We are just a group of retired spooks that discuss things that you’ll not find anywhere else. It makes us unique. Take a look around. Learn a thing or two.
This text was produced from Orbit volume 1 number 2, 1953. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.
TONY and the BEETLES
by Philip K. Dick
A TEN-YEAR-OLD BOY GROWS UP FAST WHEN HISTORY CATCHES UP WITH THE HUMAN RACE.
Reddish-yellow sunlight filtered through the thick quartz windows into the sleep-compartment. Tony Rossi yawned, stirred a little, then opened his black eyes and sat up quickly. With one motion he tossed the covers back and slid to the warm metal floor. He clicked off his alarm clock and hurried to the closet.
It looked like a nice day. The landscape outside was motionless, undisturbed by winds or dust-shift. The boy’s heart pounded excitedly. He pulled his trousers on, zipped up the reinforced mesh, struggled into his heavy canvas shirt, and then sat down on the edge of the cot to tug on his boots. He closed the seams around their tops and then did the same with his gloves. Next he adjusted the pressure on his pump unit and strapped it between his shoulder blades. He grabbed his helmet from the dresser, and he was ready for the day.
In the dining-compartment his mother and father had finished breakfast. Their voices drifted to him as he clattered down the ramp. A disturbed murmur; he paused to listen. What were they talking about? Had he done something wrong, again?
And then he caught it. Behind their voices was another voice. Static and crackling pops. The all-system audio signal from Rigel IV. They had it turned up full blast; the dull thunder of the monitor’s voice boomed loudly. The war. Always the war. He sighed, and stepped out into the dining-compartment.
“Morning,” his father muttered.
“Good morning, dear,” his mother said absently. She sat with her head turned to one side, wrinkles of concentration webbing her forehead. Her thin lips were drawn together in a tight line of concern. His father had pushed his dirty dishes back and was smoking, elbows on the table, dark hairy arms bare and muscular. He was scowling, intent on the jumbled roar from the speaker above the sink.
“How’s it going?” Tony asked. He slid into his chair and reached automatically for the ersatz grapefruit. “Any news from Orion?”
Neither of them answered. They didn’t hear him. He began to eat his grapefruit. Outside, beyond the little metal and plastic housing unit, sounds of activity grew. Shouts and muffled crashes, as rural merchants and their trucks rumbled along the highway toward Karnet. The reddish daylight swelled; Betelgeuse was rising quietly and majestically.
“Nice day,” Tony said. “No flux wind. I think I’ll go down to the n-quarter awhile. We’re building a neat spaceport, a model, of course, but we’ve been able to get enough materials to lay out strips for—”
With a savage snarl his father reached out and struck the audio roar immediately died. “I knew it!” He got up and moved angrily away from the table. “I told them it would happen. They shouldn’t have moved so soon. Should have built up Class A supply bases, first.”
“Isn’t our main fleet moving in from Bellatrix?” Tony’s mother fluttered anxiously. “According to last night’s summary the worst that can happen is Orion IX and X will be dumped.”
Joseph Rossi laughed harshly. “The hell with last night’s summary. They know as well as I do what’s happening.”
“What’s happening?” Tony echoed, as he pushed aside his grapefruit and began to ladle out dry cereal. “Are we losing the battle?”
“Yes!” His father’s lips twisted. “Earthmen, losing to—to beetles. I told them. But they couldn’t wait. My God, there’s ten good years left in this system. Why’d they have to push on? Everybody knew Orion would be tough. The whole damn beetle fleet’s strung out around there. Waiting for us. And we have to barge right in.”
“But nobody ever thought beetles would fight,” Leah Rossi protested mildly. “Everybody thought they’d just fire a few blasts and then—”
“They have to fight! Orion’s the last jump-off. If they don’t fight here, where the hell can they fight?” Rossi swore savagely. “Of course they’re fighting. We have all their planets except the inner Orion string—not that they’re worth much, but it’s the principle of the thing. If we’d built up strong supply bases, we could have broken up the beetle fleet and really clobbered it.”
“Don’t say ‘beetle,'” Tony murmured, as he finished his cereal. “They’re Pas-udeti, same as here. The word ‘beetle’ comes from Betelgeuse. An Arabian word we invented ourselves.”
Joe Rossi’s mouth opened and closed. “What are you, a goddamn beetle-lover?”
“Joe,” Leah snapped. “For heaven’s sake.”
Rossi moved toward the door. “If I was ten years younger I’d be out there. I’d really show those shiny-shelled insects what the hell they’re up against. Them and their junky beat-up old hulks. Converted freighters!” His eyes blazed. “When I think of them shooting down Terran cruisers with our boys in them—”
“Orion’s their system,” Tony murmured.
“Their system! When the hell did you get to be an authority on space law? Why, I ought to—” He broke off, choked with rage. “My own kid,” he muttered. “One more crack out of you today and I’ll hang one on you you’ll feel the rest of the week.”
Tony pushed his chair back. “I won’t be around here today. I’m going into Karnet, with my EEP.”
“Yeah, to play with beetles!”
Tony said nothing. He was already sliding his helmet in place and snapping the clamps tight. As he pushed through the back door, into the lock membrane, he unscrewed his oxygen tap and set the tank filter into action. An automatic response, conditioned by a lifetime spent on a colony planet in an alien system.
A faint flux wind caught at him and swept yellow-red dust around his boots. Sunlight glittered from the metal roof of his family’s housing unit, one of endless rows of squat boxes set in the sandy slope, protected by the line of ore-refining installations against the horizon. He made an impatient signal, and from the storage shed his EEP came gliding out, catching the sunlight on its chrome trim.
“We’re going down into Karnet,” Tony said, unconsciously slipping into the Pas dialect. “Hurry up!”
The EEP took up its position behind him, and he started briskly down the slope, over the shifting sand, toward the road. There were quite a few traders out, today. It was a good day for the market; only a fourth of the year was fit for travel. Betelgeuse was an erratic and undependable sun, not at all like Sol (according to the edutapes, fed to Tony four hours a day, six days a week—he had never seen Sol himself).
He reached the noisy road. Pas-udeti were everywhere. Whole groups of them, with their primitive combustion-driven trucks, battered and filthy, motors grinding protestingly. He waved at the trucks as they pushed past him. After a moment one slowed down. It was piled with tis, bundled heaps of gray vegetables dried, and prepared for the table. A staple of the Pas-udeti diet. Behind the wheel lounged a dark-faced elderly Pas, one arm over the open window, a rolled leaf between his lips. He was like all other Pas-udeti; lank and hard-shelled, encased in a brittle sheath in which he lived and died.
“You want a ride?” the Pas murmured—required protocol when an Earthman on foot was encountered.
“Is there room for my EEP?”
The Pas made a careless motion with his claw. “It can run behind.” Sardonic amusement touched his ugly old face. “If it gets to Karnet we’ll sell it for scrap. We can use a few condensers and relay tubing. We’re short on electronic maintenance stuff.”
“I know,” Tony said solemnly, as he climbed into the cabin of the truck. “It’s all been sent to the big repair base at Orion I. For your warfleet.”
Amusement vanished from the leathery face. “Yes, the warfleet.” He turned away and started up the truck again. In the back, Tony’s EEP had scrambled up on the load of tis and was gripping precariously with its magnetic lines.
Tony noticed the Pas-udeti’s sudden change of expression, and he was puzzled. He started to speak to him—but now he noticed unusual quietness among the other Pas, in the other trucks, behind and in front of his own. The war, of course. It had swept through this system a century ago; these people had been left behind. Now all eyes were on Orion, on the battle between the Terran warfleet and the Pas-udeti collection of armed freighters.
“Is it true,” Tony asked carefully, “that you’re winning?”
The elderly Pas grunted. “We hear rumors.”
Tony considered. “My father says Terra went ahead too fast. He says we should have consolidated. We didn’t assemble adequate supply bases. He used to be an officer, when he was younger. He was with the fleet for two years.”
The Pas was silent a moment. “It’s true,” he said at last, “that when you’re so far from home, supply is a great problem. We, on the other hand, don’t have that. We have no distances to cover.”
“Do you know anybody fighting?”
“I have distant relatives.” The answer was vague; the Pas obviously didn’t want to talk about it.
“Have you ever seen your warfleet?”
“Not as it exists now. When this system was defeated most of our units were wiped out. Remnants limped to Orion and joined the Orion fleet.”
“Your relatives were with the remnants?”
“That’s right.”
“Then you were alive when this planet was taken?”
“Why do you ask?” The old Pas quivered violently. “What business is it of yours?”
Tony leaned out and watched the walls and buildings of Karnet grow ahead of them. Karnet was an old city. It had stood thousands of years. The Pas-udeti civilization was stable; it had reached a certain point of technocratic development and then leveled off. The Pas had inter-system ships that had carried people and freight between planets in the days before the Terran Confederation. They had combustion-driven cars, audiophones, a power network of a magnetic type. Their plumbing was satisfactory and their medicine was highly advanced. They had art forms, emotional and exciting. They had a vague religion.
“Who do you think will win the battle?” Tony asked.
“I don’t know.” With a sudden jerk the old Pas brought the truck to a crashing halt. “This is as far as I go. Please get out and take your EEP with you.”
Tony faltered in surprise. “But aren’t you going—?”
“No farther!”
Tony pushed the door open. He was vaguely uneasy; there was a hard, fixed expression on the leathery face, and the old creature’s voice had a sharp edge he had never heard before. “Thanks,” he murmured. He hopped down into the red dust and signaled his EEP. It released its magnetic lines, and instantly the truck started up with a roar, passing on inside the city.
Tony watched it go, still dazed. The hot dust lapped at his ankles; he automatically moved his feet and slapped at his trousers. A truck honked, and his EEP quickly moved him from the road, up to the level pedestrian ramp. Pas-udeti in swarms moved by, endless lines of rural people hurrying into Karnet on their daily business. A massive public bus had stopped by the gate and was letting off passengers. Male and female Pas. And children. They laughed and shouted; the sounds of their voices blended with the low hum of the city.
“Going in?” a sharp Pas-udeti voice sounded close behind him. “Keep moving—you’re blocking the ramp.”
It was a young female, with a heavy armload clutched in her claws. Tony felt embarrassed; female Pas had a certain telepathic ability, part of their sexual make-up. It was effective on Earthmen at close range.
“Here,” she said. “Give me a hand.”
Tony nodded his head, and the EEP accepted the female’s heavy armload. “I’m visiting the city,” Tony said, as they moved with the crowd toward the gates. “I got a ride most of the way, but the driver let me off out here.”
“You’re from the settlement?”
“Yes.”
She eyed him critically. “You’ve always lived here, haven’t you?”
“I was born here. My family came here from Earth four years before I was born. My father was an officer in the fleet. He earned an Emigration Priority.”
“So you’ve never seen your own planet. How old are you?”
“Ten years. Terran.”
“You shouldn’t have asked the driver so many questions.”
They passed through the decontamination shield and into the city. An information square loomed ahead; Pas men and women were packed around it. Moving chutes and transport cars rumbled everywhere. Buildings and ramps and open-air machinery; the city was sealed in a protective dust-proof envelope. Tony unfastened his helmet and clipped it to his belt. The air was stale-smelling, artificial, but usable.
“Let me tell you something,” the young female said carefully, as she strode along the foot-ramp beside Tony. “I wonder if this is a good day for you to come into Karnet. I know you’ve been coming here regularly to play with your friends. But perhaps today you ought to stay at home, in your settlement.”
“Why?”
“Because today everybody is upset.”
“I know,” Tony said. “My mother and father were upset. They were listening to the news from our base in the Rigel system.”
“I don’t mean your family. Other people are listening, too. These people here. My race.”
“They’re upset, all right,” Tony admitted. “But I come here all the time. There’s nobody to play with at the settlement, and anyhow we’re working on a project.”
“A model spaceport.”
“That’s right.” Tony was envious. “I sure wish I was a telepath. It must be fun.”
The female Pas-udeti was silent. She was deep in thought. “What would happen,” she asked, “if your family left here and returned to Earth?”
“That couldn’t happen. There’s no room for us on Earth. C-bombs destroyed most of Asia and North America back in the Twentieth Century.”
“Suppose you had to go back?”
Tony did not understand. “But we can’t. Habitable portions of Earth are overcrowded. Our main problem is finding places for Terrans to live, in other systems.” He added, “And anyhow, I don’t particularly want to go to Terra. I’m used to it here. All my friends are here.”
“I’ll take my packages,” the female said. “I go this other way, down this third-level ramp.”
Tony nodded to his EEP and it lowered the bundles into the female’s claws. She lingered a moment, trying to find the right words.
“Good luck,” she said.
“With what?”
She smiled faintly, ironically. “With your model spaceport. I hope you and your friends get to finish it.”
“Of course we’ll finish it,” Tony said, surprised. “It’s almost done.” What did she mean?
The Pas-udeti woman hurried off before he could ask her. Tony was troubled and uncertain; more doubts filled him. After a moment he headed slowly into the lane that took him toward the residential section of the city. Past the stores and factories, to the place where his friends lived.
The group of Pas-udeti children eyed him silently as he approached. They had been playing in the shade of an immense hengelo, whose ancient branches drooped and swayed with the air currents pumped through the city. Now they sat unmoving.
“I didn’t expect you today,” B’prith said, in an expressionless voice.
Tony halted awkwardly, and his EEP did the same. “How are things?” he murmured.
“Fine.”
“I got a ride part way.”
“Fine.”
Tony squatted down in the shade. None of the Pas children stirred. They were small, not as large as Terran children. Their shells had not hardened, had not turned dark and opaque, like horn. It gave them a soft, unformed appearance, but at the same time it lightened their load. They moved more easily than their elders; they could hop and skip around, still. But they were not skipping right now.
“What’s the matter?” Tony demanded. “What’s wrong with everybody?”
No one answered.
“Where’s the model?” he asked. “Have you fellows been working on it?”
After a moment Llyre nodded slightly.
Tony felt dull anger rise up inside him. “Say something! What’s the matter? What’re you all mad about?”
“Mad?” B’prith echoed. “We’re not mad.”
Tony scratched aimlessly in the dust. He knew what it was. The war, again. The battle going on near Orion. His anger burst up wildly. “Forget the war. Everything was fine yesterday, before the battle.”
“Sure,” Llyre said. “It was fine.”
Tony caught the edge to his voice. “It happened a hundred years ago. It’s not my fault.”
“Sure,” B’prith said.
“This is my home. Isn’t it? Haven’t I got as much right here as anybody else? I was born here.”
“Sure,” Llyre said, tonelessly.
Tony appealed to them helplessly. “Do you have to act this way? You didn’t act this way yesterday. I was here yesterday—all of us were here yesterday. What’s happened since yesterday?”
“The battle,” B’prith said.
“What difference does that make? Why does that change everything? There’s always war. There’ve been battles all the time, as long as I can remember. What’s different about this?”
B’prith broke apart a clump of dirt with his strong claws. After a moment he tossed it away and got slowly to his feet. “Well,” he said thoughtfully, “according to our audio relay, it looks as if our fleet is going to win, this time.”
“Yes,” Tony agreed, not understanding. “My father says we didn’t build up adequate supply bases. We’ll probably have to fall back to….” And then the impact hit him. “You mean, for the first time in a hundred years—”
“Yes,” Llyre said, also getting up. The others got up, too. They moved away from Tony, toward the near-by house. “We’re winning. The Terran flank was turned, half an hour ago. Your right wing has folded completely.”
Tony was stunned. “And it matters. It matters to all of you.”
“Matters!” B’prith halted, suddenly blazing out in fury. “Sure it matters! For the first time—in a century. The first time in our lives we’re beating you. We have you on the run, you—” He choked out the word, almost spat it out. “You white-grubs!”
They disappeared into the house. Tony sat gazing stupidly down at the ground, his hands still moving aimlessly. He had heard the word before, seen it scrawled on walls and in the dust near the settlement. White-grubs. The Pas term of derision for Terrans. Because of their softness, their whiteness. Lack of hard shells. Pulpy, doughy skin. But they had never dared say it out loud, before. To an Earthman’s face.
Beside him, his EEP stirred restlessly. Its intricate radio mechanism sensed the hostile atmosphere. Automatic relays were sliding into place; circuits were opening and closing.
“It’s all right,” Tony murmured, getting slowly up. “Maybe we’d better go back.”
He moved unsteadily toward the ramp, completely shaken. The EEP walked calmly ahead, its metal face blank and confident, feeling nothing, saying nothing. Tony’s thoughts were a wild turmoil; he shook his head, but the crazy spinning kept up. He couldn’t make his mind slow down, lock in place.
“Wait a minute,” a voice said. B’prith’s voice, from the open doorway. Cold and withdrawn, almost unfamiliar.
“What do you want?”
B’prith came toward him, claws behind his back in the formal Pas-udeti posture, used between total strangers. “You shouldn’t have come here, today.”
“I know,” Tony said.
B’prith got out a bit of tis stalk and began to roll it into a tube. He pretended to concentrate on it. “Look,” he said. “You said you have a right here. But you don’t.”
“I—” Tony murmured.
“Do you understand why not? You said it isn’t your fault. I guess not. But it’s not my fault, either. Maybe it’s nobody’s fault. I’ve known you a long time.”
“Five years. Terran.”
B’prith twisted the stalk up and tossed it away. “Yesterday we played together. We worked on the spaceport. But we can’t play today. My family said to tell you not to come here any more.” He hesitated, and did not look Tony in the face. “I was going to tell you, anyhow. Before they said anything.”
“Oh,” Tony said.
“Everything that’s happened today—the battle, our fleet’s stand. We didn’t know. We didn’t dare hope. You see? A century of running. First this system. Then the Rigel system, all the planets. Then the other Orion stars. We fought here and there—scattered fights. Those that got away joined up. We supplied the base at Orion—you people didn’t know. But there was no hope; at least, nobody thought there was.” He was silent a moment. “Funny,” he said, “what happens when your back’s to the wall, and there isn’t any further place to go. Then you have to fight.”
“If our supply bases—” Tony began thickly, but B’prith cut him off savagely.
“Your supply bases! Don’t you understand? We’re beating you! Now you’ll have to get out! All you white-grubs. Out of our system!”
Tony’s EEP moved forward ominously. B’prith saw it. He bent down, snatched up a rock, and hurled it straight at the EEP. The rock clanged off the metal hull and bounced harmlessly away. B’prith snatched up another rock. Llyre and the others came quickly out of the house. An adult Pas loomed up behind them. Everything was happening too fast. More rocks crashed against the EEP. One struck Tony on the arm.
“Get out!” B’prith screamed. “Don’t come back! This is our planet!” His claws snatched at Tony. “We’ll tear you to pieces if you—”
Tony smashed him in the chest. The soft shell gave like rubber, and the Pas stumbled back. He wobbled and fell over, gasping and screeching.
“Beetle,” Tony breathed hoarsely. Suddenly he was terrified. A crowd of Pas-udeti was forming rapidly. They surged on all sides, hostile faces, dark and angry, a rising thunder of rage.
More stones showered. Some struck the EEP, others fell around Tony, near his boots. One whizzed past his face. Quickly he slid his helmet in place. He was scared. He knew his EEP’s E-signal had already gone out, but it would be minutes before a ship could come. Besides, there were other Earthmen in the city to be taken care of; there were Earthmen all over the planet. In all the cities. On all the twenty-three Betelgeuse planets. On the fourteen Rigel planets. On the other Orion planets.
“We have to get out of here,” he muttered to the EEP. “Do something!”
A stone hit him on the helmet. The plastic cracked; air leaked out, and then the autoseal filmed over. More stones were falling. The Pas swarmed close, a yelling, seething mass of black-sheathed creatures. He could smell them, the acrid body-odor of insects, hear their claws snap, feel their weight.
The EEP threw its heat beam on. The beam shifted in a wide band toward the crowd of Pas-udeti. Crude hand weapons appeared. A clatter of bullets burst around Tony; they were firing at the EEP. He was dimly aware of the metal body beside him. A shuddering crash—the EEP was toppled over. The crowd poured over it; the metal hull was lost from sight.
Like a demented animal, the crowd tore at the struggling EEP. A few of them smashed in its head; others tore off struts and shiny arm-sections. The EEP ceased struggling. The crowd moved away, panting and clutching jagged remains. They saw Tony.
As the first line of them reached for him, the protective envelope high above them shattered. A Terran scout ship thundered down, heat beam screaming. The crowd scattered in confusion, some firing, some throwing stones, others leaping for safety.
Tony picked himself up and made his way unsteadily toward the spot where the scout was landing.
“I’m sorry,” Joe Rossi said gently. He touched his son on the shoulder. “I shouldn’t have let you go down there today. I should have known.”
Tony sat hunched over in the big plastic easychair. He rocked back and forth, face pale with shock. The scout ship which had rescued him had immediately headed back toward Karnet; there were other Earthmen to bring out, besides this first load. The boy said nothing. His mind was blank. He still heard the roar of the crowd, felt its hate—a century of pent-up fury and resentment. The memory drove out everything else; it was all around him, even now. And the sight of the floundering EEP, the metallic ripping sound, as its arms and legs were torn off and carried away.
His mother dabbed at his cuts and scratches with antiseptic. Joe Rossi shakily lit a cigarette and said, “If your EEP hadn’t been along they’d have killed you. Beetles.” He shuddered. “I never should have let you go down there. All this time…. They might have done it any time, any day. Knifed you. Cut you open with their filthy goddamn claws.”
Below the settlement the reddish-yellow sunlight glinted on gunbarrels. Already, dull booms echoed against the crumbling hills. The defense ring was going into action. Black shapes darted and scurried up the side of the slope. Black patches moved out from Karnet, toward the Terran settlement, across the dividing line the Confederation surveyors had set up a century ago. Karnet was a bubbling pot of activity. The whole city rumbled with feverish excitement.
Tony raised his head. “They—they turned our flank.”
“Yeah.” Joe Rossi stubbed out his cigarette. “They sure did. That was at one o’clock. At two they drove a wedge right through the center of our line. Split the fleet in half. Broke it up—sent it running. Picked us off one by one as we fell back. Christ, they’re like maniacs. Now that they’ve got the scent, the taste of our blood.”
“But it’s getting better,” Leah fluttered. “Our main fleet units are beginning to appear.”
“We’ll get them,” Joe muttered. “It’ll take a while. But by God we’ll wipe them out. Every last one of them. If it takes a thousand years. We’ll follow every last ship down—we’ll get them all.” His voice rose in frenzy. “Beetles! Goddamn insects! When I think of them, trying to hurt my kid, with their filthy black claws—”
“If you were younger, you’d be in the line,” Leah said. “It’s not your fault you’re too old. The heart strain’s too great. You did your job. They can’t let an older person take chances. It’s not your fault.”
Joe clenched his fists. “I feel so—futile. If there was only something I could do.”
“The fleet will take care of them,” Leah said soothingly. “You said so yourself. They’ll hunt every one of them down. Destroy them all. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Joe sagged miserably. “It’s no use. Let’s cut it out. Let’s stop kidding ourselves.”
“What do you mean?”
“Face it! We’re not going to win, not this time. We went too far. Our time’s come.”
There was silence.
Tony sat up a little. “When did you know?”
“I’ve known a long time.”
“I found out today. I didn’t understand, at first. This is—stolen ground. I was born here, but it’s stolen ground.”
“Yes. It’s stolen. It doesn’t belong to us.”
“We’re here because we’re stronger. But now we’re not stronger. We’re being beaten.”
“They know Terrans can be licked. Like anybody else.” Joe Rossi’s face was gray and flabby. “We took their planets away from them. Now they’re taking them back. It’ll be a while, of course. We’ll retreat slowly. It’ll be another five centuries going back. There’re a lot of systems between here and Sol.”
Tony shook his head, still uncomprehending. “Even Llyre and B’prith. All of them. Waiting for their time to come. For us to lose and go away again. Where we came from.”
Joe Rossi paced back and forth. “Yeah, we’ll be retreating from now on. Giving ground, instead of taking it. It’ll be like this today—losing fights, draws. Stalemates and worse.”
He raised his feverish eyes toward the ceiling of the little metal housing unit, face wild with passion and misery.
“But, by God, we’ll give them a run for their money. All the way back! Every inch!”
This is just a very simple article. I just want to throw out some areas and places where (I believe) cats would enjoy to romp and play at. You know, often I would walk by a scene, a glade, a tree line, or a place and think to myself “My. This would be a nice area to explore were I to be a cat.” And this is what this article is all about.
Cats love nature.
Cats love nature.
Places to practice the art of catting
Cats love to cat around. They like to play and practice, and when I go look at these fine woodland places I imagine them playing and being a cat. Like in the “first blood” GIF below…
First blood.
And they do love to play…
Major cat-play.
Shady Glade
You come across these glades from time to time. Often it’s simply an open area in a wood or in a forest. They are often filled with shrubbery, and grasses and maybe a boulder or two, and surrounded by deep dark, lush woods all around.
A shady glade is the perfect spot to pause and get your bearings on the world around you.
A shady glade is the perfect spot to pause and get your bearings on the world around you.
Maybe you should go there, or a place like it. A quiet and secluded place. Take a friend with you and just be…
Take a friend with you.
Deep woods
I love deep woods. And so did my cats.
Deep dark woodsy forests.
The deep dark and cool forests are often clear of substantive under-growth, but very shady and nice. Fine tromping space, and scatter about areas for the cats to play in.
Nice soft mossy mounds for the cats to romp and play in.
The woods are filled with wildlife to listen for, scent trails to follow, and the music of nature. The cat’s paws walk on soft deep lush carpeting underfoot, nice mosses, and the songs of birds that inhabit the tops of the trees.
Deep trails that lead into lush greenery and moisture.
Cats love to play
They do as this example clearly indicates…
Being playful.
Bubbling brook
Where there were hills, there would be rocks and brooks. These were always filled with life (and insects) but my cats enjoyed exploring the area immensely.
Boulders and rocks in the forests.
And a creek that the little guys would need to navigate, jump over or test their footing with…
A kitty adventure land.
Cats love nature.
Cats love nature.
A place to play and to hunt
As this cat clearly demonstrates.
Playing around cat style.
A large fallen tree
My little guys would love to climb on these things and trim their claws and race about it up and down. Sometimes I would play with them and we would bat at each other, swipe at each other and just play around.
The cats would love to scamper and play about any all fallen trees. First order of business was to climb up, and then they would look down. LOL.
Fallen trees were always a top priority in cat exploration and adventure. As this following picture plainly indicates…
Fallen tree in the forest.
Cats do love to play
They really do.
Cats do love to play.
A rural village road
You do not need to live in a cottage in a forest to make your kitty happy. The most exciting places for them to romp and play could be right there in your own backyard.
Village road.
And here…
Nice woody road.
Rabbit lair
A lair is filled with tunnels in the brambles and briars. Humans cannot enter, unless you are a five or six years old, but they are perfect size for a fine adventuresome cat to prowl.
Rabbit lair…
Places to hunt
Cats love to hunt. Whether it is cockroaches, mice or birds, they stalk and stalk and then pounce. Sometimes it doesn’t work out quite like they planned. Sigh.
Hunting gone wrong.
And other times, it’s payback time…
Payback time.
A light birch wood
A birch wood isn’t so deep and dark as old growth hardwood forests. they are light, and airy. As such they create a unique environment for cat exploration and meanderings.
A light birch wood. Perfect place for feline adventures.
Massachusetts boulders
When I lived in Massachusetts, the near perfect temperatures in the Summer, and the lovely natural surroundings were like a balm of calmness for my cats. They would hang out on these boulders and just chill out while the world around them scampered.
Massachusetts rocks in the woods.
Typical places for a cat who was busy “catting around” to lick his / her paws, feel the sun on their skin and take a much needed nap. As you well know; life is hard. Then you nap.
A fine rocky shelf.
Cats love to play
They most certainly do.
Cats love to play.
Old fence line
An old fence line offers lots of fine cat resting places, and spaces to observe, hunt, track and just play about in. It’s like a cat fairground.
Old Fence Line.
A nice woodland trail
I would often think of my furry friends when I would go on walks or hikes in the various State Forests or parks.
Caldwell fork trail
Old barn
An old barn is often a great place for cats to hunt the local rodents that inhabit the farms. There’s a lot to do, a lot of climbing and jumping, and often many aged bales of hay that make fore great rest areas.
No matter what the weather is…
Cats love equal parts of cuddling and romping outside with you. Sort of like this image here…
Cozy time for kitties.
A fine time for kitty cuddles…
Kitty cuddles.
You can tuck your loved ones in bed, nice and safe…
Tuck in your loved ones for the night.
And my political statement
Up until the 1970’s zoo’s were horrible bare cement and cinder block places where the caged and trapped animals would waste away until they died of loneliness and boredom. Such as this lion…
Poor, sad kitty.
But that has changed. Well managed zoo’s now take the time to provide better care and more “natural” habitats for our friends to live in and exist in. I for one welcome this change.
A modern zoo.
Conclusion
When I had my little guys I would sometimes take them out to the forests with me, or barring that, I would have a house that was next door to a forest. They would love those excursions. All of their senses would perk up and they would be ALIVE.
I hope that you enjoyed this article.
I hope that you enjoyed this article.
This is my tribute to all the cat and cat lovers in the world. Maybe I’m weird for thinking these things, but we shared many a great time together. It is my hope that the cat lovers in the audience will love and appreciate this post as much as I enjoyed writing it.
A kitty on the prowl.
The big cat seal of approval
Big kitty approves of this article.
I approve!
Do you want more?
I have more posts like this in my Cat Section within my Happiness Index. Here…
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.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.
This article is devoted to one of my more neglected sub-indexes. Which is the “learning about China by looking at Chinese girls” sub-index. Well, in this article we won’t be teaching you all all that much about China so much as we are showing you images of what the girls are like in China.
I know, I know… the American propaganda mills have been working over-time to make China look like an evil monster, dark, gloomy, sad and dirty. It’s nothing like that. But you know, the sheeple love to read things like that. It makes them feel good about their sorry lives.
So what I did was I got on my local internet and started collecting short videos made by gals here in China. They are in no particular order. I just went ahead and vacuumed them up as I found them. Over all, they are a great introduction to what the girls of China look like today.
I took the micro-videos and grouped them into batches of ten. Then I zipped up the file so that you can download all ten together. It’s much faster and easier for you to check out these ladies this way. I did make a point to put at least one “noticeable” worthy girl in each group. I’ll have you know.
But first…
Realize that just because the girls like to dance around on Chinese social media does not equate them to be the “standard, and normal” Chinese lass. They tend to stand apart in one way or the other as this video clearly indicates…
But first, let’s see what kinds of images that you can find on American Internet and American websites that depict what Chinese girls must look like. OK.
This is a screen shot of a Bing Image Search…
Chinese girls according to Bing Search.
You know, there are ugly people all over, but seriously, the density of all these types of girls gives you the illusion that this is what all the Chinese girls look like. It’s not even remotely true.
Some Examples of Chinese Girls…
OK. Here’s some fun videos of come pretty Chinese girls.
Click on the link under the picture. It will download a ZIP file.
Unzip to a folder.
Then when you open the folder you will see the ten videos.
Click on the first one, and the computer will play all ten one after the other. You should be able to go through all the ten micro-videos in just over a minute.
Group 1
The ladies come in all shapes and sizes. Some are busty. Some are not. Some are short, and some are tall. All are lovely.
And you can access these young ladies by clicking HERE.
Group 2
Most of the Chinese girls like to wear tight fitting clothes. It’s the current fashion, I figure. I am not complaining. It’s like when I lived in California back in the early 1980’s, and all the girls wore these one-piece spandex suits that they rode bicycles in.
And you can access these young ladies by clicking HERE.
Group 3
All of these girls, no matter what size or shape, all have one or more attributes that are attractive to me personally. I think that it is their personality that comes out on these little videos.
And you can access these young ladies by clicking HERE.
Group 4
You will note that not all Chinese girls have long black hair. Many have brown or shades of brown hair. And while the predominant eye color is brown, there are other colors that manifest from time to time.
And you can access these young ladies by clicking HERE.
Group 5
When I look at these girls, a flood of thoughts assault me. And one of the dominant thoughts is, of course, sharing a bottle of wine with them and eating some fine delicious food.
And you can access these young ladies by clicking HERE.
Group 6
All of these gals have a story to tell. Wouldn’t you like to sit at a table, enjoy some fine food, play some games. Drink some wine and listen to their stories?
And you can access these young ladies by clicking HERE.
Group 7
The gal on the bottom row in the middle is wearing some traditional Hunan clothing. I find the gals, the food, and the hilly countryside very appealing to me.
And you can access these young ladies by clicking HERE.
Group 8
The girl in the blue jeans is showing off her butt. It’s a pity that she doesn’t turn around so that we can see her face, and shape. But that’s the way life is. Sometimes people want to emphasize what they feel is their “best” physical attribute.
And you can access these young ladies by clicking HERE.
Group 9
Girl number two here is quite top heavy. I think that the outfit doesn’t do her justice. She might be better served with a long dress and a expansive top. But that’s just me, don’t you know.
And you can access these young ladies by clicking HERE.
Group 10
Having cleavage is a “thing” for girls in their 20’s in China, I guess. But you have to see them outside the work environment and in the clubs or KTV’s to appreciate it.
And you can access these young ladies by clicking HERE.
Group 11
The girl cutting up food is a real turn on. There are few things that get me more excited than a woman making and cooking dinner. It’s a fetish I suppose.
And you can access these young ladies by clicking HERE.
Group 12
This first gal in the golden spandex has a very nice butt. I could watch her a walking all day long, I’ll tell you what.
And you can access these young ladies by clicking HERE.
Some final thoughts
Now that I am older, when I look at a pretty and attractive lady, I think about going out together. I think about talking, eating fine delicious food, and drinking some nice alcohol. It makes me want to put on my “best side” also and just spend a lovely day or evening together. Engaging in free talk, and just having fun.
If something else happens, then great. If not, well, that’s fine too.
In every event, we would all have a great time. Talking, being our best and sharing our thoughts, our lives and fun together. It’s a precious thing.
One of the things that I really like about China is that you can speak freely to each other. You don’t have to worry about offending someone by your mannerisms, or your language or your subject matter. And this fact really becomes pronounced when I meet someone from the West who comes to China on a visit and I immediately notice they stiffen up and get uncomfortable when I speak, or smoke or drink.
But what’s their problem. I offer them a cigarette. You know?
Jeeze! They are so imprisoned that they don’t know what freedom actually is.
Being afraid to say something, least the person gets offended is not freedom. Freedom is the ability to be yourself. So be it. Don’t try to please others. Please yourself. You’ll end up being a heck of a lot happier in return.
Throw in some fine delicious wine.
And some tasty food.
And some great conversation with some attractive ladies, and you have the makings of a wonderful time. I kid you not. You can believe me on this. And that is really true if one of the ladies is an animal lover, a cook, a gardener, a history buff, a poet, an archivist, or a dancer. My experiences with these kinds of women has always been extraordinary.
And don’t even get me started on some of the prime MM subjects here. You’ll never get me to shut up!
Generally speaking in China, the more you can drink, the more respect you will earn. If you can drink excessive amounts of alcohol, still stand up, form relatively coherent sentences and follow proper Chinese drinking etiquette (see below), you’ll no doubt impress your table-mates and leave a good impression. If you fail, don’t worry! You probably won’t remember it anyway. Obviously never drink more than you can handle no matter what the pressure.
Do you want more?
I have more posts like this in my Pretty Girls of China Index here…
If you read the American (and Western) media today, you will discover that there are a number of long-running screeds regarding China, that play over and over, and over again.
For instance, China is filthy, the people are evil, they lie and cheat and steal, and they are oppressed by the evil communist regime. Etc, Etc. Well one of the narratives is exactly that; “the oppression” of the Chinese people.
Here we are going to talk about this “oppression”.
Here’s a nice little video that works to dispel that illusion. Keep in mind that oppressed people do not smile, laugh, and have fun. They tend to hide inside their homes, and spend the evenings alone watching television or playing games in front of video monitors. They avoid groups. They talk about having to defend themselves, and they justify their stance of defense to be “freedom” from “tyranny”.
You don’t see that in China.
You do see that in the United States, though.
Shanghai, China.
Improving the lives of the citizens
All governments will say that their first order of business is to improve the lives of their citizens.
Most of them will actually mean it. Some of them will work hard at it. But only a few will succeed in doing it.
We know that GDP numbers cannot accurately capture the totality of life.
But certainly we can see that the trend of GDP per capita can offer strong clues about whether things are looking better, or worse, over time.
Harvard Business Review issued this very interesting report, that I would recommend for a read: https://lnkd.in/gY4F6DP
Check out this video
Here’s the video.
And NO, it’s not me. This is a video blogger that travels the world and speaks better Chinese than I do. He has a vblog called JaYoeNation. He’s pretty good. LOL.
Take a spell and let it download. If it is taking too much time, you can click on THIS LINK and down load a zipped-file and watch the video directly. It’s pretty good. Please enjoy.
You have got to see the pictures and this video…
Do you want more?
I have more posts along these lines in my China vs. USA Index here…
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.
Well, this post is to be an elaboration on a few specific MM comments. The poster wanted some clarification on what is going on regarding [1] hotels (in China, obviously) and [2] “new friends” that you might make on your adventures inside of China, and I of course, was more than willing to help him out.
But before I begin, let me clarify a few things.
First Off, China has changed.
China is not the way it was ten years ago, or even later. The days of going to a salon with wall to wall girls that can give you some manly pleasures are few and far-between today. Even in the remote communities. It’s all kind of dying off.
So your experience from ten years ago or longer are actually (sad to say) not really going to be replicated. Those days are over.
I do not see them returning.
The same goes with the ladies that walk the streets, and hang out on the corners. You used to see them everywhere and on certain streets. You can still go to those streets, but things are much more discreet these days. You need to know what you are doing, and have a local friend to help you navigate the local geography.
It’s all about change.
And change is good. Well, in this case it’s good.
Part of the reasons behind these changes it are due to laws, part of it is due to society, and part of it is due to technology.
Laws
China has implemented some harsh laws regarding morality. The Chinese government wishes to maintain a traditional culture, and thus many venues related to vice are discouraged. Prostitution has always existed, and still exists, but it is no longer so blatant and open as it used to be.
Raw, Western style, quick flings are a dying breed. Instead, they have been replaced with talented and beautifulcourtesans. These are mighty women. Some youngish (in their 20's) and some older. All strong, capable and beautiful.
Not to mention... profit oriented.
Society
China is very prosperous.
The Western "news" has been so God-Damn awful that no one outside of China realizes just how well off the Chinese are. They are not only far richer than their American equals, but they own multiple homes, have savings, and are generally far happier.
A walk through any Chinese parking lot will produce a vast number of Mercedes, BMW's, Porches, and high-end local vehicles. Not to mention the occasional Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Bentley.
What this means is that even the poorest Chinese person is doing quite well. The need to go prostitute yourself out of drug addiction, poverty or some kind of forced-slavery is no longer on the table. People who prostitute themselves in China do so for additional money, or to improve their lives. Not out of necessity.
Technology
QR code in the skies of Shenzhen. All done by laser-mounted and LED mounted drones flying via 5G and AI.
Sure there are dating APPs, and payment APPS and QR codes and all sorts of technology that makes business transactions very easy, and free.
Unlike the USA where every single thing you do comes with a fee, in China it's free. You want to transfer some money electronically, scan the QR. No cost. It's free. Try doing that in America. America is the land with a million tiny, tiny hands in your wallet taking very small bites out of everything that you do, so that at the end of the day your wallet is empty.
Not in China.
So it's much easier to network electronically, make your connections and associations and make some "new friends" in the process. Everyone has a smart phone, and unlike America where you need to pay a weeks salary for one, here in China they are cheap and easy to get. Everyone has them. Everyone uses them.
And if you want to make a few spare yuan on the side, it's ridiculously easy to meet new people, and make new friends.
China is far, far, FAR more advanced than anyone in the West has any idea about. All those electronics, and technologies that come from Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Korea are all developed and made inside of China.
That’s the reality.
And that is partially why the US government is so horrified about “China’s rise”. As if it just happened “over night”. It didn’t.
And don’t even get me started on the idea that America is going to invest 2 trillion dollars on infrastructure to catch up with China…
Catch up…
The second point…
I think that the world has become a very harsh place.
Some places like the Middle East, and America are very difficult places to live. People feel under all sorts of pressure and need a release. They want some fun, and some pleasure.
And while I like to talk about the sexual activity that may or may not be associated with this, I strongly believe that the companionship of some new friends, some good food, and great conversation is really … REALLY… very much in need today.
Seriously, the best conversationalists are women.
I am sorry guys. That’s a fact. And they can chat up a storm, and they are interesting to boot! Add to that the fact that they can read EQ and emote to you on a very deep and significant level. It’s calming to me, and seriously I need to relax before I am ready to perform any kind of sexual activity. I’m not a 16 year old boy. I need intellectual stimulation to relax.
The old days of being “ready to go” in a second and leap into bed are long, long gone. Those days are like a very distant memory to me.
Now from my point of view, as a older man, I need to have more stimulation aside from what you would just get sexually. I need to have some good food. Some great wine. And some great conversation with a woman that spends the time to look great and who is willing to chat up and have some fun with me. Other older men in the MM audience know what I am talking about.
For you’se other guys that don’t know, and don’t understand, you WILL find out.
Just popping a Viagra, or a Cialis just won’t cut it.
It’s no longer about getting “it up”, and “staying hard”. It’s also about wanting to have sex, being interested, and staying interested, and having the energy and stamina to engage in some physical romping.
Your little-MM won’t budge an inch unless you are relaxed and interested in your partner and what they have to say.
That’s just the way it is.
Believe me or not. I don’t care.
For me, you just aren’t gonna get that with a run-of-the-mill street walker. Instead, You get that (what you need) from friends, and from other people who are upwardly mobile looking to chat up with successful and interesting men.
Interesting men. People who can discuss things on a wide selection of topics, and who have some money to spend, and like to play around a little bit. And that’s … well… you all like MM don’t you?
Ok. Enough of that disclaimer.
I think you all know what I am trying to say. Stop thinking that everything is a black and white cartoon. It isn’t. the world is colorful, and the needs of humans are varied and complex. Our best experiences come from understanding and embracing this fact.
Drink some wine. Chat up on a subject that you love to talk about. Be a little goofy, or silly. Don’t be afraid to say things. Joke some, drink some and eat some delicious food. have a great time, and then… relaxed, and engaged, you can take your time alone with your new friends. At a nice, leisurely pace.
It’s a win – win.
The Comment
I think this comment was written on 19APR21.
Concerning “ding dong” girls.
IMO best to just go into the bar. My first experience was in a Zhuhai hotel. (Took ferry straight from Hong Kong airport). The bar folks will call somone to come talk to you if there is no one there.
However, found out the hard way that first Chinese trip that you need to be careful about the pebble trick (I believe that is what happened: someone put a stone in the door so it never fully closed and while showering someone came in and exchanged my real RMB with counterfeit RMB). First the taxi guy told me I had fake RMB (didn’t believe him since I had it exchanged in the bank the previous day) but accepted they were fake when I went for an incredible foot and back massage the next night.
Also, learned the scary way in Shanghai to never go to KTVs that are not connected to the hotels you are staying in, unless you are with a local.
If one had a “ding dong” girl (first time I heard the term), how does one pay them if currency is no longer exchanged? Or do you still need cash for stuff like that?
And this is my response, and note that I elaborated upon it substantially…
Payment
You pay the girls using QR scans via Ali-pay, WeChat, or in E-yuan.
The most common way to move money around to friends or make purchases within China is through QR code. Everyone has one, and depending on your situation, you might have a couple all directing to different backs or purposes that you have arranged beforehand. You can read about it HERE.
Sometimes you can use some paper currency. They are useful. No one is going to reject a couple of thousand RMB if you hand it to them.
But in general, you use e-pay. You just generate your personal QR to your bank account. It’s amazingly easy.
If she (or he) is reluctant to give you a QR to scan, you can easily pass the money to here electronically. (BTW, It’s never happened.) I know that there is a KTV club in Louhu, Shenzhen that has a nice troop of young attractive men (in white) that service the ladies. They have a QR code printed on a cloth that is sewn into their jacket. They just flop out the cloth QR and the lady (or guy) scans the code and everyone is good to go.
Male hosts tend to provide services to the ladies in fine, clean (and often white) attire.
It doesn’t sound very classy, but it is. It’s all in the presentation. You know, for a man who is providing services to a lady, the actions and the behaviors are all very scripted and precise. It’s not crude at all, but rather very refined, polite, and calming.
In general, the most common way of transferring money is through the exchange of wechat names, and then you can either do a direct transfer, or send a few red envelopes to her. As in the picture at the top of this article.
Sending a “red envelope” full of money to a friend is very easy using WeChat.
If that doesn’t work, then you can do a direct surface to surface transfer of cash.You use a direct transfer APP and put your two phones physically together and the transfer goes directly without using Wifi.
Finally, if she is associated with the hotel, you can tack her fees to your hotel bill, and the gal at the register will hand her cash or transfer via QR.
Most of the bars with the bar-girls available via ferry from HK to Shekou no longer exist. The entire area has been built up by overseas Chinese investors and is now one large sprawling mall with Western prices. Yikes!
As far as Zhuhai is concerned, the major hotels that were involved in the KTV girls pretty much were closed. The hotel in front of my home was busted in 2013 for having 600 KTV girls. It was a night of many sorrows, I can well imagine.
Vice raids on Chinese hotels that host KTV girls and boys occur all over China. Since 2013 the police has put a major clamp-down on these establishments and most have ended up operating in a stealth mode ever since.
Ding Dong girls are the girls on the colorful business cards that you see shoved under your hotel doors, or on the street. Usually if you see a trail of cards on the sidewalk, they are a trail of “bread crumbs” that you follow to a hotel lobby.
You can tell that “X” marks the spot with a bunch of cards lying on the cement in front of the lobby door.
So you look down, see all these business sized colorful cards with pictures of cute girls and then you look in the front lobby. There when you go in, you’ll see from three to seven girls all sitting around in the lobby looking bored and playing with their phones.
You can, of course, go up to them and chat.
But more commonly is that you turn on your wechat “scan for local members” and see if any of the girls near you are broadcasting.This feature will alert you to all the local people near you with a wechat on. Which should be a couple thousand. But if you only look at those that are the closest to you, you will be fine. You should be able to pick out the girls really easily.
For instance, if you are in a lobby, the girls will be from 1 to 10 meters away. So you look over the closest girls and try to associate the girl with the wechat picture. The smartest girls will put their picture so that you can recognize them directly.
Chances are, that they are available. so you find the gal that you want, and you connect, and send her a message. The wechat function allows you to chat and translate at the same time. So you just say hi. Ask the amount, and the desired services, and then you two can go up to the hotel and have some fun.
It’s super convenient.
Now the “shake” feature is something different. You can easily connect with someone. You both click on the shake feature , and then both phones will connect. It’s useful when you don’t have a local Wifi and you don’t want to use data. You just shake and broadcast.
I tend not to use it very much.
But it can get you to meet some interesting people…
About the “fun”
Well, I assume that most MM readers are adults, eh?
Fun means many things to many people. When I was a younger fellow, I would immediately get down to “business”. Get my rocks off and they see the lady out the door. But, you know, that’s a long, long time ago.
So you see guys, as you get older, your testosteronedropsdramatically, You just don’t have the interest in sex like you used to have when you are younger.
Now, the thing is that it’s not only the singular need to have enough blood pressure in the nether regions so you can pop up a nice erection, but rather it is the entire system.
It’s like a car that’s getting old…
Worn out car. This is what happens to hard-drivers when they get old.
When you get old, you are like a high-performance car that needs some really, really good tender loving and care.
You run out of gas…
…and out of oil,
…and out of windshield washer fluid,
…and out of brake fluid,
…and out of steering wheel fluid,
…and a loss of air pressure in the tires…
Yikes!
And along with that comes with the entire effort to “get it up” to engage in sexual activity.
Actually as bad as it sounds, it’s no big deal. We all (really) don’t care that much about it. The truth of the matter is that by the time you are in your mid-60’s you know how the world works and discover that your fears about relationships and sex are just nonsense.
And when you don’t have that testosterone screaming in your ear all day and night, you can take your time and savor what is in front of you. Things are not so urgent, and driven any longer.
Truth.
You no longer gobble down a hamburger and wash it down with a coke. Instead, you take the time to find a nice local restaurant, and call a friend to join you. You pick out the meal carefully, and you savor the smells, the environment, and the companionship. You appreciate things more. You are no longer in such a frantic rush to “obtain”, or to “get” what ever it is that you are being driven towards.
As you get older, you start to savor what is placed before you. And you start enjoying life.
What is going on…
There are three primary components to a male sex rive & ability. They are…
Ability to have (and maintain) an erection. [Blood pressure]
Interest and desire
Ability to make the milky goodness and release.
Of course, this is never spoken about. The closest you ever come to this kind of discussion is on a Viagra commercial. But it’s a real issue and you all should be made aware of it.
Guys, because after all, we all encounter these situations. One way or the other, and…
Women, to understand what is going on with the men in your life, you need to best understand a little bit about their biology.
Now…
I really don’t want to have this entire article degrade into a biologically based topic, but I do want to though out some quick notes that people can nod in agreements with or go “pshaw! You dat crazy!”.
[1] Ability to have (and maintain) an erection. [Blood pressure]
This is easy, more or less, to take care of. There are medicines (today) such as viagra, levitra and cialis. that can take care of this issue. The thing is about this is that you must be careful with drinking alcohol when you mix drugs. And when you are older, and you are taking other medicines for heart issues, blood pressure issues, and other issues, mixing medicines can come with consequences.
The thing is, and it's an important thing, just being hard and strong means nothing unless your other two issues are taken cared for.
[2] Interest and desire
The ability to have interest and desire is also complex. Much of that comes from Testosterone. and men tend to lose it as they get older. Which can be a real problem. You can end up having a lot of sex, but can never release. It can be a little frustrating. Don't you know.
Now there are natural ways to increase your production of this very important hormone. Good healthy food, and moderate exercise will work wonders. You can also take one of the different kinds of testosterone medications that are available.
Heck! You can even get some of the testosterone injection tablets that they inject into cattle (to make them big) and suck on it for a few minutes to improve your dose. (They are little white pills that look like tip of a ball point pen, on shaped like a miniature barrel.) But like all medications, if you do that without compensation in other areas, you might cause other problems. Try to strive for balance.
[3] Ability to make the milky goodness and release.
And thus, with the two above systems working well, and you are interested and relaxed with your partner, you would be able to ejaculate. And this (of course) starts up and fires up those wonderful endorphins that make us all feel good and healthy.
And the more times you do this a day (with a partner) the younger you become. Not just in mental attitude, but also in physical health.
Which leads me to…
Exercise
Never the less, having sex is a great way to get exercise, and we need exercise. If you don’t get your needed exercise you can be prone to illnesses, and those illnesses can actually kill you. So exercise is an important part of your daily regimen. So we engage in healthy pleasureful exercise every opportunity we get.
Did you know that men who have daily or sex often (during) a week tend to live, act, and look ten times younger? Its true!
So every opportunity I get, I try to engage in sex… you know… for health reasons. It’s important for me (personally) and for my family. It’s a need that all men must take regardless of your age.
Now if you don’t believe me, that’s fine too. But I am going to stick with my theories. Thank you very much.
The need for fun & companionship
All this being said, even if you have near-zero levels of testosterone, and a low interest in sex, you do want and need to have companionship. And if you are out and about, on the road, working like crazy, far away from home you do get lonely.
It might be nice eating in a restaurant a few times a week, but it gets really old, really fast if you are forced to do it every single day.
Business Road Warrior.
The life of a “road warrior” is not all that it is cracked up to be. And so when you are out with your friend and are out and about, it’s a real pleasure to have some close physical contact with an attractive member of the opposite sex who you want talk to and who is interesting.
And really…
Seriously…
Why be lonely when you could share it with other nice and interesting people. Not just women, of course, but men. And dogs. And cats. Is that fight, fight, fight for the “big money” worth taking away from some companionship, pleasures and fun?
I say NO!
Hotels
Now, we’ve talked about all sorts of things, but let’s get down to talking about hotels. And Lordy, I have seen my fair share. I have been in every kind of hotel imaginable inside China. From five star castles to one star flop-houses, to rural three-star “business” hotels, to Bordello Hotels. I’ve been to them all.
It’s always an adventure.
They are not the clones of hotels that you see in the USA. Whether it is a Marriott, Hilton or Hotel-6. Each hotel inside of China has it’s own very unique and interesting branding. It’s all a real pleasure.
Like before, this all began with a comment…
In reply to congjing yu.
Your integrity shows by not trying to dispel reality.
The criticism of public washrooms must include a caveat about Hotel rooms and their showers.
Spent over a hundred days in China over 20+ trips to China in early 2010’s. Being SuperElite on Air Canada had me upgraded on almost ever flight to First Class while paying almost always under USD$1,000 return. So I am smart cheap and have experiences in Chinese hotels. And was fortunate to hit 6 of 7 continents before 50 and hope to step on 7th before I die.
Chinese hotels are the BOMB! Spacious and Clean and everyone with King-sized beds. Now there are filthy hotels I am sure, but I always paid between USD$50-USD$100/night. Each room would have cost more than USD$300 in Western Europe, USD$250 in NYC, and over USD$150 everywhere else in Canada and the U.S.
The Showers were the best in the World. All showers had room for 2 and many for 3. Rain showers with incredible shower heads were included in almost all rooms. Some had water jets from the sides. Funny things is that half were glass so you could see the rest of the room while showering (something I have never experienced outside China – maybe available in rest of southeast Asia, but I have not traveled there)! There was a shower curtain (shower privacy blind) on the side facing the room, so if you had a visitor in your room and didn’t want them to see you, you could pull down.
I suggest anyone wanting to see what I am raving about just watch a few of the many Chinese quarantine videos out there.
MM, question: You showed us your kit that you use to go on overnight stays. You included a toothbrush and toiletries. Have Chinese hotels gone the Rest of the World way and no longer provide these?
Every hotel room I was in had complimentary combs, tooth brushes, and plenty of everything else. Many even had complimentary condoms.
-TorontoSamIAm
Great info on the hotels, I think that I am going to write an article on this subject int he future. Thanks for the alert!
Actually, I am so used to the Hotels inside of China that I have forgotten just how shoddy the ones in the United States are.
You are absolutely correct, and they all are nice. Or course, you were a foreigner so you probably stayed at the four and five star hotels, and of course they are the shit! I’ll tell you what, but you must know that I am used to sleeping all over the place in China, from five star hotels to one star hotels. So I have a pretty decent idea of what it is all about.
Most showers are glass. When I mean most, I mean 99.9999% are. I have NEVER seen a shower curtain in my life here. Most are very open, spacious and have these very nice shower heads. Most of the shower accessories are made in FoShan, and coincidentally, I happen to know most of the factory bosses for this particular line of products. And yeah… all over the world… they are all made in China.
Foshan is in the center of the Guangdong province. It is near the major city of Guangzhou.
As far as the kit goes, each hotel is different.
Most do have toiletries. They do, as well as complementary items for your use and a few free bottles of water, a tea kettle, and free tea. Also normal are disposable slippers, bathrobes, and condom access. Also normal is a gas mask (in a red box) in case there is a fire in the hotel.
Emergency fire-mask that can be found in all of the hotels inside of China.
What is not normal is ice. The only time where I have seen an ice machine is in the five star western hotels. Never in the local hotels.
Also a shaving kit tends to be hit or miss. I would say around 40% of the hotels don’t have them. Also missing is hand creme or lotion. This seems to be very common in the United States, but absolutely absent in China.
Now that all being said, on occasion, I have run into instances where there isn’t a toothbrush. It does happen, you know. So what I tend to do is pick up a spare brush or two and throw it in my kit just in case. I haven’t needed them for a while, but it’s better safe than sorry.
In the smaller cities, you can also get a lot of “ding dong” girl cars slid under your door. They tend to look good on the cards, but the real deal is rather hit or miss.
Ding Dong Cards
These are the cards that you find lying everywhere. They have a half-life and tend to expire, so if you find a fresh card around then you can probably pick it up if you want to meet someone new.
And…
While I am at it…
Let’s take a look at some of the advertisements that you can find inside the men’s bathrooms all over China. The following is a stamp that I think ended up being stamped everywhere in China. They must have used a couple tankers of red ink to advertise all this…
Manly advertisements.
Anyways…
This is pretty much how it is inside of China.
If you are at a Western hotel that caters to travelers from the West the beds will be extra soft, they will have complementary coffee packets, some hand lotion, and English-fluent staff. The rest of China will, however, have harder beds. Complementary tea bags, and instructions in Chinese.
It’s all good.
A final note…
We are not machines.
And the illusions that the media, and that the “news” provide to us tend to be lies. The gals in the pictures that you see might be all that perfect, and alluring and wonderful, but you know what?
It’s when their real personality comes out that I really get interested in them. It’s when I see what they are like. It’s when I see that behind that nice perfect appearance that they have “heart”, passion, and uniqueness.
It’s the PERSONALITY that makes my jizzle sizzle!
Do you want more?
I have more posts along these lines in my China KTV Index here…
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.
Here, in this article we will spend a little bit of time discussing the non-physical envelope that surrounds our physical reality. This is the realm of the “spirit world” and consists of many strange and interesting sights, sounds and apparitions. It tends to frighten, but that is just ignorance and superstition influences. In reality, the non-physical world is just as real as the physical world is, with one exception. Our human senses are not able to peer into the reality that it cannot see.
But…
In many instance, the machines and the devices that we construct, are able to sense it. And if we configure the equipment to look for the right things, we could well be astounded at what we might find.
What would we find?
Well, aside from the natural world, we would find people and places, and things, and activities that are intended to be hidden from our human observation.
A quick review
For those of you who have just stumbled on this article in the MM universe, here’s a most basic primer. You know, to put everyone on the “same page” in regards to ideas and concepts.
We are consciousness.We are not a person, nor a body, nor a brain. We are consciousness. We temporarily reside within a body. But we are not that body. It’s much like this picture describes…
We do not share a universe. Our singular consciousness moves from static world-line to static world-line. We move from one world-line to another by our thoughts. Thoughts are the ONLY thing that consciousness can control.
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Instead of sharing a physical universe, where we are a brain that controls the movement of a physical person inside that universe (the Newtonian reality), we are something else. We are consciousness. Which is a collection of very, very, VERY tiny particles (many, many times smaller than atoms). And our consciousness moves from one frozen snapshot in time to the next.
Time is how this movement is perceived. In our universe there is no such thing as time. It just simply drops out of the equations. And what we have left is a universe of quanta. It is a quantum universe of possibilities. And the reality is that there is an infinite (or near infinite) number of world-lines. These are frozen “snap shots in time” that our consciousness moves through and navigates by thought.
So, over all, it pretty much looks like this graphic below. If we map out each world-line as a “dot”, and place the most-likely or highest-probability world-lines that our thoughts will take us, then our life-line would look something like this…
Our consciousness travels the MWI, world-line by world-line at the speed of thought. We view this movement as the “passage of time”. In this topography, we see a three dimensional landscape that represents the highest probability world-lines that we might visit at any given moment in our life.
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Thoughts are extremely important. What we think about steers us towards the world-lines that we inhabit.
If we think “bad” thoughts we will head towards world-lines with “bad” events.
If we think “neutral” thoughts we will head towards world-lines with “neutral ” content.
If we think “happy” thoughts, we will head towards world-lines full of happy events.
Everything is real to us. Each world-line is a real physical world. It is a frozen snapshot of time. And our movement though it is exactly how we experience time.
Our thoughts can influence the kind of life we live. Our thoughts navigate our lives, and while there are are various limitations placed upon us, we ultimately control what happens to us by our thoughts.
Our thoughts control our world-line navigation.
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World-lines are complex. Now each world-line has two components. They are a physical reality, and a non-physical reality. The physical reality is what we can sense with our human body. The non-physical is what we cannot sense with our physical body.
Physical-reality is what our human senses can sense, see and observe.
Non-Physical-reality is what our human senses are unable to see and observe.
And given the right conditions, the right technology, and the right circumstances, we can sometimes get glimpses of the non-physical world that surrounds us. And we are going to talk about this subject now…
Density Levels and Technological Advancement
“Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted.
It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance.
And because it is so important to protect that core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit with the core belief.”
-ThinkSquad, 2015
Quantum particles are ubiquitous throughout our universe. They are everywhere. They are primarily comprised of minuscule small vibrating strings that vibrate and resonate at a very high speed or frequency.
As particles collect together in groups, or cluster together, their frequency of vibration shows down. This has to do with the inherent inertial components of a group creation. The bigger the group cluster of particles, the slower the frequency of vibration.
Vibrational frequency in the strictest sense that I refer to here, is not the physical component, normally referred to in the chemical sciences. But rather the behavior of the vibrating strings themselves. This is quantum level vibration, as opposed to atomic level vibration and the equivalent change in potentials.
Note: On the dimension of the physical. The purpose of this article is to describe in an easy way, very difficult concepts. To do so, certain “crutches” need to be employed, which many not be wholly accurate. Truth be told, there is no physical space at all. But the quanta themselves create this illusion. In so doing, they create layers or dimensional boundaries. Space and the illusion of space is one such creation. Thus, within this boundary we can see that particles tend to cluster together in groups upon this fabric or cloth which is raw dimensionless space.
Those readers who have been following the nonsense that is often available on the Internet will be quite confused here. When I refer to density, I am specifically referring to quantum level behaviors of groups of particles within a dimensional framework.
I am absolutely NOT referring to any of the “New age” redefinitions of “density”. These new definitions are confusing. These are definitions such as in the Cassiopaea and Ra materials related to extraterrestrial beings and consciousness.
Magnitude
Higher orders of existence utilize widely dispersed groups of quantum clusters.
Phew! Did I just say that?
OK. In other words, the more complex a "thing"... the greater the number of quanta that are are involved.
A pencil (you do remember those things, don't you?) has a set amount of quanta associated with it. yet, a living creature, such as a cow, would have many, many, MANY more quanta associated with it.
The difference between a pencil and a cow, can be considered a "higher order of existence".
And as the number of these quantum cluster increase, so does the number of interactions that they have with each other. Which is known as "entanglement". And thus they tend to disperse as they get more, and more entangled.
This way, they can maintain high frequencies of vibration, while maintaining a soul cloud consciousness.
This is important. Read it again and study it again if your do not understand it completely.
As collections of quanta increase in size, so does the accumulated properties of the aggregate. It's synergistic, not additive.
2 + 2 = 8
As the properties of the aggregate increase, so does the resultant vibrations of those clusters.
Vibration?
Vibration is this understanding relates to the wave properties of the quanta. While a bare and lonely individual quanta might have a low and sluggish pulse, when it interacts and entangles with other quanta, the vibrational rate increases. The more quanta that becomes entangled, the greater the vibrational levels attained.
At a certain threshold, the vibrational frequency becomes one that can support a consciousness. Which is pretty much why pencils don't have a consciousness, while cattle do.
Lower orders of existence rely on large, closely packed, groups of clusters. These tend to vibrate at slower rates dependent on their size.
Such as a pencil, a stone, and a glass of water.
Because there are functional limits on the quanta that one can absorb into ones cloud as a function of density inertia, entitles tend to strive to grow and modify their quantum existence in such a way as to operate in higher vibratory levels.
Obviously the universe is populated with intelligence and consciousness. Otherwise, you would not be reading this. It is a natural evolution that quanta entangle with other quanta.
And part of this evolution is the increase in vibration of the entangled bodies.
As the size of the entanglement increases, so does the complexity of the entangled body as a whole, and at some point in time, consciousness evolves and manifests.
Thus, an entity that has a very large quantum cloud and that maintains it successfully at a high frequency of vibration is considered to have a high “spiritual” or “quantum” (light) density.
Many entangled quanta = rapid and profound vibrations.
These vibrations are known as "high frequency" and are associated with light. Thus they are considered to be of light density.
Their various frequencies overlap in great, beautiful patterns.
While, an entity, with a smaller quantum cloud, or one that operates at a lower frequency is considered to have a high (thick) density.
One must think of density as a jar containing all the quanta of a given entity.
An “advanced” entity will have a big jar full of quanta. But that quanta will have a lot of space to move around in.
Conversely, a more “primitive” entity would have a small, mostly layered, jar of quanta. The quanta would be clustered in a corner or on the bottom of the jar in a thick pile of goo.
We thus, say that the more advanced entity has a container (jar) of quanta that is less dense than the novice entity.
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Personally, I don’t like these terms because they are confusing.
Physical manifestations of quanta are slower and closer together in the physical world (thus, denser). We also thus use the term to describe a lower state of energy. Thus possibly, generating two polar opposites in meaning.
For all purposes here, please consider that one should have a quanta signature that is organized in pure basic forms of great physical expanse. That would be opposed to tight, dense forms of quanta clusters.
Structure and order
Further, Higher frequency quanta organized as smaller discrete packets follow a more organized or pure structure.
Quanta clumps together though entanglements. These form structures, or "packets".
Quanta can combine together into “building blocks”. Much like this (as an example)…
The building blocks…
Their combined “dances” are more harmonic. The coarser, less organized quanta follow a chaotic pattern.
(Not especially accurate, but good enough for the model that is presented here. All quanta form patterns. The more chaotic patterns are just extremely complex relationships, and thus appear to be confused, disorganized and complex.)
A chaotic system is one in which infinitesimal differences in the starting conditions lead to drastically different results as the system evolves.
This concept was summarized by mathematician Edward Lorenz,” Chaos (is at the point) when the present determines the future, but the approximate present does not approximately determine the future.”
There’s an important distinction to make between a chaotic quantum system and a random quanta system.
Given the starting conditions, a chaotic system is entirely deterministic.
A random system, on the other hand, is entirely non-deterministic, even when the starting conditions are known.
That is, with enough information, the evolution of a chaotic system is entirely predictable, but in a random system there’s no amount of information that would be enough to predict the system’s evolution. All of this predictability defines inter-dimensional order.
Variations
Other races, both terrestrial and extraterrestrial, operate at different density levels.
Understanding that consciousness is connected with the number of entangled quanta, it should thus be evident that it is also tied to energy levels of existence.
A snail would have a different energy level than a dog.
A tiger would have a different energy level than a human.
A human would have a different energy level than an extraterrestrial from Tralfamador.
Since we can only perceive those at the most coarsest levels (the densest), we often are ignorant of many entities that cohabit the planet with us.
Sometimes, due to various physical events, we can occasionally perceive these other entities.
When we do they are often misinterpreted as spirits, sprites, ghosts, angels, demons and the like. These creatures exist, but humans have a very hard time distinguishing what they perceive.
Generally, higher order frequency beings are usually benign and harmless.
It the fear of the unknown that causes many false and deceptive myths that propagate about these creatures through history.
Death
When a creature dies, the body remains but the consciousness exits the reality section of the world-line. It exists. It’s just that we humans are not able to “see” wave forms. We can only see physical things when the consciousness is attached to bodies in the particle state.
With the advent of cameras, and the technology that enables high “shutter speeds” and extended wavelength records, we can sometimes observe the departed in wave form. While the body is now long dead and has been removed.
This is actually quite common in hospitals and nursing homes. Such as this example.
See anything unusual about this picture?
Empty hospital room in a Senior Care Facility in the United States.
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Look at the mirror.
Here’s a close up view of the mirror…
Closeup view of a mirror in an empty Senior Care Facility inside of America.
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Spirits and other creatures that operate at higher density levels do exist and are quite common.
They contain both terrestrial derived entities and extraterrestrial entities. Most do not really care to have dealings with humans.
And since they are of wave duality, they are able to enter the MWI at any point, independent of time. Which provides us some very interesting observations.
Here’s the spirit of a little (American Indian) girl wandering in the woods late at night and startling a buck (male deer) at a feeding station where a trail-cam was able to photograph the encounter.
Deer sees ghost on trailcam
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The ability to see humans, in the non-physical form is very common. They are generally associated with ghosts and spirits, and many people are fearful of them, but it need not be the case. When a person stops traveling the MWI in the particle form, they continue to do so in the wave form. And thus people can (if they are sensitive), or equipment can (if it is properly configured) observe and record these encounters…
Ghost caught on CCV outside a nursing home. Can you see him?
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Which brings up the interesting subject of “phasing“.
Phasing Ability
Some of the higher density entities, whether terrestrial or extraterrestrial, have the ability to “phase” in and out of the lower densities.
it is the ability to lower your aggregate vibrational level to a point where simpler, and denser, entities and creatures can observe and interact with you.
Or, raise their level. Thus making them invisible to lower density entities.
This ability can make them invisible to humans on demand. They do not need a machine, device or technology to cloak their person or activities.
Only the more dense entities need these types of devices.
In phasing, the energy state and vibration rates change out of the normal physical visual range (as seen by humans). To be able to do this, the body must be capable of handling higher vibratory frequencies and states of existence.
Other animals, with different optical cones and different ways that their brains perceive vision, can often times see these entities, even when humans are unable to see them.
The principle behind this is simple.
Perception comes in many forms.
The form most commonly relied upon by humans is eyesight. Human eyesight is a very limited mechanism. We can only see in a very narrow band of frequencies and wavelengths.
Most of the universe operates at frequencies far higher than we can perceive.
For us to see these “other” things, we must either [1] speed up our ability to perceive, or [2] slow the frequency of vibration of the observed object down.
When a frequency of vibration of a given object is changed, it is known as “phasing”.
When the frequency speed is slowed down in such a way as it becomes observable by humans, we call that “phasing in and out of existence”.
The idea and concept that most other beings, entities, consciousness, and objects are unobservable to humans because of our limited range of perception is a fundamental one.
We, as humans, only observe a very small part of the world that we live in.
An example of phasing
Here we have a human (or humanoid creature) wearing a suit that enables them to “phase in and out” of the human observed reality.
On 24th May 1964, Jim Templeton, a fireman from Carlisle in the North of England, took his young daughter out to the marches overlooking the Solway Firth to take some photographs. Nothing untoward happened, although both he and his wife noticed that an unusual aura in the atmosphere. n unusual aura in the atmosphere.
There was a kind of electric charge in the air, though no storm came. Even nearby cows seemed upset by it.
Some days later Mr Templeton got his photographs processed by the chemist, who said that it was a pity that the man who had walked past had spoiled the best shot of Elizabeth holding a bunch of flowers. Jim was puzzled. There had been nobody else on the marshes nearby at the time.
But sure enough, on the picture in question there was a figure in a silvery white space suit projecting at an odd angle into the air behind the girl's back, as if an unwanted snooper had wrecked the shot.
The case was reported to the police and taken up by Kodak, the film manufacturers, who offered free film for life to anyone who could solve the mystery when their experts failed.
It was not, as the police at first guessed, a simple double exposure with one negative accidentally printed on top of another during processing. It was, as Chief Superintendent Oldcorn quickly concluded, just "one of those things... a freak picture."
A few weeks later Jim Templeton received two mysterious visitors. He had never heard of MIBs: the subject was almost unknown in Britain then. But the two men who came to his house in a large Jaguar car wore dark suits and otherwise looked normal. The weird thing about them was their behavior.
They only referred to one another by numbers and asked the most unusual questions as they drove Jim out to the marshes. They wanted to know in minute detail about the weather on the day of the photograph, the activities of local bird life and odd asides like that.
Then they tried to make him admit that he had just photographed an ordinary man walking past. Jim responded politely, but nevertheless rejected their idea, at which they became irrationally angry and hustled themselves into the car, driving off and leaving him.
The fire officer had to hike five miles across country to get home.
- Landon Howell Owner & Editor - juiceenewsdaily.com
Examples of Consciousness phasing to wave forms…
Here’s some more examples of people who have died and the consciousness is still attached to the physical reality. Here’s another hospital CCV camera. On it was the short, few-second long video of a ghostly girl walking down the hallway…
The quanta of the deceased can sometimes be filmed
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Here’s another hospital CCV camera capture…
Children’s hospital.
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This ghostly figure was seen near the children’s ward at Leeds General Infirmary by hospital worker Andrew Milburn. There have been several stories of the sounds of footsteps in the corridors with no one around but nothing had been caught on camera.
Ghosts appear to be all over hospitals, don’t you know.
Spirit in the elevator.
They can be recorded in elevators.
This unsettling image was first posted to Reddit in 2014 by user EskimoJake. They claim that their friend who is a doctor, took this picture while working at a Bolivian hospital in 2010.
Supposedly, the doctor and his friends didn’t initially notice the elevator door opening as they were too busy laughing and joking around. When they did finally see it, there was no one inside.
She has nice long hair.
If you take a closer look at the ghostly figure, you can see that it appears to be a female with long, black hair. Her face looks pale and gaunt and she seems to be wearing a hospital gown.
Has the doctor actually managed to photograph a ghost in the elevator? If so, could it be that of a former patient? Perhaps even someone who may have passed away while being treated at this very hospital?
Ghost Nurse
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There is very little information available about this photo other than that it was taken at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At first glance, it doesn’t appear that the camera has captured anything unusual at all. That is until you spot the ghostly nurse standing on the far side of the bed.
St. Francis Hospital was founded in 1955 and some claim that this photograph may show the ghost of a former nurse who worked there. With her long, white apron and hair neatly tucked under her hat, the figure’s appearance certainly resembles a nurse from that era.
The Little Girl in The Lunatic Asylum
This photo was taken in the Grevillia Wing of the Beechworth Lunatic Asylum in Victoria, Australia by ghost hunters Rayleen Kable and Allen Tiller. They took the picture while investigating the grounds at Beechworth and believe that it shows the spirit of a young girl kneeling on the floor.
The figure certainly does look like a child. It appears to be wearing a nightgown and it looks as though it is holding something in its right hand, possibly a doll or teddy bear.
Beechworth Asylum was famous for its lax rules regarding institutionalization. With only two signatures, a person could be committed. Almost ten thousand people died in the building, the patients often restrained and treated with electroshock therapy.
Beechworth is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a young, Jewish woman who was mysteriously thrown to her death from a window. Because of strict religious beliefs, her body lay decomposing on the ground for two days while a rabbi came from Melbourne to officially move the body. Several visitors claim they’ve even seen a young girl under the window where the incident happened.
Another traumatic tale is that of a missing patient who couldn’t be found for weeks. Finally his body was discovered by a local dog named Max near the gatehouse at the edge of the property. A search party was assembled to search the area and they eventually found the patient’s body up a tree. Since then, people have reported seeing a man wandering around the gatehouse at night.
Countless other paranormal sightings have taken place at Beechworth Lunatic Asylum. Visions of doctors walking down dark hallways, screams, nurses kneeling by bedsides, one ghost hunter says a demonic voice told him to ‘get out’ and leave the asylum.
Is it possible that this photograph has captured the ghostly vision one of the former patients of Beechworth?
Ghost of Patient Appears in Wheelchair
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This photo first appeared online sometime around 2012. It was supposedly captured in the Clemente Alvarez Emergency Hospital in Argentina by a staff member known only as Diego.
Here’s another photo of a ghost in a hospital. This one comes with his own wheelchair thingy of-sorts thing-of-a-jig!
Roaming the hallways.
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Around the same time, this photo was taken in the Kith Haven Assisted Living nursing home in Flint, Michigan. It shows a very similar figure rolling down a hallway in a wheelchair.
The employee who captured the picture said she saw it with her own eyes and quickly grabbed her phone to take a photo.
The apparition appears to have dark, sunken eyes and a wide open mouth. It also looks rather decrepit and thin. The white shirt that the figure is wearing seems to be too large for its frail frame.
And what of this?
The Hospital Demon
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This spine chilling photo first appeared on social media in 2014 and since then has become rather well known. The are several stories of its origin however the most common one is that a nurse in a hospital took a screen shot of a security camera that was monitoring patients in the ward. She claims that she saw a demon-like figure walking up and down the bed of one particular patient. It had long black legs, and eerie slender fingers.
When she went to the ward to check on the patient there was no sign of the figure in the room, however the patient’s vitals began declining rapidly and the person passed away shortly after.
While many believe the nurse’s story to be true, several skeptics claim that the ‘demon’ is nothing more than a series of objects that are coincidentally lined up, giving the effect of a lurking creature.
La Planchada
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Opened in Mexico City in 1847, Hospital Juarez is an active medical center known for sightings of La Planchada (“the ironed lady”), a ghostly nurse from the mid-1900s who appears in a perfectly pressed nurse’s uniform.
Over the years, La Planchada has come to be known for treating patients in the hospital’s emergency section, often bringing about miraculous recoveries. This photo is believed by many to be the only one to have ever captured proof of the ghostly nurse as she makes her rounds.
Like many ghost stories, there are several versions of tale of La Planchada. Some say she was a nurse in love with a doctor who rejected her and drove her to suicide; others claim she would euthanize patients to relieve their pain. Whatever her origins, La Planchada is known as a benevolent spirit and there probably isn’t a patient in Hospital Juarez who wouldn’t be happy to see her.
And there is this vision of the right instant in time when the camera shutter clicks on the right spot at the right time and discovers… this.
The quanta of the deceased can sometimes be filmed
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When a person dies, their quanta starts to detach from their physical selves and begins to enter the other dimensions in the universe.
Oh, here I go again! Not being specific enough.
The non-physical reality surrounds the physical reality in layers, like an onion. And many Eastern religions have mapped these layers and given them names like "astral plane", "causal plane", etc.
Once the consciousness is in the wave form it can do many things. Namely it can travel. Travel.
It can travel in the various physical reality.
It can travel through the various (onion layers) of the non-physical reality.
It can enter "the tunnel of light" and depart this universe and enter the universe of soul. From when the consciousness originated.
But...
It can travel within the MWI; the various world-lines itself. This it can do, as the MWI are part of our "physical universe". But many choose not to do so simply because it is rather boring for them to do.
To some this looks like ghosts and spirits, but there is no reason to be fearful.
This is a natural aspect of quantum realignment.
On occasion, due to specific atmospheric conditions, sometimes entities of souls can have various aspects of their being photographed. When this happens, we are actually photographing the quanta “phasing” from the physical to another dimensional state.
Our equipment can record the wave lengths during transition.
Consciousness has form.
Did you notice something?
When a person’s quanta is photographed in wave form, or the transition to it (via “phasing”) it’s not a floating globe (as I have depicted throughout MM). It is the general shape and form of a body.
This is very important.
The consciousness has a FORM. It’s form tends to consist of the upper torso, and the head. Legs and arms might be present, but not always.
Fears, Frauds, and Boogiemen…
Now, let’s broach the uncomfortable reality. There are many, many frauds out there masquerading as actual events. Thus making it very difficult to compile a list of real examples of visions of the non-physical reality.
Thus, simply because there are so many hoaxes prevalent out there, anything out of the normal is discounted as a hoax, and a fraud. This is intentional.
On one hand, you have “experts” who use this avenue to acquire prestige within their respective fields. Such as in the Science Fiction movie “Contact” with actress Jodie Foster. In that movie was a couple of characters; Mr. David Drumlin, and James Woods (Michael Kitz) who played that role. They thwarted her every move, and constantly blocked funding, all so that he could climb the rings of power within the United States government. Personal power, and wealth accumulation, over the truth and science.
Photo of “David Drumlin”, as portrayed by Tom Skerritt from “Contact” (1997), alongside James Woods (Michael Kitz)
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And then on the other hand, you have profiteers. They create “ghost” websites and then generate content to scare people with it. These individuals create photos and videos to amuse, scare and titillate, and derive personal profit from ad revenue and product placement. Often their forgeries are rather good, or at least better than amateurs.
Then, of course, you have amateurs. These people just throw together some kind of hoax for “shits and giggles”. Their motivations are unclear, their ultimate goals are kept to themselves.
And then finally, you have real mysteries. These are actual “real deal” events that cannot be discounted away oh so easily. These events are important because they offer us a glimpse into a world that we are not apt to observe normally. You might come across a photo here, or there, or a video on you-tube. But with the great collection of hoaxes out there, it’s really difficult to find convincing examples.
Let’s look at a couple borderline cases…
What of ghosts?
You can see all sorts of things on the internet. But what is true and what is fake?
In this instance, you most certainly have a cat hissing at something at the other side of the door, and the housewife is not seeing anything strange. That is obvious. What is odd is the image of a ghostly figure in the door.
Was this figure photoshopped there? Intentionally, you understand, to create a ghostly narrative? Or, was the “back story” accurate?
The back story…
Supposedly, this image was captured on a computer cam. The cat was behaving strangely and hissing at thin air. No one saw the spirit, it was only recorded on the computer.
This photo dates back to 2013, perhaps even earlier. It isn’t known where this took place, but it is believed to be somewhere in North America. It could be a hoax, or genuine. No one will ever know.
It is provided here as an example only.
You see, it dos not matter to us whether or not it is a hoax. It is just a good illustration that different species can see different things. In this case the cat can sense things that the human woman cannot.
As we have discussed, the non-physical world for a cat is different than the non-physical world of a human. Thus they can sense things that humans cannot.
This isn’t just MM talking. This is well established physical and biological understandings. Different species can see different things and all of us perceive the physical reality differently than others.
What of ghosts of loved ones?
Here’s another borderline case. This backstory is much better, than a computer happened to be on that recorded a cat interaction with a porch door. This is a an intentionally left-on security camera.
An Atlanta woman believes her home security camera spotted her son’s ghost.
On January 5, 2019, Jennifer Hodge was in her bedroom when she received an beeping notification: her Nest security camera had spotted a person in the kitchen. The rest is a story right off the televisions show “Night Gallery”.
“I was laying in bed watching TV with my daughter, and I was just about asleep,” Hodge said in a Facebook post.
“The phone was between us, and I got a notification saying someone was in the kitchen.
My daughter was like, ‘Mum, there’s a person in the kitchen. It looks like Robbie.’
I was stunned. It did look just like him — beard and all.”
Robbie, Michelle’s son, died of an overdose in 2016. He was just 23 years old. Michelle and her daughter were reportedly the only people at home at the time of the recording.
What of ghosts who want to pose in pictures?
Pretty odd stuff.
But check them out. Fakes or real? No one knows.
Mystery Pale Chick.
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One could say it seems like ghosts really like to make an appearance at the parties they weren’t invited to. This is case like that. A group of friends were having a nice Easter brunch and they decided to take a picture of it. There was a mirror next to the table they were sitting at and while there is nobody but the people supposed to be there sitting at the table on one side of the photo, there is an extra person’s reflection caught in the mirror on the other side of the photo.
It looks like a woman with an extremely pale face, standing next to the table. All of the guests at the brunch claimed there was no one like that there with them and they had no idea who the person caught in the mirror reflection was.
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This picture was taken at Tantallon Castle near North Berwick. A ruined fortress badly damaged by an attack from Oliver Cromwell’s forces in 1651. The figure looks to be in period costume but no mannequins or costumed guides are used at the castle, adding to the mystery of the suspected ghost.
This photograph of the Combermere Abbey library was taken in 1891 by Sybell Corbet.
The figure of a man can faintly be seen sitting in the chair to the left.
His head, collar and right arm on the armrest are clearly discernible. It is believed to be the ghost of Lord Combermere.
Lord Combermere was a British cavalry commander in the early 1800s, who distinguished himself in several military campaigns.
Combermere Abbey, located in Cheshire, England, was founded by Benedictine monks in 1133. In 1540, King Henry VII kicked out the Benedictines, and the Abbey later became the Seat of Sir George Cotton KT, Vice Chamberlain to the household of Prince Edward, son of Henry VIII.
In 1814, Sir Stapleton Cotton, a descendent of Sir George, took the title “Lord Combermere” and in 1817 became became the Governor of Barbados. Today the Abbey is a tourist attraction and hotel.
Lord Combermere died in 1891, having been struck and killed by a horse-drawn carriage. At the time Sybell Corbet took the above photo, Combermere’s funeral was taking place some four miles away.
The photographic exposure, Corbet recorded, took about an hour. It is thought by some that during that time a servant might have come into the room and sat briefly in the chair, creating the transparent image.
This idea was refuted by members of the household, however, testifying that all were attending Lord Combermere’s funeral.
A 13 year old girl takes a selfie in the car. Then discovers a strange boy in the back seat. What is going on? You can see from her reflection in her sunglasses that the picture was taken while on the road. The adult who is driving the vehicle would know whether there was a kid in the back seat, you would assume.
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So this 13 year old girl takes a selfie in the car while her mother is driving down the road. No one is in the back seat, yet it appears that her photo captures an image of someone int he back seat.
Maybe true. Maybe fake. Who really knows?
Spirit in the balcony.
In 1982, photographer Chris Brackley took a photograph of the interior of London’s St. Botolph’s Church, but never expected what would appear on the film. High in the church’s loft, seen in the upper right-hand corner of his photograph, is the transparent form of what looks like a woman.
According to Brackley, to his knowledge there were only three people in the church at the time the photo was taken, and none of them were in that loft.
According to London Paranormal Database Records…
"Mr. Brackley was later contacted by a builder who recognized the face of one that he had seen in a coffin in the church."
Two chicks pose for a picture and then discover this when developed.
My goodness. This interesting photo was taken sometime around the year 2000 in Manilla, Republic of the Philippines.
According to The Ghost Research Society, two girlfriends were out for a walk one warm night. One of them entreated a passing stranger to photograph them using her cell phone’s camera (hence the low-resolution picture).
The result is shown here, with a transparent figure seeming to tug on the girl’s arm with a firm if friendly grip. Without further information on this photo, we have to admit that the ghost could have been added with image processing software. But if it’s genuine and untouched, it certainly qualifies as one of the best ghost photos around.
It’s pretty creepy.
It’s so very easy to modify pictures these days. Everything is digital, and Photoshop is everywhere. But you know, just because it can be done, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is being done.
Strange green boy.
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There was a controversial photo posted on Instagram by a news anchor, capturing a moment of the party she had thrown the night before. One of her friends was entertaining everybody by playing the guitar and singing, so she captured the whole thing with her phone.
Later, as she was going through the pictures, she noticed something strange in the background. It looked like a young boy peeking around the corner, trying to get a better view on the show.
After she posted the photo on Instagram, a wave of discussions started. People speculated that she faked the whole thing in order to get more media attention that could help her kick off her news anchor career, and others believed it was proof of yet another haunted house. No one can be sure what the truth actually was, but it indeed seemed strange.
Look up the picture and decide for yourself.
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The ghostly object concealed in this spooky Irish snap will really give you a fright. Taken more than 100 years ago, experts tried to explain the hand as trick of light or a ruffle in a shirt. But neither idea works out.
It’s all pretty messed up.
Who is this kid?
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The Amityville house is one of the most famous haunted houses in the world. The tales of the ghosts living in this house have spread so much that they have inspired a huge franchise known as The Amityville Horror.
Before this whole story started going around, the Amityville house was a place like every other and there was, what appeared to be, a happy family living there. One night, the man went crazy and he killed his wife, all of his children, and he committed suicide after that.
From that moment on, people have been claiming that their ghosts have still been living in the house. Paranormal investigators went there to see if there was a truth to that story and they took a photo of a little boy. The curious thing about that photo was that there were absolutely no children around at the time the photo was taken.
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CCTV footage showing a shadowy spectre emerging from a driveway and straight into oncoming traffic.
On November 19, 1995, Wem Town Hall in Shropshire, England burned to the ground. Many spectators gathered to watch the old building, built in 1905, as it was being consumed by the flames.
Tony O’Rahilly, a local resident, was one of those onlookers and took photos of the spectacle with a 200mm telephoto lens from across the street. One of those photos shows what looks like a small, partially transparent girl standing in the doorway.
Nether O’Rahilly nor any of the other onlookers or firefighters recalled seeing the girl there. O’Rahilly submitted the photo to the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena which, in turn, presented it for analysis to Dr. Vernon Harrison, a photographic expert and former president of the Royal Photographic Society.
Harrison carefully examined both the print and the original negative, and concluded that it was genuine. “The negative is a straightforward piece of black-and-white work and shows no sign of having been tampered with,” Harrison said.
But who is the little girl?
Wem, a quiet market town in northern Shropshire, had been ravaged by fire in the past. In 1677, historical records note, a fire destroyed many of the town's old timber houses. A young girl named Jane Churm, the legends say, accidentally set fire to a thatched roof with a candle.
This photo was taken during an investigation of Bachelor’s Grove cemetery near Chicago by the Ghost Research Society (GRS). On August 10, 1991, several members of of the GRS were at the cemetery, a small, abandoned graveyard on the edge of the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve, near the suburb of Midlothian, Illinois.
Reputed to be one of the most haunted cemeteries in the U.S., Bachelor’s Grove has been the site of well over 100 different reports of strange phenomena, including apparitions, unexplained sights and sounds, and even glowing balls of light.
GRS member Mari Huff was taking black and white photos with a high-speed infrared camera in an area where the group had experienced some anomalies with their ghost-hunting equipment. The cemetery was empty, except for the GRS members.
When developed, this image emerged: what looks like a lonely-looking young woman dressed in white sitting on a tombstone. Parts of her body are partially transparent and the style of the dress seems to be out of date.
Other ghosts reportedly seen in Bachelor's Grove include figures in monks' clothes and the spirit of a glowing yellow man.
And now for something odd…
Who is the kid?
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This photo, taken on a cell-phone shows a group of girls posing for a picture in the middle of the lounge room. The young girl seen crying in the bottom right corner of the image refused to take part in the picture because she said ‘The little boy was scaring her!’ It wasn’t until later, when her mother was reviewing the photo that she realized what the little girl was talking about.
Take a look between the legs of the girls second and third from the left. You can clearly see the face of a young boy peering out from behind the group. If it was simply a shadow or optical illusion why did the little girl get so scared?
Security guard alerted by motion sensors.
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Theaters are believed by many to be common haunting grounds for ghosts. There is something about their unique atmosphere that seems to attract the supernatural. According to Mary Destany Martin, security guards at the theater at her local high school captured some weird photos of the school’s own resident ghost.
The security guards visited the theater after a motion alarm went off at around 1:00 early one morning. They didn’t see anything but took a photo on their way out, just in case. When reviewing the photo, a guard was shocked to notice the figure of a woman walking down the stairs of what he was certain was an empty theater. The figure appears to be entirely black and white, in stark contrast to the rest of the theater, giving her a strange, otherworldly appearance.
Yes. It’s pretty strange.
Who is this girl?
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One thing is for certain, she was able to trip the motion sensors. So she had substance.
A person appears from thin air.
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This photo was received from Denise Russell.
“The lady in the color photo is my granny,” she says. “She lived on her own until age 94, when her mind started to weaken and had to be moved to an assisted living home for her own safety. At the end of the first week, there was a picnic for the residents and their families. My mother and sister attended. My sister took two pictures that day, and this is one of them.
It was taken on Sunday, 8/17/97, and we think the man behind her is my grandpa who passed away on Sunday, 8/14/84.
We did not notice the man in the picture until Christmas Day, 2000 (granny had since passed away), while browsing through some loose family photos at my parents’ house. My sister thought it was such a nice picture of granny that she even made a copy for mom, but still, nobody noticed the man behind her for over three years!
When I arrived at my parents’ house that Christmas day, my sister handed me the picture and said, “Who do you think this man behind granny looks like?”
It took a few seconds for it to sink in. I was absolutely speechless. The black and white photos show that it really looks like him.
Spiritualist convention in Los Angeles, California.
This photo was taken on November 16, 1968 when Robert A. Ferguson, author of Psychic Telemetry: New Key to Health, Wealth, and Perfect Living, was giving a speech at a Spiritualist convention in Los Angeles, California.
Faintly appearing next to Ferguson is a figure that he later identified as his brother, Walter, who died in 1944 during World War II. At first glance, this might seem to be a double exposure or some kind of darkroom trickery, but this photo is a Polaroid (one of several taken of Ferguson at the time), making any kind of hoaxing quite unlikely.
Sefton Church
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Sefton Church is an ancient structure (started in the 12th century and finished in the early 16th century) in Merseyside, England, just north of Liverpool. This particular photograph was taken inside the church in September, 1999.
According to Brad Steiger’s Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits and Haunted Places, where this photo was found, there was only one other photographer in the church beside the person who took this picture. Neither of them recalled seeing the ghost or any flesh-and-blood person standing there who could account for this image. Because the figure is all in black, it has been theorized that the apparition could be that of a church minister.
It has been reported that a pub next door to the church, called the Punch Bowl, is said to be haunted by the ghost of a man in blue nautical garb, which has been reported there for many years.
A dinner event at St. Mary’s Guildhall in Coventry, U.K.
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On January 22, 1985, the Coventry Freeman organization were having a dinner event at St. Mary’s Guildhall in Coventry, U.K. Everyone in the group had her or his head bowed in prayer when this photo was taken — including a towering, mysterious figure standing top left. The strange cowled spectre appears to be wearing very odd clothing. The clothing looks like a kind of battle armor from the software game “Doom”.
Lord Mayor Walter Brandish, who was present at the dinner, said there was no one at the event who was dressed like that, and he could not explain the presence of the interloper in the photo. St. Mary’s Guildhall dates back to the 14th century and served as a prison for Mary, Queen of Scots.
Posing in a helicopter.
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Mrs. Sayer and some friends were visiting the Fleet Air Arm Station at Yelverton, Somerset, England in 1987 when this photo was taken. They thought it would be cute to take a picture of her sitting in the seat of retired helicopter.
No one, Mrs. Sayer insists, was sitting next to her in the pilot’s seat… although a figure in a white shirt can clearly be seen sitting there.
She told an investigator with the Society for Psychical Research that she remembered feeling rather cold sitting in that seat, even though it was a hot day.
Other pictures taken at the same time did not come out. Worth noting is that the helicopter was used in the Falklands War, but there is no information as to whether or not a pilot died in that aircraft.
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Kim Davison from Queensland, Australia posted a picture on the Toowoomba Ghost Chasers Facebook page showing what appears to be the ghost of a young girl, who died in the same spot 100 years ago
Merry Christmas.
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It was what seemed to be a completely normal Christmas get-together; people sitting in their living room next to their Christmas tree and a pile of presents. Nothing curious about that at all. At least until someone decided to take a picture of that merry moment. After that, the moment wasn’t so marry anymore.
In the middle of the picture, there seems to be a ghostly figure squatting over the pile of presents. You can clearly see the feet that belong to this mysterious being.
After the photo was analyzed by experts, the conclusion was that the feet probably belong to one of the kids in the picture, and it was nothing more than a glitch in the camera. However, there still is some doubt since the child in question was wearing socks, while the feet in front of the present seem to be bare. Besides that, they are also too large to belong to the little boy in question.
Then you have this absolutely odd-ball photo…
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This photo was taken at Corroboree Rock at Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia in 1959. What does not seem to be a trick of light and shadow is a human form, semi-transparent, wearing what looks like a long white dress or gown. More curious, the figure seems to be holding something in the manner that a person holds a camera or binoculars.
High forehead, long back hair in a mullet style. Appears to be a male, wearing a long white gown, and holding a what?
One possibility is that this is a double exposure of a living person. In 1959, this image would have been captured on film.
If it is not a double exposure and this is a spirit captured on film, then a number of questions arise: [1] What is the entity looking and why? [2] Do they have cameras and binoculars in the afterlife? Or [3] is this an instance of a time slip in which the camera has recorded a scene from a different time?
My goodness!
Now this next picture is something that is concerning and allows your mind to wonder what is going on…
An abandoned house.
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When it comes to abandoned houses, it is quite easy to start a rumor about some paranormal activity. Most of the ghost stories actually start this way; “Once upon a time, there was an abandoned house…”
We’ve all heard something like that already.
However, there is one specific house that has drawn a lot of people’s attention after a picture of a ghostly figure was captured there. No one knows exactly who used to live there or what happened to the people living there previously.
There has been some speculation about different horror stories connected to this house and the ghosts inhabiting it. But the picture was quite clear; someone was standing in the doorway. We can’t be sure if it was just a shadow shaped like a person, but from the look of it, it surely seemed like a ghostly, transparent figure.
And some things are truly WTF!
Like this, for instance…
What is this?
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There was a girl who wanted to take some silly pictures of her cousins while they were playing. Instead of that, she captured something that can hardly be identified as anything else other than a potential paranormal activity.
The weirdest thing about this photo is that it’s impossible to say what we actually see in it. It is clear that there is some weirdly shaped gray and black figure behind the little boy, but it’s impossible to say what it resembles.
It is not a human nor an animal, but it clearly is something that has appeared only in the picture; nobody saw it in the room before or after that.
This picture is definitely unique and different from the others, which is what makes it even more disturbing and mysterious. What do you think the shape in the picture was? Or was it just another attempt to make an ordinary picture go viral?
Indeed, somethings just defy description.
In 2015, Kevin Brown snapped a series of photos on his iPad while he was at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History in Texas. Brown, who was there with his niece and two nephews didn’t see anything strange about the images at the time they were taken. It wasn’t until later that day that his niece noticed something very unsettling in one of the photos…
A big What-The-Fuck is thing thing?
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Yeah.
And here’s a close-up.
Photoshop? WTF?
And now for some more strange stuff…
Ah yes. there are all sorts of creatures and things out there. Both terrestrial and extraterrestrial.
And while it is easy enough to assume that every picture, and every video on the internet is a hoax of one sort or the other (because, after all many of them actually are) there are videos that can and do depict things that might…
…just might…
…describe a window into the non-physical reality that surrounds our visible reality…
…or might not.
But do not discount EVERY video and picture you see as a hoax. For they might, just maybe, give you an insight into the reality that surrounds us.
Webcams
There are numerous internet websites that post live feeds of “haunted” areas. These feeds have produced hundreds, even thousands of images that defy rational description.
Such as this one…
Willard Library Paranormal Webcams
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According to those who have worked at or visited the Willard Library, there is definitely a supernatural entity or two walking the halls of the building. To prove it, they have set up paranormal webcams so that ghost hunters around the world can keep a close eye out and send in screenshots when they spot something ghostly.
There are a few types of ghosts that have been spotted by viewers and patrons of the library. The most common entity to make an appearance on film is different colored orbs hovering in various places, usually the stairwell. However, employees of the library have reported spotting a Grey Lady and a young boy haunting this stairwell. They believe that the orbs are merely how the ghosts manifest on camera.
You can see a listing of different ghost-sighting webcams HERE.
Is that it?
Now, is everything that we sense related to the non-physical world that surrounds us, or are there other things involved?
Well, there are other things.
As you all recall, we travel the MWI as a lone consciousness. We share world-lines in a “ghost shadow” consciousness but actually meeting up with another consciousness where we are both the dominant consciousnesses on that world-line is a rare event. And sometimes, we can pick up some events that are difficult to explain as they involve both consciousness, the MWI, and physical manifestation.
Consider this graphic…
An observed cross-over event.
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Now consider this…
These two photos were taken in 1988 at the Hotel Vierjahreszeiten in Maurach, Austria.
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These two photos were taken in 1988 at the Hotel Vierjahreszeiten in Maurach, Austria. Several vacationers gathered for a farewell party at the hotel and decided to take a group photo. One of the party, Mr. Todd, set up is Canon film camera on a nearby table and pointed it at the group.
(The table is the white band at the bottom of the photos.) He set the self-timer on the camera and hurried back to the table.
The shutter clicked and the film wound forward, but the flash did not fire. So Todd set the camera for a second shot. This time the flash fired.
The film was later developed, and it wasn’t until one of party members was viewing the photos that it was noticed that the first (non-flash) photo showed a somewhat blurry extra head! (In the sequence above, the second (flash) photo is actually shown first for the sake of comparison.)
No one recognized the ghostly woman, and they could not imagine how her image appeared in the picture.
Besides being a bit out of focus, the woman’s head is also too large compared to the other vacationers, unless she is sitting closer to the camera, which would put her in the middle of the table. The photo was examined by the Royal Photographic Society, the photographic department of Leicester University, and the Society for Psychical Research, all of which ruled out a double exposure as the cause.
And consider this…
On July 6th, 2014, Martin Springall took a series of photos of his 4 year old daughter on a beach in Zushi, Japan. Springall, who was living in Tokyo at the time claims that no one else was around when he took the photographs and that he didn’t notice anything strange until he looked at the pictures later that night. In one of the images there appears to be a person in black boots standing directly behind his daughter.
Cute little girl posing for her daddy.
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When asked about what he had captured, Springall recalled, “I took a few pictures, and when I was looking through them at night, I noticed what appeared to be a pair of boots behind her in one of the photos,” he said. “I took several of her in the same spot, but only one had the boots.” My daughter is really shy, and she wouldn’t have taken a picture if there was someone standing behind her, which I would have definitely noticed.”
What are they talking about?
They are taking about this frozen moment in time…
A snap-shot of a world-line; a “frozen moment in time”.
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And then we have this…
Two girls playing around.
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There is nothing weird about two girlfriends taking a selfie while they’re alone. Or is there? The word “alone” is actually open for a discussion in this case. Those two girls were partying in a house all by themselves and nothing weird has happened for the whole time until they decided to take a selfie. While the girls stated that they had been all alone in the house, there is a clear reflection in the mirror of a third girl standing behind them. So who is she and what was she doing there?
Conclusions
There is a non-physical reality that surrounds us. It is present in every world-line and it tracks our reality as we experience “time”.
Other species can see things that we cannot. And we can see things (by using certain technologies) that they cannot sense.
Extraterrestrials, dimensional travelers, visitors, and intelligent entities hide from humans in “plain sight” by phasing out of our observation. This is how the human species is monitored, observed, manipulated and controlled.
It is nothing to get all “hot and bothered about”, it is just simply how it is done.
Additionally, there are cross-over considerations regarding the MWI and world-lines that can be recorded on film for a fleeting moment.
The truth is that we, as humans, do not understand the nature of our reality well enough to account for various odd-ball events that are periodically captured on film or video. Rather than automatically discount them as hoaxes, simply because they do not fit within the confines of our established world-view, perhaps we need to embrace a larger and more comprehensive understanding of the universe and our reality, instead.
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Here we continue on our video exploration of Asia. But first, before we begin, let’s take a look at the picture splash at the top of the page. It is from the movie called “The Patriot”. It’s a great movie, and a large degree of effort went into making it as accurate as possible.
ThejumbleofeventsinThe Patriot, forexample, werecreatedby making Gibson’s character a composite ofnolessthan 4 realpeople! Somanyoftheeventsofthe film wereverylooselyinspiredbytruefacts, butthenchangedandalteredtofittheneedsofthedramaticstorythescreenwriterwaslookingtotell.
-Quora
Screen shot from the movie The Patriot. There are those that claim that this fictional movie is not accurate enough for their tastes. Well of course not! It’s a fiction for Pete’s sake. Then as all progressive liberals, they point out one inaccuracy and then claim the entire film is inaccurate. It’s the black and white, the all or nothing. The need to ban peanut butter because less than 0.0005% of children have an allergy. All or nothing. It’s the Marxist way, don’t you know.
Accuracy. Though you would never realize that if you used the internet to research the making of the movie. The “accuracy” of the movie is then put into question because it is a fictional work, when people are actually asking questions about such period events as…
Tying the boyfriend into a sack when he slept overnight.
Young boys being able to shoot guns.
The role of the Loyalists in the colonies.
The role of the German mercenaries during the war.
If you read the internet you will discover that this fictional movie is not accurate. The main characters, aside from one or two historical figures never existed. You will discover that all the more conservative elements were all nonsense, and that the American colonies lived in peace and the Revolutionary War was a mistake made by tax dodgers and swindlers. Well, that is the impression you will get if you used the internet to get your information from. It is thus no question why so many millennial youth hate the United States.
However, you would never get that impression by reading all the anti-accuracy posts on Google and Bing. In fact, you can plot the opinions on the accuracy of the film on two axes. One by political leaning / ideology, and two degree of accuracy. When you do so you get a chart that sort of looks like this…
Plot of opinionated accuracy relative to the movie “The Patriot” by political ideology of the writer of the article.
Of course, to see the “Right Wing” opinions, you need to go to pages 50+ in both Google and Bing. The highest rated opinions are found on liberal platforms, of which are moved to the very front of the search results.
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.
Two year old Crawls onto porch
This is another sad video.
This happened in my city of Zhuhai in July 2019. The mother checked on the baby, and he was asleep. So she went next door to buy some vegetables. Apparently the two-year old got up and thought it was a good idea to crawl onto the porch on the 6th floor in the high rise.
He reached up and climbed over and above the glass balustrade rail, then got on the outside and slipped…
People watched in horror and filmed it in real time as people rushed up to the apartment and tried to break in to rescue the baby. But they were too late.
Now a happy ending…
As shocking as that is, it is not uncommon.
Many parents absolutely MUST put fencing on their balconies or run the risk of a child getting into trouble. Here we see what happens when a child tries to crawl through the protective bars…
A happy ending.
Donald Trump visits NK
It’s hard to imagine that the news media in the USA would make a bigger deal than what came out of China. China was ecstatic when Donald Trump was in Korea. Though the American mainstream media picked it apart and made fun of it.
They thought it was dangerous, risky and unpresidential.
The American conservative press thought of it as a good thing, however…
American conservative reaction to Trump visiting North Korea. In general, it was viewed very positively.
Of course, that is in the balkanized United States.
In China, when Donald Trump visited North Korea, he was loudly promoted as a man who was going to bring calm reason and stability to Asia.
Indeed, it’s a mjor big change from the jokes and laughable behavior of the Obama’s and Clinton’s.
Archery in China
Yeah, this is how it’s done Chinese style. I also like the eight-point buck on the wall in the background.
Oh, and by the way, in many parts of China you don’t need a permit to hunt. You just go forth and hunt to your heart’s content. However, if you do abuse that privilege, like trying to round up 300 does (female deer) and instigate some kind of mass slaughter, the police will find a reason to arrest you.
And, getting arrested will be the least of your problems…
American Awesomeness in China
The Air Force bomber B2 is an amazing piece of equipment. For decades it was kept secret and hidden from the public. Even when it was announced publicly, all photos of it, and it’s operation were kept secret and hidden.
That was the case up until Obama became President, and he immediately removed the shroud and cloak of secrecy around many of America’s weapon systems. One of which was the B2 bomber.
Now, today, the Chinese people are well acquainted with this amazing plane as all sorts of videos can attest to.
Snail Races
Yup. It’s a thing. Who’d figure?
I don’t where this is. I do not think it is in China, but the video does come from Asia. Looks like English or Russians enjoying the race.
I have many more videos, but I just cannot put them into a single
post. It will bog down your computer terribly. So to watch the rest of
the videos in this post, please continue…
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
Here are
some links about my observations on China. I think that you, the reader,
might find them to be of interest. Please kindly enjoy.
China and America Comparisons
As an
American, I cannot help but compare what my life was in the United
States with what it is like living in China. Here we discuss that.
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
Who
doesn’t like to look at pretty girls? Ugly girls? Here we discuss what
China is like by looking at videos of pretty girls doing things in
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
The parks
in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very
mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.
Really Strange China
Here are
some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem
odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events,
while others are just representative of the differences in culture.
What is China like?
The
purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world,
outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they
might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank
you.
And while
America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources,
and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has
done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and
you can see this in their day-to-day lives.
Summer in Asia
Let’s take a moment to explore Asia. That includes China, but also includes such places as Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and others…
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.
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.
Now about the image in the post splash above. This is a scene from the most excellent movie “Unbreakable”. I really love this movie because it is about a man who needs to find his purpose in life. It turns out that he must be the super hero.
Elijah Price: Why is it, do you think, that of all the professions in the world you chose protection?
David Dunn: You are a very strange man.
Elijah Price: You could have been a tax accountant. You could have owned your own gym. You could have opened a chain of restaurants. You could've done of ten thousand things, but in the end, you chose to protect people. *You* made that decision, and I find that very, very interesting.
With regards to the story, Mr. Shyamalan and his crew have constructed something so rich in visual texture while managing to keep the story subdued and character development full of deep-seated anticipation. Every plot point came perfectly without any extra connotations that usually creep into a story such as this (super heroes?). Without any melodrama both Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson give very authentic performances that help the film keep its “Any Town USA” and “Average Joe Six-pack” feel very much alive.
This is a brilliant movie, and it asks many of the very same questions that many men ask themselves when they hit their middle to late 30’s. You can call it the “male menopause” or something else, but what it is rather a reflection of life’s purpose.
Joseph Dunn: I thought maybe because you're my dad... I thought I might be like you... I'm not like you...
David Dunn: You are like me. We can both get hurt. I'm just an ordinary man.
Joseph Dunn: No, you're not... Why do you keep saying that?
No man is ordinary.
Moving on…
Hey! Look what I found in my e-mail today!
Ah. It’s not going away. I received this e-mail on 5AUG19.
Yup! It’s a social justice warrior that is so proud of her censorship efforts. She censors art. She makes the determination of what is good or bad art by way of political ideology. Imagine that.
Read her email to me…
I am so very sure that Idi Amin, Heir Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Chairman Mao would be so proud of her censorship. But then again, this “virtue signalling” isn’t likely to do much aside from landing her a job in a liberal institution where, of course, she would have to endure the casting couch job interview. It’s the Marxist technique. (Just being historical, ya all.)
Of course, I am revolted by this.
Nazi book and art burning. They believed that you needed to purify thought and only have ideologically pure art and literature. Just like all Marxists.
So she judges art.
yes.
She JUDGES art.
It’s difficult to be an artist in the new progressive reality where the Marxist’s all control the levels of power, and the gateways for success. This is a work by conservative Dan F. Gerhartz. Not a progressive darling. Unfortunately his works will fade into obscurity while nonsensical works like oil stained Christian statues will be given priority in modern progressive metropolitan areas.
That is her profession and that is what she studies. However, she does not understand art. Instead she understands Marxist ideology. Nothing else.
In her mind, you are either a sunny and happy progressive, or you are a cockroach that needs to be exterminated. Don’t believe me? Reread her email above.
In her mind, you are either a good little communist, or you are nothing. You become vermin that must be eradicated from the planet.
These people are dangerous.
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.
Rufus the good Samaritan
This little video takes place in China.
I named the fellow here Rufus. Why? Because that was the name of the man that helped Jesus carry the cross up the side of the mountain. Rufus.
Rufus. red, the son of Simon the Cyrenian ( Mark 15:21), whom the Roman soldiers compelled to carry the cross on which our Lord was crucified. Probably it is the same person who is again mentioned in Romans 16:13 as a disciple at Rome, whose mother also was a Christian held in esteem by the apostle. Mark mentions him along with his brother Alexander as persons well known to his readers.
-Bible Dictionary
Of course, in today’s hyper politically correct internet, you won’t find any of this information if you look up the name of Rufus. Instead you will find something like this…
The meaning of the word Rufus as found on the Internet.
Detailed, supposedly factual, but devoid of useful content. Rufus is the name of the man that helped Jesus carry the cross. The English forms that were present in 1909 has exactly zero relevance in 2019.
You need to know and understand just how serious the rewriting of history is being colored by the tyranny of California software mega-corporations.
Here, let’s watch a micro-video about another Rufus in China. You go man. Rufus, you are my hero.
Cool Flooring
In China, the technology is mature that permits large scale moving videos of anything placed anywhere. You can see it on the sides of buildings, on ceilings, on walls and on the floors. Here’s a really great application of one such LED display showing moving waves and beach sand on a KTV or restaurant floor.
Now, something terribly sad…
This happened in Shenzhen. It shocks me to my core.
Here is the map of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Shenzhen has 14 million citizens, and Hong Kong only has 8 million people. To put that into perspective, New York city has 6 million people. There is a constant flow of people in and out of HK though SZ. As many people who live and work in Hong Kong, actually have homes and residences inside Shenzhen.
A mother is walking her son home through a market. High above them, in one of the skyscrapers, a window pops out of the wall, and falls at least 20 floors below. That’s a long… long… long… fall.
Crash!
One minute you are alive. The next minute you are dead.
One minute you are alive.
The next minute you are dead.
Do not take your life for granted. Enjoy every minute as if it is a full treasure. Cherish it. Enjoy it. Savor everything about your life.
Do not take your life for granted. Enjoy every minute as if it is a full treasure. Cherish it. Enjoy it. Savor everything about your life.
Savor everything about your life.
Please don’t take things, and people for granted. They are special. When your dog wants to kiss you on the lips, give him a big hug and rub his tummy. When your kitty wants you to pick him up… come on do so. What’s the problem?
They just want some loving…from YOU.
Viking kitty just wants to spend some time with you. What are you going to do? Watch CNN instead? Mow the lawn instead? Nah. People and creatures are important. They enrich our life. Treasure them.
Live life well…
Live. It. Well.
Well.
Life is too short not to enjoy some fine BBQ. Enjoy it with some friends. And don’t forget the icy cold beer to share with it. Life is far too short not to spend it with friends and loved ones.
Live life well. Live it like it is your last.
Live it like it will be your last.
Treasure the time now.
Smile at those loved ones around you.
Life is short. Live it well.
Life is short. Often too short. Please, live it well.
Public Transport – Japan
Yeah. I guess the monorail is popular in Japan.
It seemed to me that I once saw a Simpson’s episode regarding the monorail. It depicted it as some kind of scam that investors used to fleece the tax-paying public with.
His evil plan.
"Marge vs. the Monorail" is the twelfth episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 14, 1993. The plot revolves around Springfield's impulse purchase of a faulty monorail from a conman. The episode was written by Conan O'Brien and directed by Rich Moore.
-Wikipedia
Anyways, in Japan they use monorails quite readily.
Pretty good rule of thumb: the best episodes usually show a flagrant contempt for the town's citizens (a lot like South Park). In this case, the use of a $3 million windfall a mass transit boondoggle rather than much-needed street repairs. On the other hand, don't you wish town halls can be settled so easily with Phil Hartman and a big musical number? The jokes are hopelessly cynical (read: hysterical) and even Leonard Nimoy gets in on the fun. The whole thing's a treat.
Box Recognition Technology
Ah. I think it’s cool. I like this. I do not think that it is being used in the USA today though it is pretty commonly used all over China. I guess that the USA has some catching up to do.
I have many more videos, but I just cannot put them into a single
post. It will bog down your computer terribly. So to watch the rest of
the videos in this post, please continue…
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
Here are
some links about my observations on China. I think that you, the reader,
might find them to be of interest. Please kindly enjoy.
China and America Comparisons
As an
American, I cannot help but compare what my life was in the United
States with what it is like living in China. Here we discuss that.
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
Who
doesn’t like to look at pretty girls? Ugly girls? Here we discuss what
China is like by looking at videos of pretty girls doing things in
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
The parks
in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very
mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.
Really Strange China
Here are
some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem
odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events,
while others are just representative of the differences in culture.
What is China like?
The
purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world,
outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they
might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank
you.
And while
America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources,
and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has
done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and
you can see this in their day-to-day lives.
Summer in Asia
Let’s take a moment to explore Asia. That includes China, but also includes such places as Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and others…
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.
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.
Here, we continue on our exploration of China from the comfort of our own personal computer, personal laptop, or personal media device. This is a multi-part post because too many videos will prevent the post from loading, and also, I tend to get sidetracked on various issues.
Also, please keep in mind that the purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world, outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank you.
And while America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources, and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and you can see this in their day-to-day lives.
This is the seventh of a mighty mega-post.
As a quick reminder, to all the new comers here…
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.
Crazy Shapes and exciting buildings (video 36)
China is about some amazing building designs and strange shapes. While everyone “knows” about the “bird’s nest” in Beijing, and the Pearl Tower in Shanghai, the rest of China has some pretty amazing buildings as well.
Now, America is no stranger to skyscrapers. We invented the term, and led the world in their construction. Indeed, it was one of the things that put New York City on the map. For years hard-working American men labored and created these massive structures that towered into the sky.
Here’s some of the great men taking a lunch break during building construction. Of course, it takes a unique kind of man to go work and labor so hard at such dizzying heights. Don’t you think?
I’ve read somewhere ( I don’t recall if it was on the Internet, or something that I heard) that the people who built the skyscrapers were American Indians. They were fearless regarding heights, and were absolute work-horses when building skyscrapers. But, you know what? These folk in the pictures really don’t seem to have the ethnic features of American Indians. They seem to be Irish or of Italian decent.
Hard working American men taking a lunch break from building some of the largest buildings in the world. The picture is from New York city.
Lately there hasn’t been too many new skyscrapers going up in America. The money has gone into other things. Here’s what you find when you do an image search for “Amazing American Buildings”;
Image search for “Amazing American Buildings”. Note that none of them seem to be newer than the 1970’s. Most seem to be dated from the 1930’s and the 1940’s.
In comparison, let’s look at the image search for “Amazing Chinese Buildings”…
In contrast, the Chinese buildings are all new, modern, and built within the last ten years (if not sooner). They are big, beautiful and of unique and noteworthy shapes.
Of course, I argue that a contributor to this variance to be our wasteful spending in the eight wars that we are fighting simultaneously.
I mean, good golly! The former Soviet Union left Afghanistan after being entrenched in that morass for ten years, and we American laughed at them. We referred to Afghanistan as the Soviet “Vietnam”. Well, who’s laughing now, eh?
Afghanistan: The Soviet Union's Vietnam. Afghanistan was the ground for one of the last Cold War battles between the United States and the Soviet Union, after the Red Army rolled into the country on December 24, 1979.
- Afghanistan: The Soviet Union's Vietnam | News | Al Jazeera
We’ve been fighting there almost twenty years. And Even “Mad Dog” Mathis left his role because he disagreed with President Trump that we need to leave Afghanistan. Ah… fiddlesticks!
Here’s what is possible when you aren’t burning money on nothing…
Visiting Tibet (video 37)
China is about visiting Tibet.
Have you ever wanted to visit Tibet? I have, and I have many friends who feel the same way too. Well, if you ever wanted to go there and drive around, it’s a little bit like this video below.
New Squad Support Weapons (Video 38 A&B)
China is also deploying some amazing small arms at the squad level. You see, while America is busy being the “policeman of the world”, China holds their military in strict adherence to protecting their shipping lanes. Because of this, their military doctrine is different than America’s.
In some respects, their mission doctrine is so limited that their versatility is crippled.
The American military is much more versatile. The American military can fight for the Saudi oligarchs in Iran, as well as secure Panama for the EU banking interests. Versatile. American military can fight in Bosnia, as well as Yemen, or Nigeria. Americans can and have fought just about everywhere.
You pay off the right people, and our military can do your bidding. The only issue is the price. Which is the price that the rich oligarchy is asking. Not the price in manpower and lives. For to the American leadership, people are disposable.
They are. That’s a fact, Jack. Read your history.
Bodies of US Airborne paratroopers lie near a command post during the battle of An Ninh, 18 September 1965. The paratroopers, of the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, were hit by heavy fire from guerrillas that began as soon as the first elements of the unit landed. The dead and wounded were later evacuated to An Khe, where the 101st was based. The battle was one of the first of the war between major units of US forces and the Vietcong
Here’s some videos of Chinese squad level small arms. As a weapons enthusiast, I found these very interesting. Most especially the first video.
As Americans, when we read about Chinese advancements in weapons and technology, we view them through an “American prism”. Which is to say, we make assumptions on how they will be used, based upon how we use them.
Americans assume far too much about China.
We run about with our arms held up high like Chicken Little shouting “the sky is falling!”. We mistakenly think that China is like America and are happy deploying military forces all over the world to help other nations and police for global world stability. Or else, something along the lines of a 1930’s era attempt to become the dictator of the world.
"China is saber rattling!"
The Chinese don’t care at all about global world stability. They are about only one thing. That is Chinese stability and Chinese health.
War in the Congo, meh.
Conflict in Egypt… yawn.
Military insurgency in Sierra Leone… “what me worry?”.
They do not care.
Unlike the United States, China has structured their military in a defensive role, primarily. For an offensive role, they have nuclear and biological weapons and delivery systems.
America is all about fighting global wars with unlimited financing for every reason under the sun. The baseline assumption is that the conflict will [1] be conventional, and [2] be limited to the country so attacked. America would be unaffected.
China is about defending it’s ability to conduct trade. The baseline assumption is that if anyone tries to attack it militarily, it would use EVERY weapon at it’s disposal right-off-the-bat at the attacker. This includes nuclear, biological, and germ warfare from on the onset.
China does not believe in conflict escalation.
There are many misconceptions about China. One of the biggest is that since America has an amazing military, in both size, scope and experience, that China would be an easy “walk over” were any kind of military conflict occur between the two superpowers.
"We can put one or two carriers off the coast of China and plink at their cities, and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines would all support us."
I am here to tell you that your illusions are dangerous. Just because the Chinese are not fighting proxy wars in Libya, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Jordon, or any other nation, that they do not know how to fight. They do. And, make no mistake, they play to win.
China is about delicious steaks. Let’s talk, or better yet, look at some video of some delicious Chinese steaks. I, for one, enjoy a good steak. You can take your whole-wheat tofu burger with avocado and bean sprouts and shove it where the sun don’t shine.
When you are not throwing money away trying to shoot up mud huts, and napalming school children, the value of your currency can remain stable. Inflation is aggravated when a nation is on a war stance.
America fought a useless war in Vietnam. We ended up killing so many people and losing so many young men. And for what, and why? Trumped up fear about the “domino effect”, yeah sure…
In other words… your money is worth more. And, at that, you can use it to purchase things that otherwise you couldn’t afford. Like steak. Thick, juicy and delicious, steak.
Cooked medium rare, with a nice red interior. With the juices flowing out as the knife slices through the slab to the bone.
Housewife cooking video (video 40)
In traditional societies, such as China, and America 50-years ago, the household is run traditionally. The man, as the head of the household, would go work and earn money and give all the money to the wife to budget. The wife, would be in-charge of finance, budgeting, and all domestic matters including raising the children and educating them.
Vintage American advertisement depicting an American housewife cooking for her family. This is sadly no longer part of the American cultural scene. However, in nations that do not engage in non-stop wars, they still do maintain traditional roles. This means that his scene, with minor cultural differences, can be seen all over China.
This relic still exists in China, though it has been modified to some degree by the necessities of modern life. For in China, multi-generational households run traditional, and conservative is the norm.
Here we have a housewife showing show she cooks delicious and nutritious meals for her family. So that when the husband gets home from work, and the children come home from school, this is what they can look forward to eating…
One of the things (there were multiple things) that accelerated the movement of progressive thought and Marxism into American society were the numerous wars that America had to fight. For each time there was a war, men had to leave their homes and go off to distant lands to fight, and die. This left the household without a breadwinner, and thus the housewife had to leave the home, and take up work to support the family.
Wars contributed to the breakup of traditional American families.
Thus, one of the things that you will discover is that the more progressive a nation is, the smaller the number of traditional households that exist. Today, in America, very few households are run traditionally. Instead they are run progressively. I am sad to say this, but it is quite true.
In traditional families, house clothes are worn inside, holidays are celebrated, and households are kept immaculate. This is a scene that is sadly not so common in the United States, but is very common in China.
In fact, the odds that an American reading this would be part of a traditional conservative run family, even if they themselves were conservative, is practically zero.
To understand the extent of this statement, and it’s most dangerous implications, please check out this link (it opens in a separate window).
Oh, yes… one more thing…
Continued…
OK. At numerous videos for this part, let’s go and move on to the next part of this post which covers more videos and further commentary about China.
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.
Parks in China
The parks in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.
Really Strange China
Here are some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events, while others are just representative of the differences in culture.
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.
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.
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.
This is a very detailed discussion on how a Business KTV works in China. This is a pretty large multi-part post. It was originally posted HERE, but it soon became problematic as the videos would not load and the SEO flags weren’t being picked up by the search engines. So I broke it down into smaller bite-sized posts. It’s faster to load, easier to read, and you can see all the videos without problem. Enjoy.
Part 9 of 17.
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.
Pricing
Of course everything at a KTV comes at a price. If you are being given hospitality, you won’t need to pay for anything. However, it is always a good thing to have an idea of what the costs will be like. The days of $50 USD for dinner and all-night sex are long over. KTV activity has a price tag associated with it. So let’s look at the KTV prices.
Here we discuss the pricing scheme; the “KTV prices”. Yah. It looks so easy when things are given and provided to you. However, in reality on this planet, everything comes at a price. Do not think that it is just “freebees”.
Never the less, you should understand that if you are given this kind of hospitality, you are expected to be “worth the investment”.
Keep in mind that $1 USD = 6.3 RMB. So, to get a handle on these prices, consider 100 RMB = $16. And a 1000 RMB = $160 dollars.
Renting the KTV room alone will vary from a few thousand RMB to 20,000 RMB and up. If the boss has a running VIP account, the rate might be lower, but offset by his repeat business. Location is everything. Two KTV’s in different areas can have wildly different pricing schemes.
Just having a pretty girl to be with you and play will vary from 300 RMB to 750 RMB for four hours. Guys are more expensive for the girls to play with.
Stripped down playfulness might cost you another 500 to 2000 RMB. All of the girls in the room will strip down to their panties, and play with you. Trust me, on this, don’t decline if offered.
Drinks are usually provided as part of a “meal plan” where beer and drinks are provided with snacks. This will cost from 500 RMB to 7000 RMB.
High end drinks like whiskey and XO, will be at a premium price. They will have package deals. For instance, a bottle of Johnny Walker Red with ten bottle of green tea for a “sale” price. Most drinks will be fake, or cheap whiskey in an expensive bottle.
The girl will run from 600 RMB to 5000 RMB for a “short time” with “one shot”. (One “shot” is one ejaculation.) Multiple shots and longer periods of time (longer than 40 minutes) can be negotiated. The standard “short time” is around 40 minutes. If the phone starts ringing off the hook after 20 minutes, you are not getting your money’s worth.
“Long time” girls will be double that. A “long time” is an overnight sleepover. This will typically allow for two shots. One before bed and one upon awakening. These girls will leave at 6am, so make sure that you don’t wait until the “crack of dawn” to take her to your room. To get the most “bang for the buck” leave before 11pm. That gives you seven hours of frolic fun.
Additionally, some girls might ask for further “tips” and prices. Make perfectly clear that all expenses have been taken cared of before you go to the room under what ever expectations you might have.
While the vast bulk of girls are in their mid-20's to thirties, be cautious. I have heard of, but never experienced, younger girls lying and working as KTV hostesses. These girls might be under 21, and I have heard that they can be as young as 14! Make absolutely clear that the chick that you are with is what you want, and that she is an adult. Her behavior, more than anything else, will tell you her age.
Anyways, it should be understood that the boss could easily spend 60,000 RMB for you to have fun with and provide you hospitality. This is $10,000 USD.
Do not take the hospitality lightly, and don’t insult his face in the process.
Singing
All KTV’s have a huge big-screen television that is hooked up to the KTV machine. It is a touch activated screen that you can pick a song out of. The songs are provided along with some kind of cheap video (if the actual MTV video is not available). Ask your English speaking aide to assist you.
The screen to select the KTV songs is a touch activated device. There are different systems in use. But, all use a basic search engine technique and basic controls. You can search by name of song, artist, album, year, gender, theme, emotion, and a host of other criteria. These devices have everything from children’s songs to songs suitable for grandparents.
Typically, I carry in my wallet a list of groups, singers and songs that I can program and search for in the KTV. Else, you would have a dickens of a time trying to think of a song to sing. The environment is noisy and the songs that the other people are all singing are Chinese. So you will have a real hard time thinking of a song.
Once you pick out a song, you can adjust the percentage of the vocals to sing along with. It can be anywhere from 100% (as in listening to the full song) where you just sing along, to 0%, where the only vocals are your own. Personally, I like around 60% that way it doesn’t sound so bad. No one really cares how well you can sing. They just want to see you release emotion. As that is the entire purpose of a KTV in the first place.
The reverb and sound can be adjusted with echo and other effects. I personally don’t like the effect. However, others do. You just go with the flow and use the presets unless someone else says differently.
There are decades of technology behind this. Today, you can connect to the KTV player and sing to songs on your smartphone. You can search the internet, if there aren’t any songs on the local hard drive. You can do all kinds of things. HERE is a link to one manufacturer that makes these devices.
Dancing
Often people get up and start dancing. You know, the Chinese are often nerds, and so the girls and the guys will get us and shake their body to the music. Not me. I took five years of professional ballroom dancing lessons. I can dance.
Which surprises the heck out of the girls. Most of the girls don’t get much of a chance to dance with a real dancer. Instead, they are fun and just content to dance with each other and shake and gyrate…
It’s a happy and welcome surprise. These girls are trained and experienced Hostesses. they can follow my lead in dancing, and it is a real pleasure. We do the foxtrot, the merengue, the waltz, the two step and of course the Rumba and Tango. You know, for a guy like myself, just being able to dance, with a experienced and qualified partner is worth everything.
Yet, truthfully, there is absolutely nothing wrong with formal dancing, shaking and gyrating or some kind of line dance. You do what ever makes you feel wonderful. And since this is a KTV, just have fun. No one will make fun of you. It’s all about having fun.
Now, the ballroom dances are very popular in China. Often huge classes are held outdoors in the empty plazas in front of the malls and such. People dance and learn the movements on their own. But, to dance with a partner is just… magical.
I typically start out rather easy with a two-step or something basic. If they can follow well, then it eventually evolves into a tango. There, I like to get really dramatic, and the girls really get into it as well. It is truly amazing. There is something about booze, sex and dancing that brings out the raw emotion in us all.
Dancing the tango. It’s a dance of battle and wits. Once led properly, the woman can release and let herself go. She becomes the dance. The experience becomes magical.
But heck… It’s all about having fun. Whether you are at a KTV, or in a club or in a bar, enjoy life. Seriously, life is far too short to get all worked up and bothered about things that have no direct connection to our lives…read “so called news”.
Get out and enjoy yourself. If this housekeeper can enjoy herself, why not you? Eh?
If you want to return to the start of this series, please go HERE.
This is a very detailed discussion on how a Business KTV works in China. This is a pretty large multi-part post. It was originally posted HERE, but it soon became problematic as the videos would not load and the SEO flags weren’t being picked up by the search engines. So I broke it down into smaller bite-sized posts. It’s faster to load, easier to read, and you can see all the videos without problem. Enjoy.
Page 16A of 17.
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.
What are the girls like?
Every trip to the KTV is different. However, the Chinese business KTV girls tend to be attractive and high energy. Unlike the stereotypical image of Asians, most gals in China tend to be very curvy, sweet and very attractive. Sort of like these mini-videos can attest to.
Please wait for the mini-videos to load. They are worth the wait. If they are not loading, or taking too long, then reload your browser. They are worth the wait.
If you ever had a dream of having a Chinese girl friend, or dating one of those attractive K-Pop girls, well then come to China. All of the girls here are like that. They love to dance. They love to sing. They love to drink, and they love to have fun. What’s not to love?
What’s more, they are super intelligent. They are conservative (Chinese conservative) in values and are probably the smartest people that you will ever meet. Here is a video of a Chinese dance troupe. The point that I want to make is that this is exactly what the girls are like. They are lively, happy, thin and well built. This is the norm in China.
Of course, every girl is different.
There is no one-size-fits-all stereotypical Chinese girl. What I can say is that stereotypes that many idiots have in the United States about Asians are all seriously out of date and terribly incorrect. (You know, that they look like preadolescent children, that they don’t have breasts, and that their pussies are sideways. Ugh!)
Chinese girls… the real deal.
Most of the Chinese gals I know are something quite different. They are stunningly beautiful, and have a great set of legs and really nice tight asses. They are tend to be a bit on the bigger side on breasts. They also usually have long hair and really deep brown eyes. Here are some very typical Chinese girls…
This first girl, is typical in a tiny compact package sort of way. She is petite. She is short, but not tiny. She is curvy and has a great build. She has a great face and a wonderful smile. I mean, just look at her! Can’t this stunner just melt your heart? My goodness!!!!!
I remember seeing a girl like this in a line up at one KTV. She was at the tail end of a last group of girls. Now, let me explain. What often happens is, as the night goes on, certain girls aren’t selected. So what happens is that the business manger brings these (leftover, unselected) girls around to the various rooms and offer their services and companionship at a greatly reduced rate.
I suppose it’s like how you can by day-old fruit at a mark-down in a grocery store. Now, on the surface, the girl didn’t look all that spectacular. She was just an average girl wearing one of those glittery white costumes. She had these large round glasses, she was tiny and was ho-hum. But, let me tell you what, after she dressed into her day to day clothes, she was a stunner! She partied and had a great time with the guys and let me tell you what…
…many girls are like that.
You just cannot judge a book by it’s cover. In the lineup she looked small, with maybe a B-size cup, but when she changed, she was transformed into a stacked vixen. Woo baby!
Stacked Chinese girls
Now, speaking about stacked girls… I do happen to like Chinese girls with a nice rack. I am an American male. Um… that is, pre-Obama and the media push for enormous plump negro women. Now, I do like a healthy well-proportioned woman.
I like the proportions, and the womanliness that they portray. It’s a personal taste and I find that when I am viewing a lineup, I often look for girls that have a very curvy body instead of a thin model-like appearance.
Sort of like this girl…
Indeed, eh?
This next girl is what I would describe as very typical. Most KTV girls would have their hair much longer, but aside from that, the build is quite typical. Notice the skin color. Most Chinese, especially the Han Chinese have pale skin, big eyes and a really nice round face. This gal is typical, and seriously, don’t you just love her?
If you want to return to the start of this series, please go HERE.
Ah… Guns. As an American, I have a distinct interest in firearms. After all, what’s the point in having a Right given to you by God if you don’t exercise it? Here, I’d like to share my thoughts on some of my dream weapons; my favorite firearms. No, I’m not talking about a “Phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range” that the Terminator was looking for. But rather some firearms that I have wanted for some time, but regrettably will probably never purchase.
So here’s my dream / wish list.
MP-40
Let me start with one of my long time yearnings…
The MP 40 (Maschinenpistole 40). As a boy this weapon featured predominantly in all the “War Movies” of the 1960’s
The MP 40 (Maschinenpistole 40) was a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during the Second World War.
As I was growing up, all of the many, many war movies had actors fighting the Germans who utilized this weapon. They would burst into the room, spraying lead back and forth, back and forth, and the evil Nazi warriors would crumple to the ground. Yikes.
A hero might be needed to save a beautiful girl. Often at the hands of evil Nazi villains. OK, this guy is not using a Schmeisser. He is using a “tommy gun”. But you can get the general idea, eh?
The MP-40 was designed in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with inspiration from its predecessor the MP 38. It was heavily used by German infantrymen (particularly platoon and squad leaders), and by paratroopers, on all of the fronts of World War II.
Its advanced and modern features made it a favorite among soldiers and popular in countries from various parts of the world after the war.
It was often erroneously called “Schmeisser” by the Allies, although Hugo Schmeisser was not involved in the design or production of the weapon. From 1940 to 1945, an estimated 1.1 million were produced by Erma Werke.
Closeup of the MP-40, showing off the fine lines and blued steel.
Now, I have read somewhere that there was a short limited edition manufacturing run of this weapon sometime in the 1990’s. I also understand that it was chambered in 10mm as well as 9mm calibers. However, I am at a loss as to the circumstances behind this model, or where you can get it. I sure would like to know more about it.
Comment from schurmann…
Small numbers of replica MP-40s were turned out before May 1986: modern-made receiver and original parts kits. Trade jargon for these: “tube guns.”
Further internet sleuthing found this…
Sport Systeme Dittrich in Germany is a manufacturer of a remarkably wide range of reproduction German World War Two small arms (including the FG42, StG-44, G43, MP-3008, MP-35, and VG1-5 as well as the MP-38).
They have a mixed reputation, as they are magnificently accurate looking reproductions, but the Sturmgewehr in particular suffered from a great deal of parts breakage and reliability problems (in the US, these were imported as the PTR-44 many years ago).
Some of the product offerings from Sport-Systeme Dittrich Kulmbach.
For collectors and shooters in the United States, this is generally a moot point, because the Dittrich reproductions are too accurate mechanically to be allowable for import.
The BD-38 semiauto copy of the MP-38, for instance, is an open-bolt carbine, which is deemed easily convertible to fully automatic under US law (a similar conclusion was reached by the RCMP in Canada).
-Forgotten Weapons
And, another interesting comment from schurmann…
"The first photo purported to be an MP-40 shows an arm missing its folding stock, but the stock is present (folded) in the second image. There have been some latter-day semi-only replicas made without stocks, so they can be “pistols” in compliance with US regulations.
Despite what one sees in films and on TV, the gun was rarely fired with its stock folded; as an open-bolt submachine gun, its accuracy was never great, and users needed every advantage they could get.
While we’re addressing film/TV use, it must be stressed that movie guns seem to fire at almost twice the rate of a real MP-40, or perhaps it’s mere sound effects. The actual gun fired only about 450 rds/minute: “chug-chug” more than “rat-a-tat.”"
Regarding the MP40 comments…
Hollywood movies usually (not always, just usually) liked to portray the users of the MP-40 firing “at the hip”, spraying the room (and evil grinning Nazi warriors) indiscriminately. I would imagine that it would have been a terrible waste of bullets. How could you possibly hit anything without sighting your target first?
FG-42
Speaking of fine German weapons, one of my “Dark Horse” dream weapons is the FG-42. This is an interesting design and a very fine weapon. What attracts me to this weapon is the ability to utilize both box and belt feeds.
A continued love of German weaponry extends the the relatively unknown FG-42. This was sort of like an early Steiner, in that it could be both box and belt fed.
The FG 42 (German: Fallschirmjägergewehr 42, “paratrooper rifle 42”) is a selective-fire automatic rifle produced in Nazi Germany during World War II.
The weapon was developed specifically for the use of the Fallschirmjäger airborne infantry in 1942. Like the airborne infantry, it was used in very limited numbers.
Here is the FG-42 in operation. Look at that impressive action. Here it is being held without using the bipod.
It combined the characteristics and firepower of a light machine gun in a lightweight form. It was equipped with a bipedal stand, and was small. It was no larger than the standard-issue Kar 98k bolt-action rifle.
It is considered one of the most advanced weapon designs of World War II. In fact, the FG 42 influenced post-war small arms development. As a result, most of its design was copied by the US Army when they developed the M60 machine gun.
Here is a nice photo of the FG42 along with a German MP-44. I too, would like to have a go with the MP-44. I would imagine that it would be like firing a AK-47. But that is just speculation on my part.
Of course, I would love to fire an MP-44. But these are really rare firearms and the ammo is not exactly common. I once saw a MP-44 on display in a museum when I was around 15 years old. I was amazed that it was so large. For some reason, I thought that it would be a little more compact.
Comment on the MP-44 from schurmann…
The MP-44 is indeed astonishingly weighty, and disappointingly unhandy to boot. Recoil is terrible: difficult to believe about such a tiny round fired from such a big gun. There have been recent production runs of ammunition, catering to the collector community.
Back to the FG-42. Here’s a FG-42 with a box magazine…
Shooting a FG-42 using the box magazine.
"metallicman had better hire a more-experienced technical editor before posting anything further, on this topic (though to judge by some earlier posts of his, he may be immune to embarrassment, and facts.)FG-42 used box magazines only, never belts.
It did fire from a closed bolt on semi, and from an open bolt on full auto. The latter is common on air-cooled full-auto arms, to facilitate cooling, and to keep the ammunition out of contact with a hot barrel."-schurmann
To which, I must retort. This is my personal views on guns I like as a hobbyist. I am not an expert.
Now, with that being said…
Please note that the FG 42 belt fed that I know of is the Light Automatic Machine Gun T44. And that seems to have had a side feeding mechanism similar to the prototype belt fed Kalashnikov. In this case, the Johnson belt fed seems to have a bottom closing mechanism. This would be much like the mechanism used in the HK 21.
Belt Fed German FG-42. Never fielded in action, as far as I know of.
It must have been something as the FG42 eventually evolved into the M60 belt-fed LMG. As such the prototype M60 LMG’s were derived from the FG42.
Prototype M60 derived from the FG42 with minor modification. Known as the T44. The belt mechanism was from the MG42.
Additionally, it is my understanding, faulted as it probably is, that the box and feeding mechanisms can be loaded from either the left or the right sides.
Note that the reader was correct. The German army fielded FG-42 was box fed. The belt-fed version was a prototype that eventually became the M60 LMG. History aside, this is an interesting little weapon, and I would not mind firing it.
Fabrique Nationale FN P90
Being a fan of weapons, and my love of science fiction, I was introduced to the P90 through television. Or more precisely the Stargate SG-1 television series. LOL. No kidding, but it is really true.
Though, I am sure that the weapons displayed were all prop replicas, it certainly piqued my interest.
I was introduced to the P90, the same was as I was introduced to the MP40; through television and movies.
The Fabrique Nationale FN P90 is a Belgian-originated “Personal Defense Weapon”. It’s sort of a cross between a submachine gun (SMG) and an assault rifle.
Apparently, the gun was originally developed to arm indirect auxiliary combat units such as vehicle crews, messengers and clerk-type elements outside of active fighting zones.
The P90 is arranged as a “bullpup” assault weapon where the action and magazine feed are concentrated aft of the trigger unit. This allows a full-length barrel to be used with a more compact package. The result of this mating is a fixed, slightly oversized stock with integrated pistol grip and carrying handle.
The P90 supports use of a sound suppressor and this can be coupled with subsonic ammunition for reduced-noise operation. This is a particularly useful feature for clandestine operatives. The weapon also features select-firing through single-shot and full-automatic fire. The including rail system can adapt a variety of optics and aimers as needed.
high-velocity 5.7x28mm cartridge
The P90 is engineered to fire the specialized, high-velocity 5.7x28mm cartridge (SS190 Ball). These cartridges certainly maintain a unique look when placed alongside 9mm and 5.56mm types.
Heckler & Koch HK MP5K (Kurz)
Now, what “red blooded” American man doesn’t want a “popper” when the going gets tough? It’s only slightly larger than a pistol, but packs the punch of a machine-pistol.
Heckler & Koch HK MP5K (Kurz)
The Heckler & Koch HK MP5K (“K” = “Kurz” meaning “short”) was developed to specifically meet the needs of special forces, and law enforcement. The basic idea was to provide a compact and concealable firearm with a proven action and capable man-stopping qualities.
The German concern therefore developed the MP5K from its full-sized submachine gun; the ubiquitous HK MP5 series.
Heckler & Koch HK MP5K (Kurz) with accessories to include silencer, extra magazine and sight.. Though all that cool “stuff” takes away from the advantages of small size and portability.
Getting back to my love of fine German weapons. Consider the Steyr MP34. A long-time old friend of mine had inherited one from his father. I think that he picked it out of a mail order catalog back in the 1960’s. It’s a nice and fine little machinegun.
It was great until he had a fight with his ex-wife and lost all of his firearms when she carted them out and dumped them in the middle of the street. When the police were called, they collected the weapons and wouldn’t give them back to him. So sad.
Anyways…
Steyr MP34
The history behind this gen is very interesting.
Restrictions in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles precluded the Germans from developing man-portable automatic weapons. Specifically, German martial firearms could not possess a barrel longer than 4 inches or a magazine capacity of more than eight rounds. This pretty much restricted the Germans of the Weimar Republic to P08 Parabellum pistols and little else.Eager to expand the state of the art while perhaps preparing for the coming next World War, Rheinmetall acquired the Swiss Solothurn weapons factory in 1929 and began developing the S1-100, which would later become the MP34.Although ill-suited for mass production, Solothurn did a crack job of developing and prototyping the gun. The MP34 is heavy, but its mass means the gun is remarkably controllable. It’s pretty easy to keep the gun on target even during long bursts of fire. Firing single shots, the gun remains delightfully accurate out to the effective range of the 9mm Parabellum cartridge.
Let’s talk pistols…
The Taurus Judge
Here is a great little revolver that can fire shotgun shells. Imagine that! The Taurus Judge is a unique revolver which can fire either a .45 Long Colt cartridge, or a .410 shotgun shell.
Taurus Judge
Loading birdshot in the Taurus Judge might be an acceptable choice for a self defense load. However I think these situations are indeed pretty limited. Birdshot lacks the ability to penetrate deeply enough to reach an attacker’s vital organs, which is the only reliable way of stopping the attacker before it is too late.
I have read that the 2 or 3 00 Buckshot pellets which would fit in a .410 shotgun shell, when fired out of the relatively short barrel of the Taurus Judge, will simply not penetrate the way that 00 Buckshot from a “normal” shotgun would.
The firearm blog says that you shouldn’t use shotgun shells for defense.
I do not know what would be the better load for self defense purposes. The .45 long would have better penetration power, but in a panic high-stress situation, the .410 shotgun might be a better selection.
Ruger 22/45 Lite Pistol
Here is a nice Ruger .22 with a laser sight and silencer. This is a perfect starter pistol that also has some nice practical uses as well.
I first came across this little beauty while I was looking for “gun porn” on Pinterest. A little sleuthing enabled me to identify it as a Ruger 22/45 Lite. Here we see it with a nice silencer, light, and sights. I would buy this beauty in a heartbeat. A great article on this pistol can be found HERE.
The 444 Marlin
This is a dream gun of mine. I had a few co-workers that told me that this little beast really was able to cut through the brush. I believe them, as this is a pretty substantial round.
The 444 Marlin rifle. What a beauty. I’ll tell you what.
Colt M-16A4
When I lived in California I had a collapsible stock AK that I used to cart with me and shoot in the desert. One day, I was introduced to an ArmaLite AR-15 and fell in love with it. It still remains on my wish list.
Historically, when this rifle was first fielded in Vietnam it kept on malfunctioning because it needed more maintenance than the M-14 that the soldiers were used to using. Over the years, training and improved design has resulted in a nice fine little weapon.
Gunny Highway is an ideal that has elements that all men should strive towards. Sometimes the fiction that we see can lead us into behavior ideals that we can adopt as our own.
For the need for everyday carry. Nothing beats a well manufactured subcompact that is easy to shoot, and fits the hand well.
Find a gun that fits the palm of the hand well. This is especially true for the females in your family. Let them practice with it. Practice over an over until they are lethal with it.
The PX4 Storm SubCompact is among the smallest hi-capacity 9mm and .40 S&W polymer framed handguns in the world with 13+1 and 10+1 capacity. By using a polymer frame (like the Glock), the Px4 becomes one of the most manageable subcompact 9mm and .40 S&W pistols on the market.
It is adaptable to right- and left-handed users, has three interchangeable backstraps, a reversible magazine release button and an ambidextrous manual safety lever/decocker positioned on both sides of the slide. In the “safe” position, these also present additional gripping surface for drawing the very short side to the rear.
Walter P99
I always loved this pistol. My father thought that it looked ugly, but my brother, and our best friends all had this pistol and practiced relentlessly using it.
I do miss this little guy. I owned this gun for a spell when I was still living in the Untied States. It handled very well, and I was quite lethal with it. Photo is of the 380 not the 9mm version that I had.
Walter pistols allow for different sized hand grips to allow for small hands. Here is a .38 caliber version. I used to have a 9mm version that I was very partial for when I lived in the States.
Of course the pistol is chambered for different cartridges. I know that it is chambered for the 9mm, the 10mm, the .380, and the .22 cartridges.
P99 chambered in the 9mm. A very nice pistol that fits the hand well and that is easy to shoot with accurately.
ZH-05
Now, of course I’m very old-fashioned. I tend to be interested in weapons around 75 years old. But, you know, I like to keep up with the times. As such, there are some really spectacular designs out there.
Here in China, everyone (who loves firearms, that is) has been talking about the new ZH-05.
China has fielding its troops with the new ZH-05. It’s an interesting weapon that combines a 5.56mm assault rife with a computer controlled 20mm grenade launcher (with a max range of 700 meters).
The American and South Korean weapons both have a magazine for the computer controlled grenades while the ZH-05 is a single shot weapon, requiring 20mm rounds to be loaded manually each time. This makes the ZH-05 the lightest of the three weapons, weighing five kg (11 pounds) loaded (with a single 20mm round and a magazine with 20 rounds of 5.8mm ammo).
The ZH-05 has been seen with Chinese marines sent abroad warships working with the Somali anti-piracy patrol. Chinese special operations troops have the ZH-05 and the army ordered several thousand of them so that each four man infantry fire-team will have one.
That puts China ahead of the other two countries (United States and South Korea) with similar weapons. The Chinese version is lighter, simpler and cheaper. Obviously, the Chinese feel the ZH-05 is worth buying and issuing to the troops.
The U.S. began working on this type of weapon back in the 1990s as the OICW (Objective Individual Combat Weapon) and that mutated into the XM25 (the “X” in XM25 designates a system that is still in development). The South Korean design is the K11. The three weapons are different in important ways.
The American and South Korean weapons both have a magazine for the computer controlled grenades while the ZH-05 is a single shot weapon. Thus much cheaper, easier to maintain, and easier to field.
Links
The Chinese weapons industry is an interesting one. They supply weapons around the world, and also manufacture for the Russian military. I would certainly like to get my hands on some of these beauts and have a go at them.
This is just a fun post chatting about my love for firearms. For a while, I actually worked as an engineer designing weapons, and thus it is both a professional and hobby interest of mine.
As I live in China, I don’t have the opportunity to shoot like I used to. I have to go to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand or Burma to go do my shooting.
The only consolation to this is that I can shoot fully automatic weapons, and many weapons not commonly available in the United States. Which really sucks, as the United States is supposed to be the bastion of freedom.
Maybe, one day, the Progressive left will be defeated by the Conservatives, and some semblance of freedom would start to undo over one hundred years of progressive meddling in the Constitution. One day.
But, I’m not gonna hold my breath. The conservative leadership in America are all dying out, and their current leadership is corrupted and weak. The strongest leader they had was traitor John McCain. Who wasn’t even a conservative, but a wolf in sheep’s clothing; a RINO.
Perhaps Trump might turn things around. However, he is a lone voice in government. He can’t do it all on his own, but that is exactly what it looks like is going on. Each time he trys to do something, a liberal judge reverses it. He says “Hello” and a liberal assault team tries to get him for perjury. It’s simply ridiculous.
I’ll tell you what, if things do not turn around soon, and quickly, there will be a nasty regime change in America. And it will be the progressive communists driving the armored vehicles, and conservatives scattering like rabbits with a handful of hunting rifles.
The DHS is well armed with military grade vehicles, and armor. They are trained to fight on American soil. The Obama administration has been setting up the stages for an armed conflict of Americans against Americans.
Sad. So sad.
Take Aways
This is simply a post that describes my interests.
It concerns firearms; the RIGHT that I have as an American, to own.
They are on my dream (or bucket) list simply because ownership is restricted, access is difficult, or they are too expensive for my budget to afford.
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.
What happens when you are given a five minute notice before your company lays you off? Then they hand you a NDA, and expect you to sign it, or else they will prevent you from getting food stamps and support. What then?
What options do you have? Another stab at getting yet another American job, and America boss in an American corporate environment? Is that what your options are? As an American man, just what are your options?
There are times when you just feel a screaming need to “bug out”.
But, let me tell you something. The world is yours once you have lost everything. That includes nations, food, culture and girls. You can go anywhere and be anyone. This is especially true for an American man who faced a vindictive ex-wife, or had an encounter with any of the many, many American alphabet regulatory organizations such as the IRS, DHS, CIA, FBI, ICE, FDA etc.
People, there is an entire world out there. It is big, and filled with all sorts of interesting and colorful people.
I urge the reader to divest themselves from the notion that the United States offers the only decent living arrangements on the globe. There are other places. Many others.
Some are better and some are worst. It is up to the reader to consider all of the options that lie before them and make determinations and judgments biased upon their own individual situation, preferences, and desires. Not (to make them biased) on fear or lack of experience…
You do not have to endure a life that is defined by others…
Introduction
The world is filled with interesting people, wonderful places, and really different ways of doing things. many of which are a pleasant surprise to Americans who have grown up thinking that the “American Way” is the only way to do things (as well as being the “best” way to do things).
Korea has a lot of very pretty girls. Personally, I prefer the lighter skin, the cute face and big eyes. I like the thin bodies and the long hair, not to mention the cute little behinds. And, let’s not even get started on the awesome food. OMG!
Multi-Part Series
There are so many nations and places to choose from. This post is part two of a multi-part post. My basic premise is that the world is a big place. Get out. Enjoy the differences. Savor them. Life is too short not to.
Written by a Man
Please note that this was written by a man. It is about things that might be of interest to a man. For similar posts written by women, I would suggest the Huffington Post, the Washington Post, or Salon.
Also note that this is a blog. It contains personal opinions. If you want to read something that is unbiased and doesn’t have opinions, try CNN.
LOL.
Finally, many of the things that are commonplace in other nations are either banned, censored or illegal in the United States. This post does not censor for American sensibilities. As there are people all over the world that reads it. I just can’t sanitize it for Americans. That includes…
Buying beer on Sunday.
Doing drugs in Holland.
Prostitution chain-bordellos in Germany.
Public nudity in Iceland.
Smoking in public in China.
Being able to eat in restaurants barefoot in Cambodia.
Traditional gender roles in Brazil.
The giant penis festival in Japan.
Buying ED medicine without a prescription. (Common everywhere.)
If you are an American, and you are too sensitive to the realities outside of America, then I would suggest you leave. Exposure to REAL freedom is not something to be taken trivially. Real freedom is not having to ask permission to do something. Real freedom is not taxed, monitored or prohibited.
Real freedom is not taxed, monitored or prohibited.
Brazil
Why not Brazil? It’s a land of amazing women, awesome beaches, and delicious food. It’s a big country with amazing beaches, fantastic forest, and adventuresome mountains. Awesome!
Map of Brazil. Brazil is a very large nation. Like the United States, they have their own issues involving a poor underclass, a wealthy upper class and a squeezed middle class.
I once had a project at a company that I worked for that had a joint venture with CEV and GM. The engineers from Brazil were pretty good guys and showed me around. It was quite the experience for me at the time. I never considered moving there though. Maybe the reader might have other ideas.
A nice article on what it is like for an American to move there can be found here.
Walking Down the Street: Brazil vs the USYou can see how Brazilians care more about the journey than the destination in the way that they walk down the street. They walk at a brisk pace, in a horizontal line so that everyone is at the same level, occasionally stopping to admire the scenery and talk with people that they pass by.
They are not in any apparent hurry to get to where they are going and are more concerned with having a good conversation with the people they are walking with.
Bahia is the part of Brazil where most of the slaves from Africa originally landed. So the afro culture is very visible there, alongside many of the other faces that Brazil has. While the politics of the United States maintains the narrative that the USA is racist and terrible, Brazil by far took the vast bulk of slaves from Africa.
In the US however, you will rarely see people walking since everybody drives.
If there are 5 people meeting up somewhere, they will likely take 5 cars.
In the rare case that you do see a group of people walking they will probably be marching in a straight line towards their destination at a pace that borders on running. They don’t make eye contact with anyone along the way because they are focused on getting to where they are going.Having Lunch: Brazil vs the USNow this imaginary group of stereotyped Brazilians have arrived at a restaurant where they will be eating lunch. They’re looking at least a 2 hour commitment and might even spend as much as 4 hours having lunch.
They are there to have good conversation with their lunch mates and will take their time eating their food. Even though they’ve got to get back to work after lunch they don’t show any signs that they are stressed out about that because they’re too busy enjoying the moment.
Bahia is generally just a place with a lot of color. Not just on peoples skin. The buildings, in the nature and in the varied music culture that you find in this very interesting state. Bahia is in many ways the image that many foreigners have of Brazil, with exotic looking people, lot’s of beaches and music everywhere. From a tourism perspective, it also has the greatest potential in all Brazil if you ask me. Bahia needs to have better air connections to the outside world, before the world starts flocking to the place. But i think this will happen in the future, as this is really a part of the world that has a lot to offer.
Our stereotypical group of Americans each took their own cars to get to the restaurant for lunch. Once they get there they are going to pull out their phones and get on Facebook to check in.
They quickly order their food because they are in a hurry to get back to work. They might not have even stopped working and will have their phone in their hand as they are eating to keep up with the barrage of emails that they received, or they will be catching up on the latest articles from Buzzfeed.
If someone wants to have conversation with their lunchmates they will have to compete with the cell phones for attention. Likely they will give up trying and will pull out their own cell phone so that they have something to do.Socializing in Brazil vs the USNow it’s after work and this group of Brazilian friends have decided to meet up somewhere to have a beer and continue the conversation from lunch. They’re there to have a good time and to enjoy each other’s company.
If someone invites another friend, s/he will be received with open arms by the group, because in Brazil friends of friends are your friends too.
If you’ve ever been to Brazil, you know they adore their pastel. You will find it at the feira (our farmer’s market), the pastelaria (shops that sell only pastel), beach kiosks and at bars. I have never met a Brazilian who doesn’t indulge in these bad boys every now and then. And they go great with either a glass of cold beer or with sweet caldo de cana (freshly pressed sugar cane juice). Sweet and savory filling options are abundant, the three of the most popular ones are: beef, creamy hearts of palm and cheese.
In the US, after work everyone goes home and does their own thing. Maybe they have some productive activity to do, but just as likely they are going to sit in front of the computer or go watch TV.
If they did manage to find some friends who weren’t doing something with, it wouldn’t be so easy to bring someone from outside that social circle along with them. They certainly wouldn’t be received as warmly and unconditionally as they would’ve in Brazil.
Brazil has some amazing beaches. The sky is blue and the water clear. The people are nice and friendly and the locals really want to have a great time and party.
However, it seems that it might be a dangerous place if you want to cross the street. Here is an interesting excerpt from a Brazilian blog in regards to driving in Brazil;
“Brazil does have a Traffic Code, and it is based on the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. There are extensive Rules of the Road, including long sections on Defensive Driving and First Aid. In order to receive Brazilian drivers licenses Mark and I had to study these rules, then take a sophisticated computerized test, a difficult psychological written exam and an eye exam.
The Motor Vehicle Bureaus around the country perform rigorous annual vehicle inspections. There are radars and speed bumps everywhere, and heavy fines for scofflaws. It is not for lack of regulations, enforcement or will that Brazil has plunged so far down the traffic fatality slope, fatalities which last year alone totaled upwards of 40,000.So what is it?
Aggressive tailgating, reckless passing — on the right, on the left, into the oncoming lane — it just doesn't gibe with my sense of the Brazilian spirit of paz e amor. I was baffled until one white-knuckle ride into Rio, when it came to me in a flash. Futebol.
Traffic in Brazil can be a real nightmare. As can be shown by pictures such as this. If it was me, I’d try to get on a side road and get out and have a beer. Ugh!
The national sport, the national passion. They're all playing soccer. The drivers are forever cutting in front of each other to take any field advantage they can, they're passing with reckless abandon to get to the imaginary goal posts. One car scrapes against another? Just a rebound, the ball (or in this case the car) remains in play. Driving at breakneck speed on the shoulder? No worries, that's just an offside position, which is not an offense in itself.Mandatory traffic rules I learned in high school Drivers Ed are treated by many drivers here as optional.
Stop signs are just a suggestion, observed by only a few. A Yield sign is observed by no one. Emergency Vehicle Priority? That's just a challenge for a driver to maneuver behind the emergency vehicle and ride its coattails.
Here is the Trans-Amazon highway in Brazil. It’s a long highway that crosses the nation.
Pedestrian Priority? You're joking. And weren't we taught that to keep a safe distance from the car in front of you, you had to be able to see the car's back tires? Brazilian drivers tailgate close enough to smell the alcohol on the breath of the driver in front.I've lost count of the number of near accidents I've witnessed. But since they were only nearaccidents, since the drivers maneuvered and veered and avoided and stopped just short of the actual accidents, there is an argument that can be made that Brazilians are excellent drivers. I even see the logic there.
Apologists cite the poorly maintained roads, the bad or misleading traffic signs, and some blame the weather. Huh? The weather? But nobody is forced to put the pedal to the metal. That's cultural. After all, Brazil ranks second in the list of foreign-born winners of the Indy 500, and third on the Formula One list. They love speed. It's not for nothing that the soccer breakaway is one of the most exciting plays in the game.”
Prostitutes for Teenage Sons
"Don Cesar and his son Juan walk through the brothel — protection in hand — in search of a prostitute for Juan’s first time. The choice is made, Juan enters a room and not long after emerges from behind the tin door with a big smile on his face and followed by his presumed “first”."-Dad takes 16 year old son to a prostitute to have sex for the first time.
When I was in High School, we had a foreign exchange student from Brazil. He told us, and we were jaw-dropped amazed, that his father took him to a prostitute when he turned 16 years old. He explained that that was a duty of all fathers. To select a worthwhile prostitute for his son, so that he can become a “man”.
Look at this awesome beauty! Look at that amazing head of hair! Look at the tiny waist and hour-glass shape. Man! She must have all the guys chasing after her. Now pay attention. What an amazing smile. I’ll tell you what, the smile opens up my heart.
He explained that he thought it was a great thing. Later on, when I came home and sat at the dining table, I mentioned the conversation to my parents. Ugh. I did not expect the reaction. My father kind of chuckled and told me that it was probably just nonsense. Not my mother, though. My mother got all upset and started screaming. I was sent to the bedroom and instructed never to mention it ever again.
In hindsight, I should of finished my dinner before I mentioned it.
Anyways, many years later, when I met other people my age from Brazil, they all explained that to me. All of my friends and business associates lost their virginity between the ages of 14 and 16 years of age. Always to a prostitute, and always to one specifically selected by their father, or in one case, their uncle.
Aside from that event, it made it easier for the boys not to be so fearful of the girls. While I don’t think that any of them became “hound dogs” in High School, I can affirm that the Brazilian exchange student was not afraid at all to ask my classmates out for dates and fun. Meanwhile, I was very timid around girls.
In Brazil, it is very important that a boy grow into a strong man.
In Brazil, as well as throughout South America, the “ideal” Hispanic family is a patriarchy that includes a strong male figure as the head of the household:
“A stereotypical Latino male exudes the characteristics of strength, power and masculinity. Machismo, or a strong sense of masculine pride, encompasses this ideal. And in the family, these ideals are passed from father to son.”
"Losing one's virginity over here [El Salvador] is seen as a point where you become a man and you become more vivo.
'Vivo' means 'alive' in Spanish, obviously, but over here, it means something like 'astute' or 'not immature.' Once you lose your virginity, you're supposed to get smarter around girls. You are supposed to be less interested in kids' stuff."
-Cracked
Girls
The women of Brazil are all awesome. I really like their free and happy attitude about life. I love the food, and the environment. I most especially love that they are traditional and honor the family.
"Most Brazilian girls look like half-Middle Eastern and half-Western European, darker than Argentine girls but lighter than girls from other South American countries. Since Brazil is similar to the United States with its large immigrant influence, it’s harder to pin down their physical features as easily as the Argentine girl.If the average girl in a US club ranks a 5, and in an Argentina club she ranks a 7, in Brazil she’d be somewhere between a 6 and 7. This means the average Brazilian girl is bangable, but what separates Brazilian girls from the others is their vibe. If you are a guy and you look at a Brazilian girl, your mind jumps to sexual thoughts much faster than usual. Since it is not because she is more attractive, I think it’s a combination of body and body language. "-RooshV
Brazilian girls have a smile to die for and there is no guy alive that won’t fall for those smiles. See what I mean?
Rose from Sao Paulo, Brazil. What a smile. Oh, my Lord! And that hair! Come one, guys! Look at this beauty. Brazil has wonderful people who are decent, and make great friends and traditional family members.
"Blessed with lustrous hair, dark eyes and skin the color of honey Brazilian women are without doubt, are some of the most gorgeous in the world. And what’s more they are not conscious or embarrassed about the fact.
Here women are confident about their looks and bodies and if you like what you see, they will welcome your appreciation as well.
At the same time though, theirs is a very feminine beauty even if not demure. You may see them in bikinis and dresses with plunging necklines, but not so much in pantsuits and masculine shirts.
Indeed, women here are encouraged to spend a lot of their time on their looks-body, clothes and hair. Staying attractive is quite important in a culture that judges people by how they look."-National Steriotype
One thing that I like about Brazilian women is that they are really, really friendly and outgoing in nature. Truthfully, if a girl happens to spot you in a bar or café and you meet her standards, she will not hesitate to come up and ask you for your phone number or invite you to buy a drink for her. They are quite easy to strike up a conversation with. They are quite interesting and talkative, and before long you may even find yourself sharing a joke or a song with one of them.
Big Butts
I have talked to numerous men who found that the Brazilian women tended to have very nice big asses. Personally, that is not my thing, but they were all agape over it. They just couldn’t control themselves.
It turns out that having a big butt is a considered beautiful in Brazilian culture. Girls that are slim, and shapely, but who’s behinds are more or less “normal” aren’t considered so good looking. In fact, there are stories of young girls injecting all kinds of things into their behinds to make them bigger, including animal growth hormones. While Brazil does have plastic surgeons, their primary practice seems to be related to increasing the size of the butt more than anything else. Read about it HERE.
Who’d figure?
Some Brazilian gals on the beach. In Brazil, it is considered attractive, and even “womanly” to have a nice big plump ass. They actually go to plastic surgeons to get this done, and young girls have been known to inject steroids in their butt cheeks to make them get bigger. Not my thing, but different strokes for different folks, don’t ya know.
Luckily, not every Brazilian is like this. So those of us who find this a bit extreme can rest easy. We can hang out with girls with tiny behinds and help them feel beautiful. LOL.
Traditional Girls
Since the Brazilian culture is very traditional, Brazilian women like to be courted the traditional old-fashioned way. They look forward to be taken out to a fancy place and are happy if you wine and dine them in a stylish manner. They like to get all “dolled up”, and dress appropriately. Who doesn’t like that?
Like many other traditional societies, Brazilian culture has long laid down specific roles and duties for each gender. Women were mostly expected to keep house and raise children while men were the breadwinners in the family. This fact, is a critical one “in my book”. It is an important thing that matters to me immensely.
Family Culture
In many Latino families, the father is central to the nuclear family constellation as well as to the extended family network. It is his job to assume the responsibility for establishing extra-familial boundaries and maintaining these relationships. He is the head of the family and he must take on that role.
A strong father figure. From the movie “A walk in the clouds”. In Latin nations, especially in South America, it is the job of a father to raise his boy to become a man.
The importance of extended family marks a unique aspect of Latino families—that of familialism. In addition to providing a relatively strong attachment to the nuclear family, the strong familial orientation provides a sense of solidarity while concurrently reinforcing the notion that the family is more important than the individual
Let’s begin with a story about an experience I had while I was working at GM. This story illustrates that different places has different cultures, and failure to understand and adapt to that culture can have serious consequences. In this case, the story revolves around the public display of a lack of respect of a wife towards her husband. This took place, of course in Brazil, Sao Paulo, to be exact.
I once was involved in some business in Brazil. As such, I had to travel back and forth between the United States and Brazil. I was, at that time, working for Delco Electronics (It's who we are), which was (at that time) a division of General Motors. I was involved in a Car computer project (ECM) for CEV, which is a pretty big Automotive company within Brazil.
One day, all of the foreigners on staff were invited to a big banquet with other white-collar workers at CEV. We had some pretty important people from GM there. It was held in a big auditorium within a equally impressively large restaurant and hotel complex. Everyone sat at these very large round tables with a nice table layout on a large white tablecloth. Each couple (for the most part, everyone came as a couple) would sit in groups of two at the table. Thus, maybe five to 6 couples would sit at the table.
Another scene from the movie “A walk in the clouds”. The father is the head of the household and is the public face for the family.
At a given cue, all the ladies (the wives and girlfriends) got up and went to the buffet to get their man (husbands or boyfriends) dinner. They got up, went to the buffet, selected what their husbands would eat, and returned to the table. They would place the plate in front of their man with respect, and then go up and get their own food.
The men would accept the meal their wife chose for them, and began eating it. They would sit there and eat, while all the ladies were fussing about their food, and making sure that the man's plate was full.
A plethora of cultures have had an influence on Brazilian cuisine including Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, Moors, African and the Indigenous. The food in Brazil is awesome and fantastic. It is an amazing taste treat.
However, the local section manager, a man who came from Michigan, well his wife refused to go up. He kept on elbowing her. She refused. And everyone at the table noticed. In fact, people at the other tables were noticing as well. They started whispering and talking among themselves. But she was adamant.
She said things like "you're not my boss", "I'm not doing it, uh uh, absolutely not. No!", and "I don't care what other people think. Do it yourself.". She said loudly, and ended up having some people pause and stare, "You don't tell ME what to do!".
A wife refuses to honor her husband in a public Brazilian dinner in front of all the supervisory management staff. She destroyed her husbands role, job and standing.
Eventually, he got up and joined the rest of the ladies at the buffet counter. He was the only man to get up. He was the only man to carry a plate back to the table. He was alone in the big hall that maybe held a few hundred key employees of the company.
All of the key employees, the bosses and the supervisory staff, watched him do this. The President of CEV, the division managers, all the middle level managers, the supervisors, and all the engineers, and their secretaries all witnessed this. They all noticed and ate. Their local conversations at their tables became subdued and quieter.
Meanwhile, his American wife sat there smugly and proudly. They ate in silence. The wife, sitting proud and strong. Obviously she felt that she was the king of the entire event. Meanwhile, he sat there facing his plate and afraid to look up. This happened in front of everyone, while everyone else in the room kept glancing their way.
There were some speeches. Some gifts and door-prizes were exchanged.
The dinner ended. Everyone went home.
The food in Brazil is so delicious. Here is a nice creamy soup. It goes just great with wine or an ice cold beer. I’ll tell you what.
While the American couple hadn't a clue as to what was transpiring. The rest of the room did. For them, dinner is a traditional and formal affair. It was a time when the man of the house can show off his family to the rest of his peers and his community. It is an opportunity to put a great face forward. Sort of like this...
The next workday, on Monday, he noticed that his parking space was being used by someone else. (Unless you have worked in GM, you don't know how important this is.) He went into the lobby, and the guards wouldn't look at him, and just waved him in. This was a big change from what he accustomed to.
It continued. His secretary didn't come in. Then, started coming in very late. She would not do anything that he asked. No longer would she make him a morning coffee. No longer would she answer him, or even talk to him.
No one responded to his emails. His work was getting piled up. Nothing was getting done. After a month, it got so bad, and I was sent down to look into the matter, as I held an important role in the joint-venture project. Our Division manager wanted me to look into this issue as it looked like the entire multi-million dollar project might collapse. That's right, millions of dollars of corporate investment was at risk.
So I flew down.
I talked to XXXXX. I talked to his secretary. I talked to the CEV Division Manager. I talked to the rest of the staff.
At first no one would open up. Oh, sure they were friendly to me. They showed me deference. They treated me well. But when it came to the subject about what was going on, everyone shut up. Obviously something was wrong. But no one told me anything.
Denise is a typical Brazilian girl. Don’t you just love her hair? I mean, it is completely awesome. Do you think that she would tolerate a man; her husband, disrespecting her family? I don’t think so.
Eventually, to make a long story short, I went out and started drinking with the CEV workers. That's always a great way to break down barriers and get to the heart of the matter. Of course, GM never approves of drinking, but this was back in the late 1980's and I was in another country and immersed in another culture.
Over some beers, the first person who let me know what was going on was his secretary. She looked at me straight in the eyes. She put out her cigarette. And she said in her broken English, loudly with defiance and pure hate;
"Why? You ask. Why? Because he's a fucking wimp. He's not, NOT, N-O-T a Man. He's castrado!"
Then she spit on the floor. Now granted, most ladies don't go to bars, smoke and spit on the floor. But she had a few beers, and was really agitated.
Being a wimp is very unattractive for a man. This is especially true if you are in a Latino country.
She wasn't just angry. She wasn't just pissed. She had this kind of deep burning ember of a rage that amazed me when it came out. I thought she was going to tear my throat out. She spoke viciously. She spoke in a way that the words were spit out venomously.
It turned out that in Brazilian culture, the man must be the MAN of the house. It is a very traditional nation and has unspoken social rules. One of which is that the woman must look good for her man. She must do great things for their Man, and for her family.
In Brazil, the Man is the titular head of the family. He controls everything. He is the "face" of the family. He is what everyone sees. However, the wife has full control over what goes on inside the house. She is the driving force that strengthens the man.
The Man is the head of the family, and he must LEAD. If he cannot be a Man; if he cannot act like a Man, and if he cannot control the behavior of his wife and family, then he is a loser.
In Brazil, you do not want to associate with losers. Not in the least. It is like being a leper.
The point in this is that he wasn't just a wimp to his wife. He was a wimp to society. From the secretary's point of view, she went from being a high assistant to an international boss, to the slave of a beggar. No, to someone worse than a beggar. Her status in the company fell right off the cliff.
Not only that, but that was true of everyone who associated with him. It was as if he had a serious contagious illness. no one wanted anything to do with him. No one would even talk to him.
It was like he was a child predator who had aids.
Shortly after that, I returned back to Indiana and talked with the Division Manager at Delco. We had a long and interesting talk. To cut down on all the details, let it be understood that my boss sent him back to the States. His two year stint in Brazil was cut short.
He was only there for a total four months.
Now, this is important. The thing is, when he returned home, there was no role for him to fill. His old job and position was already filled. He was a high-priced expensive executive with no home. Yes, for a short while they put him on "overhead", but eventually he was told to leave. They gave him a severance package. And that was it.
Years later, I heard that he spent a few years unemployed. He could never go back to GM, and his experience was too specialized. Eventually he took up contract work at a much lower pay grade. I do not know what happened since then, except that I know that he had to give up his free car, and had to sell the house at a loss. I do know that he moved into a small apartment later on. And, well, that's about all I know about him and his situation.
He probably got a divorce. He should of, if he didn't.
What does this all mean?
A good wife can make a man into a strong leader. He can become important, successful and wealthy. His family would profit and benefit. His life, and the lives of all those around him would improve. A weak or poor wife would do the opposite. A bad woman can destroy the life of the man that she is with. This can be through destruction of his self-esteem (which needs to be maintained for career success) to improperly managing family finances, to everything in between.
Men, choose your wives carefully.
In my little story, a true one at that, Mr. XXXXXX ‘s wife not only destroyed his role (and great career opportunity) in Brazil, but also wiped out his stable career at GM. Unable to find work, he had to settle for a different kind of labor, one without a career, without any kind of advancement. I am sure that his piece-of-shit wife berated him the entire time. Telling him what a loser he was for his life, and not taking responsibility for all the destruction that she herself, wrecked.
People. This is real life. This is not a television show. This is not a movie. This is not all unicorns prancing under a progressive rainbow, where gay people, and LGBT folk are all living in united harmony. This is the real frigging’ deal.
Malaysia
It’s beautiful. The girls are stunning. The food is delicious. The weather is warm to hot, but it’s actually quite lovely once you get used to it.
The beach at Nipah Bay is hailed as one of the most beautiful beaches in Pangkor, and is frequented by foreigners and locals alike. There are uninhabited islands nearby such as Giam Island and Mentagor Island, surrounded by a rich diversity of corals and marine life. Snorkellers will find this beach a little haven.
“Kuala Lumpur has so much to offer. You can enjoy city life to the fullest - there are a massive amount of shopping malls here, a variety of restaurants and cuisines, and people from all over the world.
Along with the Petronas Twin Towers, Menara KL Tower is easily Malaysia’s most recognizable and popular landmark. Constructed in 1994, the tower stands at 421 metres and effortlessly trumps the Petronas Twin Towers with the highest and most spectacular view of the city. This gleaming tower’s spindle-like apex is visible from almost anywhere in Kuala Lumpur.
There are neighborhoods that offer their own unique character, adding a spice of life to the city that is rare to find.
I also love how you can get away from city life pretty easily with hikes in local mountains or drives to nearby ports and beaches.
What I love most is the diversity and acceptance - of people, of cultures, of religions, and of activities. The quality of life is amazing as the opportunities are endless in what you choose to spend your time doing.
There is a huge Muslim population in Malaysia. This is true in all the cites such as Kuala Lumpur.
Healthcare is insanely cheap in Kuala Lumpur….at least in comparison to the USA!
The doctors are all trained in Western cultures and are very knowledgeable. I’ve gone to general and specialty doctors out here as well as dentists, and am now about to have a baby out here, and feel insanely comfortable!”- Kimbra is an American expat who moved to Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia has a robust retirement visa, called the ‘Malaysia My Second Home’ program. Although it requires a sizeable deposit in a Malaysian bank, the visa is ten years and allows visa holders to purchase residential homes, as well as providing a national identity card. Any income received outside of Malaysia is not taxable.
Langkawi is a group of 104 beautiful islands located in Andaman Sea which is about 30 kilometers off the coast of northwestern Malaysia. The Langkawi island is dominated by forest-covered mountains, hills and natural vegetation. Langkawi receives heavy rain annually which is more than 2,400 mm. From December until February there is a dry season in Langkawi and September is the wettest month on Island. Only four of the all islands are inhabited with about 99,000 people living there.
While there is a large Muslim population in Malaysia, they are not radicalized like the Muslims in the Middle East, Russia or Western China. As such, you can drink, smoke, go to bars, and have a good time. Women can go out and not be afraid that pack of rabid Muslim Syrians wouldn’t attack them. It’s a very safe place.
A few years back some radical Muslims tried to blow up a bunch of folk, and the government cracked down with zero tolerance. Today, there is hardly a peep from the radical Muslims in this nation. They were exterminated by the government when they reared their ugly head.
Kuala Lumpur girls having a great time at a bar. We can choose our reality. We can build and create the life we want. It’s just a matter of assembling it and making it happen.
England
London does not represent England. London is an “International” city located within England. England itself, is something else entirely. Here, we discuss the areas outside of London, but within the UK.
Why not England? I had friends there, and they (no matter how friendly they are with the United States) always consider the USA to be the “backwater” insanely-political has-been. At the time, prior to the UK break from the EU, I considered it a stepping-stone to global advantage. However, I never pursued that avenue of thought. Here’s an interesting article about moving to England from the United States. It is titled “What is it like to move to England from the States?” and can be found here. Some excerpts;
“The old adage of "British food is great, if you like fish and chips, bangers and mashed or chicken tikka masala" is now a load of bollocks (bull$!@t). There are amazing restaurants to be found in London - some great restaurants and farmers markets (my favorite, bar none, is Borough Market). Once you learn to navigate the different supermarkets (Tesco, Sainburys, Waitrose, Asda, etc) and discover their online interfaces, you begin to appreciate the convenience. BUT, weekends are terrible when you consider that everything closes by five pm (1700) on Sundays.”
And…
“One thing you will miss is water pressure. Sadly, the Victorian mains and the age of many homes were designed with limited water and poor pressure. Some people say they have "power showers" which are often essentially electronic devices designed to add some pressure at the expense of a loud and powerful noise. Who needs leaf blowers when a power shower will do.”
England can be quaint and colorful. Here is a small village known as Bibury in England.
And…
“Everyone sits at their desk and bangs on their computer primarily, and depending on your role determines your clothing choices. Even in startups, sales is often suited and booted in sharp suits and thin trousers (not pants, as we say in America). Engineers or Developers are relatively shabby in t-shirt and trousers chic. And everyone else seems to dance to their own drum.You can usually tell a person profession from their dress: finance and insurance people are in the dark suits and the only hint of color is their tie and shoes, which will not make sense to American fashion. Seniority is often determined by who is wear their jackets in the office -- you can tell who the junior manager is by their newer clothing and jumpers (sweaters) over their collared shirts.”
England can be very beautiful. It has a great countryside, miles of beaches and a long history.
And…
“Meeting others can happen as an American, since your accent provides no hint of geographic background that is within the English discerning. My favorite experience is saying hello to people in a locale I just joined and watch the turned heads and smiles that suddenly appear. Just remember not to be too loud and you will be well received.”In the article are comments from a reader. Her name is Dawn Rutherford Marchant, (or screen name) and had some very interesting comments that included;“It is hard. Just because people speak English, do not be deceived. It is an utterly alien place from America culturally, and I found (and still find) the adjustments frustrating and I sometimes still get furious by the difficulties.
England is full of history. There are houses that are centuries older than the oldest homes in the United States. The countryside is wonderful.
One of the biggest realities is the drop in the material standard of living. British wages are not as high as in the US and things are more expensive. Obviously, this impacts on lifestyle.Houses are very expensive and you will live in a house half the size you'd expect in the US, often attached to your neighbour and with a one car garage (if you are lucky). There are no basements, so you feel cramped and everything is cluttered -- I've never seen a walk-in closet to date. You will cram everything into a 'wardrobe' the size of your coat closet. “
It’s intangible, but you can’t beat it. Historically, pubs (or “public houses”, to give them their full, point-backing-up name) have been a place geared towards social interaction, with the booze acting as a lubricant. Bars sometimes seem to be there to get you hammered first and foremost, with social interaction being an occasional, accidental by-product. The average Brit teen is fine in his/her local pub around 16yrs old. At a bar/the US in general, even being 21 is no guarantee, unless you have an ID, a birth certificate, and a letter from the president saying it’s cool for you to drink Buttery Nipples.
And…
“But there are pubs! Pubs are an Englishman's refuge and the place where you meet up with mates for a quick pint, as a routine part of 'friend maintenance.'
It’s extremely common for families, infant progeny included, to go out for a pub lunch on the weekend. When family & child go to bars for lunch, odds are that daddy will end up behind them at some point in his life. Plus there’s absolutely no tipping. COmpared to the USA, that automatically saves you 20% of the cost.
Our groceries are ordered on the internet and delivered to our front door -- as is typical for all supermarkets. We live on the 'High Street' in our village -- bakeries, cafes, barber, grocery store and bus stop are located there, and three pubs of course. The train station to London is an 8 minute walk.My daughter is 14 and has 11 subject areas: Latin, Greek, French, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Advanced Maths, History, English, English Lit and Music (theory, performance and composition). She anticipates fluency in French at 17. The education system is exam based, there is no GPA. She wants to study medicine and as med school begins freshman year, she has already begun pre-med coaching sessions at school.
England is an explorer’s dream. There are so many places to explore and discover. You can walk, hike, bike, and travel via car.
Brits get a lot more time off -- 5 weeks as a rule -- and travel is a priority. The cultural aspects of the country are fascinating - tiny it may seem, but it takes a lifetime to know this place, and with Europe, so close opportunities are expanded even further.A massive advantage of living here is the National Health Service. If an American could understand it, they would be amazed by its magnificence. “
This is so good…
“The Brits have extremely strict zoning restrictions and there are no 'strip malls' -- not anywhere. So you drive for an hour straight and won't see a petrol (gas) station or any commercial building sticking out like a sore thumb.
Here is the English pub called the White Lion. When a pub is called something hilarious/awesome (Dirty Dicks? The Hung Drawn and Quartered? Both real, both literally hundreds of years old), it’s not a cheap laugh, or a novelty, or a pun that gets old fast. Sorry, Amy’s Winehouse.
There is a deep love and care for the countryside that makes it compelling, and you can never tire of it. It is the work of a thousand years -- a landscape built by man, layer by layer. A masterpiece.”
As in all of these cases, I strongly advise the reader to read the original articles as there are many worthy things worth reading there. What I have placed here are only some excerpts. The comments are all pure gold.
Here’s a comment from one of the commenters that also lives in England from the USA;
“Beer. A pint of beer at a business lunch is totally acceptable.”
Moreover, that comment is worth Gold because it just says the world about what freedom, work and life is like once you leave the American Prison Gulag. (We never realize what our lives our missing until we step outside of our reality and start comparing with the realities of others.) No, it’s not as simple as being able to drink. That is trivial. It is the sum total of what you can and cannot do.
Are you, my dear reader really… actually free?
Are you the champion of your life? Do you keep all of the money you earn? Do you wear the clothes that you want 100% of the time, every single day, with the hair style that you prefer? (All American companies have a “dress code”.) Do you and can you take a day off to have fun? And, not have to ask ANYONE for permission? (Don’t lie to yourself. Think.)
Do you have a “boss”? Yes. Then you need permission.
Most Americans, unless you are Bill Gates, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton has a boss. They tell you how to behave and how to live your life.
Once you realize that, you begin to understand the NEED to start to get a little bit more control back into your life. Maybe you will still have a “boss”, but if you can start to reacquire the freedoms that your parents and grandparents enjoyed, then you will be on your way to happiness.
English can seem magical to an American. It is a great place for walking, hike and just travel.
Consider the drinking culture. Let’s compare.
When I was at Delco, the rule was that you could lose your job if the management found you to be hungover, drinking near or during the ten hour block of time associated with work, lunch and commute. They strongly policed this rule. It was “for our safety“, and “to become more competitive” were the excuses. However, if this was the case, then why did it ONLY apply to us “White Collar” workers and not the rank and file union staff?
In general, America has more of a bar scene than a pub culture. Particularly popular is the sports bar, where thousands of giant TV screens simultaneously broadcast billions of seemingly never-ending games. Such places are rowdy, loud and full of frat bros loaded on light beer.
British pubs are quiet, relaxing environments, and although there are pubs in America, they don’t serve the same function as they do in the U.K. This is because Brits occupy pubs in the same way Americans occupy coffee shops. Brits will happily go to a pub during the day (without fear of judgment) to work, read, take meetings or simply enjoy a drink.
"In every corner of every pub in every British town, you will find a fruit machine. This is not a vending machine from which punters may dispense fresh fruit for their consumption; rather it is a slot machine much like the ones found in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Colloquially known as a “gambler,” the machine is a confusing clusterjam of flashing fruits and strange beeping that only the person with the lowest IQ in the pub can understand."
And…
"As we all know, the legal drinking age in the U.K. is 18, which means there’s a much younger clientele frequenting British pubs than there are American bars. Add to this some British lackadaisical door security, and you’ve got kids who couldn’t get into an R-rated movie without an accompanying adult buying drinks, making the pub look more like a youth club than a fully licensed taproom.
In America, however, almost every bar will have a bouncer on the door who won’t let you in unless you have valid identification proving you’re 21 or over.
Even if you’re 63 and look terrible for your age, you’ll still be asked for ID.
Interestingly, in the U.K. it’s actually legal for someone as young as 16 to drink beer, cider or wine in a pub so long as it’s with a meal and they are accompanied by an adult over 18 who purchases the alcohol."-BBC America
In fact, the pubs in England are “Family Friendly”. Most British pubs are family-friendly and even have a playground out back for the kids. Usually there’s a separate area inside the pub marked “Family Room” where children are permitted. This ensures the little tykes don’t displease the kid-loathing adults drowning their sorrows at the bar. Meanwhile, I don’t recall ever having seen a child in a bar in the United States.
I look back at the USA in this regard and lament the loss of freedom that the British obviously retained.
Finally, I want to throw my “two cents” into the ring about drinking…
Japan
Japan is very beautiful. The government sees to it that the natural beauty of the countryside is maintained. I really wish that the USA would devote some money to preserving buildings and planting trees like the Japanese do, instead of giving it all away to third world countries like Obama has done.
Why not move to Japan? Indeed, Japan has always interested me. I think it began with the Ultraman televisions series that I watched as a boy. Maybe it was the pretty girls, the J-Pop music, or perhaps it was the cool gadgets that were always being invented there.
While everyone focuses on the absurd and crazy ways that the Japanese handle things, the fact and truth is that Japan is an exceptionally beautiful nation. It is intended to be that way. For instance, after World War II, most of the forests in Japan were all cut down for the war effort. Since then, the Japanese set forth to preserve which forests remain. This has resulted in amazingly beautiful woods, parks and natural areas.
Japan is very beautiful and people make it a point of pride to treasure it. They take pleasure in the colors, the arrangements, the scents and the atmosphere. The result is wonderment.
I visited, but never moved. Never the less, other Americans have moved and they have some interesting things to say about the Japanese culture.
“I'm guessing that one of the top reasons people want to move to Japan is because of how eye-poppingly insane everything here is. Japan is the patron saint of the Internet -- everything is either batshit crazy or adorable (or both), with the sole requirement of being impossible to explain in any conceivable context.Man, I'm about to destroy a lot of illusions.To start, let's talk a little about Japanese TV. You may have seen clips of some X-rated Japanese game show floating around the Internet wherein an audience full of young women eagerly compete for the privilege of having sex with some random guy on stage in front of hundreds of people (if not, you're probably searching for them right now). Here's the shocking truth behind those videos -- they are porn.”
Gasp!
“As in, they are professional pornographic videos dressed up to look like a game show, because ... you know, just because. Does porn need a reason?There's a Simpsons porn out there featuring people sweatily groping each other in jaundiced yellow body paint, for Christ's sake. Nobody is posting clips of that on the Internet and claiming it's the new season ... well actually, somebody probably is, but nobody would seriously believe that.”
Oh, don’t be so sure about that…
“The porno game show I'm referring to is called Kobe Surprise, and it is every bit an actual game show as Walt Disney's Pocahontas is a historical documentary. Just like those goofy "true life" pornos MILF Hunter or Bang Bus, nothing about it even approaches reality, yet all you apparently need to do is tell everyone it's from Japan and suddenly people think it comes on every night after Wheel of Fortune.Don't get me wrong -- there are some daffy game shows in Japan, and there is definitely erotic programming on late night TV, but the country isn't full of shamelessly sex-crazed lunatics who have stopped trying to measure the immensity of the shits they no longer give."So what about those infamous vending machines that sell used panties?" you might ask. Well, they do exist, but they were outlawed nearly 20 years ago. You can still find one from time to time, but they are illegal as fuck and usually hidden in sex stores or fetish clubs, and not in a bus station next to the Mr. Pibb machine.”
Another illusion shattered.
Japanese television series titled “Must Love Cats”. The Japanese love cats. It’s all about going cat crazy in Japan.
“I shook my head particularly hard when I read about the Japanese fundraiser that allowed people to squeeze some hot girl's breasts if they donated money to AIDS research, because every website that reported on it wrote about it like it happens every Tuesday in Japan. It doesn't. The event was hosted by a freaking porn channel -- that's like if Hugh Hefner held a topless car wash at the Playboy Mansion and the BBC told the rest of the world that there was one next to every McDonald's in America.But maybe you dream of living in Japan not because the porn flows like water (it doesn't, at least not any more so than in any other country where the Internet is a thing), but because of your love for anime, which is so popular and widely accepted among Japanese adults that you could enjoy your obsession in peace with the approval of your peers. Even though we've moved on from porn, don't put those tissues away just yet -- you may need them for the next paragraph.After all these years in Japan, I can honestly say that animation (major studio productions notwithstanding) is still mainly considered kids' stuff. There is shockingly little anime on television, and most of it is unapologetically meant for children. The only adults who really get into it (referred to as otaku) are usually perceived by the media as overweight, unwashed weirdos who are probably child molesters. Sound familiar? You're bound to spend just as much time hiding your Trigun DVDs from company here as you would anywhere else.”
What about the Stuff…
“To me, Japan isn’t even a country. Japan is its own planet... completely different than anywhere else in ways that are incomprehensible to most westerners.”
-Simon Black
There is no doubt that Japan has it’s fair share of unusual (and creative) stuff. This runs the spectrum from dental floss to unusual automobiles, and everything in between. In fact, entire books and movies can be written about this one aspect of this culture. (Which is yet another one of the reasons why I oppose the effort to make everyone and everything “equal” and the same. Such as what we see in the Obama administration, and in the EU from Brussels. Different is good. It is not bad.)
Japan has all kinds of crazy things. I particularly like this potato-bug styled cell-phone case. Can’t you just imagine using it to talk on the subway, or better yet putting it in your purse? Cool.
Japan is unique, and for me, I think it is just wonderful. They do things their way and on their terms. They just don’t care what others think. When President Obama wanted them to open up their borders to permit Muslim “refugees”, they politely declined. As they expected that any immigrants to their nation, [1] assimilate, [2] do not try to change anything, and [3] observe THEIR customs (not the other way around).
I truly wish that America would be this way. You see, I strongly believe that it is our differences that make us all great. Not our similarities.
How about some fine Japanese vegetables? Here we have some grown in molds and then hand painted. Cool idea. Now how about Donald Trump, or maybe pumpkins shaped like Hillary Clinton for Halloween?
That being said, the rigidity of the nation might be a little uncomfortable for many Americans. As it has become stylish to cover oneself with tattoos, and promote multi-sexual trans-gender confusion.
The Japanese are a very traditional society, and as such they are conservative. Which is something that I favor. They might be odd, and beyond a little strange, but they are certainly traditional.
Tattoos are generally not tolerated in Japan. They are associated with dangerous gangs and unsavory types. You are not permitted to publicly display them, and you are most certainly not permitted to enter public pools with them.
Japan is a traditional nation. They take pride in their culture and in their traditions. For instance, gender roles are fixed and stable.
Learn English with proper gender roles. Japan takes pride in it’s culture and in it’s traditions. They absolutely do not welcome change, and like most other Asian nations, have a very dim view of SJW Social Justice Warriors.
Japan has all kinds of interesting traditions and holidays. This is something that I have always found quite interesting. If you go to another nation, you want to experience their culture. That is, instead of hiding away in Starbucks of McDonalds. You really need to go out and live life to it’s fullest.
Only a selfie stick can pick up the vastness of this pink penis. Image is a snag capture from Tumblr including the text below it.
Working in Japan
From an article titled “The best and worst things about living in Japan” found here. The author sends some time discussing working in Japan.
“It's ridiculous that people show up 15 minutes early and stay 90 minutes late every day. It's expected that if you are sick, you use a vacation day rather than a sick day. And to be hire-able at your next job you need to show that you've used as few vacation days as possible.It's also not too rare for people to have to take weeks or months off of work due to "mental illness" but it's actually because they are so #$!% overworked and stressed out.Everyone pretty much realizes that the work-pace in Japan is rather arduous. What people don’t seem to realize is that the work culture in Japan goes hand-in-hand with the Japanese culture as a whole.When my grandma died, my supervisors expected that I would follow the same rules as everybody else. You get one or two days off work for grieving and travel to the funeral, any other time is to be vacation time. So I had to pull out my contract and remind them that they agreed to give me a week in such an event. So yeah, moral of the story: Japanese people are overworked and under social pressure not to relax.This all sounds pretty lousy to me. I mean, my job isn't very stressful at all, but I still really look forward to my days off and just having time to relax. I can't imagine living and working in Japan being so stressed out and then being discouraged to take time off. It sounds awful.”
The author of the article then goes on to compare the United States with Japan.
“Compared to American public transport at least, Japanese public transport is unbelievably awesome. In Europe and other countries, it's probably pretty good as well, but the Japanese have really got it down pat. Their subway and train systems are crazy convenient, accurate, and make getting around the country so much easier. Even their buses are awesome.When I was in Japan, I never felt like having a car would have made my life more convenient. Having such a integrated system of public transport made getting around very easy and simple and it's one of the things I miss most. Japan sure does love its trains though.”
From a different article titled “5 Things Nobody Tells You About Living in Japan” found here and here are some interesting statements made in the article;
“Everything Is Frightfully Low-Tech. Quick question: When was the last time you had to use a fax machine? "What is a fax machine?" is an entirely acceptable response.Well, you should try moving to Japan if you want to recapture the magic of the fax machine and other 1990s technology. I actually use one about twice a month to send out my work invoices, because many of the Japanese companies that employ me do not accept paperwork by email. The rare ones that do require that my Word/Excel files be compatible with their 1998 version of Microsoft Office, which is sort of like requiring your Avengers Blu-ray to play on a Betamax machine.My point is, on the surface Japan seems like the closest thing Earth currently has to a moon base, what with their stock exchange being entirely computerized and wireless Internet literally coming out of their vending machines.But the truth is, many things are still being done in painfully old-fashioned ways, a phrase which here means "by hand and on paper." Actually, having seen the amount of paper a typical Japanese office goes through, I feel safe in assuming that the entire country has declared a shadow war on both the information age and trees.How can this be? Well, Japan is still mainly in the hands of the older generation: Over a fourth of the population is over 60, and they're in no particular hurry to adopt new technology (particularly not Apple products, because as far as Japan is concerned, Steve Jobs can go fuck himself). Institutions like banks, the postal service and government offices still keep all of their records on paper, maintained and filed by superfluous personnel who could easily be replaced by an old Soviet computer (which incidentally is more or less what a friend of mine at a Yokohama municipal office was using at his workstation as recently as 2010).Many businesses still don't even accept credit cards. A Japanese airline can get you to any corner of the globe without a hassle, so long as you're paying in cash, even if the tickets come up to a few thousand dollars each (and I wish I wasn't speaking from experience). This is made even more difficult by the fact that I don't think I've ever seen a 24-hour ATM anywhere in Japan.That's right; most banks in Japan keep their ATMs indoors, which means that once the banks close (typically around 6 p.m.), so do the machines, utterly defeating their entire purpose for existing.
It's another extension of that technological resistance -- pretty much anywhere outside of Tokyo harbors a deep generational resentment for automation. They don't want the ATMs operational while there aren't any bank employees around to help in case something goes wrong (although outside of users being clubbed with a thermos and robbed, the list of possible mishaps is embarrassingly short).
You can always try an ATM at a convenience store (the number of which currently exceeds the national population), if you don't mind the variable transaction fees that seemingly change at random. And that's only if your ATM card will even work in machines outside of your bank, which it almost certainly won't. “
And…
“The good news about health care in Japan is that your insurance is accepted pretty much anywhere. The bad news is that most hospitals keep shorter hours than a Blockbuster Video.
Generally speaking, Japanese hospitals are only open from about 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and are usually not open at all on the weekends.
So if you lop off a digit at a family barbecue, you basically have to wrap your stump in a Pikachu towel full of ice, wait for Monday to roll around and hope your severed finger doesn't get freezer burn.”
Yikes!
Here is yet another article about living in Japan. It is titled “What is it like living in Japan as a foreigner?” and it can be found here. Here are some tidbits;
“Unnecessarily long work hours. It's the norm in Japan that everyone needs to work long hours. Employees won't leave the office until the boss does. If it means surfing the internet, chatting with colleagues, or doing anything else other than work while waiting for your boss to leave then so be it. It's not really a big deal unless you want to go home as early as possible to spend time with the family.If you have a baby and need a stroller, what a hassle! Space is a premium in Japan so most places where you need to push your stroller are narrow: doors, corridors, spaces between tables and chairs in restaurants, etc. This causes inconveniences for you and others. And others don't seem to hide their annoyance at you. Forget about bringing your heavy duty stroller from abroad. To get around, you're going to need a light and compact Japanese model that you can fold and keep in your pocket (ok, I exaggerate).The subway system is excellent! Unless you have a stroller (or are in a wheel chair for that matter). Not all subway stations (in Nagoya) have elevators or even escalators. We lived next to such a station so whenever my wife wanted to go anywhere not walking distance she had to managing going up and down flights of stairs with a stroller, a baby, and a young child. Did she get any help? Did I mention that people in Nagoya aren't very friendly?Never mind about not being friendly. Many are downright rude. Imagine you get off the subway train and are now waiting for the elevator to take you up. What many will do, especially teenagers and young adults, is as soon as the elevator doors open they'll just cut in front of you from the sides and fill up the elevator with you still standing outside the elevator waiting to get in. And it's not because you're a foreigner. I've seen them do this to others with strollers and even to old people too.Too much cigarette smoke everywhere. Even in restaurants, the non-smoking section is usually just a small corner in the back. Yes, they make you walk through all the smoke to get to a not-very-isolated-from-smoke non-smoking section. Out in public, it can be a challenge if you want your kids to avoid secondhand smoke.”
And in common with China as well, you can enjoy this comment…
“You get a lot of attention. Let's just say men tend to date girls one or two rank above what they would date "back home" by virtue of being a foreigner. But it's not just there you'll receive attention, it's in general life. In the street, you'll be ignored like everyone else, but in a social situation, particularly with beer involved, people want to talk to you. They are curious. They come out of their shell and ask you lots of questions. It can be a lot of fun.”
And…
“"Foreigner" is too broad of a term. Your experience in Japan will differ wildly depending on what caste of foreigner you are. Your caste is determined primarily by your ethnic/national background, but your economic standing and personal charisma will play a role as well.Here's the rough ranking, from most to least desirable:
White Western European or North American/Australian/NZ
White Eastern/Southern European, South American
Developed East Asian (Taiwan, SK, Singaporean, HKer etc)
Developing East Asian (mainland Chinese, Vietnamese)
Southeast Asian
Middle Eastern, South Asian (basically “brown people” to use the rough term)
Blacks
It's also not a perfectly linear ranking of course, there are caveats to each caste. East Asians, especially ones from the Sinosphere, can be accepted almost as full Japanese after a while. This is especially true with Taiwanese. Among East Asians, Taiwanese are regarded particularly well. This is in contrast to whites, who while treated with more reverence, are almost never accepted as "Japanese". So they will always be considered outsiders.But by no means is it a bad deal to be Caucasian of any nationality in Japan. The position is so comically worshipped that there's literally comics written specifically to address the issue: Charisma Man”
And welcome to the rest of the world, outside of the Western cultural bubble, you see this…
“There are no discrimination laws. If you look at some job postings, you may see a listing for a flight attendant as "Light skinned attractive woman, less than 50kg, at least 167cm and between the ages of 22 and 30". Once she hits 30, she will either be transferred or let go. Schools that do home stays for students have difficulties because the Japanese family may only want a blonde, blue eyed female student that's not fat but legally the school can't accept such a request. Companies the same thing. You may see an foreign recruiting agency trying to get around things by putting a requirement of "no more than 10 years work experience", which is their roundabout way of saying the Japanese client requested someone under 30. “
And, in common with China and the rest of Asia is this statement;
“Education and job are highly regarded in Japan, and most of Asia. If you are well educated and have a great career, you will be treated well and respected even more so than in the US.”
Office Women
Nell provided some real “meat” in regards to details about what it was like to work in Japan as an American expat woman. Interesting reading indeed;
“Japan was my life dream until I really lived there.I chose Japanese language and culture as my major in university, I felt the sound of Japanese language was extremely attractive that every night I listened to my text book record as a¨lullaby¨ before sleeping.After graduating, when I got an offer from a company in Japan, I felt like I won a lottery. So I started my Japan living experience as a foreigner.The first shock was during the 3 days newbie training in Tokyo head office.I learned a word 相槌 (aiduchi) which basically means when somebody (especially a senior in the company) talking to you, no matter what he/she talks, no matter you agree with him/her or not, you must keep on nodding, saying そうですね (soudesune)、なるほど(naruhodo)、はい(hai)、ええ(ee)、勉強になりました(benkyo ni narimashita) etc with a perfect smile, to show your respect.
I understand and admire the social convention and manners like this, and actually it was a part of my "fancy elegant Japan" image, still when I had to do it nonstop for 8 hours, keep a polite sweet soft voice(which is not my usual, or, let me say, real voice), and keep those sincere "I admire you, senior" eyes...
It did drive me crazy.
Japanese office woman. There are all sorts of traditional unwritten laws in Asia. There is also a kind of “uniform” that business women wear.
The second shock was in the “welcome party”.
We newbies were the “main characters” who were supposed to give some special “show” as a tradition. I was lucky because I was both a female and a foreigner, so nobody asked me to do anything except for a short speech introducing myself.
But my “douki”(the coworker who attended the company same year, so my newbie coworker) was a Japanese guy. Senior coworkers in my apartment forced him to drink a whole bottle of Tabasco in that party in front of everybody. It was a situation he had no way to escape. He did. Then he vomited terribly.
I helped him cleaning and later we became friends- I realized why in Japan lots of “douki” coworkers have way better relationship with each other than with other coworkers- They kind of need a “union” to protect themselves from seniors in this strict “upper and lower relationship society”(縦社会 tatesyakai、上下関係 jyogekannkei).I said I was lucky to be a female that no male coworker in the company “bullied” me that much to feed me a bottle of Tabasco. But soon I felt maybe to be a female was not that lucky.In our office (and lots of traditional Japanese companies), there were 2 kinds of positions. “総合職 sougousyoku”(general position) and “一般職 ippansyoku”(common position).Former is the positions you can get promoted step by step, usually require higher education background; and latter is the positions basically you can never get promoted, usually ONLY for women who wouldn’t work for a long time, would quit job after get married or give a birth. (I have never seen any male in a “common position” in Japan. But if there is please correct me).
So in our office, all men were in “general position” and all women were in “common position” except me. I was the only female in a “general position”. At first I was kind of, a bit proud of myself. But soon I found it was a complicated situation.
Female workers in Japan have all sort of rules and regulations that they must follow. THis is true for mean as well. This often comes as a shock to American women as they are not used to such restrictions in dress, and behavior.
Every morning female coworkers make tea or coffee for the male coworkers who they were working with. But it’s hard to say it’s part of their work as assistants or it’s just kindness. Still I have never seen any male coworker making coffee for a female coworker or a male coworker.
I was a junior, I had a senior male coworker as my trainer. So I very much hesitated if I should make coffee for him. Finally I did, still I felt it’s something I HAD TO do otherwise I would look not nice and would be DIFFERENT with other girls which would make me a difficult situation in the office.Couples years later when I made some real Japanese friends, I tried to ask them why I always saw Japanese women pour tea, pass chopsticks and tissues when eating in restaurant for man, but seldom see men do such things for women?
They answered me honestly “Hmmm…we got used to it… and the tea made by women is more delicious.”I found some “benefits” to be a woman in Japan too. Though I needed to serve beer for male coworkers when eating in a restaurant like my other female coworkers do, girls usually pay less than guys when separating the bill. I guess it’s somehow a “balance” in this society.Another shock is overtime work. In the first year I lived in Japan, I never finished work before 9pm, the average was 10pm. Sometimes I finished work earlier, or had nothing to do. But I dare not go home, because my boss and seniors were still working.
It was too shame to let them know I was "free".
Later I got to know sometimes my boss and seniors do the same, they don't leave the office because it's too shame to let their staffs know they are "free". And of course, the overtime is basically no pay.”
Jinji ido
In Japan, however, at the end of the fiscal year in April, they have what’s called “jinji ido” (“moving people around”). Basically it’s musical chairs within the company, where the bosses shift some employees around from department to department. Were you working in human resources for four years? Congratulations, now you’re in sales! Weren’t popular as a secretary? Well now you’re working in finance.
No one is safe from the “jinji ido” – some number of bosses, fresh employees, and veterans are all shuffled around every year. On the one hand, this makes working for the same company your entire life not a completely soul-crushing prospect, since you always have the hope that you’ll be moved somewhere else next year if you don’t like your current boss or department, but on the other hand, it helps justify Japanese people feeling chained to their jobs.
Either way though, it was always fun watching the results of the yearly Japanese office Hunger Games.
Oppai
An oppai club in Tokyo is similar to many bars around Asia, but with some twists. All over this part of the world it is very common for guys to go to bars or KTV’s and effectively pay for the attention of girls.
Here is a writeup from Guys Night Life on the Oppai clubs in Japan;
“We don’t necessarily mean sex, just to have a sexy girl sit with you while you enjoy your drink. That is how things work at the oppai clubs in Tokyo, but as we mentioned there is a twist. Calling these a strip club certainly wouldn’t be correct, because when you think of a strip club you think of sexy girls dancing naked on stage.
That doesn’t happen here.Instead what happens at the oppai clubs is you pay to have a few girls sit with you, usually it is 3 girls for a little under 15 minutes each. When they sit with you they pull their tops down, and your hands are free to play with them titties.
Keep calm and oppai shibotai.
Some girls may do some kissing (you have to brush your teeth when you enter lol) or will let you suck on their tits, but not all will. There are some set-in-stone rules at oppai clubs, and if you break them you will be asked to leave.First off your hands are only allowed to play with the boobs, you can’t go down between her legs. Sometimes the girls might do some light cock rubbing through your pants, but you can’t pull your dick out and aren’t going to have sex or get a blowjob here. The most famous oppai club in Tokyo is Pretty Getter which has multiple locations. Another one you can try is Ooedo, and there are others around town as well.How much does an oppai pub cost? It is roughly $60 to have the 3 girl rotation that lasts a little under 45 minutes. You will need to buy a drink as well.So, in one way they are a lot like strip clubs in the western world because you are going to go there to get horny and blue balled. However unlike in the western world you can head to a blowjob bar right after to alleviate that concern.”
Yeah. You can go and sit down with three girls and play with their breasts for 15 minutes or so. Kinky, but cool.
Girls
Japanese girls are very similar to all Asian ladies. I find Asian ladies very attractive in a very kind and sweet way. Here is an interesting quote on this subject;
“Coming from a culture where the women are taught to be big-mouthed, rude, and disrespectful, the American visitor to Japan will at once be pleasantly surprised by the poise, demeanor, and courtesy of the Japanese girl.
This to me is sexually attractive. It is nice to be treated with respect wherever you go. Even when your approach is rejected, it is done with such exquisite politeness that you feel nothing unpleasant at all.
I find that traditional Japanese clothing is very visually appealing and attractive. The Japanese women do actually wear traditional clothing. It is not a rarity.
As I’ve gotten older, I have come to value courtesy and politeness very highly, perhaps because it is so rare in Anglo-American women.
Obnoxiousness does not equal strength, as American women believe.
Boundaries exist, and everyone knows what they are. Japanese culture also teaches humility and self-sacrifice as positive virtues. This ethic is extolled in countless historical dramas, soap operas, and other cultural contexts. Japanese girls are genuinely humble and modest, for the most part; and this character trait I find very appealing.”-Quintus Curtius
Fast Food Insanity
Finally, let me just say that the Japanese has taken the “Fast Food” engine and allowed it to run amuck (off the rails). Here, in Japan, you can see the most extreme versions of American staples. Really, do the Japanese actually eat these creations? I actually wonder.
Japan really does seem to enjoy the extreme side of living. I mean, who can actually eat such creations? They look great, but one burger would be enough to feed you for a week, don’t you think?
Another thing that I really like about Japan is that they like the gender roles to be clear and enhanced. Girls and women should be demure, cute, pretty and attractive. For they are the bedrock of the society.
As such, even the workers in McDonalds are cute and adorable.
Japanese fast food workers. Aren’t these girls cute? I really like the girls in the fluffy dresses and the hair ribbons. It is so attractive. This is McDonalds in Japan. Bet you didn’t know that.
Mr Bernie Sanders opined about the benefits of living in Sweden (yet he never moved, I wonder why?) and because of that he wanted to transform the United States into some kind of socialist paradise modeled under Sweden.
His ideas sounded stimulating to say the least. The kind of stuff that people who have never held a job, worked for a boss, or paid taxes would believe.
Imagine that… a place where everyone is equal and all contributes to the common good and everyone is equal, happy and content. What’s not to like? (At least that is what his followers thought.)
Personally, I disagree with this philosophy. In fact, I strongly believe that it is our differences that make us strong. Not our similarities.
Sweden has many nice and tight coastal communities up and down the nation. Each one is quaint with their own sense of belonging. Here is an interesting article titled “I’m an American living in Sweden. Here’s why I came to embrace the higher taxes.” Written by Tom Heberlein on April 8, 2016. It can be found here.
“In Sweden, the four-page tax form comes in the mail already filled out. On a Saturday morning, Betty and I take our coffee to the couch and review the forms. Seeing they look reasonable, as they always do, we "sign" with a text from our phones. In 15 minutes we are done. We don't have to hire a tax consultant, and we avoid fights about whether a print cartridge bought at the drugstore is a business expense or not.”
And…
“When the conservative government, favoring lower taxes, came to power in Sweden in 2006 one of its first steps was abolish the property tax and replace it with a fixed fee. The real estate fee for services is 7,112 SEK per house ($825 at current exchange rates). This is the same for everyone no matter what the assessed value of the dwelling. The fee is $12 a month for our co-op apartment in Stockholm. If we owned the same property in Madison, our taxes would be $18,000 a year.”
A hiking shelter. In other nations, such as Sweden, the government has invested in parks, hiking trails and shelters for the citizens to use and enjoy.
Sweden is a very good example of “looking outside of the box”. We, as Americans have become so accustomed to the “American way of life” (that is to say “the American way of doing things”) that it is actually impossible, and even shocking, to see that things are done differently elsewhere. It is, to us, inconceivable. However, that is a real problem. Given the size of the human population that there can NEVER be a “one size fits all” top down, centralized approach to social governance, no matter what the statists, and the progressive social democrats think. Humans need and desire independence. We need to find out what fits us and do things in a way that enables us to live our life in peace and harmony.For some, this might be along the lines of what the Swedes do. For others it might be more akin to what is practiced in North Korea. For others it might be similar to how one lives in France. Rather than look at the good, and at the bad in a foreign location, I propose that one conduct a full immersion in a different nation and decide themselves what is preferable to them.It is the same as what I have done in China, and what most long-term expats have done as well. Every place has both good and bad aspects. It is up to us to determine which aspects of our life is most signifigant to us, and then move to an area that best supports those ideals. For me, America today seems to only be beneficial for the uber-wealthy in the large urban mega-cities on the American coasts, and not really beneficial in the rest of the nation.
Fireplaces and snow. When Winter comes around you can bet that the Swedes keep warm and toasty in their wood-stove heated homes. When I lived in Wrentham, I had a wood stove and it kept the entire house (it was quite small) nice and toasty in the Winter.
In my mind, if you are able to be happy and satisfied in your labors and with your family, then the undesirable aspects of a place can be minimized in importance.
Some people, like my brother, love the mountains and they love the snow and the cooler weather. I cannot blame them. There is something absolutely awesome about coming home after a good hard day’s work and firing up the wood stove, and having a nice warm beverage.
I used to live in a cabin on Lake Pearl in Wrentham, Mass. The living room window overlooked the lake and it was surrounded with fresh pine trees. In the wintertime, the snow would fall, and I would watch the squirrels going up and down the tree trunks while the fire crackled in the wood heater.
Ah, good memories.
A cozy cabin would be wonderful on a nice cold snowy day. Don’t you think? You do not need much. Just a wood burning stove – banned in the United States (thank you president Obama) and a rack to sleep on.
In Sweden, everyone is beautiful.
Everyone. Sorry, no exceptions. In the back of your head, you’re thinking, Well, how beautiful can they be? And it turns out, really fucking beautiful. It’s weird. It’s almost like a new planet of hot people. According to Greg Poehler, a Swedish 5 is an American 12.
Greg Poehler is an actor who plays a celebrity accountant who relocates to Sweden. This actor moved to Sweden, from New York, in 2006. He has strong opinions about Sweden.
And nudity is no big deal. (Like in Germany, and Iceland and the rest of the civilized world.)
That’s why you’ll see it on the Swedish show “Welcome to Sweden” (The Swedish version of course, it is censored in America.). Nudity’s not a thing for them.
I mean, it is a thing, but it’s a thing that’s constantly around, Poehler said that his kids swim naked all summer and then have to deal with their own culture shock when they come to the U.S. and have to cover up.
Poehler believes the nudity is actually a good thing:
"Even at a young age, you can just see how accepting they are of nudity and their bodies."
Friendship is largely based around dinner parties.
It can be difficult to make friends in Sweden, because most Swedes already have a strong group of friends that they’ve known for years. Good luck scoring a dinner party invite. “The party scene there is all about dinner parties,” Poehler explained. “So your friend selection is actually limited by how many seats you have around your dinner table. And unless somebody dies or gets divorced or moves away, you have no chance of getting invited to that table.” It’s an ongoing struggle: “I’m still trying to work my way through the dinner party scene.”
Television.
"In general, the Swedish viewing habits are much like it was in the U.S. 40, 50 years ago, where people are kind of all watching the same thing," Poehler said. That helped Welcome to Sweden get such impressive ratings. "The top 10 shows tend to get that type of number." And the "Friday night death slot" as it's known in the U.S. is actually a good thing for Swedish shows: "Our show was on Friday nights, which here would be a terrible night, but there is like the biggest night."
Log Homes
Log cabins have been traditionally built in this part of the European continent. Countries like Norway, Finland, Sweden, Russia and other Baltic regions were the regions where the log cabins have been built for centuries. The growth of coniferous trees in this part of the world is the primary reason for building these structures.
The log cabin was “invented” in Northern Europe, and Sweden is perhaps the center of that trend. The idea of rustic homes bravely facing the harsh Winter weather came from Sweden.
The shape of these trees and the quality of wood obtained from them is ideal for the construction of log cabins. Migrants from the Scandinavian countries (especially from Sweden) who settled in America in the early part of the 17th Century are credited to have brought log cabins to Northern America.
Taxes
Sweden, as far as the United States is concerned, is a land of high taxation. However, that might not be a bad thing. Yes, the taxes in Massachusetts were high. Yes, everything is against the law in Massachusetts. However, that does not take away from what I found most charming about it. (And to this day, I still miss my life in Massachusetts. I still consider it a wonderful place to live.)
One should NEVER make two-dimensional judgements about a region and a people until they first go out there and see it with their own eyes.
So, I say to everyone and most especially the readers herein, go to Sweden and make your own opinions. Don’t fall for the Bernie Sanders narrative that Sweden is “Heaven on Earth”, nor should you fall for the Alex Jones narrative that all taxes are evil. Find a middle-ground; a an area where you (personally) can find comfort. Then go move there and live your life.
Below is a summary of the Swedish tax system. I believe that I picked it up on Tumblr sometime during the 2015 – 2016 time period. I do not know who created this document, or whether of not it is accurate and reflective of the current taxiation system in Sweden today. It is presented for the amusement and consideration of the reader.
Income Tax in Sweden. Off hand, I would say that the taxes seem prohibitively high. However, that might be offset by other issues. The only way to find out is to actually go to Sweden and find out for yourself.
Now, there are others who offer an opposing view toward Sweden. Here are some interesting quotes worth consideration…
“Higher education may be free but students in Sweden often have to take out loans to cover living expenses including rent and food while studying. 85 percent of students in Sweden graduate with debt and these fresh graduates also suffer from a high debt-to-income ratio once they land jobs. Sustaining oneself while trying to establish a career can be tough. Rent in centers like Stockholm can be both expensive and hard to come by for most young professionals.”
And…
“Sen. Sanders claimed that lessons on democratic socialism can be learned from the Nordics. However, Scandinavians were among those quick to correct Sen. Sanders saying that they aren’t socialist. They are technically market economies. Perhaps there’s this notion that a utopia is where citizens are provided everything and that everyone enjoys freedom and equality. For the most part, this seems to apply to Sweden since the government covers essential services and the people have an egalitarian outlook hence the reason they’re mistaken to be democratic socialists. Still, the reality is that people have to work hard, pay taxes, and deal with competition common in a market economy if they want to thrive in Sweden.”
Peru
Why not? I guess that I was inspired by the Phil Manzanera song “Big Day” and the lyrics about Peru.
Here is a nice woman from Peru. There are many beautiful women all over the world. Each one comes with their own traditions, society and ways of doing things. When we have become so accustomed to the American way of doing something, it is often a wonderful experience to find others who share our traditional view of the world.
This is one of those nations that no one really considers except to travel to (to look at ancient ruins). But that should be the exact criteria to give it a good long hard look. Certainly something “off the beaten track” is what would be most desirable for a typical American expat today.
Cheap food, housing, and standard of living would factor high in where ever an expat might want to move to. Not only that, but having a passport from Peru will not make you a target by Islamic radicals trying to purge the world of Americans…
Peru. Only in Peru. This is a very unassuming nation in South America. It is quite different from the United States and that makes it very interesting to me.
Here are some comments by an expat in Peru. They have a blog that can be found HERE.
Driving
Apparently, it is pretty terrifying.
“The roads [in Peru] are pretty unforgiving. I once made a trip, well, tried to, from Trujillo to Otusco. I eventually turned around... those cliffs really humbled me.
I have gone up and down the coast -- flat, no cliffs -- all the way to Tumbes at the Ecuadorian frontier with no problems. I could write a couple of chapters about the experiences with buses and cars in a hurry, passing on curves... single lanes on high passes... cliff collapses... buses passing you on curves drafting you first or meeting a bus head on coming at you lumbering and top-heavy around curves... YOU GOT NO PLACE TO GO.
WEIGHT IS THE DOMINATING PRINCIPLE. THEY PUSH, HONK AND INTIMIDATE EVERYWHERE BUT ON THE CLIFFS. Life and death. I have frequently seen three people on a motorcycle with a kid sandwiched in the middle - all no helmets.”
“The premiere Mall in Lima is Lacomar right on the ocean. It is an excellent mall, large and it could be in NY or any other major city and would be regarded as Excellent.Also you can ask but in Lima is a park in a City Busy area that is a sanctuary for Cats. I mean,, the cats know it and there are a billion cats that hang there.. It is really a special place and quite an interesting phenomena.”
"More than six years of experience says that Internet is certainly reliable in Peru for remote sales and more. Video performance is choppy regardless of provider. Latency is an issue with video specifically. It really depends on from where you are planning on connecting and using what kind of services. There are Internet cafes in most cities and some small towns.If you will be located in Lima and want a month to month wireless router service without phone hookup to support multiple devices in a home, then Olo can be recommended. But Olo has a delivery footprint and you need to check if your house is within that footprint. I have used that service for almost a year from San Juan de Lurigancho (Lima). I have also been a customer in the past of Nextel, Claro, Movistar, and Speedy.
Claro/Movistar have a wireless dongle that works for a single computer. We had technical and customer service problems with Movistar. I used Nextel wide band with success for years. Speedy is fast, cheap, but good depends on the wiring in your part of the city and how much construction is happening near you.If you are planning on setting up a high speed phone center in the provinces using existing services beyond Lima it is probably not going to happen, though I do know of a successful Skype-based salesman who did B2B appt setting daily and operated from Huanuco."
Climate
“Coastal Peru is really all desert. Where people live in urban areas with lots of houses it tends to be much greener but certainly never lush. It is dusty, but really I think all of Peru is dusty. I have never seen a screened window yet once you go outside an urban or city area unless you see farms and agriculture it is more desert like""Yes, coastal Peru is very much a desert. I found the scenery grows on you, especially next to the coast. I am most familiar with the Lima area (Miraflores) and the humidity is surprisingly high for a desert, but then I come from an area of very low humidity, Wyoming. I do seem to recall other places along the coast (e.g. Trujillo) seemed to be less humid,""Lima weather in the summer is fine, but it winter it is only gray. High humidity and lower temps... kind of uncomfortable. In Trujillo, the weather is always pleasant. In summer, when the skies are clear and blue, the humidity is high and just short of 100%, but it never rains. Rain is so unusual here that if you see drops it is a major downpour. Sometimes it is just misty and you can feel the lightest of drizzles... and even that is unusual. So, in the summer the humidity gets kinda uncomfortable. Generally summer is pleasant, but there is always a run of about 2-3 weeks where the humidity gets outtahand."
Safety
"It is possible that expats live in isolated clusters in several countries, but full disclosure, you should know that Peru has still active guerilla forces and that 17% of GDP is now from cocaine, according to National Geographic.Apparently, Columbian 'interests' have decided to 'outsource' a bit of production and distribution to nearby countries, so I do not know how this bodes of stability or personal safety in Peru, but these are factors to consider.""There is a particular area where Coca production prevails and there are some conflicts. Peru produces more cocoa than any other country in SA. That is production of raw material but not distribution of final product. Living in the area of Trujillo for a few years now I have had no visibility of any activities in that regard. It may go on in the background but who know. It does not affect daily living in any regard.In all of Peru there are places known for safety and places known for danger. I have frequented Lima and flagged down many, many taxis without ever a hitch. Crime is not rampant and it is best not to exaggerate. Traveling through many parts of Peru I have never been accosted by a robber or thief. Of course, it is good to be sensible and wise, but I do not see an overwhelming or ever present threat of danger."
Conclusions
If you have a nice, comfortable life, then savor it. Appreciate it. Enjoy it.
However, if you are like one of millions of American men who have reached their 40’s and discovered that events, problems, and unforeseen disasters have decimated their savings, belongings, relationships and careers, perhaps you need to look elsewhere. Maybe you need to take a good hard look at your life and the decisions that you made decades ago that set you on the path that you now tread.
I suggest that there are many other nations and cultures out there, outside of the United States. There are good and bad things about all of them. But, given your situation, perhaps one or two might be more suitable than the progressive liberal “paradise” that the United States is turning into.
I urge you, or anyone who is asking the deep question “is that all that there is?”, to look outside the box, and consider the unthinkable; leave the United States and become an expat.
Take Aways
When things go wrong we often feel trapped. We become lost and directionless.
Part of the problem, and the cause for the lack of direction, is that we have automatically limited our options. We have, over the years, placed restrictions and limits on ourselves.
I suggest opening up ourselves to the reality that there are no limitations except those that we place upon ourselves.
A glance at a handful of other nations clearly shows that there are other places with other options for a man lost in the wilderness.
FAQ
Q: What if you cannot speak the language? A: Well, you learn another language. If you want to be in a certain place with a specific lifestyle, then you will do what ever it takes. Most of the time, this will include learning another language and adapting to a different culture. Trust me, if you really want, or better yet, need to move and start all over again, then you will do what ever is necessary.
Q: What if I have a job, a family, children, but I am unhappy? A: Then you need to find out what is making you unhappy.
Often it is things that have developed over a long period of time, that has taken a toll on us. Sometimes it is the little things, like having a wife that forbids you to drink cream with your coffee, or a work place that doesn’t allow you to smoke. Perhaps it is a constantly increasing tax burden with no appreciable increase in your standard of living. When your soul starts screaming at you, it’s time to listen. Something is wrong.
You, as the man of the house, must do something about it.
Q: I think that I am going through a “mid-life” crisis, but my wife thinks I’m bonkers, what do I do? A: Yell at your wife for discounting your emotions and your feelings. She should be better attuned to you, your feelings and your needs. Since she is disparaging you, then there is certainly something wrong; with her.
If you feel and think a certain way, then that has validity. No one, especially someone who is part of your family should ever disparage that.
You need to have a good sit down with your family and explain how you feel. It is not an issue about working out what to do, as it is a real need to state that your needs are not being met. That you are not being listened to, nor are your feelings being respected. You will be unable to continue in a life where these fundamentals are missing from your life.
Q: What criteria should be used to determine which nation to move to? A: Safety, ease of access, and personal finances. Where ever you go, you will need to be open to making new friends, adapting to a strange culture, and change your way of life. For some it is way to shocking. Here in China, we have a saying that Americans can’t last more than three months in China. Plan, and be careful.
In my mind, the most important things are [1] the pace of life… and, [2] how hard you have to work to just live in a most basic way.
Multi-Part Series
There are so many nations and places to choose from. This post is part two of a multi-part post. My basic premise is that the world is a big place. Get out. Enjoy the differences. Savor them. Life is too short not to.
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.
What happens when you are given a five minute notice before your company lays you off? Then they hand you a NDA, and expect you to sign it, or else they will prevent you from getting food stamps and support. What then?
What options do you have? Another stab at getting yet another American job, and America boss in an American corporate environment? Is that what your options are? As an American man, just what are your options?
There are times when you just feel a screaming need to “bug out”.
But, let me tell you something. The world is yours once you have lost everything. That includes nations, food, culture and girls. You can go anywhere and be anyone. This is especially true for an American man who faced a vindictive ex-wife, or had an encounter with any of the many, many American alphabet regulatory organizations such as the IRS, DHS, CIA, FBI, ICE, FDA etc.
People, there is an entire world out there. It is big, and filled with all sorts of interesting and colorful people.
I urge the reader to divest themselves from the notion that the United States offers the only decent living arrangements on the globe. There are other places. Many others.
Some are better and some are worst. It is up to the reader to consider all of the options that lie before them and make determinations and judgments biased upon their own individual situation, preferences, and desires. Not (to make them biased) on fear or lack of experience…
You do not have to endure a life that is defined by others…
Introduction
The world is filled with interesting people, wonderful places, and really different ways of doing things. many of which are a pleasant surprise to Americans who have grown up thinking that the “American Way” is the only way to do things (as well as being the “best” way to do things).
The world is filled with fun and interesting people. The cultures and societies are different, and in many ways there are changes that lead to a more relaxed and fulfilled life. You just need to go out and explore and venture forth. Now, come on, don’t these two gals look like they would be a lot of fun to hang out with?
There are so many nations and places to choose from.
Written by a Man
Please note that this was written by a man. It is about things that might be of interest to a man. For similar posts written by women, I would suggest the Huffington Post, the Washington Post, or Salon.
Also note that this is a blog. It contains personal opinions. If you want to read something that is unbiased and doesn’t have opinions, try CNN. LOL.
Finally, many of the things that are commonplace in other nations are either banned, censored or illegal in the United States. This post does not censor for American sensibilities. As there are people all over the world that reads it. I just can’t sanitize it for Americans. That includes…
Buying beer on Sunday.
Doing drugs in Holland.
Prostitution chain-bordellos in Germany.
Public nudity in Iceland.
Smoking in public in China.
Being able to eat in restaurants barefoot in Cambodia.
Traditional gender roles in Brazil.
The giant penis festival in Japan.
Buying ED medicine without a prescription. (Common everywhere.)
If you are an American, and you are too sensitive to the realities outside of America, then I would suggest you leave. Exposure to freedom is not something to be taken trivially. Real freedom is not having to ask permission to do something. Real freedom is not taxed, monitored or prohibited.
Real freedom is not taxed, monitored or prohibited.
Multi-part Post
This post is part one of a multi-part post. My basic premise is that the world is a big place. Get out. Enjoy the differences. Savor them. Life is too short.
Let’s start by talking about a tiny mountain nation smack dab in the middle of Europe.
Switzerland
Ah Switzerland. Perhaps my number one ideal destination. However, not my number one practical destination.
For a relatively small, landlocked country, Switzerland contains an exceptional amount of natural beauty and cultural diversity—with four official languages and all the variety they represent. These 10 towns spread across the country demonstrate the best Switzerland has to offer in terms of spectacular mountain scenery, flower-lined nature paths, lakefront beauty, and picturesque historic centers.
Here’s an interesting article titled “Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture” written by Chantal Panozzo on February 1, 2016. Found here.
“During my Swiss career, I was employed by various companies from 25 percent to 100 percent. When I worked 60 percent, for example, I worked three days a week. A job that is 50 percent could mean the employee works five mornings a week or, as I once did, two and a half days a week.
The freedom to choose the amount of work that was right for me at varying points of my life was wonderful and kept me engaged and happy.”
And…
“At my former American job, I received 10 days of paid vacation per year, and each of those days came with a sizable portion of guilt if actually used.
But in Switzerland, my husband's company gave employees six weeks of vacation a year.
Most of the Swiss companies I worked for gave four — the legal minimum is four. Moreover, everything shut down between Christmas and New Year's, giving most employees like me another guaranteed week off.”
Wow, it sounds like a great place to work. You can work at your own pace, and attend to your family life. If you are too stressed, you can work out an arrangements where you work part time. If you have family issues, you can adjust things accordingly. If you need more money, you can work out an aggressive work schedule. This degree of corporate flexibility is a freedom that Americans do not possess.
Winter in the Swiss mountains…
Living in Switzerland would be awesome. You have the mountains, the seasons, the fresh air, and a more sensible pace of life. Spring is glorious and Fall is magical.
“About three years into my Swiss life, I lost my job. And I discovered that in Switzerland, being on unemployment meant you received 70 to 80 percent of your prior salary for 18 months.
The Swiss government also paid for me to take German classes, and when I wasn't looking for jobs, I could afford to write a book.”
And…
“When I gave birth in Switzerland, I was encouraged to stay five days in the hospital. So I did. The $3,000 bill for the birth and hospital stay was paid in full by my Swiss insurance. As was the required midwife, who came to my apartment for five days after I came home from the hospital to check on both my health and my baby's.
Had I been in the US for my delivery, the cost would have been much higher — and the quality of care arguably lower. The average price for a vaginal birth in the US is $30,000 and includes an average of less than a two-day hospital stay.”
Switzerland isn’t just beautiful—it’s actually outrageously so. I guess it’s what I always expected. Switzerland, with its glacial lakes, the Alps and all the nature, it’s all very stunning. This kind of natural beauty in Switzerland is calming and cool. Despite the famous red color and cross of the Swiss flag, the only color that comes to mind for Switzerland is honestly and truly blue. The sky seems to be a constant shade of blue: bold and beautiful when the sun is out, and gloomy & grey under the clouds. The water, so fresh and readily available in the country, runs clear and reflects the blues in the sky. The glacial lakes shimmer. This country is blue. And it’s beautiful.
You know, working in Switzerland might be something to consider. And, of course, maybe having a child born in Switzerland wouldn’t be a bad idea. What do you think?
France
So many places to move to. Let’s talk about France.
Many people have said to me, “Oh Diane, you’re so lucky. You live in France…” And I stop them right there. Luck had nothing to do with it. I didn’t fall out of bed one day to find my suitcase packed, money in the bank, with a first class ticket on Magic Fairy Airlines, destination: France.
No. It never works like that.
My goal was to move to France and my choices leading up to that move got me here. This didn’t just happen to me while I idly stood by. I moved to France last year to be with Tom, but the first time I moved to France in 2009, Tom wasn’t even in the picture…
-Oui in France
Did you know that it is very easy to become a citizen of France? Yes it is. Look at all the uneducated Africans who now live there. However, I am not referring to that, I am referring to the French Foreign Legion. You serve, and you become a citizen. It’s a tough option, but a reasonable one for a younger man to consider.
It’s a great option if you burned your bridges in the United States, and want to start off new and fresh with a new identification, a new name, living in a new area. You just have to EARN it. That’s all.
France has so many beautiful lesser-known little towns that are worthy of a visit. Whether you’re in the mood for sleepy beach towns, colorful villages, or icy slopes, there is a perfect French town for you.
When I was back in high school and planning to go to the Air Force Academy to be a pilot for the Air Force, I took French classes. I took them for three years, as that was an Air Force Academy requirement at that time. I never really used it except for many years later when I visited Canada, Vietnam and Zambia.
Moreover, an interesting blog about living in France can be found here.
Like the other entries here, it offers some glimpse of alternative realities that aren’t even considered possible in the United States, like for instance a Wine High School…
“About this time a year ago, we had lived in France for only three weeks when an announcement on the city’s website regarding an event for that weekend caught our eye—Wine Fair! We knew that we had moved to the world’s largest grape-growing area but we didn’t realize that there was a high school devoted to the craft just a few minutes’ walk from the house. With the promise of 30 wines, 6 beers, and 2 ciders, we just had to go…for a taste, of course.
One of my favorite things to do is to drink wine whilst eating bread with cheese, olives and assorted goodies. Image that being an everyday event. OMG.
High schools in France give students the opportunity to decide if they want to pursue a university degree or prefer a more hands-on approach to a career be it industrial or laboratory science, health and social sciences, music or dance, or trades that require internships, to name a few.
The Lycée Charlemagne, located not far from where we used to live by the castle, specializes in agriculture, so if you want to become any kind of farmer, including a wine grower, this is the place to be.
Since Carcassonne is such a magnet for tourists, other high schools here offer specialization in hospitality and the restaurant industry.
In contrast, we saw a TV program about Le Mans, the French city north of us that is famous for the Grand Prix road race, and is the city of choice for young people who want to learn all about automobile and motorcycle mechanics.”
A wine High School. How about that!
I well remember us complaining in High School (that was back in the mid 1970’s) that our peers in France and Europe were given wine with their school lunches. Meanwhile the Democrats in the United States were insanely active in raising the drinking age up from 16 to 21. They insisted on raising the drinking age…“For the Children”. Ugh! It was so frustrating being treated such that we were somehow stupider and immature than our peers elsewhere in the globe.
That’s Democrats for ya. Always thinking that they know what’s best… for YOU.
Boys and girls were free to drink and smoke as they were growing up. This all changed when the Democrats took control of various state legislatures and enforced vice laws.
On the subarctic island, consumer prices were on average 56 percent higher than the rest of Europe in 2018, making Iceland the single most expensive country, ahead of Switzerland (52 percent), Norway (48 percent) and Denmark (38 percent), according to Eurostat data.
In order to avoid unpleasant surprises, Quint Johnson, had done "some research," before travelling to Iceland from the United States for a week's vacation with his family.
"But it's been a little bit of a shock," the 22-year-old student told AFP, having discovered the chilling rates for familiar items like a simple hamburger with fries and a beer.
A glance at the menu at an Icelandic restaurant will tell you that a plain cheese pizza will run you around 2,400 kronor -- almost 17 euros ($19) -- a glass of wine will be at least 10 euros and a pint of beer costs about 7 euros.
"That's a big price jump compared to what I'm used to," Johnson said.
According to the consumer price comparison site Numbeo, a dinner for two in an average restaurant ends with a bill of about 85 euros, a bottle of wine in a shop is priced at around 17 euros, and a dozen eggs cost up to five euros.
-France24
Not only that, but there are few countries in the world that can say they do not have any mosquitoes and Iceland is one of them!
Beautiful Iceland. Sure it is cold, but when the sun comes out it is glorious. Not to mention that the environment lends itself to cozy comfort.
The following are excerpts from Larissa Kyzer who lived in NYC before she moved to Iceland. Her comments can be found here.
“Forget lying about your birthday: if you’re one of those people who likes to fudge your age, be forewarned. Your Icelandic national ID, or kennitala, begins with the day, month, and year of your birthday, and you will be expected to recite it to everyone, everywhere, for pretty much everything. Get a library card, give your kennitala. Sign up for a cell phone plan, give your kennitala. Rent a video, give your kennitala. Unlike the American social security number, it is intended to be a very public number.”
And…
“…always bring a towel! You’ll find that people go to the pools a lot--if only to chat in the hot pots (the geothermal jacuzzis that are at every pool)--and even though you can rent a towel (and a suit for that matter), you’ll save a fair amount of money in the long run if you bring your own. Plus, if you carry your swim things with you, you’ll be ready at a moment’s notice for a trip down the water slide, or a gossip session or football debate in the hot pots.”
The People
Icelanders are proud, somewhat stoic people. Look, they are a race of people that sought to make a living on a cold, barren island 1000+ years ago. Pride and stoicism were necessary personal attributes. You know a country prides itself on individuality when it doesn’t subscribe to having a McDonalds. It did once upon a time before the economic crash in 2008 but has no desire to see the chain again in spite of its economic recovery.
I really like the idea that the buildings are painted in bright colors and that the people try to make the most of the environment. It’s pretty darn cool, don’t you think?
Icelanders are not necessarily warm and emotive people. Get to know them though and you’ll have a loyal, lifelong friend.
Icelanders are educated and informed. The culture there expects education, many Icelanders have advanced degrees. They are up on politics and they tend to be very well-traveled. Lastly, Iceland is a very progressive political country. For example, Iceland may be the most gay-friendly country on earth.
Financial Stability
97% of Icelanders identify themselves as upper-middle class, lower-middle class, or working class. Thus, the financial equality found in this culture, allows for a more stable society to raise a kid. Additionally, higher education is essentially free, so the cost of raising a child is much cheaper in Iceland.
Scenic and beautiful, Reykjavik is a wonderful place. The people are great once you get to know them.
Weather
Iceland is a sub-Arctic country located out in the middle of the north Atlantic. What can I say, other than the weather is cold, grey and rainy quite a lot. You get long, cold and dark winters.
In the summer, you get long days – very long.
Basically, don’t expect good weather. But when it comes – Oh Lord when it comes – Iceland is glorious. When the sun does come out it is simply spectacular. The blue of the northern sky is luminous and magnifies the vibrancy of the surrounding landscape by a thousand-fold.
"In general, the pace of life was much slower than I was used to. Icelanders work hard and they play hard, to use an old cliche. Icelanders take long vacations, some up to 4 weeks in the summer!
As an American, this is unheard of. I submit to the average American, that if you had a 4 week vacation you wouldn’t (at first) know what to do with it. "
Pace of Life
"All of Iceland tends to start work at 9 and they stay till 5 or 6; City traffic follows this pattern without much deviation. Weekends are slower affairs. Men watch soccer.
People wake late - almost everyone. Typical citizens would go visit friends for coffee in the afternoon.
Coming from a country and large city where there was always a plethora of choice, Iceland was far more limited. For example, an Icelandic visitor to the United States will be overwhelmed by the choices in US supermarkets. She will say, ‘Why do you need 200 kinds of breakfast cereal?’"
Again, this is a little strange for me as an American. Most of the rest of the world just isn’t as hung up on the human body as Americans are. It’s not just Germany, you know. It’s friggin’ everywhere.
Icelanders are very comfortable with their bodies, almost too comfortable if you ask most Americans. But once you are in their country, you must obey their strict public pool etiquette; no matter how uncomfortable you may feel.
In addition to not allowing shoes in the locker room area, all men are expected to strip, and clean themselves in the public shower before heading out into the main pool area.
I’m assuming this is also true for women in the ladies locker room, but I’ll just have to take their word for it.Most public pools also have hot saunas, and the same behavior is expected regarding a post session wash. Icelander’s take these rules very seriously because they have natural geothermal swimming pools often heated by my mother nature.
Due to this unrelenting desire to keep their pools and locker rooms clean, they will have no problem bluntly telling you to strip.
Matt Eliason remembers his first time to the Laugardalur community pool in which he was scolded for not participating in the necessary public strip tease. However, the reader should relax that he has since adjusted to this uniquely “European” behavior and now show no shyness when following the public pool etiquette.
Walking out of a bar at 4am into daylight
It’s true, the geographical location of Iceland´s Nordic island situates itself in such a way that most summer days yield over 22 hours of sunlight. This presents an interesting dilemma when you are walking out of the club on a Saturday night (Sunday morning) and you take a step outside the dimly lit club into the broad daylight. A very interesting summary about the all-night party atmosphere, and the price of beer can be found HERE.
Lack of Big Restaurant Chains
With stores like Whole Foods, McDonald’s and Starbucks ingrained into the psyche of all Americans, being stripped of these cultural consistencies has an effect on your day-to-day life for good and for bad. What this means is that the convenience of going out at your own leisure and get a McBurger is just not going to happen. This is both a positive and a negative.Outside of Domino Pizza and a couple KFCs, Iceland’s economic environment encourages upscale classy restaurants, and forces out big box chains, due to the economics of importing cheap fast food. McDonald did have a brief spell in Iceland, but the business plan proved to be economical enviable.
Language
Everyone speaks English.
While it’s always a good idea to learn a few words of the language where ever you travel everyone Brianna encountered spoke excellent English.(There was definitely a chuckle or two when she tried out her very limited Icelandic).
Chile
OK. That’s enough of the areas about and around Europe. Let’s take a spin to South America. Let’s look at Chile.
Chile? Why Chile of all places? You might ask.
Girls from Chile tend to be beautiful. Monica Godoy is a successful and one of richest actresses from Santiago, Chile. Monica was born in May, 1976. She has worked in more than 30 movies, some best being Sucupira (1996), Pepe Carvalho (2004), Hijos Del Monte (2008), 40 y Tantos (2010), El Laberinto de Alicia (2011), and Secretos en el Jardín (2013).
Mr Simon Black has a blog and organization where he urges people to obtain second passports, citizenship, savings accounts and banks. He urges people to be more international so that they can keep their options open when things spoil in one geographical region or another. In his blog he suggest Chile as a destination for American expats to migrate to.
Good advice this. As I can personally confirm.
The cities of Chile have a small town feel. The pace of life is slower and more relaxed. People enjoy life more, and spend more time with each other. They savor life.
While I do not agree with everything that he has to say, I do follow his suggestions on prudent preparation. I dare say that many of the Jews living in Poland in 1938 would have not died under the Hitler military machine were they to be prudent and alert.
From Simon, an interesting article about leaving the United States and moving to Chile can be found here.
“Yesterday on the drive back to Santiago from one of our blueberry farms, I stopped to visit some friends who lived in the area. About a year ago they bought some land in Chile’s incredibly fertile 7th region, which boasts a rare Mediterranean climate. It never gets too hot, and it never gets too cold. Plus, the rich, volcanic soil is packed with powerful nutrients.
As long as you’re in the right spot to ensure ample water security, the place is an agricultural paradise (our agriculture company owns two large farms in the region). There are literally four other places on the planet with this combination– southern California, South Australia, the Western Cape of South Africa, and parts of the Mediterranean itself.”
And…
“Yet by comparison to those other places, land in Chile is remarkably cheap.
Our agriculture company purchased several thousand acres in this prime region back in 2015 for about $1,700 per acre. Similar property in California, especially given how much water we have, would easily sell for 10x to 20x that price.My friends bought several acres of land for themselves as a sort of homestead, and they’re now living in a gorgeous setting surrounded by mountains and multiple rivers with cool, crystal clear water and a steady supply of fish. They’re raising livestock and have a garden, plus I got them started with a gift of some baby trees which are already producing fruit in their first season.It feels like lifetimes away from when they were living in New York City.”
And…
“My friends purchased the land outright (again, land is inexpensive). Then they paid about $55,000 to build their home. The house is quite nice– comfortably spacious with four bedrooms. And it’s all wired up with the latest gadgetry and home automation, with all sorts of sensors to control appliances and conduct routine tasks.
So they now have a roof over their heads and plenty of land to do whatever they want, and they own it all outright… they don’t owe a penny on any of it.”
Continued…
“My friends had concerns. They were living in New York before and didn’t like the trends they saw in their home country. There was too much debt. Too much war. Too much money printing. Too many lies. Too much spying. Too much violence. Too much uncertainty.
They wanted to distance themselves from conditions that made them uncomfortable. So they made a very deliberate plan and took steps that led them to where they are today– living in their own paradise. And they couldn’t be happier.These guys aren’t hiding from the world. He’s still working in technology and she’s still producing art… exactly what they used to do.”
Unlike the United States, when you buy something like a house or a plot of land, you own it. That’s right. You do not have to pay taxes on “your” land or suffer it being seized. The smaller nation often has smaller regulations that you need be concerned about and taxes that are easily affordable.
Highway in Chile. Most of the world has nice highways. They have bridges, public transportation, railroads, toll-booths, and roadside rest areas.
Yes, other nations have highways, bridges and tollbooths. Often in far better shape than what is found in the United States.
Vietnam
As a boy, I would watch the news about the war in Vietnam. It seemed so remote and so “third world”. Which at the time, it actually was.
I, as a boy, enjoyed the fighting and the battles. I was totally unaware of the beauty, the people and the environment in Vietnam. Vietnam is very, very stunning.
Fast forward to today. Vietnam is a growing country that seems to possess all the attributes that seem to interest me. It has great food, beautiful women, long clean beaches, and totally isolated from the madness that the United States has become.
Here’s what an American expat who moved to Vietnam has to say about it;
“I’ve been living in Vietnam a while now, relatively speaking. Longer than I expected, in fact. When I tell anybody new to town how long I’ve been here for, they always raise their eyebrows and give me a suspicious look, just as I used to do when I first arrived.
I never planned to still be here (over 6 years and counting…), though I have some friends who’ve stayed much longer. The first year here felt very long indeed. I did what most single foreign men do when they arrive in Vietnam. I became a sort of ‘playboy’. I thought it was cool then, but now I’m ashamed of that behavior, although it was a difficult habit to break.”
There are all sorts of great bars all over Asia. Vietnam has some nice ones. You can get reasonably priced drinks and munchies and have fine companionship for the night.
And…
“You only need one type of wardrobe in Vietnam, there is much less crime, it is cheaper (unless you shop at Vincom Center or something), scenic, and the cities have a frantic yet laid back atmosphere that I feel is unique to Asia, if not the world (and I’ve traveled most of it).Zooming around on a motorbike can be dangerous but I’ve seen more accidents in England than here and it gives a real sense of freedom. Ho Chi Minh City in particular has a ‘small town’ feel (even though it’s huge) which I love.
It’s like a friendly village but with millions of people you can bump into. My friend once likened hanging out here to being in prison (but in a good way), in that “nothing ever happens, but anything can happen!” I want to.
Halong bay in Vietnam. The world is filled with many beautiful places. We need only pull ourselves away from our computers and go forth and explore the world around us.
No we do not want everything the same… a world where there is a Starbucks on every corner,or the same progressive laws that America has. We should go forth and explore the world and relish in it’s differences.
Being an expat, it’s easier to make a good life for yourself in Vietnam. I have almost too many friends, a nice apartment, a good job (I’m a ‘traveling teacher’, rather than a ‘teaching traveler’), lots of hobbies and everything feels quite easy.
However, one thing I probably lack, and it’s a big thing, is a strong local connection. Even after all this time, I find the cultural divide quite exhausting to overcome, at least compared to other countries I’ve stayed in. I have very few Vietnamese friends and I am now living the lifestyle I used to frown upon, that of the ‘expat bubble’. Can I just blame my battle with the language for this?”
Vietnam has many beautiful ladies. They are a lot like the Chinese, only with a little darker tan and speaks a different language. I find them alluring.
Compared to Thailand, Vietnam is different. It is another animal altogether.
“For 95% of Westerners Thailand is probably a better choice, be it as a holiday destination or a new home. Downtown Saigon can be stressful, at times feeling like organized chaos where you're the only one who wasn't given the script. The never-ending stream of motorbikes makes something as simple as crossing the road a worry. People are less friendly, getting around can be a challenge and there's much less to see and do than Bangkok.But where downtown Bangkok feels like just another international city with a Starbucks on every corner, movies opening the same weekend as the States and more signs in English than Thai, Saigon still feels distinctly like Asia. Vietnam fills me with a sense of adventure.”
-Stickman Bangkok
Night can be really nice in Saigon, Vietnam. There is life and activity. There are things to do, places to be, drinks to drink and fun things to do with friends. Sure beats hanging out in front of the television while you wait for Friday to roll around.
As an expat, he hits upon something, that I think all us long-duration expats feel more or less…
“To be honest, one of the only things I truly dislike about life here is some of the expats! That might appear somewhat ironic, but the neo-colonial attitude of some foreigners here angers me, especially as many of them were clearly not ‘cool’ in any way before they came out here. Now suddenly they can be seen strutting about, taking advantage of local hospitality and often looking down on a culture that they don’t even try to understand.”
Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular travel destination in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. The name Hạ Long means “descending dragon”. Administratively, the bay belongs to Ha Long City, Cam Pha City, and is a part of Van Don District. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes. Ha Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bai Tu Long Bay to the northeast, and Cat Ba Island to the southwest.
Cambodia
Here is a bar street on the beach in Sihanoukville in Cambodia. It is considered a nice place to visit because the sex is cheap, the beer is cold, and the weather is warm. I like it because of the history. All during the Vietnam war I wondered about this place and what it must have been like.
“Many men get starry-eyed over a goal, imagining how life would be so great upon achieving it, but fail to play out the movie to its completion. Unlike Hollywood, life goes on, and you come back down to a basal level of happiness, no matter how great your achievement was. This is very common with men who want to travel to shitholes to meet good women.Imagine you visit a rough second-tier city in Colombia or Ukraine and meet a girl who is hotter than any other girl you’ve made love to before. And then what? Are you going to move to her city permanently?
Are you going to bring her back to the West so she can get corrupted like the women you left behind? Are you going to move her to another location where any children you have won’t have the benefit of seeing extended family? Understand that as soon as you experience the upsides from achieving a goal, the downsides come pounding at your door so that the overall cost of a goal is balanced with its benefits.”-“And then What?” by Roosh
Cambodia has always been a place that I was interested in. That with Laos, I have mutually considered them mysterious and stimulating.
During the 1960’s and the 1970’s, I watched the news and followed the descent into darkness as Cambodia was taken over by progressive leftists who (in the interests of “equality”) went about torturing and killing everyone. Now, few Americans know the horrible saga. All that is left is a legacy of the “killing fields”. (Yet, the leftists in Berkley, California want to duplicate this in the United States of all places. WTF?)
The Cambodian Killing Fields (Khmer: វាលពិឃាត, Khmer pronunciation: [ʋiəl pikʰiət]) are a number of sites in Cambodia where collectively more than a million people were killed and buried by the Progressive Socialist Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian Civil War (1970–1975).
The tree where little children were killed by progressive leftists in Cambodia.
The mass killings are widely regarded as part of a broad state-sponsored genocide (the Cambodian genocide).
Analysis of 20,000 mass grave sites by the DC-Cam Mapping Program and Yale University indicate at least 1,386,734 victims of execution. Estimates of the total number of deaths resulting from Khmer Rouge policies, including disease and starvation, range from 1.7 to 2.5 million out of a 1975 population of roughly 8 million.
In 1979, Communist Vietnam invaded Democratic Kampuchea. They toppled the brutal progressive liberals that comprised the Khmer Rouge regime.
Now, Cambodia is reviving. I have numerous friends (mostly Chinese, with one or two from Eastern Europe) who have told me tales of how wonderful Cambodia is. It certainly sounds enticing.
One thing that attracts me about Cambodia is that it has not yet been sanitized by Starbucks, McDonalds and hoards of business investors turning it into an upscale mall. In China, Shekou used to be quaint with it’s own flavor, cheap booze and friendly locals. Now it is a very nice, but expensive mall that serves tourists. The locals just sort of avoid it. Sad.
Here is a nice write-up by a man about my age who lives in Thailand, and thought that it might be a good idea to visit Cambodia. He begins with his impressions of Cambodia taken in early 2001.
“Dusty roads with what can only be called contraptions on wheels.
Criss-crossing the city on the back of a motorbike after dark and seeing almost no traffic.
Ultra-slow, virtually unusable Internet connections.
Friendly, smiling children yelling “Hello”.
Arriving back at the hotel at night to find the doors had been padlocked shut from the inside and you had to rattle them to wake up a young Khmer sleeping on the other side who would unlock the door and let you in.
These are just some memories from my one and only visit to Phnom Penh, back in 2001.In the 10 years since I first visited the Cambodian capital it has changed markedly as I discovered on a recent trip.”
He then decides to return.
A group of cute and happy Cambodian girls. I really like the smiles and happiness that radiates from these gals. You know, we owe it to ourselves to surround ourselves with happiness and contentment.
Only this time it is ten years later. The year is 2011.
“Getting around Phnom Penh is easy. Tuktuks in the guise of a motorbike pulling a carriage, motorbike riders as well as a few taxis make up the choices. You can walk and a number of the sights are in the riverfront area, just remember to look the other way when crossing the road if you're used to Thailand.Someone seems to have told every tuktuk driver and motorcycle rider in town that foreigners don't like walking, for you simply cannot walk past one without being asked where you're going and if you'd like a ride.
The hassles are relentless, many times worse than any vendor hassles in Thailand.”
And he talks about the food…
National food in Cambodia is similar, and at the same time is completely different from the tradition of the neighboring countries. It is possible to claim that the Cambodians eat everything! The dishes of the food in Cambodia also feature many wild fruits and locally grown vegetables. Widely used and popular in the national food in Cambodia are pickled and fermented vegetables and fruits, which are collected for pickling at different stages of their growth, which give the final product a completely phenomenal taste.
“Thai food might be more varied and diverse, but Cambodian food uses certain ingredients you don't commonly see in Thailand.
Buffalo meat, for example, is found on many menus, and deep-fried tarantulas are sold alongside other creepy crawlies.
Much of what is available in the fresh markets fell into the mystery meat category. Amongst the more unusual things we tried was beef with wild ants – and giant-sized ants they were. A good source of protein I am told!
This is a scene of Battambang, Cambodia. It is a small community that has everything that you need, but not large enough to overwhelm you. It is certainly a small-town vibe about this place. It is calm. It is peaceful, and pleasant.
Revisiting places from that first trip a decade earlier, when the few popular bars were scattered around the city, the long-running Sharky just didn't do it for us. Similar in format to Bangkok's Woodstock, the American-themed bar and restaurant with a reputation for tasty Tex Mex food left us unimpressed.
Sunrise Tacos it isn't.Phnom Penh may not compare with Bangkok for high-end dining, but there is a huge number of mid-range eateries making it something of a foodie's dream. Many riverfront restaurants are chic without being pretentious.”
And the booze…
“Phnom Penh is an alcoholic's dream with ridiculously low prices. Stick with the perfectly drinkable local Angkor draft and you'll never have a hole in your wallet.
This is the colonial section of the capital city; Phnom Penh. Notice that even in this big enormous city there is a nice small-town vibe that lingers and presents itself.
A handle runs around $1.00 – $2.00 in restaurants, $1.50 – $1.75 in the hostess bars and in some bars and restaurants, happy hour prices can be had for less than a dollar, 60 cents in some outlets.
Pretty much everything, drink-wise, is considerably cheaper than Thailand. Cocktails in decent bars could be had for $3 or $4, $2 at happy hour. Beer Lao is widely available and cheap, and wine is considerably cheaper than in Thailand. And my pet hate, tax and service charges are nowhere to be seen!”
And (of course) the ladies of the “night” (but this is Asia, they work 24-7)…
“The vibe in the hostess bars is different to your typical Thailand bar. Upon entering, many of the girls scream "Hello" and once seated you'll find yourself surrounded by a half-dozen girls.
They will be keen to chat, but unlike their Thai sisters they almost never ask for a drink.
The lady drink hassles that mar the bar experience in Thailand are no issue in Phnom Penh. With that said, at what seemed to be an industry standard $3.00 for a lady drink – of which she gets $1.00 – it's hardly cost prohibitive. And if you do buy a lady a drink, she will never suggest you barfine her, and won't even hint about joining you at your hotel.
Club girls in a Cambodian KTV. The girls are friendly and happy to please. It is a great environment for those who like to have a great time.
Many bars have pool tables and the girls often suggest challenging you to a game of pool, and request a lady drink if they win. Don't expect to see a Cambodian winning the world pool championships any time soon!As far as the women in the Phnom Penh bars go, the prurient might say that the biggest difference between the Thais and the Cambodians is that there's no need for silicone bags in Cambodia. They tend to be dark-skinned, curvy and can have absolutely striking eyes. And yeah, they are busty.Personality and attitude-wise, they are rather different to the girls working bar in Thailand. The Cambodian girls are much less hardened, much less mercenary and general chit chat tends to be more relaxed. They are generally more playful than the Thais, but without any real flirting or sexual innuendo. Thai working girls these days tend to be more professional; pleasant on the outside but rock hard on the inside."
Here’s a couple in a bar in Cambodia.
Here is a typical man with a Cambodian girl in Cambodia. Most girls in Cambodia tend to be curvy with soft places where they belong. Many find them very attractive, and with dark eyes and great smiles they tend to be irresistible.
"The Cambodians might be more pleasant and the bars employ some pretty ladies, but in terms of looks at least, you don't see anything like you do in the likes of Rainbow 4 or Bacarra. What they may lose in the looks department they more than make up for personality-wise. There are few tattoos to be seen and while smoking is allowed in the bars in Cambodia, it is the customers who are puffing away. Very few Cambodian working girls smoke. Cambodian girls working in hostess bars make a point of saying that good girls don't smoke! In fact the girls in the bars don't even feel like bar-girls. Thai bar-girls with anything more than a month or two in the industry are for the most part, hard. Many of the Cambodian girls in the bars seemed quite sweet.”
And..
What is Khmer Food? Khmer food takes influences from a variety of countries. Cambodia was a French colony for many years and also has many Chinese immigrants, so both French and Chinese foods are widely found. In the west of the country, the cuisine is, naturally, influenced by the food of neighboring Thailand while in the east the flavors of Vietnamese cuisine are more evident. Coastal towns such as Sihanoukville in the southwest are famous for their seafood, cooked in many styles, including Japanese and European. Common ingredients in Khmer cuisine are similar to those found in other Southeast Asian culinary traditions – rice and sticky rice, fish sauce, palm sugar, lime, garlic, chilies, coconut milk, lemon grass, galangal, kaffir lime and shallots.
“What it costs for a night of these ladies' company, I don't know. Broaching the subject brought awkward looks from girls who seemed reluctant to discuss it. I was quoted $40 by ladies aghast that such should even be discussed, and they were probably more aghast when they realized I was only asking for the purpose of understanding how things work, not because I had any intention of being a naughty boy!
Locals tell me that hostesses will happily spend the night for $20 – 30, which seems awfully cheap. Bar-fines run $10, and drop to $5 after midnight, in some bars.
Some of the friendly club girls in Cambodia. They do like to please. Look at those smiles. What’s not to like?
There's much debate whether young South-East Asian women are “forced” to work in the bar industry. It's an argument that really doesn't hold up in Thailand where even the least educated can get factory work, which with overtime will provide a livable income. A comfortable life perhaps not, but it's honest work that one can feel good about.Cambodia is altogether different.
Many of the girls in the bars seemed to have very limited options. One girl, a striking looker with an uncanny resemblance to an ex-girlfriend, really tugged on my heart strings as we struggled to communicate and tell me about her life. The oldest of 3 children, the 24-year old long-haired beauty couldn't read or write. She had never been to school and she had almost zero employment options. Her only real options were working on a farm, for which she would make the equivalent of about $60 a month. The salary alone from bar work was that much, and she would also get $1 for every drink bought for her, as well as whatever gifts customers rewarded her with in the morning.”
While Mr. Stickman’s comments were from the perspective of a visiting (horny male) expat from Thailand, it should not be discounted. Most expats (judging from my trivial search on the Internet) to Cambodia seem to fall into a handful of categories;
Backpacker / explorers. They just traipse around the world on a trivial level to collect experiences to “wow” others in an attempt to boost their already insignificant ego. I tend not to associate with them. In my mind they are not experiencing life in depth. They are collecting trivialities. To experience life, you have to do more than just have a low-budget vacation.
Do gooders. These are often part of NGO’s set up by others with ulterior motives. They stay for the duration of their contract and then leave. They come with preconceived notions. (Usually related to sex, politics or religion.) They then try to implement their ideals, often fail, and head home afterwards.
Bad Guys. Anyone who wants to exploit others for money, labor, sex or the like. You see an occasional news article about these individuals. I have encountered them… all too often. Which is why many long-duration expats do not associate with other expats often.
Teach English. It’s always a good stepping stone into another culture. It’s also a necessity for those of us who have lost everything.
It would seem to be a great opportunity for someone to set up a factory or an industry in the area, but you would absolutely need to partner up with a local to be successful. Getting to know a local for just that purpose takes planning and an investment in time. Just saying, but if you are young and have the drive and the stamina to make something happen, Cambodia might be right for you.
Think of the beer. Imagine drinking it while eating some Cambodian steaks with a pretty local gal…
Cambodia has some nice local beers. Always the beer is great when ice cold. There is something fine about a beer and a hamburger in a tropical paradise .
I arrived in China when it was in it’s growth phase, and it worked out for me. Maybe Cambodia might be right for someone younger.
Attend University
There are some interesting takes on this “thing” about Cambodia. Consider one enterprising student who decided to attend university in Cambodia. Why attend a university in Cambodia? Because you can and it looks interesting on your resume. Roy, an American expat, who is working his way towards a degree in political science at the University of Cambodia, tells his story;
“Attending university in Cambodia is an adventure and much more interesting than slogging through classes at a community college back home. Right now I’m finishing my second term at University of Cambodia.
I love it here; the people are great. While there are a few students here from other ASEAN countries, I’m currently the only Westerner enrolled. Students and teachers all seem initially surprised, but quickly get used to having a barang in class.
As a native English speaker, I get asked about pronunciations, definitions and grammar; it’s a bit like being a living dictionary. There are also opportunities where I try to explain the oddities of US politics.The question I hear most often from my classmates is, “Why are you going to school in Cambodia and why did you decide to attend this school?” I explain that I love the country and the people. My choosing UC is based on instruction in English, the very helpful staff in registration and, if I’m going to travel halfway around the world to go to school, I want to be able to put something on my resume that makes it perfectly clear that I attended a university in Cambodia.There are no “student visas” in Cambodia but as a student you can get a business/ordinary visa without a work permit.”
Dual Pricing
Dual pricing based on race is very common in Cambodia, from the bus companies who charge white faces more to the hospitals that have one rate for Khmers and another for foreigners. Even the government-owned airline has one fare for Cambodians and another, much higher fare for everyone else. This is frustrating on many levels, not least when it’s foreign-owned businesses that are perpetuating what is, fundamentally, a form of racism. When asked how they can justify dual pricing based on race, race-based pricing advocates scramble all over themselves to defend the practice.
Cambodian nationality is, for the most part, based on race (non-Vietnamese minority tribes are the exception). Any child of a Cambodian mother is granted Cambodian citizenship, regardless of where he or she is born. The child of non-Cambodians, though born and raised in Cambodia, is not granted Cambodian citizenship. Ethnically Vietnamese families who have lived in Cambodia for generations are, for all intents and purposes, stateless as far as the Cambodian government is concerned. So the argument that the dual-pricing system is not racist because it is based on nationality is flawed, because there is no attainable path to Cambodian citizenship for non-Cambodians (and I don’t call paying a $50,000 “facilitation fee” attainable).
Moreover, non-Cambodian Asians often benefit from the dual pricing plan, paying the local rate even when they don’t speak much Khmer and are citizens of Western countries. In practice, actual nationality seems unimportant; looking Khmer matters more. Khmer-Americans are also given the “local” price by many businesses, whether or not they have Cambodian passports.
“I am a simple man who has been living in Cambodia for about 7 yrs. I return to my country of employ for some months at a time as I have a small business there which needs a little personal love every now and then.I have been to about 60 different countries and have lived for 3 months or more in about 15 of them. Some, for 1-3 years. I would say that on a humble scale I am reasonably worldly. I am definitely an adventurer.I have experienced dual pricing in quite a few different countries. Here it can be quite strong, agreed.The Chris with a capital C, made some good comments. Let us all think about this word racism. It’s a shocker isn’t it? Have I had better experiences in some countries than others, yes. Do I like the culture of some countries more than others, yes. Do I dislike the ego and blatant disregard for other nations well being that particular countries seem to display, yes. Do I like the smooth sound of some languages and not the guttural sounds of others, yes. Are there many examples like this, yes. Does this make me racist, maybe it does.Does Cambodia invade other countries, like so many of the world powers, no. Does Cambodia produce a huge amount of mass marketed products that are killing humans, animals and the planet, no. Does Cambodia steal the oil of other nations, no.I guess we all have our good and bad points.I can hear some of you saying that Cambodia does not have the wealth or power to do such things. And yet many of our countries have the power and have completely abused it. Which is less excusable?Expats, hmmm! That’s an interesting topic. We come here with more money than the average Khmer, can make more than the average Khmer, and have to pay more than the average Khmer… and in our own selfish way, that is apparently unfair. Seems like a fair enough tax system to me. How many of you pay full tax on your local wage? Maybe using local Khmer as an excuse for not paying full tax isn’t fair because that is as much a part of their culture as dual pricing.All around the world I have seen people from richer, more dominating, more arrogant cultures demanding everything they can get their hands on from some poor local. We so often take all the good we can get and then quickly complain or blog about something we didn’t like. Suck it up Humans. Take the good with the bad.Simple question… If the way of life in your own country is so good, then why are you here? To all the service men and women who are posted abroad without choice, please excuse this question.I now have a loving Khmer wife and 2 beautiful Khmer daughters. My mother-in-law lives with us too. It is a complete family. I am very lucky.Yes it is true that sometimes I pay more. Sometimes my wife and her friends laugh at me because I get better prices at the local shops and markets than they can. I speak quite a lot of Khmer but am not 100% fluent. I get some discounts because I have a Khmer family and sometimes my Khmer daughters get in free and I have to pay. Most importantly, I find gentle, wise respect gets me the best price, and it feels the nicest for me and others too.3 people go to a movie. 1 loves it, 1 doesn’t really care and 1 hates it. Same movie, only the minds are different. Suffering and happiness comes from the mind. If you don’t like something try changing your mind.I suggest that when you are troubled with the local ways that you go and enjoy an ice cold 50c beer, a $2 meal, or go for a free meditation at your local wat.”-GreyEarth
A Narrative by Ian
Here is a pretty darn and comprehensive report by a fellow who went to Cambodia. This is not the PC scrubbed Internet fare that is edited for millennial sensibilities and the PC rules (written or unwritten). It is raw and fresh, just like I like my sashimi. It is titled “My Phnom Penh Trip Report or Phnom Penh for Newbies”. Written by Stick Reader Ian January 5th, 2015. Enjoy.
“I had that nervous energy you get when you do something for the first time. I'm 58. At my age I don't often get to do something new. I'm boarding a Bangkok Airways flight to Phnom Penh and I haven't been to Cambodia before.
I've heard it's similar to Thailand of years past. I took the 2nd half of December off work so I could see my Thai partner for Xmas; I came all the way from Farangland to see her only to be told (several months ago) that she would go to the temple and thus be busy in the first week. OK, Cambodia here I come and I'll see her in the 2nd week of my vacation.
Translation; The man has been living in Thailand with a girl. He is an expat from the West. (Maybe from the UK or Australia. Ian is not a common American name.) His girlfriend will spend a week at a Temple, and he will go to Cambodia to see what it is like. He will be comparing it to Thailand, initally, and to the West (slang; Farangland) ultimately.
Naturally she changed her mind sometime after I booked the Cambodia trip. I said that was no problem — I was going anyway. Then she asked if I was angry with her? No, I wasn't. My expectation in life is if you say you'll do something then you do it. She said she was busy; I said I was going to Cambodia and that's the way it would be. I think it's best to live by your principles.
Thailand girls have a reputation for being “wishy washy”.
The real attraction of Cambodia was the prospect of Snookyville (that's Sihanoukville but often referred to as Snookyville, which I will continue to use in this post because I like the name). I've heard it's like Pattaya 30 years ago.Imagine that; a Pattaya of the early 1990’s. Everything cheap and fresh.I'm old enough to remember that and I liked it; I wanted to experience it again and see the place for myself. But when I investigated I found it was too difficult to get there. To my surprise there was no transport from the airport to Snookyville (maybe by taxi, but not using an inexpensive means of transport) and with my itinerary it wasn't practical to get there on the same day. Ditto for the return trip. With only 5 nights in Cambodia and the need to spend 2 of them in Phnom Penh I decided Snookyville wouldn't be the focus of my trip; I'd try Phnom Penh and see how that went. Maybe I'd make a flying visit to Snookyville, but the focus would be Phnom Penh.
First lesson. Transportation access is not that easy.
I thought Cambodia would be about getting laid and not paying much for it. Without going into every detail I'm outlining some of the things I experienced. My primer for newbie visitors to Phnom Penh. My trip report.
Here is his trip report. He expected to go to Cambodia for a lot of low priced sex. Here is what he experienced.
Arrival
I was worried about the visa on arrival process. I read about the dual currency economy. I knew I needed to bring US$ and while I don't have a problem with that I didn't think I understood how it would work. I figured this would be a cheap holiday so I budgeted $500 for the 5 days. (I budget that much for 1 day when I visit Bangkok, although I normally spend half of that on myself and give the other half to my partner. I'm Mr. Nice Guy; or maybe Mr. Dummy.)
Cambodian meal in Siem Reap. There is a mix of authentic Khmer cuisine, but also the local French influences and other international favorites. A couple of my own favorites include the stir fried beef loc lac and of course the french breads.
I needed $30 for the visa on arrival. I read I should have a visa photo with me when I arrive. I read it wasn't worth getting an e-visa, that it was just as easy to get the visa on arrival. That was bad advice. The visa on arrival process was frantic and disorganized; not exactly pushing and shoving but close to it. If I had an e-visa I could have simply gone to the Immigration queue and the arrival would have so much easier. Note that for next time. On the plane I met guys with similar plans to mine; one had been to Phnom Penh a few times before, the other was a newbie like me. Neither had an e-visa. The other newbie didn't have a photo and had to organize that in the arrival hall. I lost track of him in the Arrivals hall so I don't exactly know how things worked out for him. I saw him at the baggage carousel, so I know he survived. An e-visa would have cut 15 minutes and considerable stress out of the process.
If it were me, I’d pay the money. I would use an e-visa. You get what you pay for.
The taxi ride to the city was a microcosm of the visit. I read and was told (by the experienced traveler) that I should get a voucher for the ride that would cost $12. After looking around I managed to find the booth to get the voucher. But you don't pay for the voucher, you just hold on to it or maybe show it to the taxi driver. At the end of the journey you pay the guy $12. The voucher appeared to have no purpose except to reassure me of the price.True, I felt better knowing what the price would be and I could always push it in the face of the taxi driver if I felt I was being ripped off; but that didn’t happen. I paid the taxi driver $12 when we arrived at the hotel — he was happy and there was no argument about the price.And that's what the holiday was like. No stress; no fuss; prices are inexpensive so pay what is asked; obviously bargain where you can but everything seemed to be pretty well organized; if you didn't argue and accepted things as they were the whole process was low stress.I'm an experienced expat. I know when I visit other countries they're designed for their citizens not for me. It's up to me to experience their lifestyle and conditions. If I like it, that's great. If I don't, catalogue it and move on. No fuss, no furore.
Sounds like he understands the way of the world. Reader take notes.
Hotel and Getting Around
Thank you, Agoda. I selected what turned out to be a good hotel in the Riverside area that had a decent rate ($45 per night). They described themselves as a 3 star hotel which I thought was harsh; maybe not 4 stars but close to it. If you're new to Phnom Penh I recommend staying at Riverside. It's close to everything; it's easy to walk anywhere. There are lots of restaurants, pubs and bars close by. If you want to go somewhere that's too far to walk there are lots of tuktuks or motorcycle (motos) to use.In 6 days and 5 nights in Phnom Penh I must have said "no" 500 times to offers of transport. This is perhaps a downside of my visit; I can do that for a week without getting annoyed. If I was there for a month it would be different; although if I stayed for 3 months I'm sure I'd assimilate. Personally I like to walk. I get a better feel of the place, I'm in no rush and it was "winter" when I was there so it wasn't hot or unpleasant to be outside. (Around 25 – 27C every day with no rain.)
To put this in perspective, Southern China is nine months of 30 to 33C and very humid. (For you Americans in readership land, that is 90 to 95F and 90% humidity.) That temperature sounds absolutely wonderful.
Eating and Drinking
I have 30 years of experience visiting Thailand and think I know prices there quite well. I thought everything in Cambodia would be cheap and I was right & wrong. I was looking forward to eating on the streets and especially looking forward to eating good bread. I live in a country with poor quality bread and Thailand isn't exactly the patisserie capital of the world.
Street vendor selling bread in Cambodia. The bred is good and basic. It goes really good with butter and a nice strong local coffee.
I didn't like the look of the street food as much as I thought I would so I didn't eat much of it. There was bread everywhere but served with more fillings than I like. By "fillings" I mean pressed meats and a variety of vegetables. I didn't see as much plain bread as I expected and I had no ear for the Khmer language so had trouble asking for just a plain baguette. Even though I didn't like the fillings for the bread (served similarly to Vietnam rolls) I found they were good when I tried them. The baguettes were good quality, too, but I would have preferred to eat them plain.As I didn't eat much street food I was "forced" into restaurants. They were more expensive than I expected. In general I found the cafe and restaurant prices (in downtown PP) to be the same price as or even more expensive than food in the suburbs of Bangkok. But there was more variety in the Phnom Penh food than in Thailand; more western food options and the Cambodians use less spice. That wouldn't suit everyone but it happens to agree with me.
CAMBODIAN FRENCH BREAD WITH BEEF (NUM PANG ANG CHIA MUI SACH KO). Doesn’t this look great and delicious. I’ll bet that it goes great with an ice cold beer. I’ll tell you what.
Drinking was another matter. I can't remember being in a place where drinks were so cheap. In downtown PP, on Riverside which is a popular tourist and probably an upscale area for locals, it was easy to find happy hour with local draft beers for $0.75. Still on happy hour — bottles of local beer for $1; Beck's beer $1.25; Hoegaarden, Heineken, Guinness, Corona all $1.50; English cider (apple, pear or strawberry) $1.50; and every little hole in the wall bar and eatery has free wifi. As a visitor I didn't need or buy a local SIM card — free wifi everywhere worked well for me. Happy hour wasn't from 5-7 PM, it was generally all day and lasted until 8 PM, 9 PM or even 10 PM in some places.
Take note Americans. Even in Cambodia the Wifi is FREE.
Beer prices are very cheap. Hell, even in China, you can expect to pay a minimum of 30 RMB for a Hoegaarden ($5).
The drink prices were fairly consistent at pubs in that part of town. There are also hostess bars (this is why you're reading the article, right?). Surprisingly the drink prices weren't a lot different. A bottle of local beer in the bars was generally $1.00-$1.50; lady drinks were between $2.50-$3.50Hostess BarsMy research said the Cambodian ladies (in hostess bars) are less pushy than their Thai sisters and you could talk to them without being pressured into buying them a drink.That's true.You could ask them to come and sit with you. You could ask them to go away. You could buy them a drink. You could choose not to buy them a drink. Nothing seemed to be a problem. Having been around Thailand for a long time I don't feel it's right to string along the girls — they have to make a living — but they certainly didn't pressure me to buy drinks.When I bought them a drink it was me who offered and they happily accepted but I don't remember any lady asking me to buy a drink for her. If I didn't buy them a drink I'd leave a tip when I left and they were grateful. I think they get $1 for each lady drink so if I didn't buy them a drink I'd leave $2-$5 depending on how long I spent with them and everyone seemed happy. (I'm sure the bar wouldn't be thrilled but I'm not on earth to please everyone.)
Short Time… (Single shot sex, often under two hours.)
My research for the price of ladies' company was probably out of date. From going around I found the going price of ST (short time) was about $30 – $40 depending on the lady and the quality of the bar.
Long Time… (Overnight sex. Multiple shots.)
I only asked about LT (long time) with one lady who wanted $50. On night #1 I thought that was too much and declined. By night #2 I thought that was a dumb decision and went back to secure her services. She was happy to see me back and honor the previously quoted price. I suggested to her that she would have to be "enthusiastic" for that price; she said she would be and lived up to her part of the bargain. After 5 nights in Phnom Penh and being quoted $40 for ST by a few ladies I felt I was lucky to get my LT arrangement for $50; and stupid to pass it up on the first night. But, hey, that's why they call it a learning curve.
Cambodia is not Thailand.
Again my research said that hostess bars in Phnom Penh (and probably all of Cambodia) are not the same as Thailand. They don't have shows like Suzy Wong in Soi Cowboy, or Angelwitch in Nana Plaza; they don't have go-go dancers or coyotes; they don't feature skimpy outfits or near naked ladies to entertain you. You go into a bar; you choose a lady; you chat — the best you can with the language difficulties; you make a deal or you don't; you leave. As far as I could see that was about it.
That is how it works, don’t ya know…
The closest thing I found to a racy bar was a place called Cyrcee (pronounced seer-say). The description I got of this place was the ladies would give you a blow job before you could order your first drink. Well, that was an exaggeration. But it was a rocking little place if you like to be naughty.
You can find hamburgers all over the world. Here is a burger and fires in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap. Where’s the beer?
It's a normal hostess bar — no fish bowl or wannabe massage parlor. It had lots of ladies (about 20) with good variety. They weren't shy about what they offered or how it worked.There's a ST hotel across the road that costs $5 for the room; $10 for the bar fine and $30 for the lady.I am no longer a young man and as such there are limits to my powers (I wish I had the energy of yesteryear); yet the girl I chose managed to convince me to take her friend as well. The honest truth is I have tried this twice before in my life and each time was a disappointment. Instead of every man's fantasy of combined action both of my experiences were sequential with one girl doing her business and the other one a bystander; then the first one left and the second one had her turn.
Again, here is the truth. What you see on porn movies is all make-believe. This is pretty much how it goes down. My experiences have always been sequential affairs involving two, three, and once four girls.
These are not my best memories so I was reluctant to try it now. I raised the concern with these two ladies and they assured me they would work in tandem so I figured "at this price, even if it isn't good, I don't have that much to lose".Off I went with my two ladies and had a remarkably good time.I only wish I was 20 years younger but I'll cherish this as a good memory — the first time it's worked out for me like it does in the movies. If you want to go to Cyrcee I can't give an exact address but walk along 130 St heading west towards Central Market; you'll see the sign in the side street on the left just before the market; it's hard to find during the daytime (why would you want to go during the day?) but it's easy to see at night even though the sign is small.I just found out it's pretty easy to get Ceycee's address and a map if you Google it — let's leave it at that because the information is likely to be more current than anything I provide here.PP Street LayoutBefore going to Phnom Penh I was intimidated by the street numbering system and the advice on where to go. 136 Street; 130 Street; 148 Street; 51 Street…When you get there it's much easier to figure out. Even numbered streets go from east-west; odd numbers go north-south. Street numbers jump in large numbers; it's not a grid like Manhattan. Because of the irregular shape of the downtown area many streets start and end in a short distance. So when you're at Riverside you'll see the streets go 118, 130, 136, 144 & 148. You'll find all the street numbers somewhere in the city but they don't necessarily extend all the way across the city. It's the same for the odd numbered streets. It's much easier to get around when you learn this.ShoppingBelieve it or not I wasn't fully occupied with my "meet & greet" of the ladies. I like a bargain as much as the next person and think shopping in Thailand is great value. Phnom Penh was better. Clothes and shoes are inexpensive. Shops on the street and stalls in the Central Market had clothes for 50% to 66% less than Bangkok. Before going to Phnom Penh I bought a pair of trousers in a Bangkok Tesco Lotus for the bargain price of $15. After a few days in Phnom Penh I thought that was positively expensive. While I didn't research this extensively it seemed the prices in the roadside shops were relatively fixed and bargaining was the norm in the market.If you like a bargain you should visit the Central Market. They have lots of things — clothes, shoes, caps, hats, food — everything you could ask for. Many of the stalls had incredible inventory and selection of goods. The biggest challenge was choosing what to buy. And while I was happy with the prices I ran into some tourists who'd just spent a week in Siem Reap who complained the prices were double what they'd found there. So while I was happy they were turning up their noses saying everything was too expensive.Currency and How It WorksI said earlier I was intimidated by the idea of bringing and using US$. It really wasn't a big deal. Prices for tourists are quoted in US$. You pay and get change in dollars. The approximate exchange rate is US$1 = Riel 4,000. When change is less than $1 they give you Riel. You can pay in Riel if you want; in line with the easy going nature of the people everyone accepted the rate of $1 = 4,000. The actual rate was about 4,080 but not once did anyone say "No, you need to pay me 20,400" as opposed to 20,000 when something was $5. Considering it's a relatively poor country and almost everyone you meet would value the extra Riel 400 it's surprising that no one insisted on the extra few hundred. I've been in lots of countries where they want that extra 10c but in Cambodia everyone seemed relaxed about it.The one thing to be careful about is the quality of your US currency. I took money with me that I use in the US without a problem. But in Cambodia they're fussy. If a bill is ripped, torn, marked or too dirty they won't accept it. I had 2x $20 bills that no one would accept because one had a corner missing and the other had writing on it. No problem using them in the US but not acceptable in Cambodia. They are more forgiving of dirty $1 bills than 5s, 10s or 20s. I wouldn't recommend using 50s or 100s — they're too big for general use; it's better to stick to the smaller bills and use 20s as the highest denomination.Gratuitous Phnom Penh AdviceHere are some tips for Phnom Penh. 51 St around 172 St has a lot of pubs, clubs and bars. The Walkabout Hotel is full of freelancers, seemingly at any time of the day or night.
Here is a typical street scene in Battambang, Cambodia.
A place near there on 51 St called Zeppelin Cafe is a great place to go for a drink and listening to 70s guitar-based rock music. The owner, who appeared to be a Cambodian national with a ponytail, sits at the back of the bar with 2 turntables. He has an extensive collection of vinyl records (not a CD in sight) and plays what he wants to hear. He looks like a grumpy bugger and I doubt he takes requests — but it's a great place to sit down, have a drink and listen to some music you might have forgotten about. It's not a pickup joint and it's not the kind of place you can talk much — it is, after all, 70s rock featuring loud guitars.Just around the corner on 172 St is Pontoon, one of the most famous night places in Phnom Penh. It's a club or disco. Don’t go early. I went at 10:30 PM and it was dead. I heard later that it warms up around midnight. I was also told that it is "the" place to go in PP, has fabulous looking ladies (presumably freelancers) and lots of them. One of the challenges of advancing age is not having the staying power to roam the streets at 2 AM so I didn't get to find out; but people younger than me recommended it.On the corner of 51 St and 172 St is a place called Le Bon Cafe — a nice place to have a coffee, snack or light meal. It features both outdoor and indoor seating. The owners (or managers) speak perfect English so there is no risk of your order being misunderstood or the wrong item coming to your table. I dropped in during both the day and night; no matter what time I was there the owner / manager or perhaps a family member was there with perfect communications.Across at Riverside there are many cafes and pubs to choose from. The one I enjoyed most for a happy hour drink was on the corner of Sisowath Quay (the main river side road) and 110, 118 or 130 St; I didn't take note of the place's name and Google street view isn't helping me remember but the one at 110 St "looks" about right. Hint: it has this easily visible, non-illuminated Happy Hour sign at the front.You can't go far wrong with any place around there, but this corner pub / cafe had friendly staff, nice atmosphere and good prices. It was a place you can just sit down and watch the world go by.My hotel provided free breakfast which was quite OK. But I saw a place on Sisowath Quay called Camory Restaurant, near 110 St that offered breakfast for $3.95. They had a dozen choices for that price and I found I enjoyed it more than my hotel's free breakfast. Camory is also a hostel style guesthouse; they offer inexpensive accommodation and rooms with as many as 4 beds (presumably for a family or maybe for really good friends). If you stay there the breakfast is free.
Come on… How about the freelancers?
Going back to the ladies, another place known for freelancers is Sharky Bar on 130 St. I didn't find it interesting but I could have gone there at the wrong time — yet again. They have pool tables which seem to be popular. Note it costs Riel 1,000, all of 25c, for a game of pool. I read a ridiculous Internet post from some guy who complained he was aggressively confronted when he tried to leave without paying for 3 games of pool. He implied he was ready to fight the bouncers because he couldn't see the sign showing the price. It's amazing someone would be willing to go to hospital for a "principle" when all that's at stake is 75c. That's hard to understand.
Safety…
I walked around Phnom Penh by myself at all hours of the day and night. I was on main roads, quiet streets and dark back alleys. I didn't feel uncomfortable or threatened once. It was fine even on a quiet, dark street at night when I walked past 3-4 Cambodian men talking together and thought to myself "this might not be good". They kept on talking to each other and barely paid attention to me. I didn't feel there was any threat or safety issue in Phnom Penh.SnookyvilleI wasn't going to miss out on Snookyville. The original idea of going to Cambodia was to lose myself in multiple orgies in Snookyville. If I couldn't do that I was at least going to see it. Just like being in Pattaya 30 years ago — it was something I had to do.
What a disappointment.Again my "research" suggested there are several parts of town. There's downtown, Victory Hill, Serendipity Beach and some other beach areas. The beach areas were described as backpacker havens. As I'm on the older side of the scale I figure that backpackers and places that cater to them really aren't my thing.Victory Hill appears to be famous for a place called the chicken farm — a place with lots of freelancers who are supposed to cost as little as $5 a time. That didn't appeal to me either. And it seems the authorities have closed it down so even if it appeals to you it's unlikely you'll get what you want any more. So I figured it was a choice between Victory Hill and downtown. I plumped for downtown and chose an inexpensive hotel. It was a bad choice. The place was dead. There was virtually nothing around and very little entertainment.I'd read of a place called Charlie Harper's Bar that was supposed to be a happening place. With a name like that and Charlie of Two and a Half Men being the ultimate mongerer I figured it had to be good. By nothing more than good luck it was diagonally opposite my hotel. I walked in at 7:30 PM and it was quiet. There were some expats having a drink; a few had what looked like steady girlfriends but there were no other ladies hanging around. I thought it was probably too early.Drinks were similar prices to Phnom Penh. I noticed a sign that said "Lady Drinks $2". Not bad. I asked the woman at the bar when the ladies turn up so I could buy them a drink. She looked at me with complete surprise and said they have 4 ladies at the bar, they were all there right now and I could buy any one of them a drink. But they can't be barfined because they actually work at the bar.
What’s the point of that??
I can have a drink for myself and buy a higher priced drink for a lady who can't sit and talk to me or join me later? Who would do that? Not me.I asked if there was anywhere around that offered female company; she accommodatingly pointed to the street corner and said "up there, go to Kangaroo bar". Consistent with my experience in Cambodia I have to say she was helpful.It turns out Kangaroo bar is actually called Kangaroo Kitchen (even though it's a guesthouse and a bar). They did have ladies there; I couldn't figure out if they were freelancers or there was a bar fine involved. Of the 8-10 ladies I saw there was only one I found appealing. I spoke to her for a while but decided against taking things further and went back to my hotel alone.
Ah. It happens.
I also read that you shouldn't walk around by yourself at night in Snookyville. Be in a group of 3 or more people. If you're by yourself then go around by moto. I guess I could have gone by moto to Victory Hill or the beach area to have a look.
But after exploring the underwhelming downtown area I wasn't motivated to try. It was probably my fault for not being more adventurous.Snookyville was underwhelming. Maybe I chose the wrong place to stay. Maybe Victory Hill would have been great. Maybe the beach areas were better and not targeted only at backpackers.
I'll never know.
I didn't enjoy my day / night there and I'm unlikely to go back.The positive things I'll say about Snookyville are that my hotel was clean, air-conditioned and cost $20 for the night. I can't complain about that.
One of the first shocks to Americans who travel abroad is how much newer, cleaner and better buses are. America has only given lip service to public transportation. The rest of the world takes it quite seriously.
The bus fare to get there from Phnom Penh was all of $7 for a 5½ hour ride. Strangely the bus company wouldn't / couldn't sell me a return ticket. I figured I was being set up for a rip off on the return journey. When I bought my ticket in Snookyville to go back to Phnom Penh it cost all of $5.50The real problem with Snookyville is the 5½ journey from Phnom Penh.
If I went from Bangkok to Pattaya and had a disappointing experience I could always try again — it's only 1½ hours away. But 5½ hours each way means dedicating a full day by the time you get to and from the bus station. I won't do it again because I don't want to spend a full 2 days with the possibility of being disappointed.How Was My Budget?6 days and 5 nights in Cambodia. A budget of $500; 2x $20 bills I couldn't use so I effectively had $460. How did I do? I booked hotels using Agoda so paid for them on a credit card and therefore outside of the cash budget.
I ate good but not extravagant food, sometimes on the street but mostly in cafes and restaurants.
I'm not a big drinker but went out every night and drank more than I normally would in a year. I bought some shirts and a pair of basketball style sneakers.
I had a road trip to Snookyville. I had one LT and several STs. Visa on arrival was $30; taxis to and from the airport cost $24; I even managed a meal at the airport Burger King before I left. And ended up with $6 change from my $460.
I can't complain and I will go back.Subsequent trips will never be the same as the first one but I enjoyed my visit. And I realize that while I'm old and have lots of experience in Thailand I can still look forward to that nervous excitement of visiting new places because I haven't yet been to Laos, Vietnam or Burma.Oh, happy days.”
Panama
Here is an interesting article about moving to Panama. I personally have some friends who have moved there. They love it there. They are not making a lot of money, but the trade-off in lifestyle more than offsets any other concern. For me, nah, I don’t think that I would want to move there. It is too close to the United States. I would like to keep an ocean between myself and the kooky politics of the USA.
Map of Panama. This is a small nation with plenty of beaches, mountains, and water. It is tropical and full of life and adventure. What is not to love?
Simply by looking at the map, one would assume that that would possess both beautiful tropical beaches, and amazing mountains. It just must be amazing!
To read the article go here. It is titled; “Panama is still the easiest place to obtain residency”.
“Expats here live very well. English is widely spoken, the medical services are excellent, a high standard of living is available at a reasonable cost, and the nightlife is fantastic—from top quality restaurants to more exotic adult adventures. Panama was one of the first countries in the world to establish a program specifically aimed attracting retirees.They promised special discounts and a number of attractive benefits to anyone who could demonstrate a certain level of retirement income. The program worked, and foreigners showed up en masse. (Although many retirees are still waiting for some of those promised special discounts…)”
And…
“Over the next several years, the government established all sorts of immigration programs hoping to attract investors—from forestry to agriculture to finance. (With a whopping 52 ways to obtain residency, it’s clear the residency visa requirements in Panama are incredibly easy.)Then in 2012, they created an even easier way to become a resident: simply letting people in. They called it the Friendly Nations Visa. And it’s just about the easiest way in the world to obtain residency in any country.
Panama City Beach Florida cityscape at night; Shutterstock ID 103240559; Project/Title: AARP; Downloader: Melanie Marin
The list now includes over 40 countries, including the US, Australia, most European countries, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, South Africa, and several Latin American countries. Citizens of any of these countries can obtain residency in Panama extremely easily by merely demonstrating ‘economic activity’ in the country.”
Poland
By my historical roots, I can become a citizen of Poland. My grandparents on my father’s side emigrated from Poland to the United States. You see, Poland has rules enabling relatives of former citizens to repatriate.
Everyone that I have talked to have told me that Krakow, Poland is awesome. I get the impression of a European level college town with friendly people and fine excellent food. Public transportation is cheap as is the finer things in life.
It was something that I have considered, but ultimately chose not to do. Not because I didn’t think it was an awesome place to live, but at the time, the Obama administration was getting too cozy with the EU. (Later, I discovered that it was his love of Brussels, rather than his care or concern for Poland.) I did not want to live in an American “backwater”.
Here is an interesting article written by an American that moved to Poland. It is called “Why living in Poland is like living in Hollywood” and can be found here. Some excerpts;
“Polish people often imagine America as a country where everybody’s rich or at least richer than Poles and more sophisticated – take any TV show where an average family lives in a nice, spacious house and for 16-th birthday kids get their cars.
Now when I am back in Florida I like to take day trips with my wife and daughter. When we were driving through Clay County I told my Polish spouse that it’s pretty nice out there to which she replied :
”Oh Mark please don’t make me move here just to prove how much I love you”.
She said that not because the place is off the beach or it’s a country side, she said that because the place is far from civilization, houses are often mobile and if you don’t have a car there is no way to go anywhere.”
Łódź (Lodz) – capital of Central Poland. This city has a kind of old world feel as well as a kind of European version of London feel to it. Nice, exciting and charming.
And…
“Poland was a socialist country so the country has a large social system built in. There are unemployment benefits and food stamps etc and housing. But this is nothing compared to going to grandma’s in the village and eating fresh food, even if unemployed.
It is a different reality.
You can live in Poland for nothing and people’s expectations are different. My wife was making 500 dollars a month, lived on potatoes, and still had a few dollars to take French lessons. No gadgets or cable TV but reality is different. She did not have a gym membership but walked everywhere and was in better shape than the excesses of the west.”
Gdansk old town – Warszawa. Charming, unique and awesome all words that I would use to describe this city and the people.
How about we start with some delicious Polish Hotdogs. Only they are made with fine Polish sausages. Cooked to perfection. Topped with all sorts of delicious toppings. Yum.
When you think about Polish food most people think of Pierogi. Pierogi are delicious, but there is much much more.
Bigos is a “Hunter’s Stew” that has rich flavoring from the meats and cabbage that are within the dish. Many cooks their Bigos stew for two days. Many Poles will use the largest pot available (can fit a large turkey) and let it simmer for around two days. During this time the house will have a delicious aroma. The color comes out a very dark brown almost black.
Another favorite dish in Poland is Paszteciki. My relatives have all made this. I just cannot remember a holiday when we weren’t eating these during the holidays. They are wonderful little snacks that you can just pop into your mouth as other items are cooking. Pass the Paszteciki!
Below are a few honorable mentions.
Golabki – Cabbage roll stuffed with meat and rice with a red sauce.
Kapuska – Made different ways depending on the season. The one I enjoy has tomatoes and grounded up giblets.
Potato Pancakes – Very good, but have to be careful because of the starch and cholesterol.
Apple Pancakes – I never had apple pancakes like my Mother-in-law makes them here. We are surrounded by apple orchards and have time to make a lot of different apple dishes.
Paczki – Polish Donut. Known for the rose filling. Who knew that roses not only smell great but taste delicious as a dessert.
Delicious polish food. My grandmother, and all my relative had perogries often. While not an everyday meal, it was common enough for me to miss when I left for university. These little puppies are cooked in butter with caramelized onions. Yum.
Shoes off when entering a home – Completely understandable. Your home is your clean sanctuary. You’ve been walking around all day in those shoes… Bathrooms… Office spaces… Dog poo? Take your shoes off and let your feet breath.
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, many women love it! Sure no problem the woman can clear the dishes off the table and clean and put them away, and the man can go outside and pick up the dog poo, mow the lawn, and vacuum the stairs.
Fast Meal – It is always a good idea to keep bread, cheese, or fruits and veggies on hand to whip up a fast meal for expected and unexpected guest. Along with the meal make sure you have plenty of tea and coffee to offer as well. Don’t be rude offer guest in your home refreshments.
Tipping – Tipping is very popular in the United States. For the most part you’re expected to tip your servers, carpet cleaners, maids, etc. as a show of appreciation for the service given. In Poland and Germany it isn’t normal. The amount on your receipt is what is expected. Giving a tip is appreciated but don’t feel that it is necessary.
Germany
Germany, home of beer and fine German sausages. It is a land with amazing forests, wonderful history, and a climate that is suitable to me. Cars can drive without speed limits, prostitution is legal, and I could spend the rest of my life visiting all the historical world war II historical sites.
It’s a beautiful land with seasons, fine food, and a population that is attentive to their role in society.
Germany is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Depending on where you go, you might find Roman ruins, medieval villages, sparkling new cities, or Baroque city centers. It’s just plain awesome.
Here is a nice article on some lessons that an American expat was exposed to as part of their new life in Germany. Some of them are amusing…
“Especially in the former East, freikörperkultur, or free body culture, is an important part of German identity. Decades of oppression lead to a particular appreciation for the experience of freedom and nudity without a direct relationship to sexuality.
This can sometimes be difficult for Americans to buy, particularly when your coworkers casually invite you to the office’s nude sauna or suggest a naked swim in a nearby lake. Adjusting to this culture without getting weird took some grit, finesse, and more than a few awkward encounters.”
Free body culture. Nudity with friends. I can see how it would take some time getting used to, but then again. Meh. So what?
Well, “Free Body Culture” is very, very taboo in the United States. You could easily be arrested and locked up for sexual deviance. Not only that, but you could easily be put on a Sex Offender registry because you didn’t want to wear pants and underwear. Yikes!
Americans would be arrested for things that people in other nations take for granted as normal behavior.
Germany has many charms. If you don’t mind the “free body culture”, there are many other things to like. Like for instance, the fine food, sausages and delicious beer. But it is more than that. It is…
“Moving to Germany meant an inexorable slowing of the pace of my life.
Particularly in Saxony, there are strict rules about when stores can remain open. Most businesses are closed in the evenings and all day on Sunday. Additionally, Germans benefit from frequent holidays and typically at least a month of paid vacation.
This gave me some anxiety at first, particularly when I forgot to leave work early enough to get groceries or didn’t have time to go to the bank.
Over time, however, I learned to both plan my days and to enjoy the break from chores rather than obsessing over lost time. After a few months, I was occasionally leaving work at 3pm to go watch the football game with friends instead of trying to cram a few more hours of work. I still got as much done as usual, but I felt much happier and less burned out.”
It sounds like a real welcome relief to me. I’ll tell you what.
Saarburg is most beautiful town in of the Trier-Saarburg district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. It covers an area of 20.36 km2 (7.86 sq mi). Saarburg is a medieval-themed town located in Germany. Despite the small number of people (around 6500) the city is a peaceful and beautiful place to live. There you have all the necessary things for a nice and comfortable life. In Saarburg has all kinds of schools, good shopping, a strong health care to the St. Francis Hospital etc.Saarburg is the major and largest center in Trier-Luxembourg region. The main feature of the city is beautiful river Saar.
There’s also another blog written by Amanda Schaefer . She is an American expat living in Germany. Her comments can be found here.
“Be a good hausfrau. The sidewalk in front of your house is directly correlated to your social acceptance in the neighborhood. Shovel and salt it before 8am if it snows and make sure it's swept clean of minuscule dirt particles at all other times.
And wash your windows, too.
If you are American, people know it. I don't know how they know; they just do. You can stop wearing Nikes everywhere, throw your elastic-waisted pants in the garbage, and take off your baseball cap but they will still see you coming from a mile away. Inexplicably, after several months of living here you will also be able to distinguish other Americans in a crowded place before hearing them speak.
Water is served in tiny glass bottles with their own special designer cup, typically at room temperature. Don't ask for tap water unless you want to be forever shunned. The good news is that beer is usually either the same price or cheaper than a dainty little bottle of water. This results in guiltless day drinking.
And what about holidays?
Carnival is as exciting as you imagine! It's like Mardis Gras and Halloween on steroids. There are endless parades with intricate floats, everyone wears painstakingly-crafted costumes, and all of the candy thrown from the floats is washed down with beer-- lots and lots of beer.
There isn't a bad place to participate in the Carnival festivities. In fact, you can attend lots of different celebrations because there are so many villages and each has its own parade. Just be sure to use the right salutation: In and around Köln, it's, "Alaaf!" Almost everywhere else it's, "Helau!"”
OK. So it is traditional. Women must keep the home presentable for the neighbors. You have to be a good citizen and an acceptable resident. I am sure that that might ruffle up some pink hair on some militant American feminists out there.
Germany is interesting in other ways as well. Ways, that I am afraid will upset most sensibilities of your average American.
For instance, prostitution is legal and quite accepted in society. It is LEGAL. It is ACCEPTED. It is considered a societal need.
(Damn! Why did my dad decide to move to the USA when he could of just as easily stayed in Japan, or Germany?) So, if you are a man living in Germany, and need to have a little bit of sexual release, you just get up and go to one of the many thousands of establishments that cater to your manly needs.
Let’s talk about this for a while. After all prostitution in the United States get’s a bad rap. Of course, prostitution in the rest of the world doesn’t look anything like the sorry excuses found in the United States. It’s quite different. In Germany, it’s part of society, and everyone tends to visit them from time to time.
Visiting a Chain-Bordello, the FKK
Yes, in America we have chain fast-food restaurants like McDonalds, and KFC. We have chain restaurants like Red Lobster, and Denny’s. We have chain car-washes, car oil-changes, and chain laundry-mats. Well, Germany has chain-bordellos.
Yeah, I have a number 2 doggie-style with extra BJ, please.
This is one of those places that every guy really needs to see to believe before they die. To quote a blogger; “Having sex with prostitutes at FKK Oase in Frankfurt needs to be added to your bucket list right now.”
Many guys probably have no idea what an FKK is, so I will break that down first.
Not all FKK’s are created equal, but calling them a lavish brothel might be the best way to sum them up. I would say that this is certainly the best way to describe it. It is like going to a Roman villa filled with all sorts of beautiful nude girls who are willing to provide you with pleasures on demand. Yikes! Nero, never had it so good! These are places where guys go to live out their fantasies and be pampered in every way possible.
I wonder why I never heard about this before?
Hum, let me check. Oh, yes. Google blocks much of this information. Why am I not surprised? Americans must be protected against foreign ideas and thoughts that might crush the progressive narrative by the ruling oligarchs. Americans must be dumbed down to meet the lowest IQ, and the shabbiest behaviors so as not to offend anyone.
You know, something exactly like this…
Harrison Bergeron is a 1995 cable science fiction television movie film loosely adapted from Kurt Vonnegut’s 1961 short story of the same name. The film takes place in a dystopian future in which the US government mandates total egalitarianism in all things, by having most people (those with high intelligence) attach wearable mind “handicapping” devices to their heads and showing only mind numbing shows on TV.
Harrison Bergeron
The story centers on a high school student named Harrison Bergeron whose brilliance makes him a pariah. He is recruited by a secret organization whose purpose is to operate the functions of society that cannot be handled by the unintelligent.
While he thrives in this environment for a time and even falls in love with the girl who introduced him into the organization, he ultimately pays a personal price and comes to see the true social structure as unethical and immoral, and thus rebels, even if it means making a sacrifice.
In this reality, it is mandated that all people be equal in all things. To this end, the social norm of this society has become egalitarianism.
Citizens strive to be of equal wealth, intelligence, athletic prowess and social status to all around them. Through a process of selective breeding, mankind is perfecting the perfectly average human being.
What is not accomplished through arranged marriages is made up for through technological means, the most prominent of which are only showing mind numbing shows on TV, and a headband device worn by all citizens which modulates intelligence, dialing up or down a person's IQ in order to arrive at a 'perfect' 100.
Cover your eyes now. Because I am going to describe it for you in reader-land. This knowledge might be harmful to you. It’s probably classified as dangerous “Hate Speech” by the liberals. Knowledge is power. Soak it up. It’s ok.
Take off your stupidity headsets. It’s ok. Do it now.
Now let’s talk about what life is outside the artificial reality that the United States has become…
Contact and address of The FKK Oase FrankfurtAdress: Ober-Erlenbacher Straße 109 - 61381 Friedrichsdorf
Region: Hesse
Country: Germany
GPS: 50.242484, 8.675508
Phone: +49 6007 930551
Site web:FKK Oase
They can be called sauna clubs by some, you can get a massage, go for a swim, or have sex with any of the hundred hot women from around the world that work there. Pricing is different from place to place but generally you pay an entry fee and then pay for sex acts as you go.
As is typical in Germany, everyone walks around near naked or fully naked, including the guys. At some you can have public sex in full view of everyone else, others make you do the action in private rooms.
There are many different FKK establishments. All with different decor and pricing arrangements. For example, let’s talk about FKK Oase in Frankfurt. The following is from a website called a guys night life. Enjoy…
“FKK Oase is located a bit out of the way. You can ask a taxi to take you there or save some euros by taking the S5 train to the Friedrichsdorf station and then getting a taxi from there.When you arrive you pay a 69 euro entrance fee then go to the locker room to take a shower, lock up your clothes, and put on the robe. Guys wear a thin robe here, though some just walk around naked.
FKK in Germany. This is one of their promotional ads. They host nudity and sex for a fee at many scenic locations. Oh, for those of you readers who haven’t grown up past five years of age, cover your eyes because this chick isn’t wearing panties! Whoops! NSFW warning. Heh heh. (Nice Butt, eh?)
The girls generally are fully nude though some will wear sexy lingerie or extremely skimpy bikinis. There are multiple different areas to hang out here, one room has a stripper pole with couches.Then there is a small movie theater that they call the kino where porn is on display. There are many couches and a couple of beds in here, don’t be surprised to see guys getting blowjobs on the couches and live sex shows on the beds.If you want to be the one putting on the show just ask one of the girls around and she will likely be down. There is also a big backyard area with a pool and bar.There are many pool chairs, hammocks, cabanas, and another place for people to have sex on an elevated area. There is a mirror on the ceiling of it so people underneath can look up and watch.This is all done in a Roman theme with statues and the like. You can sit by yourself and take in the scene, move from one area to another, and pick a girl any time you want.”
Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? Here’s a photo of FKK with some of the girls there, showing their butts. LOL. (PS. If you are an American under the age of 21, you need to self censure. This might burn your retinas, and cause you to behave erratically.)
Promotional image from FKK. Photo credit to FKK. Love all the cute butts. Heh heh.
“As mentioned you pay a 69 euro cover when you enter and then from there everything is done between you and the girl. The standard price is 50 euros and that gets you a bbbj (blowjob with no condom) followed by covered sex.
69 euro = $79 USD
Certain things will cost extra and they won’t come cheap. For instance most girls will ask for an additional 50 euros to cum in their mouth, most won’t do anal sex but if they do you will have to pay a premium for it.
50 euro = $57.30 USD
Many of the girls will be fine with doing things anywhere in the facilities. You can head to the kino and get blown while watching a porn and then move to a bed and be the star of the show if you like. Just make sure to confirm with the girl that she is up for that before you begin.There is no pressure to take a girl, you have already paid the cover so if for some reason you don’t want to have sex that is fine. You also are free to have sex with as many girls as you want and can afford.Threesomes are definitely possible, but you shouldn’t expect too much interaction between the girls. Pretty much anything can be done here for a price.”
How about that?
A bordello treated like a buffet. Outstanding! What’s not to love?
“Looks can be subjective but ya they are pretty hot. They walk around naked all day so you are not going to see many that don’t have very good bodies.Many of the prostitutes are from Eastern Europe and the vast majority of them are white. Every once in awhile you might see an Asian, Latina, or black girl.As far as how many you don’t really need to worry as there will always be plenty to choose from. The girls have even been known to complain that they have too much competition there.During peak hours there might be as many as 150, and even at slow times there should be close to 50. Since they are all in good shape you will have no problems finding one that suits your needs.The sheer number of girls working here make it one of the best FKK’s in Germany. While this isn’t an extremely cheap way to monger it is definitely an experience that any guy would love to try. As many as 150 in shape naked girls around and you can get with any of them at any time."
“Newbie returns from FKK OASE FrankfurtHi All,Finally got to Frankfurt and my first taste of an FKK recently. Got there about 08:30pm and left at 12:30am on a Friday night and this is my take on the night from a newbie perspective.Getting there:As I was staying in Friedrichsdorf, which I believe is the nearest town and train station. I walked down to the Train station and been as nervous as hell I got into a taxi there and as soon as I sat into it the driver turned and said FKK OASE and I was on my way (Did not even have to tell him). I
ts about a five to 10 minute drive and the club is out in the middle of the countryside so not to worry if you find yourself driven along a narrow road with no houses etc on it..What to expect on entering:Once inside the door there is a small reception area and the lady took my money and also put one band on my left arm to say I had paid and another on my right with key to both my lockers (Clothes and Money locker). Was offered a towel only but asked and was also given a robe. Note at reception just five feet to your left through the door it the bar area and my first glance at the girls and boy was I impressed.The Club layout:Using the reception as a certain point. From reception you first need to go to the locker room / changing area. Just enter into the bar area, turn right through the next doorway and on forward down the stairs and into a large modern locker room and find the locker with the key number to match change and back up the stairs, bring your money to your second locker which are in the bar area to the right of the doorway that let from reception.
These lockers are only big enough for your wallet and the other lockers only your clothes so if you had a large bag you might be in trouble. Back at the doorway from reception to your left is a the bar on an L shape and beyond that is the main Room with a dancing poll in the centre and comfy sofas all around with some high chairs and tables.
Enough to seat 40 and to the far right of the room you'll find the KINO again 3 rows of comfy sofas facing onto the large screen showing porn and also on a couple of occasions seen full on BJ action during the night and was offered it a couple of times myself but been shy declined.
The bar / main room area would be the same size as a large pub in Dublin. Back to the door at the reception area and turn right though the doors for the locker area and instead of going down the stairs to your left are the rooms and to your right the Jacuzzi / sauna area which also has rooms to one side.
This basically has a large Jacuzzi maybe holds up to 10 and some deck chairs around it and the sauna rooms to the far right side with the pro massage lady in a room in the corner to the far left. These guys is a legit massage and one of the girls tells me she is quite good. 30 euro apparently. Beyond the the sauna rooms it the entrance to the outdoor area and as it was dark did not see much of this but looks like a large pool with deck chairs all around reports of it been great in the good weather I'm sure are true.The Girls:Now for the most important bit. After putting my wallet away and at this stage to be honest I had been a little blown away by the quality of the girls and I had only gone to and from the locker room yet. Back up at the bar I got a free Fanta then sat down in the main room.
As said many times before girls were all in high heels only a few with stockings. I'd estimate that there were about 50 girls in the club at 8:30 and this dwindled down to about 25 by 12:30. Seemed to be a slow night and this was confirmed by one of the girls.
Of the 50 at least 35 were an 8 or above, another 8 I'd rate as 7 and the others I did not find attractive. High odds indeed. Almost all the girls are slim, with small B / A cup boobs and appear quite tall in the heals and 80%+ Romanian and the majority in the 18 to 25 year old bracket. Of the girls I'll pick out the 2 I found most attractive.1: A blond that I immediately seem on entering the bar. But she left at 09:00 so did not speck to her. She has quite an incredible body, Jennifer Aniston is her prime. I just could not believe what I was seeing and had to stop and stare like an idiot just for a minute she was just that good.2: Julie 18 Year old Romanian, This girl it so sweet and innocent and a drop dead looker to match. 170cm tall teeny body, back hair. Got her in the room for an hour and was very pleased. She talked away and as near as a GFE as your going to get. She but a smile on my face when she said without any hesitation the she was to young for a drink as she might regret what she would do like any other teenager, but I could only see the contradiction given the circumstance with a very large smile.Oh Yes some girls will approach and will take no for an answer if you give it in a polite way and others will sit down or walk about expecting a wink or a node and the'll be over to you in a hurry. Some are sweet talking about where your from and what your doing in Frankfurt and more are full on whispering about the great BJ she'll give you in the KINO and the great fuck you'll have together. Its up to your own taste what you want really.Newbie lessons learned:1: When I go again and I will, I would go about 3pm, and leave at 10:30pm as to get the day and night shift together. After 10pm the crowd both girls and men dwindled abit and this took from the atmosphere I though.2: Once you see a girl you like and want approach quickly as she will get taken or leave as happened above with the blond.3: The space indoors in the club is not quite as large as I though from reports but it still quite big and if there was a large crowd I'm sure it would be very packed.4: You kind of phase out the other gents that are there and anyway everyone kind of minds their own business. And just in case your wondering. All ages / sizes and mostly singe gents with a few small groups. All respectful of the situation and no loud and rowdy types.Conclusion:The best way of describing it would be to close your eyes and picture going to the local pub / bar / disco where the 18 to 25 year old set go and pick out all the attractive girls and have them nude in only their heels and then replace the guys with men of all ages/looks sitting about in robes / towels and that's the nearest picture your going to get without actually been there.Will I go back YES YES YES and I plan to explore other FKK's as well.”
A listing of FKK clubs in Germany, can be found HERE. It’s a very extensive list, my God!
While America has been all caught up with prohibition of drinking alcohol on Sundays, and display of woman’s breasts when breastfeeding, the rest of the world moved on without these silly restrictions. Men can go work, at their leisure, then come home and relax. If the wife is too tired or busy for sex they can go out to a men’s club and get some release. Win – win.
In other nations, men are men, and women are women, and there is no such thing as anything else. I don’t care what the pseudo American intellectuals have to say about the 38 genders. They are only complaining because they were able to obtain funding via political organizations by keeping various narratives alive.
Finally, Let me end this discussion of what awaits you in Germany with this screen capture of a Twitter conversation. You see, in America the progressives are trying to make everyone equal, even though people are not equal at all. The differences are our strengths. Not our similarities.
But, you can’t explain that to the militant millennials.
Silly girl. So you want equality, eh? Image that THE YEAR IS 2081, and everybody is finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General. A science fiction story…yes. Trying to be implemented in the Untied States today by progressives in 2018…absolutely YES.
George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear.
He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.
Go read about this Science Fiction story (and movie) that has become the progressive dream, and is trying to be implemented today. Read HERE.
In short, we don’t want to treat everyone the same, because everyone is different. Some are smarter. Some are stronger. Some are taller. Some are hard-working. Some are lazy. Differences is what should be treasured. Not sameness.
Gaussian IQ spread of different nations. This graph tells us a lot about the differences between people in different nations.
Anyways, continuing on about Germany… Let’s talk taxes…
Germany is the economic powerhouse of Europe so for the ambitious I there's a lot of opportunity here. However taxes are high as fuck if you are comparing it to life in the US. I'm from NYC so I am used to paying high taxes but over here is another level. Sales tax of 19% is worked into prices of everything here. The only forgiving things here is that rent is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than in NYC and that's where you end up coming out ahead financially. -6 Years in Germany
Conclusions
We, as Americans, have a very retarded and corrupted view of the world outside the American borders. To us, it seems frightening and dark. We are constantly bombarded with “Save the Children” advertisements, and told that they need our money to support their infrastructure (isn’t that right, Barrack Obama?). The truth is something quite different.
In the movie “Forrest Gump”, there is a saying “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.” Well, that is true. But you know what? You can choose the box.
The initiation of sex and relationships vary from culture to culture. In Thailand, for example, the relationships tend to be different than that of the United States. This is true for most of Asia.
Men, I am speaking as a man, need to recognize that we are not chained to the life that we have created. When things become uncomfortable, or untenable, we can change our life. We make a plan, and then execute the plan. These are my thoughts on this matter.
Best Regards.
Take Aways
Depending on your own individual situation, leaving America might be an option worthy of consideration.
There are many nations to choose from. Some have higher taxes, but great food. Some have lower taxes, and pretty girls. Some have great history, art and culture, while others are just fun places to be.
You are getting older with each hour. Spend some time thinking about your life and what you want out of it. It might include going to another area that is different from the United States.
FAQ
Q: What is the best nation to visit? A: I do not know. It depends on the individual. Their money, interests and experiences. For me, I found that I actually found that I enjoyed the Asian nations. The United States is nothing like I grew up in. It is something completely different today.
Were I to live in the Untied States today, my life style would be a pale shadow of what it is currently.
Q: Why do you only think about men, what about women? A: I think about women a lot. But I am not a woman. I can only relate my thoughts and experiences from my own point of view. That includes things that interest me as a man.
Truthfully, I am not interested in how a woman might think if she was in my shoes. In fact, it is impossible for a woman to be in my shoes. Woman do not have the ability to function as a node within my MAJestic role. It is physically IMPOSSIBLE for them. Call it sexist if you may. But that is the truth.
Part of growing up is throwing away our childhood fantasies and becoming an adult. You are placed within your reality, and it is up to you to make the best of it. You are either a success at it, or you fail. It’s pretty cut and dry.
Two Part Post
This post is part one of a multi-part post. My basic premise is that the world is a big place. Get out. Enjoy the differences. Savor them. Life is too short.
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 a very curious story (The April Witch) by Ray Bradbury. It is presented here under Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law. Enjoy.
The April Witch
By Ray Bradbury
Into the air, over the valleys, under the stars, above a river, a pond, a road, flew Cecy. Invisible as new spring winds, fresh as the breath of clover rising from twilight fields, she flew. She soared in doves as soft as white ermine, stopped in trees and lived in blossoms, showering away in petals when the breeze blew. She perched in a limegreen frog, cool as mint by a shining pool. She trotted in a brambly dog and barked to hear echoes from the sides of distant barns. She lived in new April grasses, in sweet clear liquids rising from the musky earth.
It's spring, thought Cecy. I'll be in every living thing in the world tonight.
Now she inhabited neat crickets on the tar-pool roads, now prickled in dew on an iron gate. Hers was an adapt-ably quick mind flowing unseen upon Illinois winds on this one evening of her life when she was just seventeen.
"I want to be in love," she said.
She had said it at supper. And her parents had widened their eyes and stiffened back in their chairs. "Patience," had been their advice. "Remember, you're remarkable. Our whole family is odd and remarkable. We can't mix or marry with ordinary folk. We'd lose our magical powers if we did. You wouldn't want to lose your ability to 'travel' by magic, would you? Then be careful. Be careful!"
But in her high bedroom, Cecy had touched perfume to her throat and stretched out, trembling and apprehensive, on her four-poster, as a moon the colour of milk rose over Illinois country, turning rivers to cream and roads to platinum.
"Yes," she sighed. "I'm one of an odd family. We sleep days and fly nights like black kites on the wind. If we want, we can sleep in moles through the winter, in the warm earth. I can live in anything at all - a pebble, a crocus, or a praying mantis. I can leave my plain, bony body behind and send my mind far out for adventure. Now!"
The wind whipped her away over fields and meadows.
She saw the warm spring lights of cottages and farms glowing with twilight colours.
If I can't be in love, myself, because I'm plain and odd, then I'll be in love through someone else, she thought...
+++
Outside a farmhouse in the spring night a dark-haired girl, no more than nineteen, drew up water from a deep stone well. She was singing.
Cecy fell - a green leaf- into the well. She lay in the tender moss of the well, gazing up through dark coolness. Now she quickened in a fluttering, invisible amoeba. Now in a water droplet! At last, within a cold cup, she felt herself lifted to the girl's warm lips. There was a soft night sound of drinking.
Ceсy looked out from the girl's eyes.
She entered into the dark head and gazed from the shining eyes at the hands pulling the rough rope. She listened through the shell ears to this girl's world. She smelled a particular universe through these delicate nostrils, felt this special heart beating, beating. Felt this strange tongue move with singing.
Does she know I'm here? thought Cecy.
The girl gasped. She stared into the night meadows.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
"Only the wind," whispered Cecy.
"Only the wind." The girl laughed at herself, but shivered.
It was a good body, this girl's body. It held bones of finest slender ivory hidden and roundly fleshed. This brain was like a pink tea rose, hung in darkness, and there was cider-wine in this mouth. The lips lay firm on the white, white teeth and the brows arched neatly at the world, and the hair blew soft and fine on her milky neck. The pores knit small and close. The nose tilted at the moon and the cheeks glowed like small fires. The body drifted with feather-balances from one motion to another and seemed always singing to itself. Being in this body, this head, was like basking in a hearth fire, living in the purr of a sleeping cat, stirring in warm creek waters that flowed by night to the sea.
I'll like it here, thought Cecy.
"What?" asked the girl, as if she'd heard a voice.
"What's your name?" asked Cecy carefully.
"Ann Leary." The girl twitched. "Now why should I say that out loud?"
"Ann, Ann," whispered Cecy. "Ann, you're going to be in love."
+++
As if to answer this, a great roar sprang from the road, a clatter and a ring of wheels on gravel. A tall man drove up in a rig, holding the reins high with his monstrous arms, his smile glowing across the yard.
"Is that you, Tom?"
"Who else?" Leaping from the rig, he tied the reins to the fence.
"I'm not speaking to you!" Ann whirled, the bucket in her hands slopping.
"No!" cried Cecy.
Ann froze. She looked at the hills and the first spring stars. She stared at the man named Tom. Cecy made her drop the bucket.
"Look what you've done!"
Tom ran up.
"Look what you made me do!"
He wiped her shoes with a kerchief, laughing.
"Get away!" She kicked at his hands, but he laughed again, and gazing down on him from miles away, Cecy saw the turn of his head, the size of his skull, the flare of his nose, the shine of his eye, the girth of his shoulder, and the hard strength of his hands doing this delicate thing with the handkerchief. Peering down from the secret attic of this lovely head, Cecy yanked a hidden copper ventriloquist's wire and the pretty mouth popped wide: "Thank you!"
"Oh, so you have manners?" The smell of leather on his hands, the smell of the horse rose from his clothes into the tender nostrils, and Cecy, far, far away over night meadows and flowered fields, stirred as with some dream in her bed.
"Not for you, no!" said Ann.
"Hush, speak gently," said Cecy. She moved Ann's fingers out toward Tom's head. Ann snatched them back.
"I've gone mad!"
"You have." He nodded, smiling but bewildered. "Were you going to touch me then?"
"I don't know. Oh, go away!" Her cheeks glowed with pink charcoals.
"Why don't you run? I'm not stopping you." Tom got up. "Have you changed your mind? Will you go to the dance with me tonight? It's special. Tell you why later."
"No," said Ann.
"Yes!" cried Cecy. "I've never danced. I want to dance. I've never worn a long gown, all rustly. I want that. I want to dance all night. I've never known what it's like to be in a woman, dancing; Father and Mother would never permit it. Dogs, cats, locusts, leaves, everything else in the world at one time or another I've known, but never a woman in the spring, never on a night like this. Oh, please - we must go to that dance!"
She spread her thought like the fingers of a hand within a new glove.
"Yes," said Ann Leary, "I'll go. I don't know why, but I'll go to the dance with you tonight, Tom."
"Now inside, quick!" cried Cecy. "You must wash, tell your folks, get your gown ready, out with the iron, into your room!"
"Mother," said Ann, "I've changed my mind!"
+++
The rig was galloping off down the pike, the rooms of the farmhouse jumped to life, water was boiling for a bath, the coal stove was heating an iron to press the gown, the mother was rushing about with a fringe of hairpins in her mouth. "What's come over you, Ann? You don't like Tom!"
"That's true." Ann stopped amidst the great fever.
But it's spring! thought Cecy.
"It's spring," said Ann.
And it's a fine night for dancing, thought Cecy.
"... for dancing," murmured Ann, Leary.
+++
Then she was in the tub and the soap creaming on her white seal shoulders, small nests of soap beneath her arms, and the flesh of her warm breasts moving in her hands and Cecy moving the mouth, making the smile, keeping the actions going. There must be no pause, no hesitation, or the entire pantomime might fall in ruins! Ann Leary must be kept moving, doing, acting, wash here, soap there, now out! Rub with a towel! Now perfume and powder!
"You!" Ann caught herself in the mirror, all whiteness and pinkness like lilies and carnations. "Who are you tonight?"
"I'm a girl seventeen." Cecy gazed from her violet eyes. "You can't see me. Do you know I'm here?"
Ann Leary shook her head. "I've rented my body to an April witch, for sure."
"Close, very close!" laughed Cecy. "Now, on with your dressing."
The luxury of feeling good clothes move over an ample body! And then the halloo outside.
"Ann, Tom's back!"
"Tell him to wait." Ann sat down suddenly. "Tell him I'm not going to that dance."
"What?" said her mother, in the door.
+++
Cecy snapped back into attention. It had been a fatal relaxing, a fatal moment of leaving Ann's body for only an instant. She had heard the distant sound of horses' hoofs and the rig rambling through moonlit spring country. For a second she thought, I'll go find Tom and sit in his head and see what it's like to be in a man of twenty-two on a night like this. And so she had started quickly across a heather field, but now, like a bird to a cage, flew back and rustled and beat about in Ann Leary's head.
"Tell him to go away!"
"Ann!" Cecy settled down and spread her thoughts.
But Ann had the bit in her mouth now. "No, no, I hate him!"
I shouldn't have left - even for a moment. Cecy poured her mind into the hands of the young girl, into the heart, into the head, softly, softly. Stand up, she thought.
Ann stood.
Put on your coat!
Ann put on her coat.
Now, march!
No! thought Ann Leary.
March!
"Ann," said her mother, "don't keep Tom waiting another minute. You get on out there now and no nonsense. What's come over you?"
"Nothing, Mother. Good night. We'll be home late."
+++
Ann and Cecy ran together into the spring evening.
A room full of softly dancing pigeons ruffling their quiet, trailing feathers, a room full of peacocks, a room full of rainbow eyes and lights. And in the center of it, around, around, around, danced Ann Leary.
"Oh, it is a fine evening," said Cecy.
"Oh, it's a fine evening," said Ann.
"You're odd," said Tom.
The music whirled them in dimness, in rivers of song, they floated, they bobbed, they sank down, they arose for air, they gasped, they clutched each other like drowning people and whirled on again, in fan motions, in whispers and sighs, to "Beautiful Ohio."
Cecy hummed. Ann's lips parted and the music came out.
"Yes, I'm odd," said Cecy.
"You're not the same," said Tom.
"No, not tonight."
"You're not the Ann Leary I knew."
"No, not at all, at all," whispered Cecy, miles and miles away. "No, not at all," said the moved lips.
"I've the funniest feeling," said Tom.
"About what?"
"About you." He held her back and danced her and looked into her glowing face, watching for something. "Your eyes," he said, "I can't figure it."
"Do you see me?" asked Cecy.
"Part of you's here, Ann, and part of you's not." Tom turned her carefully, his face uneasy.
"Yes."
"Why did you come with me?"
"I didn't want to come," said Ann.
"Why, then?"
"Something made me."
"What?"
"I don't know." Ann's voice was faintly hysterical.
+++
"Now, now, hush, hush," whispered Cecy. "Hush, that's it. Around, around."
They whispered and rustled and rose and fell away in the dark room, with the music moving and turning them.
"But you did come to the dance," said Tom.
"I did," said Cecy.
"Here." And he danced her lightly out an open door and walked her quietly away from the hall and the music and the people.
They climbed up and sat together in the rig.
"Ann," he said, taking her hands, trembling. "Ann." But the way he said the name it was as if it wasn't her name. He kept glancing into her pale face, and now her eyes were open again. "I used to love you, you know that," he said.
"I know."
"But you've always been fickle and I didn't want to be hurt."
"It's just as well, we're very young," said Ann.
"No, I mean to say, I'm sorry," said Cecy.
"What do you mean?" Tom dropped her hands and stiffened.
The night was warm and the smell of the earth shimmered up all about them where they sat, and the fresh trees breathed one leaf against another in a shaking and rustling.
"I don't know," said Ann.
"Oh, but I know," said Cecy. "You're tall and you're the finest-looking man in all the world. This is a good evening; this is an evening I'll always remember, being with you." She put out the alien cold hand to find his reluctant hand again and bring it back, and warm it and hold it very tight.
"But," said Tom, blinking, "tonight you're here, you're there. One minute one way, the next minute another. I wanted to take you to the dance tonight for old times' sake. I meant nothing by it when I first asked you. And then, when we were standing at the well, I knew something had changed, really changed, about you. You were different. There was something new and soft, something..." He groped for a word. "I don't know, I can't say. The way you looked. Something about your voice. And I know I'm in love with you again."
"No," said Cecy. "With me, with we."
"And I'm afraid of being in love with you," he said. "You'll hurt me again."
"I might," said Ann.
No, no, I'd love you with all my heart! thought Cecy. Ann, say it to him, say it for me. Say you'd love him with all your heart.
Ann said nothing.
Tom moved quietly closer and put his hand up to hold her chin. "I'm going away. I've got a job a hundred miles from here. Will you miss me?"
"Yes," said Ann and Cecy.
"May I kiss you good-bye, then?"
"Yes," said Cecy before anyone else could speak.
He placed his lips to the strange mouth. He kissed the strange mouth and he was trembling.
Ann sat like a white statue.
"Ann!" said Cecy. "Move your arms, hold him!"
She sat like a carved wooden doll in the moonlight.
Again he kissed her lips.
"I do love you," whispered Cecy. "I'm here, it's me you saw in her eyes it's me, and I love you if she never will."
He moved away and seemed like a man who had run a long distance. He sat beside her. "I don't know what's happening. For a moment there..."
"Yes?" asked Cecy.
"For a moment I thought -" He put his hands to his eyes. "Never mind. Shall I take you home now?"
"Please," said Ann Leary.
+++
He clucked to the horse, snapped the reins tiredly, and drove the rig away. They rode in the rustle and slap and motion of the moonlit rig in the still early, only eleven o'clock spring night, with the shining meadows and sweet fields of clover gliding by.
And Cecy, looking at the fields and meadows, thought, 'It would be worth it, it would be worth everything to be with him from this night on.' And she heard her parents' voices again, faintly, "Be careful. You wouldn't want to lose your magical powers, would you - married to a mere mortal? Be careful. You wouldn't want that."
Yes, yes, thought Cecy, even that I'd give up, here and now, if he would have me. I wouldn't need to roam the spring nights then, I wouldn't need to live in birds and dogs and cats and foxes, I'd need only to be with him. Only him. Only him.
The road passed under, whispering.
"Tom," said Ann at last.
"What?" He stared coldly at the road, the horse, the trees, the sky, the stars.
"If you're ever, in years to come, at any time, in Green Town, Illinois, a few miles from here, will you do me a favour?"
"Perhaps."
"Will you do me the favour of stopping and seeing a friend of mine?" Ann Leary said this haltingly, awkwardly.
"Why?"
"She's a good friend. I've told her of you. I'll give you her address. Just a moment." When the rig stopped at her farm she drew forth a pencil and paper from her small purse and wrote in the moonlight, pressing the paper to her knee. "There it is. Can you read it?"
He glanced at the paper and nodded bewilderedly.
"Cecy Elliott, 12 Willow Street, Green Town, Illinois," he said.
"Will you visit her someday?" asked Ann.
"Someday," he said.
"Promise?"
"What has this to do with us?" he cried savagely. "What do I want with names and papers?" He crumpled the paper into a tight ball and shoved it in his coat.
"Oh, please promise!" begged Cecy.
"... promise..." said Ann.
"All right, all right, now let me be!" he shouted.
+++
I'm tired, thought Cecy. I can't stay I have to go home. I'm weakening. I've only the power to stay a few hours out like this in the night, travelling, travelling. But before I go...
"... before I go," said Ann.
She kissed Tom on the lips.
"This is me kissing you," said Cecy.
Tom held her off and looked at Ann Leary and looked deep, deep inside. He said nothing, but his face began to relax slowly, very slowly, and the lines vanished away, and his mouth softened from its hardness, and he looked deep again into the moonlit face held here before him.
Then he put her off the rig and without so much as a good night was driving swiftly down the road.
Cecy let go.
Ann Leary, crying out, released from prison, it seemed, raced up the moonlit path to her house and slammed the door.
+++
Cecy lingered for only a little while. In the eyes of a cricket she saw the spring night world. In the eyes of a frog she sat for a lonely moment by a pool. In the eyes of a night bird she looked down from a tall, moon-haunted elm and saw the light go out in two farmhouses, one here, one a mile away. She thought of herself and her family, and her strange power, and the fact that no one in the family could ever marry any one of the people in this vast world out here beyond the hills.
"Tom?" Her weakening mind flew in a night bird under the trees and over deep fields of wild mustard. "Have you still got the paper, Tom? Will you come by someday, some year, sometime, to see me? Will you know me then? Will you look in my face and remember then where it was you saw me last and know that you love me as I love you, with all my heart for all time?"
She paused in the cool night air, a million miles from towns and people, above farms and continents and rivers and hills. "Tom?" Softly.
Tom was asleep. It was deep night; his clothes were hung on chairs or folded neatly over the end of the bed. And in one silent, carefully upflung hand upon the white pillow, by his head, was a small piece of paper with writing on it. Slowly, slowly, a fraction of an inch at a time, his fingers closed down upon and held it tightly. And he did not even stir or notice when a blackbird, faintly, wondrously, beat softly for " moment against the clear moon crystals of the windowpane, then, fluttering quietly, stopped and flew away toward the east, over the sleeping earth.
Conclusion
This was a wonderful story. I hope that reprinting it here gave you, the reader, some pleasure in our crazy, mad and strange world.
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.
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.
All over the internet you can see advice on what a woman looks for in a man, and what a man looks for in a woman. There are many such articles. Most are subjective and have cultural, regional and ethnic biases. Here is what I, as an American man looks for in a woman regardless as to what her race is, what culture she is from, and her age….
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Introduction
When I was younger I didn’t really know what to look for in a woman. My ideas of beauty and relationships came from popular movies, television and the magazines of the time.
In fact, my uncles made fun of my first girlfriend because she was so very thin and petite. They told me “she’s too thin. Trust me, you want a girl with meat on her bones…“. I didn’t believe them then, but I can totally see the point that they were trying to make. Their wives (my aunties) were all hourglass-shaped with impressive chests.
My father told me once “Look at the girls mother to see what she will be like when she gets older”. Again, I had no clue what he was talking about. Now… well, let’s say that I fully understand the point that he was trying to make. No, it’s not a direct correlation, but there is a genetic component that cannot be ignored.
The List
Over the years I have learned and experienced various things. This has led me to come up with a few conclusions about relationships. Especially my own. When a man, such as myself, thinks about a woman we look at number of key features. These features are important. In fact they are critically important.
Appearance
Sex
Domestic Concern
Companionship
Personality
Self Confidence
Respect
Family Devotion
Spirituality
Shared Values
Of course, there are many other factors that we could include here. But, this is not intended to be an exhaustive study, or some kind of PC narrative. Let’s consider what I, myself, look for in women. This is my list. The things in it are absolutely critical. You take one item out from that list, and there will be no relationship. Period.
But, I’m not other people. So if you want to generate your own list and criteria for comparisons, go straight ahead. I’m not going to stop you. This is my list, and these are my comparisons…
[1] A Woman’s Appearance
A man looks for a woman that he is physically attracted to.
Is this a truth or what? I have read some websites on the internet, obviously from a woman’s perspective, and they don’t even list appearance as a criteria. Yet it is perhaps the most important, and the most common NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE. Girls in Zambia Africa will get all dressed up and perfect, as will women in Communist China.
All over the world, women have bodies that scream “look at me”.
Here is a traditional Zambian wedding. Look at how beautiful everyone is. Don’t you just love it? So amazing! Look at those smiles. Look at how they take care of their appearance and the happy attitude.
Appearance is the first thing that a man looks for in a woman. This might sound so trivial in today’s modern progressive narrative, but it is a biologically proven fact. So, if you still want to believe in fantasies, Peter Rabbit, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus, you can leave.
Sorry, but it has to be said. The good news is, every man is attracted to a different type of woman and has his own personal tastes. Meaning, I am in no way suggesting a woman has to fit a certain image of ‘beauty’ in order to be considered ‘wife material.’
But, as is true for both men and women, there needs to be a physical attraction between two partners to kick off a relationship, which also plays an important part in holding it together.-The Good Man Project
We men want a woman who we are attracted to.
Attraction has to do with a combination of [1] physical shape, [2] physical appearance, [3] personal grooming, and [4] behavior.
I have seen women who have “rockin’” bodies, who dress like trailer-park trash, and were a total turn off. I have seen women who look good and yet sound like a foul-mouthed sailor when they speak. I have seen women who didn’t know how to walk in high heels and went clunk-clunk-clunk as they walked down the street. Yuck!
The character “Joy” in the television series “My Name is Earl” is a good example of a beautiful girl who is not attractive. I am sure that in person, as an actress, she is really nice. But the person who she plays is rude, brash, unmannered and uncouth. It is not attractive.
This might be surprising, but us guys really like to look at women. I really don’t know why.
It’s not a sexual thing. Oh, I suppose that some assholes like to make cat-calls and holler at the ladies, but for the most of us we are just content to watch the girls come and go. In fact, if the restaurant has a lot of women inside, I am drawn to eating there. It’s a male quirk I guess.
That being said, some things often minor things can really detract from a woman’s appearance. For instance, I have seen beautiful women, who walked and carry themselves well, wearing black high heel shoes with the red under-sole. Only to have a big white price tag sticker on the bottom.
Instead of watching her, and the way she walks, you end up focusing on that stupid price tag on the bottom of her shoe. Talk about distraction away from the image form!
Ladies please keep this in mind. Please take the labels off the clothes when you buy them. It’s terribly distracting. You see a beautiful woman walking down the road with nice dress, beautiful legs and all you can focus on is the white price tag on the bottom of the shoe. Ugh!
Remember, appearance is more than just physical shape. It is also about grooming and attitude. Here’s a Chinese girl dressed in a simple dress. She is clean and well-groomed. Her hair is clean. Her overall appearance is positive and nice. Who wouldn’t want to be with her?
I am not talking about it in a sexual way either. I am saying that she seems so nice. I would just love to take her to a coffee house and share a cheese cake with her. She would be nice to stroll along the boardwalk with. Wouldn’t you like to play in a casino with her? Come on!
In general, men and women are about the same in this regards. A woman wants a man that takes care of his appearance. She wants him to be well groomed, clean, and neat. She wants him to be tidy; to wear clean clothes and have good manners.
I think both men and women are the same in this regard.
Men are the same. We look for a woman that also takes care of their appearance. We like the women in our lives to be well-groomed, clean and tidy. Look at this beauty. Man! What a kind smile. She looks right at you and that mouth is so sweet. What is not to love?
Here is a beautiful American girl. Look at that smile. Look at that amazing body. What a stunner! I tell you what! She has a nice figure, and is clean and well attired. She isn’t wearing a lot of makeup or jewelry. Her attractiveness is her sweetness.
Now, let it be well known that there are a wide range of American female body styles that I personally find quite alluring. This includes tall leggy women, to short chubby cuties. I think that many would be amazed at the things that they do, act, dress, or look like that I find amazingly attractive.
So I am not going to bad-mouth any of the particularly awesome women that live in America. I tell you the truth, there are some American women that think that they aren’t that good looking, that I would die to be with. For instance…
When I lived in Boston, there was a 30-something woman who worked in a brick-a-brack store in Brookline.
She was very curvy, and maybe wore a size 18. She had shaved her hair really short, and wore really red lipstick. Not my type. Yet, I had such the hots for her. OMG! Every-time I tried to talk with her, I would get so flustered. She hadn't a clue how mesmerized I was for her.
It is sort of like how a woman who looks at my shoulders (and arms) and wonders how nice it would be to rest their head there and be held. I too look at women in this way. However, I think more in terms of having my head resting on their chest softly, and their fingers in my hair.
Men and women are more similar than we will admit to in public.
Look at this awesome beauty! Look at that amazing head of hair! Look at the tiny waist and hour-glass shape. Man! She must have all the guys chasing after her. Now pay attention. What an amazing smile. I’ll tell you what, the smile opens up my heart.
All this being said, I don’t like to be with a girl that is heavier than I am. It’s a personal preference. I also am not really attracted to a woman who is taller than I am either. I don’t know why, it just doesn’t do anything for me. We all have likes and dislikes. Mine are strong, please do not be offended;
I don’t like to be with a woman that is heavier than I am.
I am uncomfortable with a woman that is taller than I am.
I also am a little skiddish about polydactylism. It’s not that I am revolted if the girl has seven fingers on each hand, but I’m a little freaked out about it.
I feel like this is similar to a woman that doesn’t want a man that is shorter than she is. Or that doesn’t want a man with a bald spot on the top of his head. Or, maybe a man that has a big scraggly beard that is full of crumbs and such. Or, maybe a man that chews chewing tobacco.
Men and women, we all have our preferences.
[2] Having Sex
Honestly, you have to be a fucking moron not to realize that men want sex.
Heck, it’s more that just that. We need it. It is genetically programmed into males and become the focus of everything that we do. From what career we enter, to what cars we drive, to how much money we make. The driving force behind it all is getting sex. Smart women understand this.
Well, that is what we are genetically programmed for. Women are genetically programmed to have babies and to take care of them. This comment, found on Twitter, illustrates how silly some people can be about basic gender roles. It shows their ignorance. It shows that they will forever be destined to live alone or find a beta male to mate with. Sad. Sad. Sad.
Any man who says that he doesn’t need, like or want sex, is either lying or homosexual. It is never the truth because sexual needs, and preferences are genetically encoded by the male chromosome. If you do not understand this, study biology 101.
What? You think that the woman’s “biological clock” is imaginary? It’s a well-known fact of life that transcends society and national boundaries.
Men and males have the same thing. Except is is called “the need to reproduce”.
The Loony Tunes character “Pepe Le Pew” is based on the raw instincts that all males have. When we were children and watched the cartoons we knew instinctively what what going on. Yet today in the SJW saturated American culture, we are supposed to ignore the basic facts of life and accept a reality of non-genders. Nonsense!
This is how it works. Once we find an attractive woman that raises our interest, the very next thing we wonder about is having sex with her.
That is the way it is, and no SJW rewriting of culture is going to change the biology of males. In a way we are just like dogs and are led about by our “pecker” all the time. Smart women know this. Smarter women use it, and profit from it in numerous ways.
Different people have different things that get them aroused sexually. I like to believe that most men prefer the female body in it’s various forms and shapes. Sometimes they like, in my view, some rather strange manifestations in interest.
Online porn is not a multi-billion industry for nothing.
Prostitution still exists because men are men, no matter how hard society, religion and zealots try to stamp it out. Men are males with fundamental male interests and needs.
The sexual desires that men have vary from individual to individual. Some men really love oral sex, others are “meh”. Some men must have anal sex, while other go “yech!”. Every man is different.
That being said, sex is an individual experience. What might be fantastic for one fellow, might be terribly boring for another. That is why there are fetishes.
Some men like big boobs, others like big asses, and still others like big feet. Some men are mesmerized by a nice set of legs, while others like strange and unusual sexual positions. And yes, some men really like huge women, and others like small tiny ladies. Everyone is different.
Now, isn’t this the saddest expression that you have ever seen? A man NEEDS sex. If he is married, he expects sex from his wife, and when he decides to marry her, it was an expectation that he had. For her to be so ignorant of his needs, and so very selfish about their relationship shows that he needs to leave her ASAP.
It doesn’t JUST vary from person to person, but from culture to culture.
Oh, and by the way, women like sex just as much as men do. It’s just cultural in how it manifests. For example, here is a cartoon discussing relationships between and man and woman in Thailand. LOL.
The initiation of sex and relationships vary from culture to culture. In Thailand, for example, the relationships tend to be different than that of the United States. This is true for most of Asia.
[3] Domestic Care & Concern
Here is where I sound like an old foggy-head man. However, a woman who is control of her home, tends to be in control of her life.
A woman who is in control of her home is in control of her life.
When I see that she takes care of her clothes, makes sure that the house is well run, ordered and that she knows how to cook, I start to get really interested in her. You see, in my mind, a woman who is in control of her life, would also be able to take control of my life as well.
Men will give their LIFE, their MONEY, and their very BEING to a woman deserving of it.
I once went on a date with a woman. She was nice, and attractive. To get ready for the date, I of course was presentable and clean, and I made sure that the car was washed and detailed. I picked her up. I then opened the door for her and buckled her in. (This was America, I'd never do it in China.) And we went off.
During the drive she pulled out some chewing gum and was chewing it. You know, for a pleasant tasting mouth. But, you know, she did something disturbing to me. She threw the chewing gum wrapper on my nice newly cleaned floor...
Later, after dinner, she couldn't find her lipstick, and emptied her purse on the table, and had to sort through old scraps of paper, receipts and brick-a-bract. The date ended, and we went our separate ways.
We had fun, but I never wanted to be back with her again. You know, she probably doesn't understand why.
Men need a companion that they can turn to, rely upon, and have a family with. This means responsibility. We need a good strong willed woman without baggage and problems. Seriously, isn’t that what women look for also?
Now, of course, most modern and "liberated" women don't think like this in the Untied States. They are "independent". They can get and have their own careers, and live their own lives. Sure they can. And, be childless and unmarried into their 40's.
The cost of being a "liberated" American female is quite steep.
It is not reality.
It is an artificially constructed narrative to seduce people into certain set behaviors. If you want to see what works for couples, then look at how families are set up in Africa. Look at how families are run in Poland. Look at how families exist in China. Five thousand years of experience won’t lie.
The 1998 movie pleasantville depicted a sort of revisionist narrative of what might happen if a modern person were to step back into time and life life as it used to be in the 1960’s. Contrary to the popular narrative, there is nothing wrong with traditional marriage and a man giving everything to his wife. In return, the wife becomes domestic and cares for him, their children, their home and their finances. She makes sure that the man can work, be relaxed and strive to improve their life. That is the traditional method, and that is what many men search for.
A traditional life WORKS. Most men WANT a traditional long-term relationship. They will give everything for it.
I fear many men, especially those afraid "to make the leap" in marriage are not convinced or ready to allow a woman to take over part or all of his life.
For a man, this is a BIG commitment.
He is not only letting the woman into his life, but he is giving her access forever to all that he earns. He is allowing her to dictate and instruct him on behavior, dress, and recreation. If the man is truly in love, and if he believes that this woman can take on that domestic role; she will GET EVERYTHING he can offer.
A man who gives everything to his wife will never leave her. For she literally BECOMES everything to him. So, have you ever wondered why divorce was so rare prior to the 1970’s? Divorce became commonplace when traditional roles fell from popularity. So ladies, if you want a man that will be YOURS… forever and would never abandon you, then you should make a reappraisal of your value system. You won’t get it on a progressive ideology. You will ONLY get it with a Conservative Traditional ideology.
When a man gets married, he should be ready to share his life. This often means letting your wife take over portions of it so you no longer have to. A good, and strong, woman will be able to manage the home. If she can manage the home, she can help the man become a success.
We have a saying that goes something a little like this; “Behind every successful man is a strong woman.”
As I get older, I see how true this is. My friends who are all very successful, all have strong and well-organized wives. They all also have relinquished some things to the wife in exchange for her domestic support. This includes [1] all of the finances. [2] What he eats. [3] How he dresses. [4] His exercises, and [5] how they relate to family matters.
Oh, and please forget that nonsense Hollywood narrative of what a traditional conservative woman is. (Where a traditional woman wears Amish style hats, and lives a life right out of the “The Handmaids Tale”.) That is propaganda. Do you, yes YOU, personally know anyone that is really like this? You don’t. That’s my point. It is an artificial narrative. It’s all Bull Shit.
Today, a conservative wife might have a body covered in tattoos, ear and nose rings and purple hair. She will wear leggings, take selfies on the smart-phone, and have multiple university degrees. My Lord, it isn’t about appearances. It’s about what is inside.
That is true. It is about what is inside. It is the light that resides inside the woman’s body that that special man can see and can appreciate. yes it is. It is all about the energy that lies inside…
Chinese women, as well as African, Polish, Russian, and Indian women don’t sit around watching the boob-tube, or play games on the cell-phone all day long. They do what ever is necessary to make THEIR household a success.
The manage the fiances.
They budget the household.
They allocate resources to jointly improve their standard of living.
They make sure everyone is eating well and healthy.
They are a model for their community and familial relations.
They make sure that the husband has everything he needs.
They push and help the husband grow as a provider.
They instruct the husband on how to behave, and act.
They make sure that the husband is presentable and carries himself well.
While they do occasionally play games, take selfies and have fun, their primary role is as a family manager. Traditional women are like full-on lionesses.
Over the years, in America, this has become treated like some kind of joke on contemporary television, on collage campuses, and in female magazines. That is a real shame. Because when both the husband and the wife work together for their family anything is possible. I tell you the truth. This is a fact. All of my friends that are successful work hand-in-hand with their wives in this manner.
Their wives take care of them.
They (the wives) set the pace, they control the family fiances. They establish the diet. They determine where to live. They set the goals. They establish the direction. The man in turn, give his everything to his wife in the complete 100% loyal trust that she will get both of them where they both want to be. For if you really do this, anything is possible.
[4] Companionship
I always look for companionship when I see a woman who interests me. I wonder if they would they be fun and interesting to be with. I wonder if this woman would be THE woman who I can devote my time with.
I always look for companionship when I see a woman who interests me. I wonder if they would they be fun and interesting to be with. I wonder if we could talk about really deep and interesting subjects. I wonder if they would be willing to share in my hobbies. I look for companions.
This is true for most men.
Spend time, meaningful and precious time, with those you love. Make your time quality time. Buy an ice cream cone with your retired father. Take you mother out of a morning breakfast. Call up one of your friends and go to the beach or hike in a local park. Spend time together. Companionship.
Now, most women are confused with what this means. They search for romance. They could care less about companionship. This is sad, because romance comes from companionship.
Romance is spawned from companionship.
My wife and I took a trip to Thailand, and while on a drinking binge, the taxi driver drove us to the middle of no where and abandoned us there. We had to struggle and make our way back to the hotel. That bungle was an adventure, but my wife well remembers the rural village BBQ meal as the dawn broke through the clouds, and the orange light that shined on our toes in the sand. Romantic times are unplanned. They come from companionship.
Every man that I know (with cultural differences, of course) looks for a companion. We feel empty inside without a companion; a special friend that we can share our life with. This is so very important. Forget the James Dean Rebel narrative. All men need a special lady in his life. This lady is a person that he is very comfortable with and one that he wants to obtain experiences and adventures with.
The idea that men are worthless and useless, especially white traditional Americans, is a progressive narrative. It has been around since the late 1970’s, but has really picked up speed during the Bill Clinton years, and completely got out of hand during the Obama years. This narrative has been promoted in the American media and software for quite some time. Check out this screen capture;
This is a screen capture of a comment train taken on 16SEP18. Have your eyes open, you can easily see how true this is. Do not fall for the progressive narrative. It is a lie. Go ahead do a Google Image Search for “white women with white men”. Go ahead. The image result is completely out of touch with the racial demographics of the nations. It does not match. This disconnect strongly implicates a propagandized narrative.
[5] A Woman’s Personality
Another thing that guys look for in a woman is personality. We are attracted to kindness, softness, sweetness, and compassion.
This is such a true statement that I feel that I need to repeat it. We are attracted to kindness. We are attracted to softness. We are attracted to sweetness. We are attracted to compassion.
When I come across a particularly militant American woman, I am immediately repelled. Especially when that person wants to lecture me on “white privilege” or some kind of populist nonsense that other weaker men accept. Don’t be a ugly bullyish brute of a woman. It’s not becoming.
Become the ideal. Your life is within your hands.
Look at this pretty American girl. I have to admit that I have a thing for short frilly dresses. This is true whether they are black, or colorful. There is something really attractive about them. Man, she does look great in polka-dots. Wouldn’t you just love to go out on the town and have a cup of coffee and a cheese cake with this woman? I would buy her a grinder (subway sandwich) and a coke any day of the year!
To be honest, when I meet a woman and I get to know them, I am looking for companionship. I look for kindness. I look for care. I wonder how they treat animals, and the waitress. I watch how they behave around others, and what they think about things.
When I meet a new woman, I wonder if they would like to accompany me for dinner, dancing, and any of the hobbies that I love to partake in. Since I love wine, a non-drinker and myself might not fit together well. Since I love animals, when I am talking to a woman, I wonder if they would also be part of my life with dogs and cats. Since I love tomatoes, bacon, and gardens I wonder what their thoughts are on these subjects.
The personality that a woman has eventually dominates a man’s interest. In other words, while a man is firstly attracted to a woman’s look, and sexual appeal, it is her personality that will keep him by her side forever.
Never forget this. A kind personality will be the glue when the stresses of life become too unbearable.
[6] Self Confidence
One of the most important traits for both men and women is self-confidence. This is something that is hard to describe, but is fundamental to success in life.
The truth is that I am not at all handsome, but women are interested in spending time with me. When I ask them why, they tell me that it is for other reasons. They just chuckle, and smile. They say I’m being silly. Sometimes they push me on my chest and say “oh, you know why!“.
I chalk up the reasons to being positive, happy, interesting and having good self-confidence.
Because that is exactly what turns me on in a woman.
When I take a woman out, I want to be able to talk about things. I want to be able to talk about tomato plants, favorite foods, dogs and cats, and thoughts about life. I want to be with a person that isn’t so fucking sensitive that I am afraid of being who I am. I want to be accepted for me, and if you don’t like it, to Hell with you. The same goes double for women.
I would NEVER tell a woman that she shouldn’t eat dessert because she needed to count her calories. I would never order for a woman unless she specifically asks that I do so. I would never say anything hurtful to her in public, or in private. Any arguments that we might have would be honest, and intentionally scripted to avoid emotional out-lash. As such, I would not tolerate sitting down with a woman who wanted to lecture me on the injustices of the world. No one likes a scold. Really.
No one.
People with confidence typically try to help others. They don’t try to change anyone. This is because they are happy with who they are, and other people do not factor in their personalities. People with low self esteem are the opposite. They feel that they have to control everything around them.
Men and women want to be around people with high self confidence. They will be accepted by them as they are without question.
[7] Respect
I have dated American women who have berated me in public. I have seen them talk bad about me behind my back. I have seen them make jokes about me. I have seen them be rude to me to my face. I have seen them think it was fun making fun of me while I just sat there and took it.
That was years ago. Now I know better. Now I know my place in this world; good or bad, right or wrong. I just don’t tolerate that nonsense like I used to. No more.
Today, now; my tolerance for this nonsense is zero.
Let me explain. Let’s begin with a story about an experience I had while I was working at GM. This story illustrates that different places has different cultures, and failure to understand and adapt to that culture can have serious consequences.
In this case, the story revolves around the public display of a lack of respect of a wife towards her husband.
I once was involved in some business in Brazil. As such, I had to travel back and forth between the United States and Brazil. I was, at that time, working for Delco Electronics (It's who we are), which was (at that time) a division of General Motors. I was involved in a Car computer project (ECM) for CEV, which is a pretty big Automotive company within Brazil.
This event took place in Brazil.
One day, all of the foreigners on staff were invited to a big banquet with other white-collar workers at CEV. We had some pretty important people from GM there. It was held in a big auditorium within a equally impressively large restaurant and hotel complex. Everyone sat at these very large round tables with a nice table layout on a large white tablecloth. Each couple (for the most part, everyone came as a couple) would sit in groups of two at the table. Thus, maybe five to 6 couples would sit at the table.
At a given cue, all the ladies (the wives and girlfriends) got up and went to the buffet to get their man (husbands or boyfriends) dinner. They got up, went to the buffet, selected what their husbands would eat, and returned to the table. They would place the plate in front of their man with respect, and then go up and get their own food.
The men would accept the meal their wife chose for them, and began eating it. They would sit there and eat, while all the ladies were fussing about their food, and making sure that the man's plate was full. They, each one, was particularly careful in what they selected for their man's plate. Some wives selected mostly vegetables, while others made sure that the man had goodly portions of meat.
However, the local section manager, a man who came from Michigan, well his wife refused to go up. He kept on elbowing her. She refused. And everyone at the table noticed. In fact, people at the other tables were noticing as well. They started talking. But she was adamant.
She said things like "you're not my boss", "I'm not doing it, uh uh, absolutely not. No!", and "I don't care what other people think. Do it yourself.".
Eventually, he got up and joined the rest of the ladies at the buffet counter. He was the only man to get up. He was the only man to carry a plate back to the table. He was alone in the big hall that maybe held a few hundred key employees of the company.
All of the key employees, the bosses and the supervisory staff, watched him do this. The President of CEV, the division managers, all the middle level managers, the supervisors, and all the engineers, and their secretaries all witnessed this. They all noticed and ate. Their local conversations at their tables became subdued and quieter.
Meanwhile, his wife sat there smugly and proudly. They ate in silence. The wife, sitting proud and strong. He sat there facing his plate and afraid to look up. This happened in front of everyone, while everyone else in the room kept glancing their way.
The dinner ended. Everyone went home.
The next workday, on Monday, he noticed that his parking space was being used by someone else. (Unless you have worked in GM, you don't know how important this is.) He went into the lobby, and the guards wouldn't look at him, and just waved him in. This was a big change from what he accustomed to.
It continued. His secretary didn't come in. Then, started coming in very late. She would not do anything that he asked. No longer would she make him a morning coffee. No longer would she answer him, or even talk to him.
No one responded to his emails. His work was getting piled up. Nothing was getting done. After a month, it got so bad, and I was sent down to look into the matter, as I held an important role in the joint-venture project. Our Division manager wanted me to look into this issue as it looked like the entire multi-million dollar project might collapse. That's right, millions of dollars of corporate investment was at risk.
So I flew down.
I talked to XXXXX. I talked to his secretary. I talked to the CEV Division Manager. I talked to the rest of the staff.
At first no one would open up. Oh, sure they were friendly to me. They showed me deference. They treated me well. But when it came to the subject about what was going on, everyone shut up. Obviously something was wrong. But no one told me anything.
Eventually, to make a long story short, I went out and started drinking with the CEV workers. That's always a great way to break down barriers and get to the heart of the matter. Of course, GM never approves of drinking, but this was back in the late 1980's and I was in another country and immersed in another culture.
Over some beers, the first person who let me know what was going on was his secretary. She looked at me straight in the eyes. She put out her cigarette. And she said in her broken English, loudly with defiance and pure hate;
"Why? You ask. Why? Because he's a fucking wimp. He's not, NOT, N-O-T a Man. He's castrado!"
Then she spit on the floor. Now granted, most ladies don't go to bars, smoke and spit on the floor. But she had a few beers, and was really agitated.
She wasn't just angry. She wasn't just pissed. She had this kind of deep burning ember of a rage that amazed me when it came out. I thought she was going to tear my throat out. She spoke viciously. She spoke in a way that the words were spit out venomously.
It turned out that in Brazilian culture, the man must be the MAN of the house. It is a very traditional nation and has unspoken social rules. One of which is that the woman must look good for her man. She must do great things for their Man, and for her family.
In Brazil, the Man is the titular head of the family. He controls everything. He is the "face" of the family. He is what everyone sees. However, the wife has full control over what goes on inside the house. She is the driving force that strengthens the man.
The Man is the head of the family, and he must LEAD. If he cannot be a Man; if he cannot act like a Man, and if he cannot control the behavior of his wife and family, then he is a loser.
in Brazil, you do not want to associate with losers. Not in the least. It is like being a leper.
The point in this is that he wasn't just a wimp to his wife. He was a wimp to society. From the secretary's point of view, she went from being a high assistant to an international boss, to the slave of a beggar. No, to someone worse than a beggar. Her status in the company fell right off the cliff.
Not only that, but that was true of everyone who associated with him. It was as if he had a serious contagious illness. no one wanted anything to do with him. No one would even talk to him.
It was like he was a child predator who had aids.
Shortly after that, I returned back to Indiana and talked with the Division Manager at Delco. We had a long and interesting talk. To cut down on all the details, let it be understood that my boss sent him back to the States. His two year stint in Brazil was cut short.
He was only there for four months.
Now, this is important. The thing is, when he returned home, there was no role for him to fill. His old job and position was already filled. He was a high-priced expensive executive with no home. Yes, for a short while they put him on "overhead", but eventually he was told to leave. They gave him a severance package. And that was it.
Years later, I heard that he spent a few years unemployed. He could never go back to GM, and his experience was too specialized. Eventually he took up contract work at a much lower pay grade. I do not know what happened since then, except that I know that he had to give up his free car, and had to sell the house at a loss. I do know that he moved into a small apartment later on. And, well, that's about all I know about him and his situation.
+++
What does this all mean?
A good wife can make a man into a strong leader. He can become important, successful and wealthy. His family would profit and benefit. His life, and the lives of all those around him would improve. A weak or poor wife would do the opposite. A bad woman can destroy the life of the man that she is with. This can be through destruction of his self-esteem (which needs to be maintained for career success) to improperly managing family finances, to everything in between.
Men, choose your wives carefully.
In my little story, a true one at that, Mr. XXXXXX ‘s wife not only destroyed his role (and great career opportunity) in Brazil, but also wiped out his stable career at GM. Unable to find work, he had to settle for a different kind of labor, one without a career, without any kind of advancement. I am sure that his piece-of-shit wife berated him the entire time. Telling him what a loser he was for his life, and not taking responsibility for all the destruction that she herself, wrecked.
People. This is real life. This is not a television show. This is not a movie. This is not all unicorns prancing under a progressive rainbow, where gay people, and LGBT folk are all living in united harmony. This is the real frigging’ deal.
Learn, from my experiences, or don’t.
There is a sizable percentage of Americans who believe that the progressive illusion can actually manifest. They spend their days glued to their electronic media to such a point that they are completely out of touch with reality. People, there is no such thing as unicorns, and rainbows will still have a cantankerous leprechaun guarding that big old pot of gold.
What does this mean?
Different societies have different roles for men and women. This is an important part of culture. When you come from one society where washing your ass with your left hand is acceptable, you might have trouble adapting to a society where you shake everyone’s left hand. Yikes!
Over the years, I have lived in numerous non-American societies where the man is treated very special. I had a girlfriend from Zambia, Africa who would prepare my dinner like I was the Head of State.
She would get dressed up after she cooked my meal, with makeup and attire, and feed me while I sat at the table like a King.
Here’s some fine Zambian food. This is Nshima and beef relish. Doesn’t it look absolutely great. Again, as I have stated before, in the rest of the world you are typically free to drink beer at dinner without having to show your age or an ID. You are also permitted to smoke without fear of arrest.
After making sure that I was well fed, she would clean up afterwards. While I sat there drinking my after dinner coffee.
Once you experience first-rate care, love and concern, you no longer tolerate anything less.
I had a girlfriend from Mexico that always made sure that I was well fed, and insisted that I am comfortable in “my” chair. In fact she guarded it so that no one else would be able to use it. She was there for me, how can I say this, on demand (if you catch my drift).
Once you experience first-rate care, love and concern, you no longer tolerate anything less.
My Chinese wife selects the food I eat, the clothes I wear, and the exercise I do. She wants me to be better than everyone else. She makes sure that I am up to it. She is strong like a tiger in this regard.
She treats me like a powerful mob boss. And, when I leave the house, I act that way in public.
Once you experience first-rate care, love and concern, you no longer tolerate anything less.
Yet, when I visit the United States, I see women acting just horrible. It is as if there is a war on males in the United States. It is disgusting.
To me, it is actually horrifying, as typically the women doing this look like big white water buffalo’s to me, acting like mean and horrible white-trash. They look like they belong on Jerry Springer, more than walking on the public street.
As someone who is used and accustomed to being treated well by extremely beautiful women, I do not tolerate being treated poorly. This is most especially true for any woman that is not up to par in my (personal) attractiveness scale.
Once you experience first-rate care, love and concern, you no longer tolerate anything less.
I am not alone in this. This goes for all Americans who have traveled outside the Untied States. So, in my world, and in my reality, you can either adapt or leave. There is no room for the lowest common denominator.
American women really need to “up their game”.
American men need to stay away from disrespect in all forms.
When both men and women are single, their interests are directed towards other things. The woman wants to be attractive, have fun, and maybe work on a career. A man, working on a career, have fun, and meet girls. Once both get married that all changes. They now have a family and together their family needs both of their attention.
This ability to focus on a family is not something that you learn about on a first date. It is something you discover over time and over numerous dates. The woman discovers just how comfortable the man would be letting her run things. The man discovers whether or not this girl is THE one who can build up a family for him.
It is not only about raising children, working on career goals, a devotion to the elders in the family and a shared sense of adventure. It is also about every aspect of a family. Just how willing is the woman to devote to building up a family, creating a home out of a house and just how important she places a family life in her scale of things.
Here is a transcription of a woman lamenting her decision to forego building a family and instead having a career. Read it and cry.
Every Wednesday, the second hour of my national radio show is the “Male/Female Hour.” A few weeks ago, a woman named Jennifer called in.
For reasons of space, I have somewhat shortened her comments. Every young woman should read them. This is precisely what she said:
“Dennis, I want to get right to it. I’m 50 years old with four college degrees. I was raised by a feminist mother with no father in the home. My mother told me get an education to the maximum level so that you can get out in the world, make a lot of money. And that’s the path I followed. I make adequate money. I don’t make a ton of money. But I do make enough to support my own household.
“I want to tell women in their 20s: Do not follow the path that I followed. You are leading yourself to a life of loneliness. All of your friends will be getting married and having children, and you’re working to compete in the world, and what you’re doing is competing with men.
"Men don’t like competitors. Men want a partner. It took me until my late 40s to realize this.
“And by the time you have your own household with all your own bills, you can’t get off that track, because now you’ve got to make the money to pay your bills. It’s hard to find a partner in your late 40s to date because you also start losing self-confidence about your looks, your body.
"It’s not the same as it was in your 20s.
"You try to do what you can to make your life fulfilling. I have cats and dogs. But it’s lonely when you see your friends having children, going on vacations, planning the lives of their children, and you don’t do anything at night but come home to your cats and dogs. I don’t want other women to do what I have done.”
I asked, “Was it hard for you to make this call?”
She responded: “It was. I want to be anonymous because I don’t want people that I know to really know my true feelings. Because you do act like ‘My career is everything. I love working.’ But it’s a lie on the inside for me. It’s unfortunate. I didn’t realize this until it’s too late. I don’t know if it’s too late. I would like to find somebody to go on vacation with.
“You have other concerns when you get older and you live alone. Who’s going to take you to your medical appointments? If something should happen to you, there’s no other income there to help you. These are things you don’t understand when you’re in your 20s because you don’t think you’ll ever get old and have health problems.
“I’m stuck now because I go to work every day. I smile like I love it, but it’s very painful to not plan a vacation with someone. It’s painful to not have a Thanksgiving dinner with someone. You sit home alone and you do nothing. I avoid my friends now that have children because I have nothing in common with them.
“Somebody asked me the other day, ‘Why did you stay single and never have kids?’ There’s answers: Because I was brainwashed by my mother into this. But it’s hard and it’s shameful to tell people, ‘I don’t know. I ran out of time.’
“There’s not a good answer for it except: ‘I was programmed to get into the workforce, compete with men, and make money.’ Supposedly, that would be a fulfilling life. But I was told that by a feminist mother who was divorced, who hated her husband—my father.
“She tried to steer me on what she thought was the right path, but feminism is a lie. That’s what I want women to know.
“I didn’t realize this until late in life. I want to tell women: Find someone in your 20s. That’s when you’re still very cute. That’s when you’re still amiable to working out problems with someone. It’s harder in your 50s, when you’ve lived alone, to compromise with someone, to have someone in your home and every little thing about them annoys you because you’re so used to being alone. It’s hard to undo that, so don’t do what I did. Find someone in your 20s.”
I said, “I’m thinking of transcribing your call and making it a column.”
“Do that, Dennis. I want to help whoever I can,” she said.
-From the Daily Signal.
A man looks for a partner. He searches for someone to make his life COMPLETE. He looks for a life partner. It is biologically programmed into him.
A devoted woman will do whatever it takes to make the family work.
Here’s two micro videos showing hard-working, but poorer girls, supporting their families and building their homes. For in China, the man MUST work, and the woman MUST take care of the family. Many times, that means building of finishing up a home while the man works far away.
A woman does what ever it takes. She is fearless. She is capable. Help her and empower her. You will receive blessings on your life beyond compare.
Let me explain these videos.
Many times a couple will get married in a poor village. The husband would have to accept a job in a far away city, while the wife stays home. Many times the wife would get the paychecks from the working husband and use that money to build their home. This is not at all uncommon.
She would take this money and budget it.
First thing on the agenda would be building and making a house. Sure she might get help from uncles and classmates. However, ultimately, much of the work would be up to her. So many of those houses in rural China were physically made by wives in support of their families.
People! This is what a traditional family looks like.
The man works and the woman stays home and takes care of the family. For young families, the man works like crazy in far away cities and sends the bulk of what he makes to his wife. He, in turn, lives either in small dorms or barracks or, alternatively inside very tiny apartments like this one…
This is how a young married Chinese man lives. He does what ever it takes to help his new wife build up their family. He will work long hours and every day. He will eat what his employer provides, and will sleep in the very smallest of spaces. He will do this for his wife. He will do this for his family. This is what a traditional man is.
All the money he makes goes to his wife.
Maybe he will only make a few hundred yuan ($30). All of it goes to his wife. The Chinese women that I know differ from the American women. A Chinese wife would rather have 100% of what her man makes – even if it is only $30, rather than a small portion, say 5% of what he makes. That’s true even if he makes a million dollars.
I don’t quite understand it. Really. Because the millionaire would give the wife more money than a mere $30. It doesn’t make sense economically nor financially. But, there you have it. That is the way it is.
Chinese traditional women demand 100% from their man.
American progressive women look to men as a resource.
Culturally, Chinese women are very different from American women.
It is not a scene out of progressive liberal propaganda out of the American urban enclave. These are not little waifs that huddle in fear, or scenes out of the Handmaid’s Tale. This is real life. This is how the rest of the world lives. Open up your eyes to the reality.
And for Pete’s sake, get your friggin’ nose out of the propaganda being spoon-fed to you by the American elite.
[9] Spirituality
Look for a spiritual woman. I always look for a woman who understands that the universe is bigger than we understand. I look for a woman who can feel the presence of God.
I am a Catholic, but I am not referring to a religious person. I am referring to a spiritual person. My first wife was a Baptist. My second (the one who retired me) was agnostic, but raised as a Catholic. My current wife is a Buddhist. Find a woman who is spiritual.
Check to see if she is really spiritual. Watch how she treats animals. Watch how he feels about tradition, families. Pay attention to the role that she has in her own family. Just how functional or dysfunctional it is. Pay attention.
[10] Shared Values
Finally, I look for a woman that has the same values as I do. We do not have to agree politically, but the fundamentals must be comparative. If I am going to give her 100% of all my money, I should be able to trust her that she won’t use it on coke, crack, and casino trips.
If I am going to devote my life to one singular woman, I expect her to do the same. If I am planning to have a family, I expect her to want a family as well. If I want to travel and have an adventurous life, then I would expect her to want it as well. Alternatively, if I want to have a quiet sedentary life in a rural cottage, I would expect her to want it as well.
Shared dreams, shared values, and shared life are fundamental to a couple’s success.
Conclusions
We, men and women, can be choosy in who we select to be our mate. It is important because your mate, the person you marry, will have the greatest influence in your quality of life. Therefore, we need to choose wisely.
This is true for both men and women.
I live in friggin’ communist China and the women here are extremely attractive, with long beautiful hair, mesmerizing eyes, tight butts and astounding chests, and are very traditional at home. They take care of their man and their family. When I am with these wonderful ladies they treat me like I am a VIP and I am treated like a God. I cannot stress how wonderful being treated special is. Most especially from an amazingly attractive woman. I mean, it is just amazing.
Conversely, many (but thankfully, not all) the women in “free” America look like they belong on the set of Jerry Springer. Are rude, crass, selfish and treat me like a piece of nothing. The differences between women in China is just astounding. I mean, what the heck happened?
An American woman who runs a business that she proudly calls “Trailer Trash”. I am sure that she is proud of it. How would you like to be married to this chick? How do you think she would treat you when you got home from work? Do you think that she knows how to cook? Would she make a good mother?
For me, and most men would agree, you pick the wife that is suitable for you. Let the rest of the world howl. All that matters is what you decide and the reality that you create.
You can get an ugly, fat, foul-mouthed woman who will constantly make fun of you.
You can be with an attractive, kind, caring and thoughtful woman. She takes care of herself, and will treat you like a king.
You can choose the lady that is most suitable for you. If you cannot find that woman in your town, go to a different town. If you cannot find her there, go else where. Eventually you will find that girl. I promise you.
Finally, here’s a little secret. If you are having trouble, do this. Go to church. Many of the most eligible women attending church. They are God-fearing, traditional women who would make fine, just real fine, wives.
Women in General
There are amazing women all over the world. That includes the United States. It is my belief that the vast bulk of American women are great and kind and wonderful. It is just that the bad ones are so very awful that it makes everyone look bad.
I now live in China. So what I am going to do is post some micro-videos of some attractive and sweet Chinese girls to help illustrate that there is no set “type” of lady that is perfect. Everyone comes in different shapes and sizes. Each one is different and each one has their very own personal charms.
Enjoy.
Women come in all sizes and shapes. They come in all kinds of attitudes and personalities. I love every single one. Please, I urge you the reader not to get too hung up on the media narrative of what is attractive, instead find ladies that appeal to your own sensibilities. You might be surprised how refreshing and pleasant it is…
Here’s another gal. Sorry, but I am in China. So this is all that I have to work with. Here’s another Chinese girl. Isn’t she just adorable?
I am a big sucker for a nice smile and feigned shyness…
The point here is that attractiveness comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes. There is no set standard. If I were to specify some idea on what is attractive, I would have to say that it is the sum total of what a particular woman is. For each woman has their own charms that are displayed uniquely.
I, for one happen to like so many different kinds of women. I like different body types. I like different kinds of attitudes, and I enjoy a big healthy smile. Here is a nice Chinese gal with an impressive chest jumping around and having fun…
Each woman has their own personality. This personality can be seen how they move, and the their selection of the music that they play. Personality is one of the key aspects of attractiveness. Be kind. Be happy. Smile a lot. Let your inner being glow.
The point that I am making here is that there is no set formula on what makes a woman attractive to a man. The woman must be strong, be themselves, be kind. Sooner or later the man that fits her personality will come around. It could be you. So, be the best you can be, and look for a mate that is the best that she is. Together you will have a life that will be marvelous.
Take Aways
Men look for a mate that will best match his needs as a man, and who will be fitting for his future family.
Women who cannot fit within his expectations will need to find other men to be with.
These men, the ones that do not have traditional values, will tend to be short-term affairs or long-term relationships that will not conclude in a marriage. That is because the men’s absolute needs are not being met.
This post lists ten needs that a man has.
FAQ
Q: What if men have different needs than what is listed here? A: That is fine. There are all kinds of people and all kinds of men. It is the difference that are important. Not what makes us all the same. Personally, I don’t like going into a Starbucks in NYC and then going into one in Shenzhen. They are all the same. I like to go to a local pizza establishment in NYC and eating a New York style pizza. I also like going into a family restaurant in Shenzhen and eating some delicious dumplings. It is the differences that are important.
Q: So don’t you think that you are full of Misogyny? Aren’t you just defending the Patriarchy? Aren’t you Cisgender? A: I don’t know. Maybe.
If so, what’s wrong with it? What is it YOUR business?
I don’t hate women. I love women. I love my wife. I love my mother and my sisters. I love my girlfriends, and their friends. Besides, what is wrong with a Patriarchy? Can you explain that?
Your assumptions are all terribly faulted, and you discuss them as if they are proven and have merit. They don’t.
Q: What does “check your privilege” mean? A: In 1998, American feminist and anti-racism activist Peggy McIntosh wrote an essay entitled “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” In McIntosh’s sense, privilege is a set of special provisions that a person acquires — or doesn’t — because of their identity.
If you are a rich, white, heterosexual man, then you’ll have it easier through life than a working-class, lesbian, woman of color. The exhortation to check your privilege became popular on internet blogs dealing with social justice themes as a reminder that we are not all dealt the same hand in life.
What the real truth is that it is an insult, and veiled threat that says “you had it easy in life”. I personally find it extremely insulting. As the person saying this has absolutely no idea what I had to do to get where I am now.
Q: What does Heteronormative mean? A: Heteronormative was coined by the writer and academic Marina Warner in 1991. It means “a world view which regards gender roles as fixed to biological sex. It treats heterosexuality as the normal and preferred sexual orientation.” Which is pretty much an accepted norm globally.
However the intention is to use distorted group think to redefine the narrative and to use this word as an insult. I am a traditional man, and I think that women are attractive to me. This fact, apparently, makes me “heteronormative”.
No problem. So was George Washington. So was Jesus Christ. So was Gandhi. So was Jimmy Carter. So was Bill Clinton. So was Ronald Reagan. So were both my parents and all of my grandparents.
So, a non-heteronormative person is a societal abnormality.
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.
Posts about the Changes in America
America is
going through a period of change. Change is good… that is, after it
occurs. Often however, there are large periods of discomfort as the
period of adjustment takes place. Here are some posts that discuss this
issue.
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.
This is a walk down “memory lane” as I relate what it was like growing up as a young boy in the early 1970’s. I was in my early teenage years. I went to school, watched a lot of television, and played with my friends. Enjoy…
Introduction
As strange as it seems, there is very little on the internet about what it was like growing up in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It’s almost as if it was scrubbed from existence. In it’s place we now have the Obama narrative of a racist nation and terrible injustices. That narrative has nothing to do with reality. It is a scripted lie intended to manipulate people into believing something that just isn’t true.
Here, in my own little way, I would like to relate some stories of what it was like for me growing up as a kid. For “shits and giggles” I have chosen the year of 1971. It was the last year that I had as a kid before I had to go out and work at 14 in the coal mines.
This narrative takes place in Western Pennsylvania. We lived in a small town about a two hour drive from Pittsburgh. It was a hilly and tree shaded world, with railroad spur lines that snaked in and out of the hills and crossed over viaducts and into tunnels. I well knew those lines as I would often walk along them with my friends on hikes and adventures.
The Allegheny mountains are very beautiful. I miss the beauty of them in the fall, and the joys of canoeing on the river and fishing in the streams.
Visiting my Aunties
Many weekends my parents would drive into Pittsburgh to visit my relatives. Both were from Pittsburgh, though from different areas. We would take turns visiting the families. In the morning we would visit my father’s family, and in the afternoon we would visit my mother’s family.
A evening scene from Polish Hill. Polish Hill is a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a community that was founded by Polish immigrants that went to Pittsburgh to find work in the Steel Mills there.
Often times, there would be other relatives that would come and say hi. I would see my grandparent’s brothers and sisters, my great aunts and uncles, if you will. And I might be persuaded to go with them to their homes. For some reason, the homes always smelled like bacon and cabbage.
There was always a pot of coffee on the stove. If it was cold they would either reheat it or make a fresh pot. The coffee pot was a percolator design. The water would start to boil and would be forced up through a metal straw into a container that held coffee grounds. You could control how strong the coffee was by the amount of ground in the upper container and how long your brewed the coffee. There was this glass bubble on the top of the coffee pot that you could watch to tell if the coffee was ready or not.
This is a very common way of making coffee in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. Every family seemingly had a percolator. This particular picture is very similar to the one that we used at home.
They would almost invariably offer me a cup of coffee and a bowl of what ever is cooking on the stove. There was something always cooking. Sometimes it was spaghetti sauce, sometimes it was chili. Sometimes it was “pigs in a blanket” (pork wrapped up in cabbage). Sometimes it was chicken soup. I could always eat my fill when I visited my aunties.
Of course, every single relative had this painting of “the last supper” on the wall in the kitchen / dining room.
During my childhood every family had a painting of the Last Supper on their wall. My relatives all had it hanging in the kitchen, but many of my friends had it in the living rooms or the dining room instead.
Everyone also pretty much listened to the same radio station as well. Each kitchen had this little plastic radio (of vintage electronic tubes) that was perpetually tuned to the AM radio station KDKA. Popular Music would often be heard while we were visiting.
Pop Songs
While I was pretty much listening to Jefro Tull, Traffic and other rock groups, my relatives and classmates enjoyed the popular music of the time. In 1971 we were listening to the following. Notable songs are highlighted in BOLD.
Three Dog Night
Joy To The World
Rod Stewart
Maggie May / (Find A) Reason To Believe
Carole King
It’s Too Late / I Feel The Earth Move
Osmonds
One Bad Apple
Bee Gees
How Can You Mend A Broken Heart
Raiders
Indian Reservation
Donny Osmond
Go Away Little Girl
John Denver
Take Me Home, Country Roads
Temptations
Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
Dawn
Knock Three Times
Janis Joplin
Me And Bobby McGee
Al Green
Tired Of Being Alone
Honey Cone
Want Ads
Undisputed Truth
Smiling Faces Sometimes
Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
Treat Her Like A Lady
Rolling Stones
Brown Sugar
James Taylor
You’ve Got A Friend
Jean Knight
Mr. Big Stuff
Lee Michaels
Do You Know What I Mean
Joan Baez
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Marvin Gaye
What’s Going On
Paul and Linda McCartney
Tom Jones
Bill Withers
Ain’t No Sunshine
Five Man Electrical Band
Signs
Tom Jones
She’s A Lady
Free Movement
I Found Someone Of My Own
Murray Head and The Trinidad Singers
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jerry Reed
Amos Moses
Grass Roots
Temptation Eyes
Carpenters
Superstar
George Harrison
My Sweet Lord / Isn’t It A Pity
Donny Osmond
Sweet And Innocent
Ocean
Put Your Hand In The Hand
Daddy Dewdrop
Chick-A-Boom (Don’t Ya Jes’ Love It)
Carpenters
For All We Know
Gordon Lightfoot
If You Could Read My Mind
Sammi Smith
Help Me Make It Through The Night
Carpenters
Rainy Days And Mondays
Cher
Gypsy, Tramps And Thieves
Jackson 5
Never Can Say Goodbye
Lynn Anderson
Rose Garden
Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds
Don’t Pull Your Love
Ringo Starr
It Don’t Come Easy
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Mr. Bojangles
Fuzz
I Love You For All Seasons
Dramatics
Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get
Carly Simon
That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be
Stevie Wonder
If You Really Love Me
Aretha Franklin
Spanish Harlem
Helen Reddy
I Don’t Know How To Love Him
Osmonds
Yo-yo
Aretha Franklin
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Partridge Family
Doesn’t Somebody Want To Be Wanted
Tommy James
Draggin’ The Line
Ike and Tina Turner
Proud Mary
Chicago
Beginnings / Color My World
Bells
Stay Awhile
Stampeders
Sweet City Woman
Lobo
Me And You And A Dog Named Boo
Paul McCartney
Another Day / Oh Woman, Oh Why
Bread
If
Marvin Gaye
Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
Brewer and Shipley
One Toke Over The Line
8th Day
She’s Not Just Another Woman
Freda Payne
Bring The Boys Home
Rare Earth
I Just Want To Celebrate
Delaney and Bonnie and Friends
Never Ending Song Of Love
Freddy Hart
Easy Loving
Three Dog Night
Liar
Honey Cone
Stick-up
Mac and Katie Kissoon
Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep
Andy Williams
Love Story (Where Do I Begin)
Cat Stevens
Wild World
Jerry Reed
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot
Beginning Of The End
Funky Nassau
Olivia Newton-John
If Not For You
King Floyd
Groove Me
Bobby Goldsboro
Watching Scotty Grow
Matthews’ Southern Comfort
Woodstock
Judy Collins
Amazing Grace
Dave Edmunds
I Hear You Knocking
Bee Gees
Lonely Days
Fortunes
Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again
Who
Won’t Get Fooled Again
Denise Lasalle
Trapped By A Thing Called Love
Jackson 5
Mama’s Pearl
Buoys
Timothy
Partridge Family
I Woke Up In Love This Morning
Isaac Hayes
Theme From “Shaft”
Gladys Knight and The Pips
If I Were Your Woman
Neil Diamond
I Am..I Said
Paul Stookey
Wedding Song (There Is Love)
Wilson Pickett
Don’t Knock My Love, Pt. 1
Doors
Love Her Madly
Richie Havens
Here Comes The Sun
Wadsworth Mansion
Sweet Mary
Brenda and The Tabulations
Right On The Tip Of My Tongue
Fifth Dimension
One Less Bell To Answer
Doors
Riders On The Storm
Perry Como
It’s Impossible
The song “Maggie May” was played to death, and radio stations in central Indiana were still playing that song long into the 1990’s. Ugh!
Donny Osmond was terribly popular with my sister and all of her girl friends at the time. Her bedroom was covered in pictures of Donny, and she had her class room textbooks covered in “lunch paper” covers decorated with Donny Osmond related praises.
I first heard “The night they drove ol’ Dixie down” when I was riding with my dad in our car. He was involved in technical sales at the time. I would wait in the car and listen to the radio while reading the “Last Whole Earth Catalog“.
The Last Whole Earth Catalog was a cultural landmark in the 1970’s. Kevin Kelly, who was editor-in-chief at Whole Earth was looking at an old Whole Earth Catalog came to the realization that it was a 1970s version of a blog.
Tom Jones was very popular with my mother and the mothers of my friends. He had a kind of sex appeal that really appealed to them.
Jesus Christ Superstarhit my generation hard. I cannot express how big an impact this movie made at my church and at my school. It seemed like every family had the album. I went and saw the play and it was really moving.
I saw Jerry Reed sing “Amos Moses” on “Laugh In” or “Sonny and Cher” I don’t remember which. Both were shows that hosted a mixture of singing, dancing and comedy routines that were quite popular in the day.
The song “Gypsy, Tramps And Thieves” was a big hit by Cher. Most people have forgotten about her today. You hear some blurb on the news every now and then, but she was a big thing back in the day. She was super popular.
The song “Don’t Pull Your Love” was very popular and got a substantial amount of airtime. You probably couldn’t get by a day without hearing that song at least once. Other heavily air-played songs included “Mr. Bojangles“.
Everyone in my school watched the Partridge Family . This was a television show about a family that toured schools all over the country and sang at them. Well, they also had a number of hits, as well as a had a following of fans.
How can one talk about the 1960’s and 1970’s without mentioning the television show The Partridge Family?
The idea and concept of freedom to explore, of adventure and travel was very popular. The ideals of the 1960’s were fading away, and the 1970’s was a time where people wanted to just go forth and explore the world. The song “Me And You And A Dog Named Boo” was representative of this dream.
If there is one iconic song from that year (heck, for that decade), it is “One Toke Over The Line“. Everyone was listening to it, and everyone related to it. Even my mother who would make the “sigh” and gesture while saying “I guess I’m just one toke over the line…”.
This song “Never Ending Song Of Love” has fallen into obscurity. Yet it reflected the reality of the small town bars and the culture of friendship and love that was indicative of the era.
The song “Riders On The Storm” continued to be popular with me and my classmates long into our college years.
Barbershop
Next to my Father’s parents house was a barbershop. The shop was run by an old man, probably in his 90’s. He lived upstairs above the shop. The barbershop itself was a museum and probably hadn’t changed since the 1940’s.
A barbershop was a place and refuge for men to be men. We could talk about things that interested us , we could talk about sports, girls and life. All barbershops were smoker-friendly places where men could be themselves, free of political correctness and progressive rules.
My father would take me to the barber there and I would get a haircut. I really didn’t want to go because at that time, long hair was fashionable. I would go there and then pout the rest of the day. But, I’ll tell you what, those trips to the barbershop were some of the best memories that I have.
The barbershop was a “men’s only” establishment. On the tables were magazines about hunting, guns and adventure. On the walls were pictures of deer and ducks. There was a full length mirror on the wall that faced two very huge and ornate barber chairs. The barber wore an apron and wore his hair in a style that probably went obsolete in the 1950’s.
When we went to the barbershop we would read the men’s adventure magazines that would lie there, as well as the Playboy magazines that would be interspersed with the newspapers and the standing ashtrays.
The chairs were big and comfortable. He would often have friends hang out while he worked. They would sit there smoking cigarettes and watching him cut hair. A small radio would be on and often it would be tuned to a baseball or football game.
The place had it’s own kind of unique smell to it. It was a cross between aftershave and and old house. The barber lived alone as his wife passed on a decade earlier. He just ran the shop until he died. After he passed on, the place was boarded up and then demolished.
Hiking in the Woods
At that time in my life I spent a lot of time hiking in the woods. I would often ride my bike all over town and up and down the back roads and railroad spur lines. In the Spring the air would be fresh with the smells of lush forest canopy. In the Fall, it would be a time of warm “Indian Summers” with red and yellow leaves that would blow in the light breezes.
I lived in a small town in Pennsylvania. The hills all around us were wooded and access to them was via back roads and rail lines. As a boy, I would spend a lot of time walking on these tracks and exploring the world around me.
I rode a gold Schwinn “banana seat” bike with “high bars” and a “drag strip” (non-tread) rear tire. Every one of my friends owned a bicycle. My sister had one with a white plastic basket in the front. My bike had these long streamers of plastic that plugged into the handles. I eventually tore those things off. But I would put a card (from a deck of cards) and attach it to the bicycle with a wooden clothes pin. That way my bicycle would make some “cool” sounds when I rode fast. It had a huge red circular red reflector on the back, right under the white “banana seat”. Like the GTO I would later drive when I was in High School, the bicycle was an orange color.
We would all ride bicycles when we grew up. Which is different than kids today. Instead, today their parents drive them from event to event, instead of expecting them to get there on their own. A 1970s childhood. (Image Source)
My bike was a personal selection. When my father took me to a store to pick it out, I chose a really simple and rugged model. There were no front or rear brakes on the handlebars. To brake, you would just use the pedals. There also weren’t any gears. There was one gear only. It came with a rear view mirror, that soon broke off, and that was about it. My friends all had more complicated bicycles, and over the years, they were perpetually repairing their bikes and trying to fix them. For me, I never had that problem.
Television Shows
At that time the only television channels that we could watch were CBS, NBC, and ABC. We also had “channel 13” which was a government channel. All of our news, and our entertainment came from these three sources. Since we never had the kind of selection that we have today, we didn’t find anything wrong with it. It was normal for us.
Here is the complete television selection for Friday night viewing in 1971. It is pretty sparse isn’t it. This is where all American got their news and found out about the world around them.
As sparse as the selection was, we were perpetually glued to the television set. There was usually a movie a night. They were often a few years old, after being shown in the movie theaters. If the movie wasn’t shown in the theaters it would be called a “World Premiere Movie”.
Television was rather primitive.
While we did have a color television, we still needed to walk across the room to change the channel. Imagine that! Remote controls were not available until the mid-1970’s. On top of it were “rabbit ears” until we were able to subscribe to cable in the late 1970’s. My grandmother had her “rabbit ears” with aluminum foil wrapped around it. She said that it improved her reception. Maybe it did. I don’t know, her reception really sucked, so it must have been really, really terrible.
I would watch the news reluctantly. For me it was pretty boring.
However, I did follow the news about space. You couldn’t miss it. Everyone was talking about space, and the moon. That is all you heard about as a child of the 1960’s. The television shows also helped to maintain this theme.
As the news that played on the radio concerned our exploration of space and the Vietnam War. Of course I didn’t know what was going on. It was a takeover of the United States government by dark forces embedded deep inside the United States government. When JFK was shot, my father insisted that I watch the television. He kept telling me that this was the most important thing to happen to the United States since the Civil War. He was a lifelong Democrat and he had real concerns that there was more to the story than what the government was saying. Later, after he died and President Trump released the transcripts, it turned out that my father was right after all.
The “Deep State” murdered our President.
“This fucker, johnson should be dug up and pissed on, and torn apart. Every modern ill can be traced to him.”
-sowhat1929
On Sunday we watched Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom”, and “The FBI” (Starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr) after the Walt Disney hour. If I wasn’t watching television, I was building plastic scale models, or experimenting on my Gilbert chemistry (and electrical) sets.
The A. C. Gilbert Company was an American toy company, once one of the largest toy companies in the world. It is best known for introducing the Erector Set to the marketplace. A chemistry set is an educational toy allowing the user (typically a teenager) to perform simple chemistry experiments.During the Bill Clinton presidency (D) all sales of chemistry, electronics, and mechanical kits were put under investigation as possible routes for “home grown” terroristic activities, and were subsequently suppressed, if not outright banned. Over the Bush years (R), they resurfaced and eked out a small living. However, by 2017 most hobby kit suppliers went out of business. Ramsey electronics, Heithkit electronics RIP.
At that time in my life, I like the rest of my classmates, watched shows like the Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch. These shows were about “us”. It was how we interacted with each other, and our families and our communities. This all began to change when the television media decided to change their programming towards minorities in urban areas. Television began a slow phase away from white families living in suburbia and began to concentrate on poor urban minorities.
The Brady Bunch. The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. Considered one of the last of the old-style family sitcoms, the series aired for five seasons and, after its cancellation in 1974, went into syndication in September 1975. While the series was never a critical or ratings success during its original run, it has since become a popular staple in syndication, especially among children and teenaged viewers.
“The "rural purge" of American television networks (in particular CBS) was a series of cancellations in the early 1970s of still-popular rural-themed shows with demographically skewed audiences, the majority of which occurred at the end of the 1970–71 television season. In addition to rural themed shows, the purge also eliminated several high rating variety shows that had been on CBS since their beginning of television broadcasting. One of the earliest efforts at channel drift, CBS in particular saw a dramatic change in direction with the shift, moving away from shows with rural themes and toward ones with supposedly more appeal to urban audiences.”-Wikipedia
The shows we watched were funnier than what you see on television today. And, maybe, just maybe a little more innocent. “The Bob Newhart Show” was typical. The humor involved day to day situations and NEVER mentioned race (compare that to today), and had a real twisted surrealistic sense of humor. Consider “Mary Hartman. Mary Hartman”, or “Green Acres”. You can find out more here.
Iconic characters from the Bob Newhart show that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Hi! I am Larry, and this is my brother Darryl and my other brother Darryl. (Image Source.)
Ah, you’ve got to hear about the three yokel brothers in the (very surrealistic) 80’s “The Bob Newhart show”. I loved these guys. They might have been the highlight of the show. Heck, they could have had their own show (hint. Hint.)
“…discovering that a witch is buried in the basement of their Vermont inn. They want to find out who she was, but they also want her 300-year-old grave dug up and removed.
The silly-from-next-door tells him he knows some guys who`ll do anything for a buck.Next thing, three goofy-looking, backwoods brothers from the genetically weak side of Vermont show up. “Oh, Lord!” says Bob, getting a whiff. Larry--the only brother who ever talks--hands Bob their card.“We`ll do anything for a buck,” it says.”- Larry, Darryl And Darryl Are `Newhart` Hits
They were quite good hearted, and obviously lived a strange, strange life. Afterall, clubbed weasel was their idea of good eatin’. Larry’s totally deadpan delivery of some very bizarre lines was always a highlight of any Newhart episode. “We went to the bakery ’cause they were advertising ‘bear claws’, but it turned out to just be a come-on.”
Ah. Good times. Good times.
Movies and television portrayed westerns (with “white men” taming the wilderness), war adventures (mostly involving world war II fighting the evil Nazi army), space exploration (such as Lost in Space, Star Trek, Fireball XL-5, Thunderbirds are Go and Land of the Giants), and Spy Adventures (against the Soviet Union or against fictional organizations such as T.H.R.U.S.H.).
Scale Models
One of my favorite hobbies was the building of plastic models. These were often of ships, airplanes and military hardware. I made a few models of cars, but my favorites were of military tanks and figurines.
I had a desk in my bedroom. It was an old desk inherited from my father with four drawers. I used a fold-up “card table” chair to sit at it with. On it was a 1940’s style desk lamp that my parents must have pulled out of the garbage at some time. I had books on the desk, a “multiband” radio where I could listen to FM radio, and a pencil holder made out of a decorated metal coffee cup tin.
At that desk, I would assemble, build and paint my models. It was an enjoyable pursuit. The desk faced the window in the bedroom, and I would often have the windows open, but the shade drawn down about half way. The shades were in the old 1960’s style and were meant to last. They had this kind of “life preserver” style ring hanging on a string that you could pull down to raise or lower the shade.
I needed the fresh air, as the odor from the glue was toxic and would tend to get me all flustered when I used it. I remember once, that my sister was watching her television show and they were really pushing the Rigley Chewing Gum-gum-gum… Rigley chewing gum-gum-gum commercial. It must have been running every ten minutes. I was about going out of my mind with the combination of the toxic glue odor and the subliminal programming of the chewing gum. Ugh!
I would build the models and paint them. Then, I would carefully hang them from the ceiling. My room was filled with models of various sizes and shapes.
The airplanes I would hang from the ceiling with string. I would display my collection of tanks and military equipment on shelves alongside my collection of centuries-old bottles. (I was an avoid junk collector and was always on the lookout for discarded bottles that I would collect from ancient trash dumps in the nearby forests.)
I collected Tamiya 1/35 scale military hardware models. I had quite a collection of German vehicles and tanks. At that time, the Japanese model maker Tamiya made the best quality models. They had an innovative introduction process that added new model to the collection every few months.
This is a model of the German Tiger I tank. I had numerous models of this massive beast in various scales. I even had one so complete that the interior was all detailed.
Alas, when I graduated from university I discovered that my mother had thrown away all of my models. She didn’t want all the clutter in the house. I guess one person’s treasure is another person’s trash.
Science Fiction
I started reading Science Fiction avidly. With one of the first books being the “Mad Scientist Club”.
The Mad Scientist Club is a series of stories (and books) written in the 1960’s which fueled the imagination and adventures of us children in the 1970’s. (The son of the author has a website. You can visit the website HERE.) These stories inspired me. They inspired my dreams and led me down the path towards technical excellence.
The cover from the first book of “The Mad Scientists Club”. This is a classic book for all young children entering their early teens.
The boys in the stories used science to create all sorts of pandemonium and mayhem in their little town. They applied themselves to using science to make devices and gadgets. They played pranks. The books showed how a boy could engineer a device from techniques that they learned in school. They made balloons, talked on ham radios, devised electronics, and they did it all on their very own.
The beauty about all this was that they never asked for help or permission. They took the initiative and did it on their own. They applied themselves.
Indeed, these stories are special. But, don’t take it from me. Read what others have to say.
“This is the best kids book ever.… In a way it saddens me when I re-read it. I don't think our kids today have as much freedom as these did (or my generation). I remember staying out until dark, riding my bike EVERYWHERE, clubhouses on vacant lots...Or maybe it's responsibility. Kids today have freedom but little responsibility. I'm getting off my soapbox now. but this is a cool book and it will make your kids fall in love with science. I imagine the Mythbusters grew up like this- or maybe their dads did!! ”-Holly commentary on the book. Found at Goodreads.
I am afraid that Holly is correct. American children (and adults) don’t have as much freedom as we all used to. (It’s our fault, you know.) These books are for kids and inspires them to accomplish things through study and action. These books are not about getting a group together and finding a group consensus. It’s not about how to cautiously speak so as not to offend anyone. Nope. It is about getting things done and raising hell in the process.
It’s books like these that inspired many of us to study science and engineering. It certainly affected me. It also affected others. I am not the only one who studied about rockets and space…
“This was simply a great childhood book for any inquisitive kid who likes science, haunted houses, dinosaurs, flying machines, etc. I read this book in about seventh or eighth grade and actually a couple of times since. I believe this book helped me on my career to being a rocket scientist but it also gave me many ideas as I was growing up.Brinley managed to capture the perfect mid-west US town and the guys in the book were great caricatures of fun loving, science minded boys with a bit of good natured mischief up their sleeves. Then Brinley took this setting and boys and produced a series of wonderful stories capturing so many things that so many boys growing up find so intriguing.I bought a copy recently for a nephew and he was enraptured by it. The follow-ups while good never really reached the level of this first book but were fun in their own right. It will always hold a special memory of growing up back in the '60s.”-Robert commentary on the book. Found at Goodreads.
He’s right you know. The stories certainly inspired me.
I like to think that there is inspiration in stories where you find adventure, freedom and independence. These are things that are absolutely missing in the modern realm of politically correct stories. Which, by the way, is a very important point. By following a “Politically Correct” narrative, you retard the growthof young boys. To paraphrase Clint Eastwood, you turn men into pussies.
“We live in more of a pussy generation now, where everybody's become used to saying, "Well, how do we handle it psychologically?" In those days, you just punched the bully back and duked it out. Even if the guy was older and could push you around, at least you were respected for fighting back, and you'd be left alone from then on.”-Clint Eastwood
A parent has a responsibly to PREPARE their children to venture out and grow. They need to go forth and carve a life out of the wilderness. But that is not what is happening today. Instead we have children that never leave the nest. Young men, in the United States, live at home until they are in their 30’s. Instead of investing their time in building, workings, making, and creating, they are too busy looking at cat videos on the Internet while they post their latest latté on Facebook. Boys must be taught to aspire to be Men, not to be a woman’s version of a sensitive man.
Pussies.
No amount of tattoos, unique hair or beard, or cool urban clothing style is going to make you into a Man. It comes from within. Education alone won’t do it. Money and wealth won’t do it. Polite conversation won’t do it. It comes from inside. It comes from deep down inside. It comes from a place that says “you can, and must do what you need to do”. You don’t ask for permission, or consensus. You go out and carve your life out. Alone.
By clutching on to your children like over protective mothers, the children don’t grow up. Physically they might age, but the brain and the emotions are still that of a young child. How else can you explain the SWJ mentality that demands a protective overseer? Which is what they want, you know. They demand to be coddled and taken care of by a big parental government Bernie Sanders style. Because, that is all that they know. They don’t know how to be independent. We don’t teach that anymore.
These books break us out of that mold…
“A gem. Almost unknown; but one of the most hilarious and memorable laugh-out-loud books you could ask for. It's never mentioned by anyone; it's never recommended, placed on book lists or chosen by reading-groups. This just might be because it's a series of books, which represents a 'philosophy-of-parenting’, which has fallen out of favor. That's my suspicion, anyway.I mean, just think about it. These stories are about kids who are unmonitored; who are allowed to just go off on summer afternoons and hang out on their own; and do whatever they want.... because they are trusted by their folks. Today, this is the last thing parents want to hear. No one in today's control-freak, micro-managing America wants to imagine that children can be trusted like this.Books for very young children ('Little Prince' or 'Giving Tree') are in abundance on Goodreads. They're sweet and harmless. There's also a new genre called 'YA' ('young adult'). But guess what? They're all very sanitary, careful, cautious, and timid. Antiseptic. Content-supervised and Content-controlled. They always instruct youngsters on the 'correct' thing to do, the 'sensitive' thing to do, the 'courteous' thing to do...blah blah blah.'Mad Scientists' is different. Instead of caution, the author praises problem-solving, solidarity, daring, and initiative. It's a book written for kids illustrating how NOT to follow the rules. It’s a book, which shows that rules are made to be flouted.These stories are from a time when today's endless complexities and anxieties just weren't around. It’s a book that deals with kids just... having fun. I say, there need to be a LOT MORE books like this.The gang of boys in Brinley's tales are pre-teens; somewhere between 11 and 14. This is a strange interval in a boy's matriculation, when they need to figure out a lot of things about life (and it’s also a time when adults have the least relevant advice to offer). This is the space Brinley plays in: the theme of personal responsibility.Teens NEED to create a few genuine catastrophes in order to learn the weight of 'cause' vs 'effect'. 'Intention' vs 'outcome'. 'Actions' vs 'harm'. They need to learn the ins-and-outs of friendship and loyalty and paying-one's-dues.The 'Mad Scientists Club' (this is the name carved on their clubhouse door) demonstrate these themes grandly. These young scamps are precisely in that age where you learn how to make a mess and how you clean it up afterwards. By yourself!The crazy scenarios which afflict these affable 'troublemakers' reminds us--should remind everyone-- that this process can be fun. Making mistakes and learning from them. The best way --nay, the ONLY way--to shape character.Far cry from today, huh? Yeah. Today, we don't let kids have 'secret clubs', 'hideouts', codewords, or 'mysterious friends'. We don't let them play with equipment or tools. They must not 'wreck' anything of ours. They're certainly not allowed to 'gallivant all over creation' (love that phrase).Modern parents are rule-mongers and control freaks. When our kids want to play, we take them to 'Sesame Place' and we monitor their nutrition and we deck them in flashing sneakers and put them in helmets and on leashes. We place them in soccer, swim class, softball, karate, dance, gymnastics.The result? Modern kids have no idea what real 'freedom' means. We never give it to them. They turn out to be vegetables.But Brinley's kids show the other way it can be done. This boy's club makes their own fun. They don't 'ask for permission' to do stuff--they just do it! They embrace wildness, zaniness, and unpredictability. The outcome? Well, they aren't brought up on charges from the Department of Homeland Security, for the trouble they cause. That's for sure. This is a part of small town-Americana we've let slip away.Just one example: in one of the adventures undertaken by the Mad Scientists, they build their own hot-air balloon (using scraps from a local junkyard) and they enter it in the town's annual homemade hot-air balloon race. With no adult supervision at all. Once aloft, (!!) they engaged in an air-battle with their arch-foes and fire potato-cannons and slingshots back'n'forth in mid-air. Finally, they manage to send the enemy gang's balloon into the lake! Can you stand it? I can't friggin' stand it, can you?This book reminds us that children used to be perfectly capable of taking care of themselves if we let them...if we weren't all scared out of our wits by molesters and semi-automatic weapons and drugs and porn and stalkers and computers, we'd still remember the kind of America found in this hilarious read. It's to our shame that we can't.”-Feliks commentary on the book. Found at Goodreads.
Let me simply posit this; to all those men (not to intentionally exclude women, but I am a man addressing myself to other men) who have made something of their life. Maybe you are a barber, a motorcycle mechanic, a car salesman, or a cook, isn’t it true? To make it in this world, you need to stretch your neck out. You need to take risks, bend the rules a little. You need to apply yourself.
The cover to the book “The New Adventures of the Mad Scientist Club”. This is the sequel to the first book. It is also good, though personally, I really prefer the first book overall.
Those times when life got tough, did you go and get permission? Did you go and ask for consensus? Did you politely ask for others opinions, or did you just go out and do whatever it took to achieve your goals? Was it easy? Nope, I’ll wager that it was hard, or at least uncomfortable. You might have to make sacrifices. Right? Right???
Part of the need to accomplish these tasks were goals. These goals were like this golden orb that lay there, just out of reach that you needed to obtain. You would work towards those goals. You would keep those goals in mind while you fought and persevered. A goal might be a car. A goal might be the love of your life.
A man is nothing without a goal.
A goal might be something more honorable and important, like saving the world. As everyone can’t be an evil villain like George Soros. Or, a wealthy trillionaire like Bill Gates. Someone needs to wear the mask of a hero…
The Idols
My bedroom was decorated as any boy of my my age would have. It was festooned with models and collections of brick-a-bract and posters on the wall. I had a poster of Farah Faucett on my wall. She was smiling with this amazing smile, and her huge hair. We all had a crush on her. That as well as Loni Anderson and Rachael Welch . Look at her!
How can you not smile?
Farah Faucett was every 1970s boy’s dream. Just about everyone had a poster of her on our wall or doors in our bedrooms. Farah Faucett was every boys’ dream. (Image Source.)
I had numerous posters on my wall. One was the mandatory “black light” poster on velvet. (It glowed under UV light.) One was a picture of Richie Blackmore (Deep Purple) performing a guitar solo. (I had super imposed a F-14 on it for combined imagery. After all, space and high-performance aircraft and rock n’ roll was my dream.) One was a Roger Dean poster (anyone remember the group “Yes”?).
Raquel Welch was another popular actress that graced the bedrooms of many a boy during the 1960s and 1970s. (Image Source.)
I became a fan of Loni Anderson in her role in the television sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati”. I think many of my friends did as well. We loved her and watching her on the show was always a highlight. That and the clueless manager who ran the office.
Loni Anderson played the role of the attractive secretary in the American sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati”.
Telephones
There were no cell phones; indeed most phones hung on the wall, and fully 50% of them had dials instead of push buttons. Our home had two phones. One was an old Bakelite black phone from the 1920’s hidden away in the basement. I loved the feeling of it. There was a weight to it that you just couldn’t get during the 1970’s. We also had a “main” phone in the kitchen. It had an extra-long cord. My sister was always “hogging it up”. So one year they bought her a phone for her room. She still spent most of her time on the phone, it’s just that she wasn’t talking in the kitchen all day.
Sunday mornings were very much the same during the 1960s and 1970s. This included the children in PJ’s, the coffee, and the pets. Sunday mornings were stereotypical.(Image Source.)
In the house we wore “house clothes” also known as PJ’s, with a robe. Mother would make sure that there was always a pot of coffee brewing, and us kids would always fight over who would get to read the comics section of the paper first. Of course, our dogs and cats merrily participated in the morning ritual. Picture above is not the ideal, it was the actual.
Global Cooling and the “Green Movement”
We were terrified of the global cooling. Thousands of experts were constantly informing us of the up coming global ice age that would turn Florida into a Siberian wasteland.
In our schools we would go on field trips to clean up the environment. We would go on “collection drives” to collect money for our environment, and we ended up with absolute bushels of money. (Don’t know where it all went, though…) We attended classes on the environment and school rallies to lecture us on the up-coming global cooling that would soon turn the world into a snow cone.
We were terrified!
Every cold day was a sign that the world was plunging into another great ice age. Magazines, the media, and the news all had stories about the coming cold period and the need to raise taxes to save our environment. Experts were paraded on television to teach us the need to raise taxes, and fund more research.
Here’s a selection of some covers from Time Magazine during the 1970’s. The big concern was about “global cooling” and ho that taxes had to be increased to fund studies so as to stop it.
The “Love Canal” fiasco acted as a terrible “kick start” to the “environmental movement”. Americans began to wake up that we had been really abusing our environment. As such, immediate action had to be taken. And thus the government took action in the only way that it knew how…
It set up the EPA, and…
Raised taxes.
Which was the entire purpose of the decade long propaganda push; To [1] increase the size and scope of the government, and [2] to raise more taxes to go to Washington D.C..
“What’s it mean, anyway? Do 97% of #Scientists agree that the climate is changing? Actually, everyone agrees with that – that the Earth’s climate changes over time is why we had an ice age. Well, we had an ice age a long time ago. We did not have one after the #Science people promised an ice age in the 1970s. But shhhh! We’re not supposed to mention that.
Want to know what the proposed solution for the ’70s ice age that never arrived was? Give the liberal elite more money and power. Overpopulation was another big crisis in the ’70s too. It never arrived either. The solution to that was to give the liberal elite more money and power. And when they were warning us about acid rain destroying us in the ’80s? The solution to that crisis was also to give the liberal elite more money and power. The ozone hole? Yep, more of our money and power to the liberal elite. Back in the 1990s, the Al Gores of the world were warning us that we had just 10 years left to save the Earth unless … wait for it … we gave the liberal elite more money and power.
Sense some themes?
Each of these crises all had two things in common. Thing One was that none of these doomsdays ever produced the promised doom. Thing Two was that each was a demand to give the liberal elite more money and power.”
One of the things that I have come to appreciate the most was the family meal that we had when I was growing up as a child. During my early childhood we would hold formal “sit down” meals in the Dining Room. Us children each had our own roles / chores in regards to this. On Sunday we would have the largest and most elaborate meals. Mealtime was the opportunity when we could all talk about our day, our hopes and dreams, and things that interested us.
At the time, I didn’t realize how important it was.
Then, during the 1970’s everything changed. Both of my parents had to work. (You can thank the American Federal Reserve for the decline in the value of the dollar that necessitated the breakup of our families.) A formal family meal was replaced with “help yourself” fix your own meals, out of a pot on the stove, or “make yourself a snack” out of the refrigerator. We would then scrounge something up, and eat it alone watching television.
Communication was via notes on the refrigerator.
Now that I am much older, I can see clearly the value of a family meal as well as a community meal. As such, I now dictatorially enforce an observance of this tradition within my own home.
Fishing with my Father
I will conclude with this little narrative of my experiences in 1971 talking about my father. He used to spend the time and take me and my siblings out to the river to fish. He had a couple of rods and a tackle box that he inherited from his (favorite) uncle. Using it, he taught me how to fish, and how to gut and clean the fish.
While it is a great memory of mine, the best part, and the part that remember most clearly is how he would drive out to the lake or stream, and we would then troop down to the area to fish. He was always on the lookout for isolated and secluded areas to fish in. He yearned for the “perfect spot”. One with deep water and plenty of overhanging limbs and trees that fish can hide in.
Oh, I would go fishing with my friends. They had an assortment of remote cabins, canoes and secret places that always provided us a great deal of pleasure. But, it was the times with my father that mattered the most to me. My friends were always up to something.
I once had a friend who placed plastic sheeting on his garage floor and dumped a dump truck full of soil on it. He, at age 13, had constructed a worm farm, and he somehow had this crazy idea that he would get “filthy rich” selling worms to the local bait and tackle shops. He did actually manage to sell some. I think he might have made $5 or so. Eventually, he gave up the idea and paid some one to haul the dirt away. His dream of instant millions went bust.
I never became an expert at fishing. I was, I guess you could say, an enthusiastic hobbyist. For me, the time with my father fishing were some of the best moments of my life, and moments that I will treasure until I too, will die.
Conclusion
This was just a little narrative that I wrote about what it was like for me in 1971. It’s a far cry from the United States today. The USA today saddens me. Every time I read the news, I get either depressed or angered. There’s not really too much that I can do about the slide into open civil strife that America is plunging towards, all that I can do is take care of myself and think good thoughts.
This includes what it was like growing up as a boy.
Take Aways
Global Cooling was a sham designed to trick Americans into permitting a larger government and giving away more of their money.
There were only four television channels that we American had access to in the early 1970’s.
The family meal is the most important part of having a family. It is important to nurture and cultivate relationships.
Television shows used to focus on American culture instead of bastardized urban minority culture.
My favorite memories of my father was when we were fishing together.
This is how we rolled. We were allowed to experience life in all it’s ugly and beautiful glory. Life is about living.
Posted On Free Republic
This article was posted on Free Republic in the chat section and collected a number of interesting comments. Many of which, I really do need to write about. Particularly what it was like for my sisters at that time, the cars that we drove, and the cultural things going on in society at that time. You can read the comments HERE.
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.
There are often things that inspire us. This is most especially true when you are young and looking for direction. In my case, I was greatly influenced by the books that I read. My favorites were short-length science fiction “pulps”. These were often paperback books that I could shove in the rear pocket of my bluejeans. I would read them, and often reread them. The authors of these stories varied, but my favorites included Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein.
Here is one such story.
This story illustrates that sometimes, it take one person to take a necessary action. Often that person doesn’t want the role. However, there is no one else who can do it. So that person, out of necessity, must become the hero. He must do the difficult and uncomfortable job because he is the only one who is available.
This story holds special meaning to me.
Introduction
This story was written appeared in the December 1949 American Legion Magazine by Robert Heinlein, and presented here under Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law.
“The Long Watch” is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It is about a military officer who faces a coup d’état by a would-be dictator.
John McClane: Do you know what you get for being a hero? Nothin'. You get shot at. Pat on the back, blah blah blah. 'Attaboy.' You get divorced... Your wife can't remember your last name, kids don't want to talk to you... You get to eat a lot of meals by yourself. Trust me kid, nobody wants to be that guy. (I do this) because there is nobody else to do it right now. Believe me if there was somebody else to do it, I would let them do it. There's not, so (I'm) doing it. That's what makes you that guy."
Enjoy.
The Long Watch
Nine ships blasted off from Moon Base. Once in space, eight of them formed a globe around the smallest. They held this formation all the way to Earth. "The small ship displayed the insignia of an admiral-yet there was no living thing of any sort in her. She was not even a passenger ship, but a drone, a robot ship intended for radioactive cargo. This trip she carried nothing but a lead coffin and a Geiger counter that was never quiet." —from the editorial After Ten Years, film 38, 17 June 2009, Archives of the N. Y. Times
I
JOHNNY DAHLQUIST blew smoke at the Geiger counter. He grinned wryly and tried it again. His whole body was radioactive by now. Even his breath, the smoke from his cigarette, could make the Geiger counter scream.
How long had he been here? Time doesn’t mean much on the Moon. Two days? Three? A week? He let his mind run back: the last clearly marked time in his mind was when the Executive Officer had sent for him, right after breakfast—
“Lieutenant Dahlquist, reporting to the Executive Officer.”
Colonel Towers looked up. “Ah, John Ezra. Sit down, Johnny. Cigarette?”
Johnny sat down, mystified but flattered. He admired Colonel Towers, for his brilliance, his ability to dominate, and for his battle record. Johnny had no battle record; he had been commissioned on completing his doctor’s degree in nuclear physics and was now junior bomb officer of Moon Base.
The Colonel wanted to talk politics; Johnny was puzzled.
Finally Towers had come to the point; it was not safe (so he said) to leave control of the world in political hands; power must be held by a scientifically selected group. In short—the Patrol.
Johnny was startled rather than shocked. As an abstract idea, Towers’ notion sounded plausible. The League of Nations had folded up; what would keep the United Nations from breaking up, too, and thus lead to another World War. “And you know how bad such a war would be, Johnny.”
Johnny agreed. Towers said he was glad that Johnny got the point. The senior bomb officer could handle the work, but it was better to have both specialists.
Johnny sat up with a jerk. “You are going to do something about it?” He had thought the Exec was just talking.
Towers smiled. “We’re not politicians; we don’t just talk. We act.”
Johnny whistled. “When does this start?”
Towers flipped a switch. Johnny was startled to hear his own voice, then identified the recorded conversation as having taken place in the junior officers’ messroom. A political argument he remembered, which he had walked out on . . . a good thing, too! But being spied on annoyed him.
Towers switched it off. “We have acted,” he said. “We know who is safe and who isn’t. Take Kelly—” He waved at the loud-speaker. “Kelly is politically unreliable. You noticed he wasn’t at breakfast?”
“Huh? I thought he was on watch.”
“Kelly’s watch-standing days are over. Oh, relax; he isn’t hurt.”
Johnny thought this over. “Which list am I on?” he asked. “Safe or unsafe?”
“Your name has a question mark after it. But I have said all along that you could be depended on.” He grinned engagingly. “You won’t make a liar of me, Johnny?”
Dahlquist didn’t answer; Towers said sharply, “Come now—what do you think of it? Speak up.”
“Well, if you ask me, you’ve bitten off more than you can chew. While it’s true that Moon Base controls the Earth, Moon Base itself is a sitting duck for a ship. One bomb—blooie!”
Towers picked up a message form and handed it over; it read: I HAVE YOUR CLEAN LAUNDRY—ZACK. “That means every bomb in the Trygve Lie has been put out of commission. I have reports from every ship we need worry about.” He stood up. “Think it over and see me after lunch. Major Morgan needs your help right away to change control frequencies on the bombs.”
“The control frequencies?”
“Naturally. We don’t want the bombs jammed before they reach their targets.”
“What? You said the idea was to prevent war.”
Towers brushed it aside. “There won’t be a war—just a psy-chological demonstration, an unimportant town or two. A little bloodletting to save an all-out war. Simple arithmetic.”
He put a hand on Johnny’s shoulder. “You aren’t squeamish, or you wouldn’t be a bomb officer. Think of it as a surgical operation. And think of your family.”
Johnny Dahlquist had been thinking of his family. “Please, sir, I want to see the Commanding Officer.”
Towers frowned. “The Commodore is not available. As you know, I speak for him. See me again—after lunch.”
The Commodore was decidedly not available; the Commodore was dead. But Johnny did not know that.
* * *
Dahlquist walked back to the messroom, bought cigarettes, sat down and had a smoke. He got up, crushed out the butt, and headed for the Base’s west airlock. There he got into his space suit and went to the lockmaster. “Open her up, Smitty.”
The marine looked surprised. “Can’t let anyone out on the surface without word from Colonel Towers, sir. Hadn’t you heard?”
“Oh, yes! Give me your order book.” Dahlquist took it, wrote a pass for himself, and signed it “by direction of Colonel Towers.” He added, “Better call the Executive Officer and check it.”
The lockmaster read it and stuck the book in his pocket. “Oh, no, Lieutenant. Your word’s good.”
“Hate to disturb the Executive Officer, eh? Don’t blame you.” He stepped in, closed the inner door, and waited for the air to be sucked out.
Out on the Moon’s surface he blinked at the light and hurried to the track-rocket terminus; a car was waiting. He squeezed in, pulled down the hood, and punched the starting button. The rocket car flung itself at the hills, dived through and came out on a plain studded with projectile rockets, like candles on a cake. Quickly it dived into a second tunnel through more hills. There was a stomach-wrenching deceleration and the car stopped at the underground atom-bomb armory.
As Dahlquist climbed out he switched on his walkie-talkie. The space-suited guard at the entrance came to port-arms. Dahlquist said, “Morning, Lopez,” and walked by him to the airlock. He pulled it open.
The guard motioned him back. “Hey! Nobody goes in without the Executive Officer’s say-so.” He shifted his gun, fumbled in his pouch and got out a paper. “Read it, Lieutenant.”
Dahlquist waved it away. “I drafted that order myself. You read it; you’ve misinterpreted it.”
“I don’t see how, Lieutenant.”
Dahlquist snatched the paper, glanced at it, then pointed to a line. “See? ‘—except persons specifically designated by the Executive Officer.’ That’s the bomb officers, Major Morgan and me.”
The guard looked worried. Dahlquist said, “Damn it, look up ‘specifically designated’—it’s under ‘Bomb Room, Security, Procedure for,’ in your standing orders. Don’t tell me you left them in the barracks!”
“Oh, no, sir! I’ve got ’em.” The guard reached into his pouch. Dahlquist gave him. back the sheet; the guard took it, hesitated, then leaned his weapon against his hip, shifted the paper to his left hand, and dug into his pouch with his right.
Dahlquist grabbed the gun, shoved it between the guard’s legs, and jerked. He threw the weapon away and ducked into the airlock. As he slammed the door he saw the guard struggling to his feet and reaching for his side arm. He dogged the outer door shut and felt a tingle in his fingers as a slug struck the door.
He flung himself at the inner door, jerked the spill lever, rushed back to the outer door and hung his weight on the handle. At once he could feel it stir. The guard was lifting up; the lieutenant was pulling down, with only his low Moon weight to anchor him. Slowly the handle raised before his eyes.
Air from the bomb room rushed into the lock through the spill valve. Dahlquist felt his space suit settle on his body as the pressure in the lock began to equal the pressure in the suit. He quit straining and let the guard raise the handle. It did not matter; thirteen tons of air pressure now held the door closed.
He latched open the inner door to the bomb room, so that it could not swing shut. As long as it was open, the airlock could not operate; no one could enter.
Before him in the room, one for each projectile rocket, were the atom bombs, spaced in rows far enough apart to defeat any faint possibility of spontaneous chain reaction. They were the deadliest things in the known universe, but they were his babies. He had placed himself between them and anyone who would misuse them.
But, now that he was here, he had no plan to use his temporary advantage.
The speaker on the wall sputtered into life. “Hey! Lieutenant! What goes on here? You gone crazy?” Dahlquist did not answer. Let Lopez stay confused—it would take him that much longer to make up his mind what to do. And Johnny Dahlquist needed as many minutes as he could squeeze. Lopez went on protesting. Finally he shut up.
Johnny had followed a blind urge not to let the bombs—his bombs!—be used for “demonstrations on unimportant towns.” But what to do next? Well, Towers couldn’t get through the lock. Johnny would sit tight until hell froze over.
Don’t kid yourself, John Ezra! Towers could get in. Some high explosive against the outer door—then the air would whoosh out, our boy Johnny would drown in blood from his burst lungs—and the bombs would be sitting there, unhurt. They were built to stand the jump from Moon to Earth; vacuum would not hurt them at all.
He decided to stay in his space suit; explosive decompression didn’t appeal to him. Come to think about it, death from old age was his choice.
Or they could drill a hole, let out the air, and open the door without wrecking the lock. Or Towers might even have a new airlock built outside the old. Not likely, Johnny thought; a coup d’etat depended on speed. Towers was almost sure to take the quickest way—blasting. And Lopez was probably calling the Base right now. Fifteen minutes for Towers to suit up and get here, maybe a short dicker—then whoosh! the party is over.
Fifteen minutes?
In fifteen minutes the bombs might fall back into the hands of the conspirators; in fifteen minutes he must make the bombs unusable.
An atom bomb is just two or more pieces of fissionable metal, such as plutonium. Separated, they are no more explosive than a pound of butter; slapped together, they explode. The complications lie in the gadgets and circuits and gun used to slap them together in the exact way and at the exact time and place required. .
These circuits, the bomb’s “brain,” are easily destroyed—but the bomb itself is hard to destroy because of its very simplicity. Johnny decided to smash the “brains”—and quickly!
The only tools at hand were simple ones used in handling the bombs. Aside from a Geiger counter, the speaker on the walkie-talkie circuit, a television rig to the base, and the bombs themselves, the room was bare. A bomb to be worked on was taken elsewhere—not through fear of explosion, but to reduce radiation exposure for personnel. The radioactive material in a bomb is buried in a “tamper”—in these bombs, gold. Gold stops alpha, beta, and much of the deadly gamma radiation but not neutrons.
The slippery, poisonous neutrons which plutonium gives off had to escape, or a chain reaction—explosion!—would result. The room was bathed in an invisible, almost undetectable rain of neutrons. The place was unhealthy; regulations called for staying in it as short a time as possible.
The Geiger counter clicked off the “background” radiation, cosmic rays, the trace of radioactivity in the Moon’s crust, and secondary radioactivity set up all through the room by neutrons. Free neutrons have the nasty trait of infecting what they strike, making it radioactive, whether it be concrete wall or human body. In time the room would have to be abandoned.
Dahlquist twisted a knob on the Geiger counter; the instrument stopped clicking. He had used a suppressor circuit to cut out noise of “background” radiation at the level then present. It reminded him uncomfortably of the danger of staying here. He took out the radiation exposure film all radiation personnel carry; it was a direct-response type and had been fresh when he arrived. The most sensitive end was faintly darkened already. Half way down the film a red line crossed it. Theoretically, if the wearer was exposed to enough radioactivity in a week to darken the film to that line, he was, as Johnny reminded himself, a “dead duck.”
Off came the cumbersome space suit; what he needed was speed. Do the job and surrender—better to be a prisoner than to linger in a place as “hot” as this.
He grabbed a ball hammer from the tool rack and got busy, pausing only to switch off the television pick-up. The first bomb bothered him. He started to smash the cover plate of the “brain,” then stopped, filled with reluctance. All his life he had prized fine apparatus.
He nerved himself and swung; glass tinkled, metal creaked. His mood changed; he began to feel a shameful pleasure in destruction. He pushed on with enthusiasm, swinging, smashing, destroying!
So intent was he that he did not at first hear his name called.
“Dahlquist! Answer me! Are you there?”
He wiped sweat and looked at the TV screen. Towers’ perturbed features stared out.
Johnny was shocked to find that he had wrecked only six bombs. Was he going to be caught before he could finish? Oh, no! He had to finish. Stall, son, stall! “Yes, Colonel? You called me?”
“I certainly did! What’s the meaning of this?” “I’m sorry, Colonel.”
Towers’ expression relaxed a little. “Turn on your pick-up, Johnny, I can’t see you. What was that noise?”
“The pick-up is on,” Johnny lied. “It must be out of order. That noise—uh, to tell the truth, Colonel, I was fixing things so that nobody could get in here.”
Towers hesitated, then said firmly, “I’m going to assume that you are sick and send you to the Medical Officer. But I want you to come out of there, right away. That’s an order, Johnny.”
Johnny answered slowly. “I can’t just yet, Colonel. I came here to make up my mind and I haven’t quite made it up. You said to see you after lunch.”
“I meant you to stay in your quarters.”
“Yes, sir. But I thought I ought to stand watch on the bombs, in case I decided you were wrong.”
“It’s not for you to decide, Johnny. I’m your superior officer.
You are sworn to obey me.”
“Yes, sir.” This was wasting time; the old fox might have a squad on the way now. “But I swore to keep the peace, too. Could you come out here and talk it over with me? I don’t want to do the wrong thing.”
Towers smiled. “A good idea, Johnny. You wait there. I’m sure you’ll see the light.” He switched off.
“There,” said Johnny. “I hope you’re convinced that I’m a half-wit—you slimy mistake!” He picked up the hammer, ready to use the minutes gained.
He stopped almost at once; it dawned on him that wrecking the “brains” was not enough. There were no spare “brains,” but there was a well-stocked electronics shop. Morgan could jury-rig control circuits for bombs. Why, he could himself—not a neat job, but one that would work. Damnation! He would have to wreck the bombs themselves—and in the next ten minutes.
But a bomb was solid chunks of metal, encased in a heavy tamper, all tied in with a big steel gun. It couldn’t be done—not in ten minutes.
Damn!
Of course, there was one way. He knew the control circuits; he also knew how to beat them. Take this bomb: if he took out the safety bar, unhooked the proximity circuit, shorted the delay circuit, and cut in the arming circuit by hand—then unscrewed that and reached in there, he could, with just a long, stiff wire, set the bomb off.
Blowing the other bombs and the valley itself to Kingdom Come.
Also Johnny Dahlquist. That was the rub.
All this time he was doing what he had thought out, up to the step of actually setting off the bomb. Ready to go, the bomb seemed to threaten, as if crouching to spring. He stood up, sweating.
He wondered if he had the courage. He did not want to funk—and hoped that he would. He dug into his jacket and took out a picture of Edith and the baby. “Honeychile,” he said, “if I get out of this, I’ll never even try to beat a red light.” He kissed the picture and put it back. There was nothing to do but wait.
What was keeping Towers? Johnny wanted to make sure that Towers was in blast range. What a joke on the jerk! Me—sitting here, ready to throw the switch on him. The idea tickled him; it led to a better: why blow himself up—alive?
There was another way to rig it—a “dead man” control. Jigger up some way so that the last step, the one that set off the bomb, would not happen as long as he kept his hand on a switch or a lever or something. Then, if they blew open the door, or shot him, or anything—up goes the balloon!
Better still, if he could hold them off with the threat of it, sooner or later help would come—Johnny was sure that most of the Patrol was not in this stinking conspiracy—and then: Johnny comes marching home! What a reunion! He’d resign and get a teaching job; he’d stood his watch.
All the while, he was working. Electrical? No, too little time. Make it a simple mechanical linkage. He had it doped out but had hardly begun to build it when the loudspeaker called him. “Johnny?”
“That you, Colonel?” His hands kept busy.
“Let me in.”
“Well, now, Colonel, that wasn’t in the agreement.” Where in blue blazes was something to use as a long lever?
“I’ll come in alone, Johnny, I give you my word. We’ll talk face to face.”
His word! “We can talk over the speaker, Colonel.” Hey, that was it—a yardstick, hanging on the tool rack.
“Johnny, I’m warning you. Let me in, or I’ll blow the door off.”
” wire—he needed a wire, fairly long and stiff. He tore the antenna from his suit. “You wouldn’t do that, Colonel. It would ruin the bombs.”
“Vacuum won’t hurt the bombs. Quit stalling.”
“Better check with Major Morgan. Vacuum won’t hurt them; explosive decompression would wreck every circuit.” The Colonel was not a bomb specialist; he shut up for several minutes. Johnny went on working.
“Dahlquist,” Towers resumed, “that was a clumsy lie. I checked with Morgan. You have sixty seconds to get into your suit, if you aren’t already. I’m going to blast the door.”
“No, you won’t,” said Johnny. “Ever hear of a ‘dead man’ switch?” Now for a counterweight—and a sling.”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“I’ve rigged number seventeen to set off by hand. But I put in a gimmick. It won’t blow while I hang on to a strap I’ve got in my hand. But if anything happens to me—up she goes! You are about fifty feet from the blast center. Think it over.”
There was a short silence. “I don’t believe you.”
“No? Ask Morgan. He’ll believe me. He can inspect it, over the TV pick-up.” Johnny lashed the belt of his space suit to the end of the yardstick.
“You said the pick-up was out of order.”
“So I lied. This time I’ll prove it. Have Morgan call me.”
Presently Major Morgan’s face appeared. “Lieutenant Dahlquist?”
“Hi, Stinky. Wait a sec.” With great care Dahlquist made one last connection while holding down the end of the yardstick. Still careful, he shifted his grip to the belt, sat down on the floor, stretched an arm and switched on the TV pick-up. “Can you see me, Stinky?”
“I can see you,” Morgan answered stiffly. “What is this nonsense?”
“A little surprise I whipped up.” He explained it—what circuits he had cut out, what ones had been shorted, just how the jury-rigged mechanical sequence fitted in.
Morgan nodded. “But you’re bluffing, Dahlquist, I feel sure that you haven’t disconnected the ‘K’ circuit. You don’t have the guts to blow yourself up.”
Johnny chuckled. “I sure haven’t. But that’s the beauty of it. It can’t go off, so long as I am alive. If your greasy boss, ex-Colonel Towers, blasts the door, then I’m dead and the bomb goes off. It won’t matter to me, but it will to him. Better tell him.” He switched off.
Towers came on over the speaker shortly. “Dahlquist?”
“I hear you.”
“‘There’s no need to throwaway your life. Come out and you will be retired on full pay. You can go home to your family. That’s a promise.”
Johnny got mad. “You keep my family out of this!”
“Think of them, man.”
“Shut up. Get back to your hole. I feel a need to scratch and this whole shebang might just explode in your lap.”
II
Johnny sat up with a start. He had dozed, his hand hadn’t let go the sling, but he had the shakes when he thought about it.
Maybe he should disarm the bomb and depend on their not daring to dig him out? But Towers’ neck was already in hock for treason; Towers might risk it. If he did and the bomb were disarmed, Johnny would be dead and Towers would have the bombs. No, he had gone this far; he wouldn’t let his baby girl grow up in a dictatorship just to catch some sleep.
He heard the Geiger counter clicking and remembered having used the suppressor circuit. The radioactivity in the room must be increasing, perhaps from scattering the “brain” circuits-the circuits were sure to be infected; they had lived too long too close to plutonium. He dug out his film.
The dark area was spreading toward the red line.
He put it back and said, “Pal, better break this deadlock oryou are going to shine like a watch dial.” It was a figure of speech; infected animal tissue does not glow—it simply dies, slowly.
The TV screen lit up; Towers’ face appeared. “Dahlquist? I want to talk to you.”
“Go fly a kite.”
“Let’s admit you have us inconvenienced.”
“Inconvenienced, hell—I’ve got you stopped.”
“For the moment. I’m arranging to get more bombs—”
“Liar.”
“—but you are slowing us up. I have a proposition.”
“Not interested.”
“Wait. When this is over I will be chief of the world government. If you cooperate, even now, I will make you my administrative head.”
Johnny told him what to do with it. Towers said, “Don’t be stupid. What do you gain by dying?”
Johnny grunted. “Towers, what a prime stinker you are.
You spoke of my family. I’d rather see them dead than living under a two-bit Napoleon like you. Now go away—I’ve got some thinking to do.”
Towers switched off.
Johnny got out his film again. It seemed no darker but it re-minded him forcibly that time was running out. He was hungry and thirsty—and he could not stay awake forever. It took four days to get a ship up from Earth; he could not expect rescue any sooner. And he wouldn’t last four days—once the darkening spread past the red line he was a goner.
His only chance was to wreck the bombs beyond repair, and get out—before that film got much darker.
He thought about ways, then got busy. He hung a weight on the sling, tied a line to it. If Towers blasted the door, he hoped to jerk the rig loose before he died.
There was a simple, though arduous, way to wreck the bombs beyond any capacity of Moon Base to repair them. The heart of each was two hemispheres of plutonium, their flat surface polished smooth to permit perfect contact when slapped together. Anything less would prevent the chain reaction on which atomic explosion depended.
Johnny started taking apart one of the bombs.
He had to bash off four lugs, then break the glass envelope around the inner assembly. Aside from that the bomb came apart easily. At last he had in front of him two gleaming, mirror-perfect half globes.
A blow with the hammer—and one was no longer perfect. Another blow and the second cracked like glass; he had trapped its crystalline structure just right.
Hours later, dead tired, he went back to the armed bomb. Forcing himself to steady down, with extreme care he disarmed it. Shortly its silvery hemispheres too were useless. There was no longer a usable bomb in the room—but huge fortunes in the most valuable, most poisonous, and most deadly metal in the known world were spread around the floor.
Johnny looked at the deadly stuff. “Into your suit and out of here, son,” he said aloud. “I wonder what Towers will say?”
He walked toward the rack, intending to hang up the hammer. As he passed, the Geiger counter chattered wildly.
Plutonium hardly affects a Geiger counter; secondary infection from plutonium does. Johnny looked at the hammer, then held it closer to the Geiger counter. The counter screamed.
Johnny tossed it hastily away and started back toward his suit.
As he passed the counter it chattered again. He stopped short.
He pushed one hand close to the counter. Its clicking picked up to a steady roar. Without moving he reached into his pocket and took out his exposure film.
It was dead black from end to end.
III
Plutonium taken into the body moves quickly to bone marrow. Nothing can be done; the victim is finished. Neutrons from it smash through the body, ionizing tissue, transmuting atoms into radioactive isotopes, destroying and killing. The fatal dose is unbelievably small; a mass a tenth the size of a grain of table salt is more than enough—a dose small enough to enter through the tiniest scratch. During the historic “Manhattan Project” immediate high amputation was considered the only possible first-aid measure.
Johnny knew all this but it no longer disturbed him. He sat on the floor, smoking a hoarded cigarette, and thinking. The events of his long watch were running through his mind.
He blew a puff of smoke at the Geiger counter and smiled without humor to hear it chatter more loudly. By now even his breath was “hot”—carbon-14, he supposed, exhaled from his blood stream as carbon dioxide. It did not matter.
There was no longer any point in surrendering, nor would he give Towers the satisfaction—he would finish out this watch right here. Besides, by keeping up the bluff that one bomb was ready to blow, he could stop them from capturing the raw material from which bombs were made. That might be important in the long run.
He accepted, without surprise, the fact that he was not unhappy. There was a sweetness about having no further worries of any sort. He did not hurt, he was not uncomfortable, he was no longer even hungry. Physically he still felt fine and his mind was at peace. He was dead—he knew that he was dead; yet for a time he was able to walk and breathe and see and feel.
He was not even lonesome. He was not alone; there were comrades with him—the boy with his finger in the dike, Colonel Bowie, too ill to move but insisting that he be carried across the line, the dying Captain of the Chesapeake still with deathless challenge on his lips, Rodger Young peering into the gloom. They gathered about him in the dusky bomb room.
And of course there was Edith. She was the only one he was aware of. Johnny wished that he could see her face more clearly. Was she angry? Or proud and happy?
Proud though unhappy—he could see her better now and even feel her hand. He held very still.
Presently his cigarette burned down to his fingers. He took a final puff, blew it at the Geiger counter, and put it out. It was his last. He gathered several butts and fashioned a roll-your-own with a bit of paper found in a pocket. He lit it care-fully and settled back to wait for Edith to show up again. He was very happy.
He was still propped against the bomb case, the last of his salvaged cigarettes cold at his side, when the speaker called out again. “Johnny? Hey, Johnny! Can you hear me? This is Kelly. It’s all over. The Lafayette landed and Towers blew his brains out. Johnny? Answer me.”
When they opened the outer door, the first man in carried a Geiger counter in front of him on the end of a long pole. He stopped at the threshold and backed out hastily. “Hey, chief!” he called. “Better get some handling equipment—uh, and a lead coffin, too.”
* * *
"Four days it took the little ship and her escort to reach Earth. Four days while all of Earth's people awaited her arrival. For ninety-eight hours all commercial programs were of} television; instead there was an endless dirge—-the Dead March tram Saul, the Valhalla theme, Going Home, the Patrol's own Landing Orbit.
"The nine ships landed at Chicago Port. A drone tractor removed the casket from the small ship; the ship was then refueled and blasted off in an escape trajectory, thrown away into outer space, never again to be used for a lesser purpose.
"The tractor progressed to the Illinois town where Lieutenant Dahlquist had been born, while the dirge continued. There it placed the casket on a pedestal, inside a barrier marking the distance of safe approach. Space marines, arms reversed and heads bowed, stood guard around it; the crowds stayed outside this circle. And still the dirge continued.
"When enough time had passed, long, long after the heaped flowers had withered, the lead casket was enclosed in marble, just as you see it today."
Conclusion
When George Soros offers you millions of dollars and a lifetime of service by prostitutes as long as you do his bidding, would you do it? Don’t laugh. It happened. Check this out here;
What if you could get a nice pension for not teaching High School students the United States Constitution? Or looking the other way, when bills are passed that violate the Bill of Rights? What if by not taking any action, you would get enormous lumps of money and prestige? All you need to do is “be a team player” and “go with the flow”? What if?
Well it has happened. Go here…
What if you could get a position in government and collect all the top secret documents, and sell them to the highest bidding foreign nation? What if you could get away with it, and have all of the government support you? What if you could get away with it/ Would you do it?
It’s happened. Go here…
Ultimately the life we live is do to what we do, or what we do not do. The world that we live in today is a direct consequence of our actions, or (in the case of many Americans) our inaction. I think it is high time that we reverse this trend and start standing up for ourselves.
Take Aways
Fictional stories are enjoyable to read, but have meaning in important ways.
This story was written after World War II, when the idea of a tyrannical government was fresh in the minds of Americans.
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 story was written right after World War II by Ray Bradbury, and presented here under Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law.
“A Sound of Thunder” is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury, first published in Collier’s magazine in the June 28, 1952, issue and Bradbury’s collection The Golden Apples of the Sun in 1953.
Ray Bradberry is one of my personal heroes and his writings greatly influenced me in ways that I am only just now beginning to understand.
Introduction
“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.
I have found this version of the story “A Sound of Thunder” 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. And, of course, credit to the great master; Ray Bradbury for providing this work of art for our inspiration and pleasure.
Full Text
Here is the full text of the masterpiece. I will let the reader read it and enjoy it.
A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury
The sign on the wall seemed to quaver under a film of sliding warm water. Eckels felt his eyelids blink over his stare, and the sign burned in this momentary darkness:
TIME SAFARI, INC.
SAFARIS TO ANY YEAR IN THE PAST.
YOU NAME THE ANIMAL.
WE TAKE YOU THERE.
YOU SHOOT IT.
Warm phlegm gathered in Eckels' throat; he swallowed and pushed it down. The muscles around his mouth formed a smile as he put his hand slowly out upon the air, and in that hand waved a check for ten thousand dollars to the man behind the desk.
"Does this safari guarantee I come back alive?"
"We guarantee nothing," said the official, "except the dinosaurs." He turned. "This is Mr. Travis, your Safari Guide in the Past. He'll tell you what and where to shoot. If he says no shooting, no shooting. If you disobey instructions, there's a stiff penalty of another ten thousand dollars, plus possible government action, on your return."
Eckels glanced across the vast office at a mass and tangle, a snaking and humming of wires and steel boxes, at an aurora that flickered now orange, now silver, now blue. There was a sound like a gigantic bonfire burning all of Time, all the years and all the parchment calendars, all the hours piled high and set aflame.
A touch of the hand and this burning would, on the instant, beautifully reverse itself. Eckels remembered the wording in the advertisements to the letter. Out of chars and ashes, out of dust and coals, like golden salamanders, the old years, the green years, might leap; roses sweeten the air, white hair turn Irish-black, wrinkles vanish; all, everything fly back to seed, flee death, rush down to their beginnings, suns rise in western skies and set in glorious easts, moons eat themselves opposite to the custom, all and everything cupping one in another like Chinese boxes, rabbits into hats, all and everything returning to the fresh death, the seed death, the green death, to the time before the beginning.
A touch of a hand might do it, the merest touch of a hand.
"Unbelievable." Eckels breathed, the light of the Machine on his thin face. "A real Time Machine." He shook his head. "Makes you think, If the election had gone badly yesterday, I might be here now running away from the results. Thank God Keith won. He'll make a fine President of the United States."
"Yes," said the man behind the desk. "We're lucky. If Deutscher had gotten in, we'd have the worst kind of dictatorship. There's an anti everything man for you, a militarist, anti-Christ, anti-human, anti-intellectual. People called us up, you know, joking but not joking. Said if Deutscher became President they wanted to go live in 1492. Of course it's not our business to conduct Escapes, but to form Safaris. Anyway, Keith's President now. All you got to worry about is-"
"Shooting my dinosaur," Eckels finished it for him.
"A Tyrannosaurus Rex. The Tyrant Lizard, the most incredible monster in history. Sign this release. Anything happens to you, we're not responsible. Those dinosaurs are hungry."
Eckels flushed angrily. "Trying to scare me!"
"Frankly, yes. We don't want anyone going who'll panic at the first shot. Six Safari leaders were killed last year, and a dozen hunters. We're here to give you the severest thrill a real hunter ever asked for. Traveling you back sixty million years to bag the biggest game in all of Time. Your personal check's still there. Tear it up."Mr. Eckels looked at the check. His fingers twitched.
"Good luck," said the man behind the desk. "Mr. Travis, he's all yours."
They moved silently across the room, taking their guns with them, toward the Machine, toward the silver metal and the roaring light.
First a day and then a night and then a day and then a night, then it was day-night-day-night. A week, a month, a year, a decade! A.D. 2055. A.D. 2019. 1999! 1957! Gone! The Machine roared.
They put on their oxygen helmets and tested the intercoms.
Eckels swayed on the padded seat, his face pale, his jaw stiff. He felt the trembling in his arms and he looked down and found his hands tight on the new rifle. There were four other men in the Machine. Travis, the Safari Leader, his assistant, Lesperance, and two other hunters, Billings and Kramer. They sat looking at each other, and the years blazed around them.
"Can these guns get a dinosaur cold?" Eckels felt his mouth saying.
"If you hit them right," said Travis on the helmet radio. "Some dinosaurs have two brains, one in the head, another far down the spinal column. We stay away from those. That's stretching luck. Put your first two shots into the eyes, if you can, blind them, and go back into the brain."
The Machine howled. Time was a film run backward. Suns fled and ten million moons fled after them. "Think," said Eckels. "Every hunter that ever lived would envy us today. This makes Africa seem like Illinois."
The Machine slowed; its scream fell to a murmur. The Machine stopped.
The sun stopped in the sky.
The fog that had enveloped the Machine blew away and they were in an old time, a very old time indeed, three hunters and two Safari Heads with their blue metal guns across their knees.
"Christ isn't born yet," said Travis, "Moses has not gone to the mountains to talk with God. The Pyramids are still in the earth, waiting to be cut out and put up. Remember that. Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon, Hitler-none of them exists." The man nodded.
"That" - Mr. Travis pointed - "is the jungle of sixty million two thousand and fifty-five years before President Keith."
He indicated a metal path that struck off into green wilderness, over streaming swamp, among giant ferns and palms.
"And that," he said, "is the Path, laid by Time Safari for your use,
It floats six inches above the earth. Doesn't touch so much as one grass blade, flower, or tree. It's an anti-gravity metal. Its purpose is to keep you from touching this world of the past in any way. Stay on the Path. Don't go off it. I repeat. Don't go off. For any reason! If you fall off, there's a penalty. And don't shoot any animal we don't okay."
"Why?" asked Eckels.
They sat in the ancient wilderness. Far birds' cries blew on a wind, and the smell of tar and an old salt sea, moist grasses, and flowers the color of blood.
"We don't want to change the Future. We don't belong here in the Past. The government doesn't like us here. We have to pay big graft to keep our franchise. A Time Machine is finicky business. Not knowing it, we might kill an important animal, a small bird, a roach, a flower even, thus destroying an important link in a growing species."
"That's not clear," said Eckels.
"All right," Travis continued, "say we accidentally kill one mouse here. That means all the future families of this one particular mouse are destroyed, right?"
"Right"
"And all the families of the families of the families of that one mouse! With a stamp of your foot, you annihilate first one, then a dozen, then a thousand, a million, a billion possible mice!"
"So they're dead," said Eckels. "So what?"
"So what?" Travis snorted quietly. "Well, what about the foxes that'll need those mice to survive? For want of ten mice, a fox dies. For want of ten foxes a lion starves. For want of a lion, all manner of insects, vultures, infinite billions of life forms are thrown into chaos and destruction.
Eventually it all boils down to this: fifty-nine million years later, a caveman, one of a dozen on the entire world, goes hunting wild boar or saber-toothed tiger for food. But you, friend, have stepped on all the tigers in that region. By stepping on one single mouse. So the caveman starves. And the caveman, please note, is not just any expendable man, no! He is an entire future nation. From his loins would have sprung ten sons. From their loins one hundred sons, and thus onward to a civilization. Destroy this one man, and you destroy a race, a people, an entire history of life. It is comparable to slaying some of Adam's grandchildren. The stomp of your foot, on one mouse, could start an earthquake, the effects of which could shake our earth and destinies down through Time, to their very foundations.
With the death of that one caveman, a billion others yet unborn are throttled in the womb. Perhaps Rome never rises on its seven hills. Perhaps Europe is forever a dark forest, and only Asia waxes healthy and teeming. Step on a mouse and you crush the Pyramids. Step on a mouse and you leave your print, like a Grand Canyon, across Eternity. Queen Elizabeth might never be born, Washington might not cross the Delaware, there might never be a United States at all. So be careful. Stay on the Path. Never step off!"
"I see," said Eckels. "Then it wouldn't pay for us even to touch the grass?"
"Correct. Crushing certain plants could add up infinitesimally. A little error here would multiply in sixty million years, all out of proportion. Of course maybe our theory is wrong. Maybe Time can't be changed by us. Or maybe it can be changed only in little subtle ways. A dead mouse here makes an insect imbalance there, a population disproportion later, a bad harvest further on, a depression, mass starvation, and finally, a change in social temperament in far-flung countries. Something much more subtle, like that. Perhaps only a soft breath, a whisper, a hair, pollen on the air, such a slight, slight change that unless you looked close you wouldn't see it. Who knows? Who really can say he knows? We don't know. We're guessing. But until we do know for certain whether our messing around in Time can make a big roar or a little rustle in history, we're being careful. This Machine, this Path, your clothing and bodies, were sterilized, as you know, before the journey. We wear these oxygen helmets so we can't introduce our bacteria into an ancient atmosphere."
"How do we know which animals to shoot?"
"They're marked with red paint," said Travis. "Today, before our journey, we sent Lesperance here back with the Machine. He came to this particular era and followed certain animals."
"Studying them?"
"Right," said Lesperance. "I track them through their entire existence, noting which of them lives longest. Very few. How many times they mate. Not often. Life's short, When I find one that's going to die when a tree falls on him, or one that drowns in a tar pit, I note the exact hour, minute, and second. I shoot a paint bomb. It leaves a red patch on his side. We can't miss it. Then I correlate our arrival in the Past so that we meet the Monster not more than two minutes before he would have died anyway. This way, we kill only animals with no future, that are never going to mate again. You see how careful we are?"
"But if you come back this morning in Time," said Eckels eagerly, you must've bumped into us, our Safari! How did it turn out? Was it successful? Did all of us get through-alive?"
Travis and Lesperance gave each other a look.
"That'd be a paradox," said the latter. "Time doesn't permit that sort of mess-a man meeting himself. When such occasions threaten, Time steps aside. Like an airplane hitting an air pocket. You felt the Machine jump just before we stopped? That was us passing ourselves on the way back to the Future. We saw nothing. There's no way of telling if this expedition was a success, if we got our monster, or whether all of us - meaning you, Mr. Eckels - got out alive."
Eckels smiled palely.
"Cut that," said Travis sharply. "Everyone on his feet!"
They were ready to leave the Machine.
The jungle was high and the jungle was broad and the jungle was the entire world forever and forever. Sounds like music and sounds like flying tents filled the sky, and those were pterodactyls soaring with cavernous gray wings, gigantic bats of delirium and night fever.
Eckels, balanced on the narrow Path, aimed his rifle playfully.
"Stop that!" said Travis. "Don't even aim for fun, blast you! If your guns should go off - - "
Eckels flushed. "Where's our Tyrannosaurus?"
Lesperance checked his wristwatch. "Up ahead, We'll bisect his trail in sixty seconds. Look for the red paint! Don't shoot till we give the word. Stay on the Path. Stay on the Path!"
They moved forward in the wind of morning.
"Strange," murmured Eckels. "Up ahead, sixty million years, Election Day over. Keith made President. Everyone celebrating. And here we are, a million years lost, and they don't exist. The things we worried about for months, a lifetime, not even born or thought of yet."
"Safety catches off, everyone!" ordered Travis. "You, first shot, Eckels. Second, Billings, Third, Kramer."
"I've hunted tiger, wild boar, buffalo, elephant, but now, this is it," said Eckels. "I'm shaking like a kid."
"Ah," said Travis.
Everyone stopped.
Travis raised his hand. "Ahead," he whispered. "In the mist. There he is. There's His Royal Majesty now."
The jungle was wide and full of twitterings, rustlings, murmurs, and sighs.
Suddenly it all ceased, as if someone had shut a door.
Silence.
A sound of thunder.
Out of the mist, one hundred yards away, came Tyrannosaurus Rex.
"It," whispered Eckels. "It......
"Sh!"
It came on great oiled, resilient, striding legs. It towered thirty feet above half of the trees, a great evil god, folding its delicate watchmaker's claws close to its oily reptilian chest. Each lower leg was a piston, a thousand pounds of white bone, sunk in thick ropes of muscle, sheathed over in a gleam of pebbled skin like the mail of a terrible warrior. Each thigh was a ton of meat, ivory, and steel mesh. And from the great breathing cage of the upper body those two delicate arms dangled out front, arms with hands which might pick up and examine men like toys, while the snake neck coiled. And the head itself, a ton of sculptured stone, lifted easily upon the sky. Its mouth gaped, exposing a fence of teeth like daggers. Its eyes rolled, ostrich eggs, empty of all expression save hunger. It closed its mouth in a death grin. It ran, its pelvic bones crushing aside trees and bushes, its taloned feet clawing damp earth, leaving prints six inches deep wherever it settled its weight.
It ran with a gliding ballet step, far too poised and balanced for its ten tons. It moved into a sunlit area warily, its beautifully reptilian hands feeling the air.
"Why, why," Eckels twitched his mouth. "It could reach up and grab the moon."
"Sh!" Travis jerked angrily. "He hasn't seen us yet."
"It can't be killed," Eckels pronounced this verdict quietly, as if there could be no argument. He had weighed the evidence and this was his considered opinion. The rifle in his hands seemed a cap gun. "We were fools to come. This is impossible."
"Shut up!" hissed Travis.
"Nightmare."
"Turn around," commanded Travis. "Walk quietly to the Machine. We'll remit half your fee."
"I didn't realize it would be this big," said Eckels. "I miscalculated, that's all. And now I want out."
"It sees us!"
"There's the red paint on its chest!"
The Tyrant Lizard raised itself. Its armored flesh glittered like a thousand green coins. The coins, crusted with slime, steamed. In the slime, tiny insects wriggled, so that the entire body seemed to twitch and undulate, even while the monster itself did not move. It exhaled. The stink of raw flesh blew down the wilderness.
"Get me out of here," said Eckels. "It was never like this before. I was always sure I'd come through alive. I had good guides, good safaris, and safety. This time, I figured wrong. I've met my match and admit it. This is too much for me to get hold of."
"Don't run," said Lesperance. "Turn around. Hide in the Machine."
"Yes." Eckels seemed to be numb. He looked at his feet as if trying to make them move. He gave a grunt of helplessness.
"Eckels!"
He took a few steps, blinking, shuffling.
"Not that way!"
The Monster, at the first motion, lunged forward with a terrible scream. It covered one hundred yards in six seconds. The rifles jerked up and blazed fire. A windstorm from the beast's mouth engulfed them in the stench of slime and old blood. The Monster roared, teeth glittering with sun.
Eckels, not looking back, walked blindly to the edge of the Path, his gun limp in his arms, stepped off the Path, and walked, not knowing it, in the jungle. His feet sank into green moss. His legs moved him, and he felt alone and remote from the events behind.
The rifles cracked again, Their sound was lost in shriek and lizard thunder. The great level of the reptile's tail swung up, lashed sideways. Trees exploded in clouds of leaf and branch. The Monster twitched its jeweler's hands down to fondle at the men, to twist them in half, to crush them like berries, to cram them into its teeth and its screaming throat. Its boulderstone eyes leveled with the men. They saw themselves mirrored. They fired at the metallic eyelids and the blazing black iris,
Like a stone idol, like a mountain avalanche, Tyrannosaurus fell.
Thundering, it clutched trees, pulled them with it. It wrenched and tore the metal Path. The men flung themselves back and away. The body hit, ten tons of cold flesh and stone. The guns fired. The Monster lashed its armored tail, twitched its snake jaws, and lay still. A fount of blood spurted from its throat. Somewhere inside, a sac of fluids burst. Sickening gushes drenched the hunters. They stood, red and glistening.
The thunder faded.
The jungle was silent. After the avalanche, a green peace. After the nightmare, morning.
Billings and Kramer sat on the pathway and threw up. Travis and Lesperance stood with smoking rifles, cursing steadily. In the Time Machine, on his face, Eckels lay shivering. He had found his way back to the Path, climbed into the Machine.
Travis came walking, glanced at Eckels, took cotton gauze from a metal box, and returned to the others, who were sitting on the Path.
"Clean up."
They wiped the blood from their helmets. They began to curse too. The Monster lay, a hill of solid flesh. Within, you could hear the sighs and murmurs as the furthest chambers of it died, the organs malfunctioning, liquids running a final instant from pocket to sac to spleen, everything shutting off, closing up forever. It was like standing by a wrecked locomotive or a steam shovel at quitting time, all valves being released or levered tight. Bones cracked; the tonnage of its own flesh, off balance, dead weight, snapped the delicate forearms, caught underneath. The meat settled, quivering.
Another cracking sound. Overhead, a gigantic tree branch broke from its heavy mooring, fell. It crashed upon the dead beast with finality.
"There." Lesperance checked his watch. "Right on time. That's the giant tree that was scheduled to fall and kill this animal originally." He glanced at the two hunters. "You want the trophy picture?"
"What?"
"We can't take a trophy back to the Future. The body has to stay right here where it would have died originally, so the insects, birds, and bacteria can get at it, as they were intended to. Everything in balance. The body stays. But we can take a picture of you standing near it."
The two men tried to think, but gave up, shaking their heads.
They let themselves be led along the metal Path. They sank wearily into the Machine cushions. They gazed back at the ruined Monster, the stagnating mound, where already strange reptilian birds and golden insects were busy at the steaming armor. A sound on the floor of the Time Machine stiffened them. Eckels sat there, shivering.
"I'm sorry," he said at last.
"Get up!" cried Travis.
Eckels got up.
"Go out on that Path alone," said Travis. He had his rifle pointed, "You're not coming back in the Machine. We're leaving you here!"
Lesperance seized Travis's arm. "Wait-"
"Stay out of this!" Travis shook his hand away. "This fool nearly killed us. But it isn't that so much, no. It's his shoes! Look at them! He ran off the Path. That ruins us! We'll forfeit! Thousands of dollars of insurance! We guarantee no one leaves the Path. He left it. Oh, the fool! I'll have to report to the government. They might revoke our license to travel. Who knows what he's done to Time, to History!"
"Take it easy, all he did was kick up some dirt."
"How do we know?" cried Travis. "We don't know anything! It's all a mystery! Get out of here, Eckels!"
Eckels fumbled his shirt. "I'll pay anything. A hundred thousand dollars!"
Travis glared at Eckels' checkbook and spat. "Go out there. The Monster's next to the Path. Stick your arms up to your elbows in his mouth. Then you can come back with us."
"That's unreasonable!"
"The Monster's dead, you idiot. The bullets! The bullets can't be left behind. They don't belong in the Past; they might change anything. Here's my knife. Dig them out!"
The jungle was alive again, full of the old tremorings and bird cries. Eckels turned slowly to regard the primeval garbage dump, that hill of nightmares and terror. After a long time, like a sleepwalker he shuffled out along the Path.
He returned, shuddering, five minutes later, his arms soaked and red to the elbows. He held out his hands. Each held a number of steel bullets. Then he fell. He lay where he fell, not moving.
"You didn't have to make him do that," said Lesperance.
"Didn't I? It's too early to tell." Travis nudged the still body. "He'll live. Next time he won't go hunting game like this. Okay." He jerked his thumb wearily at Lesperance. "Switch on. Let's go home."
1492. 1776. 1812.
They cleaned their hands and faces. They changed their caking shirts and pants. Eckels was up and around again, not speaking. Travis glared at him for a full ten minutes.
"Don't look at me," cried Eckels. "I haven't done anything."
"Who can tell?"
"Just ran off the Path, that's all, a little mud on my shoes-what do you want me to do-get down and pray?"
"We might need it. I'm warning you, Eckels, I might kill you yet. I've got my gun ready."
"I'm innocent. I've done nothing!"
1999.2000.2055.
The Machine stopped.
"Get out," said Travis.
The room was there as they had left it. But not the same as they had left it. The same man sat behind the same desk. But the same man did not quite sit behind the same desk. Travis looked around swiftly. "Everything okay here?" he snapped.
"Fine. Welcome home!"
Travis did not relax. He seemed to be looking through the one high window.
"Okay, Eckels, get out. Don't ever come back." Eckels could not move.
"You heard me," said Travis. "What're you staring at?"
Eckels stood smelling of the air, and there was a thing to the air, a chemical taint so subtle, so slight, that only a faint cry of his subliminal senses warned him it was there. The colors, white, gray, blue, orange, in the wall, in the furniture, in the sky beyond the window, were . . . were . . . . And there was a feel. His flesh twitched. His hands twitched. He stood drinking the oddness with the pores of his body. Somewhere, someone must have been screaming one of those whistles that only a dog can hear. His body screamed silence in return. Beyond this room, beyond this wall, beyond this man who was not quite the same man seated at this desk that was not quite the same desk . . . lay an entire world of streets and people. What sort of world it was now, there was no telling. He could feel them moving there, beyond the walls, almost, like so many chess pieces blown in a dry wind ....
But the immediate thing was the sign painted on the office wall, the same sign he had read earlier today on first entering. Somehow, the sign had changed:
TYME SEFARI INC.
SEFARIS TU ANY YEER EN THE PAST.
YU NAIM THE ANIMALL.
WEE TAEK YU THAIR.
YU SHOOT ITT.
Eckels felt himself fall into a chair. He fumbled crazily at the thick slime on his boots. He held up a clod of dirt, trembling, "No, it can't be. Not a little thing like that. No!"
Embedded in the mud, glistening green and gold and black, was a butterfly, very beautiful and very dead.
"Not a little thing like that! Not a butterfly!" cried Eckels.
It fell to the floor, an exquisite thing, a small thing that could upset balances and knock down a line of small dominoes and then big dominoes and then gigantic dominoes, all down the years across Time. Eckels' mind whirled. It couldn't change things. Killing one butterfly couldn't be that important! Could it?
His face was cold. His mouth trembled, asking: "Who - who won the presidential election yesterday?"
The man behind the desk laughed. "You joking? You know very well. Deutscher, of course! Who else? Not that fool weakling Keith. We got an iron man now, a man with guts!" The official stopped. "What's wrong?"
Eckels moaned. He dropped to his knees. He scrabbled at the golden butterfly with shaking fingers. "Can't we," he pleaded to the world, to himself, to the officials, to the Machine, "can't we take it back, can't we make it alive again? Can't we start over? Can't we-"
He did not move. Eyes shut, he waited, shivering. He heard Travis breathe loud in the room; he heard Travis shift his rifle, click the safety catch, and raise the weapon.
There was a sound of thunder.
Comments
And that was that.
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 story was written right after World War II by Ray Bradbury, and presented here under Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law.
“Kaleidoscope” is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury. It describes the last few moments of a space ship crew that survives a terrible explosion in space.
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.
Introduction
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.
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.
I have found this version of the story “Kaleidoscope” on the “Scary for Kids” website, and I have copied it here exactly as found. Credit to the wonderful people at the “Scary for Kids” website for posting it where a smuck like myself can read it within China. And, of course, credit to the great master; Ray Bradbury for providing this work of art for our inspiration and pleasure.
Full Text
Here is the full text of the masterpiece. I will let the reader read it and enjoy it themselves.
Kaleidoscope by Ray Bradbury
The first concussion cut the rocket up the side with a giant can opener. The men were thrown into space like a dozen wriggling silverfish. They were scattered into a dark sea; and the ship, in a million pieces, went on, a meteor swarm seeking a lost sun.
“Barkley, Barkley, where are you?”
The sound of voices calling like lost children on a cold night
“Woode, Woode!”
“Captain!”
“Hollis, Hollis, this is Stone.”
“Stone, this is Hollis. Where are you?”
“I don’t know. How can I? Which way is up? I’m falling. Good God, I’m falling.”
They fell. They fell as pebbles fall down wells. They were scattered as jackstones are scattered from a gigantic throw. And now instead of men there were only voices-all kinds of voices, disembodied and impassioned, in varying degrees of terror and resignation.
“We’re going away from each other.”
This was true. Hollis, swinging head over heels, knew this was true. He knew it with a vague acceptance. They were parting to go their separate ways, and nothing could bring them back. They were wearing their sealed-tight space suits with the glass tubes over their pale faces, but they hadn’t had time to lock on their force units. With them they could be small lifeboats in space, saving themselves, saving others, collecting together, finding each other until they were an island of men with some plan. But without the force units snapped to their shoulders they were meteors, senseless, each going to a separate and irrevocable fate.
A period of perhaps ten minutes elapsed while the first terror died and a metallic calm took its place. Space began to weave its strange voices in and out, on a great dark loom, crossing, recrossing, making a final pattern.
“Stone to Hollis. How long can we talk by phone?”
“It depends on how fast you’re going your way and I’m going mine.”
“An hour, I make it.”
“That should do it,” said Hollis, abstracted and quiet.
“What happened?” said Hollis a minute later.
“The rocket blew up, that’s all. Rockets do blow up.”
“Which way are you going?”
“It looks like I’ll hit the moon.”
“It’s Earth for me. Back to old Mother Earth at ten thousand miles per hour. I’ll burn like a match.” Hollis thought of it with a queer abstraction of mind. He seemed to be removed from his body, watching it fall down and down through space, as objective as he had been in regard to the first falling snowflakes of a winter season long gone.
The others were silent, thinking of the destiny that had brought them to this, falling, falling, and nothing they could do to change it. Even the captain was quiet, for there was no command or plan he knew that could put things back together again.
“Oh, it’s a long way down. Oh, if s a long way down, a long, long, long way down,” said a voice. “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die, if s a long way down.”
“Who’s that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Stimson, I think. Stimson, is that you?”
“It’s a long, long way and I don’t like it. Oh, God, I don’t like it.”
“Stimson, this is Hollis. Stimson, you hear me?”
A pause while they fell separate from one another.
“Stimson?”
“Yes.” He replied at last.
“Stimson, take it easy; we’re all in the same fix.”
“I don’t want to be here. I want to be somewhere else.”
“There’s a chance we’ll be found.”
“I must be, I must be,” said Stimson. “I don’t believe this; I don’t believe any of this is happening.”
“It’ s a bad dream,” said someone.
“Shut up!” said Hollis.
“Come and make me,” said the voice. It was Applegate. He laughed easily, with a similar objectivity. “Come and shut me up.”
Hollis for the first time felt the impossibility of his position. A great anger filled him, for he wanted more than anything at this moment to be able to do something to Applegate. He had wanted for many years to do something and now it was too late. Applegate was only a telephonic voice.
Falling, falling, falling…
Now, as if they had discovered the horror, two of the men began to scream. In a nightmare Hollis saw one of them float by, very near, screaming and screaming.
“Stop it!” The man was almost at his fingertips, screaming insanely. He would never stop. He would go on screaming for a million miles, as long as he was in radio range, disturbing all of them, making it impossible for them to talk to one another.
Hollis reached out. It was best this way. He made the extra effort and touched the man. He grasped the man’s ankle and pulled himself up along the body until he reached the head. The man screamed and clawed frantically, like a drowning swimmer. The screaming filled the universe.
One way or the other, thought Hollis. The moon or Earth or meteors will kill him, so why not now?
He smashed the man’s glass mask with his iron fist. The screaming stopped. He pushed off from the body and let it spin away on its own course, falling.
Falling, falling down space Hollis and the rest of them went in the long, endless dropping and whirling of silence.
“Hollis, you still there?”
Hollis did not speak, but felt the rush of heat in his face.
“This is Applegate again.”
“All right, Applegate.”
“Let’s talk. We haven’t anything else to do.”
The captain cut in. “That’s enough of that. We’ve got to figure a way out of this.”
“Captain, why don’t you shut up?” said Applegate.
“What!”
“You heard me, Captain. Don’t pull your rank on me, you’re ten thousand miles away by now, and let’s s not kid ourselves. As Stimson puts it, it’s a long way down.”
“See here, Applegate!”
“Can it. This is a mutiny of one. I haven’t a damn thing to lose. Your ship was a bad ship and you were a bad captain and I hope you break when you hit the Moon.”
“I’m ordering you to stop!”
“Go on, order me again.” Applegate smiled across ten thousand miles. The captain was silent. Applegate continued, “Where were we, Hollis? Oh yes, I remember. I hate you too. But you know that. You’ve known it for a long time.”
Hollis clenched his fists, helplessly.
“I want to tell you something,” said Applegate. “Make you happy. I was the one who blackballed you with the Rocket Company five years ago.”
A meteor flashed by. Hollis looked down and his left hand was gone. Blood spurted. Suddenly there was no air in his suit He had enough air in his lungs to move his right hand over and twist a knob at his left elbow, tightening the joint and sealing the leak. It had happened so quickly that he was not surprised. Nothing surprised him any more. The air in the suit came back to normal in an instant now that the leak was sealed. And the blood that had flowed so swiftly was pressured as he fastened the knob yet tighter, until it made a tourniquet.
All of this took place in a terrible silence on his part. And the other men chatted. That one man, Lespere, went on and on with his talk about his wife on Mars, his wife on Venus, his wife on Jupiter, his money, his wondrous times, his drunkenness, his gambling, his happiness. On and on, while they all fell. Lespere reminisced on the past, happy, while he fell to his death.
It was so very odd. Space, thousands of miles of space, and these voices vibrating in the center of it. No one visible at all, and only the radio waves quivering and trying to quicken other men into emotion.
“Are you angry, Hollis?”
“No.” And he was not. The abstraction has returned and he was a thing of dull concrete, forever falling nowhere.
“You wanted to get to the top all your life, Hollis. You always wondered what happened. I put the black mark on you just before I was tossed out myself.”
“That isn’t important,” said Hollis. And it was not. It was gone. When life is over it is like a flicker of bright film, an instant on the screen, all of its prejudices and passions condensed and illumined for an instant on space, and before you could cry out, “There was a happy day, there a bad one, there an evil face, there a good one,” the film burned to a cinder, the screen went dark.
From this outer edge of his life, looking back, there was only one remorse, and that was only that he wished to go on living. Did all dying people feel this way, as if they had never lived? Did life seem that short, indeed, over and done before you took a breath? Did it seem this abrupt and impossible to everyone, or only to himself, here, now, with a few hours left to him for thought and deliberation?
One of the other men, Lespere, was talking. “Well, I had me a good time: I had a wife on Mars, Venus, and Jupiter. Each of them had money and treated me swell. I got drunk and once I gambled away twenty thousand dollars.”
But you’re here now, thought Hollis. I didn’t have any of those things. When I was living I was jealous of you, Lespere; when I had another day ahead of me I envied you your women and your good times. Women frightened me and I went into space, always wanting them and jealous of you for having them, and money, and as much happiness as you could have in your own wild way. But now, falling here, with everything over, I’m not jealous of you any more, because if s over for you as it is for me, and right now if s like it never was. Hollis craned his face forward and shouted into the telephone. “If s all over, Lespere!”
Silence.
“If s just as if it never was, Lespere!”
“Who’s that?” Lespere’s faltering voice.
“This is Hollis.”
He was being mean. He felt the meanness, the senseless meanness of dying. Applegate had hurt him; now he wanted to hurt another. Applegate and space had both wounded him.
“You’re out here, Lespere. If s all over. It’s just as if it had never happened, isn’t it?”
“No.”
“When anything’s over, it’s just like it never happened. Where’s your life any better than mine, now? Now is what counts. Is it any better? Is it?”
“Yes, it’s better!”
“How!”
“Because I got my thoughts, I remember!” cried Lespere, far away, indignant, holding his memories to his chest with both hands.
And he was right. With a feeling of cold water rushing through his head and body, Hollis knew he was right. There were differences between memories and dreams. He had only dreams of things he had wanted to do, while Lespere had memories of things done and accomplished. And this knowledge began to pull Hollis apart, with a slow, quivering precision.
“What good does it do you?” he cried to Lespere. “Now? When a thing’s over it’s not good any more. You’re no better off than I.”
“I’m resting easy,” said Lespere. “I’ve had my turn. I’m not getting mean at the end, like you.”
“Mean?” Hollis turned the word on his tongue. He had never been mean, as long as he could remember, in his life. He had never dared to be mean. He must have saved it all of these years for such a time as this. “Mean.” He rolled the word into the back of his mind. He felt tears start into his eyes and roll down his face. Someone must have heard his gasping voice.
‘Take it easy, Hollis.”
It was, of course, ridiculous. Only a minute before he had been giving advice to others, to Stimson; he had felt a braveness which he had thought to be the genuine thing, and now he knew that it had been nothing but shock and the objectivity possible in shock. Now he was trying to pack a lifetime of suppressed emotion into an interval of minutes.
“I know how you feel, Hollis,” said Lespere, now twenty thousand miles away, his voice fading. “I don’t take it personally.”
But aren’t we equal? he wondered. Lespere and I? Here, now? If a thing’s over, if s done, and what good is it? You die anyway. But he knew he was rationalizing, for it was like trying to tell the difference between a live man and a corpse. There was a spark in one, and not in the other – an aura, a mysterious element.
So it was with Lespere and himself; Lespere had lived a good full life, and it made him a different man now, and he, Hollis, had been as good as dead for many years. They came to death by separate paths and, in all likelihood, if there were lands of death, their kinds would be as different as night from day. The quality of death, like that of life, must be of an infinite variety, and if one has already died once, then what was there to look for in dying for good and all, as he was now?
It was a second later that he discovered his right foot was cut sheer away. It almost made him laugh. The air was gone from his suit again. He bent quickly, and there was blood, and the meteor had taken flesh and suit away to the ankle. Oh, death in space was most humorous. It cut you away, piece by piece, like a black and invisible butcher. He tightened the valve at the knee, his head whirling into pain, fighting to remain aware, and with the valve tightened, the blood retained, the air kept, he straightened op and went on falling, falling, for that was all there was left to do.
“Hollis?”
Hollis nodded sleepily, tired of waiting for death.
“This is Applegate again,” said the voice.
“Yes.”
‘I’ve had time to think. I listened to you. This isn’t good. It makes us bad. This is a bad way to die. It brings all the bile out. You listening, Hollis?”
“Yes.”
“I lied. A minute ago. I lied. I didn’t blackball you. I don’t know why I said that. Guess I wanted to hurt you. You seemed the one to hurt. We’ve always fought Guess I’m getting old fast and repenting fast I guess listening to you be mean made me ashamed. Whatever the reason, I want you to know I was an idiot too. There’s not an ounce of truth in what I said. To hell with you.”
Hollis felt his heart begin to work again. It seemed as if it hadn’t worked for five minutes, but now all of his limbs began to take color and warmth. The shock was over, and the successive shocks of anger and terror and loneliness were passing. He felt like a man emerging from a cold shower in the morning, ready for breakfast and a new day.
“Thanks, Applegate.”
“Don’t mention it. Up your nose, you bastard.”
“Hey,” said Stone.
“What?” Hollis called across space; for Stone, of all of them, was a good friend.
“I’ve got myself into a meteor swarm, some little asteroids.”
“Meteors?”
“I think it’s the Myrmidone cluster that goes out past Mars and in toward Earth once every five years. I’m right in the middle. If s like a big kaleidoscope. You get all kinds of colors and shapes and sizes. God, if s beautiful, all that metal.”
Silence.
“I’m going with them,” said Stone. “They’re taking me off with them. I’ll be damned.” He laughed.
Hollis looked to see, but saw nothing. There were only the great diamonds and sapphires and emerald mists and velvet inks of space, with God’s voice mingling among the crystal fires. There was a kind of wonder and imagination in the thought of Stone going off in the meteor swarm, out past Mars for years and coming in toward Earth every five years, passing in and out of the planet’s ken for the next million centuries. Stone and the Myrmidone cluster eternal and unending, shifting and shaping like the kaleidoscope colors when you were a child and held the long tube to the sun and gave it a twirl.
“So long, Hollis.” Stone’s voice, very faint now. “So long.”
“Good luck,” shouted Hollis across thirty thousand miles.
“Don’t be funny,” said Stone, and was gone.
The stars closed in.
Now all the voices were fading, each on his own trajectory, some to Mars, others into farthest space. And Hollis himself… He looked down. He, of all the others, was going back to Earth alone.
“So long.”
“Take it easy.”
“So long, Hollis.” That was Applegate.
The many good-bys. The short farewells. And now the great loose brain was disintegrating. The components of the brain which had worked so beautifully and efficiently in the skull case of the rocket ship firing through space were dying one by one; the meaning of their life together was falling apart. And as a body dies when the brain ceases functioning, so the spirit of the ship and their long time together and what they meant to one another was dying. Applegate was now no more than a finger blown from the parent body, no longer to be despised and worked against. The brain was exploded, and the senseless, useless fragments of it were far scattered. The voices faded and now all of space was silent. Hollis was alone, falling.
They were all alone. Their voices had died like echoes of the words of God spoken and vibrating in the starred deep. There went the captain to the Moon; there Stone with the meteor swarm; there Stimson; there Applegate toward Pluto; there Smith and Turner and Underwood and all the rest, the shards of the kaleidoscope that had formed a thinking pattern for so long, hurled apart.
And I? thought Hollis. What can I do? Is there anything I can do now to make up for a terrible and empty life? If only I could do one good thing to make up for the meanness I collected all these years and didn’t even know was in me! But there’s no one here but myself, and how can you do good all alone? You can’t. Tomorrow night I’ll hit Earth s atmosphere.
I’ll burn, he thought, and be scattered in ashes all over the continental lands. I’ll be put to use. Just a little bit, but ashes are ashes and they’ll add to the land.
He fell swiftly, like a bullet, like a pebble, like an iron weight, objective, objective all of the time now, not sad or happy or anything, but only wishing he could do a good thing now that everything was gone, a good thing for just himself to know about.
When I hit the atmosphere, I’ll burn like a meteor.
“I wonder,” he said, “if anyone’ll see me?”
The small boy on the country road looked up and screamed. “Look, Mom, look! A falling star!”
The blazing white star fell down the sky of dusk in Illinois. “Make a wish,” said his mother. “Make a wish.”
Comments
I really enjoyed this story. It’s a little sad when we know that people have died in space and that space is really very unforgiving. If the reader enjoyed this story, then I would suggest reading “The cold equations”.
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 story was written right after World War II by Ray Bradbury, and presented here under Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law.
“Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury. It was originally published in the magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories in August 1949, under the title “The Naming of Names”. It was subsequently included in the short-story collections A Medicine for Melancholy and S is for Space. The story takes place in the near future on Mars, as is the case with many of Bradbury’s stories.
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.
Introduction
“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.
I have found this version of the story “Dark they were and Golden Eyed” 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. And, of course, credit to the great master; Ray Bradbury for providing this work of art for our inspiration and pleasure.
Full Text
Here is the full text of the masterpiece. I will let the reader read it and enjoy it themselves.
Dark They were, And Golden Eyed (The Naming of Names).
By Ray Bradbury
The rocket's metal cooled in the meadow winds. Its lid gave a bulging pop. From its clock interior stepped a man, a woman, and three children. The other passengers whispered away across the Martian meadow, leaving the man alone among his family.
The man felt his hair flutter and the tissues of his body draw tight as if he were standing at the centre of a vacuum. His wife, before him, trembled. The children, small seeds, might at any instant be sown to all the Martian climes. The children looked up at him. His face was cold. "What's wrong?" asked his wife. "Let's get back on the rocket." "Go back to Earth?" "Yes! Listen!"
The wind blew, whining. At any moment the Martian air might draw his soul from him, as marrow comes from a white bone.
He looked at Martian hills that time had worn with a crushing pressure of years. He saw the old cities, lost and lying like children's delicate bones among the blowing lakes of grass.
"Chin up, Harry," said his wife. "It's too late. We've come at least sixty-five million miles or more."
The children with their yellow hair hollered at the deep dome of Martian sky. There was no answer but the racing hiss of wind through the stiff grass.
He picked up the luggage in his cold hands. "Here we go," he said - a man standing on the edge of a sea, ready to wade in and be drowned.
They walked into town.
Their name was Bittering. Harry and his wife Cora; Tim, Laura, and David. They built a small white cottage and ate good breakfasts there, but the fear was never gone. It lay with Mr.Bittering and Mrs.Bittering, a third unbidden partner at every midnight talk, at every dawn awakening.
"I feel like a salt crystal," he often said, "in a mountain stream, being washed away. We don't belong here. We're Earth people. This is Mars. It was meant for Martians. For heaven's sake, Cora, let's buy tickets for home!"
But she only shook her head. "One day the atom bomb will fix Earth. Then we'll be safe here." "Safe and insane!"
Tick-took, seven o'clock sang the voice clock; time to get up. And they did.
Something made him check everything each morning - warm hearth, potted blood-geraniums - precisely as if he expected something to be amiss. The morning paper was toast-warm from the six a.m. Earth rocket. He broke its seal and tilted it at his breakfast plate. He forced himself to be convivial.
"Colonial days all over again," he declared. "Why, in another year there'll be a million Earthmen on Mars. Big cities, everything! They said we'd fail. Said the Martians would resent our invasion. But did we find any Martians? Not a living soul! Oh, we found their empty cities, but no one in them. Right?"
A river of wind submerged the house. When the windows ceased rattling, Mr.Bittering swallowed and looked at the children.
"I don't know," said David. "Maybe there're Martians around we don't see. Sometimes nights I think I hear 'em. I hear the wind. The sand hits my window. I get scared. And I see those towns way up in the mountains where the Martians lived a long ago. And I think I see things moving around those towns, Papa. And I wonder if those Martians mind us living here. I wonder if they won't do something to us for coming here."
"Nonsense!" Mr.Bittering looked out of the windows. "We're clean, decent people." He looked at his children. "All dead cities have some kind of ghosts in them. Memories, I mean." He stared at the hills. "You see a staircase and you wonder what Martians looked like climbing it. You see Martian paintings and you wonder what the painter was like. You make a little ghost in your mind, a memory. It's quite natural. Imagination." He stopped. "You haven't been prowling up in those ruins, have you?"
"No, Papa." David looked at his shoes.
"See that you stay away from them. Pass the jam."
"Just the same," said little David, "I bet something happens."
Something happened that afternoon.
Laura stumbled through the settlement, crying. She dashed blindly on to the porch.
"Mother, Father - the war, Earth!" she sobbed. "A radio flash just came. Atom bombs hit New York! All the space rockets blown up. No more rockets to Mars, ever!"
"Oh, Harry!" The mother held on to her husband and daughter.
"Are you sure, Laura?" asked the father quietly.
Laura wept. "We're stranded on Mars, for ever and ever!"
For a long time there was only the sound of the wind in the late afternoon.
Alone, thought Bittering. Only a thousand of us here. No way back. No way. No way. Sweat poured from his face and his hands and his body; he was drenched in the hot-ness of his fear. He wanted to strike Laura, cry, "No, you're lying! The rockets will come back!" Instead, he stroked Laura's head against him and said, "The rockets will get through, some day."
"In five years maybe. It takes that long to build one. Father, Father, what will we do?"
"Go about our business, of course. Raise crops and children. Wait. Keep things going until the war ends and the rockets come again."
The two boys stepped out on to the porch. "Children," he said, sitting there, looking beyond them, "I've something to tell you." "We know," they said.
Bittering wandered into the garden to stand alone in his fear. As long as the rockets had spun a silver web across space, he had been able to accept Mars. For he had always told himself: 'Tomorrow, if I want, I can buy a ticket and go back to Earth.'
But now: the web gone, the rockets lying in jigsaw heaps of molten girder and unsnaked wire. Earth people left to the strangeness of Mars, the cinnamon dusts and wine airs, to be baked like gingerbread shapes in Martian summers, put into harvested storage by Martian winters. What would happen to him, the others? This was the moment Mars had waited for. Now it would eat them.
He got down on his knees in the flower bed, a spade in his nervous hands. Work, he thought, work and forget.
He glanced up from the garden to the Martian mountains. He thought of the proud old Martian names that had once been on those peaks. Earthmen, dropping from the sky, had gazed upon hills, rivers, Martian seas left nameless in spite of names. Once Martians had built cities, named cities; climbed mountains, named mountains; sailed seas, named seas. Mountains melted, seas drained, cities tumbled. In spite of this, the Earthmen had felt a silent guilt at putting new names to these ancient hills and valleys.
Nevertheless, man lives by symbol and label. The names were given.
Mr.Bittering felt very alone in his garden under the Martian sun, bent here, planting Earth flowers in a wild soil.
Think. Keep thinking. Different things. Keep your mind free of Earth, the atom war, the lost rockets.
He perspired. He glanced about. No one watching. He removed his tie. Pretty bold, he thought. First your coat off, now your tie. He hung it neatly on a peach tree he had imported as a sapling from Massachusetts.
He returned to his philosophy of names and mountains. The Earthmen had changed names. Now there were Hormel Valleys, Roosevelt Seas, Ford Hills, Vanderbilt Plateaus, Rockefeller Rivers, on Mars. It wasn't right. The American settlers had shown wisdom, using old Indian prairie names: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Idaho, Ohio, Utah, Milwaukee, Waukegan, Osseo. The old names, the old meanings.
Staring at the mountains wildly he thought: 'Are you up there? All the dead ones, you Martians? Well, here we are, alone, cut off! Come down, move us out! We're helpless!'
The wind blew a shower of peach blossoms.
He put out his sun-browned hand, gave a small cry. He touched the blossoms, picked them up. He turned them, be touched them again and again. Then he shouted for his wife.
"Cora!"
She appeared at a window. He ran to her.
"Cora, these blossoms!"
She handled them.
"Do you see? They're different. They've changed! They're not peach blossoms any more!"
"Look all right to me," she said.
"They're not. They're wrong! I can't tell how. An extra petal, a leaf, something, the colour, the smell!"
The children ran out in time to see their father hurrying about the garden, pulling up radishes, onions, and carrots from their beds.
"Cora, come look!
They handled the onions, the radishes, the carrots among them.
"Do they look like carrots?"
"Yes... No." She hesitated. "I don't know."
"They're changed."
"Perhaps."
"You know they have! Onions but not onions, carrots but not carrots. Taste: the same but different. Smell: not like it used to be." He felt his heart pounding, and he was afraid. He dug his fingers into the earth. "Cora, what's happening? What is it? We've got to get away from this." He ran across the garden. Each tree felt his touch. "The roses. The roses. They're turning green!"
And they stood looking at the green roses.
And two days later, Tim came running. "Come see the cow. I was milking her and I saw it. Come on!"
They stood in the shed and looked at their one cow.
It was growing a third horn.
And the lawn in front of their house very quietly and slowly was colouring itself, like spring violets. Seed from Earth but growing up a soft purple.
"We must get away," said Bittering. "We'll eat this stuff and then we'll change - who knows to what. I can't let it happen. There's only one thing to do. Burn this food!"
"It's not poisoned."
"But it is. Subtly, very subtly. A little bit. A very little bit. We mustn't touch it."
He looked with dismay at their house. "Even the house. The wind's done something to it. The air's burned it. The fog at night. The boards, all warped out of shape. It's not an Earthman's house any more."
"Oh, your imagination!"
He put on his coat and tie. "I'm going into town. We've got to do something now. I'll be back."
"Wait, Harry!" his wife cried.
But he was gone.
In town, on the shadowy step of the grocery store, the men sat with their hands on their knees, conversing with great leisure and ease.
Mr.Bittering wanted to fire a pistol in the air.
What are you doing, you fools! he thought. Sitting here! You've heard the news - we're stranded on this planet. Well, move! Aren't you frightened? Aren't you afraid? What are you going to do?
"Hello, Harry," said everyone.
"Look," he said to them. "You did hear the news, the other day, didn't you?"
They nodded and laughed. "Sure. Sure, Harry."
"What are you going to do about it?"
"Do, Harry, do? What can we do?"
"Build a rocket, that's what!"
"A rocket, Harry? To go back to all that trouble? Oh, Harry!"
"But you must want to go back. Have you noticed the peach blossoms, the onions, the grass?"
"Why, yes, Harry, seems we did," said one of the men.
"Doesn't it scare you?"
"Can't recall that it did much, Harry."
"Idiots!"
"Now, Harry."
Bittering wanted to cry. "You've got to work with me. If we stay here, we'll all change. The air. Don't you smell it? Something in the air. A Martian virus, maybe; some seed, or a pollen. Listen to me!"
They stared at him.
"Sam," he said to one of them.
"Yes, Harry?"
"Will you help me build a rocket?"
"Harry, I got a whole load of metal and some blueprints. You want to work in my metal shop, on a rocket, you're welcome. I'll sell you that metal for five hundred dollars. You should be able to construct a right pretty rocket if you work alone, in about thirty years."
Everyone laughed.
"Don't laugh."
Sam looked at him with quiet good humour.
"Sam," Bittering said. "Your eyes -"
"What about them, Harry?"
"Didn't they used to be grey?"
"Well, now, I don't remember."
"They were, weren't they?"
"Why do you ask, Harry?"
"Because now they're kind of yellow-coloured."
"Is that so, Harry?" Sam said, casually.
"And you're taller and thinner -"
"You might be right, Harry."
"Sam, you shouldn't have yellow eyes."
"Harry, what colour eyes have you got?" Sam said.
"My eyes? They're blue, of course."
"Here you are, Harry." Sam handed him a pocket mirror. "Take a look at yourself."
Mr.Bittering hesitated, and then raised the mirror to his face.
There were little, very dim flecks of new gold captured in the blue of his eyes.
"Now look what you've done," said Sam, a moment later. "You've broken my mirror."
Harry Bittering moved into the metal shop and began to build the rocket. Men stood in the open door and talked and joked without raising their voices. Once in a while they gave him a hand on lifting something. But mostly they just idled and watched him with their yellowing eyes.
"It's supper-time, Harry," they said.
His wife appeared with his supper in a wicker basket.
"I won't touch it," he said. "I'll eat only food from our deepfreeze. Food that came from Earth. Nothing from our garden."
His wife stood watching him. "You can't build a rocket."
"I worked in a shop once, when I was twenty. I know metal. Once I get it started, the others will help," he said, not looking at her, laying out the blueprints.
"Harry, Harry," she said, helplessly.
"We've got to get away, Cora. We've got to!"
The nights were full of wind that blew down the empty moonlit sea-meadows past the little white chess cities lying for their twelve-thousandth year in the shallows. In the Earthmen's settlement, the Bittering house shook with a feeling of change.
Lying abed, Mr.Bittering felt his bones shifted, shaped, melted like gold. His wife, lying beside him, was dark from many sunny afternoons. Dark she was, and golden, burnt almost black by the sun, sleeping, and the children metallic in their beds, and the wind roaring forlorn and changing through the old peach trees, violet grass, shaking out green rose petals.
The fear would not be stopped. It had his throat and heart. It dripped in a wetness of the arm and the temple and the trembling palm.
A green star rose in the east.
A strange word emerged from Mr.Bittering's lips.
"Iorrt. Iorrt." He repeated it.
It was a Martian word. He knew no Martian.
In the middle of the night he arose and dialled a call through to Simpson, the archaeologist.
"Simpson, what does the word 'Iorrt' mean?"
"Why that's the old Martian word for our planet Earth. Why?"
"No special reason."
The telephone slipped from his hand.
"Hello, hello, hello, hello," it kept saying while he sat gazing out at the green star. "Bittering? Harry, are you there?"
The days were full of metal sound. He laid the frame of the rocket with the reluctant help of three indifferent men. He grew very tired in an hour or so and had to sit down.
"The altitude," laughed a man.
"Are you eating, Harry?" asked another.
"I'm eating," he said, angrily,
"From your deep-freeze?"
"Yes!"
"You're getting thinner, Harry."
"I'm not!"
"And taller."
"Liar!"
His wife took him aside a few days later. "Harry, I've used up all the food in the deep-freeze. There's nothing left. I'll have to make sandwiches using food grown on Mars."
He sat down heavily.
"You must eat," she said. "You're weak."
"Yes," he said.
He took a sandwich, opened it, looked at it, and began to nibble at it.
"And take the rest of the day off," she said. "It's hot. The children want to swim in the canals and hike. Please come along."
"I can't waste time. This is a crisis!" "Just for an hour," she urged. "A swim'll do you good." He rose, sweating. "All right, all right. Leave me alone. I'll come."
"Good for you, Harry."
The sun was hot, the day quiet. There was only an immense staring burn upon the land. They moved along the canal, the father, the mother, the racing children in their swimsuits. They stopped and ate meat sandwiches. He saw their skin baking brown. And he saw the yellow eyes of his wife and his children, their eyes that were never yellow before. A few tremblings shook him, but were carried off in waves of pleasant heat as he lay in the sun. He was too tired to be afraid.
"Cora, how long have your eyes been yellow?" She was bewildered. "Always, I guess." "They didn't change from brown in the last three months?"
She bit her lips. "No. Why do you ask?" "Nevermind." They sat there.
"The children's eyes," he said. "They're yellow, too." "Sometimes growing children's eyes change colour." "Maybe we're children, too. At least to Mars. That's a thought." He laughed. "Think I'll swim."
They leaped into the canal water, and he let himself sink down and down to the bottom like a golden statue and lie there in green silence. All was water, quiet and deep, all was peace. He felt the steady, slow current drift him easily.
If I lie here long enough, he thought, the water will work and eat away my flesh until the bones show like coral. Just my skeleton left. And then the water can build on that skeleton - green things, deep-water things, red things, yellow things. Change. Change. Slow, deep, silent change. And isn't that what it is up there!
He saw the sky submerged above him, the sun made Martian by atmosphere and time and space.
Up there, a big river, he thought, a Martian river, all of us lying deep in it, in our pebble houses, in our sunken boulder houses, like crayfish hidden, and the water washing away our old bodies and lengthening the bones and -
He let himself drift up through the soft light.
Tim sat on the edge of the canal, regarding his father seriously.
"Utha," he said.
"What?" asked his father.
The boy smiled. "You know. Utha's the Martian word for 'father'."
"Where did you learn it?"
"I don't know. Around. Utha!"
"What do you want?"
The boy hesitated. "I - I want to change my name."
"Change it?"
"Yes."
His mother swam over. "What's wrong with Tim for a name?"
Tim fidgeted. "The other day you called Tim, Tim, Tim. I didn't even hear. I said to myself, That's not my name. I've a new name I want to use."
Mr.Bittering held to the side of the canal, his body cold and his heart pounding slowly. "What is this new name?" "Linnl. Isn't that a good name? Can I use it? Can I, please?"
Mr.Bittering put his hand to his head. He thought of the rocket, himself working alone, himself alone even among his family, so alone.
He heard his wife say, "Why not?" He heard himself say, "Yes, you can use it." "Yaaa!" screamed the boy. "I'm Linnl, Linnl!" Racing down the meadowlands, he danced and shouted. Mr.Bittering looked at his wife. "Why did we do that?" "I don't know," she said. "It just seemed like a good idea."
They walked into the hills. They strolled on old mosaic paths, beside still-pumping fountains. The paths were covered with a thin film of cool water all summer long. You kept your bare feet cool all the day, splashing as in a creek, wading.
They came to a small deserted Martian villa with a good view of the valley. It was on top of a hill. Blue-marble halls, large murals, a swimming-pool. It was refreshing in this hot summer-time. The Martians hadn't believed in large cities.
"How nice," said Mrs.Bittering, "if you could move up here to this villa for the summer."
"Come on," he said. "We're going back to town. There's work to be done on the rocket."
But as he worked that night, the thought of the cool bluemarble villa entered his mind. As the hours passed, the rocket seemed less important.
In the flow of days and weeks, the rocket receded and dwindled. The old fever was gone. It frightened him to think he had let it slip this way. But somehow the heat, the air, the working conditions - he heard the men murmuring on the porch of his metal shop.
"Everyone's going. You heard?"
"All right. That's right."
Bittering came out. "Going where?" He saw a couple of trucks, loaded with children and furniture, drive down the dusty street.
"Up to the villa," said the man.
"Yeah, Harry. I'm going. So is Sam. Aren't you, Sam?"
"That's right, Harry. What about you?"
"I've got work to do here."
"Work! You can finish that rocket in the autumn, when it's cooler."
He took a breath. "1 got the frame all set up."
"In the autumn is better." Their voices were lazy in the heat.
"Got to work," he said.
"Autumn," they reasoned. And they sounded so sensible, so right.
"Autumn would be best," he thought. "Plenty of time, then."
No! cried part of himself, deep down, put away, locked tight, suffocating. No! No! "In the autumn," he said. "Come on, Harry," they all said.
"Yes," he said, feeling his flesh melt in the hot liquid air. "Yes, the autumn. I'll begin work again then." "I got a villa near the Tirra Canal," said someone. "You mean the Roosevelt Canal, don't you?" "Tirra. The old Martian name."
"But on the map -"
"Forget the map. It's Tirra now. Now I found a place in the Pillan mountains -"
"You mean the Rockefeller range," said Bittering.
"I mean the Pillan mountains," said Sam.
"Yes," said Bittering, buried in the hot, swarming air. "The Pillan mountains."
Everyone worked at loading the truck in the hot, still afternoon of the next day.
Laura, Tim, and David carried packages. Or, as they preferred to be known, Ttil, Linnl, and Werr carried packages.
The furniture was abandoned in the little white cottage.
"It looked just fine in Boston," said the mother. "And here in the cottage. But up at the villa? No. We'll get it when we come back in the autumn."
Bittering himself was quiet.
"I've some ideas on furniture for the villa," he said, after a time. "Big, lazy furniture."
"What about your Encyclopedia! You're taking it along, surely?"
Mr.Bittering glanced away. "I'll come and get it next week."
They turned to their daughter. "What about your New York dresses?"
The bewildered girl stared. "Why, I don't want them any more."
They shut off the gas, the water, they locked the doors and walked away. Father peered into the truck.
"Gosh, we're not taking much," he said. "Considering all we brought to Mars, this is only a handful!"
He started the truck.
Looking at the small white cottage for a long moment, he was filled with a desire to rush to it, touch it, say goodbye to it, for he felt as if he were going away on a long journey, leaving something to which he could never quite return, never understand again.
Just then Sam and his family drove by in another truck.
"Hi, Bittering! Here we go!"
The truck swung down the ancient highway out of town. There were sixty others travelling the same direction. The town filled with a silent, heavy dust from their passage. The canal waters lay blue in the sun, and a quiet wind moved in the strange trees.
"Good-bye, town!" said Mr.Bittering.
"Good-bye, good-bye," said the family, waving to it.
They did not look back again.
Summer burned the canals dry. Summer moved like flame upon the meadows. In the empty Earth settlement, the painted houses flaked and peeled. Rubber tyres upon which children had swung in back yards hung suspended like stopped clock pendulums in the blazing air.
At the metal shop, the rocket frame began to rust.
In the quiet autumn, Mr.Bittering stood, very dark now, very golden-eyed, upon the slope above his villa, looking at the valley.
"It's time to go back," said Cora.
"Yes, but we're not going," he said, quietly. "There's nothing there any more."
"Your books," she said. "Your fine clothes."
"Your Illes and your fine ior uele rre," she said.
"The town's empty. No one's going back," he said. "There's no reason to, none at all."
The daughter wove tapestries and the sons played songs on ancient flutes and pipes, their laughter echoing in the marble villa.
Mr.Bittering gazed at the Earth settlement far away in the low valley. "Such odd, such ridiculous houses the Earth people built."
"They didn't know any better," his wife mused. "Such ugly People. I'm glad they've gone."
They both looked at each other, startled by all they had just finished saying. They laughed.
"Where did they go?" he wondered. He glanced at his wife. She was golden and slender as his daughter. She looked at him, and he seemed almost as young as their eldest son.
"I don't know," she said.
"We'll go back to town maybe next year, or the year after, or the year after that," he said, calmly. "Now - I'm warm. How about taking a swim?"
They turned their backs to the valley. Arm in arm they walked silently down a path of clear running spring water.
Five years later, a rocket fell out of the sky. It lay steaming in the valley. Men leaped out of it, shouting.
"We won the war on Earth! We're here to rescue you! Hey!"
But the American-built town of cottages, peach trees, and theatres was silent. They found a half-finished rocket frame, rusting in an empty shop.
The rocket men searched the hills. The captain established headquarters in an abandoned bar. His lieutenant came back to report.
"The town's empty, but we found native life in the hills, sir. Dark people. Yellow eyes. Martians. Very friendly. We talked a bit, not much. They learn English fast. I'm sure our relations will be most friendly with them, sir."
"Dark, eh?" mused the captain. "How many?"
"Six, eight hundred, I'd say, living in those marble ruins in the hills, sir. Tall, healthy. Beautiful women."
"Did they tell you what became of the men and women who built this Earth settlement, Lieutenant?"
"They hadn't the foggiest notion of what happened to this town or its people."
"Strange. You think those Martians killed them?"
"They look surprisingly peaceful. Chances are a plague did this town in, sir."
"Perhaps. I suppose this is one of those mysteries we'll never solve. One of those mysteries you read about."
The captain looked at the room, the dusty windows, the blue mountains rising beyond, the canals moving in the light, and he heard the soft wind in the air. He shivered. Then, recovering, he tapped a large fresh map he had thumb-tacked to the top of an empty table.
"Lots to be done, Lieutenant." His voice droned on and quietly on as the sun sank behind the blue hills. "New settlements. Mining sites, minerals to be looked for. Bacteriological specimens taken. The work, all the work. And the old records were lost. We'll have a job of remapping to do, renaming the mountains and rivers and such. Calls for a little imagination."
"What do you think of naming those mountains the Lincoln Mountains, this canal the Washington Canal, those hills - we can name those hills for you, Lieutenant. Diplomacy. And you, for a favour, might name a town for me. Polishing the apple. And why not make this the Einstein Valley, and further over... are you listening, Lieutenant?"
The lieutenant snapped his gaze from the blue colour and the quiet mist of the hills far beyond the town.
"What? Oh, yes, sir!"
Conclusion
I do not remember when I first read this story, but I am pretty sure that I was in my early teens. Sometime around 1972 or so, I picked up a paperback without a cover and started to read it. I became enraptured with the book, and brought it home where I scarfed up every juicy morsel inside of it.
I later, cut the brown cardboard backing from a note pad and taped it to the front of the book, making an ugly, but functional cover. Carefully, I wrote the the title of the work “The Martian Chronicles” using a very yellow Bic Banana pen on the cover. Under it, I printed “By Ray Bradbury”.
Bookstores would often get credit for books that they could not sell. To do this, they would tear off the front covers and send them back to the publisher for credit. Behind the bookstores would be bins full of discarded paperback books. Though finding one that you would be interested in was remarkably difficult. You had to go through a couple of hundred books that could represent anything from romance novels, to Westerns, to books on the surviving the future snowball earth as a consequence of global freezing.
During the 1970’s there was a big push to fund efforts to prevent global cooling. I would attend school and we would go out and clean up the neighborhood, and go on fund raising drives to collect money for the cause. The money would be collected in huge apple baskets. There was so much money collected. Baskets and baskets of donated money to prevent global cooling. Now, I don’t know what ever happened to the money. But, I am sure that someone took it and spent it in some way. Anyways, afterwards, we would eat hotdogs at a barn-fire, and sing songs. Typical songs were “If I had a hammer”, and kumbaya.
What I would do is crawl up and into the huge metal dumpster, and dig through boxes and debris to get to the books.
You could get an inkling of what the book’s content would be by looking at the back cover, but it was typically a difficult endeavor. However, for a young boy, who liked to read, climb in and out of dumpsters and get into trouble, it was like mining a treasure trove.
I would typically find four or five books of interest and throw them into my backpack / satchel (that I got at an Army Surplus store) and ride my banana-seat bicycle home. Once at the house, I could read the books at leisure, and out of the collection, I might end up keeping two or three and tossing the rest.
I was the perpetual scavenger. From lost golf balls at the local golf club to digging through the rocks at the nearby pool to look for fossils. My bed room was a collection of all sorts of junk that I would lug home. I had everything from arrowheads to piles of “Mad Magazine”, and “Treasure Magazines” stacked up in the corner. My room had model airplanes hanging from the ceiling by string, to old maps that I liberated out of the ceiling rafters of an old car garage.
I was a typical boy, and Ray Bradberry was a major influence on my life.
Take Aways
Ray Bradbury wrote the short story “Dark they were and golden eyed”.
His works greatly influenced me was a young boy into my early teens.
He contributed to my desire to study aerospace engineering, become a pilot in the Navy, and join MAJestic.
His stories are not to be studied, they are to be enjoyed.
FAQ
Q: What would you do after you read science fiction stories?
A: Typically, I would read at the house. I was a big fan of reading while I was in the bathroom. I would read on both the toilet and while soaking in the tub. I would read in my tree house, or on my bed, or in the living room. I would read on the porch, or in the car while my father was driving us about. I read everywhere.
However, when I wasn’t reading I was typically out walking or hiking. We had various spur lines for the coal-hauling railroad all around us. They would wind in and out of the hills. I would walk those railroad tracks. Often I would walk on top like a balance beam. If a train was near, I would pull out a penny to squash on the track. I would also pick up some of the millions of little black marble-sized dirty balls that were everywhere and throw them into the bushes or into the nearby river. Sometimes I would take out my trusty (blue) cub-scout knife and cut some branches off of a beech tree and chew on the branches as I walked.
I often would walk alone and ponder my life. I might go with a friend or two, or my trusty dog Belle (she was a Siberian Husky). We would walk the spurs and climb the hills. We would talk about televisions shows, the local football game, and things that mattered to us.
Q: Should Ray Bradbury and his works be taught in school?
A: Yes and no. Stories by Bradbury are not something that can used to achieve grades. It is something that has to be absorbed. Therefore, I believe that everyone should be exposed to his work, but it should not be used as a study aid. It’s like pizza. Many people like it, but not everyone. You can study how to make a pizza, but the best thing and the best utility for pizza is to eat it.
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.
“The Fog Horn” is a 1951 science fiction short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, the first in his collection The Golden Apples of the Sun. The story was the basis for the 1953 film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.
This story was written by Ray Bradbury, and presented here under Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law. 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.
When Ray started out, the field of science fiction lacked respectability, to say the least. It was the province of the pulps: magazines printed on cheap paper, with lurid covers designed to catch the attention of immature boys.
He was often dismissed, if not outright ridiculed, by mainstream writers, but quickly learned to ignore his critics. If they didn’t think rockets and dinosaurs were suitable subjects for literature, to hell with them.
Ray loved that stuff, along with Martians and witches and things that go bump in the night, so that’s what he wrote about. His unique imagination was harnessed within vivid, lyrical prose, and after the publication of The Martian Chronicles in 1950, the literary elite were forced to acknowledge a striking new talent.
As Ray’s stories became more widely published and read, they fueled the imaginations of millions of young people over several generations, many of whom went on to cite his influence as a major reason they became scientists and engineers.
His stories practically shouted that it wasn’t just okay to dream of rockets and space travel, it was wonderful, mythic, imperative—the highest accomplishment the human race could aspire to.
-The Space Review's tribute to Ray Bradbury
Introduction
“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.
I have found this version of the story “The Fog Horn” on the Ray Bradbury.RU website (in Russian; Рассказ Рэя Брэдбери), 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. And, of course, credit to the great master; Ray Bradbury for providing this work of art for our inspiration and pleasure.
Full Text
Here is the full text of the masterpiece. I will let the reader read it and enjoy it.
The Fog Horn
By Ray Bradbury
Out there in the cold water, far from land, we waited every night for the coming of the fog, and it came, and we oiled the brass machinery and lit the fog light up in the stone tower. Feeling like two birds in the gray sky, McDunn and I sent the light touching out, red, then white, then red again, to eye the lonely ships. And if they did not see our light, then there was always our Voice, the great deep cry of our Fog Horn shuddering through the rags of mist to startle the gulls away like decks of scattered cards and make the waves turn high and foam.
"It's a lonely life, but you're used to it now, aren't you?" asked McDunn.
"Yes," I said. "You're a good talker, thank the Lord."
"Well, it's your turn on land tomorrow," he said, smiling, "to dance the ladies and drink gin."
"What do you think, McDunn, when I leave you out here alone?"
"On the mysteries of the sea." McDunn lit his pipe. It was a quarter past seven of a cold November evening, the heat on, the light switching its tail in two hundred directions, the Fog Horn bumbling in the high throat of the tower. There wasn't a town for a hundred miles down the coast, just a road which came lonely through dead country to the sea, with few cars on it, a stretch of two miles of cold water out to our rock, and rare few ships.
"The mysteries of the sea' said McDunn thoughtfully. "You know, the ocean's the biggest damned snowflake ever? It rolls and swells a thousand shapes and colours, no two alike. Strange. One night, years ago, I was here alone, when all of the fish of the sea surfaced out there. Something made them swim in and lie in the bay, sort of trembling and staring up at the tower light going red, white, red, white across them so I could see their funny eyes. I fumed cold. They were like a big peacock's tail, moving out there until midnight. Then, without so much as a sound, they slipped away, the million of them was gone. I kind of think maybe, in some sort of way, they came all those miles to worship. Strange. But think how the tower must look to them, standing seventy feet above the water, the God-light flashing out from it, and the tower declaring itself with a monster voice. They never came back, those fish, but don't you think for a while they thought they were in the Presence?"
I shivered. I looked out at the long gray lawn of the sea stretching away into nothing and nowhere.
"Oh, the sea's full." McDunn puffed his pipe nervously, blinking. He had been nervous all day and hadn't said why. "For all our engines and so-called submarines, it'll be ten thousand centuries before we set foot on the real bottom of the sunken lands, in the fairy kingdoms there, and know real terror. Think of it, it's still the year 300,000 Before Christ down under there. While we've paraded around with trumpets, lopping off each other's countries and heads, they have been living beneath the sea twelve miles deep and cold in a time as old as the beard of a comet."
"Yes, it's an old world."
"Come on. I got something special I been saving up to tell you."
We ascended the eighty steps, talking and taking our time. At the top, McDunn switched off the room lights so there'd be no reflection in the plate glass. The great eye of the light was humming, turning easily in its oiled socket. The Fog Horn was blowing steadily, once every fifteen seconds.
"Sounds like an animal, don't it?" McDunn nodded to himself. "A big lonely animal crying in the night. Sitting here on the edge of ten billion years calling out to the Deeps, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here. And the Deeps do answer, yes, they do. You been here now for three months, Johnny, so I better prepare you. About this time of year," he said, studying the murk and fog, "something comes to visit the lighthouse."
"The swarms of fish like you said?"
"No, this is something else. I've put off telling you because you might think I'm daft. But tonight's the latest I can put it off, for if my calendar's marked right from last year, tonight's the night it comes. I won't go into detail, you'll have to see it yourself. Just sit down there. If you want, tomorrow you can pack your duffel and take the motorboat in to land and get your car parked there at the dinghy pier on the cape and drive on back to some little inland town and keep your lights burning nights, I won't question or blame you. It's happened three years now, and this is the only time anyone's been here with me to verify it. You wait and watch."
Half an hour passed with only a few whispers between us. When we grew tired waiting, McDunn began describing some of his ideas to me. He had some theories about the Fog Horn itself.
"One day many years ago a man walked along and stood in the sound of the ocean on a cold sunless shore and said, 'We need a voice to call across the water, to warn ships; I'll make one. I'll make a voice like all of time and all of the fog that ever was; I'll make a voice that is like an empty bed beside you all night long, and like an empty house when you open the door, and like trees in autumn with no leaves. A sound like the birds flying south, crying, and a sound like November wind and the sea on the hard, cold shore. I'll make a sound that's so alone that no one can miss it, that whoever hears it will weep in their souls, and hearths will seem warmer, and being inside will seem better to all who hear it in the distant towns. I'll make me a sound and an apparatus and they'll call it a Fog Horn and whoever bears it will know the sadness of eternity and the briefness of life.'"
The Fog Horn blew.
"I made up that story," said McDunn quietly, "to try to explain why this thing keeps coming back to the lighthouse every year. The Fog Horn calls it, I think, and it comes...."
"But - "I said.
"Sssst!" said McDunn. "There!" He nodded out to the Deeps.
Something was swimming toward the lighthouse tower.
It was a cold night, as I have said; the high tower was cold, the light coming and going, and the Fog Horn calling and calling through the raveling mist. You couldn't see far and you couldn't see plain, but there was the deep sea moving on its way about the night earth, flat and quiet, the colour of gray mud, and here were the two of us alone in the high tower, and there, far out at first, was a ripple, followed by a wave, a rising, a bubble, a bit of froth. And then, from the surface of the cold sea came a head, a large head, dark-coloured, with immense eyes, and then a neck. And then - not a body - but more neck and more! The head rose a full forty feet above the water on a slender and beautiful dark neck. Only then did the body, like a little island of black coral and shells and crayfish, drip up from the subterranean. There was a flicker of tail. In all, from head to tip of tail, I estimated the monster at ninety or a hundred feet.
I don't know what I said. I said something.
"Steady, boy, steady," whispered McDunn.
"It's impossible! "I said.
"No, Johnny, we're impossible. It's like it always was ten million years ago. It hasn't changed. It's us and the land that've changed, become impossible. Us!"
It swam slowly and with a great dark majesty out in the icy waters, far away. The fog came and went about it, momentarily erasing its shape. One of the monster eyes caught and held and flashed back our immense light, red, white, red, white, like a disk held high and sending a message in primeval code. It was as silent as the fog through which it swam.
"It's a dinosaur of some sort!" I crouched down, holding to the stair rail.
"Yes, one of the tribe."
"But they died out!"
"No, only hid away in the Deeps. Deep, deep down in the deepest Deeps. Isn't that a word now, Johnny, a real word, it says so much: the Deeps. There's all the coldness and darkness and deepness in a word like that."
"What'll we do?"
"Do? We got our job, we can't leave. Besides, we're safer here than in any boat trying to get to land. That thing's as big as a destroyer and almost as swift."
"But here, why does it come here?"
The next moment I had my answer.
The Fog Horn blew.
And the monster answered.
A cry came across a million years of water and mist. A cry so anguished and alone that it shuddered in my head and my body. The monster cried out at the tower. The Fog Horn blew. The monster roared again. The Fog Horn blew. The monster opened its great toothed mouth and the sound that came from it was the sound of the Fog Horn itself. Lonely and vast and far away. The sound of isolation, a viewless sea, a cold night, apartness. That was the sound.
"Now," whispered McDunn, "do you know why it comes here?"
I nodded.
"All year long, Johnny, that poor monster there lying far out, a thousand miles at sea, and twenty miles deep maybe, biding its tune, perhaps it's a million years old, this one creature. Think of it, waiting a million years; could you wait that long? Maybe it's the last of its kind. I sort of think that's true. Anyway, here come men on land and build this lighthouse, five years ago. And set up their Fog Horn and sound it and sound it out toward the place where you bury yourself in sleep and sea memories of a world where there were thousands like yourself, but now you're alone, all alone in a world not made for you, a world where you have to hide.
"But the sound of the Fog Horn comes and goes, comes and goes, and you stir from the muddy bottom of the Deeps, and your eyes open like the lenses of two-foot cameras and you move, slow, slow, for you have the ocean sea on your shoulders, heavy. But that Fog Horn comes through a thousand miles of water, faint and familiar, and the furnace in your belly stokes up, and you begin to rise, slow, slow. You feed yourself on great slakes of cod and minnow, on rivers of jellyfish, and you rise slow through the autumn months, through September when the fogs started, through October with more fog and the horn still calling you on, and then, late in November, after pressurizing yourself day by day, a few feet higher every hour, you are near the surface and still alive. You've got to go slow; if you surfaced all at once you'd explode. So it takes you all of three months to surface, and then a number of days to swim through the cold waters to the lighthouse. And there you are, out there, in the night, Johnny, the biggest damn monster in creation. And here's the lighthouse calling to you, with a long neck like your neck sticking way up out of the water, and a body like your body, and, most important of all, a voice like your voice. Do you understand now, Johnny, do you understand?"
The Fog Horn blew.
The monster answered.
I saw it all, I knew it all - the million years of waiting alone, for someone to come back who never came back. The million years of isolation at the bottom of the sea, the insanity of time there, while the skies cleared of reptile-birds, the swamps dried on the continental lands, the sloths and saber-tooths had their day and sank in tar pits, and men ran like white ants upon the hills.
The Fog Horn blew.
"Last year," said McDunn, "that creature swam round and round, round and round, all night. Not coming too near, puzzled, I'd say. Afraid, maybe. And a bit angry after coming all this way. But the next day, unexpectedly, the fog lifted, the sun came out fresh, the sky was as blue as a painting. And the monster swam off away from the heat and the silence and didn't come back. I suppose it's been brooding on it for a year now, thinking it over from every which way."
The monster was only a hundred yards off now, it and the Fog Horn crying at each other. As the lights bit them, the monster's eyes were fire and ice, fire and ice.
"That's life for you," said McDunn. "Someone always waiting for someone who never comes home. Always someone loving some thing more than that thing loves them. And after a while you want to destroy whatever that thing is, so it can't hurt you no more."
The monster was rushing at the lighthouse.
The Fog Horn blew.
"Let's see what happens," said McDunn.
He switched the Fog Horn off.
The ensuing minute of silence was so intense that we could hear our hearts pounding in the glassed area of the tower, could hear the slow greased turn of the light.
The monster stopped and froze. Its great lantern eyes blinked. Its mouth gaped. It gave a sort of rumble, like a volcano. It twitched its head this way and that, as if to seek the sounds now dwindled off into the fog. It peered at the lighthouse. It rumbled again. Then its eyes caught fire. It reared up, threshed the water, and rushed at the tower, its eyes filled with angry torment.
"McDunn!" I cried. "Switch on the horn!"
McDunn fumbled with the switch. But even as he flicked it on, the monster was rearing up. I had a glimpse of its gigantic paws, fishskin glittering in webs between the fingerlike projections, clawing at the tower. The huge eye on the right side of its anguished head glittered before me like a caldron into which I might drop, screaming. The tower shook. The Fog Horn cried; the monster cried. It seized the tower and gnashed at the glass, which shattered in upon us.
McDunn seized my arm. "Downstairs!"
The tower rocked, trembled, and started to give. The Fog Horn and the monster roared. We stumbled and half fell down the stairs. "Quick!"
We reached the bottom as the tower buckled down toward us. We ducked under the stairs into the small stone cellar. There were a thousand concussions as the rocks rained down; the Fog Horn stopped abruptly. The monster crashed upon the tower. The tower fell. We knelt together, McDunn and I, holding tight, while our world exploded.
Then it was over, and there was nothing but darkness and the wash of the sea on the raw stones.
That and the other sound.
"Listen," said McDunn quietly. "Listen."
We waited a moment. And then I began to hear it. First a great vacuumed sucking of air, and then the lament, the bewilderment, the loneliness of the great monster, folded over and upon us, above us, so that the sickening reek of its body filled the air, a stone's thickness away from our cellar. The monster gasped and cried. The tower was gone. The light was gone. The thing that had called to it across a million years was gone. And the monster was opening its mouth and sending out great sounds. The sounds of a Fog Horn, again and again. And ships far at sea, not finding the light, not seeing anything, but passing and hearing late that night, must've thought: There it is, the lonely sound, the Lonesome Bay horn. All's well. We've rounded the cape.
And so it went for the rest of that night.
The sun was hot and yellow the next afternoon when the rescuers came out to dig us from our stoned-under cellar.
"It fell apart, is all," said Mr. McDunn gravely. "We had a few bad knocks from the waves and it just crumbled." He pinched my arm.
There was nothing to see. The ocean was calm, the sky blue. The only thing was a great algaic stink from the green matter that covered the fallen tower stones and the shore rocks. Flies buzzed about. The ocean washed empty on the shore.
The next year they built a new lighthouse, but by that time I had a job in the little town and a wife and a good small warm house that glowed yellow on autumn nights, the doors locked, the chimney puffing smoke. As for McDunn, he was master of the new lighthouse, built to his own specifications, out of steel-reinforced concrete. "Just in case," he said.
The new lighthouse was ready in November. I drove down alone one evening late and parked my car and looked across the gray waters and listened to the new hom sounding, once, twice, three, four times a minute far out there, by itself.
The monster?
It never came back.
"It's gone away," said McDunn. "It's gone back to the Deeps. It's learned you can't love anything too much in this world. It's gone into the deepest Deeps to wait another million years. Ah, the poor thing! Waiting out there, and waiting out there, while man comes and goes on this pitiful little planet. Waiting and waiting."
I sat in my car, listening. I couldn't see the lighthouse or the light standing out in Lonesome Bay. I could only hear the Horn, the Horn, the Horn. It sounded like the monster calling.
I sat there wishing there was something I could say.
Conclusions
I spent much of my childhood being inspired by science fiction works. My favorite authors included Ray Bradberry and Robert Heinlein. The works of Robert Heinlein suited my juvenile belief structures at the time, but Ray Bradberry evoked my emotions.
While I cannot recall when I first encountered this story, I can positively state that my father wanted me to read it. He gave me a collection of Ray Bradberry short stories and told me to read this one in particular. And, so I did. I went into the living room, plopped myself down on the chair (not a lazy-boy) and started reading. I think that I read it non-stop and then went into the kitchen and made a “Dagwood” sandwich, and a big glass of ice-cold milk.
As a young boy I readily consumed every science fiction story that I could get my hands on. I loved reading about spaceships, rockets, strange adventures, time travel and dinosaurs. These were the things that shaped my life. These were the things that made me who I am today.
Take Aways
The short story “The Fog Horn” was written by Ray Bradberry.
While the story is about the confrontation of a sea beast and a fog horn, it is about much more that that. It is about loneliness and frustration.
FAQ
Q: Why does the sea monster come to the lighthouse?
A: The lighthouse calls to the monster. Somehow it hears the call, and somehow it answers the call. We do not know why it comes forth, nor do we know the motivations of the monster. We can only guess.
Q: What appeal does this story have for the reader?
A: Everyone has experienced loneliness. Everyone has experienced frustration and rejection. Thus, everyone can find compassion and understanding in the emotions of the sea monster.
Q: What makes this story so different from the Godzilla monster movies of the 1960’s?
A: Godzilla, and other monster stories, while they would often have a back-story to explain what they were doing and why, they typically did not explore the emotional aspects of the creature. This story does. In comparison, instead of being a story about destruction of Tokyo or the collapse of a light-house, this story is one of raw emotion. It is a story that haunts.
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.
“The Long Rain” is a short story by science fiction author Ray Bradbury. This story was originally published in 1950 as “Death-by-Rain” in the magazine Planet Stories, and then in the collection The Illustrated Man. The story tells of four men who have crashed on a planet where it is always raining. As they try to reach the safety of the Sun Domes, they end up being driven insane by the endless rains.
The story was republished in several collections and was incorporated into a film also titled The Illustrated Man.
This story was written by Ray Bradbury, and presented here under Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law. 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.
When Ray started out, the field of science fiction lacked respectability, to say the least. It was the province of the pulps: magazines printed on cheap paper, with lurid covers designed to catch the attention of immature boys.
He was often dismissed, if not outright ridiculed, by mainstream writers, but quickly learned to ignore his critics. If they didn’t think rockets and dinosaurs were suitable subjects for literature, to hell with them.
Ray loved that stuff, along with Martians and witches and things that go bump in the night, so that’s what he wrote about. His unique imagination was harnessed within vivid, lyrical prose, and after the publication of The Martian Chronicles in 1950, the literary elite were forced to acknowledge a striking new talent.
As Ray’s stories became more widely published and read, they fueled the imaginations of millions of young people over several generations, many of whom went on to cite his influence as a major reason they became scientists and engineers.
His stories practically shouted that it wasn’t just okay to dream of rockets and space travel, it was wonderful, mythic, imperative—the highest accomplishment the human race could aspire to.
-The Space Review's tribute to Ray Bradbury
An artistic rendering of the sun dome in the distance. Venus in this story, is a planet of continuous rain, dark and deep clouds, and lightening storms. Humans have tried to colonize Venus, but they can only do so in safe enclosures called “sun domes”. There, they survive and live safe against the rainy onslaught of torrential and never-ending water.
Introduction
“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.
As an side, I would sometimes help Chinese students with their English. At times, I would "assign" them a book to read. One student bought the book, and waited two full months before it arrived, and the first story that he read was this one; "The Long Rain".
When I asked him to describe what it was like, he was all over himself trying to describe an impossible world; a wet world where everything you do was soaked and wet. It was a world where you had to trudge through water, currents, mud and bog to find this elusive sun dome. To this day, years later, he still talks about this story.
I have found this version of the story “The Long Rain” on the wiki.spaces website in PDF format, 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. And, of course, credit to the great master; Ray Bradbury for providing this work of art for our inspiration and pleasure.
Full Text
Here is the full text of the masterpiece. I will let the reader read it and enjoy it.
The Long Rain
Ray Bradbury
THE rain continued. It was a hard rain, a perpetual rain, a sweating and steaming rain; it was a mizzle, a downpour, a fountain, a whipping at the eyes, an undertow at the ankles; it was a rain to drown all rains and the memory of rains. It came by the pound and the ton, it hacked at the jungle and cut the trees like scissors and shaved the grass and tunneled the soil and molted the bushes. It shrank men’s hands into the hands of wrinkled apes; it rained a solid glassy rain, and it never stopped.
“How much farther, Lieutenant?”
“I don’t know. A mile, ten miles, a thousand.” “Aren’t you sure?”
“How can I be sure?”
“I don’t like this rain. If we only knew how far it is to the Sun Dome, I’d feel better.” “Another hour or two from here.”
“You really think so, Lieutenant?” “Of course.”
“Or are you lying to keep us happy?” “I’m lying to keep you happy. Shut up!”
The two men sat together in the rain. Behind them sat two other men who were wet and tired and slumped like clay that was melting. The lieutenant looked up. He had a face that once had been brown and now the rain had washed it pale, and the rain had washed the color from his eyes and they were white, as were his teeth, and as was his hair. He was all white. Even his uniform was beginning to turn white, and perhaps a little green with fungus.
“Don’t be crazy,” said one of the two other men. “It never stops raining on Venus. It just goes on and on. I’ve lived here for ten years and I never saw a minute, or even a second, when it wasn’t pouring.”
“It’s like living under water,” said the lieutenant, and rose up, shrugging his guns into place. “Well, we’d better get going. We’ll find that Sun Dome yet.”
“Or we won’t find it,” said the cynic. “It’s an hour or so.”
“Now you’re lying to me, Lieutenant.”
“No, now I’m lying to myself. This is one of those times when you’ve got to lie. I can’t take much more of this.”
They walked down the jungle trail, now and then looking at their compasses. There was no direction anywhere, only what the compass said. There was a gray sky and rain falling and jungle and a path, and, far back behind them somewhere, a rocket in which they had ridden and fallen. A rocket in which lay two of their friends, dead and dripping rain.
They walked in single file, not speaking. They came to a river which lay wide and flat and brown, flowing down to the great Single Sea. The surface of it was stippled in a billion places by the rain.
“All right, Simmons.”
The lieutenant nodded and Simmons took a small packet from his back which, with a pressure of hidden chemical, inflated into a large boat. The lieutenant directed the cutting of wood and the quick making of paddles and they set out into the river, paddling swiftly across the smooth surface in the rain. The lieutenant felt the cold rain on his cheeks and on his neck and on his moving arms. The cold was beginning to seep into his lungs. He felt the rain on his ears, on his eyes, on his legs.
“I didn’t sleep last night,” he said.
“Who could? Who has? When? How many nights have we slept? Thirty nights, thirty days! Who can sleep with rain slamming their head, banging away. . . . I’d give anything for a hat. Anything at all, just so it wouldn’t hit my head any more. I get headaches. My head is sore; it hurts all the time.”
“I’m sorry I came to China,” said one of the others. “First time I ever heard Venus called China.”
“Sure, China. Chinese water cure. Remember the old torture? Rope you against a wall. Drop one drop of water on your head every half-hour. You go crazy waiting for the next one. Well, that’s Venus, but on a big scale. We’re not made for water. You can’t sleep, you can’t breathe right, and you’re crazy from just being soggy. If we’d been ready for a crash, we’d have brought waterproofed uniforms and hats. It’s this beating rain on your head gets you, most of all. It’s so heavy. It’s like BB shot. I don’t know how long I can take it.”
They crossed the river, and in crossing they thought of the Sun Dome, somewhere ahead of them, shining in the jungle rain. A yellow house, round and bright as the sun. A house fifteen feet high by one hundred feet in diameter, in which was warmth and quiet and hot food and freedom from rain. And in the center of the Sun Dome, of course, was a sun. A small floating free globe of yellow fire, drifting in space at the top of the building where you could look at it from where you sat, smoking or reading a book or drinking your hot chocolate crowned with marshmallow dollops. There it would be, the yellow sun, just the size of the Earth sun, and it was warm and continuous, and the rain world of Venus would be forgotten as long as they stayed in that house and idled their time.
The lieutenant turned and looked back at the three men using their oars and gritting their teeth. They were as white as mushrooms, as white as lie was. Venus bleached everything away in a few months. Even the jungle was an immense cartoon nightmare, for how could the jungle be green with no sun,with always rain falling and always dusk? The white, white jungle with the pale cheese-colored leaves, and the earth carved of wet Camembert, and the tree boles like immense toadstools— everything black and white. And how often could you see the soil itself? Wasn’t it mostly a creek, a stream, a puddle, a pool, a lake, a river, and then, at last the sea?
“Here we are!”
They leaped out on the farthest shore, splashing and sending up showers. The boat was deflated and stored in a cigarette packet. Then, standing on the rainy shore, they tried to light up a few smokes for themselves, and it was five minutes or so before, shuddering, they worked the inverted lighter and, cupping their hands, managed a few drags upon cigarettes that all too quickly were limp and beaten away from their lips by a sudden slap of rain. They walked on.
“Wait just a moment,” said the lieutenant. “I thought I saw something ahead.” “The Sun Dome?”
“I’m not sure. The rain closed in again. Simmons began to run. “The Sun Dome!” “Come back, Simmons!”
“The Sun Dome!”
Simmons vanished in the rain. The others ran after him.
They found him in a little clearing, and they stopped and looked at him and what he had discovered. The rocket ship. It was lying where they had left it. Somehow they had circled back and were where they had started. In the ruin of the ship green fungus was growing up out of the mouths of the two dead men. As they watched, the fungus took flower, the petals broke away in the rain, and the fungus died.
“An electrical storm must be nearby. Threw our compasses off. That explains it.” “You’re right.”
“What’ll we do now?” “Start out again.”
“Good lord, we’re not any closer to anywhere!” “Let’s try to keep calm about it, Simmons.” “Calm, calm! This rain’s driving me wild!”
“We’ve enough food for another two days if we’re careful.”
The rain danced on their skin, on their wet uniforms; the rain streamed from their noses and ears, from their fingers and knees. They looked like stone fountains frozen in the jungle, issuing forth water from every pore. And, as they stood, from a distance they heard a roar. And the monster came out of the rain.
The monster was supported upon a thousand electric blue legs. It walked swiftly and terribly. It struck down a leg with a driving blow. Everywhere a leg struck a tree fell and burned. Great whiffs of ozone filled the rainy air, and smoke blew away and was broken up by the rain. The monster was a half mile wide and a mile high and it felt of the ground like a great blind thing. Sometimes, for a moment, it had no legs at all. And then, in an instant, a thousand whips would fall out of its belly, white-blue whips, to sting the jungle.
“There’s the electrical storm,” said one of the men. “There’s the thing ruined our compasses. And it’s coming this way.”
“Lie down, everyone,” said the lieutenant. “Run!” cried Simmons.
“Don’t be a fool. Lie down. It hits the highest points. We may get through unhurt. Lie down about fifty feet from the rocket. It may very well spend its force there and leave us be. Get down!”
The men flopped.
“Is it coming?” they asked each other, after a moment. “Coming.”
“Is it nearer?” “Is it nearer?” “Nearer?” “Here she is!”
The monster came and stood over them. It dropped down ten blue bolts of lightning which struck the rocket. The rocket flashed like a beaten gong and gave off a metal ringing. The monster let down fifteen more bolts which danced about in a ridiculous pantomime, feeling of the jungle and the watery soil.
“No, no!” One of the men jumped up. “Get down, yon fool!” said the lieutenant. “No!”
The lightning struck the rocket another dozen times. The lieutenant turned his head on his arm and saw the blue blazing flashes. He saw trees split and crumple into ruin. He saw the monstrous dark cloud turn like a black disk overhead and hurl down a hundred other poles of electricity.
The man who had leaped up was now running, like someone in a great hall of pillars. He ran and dodged between the pillars and then at last a dozen of the pillars slammed down and there was the sound a fly makes when landing upon the grill wires of an exterminator. The lieutenant remembered this from his childhood on a farm. And there was a smell of a man burned to a cinder.
The lieutenant lowered his head. “Don’t look up,” he told the others. He was afraid that he too might run at any moment.
The storm above them flashed down another series of bolts and then moved on away. Once again there was only the rain, which rapidly cleared the air of the charred smell, and in a moment the three remaining men were sitting and waiting for the beat of their hearts to subside into quiet once more.
They walked over to the body, thinking that perhaps they could still save the man’s life. They couldn’t believe that there wasn’t some way to help the man. It was the natural act of men who have not accepted death until they have touched it and turned it over and made plans to bury it or leave it there for the jungle to bury in an hour of quick growth.
The body was twisted steel, wrapped in burned leather. It looked like a wax dummy that had been thrown into an incinerator and pulled out after the wax had sunk to the charcoal skeleton. Only the teeth were white, and they shone like a strange white bracelet dropped half through a clenched black fist.
“He shouldn’t have jumped up.” They said it almost at the same time.
Even as they stood over the body it began to vanish, for the vegetation was edging in upon it, little vines and ivy and creepers, and even flowers for the dead.
At a distance the storm walked off on blue bolts of lightning and was gone.
They crossed a river and a creek and a stream and a dozen other rivers and creeks and streams. Before their eyes rivers appeared, rushing, new rivers, while old rivers changed their courses—rivers the color of mercury, rivers the color of silver and milk.
The Single Sea. There was only one continent on Venus. This land was three thousand miles long by a thousand miles wide, and about this island was the Single Sea, which covered the entire raining planet.
The Single Sea, which lay upon the pallid shore with little motion . . . “This way.” The lieutenant nodded south. “I’m sure there are two Sun Domes down that way. “While they were at it, why didn’t they build a hundred more?” “There’re a hundred and twenty of them now, aren’t there?”
“One hundred and twenty-six, as of last month. They tried to push a bill through Congress back on Earth a year ago to provide for a couple dozen more, but oh no, you know how that is. They’d rather a few men went crazy with the rain.”
They started south. The lieutenant and Simmons and the third man, Pickard, walked in the rain, in the rain that fell heavily and lightly, heavily and lightly; in the rain that poured and hammered and did not stop falling upon the land and the sea and the walking people.
Simmons saw it first. “There it is!” “There’s what?”
“The Sun Dome!”
The lieutenant blinked the water from his eyes and raised his hands to ward off the stinging blows of the rain. At a distance there was a yellow glow on the edge of the jungle, by the sea. It was, indeed, the Sun Dome.
The men smiled at each other.
“Looks like you were right, Lieutenant.” “Luck.”
“Brother, that puts muscle in me, just seeing it. Come on! Last one there’s a son-of-a-bitch!” Simmons began to trot. The others automatically fell in with this, gasping, tired, but keeping pace.
“A big pot of coffee for me,” panted Simmons, smiling. “And a pan of cinnamon buns, by God! And just lie there and let the old sun hit you. The guy that invented the Sun Domes, he should have got a medal!”
They ran faster. The yellow glow grew brighter.
“Guess a lot of men went crazy before they figured out the cure. Think it’d be obvious! Right off.” Simmons panted the words in cadence to his running. “Rain, rain! Years ago. Found a friend. Of
min. Out in the jungle. Wandering around. In the rain. Saying over and over, ‘Don’t know enough
to come in outta the rain. Don’t know enough, to come in, outta the rain. Don’t know enough –‘ on and on. Like that. Poor crazy bastard.”
“Save your breath!” They ran.
They all laughed. They reached the door of the Sun Dome, laughing.
Simmons yanked the door wide. “Hey!” he yelled. “Bring on the coffee and buns!” There was no reply.
They stepped through the door.
The Sun Dome was empty and dark. There was no synthetic yellow sun floating in a high gaseous whisper at the center of the blue ceiling. There was no food waiting. It was cold as a vault. And through a thousand holes which had been newly punctured in the ceiling water streamed, the rain fell down, soaking into the thick rugs and the heavy modern furniture and splashing on the glass tables. The jungle was growing up like a moss in the room, on top of the bookcases and the divans. The rain slashed through the holes and fell upon the three men’s faces.
Pickard began to laugh quietly. “Shut up, Pickard!”
“Ye gods, look what’s here for us—no food, no sun, nothing. The Venusians—they did it! Of course!”
Simmons nodded, with the rain funneling down on his face. The water ran in his silvered hair and on his white eyebrows. “Every once in a while the Venusians come up out of the sea and attack a Sun Dome. They know if they ruin the Sun Domes they can ruin us.”
“But aren’t the Sun Domes protected with guns?”
“Sure.” Simmons stepped aside to a place that was relatively dry. “But it’s been five years since the Venusians tried anything. Defense relaxes. They caught this Dome unaware.”
“Where are the bodies?”
“The Venusians took them all down into the sea. I hear they have a delightful way of drowning you. It takes about eight hours to drown the way they work it. Really delightful.”
“I bet there isn’t any food here at all.” Pickard laughed.
The lieutenant frowned at him, nodded at him so Simmons could see. Simmons shook his head and went back to a room at one side of the oval chamber. The kitchen was strewn with soggy loaves of bread, and meat that had grown a faint green fur. Rain came through a hundred holes in the kitchen roof.
“Without food, sir?” Simmons snorted. “I notice the sun machine’s torn apart. Our best bet is to make our way to the next Sun Dome. How far is that from here?”
“Not far. As I recall, they built two rather close together here. Perhaps if we waited here, a rescue mission from the other might——”
“It’s probably been here and gone already, some days ago. They’ll send a crew to repair this place in about six months, when they get the money from Congress. I don’t think we’d better wait.”
“All right then, we’ll eat what’s left of our rations and get on to the next Dome.”
Pickard said, “If only the rain wouldn’t hit my head, just for a few minutes. If I could only remember what it’s like not to be bothered.” He put his hands on his skull and held it tight. “I remember when I was in school a bully used to sit in back of me and pinch me and pinch me and pinch me every five minutes, all day long. He did that for weeks and months. My arms were sore and black and blue all the time. And I thought I’d go crazy from being pinched. One day I must have gone a little mad from being hurt and hurt, and I turned around and took a metal trisquare I used in mechanical drawing and I almost killed that bastard. I almost cut his lousy head off. I almost took his eye out before they dragged me out of the room, and I kept yelling, ‘Why don’t he leave me alone? why don’t he leave me alone?’ Brother!” His hands clenched the bone of his head, shaking, tightening, his eyes shut. “But what do I do now? Who do I hit, who do I tell to lay off, stop bothering me, this damn rain, like the pinching, always on you, that’s all you hear, that’s all you feel!”
“We’ll be at the other Sun Dome by four this afternoon.”
“Sun Dome? Look at this one! What if all the Sun Domes on Venus are gone? What then? What if there are holes in all the ceilings, and the rain coming in!”
“We’ll have to chance it.”
“I’m tired of chancing it. All I want is a roof and some quiet. I want to be alone.” “That’s only eight hours off, if you hold on.”
“Let’s eat,” said Simmons, watching him.
They set off down the coast, southward again. After four hours they had to cut inland to go around a river that was a mile wide and so swift it was not navigable by boat. They had to walk inland six miles to a place where the river boiled out of the earth, suddenly, like a mortal wound. In the rain, they walked on solid ground and returned to the sea.
“I’ve got to sleep,” said Pickard at last. He slumped. “Haven’t slept in four weeks. Tried, but couldn’t. Sleep here.”
They lay out full, propping their heads up so the water wouldn’t come to their mouths, and they closed their eyes.
The lieutenant twitched. He did not sleep.
There were things that crawled on his skin. Things grew upon him in layers. Drops fell and touched other drops and they became streams that trickled over his body, and while these moved down his flesh, the small growths of the forest took root in his clothing. He felt the ivy cling and make a second garment over him; he felt the small flowers bud and open and petal away, and still the rain pattered on his body and on his head. In the luminous night—for the vegetation glowed in the darkness—he could see the other two men outlined, like logs that had fallen and taken upon themselves velvet coverings of grass and flowers. The rain hit his face. He covered his face with his
hands. The rain hit his neck. He turned over on his stomach in the mud, on the rubbery plants, and the rain hit his back and hit his legs.
Suddenly he leaped up and began to brush the water from himself. A thousand hands were touching him and he no longer wanted to be touched. He no longer could stand being touched. He floundered and struck something else and knew that it was Simmons, standing up in the rain, sneezing moisture, coughing and choking. And then Pickard was up, shouting, running about.
“Wait a minute, Pickard!”
“Stop it, stop it!” Pickard screamed. He fired off his gun six times at the night sky. In the flashes of powdery illumination they could see armies of raindrops, suspended as in a vast motionless amber, for an instant, hesitating as if shocked by the explosion, fifteen billion droplets, fifteen billion tears, fifteen billion ornaments, jewels standing out against a white velvet viewing board. And then, with the light gone, the drops which had waited to have their pictures taken, which had suspended their downward rush, fell upon them, stinging, in an insect cloud of coldness and pain.
“Stop it! Stop it!” “Pickard!”
But Pickard was only standing now, alone. When the lieutenant switched on a small hand lamp and played it over Pickard’s wet face, the eyes of the man were dilated, and his mouth was open, his face turned up, so the water hit and splashed on his tongue, and hit and drowned the wide eyes, and bubbled in a whispering froth on the nostrils.
“Pickard!”
The man would not reply. He simply stood there for a long while with the bubbles of rain breaking out in his whitened hair and manacles of rain jewels dripping from his wrists and his neck.
“Pickard! We’re leaving. We’re going on. Follow us.” The rain dripped from Pickard’s ears.
“Do you hear me, Pickard!”
It was like shouting down a well. “Pickard!”
“Leave him alone,” said Simmons. “We can’t go on without him.”
“What’ll we do, carry him?” Simmons spat. “He’s no good to us or himself. You know what he’ll do?
He’ll just stand here and drown.” “What?”
“You ought to know that by now. Don’t you know the story? He’ll just stand here with his head up and let the rain come in his nostrils and his mouth. He’ll breathe the water.”
“That’s how they found General Mendt that time. Sitting on a rock with his head back, breathing the rain. His lungs were full of water.”
The lieutenant turned the light back to the unblinking face. Pickard’s nostrils gave off a tiny whispering wet sound.
“Pickard!” The lieutenant slapped the face.
“He can’t even feel you,” said Simmons. “A few days in this rain and you don’t have any face or any legs or hands.”
The lieutenant looked at his own hand in horror. He could no longer feel it. “But we can’t leave Pickard here.”
“I’ll show you what we can do.” Simmons fired his gun. Pickard fell into the raining earth.
Simmons said, “Don’t move, Lieutenant. I’ve got my gun ready for you too. Think it over; he would only have stood or sat there and drowned. It’s quicker this way.”
The lieutenant blinked at the body. “But you killed him.”
“Yes, because he’d have killed us by being a burden. You saw his face. Insane.” After a moment the lieutenant nodded. “All right.”
They walked off into the rain. It was dark and their hand lamps threw a beam that pierced the rain for only a few feet. After a half hour they had to stop and sit through the rest of the night, aching with hunger, waiting for the dawn to come; when it did come it was gray and continually raining as before, and they began to walk again.
“We’ve miscalculated,” said Simmons. “No. Another hour.”
“Speak louder. I can’t hear you.” Simmons stopped and smiled. “By Christ,” he said, and touched his ears. “My ears. They’ve gone out on me. All the rain pouring finally numbed me right down to the bone.”
“Can’t you hear anything?” said the lieutenant. “What?” Simmons’s eyes were puzzled. “Nothing. Come on.”
“I think I’ll wait here. You go on ahead.” “You can’t do that.”
“I can’t hear you. You go on. I’m tired. I don’t think the Sun Dome is down this way. And, if it is, it’s probably got holes in the roof, like the last one. I think I’ll just sit here.”
“Get up from there!” “So long, Lieutenant.”
“You can’t give up now.”
“I’ve got a gun here that says I’m staying. I just don’t give a damn any more. I’m not crazy yet, but I’m the next thing to it. I don’t want to go out that way. As soon as you get out of sight I’m going to use this gun on myself.”
“Simmons!”
“You said my name. I can read that much off your lips.” “Simmons.”
“Look, it’s a matter of time. Either I die now or in a few hours. Wait’ll you get to that next Dome, if you ever get there, and find rain coming in through the roof. Won’t that be nice?”
The lieutenant waited and then splashed off in the rain. He turned and called back once, but Simmons was only sitting there with the gun in his hands, waiting for him to get out of sight. He shook his head and waved the lieutenant on.
The lieutenant didn’t even hear the sound of the gun.
He began to eat the flowers as he walked. They stayed down for a time, and weren’t poisonous; neither were they particularly sustaining, and he vomited them up, sickly, a minute or so later.
“Another five minutes,” he told himself. “Another five minutes and then I’ll walk into the sea and keep walking. We weren’t made for this; no Earthman was or ever will be able to take it. Your nerves, your nerves.
He floundered his way through a sea of slush and foliage and came to a small hill. At a distance there was a faint yellow smudge in the cold veils of water.
The next Sun Dome.
Through the trees, a long round yellow building, far away. For a moment he only stood, swaying, looking at it.
He began to run and then he slowed down, for he was afraid. He didn’t call out. What if it’s the same one? What if it’s the dead Sun Dome, with no sun in it? he thought.
He slipped and fell. Lie here, he thought; it’s the wrong one. Lie here. It’s no use. Drink all you want. But he managed to climb to his feet again and crossed several creeks, and the yellow light grew very
bright, and he began to run again, his feet crashing into mirrors and glass, his arms flailing at diamonds and precious stones.
He stood before the yellow door. The printed letters over it said THE SUN DOME. He put his numb hand up to feel it. Then he twisted the doorknob and stumbled in.
He stood for a moment looking about. Behind him the rain whirled at the door. Ahead of him, upon a low table, stood a silver pot of hot chocolate, steaming, and a cup, full, with a marshmallow in it. An beside that, on another tray, stood thick sandwiches of rich chicken meat and fresh-cut tomatoes and green onions. And on a rod just before his eyes was a great thick green Turkish towel, and a bin in which to throw wet clothes, and, to his right, a small cubicle in which heat rays might dry you instantly. And upon a chair, a fresh change of uniform, waiting for anyone—himself, or any lost one—to make use of it. And farther over, coffee in steaming copper urns, and a phonograph from which music was playing quietly, and books bound in red and brown leather. And near the books a cot, a soft deep cot upon which one might lie, exposed and bare, to drink in the rays of the one great bright thing which dominated the long room.
He put his hands to his eyes. He saw other men moving toward him, but said nothing to them. He waited, and opened his eyes, and looked. The water from his uniform pooled at his feet and he felt it drying from his hair and his face and his chest and his arms and his legs.
He was looking at the sun.
It hung in the center of the room, large and yellow and warm. It made not a sound, and there was no sound in the room. The door was shut and the rain only a memory to his tingling body. The sun hung high in the blue sky of the room, warm, hot, yellow, and very fine.
He walked forward, tearing off his clothes as he went.
Some Considerations
This story, like most of the science fiction works that I read in the 1960’s and 1970’s greatly influenced my life. I believe that I first read this story on a lazy fall weekend in late September. The leaves were crisp and just beginning to fall. It was warm, but not hot. It was calm and I was enjoying reading this story on a porch glider that we had on our porch. I just laid there, swinging back and forth, reading this masterpiece.
I spent my boyhood in the hills of Western Pennsylvania. It was a place of hills, forests, rivers, and coal mines. I came from a small town. It was peaceful and quiet and everyone knew everyone else.
Conclusions
Today, students pay tuition at colleges and universities to read these stories. They pay enormous amounts of money, and are given tests and handouts to analyze the work. It seems like a fool’s errand to me.
You read for enjoyment, and if it evokes emotions within your very being then it is a work of art. Cherish it.
That’s never going to happen if you read a cliffs notes version so you can get a grade on a test. Life is about living. You can live, or you can follow the herd. I would suggest that you make the most out of your life. I would suggest you start doing it now.
Take Aways
The Long Rain is a short story by Ray Bradbury.
It is classified as Science Fiction.
It takes place on a fictional Venus where it is continuously raining.
The story evokes feelings of desperation, strife, fear and longing. Finally culminating in relief.
FAQ
Q: What is this story “The Long Rain” about?
A: The story takes place on a fictional Venus where there is a continuous rain. However, that is not what the story is about. It is about emotions that play when situations are encountered. When I read the story, I am reminded about a time when I was in second grade and walked home from school in the rain. I came home and my mother dried me off, and set me to the table and got me a big hot cup of coca with marsh-mellows in it and a nice warm bowl of tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches. The story, by Ray Bradbury, evokes those same feelings.
Q: Why is this story in your blog?
A: I used to bookmark websites that I liked, and I would return to them periodically to read and enjoy. Over time, the websites would disappear, or turn into something else. The search engines, such as Google, would prioritize other (often profit motive) websites before the ones I was interested in. They would also block others that I enjoyed. China blocks many websites, and slows internet traffic to a crawl on others. I no longer have the luxury to simply bookmark something I like. I need to preserve it’s access. Thus I place it herein for my own personal use.
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 story was copyrighted in 1951 by Ray Bradbury, and presented here under Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law. 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.
Introduction
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.
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.
I have found this version of the story “Here There be Tygers” on The Mother Earth News, and I have copied it here exactly as found. Credit to the wonderful people at Mother Earth News for posting it where a smuck like myself can read it within China. And, of course, credit to the great master; Ray Bradbury for providing this work of art for our inspiration and pleasure.
Full Text
Here is the full text of the masterpiece. I will let the reader read it and enjoy it.
Here There Be Tygers by Ray Bradbury
"You have to beat a planet at its own game," said Chatterton." Get in and rip it up, kill its snakes, poison its animals, dam its rivers, sow its fields, depollinate its air, mine it, nail it down, hack away at it, and get the blazes out from under when you have what you want. Otherwise, a planet will fix you good. You can't trust planets. They're bound to be different, bound to be bad, bound to be out to get you, especially this far out, a billion miles from nowhere, so you get them first. Tear their skin off, I say. Drag out the minerals and run away before the nightmare world explodes in your face. That's the way to treat them."
The rocket ship sank down toward planet 7 of star system 84. They had traveled millions upon millions of miles; Earth was far away, her system and her sun forgotten, her system settled and investigated and profited on, and other systems rummaged through and milked and tidied tip, and now the rockets of these tiny men from an impossibly remote planet were probing out to far universes. In a few months, a few years, they could travel anywhere, for the speed of their rocket was the speed of a god, and now for the ten-thousandth time one of the rockets of the far-circling hunt was feathering down toward an alien world.
"No," said Captain Forester."I have too much respect for other worlds to treat them the way you want to, Chatterton. It's not my business to rape or ruin anyway, thank God. I'm glad I'm just a rocket man. You're the anthropologist-mineralogist. Go ahead, do your mining and ripping and scraping. I'll just watch. I'll just go around looking at this new world, whatever it is, however it seems. I like to look. All rocket men are lookers or they wouldn't be rocket men. You like to smell new airs, if you're a rocket man, and see new oceans and islands."
"Take your gun along," said Chatterton. "in my holster," said Forester.
They turned to the port together and saw the green world rising to meet their ship."I wonder what it thinks of us?" said Forester.
"It won't like me" said Chatterton "I'll see to it 'It' won't like me. And I don't care. you know, I'm out for the money. Land us over there, will you. Captain; that looks like rich country if I ever saw it."
It was the freshest green color they had seen since childhood.
Lakes lay like clear blue water droplets through the soft hills; there were no loud highways, signboards or cities. It's a sea of green golf links, thought Forester, which goes on forever. Putting greens, driving greens, you could walk ten thousand miles in any direction and never finish your game. A Sunday planet a croquet-lawn world, where,you could lie on your back, clover in your lips, eyes half shut, smiling at the sky, smelling the grass, drowse through an eternal Sabbath, rousing only on occasion to turn the Sunday paper or crack the red-striped wooden ball through the wicket.
"It ever a planet was a woman, this one is/"
"Woman on the outside, man on the inside," said Chatterton. "All hard underneath, all male iron, copper, uranium, black sod. Don't let the cosmetics fool you."
He walked to the bin where the Earth Drill waited. Its great screw-snout glittered bluely, ready to stab seventy feet deep and suck out corks of earth, deeper still with extensions into the heart of the planet Chatterton winked at it"We'll fix your planet, Forester, but good"
"Yes, I know you will," said Forester, quietly,
The rocket landed.
"It's too green, too peaceful," said Chatterton. "I don't like it" He turned to the captain. "We'll go out with our rifles."
"I give orders. If you don't mind"
"Yes, and my company pays our way with millions of dollars of machinery we must protect; quite an investment."
The air on the new planet 7 in star system 84 was good. The port swung wide. The men filed out into the greenhouse world.
The last man to emerge was Chatterton, gun in hand.
As Chatterton set foot to the green lawn, the earth trembled. The grass shook. The distant forest rumbled, The sky seemed to blink and darken imperceptibly, The men were watching Chatterton when it happened.
"An earthquake!"
Chatterton's face paled. Everyone laughed.
"It doesn't like you, Chatterton!"
"Nonsense!"
The trembling died away at last.
"Well," said Captain Forester." It didn't quake for us, so It must be that it doesn't approve of your philosophy."
"Coincidence," Chatterton smiled weakly, "Come on now, on the double, I want the Drill out here in a half hour for a few samplings."
"Just a moment," Forester stopped laughing. "We've got to clear the area first, be certain there're no hostile people or animals, Besides, it isn't every year you hit a planet like this very nice; can you blame us if we want to have a look at it?"
"All right," Chatterton joined them, "Let's get it over with."
They left a guard at the ship and they walked away over fields and meadows, over small hills and into little valleys. Like a bunch of boys out hiking on the finest day of the best summer in the most beautiful year in history, walking in the croquet weather where, if you listened you could hear the whisper of the wooden ball across grass, the click through the wicket, the gentle undulations of voices, a sudden high drift of women's laughter from some ivy shaded porch, the tinkle of ice in the summer tea pitcher.
"Hey," said Driscoll, one of the younger crewmen, sniffing the air, "I brought a baseball and bat; we'll have a game later. What a diamond!"
The men laughed quietly in the baseball season, in the good quiet wind for tennis, in the weather for bicycling and picking wild grapes.
"How'd you like the job of mowing all this?" asked Driscoll.
The men stopped.
"I knew there was something wrong!" cried Chatterton, "This grass: it's freshly cut!
"Probably a species of dichondra: always short."
Chatterton spat on the green grass and rubbed it in with his boot, "I don't like it, I don't like it. If anything happened to us, no one on Earth would ever know. Silly policy: if a rocket fails to return, we never send a second rocket to check the reason why."
"Natural enough," explained Forester, "We can't waste time on a thousand hostile worlds, fighting futile wars. Each rocket represents years, money, lives. We can't afford to waste two rockets if one rocket proves a planet hostile. We go on to peaceful planets, like this one."
"I often wonder," said Driscoll, "What happened to all those lost expeditions on worlds we'll never try again."
Chatterton eyed the distant forest,"They were shot, stabbed, broiled for dinner, Even as we may be, any minute. It's time we got back to work, Captain!
They stood at the top to a little rise.
"Feel," said Driscoll, his hands and arms out loosely, "Remember how you used to run when you were it kid, and how the wind felt, Like feathers on your arms, You ran and thought any minute you'd fly, but you never quite did."
The men stood remembering, There was a smell of pollen and new rain drying upon a million grass blades.
Driscoll gave a little run. "Feel it, by God, the wind. You know, we never have really flown by ourselves. We have to sit inside tons of metal, away from flying, really. We've never flown like birds fly, to themselves, Wouldn't it be nice to, put your arms out like this —" He extended his arms, "And run." He ran ahead of them, laughing out his idiocy. "And fly!" he cried.
He flew.
Time passed on the silent gold wristwatches of the men standing below, They stared up. And from the sky came a high sound of almost unbelievable laughter.
"Tell him to come down now," whispered Chatterton. "He'll be killed."
Nobody heard. Their faces were raised away front Chatterton: they were stunned and smiling.
At last Driscoll landed at their feet.
"Did you see me?" "I flew!"
They had seen.
"Lets get down, oh, Lord. Lord." Driscoll slapped his knees, chuckling. "I'm a sparrow, I'm a hawk, God bless me. Go on all of you, try it!"
"It's the wind, it picked me up and flew me!" he said, a moment later, gasping, shivering with delight.
"Let's get out of here." Chatterton started turning, slowly in circles, watching the blue sky. "It's a trap, it wants us all to fly in the air. Then it'll drop its all at once and kill us. I'm going back to the ship."
"You'll wait for my order on that," said Forester,
The men were frowning, standing in the warm cool air, while the wind sighed about them. There was a kite sound in the air, a sound of eternal March.
"I asked the wind to fly me." said Driscoll. "And it did!"
Forester waved the others aside. "I'll chance it next. If I'm killed, back to the ship, all of you."
"I'm sorry. I can't allow this, you're the captain," said Chatterton. "We can't risk you." He took out his gun.
"I should have some sort of authority or force here. This game's gone on too long; I'm ordering us back to the ship."
"Holster your gun," said Forester, quietly.
"Stand still you idiot."
Chatterton blinked now at this man, now at that.
"Haven't you felt it'! This world's alive, it has a look to it, it's playing with us, biding its time."
"I'll be the judge of that," said Forester. "You're going back to the ship in a moment, under arrest, if you don't put up that gun."
"If you fools won't come with me, you can die out here. I'm going back, get my samples, and get out."
"Chatterton!"
"Don't try to stop me!"
Chatterton started to run. Then suddenly, he gave a cry.
Everyone shouted and looked up. "There he goes," said Driscoll.
Chatterton was up in the sky.
Night had come on like the closing of a great but gentle eye. Chatterton sat stunned on the side of the hill. The other men sat around him, exhausted and laughing. He would not look at them, he would not look at the sky, he would only feel of the earth, and his arms and his legs and his body, tightening in on himself.
"Oh, wasn't it perfect!" said a man named Koestler.
They had all flown like orioles and eagles and sparrows, and they were all happy.
"Come out of it, Chatterton, it was fun, wasn't it?"' said Koestler.
"It's impossible." Chatterton shut his eyes, tight, tight. "There's only one way for it to do it; it's alive. The air's alive. Like a fist it picked me up. Any minute now, it can kill its all. It's alive."
"All right," said Koestler. "Say it's alive." "And a living thing must have purpose. Suppose the purpose of this world is to make us happy."
As if to add to this, Driscoll came flying up, canteens in each hand. "I found a creek, tested and found pure water, wait'll you try it!"
Forester took a canteen, nudged Chatterton with it, offering a drink. Chetterton shook his head and drew hastily away. He put his hands over his face. "It's the blood of this planet. Living blood. Drink that, put that inside and you put this world inside you to peer out your eyes and listen through your ears. No thanks!"
Forester shrugged and drank.
"Wine!" he said.
"It can't be!"
"It is! Smell it, taste it! A rare white wine!"
"French domestic." Driscoll sipped his.
"Poison," said Chatterton.
They passed the canteens around.
They had idled on through the gentle afternoon, not wanting to do anything to disturb the peace that lay all about them. They were like very young men in the presence of great beauty, of a fine and famous woman, afraid that by some word, some gesture, they might turn her face away, avert her loveliness and her kindly attentions. They had felt the earthquake that had greeted Chatterton, and they did not want earthquake. Let them enjoy this "Day After School Lets Out", this fishing weather. Let them sit under the shade trees or walk on the tender hills, but let them drill no drillings, test no testings, contaminate no contaminations.
They found a small stream which poured into a boiling water pool. Fish, swimming in the cold creek above, fell glittering into the hot spring and floated, minutes later, cooked, to the surface.
Chatterton reluctantly joined the others, eating.
"It'll poison us all. There's always a trick to things like this. I'm sleeping in the rocket tonight. You can sleep out if you want. To quote a map I saw in medieval history: 'Here there be tygers.' Some time tonight when you're sleeping, the tigers and cannibals will show up."
Forester shook his head. "I'll go along with you, this planet is alive. It's a race itself. But it needs us to show off to, to appreciate its beauty. What's the use of a stage full of miracles if there's no audience?"
But Chatterton was busy. He was bent over, being sick.
"I'm poisoned! Poisoned!"
They held his shoulders until the sickness passed. They gave him water. The others were feeling fine.
"Better eat nothing but ship's food from now on," advised Forester. "It'd be safer."
"We're starting work right now." Chatterton swayed, wiping his mouth. "We've wasted a whole day. I'll work alone if I have to. I'll show this infernal place!"
He staggered away toward the rocket.
"He doesn't know when he's well off," murmured Driscoll. "Can't we stop him, Captain?"
"He practically owns the expedition. We don't have to help him, there's a clause in our contract that guarantees refusal to work under dangerous conditions. So . . . do unto this 'Picnic Ground' as you would have it do unto you. No initial-cutting on the trees. Replace the turf on the greens. Clean up your banana peels after you."
Now, below, in the ship there was an immense humming. From the storage port rolled the great shining Drill. Chatterton followed it, calling directions to its robot radio. "This way, here!
"You fool."
"Now!" cried Chatterton.
The Drill plunged its long screw-bore into the green grass. Chatterton waved up at the other men. "Watch this!"
The sky trembled.
The Drill stood in the center of a little sea of grass. For a moment it plunged away, bringing up moist corks of sod which it spat unceremoniously into a shaking analysis bin.
Now the Drill gave a wrenched, metallic squeal like a monster interrupted at its feed. From the soil beneath it slow bluish liquids bubbled up.
Chatterton shouted, "Get back, you fool!"
The Drill lumbered in a prehistoric dance. It shrieked like a mighty train turning on a sharp curve, throwing out red sparks. It was sinking. The black slime gave under it in a dark convulsion.
With a coughing sigh, a series of pants and churnings, the Drill sank into a black scum like an elephant shot and dying, trumpeting, like a mammoth at the end of an age, vanishing limb by ponderous limb into the pit.
"Fool. Fool," said Forester under his breath, fascinated with the scene. "You know what that is, Driscoll? It's tar. The fool machine hit a tar pit!"
"Listen, listen!" cried Chatterton at the Drill, running about on the edge of the oily lake. "This way, over here!"
But like the old tyrants of the earth, the dinosaurs with their tubed and screaming necks, the Drill was plunging and thrashing in the one lake from where there was no returning to bask on the firm and understandable shore.
Chatterton turned to the other men far away. "Do something, someone!"
The Drill was gone.
The tar pit bubbled and gloated, sucking the hidden monster bones. The surface of the pool was silent. A huge bubble, the last, rose, expelled a scent of ancient petroleum, and fell apart.
The men came down and stood on the edge of the little black sea.
Chatterton stopped yelling.
After a long minute of staring into the silent tar pool, Chatterton turned and looked at the hills, blindly, at the green rolling lawns. The distant trees were growing fruit now and dropping it, softly, to the ground.
"I'll show it," he said quietly.
"Take it easy, Chatterton."
"I'll fix it," he said.
"Sit down, have a drink."
"I'll fix it good, I'll show it, it can't do this to me."
Chatterton started off back to the ship.
"Wait a minute now," said Forester.
Chatterton ran. "I know what to do, I know how to fix it!"
"Stop him!" said Forester. He ran, then remembered he could fly. "The A-Bomb's on the ship, if he should get to that . . . ."
The other men had thought of that and were in the air. A small grove of trees stood between the rocket and Chatterton as he ran on the ground, forgetting that he could fly, or afraid to fly, or not allowed to fly, yelling. The crew headed for the rocket to wait for him, the captain with them. They arrived, formed a line, and shut the rocket port. The last they saw of Chatterton he was plunging through the edge of the tiny forest.
The crew stood waiting.
". . . That fool, that crazy guy."
Chatterton didn't come out on the other side of the small woodland.
"He's turned back, waiting for us to relax our guard."
"Go bring him in," said Forester.
Two men flew off.
Now, softly, a great and gentle rain fell upon the green world.
"The final touch," said Driscoll. "We'd never have to build houses here. Notice it's not raining on us. It's raining all around, ahead, behind us. What a world!"
They stood dry in the middle of the blue, cool rain. The sun was setting. The moon, a large one the color of ice, rose over the freshened hills.
"There's only one more thing this world needs."
"Yes," said everyone, thoughtfully, slowly.
"We'll have to go looking," said Driscol. "It's logical, The wind flies us, the trees and streams feed us, everything is alive. Perhaps if we asked for companionship . . . ."
"I've thought a long time, today and other days," said Koestler. "We're all bachelors, been traveling for years, and tired of it. Wouldn't it be nice to settle down somewhere! Here, maybe. On Earth you sweat just to save enough to buy a house, pay taxes; the cities stink. Here, you won't even need a house, with this weather. If it gets monotonous you can ask for rain, clouds, snow, changes. You don't have to work here for anything."
"It'd be boring. We'd go crazy."
"No," Koestler said, smiling. "If life got too soft, all we'd have to do is repeat a few times what Chatterton said: 'Here there be tygers. Listen!'"
Far away, wasn't there the faintest roar of a giant cat, hidden in the twilight forests?
The men shivered.
"A versatile world," said Koestler dryly. "A woman who'll do anything to please her guests, as long as we're kind to her. Chatterton wasn't kind."
"Chatterton. What about him?"
As if to answer this, someone cried from a distance. The two men who had flown off to find Chatterton were waving at the edge of the woods.
Forester, Driscoll, and Koestler flew down alone.
"What's up?"
The men pointed into the forest."Thought you'd want to see this, Captain. It's eerie." One of the men indicated a pathway. "Look here, sir."
The marks of great claws stood on the path, fresh and clear.
"And over here." A few drops of blood. A heavy smell of some feline animal hung in the air.
"Chatterton?"
"I don't think we'll ever find him, Captain."
Faintly, faintly, moving away, now gone in the breathing silence of twilight, came the roar of a tiger.
The men lay on the resilient grass by the rocket and the night was warm. "Reminds me of nights when I was a kid," said Driscoll. "My brother and I waited for the hottest night in July and then we slept on the Court House lawn, counting the stars, talking; it was a great night, the best night of my life." Then he added, "Not counting tonight, of course."
"I keep thinking about Chatterton," said Koestler.
"Don't," said Forester. "We'll sleep a few hours and take off. We can't chance staying here another day. I don't mean the danger that got Chatterton. No. I mean, if we stayed on we'd get to liking this world too much. We'd never want to leave."
A soft wind blew over them.
"I don't want to leave now." Driscoll put his hands behind his head, lying quietly. "And it doesn't want us to leave."
"If we go back to Earth and tell everyone what a lovely planet it is, what then, Captain?' They'll come smashing in here and ruin it."
"No," said Forester idly. "First, this planet wouldn't put up with a full-scale invasion. I don't know what it'd do, but it could probably think of some interesting things. Secondly, I like this planet too much; I respect it. We'll go back to Earth and lie about it. Say it's hostile. Which it would be to the average man, like Chatterton, jumping in here to hurt it. I guess we won't be lying after all."
"Funny thing," said Koestler. "I'm not afraid. Chatterton vanishes, is killed most horribly, perhaps, yet we lie here, no one runs, no one trembles. It's idiotic. Yet it's right. We trust it and it trusts us."
"Did you notice, after you drank just so much of the wine-water, you didn't want more? A world of moderation."
They lay listening to something like the great heart of this earth beating slowly and warmly under their bodies.
Forester thought, I'm thirsty.
A drop of rain splashed on his lips.
He laughed quietly.
I'm lonely, he thought.
Distantly he heard soft, high voices.
He turned his eyes in upon a vision. There was a group of hills from which flowed a clear river, and in the shallows of that river, sending up spray, their faces shimmering, were the beautiful women. They played like children on the shore. And it came to Forester to know about them and their life. They were nomads, roaming the face of this world as was their desire. There were no highways or cities, there were only hills and plains and winds to carry them like white feathers where they wished. As Forester shaped the questions, some invisible answerer whispered the answers. There were no men. These women, alone, produced their race. The men had vanished fifty thousand years ago. And where were these women now? A mile down from the green forest, a mile over on the wine stream by the six white stones, and a third mile to the large river. There, in the shallows, were the women who would make fine wives, and raise beautiful children.
Forester opened his eyes. The other men were sitting up.
"I had a dream."
They had all dreamed.
"A mile flown from the green forest a mile over on the wine stream . . . ."
". . . by the six white stones," said Koestler.
". . . and a third mile to the large river," said Driscoll, sitting there.
Nobody spoke again for at moment. They looked at the silver rocket standing there in the starlight
"Do we walk or fly, Captain?"
Forester said nothing.
Driscoll said, "Captain, let's stay. Let's never go back to Earth. They'll never come and investigate to see what happened to us; they'll think we were destroyed here. What do you say?"
Forester's face was perspiring. His tongue moved again and again on his lips. His hands twitched over his knees. The crew sat waiting.
"It'd be nice," said the captain.
"Sure."
"But . . ." Forester sighed. "We've got our job to do. People invested in our ship. We owe it to them to go back."
Forester got up. The men still sat on the ground, not listening to him.
"It's such a fine, nice, wonderful night," said Koestler.
They stared at the soft hills and the trees and the rivers running off to other horizons.
"Let's get aboard ship," said Forester, with difficulty.
"Captain . . . ."
"Get aboard," he said.
The rocket rose into the sky. Looking back, Forester saw every valley and every tiny lake.
"We should've stayed." said Koestler.
"Yes, I know."
"It's not too late, to turn back."
"I'm afraid it is." Forester made an adjustment on the port telescope. "Look now."
Koestler looked.
The face of the world was changed. Tiger, dinosaurs, mammoths appeared. Volcanoes erupted cyclones and hurricanes tore over the hills in a welter and fury of weather.
"Yes, she was a woman all right," said Forester. "Waiting for visitors for millions of years, preparing herself, making herself beautiful. She put on her best face for us. When Chatterton treated her badly, she warned him a few times, and then, when he tried to ruin her beauty, eliminated him. She wanted to be loved, like every woman, for herself, not for her wealth. So now, after she had offered us everything, we turn our backs. She's the woman scorned. She let us go, yes, but we can never come back. She'll be waiting for us with those . . ." He nodded to the tigers and the cyclones and the boiling seas.
"Captain," said Koestler
"Yes."
"It's a little late to tell you this. But just before we took off, I was in charge of the air lock. I let Driscoll slip away from the ship. He wanted to go. I couldn't refuse him. I'm responsible. He's back there now, on that planet."
They both turned to the viewing port.
After a long while, Forester said. "I'm glad. I'm glad one of us had enough sense to stay."
"But he's dead by now!
"No, that display down there is for us, perhaps a visual hallucination. Under all the tigers and lions and hurricanes, Driscoll is quite safe and alive, because he's her only audience now. Oh, she'll spoil him rotten. He'll lead a wonderful life. He will, while we're slugging it out up and down the system looking for but never finding a planet quite like this again. No. We won't try to go back and rescue Driscoll, I don't think 'she' would let us anyway. Full speed ahead, Koestler, make it full speed."
The rocket leaped forward into greater accelerations.
And just before the planet dwindled away in brightness and mist, Forester imagined that he could see Driscoll very clearly, walking away down from the green forest, whistling quietly, all of the fresh planet around him, a wine creek flowing for him, baked fish lolling in the hot springs, fruit ripening in the midnight trees, and distant forests and lakes waiting for him to happen by. Driscoll walked away across the endless green lawns near the white stones, beyond the forest, to the edge of the large bright river . . . .
Conclusions
Often we are given opportunities that will transform our life. But, out of ignorance, fear, or habit, we ignore the opportunity. It passes us by. Once gone, it is gone forever. We end up regretting our life. We look back with nostalgia for what could have been.
This is the story of mankind and how we have abused the world we live in. This is the story of me, and you, who have passed up wonderful companions, opportunities and adventures, for some trivial reason or the other. This is the story of the bane of our educational system that focuses on goals instead of appreciation of the moments we live.
Appreciate what you have. Be aware of opportunities and take them when they present themselves to you. For only YOU can control your life. This reality is YOURS. Please don’t squander it.
Take Aways
"Here There Be Tygers" is a short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, originally published in the anthology New Tales of Space and Time in 1951. It was later collected in Bradbury's short story collections R is for Rocket and The Golden Apples of the Sun. It deals with a rocket expedition sent to a planet to see whether or not its natural resources can be harvested for the human race. They discover a paradise which seems to provide for them whatever they desire even as they think of it. They ultimately decide to leave the planet and report that it is hostile and of no benefit to humans.
-Wikipedia
The Wikipedia entry above is a pale reflection of the content of the story.
Cliff Notes should never be used for short stories. Just read the stories yourself and come to your own conclusions.
I hope that this story was as enjoyable for you the reader as it was for myself.
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.
Here’s a fun exercise. Let’s compare American girls with Chinese girls. Of course the comparisons would be terribly general and horribly biased. It would also be a reflection of my own personal preferences, which are admittedly terribly dated and old fashioned. Anyways, I would like to give my opinions and my impressions on the differences between American and Chinese girls…
Introduction
“...several months ago, I had a Thai short-time(girl) on the back of my Kawasaki, buzzing along. If you are planning on heading to SE Asia, save your life (and others) by learning to handle a motorbike in (the) USA. (It’s) Safer (that way)…Little Ms 39 kg Hottie leans into my ear as we are passing a Burger King and coos "....khun Somchai, where is the KING?" (Ooooh) Once addicted to Asian hotties, sorry American chicks----game over.”- buttmint (reply to) UmbilicalMosqueSweeper Aug 12, 2017 11:05 AM
China is a big country. There are 80+ cultural and racial groups and every one was different. While there were some who were small in stature, most Chinese were rather average and comparable with Americans in size, skin color and statue. (Though they are decidedly not fat at all.) They did not walk around barefoot, but tended to be very cosmopolitan in demeanor and wore the latest fashions and styles.
They were well educated; China is a nation of nerds. (There is no question about that. I was floored when I once saw an eleven-year-old studying differential calculus.) All were very responsible, smart and beautiful. Compared to them, and their families, Americans are poor.
(Chinese have saved money for centuries. They have money to spend, and Americans do not. When you see a Chinese driving a Range Rover, you can guarantee that they bought it in cash. However, an American, nah, he is just making bank payments on “his” car. For Americans, it is just a long-term rental.)
Asian women are beautiful, they take care of themselves, and honor their families. They are very protective of their families and will do everything in their power to maintain their role in the community.
This is quite different from what is seen in the United States. In the United States, since the 1960’s cultural revolution, every woman can be “her own” woman and “do her thing”. This sounds good on the surface, but unfortunately it often times equates into being a fat slob.
Now, don’t get too hot and bothered. It’s the same with men as well. The men also can become to be fat, lazy pigs. It’s what the popular American culture has led everyone toward. Of course, things become quite different when you live for a greater purpose; when you live for your parents, and your spouse and your children. You have a reason and a purpose.
“Women here in the US act like you fucking own them half of everything and then some. If you look at their fat asses, then you should be labeled a harasser and tarred and feathered. Their fat bellies sticking out from underneath shirts that are way too small kills it for me. And these dumb whores think they look great ! Most women here look like some kind of farm animal unless they are in grade school. The double chins, the huge feet from them weighing well over 170lbs, and the fucking attitude is enough to repel any man. I'll take a foreign girl any day of the week.”- I am Groot Top Hat posted on Zero Hedge on Jan 11, 2018 5:49 PM Permalink
Different Culture
Chinese girls come from a different culture than America.
They do not know what “original sin” is; they do not know what guilt is, or shame. They are not afraid to look pretty or to dress cute or provocatively. They think differently. To them one must honor their family and that means the concept of “face”; How one looks. How one acts.
Original sin, also called ancestral sin, is the Christian doctrine of humanity's state of sin resulting from the fall of man, stemming from Adam's rebellion in Eden. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred to as a "sin nature", to something as drastic as total depravity or automatic guilt of all humans through collective guilt.
They know that they have a family responsibility to maintain, and that they would do whatever is necessary to honor their parents. Moreover, by the way, becoming a prostitute is not one way to do it.
Here is a lovely Chinese girl in a mall in the winter. The Chinese ladies love these big boots in the winter months. My wife has boots that reach all the ways up to her crotch, with the most common being the ones that go to the knee caps. I think that it is terribly attractive. The dress is pretty typical, being short and showing off the great legs that the Chinese women possess. The Chinese girls just don’t understand why us men would be so excited about these fine leather boots. I don’t know either, but it sure turns me on. I’ll tell you what.
What Chinese Girls are Like
If you want to see, what a Chinese girl looks like watch a K-pop video. Sure, they are (mostly) Korean, but you know what? The bodies, the shapes, the clothing, the makeup and the mannerisms are the same. (They are all Han Chinese, which is the dominant racial characteristic in China today.)
If you want to stick to making broad, sweeping judgments that the Chinese are all flat chested, short, brown skinned, then go to Hong Kong, or Shanghai. They are not. They are decidedly absolutely not.
The typical Chinese girl wears a “B” or a “C” cup bra with a significant percentage of the population wearing larger bras (see below). The typical Chinese girl is neither small, nor fat. They are strong and beautiful. They are independent, versatile, and responsible. They are smart, intelligent and can run circles around most Americans. They are tigers disguised as cute kittens. (At least my wife certainly is. You do not want to get on her bad side. Let me tell you!)
I like Chinese women. After all, I married one.
Underwear brand Triumph has published the percentage ranking of Asian bra sizes in its Lingerie White Paper, which indicates a continuing trend towards larger busts. Sales for its A-cup bras have fallen from 58.6% in 1980 to just 4.1% in 2016 The results for the last two years are tallied below:
A-cup sales (2015): 4.7% A-cup sales (2016): 4.1%
B-cup sales (2015): 19.5% B-cup sales (2016): 19%
C-cup sales (2015): 26.1% C-cup sales (2016): 25.6%
D-cup sales (2015): 24.8% D-cup sales (2016): 25%
E-cup sales (2015): 16.7% E-cup sales (2016): 26.3%
Chinese girls interviewing for a stewardess position with a Chinese airline company. In China, your appearance, and manners are all considered important attributes. You are viewed on your appearance, and ranked appropriately. This differs substantially from how the United States is. Having potential stewardesses wear bikini’s and interview on appearance is illegal in America. It might offend someone. It is discriminatory.
Chinese girls are many things, but as adults appearing as children is a gross oversimplification rooted in ignorance of the worst type; the “Ugly American” type.
Girls in China are quite different from girls in the United States. If I were to make broad sweeping generalizations about Chinese girls, I would say that they are very conservative. They really do not buy into all that woman-career compared to woman-housewife nonsense that you see in the United States.
Typically, they go to school well into their mid-20’s. Yes, you could characterize them as most “book nerds”, then they go work. Typically, girls get married around 25 to 28, and after age 30 they are considered to be “old maids”.
Here is some Asian girls with comparative body fat percentage. It’s an interesting photo.
I find ALL Chinese girls to be special, wonderful and just outstanding. They are lovely, cute, professional, kind, and beautiful.
This includes the world-worn grandmother, to the tottering cleaning lady. There is a certain specialness that words cannot convey, but it is something that has to do with their culture, and how they are raised. They honor their parents. They care about their family. They support their husbands. They keep fit and thin. They work and do what ever is necessary to build their business.
Seriously, what is not to admire?
Here is a Chinese girl in the local 7-11. And yes, you will see many Chinese girls dressing up to go out. This was more or less a pretty common scene in any of the larger cities in China. Note that many Chinese girls, especially in Southern China do not wear panty hose. It’s just far too hot.
Chinese girls know what they want, and they have the skills to go about getting it. This is a true of a statement that I can ever make.
“My Chinese girlfriends, by contrast, seemed to know exactly what they wanted, and made it happen. Two women I knew had "the talk" with their American boyfriends of 5 or more years, and when the men confessed they still weren't sure, broke up with them and within a year were happily pregnant and married to someone else.”-Your Tango
And, the men in their lives appreciate it. They show this appreciation in other ways. Ways that are very strange when viewed from the eyes of an American;
Several years ago, I moved from New York to Beijing. Within a few months of my arrival, I started to notice the differences between Western- and Chinese-style dating.
For one thing, men carried their girlfriends' purses—little fake-Chanel pocketbooks, black leather sling bags, enormous pleather numbers with ruffles and rhinestones and tassles.
No matter how ridiculously girly it looked, it was always slung over a male shoulder, or dangling from his fingers; with the other, he held his girlfriend's hand.
The funniest moments were always when you spotted a guy momentarily alone: maybe waiting for his girlfriend outside a shop, or the women's bathroom. Then what you'd see was a Chinese guy in unassuming clothing—t-shirt, button-down shirt, jeans—holding a frilly bright-pink purse.
-Your Tango
Here is a GREAT video that describes the differences between a girlfriend from the North of China compared to one from the South of China. I laughed so hard watching it!
Here are some pretty Chinese girls dancing to the pop music that is all the craze out here. You can get a general feel for what the Chinese girls are like just by watching the videos…
One thing that I like about Chinese girls is that they are not fat. I really don’t know what has been going on in the United States, but all the American girls are really on the chunky side, with many absolutely and positively fat. When they come here to China, they look like enormous fat pigs or water buffaloes.
Most girls in China look a little like this young lass…
I like that girls come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. They can be short, or tall and thin. They can have nice legs, or a nice butt, or a great rack. They can have large eyes that your soul could melt into, or soft skin and really nice enormous manes of hair.
One thing that I really appreciate in China is that many Chinese girls have really nice boobies. You know, as an American, I was under the impression that all Asian girls were flat chested. I guess it is just one of those American stereotypes. You know, some of these gals have some amazing racks let me tell you!
But, you know, it is more than that. There are many, many Chinese girls that like to exercise and keep in shape. Whether it is in the daily dance routines, or going to a gym, everyone seems to exercise.
Here’s a Chinese girl exercising…
American Girls
But what about American girls you might ask?
Well, I also like American girls as well. In fact, there are many, many attractive American girls. What I am disturbed about is that the food in America has been poisoned by GMO’s and selective genetic breeding loaded with hormones and the such. Both American men and women are now much stouter then they were in the past.
That included myself (when I lived in the States).
So, while there are some very attractive American women, they tend to be smaller in number than their counterparts in other nations. With many American women heavier than what they should be.
A recent study revealed that the average American woman wears a size 20W.
The average American woman wears a size 20 wide! WTF? An American woman today weighs as much as a man did in the 1960’s. There is even a Buzzfeed article that thinks that this is a great thing! I disagree. I think that they are smoking too much of that dreaded devil-weed and are very confused.
Seriously. Please understand my point of view. There is nothing appealing with someone being out of shape.
Findings suggest that, contrary to popular assumptions, the average American woman’s (AAW’s) clothing size is larger than anticipated. The AAW wears between a Misses size 16–18, which corresponds to a Women’s Plus size 20W, with greater distinctions found when considering race and ethnicity.
I think that Americans, men and women, should eat fresh food and locally grown vegetables. They should eat more fish and seafood. They should cut down on snacking and fast food. It’s a sacrifice, I know. I know.
Look what I had to cut down on…
Limit fast food to once a month.
No after dinner snacking… ever.
Full breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
No Doritos, potato chips, or deep fried anything.
Here are some women of size 20W. It is now the American average size for a woman… Yikes!
The average American woman now wears a size 20W. This is certainly celebrated in many American websites and posts as avoidance of “fat shaming”. Personally, I think it is disgusting and alarming. Men and women need to keep their BMI within reasonable limits.
What a Man looks for in a Woman…
With all that being said, let’s look at the things that men look for in a woman. After all, it is relationships that drive our passions. From that we can derive comparisons between women from China and women from the United States.
When a man, such as myself, thinks about a woman we look at number of key features;
Appearance
Sex
Domestic Concern
Companionship
Personality
Self Confidence
Of course, there are many other factors that we could include here. But, this is not intended to be an exhaustive study, or some kind of PC narrative. Let’s consider what I, myself, look for in women. This is my list.
Other people might have a different list. Maybe something like this…
Environmentally friendly.
Fashion trendy.
Hip with the latest APPS.
Has many followers on Twitter, or Facebook.
Is wealthy and successful.
Has a huge enormous ass. (Yikes!)
But, I’m not other people. So if you want to generate your own list and criteria for comparisons, go straight ahead. I’m not going to stop you. This is my list, and these are my comparisons…
[1] A Woman’s Appearance
A man looks for a woman that he is physically attracted to.
Sorry, but it has to be said. The good news is, every man is attracted to a different type of woman and has his own personal tastes. Meaning, I am in no way suggesting a woman has to fit a certain image of ‘beauty’ in order to be considered ‘wife material.’
But, as is true for both men and women, there needs to be a physical attraction between two partners to kick off a relationship, which also plays an important part in holding it together.-The Good Man Project
We men want a woman who we are attracted to.
Attraction has to do with a combination of [1] physical shape, [2] physical appearance, and [3] personal grooming. I have seen women who have “rockin'” bodies, who dress like trailer-park trash, and were a total turn off. I have seen women who look good and yet sound like a foul-mouthed sailor when they speak. I have seen women who didn’t know how to walk in high heels and went clunk-clunk-clunk as they walked down the street. Yuck!
I have seen beautiful women, who walked and carry themselves well, wearing black high heel shoes with the red under-sole. Only to have a big white price tag sticker on the bottom. Talk about distraction away from the image form!
Appearance is more than just physical shape. It is also about grooming and attitude.
In general, men and women are about the same in this regards. A woman wants a man that takes care of his appearance. She wants him to be well groomed, clean, and neat.
Men are the same. We look for a woman that also takes care of their appearance. We like the women in our lives to be well-groomed, clean and tidy.
Here is a beautiful American girl. Look at that smile. Look at that amazing body. What a stunner! I tell you what!
There are a wide range of American female body styles that I personally find quite alluring. This includes tall leggy women, to short chubby cuties. I think that many would be amazed at the things that they do, act, dress, or look like that I find amazingly attractive.
So I am not going to bad-mouth any of the particularly awesome women that live in America. I tell you the truth, there are some American women that think that they aren’t that good looking, that I would die to be with.
When I lived in Boston, there was a 30-something woman who worked in a brick-a-brack store in Brookline. She was very curvy, and maybe wore a size 18. She had shaved her hair really short, and wore really red lipstick. Not my type. Yet, I had such the hots for her. OMG! Every-time I tried to talk with her, I would get so flustered. She hadn't a clue how mesmerized I was for her.
It is sort of like how a woman who looks at my shoulders (and arms) and wonders how nice it would be to rest their head there and be held. I too look at women in this way. However, I think more in terms of having my head resting on their chest softly, and their fingers in my hair.
Men and women are more similar than we will admit to in public.
Look at this awesome beauty! Look at that amazing head of hair! Look at the tiny waist and hour-glass shape. Man! She must have all the guys chasing after her. Now pay attention. What an amazing smile. I’ll tell you what, the smile opens up my heart.
That being said, I don’t like to be with a girl that is heavier than I am. It’s a personal preference. I also am not really attracted to a woman who is taller than I am either. I don’t know why, it just doesn’t do anything for me.
I also am a little skiddish about polydactylism. It's not that I am revolted if the girl has seven fingers on each hand, but I'm a little freaked out about it.
I feel like this is similar to a girl that doesn’t want a man that is shorter than she is.
[2] Having Sex
Honestly, you have to be a fucking moron not to realize that men want sex.
It is genetically programmed into males and become the focus of everything that we do. From what career we enter, to what cars we drive, to how much money we make. The driving force behind it all is getting sex.
Any man who says that this is not the case is either lying or trying to find favor in order to obtain sex.
The Loony Tunes character “Pepe Le Pew” is based on the raw instincts that all males have. When we were children and watched the cartoons we knew instinctively what what going on. Yet today in the SJW saturated American culture, we are supposed to ignore the basic facts of life and accept a reality of non-genders. Nonsense!
Once we find an attractive woman that raises our interest, the very next thing we wonder about is having sex with her.
That is the way it is, and no SJW rewriting of culture is going to change the biology of males. In a way we are just like dogs and are led about by our “pecker” all the time. Smart women know this. Smarter women use it, and profit from it in numerous ways.
Online porn is not a multi-billion industry for nothing. Prostitution still exists because men are men, no matter how hard society, religion and zealots try to stamp it out. Men are males with fundamental male interests and needs.
The sexual desires that men have vary from individual to individual. Some men really love oral sex, others are “meh”. Some men must have anal sex, while other go “yech!”. Every man is different.
That being said, sex is an individual experience. What might be fantastic for one fellow, might be terribly boring for another. That is why there are fetishes.
Some men like big boobs, others like big asses, and still others like big feet. Some men are mesmerized by a nice set of legs, while others like strange and unusual sexual positions. And yes, some men really like huge women, and others like small tiny ladies. Everyone is different.
[3] Domestic Care & Concern
Here is where I sound like an old foggy-head man. However, a woman who is control of her home, tends to be in control of her life.
A woman who is in control of her home is in control of her life.
When I see that she takes care of her clothes, makes sure that the house is well run, ordered and that she knows how to cook, I start to get really interested in her. You see, in my mind, a woman who is in control of her life, would also be able to take control of my life as well.
Men will give their LIFE, their MONEY, and their very BEING to a woman deserving of it.
I once went on a date with a woman. She was nice, and attractive. To get ready for the date, I of course was presentable and clean, and I made sure that the car was washed and detailed. I picked her up. I then opened the door for her and buckled her in. (This was America, I'd never do it in China.) And we went off.
During the drive she pulled out some chewing gum and was chewing it. You know, for a pleasant tasting mouth. But, you know, she did something disturbing to me. She threw the chewing gum wrapper on my nice new floor...
Later, after dinner, she couldn't find her lipstick, and emptied her purse on the table, and had to sort through old scraps of paper, receipts and brick-a-bract. The date ended, and we went our separate ways. We had fun, but I never wanted to be back with her again. You know, she probably doesn't understand why.
Men need a companion that they can turn to, rely upon, and have a family with. This means responsibility. We need a good strong willed woman without baggage and problems. Seriously, isn’t that what women look for also?
Now, of course, most modern and "liberated" women don't think like this in the Untied States. They are "independent". They can get and have their own careers, and live their own lives. Sure they can. And, be childless and unmarried into their 40's.
The cost of being a "liberated" American female is quite steep.
It is not reality.
It is an artificially constructed narrative to seduce people into certain set behaviors. If you want to see what works for couples, then look at how families are set up in Africa. Look at how families are run in Poland. Look at how families exist in China. Five thousand years of experience won’t lie.
The 1998 movie pleasantville depicted a sort of revisionist narrative of what might happen if a modern person were to step back into time and life life as it used to be in the 1960’s. Contrary to the popular narrative, there is nothing wrong with traditional marriage and a man giving everything to his wife. In return, the wife becomes domestic and cares for him, their children, their home and their finances. She makes sure that the man can work, be relaxed and strive to improve their life. That is the traditional method, and that is what many men search for.
A traditional life WORKS. Most men WANT a traditional long-term relationship. They will give everything for it.
I fear many men, especially those afraid "to make the leap" in marriage are not convinced or ready to allow a woman to take over part or all of his life.
For a man, this is a BIG commitment.
He is not only letting the woman into his life, but he is giving her access forever to all that he earns. He is allowing her to dictate and instruct him on behavior, dress, and recreation. If the man is truly in love, and if he believes that this woman can take on that domestic role; she will GET EVERYTHING he can offer.
A man who gives everything to his wife will never leave her. For she literally BECOMES everything to him. So, have you ever wondered why divorce was so rare prior to the 1970’s? Divorce became commonplace when traditional roles fell from popularity. So ladies, if you want a man that will be YOURS… forever and would never abandon you, then you should make a reappraisal of your value system. You won’t get it on a progressive ideology. You will ONLY get it with a Conservative Traditional ideology.
When a man gets married, he should be ready to share his life. This often means letting your wife take over portions of it so you no longer have to. A good, and strong, woman will be able to manage the home. If she can manage the home, she can help the man become a success.
We have a saying that goes something a little like this; “Behind every successful man is a strong woman.”
As I get older, I see how true this is. My friends who are all very successful, all have strong and well-organized wives. They all also have relinquished some things to the wife in exchange for her domestic support. This includes [1] all of the finances. [2] What he eats. [3] How he dresses. [4] His exercises, and [5] how they relate to family matters.
Oh, and please forget that nonsense Hollywood narrative of what a traditional conservative woman is. (Where a traditional woman wears Amish style hats, and lives a life right out of the “The Handmaids Tale”.) That is propaganda. Today, a conservative wife might have a body covered in tattoos, ear and nose rings and purple hair. It isn’t about appearances.
It is about the energy that lies inside…
Chinese women, as well as African, Polish, Russian, and Indian women don’t sit around watching the boob-tube, or play games on the cell-phone all day long. They do what ever is necessary to make THEIR household a success.
The manage the fiances.
They budget the household.
They allocate resources to jointly improve their standard of living.
They make sure everyone is eating well and healthy.
They are a model for their community and familial relations.
They make sure that the husband has everything he needs.
They push and help the husband grow as a provider.
I always look for companionship when I see a woman who interests me. I wonder if they would they be fun and interesting to be with. I wonder if we could talk about really deep and interesting subjects. I wonder if they would be willing to share in my hobbies. I look for companions.
This is true for most men.
Spend time, meaningful and precious time, with those you love. Make your time quality time. Buy an ice cream cone with your retired father. Take you mother out of a morning breakfast. Call up one of your friends and go to the beach or hike in a local park. Spend time together. Companionship.
Now, most women are confused with what this means. They search for romance. They could care less about companionship. This is sad, because romance comes from companionship.
Romance is spawned from companionship.
My wife and I took a trip to Thailand, and while on a drinking binge, the taxi driver drove us to the middle of no where and abandoned us there. We had to struggle and make our way back to the hotel. That bungle was an adventure, but my wife well remembers the rural village BBQ meal as the dawn broke through the clouds, and the orange light that shined on our toes in the sand. Romantic times are unplanned. They come from companionship.
Another thing that guys look for in a woman is personality. We are attracted to kindness, softness, sweetness, and compassion.
When I come across a particularly militant American woman, I am immediately repelled. Especially when that person wants to lecture me on “white privilege” or some kind of populist nonsense that weaker men accept. Don’t be a ugly bullyish brute of a woman. It’s not becoming.
Become the ideal. Your life is within your hands.
Look at this pretty American girl. I have to admit that I have a thing for short frilly dresses. Man, she does look great in polka-dots. Wouldn’t you just love to go out on the town and have a cup of coffee and a cheese cake with this woman?
To be honest, when I meet a woman and I get to know them, I am looking for companionship. I wonder if they would like to accompany me for dinner, dancing, and any of the hobbies that I love to partake in. Since I love wine, a non-drinker and myself might not fit together well. Since I love animals, when I am talking to a woman, I wonder if they would also be part of my life with dogs and cats.
The personality that a woman has eventually dominates a man’s interest. In other words, while a man is firstly attracted to a woman’s look, and sexual appeal, it is her personality that will keep him by her side forever.
[6] Self Confidence
One of the most important traits for both men and women is self-confidence. This is something that is hard to describe, but is fundamental to success in life. the truth is that I am not at all handsome, but women are interested in spending time with me for other reasons. I chalk up the reasons to being positive, happy, interesting and having good self-confidence.
Because that is exactly what turns me on in a woman.
When I take a woman out, I want to be able to talk about things. I want to be able to talk about tomato plants, favorite foods, dogs and cats, and thoughts about life. I want to be with a person that isn’t so fucking sensitive that I am afraid of being who I am. I want to be accepted for me, and if you don’t like it, to Hell with you. The same goes double for women.
I would NEVER tell a woman that she shouldn’t eat dessert because she needed to count her calories. Nor would I tolerate sitting down with a woman who wanted to lecture me on the injustices of the world. No one likes a scold. Really.
No one.
General Comparisons
The thing is that Chinese food is healthier than American food. The culture is also healthier, and everyone likes to dance. Many Chinese like to ride bicycles and walk. There are sidewalks everywhere in China. Thus, many Chinese girls and women are thin and healthy.
Chinese eat healthier food.
Chinese have smaller food portions.
Chinese prefer green tea to soda.
Chinese have opportunities to dance every day.
Culturally, being out of shape is a terrible taboo.
Bike riding is supported and subsidized by the government.
Sidewalks are everywhere.
To elaborate further, being unhealthy is frowned upon. A fat Chinese woman is considered to be someone who is causes her family to lose face. It is not tolerated.
In Chinese culture, eating is seen as a form of affection and commitment to the family, so I always ate every meal, every single kernel of rice in my bowl. But I also felt fat and unfit to be the “perfect” Asian girl, as I compared my body to those of my fellow Asian American girl friends. When we would go out to eat and drink -- a group of petite Asian girls -- I knew I had to work out more and eat less the next day to make up for the amount I ingested with my friends. I’ve spent countless Friday nights in college, feeling completely inadequate because every single Asian girl I met was thin and beautiful with porcelain smooth skin, like Asian girls are supposed to be. I started to wonder if I was the only Asian girl who felt this way.
-XOJane
In America, being a fat woman is considered to be very hip and progressive. It is very much anti-fat-shaming. As such it is promoted as applauded. Also, Americans tend to love piercings, tattoos and all sorts of body adornments.
Typical college-age American girls having a good time during spring break in Corpus Christi Texas. These are typical girls. Covered in Tattoos. They are having a great time, and they have most excellent smile. None of them are fat.
Also Americans tend to have a different lifestyle. We drive everywhere. If our car breaks down, we rent a car rather than walk. Unless you are in a city, there just aren’t any sidewalks. We like to eat fast food. Our food portions are enormous. While American food is certainly tasty, we usually opt for fast and easy food instead of the food that is better for us like oatmeal and fish.
So, we have a situation where Chinese girls tend to be thinner and healthier than American girls. I find that being healthy is enormously attractive.
Comparisons between Chinese and American Girls
Here are my opinions concerning Chinese girls and American girls. Of course it is only my own opinion. You are free to agree or disagree as you choose.
We will start with my first criteria; Appearance.
Appearance
Both American women and Chinese women tend to take care of their appearance. However, culturally, what is attractive differs. In America, having “bronze” or dark skin is considered to be attractive. While in China, having white or pale skin is considered to be attractive.
In China, it is desirable and even necessary to appear healthy and fit. In America it is trendy to be fat and overweight.
While I find that both China and America have attractive ladies, I have discovered that there is a higher percentage of them in China compared to America. This is not determined by the vast numbers of Chinese compared to the much smaller number of American, but rather the percentage of attractive women within society.
Taking the regional and cultural differences aside, and ONLY making a determination based on my personal opinions, I would find the following to be true…
America might have 30% of the women to fit my own biased, and old fashioned, ideas of beauty and attractiveness. While in China, I find a much higher percentage of women, easily over 80%, that I would consider attractive in one way or the other.
Sex
Based upon my own experiences, and only on my experiences, I find that both China and America are about on par with providing enjoyable sexual adventures for the pleasures of the man of the species. While there are individual differences, I think that a man in either America or in China would tend to have reasonably enjoyable sex with their partner.
There are a couple of sexual trends that seem to be promoted in the American media at this time, that are not promoted in China. These include…
Sexual ambiguity.
Female ejaculation / squirting.
Sexual promiscuity.
Role reversal.
Aside from these differences, for me I could care less about the latest in sexual trends going on today. Therefore…
Based on my experience, sex in either the United States or China is about the same. It varies from person to person and relationship to relationship.
Domestic Concern
I am afraid that I am going to have to shock all the readers in Internet-land out there on this consideration. However, the fact is this; the Chinese women are traditional and Conservative. The American women are progressive and liberal.
Chinese women are conservative. American women tend to be liberal.
A Chinese wife (or girlfriend) would wash, starch, iron and fold your clothes. An American wife, highly unlikely.
A Chinese wife would make a meal for her husband, provide him with clean house clothes and slippers when he gets home, and make him a cocktail. An American woman wouldn’t even consider it.
A Chinese wife would make sure that her husband was eating healthy meals, not doing unhealthy things, and would select his clothes and make sure that the man was presentable for work. An American woman would never pick out her husbands clothes, let alone iron, starch, and fold them to lay them out for him to wear when he got out of the shower.
A Chinese wife would shower, get dressed up and put on makeup to make a run to the local grocery store to get some supplies. An American woman, probably would not.
A Chinese wife would budget the household for the month. She would plan and prepare the family meals, even if it was just for two people. An American woman might do this, however, planning a family meal has become a lost art that has disappeared sometime during the Bill Clinton presidency, when Hillary Clinton became the role model for many a young woman.
All, in all, culturally the Chinese woman is far more suitable than an American woman is for a family life.
However, for relationships that are not tied to a family or domestic issues, such as one-night stands, and promiscuous sexual adventures, the American woman is preferred. As her behavior towards a long term mutually-respectable relations can best be considered as disposable.
Companionship
Again, I would say that both American and Chinese women would make fine companions. Though, culturally it would take on different manifestations.
In public, a Chinese wife treats me with great respect. She would never belittle me. She would never, ever… EVER say anything bad about me to anyone. I am her family. I am HER family. I am HER’s. To bad-mouth me is to admit that she is a terrible wife.
Culturally, the wife, the family and the husband loses face if she is not supportive of him. In fact, he could lose his job, or be placed in demeaning and compromising work situations as well. The wife has an important role, and she must make sure that the husband is respected and promoted. Can you imagine the woman in this video saying bad things about her husband…?
Chinese girls are fiercely defensive of their families and their husbands.
In comparison, an American wife has no problem with treating a husband terribly. In fact it is even promoted in the American media and Hollywood. This has manifested with a terrible lack of respect in public, bounding on terrible disrespect of the worst kind. Heck, even the President of the United States allows people to point their finger at him and belittle him in public.
You would NEVER see this in China.
FILE – In this Jan. 25, 2012, file photo, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer points during an intense conversation with President Barack Obama after he arrived at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, in Mesa, Ariz. In the summer of 2010, race and politics collided when Arizona Republicans passed an immigration law that critics said would lead to racial profiling of Hispanics. Jose Lozano, vice president of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, remembers Brewer wagging her finger in the president’s face, which he thought was ugly and hadn’t seen before. “There’s no way that would have ever happened to a white president,” Lozano said. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)
Knowing what I know of today, I can understand why some American husbands beat their wives up when they get home. If they would attack and beat up a male stranger that treats them that way, what makes their closest confidant get a free-pass?
That being said, there are other minor cultural differences…
A Chinese wife would have the husband carry her purse, all the bags of the things that she bought, and tote the dog around in a kennel. While she would walk in the mall in all her glorious beauty. However, the husband would control what they did for the day.
An American wife would bound ahead and do her things without asking the man what he wants to do. She would go to the stores she wants, and if the man comes fine. Otherwise, it’s too bad. In America, the husband has taken on a kind of pet-role. Go. Fetch. Sit. Obey. Roll-over.
Of course, there are exceptions. However, and this is important, culturally how a wife treats her husband differs between China and America.
In China, the husband must be treated with full respect or the family suffers.
In America, treating the husband poorly is an accepted norm.
Thus…
I have discovered that I am treated better, adored more, appreciated, and honored in China. It is at a level of respect that is way, way, WAY beyond anything than I ever experienced in America. Therefore, the Chinese culture greatly favors a relationship consisting of companionship between a man and a woman.
Personality
I am attracted to kindness. When I see a great wide smile, I gravitate towards it. There are kind people all over the world. Just like there are evil people. I personally believe that there is an equal mixture of kind, personable women in both China and America.
I like the fact that many people smile at strangers. You won’t see this in China. In China, people only smile to friends.
I like the fact that many people in America attend church. I think that it helps keep us grounded to a higher purpose. You know, many Chinese are quite religious as well. We NEED religion. We NEED to constantly be reminded of our role and our purpose in this life.
President trump attends church and feels the spirit of God. Of course, this was reported differently. The American mainstream media reported this as protestors marched around and around the church. Whatever, get the attention away from the good. Focus on the trivial. There is nothing more important within this reality that our purpose and our relationship with our maker.
A kind and caring person can be found anywhere. You just need to push aside the differences in culture and look at the person within. I have found that both America and China has people with attractive personalities.
Self Confidence
I am attracted to people with self confidence. This is true for both men and women.
The thing about this, and I do not know why, the women in the United States with good self-confidence are ugly arrogant monsters. While the women in China tend to be lovely and well poised. Ok, here is what I am trying to express. Here is a Chinese woman with high confidence…
Now, for comparison, here is an American woman with high confidence…
Here’s an American woman showing that she has high confidence. She is proud of who she is and accepts her body just as it is. No one is going to tell her how to eat, and what to eat. No one is going to try to sell her hair lotion or shampoo. She is her very own woman. Good for her!
You can find many such pictures where absolutely beautiful women sabotaged their appearance and posted pictures of them with their new self-found self-confidence. I am NOT saying that it is bad. What I am saying is that you do not have to adopt extreme behaviors to be the very best that you are.
I think that it takes high self-confidence to avoid the seduction of tattoos when everyone else is sporting them. It takes high confidence to let your hair grow long and refuse to cut it for any reason. I think that real high confidence is when you do things your way, and not the trendy and popular way.
I think that everyone needs and should have high self-confidence. However, I don't think that we need to destroy our appearance to obtain it. Just because people are suddenly are looking at you and giving you attention does not mean that that they admire and like you. They just might be gawking like people do at animals in a zoo.
Self-confidence alone is not attractive. It is the sum total of all the characteristics that a person has. Self-confidence puts everything together into a nice neat package.
r/K Theory
The trend in America for fat females, and for promiscuity is a valid species survival vector. It occurs when you have creatures living in abundance. In America we have a situation where there is abundance.
Studies on mice, rats and rabbits have affirmed that when there is an unlimited supply of resources, the species take on the behaviors that we witness in the United States today. If you are interested in finding out more about this theory, please go here…
Conclusion
When I first came to China I was floored by the prodigious numbers of attractive, sexy and self-confident women. Not only that, but they were traditional. They believed in marriage. They believed in roles. They believed in the importance of man being a man, and a woman running the family.
China is communist, but here all the people were traditionally American-style conservative. I was amazed and stunned. Then, when I started to live and work in China, I began to understand it better. I saw that modern China follows the free-market values of American style conservatism. We can all thank Mr. Deng for that.
Here in China, when I would try to talk to a woman, they would smile and come up to me. They wouldn’t scow or make some kind of dismissive remark. They looked into my eyes and I had their full attention. I have since come to appreciate women who take care of themselves and honor their family. I fell in love with one and I did go ahead and marry her.
If the woman is from America, and they take care of themselves and honors their family, then you should not let that person escape. They are a prize. They ARE remarkable and ABSOLUTELY deserving of your attention and admiration. Appreciate them. For they are special, unique and deserving of a “knight in white armor”. Don’t let them down.
Take Aways
There are beautiful women all over the world.
In China, beauty is defined by tradition.
In America, beauty is defined by popular culture.
That being said…
A traditional man would find that China would have more beautiful women than in America.
A trendy progressive, liberal man would find that America will have large numbers of attractive women that fits his ideas of perfection.
American Woman in China
Sometimes a picture tells a story. Here is a micro video of an American in China taking selfies on the beach. I will let the reader come to their own conclusions.
FAQ
Q: Which type of woman is more attractive? An American or a Chinese woman?
A: Both have their charms. It really depends on the person who is the observer. For me, with all my crazy old-fashioned old-school ideas about family, and appearance, China is the land of beautiful women. But my ideas are not popular at all.
In America today, Michelle Obama is considered one of the most attractive women in the world. Hillary Clinton is the 6th most attractive woman. So, many people have different ideas about beauty than I have. You, the reader, should never take my tastes and attitudes as your own. You should instead NOT be influenced by my out of style thoughts and opinions.
Q: Is there any female feature that is more important in attractiveness?
A: While I am certainly fond of a nice chest, and sensuous lips, I have to be honest on this. Nothing gets me stunned into stupefied silence than a mixture of kindness and self-confidence. That chick I mentioned earlier from Brookline in Boston, was so tender but strong! Oh, my gosh!
Q: What is wrong about tattoos and piercings?
A: Absolutely nothing. You need to understand, I represent a different generation. In my world, it is typically unusual for a woman to have excessive tattoos and piercings. That does not mean that I am not attracted to women with these decorations, it is just that it falls outside what I have considered to be attractive. I have to be reeducated on this subject.
Q: Is a woman who smokes and drinks attractive?
A: I think so, but according to the typical Chinese culture, it is considered unwomanly if not taboo. In fact, the reader would be surprised at how broadly I consider attractiveness. Which is why I often tell everyone to be the very best that they can be, and stop listening to the advice of others. Attractiveness is a combination of factors. Just be the best you can be, and let who you are shine through.
When the Chinese come and visit the United States, they are often spellbound in shock and amazement. They find that they LOVE, absolutely L-O-V-E the United States. I have many friends who have told me this. Another thing that they have told me is that it was not what they expected.
Here are some of the misconceptions that Chinese have of America…
1. Donald Trump is despised and is going to prison if not executed outright.
Well, this is what you would expect if all you watched was CNN and MSNBC.
In fact, most “Western media” that the Chinese see is the main-steam American media. While most Americans, not all, understand that the American media has a fatally liberal bias, the Chinese are unaware of this. Thus, the impression that they get is that the American media represents the hearts and minds of the American people.
A smiling Donald Trump eating KFC on one of his airplanes. Looks good. I sure could use some mashed potatoes, gravy and coleslaw as well.
As such, they are astounded that Donald Trump is able to get away with so much!
“1. Donald Trump is despised and is going to prison if not executed outright.”A few months ago I had a chance to talk with an engineering student from India who was visiting the US, and she had much the same impression. She asked me why the American people hadn’t risen up and removed Trump from office since he was so universally despised.
She was genuinely surprised when I told her that Trump was probably the most popular American president since Reagan and would surely be re-elected in 2020.I realized from this conversation how much the Mainstream media’s endless propaganda war on Trump is diminishing America’s prestige globally. People in other countries mistakenly think of America’s news media as being legitimate, and believe what they hear. (Even far-left Americans realize that most of CNN’s reporting is bullsh*t.)
We look like a third-rate banana Republic on the verge of collapse to the rest of the world. I doubt the current Supreme court confirmation hearings are helping matters.
- Junk Silver
They are amazed that he is not being hung from scaffolding or being lynched. They, thus believe that he must be a most capable politician and a supreme businessman; a man not to be trifled with. The reactions that I see from my fellow Chinese friends is a mixture of awe, admiration, and fear.
Just WHO is this man, they muse.
The Chinese believe the main-stream media and are impressed with President Trump for his ability to avoid hanging from a noose.
2. Everything is Free!
After nearly a decade of President Obama being televised giving away free things, most Chinese have the impression that that is what America represents. Free cars. Free cell-phones. Free citizenship. Free meals. Free housing. They do not realize that nothing is free, and ultimately someone must pay a price for it.
Obama has given away more money, more things, and more cash than any other president. The only problem is that it wasn’t his money to give away. It was yours.
Today, when I mention that America used to be the “Land of the Free”, they respond with “What, you no longer get free healthcare, free education, free cell-phones and free housing?” They think that the current President is changing America away from a “Free” nation and moving towards something more practical.
Somehow, and I really do not know how, they believe that the government has an endless supply of money to spend. As such, they think that it was quite magnanimous of President Obama to spend that money on the American people. Now, they are afraid that the money will be spent elsewhere, like on wars.
The way the American government works is a mystery to the Chinese. But, that is ok. It is a mystery to most Americans as well.
3. Americans are Rich.
It goes to think, don’t you agree, that if all Americans are driving nice cars and living in nice houses that Americans MUST be rich. What the Chinese do not realize is that in America everything is rented. Very few people pay in cash to buy a car or a house.
Most Chinese live in an apartment. The apartment is tiny by American standards, so when a Chinese person comes to America, they become amazed at the sizes of the homes, the cars and the portions of food. They think, indeed, America is a rich country full of rich people.
Oh, certainly there are those who are driving older cars that we paid off years ago. That there are those who paid off their thirty year mortgages ten years ago, however, they are a minority. Most Americans pay both a mortgage and a car payment, with a sizable number now paying school loans.
In China, most people pay in cash. They save like crazy, sort of like the Amish, and then spend the money where necessary. While credit is available to the citizens, most maintain a traditional attitude towards frugality and savings. Thus they think that Americans must be the same.
Which is why many Chinese believe that Americans are quite wealthy.
The Chinese believe Americans are very wealthy, because by Chinese standards, you need to be a millionaire to be able to live like an American does.
4. All Americans carry guns and are Armed.
Sometimes when a Chinese person visits America, they come back with all kinds of stories of their adventures. They take pictures, and often ask me what is the story behind the photos. As an American, I think nothing of the images, but then when I think about it, it becomes hilarious.
I chuckle at this one.
Nope, not at all true. But if all you watch is the American main-stream media, of course you would have this impression. From the “debates” on CNN, to the discussions on the Huffington Post, everyone talks about the free access to firearms. Of course, if that is all you have access to, the impression would be of an overly and unfairly armed American populace.
What many Chinese think how Americans have breakfast. It consists of “runny” eggs, buttered toasted bread, some bacon, a cup of coffee and a nice firearm.
This puzzles the Chinese to no end. “Why does Americans need so many guns?” they ask. “The police will protect you”. Well, in China the role of the police is quite sedentary. Most of China consists of hard-working nerds. The police are there to deal with an occasional victim or crime. However, they never police behavior. Not like in America.
Anyways, when asked, I tell them how I miss my P99 and S3. They always ask me about the big caliber Smith and Wesson handguns, and ask if I ever owned a Glock.
I have to disappoint them, but I do tell them that I really enjoyed my old AK-47 clone (that I bought in California before they were banned). And I would get started on a conversation about the joys of black-powder (think Dixie Gun Works) and compound bows. It’s a world that really interests them. I’ll tell you what.
Of course there are many Americans that are offended by this meme. I happen to believe that my breakfast is certainly a little different.
The Chinese are often surprised that Americans don't carry guns everywhere.
5. America is Full of Excitement and Happiness.
By watching shows such as “Friends” the Chinese have come to consider Americans as nice friend and family oriented folk; people who have come to believe that life should be lived to it’s fullest. It’s a nice illusion.
Something happened between 1975 and today. Americans have become less of what they once were. It’s kind of sad. We lost something.
Maybe it’s all the restrictions at the workplace, or the over-reliance on portable media for enjoyment. I don’t know why, but many Americans look forward to mowing the grass and playing on the computer instead of fishing with an ice cold six pack of beer and being with friends. I lament that.
Here is a typical American town. It’s peaceful and quiet. In contrast, all of China is noisy, with people doing all sorts of things with all kinds of flashy lights and signs.
Yet when they come to America, their first impression is quite different. “It is so, so, so very quiet” a friend told me. Businesses close before 9 pm, and residential streets seem abandoned like a post apocalyptic ghost-town.
The Chinese visitor often finds that America is a very quiet and peaceful place. It's a bit of a surprise.
6. Everyone is your Friend.
Just because someone smiles, does not mean that they like you and are your friend. In America, smiling is just a polite way of interaction with strangers. In China, however, smiles are something that is reserved for special people. People, mind you, who have earned their place in your heart.
This is a typical American street on a fine day. Note the proud American flag flying and the what must be a nice crisp day. If you walked into any of these stores, the people would greet you with a smile. To a foreigner, it seems odd, but really comfortable.
When a Chinese person visits the United States, they are overwhelmed at how friendly everyone seems. Everyone smiles, opens up the doors for you, stands out of the way and is helpful. That being said, they are shaken to the core when they try to get into a conversation and practice their English. Aside from a polite minor conversation, most Americans just want to be left alone.
To a Chinese person this is like a best friend turning their back on you.
In America, a smile does not mean someone is your friend. It just means that the person who smiles is polite. In China, people normally do NOT smile. If they do, you know that they are a friend. Smiles are reserved for people who have a place in your heart.
The Chinese are often very comfortable in the United States, but find that making "real" friends is often very difficult to do.
7. Everything is Fair and Just.
Well, isn’t that what America stands for?
Ah, yes. The rule of law. But hey, when there are two standards of law; one for the super rich, and one for the rest of us, it isn’t fair. In fact, it is more than that. It is not a rule of law. It is a rule by favoritism, and there isn’t any real laws.
The Chinese understand this instinctively.
However, they are surprised that it exists in America. As they have been taught, and under the impression, that America was immune from this kind of judicial corruption. As a Chinese friend once told me, a nation that has two sets of laws; one for the powerful and one for the rest of us, is not a nation of law. It is a dictatorship.
Lock her up by Ben Garrison at Grr Graphics. All credit to the artist. Hillary Clinton sure has managed to get away with a lot. This is a characteristic of a third world banana republic. It is not the characteristic of a functioning Republic.
The Chinese are often surprised that America works the same way as China often does. It's the "golden rule"; the one with all the gold makes all the rules.
8. The Government works for the People.
America was set up as a place where the government serves the people. This is part of American history. As such, it is taught that way. Even in China.
Now it does not work that way. Now, in America it is not taught that way in schools either. However, it is still taught that way in China.
A casual visitor to the United States thinks nothing of this. It is until they are pulled over by a police car for a minor infraction, stopped at a check point for “inspection”, or told to hand over their cell phone for scanning. These things are unheard of in China. And, thus, are a real big shock to a Chinese citizen.
In America the police have been weaponized into a military force. This can come as a shock to the Chinese who see the police as the “keepers of order and stability”. Not as a militarized force that is used to enforce laws.
Other shocks include;
Open container laws
Paying for internet access
Taxes on everything
Money that is always complicated ($9.98 instead of $10)
Huge portions of food
Lack of public transportation (or insufficiency of)
In China the police are used in much the same way as they are used in America. However there is a great divergence in philosophy behind their use. In China, the police are used to go after criminals who create victims. In the Untied States, the police are used to enforce behavior.
Chinese police arresting a criminal. The job of the Chinese police is to maintain the peace and harmony of an enormous society. Their most active role is to pursue and catch criminals who have hurt others and created victims. You can see some of the police cars in the background.
By the way, here is an unobstructed view of the police cars used in the arrest above. Pretty cool huh? Quite different from the military-grade hardware used by the American police…
This is a Chinese police car. The Chinese have all sorts of vehicles that are used to perform their duties. This varies from Segways, to cars and vans. In a pinch, the Chinese do have SWAT teams that are used very sparingly. They also often use these vehicles to patrol and interact with the people.
The Chinese are surprised that America has such a large police and military presence.
9. There is Crime Everywhere.
While the militarized police is a bit of a surprise, the fact that they exist are not. Everyone in China “knows” that America is a land full of crime and corruption.
They know this, of course, from Hollywood. It doesn’t matter if it is white-collar crime like “The Wolf of Wall-street”, or street gangs from any one of a thousand movies. The Chinese tend to believe that America is a dangerous place.
Thus their surprise that they don’t see any crime.
Most of America is very safe. America, is a great place to raise children, contrary to what Hollywood and the mainstream news might lend one to believe. Most of America looks something like this. The exceptions lie in heavy minority communities.
Or course, if they were to visit Chicago, Detroit or Baltimore, their opinion might be quite different. When the Chinese visit, they see how beautiful and clean America is. They see police patrolling in nice new squad cars, and Americans behaving in polite and ordered ways.
They tend to be a little surprised that America is much safer than what they have been led to believe.
10. Everyone Speaks English.
I always get a big laugh out of this. Yet, it is a common misconception.
No, I am not talking about people speaking Spanish in Texas or California. Rather I am talking about what happens when a Chinese person goes into a area where people speak a heavily accented English. Like, for instance Arkansas, Louisiana, or Mississippi.
Here’s a pretty good map of regional American English accents.
"My grandmother said things like, “over yonder,” “rightchere,” (right here), “likeyat,” (like that), and “haint” (spook). Any non-sleeping dog had a “wild hare up its ass,” and if Grandma was angry, she was “some kinda burnt up.” She was prone to redundant modal verbs (“I done told you before”) and a big fan of the circumfix “a-in”–such as an owl “ahootin’ and ahollerin’.” Similar to Barry Hannah and Singleton’s backwoods characters (consider Hannah’s use of “sumbitch” or “You’re all wore out from being nice,”
-Trying to write in a Southern Accent
My favorite story is when some Chinese stopped and asked for directions in Kentucky. The instructions went something like this…
“Yall done drive past wheer dat old tree used to be, hang a left. You’ll recon Auntie Suzie’s house dere. Cruze a few miles til you see the spot whare da town had dat fair last spring, and then swing a right. Be mindful now. There’s that old viaduct. You should be fixin’ to gander it around ten minutes or so later.”
I guess this is why I still say “Youse guys”, LOL. Americans do not speak “standard” English. We all have regional dialects. Some are easy to understand. Some are quite difficult.
The Chinese visitors are often surprised that many Americans speak differently than what they have been taught, and what is shown on television.
Other Posts
This is the second of two part post. You can visit the other post; ” The Top Ten Misconceptions Americans have about China”. It can be found HERE.
Conclusions
The Chinese, when they visit America, come back with tales of adventure and great stories that they tell to their friends. Their overall opinion and picture of America is a positive one. They tell glowing stories of how absolutely beautiful America is and how friendly Americans are.
They come back to China saying “America wasn’t at all what I expected. It was better.”
“America wasn’t at all what I expected. It was better.”
Take Aways
The Chinese believe the main-stream media and are impressed with President Trump for his ability to avoid hanging from a noose.
The way the American government works is a mystery to the Chinese. But, that is ok. It is a mystery to most Americans as well.
The Chinese believe Americans are very wealthy, because by Chinese standards, you need to be a millionaire to be able to live like an American does.
The Chinese are often surprised that Americans don’t carry guns everywhere.
The Chinese visitor often finds that America is a very quiet and peaceful place. It’s a bit of a surprise.
The Chinese are often very comfortable in the United States, but find that making “real” friends is often very difficult to do.
The Chinese are often surprised that America works the same way as China often does. It’s the “golden rule”; the one with all the gold makes all the rules.
The Chinese are surprised that America has such a large police and military presence.
They tend to be a little surprised that America is much safer than what they have been led to believe.
The Chinese visitors are often surprised that many Americans speak differently than what they have been taught, and what is shown on television.
FAQ
Q: What do most Chinese think of America?
A: Most Chinese, that I know of, think favorably of America. The ones that have visited the big cities such as New York, and San Francisco absolutely love it. The ones that have toured America in cars, and have visited the United States rave about how great America is. Their biggest complaint is that their trip wasn’t long enough.
Q: What areas should a Chinese person visit?
A: There are so many places to choose from. But, were I to make a travel plan, I would suggest a trip to the deep south like New Iberia, LA and a visit to the French Quarter in New Orleans. I would suggest a trip to Savanna, GA. I would advise a visit to Boston in the middle of October when all the leaves change. I would suggest a visit to some civil war battlefields.
Q: What can I do to entertain some visitors from China?
A: I would suggest a BBQ with some ice cold beer. Cook chicken and hamburgers and American hot dogs. The Chinese LOVE American hot dogs. It would be a real treat for them. Take them out and shoot some guns. Go swimming and if you have a boat go out and ride about in it. Go fishing, they would absolutely love it. If you have a compound bow, let them try their skill shooting it.
Q: Would the Chinese eat my dog or cat?
A: Heavens! No! Most Chinese love animals, and both dogs and cats have a special place in the hearts of most Chinese. The problem is that if you introduce your dog or cat to them, they might end up spending all the time with them instead of with you. If you dog can play frizbe, then show the Chinese visitor how to throw it and everyone will have a great time.
“Baby Got Back“, also known as “I Like Big Butts”, is a hit rap song written and recorded by American rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot, from his album Mack Daddy. The song samples the 1986 Detroit techno single “Technicolor” by Channel One. This is a translation of it.
Translation
Here, we have it translated into Latin by Quislibet. There was additional support and clarity offered by Ukelele. I have found it hilarious, and thus have reprinted the translation here. Enjoy.
Text Content
De clunibus magnis amandis oratio
Mixaloti equitismehercle!
(By Hercules!)
Rebecca, ecce! tantae clunes isti sunt!
(Rebecca, behold! Such large buttocks she has!)
amica esse videtur istorum hominum rhythmicorum.
(She appears to be a girlfriend of one of those rhythmic-oration people.)
sed, ut scis,
(But, as you know)
quis homines huiusmodi intellegere potest?
(Who can understand persons of this sort?)
colloquuntur equidem cum ista eo tantum, quod scortum perfectum esse videtur.
(Verily, they converse with her for this reason only, namely, that she appears to be a complete whore.)
clunes, aio, maiores esse!
(Her buttocks, I say, are rather large!)
nec possum credere quam rotondae sint.
(Nor am I able to believe how round they are.)
en! quam exstant! nonne piget te earum?
(Lo! How they stand forth! Do they not disgust you?)
ecce mulier Aethiops!
(Behold the black woman!)
magnae clunes mihi placent, nec possum de hac re mentiri.
(Large buttocks are pleasing to me, nor am I able to lie concerning this matter.)
quis enim, consortes mei, non fateatur,
(For who, colleagues, would not admit,)
cum puella incedit minore medio corpore
(Whenever a girl comes by with a rather small middle part of the body)
sub quo manifestus globus, inflammare animos
(Beneath which is an obvious spherical mass, that it inflames the spirits)
virtute praestare ut velitis, notantes bracas eius
(So that you want to be conspicuous for manly virtue, noticing her breeches)
clunibus profunde fartasesse
(Have been deeply stuffed with buttock?)
a! captus sum, nec desinere intueri possum.
(Alas! I am captured, nor am I able to desist from gazing.)
o dominola mea, volo tecum congredi
(My dear lady, I want to come together with you)
pingereque picturam tui.
(And make a picture of you.)
familiares mei me monebant
(My companions were trying to warn me)
sed clunes istae libidinem in me concitant.
(But those buttocks of yours arouse lust in me.)
o! cutis rugosa glabraque!
(O skin wrinkled and smooth!)
dixistine te in meum vehiculum intrare velle?
(Did you say you wish to enter my vehicle?)
in arbitrio tuo totus veni
(I am entirely at your disposal)
quia non es mediocris adsecula.
(Because you are not an average hanger-on.)
vidi illam saltantem.
(I have seen her dancing.)
obliviscere igitur blanditiarum!
(Forget, therefore, about blandishments!)
tantus sudor! tantus umor!
(Such sweat! Such moisture!)
vehor quasi in curru quadrigarum!
(I am borne along as if by a four-horse chariot!)
taedet me in diurnis legendi
(I am tired of reading in the gazettes)
planas clunes gratiores iudicari.
(That flat buttocks are judged more pleasing.)
rogate quoslibet Aethiopes: responsum erit
(Ask any black men you wish: the answer will be)
se libentius expletioresanteponere.
(Rather that they prefer fuller ones.)
o consortes (quid est?) o consortes (quid est?)
(O colleagues [What is it?] O colleagues [What is it?])
habent amicae vestrae magnas clunes? (certe habent!)
(Do your girlfriends have large buttocks? [They certainly have!])
hortamini igitur ut eas quatiant (ut quatiant!)
(Encourage them therefore to shake them! [To shake them!])
ut quatiant! (ut quatiant!)
(To shake them! [To shake them!])
ut quatiant illas clunes sanas!
(To shake those healthy buttocks!)
domina mea exstat a tergo!
(My mistress stands out behind!)
[Etc.]
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 fifth of a series of post on Chinese cute girls and Chinese culture.
You know, China is a very, very big nation. Many times I am asked what it is like. Honestly, there is so much to say, that I end up going on some tangent or the other. However, one thing that I noticed when talking to other men, is that what they really want to know is what Chinese girls are like…Wow! That is in itself a huge subject. Here I try to compose a series of micro-videos of Chinese girls taking little vignettes of themselves being cute, dancing, eating, and doing girl things. It is in no way comprehensive, but it should give you a general idea of what Chinese girls are like. It will also help you to get a better idea of what China is like as well.
"Popular U.S. media perpetuates constant negative narratives about China: ghost cities, real estate bubbles, pollution, corruption. While many of these problems are real, the predominately negative coverage drowns out the positive elements of life in China and its abundant economic opportunities. In doing so, the media dissuades America’s rising students, as well as business and political leaders, from learning more about the country."
Here is a quote from LinkedIN;
"And the western media aren't particularly helpful in explaining the real China of 2018. They're serving so much bias and prejudice about China, it is nearly impossible for the general public to get in touch with the real China."
Here we look at ten micro-videos…with another few more to illustrate some points…
Shanghai
For starters, we are talking about China. Real, honest-to-goodness, China. We are talking about the “real deal” and not the cardboard “cut out” caricature that is defined by the American media. Here, we will not discuss eating dogs, smog filled cities, and a population of millions that just can’t wait to come to America to live.
That is all fabricated nonsense.
Instead we are going to talk about what China is RIGHT NOW, today. In so doing we are going to have to shatter some terrible misconceptions that many people, especially Americans, have about the place. First of all, it is not a third-world shit hole. It is modern, state of the art, and growing larger every day.
The city of Shanghai…
Chinese cities tend to be NEW. They tend to be WELL TAKEN CARED OF. They also tend to be on the little ultra-modern high-tech side. They all have modern infrastructure, state of the art high-speed internet (that blows American speeds away), and a growing, well-educated, population.
When you move away from the cities, the quality of the buildings, and the overall appearance tends to decrease. Towns will have paved, but dirty, roads. Houses will have internet, plumbing and electricity, but no elevators. People will drive around in older cars, maybe ten year old vehicles.
It’s a lot like America, don’t you think?
Highways
When you leave the city, you will tend to take a high-speed train or airplane. China has the fastest high speed trains in the world, and also has the bulk of them. They tend to be modern, spacious, new and silent. They are a joy to ride.
There are other methods of travel, of course. You might want to take a train, a bus, or your own car and drive. China has a modern and well taken cared for system of highways. All the highways are well maintained. It is a point of pride in China to have the roads pristine, and new. Maybe that is why they tend to plant new trees and gardens all around them.
Some of the roads are spectacular. Consider this in Southern China…
I urge the reader to look for bits of discarded McDonalds and other fast food debris at the side of the road. You won’t find any.
In China, poor people do not get free welfare. Instead, they are given a job. One of which is to plant trees, flowers and pick up trash.
Hotel
Of course, if you are going to drive, you will want to stay in a hotel on the way. Hotels are everywhere in China. They range from one-star nightmares to five-star complexes. In general, the quality of hotels has greatly increased over the years. Today, many hotels are at least a three-star rating. Westerners will not have any trouble sleeping in a three-star hotel.
As always, the hotels are nice and well-taken cared for. In China, it is cultural expedient to have everything look new, clean and pristine. Part of it is pride, but part of it is marketing. No Chinese person wants to stay in a dingy hotel if they can avoid it.
Here’s a pretty lass in a hotel going to her room…
You will notice that the decorations favor white and gold. These are very auspicious colors that the Chinese find especially alluring. It is a sign of prosperity.
Exercise
She looks good doesn’t she? yeah. I most certainly think so. I would not mind at all going out and having a nice dinner, and some wine, with her. Maybe we could walk outside afterwards and enjoy the night air and chat about the glowing stars at night…
Anyways, she takes care of herself. that is for certain. Many Chinese do. There are free exercise venues all over China. Not to mention that many companies require the employees to exercise and dance at the start of each work day. Those who want more exercise can certainly attend a gym. They are everywhere and are great to work out. However, I find that they are not air conditioned. The Chinese do not believe in air conditioning and exercise. The believe the idea is to sweat out the bad qi so that the body can replenish itself.
Here is a gal who has most certainly exercised well. Her body shows it and she is going to the lockers for a shower and a change in clothes. If you want to meet some exceptional Chinese women, maybe you can join a gym.
Notice that the gym equipment is all new, the interior is well decorated, and the floor is a nice rubberized mat. This is very typical and can be seen at any of the gyms that I have been members of.
Speaking of exercise…
One of the tenets of Chinese exercise, maybe unofficial as it is an observation of mine, is that the Chinese like to exercise to music. I used to do so myself, you know. I used to lift weights in my your years, when I was in my twenty’s. I would always listen to music. You concentrate on the music, and it enables you to live and endure.
The Chinese like to incorporate music with exercise. So, for instance, instead of all the school children doing boring sit-ups, push ups and jumping jacks in the morning, they have them dance to prescribed dance routines. Here is a elementary school going through a morning exercise around 7am…
Isn’t it great?
Now, of course, the Chinese parents won’t ever say that this is good enough. The idea is to have your children be better than everyone else. NOT be equal. So the child will be expected to study harder, learn more and have a stronger and better life. Parents, might for instance, have them attend further extracurricular activities outside of the school. Like a dance school for exercise and dance lessons for instance…
I’ll bet those are happy and HEALTHY kids.
Life is what you make it. You take advantage of the opportunities as they are presented to you and you do the best with what you are given. There is no excuse for my American friends to allow their children to lay on a sofa all day, watching Netflix and playing video games. Life is meant to be lived, not plugged into a virtual reality.
Hey Greedy Don’t Fret, What you see is what you get…
Which brings me up to the various line dances and dancing grandma phenomenon that is all over China. The Chinese love to dance. They love to sing. They love to drink. They love to go on dates and have fun together. In many ways, they are just like Americans.
Here we have a line dance of a pretty famous Chinese song. I can’t transcribe the Chinese as it will be meaningless. You can listen to the song, read the lyrics and learn about the singer HERE. You can watch the Music Video HERE.
They are in a public area. You can see a subway station in the background. Notice that a crowd of people are standing around and watching. Welcome to China. This is exactly how it is done, and exactly what happens.
Note that this is in a city center. You can see the various stores and restaurants and mall access points. You can see a McDonald’s. Hummm…
The girl in the blue pants looks like one of the backup dancers and singers from BoA. I wonder if it is her? You can compare HERE. She is the backup girl on the right wearing a black tank-top. Yeah, I know I know, BoA is Japanese. Well, surprise… people travel back and forth between japan and China like people travel back and forth between Dallas and Fort Worth. Not a big deal.
So, yeah… all this nonsense about island dispute between Taiwan, China and Japan is just a lot of hot rhetoric used by the American media to drum up support for a war. It’s just a lot of hot air. It is nonsense.
Dancing outside on the Street
All this dancing gets me thinking. You know, many Chinese like to dance and post a micro-video of them dancing on the internet. That is where I get most of these micro-videos to begin with. Here, we have another dance video of a cute girl in a public area.
She is dancing in a very typical public square. China has thousands of these places. You can see typical Chinese stores and restaurants in the background. Notice that many have English signs as well as signs and menus in Chinese. Just about all Chinese people under the age of twenty can speak English to some degree. After all, you cannot attend university unless you can pass an English proficiency test.
I wonder if America will ever do that? You know, make sure that American students be able to pass a Chinese proficiency test in order to attend UCLA, MIT or Drexel University…
Oh, such a great “knee slapper”! As if…
OK. Here is the video of the girl dancing. She is dancing to one of the most popular dance-songs of the year. I have another post about this craze HERE. And, if you want, you can watch the original Music Video HERE.
Notice that in the background is a father taking his daughter out for a walk. This is just like fathers used to do back in the 1960’s. Also notice the girl taking her dog out for a evening walk. What? She’s not eating it! My word. Someone better had best tell the New York Times or CNN about this strange development!
Rural Kitchen
You know, many people in China live outside of the cities. They own homes and when they are not working they come back to their homes. Often the homes are not as nice as the apartments in the city. They tend to be basic. They have walls, windows, and doors, electricity and running water. However, they tend not to have nice wallpaper, fancy interior lighting or any interior decoration.
Update.
I was later informed that this was not in a rural kitchen, but rather in a test lab in a factory. That "dorm sized" refrigerator is really a heat-soak oven. Sorry.
They remind me of summer cottages that the parent’s of my friends would work on during the weekends. They would live in Pittsburgh, and then on the weekends come to the country and work on their “summer home”. Often it would have a roof and walls, but would still need all kinds of “finishing touches” to make it into a home.
Here we have a pretty country lass dancing in a rural kitchen. She is attractive and just having a good time of it all. You go girl.
The kitchen does not have custom countertops, fine faucets and center “island”. It consists mostly of some shelving with wide open spaces to clean and cook food. The girl is obviously not starving. I am sure that she eats well, but the kitchen is Spartan. She has a big waste garbage can, and a small “dorm sized” refrigerator.
She is young. She is chewing with her mouth open. Yuck!
Girl, no matter what you wear, and no matter how good your makeup is, if you cannot act like a lady, you will never be treated as one. Life is all about confidence, attitude and manners.
Doors and Keys
In China, both the doors and the keys are different than what you get in the Untied States. I know, I have been somewhat involved with the export of doors to America. The American market wants the cheapest quality doors for the most part. The more expensive doors, are available, of course, but they tend to be made in the USA. Large volume exports of cheap interior doors is the norm to America.
Hey, don’t blame the Chinese. They make great quality doors. Many of which go to Europe and Dubai. It’s just that the American market is focused on the cheapest products to sell to Americans in bulk at huge profits.
Door panel types. Here is a general reference of some door panel types that are available. Note that most of them have a fake core of some kind of expandable polystyrene inside. In China the doors are metal. You need a bulldozer to break one in.
It doesn’t have to be that way. However, that is just the way it is. In China, the houses and apartments wouldn’t come near those doors. Image that; flimsy hollow core doors with cheap low-quality laminate. Never happen in China.
The keys are also different as well. The keys in China are made in different ways and techniques. That is because, not so long ago, crime was rampant in China. You need good and strong locks that were difficult to break into. America is different. Most American keys are based on simple flat key blanks that can easily be duplicated.
This girl is dancing in her living room in front of a bedroom door.
The door is heavy gauge steel with very sturdy and hefty hinges. The girl is cute and dancing wearing a cute Chinese outfit that is very popular this year. She is wearing white stockings and small white shoes. She is typical with long dark hair and light, pale skin.
I will say that the style of door that she has is exactly the same style that is in my house right now.
Speaking of doors, here is yet another video of a girl dancing in front of a door…
Another Interior Door
In this example, we have a different girl in a different city. She is dancing in what appears to be her living room. The door looks like a entrance way door. As such, it will have a real wood facing that is laminated on top of a heavy gauge steel foundation. The door will be stout and difficult (if not impossible) to crash through. Which is one of the reasons that criminals in China would rather break through the cement walls to get into a house than to go through the front door.
This is nice looking girl. She is thin and slender with nice legs, a happy smile and great eyes. She has an attractive face with a nice pointy chin.
Note that she is standing on carpet. I am sure that it is not wall-to-wall carpet. That is a rarity in China. The wall is white which is normal here. All in all, this is a pretty typical apartment. The problem is that in this video you cannot see the entire apartment.
With that being said, let’s look at an entire apartment…
A Chinese Apartment
In this video we have a Chinese girl dancing in her apartment. She is dancing from one end to the other and goes from the kitchen / dining area into the living room area. It gives a nice view of what apartments are like in China.
You can see that this is a typical apartment with white walls, a white marble tiled floor (no linoleum here, the Chinese NEVER use it), and heavy gauge metal doors. You can see her furnishings are sparse, but in no way is there any clutter. China is not a consumer nation like the Untied States is.
Conclusion
Everyone likes to look at pretty girls. Even other pretty girls. I, as a man, think that pretty girls liven up our lives and make it more interesting and fun. I would not mind taking any one of these girls out and having a nice meal or playing around in a park or some other place. Having good companionship, great conversation, and enjoying a wonderful meal would be awesome with any of these women.
For instance, I will be willing to bet that this girl would just be wonderful to spend some time with. I would buy her a coffee and a cheesecake any day.
Today it is difficult to see what other places are like, if you are an American. Our news is heavily propagandized.
Those on the liberal side have the impression that China eats dogs, is full of poor waifs that sell their bodies for sex, and is full of dirty smog filled air.
Those on the conservative side, have the impression that China is a great war-mongered beast who wants to take over the Pacific, that they are ruthless businessmen, and want to keep their citizens imprisoned in a communist gulag.
Neither impression is correct. They are both terrible distortions.
China is a huge nation, bigger geographically than the United States, and with an enormous population far larger than America’s. In fact, there are more people in China that speak English than there are Americans in the entire world.
They live life. They work. They study hard. They try to do their best. They have fun. They raise families. They are, in many ways, like “old fashioned” Americans around 1950. While America has moved toward a progressive socialist paradise ruled by an oligarchy, China has moved in a different direction. It has moved toward free-market policies originating out of a central government. China is not at all what we think it is.
This post is my little way to help introduce China to the readership.
Take Aways
Chinese women are attractive.
Many of the buildings in China are new, and have a modern supporting infrastructure.
Chinese people like to dance, sing, and have fun with their friends.
Chinese women DO NOT look like pre-adolescent children. (Here’s a nod to the idiots in Arkansas who were absolutely convinced that Chinese women look like little pre-adolescent girls.)
Here is a scene from the 1960’s era situation comedy called the “Beverly Hillbillies”. I really loved that show. Then, later on, when I went to Arkansas to be retired from MAJestic, I met actual hillbillies. It was painful. Imagine the worst aspects of the movie Idioticracity combined with an evil FBI director trying to “get Trump”. Ugh. Anyways, their understanding of life outside of Little Rock was pathetic. They thought that Memphis, Tennessee was another nation. They were that pathetic.
FAQ
Q: Why do you only have beautiful Chinese girls? What about being more diverse and inclusive? Why do you objectify girls?
A: Well, for one, this article is about attractive Chinese girls. It wouldn’t do to have non-Chinese girls in it. Nor would it be appropriate to have men, homosexuals, fat and ugly girls, children or LGBT creatures in the article.
If you want to purge beauty out of your life, no problem. Go ahead and do it. Just like American beauty pageants are no longer about beauty. Just like American airlines have purged themselves of age and beauty standards. Just like race-cars have purged themselves of attractive women. But you won’t see that in China.
Now here, I like to surround myself with beauty. I like to surround myself with things that I like and I love. That includes dogs, cats, pizza, bacon, tomatoes, friends and of course my loved ones.
Q: Why do you use micro-videos in this post?
A: I think it does a nice job of giving a snapshot of what China is like. Many of the videos have Chinese songs. They all feature beautiful Chinese girls in China doing things that beautiful Chinese girls like to do. Of course, if you would rather go to you-tube, go ahead. You won’t find very many Chinese girls there. You-tube is banned in China because it, like Facebook, Google, and Tumblr, all collect user information and pipe that information directly to the NSA for American government’s use.
Q: Why do you think these girls are beautiful?
A: Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. What constitutes for beauty in China is different from what is beautiful elsewhere. I chose these videos because I happen to think the girls are cute, beautiful or attractive. Of course, if you disagree with me, you can leave.
Now, you shouldn’t be too upset there are some rocking girls in the United States. You should see them in sweatpants. My Lord!
One of my favorite “hobbies” is to drink wine. I have developed quite a taste for this simple libation. It makes me relax, feel talkative, and helps me appreciate the food that I eat with it. It is a wonderful, and most excellent, beverage to share with friends and family alike.
That being said, you really need to be careful in what you drink. For, I live in China, and there are all kinds of “fake” products that will tempt you and poison you if you are not careful.
Don’t misunderstand. The Chinese police take making fake wines quite seriously and if you are caught making and selling fake wines the punishment can be severe. It can vary from a few years in jail to “death plus three”.
"Death plus three" is a criminal sentence that means that you are sentenced to death. However, you will live in a hard labor prison for three years where your organs may be harvested as needed by society.
Let’s talk about this for a while and the techniques that I have used to avoid bad and dangerous wines…
Introduction
This post is an elaboration of a response that I gave to a fellow expat who asked how to select wines in China. It was a simple enough question. It went something like this; “How do I choose a wine in China?“.
Well, as a wine drinker, as opposed to a wine connoisseur, I responded in the only way that I knew how. I simply told the lass that you need to be careful. I told her that the high prices for wine in China has led to an environment whereas there can be a sea of fake wines that you must avoid.
She responded;
Oh wow I am completely shocked at this answer! I had no idea some of the wines were fake -- I thought since it's not a heavy liquor, I would be safe!
I did have a headache for about 2 days last weekend and I wondered why... probably bad wine at Coco Park!!
So let’s get started…
China is a nation of drinkers. Unlike the United States where there are prohibitions on behaviors, and various rules and laws making it increasingly difficult to drink and socialize. China has none of that. You are free to socialize and drink and smoke to your heart’s content.
In China you can drink alcohol without restraint.
They do not care if you kill yourself in the process. It is not the business of the government to protect you from yourself. If you are going to drink yourself to death, the government simply says “what ever you want, just don’t hurt anyone else in the process“.
This is quite different from the United States.
In the United States, laws have become tools to enforce behavior. All sorts of things are enforced. From having to wear a seat-belt, to having “child-resistant” caps on medicine bottles. America is a land of policed behavior with severe punishments for non-compliance.
In Pennsylvania, you can only buy your alcohol from a “state store”, or from a licensed Beer Distributor. This is because in Pennsylvania, only the government has the ability to tell you when, where and how much alcohol you can purchase. We don’t have those restrictions in communist China. You can buy it any time, at just about any place, by any one. Even a child.
Of course, all “vices” are restricted. Alcohol, being a vice, is restricted, taxed, and used as a control vector to guarantee mass compliance.
Some of the restrictions that are placed on Americans, in regards to alcohol, are;
Road sobriety check-points, mandatory breathalyzer tests, and road-blocks.
Companies that fire and fine you for being hungover. Such as GM.
HR Set aside rules that require smoking off the property, or drinking during lunch hours.
Insurance plans that penalize social behavior such as drinking.
Requirements for proof of age to purchase.
Laws on “open container carry”.
China doesn’t have any of these restrictions on behavior. It does not force people to behave in a structured manner “for the good of the nation“. Rather it’s laws are similar to British Common Law.
Instead of enforcing behavior, they seek restitution for victims. It is a completely different mind-set.
The history of hard alcohol in China
China has over 5000 years of drinking hard, playing hard and working hard.
That is not going to stop by some progressive busybody with a catchy slogan, a nice song and attractive television personalities. In fact, there were times when Chinese SJW’s tried to do exactly this…
SJW is not about what they talk about. They are following the same formula. It is the overthrow of the status quo by powerful interested people who wish to remain hidden.
These social justice warriors tried to take over. They tied to make a nice progressive utopia where a new way of acting, dress, and behavior were implemented. They did this numerous times in the past. Perhaps you, the reader, have heard of some of the attempts…
Each time, the movement by Social Justice Warriors fell apart. In their wake was left ruin and destruction. The Chinese government would have none of that. It no longer will accept Social Justice Warriors to disrupt social harmony.
Anyone who did not agree with the SJW was denounced publicly. They were humiliated, and tortured. The youth ran the nation into the ground.
Here are some interesting posts on the subject if you wish to explore this venue further…
If the government suspects that you are a SJW, they will come after you. Trying to upset the social order, one that has been perfected for over 5000 years, is considered a serious crime. It is a crime against everything that China and the Chinese people stand for. You are thus considered a criminal of the highest order; a social misfit, with distorted views of your role in society, and a dangerous threat to those around you.
Ask how the SJW’s captured during the “Democracy Movement” have to say about their life today in 2018…
Prisoners in China. No easy life for those whom upset the social harmony. These blokes are considered too dangerous to be set among society. They must be segregated as their ideas of change to a progressive social utopia is a cancer that must be extracted from society. I wonder how they are enjoying their life sentence in prison.
How wine is drunk
The Chinese do not drink wine like people in the West drink wine. They do not sip it, and enjoy the texture and flavor. No. Instead they drink it like they drink traditional 53° white wine; they gulp it down. They drink it down glass, by glass in big gulps.
I of course, only do so as part of business, and other Chinese social occasions. For instance like when I am with family, or with friends. At home, I drink wine like a normal person. I sip it. I taste it. I inhale the aroma and sample the complex textures.
In China, both red wine and baijiu is quaffed down.
Everyone who has every been to China knows about Gan Bei. This is a fundamental part of Chinese culture, and if you are unaware of it, then you really have never visited China nor participated in the culture there.
The key here is an understanding that the Chinese culture places a great deal of importance in your ability to handle yourself when “shit face” drunk. Thus, the taste and aroma of a wine is of far less importance than the ability to get you staggering drunk.
In Chinese culture, Western wines opened up a new avenue to business and social get together’s. Here, instead of drinking 53° white wine we can drink 11° red wine. We can get drunk slower, and thus expand our time together for better fellowship and more time for social bonding.
It’s a win-win.
China opens to the West
China has always been partial to alcohol. It really doesn’t matter what it is. People have been drinking everything from beer to snake wine for many centuries. Long, long before the formation of the United States, Chinese poets were rowing out on lakes and offering drunken toasts to the moon.
Xi kin ping drinking red wine. To be a businessman in China, mandates the ability to be able to drink strong alcohol.
There isn’t any political correctness here. If you are an adult, or a businessman, you drink. It’s pretty simple.
The Chinese have made all kinds of different types of wine and libations to suit their desire for strong alcoholic beverages. They have snake wine, frog wine, and all kinds of exotic herbal beverages that vary in taste and complexity.
Snake wine is very common in China. You can find it almost everywhere that wine is sold. Some of the snakes look frightening inside of the various jars and bottles.
Chinese adapt to Western wine
China has long been a friend to Western alcohol. Whether it was Shanghai in the 1920’s or Hong Kong and Macao, the Chinese love for Western wines and alcohol has continued unabated. When the United States had prohibition and forced everyone to hide their love of alcohol, the Chinese were merrily drinking themselves under the table.
For the most part, the Chinese have had access to alcohol from all over the world for a long time. This includes the leadership of Mr. Mao who implemented hard-core communist progressive laws, rules and behaviors. While the revolutionary zeal was taking hold on university campuses all over the nation, and inspirational slogans were being painted on large flowing red banner, the average Chinese family was happily quaffing down alcohol in spectacular amounts.
For the most part, these moments were “white wine” moments. Or to use a more appropriate term “moonshine”.
The best white wine in China is Moutai. It is pure moonshine and comes in 53%. Ugh!
However, China underwent a drastic change when Mr. Deng started to implement his reforms.
You know, Americans have no idea. Absolutely ZERO idea about what Mr. Deng did. Oh, maybe one in a thousand heard of “Mr. Deng reforms”, but that is a rare person indeed.
What Mr. Deng did was threw out all the social policies, and economic policies of communism. That’s right. He implemented, what could best be termed “American Hard-right Conservative Free-Market” policies. Though you will NEVER hear the left-leaning mainstream American media ever talk about this.
In downtown Shenzhen is a park. It is next to the stock exchange building. There, were every single stock trader, and visitor to Shenzhen can see, is a huge bill board dedicated to that man that revolutionized China and make Shenzhen happen; Mr. Deng. He believed, really believed in the American conservative process and felt that the Chinese communist government should embrace the elements that have worked so well in America for the last two hundred years. Many in Beijing fought him. They wanted a central government controlling the economy. They wanted a central government controlling and dictating the social behaviors of the Chinese citizens. However, Mr. Deng was proven right. Modern China is the direct result of his adoption of conservative American economic and free-market policies.
One of the reasons why China is so successful is simply because of Mr. Deng. Every school child in China knows about the important role that Mr. Deng had. Everyone in China knows this. Though, of course, they don’t call it “American brand of conservatism”. They call it “Communism with Chinese systems”.
A name is just a name.
A demand is created
Here is a typical wine isle in a supermarket. You can go to smaller wine and tobacco stores if that is your preference. i tend to stick to the big grocery stores and only buy wines that I know of, and I can trust from that store. You can never be too careful when buying wine in China.
Once China “opened up” and free-market trade was promoted, a middle class of people suddenly appeared. Under a socialist nation, whether it is socialist-lite or hard-core full-on communist, there are only two classes of people. This is the [1] government ruling class, and [2] the workers that serve them. (Which pretty much explains the mentality of those in the American oligarchy.)
However, under a free-market society, society does not stratify. It blends. There becomes bands of society.It isn’t a homogenized society under a central government where everyone is”equal”. It is a society that is an aggregate of different people, different cultures, and different lifestyles.
Seemingly over-night a middle class appeared in China.
This middle class had an enormous appetite for Western goods. People started to dress better, enjoy the finer things in life, and strive to build up their lives from a socialist utopia where they could never be given the opportunity. For once the government has you in it’s little box, the odds that you will ever leave it, are increasingly remote.
The Chinese saw the opportunity and seized it.
Suddenly a demand for all things “Western” was created. The Chinese wanted to act, dress and be American. They started to copy American clothing, fashions, and ways of doing things. The desire was intense, and everyone wanted to be like Americans.
American chain restaurants opened up in China. The most famous are KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds and Burger King. The Chinese took to American culture like a starving dog chomps on a steak. For decades, the demand was insatiable.
Which is why outside elements (non-Chinese) started to instigate the “Pro-Democracy” movement. here, Chinese social justice warriors, with financial backing from outside of China, tried to force China to implement “democracy” inside of China. The only thing was, of course, that they did not want democracy, they wanted an authoritarian socialist government with the name of democracy with them in charge.
Ok. Ok, I’m getting off the subject again. But to know China, you need to know what has been going on for the last number of decades or so…
Fake wine flourishes
Ah wine. It is good with everything.
The romance movie “A walk in the clouds” has this grandfather in it that appeals to my sensibilities, now that I am a retired gent. You need to live life to the fullest and appreciate what you have WHILE you have it.
With the middle class, came the desire for red wine. Not only will the Chinese enjoy white wine, but they will also enjoy red wine. And what a demand that it created! The Chinese demand for red wine was off the charts! Everyone was drinking it.
And…
And, with demand came fakes. People started to create fake wine, made out of all kinds of ingredients. They discovered that they could recycle imported bottles, and even have local factories make look-alike bottles. The ability to make a copy of a wine label was child’s-play. They could take the cheapest white wine, mix it with grape juice and sell it under some kind of American, French or Spanish brand and sell it for 1000x the cost to make it.
First off, let me make one thing perfectly clear; China has some most excellent locally produced wines. You can get a nice ChengYu or a GreatWall, both very common throughout China and enjoy a good budget bottle of wine. You can also get wines from smaller independent Chinese wineries that are quite magnificent.
I don’t buy wines by price tag. I look for a good, and real wine. I look for local or well known wines that are difficult to fake. I drink wine for the taste. So, with this being said, I am certainly not a wine connoisseur. Instead, I am a consumer of good real wine.
I like a good real wine. If it tastes good, than that is good enough for me.
Above, a selection of Chinese wines that have received praise from critics and made it into a shopping basket. They include wines from 1421 Winery, Kanaan, Grace Vineyard, Leirenshou and Chateau Nine Peaks.
But, you know, fake wines are a real problem. Here in China, fake goods are everywhere. Oh, yes. It was much worse a few years back. The Corruption Police out of Beijing has really clamped down on all this nonsense. They are going after all the evil doers. They are armed, trained and go after them like the IRS goes after an American taxpayer. They are that ruthless!
The thing is that there are entire communities that share recipes on making fake wines, and a network of distributors that purloin these fake goods to the consumer. This is quite an elaborate organization and consists of all sorts of people doing all sorts of questionable activities.
The police step in
This is a typical wine and booze section of a grocery store. Here we see folk buying their preferred libation in the North in the Winter.
In China, the police have a duty to protect the people. This is different than in the United States where the police have the duty of enforcing behavior.
So instead of arresting a five year old girl for selling lemonade, trying to seize someone’s children because the 11 year old was walking alone from school one day, and fining you for having dangling plastic “horse balls” on the hitch of your pickup truck, the Chinese will devote their time towards making China safe.
They have a long road ahead of them.
I will say this, In the United States we NEVER have to worry about fake wines. We never worry about fake beer, fake cigarettes, and fake cigars. We have come to accept this as normal, without giving the American culture the credit it deserves. People, America is what it is because of the people who live there.
Good or bad, right or wrong. It is the people that determine how a country works.
Huge stockpiles of fake premium spirits and wines are tracked down during a campaign against fakes, Nanning, southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 6 November 2011. Nearly 200 mainland cities publicly destroyed tens of millions of fake and substandard goods on 6 November as part of a major publicity drive intended to rein in the country’s booming counterfeiting industry. More than 25 million items were confiscated by police as part of Operation Draw the Sword – a campaign which, according to Xinhua, is also aimed at thwarting the production of imitation designer clothes, fake cosmetics and foodstuffs.
The underground market persists
Like it or not, this ability to make fake wine is a profitable venture. There are many who will happily concoct a few hundred cases of fake wine so that they can buy a new car or two. It’s difficult to eradicate. However, I can honestly say that the situation is much better than it was just five years ago.
Here we have some more fake wine being destroyed. Notice the cases upon cases lining the wall behind the officer.
Back then, you could not tell at all the difference between a fake wine and a real wine. Often most of the wines in a store might be completely fake. That all started to turn around in 2014 by the massive police crackdowns and raids in Dongguang.
Chinese police destroy cases upon cases of wine seized by police on a raid in a warehouse.
The dangers of fake wine
The people who make these fake wines do everything from relabeling cheap local wine to concocting a toxic mixture of factory chemicals, and rat poison. You really don’t want to put any of this nonsense into your body. It could hurt you terribly.
The problem with fake wine is that you don’t know what is in it. Many times the chemicals that are put inside are done so for color, appearance, and to create the illusion that the liquid is real wine. I have heard of all kinds of things being added to the mixture. I have heard of rancid Duran fruit, I have heard of locomotive degreaser, and rubbing alcohol added to the “wine” to give it that rosy glow when sipped. You do not want to put any of these chemicals in your body. You could develop cancer, get a brain tumor or have your dick fall off.
What ever you do, stay away from fake wines.
How to avoid fake wine
Here’s some rules of thumb that I use…
Yellow tail is a fine import and it is real. It is from Australia. You can get it at the “D” supermarket. Prices fluctuate. Expect to pay at least 60 RMB a bottle. Normal prices are 75 RMB a bottle. Of course, I drink by the case, so I am always looking for real wine at decent prices. You can always find 350 RMB bottles of wine, and I think that you are just throwing your money away at that.
Great Wall has a good dry red wine. But there are many fakes out there. Expect to pay from 65 to 75RMB a bottle at a large name supermarket such as ren ren le. It’s the real deal and pretty good as well.
Great Wall is a famous brand of wine in China. As such, you can buy it everywhere. The winery has often purchased small regional farms and sell the local wines under their catch-all name brand. In general, stick to Great Wall bottles that have this appearance. There are many fakes of Great wall out there. I only buy Great Wall wine that comes in either this bottle and appearance of an older and plainer form…
This is what a bottle or REAL “Great Wall” wine looks like. Note the top of the wine. When you remove the cork, you will notice that the cork is plastic synthetic. It is not real cork. Real cork is cheap and it is used in fake wines.
There are different types of wine corks. You can look at the wine cork to determine the overall quality of the wine. In general, the better wines have better corks, with both the plastic corks and the twist-off- tops becoming more popular.
Great wall has many types of wines. They have bought up smaller vineyards, and often sell the cheaper wine under their logo. You have to be careful.
I call this bottle the “old style” appearance of the Great Wall. It is a good basic wine, and I have yet to find a fake version. Typically you can buy it for around 45 yuan, or roughly $7 USD.
You can tell a fake bottle by the following guidelines… If you are sharing a bottle with another, a real bottle will make you feel warm. Two bottles will make you feel good, but not drunk. You will feel drunk on the third bottle. A fake bottle of wine will be quite different.
You will get drunk on the first bottle when you are sharing it. By the second bottle if your partner is sitting up with drool coming out of their mouth it is certainly fake. The next day both of you will have splitting headaches, and really bad fake wine will result in messed up stomach and body for at least a week.
Real wine will NEVER give you a headache the next day even if you drink four bottles yourself. Although, you might “potato head” for the duration of the morning.
If you ever find a bottle of Great Wall with this kind of top, run away. Typically the brand uses a straight sided top. This top style is common on ChengYu, not on Great Wall.
If you buy in quantity, you can get real wine down to 200 RMB/case. Which is around 33 RMB/ bottle. But you will need to drink a few bottles first before you can tell the difference. In china, price has no bearing on the quality of the wine. Only the store’s reputation does.
Ten days ago I paid 71 RMB for a bottle of “Great Wall” that I felt funny about, but I figured that it must of been ok because of the name and the price. I was wrong. It took two days to get rid of the headache.
Fake wines are a REAL problem in China. If you drink like I do, you can really mess up yourself really bad by drinking that poison. Lord only knows what goes in it. I have read stories that they use rubbing alcohol, automobile antifreeze, oven cleaner, and horse tranquilizers to get the desired flavors. They take grape juice, and add the chemicals. and age it in a kind of heated tub in the back of a pig farm, and then bottle it in reused foreign wine bottles. YUCK!
Great Wall wines are known to come in different sizes and shapes. This makes it very difficult to distinguish between real and fake wines. I don’t try. I only stick with the types that I know are good, and do not take a risk with bad wine or fake wine.
Great wall has many types and shapes and sizes. But remember, only go to a good reliable grocery store, and buy the real stuff. Not the fake stuff. This is why most Chinese prefer either Beer or White Wine. You cannot fake either of them, but you can fake red wine.
A “copy cat” fake is a fake wine dressed up to look like a real wine. As most Chinese wines are unknown wines with made up names, labels and points of origin. You can not tell from the bottle shape. You cannot tell from the bottle labels, or seals. You cannot tell from the boxes that the wines come from. The problem is that all of the international wines get their labels, bottles, corks, and boxes out of China. So it is easy for the Chinese to make doubles.
Anyways, I once got some fake “Sharaz” that was Yellow Tail from a good store. So even if you know what you are doing, you can get tricked. You have got to be careful.
Always remember the cork. If the cork is made out of plastic or a synthetic, then it is probably good. If it is a made out of a real cork, then it is a fake. The reason for this is that anyone can by cork. It is cheap and easy to get. Synthetic cooks are expensive, and regulated. There is also a MOQ (minimum order quantity) with is often much larger than the volume of the fake wine batch.
If you want to get a good bottle that won’t cause any of your internal organs to collapse, then stick to beer, JinJiu, or white wine. Beware, some of the fakes are REALLY good and taste quite good. You might not realize it, but there are complete families that trade the secrets of good fake tasting wines. They improve their mixture over time, and some of the best can sell some very good tasting products that can bring them a lot of money. … Provided that only one or two bottles are drunk by non-drinkers.
Some rules of thumb. All wine from bars, or from the Internet are fake. All wines that come from Spain are fake. All wines that are in a store (even a good store) that are “on sale” and they only have one pallet of it (maybe fifty cases) are fake…fake…fake.
Stick to what you know. Stick to known brands, reputable stores and sellers.
Levels of fake
The quality of fake products are stratified.
Level 1 – The best fakes. Real wine from a local producer is placed in expensive bottles and sold as the expensive brand.
Level 2– Awkward nastiness. Real cheap local wine is diluted down with water, and dangerous non-potable alcohol is added to increase the potency of the beverage. This stuff can make you sick, and give you headaches that can last for days.
Level 3 – Horrible shit. Very little real wine is used. Instead a concoction of different local medicines, and liquids are compiled together. This can consist of such things as cantaloupe rinds and liquidized horse feed mixed with cheap denatured alcohol. This stuff will make you physically sick, and can cause you to be hospitalized if you binge drink with it.
Summary
Fake wine takes away from the beauty of life. Some assholes, and they really are assholes, are trying to profit at your expense. Fake wine is a problem.
Keep in mind the most important rule of wine.
The Rule of Wine
Wine should be drank with friends and family alongside some fine delicious food. The most important aspect is happy times together.
Wine should be enjoyed with friends and family. I think a nice song, and maybe a dance is also appropriate. Drink wine while eating food. I like fresh crunchy loaves of bread. I like nice chunks of cheese and a spread of olives, cutup fresh heirloom tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and peppers. Life is too short not to appreciate the better things in life.
And what is better than spending time with your friends and your family? Not too much else, I am afraid.
Wine should be shared. It should be shared with friends and family. It should be enjoyed with good morsels of tasty food. It should we shared with the ones that you love and who holds meaning to you personally.
I think that wine goes great with food. When you are together with friends and family, the wine really makes the times cheerful. Our faces get red and rosy and we talk about our days, our opinions, and our dreams. I especially think that foods with sauces go great with wine. I really enjoy a nice “Italian style” dinner with a few bottles of wine. Oh baby, yes!
I really like to eat garlic bread with my wine. The crunchy bread is awesome with the wine. What I like to do is get some olive oil. Then, I heat the olive oil up, then I dip the bread into the hot olive oil, then i take the olive oil soaked garlic bread into a shallow bowl of Parmesan cheese. The cheese ends up completely covering the soaked bread. It is delicious. You take a nice bite of that tasty crunchiness, and then a nice sip of wine afterwards.
There are all kinds of foods that go well with wine. I like to think that sandwiches go best with an icy cold beer, but there are many, many foods that go well with wine. For instance, How about an Italian Grinder?
Wouldn’t you like to have a nice bite of this sandwich? In Boston these are called “Grinders”. They are just an Italian hoagie. However, I really like mine with some Italian cold cuts, a nice selection of cheese and some drizzled olive oil and spices. Then I like it toasted briefly in a toaster oven. You take a nice bite of this, and then have a sip of nice red wine. Ah, so nice.
Fun Links
Life is far too short not to enjoy it. Wine is not expensive. You can get a decent bottle for $5 USD. I suggest that you get a bottle of wine, and get a cheap pepperoni pizza and call up some friends and have a pizza and wine party. Why not? What is stopping you? Heck, what about your father or mother? What about your brother or sisters? Life is too short not to enjoy it TODAY.
As I get older, I come to appreciate the importance of wine.
Wine is wonderful with food.
Wine is served best when it is served with friends.
Fake wine is a problem in China.
There are precautions that a person can take to avoid fake wine.
Remember the Rule of Wine.
Life should be spent with your friends. They are very important. How good is watching a football game, unless you have your friends nearby? How much fun is going on a hike in the woods unless you have a hiking companion? Friends are important. Make the moments together special… drink wine.
FAQ
Q: Why are there so many fake products in China? A: This is because it is profitable. Many of the fake products are quite good and functional. For instance, there are “grades” of a fake product. You can have a fake LV handbag that is made from the same material, and the same suppliers as the real LV. This is a top grade fake. Then you can have a terrible cheap knock off that doesn’t look anything at all like a LV bag. It’s all a matter or degree.
Q: Can you drink a fake bottle of wine and not get sick? A: Yes. There are many fakes that are just simply local wines repackaged into expensive bottles, expensive labels and expensive price tags. The buyer is thus cheated. He is paying steak prices for dogfood.
Q: What is the Rule of Wine? A: Wine should be drank with friends and family alongside some fine delicious food. The most important aspect is happy times together.
Q: What if I don’t want to drink wine? A: That is fine too. You can go ahead and call some friend over and do something else. The important thing is to spend time together with people who are meaningful to you. Make a difference and appreciate the time that you all are spending together.
This is the fourth of a series of post on Chinese cute girls and Chinese culture.
You know, China is a very, very big nation. Many times I am asked what it is like. Honestly, there is so much to say, that I end up going on some tangent or the other. However, one thing that I noticed when talking to other men, is that what they really want to know is what Chinese girls are like…Wow! That is in itself a huge subject. Here I try to compose a series of micro-videos of Chinese girls taking little vignettes of themselves being cute, dancing, eating, and doing girl things. It is in no way comprehensive, but it should give you a general idea of what Chinese girls are like. It will also help you to get a better idea of what China is like as well.
"Popular U.S. media perpetuates constant negative narratives about China: ghost cities, real estate bubbles, pollution, corruption. While many of these problems are real, the predominately negative coverage drowns out the positive elements of life in China and its abundant economic opportunities. In doing so, the media dissuades America’s rising students, as well as business and political leaders, from learning more about the country."
Here is a quote from LinkedIN;
"And the western media aren't particularly helpful in explaining the real China of 2018. They're serving so much bias and prejudice about China, it is nearly impossible for the general public to get in touch with the real China."
Here we look at ten micro-videos…
In a Park
In this video we see a girl dancing in a park. For some strange reason, my fellow Americans don’t seem to realize that China has parks. They also have toll booths, ATM machines, taxis, high speed trains and amusement parks. They have everything that the United States has. It’s just a little bit different.
Chinese toll booth. This are functionally very similar to American tool booths. They have rest areas as well.
Though, since China has undergone an amazing and enormous growth spurt over the last three decades, everything tends to be brand new and well taken cared for.
In China, there a different kinds of parks. The city parks tend to be well tended. They are typically manicured daily and trimmed at the very early hours of the day before the sun comes up. They are well maintained. In fact, depending where you live, they tend to be treated like a house with furniture that can be rearranged at will. They move trees about like your wife might want a sofa moved. They will plant flowers and then dig them up and replant something else two months later. They will constantly be painting and repainting the boxes, poles and manhole covers.
I asked some friends why this was so. They explained that China does not have a welfare system. The government does not pay you if you don’t have a job. Instead, if you need work and need money, they will put you to work. All you need to do is go to the city department of labor, and they will give you a job.
The pay is minimal, but you get free meals, and free housing if you want. You get on the government health plan, and you get Sundays off.
So with all these workers, it is very easy to employ them to take on various tasks that need to be done in and around the city. It is never considered a long-term occupation, but many people take advantage of this system. Is it perfect, I don’t think so. However, personally I do think it is superior to the American welfare system by a large margin.
Many parks tend to be on top of inaccessible hills. You need to be a mountain goat to climb up all them. I have a theory that when China was first being populated and over the last 5000 years, all the “good” and flat land was taken by farmers and businessmen.
The inaccessible and difficult land was ignored. Then, in the last one hundred years, these plots of undesirable land was remade into parks and community areas. Thus you have the parks all over China with a couple of thousand of steps to reach the top.
This cute girl is wearing the small white shoes (xiao bai xue) that is so popular in China. She is dressed typically with shorts and a small tight fitting top that shows off her chest. Like most Chinese girls, she keeps her hair long. What’s not to like?
All the parks are very well maintained. many have lighting for night time walks and strolls. Many also have music that plays out of artificial stones. Yes, they are speakers with holes so that you can listen to traditional Chinese music as you walk on the path. Of course, all paths are paved in stone.
In a Gym.
Here we have a girl in a gym. Notice the barbells are made up in American style colors. America and Americans are held in great respect by the Chinese. In fact, the Chinese name for America is Mei Guo which means “beautiful nation”. While there are many foreigners in China, most are not Americans. Most come from Australia and England. Which is sort of the reason why the English spelling and terms used by many Chinese tend to be of British origin. For instance using the word “boot” instead of “trunk”, or a “flat” instead of an “apartment”.
Which makes it even more special when there are Americans available to teach English or work with them on a project or two. Americans are considered a valuable and precious commodity. Many stores and businesses celebrate American social customs, such as Halloween, and Christmas. They buy and set up Christmas Trees and decorate the offices with the proper holiday decorations…
…the only thing is that they leave them up all year round. It is not unusual to listen to Christmas carols in a mall in July.
This cute chick is showing off her beautiful muscle tone and nice behind. She has been working hard to perfect her body, and I for one appreciate all that she put into it. She looks absolutely stunning.
The funny thing about gyms in China is that they tend NOT to be air conditioned. The Chinese believe that a healthy body is a warm body. The purpose of exercise is to remove the bad water (sweat) from your body and replace it with good water. This and the movement of the body generates a movement of chi, or energy throughout the body. This is also one of the reasons why the Chinese love to dance so much, and all the public forums that support dancing.
In a Work Office.
Here we have another girl. She is in an office of some sort and wearing some kind of office clothes. Unlike the United States, showing your waist is acceptable in China, as is also wearing tight pants, short, short mini skirts and having long hair. They don’t have the kind of unisex taboos that have saturated American HR offices in the last two decades.
She has a nice body. She’s pretty typical with a thin waist, nice chest, and longish hair. Notice that she is very pale. A pale complexion is considered to be very popular in China. She is wearing red lipstick with is also a fashion statement and quite common.
The office itself is rather plain and unadorned. This is typical. The Chinese like to have a nice white stone floor and nice white walls whenever possible. This is most especially in the super hot Southern section of the nation. You will notice that there is a water cooler. Almost every home, and business uses water coolers. Even if the water in the pipes are no longer dangerous, you will NEVER get a Chinese person to drink water out of it.
Shanghai Apartment
This is a very nice example of what an apartment in Shanghai looks like. When people see pictures of China they see all these multi-story apartment complexes. No one ever sees what they are like on the inside. Well, as someone who has lived in numerous high-rise apartments, I can tell you. Often the view is magnificent.
In this example here, we have a great example of this.
The apartment is set off from the Bund river. It has a great view of a suburb of Shanghai, though not downtown. It is obviously the living room. As we can see the furnishings that support this. At night the view must be spectacular.
Note that she is not wearing any shoes. In China, no one wears “outside” shoes inside the house. Typically you wear house slippers.
Again, with all the large apartment skyscrapers throughout China, this is a fairly typical view that one would have in your apartment. This one is particularly nice as it overlooks the Bund and a very large and famous city.
Southern China
Hey! This looks like Bali, or Thailand, eh? Nope. It’s China. Southern China is filled with all kinds of beautiful beaches, communities and resorts. (Which is one of the reasons why I live where I do.) The impression that all of China is a filthy rat’s hole filled with pollution and trash is simply not true. That is like saying that all of America looks like Detroit.
Typically, you will have an Engineer come to China to do some work at a factory. His impressions of the factory regions would be very poor, and he would tend to associate all of China with those areas. It’s not his fault, he only got a small and brief look at what is an enormous nation.
To make matters worse, you will have the Western media who has an objective to keep American living in fear. They keep Americans dumb and ill-informed with the changes with the rest of the world. They do so for their own objectives.
Seriously, for the last three decades, trillions of dollars poured into China from all over the world. Are you trying to tell me that NONE of that money went into infrastructure, the people, the lifestyle and the society? Are you trying to convince me that it went into the pockets of the government and the rich people who run the businesses, even though an internal army of “Corruption Police” is active in keeping corruption suppressed? Is that what we are supposed to believe?
Incidentally, traveling to China and having a vacation here is far cheaper and better than having one in Bali, Indonesia. I know.
Outside Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is very popular in China. In fact, it is owned by a conglomerate that also owns KFC. Together they have absolutely and effectively tapped into the Chinese market. They have taken these American products and made variations to the dishes to appeal to Chinese tastes and preferences.
It is sort of how the “Chinese” restaurants in America have taken Chinese food and “Americanized” it.
Here is a photo from a Pizza Hut menu showing a popular side dish. You can get all kinds of side dishes with your meals at Pizza Hut. The Chinese love options and will spend a great deal of time perfecting their order choices.
Yes, you can get pizza at Pizza Hut. However it will be pretty pricey to order a large thin pepperoni pizza with a pitcher of coke. Instead you order set meals with option combinations. The pizzas are designed for the Chinese palate. Such as a Duran and oyster pizza with a side of quail eggs and snail meat. It does take a little getting used to.
Anyways, here we have a couple dancing in the open plaza in front of a shopping center. In China, they have different kinds of shopping centers. Typically it is a ring of stores around a large central pavilion.
It’s sort of how towns in Massachusetts were set up in the 1750’s; a “green” in the center facing a church and other buildings. Well, in China the shopping center may or may not have a mall or large “anchor” store. What it does have is a large area for communal dancing and games. Often it will have a fountain somewhere for the kids to splash and play in the water as well.
You can see the people walking and milling about. This is a very typical sight through out China from small towns to large cities. This scene could have been filmed anywhere.
Singing in English
One things that many people do not understand, especially Americans, is the enormous number of people who can speak English in China. About two decades ago, the Chinese government instituted a policy in all the Chinese schools. Every child must learn English in addition to learning Chinese. In fact, the ability to attend university absolutely requires that the student-candidate must be able to speak and write and communicate in English to a reasonable degree.
That is not to say that everyone speaks fluently. The ability to speak English varies greatly throughout China. Never the less, there are more people in China who can speak English than there are Americans on the entire planet. That is how absolutely enormous China is.
So you will hear many songs in China that have English or partial English lyrics. This is normal. It is the same with signs, advertisements and other notifications. China has developed into a nation with two languages. The dominant language is certainly Chinese, but English has a major role as well.
Here we have a Chinese girl singing in English. Obviously she is a professional. One should never be under the impression that China is a nation where no one can speak English. There are many people who can, and very many who can speak at a reasonably fluent level.
Notice that the music has lyrics in two languages; English and Chinese.
Sitting on a bench
OK. Now this is a boring video. It’s just some chick sitting on a bench in a park in China. “So what?” you might ask.
China is safe. You can go in and about all the parks any time of night and day and not get mugged, robbed, stolen from, attacked, shot at or raped. They do not have the same kinds of problems that we have in America, or in the West, simply because…
There isn’t any welfare program. You must work or you die. The government will provide you with work if you cannot find a job. Those who are involved in criminal enterprises go after more lucrative targets. This includes people with vices that they can exploit and corporations.
There are no “open borders”. This policy permits uneducated, un-assimilated, and fundamentalist fanatics to roam the streets in packs. Not in China. It is a polite society by design. Only qualified people can enter China. You join or you leave. There is no grey-area.
Families are important. Each person in China has a support group. They all have an extensive network of family and friends that will go after criminals mafia-style if someone hurts a family member. This is unlike the USA where it’s “every man for himself”.
Many girls can defend themselves. Sure they might not be “packing heat”, but many have learned Chinese martial arts when they were in elementary school. I have seen a tiny pint-sized waif take down a six-foot tall chunk of a man.
Cameras are everywhere. Both city cameras and building cameras are all over the place. You are under constant surveillance. It is not that you are being watched. However, if something does happen, the Chinese forensics police can go “minority report” on your actions. They do. They have. It is televised on the news quite regularly.
Police are everywhere. True they are mostly siting around playing video games, and helping the groundskeepers, but they are present. There are all kinds of guards. From regular police to security staff. They all can come and help in an instant.
No social engineering of minorities. Unlike the United States, the Chinese government does not permit scaled benefits for minorities. Thus we don’t have a nation of fatherless negro children being raised by television shows.
Destruction of Slums. Unlike the United States, when communities disintegrate into crime and corruption, where the ability to live is disrupted and social harmony is nonexistent, the Chinese government steps in. Whether it is bulldozing a complete community, like it did in Hong Kong, or arresting and executing the corrupt government officials (with the Corruption Police). China does not mess around.
This is pretty typical. The young lass is wearing a nice dress and sitting in the comfortable evening air. You can see the lights of the nearby buildings twinkle and move through the trees nearby. Of course, like most of the micro-videos in this blog the music is all C-Pop.
The girl is a typical attractive Chinese female. She has nice long hair, and thin waist and a nice chest. You will notice that all the plants are nicely cared for and trimmed. The groundskeepers take their roles seriously.
With a sofa
This girl is typical in a number of ways. First of all, consider her clothes and appearance. She has nice long straight and long hair. It is very popular in China. While she might have a tattoo or two, most Chinese girls do not have any tattoos unless they live in a Westernized city like Shanghai, Hong Kong, or Taipei.
She is wearing a nice short dress that hugs her body tight. This is very typically Chinese, and you can see all the girls dress like this when they go out int he bigger cities. She is also wearing high heeled shoes with a red colored sole. I really like these shoes, but you know, I have to tell you that I really hate it if they don’t take off that price sticker on the bottom. It really distracts from the overall appearance.
This is her apartment, and as such it is very typical. This is her living room with a Chinese-style sofa and coffee table. Note the tiny plastic trash can nearby. This is a common feature in all Chinese households, as is a tissue dispenser. The coffee table is made of glass. This is also typical.
Take a moment to look at the sofa. I, myself, do not care for this style. However it is very popular in China. She is covering it with a blanket to protect it. We used to do that in the United States also. Furniture used to be protected by throws and other coverings. All pillows are organized and neatly laid out. The woman of the house always takes good care of the domicile. This is one thing that I do love about China.
An Ideal face
This young lass is in her early twenty’s. She is showing off her body and her nice curves. By Chinese standards she has a most excellent face and is considered very attractive. Thus the strange faces that she is making towards the camera.
She has a very pale complexion. She is soft, but not flabby. Curvy, but not fat. She has nice eyes and an oval face with a nice pointy chin. All of these features are considered highly desirable in China.
The Chinese don’t care if she has big boobs or a big ass. They prefer a nice slim fish-shaped body on the girls. A big set of boobs or a big ass won’t get very many “double takes” in China. By that standard, she is still considered attractive as her chest is proportional with her ass. She has a fish-like shape.
Though, many of the women, the thinner ones posted elsewhere, would be considered to be jaw-dropping gorgeous. In any event, this chick has quite a few followers who like to admire her face, her smile and her other charms. You go girl!
Notice that she is wearing a solid silver ring bracelet on her right arm. This is very popular in China. Both gold and silver are considered great materials. Unlike the United States these are pure materials. They are not alloys…
When you go to a jeweler in the United States and ask for a gold wedding band, they will offer you gold bands. But these are gold alloys. They are not pure gold. The excuse is that gold is a soft metal. Yada Yada Yada…
I have sold gold rings and they haven’t worn out yet…
In China, when you buy gold, you buy 99.9% pure gold. You are not sold gold which is an alloy. That is how the jeweler in the United States makes their money. When I first came to China, I was having a hard time at it. I tied to sell the little that I had. I was surprised that the “solid gold” wedding band that I got in the States was only 5% real gold. The rest was an alloy of different materials.
Five. Friggin’. Percent.
If you ever want to get a nice gold ring, don’t buy it in the United States. Hop on a plane and get it in Hong Kong.
Chow Tai Fook Jewelry store in Hong Kong. I would strongly advise Americans to purchase real gold instead of the fake gold that is being pawned off as “real” gold in the United States. Real gold is determined by the percentage of alloy in it. Real gold should have at least 95% gold metal in it. It does not require much in the way of an alloy to make it durable. While it is true that 99.999% gold is very soft, a 98% gold will be rock hard and not wear at all.
Conclusion
Everyone likes to look at pretty girls. Even other pretty girls. I, as a man, think that pretty girls liven up our lives and make it more interesting and fun. I would not mind taking any one of these girls out and having a nice meal or playing around in a park or some other place. Having good companionship, great conversation, and enjoying a wonderful meal would be awesome with any of these women.
Today it is difficult to see what other places are like, if you are an American. Our news is heavily propagandized.
Those on the liberal side have the impression that China eats dogs, is full of poor waifs that sell their bodies for sex, and is full of dirty smog filled air.
Those on the conservative side, have the impression that China is a great war-mongered beast who wants to take over the Pacific, that they are ruthless businessmen, and want to keep their citizens imprisoned in a communist gulag.
Neither impression is correct. They are both terrible distortions.
China is a huge nation, bigger geographically than the United States, and with an enormous population far larger than America’s. In fact, there are more people in China that speak English than there are Americans in the entire world.
They live life. They work. They study hard. They try to do their best. They have fun. They raise families. They are, in many ways, like “old fashioned” Americans around 1950. While America has moved toward a progressive socialist paradise ruled by an oligarchy, China has moved in a different direction. It has moved toward free-market policies originating out of a central government. China is not at all what we think it is.
This post is my little way to help introduce China to the readership.
Take Aways
Chinese women are attractive.
Many of the buildings in China are new, and have a modern supporting infrastructure.
Chinese people like to dance, sing, and have fun with their friends.
Chinese women DO NOT look like pre-adolescent children. (Here’s a nod to the idiots in Arkansas who were absolutely convinced that Chinese women look like little pre-adolescent girls.)
FAQ
Q: Why do you only have beautiful Chinese girls? What about being more diverse and inclusive? Why do you objectify girls?
A: Well, for one, this article is about attractive Chinese girls. It wouldn’t do to have non-Chinese girls in it. Nor would it be appropriate to have men, homosexuals, fat and ugly girls, children or LGBT creatures in the article.
If you want to purge beauty out of your life, no problem. Go ahead and do it. Just like American beauty pageants are no longer about beauty. Just like American airlines have purged themselves of age and beauty standards. Just like race-cars have purged themselves of attractive women. But you won’t see that in China.
Now here, I like to surround myself with beauty. I like to surround myself with things that I like and I love. That includes dogs, cats, pizza, bacon, tomatoes, friends and of course my loved ones.
Q: Why do you use micro-videos in this post?
A: I think it does a nice job of giving a snapshot of what China is like. Many of the videos have Chinese songs. They all feature beautiful Chinese girls in China doing things that beautiful Chinese girls like to do. Of course, if you would rather go to you-tube, go ahead. You won’t find very many Chinese girls there. You-tube is banned in China because it, like Facebook, Google, and Tumblr, all collect user information and pipe that information directly to the NSA for American government’s use.
Q: Why do you think these girls are beautiful?
A: Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. What constitutes for beauty in China is different from what is beautiful elsewhere. I chose these videos because I happen to think the girls are cute, beautiful or attractive. Of course, if you disagree with me, you can leave.
Now, you shouldn’t be too upset there are some rocking girls in the United States. You should see them in sweatpants. My Lord!
This is the second part of a two part article. This little post was inspired by a little article titled “Doctor’s Orders; Let children just play” posted in the hot dog-days of summer, August 2018.
Their 10- and 6-year old were picked up by police and detained for five hours in 2015 for walking home “unsupervised” from a local park. The folks at Child Protective Services threatened to take the children away from Danielle and Alexander Meitiv.With court battles ensuing and ample media attention, the head of Maryland’s Social Services Administration finally released a memo to staff acknowledging in creepy bureaucratic fashion that,
“Children playing outside or walking unsupervised does not meet the criteria for a CPS response absent specific information supporting the conclusion that the child has been harmed or is at substantial risk of harm if they continue to be unsupervised.”
-Townhall
The article reinforces a notion that I have that “play is the work of children”. It is how they learn to become an adult. It doesn’t matter if you are a dog, a cat, an elephant, or a monkey, all animals learn from playing. Here, I would like to continue my discussion of things that a parent should permit their children to do…
Squash a Penny on a Railroad Track
“In many ways life was so much more predictable back then; in other ways it was much less so. Organized sports were almost non-existent in my childhood. Summer was free time on steroids, with hours, days, weeks (it seemed like forever back then!) to do nothing. I don’t recall being bored; but we played as a matter of course outside the aperture of our parent’s eye. Off to the playground on our bike; downtown to get a soda or fudgesicle; or, in the case of some of the older kids, hanging around waiting for the afternoon papers to come in before heading out on their paper route. But this day, we were in the business of sabotage. Today, we were going to do something really big … and dangerous. This could change everything….We glanced around to make sure no one was watching. The caper was on. The penny was placed well down the tracks from our hiding place. We were tucked in under a pile of brush and ducked low so as not to be seen from the train. Then, we heard it. There was a crossing about half a mile away, and the whistle blew. There was no rushing the tracks now, no undoing what we had done.The big locomotive could be heard rumbling toward us. Think of it – a time when placing a penny on the railroad tracks was paramount to sedition! I would graduate to more serious pranks as I got older, but by today’s standards the bar was extremely low for our misbehaving antics…… I remember being very nervous, praying that train would stay upright and on course. As the engine lumbered by us I recall the feeling of relief. And as the caboose faded safely into the distance, having waited to make certain no engineer could spot us, we ran to the location. There it was: the flattened penny; pancake currency and the feeling of exhilaration believing that we had taken a tremendous risk and come out of it unscathed.”-Believeinplace Blog
In my days of yore, pennies were made of copper. So when you would put a penny on the tracks it would flatten out into a flat copper plate. Not, so today. American pennies are made out of a zinc alloy. (The modern penny is made of 97.5 percent zinc and 2.5 percent copper. This is known as copper plated zinc.) Ah, it’s not the same. I would suggest using a nickel or better yet, a dime instead.
Nickels have more copper in them than pennies do. So it is better to flatten. Pennies only have about 2.5% copper in it, but nickels are 75% copper. The U.S. first struck 5¢ nickel coins in 1866. All nickels from that date to the present except for the famous “war nickels” (mid-1942 to 1945) are made of the same metal, an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel. “War nickels” were made of 35% silver, 56% copper, and 9% manganese because nickel was needed for the war effort.
Dimes are better than nickels. So, if the reader were to use a dime, as it is almost 92% copper, it is more like that of the copper pennies of our youth. As of 2014, the dime is made out of a blend of metals called “clad.” A copper center is sandwiched between two layers of a 75-percent copper and 25-percent nickel blend. The total composition of a modern dime is 91.67 percent copper and 8.33 percent nickel.
American Coin
Percentage of Copper
Penny
2.5%
Nickel
75%
Dime
92%
You do want to stay aware as you put your penny on a railroad track to be sure a train isn’t coming. If you’re going to wait for the train to come by and smoosh your coin, you also want to stand back at least 30 feet, as it could hypothetically come flying off and hit you. You don’t have to wait around for the train, though. If you decide to come back in a few hours or the next day to see what became of your penny, mark the spot with a stick before you leave for easy finding later on.-The Risky Kid
A handful of some flattened coins. When was the last time that YOU, the reader, held a flattened coin in the palm of your hand? I’ll bet that it was a long time ago.
The types of train tracks that one would try this kind of feat are freight lines, and freight lines ONLY.
High speed rail is far to dangerous to attempt. The same is true for subway lines and similar rail. Anything that involves the transport of humans is to be avoided. Don’t even consider it. It is DANGEROUS.
Always stick to rail that services freight, and you will be fine. Back in my school days, the freight lines carried coal, and a handful of box cars in and about the Allegheny hills.
And, while you are at it, hanging around railroad tracks, might I suggest the following activities…
Walk on top of the tracks and see how long you can go before falling off. (Not everyone shares my point of view. HERE is an article where it is considered the height of danger and folly to walk on train tracks. HERE is an article that says that it is terribly DANGEROUS and maybe evil to even suggest children participate in such a thing.)
Searching for loose railroad spikes. These are the “nails” that hold the tracks to the wood ties. (A rail spike (also known as a cut spike or crampon) is a large nail with an offset head that is used to secure rails and base plates to railroad ties (sleepers) in the track.)
Robert Livingston Stevens is credited with the invention of the rail spike, the first recorded use of which was in 1832. The railroad spike was an invention which resulted from the state of industrialisation in the United States in the early 19th century: English mainline railways of that period used heavy and expensive cast iron chairs to secure T-shaped rails; instead, Stevens added a supporting base to the T rail which could be fixed with a simple spike. In 1982, the spike was still the most common rail fastening in North America. Common sizes are from 9⁄16 to 10⁄16 inch (14 to 16 mm) square and 5 1⁄2 to 6 inches (140 to 150 mm) long.
Collecting those little marble sized metal ores that abound on and between the tracks. I never found out what they were and why they existed as a boy, but I used to pick up a couple and toss them into the trees as I’d walk. Later on, after the invention of the internet, I was able to figure out what these things were…
These little dirty black marble sized balls are Taconite pellets. They are iron and are formed into pellets for the trip from the mine to industry. Several materials are formed into pellets or beads in this way. Plastic is another. In a pellet form the iron, plastic, what ever, takes on more of a fluid characteristic which is easier to transport, load and unload, store, and measure.
Sword Fight With Sticks
“I fight in a group called River Run Belegarth, a realm of Belegarth Medieval Combat Society.As per the name, we are a medieval battle game utilizing padded weapons including but not limited to; swords (large and small), shields, arrows, javelins, spears, maces, and flails. The Belegarth community spreads across the country, we even have realms in Canada and Puerto Rico.We follow a simple honor based system. The Belegarth rules are found in the Book of War.”-reddit
Parents are wary of anything involving sharp objects, sticks included. However, letting your kid engage in some improvised swashbuckling is too fun an opportunity to pass up because of a negligible risk of injury. One of the most memorable events is to take them to a medieval recreation or fair. Have them dress up and enjoy (something every little girl yearns to do).
Dress-up is very big in China. Especially traditional Han clothing and outfits.
A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire, or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering, usually held in the United States, open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests.
Some are permanent theme parks, while others are short-term events in a fairground, winery, or other large public or private spaces.
Renaissance fairs generally include an abundance of costumed entertainers or fair-goers, musical and theatrical acts, art and handicrafts for sale, and festival food.
Some offer campgrounds for those who wish to stay more than one day. Many Renaissance fairs are set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Some are set earlier, during the reign of Henry VIII, or in other countries, such as France, and some are set outside the era of the Renaissance; these may include earlier Medieval periods (including Vikings), or later periods, such as 17th-18th Century pirates.
Some engage in deliberate "time travel" by encouraging participants to wear costumes representing several eras in a broad time period. Renaissance fairs encourage visitors to enter into the spirit of things with costumes and audience participation. Many welcome fantasy elements such as wizards and elves.-Wikipedia
Here is a typical event at a Renaissance fair. This is a mock sword fight. Often there are rules that must be followed for the mutual enjoyment and safety of the participants.
Ah… To dress up and role play. Don’t let the “busy body” down the street prevent your children from role play…
“In Waynesboro, Georgia, “trick or treaters” must be 12 or younger; they must be in a costume; and they must be accompanied by an adult at least 21 years of age.
So if you have kids who are 15, 10, and 8, you can’t send them out together. The 15-year-old is not allowed to dress up, yet she won’t be considered old enough to supervise her siblings for another six years. And this is on the one night of the entire year we traditionally let children pretend to be adults.Other schools and community centers now send letters home asking parents not to let their children wear scary costumes.
Some even organize “trunk or treats”—cars parked in a circle, trunks open and filled with candy, thus saving the kids from having to walk around the neighborhood or knock on doors. (That would be tiring and terrifying.) If this is childhood, is it any wonder college kids also expect to be micromanaged on Halloween?At Yale in 2015, after 13 college administrators signed a letter outlining appropriate vs. inappropriate costume choices for students, the childhood development expert and campus lecturer Erika Christakis suggested that it would be better to allow kids to think for themselves.
After all, Halloween is supposed to be about pushing boundaries.
“Is there no room anymore for a child or young person to be a little obnoxious…or, yes, offensive?” she wrote. “Have we lost faith in young people’s capacity—your capacity—to ignore or reject things that trouble you?”Apparently, yes.
Angry students mobbed her husband, the professor Nicholas Christakis, surrounding him in the courtyard of the residential college where he served as master.
They screamed obscenities and demanded he apologize for believing, along with his wife, that college students are in fact capable of handling offensive costumes on Halloween. “Be quiet!” a student shouted at him at one point. “As master, it is your job to create a place of comfort and home for the students!””-The Fragile Generation
Stand on the Roof
This little activity is not something that I ever thought was significant. However, it was not until I was older that I began to realize the importance of it. My first experience was when I was (maybe) seven, and my “girlfriend” (at the time, a young cutie named Mary) snuck me into her bedroom, and we crawled out her bedroom window and hung out on her roof. Indeed, what kid hasn’t wanted to get a bird’s eye view of the neighborhood?
Ah, Mary. She taught me many things. She was my teacher for making my first ketchup sandwich, and she taught me how to steal candy from the local store. Heh heh.
Don’t worry, the store keeper called our parents and we got a long lecture on how bad we were. Her father used to make rock candy in his basement, and we would go down and eat some sugar from time to time.
I suppose if we would have been a little older we would have experienced other “firsts” together… first kiss, first sex, first… However, that never materialized as we moved and I never saw her again.
Ah. Standing on the roof.
“Sandseter began observing and interviewing children on playgrounds in Norway. In 2011, she published her results in a paper called “Children’s Risky Play From an Evolutionary Perspective: The Anti-Phobic Effects of Thrilling Experiences.”Children, she concluded, have a sensory need to taste danger and excitement; this doesn’t mean that what they do has to actually be dangerous, only that they feel they are taking a great risk.That scares them, but then they overcome the fear.In the paper, Sandseter identifies six kinds of risky play:
(1) Exploring heights, or getting the “bird’s perspective,” as she calls it—“high enough to evoke the sensation of fear.”
(2) Handling dangerous tools—using sharp scissors or knives, or heavy hammers that at first seem unmanageable but that kids learn to master.
(3) Being near dangerous elements—playing near vast bodies of water, or near a fire, so kids are aware that there is danger nearby.
(4) Rough-and-tumble play—wrestling, play-fighting—so kids learn to negotiate aggression and cooperation.
(5) Speed—cycling or skiing at a pace that feels too fast.
(6) Exploring on one’s own.This last one Sandseter describes as “the most important for the children.” She told me, “When they are left alone and can take full responsibility for their actions, and the consequences of their decisions, it’s a thrilling experience.””-The Overprotected Kid
This is ideal if you are at home in the United States. This way, standing on the roof of your home is one of the more risky activities, and yet the most rewarding. In all cases, please supervise this vertical venture and take the necessary precautions: Only allow your child to attempt if your roof isn’t overly steep and is in good condition, without loose shingles and other potential hazards. Have your kid walk straight up and down the roof, standing with one foot on either side of its peak for stability, as they survey the landscape below.
The high-ground has a tremendous impact on how you view your life. Cats understand. Dogs understand. Tigers understand. Eagles understand. Many liberal parents do not.
Here in China, access to the top floor of all buildings is easily accessible. All one need do is take an elevator to the 86 floor, and then take the stairs up to the roof. It’s not for the faint of heart, but trust me, your kids would love it.
Shoot a Gun
Children throughout South East Asia are taught on how to handle and use firearms. This used to be common in the United States. However, after the election of Barrack Obama the first, this has become considered unpopular and dangerous. Here we have kids in Thailand being taught.
Warning; I advocate that children should be taught to be able to use firearms safely. This is not considered proper in our new American progressive reality. Never the less, it is my strong belief. My Children all are taught here in communist China on how to handle firearms and shoot, and I believe that there is no excuse why American children can't be trusted to do the same.
When I grew up, all my male classmates were out shooting guns when they were seven. My father, of an urban liberal persuasion, wouldn’t let me near a firearm until I was 17. Still, I strongly believe that one of the most important skills a parent can teach their children is self defense. Dogs do it. Cats do it, tigers do it. Only domesticated animals like cows, sheep, chickens, turkeys, and domesticated pigs don’t. (I guess that is why we farm them for food. They don’t fight back.)
Yes. Humans tend NOT to EAT animals that fight back. I wonder why…
Here is a nice Ruger .22 with a laser sight and silencer. This is a perfect starter pistol that also has some nice practical uses as well.
If I still lived in the United States, I would make the arrangements to teach my children how to shoot. As it stands, here in China they have to wait until they are in their early teens before they obtain weapon training (everyone in China MUST complete basic military training as part of middle school). The good news is that they will get a very comprehensive training in both small arms, and fully automatic weapons.
Wild hogs are taught to defend themselves and fight. When someone wants to prevent you from learning how to defend yourself, they have a REASON to do so.
Find a gun that fits the palm of the hand well. This is especially true for the females in your family. Let them practice with it. Practice over an over until they are lethal with it.
Proactively teaching your kids how to safely use firearms is the best way to teach a healthy respect for them. Don’t allow them to learn by Hollywood movies. These are very unhealthy mediums for learning about firearms. (As anyone can attest to the “sideways” pistol shooting style popularized by the negro urban youth, and the “thug” culture. It is not a way to accurately shoot a pistol.)
When they’re 7 or so, introduce them to a pellet gun and begin teaching proper gun safety rules like keeping their finger off the trigger until they’re ready to shoot and treating every weapon as if it were loaded. Set up a a target (tin cans are fun) in your backyard and let them plink away while you watch.
Up until recently all American boys could shoot and knew firearm safety. That all started to end after 9-11, and just about disappeared publicly during the Obama Administration around 2008.
As they get a little older, they can tote around their BB gun by themselves. Don’t worry about them shooting their eye out! Teach your children to be careful, and to follow basic safety precautions at all times. What was good for my generation, my parents’ generation, my grandparent’s generation, and all the generations before them is good for our children today. Do not buy into the political narrative that only the government should own guns. You would think that we would learn from history by now.
In fact, there is an outright war going on that is trying to stupid-down (not dumb-down) American children. This is a planned and staged effort. Here’s an article about just such an effort in Boulder, Colorado. Suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, all kinds of restrictions were being placed on the children there…
“At times, it seems like our culture is conjuring dangers out of thin air, just to have something new to worry about. Thus, the Boulder Public Library in Colorado recently forbade anyone under 12 to enter without an adult, because “children may encounter hazards such as stairs, elevators, doors, furniture, electrical equipment, or other library patrons.” Ah, yes, kids and library furniture. Always a lethal combo.
Happily, the library backed off that rule, perhaps thanks to merciless mocking in the media. But saner minds don’t always prevail. At Mesa Elementary School, which also happens to be in Boulder, students got a list of the items they could not bring to the science fair. These included “chemicals,” “plants in soil,” and “organisms (living or dead).” And we wonder why American children score so low on international tests.”
Well… so much for Chemisty, Biology, and Taxidermy.
“But perhaps the single best example of how fantastically fearful we’ve become occurred when the city of Richland, Washington, got rid of all the swings on its school playgrounds. The love of swinging is probably older than humanity itself, given our arboreal origins.
But as a school district spokesman explained, “Swings have been determined to be the most unsafe of all the playground equipment on a playground.”
The reader should understand that a government that will restrict a child from the dangers of a swing would absolutely go bonkers over firearm training. Those who have obtained these positions in power want to rule in absolute proclamations. They will to do so and lord their haughty positions over you and your progeny.
“You may think your town has avoided such overkill, but is there a merry-go-round at your local park, or a see-saw? Most likely they, too, have gone the way of lawn darts. The Consumer Product Safety Commission even warns parks of “tripping hazards, like…tree stumps and rocks,” a fact unearthed (so to speak) by Philip Howard, author of 2010’s Life Without Lawyers.
The problem is that kids learn by doing. Trip over a tree stump and you learn to look down. There’s an old saying: Prepare your child for the path, not the path for your child. We’re doing the opposite.”
-The Fragile Generation
My children all know how to handle firearms. In fact, it was one of the first things we did when we went to Thailand one year. I made it a special point to give them the firearm training by an expert there, and expose them to different types of firearms. Thailand is like the United States and Switzerland, citizens can own and fire firearms there.
You can buy and shoot guns in much of South East Asia. Here we have a man looking in a store front at the various firearms on display for sale or rent. (For rent!)
Contrary to the huge onslaught of anti-gun rhetoric from the oligarchy, the Democrats, and their news media, there are those of us that treasure our ability to shoot back if someone tries to hurt us. For my children this is especially true. None of them have shot anyone’s eyes out. Nor have they used it to rob a gas station, or threaten a bully.
Walter pistols allow for different sized hand grips to allow for small hands. Here is a .38 caliber version. I used to have a 9mm version that I was very partial of when I lived in the States.
When they reach about age 10 or 11, you can introduce them to a .22 caliber rifle or pistol. Again, this should be done under your supervision and you should reinforce good gun safety principles the entire time.
Guns and firearms are dangerous devices. Everyone should know how to operate one, but absolute training and safety is of first importance. For hundreds of years, American children learned how to handle firearms. I myself were taught in my High School gym class as early as ten years old. Of course, today, in this progressive ideal that is what the United States has become, the mere mention of this is considered heresy.
It need not be. It is not heresy. It is history.
In fact, one of my greatest laments is how history is not being taught at all in the United States today. Instead, it is some kind of organized propaganda organ designed to incite diversion and discord. Most people today have no idea that those what fought Great Britain during the Revolutionary War were very young. They birthed a nation when they were in their teenage years.
Ah yes. Daddy’s little girl. Pew Pew Pew.
The Journal of the American Revolution offered this imaginative and fascinating list of the ages of these and other notable figures from the revolutionary era at the moment of America’s founding.
And as one examines the list of nearly 150 of the war’s most revered and reviled, it becomes clear just how young so many of these legendary individuals actually were at the time.
The author of the piece and founding editor of the journal, Todd Andrlik goes so far as to characterize the Founding Fathers much more accurately as the “founding teenagers… or twenty somethings.” And he’s quite right to do so, according to the list.
Consider these:
Nathan Hale, the legendary Continental spy who lamented on the gallows that he had but one life to give for his country was just 21 in 1776.
Surprisingly, so was the much hated and feared British cavalry commander “Bloody” Banastre Tarleton.
Similarly, the supposed sewer of the first Star Spangled Banner, Betsy Ross, was just 24.
While the leader of the France’s forces in America, Marquis de Lafayette, was a mere 18-year-old in 1776.
Among the ranks of the war’s thirty-somethings include Thomas Jefferson (33), patriot pamphleteer Thomas Paine (39), Britain’s General Cornwallis (38) and King George III (also 38). To check out the full article (and you really should), click HERE. A fine book about just one boy can be found HERE.
This being said, there are some firearms that should wait until your child becomes an adult (or at least 18 years old). For instance, consider this little beauty…
Children can play, but firearms are not toys. Once the child has learned the skills to handle themselves, then they can be taught responsibility.
I would think twice before I would have my child shoot off a round from this “bad boy”. No. This type of firearm is best left until they are old enough and mature enough to handle it. I would dare say, that they must at least be old enough to serve in the military. Wouldn’t you think?
Which reminds me, speaking of the military, here’s a bunch of 16 to 18 year olds playing around with a quad version of the above gun…
Here is a quad-mounted 20mm anti-aircraft gun. Here, the Nazi German soldiers use this device against aircraft. It was also devastating against infantry as well.
Burn Things With a Magnifying Glass
There are many fun and interesting ways to start a fire without matches, but using a magnifying glass is one of the most versatile. I was first introduced to it when I was maybe six years old, and I inflicted a world of hurt on some poor unsuspecting ants near a parking lot where I lived.
Use of a magnifying glass provides you with a focused beam of heat that cannot only burn paper and leaves, but melt plastic. A kid can even use it to burn a symbol or his name into a piece of wood.
It need not be expensive, all office stationary stores carry them.
One thing that I did when I was a young boy, was sit at the side of a parking lot and burn ants with a magnifying glass. I tortured those poor things. I would watch them scurry about and try to deal with the attack that had befallen them. I was so uncaring.
They are especially useful for old farts like me to be better able to read the find print in legal documents, and get the (impossible) code on the back of Apple products.
Roughhouse
“Cross-cultural studies have found that the one thing fathers across the world have in common is that they roughhouse with their kids more than moms. And roughhousing, according to science, makes kids awesome.”-The Importance of Fathers
Roughhousing may just look like a primitive-level melee of potentially injury-causing wrestling and hair pulling, but it actually has a bunch of high-level benefits. Whether children are mixing it up with Dad, or with each other, research has shown that good old fashioned horseplay develops kids’ resilience, intelligence, and even empathy — it teaches them how to negotiate the dynamics of aggression, cooperation, and fair play. So suplex your children more often, and don’t break up the good natured battle royales they put on between themselves.
Climb a Tree
China has the most amazing trees, especially here in the South (China). Yet no one climbs them. You would think that the “forever trees” would make great climbing, but no ones does so. Why is this? Few activities feel more liberating than climbing a tree. It’s thrilling to leave the ground and test your physical deftness, as well as your daring as you decide just how high up you’ll go. Indeed, the air seems fresher among the branches.
The Ban Yan tree is a most enormous and kid-friendly tree that is found all over Southern China. It is magnificent. Yet, I never see any Chinese kids climb it. I guess that they are too busy studying. It is called “The Forever Tree” because it has tendrils that cascade downward and borrow into the ground to make new trees. They can become enormous and massive.
“There is rising American interest in European-style “forest kindergartens,” where kids receive little formal instruction and have more freedom to explore in nature. And in Washington, D.C., not far from where I live, we finally have our first exciting playground since the “forgotten playground” was leveled. Located at a private school called Beauvoir, it has a zip line and climbing structures that kids of all ages perceive as treacherous. I recently met someone who worked on the playground and asked him why the school board wasn’t put off by safety concerns, especially since it keeps the park open to the public on weekends. He said the board was concerned about safety but also wanted an exciting playground; the safety guidelines are, after all these years, still just guidelines.”-The Overprotected Kid
When I was a boy I would climb anything. In our back yard we had apple trees (that we would climb just to get the apples), “weeping” willow trees, large and big acorn trees, the magnificent chestnut trees, pine trees (and I did climb them, and ended up terribly sappy) and my all time super favorite tree the Northern Catalpa (Catalpa speciose). (Also known as the Indian Bean Tree. My father told me that local Indians used to take the pea pods on this tree and smoke them.)
The Northern Catalpa is a tree that demands your attention. White, showy flowers. Giant heart-shaped leaves. Dangling bean-like seed pods. Twisting trunk and branches. How could you not stop to take it in? And with all of these unique features, the northern catalpa is popular with kids as well.
Here is the awesome Indian Bean Tree. There are versions that have great and dense leaf cover. They are always beautiful and wonder places to play in and enjoy the weather and companionship with.
The banyan tree has to be the most kid-friendly tree in the world. Here, the tree lets town hundreds of tentacles that once they take root, form new trees. An old ban yan tree might consist of hundreds of tree trunks and a network canopy that would put the Swiss Family Robenson tree-house to shame. Climbing a tree is the most classic of classic childhood activities. Don’t deprive your children of the adventures of tree climbing.
“Yep - our playgrounds were on beaten dirt from use. We built tree forts with axes and saws and hammers and nails and climbed high trees and roofs where access was available) and had apple/slingshot/BB-gun “wars” and learned the concepts of safety by being allowed to find out that was safe and what caused pain.....and became pretty well adjusted adults who didn’t cower in fear and become emotionally scarred for life at a chalked name on some concrete on a college campus....”-trebb 02/03/2018 5:51:01 AM PST · 17 of 21
And…
It’s not all about climbing. It is also about building. What about the joys and pleasures of building your own tree house? Does anyone still do that in the United States anymore? I wonder. In most towns and cities, there is probably some ordinance or rule preventing the construction for some kind of liability consideration. Moreover, or course if you are in a Democrat stronghold, you will probably have to pay some sort of taxes on the construction. Ah… all the “improvements” that well-intentioned ignorant inflict on the community…
"Many websites and parental organizations suggest the parents build a tree house, and not the children. Nonsense! Kids have been building tree houses in the USA for centuries, but all that seemed to come to a complete and sudden stop about two decades ago.
Let your children learn. Let them build and let them explore. Good golly! Here is a typical website advising how to climb a tree (the child wears a helmet), and how the parents can build a tree house for the children.” (Sigh.) -Kidspot
Here is another Ban Yan tree. It’s it awesome? I love how large it gets. In this instance, it should be much larger than it is, but obviously the caretakers are spending the time to trim it and keep it manageable.
Now, at the time of this writing, we do not live on a plot of land where we have many trees. In fact we live in a nice large building with a shared lawn and a park surrounding us. However, were we ever to move back to the USA or some similar location, I would help my children build a tree house. It is a key memory of my boyhood.
You have to admit that tree-houses are great. However, I would suggest that it is far better to have a crappy rough cut and nailed tree platform made by your children alone is far better than one done by good-old-dad. You should give direction and help. You should not do it. Let them plan it. Let them make it. Let them build it. let them assemble it. It is theirs. Let them learn and have pride in it.
“Not letting your kid climb a tree because he might fall robs him of a classic childhood experience. But being emotionally overprotective takes away something else. “We have raised a generation of young people who have not been given the opportunity to…experience failure and realize they can survive it,” Gray has said. When Lenore’s son came in eighth out of nine teams in a summer camp bowling league, he got an eighth-place trophy. The moral was clear: We don’t think you can cope with the negative emotions of finishing second-to-last.Of course, it’s natural to want to see kids happy. But the real secret to happiness isn’t more high fives; it’s developing emotional resilience.In our mania for physical safety, coupled with our recent tendency to talk about “emotional safety,” we have systematically deprived our children of the thousands of challenging—and sometimes upsetting—experiences that they need in order to learn that resiliency. And in our quest to protect them, we have stolen from children the best resilience training known to man: free play.”-The Fragile Generation
Cook a Meal
I first made a ketchup sandwich when I was four or five years old (Mary taught me.). Toast came later at maybe seven, and by nine years old I made my first hamburger.
All kids need to be introduced to the joys of making their own food. Cooking might not seem that dangerous, but once your kids start wanting to help make dinner, you begin noticing how many tasks involve sharp and potentially dangerous hazards. Yet, this is the perfect venue to expose your children to those hazards… right next to you at your side.
Do not fall prey to the temptation of coddling your children. It’s worth not only letting your children assist you in the kitchen, but allowing them to try cooking on their own too. More so than any other activity on this list, it will teach them a valuable skill towards grown-up self-sufficiency.
Why not cook a hotdog? One of my first experiences in cooking was being taught how to sharpen a stick (with my boy scout knife) and sticking a hotdog on it. Then watching how to cook it inside a nice campfire outside. What is so wrong about that? Then, later I could add all the goodies that I wanted to it. This mostly consisted of relish, ketchup, onion and cut up tomatoes.
One of the best things that my mother did was give all of us siblings an illustrated cookbook. I must have spent six months on a quest to make the perfect handmade pizza. While my sisters were busy making pies, cakes and cookies, my brother and I were deep into lasagna, homemade cream-of-asparagus soup, and different types of breads. Indeed, I was from this simple gift that I obtained my love (and appreciation) of real salted butter, extra-sharp cheddar cheese, and extra virgin olive oil.
Mothers listen up! Boys love to eat, and if you let them, they would LOVE to spend time in the kitchen with you. Who knows maybe you have a budding young chef?
You can get children started on easy to make, but fundamental meals like breakfast eggs. You can do this on a campfire, or at home. You can teach them how to break open the eggs, and how to put oil in the pan. You can teach them about salt and pepper, and don’t forget the bacon, or the delicious pork and beans that goes with it. Oops… I mean the cut up potatoes or hash browns.
Some suggested starter activities;
All kids love hot (out of the stove) cookies.
A basic hamburger.
Mac & Cheese. Kids love this! (Teach them how to cook hamburger and mix it in for a basic kid goulash.)
Spaghetti
Hot dogs, especially over a camp fire.
Dumplings – A Chinese family favorite.
Grilled cheese sandwich.
A basic salad.
Use a Bow and Arrow
My children have an interest in archery. Unfortunately, compound bows are a rare thing in China. The best chance that they can learn to shoot a bow and arrow are either by using “conventional” basic bows, “traditional” log bows, or by studying Japanese-style archery. The Japanese style is a beautiful art form that requires elements of concentration and attention to detail. Here we have the four stages of a draw illustrated. Note the difference between an American draw.
You know, kids all over the world are interested in bows and arrows. You know; archery. Instead of getting them a “safe” nerf version, give them the real thing. Expose them to real archery. If you have the means, teach them and if you cannot, hire an expert to show them the ropes.
If I were still in the states, my kids would be using compound bows and tromping in the woods every season. Ah, but that is not my reality at this time. I have to improvise.
Here in China, there are many opportunities to learn how to use a bow and arrow. Though they are actually mostly either the conventional design or a “traditional” Chinese long-bow design. However, there Japanese archery, also known as Kyūdō is available. Kyūdō is the Japanese martial art of archery. Experts in kyūdō are referred to as kyūdōka (弓道家).
There is a stress on form and function. As in Golf, the way to use your tools greatly affects your ability to hit your target. By attending these archery classes, the student can perfect and concentrate in the discipline of archery. That is a wondrous thing.
Hunting in a fine tree stand. Americans often do not appreciate what they have. They take it for granted. They shouldn’t some of the things that I really, really miss about the States are the things that I took for granted. The things that I would think would last forever. The things that I would never live without. Hunting in a tree stand is one of those things.
Later on, when we go to the states we will pick out a nice compound bow, maybe a “Bear Archery Cruzer”, or a “Diamond Archery’s Infinite Edge”. Something that will not break the bank, but will be able to provide an adjustable draw for first-timers. Trust me, a 70 pound draw is too much for children who are not used to it.
Then it’s up into the tree stand. God, I get goose-bumps just thinking about it.
Japanese style archery is different than American style archery. However, it is a great opportunity to learn precision and discipline. Here in China, I like to think that it is the best way to learn how to use a bow and arrow.
Hammer a Nail
Why? It seems to plain and so mundane.
Yet, hammering a nail is a basic life skill that every person should master. The problem is that many parents do not let their kids attempt this task. They are too fearful of them smashing their fingers. Yes, little children are uncoordinated, but the only way they’ll ever become coordinated is if they gain hands-on experience in using tools.
The wuss-generation of super protection of children has created a nation of morons.
Don’t be afraid, once the child smashes his finger the first time, he / she will be very careful not to do it again. That is how we learn. That is how we obtain coordination. Be there to get them started, and then go away and let them go at it. Be in ear shot, however. For eventually they hill feel some kind of pain. Though it might not be a smashed finger. It might be s splinter or two. Yikes!
Indeed, many cannot use tape measures or even hammer a nail. Home Depot is in full-on panic mode after realizing that an entire generation of Americans have absolutely no clue how to use their products. As the Wall Street Journal points out, the company has been forced to spend millions to create video tutorials and host in-store classes on how to do everything from using a tape measure to mopping a floor and hammering a nail. Seriously, that is pure evidence of a society in decline. Don’t allow your children join these ranks. Get them started with tools.
Don’t buy one of those plastic toy construction sets. Just obtain a tiny (child sized) hammer. Start letting your 3-year-old practice hammering nails with a ball peen hammer. They’re lighter than the traditional claw variety and thus easier to handle. As your child’s dexterity and strength improve, upgrade him to a full-sized claw hammer, lay out a 2×4 and a box of nails, and let him go to town. Talk about cheap entertainment.
Build a Sand Castle
When I was a young boy, we used to have regular trips out to the beach. At that time, we were living in Bridgeport, CT and a trip to the beach was only a mere ten minute drive in the family sedan. There, we could play, swim and collect seashells. I remember once, when walking along the beach, I saw a father and his daughter build this most remarkable sand castle. It was not only “perfect”, but had little miniature statues all over the it. The father took wet sand and dripped them down forming these little artistic shapes. It was magnificent.
They left, and I stood by and admired the handiwork. Then, I ran back to my sister and her “best friend” who were playing nearby. I told them about the great sand castle, and they came with me to look at it. There, all three of us seven to eight year olds, stood around the castle. It was so amazing and beautiful. Then, as if on cue, both my sister and her friend kicked in and stomped the castle into oblivion.
Meanwhile, I just stood there in shock. How and why would they do such a thing? It was something that I had to grapple with through most of my youth. I just could not understand the behaviors of my fellow classmates. Sigh.
Here’s a nice art deco style sand castle. With sand as the cheap and free medium, use time to build and make whatever your heart desires. Most people start with a large moat and go from there. Other’s plan it out. Still others mix cheap toys and fun together to create a complex play environment. What ever strikes your fancy, do it.
Take your children to the beach. Let them have fun, explore and exercise. Let them create, play and build. Remember, “play” is the “work” of children. It is how they learn. If you want your child to learn, then do it in the framework of play.
Play With Fireworks
“Calls to eight newspapers in North Carolina found none that would take anyone under the age of 18 to deliver papers.
A police chief in New Albany, Ohio, went on record saying kids shouldn’t be outside on their own till age 16, “the threshold where you see children getting a little bit more freedom.”
A study in Britain found that while just under half of all 16- to 17-year-olds had jobs as recently as 1992, today that number is 20 percent.The responsibility expected of kids not so long ago has become almost inconceivable.
Published in 1979, the book Your 6-Year-old: Loving and Defiant includes a simple checklist for what a child entering first grade should be able to do: Can he draw and color and stay within the lines of the design being colored? Can he ride a small two-wheeled bicycle without helper wheels? Can he travel alone in the neighborhood (four to eight blocks) to a store, school, playground, or friend’s home?Hang on. Walk to the store at 6—alone?It’s tempting to blame “helicopter parents” for today’s less resilient kids. But when all the first-graders are walking themselves to school, it’s easy to add yours to the mix. When your child is the only one, it’s harder. And that’s where we are today. Norms have dramatically changed.
The kind of freedom that seemed unremarkable a generation ago has become taboo, and in some cases even illegal.”-The Fragile Generation
Everyone plays with fireworks in China. It’s part of the culture, and Chinese New Year is a 24-7 non-stop explosion of fire and smoke. Yet, from what I hear, it’s use is limited in the United States. What? Is the United States run by a cadre of pussies or what?
Playing with fireworks teaches your kids how to responsibly handle fire and to have a healthy respect for exploding objects. Unfortunately, thanks to stringent fireworks laws and parents freaked out from viral stories of children losing eyeballs while lighting Roman candles, many kids today have never experienced the pure excitement and joy of igniting a fuse and waiting for the impending explosion.
Introduce your 3-5 year olds to the world of fireworks with “pop-pops” — those little paper-wrapped tadpole-like things you throw on the ground. They’re safe and the kids can have fun with them without injuring themselves or anybody else. You can also get them acquainted with sparklers. These preparatory “fireworks” offer a chance for children to learn general principles of safety: not to throw lit objects at others, touch people with a hot sparkler, handle a dud, etc.
When your kids hit age 6, you can start letting them light innocuous fireworks like snakes and smoke bombs. These don’t explode and will teach your kids how to light a fuse safely and to be aware of others as they use firecrackers.
By age 9 or 10, your kid should be ready to fire off pretty much anything you can find at a fireworks stand. You should continue to supervise their pyrotechnics until they’re teens, though.
The only caution that I would advise is not to make the fireworks yourself. It is DANGEROUS. I once worked with someone who's son was missing a hand precisely because the home-made firecracker in his hand went off. Be careful.
Conclusions
It is important that parents ACT like parent and not prison guards, or hyper-protective insecure single mothers. After all, it was that behavior that created Adolph Hitler…
Today, I have real concerns that the nation of millennials in the Untied States are exactly that. Improperly educated, with a serious retardation in basic and fundamental life skills. What ever, and when ever possible I am doing my best to prevent that from happening.
The job of a parent is to expose the child to dangerous situations in graduated steps. In such a way they learn the effects of consequences, and other important life lessons. Here are just some of my thoughts on this matter. If your child wants to gather a committee to figure out what to do, then they will never make it in the real world. They are already programmed to be a serf, a worker for others who own and run the factories and companies that your child will be programmed to live within.
When there is an important announcement at your company, does it look something a little like this? Well, if it does, then like it or not, you are in a corporate bubble. If you are not careful, you will have difficulty leaving it. Be careful.
Let’s hope that it’s not too late.
Take Aways
Parent has an important role in teaching their children.
This role cannot be off-loaded to surrogates, whether a school, a television show, or a coach.
The role requires participation with the child.
The role requires a staged implementation of experiences in a controlled environment that permits learning of dangers and problem solving and avoidance.
These are just some of my ideas implemented in my own family.
FAQ
Q: Isn’t your ideas going to put the children into danger? A: I do not advocate putting anyone in danger. What I suggest is that the job of a parent is to introduce the child to potentially dangerous situations in a graduated way. When I was in training to be a Naval Aviator, they taught us how to perform a dead man’s float, swim in different techniques, and how to handle ourselves. Once we mastered those basics, we were then introduced to more complex events like how to untangle ourselves from a parachute that is dragging you through the water, and how to egress from a sunken helicopter at night. You must learn in stages.
Q: Why not let the school take on this responsibility? A: After seeing what the public schools are teaching today, I am loathe to subject my child to anything resembling an American public school. It is your responsibility as a parent to teach your children. Your child’s success in life will be heavily influenced by how to prepare them for it.
Q: Isn’t your children going to public schools? A: Well, yes, they are. However, I am here in China. They go to Chinese public schools and learn English and American history and civics at home. We have a very aggressive teaching schedule for them, and my Chinese wife is relentless in making sure that they are learning to the best of their ability. It is what is appropriate for us today. Needless to say, if we were in the United States, we would do something quite different.
Q: Do you have other ideas on how to raise children? A: Oh my yes. However, Google SEO requirements, as well as my own limitations has necessitated the creation of this post as shown.
Q: Why do you talk so much about China? Why are you so down on America? A: I am in China out of necessity. That being said, I happen to love the United States. In fact, I love what it was and what it was intended to be.
Today, I am pretty discouraged with how the government is, and how the educational system is. I am pretty jaded.
Today there is a battle between those who want America to RETURN to what it was intended to be, and those who want to continue the remake; to turn it into a globalist ruled oligarchy, with Americans acting as dumbed down serf-cattle. Until it is sorted out, I will stay right where I am, thank you.
I am a traditional American. I like big cars, big boobed women, big plates of bacon, big wide skies, and big pitches of ice cold beer. I also like big caliber handguns, big racks on deer, and big trucks. I enjoy a big bonfire with my friends, and we like to watch the big game together.
This is Part 1 of a Two Part Post
This is part one of a two part post. You can go to the other post HERE. This post is rather long. I have exceeded the “industry norm” (Google SEO advisement) by a significant word count. As is my prerogative. You can visit the beginning of this post HERE.
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.
The article reinforces a notion that I have that “play is the work of children”. It is how they learn to become an adult. It doesn’t matter if you are a dog, a cat, an elephant, or a monkey, all animals learn from playing.
However, it is more than that, play is individualized free-roaming periods of children playing without supervision. They need to learn to be autonomous. They need to be able to use trial and error. They need to explore the idea of actions have consequences. When a child does not have this environment, they are often retarded in some fundamental areas.
The boy is a natural spectator; he watches parades, fires, fights, football games, automobiles and planes with equal fervor. However, he will not watch a clock.
A boy is a piece of skin stretched over an appetite. However, he eats only when he’s awake.
Boys imitate their Dads in spite of all the efforts to teach them good manners.
Boy’s are very durable.
A boy, if not washed too often and if not kept in a cool quiet place after each accident , will survive broken bones, hornet’s nests, swimming holes and five helpings of pie. Boys love to trade things. They’ll trade fishhooks, marbles, broken knives and snakes for anything that is priceless or worthless.
-Herbert Hoover
Introduction
In the United States today, I see a matriarchal tide that has emasculated men, and have pampered children to a point where they grow up spoiled without discipline. It does not matter if the child is a boy, or a girl, or considers themselves something in between. That is something that is not desirable for the children, families, and society as whole. Children are young and they need to learn basic rules to fit into society. After all, a puppy that is not litter trained, will deposit feces all over the house. A horse that is not “broken” will never let you ride it.
Parental Duty
A parent has a duty to teach their children and not outsource that responsibility to others. Whether it is a babysitter, a community government, or a church, a parent must provide adaptive skills and rules of behavior to their children. Otherwise, the child will become a “misfit”. They will not be able to fit into society.
Yet, a worrisome as this can be, too much supervision is just as dangerous. Too much protection is equally bad. When parents are overly protective of their children, they essentially outsource all of their offspring’s risk management to themselves. Part of growing is learning to judge risk behaviors.
Is that river to wide to swim across? Is the ice too thin to walk on? Is that tree too high to climb? Can I jump off the third story into a kiddy pool of water below?
Children need to be able to make these decisions on their own without reliance on others. Otherwise, the operating assumption is that mom and dad will always be around to keep them from harm. They will grow up expecting others to make those fundamental decisions for them. They will believe that society and the government, can best decide and tell them how to live.
Children need to be Self Reliant
Rather than making kids dependent on you to keep them safe, prepare them to face and manage risks themselves. This doesn’t mean totally shoving them into things without a safety net. Like how my old school mates learned how to swim – their father simply threw them into the pool. No. I don’t believe in that. Rather, they need a set a staged instructions.
In fact, this system was promoted by Gever Tulley.
Gever Tulley is an American writer, speaker, educator, entrepreneur, and computer scientist. He is the founder of the Brightworks School, Tinkering School, the non-profit Institute for Applied Tinkering, and educational kit maker Tinkering Labs.
His more recent work centers around the concept of students learning through building projects. He has delivered multiple TED talks on his work, published the book 50 Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do), and has contributed articles for many online media outlets.
Gever refers to this system as a “scaffolding” of “planning, practicing by steps, and taking reasonable precautions.” Obviously, the robustness of this scaffolding should be adjusted to your children’s age and level of maturity. You certainly do not want a toddler who can barely stand up trying to cross a city street. As they grow, you (as the parent) can then progressively withdraw the support “scaffolding”. In this way, they can gain confidence and competence and become able to fend for themselves.
The great Mr. Rogers stated that “play was the work of children”. He was so correct about that. That is how youth learns. It is through play. Little girls learn how to raise babies through play. They play with dolls, they feed the dolls, they play “house”, and they hold “tea parties”. Little boys learn how to work together in group sports. They learn how to build cabins, tree houses, and “forts”. They tear things apart and put things together. Some girls like to do “boy activities”. Some boys like to do “girl activities”. That’s all both ok too.
The point is that play is how children learn.
The term “free play” is permitting children to learn under minimum supervision. Not only is there no supervision, but that the child knows that they are “on their own”. They know and realize that they can do what they feel like doing, but that if something goes wrong, they will be on their own. It is an adventure in risk…
“Free play has little in common with the “play” we give children today. In organized activities, adults run the show. It’s only when the grown-ups aren’t around that the kids get to take over. Play is training for adulthood.”-The Fragile Generation
You have to teach the children to be independent.
That is not going to happen with you sitting off to the side or within earshot. You need to teach them how to judge risks, and then the decision process on how to take them. I personally believe that the best way to do this is to take these little steps with them together, first. Then, over time, gradually let them take the risks without you being nearby.
Staged Risks
The keys to engaging in this process in a way that will not only benefit your children, but allay your own anxiety. After all, if you don’t teach your children well, you will get sick over the huge anxiety that you will need to endure. The solution is to introduce risk in graduated phases.
It’s a basic and simple process. The first step in allowing your kids to engage in a “risky” activity is to identify what exactly the risks are. For instance if you fall off of the first step in a ladder, the fall isn’t so bad. If you fall off the fourth step it is worse. They will not want to fall off anything higher. They will not WANT to. They have learned that risks have consequences.
That’s not going to happen, if you don’t allow your child to get on the ladder. It’s not going to happen when you are there to catch them. They need to experience the consequences. It needs to be visceral.
Once you’ve identified the risks of an activity, you can figure out how to mitigate them. It should be natural for most children. You fall down from skating on the ice; you will feel bruised and maybe have some torn skin. Let it happen!
My children do not wear arm and knee pads when they go ice skating (though, neither do the other Chinese children either). Let them fall down. Let them learn what happens and the consequences of it.
Falling down is an important part of growing up. Do not coddle and deprive. They must experience the benefits and risks together.
History
Know your history.
Up through the early 20th century, children, even very young ones, worked. They got up early in the morning and did their chores. They washed up and trudged off to work. Often they worked 12 hours a day in the mines and the factories. They hawked newspapers on grimy street corners, or like my father, shined shoes in front of businesses downtown.
The reader should not misunderstand. There’s nothing really romantic about such child labor. They were not learning. They were not engaged in play. They were doing what they needed to do to survive. They did what they had to do. It was dangerous.
It was dangerous, and yet they survived.
Imagine that!
Consider the youth of the past. When he was seventeen, Jack London (remember him? He wrote the book “The Call of the Wild”.) Signed on to sail with a gaff-rigged schooner bound for seal hunting in the icy Bering Sea. I dare say that if a child did that today, the parents would be locked up in jail. Imagine that! Not even old enough to shave. He walks down to a port, talks to the ship’s mate and gets a job bound for icy North! What balls! Yet those types of things are what build character and makes a parent proud.
Jack London, with his belongings in a satchel walked to the bay and got a job on a gaff-rigged schooner bound for points unknown. He shook hands with the master and signed on. He just did it. What moxie! That is what self-reliance is all about.
This was not someone who grew up around boats. This was not someone who’s father was a fisherman, and who’s classmates all knew how to sail. No. Not in the least. This young man knew absolutely nothing. He knew positively zero. Yet, he knew what he wanted to do. So one day, he packed his bags and left and did it.
It sure beats getting a trophy for coming in 10th place in a sack race.
When he was thirteen, Andrew Jackson (Remember him? He was a President, don’t you know?) served as a courier for American militias fighting in the Revolutionary War. He was thirteen years old. Yet here he was going back and forth between battles and regional headquarters. He carried messages, and if he was ever caught, he would have been tortured and killed. Yet, he did so. At the tender age of thirteen.
Here’s a scene from the movie “The patriot” that stunned many of the liberals in the audiences that watched it. They were surprised that small boys would be able to shoot and handle firearms. People, this is a natural rite of passage for young men. It is only recently that r-survivalist strategy has been adopted by the United States government. Boys are not girls. Treat them as the genetically programed humans that they are. Aim small, miss small.
Do you allow your thirteen year old to ride a bicycle unsupervised?
When he was twelve, Louis Zamperini left home to spend the summer living on an Indian reservation and running around in the mountains. He lived in a wood cabin with a friend the same age and killed his own dinner each night with a rifle.
Louis Silvie "Louie" Zamperini (January 26, 1917 – July 2, 2014) was a US prisoner of war survivor in World War II, a Christian evangelist and an Olympic distance runner.
Zamperini took up running in high school and qualified for the US in the 5000m race for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He finished 8th in the event.
In 1941 he was commissioned into the United States Army Air Forces as a Lieutenant. He served as a bombardier in B-24 Liberators in the Pacific. On a search and rescue mission, mechanical difficulties forced Zamperini's plane to crash in the ocean.
Louis Zamperini crashed in the South Pacific. he survived, but was captured by brutal Japanese forces. He survived the crash, and then he survived his imprisonment. He would have never been able to do so, were he coddled as a child and told not to take risks.
After drifting at sea for 46–47 days (island spotted on the 46th, and arrived on 47th) he landed on the Japanese occupied Marshall Islands and was captured. He was taken to a prison camp in Japan where he was tortured.
Following the war he initially struggled to overcome his ordeal. Later he became a Christian Evangelist with a strong belief in forgiveness. Zamperini is the subject of two biographical films, the 2014 Unbroken and the 2015 Captured by Grace.
Can your twelve year old child do the same? Do you dare let them live alone in a cabin in the woods? Do you dare let them have and use a gun? Do they know how to survive in the wilds?
If these kids can sail the oceans, serve on the war-front, and live by themselves, then our kids can ride their bikes to school. Maybe, you the reader, disagree with me. Maybe you think that it is just fine to raise your children as “pussies”. After all, I have heard the arguments; it is the new progressive reality. The society has changed, and I am but an old dinosaur. Never the less…
Unfortunately, the landscapes of play and exercise for children have been both literally and metaphorically flattened, if they exist at all in the United States. As many as 40% of schools have either eliminated one or all of their recess periods, not simply to gain more classroom and testing time, but also because of liability concerns. For the same reason, climbing ropes and dodge ball games have been removed from gym class. Can the reader believe this? It’s true! The risk of someone getting hurt is too high; the risk of physical ineptitude doesn’t rate, even though it’s correlated with the risk of obesity.
To prevent my children from turning into emasculated serfs being harvested by the American elite, let me present some things that I permit my children to do…
Take a Train
I really don’t know why I personally think this is a big deal. Yet, it is. Every single child that I know, get really excited when they are told that they are going to take the train. There is something far different and exciting about a train. Yes, I am aware about the excitement in taking an airplane ride for the first time. Yet, a train is something more than that. A train ride is special.
Look at this beauty. Observe the lines, the enormity of the great complex mechanical monster. Look at how small the workers look around it. Look at the environment. Absorb what it must have been like, the smells, the muggy air, and the hustle and bustle of the people on the platform in the early morning air.
From the point of view of a child, a train gives you the full (end) experience of travel. They can see what it is like. You buy a ticket, you ride in a seat, and you arrive in your destination. It is easy to understand. It is easy to conceptualize.
That isn’t so clear to a child when they fly. To a child, they have to wait in huge lines, often hours long, to pass through TSA. They have to sit on board, which at least in America is becoming more akin to herding cattle than it is to taking a trip.
Keep an eye on perspective. My father took a train to attend my nieces wedding in New York City. It had been nearly thirty years since he taken a train. His opinion? It was marvelous. They had wide and spacious seats. Plenty of legroom. They could read, play cards, and just nap. He loved it. His wife, enjoyed knitting and listening to the radio. It’s a different way of traveling.
If you, my dear reader, do not understand what I am discussing here then you obviously haven’t rode in a train lately.
Make a Fire
In China you can do just about anything, but finding a place in the woods to build a campfire is not all that easy. However, it can be done. Why is this important? Because building a making a fire is a fundamental requirement of all children since the age of written history.
Young girls learned how to keep the hearths burning. Not only to keep the household warm, but also to make sure that the food was prepared.
Young boys learned how to survive outside, far away from their home, and that included providing warmth and nourishment through cooking game that they caught.
In America, these are no longer considered important. As there just isn’t any such thing as gender. Alternatively, societal roles, or the need to live “off the grid” and away from society. The all-knowing American police state will take care of you, don’t you know…
I strongly disagree with the progressive direction of the Obama Presidential mandates. While every other child is being groomed for slavery (or at least serfdom), my children will have the necessary skills to survive away from the American Progressive madness.
For me, I let them play with matches and light candles when they’re really young. Indeed they are pre-school age. This can be done in your house. Buy a set of candles. It might set you back a whole $1. Then, let them practice lighting it. Do it until they are bored. Then try it again and again. Soon, they will tire of it, and not want to play with fire any more.
When you ask them, they will say “Awww, not again!”.
They’ll learn quite a bit. They will learn that fire indeed burns and it hurts. However, with a flame so small, it won’t hurt too much if it glances their skin. When they get to a little older, let them build a fire all by themselves (still with your supervision, of course). A campfire is the best, but if you are in an urban environment, teach them by making candle experiments.
Candle Experimentation
You take an old can; put corrugated cardboard inside so that the spaces (holes) in the can face up. Pack the cardboard in. I like to wrap them in a circular shape. Line the inner side (of the tin) and then add pieces until there just isn’t any room left. Then melt wax (very cheap) on a stove and pour it in the holes in the cardboard.
Let your child make this candle device. Then allow them to experiment with wax, with cardboard, with fire, with other discarded tins. The cost will be minimal, but if you allow them to do it in the safety of your supervision, it will be beneficial to them.
You can buy a DIY candle kit to start off with. You can get cardboard everywhere. You have scissors, and matches. Then all you need an open and airy place that is safe and secure. Then let the kids go to town.
Teach them by showing them. Then allow them to make their own. For a campfire, gather the wood. Cut the branches. Build up tinder. Get it started burning. Children can learn this. Teach them at an early age.
Campfires
Campfires are great, and I just cannot imagine a childhood without one.
Fire is a fundamental part of every human child’s life. We should teach and allow the child to explore this most important of elements. We need to take the time out of our day to help them to explore and learn. Let them smell the burning, hear the crackling embers, and enjoy the smoke and embers as they float upwards into the heavens.
Teach your children about how to make a fire. You gather wood. You gather tinder. You clean out a fire pit, and you surround it with rocks. You select the rocks carefully, so no “river rocks” are used. Then you arrange the wood, and start it by tinder. They can participate and help. In no time, they will be starting the fire on their own.
Let them add sticks and wood to the fire. Let them learn how to make the fire hot, and see the benefits of the hot embers.
It need not only be about making the fire. It can include such activities as cooking cut-up potatoes in aluminum-foil in the embers. (Easy to make and delicious. Cut up a potato (after washing it), and an onion. Add salt and pepper and a pad of butter. Wrap the entire thing in aluminum foil and place it in the embers and let it cook a spell. It is delicious.)
One of my fondest memories is roasting hotdogs over a evening fire. We did this often as a child. This included such events as cub-scouts, school outings, and trips with my parents. Childhood needs to include campfires as a fundamental element of growing up.
It can include roasting marshmallows on a stick, or hotdogs until they are black and crunchy (the best kind). My first roasted marshmallow occurred when I was six. It was before first grade. It can be earlier than that, but make sure that you supervise the youngster, as they do need training. Otherwise, they can burn their mouth, or fall into the fire. Yikes!
Fires are a great venue for bonding. It can include talking and telling stories, especially family lore, or hopes and dreams of the children. You can be a great parent or uncle in these events. Don’t let them pass away. Don’t let them fade into obscurity simply because there is a new app in your cellphone.
By the way. I strongly urge all campfires to be a cellphone free zone.
Let your children see how easy it is to make tea or coffee on the campfire. Show them how it is done. You can also open up a can of pork and beans and teach them how to cook it on a fire in the embers (opened up) of course. Let them feel some independence, and let them do all the work. This is their experience, don’t hog it all up.
Let them participate in stories, or just allow them to stare into the burning embers and daydream. Let your child know the differences between wet wood, and dry wood. Let them understand the differences between a pine and a hard wood. Let them see the difference in making tinder, and how coal can make a fire much hotter. Let them learn what happens to a hotdog on a stick when you cook it deep down inside the hot embers of a fire, and what happens when you don’t. Let them learn through experience.
I personally find it absolutely laughable that many American parents are so fearful that they will not allow their children to play with fire. Certainly, no one wants the children to burn up a house or set a field on fire. Yet, the knowledge of what a fire is, and how it can be controlled is an important learning exercise for children.
“If a 10-year-old lit a fire at an American playground, someone would call the police and the kid would be taken for counseling. At “the Land”, spontaneous fires are a frequent occurrence. The park is staffed by professionally trained “playworkers,” who keep a close eye on the kids but don’t intervene all that much. Claire Griffiths, the manager of the Land, describes her job as “loitering with intent.”
-The Land. The Land is an “adventure playground,” though it sounds a little too much like a amusement park.
In the U.K., such playgrounds arose and became popular in the 1940s, as a result of the efforts of Lady Marjory Allen of Hurtwood, a landscape architect and children’s advocate.
Allen was disappointed by what she described in a documentary as “asphalt square” playgrounds with “a few pieces of mechanical equipment.” She wanted to design playgrounds with loose parts that kids could move around and manipulate, to create their own makeshift structures.
But more important, she wanted to encourage a “free and permissive atmosphere” with as little adult supervision as possible. The idea was that kids should face what to them seem like “really dangerous risks” and then conquer them alone. That, she said, is what builds self-confidence and courage.
Although the play-workers almost never stop the kids from what they’re doing, before the playground had even opened they’d filled binders with “risk benefits assessments” for nearly every activity. (In the two years since it opened, no one has been injured outside of the occasional scraped knee.)
Here’s the list of benefits for fire:
“It can be a social experience to sit around with friends, make friends, to sing songs to dance around, to stare at, it can be a co-operative experience where everyone has jobs. It can be something to experiment with, to take risks, to test its properties, its heat, its power, to re-live our evolutionary past.”The risks?“Burns from fire or fire pit” and “children accidentally burning each other with flaming cardboard or wood.” In this case, the benefits win, because a playworker is always nearby, watching for impending accidents but otherwise letting the children figure out lessons about fire on their own.”-The Overprotected Kid
There is something primeval about fire, the smell of burning wood, and the weight of a metal lighter in your hand. (Disposable lighters are like paper cups of coffee; discardable and plain. To get the “full” experience, do it right.)
Teach them how to make a fire from tinder, and scraps.
I personally believe that every father should buy their son a nice traditional lighter. make it memorable and let the son choose the style that best fit’s their personality. This is an important part of growing up.
Show them how to make a fire pit, chop wood, and select the best wood. Let them know the difference between green-wood, soft-wood, and hard wood. Let them poke the fire and watch the sparks fly. Let them blow on the fire and watch the embers glow and grow.
Alternatives
One of the more memorable events in my life took place during my college years. I was out riding in the “boondocks” with a friend of mine (Sid Custer) in his pickup truck. We were having a great time, and we stopped in the middle of the dirt road for a smoke (not a cigarette) and pee. Neither of us had a lighter. So my friend siphoned some gas out of the tank, put it on a rag he scrounged out of the glove box, and used his pocketknife to create sparks, which quickly set the rag on fire. We lit up, and continued our merry way. Yes. Men, need to be able to adapt to survive. They need to know, that in a pinch, they can “make do” and adapt.
I never forgot that event.
Later on during other stages of my life, I saw interesting improvisations that enabled people the ability to light up cigarettes. Here are some additional ways to start a fire. I would suggest that the reader also make a point to their children that fire can be made easily and is not something to fear.
Teach them how to create fires on demand. Teach them how to control fires, and what to do, when a fire gets out of control.
Gum Wrapper Fire. This is a very easy method, and commonly used in prison. You take a pack of chewing gum. You remove the silver foil. Then you get a battery (any working battery, but I’ve seen type AA or AAA used effectively), and put the foil so that it touches both ends. Now the fire might start at any point along the foil, so you need to tear away some of the foil to make a narrow gap. That will focus the fire to start there. Make sure you have some tinder ready, as the fire will be short lived. It might last two to three seconds, tops.
Ramen Noodle Stove. Take a pack of Ramen noodles. (Remove it from the plastic wrapping.) Pour gasoline, kerosene or any other flammable liquid on the uncooked noodles. Put it on a brick, a rock or other safe surface. Then light carefully (making sure that no gasoline is on anyone’s hands or splashed on the ground nearby). It will act like a “fire starter log”. As such, it will burn for a good spell. Maybe 20 minutes to a half an hour. It makes a great kindling or fire starter, but is also a very good exercise to expose your children to.
All of the suggestions that I have provided here come with a level of danger. There should be no doubt about that. However, the point is that danger should be a friend and as the child grows, they can become more familiar with danger and best be able to tame it. You need to teach your children how to confront life, and not shy away from it in fear.
To quote an age-old Peruvian saying; “A life lived in fear is a life not worth living”.
Also quoted in the movie “Strictly Ballroom” (1992). Strictly Ballroom is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. If the reader is confused about why this quote is located here in this manuscript, and what it means in regards to raising children and exposing them to new ideas and skills, then you should watch the movie “Strictly Ballroom”.
Sail a boat
"There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it.
Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not."- Spoken by Ratty to Mole in Wind in the Willows a children's book by Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932).
This might be a surprise to some readers. It need not be.
This is a nice photo of a gaff-rigged cutter. A cutter is a boat with a single mast. A gaff-rigged boat is one that has the mast broken into two sections; a top and a bottom. The top section has a smaller sail known as a top-sail. It is useful to get the smallest and tiniest breezes of wind on calm days.
Sailing introduces your child to art, beauty, nature, and teamwork. You will find them wanting to help furl the sails. You will find them steer the boat with pride. You will watch with pride as they point out when the sails are luffing. There is something very freeing about sailing. You glide along the water, it is almost like flying. It is soft, quiet and peaceful.
Sails on larger vessels are typically left in place, while it is easier to remove sails from the rigs of smaller vessels. Furling a sail simply means to put the thing away after use. Sails are commonly folded and covered, or rolled into a tubular shape by an onboard mechanism.
In sailing, luffing refers to when a sailing vessel is steered far enough toward the direction of the wind ("windward"), or the sheet controlling a sail is eased so far past optimal trim, that airflow over the surfaces of the sail is disrupted and the sail begins to "flap" or "luff" (the luff of the sail is usually where this first becomes evident). This is not always done in error; for example, the sails will luff when the bow of the boat passes through the direction of the wind as the sailboat is tacked.
A sailboat can also be "luffed" slightly without completely de-powering the sails. Often this occurs on the point of sail known as close hauled, this is sometimes referred to as pinching or "feathering" and is sometimes done deliberately in order to make a more direct course toward an upwind destination (see: "beating to windward"), or to "de-power" a sail on a windy day to maintain control of the sailboat. "Luffing" can also be used to slow or stop a sailboat in a controlled manner. To offset luffing at the top of the sail one should move the sail "lead" forward until the point where the "telltales" break evenly.
In comparison, a household with young children is a noisy and clamorous affair. There is always noise and contention. Young children cry and demand. Sugar and other children exacerbate this situation. However, on the ocean (or in a bay), there is none of this. The children will calm down and start to fit into the routine and the rhythm of the boat. Oh, they will get the “sea legs” soon enough.
“The sea hates a coward.”- Eugene O’Neill
If the parent is so inclined, they can help the child with sailing lessons. In each and every case, the parent should make sure that the child knows the basics of swimming (not included in this list, as it is a MAJOR fundamental requirement for all of my children. They learn how to swim early on.). When in the boat, all children wear life preservers, and all of them must know how to “turn a boat around” to rescue a person during a “man overboard” drill. Try it. Your children would love it!
Here we see a gaff-rigged schooner overtaking a cutter. A schooner is a vessel with two masts. The mast at the stern of the ship is the tallest. Therefore, the vessel has the largest sail area towards the stern of the ship.
Others have written about the beauty of sailing. Consider Christopher Cross for example.
For those readers who have never sailed, I would seriously suggest that you take the opportunity to do so. I am not talking about a little puddle boat, but a large sailing vessel with a decent beam and some real size. It is achievable, as many boat owners offer rides in their sailboats for a very reasonable price as a way to make extra money.
For those of you who have, let me suggest that you invest in a simple boat rather than a new cellphone. In my household, tools and clothing that helps the children learn hold far greater value than what everyone else is doing. You, dear reader, should realize that your High School days are over. Those who have succeeded in life, we NOT the ones who were average and “went with the pack”. Do not allow that temptation to mold your child’s thought process.
Here’s some great links for the convinced and interested reader;
The joy of sailing on the Britannia. Everyone should have the opportunity to sail. Everyone should be able to enjoy their life on the water, with friends and companionship.
“There is a special moment in sailing after clearing a harbor and setting the sails, when you turn off the engine and feel the boat lean into the wind and silently pick up speed. In that single quiet moment, all the joys of sailing come to me in a rush: freedom from the work-a-day life ashore, the thrill of travel, the challenge of pitting myself against the forces of the sea.”- Stephan G. Regulinski
Ride Your Bike Off a Ramp
This was something that I did when I was a kid, and something that horrified my mother. Never the less, I don’t know of anyone who ever died from it.
A forest bicycle ramp. Obviously a person using this ramp should have some practice and experience first. I have had many friends who would ride their dirt-bikes (motorcycles) in the abandoned strip mines and forests of Western Pennsylvania who had been in accidents, some of which required hospitalization.
It’s a thrill and a brush with danger that is still possible in this too-sterile world. Building and riding off ramps will teach your kids some basic physics and even some construction skills. Let them be kids, for goodness sakes. Don’t end up like that joke-of-a-President Obama who rides a bicycle with helmet and protective padding. Good God!
But…
But… Let’s not leave it at that. Riding a bike through the woods can be a great adventure. I certainly enjoyed it as a kid growing up. Today, in China, bike ride-share has taken the nation by storm, but these bikes are all for urban transport from one location to another.
That is not what I am writing about.
Instead I suggest aggressive bike adventures in the woods. If you are an American, there is no reason why you can’t explore the old trails and country railroad access trails. There is no reason why you can’t ride the deserted industrial sites and explore the “off the beaten” path adventures just waiting for there for you. There is no reason why you can’t ride along long disused railroad tracks, ride up and down abandoned urban complexes, or explore old sections of cracked highway.
“beginning in 2011, Swanson Primary School in New Zealand submitted itself to a university experiment and agreed to suspend all playground rules, allowing the kids to run, climb trees, slide down a muddy hill, jump off swings, and play in a “loose-parts pit” that was like a mini adventure playground.The teachers feared chaos, but in fact what they got was less naughtiness and bullying—because the kids were too busy and engaged to want to cause trouble, the principal said.”-The Overprotected Kid
Which brings up another subject…
Explore an Abandoned Building
Ouch! This is a painful admission. Abandoned sites are dangerous. You can get hurt or more. When I was five I walked on a rusty nail protruding from a board in an abandoned house near our place. I had to get some painful shots as a result.
Never the less, I explored many an abandoned building, and went in and out of local railroad tunnels throughout the Western Pennsylvania hills where I lived. I cannot say that I would promote my children doing so, but if I found out about it, I wouldn’t lambast them either. The key is preparation. The children need to know about the dangers before hand, and then with the basic tools and knowledge just let them explore a bit.
When I was in second grade I learned that if you jumped off the second floor of an abandoned building that your feet and legs would hurt. I learned that old pipes had water, but the water was thick and red with rust. I learned that nails were everywhere and if you weren’t careful you could step on one and need to go to the doctor and get an injection. I learned that broken glass is everywhere in an old building and you could get hurt if your touched it.
There is a sub-culture called urban-exploration where young adults enter into abandoned structures for the purpose of photography and exploration. They do not deface, steal or vandalize. I see nothing wrong with this as long as they are careful and not breaking any laws. I would encourage your children to explore…
A good parent allows the child to learn.
A good parent will rather have the child experience a bruise or two rather than live a life in fear, or worse yet, walk straight into danger unawares. As a child, I was petrified of spiders, snakes, frogs, and bees. Over the years, through close contact, I have learned not to be fearful of these things. Let your child learn early. Equip them with the knowledge to live and survive in an often-unfriendly world.
Climb a Rope
Climbing is one of the crucial physical skills everyone should develop. In America, from what I gather, climbing a rope is something that is frowned upon. As is climbing stairs higher than four feet. Have you looked at what constitutes a playground these days?
Now, if schools won’t provide the opportunity for a little physical exercise, then parents ought to. I am way too old to climb, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t make the effort to show how it is done.
In the old days (about 100 years ago), every community had a playground. These playgrounds consisted of “monkey bars”, swing sets, seesaws, and other simple outdoor childhood entertainments. Typically, they had sand at the bottom of the metal (and often concrete) structures to mitigate any cuts, scrapes or broken bones. There was sand at the bottom of the monkey bars, sand at the bottom and end of the slides, and sand below the swing sets.
Children playing on “monkey bars”. Now, pretty much banned throughout the USA by Democrat well-meaning busybodies.
This continued into my parents’ generation and mine as well. However, over time, the playground equipment became more standardized and mass-produced. By the time the 1980’s rolled around, there were small community organizations forming to make playgrounds “safer”, “better” and (perhaps) more “educational”. These “improvements” resulted in making the playgrounds nice and safe and very boring.
Often centering around a “community activist”. This “activist” often had no source of financial income except what manifested as a result of litigation. Litigation was the fruit that justified their activism. Many “well intentioned” changes were just creative ways for an individual or group of individuals to make money without physical labor. Don’t like my opinion? Prove me wrong.
Old American playground around 1900. Only the strong survived recess, obviously.
For instance, slides became lower. Instead of two stories high during my parents’ generation, and one story high (8 feet) in my generation, they became four feet high. “Monkey Bars” became smaller and lower to the ground. Even seesaws and swings became smaller, or eliminated all together. These “improvements” were welcomed by all the protective parents in their respective communities, or at least by the most vocal ones.
There was only one problem.
The structures were boring and did not challenge the children. They were instead only suitable for mentally retarded and handicapped children, infants under the age of two, and overweight mothers. My gosh! Children should be challenged while in a safe environment, not coddled until they become an adult.
Bubble wrap was intended for the protection of inanimate objects. Not for human beings. Protective attire is necessary for close combat, hazardous work, and working with tools. It should not be necessary for transportation, play or dining.
My experience, in life, has been that once the father leaves (dies or simply abandons the household); the mother tends to clutch on to the child. She becomes hyper protective. If the child is unable to go out on their own, this terrible behavior (and self-serving behavior) by the mother completely messes up the child. They become “retarded” in normal development.
Those of you readers who have accomplished anything know exactly what I speak of.
I strongly believe that children, like cats and puppies, should be encouraged to climb, fight, sing, dance, and do other tasks that involve a moderate level of risk. It is better to climb in a park near your house than on a mountain side hours from a nearby hospital.
All Chinese playgrounds are supervised to allow the children to play in safety.
I was reminded of this by an event in a local park here in China. There were some children being taught repelling and climbing skills by a small group of instructors. It turns out that many malls and store complexes in China have these huge climbing complexes of ropes, and netting that children are permitted to go “nuts” over.
They are very popular here, and are well maintained and monitored. They also offer excursions in local parks. I strongly advise all parents to utilize this resource.
Many Chinese malls have enormous gym arrangements that are supervised for safety. The children can climb and explore. They can climb rope ladders often going up seven or eight stories. They can rappel down ropes and swing from tires hanging by a rope.
These arrangements are a multi-colored mixtures of beams, ropes, hoops, ladders, bars, and free hanging containers. The maze towers upward. Often they are five or six stories high. There is one in GuoMao in the LouHu section of ShenZhen that towers seven stories high. There is one in the JiDa section of ZhuHai that goes all the way up to the fifth floor.
You can watch the children high up, five stories above, walking a balance beam. The only thing saving them is a tethered harness so if they lose their footing, they will not fall (and die). I have seen many a petrified first and second grader carefully exploring this maze of rope and bars. Too bad American parents are too fearful to expose their children to adventure.
In China, safety is always a concern. No one can enter these areas without supervision and protection. For this supervision, there is a small fee that needs to be paid.
The Chinese provide their children with a fine place to climb and explore. Sure there is an element of risk, but there are trained instructors and safety harnesses and helmets provided. Compare that to a modern American playgound. There isn’t any risk. There isn’t any opportunity to explore and have adventure. It is typically in one or two colors, it consists of a few fences and railings, and some stairs to climb up. It is also very safe. It is the opposite of what is available in China.
Safe American playground is suitable for the most incompetent children and retarded idiots that America can produce.
American playgrounds are designed for idiots. They are ridiculously safe. Soon, someone will complain (I am sure a SJW looking for a financial award) about rain, and demanding that they be shaded and protected from the weather. Maybe the metal components are too hard, and so they will now need to be completely padded, and let’s add a paid child monitor to the mix (paid for with your tax dollars).
Notice that there are no swings, seesaws, slides, monkey bars or merry go-rounds. Too dangerous the SWJ’s (busybodies) state.
Use a Pocket Knife
I never gave any consideration to the importance of a pocket knife. I was just something that I thought all boys had and used. That is, until I saw a Chinese boy looking at them in the (underground Zhuhai) mall…
Learning to use a pocket knife with grandpa. What a great opportunity to bond with your children, or grand children, or even great-great grand children. You go out. You sit on the porch. You pick up a twig or stick, and you start carving away.
Shortly afterwards, I read an article titled “The Complete guide to Pocket Knives”. That served as my inspiration, and cracked up a wallet just a little bit…
There’s something manly about your first pocket knife. It doesn’t have to have 100 blades and a corkscrew, but it should have at least two different blades and maybe a file.
My (second) pocket knife was a red Swiss Army knife with maybe five different blade combinations including a can opener, and rasp. It replaced my boy scout knife that I had, as well as just about every other boy in my school, one Christmas. It was a gift from my father.
“One day last year, a citizen on a prairie path in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst came upon a teen boy chopping wood. Not a body. Just some already-fallen branches. Nonetheless, the onlooker called the cops.Officers interrogated the boy, who said he was trying to build a fort for himself and his friends. A local news site reports the police then “took the tools for safekeeping to be returned to the boy’s parents.”-The Fragile Generation
What? A boy cannot cut up wood? What planet ware we on? And the Chicago police promptly relied him of the tools and escorted him to the safety of his parents? This is friggin’ unbelievable!
“Elsewhere in America, preschoolers at the Learning Collaborative in Charlotte, North Carolina, were thrilled to receive a set of gently used playground equipment. But the kids soon found out they would not be allowed to use it, because it was resting on grass, not wood chips. “It’s a safety issue,” explained a day care spokeswoman. Playing on grass is against local regulations.”-The Fragile Generation
Playing on the grass is against safety regulations!
Let me repeat as an underline; “Playing on the grass is against safety regulations.”
This is America.
“And then there was the query that ran in Parents magazine a few years back: “Your child’s old enough to stay home briefly, and often does. But is it okay to leave her and her playmate home while you dash to the dry cleaner?”Absolutely not, the magazine averred: “Take the kids with you, or save your errand for another time.” After all, “you want to make sure that no one’s feelings get too hurt if there’s a squabble.”-The Fragile Generation
By all means, protect the child’s feelings…(!)
“The principle here is simple: This generation of kids must be protected like none other. They can’t use tools, they can’t play on grass, and they certainly can’t be expected to work through a spat with a friend.And this, it could be argued, is why we have “safe spaces” on college campuses and millennial's missing adult milestones today. We told a generation of kids that they can never be too safe—and they believed us.“-The Fragile Generation
Ah, it’s a generation of wusses. But, my children will not be part of it. They are taught how to [1] measure the unknown, [2] put aside fears, and [3] utilize tools to accomplish their goals.
Pocket knives are great tools, and all children, boys and girls should learn to use one. Nothing is better than using it to cut up an apple, or pear. Use it to cut away branches to make a sling-shot, or make a fine walking stick (a teenage necessity).
If you give your child a knife with different blades, please remember to show them how each blade is used. Do not simply expect them to understand it by osmosis. (Like my father did.) Show them the screw driver, and the can-opener blade, and let them open a can or two of pork and beans and let it cook on a campfire once opened. The corkscrew won’t come in handy until they are in college.. heh, heh.
Knives have many benefits. This is an important point. Having a knife, being able to explore without fear, making a fire, and being able to climb a rope are things that all of our distant relatives did when they were children. These were things that they were allowed and permitted to do in a Free Society. Today, America is NOT a free society. It is a prison, increasingly populated with people and children bread to act and behave as cattle-serfs. I refuse to let my children become cattle for the oligarchy. Moo.
This being stated, I do not advise knives being brought into American schools. The days of cub scouts having a pocket knife and bringing it into class is long, long over. Incidentally, a cub-scout pocket knife would be an ideal knife for your child int his regard. I had one when I was a boy. I had it for a while until it was replaced by a red (maybe fake) Swiss army knife.
“As a kid in the 1970’s, almost every boy carried a pocket knife. It wasn’t a weapon or for showing off, unless it was new. Sometimes you had to actually cut something and scissors just wouldn’t do.When you were bored, you’d whittle a stick or a piece of wood with it. I have a simple walking stick carved by my great grandfather, and I recall the mystique of watching and helping as he sharpened his knife. In my keepsake box, I have a pocket knife of my father and grandfather. Interestingly, along with a Confederate $5 bank note, Lincoln had one in his pocket the night he was shot.”-CR Smyth
You do not need to get the biggest, or the most elaborate knife. A simple knife is the best thing. make sure that it is rugged. Children are difficult on things. Make sure that it has two to three blades that the child can master. Make sure that it fits well in his hand, and that it is beautiful enough so that he will want to carry it around with him.
Explore a Construction Site
China is filled with construction sites. While I don’t advocate kids climbing about on the 60th floor of some new skyscraper, many build sites offer great opportunity for exploration and adventure. That is fun. Moreover, dear reader, fun and play is HOW children learn.
While I was growing up, the subdivision I lived in was still under construction, so there were always plenty of partially-built houses to explore. After the construction workers left for the day, my boyhood pals and I would cruise down the street on our bikes to check out their work and poke around the skeletal structures rising from the muddy lots. The ones that were the most fun to explore were the two-story houses. You’d have to climb up the railing-less, unfinished stairs and when you got to the top, you were able to walk to the edge of the second story’s framing and throw stuff down on your buds. What great fun!
One of the first things I learned, I was in second grade at the time, was that if you jumped from the second floor to the ground, it hurt! Ouch!
In America today, kids are not permitted “free range” play. They are constantly under observation and supervision. They are coddled and are not given the opportunity to learn some “hard knocks”. I consider this a very troubling situation, and I do not allow my children to be coddled in this way. It wasn’t always this way. Children used to be permitted to play.
Here is a great write up on why public playgrounds became so sterile;
“In 1978, a toddler named Frank Nelson made his way to the top of a 12-foot slide in Hamlin Park in Chicago, with his mother, Debra, a few steps behind him. The structure, installed three years earlier, was known as a “tornado slide” because it twisted on the way down, but the boy never made it that far. He fell through the gap between the handrail and the steps and landed on his head on the asphalt.A year later, his parents sued the Chicago Park District and the two companies that had manufactured and installed the slide. Frank had fractured his skull in the fall and suffered permanent brain damage. He was paralyzed on his left side and had speech and vision problems. His attorneys noted that he was forced to wear a helmet all the time to protect his fragile skull.The Nelsons’ was one of a number of lawsuits of that era that fueled a backlash against potentially dangerous playground equipment.Theodora Briggs Sweeney, a consumer advocate and safety consultant from John Carroll University, near Cleveland, testified at dozens of trials and became a public crusader for playground reform. “The name of the playground game will continue to be Russian roulette, with the child as unsuspecting victim,” Sweeney wrote in a 1979 paper published in Pediatrics. She was concerned about many things—the heights of slides, the space between railings, the danger of loose S-shaped hooks holding parts together—but what she worried about most was asphalt and dirt. In her paper, Sweeney declared that lab simulations showed children could die from a fall of as little as a foot if their head hit asphalt, or three feet if their head hit dirt.A federal-government report published around that time found that tens of thousands of children were turning up in the emergency room each year because of playground accidents.As a result, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1981 published the first “Handbook for Public Playground Safety,” a short set of general guidelines—the word guidelines was in bold, to distinguish the contents from requirements—that should govern the equipment. For example, no component of any equipment should form angles or openings that could trap any part of a child’s body, especially the head.To turn up the pressure, Sweeney and a fellow consultant on playground safety, Joe Frost, began cataloguing the horrors that befell children at playgrounds.Between them, they had testified in almost 200 cases and could detail gruesome specifics—several kids who had gotten their heads trapped or crushed by merry-go-rounds; one who was hanged by a jump rope attached to a deck railing; one who was killed by a motorcycle that crashed into an unfenced playground; one who fell while playing football on rocky ground. In a paper they wrote together, Sweeney and Frost called for “immediate inspection” of all equipment that had been installed before 1981, and the removal of anything faulty. They also called for playgrounds nationwide to incorporate rubber flooring in crucial areas.In January 1985, the Chicago Park District settled the suit with the Nelsons. Frank Nelson was guaranteed a minimum of $9.5 million. Maurice Thominet, the chief engineer for the Park District, told the Chicago Tribune that the city would have to “take a cold, hard look at all of our equipment” and likely remove all the tornado slides and some other structures. At the time, a reader wrote to the paper:“Do accidents happen anymore? … Can a mother take the risk of taking her young child up to the top of a tornado slide, with every good intention, and have an accident? Who is responsible for a child in a park, the park district or the parent? … Swings hit 1-year-old children in the head, I’m sure with dire consequences in some instances. Do we eliminate swings?”But these proved to be musings from a dying age. Around the time the Nelson settlement became public, park departments all over the country began removing equipment newly considered dangerous, partly because they could not afford to be sued, especially now that a government handbook could be used by litigants as proof of standards that parks were failing to meet.In anticipation of lawsuits, insurance premiums skyrocketed.As the Tribune reader had intuited, the cultural understanding of acceptable risk began to shift, such that any known risk became nearly synonymous with hazard.Over the years, the official consumer-product handbook has gone through several revisions; it is now supplemented by a set of technical guidelines for manufacturers. More and more, the standards are set by engineers and technical experts and lawyers, with little meaningful input from “people who know anything about children’s play,” says William Weisz, a design consultant who has sat on several committees overseeing changes to the guidelines.The handbook includes specific prescriptions for the exact heights, slopes, and other angles of nearly every piece of equipment. Rubber flooring or wood chips are virtually required; grass and dirt are “not considered protective surfacing because wear and environmental factors can reduce their shock absorbing effectiveness.”“Reasonable risks are essential for children’s healthy development,” says Joe Frost, an influential safety crusader.It is no longer easy to find a playground that has an element of surprise, no matter how far you travel. Kids can find the same slides at the same heights and angles as the ones in their own neighborhood, with many of the same accessories.I live in Washington, D.C., near a section of Rock Creek Park, and during my first year in the neighborhood, a remote corner of the park dead-ended into what our neighbors called the forgotten playground. The slide had wooden steps, and was at such a steep angle that kids had to practice controlling their speed so they wouldn’t land too hard on the dirt. More glorious, a freestanding tree house perched about 12 feet off the ground, where the neighborhood kids would gather and sort themselves into the pack hierarchies I remember from my childhood—little kids on the ground “cooking” while the bigger kids dominated the high shelter.But in 2003, nearly a year after I moved in, the park service tore down the tree house and replaced all the old equipment with a prefab playground set on rubber flooring. Now the playground can hold only a toddler’s attention, and not for very long. The kids seem to spend most of their time in the sandbox; maybe they like it because the neighbors have turned it into a mini adventure playground, dropping off an odd mixing spoon or colander or broken-down toy car.”-The Overprotected Kid
Well-wishing “do gooders” “busy-bodies” with a profit angle and political influence ruined the educational benefits of pay for nearly two generations of American children.
There is not too much that I can do about it, except for what I do with my children. And, my dear reader, kindly note that they are permitted to play in a fundamentally non-sterile environment.
Shoot a Slingshot
In a time not too long ago, the archetypal boy had a handmade slingshot dangling from the back of his pocket. Today, most boys have never touched one. Which is a shame because slingshots can provide hours of fun and they’re a great way to introduce firearm safety to your young ones (e.g., only point at what you plan on hitting). Yes, you could just buy your kid a fancy manufactured slingshot on Amazon, but how about exposing them to even more positive danger by letting them make their own? They’ll learn how to handle a saw safely and get to practice some knife wielding skills to boot.
However, depending where you live, possession of a slingshot might be problematic.
Some busybody might call the ATF and insist that your child’s slingshot meets the all the regulations for a projectile weapon, such as barrel length, whether or not it has a “bump stock”, magazine size, and whether or not it appear paramilitary.
If you live in in an area where they shut down lemonade stands run by five year olds, then you might want to reconsider the activities that you permit your child to participate in. If you live in the USA, I would suggest moving to a place where there are not such idiotic regulations, like Communist China or Thailand. Here you can do anything you want within reason.
Georgia Girl Scout Troop’s Cookie Booth Shut Down By Police (VIDEO)
Here is an American police officer frisking a child on the television show “Cops” showing how important it is for Americans to obey the law.
This is Part 1 of a Two Part Post
This is part one of a two part post. You can go to the other post HERE. This post is rather long. I have exceeded the “industry norm” (Google SEO advisement) by a significant word count. As is my prerogative. You can visit the rest of this post HERE.
Conclusions, “Take Aways” and FAQ can be found on the second post.
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 second of a series of post on Chinese cute girls and Chinese culture.
You know, China is a very, very big nation. Many times I am asked what it is like. Honestly, there is so much to say, that I end up going on some tangent or the other. However, one thing that I noticed when talking to other men, is that what they really want to know is what Chinese girls are like…
Wow! That is in itself a huge subject.
Here I try to compose a series of micro-videos of Chinese girls taking little vignettes of themselves being cute, dancing, eating, and doing girl things. It is in no way comprehensive, but it should give you a general idea of what Chinese girls are like. It will also help you to get a better idea of what China is like as well.
Here we look at ten micro-videos…
Suburb Section of a city
Pi Feng. ( 牌坊 memorial archway). A memorial gate or memorial archway.
These are structures that can be found in just about any city in China. Even my wife cannot explain to me what they mean. However, fundamentally, they are representative of a gate or an area that commemorates some person or event in the distant past.
The gates typically lead to an area, for which (I as an American) identify as a suburb or sectional variation of a regional community.
Here we have a cute Chinese gal singing and showing off her rocking body. Note the “normal” Chinese people behind her. Note the woman walking her dog. What? She isn’t eating it, like what is promoted in the UK press. Oh my God! Why this must be propaganda! The nerve of me!
Notice that many Chinese drive modern and and contemporary vehicles. You can see some of this in the video. You can also see a “ride-share” bicycle at the side of the gate structure. This is normal and everyday phenomenon in China. Everyone rides “rent a bicycle” in China. They come in different colors. For example, OFO is yellow, and Hello Bike is blue.
By the way, she looks rockin’ in her nice cute top and cute cut-off jean shorts. I’d love to have a nice hot-pot with her and spend some time singing in a KTV. I’d bet that she would be interesting as Hell.
Mall Platform
Here we have a cute girl dancing to a song in front of a platform in a mall. In China, the malls always have events. Sometime the events are product sales. At other times the events are sponsored events that are designed to bring people in. Like children, and photo opportunities.
Here we have a girl dancing in front of a mall presentation in support of a dance or similar organization. In malls they always have one or two open areas that are used to set up stages and other events. We used to have this in the United States when malls existed. You might have a fashion show one week, and then a dance troupe a week later.
Here, the girl is dancing in front of just such a presentation screen. This is “Deesha”, which I gather is a female dance group or school. They are pretty darn common in China. In fact, I have two on my floor in my office building. They dance to a lot of KPOP, and CPOP.
She is pretty darn cute. She really is. The man in her life is a really, really lucky guy.
Arabic Culture
Typically, since the Chinese Muslims from the Western sections of the nation has been involved in all kinds of “radical” anti-society events, most Chinese limit their exposure to Chinese Muslims. Never the less, the Muslim culture has permeated into Chinese society.
Here we have a girl dancing in some sort of Islamic dance club or some such thing. They have them. Not so much in my city, but they do exist.
Rock that stomach girl. You have it going on.
Apartment Parking Garage
Underneath ever single building in China is a huge network of tunnels and parking garages. This video is pretty much typical of an underground parking garage. I like the ability for her to dance and be herself in this environment. It is exactly so typical. I have seen this environment a million times before. Any American expert in China who is unaware of this aspect of China is a fucking liar, and knows jack-shit about China.
Unlike the USA, the parking garages in China are well-lit, with nicely painted walls and clear well defined pipe and utility access. One thing that surprised me when I went back to the states for a visit was just how friggin’ dungy and dirty American parking garages were. They were bare cement, often sooty. The lighting was sparse and it was typically a very dim environment.
Not so in China.
This is what just about any parking garage looks like in China. It doesn’t matter if it is up North or in the deep South. All parking garages in China are well lit, nicely taken cared for and safe.
For the purposes of comparison, let’s have a look at a typical American parking garage. As stated previously, it is almost like American parking garages are an afterthought. You will spend thousands of dollars on your car, but you end up parking them in these dingy and dismal spaces.
Typical American parking garage. It is typically poorly lit. The walls are often unpainted cement and never, ever washed. The floor might have parking spaces and an identification number, but that is about the extent of it.
Here’s another girl in yet another micro-video in a different parking garage…
Mall Platform #2
OK. Here we have another girl dancing in front of a mall platform. I can’t help but get a smile when I see this chick do her thing. She reminds me so… so very much of all the girls that I know in China. They are all so intrinsically happy. OMG… Oh, My God. They have nothing to worry about.
They do not have to report to the IRS. They do not have to make sure that they meet the requirements of the FCC or eat that meets FDA requirements. They do not have to worry about ICE, the CIA, or the NSA. They are so very free.
It is this attitude and this freedom from worry about the government that I have found so refreshing when I moved to China. In the United States, was I drove the car I would always look down at my speedometer when I drove past a police car. Here in China, I never need to do so, or are even concerned. The police here are friendly.
Ah, she is wearing the little white shoes so popular in China; xiao bei xie.
I know, I know, I have such a jaded view of the United States. Well, maybe you would too if the government seized everything you owned, closed your bank accounts, and destroyed any hope and change to build up a life from the ashes that remain. So I am just calling it as I see it.
I never see any American girls randomly dancing on the streets or sidewalks. When was the last time that you saw this happen spontaneously? Yet it happens in China. It happens in Brazil. It happens in Cambodia. What’s the disconnect? Maybe it has something to do with the people who are in charge of the American government…
The rulers of the United States. Here are the people who operate the enormous bureaucracy in the United States. You know, the ones that say one things and do the other. John Brennan. James Clapper, and their ilk.
They look like “fun” people, huh?
In her bedroom…
You know, you can kind of tell a lot about a girl by looking at her bedroom. Typically, and I do not know why this is so, unmarried girls tend to have a very messy bedroom. Well, at least in the states they do.
This girl seems to be Americanized. I would guess that she is an ABC (American-born-Chinese). If you look at the ceiling you will see that the house has central heating and cooling. This is unusual in China. Most of Asia has individual air conditioning units in each room. These AC units are called Kong Tiao which is what you call them in China.
She has a nice oval face with a small cute pointy chin. This is considered very attractive in China. The only thing going against her is that her skin color is a little dark. She almost looks Spanish.
It looks like she has carpeting or wood panels on the floor. In China, most houses do not have carpet. It is a cultural thing. The Chinese like a solid tiled marble or granite surface, often white. They keep it immaculate. In the United States, most houses (unless the house is over fifty years old) is a simple particle-board floor covered by carpet.
You have to admit she is a very attractive young lady. I also like the way that she has manipulated the video. It is a funky joy to watch her dance.
Living Room
This girl also looks like an ABC. However, the home is genuine Chinese. The floor is tiled marble, and the curtains and decorations are very typical for China. Judging from the trees outside here window she is either on the third or fourth floor.
In China, the apartment buildings are set up with a basic floor plan. Typically the third floor has huge floor layouts and wide open porches. The largest houses in the building would be on the third floor. The reason for this is simple. The building is typically divided into towers. Often two, three or more. Each tower has it’s own elevator. So, that way, there really isn’t a serious need to wait a long time for the elevator to arrive. Especially if the building has sixty or so floors in it.
So, a house on the third floor would not be in one of the towers. Instead, it would be on one of the wide platforms at the base of the tower. It would be large, and spacious. The porch would be enormous.
What a fun girl.
Typical day in Guangzhou
I like this little micro-video. The view, the day, and the overall feeling has been duplicated a thousand times here in Southern China. It doesn’t matter if you are in Dongguang, Guangzhou, Zhongshan, or Forshan this is what it looks like. You have a wide sky with clouds. You have mountains in the distance and skyscrapers dotted here, there and everywhere.
This gal is dancing on her balcony in her house I would assume. This is all very typical. Many of the products that are exported from China to the United States are made in this area.
I suppose that if you read American or British news reports you will hear stories of nets being placed to keep workers from jumping off the buildings, rampant abuse of child labor, and working people until they collapse from exhaustion. Well, that’s all nonsense. It’s just propaganda that is fed to Americans (and Brits) to keep us living in our isolation bubble. Here’s some links to the propaganda that I am referring to…
This video is what it is really like. Not that every worker is attractive and dancing on a balcony, but that the reality that is spoon fed to us in the West is far, far removed from what is actually going on.
She is on a typical porch. It has a glass balustrade with stainless steel or powder-coated profiles. This is very common throughout China.
You go girl. I could watch you dance all day long.
Look at the view. You see all those trees? If you read Western media, you might be under the impression that China doesn’t have any trees, just smoke, smog, grit and dust. Check out all that nice water, and look at the surrounding buildings. Why, I thought that all the buildings in China were crumbling and that the infrastructure was all falling down.
How can this be?
Walking on the street
Ah, my favorite time of the day is dusk. Here, in the Southern part of China, the temperatures are very hot, and the humidity is very high. When it gets around dusk, people go outside to dance, eat, and chill out with their friends. China is filled with activity. Here is a typical scene.
It looks like it was filmed in a small town or community. The buildings are very, very low by Chinese standards. But, it is China. It has the handicapped-disabled-assist-pavement tiles. It has the standard recyclable twin trash bins. The cars all have Chinese license plates.
The family-owned and run businesses are all open. And I am sure that you could smell the wonderful aromas wafting down the street. While not shown in the video, I am sure that tables are being set up and those cheap plastic chairs are being placed around them for people to sit down, have a frosty beer and place an order.
These girls are very typical.
The girls are wearing tight jeans and low open shoes. They are wearing midriff baring tops, and have nice long and straight hair that all Chinese women possess. They are carrying smart phones, which are probably either iPhones or Huawei. If I were to take a guess, they might on the way to have some seafood (Hai Xian), or maybe a hot pot. The evening BBQ (Xiao Kou) won’t get started until the sun goes down. Maybe around 9PM.
Notice that the street is tree-lined. In China it is considered very important to have green areas everywhere. At times, to me as an American, this seems ridiculous. Ever two months or so, the Park team of workers is tearing up the grass and re-planting the trees. It’s almost like they treat them like furniture instead of trees. never the less, it is great to have all the flowers and trees along side the road.
Here is a video of a cute chick walking in a parking lot. There is a lot that can be learned here. For starters, notice the trees all have these poles to hold them up. the reason is simple. In the Southern sections of China we have typhoons. When they hit they can wipe out a forest in a few hours. The poles help keep the trees in place when the torrential wind and rain hits.
Notice the ancient wall. This wall looks like it is quite old. Maybe at least fifty years old. Behind it is a tree filled enclosure. Walls in China tell you a lot about the history of the region. If the wall is part of a new building then it would consist of a nice well made wall with wrought and welded gates. The fencing would be welded, cleaned and PPT coated. Older buildings would not have this, and the walls would be distressed concrete, often with some well-rusted barbed wire or even glass shards.
Also take notice of the parking spots. They are paved differently than the road surface. In fact, many parking places outside are made with these funny lattice-shaped brick tiles. This is so that grass can grow up inside and offer a nice semi-lawn on which the cars can park upon.
You can also notice that the lawn is landscaped and well maintained. It is very cheap in China for manual labor. The costs to maintain lawns and gardens are very cheap and inexpensive. Thus, most areas in China are well-maintained, clean and well-tended.
Bonus
There are many reasons to love China. I think that China is awesome. I love the food. I love that they are trying to do something about the environment. I like that they have declared war on corruption in office, and have even set up task teams of “Corruption Police” that ferrets out bad guys and executes them on the spot. And, of course, I love the girls.
Here’s a hypnotic bonus video. Enjoy.
Conclusion
Everyone likes to look at pretty girls. Even other pretty girls. I, as a man, think that pretty girls liven up our lives and make it more interesting and fun. I would not mind taking any one of these girls out and having a nice meal or playing around in a park or some other place. Having good companionship, great conversation, and enjoying a wonderful meal would be awesome with any of these women.
Today it is difficult to see what other places are like, if you are an American. Our news is heavily propagandized.
Those on the liberal side have the impression that China eats dogs, is full of poor waifs that sell their bodies for sex, and is full of dirty smog filled air.
Those on the conservative side, have the impression that China is a great war-mongered beast who wants to take over the Pacific, that they are ruthless businessmen, and want to keep their citizens imprisoned in a communist gulag.
Neither impression is correct. They are both terrible distortions.
China is a huge nation, bigger geographically than the United States, and with an enormous population far larger than America’s. In fact, there are more people in China that speak English than there are Americans in the entire world.
They live life. They work. They study hard. They try to do their best. They have fun. They raise families. They are, in many ways, like “old fashioned” Americans around 1950. While America has moved toward a progressive socialist paradise ruled by an oligarchy, China has moved in a different direction. It has moved toward free-market policies originating out of a central government. China is not at all what we think it is.
This post is my little way to help introduce China to the readership.
Take Aways
Chinese women are attractive.
Many of the buildings in China are new, and have a modern supporting infrastructure.
Chinese people like to dance, sing, and have fun with their friends.
Chinese women DO NOT look like pre-adolescent children. (Here’s a nod to the idiots in Arkansas who were absolutely convinced that Chinese women look like little pre-adolescent girls.)
FAQ
Q: Why do you only have beautiful Chinese girls? What about being more diverse and inclusive? Why do you objectify girls?
A: Well, for one, this article is about attractive Chinese girls. It wouldn’t do to have non-Chinese girls in it. Nor would it be appropriate to have men, homosexuals, fat and ugly girls, children or LGBT creatures in the article.
If you want to purge beauty out of your life, no problem. Go ahead and do it. Just like American beauty pageants are no longer about beauty. Just like American airlines have purged themselves of age and beauty standards. Just like race-cars have purged themselves of attractive women. But you won’t see that in China.
Now here, I like to surround myself with beauty. I like to surround myself with things that I like and I love. That includes dogs, cats, pizza, bacon, tomatoes, friends and of course my loved ones.
Q: Why do you use micro-videos in this post?
A: I think it does a nice job of giving a snapshot of what China is like. Many of the videos have Chinese songs. They all feature beautiful Chinese girls in China doing things that beautiful Chinese girls like to do. Of course, if you would rather go to you-tube, go ahead. You won’t find very many Chinese girls there. You-tube is banned in China because it, like Facebook, Google, and Tumblr, all collect user information and pipe that information directly to the NSA for American government’s use.
Q: Why do you think these girls are beautiful?
A: Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. What constitutes for beauty in China is different from what is beautiful elsewhere. I chose these videos because I happen to think the girls are cute, beautiful or attractive. Of course, if you disagree with me, you can leave.
Now, you shouldn’t be too upset there are some rocking girls in the United States. You should see them in sweatpants. My Lord!
You can tell how much BS is in the American news media when they report as “experts” in China, yet fail to mention even the most basic trends. You go on CNN, MSNBC, WaPo, and the Huffington-Puffington Post and it’s all about Trump, and China tariffs. Article after article is reporting on the troubles about the tariffs. They report all kinds of nonsense. They report as if they are experts. Oh, the world is falling apart! Oh, China has fallen to it’s knees! Oh, my goodness!
Well it isn’t. The world is not falling apart. China is bowing down, and the people are not shuffling back into their state-mandated hovels.
China takes the tariff issue seriously, but they are not killing themselves in mass suicides over it. You do know that exports from China to the United States isn’t as large as Americans think. While the perception is that it is maybe 80% of everything they export, the truth is that it is much smaller than that. Exports to America from China is actually around 11% of all Chinese exports.
You’ve got to be an idiot to believe some of the nonsense that is written in the American mass media. The news that Americans read is all just packaged propaganda used to manipulate. That’s it.
Anyways, let’s talk about what is actually going on in China. Yes. The “real deal”. Don’t you know…
The Dance Craze
If you travel to China, and only spend one week in China, you would be made aware of certain trends and behaviors that are totally absent from the “experts” in the American main-steam media. You might be exposed to state of the art subway systems that look like they came out of a science fiction movie. You might ride in a high-speed train that looks like a rocketship. You might be amazed how everyone uses WeChat to pay for things.
For the last few months, China has been “on fire” with a dance craze that has swept the nation. Bet ya didn’t know that! Did you?
Girls all over China are dancing to this stupid Chinese pop song.
I think that they most especially like the part where he goes all “Tarzan”. and the girls duplicate it by leaning back and shaking their chests out.
Boys, girls, adults, children, and maybe even pet dogs can all dance to this stupid and silly song.
et, it has taken the nation by storm. Really! Who’d figure?
The Chinese youth are going crazy over this song. Who would figure. Eh?
If you cannot see the embedded player, then please go to this link to see a compilation of crazed Chinese fans dancing to this stupid song…
It’s sort of like how the “Gangham Style” video and song took over the United States, and late the world. Only instead of a fat Korean, we have pretty Chinese girls dancing to it…friggin’ everywhere.
Where to Watch
I first became aware of this craze by the 抖音短视频 website. You can get the APP online HERE. It consists of home made mini videos all to Chinese (and some Western) pop music. Imagine a twitter version of movies. Here is a scene from the MV of the music video. It is pretty silly with a bunch of Chinese boys and girls dancing about and giving Tarzan yells.
The funny thing is this; if you just go to any mall in the city and give a Tarzan yell, you will be answered by girls and boys shaking their chests and yelling AH-ya-ya-ah….
Regarding the application, often the movies only last ten seconds or so. All in all, it is a great way to see what China is like, and what the people are like. You see it all. From bedrooms to state parks, to city-scapes to cute girls dancing.I got hooked watching dog and cat videos. You know the Chinese really love their pets.
Later, I became hooked on watching cute Chinese girls doing cute things. Sure beats fat negro American women shaking their enormously fat asses that passes for entertainment in America today.
Anyways, I find it a welcome respite form the non-stop barrage of bullshit narrative from the American mainstream media about China. I get on this APP and within a minute, I can see ten videos made by normal and average Chinese from all over China.
You look at the people. You look at their clothes. You look at the roads and infrastructure. You look at the backgrounds, and the people and what they are doing… It sure beats the nonsense out of silicon valley and Washington D.C.
First Taste
Here is just a sample of the kinds of things that you will see in China today. This is the song that is driving all the girls crazy…
I have been having trouble posting the embedded player for the video. So All that I can post is fan videos. You can watch the video yourself. Here are various direct links;
One of the things that the American media likes to keep secret is how human the Chinese people are. In many, many ways, they are exactly like Americans. At least they really seem to relate to us. They think that the television show “Friends” is real, and they all yearn to become friends with Americans. They like to have fun. They love to fish, play basketball, and just have fun with each other eating and drinking.
The American deep (state) swamp wants to keep everything two dimensional. To them, they picture the world outside of the United States as a ugly dark and frightening place. They make cardboard cutouts of people outside. They make two-dimensional characters of them. It’s easier to control us, if our rulers (owners) keep us living in a dark fear.
But, you know, that’s really not the way it is.
The Chinese love to dance and have a good time. They are just like us. Only on a much grander scale…
The Chinese are just like us. We are both human. We have needs and desires. We feel emotion; sadness and happiness. We fall in love, we raise families and take care of our elders. We work hard, and try to do our best. We like to have fun. Some of us can sing, and some cannot. We we accept everyone anyways. The Chinese are just like us…
They like to pay with their children, and they love their pets. You all probably aren’t aware of that, with the Western oligarchy in full control of the American media. All the Western media ever talks about is how dogs are eaten in some rural villages in the back hills of remote China.
They play this narrative over and over and over and over. It’s all a manufactured lie.
The Chinese love their pets.
In fact some of the largest industries in China are those that cater to pets. In China the pets are treated like little humans. I really mean it. They have dog socks, dog underwear. They have dog sweaters, eyeglasses, back packs and special nutrition dog-food. It is not unusual to have a family spend more money on their dog than on their own children.
China is the largest economy in the world. If the trade issues can be resolved between Donald Trump and Xi Ping, Americans and their counterparts in China can thrive and prosper.
I see a future where the Chinese and Americans both work diligently towards a mutual agreeable goal. Everyone works. Everyone profits. Americans goods are sold to China, and Chinese goods are sold to Americans. Only this time, instead of the corrupt oligarchy benefiting, it will be everyday Americans who benefit. Trust me, the Chinese want this.
I believe Donald Trump wants this. I believe his followers want this. There is only one problem. The deep state, and all their globalist minions; the American media, the corrupt DOJ and FBI, and the rich software billionaires don’t.
The Chinese middle class has been growing over the last four decades. It is not what Americans think at all. Much of that growth has been the direct result of piss-poor trade policies that benefit the wealthiest few in the Untied States.
That era has ended.
Now it is a time when Americans can market our fine (and superior) products to a willing and welcome Chinese market. What are we waiting for? Nothing, just until the oligarchs in the (swamp) Washington D.C. retires or steps out of the way.
They will do EVERYTHING in their ability to stop it. They do not care, and if it take world war III to realize their dreams, they will cause it.
Don’t believe me? Just read their mouth-pieces; the New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN.
We are now at a threshold where Americans and Chinese can both profit handsomely by throwing all the evil oligarchs to the wayside. Instead of them getting a trillion dollar profit each year, now it’s time for each American to profit.
The money will flow in copus amounts. We just have to realize who is siphoning the money, and how much they are getting away with. China has a lot to offer Americans.
For instance, consider the synchronized night scapes in all the Chinese cities. You haven’t heard about that have you? Nope, the oligarchs don’t want you to be aware. Just manufacture a cardboard evil villain and demand higher taxes from Americans. It’s the same old playbook. But we Americans have transcended this narrative.
We know better.
Summary
With China not only possessing the bulk of the world population, and the vast bulk of the world’s manufacturing, it is a true shame that American media treats it as some kind of two-dimensional fiction.
Most Americans are unaware of this. Somehow we think that things are still manufactured in Germany, that all those cars with British logos are still make in the UK, and that all the cameras and computers are made in South Korea and Japan.
Nope. They are all made in China.
Surprise! American propaganda leads to keep Americans ignorant and afraid. make no mistake. The purpose of the American main stream media is to keep Americans stupid, ignorant and living in fear. We are told that China is a poor third-world nation. It is one that is filled with barefoot and ignorant workers that reside in mud-hut villages all over China.
That’s the narrative.
It is a complete fabrication. It is nonsense. Sure the rural Chinese aren’t living in McMansions, but their homes aren’t mud huts either. Yes they have electricity, plumbing, indoor water (and water heaters) high-speed internet and paved roads.
In fact, I wish Pennsylvania would take a few lessons from China. They have seemed to get rid of their pothole problems. Pennsylvania is still forming yet another “Blue Ribbon” committee to look into the issue…
I personally believe that once we know the true reality, that we can decide what is best for us and our families. We do not need some “expert” in Washington D.C. telling us what we can do, some “expert” in silicon-valley censoring what we read, and some “expert” in New York city deciding what we can read and watch.
I believe that we can do this by ourselves and alone. The “manufactured reality” out of Washington D.C. and Silicon-Valley has become so outrageous and distorted that it in no way resembles anything even resembling the truth. We need to acknowledge this and embrace it.
For Pete’s Sake, if the “experts” on China are totally oblivious to something as common as a song and a dance that even five-year-olds know, than you should be aware of the disconnect. The disconnect is dangerous.
If we permit it to continue…people will die. Pay attention. Know who is trying to manipulate you and why. Question everything. Stop permitting those in power to take your money, repackage it into a fear-based narrative.
Move forward and think of everyone as your friends who want to work with you so they… and YOU… together can profit. Not some rich oligarch who already has amassed enough trillions of your your money. It’s time to put them to bed and move forward with our lives.
John McClain
Oh, and a special call out for one of the most evil people in Washington D.C. war monger extraordinaire John McClain. Hey guy, having a brain tumor the size of a baseball is no excuse to start World War III. I don’t give a damn what your fucked up rationalizations are. People are people. They are not some numbers that can be erased on a spreadsheet. They have feelings, life, relationships and family. What the Hell is the matter with you?
Sources
Of course, you can go directly to the Chinese video websites and view the dance routines for yourself. There might even be one or two on you-tube. That is, once they get past the censorship army in silicon-valley. American progressive censorship is terrible. It really is… Yeah. Y
ou are not going to find any of this on the sterile American Politically-Correct scrubbed video websites. Hey dudes, maybe you need… NEED to look elsewhere for your video entertainment. There are many, many options.
Don’t accept the bland life that is provided to you. Maybe Alex Jones is banned on Facebook, and You-Tube. No problem. Go elsewhere…
#1. Youku.com 优酷网YouKu
At home, I subscribe to YouKu. I use it for my streaming music needs. If I want to hear a song I like, I do a lyric search and then have YouKu pull it up for me. Like all these sites, they are in Chinese, but you can pretty much navigate by trial and error.
Everything is free to watch. There are only a few embedded ads. There is a very high playback speed, and very little delay.
#2. Tudou.com 土豆网Toudou
Toudou is the second most well-known video website in China. Toudou is where most Chinese people buy their online purchases. You can get everything from makeup to groceries here. The site features personal video sharing services, and also owns many other video channels like movies, dramas, music and so on.
#3. Cntv.cn 中国网络电视台CCTV
This is the government very own video streaming service. It’s sort of a Chinese video version of NPR. It is owned by China Central Television (CCTV), CNTV is the official website of the national TV station. The site hosts many channels and its video channels include live TV, TV drama and documentary. Users can enjoy lots of exclusive video contents on the site.
#4. tv.kankan.com 迅雷看看kankan
Xunlei Kankan is a video-on-demand service. If you are trying to find American movies but are unable to because of paywalls, and money that you have to pay at Netflix, go here. they will be free. Oh, and did I say…free????
The site provides high-quality content including up-to-date Chinese dramas and lots of movies from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and the USA.
#5. Tv.sohu.com 搜狐视频sohu
Sohu TV is owned by Sohu company, one of the biggest Internet portals in China. Everyone knows about Sohu. What? You didn’t? Well let me educate you.
The site provides countless video contents such as high quality movies, TV shows, self-produced dramas, variety shows, music TV and cartoons. You might well be surprised in the selection.
#6. Letv.com 乐视网letv
Hailed as China’s Hulu, Letv.com owns more than 100,000 episodes of TV series and more than 5,000 films. This is pretty much where my wife likes to go to watch her soap operas and the American series such as “Two Broke Girls” and “Sopranos”.
#7. Iqiyi.com 爱奇艺qiyi
I used to have a VIP membership for QIYI. It only cost something like 198 RMB for a year ($25). As a VIP you get a very large selection of movies. Their American movie selection is pretty good. It’s sort of like Netflix in that regard, but instead of paying $5 for a movie, you pay $25 for unlimited movies for a year.
It is owned by Baidu, China’s largest search engine. The decision to offer a paid subscription is a direct result of negotiations with Hollywood. You must recall, Hollywood demanded that the Chinese government stop piracy of Western movies.
Thus, Iqiyi describes itself China’s first copyrighted video library covering various contents such as movie, TV drama, variety show, comic and documentary. Its HD & smooth video content is the best of all China’s video sites.
#8. Video.sina.com.cn 新浪视频sina
Here’s where you go if you want to see the latest American movies that are in the theaters, but don’t want to pay for them. It’s owned by Sina, a leading Internet media company serving China. The site provides various video content including latest video news, variety show, movie, drama and so on.
#9. 56.com 56网56.com screen shot
56.com is a leading video-sharing platform in China. Users can post and share their personal videos online. There are many cute videos of dogs and cats here. As well as cute girls sings and dancing. The site hosts more than 80 million online videos.
#10 pptv.com PPTVpip
PPTV is a fantastic online TV provider offering both live streaming and video-on-demand services. Its channels include TV shows, film, drama, sports, news and entertainment and so on.
#11. M1905.com 电影网1905
I must admit that I am not too familiar about this site. However the interface seems easy enough to use and get about with. It’s been in China for a while. Really. M1905.com was founded by China Movie Channel in 2004.
The site hosts more than 6,000 HD copyrighted movies and about 200,000 short videos. M1905 is the most complete and authoritative site about Chinese movies.
#12. V.qq.com 腾讯视频QQ video
I am currently a VIP member of this site. Cost is $25/year (198 RMB). Like all VIP services, you are allowed five members for that service. So we share the membership with friends and relatives. It has a pretty good selection of American movies. For instance, I watched “Hot Tub Time Machine” last week, but the sequel to that movie is not available.
QQ is the largest social media platform in China, and even dwarfs the enormous WeChat. This is the video section of that platform. To give you an idea of how enormous it is, think of Facebook, and then multiply it by one thousand.
QQ video is a channel of qq.com, which is the most popular instant messenger in China and has hundreds of million active users. With huge amount of active users, QQ video quickly and easily became one of the the most visited video sites in China.
#13. 360 Kan 360 视频360
I am not familiar with this website. However, my friends and coworkers really like it. Truthfully, 360kan is a Chinese version of Google / computer checkup application. Functionally, 360kan is actually a video resource navigation website.
Its main function is to list lots of TV and drama links, so users can choose the site with the best watching experiences.
#14. Baidu Video 百度视频 baidu
Everyone knows about Baidu in China. Just like everyone knows of Google int he United States. Baidu is a Chinese version of Google, only it is much, much, much larger… and… it is not censored by rich progressive millennials in California.
If you want to find a movie in China, this is probably your fist stop. Like on Google, you click on the video link to see all the video related search results.
Baidu Video is one of the largest video sharing site in China. It is a channel of Baidu.com, China’s leading search engine. The site features its search function and users can always find their favorite video content on the site.
#15. pps.tv PPSpps PPS provides lots of services such as video search, online video, games and downloads. Its computer client PPS Net TV hosts more than 210 thousand sets of channel programs. It is the most popular Net TV client in China.
Take Aways
The news in America is completely distorted.
So called “experts” on China, in the United States are unaware of the most basic of trends in China.
This disconnect in perception, reporting and reality is dangerous, as it can result in manipulation of mass groups of people and WAR!
The Chinese people admire and relate to Americans. It is a true shame that the American news media would like to disrupt the trade negotiations that Donald Trump is having with Xi Peng.
If Americans and Chinese can work TOGETHER, everyone would benefit profitably. The Chinese WANT to buy American made products. Let’s let them. We can work hard and they can respond.
Over the last few decades, American agreements favored the rich oligarchs at the expense of the American worker. Today, the American media narrative is one that pits national boundaries before cooperation.
FAQ
Q: What is so special about the latest dance craze in China? A: Nothing, really. Fads and fashions come and go. The point of this post and article is just how out of touch the American media is that they are unaware of something that every single person in China knows about. Heck, you could fly in and just stand on a street corner, not talk to anyone and be aware of this. The disconnect is that enormous. China has their own movies, much larger than Hollywood. They have their own music, with followings that dwarf anything out of America. You can see one HERE. The point is that China is a Big, big market that WANTS American products. I argue that we should sell our products to China. We should forget the bullshit narrative promoted out of the American media and do it our way… the American way. Not the way of the wealthy oligarchy. Q: Why don’t you have embedded videos? A: I tried, but word press is changing it’s editor with something else. It’s a little buggy and won’t accept embedded code. Q: Why do you love China? A: China reminds me of American back around 1960. That was before the progressive liberals took control of EVERYTHING, and fucked everything up. Now everyone either want’s to go to war or turn into a communist. Jeeze, not even the Chinese want to be a “communist” nation. But sure as heck the millennial’s in the big American cites want that. Hey the bullshit ran deep. Now America is populated with morons. I can’t stop the shit. What I can do, however, is open the window a little so some fresh air of reality comes in. Life is not that bad, it only appears to be.
Free Republic Posting
This was posted on 5AUG18 on the website Free Republic. It did not go down very well.The thread was pulled. The reason being…
not even close to news. barely chat. quit abusing the BN sidebar
Popularity
Well, Free Republic might have pulled this post, but it was the top post during August 2018 by a long-shot. I guess that FR is out of touch what is popular to the readership.
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.
Just about every article on the internet that discusses KTV’s in China, talk about the “family-friendly” KTV’s. They discuss how they work and what it is like. They talk about the food, and the fun. Well, no one seems to want to talk about the Business KTV’s in China. Which is really, really odd. As you just cannot do business in China without going to one. For goodness gracious, that is one of the most common things that businessmen encounter when doing business in Asia.
This post discusses this side of Chinese industry.
As all my posts, it is politically incorrect. If you are are not ready for it, I would suggest that you leave right now. This post talks about one of the most important aspects of doing business in China – the negotiations over dinner, drink and song. It doesn’t matter if you are in the North of China, the South of China, Vietnam, or Korea, it is all pretty much the same.
Introduction
One of the first things that the Interns ask me when they come to work for me, is “what is it like doing business in China”. To which I must answer, “it is really, really different.” Work is work, and business is business. That being said, in China there is a particular aspect that has a great deal of importance. This is [1] the concept called “face” or “mingzi”. The second most important aspect is [2] friendships.
While, the Chinese boss and businessman would be very happy to take your money and make a part for you. He won’t treat you very special, even if you promise him ten million dollars of business. You will be just another smuck from the West that he is dealing with. You are just a potential client. You have not yet “earned your stripes”.
The key to getting your product or service taken cared for, is to build up a relationship with the factory boss. Heck, we all know this. In fact, in America we have been taught that businesses are based upon relationships. Yet, strange things is, with the current crops of MBA’s that are exiting universities, they seem to think that people are numbers in a ledger, and quite disposable.
Efficiency experts sorting out who to fire and who to retain.
Not so in China.
While in the USA, you might get a visitor from another country, and say good-bye to him at the end of the day. The Chinese will expect to share a meal with you. They will expect a tour of the local surroundings, and some local cuisine. (As would most businessmen from other nations.) When in China, you will be given the “royal treatment”, as the opportunity that you offer the factory is considered valuable.
You would also be expected to smoke, and drink to excess. In China, powerful bosses all can eat, drink and party to excess. The ideal “big boss” in China is a cross between Tony Soprano and Attila the Hun. If you cannot meet their expectations, then any contract that you sign with them will be a weak one.
The ideal "big boss" in China is a cross between Tony Soprano and Attila the Hun. If you cannot meet their expectations, then any contract that you sign with them will be a weak one.
The value, and the relative importance of the “Boss” differs between that of Western companies and companies in the East. In China, the boss is all powerful and all important. His word is absolute.
Your goal is to facilitate a strong contract, and a solid working relationship. Anything less is a waste of your time.
Aside from the factory tour, and discussions over tea and cigarettes (I like to call it “death” by tea and cigarettes.), you will be given a chance to “freshen up” in your hotel room prior to the evening festivities. A driver will take you to your hotel, and you and your aide will be escorted to your room where you can rest (often from jet lag), check your emails, write a report (if you are in a big company), and chill out. I like to use this time to take a shower and a short 90 minute nap. But, that’s just me.
Hotel Pickup
Usually, before the car comes and the girls pick you up (typically the aides and Marketing Manager is female), I tend to go down to the VinGo (a HK version of 7-11) in the lobby and pick up some anti-drunk medicine. In fact, truth be told, you should always have [1] some aspirin or Tylenol, [2] stomach medicine, and [3] some ED medicine if you are over 30. The anti-drunk medicine is a vial of liquid that you drink during dinner, say about thirty minutes before you eat. It helps to neutralize the effects of alcohol in your body so that you won’t get too drunk too fast. It won’t take away from your enjoyment, but it will help you.
After all, you can now expect a solid six to eight hours of hard drinking. So, you need to be prepared. After all, your body will be affected by the alcohol.
That is an entire night of HARD drinking of HARD alcohol.
This means that you will need to take some medicine beforehand. In China, of course, you don’t need prescriptions for most medicines. That’s only in America. The rest of the world expects people to be responsible with their own bodies.
You you can just get the ED medication at the counter. Just write the name on a slip of paper and the chick behind the counter will give it to you. Viagra is around 125 RMB, or around $20/pill. But you can by the local generic version for 200 RMB for 20 pills, or 10 RMB/pill (around $1.25). Cialis is the medicine of choice for us older gentleman. But you will need to pay for it in the full outrageous American price. Figure around 135 RMB/pill.
The girls in China a lovely. That includes all of the Han Chinese throughout Asia. They really know how to keep men happy.
Since the chances are that you will be in the Southern China section, make sure that you change your underwear. It is tropical, and you will need to take multiple showers and use ample deodorant.
Chances are that you will stay in your hotel, unless the factory boss has made other arrangements. Some of the better business KTV’s have rooms upstairs. In any event, make sure that your “wingman” or aide (male or female) fully understands that you will be the one who will give all the face. They must restrain their drinking. They must watch the belongings, and your passport. And, they must keep an eye out so that no problems befall you.
Typically, my aide is an employee. Depending on the situation, I’ve had one of my Chinese engineers (fluent in English) come with me, or my Marketing Manager (female Chinese-born Canadian) who would be with me. Now, you might think that the woman would be all hot and bothered about conducting this kind of business relationship, but that hasn’t been the case at all. In fact, she welcomed it. Heck, you should have seen her the next morning all beaming and happy.
Now, everyone would get their own individual room. And we would all agree on a time to meet. Typically, one person (never myself) gathers everyone up to go down to the lobby and get into the car.
Dinner
You will most likely NOT eat Western food. If they offer it to you, decline. You are in China. You want to make their face as big as possible. Suggest their local delicacy, or a restaurant that cooks the same kind of meals that their home town makes. Let the factory boss select the restaurant.
Now, typically, the driver will either take you back to the factory where you will meet the others for the dinner, or you will drive directly to the restaurant. In almost all cases, there will be a private room reserved in the restaurant. This is a private dining room. It will typically have a nice bathroom, a set of sofa’s and comfortable chairs, a television, and a huge circular table.
Most private rooms in China look a little something like this. They consist of a large central table and comfortable furnishings.
You, as the boss will be led to the room, and offered the “boss seat”. This is a chair that faces the door. You sit down, and everyone else arranges themselves around the table. The seating arrangement is hierarchical, with the various ranks of the individuals placed strategically around the table. The driver of the car(s) will also attend the meal, though they will typically be silent and not participate into any of the discussions.
You will be offered some cigarettes, just like at the factory. As the boss it is your responsibly to accept the cigarettes, or else you will lose face. Oh, yeah, it’s not healthy and all that second-hand smoke nonsense. Well, if you are doing business in China, you will need to adopt local customs. You do not want to lose face. You accept the cigarette. You take a drag. You hold it in. Tilt you head back, and stare up at the ceiling and then exhale the smoke slowly.
You need to adapt to Chinese culture. Do not lose the face of the boss. Else they might serve you dog’s head or something equally disgusting as a way to see how low you can go.
Out of politeness, you will be offered a menu and you can select what to eat. As I typically live in the Guangzhou region, I will choose Guangzhou style food. This is easy to do, as the menu consists of full-color glossy photos of delicious food. Guangzhou food is typically steamed lightly. It is very fresh and very tasty. Now, if you were in Hunan or Sichuan, the food would be very spicy and delicious. That’s a good thing too.
Anyways, as a general rule, you order two dishes more than the number of people at the table. So, if there were six people around the table, including yourself, you would order eight dishes. (Oh, yes, everyone shares the dishes. This is quite different from the West where everyone gets their own meal.)
Being in Guangzhou, you order one thing that walks (pig, beef, mutton), one thing that flies (chicken, duck, goose), and one thing that swims (fish or seafood like shrimp). If there is a near certainty that you will go to a business KTV and you might have an all-night companion, you should make sure to order a nice large plate of oysters. Just make sure that they are fresh. Otherwise, watch out!
In general, once the three main dishes are ordered, I usually like to order vegetables, tofu, and assorted other dishes such as braised pig fat, flat bread, and maybe jellyfish. Let the other (hosting) people make suggestions and nod your head in violent agreement with their selections.
The waitress, or room manager will ask what you want and take your order. You, with your aide, will select the pictures and work out the details. While the picture might say a thousand words, there is typically a discussion of lively banter on what kind of fish, how to cook it, what spices to use, etc. Let them work out the issues.
Then, some condiments will be placed on the table. These might include peanuts infused in vinegar and spices (a personal favorite), some long white bars, that are actually pickled carrots, and some chicken feet. Try them all. It’s all good.
Then comes the tea ritual…
Tea Ritual
China has many different kinds of rituals for tea. By now, you would have experienced the business negotiations over a tea ritual that occurs at the factory in the office. This is a dinner tea ritual. Here, you use tea to wash the cups and plates.
Almost all restaurants in China have their dishes pre-sanitized and bubble wrapped for protection. This is very common, from the farthest point North to the extreme Southern end of China.
Granted, all the cups and plates are pre-sanitized. They are in these clear shrink-wrapped bubbles, that you need to break open to get the dishes out of. I typically use my chopsticks (quaizi) and punch a hole in the sealed plastic. Then tear it open with my hands. The idea is to get all the dishes out of the bubble wrap. Then, once they are out, you pour the scalding hot tea all over the dishes and utensils to clean them.
Once the dishes have been washed, you then pour the (now dirty) tea into a large clear bowl that is provided for exactly that purpose. The bowl will be passed around and then taken away by one of the waitress chicks.
Drinks
Before the food starts to arrive, there will be the decision on what kind of alcohol that you will be drinking. Typically, beer is a drink for lunches. Evenings, especially for a night of hard drinking will have to get started off right. If given the choice, I vote for red wine.
The wine in poured into a large glass carafe. One person, typically an aide of the factory boss will take on this responsible, or at the very least will instruct the waitress to do so.
Everyone who has every been to China knows about Gan Bei. This is a fundamental part of Chinese culture, and if you are unaware of it, then you really have never visited China nor participated in the culture there.
“Red wine” is drunk not like wine is drunk in the West. It is quaffed down in glasses “bottom up style”. (Gan Bei!) Typically, you will need to drink to everyone at the table individually. Then multiple times with your host. You will also be expected to drink with your aides.
There are really three ways of drinking;
Full glass (reserved ONLY for the boss and to cheer an agreement.)
Half a glass (the most common) called “ye ban de ban”.
One fourth a glass (offered about mid way though the meal) called “ye ke”.
Drinking red wine permits you to be able to stand up straight after your meal and be able to walk to the KTV without having to be supported by your aides. This is pretty important to save “face”. Though if everyone is drinking VSOP, XO or that God-forsaken 53 degree “white wine”, you will all need to be carried out.
White Wine (BaiJiu)
In China today Baijiu is drunk almost exclusively at meals, as alcohol is a very important part of Chinese dining culture. Baijiu is served in shot sized glasses and used during toasts to show respect and build relationships.
When toasting, the Baijiu glass of is gripped with both hands, with either one hand on either side, or with one hand/finger on the bottom of the glass. After a Er Guo Tou (二锅头) is a cheap type of Baijiu available every-where-toast the Baijiu is usually consumed in one gulp.
Following a toast, the glass can be turned upside down or tilted forward to display that one has consumed the entire glass, and thus give face to your friend, partner or host.
The best white wine in China is Moutai. It is pure moonshine and comes in 53%. Ugh!
If you do decide to drink VSOP or XO, make sure that it is mixed with green tea, else you will get too drunk too quickly.
One should pay attention not to raise his/her glass higher than those of the respected elders; When two glasses clink, how high people hold their glasses shows hierarchy. When the host toasts you, keep his glass higher. These insights hold true at most dinners with hierarchy, such as corporate dinners with bosses, meals with clients and multi-generation family gatherings.
Personal Note.
Some younger factory bosses or owners will get excited and try to show you respect by trying to slam dunk Gan Bei. Do not fall for it. Aside from trying to make you unable to stand up, it will completely decimate your blood fluid pressure in your nether regions. Which really sucks, if offered full-on hospitality.
Always moderate your drinking. Afew Gan Bei's are fine. Just keep it under thirty in total. In general, the rule should be occasional drinking. Have your second (in command) drink for you.
In many places in China, especially northern China, the drunker a person becomes via being toasted with Baijiu (or other liquors and alcohols) the more Face has been conferred upon them. Therefore, it can be common for visitors to China to be entertained by well-meaning Chinese hosts who are intent on showing them as must respect as possible, by getting them as drunk as possible, on an completely unfamiliar and relatively strong liquor.
Be respectful (jìng jiǔ敬酒)
jìngjiǔ 敬酒 : “respectfully proposing a drink.” People will likely toast you to show their respect and hospitality. As a foreigner, you’re not expected to do likewise, but it will be much appreciated if you do. Once you’ve started, make sure you toast everyone who might outrank you. If the people are many and you’re worried your head might not take it well, you can tick them off in twos and threes; it’s perfectly acceptable.
When someone toasts you, you should immediately stop eating and drinking to accept and toast in response. All people sitting at the same table must stand up, upon the initiative of one of the guests, and toast in succession; Remember, one should never refuse to participate in a toast. If you turn down a drink, your Chinese counterpart may feel like he has lose his face.
If you’re the one offering the toast, you’re putting yourself in an inferior position, which means you have to be the more respectful one. Thus, it’s better if you stand up and empty your cup completely. The other person may remain seated and drink just a bit, but usually they will go out of their way to show you the same respect.
Respect and “Face”
“To me, your “face” is your position and standing in the eyes of others, and it also has to do with the degree of respect you receive. Face can also be saved up over time and used to accomplish things later on. If you drove a fashionable or luxurious car to attend a friend’s party, then the majority of your friends would feel that you had face. Also, if you can achieve something through your personal contacts that others cannot through normal channels, you would also be thought to have face. You can gain face if you are praised by your boss, or if you accomplish a difficult task at work. However, if you greet others warmly at social events, but are met only with indifference, then you would lose face. Questioning someone’s ideas or opinion in a public setting would cause that person to lose face.” – James Tan, Sales Manager, Shanghai
When a client relationship is established in China, the client more often than not receives more Face in the early stages of a relationship from the “seller.” Face must be given to the client to make him or her believe that the seller is worthy of their money and time.
Sometimes giving Face to a contact entails simply words and compliments, though sometimes gifts are required and invitations to dinners, entertainment, or other social events.
To the Chinese there is a natural order in society as well as business, and if one is unwilling or unable to show the proper amount of Face to those that feel they deserve it, then one will likely be judged to not have good character. This has the potential to wreck business deals and sour relationships, so with regard to the issue of Face most Chinese business people tread with care.
Food and Eating
Now, you will need to be a little buzzed when the food is set out. In China they eat everything. So if you are a bit squeamish, you had best be fortified with strong liquor. Fish are presented with all the bones, so you must be careful and eat around them. In the USA the cook guts the fish (fillets it), and throws away the head, tail, and fins. Not so in China. They love that stuff.
The Chinese eat everything. They love the differences in flavors and textures.
Chicken will have everything thrown into one pot. This will include the entire bird from heart to legs, and everything in between. The only thing missing would be the feathers. And you, you as the host will be given the chicken head on a plate.
Cooked chicken head. All ready to eat. Enjoy yourself. Show the boss some respect and pop this sucker in your mouth and suck on it. Just make sure you had some alcoholic beverage first.
For me, I really wow everyone buy sticking the head in my mouth and sucking on it for five or ten minutes, then I spit it out in a napkin. I always get a round of drinks out of it. Personally, I think it helps make me a little strong in the bedroom area, if you know what I mean. There must be some mineral, vitamin or protein that is in the fish head that is good for older men, me thinks.
Try everything.
The single biggest cultural conflict I found was the Western rule that you should finish the food put in front of you with the Chinese rule that a guest should never be left with an empty plate or cup, and should always be urged to eat and drink. At first, I felt that I was in a contest to try to eat and drink everything they gave me, until I realized that it was acceptable for me to politely refuse to eat or drink more.
-What are the biggest cultural shocks when you visit China
The host will make sure that you bowl is filled. Unlike the United States, a full bowl is a sign that you are finished eating. In the States, we couldn’t leave the table until everything was cleaned off our plates. “Waste not, want not” is the saying I believe. Well, that doesn’t go down too well in China. I must have gained fifty pounds before I figured it out.
Make sure that food remains in your bowl.
Oh, yeah, in China it is totally fine to spit things out on your plate. So you eat some fish, you can spit the bones on the plate near you or on the table cloth. Same with the bones, grizzle, and chicken claws.
Finally, the Chinese do not use "fortune cookies". They haven't the foggiest idea what they are. Most think that it is disgusting to have written paper inside a cookie that you eat.
KTV Prep
Eventually, the bottles of wine will be empty. Everyone will be full.
The aide will gather the left over bottles. Any cigars you are smoking will be finished. The aide will call the KTV and make sure that the room is reserved. He will typically get up off from the table and call at the side of the room, or in the hallway. The boss might call the manager of the girls (they operate outside of the club), and make what ever arrangements that he has in mind.
Typically (but not always) the manager of the girls will be an attractive woman in her 30’s. Hard as nails, and no-nonsense. Most have raised up through the ranks to get where they are today. Think Sharon Stone in the movie Casino.
You build relationships with these managers. As such, you get to know them. They manage the girls and they provide promotions and arrangements as necessary.
Sometimes girls want to be with their friends. So they would only work with a client if their friend can participate. I’ve seen this with two girls, and three girl teams. The only thing about this is that you need to make sure that all of the girls are equally playful. No one wants to spend any time with a sour-puss that has some home or family issues. Or even worse, a gal who just stands there stamping her foot anxiously and demands that both girls leave. Yikes!
Sometimes the girl has had a bad run of luck, and hasn’t been selected all week. So the manager would promote the girl. Maybe offer a reduced price, or extra services, or extra-long time, or maybe cart Blanche on the activities involved in.
Sometimes the timing is really bad, as all the girls are at home during holidays, or a number of the most popular girls are sick. The manager would need to make this clear and work out arrangements that might make some of the more unpopular girls more attractive to the client.
Often, the girl might not want to be physical with you. That is fine. That is her choice. The manager will then find a girl that will want to. In general, I would rather be with a girl that is enthusiastic to be with me, than a girl I picked based on appearance. No matter what you might think, the truth is that there will always be some girls that would really want to be with you.
Now, the management fee for the girls is actually quite small. This is something that surprised me. In The United States, I was under the impression that all prostitutes had pimps and the pimp would take the vast bulk of the money the gals made. Not so in China.
Chinese girls for the most part are Han Chinese. This is the same race as the Koreans. In a like way, the Han Chinese and the Koreans are very similar. This picture is a mixture of both Korean and Chinese girls. Can you tell who is who?
The manager is paid by both the girls and the KTV. The payment amount is often quite small. Maybe a few hundred RMB a month (Maybe $30 / month). They make their money in volume, and repeat customers. If you have a troop of one hundred girls, that’s a solid $3,000 USD per month on girls alone. That is un-taxed, and keep in mind that that is actually equivalent to maybe $20,000 / month. Because the cost of living in China is much less than that in the Untied States.
Once, the girls have been introduced to the clients (as discussed later), final payment arrangements will have been established by the KTV and the manager. The money that exchanges hands goes into two batches. There is a direct “tip” that is given to the manager as a “thank you” for their services, and the transaction between the girl and the guy who selects her. In the case of the boss buying the girl, it is handled by his side. The girl gets 100% of that money.
Anyways, more about that later…
Whatever arrangements are made, eventually you will be led (oh yes, boy… you will be led) to the car and then to the KTV.
Typical Chinese KTV hostesses. They wear different outfits, and it is not unusual for them to change in and out of the different outfits all night depending on the client and the situation. I always like the “Gone with the Wind” look where the girls would dress up in these huge flowing dresses, and have their makeup all done up. It’s a real experience, let me tell you.
From that moment on, you will be given “Red Carpet” treatment. You have proven yourself. If you handled yourself well, you out drank the boss, out smoked the co-workers, and ate a chicken’s head and spit it out. You gave the boss great face. Now, it is his turn to repay the favor.
How he will give YOU face.
KTV
The KTV will be lit up like a Casino. You will typically be driven directly to the front door, and an assistant will open the door open for you to exit the car from. It is important that you take your time. Stand straight. Smile, and look around you. The manager of the girls might greet you there. Though, she would make a bee-line to the factory boss first.
You will be led into the lobby. It will be well-attired and look like the inside of a casino or movie theater from the 1920’s. Lining both sides of the lobby, and forming a path would be two lines of girls. One on our left, and one on your right. Big KTV’s might have a couple of hundred girls in the line up, while smaller KTV’s might only have a handful.
Here is a typical lineup of girls in the lobby of a KTV. This is obvious a small-town or rural business KTV. There are only a few girls and the establishment is more hotel than KTV. They girls are all wearing identical dresses and welcome you. Typically they might bow and welcome you to the KTV, while the lead girl might take your arm and lead you to the room chosen for you.
The girls will all be wearing the same style outfit. Typically a dress. It seems like the classier places have the girls wearing long gowns. The girls will all be made up, and smiling. Every time that I go through these kinds of lines, I end up getting a great big grin on my face. The girls see this and start giggling, whispering to themselves, and smiling back.
All are stunning.
Typical KTV girls. Some wear the same kinds of outfits, while others dress for the theme for the day or week. The girls need to purchase all the clothes that they wear. Most KTV’s require them to wear traditional Chinese dresses with a slit up the one leg and one shoulder bare.
Some KTV’s, especially in the smaller towns, cities and rural areas only have a few girls to choose from. You always get a better and bigger selection of girls in the bigger cities. In places like Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Beijing there might have 250 to 600 girls to select from. All are stunning.
I only wish that I could have photos to post about this issue.
In fact, the demand for the girls to work is so high, that the KTV’s often have to turn away girls and charge them to work there. That’s absolutely right. They have to pay a monthly fee for the privilege of working there. However, it makes sense when you really think about it.
The girls are considered Hostesses, as they not only entertain their client during the KTV adventure, but they can sing, and dance as well. I have five years semi-professional ballroom dancing experience, and all can follow quite well. Notice the girls. They all have a darker complexion, wider noses, and shorter in statue. They are obviously from the Southern section of China.
The best way for a girl in her 20’s to meet a successful businessman, or middle manager is though a KTV. That way, she can get picked, and if she likes the man, she can stay in contact with him. Often making other arrangements. Many girls date men this way, and often have a group of guys that follow them around and give them money and such. As the guys, just like the girls, want to pick a high-quality mate.
In China, it is critical that the girls get married before they turn 28. They are considered to be non-marriageable after that date. So what the girls tend to do is spend their 20’s looking the best that they can, and doing what they can to attract the most suitable man. Otherwise, their parents will fix them up with a date. While the girl can say no, what usually happens is the girl just gives up and shrugs her shoulders and say “well, he’s good enough”.
To prevent this from happening, many girls work as KTV hostesses if they are in any way attractive.
Attractiveness is a cultural construct. The ideas of what is attractive varies from culture to culture. In China the attractive girls tend to be pale, frail, with big eyes, long black hair and a shape that is known as “fish shaped”. In the states, especially over the last decade or two, the ideas of female attractiveness has migrated towards dark skin, big pouty lips, big breasts and big asses. Which often causes some surprise to the girls who work at the KTV. They ask “why do Americans always pick the ugliest girls”?
Ideas about physical beauty vary from culture to culture. In China, the ideal is pale skin, a calm and pleasant demeanor, long black hair, big eyes, and a pleasant smile. They tend to have a fish shape for a body and walk in a calm purposeful manner.
It’s a cultural thing.
If you read my post about the r/K theory, culture and society migrates biologically towards situations that improve species survival. In the United States, it is a r-society. It is a society where there is abundance. So people act similarly to rabbits. In a K-society, like China it is a land of scarcity. So they tend to be more predatory, like wolves.
That translates into many aspects of society. One of which is conceptions of beauty.
Now, I had best make this clear right off. A hostess doe not necessarily have sex with the clients. No. Instead, they party with them. They play games with them. They drink and dance with them. If there is a mutual interest, the manager can broker a financial payment arrangement that favors the girl.
There is no guarantee that the girl will trade sex for money. In China, the girl controls what will happen. It’s all up to her. The only thing the guy gets to do is pick her out of a line up. Everything else is fully scripted and controlled by the girl.
Whether or not a girl will have sex with a client is a decision made by the girl.
Sometimes she just feels like she wants to have sex. Sometimes she doesn’t, as it might be her period, and in China this is a big no-no. Maybe she isn’t going to have sex because one of her girlfriends in the club is not having sex. Maybe she doesn’t like you. Maybe you stink, or remind her of someone else. Maybe you are too old, too young, too poor, or just too drunk. Maybe your skin color is too dark, or you are Arabic, or you showed a lack of manners. In all cases… she decides what will happen.
In any event, the girl’s manager will know exactly what is going on and will steer more willing and able girls your way if need be.
The KTV rooms are often lavish. They are nice and typically dark so that all kinds of activities and things can occur. The bosses aide will get the thing going by talking to the room manager and arranging for food and drink to be brought forth.
When you enter the KTV, you will typically walk through the gauntlet of girls, totally overwhelmed, and be led to your KTV room. These are nice private rooms with bathroom facilities, food trays and all sorts of drinks. As you go in, you pick a seat and make yourself at home.
Soon enough, they will start bringing the girls in. They will bring them in at 20 a time. They girls will parade in front and form a line. Then upon command they will turn around so that you can see their back. They will then strike a pose. There are numerous poses that they take on. All are very becoming and quite attractive.
Chinese KTV Hostesses waiting in readiness for a line up. Typically they get together and stage themselves in an empty KTV room or in the hallway.
Nothing out of Jerry Springier, and no fat girls waving their enormous spandex tight asses. That is reserved for President Obama’s America. No. Here, the girls are demure, polite and act respectful. After all, day in and day out, they are paraded in front of factory bosses, internet CEO’s, Directors of banks, and other managers of high regard. They want to look their best, and be their best.
Contrary what the news media or the internet might say, China is not a “sex monger” paradise. It just isn’t. China is a nation of hard working nerds. If you want to experience some of the rewards of hard work, labor and study, then come to China. Otherwise and else look elsewhere.
These girls will smell a fake a mile away. You had best be working hard. Show that you know your stuff, and are willing to provide fun and entertainment to your business contacts. China is all about hard work, and relationships. If you are willing to work hard, and have built up a presence in China, and going to a KTV would be your reward.
The Scheme
In general, you can select a person to have a good time with. If you are a guy, this would be a girl. If you are a girl, this would be a guy. You pay them, maybe 300 RMB ($50) and they will play games with you, sing with you, dance with you, and talk with you. This is all over China. It’s common from Bars, to clubs, to hotels to KTV’s. It’s a great way to pass the time, and make some new friends.
The difference is that at a Business KTV, the girls are also willing to spend more (ahem) quality time with you afterwards. They also tend to be more frisky. Heh heh.
All for a price, don’t you know…
Age
The age of the girls differs from most other KTV and bar avenues. Inside a business KTV, the girls are expected to provide a service. That means, that they are forbidden to sit there and play on their cell phone once they are selected. That means that they must play with the client, and monitor his drink intake. It means that they must control the environment so that he has a good time and does not lose any face. Young girls are too inexperienced, or not mature enough for this level of responsibility.
The girls in a business KTV are typically between 22 and 29 years of age. I would guess that the highest percentage of them are around 23 to 25 years old.
The girls that you will encounter as Hostesses in a Business KTV in China will tend to be attractive, and stunning. These girls are really high quality, young and intelligent.
Girl Selection
The most important thing, and the only thing that you have any degree of control over is the selection of the Hostess. Pick the girl that strikes your fancy. If she is in the first line up, so be it. I typically get a girl by the time the third line up enters. I mean, goodness, if you cannot find an attractive girl when 60 attractive females are paraded in front of you, then you are useless.
You can ask the girls to turn around so you can see their backsides.
You can also ask which ones speak any English. Though, for the most part the KTV’s are loud and noisy. So we just use YouDou or WeChat to translate. In any event, you want a girl that you will have fun with.
During the selection process the girls will typically all have a number pinned to their dress. This number is the number of the girl and is used for billing purposes. There will also be variations in color. The color range is usually based on three stages; cheap, middle, and expensive. Maybe yellow, green and red for example. As an American, my tastes do not match those of a Chinese man. So, as a result, a cheap priced girl I might find fantastically alluring, while an expensive priced girl might be too thin or pale for my tastes. In any event, if the boss is paying your way. Price is no object.
The girl will remove the number shortly once she settles down with a client. Generally, she will continue to wear the introductory dress for the first hour or so, then she will live to the locker room and change into her day to day clothes. High-end girls will typically change into a nice party dress, while more “regular” girls will change into street clothes. This might be a sweater and a pair of jeans or something similar.
Often, I have been given the opportunity to select two girls, and even three, to play with. But, you know, I am just a man. I am not a machine.
I am a man. I am not a machine.
Now, this is not the USA. You can play with the girls and you most certainly will. Throughout China, the girls are hand’s on. Meaning that you can pretty much explore their entire body with your drunk roaming hands. Now that pretty much remains the case whether or not you take them to the room upstairs with you.
However, please take note, that a slimy drunk slob is not someone that any of the Hostesses would want to spend any time in the room (or bed) with. So, as a rule, I for the most part remain a gentleman, and only initiate sexual contact when edged on by the other boss, or if presented with that opportunity by the girl herself.
That being said, depending on the time, place, and the situations, sometimes the girls might elect to go semi-nude. They will take off their dress and be with you only wearing their panties. Unlike the United States, the rest of the world doesn’t have the same kind of taboos about woman’s’ breasts that Americans have. So if this is indeed the case, just enjoy and have a good time.
It will be a good time.
About the Girls
The Chinese culture is not the same as American culture is. It is very traditional. Girls expect a traditional man, and they take on traditional roles. In their young years, from around 18 to around thirty, the girls will concentrate on building a career (if that is their preference) and attracting a mate. In today’s society, the female is expected to be married, take care of a family and have a baby.
It sounds so strange to us Americans.
For we have had decades of new progressive values rammed down our collective throats. We have been taught that men and woman (as well as just about all of the other 64 genders) have the same values and interests. We are taught that it is very sexist to be attracted to a pretty girl. We are taught that looking at an attractive girl is the same as raping her. We are taught that men don’t own women, and the highest complement that a woman can have is to be superior to a man in every way possible.
It’s no wonder that America is the way it is today.
Meanwhile the rest of the world has traditional values. Women are taught to be attractive. They want to be attractive. They want to be ladylike, and they yearn to become a mother with a family and a man that supports them. They learn how to budget for a family. They know how to cook, care for sick family members, and do what ever it takes to support the man to earn and make money. For in a traditional society, the man is the bread-winner. The wife tends to the home. She tends to the family, and she tends to her man.
In China, young women do what ever they can to increase their chances for finding “Mr. Right”. Though, in Chinese terms, this doesn’t really equate to heart-felt love. Instead it equates to finding a good strong “family man” who will work hard, support the family, and support her family. In a like way, Chinese men feel the same way. They want to become the strong man in charge of the family. They want to be able to provide for their family. They want to participate in the education and growth of their children.
The ladies spend hours getting ready for work.
Prior to showing up at work, typically around four or five, the ladies will be at a hair salon. They will get their hair all fixed. They will have their nails done, and have a professional makeup artist apply the makeup. There is an entire sub-culture of salons that cater only to the KTV trade in this respect. Once all dressed up, they make their way to the KTV and clock in. There, they go to their lockers and see which dresses and outfits that they are assigned to wear for the day.
In Shenzhen, you can often see these gals in the salons in Louhu village getting ready for the night’s adventures.
Once everything gets settled, the lights might come on so that people can check their phones, and notice where the chargers are. As all girls have the latest in cell phone technology. All rooms are fully Wifi enabled. They will typically get out of their costumes and put on party clothes so that they can be more comfortable with the clients. Here, you can see that the girls have changed out of their formal costumes and are wearing their outside clothes. In this case, mostly short party dresses.
The girls typically share an apartment with another girl or two. If they have a string of men that support them, they might have their own apartment that is provided to them by a love-struck hopeful. It’s not really an issue, as typically the men only visit China once every three or four months. They can rearrange their busy schedule (and trust me, for some gals, it is really busy) and make time for their one man to visit China.
Girl Types
The girls are semi-predictable.
Chinese ladies are very beautiful when they are 22 years old. They know how to take care of themselves, and spend a lot of time to look well and dress properly.
The youngest girls at a Business KTV will be no younger than 21 years old typically. The younger girls, of course, use the money they earn for new clothes, phones, and fashion. They tend to make many blunders. They often lose their phones, get too drunk, and get tangled up with bad people. Somehow they always seem to brush it off adroitly. This means that they might end up trying some drugs, or having their money stolen, or get into a fight with another girl. The younger gals that I know are usually out of the business after one or two years. These girls tend to get pregnant really young, maybe 23 years old. In China having a baby under 28 is considered very young.
Girls in their middle 20’s, say 25 to 27, who have already been doing this for a few years have decided to earn money for their own purposes. They are fully ready to get married and channel all their money into looking good and snagging as many hopeful men as possible.
Here is a selection of “typical” 25 year old girls in China. Also just as beautiful as their younger counterparts. However, at this age, they are much more focuses and motivated in finding a good mate and establishing a good family.
The girls in their middle-20’s, if they have the beauty, they migrate to the cities and go to the very expensive KTV’s. Here they can make enormous amounts of money, as well as meet some very powerful people. Again, the end goal is to get married to a “good man” (by Chinese standards) and have a family by the time they are 28.
Those who are older than this, typically are focused on setting up their own business. For one reason or another, they no longer rely on the objective of having a man provide for their family and children. They believe that they can do it on their own. Their objective is thus different. It is to set up their own business, where they can control the finances, and establish a family. This could be anything from their own hair salon, fashion boutique, or food franchise. I have met a girl who owns a number of famous Western franchises in China. I don’t know about you guys, but it would take me a century to save up to buy a McDonald’s franchise on an engineering salary.
Here is a selection of some Chinese ladies that have reached thirty years of age. The Chinese female form certainly ages well. At this point in time of their life, they have decided to move forward on their life alone, and career, business and other pursuits take precedence over finding a mate.
Most of the managers of the girls fit this last profile.
The parties can get rather crazy. However, mostly I would say that they are pretty stable affairs, with drinking, singling and playing games of dice. The most popular game is a game of five dice in a small red plastic cup. You shake the cup and the person who loses has to drink. There are various games that fit within this framework. All are similar and structured the same way; to get drunk.
When a boss goes to a Business KTV, he can let his hair down, relax and have a good time. He can eat, sing and enjoy the friendship of an attractive female companion. What is not to like?
Other games include burning a tissue holding the dice in a cup, number games, and of course singing. I cannot sing Chinese songs very well, so Duets are out of the question. But I can sing numerous Chinese songs which surprises the ladies. However, all in all, I like to sing American songs.
A little beer is definitely in order (and is usually cheap) so order some Tsing Tao and get to work. In the KTV, it is perfectly fine to start drinking beer. Though I am often entangled with some younger Chinese managers to drink beer until they pass out. I usually have none of that nonsense, and ask my companion to take over for me. I am a boss, I don’t need to prove that I can drink.
Certainly not using beer. It is like water to me.
If you don’t like singing the girls will often sing to you and sometimes they’re pretty good (they get lots of practice). There are various games. I like to play the games with dice, which is a drinking game. One game involves covering a glass with tissue and taking turns burning the tissue to see who will cause a die on the paper to fall. They also really like playing rock paper scissors. (The American version comes from China.)
My preferred American songs include groups such as Aerosmith, and country and western singers. Ah, many a night the ladies would have to endure me singing Oasis’s song “Wonderwall”, and “She ain’t Right”, by Lee Brice. Of course, you must have the girls belt out a tearful love song or two. This is mandatory, and make sure that you fuss over them. It is the closest way that any Chinese lady will express any emotion.
Remember, the KTV environment is a “safe space” where the individual is protected and permitted to let “it all out”. They can be crazy. They can be emotional. They can be and live the fantasy that they want.
At some point a guy or a gal is going to come in with a cart full of goodies… little snacks and stuff like that. It’s cheap by American standards so don’t worry. For us locals, well, we tend to think of it as expensive and pricey.
High end joints will have a cigarette girl wearing a crotch-high cute dress and a little bell-boy pill-box hat. They will have a wooden tray in front with all kinds of cigarettes and cigars (from Cuba no less). I always like to get a cigar, and (since this is China) no one would dare disrespect me (and lose face) by telling me not to smoke it.
Nude and Playful
Sometime during your evening you may also be offered a strip tease show by one or more girls. (Typically, all the girls would participate.) It costs extra, find out how much before you buy. For the longest time I refused these opportunities, as well as two-somes and group-fun. Now, I never refuse. You can keep all that Puritanism and shove it up where the sun don’t shine.
Now, of course, this is not like what you would expect in the United States. No girl will get at a pole and strip off her clothes to the music. Nope. Instead, the girls will just undress right there on the sofa next to you. They will be fully nude except for panties and high heels. There are pretty quick about it too. They just kind of slinky out of their dress and sit there smiling.
Expect a bare minimum of 10-15 minutes of full contact fun. This will include lap dancing and other playful antics. Truthfully, once started, it actually tends to last all night. Hey! No problem.
The policy is “please touch” unlike the in the US where that will get your ass kicked by a steroid abusing meathead bouncer. However, in China it’s ok. And I like it that way. (This is true even if they still have their clothes on. You can roam all over their bodies as you desire. This is China for goodness sakes!)
Of course, you need not get too hot and bothered. Many of the girls will grab your crotch and try to guess the size of your member in length, girth, width and stamina. For instance, you might be with one girl, and another girl will sit on your other side and start feeling your nether regions and adjusting things down there for you. (Personally, I think it is their way to judge how much they can make off you later on…LOL.)
It’s sorta like an appetizer for things later on, or (perhaps) used to entice you to pay up for a “long-time” girl. Anyways, it really doesn’t matter. In a business KTV the boss host will pay for everything. So agree to it.
Parties can be fun
So everybody is well fed, well drunk and you’ve had your fill of beer, karaoke, weird Chinese snacks and strip shows – now what? It’s up to you… usually. Sometimes, depending on the arrangement with the girls manager, the parties can get really fun, as these two videos can attest…
The girls will typically have a good time. Their enjoyment is directed by their manager, who works out what ever arrangement that is proper with the host boss. They will be edged on by the other girls who might inspire playful acts of a sexual nature and other curious events. The basic idea is to get drunk. Lower your inhibitions and have a good time.
As these videos attest, being with a cute gal getting drunk and playing around is a great reward for an ambitious boss.
The KTV is a refuge. It is a controlled environment where a person can become someone else and behave differently. In China, everyone wears a mask. This is a face (mingzi) that defines their role and how they conduct their business. For many bosses they only have two roles; Boss and Family head. Each time, they must exist within that role.
They come home and the wife and the children expect the father to be a traditional father. He will play with the children. He will help them learn. He will support the wife and take care of things that she needs help with. He will do this within the role and the face that he must wear.
Then, he goes to work. He puts on the Boss face. Here there is actions and behaviors that he is culturally restrained to follow. He must maintain that appearance. He must always be calm and collected and stern and in control.
The problem is…
There is never an opportunity for him to let loose and be himself. Never. Never, that is until he goes to a KTV. There, once he is inside the doors, he is in a world where he can be himself. It is a protected world. The doors are closed and sealed. Guards protect the people inside. Female entertainment is provided, and if the KTV is half decent, the girls are vetted to make sure they do not prey on the clients.
In a KTV environment, the boss gets to “let his hair down” which is a very difficult thing to do in the Asian culture. In Western cultures everyone is “doing their own thing”. Not so in Asia. Thus the need for a release value where a hard working alpha male can have a release from the stress of life.
He eats, drinks and is merry. Then he can go upstairs to the hotel room and have a nice long happy ending with the girl that he had selected. Else, she might ride home with him to a different hotel. All of which is under the helpful and watchful eyes of his aides, the girls and KTV managers, and the security guards that are stationed for protection.
THe KTV is a place for fun.
Now who doesn’t like to smoke, drink, sing and dance with pretty girls? It’s a rare person indeed. When I grew up we used to have keg parties in the woods and we always would sing, and carry on. We always loved it when the girls would play with us and have fun. This is universal.
Pricing
Of course everything comes at a price. If you are being given hospitality, you won’t need to pay for anything. However, it is always a good thing to have an idea of what the costs will be like. The days of $50 USD for dinner and all-night sex are long over. Never the less, you should understand that if you are given this kind of hospitality, you are expected to be “worth the investment”.
Renting the room will vary from a few thousand RMB to 20,000 RMB and up.
Just having a pretty girl to be with you and play will vary from 300 RMB to 750 RMB for four hours.
Stripped down playfulness might cost you another 500 to 2000 RMB.
Drinks are usually provided as part of a “meal plan” where beer and drinks are provided with snacks. This will cost from 500 RMB to 7000 RMB.
The girl will run from 600 RMB to 5000 RMB for a “short time” with “one shot”. Multiple shots and longer periods of time (longer than 40 minutes) can be negotiated.
“Long time” girls will be double that.
Thus, it should be understood that the boss could easily spend 60,000 RMB for you to have fun with and provide you hospitality. This is $10,000 USD. Do not take the hospitality lightly, and don’t insult his face in the process.
Singing
All KTV’s have a huge big-screen television that is hooked up to the KTV machine. It is a touch activated screen that you can pick a song out of. The songs are provided along with some kind of cheap video (if the actual MTV video is not available). Ask your English speaking aide to assist you.
The screen to select the KTV songs is a touch activated device. There are different systems in use. But, all use a basic search engine technique and basic controls. You can search by name of song, artist, album, year, gender, theme, emotion, and a host of other criteria. These devices have everything from children’s songs to songs suitable for grandparents.
Typically, I carry in my wallet a list of groups, singers and songs that I can program and search for in the KTV. Else, you would have a dickens of a time trying to think of a song to sing. The environment is noisy and the songs that the other people are all singing are Chinese. So you will have a real hard time thinking of a song.
Once you pick out a song, you can adjust the percentage of the vocals to sing along with. It can be anywhere from 100% (as in listening to the full song) where you just sing along, to 0%, where the only vocals are your own. Personally, I like around 60% that way it doesn’t sound so bad. No one really cares how well you can sing. They just want to see you release emotion. As that is the entire purpose of a KTV in the first place.
The reverb and sound can be adjusted with echo and other effects. I personally don’t like the effect. However, others do. You just go with the flow and use the presets unless someone else says differently.
There are decades of technology behind this. Today, you can connect to the KTV player and sing to songs on your smartphone. You can search the internet, if there aren’t any songs on the local hard drive. You can do all kinds of things. HERE is a link to one manufacturer that makes these devices.
Dancing
Often people get up and start dancing. You know, the Chinese are often nerds, and so the girls and the guys will get us and shake their body to the music. Not me. I took five years of professional ballroom dancing lessons. I can dance.
Which surprises the heck out of the girls.
It’s a happy and welcome surprise. These girls are trained and experienced Hostesses. they can follow my lead in dancing, and it is a real pleasure. We do the foxtrot, the merengue, the waltz, the two step and of course the Rumba and Tango. You know, for a guy like myself, just being able to dance, with a experienced and qualified partner is worth everything.
Now, the ballroom dances are very popular in China. Often huge classes are held outdoors in the empty plazas in front of the malls and such. People dance and learn the movements on their own. But, to dance with a partner is just… magical.
I typically start out rather easy with a two-step or something basic. If they can follow well, then it eventually evolves into a tango. There, I like to get really dramatic, and the girls really get into it as well. It is truly amazing. There is something about booze, sex and dancing that brings out the raw emotion in us all.
Dancing the tango. It’s a dance of battle and wits. Once led properly, the woman can release and let herself go. She becomes the dance. The experience becomes magical.
And for the girls…
Now, you shouldn’t be under the opinion that China is a sexist nation. It’s not. Everyone is equal here. Just like the male Bosses can go to a KTV and pick out an attractive girl to play with, a female boss can go to a KTV and pick out an attractive boy to play with.
For some reason, one that I am unsure of, the KTV boys that service the ladies all dress in white. Everything is white. They tend to be in their twenties to mid thirties. They, just like the ladies have their own network of clients and “favorites”. Often the wealthy female boss would buy expensive presents for the boys. For instance, a Ferrari, or a Lamborghini.
Yes… they are that wealthy.
The men who take on the Host role for the female bosses would all dress in white. They would look something like this. All would be thin, well groomed and attired.
The guys typically defoliate their entire body except for the head so that there isn’t any hair. None have facial hair. They are also impeccably attired and very very clean. They take classes in how to dance, talk and make interesting small talk. Once they are chosen by the female boss, they give her every attention.
There are those who have ended up doing drugs, but for the most part, they try to keep clean and sober. They will drink but really do everything they can so that they will not embarrass their client.
The number of guys to girls ratio is smaller. If the KTV would have maybe 600 girls, it might employ only ten or so guys. The need for guys, while present, is not as great as a demand that exists for the girls. Often the guys would be friends with the girls and there would be many dates and fun times together outside of work. Both hosts and hostesses know how to have a good time so the time together tends to be of high quality.
In many ways these guys are very typical of the male version of the female Hostesses of the KTV’s in China. A well-heeled female boss can expect to have her pick for a companion for the night.
Typically, but not always, the same manager for the girls would manage the boys.
The boys can make much more money than the ladies do. If they find a rich and maybe lonely female boss, they can easily earn a couple of million dollars a year. (Seriously!) The females that hire these men are typically 40 years old and up. Many are millionaires, and some are even billionaires.
The young men who do work in the KTV’s tend to be very popular. They have cultivated their skills, and do everything that they can to be a pleasing and suitable companion to wealthy Chinese clientele.
China does not discriminate between girls and guys. While most KTV’s maintain a contingent of girls, there are those that have a mixtures of girls and guys, and even some that are guys only. The men, typically in their twenties are all handsome, well groomed, (clean) and attractive. They (at least the ones I am familiar with) wear all white. (It’s a Shenzhen thing, I hear.) The situation and selection for them is the same. The only difference is that what a woman finds attractive in a rent-a-boy is different than what a guy finds of interest in a rent-a-girl.
They also tend to be rather torturous with the young men. I have heard stories of the women getting the guy so worked up and horny and not permitting him to ejaculate. And sit there, with their friends, enjoying him suffer. They would make sure that he would take the necessary medicine to get an erection and drive him insane with desire. Then watch him pine away in agony.
I have heard stories of women burning parts of the boys skin with cigarettes and melting hot wax and pouring hot oil on parts of their bodies. Some can be rather cruel. I have no idea why this is so. Maybe they are tying to get back at the male gender for some reason or the other.
I understand that some KTV’s allow the boys to mix up their outfits somewhat. This is only hearsay. The KTV’s that I know of have a strict all-white dress code to prevent confusion. I have heard that some allow certain exceptions to the dress code so as to be on the cutting edge of fashion.
Certain KTV’s permit the boys to accessorize their uniform and costumes somewhat. As in China, the boys do not have the same kinds of freedoms that the girls have when it comes to the working environment and dress codes.
My former Marketing Manager thought that having an attractive man to tend to her every need was a good thing. She really enjoyed the company. I can confirm this two times, let me tell you…
Your Aide / Wingman
A very important part of your visit to a business KTV is to have an aide or wingman to look after you. They will make sure that you are registered into the room, and that your passport will not get lost or misplaced. They will keep an eye out for you and help you out of the KTV room when it is time to go.
Going to the Room
They will help you and the girls into the elevator and you will ride it to your floor. It will be something like this video below. The girls will take the lead and show you where the room is and help you get settled. They will open the door with the card key and place the card in the activation slot.
It will be like this if there are two or more girls with you…
Otherwise, if you are just going with one girl. It might be a little like this..
The girls will file into the room and my aides will collect my gear and keep it safe with him. I will retain my glasses and cell phone. Then we will call it a night.
My aides will then go off to their own individual rooms with their companions. And I will be left alone with the girls. The girls will typically find a outlet to plug and charge their cell phones with. They will check their WeChat, and confirm any last minute messages. Often they will have other guys (fans?) sending them messages that they need to respond to. I just let them take a few minutes to get settled.
Turning In
The girl or girls get settled in. If you are there with three girls, typically two will rest in the other bed and you will be with one girl. Then they will take turns with you. If we are all too drunk it is simply a matter of passing out for five or so hours. Otherwise, showers are used and everyone gets clean.
Don’t trust the bath towels. I don’t care if they are sanitized. You use them everywhere except down in the groin area. Trust me, you don’t want to get the clap or some other serious illness. Use a condom.
Brush your teeth.
Make sure that you take your eye glasses off, or they might get broke while you are romping and playing around.
If you really like the girl, get her WeChat, so that you can get together again in the future.
Sometimes, you just want to decompress for a bit before you engage in any kind of sexual activity. When this happens I like to see where they are from and so I ask all kinds of questions about their hometown and the food that they eat. Often we talk about life and dreams. I’ve had more than a few chats about bitcoin, setting up international trade, and tax/tariff laws in the United States. Honestly I was really impressed with one gal who had a dog grooming business and a massage parlor on the side. She had her act going on.
Some of the girls are quite wild and experienced, but I am just a rather boring old Joe. So we just keep things simple, which in a way is kind of a relief to the girls. Now, keep in mind, that if you are there with multiple girls make sure that they are all EQUALLY engaged, or else the one who has been neglected all night will want to leave – thus spoiling all the fun.
Sometimes the girl will leave behind a trinket or two for you to remember them by. That’s a nice thought, but I just throw them away. If I don’t have their WeChat contact information, I probably won’t ever see them again.
The Next Day
You wake up. Your mouth tastes like a soggy ash-tray. The sink is usually stained from purple colored vomit (wine and dinner debris), and the girls are ready to finish you up for the day. While the girls are waking up, you go to the bathroom. Brush your teeth, get ready, and then go back to bed.
There will always be the “eager beaver” who will want to be first on. So let it be. Just make sure that the other girls get some. At this point, I cannot stress hard enough the importance in controlling your alcohol tolerance and the necessity of being ready for the morning festivities. Reliance on little blue pills will not cut it alone.
Eventually you will all be finished and exhausted, no doubt.
You all say good bye to each other and just lay there while your aides and managers wake up. They will tend to give you a call and then you will meet the boss again for breakfast. I would advise Jiu; congee which is made from rice. It’s a kind of rice porridge out of pork or chicken. Put something warm in your stomach for goodness sakes.
My preferred meal after a long hard night of drinking and fun is to have some nice warm congee. Often, we will eat dumplings and doujung with this as well.
Then get ready for the trip back home…
Crackdowns
Sometime around 2013 and 2014, China really started to crack down on these establishments. Entire cities in DongGuan were affected. Today they exist, but are very quiet. More like American “speakeasy’s” of the 1920’s. It doesn’t really matter though. As long as the boss has the name and card of the manager for the girls, she can direct him to the appropriate KTV venue.
While “Happy endings” for massages are legal, trading sex for money overtly is not. There are various “work-a-rounds”, as not once has sex been eliminated from the needs of the human condition.
A few years back, the business KTV’s were everywhere, public and out in the open. Today, they are found hidden. They went “underground”. Also, industry has matured somewhat. You will not find so many foreigners invited to Business KTV’s as they used to be. Most Business KTV’s tend to be reserved for Chinese businessmen, as America has gotten the reputation (in China) for being Puritanical concerning smoking, drinking, singing, dancing and sex.
As a foreigner, you now need to explain that you would like to sing, and dance with pretty girls. Otherwise, the boss might provide you with Western-style hospitality. Which might be a cup of tea, a cookie and a handshake.
The Myth of the Poor Little Waifs
Many people talk about the poor young girls sold into forced slavery and prostitution. They talk about the terrible stories, and how demeaning it is. They speak as an expert because they have read about these situations. They know all about it, it seems. CNN, MSNBC, WaPo, and the Guardian has told them that this is the case…
"Ever think that these girls are kidnapped and basically sex slaves that most of the money they are making isn’t going to mamma sans, that they are forced into situations where they are sexually abused and raped. Maybe some sit on the streets talking on the phone but that’s the lucky ones. Human trafficking is a huge problem in china. I think your article is really insensitive and quite sexist, not as bad as “women who wear revealing clothes deserved to be raped” but still misses the fact that they might be doing this against there will!" -Wallimo
Wow! How do you know all about this? Have you ever been to China? Do you even have a passport? How do you know that this is actually the case, or are you just regurgitating some bullshit that you read? I would argue the latter, most certainly.
Oh, and they are not called “mamma sans” for Christ’s sake. They are called 女经理, or if you prefer lăobănniáng. What the fuck is “three horse horse”?
I’m in China. I’ve been living here for a long, long time. I do happen to know many of these girls. I mean it. I fucking know them. I talk with them. I eat meals with them. I go to parks with them. I’ve even helped them pick out shoes to wear. They are not some poor abused and misused waif. There might be some, Oh, maybe 0.000000000000001% chance. However, it is the exception and NOT the rule.
"Wallimo, only a very daft person couldn’t tell the difference between a self-interested gold digging KTV hostess and a sex slave.
Everyone is aware of the human rights dilemma in China in the sex trade in particular, but even if you visited the seediest parlors and saunas from Shanghai to Lhasa, you’d probably never come across even one sex slave.
In other words, they are vastly outnumbered by girls who are willing to enter the industry for personal gain, and what’s more, they are typically trafficked into different types of establishments, mostly catering to repeat customers.
We’ve heard that finger-wagging rhetoric so much that most of us just get annoyed when people spout off on those holier-than-thou guilt trips." From Disporia-ChinaSmack
Yeah. Those of us with REAL experiences are tired of the ignorant and their “holier than thou” attitude.
If all you read is from CNN, WaPo, and the Guardian you might be convinced that the world is going to be taken over by sex-dolls, and that sexual slavery runs rampant throughout the world. Who thinks up THIS nonsense? That, and that Donald Trump is a Russian spy, that you will keel over and die from a zombie outbreak of bird flu from Hong Kong, and we are all going to die by global warming.
Personally, I am so sick and tired of being lied to, manipulated, and having my emotions put through the wringer. It’s all nonsense used to control YOU. Don’t fall for it.
Social Justice Warriors, how’s it working out for ya? You getting the needed changes in society to make it as attractive as you desire it to be?
That’s not the truth. None of it is. Not by a long shot.
Parroting what you have been programmed to believe is far below your potential. If you’ve got something good to say and to contribute then I would welcome your contribution. Here are some areas to start off with…
What is the going rate for a short-time in Daliang?
How much does it cost to have the hair done and fingernails done at 5pm in Shenzhen, Louhu?
Where do the girls get the costumes? And who does the alterations?
What is the busiest time in the year for Business KTV’s?
When the girl agrees to a contract at a Business KTV, what is the duration?
What is the best day to work during the week?
Which days are the girls permitted to take off?
Can the KTV provide dorms and a minimum salary, or are there free-lance considerations?
What is the girls locker room like in a Business KTV?
Where a dorm is offered, what are the sleeping arrangements, and how are the meals prepared?
If you are unable to answer any of these FUNDAMENTAL and most basic questions, than you actually know jack-shit about this industry and culture. So do not lecture me on something that you read out of a UK tabloid, or an Op Ed from a liberal American media outlet.
A Very Good Story
I have posted, on this blog, the ramblings of a “pimp” for these girls who work the KTV scene. If you want to read about this some more, then please go HERE.
Opinions of Others
Yeah, I spent the time churning this post out. I took the time to do it. I paid the money to host it. Now you, the lucky reader, can read it. Woo woo.
I have gone on to other blogs and have read the comment sections where people have torn up a guy for relating his experiences. Most of the time, the comments are juvenile with such things as you might expect. “These girls are prostitutes.” And “I would never set foot into a KTV, the music sucks.”,and “They are abused poor waifs”. OK, whatever.
I personally do not want to hear the opinions of someone who have never stepped out of the Untied States and is making judgements based upon their limited understandings of reality. If all you can relate about is the inside of a Bo Jangles, and your idea of hard work is coding software then you have no business being here. This place is not for you.
You don’t belong here.
You all can all go eat your pork rings, drink your expensive Starbucks coffee, and service your 400 pound overweight pink-haired ambiguous-gender friend. You can believe in reptilians taking over the government, the next war the United States will have “for Democracy”, and get ready for the global warming that will melt the ice caps. Good for you. That is your reality.
This is mine.
You want to comment. Good. Remember that here, I am GOD. So remember who you are dealing with. Unless you are kind, and civil I won’t publish anything you say. So it might be best for you to swallow your bile and leave.
The world is filled with ignorant busybodies who want to make the world a perfect place in their own image. The problem is that their image is one that is forged thought the media. And, folks, the media in the United States is controlled by five people. That’s it. Five people control every fucking thing you read. So what you are actually doing is being a puppet for the wealthy who control you, control your thoughts and control your life.
So be it.
Call me all kinds of names. I know quite a bit more about our universe and our reality. So don’t get too hot and bothered with my thoughts, experiences and opinions. For as far as you know, I’m just bound for Hell.
Of course, you don’t have to accept what I have to report. You can just read propaganda from the news media. Here’s a good example, out of the UK (why am I not surprised?) about DongGuang. Read the article.
Inside Dongguan, China's Sin City
Some 10 per cent of Dongguan's population is said to be employed in the world's oldest profession. Tom Phillips reports from China's Sin City.
In the article, they said 10% of the city population was involved in prostitution. Wow. That’s a lot. A lot!
Let’s break that down…
Which means, that if the vast bulk of the prostitutes are female, then nearly 20% of the females in this city region are prostitutes. ( assuming a ratio of 50/50 of men and women.) If you further narrow down prostitution to be females between the ages of 14 and 40, then this article, were it to be believed, means that you would have a near 65% chance of any girl between the ages of 14 and 40, including married women as being full-on prostitutes.
You couldn’t walk down a street without seeing a prostitute in most of the ladies you walk by. You couldn’t have a coffee or tea without sharing a table with one. You couldn’t buy groceries without meeting one. You couldn’t ride a bus without seeing about half the bus as prostitutes.
Think people. Think.
God, what a slimy article, and what slimy photos. Did they even go there? Why did they pick the sleaziest section, with the sleaziest people? Anyways, they have a photo to “prove” sexual slavery of children takes place. Here it is… Look at the pitiful small babies sold into prostitution. Why, they are certainly elementary-school age!
This photo is given as proof that sexual slavery and child prostitution is “rampant” in the industrial capital of Dongguang. Look at these three children. Why they are missing their school classes and won’t be able to perform basic mathematics! How horrible! My Goodness!
Did they give locations, names, and facts?
Any statements that they made, are they backed up with hard information?
For an in-depth article, what details have they provided, such as demographics, industry, times, income data, social concerns, statements from the local police, statistics, and the like?
All of the hard information is all missing. It’s just one of a thousand fluff-pieces designed to change the mass consciousness of the reader toward certain assumptions.
Now for some comparisons. Maybe you don’t like what I wrote. Maybe you think that I am a deplorable ass hole. Maybe you want to clutch on to your most cherished fantasy…
Well then, which article (this [1] blog post, or [2] the UK newspaper article) was more
Informative to you personally?
Which one would better serve you to write a report, or
investigate further issues, or
spiked your interest towards different cultures and ways of life?
Which one gave you a better perception of the reality of what is going on?
Which article is more complete, fulfilling and worthwhile reading?
Which article gave you a more fuller and comprehensive picture?
Which article did you learn something new from?
What are the girls like?
Every trip is different. However, the girls tend to be attractive and high energy. Unlike the stereotypical image of Asians, most gals in China tend to be very curvy, sweet and very attractive. Sort of like these mini-videos can attest to.
Summary
This was a compilation of information that is sorely lacking on the internet; information regarding “Business KTV’s” in China. It is a huge industry, it employs millions, there isn’t one single factory or business boss that hasn’t gone to one. Everyone knows about it. But… But no one ever talks about it. Those that try, are often shouted down by the ignorant and the legions of enraged SJW who want to make the world perfect with unicorns prancing under a rainbow hued sky.
Well, now you know.
You know, knowledge is a good thing. Overall, I think that it is refreshing to hear the truth about things rather than live a lie painted by others. That’s how you grow, experience life, and make decisions upon.
Now while the Business KTV has a degree of prostitution, you should not be blinded by that sole aspect of it. The true and real purpose of a Business KTV is to reward high performing bosses and talent for contributions to the company.
Do you think that Alibaba, and Huawei got to be so big by giving their high performers paperclips and cheap pens with logos?
Is a Business KTV good or bad? I don’t know.
Seriously, the thought that I would be rewarded with a fun night with other bosses really motivates me. That is far superior to the ball-point pen with a logo that said “Success is a way of life” that Magnavox gave me for saving the company five million dollars.
It is also superior to the coupon for a free coffee at Tim Hortons that Pollak gave me for designing, producing, and perfecting the E-ETRESS system.
I personally think that it is far superior to the corporate note pad with the company logo on it that I got out of Delco Electronics for perfecting a remotely programmable SIMM on the ECM modules.
When you work and toil in your corporate job, look at how they reward you.
What motivates you to work harder? Which is the better reward for skipping vacations, working overtime with no monetary benefit, and working weekends? Which is the better reward when you save the company a few million dollars?
I think that the Chinese system is superior.
Important Notes
Never refuse the offer for a dinner or KTV. While the boss might accept and agree to work with you, it will be done so reluctantly with a “clothespin on his nose”. As you have insulted him, his factory / business, and the Chinese culture.
Understand that the arrangements for a dinner, KTV room, and girls have already been arranged days a head of time. To think or expect otherwise is an insult to the boss who places a great deal of time and effort into the meeting with him.
Going to a KTV does not guarantee any kind of sexual encounter. That is up to the participants and the environment. Remember, it is the girl that decides what will happen.
If you are unwilling to do business in China using Chinese industrial norms, then you should expect the consequences. Don’t, for the love of God, be the “Ugly American“.
Take Aways
KTV’s are popular in China.
The business KTV’s cater to bosses. They have their own ways of doing things.
Both women and men can enjoy themselves at a Business KTV.
There is the potential for sexual pleasures at such a KTV, but it is not guaranteed.
Visiting such an establishment can be expensive, thus they are typically only reserved for special occasions and special business relationships.
Female hostesses work at a KTV for various reasons. The most common is to find a mate with a good job and a steady income. You go to where the best likelihood of finding what you are interested in, is.
Male Hosts work at a KTV for their own reasons. I do not know their reasons. It varies from person to person. I do not know what they are.
If you go to a Business KTV, take ED medication, and control your drinking.
The best way to impress a Chinese boss is to drink hard and eat a chicken’s head.
When having sex with a stranger use a condom.
FAQ
Q: How can I find a Business KTV? A: Ask the factory boss in the town that you are doing business with. He will probably be able to point you in the general direction. Else, you can go into a Business Hotel and chat with the manager there and ask where any exciting girls and girl action might take place.
Q: Is a Business KTV the only type of prostitution available in China? A: No. Not by a long shot. In fact, it is a rather small subset of society that caters only to company leadership, management and bosses.
There are other venues such as escorts, and the like that a person can visit and use if all you want to do is to have sex with a girl. If all you want to do is to have sex, you can go to a salon, or pick up a street walker for maybe $25 to $50. It need not be expensive. You go, get the gal, pay the money and get yourself off. It’s far better than reliance on internet images and magazines.
Besides, these gals have families to support. Instead of giving some rich California software king your money to download an x-rated porn movie, give it to the girl’s so her children can eat dinner and her husband can get a new pair of work boots.
Q: What are the types of prostitution in China? A: There are many.
Mistress or Second wife (二奶, èrnăi): She gets a monthly salary in exchange for regular sexual favors. Even if she usually does not offer romance or family life, sometimes she lives with the customer and may wish to marry him.
Packaged girl (包婆, bāopó ): Similar to second wives but only work for limited time, as on business trips. These two upper tiers correspond to the ancient concubine, although the second wife and packaged girl are mostly kept secretly rather than in the household. Only rich men can afford them, therefore these girls are often considered to be linked to corruption.
Female companions (陪女, péinǚ): You can find them everywhere in China: restaurants, karaoke – the (in)famous KTV xiăojie, – bars and clubs. Often, in bars and most typical establishments, they usually stay in a corner playing with their cell phone and drinking some cocktails till a customer arrives. Many of these girls are employed to dance, sing, drink with the customers that pay for a table or, it the case of KTVs, for a room. Some of them will eventually leave with the customers. Business KTV’s is a subset of this class, where the best girls work.
Escorts. These girls are available either to your room, or at their house or at a mutually agreed hotel room. They advertise on the internet, and tend to be moderately expensive. A typical example is this link for Shenzhen massage. The girls are all attractive and speak English.
Escorts can make a good decent salary, and like all industries, rely on repeat customers. Most work hard at it for five to ten years and then retire after they either traveled the world, established a family, or started a business.
Ding dong girls (叮咚小姐, dīngdōng xiăojie): Literally like pressing a door bell “ding dong”. Typically, they go to a hotel that seems to have a lot of customers – single and lonely men. They rent a room there and call the other rooms offering their services, usually a “massage.” Of course. having a massage with a happy ending is legal in China. It used to be that they would knock on your door, or slide a card under your door to offer you some fun services. You can add to this category also the girls that look for customers on QQ (the Chinese MSN) or on the web in general.
Ding Dong Girls cards that were slid under my hotel door when I was staying in Shanghai. You can find these cards all over China.
Hairdressers and masseuses (发廊妹, fàlángmèi): Chinese hair salons and massage parlors are the place to go if you want to get a cheap “happy ending” (usually by masturbation or oral sex), especially the ones full of bored half-naked girls lighted up by pink lights you can find close to a train or subway station.
Typically the girls will be sitting around in the salon waiting for a customer to walk in. Truthfully, there are usually many many girls, often thirty to fifty that occupy one room. Great selection. Low prices and happy endings all around.
The fàlángmèi are often migrants from the countryside and perform contractual work under a proprietress (lăobănniáng) or a pimp (pítiáo) who provide them with housing, clothing and food, as well as a cell phone and monthly subscription. They do not make much more money than a worker, unless they receive tips from the customers.
Street girl (街女, jiēnǚ): The name explains everything. They solicit customers in the halls of the hotels, bars and other entertainment outlets. They may offer petting (shàngbànchăng, first half) or intercourse (xiàbànchăng, second half). Street prostitutes may be accompanied by a lăobănniáng or work on their own. They are those at greatest risk of being apprehended by the police. We also call them “chicken girls” which is the English translation of 街女.
Here is a group of ladies photographed so that their faces remain hidden. You can easily see that they are free of tattoos, piercings, rashes or pockmarks typical of drug abuse, of normal weight – not obese – and pretty normal girls.
Underclass girl (下工棚, xiàgōngpéng): They live in urban slums (such as they are), or the seedier and poorer neighborhoods in the fifth tier towns. They can typically be found at construction sites. They fill a social and sexual void, as the migrant workers usually have left their wives at home, and are paid with food.
Q: Is prostitution rampant in China? A: No. It might seem like that because If you were to compare percentages you would be surprised to find that prostitution, by percentage of the population, is actually very tiny. Remember, China has a huge population. Like any other nation, prostitution will exist. However, China is a very conservative and traditional nation. Prostitution is not considered to be a good thing.
On the whole, if you want to see a prostitute, you should to go Thailand or the Philippines. Not China.
China is NOT a sex monger’s paradise. It is a paradise for hard workers, those who strive and achieve, and people who believe in working together for the common good. If you work hard, study hard and do your best, China will reward you. There are no easy routes in China.
When I see articles saying that China accepts prostitution and that sexual sales and slavery of young children exists, I get mad. That is absolutely not the case. NOT AT ALL. I tell you this two times. China has been very hard on the prostitution industry and many things that are fine and dandy in the West is forbidden in China. Such as unedited R-rated movies, and such. China is a conservative, traditional nation.
Q: What is the best alcohol to drink at a KTV? A: For a business KTV, you will need to drink with the boss. After that event is finished, please heed my advice and chill out. You can drink all the beer you want. Alternatively you can drink severely watered down whiskey. Take it from me, you don’t want to wake up nude with three girls ready to have fun with you, and you are way too drunk to “get it up”. Heed my advice.
Q: Are these girls clean? Do I need to wear a condom? A: Yes the girls are clean, and yes you do need to wear a condom. They work six days a week, most of the year. They typically have three to seven sexual adventures per week with who knows who. You do not want to catch any type of sexually transmitted sickness.
Also keep in mind that while the condom might be good, note that if you have a cut, a bruise, and a pinch from the zipper fly in your jeans, then don’t have sex. Illnesses can be transmitted through sweat and precious bodily fluids just as easily. When in doubt take care and be careful. If need be, cancel and reschedule until you are all healed up down there.
When we were young, we were taught how to act, and told how to behave. The opinions of our peers decided what we would do, who we would date, and how successful our life could be. For those of us who never left our home town, these demands have become forged as the tightest shackles that bind us to the demands and needs of others.
However, once we leave that environment, we find ourselves in a new place with new friends and a new life. We are thus given and provided the opportunity to reconstruct our life. We are provided with the chance for us to define our life for ourselves. We can break forth through the limits placed on us by others.
Not only is this desirable, but it is often necessary. For true growth, and to be the most that you can be, comes from you defining how you will live, and under which terms that you will define your life.
The 25th Law of power
Law 25Re-Create Yourself
Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.
The book “The 48 Laws of Power” is a classic work that defines methods and techniques by which a person may obtain power. Power can be defined many ways. It might be money, sex, relationships, ownership, control, or as pure military might.
The book goes into great detail on this subject, providing multiple examples that illustrate each technique.
The 48 Laws of Power is a world famous book that describes numerous techniques for obtaining power. The power can be used for good or bad, it is up to the user.
One of the laws, or techniques, of power is the ability to recreate your life on your terms. This is law #25. Indeed, it is a powerful technique. For unless you have lived a charmed life, humans need to grow and expand beyond themselves. We are like a snake that sheds it’s skin, or a caterpillar who undergoes chrysalis to become a butterfly. We need to constantly strive, adapt and grow. For that is how we obtain experience.
For example motivational speaker Les Brown was classified as developmentally disabled. He was told that the best he could do was to become a janitor or a field laborer. Yet, he refused to believe that. With everyone of his classmates laughing at him, and most teachers shaking their head in sorry distain, we went ahead and forged a new life for himself.
He took on a new role; a better role as a motivational speaker.
Or consider, another radio talk show host; Rush Limbaugh. Always controversial, and bombastic, he was constantly hired and fired from jobs. No one wanted to touch him. We was considered a “wild card” and uncontrollable. Yet, by honing his abilities, and working on his strengths, he preserved and became a very famous and a very rich talk show host.
Often times, we need to move away from the thoughts, ideas, concepts of what other people think of us. Do you want to be treated as a successful businessman and not the class clown? Then you need to move away from your school mates. Do you want to be considered to be a brilliant scientist? Then you need to move away from people who call you a “book worm with no common sense”. Do you want to become a suave and sophisticated “ladies man”? Then, you need to remove yourself from the women who make fun of you and who don’t appreciate you qualities.
Now, you shouldn’t become confused. It is often more than just moving away geographically. You have to learn and hone the skills that you desire. If you want to become a “world renowned doctor”, you will need to study and cultivate your presence globally. If you want to be a “Ladies Man”, you will need to hone your relationship skills, and work on your presentation. If you want to live the life on your terms, you will have to work at it.
Have a Dream
We all need an objective. This is something that we can visualize and conceptualize. It is something that we can embrace as a target and an ideal that we can achieve.
"Bronco Billy McCoy: I've got a special message for you little pardners out there. I want you to finish your oatmeal at breakfast and do as your mom and pa tell you because they know best. Don't ever tell a lie and say your prayers at night before you go to bed. And as our friends south of the border say, 'Adios, amigos.' "
Have a Plan
Without a roadmap we are just lost in the wilderness. We need a plan to follow with a set goal to achieve. So set a goal. Describe the person who you want to be. Go into great detail. List what you want to be and what you don’t want to be.
In the movie “Bronco Billy” all the members of his travelling fair were misfits. They were shoe salesmen, draft dodgers, and losers, who decided to step outside of their world and become something different. Here is a man who wanted to be an Indian chief.
You don’t need to use Microsoft Project to generate a plan, but you do need to take active steps. Get a notebook. It is cheap. Do not rely on your computer or cell phone to do this task. They are full of distractions. Go old school.
One cheap notebook. One pen (or pencil).
That notebook is your roadmap. Title it what ever you want, but in short it should be about one thing and one thing only; who you want to be.
Also note that it is going to be a journey. Right now you are NOT ready to be who you want to be. Some changes will be necessary. Indeed, you will need to change some things. Additionally, you will need to learn some things, and prepare some things as well. You will need to plan it out.
This rule applies to both men and women. It is not gender specific. In the movie “Bronco Billy”, a sad and unhappy, but filthy rich socialite ends up transforming her life into HER idea of what she wants.
For instance, using the “Ladies Man” example above, you will need to read books on how to seduce. You will need to subscribe to websites, forums and feeds with like minded people. You will need to establish goals and a training program. The training program will not only be about learning new things, but it will also be about unlearning old bad habits.
You will need to do daily positive affirmations. These are sentences that you repeat to yourself over and over to undo the programming that you have endured over the years. For instance;
I am calm, cool, and collected.
I am always happy, smart, know what to say.
I am lucky.
I dress right, my hair is perfect, and I know how to handle myself.
Positive affirmations need to be written down, and repeated daily. They work. Let them do their magic.
Work your plan
Once you map out your goal and how to get there; do it. In life, it is better to be 60% ready than wait forever to be 100% ready. You need to learn the basics and then plan on “faking it until you make it”. Close your eyes and make it happen.
Trust me, you won’t die.
"Bronco Billy McCoy: Now look! I don't take kindly to kids playin' hooky from school. I think every kid in America ought to go to school... at least up to the eighth grade.
Young kid: We don't go to school today, Bronco Billy. It's Saturday!
"
You will experience hurtles and problems. So what? That is life. For instance, let’s suppose your dream is to move to Bangkok, Thailand and become a go-go bar owner. It is obtainable, but it will be a lot of work. You might need to break your plan into smaller bite-sized bites and then work those pieces.
Let’s suppose your dream is to become a sheep rancher in New Zealand. It is possible, but you will need to know some basics about sheep herding, and you will need to work on the immigration paperwork.
In the pursuit of our dreams there will be setbacks and troubles. However, they will never end your dream. It will just put it aside for a spell. Do not give up. Never give up. Never, and I do mean NEVER let ANYONE ever steal or take your dream away from you.
No matter what you do, you will need to have a plan that not only covers the physical changes that you need and want to bring about, but also covers the emotional and behavioral ones as well. But you know what? You can do it, because it is in YOUR nature.
You do not need a machine to make the world-line switch. You can do this on your own.
It gets easier over time…
"Lorraine Running Water: Do you understand what Bronco Billy and the wild west show are all about? You can be anything you want. All you have to do is go out and become it! "
The longer you work towards your dream, the easier it becomes. You always become what you think about. But actuating your thoughts with physical and tangible actions you will be able to achieve your dreams, and trust me you will be amazed how successful you will become.
You can achieve your dreams. You only need to have a plan. Keep it simple and direct and work it relentlessly. It is the one thing for you and you alone. Never let anyone steal it away from you.
When I was planning on moving to China, I studied Chinese. I had no one to practice with. I had no one to listen to. So I did it on my own, while the people around me snickered and made fun of me. You will overcome the nay-Sayers and losers. You just follow your dream and stick with your plan.
Don’t let anyone steal that from under you.
Other Sources
In the movie “Bedazzled“, a man who is helplessly in love, signs away his soul for a change to spend life with the girl of his dreams. The devil gives him six opportunities to remake himself (all, of course, with a devilish twist). The point in the movie is that you can remake yourself to obtain objectives, but that there will be a tradeoff in the process.
I won’t go so far as to say that you cannot change because it will have undesirable effects. But, I will say that what ever the image that you want to become… make sure that it is an extension of WHO YOU ARE inside.
Only you can choose who you will be? Scenes are from the movie “Bedazzled”.
Conclusion
"Antoinette Lilly: Are you for real?
Bronco Billy McCoy: I'm who I want to be."
The movie “Bronco Billy” is a full embodiment of the lessons of Law #25 of the “48 Laws of Power”. All of the members within his little band of entertainers were redirecting their lives toward their dreams. While it is only a Hollywood movie, and received moderate praise by the “geniuses” in Hollywood, the lessons are important and valid.
It certainly deserves a second look. Especially today with the way things are in the world today.
Don’t give up.
You can recreate your own life in the form that you want it to be in. If you are tired and exhausted in living the life as it is today, you can exit it. You are not tied to anything. You really aren’t. You can bail.
Set a goal.
Make a Plan.
Follow the Plan.
Implement it.
Live your dream. Do not let anyone stop you.
Be like Bronco Billy. Live your dream. You don’t have to be a poor shoe salesman in New York city. You can recreate your life into something that appeals to you. Don’t be afraid. Follow your dream.
Takeaways
The 25th Law of the 48 Laws of Power suggests that we can create the life that we want to live. We should not accept the life that others want us to live.
This is attainable.
To achieve this dream, we need to set a goal, learn, and work towards that goal.
The movie “Bronco Billy” is all about the 25th Law of Power.
By watching the movie, you get a very good understanding of what the 25th Law of Power is and how it can be applied to your life.
FAQ
Q: Is my dream achievable, even if it sounds crazy or unobtainable?
A: Yes. However, it does need to be realistic. You cannot dream about being a turtle. However, you can dream about being a caretaker for turtles in Bora Bora.
Q: My spouse thinks it is a waste of time to pursue any dreams. What do I do?
A: This is a common problem. You have a choice. You can either enlist your spouse to share in your dream, or you will be forced to follow the dream without them. In any event, if you are forbidden to live your dream… that is not a life, no matter how anyone else tries to rationalize it.
Q: How can I find the time to do all that I need to do to obtain my dream?
A: If you do not find the time, your dream will never materialize.
Q: Where can I find the movie “Bronco Billy”?
A: Try Netflix or any decent torrent site. Torrents are free, and most movies can be downloaded in a few days. Rare movies might take weeks.
Life is too short to be unhappy. It is like a bowl of cold chili. It is up to you to make it the best best life that is possible. You need to set your foot down and take command of your life. Make your dreams happen.
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 post was updated 5JUL19, when I received word that the FDA approved Bremelanotide PT-141 under the name Vylessi. I updated this post, andsubsequently added the name Vylessi to all mention of Bremelanotide PT-141, and added updated histories and commentaries at the end.
We have a tendency to think inside the box. We try to improve what we know. We try to work within the framework of what we have. We actually do need to think "outside the box"...
As a man gets older, your body changes. Your hair starts receding, and starts to fall out. You start to become bald. Your hair turns white. Your teeth start giving you problems, and you start to gain weight. Getting rid of that weight becomes problematic. No longer can exercise alone keep you trim and fit. You have to change your diet as well.
All men eventually start to have erectile disfunction (ED). Usually it seems to start in your early 40’s depending on your stress level, lifestyle, and general health. You can postpone it for a few years, but it will eventually strike. It will.
Typically, erectile disfunction more closely resembles a moderate soft erection. This is due to the blood pressure in the penis. As a man gets older, his ability to create solid rock-hard erections diminishes. Instead, when excited he produces short-lived soft and “spongy” erections, often cycling between a moderate “soft” erection and no erection at all.
This is what it is like to grow old.
Now, you can exercise. You can eat special foods, and you can have a stress-free life that can all significantly reduce these effects. For instance, leeks and eggs, bitter melon and oysters can certainly help the man in the bedroom. It will do wonders, as will a daily glass of red wine…
Viagra entered the world in the 1990’s and revitalized the world of the American male. No longer did older men need to live a sex-less life. All you need do is pop in a “little blue pill” and all your troubles are over.
Of course, there are some tradeoffs.
For one, you need to get a doctors’ prescription. America is just about the ONLY nation that has this bastardized restriction. Everyone can just get the medicine off the shelf just about anywhere. Secondly, you have to pay REAL money for it. In a world where the raw material of Viagra (sildenafil) costs $100 / kg, and where a single dosage of Viagra is 25mg, the price difference is astounding.
You can purchase the raw material for Viagra in China. This is Sildenafil. You have a MOQ, minimum order quantity to content with, which is often at least a gram. Price is around $0.000002 / pill.
It costs ten cents a gram for sildenafil, or ten cents for 1000mg. That’s ten cents for 40 pills. But Big American Pharmacies and their associated industries are charging an insane amount for this pill.
The cost for Viagra oral tablet 25 mg is around $447 for a supply of 6 tablets, depending on the pharmacy you visit. Prices are for cash paying customers only and are not valid with insurance plans.
-Drugs.com
It’s a good thing that I live in China, where I can get a bag of 100 generic pills for under $1.20.
Ah, but I digress…
"Abroad, getting Viagra is no problem as it is readily available over the counter in many countries. In countries I’ve been to, it sells for $1 a pill. Then, it’s party on. No such luck in the police state known as America. Got to have a doctor’s prescription, and it’s pricey. But, it’s worth it for the occasional twosome or threesome when there’s blow involved."
-If you are going to use Cocaine use Viagra
Enter Cialis
While it is certainly convenient, the problem with Viagra is that it tends to give you a headache, and does not mix well with alcohol. Which really sucks as most of us older folk prefer to drink and have fun, often leading up to a sexual romp or two.
You take a Cialis pill on a Friday, and you are good to go up until next Tuesday. That’s four days, boys and girls. OK, well, three days of erection when you want it, and as long lasting as you need it. Four days it begins to sputter out. It’s erection on demand, and they are of high quality and long duration. Perfect for cuddling with that special person in your life. The real problem with this is that it takes around three hours to work, so it doesn’t lend itself to spontaneous sexual encounters.
It is ideal for a married man who wants to spend quality time with his wife.
Cialis is not licensed in China, so the only way you can get it at a pharmacy is to pay “full price”. Which is often 120 RMB/pill, or roughly $20/pill. That in itself pretty much sucks. Salaries in China are far below the salaries in the United States, so when you spend $20, it’s like spending enough to cover a weeks amount of food.
Typical Chinese Pharmacy. The girl behind the counter will typically look up your medicine request on the computer and giver you the option of a local generic Chinese brand or a (cheap) cost version of a Western equivalent.
But then again, you can simply buy the (Tadalafil) powder here. Weigh it out. Mix it up yourself and use it.
I understand that a generic version is available in the UK, which would be a good alternative if you didn’t want to have a closet full of 500,000 Cialis pills lying around after your mix up your own batch. (BTW, India doesn’t really care about these licensed patents, and makes the pills anyways. Licensing and FDA be damned. So you can get great quality Cialis Generic out of India for maybe a fraction of the cost for what you would pay in the USA.)
It’s worth it, you know. You can spend quality time and focus on the time together instead of just one central activity.
As an aside, it does have a shelf life. After I made up a couple of million pills, I had to throw away large garbage bags full of old pills. They had begun to age. As they got older, they started to develop side effects, such as stomach gas, indigestion, headaches, and vision irregularities. So don’t use any Cialis that is over three years old. When I threw them away, there must have been five large green-black bags of pills that were thrown into the dumpster. Such a waste. Such a waste.
Anyways, I would have say that Cialis is the preferred conventional medication for ED, hands down.
Anyways…
The Design Team
Ah, but now for some bad news. What is really sad about it is what happened to all the researchers and developers who invented this product. You want to guess? Come on, what do you think happened to them?
Key team leaders in the ICOS Corporation developed the drug. They conceived it, they developed it and worked on it. However, the FDA has all kinds of testing and qualification hurtles that needed to be overcome. There was no way that the medicine would be approved. They were told this, and they knew that they had to link up with an “insider” or two to get the product approved. So the ICOS Corporation teamed up with Eli Lilly and Company to help get the drug approved through the FDA.
Of course, Eli Lilly is a big company with a lot of pull. They were able to “pull some strings” and get the drug approved.
As soon as they were able, Eli Lilly and Company bought the ICOS Corporation. They did so in 2007. It didn’t come cheap. They bought it for $2.3 billion. As a result, Eli Lilly now owned Cialis. As soon as they acquired the company, they immediately closed the ICOS operations. Thus they ended the joint venture and fired most of ICOS’s approximately 500 employees. Five hundred employees fired. Five. Hundred. Employees. Good Golly!
So…
Now you know [1] why the drug costs so much, and [2] why it sucks to work in corporate America.
You can buy just about any medicine in the world at a Chinese pharmacy. You don’t need a prescription and the costs typically are much cheaper than in the United States. You just write what you are looking for on a slip of paper and give it to the girl behind the counter. No Chinese language skill is necessary.
Enter Levitra
This is an interesting little drug. It is a single dose drug like Viagra, but with a cost comparable to Cialis. It works a little bit differently than either of the two drugs already discussed. However, functionally it is like Viagra except it is made by a different company. You can consider it the Pepsi equivalent to Coke-cola.
I prefer it over Viagra simply because it interacts better with wine. I also like the (ahem) feeling I get when I use it. I feel (somewhat) better “packed” if you know what I mean.
What does it matter?
So now, men can take a pill and get an erection whenever they need it. Depending on where they live the access to this medication may be relatively easy (like in China) or restricted (like in America).
The thing is that life is not two dimensional.
It’s not ONLY about having a nice hard erection, it is about the mood, the feeling, and the emotions that you have when you are engaged in lovemaking. People, we are NOT animals. We have feelings and urges. Just getting hard and going through the motions is fine for a robot, but it is really weak compared to the real thing that you experienced when you were young.
For instance, consider the humble tomato. It was bred to look delicious, and ship safe. With taste being an afterthought. How we have thousands of tomatoes that look like plastic fruit and taste like cardboard. We have turned it into a two-dimensional shadow of what it was.
There are a host of things going on inside our brain when we are engaged in a sexual encounter. We express a litany of emotions, and feelings. We experience different sensations in our bodies. We connect and feel things that we share with our partners.
For both men and women, there are different aspects to a relationship that can be enhanced or (better yet) compensated for, instead just focusing on having an erection.
So…
Maybe we should start to pay attention to these other aspects of our life. Maybe we should consider them as playing an important role in our life. Maybe we should consider the entire aspect of who we are and what we are doing.
Enter PT-141 (Bremelanotide) Vyleesi
Instead of being a PDE5 inhibitor like Viagra and Cialis, consider a melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH). MSH induces lordosis in animal subjects. Or in other words, lordosis is a sign of physical preparation for copulation. It is a hormone that tells the body “get ready, we are going to have sex”.
It is a hormone that puts an animal in “heat”.
It is hardwired in our brains. In animals such as dogs and cats, it tells the female to rise up their butts, and tells males to start thrusting. Now, as man has evolved this hormone has been repressed. We have replaced it with other cultural triggers. Or, in other words, what we visually see that has value has replaced this hormone. The natural lordosis behavior has atrophied in humans.
Not so when you take this drug. This drug reactivates it.
PT-141 Bremelanotide is easily available outside of the United States. You can buy it in many English speaking countries such as Australia and the UK, as well as communist countries such as Communist China and Russia. However, Americans have been FORBIDDEN to have access to this medicine.
This drug was being developed by Palatin Technologies. It showed great promise as it works equally well on both the male and the female sexes. (Though who knows about the other 55 genders that somehow mysteriously popped into existence under the Obama administration.)
It’s not only that men can get a nice sold and hard erection. It is more than that. People who take this also feel differently. People who take it feel young and horny like a sex-crazed 16 year old.
There’s only one problem. The FDA decided to ban it.
The FDA refused to permit Americans to access this drug.
Here is the FDA approval process. It’s pretty tight. In a way it is helpful , but in another way it is counter productive. You need a medicine that works, under specified conditions for 90% of the population. You can NEVER find something that works for 100% of the population. They could have released this medicine as approved with limitations on use, rather than directly banning it completely.
Yes, it was banned in the United States, much to the surprise to all the doctors, scientists, and research participants.
They were shocked, as they should be. This was not just a “so so” drug. The test results were ASTOUNDING, and yet…yet… it was banned.
So, in defiance, the staff who developed this amazing medicines put it ALL out on the internet. That’s right. All of the chemical formulations, all of the test plans, and all of the documentation was uploaded to the Internet.
Just like Keannu Reeves did in the movie “Chain Reaction”.
In the movie “Chain Reaction”, Keanu Reeves played a scientist that had the secret to limitless energy. However, dark powerful forces (namely the “swamp” and Big Business) wanted to stop him, and keep the information to themselves. What he ended up doing was to take all the information and upload it to the cloud so that everyone could have the information for free.
There, for everyone to see, is the amazing test results and the absolutely stunning levels of corruption at the FDA.
They put it all out there. Everything, including the formulation and sequencing information.
Scientists talk among each other. It’s a small world. Sure, maybe the well-paid FDA bureaucrats ($440,000 / year just to say NO!) are oblivious to this fact, and only chat with each other in their mansions and country-clubs, but the real workers, developers and key inventors care about their work and research.
In short order, it became obvious that the FDA was a corrupt organization, and that America had banned this medication because it would compete against Viagra. It also became obvious that this medication was very special. Very… very special.
If Viagra could be compared to a French Fry, PT-141 Vyleesi was a full thanksgiving meal with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, cranberry dressing, pumpkin pie and soft fresh buttered rolls. There is no comparison. None at all.
Not only that, but now the formula was available for everyone to replicate. As soon as it got out on the Internet, everyone was making it. People could buy it and try it and use it. Everyone, that is, except Americans.
So for the last two decades, this amazing drug has been used all over the world (outside of America) with amazing success, and absolutely ZERO fatalities. (So much for the so called, concerns about possible high blood pressure in a fringe section of the population.)
It has since become a legend. PT-141 Vyleesi is the stuff of dreams…
Pfaus showed me stunning testimonials from human test subjects. “On the five-point scale, I would rate the erection I had as a six,” said one of the 1,300 anonymous testers.
"You get this humming feeling,” said another. “You’re ready to take your pants off and go.”The drug worked equally well on women, who chronicled “an intense arousal” that lasted from six to 72 hours. “I was focused on sex,” said one of the women.
Yes, but what is even more interesting is that this works on both men AND women. So while you might have a raging hard-on, your wife can now feel the same as you at the same time. She can feel like she was a sex-starved girl in the throes of “puppy love”.
Ah! What an amazing age that we live in!
“A dose of PT-141 results, in most cases, in a stirring in the loins in as little as 15 minutes. Women, according to one set of results, feel ‘genital warmth, tingling and throbbing’, not to mention ‘a strong desire to have sex’.”
-Julian Dibbell at ScienceBase
People can buy the PT-141 Vyleesi outside of the United States. And, they have been doing so for around two decades now.
The FDA has no jurisdiction off-shore, and people have taken advantage of this to try different kinds of medications for their own purposes.
You know, you don’t always have to listen to that busybody down the street to do things. So what if the FDA wants to FORCE you to pay outrageous prices for Viagra, and forbids you from using medications that you can get just about anywhere else on the planet.
Every nation has pharmacies. Here is one in China. However, you can go to a pharmacy in Mexico if you don’t want to fly to China. I am sure that it has many of the medications listed herein at a fraction of the cost of American versions.
You can hop on a plane and go to a nation that is freer, and get the medications yourself. I would suggest going to a nation that allows people more freedom than America allows.
“With PT-141 Vyleesi, you feel good, not only sexually aroused,” reported anonymous patient 007, a participant in a Phase 2 trial, “you feel younger and more energetic.”
Said another patient: “It helped the libido. So you have the urge and the desire. . . . You get this humming feeling; you’re ready to take your pants off and go.”
And another: “Twice me and my wife had sex twice in one night. I came in [to work] and I just raved about it: ‘Jesus, guys . . . 58 years old and you don’t do that.’ ”
Tales of pharmaceutically induced sexual prowess among 58-year-olds are common enough in the age of the Little Blue Pill, but they don’t typically involve quite so urgent a repertoire of humming, throbbing, tingling, and double-dipping.
Or as patient 128 put it: “My wife knows. She can tell the difference between Viagra and PT-141 Vyleesi .”
The stories about this drug are amazing. Consider this from TheIronDen;
My buddy said research the stuff and see what the dosing was supposed to be because me made a HUGE mistake and took to much. He took double what we took and I will tell you DAMN!!! DOSING is .10-.20cc NO MORE below is the story.
As many of you know I am a bouncer on the weekends well I was told take this 45 minutes before going to bed, I had read where this could take a few hours to take effect so at midnight we went to the car and took the preloaded insulin pins I brought with me.
Well I felt nothing and the wife didn't either by 3:30 when we got home. I was pissed at her and she didn't know it so watched TV awhile then I slept on the couch, she came in the next morning and woke me up, we went in the room and talked a min, then it was on.
We have never had sex 3 times in 4 hours and she has never orgasmed 3 times in 1 day, we were so tired from sex that we couldn't hardly move and wanted more but our bodies wouldn't let us. bremelanotide Vyleesi is AMAZING, I even wanted it last night, she was in the mood but couldn't as she has other medical problems and the pain in her hip was too much.
What it does:
Men - makes you horny as hell and increases blood flow to the cock making it more sensitive.
Women - floods the vagina with blood making it WAY more sensitive and very aroused.
Of this from a woman who took it with her husband…
3 hours after injection bremelanotide (PT-141) Vyleesi hit like gangbusters.*
We were sitting in the lounge area of a restaurant when my nether regions made themselves known. Increased sensitivity to any movement I made in my seat i.e. shifting or leg crossing.
This was coupled with increased sexual thoughts.
It is difficult not to think in sexual terms when some body parts are demanding your attention! My husband had a difficult time getting up from his chair to even approach the restaurant table. Next time we will time the injections better LOL
There are many, many…. MANY opinions by users, that actually run counter to the decisions made by the FDA.
I have to wonder if the agencies such as the FBI, FCC, FDA and IRS are actually being made to benefit Americans. I just seems like they all have their own agendas and treat American citizens like toilet tissue. It really seems that way. It really, really does.
Heck, if the FDA was around when ice cream cones were first invented, I am sure that they would have banned them.
The same goes for such staples as Coke-cola, bananas (they will need to have a Blue Ribbon Panel study the “banana issue”), and chewing gum. Of course they would have banned chewing gum “for the children”.
Absolute power CORRUPTS absolutely.
When any agency causes more harm then benefit, it should have it’s doors shuttered and the workers discharged. Perhaps these “protected” governmental agencies should start to feel what industry has been like since the 1960’s for us “fly over” folk.
Women state that the sensation given from injecting bremelanotide (PT-141) Vyleesi is like being in heat!
One colleague in particular stated that she didn’t know what was going on…but she had wanted “it” all day long after dosing the night before.
-TheIronDen
User details, dosages and experiences on AllThingsMale
Here’s a quick timeline of events that begins with Palatin Technologies’ submission to the FDA in the United States.
August 30, 2007
Right off the bat, the FDA declined Palatin Technologies’ application for approval of Bremelanotide to treat erectile dysfunction. The reason was there were “concerns” of increased blood pressure in a small percentage of the test subjects. Especially in light that Viagra was approved and it too had test subjects that had increased blood pressure.
...the rejection of Bremelanotide by the FDA is especially puzzling, at least to a "lay person", when seeing posts online (including this one on the Yahoo finance message board for Palatin Technologies) claiming Palatin insiders have told them that only 2% of test subjects experienced a significant increase in blood pressure.
"It was up to 30 for 2 percent (I spoke to Steven W aka investor relations). The avg was 3. Not a medical person but those few people that hit the 30 mark killed brem."
Click here to read about the FDA decision about Bremelanotide
There are all kinds of conspiracies as to why this drug was declined because one or two of the thousands of test subjects had slightly raised blood pressure, when other approvals (with higher percentages of problems identified by test subjects) were approved.
I, such as myself, have speculated that huge companies (like Pfizer for instance) may have strongly influenced the FDAs decision regarding approval of this relatively small company’s competitive product. If you don’t know what I am talking about, watch the movie “Tucker, a man and his dream“.
September 10, 2007
Palatin Technologies and King Pharmaceuticals end their collaboration. Palatin regains full rights to the Bremelanotide program.
September 11, 2007
Competitive Technologies announced they presented Palatin Technologies with a Notice of Termination of the PT-14 technology license agreement. For those not aware, CTT “discovered” the original compound that led to PT-141 (Brem’s initial designation) via the University of Arizona, and licensed Palatin to develop it in 1998.
This issue was resolved on January 22, 2008 with Palatin paying $800,000 to CTT and maintaining the rights to Bremelanotide.
September 28, 2007
Palatin Technologies announced positive results from an at-home Phase 2 trial evaluating bremelanotide for the treatment of female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD).
Post menopausal women "showed statistically significant improvements, compared to baseline and placebo, in desire and arousal success rates, and overall satisfaction at one and two months. In these patients, the FSFI domains of arousal, desire and orgasm were statistically significantly improved compared to placebo at one month. The arousal and orgasm domains were statistically significantly improved compared to placebo at one and two months."
Premenopausal women also "showed statistically significant improvements, compared to baseline, in desire and arousal success rates, and overall satisfaction at one and two months."
May 14, 2008
Palatin Technologies reported it was abandoning Bremelanotide as a sexual dysfunction drug. Instead they intend to resubmit it to the FDA as a treatment for shock due to blood loss.
They are beginning studies for a new compound called PL-6983. This compound works like Bremelanotide but with significantly lower problems related to blood pressure issues. Read Palatin Technologies’ 2008 Objectives plan here.
Then something happened... In 2016, Donald Trump was elected and immediately put businessmen instead of political hacks in charge of the FDA. Three years later...
July 1, 2019
The FDA approved the drug! I am absolutely shocked! As well as pleased. Very, very pleased. Now Americans can finally get what we in the rest of the world has enjoyed for almost two decades now.
It can now be bought in the United States under prescription. It goes by the name Vyleesi. I’m sure that it will be much more expensive for Americans to buy, but it will now be available, and that is a big step towards freedom.
Here is a write up that has been circulating online over the last decade or so. As websites come and go, it behooves us to keep this information alive and available for all the poor sops in America who are FORBIDDEN from using this wonderful product;
What is Bremelanotide (PT-141)?
Bremelanotide (formerly PT-141) is the generic term for a new medication for use in treating sexual dysfunction in men (erectile dysfunction or impotence) as well as sexual dysfunction in women (sexual arousal disorder). It is a synthetic aphrodisiac. Unlike Viagra and other related medications, it does not act upon the vascular system, but directly increases sexual desire.
Originally, the peptide Melanotan II that bremelanotide was developed from was tested as a sunless tanning agent. In initial testing, Melanotan II did induce tanning but additionally caused sexual arousal and spontaneous erections as unexpected side effects in eight out of the ten original male volunteer test subjects. In clinical studies, bremelanotide has been shown to be effective in treating male sexual and erectile dysfunction as well as female sexual dysfunction. It is currently being tested by Palatin Technologies.
Bremelanotide is a cyclic hepta-peptide lactam analog of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) that activates the melanocortin receptors MC3-R and MC4-R in the central nervous system. It has the amino acid sequence Ac-Nle-cyclo[Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys]-OH or cyclo-[Nle4, Asp5, D-Phe7, Lys10]alpha-MSH-(4-10). PT-141 is a metabolite of Melanotan II that lacks the C-terminal amide function. Its molecular formula is C50H68N14O10 with a molecular weight of 1025.2.
Are these nasal? Oral, Injectable?
Currently the nasal and oral routes have not been made efficient. PT-141 is a sterile injectable made for sub-q injection, like insulin.
What's the dosing schedule...how much do I take?
0.5mg-2mg is the range which people dose. Taking 2-4 hours before game time is ideal. The window of opportunity is very unique.
Say you had a dinner and movie arranged. Taking before dinner may be the best route, however during the climax of the movie may interfere with one of your own…read between the lines there
Is there any reconstituting involved?
Yes and bacteriostatic water is the recommended solvent here.
To mix the vial with bact water, take one syringe (BD Ultrafine II 1cc or 1/3 cc are excellent and I recommend them) and grab your vial of bacteriostatic water. If using a 1 cc syringe (100 units), use the syringe to withdraw 1 full ml (1cc) and inject that into the vial of PT-141 through the rubber.
Be sure to aim the needle towards the glass, so that it will trickle down and not harm the peptide.
Swirl the vial to thoroughly mix and let the peptide dissolve. The key here is to be gentle.
Say you had the vial of PT-141 stored in the freezer, move the vial of PT-141 to fridge for an overnight stay. Then you are ready the next day to reconstitute the same temperature refrigerated bact water with the PT-141 in the most efficient manner. (Just some tricks of the trade here.)
So now you have 100 units (1cc) of bacteriostatic water mixed with 10 mg of PT-141 in your vial ready to go. A 1mg dose would be 10 units or .1ml (.1cc). Make sense? Hope so.
How is it stored?
The lyophilized powder (freeze dried state) can be stored in the freezer or refrigerator. Once reconstituted (mixed with water) it will be good for a month in the refrigerator before it begins to degrade.
Does this help give erections or just put you in the mood?
With PT-141, you feel good, not only sexually aroused, as reported anonymous patient 007, a participant in a Phase 2 trial, you feel younger and more energetic.
The precise mechanisms by which PT-141 does its job remain unclear, but the rough idea is this: Where Viagra acts on the circulatory system, helping blood flow into the penis, PT-141 goes straight to the brain itself. And there it goes to work, switching on the same neural circuitry that lights up when a person actually, you know, wants to.
Basically this takes men back to middle school. You may find yourself in a similar situation as you were in 8th grade science class with the teacher bent over helping the student in front of you. It may be necessary to do a "tuck up" if at the office or especially at the public pool!
This is an “improved” version of PT-141 that doesn’t have any of the “concerns” that the FDA has raised. Of course, no matter how successful the medication is, the FDA will probably ban it’s use anyways. Anyways, this medication is under development currently and the formula is secret. Maybe one day, we can find out more about this medication. However, for now, we will have to wait.
PL-6983 is a synthetic peptide and selective MC4 receptor agonist which is under development by Palatin Technologies for the treatment of female sexual dysfunction and erectile dysfunction. It was developed as a successor to/replacement of bremelanotide (PT-141) due to concerns of the side effect of increased blood pressure seen with the latter in clinical trials. Relative to bremelanotide, PL-6983 produces significantly lower increases in blood pressure in animal models.The drug has reportedly been in pre-clinical development for all medical indications since 2008. Palatin has stated that "We are focusing development efforts on bremelanotide for [female sexual dysfunction], but are continuing evaluation of PL-6983." The chemical structure of PL-6983 has yet to be made public.
-Wikipedia
You do not need to take various medications to enhance your bodies’ desire for sexual intercourse. There are hormones that do this. For example, Oxytocin is a hormone that also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain and known as the “love hormone” or “cuddle hormone”.
In humans, it is believed to be released during hugging, touching, and orgasm in both sexes. Oxytocin is also involved in social recognition and bonding, and may be involved in the formation of trust and generosity.
A researcher at the University of Zurich has stated that women are more susceptible to oxytocin than men, due to enhancing effects of estrogen, so women may show a stronger effect.
If you are an American it would be pretty difficult to obtain. You would have to have your doctor prescribe it for you, and at that, it is heavily regulated and very expensive. Or, you could do what everyone else on the globe does. They buy it from China.
Now, of course, women have different biology than males. Their urges, needs and desires can not often be switched on and off like a light-bulb. Consider Flibanserin. Here is a drug that showed some real promise in helping women reengage their sexual desire.
Addyi has been developed to help women with their sexual needs and desires. Personally I think it is a good thing. I have noticed that when both mean and women are getting their sexual and relationship needs fulfilled, they are often healthier and much happier.
It was developed by a small company called Boehringer Ingelheim, and they submitted it to the FDA for approval. Of course, the FDA halted all approvals, and the development of this product ended.
Well, some “back door” meetings were conducted. Some money changed hands. Then, suddenly the rights to the drug were then transferred to Sprout Pharmaceuticals. What do you know? Suddenly all the roadblocks fell and the FDA approved of the drug in August 2015.
Of course! Only certain companies are permitted to get products approved by the FDA. It’s a small closed club, don’t you know. Hum. I wonder how much money exchanged hands at the FDA. I’ll bet that it was significant.
Some people end up having followers or groupies. Anyone can be a follower. That can include newscasters. I am sure that this gal would do anything that this man asked.
The product was developed as BIMT-17. Current brand name is Addyi.
Flibanserin has been dubbed the “Female Viagra” and “the little pink pill”; however compared to Viagra, flibanserin has a distinctly different mechanism.
The proposed mechanism of action of flibanserin involves regulation of several brain chemicals that may affect sexual desire, although the exact mechanism is not known. Flibanserin is a post-synaptic 5HT1A receptor agonist and 5HT2A receptor antagonist, as noted in FDA briefing documents, and has action in the central nervous system.
The manufacturer states that flibanserin corrects an imbalance of dopamine and norepinephrine (both responsible for sexual excitement), while decreasing levels of serotonin (responsible for sexual satiety / inhibition).
Flibanserin is not a hormonal drug and does not affect blood flow like the class of drugs approved for men with erectile dysfunction.
-Drugs.com
Like all FDA approved medications, there are limitations. The medication has to be taken daily and is costly, about US$800 per month with a prescription.
But no worries. You can buy the materials by the Kg in China, and only end up paying $0.0000002/dose. Of course, you would need to measure the dose out on a scale. So it is not as convenient.
If you want to save money, and not have to worry about self dosing, I would suggest this far cheaper alternative.
Buy a round-trip ticket to China.
Get a five-star hotel room.
Go to a pharmacy, and pay $20 for a three month supply.
Return home.
You won’t need a prescription in China. The Chinese government trusts their citizens to know how to take care of their own bodies.
Contrary to what the American Media says, the Chinese government trusts their people.
What about Kisspeptin
Kisspeptin is a naturally occurring hormone, so it’s present in all men and all women. And it’s mainly found in the brain, especially in the center of the brain in the area called the hypothalamus.
At the moment we know that it works to control other reproductive hormones like testosterone and estrogen using its actions in the hypothalamus. There are receptors for this hormone in the emotional areas of the brain.
In trials, 29 healthy young male volunteers were given an injection containing kisspeptin. They were then shown a variety of images while in an MRI scanner, including sexual and non-sexual romantic pictures of couples bonding. The same men were also administered a placebo during the two-stage controlled study.
Researchers analyzing the brain responses of the men found that after the injection of kisspeptin, when viewing sexual or romantic images of couples, there was increased activity in structures in the brain typically activated by sexual arousal and romance.
The researchers say the findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, show for the first time that the hormone that is vital in all of us to stimulate puberty can also alter the way that our brains behave.
Roll Call
So we have PDE5 inhibitors like Viagra and Cialis that enable the male to have erections. It doesn’t do anything in regards to feelings and emotions. All it does is enable men to perform biologically like they did when they were in their 20’s.
We have melanocyte stimulating hormones (MSH) that induces primeval lordosis in humans. This works on both men and women. The FDA forbids Americans to use this medicine, but it is being used around the world with great and stunning results. This is available in PT-141 and possibly (one day) in PL-6983.
We have normal human hormones such as Kisspeptin and Oxytocin that regulates feelings and emotions leading towards relationships and sexual activities.
Finally, we have “designer medicines” such as Flibanserin (Addyi). Which is a post-synaptic 5HT1A receptor agonist and 5HT2A receptor antagonist for female use.
The Future
The future for Americans is rather bleak, I am afraid.
The House of Representatives voted on Friday to create a new schedule of banned drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, called “Schedule A,” and to give Attorney General Jeff Sessions broad new powers to criminalize the manufacturing, importation, and sale of substances that are currently unregulated, but not illegal.
The bill is now headed to the Senate, where co-sponsors Dianne Feinstein (D–Calif.) and Chuck Grassley (R–Iowa) will likely have little problem whipping votes.
-Michael Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog
Did you know that the natural betel nut is banned in the United States? Do you even know what it is? It is a nut from the betel tree, and people in South East Asia chew it, much like Americans chew birch bark and leaves. It’s not at all popular in the United States, but in Asian expat communities, they do chew this nut.
Well, the FDA banned it. Do you know why?
Was it because it was dangerous? Was it because of “the children”? Was it because it might cause addiction or develop into a desire for other vices? Nope. It was banned because they COULD NOT find anything wrong with it. So to be safe, they banned it until they could find a benefit in chewing it. You know, “better safe than sorry”.
What kind of backwards logic is this? That is America for you. There is absolutely no freedom. Now, if you want to chew a betel nut you need to go to a freer country that allows you this little pleasure.
You need to go to a country that has more freedoms than America allows. You know, like friggin’ communist China!!!!
Summary
As an American, all we know is what we are told. We think that there is only one medication available for men with ED issues. When in reality, there are a host of solutions. It is just that Americans are barred from trying any of these other solutions simply because…
Simply because…
You, know. Because…
But not to worry. These medications are easy to get outside of the United States. They do not need doctors prescriptions or any proof of age or other barriers that one often finds in the United States. You just go to a pharmacy, write the name of the drug on a piece of paper, and they sell it to you directly at the cash register.
As you get older, you start to realize that “someday, I will...” is actually right NOW. There no longer is a “someday“. All you have is the NOW, and nothing else. You have friends who have died, and you truly know how short life actually is. You don’t have the will to wait for “someday…“.
You don’t have the time, or the patience to wait until some well-fed bureaucrat in the American government grants you the right to do things with your own body. You say “piss on this“, and go do it yourself anyways.
Every day that you live could be the last.
That moment that you could spend with your wife, holding and snuggling, while the storm rages outside might be your last. Those bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. don’t care about you at all. They are not sitting at the table with you now. They have no idea what color your socks are, and do not know which side of the bed that you sleep on.
How dare they TELL YOU what to put in YOUR body!
Here are the people who operate the enormous bureaucracy in the United States. You know, the ones that say one things and do the other. John Brennan. James Clapper, and their ilk. You know what they think of YOU and your family, don’t you…?
Freedom actually means something. It is not just a meaningless slogan that you hear on the fourth of July. It means something, gosh darn it!
The freedom to live your life on your terms is what freedom is. And that is why I am in communist China of all places. At least here, I can take whatever medication I please. No over-paid Washington bureaucrat can do anything about it.
Hey! I’m not seeing an opioid crisis over here…
Oh, and by the way! I like well-cooked bacon as well, with sunny-side up eggs! I like “runny” yellows on my eggs. You don’t like it? You can go to hell.
This is MY time and I am living it on MY terms. I strongly recommend that you, the reader, do so as well. You go live YOUR life as YOU see fit.
PT-141 is illegal in the United States, even though it’s qualification trials were acceptable. This is true even though this drug is available world-wide with no reported problems what so ever.
To pass approval in the FDA, there is apparently a need for graft, kick-backs and large American-based company partnerships. Nothing is ever approved on merit alone.
Americans do not need to suffer the extremely high costs of medications in the United States. They can get them outside of the USA at a fraction of the cost (airfare included).
ED medication is often used recreationally by young men who don’t need it. However, there is a real and serious need for men over 40 years old.
The roles of touching, cuddling, holding and passionate embraces are just as important than the sexual act alone.
FAQ
Q: What is PT-141? A:Bremelanotide (tentative brand name Rekynda; former developmental code name PT-141) is a peptide melanocortin receptor agonist which is under development by Palatin Technologies as a treatment for female sexual dysfunction. It works equally effectively on both male and female humans.
Q: Is it available in the United States? A: No. The FDA has banned it.
Q: Why is PT-141 banned in the United States? A: The official reason is because a small subgroup of patients using the medication experienced higher than normal levels of blood pressure. The actual reason is because this is a small non-American organization, and they did not have any connections with large American pharmacy organizations to pay for the vice and graft that the FDA expected.
Q: Is PT-141 safe? A: Yes. Since the product went globally public since 2007, there has not been one fatality or hospitalization when using this medication. NOT ONE.
Q: Other medicines in other nations cheaper than in the USA? A: Oh, my yes.
"$8 per vial in competing developed-world nations and $38,892 in the U.S. That says it all."
-Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog
5JUL19 Update
The FDA approved Bremelanotide PT-141 for sale under the trade name Vyleesi. Amazing!
Dr. Robert Pearl, writing in Forbes last September illustrated the greed exhibited by the industry. He used the CEO of Nostrum Laboratories to make his point. Nostrum recently raised the U.S. price of their antibiotic nitrofurantoin from $474.75 to $2,392. It was developed back in 1953 and should have gone off patent during the Nixon era.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Nirmal Mulye Nostrum chief executive, said “I think it is a moral requirement to…sell the product for the highest price.”
Mr Mulye compared pricing decisions to that of selling “a painting for half a billion dollars”. He was “in this business to make money”. Of course, all businesses are in business to make money. But, none enjoy the monopolistic protections granted to the pharmaceutical industry here in the United States.
Note: a three day supply of nitrofurantoin tablets in Alberta sells for $15 Canadian.
The American system has been allowed to metastasize into an unaffordable monster. Our political leaders have allowed it. It is long past time for Americans to demand that they change it. This is not a matter of right versus left. It is a matter of right versus wrong. It is simply wrong for our government to allow sick Americans to be held hostage to the predatory prices imposed by these government protected monopolies.
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.
No, this is not a bash the United States post. This is a post about stepping out of your comfort zone and seeing what is “out there”. Here, I argue that travel, and adventure, are the best ways to make us appreciate America, what we have. As well, as to appreciate what we don’t have.
After all, if you live in the desert you begin to appreciate grass, trees and rain. You need to “shake things up” from time to time.
When one speaks three languages: they are trilingual.
When one speaks two languages: they are bilingual.
When one speaks only one language: they are American.
I’ve done my fair share of travelling, and I can say that no place is perfect. Some things are great here, and some things are better there. What is important is the exposure to those things. It helps us grow.
Have you ever wondered what would happen to the people of North Korea if they were exposed to what it is like outside of North Korea? Can you just imagine? They have never been to a McDonald’s restaurant. They have never seen a K-POP video. They don’t carry smart phones, and don’t know what a search engine is. Imagine what a shock to their system it would be.
They are stuck there in their own echo chamber, in their own bubble of reality.
Just like us Americans. We too are stuck in a echo chamber and our own bubble of reality. My golly, that should most certainly be obvious after the 2016 election of Donald Trump and how outrageous the news media has become afterwards. Everyone is living this fake world and this fictional understanding of life. Everyone. From the news-babes on CNN, to the CEO of Starbucks. Everyone is living in some kind of Bizzaro World.
The weekends in Egypt are not same with ours!
This also broke my common sense, I thought the weekends is Saturday and Sunday all over the world! But there're Friday and Saturday in Egypt!
Anyways…
Let’s chat a little bit about stepping outside of the United States as an American Man, for just a spell. Just for a little bit of time, not for long. Just for a little bit. Then return back. Then to think about how to improve our life inside the United States. For now, we have a new and fresh perspective of what it is like outside the United State’s borders…
Step out. Look around. Step back.
Remember, I am a MAN, so this article is from my, a male’s perspective. I am sure a woman would have a totally different viewpoint.
Why a man should leave America
If you’re an American living in the United States, I’m sorry, but you probably aren’t using your nationality to its fullest potential. Sure, you get to honor the flag during baseball games, barbecue hotdogs on the 4th of July and express your loud political opinion. But ultimately, the best way to celebrate your Americanism is to leave the USA.
-The Privileged Life of an American Living in Asia
Since I have been outside of the USA, I have lived a freer, happier life. While I have tried to tell and relate this fact to the reader, it is just incomprehensible to most Americans because many have not left the United States. What I relate to and describe is completely foreign. I wish it wasn’t this way, I really do. However, that is simply the truth.
I will have to be honest, it wasn’t until after I left America that I really began to appreciate it.
As well as get really angry as to what it has become.
Here's just a few of the things that I have come to miss...
The first day of hunting season. A big garden full of tomato plants, peppers and onions. Football on lazy Sunday afternoons. The local sports section in the newspaper with photos of friends, relatives, and their kids. Fishing brook trout. A compound bow. A Ruben sandwich with real coleslaw. Rummaging around in a auto junkyard and scrounging some spare parts.
Meeting some friends at the local bar, or club. Chatting about the latest movies. Depth-charges, and pickled eggs. Cleaning out the gutter, and raking leaves. (Yeah, really.) My riding lawnmower.
My tree stand and salt lick.
Chilling out with my uncle while jazz played on the stereo in his living room. Having a "Dagwood" sandwich. The editorial section of the Pittsburgh Press. Taking my motorcycle out for a spin on a nice sunny summer day. "Lighting up" next to a hopper while the Indian summer breeze blew some leaves about.
You take these things for granted. It is not until you live without them that you begin to miss them, and appreciate them.
Here is an interesting little vignette from an American who went to visit a coffee-shop in Amsterdam, and discovers that instead of selling coffee, it sold weed and magic mushrooms!
Yeah right, coffee shop that doesn’t serve coffee, but space cakes and magic mushrooms.
So, I am from a country where you get skinned, shot at, and hanged for having this stuff.
Of course, now I had the freedom to do that, and hence, I headed to a coffeeshop. As a noob, I had no idea how this works. There was a “consultant” to assist you, like a pharmacist!” No kidding , that was crazy!
I remember the lady introducing all the products from space cakes and magic mushrooms to philosophical stones and recommend that a noob like me to try the mushrooms. So I asked, “How do you eat this?”
She replied, “ Just eat it like eating French fries.”
Me after an hour : Damn the French fries was good!
-What was the biggest culture shock you ever faced?
This posting is inspired by an article titled “10 Reasons Why Heterosexual Men Should Leave America” written on 16DEC13 written by RooshV. As good as it is, it is (perhaps) a little too dominated by sexual excursions and other opinions by that author. It’s kind of a “turn off”, don’t you know.
Again, and I must REPEAT, this is not an article that bashes America. It is my suggestion that travel to different places, and exposure to different things is beneficial.
We all NEED to Grow
For us to grow and advance in both the physical and spiritual aspects of our beings, we need to adapt to the changing circumstances that surround us. We need to adapt to the environment as we find it. We need to do this with acceptance, and without trying to alter or change the environment; for it is only us who will be able to change. We can only change ourselves, not the environment around us.
In my case, I left the United States, and I moved to China.
Before I left to Beijing for my weekend trip, my friends from Macau & Hong Kong told me how air quality is going to be bad, smog everywhere, take a mask, etc., but when I went to Beijing, I saw bluest sky I have seen and air quality was excellent. When I showed some of my photos, no one would believe, then I saw an article in New York Times how china could change the climate and air quality if they want to.
Not sure if this is true but it was a very beautiful day
-What culture shocks did you experience when coming to China
Well I moved to China.
As such, I needed to adapt to the Chinese way of doing things. Which was, in many ways, very different from what I have come to expect. This shock to my system, and what I have learned from it was eye opening. As such, I wish to write about some of the things that I have learned. Though, I will have to tell you (the reader) that many of what I will relate will not make any sense, and you will probably not believe me anyways.
“Most people do not believe traveller’s tales.”-Glory Road
Differences are always good
I was in Singapore this Feb 2017. Our tour guide proudly asked us in the bus to look outside and tell us what they notice or see different than our country - India. Everyone looked outside, few minutes passed by and people shouted “Traffic police?”. She said, “Yes! We have no traffic police. Everything is monitored on the CCTV cameras. One of the reasons there is so much obedience in public”.
What a boring place the world would be if all we could eat was salt-free oatmeal, and warm water. Even for you oatmeal lovers out there, it would be boring. Day in and day out. The same old… same old. Lucky for us, it isn’t that way. We can choose to eat ice cream, pizza, pork chops, bacon, and French fries. What a wonderful situation!
It is wonderful to have choices. Yet, many times we do not realize that we have choices. We are stuck in our groove of conformity. We always get a McDonalds burger, or a Starbucks coffee. We don’t think of alternatives. I argue that we should. For that is how we grow. Picture is of a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich.
If we wanted to, we could eat chicken fried steak with sunny-side-up eggs. We can eat butterscotch milkshakes and brownies. We can eat thick pan, double-stuffed pizza and wash it down with a pitcher of icy cold Budweiser. We can eat bagels and cream cheese and a wash it down with a nice hot cup of coffee with real cream. My goodness! Isn’t it great to be able to have choices?
That means, boys and girls, having choices is a good thing.
You can live in Boston if you want bagels and coffee from Duncan Donuts, or live in California if you want taquitos and coffee. You can live in Florida if you want nice sunny skies, or you can live in Wisconsin if you like ice fishing. Choices are good. Having different choices in different places are good.
That’s pretty important.
That is why it is so great to live in Europe. A two or three hour ride will take you to a different part of Europe with different customs, languages and lifestyle. Well, it used to, anyways. That is until the progressive started to run Brussels and dictate conformity throughout the EU. Anyways, I digress…
Different things are really great.
Having different choices is food is a very good thing. You can have a taco if you are too tired of hotdogs, and hamburgers. I think that it is not just food, but drink as well. Instead of a icy coke, how about a nice frosty PBR or local beer? Different choices are a good thing.
It doesn’t matter what it is. Not really. Different types of food are nice. Like, for instance, getting a cup of coffee at the Café du monde in New Orleans as opposed to walking into a Starbucks franchise.
Not just about food and drink, mind you, but other things as well. How about having different pets. Having a few dogs around the house to liven it up, and having a few cats to mellow things out and keep everyone in line, is a good thing.
Or maybe having different cars. Like having a beat-up pickup to go mudslinging, or a cheap car to commute to work back and forth, or having a nice big Lincoln to go out to the lounge in the big city.
Different is good. It is really, really good.
You know, seemingly small things can make a big difference. Consider using a different kind of bread or cheese on your hamburger. You expand the taste and I dare say…improve it! Maybe a cooked sweet pepper, or some crumbly blue cheese, and olives. Hey, don’t just snort in incredulity, Try it.
We need to Broaden our Experiences
Now, I contend that the greater your experiences are with different things, the broader your personality becomes.
For instance, I never had any Mexican (or Tex-Mex) food until after I graduated from university. Yet, when I had my first taco and burrito, I became hooked. How I could, I possibly live in a world without refried beans, melted cheese, and tacos? Since then, this type of food expanded my experiences. It made me a better person. And, perhaps, a little thicker around the middle.
How about a fine club sandwich to put a nice big smile on your face. I really like to eat it with a side of coleslaw and some thick “Texas” fries, and a nice cup of “bottom-less” coffee (or sweet iced tea). Yum!
It doesn’t mean that all that I ate before (my discovery of Mexican food) was bad, it is just that I found another food that I like just as well as (stuffed) pork chops, pizza and double tomato hamburgers. It was equal.
Later, when I experienced “real” Southern cooking and had my first “real” BBQ in Mississippi, I added yet another food to my list of favorites. Shortly after that, I added deep-fried catfish, pickled tomatoes, and hushpuppies. Some of the things that I was exposed to completely replaced the old “standbys”. For instance, once I had “real” Southern mint iced tea, I never bought a regular “iced tea” from a fast food restaurant ever again.
My experiences expanded me.
Muslims male could have more than one wife.
My Egyptian friends told me that the Muslims in Egypt could have four wives maximum, that's legal.
having experiences is good. That is a good thing. We have to keep on constantly pushing, striving and working on growth. Instead of just ordering the same $5 pepperoni pizza from Domino’s pizza, mix it up a little and try a Greek gyro with salad and French fries. Instead of a number #2 meal out of Burger King, order their new “signature” special and try it out for a change. Instead of drinking a Coke out of the 7-11, go a little nuts and drink a Dr. Pepper. Let your “hair down”, live a little bit.
Please, believe me. You should try different things.
Not all hamburgers are the same. Fast food is NOT about a basic McDonalds hamburger. It can be anything. There are choices out there you know. You have choices. You can decide what YOU want to eat. Your choices are not limited to either [1] a cheeseburger, [2] a big mac, or [3] a quarter pounder.
Step outside your comfort zone. The world is filled with all kinds of things that are are quite different from what you have grown accustomed to. Different is good. Listen to me, different is GOOD.
It’s not only about food either. It’s about everything.
Yeah, the Hollywood movie “Hangover II” was a fiction, but the life that it represents can be easily obtained. You just need to step out of your comfort zone and experience new things. Anyways, who wouldn’t mind hanging out with your best friends with a monkey in a “Rolling Stones” vest, drinking VSOP?
This includes different types of personalities, different fashions, different styles of buildings, different weather, different ways of doing things. Each one has their good and bad aspects. There is no “best” way to do anything. You can select and you can choose.
They use almost every part of the animal in their food. It was a shock when I ordered Chicken in my hotpot, expecting just the meat and find that there is literally a chicken head, chicken feet etc. in my soup.
Don’t fall for the conventional narrative that there is only ONE best way to do things (the way everyone else does things). You are your own person. You can make your decisions and you own choices.
You, yes YOU, can decide.
"I certainly had no idea about sex until I was 52 and living in Asia.
But I didn’t understand what I was missing either, so can sympathize with a lot of the white guys living in their home towns.
I don’t even bother telling my pals back home about sex out here, they just claim I’m lying, or at best think I’m lying."
-John
We need to Push and Strive
You have to push to learn and improve your life.
Unless you push, strive and experience, you will become fat and lazy. We have to constantly push ourselves to be better people. To do this we need to strive. Strive to be good men. Strive to be good fathers. Strive to be great employees. Strive to do what is the best. Strive to learn.
"Of course the game is rigged. Don't let that stop you--if you don't play, you can't win."-Robert Heinlein
In most cases this will not happen if all you do is sit on your lazy-boy and play video games all day. You need to break out of what you know and enter the realm of what you don’t know. You need to go “outside” and experience other ways of doing things, and other ways of thinking. This might mean that the way pizza is made in Chicago tastes better to you, than the way pizza is made in New York City. Or not. Maybe you end up liking both types of pizza. (Like I do.)
Pizza is just awesome, but you know what? There are different kinds of pizza, and different kinds of styles. I think that they are all awesome. Though, I not a big fan of oyster and mussels on a pizza, personally.
But there will be one take-away from your comparative experience. That is, at least you will know the difference between a pizza in Chicago and one in New York. That knowledge is a good thing.
Next time that you eat a slice of your favorite pizza, you will end up appreciating it even more.
Different Food can be found in Different Nations
I have to tell you that I have eaten some of the most amazing food, that I ever ate, in China. You know the Chinese-American food “General’s Tso’s Chicken”? Well, you should try the real authentic Chinese dish; Gongbaojiding.
According to Wikipedia; Kung Pao chicken is a Sichuan cuisine originated in the Sichuan Province of south-western China and includes Sichuan peppercorns. The dish is found throughout China, there are regional variations that are typically a little less spicy than the Sichuan serving.
I have to tell you that Thai food is amazingly delicious. I also love the noodle dishes from Vietnam. Singapore and Malaysia has some of the best and tasty dishes that I ever ate. Australia has some pretty awesome steaks, and my goodness, the cheese out of New Zealand is absolutely amazing.
Come on! If you haven’t had Guinness stout on tap, you haven’t lived.
And… Please understand, there are some amazing wines out of Chile and Australia. You owe it to yourself to try some, if just once. You should understand why many Australians are so relaxed about life, and why everyone says that Morocco is a cool place to visit. You need to go there and learn.
OK. Well, I would hope that I made my point.
The world is filled with all kinds of things. These things are both good and bad. You should not rely on some television or Internet “expert” to tell YOU which is good or bad. I argue that you should go out and sample them yourself.
So, please don’t get too upset. I personally think that YOU, the reader, should know what you want and what you like. You are the expert on YOUR life.
It's like the mainstream news media getting upset because we go to the internet for our news. We do not need the info-babe telling us what the President said. We can listen to his speech directly ourselves.
You are the expert of YOUR life. You can decide what you like and what you don’t like.
Why you should expose yourself to other ways of living…
You, the reader, should not get mad but I really think that YOU should be the one who decides what you like and what you don’t like. Not some “expert” who tells you what to eat, how to live, where to live and what to do.
"Once you go abroad it’s difficult to go back.
My first extended experience living overseas opened my eyes in a variety of ways. People will always be people but I believe that culture is the single biggest influence on people. There is definitely something wrong with America in this respect.
America may be a lot of good things.. productive, prosperous, and relatively free but the socialization of its citizens is much less advanced than other (much more economically poorer) countries I’ve been in.
The way I look at it quality of life isn’t just all about money. It’s about what you can do with yourself in that society and how comfortable you feel around others.
In America I was never truly “comfortable” but always felt tense or slightly agitated at the people around me. There’s definitely a hostility and tenseness to social interaction there that I don’t feel anywhere else.
That’s a lot of negativity to deal with daily so it’s not surprising that out of all industrialized first world countries Americans generally have the least healthy lifestyles and shortest overall life spans.”
-Happierabroad
With this being made clear, let’s take a look at why an American man should step out of America from time to time and sample the customs elsewhere…
[1] It is not as bad as you fear
First of all, other nations are not as bad off as you have been led to believe.
Being in a echo chamber, with our only window outside of the USA is the news media, gives us a really warped idea of life. Particularly, life outside of the United States. If you believe the American news media, the world is a cold dark sooty place, with only the United States glowing in the light.
Hah!
Let me be the first to correct this crazy perception. Nope! It is not that way at all. Those pesky Russkies are in so many ways like your typical middle class American. Those evil commie Chinese are like Americans from the 1950’s. Those Africans from Zambia and Kenya are more conservative than the most conservative Republican can ever be.
What you think is real, it all just a big friggin’ lie!
When I first stepped foot outside, I was stunned. Heck! They had toll booths, ATM machines, cell-phones, taxis, and universities. People wore the same clothes that I did. I could get sunny side up eggs and a great freshly brewed coffee just about anywhere. The girls were amazingly attractive, and the girls in Australia all had these lion manes for hair. It was stunning.
Good golly! The girls are friggin’ stunning. Korean, Chinese, Australian, Singaporean, Zambian… Zambian… oh, did I say Zambian? Stunning!
People had homes with yards, garages, sun-porches, dining rooms, and nice Western-style bathrooms.
Sure they did things differently, but it really wasn’t all that bad. It most certainly doesn’t look like a “Save the Children” commercial, or a Brazilian garbage dump. Other nations have weather girls, news programs, forensics television shows, and often many rights that are no longer available to Americans…
Especially, the freedom to keep your personal records private.
Yes, they have highways. They have their own local pop music. They play games on their smart phones, and they like to fish. Guys like to watch sports, and really get involved in it. Men do household chores and everyone really cares for their children.
Speaking of children. In fact, I was stunned that children in Thailand can buy and own firearms! I was under the impression that American was the ONLY nation that had the “second amendment”. Boy, oh boy was I wrong. I was terribly wrong.
Any Thai citizen can buy a gun in Thailand. There are no age limitations, or a need for federal registration or background checks. Thailand residents are fully trusted by their citizens to own guns of all types, and calibers. Including full automatic weapons.
When the democrats are eventually successful in repealing the second amendment, American will obviously need to look to Thailand as the beacon of liberty and freedom.
Another big thing is that you get to compare and contrast. You get to see what “freedom” actually and really is.
Once, you as an American, leave the United States you will finally get to feel what real freedom is like. This is a really big thing with me, as I feel very betrayed by our elected politicians. Today, for the vast bulk of Americans, we DO NOT KNOW what real freedom is.
In the USA we always talk about how “free” America is. We talk about it, we sing about it, we praise it, but we don’t live it. We have forgotten what real freedom is. We are just talk about it. It’s all talk, talk, talk.
Yadda… yadda…yadda.
I wonder how many people, not just Americans but those in other countries, have come to the conclusion that the United States today is a less free and less aware society than the societies in the dystopian novels of the 20th century or in movies such as The Matrix and V for Vendetta.
Just as people in the dystopian novels had no idea of their real situation, few Americans do either. -Paul Craig Roberts
It’s a truly sad situation, where we don’t realize how absolutely decimated our freedom has become. We think we are “free” when we have to report to the IRS. We believe that we are free when need to show a driver’s license to buy a beer. We are convinced that all is good, and our freedom is intact, when CNN announces that the President suspended habeas corpus. We pat ourselves on the back for exposing the crimes of the FBI.
A truly free society wouldn’t NEED a FBI, let alone use it against the citizens.
Yah, we parrot what the News Media says. “We are FREE!” in the best nation on the planet forever!” Woo Woo.
“Americans should travel internationally, especially in Asia. When they return to the States they will see what a police state it has turned into.”-roddy6667 Jan 8, 2018 3:19 AM
Yeah. It becomes obvious.
America has laws for just about everything, and high police budgets ensure you’re always watched by those in power.
This means everything. All behavior is policed, and it is so very easy to get arrested. In America you are always watching out for the police. We no longer even notice it. It has become an automatic reaction, like when you look down at your speedometer when you see a police car nearby. This all means you’re one party away from getting arrested and going to jail.
Foreign countries are different.
An absence of heavy police presence, combative women, nanny state laws, and surveillance cameras means that you can enjoy your time instead of worrying about getting arrested. Take some beers to beach or drink in the park with your group of friends. Drink a beer in the open or on a city bus. It’s not a problem.
Remember, boys and girls, true freedom is stinky and messy. The more organized and proper a nation is, the less free it is.
[3] You will begin to compare different nations to the USA objectively
You can compare the things that matter to you.
It doesn’t matter what the think-tank in Washington D.C. says about a particular nation. Or, what the Washington Post has to say about you not being taxed enough. You can decide for yourself.
Instead of parroting the narrative that the United States the best and greatest nation in the history of the universe, you will actually get a chance to decide for yourself.
You will see what the differences are from the USA to another nation. You can compare eating a breakfast in your home town against one in Indonesia. You will be able to compare dating a girl in Vietnam as opposed to one in your home town. You will be able to compare the costs of buying groceries in Australia as opposed to buying them in your home town.
You will be physically able to make your very own comparisons yourself.
North Korea is very clean and sanitary. It has laws for just about everything. As a result the people obey the laws or suffer the consequences. Look at all the people living their lives in joyous abandon! Nope! It is a sterile but beautiful place.
In places where there just isn’t very much freedom, there is a tendency to be boxed in by rules and regulations. People are afraid to go out and live life. They hide for the most part. When they do go out, they are very well behaved and keep to themselves.
They don’t bother to direct any attention to themselves, least a police officer come over and arrest them. The trash cans are all clean, and there isn’t much in the way of litter. There are no beggars on the streets, and the buildings are all pristine and sanitary.
Americans don’t get many opportunities to see what Iran is like. It is a big black news layout. All we know is that it is a theocracy, or a nation run by strict adherence to Islamic law. As a result it is a very organized and clean nation. But, it is not a free nation.
In places where there is freedom, people are permitted and allowed to experience life. But you know what? Freedom is not pristine and controlled. It is stinky, messy and chaotic. People go about and live their lives in crazy abandon.
Freedom is where you are permitted to live your life free of interference.
All the laws, and all the police, and all the regulations are considered a “price one must pay”. It is considered the price that you must accept to “live in the greatest nation on the earth”. America has the “Bill of Rights” that are always protected. No one will ever try to take away the freedom to speak, or your guns, or your ability to worship as you wish. Not in America! It’s just the price you must pay if you want to be an American.
So, in comparison with my Chinese friends, I have discovered that I have more freedom in China than what I had in the United States.
WHAT?????
No shit, Dick Tracy… Let me explain.
Here in China, the IRS won’t come smashing my door down at three in the morning with an armored vehicle. I don’t ever have to report my yearly income to them, and there are no help-lines to assist me in doing my taxes. You simply don’t need them. The Chinese never have to report anything to their government.
One of the first things that I noticed when I moved to China…
The sad truth of the matter is that we as a people have been too propagandized and naïve to admit how corrupt and vicious our government has become, irrespective of who resides in the oval office.
Our current problems are deeply systemic and therefore cannot be solved by obsessing over the symptoms and switching out a president.
We need to face reality before we can recover as a society, and to do this we must admit certain uncomfortable truths.
Most significantly, we need to come to terms with the dangers of allowing extremely secretive and all-powerful agencies to multiply and grow to the extent they have.
When well-documented abuses from the NSA, CIA and FBI go on for decades with little to no accountability, what do you think’s going to happen?
Meanwhile, superficial pundits and hack politicians are out there telling us about how great the FBI is, yet historical facts point to the opposite conclusion.
That this is an agency that’s always been more focused on protecting the status quo than protecting the people.
Are we supposed to pretend that the FBI didn’t write a letter to Martin Luther King Jr. telling him to kill himself? Are we supposed to pretend COINTELPRO didn’t happen?
- Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog
One of the very first things that I noticed was that China has roads. Nice, really nice and beautiful roads. Roads with well-tended gardens on both sides filled with flowers and decorative trees.
We need taxes, we are told. You know, for roads and infrastructure...
They have high speed trains, and all sorts of infrastructure. Yet, surprisingly the people don’t seem to be raped by taxes for every little thing. In fact the opposite is true. They have one tax. Only ONE single tax., and it is a small one.
You want a bottle of coke, it costs you 1 yuan. Not $2.98 with tax. You are never, and I mean NEVER, trying to figure out the overall costs of something you buy. A noodle lunch costs 15 yuan. A liter of gas is 4 yuan. A bag of betel nuts costs 10 yuan. Simple costs. Simple math. No hidden taxes at all.
Here is Freedom – American style. People, listen up! America is a police state. It really and actually is. Once you leave the United States you actually see how much it has become a big nasty police state.
So China has roads, bridges, infrastructure, and it’s nicer and newer than what we have in the states. So, why do Americans pay so much in taxes, and get so little back in return?
Personally, I think that there is a significant amount of kick-backs, corruption and graft in the various American governments. There is also an enormous amount of waste. Why is the USA constantly at war? Why are taxes constantly going up and up and up, and the government is just giving the money away to everyone EXCEPT the American people?
Here in China, the FDA will not shut down my business because of some complaint. I can refuse service to anyone for any reason. I can take and buy any drug that I want. I can chew a betel nut and not feel afraid of the police. You can buy any drug ever made by man, at ridiculously low prices, and yet, the Chinese just don’t have an Opioid Addiction crisis. Why is that? Think about it. I do not need PERMISSION to put something else in my body, food, drug, or smoke. No permission is required.
Here, the DHS will not freeze my papers and subject me to household detention for undisclosed reasons. They won’t arrest my children for trying to sell lemonade in my front yard. They won’t run their armored personnel carriers and tanks on my rose bushes.
The Constitution clearly forbids stationing troops on American soil, as they could be used against American citizens. But it doesn’t matter. The government did it anyways. Only instead of calling it an army, they call it the DHS.
But, you know, it’s much more than that. It is everything…
So many things we take for granted. It’s almost like we view the cleanliness and design of our handcuffs as a sign of freedom.
The biggest culture shock I ever lived was in Texas. I was arrested, Starsky-and-Hutch style, and jailed, basically for excessive speed.
I was on a visit at Texas A&M University at College Station, when friends from Dallas (ca. 180 miles = 300 km north) invited me for the Easter weekend. On the I-45 motorway, I drove at 80-90 mph, so as to alleviate the boredom from the long and monotonous route.
I was aware of the speed limit at 75 mph, but I felt safe as most drivers did the same, and some drove even faster.
As I was getting close to Dallas, I noticed a police car behind me, with its red lights on. Based on the way the police behave in most countries, I took this for a request to make way. So I pulled over to the right lane and slowed down a little; and I didn’t bother more about it. Then, I noticed the police were still there, but I didn’t understand what was going on.
I guessed they were after somebody, but did not figure out it was me: on the one hand, I wasn’t driving faster than most people around; on the other hand, I never thought they would quietly stay behind me if they wanted me to stop — my generation wasn’t addicted to U.S. series.
Our home-grown cops order drivers to stop, not by staying behind them, but by moving to their left and signalling with the right arm. I was beginning to find the situation weird, when another police car came to my left, and a policeman signalled me to stop. I immediately did.
Then the big show began. The policemen yelled at me to get out of the car and put my hands on it. One was pointing a gun at me. I complied; they frisked and handcuffed me. They asked me why I hadn’t stopped at once; I answered that I had not understood.
At first they obviously didn’t believe me, but I explained that the practice is different in my country. They insisted that I had no valid driver’s licence, as I didn’t possess a Texan one. However, I showed them both my French licence and an International Driving Permit, which is recognised in Texas. I had purposely fetched it at my prefecture before leaving France.
I felt eerie, as though I had gone out of my body, and watched myself caught in a cheesy crime TV series. Without subtitles: my command of spoken English is sufficient for daily communication but, well, not perfect. Broad Texan shouted at machine-gun speed, with a twang as thick as guacamole, is a bit of a challenge for me.
Progressively, I figured out the situation. Those who had chased me first were from Ellis County, and the one who had signalled me to stop was from Dallas County. I had crossed a county line, so the Ellis policemen had to request the help of the Dallas police.
I had made them look like fools before their colleagues, so they were quite upset. But my crossing the county line also qualified as “evading arrest”, and evading arrest in a motor vehicle is a felony in Texas law. The Ellis County policemen called their superiors; after a one-hour wait in their car, still handcuffed, I learned that I was going to be taken to jail. The cheesy HBO nightmare was going on.
So I was introduced to the Ellis County jail in Waxahachie, Texas. The inner child thought: “What a name! Sounds like the chant of the Indian warrior, after he has captured the white guy who ventured too far, and tied him to the torture post”. My adult self added: “They have killed and removed the Indians, but they have kept the tortures”.
The prison personnel seemed surprised to see someone jailed for an offence he did not knowingly commit. They even said the charges should be dropped, as I did not know the custom and had never been arrested before. But, anyway, the sheriff had ordered to jail me, so they had to accommodate me.
The check-in formalities are surprising. For instance the disinfection shower: you undress, a guy comes with a big sprayer like those used in vineyards, and sprays the cold stinking disinfectant on you, first front, then rear. You put on a heavy brownish overall.
If you ask for reading material, they give you a Bible, a special edition with a foreword saying that God forgives even the worst offenders. Why not? This was Good Friday, after all. I read all of St Matthew and half of St John during my stay.
It was time to proceed to the detention room. I was quite anxious, expecting to spend the night in a cell with a few hardened felons, and wondering how they would deal with me. Fortunately, petty offenders are kept in large dormitories of 40-odd beds, with a TV set, tables… and a jailer staying in all the time. No way to pick on anybody when 40 witnesses and an armed guard are present.
I won’t say it was a pleasant time, but it was interesting. There was the local drug pusher, locked up without bail until his judgment: he was accused of “destroying evidence”, because he was cleaning his weed pipe when he was arrested.
There was the blockhead who had tried to steal the sheriff’s own bathtub. Everybody was baffled by my story; Hispanic people were surprised to see a blue-eyed and fair-haired guy so ignorant of Anglo-Saxon habits and culture.
People had a deck of cards, they asked if I would play with them. I tried to teach them belote; obviously it was too tricky… I was asked many interesting questions: Do you have McDonald’s in France? Do you have Twinkies? This one puzzled me: I didn’t know the stuff.
They offered me one! Let me thank them: the “official” meal that came on the morning was the most disgusting of my whole life.
As they had taken all my money from me, I only had the normal prison grub, while the inmates could buy crisps, sweets and cakes. The drug pusher — a smart guy, actually — explained to me that the whole prison system was geared toward extracting as much money as possible from the inmates. A shocking revelation.
There came the curfew; I had to find a bed. To my surprise, I realised that the dorm was neatly divided: the whites on the left, the blacks on the right. And the only place left was in the black section.
Just below me was, say, the kingpin. During hours and hours, he kept talking to his visibly sycophantic neighbours, yelling “wawawawaw Nig**r… wawawawaw Bro”. I just could catch those two words. Once he turned to me and, switching to more standard English, ironically commented “This is a f**king professor at A&M…” before returning to his mumbo-jumbo.
Was the irony directed at me, or at the system that had put me there? I didn’t get it. Frankly, I would rather have slept, but I found it ill-advised to complain about the loud neighbourhood.
The next morning, I was called to arraignment. Of course, I didn’t know the word; I drew a smile from the jailer by ingenuously asking: “who is Raymond?” A judge first lectured me in legal gobbledegook, I panicked as I just could catch one word now and then. He explained to me again in plain English: the case was not dropped, but I could be released if I paid a sum of money.
The jailer who had accompanied me expressed again his surprise that the charges had not been dropped. I could call my friends from Dallas, they undertook the formalities for my release. Together we discovered the fantastic world of bail bond agencies, roamed the county to find the pound where my car had been taken (no one had told me about its whereabouts)… One of their neighbours gave me the business card of a lawyer.
I flew back to France as soon as I could, shivering with the fear that one could detain me. The judicial process ran its course. The grand jury did not dismiss the case, but finally my lawyer negotiated the re-qualification. The “evading arrest” charge was dropped. I was fined twice, once for excessive speed, once for “failure to give right of way”. The total cost of this fine little joke (bail deposit + car pound + lawyer fees + fines) was almost $10,000.
I never came back to the US. In the form that must be filled to obtain the “visa waiver” (actually, almost as complicated as the visa was), there is one question:
“Have you ever been arrested or detained in the U.S.?” I can’t even think of that.
-What was the biggest culture shock you ever faced?
America is a de facto police state. It is not just the local town and state police, but it is the entire federal apparatus.
The FDA will not require me to have a doctor write me a prescription. Nor will they ban anything. Instead, I can simply go to a pharmacy and ask for a drug and they will give it to me, no questions asked. I do not NEED to have a doctor prescribe ED medication. I go to the pharmacy and tell the woman behind the counter what I want. She gives it to me at a fraction of the price available in the United States. I do not need to ask PERMISSION.
The FCC will not limit my bandwidth on my cell phone. They will not monitor or restrict what I can watch, write, say or listen to. They won’t limit it, and I don’t need to ask PERMISSION to change it.
The NSA will not be monitoring, recording, and indexing all my computer activity. Nobody will care. It’s true, and I say this as I am in mainland China, supposedly behind the “Great Firewall of China”. Yeah, more bullshit American propaganda. Dudes, what you think China is … is a big piece of bullshit propaganda.
NROL-39 Nothing is beyond our reach. Looks like a logo from Dr. No or some other 007 James Bond villain.
The CIA won’t be trying to spy on my though my household appliances. They won’t be trying to blackmail me with some attractive prostitute. Though, I kinda wish that they would try…
The FBI won’t be monitoring my email, or smashing down the offices of my attorney. Putting me on a “hit list” of politically connected people, or trying to frame me for some obscure crime or two. And while on on this subject, why do American police dress like SS Storm troopers? Why? Why is the FBI permitted to act and behave exactly like the dreaded Nazi Gestapo?
Peter Strzok in his meeting with Congress. He pledged to have systems to prevent an elected President from taking office, and promised that those who voted for the President would not get their wishes fulfilled. Instead, he would take care of it, as he had backup plans.
However, here in China I am not subject to the American police state. The FBI has no jurisdiction here. I can live my life AS I SEE FIT, not as how the busybodies in government think it should be lived.
I can pick up a water cannon and enjoy the holidays without worry that I might upset someone.
Now, to someone sitting in front of their computer in the United States, this is all very interesting, but doesn’t mean much. “So what?” you ask. We have the Second Amendment, and we have Habeas corpus. Yes, we do. But, you know what? They are not enforced. Not a day goes by without them being infringed.
Habeas Corpus is meaningless if basic English Common Law is not observed.
Not one elected official is defending the Bill of Rights. Not on the federal level, and not on the state level.
Before the reader “has a cow”, let it be understood that what I am discussing is day-to-day freedom and liberty. This is the freedom and lifestyle that you experience every day. This is how you live your life in doing your normal activities. These are the simple things in life. These things include working; eating, spending time with your family, travel, saving money, and spending money. These are the comparatives. These are the measurables and the deliverables that one can use to actually determine how free they are. As well as comparatively determine their overall standard of living compared to the rest of the world.
So instead of pretending to be a “blue ribbon panel”, or “think tank” sitting high up in an “ivory tower”, get off your high horse, and experience life with me.
Life is what YOU personally experience.
It is not what is described to you that you SHOULD experience. True freedom is being able to plant a garden in your front lawn. It is being able to build a geodesic dome on the roof of your house, and being able to make your own home-made moonshine in your basement…
…all without worry that the police will come smashing your door down and throwing you in prison for fifteen years.
Freedom is being able to live your life, to act and think, and do things to your own body without worry that someone else will be offended. True and real freedom is being able to sit down, order a super sized coke, and sunny-side up eggs in a restaurant in New Jersey with your dog sitting next to you on the sofa, and not worry about being arrested. You can do this in friggin’ communist China, but are forbidden to do so in the “land of the free”, the United States.
Dudes! This – is – NOT – freedom.
Once you leave the United States, you get a taste for REAL freedom.
Freedom is the ability to live our lives as we want without interference. Liberty is the ability to practice freedom without restriction.
Freedom is never having to take a drug test for anyone, for any reason, at any time. Freedom is never having to fill out a transcription of all the money your earned, and ask for deductions to the all-powerful IRS. Freedom is the ability to withdraw all of your money from your bank when you want without consequence.
Caution: Wet Floor signs in clear view after someone mopped the tiled entrance of a hotel? Nope.
Guard rails on steep trails, foot paths, or overhangs on cliffs? Not really.
Red tape or warning signs around crumbling sidewalks or two foot wide uncovered man holes? Nada.
We do admit seeing a Caution: Hard Hat Area sign where construction was being performed. Yeah, several times, actually.
At first we were startled to see such lack of warning signs in Thailand. How could people properly function in society without being spoon fed safety warnings?! But the longer we lived here, the more refreshing it was.One can argue that Thai citizens and foreigners are expected to open their eyes and take responsibility for their own actions.
And you know what? Using common sense works!
To this day, no one we know has gotten hurt by their own lack of awareness and tried suing the life blood from the company or property where the accident happened. Americans, take a hint!
-Tieland to Thailand
Freedom is the ability to light a cigarette at the dinner table in a restaurant. Freedom is not being politically correct. Freedom is doing unhealthy things to your own body. Freedom is home-schooling your children. Freedom is being able to build a tree-house on your property without a permit.
Freedom is having a ladder that doesn’t have any safety warnings on it. It means having a mattress that you are allowed to tear the tag off of. It is the ability to buy beer in a grocery store on Sunday. It is the ability to ride a bicycle without a helmet, safety gloves or arm protection. It is the ability to give your child a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in public without confrontation.
It is the ability to OWN a house, and never, ever…ever pay any kinds of taxes on it.
The mere fact that I have to describe this, and elaborate on it, in such detail is an indicator to how far down the culture and society of America has fallen.
So yeah, when you leave the United States you will be able to do things that are forbidden in the United States. You will feel free simply because you will no longer feel afraid to do the “wrong” thing.
Here is a shout out for real freedom. There is nothing better than living life on your own terms, and doing so without guilt or regret. That is what true and real freedom and liberty is all about.
[5] You will experience less anxiety
In USA nothing is easy. Nothing is efficient. To pay rent, you have to use a check? I have never written a check at that time . The last time I got a check was maybe 5 years ago, from my Uncle.
Getting an apartment takes so long as opposed to other countries I have lived in where it's just a handshake. That's it.
I went to the post office yesterday, and I was waiting in line for maybe an hour—and there were only five people in front of me.
I felt like I went from a Western country to a third-world country. People here with money have access to things, but the rest of the people are just trying to survive."
To an American it seems like an insurmountable mountain that one must climb. You have to buy tickets, often expensive, smash through language barriers and deal with customs that you don’t understand. Plus, on top of that, you just don’t know anyone there. It seems impossible.
But it isn’t.
"I think generally, the biggest culture shock that people experience in the US is not between their country and the US but between what they thought the US would be and what it actually is.
Books and movies about America make the place appear very free and exciting and happening and the people are so interesting and emotional. There is sex and fun and romance going on.
When they arrive, the place looks very conservative and the people appear robotic and quiet. Sex is subdued and hard to come by. The people are not open at all, they look closed and mistrustful.
Everybody is just working and looking tired and apathetic.
Talking to strangers is taboo. There are thousands of little rules and laws and social mores that seem as dogmatic and strict as those in a Muslim society. And every time you are at risk of breaking yet another law and facing very dire consequences. That is the biggest culture shock of all."
-Happierabroad
When I first moved to China, I didn’t understand that most people use WeChat and email, and social media to communicate. Packages are sent by TNT. ChinaPost worked, but was generally slow and being phased out. I needed to get up to speed with the new and different ways of doing things.
In America, I was always worried about the police. That was the case even though I was doing nothing wrong. I have been pulled over just so the cop can see my license. I have been observed just because. I have heard stories of how the police find out that you have money and just simply take it for themselves. That is NOT freedom.
In China, I am never fearful of the police. They tend to be very laid back. It’s almost a “Mayberry RFD” vibe. Yeah, going to China forced me to learn new things. Learning was uncomfortable.
Like how those electronic mail lockers worked, how to use DD, and how to use a squatter toilet without falling over myself.
For many years in the United States, I took anti-anxiety medication to control the work stress of life. I took Buspar and Trazadone and they certainly helped me, but you know what, I don’t need them in China.
I no longer have bosses throwing chairs in the conference room, HR that patrol the halls making sure that the “sterile desk policy” is being enforced, and gossipy coworkers. It is fairly rare to be laid-off without notice, the police won’t arrest you for jay-walking, and you don’t need to prove anything to any faceless government bureaucrat.
These common-place American things are unheard of in China.
The sustained constant beat of stressors on your life will no longer be present. You will start to feel free. That feeling is wonderful.
[6] You will be exposed to more traditional human beings
The world is filled with all kinds of people. However the childish notion that a large percentage of people are gay, lesbian, transgender or some other kind of hyphenated and abused minority is simply not true.
In the United States, this narrative is being shoved down our collective throats with impunity. But, it’s all a big lie. It is a manufactured construct for purposes of control.
It is a big lie.
As an American, I particularly HATE being lied to.
Most people outside the United States have real traditional values, and run their families in a very traditional manner. The man works, and he does what ever it takes to feed his family. The wife stays at home, she takes care of the family and provides a safe haven for the family. She is the anchor of the family unit.
The woman is measured by her appearance and how well her family is treated. Even the poorest family will have a clean home, and the best meals that the family can provide will be given to the children.
"Thankfully, traditional beliefs are alive and well in many foreign countries, and homosexuals have to be more respectful of how they behave in public.
Another benefit to more traditional societies is that women understand their role of appearing beautiful and submitting to strong men, something that is sorely missing in American culture.
Once you live in a country where women spend more time looking good for an afternoon walk than American women do when they go to the club with their grenade friends, it’s really hard to go back."
-RooshV
Heck, the girls I knew in Zambia were more traditional than white American conservative grandmothers. It surprised me. I was expecting something similar to the monolithic liberal African-American personality.
I was wrong.
They really know how to treat their men. Let me tell you!
My shirts were always folded “new package” style. Everything was pristine and spit shined. Clothes were crisp and creased perfectly. Dinners were hand made with a balance between taste and what was good for me.
The lady of the house would not only prepare it, but would dress up for it!
It was like a formal dinner with a head of state. Dinners were laid out formally because I was the “man of the house”. I was provided with “my chair”, and absolutely NO ONE was permitted to sit in it, except me.
Properly folded shirt. This is how all my shirts were washed, cleaned, starched, and ironed. This woman was from Lusaka, in Zambia and let me tell you that they are proper, conservative in values and very much know how to really their men properly.
It is a different feeling and experience to be given such a degree of respect.
To be respected by others. To be treated with respect, and to be held in high regard by others who were polite and proper makes a big difference in your life. Once you are treated with respect, you will never go to somewhere you are not.
Compare that to the huge “white water buffaloes” with attitude, that pass for American women today, and the contrast is stunning.
[7] You can be yourself without shame or fear of exile
I am sure that there will be those offended by my statement about “white water buffaloes” with attitude, but that is just what they are called out here.
There is nothing particularly right or wrong about that, it is exactly what it is. Fat obese chicks with poor manners, unkempt appearance, and foul aggressive manners. It’s horrible and disgusting. Here in Asia, these examples of the female form, are laughed at and snickered to behind their backs.
And guess, what else?
I can say it without shame or social exile. I just did.
Real freedom is to live life without fear. Not a fear of saying something politically incorrect. Not a fear of saying something that sounds hurtful. Not just fear from the IRS, or the latest swine flue from China, but fear of being yourself.
You can live your life on your terms.
Hey! You want to pull out a pocket knife and carve up an apple on the bus, go for it. No one will bat an eye. Hey! You want to take your dog with you while you take a dip in the hotel swimming pool? Good for you. Just go and do it. Hey you want to drink some XO on the porch and watch the pretty girls go by? Do it, as no one is going to take notice.
You can speak your mind, and say your piece.
That’s REAL freedom.
[8] You will pay less for healthier food and a better lifestyle
America has changed. Why does everyone that visits here from the USA seem to be obese? I mean it. Everyone is huge. They are enormous!
I personally think there are many reasons for this. Stress, medications, and GMO saturated high fatty foods, with sugar in just about everything has certainly contributed to this.
Here is a bar street in Thailand. Can you spot the Westerners? Do they look healthy to you? What is going on, and why do you suppose they appear so different?
When I lived in the States, I was always rushing to make it in time for work. Sure, I might work late nights, but come in one minute late in the morning and you could lose your job. It was always rush – rush – rush. I’d grab a couple of donuts and coffee in the morning and eat a greasy fast food burger for lunch. Dinner was better, but not by very much.
All of this affected my metabolism.
When you leave the United States your life takes on a new pace. You eat differently. You have different friendships and different problems. In general, you do eat better. While you might get the impression that everyone outside of the United States is starving, that is not the case at all. They just eat substantially better than Americans do.
People walk more. It’s nicer to walk, and there are things to do.
When I was in the states, I drove everywhere. Nothing was nearby. If I wanted to walk somewhere it took hours, and I often found that there was a noticeable lack of sidewalks and pedestrian-friendly paths. America has devolved into a very toxic and unhealthy environment. You can see it if you go outside the echo chamber and see the world from my chair.
Most American cities are made for cars. Most foreign cities are made for people. Even poor South American cities have more efficient and extensive public transportation than America, as it was quite a shock to me to ride the Caracas metro system to find trains running more frequently than in Washington DC.
Food is fresher and cheaper and doesn’t contain a billion Franken-chemicals whose long-term effects on humans are not understood (many packages of food in Europe contain a ‘No GMO’ label as a selling point).
-RooshV
[9] You will be exposed to less corporate propaganda
All my life I have been exposed to advertisements and corporate jingles. You sit down to watch a show and you suddenly have an urge for a coke and lays potato chips. Why is that? Not in China. I never have those urges. But when I sit down and watch an American television show, I immediately get the urge.
I wonder why…
When you’re in a foreign country, the propaganda ends for one simple reason: you don’t understand the ads! They’re in a different language. You stop watching television, stop listening to radio, and instead download all of your entertainment without the ads, though you’ll still be consuming it on a much lesser scale than while living in the US.
The result is you stop feeling the urge to buy things just to get a dopamine rush as if you were a caged rat hitting a lever to get a cocaine pellet. You ease into a minimalist lifestyle where accumulating things no longer positively affects your mood. In fact, you start feeling guilty when you buy things, because now you understand that objects don’t bring lasting happiness.
That is the truth. I rarely have any desire to buy anything.
Instead, I have invested in lifestyle, peace of mind and comfort. Where before, I was a rat racing through my cubicle maze at work.
[10] You start to see the real world and your place in it
I know that what I have written will seem like complete bullshit to someone still plugged into the Matrix. If I were reading it from my house in the states, I would be skeptical. I probably would snort, and say “bullshit” while I clicked on something else on my browser.
Americans are the most manipulated people on the planet.
There is absolutely no friggin’ way that they are free. Dudes, having to ask permission to get YOUR money from YOUR bank is not freedom. Having to resort to (twice a decade) elections to get any kind of changes done, and then finding out, year after year that nothing changes…
Just how much control do you actually have on your life?
To continue believing we have a "representative" government of the people, by the people, & for the people is to continue believing in a grand deception. It's an illusion.
Our government has been incrementally supplanted by Progressive dissidents to form a dictatorship of arrogant, autocratic, ruling class elitists.
[11] Women and Relationships are Different
Although it's a really different culture than the states, I actually had an awesome experience in China. It definitely opens your eyes to a whole different side of the world. I met some really awesome people and it's very safe.
-What is the biggest culture shock you ever faced?
I pulled this title from RooshV. Sounds so chauvinistic, eh? Well, maybe so, maybe so. Yet it is TRUE.
Now, the reader should not misunderstand me. I do happen to like (and love) all women. In fact, my personal tastes in women’s body shapes run a pretty wide gambit. I love both small petite women, and large voluptuous women in equal measure. I really do. In fact, there are women who think that they are far too fat, that I would just die to be with. I find a kind sweet disposition is worth more than being 50 Kg overweight.
I am not at all kidding. I find that each have their various charms, and when coupled with a sweet and caring disposition, I tend to fall “heads over heels” over them.
Over the last twenty years, something has happened in the United States. Both men and women have gotten larger. But gosh golly, the women are really enormous. Most women in the United States have tended to get on the large size. This is obese, in case you are not reading my meaning correctly.
Personally, I really don’t like being with a woman that weighs more than I do. Seriously, it just doesn’t feel right. I think that both men and women should have the correct body weight for their height. I think that it is healthy.
Why women are like this in the United States, I think is due to the unhealthy and stressful lifestyle, the saturation of salt, sugars, fats and GMO’s in American food, and maybe the lack of tasteful and healthy alternatives. Then, after the Obama Administration, it seemed like everyone wanted to look like Michelle Obama. As she was considered to be the ideal beautiful woman, I am not at all kidding!
I personally do not think that Michelle Obama is that beautiful at all. At best, she is rather plain. Of course, I’m no great looker either. But, you know there are all kinds of people and we all come in all kinds of different packages.
Like all women, American women can be quite beautiful if they maintain their appearance, but there still exists problems with their attitude that often comes from American culture.
In general, I have found that many foreign women simply have softer and pleasanter personalities: they are sweeter, kinder, more deferential, more interesting, and most importantly, more pleasing. The urban ghetto culture that has taken over the United States does not exist offshore. You don’t see “trailer trash”, “Jerry Springer types” or “Big-assed “Wal-Mart” shoppers offshore.
They are more demure instead of outwardly crass.
This greatly increases the enjoyment you get from male-female bonding. Dating only American women gives you a distorted view of how women are really like. When you date and spend time with women from other nations you get to experience the differences. Some of which are good, and some of which are shocking and a tad mercurial.
Anyways…
Why is this important? Well, I like to think that that a man should be a little taller than his wife. I think that he should be stronger and weigh more. But many of the women that seemingly come from the USA today are so much bigger than me. They are bigger and taller. It is disturbing.
Here is an Amish family. They eat well. No one is obese. The wife is a little shorter and lighter than her husband. I don’t know… it seems right. Doesn’t it?
A typical Amish family. I think that they seem to be good folk. No one is fat. They seem to take care of themselves, and the family all seems to be balanced. It seems good and right to me.
I really don’t know of too many women who would rather be married to a man who was shorter than them. I’m sure there are a few, but it’s really not a preference. I have always been under the impression that many women liked “tall, dark and handsome” men.
Fat, chubby men, with bald heads and beer guts were not anything that a woman would find attractive or even interesting. But, you know, if the man is a “good man”, kind, and just, his faults can be overlooked.
So, what I am saying is that this goes both ways.
The Important Takeaways
So, what are the takeaways? Once an American man lives as an expat for a few years, and then returns back to the United States, what can be learned?
You can learn the limits of freedom and how to leverage the freedoms that are important to you personally.
You can see what is important to you.
You can better appreciate the things that you have missed.
You can appreciate the United States more, and work towards bringing it back to how and why it was created in the first place.
You can see how easily manipulated you have been, and take steps to prevent the continuation of that in the future.
You can work towards bringing things BACK to a more or less, “normal” reality. One that is free from all the progressive distortions and distractions of the last few decades.
You won’t find that many fat pink-haired femminazi’s in heart-land USA. They cluster in urban enclaves. That is their echo chamber. You won’t find drug abusing mental patients shitting in the middle of the street (San Francisco style) in small-town America. They would be kicked out the old fashioned way; Clint Eastwood style.
It’s time that we start putting our feet down and taking America BACK to what it used to stand for. We can start with one person, and one voice. We can start here, and now. Then two people, and then three.
If the FBI wants to emulate the Gestapo and pay criminals enormous salaries to maintain a jack-booted reality, we can disband the agency.
The DHS is a domestic Army in defiance of the Constitution. It can be disbanded.
If the FDA wants to ban everything, to a point where Americans need to exit the nation to get things forbidden to them, then it is certainly time to disband the FDA.
We have collectively told the government that we do not want to be spied on. Still the NSA exists. We can shut it down.
Any thoughts on the IRS…?
FAQ
Q: Why is it important to travel?
A: You can learn new things and get exposed to different ways of doing things. When you are exposed, you can discover the aspects of life that you like, as well as the aspects that you do not like. You can pick and choose.
“I'm writing this from the West Coast of USA, in a very quiet, very peaceful duplex. I have returned to the US after 3+ years living in Bangkok. I'm still deciding what really happened out there. My decision to move to Thailand, back in 2010, was based on a lifelong dream of living out of the US for at least one year of my life. I had originally wanted to live in Europe, but during the time I was looking for the right place to land, European economics were in meltdown. So I started researching Asia. For work purposes I almost went to Singapore, but then decided Bangkok would be more fun.
I was right.
It wasn't just the sex. I never had trouble landing women in the States. I broke up with a very attractive Thai / Cambodian woman in the US before I left. She was fun, but a bit of a bitch at times. I know enough about women to understand that ratio changes the longer you're in a relationship. Married, she would have been a bitch that was a bit of fun at times. She wanted kids and I didn't. That was that. Before that I had two different 20-something girlfriends, great sex, lots of drama, not long-term but fun. I had learned stellar game skills and liked landing semi long-term relationships with pretty women. It was worth the pursuit, the hunt, the thrill of the conquest and of course, all the great sex. So I didn't go to Thailand for sex. I went to fulfill a lifetime goal of living out of my country for a year, and when I added up how I was supporting myself, what the costs of living were, and the fact that English teaching provided a safety net if things went wrong, Thailand just made sense.
I landed in Bangkok and fell in love with the place. I had lived most of my life in New York City, and spent time in Paris, Rome, London, LA, Berlin, Caracas and many other amazing places. But Bangkok blew my mind. The chaos, the sexiness, the otherness, and just how freaking different it was from the staid, plain US was like medicine. Even New York City – supposedly that wild town – is to me, a very processed and predictable place when compared to Bangkok.
So I loved it. I traveled Thailand for a month and returned to Bangkok.
I set up shop pursuing my dreams. I got lucky with real hard work, landed my business contacts back West, and managed to live for more than three years in Thailand. I had a nice condo, pool on the roof, and money to play with. There were a few rough patches for sure, but also some nice straight-aways. Basically, it turned out to be what I was looking for: the adventure of a lifetime.
That adventure meant broadening my horizons. I loved learning the language. I was a Thai language class nerd. I made a few Thai friends and played badminton religiously. I put a damn good pool game together. I travelled all over, made expat friends, and had a blast. I even finally got a local job offer in my industry, which is really tough to do, and held that for a while, living the Bangkok executive life although admittedly not on the high end of that scale. Still, it was all really remarkable.
However, when a job offer came up with an old employer in the West, I took it. After more than three years, I was ready to leave. They flew me back, settled me here, and I plugged in. I actually landed on the fourth of July, if you can believe that. And I was thrilled to be back. I hadn't been back in the US for even a holiday the whole time I was in SE Asia. Any time I had to travel, I had gone all over Thailand, Laos or Cambodia. I love SE Asia, but my reasons for repatting were professional. The jobs are better in the US. I stayed with mine for five months. It was a contract. When I was offered a full time job, I turned it down in order to start another business I had been planning. And that's where I am now.
I loved being back in the States when I landed. I loved being back in familiar settings, and hearing familiar speech. I loved catching up with friends. I fully intended to plug back in here, and resume life where I had left it when I had jetted to Thailand. Thailand had been working against me in the half year before I left. I was getting fed up with the visa issues, and the outsider status. I became depressed at how hard it was to positively affect the business world there, or even the fate of the country. I like to think I can make a difference where I am. Of course, there are charities, and I did a bit of work with those. But ultimately, Thailand is for Thais. God bless them for that, is my attitude.
In this One World homogenization that is happening, I have lots of respect for countries that retain national values and identities. Although I respect it, that doesn't mean I wasn't frustrated by it, and ultimately, living as a constant outsider was getting to me.
I had also come to the conclusion that marrying a Thai, or even having a serious Thai girlfriend wasn't what I liked, due to the many reasons cited in other posts here. I dated “civilians” who weren't in the leisure industry, but found the culture gap too huge to leap. Plus the adjustment I had to make in terms of being 3rd on the totem pole (Family, Career, Boyfriend) never did it for me. After that decision, I partied too much. I was drinking and balling and more than a bit adrift before I left. That's why I was really happy to be back in the US. It was just time to go. My hand had been played. I felt very lucky to leave when and how I did.
But here's the problem.
After the glow of happy returns wore off, I have to be honest with the fact that I just don't like the US lifestyle. I came back to give the west a full on fair shake. I even saw it with new eyes. And there's much I really love about US that I had to be away from before I could appreciate it. It truly is a tremendous land of amazing professional opportunity, as well as a place where self development is encouraged and valued.
Every system is crooked, but the corruption here is way toned down compared to SE Asia. The work place has some clowns, but is largely a meritocracy, where good workers are advanced, and losers get let go. People try hard. They want to make things better. The innovate. But what's really turning me off is how processed it all is.
How boring.
It feels like this grey machine. A conveyor belt. Relationships feel flimsy.
Everybody works...
Watches TV...
Works more...
The amount of hostility towards men is repulsive, as it plays out in the workplace and in media. But the underground of MGTOW and Red Pill is filled with a tremendous amount of hostility as well.
I just really can't believe how unhappy and depressed most people in the west are.
It's like there is this War on Love, destroying relationships between lovers, friends, and communities. There's not much neighborhood or local cohesion.
I feel everybody keeps busy busy busy all the time, working buying and watching, working buying and watching, to avoid admitting how bleak and punishing the average life is here. I don't want to support it. I don't want to fit in and be part of it.
I have no regrets I left Thailand, and in terms of timing, when I was pulled back here was really a blessing. But I can't deny the fact that I feel a huge void in my life out here.
I believe what I miss most is the excitement and adventure and just fantastic thrill – with all the tribulations that went with it – which living abroad in SE Asia provides.
I just had more fun there. I felt more alive there. And what's also really difficult is that all of the experiences I had in Thailand aren't really welcome out here.
Beyond the natural bias that women have of "men who go to Thailand", I'm just shocked that nobody really wants to know what life in another land is like.
Maybe I'm a bad story teller. But maybe Americans are just living in their bubble. My countrymen have little frame of reference outside of their work and TV shows. It's heartbreaking, really.
So much of the world, so much to see and hear about, and nobody wants to hear about it. I read a lot of columns on Stick that talk about how Thais don't really know much about the outside world. But in a way, the Americans don't either. So I'm left with this huge piece of living, and no place to process it. It's disheartening.
The place runs well.
The trains are on time, as they say, but psychologically, I feel the West is a very hostile and weird place these days. Especially when it comes to men / women relationships. I am shocked at the deterioration in relationships that I have seen, in just the past ten years. It's just so aggressively mercenary.
The romance has been drained from the punch. There's very little charm in the process. I found dating pretty pointless, but still fun and sweet enough in Thailand. Even it if leads nowhere beyond walking around a mall and having some sex, it was lighter and more pleasant.
In America, dating is this grim operation to perform: shit tests, hoops, Social Market Value, and the flat-out rude bossiness that has become the modern American woman. Joyless. Probably that's what this entire post comes down to… that one word: Joyless.
America is not a life.
It's a job. The job is work. And work sucks.
Thais value fun. They like life light. Sanuk isn't just something in tour books. They have an art to daily living that has a pleasant ambience based on a healthy injection of “I don't give a damn”. All of us who have lived there have been on the maddening side of it. But from where I'm writing now, I see it now as a great way to resist the corporate take-over of every part of life.
Why the fxxk should we all have to work so hard?
Who's getting rich off our sweat? Just this morning I read that a new crisis on American college campuses is that many American university students are killing themselves or crowding counselor's crisis centers. Shouldn't higher learning be a better experience? They are probably feeling total dread at what the American system has laid out for them: joyless toil. It's like we're all fighting as hard as we can to jam our way into jobs that shred us.
Why?
Life shouldn't be so damn serious. Thais know that. I miss that. I miss them. I miss their land.
With luck I'll be back and honestly, probably bitching about lots of the things I just heralded in the previous paragraph. lol. Should fate decide otherwise, and slugging it out in the US is my path, I have my memories. They will remain a precious jewel for life. Either way, I am richer, wiser, and more the man I dreamed of being for having spent my time in LOS.
Enjoy it out there, gentlemen. Play smart and it's a brilliant part of the world to live life. Play dumb and it's still one hell of an adventure. My time there was a blend of both and I wouldn't trade it for anything. “
- “After 3+ Years in Thailand, Reflections From Home” by Rich Archer on the Stickman Blog. Reader submission. May 2015
Q: What do you talk about the USA so much?
A: I am an American. It is what I know, and it is the point of reference that I refer to.
"America is a country for doing business, not living life."
-Happierabroad
Q: Do you think American girls are bad?
A: No, not at all. I have dated many a wonderful girl (lady) in the United States. I think, for me, I prefer soft and calm tender moments together, rather than the brash clash of what seems to be popular today. This makes me feel like an old man; a fossil. I think that men and women are different. We are not equal. I think that June Cleaver on the 1960’s television show “Leave it to Beaver” was awesome. I think that Lisa Douglas on “Green Acres” was awesome! I believe that Elly Mae from “The Beverly Hillbillies” was just about the perfect girl. Like I said, I am really super old fashioned. American ladies today are different.
When you are exposed to women who are different than American girls are, you tend to be pleasantly surprised. Like I stated previously, differences are good. You can pick and choose the life that you prefer.
"She looked at her husband, he did like this: You may speak.
And she spoke!
And I was like, now that's pussy control for you! You know, because I'm used to American women saying: You don't own me."
- Eddie Murhpy
Q: Is America free?
A: No, it is not. I contend that it used to be free, but today it more resembles a dictatorship. The only way that you can see this is to compare America outside, and then step back in and look around you.
The problem with saying this is that people immediately get defensive. “No it isn’t!” is the retort.
But the truth is that we are in an echo chamber. We cannot see how really bad it is until we step outside. Which is, I must remind everyone, the entire point of this exercise.
If I want to sit in a restaurant, with my dog, smoke a cigarette and drink a beer. It would NOT be against the law. The fact that it is, and the fact that I can do it almost everywhere else outside of the Untied States is a pure indicator of how REPRESSIVE the USA has become.
At least you could do that in Nazi Germany. Yes you could. Drink a beer with your dog, smoke a cigarette all inside a restaurant.
But you cannot do it in America.
When you can do something in Nazi Germany, that is forbidden in the USA, then you have a real problem. Come on, don’t you think that there is something wrong here?
Anywho, I blog about this all the time(American bashing). I hate their laws, legal system and almost everything about America. I was raise and lived my entire life in NYC but has since moved back to my place of birth in the Caribbean.
One will only know how bullshit America is when they actually visit other places on the globe. Americans segregate themselves to just America, and they’re unable to see true freedom.
Here in the Caribbean(and almost the entire globe),I can walk around with 100 cans of beers and drink them unconcealed all I want to, and I don’t have to worry about BS tickets.
Kids can go into liquor stores and buy alcohol, cigarettes, etc. Not that they use them, but let’s say I as a father cannot make it to buy some booze, I can just send my 10 year old son to do that.
The list goes on and on. America falsely prides itself on freedom, but it has no freedoms compared to almost every nation on the globe.
It’s like a guy bragging about having a huge dick, then when his pants come down, his 2 inches is exposed. That is America,hypocrisy to the 10th.degree. And one will only know that America has ZERO freedoms only when they begin to travel internationally.
-SocialKenny
Q: Is the United States bad?
A: No, not at all. The United States is AWESOME. But, it is not what it was first intended to be. It has changed and today it is a real pale shadow of what it used to be.
It is a police state ruled by elite “insiders” all with political and banking connections. The American citizens work as serfs to service the needs and desire of their overseers.
“The expat rule is, you have found paradise and you don’t want to share it with anyone, especially those you believe to be unworthy.”
-Stephen365
Q: Is it ok to retire overseas?
A: From a financial point of view it certainly seems like a good option. There are many places that are far cheaper to live than in “the land of the free”. For instance, you can go to “the land of smiles” or LOS. Which is Thailand, for instance. The problem is that the older you become the less you want to leave the things you know and love.
For instance, I fell in love and moved to China after I was retired out of MAJestic. It was a necessity for my own personal sanity. Yet, there are many tradeoffs that I now miss. For instance, it is impossible to get a “over easy” style egg. Bagels can be had, but I need to make a day long trip to get them. Talking with people who know who John Wayne was is also an impossibility, as is cruising around in a GTO with a trunk full of beer. Those things are now beyond my reach.
If you do retire overseas, you need to be careful where you go. For instance, the UK has gone full-on Orwell. And prices are going up everywhere. Some places have customs and manners that are strange to accept if you spent much of your life in the American echo-chamber. You need to research, and then visit the country that you plan to move to.
Q: Will you return to the United States?
A: Oh yes. My home might me in China, but my heart is in America. As soon as I am able to save up enough money, then I will book a flight out there. I have been daydreaming of doing some brook trout fishing.
I’d buy one of those big donut tire motorized trikes and head down to the state game lands. I’d have a big red cooler filled with beer, probably Bud or Michelob, and just go riding and drinking all day long. It will be a good time, I’ll tell you what. Maybe go plinking with a .22 L. I just pick up some ammo at the 7-11 and get to it. Or, just eat my fill of some BBQ chicken and corn on the cob over a open fire in the backyard. It will be great. I just can’t wait to see the red embers float up into the night sky as I poke the fire.
Yeah, and another thing that I’d do is go to a restaurant and get a Monty Crisco sandwich. I’d eat it with fries and a bottomless cup of coffee, served in one of those “bang on the table” thick rimmed coffee cups. I’ll go in, and grab one of those spare newspapers that are resting on the counter and read the local news.
Maybe I’ll pull into one of the large parking lots at the mall. I’ll go inside and get an Orange Julus or a Sbarro and get a slice or two of pizza. Then go and pick up some gear at Sears or Target. Yeah. It’ll be a great time. Yessur!
Posted for Comments on Free Republic.
This article was posted on Free Republic on 17JUL18 for comments. You can read the comments HERE.
Other Articles by other people on this subject
Television Tax. If you live in Germany and you own a radio, a television or a computer, then you are obliged to pay the TV license fee (Rundfunkbeitrag) and you can't escape this!
Here are some decent articles written by others. We share the same idea that humans need to experience life and often that means stepping out of their comfort zone.
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.
Links about China
China and America Comparisons
Learning About China
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.
Chinese playgrounds are different from American playgrounds. They are fundamentally different. In China the playgrounds are designed to instruct while children engage in play. In America playgrounds are designed to be safe at all costs. Here we take a look at the two differences in intent.
USA = Safe at all costs.
China = Designed to teach, instruct while having fun.
When you live in another country, you cannot help but make comparisons from your “home” country and your new home. Some of the comparisons are sad, while others are hilariously funny. While some just cause you to simply shake your head. I personally think that when you step out of your home country and experience another reality, you can more clearly see the benefits and the faults of where you have come from.
These comparisons can be stark and astounding.
There are many things that we can compare. In this article, I would like to compare playgrounds. Because, after all, all children learn through play. Play is the “work” of children. A “playground” is an environment, set up by the community to help the children play. It is designed, or at least was initially set up, for “free range” unaccompanied play.
Let’s take a look at playgrounds…
Children Need to Play
The great Fred Rogers once made a statement that play is the work of children. He was absolutely correct. Children learn things rapidly when they are interested. The key to holding that interest is to involve play. Often that is some kind of role-play.
Boys enjoy construction, fabrication, organization, animals, military, hunting, searching, hiding, running, jumping, catching, hitting, practical jokes, and individual play. Girls might also enjoy these things, but they do seemingly have interests in home organization, cooking, fashion, childcare, animals, and group play.
This observation is true no matter what country where you live. You will find young girls playing with dolls in the Sudan, China, Argentina, and the United States. You will find boys playing sports, and military games all over the world. You know, they all also seem to have a fascination with heavy earth-movers and building things.
“This may seem old-fashioned, but there are skills to be learned when kids aren’t told what to do,” said Dr. Michael Yogman, a Harvard Medical School pediatrician who led the drafting of the call to arms. Whether it’s rough-and-tumble physical play, outdoor play or social or pretend play, kids derive important lessons from the chance to make things up as they go, he said.
The advice, issued Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics, may come as a shock to some parents. After spending years fretting over which toys to buy, which apps to download and which skill-building programs to send their kids to after school, letting them simply play — or better yet, playing with them — could seem like a step backward.
The pediatricians insist that it’s not. The academy’s guidance does not include specific recommendations for the dosing of play. Instead, it asks doctors to advise parents before their babies turn 2 that play is essential to healthy development. It also advocates for the restoration of play in schools.
“Play is not frivolous,” the academy’s report declares. It nurtures children’s ingenuity, cooperation and problem-solving skills — all of which are critical for a 21st-century workforce. It lays the neural groundwork that helps us “pursue goals and ignore distractions.”
When parents engage in play with their children, it deepens relationships and builds a bulwark against the toxic effects of all kinds of stress, including poverty, the academy says.
-Doctors Orders
Play is based on Interest
Without interest, the child will soon be distracted and go off elsewhere. The key to early learning is interest. It is important.
If left alone, a child will find things to play with. They always do. Their interests will generally depend on their gender. (Uh oh! Sound the alarm! politically incorrect statement here!)
That means one of two genders for all of you confused millennial’s out there. Here’s a quick review for those who are confused. It should have been taught to you in elementary school, that is if you were too stupid to figure it out for yourself.
Boys have a penis.
Girls have a vagina.
Humans with a mixture of both are known as a Hermaphrodite.
Boys with a penis that identify themselves with female interests are known as Homosexuals.
Girls with a vagina that identify themselves with male interests are known as Lesbians.
Anything outside of these five conditions is very, very rare. They are what is known as an “Ambiguous Gender”, and are typically treated as someone with a medical disorder.
Now, as far as children goes, there are many exceptions to gender roles.
Some boys like to play house. Some girls like to fight and play war. Many like to do both. The point is that children like to play. If left alone, they will start playing with things in regards to their interests.
Just like you. In fact, exactly like you.
If a boy wants a book on space, don’t force him to rent a book out of the library on butterflies. (Here’s a shout out to the poor kid in Melbourne, Florida who’s mother wouldn’t let him read about rocket ships, and gave him a book on butterflies instead. True story, this.) If a girl wants to read about the latest fashion, don’t make her read about hunting deer.
This should be obvious stuff. A measure of how low our culture has sunk is evident in that I need to explain this most basic premise out.
I remember a post written by a young millennial (on Tumblr) who was upset at her sister. Apparently, her older sister was raising her girls in a more or less traditional manner. She gave them dolls, let them play house and have “tea parties” and dressed them up cute. This upset her younger sister; the young millennial.
When she was asked to “babysit” the girls, while her sister was out, she sprang into action. This was her opportunity. Or, so she thought. So in order to “reverse the damage of gender indoctrination” she bought some toy trucks for the girls. Then she took away the dolls that the girls were playing with. Then after giving the toys to the girls, she let the girls play alone in their room.
An hour later, she went up to check on the girls. She found them there in their room having the time of their lives. They had put the toy trucks to bed (in doll beds) and were reading bedtime stories to them…
The Purpose of an American Playground
Remember when playgrounds were fun? Sure, there was a pretty good chance you’d be scalded by a hot metal slide, or walk away with tetanus, but that’s what memories are made of.
The ground wasn’t coated with soft recycled rubber or sand as most are today – they were asphalt. Remember being hurled from a spinning merry-go-round, then skidding across the gravel at full speed? Good times.
I remember my school playground had a metal ladder “wall” that I swear went up three stories – it didn’t connect to a slide or anything. It was literally a ladder to the sky. I remember fully believing the oxygen was thinner at the top. One false move and I’d have been a flesh colored stain on the asphalt.
We are making playgrounds so safe that they actually stunt our kids’ development. So, while blood was spilt and concussions were dealt on the playgrounds of the 1970s, we were at least in a developmentally rich environment – and we had the bruises and scabs to prove it.
-8 Reasons Children of the 1970s Should All Be Dead
A playground is an area set aside for “free range” unsupervised play. At least that was the initial intention. Today, there are all kinds of playgrounds. Some are supervised, and some are not. Many have benches for adults to sit on and watch the children (at least in the United States they do). China always has places to sit down, as it is usually the grandparents who end up watching the children.
Playgrounds in the past had many elements no longer present. (Well, as far as American playgrounds, that is.) They had “monkey bars” (a construction of bars that children can climb on), “seesaw’s” (a device to move up and down with a partner), “merry-go-rounds” (a large spinning disk that children can push and experience centrifugal forces with), and “slides” (a large structure that a child can slide down on).
Children playing on Monkey bars during the 1960s. They really loved climbing and scrambling on the bars. It was a source of play and amusement.
The elements each provided an element of play. In making the playgrounds safer, these “dangerous” elements were removed, and no adequate replacements were substituted. In America today we have playgrounds without these critical elements. They are boring and bland.
They are sterile.
History of American Playgrounds
In the old days (about 100 years ago around the time of the Great Depression), every community seemingly had a playground. These playgrounds consisted of “monkey bars”, swing sets, seesaws, and other simple outdoor childhood entertainments. Typically, they had sand at the bottom of the metal (and often concrete) structures to mitigate any cuts, scrapes or broken bones. There was sand at the bottom of the monkey bars, sand at the bottom and end of the slides, and sand below the swing sets.
Old American playground around 1900. Only the strong survived recess, obviously.
You can read about the history of playgrounds elsewhere. There are some great articles about how playgrounds got started in the city of Boston. As well as how they got started in Chicago , San Francisco and New York City.
Playgrounds become quite popular as a means to keep children off the roads and out of trouble. The advantages of play were obvious, but I am certain, given secondary importance. Back in the day, children were allowed to go out and explore and play. The idea was to create places to keep the children off the streets. Which ended up benefiting everyone. As such, the development of playgrounds continued apace. This continued into my parents’ generation and mine as well. However, over time, the playground equipment became more standardized and mass-produced.
My mother routinely left me alone in the car at a young age while she ran errands. Today, this will literally get you arrested. You see, once upon a time it was okay to leave your kids for long periods without supervision (remember the so-called “latch-key kids” of the 70s?), or let them free roam without constant surveillance. Today, parents won’t let their kids go out to get the mail alone, and any fun with friends has to be scheduled, closely monitored “play dates”.
On summer break or weekends in the 1970s, parents kicked their kids out the front door and didn’t let them back in until the sun went down. “Go play,” were their only words, and you were left to your own devices for hours upon hours. Neighborhoods looked like Lord of the Flies.
-8 Reasons Children of the 1970s Should All Be Dead
This is an American playground in the middle 1960’s. Note the colorful slides, swing sets, and happy children.American playground in the 1960s with slides and swing-sets. (Image Source.)
Though there were efforts that were still made to make them interesting. In Ridgecrest, California, the playground was designed to look like spaceships and a place of adventure. That was the theme in the nearby China Lake military research center. In Hattiesburg, Mississippi, there was a playground that looked like a pirate’s ship. The children could climb up high to the “crow’s nest”. These were not isolated instances. Many communities “dressed up” their playgrounds around themes.
This lasted up until the mid-1980’s.
By the time the 1980’s rolled around, there were numerous small community organizations formed to make playgrounds “safer”, and “better”. These “improvements” resulted in making the playgrounds nice, safe, and very boring. The idea was safety at all costs. Sometimes there was a secondary attention given to exercise, but in all cases there was zero attention to the idea of imaginative play.
For instance, slides became lower. Instead of two stories high (16 feet) during my parents’ generation, and one story high (8 feet) in my generation, they now became four feet high (4 feet) or eliminated altogether. The images on a Google Image Search now apparently show an average of two foot high slides. (16 feet to 2 feet!) “Monkey Bars” became smaller and lower to the ground, if not eliminated completely. Even seesaws and swings became smaller. These “improvements” were welcomed by all the (over) protective parents in their respective communities.
There was only one problem.
The structures were boring and did not challenge the children. They were instead suitable for mentally retarded and handicapped children, infants, and overweight mothers.
My gosh! Children should be challenged while in a safe environment, not coddled until they become an adult.
“…today’s default playground (is the) “the McDonald’s model”: an unchallenging, standardized unit of tunnels, slides, and decks.
“Things like taking risks, learning to fail, learning to master something, to plan ahead, to develop deep friendships, none of those could take place on most playgrounds today.”
- Susan Solomon in “The Science of Play: How to Build Playgrounds that Enhance Children’s Development” as quoted by Ruth Graham, 28MAR14, in the Boston Globe.
Many people in the United States resent what has happened to playgrounds. They yearn for a “simpler time” when children could just go out, run, sweat, climb, play games, and just be a kid. All without breaking some law, or rule.
Most Americans think that just because this trend of playground safety has manifested in the United States that it has manifested everywhere else. (Afterall, the United States is the cultural “leader” of the world…don’t you know.) At least that is the impression that Ruth Graham has. She made the statement that playgrounds in the United States are the same as those in Thailand. But she is quite wrong.
Playgrounds in other nations are NOT sterile and designed for retarded toddlers. They are robust and designed for active children to play in.
All animals like to play. Dogs and cats like to play just like children do.
All children, kittens and puppies like to play. (GIF Image source.) Here’s a dog for you cat-haters out there…
Dogs and cats like to play. In fact, everyone likes to play. When we are young we enjoyed ourselves and pretended what it would be like when we grew up. Play is an important part of learning and our personal development.
I strongly believe that children, like cats and puppies, should be encouraged to climb, fight, sing, dance, and do other tasks that involve a moderate level of risk. Playgrounds, like everything else, should be permitted to have some moderate level of risk. It is better to climb in a park near your house than on a mountainside hours from a nearby hospital. If you catch my drift.
“When the first public playground guidelines from the Consumer Product Safety Commission arrived in the early 1980s, the classic playground’s fate was sealed.
By the 1990s, the height and size of new equipment shrank, climbing opportunities disappeared, and guardrails were installed everywhere imaginable. “There’s not as much that’s challenging,” said Colorado photographer Brenda Biondo, whose photographs of classic American playgrounds form the basis of a nostalgic forthcoming book titled “Once Upon a Playground.”
“They’re taking out swings in a lot of places, which is really sad.” Biondo’s book documents now-vanished implements like “stationary jingle-rings” and “giant waves,” plus tall slides and seesaws, prone to cracking kids on the head. Sand itself, the foundational element of those first playgrounds in Boston, fell victim to disability-access regulations and paranoia over junkies’ needles and general dirtiness.
American playgrounds had become dull and homogenous, geared to toddlers more than athletic older kids and dominated by uniform models from catalogs.”
- Ruth Graham, 28MAR14, in the Boston Globe.
Today, there are playgrounds in America. However, they are sterile affairs. They are not stationary toys that children can play upon. They are but arrangements of metal that are called a “playground”, but are anything but that. They are not places where children can play. Compared to playgrounds in the 1960’s, which was full of screaming and running happy children, the playgrounds of today are mostly empty and unused.
Playgrounds in The United States today – Safe
Safe American playground is suitable for the most incompetent children and retarded idiots that America can produce.
In America today you can find many playgrounds. They have been made “safe” for children. There are no hard surfaces. Nothing is high or tall. There are no moving parts. Though they are typically painted in delightful colorful colors.
Indeed, many of the things that used to be a part of playgrounds in the past are now absent. There are no “monkey bars”. There aren’t any slides, merry-go-rounds, or seesaws. If you are lucky, you might be able to walk up some wheelchair adaptable steps to a two foot height. There are no moving parts. There isn’t much there to inspire creativity. In fact, there really isn’t much of anything there to do at all.
Keeping the picture above in mind, let’s have a look at playgrounds in China…
Playgrounds in China Today – Play
In China, play is considered an important part of childhood development. They use the techniques of play to teach, for education is the most important aspect of a Chinese child’s life.
Unlike the United States, Chinese schools don’t have playgrounds. Instead, they have open areas for group sports and exercise. Most Chinese live in urban areas. In the urban centers, playgrounds tend be located in the most frequented areas; inside the malls and town centers.
While in America, malls have vaporized along with the American middle-class, in China they are quite popular. China has a very robust middle-class. Many malls have playgrounds inside for children to play upon.
Chinese playgrounds are designed for fun. They teach and inspire in equal measure. Yes, this is a Chinese playground. There is a lower age limit. Toddlers can only play if accompanied with a parent.
I was reminded of this by an event in a local park here in China. There were some children (five and six year old) being taught repelling and climbing skills by a small group of instructors. It turns out that many malls and store complexes in China have these huge climbing complexes of ropes, and netting that children are permitted to go “nuts” over. They are very popular here and are well maintained and monitored. They also offer excursions in local mountainous parks.
If you are ever in China, I would strongly advise all parents to utilize this resource. Don’t limit your child’s development to what the neighborhood busybodies think is appropriate. (They really believe that they have the power over your children. Go to the busybody central; Kid Safety Network.)
While these complexes do not have the kind of seesaw’s that we grew up with as children, they have similar devices with similar purposes. Only this time it is more like a big top that a child or group of children can get inside and toss and spin about in. Monkey bars have been replaced with a network of ladders, ropes, steps on ropes, tires on ropes, and woven tunnels hanging five stories high for the children to play about in.
All Chinese playgrounds are supervised to allow the children to play in safety.
All Chinese playgrounds are supervised. Image Source.
All Chinese playgrounds have supervision. There are always workers who are paid to make sure that safety is maintained. This does come at a cost, though the cost is small and quite reasonable. The children must wear protective gear and harnesses so they will not fall to their death from six stories up.
The Chinese provide their children with a fine place to climb and explore. Sure there is an element of risk, but there are trained instructors and safety harnesses and helmets provided. Compare that to a modern American playground. There simply isn’t any risk. There isn’t any opportunity to explore and have adventure. It is typically in one or two colors, it consists of a few fences and railings, and some stairs to climb up. It is also very safe. It is the opposite of what is available in China.
The differences between the two playgrounds.
The differences are stark. But, don’t just take my word for it. Just compare the product offerings from playground manufacturers in China to those in the United States. You can see what they make and who they market to. The reader should note that American companies tend to market domestically almost exclusively. While Chinese manufacturers market their products internationally.
Indeed, this is pretty amazing stuff. Climb ropes and and networks of cages suspended from above, then slide down multi-story rides! Can you imagine? Slide down five story tall slides! Get lost in huge wire baskets, and swing from monkey bar complexes that tower up into the stratosphere! Wow!
Fun for kids of all ages…
The companies in China make their products and ship all over the world. That is, almost everywhere EXCEPT the United States. Other nations, not only China, let their children climb, have fun, and play. However, in most instances, the Chinese companies just doesn’t bother to ship to America. I wonder why?
Here you can find the makers of the playgrounds that are made for American cities. You will find nice soft surfaces, small and safe slides, a couple of grab bars, lots and lots of hand railings, and some nice safe steps to walk on. Many of them have a platform that is over two feet high that children can stand on. Whoo Hoo!
Let’s face it. Today American playgrounds are pathetic.
Why American Playgrounds became so pathetic
It all began in 1978. Jimmy Carter was president. (But, it really wasn’t his fault.)
An 8-year-old boy by the name of Frank Nelson was playing on a slide in Chicago. He fell and hit his head and the fall resulted in some very serious injuries. The damage resulted in brain damage. It paralyzed his left side and cause speech and vision problems. He also needed to wear a helmet. The attorneys for his mother settled out of court. As such, he was awarded a minimum of $9.5 million (and possibly as much as $29.8 million if he eventually lives to be 75.)
It’s a pretty sad situation. Accidents do occur, and children can get hurt or die. When I was in fifth grade a classmate died when he fell into the ice covered river. My first wife’s uncle died when he was seven. He too fell into the ice covered river. It was something our community knew well, as every five years or so, a child would die under the ice in Winter.
Anyways, back to the child in Chicago…
As a result of this, the city of Chicago decided to tear down all the (so named “tornado”) slides in the city. (This was the mechanism which contributed to the accident with the small boy. They also decided to generally make the playgrounds safer, as they could not afford too many expensive lawsuits.
This settlement, of course, caused a chain reaction.
A tidal wave of lawsuits began the plague the nation. After all, attorneys made BIG money on these kinds of lawsuits. My attorney (when I lived in California) got 90% of any “out of court settlement”, and 60% of the settlement if we took it all the way to court. It was a great racket in the 1980’s, and it still is today.
The lure of big, fast and easy money was seductive.
Attorneys started to look for ways to sue various cities, and there were all kinds of people who wanted to make quick easy cash. Accidents that normally wouldn’t be reported now became national news. For instance, there was the 5-year-old Michigan girl who was strangled on a slide in January when the drawstring from her coat became tangled in one of its bars. In 1988, a 10-year-old Washington, D.C., boy suffered brain damage after falling from an 8-foot climber onto the asphalt below. He was awarded $15 million, which is believed to be the largest settlement of its kind.
To prevent this, many cities started to take preemptive action. They began to make the playgrounds so safe that no one could ever get hurt. They started to ban everything from tires on a rope to slides. They didn’t go six sigma. They went infinity sigma! It’s “zero tolerance” run amok. It was safety at all costs. Who cares about fun. Who cares about child growth. Playgrounds must be SAFE!
Busybodies to Erase Play
Enter an army of busybodies who have one goal in mind; change the purpose of a playground from creative play into a “safe space”. Consider the American organization NPPS, which stands for the National Program for Playground Safety. Their objectives are many, but primarily are directed to reengineer playgrounds so that they are safe for children.
The only problem with this is that there are no thoughts given to the purpose of a playground.
Safe at the expense of play pretty well defeats the purpose of a playground.
You can make claims that the modern American playground designs improve motor skills, and help exercise various muscles. That is all fine and good. However, no one will be exercised if the playground is not utilized. The number one ingredient missing from American playgrounds is something that fires up the imagination of children. Without creative imagination, play is not possible. Without play, there can be no benefit of any playground no matter how carefully it is designed to provide physical exertion.
Here’s how it works…
• Children learn through play.
• Play requires creative imagination, not direction.
• Spaces or places that inspire creative imagination are magnets for playful activities.
• They used to be called “playgrounds”.
This reminds me of a similar progressive initiative by former presidential wife Michelle Obama and her “School Lunch Program”.
Here she mandated healthy food choice for all American children as dictated out of Washington, D.C… Yah, it was healthy, and good for you. However, there was one real problem. No one ate it. The students would get the food and then throw it away without even eating it.
You would think that the damage would be obvious by now.
Who really wants to play on one of these monstrosities?
Ah, but the busybodies are not stopping. There is an entire army of busybodies that wants to bleach out play from playgrounds. They want short, safe and boring locations where children can be parked and not worry about them getting hurt.
In a way, I kind of feel sorry for these people. They mean well, but they can’t understand the basic ingredients necessary to utilize a playground cannot be removed. You need things that inspire and assist in PLAY.
What happens to a cake if you try to make it without flour?
You make it exactly to the ingredients in the recipe, but instead of flour you substitute ground up dog food. You follow the directions on the recipe. You take the “cake” out of the oven. Is it a “cake”, or is it something else? What if you omitted the eggs all together? What if you used orange juice instead of milk? All cakes, regardless of the type, require eggs, milk, flour and sugar.
Playgrounds, regardless of where it is located, should inspire the imagination of children. It should allow them to run, climb and exercise at will. It should also be safe so that MOST children (not ALL children) won’t get hurt. It is after all, a PLAY-ground.
Failure to provide for these needs have created the situation that the United States has found itself in today. We now have playgrounds where “free ranging” play cannot be inspired.
Organizations Against Playgrounds as places for Play
There are numerous (American) organizations involved and concerned about playgrounds. Some, to my disdain, want safety at all costs. Others see the folly in this absolute. They are trying to come up with means and balance. Others are searching for alternative playground options, and how to regulate them out of existence. While still others are trying to introduce some foreign playground ideas on to the American scene. Here are some other related organizations that are trying to figure out what to do about American playgrounds.
I am sure that everyone in these organizations has good intentions. That is not the point. The point is that you should NEVER make changes to any plan, program or structure that detracts from its overall purpose. What is the point of safety if children can’t PLAY in a playground?
The point is you can design a car that is so safe that no one is ever killed. You know how? You remove the wheels and let it sit in the driveway. How often do you think that people will use that car?
A safe car.
Employment Opportunities
Today in America, you can become a certified playground inspector. That is correct. Your job is to make playgrounds sterile and bland of fun. It is all done in the interests of saving the city from frivolous lawsuits. I think the prune face, long crooked nose, and pointed black hats are optional.
Other Places & Other Ideas
One of the problem with us, and I mean all of us (myself included), is that we tend to only look at what is right in front of us. We fail to think of alternatives. You, the reader, know this is true. Honestly, have you ever thought about making a playground out of ropes and woven baskets before? Nah. I didn’t think so. Instead, we have a tendency to think of playgrounds in the traditional way. We fail to look at it in other ways.
We need to look at playgrounds as a [1] safe place for children, to [2] play using their imagination.
If we open our eyes just a little bit we can see how other nations, and other peoples, provide opportunities for their children to play. While some of the ideas might seem too dangerous for our American sensibilities, I tend to believe that we have become far too fearful of a nation. We need to let children play on their own a little bit. We need to let them go out and PLAY.
Here are some ideas of things done right elsewhere in the world…
Junk Playgrounds
When I was growing up, I played where I was. If I was in a playground, I played on the things that I found there. This included “monkey bars”, and “swings”. If I was climbing though an old abandoned building, I ended up playing with the junk that I found there. If I was in the woods, I would play in the trees and bushes that grew there. Children will pay with anything. They key is that you need to provide them a safe place to play in.
Enter the concept of “Junk Playgrounds”. Here, an area is set aside full of junk and discards so that children can play in and about it. It’s a great concept, and the children absolutely love it. Here are some great links to get your ideas flowing…
Why play with junk when there are beautiful trees to climb, brooks to splash in, and meadows to run upon? There is a movement that believes that nature can prove elements of creative play just as well as any formal or structured playground could. Of course, this idea did not originate in the USA. To follow this train of thought and explore these opportunities for childhood adventure, one must look outside the USA prism.
I am specifically NOT referring to sanitized ultra-safe American style playgrounds that are dressed up to look like trees.
I am specifically referring to real parks and areas that are designed for children to play in. Some are nothing more than rustic versions of the ultra-safe American playgrounds. I suggest a little bit of risk, a lot of nature and a safe central area for access.
Many of us, well we sit back and just accept things as they are. We argue, “Hey that is the way things are and there is nothing that I can do.” But this is very wrong. This is “wrong-headed” thinking. There are many things that you can do. There are many levels of engagement.
1. Look at what kinds of playgrounds are near you. Are any of them actually being used? If so, then how? We need to look at playgrounds from the prism of both safety AND fun.
2. Find out who is responsible for the playground. This might be something as simple as talking to the town board in your community, or the people who actually own the property that the playground is on.
3. Talk to them. Do not be some kind of radical who demands everyone change everything immediately. Suggest minor (and I do mean minor) changes to improve it. If it is not safe, improve that aspect of it. If it is not fun, then concentrate in that aspect. Remember the goal is to make playgrounds BOTH safe and fun for children to play in.
4. Concentrate on a balance. The tomato at grocery stores today taste like a cardboard box because it was bred to ship like a cardboard box. No one paid attention to the taste of the tomato. In a like way, by concentrating on safety at all costs, you lose the primary purpose of a playground; individual imaginative play. Strike a balance on having both elements at the playground at the same time.
5. Ask for help. Sometimes you cannot do things alone. Yet there are many others who might want to work with you. Let them.
6. If you hit a blank wall, go your own way. Create your own park / playground. Do it your way. There are many “experimental” types of playgrounds that are designed for interaction with nature, or pile of junk or anything in between. Do your own thing; your way. Then tell us about it. Do not be shy!
7. Remember what it was when you were a kid. I well remember spending hours playing in the nearby stream. I remember what it was like to climb trees. Maybe that is all you need is a place with lots of trees to climb and a sign that says “kids can play here and climb all they want”.
8. Beware of the busybodies. They will try to threaten you, and try to get your involved in the fear of legal action. Put up disclaimers and protect yourself. If you have the financial resources, organize neighborhood monitors to keep things safe.
9. Do it your way. Finally, and above all else; don’t follow what other people do. DO IT YOUR WAY!
Take Aways
Here are some important points that need to be underlined;
Playgrounds should be places to inspire children to play.
An accident in Chicago, and the judicial failure to put limits on the monetary awards, resulted in a sterilization of all American playgrounds.
America has altered playgrounds to be safe at the expense of play.
Other nations do not follow the United States model.
In China, playgrounds are set up quite differently.
America needs to redesign playgrounds to fit the purpose for them.
It is profitable to make playgrounds sterile and boring.
Anyone can make their own playground.
RFH
How about a Request For Help? I tire of busybodies and statists who poke fun at the ideas and experiences of others. They offer no constructive dialog. Rather they just make fun, ridicule, and then scurry under a rock.
I use this forum as a way to disseminate some of the things that I learned though my own personal experiences. I am not the best person in the world, indeed, I am quite faulted. The best that I can do is share my opinions about things that interest me, and flavor it indirectly with my unusual understandings.
So, if you, the reader, were so interested, I would welcome your stories about how playgrounds are beneficial. I would welcome any stories about playgrounds in other nations. I would welcome a discussion on the positives and the negatives of playground design. I would welcome ideas on new ideas, construction techniques and ways to stimulate a child to be involved in creative play. I would welcome stories about creative and useful playgrounds that you have encountered. I would welcome thoughts on things that children would like to play with.
This is my callout to you, the reader. I am sure that you have some stories or ideas that can help pull us out of the big “tar pit” that playgrounds have become. Please feel free to comment.
FAQ
Q: Are American playgrounds safe?
A: Yes they are.
Q: Can people get hurt in playgrounds?
A: Yes, they can. However, most serious accidents at a playground are extremely rare.
Q: Does China have playgrounds for children?
A: Yes they do. They have different types depending on the age range.
Q: Is it ok to allow children to play in playgrounds unsupervised.
A: Yes it is.
Q: What are the differences between Chinese and Americans in playground use?
A: The Chinese train their children to take risks. They make sure that the children are trained and instructed properly. They then provide opportunities for the child to use the skills learned. Once they have demonstrated competency, the child is left to fend for themselves. In America, the child is continually supervised. They are not trained, nor instructed. They are also not expected to make decisions on their own.
Q: Does childhood playgrounds influence Chinese culture in America today?
A: It is an influence, among other factors. In general, the Chinese parent expects their child to learn, and then apply what they learn. Playgrounds are used as a controlled location for the child to explore and utilize their learned skills.
Q: Is the Chinese American lifestyle similar to the Chinese lifestyle?
A: It is similar, but there are notable differences. The Chinese child is permitted much more freedom than their Chinese American counterpart. Both are expected to learn and work hard to achieve very high goals and parental expectations.
Q: Do the Chinese in America today prefer American or Chinese playgrounds?
A: I really do not know. However, I would be very surprised if any Chinese American parent would forbid their child to play in a Chinese playground. It is viewed as a learning resource. It is not considered a place of play
Other Great Articles on Playgrounds
The best one that I have found so far is HERE. It is titled “Playground Fun” on the RetroJunk website. It’s a fun read, with ample pictures. The author is a little bit like myself. Lots of pictures, and stories. Read it.
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