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Why Chinese - to be Musical?
Learning Chinese languages makes you musical, claim scientists - Daily Telegraph And I thought it was just because somebody wrote that studying music helps you with Math and do better in school? My daughter does Piano, Cello, and Voice. And when there is a piano testing in the area, most of the attendees are either Chinese or Korean. Related posts: And some cool products to use Music in Learning Mandarin! Labels: music
Chinese Made Easy vs. Practical Chinese
Knockoff Cell Phones
Some place I read that the knock offs sometimes arrive quicker to market than the real ones. Because of this, Samsung started releasing their newest models in China. A reason for not going legit is the knockoff manufacturers make more money. Amazing! Just think about what this says about China once ones gets past the copying aspect... 1. Very technical. Developing the software for a phone is not a small project. 2. Quick design. 3. Quick manufacturing. Labels: china's future
New UC Admission Requirements
New UC admissions policy angers Asian-Americans - SF Gate. And it seems these start the year after my daughter will be applying for college (applies to freshman class of 2012). If I am counting right... She's currently a sophomore, so 2009, 2010, 2011 will be when she graduates. Even if it did apply to her, I am not sure if this will help her or hurt her. Supposedly this will increase the number of white students, while decreasing the number of Asian students. Since my daughter is 50/50 is it overall better for her? The actual changes are not requiring two SAT II tests, allowing anyone with a 3.0 or higher to apply, and reduce the amount of students guaranteed admission based on grades and test scores. Labels: college
Cool URL of the Day - organicbubs.com
When I get an order I glance at the E-Mail address, and today there was just a cool name - organicbubs.com The term bubs was one I had not heard before. I was guessing bulbs, so some type of plant site. BUB may mean bringing up bringing up baby in the US, but in Australia it's another word for Baby. organicbubs.com sells Organic baby food products. Labels: childbook
China: Government Blocks Access to YouTube
My daughter was surprised when she heard this. Youtube is a huge part of her life. Two theories: 1. Prevent Chinese from accessing questionable video's 2. Help local Chinese companies compete Hmm.... 1 is the official reason, but my personal opinion is reason 2 is not to be overlooked. Labels: china's future
Jackie Chan Comment
I am pro-democracy and I wish China had more of it. As Singapore and Taiwan have shown, even if Taiwan's democracy is ___________ (words fail me), it's still better than the alternative. Interesting debate in the NY times on the comment of Mr. Chan and the reaction to it. Supposedly the comment was taken out of context, or perhaps in this integrated world Mr. Chan forgot that a comment meant for one audience, may be heard by unintended audiences. I find it good that such a healthy debate is going on!
Labels: china's future
Hope and Caution on Chinese Economy
It's great to know I am not the only person whom is not 100% sure is the Chinese economy improving or getting worse. Good article to read. Labels: china's future
USPS Price Increases
Mail prices are going up again effective May 11th, where now a 1st class letter will be 44 cents, a 2 cent increase. I understood the price increases when the price of gas was increasing. Of course since last mail is being sent now due to the economy and the previous price increase, there is another price increase needed. Priority Mail 1st Pound is going up to $4.95, currently $4.80. Seems so little time it was $3.25. International and Express are also going up... Frustrating on my end with higher mailing costs and I did not increase my shipping rates at the last increase. Labels: shipping costs
Name Not on Our List? Change It, China Says
Fascinating article! China is changing to a computerized ID card, unfortunately the system only supports 32,252 of the 55,000 Chinese Characters... So for the 60 Million Chinese with names that are not supported, you can't get a new ID Card unless you change your name! China's government is also going to push a standardized list of names with 8000 characters. A 100 surnames cover 85% of all Chinese. In the US, 70,000 surnames cover 90% of Americans. I admit, it's refreshing that I have not met any other people outside of my family yet (my Father has the same name, which can be annoying at times, especially if your credit reports get mixed...). And going to School there were not many Raymond's either. Labels: china's future
Nice Blog by ESL Teacher in China
A nice blog I found by an ESL Teacher in China, http://blog.scott.tylers.info/ and a discussion that I have contributed a bit on with my 2 cents about a hidden cost in China is corruption. It's amazing the amount of corruption there and think about how much money is drained off due to corruption there. This fixable world No, I really don't want to expand the discussion to the US Campaign funding system, influence peddling, and earmarks that are a problem, but much smaller where corruption is everywhere in China. From getting into the right school, making sure you get adequate care in a hospital, and more... Labels: chinese corruption
Mulan at Newport Film Festival
The animated bilngual Mulan will be shown at the Newport Beach Festival. The DVD I carry of the film:  |  | | | | | The Ballad of Mulan & Lady White Snake Bilingual DVD Chinese/English | Our Price: $19.95   |
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Two Stories of two Remarkable Chinese Women in 1 DVD...
Ballad of Mulan - Mulan disguises herself as a man and joins the army to take her father's place. For ten years she shows remarkable skill as a warrior and later becomes a famous general.
Lady White Snake - What fate awaits a thousand-year-old white snake that travels from its sacred mountain to the human world, only to fall in love with a mortal? |
Labels: mulan
Bilingual Education Case - Supreme Court
Does Arizona's system serve? After 17 years, Flores English suit goes to high court - Arizona Star It's now in the US Supreme Court's hands and the ruling may have a major impact on the so called bilingual education in the US. My 2 cents was what was called bilingual education really was not. True bilingual education is expensive, and that is where you learn both languages fluently. In California from a political viewpoint, depending on the Supreme Court Ruling, I don't see any changes in how students are taught English. Labels: bilingual education
Chinese Learn English the Disney Way
Teaching - Why being paranoid is good...
Sexting, where under age kids send graphic photos to each other is just the latest addition to a teacher's potential list of nightmares! The photo is considered child pornography and if a teacher or school administrator handles the situation wrongly, their career is gone. Being a teacher to me is very scary, for it's so easy for a parent or student to ruin your career, especially if your male. A 60 year old High School Assistant Principal Mr. Ting Li Oei ( Chinese American), who as part of an investigation had a student forward a picture to his cell phone so he could get it to his computer spent a year of being accused of child abuse and child pornography due to his lack of paranoia and technical savvy had the charges thrown out, but unfortunately his family savings have been depleted defending himself ($150,000), and not to mention the stress on him and his wife. My Students. My Cellphone. My Ordeal. - Washington Post. A site, Help Support Ting-Yi Oei where donations can be made. Related Links: Labels: Chinese Americans
Things to do
May be these should be New Year Resolutions! - Move E-Mail to another server to avoid E-Mail issues
- Post before 11:54PM.
- Plan special graphics a while before to avoid last minute problems (like my cute Easter Graphic that did not happen).
- Figure out video on my daughter's Apple. I just got the new iLife, hopefully that will work with my camcorder. The previous version did not, but the one before that did (go figure).
- Finally get out a survey for customers I have been thinking about for a while.
- Improve my Chinese Made Easy presentation and move it to avoid any mixups. Which means I need to go figure out on a server I think a 301 redirect. I have some files on another server due to BW costs on my main server. Hint, hint Volusion, I hope you redo your BW pricing soon. Yes, I know, more BW means more customers... And other customers are also frustrated on the BW issue.
- Make my CB blogging more Learning Chinese related. OK, I admit it, I am just a political junkie and China politics is very intriguing. But I am not selling political analysis, I am selling Learning Chinese products for children.
- I really need to update the EliteDresses banner on my front page. There are still a couple of items at the smaller size in clearance.
- I should help my wife on figuring out Baby and Toddler sizes and update EliteDresses. It just came up yesterday twice. Is there any way to make the day longer? Some days it feels there is just not enough hours in a day.
- I need to read more fun, education, and family related books. Most of my reading right now is online and not books.
Labels: childbook
China's Environmental Back Pedaling
Sad - Slump Tilts Priorities of Industry in China - NY Times A pre-Olympics push on the environment has slipped as Chinese officials concentrate on growth.
I was getting hopeful I would need to update my lesson plan on China's Environment. Pollution in China - Lesson Plan | |  | | | Discussing the current state of pollution in China, it's effect on the local population, what the Chinese Government is doing about it, and comparing it to pollution in the United States and what the current trends are.  |
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Labels: chinese environment
Disabled in China
Beautiful lady that her picture takes my breath away, but sad article. Liu Yan was paralyzed in practice before the performance of a life time at the Chinese Olympics opening ceremony. And recently married, and it seems now no longer married. Still Dancing in Her Dreams - NY Times. The life of the disabled is improving in China, as shown by China hosting a para olympics games and passing some laws to improve on paper the life of the disabled. It helps that the former leader of China's son is disabled (during the cultural revolution), Deng Pufang has been a huge help. To show the power of the younger Deng, he was Executive President for the Chinese Olympics. The former term in China for disabled was can fei (deficient or useless). When my Father due to his health was temporary forced to use a wheel chair, I appreciated how far the US has come in the area of access for the disabled. It is so nice the amount of ramps that are great for wheel chair access, as well as baby strollers. Going to foreign countries with a baby stroller can be a real adventure. Labels: future
China's Boy Surplus Analysis
Pomret has a good analysis on the latest report on an increase in China's Boy Population. 34 Million Men with no ability to get wives in 20 years in China... Older Posts of mine on this: Labels: china's future
China's Economy - Slowing or Growing?
Taking an American Name
The decision to take an American name when you come to the US is a big decision. Some people just go with nicknames, such as a Shellane will become a Dave. The only headache is on pay day, where the poor payroll department has the check made out to Shellane Chang for example, where everybody knows them by Shellang Chang. My Mother who did payroll has many similar stories. Another one was at a Christmas party they had a drawing based on the names from payroll, so when the CEO called the name, nobody, not even the person knew who that was. His supervisor finally pointed it out (the person was not expecting his real name to be called). Other people will in their legal name use an American name as their middle name to avoid issues. I understand some of my wife's cousins have done this. Others choose an American name as a nickname, the problem is some names with unfortunate assocations can be chosen. I could go with examples here, but anything I write will get me in trouble. Bottom line is it's important to check with a couple of Americans before choosing an American name. Same idea as picking a child's name, my wife and I made picking our daughter's name into a big project (our requirements were one that is not that popular, but not to unique, good meaning, and can be easily pronounced by Chinese speakers). If you are thinking of getting a tattoo of a Chinese Character, have a native or two Chinese speaker double check to make sure you are not getting one you will regret, or is in the opposite of Chinglish. Would that be EngChin? My opinion is immigrants if possible should keep their native name, since it has a lot of meaning. With Chinese, if they change their last name to an American one, that is pretty strange. I know of only one person who did that, and their reason was it helps in traveling to China. My wife's comments on this were sure... Her guess was a bankruptcy or something. This was just in the news, where a Texas Representative said foreigners should get an American name for easier pronunciation. That person is now apologizing... Texas rep apologies for remarks on Asian names - Asssociated Press. Labels: Chinese Americans
Asian Population in California Demographics
The State of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific
Islander Health in California Report has some fascinating statistics. By County: Los Angeles is 13.8% or 1.37 Million are Asian and Pacific Islander Santa Clara is 35.1% San Francisco is 35.3% Alameda is 26% Orange County 17.1% - 67% of Foreign Born Chinese becoming US Citizens
- 43% of the Chinese have limited English proficiency.
- Education - 51% of Chinese have a BS or higher. For Whites, it's 37% and Latinos 9%.
- Very high rate of cervical Cancer, 29% for Chinese, vs. 14% for Whites.
- Only 2% of Chinese women smoke - um, I believe is higher than 2%. I have seen many Chinese women hide the fact they smoke. 13% of Japanese women smoke, and the overall state average is 12%.
- 19% of Chinese are overweight, vs. 35% of Whites (no comment except I plan on starting a 30 minute walk everyday very soon).
Labels: Chinese American Health Care
China's Boy Surplus
Chinese Bias for Baby Boys Creates a Gap of 32 Million - NY Times. This has been written about before, and the worry that a surplus of males will make China more belligerent and socially unstable. What I find interesting is it's a Chinese source that published the report. The ratio is 120 boys to 100 girls in 2005, which has been caused by the 1 child policy and cheap sonagrams. Korea has a similar problem due to a culture preference for boys. Labels: china's future
Location - Vietnam Vs. China
Multinationals take a longer view of Vietnam - LA Times. A key phrase from the article is "China plus one", when describing Vietnam. Many Taiwanese companies were leaving China due to higher cost, and setting shop in Vietnam. Negatives in the article about locating in Vietnam: - Highly theoretical Education and lack of technical work force
- High Inflation (28% last year)
- Labor Strikes at Garment and Footwear companies
- Poor infrastructure
- Government does not get things done quickly (as China does).
- China's improving business climate and low cost producer
I am surprised at the negatives of locating in Vietnam, from the article is seems the government is less authoritarian than China. Permitting labor strikes I did not expect. Nor, not quickly evicting people for infrastructure projects (major problem in China, especially with corruption issues). Labor strikes are big issues for companies that are very low cost producers, such as Tennis Shoes. The reason many companies have left Indonesia is because of labor stability, where China does not have this issue. Labels: vietnam
China Turns a Corner as Spending Takes Hold - WSJ.com
China Exports Decline, but slower
Actually positive news! And China's stimulus package seems to be having a positive affect. Labels: china's future
Learning Chinese on a Nintendo?
China to Revamp Health Care Wall Street Journal
China to Revamp Health Care Wall Street Journal
One of the great changes in China, truthfully in a negative way, has been the deterioration of the health system as China has changed to a semi-capitalistic system. This has left much of the population without any health care. And if you go to the hospitals, you need to pay under the table to make sure you get adequate care. Because of the need for high quality health care, some Taiwanese Hospitals have been expanding into China.
This latest move by the Chinese government is not a surprise. China's government is attempting to restore some of the safety web that has gone away during the economic changes. Another one I expect is some type of unemployment and social security system. China is already doing a massive public works project.
Labels: china's future
Ships and Web Sites
I just took a mini vacation on a cruise ship (Long Beach to Ensenada, 3 night cruise) and I got a bit frustrated trying to get around and figure out where everything is.
1. Navigation should be clear.
- It would have been nice if each deck had a number on it, instead of the
letter. Instead they used Deck Names, which was confusing...
2. Give people a clear map that lists out major places to go.
- The map of the ship gave decks, but not much of what was on each deck. Not even in the room reference book. Frustrating, so we went exploring. I never did figure out how to get to the very front of the ship.
On ChildBook I created sections by Age to help navigation. 3. If there is something special, let people know. - Unfortunately, getting off the boat in Ensenada was confusing... One couple had gone up the elevator a few times. I had guessed the same way we came in, but it was different and there were no signs till you got really close. We got closer after we asked a crew person.
- Weekly Sales on CB Front page and weekly E-Mail newsletter.
Labels: childbook
China Vies to Be World’s Leader in Electric Cars
Why Help your Kids be Bi-lingual?
I've been reading " The Bilingual Edge" (by Kendall King and Alison Mackey )and I must say I find the book very helpful. The text is easy to read, as though the authors are having a conversation with you. Interesting to me are the reasons they cited about the advantages your child will get by being bi-lingual (English-Chinese, for example.) It has been found that bi-lingual kids are: - Smarter. More creative, intellectually flexible
- Socially open.
It turns out bi-lingual children are subjected to more brain activity as they learn two different sets of language. And since their brains are more active, it is but natural for bilingual kids to be more creative and flexible. It was found that bilingual kids can come up with more different answers to problem-solving questions. Not surprisingly, even in test scores and academic performance, it has been seen that bilinguals tend to outperform monolinguals. Note that this is more true for children who have an advanced knowledge of another language, rather than those who know how only how to greet and count in a second language. (However, the latter still tend to be "smarter" than monolinguals. ) As for the social benefits, bilinguals are more understanding of people of the secondary language, and people of other cultures as well. Knowing another language opens their eyes and their hearts that people are different and people should take time to listen to each other. For kids, it is easier to learn about one's heritage if songs, rhymes and stories are understood in the native language. Later on, these children will be the same ones who will reach out to people of different groups. They will also be the link to the next generation's appreciation of one's culture. Either way, the intellectual and social boost being bilingual brings are characteristics we aspire for our children. Teaching your kids to be bilingual is a win-win experience for the child, for your family, community and even the global community. Bilingual Edge shares more about why, when and how to teach your child a second language. Or see more parenting-bilinguals books. Labels: bilingual education, parenting, Why Learn Chinese
Chinese video game lead
Online Chinese video game story on Marketplace about how the Chinese have figured out how to monitize videos and are ahead of everybody on this. Links soon to follow if I don't get too frustrated... Cheated and did a search using Google to find the link... Chinese online game company Changyou has gone public, with a strong response from investors. The Asian gaming industry is thriving despite the global recession. It's a business model that has some Western rivals envious. Scott Tong reports. (04/02/2009) ) Labels: china's future
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