Angered

The "Lost" episode from last night sucked. We learned NOTHING about the Island despite the fact that Faraday apparently knew more than we ever were told, and now people want to blow up a hydrogen bomb, which isn't going to happen because there's not way that could come to pass without either destroying the whole island or spewing radiation all over it. That's just silly. I talked to Destro today (Cobra Commander's weapons expert and boyfriend), and he confirmed for me that 1.) the bomb would be hard to detonate unless you knew exactly how to do it and 2.) there's no way that the bomb could go off and the Island could still exist in a habitable manner 30 years later. I will address this issue with J.J. Abrams as soon as I get him on the phone. I've left several messages with his secretary, but he hasn't yet called me back. Bunny is also pissed about last night's episode, and wants to also talk to J.J. Hopefully he'll smoke up and calm down a bit before J.J. calls back.

Lost

Bunny wants me to comment on how excited he is about tonight's episode of Lost. It should be a good one.

Daniel Faraday returns, and tells us something of what he has learned about the mysterious Island....

Image of the Day (4.29.08)

more proof that negativity = bad

The fundamentally pure nature of the mind, though present in all beings, is obscured by the negative emotions. The practices of Buddhism are concerned with defusing our ego, negative emotions, and fixed ideas, and revealing our Buddha Nature. The most important test of your spiritual practice is to look at your own life and see whether your self-centeredness, negative emotions, and fixed opinions are diminishing, and whether you are becoming more peaceful, loving, and compassionate in your daily life. If our spiritual practice makes us more judgmental of others, it is only a sign of our own lack of compassion and spiritual maturity. It is said that we must use the teachings as a mirror, to examine ourselves, not as a window, to judge others.

For example, take the Philadelphia Flyers of the past 2 years. They encourage their fan base to continually change "Crosby sucks" during their home games (whether or not Mr. Crosby is on the ice or not), along with a 3-note organ accompaniment that is used soley during Penguins games to initiate this chant. The fact that they (as an organization no less) condone such negativity is somewhat appalling, and it is no surprise to me that they continually have had such limited success against the Penguins over the past 3 years, as Mr. Crosby is quite good at reflecting the negativity of the Flyers fans back upon them by scoring goals, such as the 2 he had in the last game of the 2009 playoff series. Until the Flyers begin to correct this ever-worsening negative trend, they will be doomed to failure.

Yes!!

Go, Penguins!! Despite being down by 3 goals, they came back, and their focus and effort prevailed and won the day. Victories like that build character.

Jerome Bettis's thoughts

I was talking to Mike Tomlin today, and asked him what he thought of the Penguins situation (a good team playing far below it's potential), and one of his pieces of advice was to consult Jerome Bettis. Apparently, in Pittsburgh, Jerome Bettis is consulted on all major issues. I called Mr. Bettis on the phone (his wife answered...she seems very sweet and invited me over for dinner next time I am in Pittsburgh) and described the last Penguins game to him. He said, "Rob Rob, all I can say is that it is a very unfortunate situation. Very unfortunate situation. Gotta run hard or you ain't gonna get past the line of scrimmage. But first you gotta run smart to find the hole."

There you have it, Penguins: Run hard. Run smart.

Penguins

I was terribly disappointed in the Penguins last night. I have already had a conference call with Dan Bylsma and certain team members and let them know my displeasure at the lack of energy, passion, and intensity they displayed in the last game. I let them know that they lost because of their own poor play, and the blame is solely on their own coach and team. If they ever want to be a championship team, they must rise above the adversity and sharply focus their energies, both mentally and physically, as the Steelers did many times last year. As the team has already traveled to Philly, I am having Dan Bylsma over to the apartment this afternoon to discuss his plans for tomorrows game. Hopefully I will get through to him. The Flyers are trying to come back into the fight like Rocky, but this next game is time to knock them out. The Penguins CAN do it, but only they can determine if they WILL do it.

Go Penguins!!

Spectacled Bear

Genetic testing suggests that the closest bear (Ursidae) relative of Giant Pandas are the Spectacled Bears of South America. They have black fur with a distinctive beige-coloured marking across its face and upper chest, making their appearance more similar to the Quinling Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis) subspecies of the Giant Panda, which has a light and dark brown patterning similar to the more typically seen black and white patterning (Ailuropoda melanoleuca melanoleuca). I am using the human-derived Latin names as they are likely more familiar to my readers, but we have our own names in the Panda language. Spectacled bears are found in several areas of northern and western South America, including western Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, western Bolivia, northwestern Argentina, and eastern Panama. Spectacled bears are the only surviving species of bear native to South America, and the only surviving member of the subfamily Tremarctinae. Their survival has depended mostly on their ability to climb even the highest trees of the Andes and the Amazonian rainforests.
When encountered by humans or other Spectacled Bears, they will react in a docile but cautious manner, unless the intruder is seen as a threat or a mother's cubs are endangered. Like other bears, mothers are very protective in defense of their young and have attacked poachers. Spectacled bears, like Giant Pandas, are also an endangered species due to hunting and diminishing resources brought about by human expansion into their territories. Spectacled Bears and Pandas are very similar, and part of my mission is to encourage everyone to help protect the habitats of both the Spectacled Bears and the Pandas.

The Power of Believing

Faith has much power. That is the Buddhist lesson of the day. However, remember the words of the Buddha:

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."

Tide: Highly Recommended.

Rob Rob's English Lesson of the Week

goon (plural goons)

1. A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence (also known as a 'hired goon').
2. A fool; someone considered silly, stupid, awkward, or outlandish.

Usage: Daniel Carcillo is a goon.

Game 1: Penguins 4, Flyers 1

Even though the Flyers resorted to sheer goonery toward the end of the game, the Penguins managed to maintain their focus and play smart, efficient, skilled hockey. Hopefully the rest of the series continues along these lines.

I have been using Karla's laptop to hold video conferences (the built in iSight camera is awesome) with Dan Bylsma, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, and Mark Andre Fleury. I feel confident that they will be able to maintain their focus and pull the series out in 5 or 6 games. But, looking too far ahead is bad, and there is work to be done. Man-E-Faces, Duke, Destro, and Cobra Commander are coming over this afternoon to help me plan some fresh strategy for Game 2. Man-E-Faces and Duke will be helpful, but Cobra Commander and Destro will just want to plot to kill all of the Flyers with a giant laser in the shape of a Cobra head....

New developments

It has come to my attention that the Flyers have begun sacrificing babies and puppies to Satan to acheive their evil and manaical goals. Hopefully Buddha will allow the side of good to prevail in this epic struggle. Namaste! Meditate for us.

Rob Rob

focus

As the NHL playoffs start, I've been working with Penguins coach Dan Blysma in order to get the team into the proper mindset. He was impressed with the work I had done this past year with the Superbowl XLIII Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, and we began working together not long after he replaced Michel Therrien. I think a large part of the credit for the recent sucess of the Penguins is brought about by the positive shift in their attitude and the clarity brought on by greater focus and more attention to detail. The mental aspects of sports are the things most often taken for granted by athletes. That being said, I am a bit worried that the Penguins are facing the Flyers in the first round, a team that called themselves "The Broad St. Bullies" in the 1970s, and still believes in the mentality of dirty beat-the-other-team-up hockey. I'm slightly worried that the negative karma of the Flyers will cause the Penguins to lose focus. This is a danger that we all face in life, but we must struggle to maintain focus and clairity in the face of chaos and violence. Chaos and violence are tools used by those who seek not to improve themselves but rather to destroy others. These people do not seek to make the world better, as they have not yet attained a level of awareness of their place and purpose in the universe. We are working hard to ensure the Penguins maintain the proper focus in the weeks to come.

April Fools Joke

This was published yesterday in the Taipai Times (as an april fools joke):

"Taiwan-China relations were dealt a severe setback yesterday when it was found that Taipei Zoo's "pandas" are not what they seem. Zookeepers discovered at feeding time yesterday that the two pandas are in fact Wenzhou brown forest bears that had been dyed to create the panda's distinctive black-and-white appearance. The Taipei Zoo's head of ursidae ex-procynidae care, Connie Liu, said she became suspicious when the pandas Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan began to spend almost all of their waking hours having sex."



I would comment on the attitude of Pandas toward sex, but I'm oddly uninterested in thinking about it. Maybe next year there will be a post about it.

Beijing Zoo Incident

"Panda attacks teen in zoo enclosure" (click for link).

I was shocked when I read this story, concerning a 15 year old boy at the Beijing zoo who jumped over a fence and ambushed Gu Gu the Panda, causing Gu Gu to defend himself by biting the boy in the leg. Gu Gu is a sweet and gentle Panda, but, like all Pandas, he can be ferocious when he believes he is defending himself. Gu Gu has been a political prisoner of the PRC and has been kept in the Beijing Zoo for almost 8 years, and has a history of being attacked by humans. Last year a drunken tourist entered his cage and bit him, which forced him to respond by biting the human back. His time in captivity, the cruel treatment he has received, and these traumatic attacks have all caused psychological trauma similar to that experienced by veterans who were prisoners of war. I spoke with Gu Gu on the phone today, as well as one of my cousins who is also imprisoned at the Beijing zoo. We are working hard to negotiate with Chinese officials to get Gu Gu the psychological treatment he needs to deal with these issues. Anyone who has diplomatic relations with the Chinese government and who is willing to help us with Gu Gu's situation is encouraged to contact me.