Friday, July 30, 2010

WEEK IN REVIEW: Back from Dalian, summer league nearing an end...

As we bask in the glory of our Dalian beach tournament win, we simultaneously set our sights to summer league, which is nearing its final week. This Sunday it'll be 1 vs 2 and 3 v 4, though point-diff makes it nearly impossible for any of the seedings to change for the big day on Saturday, August 7.

Your standings:

1. Pillage
2. Huck
3. Burn
4. Bid

PICTURES OF THE WEEK:


Sunday Dalian (yes, that's KTV late Sunday night). Pictures by Chirona.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK 2:

Also from Chirona, this happened Saturday night, and no, this was not planned at all. Notice Doc in the background.


GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Betsy with her Dalian recap -- her longest post in years -- 7/26:

hey frisbee XXXXnuts,

betsy reveled in a wonderful weekend of beach induced bacchanalia at the first ever dalian beach tournament. the oil didn't stop us, it actually accentuated our XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. led by your intrepid frisbee diva, a strong group of beijingers voyaged on the overnight train to represent, including jim, "toni", alicia, papa shyu, cai cai, sam, mark, chirona, jon lin, elmer, and invited guests richie and zhang wen from tianjin. doc was there as well. big brother once again proved victorious, both in the tournament, and later on at the party, where many scandalous events occurred, such as when chirona and sam XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, or when jim and doc XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX in "toni's", tent.

yeah, free speech!!!

WEEKLY ITEM #1: Summer League Recap

with so many players away for dalian, or just XXXXXing around on vacation, it was an opportunity for major upsets to take place.

in highly anticipated rematch # one, red proved they didn't miss "toni", or any of his XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, and pulled out* a well fought victory over the ken dry captained grey. the fact that andy, organizing for the day as the only actual team captain to show up to summer league, gave red all of the stellar pickups for this day, this result will not be official pending a formal review from the shadow committee.

in highly anticipated rematch # two, betsy's very own pink juggernaut proved that nothing could stop them on their inexorable march towards the 2010 summer league championship, beating team yellow by a very competitive 13-9. of course, when gareth gets back next week, he might XXXX things up. if nothing else, this week's result proves that the pink captains can take absolutely no credit whatsoever for their team's dominance.

same time, same place next week, for the last week of round robin play before the finals.
____________

lunch time poll:

which of the following conversations was overheard between a member of big brother and the dalian mayor:

a) doc explaining under what circumstances it's okay for a man to say to a woman "i am XXXXXing you now"

b) "toni", asking the mayor for an exclusive interview, the mayor agreeing, and then changing his mind when he realizes that the interview will be for "toni's" blog. those XXXX bruises you'll notice on "toni", were inflicted by the mayor's bodyguards when they took "toni," into the back and XXXXXXXX him while the mayor and betsy watched.

c) mark explaining to the mayor how much more valuable his beach would be if they planted a poplar forest there instead*.

d) chirona trying to translate the bimbo song into chinese for him, then chatting about god for the next twenty minutes.

Weekly Item #2 XXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX "toni", XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX "toni's", mom XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX "toni", XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. good times!

dalian recap:

with only a week's notice, a group of devoted big brother players trained up to dalian to take part in their first ever beach tournament. worries about the tournament organization, based on the late announcement, were quickly allayed, as tour guide april met us bright and early saturday at the train station. she and jim quickly struck up a friendship, and it wasn't long before they were XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.

day one of the tournament was overcast, foggy, and quite cool. discs thrown from one end of the field to the other could get lost in the fog. besides big brother, three dalian teams were entered in the tournament, split up into even squads. the first phase of the tournament was a round robin
format. it's hard for betsy to remember the exact scores, what with all the alcohol and XXXXXXXXXXX but i think big brother won all three of our games by large margins, something like 15-1, 15-2, and 15-1.

by the time our games were finished, it was mid afternoon, and some competitive disc games started up immediately, including a giant mack line, some layout triangles, and beer friz. doc was also spotted on the beach, but as usual, he was largely ignored. we then went to go get showers at the local bath house. betsy was indignant to learn that the male facilities, cost 18 rmb, had hot tubs, massage tables and naked chess. the female facilities, cost 12 rmb, had nothing but showers. no matter, as betsy snuck her way into the male bathroom, enjoyed the hot tub, and watched "toni", lose his XXXXXX at naked chess.

saturday night brought a misting rain, no bonfire, and XXXXXXXXXXX bai jiu. some highlights:

chirona and sam XXXXXXXXXX, then XXXXXXXXX, then some nice cuddling, and then some more XXXXXXXXXXX.

jon lin falling asleep in the sand, everyone else burying him, and then XXXXXXX the XXXXXXX out of him.

papa shyu revealing his post divorce plan to exclusively date 18-year-olds.

alicia using her robotic hand to crush "toni's", XXXXXXXXXXXX when he lost to her at chinese drinking games.

jim XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX with the dalian wanqing, then XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX in his tent with zhang wen.

before going to bed, jim and doc holding an enlightening conversation on the topic of XXXXXXX outside of the tents. jim proposed that while XXXXXXXX a woman, it would be okay to say that he was XXXXXX her. doc concurred, saying that if the XXXXXXXX was already consensual, then it didn't matter if you said "XXXXXXXXX" to her. but it posed an interesting philosophical
quandary, and no resolution was settled upon before doc and jim XXXXXXXXXX in their tent.

on to sunday, where the early games saw big brother divide into 4 groups, and join up with the dalian teams to play with each other*. team a had richie, zhang wen and doc. team b included jim, jon lin and cai cai. team c had alicia, sam and mark. while team d included yours truly, "toni", elmer and papa shyu. each game was close, and had the final score of 9 to 7 after being tied at 7s.

then, before moving on to the final, big brother divided into o and d lines and scrimmaged against ourselves. the o team played very efficiently, avoided too many turnovers, and capitalized on some over throws and poor poaching by the d team to win going away, 7-2.

by now, the day was really heating up, with the sun coming out, and the blue skies revealing themselves. this meant the sand started to grow very very hot. dalian combined into one team with all of their best players, to mount a strong challenge for big brother.

because of the sand, we did not want to have to play a lot of points or struggle through a lot of turnovers. offensive efficiency became the number one goal, and big brother took an early lead in the final, getting up 4 to 1, with richie scoring three of the four goals. then we traded some points, and took half at 7-3.

after jim's impassioned half time speech under the tent, we walked back to see that 150 local dalianren had arrived by bus to cheer on the local team. despite the hostile crowd, big brother became even more determined. it may have simply been a matter of survival. no one wanted to play on the sand longer than was necessary. 7 straight points by the visitors brought big brother to the brink of the championship. one final goal from dalian made the final score 15-4. sweet sweet victory was ours. don't let the score fool you. the dalian all-stars were quite talented, with a lot of speed and height. they kept giving our defense trouble, but unfortunately lacked patience with the disc. expect big things from them in the future.

soon thereafter, the distinguished mayor of dalian arrived with an escort of local officials, police, elephants, virgins, and i think a few virgin elephants. he presented big brother with the crystal trophy, and shook hands with the victors. while everyone was distracted by the reporters, betsy took the mayor off into a secluded corner and XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. can you believe it? in twenty years this guy is probably going to be the chairman of the communist party!!!!!

some other highlights:

i haven't given mark hiller a proper nickname yet, but for now we can just call him the plastic magnet. every time someone threw deep to his man, he was there to knock it down with two hands. he was always in such good position, it looked like he was the intended the receiver. well, except for the fact that he kept knocking the disc down with two hands instead of catching it.

jon lin, the baby koala, reminded betsy of shen with his sharp cutting on the field and fast motor. he was always moving, and played exceptional on both o and d. and anytime you saw him off the field, he was likely to be sleeping in the corner.

everyone's favorite moment came courtesy of alicia on sunday morning, when she went deep on "toni", and scored on sam's huck to the back of the endzone. a much better result than when she laid out in the back corner of the rocky endzone and tore up her knee.

jim, playing his typically tight defense scored a callahan goal in the final. except for the fact that it bounced off his hand and landed at his feet. oh well.

i really don't remember seeing much of doc, but i know he was around somewhere.

cai cai caught her first layout score, but she was so intent on the game, she didn't even remember doing so afterwards.

sam was all over the place, cutting, handling, cuddling with chirona, playing drinking games he didn't even know the words too, going to dinner with no shirt on. sam definitely wins betsy's annual fresh summer meat award.

did i mention that i XXXXXXXXed the mayor of dalian?

papa shyu will be glad to point out that he never got scored on in the final*, despite at least three hucks being directed towards his man. be sure to ask him about them.

"toni", played exceptional offense all weekend (with the exception of the big brother civil war) and was especially strong in the final, connecting on several deep passes to richie*.

and finally, big props to our guest players from tianjin, richie and zhang wen, who played awesome all weekend and were awarded the male and female mvps. hopefully this will be the first of many tournaments they play with big brother.

congratulations to big brother for such a great weekend, and thanks to everyone from dalian who made it possible. everyone had so much fun, we didn't even notice the oil spill that prevented us from actually, you know, swimming.

___________

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 andy for running summer league while every other captain had fun without him in dalian. and not just the absence of tedium that usually accompanies not being around andy, but actual fun. sorry you missed out.

a call out to everyone who did not go to dalian. especially if your only excuse was a free trip to xian. i'd have rather hung out with andy this weekend than go to xian**

a shout out to the dalian mayor. you are really good at XXXXXXXXXX.

a call out to the boys of big brother, who totally failed to get with a single one of the nei pai tire girls. especially you sam! i hope cuddling with chirona was worth it.

a shout out to alicia, jim and cai cai and everyone else who organized our trip on such short notice.

a call out to the women of princeton ultimate. assessing points? calling picks and fouls? being in general quite mean? you are the worst people in the world. worse than hitler and glen beck. i hope you XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.

_________

WEEKLY RUMOR THAT MUST BE TRUE: with betsy so busy in dalian, she wasn't able to pay close attention to what everyone else up was up to this week. so it has not been 100% confirmed, but it has been repeated to betsy by several different people that the following individuals got pregnant over the weekend:

sandy
therese
mama shyu
shan
chirona
peach
helen lu
angela
"toni",
barbie
hhh
leigh
steph
candice's mom
candice
nicki fung
kelly yang

congratulations to all the expecting mothers. big brother is going to field one heck of a team in 2026.

Weekly Rumor Disclaimer: The Weekly Rumor is absolutely and one hundred percent true. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

________

which brings us finally to your moment of zen, or what i like to call more incentive to get a vpn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtaCEfGfQkA&feature=related

catch you on the field,
betsy
xxxooo

*that's what she said

**that was a lie

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Monday, July 26, 2010

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Big Brother: beach tourney winners


Champions

Big Brother won the 1st annual Naipao Tires Dalian Beach Tournament over the weekend, winning round-robin games by scores of 13-3, 13-1 and 13-2. In the finals, Big Brother defeated a team of Chinese all-stars 15-4, though the Chinese players gave an all-out effort with massive layouts just about every point.

Naipao Tires was our sponsor, which was a curious choice considering a) we were on a beach and b) none of us drive cars. The emcee asked Jim to do a few monkey-like things, which he was happy to do like the simian he is. Later, the mayor swung by and Jim was asked forced to ask the mayor to sign a Frisbee. I think the expression on Jim's face here says it all:


Bemused -- not. (Picture by Chirona.)

We should point out here that Jim was our unofficial spokesperson all weekened. He conducted two television interviews and countless others for print. They kept asking him things about the tournament, such as -- just before finals -- "So, how many teams were in this tournament?

"Well," he said, "this is the final game. The rest of the teams have been eliminated."

The two other teams -- both from Dalian -- had indeed been eliminated, leaving Big Brother and the Chinese all-stars.

The reporter said, Ahh.

Many of us had a chance to meet the mayor, and here is me standing right next to him as the press snapped photos around us. I couldn't decide whether to put my arm around the guy.


(Picture by Chirona)

Kansas City Royals, represented... I'm so dirty because of a layout-D attempt on Richie during a "showcase game," really a "showcase point" (or three) put on for the sake of the mayor and his entourage, and the press. Mike Shyu got scored on to end the showcase.



(Pictures by Chirona)

Here is an article about the tournament.

Big Brother players got a certificate and a disc as a prize. Later, Doc speculated that we should have named ourselves "Fuck Tires" and had that written on our shirts. In all the interviews, all we'd allow ourselves to say was, "Fuck tires." That could've been funny, I guess.

(At the end of Saturday, Doc also wondered, aloud, whether it would be rape if, in the process of having consensual sex with a girl, one said, "Hey, I'm raping you now.")

The runners-up:


And... group shot!


The party on Saturday could've been pretty spectacular, except perpetual fog made it impossible to launch the fireworks Dalian's players had bought. We drank, then went to a public bathhouse where I beat Sam in Chinese chess while naked. Then we ate and returned to the beach, where Jim, Sam, Chirona, et al. sang K'naan's Waving Flag song until every Chinese person basically rushed the stage and danced and danced.



Perpetual fog on Saturday:




Those tractors were there to scoop away oil-infested sand.


The party went on:







Then we played Chinese games under a tent until about 2 a.m. while light rain fell.

Ren zhai Jianghu piao a
Shei neng bu ai dao a
(yi/er/san/si/wu) dao kan si ni a!

Good times.

UPDATE, 8/11: Facebook albums here and here.

Friday, July 23, 2010

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dalian beach tourney preview

This team is going to win:

Jim
Tao
Doc
Mike Shyu
Sam
Marc
Jon Lin
Richie
Alicia
Zhang Wen
Cai Cai

PICTURE OF THE WEEK:

We're heading into the beast! (Picture by AP, via Boston Globe.)

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Baby Girl, 7/18:

Hey Beijing,
This coming weekend July 24th-25th I will have 2-3 spaces available for a trip to the Great Wall. It's a weekend trip that will leave Saturday morning and arrive Sunday afternoon (around when summer league starts). Since I would like to fill these spots I can offer them at 700RMB a person. If anyone is interested please feel free to contact me.
Cheers,
Andrew

Doc:

you are forgoing the 700 rmb fee? that's very generous. i have three friends that have always wanted to go on a trip like this, but they are cheapskates and don't like to spend money. now that they can go for free, they will be very excited.

thanks andrew.

dr

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

RETROSPECTIVE: Summer is the time for vacation

Kevin Reitz and Therese -- Kevace for short -- are in Indonesia for a couple weeks, so in their absence, here's this, from summer of 2008:

I lost my camera shortly after taking this picture.

Ah, Olympics. Can't it be back?

Monday, July 19, 2010

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: The new party place

Apparently Mango Club in the Wu -- and the Wu in general -- is the new place to be and be seen. Saturday night, Jim and Pnut tore it up at Mango, and were back in the Wu -- a place called Solutions -- after Monday Big Brother practice. We on the East side of town dread the day when party central shifts to that inhospitable place known as Wudaokou, but is the tide shifting? Only time will tell.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Reminder about Dalian Beach Tournament in a couple weekends

July 24-25. Read more about it here.

Dalian's a pretty sweet city, and I'm told that officials and media will be out en masse. More details later...

WEEK IN REVIEW: Art of getting sloshed on weekdays: Tuesday trivia and Wednesday wine

Tuesdays really are the new Friday, as the hosts of Tuesday night trivia at Souk Lounge like to say. But seriously, if we drink any more on Tuesdays, I'm going to go on a cleanse. Also, I'm officially quitting baijiu. You won't be seeing this or this anytime soon -- hopefully ever again (I mean the baijiu, not the people in those pictures). Not -- SHUDDER -- this, and no more of the baijiu game (although this technically stopped a while back).

Tuesday, 8 pm, Souk Lounge (Chaoyang Park West Gate). It's the place to be.

Our picture(s) of the week comes courtesy of Chirona, who, along with a dozen or so others, attended Black Sesame Kitchen's half-price Wednesday deal. We had a 10-course dinner, including dessert, for 150 kuai. Candice Lee, who works at Black Sesame, had been trying to get us to eat there for a long time, and though it was belated, we were happy to oblige.

Oh, wine was all-you-can-drink.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK:


t
s
e
More pictures from that night from Chirona's Facebook album.

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Well, since Google Groups remains on the wrong side of the Great Firewall, emails will have to qualify. From me, yesterday:

Hi everyone,

This Sunday, an hour before summer league, Burn captain Jim Kirchhoff and a couple of his lady friends will be hosting a WOMEN'S CLINIC to teach basic skills of Ultimate.

ALL ladies of whatever skill level are encouraged to come, learn, play. There will be a women's game after the clinic. Sorry for the segregation, guys, but you're welcome as well! We'll run our own drills or play pickup on the adjacent field. (If there's enough interest among guys, we'll do a clinic as well.) Cost: free.

We will have a van leaving Dongzhimen McDonald's (subway exit C) at NOON. I will be at Dawanglu subway exit B at that same time directing car-poolers.

We're currently waiting on confirmation of a SECOND van to leave DZM at 1:30 pm [UPDATE: Confirmed, 1 pm]. Your captains will follow up with you. If you need to double-check, text or call me.

Regular summer league begins at 2 pm with Huck vs. Bid on Field 1, Pillage vs. Burn on Field 2.

And finally, a reminder that if you haven't already requested to join the Beijing Ultimate Google Groups listserv (because Google Groups is blocked in China), please email myself and/or Alicia, alicia.sy.lui@gmail.com.

Not that anything important ever gets written on that listserv anymore now that I'm using email... Betsy, please don't take offense.

Tao

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Monday, July 12, 2010

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: BUSL update

Summer league standings through the season's mid-point:

Pillage, 3-0, +29
Huck, 2-1, +5
Burn, 1-2, -4
Bid, 0-3, -30

Friday, July 9, 2010

WEEK IN REVIEW: Fucking rain

Seriously, fuck it up the ass.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK:

From Heart of Beijing

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Duff, 7/7:

Lord knows some of the best writers in Beijing play ultimate and lurk in this group... So I thought this might interest some of you... Apologies for the off topic nature.

"The World of Chinese" is a four-year-old magazine, distributed globally and targeting English-speakers interested in China. A sample can be seen at www.twocmag.com. We're hiring for a full-time, in-house, salaried Senior Editor to join the six-person editorial team. Must be Beijing-based. Please include writing samples with application.

Senior Editor
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Assist in writing, editing, and content-planning for a bimonthly magazine.
- Manage website and newsletter content, including writing original content on a regular and ongoing basis.
- Pitch story ideas, deliver new content, and monitor competitive journals.
- Develop professional relationships in Beijing and elsewhere in China to help secure exclusive and original content.
- Maintain and grow social media presence.
- Additional editing and creative work on book projects, based on the magazine's content.

QUALIFICATIONS
- Knowledge of, and wide interest in, Chinese culture.
- Experience in writing, interviewing, and editing.
- Knowledge of how to structure, and re-structure, a story.
- Ability to work under pressure on tight deadlines.
- Strong organizational skills.
- Proven ability to provide self-direction and take direction from senior staff.
- Experience working in a team environment.
- Strong headline writing skills.
- High attention to detail and a good grasp of spelling and grammar
- University degree in a related field.
- Fluid writing style is a must; copy-editing skills are a plus.
- Does not require Chinese language ability (but it helps.)
- Must be a team player willing to take on additional challenges as needed.

If interested, please include sample articles, and explain why we would be able to count on you to perform in this position. Send resume and samples to editor [at] theworldofchinese.com

--
Andy Deemer
Creative Director / Managing Editor
"The World of Chinese" Magazine
http://twocmag.com/

中国北京朝外大街吉庆里14号佳汇国际中心1509
1509, Jiahui International Center, No 14 Bldg., Jiqingli, Chaoyang
District, Beijing 100020, China

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Monday, July 5, 2010

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Summer league pictures galore

From Yao of Five Ultimate:

WEEK 1





WEEK 2