Remember when I bitched about the weather a couple weeks ago? That was nothing. It really kicked in this week with official temps in the mid-90's, but with the dead air and high humidity, the "Real Feel" is well over 100. I saw it at 106 or more for 4 straight days. All I can do to keep sane is look at the calendar and see that in two more days, it'll be a month before heading to the States.
A couple of follow-ups on last weeks post about the local Italian restaurant making the news because of discrimination, where a lady claimed she was denied a certain wine because she was Chinese and the maître d felt she "didn't deserve it". I have it on good authority from several sources that the woman is a known crank about town who has claimed discrimination at least three times previously. I could see the restaurant staff denying her wine based on her shitty attitude and not due to the color of her skin. Regardless, the place remains packed nightly and will be happily honoring our reservation next week.
Secondly, I wrote that I felt that the locals look upon foreigners with a ratio of 10% that likes us, and 90% want us dead (someone clever sent me a note that said that for me, it was 99.9% hate). I neglected to clarify that that 90/10 breakdown only refers to the men. As for the local ladies...I'd say it is 48/52. 48% of them are intrigued about my hairy body and 52% are secretly down for whatever...
A lot of racism in my news bubble this week. First was the n-word taunts and peanuts being thrown at the black guy on the Orioles in their visit to Boston. Have written in this space more than once that this has been my experience with many Boston fans, so found this hardly surprising. Of course not all Boston fans are racist, but all racists are Boston fans.
And my old alma mater, The American University, was in the news this week as some joker thought it would be hilarious to string up bananas in nooses around campus as he was miffed that the school elected a black woman to be President of the student government. I know this shit isn't limited to AU, but this is what gets in the news from that place and it made it all the way here. Seriously, all the news I've seen coming out of that dump since we went has been a string of school Presidents resigning in disgrace and fraternities being disbanded for being all rapey. And Judge Judy was an alum. Stay classy AU.
In the final segment on cross cultural relations is this advertisement we see on our commute to work.
Betty is the one that noticed this ad that we think is one for a high end car seat. First of all, nice dress Mommy. Second, while the 'Baby In Car' bumper stickers are ubiquitous about town, usually on cars whose drivers careen from lane to lane indiscriminately, car seats are not seen. It is hard to even buy a stroller for babies, but finding one for snack dogs is no problemo. And you would find the amount of infants being toted around on scooters with no protection hard to believe.
But what we found hilarious about this add is that the baby is as blond and blue-eyed as they could find, but the mom is as Chinese as they make 'em. She obviously isn't the Amah cause she is not Filipina. I suppose the dad could be Thor or something. And this ad has led to some conspiracy theories as the driver looks eerily similar to Kim Jong-Un's father Kim Jong-Il. They claimed he died in 2011, but is apparently living in anonymity here in Taiwan. While I don't believe that, would not be surprised if it were true.
Will leave you with something positive. Saw the below list posted somewhere of 26 psychological traits that are "always true" and there are some in here that are nice to keep in mind as one goes about their day. I agree with 25 of them...see if you can tell which one I didn't (my comments in italics)
- Any friendship that was born in the period between 16 and 28 years of age is more likely to be robust and long lasting. Cause friendships after 28 don't last as long as people start dying.
- Women generally prefer men with deep husky voices because they seem more confident and not aggressive. Oh yeah they do
- The people who give the best advice are usually the ones with the most problems. Best? Would you listen to a person that has a ton of problems?
- The smarter the person is, the faster he thinks, and the sloppier his handwriting is. 100% true
- Our emotions don’t affect the way we communicate. In fact, the very opposite is true: the way we communicate has an influence on our mood. This makes total sense and feel that I am guilty of this at times. Will try to do better
- The way a person treats restaurant staff reveals a lot about their character. Not just a lot, but everything.
- People who have a strong sense of guilt are better at understanding other people’s thoughts and feelings. Is guilt the right word?
- Men are not funnier than women: they just make more jokes, not caring whether other people like their humor or not. Hmmmmm...
- Shy people talk little about themselves, but they do this in a way that makes other people feel that they know them very well. Wouldn't know
- Women have twice as many pain receptors on their bodies than men, but they have a much higher pain tolerance. I call total bullshit on this one. Obviously this was written by a woman.
- Listening to high-frequency music makes you feel calm, relaxed, and happy. Does for me but from experience, certainly not a majority.
- If you can’t stop your stream of thoughts at night, get up and write them down. This will set your mind at ease so you can sleep. Will have to take your word for it...
- Good morning and good night text messages activate the part of the brain responsible for happiness. Not only written by a woman, but a millennial
- Doing things that scare you will make you happier. OK
- The average amount of time a woman can keep a secret is 47 hours and 15 minutes. Will take the under
- People who try to keep everyone happy often end up feeling the loneliest. Funny how I never feel lonely
- The happier we are, the less sleep we require. I wake up at 5am regardless as to when I went to bed or what I ate/drank the night before. What does that say?
- When you hold the hand of a loved one, you feel pain less keenly and worry less. Should do this more...
- Intelligent people tend to have less friends than the average person. The smarter the person is, the more selective they become. My two friends will agree.
- Marrying your best friend eliminates the risk of divorce by over 70%, and this marriage is more likely to last a lifetime. Did you know Harry Nilsson wrote the theme to Courtship of Eddie's Father?
- Women who have mostly male friends stay in a good mood more often. Duh
- People who speak two languages may unconsciously shift their personalities when they switch from one language to another. From my observations, probably the truest one of these. As Betty speaks three languages, it's like living with Sybil
- Being alone for a long time is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Cough
- Travel boosts brain health and also decreases a person’s risk of heart attack and depression. Hope so
- People look more attractive when they speak about the things they are really interested in. Lesson # 2 from 'How To Pick Up Chicks'
- When two persons talk to each other and one of them turns their feet slightly away or repeatedly moves one foot in an outward direction, this is a strong sign of disagreement, and they want to leave. Lesson # 1 from "How To Pick Up Chicks'
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