Awesome Mutant Strawberry!

I bought a container of strawberries exclusively so I could get this one:

Snow isn't the only proof of icy temperatues.

Behold! Bricks breaking on ice!

My camera's shutter is dying.

I'm pretty sure that's what's up with it. There's been a marked decline in my photos recently, and I have taken about 17,000 over the span of only two years...

In anycase, I can't get a new one until I come home because sending electronics into China is a pretty iffy venture, even when rules are followed and policies are adhered to.

If we're lucky, here's an example of what you'll have to look forward to in the future of this blog: an okay-quality photo with a few decent close-up images or shots from different angles.

 The mental image of children sitting and playing with toys in a revolving door is really funny to me!

Adventures in Chinglish: Fun-derwear

"A little red liding hood and a wolf had a party with soda."

Now you, too, can experience the immortal love of Jack & Rose,

through the enchanting power of cross stitch!!!

at center

I spotted this homage to Titanic (China: the country where "My Heart Will Go On" never got old.) while I was searching (without success) for a new non-ugly cross stitch pattern.


I attended an English speech competition a few months ago where the topic was "love." Out of about 25 students, I swear a good 25-30% either mentioned Titanic or used it as the focal-point of their speech.




ps: If your browser can play the video linked under "never got old," you should know that while the performance is in fact terrible, it is in no way "unusually" terrible. Just because the people of Asian countries enjoy karaoke does not mean participants are good at it.

Ee! Eels!!

Drying in the open air.

Chinese New Year 2012

 In China, Chinese New Year is actually called "Spring Festival" [春節 / Chūnjié], because it marrks the start of spring on the lunar calendar.


 Spring my foot!! Here's a photo of ice on the sewage canal that goes through my neighborhood:

Freezing suppresses the smell.

And here's a photo of the snow that fell but did not stick on the 22nd, Chinese New Year's Eve:

 It was a decent flurry but it's pretty faint in the photo :( .

 It's a tradition to make or buy banners with fortuitous writings on them and put them up around homes and businesses.

 


And of course, "money" to burn!

 And "cigarettes"!

 Making some ancestors happy and wealthy.

Also, fireworks.

 I told some students that the main reason we buy firecrackers for the Fourth of July is to blow things---like Lego men, or bananas---up. They were pretty tickled by that.

 Finally, click here for a nice collection of celebration photos from buzzfeed, like this one:

In Chinese imagery dragon horns look like antlers :D