date: 6 Mar
From: XXXX
----------------------------------------------------------------
Hello,
I've just visited your blog and I truly appreciate it. It gives very valuable information on China. Since I'm very interested in China and the Chinese language, I'll visit your blog from time to time. I've recently made a website dedicated to the beautiful Chinese language. I would appreciate if you can visit my website and add a link to it in your blog's links section. I would like also to have your feedback on my website. As a person with deep knowledge of China, your feedback will allow me to improve my website.
My website : www.mxxxanxxxt.com
A sample link I suggest : Chinese-English dictionary
or better in HTML :
Chinese-English dictionary
I appreciate your help. Thank you.

Whoever
XaXXarXn Xlaxnxt


In my experience as a former Spammer, this is clearly a case of an ass-licking serial email to get a backlink from my humble and scarcely visited site.

Look at the "As a person with deep knowledge of China...". I feel everything but identified with that statement. It was clearly addressed to someone with deep knoweledge of China, and they haven't even changed it to better suit me.

Will I be wicked or good willed?

Comissatio Interrupta (for Character Creation)

Today Mr. Sinosplicer has published some ROTFL new characters of his own creation. These characters "are created by foreigners using existing character components ".

All this issue revived thanks to Mr. ChinoChano and his old post about New Characters in Chinese Tools.

I'm gonna prove here that New Characters can be created (albeit with a certainly surrealistic result) even with a ridiculous level of Chinese-Character recognition, like mine.

There they go:





This last one is a tribute to Sinosplice's Brokeback-Mountain character, this time representing all times idol Mary Poppins (Maybe you think I'm exaggerating: You're right) :

Orgy

I'm off to a one week long thesis-writing orgy. Doesn't it sound exciting?

Now you know how I discovered the thesis/shit pair.

88!

WHAT will be next??

I am depressed.

It was already hard to assume that a 5 months old Chinese baby knows already more Chinese than I will in all my life.

What has shattered my self esteem into thousands of invisible pieces, is to see that even a dumb seal has more of a calligrapher inside it than myself!

Look at the satisfied expression in its face! No wonder, since its abilities even grant him female admirers!:

Nothing else to add. I will nurse my frustration for a while. Meanwhile, those of you who speak Spanish can have a look at the web site where I snatched these pictures from: Chino-China.