Saturday, July 4, 2020

XI/III/MMXX

There is an old Chinese curse translated as "May you live in interesting times." China is still around, so it's free to judge whether the curse is currently being fulfilled.

Looking at the current landscape I wouldn't say that Joe Biden can win in November. On the other hand, I think that Trump is quite capable of losing. Overall I'd say that this is the most likely result.

In other news I learned today that the popular phrase "you sweet summer child" comes from George RR Martin's "Ice and Fire" books. That actually is kind of interesting. I had no idea how new or how old the saying was.

2 comments:

susan said...

I don't know if my interpretation of the phrase is correct or not but my conclusion on first hearing it was that life was more tranquil if you were lucky enough to live during the reign of a satable dynasty. How long the current one in China remains is open to interpretation, albeit for the time being it seems to be doing better than what we have in the west.

I think many people understand that they will be voting for Biden's VP choice - or whomever is chosen. I don't think he'll be president long if the results go that way but one has to look forward to the debates leading up to Nov 2nd. The major media are so sold on removing Trump to the point of helping to foment all sorts of unpleasantness that I can't help but wonder about a conservative reaction that would lead him to win another term. Two term presidencies have become the norm, after all.

I never heard the phrase 'you sweet summer child' until today.

btw: Jer said he forgot to tell you about the guy in the Chinese movie 'Drug War' who was called HaHa - apparently because he always gave a hearty haha! before and after every remark.. and sometimes in between.

Ben said...

My assumption has always been that it was a mistranslation, an inadequate way of expressing some nuance present in the original. After all, lots of things are interesting and I'd take them over what's happening now. As for China, it's certainly been able to see and exploit current trends.

It's very true that Biden's VP choice will be vital. So I hope he chooses well. It didn't have to be this way, but maybe it was always going to be. As for Trump, my main doubts about his success boil down to him. It doesn't seem like he really wants to win, and I can't even remember the last time one of his dumbass tweets made an impact. I think the Republicans would prefer he go away and let them start fresh in '24.

It's gaining currency, but is probably just a fad.

The character being named HaHa is quite funny in and of itself. Guess he chose the right field to go into. And the movie is called "Drug War." Hmmm.