The Maple Leaf Rag

I just heard Lang Lang on the radio. He was being interviewed on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). During the interview, he told a story that everyone should keep in mind. 

When he was just 7, Lang's Lang's father took him to Beijing to study with a very famous teacher. Lang called her Mrs. Angry. Lang's father had quit his job so that he could guide Lang Lang on a path to become a famous pianist.

It seems the teacher, Mr's Angry, didn't think  Lang Lang was good. She told him he would never be famous, that he couldn't play the piano well at all. Lang's father was very upset and it was an extremely difficult time for both of them. 

As it turns out, Lang won an international competition three years later and has moved on to become one of the most famous and best pianists in the world. He has play the piano in front of billions of people. He is in Toronto for two weeks where he will play five concerts with the Toronto Symphony. Playing five nights gives him the chance to play every Beethoven concerto, something that he has never done before. 

All of this is quite a different outcome than Mrs. Angry would have planned. Even though she was a famous piano teacher, she obviously wasn't perfect. She couldn't tell that Lang Lang was incredibly talented. Once he was 'fired' by this teacher, it must have taken incredible strength for him to continue on. 

What can you learn from this? Basically, don't give up. Don't let an 'expert' tell you that you are wrong. Do the best you can, try as hard as possible and don't listen to negative people. If your parents tell you that you can't do something, prove to them that you can. Whatver you do, don't listen to people who pretend to know more than you. If you think you are talented, then you are. Keep on keeping on!

Thanks for reading. 

My daughter once told me that she read about skin whitening products and how almost all skin creams sold in Asia contain some kind of whitening agent.

I did some investigation and found out that 4 out of 10 women in Hong Kong (and Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea) use some kind of whitener. This is completely new to me. I guess it isn't to you but I'm shocked.

What's the big deal about it? Personally, I love brown or tanned skin. At this point in my life, I don't even look at white girls. I know that this runs much deeper than what I like but I hate to think of what the skin creams are doing to women's bodies.

My neighbour is from the Philippines. She isn't that dark but her daughter is very dark. Somehow I think she looks incredible but my neighbour worries that she is just too dark. She tries to keep her out of the sun but I don't think the sun makes any difference. I worry that the girl will lose her confidence if her Mom keeps telling her that she is too dark.

I know that the sun can damage and age your skin, that's understandable. Is using a chemical to make your skin lighter any different? What damage will these things do to you later on? Just something to think about. We use lots of sunscreen here in Canada. Maybe protecting yourself from the sun is a better idea that using an unknown chemical on your skin.

Thanks for reading!

If you've read my logs, then you'll know that I dream a lot (usually at night!). I'm not sure why but my dreams are packed with humour, action and intensity. Quite often I see people from my life, both real and virtual, in my dreams. 

Last week, I dreamt about a renren 'friend'. I put friend in hyphens because many people don't consider online friends to be real friends. My jury is still out on that but, in many ways, I feel much closer to some online friends than I do with most of my real life friends. I guess I should use the word 'acquaintance' instead of friend, at least in this case. 

The dream itself wasn't bad or wild, just a meeting while cooking with someone on my list. She wore a red dress, which seemed significant to me for some reason and there was something to do with football. I rememeber that I scored a touchdown, as a matter of fact. The next day I wrote a private message to my friend on renren and told her about the dream. No response came back. Then I started to wonder, as I always do, if I should have said anything. Maybe she thought it was weird that I messaged her. Hell, I would want to know if someone dreamt about me. Wouldn't you? It didn't mean anything, I mean I don't even know her at all, other than her pictures and a few messages. 

The week before, I had dreamt about another friend, a co-worker that I hadn't seen in years. She was actually my boss at one time. After the dream, I wrote to her on Facebook and told her what I dreamt about. She laughed and we shot a few messages back and forth. It was nice, nothing significant at all. 

So, the question of the day is: Would you tell someone that you dreamt about them? Is it important to know? You know where I stand on that. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I've crossed some cultural barrier here. Hahaha. I am always crossing some invisible barrier, right? 

I should start writing down my dreams and tell you about them. It might be interesting and revealing. Maybe someone could pick out a pattern or meaning in them. 

Thanks for reading? Do you dream? Some people don't. Let me know. I love your comments.