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This is the story about how I got married to my wife in China. As such, this is my dedication to all the others who have to plow through obstacles to be together. Here is what to look out for, and how getting married in China works.
“Sometimes this culture of controlling their kids and who they marry then gets passed down from generation to generation..."
I know all the details are too tedious and boring for casual reading. So I am not going to go into the details.
However, there is a music video 听见下雨的声音 that describes what it was like for me and wife to get married. I want to dedicate this post using this video as the narrative.
This is the way it happened. I tell you the truth.
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
Let it be well understood that getting married to the love of my life was was not easy. It wasn’t easy. There were all sorts of hurdles in the way, and yes per Chinese tradition she was to be married off to another boy. This guy was richer, better, more attractive than me.
It was an arrangement made many many years ago. It was made when I was still in elementary school, and while my love knew about it, she somehow felt that she could get around it.
No. She could not.
He was better than me in every measurable way. But somehow we overcame all those obstacles. There is a music video that aptly describes what it was like for us to get together, and I refer to it throughout this post.
Have I been treated unfairly by a boyfriend’s mother because I was not their kind of Asian?
Absolutely! (Two now-ex boyfriends, in fact.)
I was never going to be good enough because I wasn’t the right shade of Asian. I didn’t come from the same background, go to an Ivy League school, or have the right last name.
Yes, my background is certainly more capable than the humble clerk in the music video. Yet, this is a timeless story that others, just like me and my wife, have gone through. This is my dedication to all the others who have to plow through obstacles to be together.
This is my dedication to all the others (maybe others like you, perhaps) who have to plow through obstacles to be together. This is my dedication for all you out there who are in love and are fighting to be together. This is my dedication for you, and for your love.
This boy and this girl loves each other. He is working at a 7-11 as a clerk. He doesn’t make enough money, but he is a hard worker. He is kind, honest, and loyal. She doesn’t love him for his money. She doesn’t love him for his family, the car he drives, or the school he went to. She loves him for who he is.
It’s true.
In fact, if you want to get married to a Chinese guy or girl in China, you WILL need their parents approval. This is codified in law, as well as the documents that all families have. If you get married, your name will go into a household register, and who controls that document? Well… the parents do.
Unless you have their approval, you will not be able to get married in China.
This is because in China, you will need more than love. You will need HEART.
This means that love will not be enough. You will need to make your relationship work. Not only functionally, but you will need to obtain the approval of parents. Many, of whom will have natural biases against you.
These biases are many, and depending on where your love lives, it can include anything from your familial background to your earning potential.
Chinese parents will come with automatic biases that they will judge you by. This will include your earning potential. This will include your intelligence. This will include your family’s social standing, and this will include your ability to be a good provider. Chinese families are traditional.
So yes. You will need to love, and you will need to work. You will need to prove yourself, but also you will need to fight for your love.
More so than Westerners, many Chinese view dating as a pragmatic affair. It’s not always about finding love so much as it is about finding a potential marriage partner who fits with one’s own ideals. For example, although many men get married without a house and a car, Chinese women will often say that they’re looking for these things because that’s the sort of person who probably has a stable career and will be able to provide for her and their future children in the long-term. It’s not always about love. As one contestant on China’s most popular dating show put it, "I’d rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle."
-ThoughtCo
You must, of course, fight. I don’t mean put on some boxing gloves. I mean push yourself, and push yourself to your limits. You need to make the money to prove that you are worthy. You need to be a little better than everyone else. You need to show to your mate that you are worthy of them.
He is a worker. He doesn’t laze around. He works, and earns money. He works at three or four jobs and saves up all his money. (7-11 clerk, deliver food, deliver newspapers, and janitor)
In this video, a poor boy is working all the time so that he can be married to the girl of his dreams. This girl is the one. You know what I am talking about?
The ONE; that one very special person that you want to share your life with.
Ah, but.. But he doesn’t have a college degree. He is of limited means, so he works at what he can do. He works multiple jobs and saves and saves his pennies. He works and works. He does his best, and yes it is dirty, and demeaning work.
But in China, love is not enough to form the basis of a family. You need money, connections and potential. Her father already has picked up a nice promising man for her to marry. Here in the video, he is “interviewing” him as a potential husband for his daughter. This is a often referred to as a “date” in China.
Well, the father does not like him. Instead, he chooses a rich boy, one who is upwardly mobile for his daughter. And she, as a good Chinese daughter, listens to her father.
She obeys her father.
This is a very sweet version of the song from the video, sung by Kiniyo. I place it here so that you, the reader, can listen to it now.
I think Kiniyo does a nice job singing about this very, very common situation that Chinese boys and girls must endure.
This is not fifty years ago. This is today. This is contemporary China, and yes this practice is still very common. It is the most common way for a person to get married in China. However, today (in most of China) they tend to be a little softer about who the daughter is to marry.
As such, they give them a year or two to find a mate. If they don’t find a boy, then the parents will find one for them.
Every parent is different, of course, but in general Chinese parents expect to be more involved in their children’s relationships. It’s not uncommon for parents and grandparents to set their children up on blind dates with suitable matches they’ve found.
If their child’s significant other doesn’t meet with the parents’ approval, continuing the relationship will be very difficult. That’s why if you’re dating someone who is Chinese, it’s very important you make a good first impression with the parents! -ThoughtCo
In richer families, like my wife’s, they are often very strict and particular on who will marry. They are absolute in this regards, most especially if you come from certain regions in China. Like some of the richer sections of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, or Beijing. Or in certain provinces or cultural enclaves like Wenzhou.
And, in certain areas (regions) of China, dating a 外国人 (wài guó rén) – a non-Chinese foreigner, is absolutely out of the question.
The father will decide who will marry his daughter.
The father has picked up a socially and financially mobile husband out for her and he tells her that she WILL marry this boy. This is the Chinese way and it is still very common. And yes. It happened to me.
But you know, love is the glue that builds a family. Not a document or diploma. It’s not how good you look or how well connected you are. It is the love that binds the family together and enables the family to persist through hardship.
Love is what you need to make things last decade after decade. Love has a purpose and there is a reason why it exists. When you love someone you are connected to them, and you can “feel” them and what is going on with them.
Yes. You can “feel” them, and this is a real connection.
When you love someone you are “attuned” to that person. You can “feel” them and are aware of them to a certain extent. This awareness varies from person to person, but it does exist.
In China, especially if you come from a wealthy or prominent family, you WILL marry who they tell you to marry. This is the way that it is done, and I can tell you that I encountered this situation personally.
This is what it is like. You need to have parental approval to get married in China.
If you have any questions or confusion about this, then perhaps you should get your head out of the sand and watch the movie “Rich Crazy Asians“. That movie had a number of scenes that really reflected how parents influence the people their children marry.
The Chinese parents exert a tremendous amount of influence on their children. They expect their children to excel in life, and they will make sure and enforce who they will marry.
Crazy Rich Asians is a 2013 novel by Kevin Kwan. Kwan stated that his intention in writing the novel was to "introduce a contemporary Asia to a North American audience". He claimed the novel was loosely based on his own childhood in Singapore. The novel became a bestseller and was followed by two sequels, China Rich Girlfriend in 2015 and Rich People Problems in 2017. A film adaptation of the novel was released on August 15, 2018. -Crazy Rich Asians - Wikipedia
This influence can be an enormous burden and hardship on the child. This is especially true when they love someone, and their parents forbid them to be together. While it is true that many people can get married in China and avoid family approval, this is not true for everyone.
There are still many families that take marriage and future family composition quite seriously.
Midway through Crazy Rich Asians, Michelle Yeoh–who plays the disapproving mother of Constance Wu’s love interest and would-be husband–tells Wu’s character, “You will never be enough.” -Fastcompany
In the MV by Jay Chou titled 听见下雨的声音, this is quite realistically portrayed.
This fact of life, and Chinese truth, can be very difficult. In the case with most Chinese daughters who love another boy, they find that they must marry someone that they do not love. Meanwhile they are forbidden to be with the one who they love.
In the video, the boy saves up all of his money.
That’s what a guy does. he saves up everything and than gives it all to the girl of his dreams. This might sound so strange as it doesn’t fit the progressive liberal reality of what a family is. It is the way traditional families are structures, and in traditional families, the man works as hard as he can and give all of it to his wife.
Not some of it. Not most of it.
All of it.
ALL OF IT.
The boy works hard and gives everything to his girl. In China, a family man gives 100% of what he earns straight to his wife. Not “most” of his money. Not 99.5% of his money. He gives ALL OF HIS MONEY, as his wife and his family is everything to him. That is what a traditional life, and a traditional family is all about.
That is how the dowry came into being. It was a way to show that the boy loves the girl well enough to give everything to her.
That is what a dowry is. But in today’s world, it isn’t enough.
Often in China, the mechanism for getting married was set in place many, many years earlier. The love of your life; your dream girl… THE ONE, might be promised to someone else. And the entire community might know of it. And there might not be anything that you can do about it.
She will be obligated to marry who ever her parents tell her to, or else the entire face of the family will be in jeopardy.
Just like in the English expression “saving face,” the “face” we’re talking about here isn’t a literal face. Rather, it’s a metaphor for a person’s reputation amongst their peers. So, for example, if you hear it said that someone “has face,” that means that they have a good reputation. Someone who doesn’t have face is someone who has a very bad reputation. -Face Culture in China
But life is not that simple.
Love isn’t enough. Money isn’t enough.
You need the blessings of the parents. Without those blessings, you will be absolutely unsuccessful in getting married or having a family register in China. Without a family register, you cannot have children.
This is what a Household Register looks like in China. It is a book. It is kept by your parents, and when you get married, your name and your spouse is added to that register, and your parents keep the book. If they do not approve of your love, you can never get your partner added to the book.
You need the blessings of the parents.
The household register can trace your family’s genealogy back many, many generations.
But, there are often other forces and other situations that will define what happens in your life. There are complex relationships, long held debts, and familial responsibilities that you can be caught up in and not even know about.
The parents will have a duty to make sure that you obey the familial obligations.
The girl is going to her pre-arranged marriage. This is common in China, and this is what happened to us in my life. You might think that this is all a nice made up tale. It isn’t. It is real life in China. It makes us better understand the importance of love and relationships.
But you know, sometimes being wealthy, being kind, saving money, working hard… isn’t enough. The things running against you two being together are too large. The obstacles are too formidable.
The ultimate goal of most relationships in China is marriage. Young Chinese adults are often under a lot of pressure from the elders in their family to find a good husband or wife and get married relatively early.
This pressure is particularly acute for women, who can be called “left-over women” if they pass the age of 26 or 27 without finding a husband. Men can find themselves similarly left-over if they wait too long to get married.
This is a big part of why dating is often taken so seriously. Chinese young people often feel like they don’t have the time to “play the field” that their Western counterparts are afforded by society. -ThoughtCo
Sometimes everything is just impossible to overcome. You cannot do it on your own. All you can do is your best, and often doing it alone won’t be enough.
When that happens, you just cannot give up. You can never give up. You must keep on going and never give up.
I know that it will seem impossible. It will seem difficult, and you will look at what you have; your resources, and see that are are sorely lacking. You will see the world trying, and doing so successfully, to take away what you (in your heart) yearns for.
It doesn’t matter.
You must never give up.
Never. Give. Up.
I am dead-on serious about this. If what you love is so darn important to you then you must fight for it. You must work and strive for a strong life with the one; yes, (here we go again) that ONE person in your life that is THE ONE.
Never. Never ever give up.
You must fight for the things that are important to you.
Seriously. You MUST fight for the things worth having.
You must fight for the important things. And no, often you will not be ready. You won’t have enough money. You won’t have the right job. You won’t have the family blessings. You won’t have what it takes. But…
But… you MUST fight for the things that are important to you.
Well, maybe all your plans fall flat on their face. Maybe everything collapses. Maybe it all goes to deep shit. It doesn’t matter. You keep on fighting for what you love.
One of the great things about love is the strength of it when it is shared. Yes things can be impossible, and the obstacles can be far too great. However, when both of you are working TOGETHER, there is nothing that can come between your love.
As long as both of you…
Both of you share the same kind of love…
It is very easy to follow the parents, peers, and society. But if the love is strong enough, and the heart is fierce enough, you can make decisions before it is too late.
There is nothing that should come between your love for each other. That is why love is so important in a family. It is the glue that outlasts money, that outlasts, beauty and that outlasts family commitments.
But, love will melt away unless you desire it with all of your heart. You will need to make some difficult choices in your life, and there will be others who will not understand. You will need to make them, and it might not be all that easy.
One of the most difficult things that a person might have to do is to disobey their parents and follow their heart. Doing so, especially in Asian cultures, will come at a cost, and there will be a price. But, only you know if it will be worth it. You have to decide. It is a red-pill, a black and white moment.
Things can become uncomfortable. But you know…
The things that are important must be fought for.
In China, and in most of Asia, you might need to disobey your parents. In my case, we ended up getting married in Hong Kong because her parents did not approve of her marriage to an American. I understand that in certain circles in Singapore, or Indonesia it is even stricter with religious and social strata considerations.
And don’t even get me started with India…
The better things in life are the harder to get. Even though your family might want the best for you, only you know in your heart what is important to you. You do need to follow your heart.
Always follow your heart.
Always follow your heart.
Your heart will tell you what to do. Your feelings and your emotions will guide you. Listen to them.
You need to listen to your feelings.
Remember, feelings and emotions, are the glue that hold families together. When you are younger, the emotions are very strong. There is a biological reason for this. Use it.
Listen to your feelings.
Follow them and let them lead you.
When there are things that matter to you, you need to FIGHT for them. You just cannot be passive about the things that are important to you. You must fight for the things that have meaning, and others might be hurt in the process. But you need to put your needs first.
And just like the music video… and just like the fairy tales… there actually can be a “happily ever after”. Just remember that you need to fight for the things that matter to you, and if you find the ONE… that ONE person that you want to spend the rest of your life with, then both of you should fight together.
You can achieve your dreams when both of you two are fighting together for the same thing…
There can be a happily ever after. You just need to believe and follow through. Don’t give up. Don’t you ever give up. If there is one thing worth fighting for in this earth it is LOVE.
If there is one thing worth fighting for in this earth… it is love.
I really believe that if both of you share the same emotions, and both of you are willing to have a traditional, conservative family with a solid grounding in familial roles, there will be nothing that you cannot accomplish. [This is not a political issue. Many progressive democrats have conservative, traditional families. Like the Obama’s for instance.]
A traditional, conservative family is a time-tested 100% guarantee of family success with over 5000 years of documented proof. It is a family where the man works and gives 100% of his labors to this family. The wife handles the budget, the household and teaches the children.
While you might end up fighting against the wishes and desires of the parents to get married, do not neglect the importance of your new family. Establish it with a solid foundation.
Love.
And they lived happily ever after. And no it’s not a fairy tale. This is real life you all. This is the real deal. This is what happened in my life, and this is what can happen in your life as well.
Fairy tales DO come true. There is, actually is, a rainbow with a pot of gold under it.
Conclusion
My life was from my time and based on my situation. I could get all involved telling the story about this conditions, and that condition, as every situation is complex. There is nothing really simple about relationships. Once you start documenting your own, you will find that it gets complex really… really quickly.
Yet, fundamentally, my story is one of love and cultural complexities. In fact, I think that a foreigner marrying an Asian, whether they are from China or some other nation, will also encounter some situations of relative similarity to mine.
And yes, while I wrote this little post about myself, it’s really about YOU the reader.
I want to impress to you that you, I mean everyone, needs to have the fundamentals in their life “locked down”, put in place and secured. That means a life and relationship founded on love, and created with a solid emotional foundation, and structured in a proven traditional way.
It’s a winning combination.
It really is.
It is a little like this…
The Video that I refer to.
In this post I repeatedly referred to a music video (MV) that I believe reflects the story that I am trying to relate. Earlier in the post, I embedded the song sung by Kiniyo. I think that she really “nailed” the emotions and the feelings of the situation quite clearly. Indeed, if you want to get “goosebumps” on you arms, you should go to a concert where everyone is singing this song together.
Who says that this is an uncommon experience?
Like this version of the song sung by A-Lin. Watch the people in the audience. Yes, this situation is more common that we in the West would assume. Check it out…
If you are so inclined, you can see the lyrics (in Chinese) alongside the English translation HERE.
A non-Asian views the video
The thing is that this is Asian – Chinese culture. It is difficult for a non-Asian to understand it. They will make all kinds of inaccurate assumptions on what is going on.
Here we see an American chick watching the MV movie and is confused by what is going on.
An American girl comments on the video when viewing it the first time. She does so based upon the visual clues and makes erroneous assumptions as she does not understand Chinese Asian culture.
Yes, she understands that the father doesn’t like the boy, and that they are rich, but she doesn’t understand that she MUST obey her father. And, she doesn’t understand that they are meeting at her house simply because that is the place where they can meet. (She orders take-out just so that she can meet him.)
Oh, and that “store” where she get the top is not a store. It’s her father’s factory, and she picked out a top for the boy to wear, and the father says no. So, it is not just any store.
Even seeing the MV, and not understanding the lyrics or the cultural framework, you can be well moved by the video.
No, girl, it’s not as easy as you think.
She doesn’t understand that the boy is working four jobs, it’s not an option for him. And that mark on his face is a birthmark, and yes there are many people in China that have these.
She doesn’t understand that this is a formal arranged marriage, and who cares if he is handsome, wealthy and your parents like him. If there is no love, there cannot be a family.
To truly understand what is going on and why, you need to have some understanding of Asian culture. This is NOT America. This is China, and things can be very complicated.
She doesn’t understand that when the girl gets out of the car and runs to the boy it is not a cliché, that there are a lot of things going on and risks that she is taking are serious ones. This is not America, girl. This is China.
She might hate the story line because it is so cliché, but this is China today, and these things and events do actually happen. Maybe not in America they don’t, but in China they most especially do happen.
And yes, happy endings do actually happen.
Oh, BTW, I'm not trying to get in her grill. She just doesn't understand Chinese - Asian culture, and thus missed some of the important elements of the story. Besides, later on she comments on another one of my favorite Jay Chou videos. And, it's closer to what is going on.
The Song the MV is based upon.
This is a live version by Jay Chou.
Afterwards
After the hardship will be a period of calm and happiness. I promise.
It happened to me, and it will happen to you.
About Traditional Families
I am a big believer that you must build up a life with the ONE who you love. As such, there is a time-tested method to make your love last a lifetime.
That method is known as the “traditional conservative” method.
The trouble is that it is just about extinct in the United States today. It is not taught anywhere, and there are all sorts of distortions of what it actually is. Well I talk about it and go into get lengths to explain it.
You can read about it here…
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.
Parks in China
Articles & Links
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find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
You can start reading the articles sequentially by going HERE.
You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
Credit to Rush Limbaugh who gave me the inspiration to write this. This was inspired by his invaluable writings in his Rush Revere series of children’s books . Please enjoy.
A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whereas parables have human characters. A parable is a type of analogy. -Wikipedia
This is the story about Moma and her amazing soup.
You see, while everyone else was making chicken soup the “old fashioned way”, Moma did things differently. About two hundred years ago, a woman named Moma, came up with a new and radically different way to make soup.
She called her soup “Chicken Soup”.
It was a simple name for a simple soup. While other cooks, chefs and cooking experts were calling their soups by regal names, Moma wanted a simple name for the soup.
As well as a simple name for her.
When a reporter asked her what to call her, an expert? A culinarian? A commis chef, or a chef de cuisine? She just replied, “Just call me a Cook”.
As far as the soup went, it was just as simple. She kept it clean and uncomplicated. However, the ingredients had to be well cleaned, they needed to be carefully cut, and the proportions of the ingredients needed to be consistent. There were three major ingredients and they all had to be in perfect balance. Otherwise the soup would fail.
Other people laughed.
They said her “great experiment with chicken soup” would never make it. Even one of her biggest supporters, her brother, said “Heh. Chicken soup… if you can keep it.”
Moma’s chicken soup became famous because the primary ingredients were simple, clean, small and well maintained. Everything was clear and the rules were followed by the chef to the letter.
The Secret
You see, while everyone else was making chicken soup the “old fashioned way”, you know throwing everything into the pot all at once and letting it blend together. Moma did things differently. She only used a limited number of ingredients. Of those ingredients, she would only add celery, carrots, cut up chicken breast and bullion.
That was it.
Nothing else, and no complex preparations or arrangements of food were required.
You see, Moma believed in balance. The celery balanced the carrots. The carrots balanced the chicken, and the chicken balanced the celery. As long as the roles of each item were clear, the soup became balanced and quite tasty.
Everyone else, however, believed that all soups should be representative of all the vegetables available. They threw in potatoes, squash, rutabagas and just about every other vegetable into their soup. These “soup purists” claimed that by doing so they made the soup more delicious. They claimed that the diversity of elements made it better, more improved and healthier.
They even wrote a poem about it.
“Give me your discarded vegetables, your unneeded leaves, Your huddled unusables yearning to be cooked freely, The wretched refuse of your teeming garden. Send these, the tasteless, the foul, the ugly, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden broth.” ― Do-well Good-biddy-body
But Moma would have none of that.
She believed that the best things in life came to those that worked hard and deserved a place at her table. To them, she would give them the best that she could make. She used only the best ingredients, perfectly selected, and cut and simmered under her watchful eye.
“Let others eat their soup”, she would proclaim. “If we do everything like everyone else, we will be just like them.”
And so it was.
Time passed
Time passed on and Moma died.
There was nothing sinister or scandalous about her death. It was natural. She lived a long and just life, and when the angel of death came for her, she welcomed it with open arms.
Knowing full well that her death was fast approaching, she explicitly warned about the dangers of changing her soup.
She warned about what could possibly happen and go wrong. She discussed her reasoning as to why the ingredients were as she specified. She explicitly delineated how it should be cooked and how it should be served.
She did so in a special document called the “Fed-Well Papers“. Here she explained everything so that people can well understand why things were made the way there were.
Her family, in her memory (as well as in her will) decided to maintain the family tradition. They would keep everything the same. Especially the name of the soup “Moma’s Chicken Soup”.
The first change
That was all well and good. It’s just that they only needed to make just a few little changes to it. You know, Itsy-bitsy changes. To make it better, don’t ya know.
Little ones. Not big ones.
You see, what happened was a fresh-faced family member, straight out of school with a freshly minted MBA decided to change the ingredients. He knew that he could do so. As he was taught so many new and progressive ideas at the university that he attended.
So, what he did was take people who liked other soups and arranged blind-test studies with them. Blindfolded, they would taste different soups and they would rate the taste.
Since they all came from backgrounds that did not like chicken soup to begin with, he knew that whatever they would select would tell him how best to change his soup to appeal to these outliers.
The results when tabulated provided all the ammunition he needed to convince the rest of the family that Moma’s chicken soup needed to change. It needed to change, he argued, to include more people eating it.
It needed to be more attractive to others, and thus more diverse.
He would pound on the family table and accuse the others of being close-minded, bigoted, and hicks. He called them “deplorable” for clinging to their chicken soup.
They reluctantly agreed, though truth be told, there was money that changed hands, and other methods of persuasion were used to convince the more recalcitrant family members.
The first change was to allow roots, leaves and stems in the soup.
You see, one of the more intellectual family members was taught in school that roots, stems, and leaves contain flavoroids. These chemicals can be used to greatly enhance the taste of the soup. Or at least the theory went.
After all, many other cooks were also doing this in their kitchens. It was only natural for it to be applied to Moma’s Chicken Soup. The other kitchens were progressive. They were “hip” to the “new tastes” that all the youth were professing as extraordinary.
So around twelve years after Moma passed on, they started to add the roots, stems and leaves from the celery, and carrots into the soup.
It was a rousing success!
Everyone was talking about the new “improved” soup. Now better! Now More Nutritious! Now better in every way.
On the television there would be discussion panels of “experts” absolutely raving about how wonderful the “new and improved” chicken soup was. They would hold their spoons up high in the air and talk about about how free and gay they felt. They would praise the soup calling it “LGBT friendly”.
LGBT = Large Garden Bits and Twigs.
A “Living Broth”
People outside the family, and everyone inside the community started to talk about how the soup was a “living broth” and that it was meant to change and evolve with the times.
The idea of a set fixed way of doing things was considered old fashioned, out of touch with reality, and outmoded. Only old grizzly stogies, and women straight out of the “Handy-cooks tale” would eat traditional “old fashioned” and obsolete soup.
The universities and cooking schools gleefully taught this philosophy. In fact, only those cooks that agreed with the idea of a “living broth” could ever be permitted to graduate from college. The others; the traditionalists, were set apart and scorned at the university.
Often at the universities would be set aside “broth free” areas where people could be themselves without the worry of seeing someone eat a traditional soup.
More time passed
Of course, if you make one little change, one little tweak, here and there eventually everything would be at the pinnacle of perfection.
Moves were taken to add more and more different kinds of vegetables into the soup.
The first to be added were tomatoes. As it was thought that nothing looked fresher and “farm fresh” than photos of tomatoes with carrots and celery.
Then came potatoes.
Then apples. After all, tomato is a fruit, so apples are the logical choice for the soup.
Soon, everything was added to the soup pot. This included mushrooms, bean sprouts, cauliflower, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, and beans. In fact, all kinds of beans were accepted into the soup.
It was to make the soup full of protein.
Factions of believers
All these changes necessitated some intervention. As there became different factions of soup lovers. Some thought that the soup should contain more potatoes, while others believed that the soup needed to have bananas and pineapple added to it.
They argued that since pineapple made pizza better that it would do miracles to chicken soup.
There was a faction of “root purists” that believed that the only vegetables that should be used are those that were roots like ginger, potatoes, garlic and onions.
There was a faction that demanded against “dietary appropriation” which consisted of vegetables that were used in other foods. They thought that the best chicken soup was one made out of water with no ingredients at all. These purists believed that “every food had it’s place” in society.
To make sure that the soup would remain pure to all factions, various regulatory agencies were established.
ATF – All Tasty Flavors
NSA – No Salt Agency
IRS – Increased Regulation Society
DHS – Department of Healthy Soup
Vegetarians get all upset
All of these additions made Moma’s soup a big hit with the vegetarian crowd. they loved the convenience of having all their favorite vegetables all mixed together and easy to eat all at once.
The only problem was the chicken.
Vegetarians did not like to eat meat.
They looked at all the rest of the soups that others were eating. They saw that the vast majority of them did not include chicken. They saw how happy and healthy these people were eating these chickenless soups.
They looked at potato soup, and red bean soup. They looked at split pea soup and cream of turnip soup. They looked at rutabaga and nutmeg soups.
Their argument was rather simple. It went something like this; If all these other soups don’t have chicken, then why does chicken soup contain chicken? It was a question that they asked over and over again. They asked it so many times that people started to automatically ask it themselves.
“Why does any soup need a chicken?” They asked.
So they started a “ban the chicken” campaign. This “chicken ban” effort was very popular in the cities. Where violence against chicken was very common. The idea was that if you ban chicken from the soup, the chickens living in the urban areas would be safer from the urban cooks.
The vegetarians were smart. They knew that they could not ban the chicken outright. So they tired to ban it in all sorts of ways. they came up with ideas from taxing the chicken, to removing certain parts of the chicken and forbidding their use in the soup.
Assault Chicken Ban
Whenever a chicken got into a fight with another chicken, it was recorded on social media and promoted on the internet. The buzz word was “assault chicken“. By constantly harping on this term the vegetarians were able to rouse up twitter mobs to demand that Momas soup ban the chicken.
Of course, a "twitter mob" is an artificial construct. It is just a bunch of fake robots (or 'bots) that are used to give the illusion of popular support. You can buy armies of 'bots to make you look popular. It just costs a few thousands of dollars.
They worked at this and worked on this. They would say such things as “You don’t need an assault chicken to make a good soup.” Or, “why would anyone need to have a chicken in their soup?”
They rallied against certain breeds of chicken. For instance, chickens that were good egg-layers. Calling them “High Capacity Chickens“. They would get on television and say such things as “Why would anyone need to eat more than one egg?“.
In fact, there was one “assault chicken”, a fellow named “A.K.” that was particularly famous. During one newscast he took on forty seven other chickens and bested them all. Thus making the rousing nationwide slogan “Ban the AK-47“.
They rallied against inexpensive chicken breeds as well. The vegetarians were particularly incensed about these breeds. They did not like the fact that people would eat them on Saturday nights at BBQ’s with beer. Calling them “Saturday Night Specials“.
They rallied against new technology as well. As some chickens were spouting plastic ID tags instead of metal ID tags that had been used in the past. These plastic tabs would be applied by a tool that would lock the tag in place. It looked like an ugly pair of pliers, and was called a “G-lock”. Thus the anti-chicken crusade for “Ban the Glock“.
They rallied against stupid chickens. You know the kind, the really stupid ones. The “ding bat” chickens. These were the super stupid chickens. The ones that would bump against the fences inside the chicken stockade. They called these bans “Bump Stock Bans“.
They started to refer to the ways to obtain chickens as “loopholes”. Thus making it sound bad and sinister. For instance, there was the infamous “County Fair Loophole” where people could buy chickens at County Fairs. As well as the popular pastime of sharing chickens between family members. This became known as the “Chicken Transfer Loophole“.
All of this was promoted terribly as if it was something wrong, or evil, and that only a very evil and criminal person would ever handle a chicken let alone eat one in a soup. Because of this people started to get the idea that touching a chicken, or even looking at a chicken was a sinister and vile thing to do.
Every Election cycle
Without fail, every time there was a new major in town, there was a chicken incident” within the first six months of his term of office. He would thus get on the “soapbox” and loudly proclaim that he would need to ban chickens for the public good.
In the first six months of Major Bumba, there was a major chicken incident. Then in the first six months of Major Turnipon, there was another chicken incident. All of which would come with 24-7 non-stop wailing and gnashing of teeth of the “chicken tragedy”.
The news would focus on a crying infant, holding a spoon, and wailing about the horrible, horrible chicken. It would focus on school classrooms that took anti-chicken polls and went door to door convincing people of the dangers of chicken in soup.
One such student, a young Mr. Smog, became the picture boy for the anti-chicken in soup crusade. Now, even though he wasn’t the brightest student in the school, he somehow managed to get accepted at one of the top culinary schools in the country. He and others of his generation, such as Able Oscar-Charlie, were now poised to bring in a new way of cooking chicken soup. They called it “The New Broth Deal”.
Of course, the Major would participate as well. He would make a scene about it with him crying on the television or discussing going “nuclear” against cooks that use chicken in Moma’s soup.
Bumper stickers started to be seen on every other car saying such things as “Ban the chicken“, and “A chicken does not make a good soup”
The Ending of the Story
Once the system was put in place, it was only a matter of time before Moma’s soup banned the chicken. The vegetarian calls for banning the chicken never let up. It was wishful thinking, on the part of traditionalists, that the assault on the chicken would somehow disappear. It never did.
Thus, let it be well understood, the ban did eventually happen.
And all those traditionalists, who said that they would have “to pull their spoon from their dead cold hands” stood by and did nothing. They were just full of hot air and bluster. When push came to shove, they went into their kitchens, slammed the door, and hid in fear.
Huge cauldrons of soup were dumped in the sewers with great fanfare. The CIA (Cook Investigative Agency) police and their armed shock troops patrolled the streets looking for violations of the ban.
Oh, the soup is still made today. Don’t ya know.
And yes, it’s still called “Moma’s Chicken Soup”, but it isn’t the same as what it was when it was first made. Though that no longer matters. No one today remembers what the original chicken soup tasted like.
No one remembers.
It’s not taught in school. The way things are is considered to be normal, and the way that they have always been.
Instead, everyone is still concentrating on improving the chicken-less soup. With the latest additions include such things as pine needles, walnuts, succotash, okra and dirt. The promotions include smiling school children, proudly holding up their bowls of soup to an adoring mainstream media.
Moma’s chicken soup today. It is progressive. It is diverse. It is LGBT friendly. It is pro-vegetarian and anti-chicken.
And Moma…
Well, there’s been all sorts of earthquakes in the vicinity of her tombstone. It’s like a giant is rolling over and over under the ground.
Conclusion
Yes. America is still called a “Constitutional Republic” when it is actually an oligarchy today. And when the Constitution was first signed, only the male heads of families were able to vote, and their vote only would go to their federal Congressman.
There were not two political parties with the same objectives, and the same funding sources, but different talking points.
Today, you have everyone voting. In fact, the donkey-party wants children and all the non-citizens to vote. As such, it is no longer a benefit to be an American citizen. Any citizen, of any country, in any part of the world can vote.
After all, when 100% of the world can control the actions of 4.34% of the population, you have virtually zero control over your life.
Population of the world, broken down by nations. Here you can see that the United States hold 4.34% of the world’s population. With the Democrats wanting non-citizens to vote in American elections, it means that virtually Americans will have no control over their governance. Instead their vote would be equal to a voter in Argentina.
It is a liability.
Americans are taxed to fight (presently) seven wars (and many, many other skirmishes) for rich oligarchs that aren’t even US Citizens. We are taxed and taxed, but don’t get any of the social welfare benefits. They just farm us like animals, and use us like farm animals.
In fact, the USA is so messed up right now that it is IMPOSSIBLE to revert back to the way it was intended to be. There are only two courses of action available. They are [1] continue on the path as is, and permit more laws, more taxes, more regulation, and more corruption to fight more wars, and allow more progressive ideology, or [2] “nuke everything from orbit” and start fresh all over again.
"Nuke It From Orbit" is a popular catchphrase used in discussion forums to express one's extreme disapproval of a particular image or link posted by someone else. In other words, when "killing it with fire" isn't nearly effective enough, "nuking it from orbit" is your last resort …because it's the only way to be sure.
"Nuke the entire site from orbit--it's the only way to be sure" is a quote taken from the 1986 sci-fi film Aliens in which Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) decides that nothing is worth saving and that the only sure way to destroy all of the aliens is to nuke their habitat from the orbit.
Americans complaining about their Rights, as viewed by the progressive liberal elite in the urban centers.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some
other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might
like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in
America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken
apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions
as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are
reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly
impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal
library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come
and enjoy a read or two as well.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
I like parks and nature. I like friends, and to share fine wine and song with them. But you can have your own pastimes. Certainly parks are awesome. I love the clean fresh air, and the exercise you get from walking and climbing. I love the new views and the adventures that you can experience.
Each and every park is different. When I used to explore the park in Indiana, back in the USA, I was amazed to discover how each one had their own flavor and “feeling” to it. It wasn’t just the layout, or the types of trees and vegetation. It was the smells in the air, and the humidity. It was the way the sun hit the trees and the care and design of the wooden bridges.
It was the mountains, the rivers, the lakes, the streams and the rocks. It was how the people interacted with each other, and the various little special nooks, crannies and glades that would appear here and there. It was the meadows and the brooks. It was the rustling grass on a perfect croquet playing day, or the dim dark shade of a deep forest tangle.
Each park is special, and each park stands alone. Individually and special.
But for those of you who don’t like to walk or hike, the world has so much to offer. This includes the lights of the big city, and the noisy calliope of people. You see, in my mind, it is the experiences that we have, and who we share those experiences with that defines to what degree we are living life.
A person like Howard Hughes might have been a millionaire, but as a recluse he stopping living life. Ah. That is what mental illness does to you. It affects your ability to function properly.
So whether you wish to go forth and live life in nature, or just want to live it where you are right now, that’s all good. The key is to make the best of what you have right now. That is the key and that is what is important.
Whether it is this…
Notice what they are doing?
That’s right. They are hopping up and down. They are shaking and moving about. Dancing does not have to be done expertly. It’s all about moving about and having fun.
Oh, and by the way, you don’t need to drink alcoholic beverages to have fun. While I love to do so, that’s just me. You need to have fun your way. Do it your way. You do not have to do it my way. And your way can be really different.
It could mean going sled racing with your huskies pulling away, or riding horse. It could mean tromping out though the hills to an isolated brook and fishing for brook trout. It could mean riding quads in and out of mud holes. It could mean going to a friends house and eating nachos and watching Vincent Price movies on their big screen monitor.
Or this…
The important thing to keep in mind is how fleeting life actually is. When you get older, your parents are gone. You find that a number of your close friends are also gone. Some tragically.
You cannot count on anything. All you can do is make your own life count.
Make your life count.
Thank you for visiting. I hope that you enjoyed this post and maybe learned something new in the process. Have a wonderful rest of the day!
And, may your days and nights be filled with happiness.
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
You do not need to live a life like I do. It’s not for everyone…
Indeed…
But there are places that you should see in person; places and life that you should experience. Not through the lens of a camera or a video, but rather with all of your senses… not only your visual and audio senses…
There are amazing places out there. Places that are beyond your comprehension. These places are not found on travel websites listing five-star hotels as approved by California software companies. These are off-the-beaten track adventures.
Yes, they are packaged to appeal. These are fine vacations where you can stay in a five star hotel, or get a “better listed” room in someone’s house. You can travel in style and churn up a month’s wages for the experience. You can bask in the sun on a fantastic beach resort, or go skiing at a famous resort frequented by the perpetually wealthy in the Untied States.
Or, you can just throw darts at a wall map of the globe.
My best and most remembered experiences were those with friends in unremarkable places.
You can go out and have a nice meal and some wine with your loved ones or your friends and just talk about… About what it would be like to just take a chance and go someplace really different. Talk about spending time together with your friends. Talk about the good food, and the things that you might want to do.
Think about all the selfies you all could take.
It doesn’t need much in the way of planning. But it does need shared desire. So, what’s stopping you? What’s stopping you for buying a bottle of cheap wine, a loaf of French crusty bread and a block of cheese? What’s stopping you from dialing your friend right now, this very second and asking them if they want to join you for dinner. What’s stopping you?
They call to you…
Now, let’s go to the next part of this post. (If I throw in too many micro-videos nothing appears and the post takes forever to load.) So to continue, please go follow this arrow…
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.
One of the things about China is that they are not afraid to experiment. There just aren’t legions of nay-Sayers or guardians of regulations and red tape that you need to fight to do something new. There are no overweight social justice warriors in bureaucratic positions that love to say “No!” to new ideas, or committees of well-entrenched stogies that say “pay me my fees so that I can study this matter“.
They just go ahead and do what they want.
If they want a water fountain with playful water they just go ahead and make it.
That’s right, and if some old busybody gets wet and complains, they will report that person to the police so that they can have their mental health examined. In such a large populous nation such as China there is absolutely zero tolerance to busybodies, social justice warriors or people with mental issues. Once they become dangerous, such as disrupting the lifestyles and fun of others, they are segregated from society.
They are then isolated, and studied to see if they need to be “corrected”.
There have been abuses of sending social justice warriors straight to mental hospitals instead to prison. This problem has since been corrected by the Chinese government. If a person is making a public disruption it needs to be ascertained whether they are acting due to [1] a mental illness or just [2] social activism contrary to the government policy. If they have a mental issue they go to the mental hospital. If they a just a SJW, then they go to prison for public and social disruption. Things are much clearer today than they used to be. The Chinese have greatly strengthened the protections of people and citizens in China.
Anyways, here’s a water fountain in China. Why not have fun with the water like everyone else is? I think it’s a great playful fountain. You betcha!
I really like how the mothers are with their children and the kids scatter when the water ceiling starts to collapse. It’s so very cute and awesome! What fun!
Having fun in China can mean going to parks. It can mean playing in the KTV’s. It can mean having fun off-road in a vehicle. It can mean fishing, or eating fantastic food. It can mean all sorts of things. Not just natural scenery at parks.
It could mean exploring all the many, many cities…
People, life is about living it and having experiences. It is not about falling into habits at the mercy of your boss… or following the rules that box you in. You need to go out and make your life count.
Do you remember what it was like when you were young? Do you remember what it was like when you would hang out with your friends? Do you remember talking with your friends about your hopes and dreams and what you would like to do someday? I do.
I really do.
And, yes, I did have a tree house. My friends and I did have a club house. Yes. We did ride our bikes all over the countryside into late at night. That is what life used to be like int he USA. It was a land of freedom.
I remember one such day.
We had rode our bikes on a long all-day excursion. It was August, and it was pleasant. Maybe 81F, and low humidity. The trees were getting apples and the blueberry bushes were all laden with fruit. We had rode up to the top of one of the hills. It was all planted with wheat, and it was a beautiful golden field that the wind would blow back and forth.
The sky was brilliant blue with the white cotton ball clouds and we just laid in that field and talked about music, and what we would do when we would eventually have a girl friend. For some of us, it didn’t happen for a number of years.
What was so important, was not what we were talking about. It was not what our dreams were. It was not the beautiful day, nor the amazing scene that laid around us. It was the time spent with our friends.
That was what was the most important thing that I remember to this day.
Life is short. You need to make it count. Spend it with your friends. Laugh. Cry. Swear, and make a scene if you want. But by all means do it with those you care about.
All these experiences won’t magically appear one day. They will not happen once you get “all your ducks in a row”. They will not happen once you get a raise. Or, more money in the bank. Or when your next pay check clear the bank. Or, when the trash is cleared out of the garage. Or, when you finish that project that you have been working on.
Now is your chance. Now is your opportunity. Now.
Please don’t squander the wonderful life that God has gifted you with. You have two arms. You have two legs. You have money in your wallet. Go forth and use that life that you have.
You know, life is not one-dimensional.
People. People! You can’t just segregate traveling and experiencing the parks of China and leave out who are experiencing it or why.
Life is not a Facebook post, a Google listing, or a Wikipedia listing. It cannot be narrowed down to facts and figures. It’s about all of the senses, not just one or two. It’s about all your experiences, your relationships, your knowledge and prior experiences and how they all coalesce when you experience a new adventure with your friends.
That is what parks are all about.
Now, let’s go to the next part of this post. (If I throw in too many micro-videos nothing appears and the post takes forever to load.) So to continue, please go follow this arrow…
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.
You can spend the entire day at the park. In fact, if you are up to it, you can go camping, or rent a room at a lodge. You can sleep in your car if need be, rent a hotel room, or just sleep under the stars. And while you are at it…
You all can be enjoying yourselves during a holiday and offer your prayers to God.
A Catholic image of Saint Peter. Do you realize what is going on in this picture? Maybe you should. Think about it.
Prayers are important. Whether you believe in God or not is immaterial. There is a higher force, a higher or finer power that directs everything in this life. You don’t have to take my word on it, but you should at least be circumspect in your actions and decisions towards others. I would advise a more careful appreciation of your actions and your interactions with the people around you.
Say a prayer and ask for guidance.
I personally believe that life should be experienced to the best of your ability. If you have the opportunity, go take it. Explore new things. Go to new places. Do new things. Make new experiences for you, your family and your friends.
Come on!
My best memories are with the people and the pets that I love. Really and seriously. It doesn’t matter if these are childhood friends, or college buddies, or my various friends as I traveled as part of my occupation. My best memories were shared.
Life is meant to be lived. And that does not NOT mean that you do so alone. Your life is to be shared. That is how you obtain adventures and experiences.
It can be on a glass floored bridge…
Or riding down a glass-walled sleuth.
You should spend your time with others. You should value yourself, not by what your occupation is, but by who your friends and family are. For they, their feelings and emotions, are what matters. Not things. Not money. Not a certificate on a wall, or a CV.
People matter.
Not things. Not documents. Not paper.
People are what is important. You need to treasure your chances to make a different in the lives of others. You should appreciate these other people AS THEY ARE and not try to change them. You need to be you… gosh darn it, the best YOU that you can possibly be.
And go forth, and share these trips and adventures with others.
Speaking about your relationships with others…
You know, the real sad thing about all this are the internet trolls and nay-sayers that send me harassment emails and notes. They don’t realize that every time you send or do something hurtful, that goes as a “black mark” in your “soul record”. It’s as if Saint Peter will record everything that you do and take a good hard and long look at your actions.
And no, asking for forgiveness won’t erase your piss-poor actions. It will only put a line through it. It will not erase it.
If you burn your house down, it will not miraculously reappear. If you cut off your arm, it will not grow back. The things that you do in this world will have a direct influence in the quality of your life. Don’t fuck it up.
So, people, make the most of your life. Share it with others. Have a good time. Enjoy it more. Drink some frosty libations and start eating better.
Why have a McDonald’s (fake) burger when you can eat the real thing? Why pay a premium price on a Starbucks packaged coffee and drink it out of a paper cup instead of a proper coffee mug? What’s up with that?
Life is short. Live it well.
This next video is interesting, and it kind of summarizes what I am trying to say.
You don’t need to travel to a different place to make your life fulfilling. It doesn’t have to be a park, or an exciting ride, or a romantic beach. It just needs to be exactly where you are right now… exactly who you are right now, and with the people that are around you exactly as they are right now.
Please, whether it is a park in China, or an Applebees restaurant, go forth and enjoy it with friends, loved ones and any one else you can drag along.
Oh, and by the way, have a wonderful time.
Now, let’s go to the next part of this post. (If I throw in too many micro-videos nothing appears and the post takes forever to load.) So to continue, please go follow this arrow…
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.
Here are some other notes that I have to just throw in… We need to talk about how to get to the park.
When you arrive to the various national parks you will more than likely need to take a train. Busses and cars tend to be slow. You can fly there with a plane, but the bullet trains are everywhere in China, they are reasonably priced, and quick. So most Chinese end up taking a bullet train to the destination and then go to the park from there.
It’s sort of like this…
Riding in a bullet train is a smooth, easy experience.
You have plenty of leg room. The coach is wide and you can easily move forward and backward in the car. There are plenty of bathrooms, with an average of two per car, which means that you typically don’t need to stand outside and wait for the bathroom to be available.
The ride is very, very smooth. It is calm. It is pleasant. It is relaxing.
Chinese High-Speed Rail
China has an extensive network of bullet trains.
China announced that it would implement bullet trains, and a network throughout China at the same time that California announced that it would implement a bullet train that would connect San Francisco to Los Angeles.
China’s announcement was met with laughter.
“China could never pull it off.”
“China only makes junk. It would never work and break down all the time.”
Well, today in 2019, we know that the (American) California bullet train never got off the ground.
It is still billions of dollars in the red. The American engineers couldn’t design it properly, so they had to turn to Japanese assistance. The train route was fraught with problems, and as of today, only 15 miles of track has been laid. No stations are completed. No vehicles are manufactured. And the program has been scrubbed as “unobtainable” by the Governor of California.
Meanwhile, China’s bullet train rail line network look like this…
The Chinese network of high speed rail. This is what it looks like as of 2020. The rail lines are not only more extensive than the California plans, but are actually faster than the trains (that were) planned for California.
The Chinese are proud of their high-speed rail (bullet trains) and they have good reason to be.
I, as a rail enthusiast, admire their efforts and completely enjoy the luxury of rail travel. Yes, I do love to fly, but flying in the United States is more like being herded into cattle cars than anything resembling comfortable travel.
Over the years, the American airlines (of all types) have been dealing with increasing federal regulation, and completely diminishing value of the dollar (thank you Federal Reserve), and so they have been forced to cram more and more people on tinier, and tinier aircraft. Often charging an assortment of extra fees from everything to luggage to snacks and meals on the planes.
Not so in China.
About the Trains
The train stains are all new and China certainly has mastered crowd control. While the slower “old fashioned” trains still exist, and are being used, the bullet trains (high-speed rail) offers a comfortable alternative to those who are willing to pay the extra $5 to ride in roomy comfort.
These trains are fast. There is no denying that. They do slow down when they near a train station, but even then, they are fast. As this video clearly shows…
Once you arrive at the station, you will need to take a car or a bus to the park. That is, of course, unless you don’t have a loved one, a family member or a friend to pick you up.
And, what ever happens, your train experience would typically look a little like this…
Car or Driver Rental
The most common way to achieve this is to use DD or take a taxis.
DD is the Chinese version of Uber. It pretty much works the same as Uber does, except that (it has been my personal experience) that the Chinese driving the cars for DD have to have their cars pre-screened for acceptability, where Uber does not have this requirement (that I am aware of). Thus the DD cars tend to be nice, clean and often new.
However, you will need to navigate through the massive mazes of highways and roads, such as this…
As well as go through all sorts of tunnels. After all, most parks in China are in mountainous regions and the Chinese do love their tunnels.
Tunnels
I’ve got to tell youse guys one thing. Tunnels in China are quite a different experience than tunnels in the United States. It really is. In fact, I could probably write a couple of posts on this subject.
The Chinese are traditional conservative pragmatists.
Government and management obtained their positions through merit.
Public works are to be designed for public use. There must be an element of beauty mixed with functionality.
They are indeed, quite a different experience. Have you ever seen light shows in American tunnels? How about planted shrubbery, trees, or flowers inside the tunnel? How about daily cleanings, sweepings, and washings by the cleaning crews? (China does not have welfare. They have work-fare. You want to eat, you must work.)
Look at how clean these tunnels are…
Now, let’s go to the next part of this post. (If I throw in too many micro-videos nothing appears and the post takes forever to load.) So to continue, please go follow this arrow…
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find
in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American
liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music
in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at
that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews.
However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for
investigation and enjoyment.
Again, you need to have some fun. And don’t argue with me on this. Humans need fun. No, I’m not talking about software games, first-person shooters, or mindless entertainments on your cell-phone. I am talking about things that you can share with all five of your senses with a friend… or two… or others.
Bring a dog why don’t ya. The cat’s can stay home and protect the house.
You know, when you are a child, play is your work. Children automatically play as that is how they learn. Play is important. It is critical to the development of a child. Play is how a person learns and programs themselves to interact with the world around them.
Well, after you grow up a bit, the need to play and have fun takes on a different role. It is not only how you learn new things, but it becomes a method; a technique, in how you can “turn off” your mind from repetitive actions. As that is how the brain works. It goes on auto-pilot every chance it gets.
So you need to shut it down from time to time.
We do this through play and personal entertainments. You know, like games, sports, exercise, food, and drinking. Oh, and yes, sex does play a role also.
In China, like in the United States there are artificial “parks”. These are not natural parks with hiking trails and scenic views. Instead. these are places to have fun in. They will often have a roller coaster, and other similar rides.
Oh Baby!
They will often have all sorts of alternative entertainments that you might not see in American theme parks. For instance, there will be stage shows, musicians, public dancing displays and other events staged at random locations at specific times. Often these performances are pretty darn cool.
There are so many different kinds of parks in China. After all, China is an enormous nation.
There are kiddy-parks, water-parks, natural-parks, seaside-parks, theme-parks, slides, dives, and everything in between. These parks are great places to go and have fun. You can go with your friends, your family or with loved ones. Very rarely do people visit them alone.
Being alone is very lonely.
Outings
You don’t want to be alone. You want to share your life. You want to experience life with others.
I do enjoy a good outing. Don’t you?
Some of the best times that I have ever had was at parks. It doesn’t matter if I was dirt-poor and eating a can of beans over a fire behind a parking lot, or if I was with others having a big gala celebration in a pavilion. The parks are great places to be.
Can’t you just smell the burning charcoal or wood (snapping and popping)? Can’t you just imagine sitting at a picnic table while the rain pours outside the shelter? Can’t you just image now great those potatoes and onions taste when they are pulled out of the ashes in the fire pit?
I can. I can well imagine a can of Campbell’s Pork and Beans with the top open sitting in the ashes of a fire cooking away. I can image a coal-black cast iron skillet with fresh fish or eggs sizzling away. I can imagine eggs and bacon cooking. I can imagine a hotdog on a long pointy stick that I carved with my pen-knife.
Can’t you just imagine the cold frosty bear when you pop a top or pull a tab?
Budweiser Beer
Oh, by the way, Budweiser beer is very popular in China. Only they don’t call it “Bud”. Instead they call it “Bye Way”. So when you go to a restaurant, you say something along the lines of “fu yuan, gei wo, yi peng, bei wei pijiu. Bing dong de.”
Or in other words; “Waiter, give me a bottle of Budweiser beer, icy cold.”
You can enjoy this anywhere in China. You can enjoy this in any of the restaurants, bars, clubs or KTV’s. You can enjoy it on the street, in the parks, or inside a hospital. You can enjoy it in a parking lot, or while waiting for the train.
It can be at the beach…
Enjoy yourself
You can have fun anywhere. It doesn’t have to be in China. I just happen to use China as an example because I happen to live here. You can go forth and enjoy your life where ever you are right now.
You can ride a bicycle. You can ride a motorcycle or a trike. You can hike or climb. You can backpack or go there in comfort. It just matters that you go forth on your own and just do it. Do it near a beach.
Or it can be on the top of a mountain.
When I was growing up, it was pretty much assumed that we would have “vacations” when we were out of school, AND the factory was shut down for the two week summer shut-down period. This is something that was pretty much assumed during the 1960’s. This meant that the only fun and vacations that were taken away from our home was during the Summer.
But…
You will be able to go to the parks in the Summer as well as in the Winter. Each time will be unique. Each time will be special.
Of course, what’s a mountain trail without a glass-floored bridge? Many Chiense parks have these enormous glass-floored pedestrian bridges that you can walk on, and many have the pizeo electric actuated PVD interlayer that will display images electronically.
This is a great way to have fun. It looks like the glass is breaking underneith your feet. LOL.
Now, let’s go to the next part of this post. (If I throw in too many micro-videos nothing appears and the post takes forever to load.) So to continue, please go follow this arrow…
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.
Of course, you will need to take a train or a car to go to many of the parks. Any parks that are located in a city tend to be over-used and mildly challenging. To fully experience China, you need to travel. That means driving through China.
Go ahead, any drive through China will be an adventure. It’s a little bit like this…
In some ways, the civil engineers in China really get carried away. It’s like what it was like when I was a young boy playing with my erector set or Lincoln logs. I used to make all kinds of complexes. I would make these amazing race-tracks for my “Hot Wheels” cars, and all sorts of interesting railroad track layouts.
Vintage erector set. This is the kind of thing that I had when I was a young boy. I used to try to make all kinds of things such as bridges and cranes with the collection of metal and nuts and bolts that the kit provided.
It’s kind of a thing with us boys.
Well, the Chinese are permitted to go ahead and let loose. You can see this all over China. That’s one thing that I like about China. You don’t have all these armies of bureaucrats telling you what you can and what you cannot do. You don’t have SJW’s telling you what you can or what you cannot do or say. You just don’t have that.
So, you can go ahead and do your thing.
Go ahead have fun.
One of the first things you notice about China is the freedom. You can sit down in a restaurant, bring in your own bottle of VSOP. Plop it down, pour yourself a good stiff drink, and light up a cigarette. You can put your big Siberian husky in the seat next to you and when you order a meal, the waitress won’t say anything to you except…
Ahhh, what a cute dog you have! What’s his name?
It’s all about freedom, liberty and having fun. There are no rules. At least nothing that you need to worry about. So go head. Just enjoy yourself.
And please remember to share the experience with a friend of two. People, you should NEVER ever be lonely. There are people out there… people who want to do things. People who want to share a meal. People who like pets…dogs and cats. People who would love to share a beer or a cigarette with you.
What is better than sharing quality time with friends and family. Especially when that means sharing drinks and fine lively discussion. My Lord, we all spend too much time on social media, don’t we. Do out and have fun.
You should be sharing your time… Your self, and your life. You should be sharing your enjoyments, your meals and your happiness with others.
That’s what friends are for.
Don’t forget about the water.
Parks are places to have fun. They are places to have adventures, and to obtain experiences. It’s not only the tall mountains. It’s the rivers, the pastures, the farms, the coasts, the cities and the townships.
You can explore the rivers, and ride down the rapids. That’s always a great way to have a great deal of fun.
Now, let’s go to the next part of this post. (If I throw in too many micro-videos nothing appears and the post takes forever to load.) So to continue, please go follow this arrow…
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.
This is the second page of an on-going post describing what Chinese parks are like. If you would like to start at the beginning, please go HERE. Otherwise enjoy…
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
The Views are Beautiful
There is no question that the views are glorious. For beautiful is a word that just doesn’t cut it. I love the fresh air, the scent of the trees, and the cool breezes that caress my face. There is a certain romance with the way the forests are and the rocks and stone. I find it enthralling.
You might wonder why the stones have these traditional Chinese characters on them. Well, I have.
Well, it turns out that this is what the Chinese like to do. You know, like how Americans like to put a plastic pink flamingo (or an entire flock of them) in their front yard, or those plywood cutout of bent-over granny’s, or flying duck whimsy’s in their yards. Or those gnomes… Or those buried bathtubs with a statue of the Virgin Mary inside…
Or putting folding chairs in the parking spots on the streets of Pittsburgh…
During the 1950’s and the 1960’s Americans would put these Pink Flamingos in their front lawns. It was considered a very trendy thing to do at the time. Now, it is looked upon as Kitsch.
Kitsch, also called cheesiness or tackiness, is art or other objects that, generally speaking, appeal to popular rather than "high art" tastes. Such objects are sometimes appreciated in a knowingly ironic or humorous way. The word was first applied to artwork that was a response to certain divisions of 19th-century art with aesthetics that favored what later art critics would consider to be exaggerated sentimentality and melodrama. Hence, 'kitsch art' is closely associated with 'sentimental art' . -Wikipedia
Travel within the Park
Often you might need or opt to take a tram or light-rail train to some of the more remote areas in the parks. This can be an amazing experience.
Often you will ride in and out of the clouds. You will pass under and through trees and vine tangled gorges. You will watch light glimmer off of shattered stone surfaces, and witness rainbows form over enormous cascading waterfalls.
Wildlife
Being China, you will see all kinds of native flora and fauna that is unavailable in the rest of the world. Bird watchers end up experiencing some special treats.
The birds not only look different, but they make different sounds as well. Instead of hearing “cup of tea” from a grackle, you might hear some kind of prehistoric screech that seems like it belongs in a grade B horror flick.
Entertainments
Being a mountainous nation, the Chinese love to take advantage of the natural beauty and scenery. As such, they enjoy building recreational themed structures and venues on the tops of mountains and the sides of cliff faces.
It is pretty common to have these enormous swings that you can ride from one mountain top to the other, or glass floored bridges that you can walk in the clouds by…
There are often all kinds of fun things to do. There are many, many kinds of amusements. I personally like the hour-long water slides that go down the mountain. Awesome! It’s like you are riding some of those logs in the hills of Sacramento (Auburn), California back in the gold-rush days.
Remember them?
Here is a sluice from the gold rush days. The water would be diverted and used to help mine, process and separate the gold. In cases of timber logging, the sluices would not have such drastic bends and curves.
It’s sort of like this. And yes, you can experience this kind of ride all over China. It’s as common as bumper stickers on cars. It’s as common as having packages stolen off your porch once Amazon.com delivers them (or the UPS does). It’s as common as shoelaces on shoes.
It is sort of like this…
Riding down one of these things reminds me of a scene from the old television show Here Come the Brides.
There was a scene, in a long ago, half-remembered scene, where they rode down the sluice to get away (?) from some bad guys (?). All this kind of reminds me of that. I well remember wanting to ride one of those trees going down a sluice. Ah, it didn’t happen until over fifty years later. Eh?
Screen capture from the late 1960’s – early 1970’s American television show “Here comes the brides”.
There are all kinds of different versions of this. From little life-raft thingys to miniature go-carts, to mechanics roller beds . Here’s another version at a different park…
It kind of reminds me of sled-riding in the dead of Winter on snowy January nights in Western Pennsylvania. The logging roads in the woods would be blocked off from traffic, and the snow would be packed down by snowmobile. Then the cub-scouts would organize a “wiener roast” or “hot dog” party at the base (or often) at the summit of the hill.
Well, that’s enough micro-videos for this section. Let’s go to the next page of this post to see what other surprises that await us in the parks of China.
Now, let’s go to the next part of this post. (If I throw in too many micro-videos nothing appears and the post takes forever to load.) So to continue, please go follow this arrow…
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.
Here we spend some time exploring China. In particular some of those outstanding mountains that are just about everywhere.
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
China is a land of some amazing nature and spectacular views. You look at the brochures, and the commercials, and the videos and say “Man oh man, I just have to go there and visit that place!“.
Well, this is what it’s like…
It’s all about the climb.
Every single park in China seems to be located on the top of a mountain. To access it, you need to hike up these endless steps and climb up and up and up. It’s amazing!
You, the reader might think that I am joking, or maybe exaggerating. I am not. All of the parks involve climbing.
I have a theory about this.
I think that over the last 5000 years, as the Chinese population grew and nations came and went, the Chinese people rendered all the land, except for the most difficult to reach, for living and farming. Thus, today, in modern contemporaneous China, the parks are located in the most difficult to reach locations.
It doesn’t matter where you go in China. The parks all require strong legs and a willingness to climb.
Restrooms
Of course, when you go on hikes in China, you will often need to use the restroom. The Chinese will often accommodate this most basic of human needs, and will make a small and easy restroom where you can go to the bathroom in.
China tends to be warm, and thus you will need to keep well hydrated. As you climb, you will sweat. To replenish your precious bodily fluids, you will drink some bottle water, and continue on your way.
Chinese bottled water and prices. Note that in general, 6.3 yuan equals 1 USD.
Eventually, at some point, you will need to stop and take a leak. For many this will require a bathroom or toilet or urinal.
The only problem is that it is often located off to the side and you might need to hike a spell to get to it. It’s sort of like this…
Spectacular Views
The views that one can see once they climb these mountains are often spectacular. In China, for some crazy reason, most of the mountains seem to have nearly perpendicular sides. It’s like a towering cliff face. Yet, once you get to the summit and take a look around, the view can be breathtaking.
Like this…
For some reason all the parks in China seem to be perched up high at the very summit of the mountains. This can be everything from bathrooms to convenience stores. The Chinese do love to climb. It’s almost a national pastime.
Maybe sometime way back in their past they had an affinity for mountain goats. Ugh!
Goats can climb trees and cliff faces. I never could get my “arms” around this concept. As they don’t possess hands, or thumbs to assist in gripping things.
By the way… have you all been as mystified as I have about goats? I mean, really what’s all this stuff about them climbing trees? You know, they don’t have hands capable of gripping or anything like that. Yet they can climb trees.
I boggles the mind, I’ll tell you what.
Now, let’s go to the next part of this post. (If I throw in too many micro-videos nothing appears and the post takes forever to load.) So to continue, please go follow this arrow…
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the
real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British
tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This
is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a
series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It
is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I
am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series
of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and
enjoyment.
Articles & Links
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site. I don’t make money off of it. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care.
In America we have RV’s, donut-wheeled motorized trikes, and dirt-bikes. We have jeeps and all sorts of pickups. Well, you know what? So does China. The Chinese love the sport of going “off road” and exploring China.
Here we are doing to have a brief review of this most awesome pastime. Just make sure that your trunk is filled with ice and a fine beverage of your choice. Myself, I prefer a nice icy-cold beer, but wine, VSOP, XO and whiskey are fine alternatives.
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
The Chinese love to travel in groups
The Chinese love to travel in groups. They really do not like to travel alone. They view life as something that should be shared. And, I for one, can’t blame them.
Friendships are important and are important when you are involved in shared activities that everyone enjoys. Such things as travel, adventure and exploration are greatly prized by the Chinese. In fact, they form individual clubs and groups around these activities.
This is in many ways like what we in the United States used to do maybe three decades ago. That was before the federal government started to demand open membership in clubs and organizations. First it began with “men’s only” clubs being forced to accept woman, and now we have the Boy Scouts turning into the Queer trans-gendered scouts.
Sigh. America is a progressive utopia today.
Luckily, China doesn’t permit any of this kind of social engineering, so people are free to establish their own clubs and organizations totally independent fro the government. And, so they do…
Outfitting the camper(s)
Many of the Chinese take their four-wheel drive vehicles and outfit them as sleeping quarters. This is the same as what you would see in the United States with “campers” and other rigs of a similar nature. The only difference is that most of these outfitted vehicles are designed for off-road adventures on difficult terrain.
I have seen these vehicles decked out much the same way that the 1970’s van culture would do. They would have carpet inside the vehicles and on the ceilings just like we all used to put shag carpeting in the ceilings and dashboards of our vans and Camaros back in the late 1970’s.
In the 1970’s it was fashionable, for a spell, to outfit the interiors of vans as portable party machines. Then at that time, we would cruse in the van, listening to music, and enjoying our beverages and smokes as we watched the world pass us all by. Many van interiors looked a little like this.
Inside you can find refrigerators (you know, for some frosty beer), as well as high-end stereo and television systems. Some are outfitted with independent air conditioning, power generators, and heaters. It all depends on the owners.
Being China, bathroom necessities are generally taken cared for behind trees or within ravines.
Rather than having one-way tinted or mirrored glass, most Chinese vehicles have insulated glass to keep the UV light out, and a network of curtains that can be closed for privacy when needed. These curtains are often thick and used to help keep the interior of the vehicle at a pleasant temperature.
Many of the vehicles have “pop top” arrangements that open up to a kind of built-in tent. Thus you can have a nice sleeping tent on the top of the vehicle, or one that would fold outwards from the back or side of the vehicle.
Mud Slingin’ on quad bikes
Just like in the American South East, the Chinese have a love for Mud Slingin’. Here, it is often done with quad bikes instead of pickups, the the overall idea is pretty much the same.
No, this is not about calling people names or “digging up dirt” on people.
This is the actual act of throwing mud around – often in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. You can see this kind of activity all over “fly over country” (i.e. outside of the urban centers) in the United States. It doesn’t matter if the soil is red, or if it is black. If there is dirt, and there is water, then you can have loads of fun slinging it around.
Ahhh.
I well remember my first experiencing mud slingin’. It was in the boondocks somewhere between Rock Hill and York South Carolina. We were in this stand of tall pines (in the Carolina’s are there any other kinds of forests?) and a bunch of fellas with huge trucks, with these super massive wheels were tearing up this bog in the middle of a clearing.
This is what American style mud-slinging looks like. It’s a great way to spend the weekend, and hang out with your friends. It’s also a great and wonderful experience when you spend it with friends drinking beer and eating some delicious home-style hamburgers. Hey! Life is too short not to have a good time.
The soil, of course, was red, and so was the mud. As they drove in and out of the bog, the mud would spray over everything. It was a geyser of wet red mud that got into everything. I’ll tell you what. But who cares anyways.
We’d ride around and then of course get some beer from the various trucks. Everyone was really open to sharing some of their fine frosty libations (that’s beer for those of you from Rio Linda), and some fine eating. We later went to a fish fry and I got my first taste of hush puppies. Good eating ya all.
Anyways, the Chinese are the same. They like the same things… fish… beer… motor sports… slinging mud… singing songs. Though they probably never heard of Charlie Daniels, they would certainly be willing to belt out a contemporaneous Country and Western tune or two with me.
You know, like Sam Hunt.
Dirt-Biking up and down the woods
Well, the Chinese also have a real love for dirt-biking.
Here we can see some quad bikes having some fun on some stairs. Of course, they should really be wearing helmets, but they don’t need to. In China, there aren’t laws to protect us from ourselves. They don’t have all these rules to make our life better and safer.
Instead they expect us to take responsibility for ourselves. If we hurt ourselves, then we suffer the consequences, and pay for it out of our own pocket. It’s not the government’s business. It’s ours.
Full Dressers
Here’s a chick on a fully dressed Indian. Don’t ya just love it?
Some cities in China have banned motorcycles, and / or electric scooters. I know that Shenzhen has banned them because so many of the people using them have little regard for the rules of the road and traffic safety. (It’s kind of amazing. You have this super difficult written test and a series of driving tests that you must take, and still people drive like maniacs…)
Heck, it’s like a scene from Momas Family.
Mama’s Family is an American television sitcom starring Vicki Lawrence as Thelma Harper. The series is a spin-off of a recurring series of comedy sketches called “The Family” featured on The Carol Burnett Show and Carol Burnett & Company. The sketches led to the made-for-TV movie Eunice, and finally the television series.
Anyways…
So what the Shenzhen police did was just drive around in big box trucks and collect every parked motorcycle that they could find. They would drive over to the curb and just start loading them up. The Chinese do not mess around.
This, or course, ended up getting many people upset.
Though…
They shouldn’t have gotten upset. The police gave a six months notice that they would do this. But, you know, people being people just never thought that it would actually happen. So they started rounding up all kinds of motorized bicycles.
Anyways, big bikes are popular in China.
When the tariff issues are resolved between Trump and Xi Peng, (and they will most certainly get resolved) you can expect sales of Harley’s to really take off in China. The chicks really love those Harleys.
Caravans into the Hinderlands
Often the Chinese will organize into groups of like-minded folk and go on caravans.
Often they will arrange multi-week long trips and go out exploring the back-roads of China. Often they will communicate with each other by establishing a group video chat on We-chat. You just have the APP run on the dash and carry on with multiple conversations while you drive along.
Here’s another micro-video along these lines.
People, life is about living. If you are not out with your friends, doing the best to provide for your family, and eating well, then you are squandering it. You need to go forth and take the cup of life with both hands and gulp it down in big frosty foam-filled gulps.
Exploring Tibet
The region of Tibet is an enormous geographical area, comprising nearly 25% of all of China. It is mountainous with some absolutely amazing views. Many of my friends have outfitted their vehicles and explored this section of the country with all sorts of adventurous tales.
Conclusion
The Chinese love motor sports just like Americans do. They form clubs and groups and enjoy the pleasures of automobiles and adventure together with their friends. If you, have the same interests, I would suggest that you too go forth and enjoy yourself.
There’s a hill. Out there. Waiting for you.
What’s your excuse?
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the
real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British
tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This
is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a
series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It
is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I
am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series
of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and
enjoyment.
Here we discuss the two types of families. There are really only two ways to run a family. There are no “shades of grey” in this matter. Families are run in either one or the other methods.
Throughout all of human history, and all over the world (independent of culture), families fall into only two distinct categories. These categories are simple but fundamental.
Ordered, structured family (traditional)
Unordered, and unstructured family (progressive)
This information is not available anywhere else! As far as I know, this is the only place where you will find this information in English, and devoid of any religious dogma.
But first…
Let’s cover why this information is not easily available.
Technical Confusion
The fundamental two types listed above describe how the families operate.
But, this is of no concern to governments. They want methods to make it easy to classify families to tax them, to “improve their lives”, or to provide substantive benefits to.
They have devised other methods.
These other ways are complex and serve no purpose other than to confuse. In these other arrangements, you have families classified by the number and types of children, and the marriage states of the primary caregivers, as well as the gender variations, present in the families. It is silly. Really.
All are nonsensical as far as the operation of a family goes.
It is like arguing over the benefits of the percentage of chocolate in brownies.
They are nonsensical simply because the classifications have no practicality. At least from the point of view of the people within the families. This type and kind of classification has limited utility.
They are useful by government agencies in the distribution of benefits. They are useful in the creations of studies and academic papers. However, in terms of the lifestyle and benefits of the families themselves, this classification has no benefit.
You can scour the internet looking in a vague hope towards understanding the fundamental nature of human families. You can search and search. But you won’t ever find out why human families form relationships and parental units. Nor will you discover the forms that they take and why. Instead, you will find all sorts of trivialities. Just useless information. Useless.
Is your life improved by knowing these various classifications? If so, please tell me how.
It’s sort of like classifying dogs.
Dogs are big, or small.
Dogs have hair or not.
Dogs have different colored patterned fur, or not.
Dogs can bark, or not.
In the case of human families and their familial arrangements, you will come across terms of “nuclear family”, and “extended family” and “foster family”, etc. These different titles only serve government agencies for the distribution of welfare benefits, they do not address familial operation.
For in familial operation, all families can be classified in but one of two distinctly different types.
The Two Classifications
The two types of classifications of what a family is are very straight forward.
Humans form one of two types of families. There are no “shades of grey” in this matter. They are either [1] traditional, conservative families or [2] progressive, liberal families.
While there are variations in both types of families given cultural, social, and ethnic norms, for the most part there are two, and ONLY two types of families.
Here we discuss the two types.
A Changing Ideal – Progressive
Let’s start with the prevalent type in America today. This is the progressive liberal family structure.
It was not always this way. To understand why it is this way today, you need to know a little about American history.
This is a recent familial structure.
Historically, Americans have overwhelmingly had a Conservative Traditional familial structure for the last two hundred years. However, all this started to change around the first decade of 1900. The major driver for this change was the destruction of the 4th amendment when the 16th amendment was passed, and the imposition of the income tax burden and the Federal Reserve.
Taxes, in every nation on the planet, always devolves to taxing the poor while providing benefit to the wealthy. This is a historical fact. No wishful thinking can change that reality.
This legislation eroded the strength of a traditional conservative family unit. Both parents had to work to pay the tax burden. For once it became acceptable to tax and regulate, everything became taxed and regulated.
Fees and charges started to pop up everywhere, and it became no longer viable to maintain a traditional conservative family in the Untied States. This is because in a traditional conservative family, one person works outside the home. Not two.
Once it became acceptable to tax, an avalanche of taxation and regulation fell upon the American citizenry.
Whether intentional or as a consequence of the actions from Washington DC, American families started to restructure the family. They restructured the family around the constantly evolving financial realities of the United States.
It wasn’t only federal taxes. It was ever increasing state taxes; ever increasing regulation and fees. All of which were making things more expensive. Not to mention the absolutely incompetent managing of the American dollar by the corrupt Federal Reserve.
How can you deny my narrative…
The value of the United States dollar has plummeted in value ever since the Federal Reserve managed it. This is a historical fact. The value of the US dollar today is less than one penny compared to what it was when the Federal Reserve was created.
As the Federal Reserve managed the money, inflation skyrocketed. the value of the dollar decreased, and it became absolutely necessary for both parents to work.
America has been decaying rapidly since the 1950s with almost every aspect of society failing—and things are only about to get even worse. While this is a showcase of how good things can be lost so easily, it is also a demonstration of what can be possible under a patriarchal order with proper social values.
While things may seem impossible to change at the moment, remember that history has always been full of unanticipated events that quickly turned things around to transform the society at large.
Think of how much China has recovered (and now thriving) since their devastating Communist past from just a few decades ago.
As the parents labored outside of the home, no one was there in the home. There was no one establishing roles, rules or standards for the children to learn and abide by.
The absolute “killing blow” to traditional family life in America came about int he 1970’s when the SJW feminist movement became popularized and promoted in the mainstream media. A collapse of the traditional family came shortly afterwards.
This is a chart of the divorce rate in the United States over time. You can clearly see that the SJW feminist movement during the 1970’s played a major role in the divorce rate in America and the reduction on parental education for the children.
Without parents around to teach the children, the children were forced to learn on their own.
Instead, the Children learned, not from their parents, but rather from what was at hand and available to them. Often this was other children and the television and movies.
Television portrayed what life was.
Other children portrayed how to live life.
School teachers instructed how to behave.
As a result it became normal (in the United States) to have families with no structure. And thus, we have the situation today in most homes in the United States…
The Progressive Liberal Family Structure
A “Progressive Liberal” family unit is one without structure.
We pretty much never had sit-down family meals, and if we did it was from a restaurant, we ate in silence, and then we’d just wander off from the table one by one to watch TV or go on the computer or something. It’s not that we hate each other or anything, it’s just pretty much the way it’s always been.
-PolkaDotsOnThursday
All or no family members might work. There are no rules, or if there are rules, they are temporary and subject to change. In a progressive liberal family, the structure, organization, and behavior of the family are all constantly changing.
In a progressive liberal family, there is no structure. They may or may not be male and female member that take on parental roles. In this case above, there isn’t a father figure or earner. The family exists off the government dole. The children learn that earning money is not necessary to have such a family, as all they need to do is procreate and ask for money from the government.
This has been the primary and dominant structure in the United States since the SJW feminist movement of the 1960s.
In a progressive liberal family, typically both the male and the female might work or not. (Though, there might be not any differences in gender, though.) There will not be any roles, gender or rules.
The earnings of each worker are not shared. It is kept by the individual. Though there is often some kind of sharing arrangement for the payment of rent, and how to take care of the children. Which, at the whim of the individual members, might change without notice.
The feminist movement in the 1970s in the United States started off innocently enough. They just wanted “equality” and “fairness”. However, their true desires took decades to place a stranglehold on American society. They wanted a total abolition of roles. And in the process, a complete destruction of any kind of stable society.
Often the individual members of a progressive liberal household will have a very positive view of their opinions and their “open mindedness”. They desire to prove to others that their familial organization and their roles within it are superior to others. Often believing in their own superiority.
Often the individual roles within a family are promoted as superior to traditional roles. The participants look upon themselves are heroes or heroines fighting tradition.
The primary characteristics of a progressive liberal family is one of independence. If you need your clothes washed, you wash them yourself. Yes, you can add the clothing of others to your load, if room permits, but the primary characteristic is one of selfish independence.
This trickles down into everything.
There are no roles or responsibilities, at least not formal ones. If the room is messy, you clean it when needed. If a chore needs to be taken cared for, your deal with it only when necessary. If bills need to be paid, they are rarely shared, but rather the primary user of that monetary allotment is responsible for the billing.
When there are no rules and no structure, people become confused and try to do unusual things to stand out from the crowd. This can manifest into all kinds of anti-social behaviors. In traditional conservative societies, people like this are segregated from society and isolated so that their mental illness will not affect those around them.
Clothing is often an afterthought. People wear the same clothes outside as they do inside. The same goes for shoes. Often underwear is infrequently washed, and shoes are rarely shined or repaired.
Children are not cared for in any meaningful way. That role is farmed out. Whether it is via a day-care, a nanny, or a school, the parents rarely take responsibility for their children. They allow others and permit others to teach and direct their children. The role of parenting is often outsourced.
Meals are often purchased through restaurants or take out. Rarely they are prepared at home. If they are, then it is unusual for them to be anything other than “my food for me”. Family meals are not shared activities. Most progressive liberal families have a diet that relies heavily on fast-food, snacks and easy to make home preparations.
When there are no limits, and no rules you can live the way that you decide. This can often be unhealthy. Without any kind of discipline by a strong fatherly figure, the children can grow into adults that have no understanding of good or the dangers of bad behaviors.
Meals can be eaten anywhere, and often are. While there might be a “dining room”, most meals are eaten alone in front of a television set, or a computer. They can be eaten in the living room, or bed room, or standing up in the kitchen.
"The so-called "sexual revolution" intentionally destroyed all of the social constructs that had been put together over thousands of years of human history."
-Karl Denninger at Market-Ticker
The truth about the progressive family and the progressive woman, as viewed by a traditional conservative.
Traditional Conservative
A traditional gender role found in the United States that views males as being responsible for the economic support and protection of the family. Housewife. A traditional gender role found in the United States that views females as responsible for child-rearing and domestic activities.
In a traditional, and conservative family there is a structure. There are roles. There are rules of behavior. This might vary somewhat, in minor differences, from one society to another, but the basic organizational structure stays the same.
The father supports the family monetarily.
The mother supports the family domestically.
A traditional gender role found in the United States that views males as being responsible for the economic support and protection of the family. Housewife. A traditional gender role found in the United States that views females as responsible for child-rearing and domestic activities.
This is the basic setup. The father might be a construction worker, or a college professor. He might be rich or poor. He might be religious or agnostic, but the family unit is timeless.
Here is an Amish family that maintains a traditional family…
The Amish family follows the traditional conservative familial structure. There is a father that works and provides for the family, and a mother that tends to the domestic matters and their children.
In a traditional family unit, the father or male head of the household works and labors. His earnings, or the result of his efforts, are given to his wife & family. This includes the vast bulk of his earnings. This includes his time, his relationships, and all of his attention.
Make no mistake about this. All of his money goes to his family.
This financial arrangement where the finances are controlled by the wife is time tested. The wife, who is in control of the finances, budgets for the well being of the man, and the children. She plans. She saves and she supports the man in what ever he needs to be able to make more money.
God forbid I go into someplace like Harbor Freight with a big wad of cash.
Yeah, give me a sec and I’ll back right up to the front door to making loading all this crap I don’t need into the back of my rig easier.
This is why the Wifely Unit takes care of the money around here. I’m horrible about that shit . That is why our bills get paid on time and why I now actually have a killer credit score.
-Busted Knuckles
The wife, thusly, takes the money and maintains the family with it. She provides the food, cares for the children, makes sure the household is maintained, and the family standing with the rest of the community.
She in in charge of how the children grow and develop. As a result, a mother in a conservative family will tend to be less protective of her children. Instead, wanting them to have the scrapes and cuts early on to learn from the experience.
A progressive mother, one who farms out the parenting responsibilities, will try to coddle the child and protect them at the expense of teaching them. Which is why in the United States today, you have overly coddled youth.
The conservative traditional mother is responsible for the growth and development of the child. It is not farmed out to others.
The mother is responsible for the care, well-being and the education of the children. While this will include the schooling, the mother will make sure that the child excels in school compared to the child’s peers.
Traditionally, the Seneca Nation's economy was based on hunting and gathering activities, fishing and the cultivation of corn, beans, and squash. These vegetables were the staple of the Haudenosaunee diet and were called "the three sisters".
Seneca women generally grew and harvested varieties of the three sisters, as well as gathered medicinal plants, roots, berries, nuts, and fruit.
Seneca women held sole ownership of all the land and the homes, thus the women also tended to any domesticated animals such as dogs and turkeys.
Women were in charge of the kinship groups called clans. The woman in charge of a clan was called the "clan mother". Despite the prominent position of women in Iroquois society, their influence on the diplomacy of the nation was limited.
If the "clan mothers" did not agree with any major decisions made by the chiefs, they could eventually depose them.
Seneca men were generally in charge of locating and developing the town sites, including clearing the forest for the production of fields. Seneca men also spent a great deal of time hunting and fishing. This activity took them away from the towns or villages to well-known and productive hunting and fishing grounds for extended amounts of time. These hunting and fishing locations were altered and well maintained and not simply left to grow as "wild" lands.
-Great Dreams discussing the role of women in a traditional conservative Seneca society.
Same-sex conservative family
A traditional conservative family can ALSO be one with same-sex parenting roles.
In same-sex parenting schemes, a traditional conservative family would have one parent taking on the role as the “father” and the “breadwinner”, while the other partner takes on the role of the “mother” and takes on the domestic chores.
It is not gender specific.
It really isn’t. The conservative traditional lifestyle is actually same-sex friendly. It is role dependent. Not gender dependent.
In same-sex parenting schemes, a traditional conservative family would have one parent taking on the role as the “father” and the “breadwinner”, while the other partner takes on the role of the “mother” and takes on the domestic chores.
The primary characteristics of a traditional conservative family is one of rules and roles. The father earns the money. The mother takes care of the house, the domestic affairs and the children.
The father earns the money that the household lives off of. In traditional families, he gives 100% of his income to his family. This often is handed to the wife who is in charge of the budget.
Of course, the father will take on male responsibilities as needed. This often includes discipline, motivation, and the various tasks required to teach a boy how to be a man. Not to mention being a role model for his daughters; to teach them what characteristics to look for, and which ones to avoid, in a boy.
Families need both a nurturing female mother figure as well as a strong male fatherly figure in their lives. Both roles are important. The progressive liberal narrative is one where this dichotomy is portrayed as evil, such as in the Gillette razor commercial. But this is a terrible distortion of reality.
Men need to be strong and courageous.
Children need both parents to grow up in a balanced way. Perhaps one of the best movies to portray this need is the 1990’s movie “Boyz in the Hood“.
The mother will be responsible for good nutritious meals.
That includes household budgeting, selection of what the family eats, and the preparation and presentation of the food. In many conservative traditional households there is a formal sit-down meal where everyone shares and enjoys the time together.
In fact, I will go out on a limb here and state that this is one of the defining criteria used to determine the type of family that is present in a household.
Our dinner hour continued my Italian family's practice of eating together every night - plus big gatherings on Sunday afternoons. For our own dinner hour, the time between 6 and 7 p.m. was inviolable - as in "sacrosanct" - and all my kids' friends knew about it. No phone calls, but the friends had a standing invitation to join us. Besides the meal, the table was set for our humanity; we talked, laughed, fought, yelled and even cried. So indelible was the dinner hour that Carla wrote about it for a college admission essay.
Leah, a close childhood friend, chimed in: "My mom was super militant about the family dinner and she was an amazing cook who had the time to plan lovely dinners so it always worked out. I loved it and remembered it fondly with the goal in mind to replicate.
However my babysitter leaves at 5 p.m., and I am a decent cook who basically has an hour and change to whip something together for the family. I am with Jenna, in that my goal is try to do proper family dinner three to four times a week, and the rest of the time we wing it. If Mike is on the road like this week, I cook for the kids but eat my dinner standing at the kitchen counter."
-SF Gate
The wife will have end-of-day clothing laid out for the man of the house, and for the children to wear when they arrive home. Shoes will rarely be worn inside, instead slippers or shower-shoes will be worn instead.
The father has an important role in the growth of the children. Both the boys and the girls benefit from his guidance and his leadership and direction. He teaches discipline and control. When you come across a child who ill-behaves in school and society, seemingly devoid of discipline, then you know that he has no (or a very weak) father figure in his life.
The wife will be responsible for holidays and family traditions. This will include decorations and festivities whatever they might be.
The wife is in charge of the diets for the family members. She is responsible for the food, selection, and preparation. She will make sure that the family gets nutritious and delicious meals. She will often have meals of fish, chicken and salads as opposed to fast food and pizza meals.
The family members would eat roasts, pork chops, have mashed potatoes and cabbage as sides along with peas and other fresh vegetables that the woman would prepare. Since everyone is eating healthy, it would be highly unusual for the children or any of the family members to get fat, let alone obese.
In a traditional household, the wife would be responsible for what the family members would eat. It is her duty to make sure that the family is healthy. Traditional conservative families do not have the weight problems that the rest of America experience.
Because of the importance placed upon the family unit; the food, the structure, the roles and the lifestyle, will often be healthier than in a progressive liberal lifestyle. While there might be standards in longevity, the quality of life and general health of people in a conservative traditional household far exceeds that of someone from a progressive liberal household.
This is a series of screen shots of newscaster Yang Dan in China. She, like most Chinese, lives a traditional conservative lifestyle. It is one of family, strong family and friend relationships, a lack of stress and an avoidance of disruptive escapist behaviors. It seems like she doesn’t age. That is simply because she has a supportive conservative, traditional family. She has friends and a life that includes good nutritious food and healthy social life.
In traditional conservative families, “outside meals” held in restaurants are a special event. And when that event happens, the restaurants are selected carefully with the idea of ceremony. It is not an afterthought. Though, fast food might be eaten from time to time, it is not considered to be “a meal”.
In fact, junk food is rarely tolerated outside of special occasions and carefully metered by the woman of the house. For instance, if potato chips are served, it would be with a healthy dip. If hamburgers are cooked it will be part of a BBQ get-together. If pizza is served, there will be a salad, and fruit with it.
Orange juice with water instead of soda pop.
Grapes and peanuts on the table instead of candy.
Leftovers in the fridge for easy quick snacks.
Banning of certain unhealthy foods.
Metered access to heavy sugar-rich foods.
In a traditional household, the woman would prepare the lunches for the family where possible. If the mother decides that the school lunches are adequate, she may opt to allow the children to eat outside the family home. But, the meals would need to pass her muster first.
She would also be in charge of what the man of the house eats.
The Woman is in charge…
She is in charge of what he eats, what he wears, how he wears it, and his behavior in public. The man, with full trust of his wife, would follow her instructions and direction as he knows that she has every faith in his ability to concentrate on making money without the other distractions that could tear away from his attention.
It is easier on the man this way.
His stress level goes way down when he knows that his home is his refuge and everything is taken cared for. He can concentrate on the business tasks at hand; making money for his family.
"After three years of happy marriage, and getting stressed out by her job in a busy payroll department, she decided in 2018 to turn back time — and live like a 1950s housewife.
That’s when Holte, 30, transformed her Hillsboro, Oregon, home into a suburban shrine to the pre-ERA era, busying herself cleaning, making dresses using vintage patterns — and getting dinner on the table by the time her husband, Lars, 28, gets home from his job as an engineering manager.
“I feel like I’m living how I always wanted to. It’s my dream life and my husband shares my vision,” she says as a vinyl Doris Day soundtrack plays in the background. “It is a lot of work. I do tons of dishes, laundry and ironing, but I love it and it’s helping to take care of my husband and that makes me really happy.”
- The woman quits her job to spoil her husband like a 1950s housewife
This is how a traditional conservative household works. No, it is not like the horrible image from Hollywood like what is portrayed in “The Handmaids Tale”. It is instead a shared responsibilities that leverages the strengths of each partner equally.
Often, a woman will choose a career over family. This means, out of necessity, that she will have a progressive liberal family structure. This is how it works.
All of this seems so old fashioned to us Americans, but that is only because we have been living in a progressive liberal society for at least five decades if not longer. (Sorry to say, and I know many of the conservative readership do not want to hear this.)
The truth is that this is the way that families run their affairs in traditional conservative societies. Such as China. Such as Poland. Such as Zambia. Such as Russia. Such as Bulgaria.
The traditional conservative family in Zambia Africa. This is the primary family unit.
Comparisons
There are various memes that you can find on the internet that makes comparisons between the type types of families. They are often make between the ways it manifest individually. Here, the message is stark and harsh.
Internet meme comparing the woman’s role in a progressive liberal household, compared to that of a traditional conservative household. The comparisons are stark.
The comparisons between the two different types of families are very start and obvious. Here is a very “quick and dirty” summary of just some of the characteristics that can be used to compare the two different types of families.
Comparative Table
Attribute
Progressive
Conservative
Meals
Fast Food/Snacks
Planned & Healthy
Clothing
As needed
Cleaned & pressed
Family Roles
None
Defined
Household
Place to sleep
Refuge
Family Rules
None
Defined & Strict
Family Support
None
Complete
Multi-generational
Rare
Common
Budget
None
Maintained
Children
Farmed out
Supervised
It is interesting to note that most of the wealthiest families in the United States maintain a traditional conservative family household. This includes those that (for various political reasons) strongly support a progressive liberal household lifestyle for the vast bulk of Americans. While they themselves maintain a conservative traditional household behind closed doors.
Some things that a Progressive Liberal family cannot do
Once a family falls into the progressive liberal “trap”, they will have a difficult time enforcing any type of traditional conservative family rules. It’s simple really. When people live a life without rules, they resent any rules when they are put in place. It’s human nature.
Thus, here are some things that progressive liberal families have to struggle with. Traditional conservative families won’t experience these problems.
The things that progressive liberal families have trouble with include…
Formal dinners at dinner time. Most progressive liberal families have a very difficult time with this. They find it difficult to set aside time and have difficulty in getting everyone to recognize the importance of communal dinners. When they do manage to set time aside, it is often short, and the experience becomes a mere formality. It is never a daily event.
Chores and roles. Progressive liberal families are disgusted by roles and greatly resent taking on any kind of responsibility. they have a very negative view of any kind of male or female role and avoid it where at all possible. As a result, the household tends to become cluttered, messy, dirty, and disheveled.
Saving Money. Most progressive liberal families have an understanding that what a person earns is theirs to do with they wish. Thus it is very difficult for them to save money. Especially saving money for family purposes.
Discipline. When children are raised in a progressive Liberal household; one where there are no rules, the children become unruly and directionless. They often develop emotional and behavioral issues. This becomes a burden to the rest of the family.
Romantic Dreams
As a child, we naturally yearn for the conservative traditional lifestyle and way of life. Women yearn to have a child and look for a man “who will be theirs and theirs alone. A man who gives them everything they have and more“. This is a traditional conservative lifestyle.
In a traditional conservative man, he yearns for (what we men refer to) as “the one”. The one woman who would understand him. The one woman who he can say anything to, and be totally accepted for who he is. A woman who would never say anything bad about him, not to his face, and most certainly not behind his back. He yearns for a woman who would “have his back”, and he would give her his everything.
He would give her his love, and no one else would get it. He would give her all his money. All of it. Every cent, and allow her to invest it, budget it, and utilize it. She would be the one.
Men desire a faithful wife, and a strong family. He wants to do his best at work, and then when he comes home, he desires a place to call his own.
In a world where everyone from his boss to the rules and regulations at HR, to the government, has something to say about him and how he lives his life. Where they say how he can dress, cut his hair, trim his beard, and park his car. Where they can tell him what to do with his time, and yell at him and punish him for things beyond his control. He needs to know that “his home is his castle“. A place, a refuge, where he is the king and treated as such.
The traditional conservative lifestyle and family provides this.
Elements of a Conservative Traditional Home
You might find the following characteristics within a traditional conservative household…
“His” chair.
“Her” bathroom.
House shoes beside the front door.
A pantry that is full. (A consequence of budgeting.)
Well behaved, and respectful, children.
Hours where the kitchen is “closed” from use.
Formal sit-down meals.
China
I like to use China as the benchmark in this regard. But other conservative nations are the same such as Poland.
Women’s role / Man’s role – There is a clear line in what is expected of both sides. However, where some feminist may find it offensive, I love it! Sure no problem I can clear the dishes off the table and clean and put them away, but you can go outside and pick up the dog poo, mow the lawn, and vacuum the stairs.
-One Month in Poland
There are social services in Poland. However, there is nothing like the need as in the Americas. Think of the Amish.
The adults take care of the young and the young take care of the old. In Poland families stay together, no matter what.
They help even more distant relatives. Women do not divorce their men and take care of them and so there are no broken families. Of course there are social problems but because of the stronger family structure nothing like you find in the West. People take care of each other.
-Why living in Poland is like living in Hollywood
There are some very good reasons for using Poland as an example. Take note. They are [1] a world power, they are [2] traditional and [3] have moved away from socialist communist progressive liberal behaviors in the late 1970s and [4] fully embraced traditional (Chinese) conservative lifestyles.
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China is a very traditional and conservative nation.
The family units are all traditional and conservative, and they safeguard and maintain this role with a degree of intensity that is surprising. One of the most surprising aspects of this role is the acceptance of historical and period costumes and roles.
The Chinese love the role play and you can often see them in public taking on the traditional conservative role for all to see and record. It’s kind of amazing to me, and so I am presenting it here. Yes, most Chinese wear conventional clothing and work clothing. However, there is a serious love for Chinese history and the Chinese culture that transcends my ability to vociferate.
The Chinese LOVE their history. They love their nation. They love their lifestyle.
Here are some examples…
I love how the little children watch transfixed while the couple hugs each other. Don’t you think that this will make a lasting impression that they will carry on with them when they get older?
It’s sort of like how the welfare mothers influence their children to ask for free stuff from the government. As it is their birthright.
This is different, in that you want to reinforce the positive. You want to mitigate the negative, and provide direction, hope and rules for young impressionable people to follow.
Here’s another couple. This time it is a mother and her child in a park. To us, from the West, this seems so odd and silly. But this happens in China, and no it’s not all that rare. Role-play is increasingly becoming common place and fits the Chinese lifestyle.
It’s an Asian thing. Just like the people in Japan like to dress up in traditional clothing. Just like they do in Thailand, and just like they do in Korea.
A traditional conservative life is viewed as something that is fundamentally important for familial success in life.
And… here’s a grocery store. Check out the other people in the market.
You know, pay attention to the reactions of the workers in the grocery store. It’s the same thing all over China. When you dress up in traditional Chinese clothes, everyone loves to watch you. China is a nation where there is no such thing as “cultural appropriation”.
They love their culture and wish to reinforce it.
I dare say, can you just imagine trying to do this in the United States? You might end up with a 500 pound pink-hair water buffalo accusing you of “cultural misappropriation”.
Just some American shoppers in Walmart. Once taxation was declared legal, a small army of tax enthusiasts devoted their lives to squeezing every drop of earnings from the American people. This activity severely impacted the life and lifestyles of Americans, and has thus manifested in the America that you see today. The best parade of progressive liberal family members can be easily viewed at any Walmart.
High School graduation. No progressive liberals here…
And of course, here is a mother with her son at an airport. In China. You will note how well behaved the baby is, and how demure the mother is. This is the picture of a traditional conservative family structure.
It is COMMON all over China.
In America, the progressive family is what is most common. You can see the influence of it everywhere. From Walmart to CNN. From the people elected to Congress to the condition of the roads and what happens to new capital projects… such as high-speed rail.
Notice how she doesn’t buy fast food for them to snack on. Instead, she goes to a juice bar and gets some fresh healthy juice. A mother is responsible for the health and well-being of everyone in the household.
It is her duty.
Conclusion
Because the girls take so good care of you, make you feel happy, like a real man and the boss in the relationship and in turn expect you to support them financially that makes them bad girls? That’s complete nonsense.
If someone doesn’t like the idea of giving and taking then maybe he’s better off dating an American, British, German, French, or Australian woman who works full time, brings in decent money but then expects you to do half of the household, half of the cooking, half of the dish washing, half of the children duties, half of everything. And doesn’t take care and show interest in you nearly as much as a Khmer girl would do it on a daily basis.
-Cambodia Red Cat
Life is about living. Many times we have adjusted to the life that we lived simply without thinking. We never considered what it must have been like for our parents or our grandparents when they were our age. We don’t give it any thought. We just accept what is, and assume that things have always been this way.
It need not be this way.
Look at the world around you. Appreciate it more. Appreciate your family more, and your friends more. Understand that the life that you are living now does not have to be the life that you must have. You can change it. You can make the life into an ideal that you want.
You just need to know a little bit about your family history and why things are the way that they are. With that knowledge comes power, and ultimately…
Change.
A Final Word
The traditional conservative family is prevalent all over the world because it works. It works successfully, and enables a family to thrive together through all the changes that it might encounter.
Non-traditional family structures have been tried all over the world. They have been tried, and documented, as far back as the middle ages, and they have always failed. They eventually die out.
The family members all eventually set up their own families and follow the traditional conservative model.
The Reason for this is simple.
For a progressive liberal family structure to persist through social upheavals and change, it requires outside assistance. The family unit is not cohesive. It is “every man for himself”. This reliance on outside assistance is fatal. Most especially when all the surrounding families are also progressive liberal in composition.
The over riding purpose behind a strong family unit is longevity. Progressive liberal families have a track record that lasts in years, few last longer than a decade. While traditional conservative families have exceedingly long periods of longevity. Often lasting centuries.
It’s all about this…
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some
other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might
like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in
America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken
apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions
as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are
reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly
impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal
library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come
and enjoy a read or two as well.
I first read this story when I was in Junior High School back in the 1970’s. The school library had a chrome-plated wire-frame arrangement where paper-books could be displayed. There were numerous Robert Heinlein books there, as well as collections of short stories, and works by Fredrick Pohl, and Arthur C. Clark. My favorites, give my age, were the youth-directed simplistic narratives generated by Robert Heinlein.
Book cover from the Science fiction story by Robert Heinlein.
This is a nice little story, and it remains an enjoyable read. Heinlein introduces the reader to the idea that science fiction is not a world of B-grade monsters and flying-saucers, but rather a normal day-to-day life that can and (perhaps) will, take place in exotic locations.
All during the 1950’s and the 1960’s, popular media expounded upon the ideas of “space monsters” and horrible creatures that lived in the depths of space. As a child during that time, we would watch “Space Cadet” and “Fireball XL-5” and imagine what it would be like to battle these hideous creatures.
It was shows like “Space Cadet” that inspired me to study Aerospace Engineering, and desire to fly planes.
The Menace from Earth
by Robert Heinlein
My name is Holly Jones and I’m fifteen. I’m very intelligent but it doesn’t show, because I look like an underdone angel. Insipid.
I was born right here in Luna City, which seems to surprise Earthside types. Actually, I’m third generation; my grandparents pioneered in Site One, where the Memorial is. I live with my parents in Artemis Apartments, the new co-op in Pressure Five, eight hundred feet down near City Hall. But I’m not there much; I’m too busy.
Mornings I attend Tech High and afternoons I study or go flying with Jeff Hardesty—he’s my partner—or whenever a tourist ship is in I guide groundhogs. This day the Gripsholmgrounded at noon so I went straight from school to American Express.
The first gaggle of tourists was trickling in from Quarantine but I didn’t push forward as Mr. Dorcas, the manager, knows I’m the best. Guiding is just temporary (I’m really a spaceship designer), but if you’re doing a job you ought to do it well.
Mr. Dorcas spotted me. “Holly! Here, please. Miss Brentwood, Holly Jones will be your guide.”
“‘Holly,'” she repeated. “What a quaint name. Are you really a guide, dear?”
I’m tolerant of groundhogs—some of my best friends are from Earth. As Daddy says, being born on Luna is luck, not judgment, and most people Earthside are stuck there. After all, Jesus and Guatama Buddha and Dr. Einstein were all groundhogs.
But they can be irritating. If high school kids weren’t guides, whom could they hire? “My license says so,” I said briskly and looked her over the way she was looking me over.
Her face was sort of familiar and I thought perhaps I had seen her picture in those society things you see in Earthside magazines—one of the rich playgirls we get too many of. She was almost loathsomely lovely . . . nylon skin, soft, wavy, silver-blond hair, basic specs about 35-24-34 and enough this and that to make me feel like a matchstick drawing, a low, intimate voice and everything necessary to make plainer females think about pacts with the Devil. But I did not feel apprehensive; she was a groundhog and groundhogs don’t count.
“All city guides are girls,” Mr. Dorcas explained. “Holly is very competent.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” she answered quickly and went into tourist routine number one: surprise that a guide was needed just to find her hotel, amazement at no taxicabs, same for no porters, and raised eyebrows at the prospect of two girls walking alone through “an underground city.”
Mr. Dorcas was patient, ending with: “Miss Brentwood, Luna City is the only metropolis in the Solar System where a woman is really safe—no dark alleys, no deserted neighborhoods, no criminal element.”
I didn’t listen; I just held out my tariff card for Mr. Dorcas to stamp and picked up her bags. Guides shouldn’t carry bags and most tourists are delighted to experience the fact that their thirty-pound allowance weighs only five pounds. But I wanted to get her moving.
We were in the tunnel outside and me with a foot on the slidebelt when she stopped. “I forgot! I want a city map.”
“None available.”
“Really?”
“There’s only one. That’s why you need a guide.”
“But why don’t they supply them? Or would that throw you guides out of work?”
See? “You think guiding is makework? Miss Brentwood, labor is so scarce they’d hire monkeys if they could.”
“Then why not print maps?”
“Because Luna City isn’t flat like—” I almost said, “—groundhog cities,” but I caught myself.
“—like Earthside cities,” I went on. “All you saw from space was the meteor shield. Underneath it spreads out and goes down for miles in a dozen pressure zones.”
“Yes, I know, but why not a map for each level?”
Groundhogs always say, “Yes, I know, but—”
“I can show you the one city map. It’s a stereo tank twenty feet high and even so all you see clearly are big things like the Hall of the Mountain King and hydroponics farms and the Bats’ Cave.”
“‘The Bat’s Cave,'” she repeated. “That’s where they fly, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s where we fly.”
“Oh, I want to see it!”
“OK. It first . . . or the city map?”
She decided to go to her hotel first. The regular route to the Zurich is to slide up and west through Gray’s Tunnel past the Martian Embassy, get off at the Mormon Temple, and take a pressure lock down to Diana Boulevard. But I know all the shortcuts; we got off at Macy-Gimbel Upper to go down their personnel hoist. I thought she would enjoy it.
But when I told her to grab a hand grip as it dropped past her, she peered down the shaft and edged back. “You’re joking.”
I was about to take her back the regular way when a neighbor of ours came down the hoist. I said, “Hello, Mrs. Greenberg,” and she called back, “Hi, Holly. How are your folks?”
Susie Greenberg is more than plump. She was hanging by one hand with young David tucked in her other arm and holding the Daily Lunatic, reading as she dropped. Miss Brentwood stared, bit her lip, and said, “How do I do it?”
I said, “Oh, use both hands; I’ll take the bags.” I tied the handles together with my hanky and went first.
She was shaking when we got to the bottom. “Goodness, Holly, how do you stand it? Don’t you get homesick?”
Tourist question number six . . . I said, “I’ve been to Earth,” and let it drop. Two years ago Mother made me visit my aunt in Omaha and I was miserable—hot and cold and dirty and beset by creepy-crawlies. I weighed a ton and I ached and my aunt was always chivvying me to go outdoors and exercise when all I wanted was to crawl into a tub and be quietly wretched. And I had hay fever. Probably you’ve never heard of hay fever—you don’t die but you wish you could.
I was supposed to go to a girls’ boarding school but I phoned Daddy and told him I was desperate and he let me come home. What groundhogs can’t understand is that they live in savagery. But groundhogs are groundhogs and loonies are loonies and never the twain shall meet.
Like all the best hotels the Zurich is in Pressure One on the west side so that it can have a view of Earth. I helped Miss Brentwood register with the roboclerk and found her room; it had its own port. She went straight to it, began staring at Earth and going ooh! and ahh!
I glanced past her and saw that it was a few minutes past thirteen; sunset sliced straight down the tip of India—early enough to snag another client. “Will that be all, Miss Brentwood?”
Instead of answering she said in an awed voice, “Holly, isn’t that the most beautiful sight you ever saw?”
“It’s nice,” I agreed. The view on that side is monotonous except for Earth hanging in the sky—but Earth is what tourists always look at even though they’ve just left it. Still, Earth is pretty. The changing weather is interesting if you don’t have to be in it. Did you ever endure a summer in Omaha?
“It’s gorgeous,” she whispered.
“Sure,” I agreed. “Do you want to go somewhere? Or will you sign my card?”
“What? Excuse me, I was daydreaming. No, not right now—yes, I do! Holly, I want to go out there! I must! Is there time? How much longer will it be light?”
“Huh? It’s two days to sunset.”
She looked startled. “How quaint. Holly, can you get us space suits? I’ve got to go outside.”
I didn’t wince—I’m used to tourist talk. I suppose a pressure suit looked like a space suit to them. I simply said, “We girls aren’t licensed outside. But I can phone a friend.”
Jeff Hardesty is my partner in spaceship designing, so I throw business his way. Jeff is eighteen and already in Goddard Institute, but I’m pushing hard to catch up so that we can set up offices for our firm: “Jones & Hardesty, Spaceship Engineers.” I’m very bright in mathematics, which is everything in space engineering, so I’ll get my degree pretty fast. Meanwhile we design ships anyhow.
I didn’t tell Miss Brentwood this, as tourists think a girl my age can’t possibly be a spaceship designer.
Jeff has arranged his classes to let him guide on Tuesdays and Thursdays; he waits at West City Lock and studies between clients. I reached him on the lockmaster’s phone. Jeff grinned and said, “Hi, Scale Model.”
“Hi, Penalty Weight. Free to take a client?”
“Well, I was supposed to guide a family party, but they’re late.”
“Cancel them. Miss Brentwood . . . step into pickup, please. This is Mr. Hardesty.”
Jeff’s eyes widened and I felt uneasy. But it did not occur to me that Jeff could be attracted by a groundhog . . . even though it is conceded that men are robot slaves of their body chemistry in such matters. I knew she was exceptionally decorative, but it was unthinkable that Jeff could be captivated by any groundhog, no matter how well designed. They don’t speak our language!
I am not romantic about Jeff; we are simply partners. But anything that affects Jones & Hardesty affects me.
When we joined him at West Lock he almost stepped on his tongue in a disgusting display of adolescent rut. I was ashamed of him and, for the first time, apprehensive. Why are males so childish?
Miss Brentwood didn’t seem to mind his behavior. Jeff is a big hulk; suited up for outside he looks like a Frost giant from Das Rheingold; she smiled up at him and thanked him for changing his schedule. He looked even sillier and told her it was a pleasure.
I keep my pressure suit at West Lock so that when I switch a client to Jeff he can invite me to come along for the walk. This time he hardly spoke to me after that platinum menace was in sight. But I helped her pick out a suit and took her into the dressing room and fitted it. Those rental suits take careful adjusting or they will pinch you in tender places once out in vacuum . . . besides those things about them that one girl ought to explain to another.
When I came out with her, not wearing my own, Jeff didn’t even ask why I hadn’t suited up—he took her arm and started toward the lock. I had to butt in to get her to sign my tariff card.
The days that followed were the longest in my life. I saw Jeff only once . . . on the slidebelt in Diana boulevard, going the other way. She was with him.
Though I saw him but once, I knew what was going on. He was cutting classes and three nights running he took her to the Earthview Room of the Duncan Hines. None of my business!—I hope she had more luck teaching him to dance than I had. Jeff is a free citizen and if he wanted to make an utter fool of himself neglecting school and losing sleep over an upholstered groundhog that was his business.
But he should not have neglected the firm’s business!
Jones & Hardesty had a tremendous backlog because we were designing Starship Prometheus. This project we had been slaving over for a year, flying not more than twice a week in order to devote time to it—and that’s a sacrifice.
Of course you can’t build a starship today, because of the power plant. But Daddy thinks that there will soon be a technological break-through and mass-conversion power plants will be built—which means starships. Daddy ought to know—he’s Luna Chief Engineer for Space Lanes and Fermi Lecturer at Goddard Institute. So Jeff and I are designing a self-supporting interstellar ship on that assumption: quarters, auxiliaries, surgery, labs—everything.
Daddy thinks it’s just practice but Mother knows better—Mother is a mathematical chemist for General Synthetics of Luna and is nearly as smart as I am. She realizes that Jones & Hardesty plans to be ready with a finished proposal while other designers are still floundering.
Which was why I was furious with Jeff for wasting time over this creature. We had been working every possible chance. Jeff would show up after dinner, we would finish our homework, then get down to real work, the Prometheus . . . checking each other’s computations, fighting bitterly over details, and having a wonderful time. But the very day I introduced him to Ariel Brentwood, he failed to appear. I had finished my lessons and was wondering whether to start or wait for him—we were making a radical change in power plant shielding—when his mother phoned me. “Jeff asked me to call you, dear. He’s having dinner with a tourist client and can’t come over.”
Mrs. Hardesty was watching me so I looked puzzled and said, “Jeff thought I was expecting him? He has his dates mixed.” I don’t think she believed me; she agreed too quickly.
All that week I was slowly convinced against my will that Jones & Hardesty was being liquidated. Jeff didn’t break any more dates—how can you break a date that hasn’t been made?—but we always went flying Thursday afternoons unless one of us was guiding. He didn’t call. Oh, I know where he was; he took her iceskating in Fingal’s Cave.
I stayed home and worked on the Prometheus, recalculating masses and moment arms for hydroponics and stores on the basis of the shielding change. But I made mistakes and twice I had to look up logarithms instead of remembering . . . I was so used to wrangling with Jeff over everything that I just couldn’t function.
Presently I looked at the name plate of the sheet I was revising. “Jones & Hardesty” it read, like all the rest. I said to myself, “Holly Jones, quit bluffing; this may be The End. You knew that someday Jeff would fall for somebody.”
“Of course . . . but not a groundhog.”
“But he did. What kind of an engineer are you if you can’t face facts? She’s beautiful and rich—she’ll get her father to give him a job Earthside. You hear me? Earthside! So you look for another partner . . . or go into business on your own.”
I erased “Jones & Hardesty” and lettered “Jones & Company” and stared at it. Then I started to erase that, too—but it smeared; I had dripped a tear on it. Which was ridiculous!
The following Tuesday both Daddy and Mother were home for lunch which was unusual as Daddy lunches at the spaceport. Now Daddy can’t even see you unless you’re a spaceship but that day he picked to notice that I had dialed only a salad and hadn’t finished it. “That plate is about eight hundred calories short,” he said, peering at it. “You can’t boost without fuel—aren’t you well?”
“Quite well, thank you,” I answered with dignity.
“Mmm . . . now that I think back, you’ve been moping for several days. Maybe you need a checkup.” He looked at Mother.
“I do not either need a checkup!” I had not been moping—doesn’t a woman have a right not to chatter?
But I hate to have doctors poking at me so I added, “It happens I’m eating lightly because I’m going flying this afternoon. But if you insist, I’ll order pot roast and potatoes and sleep instead!”
“Easy, punkin’,” he answered gently. “I didn’t mean to intrude. Get yourself a snack when you’re through . . . and say hello to Jeff for me.”
I simply answered, “OK,” and asked to be excused; I was humiliated by the assumption that I couldn’t fly without Mr. Jefferson Hardesty but did not wish to discuss it.
Daddy called after me, “Don’t be late for dinner,” and Mother said, “Now, Jacob—” and to me, “Fly until you’re tired, dear; you haven’t been getting much exercise. I’ll leave your dinner in the warmer. Anything you’d like?”
“No, whatever you dial for yourself.” I just wasn’t interested in food, which isn’t like me. As I headed for Bats’ Cave I wondered if I had caught something. But my cheeks didn’t feel warm and my stomach wasn’t upset even if I wasn’t hungry.
Then I had a horrible thought. Could it be that I was jealous? Me?
It was unthinkable. I am not romantic; I am a career woman. Jeff had been my partner and pal, and under my guidance he could have become a great spaceship designer, but our relationship was straightforward . . . a mutual respect for each other’s abilities, with never any of that lovey-dovey stuff. A career woman can’t afford such things—why look at all the professional time Mother had lost over having me!
No, I couldn’t be jealous; I was simply worried sick because my partner had become involved with a groundhog. Jeff isn’t bright about women and, besides, he’s never been to Earth and has illusions about it. If she lured him Earthside, Jones & Hardesty was finished.
And somehow “Jones & Company” wasn’t a substitute: the Prometheus might never be built.
I was at Bats’ Cave when I reached this dismal conclusion. I didn’t feel like flying but I went to the locker room and got my wings anyhow.
Most of the stuff written about Bats’ Cave gives a wrong impression. It’s the air storage tank for the city, just like all the colonies have—the place where the scavenger pumps, deep down, deliver the air until it’s needed. We just happen to be lucky enough to have one big enough to fly in. But it never was built, or anything like that; it’s just a big volcanic bubble, two miles across, and if it had broken through, way back when, it would have been a crater.
Tourists sometimes pity us loonies because we have no chance to swim. Well, I tried it in Omaha and got water up my nose and scared myself silly. Water is for drinking, not playing in; I’ll take flying. I’ve heard groundhogs say, oh yes, they had “flown” many times. But that’s not flying. I did what they talk about, between White Sands and Omaha. I felt awful and got sick. Those things aren’t safe.
I left my shoes and skirt in the locker room and slipped my tail surfaces on my feet, then zipped into my wings and got someone to tighten the shoulder straps. My wings aren’t ready-made condors; they are Storer-Gulls, custom-made for my weight distribution and dimensions. I’ve cost Daddy a pretty penny in wings, outgrowing them so often, but these latest I bought myself with guide fees.
They’re lovely!—titanalloy struts as light and strong as bird bones, tension-compensated wrist-pinion and shoulder joints, natural action in the alula slots, and automatic flap action in stalling. The wing skeleton is dressed in styrene feather-foils with individual quilling of scapulars and primaries. They almost fly themselves.
I folded my wings and went into the lock. While it was cycling I opened my left wing and thumbed the alula control—I had noticed a tendency to sideslip the last time I was airborne. But the alula opened properly and I decided I must have been overcontrolling, easy to do with Storer-Gulls; they’re extremely maneuverable. Then the door showed green and I folded the wing and hurried out, while glancing at the barometer. Seventeen pounds—two more than Earth sea-level and nearly twice what we use in the city; even an ostrich could fly in that. I perked up and felt sorry for all groundhogs, tied down by six times proper weight, who never, never, never could fly.
Not even I could, on Earth. My wing loading is less than a pound per square foot, as wings and all I weigh less than twenty pounds. Earthside that would be over a hundred pounds and I could flap forever and never get off the ground.
I felt so good that I forgot about Jeff and his weakness. I spread my wings, ran a few steps, warped for lift and grabbed air—lifted my feet and was airborne.
I sculled gently and let myself glide toward the air intake at the middle of the floor—the Baby’s Ladder, we call it, because you can ride the updraft clear to the roof, half a mile above, and never move a wing. When I felt it I leaned right, spoiling with right primaries, corrected, and settled in a counterclockwise soaring glide and let it carry me toward the roof.
A couple of hundred feet up, I looked around. The cave was almost empty, not more than two hundred in the air and half that number perched or on the ground—room enough for didoes. So as soon as I was up five hundred feet I leaned out of the updraft and began to beat. Gliding is no effort but flying is as hard work as you care to make it. In gliding I support a mere ten pounds on each arm—shucks, on Earth you work harder than that lying in bed. The lift that keeps you in the air doesn’t take any work; you get it free from the shape of your wings just as long as there is air pouring past them.
Even without an updraft all a level glide takes is gentle sculling with your finger tips to maintain air speed; a feeble old lady could do it. The lift comes from differential air pressures but you don’t have to understand it; you just scull a little and the air supports you, as if you were lying in an utterly perfect bed. Sculling keeps you moving forward just like sculling a rowboat . . . or so I’m told; I’ve never been in a rowboat. I had a chance to in Nebraska but I’m not that foolhardy.
But when you’re really flying, you scull with forearms as well as hands and add power with your shoulder muscles. Instead of only the outer quills of your primaries changing pitch (as in gliding), now your primaries and secondaries clear back to the joint warp sharply on each downbeat and recovery; they no longer lift, they force you forward—while your weight is carried by your scapulars, up under your armpits.
So you fly faster, or climb, or both, through controlling the angle of attack with your feet—with the tail surfaces you wear on your feet, I mean.
Oh dear, this sounds complicated and isn’t—you just do it. You fly exactly as a bird flies. Baby birds can learn it and they aren’t very bright. Anyhow, it’s easy as breathing after you learn . . . and more fun than you can imagine!
I climbed to the roof with powerful beats, increasing my angle of attack and slotting my alulae for lift without burble—climbing at an angle that would stall most fliers. I’m little but it’s all muscle and I’ve been flying since I was six. Once up there I glided and looked around. Down at the floor near the south wall tourists were trying glide wings—if you call those things “wings.” Along the west wall the visitors’ gallery was loaded with goggling tourists. I wondered if Jeff and his Circe character were there and decided to go down and find out.
So I went into a steep dive and swooped toward the gallery, leveled off and flew very fast along it. I didn’t spot Jeff and his groundhoggess but I wasn’t watching where I was going and over took another flier, almost collided. I glimpsed him just in time to stall and drop under, and fell fifty feet before I got control. Neither of us was in danger as the gallery is two hundred feet up, but I looked silly and it was my own fault; I had violated a safety rule.
There aren’t many rules but they are necessary; the first is that orange wings always have the right of way—they’re beginners. This flier did not have orange wings but I was overtaking. The flier underneath—or being overtaken—or nearer the wall—or turning counterclockwise, in that order, has the right of way.
I felt foolish and wondered who had seen me, so I went all the way back up, made sure I had clear air, then stooped like a hawk toward the gallery, spilling wings, lifting tail, and letting myself fall like a rock.
I completed my stoop in front of the gallery, lowering and spreading my tail so hard I could feel leg muscles knot and grabbing air with both wings, alulae slotted. I pulled level in an extremely fast glide along the gallery. I could see their eyes pop and thought smugly, “There! That’ll show ’em!”
When darn if somebody didn’t stoop on me! The blast from a flier braking right over me almost knocked me out of control. I grabbed air and stopped a sideslip, used some shipyard words and looked around to see who had blitzed me. I knew the black-and-gold wing pattern—Mary Muhlenburg, my best girl friend. She swung toward me, pivoting on a wing tip. “Hi, Holly! Scared you, didn’t I?”
“You did not! You better be careful; the flightmaster’ll ground you for a month!”
“Slim chance! He’s down for coffee.”
I flew away, still annoyed, and started to climb. Mary called after me, but I ignored her, thinking, “Mary my girl, I’m going to get over you and fly you right out of the air.”
This was a foolish thought as Mary flies every day and has shoulders and pectoral muscles like Mrs. Hercules. By the time she caught up with me I had cooled off and we flew side by side, still climbing. “Perch?” she called out.
“Perch,” I agreed. Mary has lovely gossip and I could use a breather. We turned toward our usual perch, a ceiling brace for flood lamps—it isn’t supposed to be a perch but the flightmaster hardly ever comes up there.
Mary flew in ahead of me, braked and stalled dead to a perfect landing. I skidded a little but Mary stuck out a wing and steadied me. It isn’t easy to come into a perch, especially when you have to approach level. Two years ago a boy who had just graduated from orange wings tried it . . . knocked off his left alula and primaries on a strut—went fluttering and spinning down two thousand feet and crashed. He could have saved himself—you can come in safely with a badly damaged wing if you spill air with the other and accept the steeper glide, then stall as you land. But this poor kid didn’t know how; he broke his neck, dead as Icarus. I haven’t used that perch since.
We folded our wings and Mary sidled over. “Jeff is looking for you,” she said with a sly grin.
My insides jumped but I answered coolly, “So? I didn’t know he was here.”
“Sure. Down there,” she added, pointing with her left wing. “Spot him?”
Jeff wears striped red and silver, but she was pointing at the tourist glide slope, a mile away. “No.”
“He’s there all right.” She looked at me sidewise. “But I wouldn’t look him up if I were you.”
“Why not? Or for that matter, why should I?” Mary can be exasperating.
“Huh? You always run when he whistles. But he has that Earthside siren in tow again today; you might find it embarrassing.”
“Mary, whatever are you talking about?”
“Huh? Don’t kid me, Holly Jones; you know what I mean.”
“I’m sure I don’t,” I answered with cold dignity.
“Humph! Then you’re the only person in Luna City who doesn’t. Everybody knows you’re crazy about Jeff; everybody knows she’s cut you out . . . and that you are simply simmering with jealousy.”
Mary is my dearest friend but someday I’m going to skin her for a rug. “Mary, that’s preposterously ridiculous! How can you even think such a thing?”
“Look, darling, you don’t have to pretend. I’m for you.” She patted my shoulders with her secondaries.
So I pushed her over backwards. She fell a hundred feet, straightened out, circled and climbed, and came in beside me, still grinning. It gave me time to decide what to say.
“Mary Muhlenburg, in the first place I am not crazy about anyone, least of all Jeff Hardesty. He and I are simply friends. So it’s utterly nonsensical to talk about me being ‘jealous.’ In the second place Miss Brentwood is a lady and doesn’t go around ‘cutting out’ anyone, least of all me. In the third place she is simply a tourist Jeff is guiding—business, nothing more.”
“Sure, sure,” Mary agreed placidly. “I was wrong. Still—” She shrugged her wings and shut up.
“‘Still’ what? Mary, don’t be mealy-mouthed.”
“Mmm . . . I was wondering how you knew I was talking about Ariel Brentwood—since there isn’t anything to it.”
“Why, you mentioned her name.”
“I did not.”
I thought frantically. “Uh, maybe not. But it’s perfectly simple. Miss Brentwood is a client I turned over to Jeff myself, so I assumed that she must be the tourist you meant.”
“So? I don’t recall even saying she was a tourist. But since she is just a tourist you two are splitting, why aren’t you doing the inside guiding while Jeff sticks to outside work? I thought you guides had an agreement?”
“Huh? If he has been guiding her inside the city, I’m not aware of it—”
“You’re the only one who isn’t.”
“—and I’m not interested; that’s up to the grievance committee. But Jeff wouldn’t take a fee for inside guiding in any case.”
“Oh, sure!—not one he could bank. Well, Holly, seeing I was wrong, why don’t you give him a hand with her? She wants to learn to glide.”
Butting in on that pair was farthest from my mind. “If Mr. Hardesty wants my help, he will ask me. In the meantime I shall mind my own business . . . a practice I recommend to you!”
“Relax, shipmate,” she answered, unruffled. “I was doing you a favor.”
“Thank you, I don’t need one.”
“So I’ll be on my way—got to practice for the gymkhana.” She leaned forward and dropped off. But she didn’t practice aerobatics; she dived straight for the tourist slope.
I watched her out of sight, then snaked my left hand out the hand slit and got at my hanky—awkward when you are wearing wings but the floodlights had made my eyes water. I wiped them and blew my nose and put my hanky away and wiggled my hand back into place, then checked everything, thumbs, toes, and fingers, preparatory to dropping off.
But I didn’t. I just sat there, wings drooping, and thought. I had to admit that Mary was partly right; Jeff’s head was turned completely . . . over a groundhog. So sooner or later he would go Earthside and Jones & Hardesty was finished.
Then I reminded myself that I had been planning to be a spaceship designer like Daddy long before Jeff and I teamed up. I wasn’t dependent on anyone; I could stand alone, like Joan of Arc, or Lise Meitner.
I felt better . . . a cold, stern pride, like Lucifer in Paradise Lost.
I recognized the red and silver of Jeff’s wings while he was far off and I thought about slipping quietly away. But Jeff can overtake me if he tries, so I decided, “Holly, don’t be a fool! You have no reason to run . . . just be coolly polite.”
He landed by me but didn’t sidle up. “Hi, Decimal Point.”
“Hi, Zero. Uh, stolen much lately?”
“Just the City Bank but they made me put it back.” He frowned and added, “Holly, are you mad at me?”
“Why, Jeff, whatever gave you such a silly notion?”
“Uh . . . something Mary the Mouth said.”
“Her? Don’t pay any attention to what she says. Half of it’s always wrong and she doesn’t mean the rest.”
“Yeah, a short circuit between her ears. Then you aren’t mad?”
“Of course not. Why should I be?”
“No reason I know of. I haven’t been around to work on the ship for a few days . . . but I’ve been awfully busy.”
“Think nothing of it. I’ve been terribly busy myself.”
“Uh, that’s fine. Look, Test Sample, do me a favor. Help me out with a friend—a client, that is—well, she’s a friend, too. She wants to learn to use glide wings.”
I pretended to consider it. “Anyone I know?”
“Oh, yes. Fact is, you introduced us. Ariel Brentwood.”
“‘Brentwood’? Jeff, there are so many tourists. Let me think. Tall girl? Blonde? Extremely pretty?”
He grinned like a goof and I almost pushed him off. “That’s Ariel!”
“I recall her . . . she expected me to carry her bags. But you don’t need help, Jeff. She seemed very clever. Good sense of balance.”
“Oh, yes, sure, all of that. Well, the fact is, I want you two to know each other. She’s . . . well, she’s just wonderful, Holly. A real person all the way through. You’ll love her when you know her better. Uh . . . this seemed like a good chance.”
I felt dizzy. “Why, that’s very thoughtful, Jeff, but I doubt if she wants to know me better. I’m just a servant she hired—you know groundhogs.”
“But she’s not at all like the ordinary groundhog. And she does want to know you better—she told me so!”
After you told her to think so! I muttered. But I had talked myself into a corner. If I had not been hampered by polite upbringing I would have said, “On your way, vacuum skull! I’m not interested in your groundhog girl friends”—but what I did say was, “OK, Jeff,” then gathered the fox to my bosom and dropped off into a glide.
So I taught Ariel Brentwood to “fly.” Look, those so-called wings they let tourists wear have fifty square feet of lift surface, no controls except warp in the primaries, a built-in dihedral to make them stable as a table, and a few meaningless degrees of hinging to let the wearer think that he is “flying” by waving his arms. The tail is rigid, and canted so that if you stall (almost impossible) you land on your feet. All a tourist does is run a few yards, lift up his feet (he can’t avoid it) and slide down a blanket of air. Then he can tell his grandchildren how he flew, really flew, “just like a bird.”
An ape could learn to “fly” that much.
I put myself to the humiliation of strapping on a set of the silly things and had Ariel watch while I swung into the Baby’s Ladder and let it carry me up a hundred feet to show her that you really and truly could “fly” with them. Then I thankfully got rid of them, strapped her into a larger set, and put on my beautiful Storer-Gulls. I had chased Jeff away (two instructors is too many), but when he saw her wing up, he swooped down and landed by us.
I looked up. “You again.”
“Hello, Ariel. Hi, Blip. Say, you’ve got her shoulder straps too tight.”
“Tut, tut,” I said. “One coach at a time, remember? If you want to help, shuck those gaudy fins and put on some gliders . . . then I’ll use you to show how not to. Otherwise get above two hundred feet and stay there; we don’t need any dining-lounge pilots.”
Jeff pouted like a brat but Ariel backed me up. “Do what teacher says, Jeff. That’s a good boy.”
He wouldn’t put on gliders but he didn’t stay clear either. He circled around us, watching, and got bawled out by the flightmaster for cluttering the tourist area.
I admit Ariel was a good pupil. She didn’t even get sore when I suggested that she was rather mature across the hips to balance well; she just said that she had noticed that I had the slimmest behind around there and she envied me. So I quit trying to get her goat, and found myself almost liking her as long as I kept my mind firmly on teaching. She tried hard and learned fast—good reflexes and (despite my dirty crack) good balance. I remarked on it and she admitted diffidently that she had had ballet training.
About mid-afternoon she said, “Could I possibly try real wings?”
“Huh? Gee, Ariel, I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
There she had me. She had already done all that could be done with those atrocious gliders. If she was to learn more, she had to have real wings. “Ariel, it’s dangerous. It’s not what you’ve been doing, believe me. You might get hurt, even killed.”
“Would you be held responsible?”
“No. You signed a release when you came in.”
“Then I’d like to try it.”
I bit my lip. If she had cracked up without my help, I wouldn’t have shed a tear—but to let her do something too dangerous while she was my pupil . . . well, it smacked of David and Uriah. “Ariel, I can’t stop you . . . but I should put my wings away and not have anything to do with it.”
It was her turn to bite her lip. “If you feel that way, I can’t ask you to coach me. But I still want to. Perhaps Jeff will help me.”
“He probably will,” I blurted out, “if he is as big a fool as I think he is!”
Her company face slipped but she didn’t say anything because just then Jeff stalled in beside us. “What’s the discussion?”
We both tried to tell him and confused him for he got the idea I had suggested it, and started bawling me out. Was I crazy? Was I trying to get Ariel hurt? Didn’t I have any sense?
“Shut up!” I yelled, then added quietly but firmly, “Jefferson Hardesty, you wanted me to teach your girl friend, so I agreed. But don’t butt in and don’t think you can get away with talking to me like that. Now beat it! Take wing. Grab air!”
He swelled up and said slowly, “I absolutely forbid it.”
Silence for five long counts. Then Ariel said quietly, “Come, Holly. Let’s get me some wings.”
“Right, Ariel.”
But they don’t rent real wings. Fliers have their own; they have to. However, there are second-hand ones for sale because kids outgrow them, or people shift to custom-made ones, or something. I found Mr. Schultz who keeps the key, and said that Ariel was thinking of buying but I wouldn’t let her without a tryout. After picking over forty-odd pairs I found a set which Johnny Queveras had outgrown but which I knew were all right. Nevertheless I inspected them carefully. I could hardly reach the finger controls but they fitted Ariel.
While I was helping her into the tail surfaces I said, “Ariel? This is still a bad idea.”
“I know. But we can’t let men think they own us.”
“I suppose not.”
“They do own us, of course. But we shouldn’t let them know it.” She was feeling out the tail controls. “The big toes spread them?”
“Yes. But don’t do it. Just keep your feet together and toes pointed. Look, Ariel, you really aren’t ready. Today all you will do is glide, just as you’ve been doing. Promise?”
She looked me in the eye. “I’ll do exactly what you say . . . not even take wing unless you OK it.”
“OK. Ready?”
“I’m ready.”
“All right. Wups! I goofed. They aren’t orange.”
“Does it matter?”
“It sure does.” There followed a weary argument because Mr. Schultz didn’t want to spray them orange for a tryout. Ariel settled it by buying them, then we had to wait a bit while the solvent dried.
We went back to the tourist slope and I let her glide, cautioning her to hold both alulae open with her thumbs for more lift at slow speeds, while barely sculling with her fingers. She did fine, and stumbled in landing only once. Jeff stuck around, cutting figure eights above us, but we ignored him. Presently I taught her to turn in a wide, gentle bank—you can turn those awful glider things but it takes skill; they’re only meant for straight glide.
Finally I landed by her and said, “Had enough?”
“I’ll never have enough! But I’ll unwing if you say.”
“Tired?”
“No.” She glanced over her wing at the Baby’s Ladder; a dozen fliers were going up it, wings motionless, soaring lazily. “I wish I could do that just once. It must be heaven.”
I chewed it over. “Actually, the higher you are, the safer you are.”
“Then why not?”
“Mmm . . . safer provided you know what you’re doing. Going up that draft is just gliding like you’ve been doing. You lie still and let it lift you half a mile high. Then you come down the same way, circling the wall in a gentle glide. But you’re going to be tempted to do something you don’t understand yet—flap your wings, or cut some caper.”
She shook her head solemnly. “I won’t do anything you haven’t taught me.”
I was still worried. “Look, it’s only half a mile up but you cover five miles getting there and more getting down. Half an hour at least. Will your arms take it?”
“I’m sure they will.”
“Well . . . you can start down anytime; you don’t have to go all the way. Flex your arms a little now and then, so they won’t cramp. Just don’t flap your wings.”
“I won’t.”
“OK.” I spread my wings. “Follow me.”
I led her into the updraft, leaned gently right, then back left to start the counterclockwise climb, all the while sculling very slowly so that she could keep up. Once we were in the groove I called out, “Steady as you are!” and cut out suddenly, climbed and took station thirty feet over and behind her. “Ariel?”
“Yes, Holly?”
“I’ll stay over you. Don’t crane your neck; you don’t have to watch me, I have to watch you. You’re doing fine.”
“I feel fine!”
“Wiggle a little. Don’t stiffen up. It’s a long way to the roof. You can scull harder if you want to.”
“Aye aye, Cap’n!”
“Not tired?”
“Heavens, no! Girl, I’m living!” She giggled. “And mama said I’d never be an angel!”
I didn’t answer because red-and-silver wings came charging at me, braked suddenly and settled into a circle between me and Ariel. Jeff’s face was almost as red as his wings. “What the devil do you think you are doing?”
“Orange wings!” I yelled. “Keep clear!”
“Get down out of here! Both of you!”
“Get out from between me and my pupil. You know the rules.”
“Ariel!” Jeff shouted. “Lean out of the circle and glide down. I’ll stay with you.”
“Jeff Hardesty,” I said savagely, “I give you three seconds to get out from between us—then I’m going to report you for violation of Rule One. For the third time—Orange Wings!“
Jeff growled something, dipped his right wing and dropped out of formation. The idiot sideslipped within five feet of Ariel’s wing tip. I should have reported him for that; all the room you can give a beginner is none too much.
I said, “OK, Ariel?”
“OK, Holly. I’m sorry Jeff is angry.”
“He’ll get over it. Tell me if you feel tired.”
“I’m not. I want to go all the way up. How high are we?”
“Four hundred feet, maybe.”
Jeff flew below us a while, then climbed and flew over us . . . probably for the same reason I did: to see better. It suited me to have two of us watching her as long as he didn’t interfere; I was beginning to fret that Ariel might not realize that the way down was going to be as long and tiring as the way up. I was hoping she would cry uncle. I knew I could glide until forced down by starvation. But a beginner gets tense.
Jeff stayed generally over us, sweeping back and forth—he’s too active to glide very long—while Ariel and I continued to soar, winding slowly up toward the roof. It finally occurred to me when we were about halfway up that I could cry uncle myself; I didn’t have to wait for Ariel to weaken. So I called out, “Ariel? Tired now?”
“No.”
“Well, I am. Could we go down, please?”
She didn’t argue, she just said, “All right. What am I to do?”
“Lean right and get out of the circle.” I intended to have her move out five or six hundred feet, get into the return down draft, and circle the cave down instead of up. I glanced up, looking for Jeff. I finally spotted him some distance away and much higher but coming toward us. I called out, “Jeff! See you on the ground.” He might not have heard me but he would see if he didn’t hear; I glanced back at Ariel.
I couldn’t find her.
Then I saw her, a hundred feet below—flailing her wings and falling, out of control.
I didn’t know how it happened. Maybe she leaned too far, went into a sideslip and started to struggle. But I didn’t try to figure it out; I was simply filled with horror. I seemed to hang there frozen for an hour while I watched her.
But the fact appears to be that I screamed “Jeff!” and broke into a stoop.
But I didn’t seem to fall, couldn’t overtake her. I spilled my wings completely—but couldn’t manage to fall; she was as far away as ever.
You do start slowly, of course; our low gravity is the only thing that makes human flying possible. Even a stone falls a scant three feet in the first second. But that first second seemed endless.
Then I knew I was falling. I could feel rushing air—but I still didn’t seem to close on her. Her struggles must have slowed her somewhat, while I was in an intentional stoop, wings spilled and raised over my head, falling as fast as possible. I had a wild notion that if I could pull even with her, I could shout sense into her head, get her to dive, then straighten out in a glide. But I couldn’t reach her.
This nightmare dragged on for hours.
Actually we didn’t have room to fall for more than twenty seconds; that’s all it takes to stoop a thousand feet. But twenty seconds can be horribly long . . . long enough to regret every foolish thing I had ever done or said, long enough to say a prayer for us both . . . and to say good-by to Jeff in my heart. Long enough to see the floor rushing toward us and know that we were both going to crash if I didn’t overtake her mighty quick.
I glanced up and Jeff was stooping right over us but a long way up. I looked down at once . . . and I was overtaking her . . . I was passing her—I was under her!
Then I was braking with everything I had, almost pulling my wings off. I grabbed air, held it, and started to beat without ever going to level flight. I beat once, twice, three times . . . and hit her from below, jarring us both.
Then the floor hit us.* * *
I felt feeble and dreamily contented. I was on my back in a dim room. I think Mother was with me and I know Daddy was. My nose itched and I tried to scratch it, but my arms wouldn’t work. I fell asleep again.
I woke up hungry and wide awake. I was in a hospital bed and my arms still wouldn’t work, which wasn’t surprising as they were both in casts. A nurse came in with a tray. “Hungry?” she asked.
“Starved,” I admitted.
“We’ll fix that.” She started feeding me like a baby.
I dodged the third spoonful and demanded. “What happened to my arms?”
“Hush,” she said and gagged me with a spoon.
But a nice doctor came in later and answered my question. “Nothing much. Three simple fractures. At your age you’ll heal in no time. But we like your company so I’m holding you for observation of possible internal injury.”
“I’m not hurt inside,” I told him. “At least, I don’t hurt.”
“I told you it was just an excuse.”
“Uh, Doctor?”
“Well?”
“Will I be able to fly again?” I waited, scared.
“Certainly. I’ve seen men hurt worse get up and go three rounds.”
“Oh. Well, thanks. Doctor? What happened to the other girl? Is she . . . did she . . . ?”
“Brentwood? She’s here.”
“She’s right here,” Ariel agreed from the door. “May I come in?”
My jaw dropped, then I said, “Yeah. Sure. Come in.”
The doctor said, “Don’t stay long,” and left. I said, “Well, sit down.”
“Thanks.” She hopped instead of walked and I saw that one foot was bandaged. She got on the end of the bed.
“You hurt your foot.”
She shrugged. “Nothing. A sprain and a torn ligament. Two cracked ribs. But I would have been dead. You know why I’m not?”
I didn’t answer. She touched one of my casts. “That’s why. You broke my fall and I landed on top of you. You saved my life and I broke both your arms.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I would have done it for anybody.”
“I believe you and I wasn’t thanking you. You can’t thank a person for saving your life. I just wanted to make sure you knew that I knew it.”
I didn’t have an answer so I said, “Where’s Jeff? Is he all right?”
“He’ll be along soon. Jeff’s not hurt . . . though I’m surprised he didn’t break both ankles. He stalled in beside us so hard that he should have. But Holly . . . Holly my very dear . . . I slipped in so that you and I could talk about him before he got here.”
I changed the subject quickly. Whatever they had given me made me feel dreamy and good, but not beyond being embarrassed. “Ariel, what happened? You were getting along fine—then suddenly you were in trouble.”
She looked sheepish. “My own fault. You said we were going down, so I looked down. Really looked, I mean. Before that, all my thoughts had been about climbing clear to the roof; I hadn’t thought about how far down the floor was. Then I looked down . . . and got dizzy and panicky and went all to pieces.” She shrugged. “You were right. I wasn’t ready.”
I thought about it and nodded. “I see. But don’t worry—when my arms are well, I’ll take you up again.”
She touched my foot. “Dear Holly. But I won’ be flying again; I’m going back where I belong.”
“Earthside?”
“Yes. I’m taking the Billy Mitchell on Wednesday.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
She frowned slightly. “Are you? Holly, you don’t like me, do you?”
I was startled silly. What can you say? Especially when it’s true? “Well,” I said slowly, “I don’t dislike you. I just don’t know you very well.”
She nodded. “And I don’t know you very well . . . even though I got to know you a lot better in a very few seconds. But Holly . . . listen please and don’t get angry. It’s about Jeff. He hasn’t treated you very well the last few days—while I’ve been here, I mean. But don’t be angry with him. I’m leaving and everything will be the same.”
That ripped it open and I couldn’t ignore it, because if I did, she would assume all sorts of things that weren’t so. So I had to explain . . . about me being a career woman . . . how, if I had seemed upset, it was simply distress at breaking up the firm of Jones & Hardesty before it even finished its first starship . . . how I was not in love with Jeff but simply valued him as a friend and associate . . . but if Jones & Hardesty couldn’t carry on, then Jones & Company would. “So you see, Ariel, it isn’t necessary for you to give up Jeff. If you feel you owe me something, just forget it. It isn’t necessary.”
She blinked and I saw with amazement that she was holding back tears. “Holly, Holly . . . you don’t understand at all.”
“I understand all right. I’m not a child.”
“No, you’re a grown woman . . . but you haven’t found it out.” She held up a finger. “One—Jeff doesn’t love me.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“Two . . . I don’t love him.”
“I don’t believe that, either.”
“Three . . . you say you don’t love him—but we’ll take that up when we come to it. Holly, am I beautiful?”
Changing the subject is a female trait but I’ll never learn to do it that fast. “Huh?”
“I said, ‘Am I beautiful?'”
“You know darn well you are!”
“Yes. I can sing a bit and dance, but I would get few parts if I were not, because I’m no better than a third-rate actress. So I have to be beautiful. How old am I?”
I managed not to boggle. “Huh? Older than Jeff thinks you are. Twenty-one, at least. Maybe twenty-two.”
She sighed. “Holly, I’m old enough to be your mother.”
“Huh? I don’t believe that either.”
“I’m glad it doesn’t show. But that’s why, though Jeff is a dear, there never was a chance that I could fall in love with him. But how I feel about him doesn’t matter; the important thing is that he loves you.”
“What? That’s the silliest thing you’ve said yet! Oh, he likes me—or did. But that’s all.” I gulped. “And it’s all I want. Why, you should hear the way he talks to me.”
“I have. But boys that age can’t say what they mean; they get embarrassed.”
“But—”
“Wait, Holly. I saw something you didn’t because you were knocked cold. When you and I bumped, do you know what happened?”
“Uh, no.”
“Jeff arrived like an avenging angel, a split second behind us. He was ripping his wings off as he hit, getting his arms free. He didn’t even look at me. He just stepped across me and picked you up and cradled you in his arms, all the while bawling his eyes out.”
“He did?“
“He did.”
I mulled it over. Maybe the big lunk did kind of like me, after all.
Ariel went on, “So you see, Holly, even if you don’t love him, you must be very gentle with him, because he loves you and you can hurt him terribly.”
I tried to think. Romance was still something that a career woman should shun . . . but if Jeff really did feel that way—well . . . would it be compromising my ideals to marry him just to keep him happy? To keep the firm together? Eventually, that is?
But if I did, it wouldn’t be Jones & Hardesty; it would be Hardesty & Hardesty.
Ariel was still talking: “—you might even fall in love with him. It does happen, hon, and if it did, you’d be sorry if you had chased him away. Some other girl would grab him; he’s awfully nice.”
“But—” I shut up for I heard Jeff’s step—I can always tell it. He stopped in the door and looked at us, frowning.
“Hi, Ariel.”
“Hi, Jeff.”
“Hi, Fraction.” He looked me over. “My, but you’re a mess.”
“You aren’t pretty yourself. I hear you have flat feet.”
“Permanently. How do you brush your teeth with those things on your arms?”
“I don’t.”
Ariel slid off the bed, balanced on one foot. “Must run. See you later, kids.”
“So long, Ariel.”
“Good-by, Ariel. Uh . . . thanks.”
Jeff closed the door after she hopped away, came to the bed and said gruffly, “Hold still.”
Then he put his arms around me and kissed me.
Well, I couldn’t stop him, could I? With both arms broken? Besides, it was consonant with the new policy for the firm. I was startled speechless because Jeff never kisses me, except birthday kisses, which don’t count. But I tried to kiss back and show that I appreciated it.
I don’t know what the stuff was they had been giving me but my ears began to ring and I felt dizzy again.
Then he was leaning over me. “Runt,” he said mournfully, “you sure give me a lot of grief.”
“You’re no bargain yourself, flathead,” I answered with dignity.
“I suppose not.” He looked me over sadly. “What are you crying for?”
I didn’t know that I had been. Then I remembered why. “Oh, Jeff—I busted my pretty wings!”
“We’ll get you more. Uh, brace yourself. I’m going to do it again.”
“All right.” He did.
I suppose Hardesty & Hardesty has more rhythm than Jones & Hardesty.
It really sounds better.*
Afterword by Eric Flint
Once we settled on Clarke’s Rescue Party as the opening story for the anthology, the choice for the second story was practically automatic: This one.
Well . . . not quite. The part that was more or less automatic was that it would be some story by Robert Heinlein. The question of which story in particular, however, was something we had to kick back and forth for a while.
We faced a bit of a problem. For all of us as teenagers, the Heinlein was not really the Heinlein who wrote short stories. It was the Heinlein who wrote that seemingly inexhaustible fountain of young adult novels: Rocket Ship Galileo, Citizen of the Galaxy, Have Spacesuit—Will Travel, Tunnel in the Sky, Time for the Stars, The Star Beast, Farmer in the Sky, Space Cadet, The Rolling Stone, Starman Jones . . . the list seemed to go on and on.
If books had infinite pages—or book buyers had infinitely deep pockets—we would have selected one of those short YA novels for the anthology. Alas, pages are finite and the pockets of customers more finite still, so we had to find another alternative.
We chose this story, because of all Heinlein’s short fiction it probably best captures the spirit of his great young adult novels. Most of Heinlein’s short fiction is quite different, often much grimmer, and—speaking for me, at least, if not necessarily Jim or Dave—not something which had much of an impact on me in my so-called formative years.
Plus, there was another bonus. Again, for me at least. I’m sure I first read this story when I was thirteen. I think that because I remember being absolutely fascinated by the fact that: a) the protagonist from whose viewpoint the story is told is a girl; b) she was really bright; c) she was often confused by her own motives and uncertain of herself, for all that she pretended otherwise.
Leaving factor “a” aside, factors “b” and “c” described me at that age to a T. That bizarre age in a boy’s life when girls had gone from being a very familiar, well-understood and mostly boring phenomenon to something that had suddenly become incredibly mysterious, even more fascinating—and completely confusing.
After reading the story, I remember thinking that I really, really hoped Heinlein knew what he was talking about—and that the depiction of women and girls you generally ran across in science fiction of the time was baloney. With few exceptions, in SF of the time, a female character was doing well if she achieved one-dimensionality. And that dimension was invariably good looks. This was no help at all. I already knew girls were good-looking. What I needed to know was everything else—everything that Heinlein had put at the center of his story.
A year later I was fourteen and I had my first girlfriend, who remained so throughout my high school years. And whatever doubts I might have had that Robert A. Heinlein was the Heinlein were dispelled forever.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
In the town square the queue had formed at five in the morning, while cocks were crowing far out in the rimed country and there were no fires. All about, among the ruined buildings, bits of mist had clung at first, but now with the new light of seven o’clock it was beginning to disperse. Down the road, in twos and threes, more people were gathering in for the day of marketing the day of festival.
The small bay stood immediately behind two men who had been talking loudly in the clear air, and all of the sounds they made seemed twice as loud because of the cold. The small boy stamped his feet and blew on his red, chapped hands, and looked up at the soiled gunny-sack clothing of the men, and down the long line of men and women ahead.
‘Here, boy, what’re you doing out so early?’ said the man behind him.
‘Got my place in line, I have,’ said the boy.
‘Whyn’t you run off, give your place to someone who appreciates?’
‘Leave the boy alone,’ said the man ahead, suddenly turning.
‘I was joking.’ The man behind put his hand on the boy’s head. The boy shook it away coldly. ‘I just thought it strange, a boy out of bed so early.’
‘This boy’s an appreciator of arts, I’ll have you know,’ said the boy’s defender, a man named Grigsby, ‘What’s your name, lad?’
‘Tom.’
‘Tom here is going to spit clean and true, right, Tom?’
‘I sure am!’
Laughter passed down the line.
A man was selling cracked cups of hot coffee up ahead. Tom looked and saw the little hot fire and the brew bubbling in a rusty pan. It wasn’t really coffee. It was made from some berry that grew on the meadowlands beyond town, and it sold a penny a cup to warm their stomachs; but not many were buying, not many had the wealth.
Tom stared ahead to the place where the line ended, beyond a bombed-out stone wall.
‘They say she _smiles,’ _said the boy.
‘Aye, she does,’ said Grigsby.
‘They say she’s made of oil and canvas.’
‘True. And that’s what makes me think she’s not the original one. The original, now, I’ve heard, was painted on wood a long time ago.’
‘They say she’s four centuries old.’
‘Maybe more. No one knows what year this is, to be sure.’
‘It’s 2061’
‘That’s what they say, boy, yes. Liars. Could be 3,000 or 5,000, for all we know. Things were in a fearful mess there for a while. All we got now is bits and pieces.’
They shuffled along the cold stones of the street.
‘How much longer before we see her?’ asked Tom, uneasily.
‘Just a few more minutes. They got her set up with four brass poles and a velvet rope to keep folks back. Now mind, no rocks, Tom; they don’t allow rocks thrown at her.’
‘Yes, sir.’
The sun rose higher in the heavens, bringing heat which made the men shed their grimy coats and greasy hats.
‘Why’re we all here in line?’ asked Tom, at last. ‘Why’re we all here to spit?’
Grigsby did not glance clown at him, but judged the sun. ‘Well, Tom, there’s lots of reasons.’ He reached absently for a pocket that was long gone, for a cigarette that wasn’t there. Tom had seen the gesture a million times. ‘Tom, it has to do with hate. Hate for everything in the Past. I ask you, Tom, how did we get in such a state, cities all junk, roads like jigsaws from bombs and half the cornfields glowing with radio-activity at night? Ain’t that a lousy stew, I ask you?’
‘Yes, _sir, I guess so.’
‘It’s this way, Tom. You hate whatever it was that got you all knocked down and ruined. That’s human nature. Unthinking, maybe, but human nature anyway.’
‘There’s hardly nobody or nothing we don’t hate,’ said Tom.
‘Right! The whole blooming caboodle of the people in Past who run the world. So here we are on a Thursday morning with our guts plastered to our spines, cold, live in caves and such, don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t nothing except have our festivals, Tom, our festivals.’
And Tom thought of the festivals in the past few years. The year they tore up all the books in the square and burned them and everyone was drunk and laughing. And the festival of science a month ago when they dragged in the last motor-car and picked lots and each lucky man who won was allowed one smash of a sledge-hammer at the car.
‘Do I remember that, Tom? Do I _remember? Why, I got smash the front window, you hear? My God, it made a lovely sound! Crash!’
Tom could hear the glass falling in glittering heaps.
‘And Bill Henderson, he got to bash the engine. Oh, he did a smart job of it, with great efficiency. Wham!’
But the best of all, recalled Grigsby, there was the time they smashed a factory that was still trying to turn out aeroplanes.
‘Lord, did we feel good blowing it up!’ said Grigsby. ‘And then we found that newspaper plant and the munitions depot. and exploded them together. Do you understand, Tom?’
Tom puzzled over it. ‘I guess.’
It was high noon. Now the odors of the ruined city stank on the hot air and things crawled among the tumbled buildings.
‘Won’t it ever come back, mister?’
‘What, civilization? Nobody wants it. Not me!’ ‘I could stand a bit of it,’ said the man behind another . ‘There were a few spots of beauty in it.’
‘Don’t worry your heads,’ shouted Grigsby. ‘There’s no room for that, either.’
‘Ah,’ said the man behind the man. ‘Someone’ll come along some day with imagination and patch it up. Mark my words. someone with a heart.’
‘No,’ said Grigsby.
‘I say yes. Someone with a soul for pretty things. Might give us back a kind of limited sort of civilization, the kind we could live in in peace.’
‘First thing you know there’s war!’
‘But maybe next time it’d be different,’
At last they stood in the main square. A man on horseback was riding from the distance into the town. He had a peace of paper in his hand. In the centre of the square was the roped-off area. Tom, Grigsby, and the others were collecting their spittle and moving forward moving forward prepared and ready, eyes wide. Tom felt his heart beating very strongly and excitedly, and the earth was hot under his bare feet.
‘Here we go, Tom, let fly!’
Four policemen stood at the corners of the roped area, four men with bits of yellow twine on their wrists to show thcir authority over other men. They were there to prevent rocks being hurled.
‘This way,’ said Grigsby at the last moment, ‘everyone. feels he’s had his chance at her, you see, Tom? Go on, now!’
Tom stood before the painting and looked at it for a it for a long time.
‘Tom, spit!’
His mouth was dry.
‘Get on, Tom! Move!’
‘But,’ said Tom, slowly, ‘she’s _beautiful.’
‘Here, I’ll spit for you!’ Grigsby spat and the missile flew in the sunlight. The woman in the portrait smiled serenely, secretly, at Tom, and he looked back at her, his heart beating, a kind of music in his ears. ‘She’s beautiful,’ he said.
The line fell silent. One moment they were berating Tom for not moving forward, now they were turning to the man on horseback.
‘What do they call it, sir?’ asked Tom, quietly.
‘The picture? ‘Mona Lisa’, Tom, I think. Yes, the ‘Mona Lisa’.
‘I have an announcement,’ said the man on horseback. ‘The authorities have decreed that as of high noon today tin portrait in the square is to be given over into the hands of the populace there, so they may participate in the destruction of —‘
Tom hadn’t even time to scream before the crowd bore him, shouting and pummelling about, stampeding toward the portrait. There was a sharp ripping sound. The police ran to escape. The crowd was in full cry, their hands like so man, hungry birds pecking away at the portrait. Tom felt himself thrust almost through the broken thing. Reaching out in blind imitation of the others, he snatched a scrap of oily canvas, yanked, felt the canvas give, then fell, was kicked, sent rolling to the outer rim of the mob. Bloody, his clothing torn, watched old women chew pieces of canvas, men break the frame, kick the ragged cloth, and rip it into confetti.
Only Tom stood apart, silent in the moving square. He looked down at his hand. It clutched the piece of canvas close his chest, hidden.
‘Hey there, Tom!’ cried Grigsby.
Without a word, sobbing, Tom ran. He ran out and the down bomb-pitted road, into a field, across a shallow stream, not looking back, his hand clenched tightly, tucked under his coat.
At sunset he reached the small village and passed on through. By nine o’clock he came to the ruined farm dwelling. Around back, in the part that still remained upright, he heard the sounds of sleeping, the family — his mother, father, and brother. He slipped quickly, silently, through the small door and lay down, panting.
‘Tom?’ called his mother in the dark.
‘Yes.’
‘Where’ve you been?’ snapped his father. ‘I’ll beat you the morning.’
Someone kicked him. His brother, who had been left behind to work their little patch of ground.
‘Go to sleep,’ cried his mother, faintly.
Another kick.
Tom lay getting his breath. All was quiet. His hand was pushed to his chest, tight, tight. He lay for half an hour this way, eyes closed.
Then he felt something, and it was a cold white light. Th moon rose very high and the little square of light crept slowly over Tom’s body. Then, and only then, did his hand relax. Slowly, carefully, listening to those who slept about him, Tom drew his hand forth. He hesitated, sucked in his breath, and then, waiting, opened his hand and uncrumpled the fragment of painted canvas.
All the world was asleep in the moonlight.
And there on his hand was the Smile.
He looked at it in the white illumination from the midnight sky. And he thought, over to himself, quietly, the Smile, the lovely Smile.
An hour later he could still see it, even after he had folded it carefully and hidden it. He shut his eyes and the Smile was there in the darkness. And it was still there, warm and gentle, when he went to sleep and the world was silent and the moon sailed up and then down the cold sky towards morning.
Conclusion
Can you believe that I went to college with people who took classes that offered this story, and they never read it? Seriously. Instead, they studied the Cliff Notes and took the tests to get the grades. They completely bypassed the learning process.
In colleges and universities, many students opt to study the Cliff Notes or Spark Note summaries of the stories. They do so as a quick way to hit the pints that you can be tested on. Unfortunately, once the test is completed, they forget what they crammed for, and while they might have obtained a grade, they learned NOTHING.
Not that they needed to learn. Many of whom were much wealthier than I was. They somehow got into university… somehow. Their parents were rich, or bankers, or had connections. They would run their BMW’s in pot-holes to splash icy water on me as I made my way to study in the Engineering Hall.
I find out about where they are now, by checking the University alumni rosters that are published yearly. Indeed, they are mostly doing well. Either stock brokers, bankers, or have major roles on the board of directors of companies. many obtained these role when they were in their middle 20’s.
Rich Frat boys at the university. Most managed to get into college through bribes or huge donations by their parents. While in school they didn’t need to study because they knew that they would be employed upon graduation for enormous amounts of money.
It’s truly amazing to me. Because I knew these ding-bats in university. They had the intelligence of a potato, and yet they somehow passed their SAT and got into university easily. Then during the entire time while I toiled and studied, they were just partying and having a great old time.
It didn’t seem fair then, and it isn’t fair now.
But you know, these stories of Ray Bradbury take us to places… strange places where our imagination can roam. They take us to places that stretch our emotions and tax our comprehension. To this, I must say to Mr. Bradbury; Thank you.
Because life is the sum total of our experiences. This is the width and the depth of our experiences. Mr. Bradbury has added color to mine. His stores made the air a little bit sweeter, the weather a little bit nicer, and my friends a little bit more important.
Those who have never experienced the stories of Ray Bradbury are denied this pleasure.
Attribution
This story was written by Ray Bradbury, and presented here under Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law. The Smile is a short story written in 1952, a year before Fahrenheit 451, which it shares a few ideas with. This story is set in the post-apocalyptic future (year 2061), where the last “bits and pieces” of civilization are destroyed by humanity itself.
I have found this version of the story on the Ray Bradbury library portal in Russia, and I have copied it here exactly as found. Credit to the wonderful people at the Ray Bradbury Library for posting it where a smuck like myself can read it within China. (Рэй Брэдбери .RU found at http://www.raybradbury.ru ) And, of course, credit to the great master; Ray Bradbury for providing this work of art for our inspiration and pleasure.
Ray Bradbury is one of my personal heroes and his writings greatly influenced me in ways that I am only just now beginning to understand.
I love the way that Ray Bradbury brings advanced concepts to the masses though his very (seemingly) simplistic stories.
Background
“There was this fence where we pressed our faces and felt the wind turn warm and held to the fence and forgot who we were or where we came from but dreamed of who we might be and where we might go…” -R is for Rocket Ray Bradbury
For years I had amassed a well worn, and dusty collection of Ray Bradbury paperbacks that I would pick up and read for pleasure and inspiration. Later, when I left the United States, and moved to China, I had to leave my treasured books behind. Sigh.
A small collection of well worn, well read and well appreciated Ray Bradbury books. My collection looked a little something like this, only I think the books were a little more worn, and a little yellower.
It is very difficult to come across Ray Bradbury books in China. When ever I find one, I certainly snatch it up. Cost is no object when it comes to these masterpieces. At one time, I must have had five books containing this story.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.
This is the full text of the Ray Bradbury story “All Summer In A Day“. If the illustrations and micro-videos are not loading properly please kindly refresh your browser.
ALL SUMMER IN A DAY
By Ray Bradbury
“Ready?”
“Now?”
“Soon.”
“Do the scientists really know? Will it happen today, will it?”
“Look, look; see for yourself!”
The children pressed to each other like so many roses, so many weeds, intermixed, peering out for a look at the hidden sun.
It rained.
It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands.
A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus, and this was the schoolroom of the children of the rocket men and women who had come to a raining world to set up civilization and live out their lives.
“It’s stopping, it’s stopping!”
“Yes, yes!”
Margot stood apart from them, from these children who could never remember a time when there wasn’t rain and rain and rain. They were all nine years old, and if there had been a day, seven years ago, when the sun came out for an hour and showed its face to the stunned world, they could not recall.
Sometimes, at night, she heard them stir, in remembrance, and she knew they were dreaming and remembering gold or a yellow crayon or a coin large enough to buy the world with.
She knew they thought they remembered a warmness, like a blushing in the face, in the body, in the arms and legs and trembling hands.
But then they always awoke to the tatting drum, the endless shaking down of clear bead necklaces upon the roof, the walk, the gardens, the forests, and their dreams were gone.
All day yesterday they had read in class about the sun.
About how like a lemon it was, and how hot.
And they had written small stories or essays or poems about it: I think the sun is a flower; That blooms for just one hour.
That was Margot’s poem, read in a quiet voice in the still classroom while the rain was falling outside.
“Aw, you didn’t write that!” protested one of the boys.
“I did,” said Margot, “I did.”
“William!” said the teacher.
There was no escape. They children were relentless.
But that was yesterday.
Now the rain was slackening, and the children were crushed in the great thick windows.
“Where’s teacher?”
“She’ll be back.”
“She’d better hurry; we’ll miss it!”
They turned on themselves, like a feverish wheel, all tumbling spokes.
Margot stoodalone.
She was a very frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain for years and the rain had washed out the blue from her eyes and the red from her mouth and the yellow from her hair. She was an old photograph dusted from an album, whitened away, and if she spoke at all her voice would be a ghost.
Now she stood, separate, staring at the rain and the loud wet world beyond the huge glass.
“What’re you looking at?” said William.
Margot said nothing.
“Speak when you’re spoken to.”
He gave her a shove.
But she did not move; rather she let herself be moved only by him and nothing else. They edged away from her, they would not look at her. She felt them go away. And this was because she would play no games with them in the echoing tunnels of the underground city.
They bullied her. They were relentless in picking on her. She had no where to go and no defense.
If they tagged her and ran, she stood blinking after them and did not follow. When the class sang songs about happiness and life and games her lips barely moved. Only when they sang about the sun and the summer did her lips move as she watched the drenched windows. And then, of course, the biggest crime of all was that she had come here only five years ago from Earth, and she remembered the sun and the way the sun was and the sky was when she was four in Ohio. And they, they had been on Venus all their lives, and they had been only two years old when last the sun came out and had long since forgotten the color and heat of it and the way it really was.
But Margot remembered.
“It’s like a penny,” she said once, eyes closed. “No it’s not!” the children cried.
“It’s like a fire,” she said, “in the stove.”
“You’re lying, you don’t remember!” cried the children.
But she remembered and stood quietly apart from all of them and watched the patterning windows. And once, a month ago, she had refused to shower in the school shower rooms, had clutched her hands to her ears and over her head, screaming the water mustn’t touch her head.
So after that, dimly, dimly; she sensed it, she was different and they knew her difference and kept away.
There was talk that her father and mother were taking her back to Earth next year; it seemed vital to her that they do so, though it would mean the loss of thousands of dollars to her family.
And so, the children hated her for all these reasons of big and little consequence.
The children picked on her remorsefully without letting up.
They hated her pale snow face, her waiting silence, her thinness, and her possible future.
“Get away!” The boy gave her another push.
“What’re you waiting for?”
Then, for the first time, she turned and looked at him. And what she was waiting for was in her eyes.
“Well, don’t wait around here!” cried the boy savagely:
“You won’t see nothing!” Her lips moved.
“Nothing!” he cried. “It was all a joke, wasn’t it?”
He turned to the other children.
“Nothing’s happening today: Is it?” They all blinked at him and then, understanding, laughed and shook their heads.
“Nothing, nothing!”
“Oh, but,” Margot whispered, her eyes helpless.
“But this is the day, the scientists predict, they say, they know, the sun. . .”
Young girl being bullied at School
“All a joke!” said the boy, and seized her roughly.
“Hey, everyone, let’s put her in a closet before teacher comes!”
“No,” said Margot, falling back.
They surged about her, caught her up and bore her, protesting, and then pleading, and then crying, back into a tunnel, a room, a closet, where they slammed and locked the door.
They dragged her into a closet out of the classroom.
They stood looking at the door and saw it tremble from her beating and throwing herself against it.
They heard her muffled cries.
She pounded and threw herself onto the door.
Then, smiling, they turned and went out and back down the tunnel, just as the teacher arrived.
“Ready, children?” She glanced at her watch.
“Yes!” said everyone.
“Are we all here?”
“Yes!”
The rain slackened still more.
They crowded to the huge door.
The rain stopped.
The rain stopped.
It was as if, in the midst of a film, concerning an avalanche, a tornado, a hurricane, a volcanic eruption, something had, first, gone wrong with the sound apparatus, thus muffling and finally cutting off all noise, all of the blasts and repercussions and thunders, and then, second, ripped the film from the projector and inserted in its place a peaceful tropical slide which did not move or tremor.
The world ground to a standstill.
The silence was so immense and unbelievable that you felt your ears had been stuffed or you had lost your hearing altogether.
The children put their hands to their ears.
They stood apart.
The door slid back and the smell of the silent, waiting world came in to them.
The sun came out. It was the color of flaming bronze and it was very large. And the sky around it was a blazing blue tile color. And the jungle burned with sunlight as the children, released from their spell, rushed out, yelling, into the springtime.
“Now, don’t go too far,” called the teacher after them.
“You’ve only two hours, you know. You wouldn’t want to get caught out!”
But they were running and turning their faces up to the sky and feeling the sun on their cheeks like a warm iron; they were taking off their jackets and letting the sun burn their arms.
“Oh, it’s better than the sunlamps, isn’t it?”
“Much, much better!”
They stopped running and stood in the great jungle that covered Venus, that grew and never stopped growing, tumultuously, even as you watched it.
It was a nest of octopi, clustering up great arms of flesh-like weed, wavering, flowering this brief spring.
It was the color of rubber and ash, this jungle, from the many years without sun.
It was the color of stones and white cheeses and ink, and it was the color of the moon.
The children lay out, laughing, on the jungle mattress, and heard it sigh and squeak under them, resilient and alive. They ran among the trees, they slipped and fell, they pushed each other, they played hide-and-seek and tag, but most of all they squinted at the sun until the tears ran down their faces, they put their hands up to that yellowness and that amazing blueness and they breathed of the fresh, fresh air and listened and listened to the silence which suspended them in a blessed sea of no sound and no motion.
They looked at everything and savored everything.
Then, wildly, like animals escaped from their caves, they ran and ran in shouting circles. They ran for an hour and did not stop running. And then
In the midst of their running one of the girls wailed.
Everyone stopped. The girl, standing in the open, held out her hand.
“Oh, look, look,” she said trembling.
They came slowly to look at her opened palm.
She felt a drop of rain on her open palm.
In the center of it, cupped and huge, was a single raindrop.
She began to cry; looking at it.
They glanced quietly at the sky. “Oh.Oh.”
A few cold drops fell on their noses and their cheeks and their mouths.
The sun faded behind a stir of mist. A wind blew cool around them.
They turned and started to walk back toward the underground house, their hands at their sides, their smiles vanishing away.
A boom of thunder startled them and like leaves before a new hurricane, they tumbled upon each other and ran.
Lightning struck ten miles away, five miles away, a mile, a half mile.
The sky darkened into midnight in a flash.
They stood in the doorway of the underground for a moment until it was raining hard.
Then they closed the door and heard the gigantic sound of the rain falling in tons and avalanches, everywhere and forever.
“Will it be seven more years?”
“Yes. Seven.”
Then one of them gave a little cry, “Margot!”
“What?”
“She’s still in the closet where we locked her.”
When you are alone, the rest of the children can do just terrible things to you.
“Margot.”
They stood as if someone had driven them, like so many stakes, into the floor.
They looked at each other and then looked away: They glanced out at the world that was raining now and raining and raining steadily.
They could not meet each other’s glances.
Their faces were solemn and pale.
They looked at their hands and feet, their faces down.
“Margot.” One of the girls said, “Well. . . ?”
No one moved.
“Go on,” whispered the girl.
They walked down the empty school hallway.
They walked slowly down the hall in the sound of cold rain.
They turned through the doorway to the room in the sound of the storm and thunder, lightning on their faces, blue and terrible. They walked over to the closet door slowly and stood by it.
Behind the closet door was only silence.
They unlocked the door, even more slowly, and let Margot out.
Attribution
This story was written by Ray Bradbury, and presented here under Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law. This was first published in the March 1954 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
I have found this version of the story on the Ray Bradbury library portal in Russia, and I have copied it here exactly as found. Credit to the wonderful people at the Ray Bradbury Library for posting it where a smuck like myself can read it within China. (Рэй Брэдбери .RU found at http://www.raybradbury.ru ) And, of course, credit to the great master; Ray Bradbury for providing this work of art for our inspiration and pleasure.
Ray Bradbury is one of my personal heroes and his writings greatly influenced me in ways that I am only just now beginning to understand.
I love the way that Ray Bradbury brings advanced concepts to the masses though his very (seemingly) simplistic stories.
Background
“There was this fence where we pressed our faces and felt the wind turn warm and held to the fence and forgot who we were or where we came from but dreamed of who we might be and where we might go…” -R is for Rocket Ray Bradbury
For years I had amassed a well worn, and dusty collection of Ray Bradbury paperbacks that I would pick up and read for pleasure and inspiration. Later, when I left the United States, and moved to China, I had to leave my treasured books behind. Sigh.
A small collection of well worn, well read and well appreciated Ray Bradbury books. My collection looked a little something like this, only I think the books were a little more worn, and a little yellower.
It is very difficult to come across Ray Bradbury books in China. When ever I find one, I certainly snatch it up. Cost is no object when it comes to these masterpieces. At one time, I must have had five books containing this story.
Posts Regarding Life and Contentment
Here are some
other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might
like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in
America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society
within communist China. As there are some really stark differences
between the two.
More Posts about Life
I have broken
apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions
as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are
reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly
impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal
library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come
and enjoy a read or two as well.
This is a pretty basic post. It covers a selection of micro-videos that I have collected involving Chinese weapons systems and their use and application. These are pretty short videos. If you want to obtain a more comprehensive study of these weapons systems perhaps you should go to Janes and check out the “official” published data.
You-tube has some videos along these lines of course. Although, it’s limited pickin’s. As such, if you don’t like what is provided herein you can go out to You-tube and see what they have to offer. It will be a little different from what you will see here. Sort of like the difference between McDonald’s and a Howard Johnson’s Automat. Heh heh.
The videos herein are a mixture of official Chinese Navy / military promotional videos, and personal videos created by military enthusiasts in China. It’s the same as the USA. There are also American video productions, as well as videos made by military enthusiasts. Of course, being of a military nature, you will have the obligatory martial music in the background. It goes with the territory, don’t ya know.
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
With all that being stated, let’s start with the primary role that the Chinese Navy is involved in…
Convoy Escort Duties
This is understandable. Someone needs to make sure all the cargo ships leave China and arrive in the United States, safe and sound and unmolested. Someone has to do it. Or did you actually believe that the “high seas” are safe and free and don’t need to be patrolled?
The United States doesn’t have the manpower, the time, or the resources to be everywhere.
With the United States busy fighting seven (x7) nations all over the world simultaneously, there just isn’t any resources left for America to combat international piracy on the high seas. So, the “wise ones” in Washington DC have decided that it would be best to be the world’s policeman, and leave the sea patrol duties to others.
The United States government has decided to abrogate this role to other nations.
America’s military is stretched pretty thin, being the world’s policeman, and all that. Like spreading (progressive) “democracy” to rural villages in the hinterlands, and other “important” duties. In fact, from what I gather the Neocons and Neolibs are fixing to get us all into another war. So, we’ve got to set some stuff aside for that “next big thing”.
Venezuela is gonna be the next big thud. You just wait and see.
By the way, can anyone tell me how the war in Yemen improves their lives? I'd really like to know. Heck we are only there because of Saudi Arabia. What have they done for you personally...?
Anyways, back to China.
China is the world’s producer. More than half of all international cargo leaves the ports of China and travels all over the world. With sizable shipments off to Japan, Russia, Europe and even the United States. In fact, the USA remains one of the top export destinations out of China. With a solid 11% of the exports out of China going to the United States. I guess would wouldn’t be able to tell by going to Wal-Mart, eh? </sarcasm>
That’s a lot of cheddar.
The ships that leave China are enormous vessels. Truly, and they are magnificent machines.
Shipping container load moving out of the port at Shenzhen bound for Europe. Container ships are enormous and carry everything from rubber duckies to iphones, and televisions.
But, you know, these ships are often subject to hostile piracy on the high-seas.
The most notable areas are the international waters around Muslim nations. (Hey! It’s true. The piracy around the Philippines are all around the Muslim dominant islands, like the Palawan.) Not to mention, the Gulf, and the coasts of Africa. There, for decades, pirates have seized container ships and held the ships and crew for millions of dollars in ransom.
Millions and millions of dollars. All for a mere few hours of work.
This was a major problem as many shipping companies elected to have their crews on board these ships unarmed. A mystery to me, of course, but there you have it. It’s due to the compassion of the owners, I guess. This should not be a surprise to any one. Especially after Hollywood made a movie about it, and the (very) rare instances where the American Navy got involved.
What happens is that pirates come alongside the ships. They try to board the vessels from multiple entry points simultaneously. Then, once they get on board, they run up to the bridge, and seize the vessel.
Muslim piracy in international waters along shipping routes from China is a major problem. Often they demand millions in dollars in compensation. Often the ransoms are paid, and the costs incurred are passed on to the customers for the products shipped.
Captain Richard Phillips, who was taken hostage by pirates during the 2009 hijacking of the MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in 200 years. The film is based on Phillips’sbook, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS and Dangerous Days at Sea.
Piracy on the high seas. Pirates take over the bridge of a bulk carrier and force the Captain at gun point to obey their demands for FREE STUFF.
Piracy has always been an issue in the South China sea. (As well as other locations.) It goes back centuries with piracy a well-known and dangerous activity.
In the 1980’s it was noticed that huge numbers of unarmed freighters, bulk carriers, and other specialized multi-million dollar vessels loaded with hundred of millions of dollars of cargo was traveling forth from China to the rest of the world.
Pirates that are based in the Philippines that target cargo vessels int he South China Sea. These pirates take advantage of high speed boats, and use the moneys that they obtain from the ransom efforts to purchase weapons and ammo to fund their Muslim expansion efforts.
The pirates heard cash registers dinging, and had visions of mountains of bundles of one hundred-dollar-bills. They knew that the time was right to start taking advantage of the situation. They knew they could get away with it. No one has come after them seriously for many, many decades.
Bandits, and pirates started to ramp up their efforts to take advantage of this situation. They began to hijack these vessels.
Actual photo of pirates attacking an Indian cargo vessel. Since most vessels are unarmed, they are easy prey for aggressive bandits and pirates.
Of course, as the hijackings started to increase in intensity, there were some reactions. Indeed. Politicians did what politicians do. There was a number of international summits, and “blue ribbon” teams set up to “study the issue”, yet the hijackings continued. Each time getting bolder and bolder.
The progressive liberal nations in Europe, such as Sweden and Germany, discussed reasoning with the pirates. They suggested such society friendly solutions as dropping leaflets on the pirate strongholds. They suggested training the ship crews in personal defense, such as non-lethal martial arts. They discussed taking turns patrolling the sea lanes.
Pirates attack cargo vessel in the South China Sea and for decades operated unopposed. The vessels were often unarmed, and the money was free for the taking.
Well, they really couldn’t agree on anything.
Australia, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia were asked to patrol the sea lanes. And for a brief period of time, they did so, and the number of instances of piracy decreased. However, budget constraints forced the nations to restrict their activities, and these restrictions opened up “loopholes” that the pirates took advantage of.
While all there “high level” discussions were under-weigh, the hijackings continued unabated. As in all instances of this degree of severity, money talked. Companies started to question whether or not it was worth the cost to manufacture in China with the risk of piracy.
Pirates of the South China Sea. These pirates prey on the large cargo ships that leave China and make their way to the rest of the globe.
Thus, China started to get involved in fighting piracy on the South China Sea.
Under increasing international pressure, China started to set up bases and way points to “anchor” the zones of operation from which the Chinese Navy would operate within. Using these points they were able to provide maritime rescue and patrol operations at a level that we were previously unable to provide.
They also beefed up their Naval presence in the region.
Pirates on the South China sea that operate between the Philippines and Indonesia. There, in the sea are all sorts of smaller islands where pirates can hide and go forth and attack.
About five years ago the piracy dropped off quite suddenly. And while you won’t read about what happened in the Wall Street Journal, or the Washington Post (they are too busy worrying about how many scoops of ice cream that Donald Trump gets to eat), the fact is that the primary reason for the reduction in piracy is the Chinese policy of monitoring the shipping lanes and sinking any pirates that are a threat.
Often, the ships travel in Chinese-protected convoys…
So, that’s pretty much the reason for all the Naval activity in the South China Sea. China is the world’s producer of products, and the vast bulk of the products travel by sea, through the South China Sea to their destinations.
Shipping lanes outbound from Southern China. It should be obvious that the highest incidences of piracy originate out of the Muslim strongholds of Western Philippines, and the Muslim dominant Indonesia. To a lesser extent is the piracy from the Muslim dominant Malaysia region.
For comparison purposes, it would be nice to show some videos or photos of the United States Navy protecting the sea lanes, and blowing pirate ships out of the water, but I have been unable to find any. America is too caught up in maintaining a progressive liberal world order.
Modern American military is preoccupied in various social causes, and that percolates down to the training and readiness of the soldiers.
Maybe these articles might shed some light on to this matter…
But why is the once proud United States unable to perform simple… simple convoy and patrol duties? Why, in goodness name?
Social justice and other liberal progressive ideologies have invaded, polluted and corrupted the most stable of American institutions. To pretend that it has not occurred is to bury your head in the sand. America has been corrupted by the liberal progressive ideology, and that is an ideology of failure, loss and blame. How can you possibly battle alongside someone who blames others and other things for their misfortune, even if it is imagined?
The focus of our military has shifted from victory to satisfying the whims of politicians. Here’s a troubling thought – if you go to one of the service branches’ War Colleges and poll the faculty and students about America’s greatest strategic threat, as many as 50% of the respondents will tell you it is “climate change.” That’s not an exaggeration. Our military is supposed to be dealing with the Chinese military and its brain trust is obsessing about the weather in 100 years.
Of course, for fairness, we can provide a MSN, CNN, WaPo or FOX narrative. That’s the simple narrative. It provides cover for the Neocons and Neolibs to justify yet another war, and to justify send billions of dollars to Taiwan for their “defense”. LOL.
“China is “saber rattling” and has global ambitions to invade Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Their shipping convoys, their bases on the various atolls, and their aircraft carrier is only to further their desire to engage in world-wide nuclear conflagration so that they can spread Communism around the globe. They need to do it, because soon they will run out of dogs to eat, and all the males will need to find girlfriends somewhere…”
And here’s a map, right from the mainstream American media showing where these “disputed islands” are. Yeah. Right smack dab in the fucking middle of Pirate Central.
The mainstream American (and UK) media likes to make a big deal about service bases of operations for anti-piracy patrols. Only they don’t call it that. They say “China is laying claim to the region”, what fucking nonsense. All they are doing is setting up staging areas to better prevent piracy.
Yeah. It’s a pretty silly narrative. You’ve got to admit.
Pirates loading up and getting ready to harvest another “ripe for the taking” cargo ship. Location , what do ya know, the Spratly islands. Photo obviously taken before the Chinese started to originate patrols from that region.
Hey! But don’t believe me. Here’s some further links on the subject;
Ah, I think that I bet this horse to death. Moving on…
Aerial Refueling using a drogue
Here is a short video showing some Chinese aviation. I love the “Top Gun” feel about it. Naval Aviators all over the world are hard core. Best of the best boys. Enjoy.
Naval close air defense
So, you’ve got this American engineer. He’s been designing Naval Weapons systems for 30 years. Suddenly he gets laid off (on a Friday) and has no severance. No pension, but the company agrees to allow him to collect food stamps if he signs an NDA.
He has a family. He is living paycheck to paycheck. He was not planning to lose his job. It came right out of the blue. He has had years of excellent performance reviews. So what is he going to do? In shock, and surprise, he is told that he must leave.
Efficiency experts sorting out who to fire and who to retain.
So he does.
The NDA is a legal American document. Which means that for five years he cannot work for an American competitor.
So, what’s he going to do? Work at McDonald’s? Be at barrister at Starbucks at 50 years old? Go back to school to get reeducated? What can he do?
Iconic scene from the television series “Better call Saul”, where an accomplished attorney, and someone who has all kinds of amazing experiences ends up working in a fast food restaurant in the middle of “nowhere”.
So what is a weapons scientist going to do? Is he going to bag groceries, end up divorced, and kill himself like the thousands of NASA scientists did when Nixon killed the Apollo Moon exploration program?
What are his options?
What are your options when your career has been dead-ended by a layoff, and for the last 30 years all you knew how to do was engineering? What then? What do you do when the NDA forbids you to work in your field? Flip burgers and bag groceries are often the only avenues available to you.
Well, many – not all mind you, but many go overseas. The world is hungry for American scientists, American engineers, and American talent. No. We are not talking about an MBA or a “bean counter”. We are not talking about machine operators or punch machinists. We are not talking about a line supervisor, or quality management. We are talking about design and systems engineers with multiple advanced science degrees and years upon years of experience. Both in the theoretical and the actual “hands on” regimes.
We are talking about the guys that invent, the guys that roll up their sleeves, and pick up the wrenches and screwdrivers. We are talking about the CAD geniuses that are equally adept in the test labs as they are filling out reports for their superiors.
We are talking about the engineers that are considered to be disposable by the MBA-lead company leadership.
The kind of guy that Keannu Reeves played in the mid-1990’s movie “Chain Reaction” actually do exist. They typically sit in boring grey cubicles and get a average middle-class paycheck. But they do exist, and when laid off, they need to find work.
Many of the weapons systems that you see deployed around the world were developed in part of whole by American engineers. This is most certainly true with China. For while America was downsizing during the Clinton Presidency (anyone remember the “peace dividend“?) the laid off scientists and engineers were being rehired elsewhere.
Elsewhere. Where do you think they went?
American scientist in China. Since America turned progressive liberal, the incidences of layoffs, and firings without consideration to the lives of the workers increased exponentially. It’s no coincidence that the first wave of corporate layoffs fell under the watch of Jimmy Carter, and the whole-scale acceptance of it fell under Bill Clinton. Obama streamlined the process and made it a staple in American life. Layoffs and firings are rare under traditional conservative leadership and culture.
So when I read that Chinese weapons systems are substandard because “America has the best”, I have to laugh. They are the same.
The are the SAME.
Horse betrayal.
American weapons systems are designed by Americans and manufactured with Chinese components. And now, you know the secret. So are Chinese weapons systems. Chinese weapons systems are designed by Americans and manufactured with Chinese components also.
It’s not just that some engineers prefer to work in their fields in a foreign land over living off welfare, or manual labor at a construction site. The entire nation of America is up for sale. Anyone with half a brain can see how the Clinton’s packaged and sold the USA for mere a fraction of it’s worth.
As such, foreign companies, not just China just simply buy up American companies for raw hard cash. Then they own the engineers, the design teams, the patents, the blueprints, the test fixtures, and the knowledge inside the skulls of the scientists there.
It’s not theft of American technology, when you actually own the company. Now is it?
Here’s some great footage…
China has 202 of the world’s 500 most powerful supercomputers — 60 more systems than in the United States. The largest radio telescope ever built — a massive, 500-meter, $180 million dish called the Aperture Spherical Telescope that hunts for distant black holes — is in the southern province of Guizhou, where its construction required 9,000 Chinese residents to relocate.
President Trump has directed NASA to return astronauts to the moon. But the moon may be crowded when they arrive: Both China and India are planning to launch landers toward the moon this year. China is collaborating with the European Space Agency on a potential moon base.
Last year, Chinese scientists produced “entangled photons,” light particles linked together on a quantum physics level, aboard a satellite in orbit 300 miles up. The particles were beamed to locations on Earth 750 miles apart and remained linked — which could potentially be a step toward a new form of instant and secure communication.
Also last year, biologists in China became the first to successfully clone a monkey using the technique that created Dolly the sheep. Genetically identical primates, their creators said, would speed medical research because the effects of any drug being tested could be traced to the treatment, not differences in genes.
Chinese leaders recently unveiled plans to become the world leader in artificial intelligence, aiming to turn the field into a $150 billion industry by 2030. Already, China’s artificial intelligence boom has led to advanced facial recognition. At a KFC restaurant in the eastern city of Hangzhou, for example, customers can now pay for their fried chicken using a machine that scans their faces. Baidu, China’s search-engine giant, plans to partner with an airport to roll out facial recognition for airline passengers this year.
Check out this video. I’ve always loved carrier landings. As long as you hit the third wire, all is good. There’s some great footage of night landings. These ops are tricky as all get out, I’ll tell you what. Yes, it looks easy. It’s not.
The footage involves air superiority, no shake n’ bakes that I can tell. In fact, I haven’t found any footage of large ordnance load-outs. But, when I do, I’ll post em.
A Compilation of Ordnance Utilization
Just some “old fashioned” saturation fire with rockets. I think that this is 1950’s technology. Good to impress, but not really ideal for surgical operations and procedures.
During the Gulf War, our A-10’s chewed up these launchers in no time flat. They didn’t have much of a chance with the United States had full control of the airspace. They were simple sitting ducks. Oh, they made some nice explosions when targeted, but that’s about it.
An Iraqi BM-21a 122mm multiple rocket system destroyed in the Euphrates River Valley during Operation Desert Storm.
Though, knowing what I do know about the Chinese, they would use them for other purposes than what they were designed for, and what everyone assumes on how they will be used. Eh?
Maybe as a snare…?
Chances are that the Chinese will not choose to fight our strengths. In fact, those chances total approximately 100%.
It’s called “asymmetrical warfare” in English. What it’s called in Chinese I have no idea, but Sun Tzu wrote about it. Don’t fight the enemy’s strength; fight his weakness. Strike where he is not. Spread confusion about your intentions; force him to lash out.
It’s all there in The Art of War; it’s just not clear anyone forming our current American military strategy has read it. Maybe they would if we labeled it “Third World” literature and said checking it out would check a diversity box for promotion.
Here are the weapons systems that will deliver tactical nukes and the “neutron bomb” technology that China has. And, no, they are not afraid to use it. The Chinese military philosophy is based on Sun Tzu’s teachings.
Or in other words, avoid war at all costs. Use every method at your disposal to achieve your goals. If they all fail, then you must engage in war. But, if you do need to engage in warfare then, DO NOT HOLD BACK and use everything at your disposal.
Someone had best shake those Neocons and Neolibs and tell them not to poke the panda.
A Neutron Bomb is a “clean” nuclear weapon. It only kills people and animals. It leaves the buildings, and infrastructure intact. It is the preferred “green solution” to nuclear engagement.
China is a nation that is tired… tired… TIRED of war. They are not the United States where there all all kinds of wars left and right, but the citizens are protected and kept immune. No. Instead, China has had a front-row seat at war for many, many years.
They have no desire to engage in war if they can help it. Which is way this “saber rattling” mainstream media narrative is so ridiculous. The last war that they were involved in was in the middle 1970’s against Vietnam. Since then, the USA was involved in multiple wars every single year. More wars than I can count.
Can you, dear reader, name all the wars that the United States has fought since 1975?
You must understand that China is not handicapped by [1] an adversarial political party or [2] armies of paid protestors, and [3] a contrary main-stream media. The government enjoys nearly universal support from the population, and has no qualms about using nuclear weapons in the event that it is required.
This is not a surprise. We play wargames against the Chinese all the time, and we lose.
Oh, yes, aside from a handful of dissidents, most Chinese people are traditional, conservative, and fiercely nationalistic. Anyone who thinks otherwise has been smoking too much of that wacky weed, and drinking too much electric cool-aid.
State of the Art Bang-Bang
Here’s a nice video of one of the larger bore sniper rifles in use by the PLA. Ah, wouldn’t ya just love to play with this baby a bit? I certainly would, I’ll tell you what. It’s a wonderful monster.
Convoy Operations – Closure
Here, I want to present another video showing and depicting the convoy operations that the Chinese navy is pretty much involved in. For all the Western media attention on the occupation of various reefs and tiny islands around the Chinese mainland, they sure as heck leave out the context WHY.
(They also leave out the 700+ American military bases, and our militarization of reefs in international waters. Hey does Diego Garcia ring a bell, eh?)
If China wasn’t a global producer of products, they wouldn’t need to protect the shipping lanes. But they are, and so they do. It’s the same as when America was the global leader and America needed to fight off the Barbary Pirates. Different times, different nations, same situation.
Anyways…
China is a Global Power
China is a global power. There are many who are in denial about this, still clinging onto seriously out of date assumptions on everything about China. From their political structure, to their culture, to their intentions, to their society. This ignorance is dangerous.
This ignorance got the Untied States involved in 7 wars that WE ARE STILL FIGHTING. This ignorance got us paying billions of dollars to a NATO complex for a mission that is 50 years out of date. This ignorance is why the Untied States hasn’t any bullet trains, and why Americans are not on the Moon. Ignorance.
Our failure to treasure our conservative and traditional roots, and instead have allowed the crime and corruption of the progressive liberal lifestyle is precisely why America does not have bullet trains. It is why American pay so much in taxes and get so few back in return.
No one likes to be told that they have been lied to, misinformed, or manipulated. But it’s a fact Jack, or do you still believe that Donald Trump is a Russian spy? Do you still think that the media is accurately reporting on how he eats ice cream? Do you think that the mainstream media has your best interests at heart, or consider you simple farm animals to feed every now and again? Eh?
Americans complaining about their Rights, as viewed by the progressive liberal elite in the urban centers. Intentionally omitted was the Starbucks coffee, the vegan toast, and the Wifi connection to Facebook and Google.
China is a global power and they have a global reach. One of the elements of this is their ability to travel anywhere in the globe and seize people from their safe-havens in Malaysia, New Zealand, the USA, the EU, Iceland, and Argentina.
Treaties have been created to permit the Chinese government to do exactly that. In fact, the United States is one such signer of this agreement. (Um, if you don’t like it, don’t get in my grill. You need to talk to the architect of all that globalism nonsense Mr. Bush and his enabler, Mr. Obama.)
The Chinese do NOT mess around. Look what they did with the missing Interpol chief, Meng Hongwei. Chinese authorities had admitted they were holding Meng under investigation by a new government anti-corruption unit for suspected “violations of the law”.
There is no where to hide. Even the vaulted United States will stand aside while the Chinese come and get a listed Chinese enemy. In fact, in the United States, federal agencies will even assist in the effort. See that guy on the left wearing the sunglasses. The Chinese never act alone. They always get assistance.
Or consider what has happened to the most famous actress in China, Bing Bing, when she was residing in Europe (by some accounts) and China wanted her to pay back taxes. Why, they went and seized her. They dragged her back to China, and threw her in prison until she paid. Read about it HERE.
Suspects involved in telecom fraud walk off a plane after being repatriated from overseas, at an airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2015. China Daily/File Photo via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINAThere is no where to hide if you mess around with the Chinese. They will find you. They will get you (legal or not), and they will bring you to China for swift justice. These folk thought that they were safe in the EU. It doesn’t matter, you cannot hide from the Chinese.
If you want to mess with China, you best realize that they will come after you. They do not mess around. They are a serious, serious nation run by meritocracy. The rulers got there through hard work, not by political appointment and diversity scoring.
You cannot compare them to anything that we Americans are accustomed to. They are a different creature entirely.
Conclusion
Many people find offense in what I have to present. They find it irritating and disgusting. This is simply because it does not fit into the steady carefully crafted narrative that their entire world-view is based upon.
Yes, I know it’s hard. The discovery that Santa Claus is a lie is shocking to a five-year old. The discovery that boys have different ways of looking at girls is shocking to a 16 year old girl. The idea that you have to pay a significant portion of your paycheck in taxes is shocking to a young adult. The idea that the media of both sides of the political spectrum lies is shocking to all adults. Especially ones that believe that they understand how the world works.
Main-stream American / UK Narrative on China
China is a full-on Communist nation.
China is backward with rural folk flooding into the cities.
China’s manufacturing is sub-par and crude.
China violates “human rights” and has social grading.
China has stolen, copied and abused to get where they are today.
China is a threat, only due to their huge population.
China isn’t full of hard, intelligent workers, it is a nation full of liars and swindlers.
China has changed and evolved rapidly in the last forty years. It is foolish to think that this is not the case, or that they did so in isolation. Their evolution has impacted the world, and it will continue to do so.
It is dangerously foolish to make assumptions. Especially assumptions on a nuclear power with leadership that got there through merit.
Make no mistake. China is a serious nation that does not play around. In their mind, the global stakes are far too serious, to handle lightly. They intend to give their best in the global arena, and they play to win. They view the rest of the world as a friendly-danger and that they must be ever vigilant. They cannot risk failure for it would be catastrophic.
They have seen what happened to the United States, and they do not want that ever to happen to China. They are ready to make sure that the crime, and decay of intense internal corruption will not sully the traditions, and cultural values of China.
A final word
I just have one last thing to say.
Americans today are waking up to the fact that the media lies to us. It is obvious to everyone after the 90% negative coverage of Donald J. Trump since 2016. This has caused liberals to be more circumspect about their news-reading habits, and has resulted in conservatives, saying “I told you so” to their liberal friends.
But, that point that I want to make is this. And, please please listen carefully.
All of the media lies.
All and every single one of them does. And yes, that includes the media outlets that you agree with. These include the outlets that you follow that are not liberal or progressive. Like FOX news for instance. All media lies to you. All of them do.
Do not believe anything that they say. Just don’t.
Americans are the most manipulated, lied to, farmed, subjugated, regulated, observed and taxed people in history. Wake the fuck up! Won’t ya!
Americans have been fed lies after lies and half-truths. This is true with both liberal and conservative news outlets. You must be care in what you read and what you take to heart. It is all designed to manipulate you.
The American dream has morphed into the American grift. And we normal people are the marks.
Let’s stop pretending. Let’s stop accepting the ruling class’s lies. And let’s stop lying to ourselves. America has changed. There used to be one standard, one set of laws, one set of rules. Now, there are two.
The one set of rules for normal people is designed to jam us up, to keep us down, to ensure that the power of the powerful never gets challenged. And the one set of rules for the elite can be summed up like this: There are no rules.
This is the
real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British
tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This
is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a
series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It
is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I
am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series
of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and
enjoyment.
Here is a continuation of a dialog with an influencer. Provided for your interest and consideration.
The discussion continues…
Conversely, they COULD have killed you instead of just driving you into defacto exile. From the government’s perspective, I’d hate to be the bureaucrat on-the-hook if you were to ran amok with your implants and all. It certainly is a shitty life sentence you ended up with but I definitely feel your pain! If your story is true (I think it is), I’d like offer my support in gratitude of your service to country. Besides, maybe your benefactors would look well upon my friendship towards you 😉
About my retirement. I haven’t written about this, at least nothing that I published. But they DID try to do something other than exile. It’s a story that needs to be said, but I have a very difficult time grappling with it. So, I just think that now is not the time to mention it. It would only “muddy the waters”.
Looking back, I should be happy that things worked out as they did. Evidence shows that things could have been much worse for me.
During the retirement procedure, there were (other) efforts to terminate my role more effectively. However, the EBP enabled me to side-step those efforts. (Maybe that’s exactly the kind of thing that the folk in Washington were afraid of… Nah. The retirement team had absolutely no idea of what I was involved in.)
As far as I understand it, I was going to be retired no matter what.
This was a fate that I signed up for, even though, I had no idea about it. There wasn’t much that I could do about it, except… I could (through my MAJestic training, sidestep the non-MAJestic operations and) select how the retirement sequence would manifest.
Believe me, I took the easiest and safest route.
And so here I am.
I have a big write-up on the actual retirement procedure in Pine Bluff, AR. How the respective agents were flown in, and the reactivation of the ELF probes while I was tied down in a safe location. It’s a pretty comprehensive narrative, but now is not the time to publish it. It’s all written from my point of view and it is really confusing.
It is very confusing. Sort of like the movie “Naked Lunch”. It’s a very difficult read to follow, as my experiences lay outside my physical experiences as viewed by everyone else.
When we watch movies, we watch it from a third person perspective. But no one could possibly view my experiences with any kind of rational understanding as it was all in a first person perspective. So it is very, very confusing.
Look at this scene below. Can you understand what is going on in it?
Movie still from the movie “Naked Lunch”. It portrays the vision of a world from the eyes of a man addicted to bug poison. It is a difficult movie to understand if you are a third person observer of a first person themed movie.
Anyways, thanks for your heart-felt concern.
I had a very strange and ostensibly missing-time (about 3 hours) dream last Tuesday night, that’s never happened before!
That dream of yours is very interesting to me. It really is.
First of all dreams are many things. Fundamentally, it is just the brain relaxing and the brain memories firing and imagination going off in tangents. That’s just plain old innocuous dreaming. But, if you are in certain states of mind, it can be other things; more critical and active things. For instance, when a loved one passes on, they can come and visit you.
That’s a great example of this.
A most wonderful painting titled the “dream of St. Joseph”. Angels and information can be imparted in our dreams.
An experience we had while we slept.
When I was in my Senior year at Syracuse, I was crashed out with my friends Jay and Peter in their dorm room. One of our friends, Marty, had died suddenly three days earlier. He was playing football. He had a brain aneurysm and died. Now, I knew him, but I wasn’t as close to him as Peter and Jay was. I knew him by his nick-name “Rhino”. What he would do is head-butt everyone he met. So that’s how he made friends.
Anyways, three days after he died, at around 4am, Peter, Jay and myself all woke up simultaneously. It seems that Marty had visited all of us in our sleep. He told us not to worry that he was fine and happy, and he was saying good-bye to us for now. The thing is that we all all immediately woke up simultaneously at the same time and had similar (if not the same) dreams.
We can have communications while we are at rest and our mind relaxes. This happens quite often and everyone has experienced it.
What you can take out of this is that consciousness (of one person) can access the minds, thoughts and memories of others through dreams.
This means of providing information to the brain, directly by consciousness exists. It doesn’t need to be a close friend or loved one that died. It can be through artifice, like my EBP, or through ELF radiation via the ELF probe kits. It can also be through other consciousnesses and other entities that have the necessary permissions to do so.
The “Guardian Angel”.
Everyone, that is every human, has a “guardian angel”. This is an entity that goes by many names; Spiritualists, Angels, Mantids, and the like. There are paintings of these creatures as tall and big beautiful human-shaped creatures with wings.
The artists took a great deal of artistic license in painting the creatures. They painted them as large humans, often male, with wings, handsome and often possessed a halo or other heavenly “signature” around the head.
In all actuality, they are a species that protects our human species. They are invertebrates. They are multi-dimensional. They work for a higher purpose.
Every person has a guardian angel. This is a consciousness that exists as a multi-dimensional being and that assists and guides our consciousness as it travels forth within our individual realities. This is a painting of a guardian angel from 1900.
They and they alone have the necessary permissions to access your consciousness on anything more than a trivial communication level. Loved ones can communicate, but the transmission of more complex forms of data is restricted to those with permissions. When the more intense data-streams are provided, you will be able to recognize it through one or more of the following experiences..
Dead-sleep. No dreams at all. A big blank of zero memories.
Intensively different and vivid dreams, with sounds, colors, and smells.
Dreams about attending schools or educational institutions, etc.
The mechanism for “special dreams”.
This is the mechanism how these “special” dream conditions manifest. It works like this…
Now, when a person is exposed to a new kind of knowledge or experience, the mind and the consciousness comes to grips and tries to understand that information. This will result in different thoughts, and dreams.
Now, these thoughts and dreams can be thought of as a kind of “prayer”. You aren’t trying to ask or pray for anything. But, what is happening is that you have set up a “carrier wave” that your “guardian angel” can notice. They, in turn, adjusts your Earth experience to fit.
This tells me that your path in and out of the various realities; your “time” had been altered and it had a course correction and a new vector. It will direct you to something good, for you on your own personal level.
What it is, I don’t know. What I can tell you is that is a very good sign.
The Progenitors.
Tell me more about the progenitors if you don’t mind?
OK, now about the Progenitors. I know of them, but what I know is rather sparse.
They have “seeded” this section of the galaxy many, many years ago. Maybe one billion years ago.
This means that they have “planted” rudimentary lifeforms adapted to the environment where planted. This meant that they took some kind of basic “primordial biological stew” (a biological template) and mixed it with various promising local native life. Thus, creating a kind of pre-species life that would eventually become some kind of intelligent native species.
When they were involved in this procedure and operation, they had physical bodies, and traveled in vehicles.
I do not know what they looked like. I have no idea about their appearance, size, or biology in any way. For all I know, they could be telepathic cats. I just do not know.
They went all over the galaxy and traveled far and wide. They planted “kits” of biological entities. These kits were merged with local life and created very early life-forms.
Sometimes the life-forms survived and grew. Other times they died off. The progenitors were aware of this, and while they hoped that the life forms would grown, they recognized that they might not take.
This species traveled far and wide in our galaxy, as well as in other galaxies! That I do know.
They were active in seeding the universe, at least in our corner of it. The impression that I have is that they were involved in this activity long AFTER the (initial primary) sentience disruption period, but long before any kind of local galactic government formation.
Here is a three dimensional rendering of our enormous galaxy and the locations of the other nearby galaxies. It is my understanding that the Progenitors were space faring creatures that seeded our galaxy and neighboring galaxies.
They (might have) periodically came back to check and revise their creations. But I don’t know if this ever happened with our Earth.
What I do know is that they transitioned into non-physical multi-dimensional entities at the same time that the Mantids were active and alive on our planet. I believe that the two species were aware of each other, but I do not know if they ever collaborated together, but I do know that the Progenitors sort of “passed on the torch” to the Mantids in regards to human care-taking.
Whatever happened between the Progenitors and the Mantids, the Mantids now have a major role in sentience evolution of humans on the Earth.
This is a more detailed picture of the local group showing more detail and the various structures that lie around us.
There are ruins and some progenitor artifacts laying around in our solar system, but I do not know where they are or what they would look like.
Write a book?
You should write a book, maybe: “Gray Agenda”. You’ve already got the manuscript basically done. The description might be: “A first person account of the intentions the extraterrestrial races have planned for the people of Earth” (or something along those lines).
Writing an allegory about classified events IS legal as long as no one is named or harmed in the process (ie “Sebastian”). Besides, you never signed an NDA plus I believe that you are currently the highest declassification authority within in your compartment, anyway. I’d buy it!
About the Slides.
On the other topic, are there no “black-hat” (bad guys) out there? What about evil, the devil and such things, you must of run into such things in your “slides” to alternate realities?
You never actually discussed how the “slide” occurs and when things look like while in transit (more gray wall)? Would love to hear about that too!
Oh, you have opened up a huge keg of worms. I will respond to this, but where all my other correspondence was extraterrestrial studies 101, this enters in to the realm of “OMG, where do I begin?”. It’s really out there.
If you think that what I have already disclosed is far-out, you have no idea, how far “down the rabbit hole this thing goes”.
I’ll respond better once I gather my thoughts and I will do my best to keep it simple.
Firstly, [A] please take note (and take heart) that I am and have always been, protected by the Mantids. (You can kindly refer to them by the moniker of “Angelics”, if you wish. I like to think of them as Guardian Angels.)
I look at it sort of like this;
You have a five year old that wants to walk all over the place, but has no idea about roads, trucks, ferocious dogs, and bee stings. You want to protect the five year old, but you don’t want to overly coddle it. The child has to learn, don’t ya know.
It’s sort of like that.
There were so many times that I could have ended up in automobile accidents, getting a serious illness, lost a loved one, or had my very being disassembled and parted-out to other entities. Listen, it’s a dangerous world out there, and it is way, way beyond our ability to deal with alone.
We are always watched by our guardian angels. They assist us in steering our realities in such as way as to assist our spiritual growth of consciousness. We are never alone. Never. If you don’t believe me, take a large dosage of MDA. See for yourself. MDA in large doses can temporarily suppress elements that block our view of the “man behind the curtain”.
As much as I would love to chat about this, you [B] also asked about the slides.
Now, that is an encyclopedia in itself. I’ll tell you what. Now, today, I don’t think nothing about it, but it’s actually a complicated process.
Implants, probes, EBP & ELF operation.
The ELF probes monitor the actions and activities for the MAJestic organization present in the reality that I inhabit at that time.
The EBP device is itself, timeless.
The EBP device is not a “stand alone” mechanism. Instead it is a “cog” or an “I/O” device that interfaces with other mechanisms.
These other mechanisms are quire complex, and I know exactly zero about them. However, what I do know is that the next most important element that the EBP interface with is a biological artifice.
Fundamentally, the only way that the EBP can work is when it operates though use of an artifice. This artifice is biological in nature. It it is not enjoined with that artifice, then it cannot work. It is just “dead”.
Now, you might think of the EPB as a computer or a complex electronic mechanism, but that is incorrect. It is a biological computer with a dedicated function. It connects to another biological device; the artifice. It, in turn, is controlled by a extraterrestrial “pilot”.
Stranger and Stranger
If you are a species that can access the MWI at will; the ability to traverse world-lines, then you can secure your operations in places that are safe and secure from others.
As such, this artifice is located on [A.1] another planet, that resides [A.2] within another reality. Think of it as another “world-line”. A species that can move in and out of world-lines has the ability to place critical infrastructure on “safe” and “protected” world-lines.
In other words, it’s really hard for some highly motivated contemporaneous oligarch, like George Soros (for instance), to tinker with operations HQ located on the planet Mars. That is most especially true when the planet Mars, and the HQ is located on a world-line where the Earth did not exist.
So, I m a “Commander” who works in behalf of the arrangements with MAJestic. The operation of the process is controlled via artifice with a controller who I refer to as the “pilot”. The pilot is of the type-I grey species, but the artifice links to the Mantid species “thought highway”.
Of course, my terms are really weird. Simply because there are no terms for this in the English Language.
Generalized overview of the rules and operation of the EBP. The Type-1 grey operates the artifice as the Pilot. The human with the EBP is the Commander.
It gets complicated.
For the longest time, I was under the impression that the type-I greys did not have the ability to recognize world-line slides and what happens. I thought only the Mantids know the entire process and procedure that I am involved in. I was under the impression that only the type-1 greys operate the technology.
Now I am not so sure.
I will talk about this in much more detail. But I feel that I have overwhelmed you in the process. So let’s stop here, for now.
White Hats.
No, I knew about the bit players like the Mantids and the Grays but never knew how they fit into the puzzle, I take it they are the white-hats?Are you familiar with the Tall Whites and Charles Hall’s story?
I don’t know anything about the Charles Hall story. At least, as I recall. I will check it out on the internet and get back with you on it.
I went through the above links. No, I have absolutely zero experience with this species. I have nothing that even resembles any of this. However the writings are quite interesting. It’s not the kind of stuff that an author or hoaxter would come up with. Even though I have zero experience with this species, I DO KNOW that MAJestic has been working with numerous species.
"He explains that the pencil weapon can be used to stimulate calcium atomic frequencies to cause great pain like being burned, but one was not actually burned. When the iodine setting is used by the stun gun it can cause one to bleed to death. He compared this to the black plague when people would bleed to death due to arteries being weakened and blood would leak out causing death. In an email, Charles clarified how the pencil weapon works: “The pencil weapon could be set to stimulate the atomic frequencies of Sodium, Calcium or Iodine. Stimulating the Sodium atoms caused immense pain because it caused the nerves to discharge. If the weapon is set high enough, it can cause instant death. Stimulating the Calcium atoms caused the reverse (i.e. sleep, calmness, relaxation etc ) because it causes the nerves to reset and relax. Stimulating the Iodine atoms, of course, as described in book three, causes death by internal bleeding because it causes chemical changes that allow the blood to pass through the walls of the arteries in and around the thyroid gland.” " -Exopolitics
The “Tall Whites” are NOT the Mantid species.
The type-1 greys are an intermediary that carry on work for and along the purposes of the Mantids.
A typical slide.
Take me through a typical “slide”, does conservation of mass and energy hold in the MWI, sounds like not?
Conservation of mass and energy holds true only within a given reality. Reality slides are movement from one reality to another. The consciousness moves, and when it does it does so in the form of waves, as opposed to particle, form.
Each reality is ψ-epistemic. It is a self-contained reality that runs from nothing to nothing, with all kinds of things going on between those two points. There is a near-infinite number of realities that exist. these realities exist in a universe or baseline structure. This universe is ψ-ontic .
You can move from reality to reality in all sorts of ways.
The most common is (of course) “the arrow of time”. We, and those around us think and process thoughts. All of this constructs the next momentary reality that our consciousness inhabits. It is so ingrained in our mind that we just move about ahead naturally with little in the way of thought consideration. We consider it “natural’. That is, because it actually is natural.
The second way, is “dimensional travel”. You can “jump” through one reality into another. This can get complicated. As you need to know where you are, and where you want to go. You need coordinates in a minimum of 11 dimensions (as far as I understand).
My first slide was through a “dimensional door”, and it was exactly as I described it. You disappear into thin air, and reappear elsewhere. If you are walking through the egress tube, you will pass through something that would appear to be a curtain of water, and when you exit it, you will actually feel wet. Then, it will be as nothing happened.
There are “grades” or techniques of this kind of travel.
Dimensional portal
Manufactured bubble (as in a vehicle)
Manufactured bubble (as in a small handheld device)
7th dimensional entry and egress.
My EBP artifice supported travel.
I have written about all the other kinds. You have the dimensional portal travel the MAJestic uses with the type-1 greys. You have the manufactured bubble travel such as the John Titor saga, and the mysterious woman in the aluminum foil coat. You have the 7th dimensional entry and egress as shown by the mystery woman in the airport, or the bicycle riding man in Russia. And finally, you have EBP directed travel.
Almost all of my experiences is via EBP. So my slides are going to differ from any of the other methods.
The EBP, firstly gives me the ability to see my reality normally, as well as to “sense” other nearby realities. I can, for instance, sense realities that can be harmful to me, and other realities that will be great for me. This gives me a greater degree of control in the overall immediate direction of my life.
These realities are momentary visions. They pop in and out, and jiggle about. They are controlled by thought, and the surrounding physical environment.
As cool as this sounds, I am handicapped in whether or not I can take advantage of any potential reality directions that are presented to me. That is because my ability to travel about these nearby realities can be locked in or out by the EBP artifice. Yes, the “pilot” can make sure that I am steered in the right direction so that the Mantids Type-1 Greysvget the most efficient benefit of my actions and activities.
Which really sucks. You know, you see an “opportunity” and it is right there if only you do XXX or YYY. You can see it plainly.
Yet as soon as you want to do XXX, the EBP locks you out.
Why it sucks to be me.
They have always wanted me to represent “average”. Not “average” college graduate. Not “average” Naval Aviator. Not “average” type-A personality hard worker…. no. They want me to be entirely “average”, from the most slothful lazy jackass to the most aggressive rich oligarch billionaire.
Average.
Which means, and one thing that I really resent, is that they took Sebastian and myself (above average in intelligence, skill sets, and motivations) and put us in a situation where we represented the average person. Which is far lower in intelligence. Far lower in skill set. Far lower in motivations.
This is pretty much how it manifested to me personally. You push and you strive to be the top 1% of the 1% of the 1% (as repeatedly told to us at NAS NASC Pensacola FL). But the role in MAJestic was such that I had to represent the “average” American. That meant that the reality that surrounded me would be locked down and suppressed to be the reality that most Americans would experience. It sucked.
No matter what I would want to do, and no matter that I could clearly see how the realities would open up, I would be locked out of the opportunities in order to maintain my role within MAJestic.
Anyways…
How it worked.
The MAJestic pilot would control the artifice in such a way that the course that I am to follow and the world that I am to experience is mapped out. In a non-MAJestic world, I might have a path that would go A-B-C-D-E-F. But, in MAJestic, my role would be for me to experience reality Z.
So the pilot would map out a path that would be A-B-C1-E2-G5-T8-X-Y-Z.
The adjacent realities that I would experience could sometimes deviate quite substantially from my previous reality. The deviations are immediate and you don’t really know what is going on except what you “feel” and the over all “sensing” of the situation. This is true, even though there are some visual clues that the EBP provides.
Let’s relate an experience that I had years ago, and use it to illustrate how the system worked.
It was back in the early 1990’s, I don’t remember when, but let’s imagine that it was around 1991 or 1992. I was in a roadside restaurant with my wife. It was a local diner, not a chain diner like the Waffle House or anything like that. Just a normal glass walled stainless steel box with a counter and booths along the windows.
The diner looked a little something like this. Photo obtained from the internet, and I haven’t a clue as to who the old man is, so don’t ask. Photo is for illustrative purposes. This event happened long before cell phones, and while I did have a 35mm camera, it was not with me that day, and I did not take pictures to record the events.
A normal person would go in, order from the menu, eat, pay and leave. The process would be pretty predictable and would be along the lines of A-B-C-D-E-F. After a 45 minute span of time, the man would be at reality F.
For me, however, it would be different.
My objective was to occupy reality Z after 45 minutes in the restaurant. To do this, the pilot would send me; the “commander”, along a different reality track. I would “slide” along a different route to my destination. I would go A-B-C1-E2-G5-T8-X-Y-Z.
I entered the diner with my wife normally. Now, you know, I knew that I was dealing with slides immediately. I could feel the differences. I could sense the changes. There would be different smells for starters.
After we looked at the menu, I ordered a hamburger platter with fries and a cup of coffee. My wife ordered some eggs and toast. The restaurant smelled like a normal restaurant, but then I started to notice that it smelled strongly of curry, as well as raisins. It was like you were walking around the booths of an international fair full of exotic foods and flavors of the world. It no longer smelled of hamburger and fries.
It smelled of lamb and curry.
The waitress brought out our dishes and I was eating a curry-gyro with rice, and a tall glass of white wine. My wife, who now had a really dark tan, was busily attacking her tuna-fish salad. As we ate, I started to notice that the normal day started to variate in a substantially different direction. The sky was no longer blue, but it was a glaring white and people were rubbing their eyes. The girls were also trending towards long skirts, and the guys were no longer wearing tee-shirts, but rather plain white button-down white short-sleeve shirts.
By the time my meal was finished, it was back to a half-eaten hamburger, but I was drinking coke instead of wine or the coffee that I ordered. My wife was full from the taco-salad that she had, and her skin was back to being light color. She and I were both wearing tee-shirts again. Though, they were “newer” than I recalled before the dive. She also now was a smoker, while before we went into the restaurant, she did not smoke.
Our car was back to being the same as it was, except that the car was a little wider than it was before, and on the drive home, there were some roads that were missing. I went home and discovered that I had an extra cat in the house, as well as some bills that apparently needed to be paid (yet again). In this 45 minute interlude, I dove to reality Z, via really odd-ball realities to get where I needed to go.
The need to dive into really strange realities has always been a kind of mystery to me, but the real reason is that we can only travel into adjacent realities using the EBP. To use this method, you need to dive into really strange adjacent realities to resurface into a nearby objective reality that would be prohibitively difficult for me to reach otherwise.
More questions.
Very fascinating, did you know before hand there was a slide planned for that day?
No. I never knew. They just happened, and I rode them whether I liked it or not. They came at all hours of the day and at night.
Generally they were not disruptive in any way that was life threatening, but they were discordant. You could be watching a movie, and find out that they movie changed during a slide. For instance, in this reality Roxanne is a comedy about a man with a really big nose. However, when it first came out, the reality that I was in as different. Instead of Steve Martin being the lead actor, it was John Candy.
What were/are the Mantids trying to do, stabilize the overall reality streams? Maybe reduce the probability of war (say)? Increase human awareness or sentience? Move us more towards “Service to others” soul types?
I really don’t know for sure. No one ever told me anything.
What I can sense is that the slides were [1] important. They [2] assisted the Mantids in gauging the direction and situation of the “human condition”. This enabled them [3] to alter trends and reality via the MWI for a portion of the population. (No, the human population does not share similar realities. Instead they play the percentages. Thus, forcing me to ride the “averages”.)
[4] The type-1 grey had a role(s) as a pilot. He followed the direction from the Mantids, and used their abilities and interfaced with the Type-1 grey technology. This required a biological artifice, but how it all worked, I haven’t a clue.
Now, they (the Mantids) did not care if humans suffered. They did not care if humans prospered. They did not care. What they cared about was the general direction of human sentience. Why they would have been pleased if all humans moved towards to “service to others” sentience, they never expected that to ever happen. What they wanted to do was “push” the conditions of the MWI reality shared by many human consciousnesses towards the consciousness that they are most likely to migrate towards.
The type- greys did not care either. What they wanted was to identify those humans that would migrate to the “Service to self” and “service to another” consciousness so that they would then work onto either farming them as an adjunct to their species – a sub-species (farming or being farmed), or being assimilated into their hive or matrix soul configuration.
Some might have this happen quickly, but my understanding is that it might take many reincarnations. The push to ride the slides was a way to monitor the evolutionary process.
So once you were “in” the slides from A-B-C…n, it just kept coming until they were done? That must have been maddening!
Yes it was. Sometimes I was horrible and I really would get frustrated. But, in some way, I do not know how, the pilot was able to predetermine just how far I could be pushed. It would be rather counter-productive to have me kill myself because I thought I was mad.
Imagine that you really want to eat pizza. All day you are looking forward to having pizza. You sit down and eat pizza in a restaurant, only to find out that in the current world-line pizza consists of pizza bread covered in corn and ketchup. Or when you go to work and find out that the project that you have spent the last four months working on had never existed, or discovering that your pretty decent boss was replaced with a jack-ass. Or, buying a new car only to have it revert to a distressed clunker. Or, getting used to paying in 2 and 3 dollar bills and discovering that in the current world-line they never existed.
Or winning the lottery (not a big multi-million dollar payout, but $1000 is big news), and suddenly finding out that you had never bought the ticket in your new world line. Finding out your sister had four children not five. Discovering that you now had different musical tastes on this new world line, or that your wife was suddenly allergic to popcorn (so she wouldn’t ever go to the movies).
In general, the most important aspects of life remained pretty much constant, though their appearance might change. Loved ones, friends, pets all pretty much didn’t change that much outside of appearance.
Your wife might have long black hair, then she might have short curly hair. Stuff like that.
7th dimensional egress.
BTW, I think that Russian guy on the bike materializing is actually an artifact of how digital video works, I think he was riding from a direction where the camera software had aliased the area as blank (no change between scans) to an area where it was actively recording (the left side), that’s why he seems to suddenly appear from behind the person walking. You see this all the time on YouTube videos, where someone pops into frame because the camera software just noticed them moving (a change between scans). Sometimes though, it captures something on the unexplainable side, those are the weird ones (like a leprechaun, or little person or ghost thing running by, there’s LOTS of them too). The ones where someone just “pops” in are mostly due to the way digital video process images though.
This information about the guy on the bike is something to think about on numerous levels. I do not have all the answers just some perceptions given my previous experience.
You know, if you rode a bike you could explain to non-bike riders how much fun it is, and what it is like to have the air on your face. You could talk about putting air in the tires and so forth. Maybe you would not know anything about motorcycles, but you could guess with some degree of accuracy. I would think that its sort of like that.
The only point I was making about the “pop-in” videos is that most are easily explained as an artifact of how digital cameras work, that’s all.
This could very well be true. I need to think about it. The problem that I have about this is that the images show that this “artifact” is selective in application. Why so, if the point of view of the camera as an observer is just different hued pixels?
More on slides.
Gyros are good but I would not like curry pizza, that I know for sure! 😉
Actually, I never had any idea of when a slide would materialize. It was always without notice and could come at the most inconvenient times.
I well remember once I was giving an important presentation. The managers above me were all in the room, and I turned to the white board to draw an arrow on a sketch that I had been working on only to find the board was blank. I then turned around and the room was empty. I was in a reality where I wasn’t giving the presentation.
Yes, it was maddening. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I would certainly believe that I was loony-tunes.
The why.
As far as to the why… well, no one ever told me anything. I have only come up with my own understandings. I do know that the type-1 greys would be tickled pink if they could harvest a large portion of the human population over to their sentience. They would then partition them out as either assimilated co-drones, or as farmed sentience’s. Ohhhh. That’s a horrible fate. They would be farmed for their experiences, and then the quantum associations would be excised and extracted, and they would then live another experience, but without ever obtaining the quantum arrangement benefits. Yuck. They view this transitional period much longer than we humans would recognize…say 500 years or so.
The Mantids are moving a pace and expect to assist in a sizable portion of humans towards a different kind of sentience. This sizable number would be smaller than any number harvested by the Greys.
Both species recognize that the human species are a transitional or temporary species. We will evolve into something else. The path that we will take will be one such that there would be but three ultimate destinations.
The lowest of the “service for self”, and many of the “service for another” would eventually evolve towards incarnations as “farmed sentience’s”. This would be life in Hell. I am not at all kidding.
The type-1 greys.
The Grays sound distinctively demonic, based upon your experience. I have heard of other stories where people have evoked the name of Jesus while being abducted and they have frozen on terror, now why should an alien from a difference star system have any care about the name of Christ if they are not demonic in their orientation?
I have also read about Russian Orthodox priests who state that there is no element of the Gray Aliens that doesn’t sound satanic in their actions and properties.
I do not know about involing the name of Jesus.
But, the vast bulk of humanity, would pretty much evolve towards a “service for self” sentience as it would fit within a Type-1 grey hive or matrix soul configuration. In that case, it would be sort of like “Purgatory”. There would no longer be an individual soul that they would advance, but rather they would be part of something else. They would function as a tiny gear in a huge and vast machine (metaphorically speaking).
Those that are “service for others” would advance to a new higher-energy sentience and would transcend the physical reality. Ultimately becoming inter-dimensional beings, and closer to “God”. It would be like living in Heaven. This is what the Mantids are working towards.
The dives.
These dives that I was involved in, differed from a regular slide. I like to think that a slide would be a minor alteration of my reality, as they often were. But a dive was a series of slides that went all over the place (with different realities), eventually wrapping up at a different point. I think that the dives were necessary because, otherwise I would choose or select a reality that might be personally harmful to me personally or detrimental to my MAJestic objectives.
For instance, I might get fired, when it was necessary for me to continue working at a company. Or I might get tangled up with some chick, when it would result in me getting hurt or ill. Or, I might end up in the wrong place where I would die in a car accident. To move me around and avoid these circumstance, I had to be placed on dive detours. Some of which were really crazy. I related the deep dive that sent me into a really alternative reality, but there were others. Many others. I lived this life for three decades. Ugh.
The Greys as Borgs
That taken with your logical rationalizing about the Hell experience the selfish human souls being “farmed” into by them and end up makes me arrive to the same conclusion. Their Gray-Borg farm is a loser for humanity, sounds like to me, how about you?
So, I don’t want to be insulting but from the sound of your past experiences, I think you were being used (big time). They signed you up for something that in 20/20 hindsight, you would have probably declined.
The Grays do strike me as serving evil, there are many traits they seem to exhibit that confirm this: Their collective matrix-soul over the responsibility imparted to the individual, their disregard for the holiness of the physical body, their manipulation of humans to feed their psychic hunger, their consciousness splitting technology, it just goes on and on. Then there are the observations of other people who have studied this phenomenon such as Dr. John Mack and other ufologists. The conclusion is pretty obvious, they feed on us and the negative psychic energy they produce through us for their own appetite.
The effects of these abduction experiences on the personal transformation of abductees are very clearly enumerated by Dr. Mack (p. 48-49) and provide us with clear insight into the psychic and spiritual dimensions of the abduction experience. Once the initial terror of the experience subsides, and with the sense of familiarity or comfort that repeated abductions foster, abductees report profound changes in their philosophical outlook and understanding of themselves, others, and the world around them.
Dr. Mack identifies eight stages in this process of change:
1) The individual begins to accept the aliens and experiences what he calls an "ego death."
2) Abductees come to regard their abductors as "intermediaries...between...human beings and the primal source of creation or God."
3) They begin to think of their experiences as trans-temporal and trans-spatial, as "returning to their cosmic source or ‘Home.’"
4) The individual begins to feel that he is himself an alien, when he returns "back" to Earth.
5) Abductees come to understand existence in terms of "cycles of birth and death over long stretches of time."
6) The individual forms a feeling of "identification of consciousness with virtually endless kinds of beings and entities."
7) Abductees develop "a double identity," associating their souls with an alien identity and their personalities with a limited human self.
8) They report functioning beyond what they often call a "veil" and describe "being in multiple times and places at the same moment," among other things.
Well if you don’t want to comment, that’s alright, I understand (to a small degree) how hard the past 30 years must have been for you.
I do agree with you, but for some reason I am having difficulty in seeing evil. I am going to check out those links.
Opinions on the Greys.
From my fresh-eyed look at your experience and information listed plus what I have aggregated myself, I see the Grays as human soul hunters. They have been with us all through our history in one form or another and always from a negative understanding (evil).
Have they given us a cure for disease, a cure for cancer, a cure for hunger, mutual understanding and brotherhood among mankind, better water purification, free electricity in the form of nuclear fusion or some other means? NOPE!
They have provided vehicle technology for our study and reverse engineering efforts. They have provided us dimensional door technology. They have been working with MAJestic on human DNA manipulation, and mapping. They have helped and assisted on non-lethal weapons systems.
However, they have most vigorously quarantined us from lunar exploration back in the 1970’s.
Slides to maximize the “hunting” expeditions.
Your slides seem to be their attempt to manipulated the time-lines in order to maximize the success of their hunting operations. They feed off of our suffering, selfishness and bad psychic energy which they use their technology to enable, that strikes me as pretty evil (no?).
It is certainly very selfish. It is certainly “service to self” behavior. Whether or not it is evil from their point of view, I don’t think so. They seem to think that they are helping us as part of a greater plan. And, as part of that, some people are going to be hurt for the greater good of all.
Evil is as evil does.
There isn’t a single incidence ever recorded in our esoteric history of one of them helping us, every culture records them as bad. Even in modern times such as in the “Journey to Serpo” story, they only help us in order to help themselves screw us better.
Are there any times when they helped you for purely unselfish reasons? I don’t know man, they sure seem demonic to me!
This is an angle and an idea that I have not thought of. I am still digesting the links that you gave me. I cannot say that I disagree with them, it’s just that the viewpoints are different from what I have accepted. I am still digesting them, and I do see some real truth there. There is nothing that I disagree with.
It’s that I am coming to grips with the idea of “pure evil”, when in my mind it is all neutral.
A “service to self” sentience is that way because it is the way it is. To me, a “service to self” sentience is inherently evil from a person who’s sentience is “service to others”. By looking at it this way, you can easily see who is who in the various roles.
I see a snake as a “service to self” species. They go about their life taking what they need and doing snake activities. They are all self-absorbed in what they want and cannot conceive helping others in any shape or form.
But, yes. You are absolutely correct. They do feed off our suffering. The thoughts generated during conflict create associations with the quanta and that means the construction of specific types of garbons. The more suffering, the greater the yield. Eventually they will harvest the “ripest fruit”. Now, I do know a little about this.
They are selective. They just do not want just any “fruit” or fresh garbon, to harvest. They want specially constructed ones, and they really want the ownership of the individual that creates such thoughts. Then they could farm and harvest at will. Over time, that person would migrate towards more, and more severe “service to self” behaviors. At that point in time, through reincarnation, they can then migrate and have the soul reconfigured from a (non-approved transitional) configuration into matrix or hive configuration from which they can assimilate into their Borg-like collective.
So, here is where I am trying to understand them. Remember, I have no answers. Just experience. To me, they seem to be “Lawful Neutral”, or “Lawful Evil” from my point of view, with “Neutral” and “Neutral Evil” being strong possibilities FROM MY POINT OF VIEW. From their point of view, I would think that they see themselves as “Neutral Good” or “Lawful Good”. Perceptions on this comes from our consciousness within this reality, as such it forms thoughts. How the thoughts arrange affect our individual soul growth. That is how it is all tied together.
Different types of good and evil.
This is an interesting thought stream. Need to ponder it some more. I don’t think that they are Demoniac, though it is a real possibility that they are Diabolic.
The idea that they might have intentionally forced me to endure trials and poor-assed experiences so that they could personally harvest my own garbons never actually occurred to me. I need to think about this more.
As you have a very good point.
I do believe that while my slides were for the purpose of sentience evolution for the purposes of the Mantids, it is also very… very possible that the Type-1 greys would also configure the system for their own profit. Which means that my MAJestic operations were to the benefit of both species, and that anything that I endured will be harvested later and I would obtain no benefit from it personally.
It gives me a sickening feeling. I need to think about this more.
The process.
While it is true that you can’t be forced into doing something against your will, you CAN be tricked into doing it. Figure this: The Grays get to keep the psychic energy they turn and their master gets the soul. Sounds like the nature of the deal, no?
Yes, that’s pretty much how it works, more or less.
DNA discovery.
It’s been recently discovered that DNA has a quantum signature in its election cloud and there are ~9billion base pairs per molecule and trillions of trillions of molecules per person, that’s A LOT of qbit energy man!
This is interesting stuff. I would be interested in following up on this stuff about quantum signatures in the electron clouds of DNA.
On animals.
On evil, a snake is an animal and animals have no choice, they can only be what they are so they’re neutral. True snakes do kill baby birds and cute bunnies but they do so as a means of control over the population of their prey, not out of any malice or advantage over another. To them it’s just eating, seems to be the way the Grays regard mankind?
The Grays may have helped engineer our evolution but they must obviously see that we are NOT animals and must be given a choice in life but seem to lack such an ethic. “The Journey to Serpo” (if true) seems to indicate that the Grays have about the same regard for the sanctity of life as we might over an upgraded computer, it’s just hardware to them. The story goes that they took one of the human crew that had died on the journey and used his body to engineer some sort of clone without any regard for his body or seeking permission from the commanding officer, just took it like it was an old piece of hardware. Those warm feeling of love and compassion could be implanted memories or fake emotions to cover their tracks, you yourself said in one of the web pages that they regard us as their property.
The idea of personal rights intrinsic to the human person is an affectation of Christianity but one I happen to agree with. Avoiding the Gray collective gives another dimension to acting in an less selfish manner and for my own good, it really does!
Oh, and by the way. We are always protected. Always. And while the greys might want to direct us in certain ways, it is up to our own individual consciousness to allow or to deny it from happening.
Remember, that everyone has a “Guardian Angel”, this is a dedicated multi-dimensional Mantid species that works the “levers of reality” “behind the curtain.” They are busy trying to assist our human species towards sentience evolution. They really want us to be “service for others” sentience.
They greys seduce us in ways, means and directions toward “service to self” activities. This can easily lead us in the direction where they want us to go. They have their own intentions and purposes. We should never mistake high physical technology, no matter how apparently “God-like” to be representative of spiritual superiority.
That’s possible because phonons have a wavelength which is similar in size to a DNA helix and this allows standing waves to form, a phenomenon known as phonon trapping. When this happens, the phonons cannot easily escape. A similar kind of phonon trapping is known to cause problems in silicon structures of the same size.
That would be of little significance if it had no overall effect on the helix. But the model developed by Rieper and co suggests that the effect is profound.
Although each nucleotide in a base pair is oscillating in opposite directions, this occurs as a superposition of states, so that the overall movement of the helix is zero. In a purely classical model, however, this cannot happen, in which case the helix would vibrate and shake itself apart. So in this sense, these quantum effects are responsible for holding DNA together.
Experiments over the past few decades, however, have shown that enzymes make use of a remarkable trick called quantum tunneling to accelerate biochemical reactions. Essentially, the enzyme encourages electrons and protons to vanish from one position in a biomolecule and instantly rematerialise in another, without passing through the gap in between – a kind of quantum teleportation.
You must have some wild theories on the quantum mechanics of our bodies and conscious mind, don’t you? The one on the DNA electron cloud I have to look for at work, can’t seem to find it right now.
Yes, I do in fact.
MAJestic Related Posts – Training
These are posts and articles that revolve around how I was recruited for MAJestic and my training. Also discussed is the nature of secret programs. I really do not know why the organization was kept so secret. It really wasn’t because of any kind of military concern, and the technologies were way too involved for any kind of information transfer. The only conclusion that I can come to is that we were obligated to maintain secrecy at the behalf of our extraterrestrial benefactors.
MAJestic Related Posts – Our Universe
These particular posts are concerned about the universe that we are all part of. Being entangled as I was, and involved in the crazy things that I was, I was given some insight. This insight wasn’t anything super special. Rather it offered me perception along with advantage. Here, I try to impart some of that knowledge through discussion.
Enjoy.
MAJestic Related Posts – World-Line Travel
These posts are related to “reality slides”. Other more common terms are “world-line travel”, or the MWI. What people fail to grasp is that when a person has the ability to slide into a different reality (pass into a different world-line), they are able to “touch” Heaven to some extent. Here are posts that cover this topic.
John Titor Related Posts
Another person, collectively known by the identity of “John Titor” claimed to utilize world-line (MWI egress) travel to collect artifacts from the past. He is an interesting subject to discuss. Here we have multiple posts in this regard.
Here are some important “take aways” from this quick and dirty review of the popular music of China.
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A study of China is not served by looking up a Wikipedia entry. It is visceral.
One of the most common things that I encounter with Westerners is their propensity to look things up using California-based internet resources for their answers. Hello? Wikipedia, anyone? They say things like “it says here that xxxxx, and you are wrong because you said zzzzz”.
So silly. Yeah, in America, the Constitution clearly says the “Second Amendment Shall Not Be Infringed”. But, it’s been infringed upon since 1905. It also says that America is a Constitutional Republic, but if so, then why are Senators elected democratically? Laws are only as good as their enforcement.
In China, like in most nations, there is how things SHOULD work, and how things REALLY work. That is all you need to understand.
Chinese music reflects the hopes, dreams, and culture of China.
The Chinese people have just left a very, very, very long period of strife and difficulty. The once great nation was thrown into turmoil by a Communist takeover, followed by SJW craziness. It took a great deal of effort to climb out of all that mess, and the leader of that time was Mr. Deng.
Today, China is something completely different than what is assumed in the West. Both the American Liberals and the Conservatives have piled all sorts of negative propaganda towards China. This includes everything from ghost cities, milking rats, and Muslim incarceration to zombie killer hornets.
Meanwhile, all they want to do is live life in peace. Give them a break why don’t ya.
This is a traditional conservative Chinese wedding. It is NOT a progressive new liberal wedding by every meaning of the phrase. The Chinese are a conservative people and they tend to each other using traditions. You need to understand this fundamental aspect of China, otherwise you have zero understanding of who the Chinese people are or what they are capable of.
Chinese women are demure and ladylike.
There are all kinds of women in China. They come in all sizes and shapes. However, overall the net effect is a nation of very polite and traditional ladies that honor their families. These women; these ladies, are the face of China today.
And of course, this includes all of the Han Chinese.
Many Chinese Students exercise by dancing.
Many schools incorporate dancing as part of the morning exercise. While this is not fully universal, it is adopted by large numbers of schools and is very popular with both the students and their parents. Heck, even the grandparents get involved.
Traditional role-play and costuming is popular and considered culturally important.
In a traditional nation with strong conservative values, there is a significant emphasis placed on history and learning the lessons of history. This can be evident if you just open your eyes and look around.
This lass above, does she look and act more like your grandmother would, or like a modern “liberated” progressive woman? What does she look like? What actions does she seem to signify?
For comparison, here is what modern “liberated” American women look like. Here are some young lasses being themselves in public.
Modern “liberated” progressive liberal women in America. Here they are acting in the SJW role for feminist issues that they feel strongly about. There is a fundamental difference between traditional conservative women and progressive liberal women. Funny thing is that the definition of what constitutes what “liberal” means differs substantially from the American culture to the Chinese culture. Here, the group of student-activists at the University of Florida painted their pants in fake blood to simulate menstrual flow earlier this week in order to protest the lack of free menstrual products on the school’s campus.
And this is true even if the traditional attire is all “bastardized up” into some form that is historically unrecognizable.
To understand China, you need to understand that they are defending their Traditional Conservative way of life from Progressive Assault.
The Chinese know first hand how progressive liberal and socialist elements within society can destroy an entire nation. They have seen this happen time and time again, and after the 1966 “cultural revolution”, they vowed NEVER to permit it ever to happen again.
They stopped it when the progressive elements tried to implement the “pro-democracy movement” in the 1990’s, and then yet again, with the progressive “Faulin Gong” movement. Now, whenever anyone tries to implement any kind of social change, they are stopped. Often abruptly, and usually quite rigorously.
The Left has shown itself to be dedicated to the destruction of Western civilization itself. We have not been faced with such an existential threat since European armies threw the Turks back from Vienna in 1529.
The fascists of the mid–2oth century, for all their loathsome policies, were not the kind of threat to the fabric of our society that we face now. Bad as they were, they did not seek the destruction of Europeans as a people, or of European culture as a living, breathing thing. Progressivism does. What could be more worthy of, if you will forgive the word, "resistance"?
We conservatives have let this ideological cancer metastasize for far too long for its excision to be simple or painless. For too long, we have been patient with outrages we should have fought to reverse. We have let our opponents secede incrementally from us for decades. We have been tolerant and patient.
In our tolerance and patience, we have given up our civil society, our political representation, and our freedoms one by one.
Our maladies won't be fixed by delicate adjustments now — half-heartedly performed by yet another generation of narcissistic government planners and invisible elitist bureaucrats. Intellectuals like George Will and think-tanks like the Heritage Foundation have done us little good.
Our condition demands a radical, unflinching surgery if we, as a nation, are to survive. Either the cancer wins, and kills us all, or we defeat it — and we accept the scars. Let us not pretend they would not be hideous scars. And let us not pretend it would not be a deeply barbarous and bitter surgery.
Today China is a single-political-party nation. They are self-professed “Communist with Chinese characteristics”, which in many ways deviates substantially from the well-known established communist model. As such, they are a new beast, a new animal, that the world doesn’t know what to do with, and by which all former assumptions are terribly and dangerously inadequate.
They are a single political party nation. Unlike the West, they do not believe in a democracy where everyone can vote. They do not think that everyone has the skill, and is deserving to have that responsibility. Instead, they believe in a government run as a meritocracy. They believe that those in government must serve the society, and that society is the Chinese society.
They honor a traditional-conservative Chinese society and will defend that society from all assaults. As the assaults are coming on China from all sides. Everything from Muslim extremism to progressive liberals who “only” want to protest “a little bit”. If they do not defend their lifestyle, their way of life, and their society, no one else will.
It is their responsibility, and they take it very seriously.
Make no mistake. China is a serious nation that does not play around. In their mind, the global stakes are far too serious, to handle lightly. They intend to give their best in the global arena, and they play to win. They view the rest of the world as a friendly-danger and that they must be ever vigilant. They cannot risk failure for it would be catastrophic.
They have seen what happened to the United States, and they do not want that ever to happen to China. They are ready to make sure that the crime, and decay of intense internal corruption will not sully the traditions, and cultural values of China.
And, at that we can now end this particular multi-part post. Best regards, and happy travels. That’s about it for now.
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
I still would like to continue on the idea and concept of role-play dress and contemporaneous Chinese popular music. It’s a very interesting subject for me. I just don’t know why.
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Maybe it’s because you can dress up any time, year round sort of like forever Halloween. Maybe it’s because I really like to look at pretty girls wearing dresses. Maybe it’s because I love to see people having fun and doing things that they like to do. Maybe it’s because I like to listen to music.
Here is a gal in what looks to be a museum, or other kind of public place.
And here is a local girl outside, what looks like, her home. Probably in some rural section of central China (judging from the costume). You will also notice the red signs on the doors. These are good-luck glyphs that are found everywhere in China. I have them on my doors at home and in my office as well.
The character behind her (on the door) is “fu”. It means good luck and fortune. It is sometimes turned upside down to mean that it “fills up” with money, luck and fortune.
Here we have another gal. This outfit does not look traditional in the least, but you know, this is China. You can just be yourself as long as you don’t try to push your beliefs on anyone else. She is either going to some event, or just having the time of herself going down the street. Please take note how the other passersby treat her.
And here is yet another just normal gal that is walking down the street in traditional garb. You got to love the look, and her smile. I think that it is awesome.
Oh and by the way, this idea of role-play and costume is not restricted and limited to Chinese cultural customs only. Other nations and citizens can participate as well. Here’s a bevy of folk from an Eastern Block nation (Romania, Bulgaria, Albania…I don’t know) hamming it up for China.
Now, of course, all of these videos are going to be impossible to load unless this post is broken up into smaller chew-sized portions. So to continue, please click here…
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
If you all don’t mind, I would like to explore further the connection of Chinese women “playing traditional dress-up” and dancing to popular music. There are so, so, SO many aspects to this phenomenon that I think it deserves some further investigation.
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Oh, yeah… don’t forget this.
Role-play
The above is just some girl dressing up and singing and dancing. So what?
Historical Reenactments
Well, what if you and your friends want to do historical reenactments? You know like how civil war reenactors reenact battles in America, or how people reenact Roman Legions in Europe, or how people reenact soldiers from World War I or II? It’s like that. Here we have a period reenactment. Pretty cool heh?
And, you know what? There are all sorts of opportunities to wear traditional clothing. Each region has their own history and culture; so every minority Chinese is protected by Chinese government law, which mandates rigid adherence to traditional customs, traditional ceremonies, and traditional holidays. It’s the law.
History and Culture is protected by law
There’s none of that “separation of church and state” here in China. History is considered sacred. As well as traditional, conservative, and family belief systems. They are protected and actively promoted through government funding.
Chinese minorities are protected as cultural jewels.
Here is a traditional holiday with one of the many Chinese minorities. I don’t know what they are doing, but obviously the gal in the front is the top queen leader of some sort.
That can be extended to all sorts of holidays that are all over China. It is a great opportunity for pretty girls to get all dressed up and have guys ooh and auhhh over them. Nice. That is what it is. Very, very nice.
Modern China is a mixture of old and new traditions.
Here’s some girls just palling it around in Beijing. You know, doing cute girl type things. Don’t ya just love it? I do. I’ll tell ya what.
I love that they can dress how they want to. I love the freedom that they have to play roles…role-play as it were, and do so in public without confrontation, or being told they cannot do, or say, or act in certain ways. I love how they are allowed and protected from being harmed.
Oh, by the way, if any fat gender-less-feminazi tries to interrupt their good times for “cultural appropriation”, or misuse of pronouns, I am sure that the police will arrest them sure as shit. The Chinese do not mess around when it comes to protecting the traditional Chinese way of life.
Here is another video of a girl in traditional garb and dress. She is dancing and is such a charmer, I’ll tell you what.
Ah. Look at all here fans. Isn’t she adorable?
Happy CNY you-all!
Oh yes, since this is 2019. Let me wish everyone a great a wonder CNY year of the Pig! Have a great one ya-all!
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
Here we continue on our excursion, and here is the mandatory warning…
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Now, this little video will need some explanation. Notice how the gals are doing the “Doctor Evil” impression with the pinkie near the mouth? Well, this dance routine has taken China by storm, and it just seems like all the gals love dancing to it at the KTV’s. It ends up looking a little like this…
This dance routine is not really part of the song, at least formally it isn’t. The dance crazy that swept up in China happened independently of what was going on in Korea. So imagine what the Korean pop group must think that a music inspired dance craze is sweeping China, but not in Korea.
With this in mind, now you can watch this little video depicting a live performance of the group and what happens when the live camera gets activated…
Sorry about the cut-off of the advertisement at the end. The only reason why I did not cut that off was because I do not how to do it. Sorry.
And… of course… this is one of the top hits of 2018, and into 2019. It is a string of little used idioms that utilize very rare and unique characters. It just amazes me that people are able to sing to them as well as they can.
This is all quite different from what you would find in the USA. Popular music in the USA is dominated by negro urban music. Here is one of the dominant females in the American music scene; Nicki Minaj.
She represents the best of American music today. She has been profiled on such popular shows as the Ellen DeGeneres show, as well as the many, many magazine articles of her, her “music”, and her antics. Here’s another GIF of her…
I think in America, music has been replaced by big asses and crude mannerisms. This is absolutely reflected in the popular culture, the news media and social media. Meanwhile, all of this is quite alien to the Chinese who maintain a more traditional conservative culture.
Here is another Chinese girl singing yet another very popular Chinese song.
K-POP and C-POP
One thing that we haven’t talked about is C-pop and K-pop. In fact, it would be a very serious omission to leave this out. Both K-pop and C-pop are amazingly popular here in China.
Here is the famous AOA MV performing “Heart Attack”. It’s awesome. Don’t ya think? I love the choreography, and the back story in the video is really cute. Do don’t need to know any foreign language, just watch the video to see what is going on. So adorable about a girl who has this crush on a boy in her class. And how the new girl in the school befriends her and helps her out. Adorable.
AOA is a Korean pop group that has made waves all over China. They are quite talented, as are jut about all the performers out of Korea. Here they are performing “Like a Cat”…
Here is the 2018-2019 sensation Blackpink singing “As if it’s your last”. They are beyond popular here in China. In fact, you can often see everyone from elementary school kids, to young professionals to cleaning ladies dancing their routines. It is a mind-blowing phenomenon. I’ll tell you what.
I have to laugh when I check out the comments on K-POP, C-POP and J-POP on you-tube. It’s all about how the girls are “forced” to dance like this, and how overtly sexual it is, and how they don’t want to dance like this. Nonsense! I think all of California should be carted off to the loony-bin and stop flooding the comments from millennial ignorants.
In California, I guess, C-pop is considered “too sexy”, but this isn’t;
Here in Asia, looking cute, being thin, and being sexual is an everyday occurrence. Deal with it. As I have said before. You can take that progressive gender-neutral reality and shove it up where the sun don’t shine. Everyone likes to look at attractive, happy girls. People who don’t are mentally disturbed.
Here is Stellar – Marionette[舞蹈无删减版][1080P]. You can view it in the player below, or go here for the web page. If it doesn’t load, it’s because your ISP is blocking videos from China.
You all shouldn’t leave this page until you checked out the last video, I’ll tell ya what.
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
Moving forward on to part seven of this post, lets continue our exploration of the world of contemporaneous Chinese music.
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Music and Soap Opera fusion…
I once had a friend that used to work as an English teacher in Shenzhen China. He was a tall attractive man around 25 years old, and all the ladies were ga-ga over him. Anyways, for a spell, he worked in Shanghai and while he was there he got a role as an extra in a Chinese movie.
This is a great way for expats to make some drinking money. You put on a costume, learn a few Chinese phrases and play a role in a movie. You get paid a few hundred RMB. Enough for a dinner and some beer. It’s fun.
Anyways, he played a European traveler to China. As such, there was this scene where he dressed in period finery and approached the king as some European prince. It was a short scene, maybe seven minutes tops, and he had the video of the scene in his cell phone.
I’ll tell ya, you would think that he was a major Hollywood actor the way everyone fawned over him. Seven minutes of fame, and a lifetime of honor. Crazy huh?
Now me, I’d like to play some kind of Mob Boss, or bumbling hero. But, that’s just me, and no one has ever asked me to do anything like that anyways. Yet, it’s a fun dream and it’s nice to muse about from time to time.
This micro-video mixes contemporary Chinese music with scenes from some of the many, many Chinese soap operas and movies. I like it very much.
Singing popular tunes
Next, we have a top song that is all over the Internet. Here we see the girl singing the song in the micro-video. Everyone likes to sing. Sometimes songs are sung in the KTV’s, bars, or cars, while other times we just lip-sync for the heck of it. Here we have a talented lass singing a song because…well, because it’s fun to sing.
Translated Chinese Verses…
In the next popular song, you can see the lyrics translated into English. Yes, the translations aren’t exact, as Chinese like English have idioms and meanings that go far beyond direct word-to-word translation.
Songs can express emotions.
And, here we have a girl singing one of my favorites. Even if you don’t know the translation, you can certainly make out the emotions, the feelings and the thrust of the music.
You see, the Chinese people love to sing. When they go to a KTV, they drink and eat, and there with their friends, sing their hearts out. It’s sort of like what we used to do in Pennsylvania and New York. This, people, is what you should be doing… Doing instead of mowing the lawn this weekend. Or, if that is too brazen… may I suggest fishing or even just grabbing a six pack and going for a ride in the country with your best friend. Life.
Life is meant to be lived.
Life is to be lived. What is this gal doing that you aren’t?
Life can be sad…
You know everyone likes music in China, and it seems like everyone loves to dance to it. Music can be happy, but it can also be sad as well…
Chinese Television
Hey! Here’s a few micro-videos related to contemporary Chinese television. I think that the plots are obvious.
Help from Strangers.
Hey! Guys and girls, listen up. All of us need a helpful nudge from a well-wishing stranger from time to time. Don’t be so alone and isolated. Reach out, and be good, kind and helpful. Won’t ya.
Now, of course, all of these videos are going to be impossible to load unless this post is broken up into smaller chew-sized portions. So to continue, please click here…
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
Moving forward, and continuing on with our study of the contemporaneous Chinese music scene, let’s have a look at some more micro-videos from TicToc. And again, for those of you who have just jumped into the middle of all this, please take note…
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Keep in Mind… China is Traditional
Moving forward from the last section. Please keep it in mind that in traditional cultures, people aspire to conform to their roles in the best way that they know how. The man works. The woman cares for the home and family.
In progressive societies, the roles become nonsensical, and the relationships complex and often discordant. They no longer place emphasis the best in a person, their work or their labors. They place emphasis in differences and shocking behavior for purposes of gathering attention at all costs.
In an environment that does not have proper roles and boundaries of behavior, it is up to the individual to define their own boundaries. Without guidance, or perhaps (better yet) guidance from popular culture, the boundaries become blurred and mistakes can be made. This environment lends itself toward one of many dangerous directions, both personally and socially.
In traditional societies the roles are established, and the expectations clear. The formula for personal and family success is well known and understood. It becomes the role of government to make sure that the roles are followed and protected.
It is very important to remember that the roles do not change in a traditional society. A man is the provider for the family, and the woman is the one that nurtures and manages the home.
And yes, while there has been “gender equality” throughout the world, it has manifested as a pale shadow for the women who have actually taken on male work roles. The women end up having a “career” devoid of a family life, devoid of children, and empty while they get older.
Here is another video from contemporary China.
Don’t fall for the progressive liberal lie.
In the United States, and the UK, at round 2012, various women started to write about their regrets in not getting married and building a family. In short order, they were shouted down by SJW and feminist activists. They pretty much went underground and the internet become flooded about articles on how happy women are not having children and being “independent” from men.
This is part of the r/K strategy, and it works if you are ugly, fat, lazy, crude or just a nasty person. For the vast bulk of people, this flies in the face of our biological urges.
Just crank up Google and see that the first 12 or so pages all are dominated by pro-career, anti-family articles. In a nation (the USA) where the vast bulk of people eventually get married, the respective proportion of internet articles opposing it, shows a very skewed and artificial narrative.
The truth is those who do not follow the traditional conservative path end up leading a very lonely and bare life, no matter what their job position is. They will get older with no one to care for them. Their holidays will be at home with their dogs and cats, alone. Their friends, all married, will not want to associate with them.
It’s a miserable path. Do not try to tell me otherwise.
Boys aspire to be men.
Here’s a nice raspy voiced song. I love it and can relate to it in an understanding that only my empty bottle of VSOP and table ashtray of cigarette butts can relate to. Listening to this song reminds me of all the times that I had to endure situations that were uncomfortable, unfair, unjust or just plain wrong.
Do you all think that these feelings and emotions are unique only to Americans? No. Of course not. They are human feelings, expressed by humans, and concern human relationships.
Ah. Sometimes you need a good long hot shower, don’t ya agree?
Chinese couple songs…
Let’s consider some of the very romantic music of popular conventional china. These songs are very lovely. I’m gonna highlight this one. It’s about a couple and their love, moving in together, and eventually she agrees to be his wife.
There are so, so many of these songs and they are all wonderful. You can go HERE for one of the many that I have selected.
What ever you decide to do. Enjoy.
The song continues, and the MV ends where she is in a wedding gown to be his tai tai (his wife). (See the characters in the lower right side of the screen. That’s tai tai = wife.)
The song is about their love and living together and how it could get better, and she decides that it is through them both getting married together.
There is one thing that I would like to point out, and I think that it is significant. If you watch Hollywood movies for symbology and subliminal messages (like a graffiti spray painted wall, and names on cans of soda) you will notice all kinds of symbology to NWO, global orders, satanic cults and the like. However, if you watch Chinese movies and videos the “visual Easter eggs” are fundamentally different.
If you read the messages on their shirts – both in English and in pinyin Chinese – the messages are quite different.
“Big Spoon / Little Spoon”, He has a Ying symbol tattoo, and she has a Yang symbol tattoo . (Tai Ji). He has a Jesus cross tattoo, and she has a black tee-shirt with a Jesus cross and the words “never let you down” on it. She has a shirt that says “I’d rather love.” He wears a white shirt with a black Jesus Cross that says “I’ll never let you down”. And so on…
A nice female singer…
Here is a nice contemporary female singer. I like the sound and the rhythm of her voice. This is one of the top songs of this quarter, and I am sure that it is destined to be one that will be sung in KTV’s long into the future.
This is a very typical Chinese song. It is soft, but strong. Many Chinese songs follow this format. I think that that is it’s appeal to me. Certainly the KTV venue might lead itself to be sung there by a lonely heart or two…
This lies in opposition to the formula that makes American songs popular. Which is why you might find Kenny G still being played in public spaces, while Carti B is ignored.
Oh, and for all youse guys that don’t know what (or who) Carti B is, here’s a GIF of her performing for her American audience. You can tell what her appeal is for her audience. By watching her performance, and listening to her songs, you can clearly see that she if the future face of American youth.
Superstar
And… here is Superstar which I believe is an American song that has taken China by storm. many American songs can be found in China. Though, their success with the Chinese audio audience tends to be related to beat, and “overall feeling” of the music.
Anyways, back to the Chinese popular music… Here is the kinds of American music that the Chinese find enjoyable and alluring.
School Exercises in the Morning
As I have mentioned previously, many schools in China do the exercise to music. That way, the children learn dance routines at an early age, and get to exercise at the same time. It’s a win-win for everyone. So, if you ever have to wonder about how these kids all get to learn how to dance like they do, please keep in mind that they learned it at school.
Of course, there are no absolutes. There are schools that do not perform dance routines, as well as schools that only do dance routines for exercises. It depends where you live and the management of the school by the Headmaster.
Personally, I think that it is a great way to exercise. Let the kids have some fun. Let them blow off some high-energy “steam”. Let them push themselves and have a good time.
It’s like singing cadence when you are in the military. You concentrate on the cadence and your forget about how tired you are.
And, heck, here’s another girl in her house. She is dancing to one of the popular songs by JJ LIN ( 林俊傑 ) from about three years ago. You can see (listen) to the entire song on the Internet for free HERE. You can watch the MV video HERE.
[JJ Lin 林俊傑] 不潮不用花錢 [Bu Chao Bu Yong Hua Qian] [Not Trendy Not To Spend Money] (High-Fashion)
You go kiddo!
I would like to provide the lyrics to this song here. I also want to provide proper credit to tammiest@AsianFanatics . She did a fantastic job, don’t you all think? Check it all out. It must have taken her days to compile, edit and generate the code. Big thanks to tammiest@AsianFanatics.
林俊傑 JJ Lin JunJie – 不潮不用花錢 [Bu Chao Bu Yong Hua Qian] [Not Trendy Not To Spend Money] (High-Fashion) Special Guest Performance: BY2 (Certain Rap Parts) Album: 陸/Sixology Songwriter: 林俊傑 JJ Lin JunJie Lyricist: 林怡鳳 Lin YiFeng (Rap) Lyricist: 林俊傑 JJ Lin JunJie Pin Yin and Translation Credit: tammiest Do NOT post this translation elsewhere without proper credit to tammiest@AsianFanatics
Rap: Hey, Greedy, don’t fret What you see is what you get You name it, I have it What you see is what you get
左左 左左 偏左 就用左手 Zuo zuo Zuo zuo Pian zuo Jiu yong zuo shou Left left, Left left, Favor the left, Just use your left hand 生活 就不用 想太多 Sheng huo Jiu bu yong Xiang tai duo In life, You don’t need to Think too much 怦怦 怦怦 心動 張開眼睛 Peng peng Peng peng Xin dong Zhang kai yan jing Thump thump Thump thump My heartbeat I open up my eyes 就記得 當下的 強烈 Jiu ji de Dang xia de Qiang lie I remember the Intensity of That moment 有時靈光一閃而過 You shi ling guang yi shan er guo Sometimes, I get sudden flashes of brilliance 牛頓也吃蘋果 Niu dun ye chi ping guo Newton also ate apples 我的念頭不太囉唆 Wo de nian tou bu tai luo suo My idea isn’t too complicated 限時間能入座 Xian shi jian neng ru zuo Gotta hurry, sign-up is limited
Chorus: (1) 請你 Qing ni Please 不要到處叩叩 Bu yao dao chu kou kou Don’t go around knockin’ everywhere 潮流需要摳摳 Chao liu xu yao kou kou Trends need to be raised up 不小心就沒摳摳 Bu xiao xin jiu mei kou kou If you’re not careful, you won’t make any money 用力到處扣扣 Yong li dao chu kou kou Work hard to save everywhere 花掉所有摳摳 Hua diao suo you kou kou Spend all the money you’ve misered up 錢買不到絕活 Qian mai bu dao jue huo Money can’t buy you unrivaled skill
你說 聽說 聽說 你聽誰說 Ni shuo Ting shuo Ting shuo Ni ting shei shuo You say You’ve heard You’ve heard Who’d you hear say that? 跟著 亂走 鬧哄哄 Gen zhe Luan zou Nao hong hong Followin’ Goin’ along rashly Buzzin’ with excitement 通通 通通 普通 普通 Tong tong Tong tong Pu tong Pu tong It’s all It’s all Ordinary So ordinary 如果不懂 不要 隨便 拒絕 Ru guo bu dong Bu yao Sui bian Ju jue If you don’t get it, Don’t Reject it so Carelessly (2) 有時靈光一閃而過 You shi ling guang yi shan er guo Sometimes, I get sudden flashes of brilliance 牛頓也吃蘋果 Niu dun ye chi ping guo Newton also ate apples 我的念頭不太囉唆 Wo de nian tou bu tai luo suo My idea isn’t too complicated 限時間能入座 Xian shi jian neng ru zuo Gotta hurry, sign-up is limited
Chorus: 請你 Qing ni Please 不要到處叩叩 Bu yao dao chu kou kou Don’t go around knockin’ everywhere 潮流需要摳摳 Chao liu xu yao kou kou Trends need to be raised up 不小心就沒摳摳 Bu xiao xin jiu mei kou kou If you’re not careful, you won’t make any money 用力到處扣扣 Yong li dao chu kou kou Work hard to save everywhere 花掉所有摳摳 Hua diao suo you kou kou Spend all the money you’ve misered up 錢買不到絕活 Qian mai bu dao jue huo Money can’t buy you unrivaled skill
Rap: Little chick havin’ chips on my sofa Be@rbricks take a sh*t on my sofa (3) Smudge babies lyin’ on my sofa (4) Neighborhoods and Kiks singing ‘So-Fa’ (5, 6, 7)
Little chick havin’ chips on my sofa Be@rbricks take a sh*t on my sofa Smudge babies lyin’ on my sofa
Hey, Greedy, don’t fret What you see is what you get You name it, I have it What you see is what you get
Chorus: 請你 Qing ni Please 不要到處叩叩 Bu yao dao chu kou kou Don’t go around knockin’ everywhere 潮流需要摳摳 Chao liu xu yao kou kou Trends need to be raised up 不小心就沒摳摳 Bu xiao xin jiu mei kou kou If you’re not careful, you won’t make any money 用力到處扣扣 Yong li dao chu kou kou Work hard to save everywhere 花掉所有摳摳 Hua diao suo you kou kou Spend all the money you’ve misered up 錢買不到絕活 Qian mai bu dao jue huo Money can’t buy you unrivaled skill
Rap: Hey, Greedy, don’t fret What you see is what you get You name it, I have it What you see is what you get
Hey, Greedy, don’t fret What you see is what you get You name it, I have it What you see is what you get
* The title of this song is a bit confusing. 不潮不用花錢 Bu chao bu yong hua qian is actually more (textbook) accurately translated as “Don’t Need To Spend Money If You Don’t Follow the Fads.” However, a read-through of the lyrics yields a different interpretation, the one I ultimately decided on: “Not Trendy Not To Spend Money.” This interpretation, however, is actually best expressed (and by that, I mean grammatically and without confusion!) by taking out the 用 yong in the title, leaving one with just 不潮不花錢 bu chao bu hua qian.
However, the 用 yong was left IN the title because– go back and read the first word of each line of the chorus. Put them together and you get 不潮不用花錢 Bu chao bu yong hua qian, the title of the song!
(1) The lines of the chorus are not necessarily connected to each other in the usual sense; don’t force them together. Instead, they can be considered stand-alone lines of “wisdom.” (2) The line 如果不懂 不要 隨便 拒絕 Ru guo bu dong Bu yao Sui bian Ju jue can be “broken up” (in Chinese) and interpreted in two very distinct ways. I decided on “If you don’t get it, Don’t Reject it so Carelessly;” however, it is important to note that the line can very well also be translated as “If you don’t get it, Don’t be so Careless; Reject it.” As you can see, the meaning changes significantly; the interpretation I did NOT choose goes along with the TITLE I did not choose. It also puts a “break” between the last two “phrases.” Because JJ seems to slide right into the 拒絕 ju jue (instead of pausing), however, and because it goes along with the rest of the song– I chose the line above (3) Be@rbricks are collectible (and somewhat poseable) plastic bears (with a “Kubrick” influence) manufactured by MediCom Toy Incorporated. They are extremely popular in Asia and come in all types of sizes and designs. (4) I haven’t been able to find a 100% answer, but I think that Smudge Babies are a type of toy. (5) Neighborhood is a super-trendy, still growing fashion label in Japan; it grew out of the Harajuku district. (6) “Kiks” is slang for sneakers; it is most likely– in this song– meant as a “shorthand” for Kiks TYO, a super-trendy “sneaker freak” Japanese label. (7) “So-Fa” as in… the notes “So” and “Fa” of the musical scale.
Big thanks to tammiest@AsianFanatics. Now. Let’s move on to the next page of videos… with this final video on this page.
Now, of course, all of these videos are going to be impossible to load unless this post is broken up into smaller chew-sized portions. So to continue, please click here…
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
Let’s continue with our exploration of the contemporary music of China and the cultural aspects of it. Let’s zoom by with these little notations…
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China is a serious nation run by a government of high-achievers.
To many people in the West, China is a mystery. You have American Neocons, and liberals all (more or less) repeating the American main-stream narrative about China. That can be anything from a positive trading partner, to a saber-rattling war-monger. It’s all about how the oligarchs want to manipulate the public.
However, real China is something else entirely. In fact, I would say that since [1] China has advanced technologically, economically and socially at break-neck speed, and [2] China was never understood by the West, [3] Western media is designed to manipulate not inform, that China is completely inadequately described in the West. It is not just and enigma, but it is wholly under-appreciated, and under-understood.
There are many things that I could go on, and on about. But one of the key points is that China is a meritocracy. China is a serious, serious nation that is run by the highest achievers in their respective fields.
It begins in kindergarten, and from there, the culling begins. People are immediately classed by ability, and you must develop both your EQ and IQ to succeed. Otherwise you WILL end up begging in the streets, or doing manual shit-labor. You must push and strive in China just to exist.
Those in leadership positions have gotten there through years in this kind of crucible. They are not like the Obama or Clinton governmental appointments. They got there by ability, and hard… hard work.
They are nothing to be trifled with.
Culture is important to the Chinese.
Here’s a great song by HK singer Jay Chou. It’s applied to this cute wedding where flower petals fall out from umbrellas instead of rice being thrown about. This is one of the various traditional rituals that are performed during weddings in China.
Jay is a very famous singer that has many many movie videos and roles within movies. Movies including “Now you see me 2”. He is famous for his love ballads and stories about the boy fights against all odds to be with the girl type themes. I am a real sap for these kinds of movies, stories and videos. I love this theme, where you the guy can come to the rescue the pretty girl, and protect her.
Here’s a pretty good MV about just this kind of theme. The name of the video (and song) is 红尘客栈 官方版 . (An ugly title, I am afraid.) If you can’t watch it using the free Chinese servers (often blocked or delayed in the USA), just copy and paste into You-Tube and watch it there.
Jay Chou likes to sing about sappy Chinese ballads about rescuing the pretty girls. I really like this theme as it brings out the “protector” role in me; a role that all men have. Scene is a screen shot from the music video.
Or here… (If you see nothing, you can watch the video HERE, set up as a different tab so that you can view without interruption to this dialog.)
—Player Start—
—Player Conclude—
If you see nothing, you can watch the video HERE, set up as a different tab so that you can view without interruption to this dialog.
Now this role-play, and this theme isn’t just popular to me because I am a old-fuddy duddy traditional conservative. It is a theme that all traditionalists aspire to. When I have shown you the micro-videos of the girls playing role-play and dress up in traditional garb, it is this kind of music, and this kind of theme, and YES, this kind of relationship that they all are aspiring for.
Boy meets girls, they fall in love. Bad people try to come between them. He defends his family. This is the role that men and women have had for centuries. Scene is a screen shot from the music video.
The gals and the guys are looking for THE ONE.
Girls, come on! You know what I am talking about, eh? This transcends culture. It is biologically ingrained into our very being.
The Man goes forth. He works and fights. He protects his family and gives everything that he has, his hopes and his dreams and his money and earnings for his family. He fights for them and protects them.
The woman nurtures, supports and heals the man. She takes care of the home and the family. She is the anchor that he knows will be there for him.
In this traditional relationship, there is no room for a woman belittling her man. No. That is a progressive liberal lifestyle. In traditional conservative households the woman honors her husband and supports him and allows him to protect the family. It seems so strange to Americans today simply because America has been a progressive liberal nations for the last five decades or so.
In the world, the man must always defend his family, his love and his life from those on the outside. They will always try to take from him. They will try to steal his money, and they will attack his family, and they will covet his wife. A man must fight to protect his family. Chinese girls, being very traditional, understand this role. Scene is a screen shot from the video.
I would say that this single video, if you watch it, well explains modern Chinese musical culture, in terms and in ways that only the Chinese can understand, and which is often misinterpreted by the progressive-liberals in America and out in the West.
In China, and in other parts of the globe, everyone aspires to this lifestyle that Jay Chou sings about. Thus, you can see it manifest in different ways… including historical role-play.
What are the Chinese girls really like?
Here the theme behind this song is to show just “who you really are”, well maybe this micro-video says it all…
Maybe all the fun and games of the modern life can be swept aside when you study what the real feelings and emotions of the Chinese people are. For underneath everything you have a very conservative and traditional people.
Discos and Clubs are fun.
I lie to sing and play in the clubs. Here is a good idea what it is like…
Dancing and Exercise are considered nearly identical in outcome.
When I say that everyone in China dances, I am not using hyperbole. Dancing and exercise is a fundamental part of life in China, as well as in other conservative nations. Even the most fundamental Muslim nations have singing and dancing as part of their traditional rituals.
It is the progressive liberal reality… one geared towards a very bland “utopia” where no one likes to sing or dance. But, China is traditional and conservative.
Fads and fashion come and go, but most revolve around music.
The below is a hospital college. Like the rest of China, they have gotten all caught up in the latest songs, and fashion of the year.
What friends are for…
I love this. Dudes, you need to spend time with your friends. Go out, and spend $20 on some beer and pizza and just talk. You must go forth. Time is being wasted. Make your life count. Do it TODAY.
This is not hyperbole. You need to develop your friendships. You need to build up a strong network of friends. You need to just hang out with them. You need to live life. Yes… YOU do.
Even if that means buying a bag of Doritos and watching reruns of old Vincent Price movies on the computer monitor. You must do that, even if it means that you will need to drag your dog and your kids along. Go and bring a fishing pole why don’t ya? Don’t a a permit, well being your tackle box as an excuse to trade spinners.
Relationships don’t just happen, you need to create them.
One of the things that often happens in the United States is that we get so caught up at work, and unless we have an active church and spiritual life, our friendships eventually whither away and die. The Chinese do not let that happen. They try to cultivate their friendships every opportunity that they get.
This next video is from Vietnam. Heck the rest of the world is having fun, why not you? Are you too good to have fun? Are you better than everyone else. Or are you waiting for the USA government to declare war on some other nation so you can get a free trip over and “see the world” on Uncle Sam’s dollar? Eh?
What? Don’t want to go to Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, and the handful of others? I hear that the Neocons want a war in Venezuela. Hey! You do love to throw your tax dollars away don’t ya!
Not one single war, since World War II, ever made any difference in my personal life. It’s all about us “regular Joes” fighting and dying for the rich oligarchs.
Hey! Here’s Vietnam. Loving it. Chilling and having fun. What’s your fucking excuse?
Life is short. Have fun.
Why not? Are you afraid some troll will say bad things to you. Maybe disparage you in some way. Call you names. make fun of your labors, accuse you of stupid things.
Who gives a fuck about shut-ins? Live life. It’s your choice.
Oh, and the MV conclusion…
Oh yes, for those of you who didn’t watch the MV from Jay Chou mentioned above, please note that their relationship had both good and bad times. For life, is anything but peaches and creme. They had a family, but the bad guys came and the hero had to fight to save his family. He fought long and hard. He fought and he fought. But he was mortally wounded. He saved his family, but he died in the process.
Sometimes, all that a man can give is not enough. What matters is that he protects his family; that he protects the children, the babies and the little kittens. It is his role as a man.
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
Continuing on this discussion, let’s look at the environment where the music is played; the venue.
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China is a nation of skyscrapers, huge public works and enormous constructions. Cities the size of New York City are considered to be “small” communities. When the Chinese live in the cities, they often live in the huge towers that dominate the skyline. Living in these structures can be just simply amazing.
With this understood, let’s have a look at what it is like.
Life in a Chinese Apartment…
For those of you who haven’t a clue, this chick is in an apartment located in Shanghai. You can see the towers in the distance and the Pearl Tower off to the left. This is pretty much what it looks like if you live in Shanghai, China. All the buildings are tall, and most of the views are spectacular.
The song that is played in the micro-video, is of course Chinese Pop, and I personally think that it fits the venue. Shanghai is a Westernized Chinese city. In my mind the way that you can tell if a city is Westernized is by the prevalence of Western restaurants, as well as a rather high cost of living to live there.
Speaking of Shanghai…
American style hotdogs. You know what goes great with hotdogs? Yup, a good frosty and icy beer. Beer and hotdogs always goes great together.
Being Shanghai, you can get real American food there. For instance, you can get real American hotdogs. They look and taste like the real thing. The only thing is that they aren’t cooked properly. I like them cooked over an open flame outside in the campfire until they are blackened.
You can get all kinds of authentic, or near-authentic American food. Food, mind you, that is pretty difficult to obtain outside of the country. Do youse guys have any idea just how difficult it is to get a decent omelet in China? Well, it’s not easy, I’ll tell you what.
Here you can get American hotdogs and Holy Fries. Wouldn’t you want to have some Holy fries? I would. You go inside, and of course you can have a beer with the hotdogs. You do realize that you can by alcohol everywhere in China. You can have a beer with your Big Mac, or have one with your ice cream at Dairy Queen. It’s pretty cool.
Life in Guangzhou
Here in the next micro-video we can look at the view of a different girl. She is listening to Blackpink which has taken China by storm and is dancing on the deck of her apartment. The view is also pretty much typical. It’s not so urban, but awesome never the less.
This is what the South East portion of China pretty much looks like. If you are near the industrial areas, the sky is pretty much white, it turns blue from time to time, but those factories gotta keep churning.
It reminds me a lot of San Antonio, Texas.
You even can go to a Texas bar in Guangzhou. It is almost like the real thing. You can drink real American beer and whiskey there and listen to Country and Western music as well. It’s all pretty amazing. If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine that you are back home.
But, I’ve got to tell ya, their accents are just atrocious.
Texas themed bar located in China. You can drink PBR, Coors and Bud there. They really should get some Slippery Rock, Genesee Cream Ale , Iron City beer there, but that is just me.
Speaking of Texas…
You know what I haven’t had in a while? A Whataburger. That’s what. These are the most awesome hamburgers that I used to get when I lived in Texas. I don’t know what they did, but they had this special sauce that they would put on the burgers that made them particularly awesome.
Whataburger is an American privately held regional fast food restaurant chain, headquartered and based in San Antonio, Texas, that specializes in hamburgers.The company, founded by Harmon Dobson and Paul Burton, opened its first restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1950.The chain is owned and operated by the Dobson family, along with 25 franchisees as of April 2012.
Anyways… I’m sorry about all this.
When I get to thinking of hamburgers and then I get to thinking about icy cold beer, and then singing and friends. It’s been a while since I was in Texas to to enjoy this, and while I do enjoy China, I do get home-sick from time to time. I guess, I’m gonna have to put my foot down and get back to the subject at hand.
I do miss my old boots when I lived in Texas. I would wear them everywhere, that and my hat. I had this awesome black hat. I sure do miss it.
This next girl is exercising in a gym. Like many of the gyms in the United States, they play music to exercise to. Physical fitness is important and a fundamental part of the Chinese culture. It is one of the reasons why the older Chinese tends to live longer than their American equivalents.
Exercising in China
Here, the gal is exercising in the gym and the song that is playing is pretty much typical. I can attest that this song is great to do pushups to and arm curls. Just watching her makes me want to do a set of reps, I’ll tell you what.
I have discussed how the Chinese government has provided venues for people to dance in public, and how they have addressed the rising issue with weight gain. I have discussed how they implemented dancing as part of the exercise routines in schools, well here is how they implement club and house music in exercise gyms….
And here’s another gal doing pushups. She is in a different gym. The thing about gyms in China is that they do not have air conditioning. The idea is to sweat out the bad water, and replenish yourself with good fresh water.
Shanghai
When I was in High School, the music that we listened to defined our life and our culture. At that time the top song was Peter Frampton’s “Do you feel like we do”. I guess to kids now a days, this song seems silly, but that was what it was like for us.
Do you all remember the ash trays in the sides of the cars that we all used to ride? Yup, we would cruse and drink beer and toke in the cars and it was quite glorious.
It was all a kind of relaxed haze. I’ll tell you what. It didn’t matter if you were hanging out with your buddies outside of a gas station, or cruising inside a van, getting high and listening to Boston’s “More than a Feeling”. That was what it was like.
That is true for the generation of kids today.
Maybe you all were into grunge back in the 1990’s and listening to Stone Temple Pilots and Plush, or Pearl Jam, Sound garden, and Nirvana. That music defined your life at the time.
Growing up in Middle School, we listened to Alice Cooper, Deep Purple and of course Led Zeppelin. We used to have these square dances that all the girls would come and get us boys to dance with them. I loved doing it. That continued for a spell until some religious fanatic got it terminated because of some obscure rule in the Bible or some such thing.
Square dancing in Middle and elementary school was a popular event all through the 1970’s. I enjoyed it.
Well, I am in China, and I am trying to give this kind of perception to what it is like being here, and how the Chinese people socialize. So, since Shanghai is a major first-tier city, and it is Western to boot, let’s use that as our frame of reference.
Let’s spend some time chatting about the city of Shanghai for a spell. There are many Americans who really don;t know anything about Shanghai they think that it must be a little like Detroit, or Cleveland. Yet, in reality, it is something else all together.
This is what Shanghai looks like from a window in a business building. The night skyline, most especially from a Shanghai hotel room is absolutely amazing. It really and honestly is.
This is what Shanghai looks like from the plaza in front of the hotels in the central section. this is the street-side view. You can pretty much recognize this as the norm for Shanghai.
The Mood of China
As I have mentioned that music is a reflection of the mood and pace of society at that period of time, let’s look at what the mood is in China. During The Jimmy Carter years, we were listening to “I Robot”, Kraftwerk, and Yes. During the Bill Clinton years, we were listening to STP, and Massive Attack. Here, these videos pretty much sums up what the feeling is in China today…
And…
And…
Chinese Crowd Control
Anyways, you have to hand it to China. They have some great crowd control methods. Don’t ya think?
Let’s move on to the next part of this post…
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
As we continue in our playful excursion into Chinese music and culture, please kindly take note of the following warning…
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
China has a long history of strife and conflict. Not just in the last few decades, but for century after century, China has been embroiled in war and subterfuge.
The Chinese know and understand war, and they don’t want any part of it – if they can avoid it. The Western mainstream media propaganda machine about China “saber-rattling” is just yet another excuse to pull America into yet another war…
From the days of Genghis Khan to the Ming dynasty, all China has known has been one war after the other. Those that have survived the many purges, mass murders, wars, and devastation have become resourceful, sturdy and wary. They have evolved into the race of people that they are today.
They have come very far, and the last period of internal strife (when progressive liberal elements just about destroyed the nation and almost threw it back into the dark ages), they have vowed NEVER to risk it happening ever again.
They have licked their wounds and healed up. Now they are garnering their strength and they are a formidable nation to reckon with.
China is all about building upon the lessons of the past.
While everyone is in the Untied States rushing headlong towards destruction of the past to create a new progressive utopia, China is instead concentrating in the other direction. Instead, they are placing emphasis on their past and the lessons that they have learned.
The Chinese truly appreciate their past and their heritage. They are not ashamed of it. They do not teach their children about how they should be ashamed of it. They do not provide revisionist histories to indoctrinate the youth towards a progressive utopia. They do it differently.
Well… I think that I have beat this ol’ horse to death. Moving on…
The Chinese love K-Pop
Both the Koreans and the Chinese are of the Han race. As such, they look alike , think alike and act alike. The most popular music venue in Korea is Korean Pop, also known as K-pop for youse guys who have lived under a rock for the last twenty years.
The Chinese have embraced K-pop with the rest of Asia.
And here is a perfect example of why it is so popular. Many K-pop groups employ Chinese dancers and singers to supplement their Korean staff. It’s public knowledge, at least to those outside of the Untied States. For Americans, you need to deal with the processed pablum that the oligarchs decide can exact the maximum profit from you.
In China, everyone loves to sing. This includes girls, guys and animals. Music is an important part of the lives of everyone in China. The K-Pop and C-Pop concerts are interactive. It is not like you would expect in the West where everyone sits down and listens to the music. Instead it is participative.
In the last section I was complaining about the huge negro over-weight women shaking their enormous doughnut asses about. Well, you know all singers and dancers move their bodies about to one degree or the other. Here we see some chicks in a K-Pop group doing so. It;s not the same thing… not by a long shot.
But, you might ask… why is everyone participating? Why do people sing and dance? What is going on, and why is it going on?
Music is about emotions.
Here I just want to includes some songs that I personally enjoy. Here’s one of my favorite songs that I just love to sing in the KTV; “Wo de Bu Yi Yung”. I also like this video that shows how normal people, JUST LIKE YOU, can make the difference in the lives of others.
And here’s another version…
Here’s another upbeat song that goes great as a duo with a pretty Chinese girl. The micro-video is taken off a television show where they give aspiring young singers a chance at the “big time”.
And of course, I’m not the old American who loves to sing Chinese songs…Heh heh.
Let’s move on to the next part of this post…
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
We continue in our musical explorations. Here we dive further down the “Rabbit hole” into Chinese music. Here, I have taken a little free-associative meandering about Chinese culture and the influences that have shaped Chinese music.
Hey! If you don’t like it, you can go to MSM, WaPo or Wikipedia. They are the (USA recognized) “leaders” of information dissemination today. We know this, as they are constantly congratulating themselves back and forth on all the American media outlets. LOL!
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To understand China, you need to understand their history.
The Chinese and China has over 5000 years of continuously recorded history. This differs from the mere 200 years of the “American Experiment”. China has been a nation of many shapes, forms, and experiments.
Yes, they have had many nations, sub-nations and wars in their history. To understand China…especially contemporary China, you must recognize that they have EXPERIENCE. They are NOT the “new kid on the block“. They have “seen it all and done it all“, and they are not about to get all caught up in the latest experimental social fad that is percolating out in America, France or Sweden.
To understand China, you must accept the fact that they are a mature nation that appreciates their own history.
Check out this beauty. Not only is she singing the most popular song of 2018-2019, but she is doing so wearing traditional Chinese clothing. I particularly love how clean and fresh she looks. I love the outfit too.
The overall appearance is quite different from what you would find in the Untied States. In the United States today, THIS is what is considered beautiful, womanly, sexy and ladylike…
In comparison to the American vision, we see a nice stately lady, singing and being proud. I like how the waist rises up high, almost to her chest. I like the colors; red and white. It all seems so very happy and fresh. I love her hair, her smile, her eyes. Heck, I love everything about her.
Of course, I love her because she is cute, but I am talking about how she moves and the story that she sings. She is so typical Chinese. She is the “real deal”, and I would bet that she would make a fantastic friend and maybe… maybe even something more for the right man.
This, more ladylike demeanor, is part of the r/K survival strategy of species. Today, in progressive liberal America, the females have become large, aggressive, crude and sex machines. Where in a conservative, and traditional society it is quite the opposite. But, don’t take my word for it, just watch how Chinese female vocalists act while they are singing…
Yes, she’s quite different from her American counterpart. She is poised. She is refined, cute but strong. You can actually say that she acts like a lady. This is quite the contrast to the trashcan sized asses being waved in front of Americans every day.
Modern China is very similar to the style and quality of life that American had before the great onslaught of progressive liberalism that swept through the nation starting around 1905. Today, most Americans have no idea what life would be like without the progressive chains, and locks wrapped around their paychecks, the regulation in their life, and the inherent behaviors that they have adjusted to… like Pavlov’s dog.
Yes, China is conservative. It is traditional and it is conservative, but it is NOT American-Christian conservative. It is Chinese-traditional conservative. It is similar to American conservatism, but not identical to it. It is similar.
Still not convinced?
Yes, American music is enjoyed in China, and yes the Chinese love the crazy antics of Lady Ga Ga and others of her ilk. And, yes, K-pop is very popular, but all in all, the Chinese are a traditional and formal conservative nation. The music and how it is presented, sung and enjoyed reflects this most basic fact.
Today, China with it’s enormous network of high-speed bullet trains, factories providing labor, a traditional life with conservative values ENFORCED BY LAW would be very appealing to Americans of the last century.
If you could somehow take your great-great-great grandfather to modern contemporaneous America, and modern contemporaneous China, I would pretty much bet that he would feel more comfortable in China… even with the language difference… than anything that you have in America today.
Well…
How does this cultural thing manifest? You might ask. Well, if all of the American media is making heroes of people who sit out when the American anthem is played, and make heroines out of fat, ugly black women jerking their asses about like they have a severe case of hemorrhoids, the Chinese culture manifests in a more traditional and conservative way.
Back in the 1950’s and 1960’s, before the federal reserve totally eviscerated the dollar (it was still worth about $0.25), the wife could stay hold and take care of the family and children. Then, in the conservative society, there was a clear distinction of familial responsibilities. The woman would take care of the family, the house and the budget. The husband worked and provided the money for the family to life off of. That is the way it is in China today. In America, everyone needs to work, and it’s everyone out for themselves. It’s all my my my money,with no consideration to the needs of the family.
Here we can see how a typical Chinese girl emulates the Chinese female singers, and the Chinese music. She’s not shaking her ass in a way that looks like she is inviting others to hop on her back and ride her like a hippopotamus would. She’s not proud about being disgusting.
While there are Chinese girls getting a little wild and crazy to American pop music, you can see that they are much softer about it. I think that they aren’t so crude. they aren’t so nasty about it. They aren’t so proud about being overweight, ugly and foul.
Traditional and conservative women are far more polite, demure and statuesque in their actions and behaviors. This is an advertisement from America dated to around 1960’s or so.
I have yet to watch a Chinese girl wave her ass about. Though, I have seen them shake their hips from time to time. Sort of like this…
I think that the Chinese women don’t need to be so crude. They are strong and powerful just sitting down and smiling. Here is a nice young girl. I think that she doesn’t need to show me her back side and wave her ass in my face. Do you?
This debate about shaking asses is all, in itself, rather silly. I am a man, and that means I enjoy looking at attractive women. It also means that I enjoy looking at attractive asses. You know the saying… “bigger isn’t necessarily better”, right?
Here we have a performance showing how to move your body to titillate. You don’t need to have a trashcan sized ass moving about like a rock crusher or road grader to emphasize it.
Now, all this social differences are manifest in other ways as well. For instance, the Chinese, being traditional and conservative, they have no qualms about celebrating Christmas. Yes…Christmas!
In China, holidays are considered an important way to maintain social stability.
This of course, includes Chinese traditional holidays, but it also includes other “adopted” holidays as well. In China, they are all quite happy to adopt American (and European) Christmas holidays, American Halloween, and even (to a far lesser extent) Christian Easter.
In China, holidays are considered to be important and even sacred. The entire family must get together, and share the holiday with friends and other loved ones.
In fact, I can honestly say that Christmas is celebrated more vigorously in China than it is in the United States. In the United States today, you can’t even say “Merry Christmas” at work. It’s become “Happy Holiday”, how very progressive. How very bland.
Here is how Christmas should be celebrated…
Through, that is really nothing when you compare it with how the CNY (Chinese New Year) is celebrated. My goodness! It’s a one month long orgy of food, drinking, singing, and sleeping. I am astounded by it every single year. My goodness gracious!
In China you won’t really be able to obtain turkey easily, but goose, duck, and chicken are easily obtained. Back, before progressive liberalism went mainstream, people used to dress up for formal holiday dinners in the United States. The wife of the house would set up the table formally using the best china and silverware. The food would be cooked and baked with love and consideration.
And with that, let’s move on…
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
Here, we step aside for a brief interlude and continue down the path exploring contemporaneous Chinese pop music and the culture promoting it.
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For starters. Music, I believe, is an emotional representation of the culture form whence it is derived from.
Music is a way to evoke emotion.
Take a second to look at the next video. What is going on here? What is the “back story”? Do you think that this is normal and typical, or is this some kind of staged event for a camera to post on the internet?
Do you think that she is “privileged” in such as way that negro students get a 1700 SAT point bonus at Harvard and Yale for “diversity”. What do you think that this chick would have to say about that?
Music is a medium that we can use to transmit our life; our feeling and our emotions to others.
America is what it is today simply because hard work is no longer considered valuable. The idea that you can get into college through bribes is out of a third world nation, it doesn’t belong in America. How did this all come about? What was the impetus for this terrible distortion of reality?
Since China is a traditional and a very conservative nation, it should be no surprise that history is not only honored, but appreciated. This is evident in the many history themed movies and soap operas that are quite prevalent in China today.
Chinese people are very comfortable with their history.
In America today, very few people know about Paul Bunyan. Few understand that Johnny Appleseed actually did exist. Today, American history is not taught in any way other than by disparagement. People in public schools are taught to hate the American history.
Not so in China.
China has really moved forward from the ashes of what Communism did. They have moved forward, and have worked very, very, very hard to be what they are today. Everyone has played a role in the enormous growth of China, and the music reflects this…
The Chinese people strive ever upwards, often suffering in silence. Their music reflects this.
A mere thirty years ago, many middle-class Chinese lived below the poverty level. They had plain and bare houses. Many, often had to share a communal outside commode and latrine / shower combination. Things have changed so radically.
Never before in history has a race of people, or a nation been so pulled up out of poverty.
The ignorant might want to credit Mr. Mao, but the true architect of the modern China is former American President Ronald Reagan. It was his policies, as implemented by traditionalist and arch-conservative Mr. Deng, that China was able to move out to the mess of thousands of years of wars and strife. Followed by the horrendous mistakes of the Communist government in the 1960’s and early 1970’s.
The Chinese people have suffered, and they do appreciate where they are today.
As such, they appreciate music, both local and international music and apply them to the life. You can see this in many ways. They enjoy music from Russia as well as America and often enjoy the American music in ways that us out West cannot understand.
The Chinese love many of the same things that Americans do.
Check out this European and Chinese boxing match. It kind of looks like something you might find in Chicago, Pittsburgh or New York.
China is a conservative, and not a progressive liberal nation. They do not tear down historical monuments for a new progressive utopia. Instead they honor the past, and create monuments to the great men and ladies of their past. They honor their history.
The Chinese honor their history.
The Chinese know their history, and they do appreciate it. They know about the struggles, the tricks, the lies, and the various abuses that have been heaped upon them…century after century. They will not forget their history.
They will learn from it.
The China that exists today is because the Chinese have learned from their history. This is a nation run as a meritocracy. They are a single-party government; the traditional-conservative Chinese party.
They have vowed never to forget, and when some progressive activist comes along, they immediately take actions to suppress them and remove them from society… that is, of course until they come to their senses. Then, and only then, can they be permitted back into society.
The Chinese people don’t insult their culture. They are proud of it. This differs quite substantially from what you see in America today. For instance, like the millionaires and the actors that dominate American culture today.
In fact, if I may be so bold, it is precisely the WAY that the (so called) conservatives, and traditionalists handled the matter of SJW public protests that indicates just how weak the conservative movement (hah! What a laugh.) is in the United States today.
You will notice that these fellas all still got paid. They were not penalized. They got away with it, and made millions in the process by all the media fawning news coverage that was thrown at them.
Today, the traditions and even the very founding of America is made fun of and a mockery of.
This continues a pace. Even in Congress, by our so-called representatives. They all despise you and I. They laugh at us. They hate us. Unless action is taken now… what do you think it will be like for folk like us when these people have majority rule?
Of course, this would NEVER happen in China.
China has zero tolerance for Social Justice Warriors, change, and especially change to their traditional conservative way of life. The Chinese do no mess around.
China is a serious nation, run by experts through merit.
Of course, it is reported differently in the United States press.
It is reported as the terrible Chinese rounding up those poor-helpless Muslims and putting them into these massive re-education camps. It is reported that the Chinese is attacking those poor feminist and gay activists and arresting them unjustly. It is reported as the evil Chinese just hate other “down trodden” folk and their (well-meaning, peaceful) alternative lifestyles.
The Chinese are the only people who will defend their traditional way of life.
They will NOT make the same mistakes that the American conservatives, and traditionalist have; to “turn the other cheek” and to “bend to the will of the minority. They will not have a Chinese version of George Bush, or Mitt Romney in position of power.
We conservatives have let this ideological cancer metastasize for far too long for its excision to be simple or painless. For too long, we have been patient with outrages we should have fought to reverse. We have let our opponents secede incrementally from us for decades. We have been tolerant and patient. In our tolerance and patience, we have given up our civil society, our political representation, and our freedoms one by one.
Our maladies won't be fixed by delicate adjustments now — half-heartedly performed by yet another generation of narcissistic government planners and invisible elitist bureaucrats.
Intellectuals like George Will and think-tanks like the Heritage Foundation have done us little good. Our condition demands a radical, unflinching surgery if we, as a nation, are to survive. Either the cancer wins, and kills us all, or we defeat it — and we accept the scars. Let us not pretend they would not be hideous scars. And let us not pretend it would not be a deeply barbarous and bitter surgery.
In the Chinese mind, they have ALWAYS been under assault. This period of time… right now… where they are emerging towards world-class greatness is destined to be a short interlude unless they seize the opportunity.
Otherwise, they will be overwhelmed and absorbed by whatever culture manifests in the West. They simply will not be able to tolerate that. Their history, their life, their traditions, and yes, their conservatism MUST survive.
They are willing to defend that tradition, and they do not mess around about it at all. Of all the nations in the world, China has declared war against progressive liberal social justice warriors and their ilk…
The will not allow them to chip away at the Chinese fabric of society. They will not allow it.
Let’s move on to the next part of this post…
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
Moving forward… let’s look at the fifth part of this exploration into contemporaneous Chinese music.
Let’s start here at this micro-video holding numerous songs. You will note that each song has a specific dance routine to it. This dance routine is so well associated with the music and the particular song, that you can actually do some of the dance moves and a Chinese person would know exactly what song you are thinking of.
Some will even sing out it to you.
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Songs with dance moves…
In this next video, please keep that in mind, and if you get the opportunity, try it out with a Chinese friend. See if they know the song that you are referring to when your fingers walk on your arm.
Or perhaps when you lean back and make a Tarzan yell.
Next on the list is a great number that is associated with love, romance, and marriage. You will find many micro-videos in the TikTok application using this song along with a marriage theme. Sort of like this…
Love and Romance songs.
The Chinese, just everyone else in the world fall in love, get married, have children and build up a life as a family. This is a fact that is celebrated in music. Romantic love songs, specially songs that celebrate getting married, having children, and growing old together seems so strange to contemporaneous American ears.
Image from a magazine advertisement dated to the 1960’s. During that period of time, America was still conservative, and traditional ideas of dating and family were valued as important. That differs substantially from today’s gender-neutral reality, and the idea that there is no “head” of the household. Where everyone is equal, but no-one really is.
For today, in the new progressive liberal America, the thrust is for free-wanton sex with everyone, everywhere. It is a ideal that says that there are no genders, and that all the past…cultures and history were all a big mistake.
China, and the Chinese are on the other side of the coin. They believe in traditional relationships, love and marriage.
This all seems so strange to us from the West. Most especially for Americans. But, it need not be that way. In China, friendships are considered very valuable, and they cultivate them. (Which is one of the reasons why the drinking culture is so evident.) When the students go to school, they share dorm rooms of four to eight people and they end up doing everything together.
Chinese Friendships
When they get older, and work, they have group exercises in the morning before their shifts. These group exercises are actually dance routines. The very same dance routines that you will see in the micro-videos. This is true whether they are exercising as part of their school, exercising for their work, or exercising with the guang-cheng-wu-da-ma (dancing grandmothers) in the mornings or at the end of the day.
Everyone in China dances / exercise / sings to music.
In America, we sort of handle this differently. We will sing alone in our pickup trucks or in our cars. Or, if we are with our close friends, we would sing together. Indeed, many a time during my High School years, I would sing “Blinded by the Light” by Manford Man, or “Mr. Tambourine Man” by the Byrds.
Americans prefer to sing in the privacy of their automobiles. They prefer to sing in the privacy of the showers. They like to sing in churches and around campfires. Singing is a great thing, let me tell youse guys.
We sill sing in the showers where no one can see us. We might try dancing in secret, where no one can find us. This is something that has developed over the years. I personally attribute it to the automobile sub-culture that developed in the 1940’s and 1950’s. This caused a movement of Americans towards new and different social settings. Settings, mind you, that were not as close and not a nuanced as before.
America; the land of the automobile. People in America began to spend more time outside of the home when the access to the car became easier. In my mind, this in turn lead towards to a destruction of the family unit. With the time spent in front of the television set, the time spent at work, and the time devoted to daily commutes, there was precious little time for father-son bonding.
America is a nation of the “lone wolf” loners, which needs to change. We all need each other. Being alone is a terrible lie. Don’t fall for it.
Anyways, with this in mind, please check out this video.
In China, there are all sorts of sub-cultures and trends moving (or sloshing) back and forth. One of which is the “historical modelling”. In China they don’t have any of this nonsense of “cultural appropriation”. Heck, if you try to even suggest it, the police will come and lock you up to see what your malfunction is.
Historical Role-Play
Historical Chinese clothing that can be purchased in China. The Chinese love to purchase historical-period clothing and do role-play in the city squares and parks. Here, we have a female dress.
In China, the gals like to dress up in traditional Chinese clothes and walk about town. They go to restaurants with their friends, and have a great time. There are so many different kinds and styles of clothing as well.
You, the reader, need to recognize that China has a long, long history of many, many nations. Over time all these nations fought and conducted wars back and forth. Today, the single nation that we know as China was once a series of mini-nations that grew and collapsed over many thousands of years.
Here is some historical garb for the male role-players int he Chinese community. Note that this particular outfit has long sleeves. In China, the sleeves would be short and then long, depending on who ruled the individual nation where the person lived.
China has a long, long, LONG history with many, many, MANY cultures, kingdoms, and dynasties. They have many Chinese minorities, all of which have their own various clothing, and histories. So, the gals enjoy taking the time and being girls “playing dress-up” in public. And, us guys..well, we LOVE it.
Here is something along the roaring 1920’s in Shanghai…
Now, my personal favorite is the more traditional (and older) period dress. I love how airy it is and how well it flows and moves with the women who wear it.
Here is a perfect example. I honestly love the outfit and the young lass wearing it.
Young Lass dancing wearing a traditional Chinese period costume. This is more common than you would expect.
And, here is another gal. You can see that there are many styles, and fashions available to the Chinese lass. Of course, all of us guys truly enjoy seeing the beautiful women wearing these beautiful clothing.
That’s all a very different change compared to what you have in the Untied States. I find the music in China to be upbeat, positive and often soothing… at least the ones promoted most in popular cultures.
Contemporaneous American Culture
In comparison, I find the music promoted in American culture looks a little like this. Don’t get me wrong, they are all smiling and people are laughing. Though it seems like everyone is laughing AT the fat chicks waving those Volkswagen-sized asses about.
I don’t know about youse guys. It looks to me like the girls would be very happy to have a train of guys having non-stop sex with them, but they don’t look at all like marriage material. They are far too coarse and crude.
But, there you have it. Coarse and crude are exactly “rabbit-style” behaviors according to the r/K theory, and that is exactly what the USA is today.
Heck! And what is even sadder, that the culture is influencing everyone. From adults to the kids, and the babies. I wouldn’t be surprised to see grandparents acting this way, given the saturation of it in the media…
… soon our dear pets will start acting that way as well.
Let’s move on to the next part of this post…
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
I well remember walking into a small family restaurant in Shenzhen. They were playing “Christian Rock”. I’ve got to tell you all, I was astounded. It just isn’t something that you hear every day. Not in the USA, and most certainly not in China, of all places.
So I asked the woman there why she was listening to Christian Rock. (My wife asked her, as my Chinese wasn’t anywhere near competent.) And she smiled, and told my wife that the music spoke to her.
The Christian Rock music spoke to her.
China is a very conservative nation that holds traditional Chinese values in the highest regard. In fact, that is one of the many things that astounded me about China. When they threw away the tenets of Communism back in the 1970’s, they embraced full-on conservative values.
Now, as such, the Chinese has a full affinity to American conservatives… Conservatives mind you, not the NeoCon’s who see every war as a money-making opportunity to line their pockets through the deaths of others. Hello? John McCain, Hillary Clinton, George Bush… anyone?
The Chinese people love American music.
I like to think that the reason is because there are some awesome talent in the Untied States. I think that people all over the world can recognize this talent, and America is most certainly the home of some of the best music in the world.
Anyways, the Chinese love American Country and Western music, and many a night has been spent with myself belting out some Conway Twitty, and George Jones. (Heck, in my mind the best Country and Western music came from the 1980’s, and the 1990’s.But, that’s just me. Heh heh.)
Tim McGraw. American country singer. When an American sings Country and Western songs in a Chinese KTV, the effect is profound. The Chinese have never experienced live Country and Western concerts, and so, to them, it is like being in a real honest-to-goodness live famous singer.
Here is an American Country and Western song that is HYPER popular in China. You all should see my rendition of it after a few bottles of whiskey. Heh heh.
(Oh, and by the way, the Chinese girls think that an American singing Country and Western, or Pop music is like a “God”, the way they look at you. You guys have no idea… None what so ever.)
Country & Western style music is popular.
The Chinese have their own versions of Country and Western music. However, unlike the West or in America, it is not stratified or segregated into different musical genres. The music, to me, sounds like it is all mixed together.
If you listen to a music station on the radio, like in a taxi, for instance, the music will all be mixed together. Suppose it is July. It is hot out, and the A/C is on in the car, and the radio is on. You can hear the songs, as well as the GPS navigate the route in Chinese.
The songs would include everything from long DJ smashed up-songs to American Christmas carols. Yep. That’s true, as any American expat can attest to. (Ah, I well remember the first time I heard Jingle Bells played during a hot August night by a house band in a bar.) The music would include everything from sappy Chinese love ballads, to Chinese disco, to traditional nursery rhymes and even American 1960’s War Protest songs (“Who’ll stop the rain?“)
And you can see the influence that Country and Western music has made on the Chinese music scene here. All you need to do is have an open mind and an ear for music. The American Country and Western musical influence is everywhere. From the cities to the rural countrysides.
And, I’m not just talking Taylor Swift here, guys…
Songs that are slower and easy to sing are the best. You know, the Chinese don’t care at all if you can hold a note, or sing on-key. What they care about is [1] if you are having a good time, [2] that you can put some kind of emotion into the songs when you are singing them, and [3] if you enjoy singing the songs.
Slow songs vs. Fast songs
Just be careful, or else you might end up singing some impossibly fast American songs that will be near impossible to sing. Don’t let that happen. I always keep a small list of my favorite songs that I can sing in KTV’s on me, in my wallet. You never know when you have the opportunity to play at a KTV, I’ll tell you what.
You can tell that these songs are all easily lent towards singing at a KTV while drunk…or sad. Heh heh. When you have an opportunity to sing with some Chinese friends, please heed my advice and take it. It’s a great way to make friends, and a fantastic waste of time, eating and drinking and smoking.
Life is meant to be lived.
Life is too short. Live it.
Morning, noon, and night, everything tastes better outdoors. This is a vintage advertisement, but the truth behind this simple ad still rings true. Seriously, I think we all should enjoy our life more. That means YOU.
Over time, you will see loved ones pass on, or go away. You will see friends come and go. You will see seasons pass, and unless you are careful, it all might just pass you by. Don’t allow that to happen. Live life well. Heck! Live it very well.
One of the things about China, well – Heck, all of Asia is how prevalent American music is. It can be found everywhere. It can be found on-line, played on the radio stations, and in the bars and clubs. It goes without saying that you can most certainly hear American music in China. Though the song types and style might be different. In China, an A-listed American song might actually be a C-listed airplay song in the USA.
Asian Advertisement.
Here’s an example of an advertisement for beer in Japan. Today, the video advertisements are really great to watch. Many times they like to use music to drive a point across. Check it out…
By the way, those little balls that she is eating are popular all over Asia. You can buy them all over China. They are fried octopus balls. The octopus tentacles are mixed with a kind of bread dough, and deep-fried and covered with this thin kind of shavings.
It’s pretty good. You all should try it. Oh, and you know… it goes great with beer. Especially icy cold beer.
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
I would like to take a little side excursion on our exploration of the Chinese music scene today to look at what makes certain types of music so popular to the Chinese people. Why do they like slow, sappy love ballads, say… instead of twerking urban jungle-rap. You know the type, where the girl gets on all fours, puts her ass high into the air and shakes it so that everyone can watch her rolling blobs of fat jiggle. Why aren’t the Chinese like that?
Let’s explore this issue somewhat. OK?
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What is the most popular venue for music in China?
That is a very good question. But, first before we answer it, consider what the most popular venue for music in the USA. The most popular venue is music played on the radio or player in the automobile. That is the most common venue that Americans use to listen to their music.
Americans will hop in their automobiles and immediate start to listen to their music. This is true whether it is via the radio, CD, USB or satellite radio. Of course, the will also listen on the internet and in other venues. But the most common… for Americans… is in the privacy of their car.
Thus, that is where they might sing. That, and the shower…heh. Heh.
For the Chinese it is quite different. Most will listen to the music on their cell phone while they are riding the bus, the subway or the train to work. They will put the headphones on and listen. They won’t have the chance to sing along to the songs… that is… not until they go to the KTV.
When the Chinese go to the KTV, the go with friends, and there in the privacy of the room, can sing to their hearts content. No one will make fun, and no one will question them. It will all be fun.
And at the Club…
Or, of course, when they are at the club, as shown in this here micro-video…
Ah, you know what these videos remind me of? Yes. They remind me of beer. yes, that most glorious refreshment (especially when icy cold). As an American who was raised during a time when America was traditional and conservative, beer was the staple libation for all races and sexes.
There’s few things finer than drinking some beer with good friends, and pretty girls, and singing songs. I’ll tell you what, how does that sound…singing your favorite song while drinking a nice frosty cold one? Eh?
Glorious, glorious beer!
The Chinese are just like Americans. They love to sing. Anyways, guys… don’t tell me that there isn’t a song that you don’t sing to when you are in the car!
Heck, when I was younger, I used to sing Classic Rock, which then included Aerosmith, and of course Deep Purple. Later, I would sing Southern Rock with Charlie Daniels, and Neil Young. And then when I discovered Country and Western Music, I would sing every chance that I would get.
Maybe you could have a loved one grab you a frosty beer and you two could share it in front of the television or computer. Now, wouldn’t that be nice. You know, beer is versatile. You don’t have to sing a song to enjoy it. You can eat some pork and beans, or a burnt-crisp hot dog with relish, or a fine hamburger and enjoy the fine taste of a frosty tall beer. I think that you deserve it. Don’t you?
If you are not drinking and singing, there is something serious missing from your life, I’ll tell you what.
Look guys. Look at the above video. That is my life. Being around pretty girls, drinking adult beverages, singing, dancing, and eating fine food. If you are not living life, then you are missing out. Life is far too short not to enjoy it. Life is short, live it well.
Life is short, Live it well.
Go out and be with friends, and what…? You don’t have any. Well, then make some. Life is about living. That is the purpose of life; to have experiences. Life is not sitting in front of a monitor all day, whether it is for work, or for your lonely personal enjoyments. Screw that!
You are missing out, dudes! What were you doing when this video (below) was taken? Was it important? Will you remember it on your death bed? Chances are no. You were doing something else. maybe reading the “news” on the computer. Maybe you were checking and clinking “likes” on Facebook. Maybe you were doing your taxes so that you won’t get audited. Maybe you were at work…
Life is too short. You need to enjoy it. Have a beer gosh darn it!
People, it’s time for a beer and some fine tunes. It’s always time for a beer and some fine tunes. Most especially when you are sharing that time with a pretty girl, I’ll tell you what.
People, life is meant to be enjoyed. If you are not singing. If you are not dancing. If you are not eating well… if you are not with friends, children, pets, and loved ones, then you are truly missing out. Go out. Make your life wonderful.
Be like this…
Life is far too short to get all caught up and bothered by the machinations of the rich oligarchs that control what we read on the news media though our computers. Really… does it matter (if) there are tri-gender bathrooms in Portland, Or? Does it matter if yet another Democrat is trying to ban guns? Does it matter that yet another Muslim molested a six year old?
Yes, those things do matter, but not to you. Your life should be run personally and viscerally. There will always be bad people, stupid people, and rich oligarchs trying to influence you. Turn them off and shut the door. Life is far too short to get upset by their inherent craziness. have some fun why don’t ya.
And how about this…
I am so sorry if I am ramming my preference for singing, dancing and drinking with pretty ladies down everyone’s throat, but you DO NEED TO UNDERSTAND that that is a fundamental part of Chinese culture.
And yes, it takes place in the work offices as well, as can be illustrated by this Chinese laoban (boss)…
In my mind, the computer has been used as a tool to take over the minds of Americans. Now, it is just a tool, and nothing more, yet many of our youth have used it as a replacement for the more important aspects of our lives. That is horrible and it must stop. Use it as a tool, and then move on…
Maybe music isn’t that important to you. Well, how about a ball game on a beautiful sunny day? How about it with a great hotdog and beer? How about it with your friends? You see, life should be fun and enjoyable. If it isn’t, then it is a miserable existence and one that needs to change.
Music is a pleasure that is an important and fundamental part of our lives. Let it be as it is, and enjoy it. Or, as can be shown by this group of employees during their daily morning exercise and sing-along (yeah, most Chinese companies do this).
Oh, and by the way…
Did you all notice anything about all the videos that you have seen so far? What about the ones that you will see..? See anything interesting? Yes, it’s mostly women.
But! But! But, how can this be? The Western news is all about how the Chinese have completely killed off most of the male off-spring during the implementation of the one-child policy. So if the Western narrative was correct, then almost all the videos that you would see in TicToc would be of guys about guys. But, that is not the case…what is going on? Eh?
Hey! Maybe I'm one of those Communist Propagandists trying to sway American Conservatives to the evil side, eh? Yuppur. Beer, pretty girls and singing is the sure fire way to convert virile American men to the ways of the beta-male trans-gender crowd. Yes. As we all know that is what Communists represent. Huh. Eh?
OK, sorry for the interlude. Ugh 7 videos. So to continue, please click here…
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
Moving on to part three, let’s continue our audio / visual exploration of the Music and culture of modern China.
This is part three… or, so. I’ve lost count. Heh, heh.
There is quite a wide selection of music to choose from in China, and many Chinese typically listen to all if it. This lies in opposition to what you would see in the West; where there is only one kind of “good” music, and everything else is shit.
What? You don’t believe me? Oh, maybe that is because I am older than you-all, and I well remember the disco-wars between “Classic Rock” and “Disco Fever”. But, then again, what did it really matter? We all eventually started to settle down to Kenny G and Chardonnay.
You can just ask Hilly Clinton how it all worked out. Eh?
Hillary Clinton surprise. Yah, this couple pretty much ran the United States for around forty years. Both in public and behind the scenes. Yup, they made out pretty well. Some might say that they made out like bandits. But not me…
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
I think that, for the Chinese, music is something that accompanies events and actions. Where, in the West (and in America), music is a way to charge up your feelings and emotions. It is thought of, and used, differently. Anyways, that’s what I think.
The First song…
That being said, let’s continue with this little number. This song has various versions. Some are fast and others are slow. All have male and female singers, which, of course, leads itself to perfect KTV songs. (You know boys love to sing songs with pretty girls.).
The DJ scene is very big in China. If you don’t have the Kougou or similar applications, you can access the tracks using the Internet. Here are some sites to get you started…
Rocking Chinese DJ in Spanish. Access via the link above.
The Second Song…
And moving on we have this tried and true song. Personally, I don’t think that it is possible to visit China without hearing it. Look at the names. Yes, they are Western names. You might ask, “why are they singing in Chinese”?
Think about it a moment, will ya.
China is one of the triad of global leaders. Soon, that stage will be empty all except for China. People who are aware of trends have taken notice and are playing the “long game”. They have learned how to speak Chinese and are active in trying to network and profit with the “rising star” in the Far East.
The world is not what CNN, WaPo, and for that matter, FOX says it is. It is something entirely different, and it is up to you…yes, YOU to realize this and adjust your life accordingly, or to become a mindless programmed NPC drone. It is your choice.
CNN is the propaganda arm of the DNC. The DNC, in turn is fully owned and organized and represents the needs of the global oligarchy. It is your choice to listen to them and be manipulated by their narrative. It is your choice, and good or bad, what ever consequences may manifest,YOU will be personally held responsible (at the “Pearly Gates) for how it affects your life and your family.
Anyways… moving on…
The Weather Girl Sings for us…
And here is a personal favorite. Doesn’t she look like a CNN info-babe, or a Weather-channel girl. You know, you give her an umbrella and take professional photos of her on a brilliant fresh Spring day in a park. She can just stand there with her hand out trying to see if a drop of rain will fall on it or not. Yeah. Something like that.
She’s nice and I personally really like the song.
Shared Experiences…
This next song is one that I have encountered many times at the KTV. Here we would have my various friends gather around and sing this song together. It’s about life, and friends and histories… especially shared histories. It reminds me so much of what it was like growing up in Western Pennsylvania and going to school in upstate New York. Friends are important.
Don’t let life convince you otherwise.
Life is far to short to get angry at the television set, or the news on the internet. Life is to be lived…Lived on your terms, and lived in the manner that YOU feel is best.
The Chinese Love of Singing…
Now, moving on to part 4… But first, I want to squeeze in this little number. It’s at the top of the charts these days, and while I have mentioned it before, it is always worth another micro-video. Eh?
Now, of course, all of these videos are going to be impossible to load unless this post is broken up into smaller chew-sized portions. So to continue, please click here…
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
Here we continue with our review of the “pop” music of China in 2019 with one of my personal favorites. You will note that this particular micro-video is from Cambodia.
Now, of course, all of Asia is influenced by China. That includes everything from Korea to Indonesia, and everything in-between. So you really shouldn’t be too surprised that other Asian nations are listening to Chinese pop music. Well, you shouldn’t be.
It’s the same way with America, don’t ya know. America influences Canada and Mexico the same way.
Anyways, here’s the first song of this particular post sub-classification. It’s one of my personal favorites.
You can go on the TikTok application and see all kinds of versions of this song sung by the pretty ladies of China. For those of you who don’t know about this application, here’s the skinny…
And, you know, here is one of my favorites…
Moving on…
Second Song – Дастан Оразбеков
This next song is also very popular. You can find it by searching for Mekepe – Дастан Оразбеков. Though, you wouldn’t know this if you are still using Goggle as your Internet Search Engine. You just cannot go anywhere without hearing it.
Yes, it is again another top hit from Russia. It’s not that Russia has better music than America does, it’s just that the Russian songs aren’t all about “popping slugs into bitches” and about waving large garbage-can sized asses around. They also tend to be more upbeat.
Overall, Upbeat music tends to trend toward Conservative and traditional values, while downbeat music trends toward progressive realities. It’s an easy comparison. Look at the music that was popular during the Ronald Reagan administration, and compare that to the music that was popular during the Barrack Obama administration.
I have come to this opinion through my limited range of experience. It’s my opinion, and ONLY my opinion. So, please, there is no need to send me an email debating this issue with exceptions. It’s a waste of both of our time.
Arguing about popular trends in musical tastes instead of listening to the music you like is a fruitless endeavor. It's sort of like complaining that the steak is not cooked well enough, instead of eating it.
After all, it can’t be 100% correct. How can you account for all those Country and Western “She broke my heart so I broke her jaw” style songs?
Anyways, here’s the Russian song as promoted on Chinese media. If you like it you can download the full song for free HERE. Again, please take note. Unlike the United States, most music is available free in the rest of the world for free.
In the United States you have to be careful, or else you can be arrested for using Torrents, or P2P networks, or listening to music and thus violating the royalty collection efforts of the mega-rich oligarchs out in California.
Anyways… here’s the song.
You can listen to the entire song for FREE over HERE.
Hazel – I Love Poland
Oh, and while we are at it. Here’s a song praising the Former Soviet Block member; Poland. Also hyper popular.
I love Poland - Poland? 我爱波兰 波兰吗 I love Poland - Why? 我爱波兰 为什么 I love Poland - I hadn't believe ya 我爱波兰 我不信 I love Poland - Poland? 我爱波兰 波兰吗 I love Poland - Why? 我爱波兰 为什么 I love Poland - Shut up! 我爱波兰 闭嘴
I love driving by my car 我就是爱开车瞎转悠 And the road its not so far 还好路也不远 Berlin, London, Moscow too 还有柏林 伦敦 莫斯科 It's my love I tell you true 我真的超爱这些地方 When I came to Poland 当我到了波兰 I saw my car was stolen 我的车就被偷了 It was my favourite truck 那可是我最喜欢的货车 I said f**king kurwa mać! 我说富强民主文明和谐自由平等公正法治
Yo no quiero agua, yo quiero bebida 不想要水 我想喝水 Mami tu eres loca no te hagas la fina 老妈你大概疯了吧 Yo no quiero agua, yo quiero bebida 不想要水 我想喝水 Mami tu eres loca no te hagas la fina 老妈你大概疯了吧
Yo no quiero agua, yo quiero bebida 不想要水 我想喝水 Mami tu eres loca no te hagas la fina 老妈你大概疯了吧 Yo no quiero agua, yo quiero bebida 不想要水 我想喝水 Mami tu eres loca no te hagas la fina 老妈你大概疯了吧
I love Poland - Poland? 我爱波兰 波兰吗 I love Poland - Why? 我爱波兰 为什么 I love Poland - I hadn't believe ya 我爱波兰 我不信 I love Poland - Poland? 我爱波兰 波兰吗 I love Poland - Why? 我爱波兰 为什么 I love Poland - Shut up! 我爱波兰 闭嘴
I love driving by my car 我就是爱开车瞎转悠 And the road its not so far 还好路也不远 Berlin, London, Moscow too 还有柏林 伦敦 莫斯科 It's my love I tell you true 我真的超爱这些地方 When I came to Poland 当我到了波兰 I saw my car was stolen 我的车就被偷了 It was my favourite truck 那可是我最喜欢的货车 I said f**king kurwa mać! 我说富强民主文明和谐自由平等公正法治
Yo no quiero agua, yo quiero bebida 不想要水 我想喝水 Mami tu eres loca no te hagas la fina 老妈你大概疯了吧 Yo no quiero agua, yo quiero bebida 不想要水 我想喝水 Mami tu eres loca no te hagas la fina 老妈你大概疯了吧
I love Poland(yo no quiero agua) 我爱波兰（不想要水） I love Poland(yo quiero bebida) 我爱波兰（我想喝水） I love Poland(mami tu eres loca) 我爱波兰（老妈你疯了） I love Poland - I don't believe ya(no te hagas la fina) 我爱波兰 我不信（别装模作样了） I love Poland(yo no quiero agua) 我爱波兰（不想要水） I love Poland(yo quiero bebida) 我爱波兰（我想喝水） I love Poland(mami tu eres loca) 我爱波兰（老妈你疯了） I love Poland(no te hagas la fina) 我爱波兰（别装模作样了）
I had really pretty car 我有辆超炫的车 (baby you have as so far 宝贝你到目前为止 Don't be shy, come with us 别害羞嘛 一起来啊 We will show you amouros) 我们会带你领略真正的爱情 Then I stay in Poland 然后我就留在了波兰 Have not car but I don't mind 我才不在乎有没有车 Chicks in Poland are so hot 因为波兰的小妞超正点 I love Poland kurwa mać! 我爱波兰 走好运
We will show you amorous 我们会带你领略真正的爱情 We will show you amorous 我们会带你领略真正的爱情 We will show you amorous 我们会带你领略真正的爱情 We will show you amorous 我们会带你领略真正的爱情 Oh, yes~ 噢耶
So cute.
Poland is also, like China and Russia, very traditional and conservative. they loath progressive liberalism and their behavior towards rampaging Muslim rapists, and trans-gender activists show this. I like Poland, and my father’s family came from Poland. I have to admit that they don’t have the same kinds of problems that nearby Sweden and Germany have.
The Conservative Debate
You know, I read a comment just yesterday. The fellow said that I am really overboard calling China “conservative”. He argued that China was Communist, and that MEANS Progressive Liberal. He was absolutely convinced that there was absolutely no way that China, or Russia or Poland for that matter, were conservative.
Heck, most Chinese themselves, consider themselves socially liberal. But their idea of liberalism is very, very different from what us Americans consider to be liberal. You need to understand that labels are just that; labels.
The problem, as I see it, is one of misunderstanding. Once a “label” is placed on something, our minds turn off and display a black and white cartoon 2D image of what we are told to associate with that image. We have to look beyond the American main-steam propaganda and look at what things are today. TODAY.
This is what I mean when I say that a given nation is “conservative”…
Anyone who reads the pronouncements out of Beijing for the last twenty years can plainly see that the nation of China is traditional, and orthodox. It’s not even borderline. China is hard-line traditionalist.
Now, to understand what this means, outside the cardboard cutout narrative, you need to see how the American oligarchy defines being Conservative. You turn to Wikipedia where they say this…
I would like to underline the phrase; “Conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions… …with the aim of emphasizing social stability and continuity. ” Dudes, this describes China to a “T”.
Consider these progressive liberal protestors activists in China, and the Chinese government reaction to them…
Now compare that to the United States. When have the BLM activists, or the Antifa activists been arrested, if ever? When they tore down statues? When they harassed people at restaurants, or in theaters (Mr. Pence), or for refusing to bake a cake?
You would never find that kind of behavior in China. That is because China is conservative. While America is progressive liberal. It is, no matter, what you might want to believe otherwise. That is just the way it is. Sorry or hurrah! depending on your personal preferences.
Obviously, the various federal, state and local governments in the United States are certainly liberal. But are they progressive, as I have repeatedly stated? Well, you determine for yourself…
A conservative nation allows you to smoke cigarettes. A progressive liberal one bans them. A conservative nation erects statues and parks to honor past achievements and heroes. A progressive liberal nation tears the statues down. A conservative nation wants a school to teach basics and fundamentals such as being able to read, being able to count, and being able to budget. A progressive liberal school is one that teaches new ways of doing things (like “new math”), and new ways of thinking (diversity officers) and social organization.
People, the only thing that remains of Mr. Mao’s Communist Utopia in China is his picture on the currency. That’s about it. Decide for yourself, or not. Dudes, I put the food on the plate in front of you. You can eat it up or not. It’s not my problem.
Five Song Compilation
Here is a compilation of five songs that also receive a very large amount of airplay in China. This micro-video compresses them all into a very short introductory clip. I think that it is a great way to get a general feel for the place, the pace, and the tastes of the Chinese people today.
Enjoy.
You will note how different these songs, and the music is from what is available in the Untied States today. For a comparative reference, consider what American pop music is today. Look at how welcoming and accepting of this behavior is to the audience. Oh my, they love her wagging her enormous ass about. In fact, there’s even a gal in the back doing the same thing. As well as to the right of the screen.
Look at the top two guys in the middle. What? They don’t seem to be enjoying the fine lady-like behavior of the huge assed negro women. I wonder why? Maybe they are gay, eh?
All American men love big asses…right? That’s the narrative from the main-stream media. Or at lest it has been that way ever since Barrack Obama discussed how he loved big asses on women.
Well, you know what they say… different strokes for different folks.
It’s not just one or two singers either. It’s just about all of them. Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if Taylor Swift starts behaving this way…you know, to usher in the new “progressive” America with gender-less behaviors, free-passes to Muslim sexual abuse, and climate change for all! Woo Woo!
Damn! It seems to me like they all have a very bad case of stomach flu. If they don’t do something about it, and quick, you might end up with diarrhea all over your computer monitor! Yikes!
But seriously, top-down driven mass media manipulation is changing American culture towards a new progressive reality. They implemented anti-smoking social change in the 1990’s and now smoking is almost an endangered species.
Ever since the progressive liberals have tried to make it impossible to smoke in America, cigarette use has fallen to near extinction in America. They are now currently trying the same SUCCESSFUL techniques to ban guns. Soon, they WILL all be banned.
This goes for many of the other types of forced social “progress”. So, by saturating American media with images of fat people, and making it popular to be fat, and obese, and to have huge rolls of jiggling fat, it becomes popular and accepted. When it becomes unpopular to act like a “gentleman” or a lady”, then the crudest behaviors become normal and accepted.
It trickles down to the American public, and everyone starts acting like this…
At five micro-videos, it’s time to move on. The band width hogs would take forever to load using the ISP defaults on most American servers. So, let’s avoid that. Now, on to the next page in this series of posts…
Now, of course, all of these videos are going to be impossible to load unless this post is broken up into smaller chew-sized portions. So to continue, please click here…
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
Here we provide a mixture of the popular music now currently trending in China. Strangely, most Americans are unaware of music outside of the USA shores. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it, but there you have it. The Chinese have their own pop groups, their own rap groups, and their own version of Country & Western music. Additionally, music from Russia is amazingly popular, as well as selected Australian, and American music.
We are gonna talk about all of this. In fact, if I might be so bold, we are going to look at the music from the point of view of culture. Or, in other words, how the Chinese cultures influences the Chinese music scene and why it is similar or different from the American music scene. (As the case may be.)
Due to SEO rules and server limitations, this post is divided into multiple posts. (At least ten, but I lost track of my count. It’s a “bunch” of posts. heh heh.) Of course, we’re gonna need to do this in order to keep the bandwidth hogs to a minimum. There’s a ton-load of videos and audio embeds involved here.
The music is identified by group and song title, and you can hear and check out the music and videos as attached. Where possible, I have also provided direct links so that you the reader could investigate the groups, the songs or their compilations on your own. Just cut and paste into the browser.
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
Romanian translated Bulgarian Rap is popular in China
Let’s start with “Dependent” also known as Пристрастен (зависим). This is a Eastern European song that I (and many of my friends) thought was Russian. But, nope. It’s Eastern European.
Yah. It crashed it’s way into the hearts and minds of the Chinese. Russian pop music is very popular in China. You can hear it on the radio and the various music APPs. Further, the music can be heard all over China. From coffee and tea houses to Majong parlors.
You know… I just have to laugh at how politically correct the United States has become. When trying to research the background on this song, I found this link at the very top of the Google Search results…
Anyways, you just simply won’t be able to find any of this information (provided herein) by using Google as a search engine. In fact, most American based search engines will be rather useless in trying to find this kind of information.
You need to understand that American search engines are dedicated to searching American-interest subjects in English. The determination of what would of interest to an American is determined by computer algorithm, which is in turn, determined by an American software engineer. More often than not, a 20-something millennial, located in California.
The future face of America. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez represents how modern American millennials view the world and what they plan to do with it.
To find similar search results, you will need to use search engines that are not tied to Google. You need to go “deep diving” using non-USA based search engines. Or, at least, American search engines that aren’t so aggressive in American-centrist information searching.
Try Search Encrypt for better search results. Google was great back in the late 1990’s then they got in bed with the rich and powerful. Now they have other objectives, and you, my dear reader are the product for their enjoyment and profit.
Our first song; “Dependent”
Back to the music. Here is the top Russian Romanian song translated into Bulgarian for the Chinese audience. This is the first song on my list.
Dependent…
And here is the lyrics of it, in the off-hand chance you would like to sing along. Credit to the fine folks who collected the lyrics HERE.
Пристрастен (зависим)
Събуждам се, нов ден е. Без теб съм в леглото. Без никаква мисъл. Живея, както си е. Без теб съм наобратно Не мога да се обърна. (пристрастен)
Липсва ми да изрека твоето име сега.
Пристрастен, към дългите нощи безмълвни. Пристрастен, към целувките ти огнени. Пристрастен, и не зная как да се излекувам Пристрастен, към теб...
Събуждам се, нов ден е. Будилникът звънна Нищо не се е променило. Но ти, ти не идваш Да ми кажеш че е свършило. Да ти кажа, че ти простих. Простих ти.
Пристрастен, към дългите нощи безмълвни. Пристрастен, към целувките ти огнени. Пристрастен, и не зная как да се излекувам Пристрастен, към теб...
Пристрастен, към дългите нощи безмълвни. Пристрастен, към целувките ти огнени. Пристрастен, и не зная как да се излекувам Пристрастен, към теб... (х2)
Ok. Yeah. I know you were expecting to listen and hear Chinese songs in Chinese. Well, just hold your horses, won’t ya. The Chinese love all kinds of music, and yes that includes American music. Which has a good and a bad side to it.
For instance, they never went through the two decades of Kenny G sax performances like us Americans have endured. Still, to this day, you can hear ol’ Kenny G belting it out in Chinese elevators, at Chinese Ice Cream parlors and along the many Chinese mall walkways. Ugh!
NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 14: Saxophonist Kenny G performs at Hard Rock Cafe, Times Square on January 14, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/and credit to Getty Images)
Anyways, if you want to listen to the entire song, just cut and paste the title and paste into your Youku player. It will look a little like this. That is, of course, unless the procedure is not blocked by the software oligarchs in California…
Youku example when searching for the Bulgarian song that is popular in China; Dependent.
Once you do this simple task, all the versions of the song will pop up. Awesome!
Screen capture of the cut and paste action of Dependent into the Youku player.
Chinese Music in China
Now, here’s some of the most popular music in China in 2019. Ya all, had best buckle up…
Let’s start with a tune brought to us by 苏潭潭. this is a fine song to sing in the KTV. Slow songs are great. I’ll tell you why. Personally, I like to sing Country and Western songs because they are slow and have a pace that I can sing to.
You know, if you are not careful, your Chinese friends will ask you to sing Beat It”, by Michael Jackson. Ugh! That has happened to me on more than one occasions. Yikes!
This song is well paced, and easy to sing along to. Perfect for the Chinese audience.
Well, moving on…
Now, you would be hard pressed to ride in a taxi, or DiDi without hearing this song. Let along go to a bar, club or eat at a restaurant. In fact, I heard this song today while I was eating my Whopper in Burger King. LOL!
This was brought to us by NCF-艾力.
Music Rotations
This song is very popular. And, it always SEEMS to be in some kind of music rotation with this other song. I happen to like it a lot.
This other song is very Chinese(y). A cute girl sings in a cute way about difficult subjects and life. I guess that that has an appeal to many people through out Asia. Not only in China, but all over Asia.
Here, check out the song…
I do not know who makes up the song rotations. Perhaps a DJ can fill me in on this. I would imagine that there would be some kind of method and methodology involved. However, I have to assume that it would be profit based, and would be subject to the indicators of such measurables. Eh?
I remember one listening to El Rusbo (Rush Limbaugh for all your folks out there in Rio Linda) while he was talking about his early years in the radio business.
He had this story where his job was to listen to the radio rotations (the songs and how often they were played) at the various competitive radio stations. He said that he learned a lot about the business buy understanding why the songs were played at certain times and which ones were selected.
He left it at that. What I took from his story was that there is a science to the music rotation that is provided to the consuming public. Perhaps that too, is the reason why the songs are all in the same music rotation.
Here is another song that is easily on music rotation…
What you can find online…
I did a baidu search. There, I was able to find all sorts of fans singing popular Chinese songs. Ugh! So, so many. It’s a major hobby in China; singing and dancing. Like this chick (next). She is singing a selection of popular songs in China, and she’s not half bad. You go girrrl!
Do not freak out, this is a software player using flash. If you are having troubles or don’t want the hassle, just bypass this video…
Please take Note: If the embedded IQIY player is taking too long to load, one potential reason is that American USP’s have to go through the NSA. It’s for our “protection”, don’t ya know. Also, you have to accept the reality that IQIY directly competes with You-Tube and Netflix. As such, the player is a direct threat to the huge mega-monopolies in California. So Americans need to be “protected” both from the evils of the Internet, and dangerous non-American businesses out to make a buck.
In general, if you are dealing with American sites, in America, the process is rather quick. The USP’s send out the data in bursts that cycle in and out of the NSA approved servers faster than you can blink your eyelids. If however, you are using non-American websites, there will be a delay.
I used to be like most people. You might argue that is is due to transcontinental losses on the cables. However, but most cables have been replaced with fiber optics. And what that means today is that that particular excuse just doesn’t hold up “in court”…
Well, maybe it would in the 9th circus court.
Actually, and unfortunately, most of the lag is due to government “protections”. I like to think that is is the government’s way of keep my mail box free of spam. (BTW; if so, they are doing a pretty piss-poor job at it.) I like to think that the government is looking out for my best interests. You know, catching the “bad guys”, and saving the world for “democracy” (with a small “d”).
You all shouldn’t get too hot and bothered about this. The same is true with China. You do know that China is not connected to the internet, like the USA is? You do know this, right? China is one big…huge… enormous… intra-net. It’s an intranet. Thus, the Chinese government can control what access the citizens can have on internet content.
Just like America does. Only, um… they use other criteria than America does, for other reasons and other purposes.
The debate on what these other criteria are, and how they differ from the USA can (often) result in lively discussion. So for now, let’s just agree that both the USA and China polices the incoming internet traffic, and if anything is slow or difficult to load, you need to recognize that it is due to the nation (and their policies) where you live.
So just hold on. If it is still taking too long to load, you can skip the above mini-player and move to the next post. Lucky for youse guys, aside from the IQIY player, most of the embedded micro-videos are all on American servers. (Heh heh. I plan ahead.)
Now, I have one more micro-video that I want to include. There is a kitty-cat in it, and so I just cannot help myself. LOL. Who doesn’t like dogs, cats or pretty girls? Eh?
Now, of course, all of these videos are going to be impossible to load unless this post is broken up into smaller chew-sized portions. So to continue, please click here…
If you want to go back to the start of this series, please go HERE.
