WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Ascott Bar Games Triathlon results

The results are in from the first ever Ascott Bar Games Triathlon. Teams were divided into two pools, and each team faced a true round robin with its pool. A matchup was "won" if a team won two of three events: foosball, beer pong or pool.

Pool A	Foos	Pong	Pool	Overall
Ellen, Chris, Micah
1	3-0	2-1	1-0	3-0
Tim, Kirby, Tammy
2	2-1	0-2	0-2	1-2
BG, Leigh, Gareth,
3 Sandy, Josh L	1-2	3-0	1-1	2-1
Mike, Zach, Josh, J
4 Claire	0-3	1-1	1-0	0-3

Pool B	Foos	Pong	Pool	Overall
Marc M, Andy, Jud
1 Janelle	1-2	2-1	2-0	2-1
Kevin, Alicia, Joe,
2 Rob	3-0	1-1	1-1	2-1
Jim, Nina, Marc,
3 Alex	1-1	1-1	0-2	1-2
Toju, Tim, Tom
4	0-2	1-2	1-1	1-2

A few observations: Chris Boehner and Ellen were not beatable at foosball. The closest game was 10-5.

Baby Girl didn't lose at beer pong. It makes sense considering all the Thursday night beer pong tournaments he's gone to at Pyro's.

All the teams in Pool B were 1-1 going into the final matchup. Unfortunately, the two Frisbee teams eliminated each other.

Gareth's team eked into the semis in its final pool-play game, when it beat Kirby's team (both were 1-1).

Things then got out of hand as we played slap cup. Gareth, Sandy and Rob did not feel well the next night (Sandy was especially bad trying to get out of the cab). Lots of embassy folks made fools of themselves but, hey, it's a party and we're all friends!

Pictures:







Championship shot...

WEEK IN REVIEW: First summer league game this Sunday

As if you needed a reminder, the first week of BUSL 2010 is this Sunday! Happy Valley, 2 to 5 pm.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK:


Photos by Kevin Reitz

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Boehner, 6/25:

Hey Ultimaters,

The Redbucks are getting into high gear, preparing for our tour down the China coast. To celebrate the kickoff of the tour, we are having a Redbuck BBQ on the 2 Kolegas lawn at 7:30pm Tuesday, 29 June.

As if things couldn’t get any better, Hobo Luke and Jimmy Yeehaw promised to pull out their smoker they built last year. Their creation makes the best smoke meat this side of the Pacific and the resulting pulled pork sandwiches are nothing short of spectacular.

Join The Redbucks at 2 Kolegas for a pulled pork dinner and an early evening bluegrass show. There’s no better end to a work day than Bluegrass, BBQ and Booze.

Get their early, the pulled pork is going to go fast!

40RMB

* This will be our last Beijing show with all six members (Chip is leaving China next month). Also, with two other folks out of town for the rest of summer, you probably won't have another chance to see some Redbuck bluegrass until late September.

China Tour Information:
For anyone that is going to be around China or has friends in other cities that love bluegrass, the Redbucks are traveling down China's coast over the next two weeks.

July 1st - Qingdao - Redstar
July 3rd - Shanghai - Mao Live House
July 4th - 191 Space - GuangZhou
July 9th - Yidutang - Shenzhen
July10th - Fringe Club - Hong Kong

"For those aching for some live bluegrass, old-time, and country music, it simply doesn't get any more authentic than The Redbucks. Performing their down-home repertoire of American roots music for over a year now, this ensemble of fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, upright bass and sweet, soul-wilting harmonies has made them one of Beijing's most in-demand bands. To celebrate the recent release of their first album, All That Glitters, consisting of 13 original songs, the band will be embarking on their first China tour from June 30th through July 10th. From Qingdao to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, The Redbucks guarantee a stompin' good ole time."

WEEK IN REVIEW: Censorship and Shanghai

The most important tournament of the year looms. This is Shanghai:

PICTURES OF THE WEEK:






...and this is what we've been chatting about this week:

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:
So many to choose from! So instead of choosing, I'm just going to repost all replies to the discussion titled "censorship is wrong, in my opinion":

Doc, June 1, 11:17 am:

for those of you who don't know, joe, perhaps with the backing of a small group of people (i'm not clear on the details), has taken to censoring the google group. he started doing this a couple years ago, and it has really escalated over the last few weeks.

i am firmly against censorship, especially arbitrary censorship. as far as i know, the only definitive clear cut rule for the group is no cursing. even that is open to interpretation, because different people have different standards for what constitutes cursing. some people would could
consider damn a swear word. others might say even bafflegab is a swear word, because of what it stands in for. so what it comes down to, is that joe is arbitrarily deciding what is okay for the group and what is not okay.

censorship.

the google group was originally created specifically because before we had only a yahoo group, and one person controlled what was allowed to be posted to it, and no one had a free voice. very literally, the google group was an end around to avoid such censorship. so i am understandably saddened that we have returned to censorship yet again.

personally, i think anyone should be allowed to post anything they want, as long as it doesn't violate chinese law (ie no pornography and nothing that speaks out against the government). if someone posts something that a majority of others think is in poor taste, the group will react to it, and in most cases the person in question will probably adjust their future postings. but if they don't, that says a lot more about the individual than it does about the group. but if we allow arbitrary censorship, that's saying a lot about what kind of community this is.

if there is going to be censorship, it should not be controlled by one person or a small group of people. first, it should be voted on by the group that we want censorship. and then the specific guidelines need to be voted on. and then, the person that will be in charge of upholding those guidelines should be voted on. even then, i would be firmly against it. but at least then you have a somewhat less arbitrary form of censorship.

for those who don't know what is at issue, the last straw, as they say, came this last week when someone writing as betsy (not me) referred to a joke that was told on the bus about 'coons. i was not on the bus. i don't know what the joke was, and whether it was meant to be racist. maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. but when the person wrote about it in the email, he/she had no idea there were any racial undertones. it was just a reference to an animal, in this person's mind. it only became a racist comment when other people interpreted it that way. should it be something that results in banning? should it be taken off of the group? i guess different people would have different opinions. i think people should post freely, no censorship. freedom. but again, if it is something that should be banned, it should be because it violates clearly defined guidelines that the group has agreed to as a whole.

anyway, i think it's a sad day when censorship wins out over freedom of expression, no matter what the venue.

dr

Maggie Rauch, June 1, 11:27 am:

All I know is I'm heading to trivia night tonight, and I hope that whoever didn't know that coon was a racial slur is there and not on my team.

Chris Boehner:

Hmmmm, I thought it was in reference to Maine Coons, coincidentally my favorite type of cat.

Gareth:

"if someone posts something that a majority of others think is in poor taste, the group will react to it"

How will they react to it? By writing long e-mails taking a stance? Or people will stop coming to our practices and pick-up. Or perhaps they will leave the google group, which in addition to extraneous information contains times and locations of practices, pick-up, and tournaments. I would be totally down for a trash talking, whatever you want group and one that posts information. I don't want people to get scared off by e-mails coming from you, perhaps with the backing of a small group of people (I'm not clear on the details), that writes crazy, funny, obnoxious e-mails that may not represent the community and have really have escalated over the past few weeks. I definitely love Betsy and am not for censorship, I think we just may have to separate things into an informational group and another one. I'm sure there is a way to do this.

Joe:

Hi all,

There are a few things that should be clarified. This is both regarding content of this google group and the recent censorship issues that Doc is bringing up.

First, I have never acted individually in the decisions to remove content from the group. I have always discussed and conferred with leaders of both the Beijing ultimate community and BUC. This has included Jeff, Gareth, Kevin, and even Doc.

Furthermore, these decisions have NEVER been arbitrarily decided. There has never been content we removed because we didn't like the poster, or because we thought it would be fun to delete a post. We have removed content that we feel others would have found or interpreted as offensive, hateful, and not in the spirit of our community or in line with our goal of making this an open and accepting community.

I also take issue with Doc's point that posts reflect individuals, and that people will judge the individuals and in turn later posts will reflect this. These recent incidents have all involved Betsy, a pseudonym who is often seen as this community's ambassador on this forum. How can posts speak to who the individual is, if there is a veil over who is in fact posting? I'm not arguing that having this character on this group is a bad thing, but if this person is truly supposed to reflect on us as a group, shouldn't we hold it to a higher standard? There are many times that I have found Betsy full of humor, and without hatred. There has, as of late, been an influx of mean, offensive and downright hateful content.

Regardless of who is posting, I encourage people to use self-control when they leave their digital fingerprint on this forum. It reflects on all of us, as a community. This community serves not only those who are already in this group, but those who we are hoping to encourage to join this group.

Gareth makes a good point that has been talked about before. If people feel the need for a "gossip blog," by all means start one up.

iRobb (not really sure who this is):

Just random trivia. Although a "Coon" is indeed a racial slur in most circles, it is also the self-proclaimed term for Roughnecks from the bayou regions of Louisiana who descend from Arcadian ancestry, commonly known today as "Cajuns". This group of Caucasian oil derek workers make up some of those who lost their lives in the oil darek fire, and now oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is currently headline news.

This term represents a specific group of well-educated industry specialists in the oil industry and when used in oil circles, it has a direct denotation with impervious, neutral conotation. Except of course when it's mistaken within these circles for a racial slur. I believe the full title is "Coon-ass" and I'm pretty sure it stems from a French word that ties nicely into English with obvious merit for it's association with racoons which are abundant in the bayous of Louisiana.

Outside of Exxonmobile though, I think the term is dead except for parts of the Georgia and South Carolina or by people who may not fully understand the implications of how a term like this can effect certain groups who are directly or indirectly associated with the relevant historic and cultural issues. These people tend to stay out of international frisbee leagues as it is the very xenophobia of racism that keeps them too close to home sometimes.

Many of the indiginous groups who use the other version of this term and synonyms of it also practice crude forms of inter-marrying and count barn dancing, cow- tipping and playing cornpone amung the more entertaining activities around their boondocks or local habitations. I guess my point is this, was someone intentionally trying to be offensive or did Bubba get carried away with the dail up again trying to meet new people cause his sister patched things up with her dad? (For more information on the dangerous effects of incest, check out The Redbucks this Saturday night at yu gong yi Shan)

I agree with Gareth, and I agree with Doc. I am for free speech, and because of that I can choose to ignore when people like Bubba get carried away regurgitating ignorant beleifs that have been absorbed through failures in history to retain and allow the flow of free spech. It is the nature of the insult that insists upon free speech. Some argue that racism is an environmental factor, not a genetic one. Bubba has enough of a hard time with genetics, seeing as his sister and his mother are the same person. His draw towards racism is a factor of regurgitated brainwashing steeped in family tradition... not fully contumplated or even fully understood. This type of brainwashed
ignorance is one of the many reasons its good to have freedom of speech as the only way to break free from this kind of brainwashing is to get more information. It may also be the only way Bubba breaks free from "The best of Jerry Springer" lifestyle he has been born into. The only way to get better information is through media outlets that are free from censorship even if that means we have spend time reading self-absorbed spoutings from a pseudo-intellectual who shamelessly promotes his freinds' concerts (Saturday night, call Luke, Chip, Chris or any one of the five hundred other band members of The Redbucks for more information.)

If you read this all the way through, that is two minutes (five for Bubba) that you will never get back. This may the very argument for censorship afterall...

Robb

Don't bother replying, I will be practicing my right to ignore you.

Russell:

I agree 100% with Gareth. At one point I quit the list because reading it was objectionable, but ended up signing back up to keep up to date. But as someone who has worked to get colleges and high schools involved, there is *no way* I would share the beijing-ultimate email address with a student. If a high school teacher should see almost any one of Betsy's posts, what are the chances the school would support it? It therefore cannot fulfill its purpose as a communications tool.

Ultimate as a sport and a community has a tradition of welcoming and respecting all people, not just those who think "anything goes". Posts by Betsy reflect on the whole team. If we want respect and recognition for the ultimate community we should have some for others. I don't think all personalities should be removed from the list - it can reflect team character to some extent - but the more "avant-garde" stuff really belongs on a separate list where those interested can post freely to their heart's content - or any other part of their anatomies, for that matter.

Tao, June 2, 4 pm:

An aforementioned "gossip blog" exists, and thank you Joe for putting the comma where it belongs: http://beijingultimate.blogspot.com -- which, though it contains many of Betsy's emails + masturbatory-worthy photos, is censored within China. **Withholding desire to say more**

RETROSPECTIVE: Year of the Ox

As we count down the days till Year of the Tiger (a much better animal than the ox), here's a picture from last Chinese New Year's, taken in front of Houhai.



And the video:

Jeff Orcutt speaking here.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Ellen's foosball tourney, and Jim

This just in: Boehner and Ellen are really good at foosball, and teamed together, they're unbeatable. The team was 3.5-point favorites in the finals against Michael Chaitkin and Jim, and covered, winning 10-6. The house won 5 kuai over a night of betting (14 total games, though not all saw action), with big-winner Jim leaving with 20 kuai (6 for 6 on bets) and big loser Michael leaving as a sad, decrepit shell of himself, down 15 big ones.

Afterwards we drank and played asshole, a game in which I won six straight times and seven out of eight, including once from the asshole position. (Don't ask if you don't know.) And then things got -- how shall we say? -- a bit out of control. This is all we'll say for now:

An oven broke. Jim did some other stuff.

Consider that a preview of a video to come...

PICTURES OF THE WEEK:



GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Jeff, you sick, sick man. I had to write this (11/21):

Jeff Orcutt, you play a risky game. When having sex with horses next time, you'll want to

pitch, not catch. Otherwise you place yourself in mortal danger of a perforated colon, which is no laughing matter, as Kenneth Pinyan, otherwise known as Mr. Hands, could tell you... from his grave.

I must also, despite the sensitive disposition of our fair readers, bring to attention the despicable game you have been playing these last four years with the lives of innocent, sentient beings. The other day, during one of my several leisurely Internet browsing sessions, I uncovered a disturbing Seattle Times article documenting your unscrupulous lifestyle and laying bare your degenerate constitution. I quote: "But because investigators found chickens, goats and sheep on the property, they are looking into whether animal cruelty — which is a crime — was committed by having sex with these smaller, weaker animals."

Jeff, you pervert! Horses are one thing, but small, furry, defenseless animals? I... I'm aghast. I'm absolutely shocked beyond words. How sick. How vile! How... how dastardly! You should be ashamed. What your dark, monstrous conscience will tolerate in the basement of your private dwelling is not for us to judge, but to betray your friends and acquaintances by bringing this defilement upon us in the world of virtue and light is unforgivable. How Joe has co-habitated with you all this time is beyond guessing, though we should probably take pity at the horrors -- gross and unfathomable! -- he has repressed in the name of survival!

It will take us years to erase the vestiges of your profanity from our collective consciousness. I beseech you do us the favor of removing yourself from our chaste community at once. Your libido has harmed its last living soul.

Sincerely,
Beijing Ultimate Community

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Happy birthday, Ken and Steph!

Backdated 10/21


The girl with the butcher's knife is Steph, and Ken Dry is the one in blue. They are a couple, and isn't it always so cute when couples share a birthday? Who's a cute couple... that's right, they're a cute couply wouply.

On Friday night they had a birthday gathering at a Xinjiang restaurant across from Worker's Stadium. Afterwards we walked over to Paddy O'Shea's to see The Redbucks, currently the hottest bluegrass band in town, featuring Beijing Ultimate's own Chris Boehner, et al.

RETROSPECTIVE: The most amazing shot ever

Why are all these people taking pictures of a chuar stick in a beer?



A couple Fridays ago, the 22nd of May, we had a birthday dinner for Boehner and Jeff that resulted in some battle caps being played. Midway through, Kevin asked, "What would you do if I sank this chuar*?"

*Chinese lesson: chuar = Beijinger's way of saying chuan = kabob

"Drink the beer," I said.

So then, without any warm-up throws, he hurls a chuar with a piece of meat on its end javelin-style straight into my beer. It was the perfect arc with the perfect landing, creating hardly a splash. I was aghast. Celebrations ensued.

And the beer tasted spicy.

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...

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Part 2: Introducing Mrs. Kevin... and battle caps

Therese Mendez, Kevin's girlfriend we've been hearing so much about, finally turned up over the weekend. She's with Kevin in the below picture, ON THE LEFT (I already can't tell the two apart).



Kevin called a BCD (Boozy Chinese Dinner) in her honor at our regular BCD place in Guijie (the dining street of Beijing near Dongzhimen... I suppose if you don't live here that clarifies exactly nothing). It started a bit slow but then I threw a bottle cap at someone's glass, because that's how I roll, and that started a chain reaction -- and the night, one could say. Soon Kevin hit three of four on me, forcing me to chug three glasses of beer (a bit too quickly), and then Mike Shyu took these videos:




At the very end of the second video, it's Therese finishing what Kevin can't: throwing a cap into my beer. And Chris Boehner at the 38-second mark delivers the money quote: "This is what every BCD turns into."

This was, of course, before we asked the fuwuyuan (server) to bring us 10 beers -- big bottles of Yangjing -- followed a couple minutes later with, "You know what... just bring us a case." Repeated several times.

One of the fuwuyuans got into the game, too, dropping a couple caps in Boehner's beer (she had a crush on him, like half the Asian girls in this city). Then she scooped up caps from other rooms and started bringing them to us him.



We made a rule that if at any time you didn't drink fast enough and were caught with two caps in your glass, you'd have to drain a bottle. This unleashed furies unseen since the days of the Greek. Soon there was mayhem. Disaster unbound. Shouting and pointing and back-stabbing (Alicia...) and total ignorance of how to play the game from Sandy. Glasses clinked, caps crossed mid-flight, Joe's competitiveness flared. Not really sure how to describe this except to repeat that this is what every BCD turns into. Eventually Joe flung bottles -- bottlessss -- into the wall, where they shattered, and then he lost his jacket in Sanlitun.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Yeeehaw!

They don't say that in the Appalachians, do they?

No, probably not.

Frisbee players Chris Boehner, Chip Rountree and Amy Gardner are in a bluegrass band that played Thursday. Pictures and videos of their performance are here. We at Beijing Ultimate approve.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK:

Joe, you dog, you.

SUNDAY PICKUP:

We got some new people in town. Will they ever come out again?


For the food, who wouldn't?

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

From newcomer Veronica Mars Lee:

Hi Beijing ultimate,

...An american student here...

Hi Veronica!

GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK 2:

From Jim Kirchhoff, captain (not technically from this past week, but close enough):

Hey frisbee fans!

It's that time of year when the weather begins to change, the snow starts to fall, and the smell of frisbee is in the air.

What does that mean for us? It means it's time to start thinking about and getting ready for the tournament season ahead. As the club teams begin planning and assembling for the spring season, Big Brother wants everyone to know that practices will be starting again soon for those who are interested in improving their game. Practices will be open to anyone interested in improving their game, checking out the team, and playing some structured, competitive disc.

The first practice will MOST LIKELY be next weekend (Feb 28/Mar 1) depending on field availability. If the weather stays cold, this will mean indoor space, but we will hope to get outside soon. I highly encourage everyone to come out who is interested! Please drop me an RSVP so I can figure out numbers.

Doc, Joe, and I will be running the first practice. Any questions regarding BB beyond that point can be discussed next weekend. Let's get psyched!!!

Also, tournaments are quickly approaching. Jeju is only TWO MONTHS AWAY!!! Jeju is April 18-19 (dates are now confirmed)

A lot of people have been talking about playing and bids need to be submitted soon. To facilitate the process, I am creating a google doc called Jeju 2009 Apr 18-19 Commitment Sheet (yes, that's the actual name). I will share it with the group. This is a particularly difficult tourney to plan for due to the 9 player roster limit so please put your name on the sheet if you intend to go.

Putting your name on the form does NOT require you to play w/ Big Brother, but I am sure it will be useful for ALL potential teams to know who is interested and may help with travel options for the larger community. And don't forget to sign up for Duff's AWESOME SPRING LEAGUE!!!

Thanks and enjoy playing in the snow!!!

Keep on rockin'.

RETROSPECTIVE: Butt Scratchers 15¥

This will not be the last you see or hear from Chris Boehner:


From Char, China Nationals 2008.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Change!

Barack Obama reminds me of The Rock. Nay, he is. You know... "Finally, Change... has come back..."

OVERHEARD AT THE OBAMA INAUGURATION AT RICKSHAW:

Chris Boehner, on several occasions: BRRRrrrrack!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK:


GOOGLE GROUPS POST OF THE WEEK:

Betsy naming *just about* every member of the Beijing Ultimate community, ever:

jason cox
jeff orcutt
jeffrey mandell
emi ota
ryan perez
carly biggart
noni dorschells
angela kirk
zahlen titcomb
qhxna titcomb
vehro titcomb
rohre titcomb
mr. titcomb
mrs. titcomb
candice's mom
candice lee
becca ivey
lincoln
the refrigerator
anyone named clare
mini hulk
the dungeon master
ken su
ken 2.0
christian liu
the oc
robogabe
gabe wildeau
barbie
julia filip
reid barrett
anna filip
toni
michelle tang
jamie potter
wan qing
missy rock
matt flynn
kwong
jim kirchoff
charmian lam
cathleen h.
doc tobin
helen lu
clark randt
nestor santana
xtehn titcomb
the godfather
nick monses
chen yanmei
tina xue
wang bing
yin kong
chip rountree
peter rountree
klass
gemma hubschrauber-landenplatz
quinn rousseau
lin
andrew shen
kelly yang
roger
me
xiao zhi
stephen
qi
chris boehner
peggy wang
brady massenheider
patrick wheeler
aaron leung
dan dodge
pia ybenez
brian marterer
rie kimura
dennis chira
courtney
corey evans
zoe
steff
stephanie
donald debona
tracie carlsund
shanlenn
justin colby
cordy crockett
uli burke
andreas lambeck
craig ireland
josh hon
sam goodman
lea goodman
bob chou
jud willmont
fi cheng
julio
barbie
molly roy
chirona
matt knowles
roman ryan
mark scott
baby girl
ward
peter tran
jake anderson
li ming
hannah
air george
jocelyn ross
ed wang
nick liu
richie
any one from hangtime
anyone named ed
anyone named noah
michelle johnston
kim barnett
joy lo
carey nourse
andrea cheng
jamie cutmore
lotte
joel rosen
ben christensen
yang guo
elle toder
kelly mckaskill
eric wu
russel young
orr schuttel
duff douglass
elliot
an chi tsou
allison cameron
patrick gilman
sarah stanton
sarah from stanford
andy shaw
dan fulton
dan schupp
vivian zhang
elmber reyes
greg erickson
anyone named guy
happy rat
any one from air kazak
jenn brown
roberto rojas
joe devito
lao zhao
leo liu
lisa acierno
logan wright
steven seabrook
any one from beijing bang
melissa james
michael shyu
helen shyu
misha riitman
mitch
nicki fung
wilson chang
zach flanders
ethan
nixie

Who is Betsy Beijing?

Polymath. Coquette. Epicure. Bon viveur. These are all terms to describe Betsy Beijing, but who is she, exactly? Would she appreciate those fancy-schmancy terms, or would "cute" suffice? If we peeled back the blubber of facade, would we be greeted with a scowling tiger or kittenish lady? Would we know a real smile from the torturous coyness we've come to expect? The real Betsy, when she's out of makeup and exfoliating in the lonely hours of the night -- nude at heart, unafraid, truthful in beauty -- where is she to be found and how is she to be found out?

We only have glimpses, like when she described her strengths and weaknesses in a mock job application in a June 25, 2007 posting on Google groups:

strengths:
people person
language skills
diplomatic
good at networking
extremely attractive
care about the environment

weaknesses:
poor attendance
trail of broken hearts easy to trip over
incapable of human emotion

She remains shrouded in secrecy, cautious even as she gives herself over -- her whole self, that is what you do not seem to understand, she gives and loses a part of her whole self every time she slips into the warm throes of yet another night -- and smiles that hollow, sweet smile, laughs that ginger, simpering laugh.

Who is Betsy? We're not the only ones who wanted to know. In part two of our two-part interview, Beijing Ultimate solicited people from as far as Hanover, New Hampshire, and Vancouver, Canuckistan, to send in questions, and once again Betsy supplied the answers as only she could.

Jeff Hartline asked, "Betsy Beijing, what's your number?"

Betsy: who's jeff hartline? is he cute? is he rich? should i get to know him? or will it just be a waste of my time?

Molly Roy: "If you had to pick a suitor on the Beijing ultimate team, who would it be and why?"

the question that needs to be asked is, if i had to eliminate one suitor, who would it be. answer: doc

Aaron Leung: "What's this?"

don't play coy with me, aaron. you know exactly what this is, and it's going to be the greatest regret of your sad existence that you only got to get with THIS once.

Lauren Reed sent in a question in essay form, so we're gonna have to cut it down to, "How do you do ... the most young, handsome, male co-ed admirers? Any secret insights would be more than appreciated, Betsy."

I'm betsy, what can i say. if you hung with me more, you would have a pretty good shot at my residuals.

Chris Boehner wrote his question in paragraph form, which was annoying, so we put his 62-word question into a random number generator and this is what came out: "Do a six pack only to you name with last years bonedaddy is corner I'm promise?"

forty two

Kevin Reitz: "What do you call that anyway? The Ugly Tornado?"

no, the gypsy palm reader

Jeff Orcutt: "How do you keep so fit?"

sex with your mom

Chirona Silverstein: "I would like to know the entire history of your love life since joining Beijing Ultimate Group. You must've had dozens of affairs!"

yes.

Thank you, Betsy, for sharing a part of your soul.

Kicking off Betsy Appreciation Week

Here is the definition of a transient community: coming like the warm season, all joy and bravado; leaving on the humped back of a solitary traveler, all sadness, candor; some are never heard from again; others return, bearing newfound appreciation for what they left behind; others still barrack themselves with their memories in a land far away with only a blog and a bottle...

But one person alone in Beijing seems unbound by the mortal coil. She is our better half -- our comprehending eyes, our sense of humor. Without her we would be uprooted and scattered by the winds, maybe to the Siberian desert. We would become unmoored as a rudderless boat in the empty seas.

That person, of course, is Betsy. If you've ever played Frisbee in Beijing it's likely you've met her. And if you're a guy, then she's definitely met you. Hip, modern and sophisticated, among the most well-read people in the world, fashion-savvy, forward-thinking, cute and devilishly funny, she is everyman's dream girl, his aspirations and hopes for a prosperous tomorrow. As such, we thought we'd kick off this blog -- devoted to Beijing Ultimate and the community around it -- with a five-day celebration of the one person this community cannot function without.

We told Betsy about this and she was only too excited to get her voice on the record. Here's part one of two of an interview conducted last month:

First off, Betsy, thanks for taking time to sit down with us. How would you describe yourself in relation to the Beijing Ultimate community? To what extent does it define you as a person?
i think that i define beijing ultimate more than it defines me.

How did you get involved?
pending lawsuits make it impossible for me to answer this question at this time.

We know your knowledge of Ultimate is nonpareil, but have you actually played Frisbee?
you remember the team that beat you in summer league? that was my team. i scored the winning goal. i spiked it next to your head. you have a selective memory.

You've been around a while now, so I was wondering if you could tell us briefly how the Beijing Ultimate scene has changed from your arrival to now.
when i started playing utlimate here, there was one chinese player. his name was duncan. he was our token chinese player for about 3 years. then he got a girlfriend and we never saw him again. now there are lots of token chinese players, so that if one of them gets married, we have lots of other players to take his or her place.

chinese players, be sure to let your friends know that playing frisbee makes you more attractive as a mate.

How would you characterize the community?
inescapable. once you are a part of the beijing ultimate community, you can never escape it. just ask matt flynn. seriously, ask him. his email is imaflynn@gmail.com. he'd love to hear from you.

What is the best part of playing Ultimate in Beijing?
how fast the community is growing.

What is the worst part?
the people

What tournament do you hold the most fond memories of?
i think the best memory is: winning the 2004 singapore tournament, winning the friday night registration party, having the best costumes, coming in seeded 7th and going undefeated, guaranteeing to pat mccarthy before the tournament we would win the tournament no matter where the seeded us, all of these things led us to belief that this victory would be the first of many. and then streaking naked on the fields so that a number of our players could never go to singapore again so that we have never had the chance to defend our title.

The most memorable party?
quinn's thanksgiving day party, the one with the food fight.

Your favorite Beijing couple of all time?
david joiner and michelle

Your favorite Beijing player of all time?
me

Who are the best dancers in Beijing, male and female?
me and jim.

Are Jim and Joe half-brothers?
they are a 6th grade science fair experiment gone horribly horribly wrong.

Why does Sandy not like you? [Not you personally, you understand]
sandy is just jealous of you.

Why is Char so nice?
it's a cover. believe me, you don't want to see her when she gets mad. just ask jim.

Can Ken Su be my uncle?
there is a 38% statistical certainty that ken su already is your uncle.

How can I donate to the Free Happy Rat fund, for his impending arrest and house durance?
i can tell you how, but why would you want to.

Should foreigners in China know Chinese, or is that not necessary?
you mean chinese food? all you need to know is gong bao ji ding.

What's up with Doc?
he's old.

Is it true there's a guy named Boner in the Frisbee community? That's funny, isn't it?
only funny in an ironic way. i know this based on personal experience.

Now, it's no secret you get around. Some people say it's because you have low self-esteem, others attribute your reckless behavior to a dark, traumatic childhood, while even others say you're just a girl who likes to have fun. But I think it's something else. I think you have a special someone you're too shy to approach, so you act out in hopes of attracting his attention and proving to him -- and yourself -- that you're desirable. Who are you saving yourself for, Betsy?
i don't believe in saving myself. that's a patriarchial concept created by males who wanted to have a virgin on their wedding night.

Thank you for your time.