Some in Marin County town say new building will be bad feng shui

AP ^ | 2-27-02

[Oldeconomybuyer]

SAUSALITO, Calif. (AP) -- A new public safety building is on the ballot in this upscale Marin County town, but some say it just won't do because it's simply bad feng shui.

Come Tuesday, voters in the quaint waterfront town will decide whether the $7.8 million, 22,500-square-foot police and fire building fits into the ancient Chinese art of placing things to ensure a harmonious energy flow.

[Fred Mertz]

"If you put that up, it will be bad feng shui!" said Nancy Bennett, an expert called to testify against construction. "They are cutting off the mouth of Qi."

Can someone translate this for me?

[JenB]

What a ridiculous argument! Feng shui means that firemen can't have a new building? Good grief.

[KC_Conspirator]

No doubt she knows the most famous Marin County product; Johnny Taliban Walker.

[fourdeuce82d]

Can someone translate this for me?

"I am an idiot"

or "Hot tub induced hyperthermia kills brain cells"

or "stop me before I gibber again"

or "had a clue, but I spilled bong water on it and it doesn't work anymore..."

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"Can someone translate this for me? "

It means "May I mambo dogface to the banana patch now? "

[Oldeconomybuyer]

"Qi" means "energy" in feng shui lingo.

[shaggy eel]

,,, so if all houses and buildings in the whole world were situated right, we'd have just one big harmonious energy flow?

[LarryLied]

These are the same people who mock, sneer and laugh at those who believe in the Bible. All myth and fairy tales, they say.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

[Thud]

The next to last pastor at my wife's church, when he came here, couldn't sell his prior home in Orange County for almost a year as his neighborhood there had gone Chinese. His home there was at the apex of a u-shaped cul-de-sac which, according to him, was inauspicious by Chinese standards. Something about the "horns of the dragon" as I recall.

I expect this sort of thing will be a new cause of lawsuits against realtors in California. "He didn't warn me that no Chinese would buy my house, and the neighborhood is 90% Chinese!"

[afraidfortherepublic]

The police have been working out of portable trailers for seven years and the fire house is not seismically sound.

And this is GOOD feng shui?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

No kiddin ?

[shaggy eel]

,,, I'm familiar with it, here in New Zealand. We have consultant architects who manage projects for Chinese clients in Auckland suburbs like Howick. Feng shui considerations determine whether you buy an existing home or build. Howick is pricey and ever expanding. I can only assume that Kiwis have had it wrong for years [LOL!]

[PoisedWoman]

"If you put that up, it will be bad feng shui!" said Nancy Bennett, an expert called to testify against construction. "They are cutting off the mouth of Qi."

Bad argument. If Ms Bennett is an expert at feng shui, she can install feng shui remedies to get the Qi moving correctly. A mirror here, a plant there, some windchimes somewhere else ought to do it. Maybe she's angling for a job.

[Billthedrill]

Can someone translate this for me?

Glad to oblige - in ancient Chinese it means "I've got this great gig spouting profound-sounding nonsense to morons who lap it up, and if I can squeeze a few shekels out of the rubes by telling them the spirits don't dig on a new cop-shop, why, who's to tell 'em any different?"

Of course, it's a rough translation...

[Pablo64]

I think a couple doses of Pepto Bismol or perhaps some Imodium-AD should clear up a bad case of feng shui pretty quickly. ;-)

[HairOfTheDog]

I think this is what happens when you have "one big harmonious energy flow?"

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Of course, it's a rough translation...

I think your translation is very accurate.

[shaggy eel]

,,, that's about right. I'm actually sitting on the Tinakori faultline (Wellington) as I type this. We hope we don't get a San Francisco or Kobe event but know it will happen one day. When it happens and everything gets flattened, feng shui will be something we could possibly incorporate into the building codes [LOL].