Infrequent Nights

Check out this article from Xinhua news agency. This kind of language from the PRC's mouth organ is an excellent display of the growing relationship between the KMT and the CCP.

If one didn't know any history they'd get the impression from this article that the KMT and CCP have been long time buddies since the "start of cooperation between the twoparties[sic]" in 1924. The author/editor gives selected historical background to create context for the connection between the two parties, and somehow neglects to mention the years of war.

I want to check out the exhibition. I wonder if it's at the KMT headquarters? They've got a fancy museum up on the 7th floor I think.

Posted by Ryan at 03:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I went to Tainan last weekend. The excuse to go was to see a band, but I also needed to get out of Taipei. There are a number of ways one can get to Tainan from Taipei quickly and efficiently. I chose the bus. It's cheap, and for the most part they're comfortable. Plus on Guoguang buses they give you complimentary cup of "Holy Water" so that you can defeat vampires, and banish demons should they board the bus. The ride takes four or five hours. Mine was slightly lengthened by the breakdown of a bus in Taichong, but I really can't complain as they dealt with it faster than could have been expected.

In Tainan I was whisked off to a little Shaolin body readjustment centre where a Gongfu master of some sort did some major rearranging of my body. It's a little 'center' (for lack of a better word) run by a father/son Shaolin duo. The son readjusted me. He had me stand, and after a short inspection declared that I had fallen at around the age of 15-16 (quite possible) and it had thrown my hips out of whack. Then his Dad came in and, in passing, glanced at my back and said exactly the same thing. They said that after my readjustment I'll gain weight. I said that while I doubt their prediction my grandmother will thank them if it comes true.

I laid on a mat. He pulled and cracked and shifted things around. Then he did some sort of electro-massage, which was interesting if not pleasant.

Later I came across a street party. It was apparently for the benefit of a local temple. And when temples down south have a benefit party they of course celebrate with a good pole dancing party. They've got these portable pole dancing optimus-prime-style transforming truck stages that will bring the party to you. They simply park on the street, unfold like a transformer, hook up the PA and away you go. The pole dancing was raunchy, and the skill of the dancers left much to be desired, but it was entertaining. If you happen to pass a pole dancing truck I recommend stopping for a gander. Just don't take pictures. Really. Do not let them know you have a camera. Or the chief dancer/singer/matron will use the opportunity to practice her English by unleashing a barrage of screams "NO NO NO I SAY NO! NONONONONO!!!!" I honestly feared for my safety. I thought she might jump off of the stage and pummel my head into the pavement. Luckily she had temple goers to please, and couldn't waste her time dealing with an ignorant foreigner.

I rode around on a bike. Took some photos. Spent too much time on the back of a too small scooter. And enjoyed the pleasant weather. It's been raining here in Taipei for what seems like forever. Tainan was clear and sunny with a distinct lack of oppressive humidity.

Posted by Ryan at 12:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It seems Taiwan's piracy industry is doing a good job of mirroring other high tech industries by outsourcing to China. The IHT covers the bust of a huge piracy ring that attempted to not just pirate products, but to highjack the NEC brand: http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/27/business/nec.php

Posted by Ryan at 12:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Like expats all over the world one of the things I miss the most is food. Not to say that Taiwan doesn't have great food. It does. But as a rule I have to avoid 'Western style' food here because it is usually barely edible. I don't spend much time dreaming about the favorites I'd make for myself on a daily basis back in Canada. But today I was cleaning up files on my webserver and stumbled upon this. I'd completely forgotten this, my first foray into blogging at the beginning of 2005. Now my mouth is watering and I desperately want some good home cooking.

Posted by Ryan at 08:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Warning: Excessively self-indulgent post approaching.

I've come to the realization that deep within my psyche lies a defect of some sort. I seem to be inexplicably attracted to learning ridiculously difficult, and in some cases bordering up on completely useless, skills. I'm not really sure where my drive to speak Chinese comes from, but I have noticed that it shares many similarities with some of my other 'phases' (which I use for lack of a better word) such as my earlier drive to be a professional juggler. I made a decision when I was about 18 or 19 that I was going to be a professional juggler. Thereafter I trained virtually non-stop for a few years. Subsequently, I achieved what I had set out to do and have since performed in over a dozen countries. My current hardcore daily studying schedule resembles my early juggling training schedule. Which begs the question: Why do I insist on learning such difficult things? And why, once I make my decision, do I so obsessively pursue my goals?

Being able to juggle a five club cascade isn't a particularly useful skill. In fact it is in some ways representative of waste. I spent thousands of hours training, and what do I have to show for it? A useless trick that doesn't last very long. While Chinese language skills are arguably more useful than juggling, I have no really good reason to bother learning Chinese. Rather I think it is the initial difficulty that attracted me to the language. I enjoy mastering things that I find difficult. Furthermore, I enjoy the process of training myself to become better at something.

It is the results that really attract me. When I see myself progress from one day to another, whether it be a more solid juggling pattern, enhanced ability to read an article in Chinese, or what have you, I feel as if I have accomplished something, and it is this sense of accomplishment that drives me. Why I strive for this sense of accomplisment I don't know, but I suppose it is preferrable to not having motivation of any sort.

One good thing to be said for learning Chinese is that it elicits much more respect than juggling. Juggling is perceived as silly by most. It is difficult to argue with their assesment. Chinese though carries a mystique of difficulty (well deserved I'd say) and considering the current geo-political situation is thought by many to be a very practical area of study. I suspect it, like the other things I train myself to do, will prove useful in the future.

Posted by Ryan at 05:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

It's not like me to blog about those crazy crazy VCDs twice in a row, but this is important. Previously my Book Two lessons 11-16 VCD was pretty knackered. The last three lessons didn't work. The other day I got a working copy and just got around to watching lesson 15.

Words can't really express how this video makes me feel. I had no choice but to capture some video and post here. Maybe watching this will help you to understand why I love these video so much. Also, posting it might help with my search for Gao Wei Li.

I absolutely SWEAR I did not see this before making the Michael Jackson in a lumberjack shirt comparison below. Be patient if it takes a while to load. I promise you, it's worth it (you might want to press play to start the download, and then pause the playback while your browser caches so you don't get stop-start playback).

Update: The word on the street is that Gao Wei Li is still in Taiwan. While one cannot put too much faith in the word on the street it is better than no word at all. If this is indeed the case, I think my chances of tracking down Gao Wei Li are slightly better. I wonder what he could be doing here. Running a dance studio maybe?

Posted by Ryan at 02:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

If you have studied Chinese in Taiwan, chances are you've used the Practical Audio-Visual Chinese textbook series. It's a decent series of textbooks, with a number of supplementary learning materials. If you were lucky enough to have access to the VCD versions of the textbook conversations then you'll be familiar with the American character Gao Wei Li and the astonishing number of Chinese classmates he has in what is purported to be an East Coast American University. This is his picture here.

I watch the VCDs on a semi-regular basis as a way to enforce things I have studied before. I often find myself wondering about the 'actors' (I use that term very loosely here) playing the roles of the textbook characters. What are they doing now? Do they have these VCDs at home? Does Gao Wei Li still use his Chinese? I'm not even sure if the Chinese we hear him speak in the VCDs is actually his voice, as the audio is obviously dubbed. Maybe his Chinese is actually pretty crap. Who knows? I'm sure somebody does, and I want to find out. WHERE IS GAO WEI LI? And furthermore, what is his real name? The VCDs don't have any real credits letting us know who plays who, so I can't even google the guy.

Most of the footage is shot on the Shida campus here in Taipei. The guy who plays Gao Wei Li was likely a student at the Mandarin Training Center. Judging from the style of clothing, and a few other hints dropped within the films I'd say they were produced in the early nineties. Let's say 1991-1992ish. So by my calculations and estimations that puts the guy who played Gao Wei Li at about 40 years of age. He looks like an American. Could be Canadian. I'd bet a lot against European, but it's possible. If you've seen this man, please report back here. If you know his name let me know. I've no idea why I care, but every time I watch these VCDs I find myself wondering about him. Maybe he's stll in Taiwan? Maybe he's become wildly successful? Maybe his brush with acting in Taiwan spurred him to pursue a career in the performing arts? Maybe he cut his hair. I hope he cut his hair. I had similar hair in the early-mid nineties. It looked as bad on me as it does on him. I never consciously did that weird curly thing on my forehead though. That's just creepy. Too much like Michael Jackson in a lumberjack shirt.

So please keep the feelers out for Gao Wei Li. I doubt I'll be successful in my quest, but sometimes the internet can be a wonderful thing...

Posted by Ryan at 09:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Edge, an always thought provoking publication of The Edge Foundation just released Edge 179. If you haven't yet, I suggest checking it out. Have a look through the archives while you're at it, excellent articles abound. It's a pity about the web design though. http://www.edge.org/documents/archive/edge179.html

Posted by Ryan at 01:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I did my laundry today. The two upshots to that are: tomorrow I'll get to wear underwear and while doing my laundry I got some free money. When I was at the laundromat I decided to try putting a Hong Kong 1 dollar coin into the washing machine just to see what happened. I figured if anything it might mistake it for $10NT as they're about the same size. Imagine my surprise when it mistook it for $50NT. At a current exchange rate of 1.00 HKD=4.19275 TWD that's a pretty good rate of return. If you're living in Taiwan, I recommend bringing back some $1 coins next time you fly throgh Hong Kong. That is, unless you have a moral objection to this sort of thing. In which case you can leave the coins in HK, or better yet give them to me.

Posted by Ryan at 02:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've made a few updates to the photo gallery this week. If you haven't yet checked it out, get to it. Most of the new photos end up in the 'Taiwan' and 'People' galleries with a few also going to the 'Still Life' section. Recently I've been trying to capture the feeling of the streets of Taiwan. It's a difficult task as street life is so vibrant and varied here. Moreover I prefer candid shots, which are that much harder to do especially at night time when the streets here are at their best.

Posted by Ryan at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)