WEEK IN REVIEW: Hong Kong tournament

Beijing Bang had a rough first day but rebounded on Sunday to win the B pool championship. Ringers of Fire, featuring Beijing's very own Brian Marterer, lost in the finals to Shanghai.

On Thursday Jud from Shanghai was in town to screen a documentary he and Andrew Field (non-Frisbee) produced about China's indie rock scene.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

Marterer; picture by Bernice Lee

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Baby Girl, to a post titled, "Halloween Gathering of Costume Awesomeness":

So this is kind of a random question, but does anyone have a landline that I would be able to take advantage of on Monday night for a long distance call to the States? I am willing to supply compensation including, but not limited to, monetary units, food supplies, booze, foot massages and/or facials.
Baby Girl

RETROSPECTIVE: Manila!

The best tournament in Asia (according to many) is just a week and a half away, which means it's time to fire up the hype engine. Manila Spirits, which is very much endorsed by Jim (right), will feature 32 teams this year (at least that's how many are listed on the official website), which means the tourney organizers aren't kidding when they say it's "gonna be HUGE!" The party theme is Thrillah in Manila, which is, in a word, awesome.

The following is from Spirits 2007, the finals between Zhonghui (Jim Jorve in red) and Ringers of Fire, eventually won by Zhonghui.


Photo by Mel Lozano.

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Xiangshan

Pickup happened, but Alicia and I were here:



Amid ancient, poetic Chinese mist. I hope it was mist and fog, anyway, and not, say, particulates.


The red leaves of Xiangshan, i.e. Fragrant Hills.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Parties galore

Thursday: the Beijinger's party at Chocolate, an all-you-can-drink fiasco where I had way too many mohitos though probably could've used more than three white Russians ("candy," as Zahlen put it).
Friday: Pink Party; Jameson's at Ken and Steph's
Saturday: Joe's birthday at Fubar

...and not a picture from any of them.

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Betsy, 10/20:

scoober reboocs,

the tournament season is ending on a high note, with beijing representatives bringing strong teams to hong kong and manila. betsy promises a fantastic time at both tournaments, and not like what happened the time when tao was drunk on baijiu and he promised everyone they would be taken up to the great celestial city by the emissaries of the heavenly aeon in a plastic disc-shaped space-vessel powered by baijiu. betsy recalls everyone was a little disappointed, as it clearly did not look anything like a frisbee.

WEEKLY ITEM #1: The Weekly Schedule

Every Tuesday, Pick Up, 8-10, Deshengmen

remember to pack you woolies and mittens, as the pitch will be powerful brisk in the evening.

Every Sunday, Pick Up, 3-6, Happy Valley or ISB

show your support for beijing bang this weekend by staying in beijing and playing pick-up. is this the last of fall’s wonderful weather? possibly!

_________

WEEKLY ITEM #2: Upcoming Tournaments

Oct 24-25: Hong Kong in Hong Kong, China.
Oct 28-31: Boracay Beach Tournament in Boracay, Philippines.
Nov 6: Worlds Qualifier in Manila
Nov 7-8: Manila Spirits in Manila, Philippines.

really, if you haven’t made your plans to go to at least one of these tournaments by now, you should probably just start hibernating immediately. only six months to jeju.

_________

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 bill. thanks for running and organizing a fantastic clinic on saturday. chris would be proud.

a call out to chris. chris wins the award for only person to not attend the clinic on saturday. congratulations, chris, for the no-attendance thing.

a shout out to gareth, alicia, jeff, jim, barbie, shen, and mike. you helped run the clinic. you are bad mamma jammas, you are the sunshine of betsy’s life, and other stevie wonder lyrics.

a call out to sciatica. you know what sciatica? you’ve got some nerve. or you are nerves, or something, betsy isn’t really sure and wikipedia was a little vague. anyway, you’re not very nice. betsy and joe are going to have a serious talk about your future. you will remain called out until further notice.

a shout out to beijing bang. represent beijing well. big brother has more important things to do this weekend, like, there’s this party at chocolate on thursday. most of big brother probably won’t be going, but they like to keep their schedules open just in case. jia you bang.

a call out to fall. where are you going? come back here, betsy’s not done with you yet.

a shout out to char. if you shout out to char, but she's not around to hear it, does she still remain shouted out?

_________

WEEKLY ITEM #3: Lunch Time Poll

beijing ultimate is growing in numbers this fall, and is expected to continue through the winter, in part because beijing is expecting it’s first ultimate baby. mike may have played an integral role in the baby-making, but we are all responsible. many are the times mike has been liquored up and sent home to his wife, judgment inhibited. as such, it’s only fair that the community collectively decide the name.

which of these is the most appropriate name for baby shyu? as always, feel free to write in your own suggestion.

a) eleventh edition shyu

b) garethia andsandy shyu

c) whosacutie yesyouare shyu

d) espn.com/shyu

cast your votes!

_________

and finally, your moment of zen…

http://www.soundsleeping.com/vibes_small.html

catch you on the field,
betsy
xxxooo

VPN!

Witopia, you are beloved (and highly recommended, for those in China).

Six backdated posts to share:

WEEKS IN REVIEW:

Dalian, 9/25
China!, 10/2
We are not philistines after all, 10/16

WEEKEND ROUNDUPS:

Happy birthday, Ken and Steph!, 9/28
Autobots, Deploy!, 10/12
Beijing hosts an Ultimate Frisbee clinic, 10/19

RETROSPECTIVE: Pink party 2008

Readers of yesterday's post may be asking themselves, What is a pink party? This is a pink party (from Reid and Julia's goodbye outing last winter):

Pink party 2009!

Hey everyone,
So I know everyone loves pink... everyone loves drinking... everyone loves charity (and this is a good one)... and not everyone is in HK (okay, most people are, but if you're one of the lame ones like me who has to work)... come on out!

So for those of you who are still around, come on out in your classy pink ultimate gear. Information is below. If you're interested, shoot me an email or just come out, i should be out there with friends. Information is below.

Love from the westside
Andy

p.s. jeff, can i get that wig?
p.p.s. if you are going to email about my improper use of elipssseessss... *cough* tao *cough* please make it a private response...

**
*PINK Party- Friday Oct 23 at Xiu*

This year United Family Hospital launched the United PINK Campaign to raise awareness for breast cancer prevention in China. With the slogan "Show You Care", come drop by Xiu on Friday night with your best pink attire for a drink and dance to show your support for breast cancer awareness and prevention!

All proceeds will be given to the China Breast Cancer Foundation.
**
*Why*: To drink, dance, and raise money for underprivileged women who need to receive breast cancer treatment

*Where*: Xiu, Park Hyatt

*When*: Friday, Oct 23 from 10pm-2am

*What*: Wear pink and donate a drink to charity (20 RMB donation to charity)!

For more info about the campaign, check out: http://pink.ufh.com.cn

Xiu Club:
http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/listings/nightlife/bars/has/xiu/

<http://pink.ufh.com.cn/>

*About the United PINK Campaign*

**

*“Show You Care”*

The United PINK Campaign was initiated by United Family Hospitals (UFH) to help raise awareness and educate the women of China about the rapidly rising cases of breast cancer. We hope other organizations can also get involved to help us spread the word about the importance of prevention. We know that actions speak louder than words, so let’s all work together to *show you care*.

*Mission Statement*

To educate women about the importance of prevention and to energize our community to help us raise awareness about breast cancer in China.

*UFH Pink Project Goal*

Provide 100 underserved women with free digital mammograms in Beijing United Family Hospital.

Website: http://pink.ufh.com.cn

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Beijing hosts an Ultimate Frisbee clinic

Backdated 10/21

Last month a group of Beijing Ultimate players traveled to Tianjin to put on a clinic (pictures, videos), which was so well received that Tianjin decided they wanted to do it again, this time in Beijing.

On an absolutely gorgeous autumn day, we hosted students from Tianjin Sport University and TEDA Maple Leaf, along with local players and newcomers to the sport. It was a success thanks to the efforts of Jeff Orcutt, Bill Aidan, Gareth Marshall, Alicia Lui, Jim Kirchhoff, Andrew Shen, Sandy Wang, Lauren Reed and several others, who found fields, drew up the schedule and organized drills for the beginner, intermediate and advanced.

In the end we went to our regular BCD restaurant and partied like we always do.

Videos to come later.

Coming of the VPN

Soon...

WEEK IN REVIEW: We are not philistines after all

Backdated 10/21

To prove that Beijing Ultimate people are cultured after all, a group of us, thanks to Ellen, went to see Midori perform at Beijing Concert Hall on Friday, i.e. today. Here's a review in the Beijinger's blog that includes Kevin, Hsing-Hui, Michael Chaitkin and yours truly. (If you haven't figured out this is backdated yet -- maybe the words at the top didn't give it away -- you will when you see the tbj post is dated Monday, 10/19).

PICTURES OF THE WEEK:


She signed my program! (Photos by Kevin and Michael, respectively)

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Bill Aidan, setting up a weekend Ultimate Frisbee clinic for Tianjiners and locals, 10/11:

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Beijing Ultimate Community,

Tonight, after a rousing practice, the team returned west for a convivial dinner party. Dishes were ordered in triplets and beers were bought by the dozen (mathematically sound). Although merriment certainly abounded, it did not prevent us from having an important meeting regarding this coming Saturday's Ultimate Clinic (SUC). Here's the plan:

*Saturday - 10/17 - 10am until late*
10am - Gather, warm up, practice stations
12:30pm - Lunch
1:30pm - Practice stations
3:00pm - Games
5:00pm - Leave, dinner, party

Many of the logistics have have yet to be determined; we hope to play at the ISB fields, but Jeff will found out more about that tomorrow. Depending on the location of the fields, we will determine the location of lunch, dinner, and the party. Look out for details from Jeff in the future.

A survey of the table revealed that Bill, Gareth, Jeff, Jim, Ken, Mike, Sandy, Alicia, Tao, Joe, and Baby Girl will be there (11) and Ellen and Kevin may come too (2). Our hope is that all of the Beijing Ultimate Community will come (Big Brother, Bang, Air Kazak, Hang Time, and anybody else who is playing out there; tell your friends) in addition to Tianjin. If we do get all of these folks to come out, we could be looking at between 100 and 150 people. It will not be a small event.

We hope to separate this vast number of attendees into multiple general groups and (probably) one advanced group. The general groups will rotate through the following practice stations:

- Throwing
- Marking
- Cut-to Drill
- Dump Drill
- Elimination Huck Drill
- Horizontal Stack Flow Drill

...while some volunteers have expressed interest in running particular stations, we will wait to assign stations until Saturday. If you find one of these subjects particularly exciting, think about how to portray your knowledge of this skill to a large audience with varying ultimate abilities, varying language abilities, and short attention spans. Even if you do not end up volunteering at a particular station, you can still discuss the topic with whomever will.

The advanced group will focus on the follwing topics:

- Handler offensive and defensive tutorial
- Cutter offensive and defensive tutorial
- Zone - volunteers play different zones against the attendees and talk about strategies. Perhaps we can do this after lunch.

..and finally, after all of this practicing, we will play games for a couple of hours. We will keep people in their original groups and play two or three simultaneous games in accordance with the skill levels of the groups. There was talk of trying to get a women's game together too; do we want to do that? Any ladies want to spearhead this and discuss the world of women's ultimate?

After a long day of ultimate, we will have a giant dinner (details TBA) and glorious party to top off the event. Many attendees from Tianjin will probably want/need to spend the night in Beijing so, if you have a couch/space at your house, please consider hosting our guests.

So, in the mean time, things to consider:

- Logistics: field location (hopefully ISB for free), lunch location, dinner location, party location
- Practice station fundamentals and teaching techniques. Other ideas for stations?
- How to overcome language barriers?
- Party: where? bar? house party? what do drink? beer? liquor? Tibetan barley wine? what to eat? chuar? fang bian mian? bing? what to do? boat races? scavenger hunt? music? apparel? use your imagination.
- Can our guests from Tianjin crash at your place?
- Tell your friends to come.

...OK Beijing, that's all I've got for you. Stay classy.

Billllllllllllllll

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Autobots, deploy!

Backdated 10/21

Beijing Ultimate's Kevin and Jeff are in a band called Autobots, Deploy!, which played at What Bar on Saturday, in between Chinese punk band performances. Videos of Autobots, Deploy! are below.




(Here's them playing "Iambic 9 Poetry" at Tun.)

WEEK IN REVIEW: China!

Backdated 10/21

New China celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding on Oct. 1 with a massive, mind-boggling parade, with festivities going long into the night.

On the eve of the big occasion, Beijing Ultimate had an equally epic party of its own, at Ellen's apartment along Jianwai St., pictures of which can be seen on Facebook. Here's a preview (your PICTURES OF THE WEEK):






Kevin, pictured above, has more about the day on his blog.

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Betsy! 9/28/09:
red star flatballers,

fall is in full swing and the conditions are perfect for putting discs into flight. use this glorious holiday to honor the great country of china by engaging in a glorious round of disc golf. celebrate the power and advancement of the national army by coming out to pick-up. demonstrate your allegiance and servitude to this nation by drinking discloads of beers after each of these activities. mao would be proud.

WEEKLY ITEM #1: The Weekly Schedule

Every Tuesday, Pick Up, 8-10, Deshengmen

Every Sunday, Pick Up, 3-6, Happy Valley or ISB

pick-up is on, people. what, you think frisbee stops just because the chinese government is disrupting everything else in the city? the disc stops spinning for no massive government agenda.

_________

WEEKLY ITEM #2: Upcoming Tournaments

Oct 4: SUPA Hat Tourney, Shanghai

Oct 24-25: Hong Kong in Hong Kong, China.

Oct 28-31: Boracay Beach Tournament in Boracay, Philippines.

Nov 6: Worlds Qualifier in Manila

Nov 7-8: Manila Spirits in Manila, Philippines.

beijing is sending a small squad to hong kong and two full teams to manila. china is sending an open team to the world’s qualifier.

people: it’s going to be an epic fall. get pumped!

_________

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 chris and the redbucks. giggity.

a call out to ken and stephanie. betsy likes thailand too. did you even think ask her to join? this is the worst oversight since everybody forgot to invite doc to anything.

a shout out to triple j. you may not win the tournament, but you will win the party. go forth and represent the spirit of beijing with nudity and general belligerence. jim cannot do it on his own, everyone must step it up and take it off. jeff, wear the nipple band-aids proudly.

a call out to working on sunday. you are not making any friends here, sunday. you used to be a joy, a day of rest, a moment to reflect on the accomplishments of the past week and prepare for the tasks ahead. you were a breather from the alcohol-fueled, mind melt of friday night, the hangover of saturday, and the alcohol-fueled, mind melt of saturday night. you were resplendent. but now? now you disgust betsy. she is not pleased with you one bit. get your head in the game, sunday, or she’ll have to do it for you. and you will not like it.

a shout out to thrillah. in manila. you will be enjoyable and for that, we rejoice.

a call out to big brother at dalian. betsy’s absence is no excuse. apparently you are allergic to beating shanghai. side effects of a victory include spontaneous eyeball webbing, smarmy pelvis, and gastric plasma fissures.

a shout out to ellen. if you invite beijing ultimate into your house, you will need more than an ayi to get the poop stains out after they leave. betsy recommends fire and napalm.

a call out to tao. betsy has been informed by the government that the period belongs outside the quotation marks. score one for china daily, zero for tao. do not challenge this great country and its media on this “glorious holiday”.

_________

WEEKLY ITEM #3: 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,

I blog a lot. It’s probably the thing i do best. But my proxy just stopped working and I’m so frustrated and lonely without my blogs to keep me company. I was looking for help on the internet and found this; can you tell me what it means?

"You also need a shell account on another computer. This shell account will need ssh access. This is almost a given at this point in time, but you never know if there are some people out there who are still using telnet exclusively."

computerly un-savy,

Tao

hi tao:

secure shell, or ssh, is a network protocol that allows data to be exchanged using a secure channel between two networked devices. you need to use a public-key cryptograph to authenticate the remote computer and allow the remote computer to authenticate your account. public-key cryptography is a cryptographic approach, employed by many cryptographic algorithms and cryptosystems, whose distinguishing characteristic is the use of asymmetric key algorithms instead of or in addition to symmetric key algorithms. using the techniques of public key-private key cryptography, many methods of protecting communications or authenticating messages formerly unknown have become practical. they do not require a secure initial exchange of one or more secret keys as is required when using symmetric key algorithms. it can also be used to create digital signatures .

for more information, consult the wikipedia entry where all this information came from, because betsy does not understand it at all.

betsy

xxxooo

Letter #2:

hi betsy,

the new fad in beijing seems to be a board game, settlers of catan. everyone is playing it but i don’t understand why it’s so great. am i the only one in the dark here?

befuddled,

bonedaddy

hi b-diggity,

yes, you are the only one in the dark. everyone else discovered this game/became cool long ago.

betsy

xxxooo

Letter #3:

hi betsy,

i am not coming to manila this year. sorry but i just can’t make it. see you next year!

Lincoln

hi lincoln,

it will not be tropical. it will not rain dolla dolla bills. betsy will not get supermanned.

but! betsy is still the hottest chick in asia and will overcome this setback. see this week’s lunch time poll for details.

betsy

xxxooo

_________

WEEKLY ITEM #3: Lunch Time Poll

beijing ultimate has seen a recent spike in tall, handsome, frisbee playing men. after betsy has her way with them and returns their sweaty, heaving, man-shells back to the community, which one is most likely to be voted “best new tall, handsome, frisbee playing man in beijing”?

a) baby girl – he has got an edge since he’s a returning ex-pat. also, having a nickname instantly makes people like you more, especially when it’s accurate.

b) gareth – he has the nicest hair.

c) bill – if he keeps wearing the truckers hat, he can render the hair thing null and will be an obvious contender.

cast your votes!

_________

and finally, your moment of zen…

http://mistupid.com/people/page027.htm

catch you on the field,
betsy
xxxooo