JISHOU, HUNAN — I find it amusing that this video is available on YouTube, which is not accessible from China. Parts 2 and 3 are also available at this link.
The video opens with scenes of the campus, including the main academic building, a computer room and exterior shots of the library. Here’s a rundown of what comes next.
About 2:00: Whitewater boating on the MengDong River, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Qianzhou ancient city
3:45: More scenes of Qianzhou, which is immediately south of Jishou
4:00-about 6:00: artist Huang YongYu, a native of FengHuang, a city about an hour from here. The university has a museum devoted to Huang’s works.
6:00: a steam locomotive (long retired) passing through the hills
6:15: scenes of rural life in XiangXi (western Hunan) prefecture, of which Jishou is the seat
7:00: Jishou and its history, the early university circa 1958
7:36: the original university building, now the home of the medical college at the old campus
7:50: construction of the new campus
9:00: one of the language labs (the instructor is Miss Liu, now director of the Public English Education department)
9:56: a shot of FengYu Lake, with the music building designed by Huang YongYu in the background; my college building is to the left, but not visible in this view
10:28: scenes of an Oral English class, led by a foreign teacher who predates me
JISHOU, HUNAN — For the last few days I’ve had this snippet of a song in my head — just the melody, not the lyrics. Gah! Some ’80s song was all I could remember about it.
This evening, I decided to put my mind at rest and find the damn thing in the Internet. Searching on the few words I could remember was fruitless. Do you know how many songs rhyme “hurt you” with “desert you”?
Then I remembered there’s an iPhone app that allows you to sing or play a tune and then identify it. While I don’t have an iPhone, I reasoned there must be a website that does the same thing. And there is: www.midomi.com to the rescue.
It was the melody to the chorus that was stuck in my head. Here are the complete lyrics:
Someday love will find you
break those chains that bind you.
One night will remind you
how we touched and went our separate ways.
If he ever hurts you,
true love won’t desert you.
You know I still love you,
though we touched and went our separate ways.
Congratulations if you have identified the song. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) was a big hit for Journey (a band I never really cared for) in 1983. And don’t ask me why I didn’t care for Journey. I haven’t given them a thought in almost 30 years. (Has it really been that long? Yikes!)
UPDATE OCT. 7, 2011 — A few things have changed since I wrote this post. Texas Gov. Rick Perry is no longer listed as a speaker. Three new speakers are now listed: Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President of NHCLC, Lila Rose, President of Live Action and John Stemberger, President of Florida Family Policy Council. And the deadline to get the low, low price on the viewing party kits has been extended to Oct. 14.
JISHOU, HUNAN — By way of Right Wing Watch, I came across this announcement, which encourages folks to host viewing “parties” for a televised “premiere event.”
Now on sale! Just $9.95 if you act before Sept. 30!
The lineup of speakers* includes two guys running for the Republican presidential nomination (only one of whom has a ghost of chance of winning the nomination), a former congressman, a man who lies about American history, and the former head of an influential conservative Christian media empire.
[*Speakers have been invited, but are not yet confirmed. -- Footnote at the bottom of the webpage.]]
Three hours of talking heads telling us that the USA is a Christian Nation™, that the USA is going down the tubes because of the liberals, the gays, the atheists, the Muslims and (by the way) President Barack Obama, and that viewers need to bring God back into America where He belongs, instead of taking care of the whole universe like He’s supposed to.
The party's over: Duan Linxi may be the last Hunan Super Girl
JISHOU, HUNAN — One of the most popular TV shows on Hunan Satellite TV (HSTV) have been a succession of American Idol-style talent shows collectively called “Super Girl” and “Super Boy” competitions. But no longer: the national media regulatory agency has told HSTV to cease production of the shows, claiming the network exceeded the time limit imposed for such shows.
“We received notification from the administration that we cannot make selective TV trials with mass involvement of individuals in the year 2012″, Li Hao, deputy editor-in-chief and spokesman of the channel, diplomatically told the China Daily.
In other words, viewers can no longer call in and vote for their favorite performers. That might be too democratic.
“Hunan Satellite Television will obey the State regulator’s decision and will not hold similar talent shows next year. Instead, the channel will air programs that promote moral ethics and public safety and provide practical information for housework,” Li said.
In other words, we were told to produce the same old, mind-numbingly boring crap that China Central TV (CCTV) broadcasts already, in between patriotic movies about the Revolution and the Japanese Occupation.
Hunan TV has a reputation in China of being more “edgy” and contemporary than CCTV. It has successfully adapted game shows from Japan and programs from America (like Ugly Betty and American Idol) for Chinese audiences. The Super Girl/Super Boy competitions have been aired on HSTV in one form or another 2004. As with Idol winners and runners-up, their Chinese counterparts have gone on to clinch record deals, movie and TV gigs, and an active fan base.
JISHOU, HUNAN — After writing the previous post, I came across a photo of Matthew Vadum, a blogger at American Thinker. He’s no fan of “ultra leftist” Leon Trotsky, it seems, but compare their photos. Is it me, or do they look alike?
American Thinker (!?) blogger Matthew Vadum
Russian Thinker Leon Trotsky
No wonders he knows Trotsky so well. Add Vadum to the list of suspected left-wingers. He’s a plant! A mole!
UPDATE 1/9/11 5:30 am ET — Nevermind. As soon as I wrote this post, by a corollary to Murphy’s Law, everything started working again.
JISHOU, HUNAN — My favorite method to climb the Great Firewall of China seems to no longer work. So, my only access to FB right now is eBuddy on my cellphone for Chat and this blog’s feed into Notes. I do get emails whenever someone comments on a note or sends me a message, though.
I had been using Ultrareach‘s Ultrasurf, a 1-MB program that sets up a proxy connection to “climb the Wall,” as they say here, and evade China’s Internet censorship. It establishes a proxy connection as before, but as soon as I enter a URL, the connection is lost. I suspect the Net Nannies here have gotten wise to Ultrasurf and figured out a way to block it, as they did the Tor proxy network two years ago.
So, if you’re expecting me to learn about news from family and friends via FB, think again. Ya might just have to write me an email once in a while.
Oh, and FB recoded their site again, so the plugin I have that pulls comments on FB Notes into WordPress is broken again. It uses the mobile FB site, so I have no clue what’s up with that.
JISHOU, HUNAN — More personal horn tooting here — I wrote a longish diary for Daily Kos about my experiences here after three years, and it made the Community Spotlight.
I made the Community Spotlight at dKos!
As of right now (1:30 am EST), it’s had 58 comments since I posted it yesterday. And its plea for foreign teachers has netted three responses so far. Not bad for a couple hours of work.
Recent Comments