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Re: Movies in General/ Star Trek etc etc

Bltizo said:

bladerunner said:

Btw, for "the ugly chinaman", I personally don't know why any self respecting chinese person would read such a book... I just googled it and the sypnosis's I got were all quite infuriating. I can only imagine that a chinese person might write such a self hating book because they have no self respect or respect for their heritage at all. It's probably due to the fact that the West dominates the world and it makes the authors feel better to diss themselves and distance themselves from what they actually are.. Gah I hate chiinese self haters

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Quite True: Quite True.
Lets say the books not to everybodys taste, however it emulates the book " The Ugly American" in some ways.

But sometimes its good if you can laugh at yourself.

Eg, Heres something the author wrote about pedestrian crossings. On this occassion I don't know whether hes referring to Taiwan or China.

But he says "Over here we have crossings, to make it easier for cars to run over people" I think thats just a humorous way of saying 'Drivers dont give way to anything over here, they even ignore pedestrians on crossings"

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Re: Movies in General/ Star Trek etc etc

bladerunner said:

Bltizo said:

Quite True: Quite True.
Lets say the books not to everybodys taste, however it emulates the book " The Ugly American" in some ways.

But sometimes its good if you can laugh at yourself.

Eg, Heres something the author wrote about pedestrian crossings. On this occassion I don't know whether hes referring to Taiwan or China.

But he says "Over here we have crossings, to make it easier for cars to run over people" I think thats just a humorous way of saying 'Drivers dont give way to anything over here, they even ignore pedestrians on crossings"

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Well I suppose I haven't read the book so I can't judge if it's a joking/tease about Chinese cultural habits. If it is then I'm fine with it, I agree that laughing at one self is defnitely good.
But there are also those books which are written by people who genuinely think lowly of themselves and their heritage/people etc. And those books give me a bad taste in my mouth, including for other races dissing themselves as well.

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On the "big bang theory" thing, I watch the show every now and then (it's a pretty good show imho), and I think they're not actually saying that nerds are like that at all. They're more mocking the common thought that nerds are all skinny and talk strange etc. (Kind of like how in many movies and tv shows they always display homosexuals to be skinny and woman like, while in real life that is a completely wrong generalisation.)

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Re: Movies in General/ Star Trek etc etc

Bltizo said:

It is true that Chinese people are louder than probably westerners (I believe most east Asian people talk relatively loud) - When I was in the cinema watching 2012 there happened to be a group of chinese people behind me and I noted they were loud.

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My friend went to watch a movie in Los Angeles and someone behind them was talking out loud during the movie. She kept turning around to tell them to shut up and they wouldn't stop. So she pulled out her camera and took a picture just to flash them in face. They stopped. Later they developed the pictures and saw it was William Shatner with his then girlfriend.

Re: Movies in General/ Star Trek etc etc

Bltizo said:

bladerunner said:

But there are also those books which are written by people who genuinely think lowly of themselves and their heritage/people etc. And those books give me a bad taste in my mouth, including for other races dissing themselves as well.

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Overall its a bit over the top, Here was another recommended read to help understand the Chinese. its called :"Ah Q and others" (selected stories by Lusin).Published in 1941. I got it out from Auckland University, and judging by all the notes and scribbles, quite a few people must have studied it, but I find it a strange book.

BY the way Im an avid fan of "Fringe" but somehow I dont seem to be enjoying the second series as much as the first

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Re: Movies in General/ Star Trek etc etc

bladerunner said:

ffI got it out for my wife to read before her Sojurn to Beijing in Jan.It was recommended by the people blogging on the T"Telegraph" The Shanghai based correspondent for the British newspaper couldnt understand why the Chinese there tried to continually rip you off when it came to renting a apartment.

I haven't read a book for 20yrs, prefering talking books instead. But flicking through it I came to a section on how noisy the Chinese were. I could always hear Chinese people having a conversation 50 paces away and I thought the author would provide the answer. But to no avail.

By the way how cold does it get in Beijing in Jan


OMG Ive just been reading one of the worlds worst swine flu cases in NZ. She died because the virus can also eat away your organs"

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Taking about noisy, this early morning I got woke up by someone talking loudly on the handphone in the balcony of a condo unit some distance away. It was not just loud, but booming loud, like in a quarrel! No, he wasn't talking in Chinese, but in Hindi!, and I'm nowhere near India or Pakistan!

You or your wife should worry more about the swine flu than the cold temperature over there. It will only get worse with the winter months. If I'm not mistaken, snow in Beijing in November is very rare, so you can expect even colder days ahead!

Re: Movies in General/ Star Trek etc etc

Quickie said:

Taking about noisy, this early morning I got woke up by someone talking loudly on the handphone in the balcony of a condo unit some distance away. It was not just loud, but booming loud, like in a quarrel! No, he wasn't talking in Chinese, but in Hindi!, and I'm nowhere near India or Pakistan!

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LOL:
Our Local Korean restaurant finally closed down, much to my pleasure, I must admit, as I thought some of the food smelt unusualy strangely foul, IMO.

but a few weeks later OMG An Indian restaurant replaced it

You or your wife should worry more about the swine flu than the cold temperature over there. It will only get worse with the winter months. If I'm not mistaken, snow in Beijing in November is very rare, so you can expect even colder days ahead!

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Tis a worry, but it appears the Chinese officals are controlling it> Meanwhile it seems to be getting out of hand in the States.

Re: Movies in General/ Star Trek etc etc

Bltizo said:

bladerunner said:

Well I suppose I haven't read the book so I can't judge if it's a joking/tease about Chinese cultural habits. If it is then I'm fine with it, I agree that laughing at one self is defnitely good.
But there are also those books which are written by people who genuinely think lowly of themselves and their heritage/people etc. And those books give me a bad taste in my mouth, including for other races dissing themselves as well.

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My impression of the book, the ugly Chinese, is a pretty serious book intended to uncover the "ugliness" of Chinese. I think it's more of "mocking" and "humiliating" than laughing at oneself. But that's just my impression of book I get from those who have read it.

Bltizo said:

bladerunner said:

(Kind of like how in many movies and tv shows they always display homosexuals to be skinny and woman like, while in real life that is a completely wrong generalisation.)

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Man! I got this one embarrassing moment. First year in grad school, I was having lunch with guys in my class one day. We started making fun of gays, and one of the guys who was about 6'2" and 230 Ib and with some serious facial hair said "Hey man, stop saying that... I'm a gay!" I was totally speechless... I mean this guy looks like a football player..

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Re: Movies in General/ Star Trek etc etc

Talking about manners, I do think that people coming from mainland China lack certain important manners, like talking loud in public and making loud noise while eating, etc. I do believe that we can blame the communists for that, though. Before the 80's, anybody with proper manners would be considered capitalistic and condemned since these were the people with wealthy families and proper education. And bad manners were considered a good thing since they indicate poor family background. We all know how important it WAS to being a poor person back then. And before long, everyone thinks having those manners is a good thing and no one actually knows what the proper manner is. So these people may be rude and they are doing it not because they are selfish, but because they don't realize what they do is bad.

One good example would me. Since my mom comes from a wealthy and well-educated family, she's been well aware of all the proper manners and makes sure (yes, she still does it) that we (that's my sister and I) behave like a lady/gentleman. And I always got laughed at at school when I lived in China. Since I didn't make any sound while eating, people said I was girlie... When I opened doors for girls, they said I was kissing up to some hot chicks (I admit that there's some element of that too).

Re: Movies in General/ Star Trek etc etc

vesicles said:

My impression of the book, the ugly Chinese, is a pretty serious book intended to uncover the "ugliness" of Chinese. I think it's more of "mocking" and "humiliating" than laughing at oneself. But that's just my impression of book I get from those who have read it.

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You are right, only flipping through the book I found some amusing, and some chapters belittleling or unsettling however I found the Chapter on Banquet etiquette, bring back some vague memories. The one about trying not to be or seen to be the first one to leave , after the banquet.

However Ill give him full marks for having a chapter containing letters of harsh criticism in his book.

After having observed mainland Chinese for quiet a while now I reckon I can pick them out , just from what they are doing.

(Answer) THe older members usually the grandparent ( of the immigrant family are mad enough to ride pushbikes in Auckland traffic.)


Anyway, Back to Movies, I found 2012 Enjoyable but a littlle over the top in places. It very slightly reminded me of a disater movie some yrs back . CAn anyone remember what its called?

I think it invoved underground lava eruption or something, in the end much of the land mass of Western Usa was altered?

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Re: Movies in General/ Star Trek etc etc

bladerunner said:

Bltizo said:

Quite True: Quite True.
Lets say the books not to everybodys taste, however it emulates the book " The Ugly American" in some ways.

But sometimes its good if you can laugh at yourself.

Eg, Heres something the author wrote about pedestrian crossings. On this occassion I don't know whether hes referring to Taiwan or China.

But he says "Over here we have crossings, to make it easier for cars to run over people" I think thats just a humorous way of saying 'Drivers dont give way to anything over here, they even ignore pedestrians on crossings"

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I think that is just the Ugly side of Car culture which hapaneds in ever country that becomes dependent on the Car for the bulk of it people. In my home town of Wichita Kansa motorist have litle respect for pedestrians. People in cars will honk and yell at pedestians like me for no reason other than having to take a few extera seconds to turn a corner.

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