July 2009 Archives

The thing I can't get over is the violence of the whole thing.

He was a big man, with the dimensions of an offensive guard, or maybe an undersized defensive tackle, even though those comparisons imply much more athleticism and health than dad ever really had.  He was six-two, and on that day was up to around 300 pounds.  His face had gotten rounder with age and weight gain over the years.  He could certainly be an intimidating presence.  And his temper and mood could also fill a room when stretched to the limit.  He lost his temper many, many times with me, even recently.  But violence was never part of the equation.

Mostly that was due to two influences in his life.  The first was his father, an alcoholic whose wake often left damage my dad had to clean.  He told me that at one of my Uncle's weddings, papa limped around on account of broken ribs dad gave him in a fight the two of them got into.  I got the feeling there were more incidents like that, and dad was so afraid of alcohol it was a big story amongst our family if dad cracked open a beer.

On ChinaSMACK, a site that translates internet news stories in the People's Republic, there are scans from someone's nephew's first grade sex-ed book.  The whole thing is full of win.  I've posted the best one after the jump.  Visit the site itself to get the rest.
Also, I suspect making puns in Chinese may be more fun than in English.  From the site:

Such (sexually) happy kids.

This commenter used a clever pun:
幸福, xing4 fu2 = happy, happiness.
性福, xing4 fu2 = sex, sexual.

(h/t to DailyKorea)

I'll be heading off to the wilds of Mongolia on Saturday.  This will be my second trip to this mysterious land, and my first time into the Gobi Desert. 

Of course everyone knows about Genghis Khan (born Temüjin, and alternatively called Cengiz Han, Chengez Khan, Chinggis Khan, Chinggis Xaan, Chingis Khan, Jenghis Khan, Chinggis Qan, Djingis Kahn), and Mongolian BBQ (though I didn't see anything of the sort when I was there).  Something a little more obscure but extremely fascinating is the Battle of Khalkhin-Gol. In some ways this massive tank battle may have been one of the most pivotal in all of World War II.  The Soviet Union delivered a crushing blow to Japan's Manchurian army, convincing the Empire's leaders to expand in the Pacific instead of Siberia.  The rest, of course, is history. 


Also, Mongolia produces some unbelievably attractive women. (and nsfw)

A local Fox affiliate in Cleveland delivers this hard-hitting, in-depth segment about bears in residential areas.  Thank god these diligent journalists are sparing no expense and effort to bring us the news.