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Attention Chinese and other students and job seekers coming to America - What they do not tell you about cultural differences…

Honor and Respect the Differences

I have had the opportunity to counsel and mentor Chinese students concerning how to adjust to life in America as well as help them understand some of the cultural differences they face.

Whether you are here for the education, or the opportunity to remain and work here, certain cultural differences do exist and your time here might be better spent if you understand them.

The English Language

Many foreign students face the fear of not being able to communicate here, and are reluctant to jump into discussions because they believe they might be misunderstood because of their difficulty speaking English.

Do not be.  First, and as a natural born American who has lived throughout the nation and was a newspaper and communications specialist, you are not alone.  America is no different than most nations, there are vast regional and geographic differences in the dialect and pronunciation of English by Americans, let alone foreigners.

A Nation of Immigrants

We take great pride being the melting pot of the world in terms of immigration.  In fact, with the exception of a few million Native Americans, everyone else in America comes from somewhere else, whether this generation or throughout our history.  In truth we are the largest nation in the world whose entire population came from somewhere else.

When our parents, grandparents, or distant relatives came to America it was to enjoy the individual freedom and self-determination the new world had to offer.  In spite of all the technology and advancements of humanity, and the stunning fact that America has only existed 241 years, people still come here for the same reason.

A great education system has been developed here, but you can find great universities all over the world.  What you cannot find is the cultural foundation of America, which is truly a melting pot for the rest for the world.  Preserving your own culture while blending into the American culture is consistent with what we do.

A Beacon of Light for the World

America has been a beacon of light for the rest of the world, even though you have thousands of years of history and we do not even have 250 years.  There is great truth in the cliché that America is “the land of opportunity,” because we were fortunate our Founding Fathers created an America that would serve as a beacon of light to all those living in other nations who faced corrupt governments, faced living with very limited rights of freedom, self-expression, the right to dissent, and the right to change leaders.

The Miracle of America

Our rapid rise from struggling colonial rule to a free and independent democracy is truly the miracle of America.  We did not have thousands of years of history to draw upon.  No form of monarchy, dictatorship, socialist, or communist structure offered what we needed.

So, our Founding Fathers created something new, that never existed before, when they wrote our Constitution.  They also recognized there were things being done in America because of the early influence of other nations, that were inherently wrong and had to be corrected in time.

Slavery could not exist in a nation guaranteeing individual freedom to all.  Nor could religious, race, or ethic rules stand in the way of equality and justice for all.  Of course, we had faults, but we also were forced to deal with the faults because our Founding Fathers created a blueprint for the future by guaranteeing freedom and liberty for all.  While all is still not well in America when it comes to bias and discrimination, we have made great strides.

Competition and Excellence

America thrives on competition and excellence using both as motivators for our economic engine, our education, and all other aspects of life.  Unfortunately, many aspects are still in need of tremendous improvement.  That does not include the economic engine of capitalism, the strength of our military, the fierce independence of our people, nor the high standard we expect in our quality of life.

Chinese students in particular might have a bit of trouble understanding this form of motivation.  What I have noticed from you are a generation of kids who grew up after the incredible turmoil of the early 20^th Century as your country went from isolation under warlords, to rejection of the western ways other countries tried to impose on China, to a Communist system fighting for its life to stay separate from the Soviet Empire who was aggressively seeking to control China.

Now, after the system of Communism collapsed throughout the world, and you are one of a handful of nations still embracing the guiding principles of Communism, dramatic changes are coming to China.  In order to be a super power, and I do not claim that is such a good thing, one has to have one of the most powerful economies in history which is why there is still only one super-power.

Yet China, and India certainly will deserve a seat at the table of super powers in the near future which is good because the USA is quite tired of dining alone I can assure you.

President Xí Jìnpíng of China

Xi Jinping currently serves as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. 

President Xí Jìnpíng could become to China what our most beloved President Abraham Lincoln is to America, the guiding light bringing our nation out of the darkness and into the light.

Every so often in history there comes a person who changes the world for good and Xí Jìnpíng may very well be the Chinese contribution to future world security.  He is the bridge between a chaotic and troubled past and a hopeful future.  During the thousands of years of human evolution China has made many of the greatest contributions by nations through Taoism, Traditional Chinese Medicine, philosophy, art, science, and many other fields.

When we look to our past to find the things that were essential to our future, China, and India, rank among the greatest civilizations.  Ironically, many Chinese students have little awareness of their rich history because it took place before the rise of Communism, and it is a heritage you should seek out.

Sharing Cultural History

When you come to America, many of us are as hungry to learn about China as you are to learn about America.  You should be proud and aware of your rich history, and share with those you meet here.  You also should be proud of the doors to the future being opened by President Xí Jìnpíng.

Make no mistake, China and India have a long way to go to be able to offer individual freedom and equality to all their citizens, but they are making progress and that should be supported.  We in America were blessed to experience such change in the beginning of our history, not after the first 7,000 years.

No country is expected to be like America, because what works in America may be too extreme for those with a history.  The Chinese, Indians, and Russians all have gone through many leaders and “isms” in the course of their evolvement.  None ever embraced the American brand of Democracy.  It would be foreign to the people and much too radical a change.  But we can all move toward the common goal of insuring individual freedom and equality.

Know your history, be proud of the many contributions your country has made to mankind, and be willing to share that information with Americans hungry to learn about the rest of the world.

The Terracotta Army: First Emperor Qin's Buried Battalions, and the Great Wall are among the oldest of Chinese historic sites, both dating around 2,300 years ago.

       

Photo taken on July 13, 2016 shows a bronze cauldron at Yinxu, or the Ruins of Yin, one of China's oldest archaeological sites, in Anyang, Central China's Henan province. Named after the last capital of China's first recorded dynasty Shang (16-11 cent. BC), which was in Anyang, Henan, the Ruins of Yin were famous for the discovery of oracle bones and script. [Photo/Xinhua] 

Yin Xu

The archaeological site of Yin Xu, close to Anyang City, some 500 km south of Beijing, is an ancient capital city of the late Shang Dynasty (1300 - 1046 BC). It testifies to the golden age of early Chinese culture, crafts and sciences, a time of great prosperity of the Chinese Bronze Age. A number of royal tombs and palaces, prototypes of later Chinese architecture, have been unearthed on the site, including the Palace and Royal Ancestral Shrines Area, with more than 80 house foundations, and the only tomb of a member of the royal family of the Shang Dynasty to have remained intact, the Tomb of Fu Hao. The large number and superb craftsmanship of the burial accessories found there bear testimony to the advanced level of Shang crafts industry. Inscriptions on oracle bones found in Yin Xu bear invaluable testimony to the development of one of the world’s oldest writing systems, ancient beliefs and social systems.

Layer	Oracle bone period	Kings	Approximate dates
Yinxu I		Pan Geng, Xiao Xin, Xiao Yi	1300–1250 BCE
Yinxu II	I	Wu Ding	1250–1192 BCE
	II	Zu Geng, Zu Jia	1191–1148 BCE
Yinxu III	III	Lin Xin, Geng Ding
	IV	Wu Yi, Wen Wu Ding	1147–1102 BCE
Yinxu IV	V	Di Yi, Di Xin	1101–1046 BCE

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The Oscar Recap - Oscar Blew it! - Coltons Point Times picks 17 of 24 winners! Oops Fake News just changed the Movie of the Year - the Games continue!

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In case you missed the Big Show the Coltons Point Times picked 17 of the 24 winners of the 89th Academy Awards.  I thought a 71% winning record was pretty good but after the La La Land crew went on stage and accepted the Best Picture Oscar the Academy belatedly interrupted the celebration by La La Land people and said La La Land did not win, but Moonlight won.

Was the Academy getting into the Fake News game with the wrong winner being announced, and did it have anything to do with the attacks on the Academy before last years Oscars of ignoring minorities?  While Moonlight was certainly good, there is something very suspicious about this kind of a major blunder in one of the most watched shows of the year and the most respected award show in the past.

Maybe it is time to drop the award shows since they all seem to be embroiled in politics and have lost their way as an entertainment medium.  I do not know of anyone who pays to see shows because of the politics of the actors and actresses and they seem to think being on the big screen acting gives them the right to act like the news media.

The choice between the two shows boiled down to Moonlight, a movie about growing up poor, Black and gay, or La La Land, "a musical with big numbers, intimate reveries and adult feelings, “La La Land” is a boy-meets-girl tale with early 21st-century rhythms (mostly good, even if its white stars are nestled, more self-consciously than naturally, in a multicultural world)" as Manohla Dargisn of The New York Times described it.

Box Office Receipts - La La Land $141 million - Moonlight $22.2 million

How about we let the public decide?  La La Land has earned nearly $141 million in domestic box office sales to date while Moonlight has earned $22.2 million.  I guess having six and a half times more receipts means nothing in terms of movie popularity.

Maybe Fake News is now here to stay and polarizing politics will destroy the movie industry as it did the news industry.  In the end it is the American public being played and that is not right!  Here is what other media had to say about the Oscar disaster.

Oscars Blows It: Gives Best Picture To Wrong Film; Chaos On Stage As ‘Moonlight’ Wins

16 minutes ago | Deadline | See recent Deadline news »

Moonlight won Best Picture after a complete mix-up on the stage in which Faye Dunaway read the wrong winner. It was thought that La La Land won to walk away with seven wins from its record-tying 14 nominations and producers Jordan Horowitz and Marc Platt even gave acceptance speeches before the mistake was discovered. It was a major upset for the top award of the night. Moonlight had gathered two awards — Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali and Adapted Screenplay and… »

See full article at Deadline »

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Newswire: What the hell just happened?

19 minutes ago | avclub.com | See recent The AV Club news »

The Oscars made history tonight, though not exactly the kind of history it wanted to make. As Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway came out to present Best Picture, Beatty opened the envelope and took a lengthy pause before reading the winner—a pause that many, including Dunaway, took for some kind of tension-building/feeble old man shtick. And when he read the winner as La La Land, no one believed anything was amiss. Of course it was La La Land. This whole awards season, the narrative has been La La Land’s inevitable victory. And so, as the producers, cast, and crew came on stage to begin their well-rehearsed acceptance speeches, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

But then Warren Beatty popped back in—always with the Warren Beatty—and suddenly it was evident something had gone very wrong.

“This is not a joke,” said producer Jordan Horowitz. “Moonlight, you »

- Sean O'Neal

See full article at avclub.com »

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Oscars 2017 live: Beatty and Dunaway announce wrong best picture winner for La La Land – Moonlight wins

21 minutes ago | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »

Follow the latest news from this year’s Academy Awards, with updates from the Hollywood ceremony, the acceptance speeches, red carpet hits and misses, and awards announcements for the best films, actors and actresses

Oscar winners 2017: the full list

Oscars red carpet 2017 – in pictures

5.28am GMT

Related: Moonlight wins best picture Oscar – after Warren Beatty reads out La La Land

5.27am GMT

As fantastic as it was to see Moonlight win, those poor La La Land guys who found out mid-speech that the win wasn’t theirs. They’re still dealing with that:

Heads are gonna roll. You couldn't have a worse possible f-up if you tried. Team Lll still consoling each other in theater. pic.twitter.com/UUr6dlKF9S

Continue reading »

- Benjamin Lee, Hannah Marriott and Ellie Violet Bramley

See full article at The Guardian - Film News »

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Oscars 2017: The 21 Best, Worst and Most Uncomfortable Moments

23 minutes ago | TVLine.com | See recent TVLine.com news »

Denzel Washington officiating a wedding. Seth Rogen breaking into an impromptu Hamilton performance. Oh, and La La Land incorrectly being named Best Picture. Those were just a few of the truly bizarre things that took place at the 89th Annual Academy Awards.

VideosOscars: Jimmy Kimmel Shreds Trump, Mel Gibson in Monologue — Grade It!

Late-night funnyman Jimmy Kimmel managed to do a decent job as Oscars host — which, if you haven’t repressed all memories of James Franco and Anne Hathaway’s 2011 hosting stint, you’ll know is no small feat. Sure, we could’ve done without his tired banter with frenemy Matt Damon, »

See full article at TVLine.com »

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'Moonlight' wins best picture at dramatic Oscars 2017

27 minutes ago | ScreenDaily | See recent ScreenDaily news »

In a shock finale to Sunday’s 89th Academy Awards, the drama was named best picture moments after La La Landhad been declared the winner in error.

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Maybe there is hope for our future...

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At least the Irish know what is still important.

Tá an ticéad a'am don bhealach fada
Dhá bhuidéal uisce don thuras
Is ba bhreá liom cara a bheith in éindí liom
Mé ag fágáil amárach, mbeidh tú liom?

Nuair 'tá mé imithe
Nuair 'tá mé imithe
Aireoidh tú uait mé 's gan mé ann
Aireoidh tú uait mé 's mo aoibh 
Aireoidh tú uait mé 'chuile thaobh 
Ó, aireoidh tú uait mé 's gan mé ann

Tá an ticéad 'am don bhealach fada
Tá an saol mór ag fanacht liom
Measc na sléibhte, taobh na habhann
Ait a bhíonn an t-aer breá úr 
Beidh sé i bhfad níos fearr leat a stóir

Nuair 'tá mé imithe
Nuair 'tá mé imithe
Aireoidh tú uait mé 's gan mé ann
Aireoidh tú uait mé 's me ag caint
Aireoidh tú uait mé 's mé ag seinnt
Ó, aireoidh tú uait mé 's gan mé ann

 

 

 

I got my ticket for the long way run
Two bottle of whiskey for the way
And I sure would like some sweet company
And I'm leaving tomorrow, what'dya say

When I'm gone 
When I'm gone 
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

I got my ticket for the long way run
The one with the prettiest of views
It's got mountains, It's got river's
It's got sights to give you shivers
But it sure would be prettier with you

When I'm gone 
When I'm gone 
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my walk
You're gonna miss me by my talk, oh
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

  

 

Thanks to the Google ad barrage you may have to turn up the volume at the bottom of each video, or maybe not.

Cheer up Folks - Class is Not Dead Yet in the Arts!

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For some odd reason in spite of growing up in Iowa I was hopelessly drawn to the footlights of Broadway and the challenge of real people doing real performances in front of a crowd.  It was always my idea of one of the greatest challenges ever and I never lost my love for the theater and live performance on film.

In spite of the entertainment changes over the years nothing is quite like live performance on stage or in film.  Just to show you true creative talent is still with us, check out these two videos.  The first is a stunning dance performance from the Festival du cirque de domain that was posted on YouTube by Jongzki Fetalver.



The second is the kind of artistic commerical for Pantene that you will never see on US television about a deaf girl who wants to play the violin.  Do not miss this.

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Dancing Through the Years

Did you ever wonder what all those dances were you performed during your lifetime. Well we are going to present them to you so you can get lost in yesterday since there really isn't much going on today. Dance on with Judson Laipply as he shows you The Evolution of Dance on YouTube.com.



Now if you liked that one, wait until you see the famous Dancing Salsa Dog Dancing the Merengue. This dog has the moves proving that any dirty old dog probably still has it in him.



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