Apr 9, 2008

Ma Ma Ma Ma?

No, this is not Ming's impression of a hedgie caught in a short squeeze. Its an egregious example of Chinese being a tonal language. When pronounced in one of four different ways, the written word can mean four different things. Theres a level tone, a rising tone, a sinking tone which then rises and a falling tone. Thus in mandarin, ma ma ma ma can mean "did mother curse the horse?" While English is not a tonal language, inflection can still indicate indifference, stress, conviction, deception etc. Ming would bet the Golden Emperor's diamond studded yo yo that a voice analysis of Scher's Panel vote on Provenge would reveal stress and deception thus costing him even more credibility. However, such analysis can be thwarted by a true psychopath who actually believes his lies, especially when bridges are discussed. Perhaps if Howard confined his communications to tap dancing and farting in morse code, his panel votes would achieve greater credibility.

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