http://blogs.chinesepod.com/newbie Mandarin movies, music and madness. Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:10:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've stopped learning Chinese. Or, more accurately, I have stopped learning any NEW Chinese. I'm spending a month or so on the Karate Kid method of language learning. I'm going to focus on the few things that I know, and I'm going to drill down on them until I know them ... http://blogs.chinesepod.com/newbie/2008/03/22/a-very-strange-experiment/ One of the great things I got to do while I was in Shanghai was hang out with my old friend, Aric Queen. For those of you who are new to the ChinesePod universe, Aric was the producer of the shows for a nice stretch and hosted the now-famous Saturday ... http://blogs.chinesepod.com/newbie/2008/03/16/part-of-the-plan/ Okay, folks. Time to throw down a bit and strut your stuff. Now and then I'll take a movie line, or a piece of dialogue and try to figure out how I'd say the same thing in Mandarin and have it mean the same thing (my grammar knowledge being what ... http://blogs.chinesepod.com/newbie/2008/03/14/chinese-challenge/ Do you ever get the feeling like it's all... pointless? Blasphemy, I know. How could I even suggest it? But there it is. I'm surrounded—SURROUNDED, I tell you—by non-Chinese-speaking people! All these years of practice... well, both of them... and for what? So I can order a Diet Coke one week ... http://blogs.chinesepod.com/newbie/2008/03/10/surrounded/ Can you believe that I was only there for seven days? It felt like a lifetime. I've been holding off on a major recap because there's a secret I've been dying to share and I just don't have the green light yet. It's just going to have to wait a little ... http://blogs.chinesepod.com/newbie/2008/03/05/a-pictures-worth/ Yes, yes, I know. I've been neglecting you. All four of you. But you see enough of me over in the Conversation section, don't you? However, if you're one of the few folks who can't access the Convo section on ChinesePod, or you just follow my Chinese language exploits through this ... http://blogs.chinesepod.com/newbie/2008/02/22/back-from-china/ Hiya, kids! Pardon the radio silence here the last few weeks. I've been chatting your ears off over in the Conversations section, and I've had my hands full wrapping up a top secret project that I'll hopefully be able to share when I get back. Anyway, in the morning I depart ... http://blogs.chinesepod.com/newbie/2008/02/08/leaving-on-a-jet-plane/ So, here's a funny story for you... Just about a year ago, I was in the ChinesePod offices for the first time. I happen to be there on Dave Lancanshire's first day, in fact. (For those paying attention, that means Dave just had his one-year anniversary with the company. Look for ... http://blogs.chinesepod.com/newbie/2008/01/24/manstruating/ I've been giving a lot of thought lately -- and I mean a LOT of thought -- to my Chinese name. Of course, not being Chinese myself, I'm at something of a disadvantage. (I know I've had some of you fooled on this point, what with me being so awesome ... http://blogs.chinesepod.com/newbie/2008/01/21/dragonflies-and-chinese-names/ I'm totally in love with this particle: 吧。 It's just the coolest little thing. I hear it more and more these days, and I've even begun injecting into my own conversations online and via Skype. For those of you in the Great White North, this must be the most natural particle in ... http://blogs.chinesepod.com/newbie/2008/01/16/fell-in-love-with-a-%e5%90%a7%e3%80%82/