Friday night a group of us went to a really shitty looking but cute bar called C’s Pub. You can scrawl whatever you want on the walls there (and many have already drawn the obligatory penis). Unbelievably cheap drinks. Thanks Jady for inviting everyone!

Yang Peiyu and Lin Miaoke

So there’s this controversy about how the little girl (Lin Miaoke) who lip-synced at the Olympics Opening Ceremony was actually lip-syncing to another little girl’s voice (Yang Peiyu). (Details here.) Personally I don’t see anything wrong with that.

One girl is more photogenic than the other. It’s not a mean thing to say. If we call one of them ugly, then yeah that’s mean and totally wrong considering how they’re children, but that’s exactly what people are doing by making this a big deal.

Look at them. Both of them are adorable, but Lin Miaoke looks better in front of cameras so she’s in the show. I haven’t heard Lin Miaoke sing, but Yang Peiyu probably does a better job and therefore her voice is in the show. Keyword: show.

The organizers took the best elements of the two girls and put them in the show. It’s as simple as that. If people are going to criticize that, they might as well criticize the entire Olympics for being unfair and not awarding everybody Gold medals!

Wanglaoji is badass for putting random cheerleaders in my area for people to gawk at. Thank you, Wanglaoji! Anyway, on to unrelated complaints.

1. The connection to my web server is still awful. I’ve reverted the photography page back to the way it was. The connection’s too poor to work on it.
2. My bathroom has been smelling like a Beijing hutong public restroom. The smell comes and goes, but it sucks. I always flush, and my aim is just fine, so it’s not me.
3. Lately it’s been impossible to maintain a comfortable water temperature for showering. I keep having to rinse myself in the few seconds before it gets too hot or too cold.
4. I have 100 RMB banknotes stashed at my place, and so far I’ve come across two fake ones. These came from the fucking bank!!! I’ve lost $30 USD because the bank gave me fake money.
5. I’ve been doing sit-ups, but I still have love handles! I may have to start jogging in this muggy Shanghai weather.

I miss California.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics opening on August 8 was pretty awesome. Zhang Yimou did a fantastic job. I watched it at a small club called MAO with some locals and fellow laowais. It was great until my exhausting three-hour journey back to where I live.

Yes, three fucking hours, because I waited for the metro to open since I was too cheap to take a taxi which would have cost me over 100 RMB because I live so goddam far and mother told me to save money but I slept through my stop and had to turn around and fuck it I’m taking a taxi next time.

But anyway, here are some pics from Friday night through Saturday morning.

Olympic condom rings

The 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony begins in about 4 hours, at 8:08 PM. Let the harmonious mayhem begin!

In other news, access to my host server is still unbelievably slow from here. I assume it’ll go back to normal in a couple weeks when the Games is over.

I’ve disabled the photography link because I’m redoing the photography section, but the connection to my host server has been so slow these past several days that I haven’t been able to make any progress. I wanna kill some Fuwas.

As much as I make fun of and criticize China’s government and everything else, I wholeheartedly wish for a smooth and (dare I say it?) “harmonious” 2008 Olympic Games. I believe this would be best for cooperation and peace among nations. Add oil, China. Add oil. And go kick some ass, Team USA!

Photo source: espnstar.com.cn

WARNING!

DO NOT eat or drink anything while while watching this video.
DO NOT handle fragile or sharp objects while watching this video.
DO NOT operate machinery while watching this video.
DO NOT watch this video if you are pregnant or in poor health.
DO NOT watch this video if you are suicidal.

Now hit play. The fun begins at 0:56/3:53. Once you’re familiar with the lyrics, be sure to sing along! 中国加油!

Found this video through a new and ridiculously awesome blog called ChinaSmack.com.

Ugh.

Ahh, America. More below. Might be a little NSFW.

I’ll post more pics and write about the shoot some other time.