Let me preface this post by saying I listen to NPR incessantly - my radio dial is pretty much stuck on 94.9 (KUOW Seattle). But listening to a music review of a single noted composition (B flat for the entire song), I couldn’t help but think of how ludicrous the piece was… I kept visualizing Dana Carvey or Mike Myers spoofing this on SNL - just imagine them performing the skit using the exact same words as the NPR review…
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89284569
It’s even better if you listen to it.

Kickin’ around w/ dad @ the soccer fields.

Ring-around-the-rosie! Fun with Popo.

Hello world!
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0331/p01s02-woap.html
Most asians understand “Mien Ze” or “Diou Nien” well - the words certainly elicits a visceral reaction from some of us, but until reading the CS article linked above, I had never considered the concept in “guilt-based” or “shame-based” terms.
In the below quote, I find the implications interesting:
” Though this is not a hard and fast rule, Zheng suggests, in general terms ‘guilt means you try to be good in the eyes of God; shame means you try to be good in the eyes of your neighbors.’ “
This goes a long way in explaining the Chinese “me-first except when it makes me look bad” culture.
