Tax Return -- IRS rate for converting CNY to USD

It's tax time again, and this time I did not just guess at the official currency exchange rate when trying to figure out how much I'd earned in China, and how much taxes I'd paid.  I Googled--and found that the IRS has a tax table for the major currencies of the world, going back for several years.

And the IRS' figure worked to my advantage--much better than what I would have guessed the rate would have been.  Though they say that if you were paid throughout the year in the foreign currency, they'll give you a bit of leeway if you do the rate yourself.

Anyway--if you want to know the official internal revenue service currency exchange rate for your tax return, try this link for IRS Yearly Average Currency Exchange Rates!

By the way, whenever I seek IRS info, I get hundreds of links that are not IRS--and they can be quite tricky.  I've found, after 24 years in China, that it is safest to go direct to the IRS -- or some firm that is very reputable, such as H&R Block.  Whenever I've been really stuck, I've just phoned (or Skyped) IRS, and found them to be very helpful and patient.  The last one I spoke to told me that frankly, he did not know, but he searched while he had me online--a full 20 minutes, and was extremely helpful.  It was a good reminder for me that, while I might hate the idea of paying taxes, the people that work there are people!

And as a Chinese friend here said to me, the great thing about paying income tax is that you have an income to tax.

With today's economy as it is (30% unemployment in our hometown of Reedley, California), that is certainly the truth.

Enjoy Amoy!


Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Norton Identify Safe Auto Fill in Problem Solved

I rely heavily on Norton Internet Security's automatic fill in because, living in China, I do everything online.  But when I upgrade to 2012 from 2011, the Identity Safe automatic fill in quit working.  I searched the internet, read numerous official and unofficial solutions--including the one about updating Norton internet security several times, rebooting each time. Nothing worked.

But it works now and the solution came to me courtesy of a Firefox reminder.  Somehow, I had disabled the Norton Add-on and toolbar on Firefox.  I enabled it, closed and reopened Firefox, and it works like a charm.  So if you face this problem too--try the toolbar and add-ons.

Enjoy Amoy!

Dr. Bill

Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

David Brainard Woodward

In Loving Memory         Sept.  2011

Dr. David and Betty Woodward

Happy Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival!  We’ve much news this month, but we will save it for later because we'd like to celebrate the life of Dr. David Woodward (1918-2011), who married Sue and I in 1981 in Taiwan.  Even today, 30 years wlater, he continues to influence our lives, and many others, especially through one of those strange  ‘coincidences’ that seem to pop up in our lives…

Coincidences or Father’s Hand?  In early 2011, two Chinese reporters interviewed me  about the amazing “coincidences” that have helped me pull together the history of the Amoy Mission (I was able to show them emails and other materials to document them).

Scientists have long tried to explain these uncanny coincidences.  In the 1920s, Carl Jung dubbed it synchronicity.  Even Einstein spoke of how his insights came not from logic but from unexplained inspiration.  Some call it the Force (rather like Star Wars!).But I see it as our Father’s hand.  He weaves the tapestry of our lives so deftly and gently that we usually go about our lives completely unaware of just how much we take for granted.  But sometimes we  entangle ourselves so much that He reaches in to straighten out a knot or two—such as he did right after our honeymoon, and later did with a gift from Dr. Woodward...

The Magic Zheng While in Taiwan for our wedding,  Sue bought a Chinese zheng for my wedding present.  I had wanted one for years, and was delighted—and then I left it on a public bus in San Francisco while transferring to another airport. I was devastated, and halfheartedly threw up a hopeless prayer—more of a complaint than a plea for help, blaming my Father for allowing his child to be so careless.  I had zero hope of ever seeing the zheng again because neither the instrument nor the case had any ID.   It was not, I felt, an auspicious way to start married life—losing my wedding present before I even got it home.

A full month later, back in Los Angeles at grad school, I was called out of class to the office—and on the dean’s desk was my zheng—no note, no explanation!  The bus company must have spent a month of detective work tracking down the owner of an instrument with no ID on it or in it.  For me, it was a special delivery straight from heaven. 

I thanked our Father for the returned zheng—and apologized both for losing it and for blaming Him for my loss, because the incident drove home two valuable lessons.  One—we, not our Father, are responsible to steward what He entrusts to us.  But two, and more encouraging to me, our Father really is there to help his children.  And He continues to drive home this lesson even today in ways so amazing that some have made it into the Chinese newspapers!   But one of my greatest lessons came through the book “Detour from Tibet,” which Dr. Woodward gave to us at our wedding....

Dr. Woodward, a grad of Princeton and Fuller T.S. (my alma mater), set off on horseback in 1945 for Tibet, and then served for decades with Betty in India, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where Sue knew the Woodwards while she was growing up (Sue’s parents were in Taiwan 30 years with TEAM, and she was born and raised there).

Marital Counseling—or Cautioning?  Sue was thrilled that Dr. Woodward agreed to marry us at Taipei’s Christ Chapel, but I was nervous when he said he had to first counsel me.  My ears were still burning from the marital counseling of Chuck Saunders, my friend from Taiwan days.   (Read more about the Saunders at:  www.amoymagic.com/AM_Saunders.htm )

Chuck Saunders

Don’t Do It, Willy! I met Sue at Chuck and Donna’s house in Pasadena on Easter Sunday, 1981, and after watching our love blossom, Chuck took me to a Mexican lunch and dispensed these words of wisdom:  “Don’t do it, Willy!” (Only Chuck,  and Art Velasquez, ever called me Willy—precisely because they knew I hated Willy).

Chuck was concerned not for me but for Sue.  He knew me from Air Force days in Taiwan, and my time as a special agent in the U.S. and the Middle East, and he was worried Sue would not be able to handle the kind of life I was likely to live in mainland China.  I of course greatly respected Chuck and his advice. He and Donna influenced me on everything from attending Fuller T.S. to going into business, and then leaving business to go to China.  But when it came to Susan Marie, I was deaf!  Happily for us, once they realized we were determined to marry, they embraced us like 2^nd parents, and Chuck was the first to visit and encourage us in China right after we arrived in 1988.

Marriage Counseling—the Sequel  After Chuck’s insights on marriage, I certainly did not want a second round of marital counseling from Dr. Woodward.  But Dr. Woodward did not dissuade me, perhaps because the wedding was only 4 days away (and Sue’s dad had my plane tickets and wouldn’t let me leave the island without his daughter in tow).  But Dr. Woodward did advise me on how to keep the wife happy, and given that he was married to Betty for 66 years, I figured he must know what he was talking about, and I listened!

The Magic Book As we prepared for the wedding, Dr. Woodward delighted us with tall but true tales of entering Tibet on horseback, and he gave us a signed copy of his book “Detour from Tibet.”  I treasured that book, which I read several times, and was one of the few books I took to China. So imagine my frustration when Sue loaned it to a Chinese student, who loaned it to another student, who lost it.  I did not say much about it, but inwardly I stewed at losing yet another wedding present. And unlike the zither, I never saw that book again, but our Father used it to teach us a great lesson!

A year after losing my treasured book, we heard that some of our university’s Chinese students had volunteered to work in Tibet so they could also share their new Life there (Chinese tentmakers).  And a year after that news, we had one of those “coincidences” that even today gives me goosebumps to think about.

In 1994, Sue, the boys and I drove 40,000 km. for 3 months around China, up the coast, through the Gobi Desert, to Tibet and back.  I was exhausted by the time we reached Lhasa,(Tibet) but the second day both body and spirit were charged when a young Chinese said to us, “Are you Bill Brown?  I’m a believer from Xiamen Univ. who volunteered to serve in Tibet.  I was moved to do that because of your book, “Detour from Tibet!”

A year lesson, Dr. Woodward was delighted to hear that he was still touching the hearts of Tibetans half a century after he left the place.  And happily for me, he gave us another signed copy of his book.  I do hope to hold on to this copy, but I also pray that I’ll never again put books, or anything else, above people.

On August 23, 2011, Dr. Woodward ended his brief 93 year sojourn on this planet. And now, for the first time, he can view the magnificent tapestry of life—not from the knotty and tangled backside but from the beautiful perspective of the Master Weaver, for whom even the smallest thread has both beauty and purpose.

Ping'an, Dr. David Woodward!

Bill Brown
Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

For Unto Us a Charlie's Born

Early this morning I got word that Johanna and Chaz Bulbuk, grandson of John Bulbuk and  Chuck & Donna Saunders, (whom I knew while I was in the Air Force in Taiwan, and who introduced Sue and I in Pasadena), finally had baby Charlie.  About time!  We thought he was coming ten days ago.   Below is a poem to celebrate...
(Click pics of Charlie for larger images!)

For Unto us a Charlie's Born

                    September 2, 2011

Upon this bright and cheery morn,

an angel on a Harley,

Said, "To us all a child is born

And he shall be called Charlie."

And how this child has come to be,

Is a tale that must be told,

So here's the story straight from me,

If I may be so bold.

Old Eden had its endless fruits,

Israelis had their manna,

David had his bread and wine,

And Chaz? He has Johanna!

And from that marriage made above,

And the union of their hearts,

We see the fruit of faith and love,

As today a Journey starts.

We waited long for the little guy,

And Johanna grew yet rounder.

The doctor checked, and heaved a sigh,

"He's probably a 20 pounder!"

But at long last, the doctor saw

a small head full of hair.

That child looked round in awe and said,

"I've been long enough in there."

8 pounds and 7 ounces,

The kid was born half grown,

And like a lion pounces,

Charlie struck out on his own.

20 inches full of life,

And hungry from the get-go.

He headed straight for mom's sweet breast,

And still he hasn't let go.

Now some may say that we've evolved,

That life is chance or luck,

But we know that our life's a gift,

Especially when a Bulbuk!

So here's to Charlie, parents too,

And for you three I pray,

That every day our Lord renew

That love we see today.

With love &

thanksgiving,

 

Uncle Bill

Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com
Click Here to learn more about Chuck and Donna Saunders of the Asia Evangelical Mission

Davey Crockett in China?

Well... Davey Crockett didn't make it to China--but his descendant did!  I've long regretted knowing so little about my ancestry.  I know Chinese who can trace their roots back over 35 generations, but until 5 years ago, I did not know my own roots further than two generations.  So imagine my surprise to learn I'm descended from the man who once owned most of Washington D.C. before it was the capital, and a 16th century Jewish immigrant, a man from Glasgow Scotland (1500s), Asa Candler (who started Coca-Cola, from which I've inherited nothing!)...and Davey Crockett! (this by his second wife).

So I humbly represent Davey Crockett in China.  But why not?  I've accomplished what even Christopher Columbus failed to achieve.  When he set sail, he was seeking not a New World but a short cut to an ancient one--to India and China, to be exact.  And his destination in China was the famous port of Quanzhou, known by the Arabs as Zaiton (source of our word "satin"), and said to be a haven for Sinbad himself.  Quanzhou is only 60 km. north of Xiamen.  Columbus never made it to Quanzhou--but I've been there dozens of times, and even written a book about it.  Eat your heart out, Chris!

Below is an email just forwarded to me by a fellow writing about our mutual descent from Davey Crockett (I was born William Neil Edmunson, by the way).

Yes I am aware of our connection of to Davey Crockett.  His second wife was Elizabeth Patton of Buncombe County, NC.  She was the sister to Margaret Patton who is my great-great-great grandmother, so I am the 3rd great grandnephew of Elizabeth and kin to Davey by their marriage. There are Crocketts all over Gibson County and a replica of his cabin (with some of the original timbers) is located just outside Rutherford. Davey's mother Rebecca Hawkins Crockett is buried there. Davey was a Colonel and Commander of the Lawrence County Malitia , a Justice of the Peace and a member of the Tennessee State Legislature and successful businessman while in Lawrence County. He owned a Distillery, Grist Mill and Gun Powder Mill untill a flash flood destroyed them and forced Davey and Elizabeth into bankruptsey. They sold what they had left and moved to what became  Gibson County in West Tennessee where there was 1000 acres of land owned by Elizabeth's father, Robert Patton, who received it for service in the Revolutionary War. He devided this land into 200 acre lots to be divided it among his children. Davey was elected to US congress for 3 terms. When he lost his 4th bid for his congressional seat, he went to Texas and joined their fight for independance from Mexico. He was killed at the Alamo and his body burned by order of Santa Anna. In 1852 Elizabeth and some or the family moved to Texas to take up land awarded to Davey by the Republic of Texas. She and the families that went with her died and were buried there and relatives live there to this day. This and is on my web site on RootsWeb.

 

Virtus

Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Peter Pan in China?

Pastor Gabe Orea of our Xiamen International Fellowship, or XICF,  just sent me the link to an article about the newly opened Union Church on Gulangyu Islet, with before and after photos. The Union Church article is here: http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/news20453.html

 By the way, in the article it mentions I’d given the church hundreds of old photos, but calls me William Pan.  My Chinese name is Pan 潘 维廉 （often misspelled by Chinese as 潘威廉), so when they translate my name to English, it often comes out William Pan--but it could be worse.  A year ago a well-dressed business lady stopped me in Xiamen (former "Amoy") and said, “You’re Professor Pan, right?”  She thought a bit, then said, “Peter Pan?”

Well--close enough!  I just turned 55 but still feel 15 (Sue says 5!).




On a similar note... When Sue and I were married in Taipei, Taiwan in December, 1981, we booked a room at the YMCA and paid in advance just in case we missed our Hong Kong--Taipei flight.  Flights were indeed flighty back then (35 hours from L.A. to Taipei!).  Sure enough, we missed the flight, but the people at the Kowloon YMCA said they had no reservation for us.  We argued that we'd confirmed it and even paid for it, but it was no use. 

We set out to find another place to stay but it was late at night, and everything else was too expensive, so we returned to the YMCA about midnight, dejected.  The man behind the YMCA desk saw us sitting forlornly on a couch and said, "Oh, you're back.  I have a question.  Is William Brown the same as Bill Brown?"  And we got our room.
 
Enjoy Amoy!

Bill

Bill Brown
Xiamen University
www.amoymagic.com

Foreign Income but no W2 -- what to do on your 1040

Where do you put foreign income on the IRS Form 1040 when you file your tax return if you work overseas, as I do in China, and do not have a W2?   I just spent half an hour on the phone with a very patient and helpful IRS expert on foreign income--and learned that the income goes on the 1040 Form Line 7, just like U.S. wages and salaries--even if you do not have the W2 to attach.

This was a relief to have confirmed, because the past week I've been facing an issue with U.S. finances, where I was told by experts that I had to provide a W2 for foreign income on Line 7--even though they admitted W2s are only provided in the U.S.   But as the IRS man explained, wages and salaries are reported on Line 7, regardless of where they are earned, and if no W2, it goes there anyway (I had put it under "other income" a few years, which he said was clearly wrong--though thankfully they did not take me to task for it).

I know many others have had this problem, and hope this clears it up.  If still doubtful, refer to the Form 1040 Instructions, Page 19 (for 2010 at least), which explains it quite clearly.

Thanks to the IRS for explaining that (and, I have to add, I've phoned them several times from China to ask about tricky issues, and they've always been quite helpful).

Enjoy Amoy!

Bill

Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Healthx24.com Croatian Attack

Lost Face Book, Blogger, Croatian Attacks, etc.


Blogger is still blocked in China, as is Face Book (maybe China can start their own, called "Lost Face" Book) and Twitter.  Personally, I don't miss Facebook (or Lostface Book) or Twitter, but do miss the blog.

But I used a VPN to make a serious warning.  A friend's email address book was hijacked and messages sent to all friends with links to www.healthx24.com  DO NOT click this!  It is based in Croatia, and will open you up to who knows what (in face, not even who knows what yet).

Happy Mooncake Game, for those of you celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival in Xiamen (Amoy).  This is, by far, our liveliest time of the year, even more so than Chinese New Year, because of the unique "cake gambling game", which was supposedly invented (or at least perfected) by Koxinga almost 350 years ago to keep his homesick troops preoccupied.

Read about the Mooncake Gambling Game in my book Magic Xiamen (formerly Amoy Magic), or click here for a brief overview (scroll down the page though): 
http://www.amoymagic.com/custom.htm
Enjoy Amoy!

Bill


Just a quick note, folks!  

Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Manager Job Opening in Xiamen

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
I just received a note that a Xiamen firm seeks an expat (or Taiwan or Hong Kong resident) manager, age 30 to 40.
The link is at the bottom of this blog entry.
Note that the English requirements say "Kill and Experience Required." I think they meant to add an "S" in front of Kill (unless they're looking for a 007-type manager?).
Bill
(Job Responsibilities & Requirements)： JOB TITLE: QS/Tender Manager
REPORTING TO:City General Manager
LOCATION: Xiamen City

1.PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

a.Project Cost Estimate Preparation or Review
b.Preparation of Cost Ledger
c.Sourcing, Assessment, Prequalification / Screening of Contractors ＆ Suppliers
d.Preparation or Review of Bid Documents
e.Administration of Bidding / Tendering Process
f.Preparation or Review of Contract Documents
g.Regular Project Budget Monitoring / Preparation of Cash Flow Projections
h.Payment Evaluation / Recommendation
i.Change Order Evaluation
j.Preparation or Review of Final Accounting of Construction Project

2.KILL AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Knowledge: Quantity Surveying / Cost Estimation, Project Construction
Education: Engineering degree （Civil）
Skills:organizing / management skills, negotiation skills, written and oral language skills （English and/or Chinese）, computer literacy, construction contract writing / reviewing
Experience: Quantity Surveying / Contracts or Tender Management / Construction Management
E-mail Mr. Emerson Chan, HR Supervisor, at: zhifu.chen@dfre.com.cn

Tel:0592-5859591*206
0592-5826089
Fax:0592-5859589
Website:www.dfre.com.cn

	厦门顶峰房地产开发有限公

Click Here for Full Info

招聘期限： 2009-08-18 2009-09-07 16:14 招聘部门： 预算部 联 系 人： 陈先生(人事主管) 联系电话： (合则约见、谢绝来电) 通信地址： 厦门市厦禾路885号 厦门顶峰房地产开发有限公司(361004)(合则约见、非请勿访)

职位基本要求

学历要求： 本科以上 性别要求： 不限 职位性质： 全职 招聘对象： 七年工作经验以上 外语要求： 英语水平要求精通 年龄要求： 30岁至40岁 工作地点： 厦门市

Click Here for full Job info

www.amoymagic.com

Millennium Harbourview Hotel -- 5-Star Angels?

Bill Brown  ...   Xiamen University
Xiamen's Best Hotels

I've often said that the best hotel in Xiamen is the Millennium Harbourview Hotel Xiamen because of the great location, excellent cuisines (best Italian in town), and excellent service.  So today I was happy to come across this Yahoo review about the Millennium (the Millennium even found his lost luggage and helped him buy new clothes!). The review noted it had 5-star service and amenities.  It's ironic, because Xiamen websites list it as 4-star, but many of the so-called 5-star hotels in Xiamen have 4-star or even 3-star.  In my eyes, Millennium is the star.

Incredible Service!
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 06/29/09
This was my favorite stay on my business trips over this past month. The location was amazing, right in the downtown but within view of Gulangyu Island. When my luggage was lost by the airlines, the hotel's Concierge called the airlines continuously and got my luggage delivered straight to me. Meanwhile I had no clothes aside from what I was wearing, since they were all in my lost luggage, but a charming angel at Guest Relations walked with me to the nearby Trustmart and helped me buy a set of clothes.

The room was comfortable, all the standard 5 star amenities, and the breakfast was great. The hotel is priceless and I will be returning every time on my following visits. Thank you Millennium Harbourview for the amazing experience!!!
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-482571-xiamen_vacations-i

www.amoymagic.com

Xiamen Rent a Car

Bill Brown  ...    Xiamen University

It is now possible to rent a car in Xiamen, with a driver or to drive yourself--but caution is in order!

First, driving a car in China is totally unlike driving back home.  It is automotive warfare, survival of the fastest.  Don't believe me?  Read "Darwinian Driving--Survival of the Fastest."  While it is humorous, it is also 100% true (as even Chinese friends have admitted).

Still want to rent a car in Xiamen?  There are various websites, but as far as I can find, they are all in Chinese.  But if you can't read Chinese, you'll have problems anyway.  Many cities have signs full of Chinese writing warning against this or that on this street or in that area.  I've only had 3 tickets in my 30+ years of driving in the U.S., but I had 3 in China within 30 days of getting my license back in 1993. 

Still, if you're careful, you'll find that driving in China is not only survivable but even enjoyable (in China, who needs Nintendo or Wii or Play Station  if you have a car, and streets full of cars and pedestrians to dodge--or, on occasion, hit).  Driving really frees you up, and we've put 200,000 km. on our two cars, even driving 40,000 km. to Tibet and Back, in 1994 (through the Gobi Desert no less, in our 2-wheel drive Toy Ota).

Try this website for cars ranging from 250 Yuan to 1200 Yuan a day:
http://www.xm-lease.net/  

And do read about Darwinian Driving in China!

Also check out Tibet in 80 Days

Enjoy Amoy!

Dr. Bill

www.amoymagic.com

Free legal software to remove DRM from audio files

Bill Brown  ...  Xiamen University


I was frustrated to find that the album I bought online was DRM protected WMA files.  While the site had claimed they could be played on MP3 players, they could not.  They worked on my computer, but not on my iPod shuffle (a dinosaur-version, given to me by my sister years ago), or my Philips MP3 player.  Itunes would not play them because it said they were protected and could not be converted. 

I spent hours searching for ways to remove the DRM (after all, I did not illegally download these, but paid for them from a reputable site; I should be able to play them).  The internet is chock full of links to Free DRM removal software and DRM free software and every combination you can think of--all throwing in the word FREE to get you to click.  But almost everyone ended up charging $30 or $40 or more to convert more than 30 seconds or so.  But I found a FREE Solution!

First...if the files are DRM Free (no DRM protection), you can convert WMA to MP3 easily, quickly, and for free with a FREEWARE program (not a trial--really free), called Switch Audio Converter.  While they do urge you to pay for the upgraded version, their free WMA to MP3 conversion software works fine.  I just used it--and it works for both Windows and MAC.  (And, by the way, I receive no commission for referring you; I just hope you can avoid the hours of fruitless searching that I spend downloading, installing, and then uninstalling and deleting a dozen programs that claimed to be free but were not).

The next part-- removing DRM for free-- is trickier.  The only easy to use Freeware that I could find was AnalogWhole.  Actually, I'd think that removing DRM would be illegal, but Analog gets around this by playing the file on your computer and recording it as an unprotected copy.  This is real time, so it takes 30 minutes to convert a 30 minute audio file.  Slow--but it is 100% free DRM removal software.  The other disadvantage, though, is that as it records the file being played, it picks up ambient noise (taps on the computer, movement, etc.).  The background noise was distracting.  You have to adjust the microphones just right (it helps you do this), because too low and you can't hear the DRM free copy, but too high and you get distortion, and it picks up everything from computer noise to your intestines digesting the previous night's pizza.  Still...for free, who can complain.

The Best Solution for Converting DRM protected files?  Don't buy them in the first place, if you can possibly avoid it.  I understand the reasoning behind them, but it penalizes those of us who do buy legal copies, for our own personal Fair Use.  But if, like me last night, you pay good money for files that you can't play on your MP3 player, then the above is the only really free solution that I could find.

If you know of better free solutions to removing DRM protection, please share them.

In closing--I am assuming that anyone reading this is seeking a way to remove DRM encoding from audio or video files that were obtained legally, and are being used legally--not shared!

Enjoy Amoy!

Bill


www.amoymagic.com

Xiamen Olympic Museum

Bill Brown   ...  Xiamen niversity

The Xiamen Olympic Museum, the only one of its kind in China approved by both the Chinese Olympic Committee and the International Olympic committee, now has a nice English Web Site.

Visit the museum, and nearby, on the Island Ring Road, note the 99 slightly larger than life bronze statues of marathon runners.  The winner is, as happens every year, an African runner.  Last in place is a "runner" in a wheelchair, being pushed by a friend (a nice touch, as Xiamen has numerous programs to encourage physically challenged locals to get involved in sports, which is why the Fresno-based "Break the Barriers" program received record media attention when they performed in Xiamen). 

See "Break the Barriers Proves Anti-Gravity in Xiamen."

Also check out our beautiful 6km. (actually, 5.9 km). Xiamen Boardwalk.


www.amoymagic.com

World's Largest Organ Museum

Bill Brown


Hu Youyi, the Gulangyu-born piano collector who now resides in Australia and founded Gulangyu's Piano Museum (the largest in Asia, and the only one in China), has also built the world's largest organ museum on Gulangyu (no, it is not a museum for the world's largest organ, but the largest museum for organs; I just know someone would grab hold of that).

The museum has more than 100 organs,  including over 30 varieties of reed organs, accordions, pianicas and three large-scale pipe organs.

It is in the Bagua Lou (Eight Diagram Building--the prominent domed building that resembles a consulate). 


Xiamen University
www.amoymagic.com

Medical Prescriptions in Xiamen

Bill Brown       Xiamen University

30 July 2009, Ms. K.S. wrote:
HI there,

I am moving to Xiamen from New York City in a few weeks.  I take some prescribed medications. I am hoping you can tell me whether or not I will be able to get them in Xiamen as well.  I regularly take Adderall. Do you have this medicine there?  Is it easily available? Is it expensive? Who do I need to get a prescription from in China, a physician or psychiatrist?  Should I bring a letter from my doctor here?

I hope you can help! I am desperate to find out as it may affect my trip.

Thank you for your time.

All the best,

K,S,

My reply:  I think you need not worry, especially with the opening of the Chenggang Hospital (check our site's Xiamen Hospitals page).  Many prescription meds are available over the counter.  Those that aren't, you can get prescriptions at hospitals (we prefer Chenggang).  But meds such as sleeping meds are generally doled out only half a dozen pills at a time, meaning a trip once or twice a week to the hospital, which is a pain, so you might want to bring a supply of those.
        Enjoy Xiamen!
        Bill
www.amoymagic.com

Lose 100 Pounds in 6 Months Guaranteed!

Bill Brown   ...  Xiamen University

According to recent research, six foods will keep you so full and satisfied that, in theory, you would have negative weight in weeks.
   No less an authority than Liz Vaccariello, Editor-in-Chief, PREVENTION, wrote on Sat Jun 27, 2009: (I edit it down considerably):

   Eggs quell hunger.  Women on low-fat diets who ate 2 eggs for breakfast at least 5 days a week lost 65% more weight and averaged 83% greater reduction in waist size (substitute low-fat yogurt for eggs if you're vegan).

    Almonds: are full of healthy monounsaturated fatty acids. Studies "prove" that after six months, dieters who eat almonds lost 63% more weight, 50% more body fat, and shrunk waistlines 55% more than those on high carb diets (though careful--they're high calorie).

    Avocados: loaded with  healthy monounsaturated fats, vitamins and minerals, and satisfying.

    Apples: people who eat apples with every meal lose 40% more than those who do not (I guess it doesn't matter what you do or do not eat in addition to apples).

    Oatmeal: slows digestion, keeps you full for hours,and people who eat oatmeal for every breakfast and walk 15 to 20 minutes a day lose 10 pounds in 12 weeks.

     Peanut butter:  research proves dieters who eat it lose more weight than those who don't (but didn't say how much weight, or how much peanut butter to eat).

    Do the math!  Just eat eggs, almonds, avocados, apples, oatmeal and peanut butter, and in six months you'll weigh less than when you were born and you can be a fashion model in Shanghai, Paris, or Los Angeles' Hill Street.

www.amoymagic.com

4th of July in Xiamen --1921!

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University

Some folks from the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, and visitors from the U.S., had some sort of get together in Xiamen (former Amoy), a week before July 4th. That was the closest, perhaps, to having an "official" 4th of July celebration in Xiamen for over 60 years. But I have accounts from journals and diaries of pretty big July 4th celebrations in Xiamen dating back to the mid 1850s, and below is a photo of Americans in Amoy celebrating the U.S.' birthday in 1921. (I'm certainly glad we don't have to brave Xiamen summers in those kinds of clothes today).

By the way, while we're celebrating the 4th, let's give thanks to Xiamen, because no Xiamen, no U.S.A.! After all, it was Anxi tea (from Quanzhou) shipped from Xiamen by a Xiamen ship that was dumped overboard during the Boston Tea Party of 1773. So were it not for Xiamen, there would be no 4th of July, our lawyers would still be wearing powdered white wigs (like the guys in HK still wear), and we'd be eating our french fries with malt vinegar instead of ketchup. So.... thank you Xiamen!
Happy 4th!
Bill
Click the image for a larger view:

www.amoymagic.com

The Great Firewall

Bill Brown
Around April, 2009, the Great Firewall of China blocked many servers, including Blogger, which hosts my blogs--so I can no longer easily update them unless I use a Proxy, which is not secure. So...no more posts for awhile.
Oh well. Life is Off the Wall.... especially when it's behind the Great Firewall.

Xiamen University
www.amoymagic.com

How to Unanswer E-mails!

Bill Brown  ...  Xiamen University
Ever struggled about whether you should reply to that e-mail or letter, or wait a bit--or toss it?  In "The Wisdom of America," Lin Yutang quoted a delightful essay On Unanswering Letters, published back in 1928, long before people were deluged with daily letters, e-mail, and SPAM. 

Ironically, the fellow in the essay who wrote the unanswered letter was named "Bill."  Do you think that was a hint for me.  If so, jot me a line and I'll get back to you--about Thanksgiving or Christmas.

On Unanswering Letters,
by Christopher Morley, from Essays, 1928, J.B. Lippincott Company
(Quoted in The Wisdom of America, pp. 250-253) 

There are a great many people who really believe in answering letters the day they are received, just as there are people who go to the movies at nine o clock in the morning; but these people are stunted and queer.

It is a great mistake. Such crass and breathless promptness takes away a great deal of the pleasure of correspondence.

The psychological didoes involved in receiving letters and making up one s mind to answer them are very complex. If the tangled process could be clearly analyzed and its component involutions isolated for inspection we might reach a clearer comprehension of that curious bag of tricks, the efficient Masculine Mind.

Take Bill F., for instance, a man so delightful that even to contem plate his existence puts us in good humor and makes us think well of a world that can exhibit an individual equally comely in mind, body and estate. Every now and then we get a letter from Bill, and immediately we pass into a kind of trance, in which our mind rapidly enunciates the ideas, thoughts, surmises and contradictions that we would like to write to him in reply. We think what fun it would be to sit right down and churn the ink-well, spreading speculation and cynicism over a number of sheets of foolscap to be wafted Billward.

Sternly we repress the impulse for we know that the shock to Bill of getting so immediate a retort would surely unhinge the well-fitted panels of his intellect.

We add his letter to the large delta of unanswered mail on our desk, taking occasion to turn the mass over once or twice and run through it in a brisk, smiling mood, thinking of all the jolly letters we shall write some day.

After Bill's letter has lain on the pile for a fortnight or so it has been gently silted over by about twenty other pleasantly postponed manuscripts. Coming upon it by chance, we reflect that any specific problems raised by Bill in that manifesto will by. this time have settled themselves. And his random speculations upon household management and human destiny will probably have taken a new slant by now, so that to answer his letter in its own tune will not be congruent with his present fevers. We had better bide a wee until we really have some thing o circumstance to impart.

We wait a week.

By this time a certain sense of shame has begun to invade the privacy of our brain. We feel that to answer that letter now would be an indelicacy. Better to pretend that we never got it. By and bye Bill will write again and then we will answer promptly. We put the letter back in the middle of the heap and think what a fine chap Bill is. But he knows we love him, so it doesn t really matter whether we write or not.

Another week passes by, and no further communication from Bill. We wonder whether he does love us as much as we thought. Still we are too proud to write and ask.

A few days later a new thought strikes us. Perhaps Bill thinks we have died and he is annoyed because he wasn*t invited to the funeral, Ought we to wire him? No, because after all we are not dead, and even if he thinks we are, his subsequent relief at hearing the good news of our survival will outweigh his bitterness during the interval. One of these days we will write him a letter that will really express our heart, filled with all the grindings and gear-work of our mind, rich in affection and fallacy. But we had better let it ripen and mellow for a while. Letters, like wines, accumulate bright fumes and bubblings if kept under cork.

Presently we turn over that pile of letters again. We find in the lees of the heap two or three that have gone for six months and can safely be destroyed. Bill is still on our mind, but in a pleasant, dreamy kind of way* He does not ache or twinge us as he did a month ago. It is fine to have old friends like that and keep in touch with them. We wonder how he is and whether he has two children or three. Splendid old Bill!

By this time we have written Bill several letters in imagination and enjoyed doing so, but the matter of sending him an actual letter has begun to pall. The thought no longer has the savour and vivid sparkle it had once. When one feels like that it is unwise to write. Letters should be spontaneous outpourings: they should never be undertaken merely from a sense of duty. We know that Bill wouldn t want to get a letter that was dictated by a feeling of obligation.

Another fortnight or so elapsing, it occurs to us that we have entirely forgotten what Bill said to us in that letter. We take it out and con it over. Delightful fellow! It is full of his own felicitous kinks of whim, though some of it sounds a little old-fashioned by now- It seems a bit stale, has lost some of its freshness and surprise. Better not answer it just yet, for Christmas will soon be here and we shall have to write then anyway. We wonder, can Bill hold out until Christmas without a letter?

We have been rereading some of those imaginary letters to Bill that have been dancing in our head. They are full of all sorts of fine stuff. If Bill ever gets them he will know how we love him. To use O. Henry s immortal joke, we have days of Damon and Knights of Pythias writing those uninked letters to Bill A curious thought has come to us. Perhaps it would be better if we never saw Bill again. It is very difficult to talk to a man when you Eke him so much. It is much easier to write in the sweet fantastic strain. We are so inarticulate when face to face. If Bill comes to town, we will leave word that we have gone away. Good old Bill! He will always be a precious memory.

A few days later a sudden frenzy sweeps over us, and though we have many pressing matters on hand, we mobilize pen and paper and literary shock troops and prepare to hurl several battalions at BilL But, strangely enough, our utterance seems stilted and stiff. We have nothing to say. My dear Bill, we begin, it seems a long time since we heard from you. Why don t you write? We still love you, in spite of all your shortcomings.

That doesn t seem very cordial. We muse over the pen and nothing comes. Bursting with affection, we are unable to say a word.

Just then the phone rings. "Hello?"we say.

It is Bill, come to town unexpectedly.

"Good old fish!" we cry, ecstatic. "Meet you at the corner of Tenth and Chestnut in five minutes."

We tear up the unfinished letter. Bill will never know how much we love him. Perhaps it is just as well. It is very embarrassing to have your friends know how you feel about them. When we meet him we will be a little bit on our guard. It would not be well to be betrayed into any extravagance of cordiality.

And perhaps a not altogether false little story could be written about a man who never visited those most dear to him, because it hurt him so to say good-bye when he had to leave.

www.amoymagic.com

The Mother of Mother's Day

Bill Brown  ...  Xiamen University
 Happy Mother's Day from Amoy!
  I wrote this article for Common Talk in 2006.

When Anna May Jarvis's mother died on the second Sunday of May 1906, Anna May wished she had heeded the warning to, “Lavish your flowers on the living, not the dead.” Driven by remorse, the gentle, easy going Anna May became obsessed with the desire to see her mother and motherhood honored throughout the world.

After a year’s planning, the first Mother's Day was celebrated on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, May 10, 1908, at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, where Anna’s mother had taught Sunday School. A year later, Philadelphia became the first city to proclaim an official Mother’s Day. Three years later, in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed Public Resolution 25, establishing the second Sunday of each May as Mother's Day. And then, to everyone’s surprise, Anna May retired and spent the remaining 34 years of her life, and her fortune of over 100,000 dollars, fighting against Mother’s Day!

The problem was that from day one, Mother’s Day had become a great commercial extravaganza to boost the incomes of card and candy makers, and a salve to soothe the consciences of those who each May made mother a “queen for the day” but neglected her the other 364 days.

Anna May complained, “Mother’s Day has nothing to do with candy. Candy is junk. A maudlin, insincere printed card or a ready-made telegram means nothing except that you’re too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone else in the world. You ought to go home and see your mother on Mother’s Day. You ought to take her out and paint the town red...You ought to give her something useful, something permanent...Is she sleeping warm at night? Could she use an eiderdown? Maybe the stairs in her home need fixing...”

For 30 years, Anna May fought for the integrity of Mother’s Day. She finally died in a sanitarium — old, tired, deaf, blind, penniless, and having never married nor been a mother herself!

Sixty years later, mothers may be more neglected than ever. Statistics show one half of Americans, which of course includes one half of our mothers, live in poverty. Where are the children? More than ever, mothers deserve more than cards and candy one day a year and anonymity the other 364.

My appreciation of motherhood only began as I watched my wife, Susan Marie, in both sickness and health, unselfishly spend herself on her two sons (and her husband as well!). I also slowly came to better appreciate my own mother, and though she’s 12,000 miles away, I am now careful to not only send her the obligatory Mother’s Day card and flowers but also to regularly write and phone her.

Fortunately, most Common Talk readers are not 12,000 miles away from home! So as Mother's Day catches on in China, let us seek to make Mother’s Day not a card-and-candy substitute for well-deserved love but the crown and pinnacle of a full year’s expression of love and appreciation for the one who gave us life: our mother.
www.amoymagic.com