I’m not an expert but I know this…

Say you like this girl but you have no idea how to talk to her, what you want to say-what you want to expect.

Or, maybe you just want to know her name. But, how can I ask her, or as simply as how do I know her phone number. By asking somebody else such as her good friend it would be awkward right?

According to social psychology, if a guy who like a girl, she wants to hear good things from you.

To please her, you need to show her what type person youare. You could be a funny and sociable person or you could be a smart and trustworthy person.

Funny and Sociable

But, here’s the thing. Funny and sociable person only work if you are attractive person, however, if you not that attractive person you still can use this as a starting point.

• Shall we talk or continue flirting from a distance?
• Can I get a picture of you so I can show Santa what I want from Christmas?
• Do you have any sweets? No? Well, then how about a date?

Smart and Trustworthy

Girls love praise and sincerity, direct and honest are for smart and trustworthy person.

• I feel a little embarrassed about this…but I’d like to meet you. What’s your name?
• I saw you across the room and knew I had to meet you, What’s your name?
• Hi, I saw you and thought, “I’m going to kick myself all night if I don’s at least say hi”. So…hi. What’s your name?

There two pick up line you can selects. Above anything and all, you need to be a good guy.

Still have couple days left in Beijing ? Do not know what do to ?

You can visit one of Beijing’s favorite must-see Hutong. It is called Nán luógǔ xiàng 南锣鼓巷.

If I translated luógǔ xiàng 锣鼓巷 in English it means Percussion Alley. It does not mean you will see music shops there. (I saw one. It sells ocarina and some guitar shops in the end of the alley).

Basically, in this hutong you will see several art shops, galleries, bars-cafes and street snacks.

NanLuo Gu Xiang - Pizza Gong Bao Ji Ding - Pass by Bar cafe

You have to try on Pizza Gong Bao Ji Ding at Pass by Bar Cafe. Its design blends between old and post modern era of Chinese revolution.

Pass by Bar Cafe

NanLuo Gu Xiang - Pass by Bar Cafe

You will see Chinese’s chicky to the kitschy design like old book, post card with old Chinese photograph, drinking cup, wallet, etc. Other then that, you also can find tea shops, leather wallets and bags, shisha, cool T-shirt, and accessories & ornaments from one of Chinese’s tribe like bracelets, necklaces, hair pins, etc.

Chinese Chicky and Kitschy

Story about the twelve Chinese zodiac animals

We all know cats chase rats when cats see them, but you ever wondered why cats do that? Why it has to be rats not other animals?

The Chinese had an explanation for this.

When the world was first shaped, the Heavenly God announced to all kinds of animals that they could go to the Heavenly Palace. The next day, the twelve earliest kinds of animals to arrive would be chosen to represent a year, once in each cycle which consisted of twelve years.

The cat and the rat were good friends back then, and they both wanted to be chosen as representative, so the cat asked the rat to wake him up so that together they could go to the Heavenly Palace. The rat agreed, however the rat sneaked out the next morning by himself, leaving cat alone, without wake him up.

On the way, the rat met the ox, so it jumped on the ox’s back and they traveled together.

When they were just about to arrived at the Heavenly Palace, the rat jumped off suddenly and run fast to the destination, reaching it ahead of the ox. Later on, other animals, including the pig arrived. Then the God asked the pig to list the animals in the order that they arrived.

On the list, the pig put itself in the first place, and the God was angry about this. He pointed to the pig and said, “You’re too selfish!” The God put the pig at the end of the cycle as a punishment, and ruled that the other 11 animals to be ranked in the order of their arrival at the Heavenly Palace.

The order is as follows: the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog, and the pig.

Of course, it was too late for the cat to woke up for he to be included in the order. Since then, cats and rats became enemies.

When you tell others which animal year you belong to, that person could probably guess your age!

This is because the animals are in that particular order as mentioned above, and they repeat only every 12 years. Therefore by correctly estimating your age range, in addition to the knowledge of the animal you belong to, it would be enough to accurately tell your age.

One of the cycles started in the year 2008 (the rat), so people born in 2009 would belong to the year of the ox and so on, until 2019. Then in 2020, the cycle starts all over again from the rat. From this, you can then calculate which animal year you belong to as well.

For the fortune-tellers and the Feng Shui specialists, the Dizhi is used instead of the twelve zodiac animals to calculate years and ages.  The Dizhi sounds to be more sophisticated than using the animals, because it is more difficult for the general public to understand those words. However, they are actually the same thing, as both the animals and the Dizhi consist of a cycle of twelve, each representing a year respectively.

This is an interesting idea from the people in the past, which made the whole thing sound a lot less serious and a lot more interesting. It did not come from any particular person, thus showing the fantastic creativity and imagination of the ordinary people.

Many people look deeply into the fate and the characteristics of the animal year that they belong to, and use various methods and materials to predict how lucky one will be in a year.

This is quite similar to the Western Zodiac sign to a certain extent.

Basically if you believe in the, then there are all sorts of these calculations and predictions; on the other hand, if you don’t believe them at all, then they are all simply superstitions.

Come to think of it, there are only twelve representatives animals and there are so many people who belong to each of those animals, so how is it possible that so many people share the same characteristics and have the same fate?

Chung Mou Si & Yun Cheng Si

The easy way to go to Nán luógǔ xiàng lù 南锣鼓巷路 is using subway line 5 stop at Zhāngzìzhōnglù 张自忠路. When arrived go straight to exit A, do not forget to insert / tab off your card otherwise you can not go out. After exit, in front of you should be high road, turn right. Walk about 6-8 meters, you will see the first bus stop.

Exit A - Zhāngzìzhōnglù 张自忠路

1st Stop and 2nd Stop - Zhāngzìzhōnglù 张自忠路

The stop calls Zhāngzìzhōnglù 张自忠路, it has 701, 42, 623, 113, 90. Walk more further you will see the second bus stop, it has 13, 758, 115, 118. DO NOT TAKE bus number 113, 758, and 115, or you have to change buses or walk too far or you stop at different alley/entrance. TAKE bus number 623, 13, 118 only, any of them how comes first will do.

I suggest you go to the second bus stop, take bus number 118 or 13, it comes more often. Its only take 2 stops, and you will not wait too long, soon will be arrived at stop calls Luógǔ xiàng 锣鼓巷.

From stop Zhāngzìzhōnglù 张自忠路 to stop Luógǔ xiàng 锣鼓巷 is about 1 Km.

Get off from the bus and walk about 5-7 metrs, you can see big gate and old looking building from the far. A group of people enter the gate. That is it, you finally have arrived.

This is a place of tourist area. Unique and different. I suggest you visit this place. Follow by this post, my story on what I saw at Nán luógǔ xiàng lù 南锣鼓巷路.

Recently, I bought a DIY film camera at PageOne an international book store (hint: English Books) in China World Trade Center, Guómào 国贸 subway line 1. Here’s my walkthrough post to go there.

The creativity is coming from this www.superheadz.com team and its main company is http://powershovel.co.jp/en/about.html. Yes, it is a Japanese company, a Japanese product. Why does cool and unique camera manufacture always Japanese people ? One thing in my mind is Japanese products is great and their price always reasonable.

The camera is called 135 Camera 28mm lens. It is plamodel camera, plastic mold and clear plastic lens.

The good thing about this camera is I can see the camera mechanism’s, how the shutter window works. I recommended this camera for photographer and hobbyist. This camera also can be a gift for a friend.

Here is some pictures I built the camera. Takes me about 2 hours to finish it.

The bad thing was I do not like this plamodel camera because I had to be careful cut and break the pieces. Clean the left over plastic so it can fit with other piece. I have not test the camera yet with actual film, but I am sure it will be work fine. It only has 28mm lens equivalent with 35mm (it is full frame). The last thing is when capture a frame, the subject has to be about 1 meter  away in distance and no flash – I have to find good decent light when capture a frame. The result might be out focus, overexpose or underexpose. Overall it is a play camera, cure and for fun only.

Beijing Wildlife Park or 北京野生动物园 is located in south part of Beijing. You can go there by taking Subway line 4 stop at TianGongYuan station and your journey have not stop here yet, you must take public bus number 556 or 377 pass 26 stops or you can take unlicensed taxi will charge you between 30 to 50 Yuan.

Finally, I arrived at front gate, I am so exited. I hoped I will find funny looking animals in this park. The ticket price is 50 Yuan per person if hold student identity card and 80 Yuan per person for adult. I think, children with 1.2 m height, elderly and disable people are free of charge. From the main entrance door, we can take electric car or by foot. The electric car costs you 200 Yuan per hour includes driver and guide explains about the park. I prefer ed by foot because I do not want to miss in-house animals.

The first in-house animal that makes me amazed is Golden Monkey.

Golden Monkey is one of extinction animal and very rare existence in another zoo.

Golden Monkey is one of endengared animal

A wide range types of animals in this park. But things make me sad is their cages are not decent, dirty and infrequently clean by the officer. For animal lovers must be very regret this. Even the drinking water was dirty. I looked one of sick female lion, a lot of her furs are loosen.

There is also an animal performance show. After saw some bad condition of animals, I felt something odd about this show. Well, it is true. in the show, there was four bears with neck tied up. Base on my experiences, I never sees animal performance with neck tied up. In Indonesia, all animals are free to move around. Once before I saw bear performance riding a bike. when the instructor told the bear to ride a bike, the bear did want to, but with patient the instructor waited and feed the bear until he wants to ride the bike. In contrast, I saw different scene here, I watched the show, the bear was kicked because he not obeyed the instructor and the feed him. My heart was hurt to see that kind of attitude. Maybe I have visited nice and good looking zoo in Singapore and Perth, the instructors have decent education and qualified to train and work with animal, But I do not know in China, do they have standard and qualified to train animals ?

After the performance show, I walked to bird cages. I saw unique birds feed with decent good food. But after walked for a while, there was a small yellow bird squeezed behind the wire’s cage and it looked like had dead long enough, but no one cared, I am so pity.

My hoped was to see funny animals and having fun in this park had gone. I went back with hurt and pity with bunch of questions. Why they do this to the animals? Where is Animal Protection Rights, Animal Welfare ? Why the do not fix this problem ? Would these animals survive in such extreme conditions ?

There has been a debate for me about what tablet should I used, which tablet should I buy. I was thinking to get iPad 2 from Apple, but the price is..too much…for me, then I found that Samsung has a Galaxy Tab 10.1 which in fact I think it pretty much like iPad 2 has offered and the price about the same. And then I saw that ASUS came out with Eee Pad Transformer TF101 and Eee Pad Slider SL101. Also I wanted to mention there are still some other tablets or pads to be considered as well such as Motorola XOOM, DELL Streak, Lenovo IdeaPad and Lenovo ThinkPad.

Do I Really Need A Tablet ?
Well…sometimes I think I need them, sometimes I think I do not really care, I can it all on Macbook or notebook PC.
Big answer YES; I need it because I need a device, other than my Iphone 3G, that I can do internet browsing, play some games, do my blog, take photo, listen some musics, read pdf or book like Kindle Amazon and much more. Also who does not want a lightweight, slim, bigger screen, touch-screen, and desktop grade operating system. These are what I get from a Tablet or a Pad, in short this can replace a notebook.

So, basically, I need a tiny mini computer to take it with me to the jungle.

iPad 2

iPad 2 from Apple.
I think everyone already know this high end product, iPad 2 is the best and favorable product in the market. Its slim and seamless design, lightweight, and easy to use interface. Nothing more to say.

Tech Specs for iPad 2
iOS 4 (iOS 5 coming soon)
Width: 185.7 mm Height: 241.2 mm Depth: 8.8 mm Weight: 601 g
9.7 inch (diagonal) LED Multi Touch display with IPS Technology
1024 x 768 pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch
1GHz dual core Apple A5
HD video recording 720p up to 30 frames pre second

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
What I can say this. This pad pretty much has same similarity with iPad 2 in term of design. However, I doubted in term of hardware and OS. While iPad 2 equipped with 1GHz Chip A5 and iOS 4; Galaxy Tab 10.1 equipped with 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 and Android Honeycomb 3.0. I could say both of them are powerful enough for multimedia, games or other applications.
At Samsung website, they say Galaxy Tab 10.1 is better, everything better from inside to outside and I agreed. What we need from a tablet, Galaxy Tab 10.1 has all of them.

Tech Specs for Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Android Honeycomb 3.1
Width: 175.3 mm Height: 256.7 mm Depth: 8.6 mm Weight: 565 g
10.1 inch widescreen
1280 x 800 WXGA TFT LCD 149 pixel per inch
1GHz dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2
HD video recording 1080p up to 30 frames pre second
Back camera: HD 720p video recording, 3MP auto focus camera with LED flash, Front camera: 2MP

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101
My first impression is awesome, A tablet has a keyboard dock – just what I had been thinking off. From the demo video and its tech specs this Eee Pad Transformer TF101 will be replace mini notebook and this is suitable for collage student.
The thing is about this pad I can not compare this with others. In my opinion, this product is between half mini pc and half tablet, because it has card reader Micro SD and in the keyboard dock it has more interface such as usb and card reader too. In additional, the cost is same as mini notebook pc.

Tech Specs for ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101
Width: 171 mm Height: 271 mm Depth 12.98 mm Weight: 680 g
10.1 LED Backlight WXGA 1280×800 IPS Panel
1GHz dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2
HD video 720p
Back camera: 5MP, Front camera: 1.2MP
Mini HDMI
Card reader Micro SD

ASUS eee Pad Slider SL101

ASUS Eee Pad Slider SL101
Other different product offering from ASUS. A tablet that has keyboard built in under the pad – Slide.
This is a new product from ASUS and have not come yet. One thing in my mind is this pad is for traveler. It has usb port, micro sd, 5 pixel camera and many more good features that I think useful and a tablet should have. In contrast, beside have a lot of good features and equipped with Android Honeycomb 3.2, this tablet is heavy and bulky. I say, this is a table that will replace a mini computer.

Tech Specs for ASUS Eee Pad Slider SL101
Width: 180.3 mm Height: 273 mm Depth 17.3 mm Weight: 960 g
10.1 LED Backlight WXGA 1280×800 IPS Panel
1GHz dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2
HD video 720p
Back camera: 5MP, Front camera: 1.2MP
Mini HDMI
USB port
Card reader Micro SD

So finally, in my opinion, regardless if it iOS or Android – both of them have their own league, I still considered iPad 2 from Apple or Samsung Galaxy Tab in term of their thin and lightness but in market both of them have the same price tag. However, ASUS Transformer can gives me  features of half pad, half mini computer and with add extra little bit of money I can get the keyboard.

Má là tàng 麻辣烫 is one of street food in Beijing. First time in Beijing I did not like this kind of food. It looks weird, tastes weird and I knew it is not my usual type of food. But It was winter cold late night, all restaurants were already close, only malatang was the only option I had, so that night was first time I ate malatang. How was it? It was yummy taste is so nice.

After that time, I always always coming back. Malatang is midnight snack for us…

Winter cold is the best time to eat malatang and sit next to the hot pot stall, why? because behind in that hot pot stall is a stove, 2 buckets full of coals with fire on, like a furnace. You can imagine when cold  and hot become one…cold weather and hot food. nice one!

Malatang - Pour Stock

Má là 麻辣 means hot and numbing and tàng 烫 means hot soup (boiled soup).

Added some sesame thick paste or 麻酱 Májiàng to make it delicious but some of my friends like it very HOT so they added more Làjiāo 辣椒 and little bit chopped garlic or suàn róng 蒜蓉.

Malatang - Serve in plate covered with plastic

Malatang - The vegetable

While in there, I like to eat dumplings (Jiǎo zi 饺子), tianbula (Tián bù là 甜不辣), tofu/bean curd (Dòu fu 豆腐), sausages (Cháng er 肠儿), fish balls, meatballs (Ròu wán zi 肉丸子), golden mushrooms (Jīn zhēn gū 金针菇), and noodle (Fěn tiáo 粉条)…other else, they also have shrimp, chicken, beef, frozen blood, cabbage, broccoli, morning glories veggie/water spinach, and much more.

Malatang - preparing the food

Malatang is served in plate covered with plastic, so they no need to wash the plate, and if someone want to a take out, they use plastic as a container – bag.

Malatang is cheap, it is only between 7 – 8 máo 毛 per skewer. Until now, mostly I eat 18 skewers. Sometimes I have about 15 to 18 skewers.

Malatang - Stuff...one of happy customer

With the arrival of Spring Festival, all households in China will paste up large or small Chinese Character 福 fú (happiness) on their doors, windows, walls, lintels, and box frames. It has become a traditional practice for Chinese people to put up the Chinese character 福 fú for the purpose of greeting the arrival of spring and praying for happiness.

The Chinese character 福 fú , generally interpreted as “happiness”, means “good luck” or “good fortune” in the minds of the Chinese people. 福 fú posted during Spring Festival has always signified people’s yearning for a happy life, as well as a wish for a brilliant future.

It is quite an art to put up 福 fú , which should be pasted upside down. The homonyms Chinese characters “倒 Dào (upside down)” and “到 Dào (arrival)” allude to the advent of ” 福 fú (good fortune).”

In addition, many Chinese people paint carious auspicious pictures incorporating 福 fú , along with such propitious design as the god of longevity, the birthday peach, the carp leaping into the dragon’s gate (gaining fame and advancement), the abundant harvest of all food crops, and the prosperity brought by the dragon and the phoenix (extremely good fortune). The pictures pasted on front doors take on an auspicious, joyful and beautiful look during holidays. The Chinese character 福 fú was once written by rural calligraphers, but now in the markets or at shops is sold all sorts of red paper printed with 福 fú , as well as various auspicious pictures with different designs.

Liu Dongping & Zhai Shurong

FISH
Fish are one of the most ubiquitous items in Chinese paintings, gardens, and interior decor. Most of Chinese hotel, restaurants, and families keep a fish pond or tanks they contain beautiful gold fish or brightly colored koi. And during holiday celebrations, you can always find fish as a main entree.

The popularity of dish comes from the fact that the word of fish, 鱼 yú, is a homonym for extra or in Chinese is 余 yú. Therefore, people believe having fish in their home or their workplace will help them get a little extra income or profit.

Over the past decade, as the Chinese economy has soared and the number of restaurant mushroomed in cities, more and more business entrepreneurs try to increase their luck in the increasingly competitive environment. Therefore, having the right kind of fish in their display cases becomes important. In recent years, one particular kind of goldfish became very popular among restaurant owners (for show, not for eating!). It is a special breed called get rich fish.

These goldfish are bright orange. They have such a rotund body that they look like balloons ready to pop. Their owners typically pack hundreds of them into one giant rectangular tank. Both their individual butterball look and their sheer number represent abundance in the literal sense. Their obese bodies show that they are clearly well-fed, and their large number means the restaurant is going to have lots of extras. As if that is not enough, they have some ingenious aquarium shops tattoo the characters 发财 fā cái, get rich or fortune, onto individual fish bodies. These tattoos even glow in the dark!

DRAGON AND PHOENIX
Dragons and phoenix are mystical creatures that are both powerful and auspicious. In dynastic days, the dragon symbolized the emperor. But today, one sees dragons and phoenix most often at weddings. The dragon represents the groom and phoenix the bride. In more traditional families, the newlyweds receive silk bedding from the parent that have dragons and phoenix embroidered on theme. Wedding halls are often named after the two creatures and are decorated with their themes. sometimes even the chinaware for the newlyweds has dragons and phoenix painted on theme. In Chinese parlance, dragon and phoenix also represent the pinnacle of achievement for men and women. Parents’ hope for their sons is expressed in the phrase 望子成龙 wàng zǐ chéng lóng, which means wishing the son to become a dragon or in short is succeed in life. Similarly, their hope for daughters is encapsulated in the phrase 望女成凤 wàng nǚ chéng fèng, wishing the daughter to become a phoenix, hopeful or succeed.

Finally, as you may already know, the dragon is the symbol of China. The Chinese consider themselves descendents of the dragon. This is an identity shared by Chinese people living in China, as well as people of Chinese descent throughout the world.

MANDARIN DUCKS
Another symbol associated with Chinese weddings and anniversaries is the mandarin duck. Their unique green blue heads, brown, and black colored feathers are seen in wedding decorations and on dishes, etc.The life long partnership of the mandarin ducks symbolized the couple’s loyalty and love for each other. For that reason, paintings or artwork of mandarin ducks are perfect gifts for weddings or important anniversaries. They are both celebrations and reminders of the couple’s life long commitment to each other.

CRANES
Cranes are symbols of longevity most often seen in Chinese brush paintings or bronze statues in traditional gardens. They are often paired with pine trees, also a symbol of strength and longevity. In addition, cranes were symbols of non military officials in the late dynastic China. Cranes were embroidered on official robes to indicate an individual’s status.

TURTLES
Turtles live to be hundreds of years old; therefore, they are another symbol of longevity for the Chinese. Turtles symbolize longevity, so they are a suitable gift for young and old alike. However, one has to be careful not to call anyone, especially a man, a turtle. Calling a man a turtle means his wife is cheating on him. And that is definitely not good thing to say!

BATS
Bats appear frequently in Chinese jewelry design, specially in jade pendants and gold charms. That is because the word for bats, 蝙蝠 biān fú, sound like the word luck and blessing, 福 fú, in Chinese. Therefore, in Chinese culture, there are none of the dark associations with bats typical of Western cultures. In fact, it is very auspicious to wear a pendant with bat carvings on it because it will bring you good luck!

TIGERS
You may encounter paintings or embroideries of tigers as you wander through art galleries and shopping stalls in China. The tiger is a powerful animal and is typically associated with military or physical might in traditional Chinese culture. In the Qing dynasty, only high ranking military officers wore tigers on their robes when they were not in combat uniform. This is was an indication of their rank and position, And families would not usually put a painting of tiger in their living room. A large painting of a tiger in the main hall of a household indicates that the man of the house is a military official.

Yi S. Ellis & Bryan D. Ellis