I'm apt to read and consider. Increasingly, spending time on watching movies and TV isn't my cup of tea.

The contagion of provincialism should be avoided by some Canadian companies.

For instance, if RIM were in constant contact with the Silicon Valley, then probably it wouldn't have failed like this, at least not so fast.

There are two famous people who are named 'Carnegie' in the American history. And they are not related at all.

One is Andrew Carnegie, a historic biz tycoon and philanthropist, and the other Dale Carnegie, a famous inspirational speaker.

What are the moments of truth for a childcare centre?

I don't quite understand why the modern Western medicine has nearly entirely abandoned simples.

On the contrary, the usage of natural medicinal plants are still largely alive in the traditional Chinese medicine, which has remained widely and strongly popular in China.

In life, people often think that if you have a dream or a goal, you have to meet or achieve certain conditions in order to fulfill it.

In certain cases, it is true. For example, you must be healthy, if you want not to ultimately fail in your entrepreneurial endeavor, or if you want to manage your biz and make it survive and prosper.

But, this is a big but, in most cases, the above thought is NOT true. Realizing dreams or goals does NOT need conditions. For instance, some people are fond of traveling the world, and they think they cannot do it until they become millionaires. Look, that's NOT truly conditional. Most of them will not become millionaires. But they always can go around the world by working temporary jobs along the itinerary of their dream travelling.

So it is critical to be able to discern between the truly conditionals and the falsely conditionals. That is, to discern causation, correlation, and the spectrum between them.

As a personal example though, I always think that mastering English is truly conditional for an individual to competing well and collaborating well in Canada and in the setting of a globalized economy.

How many coffee stains form and then fade on a carpet?

How much sweat and tears are shed on a computer keyboard?

It may be the case that the next 5 - 10 years will see a profound change or transformation of the structure of the American capitalism. And that the mountebanks of sophisticated financial institutions will be fixed somehow.

Music video - Querer - composed by René Dupéré

D asks her cousin for an errand of picking up her toddler son at the kid's daycare centre almost everyday.

It's good to have relatives in the city you live. However, that's not possible for my wife and me, who came from China.

Music video - Coming Around Again / Itsy Bitsy Spider - Carly Simon

The MV is fantastic. One thing I don't quite understand though is why Carly Simon put the "Itsy Bitsy Spider", which is a children's song, into her performance.

I miss the raindrops of China, both oblique and straight.

You can follow me on Douban.com if you're interested.

Here's my Douban.com account: http://www.douban.com/people/streamline/ .

It is somewhat remiss of parents not to give their youngsters nearly the best possible education and foods. But that happens with more people than I used to imagine.

Music videos - Greensleeves - The Brothers Four

"Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song which appeared in the late 16th century.

Lyrics:

Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have courted you so long,
Delighting in your company.

Greensleeves was all my joy,
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves, my heart of gold,
And who but my lady Greensleeves.

So, Greensleeves, now farewell, adieu,
May good fortune prosper thee,
For I am still thy lover true,
Oh, come once again and love me.

By the way, what a deeply sad and gentle irony it is "Greensleeves, my heart of gold".

In fine, RIM has been toast, and now the two Co-CEOs have admitted it is toast.

See RIM Replaces CEOs as it Struggles to Answer Apple - Bloomberg.

Perennially allotting some time to do a bit of reading of novels in English is one good way to meet interesting and worthwhile new words, as well as to maintain or improve one's English proficiency.

Does democracy only varnish capitalism in the U.S.?

And, which one is the real ultimate top priority in the U.S., capitalism (free enterprise and free trade) or democracy?

An errant strand of hair falls over J's forehead. J's heart knows the lows. And he sighs.

Perhaps the later half of 2012 will see the pick up of the economies of the U.S. and Canada. It'll be the time to crush it.