It's ok Fifi. I'm sure Taffs wife will understand if he wants a bit of crumpet on the side.

Like you, SB, I suspect, I am up for a bit of a kiss and cuddle with Fifi. But that's all a bit academic if Fifi is really Arthur, or some other handsome young man. All things being equal though, I can't see that Fifi is being anything but mean not supplying a picture with a mask to preserve her ID.

Fifi, I know you are not Chinese. I feel you are a very spirited young woman. For sure, I think you must be a bit of a hottie.

Post a pic some time so Taff's and I can admire your beauty, hehe!

Good thinking ,we can both salivate'

He is alive and he makes choices. I like him.

Oh you is talking about SB? Do you mind me asking as you like him why did you sling him out on his ear 'tuther week and did a little hop skip and jump on his grave- and a bit of a gloat concerning the thousands of posts that went into the crunching slurping machine? hahaha!

Fifi, I know you are not Chinese. I feel you are a very spirited young woman. For sure, I think you must be a bit of a hottie.

Post a pic some time so Taff's and I can admire your beauty, hehe!

Yeah!!!! for SB

Dedicated to the poster whose favorite word is 'pretend'! No prixes for guessing who he is!
The Great Pretender
歌手：The Platters
http://music.163.com/#/song?id=3616679

Surprisingly good pronunciation.

Good pronunciation, yes; Surprising, I don't think so.

Why?

Back in the day, media was blessed with clear pronunciation.

Old black and white movies and TV shows as well as songs with lyrics are easy to follow, even though the audio was monophonic.

Dedicated to the poster whose favorite word is 'pretend'! No prixes for guessing who he is!

The Great Pretender
歌手：The Platters

http://music.163.com/#/song?id=3616679

Surprisingly good pronunciation.

I find him real.
Not perfect, but balanced and in touch with reality. He still sees himself as embedded in the whirlpool of values that people, institutions and countries are confronted with. He is alive and he makes choices. I like him.

I see.

You are the greatest pretender of them all.

I am not Chinese, but according to some posters on this board, I am a pretend many things and
a pretend everything. So, feel free to chose the one(s) you like.

Dedicated to the poster whose favorite word is 'pretend'! No prixes for guessing who he is!

The Great Pretender
歌手：The Platters

http://music.163.com/#/song?id=3616679

This is the mentality of the worker.
Not the mentality of the philosopher, or of the well-off

Oh Fifi, you are not like one of those "pretend traditional" Chinese girls, are you? China, pretend schools, pretend universities, pretend students, pretend relationships, pretend love, pretend marriage, pretend everything.........LOOOL!

Wot about S'boy's mentality?

Oh Fifi, you are not like one of those "pretend traditional" Chinese girls, are you? China, pretend schools, pretend universities, pretend students, pretend relationships, pretend love, pretend marriage, pretend everything.........LOOOL!

Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece.

Oh Fifi, you are not like one of those "pretend traditional" Chinese girls, are you? China, pretend schools, pretend universities, pretend students, pretend relationships, pretend love, pretend marriage, pretend everything.........LOOOL!

And i remind you that you are a married man.

You little minx! hahaha! that's told me!

And i remind you that you are a married man.

Don't think that I don't envy you a little. I do.

"Steaks, beers, red wine, whores, the works," I am vegan. But beers, red wine and chardonnay are good. Whores, I could probably try once (never did). Beaches. Sunsets. Bars under palm trees. Walking among fun people in the evening. Dressed hip/funky (or like at the Coachella festivals).

I will probably never go there physically, SB, but part of my mind is already there, drinking some blue drink with a little red umbrella while watching the sun set on the ocean.

Taff, you mentioned the New York Times: It's blocked in China. Way too liberal and way too raw for the Chinese government's sensitivities.

Well, I"m not really into threesomes but there is a place in LK Metro called "The Devil's Den" where you can (must ) take two girls at a time. Probably fun, but a rip-off at 6000 baht short time. Anyway, back on track. To be a red dwarf might be the way to go. To be a blue giant or super giant like Rigel or Betelguese may overpower Fifi with it's brilliance. Even a main sequence star like our Sun may be a bit glary for Fifi. We need to shield her from the radiation. I read recently that if Rigel was in our solar system it's bulk would extend beyond the orbit of Mars. Mind blowing stuff!

Integration does not work. Look at the ethnic enclaves in cities like Sydney, London, LA. These people do not want to become Americans, Brits, Australians. Just taking Sydney for example, a city I know. I can't see anything positive about Chinatown ( these "Chinatowns" should not even exist ), Cabramatta (a breeding ground for Vietnamese drug dealers ) and Lakemba ( a breeding ground for Muslim rapists and terrorists ) Really, what is good about this? I can't see anything positive!

Taffy, I don't know what comprises 'coming to terms' with violence against women. I'm not making any efforts in that direction.
Perhaps men might consider such efforts; I can't speak for them.

Well, we have to come to terms with all the vicissitudes which have already taken place; even if it's just to satisfy oneself that it wasn't one's own fault.

stop this nonsense
lemme work
it's u who has a lot to come to terms with

I have a friend who comes from a catholic background where, in the 1950s (thanksgod for the 60s!) and before, a woman HAD to have a minimum of 12 children (having more than 20 was celebrated by the priests). The reason was: Democracy! The priests needed to see a majority in the elections at various levels in order to maintain their power on local politics, schools, hospitals, law, the soul and the wallet of each institution and of each person. With the electoral majority, they could sculpt a society that brought them respect, power, sustainability and a lot of money. Their tool was the uterus (not theirs, of course).

You mentioned a few times that one of the tools that the very rich use to keep poor people in line is political conflict. In the society that I just described, the conflict was not political because the main enemy of the poor, provided they stayed within their geographic area, was in their mind. It was The Devil! The Devil could make you roast in insufferable pain for eternity if you died without being forgiven for your sins by a priest (some sins, like leaving the church, could simply not be forgiven, so you were going to roast for eternity). To illustrate the concept of eternity, my friend told me, the priests would tell children: Imagine a dove flying around the earth and, with its wing, gently rubbing the side of a specific rock each time it passed. The time it would take for that rock to disappear is just the beginning of eternity! Man, that was a long time!!! And of course, individuals were helpless in front of The Devil. They had been saved 2,000 years earlier by a guy hanging on a cross, but the salvation was not automatically available to them, it had to be invoked by the priests in the name of that hanging man. So, no submission, no money = no priests = no redemption = burning for ever.

At least today, evil is the guy we see on TV. The living room TV is a bit more remote than having The Devil inside your very soul and needing a priest to extract it. I guess it's called evolution.

I like SB's common sense.

Yes yes yes, a fine fellow. But i know how to live in extreme conditions and I'm still upset about second place on the desert island. I should reconsider if you want to eat hahaha!

Hello Arthur
Let me assure you, I associate Trumpsey with one of the best posters this forum has had and not Donald Trump. I do Like Donald Trump though. No ,Trumpsey is up there with LondonGirl- I like her but don't tell her that.

If we speak about academics I must praise expat-hubby, my compatriot. Clear and concise no-nonsense poster.

For flamboyance, transparency and honesty, let's give SB three cheers.

Taff, just for the record in case you missed it a few months ago: Yes, FTinPRC is the new name of TrumpDiplomacy after she(he?) was requested by a poster who had a very acute trumpigitis to please change her moniker. She kindly accepted, to the relief of many of us on this board.

Just have time to reply quickly: Muslim men have to behave!

I agree with your other post where you talk about the slow evolution of some countries. Before globalization, yes these people could just stay in their countries, fight each other as long as there were two of them left alive, or starve to death. The UN was there to mitigate, the missionaries were there to "teach". But 9/11 was a turning point: 9/11 brought the "slow evolution" home. Countless similar (although smaller) circumstances in many countries since. Isolation no longer works. Integration is the new catchphrase. Merkel understands that. The Brexit crowd doesn't.

GOOOOOOOD post, FTinPRC, good post!

"The trouble is, eventually she starts to hear him repeat the stories over and over again. Coupled with him picking his nose and stuff she falls out of love with him. "

Your post is touching, Taffy.

Like you tell Fifi to do, you have to keep reinventing yourself to keep love awake.

I think that a difference in age brings difficulties of its own; a couple of the same age, after many years together, no longer need to talk because they are sharing the same type of experiences that getting older brings: They know what the other one is going through without talking. But when there is a generation in between, more creativity is required.

You have a lot of creativity, Taffy. I know you are using it well. And it keeps you young. I'm with you.

Yes, not Trump bashing to keep Fifi satisfied, hehe!

She's bored with us ,SB. I suppose we all have a set repertorium, even an extensive one. When a woman gets married to a witty man she 's well pleased with all the anecdotes friends are able to chuckle over at dinner dances. The trouble is, eventually she starts to hear him repeat the stories over and over again. Coupled with him picking his nose and stuff she falls out of love with him. Fifi fell out of love with us hahaha! She did not only help us to the door a little while ago, she triumphantly slammed it, Hhaha! No we have to up our game, SB. You need to bed two or three pattayan whores in one go and fine them for sloppy performances. Not sure what I can do- I feel like one of them white dwarf stars which were so huge they burned up all their nuclear fuel in one go. The thing is is to be a Red Dwarf and last longer. Like that Proxima Centauri mosh- or San Migs who pops in and out occasionally. Good poster ,San Migs.

Yes, not Trump bashing to keep Fifi satisfied, hehe!

There are many of people who have lived in China for a long time. I lived there for eight years.

There is no point in talking about who has more experience. We all have different experiences.

A Westerner is always a foreigner in China no matter who they are or what visa they have.

I think if we are sensible we should yield to the likes of expat-hubby- yield to his knowledge and wisdom built up over donkeys years in China as an FT, a house-owner- a wife owner- a possessor of vast knowledge of the Chinese system- what was the system and importantly up to date, what the system is now. Before we start arguing the toss with expat-hubby, we should give him the respect he deserves. Just saying like.

I'm not seeking respect, either because of experience or otherwise. Your words, not mine!

Anyway, thanks for your input.

However, there seems to be no-one inclined to start arguing the toss, but anyone who wishes to do so, please don't hesitate!

Of course, I shall respond promptly.