November 30, 2007
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Happy something-or-another, Wikis, Game Boy and requests for rudimentary Chinese lessons
UN. I’ve been going through tons of blogs today looking for featurable content (seriously, wherefore art thou?) and have been reading beaucoup de complaints about the lack of “Merry Christmas” . . . but I can’t come to a definitive conclusion as to how I feel about the whole thing
PRO-MERRY XMAS
-more personalized holiday greeting
-it seems like it’s a catchall that has become socially acceptable at this point because it’s been like that for a long time – sort of the concept of wikiality in terms of holidays
-ignoring PC necessity of not offending anyone, ever, for any reason (which I like)
At the end of It’s A Wonderful Life (a Christmas standard for our fam), having George Bailey run around town saying “Happy Holidays, Bedford Falls!” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.PRO-HAPPY HOLIDAYS
-everyone’s grouped into one bunch and nobody is horribly offended except those who insist on hearing about Christmas
-can extend from Thanksgiving until New Year’s (it’s created to cover the gamut of holidays throughout the winter season and isn’t actually made to not offend anyone, as far as I’m concerned)
-ensures that you can wish warm fuzzy feelings to those who celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Flying Spaghetti Monster Winter HolidayIn conclusion, I have no idea. But, for the record, I say merry Christmas.
DEUX. There’s a help wiki being built, organized and stocked full of questions and answers. I love organizing stuff online (but not in real life – just look at my bedroom), so this is a blast for me . . . John described it as relaxing and he’s exactly right. For lack of a better adjective, the XWik is pimp. I think it’s going public soon! Woot.
TROIS. Game Boy is going swimmingly. I beat two more levels on Donkey Kong this week but have developed a horrible condition that I’d forgotten about until Day 2 of gaming began – Game Boy thumbs. Those suckers have semi-permanent indentations in the shape of the A and B buttons. Oops.
QUATRE. If you know any Chinese, can you help me out? We have a lunch place a couple blocks away from the offices where you can get three entrees and rice for $4, which, honestly, is a bargain. I’d like to be able to order in Chinese, though, because I think I can handle a couple phrases and it’s nice to be able to hear people make an effort to communicate with the people serving, no? So I know how to say hello and no (and thanks is “xie-xie”, right? I watched Sagwa on PBS and vaguely remember that), but any basic communication (how are you; could I please have; yes) would be awesome.
Have a good Friday/weekend/what have you.
Comments (21)
Great entry
Just say what you want. That’s my opinion. We’ve been saying Merry Christmas for years and year and years (well, you get the idea) why all of a sudden is it offensive now (or the last few years anyway)? If you prefer to say “Happy Holidays,” then say it. If you get told “Merry Christmas” deal with it. It’s simply a phrase of pleasant greeting, take it…it’s much better than “#+&@!! you,” isn’t it?
lolol i totally had the sparking blade barbie too!! she was a badass.
You should just make yourself the featured content.
I never really thought about “Happy Holidays” being a replacement for “Merry Christmas,” I just thought it was a general term because there are so many holidays this time of year.
None of those “controversies” really bother me. I just wish they’d let Christmas trees stay up.
OK… LOVE MIKA… especially because the kids like it… the lollipop song is a big hit when it comes to the day fifteen minute clean up around the house.
I’m sorry your getting guff about featured content… I just can’t imagine why anyone would want to think about Christmas yet… Give me a week, week and a half and I’ll get in the swing… I’ll try anyway.
OH yes… game boy thumbs… I put myself into tetris overload once in awhile… I think that it is a thumb pain every child should experience at least once in their life time.
Thanks for expanding my vocabulary.
Can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with work wise!
One: Say Merry Christmas if you want…those who want to be PC need to just lighten up and “get real”. However, if the audience that you are speaking with doesn’t say “Merry Christmas”… you decide. In regards to blogs that are featurable….I have no problem writing about a topic that you provide, and see if it’s featurable in your opinion. (no charge
). This goes for more than just Christmas time…anytime. I’d enjoy the opportunity to get some traffic to my site.
Two: sounds like new things are going on in xangaland. Looking forward to when the apps are launched so us pion public people can try them out.
Three: I remember game boy thumbs….goes long with mouse-finger tiredness…or blood-shot eyes from reading blogs/surfing…
Four: I work with a graphic artist at my job who’s from China (ok, taiwan)… If you provide a list of phrases, I can ask her to help me put those phrases into a readable format for you to practice. Kinda like hooked on phonics, chinese style. May take a few days or a week…but it can be done.
Hope your weekend goes well.
Until later, be blessed.
FWIW, merry christmas
Yup, I think folks should totally say what they want, rather than feeling pressured in any way.
Amen. Make it so, Number One.
If you’re ever near Ithaca while I’m still here (I move to SF in April or so), there is a bitchin’ chinese food place not a block from my office.
ryc: nice! i’d take having ESP over being unoriginal any day!
p.s. if you like the gameboy you really must try the DS lite, its a female gamers dream…
oh, and i have the same dilemma when i go to little saigon to order vietnamese food. i always get the same thing because the “mystery items” on the large display wall menu i’m not brave enough to order because i have no idea what they are.
not chinese, nor chinese-speaking, so can’t help you there. je suis desole (excuse the lack of accent grave or aigu… didn’t feel like digging up character map)
thanks. the pain comes and goes. I am hoping things get better as well. I was afraid it might be something a lot worse, so at least I’m emotionally feeling better. And the doctor tells me I have to take the meds with food – that means I have to eat more… that can’t be a bad thing at Christmas
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i say “happy christmas”, haha. not everyone’s getting “merry”, no?
i’m chinese! heh heh.
a typical exchange:
你好。嗯…我想要这个，还有那个。是的。就这样，嗯。谢谢！
ni hao. en… wo xiang yao zhe ge, hai you na ge. shi di. jiu zhe yang, en. xie xie!
hi. erm… i would like this one, and that one. yes. that’s all. thanks!
~_~ it’s harder to translate than i thougt..
heh heh. why don’t you just take up the language. you’d awe many
you are good. just remember to leave me comments in languages i know, though. haha
I dunno I tend to use both. It depends on who I am talking to I guess lol. I remember Gameboy thumbs ^__^ but it was always worth it. I miss my Gameboy now. sadness.
ryc: english (duh), mandarin, cantonese, malay. how horribly limited. oh well.
all the christmas haters probably wont be getting visits from santa this year…probably not from the flying spaghetti monster, either. bah humbug.with parmesean.
ryc: hahaha, good luck on that. i don’t have the time for those yet. excuse? maybe…
wherefore means why, not where
and chinese is tonal so it’ll be hard to learn just based on text. “ma” means three different things depending on whether the tone is falling, rising, or flat (oh, the joys of linguistics) so it’s hard to just look at something and know how to say it correctly.
merry christmas, the end
Between Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, I prefer neither.
Jesus (actually, His name is Yashua) wasn’t born on December 25th. Israeli winters are too cold for a baby to survive in a manger, and the heavenly multitude wouldn’t have appeared to shepherds because it would be too cold for them to be sleeping outside. The census occurred in October, so Yashua had to have been born at that time. December 25th was the date of Sol Invictus, which the Romans celebrated as the sun’s birthday, during which people would worship various sun deities.
If Sol Invictus provided the date, Yule and Saturnalia provided the merriment. Yule was a Scandinavian celebration honoring the thunder god, Thor. People would feast for as long as it took for a Yule log to burn, which was typically for about a week. If you’ve ever wondered where the phrase “yuletide” came from, this is it. Saturnalia was another Roman solstice festival which lasted about a week. It was celebrated with a temporary cessation of formal rules. Men would host raves where they would exchange presents, get drunk, have gay sex, then go home and beat their wives.
The Bible doesn’t tell us to celebrate Yashua’s birthday, though it does command of us to commemorate His sacrifice through the observance of Passover, which was the final supper. Other Holy Days mentioned in the Bible also go completely ignored, labeled incorrectly as being “Jewish things”. Yashua doesn’t want you celebrating His birthday, and He certainly doesn’t want any of His children involved with Christmas, especially considering it’s origin! Hanukkah is also not Biblically commanded.
You may not like my conclusion, but I have the right to say it unashamedly. Take that, Political Correctness!