Life of Brian

The Haircut

Edit:  Since originally posting this, I have since added the Haircut Redux video to this post as per special request-slash-suggestion-slash-command from Lorraine who feels the longer video will have fewer folks reading the end credits with the pointers to the music source page which she seems to think is more important than the actual video itself and she might be right as the music is by Kaye Elizabeth Phillips (http://www.kayephillips.com).

This morning, I posted a tweet on my twitter (http://twitter.com/meiguolangren) that was echoed on my facebook (http://www.facebook.com/briandavidphillips) that I was about to do something very silly . . . a few folks asked me whatever in the world that silliness would be . . . this photo might be a clue . . .

Lorraine did the honors (as always), stepping into her role of Delilah to my Samson without any sort of hesitancy. This is not the longest my hair has been before cutting so it's not the biggest style change I've seen in that regard (I once had near-waistlength hair cut to a GI buzz on television for a role in for which I appeared on stage in The Biloxi Blues for a mere thirty or so seconds - I was the assistant director and stage manager for the show and a number of the actors, particularly the leading man, were bitching and moaning about getting their hair cut so I told the director I'd go first to shut 'em up and they didn't have much room to moan after my soft curly locks started falling to the floor - by the way, my scene was in almost total darkness and I was mostly nude but unseen so I actually didn't have to have my hair cut but did so as I'm a bit odd that way - it is fun to change things up every once in awhile).

It's been a long while since I did any stage work (although that's my professional training with undergraduate and graduate degrees in theatre) and I do miss it sometimes. Back in the day, more than a few of my training directors, coaches, and teachers said that male actors should keep their hair long as it's a whole lot easier to have it cut for a role than it is to grow it out. Of course, that was back in the day when hair extensions and wigs were pretty damned easy to spot . . . oh, they still are today.

Here's the video we made of the cut for those who wish to see the images. Enjoy . . .

THE HAIRCUT REDUX
Abbreviated Chronological Version

This version of the video is the short and sweet no-fuss-no-mess chronological version of the piece. If you're not reading this at the Life of Brian (which you should as the original post there includes the video embeds for your viewing convenience), the youtube is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8nNOWn_VLs.

THE HAIRCUT
Long Artistic Non-Linear Version

This version is the original long artistic non-linear rendering. If you're not reading this at the Life of Brian (which you should), the youtube is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LauJrZpbGM.

Yes, I used different music for both versions of the video. Both songs are original compositions and performances by our favorite musician/composer on the planet, Kaye Elizabeth Phillips (http://www.kayephillips.com). These are relatively early pieces for her but I like them.

When Lorraine held up my braid, I did the whole "no you cut to much" fake panic thing but she wasn't buying it. Kaye can't figure out why in the world I would want to have it cut, but she's used to it. I have been finding today that every once in awhile, I have been moving my hand to the back of my neck to adjust the position of my braid as has been my habit . . . phantom hair, that is.

It will take a while to get used to it . . . but by then I wouldn't be surprised if I've started growing it back.

All the best,
Brian

(If you are reading this blog post via a stream, go to http://briandavidphillips.typepad.com/brian/ to access the full post with any videos or photos included.)

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan

My Birthday Mind

Yesterday was my birthday (yes, I am indeed yet another year older, funny how that happens every year).  For the last five or so years, my birthday celebration has usually been a Summer family blockbuster cinema excursion with Kaye and a bunch of her friends but this year there was no big family blockbuster opening for us to see (I know, readers in the US have their Land of the Lost and UP funtimes but neither of those films open in Taiwan for some time, heck we don't even have The Hangover yet, although that will come soon).  So, we spent the morning at Kaye's school for her to register for the draw on high school programs with special music classes.  Kaye and I then went comic book and video game snarfing at Shimending (yes, we had lunch at Kaye's favorite restaurant, Moe Point, cosplaying French Maid costumes and all) while Lorraine had a meeting at work.  Kaye and I spent money on "stuff" . . . evidently more money than humans should spend in such a short time.  When Lorraine finally met up with us, I told her to ask me what I had bought myself for my birthday while pointing my finger at the empty space on the table in front of me . . . then I told her to ask me what I bought Kaye for my birthday . . . pointing to a rather sizeable pile of graphic novels, doodads, a hat, and some X Box games she's been drooling after for months . . . quite a good haul on her part (no, not really for "my birthday" . . . let's call it graduation loot). We went home and had pizza and watched my pick of DVDs . . . yes, I chose This is Spinal Tap for its musical goodness . . . and so should you.

A friend sent me an SMS text message wishing me a happy birthday and asking how the big-three-oh felt. As I hit the big-three-oh many many many moons ago, I can't really remember how it felt. However, I can give you an inkling of whatever big-oh-my-god-I'm-old is feels . . .

Okay, maybe that's not exactly how I feel . . . as I'm neither Fred nor a youngster of forty . . . but the sentiments hits home. For those unfamiliar with the joys of annoyance of Fred, see the real Fred's youtube stream at http://www.youtube.com/fred and you'll get the reference, the rest of us don't need the reference as the midlife crisisian wakeup has just enough reality in it.

All the best,
Brian

(If you are reading this blog post via a stream, go to http://briandavidphillips.typepad.com/brian/ to access the full post with any videos or photos included.)

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan

Blueberry Girl . . .

Hear the poem by Neil Gaiman with beautiful illustration in the embedded video . . .

Go to the webpage with the fascinating backstory of the piece at http://webcontent.harpercollins.com/images/om/sz/blueberrygirl-mothersday.htm.

It's a lovely piece.

All the best,
Brian

(If you are reading this blog post via a stream, go to http://briandavidphillips.typepad.com/brian/ to access the full post with any videos or photos included.)

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan

Good Luck, Kaye!

Today, my daughter, Kaye (http://www.kayephillips.com) begins a three-day intensive examination process as she takes the Joint Music Specialty High School Examination.  She's finishing junior high school this year and Taiwan has an education system that requires that kids take a unified entrance examination for high school to compete for spots in the schools (basically, kids end up going to the high school that accepts kids within the score range - so, kids want to do well to get into the better schools).  Kaye's dream is to get into a high school with a music specialty program and so she's been doing extensive intensive study to prepare for the music exam this weekend (the general unifed exam is later in May).  This is the big weekend.  Today, she has theory and history exams along with listening and singing exams.  Tonight and Sunday she has review sessions in piano and performance exams in piano (her major instrument) and cello (her minor instrument) on Monday.  It's a big deal and very stressful for her . . . but . . . this is what she's been dreaming about and focusing a lot of work into for some time.

Wish her well.

Good luck, Kaye, I love you!

All the best,
Brian (aka, Daddy)

Snarky Tofu on My Several Worlds (Joshua Samuel Brown interview worth the looksee)

One of my favorite writers and friend Joshua Samuel Brown (http://www.josambro.com) - the link is also in the "favorite authors" sidebar on my blog - is a difficult person to pin down, not that I would really want to engage in same-sex semi-nude wrestling with the guy in order to pin him, I gave that sort of thing up in high school.  He's a delightful person with an amazing number of facets and is a very witty writer, albeit with a bizarrehumorstreak that takes some getting used to for some but for those who "get" him, he's delightful.  Josh has just been interviewed by Carrie Marsall at My Several Worlds (http://www.myseveralworlds.com) and it's a very worthwhile interview well worth your looksee, as is the rest of Carrie's blog.  Carrie was first exposed to Josh's writing through his Snarky Tofu blog (http://josambro.blogspot.com) - you can find both blogs in the Taiwan blog connection on my own blog's sidebar, although I'm including all the relevant links here anyway so you can click away and enjoy.

The interview is nicely done and captures both Josh's engaging style and a bit of his fun personality.  I also reccommend both blogs as worthwhile adds to one's regular blogroll.

Go forth and read and enjoy.

All the best,
Brian

(If you are reading this blog post via a stream, go to http://briandavidphillips.typepad.com/brian/ to access the full post with any videos or photos included.)

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan

Kaye's Birthday Sarah Brightman Experience

The Clan Phillips, Taipei Branch, had a rather busy busy day yesterday. Well, actually, Kaye had the very busy day while Lorraine and I were busy ferrying her all about the city from appointment to appointment.

April Fourth is Kaye's birthday and yesterday she turned fifteen years of age. However, rather than celebrating all day on a Saturday, she had classes nearly all day but we did do something special in the evening.

As many of you know, Kaye is a bit of a maniac when it comes to music (yes, my daughter is a Music Maniac see http://www.kayephillips.com for some of her original music) and she's been busy this year, like all wouldbe junior high school graduates in Taiwan, preparing for the high school entrance examination. Kaye has her heart set on getting into a music specialty program so that means study, study, and more study . . . not only for regular classes but also more music than you can shake a stick at.

Since her music theory bushiban has a practice music specialty exam today, yesterday, her birthday, was spent going to all of her regular music classes with an ear toward preparations both for the practice exam but really toward the real thing which happens in two weeks.

So, we got up early and headed off to her Cello class and then we shuttled over to Music History and Theory tutorial and then to her Piano class . . . but, that's actually a typical Saturday . . . we had more . . . something special . . . it is her birthday, after all . . . we went to the Taipei Arena for the Sarah Brightman (http://www.sarah-brightman.com) concert! The Symphony Tour has come to Taiwan and we were there for it! Kaye enjoys Brightman's work and so this was a big deal birthday experience. All day she was fatigued and had a headache but when it came time for the concert, she was on the edge of her seat enjoying the experience the entire time.

BIRTHDAY DINNER AT OUTBACK

Lorraine and Kaye share a mother-birthdaydaughter moment in Outback, the Australian restaurant at Asiaworld as we chow down some good food before the concert. The food was very good, if a bit slow coming for our needs (we now know to show up a whole lot earlier rather than right before we need to rush off to a show). I definitely want to go there again.

KAYE IN A SEA OF PEOPLE

This concert by Sarah Brightman was Kaye's very first major concert experience. We've been to concerts before but mostly those are classical musicians in much smaller venues. This was Kaye's first chance to see a world class performer in a large arena so it was a very new experience. Great to see, but the intimacy is gone as you are just another dot in a sea of humanity. However, that carries with it an amazing positive energy (such as the audible gasp of delight that flowed through the crowd as the opening notes of Phantom thundered from the stage). I told Kaye that I truly believe that some day her music will be played to crowds of this size (there were well over four times as many people in this single space than live in my home town back in the States). Of course, I also told her - this time half-jokingly - that when that happens, she can buy dear-old-dad a simple house like Mariah Carey's new one-hundred-twenty-five-million-dollar palace.

A VIEW OF THE STAGE

Yes, we were in the nosebleed section . . . although tickets even that high up in the stratosphere were not cheap. However, Kaye had good binoculars for when she wanted to really get in close to the action and Lorraine had some crappy binoculars for her experience (nope, I didn't get any but then I often can't work the blasted things anyway so it was good). Even this high up, the show was visually amazing and aurally just plain ol' wow, wow, wow. Some folks were there to hear the popular pieces while others were there for the virtuoso sets. Kaye drank in the entire experience (and her critical ear was very satisfied). Brightman is one of those performers who sounds amazing live and not just on audio CD where the editors and producers rework anything and everything to make even the most mundane of voices sound golden. She's a true voice musician. We have a couple of her CDs that get frequent plan in the car CD player during our regular commutes (although at the moment we're getting a lot of Angel Voices and Libera on those commutes as Kaye has discovered a passion for boy choirs - not typical adolescent fare like manufactured boy bands like other teenagers are duped into worshiping via the plastic altar, but choirs - once more, more about the substance and skill than the flash).

THE ACTION

Obviously, we did not bother taking more than a couple test photos during the actual concert and certainly no video . . . we have the DVD and audio CD for getting in close. However, this gives you an idea of the stage setup which turned out to be an amazing setup indeed. The mirror bits were wonderful and the visual experience was awesome. I told Lorraine it seemed as if the show's designers have been dating magicians as some classic magician's optical illusions serve as center pieces to some of the show visual effects, put to very good use.

YUMMY . . . BIRTHDAY CAKE

We got in late and it was a very very long day . . . but . . . the birthday girl still got some cake, although, in fairness, it was after midnight and technically no longer her birthday but such technicalities are silly when in the face of actual birthday cake ready to be devoured. No, she's not fifty-one, the candles say fifteen, I was just on the wrong side of the blasted thing taking the photo.

And . . . of course . . . here is a special bonus . . . while outside Outback, we came across something that immediately made us think of one of our very very favorite episodes of Dr. Who, Blink (one of the pieces adapted by the same author from a short story). Some of you will get this, others won't but Kaye and I simultaneously came up with the same idea . . . so . . .

DON'T BLINK . . .

"Don't blink, don't even blink, blink and you're dead! They are fast, faster than you could believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink! Good Luck."

―The Doctor

There you have it . . . April Four, Two-Thousand-and-Nine. Kaye's fifteenth birthday. Of course, the weekend's not yet finished and she's still a very busy girl. She stumbled out of bed early this morning to head back to the music specialty cram school for an all-day simulation test for the music specialty high school entrance examination. Tired, but satisfied. Two more weeks and she has the real music exam at which time she will drop her special music classes and concentrate on regular studies intensively for the regular course part of the regular high school entrance examination.

For those of you back home . . . nope, kids don't just go to the closest high school here in Taiwan. They take a general test and then get admitted into the high schools appropriate to their scores. Most kids want to go to the best schools and competition is fierce. We've never pushed Kaye the way most of her classmates have been pushed (only two students in her class don't go to cram school for academic courses every single day). We have arranged extra music courses for her this year because of the pressure but have held off on most of the other bits of the hamster-wheel, although she does have a math tutor now as well.

I wish kids could just be kids and that learning could be about joyful discovery all the time and at the pace and level and interest of the child, but practical pressures of idjit government planning and misguided idjiocy get in the way of developing well-balanced happy individuals.

However, that's neither here nor there or, rather, it's everywhere. Happy Birthday, Kaye. We love you.

All the best,
Brian

sometimes things SUCK more than a lot

I am as sick as a dawg right now, sicker than.  Lorraine left for a few days in Hong Kong to attend the film market, starting yesterday.  So, as one would expect for such things . . . the evening before I had a slight upset stomach, by the time Lorraine boarded the airplane I was suddenly hit with stronger nausea and some chills, by the time her plane touched down in Hong Kong, I was running a fever with bone-shaking chills then the throwing-up of all sorts of nastiness began.  I know, I'm usually down and out when separated from Lorraine but usually it's an emotional separation anxiety that gets to me, not a physical full-on physical deterioration.  The timing is coincidental but it sure does have a touch of synchronicity in there.  I had to call in sick from work today and I absolutely hate having to do that, especially since the students were supposed to present speeches, but there was just no way I could make the drive from Keelung to Mucha.  This morning, I felt a bit better but then got hit with it again.  Hopefully, after two rest and liquids and rest and the like I will be fit enough for classes and ubermeetings on Thursday, but for now, feeling lousy and missing my woman.  Kaye has been great about getting me water and hot lemon and putting on more covers when the chills hit me.  It freaks her out a bit having to take care of me, I can tell but she has demonstrated an ability to take on responsibility when needed (of course, like her father, she prefers it when she's not the one who has to shoulder those responsibilities).  I am counting on being on the mend from this thing, whatever the devil it is, soon.  Other things are looking up though.

All the best,
Brian

(If you are reading this blog post via a stream, go to http://briandavidphillips.typepad.com/brian/ to access the full post with any videos or photos included.)

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan

Ticked, Miffed, Pe-oed, and on Peevish Pout regarding computers and whatnot

The unjoys of not being a happy camper.  Saturday morning early, my family was set to go on a trip down to Taichung and environs as Lorraine and I didn't get a chance to celebrate our sixteenth wedding anniversary proper as that's the day I returned from my long stay in India for the latest hypnoteaching tour.  So, we're all set to go and I check my email one last time and my virus scanner gives me an update message saying I need to reboot for the new data and program changes to take effect so . . . I reboot and the whole damned system dies.  No more reboot, no system screens just blinking cursor death.

Not a happy camper indeed as I had not yet checked my new emails (if you emailed me within the last weekend I may not have received the mail) and we have to hit the road.

So, the computer sits on the dining room table for an entire weekend plus as we are out of town.

Now that we're back in Taipei it will take a few days before I can get the blasted thing to a shop and then who knows how long before I get it back.

This is a double grrrrr time thingie.  There's stuff I NEED on that machine, stuff I could not access and address while I was in India that needs taking care of now . . . but it languishes on the dead machine.

I can check webmail for now . . . so, new correspondence is coming in.

If you have pressing matters, be patient.

Of course, those who need to sign up for courses or the free workshop or order materials can still contact Lorraine's address . . . no problem.  You are fine.  Speaking of which, if you have not signed up for the free workshop on Feb. 22 http://www.briandavidphillips.com/workshops/ecstacy.html then you need to do that now.  Lorraine needs you contact info so she can send you the venue info.

The trip?  Some ups and some downs.  I was bummed about the computer in my obsessive compulsive way but still managed to have some nice moments . . . and some awkward ones I do not wish to repeat again.

All the best,
Brian

Lost Luggages Lazily Lofts its way . . . home . . .

As noted earlier (http://briandavidphillips.typepad.com/brian/2009/02/back-home-in-taipei.html), I made it back home to Taipei after some odd shifts and strange airport encounters in Mumbai with a fairly brisk transfer in Hong Kong.

Unfortunately, my luggage managed to get lost in the shuffle.

Well . . . my luggage has finally made it home.

That is a tremendous load off my mind as I was forced to check my computer and hard drive in at the last minute and so was very concerned particularly regarding my hard drive which had a whole lot of proprietary material that has not yet been copied to a backup system.

All is now safe and working and well at home.

All the best,
Brian

Back Home in Taipei

I have left India and am back in Taipei . . . safe and sound . . . well, I'M back . . . unfortunately, my luggage has not yet made the trip back.

The joys of air travel . . . the baggage handling process has eaten my luggage . . . the airline has misplaced my bags.  Evidently, my bags are somewhere between Taipei and Mumbai . . . the guy I spoke to assumes they are lounging somewhere in Hong Kong, having missed the connecting flight that I was on.

The airport folks said that I should feel rest assured that they will get the bags to me soon and that I should very likely expect them to be delivered to my home tonight.

Well . . . tonight ain't gonna last forever so my stress levels are at a nice gentle roar.

I had a sinking finger that something wretched would happen to my bags ever since the morning and made a point of it to check with the girl who checked me in that I would not need to claim my bags in Hong Kong but that they would be transferred to the same Cathay Pacific flight I was on at the time (I was assured that the bags would absolutely reach Taipei with me and on the same flight).

Uh, nope.

I am hopeful but the ever vigilant sceptic (I say practical sceptic and you say raving pessimist) within me has more than a few doubts about the intended or unintended lack of veracity of that statement.

However, I also have my fingers crosses.

I've got a ton of intellectual property in there along with some really kool material for which there are not copies, leaving me hanging high and dry.  While I have some of the material on backup hard disks

While one can certainly understand why Mumbai would have an extensive security system in place and the need to cross the t's and dot the i's becomes a very real part of who one is.

The sexual behavior one really let go and just teach some ghetto kids for the skill sets.

Of course, we had to limit the nujmber or times

Pall Mall.

All the best,
Brian

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan

Happy Anniversary, Lorraine

Lorraine, it is hard to believe that we've been married for sixteen years now . . . and I love you just as much today.  I knew when I met you twenty years ago, something special was happening and that special feeling has never dimmed.

I love you,
Brian

Off to India . . .

Early in the morning, I will be heading to the airport for a trip to India where I will be spending a couple weeks teaching various hypnosis courses.  Then I'm off to Hong Kong for a short vacation.

So, my internet connection may or may not be stable while I'm away . . . depending upon the various hotels I will be staying in.

The various comoderators of the email lists I own will need to pick up the slack on moderation, if not, please be patient.

If I'm not able to say it then . . . have a wonderful Chinese New Year!  This will be the first CNY I have spent away from my wife and daughter . . . ever.

BTW, for those of you on Facebook, I was logging on to update my page and found out my account's been disabled.  As with all things Facebook, they don't tell you why.  No warning and as far as I can tell none of my activities violate the terms of service.  Although, there is a possibility that I went over quota on friend adds or that someone mistook the Erotic Hypnosis course info for pornography (which it is NOT).  I use facebook for my university courses and to keep in touch with folks (many of whom I do NOT have email addresses for) so I am hoping they reinstate the beastie but one never knows.  Wish me luck on that end.

All the best,
Brian

(If you are reading this blog post via a stream, go to http://briandavidphillips.typepad.com/brian/ to access the full post with any videos or photos included.)

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan

Sick as a Dog

Such and odd expression: "Sick as a Dog."  Whether it actually makes sense or not, I certainly felt that way last night.  I got hit hard with bone-shaking chills and fever last night which continued well into the wee hours of the morning.  The fever finally broke and the chills stopped so now I just feel the regular nausea and upset of a rather flu or cold or somesuch nastiness.  I will say this though . . . the folks who are frightened of marriage need to have an evening like the one I just had.  I am so very very thankful that I have Lorraine, not just for the good times, which are very good indeed, but for nights like last night.

All the best,
Brian

Joining the Chorus of Happy Hypnotic New Year!

Everyone else and his dog is saying "Happy New Year" so it's my turn . . . except, I will say "HAPPY HYPNOTIC NEW YEAR!"

The end of the year started off a bit off, I had surgery on Christmas Eve to remove a small benign tumor (got the biopsy report on New Year's Eve).  It was an outpatient procedure and went very well.  Had my stitches out New Year's Eve and while it's protective strips over the wound for the next couple months, all is going well and that's a very good thing indeed.

Since Christmas, the Phillips Family has actually been playing video games together, all three of us on different instruments for Guitar Hero World Tour.  Lorraine picked up a microphone stand so that Kaye can sing while playing a musical instrument which has the added benefit of giving Kaye some practice with English reading and singing (who woulda thunk it, Guitar Hero as English Tutor, the folks who do all those high fallutin' language pronunciation webpages really need to look into musical modules).

My New Year looks to be busy, especially the first few months.  We've had to adjust the schedule a number of times, the downside of working with event partners who have floating schedules but things look settled now and Lorraine's taking student bookings for our solo courses and appropriate persons are doing so for the partnership packages.

I hope all is well with YOU and YOURs and that in the New Year you find your dreams fulfilled and your heart's desires satisfied . . . within reason, that is.  Keep your Karma on the positive side and be good to one another.

Have a Happy HYPNOTIC New Year!

All the best,
Brian
and family in Keelung

Guitar Hero World Tour Funness

For Christmas, we got Kaye the full band set of Guitar Hero World Tour for X-Box and it's amazing to watch her rock out to classic and contemporary rock songs with no problem.  She actually picked up the sticks to play the drum kit and ended up playing better her first time ever holding sticks than I ever could after years of being a drummer in junior high school and high school.  She's got a gift for music and is a product of the modern age of video and computer games so for her the synthesis is perfect.

She wanted this version of Guitar Hero because she wants to play with her friends and because it has a music studio where she can put in her own songs and then eventually upload them to share with others.  For her actual music, see her webpage at http://www.kayephillips.com . . . she's currently working on her second CD of original songs.

Merry Christmas.

All the best,
Brian and family

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it and happy holidays to those who don't and howdy to those who prefer it.

Last night, we opened presents and Kaye had a couple pleasant surprises (the Twilight novel and juggling balls) and, of course, THAT BIG BOX she's been waiting to open forever which was absolutely no surprise but eagerly anticipated.

She insisted that she get to hook it up and play a bit despite it being a school night and having tests all day today (yes, the joy of Taiwanese school life, massive banks of exams on Christmas).

So, Guitar Hero World Tour seems to be quite the hit.  Kaye wailed on the guitar while Lorraine and I took turns on the microphone.  We left the drums in the box as I am still hurting from my surgery and can't rock out (I played drums long long ago and was never really very good at it but it is my instrument still and I do have some sticks and a pad in my office for when I'm bored).

I told Kaye I think her game is broken as the microphone seems to be way off . . . according to the game, I can't sing.  My daughter, who I know loves me in her own way, laughed in my face as if to say "it's not the game that's broken."  I have an unfortunate sneaky suspicion she may just be right.  Back in university days I was in the musical Grease (I majored in theatre so was in every performance I could get my grubbies into).  Well, I was playing the nerdy Eugene and when I went to private singing coaching explained that I was supposed to be a bit off and not a good singer to which the coach exclaimed that if I was supposed to suck then I was doing perfectly.  I did get better coaching in graduate school when I was in Three Penney Opera but can honestly say that while I do have the talent required for professional acting and the skill for professional directing, musical theatre will never come knocking on my door.

For those of you in the States who live with American rock all around you, there are a LOT of songs in the Guitar Hero world that have no meaning to my daughter who considers Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart and the likes to be where it's at musically . . . it was pleasant to see she was able to pick up the guitar and play perfect games to rock songs she had never heard before.  She even recognized a couple tunes . . . but not in contexts others might get (for instance, there's "the song from the end of Twilight" and there's "the song that Dean pretended to sing in the end of an episode of Supernatural" . . . songs she'd heard once but could immediately bring up from her memory store . . . she has no problem remembering misc. songs from odd places but can't for the life of her remember certain homework facts and figures . . . I turned to her and said "what is wrong with this picture?" which gave her a chance to learn an American idiom and then go back to her intense concentration at not paying attention to me).

We had a nice time for Christmas Eve.  Subway sandwiches while watching Terminator then Guitar Hero World Tour.

Merry Christmas.

All the best,
Brian, Lorraine, Kaye, Quanah, Midee, and Elric

Merry Christmas, holiday surgeries

It's Christmas Eve so what would one do on a Christmas Eve morning . . . hmmm . . . let's see . . . get up really early so we can drive the forty minutes it takes to take Kaye to school and then turn right around so we can make it back to our neighborhood and get to the hospital for an 8:30 am appointment to have a small benign tumor removed from my side.  Nothing like a Christmas surgery to brighten one's holiday spirits.

Actually, all went well and I'm just staying in today to rest a bit.

The actual procedure went well and the doctors and nurses at Cathay Hospital in Shijr have very good bedside manner (much better than some places I've been).

About a year ago, I had an incident that popped a blood vessel in my side . . . not the most relaxing moment when I noticed a small stream of blood jetting out of my gut spraying the wall.  Got it under control, sounds worse than it actually was but I've been living a year of paranoia about the damned thing popping open at some random moment again.  However the wound never really healed and because of the location - right at the waistline - my various trousers or pants or whatever would aggravate it and so the blasted thing was always inflamed and infected.  After the last bout, I decided to go to the hospital here instead of to the clinic near the university where I normally go for such things.  The doctor diagnosed it as a benign tumor that would continue to get infected and recommended surgery and it seemed like a good call so today we went in and did the deed and all seemed to go well and has certainly helped to lower my anxiety levels about the thing.

It shouldn't adversely affect getting to work or anything like that (yes, we work on Christmas, no holidays on this side of the planet).

Tonight, after Kaye gets home from Cello class, we will open some presents and say Merry Christmas.  Kaye already knows what she's getting and is very excited about it and has invited some of her friends over for New Year's Day to play with the beastie (she's getting the full set for Guitar Hero World Tour on x-box . . . she's especially interested in the music composition and sharing tools . . . speaking of her music, she's working on her second CD and the music sounds quite beautiful . . . lots of compositions inspired by dragons and Arthurian concepts . . . see http://www.kayephillips.com for some bits from her Debut CD).

Happy Holidays,
Brian

THIS looks very very familiar . . .. . . the joy of the confusion of high school admissions

This year, my daughter Kaye is going through preparation-for-high-school-entrance-exams-hell fun and so this article about Even an Expert's Resolve is Tested by High School Admissions Process - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/nyregion/09apply.html - is very very familiar.  Yes, even the woman who wrote THE book on high schools and getting into the good ones in New York is confused and confounded and confabulated and frustrated uberstyle regarding going through the process with her daughter.  Here in Taiwan, Kaye would like to test into a special talent music program for high school and so while she has a wonderful gift for piano and composition (see http://www.kayephillips.com) she seems to be constantly taking more classes (she has piano, extra piano, music history/theory, and cello classes, all in addition to her normal school work).  It's her dream so we support her.

All the best,
Brian

The Price

All the running around we did on Saturday with two shows - the first at Crystal's private party and the second The Next Hoorah in an open air venue that turned out to be on the chilly side for Lorraine and Kaye - and then Sunday making up for the music classes Kaye missed on Saturday with more running around . . . Lorraine is down with a cold and we suspect Kaye is also a bit on the lethargic side.

The shows were a lot of fun but the weather and the running around may have been more than we needed at the moment.

Luckily, Lorraine usually bounces back pretty fast from colds (while they lay me to waste for a very long while).

All the best,
Brian

Thanksgiving Gallery

The Phillips Clan, Taipei Branch, spent Thanksgiving evening with friends in the home of Michael Cheng.

Having at the food.

Delicious.

Photos by Kaye Phillips, full gallery at http://public.fotki.com/briandavidphillips/special_events_birt/2008-11-27-thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

All the best,
Brian

Music Studio in Guitar Hero World Tour

One of the reasons my daughter Kaye (http://www.kayephillips.com) is excited about Guitar Hero World Tour - besides the continuation of Guitar Hero funness - is that the new game has a music studio built in that allows folks to share their own original compositions.  Since Kaye is a composer (albeit, focused on piano rather than the rock instruments that GHWT has - following the Rock Band model and not adding a keyboard which would totally be wonderifous).

We're not even sure that GHWT will make it to Taiwan with all the peripherals.  Rock Band did not - we've seen the original game twice in shops in Taipei and they were old edition and for the US model and not the local models - so we're not sure if GHWT will make it this way.

Anyway . . . as Kaye craves the beastie, I found some vids on the music studio.

ONE: LAYING THE FOUNDATION
Guitar Hero World Tour Music Studio

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iulkKzW4fAE for the youtube.

TWO: DEVELOPING THE SONG
Guitar Hero World Tour Music Studio

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RdXRTaxwRw for the youtube.

THREE: FINISHING TOUCHES
Guitar Hero World Tour Music Studio

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt3I395ZGQA for the youtube.

Now, let's see if the beastie actually comes to Taiwan so Kaye can put her compositions up (see her music webpage at http://www.kayephillips.com).

All the best,
Brian 

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com

Musical Warmth

My daughter Kaye (www.kayephillips.com) has begun reporting to her mother and myself that when she plays the flute or the piano she has been noticing that her "head gets hot" . . . the room may not be particularly warm but she notices a particular warmth in her head after she finishes playing.  She loves music and as readers of Life of Brian know, she has always been particularly focused when playing piano which might as well be an extension of herself.  The other day she took an exam for flute at school and scored one hundred percent and so that has evidently slipped into her focus aparatus as well.  It's an interesting way of experiencing "the zone" that so many of us strive to attain, a warmth or hottness in the head.  BTW, Kaye has finished a few new compositions.

In other musical notes, the other day I showed Kaye a video of a very young Osmonds performing Crazy Horses (my favorite Osmonds song from my youth - I played the original album so much way back then that I actually ruined the vinyl and had to buy a replacement).  She never saw them before and so the dance moves seemed comical (well, they are) . . .

. . . see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyRiNZDb5EY for the video.  She had no clue who they were other than knowing Donny as "Joseph" from the DVD of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a much older Donny.  So, I put in my Ultimate Osmonds CD (yes, I do indeed have such a collection sort of beastie) for the drive to and from school yesterday and she was singing along with a few of the songs
which I noted and we talked about the difference between writing pop music and classical sort of material like she normally writes.  We then watched the DVD of the Osmonds Fifty Year celebration in the evening (yes, I have that too and, yes, I was a bit bummed that I didn't get to go to their concert when they hit Taipei last Summer, we all have quirks and the Osmonds are one of mine, among many many others . . . so there) which allowed her to see them as "old people" as she characterizes anyone in their late forties or beyond (quite a few of the screaming girls in the front row of the concert had white or silver hair). It was interesting that we noticed right away that the earlier versions of the songs had very strong and clear vocals and simple straightforward musical performance while the new versions have a whole lot of sound going on that sometimes makes it difficult to hear the vocals which are less steady or strong in quite a few places (albeit enjoyable).  The clips on the DVD of the various Osmonds as young people were  a bit more inspirational to Kaye I think as they talked in interviews about writing their own material.  As a youthful music-obsessed songwriter herself, such inspiration has great meaning and value.

All the best,
Brian 

HYPNOSIS CERTIFICATION VIDEO COURSE
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See http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com for details

Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com

Return . . . back and happy

The Clan Phillips (Taiwan Branch) had quite a wonderful time in India for my three-city tour of hypnosis trainings (Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore) and then we visited Hyderabad for a few days.  We will most definitely return!  Now, we're back in Taiwan . . . Kaye is working hard at catching up on the two weeks of missed classes and I am prepping like a madman to get ready to start teaching my university classes this week.

All the best,
Brian

  COMPREHENSIVE CORE SKILLS HYPNOSIS DVD COURSE
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Upcoming Shows
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  HYPNOHOT: Risque Hypnosis
Comedy Club, Taipei, Taiwan (25 Oct. 2008, 10pm)
HYPNOKOOL: Comedy Hypnosis
Comedy Club, Taipei, Taiwan (25 Oct. 2008, 8pm)
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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com

Off to India for a ton of Hypnotic Fun

My family and I are off to India as I will be doing a bit of a whirlwind speed hypnosis teaching tour in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore as well as taking some time to see some sites and visit (for those wishing to join us, see http://www.briandavidphillips.com for details and the link to Pradeep's pages for signups).  We've never visited India before so naturally we've been looking forward to this trip a great deal.  Cameras are charged and memory cards at the ready!

We're not sure what our internet access will be like once we get there but are pretty sure it's going to be spotty as we are moving around a lot and we will be doing a lot of activities.  I will be super busy once the course tour begins.

After India, we'll be in Hong Kong for a few days visiting family (as many of you know, my wife is from Hong Kong and so every once in awhile we welcome the opportunity to stop by and visit - I absolutely love that city).

We will be out of country (Taiwan, that is) from Aug. 26 to Sept. 16 . . . so . . . so, we don't yet know what our internet connection will be like in the various locales we're to be visiting. Please be patient . . . however, in my absence, please feel free to continue discussions.  That's what the list is here for anyway.

We should be back to regular schedules on the 16th when we return to Taiwan.

Look for some very kool special announcements very shortly after our return.

All the best,
Brian

  COMPREHENSIVE CORE SKILLS HYPNOSIS DVD COURSE
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Upcoming Shows
:
  HYPNOHOT: Risque Hypnosis
Comedy Club, Taipei, Taiwan (25 Oct. 2008, 10pm)
HYPNOKOOL: Comedy Hypnosis
Comedy Club, Taipei, Taiwan (25 Oct. 2008, 8pm)
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See http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com for details!  

Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com

 

Presidential Hopefuls

Well, he certainly has my vote.

All the best,
Brian

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist, Intuitionist, Trance Wizard
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com

Psychic Kids . . .

Sometimes, it just sucks to not live in the US . . . othertimes not so much.  However, it sure would be nice if we had some of those kool networks you folks back in the "beautiful country" (hint, America in Mandarin is Meiguo which literally is the words beautiful and country together).

The Family Phillips has been watching old episodes of Ghost Whisperer of late - we just finished season two from DVD and plan on tackling Medium . . . Kaye really enjoyed Most Haunted and Ghost Hunters . . . think you can figure out at least some of our ol' television programming tastes?

Well, I just saw the link to the new A&E show in the US that would be perfect for my daughter . . . Psychic Kids: Paranormal Children . . . http://www.aetv.com/psychic-kids . . . unfortunately, we don't have A&E here and since it's a brandspanking new show, we won't be able to see it for some time, if at all since non-major channels don't usually distribute too well on this side of the planet.

The show really does look perfect for my daughter Kaye though as it has psychic phenomena (heck, we even faux nightvision cam women running around screaming at themselves bumping in the dark from Most Haunted entertaining) and the principle subjects are young people, a number of them the right age range for Kaye who is fourteen.

Anyone out there see this show?  How is it?

All the best,
Brian

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [brian@briandavidphillips.com]
Hypnotist, Certified Hypnotherapist, Trance Wizard, Intuitionist
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com

Chapman, Kansas . . . we are thinking of you

I didn't even know there had been a tornado in my old stomping grounds until I checked my email and there was a series of photos from my sister showing some of the damage, extensive, over 80% of the buildings in the town are damaged, a good number are pretty much gone.  See here and here.

There's a shelter in my home town, Abilene, for the displaced folks.  We grew up a stone's throw away.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

- Brian, Lorraine, and Kaye

Facebook Notes and Blog Posts

Those of you who are my Facebook friends will notice that I've begun importing my blog posts into my notes there so you may get a couple repeats (if it works out, I will no longer need to doublepost some info).  However, the Facebook notes do NOT have the video or images that the blog has (the import tool doesn't take 'em) so for some posts you will want to take 'em as headsup to come over to the blog at http://briandavidphillips.typepad.com/brian for the full deal.

This note is being posted to the blog so we'll see if it crosses over alright.

BTW, if you aren't one of my Facebook friends, then go to http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=871950595 and add me now.

- Brian

the JOY of Sh@tty Computers

Sorry for the lack of onlineness . . . once again, experiencing the joy of computer crash. My computer is in the shop and so i'm using a spare which doesn't have most of the stuff I need on it . . . so, for now, relying upon incomplete records and slooooooooow response time in a computer that does not make me happy.  Hopefully, we will get my proper computer back soon but the shop has a track record of saying a day or two when they mean weeks.

- Brian

Happy Birthday, Kaye!

Happy Birthday, Kaye!

It is my daughter Kaye's birthday today!  She is fourteen.  Listen to her music at http://www.kayephillips.com and be sure to let her know how much you enjoy it.

All the best,
Brian

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]
Certified Hypnotherapist
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Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com

Tornado trashes Atlanta - CNN.com

Our thoughts and prayers to friends in Atlanta . . . Tornado trashes Atlanta . . . well, actually to anyone and everyone affected by the tornado. Having grown up in Kansas, I saw more of those beasties in person than one could ever wish to see and I would not fancy seeing any more.

All the best,
Brian

Kaye Elizabeth Phillips plays Schubert's Impromptu Op. 90 No. 2

Kaye Elizabeth Phillips plays Schubert's Impromptu Op. 90 No. 2 in recital on 1 March 2008 in Taipei, Taiwan. See http://www.kayephillips.com for more of Kaye's music (including original compostions).

I'm in proud father mode!

Kaye Elizabeth Phillips . . . debut . . .

Sometimes a father just has to dote . . . Kaye has recorded a number of her original compositions and created her Debut audio CD.  Head over to http://www.kayephillips.com for clips and more.

At thirteen, she's well on her way.

Kaye, I love you.

All the best,
Proud Father

Have a Happy HYPNOTIC New Year!

Dating a “crazy cat lady”

Worthwhile advice from a guy who only dated a crazy cat lady . . . Dating a “crazy cat lady” . . . personally, I didn't just date one, I married one and spawned another.

NOYB . . .. . . what's your religion?

At the end of one of my lectures at the university, a student came up to me to ask if I wouldn't mind taking a survey on the campus radio station.  I told her to go ahead and fire away and ask her questions.  Well, at the end of the survey, she said she had one final question and that was "What is your religion?"  I looked her straight in the eye and said, "put down NOYB . . . None Of Your Business."  She was taken a bit aback by this as the idea of privacy in terms of religious practice was a bit alien to her.  I then told her that for me my religious beliefs are a private matter and that even if I told her what they were the list of possible choices on her survey didn't have the "correct" choice for me as I'm not Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, Agnostic, Athiest, Muslim, Satanist, or any of the other -ists usually listed for such things.  Most folks here assume that I must be Christian as the default assumption is that any random white person living in this country is probably Christian and that Americans are extremely likely to be Christian and if they are not then they're probably Budhists studying Chinese.  Since I teach a university course in Bible & Literature which I pursued with zeal, the assumption is even more so that I must be Christian (after all, I did attend a church-affiliated university and earned a minor in religion as an undergraduate and I guarantee that I know more about scripture than most of the folks walking around claiming to be Christian).  However, while I was indeed a Christian during most of my formative years and my first vocational choice as a boy was a dream to one day become a preacher and I certainly would have made a pretty damned good one . . . today, I am most definately no longer a Christian . . . that monkey sailed long ago.  I enjoy religious studies, particularly comparative religion.  However, I don't put my relgious views out there when I teach the material nor do I wish others to make assumptions that are erroneous.  So . . . when the question comes up, and it does, quite often, my response is usually NOYB . . . although, once in awhile, I will indeed be honest and open and tell some folks what my views really are . . . but those are usually the folks who don't push it and who are naturally within my comfort zone.  Hint . . . there are no ritual chicken sacrifices but there is a great deal of personal experiential bliss and communion involved (no, not that communion, no flesh-eating cannibalism or blood thirst satiation) . . . n . . . o . . . y . . . b.

Facebook Pages for Brian David Phillips

Well, in an effort to make a distinction between my "public" and "private" personae, I've opened up a facebook pages profile . . . Brian David Phillips . . . this is not the same as my private profile where I have to approve friend requests. This public page does not require that I approve you if you wish to become a "fan" or not. This is where I will begin posting free content and keep folks posted on professional goings on. So, if you're on facebook already, go ahead and click on the "fan" link in the upper right. You will not regret it as we've got some nice things in motion just for the folks who use that system. We have nice stuff in motion for everyone else too . . . but, some particularly nice bits for the facebook fans are in play.

All the best,
Brian

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family back in the US and elsewhere. Heck, Happy Thanksgiving to anyone and everyone else too! We didn't celebrate today (the joys of living in a foreign land - albeit, it does have perks). However, we will be celebrating our Thanksgiving by seeing Beowulf in 3D at the IMAX theatre on Saturday. In preparation, we watched a short cartoon version of the story with Kaye tonight (the same version I showed my students at the university) and then after the glorious bloodfest on Saturday, we'll probably find some time for her to see The Thirteenth Warrior as that's a nice version too.

computin' woes

Computers are in the shop at the moment as both of my macines are on the fritz . . . again.  If I have not replied to email issues, sorry.  Hold your breath and count to a thousand and I may eventually get back online.

Internet Iffiness . . . moving mayhem

We moved, finally . . . unfortunately, no internet yet . . . and . . . we'll be unpacking stuff for months . . . a lot of the "important" stuff got moved into boxes that are now lost in the piles so if I haven't replied to your email, be patient. I am super busy and probably haven't seen it yet.

Brian

Moving Day Cometh!

Finally! We are "officially" moving this Thursday and Friday . . . the trucks will show up Thursday morning while I'm in class and Lorraine will be directing everything. When I get home I will continue to pack, pack, pack, and a furious pace as the trucks are filled.

Thursday is big item move day and Friday is move everything else day.  We'e also moving the piano on Thursday (albeit with professional piano movers).  We moved Kaye's keyboard already and she packed most of her other instruments earlier (she's got quite a collection and will finally have space to properly display and care for them - did I mention her new room is huge?).

Friday night will be spent in the new house (albeit, very likely a mess) and the weekend will be spent unpacking, unpacking, and more unpacking.

Finally!

I'm not looking forward to walking up and down all those stairs everyday but the new place is going to shape up into a nice home for us.

- Brian

More lifesuck . . . . . . The Joys of Rennovation . . . sucking the life right out of you

Well, more joyful life suckage . . . as per the Joys of Rennovation . . . sucking the life right out of you . . . the recent joy that is the typhoon this past weekend revealed the leaks we've been repairing are still leaking and more to deal with. So . . . we can't move until the carpets are down . . . we can't put the carpets down until the walls are finished painting . . . we can't finish the painting until the leaks are fixed . . . and the leaks can't get fixed until it dries and then it rains to test 'em and then they dry to fix the non-fixes or tweaks . . . so . . . we're still in f**king limbo paying rent in two places and taking on a large chunk of the rennovations which are now in the area of structural issues and not just cosmetic and it's all a brainmelting trip to hellishville . . . arrgh! Let's see, we were originally supposed to move in July . . . then August . . . then September . . . well, it's October now and every single week that goes by is definately the one we'll be moving in . . . I'm starting to wonder if we'll be moving when it hits minus-fifteen degrees in a little place called hell. So many things are on hold until after we move . . . just wondering if we're actually going to move anytime this century.

The Joys of Rennovation . . . sucking the life right out of you

Yesterday was a typhoon day. Oh, joy, oh, rapture. Didn't really mean much for me since classes started today (so, I got to stay home on a day I was going to stay home anyway).

We got a call from the painters at the new house who decided to paint and work . . . water was pouring in. Had to call the roof/leak guy and went to inspect the dealio. Well, they have to do more roof work - the leak means we can't carpet until there's dry weather so they can seal things (it's typhoon season so that's a fairy tale thing right from the get-go). We may have to move into an unfiished place with leak and all just to avoid paying rent at two places. Sucks.

My computer woes are still running full force. Turns out the motherboard is fried, still under warranty so they sent my computer to the factory to replace it . . . that means all those school files I need to prep classes I am teaching NOW are not available. More suck.

Oh, air conditioner in our bedroom died . . . we're moving and can't take the air con to the new place (as we are using different configurations there and have to buy new ones for that) so we are letting it go and sleeping in the guest room as best we can. Sucks some more.

RIP O'Nyau

Those of you who know us personally know our pets as they are part of our family. Last night we came home to discover that O'Nyau had passed away while we were out. She was a mixed Siamese and was twenty when she passed. She had been very ill for the past few weeks so we were not surprised by her passing but nevertheless the sadness is the same. Those of you who know Lorraine know how important this cat has been to her, a familiar and friend and child.

Network Screwed Up

If you are expecting email from me, don't hold your breath. My access is limited as my primary computer has crashed and gone to the shop. Hopefully, we will get it back soon but my archive is on that machine. Grrrr. University classes start next week so I am prepping the classes I teach, finishing up a journal paper, and running around in circles on other stuff . . . naturally, during the busiest of times, it goes crasharoo. Grrrr. - Brian

Fancy Frontier 10 . . . cosplay!

Last weekend, July 28-29, 2007, the Phillips family headed off to the Fancy Frontier 10 comic book and cosplay convention held at National Taiwan University in Taipei.

Kaye cosplayed as a character in the manga/anime Reborn and spent most of the time with a couple of her friends.  The friends were supposed to also be in costume but didn't get theirs in time.  Next cosplay, there should be a group of 'em in costume though.

This was a big event with over 33,000 people in attendance.  Yes, that many folks.

See the complete gallery of images we took during the weekend, go here.

IT'S GOOD TO BE KING

A couple girls ran over to me and asked to take a photo with me. One of them demanded that I let her kiss me for the photo because I'm so "cute" for some strange reason, when asked by a pretty girl to be kissed I have this odd habit of consenting.

REBORN

My daughter Kaye in her Reborn costume doing her Death Note pose.

MOTHER KNOWS BEST

My wife, Lorraine, and my daugher, Kaye, take a breather in the hot sun of the first day of this weekend-long event.

THAT'S A LOT OF HOT SWEATY BODIES

Since he was visiting, we dragged our good friend Joshua Samuel Brown (yes, the internationally reknowned author [web]) to his first ever major cosplay event. Josh is usually as carefree and easy going as a human can be but even he found certain aspects of cosplay convention culture to be well beyond the pale.

PHOTOGRAPHER MADNESS

While there were a LOT of cosplayers out there, at certain times, it seemed that the number of photographers far outnumbered the cosplayers. In fact, at times, it seemed that the photographers were moving in swarms. This was particularly true if the cosplayers happened to be beautiful women in rather . . . er . . . hot not because of the weather . . . costumes . . .

For more of these images from Fancy Frontier 10, go here.  For more Life of Brian cosplay images, go here.  For cosplay news in Taiwan from the good folks at Cospho Up Commision, see here (the next big event is Aug. 11-12).

All the best,
Brian

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]
Certified Hypnotherapist
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com

Older . . . yes . . . wiser . . . well . . . uh . . .

Well, it's that time of year again . . . as of . . . wait for it . . . right . . . almost there . . . right . . . now . . . as I compose this . . . I've been using this body for 44 years . . . the double-four . . . the wear and tear is a bit more than some of the bodies I've carried for longer years in previous incarnations but despite what has sometimes seemed the embodiment of the old Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times" and the times have certainly been interesting . . . this life has been a good one so far and is likely to be a good one for some time to come so I'll hang on to it.

BTW, Lorraine, I am happy to be growing older with you (growing older, not growing old).  I love you.

All the best,
Brian

The Joys of Being Bird Fodder . . .. . . live action hitchcok? No thank you!

Yesterday morning, I took the dog out for a walk (Quanah, our family Beagle) . . . when I passed the bridge and started down the hill towards the neighborhood shrine, a bird dived bombed me swooshing very low and very fast over my head, so close that the wing clipped my head. I couldn't see very clearly what sort of bird it was as it all happened so fast, just this huge shape flying away in an immelman sort of move. Well, I figured it was an isolated incident with some bird not paying close attention to what he was doing. I was wrong. Just after the shrine, I feel a tap tap as a bird (presumably the same one) crashes down onto my head. This time the claws graze my skull and needless to say it was more than a whole lot unsettling. When I picked up the dog lead (which I dropped in my manly panic) I looked up and there was one of those huge bluish black birds with an incredibly long tailfeather doing his turn in the sky. Those things are endangered and on the protected animals list - actually, there's a movement to adopt them as the Official Taiwan Bird - so even if I had a gun I couldn't blow the bastard from the sky in a fit of panic-induced-fearful-bird-rage. When I got home and told Lorraine she made light of it that the bird was probably looking for nesting materials and my hair looks like a nest. Since Kaye also has long hair of similar (but not quite) texture to mine I told her to watch out. I told Lorraine to call Animal Control or the Environmental Bureau as a crazy dive bombing bird in a residential district is a public health and safety danger. She wasn't too worried. Well, when they went downstairs to get the car for our trip (went to Taichung for a day-return with Lorraine's family visiting from Hong Kong), Lorraine and Kaye ran into our nextdoor neighbor who was also attacked by the one assumes is the same bird. The Animal Control folks can't just kill it as it's protected (and probably protecting its nest which is in a tree right smack dab next to a newly opened apartment complex - not going to do those folks any good for their business if the mad bomber decides to do an end-run on prospective buyers) but hopefully they can find a way to capture and relocate to more hospitable enviornments away from humans (we live next to a running stream/creek/river depending upon the flood run with clean water and fish and we do have a lot of water birds in the area). Well, while I like to pretend to pride myself on my manly manliness - pretend is the operative word - that was so unexpected and came out of nowhere. In all the years we've lived here, those long-tails have not been very noticeable in this area but recently in the past few months there has suddenly been a resurgence and we seem them larger and stronger and much more numerous than before. It seems as if they're taking over the local environment and displacing the other birds but at least they are an indiginous Taiwan bird (we also have some exotic white parrots that are now roaming wild and breeding causing all sorts of problems which are obviously descendants of a mated pair that either escaped capitivity or were set free when the owners realized how big and mean and LOUD the things were).

All the best,
Brian

Healing Rhythms and The Wild Divine . . .. . . birthday wishes

So . . . my birthday is coming up on June 6 . . . anyone who just doesn't know what to get me . . . take a look at Healing Rhythms and/or the Wild Divine bundle pack . . . one would not go wrong with either or both.

All the best,
Brian

Sign Up NOW!Hypnosis Shows, Sessions, Training . . . and MORE!See http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com for details!

Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]
Certified Hypnotherapist
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com

Restoring the Church from Within . . .. . . Daniel Vandenburg

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

My baby brother (well, hardly a baby or even a kid now but he's stuck with the descriptor), Daniel Vandenburg, is a ministerial student and this series of videos is from a sermon he gave at the Abilene Wesleyan Church in Abilene, Kansas, on 4 March 2007.  The views are not my own but I respect his desire to stand in the pulpit (one of my earliest dreams was to be a minister but life showed me a much more appropriate use of my talents).