Frances Chu's Blog

Resin - A Secret to Magic of 3-D Painting - from Pablo Cue

2012-01-24T11:51:00.002-05:00

Pablo wrote, "Watch the video first...to see how it's being done by the Japanese artist! I had been told that this technique may be highly toxic... so be mindful of the use of resin in 3-D painting!!!

"Japanese artist Riusuke Fukahori paints three-dimensional goldfish using a complex process of poured resin. The fish are painted meticulously, layer by layer, the sandwiched slices revealing slightly more about each creature, similar to the function of a 3D printer.

"I really enjoy the rich depth of the pieces and the optical illusion aspect, it’s such an odd process that results in something that’s both a painting and sculptural. Wonderful."

Thank you, Pablo!

New Year Greetings from Lina Mei to her Facebook friends

2012-01-22T22:05:00.002-05:00

恭賀新禧、財源廣進、財源滾滾、大吉大利、年年高升、步步高升、事事如意、招財進寶、吉祥如意、心想事成、萬事如意、扭轉乾坤、一路發財、新春愉快、國泰民安、風調雨順、新春如意、開春大吉、六畜高升、閤家平安、新春快樂、一元復始，萬象更新、大發利市、開市大吉、五子登科、龍馬精神、春意盎然、富貴有餘、金玉滿堂、必定如意、福到眼前、福壽雙全、迎春納福、春回大地、大家恭禧、開車大吉、竹報平安、花開富貴、開市大發、龍鳳呈祥、三陽開泰、龍年行大運吉慶有餘、容安祝福~親愛滴朋友❤ღ(｡◕‿◠｡)❤送給您「龍年行大運」祈願您能夠在2012年聚集十方財，讓「財運」、「事業運」、「家運」、「健康運」、「貴人運」，源源不斷。祝您⋯⋯新年快樂 2012新的一年☆每一日的快樂,每一日的平安,每一刻的幸福.*好運伴您左右:))))And Xiaozheng Alice Concepcion added following picture to her Facebook Friends on 1/23/12

Wow, all those auspicious Happy New Year wishes :-))) Thank you Lina & Alice.

New Year Greetings from Johannians via Benny Pan

2012-01-22T10:20:00.000-05:00

★衷心的祝願你在新的一年裡，所有的期待都能出現，所有的夢想都能實現，所有的希望都能如願，所有的付出都能兌現﹗

★新的1年開始，祝好事接2連3，心情4季如春，生活5顏6色，7彩繽紛，偶爾8點小財，煩惱拋到9霄雲外﹗請接受我心10意的祝福。祝新春快樂﹗

★ 祝您一帆風順二龍騰飛三羊開泰四季平安五福臨門六六大順七星高照八方來財九九同心十全十美百事可樂千事吉祥萬事如意﹗

★祝你財源滾滾；親情、友情、情情如意；官運、財運、運運亨通。

★願你抱著平安，擁著健康，揣著福祉，攜著快樂，摟著溫馨，帶著甜蜜，牽著財運，拽著吉祥，邁入新年，快樂度過每一天﹗

★ 願所有的好夢依偎著你，入睡是甜，醒來成真﹗ ★ 願所有的財運籠罩著你﹗日出遇貴，日落見財﹗ ★ 願所有的吉星呵護著你﹗時時吉祥﹗刻刻平安﹗

★ 新年的鐘聲裡，我舉起杯，任一彎晶瑩的思緒，在杯底悄悄沈澱，深深地祝福你快樂﹗

★ 開心每一秒，快樂每一天，福祉每一年，健康到永遠﹗新年快樂。

★ 送你一件外套，前面是平安，後面是福祉，吉祥是領子，如意是袖子，快樂是扣子，口袋裡滿是溫暖，穿上吧，讓它相伴你的每一天﹗新春快樂﹗

★ 新年到，願君︰百事可樂﹗萬事芬達﹗天天哇哈哈﹗月月樂百事﹗年年高樂高﹗心情似雪碧﹗永遠都醒目﹗

★ 新的一年，新的開始；心的祝福，心的起點。

★ 新年到，鴻運照，煩惱的事兒往邊靠，祝你出門遇貴人，在家聽喜報，烏紗帽往你頭上罩，鈔票朝你身上飄。★ 今年過年不送禮，發條短信送給你。 ★健康快樂常伴你，好運和你不分離。 ★ 還有讓我恭喜你︰財神已經盯上你﹗

★ 一片綠葉，飽含著它對根的情誼；一句賀詞，濃縮了我對你的祝願。又是一個美好的開始--新年歲首，祝成功和快樂永遠伴隨著你。

★ 我把新年的祝福和希望，悄悄地放在將融的雪被下，讓它們隨著春天生長，送給你一年的豐碩與芬芳﹗

★ 祝你在新的一年裡︰事業正當午，身體壯如虎，金錢不勝數，幹活不辛苦，悠閒像遊龍，快樂似樂譜。

★ 滾滾滾滾滾滾滾滾滾滾滾...燙燙的祝福送給你，新年快樂，合家福祉!

★ 好久不見，十分想念。在這辭舊迎新之際，常常憶起共處的歲月。找點時間，約個地點，帶上祝福，來個非常體驗!

★ 祝你一年開開心心，一生快快樂樂，一世平平安安，願你生命中的每一個願望都能得到實現，新春愉快﹗

★ 許一個美好的心願祝你快樂連連，送一份美妙的感覺祝你萬事圓圓，發一條短短的訊息祝你福祉綿綿。

★ 賀新年，慶佳節，恭喜發財﹗新年好，萬事順，事事如意﹗

★福祿壽禧過年好

藉由新年的祝福～傳達想念你的心情有你相伴的日子生活總是五顏六色希望你天天過得開心又充實～願上帝祝福您福杯滿溢

Thank you Benny & Johannians!

Talent Show - from Pablo Cue

2012-01-19T11:07:00.000-05:00

A little gross, but amazing!Thank you, Pablo!

Greetings Year of the Dragon - from You Tube

2012-01-18T17:28:00.002-05:00

Best Wishes for a year of Good Health and Prosperity!

An Amazing Fireworks Display with images of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Father of the Republic of China

2012-01-16T11:08:00.000-05:00

Thank you, Pablo Cue for forwarding and sharing this beautiful firework display of 100th Birthday of Republic of China on 1/8/2012 while I was vacationing in LA.Happy New Year of 2012!

Ellen With Her Hawaii Chair

2012-01-04T03:43:00.000-05:00

Another popular YouTube with over 3.8 million pageviews.May Lee of Australia said on her facebook: "I laughed so hard I almost fell off my chair - you have to see this. It will make your day!"Thank you May! You laughed so loud you woke me up. It is 3:30 AM in New York. It made me laugh too.FLC

The Moulin Rouge

2012-01-04T02:33:00.001-05:00

We love Paris for shopping, dining, and shows - ah Chanel, the Ritz, and the Moulin Rouge ... Thank you Jane for reminding us!

2012 Happy Year of the Dragon

2012-01-03T10:27:00.006-05:00

Thank you to Lihun Cai, Kathy Bai, Andy Dongm & www.i-china.org for producing this informative video; Best Wishes for a Happy 2012 to all my family and friends.

2012年是龍年。龍年，被說成是中國人民的一個非常繁榮的一年。有人說，在這一年出生的人將健康，富裕，明智的。...... 2012年，龍年。特別是它被認為是吉祥的新業務，結婚生子。龍年也傾向於提高個人的命運和世界經濟。在中國，龍象徵著善良，力量和智慧。在東方國家，他們所代表的天體和地面的力量，智慧和力量以及季節性週期和超自然的力量，龍，蛇的身體，青蛙的肚皮，鯉魚的鱗，頭駱駝，牛角一個巨大的鹿，野兔的眼睛，耳朵像牛，像鬣蜥，像老虎的爪子，爪像鷹一樣的脖子。中國龍，常常繪製在他們頭上的鬍鬚和鹿角。Chinese text from Lina Mei 1/21/12!

Happy and auspicious Year of the Dragon to all! Frances

A Popular New Year Dance

2011-12-31T12:18:00.002-05:00

Thanks Erica Leok via facebook - Sharing with over 6 millions fans around the world - Happy New Year and do more happy dances in 2012 and beyond.

World Heritage Sites 世界文化與自然遺產 Photos by 周劍生

2011-12-30T21:25:00.000-05:00

Lily Liu forwarded to me a PPS named 世界文化與自然遺產. It is a collection of beautiful photos by a dedicated Chinese photographer 周劍生 in many around the world trips since 1994 for 8 years time to take the pictures of the World Heritage Sites. 周劍生先生簡歷"1950年11月出生；1969年赴黑龍江生産建設兵團； 1971年參軍，曾任文書、攝影報導員；1976年退伍後在中國石油化工部擔任專職攝影工作；1980年加入中國攝影家協會；1989年考入日本大學藝術學部攝影專科；1990年考入日本多摩美術大學研究生院；1992年獲得藝術碩士學位。現定居日本並成立周劍生事務所；從1994年起利用業餘時間自費走世界，拍攝“世界遺産”。至今總行程達環地球30周。Thank you 周劍生 and Lily Liu for sharing.

Pine Cone Flowers 好美的松果開花~

2011-12-30T18:44:00.001-05:00

好美的松果開花~Thank you Lily Liu for forwarding the PPS. We have lots of pine trees around. I must look more carefully to see when the flowers bloom.

Famous Chinese Poems - Video by Dr. Chang

2011-12-28T22:44:00.000-05:00

Thank you, Dr. Chang

2012 Blessings by Dr. Chang

2011-12-28T21:14:00.001-05:00

Best wishes to all my family and friends for a happy 2012 ... Thank you, Dr. Chang!

The Frog and Ants - LOL from You Tube

2011-12-22T18:34:00.003-05:00

This is from my grandson Steven. It is so funny. It makes me laugh every time I look at this video of less than a minute.LOL

E-Greetings from Facebook

2011-12-22T05:01:00.000-05:00

This is a card that I like very much from FaceBook. It is from Joe Thomas, Dean of Johnson School of Cornell University. His card has 2 parts. One is a peppy music video, and the other is a photo album behind the card cover. I am in one of his pictures in Facebook, I am so honored.

His customized message is so unique, special, meaningful, and professionally done. It has 2 links. I do not know how to copy it the ease-of-use version. But please just click on the blue Facebook above and see the photo slide show with following card cover.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2842412421054&set=a.1134583326394.20791.1281649573&type=1&theater

Now please click on Joe Thomas and see the musical one that will put us all in the holiday mood.

Following links I am keeping to try to see if I can make this blog more user-friendly..
http://id8creative.com/temp/cornell/holiday2011/joe/web/index.html

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2842412421054&set=a.1134583326394.20791.1281649573&type=1&theater

More about my thoughts on E-cards

THANK YOU and HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL

FLC

E-Greetings - Happy Holidays!

2011-12-21T10:03:00.001-05:00

I remember that on the olden days on first few years of Xmas after I got married, we used to make a Xmas tree or some festive design out of Xmas cards we received and pasted them on the wall or around doors and windows/curtains. And we kept all those pictures and specially hand made cards we received. I always look forward to seeing pictures of friends & their family, their children growing up, and then their children's children. I also enjoy Xmas letters showing pictures of the places they visited, and special parties. We are so blessed.

Recent years, more and more of my friends have been sending me e-cards and e-Letters. I like them because the words are easier to read and I can see the pictures in fine details on my screens of laptop without wearing glasses.

However, it was my husband Norton's job keeping track of Xmas cards and mailing ours out. I only do emails in recent years. And in last couple of years, I've been keeping sort of a diary on my blog site that my family and friends can visit any time they want.

E-Greetings are getting fancier this year. This year, I received many musical PPS Greeings as well as musical animated cards. Following is one from a new young friend May Chen, my picture is on one of the boxes in the 3D picture. It is very thoughtful of her. And I like that song too.

More about my thoughts on E-cards and E-Greedings please just click the blue links before.

Thank you all so much. Happy Holidays to you all!

FLC

2011 Taiwan International Orchid Show - Photo by John Wu

2011-12-21T00:26:00.001-05:00

Thank you Lily Liu and John Wu. Happy Holidays!

FLC

A Chinese Stage Show - from YouTube

2011-12-18T01:47:00.002-05:00

Amazing costume

Many of my American friends saw similar shows in China last time they were there in recent years. I don't think I ever had the time to see a complete stage show when I went back to China for visits. There were so much to see. And of course, seeing friends were on top of my priority lists.

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Magic - How Did He Do That - from Jane Loh

2011-12-17T12:28:00.000-05:00

How did she find it from You Tube? It is true magic.

Of course, Jane always like cartoon and magic shows.###

2011 MOCA Legacy Gala honoring Oscar Tang - Lifetime Achievement Award

2011-12-15T23:36:00.000-05:00

Roddy made a special trip from Ohio to New York for aweekend to attend MOCA’s 2011 Legacy Gala at Cipriani Wall Street on MondayDecember 12 as a guest of Patty Tang. Patty is a trustee of MOCA and she alsoserved as a member of the Gala Committee this year. It was a very wellorganized and successful Fund Raising Gala.

Please click on picture to get a larger view

MOCA was founded in 1980 as the New York Chinatown History Project. I am glad to see that in recent years, it has grown to a Museum serving 30,000 visitors annually. This year’s fund raising Gala ticket price was $1,000 a seat, and $20,000 to $100,000 for a table of ten. Oscar Tang is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award as a philanthropist and private investor. It is a very well deserved recognition indeed.

I heard that MOCA raised $1,300,000 from last year’sdinner. This year probably more. The Gala was filled with premium tables of friends ofhonorees, Trustees, and Gala Committees. Roddy was so busy having a good timeand saying hello to friends; he took only few pictures. They all looked so beautiful!

Congratulations, Oscar and MOCA and Thank you Patty & Henry!

FLC

Christmas Card

2011-12-15T03:54:00.002-05:00

Friends have been sending Xmas Cards early via emails this year. I received many good ones. Thank you.

I've received a same animated e-card from 3 different friends on different days. It is so cute and festive I copied the link on Facebook too. I am keeping a copy of the link to share it with my blogger friends around the world.

Please click on following link, then just follow the instruction and click, build the snowman, and click again..

Merry Xmas.

http://ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/bws8Shell_fps24.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3166187/graphic1

Thank you and Best Wishes for Happy Holidays to you All!

More about my thoughts on E-Greetings

http://franceschusblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/happy-holidays.html

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Dragon Beard Candy by Lina Mei via Face Book

2011-12-12T16:24:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday, my young friend Lina Mei of NY Jewelry sponsored a festive event in New World, Queens. She was one of the hosts. She sang, as well as did an interview in Chinese to show a Dragon Beard Candy maker business and placed the video on face book. Somehow I was having difficulty copying that video from my Apple Mac Air. However, I found on YouTube following Dragon Beard Candy Live Demo that is in English.

Following is Lina's interview of the one at New World. You can hear Lina speaking both Cantonese and Mandarin. And you can hear that she was having a great time.

Thank you, Lina!

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Fun-Loving Men of My Family

2011-12-10T14:40:00.001-05:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

A Phone Call from Taiwan

2011-12-10T06:03:00.001-05:00

I picked up Roddy from the airport late at night. It seems that I have just fell asleep, the phone rang. I turned on the light, picked up the phone.

"Sorry to wake you up, this is Jane." In Mandarin.
"I know, what time it is?" I said also in Mandarin..
"6:30. You used to wake up early." She said.

She was happy that I sound OK. She said that she just brought her husband home from the hospital. He is alright...

She went out to buy a string of Xmas lights to decorate their apartment because their #1 son and family will be going from US to join them for Xmas in Taiwan. May be the younger son as well...

We talked and talked.

She ended the call by saying: "When we are in the 70s, we live a week at a time. Since we have reached 80s, now we live one day at a time."

I looked at my watch, it was 5:55 AM.
Thank you Jane for checking up on me.

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Ferragamo Shoes and Olive Oil

2011-12-08T16:05:00.001-05:00

When I was working, I used to wear shoes with 2" - 3” heels. Inearly 1980s, my favorite made and last of shoes was Ferragamo Vara pumps size8.5AA. They are all handmade shoes and feel so very comfortable on my feet.

In the mid 1980s, Iattended a luncheon hosted by Neiman Marcus at their Zodiac Restaurant. Thespecial guest and speaker was Massimo Ferragamo - a very impressive young and good looking man. After his talk, he gave each of us a copy of "Shoemaker of Dreams"by Salvador Ferragamo, and a small bottle of Olive Oil specially made for theFamily of Ferragamo in Italy. The Olive Oil became a conversation item in myhouse for a long time. I read the book. Massimo's mother, Wanda became one ofthe women I admired. And, my closet just filled with more, and more, red boxesof Ferragamo shoes.

About 10 years agofor fear of falling, I threw away all of my high heel shoes and I started towear rubber sole flats. Other than knee high boots, Ferragamo just doesn't makerubber sole shoes. And I missed wearing them. In October of this year, as a moralebooster, I ordered from Neiman Marcus online a pair of low heel Ferragamo shoes.I was going to wear them when Roddy took me to La Grenouille for dinner fewweeks ago. But the shoes were too slippery even on my carpeted floor.

I have to take them to a good shoe-repair place to put rubbersoles on this new pair of beautifully made shoes. I heard that many Ferragamofans do that. Well, I better do it soon so that I can bring them on my nexttrip to Hollywood.

12 Year Old Music Prodigy - Bluejay

2011-12-08T10:53:00.001-05:00

The amazing story of Jay Greenberg, a 12 year-old composer, who already has written five full-length symphonies.
He is said to be the greatest talent to come along in 200 years.

Marty brought this news to my attention. What a wonderful world!

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What Cultural Traits Do Parents Want to Promote in Their Asian American Children

2011-12-07T14:37:00.001-05:00

Few days ago, I found a talk that I gave in 1986 was introduced in the EBSCO HOST Connection along with an Abstract of the speech on their Website. Following is a copy of my speech extracted from the PDF format of pages of Chinese American Forum. It was a talk from my heart.

What Cultural Traits Do Parents Want toPromote in Their Asian American Children

Frances L. Chu

Organizationof Chinese Americans National Convention
New York City, N.Y.
July 12, 1986

In looking at some of the elements necessary for the successful futuresof our children, I would like to present to you my own perspectives. Theseingredients can be found in both my Chinese heritage and my American heritage.

My Chinese heritage taught me the importance of respect for family,loyalty and moral behavior. My American heritage taught me the importance ofcommitment to goals, self-expression, and flexibility in dealing with thechallenges. Both my husband and I have sought to promote these attributes inour children.

Combining Chinese and American cultures, we believe in building a solidfoundation of good manners and education. From this good environment ourchildren can cultivate their own personalities, developing with strength andsatisfaction as they pursue excellence in the directions they have chosen forthemselves.

In pursuing excellence in my own career, I learned that professionalismand integrity are important keys to success. Therefore, I tried to instill inmy children the concepts of responsibility and commitment. By makingcommitments and accepting responsibility, they can create opportunities forself-fulfillment and achievement. Guided by their standards, they can approachtheir goals without compromising their integrity.

In China, in the cosmopolitan city of Shanghai, I lived with my grandmother.She instilled in me very high moral and ethical standards. Since gettingmarried in this country at the age of 18, 1 have been privileged to have afamily with my father-in-law living together. He came from a very differentvillage background, and is a perfect gentleman who values above all elsehonesty, loyalty, honor, and devotion to family, community and country. I havehad the good fortune to learn from his experience and wisdom.

As a young mother who was still a teenager, I developed along with my children.As a result, even today I feel that it is important to learn with my children.There is a saying: Children should be seen but not heard. I don't believe that.I have always permitted and encouraged my children to express their ideas andto participate in conversations with adults. It was important to provide mychildren with an outlet for their creativity and to give them opportunities touse my friends as role models in their own development. Parents can onlybenefit by being flexible. I think children should be shown various alternatives,rather than told which ones to choose. Most importantly, they should be allowedto develop their own alternatives.

When children are shown rather than told, given independence rather thandependence, they are given a sense that the world is full of possibilities.Such a sense lead naturally to a positive attitude and self-confidence twocharacteristics essential for setting and achieving worthwhile goals.

The family foundation also gives meaning to what the Chinese call"filial piety." What is filial piety? Between young and old it is agive and take of knowledge and love: an implied promise between generations tolove, obey, honor, protect and cherish. In my family, filial piety is a tiethat bonds us, a joy that rewards us.

Knowledge is shared through a process that I call "familyeducation", which involves the passing on of beliefs, morals, and myths.It is itself a valuable cultural trait that we must strive to preserve. Alongwith family education, we Chinese stress the value of formal education. We makeit a priority – a vehicle for our children's professional success and abilityto compete in an increasingly specialized and technologically oriented society.

As parents, we want our children to be successful. Yet we do not wishthem to sacrifice personal integrity to achieve success. To ensure ourchildren's professional and ethical success, we must instill in them fiveimportant attributes:

1. Responsibility: A willingness to accept responsibility and commit themselvesto achieving a definite goal.

2. Morality: The strength to refuse to compromise personal standards ofhonesty, loyalty, and moral behavior.

3. Expressiveness: The ability to express their ideas effectively, andshare information freely.

4. Flexibility: The desire to identify alternatives, and to approacheach new challenge with creativity and imagination.

5. Filial Piety: A respect for family, community and country.

Some may say that Responsibility, Morality, Expressiveness, Flexibility,and Filial Piety are not required to be successful. Indeed, many people areconsidered successful based on their personal wealth or their catalog ofaccomplishments. However, I believe that no one is truly successful who isrigid in his/her thinking, dishonest in his/her business dealings, anddisrespectful to his/her family and community.

Children learn by observing the world around them. Parents have theprimary responsibility of demonstrating the essential attributes that can leadto a truly successful life. However, other valuable role models can also befound within our families, our community and our cultural heritage.

A child's grandparents, other family members and friends can offerimportant examples of the attributes we desire our children to have. Thehistory of the Chinese People and the cultural heritage of our language, musicand social institutions all provide rich examples of Responsibility, Morality,Expressiveness, Flexibility, and Filial Piety.

If our children are exposed to such examples, we ensure not only theirprofessional and economic success, we also ensure their ability to understandthe difference between right and wrong, and instill in them the desire tochoose the right. By doing so, we enable our children to become DYNAMICACHIEVERS and CHAMPIONS of EXCELLENCE.

Mrs. Frances S. L. Chu is vice president forinformation systems at Chemical Bank, the first Asian woman named in the bankto the high position. She was a founder of the OCA-Westchester Chapter andserved as president of the chapter from 1980 to 1982. In addition to being aboard member of the OCA chapter currently, she is also an adviser to theChinese-American Cultural Center at Pace University and a board member of theC. T. Loo Education Fund. Born and educated in Shanghai, Mrs. Chu has twochildren: Roderick, Commissioner of Taxation and Finance for New York State,and Laura, a manager of the Digital Equipment Corporation. She is indeed aproud mother.

Chinese American Forum, Vol. 2, No. 3, September 1986

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Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friends from You Tube

2011-12-06T21:50:00.001-05:00

Inspired by a facebook entry of Rod Chu's - Elizabeth Taylor's jewels will be auctioned starting next week at Christie's, after a 3 month global tour.

Here's a link to the 291 page ecatalogue. What a voyeuristic experience!
http://www.christies.com/eCatalogues/index.aspx?id=5934C870F2C2EB13852578E60067D105

Thanks, Rod!

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Cakes - from Lily Liu

2011-12-04T00:38:00.001-05:00

Hard to believe they are ...... Cakes.
Yes, everything you see is a cake with the frosting.
The sewing machine and other items look so real it
Looks like they are the real thing - but,
They are all just cake and frosting.

Thank you, Lily!###

A Picture from Auntie Juliana's 106th Birthday Party

2011-12-01T14:16:00.000-05:00

Roddy and I took over 500 pictures at Auntie Juliana's 106th Birthday party in October 2011 at the Hotel Pierre. Her Birthday Party is one that we are looking forward to every year. Here is the group picture taken by a professional photographer. Great picture of a most splendid party of the year.

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陸以正 Article of 11/28/2011 and a News Video

2011-11-30T22:42:00.008-05:00

I received an email from My good friend I-Cheng Loh from Taiwan. He said "... this message has to be brief because I have to write 1,500 words for my column." Curious of what 1,500 words look like. So I Googled. Following is one of his articles in Chinese, followed by English translation.

2011年11月28日星期一

陸以正〈歐洲連五國西班牙變天〉

◎陸以正 2011-11-28 中國時報

歐債風暴雖然已近尾聲，威力仍然可觀。迄今為止，已經有冰島、希臘、愛爾蘭、和義大利四國入不敷出，負債超過全年的國民總生產值（ＧＤＰ），等同破產。現在西班牙也正追隨它們之後，接近破產邊緣，只是尚未公布，急忙更換內閣總理，仍在垂死前掙扎而已。

西班牙自二○○四年起，由社會勞工黨（Socialist Workers’ Party）執政，做了七年半。很多人不知道它是君主立憲制的王國（Kingdom of Spain），國王約翰．保羅一世（Juan Pablo I）在獨裁的法朗哥將軍死後，逐步恢復民主體制，頗受民眾愛戴。西國經濟全靠觀光收入，雖然受全球經濟萎縮影響，旅客數較前減少，倒無人遷怒到國王身上。

人們不滿意的對象，是社會勞工黨領袖、在任七年的內閣總理薩巴鐵若（Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero）。今年五月的地方選舉，社會勞工黨已經欲振乏力。本月二十日投票結果，終於大敗虧輸。獲勝的是中間偏右的大眾黨（Popular Party），黨魁名叫拉荷伊（Mariano Rajoy Brey，按西文j發音等同英文裏的h）。但西國繁文縟節的規矩特別多，拉荷伊還要等三、四個星期時間，才能正式就職。

西班牙不但歷史輝煌，國力也很強大。除伊比利（Iberia）半島本土外，在北非還有些零星小島。全國面積達五十萬五千九百餘平方公里，總人口四千五百萬人。西班牙人若非碰上這次全球經濟危機，過得也很快樂。依照世界銀行估計：西國去年的人均年所得達到三萬一千八百七十美元。男人平均壽命七十九歲，女人更可活到八十五歲。

在一個多黨政治國家裏，大眾黨的勝利算是相當漂亮的了。西國國會總共三百五十席，它獲得總投票的百分之四十四，贏得一百八十六席，已佔絕對多數，無需找小黨派組織聯合政府。投票前，執政的薩巴鐵若宣布說，他不會尋求連任。社會勞工黨領袖職務因而由盧拜爾卡巴（Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba）暫代。相對於大眾黨，社勞黨這次只贏得百分之廿九的票，在國會佔一百一十席，元氣大傷。所餘席次由小黨派分食，無足輕重。

西班牙這次大選，所以受各方重視，自然與歐債席捲全歐後，主要歐洲國家的經濟情況，有不可分割的關係。西班牙全國失業率高達百分之廿二點六。年青人的失業率更達百分之四十六，反對派因此發明了一個新字，即「憤怒的人（los indignados）」。馬德里的政府現在全靠舉債度日。向誰借呢？外國銀行大門早已緊閉，只好向老百姓借。因此西國十年期公債利率竟達百分之六點四，世上少有如此高息的前例。

拉荷伊雖然打贏了選戰，也落得遍體鱗傷。他自然瞭解這是個吃力不討好的職位。投票前三天，他與盧拜爾卡巴在電視辯論時說，「每個人都應該知道，我的政府第一要務，就是遵守西班牙對布魯塞爾已作的承諾（Everyone should know that for my government, the priority will be to keep the commitments made by Spain to Brussels）」。他所指的是總部設在比利時首都的歐洲聯盟。西班牙如被債務拖垮，錯失了成為歐盟一員的機會，損失可能無法彌補。

拉荷伊也警告西國人民說：「別指望有奇蹟出現，我們也從沒答應過會有奇蹟發生（There won’t be any miracles. We never promised any.）」。馬德里證券市場應聲大跌，西班牙的卅五種股票混合指數（IBEX），也創下八一四三點的新低。拉荷伊越是直言不諱，越發受人敬重。英國首相喀麥隆（David Cameron）立即打電話給他，表示欽佩。

拉荷伊在政壇打滾，已逾三十年。他自己感覺驕傲的，是廿四歲就考取高等文官考試。二○○零四年，他代表馬德里市當選國會議員，成為反對黨領袖。他以前在大眾黨執政時期，由報業大王阿茲那（Jose Maria Aznar）組成的內閣裏，拉荷伊曾歷任公共行政部長、教育文化部長、第一副總理、內政部長、和總統府部長（相當於我國的總統府秘書長）等職，可稱經驗豐富。

西班牙人無論做什麼事，常比別人慢半拍。在其它國家，當選國會多數黨的領袖，總是立即接管政府。但拉荷伊要等到下月底，聖誕節前幾天，才就任總理職務。此番捲土重來，前景如何？評論家都不看好。但他肯不計個人得失與外界毀譽，跳入火坑的勇氣，值得歐洲其餘各國人的欽敬。

November 28, 2011 Monday

Land to being

◎ land to the China Times is 2011-11-28 　debt crisis in Europe near the end though, the power is still considerable. To date, Iceland, Greece, Ireland, and Italy four countries to make ends meet liabilities exceed the value of annual gross national product (GDP), equivalent to bankruptcy.Now Spain is to follow after them, close to the edge of bankruptcy, but has not been announced, quickly replace the Prime Minister, are still struggling just before dying. 　Since ○ ○ Spain since 2004, the Labour Party by the community (Socialist Workers' Party) in power, made a seven and a half. Many people do not know that it is a constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom (Kingdom of Spain), King John. Paul I (Juan Pablo I) in the dictatorship of the Fa Langge general's death, gradually restored democratic institutions, popular people love. West country's economy thanks to tourism revenues, although affected by the global economic downturn, the number of visitors compared with the previous reduction, down to the king who no anger. 　People are not satisfied with the object of social Labour Party leader, prime minister for seven years in office Saba iron if (Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero). Local elections in May this year, social, Jin Labour Party has been weak. December 20 vote, and finally defeated loss lose. Is winning the popular center-right party (Popular Party), leader名叫拉荷伊(Mariano Rajoy Brey, according to Western equivalent to the English pronunciation of j in the h). But Western countries particularly the rule of red tape, La Heyi have to wait three or four weeks before the official inauguration. 　Spain is not only the history of glory, strength is also very powerful. In addition to Iberian (Iberia) Peninsula native, but also some scattered islands in North Africa. National area of five hundred and five thousand nine hundred hundred square kilometers, with a total population of four thousand five hundred people. Spanish if not hit the global economic crisis, flies very happy. According to World Bank estimates: West country last year's per capita income in thirty-one thousand eight hundred and seventy U.S. dollars. Average life expectancy of 79 men, women can also live to 85. 　In a multi-party political state, the public is quite a nice party for the victory. West, a total of three hundred and fifty seat parliament, which received 44 percent of the total vote to win one hundred eighty-six seats, accounted for an absolute majority, without the need to find a small party coalition government. Before the vote, the ruling Sabah iron if announced that he would not seek re-election. Social duties which by the Labour Party leader卢拜尔卡巴(Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba) temporarily. Relative to the mass party, the social workers won only by Eve party ticket, in Congress, accounting for one hundred and ten seats, badly hurt. The remaining seats divided by a small party food, insignificant. 　Spain this election, and therefore the attention of all parties, nature and European debt after sweeping across Europe, the economic situation of major European countries, there are inter-related. Spain's national unemployment rate up 2.6 percent廿二. Youth unemployment rate reached 46 percent opposition thus invented a new word, namely, "an angry man (los indignados)". Madrid's government now depends entirely on debt to survive. Who borrowed it? Foreign banks had the door closed, people had to borrow. Therefore, the West Country as much as ten-year bond rate of 6.4 per cent, the world rarely as high interest rates precedent. 　Lahe Yi won the election though, it ended up black and blue. He naturally understand that this is a thankless job. Three days before the vote, he and卢拜尔卡巴said in a television debate, "Everyone should know that my government priority is to comply with Spain's commitment to Brussels have been (Everyone should know that for my government, the priority will be to keep the commitments made by Spain to Brussels) ". He referred to headquarters in the Belgian capital of the European Union. If the debt caused the collapse of Spain, the European Union a missed opportunity, the loss may be irreparable. 　La Heyi also warned the people of the West Country, said: "Do not expect a miracle, we never promised there will be miracles (There won't be any miracles. We never promised any.)". Madrid stock market fell sharply, Spain, thirty-five mixed-stock index (IBEX), is also a new low record at 3:00 on August 14. La Heyi more outspoken, more and more respected. British Prime Minister of Cameroon (David Cameron) immediately called him and admire.　La Heyi roll in the political arena, more than 30 years. His own sense of pride, is round-year-old obtain a higher civil service examination. Two hundred in 2004, he was elected to Congress on behalf of the city of Madrid, as opposition leader. He used the mass party was in power, that by the newspaper magnate Ards (Jose Maria Aznar) composed of the Cabinet, the La Heyi has served as Minister of Public Administration, Education and Culture Minister, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, and Minister of Presidential Palace (equivalent to the Presidential Office Secretary-General of China) and other staff, can be said to experience. 　No matter what the Spaniards, often half a beat slower than the others. In other countries, was elected leader of the majority party in Congress, always immediately take over the government. But La Heyi to wait until the end of next month, a few days before Christmas, before becoming prime minister. This time the comeback, prospects? Critics are not good. But he is willing to the personal gains and to praise or criticism, the courage to jump into the fire pit, the rest of Europe countries who deserve respect and admiration.

Following is a video of a news item in English. Of course, Amb. Loh is still a well respected and well-loved diplomat. The wonder of technology, ha ha. I just want to surprised him with my blog. We've been closed family friends for more than 42 years and he still looks great.

We first met I think in mid 1960s in an elevator of the apartment building we lived in Queens. He and his wife Jane whispered to each others in Chinese wondering where I came from. I normally don't speak to strangers, but from their conversation I realized that we were neighbors. So I introduced myself. They were surprised that I spoke Mandarin. They lived in an apartment on the 16th floor, and my family and I lived on the 9th floor. They invited us to their apartment for dinner, and we invited them back. They had a housekeeper who made delicious Shanghai breakfast and they invited me to their apartment for breakfast every morning then most days I-Cheng drove Jane and me and dropped us off in front of our office buildings on his way to work in Manhattan or Jane and I took the subway together. Ah, those good old days - we saw each other almost every day and we just lived like family members in the same building. I do believe that fate/chance brought us together. What good old days!!! thanks to the technology, we are still in touch with each others often although we are half world apart.

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Do, Re, Mi - from YouTube forwarded by Lily liu

2011-11-28T18:29:00.001-05:00

This video was made in the Antwerp , Belgium Central (Train) Station on the 23rd of March 2009. . . . with no warning to the passengers passing through the station, at 08:00 am a recording of Julie Andrews singing 'Do, Re, Mi' begins to play on the public address system.
As the bemused passengers watch in amazement, some 200 dancers begin to appear from the crowd and station entrances.
They created this amazing stunt with just two rehearsals! Thank you T-Mobile!
Enjoy!

Thank you, Lily!

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Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T10:56:00.002-05:00

Please Click on the big red Happy Thanksgiving:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to All!

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The Beauty of Polination - from Marty Wolk

2011-11-22T18:22:00.000-05:00

Taken from TED Talk
We are all dependent to each others.

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A Movie Version of Mei Wedding Banquet of July 2011

2011-11-22T13:58:00.012-05:00

I am learning how to make movie from photos on my MacBook Air from pictures taken by my son Rod Chu at the Mei Banquet of July 2011. I temporary use "Triposto", one of my favorite music pieces, composed and produced by my friend Sylvia Kwok Yeh of Hong Kong at the background. Sylvia composed Triposto for her brother because he owns a Triposto sport car. I've used Triposto on another blog of mine China Gardens & Dubai Fire Work. Thank you, Sylvia!

The movie will be expanded as I'll choose more pictures from the hundreds of photos that Roddy took that evening. When Lina Mei send me a song that she sang at her brother Tony's wedding, the full version of the movie will be recompiled.

This is just a part of Version 1 of the Banquet movie. I am still learning how to use the Apple from Roddy whenever he has time to teach me. It has been taking me long time to learn because Apple is different from Microsoft 7 PC. My fingers kept on making mistakes :-) I need lots of time to do and making changes to this project. Good thing that this is just one of my hobbies.

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心經 in Cantonese

2011-11-19T11:43:00.002-05:00

A Modern Version of Sutra 心經 in Cantonese from YouTube

Thinking of my grandmother ...
A different beat! Enjoy!

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CAAA 2011 New Year Banquet - Cornell Frank Rhodes, Martin Tang, and Roderick Chu

2011-11-18T01:57:00.064-05:00

University Remarkds by Frank H.T. Rhodes, Cornell University President 1977-98

Martin Tang, Cornell Trustee Emeritus came from Hong Kong to introduce the honoree

And the acceptance speech by the Honoree - my son Rod Chu

Part I of this Banquet is posted on 2/13/2011
http://franceschusblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/pictures-from-caaa-2011-new-year.html

And please click on more Highlights of the Banquet.

Videos by Chester Mah. Thank you, Chester.

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TED TaLK - Thomas Suarez - iPhone App... from Rod Chu

2011-11-16T21:03:00.001-05:00

Rod Chu said on Face book "He doesn't say much about education - just about following his passion."

Thomas is smart, good looking, as well as a good speaker. Thank you Thomas. Now, I better learn how to use my iPhone!

BTE TV cover designer Zang Toi Haute Couture

2011-11-12T10:19:00.008-05:00

Zang Toi, You are truly a great and generous role model for Dynamic Achievers and Volunteers. That is why you have so many fans all over the world. Thank you and we love you.

Thank you Sofia Davis & BTE TV for covering the story from that event to share with us all. I heard it took place in a court house in Manhattan. It had no air conditioning and it was in one of the hottest days in the summer of 2011. Such professionalism! Congratulations!!!

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The Most Important Things in Life - from SolitaryRoad.com -Website owner: James Miller

2011-11-12T07:46:00.002-05:00

The most important things in life by James Miller, solitaryroad.com

What are the most important things in life? What do the proverbs, the wise sayings of man through the ages, have to say on this point? Let us search them. If we did so we would come up with the following list:

- the basic necessities (food and shelter)
- a good wife (or spouse)
- good health
- a good conscience
- a good name
- wisdom, understanding, good sense, spiritual knowledge, understanding of ourselves and life

Now let us ask another question. What things are most commonly pursued by man? What does the common, ordinary man pursue in life? We can list them:

- temporary pleasure (gratification of appetites)
- material possessions, wealth
- social position, being "important"
- friendship, friends, acceptance by a group

When we ask the question "What are the important things in life?" what we really mean is: "What things in life bring the best happiness?" Both are just different ways of phrasing the same question.

What a person pursues in life depends on what he values. His values, basic tastes and preferences, determine his priorities and the way he occupies himself and spends his time. The most basic, underlying values of the wise man are Wisdom, Understanding, Justice, Goodness, and Virtue. These are his first loves. They are what drive him, determining his tastes and preferences. The ordinary man, however, has as his first love pleasure and the other things we have listed. He occupies himself with the pursuit of Thrill and Temporary Pleasure. He focuses on the temporary pleasures available to him through catering to his base appetites. He spends his time in front of a TV set watching programs that excite his fantasies and provide him temporary thrills and erotic pleasure; he finds his pleasure in eating, sex, gambling, coarse humor, alcohol and drugs.

The wise man, on the other hand, is driven by a different set of tastes and preferences, likes and dislikes. He is attracted to that which gives spiritual understanding. He is interested in the serious questions of life and society. He is interested in the problems of his fellow man. He is interested in the dilemmas of life --- spiritual, moral, economic, etc.. He is interested in spiritual and moral truth. And he tends to prefer activities that aid him in these interests -- that provide insight, knowledge, perspective, etc.. He is likely to be a lover of reflection and also of books.

What is wrong with the pursuits of the common man? The problem with these pursuits is that most of them are illusory. They don't give real happiness, or the best happiness. And many are also destructive, destroying morally, spiritually and physically.

The wise man, the man of understanding, knows there is a God and he puts spiritual things first. He is a god-fearing person who lives by God's moral law.

Jan 1987

More from SolitaryRoad.com:
On Self-sufficient Country Living, Homesteading

Principles for Living Life

America has lost her way

The really big sins

Theory on the Formation of Character

Moral Perversion

You are what you eat

People are like radio tuners --- they pick out and listen to one wavelength and ignore the rest

Cause of Character Traits --- According to Aristotle

These things go together

Television

We are what we eat --- living under the discipline of a diet

Avoiding problems and trouble in life

Role of habit in formation of character

The True Christian

What is true Christianity?

Personal attributes of the true Christian

What determines a person's character?

Love of God and love of virtue are closely united

Walking a solitary road

Intellectual disparities among people and the power in good habits

Tools of Satan. Tactics and Tricks used by the Devil.

On responding to wrongs

Real Christian Faith

The Natural Way -- The Unnatural Way

Wisdom, Reason and Virtue are closely related

Knowledge is one thing, wisdom is another

My views on Christianity in America

The most important thing in life is understanding

Sizing up people

We are all examples --- for good or for bad

Television --- spiritual poison

The Prime Mover that decides "What We Are"

Where do our outlooks, attitudes and values come from?

Sin is serious business. The punishment for it is real. Hell is real.

Self-imposed discipline and regimentation

Achieving happiness in life --- a matter of the right strategies

Self-discipline

Self-control, self-restraint, self-discipline basic to so much in life

We are our habits

What creates moral character?

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Info ] [ Mail ]eng time fitness, sooner or later will make time to see the doctor!
6 The best doctor is yourself, the best medicine is time, the best mood is quiet, the best health care is a smile, the best exercise is walking!
7 fun and magic of longevity, hard work is a panacea to health, exercise is a healthy investment, longevity is the fitness return spring meet Mowen stay surgery, weak serene better than drugs!
8 money can not buy health, health is greater than money, money can not buy happiness, happiness must be healthy, happy life is not fame and fortune in the health, strong body is not money in sports!
9 in the section of your diet, your reading in the fine, expensive exercise in constant, festival food and stomach, raising more than reading lamps, like sports Nobu!
10 day feast of the people can eat a meal without incense.
11 close to the body cold and the clothes, the sick and the doctors close to its search for a panacea, it is better to intercept the source of disease, illness care relationship with their doctor, as usual looking for space movement!
12 to form good habits is stored health, indulgence is bad overdraft life.
13 smile without cost, but it can create wealth. Praise do not spend money, but can produce power. Do not share the cost, but it can double the fun.
14 were accompanied by generous sum of happiness, wealth, accompanied by the total person with integrity, wisdom always accompanied with noble people, the total charm and humor of people accompanied the total health of people with open-minded companions.
15 cause no earth-shattering, successful line; money without taking endless, enough to spend on the line; not inseparable friends, thinking on the line; children is no more with less, filial piety on the line; life without over hundred years, health on the line.
16 not a friend comparable health, not an enemy comparable to the disease, its tears for the pain and secretly, as sports and fitness for life luster.
17 What is not sick, no other money, lack of what they should not lack of health, health is not everything, but without health there is no everything.
18 senior officials as Kochi, Kochi is better paid, paid as longevity, longevity as happy, not afraid of low pay, afraid of life Guixi, earn less afraid, afraid go early.
19 What can be bad, not bad mood; anything can be a lack of confidence is not lacking; what can not, happiness can not do; anything can be forget, fitness can not forget.
20. The election of the business can achieve a life of friends can choose intelligent life, happy life can be selected on the environment, you can choose happiness for a lifetime partner, choose a healthy life for life.
21 approach to health, prejudice is more terrible than ignorance!
22 But thirty thousand days of life, success or failure are calm, non-scores Mo care, health and happiness most valuable.
23 to treat themselves, extremely happy, be kind to others, delights, to treat life, health, incomparable.
24 three forget: forget age, forget the past, forget the scores.
25 four have: no matter how weak or strong, we must have people who really love you, with intimate friends, with upward career, with a warm home.
26 five to: to sing, to dance, to be smart, to laugh, to be slim.
27 six can not: not hungry before eating, not thirsty before drinking, not sleepy and went to bed, not tired, just rest, can not only check the sick, not old and then regret.
28 If there is no health, wisdom can not reveal, culture can not display, you can not fight the power, knowledge can not use
29. does not seek is expensive, less disease is life, is rich enough, no desire is a blessing, gratitude is like .
30. Life is not to live longer than short, but rather the insight early in the evening, life is not to correct others for the wrong, but to practice their own wonderful life!
(Editor: China less)http://solitaryroad.com/

Chinese Love Poems slides by ZRR & MJF - Email from Lily Liu

2011-11-07T21:53:00.004-05:00

Lily Liu forwarded me an email of a Power Point Show of Chinese love poems with paintings of classical beauties. The show was compiled by ZRR and edited by MJF with music. Chinese Love Poems were written by very famous poets of various dynasties. Each poem is printed vertically on the right of the picture followed by the name of the author and dynasty, There are total of 34 poems in 21 slides. I could not copy the music but I would like to share the slides with you. Thank you ZRR, MJF, and Lily.

I hope one day will translate the poems and I'll add to this blog.

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Pilobolus Shadow Puppets from YouTube

2011-11-07T08:44:00.002-05:00

"Did you make shadow puppets when you were young? Pilobolus has taken it to a new dimension! I first saw them 26 years ago when I was on the Board of Jacob's Pillow. Fascinating!" Said Rod Chu on his Facebook.

Wow!

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Faye Wong - Heart Sutra 听心经，睡眠质量高 - from Lina Mei via Facebook

2011-11-06T02:34:00.010-05:00

觀自在菩薩。行深般若波羅蜜多時。照見五蘊皆空。度一切苦厄。舍利子，色不異空。空不異色。色即是空。空即是色。受、想、行、識，亦復如是。舍利子，是諸法空相。不生，不滅。不垢，不淨，不增，不減。是故空中。無色。無受、想、行、識。無眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意。無色、聲、香、味、觸、法。無眼界。乃至無意識界。無無明。亦無無明盡。乃至無老死。亦無老死盡。無苦、集、滅、道。無智，亦無得。以無所得故。菩提薩埵。依般若波羅蜜多故。心無罣礙。無罣礙故。無有恐怖。遠離顛倒夢想。究竟涅槃。三世諸佛。依般若波羅蜜多故。得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。故知般若波羅蜜多。是大神咒。是大明咒是無上咒。是無等等咒。能除一切苦。真實不虛故。說般若波羅蜜多咒即說咒曰：揭帝，揭帝，般羅揭帝，般羅僧揭帝，菩提僧莎訶。

When Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara was practicing the profound Perfection of the Wisdom (prajna paramita), he illuminated the Five Appearances (skandha) and saw that they are all empty (shunya), and he crossed beyond all suffering and difficulty.
Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form. So too are feeling, cognition, formation, and consciousness.
Shariputra, all teachings (dharma) are empty of characteristics. They are not produced, not destroyed, not defiled, not pure; and they neither increase nor diminish. Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, feeling, cognition, formation, or consciousness; no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no sights, sounds, smells, tastes, objects of touch, or dharmas; no field of the eyes up to and including no field of mind consciousness; and no ignorance or ending of ignorance, up to and including no old age and death or ending of old age and death. There is no suffering, no accumulating, no extinction, and no Way, and no understanding and no attaining.
Because nothing is attained, the Bodhisattva through reliance on prajna paramita is unimpeded in his mind. Because there is no impediment, he is not afraid, and he leaves distorted dream-thinking far behind. Ultimately Nirvana! All Buddhas of the three periods of time attain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi through reliance on prajna paramita. Therefore know that prajna paramita is a Great Spiritual Mantra, a Great Bright Mantra, a Supreme Mantra, an Unequalled Mantra. It can remove all suffering; it is genuine and not false. That is why the Mantra of Prajna Paramita was spoken. Recite it like this: Gaté Gaté Paragaté Parasamgaté. Bodhi Svaha!

Translated by anonymus.

Thank you, Lina!

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Feathers from Afar 千里送鹅毛

2011-11-05T11:22:00.019-04:00

千里送鹅毛 A swan feather sent from one thousand li away --- a gift itself might be light, but sent from afar, it conveys deep feeling. .

It was before the snow storm of October 2011, good friend Alix Schnee from next town forwarded me a beautiful set of painted feathers via email with nice sentiments that I forwarded to some special friends. I also copied the pictures on a new blog site. Thank you, Alix. The snow storm came; my house lost electric power for 3 days and 3 nights. It was like living at the Stone Age, no heat, no phone .... Battery ran dead on my iPhone, it was not a thing I could do to communicate with family and friends, the October 2011 snow storm affected over 3 million households in the US East Coast. Good thing my son was visiting me from Ohio for my doctor’s appointments at that time. He kept me safe, well-feed, and drove me out to heated places to keep me warm. Thank you, Roddy.

Feathers reminded me of another good friend Lisa Lu. Once she sent me a saying about feather many years ago - "A swan feather sent from thousand Li afar" A line from the movie "Joy Luck Club". Lisa was nominated for Best Actress category of Academy Award from the movie "Joy Luck Club" which she played a starring role. Lisa is making another new movie in China at this time. To Lisa, Jane & IC, Maria, May, Harriet & CC, Stanley & Catherine, Lily, KS & Gina, Toi family, Woo family, and many of you afar, I am thinking of you.

Following is the collection of American feathers that Alix sent me. I am extremely grateful and I feel blessed with sincerity, caring, loving friendship and families... from near and afar. We are fortunate indeed to have telephones and more advance technologies such as Internet that we can share beautiful and splendid things with more friends and bring peace on earth.

千里送鹅毛 A swan feather sent from one thousand li away --- a gift itself might be light, but sent from afar, it conveys deep feeling. .

The wonder about technology. Just hours after I posted this blog, I received an email from Lisa Lu that she sent me a picture of her with friend Michael Shen in his house in Shanghai. Michael used to live in Paris, and in 1999, Lisa and few other friends including me stayed in Michael's mansion in Le Vesinet, France near Paris as his guests. We had great time.

Please click on the link to see some of our pictures at Michael's Mansion in Paris on the blog about one of Lisa's awards.

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Rotary Clubs and We Like Rotary

2011-10-27T20:01:00.003-04:00

While I was working as a VP of Chemical Bank (now JP Morgan), my office was in the Financial District area of New York City. I accepted an invitation to become a member of Chinatown Rotary when Rotary International starting to welcome women members in 1987. I was one of the first women to be elected as a president of a Rotary Club in the world and I served as President of Chinatown Rotary from 1988 to 1990.

My husband Norton, a scientist in the US Department of Energy, also joined the Rotary at the same time. Together with other Rotarians, we believe in ‘Service above Self’ and ‘4 Way Test’, we enjoy the activities of Rotary contributing toward the betterment for our world-wide communities.

After Norton and I took early retirements from our work places, we continued our Rotary membership in the Clubs in Westchester County. Although each Club has its own emphasis but opportunities for great team works toward significant results are there for all members to enjoy and feel good about. Here is a recent article about Briarcliff Manor Rotary that I would like to share with you.

River Journal Online by Eileen Mandell
http://www.riverjournalonline.com/villages/briarcliff-manor/2048-briarcliff-manors-rotary-club-30-years-of-service.

Dean Dykeman, Eric Lebenson, Etrusca Consentino and Ernie Pacchiana

In the winter of 1981, the Rotary Club of Briarcliff Manor held its first fundraiser – a Christmas tree sale. Their total profit was $4.00. “About one hundred trees were trucked in from Vermont,” recalled Paul Rosen, the Club's third president and charter member. "A bad ice storm made our inventory almost unsalable."

They've come a long way since then. Anyone walking through the Village on Pleasantville Road or in Law Park will surely notice at least one of the fifty benches supplied by the Rotary Club after successfully raising $100,000 over a period of 6 to 7 years. Ernie Pacchiana, the Club's fourth president, charter member and treasurer for the past twenty years, stated that about half that amount was spent on the benches, and the remainder for various charitable contributions.

This year their hope is to put a statue of Walter Law, founder of the Village, in front of the municipal building on Pleasantville Road. "The estimated cost is $35,000," said Mr. Pacchiana.

The number of Rotary Club projects over the years are, in fact, almost too numerous to list. They include college scholarships for community service over and above what's required for graduation, a Mother's Day luncheon with entertainment for the senior citizen community, gowns for last year's graduating class at Sing Sing Prison, a 15- year sponsorship of a Harlem Magic Masters basketball game (similar to the Harlem Globetrotters), providing the food at community day each year, and along with Interact Club (the high school version of the Rotary), the purchase of several wells in Africa and self-contained shelter boxes for families in Haiti and Japan.

“I've continued to be impressed by our ability to track new people who are willing to work in an organized way for the benefit of our community,” said Mr. Rosen. “We've always kept our ranks at a workable level for the projects we undertake.”

Every Friday at 12:00 noon, members gather at the Briar's Restaurant on North State Road for their weekly meeting and luncheon. At each meeting, Sy Yuter, a 22-year member, past president and program chair, has managed to provide illuminating and varied speakers including many of the Club's own members. Among the speakers were an emergency medical technician, a wildlife biologist, a director of occupational therapy, a teacher of the blind, an attorney of international law and a veterinarian who does house calls. Among the more recognized names were Brooke Astor, Alan Arkin, Sandy Galef and Jeanine Pirro.

The one speaker that seems to have impressed members the most is Hillary Clinton when she was New York State Senator. Mrs. Clinton was brought to the club by its now deceased and very highly regarded second president, Leonard Young, a realtor whose office was in Chappaqua where the Clintons resided.

"Clinton was unlike any politician that has ever been there before," said Mr. Rosen. Her speech was very effective. She was highly personable in a small group setting and didn't rush off like other politicians have. She talked with people and was down to earth." Mr. Pacchiana, who identified himself as a conservative Republican, concurred; "Clinton – you can't get any better than that." "She spoke about all the outstanding issues of the time without a single note in front of her," said Mr.Yuter.

Rotarians are expected to attend meetings regularly, and have options to do so when they travel. There are 34,118 international Rotary Clubs. Members are encouraged to attend meetings in other locations worldwide. In 2003, when Sy Yuter and his wife, Elinor traveled around the world, he was able to keep his perfect weekly attendance record.

“In South Korea, a pianist played the piano during the whole meeting,” said Mr. Yuter. “In London, in what was probably the oldest club, waiters were in tuxedos and wine was on the table. In Moscow, they did not serve dinner. It was too expensive. Hors d'oeuvres were served at the bar. In Cairo they did breakfast at a hotel.”

“In Madrid, meals go on forever,” stated Mr. Rosen who has also attended meetings overseas. “They started at noon and ended at 4:00. In Jerusalem, I paid $25 for coffee and cake. It was 6:30 pm. I was hungry. I complained. They apologized and brought me an egg salad sandwich.”

Membership at Briarcliff Manor's Rotary Club, which includes the weekly luncheon meetings, is $650. Anyone who is interested and lives within the Village or bordering communities should contact the current president, Dean Dykeman, at 914-557-1568.

“In Japan, the Rotary is difficult to get into,” Mr. Yuter stated. [Here] “we are happy to accept everybody.”

Thank you, All!

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Look What I Found on You Tube - A Part of the Librace Show that I Saw at the Hilton in Vegas

2011-10-26T00:03:00.009-04:00

It was a long time ago. Librace was truly a talented entertainer. I loved his car, his pianos, his costumes, and his rings, Then of course, his piano music and most of all, his showmanship. We took a special trip to Las Vegas Hilton to see the performance. It was really worth the trip and $s.

HEY, I'M TRYING TO FISH HERE!!! - forwarded by Dr. Alix Schnee

2011-10-23T16:01:00.004-04:00

SH HERE!!!

Hey, I'm Trying to Fish Here!!!

Okay, I give up -- we can play, I can't fish anytime...

Love~~the most powerful force in the world.

Thank you, Alix!

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Yummy and Fun

2011-10-22T00:10:00.003-04:00

A collection of photos taken between 2005 to 2008 from friends in the Far East. Enjoy!

Thank you all!

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Zang Toi Spring 2012 Collection

2011-10-19T02:26:00.009-04:00

I received and enjoyed a great package of video and pictures from the Zang Toi Spring 2012 Collection.

Following is a cheerful article from The Wall Street Journal.

And following is "The Quest for it", a video by a Celebrity Journalist Tia Walker. Thank you Tia!

Thank you Zang Toi for making the world more beautiful, healthier tastier, and promoting PEACE! It was great to be there to see so many stylish connoisseurs in the room. We love you!

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Life of Flowers from Vorobyoff Production - forwarded by Lily Liu

2011-10-17T16:57:00.001-04:00

Thank you, Lily!

Life of flowers from VOROBYOFF PRODUCTION on Vimeo.

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Fitting Session at Zang Toi

2011-10-15T19:37:00.013-04:00

I’ve been receiving many emails and phone calls lately about thinking positively. Thank you all, my caring family and friends.

Here is something very positive that I want to share with you. It is a picture of me in my new Zang Toi outfit on 10/4 at a fitting session in House of Toi, New York.

The Chinese style dress is in sable color made of high quality Italian silk fabric and it is finely trimmed with the satin side of the fabric. The dress is cleverly lined with beautifully soft but heavier luxurious Italian silk fabric in the color of black.

The black stole is made of 2 layers of French silk satin with a layer of delicate French silk lace.

I feel so comfortable with this Zang Toi outfit on; it gave me a big lift in spirit. I wore this outfit to a black-tie wedding dinner with my son on 10/8 in New York. I felt great in it and I received many compliments about the outfit. Thank you Zang Toi for making me feeling elegant and positive again. Following pictures were taken at the Lotos Club.

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Emails, Facebook, Links, YouTube, and Websites

2011-10-14T19:58:00.006-04:00

Three versions of the same historical Chinese Painting I received thru Emails.

Today, I received a forwarded email from Lily Liu in Florida named “香港主辦的『清明上河圖』電子動態版with the link to a You Tube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdRIbCP4N4Q

It said "……開音響…超棒!!!
很了不起的作品：人物的身段、手勢、肢体動作都是精華！仔細看...嘆為觀止！
圖中的每一人都各如其分的扮演著自己的角色. 而我們這屬於另一時空的人觀望著他們似曾相識似曾相識.
是否我們也曾經走過那個世代？"
On this link, it showed some comments generated by some viewers.

I received a similar email from a friend in Hawaii and I posted it on my Blog site entitled River of Wisdom since March 24, 2011 and visited by many friends all over the world. It was a YouTube version which I copied to my blog.

http://franceschusblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/river-of-wisdom-from-glenn-woo.html

And Glenn also sent me an earlier different version showing the same painting which I posted on my Blog site 3/8/09
http://franceschusblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/along-river-chinese-painting-from-glenn.html named
“Along the River”. It was created in Taiwan and it was the first version I received thru email of a painting using different technique with embedded musical video which many of my friends enjoyed.

http://www.npm.gov.tw/exh96/orientation/flash_4/index.html

And here is another version of Along the River during the Ching Ming Festival I found today by Googling. it is a YouTube video.

I really appreciate the advance of technology as well as my friends kept on sharing interesting articles with me through emails, facebook, and their websites. I love innovation. It is inspiring to see there are so many creative people sharing their creativities all over the world. I also enjoy using Blogspot. It is easy to use. All we need is to click. Thank you All!

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From Charles Wang via Face Book

2011-10-12T14:34:00.001-04:00

I like Charles's Quotes on facebook. Thanks Charles.

1.房子修得再大也是临时住所，只有那个小木匣才是永久的家，所以，屋宽不如心宽，身安不如心安！

2.人生最大的错误，是用健康换取身外之物，人生最大的悲哀，是用生命换取个人的烦恼，人生最大的浪费，是用生命解决自己制造的麻烦！

3.人生最大的哀痛，是子欲孝而亲不在！人生最大的悲剧，是家未富而人先亡，人生最大的可怜，是弥留之际才明白自己是应该做什么的！

4.当心灵趋于平静时，精神便是永恒！把欲望降到最低点，把理性升华到最高点，你会感受到：平安是福，清心是禄，寡欲是寿！

5.借口腾不出时间去健身的人，迟早会腾出时间去看病！

6.最好的医生是自己，最好的药物是时间，最好的心情是宁静，最好的保健是笑容，最好的运动是步行！

7.欢乐是长寿的妙药，勤奋是健康的灵丹，运动是健康的投资，长寿是健身的回报，相逢莫问留春术，淡薄宁静比药好！

8.金钱难买健康，健康大于金钱，金钱难买幸福，幸福必有健康，生命的幸福不在名利在健康，身体的强壮不在金钱在运动！

9.饮食贵在节，读书贵在精，锻炼贵在恒；节饮食养胃，多读书养胆，喜运动延生！

10.整天赴宴的人没有一顿饭能吃得香。

11.身冷的人和衣裳亲近，有病的人和医生亲近，与其寻求灵丹妙药，不如堵截致病之源，与其得病托关系看病，不如平时找场地运动！

12.养成好习惯是储存健康，放纵不良是透支生命。

13.微笑不用成本，但能创造财富。赞美不用花钱，但能产生力量。分享不用费用，但能倍增快乐。

14.快乐总和宽厚的人相伴，财富总与诚信的人相伴，智慧总与高尚的人相伴，魅力总与幽默的人相伴，健康总与豁达的人相伴。

15.事业无须惊天动地，有成就行；金钱无须取不尽，够花就行；朋友无须形影不离,想着就行；儿女无须多与少，孝顺就行；寿命无须过百岁，健康就行。

Above Chinese sayings are good advices for everyone but I think the first line is sort of a depressing thought for everyone especially for seniors.

Would you translate those sayings to English for me to share with non-Chinese friends?

Thanks again, Charles!

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PHOTOS: Moxie Celebrates 10 Years on Beacon Hill - By Kimberly Ashton, Beacon Hill Patch

2011-10-10T22:34:00.071-04:00

Beacon Hill Patch

"Fashionable guests and beautiful surroundings made for a fabulous birthday party at Moxie Thursday night."

"Dozens of guests arrived were ushered over a small purple carpet into one of Charles Street's most glamorous events of the year, Moxie's 10-year anniversary celebration.

Inside guests mingled with owner Karen Fabbri and other Moxie girls as they enjoyed hors d'oeuvres from Toscano Restaurant, miniature cupcakes from Sweet and wine.

Fabbri gave away 10 of the store's favorite items in a drawing, but everyone left with a goody bag carrying deals from Wish, Crush Boutique, The Beauty Mark and other stores.

Related Topics: Moxie"

Following pictures are from Laura, my daughter:

Congratulations. Karen!
I am so proud and happy for you.
Love, Grandma

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World's Most Expensive Dog - from Glenn Woo

2011-10-10T21:28:00.003-04:00

They say money can't buy love - but £1million will get you man's most expensive best friend.

A red Tibetan mastiff has become the priciest dog in the world after being sold for 10 million Chinese yuan, or £945,000 or US$1.5m.

Big Splash, or Hong Dong in Chinese, was bought by a coal baron from the north of China .

And it's lucky his new master is a multi-millionaire, because the hefty price tag doesn't factor in Big Splash's diet - enough chicken and beef to fill a growing 180lb dog, spiced up with Chinese delicacies such as sea cucumber and abalone.

Pricey pup: A Red Tibetan Mastiff called Big Splash has become the world's most expensive dog.

His owner will need a big house too, as adult Tibetan Mastiffs have been known to weigh as much as 286lb, or more than 20 stone - the same as a sizeable rugby player. However the typical weight for a fully grown Tibetan Mastiff is around 13 stone.

But according to breeder Lu Liang, Big Splash is a 'perfect specimen' and the extravagant price for the 11-month-old is completely justified.

He said: 'We have spent a lot of money raising this dog, and we have the salaries of plenty of staff to pay' - adding that the new owner could charge almost £10,000 a time for Big Splash to breed with a female.

The high price paid for the dog is a sign that the red Tibetan mastiff has become a status symbol in China , replacing jewellery and cars as a way for the super-rich to show off their wealth.

Not only is red considered a lucky colour, but Tibetan mastiffs are thought to be holy animals, blessing their owners' health and security.

Tibetans believe the dogs have the souls of monks and nuns who were not good enough to be reincarnated as humans or into Shambhala, the heavenly realm.

Owners of the breed have included Queen Victoria, King George IV and Genghis Khan - who supposedly took 30,000 of the dogs with his army in his bid to conquer Western Europe .

Ancient breed: The dog is a descendant of animals kept by nomadic Chinese tribes.

These days there are only around 300 Tibetan mastiffs in the UK , and puppies sell for a more reasonable £850 to £1,000.

James Pally, a Tibetan mastiff breeder from Pantymwyn near Mold in Flintshire, North Wales , said:

'They are very smart and they think for themselves and can sense danger very acutely. 'Tibetan mastiffs were originally used to guard the livestock and they are very good with other animals and they love children.

'I have six of them and if you don't give them enough attention they sit in front of the TV.'

The title of most expensive dog in the world was previously held by a Tibetan mastiff called Red Lion, who was valued at £915,000 last year.

Thank you, Glenn for the story. Are you going to buy A Red Tibetan Mastiff ?

Just wondering - Will the dog love the one who paid $1.5 million or the one serves him the abalone and sea cucumbers every day more?

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A Temple Built with Recycled Beer Bottles - Million Bottles Temple

2011-10-10T02:41:00.007-04:00

In checking my earlier blogs after converting my blog site to the new format, I found some embedded links were no longer working such as the Beer bottle temple from Yi Myint.

So I googled and found another interesting link

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/temple-built-from-beer-bottles.php

I am copying a few pictures and write-up from that article to share with you.

Fifty years ago the Heineken Beer company looked at reshaping its beer bottle to be useful as a building block. It never happened, so Buddhist monks from Thailand's Sisaket province took matters into their own hands and collected a million bottles to build the
Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple. It puts every other bottle building we have shown to shame.

detail of roof

the pattern work is quite intricate

Once again, proving Alex Steffen's point that there is no such thing as garbage, just useful stuff in the wrong place. Thanks to Greenupgrader

http://inhabitat.com/heineken-wobo-the-brick-that-holds-beer/

And I also found "The Beer Bottle Temple" from YouTube

I participate in recycling. Do you?

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A Video that I compiled in 2009 for my Blog Site.

2011-10-09T21:20:00.003-04:00

A video I compiled in 2009. I used 2 sets of pictures sent to me by Jane Loh and Diana Chuk via emails. And a music wrote and produced by Sylvia Kwok Yeh of Hong Kong. Next, I would like to recompile it using YouTube next.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

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Three Little Phrases - from Diana Chuk

2011-10-08T12:57:00.002-04:00

If you don't read Chinese, I will add the translation later. For the time being, please just enjoy those cute and beautiful pictures of dogs by just click on following video. Please double click a video picture get a full screen mode. Enjoy!

Thank you Diana!

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Life is Good - Forwarded by Lily Liu

2011-10-06T00:08:00.004-04:00

Please click on the triangle to start the video. Then double click on the next picture to get a full screen size view. Clink on ESC when finished playing.

Thank you, Lily!

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Towers of Today - from Lily Liu

2011-10-05T19:52:00.004-04:00

Thank you Lily. Which one are you going to visit next?

See more future offices in Dubai

A Dinner at Aileen Pei's that I missed on 9/26/11

2011-10-03T20:44:00.023-04:00

My son was in town the night of 9/26. We were both invited by Patty to have dinner at her mother Aileen Pei's apartment. I could not make it because I have to work at home from the damage of water by 'Irene' storm. Here I am copying some pictures that my son took that night.

Patty, Angela, Zang, Aileen, T.C. and Faye

I know that I missed a delicious home-cook meal. And I certainly should go and see Aileen and I would like to have a relaxing dinner with her, Patty, Angela, Zang, TaChun., and my son, but I didn't know that Faye Yung was going to be there that night too. I've known Faye since I was a teenage mother in this country. Faye graduated from College at the age of 19, and is one of the smartest women I ever met. She is so good with both English and Chinese that once she translated a big volume of Encyclopedia and I heard that she was the only one could do it on time.

Her husband M.K. used to come often to my house to play bridge and Chinese chess with my husband and me while Faye stayed home with their children. I have not seen her for more than 30 years. Now I look at her pictures, I would not recognize her if we met on the street. I guess she'll say the same about me too. I certainly would like to see her again.

More pictures from that night:

And this is Ping, who is a fabulous cook and she also takes very good care of Aileen.

Aileen is 99. Here is the link to her 99th Bithday Party.

I will get Faye's phone number and I hope to get together with her soon!

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For your entertainment...from Diana Chuk

2011-09-29T21:14:00.001-04:00

I really can use a change of pace. Thank you very much, Diana!

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"The boy singing with Mario Lanza is Luciano Pavarotti" - email forwarded by Lily Liu

2011-09-28T00:58:00.012-04:00

"1950: The boy singing with Mario Lanza is Luciano Pavarotti!

This Video is a rare jewel"

I received a forwarded email with following video from Lily, and I played it over and over many times. I hope you all will appreciate it as much as I do. Thank you, Lily.

Original comments from the forwarded email included the following:

"For those of you who remember Mario Lanza (who died very prematurely) this recording is a rare recording - it's probably not a video as those were not in existence in those days - must have been taken off a film. IT'S A RARE, RARE RECORDING THOUGH AND WORTH KEEPING IN YOUR ARCHIVES IF YOU HAVE ONE.

"THOUGHT YOU MIGHT ALL ENJOY HEARING THE YOUNG PAVAROTTI WHO SOUNDS LIKE AN ABSOLUTE ANGEL!!"

"SIMPLY GR8 - GOD'S WONDERFUL GIFT OF THAT BEAUTIFUL VOICE TO
PAVAROTTI even when he was so little! Bless You Lord.... so moving and so touching even Mario Lanza is so touched that he puts his arm round little Pavarotti. Thanks Dear UM for thinking of me...I enjoyed it...GBU...Love...BL"

Footnote from Frances on 9/28/11:

Whoever made that YouTube, it seems to have extracted it from Great Caruso by Mario Lanza. I saw that movie on TV several times. many years ago. But I did not know that the boy was Pavarotti. This is a valuable and enjoyable piece to me too. Thank you whoever you are that made the YouTube to share it with us all. Thank you all and the Internet too.

I googled Pavarotti, he was born in 1936. He was a Mario Lanza fan, but did not mention he was in Hollywood film in his early years. I googled Great Caruso movie. It was released in 1951. Pavarotti would had been 14 in 1950. The boy looks younger than 14 in that strip. So maybe the original video maker meant that boy sang like a Pavorotti, but he might not be the real Pavarotti. Any way, it certainly is a moving and a beautiful video. I'll see the Great Caruso again, now we can buy it in DVD.

Enjoy!

Frances

###

LISA LU won the Best Actress Award at the London Film Festival on Apart Together

2011-09-26T16:42:00.004-04:00

"I have been just informed by director Wang QuanAn of Apart Together that this film won the best film award and I won the best actress award as well at the Xin Xiang Chinese Film Festival in London six hours ago.

lisa"

I am so happy for lisa for the great news. Congratulations! Thank you Shirley Hwong for forwarding me the news. Lisa also sent me this picture from a press conference in Hong Kong. Lisa, I admire you so. Wish I were traveling with you. Frances

TED Talk Innovation Keynote Speaker Jeremy Gutsche

2011-09-24T21:06:00.002-04:00

Patterns in Jade of Wu Ming Fu by Stanwood Cobb

2011-09-21T14:47:00.011-04:00

I am taking a break from sorting things out from my basement damaged by ‘Storm Irene’ of 8/27-28/11. I don’t remember of ever working physically so hard and affecting me so deep emotionally in my life as the last few weeks….

It is easy to just throw the stuffs that can be replaced with money. But it is getting harder and harder to sort through almost life-long of collection of sweet memories.

Following are few poems from “PATTERNS in JADE of WU MING FU” by Stanwood Cobb. The book was signed by the author. It was from my husband Norton’s collection.

'A finger carves upon the stone

And there the lines forever lie,

That Truth may be etherially shown

As Beauty to the inquiring eye.'

“SUCCESS

It is not the station of man or the wealth that counts.

It is rather the way in which one meets the tests of life.

I should call him successful, of whatever rank the culture, who meets life joyously and tranquilly under all circumstances.”

“TESTING

A day’s journey will test the strength of a horse;

A single meal will prove the ability of a cook;

But it takes many years, nays, life itself, to demonstrate the true character of a man.”

“THE EVER-LEARNING

The wise are ever learning;

They are not ashamed to ask information, even from their inferiors.

They consider their knowledge to be so insufficient that they grasp at every means to adding to it.”

“WISDOM and JOY

In childhood Joy and Wisdom are unique comrades;

In the age of maturity they often take separate paths and are lost to each others;

But in the ripening philosophic years Wisdom and Joy meet again, never to part. “

Norton enjoyed reading. He collected books especially those about China and Chinese in nature. I was more interested in innovation and management. At times, we feel that our interests were far apart but there were always little something that tied us together. The pages of this ‘Wu Ming Fu’ book are already yellowing and it smells a bit funny. I do not read much but I’ll clean it up and I am keeping this book.

Notes on 9/22/11:
From facebook Mingming Lu: 胡明复，胡刚复，胡敦复,胡宪生（My grandpa) 和胡适1910年同入Cornell University. 胡明复是在哈佛取得数学博士的第一位中国人，
Translation: Wu Ming Fu was Mingming's granduncle. He and her grandfather attended Cornell in 1910. And Wu Ming Fu was the first Chinese earned a Ph.D. in Mathmetics from Harvard University.
Quite a scholar, from Math to Philosophy and Poetry.

Notes on 10/1/11
My son bought me an old copy of "The Wisdom of Wu Ming Fu" also autographed by Stanwood Cobb. Thank you, Roddy.
Following is a poem that I would like to share with you that I copied from the book "The Wisdoms of Wu Ming Fu":

"GREATNESS
Men are not great because of great achievements.
They achieve great deeds
Because of their Inherent greatness."
--- Wu Ming Fu

Thank you the Granduncle of Mingming Lu!

###

Andre Rieu - The Beautiful Blue Danube from Xiaozheng Alice Concepcion on Facebook

2011-09-20T13:18:00.013-04:00

Not just the beautiful music, I love to watch the expression on everyone's face. Great team work and everyone is playing his/her part perfectly. They all looked so contended and happy.

Uploaded by AndreRieuTV on Sep 16, 2011

André Rieu & his Johann Strauss Orchestra playing "The Beautiful Blue Danube" (An der schönen blauen Donau) by composer Johann Strauss II.

Recorded live at Empress Sisi's castle; Schönbrunn Palace Vienna, Austria with dancers from the famous Austrian Elmayer Dancing School.

Clip from the DVD "André Rieu At Schönbrunn, Vienna".
One of André's biggest and most beautiful special ever.

Which role do you wish to take part? -- It really doesn't matter which part you take as long as you enjoy it. I am perfectly happy just watching it on my Apple screen at home too.

Thank you Alice, Andre Rieu, and all! Isn't it a wonderful world!

###

Patti LaBelle in a Zang Toi from Nita Loyelty

2011-09-16T13:40:00.007-04:00

Patti LaBelle wore a Zang Toi creation at the Concert of Hope at Kennedy Center for the 9/11 Remembered. I believe that she was among the guests at the Zang Toi Spring 2012 Collection Show of 9/13 at the Lincoln Center during the NYFW too.

Amazing voice and amazing outfit. Bravo!
Thank you NaNa.

###

Zang Toi Spring 2012 Show of 9/13/11 at Lincoln Center NYFW

2011-09-13T16:23:00.214-04:00

My grand-daughter Karen took a special trip with Kristen from the Best of Boston Moxie to NYC to see the Zang Toi Spring 2012 Collection at Lincoln Center.

Theme "My Dream of North Africa"

KS and Gina picked me up from my house and he drove to the City. It was my first trip to NYC in months. We had some sushi before the show.

My granddaughter and me.

Chanel and Hermes bags

Famous jewelry designer Wendy Brandes took a picture of Karen and me and posted on FaceBook. Thank you Wendy.

Inside of the studio, after we were seated, Karen's designer friend (a beautiful blond) from Boston came over to say hello. I tried to take their pictures, but the pictures were out of focus. The room was so big and crowded, I only got some good pictures of KS' haircut :-)

Luckily, Kristen took a good shot from her iPhone that she posted on her facebook.

Then of course, from those wonderful professionals. I am able to share with you some other good pictures that I found. The Huffington Post Ellie Krupnick First Posted: 9/13/11 03:49 PM. ET. An inspiring article entitled 'Kirstie Alley Walks For Zang Toi Runway Show' Thank you Ellie!

Jewel encrusted 'One thousand nights and one night ' Imperial coat,
Sapphire coulture silk gazar strapless Imperial gown.

Standing ovation!

We tried to go backstage to see Zang. After waiting a long time, the stage manager still asked us to wait. Good thing, Zang's good friend Patrick came out and checked and he asked the stage manager to let us in. Thank you Patrick!

So we were able to witness the continued excitment and we had some pictures taken with Zang Toi.

Zang Toi with Lucia and me

Zang Toi and Gina

Zang Toi with Wendy and Paul

Zang Toi with Karen and Kristen

Zang Toi was very busy surrounded with friends, fans, and photographers.

Lucia took a special picture of Karen and Kristen.

Thank you, Lucia!

Thank you Zang for invitimg us to another one of your spectacular and grand shows. It brought me back to the trip I took to Africa. And thank you KS for driving to the big City for us to enjoy the beauty of Zang Toi's dreamy fashion - 'One Thousand Nights and One Night'.
We agree with Kirstie Alley ... "Zang Toi just has the most beautiful clothes, Period." Thank you Kirstie.period."

~~~

Following are the pictures from James Lim Sing Tao Daily 9/16/11 from his Chinese article.
Thank you James.

Sapphire handloomed rayon knit Sleeveless Cocktail Dress with
Sapphire crystal draped-back necklace with Imperial Star

Ivory Italian Silk Dupioni Sculpted Princess Jacket bordered with French lace + ribbon
Ebony Italian Silk Dupioni high waisted Pencil Skirt

And I just love Julianne Zigos' article of 9/15 on GLAM Dawn It "Lavish Elegance at Zang Toi S/S 2012." She mentioned 'Seasonless' that is exactly what I was thinking when I saw the show. Isn't it wonderful that we can pack the same wardrobe to travel from hot to cold? I just love the designs, the selection of fabric, and the workmanship of Zang Toi's Collections. And all those GOLD!!!

Thank you Julianne Zigos. Your article and video complete the blog I started on 9/13/11 for me. Please click Lavish-Elegance at Zang Toi to see more pictures and the full article.

Thank you all!

###

Mei Wedding Banquet of 7/16/11

2011-09-12T23:01:00.062-04:00

It seems that thousands of pictures have been shown on facebook about the Wedding Banquet of Tony Mei and Hui Liu of July 16, 2011 which Lina Mei hosted. My son and I were among the 300 guests attended the fun-filled and beautiful celebration. We also took hundreds of snapshots. I have posted some photos on my Blog Site with few pictures that I borrowed from my son Rod Chu's SmugMug site.

The Invitation:

We had so much fun it will probably take me a year to produce a complete pictorial blog of that evening. This Blog is just for the Chinese Banquet food and descriptions. The banquet was served a course at a time with festive fun games during intermissions. Each course was made of Chinese delicacies and ingrediants with auspicious meaning to wish hosts and guests good luck. Following pictures show all the courses as well as some individual servings.

鸿运乳猪拼盘
Good Fortune Assorted Appetizer Platter with Suckling Pig,
Suckling pig symbolizes pure love, a must of a Cantonese Wedding Banquet.

The piece of suckling pig (in the middle) was delicious!

法式芝士局开边龙虾
Half Lobsters stuffed with cheese French Style;
Symbolizing good health and wealth. See all those Red and Gold?

It is sort of like French Lobster Thermidor a la Chinese

沙汁合桃瑕球
Stir Fried Prawn with Cream Sauce, Broccoli, and Walnuts. Simply beautiful and a happy dish.

The prawn was crispy and I love the Fried Walnuts. Good for my health so was the broccoli.

百花蚧柑螺片双蚌
Fried Crab Claws with two type of Conch. It means full of happy laughters

I like the Scungelli and Chinese Chive dish

红烧双喜蟹翅
Double Happiness Crab Meat Sharks Fin Soup - Happy Marriage & Prosperity.

With King Crab meat and scallops too

碧绿海参鲍片
Abalone with Sea Cucumber and the heart of Bak Choy wishing Good Health

Yummy!

当红蒜香鸡
Crispy Whole Chicken with Minced Garlic for Happiness

Nicely decorated with garkic and scallions

清蒸游水海鲜
Steamed Whole Fish means Everlasting of Good Fortunes and Happy Days.

E-Fu Noodle for Longevity.

Colorful Fried Rice means Profitable Business

Dessert #1 For Growth and Promotion.

Dessert #2 - Red Bean Soup with Lilies and Lotus Seeds for a Happy Family

Dessert #3 - Fresh Fruits for Health that is a Universal Understanding.

My dessert - the Wedding Cake for the Celebration.

This blog is in progress, Please come back and visit again.

###

Tango Magic - from YouTube

2011-09-10T04:21:00.006-04:00

Everything is possible. So dream more while you are awake, your dream will come true.

http://franceschusblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/tips-for-healthier-happier-life-from.html

###

Lovely and adorable Penguins 可愛的企鵝 - From Jane Loh

2011-09-09T21:42:00.027-04:00

This is a "MUST SEE" for me. The penguins are so adorable, they put smiles on my face. Thank you Jane. And,
Thank you, the Polar News Team and Mike Roland.

###

TEQUILA AND SALT

2011-09-08T12:15:00.001-04:00

Just received this email from Lisa Lu and Shirley Hwong

TEQUILA AND SALT

This should probably be taped to your bathroom mirror where one could read it every day. You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.

1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.

2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.

3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.

4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.

5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.

6. You mean the world to someone.

7. You are special and unique.

8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.

9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.

10. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take another look.

11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

So...... If you are a loving friend, send this to everyone, including the one that sent it to you. If you get it back, then they really do love you... And always remember..... When life hands you lemons, Ask for Tequila and salt and call me over.

Good friends are like stars..... You don't always see them, But you know they are always there. 'Whenever God Closes One Door He Always Opens Another, Even Though Sometimes It's Hell in the Hallway.'

I would rather have one rose and a kind word from a friend while I'm here than a whole truck load when I'm gone.

Forward to all your friends. And don't tell me you're too busy for this.. Don't you know the phrase 'stop and smell the flowers'? See how many 'bouquets' you end up with!

Happiness keeps You Sweet , Trials keep You Strong, Sorrows keep You Human, Failures keeps You Humble, Success keeps You Glowing, But Only God keeps You Going Mail her back to me 'Worry looks around, sorry looks back, Faith looks up.' This angel is sent to you. Send her to 8 people including me. In 8 minutes you will receive something you have long awaited. Have faith.

Thank you Lisa and Shirley!

###

Longevity Man Li Ching-Yuen and Wolfberry

2011-09-04T22:02:00.034-04:00

Sulia Chen sent me an email of an article "李清雲 257歲" about Li Ching-Yuen and the health benefit of Wolfberries. The article was written in Chinese but few lines of an archives news dated 1933 from NY Times and Times Magazine were shown. Those news articles were announcing that Li Ching-Yuen died at age 257 in 1933 with the look of 70. On his dead he had a wife of 60 and that he had buried 32 wives during his lifetime.

I surfed the web and found over 800,000 entries about Li and many said that his longevity secrets were that he ate only vegetables and fruits and herb. And that the herb he ate every day was Wolfberry.

So I googled again. There are over 1.3 millions entries about wolfberry from all over the world. Because of Internet, it seems that many countries are studying about the benefits of wolfberries. Many articles clearly stated that it is the highest in anti-oxident.

However, because I am taking Warfarin (blood thinner) daily for my Atrail fibrillation, and wolfberries interact with Warfarins, so I have to be very careful if I eat wolfberries. Too bad, I certainly would love to be looking and feeling younger.

It was really interesting to read about Li Ching-Yuen and Wolfberries. Thank you Sulia.

If you are curious about the topic, please click:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ching-Yuen

Or just Google "Li Ching-Yuen" and "Wolfberry"

###

THE MOBILE CHINESE PAINTING - 水墨動畫___請欣賞 - from Lily Liu

2011-09-04T19:56:00.007-04:00

Forwarded to me by Lily. Amazing Chinese painting comes to live. Not that I know how to paint or sing, but I would like to find out how it was done.

Please CLICK BELOW:

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af290/alice_yeh1113/27_20646_1462036202000ac.swf

Thank you, Lily!

###

IF YOU LIKE DANCING YOU'LL LOVE THIS---OMG!!!! - From Marty Wolk

2011-09-02T22:48:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time, I learned how to do those steps...
Thank you. Marty! They put smiles on my face.

###

唱卡拉OK好處多多~ (唱京劇更好)

2011-09-01T22:36:00.006-04:00

When I was a child in Shanghai, I was interested in singing. My grandmother found a Russian teacher to give me voice lesson weekly in our house. Just like piano, I found it boring because I had to practice scales. Then when I was 16, I completely lost my voice. And now I can't even carry a tone.

My friend Lily Liu has a beautiful voice. She often performs on stage. She used to bring along CDs and sheet music with her when we were traveling together, especially on cruises.

She forwarded me following article, it is about the health benefits of singing and the correct style of singing Karaoke. It is in Chinese.

唱卡拉OK好處多多~ (唱京劇更好)

１. 燃燒中性脂肪

福田院長指出，想要減肥，一定得先燃燒脂肪，這是眾人皆知的原理，而當體內開始燃燒脂肪時，最先燃燒的便是中性脂肪，而唱歌正好可以助其燃燒，幫助你變成纖瘦美人，再加上載歌載舞的效果，唱完一首歌，所減掉的脂肪相當可觀。
福田醫院! 曾! 經做過一個實驗，找來三位女性分別唱五首歌曲，每人的曲目都一樣，在唱完之後測量她們體內的中性脂肪值，結果三人的中性脂肪值全部降低了，其中二人更降低了一半。

２. 唱一首歌如跑一百公尺

根據「卡拉 OK 健康法」一書指出，通常歌手在開? t? 蛪|之際都會體重驟降，完全是因為在開Concert期間日夜勤練歌藝之故，福田院長說如果唱歌的方法正確，充分利用身體各部分的肌肉和內臟，可以從而消耗大量體能，也就是說如同做了運動一樣。為了證明，福田院長特別測量了一個人在唱完一首歌後的氧氣消耗量，以及跑完一百公尺後的氧氣消耗量，發現兩者的效果相當，換言之，兩者的卡路里消耗量亦大致相同，所以唱了一首歌就等於跑了一百公尺，這對於想減肥但又不喜歡運動的人來說，實在是一大喜訊。

３. 利用腹肌收肚

唱歌時，基本呼吸方法便是腹式呼吸法、腹部的肌肉得到充分利用，促進新陳代謝，同時也可結實腹部的肌肉。另外，使用腹式呼吸法的時候，橫隔膜的活動可以調節空氣的吸入和呼出量，肺容量增加，脂肪分解時所需的氧氣便能充分地被吸收，有助脂肪的燃燒。
脂肪燃燒唱歌法唱歌不是用喉嚨大喊大叫，如此不但達不到瘦身效果，還會損及喉嚨，形成息肉，造成反效果。不妨練習福田院長教大家的「脂肪燃燒唱歌法」，減肥兼唱歌，說不定有朝一日就可以變成最苗條的歌唱家！

Ａ. 腹式呼吸法練習

「腹式呼吸法」是唱歌的基本技巧，相當容易練習，在家也可ＤＩＹ：首先仰臥在地上或床上，在腹部放上一? 二公斤重的物件，如書或電話簿，維持這樣的姿勢唱一首歌，切記要看見腹部一上一下的起伏著，確保你是用腹式呼吸，每日練習一次，慢慢就會熟能生巧。

Ｂ. 正確唱歌姿勢

唱歌的時候，能站不要坐，雙腿要分開與肩同寬，身體保持平衡，並記得使用「腹式呼吸法」，想像自己是歌曲的主人翁，投入忘情地唱，能夠做到這點將會大大提高瘦身的效果。另外有一點要特別注意，唱歌的時候不要喝啤酒或狼吞虎嚥，要喝的話不如點熱茶或澎大海。

▲好不容易輪到你，切記一定要站立。
▲腿分開與肩同寬，要站得穩。
▲聽到前奏時，嘗試忘記現實生活，陶醉在音樂之中。
▲一手拿著麥克風，一手按著腹部，使用「腹式呼吸法」。
▲如果能夠配合舞蹈，效果更棒。

４. 一曲可耗２０卡路里

唱歌減肥，除了方法要正確之外，歌曲的選擇亦十分重要。日本就有一家公司，製造了一部「卡路里卡拉OK」的機器，可以計算唱歌時所消耗的卡路里，該公司表示，這部機器可以透過從麥克風所接收的訊息如：聲量的大小、發聲的時間、拍子的快慢..等因素計算出唱歌的人所消耗的熱量。從計算中得知，平均每一首歌能夠消耗五?二十卡路里，因人而異，就算是同一個人唱一首歌兩次也會有不同的結果，而當然歌曲時間長，節奏快是較佳的選擇，以下是根據這部「奇機」並參考國內歌曲得出的結果：

▲可消耗約二十卡路里之歌曲
歌曲名稱　　　歌　手　卡路里消耗
三天三夜　　　　　　張惠妹　　　　１９ .３
忘記我還是忘記他　　　　迪克牛仔　　　１９.１
Can You Celebrate 　安室奈美惠　　２１.６

▲可消耗約十五卡路里之歌曲
歌曲名稱　　　　　　　　歌　手　! 　! 卡路里消耗
Automatic　　　　　　陳慧琳　　　１２.９
My Heart Will Go On Celine Dion １３.5 　

５. 改善便祕及皮膚狀況

如果你有慢性便祕的煩惱，不如多唱歌，據說可以舒緩導致便秘的壓力，使支配大腸蠕動的自律神經活躍、另外，唱歌時利用腹式呼吸法鍛鍊腹肌，亦可以刺激大腸的蠕動。

６. 月月安

月經週期紊亂，部分原因是因為壓力導致荷爾蒙失調，如果能放寬心胸，利用想像力進入歌曲的意境之中、促進女性荷爾蒙之分泌，可改善生理不順的問題。

７. 神經三溫暖

唱歌時，人會變得緊張，但當唱完一首歌後，唱歌的人會隨即放鬆下來，這樣一鬆一緊的循環可以刺激因壓力而變得混亂的自律神經，紓解身心。

既然是這樣，那大家約一約去唱歌(戲)囉！

###

Tips for Healthier & Happier Life from Lily Liu

2011-09-01T18:43:00.006-04:00

Lily Liu forwarded to me a Power Point Show with beautiful pictures, music, and wise advice for everyday living. It practically summarized many articles that I read about health and happiness. We do not know who is the original author but I’ve seen those words before in Chinese. I agree with the Chinese text. I feel that those sayings are very good advises for young or old, and they can serve as a good guide for us to attain a healthier and happier life. Thank you Lily.

I’ve copied the slides (but not the music) to keep it in my blog site to share with my family and friends. And I changed the text on the first slide a little to make it more lasting. Please click on the picture to get the larger size picture for better view.

Enjoy!

Remarks by the Vice President at Sichuan University - from Fred Teng

2011-08-23T20:53:00.012-04:00

Fred said on Facebook "Vice President Biden gave a great speech and Q&A at Sichuan University. This is the most eloquent speech ever given on U.S. China relations yet with all of the U.S. points of views covered. Vice President Biden is a very good salesman for the U.S.A. better than any other U.S. leaders including President Obama. This is amazing because this Vice President has often been accused of putting his foot in his mouth."

Remarks by the Vice President at Sichuan University | The White House

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

WhiteHouse.gov is the official web site for the White House and President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States. This site is a source for information about the President, White House news and policies, White House history, and the federal government.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/08/21/remarks-vice-president-sichuan-university

I agreed with Fred that it is a great speech. I wish to see and hear more of Vice President Biden' speeches in the future. I also feel that his honesty and openness really handled the Q & A well. He sounded so sincere that he was smooth, he did not put his foot in his mouth at all.

Thank you, Fred.

Following is a video of U.S. Vice President Biden's speech that I added on 8/25. It is 50 minutes long. I enjoyed both the transcript of his talk as well as the video. I was born in China and I immigrated to America since I was a teenager. I am a retired senior citizen and a great-grandmother. I am grateful that I was given the opportunity for a most enjoyable career in an innovative field. I am proud to be a Chines American. I also believe that both countries - China and America by working together, we can make this a better world for all.

Uploaded by whitehouse on Aug 21, 2011

The Vice President speaks on the relationship between the United States and China at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China. The Vice President also took questions from the crowd after concluding his remarks.

Gigapixel Photos by Ronnie Miranda - from Marty Wolk

2011-08-23T12:47:00.008-04:00

This is the photo taken by Port Moody photographer Ronnie Miranda that appeared in Tri-City News Friday 24-June. This is actually scary. You can see - perfectly - the faces of every single individual - and there were thousands!
Privacy? Just think what the police and the military have at their disposal.

It is the crowd in Vancouver before the riot. Put your cursor anywhere in the crowd and double-click a couple of times and then use the roll button in the centre of your mouse. It is pretty amazing.

Please start by just click on one of the following links. One of them should work for your system. You may have to wait for a few seconds. And just double click on the photo to get closer looks.

http://www.gigapixel.com/image/gigapan-canucks-g7.html <

http://www.gigapixel.com/image/gigapan-canucks-g7.html>

http://www.gigapixel.com/ <

http://www.gigapixel.com/>

Thank you Marty! Enjoy!
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