I started chatting with my friend regarding Chinese culture on the mainland. I’ve never been, but from what I’ve read and heard, it sounds like the culture as I know it, as I lived it through my parents and family friends, is rapidly disappearing in China. Humility, reservedness, politeness, looking out for each other, that seems to be disappearing, being replaced by something new, something I don’t really recognize. I’ve heard you shouldn’t be too surprised if complete strangers straight up ask you how much money you make. Then again, I had a Japanese-American girl ask me how much I make right in public in front of a group of friends (we were all eating dinner at a sushi restaurant). That was a little surprising, and awkward. I can only guess at her agenda.

But yeah, it’s kinda sad; I feel like if you want to see large samples of old Chinese culture, you have to look in either neighboring Asian countries, Taiwan, or among Chinese emigrants living abroad. Maybe that divergence in culture is the source of contempt that I see sometimes. Once in awhile, I’ll encounter a Chinese person that will strongly emphasize a disconnect between Chinese abroad and mainlanders. “No no, we’re not like the mainlanders!” It’s kind of surprising. But perhaps it is a watered down version of how the US felt towards England in the 18th century?

Ron Hsu
11:08
i think it’s part of the capitalism frenzy that’s taken over
i dunno what it’s like in the “motherland” since i’ve never been, so maybe you can shed some light
but i kinda feel like chinese culture as i know it
is kinda being wiped out there
and that the chinese elsewhere are more chinese then it is over there

Lim
11:09
people in China are assholes
how about that, haha

Ron Hsu
11:09
lol

Lim
11:09
like seriously
you go into any store, you’ll tend to get jack shit for service
it’s really odd
people cut in lines
it’s like wtf

Ron Hsu
11:10
oh yeah i heard about the queueing thing
mob rush

Lim
11:10
me and my brother were at a mcdonald’s standing in line

Ron Hsu
11:10
and people i hear are super forward

Lim
11:10
and this couple jsut goes right in front of us

Ron Hsu
11:10
rofl

Lim
11:10
and we look at each other like, “wtf?”
the forwardness is how I feel with people from Hong Kong
it’s just so odd, the whole chinese culture
nobody looks out for anybody else

Ron Hsu
11:11
you mean generally speaking or how it is over there now?

Lim
11:11
over there now
I guess it’s hard to say

Ron Hsu
11:11
yeah that’s how i feel

Lim
11:11
not like I know any chinese that were there before

Ron Hsu
11:11
it feels like the culture that i practice at home
is not there at all in the motherland anymore
but yeah just comparing with how you and your parents interact
well i dunno how asian your parents are
they seem more assimilated than my parents

Lim
11:12
yeah, but not completely americanized
they still eat chinese food for every meal
or at least asian food
and read the chinese papers and bag on taiwan

Ron Hsu
11:13
lol your parents are anti taiwan?
that’s funny

Lim
11:14
yeah, it surprises me since they went to college in Taiwan

Ron Hsu
11:14
that’s so funny

Lim
11:14
and weren’t born in the mainland, so I figured their allegiance would be with Taiwan
but nope, they side with the mainland

Ron Hsu
11:14
wtf
hahahah
so they want unity?

Lim
11:14
well they like it the way it is now

Ron Hsu
11:14
forced unity or whatever

Lim
11:14
and think taiwan is crazy for wanting to break up
although I think most people think that’s true in general
hahah

Ron Hsu
11:15
that’s really interesting, i had heard of these type of chinese people but only from word of mouth
and now i hear your parents are like that

Lim
11:15
these type?
I thought it was just mainland vs taiwan

Ron Hsu
11:15
lol yeah but in my sphere usually it’s supportive of taiwan
my family, friends of family, etc

Lim
11:15
really? hmm

Ron Hsu
11:15
it was rare for me to encounter a pro mainland

Lim
11:15
but they’re all from taiwan, right?

Ron Hsu
11:15
my grandma is extremely against me marrying a mainlander
yeah

Lim
11:16
hahaha
well see
I think my parents are the only “mainlanders” I know
everyone else is either from taiwan
or hong kong, and if they’re from HK they don’t give a shit and just want money

Anyway, I blame their Communist party mixed with extreme poverty. You’ve got an ultra poor, massive proletariat, that then comes into total power. A chance has opened up, everyone wants money, everyone else be damned! It’s the financial equivalent of yelling “Fire!” in a very, very packed theater with a very small exit. Then there was the really retarded Cultural Revolution…that was just wow….just wow. End musing.

For the record, if it’s not clear already, I like Koreans, I like Korean food, I like Korean culture. In fact, I hope to learn Korean someday, and maybe visit South Korea.  Hell, even just saying “I like <ethnicity>” sounds prejudiced to me.

Having said that…USDM K-Rage amongst young Koreans, does it exist?  I’m going to stop with the PC-ness right about now, but yes, I realize even if it does exist, it doesn’t mean everyone has it, blah blah blah, standard issue disclaimer, always is never always. Never is never never.

About a week ago, I met some people at an informal tennis get-together. We went to Red Mango afterward (Korean-created btw, irony for later), and we started talking about ethnic foods, which lead to the ethnicities themselves. One of them, a young’n fresh out of HS, a young whipper-snapper who shall remain nameless, then made a joking comment that he didn’t like Koreans. He quickly apologized, emphasized he was just kidding, etc. etc. Don’t be hard on the lad, he’s truly a nice guy. I feel bad for even mentioning him, despite the anonymity, but he got me thinking.

I guess I didn’t know how to respond. My self, as I am now today, immediately red flagged the comment, where I may not have had before (but more on that later). My mind started racing. At first, I was gearing up for some verbal throw-down. Possible responses were coming up as all my historical knowledge came to bare. Then I got a hold of myself. “He’s a young one, you know how kids are.” Besides, if I did start spewing out stuff, I imagined information overload on his part. Picture Vader telling Luke he’s Luke’s father. “Nooooooooooo! It’s not trueeeee!”

Then my brain went into over-analysis mode, which it oft likes to do of its own accord. “Hmm, he’s Japanese. It’s possible he’s familiar with the current international politics between the Koreas and Japan, as well as past history. Perhaps his parents told him some stuff, possibly biased. Need more info.” Then I thought. “Dude (did my mind really address myself as ‘dude’? I don’t know), he just graduated HS. He probably isn’t familiar with politics at all, much less international politics. A lot of my friends my age have no f’n idea.”

Which then lead me to realize that….*I* used to think like him when I was in high school. Oh shit. Danger, Will Robinson! Yes, I admit it, back in grade school, I had a generally negative opinion of Koreans, particularly the males. And it was a sentiment that a probably statistically significant amount of my other Asian friends shared as well. No, I wasn’t hanging around a bunch of Asian KKK folk; it was a diverse group of Asians, who didn’t all know each other, and yet somehow had a common sentiment. I don’t know how many will remember or admit to it today. Actually, I just randomly asked one out of the blue:

I wasnt exposed to much koreans when i was young
in highschool yea, and they were kinda assholes

Me:the chicks weren’t too bad

no its pretty much all of them
if u werent korean they wouldnt be nice to you
unless u knew them or something
in highschool this older senior korean dude was prick
until he got to know me
then we were cool
cuz i joined his [Counterstrike] clan

The video game binds them!

So “Cool Tennis Dude” really got me wondering, “Where did these sentiments come from? Do they still persist today in grade schools (and possibly beyond)? Was ‘Cool Tennis Dude’ just going through similar experiences in his school days?” 1 week later (yesterday in fact), I was at Pink’s Hot Dog stand, and a group of Caucasians and one Asian girl were talking about how they didn’t like Asians (at least, that’s what I thought I had heard;  I didn’t want to tell them off for something heard out of context. And if I heard right, I think it was the Asian girl who was saying it all, which complicated matters). My friend (half-Japanese) actually heard more: “Asians have anger issues. Especially Koreans. Nobody likes Koreans.” How sad. Then I remembered one of my Chinese coworkers who had just graduated college at the time. She had expressed something similar one day at work. “They’re scary.”

So what exactly is/was the general gripe? Generally speaking, the stereotype was that Koreans were assholes, particularly the males. The females, to me, at least, were fine. Seriously, I’m going through all the Korean male kids I knew in grade school, and every single one of them was an asshole.  Wanna-be thugs. Sure, every ethnicity had the wanna-be thug subset, but even the fucking nerdy Korean dudes were assholes!  Hell if someone told me the reason it was like that back then was because there was some secret Korean Militia forming, I might half believe it. The only nice male Korean friend I had was in 3rd-5th grade. Then I transferred districts. 2-3 years later, he transferred in as well. Holy shit balls, he was totally different -> Asshole! He wasn’t just the same guy, who became snarky, he truly seemed like a completely new person to me. My friend who had also transferred earlier remarked the same thing. Wtf happened? We’ll never know. It’s one of those unsolved mysteries.

It wasn’t until I went to college where I met normal, sane Korean dudes (and super smart Korean women, woo woo! Haejin the mathematician, I wonder what happened to her). Maybe the males matured. But now that I think about it, the sane dudes were almost always immigrants. KDM (Korean Domestic Market) Koreans. That’s a car joke. KDM essentially would mean, built or available only in Korea. So, from my personal experience, the USDM (United States Domestic Market) Korean males tended to be assholes, whereas the KDM Koreans tended not be. Fascinating. See somewhat related musings regarding Jessica Ho.

So is there something there? It could be just sheer coincidence that people across multiple cities and multiple decades somehow ended up with the same sentiments. If not, what is the source of the hostility? Not enough love from Papa? Eh… Maybe Papa was not home much? Hmm…I’ve seen worst case examples of males like that, and it doesn’t quite fit the bill either. Did pappy bring the smack-down? Hmm maybe. Or did father-dearest give the broodlings (Starcraft joke, wah wah) a history lesson a little too early? This is my best guess, and it truly is just a pure guess. “Japan invaded Korea many times. They were hard and cruel.” “China was not fair with Korea in the past. They are pushy and bossy” (a sentiment many countries feel towards America these days, eh?). It’s that or, “Koreans are superior. NEVER FORGET THAT, BOY!” None of that really explains the disconnect between USDM and KDM. I have no idea, but maybe my previous link will shed light on that. This is all just musings anyway.

So while in college I met a Korean girl (USDM type), and the topic somehow came to the history of Japan and Korea, she bitterly replied, “Yes, I know what they did!” To be honest, I think she has every right to be upset about that. You wouldn’t decry a Jewish person for being upset towards Nazis. But now I wonder how early she was introduced to that knowledge. Looking back, I realize now my parents were very aware of atrocities committed during World War 2, but they largely shielded it from me, and kept silent on it. I’d hear the occasional obscure remark from my dad, “Those Japanese people are obsessed with sex!” But for the most part, they were silent. “Oh you like a Japanese girl? That’s nice.”

I eventually did learn about Japanese atrocities on my own, at around 15 years of age, maybe younger. It was inevitable I suppose. I had developed an eager interest in Japanese history. The new information definitely sparked rage in me, perhaps similar to what these Korean dudes were going through. It wasn’t so much the atrocities themselves that enraged me, although there are some really twisted examples that would make their Nazi allies shy away, but it was the general level of denial by contemporary Japanese. Totally blew my mind.  Do a compare and contrast vs Germany and Japan post-war, totally different. It took a long time for me to calm down about it.  Now I enjoy running circles around Japanese nationalist logic.

So that’s my ghetto theory. If you’ve got one, share. I’m wondering how a USDM Korean would respond to this. I should ask some of my friends.

And please, for the sake of the kittens, don’t have USDM K-Rage.

If you’ve been offended by this post, I apologize.

I am wrong. While I don’t feel awkward at all about pouring my heart out, I guess it still does create a lot of awkwardness for others, particularly, I suppose, with people who aren’t equally comfortable discussing their emotions. And that’s fine. That’s something I can respect. Lesson learned. I must be more aware. And guarded.

But what is the nature of the uncomfortableness in people? With some people, it seems like a lack of self awareness. With others, a lack of trust. Others…are there more options? Those seem like the basic foundational reasons. Just general avoidance of the weird? I guess I’m ridiculously weird. To each his own. Something to ponder.

Currently, I have “Addio del passato” stuck in my head. Check it out if you can. The one I have is by Filippa Giordano. Which is kind of meaningless to me. But I guess it could mean a lot to opera snobs. These people are like baseball snobs, but for singing. The “experts” seem to know all the stats of their favorite note belchers, what type they’re classified as, what their range is, etc.

Don’t bother looking for it on YouTube, though – the quality there is generally quite terrible across the board. It’s like people recorded through cups and strings. I haven’t been able to find a comparable one, in any case. Different renditions vary widely, and, until I develop my listening skills further, I prefer ones with strong orchestral elements. The LA Opera has a ton of stuff lined up, but unfortunately I’m unemployed right now.

From the following video:

you really dont think this impression is impressive? she sings with no push, she makes it sound effortless at the beginning which many dont. Listen to others who sing it well but drive it to much in some parts and can not diminuendo.Fleming’s tone is pure and clean and controlled. Listen to her depuis le jour and i guarantee you will not hear a more lifted pure not pushed voice.

I feel like a caveman. Oh, and I wouldn’t bother actually watching the video so much as just throwing it in the background and listening to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z3-yBlDckY

Next, look at how enraged opera aficionados can get. I guess he’s really passionate about it. It happens to be Addio del passato, but I don’t really like it. I don’t dislike it as much as Mr. Angry; I just like Filippa Giordano’s version better.

Why in god’s good name would anyone even consider this acceptable. To the complete moron who asked if anyone could find a more perfect rendition – Try MUZIO AND CALLAS YOU BRAINLESS ASS.

I can assure you, I’ve got just as much “bravado” outside of “cyberspace”. If I were you I wouldn’t waste anytime learning about real singing, by listening to great voices. One more tip – don’t repeat the same embarrassing comment about Hei-Kyung “Dung” around serious, educated opera listeners or musicians – they might actually laugh at you.

Good luck!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnvInILH2t4

Growing up, I always considered that level of “nerdery” to be pointless. Be it baseball, or cars. “What’s the point of knowing all that shit?” “My local team is better than your local team, so that I can vicariously feel better about myself over you. I am part of the other alpha male’s tribe, who doesn’t even know I exist, but I funnel dollars towards him.” I was a young lad then, who could probably still have been classified as asexual at the time. I actually remember my friend going off on the virtues of the female butt, and how he loved to stare at them. Me? I didn’t see the appeal. Times change though. Whereas before I couldn’t tell one brand from another, I’m fairly familiar with cars, now. It wasn’t really by conscious choice, either. It just…kinda happened. And women? It’s annoying how much of an affect they can have on you.

So yeah, it does get annoying when someone persistently insists on their worldview, when they’re knee deep in relative ignorance, but whatever, unless I want to get into a battle of worldviews, it’s probably best to just let go. I’m not going to try learning all the rules of baseball, because I just don’t give a shit, but nor am I going to impose and ask why they don’t add Muy Thai knee kicks to the face.

Anyway, I’m going way off topic. Guess I’ll update the title.

Chi Linh
2:36 PM
why do you show me such things?

Ron Hsu
2:37 PM
it’s my duty as a male
2:37 PM
to gross out the local womenfolk
2:37 PM
it’s a time honored tradition

Chi Linh
2:38 PM
;like womenfolk asking menfolk if they look fat?

Ron Hsu
2:38 PM
lol
2:38 PM
i guess

Chi Linh
2:39 PM
but i’m not one of those womenfolk tho

Ron Hsu
2:40 PM
but i am one of those menfolk

Chi Linh
2:40 PM
but i am on of those womenfolk who beat up menfolk

Ron Hsu
2:40 PM
lol

Chi Linh
2:41 PM
so you better be cargeul
2:41 PM
typing with one hand right now

Ron Hsu
2:41 PM
eating a sausage?

Chi Linh
2:41 PM
having a frozen chocolate banana

Ron Hsu
2:41 PM
woa
2:41 PM
close

Wow, almost 2 months ago. Streets of Willow Springs in Rosamond, California, going clockwise for the first time. It’s a lot scarier than counter-clockwise because of the blind chicane. I actually ended up bending one of my rims because of it. Click the video to visit youtube directly and switch it to high quality if you are so inclined.

I had a pizza bet with Nick to see who could post the fastest time. I had the lead until the final session when Nick beat my time by getting into the 1:33′s. I myself couldn’t get into the 1:33′s no matter how hard I tried, which was pretty disappointing. Will have to try again in December.

• Visit more countries, preferably friendly and stable
• Get a SCUBA license and then actually use it. Scuba diving by Catalina sounds fun. Or somewhere tropical. The Pacific can be a mite cold.
• Buy a home
• Pimp out the garden in said home
• Build an aviary in said garden
• Build a water feature that runs through said aviary.
• Fix motorcycle.
• Road trip up the famous PCH (preferably with a chica)
• Road trip up to Lake Tahoe (definitely with a chica). There are some really beautiful vistas up there around the 89 and 395.
• Lose weight. A lot of it.
• Read more
• Surf more
• Achieve financial security
• Fund R&D into an anti-shark device so my wussy friend will try surfing
• Fund mass transit systems around California
• Fund R&D into space propulsion, better prosthetics, robotics, AI, renewable energy

Haha, the last three are pipe dreams (obviously), if I had billions upon billions like Warren Buffett.

http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm.0710.sarah-pg,0,6447808.photogallery?index=1

That’s a pretty nice way to retire. Modjeska Canyon is fun to drive around, too.

What’s the problem? Life seems meaningless. Indeed, it does. You work, work, work. Go home. Do some…thing(s). Work some more. Buy some crap along the way to make you feel better about yourself.  Move up the ladder to make more money to buy more crap. Or if you’re Paris Hilton, remove work, and buy more crap. Repeat ad nauseam until death do us part.  It’s a most vexing problem that has nagged at people through the ages. What is the meaning of life? What the hell am I doing and why is it worthwhile? My solution, one that I don’t think Eric bought into, is there really isn’t a meaning of life. You pretty much just have to set up your own goals that are fulfilling to you. It doesn’t particularly end the cycle, nor answer the question, but it should keep one pacified. Ha.

For me, there were really two possible types of goals. One: Try to find a way to help others or mankind (to which Eric replied, so that they too, can one day be consumerist whores and continue the meaningless cycle), or Two: Carve out your own pointless slice of happiness. In my case, I chose the latter.  So that involves getting a house, pimping the garden, finding a love (a WOMAN if that is not clear) to cultivate some BS together, and then bah humbug-ing everyone else.

But still, I hope one day to be able to do the former. There are many who don’t even have the luxury of pondering about such pointless things. And it is so very, very pointless a question (imagine that, it’s pointless to think about the pointlessness of life). I mean, either way, you’re going to have to take action on it. Blow yourself away like a tool, continue a mundane lifestyle, or find something meaningful to do.

The “finding a significant other” route does seem kind of a cop out, though.  It’s the default, biological meaning of life. Screw like rabbits and pump out the young’ns. Take care of the young’ns because they are helpless. But they are helpless because you popped them out. And you popped them out because…It really just propagates the cycle along perpetually. Now you’ve got little mini-you’s ready to jump into the workforce.  So I guess, again, one really just needs to find something fulfilling.

So it seems Eric was left spiraling unsatisfied. But we did agree it would be awesome if he ended up dead in a gutter somewhere (not due to foul play of course, but due to booze, alcohol, and a rock star way of life).

I apologize for the rambling. I haven’t posted lately, because I haven’t found anything meaningful to talk about (you see what I did there, huh??), so I submit this crap to you. Thank you.