December 21, 2007
Theory on Recent Mass Murders
I believe the recent spate of mass murders (Omaha, Colorado Springs, etc.) can be directly blamed on the canned holiday music now being piped into elevators, shopping malls, and other public spaces. Even here in Beijing, on the short elevator ride up to my office, I’m assaulted by “Jingle Bells,” “Silent Night,” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” which fill me — a normally cheerful, friendly, and optimistic guy — with violent rage.
Cat: | Time: 11:53 am (utc+8)
December 21st, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Have you had a physical lately? “Violent rage” is not a “normal” reaction to annoying music.
December 21st, 2007 at 4:25 pm
wang: I don’t have a normal sense of humor anyway. Yes, I should get a physical soon. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a foreigner living in China who *isn’t* filled with violent rage or who doesn’t teeter along the brink of mental collapse, lol.
December 21st, 2007 at 11:51 pm
I know what you mean. It’s the same situation in Singapore, the worst places are the big department stores and Starbucks. I do everything I can to avoid those places. In Thailand it’s only slightly better as they seem to play the entire Christmas CD as opposed to just the first track or two.
December 22nd, 2007 at 12:52 am
I hate Christmas.
I love all the boozing, great food and rancid turkey farts but the cheap tinsel, blinged up houses and fat office girls with mistletoe make me vomit. You MUST have a good time etc. Bollocks to that. The Europeans treat Christmas as a quiet feast, dignified with a few extra bottles of Champagne and some Oysters and people you actually like popping round for a quick Schnapps before drunkenly ploughing their Mercedes/Citroen/Fiat into a bus queue full of paupers.
They leave their major drunken revelry for Ash Monday (in February, you plebs) and Mardi Gras where they get to shag anything that moves, puke in bed and set fire to the house. We have much to learn from them. I like the idea of a mid winter festival (Swedish women apparently dance naked en masse, smeared in goose fat around a pile of crayfish. Or did I dream that?) with a roaring log fire and a glazed duck on the table.
December 22nd, 2007 at 12:52 am
Why would a foreigner living in China be filled with rage?
December 22nd, 2007 at 2:04 am
Sheesh, what a bunch of grumps. Last year I spent Christmas at the house in Borneo, and it was great. Parade, Tree contest, great food. This year, at the house on the Rogue River, nice tree, neighbors throwing parties and my sweet wife making all kinds of things. I always love Christmas.
Singapore has a great Christmas. I wish I was eating seafood at the Orchard Hawker Food Square right now, watching the Orchard Road traffic.
December 22nd, 2007 at 9:02 am
@Johnny: I could write a book about this, but I’ll boil it down to the fact that Chinese culture is a “chabuduo” culture… “chabuduo” means “almost” or “good enough,” i.e. things are done in a way that makes them work but they aren’t done properly, or completely, or accurately, or with great care. This drives many foreigners, especially ones with a strong line of German blood, absolutely bonkers.
December 22nd, 2007 at 9:42 am
My personal theory is that sick minds are “inspired” to copycat after seeing the first fucker get 24/7 news coverage for five straight days.
SHEESH!
Long rant about how many other people died from other things over the same time frame was typed and deleted.
December 22nd, 2007 at 11:01 am
Bill: I saw something that was supposedly a message board posting by the Omaha shooter that said he was “looking to beat Cho’s high score,” but I’m not sure if it was legit. I don’t watch TV so I have no idea how much coverage these things get.
December 24th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
CG said:
“I love all the boozing, great food and rancid turkey farts …”
CG, you might want to get a physical as well. :)
CM said: “I don’t have a normal sense of humor anyway.”
Somehow that doesn’t surprise me too much.
December 24th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Todd: Merry X.