Monday, August 31, 2009

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: A weekend getaway



Guiding, Jiankou section of Great Wall; and resort town of Beidaihe

Whether you're at the Great Wall or the beach, a reminder that it's always good to bring a Frisbee so you can do this:






Sunday, August 30, 2009

People, stop leaving!



Please come out to pickup today (3 to 6 p.m. at Happy Valley, meet at 2 p.m. at Dongzhimen for bus), as it's Margaret Sietsema's last day here.

You see that bottle in her hand in the above picture? It's baijiu. Say it loud and say it over and over again and see what happens!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

WEEK IN REVIEW, part 2: The pictures



Lincoln has left for UBC to finish school before scurrying back to Beijing, but we had a goodbye dinner for him anyway on Wednesday at Guijie, that famous stretch of restaurants next to Dongzhimen Inner St. Here's what happened. (For more, see part 1).

PICTURES OF THE WEEK:


Xiao Dong Tian (Little Hole Sky) Hotpot


Alicia's friend Mei gets initiated...





GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Tao's life work:

Thanks Betsy for the shout-out in your last post. The full version of the long-awaited Beijing Ultimate 2008 in Review slideshow can indeed
be seen here, http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=633809648245&ref=mf , but the upload wasn't without its problems, and let's just say I can't stand seeing five months of work get ruined by a couple glitches.

Therefore, I recommend:

~Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcQTWtuLe8k
~Part 2: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=634135420395
~Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtQ9vsEVE7c

The complete video can also be seen WITHOUT A PROXY, but be forewarned
this version is the worst: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/jXLvWUQtXYg/

Friday, August 28, 2009

WEEK IN REVIEW, part 1: Yes, this happened


For those accessing this blog in China with a proxy that doesn't stream the video, copy this URL --
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTE1NTIzOTcy.html
-- into a regular browser and watch at your leisure. For those in the U.S. who find that Youku is blocked... you have no idea what you're missing. Every episode of every season of 24! Entire movies! Entire WWE PPV events! Amazing copyright infringements that, if this were a morally punishable offense, would condemn millions to Purgatory for at least dozens of months!



More from Kevin's band's performance here.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK:


GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Betsy takes the honors, 8/28:

huckleberries,

this is a sad time for betsy. she appreciates all your heartfelt and sincere thoughts in this trying, trying time. besty realizes you all look up to her and see her as your inspiration, as your leader, as your nurturing, yet firm, guide through this journey as you shed your fledgling self and spread your glorious wings amid Her bright, warm, inviting light. yeah, she gets all that. the presents you’ve lavished upon her made it abundantly clear, as did the bundles of cash.

but unless you can make lincoln return, none of you are safe from her grief-induced wrath.

WEEKLY ITEM #1: The Weekly Schedule

Every Tuesday, Pick Up, 8-10, Deshengmen

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

_________

WEEKLY ITEM #2: Upcoming Tournaments

Sept 19-20: Dalian Tournament in Dalian, China.
Oct 25-26: Hong Kong in Hong Kong, China.
Oct 31-Nov 1: Boracay Beach Tournament in Boracay, Philippines.
Nov 5: Worlds Qualifier in Manila
Nov 6-8: Manila Spirits in Manila, Philippines.

if you are planning to go to any of these tournaments and haven’t alerted the likely captains, do so now. teams are forming up quickly.

lincoln may be at manila so in betsy’s mind, there is only one tournament left this year. it will be tropical and it will be raining dolla bills and betsy hopes to get supermanned in boracay.

_________

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 jim and jehan. betsy loves when little men cram themselves into tight, dirty spaces.

a call out to tao and margaret. it is rumored that all the summer league captains made a wager before the summer league party: if a member of your team is the first to boot, you must turf the first disc on sunday. both tao and margaret booted, failed to follow the terms of the wager, and were smacked down by karma thusly to a finish even lower than 4th place: Called Out 4th Place.

a shout out to kevin. you are a rock diety, like pegasus or mc hammer. you make betsy want to shoop.

a call out to the wu crew. move closer to dong zhi men. it will be easier on all of us. especially on those of us that want you closer to dong zhi men.

a shout out to joe. partial nudity at beijing ultimate gatherings has risen 21% since your return. keep up the good work.

a house-keeping call out to CUUP. ugh. betsy’s brain throws up a little when she thinks about you people. at least you were able to take shanghai down with you.

a shout out to body shots. betsy declares all future body shots must be done off hairless people. she spent half the night hacking up jims nipple hairs. *shudder*

a call out to alchemy. you turned lead into poop. you should have stayed home and got philosopher stoned instead.

a shout out to hello sexy. hello sexy.

a call out to alfred, the monkey butler. wow. all of beijing joins betsy as we collectively shake our heads in your general direction.

a shout out to catcher in the sky. sure, you could have made it easy on yourself and guaranteed victory by choosing the betsy-original “a markbreaking huck of staggering genius” as your team name, but betsy gives respect to you for persevering under such harsh team name conditions. unclever people need the most reassurance.

_________

WEEKLY RUMOR THAT MUST BE TRUE:
after the beijing ultimate summer league dinner and tequila shots at sandy's cousin's bar, apparently the redbucks played a thrilling show at gingkos, two blazing sets of bluegrass with stunning performances from beijing ultimate residents chris, amy, and chip. later they let the one drop with some tight reggae to round out the night. it was quite possibly the most electrifying concert to hit beijing since avril lavigne last tour. no member of beijing ultimate who was in the crowd remembers any of it, though a few of them remember booting later.

_________

WEEKLY ITEM #3: Lunch Time Poll
betsy learned this week that doc is trying out a new nickname. she likes “pg” but thinks it needs to carry a deeper, more descriptive meaning than Picasso girl. which of the following meanings is most appropriate:

a) post-modern gaylord

b) pansy growth

c) putrid gas

d) petite groin

cast your votes!

and finally, your moment of zen…
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=633809648245&ref=mf

catch you on the field,
betsy
xxxooo

Thursday, August 27, 2009

In case you missed it...

Kevin Reitz's gchat status message today:

you people rock. i've never had so much mens clothing thrown at me onstage before.

Pictures and videos tomorrow...

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Yet another farewell upcoming

Lincoln Cheung, pictured below, writing on Google Groups:

Im leaving this thursday afternoon!

So, lets eat hotpot and get drunk so I get to spend the majority of the flight sitting on the bathroom.

Lets say Wednesday at 8 o clock - hotpot on guijie - i forget the name of the restaurant, but its the one that is about 2 restaurants away from beixinqiao subway station, on the north side of the road.

As i am aware that might not be the easiest to find, you can give me a call at 152 0129 8129.

if you could throw me an email on whether or not you're coming i will make reservations. thanks !

hugz and kissez

xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxo

POSTSCRIPT: Kevin Reitz in reply:

After that, let the party roll into Mao Livehouse on Gulou Dong Dajie. My band, Lan Daotian, is playing some funky grooves and jams at about 10pm. It's probably a 20RMB cover or some crap.

Many of you came to my inaugural gig with these guys at the Hot Cat Club... see these videos.

http://kevinreitz.blogspot.com/2009/08/lan-daotian.html

Here's your chance to check us out after we've actually practiced together!

~Kev

RETROSPECTIVE: The Shoes' magic

Retrospective has just moved to Wednesdays. New time, same place.

Mike Shyu and Ken Su teamed up this past Sunday and recreated their magical chemistry or whatever it is they've got going, making it to the finals of another tournament (and winning!). Catcher in the Sky was 1-4 during the regular season, but all that matters is they went 2-0 on Sunday.

It reminded us of the China Nationals tournament in May, when Ken and Mike led Beijing Bang to an unexpected 2nd-place finish, beating 2-seed Shenzhen in quarters and the 3-seed, defending champion Air Kazak, in semis before falling to 1-seed Hong Kong.

Here's your reminder that yes, it did happen, because in sports you never know what might happen.


And your reminder that Balance's video of this game is now live.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

WEEKEND ROUNDUP, part 2: All hail the champions!

f
Champions: Catcher in the Sky, captained by Mike Shyu and Kelly Yang. Back row, left to right: Qi, Ken Su, Nick Liu, Hsing-hui Hsu, Marc Zeiger-Guerra, Lincoln, Shen; front row, left to right: Edward Wang, Matt (王敏), Veronica Lee, Kelly, Mike

Somehow, Mike Shyu, Kelly Yang and Ken Su did it again. Just as at China Nationals, when the threesome led Beijing Bang, the 7-seed, on an unforgettable run through the tourney's 2 and 3 seeds, on Sunday they again ruined everyone's brackets by taking an underdog with no business getting out of the first round on a wild ride to finals.

Only difference is, this time they won.

Deploying a sharp zone anchored by a tireless cup, Catcher in the Sky, in blue, upset the league's top team, Alchemy, in the semis before going toe-to-toe with the league's second best team, Hello Sexy (black), in a spirited and immensely entertaining finals. Sexy took two early leads but never pulled away, and with the game tied at 4, Catcher's zone finally bared its teeth to induce several drops and throwaways. Catcher took half 7-4 to the shock of all the spectators.

"I thought Black would roll through them," Alchemy co-captain Kevin Reitz said. He should have known better. With Shyu and Yang leading a team that included strong women (Veronica, Helen, HHH) and top-flight men (Shen, Lincoln), Catcher's performance -- though a surprise -- didn't defy belief. Asked how he beat Alchemy, Shyu smiled and shrugged, "We played our game."

It was more of the same after intermission, Catcher playing a mixture of man and zone and getting stronger with every forced turn. Hello Sexy strung together several impressive drives, but in the unforced turns caught up to them eventually, especially as Catcher often used long hucks to turn the game's momentum on a dime.

Soft cap was called at 10-8. Catcher scored to make it 11-8 before Sexy scored, then won a hard-earned upwind break to make it 11-10. Catcher put on its universe line and marched the disc down the field with ease. Appropriately, co-captain Mike Shyu caught the game's final point, a beauty of a floater that offered itself in the waning light of a late-summer Beijing evening.

Here's the first in a series of nine videos featuring Catcher (semis vs. Alchemy):


Part 1 of 8 of the finals between Catcher and Hello Sexy, a sweet zone point:


Part 2: Hello Sexy marches it down; Part 3: Ken Su and Joe chat it up

Part 4, a long and incredibly entertaining point:


Part 5, first point after half, Catcher up 7-4 and Hello Sexy on the move...


Part 6: Jim huck to Andy for the score (Alicia filming); Part 7: Catcher up 11-8, game to 12

Part 8, finals point!


A reminder, in case you didn't see the previous post, that there are two BUSL Facebook albums for public perusal, of finals and the party.









UPDATE: All videos on Youku and pictures on Xiaonei (www.renren.com):

Monday, August 24, 2009

WEEKEND ROUNDUP, part 1: Celebrating the end of summer as only Beijing can

The past weekend was too epic to be contained in one post. Beijing Ultimate Summer League finals recap here.

Beijing Ultimate partied it up over the weekend and has photos to share. Here are two Facebook albums:


Sample pics from the party:Italic










Incredibly, most of us made it to finals the next day. Both captains of Alph the Sacred River puked, however, so take it from me when I say it wasn't easy.