2017 鸡年快乐

[Flickserve]

（somebody had to start it )

[dwq]

Happy Year of the Rooster!

"Hey, this is our year too," says the chicken and ham sandwich chicken and hen.

 

恭賀丁酉年新春！無論公雞、母雞還是小雞都一樣快樂！

 

[Guest]

The fireworks are still going off outside my flat. It's lovely.

 

Alternatively, I'm loving how the Beijing govt's plea to citizens asking them not to let off so many this year completely fell on deaf ears. 新年快乐！

[Manuel]

On 28/01/2017 at 11:49 AM, Napkat said:

The fireworks are still going off outside my flat. It's lovely.

 

Fireworks are set by people whose lives are so uninteresting that they have nothing better to do than squander money, pollute an already heavily polluted place and annoy everybody and wildlife within a 1 mile radius. Congratulations.

[imron]

That's me!

 

That's what happens when growing up in fireworks deprived Australia. 

[Manuel]

 I'm sure you are just being politically correct, but your joke made me chuckle.

 

Seriously, fireworks in China are just too much. Some times they can go on for minutes, even half an hour. It's like someone telling you the same joke 100 times in a row. The fact that they are trying to ban their use in cities means someone with enough authority has finally spotted the elephant in the room. Fireworks on specially designated dates such as New Year are reasonable and even fun when used sensibly, but every morning at 6 o'clock... I'm very sensitive to noise. Whenever a business opens, fireworks---I wish them early bankruptcy; whenever a wedding takes place, more fireworks---I wish them a messy divorce; whenever someone moves into a new home,  even more fireworks---I pray for 

an uncontrollable mould outbreak, leaks, explosive sewer reflux and irreparable structural problems. You may argue it's a tradition, but so is bull fighting in Spain and most young people there oppose, just like many Chinese people think fireworks are overused.

[imron]

On 3/10/2018 at 11:03 PM, Manuel said:

I'm sure you are just being politically correct

Nope, 100% serious.  Back in the 80's, after one too many children blew off their hands, Australia banned fireworks for the general public.

 

So, growing up in an environment devoid of fireworks, I now find them great fun.  I don't argue it's tradition, I argue that it's big loud noisy fun.  And while I agree that sometimes the noise can be annoying and overwhelming (i.e. when you're not involved in the action), I consider that part of the price one has to pay to be able to set off fireworks oneself (and I think most other people probably feel the same).

 

On 3/10/2018 at 11:03 PM, Manuel said:

I wish them early bankruptcy; ...... I wish them a messy divorce; ...... I pray for an uncontrollable mould outbreak, leaks, explosive sewer reflux and irreparable structural problems.

Be careful what you wish upon others - the world is a mirror that reflects our thoughts and feelings back onto ourselves.

[Lu]

On 12/03/2018 at 8:02 AM, imron said:

Back in the 80's, after one too many children blew off their hands, Australia banned fireworks for the general public.

I find it interesting how different countries handle this differently. (...Must resist comparing it to gun violence and banning guns...) In the Netherlands, for as long as I can remember every year around New Year about 1 to 3 people die in firework accidents and a much larger number suffers eye injuries, loses hands etc. Voices to ban fireworks for the general public are slowly growing louder, but a general ban is not in the works.

 

I like fireworks. I like the pretty lights and the loud banging and the warzone sounds of Beijing at New Year's. I don't like the pollution though (although can it really be so bad, when it's only one night/a few nights per year?) and the accidents, so I'd be alright with a ban.

 

And happy new year of the chicken everyone! May your marriages be long & happy, your houses comfortable and your businesses lucrative.

[Manuel]

12 minutes ago, Lu said:

I like the pretty lights and the loud banging and the warzone sounds of Beijing at New Year's

 

Even right next to your window?

 

13 minutes ago, Lu said:

every year around New Year about 1 to 3 people die in firework accidents and a much larger number suffers eye injuries, loses hands etc

 

Natural selection & instant karma.

 

14 minutes ago, Lu said:

I don't like the pollution though (although can it really be so bad, when it's only one night/a few nights per year?)

 

In China it's every single day. I can't remember a single day in the past 9 years I've been in China without hearing at least two rounds of fireworks within 200m of my apartment.

[Lu]

1 minute ago, Manuel said:

Natural selection & instant karma.

Please keep in mind that it's often the bystanders that are hurt.

[murrayjames]

Quote

I'm very sensitive to noise.

 

China is a loud country. Modern Chinese cities (like 无锡) are perpetually noisy in the daytime. Why live in China, if you are “very sensitive to noise”?

 

Quote

Whenever a business opens, fireworks---I wish them early bankruptcy; whenever a wedding takes place, more fireworks---I wish them a messy divorce; whenever someone moves into a new home,  even more fireworks---I pray for an uncontrollable mould outbreak, leaks, explosive sewer reflux and irreparable structural problems.

 

Surely this is hyperbole. Brother, use earplugs, or buy a pair of noise-cancelling headphones.

[imron]

14 hours ago, Manuel said:

Even right next to your window?

One Chinese New Year, a firework landed and went off on out the outside balcony, causing a box of various vegetables to catch on fire.  I was the only one home at the time, but in another room so didn't notice until there was a loud banging on the door (I thought my friend had forgotten his keys), and when I went to answer it a 40 year old lady rushed in over to the balcony shouting 着火了着火了 (it was her kids who had set the firework off).  If I hadn't been home, it's likely the whole building would have caught on fire.

 

It makes for a fun story now

 

[Manuel]

14 hours ago, Lu said:

Please keep in mind that it's often the bystanders that are hurt.

 

That is bad, and very unfair.

 

7 hours ago, murrayjames said:

Why live in China, if you are “very sensitive to noise”?

 

There are many things i enjoy about China, too! If I hated everything I would have left a very long time ago.

 

7 hours ago, murrayjames said:

Surely this is hyperbole. Brother, use earplugs, or buy a pair of noise-cancelling headphones.

 

Tried ear plugs + industrial ear guards + pillow (at one specific time). Still can hear it, and some times feel it (just like you those sub-bass notes rattling your vital organs at a nightclub).

 

But yeah, generally speaking, China is a noisy place, I think part of it is due to the fact that cities are very densely populated. Also, the housing market is very active at the moment with people constantly selling and buying properties, which translates to people moving in a out of homes, and 'therefore' even more fireworks.

[Manuel]

Crazy kids! I used to live on a 3rd floor and people would set generous rounds of fireworks right there near my window. My heart rate would go from 60~70 bpm to 140 bpm in 0.5 seconds. It's ok if it's just a few seconds, but I hate it when it goes on for minute, like I said , the longest I've seen was nearly half an hour. It's usually the rich&stupid flaunting their wealth, the length of the fireworks display being directly proportional to wealth.

[Manuel]

After many years in China my ear has become immune to firecracker sound to a great extent, and a short fireworks display can serve as a tasteful reminder of where I am, a part of the culture. It's only when they go on for over 3 minutes nonstop that I start feeling an overpowering urge to run up to the perpetrators and thump their stupid faces, repeatedly, until they beg me to stop, at which point I continue anyway just like they did with their fireworks. Of course, I only ever do that mentally. Just now fireworks went on for 25 minutes. Even by Chinese standards, that's just distasteful and annoying. And of course we all know what the culprit looks like: usually wealthy, low education, not particularly good looking, pot-bellied, insecure mid-twenties to mid-forties male whom is no stranger to cigarettes, baijiu, spitting and talking loudly, possibly an attention-craving narcissist who surrounds himself with yes-men who are even more stupid or simply want to snatch a slice of his wealth by sucking up to him. I hope it's OK to use this as my venting thread. I feel better now. I still like living in China, it's just those few rotten apples that spoil an otherwise awesome place. Happy days!