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!
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
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
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 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!
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
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.
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.
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 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.
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