Happy Christmas Photoshop (快乐圣诞照 )

I haven’t posted in a couple of days because I’ve been busy trying to photoshop Santa’s stomach down to a size smaller than a hippopotamus. It’s tough though…

最近一直没写BLOG，因为一直忙着PS圣诞老人的肚子，尝试做到比河马要再小一点的尺寸。有点难…

The best movie, album, drink, website, games and TV show of the decade! (Add yours!) (10年来最棒的电影，唱片，饮料，网站，游戏和电视剧！(加上你的！))

I don’t know how it happened, but reports suggest that the first decade of the second millennium is about to finish. Crazy! I spent a year in France, two years in China, two years in Warwick University and five years in London – it all seems a bit of a blur! Some things, however, have been constant: Movies, music, video games, my computer and watching TV series. And booze.

不知道搞什么鬼，报道说第二个千年的第一个十年地球就要毁灭了。大概疯了！过去我花了1年待在法国，2年在中国，2年在英国Warwick大学，还有5年在伦敦 – 到现在很多记忆都已经有些模糊了！不过有些事情还是一如既往的，比如：看电影，听音乐，打游戏，操电脑和看电视连续剧。以及喝酒。

With this in mind I want to present to you my awards for the ‘Best of the decade…’, in various categories. Some may be obvious, some controversial, some a bit stupid…but so be it.

想到这里，我想让你看看我给这些不同类别颁发的’十年度最佳…’奖项。有些可能是显而易见的，有些会有争议，有些有点愚蠢…但本来就是这样。

I also invite you to put your own nominations in the comments in each category! Just copy and paste this in to the box before you type:

在这里我也希望你在回复里为每个类别写下你自己的提名！只要把这个复制黏贴到方框里：

Best movie of the decade 十年度最佳电影:
Best album of the decade 十年度最佳唱片:
Best drink of the decade 十年度最佳饮品:
Best website of the decade十年度最佳网站:
Best PC game of the decade 十年度最佳电脑游戏:
Best Console game of the decade 十年度最佳家庭电视游戏机:
Best TV series of the decade 十年度最佳电视剧:

Best movie of the decade – Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000)

十年度最佳电影-猪头，我的车咧？（2000）

Ok this might be a controversial choice, but hear me out. People often like films because of the atmosphere in which they first enjoyed them, and I think I’ve watched this movie more times than any other, with more cLose Weight Exercise/”>Lose Weight Exercise friends, in more places…and each time I never got bored or stopped half-way through. It’s the ultimate brainless dude comedy – and I love it.

这个答案确是会有争议，可是请听我说完先。人们喜欢电影的原因是因为很享受第一次看的时候的那种气氛。这个电影我看的次数比什么都多，和好朋友看，在很多不一样的地方看…每次看我都不觉得无聊或者看到一半不看了。我想这是最不用大脑的喜剧了 – 我喜欢它。

Best album of the decade – Jay-Z – The Blueprint (2001)

十年度最佳唱片-Jay-Z The Blueprint (2001)

The best rapper alive, the best beats, the best lyrics, the best mixture of radio / club / fight music ever put together. No need for guests (except Eminem, who compliments the mood perfectly), just hot hot hot music!

尚在人间的最棒的说唱歌手，最棒的节奏，最好的歌词，最佳的广播/舞厅/打斗音乐的混合。无需观众（除了赞美到位的阿姆），只是很棒的音乐！

Best drink of the decade – Captain Morgan and Coke

十年度最佳饮品-摩根船长加可乐

Also known as ‘WoW juice’ or ‘PVP fuel’, the sickly sweet and alchoholically potent brew is what hazed my mind for approximately three years and helped me develop (at age 25) an almost-immunity to alchohol. Good times. Three – glorious – years. (A cLose Weight Exercise/”>Lose Weight Exercise second is the Raspberry Mojito).

也称’WoW果汁’或’PVP fuel’，怪怪的甜味和烈性酒精调配而成，让我的大脑晕眩了将近3年并且帮我发展成（在25岁）几乎能免疫酒精。好时光啊。三个 – 辉煌 – 年。 （紧随其后的是Raspberry Mojito）。

Best website of the decade – Facebook (2004 – Present)

十年度最佳网站-Facebook (2004-至今)

After I left University in 2003, I became addicted to using Friendster and then Myspace. They were so refreshing – a new way to chat with and meet people from ANYWHERE in the world, almost instantly. They were fun for a long time, but both sites suffered from their own popularity and eventually became too full of flash widgets and glitter graphics. Facebook changed social networking by taking it back to its essence – communication. Now five (real) years on, it’s still #1 FOR A REASON!

2003年我离开大学，我开始沉迷于Friendster和Myspace。他们是那么新鲜——一种全新的快速的方式与世界各地的人交流和会面。我沉迷其中很长一段时间，但它们最终都由于过高的网站知名度，接受了过多的Flash和图片而遭殃。Facebook利用本质改变了网络社交 – 沟通。现在已经5（真的）年了，它仍然是最棒的！

Best PC game of the decade – World of Warcraft (2004 – Present)

十年度最佳电脑游戏-魔兽世界（2004-至今）

What can I say? It’s so good that you think about it all of them time. I mean…all of the time. Like when you’re at work. When you’re in bed. When you’re working in bed. When you’re in bed at work. All the time. If you play WoW and can control yourself, congratulations! If you’re in remission like me, just remember the good times…

我能说什么？它好得让你无时无刻不想着它。我是说，无时无刻。比如你在工作的时候，你在床上的时候，你工作在床上的时候，你在床上工作的时候。所有的时间。如果你打魔兽并且能控制好自己，那恭喜你了！如果你像我一样没缓过来，却只是记得那些美丽时光…

Best Console game of the decade – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (Playstation) (2000)

十年度最佳家庭电视游戏机-托尼霍克专业滑板 2（游戏站）（2000）

When I lived in Leamington Spa, I played THPS2. The first game I ever queued up for (and got a free mini-skateboard for it!), it was (and still is) infinitely replayable. So, so good – it made me fall in love with a sport that I have still never tried (and probably never will).

当我住在Leamington Spa的时候我就玩THPS2了。我第一次排队打的游戏（还免费获得了一个迷你滑板！）是可以（现在仍然是）无限次重复打的。非常非常棒 – 它让我爱上了这个运动，我从没玩过的（而且可能永远也不会）。

Best TV show of the decade – The Wire (2002 – 2008)

十年度最佳电视剧-线人（2002-2008）

If you haven’t seen The Wire, then you won’t be able to understand why it’s not just the best show of the decade, but the best show ever. If you have seen it, you also know that every TV show you watch now is measured against it – and none of them measure up.

如果你还没看线人，那么你无法理解为什么这个片子不仅是十年度最佳电视剧，而且永远都是最棒的。如果你看过，你也应该知道你现在所看的电视剧都没法跟这个比-没一个达标的。

Now, it’s your turn! Write your nominations for the best of the decade in the comments!

现在轮到你了！在回复中给出你的十年最佳提名吧！

What have those crazy Japs done now? (那些疯狂小日本都做了些什么？)

I didn’t realise until recently (my history knowledge is a little poor) that China and Japan are not exactly the best of friends. I’m not going into the details, but suffice to say there are long held prejudices that seem to be holding the two countries back from becoming the best of friends (any time soon at least).

最近我才意识到（我的历史是有点差）中国和日本不是最好的朋友。细节我不说了，但我只想说两国要成为好朋友还要段时间（不过至少以后总会好的）。

Japanese culture, however, is thriving in Shanghai. There are lots of little shops and boutiques with imported stuff, and watching anime is a favourite pastime of a high percentage of teenagers and early 20 year olds (basically anyone without a job who has the time to watch 500 episodes of One Piece).

然而日本的文化在上海蓬勃发展。有许多小商店和精品店进口很多日本的东西，看动漫可以说是很多20几岁的青少年最喜欢做的事情（基本上无业的人会花时间看500集的海贼王）。

I went to the local Japanese import food shop the other day and was amazed with the selection – but had to double-take when I noticed McVITIE’S BISCUITS sitting there! I could hardly contain my excitement at the prospect of some chocolate Hobnobs to dunk into my coffee…but these ones had a special ingredient.

一天我去了上海的一个日本进口食品商店，那里的东西多得吓死我 – 但在我看到 McVITIE’S饼干的时候，我觉得不得不三思而行！对于巧克力饼干的美味，我产生了一种难以抑制的兴奋以及憧憬…想象着把消化饼蘸着我的咖啡吃……可是，这些饼干有一个特殊的成分…一个很奇怪的成分…

Can you guess what it was? (Guess first, then click to see):

你猜是什么？（先猜，然后点击看）：

You dirty Japs! What have you done to our biscuits?!

小日本鬼子！你们对我的饼干做了什么？！

Blackberry 8900 Shanghai (黑莓8900在上海)

So I made a snap decision and bought a Blackberry. It wasn’t the stereotypical snap decision (because it took me three weeks from the time it was made to receiving the goods) but all the same, it was a good choice.

我做了仓促的决定去买了黑莓。其实也不能说是个仓促的决定（因为花了我3个星期等我的货到），不过不管怎样，还不错。

I’m not going to tell you how much I love it or how amazing it is, because right now I’m using about 4% of its capacity (no push mail, no internet*, twitter slow, barely any apps). That said, I am taking advantage of its camera to document the LITTLE THINGS in my life which I have been neglecting recently.

我没打算跟你说我有多喜欢它，它有多帮，因为现在我只用了4%的用途（没有push mail,没有网络，twitter很慢，很少其他用途）。 这就意味着我要用它的摄像来存档一些我生活中最近被忽略了的小事情。

Look here for example:

例如：

I dropped my pen behind a cupboard at work, and so I decided to investigate behind it. Voila! 30 more pens.

我上班的时候在 柜子后面掉了笔，然后我就决定找它。看！30多支笔！

I went to Ikea and saw this. Is it a joke? I know Swedish people are pretty funny – but…a corkscrew called ‘Groggy’?! It sounds like a Disney cartoon character!

我去宜家然后看到这个。这是玩笑吗？我知道瑞士人不怎么有趣—可是…把开瓶器称作‘Groggy’？！听上去就想迪士尼动画里的角色。

Booyaka! I did it on purpose (of course)…

我最喜欢的音乐!我故意的（当然）…

I will be sure to paste any more meaningful moments in my life right here in the blog!

以后我要把我生活中有意义的图片都贴到这里！

Gossip Girl (China Edition) – What do you think (photos)? (绯闻女孩（中国版）-你觉得如何 (图片)?)

As everyone (else) seems to know, Hunan TV is famous for producing HIGH QUALITY dramas and entertainment shows which are enjoyed across China. Rumour has it (Kaixin001 is where I get my gossip) that a Hunan satellite TV station is remaking (one of) the best TV shows in recent history – Gossip Girl!

众所周知，湖南卫视在中国制作高质量电视剧和娱乐节目很有名。传闻（我在开心001上听说的）湖南卫视将翻拍最棒的电视剧（之一）-绯闻女孩！

The good news doesn’t stop there! Let’s have a look at the cast of the upcoming show, and see how they measure up to the originals! Should the casting director receive an oscar or THE SACK?

好消息还没说完！让我们来看看这个片子里会有谁，看看他们和原版人物相比怎么样！导演应该拿奥斯卡还是应该打包回家？

Who’s the best match? Who’s the worst? Will you watch it? Is Dan’s character now a woman? One thing is for sure – ‘little Jenny’ isn’t so ‘little’ anymore!

哪个最配？哪个最烂？你会看吗？饰演Dan的演员现在是个女人吗？一件事情是肯定的-‘little Jenny’不在那么小了！

Google Chrome Extensions and OS! (Google浏览器插件及操作系统!)

It seems like Google is getting ready for its new Chrome OS operating system, and changes are happening quickly! They recently announced that it was opening the doors to its ‘Developers Area’ for Google Chrome Extensions (addons and plugins for its browser), and today I noticed another message at the bottom of the screen:

貌似Google已经为它的新的浏览器操作系统做好了准备，很多东西都在迅速地改变！他们近期称Google浏览器扩展（浏览器的插件）正是为‘软件开发者’打开了一扇门。今天我注意到了屏幕下面的另一个信息。

Bookmark sync within Chrome browser! I had to click…

浏览器里有同步收藏！我要看看…

So now I can have the same bookmarks on any computer I use (as long as I’m using Chrome) – and guess where they’re saved – you got it – inside Google Docs. Why is this important? More and more of your information is heading into ‘the cloud’ – or at least onto the big G’s servers.

这样的话我用的所有电脑都会有同样的收藏了（只要我都用Chrome）-猜猜他们都保存在哪里-你答对了-在Google文件里。这有什么重要的？你越来越的多的信息都到了网络上-至少都到了Google的服务器上。

Chrome OS (which I downloaded last night and will be trying out later today) fully integrates with the internet through Gmail and Docs to save all of your data – so why not get your bookmark info in there now?

Chrome操作系统（我昨晚下载的，今天等下我试试）在网络上通过Gmail和文档保存完整统筹了你的所有档案-所以为什么不把你的收藏夹信息也放上去呢？

Ps, I will be trying to do a ‘how-to’ guide about installing Google Chrome extensions in the next few days, but until then you can look here for a guide → Chrome extensions

Ps, 之后的几天我会试着写一个‘如果安装Google浏览器插件’可是现在你就先看看这个吧 → Chrome extensions

Christmas has come early for you! (If you want a Google Wave invite for Christmas) (提前发送圣诞礼物啦！（如果你想要Google Wave邀请）)

I think I was the last person to get access to Google Wave, however now I have it I want to use up ALL of my invitations to other people before it become OPEN and everyone can use it!

我想我大概是最后一个得到Google Wave邀请的人，不过我现在有了然后我想用所有的邀请给大家，在它开放以前，每个人都可以用它！

So if you want an invite, just leave a comment here saying so (as well as a joke) and then I’ll add you. If you don’t want an invitation, feel free to leave a joke here anyway!

所以如果你要邀请，只要在这里留言（或者说个笑话），然后我就会加你。如果你不想要邀请，那就在这里讲笑话吧！

Happy Christmas! (nearly)

圣诞快乐！（差不多了）

ps, it takes a while after the invitation is sent to arrive (like a week) – be patient!

ps, 在发送邀请以后要过一段时间才能收到（大概一个礼拜）- 耐心点！

Let’s beat hunger – together! (对抗饥饿——一起！)

I have Google adverts on a lot of the pages on my website. These ads are very clever, because they ‘scan’ the page that they’re on to see what sort of content it is about, and then put adverts up there accordingly. Theoretically, if I talk about buying turkey in Shanghai in an article, then if there’s a company who advertises with Google selling turkeys in town….the ad will be there.

我网站上有很多Google广告。这些广告都很聪明，因为他们总是出现在和他们广告内容相关的页面上。理论上说，如果我的文章里提到在上海买火鸡，那么Google里面卖火鸡的公司的广告….就会出现在那儿。

One small problem, however, is if Google doesn’t know what you’re talking about on a page (or if nobody wants to advertise on a page which talks about McDreamy from Grey’s Anatomy looking like Iran’s leader). In this case, they will either put a solid colour (no ads) or PSAs (Public Service Ads). These ads are generally pretty plain and served on behalf of charities and other community groups – and usually are nothing to do with what is on the page.

不过还是有个小问题，如果Google搞不清你的页面是关于什么内容的（或者如果没人想在讨论‘实习医生格蕾’中的McDreamy长得像伊朗领导人的网页上刊登广告）。这种情况下，他们可能会放全色（无广告）或者PSAs（公益广告）。这些广告通常都很平淡无奇，为一些慈善机构或者其他社会团体服务。

Sometimes though, even a PSA can be relevant…

不过有时，即使是公益广告，也能做得很深刻…

Google really knows how to fix EVERY problem in the world!

Google真的无所不能！

Welcome to Shanghai (上海欢迎您 )

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of an eye-opener for me. A new colleague arrived in my office, and it’s made me cast my mind back to the first few weeks of my time here in China.

前几个星期算是让我小开眼界了。一个新同事来了。很多情景让我回想起我刚到中国的那几个星期。

I was super-excited when I arrived in Shanghai 20 months ago – so excited that I totally ignored nearly all of the faults which, to newcomers, are often obvious.

20个月前到上海的时候我超兴奋-由于太激动了以至于忽视了很多对于一个新来的来说很明显的不足。

The air-quality was atrocious (it’s ok, just hold your breath!), the weather was uncomfortable (that’s what aircon’s for!) and the hygiene of some places, like restaurants, leave a lot to be desired (but McDonald’s in Shanghai is so cheap!).

空气质量恶劣（只要屏住呼吸就没问题了！）天气不舒服（那就是为什么要有空调！）还有有些地方的卫生，比如餐厅，还有很大的提高空间（可是麦当劳在上海非常便宜！）

The one thing that was undeniable, however, was the friendliness and welcome of the people. Everywhere I went, I met people who were more than happy to show me around, give me info and generally help me out – which is why I’m so suprised whenever I see people who are clearly NOT friendly – like this girl:

不可否认的一点是人们很友好。我去的所有的地方，我见过的所有的人都很乐意带我转转，给我信息并且帮助我-这也是为什么当我看到那么明显的不友好的人会如此惊讶-比如这个女孩：

What sort of welcome is that for a lonely fresh-off-the-plane expat? I was considering having a word with her and trying to let her know that it’s not polite to be so abrupt with people…until I saw the front…

对于一个孤身来此的外国人这是哪门子的友好？我正想告诉她这样对人不礼貌而且非常鲁莽…直到我看到前面…

…now that’s more like it! Welcome to Shanghai!

…现在才像话！欢迎来上海！