With the exception of things for the body (meds, treats, cute shoes for walking, aspirins, vitamins, make up and the like) everything is now on my small iPhone. I’ve got apps for working out, synching, calendars, itineraries, travel clock (ha ha), notes, phone numbers, digi recorder and music, if a training.

Amazing. To be in business today one MUST have a smart phone and a bunch of cool apps. Oh while on the road one of my fun things to do is play words with friends with guess who…yep my daughter. And next time, this list will be on my phone and not on a piece of paper.

Back to Mr. Talley, I’ve read his articles since forever and will always read what he writes until he gets tired of writing. Witty, knowledgeable, and warm. One day, let’s do lunch Mr. Talley. Folks, check out his interview on The Charlie Rose Show 5/22/2003 or goggle him. Enjoy one of the great fashion influencers of our time.

Perhaps the poverty of some of the people is what you remember most thanks to the media.

The Haiti I knew and loved was vibrant, colorful, musical, beautiful artwork, historical. Do you know the book The Three Musketeers? Alexander Dumas was Haitian. There is so much more to learn about this nation. Here is a TED.COM video of Edwidge Denticat.  She opens with history and then moves to her evocative stories.

In the midst of an earlier crisis, Haitian author Edwidge Danticat reminds us of the contributions of Haiti’s vibrant culture and people. This reading offers a timely message for today — as the nation struggles in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Edwidge Danticat immigrated to the United States at 12, publishing her first short story in a youth magazine only two years later. Spending her teenage years in a Haitian neighborhood in Brooklyn, Danticat was able to capture the isolation and memories of her experience with authentic eloquence in her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory, which was selected for Oprah’s Book Club.
Danticat has continued to share the stories of her past in the novels Krik? Krak!, The Farming of Bones, The Dew Breaker, and Brother, I’m Dying. She has taught creative writing at New York University and the University of Miami, and is a recipient of the prestigious MacArthur “Genius Grant.”

“We all have our traditions, which have both positive and negative repercussions. It all depends on how we integrate them in our lives and whether they serve us or hold us back.”

Edwidge Danticat

As one of the pre-eminent gospel choirs in the world, the Harlem Gospel Choir has performed for Nelson Mandela, the Pope, Paul McCarthy, U2, and Diana Ross …just to name a few! Sharing their message of love, peace, and harmony with thousands of people, the cultural ambassadors create a better understanding of the African-American culture and the inspirational music called Gospel as it relates to the Black Church. The Choir includes the finest singers and musicians from Harlem’s Black churches who perform songs of inspiration that touch the depths of the soul and raise to angelic heights.

To see a video of one of their many sold out concerts click here. To attend their concert in Phoenix call 623-935-6384 for tickets (VIP price includes admission and artist’s reception) or go online to www.westvalleyarts.org

The Garifuna (pronounced ga-RI-foo-nah) are descendants of West African slaves who were shipwrecked in 1635 off the coast of what is now the island of St. Vincent and intermarried with local Arawak and Carib people. Garifuna villages arose on the coasts of Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Belize. There are now an estimated 250,000 Garifuna people worldwide, a minority culture under pressure from assimilation and coastal development.

“I decided to use music as a medium for cultural preservation,” Mr. Palacio said in an interview with NPR last year. “At least we’d be able to use the language in the songs and keep them alive.”

The prime minister of Belize gave Mr. Palacio the Order of Meritorious Service in September 2007, and in November, Mr. Palacio was named a Unesco Artist for Peace. “I hope that our efforts will not only preserve Garifuna culture but also re-energize a generation,” he told NPR.

Background on Taiwan: “Taiwan is located between the Philippines and Japan, 100 miles off the coast of China. It is roughly the size of the Netherlands and the state of West Virginia, USA. A number of smaller, nearby islands have had historic association with Taiwan, including the Pescadores, Green Island, Orchid Island, and Shiao LiuChiu.

About 15% of Taiwan’s residents are refugees from the mainland who came over with the KMT in 1945-1949 and their Taiwanborn descendants. The rest of the population are called ‘native Taiwanese’, who are the descendants of the settlers who arrived 350 or more years ago who intermarried with the Malay-Polynesian indigenous population. About 70% are ‘Minnan’ and speak the ‘Hoklo’ language. Another 12-15% are descended from Hakka immigrants and speak the ‘Hakka’ language. Approximately 1.8 percent of the people are Indigenous people of Malay-Polynesian descent; there are approximately ten tribes with distinct languages and cultures.

Throughout 400 years of history, Taiwan has been occupied by the Dutch, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese. Although Chinese culture has exerted a considerable influence on local traditions, Japanese and Western culture have as well. There are also some uniquely Taiwanese aspects of local culture, such as opera, folk music, literature and film.”

Some of the business people don’t have the educational background they wish they had, though they would never let you know it. Some women are still dealing with the conditioning that they are “less than” because boys were deemed more valuable. (This too could be said for Anywhere, USA/World. ) So get studying, get packing, and get busy getting ready for educational and other super-opportunities with a superpower.

I met this women shopping in the Huge mall in Shenzhen. She is a master at knowing which tea is best for what reason. She learned this from her parents and served us tea in her shop. By the way, the Shenzhen shopping mall was bursting with shops selling “Gucci” and other luxury purses, wallets, etc., clothing, jewelry (check out the jade), home furnishings, and more all at exceptionally low prices. It was a fun place for me to practice buy-ology.

There is also a photo of the view from windows of InVision, a re-organized company I am assisting in getting off the ground in Asia.They have a full range of cutting edge business seminars, as well as personal and family transformational trainings all led by world class master facilitators/trainers/educators.

Their core team’s photo is below and that’s me in the center, with the black slacks on. (More on InVision in a future post.)

This is Shen Zhen, an economic center of China with a few million people. We arrived by bus. My hosts and I had a stress free trip crossing the HK-China border and customs. They accompanied me from Hong Kong and made it so for me and I am appreciative. I am looking forward to delivering my training. I’ve been told that the participants will be mainly business men and women which makes sense given the locale. I leave tonight for the retreat center. I didn’t bring my laptop and there may not be a business office so you won’t be seeing any more blog entries from me until…

The China that I’ve seen is bustling, about the business of business. Husbands and wives often live in separate locations with their parents and maids taking care of their children. They see their children on a weekly/monthly basis. Very different from what I’ve been used to. Getting the guilts because of the work hours may be a cause for some frustration but not the parent-noia I experienced in the States. HK is crowded, fast paced on the streets with a lot of people..from who knows where. I was in the business office of the Metropole Hotel where I stayed last night and saw a man of African descent. I thought, I wonder where he’s from? “On cue” he began speaking on his computer’s Skype and I heard the loveliest cockney accent you can imagine.

The Chinese people I’ve met have a Chinese name and an English name. I was told that the English name can be given at birth along with the Chinese name, given by the person to her/himself when older, or be a translation of the Chinese name. I thought that the English name might be adopted for business reasons but there seems to be more to it than that.

In a moment, I’ll be going shopping. And that excursion will be my first time to check out the buy-ology since either my first trip to Taiwan or this one. Time for some fun before an intense and dedicated opportunity to be of
service with my skills.