But, we've decided to host one more event for which we'll need the Dining Room on Tuesday...
The GenXers in my extended family clan (and their children) have been getting together for a monthly dinner for the past year. My wife and I have put off hosting for some time, either because we were living downtown, living in someone else's house, or living in squalor.
So, before we do a major disassembly, we'll have an Asian Potluck for 8 adults, 4 kids, and 1 child-in-utero. Not sure what that will entail yet, but I'm desperately hoping there'll be seaweed, rice, and kimchi involved. (As the GenXers all hail from my mother's side of the family who were raised in Korea, we should be golden.)That said, I'd like to get something started while we've got the time. So, this weekend, I'll do some shopping and organizing and researching. And maybe a little prepwork...
On the prepwork front, the only foreseeable thing I can do without creating hazards for the impending child/toddler/embryo arrival is scoring the walls to begin removing the painted wallpaper. Lots of web sites out there (and there and there and there) seem to have varying opinions on the best means and methods for painted wallpaper removal. We're going to see what we can do with a steamer, vinegar water, and scraper first. (Anyone out there with input, please feel free to add it in the comments section below...)
But one interesting discrepency between sources seems to be the use of "The Paper Tiger." Exciting name, huh? It makes me envision a scenario where my wife and I are working on the Dining Room and I say, "Love, Could you hand me the Paper Tiger?" while simultaneously making one of Ben Stiller's Blue Steel/Magnum/ Le Tigre faces from Zoolander and being really really ridiculously good looking:
Of course, my wife responds appropriately by rolling her eyes and leaving to go hang out with normal people.
Anyways, the "Paper Tiger" is this circular spokey tool for scoring the painted wall paper so that a glue dissolving solution can work its way back behind the paper and cause it to separate from the wall. However, varying sources indicate that the results range from:"significant damage to the plaster"
to
"ineffectual waste of time"
to
"created by God for the sole purpose of ending mankind's wallpaper scraping suffering".
Interestingly, the search "Paper Tiger" brought about a Wikipedia hit that summed up the situation quite nicely:
"Paper tiger is a literal English translation of the Chinese phrase zhǐ lǎohǔ (Chinese: 紙老虎), meaning something which seems as threatening as a tiger, but is really harmless."
The phrase is an ancient one in Chinese, but sources differ as to when it entered the English vocabulary. Although some sources may claim it dates back as far as 1850 [1], it seems the Chinese phrase was first translated when it was applied to describe the United States using propaganda tactics. In 1956, Mao Zedong said of the United States:
| “ | In appearance it is very powerful but in reality it is nothing to be afraid of; it is a paper tiger. Outwardly a tiger, it is made of paper, unable to withstand the wind and the rain. I believe the United States is nothing but a paper tiger. | ” |
In Mao Zedong's view, the term could be applied to all allegedly imperialist nations, particularly the United States and the Soviet Union (following the Sino-Soviet split): Mao argued that they appeared to be superficially powerful but would have a tendency to overextend themselves in the international arena, at which point pressure could be brought upon them by other states to cause their sudden collapse. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at some point may have remarked that although the "U.S. is a paper tiger, it has atomic teeth".
We're interested to hear your thoughts/experiences:
1. Is the Paper Tiger Tool a Paper Tiger (ineffective)?
2. Is our Asian Potluck for 13 a Paper Tiger (overblown)?
3. Is the War on Terror an example of American overextension abroad which makes America a Paper Tiger (less secure)?
4. Is Zoolander's "Le Tigre" pose actually a clue that the Male Modeling Farce Movie produced by VH1 is an epic statement about imperialism in which Mugatu represents cold war interests, Derek Zoolander represents citizen naiveté, and Hansel represents Mao Zedong calling out individuals as Paper Tigers (not so good looking)?
Wow. I just blew your mind.
**Footnote: To Hillary and Obama who are both loyal readers of "The-House-Rules", please put your "Who's More Racist/Sexist" debate revolving around your political attempts to align yourselves with African-American Voters aside. Instead, for the good of the American People, come up with an appropriate renaming of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. If its going to be a American National Holiday, it should at least coincide with the prevailing American culture of suburbananity, laziness, and abbreviations. "Martin Luther King Jr. Day" is too hard to type and "MLKJDay" is too hard to say. Whichever one of you wins the primary can submit your top three choices to "The-House-Rules" for consideration.
