STEVIE WONDER - I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU RINGTONE
I was adding Stevie Wonder to my list of links and discovered you can get I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU as a ringtone (sweet) And more. Check it out.
I can't yet, my little Nokia is described as a "kid's phone" by critical consumers here! This entry level price is also used by some of my Chinese colleagues, so shame on those who make unkind remarks about those of us who don't need to impress with bells and whistles. The status symbol value becomes even weirder when you consider prices and salaries; last year when I shopped for my phone, even with a Chinese person along to negotiate, the prices were Western prices paid by people with Chinese salaries!
There are laws now in the U.S. about driving while talking on your cell, here, you can see that people drive or bike while talking on the phone.
And, biking while smoking. The smoking is the worst part of being in China for me, aside from the discomfort of being foreign, and not having more diversity. We consciously avoid going to Chinese restaurants at the busiest times.
I haven't found this as bad in Shanghai as I did in Dalian, where it seemed 95% or more of the men smoked. In restaurants with their children, wives and mothers beside them.
One day we walked through the French Concession, an area that once belonged literally to France. There are lovely trees that give shade and cover and many old villas still exist. There was a bus stop with a bulletin board with a poster; there was some graphic information to make the target of the campaiagn obvious, including a head and body split vertically, with one side of the body in flesh and the other decrepit and skeletal.
In Dalian, the middle school school students had to answer the question, "Should people be allowed to smoke in restaurants?" on their final exam. The kids had the information, so the adults do, too. Even if they were trying to please me, not one thought it was right.
Mr. F. still takes his after-dinner cigarette outside, and every time, he is informed that he's allowed to smoke inside. And everytime, he reminds them about second-hand smoke's effect.
A challenge here is not to be condescending, but I know the information that smoking is dangerous to your health is out there! I know this has to do with legislation and consequences from my own experience. As recently as the late eighties, smoking was conditionally allowed in Los Angeles office buildings. Several of us working in a large multi-leveled, multi-national law office contacted the appropriate city government agency, we "threw down" about the "smoking floor"; Someone on the inside was willing to collude with our employers, but eventually they passed laws that said smokers at work had to go outside the building.
I see a lot of workers from Anhui, one poor adjacent province - they live near us in temporary housing, as I mentioned about 30-40 buildings going up within a mile,and wonder if it is a cheaper alternative than food, it does cut the appetite. We've heard some rumors about disinformation about smoking put out that I'd rather not repeat on my blog.
I think some more workers are about to find jobs, or transition to new projects, right across the street. This Sunday I will take pictures to post of the contradiction of our block, we still have a nightime street market, with vendors of food, clothing and other items setting their wares on the ground, while in the background new high rises loom.
For the last year, directly across the street there was still an old row of low, one story buildings with shops. We used an office supply and a pharmacy that quietly disappeared.
Within two days this week, the row was razed, and now these temporary living quarters for workers are being built. Many of the 30-40 buildings in progress are near completion but there is a field directly across from us, we knew when we moved in that it was only a matter of time before it would be developed. We expect that soon, we will be hearing a lot of construction at close range.
But I digress. I know I do that a lot. You can also get other ringtones from Stevie Wonder's official site!
I can't yet, my little Nokia is described as a "kid's phone" by critical consumers here! This entry level price is also used by some of my Chinese colleagues, so shame on those who make unkind remarks about those of us who don't need to impress with bells and whistles. The status symbol value becomes even weirder when you consider prices and salaries; last year when I shopped for my phone, even with a Chinese person along to negotiate, the prices were Western prices paid by people with Chinese salaries!
There are laws now in the U.S. about driving while talking on your cell, here, you can see that people drive or bike while talking on the phone.
And, biking while smoking. The smoking is the worst part of being in China for me, aside from the discomfort of being foreign, and not having more diversity. We consciously avoid going to Chinese restaurants at the busiest times.
I haven't found this as bad in Shanghai as I did in Dalian, where it seemed 95% or more of the men smoked. In restaurants with their children, wives and mothers beside them.
One day we walked through the French Concession, an area that once belonged literally to France. There are lovely trees that give shade and cover and many old villas still exist. There was a bus stop with a bulletin board with a poster; there was some graphic information to make the target of the campaiagn obvious, including a head and body split vertically, with one side of the body in flesh and the other decrepit and skeletal.
In Dalian, the middle school school students had to answer the question, "Should people be allowed to smoke in restaurants?" on their final exam. The kids had the information, so the adults do, too. Even if they were trying to please me, not one thought it was right.
Mr. F. still takes his after-dinner cigarette outside, and every time, he is informed that he's allowed to smoke inside. And everytime, he reminds them about second-hand smoke's effect.
A challenge here is not to be condescending, but I know the information that smoking is dangerous to your health is out there! I know this has to do with legislation and consequences from my own experience. As recently as the late eighties, smoking was conditionally allowed in Los Angeles office buildings. Several of us working in a large multi-leveled, multi-national law office contacted the appropriate city government agency, we "threw down" about the "smoking floor"; Someone on the inside was willing to collude with our employers, but eventually they passed laws that said smokers at work had to go outside the building.
I see a lot of workers from Anhui, one poor adjacent province - they live near us in temporary housing, as I mentioned about 30-40 buildings going up within a mile,and wonder if it is a cheaper alternative than food, it does cut the appetite. We've heard some rumors about disinformation about smoking put out that I'd rather not repeat on my blog.
I think some more workers are about to find jobs, or transition to new projects, right across the street. This Sunday I will take pictures to post of the contradiction of our block, we still have a nightime street market, with vendors of food, clothing and other items setting their wares on the ground, while in the background new high rises loom.
For the last year, directly across the street there was still an old row of low, one story buildings with shops. We used an office supply and a pharmacy that quietly disappeared.
Within two days this week, the row was razed, and now these temporary living quarters for workers are being built. Many of the 30-40 buildings in progress are near completion but there is a field directly across from us, we knew when we moved in that it was only a matter of time before it would be developed. We expect that soon, we will be hearing a lot of construction at close range.
But I digress. I know I do that a lot. You can also get other ringtones from Stevie Wonder's official site!
posted by Anonymous at 8:55 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home