WEEK IN REVIEW: When Blogger goes silent...

Technically they blocked Blogger two weeks ago, the Friday before China Nationals, but we're only now feeling the brunt of China's latest streak of hypersensitivity (the Chinese government would give any 13-year-old girl a run for her money in that department). As of today, this blog's two weeks behind on Retrospectives and a week and a half behind with everything else. (Note: this post is backdated from 6/3.) That will change.

But enough about the (small, insignificant in the large scheme of things) inconveniences of living in Beijing. Here's your week in rewiew.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK:

From Wednesday night/Thursday morning at Luga's Villa, watching the Manchester United vs. Barcelona Champions League final.

Nice picture, Kevin. You pervert.

p.s. Alicia, diehard ManU fan, needs consoling.

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Betsy, 5/26/09:

people who play with frisbees,

betsy has a lot be angry about. just barely scratching the surface are the lakers, the complete global financial meltdown cashmageddon, and, as always, doc. but times like this weekend’s hat tournament make the pain bearable; charlotte bouncing frisbees off kevin’s face, lincoln being skied by a 12 year old, shouting nonsense at a rugby game (try! try!) while drinking frosty beer… summer in beijing has arrived, let the weekly frolfing commence.

WEEKLY ITEM #1: The Weekly Schedule
Every Tuesday, Pick Up, 8-10, Deshengmen

Saturday, Big Brother practice, Dulwich, 12-2pm, followed by pickup 2-4pm

Thursday Morning, Champions League Final/Margaritas and Cheerios Party, Luga’s Villa, 2:45am wear pajamas. and please, take a nap first so you aren’t all cranky
and tired and whiney and tao-ish. betsy hates dealing with all the babies who complain about tequila shots for breakfast. cheerio.
_________

WEEKLY ITEM #2: Shanghai Theme
at chris and jeff’s bing bar birthday, it was discussed, motioned, seconded, voted upon, geeked about, and unanimously agreed that big brother would be doozers at the construction-themed saturday night shanghai party. this is a doozer, from fraggle rock:

http://toughpigs.com/uploaded_images/doozer-775617.JPG

this is jeff dressed as a doozer:

http://toughpigs.com/uploaded_images/doozer-734915.jpg

joe and kevin have been hereby commissioned to work on group costumes, and by reading this e-mail, they accept. we need yellow hard hats, yellow gloves, yellow suspenders/utility belt, olive green pants and long sleeve shirt.

for more information on doozers, consult wikipedia or your local dvd cellar.
_________

now is the time in the weekly email when betsy gives her weekly shout outs and call outs. remember, you want to get shouted out, but you don't want to get called out.

a shout out to jason cox. are you happy now? betsy retired your number for you. now please come back and reclaim it. betsy’s already fine-tuning her teragigawatt fuel cell generator, so you should be unemployed in time for hong kong.

a call out to kevin. please stop messing with people. if you continue, you will no longer be loved by everyone, but only by most. also: shave that stupid beard. that was so joe circa 2008.

a shout out to jeff. jeff remains on semi-permanent shout out status. this week, it’s for his persistence while chasing tail, albeit unsuccessfully, until 5 am on friday night. keep reaching for the stars there, jolly rancher.

a call out to doc. legos? really? oh doc. you were once the king of party ideas. your candle burned out long before your gayness ever did. that, and you’re totally gay.

a shout out to “shadys and haileys: rowr”. betsy was delighted by the performance of her team at the hat tournament. not only was she on the team with the most middle schoolers, but she got to play with gavin. she was most impressed with his catch/blind huck philosophy. at this week’s practice, we will be working on a new offensive strategy set, known as “grip and rip”.

a call out to gavin. will you request betsy as a facebook friend? rofl betsy will poke u lol

a shout out to duff. betsy personally thanks you for everything you’ve done for ultimate in beijing. please graduate most of your players next year so they don’t embarrass big brother anymore. or start bringing them to tryouts.

a call out to cdice. awards party please.

a shout out to tao. yeah, betsy’s pretty shocked too. she’s a closet ultimate fighting fan and she looks great in a jiu-jitsu gi.
_________

WEEKLY RUMOR THAT MUST BE TRUE: betsy overheard zahlen learning from tao who was telling everyone in the front of the bus that jim declared aaron was going to have the awards party at his parents mansion. thanks aaron. tao will be happy to help you set everything up. you guys have plenty of time (read: two days) to let us know when it’s on. hint: it must be this holiday weekend. directions: go to guomao,
walk north. note: if aaron forgets to tell everyone, assume it’s friday night. postscript: bring lots of beer and prepare to trash the place. his parents are totally cool with it.
_________

WEEKLY ITEM #3: Weekly Quiz

the weekly quiz is a time when betsy asks a piece of trivia, be it from pop culture, beijing ultimate history, or any other field that betsy chooses. as always, the use of google is prohibited, but this week, wikipedia is encouraged. just don’t use google to find the wikipedia page, or betsy will disqualify you, violently. this week: fraggle rock. the winner is allowed to shower in all four of the bathrooms during the awards party at aaron’s mansion this weekend.

name the dog and ned shimmelfinnie’s cat
name two doozers
name the five main fraggles
name the trash heap and her two heralds

the winna of the last quiz was tao (enjoy yo stupid fluffa nuttas), with 4 outta 6 correct. doc is actually “no-pants melon balls” and char is “off da hook goat smuggla”. betsy understands why you were confused, that one was tricky. for all the correct answers please consult http://gangstaname.com/
_________

and finally, this week’s rule clarification from the 11th edition, re: when you can start stalling a player.

XIII. The Thrower
4. If the disc comes to rest other than on the playing field proper, a member of the team becoming offense must put the disc into play within twenty seconds after it comes to rest.

5. If an offensive player unnecessarily delays putting the disc into play in violation of rule XIX.B, a defender within three meters of the spot the disc is to be put into play may issue a delay of game warning instead of calling a violation. If the behavior in violation of rule XIX.B is not immediately stopped, the marker may initiate and continue a stall count, regardless of the actions of the offense. In order to invoke this rule, after announcing “delay of game,” the marker must give the offense two seconds to react to the warning, and then announce “disc in” before initiating the stall count.

XIV. The Marker
2. Only the marker (II.K) may initiate or continue a stall count, and may do so anytime a thrower has possession of a disc that is live or in play. However, directly after a turnover or when putting the pull into play the stall may not be initiated before a pivot is established, unless delay of game or pre-stall rules (XIII.A.3, XIII.A. 4, XIII.A.5 or VI.B.5.d) apply.

catch you on the field,
betsy
xxxooo

RETROSPECTIVE: Spring league 2009!

From two days ago:

Jim with the Evil trophy after his team's epic win.

POSTSCRIPT: After this picture was taken at the hat tourney, we went to King's Bar and drank, among other beverages, this. Mouth-watering, no?

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Spring league hat tourney

From Duff's spring league hat tourney album

Team 2, consisting of Tao, Kevin, Aaron, Andy, Charlotte, Char, Therese, Gavin three other middle schoolers, et al., won 8-7 and 8-4.

Thanks to Duff for holding spring league this year. Afterwards we went to King's Bar and watched rugby and drank Hoegaarden and Bodington's.

WEEK IN REVIEW: What do you think?

PICTURE OF THE WEEK:

Do you really want to know?

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Betsy, 5/19/09:

fantastic plastic fanatics,

besty loves everyone in beijing ultimate the same, whether you are sexy or ugly, good or evil, sandy or tao. this weekend was special though, and she was struck by something unknown to her; pride for others than herself. china nationals was impressive and thought-provoking. one thought in particular: if big brother ever loses to high school kids, everyone is off the team and it will be replaced by high school kids. that gavin is so dreamy.

WEEKLY ITEM #1: The Weekly Schedule

Every Tuesday, Pick Up, 8-10, Deshengmen

Saturday May 23, Big Brother practice, location and time TDB

Sunday May 24, Spring League Hat Tournament and BBQ bus from dzm at 11:15am. duff promised plenty of coke at the bbq. betsy was going to make a joke about getting seven on the line, or whites vs darks, but doesn’t want to provoke mini hulk from his winter slumber. who’s a good hulky. you are. you’re a good hulk.
_________

WEEKLY ITEM #2: MAILBAG
every week, betsy gets a lot of emails inviting her out on dates, complementing her on her leadership skills, asking her ultimate related questions, and wanting to know who she is. the mailbag is where she answers these questions. as always, these are real letters from real readers.

Letter #1:

hi betsy,
have you seen my bunny? or my panda backpack? they are not lost or anything, they are just both really cute.

tee-hee,
p-nut

dear p-nut,
that’s sweet. tell me more.

xxxooo
betsy

Letter # 2:

dear betsy,
i know tao is an easy target. he’s kinda awkward, generally says silly things, likes to play with battlestar galactica dolls, and is a blogger. but I miss being the center of attention every week. has my time passed?

missing the old days,
sandy

dear sandy,
you’re right about tao. but don’t forget, he’s also pretty bad at other things too, like badminton and bowling. don’t worry, he can’t keep it up forever. eventually he’ll start doing some less awkward things and betsy will give him a rest. hang in there.

xxxooo
betsy

Letter #3:

dear betsy,
i heard both big brother teams got squashed in the first round on saturday. obviously i wasn’t there, but seriously, what gives?

can’t wait for shanghai!
ken 2.0

dear ken 2.0,
betsy was too busy with your mom to make those games so she has no idea what happened. but if anyone ever brings it up again, betsy will deflect by making a mom joke.

xxxooo
betsy
_________

now is the time in the weekly email when betsy gives her weekly shout outs, and call outs. remember, you want to get shouted out, but you don't want to get called out.

a shout out to zahlen. now where’s betsy’s free case-it gear?

a shout out to jeff. infinity. you win. betsy will have* your babies now.

a call out to shen. we all know you’re really a foreigner. just because you pull your shorts up to your nipples, doesn’t make you chinese. you need the wife-beater rolled up to your shoulders too.

a shout out to tao. despite not giving betsy’s team a first game on sunday, she was mildly impressed by your efforts. whenceforth you get a pass for the rest of this week’s e-mail. savor it.

a call out to doc. yellow makes you look gay. everyone knows green peeps are the best.

a shout out to lincoln. or aaron. betsy forgets which.

a call out to the other one.

_________

WEEKLY ITEM #3: Lunch time Poll
which of these are the main reason big brother is going to dominate at shanghai:
a) big brother’s unstoppable roster of women, you all make betsy want to experiment more.
b) a)
c) both of the above.
_________

which brings us finally to your moment of zen… a baby picture from doc’s modeling days:

http://images.buycostumes.com/mgen/merchandiser/31682.jpg

he peaked at three, it was all downhill from there.

catch you on the field,
betsy
xxxooo

* betsy will not have your babies.

A series of pictures that speaks for itself

From China Nationals this past weekend

China Nationals: success!

The recap is up over on the China Ultimate blog. For now, though, Beijing can take a lesson from Jim and Char and relax.


Pictures by Mike Shyu

RETROSPECTIVE: Big Brother at Jeju 2009

Big Brother's team, from left to right: Joe, Hsing-Hui, Brian, Tao and Lauren, Sandy, Jim, Kevin, Mike (and that's Tina (Pnut) in the orange hat in the lower-right corner, though she played for another Beijing team); picture via Sandy Wang

Offline for a bit

Bear with us as we wait out this Blogger ban in China. In the meantime, I'm officially soliciting good proxy sites, especially ones that let you upload pictures and/or videos.

Questions about scheduling

Other answers to questions will be posted here as they come in.

We've received inquiries as to why the Chinese pool crossover is CA1 vs. CB2 as opposed to CA1 vs. CB1. Two responses:

1. We want the pool winners to get, hypothetically, an easier crossover game. And remember, this crossover is of utmost importance: it's the difference between getting a bye into Sunday as either the 3 or 4 seed or playing a fifth game on Saturday -- an elimination game, no less, as either the 7 or 8 seed (vs. the 9 or 10 to determine who plays the 1 or 2 seed the next day).

Ergo: The pool winners get a slightly (hypothetically speaking) easier game, against the other pool's second-place finisher.

2. HOWEVER, we also wanted the pools' second-place finishers to get a chance to play up into the 3-4 slots, owing to the fact that, not knowing how strong some of these teams are, we may have accidentally placed, say, three really strong teams in the same pool. It's quite likely the 3 and 3 seeds will come from the same pool, and if that happens, we're fine with that -- as should be everyone else, because -- and this is the important part -- the 3 and 4 seeds (along with all the others) are determined by who wins on the field.

Any more questions/concerns, don't hesitate to ask.

Seeding and schedule

For a more extensive look, go here.

CHINESE
1 Tianjin 5 Star
2 Shenzhen
3 Air Kazak A
4 Hong Kong
5 Tianjin Speed
6 Beijing Bang
7 Dalian Smurfs
8 Dalian Navigator
9 Hang Time
10 Air Kazak B
11 Tianjin Ultimate
12 Air Woo

FOREIGN
1 Big Brother Ugly
2 Big Brother Sexy
3 Shanghai X
4 Shanghai Y
5 FUQ (Qingdao)
6 Henan
7 Dragons Red
8 Dragons Blue

First round begins at 9:30 a.m.


CORRECTION: BJ Sexy plays Shanghai X in Rd. 6, not Y.

Jeff Orcutt on China Nationals, just three days away!

Tourney director Jeff Orcutt recently sent a long, bilingual email (which can be read in its entirety) containing this key information:

FIELD LOCATION

The best way to go to the fields is by getting off at the Beiyuan Road North Subway stop (北苑路北站). Get in a cab and head back in the direction you came and get on the fifth ring road going East. You will get off at the next exit (just after the exhibition center) and Followthe map. Head south till the “T” interestion (three lights) and take a left. At the first left (a large entrance to a golf club) take a left and enter. Cabs will not be able to come into the club.
最方便去场地的方法是在地铁的北苑路北地铁站下，打车上五环往东走。在下个出口下（刚过展览馆）然后跟着地图的标志。往南到个钉子路口（3个红绿灯）向左转。大门（高尔夫俱乐部）就在左侧。出租车不让进俱乐部。

RELEVANT CONTACT INFORMATION

The fields: No. 9 Beihu Anwai, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China 10021
场地： 北京市潮阳区安外北湖九号100012
Tel: 010 64918888

http://ditu.google.cn/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=zh-CN&geocode=&q=%E5%8C%97%E4%BA%AC%E6%9C%9D%E6%9D%A5%E8%B6%B3%E7%90%83%E5%9C%BA&sll=40.011313,116.452503&sspn=0.054301,0.11055&gl=cn&ie=UTF8&ll=40.011839,116.428642&spn=0.102289,0.351563&z=12&brcurrent=3,0x35f1abee2256d2b5:0x41463bb400158de5%3B5,0

Party Restaurant: Fusheng Restaurant, Beijing, Chaoyang District, Chaoyang Road, Sanjianfang Nanli, Number 4
饭馆：北京市潮阳区三间房南里4号
Tel: 010 65731046

Jeff Orcutt: 15910769472
王瑶 Yao: 13811030105
沈安Shen: 15001385477

Hopefully you're following the China Ultimate blog for the latest updates.

RETROSPECTIVE: Your 2008 China Nationals champions

And very well deserved, Air Kazak, which beat Tianjin Sports University on Universe Point (video here, from Balance).

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Spring league finals, Pt. 1

"One more point."

If you didn't know this was the championship of Duff's spring league, that it was being played by the league's premiere -- only -- contenders, that the hype machine had been running for a week, replete with obligatory chaff and bunkum, that the opposing forces were named, believe it or not, Team Evil and Team All That is Good in the World, well -- you could've been forgiven to think Evil, which had overrun all its prior opponents, was competing against just another overmatched squad of high schoolers from the International School of Beijing.

As Evil's Alicia floated towards the corner to reel in yet another perfectly placed forehand, Good was caught doing what it had done all day: watching. Another point, another step closer to mercy. Evil led 12-5 in a game to 13, which meant one more point and everyone could line up, slap hands, say their Good games and prepare for an hour and a half of Big Brother practice. Spring league, we hardly knew ye, gone without a bang -- unless you meant Beijing Bang, a team that just an hour prior, on this very field, lost to High School Red 10-3.

This, though -- this was a bona fide trouncing. At least Bang could say they were missing their captain, Ken Su, along with Yin, Guy and Helen. What was Team Good's excuse? For 17 points, they decided catching and defending were optional, that Frisbee was a recreation to be enjoyed, like jogging. Or maybe Joe's groin was the culprit: that which was sacrificed in the first half -- Joe laying out in an (failed) attempt to point-block Jim's whip of a backhand; Jim's fist punching Joe's gonads in just the place to cause him to groan in the least manly way possible -- and all for what? Just another point lost...

On catching, all of Good was infested with the curious case of the dropsies, a deadly virus-like contagion that's stripped more than one Ultimate team of its poise, resolve and general sense of dignity. The illustrative case: on the line with the score 11-5, Tao made a point about drops being the primary reason this team loses, in response to something about drops being "okay" because we were "just practicing."

That very point, Good dropped a would-be easy score in the end zone.

As for Good's defense, the blame -- or credit -- goes to one Andrew Shen, who Evil relied upon more than usual. His vertical cuts had been shredding Good's defense all day, and until Good's defenders -- specifically Tao, who was on the wrong end of several of Shen's mad dashes to the end zone -- adjusted their downfield positioning, Shen had his way like a player possessed.

But then, be it Evil fatigue or complacency, Good scored. (This may have been the infamous "Fudgesicles" play, in which Kevin screamed "Fudgesicles" on a dead disc and waited as Tao, anticipating a cut anyway, sprinted from the force side handler position straight towards the end zone. Kevin threw a screwdriver of a hammer that S-curved over Jim's head and into the hands of... Lauren.) Then, with co-captains Joe and Tao barking at each other on defense, Good scored again -- an up-line cut from the home side of the field like a ray of light finally illuminating what was dark.

12-7.

Fired up, Perkin backhand hucked to Justin for another upwinder -- 12-8.

And because it beat the heck out of losing, Good locked down on D, forced a turn and almost scored again three seconds later. Alas, Tao's long backhand to Justin was caught out-of-bounds... barely. Evil could not capitalize though, and back came Good, Joe racing down the sideline with Jim at his heels, snatching the disc in the end zone and flipping it into the back of his defender's head. Balls? Who needs painless balls?

Now it was a game. Not that Evil was ready to acknowledge it. "We just kept saying, 'One more point,'" Brian Marterer said aftewards. "Just one more point."

But how would they get it?

12-9. Pull corralled by Jim, followed by a throw to Doc across the field that is... dropped. Slipped through his hand like a floundering fish. Good seized upon it, playing patient end zone O until Pnut found Missy making a two-step move from the force-side line towards the middle of the field. Forehand toss for the score.

12-10. Good going downwind after a turn in Evil's end zone... a hammer that landed a foot short of Alicia. Tao hucked to Kevin but the disc was brought back on a (correct) traveling call. A few throws later, Tao made sure he wouldn't make the same mistake, as he pumped once, twice, before uncorking a laser of a forehand to Perkin, who leapt across the goal line.

12-11. Doc held the disc and held it, then held it some more. At about stall seven or eight, Tao, guarding the strong side handler, made a break, even before Doc peered over for a desperation dump. Tao intercepted the throw standing up and soaked in the crowd's gasps as he waited for the cavalry.

Eventually the disc ended up in Kevin's hands, who threw a backhand towards the front corner of the end zone on the away side of the field, where Tao was cutting. Shen, however, anticipated this maneuver, or reacted very fast to Tao's break. He squeezed himself between his defender and the disc and managed to disrupt things just enough for the plastic to fall harmlessly to the ground.

The momentum, however, was on the side of Good. And so it was that Good's Joel, playing aggressive dump D, turned his head to find Evil's Brian, trapped on the sideline, looking straight at him. Weird, Joel thought. My man is shut down. Brian threw it anyway, and Joel responded by slapping the thow 15 yards out of bounds.

The disc got swung to the force side, where Tao bent low and completed a forehand to Lauren, cutting in. (Shen got a piece for a near-hand-block.) Lauren, trapped on the side, dumped back to Tao, who squatted to the ground, rocked back and uncorked a forehand in Justin's general direction. It was a blind pass, a pass to a teammate who had barely begun to make his move against Patrick Li -- a pass he absolutely knew he'd complete.

In a game where Evil scored the first five, led 6-1 and took half at 7-2 -- was in fact one point away from winning on seven different occassions -- the score was now knotted up at 12. Finally, in the game's second hour, things were getting interesting.

To be continued...

UPDATE, 8/4: At 12-12, Joe had a throw point-blocked, allowing Evil to regain the advantage at 13-12. Next point, Jim called a foul on Tao in the end zone, but then turned it. Team All That Is Good In the World scored to tie it at 13. Something else happened, and something else. It got to 14-14.

Evil, driving, saw Jim put a perfect pass to Alicia that was dropped -- perfectly dropped -- in the end zone. Good, however, clamped down on defense, with Brian swatting away a pass before midfield. Evil threw a few swing passes before Jim attempted the exact same throw to Alicia, who, in almost the same fashion... caught it. Evil wins 15-14.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Big Brother teams set for China Nationals

Also happens to be your Google Groups post of the week:

After some or a lot of deliberation and much mocking of Tao's idea to draft teams for China Nationals, Jim, Doc, Joe and Tao drafted teams for China Natties on Thursday night at Side Saddle in Sanlitun. If your name is on the following list you will be representing Big Brother next weekend as Beijing hosts the third annual China Nationals.

Some people on this list have not CONFIRMED they are playing -- i.e. emailed Jim (jameskirchh...@yahoo.com), paid 300 RMB -- but rumors of their interest landed them here. If this describes you, please email one of us asap. If you aren't listed but would like to play, TELL US NOW!!! or soon.

**Team Sexy Beautiful, captained by Doc and Jim:

Barbie
Brian Marterererererer
Char
Donald De Bona
Jehan
Joel
Kat V
Kevin Diamond-Cutter Reitz
Laurene
Lincoln
Patrick Li
Tina Xuexue

**Team Ugly Trolls, captained by Joe and Tao:

Aaron
Alicia
Andy Young
Boehner
Charlotte
Candice
Dan
Gabe
Jeff Orcutt
Larke like the bird
Missy
Zahlen

Please pay Jim as soon as you can. To review: 300 RMB gets you lunch on both days, a very boozy big dinner Saturday, all-you-can-drink beer Sunday, very fun Ultimate and probably a disc, and it's for a great cause. TD Jeff Orcutt et al. have been working very hard to make this happen and as a community we should do all we can to ensure an unforgettable weekend for ourselves and Ultimate Frisbee players from across the country. You realize Wuhan's sending a team? Crazy. Here's Jeff's original message: http://beijingultimate.blogspot.com/2009/04/important-china-nationals...

In other news, Big Brother will practice Sunday after spring league finals. We will be working on end zone situations, set plays and hucking (offense, defense and everything in between), followed by a nice, relaxing, death-to-your-mother-if-you-lose scrimmage. If you've ever wanted to take advantage of Doc in the sexual sense, this Sunday will provide your best opportunity as he'll be an emotional wreck after his all-star team loses to Team All That Is Good in the World. Remember, he doesn't drink.

See you this weekend, unless you're not in the country (yet)... you know who you are.

Tao

POSTSCRIPT: Those who'd like to defect to Team Sexy from Ugly must become beautiful, which we all know is most easily accomplished by drinking, smoking, using lots of drugs and/or (moreso "and") sleeping around. Those who want to move from Sexy to Ugly must answer this riddle: http://bohrgroup.com/prisoners-switch.puzzle.html

Beijing Big Brother's gift to Shanghai Huwa

One final little leftover from Jeju...


Video by Mike Shyu

From...



...with something resembling love but creepier.

RETROSPECTIVE: A cheer for China Ultimate

The final pickup before China Nationals, May 28, 2008.

Here's an accompanying video from this night by Balance of Shenzhen.

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: The Chaoyang Park North Course

Frisbee golf with Doug and Lisa, two Ultimate players just passing through...



I think we're going to design a North Course sometime -- fewer people is the biggest advantage. It's begging to be done.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Welcoming Gareth

The newest member of the Beijing Ultimate community...

You probably didn't know this, Gareth, but setting foot in Beijing automatically qualifies you as a Beijing Ultimate player for all subsequent Asia tournaments, including Shanghai and Hong Kong. In fact, it's mandatory. You think it's just anyone who gets a label on this website?

Anyway, your picture of the week is a video...


KTV on Thursday night

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Yin's thread titled, HOCKEY, anyone?

It went a couple deep before...

Tao:

Can someone translate this into English please?

Boehner:

I got this Tao,

I visited Niagara Falls once and am therefore widely considered foreign expert about the sport of Hockey (or Ho-Kay, as they refer to it in some parts of Canada)

Hockey is a sport where you have two teams of players. One team pushes a big heavy puck across the ice while two other people either scratch or smooth the ice in front of the puck. If the puck comes to rest on a large bull's eye, it is referred to as a hole in one. Three holes in one make a touchdown, three touchdowns is a hat trick. At the end of the season there is a big competition where the prize is a large silver goblet. From this goblet, the victorious team drinks either mare or seal blood, depending if the current year ends in an odd or even number.

Oddly enough, a mixed team from South and North Carolina were the victors in last years joust.

That's the general idea.

-Bonedady

ALSO WELCOMING:

Doug and Lisa. More later...