::Wondering Mind::

I discovered Matmatah a few months ago thanks to a colleague of mine and really fell in love with their style and lyrics. Fresh Brittany sounds with enough of a gipsy rock edge if I may describe them that way!

In a song called “Alzheimer” they write:

Ou alors régressons fatalement,
Eternellement. Des débutants.
Avec la peur comme exutoire à l’ignorance
Alzheimer en prof d’histoire de nos enfances.

which can be more or less translated as

Or let’s fatally regress,
eternally. Beginners.
With fear as a way out of ignorance
Alzheimer as the History teacher of our childhood”

I’m not even really doing it justice at this point but I cannot get enough of that verse!
those are some cool cats folks and if you get a chance to give them a listen, take it. Also lookup the video for a song called “la cerise” on youtube (I’d link it but it’s not available in the mainland at the moment)

Look Ma’ ! I’m back on stage again..

no tomatoes or rotten eggs were thrown during the making of these pictures.

After investing years and years messing around with the guitar and not really getting anywhere (for various reasons), I finally got off my rear end, got serious about it and actually played a couple of tracks the past few weeks at open mike night!
This Past Tuesday was another milestone as it was the first time since 93 that I was actually on stage with another person playing something we actually rehearsed, even if it was for a short time. This particular performance had Paul Thorn’s “great day to whoop some a**” and a Chinese song called “家乡“ (jia xiang).

I should have done it earlier.. much earlier.. I guess better late than never!

Got a few friends that left China for good this year after spending a substantial chunk of time in the middle kingdom doing various jobs but mostly teaching. For one reason or another, these folks had to pack it up, leave their cushy comfy life behind and make it back home, with home referring to good old USAnia at this point.

So, fast forward a few months: these folks are having a hard time adjusting, finding jobs and generally getting settled into the ol’ country! Granted, there is an economical “crisis” at hand and what not but these are highly qualified and experienced good people that are now looking at Mc D or Taco hell for a paycheck.

The most common comment that has been standing out was: “the China experience just doesn’t seem to be relevant” or ” Teaching in China is a resume killer” or that people “know i’ve been in China for a while but never ask about it”. I’m sitting here from afar looking at it all and wondering about that situation in utter disbelief but at the same time wondering if that disbelief is justified.

why?

China is all over the news, it’s the next big thing and it’s been the next big thing for quite a few years now; or is it?
Yes, China is relevant in terms of business for multinationals but how does it matter to average joe blow inside the bible belt? I’m guessing the biggest question might be: ” is their general tso’s chicken really much better than the one from the all you can eat $5 buffet down the street?”
Maybe that’s over-exaggerating but you get the idea.

I’m not sure what I’m getting to here but I keep remembering what a friend said about the “lack of China cool” in USAnia and how relevant that is to this situation.

food for thoughts or ramblings signaling it’s time for bed?

the geek is back in town!
The last two weeks have been pretty darn good to my inner geek: After years of stagnancy, I got back into the whole SEO scene juggling bounce rates and goal management. WP fun is also high on the list with a couple of new blogs launched ( yeah I know, WonderingMind has been kinda neglected) and getting ready to meet some of the biggest geeks in the world (visit geeksonaplane.com for details).
There is some cool stuff happening out there! From trying to bring china cool into the US all the way to new mashup concepts. it’s gonna be an interesting summer.

that said, it will be nice to get full access to the internet sometime soon and that this “sanitization” is extremely temporary.. It would definitely be nice to get back on youtube and flickr without the need for alternative connection means.

So, after 2 years of cruising while being overworked and heavily underpaid, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee! It’s been a great experience working in an industry I knew nothing about and learned quite a bit over that time. That being said, I’m slightly sad that it’s over!
It’s rare to be able to work a job that expands our horizons on so many particular levels and that has made it even harder to take that decision and move on!

so, what’s next? not really sure at the moment! I need to get in touch with my creative side for a bit and try to find an outlet for it. I have missed spending extensive time on graphics and webdevelopment which I’m getting back into slowly but surely.

Technology has changed and now it’s all about convergence!

Facebook, twitter, the upcoming google wave coupled with the iphone and the Palm pre are showing the way for the digital lifestyle. At the same time, there is a whole segment out there that is neither affected nor solicited or targeted by these technologies. So maybe the next step is to slowly bring that in and try to make those two beasts fit together or work together!

There is no denying that the whole digital scene is here to stay, but its Achilles’ heel is that it’s all artificial value or perceived value. The manufacturing sector on the other hand is as concrete as it gets with palpable goods. How could the two possibly fit together? Maybe it’s time to try and find out.