Unless you are living under a rock you know that Michael Jackson died this week. Like Elvis before him his passing will be remembered and mourned by millions .. no .. billions. Living in China I can tell you that he was a huge star here as he was in the Western world. This is not always true of China as most of the "famous" celebrities we know are hardly recognized in this land of billions.
I was not necessarily shocked nor particularly saddened as I could never have really counted myself as a Michael Jackson fan. I did enjoy a few tracks from Thriller and Off The Wall but in a search of the thousands mp3's I have on my computer there is nary a Michael Jackson nor Jackson 5 tune.
His death and life will be analyzed a million ways with everyone offering their opinion on his tragically flawed superstar life. I offer no such analysis except to say that many probably thought like the kids of Fame this kid was going to live forever .. well as the Jackson 5 sang in 1975 Forever Came Today.
Friday 26 June 2009
Wednesday 24 June 2009
Evolution
1973 - 5 Years Old
1984 - Grade 10. Nice zit and puberty moustache
1987 - 19th Birthday. Judging by the rotary dial phone and decor it could have been 1977
Sunday 21 June 2009
Happy Father's Day!
Happy Father's Day Dad!
You're a hole in one in my books.
For my special day I was awoken to Carter and Nathan wishing me a Happy Father's Day and Carter telling me I had to find my Father's Day Card. He's pretty sneaky at hiding things so it took awhile but I finally found this
(Outside .. Nathan glued the fish. Carter drew me and my Chinese Name)
(Inside .. Alice did most of the writing except for Carter's part. He did that by himself although Mama helped him spell the words.)
Alice then took the kids to a birthday party while I had the morning to myself to relax. In the early evening we took the boys to Discovery Kingdom (a scaled down Disneyland) for rides, games and just general goofing around.
We had too much fun playing around and only managed to take these few shots.
Carter and his buds
Alice and her buds
A great family and a great day!
You're a hole in one in my books.
For my special day I was awoken to Carter and Nathan wishing me a Happy Father's Day and Carter telling me I had to find my Father's Day Card. He's pretty sneaky at hiding things so it took awhile but I finally found this
(Outside .. Nathan glued the fish. Carter drew me and my Chinese Name)
(Inside .. Alice did most of the writing except for Carter's part. He did that by himself although Mama helped him spell the words.)
Alice then took the kids to a birthday party while I had the morning to myself to relax. In the early evening we took the boys to Discovery Kingdom (a scaled down Disneyland) for rides, games and just general goofing around.
We had too much fun playing around and only managed to take these few shots.
Carter and his buds
Alice and her buds
A great family and a great day!
Friday 19 June 2009
In Your Head All Day
Feeling down? Feeling blue? Need a pick me up? The best drug to get you through your day is a little shot of Numma Numma!
Thursday 18 June 2009
Tears
Flipping through some photos from this spring and ran across this one of Nathan at Discovery Kingdom. Do you think he would have been happier if he had a Pittsburgh Penguins hat rather than a Canucks hat?
Wednesday 17 June 2009
My Classes
The photos are of my classes for 2008-2009. I had 3 classes of Math 12 and 3 classes of Calculus 12. Today was the last day of teaching them all and as always there was happiness and sadness all rolled into one. The students at our school are a fantastic group who really respect (mostly) and care for their teachers.
This is my 9th year of sending bright young minds out in the world to make it a better place to live. At times with the increased size of our school (600 grade 12's alone) it begins to feel a bit like a diploma factory however each year offers its own surprises, challenges and nuisances that set it apart from all the rest.
Congratulations to all of them on a job well done!
Block A - Math 12
They made me do this pose!
Block C - Calculus 12 (the picture with me didn't turn out)
Block E - Math 12
Block F - Math 12
Block G - Calculus 12
Block H - Calculus 12
This is my 9th year of sending bright young minds out in the world to make it a better place to live. At times with the increased size of our school (600 grade 12's alone) it begins to feel a bit like a diploma factory however each year offers its own surprises, challenges and nuisances that set it apart from all the rest.
Congratulations to all of them on a job well done!
Block A - Math 12
They made me do this pose!
Block C - Calculus 12 (the picture with me didn't turn out)
Block E - Math 12
Block F - Math 12
Block G - Calculus 12
Block H - Calculus 12
Monday 15 June 2009
To All The Teachers
No occupation is more maligned, celebrated, ridiculed, exalted, necessary, pointless, welcomed or disdained than that of a teacher. The holidays, the working hours at school, the working hours at home, the weekends, the joy of seeing kids learn, the frustration of having kids not give a rats a**. Being praised, being insulted. Being their everything, being nothing to them at all. On my worst days I wouldn't trade this job for the world (just don't ask me on that worst day cause I might make a liar out of myself).
The summer is quickly arriving and the schools will remain silent for some weeks to come until we start it all up again with different kids but the same routine. For all you teachers who have done your best to brighten the minds of tomorrow ... the end is near.
The summer is quickly arriving and the schools will remain silent for some weeks to come until we start it all up again with different kids but the same routine. For all you teachers who have done your best to brighten the minds of tomorrow ... the end is near.
Friday 12 June 2009
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!
This morning was a morning to revel in changes. I came to China in August 2000 and have witnessed an almost breakneck pace of change in this little corner of the world. When I arrived here the big news was that WalMart had opened up downtown in the previous year and Pizza Hut had just arrived in the city the same month I did. My internet was a basic telephone modem with poor wiring in the walls so that the interference made it all but impossible to do even basic surfing. Sometimes simple emails would take minutes to load. I had a VCD player for watching movies (essentially a glorified CD .. movies were split on 2 discs and were of very poor quality).
Fast forward to June 13, 2009 and I find myself sitting in my apartment which is significantly more spacious and modern than the first apartment I lived in here. My my wife and children (I was single and childless when I arrived) were puttering around the house as I sat and watched Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals on my high speed cable internet connection. I was sipping my Starbuck's Coffee (we got one 3 years back) and eating some chocolate from IKEA (just opened this February).
As I watched the rematchfrom 2008 I realized that my life had changed about as much as the fortunes of Detroit and Pittsburgh. I felt for a moment connected to those youngsters on the ice (Crosby 21, Malkin 22, Stall 20) as we both were swept along in a sea of change. Mine is like a slow rolling wave that lazily washes the gentle sands of time. It changes so slowly as to be imperceptible but in the long run the effect is tremendous. Pittsburgh's is like the photos of the giant crashing waves with the surfer riding confidently inside a tube of water enjoying the coolness of it all quite separate from the entire world around them but all the while realizing their special moment in time and space.
To the Penguins I give you the quote from David Bowie's "Changes"
"And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their world
Are immune to your consultations.
They're quite aware of what they're going through.
Ch-ch-ch-changes.
Don't tell them to grow up and out of it"
The song is almost 40 years old (1971) but it's as beautiful and poignant now as it was then.
Fast forward to June 13, 2009 and I find myself sitting in my apartment which is significantly more spacious and modern than the first apartment I lived in here. My my wife and children (I was single and childless when I arrived) were puttering around the house as I sat and watched Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals on my high speed cable internet connection. I was sipping my Starbuck's Coffee (we got one 3 years back) and eating some chocolate from IKEA (just opened this February).
As I watched the rematchfrom 2008 I realized that my life had changed about as much as the fortunes of Detroit and Pittsburgh. I felt for a moment connected to those youngsters on the ice (Crosby 21, Malkin 22, Stall 20) as we both were swept along in a sea of change. Mine is like a slow rolling wave that lazily washes the gentle sands of time. It changes so slowly as to be imperceptible but in the long run the effect is tremendous. Pittsburgh's is like the photos of the giant crashing waves with the surfer riding confidently inside a tube of water enjoying the coolness of it all quite separate from the entire world around them but all the while realizing their special moment in time and space.
To the Penguins I give you the quote from David Bowie's "Changes"
"And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their world
Are immune to your consultations.
They're quite aware of what they're going through.
Ch-ch-ch-changes.
Don't tell them to grow up and out of it"
The song is almost 40 years old (1971) but it's as beautiful and poignant now as it was then.
Thursday 11 June 2009
Summer Nights
As the school year winds down and the summer begins we have been spending a great deal of time in "the square" of Song Hai Li during the evenings.
I started thinking about our summer nights when this song naturally popped into my head. Oh .. those summer nights.
I started thinking about our summer nights when this song naturally popped into my head. Oh .. those summer nights.
Wednesday 10 June 2009
Game 7
It doesn't get any better than this. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Every kid who has skated on a pond or played ball hockey in the street knows the thrill. Pretending to be your hero scoring in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
What makes this one extra special is the rematch between last year's combatants Pittsburgh and Detroit. This series has been back and forth with a continuous seesawing of momentum shifts. Both teams deserve to be where they are at and are truly the best in their conferences.
How does it fair for the Penguins after being down 2-0 in the series? Well only 2 teams have come back from this deficit to win Lord Stanley's Cup. Here is a breakdown of all game 7's in Stanley Cup history. The odds are against Pittsburgh but it ain't over until the last whistle sounds.
Stanley Cup Final Game Sevens | |||
| YEAR | CUP CHAMPION | FINAL OPPONENT | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | * Carolina Hurricanes | Edmonton Oilers | 3-1 |
| 2004 | * Tampa Bay Lightning | Calgary Flames | 2-1 |
| 2003 | * New Jersey Devils | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 3-0 |
| 2001 | * Colorado Avalanche | New Jersey Devils | 3-1 |
| 1994 | * New York Rangers | Vancouver Canucks | 3-2 |
| 1987 | * Edmonton Oilers | Philadelphia Flyers | 3-1 |
| 1971 | Montreal Canadiens | Chicago Black Hawks | 3-2 |
| 1965 | * Montreal Canadiens | Chicago Black Hawks | 4-0 |
| 1964 | * Toronto Maple Leafs | Detroit Red Wings | 4-0 |
| 1955 | * Detroit Red Wings | Montreal Canadiens | 3-1 |
| 1954 | * Detroit Red Wings | Montreal Canadiens | 2-1 (OT) |
| 1950 | * Detroit Red Wings | New York Rangers | 4-3 (OT) |
| 1945 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Detroit Red Wings | 2-1 |
| 1942 | * Toronto Maple Leafs | Detroit Red Wings | 3-1 |
* Home Team Winner
Tuesday 9 June 2009
Nathan is 3!
Today was Nathan's 3rd birthday although when you ask him how old he is he still only puts up 2 fingers. When you tell him is now 3 he says he wants to be 5 like his big brother.
We did the (now) traditional KFC dinner and then returned home for cake and presents. Nathan was soooo excited to eat cake that was all he could talk about. He went with us to the "cake place" in the Kai Fa Qu market to pick out his own cake. Nathan saw the cake he wanted when Carter was picking his out 10 days ago and he had not forgotten which one it was when we went today. We tried to play a joke on him and say we left the cake at KFC. He said he was going to take a taxi by himself to go to KFC and get it.
Thanks to the Englesons for popping down and sharing cake and for snapping the following photos.
We did the (now) traditional KFC dinner and then returned home for cake and presents. Nathan was soooo excited to eat cake that was all he could talk about. He went with us to the "cake place" in the Kai Fa Qu market to pick out his own cake. Nathan saw the cake he wanted when Carter was picking his out 10 days ago and he had not forgotten which one it was when we went today. We tried to play a joke on him and say we left the cake at KFC. He said he was going to take a taxi by himself to go to KFC and get it.
Thanks to the Englesons for popping down and sharing cake and for snapping the following photos.
Monday 8 June 2009
School Uniforms
The boys were required to wear their school unis today. I came home to these 2 cute little boys playing games and pretending to be Ultraman.
Friday 5 June 2009
A Bad Day for Kung Fu
On Wednesday the world of 1970's Kung Fu lost two of its most famous members.
David Carradine was found dead at age 72 in a hotel room in Bangkok
Shih Kien known for his role as the evil Han in Enter The Dragon died at age 96 in Hong Kong.
Kung Fu The 1972 Pilot Movie
Willams v. Han in Enter The Dragon
David Carradine was found dead at age 72 in a hotel room in Bangkok
Shih Kien known for his role as the evil Han in Enter The Dragon died at age 96 in Hong Kong.
Kung Fu The 1972 Pilot Movie
Willams v. Han in Enter The Dragon
Tuesday 2 June 2009
The Boy's Birthday Party
In the continuing saga of the Brown boys birthdays we have the latest post .. the combined party with friends. Last Sunday morning (we had a mandatory fun day at school on Saturday) Carter and Nathan and pals headed to the Jinzhou pool for some a swim, a soak and some water slides. The whole gang then came back to our apartment to have jiaozi (Chinese dumplings) and other tasty snacks. Oh and cake of course. Some shots of the boys and happy crew.
Happy 25th Birthday Tetris
Yes it's another birthday post but this time it isn't one of us.
Invented in 1984 by a Russian computer programmer the game of Tetris celebrates its 25th birthday this week. It has shown a resiliency that no other computer game has displayed - PacMan, Defender, Donkey Kong are relics of the past but Tetris lives on.
To put into perspective for the 80's music fan the top hits during this week of 1984 include "Jump" by Van Halen, "Hello" by Lionel Richie, "Footloose" Kenny Loggins.
Video of a Grand Master playing Tetris. This kid has hyperactive disorder.
Watch Fastest Tetris Player on CollegeHumor
Monday 1 June 2009
Shoop, Shoop Diddy Wop
Posted this one before on the old blog (mabrown.blogsome.com) but thought it was time to rehash it again cause this song is so damn good! Love the singer's moustache. Hope this has you singing all day long.
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