Peking Muck

There were some very mixed reactions around our dinner table tonight when we discussed today's
hot topic - a photo of Spain's Olympic basketball team posing with "slanted-eyes" for an advert that was run in
Marca, a Spanish daily sports newspaper.
It appears that the media has done their best to get tongues wagging and turn what was meant to be an endearing gesture into a controversial issue...racism. I can only speak from my personal experiences, that while living in Spain, not once was I ever made to feel inferior or unwelcomed. In fact I was greeted with open arms and embraced with warm Spanish hospitality.
During our recent trip back to Mallorca, Jesee's cousin confessed that when he first met me at age ten, he was mesmerized by my "slanted-eyes" and physically gestures this to me when pulling back the skin on the side of his eyes. I did not find this offensive - it was lovable.
I do understand how this image can be misconstrued and it's really all about perspective. Being a first generation Canadian of Chinese parents and married to a Spaniard, we've experienced many cultural misinterpretations. Although it may appear to be in poor taste to some, I do not believe that it was intended to insult the host country. I cannot ignore my heritage; my first reactions of the photo before I even saw it were of disappointment, denial and defensiveness, but I got over that quickly.
I do believe the real crime here is, "Why would anyone think this was a good advertising campaign in the first place?"
Opinions are like colons; everyone has one and they're all full of shit.Labels: C'est la Vie
You feel lucky?

Confucius says, "Man who fight with wife all day get no piece at night."
So the question is - if one gets married on this auspicious day, 08/08/08...will it always be a bed of roses?
Labels: Randomness
Whew!

Why are long weekends never long enough? With hardly a moment to breathe, we travelled from the Bowen Market to the Pride Festival and right up to Harrison Hot Springs for some much needed reprieve - found at the bottom of an ice cold Heineken.
It was BUSY everywhere we went - ferries, roads and highways clogged with people who just wanted to get the hell out of dodge. We couldn't drive fast enough to avoid the traffic of tourists in our own backyard.
Then there were the 500,00 plus people lining the streets to watch the Pride Parade as participants shook and shimmied their way through the West End. Happy times.
It was a stellar weekend and the weather was perfect. The finale was one of Jesee's renowned
paella and
sangria meals followed by a short siesta on the deck.
Does it get any better? No señor.
Labels: C'est la Vie, Izzy and Buds