Saturday, August 16, 2008

Nini the turtle?

I read this in a forum a while back, but thought it was absurd. However, the more I think about the the more I wonder if it is true. You probably know by now that lining up the first words of each of the Beijing mascots give you "Beijing huan ying ni" which translates to Beijing welcomes you.

Here's where things get interesting. The last mascot is supposed to be a the swallow Nini. Apparently when you turn her around she looks more like a... turtle. So what? Well, calling someone a "turtle grandson" or "turtle egg" in Chinese is slang for a word in English that refers to an illegitimate child.

Basically, without saying the word it is a derogatory term for an unpleasant person. Even more convincing is that the third Chinese slang term for the English word is translated as "wearer of a green hat". It's said that male brothel workers had to wear green hats during the Tang dynasty. Nini, just happens to be green and look like a turtle when turned on her back. Call it coincidence or something else, but there are probably a few people in China giggling about the fast one they pulled on the world. What do you think?
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Tuesday, August 5, 2008

We like it

It's pretty rare when we here at Recueilli find a blog so irresistible that we have to blog about it. Not that blogging about a blog is bad, it's just that we usually just steal their content and re-fry it like day old beans. Please sir, before you call your lawyer keep my blogging tactics a secret and I'll sign over my "ocean front property in Arizona".

The blog to be blogged is absolutely hilarious...actually it's more like a list or book than a blog. Who knows which came first, but that's all irrelevant. The important thing is it is funny. The blog/book/list is called "Stuff White People Like". And let me just say, I like it all! Man they've got a finger on my pulse! Got a few minutes, head on over. If your as white as this morning's English Muffin then I know you'll find something you like on the list. Common guys I know you want to take a peek.
Here's a link to the full list.

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