My Photos at 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Here are some of my photos from the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. For my show reviews and thoughts go to:
https://conradaskland.com/blog/edinburgh-fringe-2017-shows-thoughts/

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is an annual theater destination with hundreds of different shows to attend from stand up comics, musical theater to the absurd and serious theater genres. This year was the 70th annual Fringe and it was awesome!

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My Edinburgh Fringe 2017 – Shows and Thoughts

I attended the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a 70 year old theater festival in Scotland, from August 14-23, 2017 and it was incredible. In all my travels this has got to be one of the most incredible experiences of my life.

In 9 days I attended 30 shows. Many more were booked but it was such an overload that I just had to take some time off here and there. My friends ask “Did you see the castles?” No. “Did you see the Military Tattoo?” No. I was here for shows.

My show thoughts and reviews are below. If interested in photos I took at the 70th annual fringe go here:

My Photos at 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival

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What’s it like to be a musician on a cruise ship

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I played piano in the show band on the RCCL Navigator of the Seas from June 9 thru July 14, 2013. Ports of call included Rome, Sicily, Athens Crete and Ephesus (Turkey). This was my first time doing a cruise ship gig and it was a fun experience.

So what’s it like working as a musician on a cruise ship? I had read a lot of horror stories online so I was prepared for the worst. But you know what, it was pretty fun! Much better than I had anticipated.

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Kung Hei Fat Choy 2012

The entire company of Zaia wishes you a Happy Chinese New Year. Kung Hei Fat Choy!

I had my noodles at the local Chinese restaurant and let off bottle rockets into the water of Macau. Happy to report no rockets hit me this year.

USA Green Card Lottery Scam

This is a really horrible scam. People that sign up for the USA green card lottery are sent emails saying they have won a green card. They just have to send in $800 for processing. It is not true. It is a scam. It is a lie. I hope innocent people that don’t know much English understand this. It’s not true.

The US Department of State has a scam warning here:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1749.html

This email is being sent to people that actually entered the real US green card lottery (Yes, there is such a thing.) The REAL United States green card lottery from the US Department of State is located here:
http://www.dvlottery.state.gov

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Venetian Macau Changes It’s Tune

The Venetian Macau has changed it’s tune as of around Spring 2011. I don’t mean this in a symbolic sense, it’s literal. And maybe I’m the only one who has noticed or cares – it’s quite possible.

When I first started working at the Venetian Macau in April of 2011, all the background music piped through the hallways and upper shopping canals was Vivaldi. I’m pretty sure it was all Vivaldi all the time; specifically the Four Seasons. At the time I commented how much I loved it. The recordings were great with fine string performances. A friend said “Just wait, after six months you’ll be sick of it and never want to hear it again.” But I didn’t find that was true. I loved the music when I first heard it and still loved it three years later.

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Definition of Bull Market and Bear Market from local Chinese

So I’m talking with a friend here in Macau, China about stocks and I asked them if they knew about the terms Bull Market and Bear Market. They said yes. The Bear Market is when stocks go down. They said the phrase comes from the old West in America. The cowboys would sit around and got very bored so they decided to bring in a bear to fight with a cow. The bear lost to the cow. So a Bear Market means the stock is losing.

Oh c’mon, that’s just so darn cute. I asked them for clarification, “The bear lost to the cow?” and they said most certainly, “Yes!”

Lens Comparison Canon 5D Mark II

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUW4jivwqWM&NR

Here’s a video I made for a lens comparison on the Canon 5D Mark II using Final Cut Express, MPEG Streamclip and ProTools 9. Footage is automatic settings with tripod at 25 (23.98) frames per second. Lenses in the comparison are:

  • Canon 24-105mm f/4L
  • Canon 50mm f/1.4
  • Canon 15mm Fisheye f/2.8
  • Tamron 20mm f/1.8

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