WEEK IN REVIEW: A goodbye

It's often been said that Beijing is a transient community, where people come and go with the seasons. Very few stay for more than a year, and those who do leave eventually as well, as Reid and Julia last winter, and Jason Cox before that.

Still, knowing this reality and accepting it doesn't fill the void of each new departure, such as that of Tina Yen, known to all as Pnut, who recently wrapped up a nine-month stay in China and left for New York to begin a Masters program in Chinese history at Columbia University. She's the one pictured in the far right wearing the teal tank top.

On Sunday we had a BCD for her, and on Tuesday, after pickup, a small group of us ate at a chuar bar before pounding some whiskey and tequila and going to Chocolate, the Russian dance club near Ritan Park. If you don't remember, this is Chocolate -- and, incidentally, also a character sketch of Pnut (like this one), though really of the former Pnut, before she met Phil. The doormen wouldn't let us bring in any tequila so Jim, Pnut and I each took three swigs and handed them an empty bottle.

Pnut got home and proceeded to not pack -- passing out instead -- so that when her cousin knocked on the door the next morning she was groggy, drunk and/or hung over, and definitely not ready to leave. That's a Beijing farewell if ever there were one.

We'll miss you, Pnut!

A Frisbee golf story from this past weekend

When you tee off from atop a large rock, there's really no place to go but down.

Unless, of course, you build up.

Frisbee golf players will do anything to retrieve a disc, including swim in nasty lakes (done it) and tiptoe across slippery strips of land (and check).
This, however, takes the cake.

When Jeff, playing from the north entrance of Chaoyang Park, threw his dics into the inside of a large overhanging sign, his initial thought was to find a very long stick. And then Jim spotted materials on the ground to build a scaffolding with, and the result...



...was unexpectedly awesome, considering this was an alcohol-driven decision.

Jeff climbed atop...



...and voila!


Afterwards -- after many more beers, with shots -- Jim and Jeff fought outside 3.3 in Sanlitun. Ask one of them to tell you the story.

RETROSPECTIVE: Summer league 2007

Turning the clock all the way back to Beijing's inaugural summer league. Photo by Steven Zhang

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Pnut's BCD

A farewell dinner for Tina Yen at our usual place. She'll have a bigger party on Tuesday night, after which we'll have more to say about our favorite panda/bunny/horsey/rabid dog/dying kitten/anything-furry lover and all-around sweetie-when-not-wailing-on-people.



For the record, Pnut's underage* boyfriend, Phil, is very good at caps.

*He's not actually underage. We don't think.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dancers at Deshengmen

Your picture of the week is a video, and incidentally why Tuesday pickup is awesome:


Because it's played next to here.

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

In response to this thread.

Can someone please remove me from the beijing-ultimate list. Its getting really annoying right now, got like 10 e-mails from u guys talking about SAT-scores..... srry but isnt this list for ultimate news only? I really do appreciate/respect and think its cool that people post up jobs-offers for others. but having a written conversation about SAT-scores!? and this is not the first time.
cheers,
christian

Poor kid.

Balance Wang's China Nationals video of finals

Hong Kong vs. Beijing Bang highlights on CUPA's website.



Lots of swinging back and forth in the zone. Look at how tired the Bang players are, marked by their unwillingness to get up after falling down. It's probably because they had to beat the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds to get to this position.

Video from BUSL draft, June 30

Link to video here. (If you're on a United States VPN, you won't be able to access the YouKu video. If you're not on a VPN or proxy in China... how are you seeing this?)

RETROSPECTIVE: *CRACK* ... glug glug glug glug glug

After Frisbee golf last summer, in front of Chaoyang Park; from left to right: Lincoln, Kevin, Tao, Joe, Greg Erickson; picture taken by a Chinese man who was stretching, using Kevin's camera.

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Your BUSL 2009 teams

From top left, clockwise: Hello Sexy, Alchemy, Catcher in the Sky, Alph the Sacred River; this year's theme is, you may have guessed, literature.

Week 2 results:

Alchemy def. Hello Sexy 12-7
Catcher in the Sky def. Alph the Sacred River 13-7

Cumulative standings:

Alchemy, 2-0, +12 point diff
Catcher in the Sky, 1-1, -1
Hello Sex, 1-1, -2
Alph the Sacred River, 0-2, -9

About that team name, Catcher in the Sky, Betsy says:

disappointment coupled with a letdown smothered in weak sauce. with a library of possibilities and a betsy-original handed you, you choose holden caulfield. to quote the book, all morons hate it when you call them a moron.
betsy
xxxooo

We couldn't agree more, Betsy.

Well, without anyone thinking we were homers, that is.

WEEK IN REVIEW: The best jersey design. Ever

As a group of Beijingers prepare to merge with a handful of Shanghainese to form the China United Ultimate Party (with its Soviet-style acronym CUUP) for Singapore Open, we've been literally devoting dozens of hours per day on everything from jerseys to, well... jerseys. Witness Kevin Reitz's work today, which will serve as our PICTURES OF THE WEEK:


The scarlet strumpet: worth clicking on for enlargement.

The plan is to put those designs on both jerseys, one dark and one light. Who wouldn't want to buy extras?

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Every time I think Betsy's reached her peak, she just keeps getting better. Yet again, she wins this week's Post of the Week honors. From 7/15/09:

beijing ultimate summer leaguers,

betsy was delighted with the attendance at busl two thousand nine week one. new faces, fresh talent, and cagey veterans all turned out to ensure tao’s team lost their first match of the season. betsy sends heartfelt thanks out to everyone for smacking the humble into him, and right quick like.

WEEKLY ITEM #1: The Weekly Schedule

Every Tuesday, Pick Up, 8-10, Deshengmen

Sunday, Beijing Ultimate Summer League, 3-6, Happy Valley

this week – alchemy vs. hello sexy on field something and on the other field, alf the magic dragon vs. mike and kelly’s team, currently known as a markbreaking huck of staggering genius*.

*registered trademark of betsy’s brain any attempt to use this name for your team will result in swift legal action and a kick to the offenders testicles after which you will be allowed to use the name providing you give credit to betsy during every cheer.
_________

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 tao. nicely run week one. betsy is feeling an odd sensation. it’s not quite pleasure nor is it gratitude. it might be indigestion.

a call out to dragonflies. please stop d-ing our discs with your lifeblood. it disturbs the women when your dismembered parts are stuck to the disc when they catch it. you are dismissed.

a shout out to candice. betsy is sorry she missed the spicy food extravaganza after Sunday disc. her poop hurts a little just from hearing about it.

a shout out to xiao zhi. betsy offers special thanks for serving up an extra steamy serving of your homegrown humble pie to tao’s team, and right quick like.

a call out to guys night out. admit it, you were thinking about betsy and the rest of the girls and their topless pillow fights the whole time.

a shout out to girls night out. special thanks to helen shyu for the food, ace for the massages and oils, and to steph for supplying all the pillows.

a call out to mike. you know why. just be glad you never joined in the pillow fight and you’d better not post any of those photos.
_________

WEEKLY RUMOR THAT MUST BE TRUE: jeff was seen cheating on joe at kokomo friday night when he thrusted his manliness upon kevin. jeff’s original offer was a pitcher of sangria if kevin danced with a gorgeous stallion of a shirtless manbeast on the dance floor. kevin was just getting his groove on (and shirt off) when jeff junkblocked him. the manbeast was never seen again, although kevin is rumored to return to kokomo each night, just after dusk, longing to rekindle what might have been. also because he’s an alcoholic.
_________

WEEKLY ITEM #3: Lunch time Poll
busl two thousand nine week one was quite possibly the most exciting, most entertaining, and most talked about busl two thousand nine week one in recent memory. which of these is the most likely reason?

a) with doc not playing, all are free to engage in plentiful merriment and mirth making, gleefully brambling through the thick grass, joyously immersed in resplendent, spirited competition amongst fellow players.

b) hello sexy reminded ralph the flacid sliver not to start talking smack before the first game, lest all your hopes and dreams get sideswiped by the humility train.

c) the female domination on alchemy has everyone plotting strategies. so far the most reasonable is to impregnate all their women 6 months ago. now where’d betsy leave her time machine?

d) the team currently known as a markbreaking huck of staggering genius is the last team to decide on a name for themselves. beijing is abuzz with anticipation. will they accept betsy’s decree or will they think up something terrible on their own? only time will tell.

cast your votes!

_________

and finally, your moment of zen…

http://www.youtube.com/user/mugumogu?blend=2&ob=4

catch you on the field,
betsy
xxxooo

Hang Time and Ultimate Frisbee in China Daily

Really not sure how I missed this last month, considering it was linked off beijingultimate.com, but Hang Time got in touch with the right people at China Daily (or vice versa) and this was the result:

Ultimate word in speed and stamina

A disc, a field, and eight cones. They can capture the imagination of all ages.

Entering the Chinese mainland nearly a decade ago, Ultimate Frisbee is fast becoming a big hit. A growing number of players gather at the Peking University every Saturday to indulge in its thrills.

For players in the Beijing Ultimate Frisbee, the "ultimate" is no longer a leisurely toss across the beach, but more of a competitive sport. It has graduated from a robust and entertaining beach activity to a highly competitive sport, over the past few years.

"It is really taking off," says 30-year-old Zhao Bin who has been playing since the age of 23. "It's a simple sport to get into. Unlike most other sports, it only requires a disc and space."

Not bad.

RETROSPECTIVE: The Durian Assassins

After its game against Grey Goo during Beijing Ultimate Summer League 2008.

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Summer league Week 1 results

FIELD 1: Candice and Xiaozhi defeated Alph the Sacred River (Tao and Margaret) 11-8
FIELD 2: Alchemy (Kevin and Alicia) defeated Mike and Kelly 13-7

The first summer league after-dinner:


Kevin, the MacGyver of beer bottle opening...

Not too late to register, for all interested.

POSTSCRIPT: From Friday's Guys' Night Out, Jeff Orcutt taking a picture of him dealing three fives on the flop followed by two fours.

Summer league begins today

Last year to begin summer league I wrote, "With Yin as co-captain, this roster will never lose," and proceeded to list my team. We ended up losing in finals.

Well, this year, with this roster and co-captain Margaret, we really won't lose.

Aaron Leung
Ben Foreign
Breanna Katherine Jones
Bryson Suen
Casey Guo
Char Lam
Daniel Enking
Duff Douglas
Jesse Day
Kenny Yang
Missy Rock
Nicki Fung
Richie Liu
Tina Xue
Wang Bin

Pictures and video of last weekend's hat tourney here.

And as an added bonus: BUSL 2008 finals: pictures and recap and videos and more.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Summer league draft

Summer league captains met after Tuesday night pickup to draft teams in Nanluoguxiang, and it was quite the time. In the end, four good, more or less evenly strengthened teams were chosen, with everyone happy with their selections. Now we wait for the games to begin (this Sunday, in case you've lost track).

PICTURES OF THE WEEK: From the 2009 summer league draft on Tuesday at Backward Bar in Nanluoguxiang:

Jeff Orcutt, moderator

Kelly and Mike

Kevin and Alicia

Margaret and Tao

Candice and Xiaozhi

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Betsy returns with one of her finer performances, 7/7/09:

friendly neighborhood beijingers,

betsy has been watching you all, very, very closely. and with the possible exception of joe, you all have no excuse. none. inexcusable. excuses, excuses. that’s all betsy hears. well you are not excused. it’s all i’m too fat this, or i’ve got a girlfriend now that, or i’m too busy playing with myself and my shiny new mandolin. that’s crap. get out there and play some disc people.

WEEKLY ITEM #1: The Weekly Schedule

Every Tuesday, Pick Up, 8-10, Deshengmen

Every Sunday, Beijing Ultimate Summer League, 3-6, Happy Valley

tao will be this year’s jeff. please register all complaints, loudly and frequently, directly to tao. he will deal with them swiftly and smiling. oh yes, he will, if he knows what’s good for him.

_________

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 aaron, charlotte and doc. betsy thanks you for making beijing a brighter, lovelier, more enjoyable place to be. when you abandoned it for potlatch.

a call out to lightning. everybody knows you can carry an electric current of 300 kiloamperes and release 5 gigajoules of energy (giggity) at your slightest whim, but must you do it between 3 and 6 pm on sundays near happy valley from june to september? we like to play frisbee at those times. thanks.

a shout out to aide. who’s a good girl? who’s a good puppy? you are. you are a cute little puppy wuppy. yes you are. yes you are just the cutest widdle ugh betsy’s going to vomit.

a call out to bunny. you better start acting cute and fast. there’s a new adorable animal in town and who’s in danger of being turned into rabbit stew? you are. yes you are just the most delicious of the frisbee-related pets when enjoyed with carrots, potatoes and some paprika.

a shout out tao. as previously noted, tao’s the new jeff, but not in the semi-permanent-shout-out-status-thanks-for-everything-you-do way. more like, we’re watching your every more, waiting for the slightest misstep upon which we can pounce like so many lonely bachelors upon his mom. please don’t disappoint.

a call out to jeff. you thought you could just slide by? no ma’am, your free ride is over. why don’t you go arrange an awards party or something, it’s been a while since you’ve done something useful.

a shout out to beijing defending it’s championship in singapore. the betsy all-star team is sure to dominate as it has in the past.
_________

WEEKLY ITEM #2: Summer League Update

it goes without saying that kevin’s team will clearly be the favorite to win both 2008 and 2009 busl championships. however, this year is sure to be full of surprises and suspense. new talent has flooded the scene making the results of tonight’s draft particularly exciting. some questions to ponder while awaiting team announcements tomorrow.

will kelly and mike, relative newcomers to the captaining world, change the face of busl after coming off an impressive china nationals with bang?

will longtime resident cdice and hangtime star xiao zhi gel to challenge their big brother led opponents?

will margaret and tao work out an elaborate and needlessly complicated array of potential draft outcomes to simulate every conceivable result thus statistically guaranteeing victory, only to have tao relapse on a baijiu binge and boot all over his laptop?

will alicia and kevin be drunk before the draft begins?

_________

WEEKLY ITEM #3: Lunch time Poll

beijing is alive with love, and the frisbee community is finally getting some action. which of these new couples makes you the least sick?

a) taolicia – since they have never touched each other in public, betsy is only assuming they are actually a couple.

b) kevace – the massages don’t leave much to the imagination. at least she’s never been seen giving him one, which makes it a little easier to stomach.

c) charloc – just the name makes betsy throw up a little. does he sit around with a pipe wearing only a smoking jacket, telling her it’s elementary my dear?

d) barbinghui – they do look awfully cute together, although they are arguably the most openly affectionate.

cast your votes!

_________

and finally, your moment of zen, a retrospective look at the evils of baijiu.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007195&id=1378740071

catch you on the field,
betsy
xxxooo

Chirona returns!

Clearly I still read Betsy's e-mails every week since Providence just isn't as exciting as Beijing Ultimate. For all the new people this summer who don't know me, I've made the album visible to everyone, so enjoy! Thanks for the facebook messages though!

Here's the link again: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007195&id=1378740071

You should all thank Betsy for reminding you of such evils as drinking lots of Baijiu is definitely a poor choice, right Tao?

Missing Beijing and Betsy,
~Chirona

Runner-up post -- and this could ONLY have been written by this girl:

Found a kitty in the rain

Hey Beijing Ultimate,

I found a kitty in the rain yesterday. Its about 3 months I think. It's a super adorable little boy, white and orange, and loves to cuddle. I think it was abandoned because when I found it, it looked as though it had been out for a while. Thanks to Barbie, my super excellent cat friendly neighbor, I was able to bathe it and now its fur is super nice and purdy.

Unfortunately, it has an eye infection that seems to be getting worse. The over the counter eye meds for pets that I bought I think further aggravated the eye and I'm terribly concerned for the kitty. More importantly, I have a bunny that needs to pass its health inspection and so I have to keep the two separate and watch them very carefully. Being a double duty mommy is tough so I'm appealing to the Beijing Ultimate community for help.

If anyone knows of a) a loving soul - permanent or temp home, b) cheap but reliable vet in the xizhimen area or c) a no-kill shelter or rescue, please let me know.

PNUT

RETROSPECTIVE: Just another Tuesday post-pickup

At our go-to restaurant on May 26, 2009.

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Damn you, lightning!

We got a game-and-half in before the lightning came, forcing BUC (Beijing Ultimate Committee) decision-makers to cancel the final hour of play.

The game that was completed was pretty spectacular though, as it went to universe point:



Registration for summer league has not closed. First official regular season game is this coming Sunday, July 12, with registration continuing throughout the season (finals on Aug. 23). See Google Groups for more info.

Pictures from the hat tourney:

WEEK IN REVIEW: Summer league is so near I can smell it without trying to move to my left or right upon the ground on which we walk

It's gonna happen...

PICTURES OF THE WEEK: (not Ultimate-related, but as we do live in Beijing...)



GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Jeff and Lincoln share the honors this week... Jeff:

P.P.S

Her kiss grasped his lips like an aroused sea barnacle; her breath
smelled like wet feet mated with ham-marinated, salty, delicious; and
the sea wailed around them like lovers in a trailer park.
Matthew Brady
Seattle, WA

http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/2009.htm

Lincoln:

P.P.S

她的吻抓住他的嘴，像一个被激起情欲的海藤壶。 呼气像湿透的脚跟猪肉泡起来- 很咸，太好吃啦。海围着他们，像爱人在一个移动家公园一样。

这句话在英文没有什么意思，中文更加没有意思。Jeff 真的是疯了！！

哇哈哈哈哈哈
哈
哈。

Big Brother goes sick

Jeff Orcutt modeling the latest model of Beijing Big Brother's jerseys.