By Falice Chin
All middle-aged women working at customer services are bound to the most disastrous marriages I have ever witnessed. In this particular relationship, their partner is some kind of twisted god–all powerful, authoritarian, oppressive and intolerant. His name happens to be “the computer”–not just a computer, but the computer! The University of Calgary’s library contains a… Continue reading A match made in hell
By Falice Chin
The Universal Student Ratings of Instruction on Infonet has not lived up to its potential. Don’t get me wrong, it certainly gives me a sense of immense satisfaction to see awful profs score some very low points. The frustrating part is, of course, seeing instructors scoring undeserved good marks. What’s worse is that the information… Continue reading On a scale from one to awesome…
By Falice Chin
One of the biggest job markets for students nowadays involves ESL teaching in foreign countries. The idea is quite appealing: free travel, cash and a chance to educate the rest of the world. In reality, the bigger picture shows they are participating in a global conquest for perfecting Standard English. Indeed, in many countries, the… Continue reading Linguistic imperialism
By Falice Chin
Since the begining of December, Canada’s conservative right has supposedly been united even though nobody really believed it. With an election on the horizon, Calgary is experiencing daily bombardments of media coverage on party candidates, oops, I mean candidate, singular. All we hear and see is Belinda Stronach. No, wait, come to think of it,… Continue reading Judging by appearances
By Falice Chin
As most people at the university already know, Chinese New Year is celebrated Jan. 22 to Feb. 6. Also, many people have learned to say the phrase kung hei fat choi to Chinese elders who reward their blessing words by giving them lucky money wrapped in red envelopes. Indeed, living in China up to age… Continue reading Crazy for Chinese customs