Videos from CNY's Past.

Let us take a trip down memory lane.  Here are some videos I have taken on previous Chinese New Year's Eves.

 

 

 

No more Youtube? Taixing tragedy.

Trainer Terry tells me that the Chinese government passed a law today allowing them to block all Internet sites that allow users to upload videos.  With the Olympics coming, the Chicoms do not want anything shown that can be embarrassing to them.  They had blocked Youtube before when there was an important conference of political leaders meeting.

As Terry said, Will they ever learn?

My wife told me about a tragedy in Taixing where her mother lives.  Someone, who had a two month old baby, decided to dry a pee cloth (they can't or don't use Pampers) by draping it over a heater which was near the infant.  They left the infant in the room unattended.  When they came back to see how the baby was doing, they found the child had been burnt to death. 

An absolutely horrible story.  My wife thought about the little child's screams being unheeded.  I could only imagine how the parent felt.  We all do stupid things but thankfully we can forget about them.  There is a parent who forever be damaged.

Watching the Super Bowl in China.

718 AM:  I am watching a FOX station on the TVU player.  I may be able to watch the game in English.  But the feed is slow.

721 AM:  I haven't seen this in a while.  They are playing the American national anthem.  I am serious when I say this.  I have lived in China for over 3 years.  The singer won American Idol?  Big deal.

723 AM:  I should be watching the game on TV but my Chinese wife wants to sleep.  There no way I can convince of the importance of what I am doing.

726 AM:  I am watching the coin toss.  But the feed stops.  Annoying.  I will also track the game on the NFL site which I can get today.

732 AM:  Kickoff!

739 AM:  I have lost the feed!  I am trying other options.  Maybe TVANTS will work.

744 AM:  Nice opening drive for the Giants.  They have converted on three third downs.

747 AM:  But the Giants stall in the red zone.  The Field Goal is good.   Giants 3, Patriots 0.

750 AM:  I have that score in the squares pool we are doing at the school.

752 AM:  I can watch the American Super Bowl commercials for the first time ever.  Yes!  In Canada, we had to watch second rate Canadian commercials.  What a joke that was.

758 AM:  My feed is not quite live.  I can get the results of the plays faster on NFL.com.  118,936 Views of my videos on Youtube. (That is another obsession of mine).  The wife and Tony are asleep.

801 AM:  The Patriots are in the Red Zone as they break to a commercial.

805 AM:  Touchdown New England!

812 AM:  I get mention in Seablogger.

816 AM:  Back to the game.  Interception by the Patriots.  I have won the squares competition for the first quarter.

825 AM:  Giants almost fumble!

828 AM: Models and Lizards dancing in a commercial.

832 AM:  I am watching the game in 10 degree heat.  Or should I say 10 degree cold?  That is the way of Wuxi apartments.

835 AM:  I am in danger of winning the squares pool for the second quarter as well.  I need the Giants to get a field goal!  I don't want to take all the money from this competition.  I need some Chinese to win.

844 AM:  119,001 views on Youtube.  Meanwhile, the game nears the end of the second half.  The Giants are close but they have screwed up some scoring op:opportunities.

855 AM:  Halftime!  Score 7-3 for the Patriots.  I win the second quarter of the squares competition.   The low score in the game is a surprise.  The 2007 Patriots aren't playing legendary like.  They are sputtering to a 19-0 record.  I have to go to work in 3 hours.  It is time for me to shave and shower and iron clothes.  Outside the apartment, I can see the rush hour.

908 AM:  Halftime show.  Tom Petty.  He is alright.  But I find Super Bowl half time shows to be lacking in intimacy.  There is the big stage and the small show and the crowd below the stage that is being told to act excited.

934 AM:  The game resumes.  The Giants stop the Patriots on New England's first drive.  I have just seen a commercial with Pandas.  I am ironing my clothes for work.

940 AM:  Too many commercials.  The New England coach challenged a play call and gets the ball back on a technicality.  That is just not cricket, as the English would say.

950 AM:  But they don't score so, it does not matter.  With 5 minutes to go in the third quarter, it looks like I could win the third quarter of the squares competition as well.

958 AM:  The Patriots are deep in their own end zone.

1001 AM:  Now, they are not.  They are starting to move the ball.

1004 AM:  End of third quarter:  Patriots 7, Giants 3.  I win the third quarter squares competition.  Worse case scenario.  I need a Chinese person to win the final score.

1006 AM:  119,382 Youtube video views.  What can I say!?!  There are lots of commercials.  It is also my obsession.

1010 AM:  LL Cool J is at the game!

1011 AM:  Big pass completion by the Giants.  The game has just gotten interesting.

1012 AM:  The game is now very interesting.  Giants 10, Patriots 7.

1017 AM:  Go Patriots go!

1020 AM:  They don't.  They punt.  The Giants have the ball.

1025 AM:  My feed is two minutes behind real time.  I can't wait for the results to happen.  Now, the Patriots have the ball again.

1027 AM:  I hope the game doesn't go into overtime.

1028 AM:  I put off taking a shower till 1100 AM.

1030 AM:  I like the Bud Light commercial I just seen where an out of shape man in shorts keeps saying the wrong thing.

1033 AM:  The Patriots are moving the ball!

1034 AM:  They are in the red zone!

1040 AM:  Touchdown Patriots!  Patriots 14, Giants 10.  There is less than three minutes in the game.  Rain, a student, can win the big prize in the squares competition.  Anybody but me!  I say.

1046 AM:  Dream scenario for Eli Manning, the Giants QB. 

1048 AM:  A Victoria Secret's commercial at the two minute warning.  A dream scenario.

1052 AM:  Giants have the ball deep in Patriots territory.

1055 AM:  I just saw the play.  Wow!  Eli looked to be sacked.

1056 AM:  The Giants are in the red zone!

1057 AM:  Touchdown Giants!  Daisy can win the squares competition.

1104 AM:  Game over!  Brothers win back-to-back Super Bowls.  Time for me to take a shower.

HyLite School Live Blogging.

I will do live blogging of my day at work:

950 Am:  It is slow at school today.  This morning, none of the trainers have classes.  I guess the students are deciding that it is hard to catch a bus here in the morning.  Maybe, they are all going to church....   Not!  I have three classes this afternoon.   At 1300, I have a salon class about the holidays.  Guess what holiday is coming!  At 1500, I have an Intermediate Private Class.  At 1700, I have an Advance Private Class.  Each of the private classes, I will have just one student.   I just went out to have a smoke with Leo.  Monday morning will be the big game, the Super Bowl that is.  We have to determine what bet we will make about the game.  We will do an unusual bet like about the number of turnovers or incompleteness or something.  I also have to try to fill our Super Bowl Squares pool.  I have filled 80 out of 100 so far.  I will also try to do some managerial things.

1010 AM:  I am wondering about the school talking to the staff.  Carol the marketing girl had a pile of HyLite School discount cards.  She tells me that they will be used to get discounts of HyLite English classes.  I hope that they can be used at other places to get discounts as well.  I now have 88 squares filled in the pool table.  Simon (the Duke of Wuxi) and I have purchased squares for our wives and children.  There aren't too many students in the computer lab.  I learned that Simon and Leo split on their bets on last night's Man City - Arsenal match.  I think I will listen to some conservative talk radio on townhall.com.

1017 AM:  I have just published an entry to my MSN spaces site.  It is entitled Wuxi Ice and High Chair Tony.  I have 118,311 video views on my Youtube channel.  I mentioned that I am obsessed with this number.

1022 AM:  Carol, the marketing girl, speculates that the students are shopping in the morning for CNY because it hopefully won't be so busy and attending classes in the afternoon during the certain CNY shopping afternoon rush.

1100 AM:  I write a response to a comment on my other blog.  It is nice to see people reading it.  Time to stop dilly-dallying!  I must prepare for my classes this afternoon.  I notice that all the admin staff are working on the weekend to make up for the days off they get for the CNY holiday.  Only in China.

1104 AM:  44,148 views of my MSN Spaces blog.  Back to work!

1121 AM:   I am listening to Hugh Hewitt on townhall talk radio.  He is talking down John McCain.  I hear that Anne Coulter has said she is going to campaign for Hilary Clinton if McCain gets the nomination.

1133 AM:  I find a business writing book.  Will it help me with the company classes we are having in March?

1142 AM:  There must be four or five students in the computer lab.  Lunch time is coming.  I suppose Simon is going to go to McDonalds.  I will eat some microwave popcorn.  I just finished a half loaf of bread that my wife bought at a place called Bread Talk.  At lunchtime, I will try to flog the remaining 12 squares of my Super Bowl pool.  I am listening to Super Bowl talk now.

1146 AM:  Am I sharp for the classes this afternoon?  I don't know.  I am still distracted.    I hear talk that the Giants can win the Super Bowl.   They have been talking that Romney can win on Super Tuesday.  I found a business writing book that I can use for free on the Internet.  I am an ESL English teacher.  I am saying that so the search engines can pick up on this energy.

1156 AM:  118, 434 views of my Youtube videos.  Lunchtime!

1210 PM:  I have finished eating my popcorn.  I am listening to Denis Prager.  I tried to flog the Super Bowl pool squares at the lunch room.  I saw three women.  I didn't bother.  I will look for some men in the computer lab.  I will make a plug here for my latest Wuxi Tony video.

1216 PM:  The wife phones telling me that I didn't bring any food for lunch.  I told her I bought some snack food.  I ask about Tony, and she tells me that he just got up.  He had a busy night last night.

1218 PM:  Leo and I will bet on the over/under for tomorrow morning's Super Bowl.  I will find the line now.

1226 PM:   It is 55.  I will take the over.

1237 PM:  Regina and Ashley join the pool.  nine square to go!

1248 PM:  Three squares to go!  I have to go to class.  Later Dudes!

201 PM:  Two squares to go!  the Beginner class was too good.  It was dull for them and me to talk about holidays.  I had them tell me what the other students said as a way to improve their listening skills but they were too good for that too.  My jokes got some laughs but not enough to eliminate the feeling of ennui!  118,477 video views on Youtube.

220 PM:  One more square to go!  I have to sweat it out to get the squares by the Chinese because they don't understand the concept of the football pool.  Many don't know what the Super Bowl is.

222 PM:  I should prepare for Tomorrow's 1400 SPC.  What to talk about? CNY?  The Super Bowl?  Maybe explain American football?  Are you ready for CNY?

227 PM:  Obama:  The youngest candidate with the oldest ideas.  I like that line.

235 PM:  There are only four trainers working today.  Three are working now.  Dennis and Simon, from Great Britain, are teaching private classes.  Leo, from Vancouver, Canada, is teaching a salon class.  I sit in my office and supervise.

240 PM:  I buy the last square for the Toner.  I have three students, not one in my 1500 class.

246 PM:  The snow is melting.  One has to be wary if they walk near the edge of buildings.

250 PM:  I just read an email from my Mom.  Dad is not doing so well.  He is getting old.  It makes it urgent for us to go to Canada this year.  My brother has put a down payment on a Ford Ranger truck.  One of my Dad's friends is moving to Ottawa from Brandon which means my father will be lonelier and lonelier.  Time to have a smoke and go to class!

411 PM:  118,500 views on Youtube.  I had two students show up for my 1500 class.  They were both young females.  Their English was passable but it was hard to decide how to grade them.   They did not have a glaring weakness.  One girl I gave an "A" but told her her weakness was her fluency.  She actually should have been a "D" but it was her last class anyway.  The other girl was more talkative than the "A" student but she did not seem as prepared for the class.  I gave this girl a "B" because her grammar points seemed noticeable to me.

426 PM:  I have photocopied and posted copies of the Super Bowl pool around the school.  No one came for Trainer Dennis's Speakers Corner.  It is so dead at the school.  It worries me.  Will I have to be looking for another school to work?  Perish the thought.

433 PM:  I am hoping I can get up at seven AM tomorrow morning for the big game.  I have told my wife.  She acknowledged but I don't think she understood that this means I will have the TV on while she tries to sleep.  I have to ask Leo how much our side bet on the game tomorrow is for?  1 rmb? 2 rmb?  5 rmb?

436 PM:  For the next ten or fifteen minutes I will listen to this Hugh Hewitt talk radio show.  (I hope the link works).  It isn't political talk that I am listening to.  Hewitt devotes an hour of  his show, once a week, to movie talk.

440 PM:  I am trying to bone up on infinitive clauses for my advanced private class (the student may will not show up but I haven't had a no show since last week) but there is more information that I can digest in ten minutes  and the student wouldn't understand it.  Neither can I at this point.

444 PM:  I am getting lots of resumes from non native English speaking teachers.

446 PM:  I must remember to take our CNY presents home.  The school gave us boxes of meat and nuts.  Last year, they gave us meat and coffee.  Nuts are an improvement over coffee.  But I would rather get hongbao (a money bonus in a red envelope).

448 PM:  As you can see, I am stagnating here and I have lots of time to blog.  This could be my last live blogging entry today if my student shows up.  I will publish this as soon as the class is done or I will continue to blog if the student does not show up.  I will click the publish button in a hour if this is the last entry.  I won't comment on the class and student because I will be going home.  Thanks for reading this all the way through........

An evening at an Expat Pub.

It is slow at work or I should say the school; and with the Chinese New Year coming in less than a week, there is a holiday atmosphere about so it is hard to stay sharp for the classes I do have to teach.  I also have this sense of lack of accomplishment.  I should be doing more than I am.  But I am addicted to blogging and looking at my traffic numbers.

The snow has increased traffic on my blogs.  I have had Wuxi people from California and Florida tell me that they have discovered AKIC while looking for news about Wuxi snow.  I see that my blogs come up first when I Google "Wuxi" and "snow". 

Still, I was hoping more would look at my Wuxi Snow videos on Youtube.  My first snow video has had nearly a thousand views.  Others in the series have had four views.  I have thirteen videos in the series now.

At work, I have to find another trainer to start in March, I have scheduling headaches for after the CNY when we start teaching all the company classes.  I also have to think about the curriculum for these classes although there isn't much that can be done until I get specifics about class times and what the companies want us to each their workers.

Last night, I had Hot Pot at the Little Sheep Restaurant that is not far from the school on Zhongshan Road.  Hot Pot is a way of eating food where a pot of boiling spices is placed in the middle of a large table so that everyone can dip and cook their raw food in it.  You can choose from a wide variety of meat, vegetables and so on to dip and cook in the hot pot.  It is a communal way to eat.  It can fill you up quickly with you being seemingly unaware because you are only eating mouthfuls at a time without seeing  a plate of food and the totality of the food you will eat in front of you.

We went to the restaurant to celebrate the return from Germany of a local Wuxi woman who is married to a German expat working in Wuxi, and is a good friend of my wife and my wife's friend.

After eating we went to an Expat pub.  I was proud to show off my son but the conversation I had with the people I knew at the Pub seemed obligatory.  I really did not have much to say to these people.  I was interested to know the citizenship paper problems of a Mexican man, who had a child with a local Wuxi woman, was having.  He was in the process of becoming an American citizen and so had two consulates to go to get his daughter citizenship in America.  He agreed that the Chinese birth certificates were a pain in the ass.

The big snow that wasn't.

It didn't snow as much as expected  in Wuxi last night but the cleanup effort this morning was huge.  You can go to my other blog to see photos of the cleanup.  I have finally been able to get photos of the snow clearing brigades I wrote of earlier.  These be the brigades there were marching about military formation with the lead man carrying a large red flag.

My student this morning told me that are lots of soldiers around the city doing clean up duties.  I imagine they are also around to quell possible social unrest.

I am uploading seven videos to Youtube using its multi video upload feature which I find very handy.  My Wuxi snow videos are getting a lot of hits.  As you may know, I live for video view numbers on my Youtube channel.

When I do the disasters Salon class (salon classes are basically group discussions), I ask the students to tell me their stories about the SARS crisis.  Last night, I had a student who was in Guangdong during the crisis.  He told me he spent his time working round the clock making monitoring machines.  He now works for the monitoring machine division of General Electric here in Wuxi.

I came across this argument in Seablogger:

It’s time America recognized, as Germany, Britain, Sweden, Ireland, India and Pakistan has before it, being a woman is not a hindrance to competence and should not be a hindrance to ambition.

The person who wrote the above was a Hilary Liker, so I find it ironic that the this man would use Margaret Thatcher as an example to support Hilary Clinton's election.  Maggie was her own woman.  She was also a conservative in the tradition of Ronald Reagan who Hilary so recently chastised Obama for liking.  Also, the issue that this man brought up  is a non-issue.  Americans will elect a woman or a black man or a Catholic whose stances and ideas they find acceptable.  Most Americans that is, except many who inhabit the Democratic Party.  In making the statement above, the Hilary supporter is trying to deny while at the same time affirming that America must elect Hilary because she is a woman.  He is probably also stating that if Hilary or Obama don't win the election it will be because America is racist or misogynist, not because these two are inexperienced or dangerous leftists.  Maggie became PM on merit.  Republicans and most conservatives accept people as individuals; they don't pander to groups the way the Democrats do.

Here are the videos:

Snowy China political troubles.

From Seablogger, the Chinese government is quite skittish about the collapse of mass transit.

I was talking to a student today about disasters.  I asked him about a recent elevator accident in Wuxi that killed 24 people.  He told me he heard nothing about it.  But then it didn't suprise him.  He said a downtown building fire was not reported in the local news either.  He heard about it only because a friend of his had seen it.

It is coming down now.

It is 600 PM, Friday night in Wuxi.  I would normally be teaching a class now; not blogging.  But the students aren't coming to our downtown location for classes.  I have just a seven PM class and a eight PM class.  Both have but one student.  I have a feeling that the eight PM student won't show.  So I may be able to sneak home at eight PM and see my wife and child.

The wife just phoned me asking if perhaps they decided to cancel classes at school.  I told her they haven't.  She tells me it is a big snow out by the apartment  and that we also forgot to buy eggs yesterday.

One of the Trainers who was outside tells me that it is very slippery outside.

One of the Trainers thinks that if McCain gets the Republican nomination, he will make Huckabee his running mate.  He reasons that the Republicans need the right-wing Christian vote because otherwise most Republicans won't go out and vote if they don't like their candidate.  But Huckabee is a left-wing Christian I told him and most of the Republican party is already mad at McCain for his dumb leftward leaning decisions and rhetoric.  My colleague, being a left-winger, insisted that Huckabee was a member of the Christian right.  That was the first I heard of such a suggestion and I attributed to the Left Wing's obsession with the Republicans being the party of evangelicals.  If McCain ever made Huckabee his running mate, he would lose half the Republican party.  McCain needs to appeal to the small government conservatives of his party first.

I saw the police carrying some long poles.  They are using them to remove snow from trees to prevent the mass breaking of branches that occurred when Wuxi experienced its first big dump of snow.

This dump is supposed to be the big one, El Snow Grande.

Where is the global warming?  I ask. 

The most snow in Wuxi in 20 years. 

Still more Africans sending me CV's.

Wuxi TV news says the government is doing a great job of dealing with the snow.  The snow has pre-empted my Olympic TV spot.

I don't have boots for this weather.  I am wearing a five year old pair of airwalks because they are the most water proof footwear I have.

I have 80 squares bought on my 10 by 10 Super Bowl Pool sheet. 

I thought to ask the students "do you treat those imposters triumph and disaster the same?".  But then I thought not to.  They didn't look like the smartest fish in the sea.

I don't think Wuxi has any Snow Plows.  I haven't seen any downtown.

More Wuxi Snow Videos.

I took these videos at school this afternoon.