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I headed up to Shenyang yesterday to see Holland vs Japan in Olympic Soccer.  Given the fact that in 2005 there were violent protests against Japan, it was not surprising that we (me and about 200 Japanese people on 3 buses) had a police escort all the way up there.

Here are some of the highlights. I have more audio updates over on PandaPassport.com as well, for anyone who'd like to check it out.

Cross Posted at LostLaowai.com.

For any of you guys who are struggling with accessing certain sites, this might be a good solution for you.  It's the best one that I've found so far.  Check out my video on how to install it.  It's really simple.

According to runsky.com, the Olympic Torch will not actually be in Dalian, but rather just outside of it.

The Torch run will kick off Saturday morning, July 19th at 8:30 am at Discovery Kingdom (发现王国) near Golden Pebble Beach. From there it will continue on a 10 km run until it reaches Zhonghua Wuguan (中华武$vz!L馆) at 10:30 am.

No word on whether there are any restrictions on foreigners attending.

 Read more here (Chinese)

 UPDATE: Here's a short video clip of the fun-filled proceedings.  

For any of you who have not had a chance to check out the Dalian Wolfhounds Quiz Night at Hopscotch, you can have a listen to last weeks quiz on mp3

For anyone who hasn't been there before, Hopscotch bar is just near the intersection of Shengli Road and Dongbei Road. Look for the red door. Now have a listen, and see what you're missin':


Or download mp3 here.

The questions and answers are below, in case you want to cheat  :)


ONE: HISTORY 24/8
1 In which war did the 'Charge of the Light Brigade' take place?
2 Which country, whose name translated means "land of the thunder dragon", is located amid the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by India and to the north by China?


3 Who was the famous beautiful woman whose father disguised himself as a swan while pairing with her mother? Who was the father?

4 What is Dalian’s tallest building?

5 Which empire in history is also the name for a thick cushion used as a seat?

6 What mountain range is the natural habitat of the llama? ANDES
What was the surname of the Vice Presidents of both Lincoln and JFK?

7 What was the name of the secret police in East Germany?

8 Which of Henry VIII's wives was the mother of
a)    Queen Mary
B)    Elizabeth

9 The flag of which country which borders China is the only national flag that is not rectangular or square?   10 Which coffee shop in Dalian is named after a Shakespeare play?


ANSWERS
1 CRIMEAN
2 BHUTAN
3 HELEN OF TROY ZEUS
4 WORLD TRADE CENTRE (Shi Mao Da Sha)
5 OTTOMAN
6 JOHNSON
7 STASI
8 CATHERINE OF ARAGON ANN BOLEYN
9 NEPAL
10 ALL S WELL

TWO: MOVIES AND TV 40/4
1 Which comedy series features a manservant called Baldrick?

2 Which movie directed by Neil Jordan featured an attractive cabaret singer who was not all that she seemed? 3 Name the super heroes from their secret identities
a)    Doctor Banner
b)    Dick Grayson
c)    Diana Prince

4 Which actor won an Oscar for playing the role of an Irish American beat cop named Jim Malone and name the movie?

5 Which TV show revolves around the aftermath of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 from Sydney to Los Angeles

6 Supply the missing numbers
a) Fahrenheit ______
b) Attack of the _____ foot woman
c) Plan ____ from outer space

7 In which films would you find the following songs?
a)    The End (The Doors) 1979
B)    Everything I do I do it for you (Bryan Adams) 1991
C)    It must have been love (Roxette) 1990

8 Which TV station's name means "The Peninsula"? ?

9 What new movie starring Tony Leung (Liang Chao Wei) about the 3 Kingdoms opened in cinemas this week? Bonus Name director

10 Who supplies the following characters’ voices in Kung Fu Panda?
a) Panda
b) Panda’s master Shifu
c) Tigress

ANSWERS
1 BLACKADDER
2 CRYING GAME
3 a) INCREDIBLE HULK    b) ROBIN c) WONDER WOMAN
4 SEAN CONNERY UNTOUCHABLES
5 LOST
6 a) NINE ELEVEN   b) FIFTY    c) NINE
7 a) APOCALYPSE NOW  b) ROBIN HOOD c) PRETTY WOMAN
8 AL JAZEERA
9 RED CLIFF (Chi Bi) JOHN WOO Wu Yu Sen
10 JACK BLACK    DUSTIN HOFFMAN   ANGELINA JOLIE

THREE: MUSIC 24
1 In which Beatles song would you find the following people:  
a)    Father McKenzie
B)    Chairman Mao
c)    Mother Mary

2 Which American band released the critically acclaimed debut album Hot Fuss in 2004?

3 Who lived in Honah Lee?

4 Which British rock band deposits 25% of their profits in a bank account for their former lead singer Richie Edwards who is believed to have committed suicide but whose body was never found?

5 Which songs begin with the following words ?   I was born in a cross fire hurricane

6 In which song did Procal Harem sing about 16 vestal virgins?  

7 In "The Ghetto", in which US City is the ghetto?

8 Which famous rock star named his kids Dweezil and Moon Unit?


9 In song, that's amore when what happens?  

10 Which album with a city in the title did Rolling Stone Magazine call the best album of the 1980's?

ANSWERS
1a) ELEANOR RIGBY  b) REVOLUTION  c) LET IT BE
2 KILLERS
3 PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON
4 MANIC STREET PREACHERS
5 JUMPING JACK FLASH ROLLING STONES
6 A WHITER SHADE OF PALE
7 CHICAGO
8 FRANK ZAPPA
9 WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE LIKE A BIG PIZZA PIE 
10 LONDONS CALLING

SCIENCE AND BUSINESS 24/6
1 What is the characteristic vegetable ingredient of the soup
borsch?

2 Absolut Vodka is a product of which country?
3 Which petrol/oil retail brand's logo features a white star in a
red circle?

4 What is the name given to the study of earthquakes?

5 What drug traditionally used against malaria can be found in tonic water?

6 Chinese name of the car, name English…
Feng tian (12)
Ben tian  (32) 
Bie ke (24)    

7 What does the acronym OPEC stand for?

8 What unit of measurement equals 0.3937 of an inch?

9 What are the ingredients of a Bloody Mary?

10 Which is the nearest planet to the sun in our solar system?  

ANSWERS
1 BEETROOT
2 SWEDEN
3 TEXACO
4 SEISMOLOGY
5 QUININE
6 a) TOYOTA b) HONDA c) BUICK
7 ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES.
8 CM
9 VODKA AND TOMATO JUICE
10 MERCURY


TRIVIA SPORT AND WEIRD STUFF 24/2
1 Which number is represented by MDLV in Roman numerals?
2 What is the only dog that is allowed to give evidence in a US courtroom?

3 Thomas Wedder was an English circus freak in the 1700's. It was claimed he had the longest nose in history !!   + or - one inch, how long was it ?

4 In cricket, 111 is believed to be an unlucky score. What is it's name?

5 In the USA, what is the 2nd of February usually known as?

6 Which islands in the Atlantic Ocean were named after dogs?

7 What word describes completing a hole in golf three strokes below par?

8  Name the winners of the Mens and Womens singles at Wimbledon last week?
b) Which Chinese player reached the womens semi-finals?

9 What is the medical name for a nose job ?

10 Which one of the following was never a modern olympic discipline? 
   
a) running deer shooting
b) HORSESHOES (THROWING)
c) 200m obstacle swimming

ANSWERS
1 1555
2 BLOODHOUND
3 7.5 inches (19cm)
4 NELSON
5 GROUNDHOG DAY
6 CANARIES
7 ALBATROSS
8a) VENUS WILLIAMS b) RAFAEL NADAL c) ZHENG JIE
9 RHINOPLASTY
10 HORSESHOES (THROWING)


BOOKS AND WORDS 34/6
1 The following are main characters in which book or film. Bonus Name the author ?  
   
a.    The Joad family
b.    Atticus Finch
c.    Capt. Joseph Yossarian
d.   
2 Which author created the character Captain Nemo and Passepartout? 3 By what name is the fictional Lord of Greystoke better known?

4 A word for a costly victory (in terms of injury or death). Seven letters, third letter "R", fouth letter "R".

5 What is the Italian word for the Virgin Mary which when translated literally means 'my lady'?

6 In the first chapter of the Three Kingdoms which three characters swear the Oath of the Peach Tree Garden (Tao yuan san jie yi)?

7 According to the Bible, which one person was responsible for the death of a quarter of the world's population?

8 Where in the body are the trapezius muscles?

9 According to legend, King Nebuchadnezzar constructed one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Which one?

10 In Judaism, which festival celebrated 50 days after Passover, is in commemoration of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses?
 
ANSWERS
1 a) GRAPES OF WRATH STEINBACK b) TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD LEE
\c) CATCH 22 HELLER
2 JULES VERNE
3 TARZAN 4 PYRRHIC
5 MADONNA
6 LIU BEI      ZHANG FEI     GUAN YU
7 CAIN
8 NECK / SHOULDERS
9 HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON
10 PENTECOST

So I'm hangin' out in my apartment today, and I see a strange sight from my window.  Luckily I managed to slip on a pair of pants just in time...

I've been hearing a lot of talk from friends about the police doing random passport check in Dalian. One of my friends reported having police knock on his door, check his passport, and then head off on their way.

Another friend reports seeing police check foreigners passports at a local MacDonalds. Cops were accompanied by translators, and had a car on hand should you need transportation home in the event that it wasn't on your person.

Has anyone else been subject to such checks?

In related news, 2008 is a somewhat wacky year with regard to visa regulations, and you can find some information on that here.