I'm probably the worst blogger on this site...2 blogging posts in 14 months on this site.  If I do the quick math on that one, it comes out to 1 post every, errr never mind.  So, I'm trying to do a retrospect with just photos. I'm a more avid photographer than blogger and I figure I can crowdsource this blog if you guys help by submitting captions.  Sorry if its a bad photo of you-- tried to discriminate equally :-)
Oh, forgot to mention, my youngest brother came to shanghai to visit.  Here are a couple pictures of us together.

It took me years before I could  train myself to jump into a cold lake or take a cold shower. There's something about the chill hitting me that destroys concentration. My body overreacts. Instantly I would think that I was headed towards hypothermia. 

When I lived in East Africa, the mornings in the highlands were chilly, and there was never hot water. For months, I tried mental tricks.  Pictured myself jumping into a cool refreshing mountain stream on a hot summer day.  Played mental games.  Told myself that the water was hot. Tried yelling when I jumped under the shower. But none of that worked.  I couldn't committ to the blast of cold water. Finally, I found a solution.  I focused on the core of my body, I know it is a constant 98.6 degrees F.  I know that whatever the temperature of the water hitting my body, its only on the surface.  What's important is not the surface, but the core.        

I have been thinking about that today.  Work, relationships, family, have been pulling me in different directions.  I become reactive, and as I become reactive, I find myself becoming disappointed in failing to achieve something that probably wasn't important in the first place.
But I find that if I pull myself back to a simple and constant core of who I am ,the feelings of disappointment go away.  I find that I can commit to a course of action without being pulled away. Milan Kundera writes that history doesn't repeat itself, but in ways, I'm finding that as I get older, many themes do repeat throughout life.  So today, I'm focusing on the core of who I am, not on the surface.

Because my work is primarily concerned with the intersection of media and technology, I am forced (actually I quite enjoy) to think a lot about how artistic works are monetized in a digitalized world.  While the music industry as a whole has been grasping for a new business model worldwide, there are a lot of people who are thinking about the opportunities inherent in the digital economy.  Kevin Kelly is one such author, and I just wanted to share some of his thoughts with friends on AnD!

"Other than aim for a blockbuster hit, what can an artist do to [make a living from his/her work]

One solution is to find 1,000 True Fans. While some artists have discovered this path without calling it that, I think it is worth trying to formalize. The gist of 1,000 True Fans can be stated simply:

A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.

Assume conservatively that your True Fans will each spend one day's wages per year in support of what you do. That "one-day-wage" is an average, because of course your truest fans will spend a lot more than that.  Let's peg that per diem each True Fan spends at $100 per year. If you have 1,000 fans that sums up to $100,000 per year, which minus some modest expenses, is a living for most folks.

One thousand is a feasible number. You could count to 1,000. If you added one fan a day, it would take only three years. True Fanship is doable. Pleasing a True Fan is pleasurable, and invigorating. It rewards the artist to remain true, to focus on the unique aspects of their work, the qualities that True Fans appreciate.

The key challenge is that you have to maintain direct contact with your 1,000 True Fans. They are giving you their support directly. Maybe they come to your house concerts, or they are buying your DVDs from your website, or they order your prints from Pictopia. As much as possible you retain the full amount of their support. You also benefit from the direct feedback and love. "

See the rest of his post here:
http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/03/1000_true_fans.php