sincerely, Shualaw

2000年6月9日
我们认识了你，认识了一个叫孙燕姿的女生。于是，也不知道是你陪伴了我们，还是我们支持了你。
我们一起走过了快8年。这包含了多少酸甜苦辣 欢笑痛哭的8年。这包含了多少年少气盛，风华正茂的8年。因为有你和你的音乐，真的很精彩。
孙燕姿，没有过人的相貌，不会绚丽的舞技，不懂曲意地奉和，她有的只是一副不错的嗓音。一颗对音乐执着的心和那股爱唱歌的热情。所以，她会为了唱好歌而苦练自己生硬的中文。所以，她会为了一首录不到最佳效果的歌而急得泪洒录音间。所以，她记得在她音乐道路上帮助过她的每一个人。所以，她会在每次唱现场前都仔细地走台试音。
到现在，孙燕姿还是会自问说：其实，你这个人，什么都不是！可是为什么会又有那么多的人喜欢你的歌，支持你呢？
我们说：因为你用心做的音乐，用感情唱出的歌感动了我们 ，仅此而已。
幸运，大概是指获得到的奖项和销售的肯定。
奇迹，大概是指没有曲折地获得成功。
如果绿光代表着幸运 代表着奇迹
那么，孙燕姿，你就是那道绿光
你就是我们的那个唯一。
回想那一场演唱会。关于孙燕姿的精彩，终于等来了。
演出是成功的，燕姿是完美的。
万人K歌的场面，那样的场景，真的让人无法用言语来形容。
有人在她的歌声中留下了自己的眼泪，却还是带着泪跟着她一起唱着。那是幸福的眼泪。
一样的舞台，一样的歌曲，一样的表扬，却带来不一样的感动，不一样的精彩。
台上的人多了份撒娇。台下的人多了份亲切。
是你，在华丽的舞台上优雅地翩翩起舞
是你，在热烈的掌声中幸福地感动演出
是你，在耀眼的灯光下开心地大声歌唱
那就是你，最真，最好，最美丽的你。
接下来的日子，有好有坏
但是，我们选择一如既往的相信并支持着燕姿。
只要你朝着你自己的方向努力地去追寻就好。幸福就好。
如果，有一天你不想唱了，那样也好，只要你是开心的。
2007年的那道逆光 你说：
“即使痛得刺眼 去看见希望 看见了爱我的人 看见了我爱的人
我愿意去相信 我会永不放弃”
人生若只初相见，爱会不会更多，我想不会
经过8年，发现原来我比初相见时更爱你了。
怀念你带来的过去，更期待你未来的精彩。
姿迷无处不在，燕姿无法取代。

On my first move to Asia (Singapore) I was excited to find some great Asian music, but was surprised to that great Asian music was not as easily found as I had previously hoped…most of the population loved either American/western bands and musicians, or Chinese “pop” music (liúxíng yīnyùe-流行音乐). There are some amazing western bands and musicians, but as far as I’m concerned Chinese pop music (and pop music in general) is nothing too spectacular; once you’ve heard one you’ve heard them all. So, you might understand my pain when upon first arrival all I heard everywhere was either, music I had already heard while in the states, or a pop song that sounded just the same as the one before. (I understand that by saying this some of my Chinese friends might beat me up, but that’s okay )

I quickly overcame my disappointment when some friends introduced me to some “good stuff” that was truly, “music to my ears”. The following is one of the “good stuff” that I have come to love and enjoy over the last couple of years living in Asia. Her name is Stephanie Sun (sūn yàn zī-孙燕姿）and she is probably my favorite Chinese female singer song writer.

Sun Yanzi (English name= Stephanie Sun) was born in Singapore on July 23, 1978, and according to wikipedia has sold over “10 million copies” of her 10 albums thus far in her career (and probably twice or three times that amount have been downloaded “illegally” on line–which is very very common in China especially). Most of her songs are sung in Mandarin Chinese, with the occasional English or Hokkien (fú jiàn hùa-福建话) song thrown into the mix.

Now, to understand why I enjoy Sun Yanzi I will tell you a little bit about my taste in Music. I am not super analytical when it comes to why I like a certain bands or musicians, it normally comes down to one thing, “how does it make me feel?” . I like music that brings a certain emotion with it; whether it makes me happy, sad, euphoric, upset..or want to dance uncontrollably… etc. So if a song is able to carry with it pretty much any emotion (except for “annoyance”) then to me that is a great song, and I will enjoy the listening experience.

Sun Yanzi is definitely one who fills her songs with feeling, rhythm and emotion. Her vocals are unique, but pleasant to the ear, and her songs combine many different elements of Singaporean culture. Although some of her recent songs are a little too poppy for me they still carry enough of Sun Yanzi signature vocals that they are still quite pleasant to the ear just not as amazing as some of her others.

Well, I won’t bore you any longer with writing about Sun Yanzi. After all, the best way to find out if you like a certain musician is to listen to their music.

So…in the words of Jordy laforge, from Reading Rainbow, “don’t take my word for it” have a listen and tell me what you think.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Story of Houyi

I still remember the exact moment that I realized this principle. I had been living in Singapore and Malaysia for about a year and half, when my friend (an American born Chinese or A.B.C.) and I went to a small party with about 10 to 15, Singaporean’s and Mainland Chinese. The party started as any good party normally starts, with lots of FOOD…!!! After enjoying a great meal together we proceeded to play a series of little games. As the night went on I started to notice that everyone around me was laughing uncontrollably, everyone but ME! I understood what they were saying, but I just didn’t think that it was funny… so I wasn’t laughing… and it really hit me at that moment that I just didn’t fit in.

By this time I thought that Mandarin was pretty good. I had worked very very hard over the last year and a half to learn all I could. But when it came to a couple fairly simple jokes and games I just wasn’t grasping what was happening. At this point I began to understand that learning a language isn’t just about words and sentences that is a robot or computer’s job. I definitely am not a computer or a robot that just spouted words and phrases! I am a PERSON with feelings, and emotion that can COMMUNICATE with others! And if I was going to communicate with Chinese people I would need to change and seek to understand the culture more fully…laugh when they laugh and cry when they cry.

I wish I could say that after making this descision I immediately started laughing at all the joke’s that I heard while also creating a whole bunch of my own, but that hasn’t been the case; it hasn’t been easy. Now, it has almost been 6 years since I came to that realization. I still have the occasional thing that goes right over my head, but for the most part I feel like a fit in.

Now you’re probably saying to yourself, “how do I change what I think is funny?” The answer is that you’re not changing what you think is funny, you are just adding to it. There’s no need for you to change who you are. It is just the act of opening up your mind and heart and accepting more, and over time it will happen!!!

Added Pointers:

If you are a people watcher: watch people! see how they tell jokes, what they are laughing at…and over time you will naturally do the same things.

If you like movies: try watching a couple classic Chinese comedies…Zhou Xingchi (Stephen Chow) is by far the most famous Chinese comedy director! A couple of his movies that have made it to American soil are “Shaolin Soccer” and “Kungfu Hustle”

If you like to read: look at jokes on line and pick some out, learn them and start telling them and see what kind of reaction you get.

]]> http://www.crazina.com/2009/06/becoming-fluent-joking/feed/ 0 http://www.crazina.com/2009/06/happy-duan-wu-jie/ http://www.crazina.com/2009/06/happy-duan-wu-jie/#comments Sat, 06 Jun 2009 05:31:00 +0000 shualaw http://www.crazina.com/?p=98 今天是中国的端午节，希望大家端午节快乐。每年的端午节都是中国农历的五月初五。这个节日是为了纪念爱国诗人屈原而来的，屈原古代伟大的诗人和政治家，他的作品“离骚 至今流传。屈原为了国家和人民的安危，最后在绝望和悲愤之下投汨罗江而死。人们为了纪念他，以后的每一年的五月初五这一天，老百姓都会把米饭做成粽子投在江里喂鱼，这样鱼就不会吃屈原的肉体。划龙舟也是端午节的习俗，因为当时人们为了救屈原，许多人划船追赶拯救，他们争先恐后，后来每年就有了划龙舟比赛的传统。除了这些，还有饮雄黄酒，游百病，挂香囊等传统做法在端午节的时候。。总是，希望大家端午节快乐

When it comes to pronunciation, however, there are a couple of strange transformations that occur with some “special characters”. These characters are referred to in Mandarin as “dūo yīn zì” “多音字” ＝directly translated as “many toned characters”. They are exactly what they are translated to be. In some circumstances these “special characters” change tonally (i.e. a character that is normally a first tone becomes fourth etc.) while in others, like 行 or 了, they are completely new words pronounced completely different.

The first one is actually “one” or “一” . Most commonly ( including most dictionaries) “一” is said to be pronounced “yī ” with a first tone. However, that is not all this little one stroke character is capable of doing!!! “一” is somewhat of a super-mutating “special character” with many different forms.

Here they are:

1. yī = only when ” 一 ” is used alone, or when it is at the end of a word or sentence is it pronounced with a first tone. (i.e. shíyī “十一 ” or yī yī dé yī “一一得一”.

2. yí = when used before a character with a fourth tone (falling tone) it is pronounced with a second tone. (i.e. yíbàn “一半”, yígòng “一共”)

3. yì = when used before a character with a first, second or third tone it is pronounced with a fourth tone. (i.e. yìtīan “一天”, yìnían “一年”, yìdiǎn “一点” .

NOTE: Don’t let these different rules get you down take them one at a time and practice the rule over and over, and in no time unconsciously you will be saying all of them correctly.

The next special character “不” (not, no) Recognized by most, and dictionaries, as bù (fourth tone). This special character, just like it’s friend “一“, also has a couple of tricks up it’s sleeve (when I say a couple I mean ONE!). Enjoy!!!

1. bú = Only when “不 ” is in front of another character with a fourth (falling) tone does it change into a second tone. All other instances it will remain a fourth tone. i.e. búhùi “不会”, búshì “不是 “.

2. yǒu “有”= “to have” “不” is never to be used with yǒu “有”!!! You MUST say měi yǒu “没有” to say “not have” It is super nasty sounding, and very incorrect, to say “bù yǒu” “不有”.

Well I hope that helped clear up some confussion and helps you along your road to perfect Mandarin!

Through-out the world there are many fun and unique ways that people have found to keep cool… What type are you? are you the type who wears nothing more then a light tank-top, shorts and flip-flops all summer long, or are you that person who shaves their head bald and carries a pack of ice on your head…?

No matter what you may prefer… when it comes to Chinese Men there is mainly one preferred method for “cooling down” on those hot, humid summer days……. and you guessed it. It is to simply lift ones shirt above ones belly and let it rest there all day long. Not only does this act help to keep your belly nice and cool, while cooling down the rest of your body (of course ) it also gives every belly a chance to “show off” and flaunt itself round giggly self… even if it is only during the summer:)

So next time you’re walking around the streets of Shanghai admiring each of the unique little shops, and suddenly a man with a huge belly comes meandering around the corner; showing his gigantic midriff off to everyone that fancies a gaze….. you should do the following 4 steps in order:

1.Take out that permanent marker that you have been storing just for this occasion, and remove the cap!

2. Quickly, yet stealthy, run up to the man…

3. Draw a large smiley face on that huge belly…

4. Run like the dickens.

Why do this you might ask…because simply stated a huge, smiling belly is a happy belly!!! plus belly buttons make fantastic noses.

In all seriousness, I have always wanted to do this, but up to this point in time I have not yet dared to make the move.

This kid is starting young… just wait til’ he’s 30 years older and another 150-200 lbs.(see image on right) Smiley face here we come.

1: open your control panel (“startup menu”-> “control panel”)

2: open “…Regional and Language options”

3: click “languages“

4: check “Install Files for East Asian Languages” click “OK“

sometimes you may have to restart your computer after this last step (do so only if prompted) If you are prompted to put in a disk..don’t freak out.. just skip this step it still seems to work without the setup disk.

5: open “…Regional and languages options” again.

6: go to “Text services and input languages“

7: “settings” -> “preferences” -> “language bar“-> check “show language bar on the desktop“

8: go to google pinyin and download and save to your desktop (click the blue box that says: “下载谷歌拼音输入法”）

9: when finished downloading click on the Google pinyin Icon on your desktop and then click “save” or “run“

10: finished!

now you just need to open your tool bar “alt + shift” and it should be there.! This can be used in web browsers! Word projects or any other typing front on your computer..so open something up and give it a try!!!

How to Use Google pinyin and your Tool bar: the basics

Open/Close tool bar: Alt + Shift

Toggle between Languages: Shift

Out of all the other Chinese input methods Google pinyin seems to be the most correct in character recognition, typing entire sentences with few to no errors. However, if you find another program that you like more.. let me know. I’m always up for checking out new things.

If you would like to type pinyin with tone marks! here is a link for you to visit! pinyin input When using my pc I really have found this input method to be very easy to use. After downloading, it will appear in your language bar. Any questions let me know.

I put tones as number one on my list not because it is the most important perse, but it is the most commonly forgotten and over-looked. Many people tend to think that they will learn the tones “as they go”, and instead focus all their efforts on memorizing vocabulary. If you do this you’ll find yourself a far way down the road needing to turn back and start again. First, drill yourself until your tones are nothing short of amazing, and then gradually add more words. (don’t be shy when it comes to recording your own voice to see how you sound) If you do this the rest of the road will go much more smoothly, and you won’t have to make any unnecessary turn-around. After studying Chinese for over 7 years I still begin each study session with a tongue twister or two just to keep the tones in tip top condition. Perfect tones help you jump the hurtle separating foreigner from a local Chinese..you are no longer the white guy (or Latin or Indian…girl.etc..) trying to speak Chinese you are the “white Chinese guy”.

Building a Super foundation!

Until I finally realized just how important foundations were for buildings I always wondered why it took sooooo long for a the foundation to go in, and I am still amazed at how fast the rest of the building goes up after the foundation is finished. Learning Chinese is very similar to this process. The foundation is the most important part, but all to often it is the one step that most people skip when learning Chinese. It also becomes more evident and more difficult to change as time goes on. So what I am saying is…. a good foundation is key to successful language learning.

What are the key ingredients to building a strong.. durable…long lasting and all in all successful foundation?

Tones … Pinyin… Tones….Tones… more.. pinyin.. grammar and ummmm more Tones.

Tones

I put tones as number one on my list not because it is the most important perse, but it is the most commonly forgotten and over-looked. Many people tend to think that they will learn the tones “as they go”, and instead focus all their efforts on memorizing vocabulary. If you do this you’ll find yourself a far way down the road needing to turn back and start again. First, drill yourself until your tones are nothing short of amazing, and then gradually add more words. (don’t be shy when it comes to recording your own voice to see how you sound) If you do this the rest of the road will go much more smoothly, and you won’t have to make any unnecessary turn-around. After studying Chinese for over 7 years I still begin each study session with a tongue twister or two just to keep the tones in tip top condition. Perfect tones help you jump the hurtle separating foreigner from a local Chinese..you are no longer the white guy (or Latin or Indian…girl.etc..) trying to speak Chinese you are the “white Chinese guy”.

Pinyin

I have pinyin as the second key ingredient in our foundation, but honestly it was nearly had a tie with tones. If you don’t get a grasp on pinyin from the very start you will be in a world of hurt later on. It is similar to learning a completely new alphabet, but once you have it down pat, it is consistent and you very easy to build with. The English alphabet has sooooo many exceptions and different ways of pronouncing letters it gives me a nervous twitch just thinking about it. Hanyu pinyin on the other hand stays consistent at all times. Get them down early on and you will be loving life and those you speak Chinese with will enjoy talking to you also.

word of warning: Partly due to the fact that so few foreigners choose to learn Chinese, and also because Chinese people are very patient and gracious….no matter how bad your Mandarin is they won’t tell you (unless you sincerely ask… and then they’ll give it to ya..) This is only a problem if you let it get to your head…and you start saying to yourself, “well, all the Chinese tell me that my Mandarin is amazing I guess I can stop studying.” When learning correct pronunciation of words the best way is simply to watch and listen. Watch their mouth..how the lips, tongue and throat move..and listen carefully always trying to mimic what you see and hear. Sounds simple but it works wonders.

Grammar: I’ve never been a big fan of grammar classes ever, and that is yet another reason I love the Chinese language. For the most part it is very straight foreword and it stays consistent with few exceptions to the rule. As long as you never forget STPVO=subject-time-place-verb-object you will have excellent sentences that are even grammatically correct.

Keep these 3 things high on your priority list and you’ll have a great future with the chinese language!