what up to my beijing ppls
I have been in China for the past two monthes, I am currently in Hebei, Shijiajuang living with relatives. I have been trying to find some SF4 machines, but doesn’t look like there are any. Lots of T6 machines tho. I will be visiting some friends in Beijing from this week til next week. When are ya’ll all meeting up at?
I can host casuals this weekend I suppose. We have two players out of town this weekend, so things might be slow, but it’s all good.
Things are sort of weird in the arcade scene here right now. No arcade sf4 yet and sbo qualifiers are done, so it seems like a lot of people have moved on to playing super at home until December.
By which I meant soup noodles. Didn’t know the term referred to anything else! Oops, I guess
all good. im just gonna take the scenery route for now. hittin up the silk road shopping district and maybe the great wall tomorrow.
I’m down for casuals this weekend too. Been itching all week!
@durrrr Kim’s been trying to get me to eat chou dofu forever now. I ain’t putting that stuff in my mouth.
K then, casuals at my place saturday. Someone bring a stick, k thx.
Could you PM me your address in characters (my phone still doesn’t do 'em, should really sort that out) for taxi purposes? Don’t want to have to harass you with umpteen billion calls like last time!
Cool! I’ll bring a stick so no worries. See you guys there!
dang, I am excited to play some casuals with some srk-ers, hopefully I can learn some stuff from this as well. my level is not too high. but not a beginner either.
Casuals plus a birthday bash of sorts at my place on Saturday. I’m thinking of having a little extra something aside from the usual beverages. How do vodka and whiskey sound?
Also, here’s my first attempt at my own stick art. I’ve been fiddling with Photoshop to kill some boredom at work. It’s nothing fancy so be gentle! Check it out
Anything going down this weekend? Not sure what kind of shape I’ll be in, but I’ll be back in town on Sunday afternoon.
Hey guys, sorry to intrude…it is not my intention to get people busted or to deprive you of your SRK fix, but I was reading about the things that are not…searchable…and trying it out for myself in america, I accessed…your search engine that starts with a b, and sure enough I couldn’t find any information on…those sensitive topics. Is this just something you learn to deal with in China? I dunno, I feel the oppression all the way out here in California…
I tried searching “sensitive topics” here in the States and my Pennsylvania-based ISP blocked the results 
It depends how you look at it. If you come to China with intent on talking about said “sensitive topics” and preaching “the lord” about whether or not these topics should be censored, then you’re better off not coming (if that is the reason for asking so). On the other hand, if you have an open mind, a sense of adventure and a VPN then life is pretty good here. I am of two opinions when it comes to China. First and foremost, it is not for everyone. That is you do need an open mind and a high tolerance for cultural differences (or a sense of humor, whichever floats your boat). Second, China is not that much differently oppressive as any other country in the world. I believe all countries have, one way or another, “censored”/“banned”/“muted”/“etcetc” stuff they believe are not right for their people. The reason I’m saying this is because the word “oppression” gets spit out too easily and blatantly these days. Yes, the people here, according to western standards lack certain freedoms but I don’t really see them pursuing them that much (not very actively if they are). All countries have sensitive topics. If you went to my country, Greece, and told some guys that rebelling against the Turks back in 1821 was unjustified, then you’d probably find yourself in a very sticky situation, so to speak.
So to finally answer your question, you do have to learn to deal with certain things here in China. But once you bask in the nice things about this country, you might find yourself brushing a few things aside. Some of us have been here for a couple of years and some are gonna be sticking for a very long time, so it can’t be all that bad. I understand your inhibitions for choosing to come here (again if you really are planning to) but like I tell most new coming westerners, it’s an adventure. Embrace it, don’t fear it.
DISCLAIMER OF EPIC PROPORTIONS: Take all of this with a huge grain of salt as it is my own opinion. kthnxbye 
Edit: @fake_roogle I hadn’t checked in on SRK in awhile so my apologies for not replying your post in time. I hosted casuals on Saturday but I’m sure there’s going to be something going on the coming weekend as well (as always). Of course some of the more carefree people might be going to arcades and stuff during weekdays. I’ll PM you my cell number so text me back and I’ll have you in my “network”.
Heh, I’m not one of those agenda-ridden liberals that want to spread the gospel of freedom.
But I remember living in Malaysia (one of the many places I’ve traveled to), and feeling the weight of censorship over there. I never thought something like that would bug me, especially in a place like Malaysia where there are nice people, great tasting food for cheap, some Western luxuries, etc…but it does get to you over time. I’m sure if I were visiting China for a couple of weeks, I could totally just brush off their government, but I’m talking about long term. It sounds like many of you on the thread are there for at least a year…
It got to me over time. Watching TV and seeing scenes heavily edited, or just taken out entirely, and having no recourse because the DVD shops are 100% stocked with pirated material, and even then they don’t carry certain titles that are too offensive, double standards for certain kinds of ethnicities, etc. Do they directly relate to me, an American citizen on vacation/sabbatical? Some of those things, yes, but mostly not. STILL, it is a factor that I could not ignore.
And usually, having internet access is a great way to escape from an oppressive regime. But that isn’t even allowed in China. I hear you can get proxies and whatnot, there’s probably ways to get real information, I just haven’t researched the ways. Are these ways foolproof and 100%, or are they in a state of flux? It just sounds like a rising crescendo of frustration…
It really isn’t as bad as you’re making it out to be. Frankly, some of the DNS scams I’ve seen are a lot more annoying than sometimes having to use a proxy to search. I can’t say I feel oppressed. Hell, in many ways I have more freedom here than in the US.
So Sean is moving back to his hometown soon (like 2 weeks). He’d like to get some games on with us before he goes. Plus he wants to introduce his friend to us.
Also, who is hosting Saturday? I can, but I think Rod was wanting to?
I did?
That doesn’t sound like something I’d do - being helpful. Must have been all that vodka throwing me off mah game. Nah, I’m in for it. If someone brings some sticks I can get some double setups going - mainly for 3s: the hereafter known as worst game ever.
Just to throw my 2 cents in on the China bit. It is rather censored compared to familiar 'ol US. Dissenting opinions aren’t seen much and protest is more or less unthinkable. It is however, not ‘opressive’. It has rather open social rights actually in so far as your day to day. Since most people don’t normally consider handing out manifestos a great thing to put on the day planner this tends to make it feel more free for the average walk around. If you’re one of those politically minded folk’ll on the other hand, I think the value dissonance will make itself known pretty readily. I think the point that drove it home was during my trip to HK I saw some kids set up at the mall protesting a govt. zoning act. Never happen here, take that to the bank.
My 2 cents on my 2 cents. While its not exactly a new thing that China holds things close to its heart, it IS a good way to run things[in my opinion] at this moment. This is due to the incredible growth its going through right now. Heavy industrialization over 20 years. Massive social change. INTERNET itself is rather new, at least at the levels it is now. Try to imagine what would happen if every person had a youtube say. Small wonder they wanna keep a tight leash on it, right? Let it grow at the right pace and loosen the ties as needed.
A full proof way (until further notice) is getting an SSL VPN. There are other VPN protocols, such as PPTP, and some can even be free as well but the problem is that they are a lot easier for China to block. SSL is usually a paid service but it’s fast and most companies will give you a wide selection of servers across the planet to connect to. I’m using one which many other foreigners in China have been trusting for a long time and it seems to be working quite well. Overall I consider it some of the best money I’ve spent during my stay in China. The way I’m seeing it, my VPN makes China internet almost the same as back home. I can watch Youtube, I can access my Twitter and blog, check Facebook, etcetcetc. The only drawback I’m having, is I can’t do all of that through my mobile devices but, hey, can’t have it all.
@Raas and Starcade: I’ll bring one of my sticks and some brews
Quoted for truth from my Street Fighter loving brother.
As for how to get around the net pretty much every Chinese person I talked to had some method or another? If you make some friends during your time there then you won’t have any problem.
Also the real reason I’m posting in this thread, I think its confirmed that I’m coming back by latest in mid-January now. It looks like I’ll be stationed in Shanghai, but if I have time I will be trying to swing by Beijing. Thats from the shitty job offer I got recently, if theres something better these might change…
I have class on Sunday, but games on Saturday for a bit?