This past week we went to Beijing. My mom and dad came over for a visit so we decided to pick them up in the Capital and give them a little looksy at the sights and sounds. In all, we spent about 4 days in Beijing. As always with life, I learned a few things. Or, did I learnt them? If I find out the correct spelling of that word then it will just be one more interesting thing that I learnt this week.
1. When a 20 hour train ride turns into an 18 hour train ride, it is still a long haul and tough to do with 2 little boys. Plus, if they are going to ban smoking in this country, then the little waiting areas by the bathrooms on the train are "ground zero". Bring in the tear gas!
2. Just because there are short urinals for kids in some places does not mean that you should encourage your kid to use them. If you are in the habit of bending down to help your kid pull his pants down to pee, then you must remember to stand up before he starts peeing. I learned the hard way when I had to wash "splash back" out of my eye.
3. If you go to Beijing on a budget, then get used to eating McDonald's and walking everywhere.
4. The inside of the Forbidden City is pretty cool, but not really "40 RMB cool".
5. Normal looking citizens can still try to steal things from you. I was standing in line at Ikea and a normal, self-respect-looking dude tried to swipe my ipod from my camera bag. I noticed the sudden shift in the strap movement and put a stop to that nonsense.
6. Do not expect any taxis to want to take you anywhere. In fact, avoid taxis any way you can. Ride the Subway. It is great.
7. In China, no one tips. In Beijing, everyone expects you to tip them. So, since there is no foundational rule, yet there are thousands of ignorant over-tippers filing through the city every week, I think that the best thing to do is not tip. Of course, this causes great outcry. We were at TGI Friday's and the waiter waited for my dad to tip him. My dad, not sure of the custom, did nothing. The waiter walked away, and I caught a glimpse of him as he looked back in disgust.
"What? You want a tip? Well, maybe if you knew that the custom for tipping is to put the tip on the table you wouldn't have gotten so angry when we didn't hand you a tip. You're not a bellboy. You are a waiter. Google "how to give and receive a tip" and learn something. Then, when I ask you what the custom is, don't say "If I do a good job give me a good tip" because millions of your fellow Chinese in all different parts of the country never expect a tip, so your definition of 'tip', though correct and relevant in other countries, mainly means nothing to 99% of the population and people in your country. Also, refill our waters a little more often, will yeah?!"
8. Then, we settle on a 40 RMB per person price for a rickshaw ride. The kids ride free. At the end, I give the boss 160 RMB and he says that that is the "boss's fee" and that I still need to pay the drivers. Well, you can pay the drivers out of the fee we agreed on. Or, next time, drive the friggin' rickshaw yourself and I'll pay the driver!
To summarize, don't ruin a perfectly nice situation by demanding all kinds of money that you have no right to demand. Do a good job and ask a reasonable price and you will have a happy career. Heck, I might even take your phone number and recommend you to my friends. My friends might even grossly over tip you. There, everyone is happy.
9. If you have 2 kids, bring a stroller.
10. Hai Nan airline is much, much nicer than any other Chinese airline I have flown with.
Seriously, Beijing is cool and I feel like if I had a ton of money I could get a small sliver of a glimpse of what some of the cool stuff is like. In Xining, we pay a couple bucks at the most to take a taxi somewhere. In Beijing, you wait for 45 minutes, get a pissed off driver, and pay 6 or 7 dollars. Living in the city I live now, I cannot justify spending so much money and time on just getting somewhere where things cost more than I can afford to spend.
The best deals in Beijing, I have found, are the subway and the McDonald's cheeseburger. Sure, you could probably eat some cool/cheap local food, but you'll need to get into a taxi to find it.
Want affordable food, friendly people, culture, beauty, hilarity? Ladies and gentlemen... Xining.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
After further review...
I must admit, that if you watch it with a loved one, and tune out the poor secondary characters, the confusion of why they are even in the movie, and a lot of cliched jokes/situations spread throughout, then you might just find the heart of The Kids Are Alright.
Also, be warned that this movie has way too much Mark Ruffalo backside in it. I still question that Academy Award Nomination. Not the backside, but the whole character. Not that he did a bad job, but I think that his character was pretty ordinary and boring. There was nothing at stake for him, at least he acted that way. In the end, it all... well, you can watch it if you want to.
So, my overall decision? It could have been Best Picture material if more time was taken to raise the stakes for everyone involved, aside from the couple. Even though it was erroneously nominated for Best Picture, it would have stood a chance with a little more care. This was a very important subject, which a lot of people would respond to. I thought that they missed a golden opportunity to tell a touching tale, and instead seemed to expect people to be effected by it just because of the content. They assumed that it would work. They should have worked a little harder at it.
Still, upon further review, this is a worthwhile view. Though I must warn you that there is a lot of needless nudity and crude content.
And, once again, this is just my opinion.
Also, be warned that this movie has way too much Mark Ruffalo backside in it. I still question that Academy Award Nomination. Not the backside, but the whole character. Not that he did a bad job, but I think that his character was pretty ordinary and boring. There was nothing at stake for him, at least he acted that way. In the end, it all... well, you can watch it if you want to.
So, my overall decision? It could have been Best Picture material if more time was taken to raise the stakes for everyone involved, aside from the couple. Even though it was erroneously nominated for Best Picture, it would have stood a chance with a little more care. This was a very important subject, which a lot of people would respond to. I thought that they missed a golden opportunity to tell a touching tale, and instead seemed to expect people to be effected by it just because of the content. They assumed that it would work. They should have worked a little harder at it.
Still, upon further review, this is a worthwhile view. Though I must warn you that there is a lot of needless nudity and crude content.
And, once again, this is just my opinion.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
2011 Tom Hooper = 1990 James Cameron...
Seriously. Look it up!
I finally was able to watch the Oscars. I'm not sure if it was the hassle of finding it online combined with the lateness of the evening and the fact that Barbara and the boys are away for a few days, but I kind of got a little emotional while watching this one.
A couple thoughts:
- The hosts were good. James Franco seemed like he thought that everything was lame, but it was funny that way. The opening was cool; how they were in every movie inside Alec Baldwin's dreams. Then being "Inceptioned". Creative, entertaining stuff. The show could have used a bit more of that, actually.
- Was that Kirk Douglas on stage or my Grandpa Derman? Similar in a lot of ways, but not every. Kirk's a little closer to the finish line. Great comedy, though. I really thought that he was 'on', and it was great considering I had to hold my breath to make sure that he didn't die on stage.
- I thought that it was nice that a wide variety of films won awards. King's Speech was the big winner, but with 4 it wasn't a run away like other years. I mean, Inception won 3 or 4 as well.
- If you take a look at my previous post you will see that I was pretty much spot on for all of my picks. That helped me enjoy it a lot. I was really happy for the writers, especially David Seidler. I love writers!
- Again, Tom Hooper looks EXACTLY like James Cameron when he was younger. Crazy exactly!
- I was so happy that Portman won for Black Swan. That movie deserved a little more, but it was nice, and really, how do you pick a winner in some of the categories?
- Everyone must admit that Christian Bale is an amazing actor. Why? Because I bet half of the people watching the show found out for the first time that he is in fact not an American, but from the UK. Come on, admit it. I'll admit that I found that out about a year ago.
Seriously, watch The Fighter. It's a great movie.
- I vote that Timberlake sticks to singing and Paltrow sticks to acting.
- I also vote that Ryan Gosling gets nominated over Jesse Eisenberg.
And finally, for those people who think that it is stupid and wrong to have a bunch of famous and rich people pat themselves on the back while there is so much going on in the world I have a few things to think about:
1.) If you like the Superbowl then you are a hypocrite.
2.) These people work hard, and they make great movies. One of the goals for them is to win awards. If there are no awards, then that competitive spirit slowly fades and we are left with Transformers 8 and whatever else that makes 100 mil.
3.) It's a tradition, and it's cultural. That's the way the world works.
4.) Show's over. Back to hockey.
I finally was able to watch the Oscars. I'm not sure if it was the hassle of finding it online combined with the lateness of the evening and the fact that Barbara and the boys are away for a few days, but I kind of got a little emotional while watching this one.
A couple thoughts:
- The hosts were good. James Franco seemed like he thought that everything was lame, but it was funny that way. The opening was cool; how they were in every movie inside Alec Baldwin's dreams. Then being "Inceptioned". Creative, entertaining stuff. The show could have used a bit more of that, actually.
- Was that Kirk Douglas on stage or my Grandpa Derman? Similar in a lot of ways, but not every. Kirk's a little closer to the finish line. Great comedy, though. I really thought that he was 'on', and it was great considering I had to hold my breath to make sure that he didn't die on stage.
- I thought that it was nice that a wide variety of films won awards. King's Speech was the big winner, but with 4 it wasn't a run away like other years. I mean, Inception won 3 or 4 as well.
- If you take a look at my previous post you will see that I was pretty much spot on for all of my picks. That helped me enjoy it a lot. I was really happy for the writers, especially David Seidler. I love writers!
- Again, Tom Hooper looks EXACTLY like James Cameron when he was younger. Crazy exactly!
- I was so happy that Portman won for Black Swan. That movie deserved a little more, but it was nice, and really, how do you pick a winner in some of the categories?
- Everyone must admit that Christian Bale is an amazing actor. Why? Because I bet half of the people watching the show found out for the first time that he is in fact not an American, but from the UK. Come on, admit it. I'll admit that I found that out about a year ago.
Seriously, watch The Fighter. It's a great movie.
- I vote that Timberlake sticks to singing and Paltrow sticks to acting.
- I also vote that Ryan Gosling gets nominated over Jesse Eisenberg.
And finally, for those people who think that it is stupid and wrong to have a bunch of famous and rich people pat themselves on the back while there is so much going on in the world I have a few things to think about:
1.) If you like the Superbowl then you are a hypocrite.
2.) These people work hard, and they make great movies. One of the goals for them is to win awards. If there are no awards, then that competitive spirit slowly fades and we are left with Transformers 8 and whatever else that makes 100 mil.
3.) It's a tradition, and it's cultural. That's the way the world works.
4.) Show's over. Back to hockey.
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