The aforementioned Shang Kai Shek residence turned museum.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Although it's hard to see, this light is held up by a highly stylized metal Chinese Dragon. I took this as the three of us made our way back to the bus stop through the bat and toad infested night pathways. I felt completely at home, but Connie was pretty unnerved by the animals around us. All in all, a great day!
Friday, April 29, 2005
Talented Artist
This is the website of perhaps the best webcomics artist I have come across to date. The stories on the site are slice-of-life/drama stories and are both well told and well drawn. I highly recommend checking a few of them out, especially "Same Difference".
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
World Oil Supplies Peaking...
This article ties in with other reports I've been reading recently. Simply put, not only is oil demand growing at a huge rate thanks to China and India industrializing, but we're going to hit the halfway point in our oil supplies in the next few years. Once that happens, the amount of oil the industry produces will begin to slowly drop while the demand will continue to rise. This means skyrocketing oil prices and crippling effects on everything related to oil, which is also just about everything in the modern world. (Remember, this incudes Plastic. How much plastic is around you now?) Of course, we'll also eventually run out of oil in 40-60 years as well, maybe as few as 30 or so. Time to buy into those hydrogen cell companies, which I've also read the Japanese are making great advances with.
Rob
Rob
Bigfoot
In honor of Bigfoot being filmed in Mantioba last week, I present to you the story of....The Cowman. A little long, but creepy and worth the read if you feel like being spooked...
Rob
Rob
Sunday, April 24, 2005
George and Mary
This is how I picture it...
In 1998, the Taiwanese financial markets are starting to take a hit because of businesses sending their production lines to mainland China. Taiwan is filled with dozens of Banks, born during the booming economy days of the 1980's and early 1990's and at one such bank, Cosmos Bank, a worried board of directors sits around wondering how they're going to weather the currently looming crisis. They need cash, they need investors and a source of income, but all the traditional sources (business loans, home loans, credit cards) are all tapped out or not doing too well in the current economy. What to do? What to do?
Then I picture a young up and coming exec (which would put him in his 40's around here)looking out the boardroom window and seeing the signs for one of the big computer companies or perhaps it was for a cosmetics line. In any case, an idea suddenly strikes him: big loans aren't working...why don't we try...micro loans! Credit cards at the time have (by North American standards) low maximums and charge a large amount of interest (around 20% per month) on money taken out for cash advances. So, our young exec decides, why not make a new type of card which fills in the gap between major loans and credit cards. By making the interest a little lower (say 18% per month), making the card really easy to get (both credit cards and loans require two co-signers and a lot of paperwork to get) and making the money easy to access (use a bank machine to draw money anytime you want from your loan account) people, and especially young goods-hungry consumers will be able to get the goods they want, when they want them, without any of that legal hassle that puts them off.
So, our bright young executive whips his chair around and quickly raises his hand.
"Yes?" Says the chairman.
Without pausing to take a breath, the young exec boldly outlines his new idea while the other members of the board listen quietly, nodding to themselves. Slowly, their eyes start to light up as they see the possibilties, even the chairman is smiling to himself. But, there's that one doubter down at the end, the one who never liked our young exec to begin with, and he raises his hand to comment.
"Nice idea, but how do we get them to buy into it?"
The young exec's eyes go wide as he hits a question he didn't think of yet, quickly he searches his thoughts, and then his look of fear turns to confidence again.
"We don't sell it to them as a loan from a bank. Kids borrow money from friends and family all the time, and we'll sell it to them as a loan from some friends. They're not getting money from us, they're getting money from their buddies next door...We'll call them...George and Mary."
Is this how it happened? Who knows?
But, the reality is that shortly after this two young hipsters were everywhere to be seen in Taiwan by the names of George and Mary. Sporting the latest fashions and electronic goods, these advertising darlings and their catchy theme song became an everpresent aspect of Taiwanese culture. Young people flocked to Cosmos bank to get money from their new friends "George and Mary", and other banks quickly followed suit with their clones as the cash started to roll in. Sure, it was about lending money out to people, but of course young people are notorious for not paying their bills on time, and 18% interest racks up some hefty bills pretty quickly. People who weren't willing to take out killer cash advances seemed not as bothered by these "temporary loans" which had to be taken as cash, not credit. After all, most probably figured, they could pay it off in a paycheck or two. (You still needed to have a job before George and Mary would lend money to you, but little other requirements.)
A few weeks ago, Taiwan lawmakers banned banks and lending institutions from advertising these cards in anything but the print media. The reason? Taiwanese currently owe NT$350 Million (about 14 million Canadian dollars) to banks on these cash cards, and some banks have even gone under due to people defaulting on their payments. Parents are the ones often being stuck with the bills, and families have collapsed financially as well because the temporary loans they took from "George and Mary" turned into mounting debt. In a country where there is little social security, and the financial situation is getting worse and worse due to political and economic problems, George and Mary are gleefully throwing gas on the fire, and the lawmakers are trying their best to slow it down, even if they can't stop it.
I wish them luck, they're fighting against the shortsightedness of human nature.
In the meantime, I'm sure our formerly young executive sits in his office at the top smiling to himself each day as he works, thinking about how "he" singlehandedly saved the bank while a radio plays in the background...
"If-you-need-cash, and-need-it-now, call Geeeeeeeorge and Maaaaaaary!..."
In 1998, the Taiwanese financial markets are starting to take a hit because of businesses sending their production lines to mainland China. Taiwan is filled with dozens of Banks, born during the booming economy days of the 1980's and early 1990's and at one such bank, Cosmos Bank, a worried board of directors sits around wondering how they're going to weather the currently looming crisis. They need cash, they need investors and a source of income, but all the traditional sources (business loans, home loans, credit cards) are all tapped out or not doing too well in the current economy. What to do? What to do?
Then I picture a young up and coming exec (which would put him in his 40's around here)looking out the boardroom window and seeing the signs for one of the big computer companies or perhaps it was for a cosmetics line. In any case, an idea suddenly strikes him: big loans aren't working...why don't we try...micro loans! Credit cards at the time have (by North American standards) low maximums and charge a large amount of interest (around 20% per month) on money taken out for cash advances. So, our young exec decides, why not make a new type of card which fills in the gap between major loans and credit cards. By making the interest a little lower (say 18% per month), making the card really easy to get (both credit cards and loans require two co-signers and a lot of paperwork to get) and making the money easy to access (use a bank machine to draw money anytime you want from your loan account) people, and especially young goods-hungry consumers will be able to get the goods they want, when they want them, without any of that legal hassle that puts them off.
So, our bright young executive whips his chair around and quickly raises his hand.
"Yes?" Says the chairman.
Without pausing to take a breath, the young exec boldly outlines his new idea while the other members of the board listen quietly, nodding to themselves. Slowly, their eyes start to light up as they see the possibilties, even the chairman is smiling to himself. But, there's that one doubter down at the end, the one who never liked our young exec to begin with, and he raises his hand to comment.
"Nice idea, but how do we get them to buy into it?"
The young exec's eyes go wide as he hits a question he didn't think of yet, quickly he searches his thoughts, and then his look of fear turns to confidence again.
"We don't sell it to them as a loan from a bank. Kids borrow money from friends and family all the time, and we'll sell it to them as a loan from some friends. They're not getting money from us, they're getting money from their buddies next door...We'll call them...George and Mary."
Is this how it happened? Who knows?
But, the reality is that shortly after this two young hipsters were everywhere to be seen in Taiwan by the names of George and Mary. Sporting the latest fashions and electronic goods, these advertising darlings and their catchy theme song became an everpresent aspect of Taiwanese culture. Young people flocked to Cosmos bank to get money from their new friends "George and Mary", and other banks quickly followed suit with their clones as the cash started to roll in. Sure, it was about lending money out to people, but of course young people are notorious for not paying their bills on time, and 18% interest racks up some hefty bills pretty quickly. People who weren't willing to take out killer cash advances seemed not as bothered by these "temporary loans" which had to be taken as cash, not credit. After all, most probably figured, they could pay it off in a paycheck or two. (You still needed to have a job before George and Mary would lend money to you, but little other requirements.)
A few weeks ago, Taiwan lawmakers banned banks and lending institutions from advertising these cards in anything but the print media. The reason? Taiwanese currently owe NT$350 Million (about 14 million Canadian dollars) to banks on these cash cards, and some banks have even gone under due to people defaulting on their payments. Parents are the ones often being stuck with the bills, and families have collapsed financially as well because the temporary loans they took from "George and Mary" turned into mounting debt. In a country where there is little social security, and the financial situation is getting worse and worse due to political and economic problems, George and Mary are gleefully throwing gas on the fire, and the lawmakers are trying their best to slow it down, even if they can't stop it.
I wish them luck, they're fighting against the shortsightedness of human nature.
In the meantime, I'm sure our formerly young executive sits in his office at the top smiling to himself each day as he works, thinking about how "he" singlehandedly saved the bank while a radio plays in the background...
"If-you-need-cash, and-need-it-now, call Geeeeeeeorge and Maaaaaaary!..."
Ending it all...
So, I'm going to talk about movies again. (And spoil the first one, and a little bit of the second, so be warned...)
Last night, I saw a movie (to be fair, I saw half of it due to switching locations) called Swordfish, starring Hugh Jackman, Holly Berry and John Travolta as the bad guy. To sum the movie up, Travolta and Berry play members of a secret US organization which actively hunts down and kills threats to the United States. For whatever reason, they're going to lose their funding, so Travolta comes up with a big scheme to steal a few hundred million dollars by means of a bank heist crossed with a computer hacking job. To do this, they need the best hacker available, so enter Hugh Jackman, the best hacker available and just out of prison. He's trying to get his daughter back from her mother, who's married to a porn king (and one of his main stars) but the courts prefer her to an ex-con. So, to get the money to win in court against his ex-wife, Jackman signs on with Travolta and Berry, not realizing what he's getting into. Jackman basically spends the movie finding out what's really going on and freaking out as Travolta kills various people, being those who get in the way of his holy quest to save America. He endangers and kills innocents as well as the people who try to stop him, and is a bad bad man, which makes Jackman turn against him in the end.
In fact, Jackman kills Travolta and his buddies by blowing up their helicopter with a rocket launcher because he wants him dead, dead, dead because he's really and evil man. So, the FBI agent who was also hunting Travolta takes Jackman to ID the body...and Jackman looks down and sees the body in the morgue isn't Travolta. At which point Jackman puts together a bunch of "clues" during the movie and realizes how Travolta escaped and how much of what he thought he saw during the movie was lies. The villain is still out there, and he's the only one who might know it and be able to help the FBI nail him, much less the question of Travolta coming back to kill him and his daughter. So, he immediately tells the FBI agent the truth, right?
WRONG!
He mumbles "yeah", and leaves to go of with his (now recovered) daughter on a camping trip. Meanwhile we see Berry's character clean out the foreign bank account, and then get news reports of terrorist leaders all over the world being killed.
End of movie.
What the heck? So, let me get this staight, the bad guy completely won in every way possible...and we're to feel good about this because he's killing other "bad guys"? Or, because the bad guy was John Travolta somehow it makes it okay? And, Jackman, who was ready to kill the villain is suddenly happy to let him go? Who wrote this crap?
In other news...today I saw Sahara with Connie and her mother, which overall is a pretty average adventure film with a few clever ideas but generally forgettable cardboard characters who walk through the movie doing what their characters are supposed to do. (ie Action Hero does what action heroes do, sidekick does what sidekicks do, villians do...etc) But, since it's an action movie, all is to be expected and most of it can be forgiven in the name of entertainment.
What can't be forgiven, however, is the ending.
Oh, it has the normal action movie ending (sort of, the bad guy doesn't die during the film but theoretically will eventually die...sort of...) but the problem lies in that the movie hinges on the central mystery of how a US Civil War Ironclad filled with gold coins ended up in the Sahara desert. The movie opens with the ship leaving, and the ship is referenced countless times, it's a major plot point and in fact the ship does turn up by the end of the movie (surprise!) in time to play a pivotal role in the story. They even explain how the ship could have gotten up the Niger river to the desert, and it's a good and logical explanation, no problems there.
The problem comes in that since the movie producers are so busy trying to make their little action movie about how dumping toxic waste in the middle of the desert will destroy the world (You'd have to see it, and I don't buy it, but I guess the movie wouldn't be interesting if the hero's didn't somehow save the world in the process...) they kind've-sort've never bother to tell us how or why the ship ended up there (sitting there cargo intact next to a desert fortress for 150 years without anyone noticing) in the first place. I'm not kidding, they literally forget to tell us the answer to the mystery that we've been waiting two hours to find out. I guess they figure the audience forgot about that little old detail while we were watching the endless bullets and car chases. My only hope is, that since this was based on a novel there actually is a reason out there, and it either a) was lost on the cutting room floor during editing by accident, or b) lost during the endless re-writes that resulted from the 3 different sets of screenwriters listed in the opening credits taking a pass at it.
Then again, maybe I'm the only one who noticed or cared. (And, I did check with Connie and her Mom, just to make sure I didn't miss anything, and I didn't...there were no answers given.) It's just I feel a little ripped off, like reading a Sherlock Holmes story where they never reveal the killer or a movie where the bad guy wins for no good reason...
Rob
Last night, I saw a movie (to be fair, I saw half of it due to switching locations) called Swordfish, starring Hugh Jackman, Holly Berry and John Travolta as the bad guy. To sum the movie up, Travolta and Berry play members of a secret US organization which actively hunts down and kills threats to the United States. For whatever reason, they're going to lose their funding, so Travolta comes up with a big scheme to steal a few hundred million dollars by means of a bank heist crossed with a computer hacking job. To do this, they need the best hacker available, so enter Hugh Jackman, the best hacker available and just out of prison. He's trying to get his daughter back from her mother, who's married to a porn king (and one of his main stars) but the courts prefer her to an ex-con. So, to get the money to win in court against his ex-wife, Jackman signs on with Travolta and Berry, not realizing what he's getting into. Jackman basically spends the movie finding out what's really going on and freaking out as Travolta kills various people, being those who get in the way of his holy quest to save America. He endangers and kills innocents as well as the people who try to stop him, and is a bad bad man, which makes Jackman turn against him in the end.
In fact, Jackman kills Travolta and his buddies by blowing up their helicopter with a rocket launcher because he wants him dead, dead, dead because he's really and evil man. So, the FBI agent who was also hunting Travolta takes Jackman to ID the body...and Jackman looks down and sees the body in the morgue isn't Travolta. At which point Jackman puts together a bunch of "clues" during the movie and realizes how Travolta escaped and how much of what he thought he saw during the movie was lies. The villain is still out there, and he's the only one who might know it and be able to help the FBI nail him, much less the question of Travolta coming back to kill him and his daughter. So, he immediately tells the FBI agent the truth, right?
WRONG!
He mumbles "yeah", and leaves to go of with his (now recovered) daughter on a camping trip. Meanwhile we see Berry's character clean out the foreign bank account, and then get news reports of terrorist leaders all over the world being killed.
End of movie.
What the heck? So, let me get this staight, the bad guy completely won in every way possible...and we're to feel good about this because he's killing other "bad guys"? Or, because the bad guy was John Travolta somehow it makes it okay? And, Jackman, who was ready to kill the villain is suddenly happy to let him go? Who wrote this crap?
In other news...today I saw Sahara with Connie and her mother, which overall is a pretty average adventure film with a few clever ideas but generally forgettable cardboard characters who walk through the movie doing what their characters are supposed to do. (ie Action Hero does what action heroes do, sidekick does what sidekicks do, villians do...etc) But, since it's an action movie, all is to be expected and most of it can be forgiven in the name of entertainment.
What can't be forgiven, however, is the ending.
Oh, it has the normal action movie ending (sort of, the bad guy doesn't die during the film but theoretically will eventually die...sort of...) but the problem lies in that the movie hinges on the central mystery of how a US Civil War Ironclad filled with gold coins ended up in the Sahara desert. The movie opens with the ship leaving, and the ship is referenced countless times, it's a major plot point and in fact the ship does turn up by the end of the movie (surprise!) in time to play a pivotal role in the story. They even explain how the ship could have gotten up the Niger river to the desert, and it's a good and logical explanation, no problems there.
The problem comes in that since the movie producers are so busy trying to make their little action movie about how dumping toxic waste in the middle of the desert will destroy the world (You'd have to see it, and I don't buy it, but I guess the movie wouldn't be interesting if the hero's didn't somehow save the world in the process...) they kind've-sort've never bother to tell us how or why the ship ended up there (sitting there cargo intact next to a desert fortress for 150 years without anyone noticing) in the first place. I'm not kidding, they literally forget to tell us the answer to the mystery that we've been waiting two hours to find out. I guess they figure the audience forgot about that little old detail while we were watching the endless bullets and car chases. My only hope is, that since this was based on a novel there actually is a reason out there, and it either a) was lost on the cutting room floor during editing by accident, or b) lost during the endless re-writes that resulted from the 3 different sets of screenwriters listed in the opening credits taking a pass at it.
Then again, maybe I'm the only one who noticed or cared. (And, I did check with Connie and her Mom, just to make sure I didn't miss anything, and I didn't...there were no answers given.) It's just I feel a little ripped off, like reading a Sherlock Holmes story where they never reveal the killer or a movie where the bad guy wins for no good reason...
Rob
Friday, April 22, 2005
For all you artist types out there...(and Star Wars fans...)
I can't explain it, you just have to see it. I can only promise that it's cool to watch, if somewhat surreal. In case you're wondering, it's the beginning and end of Star Wars Episode 4, sort of, you'll just have to watch.
CSI: Taipei
I have to say that for it's size, Taipei is probably one of the safest cities on Earth, right up there with Tokyo. I wander around this city at night with no sense of being in danger at all, and when I ask my female students if they feel threatened traveling home alone at night, the answer I get is "not at all". Yes, there are crimes just like any other major city, but for the most part they're "victimless" crimes such as robbery and theft. But, even then I wonder sometimes why there are bars on almost every window in Taiwan. Are they a relic of the older, less safe days? If you ask people why they are there, they'll say "because of thieves", but there never seems to be any mention of thieves in the paper and I haven't heard of anyone whose house got robbed. Maybe that's because the bars work? I don't know.
That said, there is one aspect of crime and lawlessness that does seem to plague Taiwan, and that's in the form of organized crime. While the streets aren't very dangerous, gangs and gangsters have a lot of power here as they do anywhere in Asia. A few weeks ago a rich businessman got kidnapped and his family had to pay millions to contacts in China for his release. Often the local gangsters co-operate with ones on the Mainland because they know because of the problems between Taiwan and China, they're safe. It's kind've like "running for the Mexican border" used to be in the Old West.
So far, I've managed to avoid running into them. I hope to keep it that way.
Rob
That said, there is one aspect of crime and lawlessness that does seem to plague Taiwan, and that's in the form of organized crime. While the streets aren't very dangerous, gangs and gangsters have a lot of power here as they do anywhere in Asia. A few weeks ago a rich businessman got kidnapped and his family had to pay millions to contacts in China for his release. Often the local gangsters co-operate with ones on the Mainland because they know because of the problems between Taiwan and China, they're safe. It's kind've like "running for the Mexican border" used to be in the Old West.
So far, I've managed to avoid running into them. I hope to keep it that way.
Rob
Thursday, April 21, 2005
The Ugly Chinaman
Originally from mainland China, Bo Yang came to live in Taiwan and suffered under the rule of the KMT during Taiwan's dictatorial period. He is considered one of the greatest writers of Taiwan, and wrote a great deal, but what he is most famous for is his book "The Ugly Chinaman" which deals with his perceptions about the flaws in Chinese culture. (And patterned after a similar book called "The Ugly American" which came out some years previously by an American author.)
Thanks to Connie needing to read a condensed version of that book for one of her classes, I recently had the chance to read this essay about Chinese culture. While I think that the essay (which was written some 20 years ago) doesn't entirely apply to the modern culture of Taipei around me, I can still see a lot of the truth in it. Reading it made me rethink many of my perceptions of these people around me, and I am still considering his words.
For your reading pleasure, the essay can be found here:
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~mszonyi/280/280Bo_Yang.htm
Thanks to Connie needing to read a condensed version of that book for one of her classes, I recently had the chance to read this essay about Chinese culture. While I think that the essay (which was written some 20 years ago) doesn't entirely apply to the modern culture of Taipei around me, I can still see a lot of the truth in it. Reading it made me rethink many of my perceptions of these people around me, and I am still considering his words.
For your reading pleasure, the essay can be found here:
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~mszonyi/280/280Bo_Yang.htm
Friday, April 15, 2005
Dragon Fist II
Rob's free online game find of the week is Dragonfist II a FLASH fighting game filled with creativity and old kung-fu movie sound clips. The characters are simple, but the action isn't. Try it out!
Thursday, April 07, 2005
War of the Worlds
When I was a kid, one of my favorite movie was called War of the Worlds, about an alien invasion of Earth and people trying to survive. Of course, in the original the people trying to survive were the usual scientists that you saw in every old science fiction movie. Now there's a new version of this story with Tom Cruise, and while I was initially skeptical about it I just saw a new trailer for it today that gave me chills. In the new version it's just about a dock worker and his two kids trying to survive as the invasion comes, and it looks like it could be a wonderful commentary on humanity and the human spirit. Of course I will remain a little skeptical until I see it, but I have to say I am impressed by what I've seen so far.
Here's the link to the main site where you'll find the regular trailers and teasers.
Here's the link to the new Japanese version of the trailer (Japanese subtitles and a Japanese voiceover) which is longer and I think is the best version of the trailer. Interestingly enough, in Japanese it's called "Uchu Senso" or "Space War", which I guess fits it well enough.
Here's the link to the main site where you'll find the regular trailers and teasers.
Here's the link to the new Japanese version of the trailer (Japanese subtitles and a Japanese voiceover) which is longer and I think is the best version of the trailer. Interestingly enough, in Japanese it's called "Uchu Senso" or "Space War", which I guess fits it well enough.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Today, Connie, her mother and I visited the temple in downtown Taipei to pay respects to Guan Yu, the Patron Saint of Bravery and Justice. I visited this place again because I had offered him a prayer when I first came to Taipei and felt I owed him thanks for my good luck since I got here. Connie was offering a prayer for success in her upcoming entrance exams.
The cozy non-office which I share with the other 3 ESP teachers. This is basically a prep-room where we drop by, do our work, and then leave. There's also a secretarial office next door, and that's pretty much the whole place. (Mind you, KoJen does actually occupy most of the building, but that's the regular school, not the ESP devision.)
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Friday, April 01, 2005
Star Wars Games
I recently came across an absolutely amazing homemade Star Wars game simulating the final Battle of Endor from Return of the Jedi. Amazing work that I highly recommend any fan try out:
Battle of Endor
If, however, you are a Star Trek fan, you can use this Mod for Battle of Endor to put yourself at the helm of the Defiant at the Invasion of Cardassia at the end of the series Deep Space 9. Of course you need to install Battle of Endor first before you install the mod.
And, here's one other oddity, a simulator that allows you to see how a battle between a small group of Jedi and an army of Droids would play out. It's in Java, and needs a recent client to run.
Jedi vs. Droids
Enjoy!
Rob
Battle of Endor
If, however, you are a Star Trek fan, you can use this Mod for Battle of Endor to put yourself at the helm of the Defiant at the Invasion of Cardassia at the end of the series Deep Space 9. Of course you need to install Battle of Endor first before you install the mod.
And, here's one other oddity, a simulator that allows you to see how a battle between a small group of Jedi and an army of Droids would play out. It's in Java, and needs a recent client to run.
Jedi vs. Droids
Enjoy!
Rob
Animal Life in Taipei
Today as I was walking to the bank with my office manager Sharon to open an account, she suddenly stopped just before the bank and said. "Oh, look at that cat, it's got blood on it's paw." There, slumped up again a stone pillar was an orange and brown housecat and as she said it the cat started to move. Once it started to move, I knew that it's paw was the least of the animal's worries. "It's been hit by a car or moped and dragged itself off the road to here," I told her as the animal wobbly tried to move under the fleet of mopeds parked on the sidewalk. "It's going to die soon." She expressed her horror at seeing it, and we moved on to do our business.
Now, in reading this you might think we were callous for not helping the cat; maybe we should have called the local humane society or tried to get it to a vet. But, the truth is this isn't the first time I've had such a sight since I've been here in Taipei. Taipei is a very crowded and busy city filled with fast-moving cars, incredibly aggressive cab drivers and hundreds of thousands of moped drivers who zip around everywhere. Into this, put an explosively huge dog and cat population unhindered by climate and largely free to roam the city and you're making a recipe for disaster.
When I first came here I was horrified at seeing dogs wandering loose in this busy environment, then I was more relaxed when I realized many of the dogs around me were actually very car-savy. They would wait at crosswalks, and most of them crossed the roads with humans rather than do it alone, knowing there was safety that way. I was actually very impressed by how smart they were, that was until I got to see a dog that wandered onto the road ahead of us one night get hit not once by twice as it staggered away and wandered into the other direction of traffic.. (Well, I couldn't watch the second time when I knew what was coming and could do nothing to stop it as I was in a car several cars back.) That's when it occured to me that the reason I saw so many smart dogs was all the stupid ones were long dead. (And, the other living dogs are a tribute to the skill of Taipei's drivers.)
There are a lot of wild and stray dogs in Taipei, since many owners let their animals wander or abandon them when they get too troublesome, and a lot of tamed ones too. The easiest way to tell the difference is grooming (of course pets are better groomed) and the second easiest way is the pets are wearing clothes. Whoever thought of doggie t-shirts should be making a mint in Taipei, because there are a lot of dogs here wearing them. I guess it's a way to let people know your dog isn't just some stray. Mostly, the dogs ignore the people, and the people ignoore the dogs and life goes on.
I hope all dogs go to heaven, because after this they deserve it.
Now, in reading this you might think we were callous for not helping the cat; maybe we should have called the local humane society or tried to get it to a vet. But, the truth is this isn't the first time I've had such a sight since I've been here in Taipei. Taipei is a very crowded and busy city filled with fast-moving cars, incredibly aggressive cab drivers and hundreds of thousands of moped drivers who zip around everywhere. Into this, put an explosively huge dog and cat population unhindered by climate and largely free to roam the city and you're making a recipe for disaster.
When I first came here I was horrified at seeing dogs wandering loose in this busy environment, then I was more relaxed when I realized many of the dogs around me were actually very car-savy. They would wait at crosswalks, and most of them crossed the roads with humans rather than do it alone, knowing there was safety that way. I was actually very impressed by how smart they were, that was until I got to see a dog that wandered onto the road ahead of us one night get hit not once by twice as it staggered away and wandered into the other direction of traffic.. (Well, I couldn't watch the second time when I knew what was coming and could do nothing to stop it as I was in a car several cars back.) That's when it occured to me that the reason I saw so many smart dogs was all the stupid ones were long dead. (And, the other living dogs are a tribute to the skill of Taipei's drivers.)
There are a lot of wild and stray dogs in Taipei, since many owners let their animals wander or abandon them when they get too troublesome, and a lot of tamed ones too. The easiest way to tell the difference is grooming (of course pets are better groomed) and the second easiest way is the pets are wearing clothes. Whoever thought of doggie t-shirts should be making a mint in Taipei, because there are a lot of dogs here wearing them. I guess it's a way to let people know your dog isn't just some stray. Mostly, the dogs ignore the people, and the people ignoore the dogs and life goes on.
I hope all dogs go to heaven, because after this they deserve it.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Videos
Sumo-rai Soccer: A Japanese soccer team vs. an Australia soccer team, really funny.
The Armour Stopping Abilities of the 5th Edition HERO Rules: (You might need to right-click and save this one to your HD to see it, it's about 15mb.) A couple of HERO gamers took a copy of the new edition of the HERO rulesbook (aka REvised Fifth Rules EDition or Re-FRED) and did a series of tests on it's military usefulness using their gun collection. It brings to mind the question...how does YOUR favorite RPG stand up to a 45mm armour piercing bullet?
Rob
The Armour Stopping Abilities of the 5th Edition HERO Rules: (You might need to right-click and save this one to your HD to see it, it's about 15mb.) A couple of HERO gamers took a copy of the new edition of the HERO rulesbook (aka REvised Fifth Rules EDition or Re-FRED) and did a series of tests on it's military usefulness using their gun collection. It brings to mind the question...how does YOUR favorite RPG stand up to a 45mm armour piercing bullet?
Rob
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Peace for Taiwan
Saturday was my birthday, and by tradition I usually celebrate it with family and friends, but yesterday I decided to participate in a historical event instead. Yesterday here in Taiwan a rally was held in protest against China's anti-succession law which China passed last week as a way to declare they were willing to use any means necessary to "reacquire" their national territory that is Taiwan from the rebel factions that "hold it".
Of course, this is utter bull.
To give a quick history lesson, Taiwan was originally a small piece of land off the coast of China which was settled by people from the pacific islands and the FuJian province of China. These independant people were conquered by the Dutch during their colonial phase and taken in turn by the Portugese (who named it "Formosa", the "beautiful island"). After they'd had it for a while, it fell into the hands of China who considered it a pirate and disease infested island they had very little interest in. They used it as a place to send governors who were out of favor with the Chinese court and it was considered of minimal interest at best. So, when Japanese got colonial at the start of the Meiji period (1866) and began to threaten China, China more or less threw Taiwan at them as a bone to keep them at bay. The Japanese were the first to actually take serious interest in Taiwan and modernized the country, treating the Taiwanese like Japanese citizens. (Second class citizens, but above the dirt the Chinese had treated them like.) This is the reason that the Taiwanese, despite having been somewhat abused during WWII (Taiwanese women were sent to Indonesia as comfort women for Japanese troops.), actually don't have any real hatred for the Japanese, unlike the people of mainland China or Korea.
Regardless, WWII came to an end, and at that time the Japanese renounced all colonial holdings, which included Taiwan, setting Taiwan free. Of course, this was just in time for the losing side of a Chinese civil war to show up and take refuge in Taiwan, turning the island into their last stand fortress and putting the whip to the local population. After 40 years of military dictatorship, however, the Taiwanese managed to win their freedom and the government became just another faction in a democratic state. They are a peaceful, industrious people who enjoy their freedom and work hard to maintain it because they know the difference. They have become a leader in technology, and most of the computer chips and parts in the world are made or partially produced right here. (Including the computer you are using to read this.)
Now, the problem comes that as far as China is concerned, because they were the former owners of Taiwan at one point (note, they also owned Vietnam, Mongolia and Korea during some points of history) they are still the rightful owners of this island. But, when one considers their claim one begins to wonder why they care so much about this island and not as much about Korea or Vietnam. (They're not passing a Korean Succession Act anytime soon...) As far as I can tell based on what I have been told and read, there are three answers.
A) The Chinese civil war at the beginning of the 20th century was fought by the Communists and the Nationalists, and the Nationalist retreated here after the Communists won. Technically, as long as territory held by the Nationalists (known now as the KuoMingTang or KMT party) exists they haven't really won the war. Taiwan is a glaring failure of their glorious empire to rule over the Chinese people and a matter of national pride.
This answer was the reason for the animosity they held for most of the 20th century, and the reason they have bullied the international community into paying lip service to the lie that there is only one Chinese government. There is only one Chinese government, but there is also a Taiwanese government. But, as the 21st century dawns, their motives have changed to more practical ones.
B) Taiwan lies in the middle of the shipping lanes that oversee most of the ship traffic in this part of the Pacific, and were China to control Taiwan they would effectively dominate Asia. It's simply a key strategic point, and this is why the United States has it's long-standing agreement to defend Taiwan. If Taiwan were lost, Korea and Japan would both be at China's mercy as they're reliant on resources that pass by Taiwan daily.
C) I have been told there may be large amounts of oil and mineral resources sitting under the oceans around Taiwan that are as yet untapped. China wants Taiwan for the same basic reasons the US wanted Iraq, the world's oil supply is running low and they're grabbing everything they can get their hands on. Right now, China is buying oil left right and center to meet their growing needs, but the more they have in their own territory the better. In 20-30 years or less oil will be more precious than gold and he who has the oil, wins.
Really, Taiwan is just a pawn in a game of power politics being played by the United States, Japan and China. But, the people here want the right to determine their own future, and I agree with them and their right to choose. That's why I marched with them yesterday to declare that they want a peaceful future and the right to choose that future, be it as part of China or an independant state. (Which they started as, even if they haven't spent much time being independant in history.) It was a new an exhillerating experience, and now I have some sense of how the protest marchers of the 1960's in America must have felt as they stood strong against the government and asked for change. Ironically enough, the Taiwanese don't want change, they are already a strong independant nation, they just want the rest of the world to stop letting China's government bully them.
Of course, this is utter bull.
To give a quick history lesson, Taiwan was originally a small piece of land off the coast of China which was settled by people from the pacific islands and the FuJian province of China. These independant people were conquered by the Dutch during their colonial phase and taken in turn by the Portugese (who named it "Formosa", the "beautiful island"). After they'd had it for a while, it fell into the hands of China who considered it a pirate and disease infested island they had very little interest in. They used it as a place to send governors who were out of favor with the Chinese court and it was considered of minimal interest at best. So, when Japanese got colonial at the start of the Meiji period (1866) and began to threaten China, China more or less threw Taiwan at them as a bone to keep them at bay. The Japanese were the first to actually take serious interest in Taiwan and modernized the country, treating the Taiwanese like Japanese citizens. (Second class citizens, but above the dirt the Chinese had treated them like.) This is the reason that the Taiwanese, despite having been somewhat abused during WWII (Taiwanese women were sent to Indonesia as comfort women for Japanese troops.), actually don't have any real hatred for the Japanese, unlike the people of mainland China or Korea.
Regardless, WWII came to an end, and at that time the Japanese renounced all colonial holdings, which included Taiwan, setting Taiwan free. Of course, this was just in time for the losing side of a Chinese civil war to show up and take refuge in Taiwan, turning the island into their last stand fortress and putting the whip to the local population. After 40 years of military dictatorship, however, the Taiwanese managed to win their freedom and the government became just another faction in a democratic state. They are a peaceful, industrious people who enjoy their freedom and work hard to maintain it because they know the difference. They have become a leader in technology, and most of the computer chips and parts in the world are made or partially produced right here. (Including the computer you are using to read this.)
Now, the problem comes that as far as China is concerned, because they were the former owners of Taiwan at one point (note, they also owned Vietnam, Mongolia and Korea during some points of history) they are still the rightful owners of this island. But, when one considers their claim one begins to wonder why they care so much about this island and not as much about Korea or Vietnam. (They're not passing a Korean Succession Act anytime soon...) As far as I can tell based on what I have been told and read, there are three answers.
A) The Chinese civil war at the beginning of the 20th century was fought by the Communists and the Nationalists, and the Nationalist retreated here after the Communists won. Technically, as long as territory held by the Nationalists (known now as the KuoMingTang or KMT party) exists they haven't really won the war. Taiwan is a glaring failure of their glorious empire to rule over the Chinese people and a matter of national pride.
This answer was the reason for the animosity they held for most of the 20th century, and the reason they have bullied the international community into paying lip service to the lie that there is only one Chinese government. There is only one Chinese government, but there is also a Taiwanese government. But, as the 21st century dawns, their motives have changed to more practical ones.
B) Taiwan lies in the middle of the shipping lanes that oversee most of the ship traffic in this part of the Pacific, and were China to control Taiwan they would effectively dominate Asia. It's simply a key strategic point, and this is why the United States has it's long-standing agreement to defend Taiwan. If Taiwan were lost, Korea and Japan would both be at China's mercy as they're reliant on resources that pass by Taiwan daily.
C) I have been told there may be large amounts of oil and mineral resources sitting under the oceans around Taiwan that are as yet untapped. China wants Taiwan for the same basic reasons the US wanted Iraq, the world's oil supply is running low and they're grabbing everything they can get their hands on. Right now, China is buying oil left right and center to meet their growing needs, but the more they have in their own territory the better. In 20-30 years or less oil will be more precious than gold and he who has the oil, wins.
Really, Taiwan is just a pawn in a game of power politics being played by the United States, Japan and China. But, the people here want the right to determine their own future, and I agree with them and their right to choose. That's why I marched with them yesterday to declare that they want a peaceful future and the right to choose that future, be it as part of China or an independant state. (Which they started as, even if they haven't spent much time being independant in history.) It was a new an exhillerating experience, and now I have some sense of how the protest marchers of the 1960's in America must have felt as they stood strong against the government and asked for change. Ironically enough, the Taiwanese don't want change, they are already a strong independant nation, they just want the rest of the world to stop letting China's government bully them.
Tens of thousands of people cram into the area around the ancient city gate that has survived for hundreds of years and which acts as the entrance to Taipei's political district. It was a clauserphobic experience at some points, being part of a literal unending sea of people. To give you an idea, when we left we had to walk 8 blocks before the crowds started to thin, and it was like that in all directions. When they say almost a million people showed up, they're not kidding.
Even the country's canine population showed up in force to support peace, this was one of many dogs who participated with their owners, and I even saw a few golden retrievers. The t-shirt this woman is wearing says "A-Bian", which is the nickname for the country's president Chien Shui-Bian, but all sides of the political spectrum showed up for the rally.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Bussin
The Mass Transit system here in Taipei is a wonder to behold, especially the trains, Taipei has a wonderful network of connected monorails and subways which can get you about this city with amazing speed and efficiency. Clean, modern, and well maintained, I have nothing but praise for the MRT (subway/monorail) system of Taipei and suggest that anyone who visits this city make a point of trying it out.
That said, a few weeks ago I commented to Connie that if anything were to put me in the hospital in Taipei it wouldn't be the incredibly aggressive cab drivers or the kamikaze scooter riders who all think they're Kamen Rider. No, it would be a bus accident that would be the cause of Rob's pain, but not being hit by a bus, oh no, being ON a bus.
You see, Taipei has what seems to me to be a rather unique bus system, and I have to say a generally clever one on the part of the Taipei city government. Basically, their whole bus system is privatized (or semi-privatized), with the city government creating the bus routes and providing the electronic pay-system that both the busses and the MRT use. (They use a cash-card system here for mass transit, a rather impressive one that doesn't even require swiping your card, only holding it up to a sensor for a moment. ) So, the city controls the otherwise private bus companies through the pre-established routes and the fact that the city is still the one paying the bus companies to do what they do. Technically, any company can get in on the game, they just have to conform to the city standards and join the program, although primarily it seems to me that one company has most of the business based on what I've seen. The companies take care of their own gas, maintenance and staff, and the city just acts as a network controller directing things.
But, because of this system several quirks have popped up.
One of these quirks is that there are no bus schedules that I have seen, and this is because more than one company is providing service on the same route. These companies don't co-ordinate with each other, and in fact seem to be in direct competition with each other a lot of the time. This leads to another major quirk of Taipei's bus system, which is that unlike Canadian bus drivers who leisurely make their way around their routes, Taipei drivers RACE around their routes as fast as their bus will carry them. (If anyone has been on the bus of a driver in Canada finishing his shift for the day, you will have some idea of what this is like.) In fact, even though you are standing at a bus stop, unless a) you wave the driver down, b) someone on the bus wants to stop there or c) the bus is empty and he's trying to attract people, the bus WILL NOT STOP FOR YOU. Sometimes this is a good thing, since if there's nobody who wants to get on your bus can get you to your destination very quickly. But, sometimes the driver doesn't notice you, at which point you get to watch your bus vanish in the distance and wait and pray for another one to come along who will notice you. (In all fairness, they do almost always notice you if there's not another bus blocking their view.)
This has led to some of the bumpiest and most wild bus rides I have ever had in my life, and that's just getting home from work. You never know when the bus will accelerate or slam on the breaks, and more than a few times I have been hurled forward if I didn't have a tight enough grip when there wasn't a seat. (And only "high risk" seats get seatbelts.)
Lest you think that only city drivers are that way, last weekend I had my first country bus ride as Connie, her mother and I went to the mountain city of Jiu Fen. (A former mining city literally sitting on top of a mountain that's turned into a tourist town with quite the spectacular view.) We took a train there, and then a bus back, and I have to say it was quite the bus ride. Imagine doing 90kph down narrow mountain roads that are only 1.5 lanes wide and then dropping into even tighter village streets where are pedestrians, cars and animals everywhere without slowing down and you will have some idea of what I'm talking about. I can only compare it to the trench run from the first Star Wars movie (to be released) except replace the X-Wing with a Greyhound bus.
All said, however, I have to say that I have never seen any of these bus drivers get into an accident and they've got to be some of the most skilled bus drivers in the world. Just remember if you ever come here and ride the bus, you'll need crash pads and a helmet.
Rob
That said, a few weeks ago I commented to Connie that if anything were to put me in the hospital in Taipei it wouldn't be the incredibly aggressive cab drivers or the kamikaze scooter riders who all think they're Kamen Rider. No, it would be a bus accident that would be the cause of Rob's pain, but not being hit by a bus, oh no, being ON a bus.
You see, Taipei has what seems to me to be a rather unique bus system, and I have to say a generally clever one on the part of the Taipei city government. Basically, their whole bus system is privatized (or semi-privatized), with the city government creating the bus routes and providing the electronic pay-system that both the busses and the MRT use. (They use a cash-card system here for mass transit, a rather impressive one that doesn't even require swiping your card, only holding it up to a sensor for a moment. ) So, the city controls the otherwise private bus companies through the pre-established routes and the fact that the city is still the one paying the bus companies to do what they do. Technically, any company can get in on the game, they just have to conform to the city standards and join the program, although primarily it seems to me that one company has most of the business based on what I've seen. The companies take care of their own gas, maintenance and staff, and the city just acts as a network controller directing things.
But, because of this system several quirks have popped up.
One of these quirks is that there are no bus schedules that I have seen, and this is because more than one company is providing service on the same route. These companies don't co-ordinate with each other, and in fact seem to be in direct competition with each other a lot of the time. This leads to another major quirk of Taipei's bus system, which is that unlike Canadian bus drivers who leisurely make their way around their routes, Taipei drivers RACE around their routes as fast as their bus will carry them. (If anyone has been on the bus of a driver in Canada finishing his shift for the day, you will have some idea of what this is like.) In fact, even though you are standing at a bus stop, unless a) you wave the driver down, b) someone on the bus wants to stop there or c) the bus is empty and he's trying to attract people, the bus WILL NOT STOP FOR YOU. Sometimes this is a good thing, since if there's nobody who wants to get on your bus can get you to your destination very quickly. But, sometimes the driver doesn't notice you, at which point you get to watch your bus vanish in the distance and wait and pray for another one to come along who will notice you. (In all fairness, they do almost always notice you if there's not another bus blocking their view.)
This has led to some of the bumpiest and most wild bus rides I have ever had in my life, and that's just getting home from work. You never know when the bus will accelerate or slam on the breaks, and more than a few times I have been hurled forward if I didn't have a tight enough grip when there wasn't a seat. (And only "high risk" seats get seatbelts.)
Lest you think that only city drivers are that way, last weekend I had my first country bus ride as Connie, her mother and I went to the mountain city of Jiu Fen. (A former mining city literally sitting on top of a mountain that's turned into a tourist town with quite the spectacular view.) We took a train there, and then a bus back, and I have to say it was quite the bus ride. Imagine doing 90kph down narrow mountain roads that are only 1.5 lanes wide and then dropping into even tighter village streets where are pedestrians, cars and animals everywhere without slowing down and you will have some idea of what I'm talking about. I can only compare it to the trench run from the first Star Wars movie (to be released) except replace the X-Wing with a Greyhound bus.
All said, however, I have to say that I have never seen any of these bus drivers get into an accident and they've got to be some of the most skilled bus drivers in the world. Just remember if you ever come here and ride the bus, you'll need crash pads and a helmet.
Rob
Springtime in Taiwan
Life goes on here in Taiwan, and Spring has finally started to come. It's hard to believe I am in my third month here, but it's true and time just seems to go faster and faster now that I've started work. Things are going well for me and Connie, and I'd have to say that I have settled nicely into my life here in Taiwan. I was reading a magazine article as I waited for my first paycheck at the head office today (YES! Rob finally got paid! Woohoo!) where fellow foreigners were talking about their reasons for staying in Taiwan. Some of them were talking about how when they did go back home for visits, it didn't take long before they started to miss the comforts of living in Taipei. Reading it, I already found myself nodding quietly because I knew what they were talking about. Taipei is a dynamic and thriving city yes, but the real pleasures of living here come from the small things. There are bakeries everywhere offering wide varieties of treats, restaurant culture is a high art here and the food is amazing, the public transit system is a thing to be adored and admired (well, except for the driving of the buses, but more on that later...), Coffee Shops and Cafes are plentiful and even 7-Elevens (which are everywhere) offer hot drinks that we could only hope for in Canada. If it weren't for the pollution, noise, earthquakes, typhoons, and constant threat of Chinese invasion, this place would be one of the best places to live on the planet. (I won't mention the killer heat yet, since I have yet to experience more than a brief humid taste of it...)
But, I digress.
I would have to say that I love my job, it's so much fun I can't believe sometimes I get paid for it, and my students often have to remind me that class time has ended because I would just keep teaching anyways. *^_^* Well, "teaching" is too strong a word, since with two exceptions, I'm primarily a conversation teacher/partner/facilitator who goes where they want me and helps them to practice their English. It's a fun and interesting job, and I get to meet a lot of really nice people and learn about many different parts of life here in Taiwan. Right now I am teaching 1 company president private lessons, 1 corporate lunch class to a Chinese/Japanese trading company's employees, 2 ESL classes at a biotech firm to groups of 13 students (the "real" teaching I mentioned, since they're real beginners), and a Saturday morning class to a group of office ladies where we sit around and talk about current events. Next week I'll be adding another class at a publishing company, which will take me up to about 22 hours of teaching a week. The only downside of the job is that the teaching is mostly mornings and evenings, so it pretty much kills my entire day since I often don't have time to go home in the afternoons. I end up spending my afternoons doing reading and preparing for my upcoming classes, and I find the time passes pretty quickly. I guess I am lucky in a way that Connie has both work and school, she's too busy to feel I have no time for her or be annoyed that our schedules don't match. The reason I also don't update as often as I did is that the laptop is a little heavy to cart around with me all day unless I need it, so it normally stays at home while I'm out traveling.
On an extra note, apparently my school (KoJen) is going to be offering it's teacher's free Chinese classes to help us survive around here. While I do already know survival level Chinese, it will still be nice to practice, and to actually meet some other teachers.
Anyways, that's all for now.
Best from Sunny Taipei!
Rob
But, I digress.
I would have to say that I love my job, it's so much fun I can't believe sometimes I get paid for it, and my students often have to remind me that class time has ended because I would just keep teaching anyways. *^_^* Well, "teaching" is too strong a word, since with two exceptions, I'm primarily a conversation teacher/partner/facilitator who goes where they want me and helps them to practice their English. It's a fun and interesting job, and I get to meet a lot of really nice people and learn about many different parts of life here in Taiwan. Right now I am teaching 1 company president private lessons, 1 corporate lunch class to a Chinese/Japanese trading company's employees, 2 ESL classes at a biotech firm to groups of 13 students (the "real" teaching I mentioned, since they're real beginners), and a Saturday morning class to a group of office ladies where we sit around and talk about current events. Next week I'll be adding another class at a publishing company, which will take me up to about 22 hours of teaching a week. The only downside of the job is that the teaching is mostly mornings and evenings, so it pretty much kills my entire day since I often don't have time to go home in the afternoons. I end up spending my afternoons doing reading and preparing for my upcoming classes, and I find the time passes pretty quickly. I guess I am lucky in a way that Connie has both work and school, she's too busy to feel I have no time for her or be annoyed that our schedules don't match. The reason I also don't update as often as I did is that the laptop is a little heavy to cart around with me all day unless I need it, so it normally stays at home while I'm out traveling.
On an extra note, apparently my school (KoJen) is going to be offering it's teacher's free Chinese classes to help us survive around here. While I do already know survival level Chinese, it will still be nice to practice, and to actually meet some other teachers.
Anyways, that's all for now.
Best from Sunny Taipei!
Rob
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Man almost on Fire but not Quite....
I saw a film that's a favorite of Connie's yesterday, "Man on Fire", starring Denzel Washington, Christopher Walkin and Mickey Rourke (although the latter two were minor characters and probably on-set about a week tops). The film was directed by Tony Scott (Ridley Scott's brother) and is based on a book about a drunken burnt-out CIA assassin (Denzel) who takes a job as a bodyguard in Mexico city. As they explain at the start of the film, the North American Free Trade Agreement created a large class of rich Mexicans who built and managed the factories that sit just South of the border and employ vast numbers of Mexican workers (doing what were formerly American and Canadian jobs, but I digress...). Of course, the vast majority of Mexicans are desperately poor, and so it's become common practice for the organized crime groups in Mexico to kidnap the children of rich people and ransom them. So common, in fact, that the rich have kidnap insurance policies to pay said ransoms, and so if one of them gets kidnapped the insurance company is actually the one out the money. This makes the whole process pretty simple, the rich always have insurance to cover the kidnappings, and the kidnappers just have to worry about getting that money to themselves without getting nailed by the police or other groups. The problem being that the Mexican police are often involved with the kidnappings to begin with since the reach of organized crime in Mexico is a long one.
Regardless, our drunk protagonist gets a job taking care of a rich young Mexicans half-American daughter and as you might expect she helps to give him his soul back through her innocence and purity. (Sorry to spoil it for you, but this is hardly a surprise.) As you will also guess, she gets kidnapped at a certain point in the film, and then...Well, I think we all know what's coming next when you kidnap the loved one of an ex-Navy seal/CIA assassin....Burnt-out/redeemed man goes into hunter-killer mode and lots of people die. (Although without witty banter and in ways which are quite logical, he's not an action hero he's an assassin, and he does the job of one.)
Okay, so there's our story and despite how cliche it sounds I have to say that it's almost a great film. Denzel does a great job, the story is actually well written and the premise (while tried and true) is actually pretty solid for an action movie. The problem comes in the storytelling, or should I say, the directing.
You see, I saw Gladiator (by Ridley Scott) a few weeks ago on TV here, and it predates this movie by about a year or so. This is important to note because if you see them roughly in tandem like I did, and know who directed each, then you realize what you are watching is Tony trying to copy and improve upon the filming style his brother used in Gladiator. All of the weird surreal effects that Gladiator uses (and I forgot about until I saw it again) Man on Fire uses ten times as much to try to create a disjointed sense of reality as the main character goes through his trials and the movie tries to keep itself visually interesting. And, I think this is where the problem with the film lies, the director is so focused on playing with cool visual techniques of filmmaking that he relegates the actual story and characters to secondary status. One can't help but wonder if it's not really a case of Tony thinking "well, doing THIS got my brother an Oscar...so I'll use 10X as much and get me 10 Oscars!"
Regardless, if you get the chance to see this film it really is worth seeing, despite my criticisms of the film it is a nice action-drama with some good performances and an ending that brings it all home. 7.5 out of 10.
Rob
Regardless, our drunk protagonist gets a job taking care of a rich young Mexicans half-American daughter and as you might expect she helps to give him his soul back through her innocence and purity. (Sorry to spoil it for you, but this is hardly a surprise.) As you will also guess, she gets kidnapped at a certain point in the film, and then...Well, I think we all know what's coming next when you kidnap the loved one of an ex-Navy seal/CIA assassin....Burnt-out/redeemed man goes into hunter-killer mode and lots of people die. (Although without witty banter and in ways which are quite logical, he's not an action hero he's an assassin, and he does the job of one.)
Okay, so there's our story and despite how cliche it sounds I have to say that it's almost a great film. Denzel does a great job, the story is actually well written and the premise (while tried and true) is actually pretty solid for an action movie. The problem comes in the storytelling, or should I say, the directing.
You see, I saw Gladiator (by Ridley Scott) a few weeks ago on TV here, and it predates this movie by about a year or so. This is important to note because if you see them roughly in tandem like I did, and know who directed each, then you realize what you are watching is Tony trying to copy and improve upon the filming style his brother used in Gladiator. All of the weird surreal effects that Gladiator uses (and I forgot about until I saw it again) Man on Fire uses ten times as much to try to create a disjointed sense of reality as the main character goes through his trials and the movie tries to keep itself visually interesting. And, I think this is where the problem with the film lies, the director is so focused on playing with cool visual techniques of filmmaking that he relegates the actual story and characters to secondary status. One can't help but wonder if it's not really a case of Tony thinking "well, doing THIS got my brother an Oscar...so I'll use 10X as much and get me 10 Oscars!"
Regardless, if you get the chance to see this film it really is worth seeing, despite my criticisms of the film it is a nice action-drama with some good performances and an ending that brings it all home. 7.5 out of 10.
Rob
Well that wasn't fun....
5.9 Earthquake last night at 3:05am, centered about an hour's drive South of here, but enough to make this place do quite a bit of shaking. No deaths or injuries, thank god.
It was interesting in that it followed the "ripple" effect you see when you throw a stone in the water, by which I mean that we were hit by an initial quick trembler. (These are small brief "shudders" which are not uncommon in Taiwan.) That was enough to wake me up and make me nervous, but it was what followed that actually scared me. After the "trembler" there was a low rumble for a few seconds and a feeling that something big was coming and building, and then suddenly all hell broke loose and the place was shaking like someone jumped on the waterbed for what feels like an enternity, but which is of course just a few more long seconds.
This of course was followed aftershocks, of which there were apparently over 100, but I felt only four or five of them because the rest were too minor to really notice. The aftershocks are just more "tremblers", tiny shudders passing through the Earth that don't really do that much besides make you nervous and cause the paint to crack from time to time.
What was really interesting was the dogs, as you hear when you read about earthquakes, they went nuts barking beforehand. I spent the rest of the night not worrying about the Earthquakes, but listening for the dogs...if they started to bark you knew an aftershock would hit soon. It's a creepy feeling, and it kind've conditions you to cringe when a lot of dogs start barking, which isn't uncommon here without Earthquakes! I have also noticed I am always "feeling" for vibrations today, waiting, expecting another earthquake to come at any time....Part of learning to live in the Ring of Fire again, I guess.
Interesting how I managed to live in Japan and Korea with minimal Earthquake activity, but the moment I set foot on Taiwan...I'm starting to think the local mountain gods don't like me or something.
Still, I'm not leaving. I accept this like I accept the typhoons when I came here, I don't like them, but I accept them, and actually like it here quite a bit overall. Taiwan actually feels like home to me right now, and while I'm still getting used to it, it's a place I think I will be for a while.
Rob
It was interesting in that it followed the "ripple" effect you see when you throw a stone in the water, by which I mean that we were hit by an initial quick trembler. (These are small brief "shudders" which are not uncommon in Taiwan.) That was enough to wake me up and make me nervous, but it was what followed that actually scared me. After the "trembler" there was a low rumble for a few seconds and a feeling that something big was coming and building, and then suddenly all hell broke loose and the place was shaking like someone jumped on the waterbed for what feels like an enternity, but which is of course just a few more long seconds.
This of course was followed aftershocks, of which there were apparently over 100, but I felt only four or five of them because the rest were too minor to really notice. The aftershocks are just more "tremblers", tiny shudders passing through the Earth that don't really do that much besides make you nervous and cause the paint to crack from time to time.
What was really interesting was the dogs, as you hear when you read about earthquakes, they went nuts barking beforehand. I spent the rest of the night not worrying about the Earthquakes, but listening for the dogs...if they started to bark you knew an aftershock would hit soon. It's a creepy feeling, and it kind've conditions you to cringe when a lot of dogs start barking, which isn't uncommon here without Earthquakes! I have also noticed I am always "feeling" for vibrations today, waiting, expecting another earthquake to come at any time....Part of learning to live in the Ring of Fire again, I guess.
Interesting how I managed to live in Japan and Korea with minimal Earthquake activity, but the moment I set foot on Taiwan...I'm starting to think the local mountain gods don't like me or something.
Still, I'm not leaving. I accept this like I accept the typhoons when I came here, I don't like them, but I accept them, and actually like it here quite a bit overall. Taiwan actually feels like home to me right now, and while I'm still getting used to it, it's a place I think I will be for a while.
Rob
Thursday, March 03, 2005
First Day on the Job at ESP
So, a little before 12 this morning, I showed up at the ESP KoJen office, bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to teach my first English class of the day. (Actually, it would really be my second English class of the day since in the cab driver who took me to the office spoke just enough English for a halting but full conversation during our 1/2 hour cab ride.) After conferring with the office staff and my manager, Paul Dunne, I was off with Sharon (our Taiwanese office manager) to the offices of the Tomen corporation to educate their fine sales employees in English.
Arriving just before the scheduled 12:30 class time Sharon and I were shuttled into a small meeting room and proceeded to wait for the students to come....and wait....and wait....Eventually one of the 5 showed up, followed shortly by two more, the other two being off on business. Sharon gave them the basic class rules and information in Chinese, smiled and then wished me good luck as she vanished out the door.
And, I was off!
I introduced myself and then gave them survey handouts which contain a series of interview questions which they have to ask their partner. Once they are done the interviews, it's their job to introduce their partner to the rest of the class. This is a great exercise suggested by Alan (one of the other ESP teachers) and it worked like a charm, we spent our whole 45 minutes of class time doing interviews and introductions, and breaking the ice. They're not a bad bunch, and were actually quite bright and fairly eager, if a bit shy. I think I will have a good time with them, at least I hope so, since I will be teaching them for 50 minutes twice a week as we try to polish their business English.
All in all, not a bad start, and luckily for me they're next to a major MRT station, so I can take the subway to get to and from their office quickly.
Rob, signing out. ^_^
Arriving just before the scheduled 12:30 class time Sharon and I were shuttled into a small meeting room and proceeded to wait for the students to come....and wait....and wait....Eventually one of the 5 showed up, followed shortly by two more, the other two being off on business. Sharon gave them the basic class rules and information in Chinese, smiled and then wished me good luck as she vanished out the door.
And, I was off!
I introduced myself and then gave them survey handouts which contain a series of interview questions which they have to ask their partner. Once they are done the interviews, it's their job to introduce their partner to the rest of the class. This is a great exercise suggested by Alan (one of the other ESP teachers) and it worked like a charm, we spent our whole 45 minutes of class time doing interviews and introductions, and breaking the ice. They're not a bad bunch, and were actually quite bright and fairly eager, if a bit shy. I think I will have a good time with them, at least I hope so, since I will be teaching them for 50 minutes twice a week as we try to polish their business English.
All in all, not a bad start, and luckily for me they're next to a major MRT station, so I can take the subway to get to and from their office quickly.
Rob, signing out. ^_^
A Foreigner's Life in Taiwan
I recently stumbled across the page of an American university Professor teaching here in Taiwan who has put together an astounding page about living here as a foreigner that includes vast numbers of photos and quite a picture of Taiwanese academic culture.
http://users2.ev1.net/~turton/teach_index.html
Highly recommended reading when you get the chance, if for no other reason than all the pictures of life here.
Rob
http://users2.ev1.net/~turton/teach_index.html
Highly recommended reading when you get the chance, if for no other reason than all the pictures of life here.
Rob
Monday, February 28, 2005
Movie Reviews
Recently Rob has been blessed or cursed with seeing a few flicks, so without further ado...
New Police Story: Jackie Chan's newest HK film and a continuation of his Police Story movie series that I never really followed, but it was shown on the plane back from Singapore and it won lots of awards, so I thought "what the heck!". The story is an old cop loses his spirit after losing his partners to a bunch of extreme-sports cop killers and regains it thanks to a spunky new recruit. This is one odd movie, about 90% of it is a typical (if mildly more serious) Jackie Chan movie that has that odd vapidness almost all of his movies have. Those of you who have seen them (and I suspect it's most of you) know what I mean, there's just nothing much to his HK films except stunts and the time spent between stunts. (Not that the American ones are much better, but they do seem a little more "solid" in the character department.) There is just something about his films (and many HK films) that makes them feel "unreal" that I have never been able to put my finger on. I'm not referring to stunts or gunplay, but character and drama, and the ability to tell a story with multiple levels of meaning. (There are exceptions, but Jackie usually isn't in them...)
Anyways, back to New Police Story, as I said, it's 90% brainless entertainment, but every now and then there will be something happen that's shocking, touching and bordering on truly great movie moments. I was honestly ready to start crying twice while watching it, and only held back because I was on the plane and Connie would start laughing at me. (The plane was so new it had video screens in the back of every seat on the plane with video on demand, video games, video shopping, and the remote attached to each seat could even be used as a satellite cell-phone. So she was watching "Alfie" while I watched this...)
Blade III:Trinity: Blade kills vampires amid much bad acting and dialogue, do da, do da. Don't even rent it, you'll be wasting precious moments of your life, much less your money.
The League of extraordinary Gentlemen: Yes, Rob finally caught this one on one of the movie channels the other night. Overall, since I have never read the original and had no preconceived ideas (except that it wasn't very good) going into it, I kind of liked it. A group of Victorian Age adventurers are assembled to defeat a foe, and use their unique powers and skills to do so despite the odds and a few twists. Typical adventure-film fare, and not as badly done as it could have been. (See Blade:Trinity) I'm not going to see it again, and don't mind not having paid to see it, but then, I paid to see Blade...
Meet the Fockers: A guy takes his girlfriend's stuck-up parents to meet his laid back hippie parents, I think they called the sitcom version of this Darma and Greg. A cute comedy with most of the best bits already in the preview, but it still made me and the rest of the audience laugh. A nice rental.
Hide and Seek: After his wife's suicide, a psychiatrist takes his young daughter to the countryside to recuperate and weird things start happening in the horror-thriller way of things. I admit this one did a decent job of keeping me guessing what was going on right up until the end (it has a typical Hollywood ending once the truth comes out, but is good until then) and with lots of red-herrings and misdirections. I'd actually recommend this one as a rental.
That's all for now.
Seeya in the theatre!
Rob
New Police Story: Jackie Chan's newest HK film and a continuation of his Police Story movie series that I never really followed, but it was shown on the plane back from Singapore and it won lots of awards, so I thought "what the heck!". The story is an old cop loses his spirit after losing his partners to a bunch of extreme-sports cop killers and regains it thanks to a spunky new recruit. This is one odd movie, about 90% of it is a typical (if mildly more serious) Jackie Chan movie that has that odd vapidness almost all of his movies have. Those of you who have seen them (and I suspect it's most of you) know what I mean, there's just nothing much to his HK films except stunts and the time spent between stunts. (Not that the American ones are much better, but they do seem a little more "solid" in the character department.) There is just something about his films (and many HK films) that makes them feel "unreal" that I have never been able to put my finger on. I'm not referring to stunts or gunplay, but character and drama, and the ability to tell a story with multiple levels of meaning. (There are exceptions, but Jackie usually isn't in them...)
Anyways, back to New Police Story, as I said, it's 90% brainless entertainment, but every now and then there will be something happen that's shocking, touching and bordering on truly great movie moments. I was honestly ready to start crying twice while watching it, and only held back because I was on the plane and Connie would start laughing at me. (The plane was so new it had video screens in the back of every seat on the plane with video on demand, video games, video shopping, and the remote attached to each seat could even be used as a satellite cell-phone. So she was watching "Alfie" while I watched this...)
Blade III:Trinity: Blade kills vampires amid much bad acting and dialogue, do da, do da. Don't even rent it, you'll be wasting precious moments of your life, much less your money.
The League of extraordinary Gentlemen: Yes, Rob finally caught this one on one of the movie channels the other night. Overall, since I have never read the original and had no preconceived ideas (except that it wasn't very good) going into it, I kind of liked it. A group of Victorian Age adventurers are assembled to defeat a foe, and use their unique powers and skills to do so despite the odds and a few twists. Typical adventure-film fare, and not as badly done as it could have been. (See Blade:Trinity) I'm not going to see it again, and don't mind not having paid to see it, but then, I paid to see Blade...
Meet the Fockers: A guy takes his girlfriend's stuck-up parents to meet his laid back hippie parents, I think they called the sitcom version of this Darma and Greg. A cute comedy with most of the best bits already in the preview, but it still made me and the rest of the audience laugh. A nice rental.
Hide and Seek: After his wife's suicide, a psychiatrist takes his young daughter to the countryside to recuperate and weird things start happening in the horror-thriller way of things. I admit this one did a decent job of keeping me guessing what was going on right up until the end (it has a typical Hollywood ending once the truth comes out, but is good until then) and with lots of red-herrings and misdirections. I'd actually recommend this one as a rental.
That's all for now.
Seeya in the theatre!
Rob
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Winning the Lottery
Here in Taiwan there are a number of lotteries, just like the US and Canada. It seems egocentrism helps people everywhere to believe that they will indeed be that 1 in a million and manage to become rich overnight. Meanwhile, the people who do become rich overnight are the people who run the lotteries...Except in Taiwan.
Here in Taipei the city government along with the Bank of Taipei run the local lotteries and they came up with what I can only call an ingenious way of selling the tickets. They license certain individuals to be authorized sellers (much as I suspect we do in Canada), but here the only people licensed to sell lottery tickets are the handicapped!
Yes, you heard me right, they only let physically disabled people sell lottery tickets, with the seller getting their cut of the proceeds instead of some kind of government welfare. The disabled people automatically have work and a way to feed themselves and their families, and the government still gets the huge revenues that come from lottery winnings. It's a totally win-win situation which turns a social vice into a social boon (the ethics and question of gambling itself aside), and instead of hiding in their homes the disabled are out among the rest of the people of the city being the part of society they should be.
Rob
Here in Taipei the city government along with the Bank of Taipei run the local lotteries and they came up with what I can only call an ingenious way of selling the tickets. They license certain individuals to be authorized sellers (much as I suspect we do in Canada), but here the only people licensed to sell lottery tickets are the handicapped!
Yes, you heard me right, they only let physically disabled people sell lottery tickets, with the seller getting their cut of the proceeds instead of some kind of government welfare. The disabled people automatically have work and a way to feed themselves and their families, and the government still gets the huge revenues that come from lottery winnings. It's a totally win-win situation which turns a social vice into a social boon (the ethics and question of gambling itself aside), and instead of hiding in their homes the disabled are out among the rest of the people of the city being the part of society they should be.
Rob
Friday, February 25, 2005
Next Update
Well, it's all done.
This morning I signed my contract with Kojen Corporation to become their newest ESP teacher, yes, that's right, I'm an ESPer! And I know what you're thinking (ha ha), what the heck does ESP stand for? English for Specific Purposes, or in this case for office workers and other government and corporate employees.
The contract requires that I be available Monday-Saturday, Mornings to Evenings and work at least 18 hours a week, although I'm told the person whose hours I'm probably getting is working around 25 hours/week right now. For those hours, I get paid roughly double what the locals are getting, so realistically I'm getting the equivalent of full-time pay for a working half the time at a job where I have no office hours and don't have to even report to the office except to check-in once or twice a week. Plus, I get up to a month of vacation time any time I want it, and can even take it in pieces, and that doesn't include my sick leave.
Now the bad news, I can't use any of that vacation time during July or August, since they are holiday months and it seems everyone wants to learn English then. I am also obligated to work 30 hours a week during those months, but I'm told I will be assigned temporarily to a school where the clients will come to my air-conditioned self for most of those extra hours.
On the apartment front, I just accepted a recently (5 months ago) renovated apartment, fully furnished, with free TV, fridge, air conditioning, utilities, ADSL high-speed internet and washer and dryer which I'm getting at a steal of a price. (Roughly 1/4 my monthly salary, which is good for Taipei.) It's next to a major mall/movie theatre complex and one bus stop away in either direction from major shopping and eating areas. The catches? Well, there's no kitchen, so I will have to eat out a lot (which is normal here, buying and making food and eating out cost almost the same) or use Connie's family kitchen to prepare things. The other catch is that the place is about the size of a University residence room, which for those who know me means it's the size of my bedroom back in London, a residence room in Saugeen Hall at UWO, or your typical single bedroom. I figure I will hardly be there, and the area is filled with coffee shops and parks, so I should be able to keep from going stir-crazy. But, if I do, you'll probably know pretty quick.
I'm taking over another person's lease, so instead of a year, I just have a 5 month lease, so if it's not working out I can always find another place. I will admit I am a tiny bit hesitant because of the size of the place, but it won't be the first time I lived in a residence room type place. We'll see how it goes.
So, that's it then. Rob is now a resident of Taipei, employed and housed. I will pass along my address and phone numbers (residence and cell) when I have them. I start teaching my first class next Thursday at noon, and I'm looking forward to it.
Oh, and in other news this is a holiday weekend here, a nice 3 day weekend. I guess I will be spending it moving in and setting up, so many little things to buy and I'll have to see what the girl before me left behind. She wasn't a neat freak, but it looks like she was pretty clean.
Rob
This morning I signed my contract with Kojen Corporation to become their newest ESP teacher, yes, that's right, I'm an ESPer! And I know what you're thinking (ha ha), what the heck does ESP stand for? English for Specific Purposes, or in this case for office workers and other government and corporate employees.
The contract requires that I be available Monday-Saturday, Mornings to Evenings and work at least 18 hours a week, although I'm told the person whose hours I'm probably getting is working around 25 hours/week right now. For those hours, I get paid roughly double what the locals are getting, so realistically I'm getting the equivalent of full-time pay for a working half the time at a job where I have no office hours and don't have to even report to the office except to check-in once or twice a week. Plus, I get up to a month of vacation time any time I want it, and can even take it in pieces, and that doesn't include my sick leave.
Now the bad news, I can't use any of that vacation time during July or August, since they are holiday months and it seems everyone wants to learn English then. I am also obligated to work 30 hours a week during those months, but I'm told I will be assigned temporarily to a school where the clients will come to my air-conditioned self for most of those extra hours.
On the apartment front, I just accepted a recently (5 months ago) renovated apartment, fully furnished, with free TV, fridge, air conditioning, utilities, ADSL high-speed internet and washer and dryer which I'm getting at a steal of a price. (Roughly 1/4 my monthly salary, which is good for Taipei.) It's next to a major mall/movie theatre complex and one bus stop away in either direction from major shopping and eating areas. The catches? Well, there's no kitchen, so I will have to eat out a lot (which is normal here, buying and making food and eating out cost almost the same) or use Connie's family kitchen to prepare things. The other catch is that the place is about the size of a University residence room, which for those who know me means it's the size of my bedroom back in London, a residence room in Saugeen Hall at UWO, or your typical single bedroom. I figure I will hardly be there, and the area is filled with coffee shops and parks, so I should be able to keep from going stir-crazy. But, if I do, you'll probably know pretty quick.
I'm taking over another person's lease, so instead of a year, I just have a 5 month lease, so if it's not working out I can always find another place. I will admit I am a tiny bit hesitant because of the size of the place, but it won't be the first time I lived in a residence room type place. We'll see how it goes.
So, that's it then. Rob is now a resident of Taipei, employed and housed. I will pass along my address and phone numbers (residence and cell) when I have them. I start teaching my first class next Thursday at noon, and I'm looking forward to it.
Oh, and in other news this is a holiday weekend here, a nice 3 day weekend. I guess I will be spending it moving in and setting up, so many little things to buy and I'll have to see what the girl before me left behind. She wasn't a neat freak, but it looks like she was pretty clean.
Rob
Cross-Cultural Miscommunications
(This was written offline about 2 weeks ago....)
Cross-Cultural Miscommunications
Today as I was riding in a taxi through the city streets of Taipei I was reminded of a commercial from Denmark I once saw. In the commercial, which I saw a few times on the internet since it was so funny, a happy Danish family gets in their car for a trip and the after they’ve belted themselves in the father turns on the radio. From the radio comes a catchy rock-pop song and the family smiles, laughs and begins bopping to the beat as they begin their family trip. Now, the catch is that the pop song (which indeed was a nice catchy tune) consisted of the lyrics “I’m going to f*** you in the a**” repeated over and over again. As they drive off, the logo for an English school comes on the screen. A really funny ad, although it does occur to me that since the commercial isn’t subtitled in Danish real Danes watching the commercial who don’t know those choice words aren’t going to get the joke of the commercial.
So back to Rob in Taipei.
The current Mandarin pop song playing on the radio ends and another song starts, this one a hardcore urban dance number from the US entitled “Shake that A**” and including pretty much every choice swear word and combination of swear words on the list and some seriously sexual lyrics. Neither my girlfriend’s mother (sitting next to me) or my middle aged cabbie blink, and I think to myself “this would never get airplay in the US, what is it doing on general audience radio here in Taipei?”
A similar thing happened two weeks ago when I first got here and began channel surfing on the local cable package they have in the house. Once I hit the English movie networks all bets were off regarding language and content, I watched Kill Bill Vol.1 uncut and uncensored on one of the movie networks last weekend, and the content issues aside (violent swordplay is standard prime time TV fare here, so that isn’t a problem) the language used in the movie stuck out like a sore thumb.
I asked Connie if the language in Taiwanese shows were uncensored too, and her reply was that they were actually quite censored. They’re not letting any colorful local language on the air at all, but like the Danish family in the ad the Taiwanese are being allowed to hear some of the nastiest parts of the English language at any day or time. (With the subtitles presumably downplaying the terms being used.) In a country where they teach English as a standard course in school, and it’s well on it’s way to becoming the third (fourth?) language of Taiwan, they might consider watching what the kids are hearing because while the parents don’t understand it, the current generation of kids probably will.
Then again, I speak Japanese like an anime character or superhero, so who am I to complain about learning the wrong parts of the language….
Cross-Cultural Miscommunications
Today as I was riding in a taxi through the city streets of Taipei I was reminded of a commercial from Denmark I once saw. In the commercial, which I saw a few times on the internet since it was so funny, a happy Danish family gets in their car for a trip and the after they’ve belted themselves in the father turns on the radio. From the radio comes a catchy rock-pop song and the family smiles, laughs and begins bopping to the beat as they begin their family trip. Now, the catch is that the pop song (which indeed was a nice catchy tune) consisted of the lyrics “I’m going to f*** you in the a**” repeated over and over again. As they drive off, the logo for an English school comes on the screen. A really funny ad, although it does occur to me that since the commercial isn’t subtitled in Danish real Danes watching the commercial who don’t know those choice words aren’t going to get the joke of the commercial.
So back to Rob in Taipei.
The current Mandarin pop song playing on the radio ends and another song starts, this one a hardcore urban dance number from the US entitled “Shake that A**” and including pretty much every choice swear word and combination of swear words on the list and some seriously sexual lyrics. Neither my girlfriend’s mother (sitting next to me) or my middle aged cabbie blink, and I think to myself “this would never get airplay in the US, what is it doing on general audience radio here in Taipei?”
A similar thing happened two weeks ago when I first got here and began channel surfing on the local cable package they have in the house. Once I hit the English movie networks all bets were off regarding language and content, I watched Kill Bill Vol.1 uncut and uncensored on one of the movie networks last weekend, and the content issues aside (violent swordplay is standard prime time TV fare here, so that isn’t a problem) the language used in the movie stuck out like a sore thumb.
I asked Connie if the language in Taiwanese shows were uncensored too, and her reply was that they were actually quite censored. They’re not letting any colorful local language on the air at all, but like the Danish family in the ad the Taiwanese are being allowed to hear some of the nastiest parts of the English language at any day or time. (With the subtitles presumably downplaying the terms being used.) In a country where they teach English as a standard course in school, and it’s well on it’s way to becoming the third (fourth?) language of Taiwan, they might consider watching what the kids are hearing because while the parents don’t understand it, the current generation of kids probably will.
Then again, I speak Japanese like an anime character or superhero, so who am I to complain about learning the wrong parts of the language….
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Update!
I apologize to one and all that I haven't been updating this blog much since I got back from Singapore, but there has been a good reason. Upon my return from Singapore I found myself with roughly 1 week in which to find employment and a new place to live. Connie's brother has returned home from school, and 4 of us in a 3 bedroom appartment is getting a little crowded, so I took it upon myself to find new accomodations.
Of course, Taipei is a big city, and where I worked would determine which area I lived in, so I was stuck in a chicken and egg scenario of needing a place to live but not knowing where I would be working while I had to find a place to live. I actually found a great appartment near Connie's family home, but right after I found it....
I recieved a call from the KoJen (KeJian in PinYin) Corporation, one of the largest school chains here in Taiwan asking me to come in for an interview. I'd sent them my resume as a last resort, knowing they specialized in teaching children and teens, but as it turns out they wanted me for a special team of teachers who teach corporate and government workers. It seems that prior to Chinese New Year one of the 4 members of the team had had to return suddenly to America due to a family emergency and thus they were in dire need of an experienced teacher who could do the job when I sent in my resume.
One interview later, with a straight-shooting Australian man named Paul Dunne who heads the program, and I became the new 4th member of the team. ^__^ So, as of next week I will be starting my new job while the office workers scramble to get my work visa in order.
Basically I will be working evenings and some afternoons, Mon-Friday teaching groups of 12 or so employees the skills their bosses want them to be taught. Not much different what I did in Japan, actually, but there I was also teaching Children's classes, whereas here I will be purely teaching adults. This job will also require me to travel all over Taipei, so I am going to get to know this city pretty well, and in fact I am looking forward to having such a chance to learn a major capitol city so well. While there is something to be said for sitting in an air-conditioned school all day, it does get a little repetitive and boring after a while, and I can see this job as being much more fast-paced and dynamic.
Wish me luck!
I am still appartment hunting, trying to find something near a major MRT/Subway/Bus route, and I will keep you posted on how that goes.
Oh, and I have a huge discussion of Singapore coming, watch for it!
Later gators!
Of course, Taipei is a big city, and where I worked would determine which area I lived in, so I was stuck in a chicken and egg scenario of needing a place to live but not knowing where I would be working while I had to find a place to live. I actually found a great appartment near Connie's family home, but right after I found it....
I recieved a call from the KoJen (KeJian in PinYin) Corporation, one of the largest school chains here in Taiwan asking me to come in for an interview. I'd sent them my resume as a last resort, knowing they specialized in teaching children and teens, but as it turns out they wanted me for a special team of teachers who teach corporate and government workers. It seems that prior to Chinese New Year one of the 4 members of the team had had to return suddenly to America due to a family emergency and thus they were in dire need of an experienced teacher who could do the job when I sent in my resume.
One interview later, with a straight-shooting Australian man named Paul Dunne who heads the program, and I became the new 4th member of the team. ^__^ So, as of next week I will be starting my new job while the office workers scramble to get my work visa in order.
Basically I will be working evenings and some afternoons, Mon-Friday teaching groups of 12 or so employees the skills their bosses want them to be taught. Not much different what I did in Japan, actually, but there I was also teaching Children's classes, whereas here I will be purely teaching adults. This job will also require me to travel all over Taipei, so I am going to get to know this city pretty well, and in fact I am looking forward to having such a chance to learn a major capitol city so well. While there is something to be said for sitting in an air-conditioned school all day, it does get a little repetitive and boring after a while, and I can see this job as being much more fast-paced and dynamic.
Wish me luck!
I am still appartment hunting, trying to find something near a major MRT/Subway/Bus route, and I will keep you posted on how that goes.
Oh, and I have a huge discussion of Singapore coming, watch for it!
Later gators!
Friday, February 18, 2005
Gundam Wisdom
I just finished watching Gundam Seed Destiny Episode 17, another brilliant episode showing this show is far superior to its predecessor as well as being one of the best anime on the air right now. Anyways, here's the speech from the end, I liked it so much I copied it down:
Athrun: You said you lost your family on Onogoro Island in ORB, right?
Shin: I said they were killed…by the Athha family's arrogance.
Athrun: If that’s the way you want to think of it, that's fine. But, is that why you've come to think how you do? Saying to yourself: “If only I had power back then…” “If only I'd gotten ahold of power…”
Shin: How can you say that to me?
Athrun: Everyone who has cried over being powerless thinks that way, I think. But, from the moment you take that power into your hand, you'll become the person who will make others cry. Don't you ever forget that.
We’ll be going out on the battlefield again soon. Should you forget at that time, losing yourself to your own selfish reasoning and sense of justice, you'll become a destroyer, using your power recklessly against others.
You’re not like that, right?
Arthrun Zala to Shin Asuka, Gundam Seed Destiny ep.17
Athrun: You said you lost your family on Onogoro Island in ORB, right?
Shin: I said they were killed…by the Athha family's arrogance.
Athrun: If that’s the way you want to think of it, that's fine. But, is that why you've come to think how you do? Saying to yourself: “If only I had power back then…” “If only I'd gotten ahold of power…”
Shin: How can you say that to me?
Athrun: Everyone who has cried over being powerless thinks that way, I think. But, from the moment you take that power into your hand, you'll become the person who will make others cry. Don't you ever forget that.
We’ll be going out on the battlefield again soon. Should you forget at that time, losing yourself to your own selfish reasoning and sense of justice, you'll become a destroyer, using your power recklessly against others.
You’re not like that, right?
Arthrun Zala to Shin Asuka, Gundam Seed Destiny ep.17
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