Every now and then a story comes along thats so extraordinary it takes your breath away. TV talent shows have a habit of finding a contestant that makes everybody sit up and take notice. Heartening tales of overcoming adversity are typical fodder on “Got Talent” and other reality shows, but the shocking saga of “China’s Got Talent” contestant Liu Wei makes this season’s batch of “America’s Got Talent” sob stories look like the pampered brats on VH1′s “You’re Cut Off.” And this is a true sob story–seriously, if you watch the video below and don’t get at least a little bit misty-eyed, you clearly have no soul.
Liu, now 23 years old, lost both of his arms in a freak accident when he was 10, after he touched an electrified wire while playing hide-and-seek. Both limbs were amputated and although initially he was distraught about his condition, he soon realized he had a choice to make.
Liu Wei
“For people like me, there were only two options. One was to abandon all dreams, which would lead to a quick, hopeless death. The other was to struggle without arms to live an outstanding life,” Liu explained to the judges on “China’s Got Talent.” Thankfully, Liu chose the latter option.
However, these tragic circumstances did not stop Liu from pursuing his dream of becoming a pianist–teaching himself how to play with his feet at age 18, after one piano teacher told him he would never succeed. And it turns out, Liu has more talent in one of his pinky toes than most four-limbed piano players have in both of their hands.
Of course, contestants overcoming adversity is a frequent subtext of talent showcases, but Wei’s accomplishment is extraordinary. He told judges that teaching himself to play piano with his feet was “hard” and that he endured cramps and abrasions, but he also says his mother inspired him and he wanted to make his parents proud.
“Whatever other people do with their hands, I do with my feet. It’s just that,” says Liu. “Nobody ever decreed that to play the piano you must use your hands.”
Liu Wei performing with his toes
Watch Liu’s perfect performance of “Mariage D’amour” below, and make sure to have some tissues nearby:
Lius performance on the August 8 2010 show wowed the audience and judges and blew away the competition as he gave an impeccable performance of the classical piece Mariage DAmour on the piano with his toes. The stunned audience, many in tears, rose to a standing ovation at the conclusion of his performance. The judges bowed in respect to his achievement.
Apparently he taught himself how to play the piano in secret when he decided at the age of 18 that it was what he wanted to do, after his teacher said it would be impossible to play with toes.
This really puts into perspective lifes problems, doesnt it?
Note: Liu Wei subsequently won the China’s Got Talent on October 10. Please read this new post on Liu Wei’s triumph.
Hongkong superstar Chow Yun Fat, aged 55, has pledged to donate 99 per cent of his reported HK$1 billion ($130 million) wealth for charity upon his death. He told Hong Kong paper Sun Daily: “This is not my money, I just earned them but this doesnt mean it will be forever mine.”
Chow has been married twice; first in 1983 to Candice Yu , an actress from Asia Television Limited that lasted nine months. In 1986, Chow married Singaporean Jasmine Tan. Chow transition from Hong Kong movie star to international star was in no small part due to his wife’s planning and financial support. The couple has no children, although Chow has a goddaughter, Celine Ng, a former child model for Chickeeduck and other companies.
Chow Yun Fat and his wife Jasmine Tan
“I’m not taking anything with me (when I die),” he said.
Chow has come to an agreement with his Singaporean wife Jasmine Tan to donate his wealth.
Chow Yun-fat is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard-Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. He mainly plays in dramatic films and has won three Hong Kong Film Awards for “Best Actor” and two Golden Horse Awards for “Best Actor” in Taiwan.
Chow was born on May 18, 1955 in Hong Kong, to a mother who was a cleaning lady and vegetable farmer, and a Hakka father who worked at a Shell Oil Company tanker. He grew up in a farming community on Lamma Island in a house with no electricity. He woke up at dawn each morning to help his mother sell herbal jelly and Hakka tea-pudding on the streets and in the afternoons he went to work in the fields. His family moved to Kowloon when he was ten. At seventeen, he quit school to help support the family by doing odd jobs – bellboy, postman, camera salesman, taxi driver. His life started to change when he responded to a newspaper advertisement and his actor-trainee application was accepted by TVB, the local television station. He signed a three-year contract with the studio and made his acting debut. With his striking good looks and easy-going style, Chow became a heartthrob and a familiar face in soap operas that were exported internationally.
Chow became a household name in Hong Kong following his role in the hit series The Bund in 1980. The Bund, about the rise and fall of a gangster in 1930s Shanghai, was one of the most popular TV series ever made in Hong Kong and was a hit throughout Asia.
Chow Yun Fat in The Bund
Although Chow continued his TV success, his goal was to become a big screen actor. His occasional ventures onto the big screens with low-budget films, however, were disastrous. Success finally came when he teamed up with director John Woo in the 1986 gangster action-melodrama A Better Tomorrow, which swept the box offices in Asia and established Chow and Woo as megastars. A Better Tomorrow won him his first Best Actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. It was the highest grossing film in Hong Kong history at the time, and it set the standard for Hong Kong gangster films to come. Taking the opportunity, Chow quit TV entirely. With his new image from A Better Tomorrow, he made many more ’heroic bloodshed’ films, such as A Better Tomorrow 2 (1987), Prison on Fire, Prison on Fire II, The Killer (1989), A Better Tomorrow 3 (1990), Hard Boiled (1992) and City on Fire an inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs.
Chow Yun Fat in John Woo's A Better Tomorrow
Chow may be best known for playing honorable tough guys, whether cops or criminals, but he also starred in comedies like Diary of a Big Man (1988) and Now You See Love, Now You Don’t (1992) and romantic blockbusters such as Love in a Fallen City (1984) and An Autumn’s Tale (1987), for which he was named best actor at the Golden Horse Awards. He brought together his disparate personae in the 1989 film God of Gamblers (Du Shen), directed by the prolific Wong Jing, in which he was by turns suave charmer, broad comedian and action hero. The film surprised many, became immensely popular, broke Hong Kong’s all-time box office record, and spawned a series of gambling films, as well as several comic sequels starring Andy Lau and Stephen Chow.
The Los Angeles Times proclaimed Chow Yun-Fat “the coolest actor in the world.” Being one of the biggest stars in Hong Kong, Chow moved to Hollywood in the mid ’90s in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to duplicate his success in Asia. His first two films, The Replacement Killers (1998) and The Corruptor (1999), were box office disappointments. In his next film Anna and the King (1999), Chow teamed up with Jodie Foster, but the film suffered at the box office. Chow then returned to the east and accepted the role of Li Mu-Bai in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It became a winner at both the international box office and the Oscars, finally making Chow a global star. In 2003, Chow came back to Hollywood and starred in Bulletproof Monk in yet another Asian stereotyped role of a martial art expert. In 2006, he teamed up with Gong Li in the film, Curse of the Golden Flower, directed by Zhang Yimou.
Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Chow Yun Fat and voluptuous Gong Li in Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower
In Chows latest movie Shanghai, he is again teamed up with the gorgeous Gong Li and international stars John Cusack and Ken Watanabe. In this Mikael Hafstroms film, Chow played the role of a triad boss with Gong Li as his wife. I watched the movie two weeks ago and found it to be quite a good movie. Both Chow and Gong Li gave solid performances in this spy thriller set in Shanghai during World War II.
Chow as a triad boss in the movie Shanghai
Chow has said that the money he made is not his. What a philosophy! I salute you, man!
Living life to the fullest is a choice. It is your choice. You can just sit thereon your butt and do what you have always done and get the results youve always gotten or you can start today to live a better life. It is up to you. You can whine and moan or you can take action. Which will it be? Which do you think is going to make a difference? For so long I was under the belief that overcoming the impossible was the only way to fulfill my zest for life. I’ve learned to embrace what life throws at you, instead of chasing after what it didn’t.
Albert Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Is your life on this insane treadmill? If you arent completely happy with your life, then do something different to get better results!It will take a little work, but wont it be worth it? Isnt your happiness worth investing a little of your time and energy? A great life doesnt just happen. It is created. If you want to live life to its absolute fullest, then you have to make a plan. Youve got to take specific steps to make it happen.
If you have a passion for something, just go ahead and pursue it. Don’t let others hold you back. Don’t be discouraged by the negative criticisms that may be thrown your way by some of your so-called friends. Don’t let others steal your dreams.
I started this blog about one and a half years ago. It is something that I enjoy doing. I have a couple of friends who have sort of ridiculed me for wasting my time writing my blog. What they failed to appreciate is that it gives me immense satisfaction to see my blog being read by over a thousand people from all over the world on an average day. That satisfaction is priceless and has brought a lot of direction and meaning into my life.
I know we can change the world for the better, one starfish at a time, enjoying the many blessings of life along the way…especially the fascinating people I’m lucky to know….my family, my schoolmates, my friends, my colleagues, my teachers, my relatives and the countless people with whom I have crossed paths in my life journey so far.
I can’t help but be reminded of a TV commercial where a little girl is walking along a beach, throwing washed-up starfish back into the ocean. The message is simple; never doubt that one person can make a difference.
The Power of One. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks are people that immediately remind me of the power of one. The world became a much better place because of people like them.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement. He pioneered satyagraharesistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, a philosophy firmly founded upon ahimsa, or total nonviolence, which helped India to gain independence, and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is often referred to as Mahatma Gandhi and in India also as Bapu. He is officially honoured in India as the Father of the Nation; his birthday, 2 October, is commemorated there as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence.
Gandhi...a man who made a huge diffrence!
Mother Teresa, born Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, was a Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India in 1950. For over 45 years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity’s expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries. Following her death she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. By the 1970s, she was internationally famed as a humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless, due in part to a documentary and book Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1980 for her humanitarian work. Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity continued to expand, and at the time of her death it was operating 610 missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children’s and family counselling programs, orphanages, and schools.
Mother Teresa...a woman who made a huge difference!
Martin Luther King Jr, born January 15 1929, attended lots of public schools and he graduated from high school at the age of fifteen and received his degree in 1948 from Morehouse College from where his father and grandfather graduated. Then in Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman and eventually they had four kids. He is a hero to me because he changed the world with blacks and whites. He brought them together, so look at the world now and think of what it was like then and youll just see what he did. He made the races come together and now the blacks and whites can play and go to school together and do business together.
Martin Luther King Jr.....another man who changed the world!
Rosa Parks changed the world because she didnt give up her seat and would not get off of the bus, she went to jail. She kind of showed them that white people and black people were equal with some of the help of Martin Luther King Jr. She was called the mother of the modern day civil rights movement, because of the things that she did to change the world. Blacks and whites couldnt drink from the same water fountain, go to the same schools, and also play together, but now they can.
Rosa Parks...a woman who held to her conviction and made a huge difference!
And who can ever forget the image of the lone Chinese man trying to stop a convoy of armour trucks during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989? To this day, the identity of that man remains a mystery but he is regarded as a hero the world over for his courage.
One person. You. Me. Any one of us can have this same influence in the lives of others. Love them today, for we know not what tomorrow holds. Leave them smiling at the end of the day. Touch their lives. Spark their souls. Be that One in someone else’s life… nothing else can compare with the joy in your heart and the gratitude in their eyes as such a moment.
Continue to smile and above all remember that it is not what we do that makes a difference… but who we are. The power of one is within us, it is our very self.
The world will witness a marriage of Olympic-sized proportions tomorrow when China’s 2010 gold medal pair skaters Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue get married in front of thousands of fans — on ice.
Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue
The glittering wedding, scheduled to take place at Beijing’s Capital Gymnasium that has been decked out in sweeping red ribbons and spotlights, has been an affair three years in the making. Zhao proposed to Shen after a gold medal-winning performance at the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships. Zhao shocked Shen by dropping to one knee at the centre of the rink in Tokyo and popping a marriage proposal. Misunderstanding at first, Shen got down on her knees too, in perplexed solidarity. When it finally dawned that Zhao had just asked her to marry him, Shen squeaked a yes, the crowd roared.
Though they had legally registered their marriage in China on May 28 2007, they have yet to go through a formal ceremony with their families and friends. Most Chinese do not consider a couple formally married until they have undergone a wedding ceremony.
They have been skating together since 1992, and fell in love between practices and competitions around the world. Through all those years they skated together, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo were not allowed to so much as kiss. The couple was under intense and overt scrutiny, living and training full-time for 15 years at their country’s figure skating incubator in distant, freezing Harbin, where romantic fraternization was strictly forbidden.
Shen and Zhao were the first Chinese pair team to win a medal at an International Skating Union event and at the World Figure Skating Championships. In 2002, they became the first Chinese pair skating team to win a World Championship. In February 2010 in Vancouver, they became the first Chinese skaters to win the gold medal at a Winter Olympic Games in any figure skating category, ending almost half a century of Russian and Soviet pair skating dominance.
They are considered by many critics of the sport to be one of the best pair skating teams of all time. They are the world record holders for pairs’ score in the short program and in the combined total under the ISU Judging System.
It won’t be just any ordinary friends in attendance on Saturday evening. Taking part in the couple’s wedding will be some of the world’s best skating stars who have flown into Beijing to perform as their gift to the couple. 2006 Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko of Russia will skate to “Sex Bomb” while Japan’s 2010 Olympic silver medalist Mao Asada will perform a tango-inspired program.
The men’s 2002 Olympic champion Alexei Yagudin of Russia and two-time World Champion Stephane Lambiel of Canada will also hit the ice with Zhao and Shen.
The newlyweds will conclude their wedding celebration with the classic “Turandot.”
Perhaps the only program that might outshine Zhao and Shen will be American Johnny Weir’s performance to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face,” which is slated to immediately follow the wedding vows.
“So many of my fans want me to perform ‘Poker Face’ in China,” Weir told CNN. “Yes, I am a little nervous that I am going right after because Poker Face is a little bit dirty… but I am excited by the challenge.”
The bride and groom’s Olympic friends are tight-lipped about what they will give Zhao and Shen. “We have all been discussing what we will do but I can’t tell you what the gift it. It’s still a secret,” said 2010 Olympic bronze medalist Joannie Rochette of Canada.
“I have prepared a traditional Japanese gift for them,” Asada said.
China and the world are awaiting tomorrow night with bated breath to the wedding on ice.
I listen to a wide range of music ranging from rock, jazz, pop, new age, easy-listening, alternative music, gospel to some classical. But in my teens and early adult, my favorite music was rock and I was hooked on to music by Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, The Who, Rolling Stones, Queen, Eagles, Deep Purple, Scorpions, Rod Stewart, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Styx, Supertramp, Heart, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, Jackson Browne and a whole lot of others.
Rock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1950s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music. The sound of rock often revolves around the electric guitar, a back beat laid down by a rhythm section of electric bass guitar and drums, and keyboard instruments such as Hammond organ, piano, or since the 1970s, synthesizers. Along with the guitar or keyboards, saxophone and blues-style harmonica are sometimes used as soloing instruments. In its “purest form”, it “has three chords, a strong, insistent back beat, and a catchy melody.”
Rock music
It is not easy to pick my favorite top 10 greatest rock songs but after a couple of hours search on the internet to refresh my memory, the following 10 songs are my choices:
“Stairway to Heaven” is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band’s untitled fourth studio album (dubbed Led Zeppelin IV). The song, which runs almost eight minutes, is composed of several sections, which increase in tempo and volume as the song progresses. One of the highlights of the song is the intricate guitar solo by Jimmy Page. This song is about a woman who accumulates money, but finds out the hard way her life had no meaning and will not get her into heaven.
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” is a song by English rock band The Rolling Stones released in 1965. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The number is noted for Richards’Bohemian three-note guitar riff which opens and drives the song, and for the lyrics, which include references to sexual intercourse and a theme of anti-commercialism. The latter in particular caused the song to be “perceived as an attack on the status quo”. Mick Jagger wrote all the lyrics except the line “Can’t get no satisfaction.” The lyrics deal with what Jagger saw as the two sides of America, the real and phony. He sang about a man looking for authenticity but not being able to find it. Jagger experienced the vast commercialism of America in a big way on their tours, and later learned to exploit it, as The Rolling Stones made truckloads of money through sponsorships and merchandising in the US.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band’s 1975 album A Night At The Opera. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is in the style of a stream-of-consciousness nightmare that has an unusual song structure, more akin to a classical rhapsody than popular music. The song has no chorus, instead consisting of three main parts – a ballad segment ending with a guitar solo, an operatic passage, and a heavy rock section. Because of its ambiguous style and arrangement, the song is rarely classified by the band or critics under a particular genre of music. It is usually described as a rock opera piece. When it was released as a single, “Bohemian Rhapsody” became a huge commercial success, staying at the top of the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks and selling more than a million copies by the end of January 1976. It reached number one again in 1991 for five weeks following Mercury’s death, eventually becoming the UK’s third best selling single of all time.
“Imagine” is a song written and performed by English rock musician John Lennon. It is the opening track on his album Imagine, released in 1971. It was also Lennon’s only post-Beatle Australian Number one single, spending five weeks at the summit. When asked about the song in one of his last interviews, Lennon declared “Imagine” to be as good as anything he had written with the Beatles. The song is one of three Lennon solo songs, along with Instant Karma and Give Peace A Chance, in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fames 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Rolling Stone ranked “Imagine” the 3rd greatest song of all time in their editorial The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time. John Lennon s widow, Yoko Ono, indicated that the lyrical content of “Imagine” was “just what John believed that we are all one country, one world, one people. He wanted to get that idea out.
“Won’t Get Fooled Again” is a song by the rock band The Who. Written by Pete Townshend, it combines guitar power chords with heavily processed organ and synthesizer sounds to create a textured, atmospheric introduction that explodes into the verse. It is based upon the idea of revolution, somewhat cynically portraying the hope surrounding the concept – “I tip my hat to the new constitution/Take a bow for the new revolution” – and the disappointment that the new regime is the same as the old one – “Meet the new boss/Same as the old boss”. Pete Townshend wrote this song about a revolution. In the first verse, there is an uprising. In the middle, they overthrow those in power, but in the end, the new regime becomes just like the old one (“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”). Townshend felt revolution was pointless because whoever takes over is destined to become corrupt. Roger Daltrey’s scream is considered one of the best on any rock song.
“Hotel California” is the title song from the Eaglesalbum of the same name and was released as a single in early 1977. It is one of the best-known songs of the album-orientated rock era. Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder, Don Henley and Glenn Frey. The song’s lyrics describe the title establishment as a luxury resort where “you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.” On the surface, the song tells the tale of a weary traveler who becomes trapped in a nightmarish luxury hotel that at first appeared inviting and tempting. The song is an allegory about hedonism and self-destruction in the Southern California music industry of the late 1970s; Don Henley called it “our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles” and later reiterated “it’s basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America, which is something we knew a lot about.
“American Pie” is a folk rock song by singer-songwriter Don McLean. Recorded and released on the American Pie album in 1971, the single was a number-one U.S. hit for four weeks in 1972. The song is a recounting of The Day the Music Died – the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. The importance of “American Pie” to America’s musical and cultural heritage was recognized by the Songs of the Century education project which listed the song as the number five song of the twentieth century. The song is well known for its cryptic lyrics that have long been the subject of curiosity and speculation.
“Hey Jude” is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Credited to John Lennon/Paul McCartney, the ballad evolved from “Hey Jules,” a song Paul McCartney wrote to comfort John’s son Julian during his parents’ divorce. The change to “Jude” was inspired by the character “Jud” in the musical Oklahoma This was the Beatles longest single, running 7:11, and at the time was the longest song ever released as a single.
“A Whiter Shade of Pale” is the debut song by the British band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. With its haunting Bach-flavored instrumental melody, soulful vocals, and unusual lyricsby the song’s co-authors Matthew Fisher, Gary Brooker, and Keith –”A Whiter Shade of Pale” reached #1 in several countries when released in 1967. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. It was the most played song in the last 75 years in public places in the UK (as of 2009), and the United Kingdom performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited in 2004 recognized it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years.Also in 2004, Rolling Stone placed “A Whiter Shade of Pale” #57 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.
“Smoke on the Water” is a song by the British hard rock band Deep Purple. It was first released on their 1972 album Machine Head. In 2004, the song was ranked number 426 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and in March 2005, Q Magazine placed “Smoke on the Water” at number twelve in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. The song is about a fire in the Casino at Montreux, Switzerland. The band was going to record Machine Head there right after a Frank Zappa concert, but someone fired a flare gun at the ceiling which set the place on fire. The band was relocated to another hotel and recorded the album in the Rolling Stones mobile studio.
Dance is the hidden language of the soul. It is also an international language. Dancing is the ability to speak volumes to hundreds of people without using any words. To dance takes strength, artistry and passion. You can express any emotion possible in the most beautiful form. Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It’s the rhythm of your life. Its the expression in time and movement, in happiness, joy, sadness and envy.
The genius of Alvin Ailey changed forever the perception of American dance. Over 50 years later, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has come to be known as a cultural ambassador to the world. Do visit their website at www.alvinailey.org.
Alvin Ailey ((January 5, 1931 December 1, 1989), an African-American from a small rural town in Texas, founded the all-black company in 1958. He wanted to give voice to a population all-too-often unheard from, and to reflect the joy and sadness of the American black community. Until his death in 1989, not only did he choreograph 79 ballets and run an incredibly successful international dance company, he worked tirelessly to include the public to break the wall between performer and public, for, as he put it, dance is for everybody. Ailey is credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th century concert dance.
Alvin Ailey
Ailey’s choreographic masterpiece Revelations, a stylized, elegant combination of ballet and modern dance set to the music of Negro spirituals, is believed to be the best-known and most often seen modern dance performance. For this signature work, Ailey drew upon his “blood memories” of Texas, the blues, spirituals, and gospel, resulting in the creation of his most popular and critically acclaimed work.
Though Ailey created 79 works for his dancers, he maintained that his company was not merely a showcase for his own work. Today, the company continues Ailey’s vision by performing important works from the past and commissioning new additions to the repertoire. In all, more than 200 works by over 70 choreographers have been performed by the company.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performer
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performer
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers
Ailey was proud that his company was multi-racial. While he wanted to give opportunities to black dancers, who were frequently excluded from performances by racist attitudes at the time, he also wanted to rise above issues of negritude. His company always employed artists based solely on artistic talent and integrity regardless of their race
Cry(1971), was one of Ailey’s greatest successes. He dedicated it to his mother and black women everywhere. It became a signature piece for Judith Jamison who has been leading the company as its Artistic Director since Aileys death.
Jamison says she wants audiences to be touched in their hearts, in their spirits, and in their minds I want them to feel lifted when they leave the theatre, to feel changed and to feel as if the experience belongs to them – and that they want to share it.
Judith Jamison - Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35
As for the rich in the present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. – 1 Timothy 6:17, 18
But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind - Luke 14:13
Warren Buffet - The Oracle of Omaha
Warren Edward Buffet is one of my most admired persons. Born on 30th August 1930, he is one of the most successful investors in the world. The legendary investor, often called the Oracle of Omaha or the Sage of Omaha, is one of the richest persons in the world. He is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Despite his immense wealth, he is known for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality.
Warren Buffet's modest house
On June 26, 2006, Buffet announced that he would give away eighty-five percent of his Berkshire Hathaway stock worth $37 billion at that time to a group of foundations over a number of years. No gift of this size had ever been made in the history of philanthropy. Five out of every six shares would go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, already the largest charity in the world, in a historic marriage of two fortunes for the betterment of the world.
Buffet With Bill & Melinda Gates
Buffet would establish no Buffet hospital, no college or university endowment or building with his name on it. By donating the money without naming something after himself, without controlling personally how it would be spent to put money in the coffers of another foundation that he had selected for its competence and efficiency, rather than creating a whole new empire upended every convention of giving. Such a thing had never been done by any major donor before. It was a historic moment in the field of philanthropy globally, said Doug Bauer of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. It s set a bar, a touchstone, for others.
The Gates Foundation adhered to a basic creed that Buffet shared: Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, it worked to reduce inequities and improve lives around the world in the areas of global health and education.
More than 99% of his wealth will go to philanthropy during his lifetime or at death. He and his family will give up nothing they need or want by just retaining 1% of his wealth. But fulfilling this 99% pledge will have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others.
The effects of Buffets pledge were sizable. Jackie Chan announced that he would give away half his wealth. Li Ka-Shing, Asias richest man, pledged a third of his wealth to his own charitable foundation. Carlos Slim, the Mexican communications monopolist, ridiculed Buffet and Gates for their philanthropy but did a turnabout a few months later and announced that he, too, would be giving money away.
Buffet said 70 to 80 people on the Forbes magazine list of the worlds richest were contacted as part of his drive to boost giving. Forty individuals or families signed on, leaving about half that need convincing. Buffet said hell keep pressing the billionaires who rebuffed his request that they pledge at least half of their fortunes to charity.
We dont give up on them, Buffet said. Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future, so well keep working.
In a landmark moment for philanthropy, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are advocating that all billionaires commit to giving at least half of their wealth to charitable groups within their lifetimes or after their deaths.
Dubbed The Giving Pledge, the initiativeis the result ofa series of dinners the two men held over the past year to discuss the effects of the recession on philanthropy with some of the nation’s richest people, including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Revlon owner RonaldPerelman and David Rockefeller, his family’s patriarch.
Michael Bloomberg, New York City Mayor
Ronald Perelman - Revlon Owner
David Rockefeller is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family
The Giving Pledge does not accept money or tell people how to donate their money, but asks billionaires to make a moral commitment to give their fortunes to charity and to publicly state their intention with a letter explaining their decision. The Giving Pledge aims to reverse the recession’s trend of declining donations. In all, (if successful) the initiative would transfer $600 billion a figure calculated by dividing the amount of wealth represented in Forbes magazine’s billionaires list in half to charitable causes.
The Giving Pledge
Bill & Melinda Gates & Warren Buffet - The Giving Pledge
The initiative could place pressure on prominent families like the Duncans of Houston to dispense more of the family’s trust. Duncan gifted more than $250 million to Baylor College of Medicine, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Children’s Hospital and other Houston institutions during his life.
Gates and Buffets’ goal is to instill the expectation that the rich should give away their wealth while creating a peer group of wealthy people that can offer advice on philanthropy, said Melinda Gates, Bill’s wife and the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Mr. Rockefeller has pledged to give at his death more than $1 billion to charitable causes, including gifts of more than $100 million to the Museum of Modern Art, Rockefeller University, Harvard University and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
For his part,Bloomberg said he gave $254 million to nearly 1,400 nonprofit organizations in 2009, adding, “I am a big believer in giving it all away and have always said that the best financial planning ends with bouncing the check to the undertaker.”
Among the rich joining The Giving Pledge campaign are New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, media moguls Barry Diller and Ted Turner, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, “Star Wars” movie maker George Lucas, energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens, Revlon owner Ronald Perelman, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, former CEO & Chairman 0f Citigroup Inc. Sanford Weill, real estate and construction billionaire Eli Broad, venture capitalist , media entrepreneur Gerry Lenfest and former Cisco Systems Chairman John Morgridge. The full list of billionaires and their letters can be seen at www.thegivingpledge.org.
We took about 70 to 80 names, a fair number were people I didnt know at all, Buffet said. We had reason to believe in most cases that the people already had an interest in philanthropy.
Larry Ellison - CEO of Oracle
Sanford Weill - Former CEO & Chairman 0f Citigroup, Inc.
Media mogul Barry Diller
Media mogul Ted Turner
Star Wars movie maker George Lucas
Energy tycoon T.Boone Pickens
Real estate & construction billionaire Eli Broad
Venture capitalist John Doerr
Media entrepreneur Gerry Lenfest
Former Cisco Systems Chairman John Morgridge
Buffet said he will hold more dinners in the U.S. to encourage additional promises. Buffet and Gates are due to meet with some of the wealthiest people in China in September and India in March.
The world has become a much better place because of Buffet, Bill Gates and the billionaires who have made their commitments to The Giving Pledge. The Giving Pledge is really an awesome idea and based on Forbes magazine’s estimates of the billionaires’ wealth, at least $150 billion could be given away. I salute these billionaires!
Desiree Jennings hit the top of Google hot searches a while ago. Out of curiousity, I googled the internet and this is what I found out.
Desiree Jennings
25-year old Desiree Jennings was living a dream come true, with a marketing job at a major company and married to a handsome, successful man. She was an avid runner and a cheerleading ambassador for the Washington Redskins football team.
Then almost overnight, after a routine flu shot last fall, Jennings went from the picture of happiness and health, to a twisted, stuttering vision of pain and suffering. From fever and painful body aches, the symptoms worsened until she could only walk with a twisted, halting gait, and had trouble reading, doing simple math and even remembering things. Her condition put a halt on her once-frenetic lifestyle.
Jennings developed another odd symptom — a strange foreign accent; the Midwestern woman suddenly sounded British. “It sounds like an accent, but it’s not. I just can’t pronounce words anymore,” she said.
But perhaps worse of all is what happens when Jennings tried to recall specific memories. In her “20/20″ interview, Jennings’ speech devolved to stuttering, then complete gibberish.
“The mind keeps bouncing and it won’t stay on that memory,” she explained. “It gets garbled up on a bad hard drive so to speak.”
In search of a cure, Jennings and her husband Brendan visited countless doctors and four hospitals, among them Johns Hopkins Hospital. There, a physical therapist told Jennings about dystonia, a rare movement disorder that causes the muscles to twitch or convulse involuntary. The symptoms resembled her own.
Jennings looked online and saw that in some cases, people with dystonia, who have trouble walking forward like she did, can walk backwards. Even more exciting for the devoted jogger was that a medical website said some sufferers can run.
“Within five minutes of seeing it on the website, she had her running shoes on,” Brendan recalled.
Miraculously, Jennings could run. She also found out she could walk backwards, and even sideways, and that while doing so, her speech returned to normal.
“It’s the strangest thing,” she said. “As soon as you try to get into a running motion, you feel the whole body correcting itself.”
It wasn’t long before Jennings became a media sensation. Video of the beautiful young cheerleader, flopping about and stuttering one moment, running and talking normally the next, went viral. At once, she became the poster child of the anti-vaccine movement and a global Internet joke. YouTube comics garnered millions of hits setting her jerky movements to rap music.
When not running, however, Jennings was far from well. Not only could she not walk or talk normally, Jennings said her brain sometimes forgot to tell her lungs to breathe, leading to fainting spells and convulsions.
Traditional medicine having failed her, Jennings decided to do something “outside the box,” and ended up at a North Carolina clinic run by Dr. Rashid Buttar. Buttar uses an unproven, alternative treatment termed chelation (the removal of metals from the body) for almost every medical condition, from autism to cancer.
When Jennings arrived at Buttar’s clinic in October 2009, she could hardly breathe and collapsed in his waiting room. She was pumped with IVs and Dr. Buttar began his unproven chelation process, where chelating agents bind to metals in the body, including mercury, and then are excreted in the urine.
In less than two weeks, Jennings’ condition apparently improved: she walked again and her stutter disappeared.
But just as she was leaving Dr. Buttar’s clinic on her last visit in December 2009 — with “20/20′s” cameras rolling — everything seemed to fall apart again. She could no longer walk forward and was taken out in a wheelchair.
While millions viewed video of Jennings on YouTube, those following her case are skeptical and suspect that her symptoms were all a hoax. In fact, what has bothered Jennings most about her unorthodox fame is the online assault on her integrity.
“Why would I fake it?” she said during her interview with “20/20.” “I’ve had a great life. . . Now I’m sitting at home every day, bored to tears.”
Still, there has been skepticism in the medical world. Dr. Steven Novella, an assistant professor of neurology at Yale, who has followed Jennings’ case closely on the Internet said that Jennings’ symptoms were not typical of the disease. Novella is confident Jennings condition was not caused by mercury in a flu shot.
Other experts consulted by “20/20″ agree. Dr. Charles McKay, a board member of the American College of Medical Toxicology, said Jennings would have been exposed to far less mercury in a flu shot than in a tuna steak.
But what could have caused Jennings’ strange symptoms? Novella and other leading neurologists interviewed by “20/20″ believe that Jennings’ disease is a psychogenic disorder rather than a neurological disorder. They don’t believe she has faked her symptoms, but instead that her unconscious mind has caused them.
Novella feels the temporary improvements Jennings experienced while undergoing Buttar’s treatment were due to the placebo effect on steroids: she got better because she thought she would.
Jennings, on the other hand, finds the “psychogenic” label insulting. “It’s a convenient way for incompetent doctors to get you out of their office,” she said.
Today, Jennings’ condition does not appear as severe, but she remains convinced that the flu shot caused her condition, and her search for a cure continues. She is currently seeing a specialist for her condition and still seeking answers.
“If I have to go over to China and do experimental procedures, I’ll find a way to get it all back,” she said. “It may take a while, but I will get everything back. I will find a way.”
Jennings has a host of detractors who think her condition is just a hoax to garner sympathy and fame. And these people have vilified her with their comments on YouTube, blogs, forums and the like. I just want to put a question to these people. What if Jennings’ condition is genuine? She may truly be living in a nightmare. Don’t be too rash to bombard her with all those obscenities. Just give her the benefit of the doubt, okay? Have some compassion and live a more meaningful and beautiful life!
June 30 2010 was a Wednesday and Christina Perri was at work as a waitress at a caf in Los Angeles. She had no idea then that within the next 24 hours, her world would never be the same again. Ever.
Christina Perri
On the June 30 episode of Fox TVs So You Think You Can Dance, Christina Perris song Jars of Hearts (also known as Who Do You Think You Are?) was used as the backdrop track for a dance routine performed by Billy Bell and Kathryn McMormick. The song struck a chord with the audience and broke into the Top 10 on iTunes overnight. And within two weeks, the song entered the Billboards Hot Digital Songs with over 100,000 downloads.
The Jar of Hearts lyrics has been among the hottest searches on the internet. One listen to the song is all it takes to understand why. The video below is posted by a fan on YouTube. For those of you who want to get closer to Christina, follow her on her blog.
Christinas story is uplifting as it proves that if you are truly committed to something you are passionate about, nothing can stop you. Christina believes in herself and in the beauty of her dreams. Since picking up the guitar at 15, she has been dreaming of becoming a singer. An ardent Beatles fan with their names tattooed around her wrists, she left her native Philadelphia for Los Angeles several years ago to pursue her dreams. Working as a waitress in various restaurants, she spent her free time doing little things in the pursuit of her dreams: a commercial, singing a song for Diane Warren and posting acoustic performances of original tracks and covers on YouTube.
The pursuit of her dreams continues. The 23-year-old will travel to New York soon and meet up with major record labels. Managed by Tom Gates, the singer will be releasing a four-song EP. She says the songs are already written and plans to record within the next two weeks.
The lyrics of her song “Jars of Hearts”:
Jars of Hearts
No I can’t take one more step towards you
Cause all that’s waiting is regret
And don’t you know I’m not your ghost anymore
You lost the love I loved the most
I learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time
And who do you think you are
Running around leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You’re gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don’t come back for me
Who do you think you are
I hear you’re asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found
But I have grown too strong
To ever fall back in your arms
I learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time
And who do you think you are
Running around leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You’re gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don’t come back for me
Who do you think you are
And it took so long just to feel alright
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes
I wish I would have missed the first time that we kissed
Cause you broke all your promises
And now you’re back
You don’t get to get me back
And who do you think you are
Running around leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You’re gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
Don’t come back for me
Don’t come back at all
And who do you think you are
Running around leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You’re gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
Don’t come back for me
Don’t come back at all
Who do you think you are
Who do you think you are
Who do you think you are
Recently,international award-winning actress Lee Sinje and her acclaimed film director and producer husband, Oxide Pang, were in Malaysia to share their unique and meaningful honeymoon spent at a World Vision Area Development Programme at Bohol, the Philippines.
The couple was most touched and inspired by their experience living with two local families and experiencing the challenges that the children and adults face daily to survive. Sinjie recorded her experience in her journal – Love Beyond Self.
I have reproduced her journal below:
Lee Sinje’s World Vision Visit to Bohol, Philippines
1 June, 5:05 pm
The child gazes at this stranger in front of her.
She has strands of blondish hair and a petite frame hidden under loose clothing. Her tiny hands rest on her lap as she sits cross-legged on the floor.
Im six, says the child. When her parents and 7-year-old brother go to the dump site close to their home to collect garbage, she cooks and takes care of her four younger siblings.
She often feels hungry as she only gets two meals a day.
I hand the child some chocolate biscuits and she eats all of them immediately.
Tears swell in my eyes but I am determined to refrain from crying in front of her.
I am reminded of my mothers family who was also very poor.
My grandmother had to carry two big baskets of sarong to sell at a hilltop, and every trip would last an entire week before she returned.
My then 7-year-old auntie has to wake up early every morning to cook, wash and take care of her five siblings.
If we were hungry at night, we would mix the burnt rice in the pot with sugar water and drink it, said my mother.
Once, my mother nearly died because my grandmother simply could not afford to take her to the doctor.
But fuelled by her optimism and strong will, my grandmother single-handedly raised all her six children.
I can still remember the times when she took me to the temple to offer alms to the monks or visit poverty-stricken families living at the hilltop. Her selfless acts of love helped her to raise and protect her family.
She is the source of my compassion for the needy today. Through her, I learn how to love the people around me, and I have seen how a selfless act of love can light up ones life and even the world.
This is my fourth World Vision visit, and its a first for my husband. We are in Philippines, a country comprising more than 7,000 islands, with a population of over 90 million. Forty-one percent of the population lives below the poverty line, earning less than US$2 a day. This means that there are more than 40 million people who suffer from hunger every day.
The suns radiant ray shines through the crystal-clear sea water creating a breathtaking view of the sparkling coastline.
The leaves rustle as we take each step.
Finally, we arrive at an organic farm developed by World Vision in collaboration with the local community. We put a handful of earthworms into the organic fertilizer with our bare hands and join the farmers in harvesting at the organic rice fields with our sickles. The setting sun slowly lights up the youthful smiles on the farmers faces.
We decide to spend the night at a villagers house, showering with the cold water that was carried from far away, eating the chicken the family had raise in their backyard, and sleeping in beds covered by green mosquito nets. In the dark, I can see the moonlight streaming through the wooden plank walls.
The living condition of the villagers has greatly improved with the support from World Vision. No longer are they living without electricity and water; they have started growing organic plants to increase their income and, at the same time, protect the environment; some of their children are World Vision sponsored children and they enjoy going to school.
I am overwhelmed by the kindness and passion of the villagers. Their homes may be simple and shabby, they may not be dressed in fine clothing, but they have the ability to impart the purest kind of love that touches the bottom of my heart.
On the other hand, our lives are built around concrete homes in dazzling cities and we are pampered by so much luxury. Yet, our hearts have grown distant from each other.
We own everything. We own the whole world. But the truth is, what do we really possess?
It is the second last day of our trip. We are at a dump site located in a suburb on Bohol Island.
The smell of rubbish which has been accumulated over the last 20 years is utterly nauseating. A group of children are playing in an abandoned dump truck. This rubbish dump is the main source of income for the community here. The adults and children wait for the dump trucks to arrive every day. Once the rubbish is unloaded from the trucks, they will proceed to scavenge for things that they can sell.
Afterwards, we visit a poor family who makes a living by scavenging rubbish.
We follow a trail in the bushes and arrive at a shabby wooden house. It is built out of branches and boards. There is only one room.
A one year-old boy is standing in front of the house with his feet soiled with faeces. His sister, who is only six years old, immediately takes him into the house and washes his feet as soon as she spots us approaching. The boys other brother and sister, aged 3 and 4, are sitting by the door. Their parents and their 7-year-old brother are at the dump site collecting rubbish. The 6-year-old sister is left to look after her three younger siblings.
I walk up to the house and sit next to the older sister. I hand out some chocolate cookies to all of them; the older sister instantly gobbles up the cookies, then she crouches and stares at the cookies left in my hand. I give her the whole packet. She takes it and eats the cookies quietly.
The children are hungry. The girl tells me she cooks them food and takes care of them every day. They only get to eat twice a day and they get hungry very often. When the children speak, their faces dont display any expression there is no sadness, no joy, no anger just a faint response.
Have you ever experienced hunger? One hour, two hours Can you imagine what it feels like to be constantly hungry every single day?
Their bodies are so thin and small but what clear, beautiful eyes and pure hearts they have! They have the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen and they speak from their heart. They should grow up being surrounded by the light of love. But here, these children endure immense suffering and hunger. They have been robbed them of their childlike nature. Every day just seems hopeless.
My heart feels as though it is being pierced with a thousand needles. I try not to cry in front of them. I remember how I prayed for hope and miracles during those sleepless nights when I was a child, and now, I am once again reminded of my childhood fears and insecurities when I look at her; I promise to love this child with all my heart.
My grandmother, my mother and my daughter have nourished my life with their love. Children are all the same they are little angels that need to be loved and protected.?When I held the child, I felt strongly about how love can be extended to others. I now understand that much joy comes from giving.
You probably never knew that with a mere RM50 a month, you can change the future of these children. You probably never realised that your heart can be so close to a child who lives hundreds of miles away from you. You probably never discovered that you have the power within you to give hope to others.
Please join me in sponsoring a child through World Vision. Together, we can create a world filled with love and abundant life.
Written by Lee Sinje, World Vision Child Sponsor
The video below by Oxide Pang is a record of their experience. Please watch the video to catch a glimpse of what it’s like for those whose lives are a constant challenge. It shows life in its raw reality, not make believe.
