April 2010 Archives
It's been a bit quiet around here these last few weeks; as spring
finally arrives along with the pink cherry blossoms and yellow wind
storms. For the month of April I've been out of town more than in, and
on the road more than off. It really makes me appreciate coming home to
even the simplest little heatless room with my Tibetan prayer flags and
pictures of friends and family. This month so far, among others, I've been to China's
Ice Capital (Harbin) as well as it's Coal Capital (Taiyuan); one of
which had a museum dedicated to torture and the other to oil. Suffice
it to say, my brief stints back to Beijing as of late have been
blissfully boring and if it weren't for getting to look forward to
seeing friends in Wuhan over these next 4 days away, I might just need
a jolt (Red Bull China-style would do).
Are you getting a sense from my tone I am a bit melancholy? I don't mean to imply life is sucking - in fact, it is quite the opposite - but I guess I am doing what might only be expected of me in a situation such as this: where one detaches oneself from something prematurely in order to make it easier later on.
(That was a little trick us writers like to call foreshadowing)
I keep a diary beside my bed. Sometimes in the middle of the night I wake up with a sentence or two in my head, which to me at the time seems profound enough to wake me up; something I or someone in a dream has said to me, and I roll over and reach for this red diary with it's cute green pen attached and I write whatever it is down. Often I wake up having completely forgotten my RAOG (Random Act Of Genius) only to find some unidentified brilliance scribbled in a middle page months later. Other times I remember the dream and subsequent jot during the following afternoon while out for a walk and quickly hurry back in anticipation, only to find that the scribble literally is just that, and I can't make out a single thing I'd written down while half asleep and in the dark the night prior.
I came across this diary last night while packing and had a brief breeze through it; only to find a few tid bits that were not only relevant to my current situation but also made me smile and thus I felt possibly worth sharing.
"The secret to being happy is not to expect too much out of life."
"Brilliance or genius are merely others' opinions. The secret is to find another who thinks you are more brilliant than you are. That is the essence of a best friend. In seeing you for better than you are they not only create the possibility of it in your own mind and motivate you to be such, but also put that energy into the universe therefore forcing it to happen over time anyways."
"Destiny: when that which is avoidable still remains inevitable."
"Every phase in life serves to prepare us for the next. There are no wasted moments - no need for regrets."
"What should I do?" she begs, with tears in her eyes. "Well," he replies, in earnest, a full decade younger and foot shorter, "I guess you should do whatever it is that allows you to reach your highest potential."
Over the last few months I've been torn with feeling I need to make some decisions. What has bothered me most is the knowledge that it isn't really up to me anyways. Something else out there: Gaia, The Universe, god, Buddha, destiny, Mohamed... whatever you want to call that-thing-that-controls-our-fate, "they"'ve already got it planned out for me. But I must like to torture myself so I spent some time (to extremely under-exaggerate) throwing around the "Bali, Bordeaux, Beijing or London" balls in my head. And every afternoon, like clockwork, as the calming feminine Yin energy of the morning switched over to the stronger and more energetic manly Yang, I began to worry, and tried to think of a plan.
So what would/could/should it be? I felt a little like Goldilocks, but unarmed with the knowledge of what it was I really felt. Why can't my heart have heat sensors like my tongue or pain sensors like my back? Too hot? too cold? Too big? Too soft? Too this? Too that? I don't know! Ugh! Now I am tired. I wanna sleep. Mmmm, sleep. Oh jeeze now there are bears in my room!
The Story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks. She went for a walk in the forest. Pretty soon, she came upon a house. She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in.
At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.
"This porridge is too hot!" she exclaimed.
So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.
"This porridge is too cold," she said
So, she tasted the last bowl of porridge.
"Ahhh, this porridge is just right," she said happily and she ate it all up......
Now, just to add a bit of science geeky stuff to this quite artsy and Yin post, The Goldilocks Principle describes a situation, which is just right in a manner akin to that portrayed in the tale. The concept prevails not only in literature, but also in astronomy and economics. For example, a Goldilocks planet is neither too close to nor too far from a star to rule out life, while a Goldilocks economy describes one which is sustaining moderate growth and low inflation, which is seen as allowing for a market friendly monetary policy. The girl in the tale chooses the porridge that is neither too hot nor too cold; the chair that is neither too big nor too small; and finally the bed that is neither too hard nor too soft.
But only if it were that easy - where one was one extreme - another the other extreme - and the third was just right - or exactly what I wanted and needed and just knew based on how it felt. Why can't it be like that?!? Well, hindsight is 20-20, or so they say. And it turns out it really is that easy. Sometimes you have to just do that little thing called waiting that I am not so good at.
Beijing is too cold and too hard and too big...
Bali is too hot, too soft and too small.....
And it turns out, that Bordeaux is just right.
She said happily, and she ate it all up.
Are you getting a sense from my tone I am a bit melancholy? I don't mean to imply life is sucking - in fact, it is quite the opposite - but I guess I am doing what might only be expected of me in a situation such as this: where one detaches oneself from something prematurely in order to make it easier later on.
(That was a little trick us writers like to call foreshadowing)
I keep a diary beside my bed. Sometimes in the middle of the night I wake up with a sentence or two in my head, which to me at the time seems profound enough to wake me up; something I or someone in a dream has said to me, and I roll over and reach for this red diary with it's cute green pen attached and I write whatever it is down. Often I wake up having completely forgotten my RAOG (Random Act Of Genius) only to find some unidentified brilliance scribbled in a middle page months later. Other times I remember the dream and subsequent jot during the following afternoon while out for a walk and quickly hurry back in anticipation, only to find that the scribble literally is just that, and I can't make out a single thing I'd written down while half asleep and in the dark the night prior. I came across this diary last night while packing and had a brief breeze through it; only to find a few tid bits that were not only relevant to my current situation but also made me smile and thus I felt possibly worth sharing.
"The secret to being happy is not to expect too much out of life."
"Brilliance or genius are merely others' opinions. The secret is to find another who thinks you are more brilliant than you are. That is the essence of a best friend. In seeing you for better than you are they not only create the possibility of it in your own mind and motivate you to be such, but also put that energy into the universe therefore forcing it to happen over time anyways."
"Destiny: when that which is avoidable still remains inevitable."
"Every phase in life serves to prepare us for the next. There are no wasted moments - no need for regrets."
"What should I do?" she begs, with tears in her eyes. "Well," he replies, in earnest, a full decade younger and foot shorter, "I guess you should do whatever it is that allows you to reach your highest potential."
Over the last few months I've been torn with feeling I need to make some decisions. What has bothered me most is the knowledge that it isn't really up to me anyways. Something else out there: Gaia, The Universe, god, Buddha, destiny, Mohamed... whatever you want to call that-thing-that-controls-our-fate, "they"'ve already got it planned out for me. But I must like to torture myself so I spent some time (to extremely under-exaggerate) throwing around the "Bali, Bordeaux, Beijing or London" balls in my head. And every afternoon, like clockwork, as the calming feminine Yin energy of the morning switched over to the stronger and more energetic manly Yang, I began to worry, and tried to think of a plan. So what would/could/should it be? I felt a little like Goldilocks, but unarmed with the knowledge of what it was I really felt. Why can't my heart have heat sensors like my tongue or pain sensors like my back? Too hot? too cold? Too big? Too soft? Too this? Too that? I don't know! Ugh! Now I am tired. I wanna sleep. Mmmm, sleep. Oh jeeze now there are bears in my room!
The Story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks. She went for a walk in the forest. Pretty soon, she came upon a house. She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in.
At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.
"This porridge is too hot!" she exclaimed.
So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.
"This porridge is too cold," she said
So, she tasted the last bowl of porridge.
"Ahhh, this porridge is just right," she said happily and she ate it all up......
Now, just to add a bit of science geeky stuff to this quite artsy and Yin post, The Goldilocks Principle describes a situation, which is just right in a manner akin to that portrayed in the tale. The concept prevails not only in literature, but also in astronomy and economics. For example, a Goldilocks planet is neither too close to nor too far from a star to rule out life, while a Goldilocks economy describes one which is sustaining moderate growth and low inflation, which is seen as allowing for a market friendly monetary policy. The girl in the tale chooses the porridge that is neither too hot nor too cold; the chair that is neither too big nor too small; and finally the bed that is neither too hard nor too soft.
But only if it were that easy - where one was one extreme - another the other extreme - and the third was just right - or exactly what I wanted and needed and just knew based on how it felt. Why can't it be like that?!? Well, hindsight is 20-20, or so they say. And it turns out it really is that easy. Sometimes you have to just do that little thing called waiting that I am not so good at.
Beijing is too cold and too hard and too big... Bali is too hot, too soft and too small.....And it turns out, that Bordeaux is just right.
She said happily, and she ate it all up.
The more you learn the more you realize you don't know. This is to say that I know less and less every day. So it is my dream in life to have a little machine that I can bring everywhere with me that would at the very least make me feel better about being aware of progressively knowing less and less. This machine wouldn't bring me money, fame, love, companionship... no....it would give me even more! It would be a GOOGLE machine, and anytime I had a question, it would answer it; anytime there was a dispute, it would solve it; and every time I wanted to win a bet, I would double check it first.
I don't think I'd need anything else!
DID YOU KNOW THAT Google is a mathematical term 1 followed by one hundred zeroes?
Don't believe me? Then google it.
Ok, so yeah, I like to google stuff ......a lot. I would have hated to live in a time where information wasn't a click away! If it weren't for googs:
1. I'd never win lots of money from people betting against my knowledge
2. I'd never prove my points quickly and effortlessly
3. I'd know about 1000000 fewer useless facts
4. I would never know how to make a bomb or poison someone with anthrax
5. I could not keep my finger on the pulse of global up to the minute weather and economics (ie, if/when my weather is better than yours and if/when I have made money from Toyota, Starbucks, or GE stocks)
6. Almost all of my how? and why? questions would go unanswered
7. I'd be a much less fulfilled person..... what did you used to do without google!?!?! Honestly, thats like asking what people did before beer....just simply unfathomable.
Bastian and I kept a journal on our trip a few weeks back. And all the while kept a list of things we would google when we had time. Page 1.
So what have I googled this week? This is a list directly from my Firefox history from April 1 to April 6, 2010. I promise I have done nothing to alter any of this list or hide anything potentially embarrassing or incriminating.
http://www.google.com.hk/search:
steve+o-l; white+fingernails; liver+disease+malnutrition; suomi+pronunciation; sloth+ATPase; 100+year+old+eggs; divorce+rates+of+non+divorced+parents; iron+ore+direction+magnet; lenovo+laptop; why+is+water+white; will+farrell+funny+or+die; IELTS+france; Finnish+passport+refused+entry; ; how+to+read+palms; if+you+can't+smell+can+you+still+taste; google+facts; canada+fashion+distributor; asivo+laptop; bordeaux+jobs; mother's+day; direction+of+the+magnetic+pull+of+earth+can+be+seen; world+health+beijing; beijing+to+Helsinki; divorce+rates+differ+between+english+and+french+Canadians; why+is+U2+album+named+joshua+tree; french+wine+from+Bordeaux; 100+year+olg+eggs+china; anchorman+intro+there+was+a+time+before+cable; anchorman+quotes+top+of+a+mountain; asio+laptop; beijing+to+hong+kong; canadian+travel+estonia+Europe; cheap+computers+hong+kong; china+eastern+airlines; china+entrance+visa+administration+hong+kong; copper+in+rock+gets+pulled+by+the+earths+magnetic+field; espoo+finand +postal+code; fashion+distributor+America; finnish+passport+refused+entry; finnish+swedish+bali; helsinki+fashion+organic; how+do+i+say+ok+in+finnish; how+far+is+helsinki+from+hong+kong ; how+to+read+palms ; jet+star+asia; kimmo+lahti; learn+finnish; me+too+in+finnish; organic+cotton+fiber+organic+fibers+clothing+why; the+veer+union; value+asia; visible+light+spectrum+water; what+are+the+most+common+google+searches; why+does+a+sloth+move+so+slowly
Considering that was only about 5 days of googling, you can maybe gather how much dumber I am getting by the day due to this minor addiction of mine. While going through my history, I noticed some other things that made me smile that I have googled so far just this year:
Hussy; how+do+you+say+breasts+in+bahasa+Indonesian; THE+UNDERDOG+TAB; china+interesting+fun+facts; jackson+jackson+australian+the+cat+empire; olympic+hockey+game+schedule; telefrancais; bali+surf+report; naked+china+travel+environment; interpreting+dreams+dreams+with+a+lot+of+blood; voicie+votre+facture; january+26+1985+chinese+zodiac; chinese+folk+tales+how+chinese+history+has+shaped+its+present; damian+omar+valdez; finland+culture; great+lake+swimmers+beijing+ticket+ cool+new+music+from+Canada; the+joy+of+learning+how+to+learn+fun; chinese+zodiac+rat+monkey; hornborg; united+nations+drivers+license; cro+magnon+skull+how+many; acupuncture+tongue+diagnosis+pulse+diagnosis; 46+Fangjia+Hutong; sandra+bullock+hair+pictures; something+for+kate+light+at+the+end; Moldova; Surreptitious; adam+sandler+i+love+to+eat+turkey+in+a+big+brown+shoe; alexi+murdoch+all+of+my+days; breandan+benson; canadian+mulled+wine; chinese+slang; craig+Cardiff; genghis+khan; vodka+history+and+culture; how+fast+does+caffeine+enter+the+bloodstream; human+evolution; linda+mcgrew; matt+mays; slang+for+friends+hommies; south+park+and+Canada+why+do+they+make+fun+of+Canada;
Of course, a blog on my love for Google would have to involve some Google results; namely, on Google.
Have you ever wondered what other people Google and how often? well I did, so I Googled it.
The Google search engine receives about a billion search requests per day. That is 1 per person on earth per week (when I googled what the current earth's population was to get you that totally nerdy fact, I found this worldometers site where you can watch as the world's population, Carbon dioxide emissions and Current average temperature (Celsius) are all increasing before your eyes.
Your last useless fact of the day involves the most popular top ten searches on Google for 2008 in the UK:
1. Facebook, 2. BBC, 3. Youtube, 4. Ebay, 5. Games, 6. News, 7. Hotmail, 8. Bebo, 9. Yahoo, 10.Jobs
And since I didn't know what 8 was, what did I do? Well of course, I googled it.
I don't think I'd need anything else!
DID YOU KNOW THAT Google is a mathematical term 1 followed by one hundred zeroes?
Don't believe me? Then google it.
Ok, so yeah, I like to google stuff ......a lot. I would have hated to live in a time where information wasn't a click away! If it weren't for googs:
1. I'd never win lots of money from people betting against my knowledge
2. I'd never prove my points quickly and effortlessly
3. I'd know about 1000000 fewer useless facts
4. I would never know how to make a bomb or poison someone with anthrax
5. I could not keep my finger on the pulse of global up to the minute weather and economics (ie, if/when my weather is better than yours and if/when I have made money from Toyota, Starbucks, or GE stocks)
6. Almost all of my how? and why? questions would go unanswered
7. I'd be a much less fulfilled person..... what did you used to do without google!?!?! Honestly, thats like asking what people did before beer....just simply unfathomable.
Bastian and I kept a journal on our trip a few weeks back. And all the while kept a list of things we would google when we had time. Page 1.
So what have I googled this week? This is a list directly from my Firefox history from April 1 to April 6, 2010. I promise I have done nothing to alter any of this list or hide anything potentially embarrassing or incriminating.
http://www.google.com.hk/search:
steve+o-l; white+fingernails; liver+disease+malnutrition; suomi+pronunciation; sloth+ATPase; 100+year+old+eggs; divorce+rates+of+non+divorced+parents; iron+ore+direction+magnet; lenovo+laptop; why+is+water+white; will+farrell+funny+or+die; IELTS+france; Finnish+passport+refused+entry; ; how+to+read+palms; if+you+can't+smell+can+you+still+taste; google+facts; canada+fashion+distributor; asivo+laptop; bordeaux+jobs; mother's+day; direction+of+the+magnetic+pull+of+earth+can+be+seen; world+health+beijing; beijing+to+Helsinki; divorce+rates+differ+between+english+and+french+Canadians; why+is+U2+album+named+joshua+tree; french+wine+from+Bordeaux; 100+year+olg+eggs+china; anchorman+intro+there+was+a+time+before+cable; anchorman+quotes+top+of+a+mountain; asio+laptop; beijing+to+hong+kong; canadian+travel+estonia+Europe; cheap+computers+hong+kong; china+eastern+airlines; china+entrance+visa+administration+hong+kong; copper+in+rock+gets+pulled+by+the+earths+magnetic+field; espoo+finand +postal+code; fashion+distributor+America; finnish+passport+refused+entry; finnish+swedish+bali; helsinki+fashion+organic; how+do+i+say+ok+in+finnish; how+far+is+helsinki+from+hong+kong ; how+to+read+palms ; jet+star+asia; kimmo+lahti; learn+finnish; me+too+in+finnish; organic+cotton+fiber+organic+fibers+clothing+why; the+veer+union; value+asia; visible+light+spectrum+water; what+are+the+most+common+google+searches; why+does+a+sloth+move+so+slowly
Considering that was only about 5 days of googling, you can maybe gather how much dumber I am getting by the day due to this minor addiction of mine. While going through my history, I noticed some other things that made me smile that I have googled so far just this year:
Hussy; how+do+you+say+breasts+in+bahasa+Indonesian; THE+UNDERDOG+TAB; china+interesting+fun+facts; jackson+jackson+australian+the+cat+empire; olympic+hockey+game+schedule; telefrancais; bali+surf+report; naked+china+travel+environment; interpreting+dreams+dreams+with+a+lot+of+blood; voicie+votre+facture; january+26+1985+chinese+zodiac; chinese+folk+tales+how+chinese+history+has+shaped+its+present; damian+omar+valdez; finland+culture; great+lake+swimmers+beijing+ticket+ cool+new+music+from+Canada; the+joy+of+learning+how+to+learn+fun; chinese+zodiac+rat+monkey; hornborg; united+nations+drivers+license; cro+magnon+skull+how+many; acupuncture+tongue+diagnosis+pulse+diagnosis; 46+Fangjia+Hutong; sandra+bullock+hair+pictures; something+for+kate+light+at+the+end; Moldova; Surreptitious; adam+sandler+i+love+to+eat+turkey+in+a+big+brown+shoe; alexi+murdoch+all+of+my+days; breandan+benson; canadian+mulled+wine; chinese+slang; craig+Cardiff; genghis+khan; vodka+history+and+culture; how+fast+does+caffeine+enter+the+bloodstream; human+evolution; linda+mcgrew; matt+mays; slang+for+friends+hommies; south+park+and+Canada+why+do+they+make+fun+of+Canada;
Of course, a blog on my love for Google would have to involve some Google results; namely, on Google.
Have you ever wondered what other people Google and how often? well I did, so I Googled it.
The Google search engine receives about a billion search requests per day. That is 1 per person on earth per week (when I googled what the current earth's population was to get you that totally nerdy fact, I found this worldometers site where you can watch as the world's population, Carbon dioxide emissions and Current average temperature (Celsius) are all increasing before your eyes.
Your last useless fact of the day involves the most popular top ten searches on Google for 2008 in the UK:
1. Facebook, 2. BBC, 3. Youtube, 4. Ebay, 5. Games, 6. News, 7. Hotmail, 8. Bebo, 9. Yahoo, 10.Jobs
And since I didn't know what 8 was, what did I do? Well of course, I googled it.
" There was a time, a time before cable. When the local anchorman reigned supreme. When people believed
Guys talk:
everything they heard on TV. This was an age when only men were
allowed to read the news. And in San Diego, one anchorman was more
man then the rest. His name was Ron Burgundy. He was like a god
walking amongst mere mortals. He had a voice that could make a
wolverine purr and suits so fine they made Sinatra look like a
hobo. In other words, Ron Burgundy was the balls."
And, 3, 2, 1 ..... rolling........
The minor issue of facing extinction has increased pandas' need for procreation.
The panda breeding center uses all of its knowledge and ability to induce the mating of the pandas,
and all the newborn cubs are specially nurtured in order to reduce the number of premature deaths.
The local female panda, who had mothered the largest number of cubs in the breeding center's history,
had strikingly been named "Hero Panda Mother". But finding a mate can be equally challenging in
the animal kingdom as it may be for us, and you can't avoid the occasional bump on the road.
But you've got to get back up on your feet, or in the case of a panda, on your ass, and move on to the next venture.
Guys talk:Left: Dude, I don't think she liked that piece of bamboo I gave her..
Right: Dude, forget about her. She wouldn't know a good piece of bamboo if she sat on it...
One of the great pleasures on the streets of Chengdu (and the rest of China) is the variety of
food stands. Every morning the streets would slowly gather life from
the assorted chefs who light up their kettles and start mixing their
special ingredients. Some of the most distinct local cooking can often
be found in these modest kitchens, and no one will be left hungry to
carry out their hard day's work.
Then later when the sun starts to set,
nothing gets you going like hitting the food quarters with an empty
stomach from a whole day's walking. You will find all the fresh
flavors you can imagine, cooked up neatly into a cup of noodles, rice
or new baked bread. Man, the bread.... One specific piece of bread
stuck to my mind not only because it was delicious, but also because of
the beautiful, yet brutal way it was prepared. The chef took a piece of
dough and simply slammed it into this crude looking barrel full of
burning coal. There's just something about food being prepared in a
special manner like that, which makes it even tastier. Anyways, the
best part with the food quarters is that you get to taste a little bit
of everything, or almost everything. The downside is that eventually
you get full, or as some like to put it "you get tired of eating". I
just hate when that happens. Don't you?
Right: Dude, forget about her. She wouldn't know a good piece of bamboo if she sat on it...
One of the great pleasures on the streets of Chengdu (and the rest of China) is the variety of
food stands. Every morning the streets would slowly gather life from
the assorted chefs who light up their kettles and start mixing their
special ingredients. Some of the most distinct local cooking can often
be found in these modest kitchens, and no one will be left hungry to
carry out their hard day's work. Then later when the sun starts to set,
nothing gets you going like hitting the food quarters with an empty
stomach from a whole day's walking. You will find all the fresh
flavors you can imagine, cooked up neatly into a cup of noodles, rice
or new baked bread. Man, the bread.... One specific piece of bread
stuck to my mind not only because it was delicious, but also because of
the beautiful, yet brutal way it was prepared. The chef took a piece of
dough and simply slammed it into this crude looking barrel full of
burning coal. There's just something about food being prepared in a
special manner like that, which makes it even tastier. Anyways, the
best part with the food quarters is that you get to taste a little bit
of everything, or almost everything. The downside is that eventually
you get full, or as some like to put it "you get tired of eating". I
just hate when that happens. Don't you?And.... cut! That's a wrap...
Brian Fontana: Hey, you're making me look stupid. Get out of here, Panda Jerk!
Ron Burgundy: Great story. Compelling, and rich.
