It's going to be a tight weekend. What I really want to do is get some footage of me and Noah doing some sort of Lion dance up to the Giant Curley Lion. Maybe I'll add in Drumming later.
What is Kung Fu and lion dance? Part self defense and fighting, part meditation and culture and part performance with drums and arts and crafts. Come and learn this art on Saturdays at 108 Stirling Road. Warren, NJ We work with Murray Hill Chinese School which also offers many other programs both cultural, academic and athletic. Check ou their website here https://www.mhcs-nj.org/
Kung Fu and Love
A great gift for Valentine's day or Chinese New Year
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Getting Ready for Wake up the Earth
So assuming it doesn't rain on the parade, we will be lion dancing in the Wake up the earth parade. I plan to bring out the bid head this year. Of course the "Big" Head will be dwarfed by the Curley lion head that is being made. Apparently the head alone will be 5 feet tall and the bady and wings on the body will be huge as well. I'm not going to be the drum because at 1pm, I still have to teach a Kung Fu class in Chinatown. So if the Parade starts at 11am (or a little later) by the time the parade gets to Stony Brook, I will have to take the T in to Chinatown to get there in time for my class and Noah's Volleyball lesson and all that. Then what to do? I guess we T it back into JP for the rest of the Festival. Grace seems to be going to the Taiwan Festival in Newton. But I already know that Wake Up the Earth is going to be more kid friendly. Maybe she'll go to that me and Noah and possibly Jonah will do Wake up the Earth. ....Maybe Jonah will go with Grace fro some Mommy time.
It's going to be a tight weekend. What I really want to do is get some footage of me and Noah doing some sort of Lion dance up to the Giant Curley Lion. Maybe I'll add in Drumming later.
It's going to be a tight weekend. What I really want to do is get some footage of me and Noah doing some sort of Lion dance up to the Giant Curley Lion. Maybe I'll add in Drumming later.
Monday, May 2, 2016
Flavors of Family
I guess Jonah did little flavor labeling of who is who. Grace had him repeat this while we tried out Wood Fire Pizza. A Fancy Pizza place. It was good. But honestly, for whatever reason, if I am going to eat pizza I want something in between junk and fancy. Something that is good, but that I can also stuff into my mouth and swallow large globs of oily cheese and chewy crust. If I want some thing good for me or fancier, I would go for a Chinese Restaurant or a homemade juice.
"I'm Sweet. Shao is sour, Baba is Bitter, and Mommy is Salty."
Hmmm that was remarkably on point. Did Jonah really know the cultural connotations of flavor in English? Or did he just figure it out?
"No! I don't like Sour. I like sugary." protested Noah.
"It's not about what you like, but what you are."
But I could tell that although Noah is older and may be more advanced than Jonah in many things... this was above his head. He had no idea what we were talking about. How can a person be a flavor? You could say that this is too much for a child to grasp. But then Jonah seems to have grasped it.
"I'm Sweet. Shao is sour, Baba is Bitter, and Mommy is Salty."
Hmmm that was remarkably on point. Did Jonah really know the cultural connotations of flavor in English? Or did he just figure it out?
"No! I don't like Sour. I like sugary." protested Noah.
"It's not about what you like, but what you are."
But I could tell that although Noah is older and may be more advanced than Jonah in many things... this was above his head. He had no idea what we were talking about. How can a person be a flavor? You could say that this is too much for a child to grasp. But then Jonah seems to have grasped it.
Friday, April 29, 2016
Lion Dance at the Curley PLayground
Grace has been saying that I have been doing a lot of SMALL things and that I should focus on doing one BIG thing. Something with more impact in terms of numbers reached. I realized that basically this means I have to have a central location and start my own program.
Wild Scallion
Today, while doing Kung Fu I mistook a woman passing by for a local activist. I wanted to talk to her about a business plan I am writing for opening a school. It turned out to be someone else. But I saw a group of older Chinese women in a little walking group. I thought, "Maybe I should try talking to them to practice my horrible Mandarin."
But then I thought, "Is that weird?"
In the end I did run after them and introduce myself. There were a few Cantonese members of the group. So I did become lazy and start speaking Cantonese. But I tried to get the translation into Mandarin.
One woman, Auntie Zhang, becaause it turns out she has the same surname as I do, stopped suddenly and picked what looked like grass.
"Do you know what this is?"
"Bu je dao."
"Yeh Chung ah."
She handed me a piece.
"Smell it."
Ahh it was scallions. That grow wild? I had no idea.
We walked around the pond once and I learned quite a bit from them. It was nice.
They walk every day.
I will try to join them every day... which means just the days when I don't have other commitments.
Will I be able to walk with them when I have the children? Not sure.
But it will be a good exercise. Maybe the children can learn Mandarin too.
But then I thought, "Is that weird?"
In the end I did run after them and introduce myself. There were a few Cantonese members of the group. So I did become lazy and start speaking Cantonese. But I tried to get the translation into Mandarin.
One woman, Auntie Zhang, becaause it turns out she has the same surname as I do, stopped suddenly and picked what looked like grass.
"Do you know what this is?"
"Bu je dao."
"Yeh Chung ah."
She handed me a piece.
"Smell it."
Ahh it was scallions. That grow wild? I had no idea.
We walked around the pond once and I learned quite a bit from them. It was nice.
They walk every day.
I will try to join them every day... which means just the days when I don't have other commitments.
Will I be able to walk with them when I have the children? Not sure.
But it will be a good exercise. Maybe the children can learn Mandarin too.
Learning from books
I spent the day today converting my forms into drunken forms and pausing and doing Drunken Kung Fu Yoga and then regular Yoga. Most Americans hear that I started doing Yoga and say, "Oh that's great." But some people may ask why don't you just do Kung Fu? They have stretching and Qi Gong? Maybe the Kung Fu you know isn't that good after all.
I'll tell you why I am doing Yoga.
It's because I am too lazy to do Kung Fu.
Or because I just want to switch it up.
I mean everything I read about Yoga... Yoga and Kung Fu are basically the same thing. But why would I learn Yoga out of a book? I'll tell you I just follow along with the pictures. It's fun to do that I realize. To not think. To not train seriously. Training like that, some people will say it's useless. I say it's a crutch to get you back on the path of real training. So I used it, and I may use it again.
Do I think you could learn Kung Fu from a book? Maybe just the pictures even without being able to read the Chinese words? You know what? I think it is possible as long as you have basics. But say If I were to do that, I guess I should do that with Noah... because when we are learning something together like that, he enjoys it much more than when I am teaching him..
But I wouldn't bother to learn the whole form. That's the whole point of writing it down.. you no longer have to memorize it. You just do the technique (which will invariable be some version of a technique I already know... but still it's fun to do this) and then you play with it, and move onto the next technique.
Basically by the time you can learn from a book, maybe you don't really need the book anymore...
But actually the goal of my intro classes (those three month classes I have been teaching in JP and Chinatown) is that you will have the basic training and concepts... so that you can learn from a book after my class.
I'll tell you why I am doing Yoga.
It's because I am too lazy to do Kung Fu.
Or because I just want to switch it up.
I mean everything I read about Yoga... Yoga and Kung Fu are basically the same thing. But why would I learn Yoga out of a book? I'll tell you I just follow along with the pictures. It's fun to do that I realize. To not think. To not train seriously. Training like that, some people will say it's useless. I say it's a crutch to get you back on the path of real training. So I used it, and I may use it again.
Do I think you could learn Kung Fu from a book? Maybe just the pictures even without being able to read the Chinese words? You know what? I think it is possible as long as you have basics. But say If I were to do that, I guess I should do that with Noah... because when we are learning something together like that, he enjoys it much more than when I am teaching him..
But I wouldn't bother to learn the whole form. That's the whole point of writing it down.. you no longer have to memorize it. You just do the technique (which will invariable be some version of a technique I already know... but still it's fun to do this) and then you play with it, and move onto the next technique.
Basically by the time you can learn from a book, maybe you don't really need the book anymore...
But actually the goal of my intro classes (those three month classes I have been teaching in JP and Chinatown) is that you will have the basic training and concepts... so that you can learn from a book after my class.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Borscht and other side effects of watching the Americans
I think watching the American is totally getting me into things Russian, even though practically nothing they do on the Americans is Russian. I mean the scenes at the Rezidentura yeah. But What do I mean about things Russian. I mean Phillip eats Borscht while at a KGB safehouse or whatever they call it and I'm like, "huh what the hell is Borscht." had to Google it. I mean I know I had heard of it before. But honestly, I think I heard of it in some 1980's SNL skit making fun of it and how gross it was.
This isn't the first time food was mentioned or alluded to on the show. The first time was the Caviar which Stan Beman uses, seemingly to test Phillip beacuse he suspects he is Russian. Phillip pretends to hate it while eating it with chips and beer. Later he eats in the proper way with Elizabeth. There was also Vasilli teaching Nina the proper way to make tea.
The only reason why I had any diea what the hell they were talking about was because in Philly, this past Christmas Grace and I went to a Russian store near the old Philly house. I don't know if it was always there or not. But I don;t think I had ever been there. One of the main things we got there wer the Kinder Surprise eggs.
We had happened to see Tea as well. I didn't know Russian Tea was a big deal.
In fact, even though this show, The Americans, is about the KGB, it is done in a better way I think. I mean I don't know what someone Russian would think of the show at all.
But let's see the other shows I watch, whether it is Madame Secretary or the new Jack Ryan movie or some stupid action movie I saw. Really when Asians complain that they are the only safe group to make fun of... it's not true. Russians are. Part of this may be because Russians are white and a minority and we have a rivalry with the Putin.. all at the same time.
I mean watch despicable me. I recommended that movie to a Russian American friend of mine for her child to watch... and then the next day after I thought about it I had to quickly recant and warn her... I mean maybe she doesn't want her kid watching a movie where the stereotypical villainous accent is a fake Russian accent.
Then the adult shows are even worse. Okay they are talking about Russian Gangsters or KGB or whatever, that's a normal part of the movie. The bad guys just happen to be Russian. That didn't get me. What got me was when they were showing the Orthodox Church to somehow be some sort of cesspool of money laundering or organization of evil like Specter or Fu Manchu or whatever. I mean it was pretty bad and I'm not even Russian.
Anyway, I think I'm going to have to try Borscht, and maybe read some Russian novels. It's true I've never read Anna Karenina or anything famous. Why? Why does it take this spy show to want me to even look at that stuff? I don't know.
Another side effect is that tonight's show was the second one to get me emotional. The first was when Elizabeth meets her mother and kneels before her. I'm just saying there is some similarity between that image and stuff you see in some Chinese culture. Not the newer younger families. It's got nothing to do with how I myself was raised obviously... well come to think of it even on my white side I did see my mom kneel before my grandfather like that... once... but then in the next sentence she was rip shit and calling him a dope and told me not to go near him. (I think my grandfather had suggested that I simply take the Peters name and forget the Cheung name since my father had passed anyway. He had a point actually, if that's what he was thinking. I mean maybe it's not even what happened. I was so young and only heard snippets. But I think it was something to do with the fact that I could pass for white and that I would be less confused if I just picked a side as it were, and why not pick the side with family here and the one that has more power in this country? Again My mother did not respond well though. But I digress)
Anyway I was emotional when Elizabeth kneeled before her mother. And then tonight when Martha talked about being alone in Russia by herself, just like before she had met Clarke.... it was so sad. They play the show again. Their playing it again right now. And I'm sort of watching it again I guess. I'm pretty into this show... and for good reason. It's a good show.
This isn't the first time food was mentioned or alluded to on the show. The first time was the Caviar which Stan Beman uses, seemingly to test Phillip beacuse he suspects he is Russian. Phillip pretends to hate it while eating it with chips and beer. Later he eats in the proper way with Elizabeth. There was also Vasilli teaching Nina the proper way to make tea.
The only reason why I had any diea what the hell they were talking about was because in Philly, this past Christmas Grace and I went to a Russian store near the old Philly house. I don't know if it was always there or not. But I don;t think I had ever been there. One of the main things we got there wer the Kinder Surprise eggs.
We had happened to see Tea as well. I didn't know Russian Tea was a big deal.
In fact, even though this show, The Americans, is about the KGB, it is done in a better way I think. I mean I don't know what someone Russian would think of the show at all.
But let's see the other shows I watch, whether it is Madame Secretary or the new Jack Ryan movie or some stupid action movie I saw. Really when Asians complain that they are the only safe group to make fun of... it's not true. Russians are. Part of this may be because Russians are white and a minority and we have a rivalry with the Putin.. all at the same time.
I mean watch despicable me. I recommended that movie to a Russian American friend of mine for her child to watch... and then the next day after I thought about it I had to quickly recant and warn her... I mean maybe she doesn't want her kid watching a movie where the stereotypical villainous accent is a fake Russian accent.
Then the adult shows are even worse. Okay they are talking about Russian Gangsters or KGB or whatever, that's a normal part of the movie. The bad guys just happen to be Russian. That didn't get me. What got me was when they were showing the Orthodox Church to somehow be some sort of cesspool of money laundering or organization of evil like Specter or Fu Manchu or whatever. I mean it was pretty bad and I'm not even Russian.
Anyway, I think I'm going to have to try Borscht, and maybe read some Russian novels. It's true I've never read Anna Karenina or anything famous. Why? Why does it take this spy show to want me to even look at that stuff? I don't know.
Another side effect is that tonight's show was the second one to get me emotional. The first was when Elizabeth meets her mother and kneels before her. I'm just saying there is some similarity between that image and stuff you see in some Chinese culture. Not the newer younger families. It's got nothing to do with how I myself was raised obviously... well come to think of it even on my white side I did see my mom kneel before my grandfather like that... once... but then in the next sentence she was rip shit and calling him a dope and told me not to go near him. (I think my grandfather had suggested that I simply take the Peters name and forget the Cheung name since my father had passed anyway. He had a point actually, if that's what he was thinking. I mean maybe it's not even what happened. I was so young and only heard snippets. But I think it was something to do with the fact that I could pass for white and that I would be less confused if I just picked a side as it were, and why not pick the side with family here and the one that has more power in this country? Again My mother did not respond well though. But I digress)
Anyway I was emotional when Elizabeth kneeled before her mother. And then tonight when Martha talked about being alone in Russia by herself, just like before she had met Clarke.... it was so sad. They play the show again. Their playing it again right now. And I'm sort of watching it again I guess. I'm pretty into this show... and for good reason. It's a good show.
The New Season of "the Americans"
I am finally all caught up on "The Americans" and I can actually watch the new season on TV as it comes out. I'm not sure why I consider this some sort of accomplishment but I do.
I actually didn't watch the the newest season, instead I just read the synopses on Wikipedia. Something that I realized that is good about just reading the synopsis is that Noah could read it with me and there was no fear of it being too violent or sexual. I madethe mistake of talking about the fact that the Americans would be on, and Noah totally wanted to try and stay up and watch it with me. ... crazy kid.
I will let him watch the other seasons with me though, I no know where the bad parts are and I will just somehow edit them out. Or do they have an edited version?
In any case. I am eagerly awaiting "Gravity" to end so I can watch the latest episode.
I actually didn't watch the the newest season, instead I just read the synopses on Wikipedia. Something that I realized that is good about just reading the synopsis is that Noah could read it with me and there was no fear of it being too violent or sexual. I madethe mistake of talking about the fact that the Americans would be on, and Noah totally wanted to try and stay up and watch it with me. ... crazy kid.
I will let him watch the other seasons with me though, I no know where the bad parts are and I will just somehow edit them out. Or do they have an edited version?
In any case. I am eagerly awaiting "Gravity" to end so I can watch the latest episode.
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