Lecture, Leaving Chengdu, Hong Kong

The last lecture was Thursday night. It was on Tibetan Painting Styles. There were 60 + students and teachers. It seemed to go quite well with many questions at the end. There definitely needs to be a system developed for teaching Tibetan styles. There isn't anything right now that is suitable and useful.

I never like to leave Chengdu. It is a city that is comfortable for me. However, I was up at five and to the airport by seven. The flight was delayed an hour but that didn' t prevent me from getting to Hong Kong with plenty of time to catch my next flight. I had a comfortable exit row seat and a perfectly adequate breakfast on the flight. Dragon Air is not as good as Cathay but they try. Because of that extra marks are awarded.

Fortunately for the HK to JFK portion of the trip I won't be traveling in the cattle car. This will allow me to nap as well as get a little work done prior to landing. The ipad is very useful for writing without the cumbersome and large folding laptop. I am now a firm believer in ipad, or similar, technology. It made me more productive and more adaptable to changing work situations and spaces while in Chengdu. It also allows me to carry a virtual Tibetan and English library with me where ever I go.

iPad Purchase

Well it is coming on to nearly four months since I bought an IPad. It has taken a lot of getting used to because it is not very intuitive in so many ways. So far it is well worth while because I use it as a Tibetn text reader and have it loaded with all the most important collections of texts that I use frequently. It is also filled with thousands of images from collections that I am working on. It is certainly the technology I have been waiting for for a number of years. I certainly recommend it for all those people that need quick access to large collections of Tibetan texts and images. What is certain is that in the near future the features and large memory that is found on the iPad will be available on a number of other technology brands at a half or a third the price of the iPad. So far it has been my second most useful technology purchase after I upgraded to a Blackberry from a standard cellular phone.

Chengdu in November

The weather in Chengdu in November should be around 15 or 16 degrees during the day. That means Celsius of course. I hope to be able to complete the survey of one large museum collection and also spend time with at least one other collection. The museum collection was partially surveyed last year but not completed. The wonderful thing about Chengdu aside from the mild climate and great food is that there is always more art to see. As everyone knows, Blogger isn't accessible in China. I will be using the alternate Blog site for occasional updates on activities: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Jeff-on-the-Road/page-1.html

Mild Earthquake in New York

Yes, I felt the earthquake up on the 9th floor of the office building where I work in midtown Manhattan. Once I noticed it the duration seemed to only be for maybe a few seconds and then it came back and lasted 7 to 10 seconds. It was the gentle swaying - like rocking a baby - that I noticed.

Pema Rinzin at the Joshua Liner Gallery

Summer Group Exhibition 2011, from August 4 to August 27, 2011.

Pema Rinzin is once again at the Joshua Liner Gallery for the Summer Group Exhibition. He is only showing a single large painting from the 'Water Series' he began several years ago - the third and last painting in the set. To really experience the gold work in the composition you really have to bend or kneel down below the painting and look up. Only from this angle does the gold become electric and magnify the vitality and feel of the painting. The work is stunning and the enormous number of hours put into the creation of the work really pay off when viewed in just the right way to see all the detail and layers of the textures and colours. Don't be afraid to get close up or to get down on one knee and look up.

Back to the Regular Old Blog

Now that I have arrived in Hong Kong I can resume the regular Google blog for occasional news updates. The China Travel Blog will be put on hold until the next trip.

Hong Kong Airport - Heading to Chengdu

I have a few hours to wait for my flight to Chengdu so I might as well just relax. My first choice was the 'Cabin' Cathay Business Class lounge but it was very full because they are renovating the 'Wing' lounge. I moved over to the Dragonair which is a lot quieter and less humid. If I get bored here then I can move to the Quantus lounge which I have never been in.

The flight from New York was as expected except they bumped me to Business. You know I have a love hate relationship with Business Class because the coffin seats are a little short. I did catch up on movies and the food was good. The fifteen or so hours just fly by.

Well, as the five of you who read this blog know - Blogger doesn't work in China. Therefore, after today I will be using the Travelblog: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Jeff-on-the-Road/page-1.html

I arrive in Chengdu at about 11:00 tonight and have a friend picking me up at the airport. The weekend is free and I don't have to be at the Sichuan University until 10:00 Monday morning. The jetlag will not be over by then but will definitely have lessened. I don't need to do very much prep work for the first few classes. The detailed outline was all prepared in New York and translated into Chinese. All further outlines will be based on that original model along with input from the students.