(Korean baseball fans, impromptu, to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb): "Dongjoo, Dongjoo, Kim Dongjoo Dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah! Dongjoo, Dongjoo Kim Dongjoo! [Something in Korean] Kim Dongjoo!" (upon which Kim Dongjoo knocks in the winning RBI to beat Japan in the semi-finals).
American twentysomethings, on trying to understand the nature of the Ippon in Judo: "Oh, faceslam!... Faceslam is a thousand points!!!"
New Zealand field hockey fan, during a 5-minute video review: "The Chinese built the Great Wall faster than this!"
New Zealand field hockey fan, on seeing an injured Spaniard on the field: "Get up, this isn't soccer!"
Baseball announcer, having to introduce the Olympic mascots, which have no traits describable in the English language: "It's Fuwa time!...Fuwa for you!"
P.S. We saw Jackie Chan! 20 feet away! Beat that for Chineseness, Chronomorph!
Did anyone see us on TV during the Olympic 3m mens diving? We saw ourselves on CCTV, trying to keep a stony silence while a bunch of Russians cheered their diver as loudly as they could.
Some other highlights of our recent travels: - a guy chucking his bronze medal onto the floor and storm off the podium in disgust (that's right, 3rd place is 2nd loser!) - seeing the Lakeside Pavillion of Washing the Tassle of My Official Hat in the Master of the Nets Garden! - seeing 24 pandas: 2% of the world's population! - 100 dumplings in 48 hours!!! - this awesome song!
(P.S. If you don't think it's awesome, play it 49 more times in the next 8 hours.)
The Fuwa (ridiculously translated as "Friendlies") are the Beijing Games mascots. They each represent an Olympic ring colour and a traditional Chinese element, as well as being animated Olympic/Chinese characters: Beibei the fish, Jingjing the panda, Huanhuan the Olympic flame, Yingying the Tibetan antelope, and Nini the Beijing swallow.
We thought the Vanouver Olympics could also have five mascots, representing the regions of Canada:
- Toketoke the Vancouver joint - Graingrain the motionless blade of Saskatchewan wheat - Slagslag the lump of Sudbury coal - Rockrock the Inukshuk - Clubclub the baby seal
Also on our list as possibilities are curdcurd the poutine, puckpuck the hockey puck, and meme the Torontonian. Other suggestions are welcome.
Some things you should consider visiting while in Asia:
http://siamniramit.com/ An awesomely cheesy musical dance show featuring all of Thailand's history and culture, featuring a live elephant (which you can ride before the show) and green deities with two foot crowns flying across the dry ice-filled stage.
Vietnamese water puppets: cheesy goodness at one fifteenth the price of Siam Niramit:
Possibly to avoid is the Petronas Twin Towers observation deck, which at floor 41 of 88 floors, is slightly higher than the lunch room at my office.
1) Pandas like bamboo. 2) Thai massages are not for the uber-ticklish. 3) Mai tais are not particularly thai. 4) Three mai tais are not any more thai. 5) If you are going to buy a $2 watch, don't bother getting a Calvin Klein one, they are no better than regular $2 watches. 6) Contrary to what they tell you in law school, engagement letters are not strictly necessary. 7) Thailand is a wonderland of puns.
Poor, poor English CBC television. Degrassi, the Olympics, the Junos, the Grey Cup, and now the coup de grace.
What's next: Beachcombers TNG on CTV? HGTV buying the I.P. rights to Rusty and Jerome? Global buying the perpetual exclusive rights to boring documentaries on the Royal Family?
South Africa also beat Greece, Turkey and Luxembourg, before finally falling to those dirty Commies from North Korea . They therefore are promoted to Division II next year, to face powerhouses like Belgium, Serbia and Spain.
When I was very young, I watched altogether too much CBC. Sometimes, I would get up really early to watch it sign on (!) It would begin with this awesomely hokey montage anthem (although I only really remember the last 15 seconds, where the kids cheer the highjumper): http://youtube.com/watch?v=U_vloXL52DI
At about 7AM, there was a 10-minute show called "Parlez-moi", which tried to teach French to kids. But they spoke so fast and introduced so many words at once that I watched hundreds of episodes without learning a word: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vilHNrxUdgs
