In central Guangzhou, China (about a 3 hour bus ride north of Macau where I currently, live) you can go to the Han River Dog Meat Restaurant and order dog soup, dog with tofu, dog steak and many more delicious recipes. You can even have spicy dog in your hot pot.

But the Chinese government is considering finally banning the eating of cats and dogs. One person spearheading the campaign to make eating dogs and cats illegal in China says: “Cats and dogs are loyal friends to humans. A ban on eating them would show China has reached a new level of civilization.”

Now I haven’t eaten dog in China but I did try dog meat several years ago in South Korea when I was working there. The only reason I ate it was so I could say “I ate dog meat in South Korea” and then watch people’s faces sour in disgust; kind of like I’m doing right now. If I eat something weird then I at least want to get my mileage out of it. (People don’t seem impressed I ate Grasshoppers and Larvae in Thailand, so I’m going to stick with my Korea dog meat story).

My vegetarian friends will delight in the news that China may make eating dogs illegal. But I think it’s sad. It’s one of the things we can still make fun of China for. They eat dogs, they spit on the ground, they pee everywhere – it’s a small solace to us as they slowly take over the world. If they get rid of all the disgusting Chinese social graces and we have nothing to coil in horror about then it takes the fun out of their world domination. And that’s about as political as I ever get…

And for those of you whining that I haven’t posted to my blog in three weeks, may I suggest you go out and eat a dog. You’ll feel better and you’ll have something fun to talk about with your friends.

Read more about the Chinese government possible ban on eating dog and cat meat here:

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/09/china.animals/index.html?hpt=C1

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I have my 2010 Tiger decorations up around the house (which I’m told can stay up all year) and received my lucky three oranges as a gift from a friend. We’ve been giving out the lucky red Lycee envelopes filled with Macau money (Patacas) to our doormen and women as a sign of good luck for the coming year and declaring “Kong Hei Fat Choy” to all of our Chinese friends.

My Chinese friends say I am “only half Chinese, but maybe someday 100% Chinese”. 愉快的中國新年2010年

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“Curiosity is the most powerful thing you own,” he said. “Don’t put limitations on yourself. Other people will do that for you…failure has to be an option in art and exploration because it’s a leap of faith.”

“In whatever you’re doing, failure is an option, but fear is not.”

- James Cameron – TED Talks 2010

Just read these words today and they hit me so strong. Like if you’re reading the bible and a verse jumps out and you think God is speaking directly to you.

Personally I have my own daemon (daemon – not “demon”) tormenting and taunting me on a personal artistic project and I keep backing away from it because I am afraid of failure. If it fails it hurts no one. The only price paid is my personal time which I gladly give. But I’m shackled by other self imposed commitments that force me to put it on the back burner. All really an excuse for the truth: I am afraid to fail at this project. (It is a personal side project – nothing to do with current work).

I remember being maybe four or five years old and taking swim lessons at the Samena club in Bellevue, WA. Our final exercise was to jump off the diving board. Most of the kids jumped but a few of us were afraid. So then the instructor swam out below the board to catch us and the rest went – except for me. To my dramatic child’s memory it took me years to get the courage to finally jump off the board (was actually probably a couple days). Even then I was embarrassed that our swim teacher had to catch me. The look in her eyes trying to be patient but really exasperated “Just jump kid!”.  I finally did it, but I have no grand memory of a moment of glory.

I think about that experience often and my memory is not one of triumph that I confronted my fears and conquered them. My memory is embarrassment and shame that I did not just jump. It make me mad – I do not want to be the person that doesn’t jump. I saw other kids do it. Surely the adults could be trusted. But I hesitated. Someone else with the same experience might remember the glory of following through. But I remember wasting people’s time as I faltered.

When I look back on the times in my life I really put myself out there and failed; I have to admit I’m very proud of those walks. And when I ask myself if I wish I had not tried so as to not know the feeling of failure – my answer is always no. Because in my heart I just HAVE TO KNOW if I can do it. I cannot live with the regret of not knowing.

I have had great falls in my life. The kind of falls where everyone around you writes you off as “finished and done” – and you realize you have few friends. And those are the moments I truly treasure. They are my secret treasure.

So I read those words by James Cameron and it reminds me again of the thrilling ride of failure as a consequence for really taking a chance and putting yourself out there. And that brings me back to my project: To know it’s failure as a result from giving it my all will be another secret treasure to add to my memory box.

And if it succeeds? Well, the counterpart to having many failures is that I have also had many successes. Usually also as a result from taking a chance and giving it my all. And I’ll tell you the memory of success also happens to be a treasure.

I guess I should add that the post-op after a fail is the most important time. For me, I just be still and wait for the next calling. And that next call always comes. Later when I connect the dots of my life it is an amazing puzzle of dots and I can say “Wow, for this to happen I had to fail here and that brought me to this and then this brought me over here” and on and on. So personally I need to follow through so the next fail can propel me forward – or (crossing fingers) the success can propel me forward.

Thank you Mr. Cameron for inspiring words at a time when someone needs to hear them.

Because in the end it’s not the sting of failure that you remember. What you remember is that you put yourself out there and gave it your all. That’s the treasure…

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You’ll notice a definite “Cirque du Soleil” influence on this presentation by Pink at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Hope you enjoy it.

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November 2009 -- The ZAiA Band plays live musical accompaniment for Cirque du Soleil’s ZAiA show. ZAiA is a multidisciplinary circus arts show about a young girl who travels through the universe to find love. Come to Macau and dream with us! Now playing at the Venetian Macau Hotel Casino and Resort.

Music by Violaine Corradi
Directed by Gilles Maheu

In The Band
Steve Bach -- band leader, keyboards, accordion
Conrad Askland -- assistant band leader, keyboards, accordion
Eduard Harutyunyan -- percussion
Darrin Johnson -- drummer
Olivier Milchberg -- plucked strings, kaval, bansuri
Jay Elfenbein -- viola de gamba, rebec, fretless bass, acoustic bass,
Racheal Cogan -- recorders
Rose Winebrenner -- vocals
Maria Andersson -- vocals

Video made by Rose Winebrenner

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Tony Robbins discusses the “invisible forces” that motivate everyone’s actions — and high-fives Al Gore in the front row.

The first time I went through the Tony Robbins tape series was 20 years ago. I still find him very inspiring.

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Compare the two conducting and performance styles for Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

Top video is concluding part two of Tchaikovsky’s famous 1812 Overture performed by the Hallé Orchestra, conducted by Mark Elder at the Royal Albert Hall during the Nations Favourite Prom 2004

Bottom video is the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra.

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In this interview with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Holocaust survivor Rabbi Gerd Jacob (Zwienicki) Wiener shares his memories of Kristallnacht, the November 1938 pogroms.

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Mad Dog Hong Kong MC

A shout out to the Mad Dog motorcycle club in Hong Kong. I thought their leather vests were way cool and asked a member how I could get one. The response started with a polite sneer and ended with a rundown of the commitment and dedication the members have to their club. So I guess the only way I’ll get the vest is to get a knock off made at a local tailor in Macau or Zhuhai -- and then if a Mad Dog ever sees me wearing it they’ll kick my butt -- so maybe I won’t do that….

Back in the late 90’s or so I did have the privilege of playing for Sonny Barger of the Hell’s Angels. It was a private party and I was playing with Freddy Fender -- I think it was in Hollister, CA. I remember Sonny approached Freddy to play a specific song and Freddy was like “Yes sir” -- which was pretty funny because Freddy was a longtime Harley rider and a badass in his own right. But there’s a pecking order.

You can read about Sonny Barger here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Barger

MAD DOG MC History

On October 3, 1994, Tom Leber and some close friends gathered in his garage and founded the Mad Dog Motorcycle Club. The result was an organization built on the principle of camaraderie and diversity. A brotherhood bounded by principles instead of borders. Since then, the Mad Dogs have set fire to the streets of the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong….and further … creating the standard for motorcycle clubs in South East Asia. Explore these pages to find more about the legend of the Mad Dogs……

Visit the Mad Dog Hong Kong MC Website.

I’m told that the Mad Dog Hong Kong MC demands loyalty and commitment from it’s members, but keeps family first. And that can’t be a bad thing. Ride on!

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1. Change permissions on private forums (Moderators, etc)
2. Check “The Team” link to check admins and update moderators.
3. Create new Maintenance category for moderators and  suggestions forums – put Web Link forum in this category – turn off all for guests and bots, only registered members can view.
4. Check access for forums on new users, registered, admins, etc.
5. Enable avatars – enable remote uploading, increase size limit to 50,000 kb, set images/avatar/upload folder to 0777 permission.
6. Personal profile – allow users to contact via email YES. Notification on PM YES. Check avatar and signature.
7. Upload logo to style imageset folder and select

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