Madness In The Middle Kingdom

For Christmas Alice bought 2 tickets to see a visiting Czech symphony in the Kai Fa Qu Grand Hall. The performance was this past Saturday and I absolutely loved it. They played quite a bit of Strauss but also some Brahms, Chopin and a mixture of Chinese melodies for good measure. I’d go again in a heartbeat.

Alice used her new cellphone for this pic so the quality is not superb.

A coworker snapped this shot at the intermission. He said it was James Bondish. I have to agree

As I sit at my computer trying desperately to write the first draft of the Calculus 12 term exam I remembered that this toothpaste was given to Alice by the Korean students she tutors.

I know most folks who did Calculus in university were glad they got the course over with but seriously .. Anti-Calculus? Harsh indeed.

Oh .. it turns out that Calculus has more than one definition. According to The Free Online Dictionary
2. Dentistry See tartar.
3. Mathematics
The branch of mathematics that deals with limits and the differentiation and integration of functions of one or more variables.

And for tartar
1. Dentistry A hard yellowish deposit on the teeth, consisting of organic secretions and food particles deposited in various salts, such as calcium carbonate. Also called calculus.

This post alone is evidence of how much I am avoiding my work at hand.

Maybe I’ll go brush my teeth now.

On Sunday we walked up to the water reservoir which is now solidly frozen over and watched a few Canadians pass the puck and a few Chinese speedskate around. Nothing to extravagant just a great day out in nature.

Well .. Carter was dogtired after a week after heavy practicing and no nap the day of the performance (the teacher decided that extra practice time was appropriate) but he and Nathan did a very good job in their performance today. Carter was a little behind in his steps and you can see on his face that he is pretty beat but we are very proud of how he did. He and Nathan were soooo cute.

The video quality isn’t that good but here’s how it went down.

Tomorrow on Boxing Day Carter and Nathan will be in a school performance (Chinese schools don’t shut down for Christmas holidays). They have been going to extra practice sessions to ensure that the performance goes off flawlessly. Although in Canada we wouldn’t expect much out of 4 year olds they definitely do here and the EXPECT the performance to be perfect. Yesterday (Christmas Eve) was the dress rehearsal.

Carter will be in 2 dances … the Lei Feng Dance and another dance about animals on a train. He plays the Teddy Bear.



He is doing very well in the dances and takes it very seriously.

Nathan, on the other hand, has not taken things as seriously as he should and will only practice at home if given a treat. Even then his participation is spotty. At the dress rehearsal he got a duck costume for the dance and LOVED it. He was soooo proud of his costume that we may see a good performance out of him yet … unfortunately I am not as sold on the getup.

NOT a Thai ladyboy .. that’s Nathan

The little girl we never had. This one I am saving for his wedding day.

What can I say .. he loves it.

All the kids in his class wear the same uniform but that doesn’t make it any better.

Just wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from The People’s Republic of China …

Not the best quality but here is Santa’s Visit to the Kai Fa Qu

The creative process at work …

Nathan’s Letter .. with loads of help from Mom .. ok .. she wrote it but he dictated.

Carter’s Letter .. he did the green parts.

In case you are wondering that is Batmobile and Batcycle.

Are you reading this Santa?

For the first time since 1957 a song is #1 AND #2 on the charts … that song is none other than Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” written in 1984 and covered by many artists since then. It is a haunting beautiful melody that does not need to be performed.. merely sung. Cohen’s poetry and melody will do the rest.

First verse
Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Alexandra’s Burke #1 - Hallelujah
To watch Alexandra Burke’s version click here
I’m not a fan of this version .. it’s too over the top.

Jeff Buckley #2 - Hallelujah
To watch Jeff Buckley’s version click this link
Jeff Buckley died in 1997 - a victim of an accidental drowning and his version has been regarded as one of the best since that time. He does it justice.

However we need see the maestro’s version
Leonard Cohen - not sure when this was recorded but looking at the hairstyles I suspect this was near the original release.

The lucky children of Kai Fa Qu Dalian, China received a special treat today when Santa Claus just “happened” to drop by the French restaurant where we were all having a breakfast buffet. Talk about a coincidence. To add to it further somehow he managed to have a present for each child and it was exactly what they wanted. Santa is truly magical.

Some shots

That’s right New York .. no Sundin at Madison Square Gardens .. except on road games. Originally I thought the chasing of Sundin was akin to the Mark Messier debacle of 1996 but upon closer inspection there really isn’t a parallel there.

I pity the poor play by play announcers on the powerplay … “Sedin to Sedin to Sundin back to Sedin over to Sundin, out to Sedin … down low to Sundin .. and IN!” Warm up your chops boys.

To the Vancouver Canucks.
“Grattis. Lycka till”

The above photo is the puzzle that Amma sent to Carter. We spent the last 2 nights putting it together. We had it almost done but had to put it aside on the first night. Nathan got at it the next day which required us to basically start all over again.

Carter is getting very good at puzzles. He did about 30% of it all by himself, he and Dad did about another 50% and when the attention span waned Dad finished off the rest.

Thanks Amma!

The title says it all ..

The sound of those two boys playing happily is one of the most wonderful in the world … I’ll leave you to guess which is the worst sound in the world. (Hint .. opposite side of the same coin).

Quesnel is a town that loves its hockey but hasn’t really found its way onto the national scene much. Basically since Bob and Brad Gassoff of the 1970’s it’s been a long dry spell until now.

This past month saw 2 Quesnel connections with hockey on the national and international level.

#1 - Brett Festerling Called Up to The Anaheim Ducks

Brett Festerling is a Quesnel, BC native who spent his major junior hockey with the Tri-City Americans and then captain of the Vancouver Giants when they when their 2007 Memorial Cup. Last month he was called up to the Anaheim Ducks when an injury to Francis Beauchamp spelled an opporunity for Festerling. He now plays on a line with Scott Neidermayer. He is also the guy who checked Jeremy Roenick hard enough to put him out of the lineup for 3 weeks. Who here doesn’t hate Jeremy Roenick?

#2 - BC Electrician To Shoot For a Million

56-year-old electrician Rick Abbott of Quesnel, B.C. has a chance to win a million bucks on the Chevrolet Traverse Million Dollar Shootout. The shootout will be broadcast on New Year’s Eve on TSN during the first intermission of the Canada v. USA World Juniors Game.
Good Luck Rick!
(Click Here For Full TSN Story)

What do these 3 guys have in common?

Photo #1

Photo #2

Photo #3

Well Photo #1 is only the most famous hockey dad in the world .. Walter Gretzky. Photo #2 is of Mark Roswell also known as the international superstar Dashan to 1.4 billion Chinese people. Photo #3 is David Letterman’s famous musical sidekick - Paul Shaffer.

What they have in common is that they were all awarded the Order of Canada by Governor General Michaelle Jean this past Friday. Love to see Canadians honoured for the work they do in their respective fields.

A few weekends ago I went with the Ice Dragons up to Haerbin to watch/coach some of the hockey. While I was gone Alice took the boys swimming and this is them getting ready in the morning.

In China you MUST wear the bathing cap or else they freak. They blow whistles, point, shout (something they do well here) all in an effort to publicly humiliate you. It works and there you have the bathing cap!

I realize Carter has been hoggin’ all the bloggin’ for the past little while so for those Nathan fans out there .. here’s the boy at Mischa’s BDay

It’s only the best cake ever!!

I read with some sadness today about the ailing king of Thailand - King Bhumibol Adulyadej. In Thailand he is revered with an almost godlike status and is also the world’s longest serving monarch (62 year reign). Here is pictured on the 50 Baht note

The first time I travelled to Thailand I went to see a movie in a theater in Bangkok and before the movie starts they play a small musical video tribute to the King and all in attendance must rise to show their respect. I was a little surprised but was moved by the show of respect.

Every year on his birthday of December 5th he addresses the nation from the Royal Palace in Bangkok

This year, however, just when his country needs his calming reassuring words the most he was too ill to make the speech.

Long Live The King!

In all deference to Elvis.

Tonight we put up our second Christmas tree. Why two? Well the first one was kind of small although Carter was able to decorate the whole thing by himself which made him happy.

Today Alice went to the Korean market in Dalian, China to buy a western symbol of a Christian holiday - the 2.4 meter artificial tree. We spent this evening putting up and decking the tree as a family (with the exception of Nathan who preferred to watch TV rather than help).

The closest Nathan got to the tree before it was done.

Smile

Carter ensuring the branches are spread EXACTLY equally

Carter loooooves to deck the tree

Carter took this pic .. proud of his handiwork

Decking the tree was hard on the old leg!