Total Hijack!!!!

[woza17]

He looks a little bit like my mother in that photo, the older I get the more people look like my mother. I am glad that he is still alive.

[Newbs]

Wasn't going to say anything but then I realised that this is the hijack thread. Richard Chamberlain also had the lead role in the mini-series, based on James Clavell's book, about the English navigator who was washed up on the shores of Japan in the late 16th century. Eventually he was befriended by the guy who went on to become shogun.

At this point in the posting Newbs was racking his brain to remember the name of this damn book. He got up and looked in his bookshelf. The name of the book, surprisingly enough, is

[glow=red,3,300]SHOGUN[/glow]

Why the hell couldn't I remember that?

and another thing. Woza, I like the new avatar.

[woza17]

Newbs enjoy it while you can. It won't be there tomorrow, will it George.

I just checked my bookshelf I have Noble House by the same pooty author

[Newbs]

Shogun is the only one I ever read by Clavell, and it wasn't bad, IMHO. The TV mini-series didn't quite cut the mustard.

And I like the latest avatar. Ice Age, dui bu dui? I'll check out Ice Age 2, or whatever it's called, soon.

[woza17]

Newbs I read everything, those types of books are for just pleasure and I have read them all, nothing wrong with that. Few books or films stick in my mind.
Thomas Hardy is one of the writers, I can't forget, after I finish a book I am still thinking about it. I have read some great Chinese writers that have the same effect especially the guy that wrote the Rickshaw Puller and Thunderstorm. These people are such craftsmen.
The avatar will keep changing until that bastard gets it right

[acjade]

I enjoyed Shogun... the book. Didn't see the movie/mini-series.

Richard Chamberlain doesn't cut it for me. He looks full of botox or something. Nice he's still alive but my mother was devastated when he came out of the closet. Perhaps out of kindess we told her he was dead.

[Newbs]

Woza the dog wagging his tail don't push my buttons, I can tell you.

Thomas Hardy, not bad. I loved his depictions of rural England ca. 1800 and something.

I'm getting into Ha Jin now. Read "The Crazed" when I was in China and now I'm starting on "War Trash"

[cheekygal]

weeee! part 4 is out!
chinanewbie.com/eng/index.php/2006/random/6/
Dear Cheeksy is now J'suis Blonde

PS. Jorge, have a ball correcting my spelling mistakes!!! ;D

[Lotus Eater]

Nice he's still alive but my mother was devastated when he came out of the closet. Perhaps out of kindess we told her he was dead.

A dead gay is better than a live gay?? Ouch.

If they have gorgeous smiles I am won over, don't care which way they swing.

[acjade]

deborann said:

Nice he's still alive but my mother was devastated when he came out of the closet. Perhaps out of kindess we told her he was dead.

A dead gay is better than a live gay?? Ouch.

If they have gorgeous smiles I am won over, don't care which way they swing.

My mother had her fantasies ... it was a disappointment she'd had a fantasy lover who was gay.

[Lotus Eater]

As it is a total hijack page this raises an interesting question.

It is a kindness to lie? When is it OK to lie to another person? My students believe it is OK to lie when their relatives are perhaps dying and tell them they will get better.

I don't think this is kindness. I think it is insulting my intelligence, my capacity to be treated as an adult. I want to know what the reality is, I want to be able to make choices for myself.

I don't want to be treated as an idiot and incapable of thinking for myself so have other people to lie to me. I figure if I have survived a long and full life I am totally capable of handling bad news. If I am younger - then I need to learn how to handle bad news.

Either way, I don't want to be 'protected' by people who (condescendingly) think they know what is better for me than I do.

[nolefan]

cheekygal said:

weeee! part 4 is out!
chinanewbie.com/eng/index.php/2006/random/6/
Dear Cheeksy is now J'suis Blonde

PS. Jorge, have a ball correcting my spelling mistakes!!! ;D

welcome back blondie....

[Mr Nobody]

I am with lotus on the question of truth, but that isn't surprizing.

[Mr Nobody]

I didn't know where else to put this, so I put it here. I liked it. Let us distribute this widely and act on it. Made me laugh.

Check out these great tips for Handling Telemarketers. It arrived on an email and is definitely worth trying and passing onto friends...

(1) Say three little words: "Hold On, Please..."

Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.

Then when you eventually hear the phone company's "beep-beep-beep" tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task.

These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting.

(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end?

This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone.

This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a "real" sales person to call back and get someone at home.

What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible This confuses the machine that dialled the call and it kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer !!!

(3) Junk Mail Help:

When you get "ads" enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these "ads" with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away.

When you get those "pre-approved" letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope.

Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It costs them more than the regular 37 cents postage "IF" and when they receive them back.

It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around 50 cents before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in these cool little, postage-paid return envelopes.

Send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them their blank application back! If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you send them.

You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! It still costs them 37 cents.

The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to OVERWHELM them. Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're paying for it...Twice!

Let's help keep our postal service busy since they are saying that e-mail is cutting into their business profits, and that's why they need to increase postage costs again. You get the idea !

If enough people follow these tips, it will work ---- I have been doing this for years, and I get very little junk mail anymore.

THIS JUST MIGHT BE ONE E-MAIL THAT YOU WILL WANT TO FORWARD TO YOUR FRIENDS

[Newbs]

N, re 2 and 3, you are a bloody genius.

Okay, I realise that maybe you personally didn't think up these ideas but, IMHO, they are so bloody brilliant that I'm gonna let you take all the credit for 'em.

And a few friends will get these e-mailed, don't worry about that.

[acjade]

If I was back in Oz this could have become a serious part-time hobby. Something to look forward to when doing the bills.

[joe]

newbs said:

I'm getting into Ha Jin now. Read "The Crazed" when I was in China and now I'm starting on "War Trash"

God, I hated reading Ha Jin. I ploughed through In The Pond. It was like tearing out my own hair, one handful per page, the idiotic crap that went on in the story being so clearly the real true condition of people and their lives in the PRC. He so easily captured the perversity of Chinese that the story (not the book) was appalling -- Kafka with Chinese charateristics.

For revenge I used passages from the book in writing classes.

[Lotus Eater]

I enjoyed "The Bridegroom" and still have The Crazed and Waiting in my little stockpile of books I am rationing myself.

[icebear]

I've just received my degree, with some bit of distinction, and the only available job I'm qualified for in Anchorage, Alaska seems to be house painting. White collar economy of the future my ass! I guess I'm a bit limited in that I'm looking for just a 3 month job before leaving for China, but still... no internships in a city of 300,000?!

Despite my job troubles in America, once I started attaching my scanned degree to China related emails I've gotten a flood of offers for positions in the most random (and personally undesirable) areas. A BA really does appear to the the only thing they're looking for, at least among beginners.

[Mr Nobody]

So, when painting, remember to hold the wrist semi-loose, and to apply the paint with an even stroke. Not to much paint on the brush . . . .


You will get one. Mine is a BSc, DS is an engineer and Raoul's is also in Science I beleive. Others have similarly "inappropriate" degrees.

[woza17]

I read 2 books by Ha Jin but even though the stories were compelling it lacked, something. I would have to reread them again to expalin myself properly.
Newbs Hardy is one of my favourite writers and you just like his description of the countryside? There is so much more. The dog doesn't press my buttons either. It's George who is pressing the buttons and I think he has got bored with the project.

I remember my mother loved Liberace as a lot of the women did at that time. What was it with him that these women found so attractive. I think they were fag hags but the term hadn't been invented then.

[Lotus Eater]

The universtiy server has been played with for some inexplicable reason - and is now totally crap - I have to have at least 2 windows of the forum open so that I can switch from one to the other while the alteranate one loads. Takes forever, drives me nuts. But they promise new and improved service SOON.

The last few days have been hugely busy - went to bed at a little after 4:00am today woke at 10:00 but stayed in bed until 12. Went to the gym. Personal trainer asks me - what did you do last night. Told him I went to my favourite bar to see my favourite guitar player, danced there then went to a night club. He asked me - did you drink beer? (What a dumb question!!) So I admitted to this major transgression. Was roused on thoroughly. "You come to the gym 4 days per week, but drink beer - you will never lose weight or be fit". "What about red wine?" I ask - "red wine is OK" he said.

Bought an 80gig external hard-drive after this, so now not only can I burn DVDs as back-ups I can use my new hard drive.

Had a western lunch - salad and enchiladas. I will pay for this very soon, but they tasted good. Then came home, got ready and went back to my favourite bar to see my favourite guitar player.

Had a long discussion with a Chinese guy there a) about the idea he has for teaching English with a 'mother tongue' method - ie young kids come all day and the teacher works similalry to a family situation. b) about infidelity in Chinese marriages. Interesting discussion. He was going on to karoake and wanted me to come, but I was good and spared him my singing voice.

Taxi driver on the way home wanted to know if I lived alone and wanted a Chinese boyfriend!

[Hamish]

Does anybody know this school?

I got the following email. I think it looks like a wonderful job but I don't know where to send a reply.

Except for the return address, it looks pretty complete to us here.




>Greetings ,



This term our courses through 20 days in August - you will work from monday to friday. You will have weekends off. The contract is 1 year ?Pay is around 4500-6000's RMBs / month. you will have an average of 20 teaching hours. Students are aged from 8 years old to 20 years old. May supply puts up.?You may choose ?Please pass on your picture to us with a copy of your resume ?Please get in touch with as soon as possible.



Hope to hear from you soon<

[Lotus Eater]

Sounds just like Beijing International studies University to me - or maybe Qinghua. I'd write back to either of those thanking them for their offer and asking to start immediately.

I'm pleased that they may supply puts up - for the days when you run out of patience and need to put up with much mafan. I wonder what the shelf life of 'puts ups' is? Does it come in tins or bottles (maybe it is alcoholic???).

[Ruth]

Somebody help me please! I think I've lived here too long. This morning I tried to do something with the scanner and it didn't work the way I wanted it to. My hubby said, "You didn't get what you wanted, did you?" I said "Yes." As in, 'yes, I agree with your statement.' NOT 'No, I didn't get what I wanted.' I was horrified when I realized what I'd said. The really scary part is that it just popped out that way without me even thinking about it.