Last week (October 2010) I crossed the border from Thailand into Poi Pet, Cambodia. I had read on internet forums and websites about how hairy it is with scams at every corner. My experience was exactly as others had mentioned so I wanted to detail that information for other people that plan on making that crossing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poipet
If you’re crossing the Cambodia/Thailand border via Poi Pet it’s probably because you are going to or coming from Siem Reap (Angor Wat) Cambodia. Angor Wat was fantastic. I cannot imagine anyone who would not enjoy it. Well worth the journey. So here’s info to make your journey safer.
I was a little surprised to find out my little blog is almost in the top 100,000 of US websites. This blog was never created for any particular marketing or SEM campaign. I just started in 2006 to write about things of interest to me at the time. Maybe that’s why it’s popular – no ulterior motive!
Conradaskland.com’s three-month global Alexa traffic rank is 344,767. The site is relatively popular among users in the city of New York (where it is ranked #100,546). Compared with all internet users, the site appeals more to users who are aged under 25 and 35–55; its visitors also tend to consist of both uneducated and highly educated men earning over $60,000 who have more children and browse from work.
Visitors to it view an average of 1.3 unique pages per day. We estimate that 58% of Conradaskland.com’s visitors are in the US, where it has attained a traffic rank of 101,553.
My Nocturne #6 from the album “Piano Nocturnes Conrad Askland”. A friend of mine selected this as one of their favorites and made the video for me. Thank you so much!
The Art of Noise released some of my favorite music in the early 1980’s. At that time it was a very new sound and uber cool. I still enjoy it. Here are videos of Close To The Edit and their version of the Peter Gunn Theme.
First music video from Trigo – one of the moderators and members of my RapDogs.com hip hop and rap artist website since 2004. I think it’s a sic video. Most of it’s in Italian I think. Even thought I don’t know Italian street slang I still find the emotion very moving. Hope you enjoy.
Video musicale di “Path of a bum” del gruppo LABATOIR.
Canzone tratta da “Percorsi InVersi Vol.1 – Per il gusto di farlo”
I ran across this live video of the Time Warp from a 1997 production of The Rocky Horror Show. This was one of the most fun musical theater projects I ever worked on. I wouldn’t mind going on a tour with this show for a few years because the interaction with the audience is intoxicating.
Working on my own project I always go back and forth between “high art” and the just plain fun of a Rocky type experience. When it comes to art what’s more important – having fun or giving people a more thoughtful experience? I guess we need it all for a colorful life…
With a sea of information coming at us from all directions, how do we sift out the misinformation and bogus claims, and get to the truth? Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine lays out a “Baloney Detection Kit,” ten questions we should ask when encountering a claim.
The 10 Questions:
1. How reliable is the source of the claim?
2.Does the source make similar claims?
3. Have the claims been verified by somebody else?
4. Does this fit with the way the world works?
5. Has anyone tried to disprove the claim?
6. Where does the preponderance of evidence point?
7. Is the claimant playing by the rules of science?
8. Is the claimant providing positive evidence?
9. Does the new theory account for as many phenomena as the old theory?
10. Are personal beliefs driving the claim?
Michael Shermer says the human tendency to believe strange things — from alien abductions to dowsing rods — boils down to two of the brain’s most basic, hard-wired survival skills. He explains what they are, and how they get us into trouble.
Dr Michael Shermer and Dr Georgia Purdom talk at the Creation Museum.
http://www.ted.com Why do people see the Virgin Mary on cheese sandwiches or hear demonic lyrics in “Stairway to Heaven”? Using video, images and music, professional skeptic Michael Shermer explores these and other phenomena, including UFOs and alien sightings. He offers cognitive context: In the absence of sound science, incomplete information can combine with the power of suggestion (helping us hear those Satanic lyrics in Led Zeppelin). In fact, he says, humans tend to convince ourselves to believe: We overvalue the “hits” that support our beliefs, and discount the more numerous “misses.”
Handel Messiah Comfort Ye Every Valley. Stephen Wall tenor. George Shangrow conducting from the harpsichord.
J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Orchestra Seattle – Seattle Chamber Singers
George Shangrow, Music Director
Seattle is in mourning today and for all time on the death of George Shangrow. Seattle area conductor George Shangrow was killed in a car crash on Saturday July 31, 2010.
It’s not normal for me to publish things like this on my website. But this is just so shocking to me. I first worked with George when I was around 12 years old as a boy soprano and in 2005 had offered to relocate my record label and internet company to Seattle to solely focus on promoting his groups. I’m so sad to hear this. What a tremendous loss. He was such a great conductor, pianist and person. Condolences to his family.
When I was around 12 years old, George Shangrow was around 27 and worked as a rehearsal pianist for the Northwest Boychoir that I was in. He would also sometimes accompany me in voice lessons and later I sang in the chorus with him conducting Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.
In 2006, before I relocated to China with Cirque Du Soleil, I last saw him conduct the Bach Mass in B Minor in Seattle, WA. I spoke with him after the concert and he said “Are you still interested in that studio and internet thing?” and I said “Yes”. But that was the last we spoke and I relocated to China.
