Happy New Year Wishes

Well, 2008 is quickly winding to an end and we will once again need to get used to seeing 2009 printed upon our stationary. This year has been a very eventful one for me, so I'm looking forward to a relatively peaceful 2009.

I wish you all the best for the forthcoming year and hope all the goals you have been working towards are realized. To your happiness and health!

- Paul

Where Are The Paper Airplanes?

Those who have walked through 228 park in the early morning hours will have at some time encountered a delightful old man who used to be at the entrance of the park. This man, in his 70's, would park his antiquated bicycle and remove a stack of papers from an equally antiquated leather briefcase strapped to the back of the bicycle. He'd then proceed to make paper airplanes for all that passed by. He's happily show you how to make them and how to fly them. He particularly delighted in teaching the art of paper airplanes to groups of school children on field trips to visit the museum.

To encounter him was to be bathed in a feeling of such natural warmth that I have yet to find words adequate to describe the experience. Over the last 5 years, he not only gave me hundreds of paper airplanes, but he even gave me a song he wrote for Mother's Day; he even sang it for me. It's not every day you get the opportunity to meet such a rare person. One late morning, on my way home I encountered him in his usual place in the park and had the chance to talk with him. It was a conversation that lasted an hour. He showed me pictures of his family, his daughters and his wife who recently passed away. He loves organ music and used to play organ in church. It was a remarkable afternoon.

I write this now because ever since the park was renovated, he has disappeared. I haven't seen him for many many months now and I feel the loss each time I pass the place he used to park his dilapidated bicycle. It occurs to me now that the park renovations may have made some nice changes to appearance of the park, but everyday I'm reminded of that which is missing.

- Paul

My Honeymoon - Prague

I wanted to share a few pictures taken on my honeymoon. I've narrowed it down to just a few, but I believe these few to really say something about how amazing a place Eastern Europe is. The scenery is so wonderful that it feels as though you've stepped into a renaissance painting. Colors are rich, landscapes mountainous, houses colorful yet austere. Your eye can't begin to take in all the details that arrest your attention.

One of my fondest memories is eating a piping hot sausage on a bun and drinking mulled wine, a combination of lemon, cinnamon and red wine. Let me tell you, it will really warms you up.

I was also fortunate enough to visit Kafka's house which has been turned into a tiny bookstore selling only his books. I've been an admirer of Kafka for many years, so it was remarkable to be able to stand in a place he once wrote.

In addition to magnificent churches, you'll also notice a rather colorful building. The building was designed by a famous Viennese artist. He attempted to make the village into art, and as you can see he was quite successful. On the right is the Prague Astronomical Clock built in 1410!

And that's it! This last picture was taken in Salzberg in Mirabell Gardens near the childhood home of Mozart.

- Paul

Public Washroom Appreciation

One of the great things about travel is that it opens your mind to new horizons, as the cliche goes. Yet one of the things I value most about travel is the appreciation it fosters for home. What I mean is, different cultural experiences often highlight unique aspects of your own culture that the everyday humdrum of life has made you take for granted. After my return to Taiwan from Czech, a have found myself with a whole new appreciation for public washrooms.

As those of you who have travelled to Europe know well, public washrooms are not free but require a fee of anywhere from $10 NT to $50 NT depending on where you are. The fee is paid to an attendant that services the washroom and keeps it clean and restocked. The other choice is to use an automatic pay toilet. With this toilet, money must be inserted before the door will unlock and allow you entry. The result is very clean and safe public washrooms, but at a price. I assume this service must also save taxpayers a lot of money, as the fees paid subsidize the maintenance costs substantially. While for some this is an excellent example of a "pay as you go" plan, for those of us not used to it, it can be highly irritating seeking a washroom only to discover we don't have the right change. The homeless no doubt do not get to use these facilities because of the cost, and I wonder if we are not robbing them of some basic dignity by requiring payment for such a basic human need.

Now, as I pass through Taipei's wonderful MRT stations, I look upon the clean, safe and FREE public washrooms and am reminded how lucky we are to have them.

- Paul

No Heroics

For those of you looking for something on the lighter side, I have a TV recommendation for you - No Heroics

No Heroics is a new and delightful tongue in cheek British comedy about a group of dysfunctional superheroes and their daily trials and tribulations. It's a brilliant parody of the popular American show Heroes and the multitudinous comic book heroes turned blockbuster movies. The show is full of superheroes, known as Capes, such as Thunder Monkey who has the ability of call a herd of monkeys. The only problem being that it takes his monkeys about twenty-five minutes to arrive on the scene. So if you're tired of those over the top superhero dramas and you want to be brought back down to earth, give it a watch.

(If you're interested, you can find it here: http://eztv.it/shows/763/no-heroics-ivt2-uk/)

Copyfight

It's no secret that's it's pretty easy to find TV programs from all over the world online. Whether or not it's legal to download them is still for many, a grey area. Here are some of my thoughts on the issue and of course in turn, I'm very curious to know yours.

When it comes to the copying and selling of pirated DVD's and CD's, no one would deny it's wrong. Making money from the efforts of artists who work hard to create that material is impossible to justify. Although record companies and book publishers have reportedly been doing it for centuries, that's another issue. What I'm interested in discussing is whether or not it is acceptable to download a TV program that after being shown on a public TV station, is recorded and then freely distributed through the Internet so that others, presumably in other countries, can watch is reasonable or unreasonable.

A little piece of news.....

Usually I reserve the blog to discuss ideas and issues and steer away from the personal. Yet, once in a while something so big happens that it would be wrong not to share.

I've been waiting to tell everyone this for over a week now.... I got married! On October 10th, that's right double 10, my wife Celina and I celebrated with friends and family our promise to wed one another. The ceremony was held outdoors amid waterfalls and lovely scenery. We even had a string trio for music, a wonderful gift from Eva, which added a touch of charm and magic to the celebration. My mother also made her first visit to Taiwan to attend the wedding. I wanted to share a few photographs with everyone of the happy day.

To cliche or not to cliche? That is the cliche.

My apologies to those of you who visit here. As you can see from the date of the last entry, I've been notably remiss in keeping up. I shall endeavor not to let that happen again.
Recently, I was learning about the history of the word: cliché. It's origins are French and it is related to the early printing presses. Early printing presses used movable type, in which they needed to change each letter's position for every new page. The alternative was to manufacture a fixed plate called a stereotype that would have a fixed phrase that could be used over and over to save time. This fixed phrase or plate was called a cliché.
Cliché is ubiquitous. Whether we are using email, text messages or even just chatting the cliché is everywhere. The simple convenience of the cliché is just too overwhelming for us moderns. Do you think we need to “stem the tide” (cliché) or should we just “go with the flow” (another cliché). Are we capable anymore of expressing ourselves without falling into cliche?

Why do we dream?

About 100 years ago, Freud declared that dreams are the path to the unconscious. Oddly enough, despite all the progress in science today, we are no closer to understanding why we dream. Does dreaming have a biological function or is it just noise? Dreams can be in color or black and white, with or without sound, and yet we still don't know why it happens at all. So I put it to you - what do you think is happening when we dream?

Your Inner-Pack Rat

Last weekend, I spent two days going through stuff. I decided what I wanted to keep and what it was time to get rid of. I do this about twice a year and yet no matter how many times I swear I will buy fewer unnecessary things, there are always more things to get rid of biannually. I don't want to be a pack rat, but I'm afraid I am. I sometimes think that I want to have things in order to be prepared for the need, even if the need has not yet arisen. The result is I'm always accumulating. Am I alone in having this compulsion? I would really like to hear your thoughts and suggestions. How do you deal with your inner-pack rat?

New Findings about Mental Distress

I listened to a very intriguing news report that discussed the issue of mental distress caused by having abortions. It had often been stated that a woman who has an abortion will frequently suffer from psychological distress, depression and other potential difficulties. A recent study has however revealed that no psychological distress results from women having abortions. The findings of this study have sparked a lot of debate. I urge you to listen to this 4 minute clip of the news report and tell me what you think. (Click on the link below and then click on "Start Download")

http://www.mediafire.com/?jydiveyptnv

Olympic Fever

The last few topics up for discussion have been pretty intense, not to mention a bit dark. I therefore opted for something lighter: The Olympics. Are you following the Olympics? Usually, I'm not much for watching sports on Tv, but I have to admit I started watching women's volleyball and wow, those atheletes are fierce! Pretty disappointed about Taiwan's performance in baseball, though. I was really hoping to see them get further. What are you watching or are you sick of the Olympics already?

Torture

Recently on a BBC radio program called the "Moral Maze", the issue under discussion was torture. The central question was whether there is ever a time when torture is acceptable. The panelists, in addition to the guests, involved were of radically different opinions on the matter.

The situation they were given was if a man in police custody claimed to have knowledge of a bomb that would potentially kill hundreds or even thousands of people and would not share that information willingly, would it be acceptable to torture that man for information? Some argued torture was immoral in any situation. Others said that in some particular situations torture may be an effective means of getting valuable information that may save lives. Others still suggested that torture should in fact be legalized. How would you respond to this extremely difficult moral choice?

Cheating

Today, our conversation class discussed academic cheating. The discussion was for me very eye-opening as I discovered some students who directly and plainly stated that cheating was a natural part of education and it wasn't really a big deal. They openly admitted to cheating in school at certain times and felt sometimes it was necessary. How do you feel about people who cheat on exams or other forms of testing? Are you outraged or is it just something that we have to accept as being part of an educational system? Can anything be done about it? What experiences have you had with cheating? What motivates one person to cheat and the other not to cheat when given the choice?

Animal Instinct or Human Invention?

The Green Eyed Monster - Jealousy

Today's topic is jealousy. Is it animal instinct or human invention? In a very interesting interview, psychologist David Buss stated that in many ways jealousy is "a survival mechanism for long term relationships." What Buss suggests is that jealousy is a reaction by men and women to a looming threat to their relationship. For men, jealousy is often triggered to fend off rivals. For women, jealousy is often used as a test of the strength of the relationship. What's your take on jealousy?

The One... continued

Aristophanes, in his speech on love, makes reference to human beings as once being intertwined. We had eight limbs and one head with two faces looking out in opposite directions. Each creature had two sets of genitalia. Alas, these creatures were too powerful, too able and so Zeus decided to sever them in two - man and woman. Aristophanes said we are always looking for our missing half to complete ourselves. This according to many is the origin of our current theory of soul-mates, at least in the Western world.

What you may or may not know is that Aristophanes was most famous for his comedies..... I wonder what he would make of us.

Performance Class Note

For the students in my Tuesday morning performance class:

I asked you to choose a monologue for next week using the site: www.filmsite.org

I should have been more specific. Please use: www.filmsite.org/bestspeeches.html

Sorry about the mix up!

Is there such a thing as The One?

Ok, all you die-hard romantics - here's something to sink your teeth into.

Throughout many countries and cultures, there is an idea that each person has a "soul mate", otherwise called "The One." Where this idea sprung from is anybody's guess, but what is certain is that it continues to be the basis of every romantic comedy ever made for film or TV. So let us see if romance still has it's mythic power over us, or if romance is truly dead and sadly buried.

Do you believe in "The One"?

Classic Comedy Clips

I thought it would be nice to share some classic comedy pieces with everyone. You may be familiar with Rowan Atkinson. These are short 3-5 min audio clips. Give them a listen and tell me what you think. Laughter is good for the soul, after all.
- Paul

http://www.mediafire.com/?gjyyz3xvumk

http://www.mediafire.com/?tnmtj1ugmjn

If you prefer to watch the video you can click on the following links:

http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=YBeguUvuDzs

http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=AaYXWAZmPfI

Red Cliff (John Woo Film)

Last weekend, I saw the movie "Red Cliff" from writer/director John Woo. As the film is based on the legend of the three kingdoms I was very interested to see it. I have to say, having only a limited knowledge of Chinese history, I thought the movie was great. I felt the acting was superb and the storytelling well paced. I didn't know until after the film was over that it was Taiwanese model Lin Chi-Ling's first acting role. Highly impressive! She has a real air of feminine mystery. I'd strongly recommend the film.

To Facebook, or not to Facebook

Amanda has suggested that we organize a Chung-Deh facebook. I would like to know how many of you use facebook and if you think having a Chung-Deh facebook would be worthwhile.
On another note, I've recently learned that quite a few students have their own blogs. If you would like to send me your blog address, I'd like to add them to a list of links on the Chung-Deh blog so other students can find them. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Public Speaking Class Videos

I've already started video taping speeches from Public Speaking class and I wanted to let everyone know that I can email you your videos. I would like to post some of the speeches on the blog but don't worry, I won't do that unless I have your express permission. If you want to see your video, just send me an email.

Welcome All

Well, classes this term are off to a good start. I'm particularly pleased with my Performance and Public Speaking classes, as they are, without a doubt, the most active classes I've taught in a while. It's really a pleasure for a teacher to sit back and watch his students stand in front of the class and perform.

I find the summer is the most difficult time to teach, so I imagine it's also the most difficult time to study. With the weather being as sultry as it is in Taipei, it makes one lethargic. Is that just me, or do you find that too? (Don't think you can use this as an excuse for being absent though - it won't wash.)

This blog can be used to ask questions concerning class issues or it can be used for casual chit chat. It's up to you. Don't be shy. I look forward to reading your comments.