Categories
in china languages

quote of the day

in case of emergency

Everyone knows that literacy in Mandarin means hour after brutal hour of memorizing and practicing a script whose design clearly shows the influence of sadistic genius.

from Beijing sounds

Categories
links and ideas

panties for peace!

panties 2

Canadian human rights groups are calling on women to take part in a unique protest against Burma’s military junta.

The Quebec Women’s Federation and the activist group Rights and Democracy are coordinating the Canadian edition of “Panties for Peace!” — an international campaign to pressure the Burmese government towards democratic reforms.

Organizers say the idea began after the Burmese government cracked down on pro-democracy activists. Last fall, pro-reform demonstrations led by monks garnered international attention after the military attacked protesters and arrested their leaders.

The idea behind the campaign has to do with the superstitious beliefs of Burma’s military leaders. Human rights activists say the leaders believe that contact with women’s underwear will sap them of their power. Women — and by extension their clothing — are considered inferior by powerful men in Burma, say campaign organizers.

what an unusual protest! ladies, if you don’t feel like doing the underwear – send it in!
if it works, it will definitely be worth it! :)

the full story, here.

Categories
photography

phone-sex stories

phone-sex is theather. an artificial passion play in real-time, directed by a skilled verbal fantasist, with only one possible conclusion.

phone sex book

a photo book of phone-sex workers at home, along with their stories, by phillip toledano.

Categories
just life

so… yeah… and it’s all true!

hello!
posting on this blog has been scarce, and gently replaced by other tasks… here’s a bit of what has been going on:

– i’ve been keeping things running more or less at anita na china and hanzillion, while studying chinese and learning new characters like a mad woman. i’ve finished my first textbook and we’re moving on to a harder one, which uses characters all the way for the texts and exercises. it feels really good to read them now, in full sentences! but i am still too shy to strike up conversations in the street, on the elevator or even with our ayi… which is slowing my learning process a lot, says my teacher. i have to agree, things would go faster if i made the effort to use the language i am learning – must work on that.

– meanwhile, i’ve discovered the wonders of taobao, the chinese ebay site, on which i am now completely hooked. it feels like an online version of my dearly missed mama mini, a shop where you can find the most amazing treasures or everyday items for a small percentage of the price. oh! and all with the chinese convenience of things being delivered to your doorstep on 24 hours, for one euro. :) it’s perfect, and it’s working as a big chinese learning motivator.

– after considering guilin, sanya and thailand, we’ve set or heads on malaysia! we’ve been planning a trip to redang island, which will include lots of sun, sandy white beaches, coral reefs (and some sharks!), blue turquoise sea and snorkeling every day. looking forward to escaping shanghai for a while, especially now that the much dreaded steamy summer season seems to be here to stay, with 30ºC temperatures already!

– i’ve been fighting distractions… and headaches. daily headaches and some dizziness that sent me to the nearest pharmacy, to get checked on my blood pressure. “too high!”, said my mom on the phone. so we’ve been reducing the caffeine & salt intakes to nearly 0. not as hard as i thought it would be. the headaches persisted for a while (lack of caffeine?) but now they are gone and that also seems to be the case with my caffeine dependency too (not that i was that dependent). so how about that? a blog called meia de leite (café latte) written by someone who doesn’t drink coffee anymore! :P

Categories
in china

sichuan earthquake, donations and a pack of postcards

to help the victims of the sichuan earthquake, postcrossing is raising donations which will be sent to the red cross society of china. as a bonus, we will send a set postcards to the first 100 people who donate over 15 US dolars or 10 euros.

the postcards are part of a set called “no man’s view” by chinese photographer phoebe jin who kindly offered the packs to postcrossing. “no man’s view” is a collection of 25 photographic postcards, with images in black and white or muted colors, taken in china and abroad.

all help is appreciated. thank you!