httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1MEDm8to4M
Video of Santa’s 2009 Christmas Eve visit to China. He is also spotted on the official NORAD Santa Tracker as having already visited Kowloon in Hong Kong.
NORAD uses a combination of satellites, Santa cams, escort Jets and infrared radar (locked onto Rudolph’s nose) to track Santa. You can follow the official NORAD Santa Tracker at:
http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDeXUvWbLp8
There is a little confusion in China when it comes to Western holidays. For instance, on Christmas Eve the street was littered with confetti as people exploded party poppers at the stroke of midnight for the beginning of Christmas Day. And then Auld Lang Syne is playing on all the bar sound systems. Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve – what’s the difference right? Ugh.
So thank you to my friend from the Great White North who sent me this. I got home tonight as Christmas Eve turned to Christmas Day in China. Was feeling very sad not to be with my family, and to not have the usual Christmas events around me. This video helped center me a bit.
Her is an alternate verse for O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel), and I think a more powerful one.
Chains shall he break
for the slave is our brother
And in His name
all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy
In grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us
Praise His holy name
Christ is the Lord
And ever ever praise we
Noel, Noel
O night, O night divine
Noel, Noel
O night, O night divine
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/12/16/macau.casino.comeback/index.html
CNN interview with Sheldon Adelson, chairman of the Las Vegas Sands; home to Cirque Du Soleil’s ZAIA show. We will have more news regarding Adelson and Cirque within the next month or so.
I really could not believe this news. I read it several times to make sure I was not misunderstanding it. Since I run many websites I had contemplated running a Chinese network hosted in China – and I’m so glad now that I didn’t do that. What a waste it would have been.
In short: China will be reviewing all personal Chinese websites for content; will ban any website they think has bad content (porn, anti-government, dissidents, etc.); and anyone registering a new domain will have to present business papers.
Continue reading “China Bans Individuals from Registering Websites”
Remember the Tom Hanks movie Terminal? There’s a real life version of that in Japan’s Narita airport. A Chinese activist has been denied entry into mainland China on multiple occasions and doesn’t want to enter Japan – so they are living in the Narita airport terminal.
Feng Zhenghu has been living there for a couple months now. There’s no restaurants in the entry terminal so he’s relying on handouts from passengers and flight attendants. Great story.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/03/japan.chinese.activist/index.html
November 12, 2009 was the celebration for the 500th performance of the ZAIA show by Cirque Du Soleil in Macau, China. Cirque founder Guy Laliberte flew in for the performance and toasted the artists and crew. Family and friends were also invited for the occasion.
Conrad Askland (ZAIA keyboards and assistant bandleader) and Guy Laliberte.
I would like to recommend a pro audio store in Hong Kong: Tsang Fook Piano Co. Ltd. The name is a little misleading because in addition to pianos and keyboards they carry a lot of pro audio software. I was in HEAVEN to see rows and rows of boxes with sound libraries, recording and notation software.
Chinese opera from Olimilch on Vimeo.
Chinese Opera filmed May 1, 2009 on Coloane Island, Macau (SAR) China. These performances every year on Taipa Island (Macau, China) also. I’ve stood by the musician pit many times to watch them play and it’s fascinating. I have to admit I cringe a little when the Chinese opera sopranos start singing, but I’m starting to acquire a taste for the male voices.
View Conrad Askland – Cities I’ve Visited in a larger map
Had fun messing around with Google Maps. This is a list of cities that I have visited.
I keep messing it up – now I’ve got two maps posted, each with half of the cities I’ve visited. Arghh! I give up, it’s boring now…
Conrad Askland, from Mount Vernon, WA USA, is currently living in Macau (SAR) China while working with the Cirque Du Soleil ZAIA show at the Venetian Macao. In Asia he has also performed in Shanghai, South Korea and Japan.
October 1, 2009 – 中国加油，中国万岁
Happy Sixty Year Anniversary to the People’s Republic of China!
It’s a four day holiday for the locals here in China. When locals have holidays it usually means that I work more; doing entertainment shows to accommodate the tourists.
China’s last 60 years has been bittersweet with a unified people exposed to both hard living and the largest economic boom in modern history. At the end of my blog post there’s a link to a great CNN article by Jaime FlorCruz that gives an overview of China’s 60 years as The People’s Republic of China.
Continue reading “Happy 60th Birthday to the People’s Republic of China”