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.

Pandas in China

Eight Panda's who were sent to Beijing (after the earthquake which devastated parts of the Woolong Panda Reserve) are being returned Sichuan. They were kept in Beijing at the zoo as part of the spectacle of the 2008 Olympics. They are currently at the Bifengxia Giant Panda Base in the town of Ya'an. I have spoken on the phone with several of them, and am happy to report that they are well.

Quote: "The pandas had been sent to Beijing Zoo from Sichuan province, southwest China, to bring extra cheer to visitors during the Beijing 2008 Olympics."

In reality, they were ripped from their homes and families, and exploited by the Chinese government in order to gain favor in the eyes of the rest of the world for their Panda "consservation" work. In reality, there are 180 Pandas who are prisoners of the Chinese government. They are paraded around for show, while over 1600 wild Pandas who live in the wild have their lands taken from them and are forced into smaller and smaller regions of the countryside as the bamboo forests are cut down.

The exploitation of my people is a consistent topic of this blog, and one of my jobs as a Panda emissary to the West is to illustrate the plight of Pandas to raise awareness of their situation. I was discussing this problem on Friday a social event/dinner held by my neighbors (the Hackney's), and many of the attendees (all very well-educated people) were shocked to hear the truth about the plight of Pandas in China. This is not surprising, as the facts are often distorted by those in power. Please help me by educating your friends about Panda culture and Panda life, in order to help improve the situation of Pandas in China.

Peace and quiet...

It has been a quiet week, which is nice for a change, but things promise to pick up in the near future. That will also mean more interesting blog posts. I promise to get back on a semi-regular posting schedule soon. For now, enjoy the external quiet and listen closely to the internal sound of your spirit, a sound often lost in the din of the modern world. The most important voice you must hear on the road to enlightenment is your own. Practice that skill often, and you will find much wisdom.


Namaste,

Rob Rob

Some Updates

Monday evening, Bunny and I flew to Pittsburgh to have dinner with our friend Evgeni's parents (Mr. and Mrs. Malkin, in the photo above), who are in town from Russia. Mrs. Malkin made some very good Russian dishes, including a bamboo borscht for me and some carrot goulash for Bunny. I was a little worried about the language barrier, as Evgeni's english isn't very good and his parents speak no english at all, but apparently Bunny speaks very fluent Russian. I tried to get him to tell me where he learned it, and he told me he spent time as a spy during the cold war. I'm not sure if he was joking with me or not, but with Bunny, there's a definite possibility that it's true. He's been around a lot, and I've seen him at the shooting range, and he knows how to handle a gun. We ate, and drank some vodka. They're very sweet people, but they can sure put away the Vodka. Tuesday morning I had a consulting appointment with the Penguins new head coach Dan Bylsma, and we discussed his motovation tactics and practice strategies. While we were talking, Bunny skated around with the players during their morning skate and helped some of the younger players with their passing. We flew back Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday night Mr. and Mrs. Malkin went to watch Evgeni play hockey, and he scored the winning goal in the overtime shootout. I was glad to see that Dan implemented some of the strategies we discussed, and happy to see that the Penguins are now 9-1-1 since he became head coach. Michel Therrian was a good coach, but his increasingly negative attitude was producing bad karma that needed to be cleansed.

Karla, Rob and Dan went to see Watchmen on Tuesday night. I have to agree with their assessment of it: it was fantastic. Bunny and I saw the matinee this past Saturday afternoon. I usually don't like to go to theaters as I don't like people talking through the movie the way they do here in West Philly, but I made an exception for Watchmen. If you haven't seen it, go now! But, don't call it "The Watchmen" as some of the reviews I've read call it. The name is "Watchmen," not "The Watchmen." It is a minor detail, but an important point.

Panda Eyesight

Chinese doctors strive to implant artificial crystal for panda with bad sight (click for link).

Pandas have health problems, as do humans. Pandas are generally more healthy than humans due to their diet of bamboo, which is rich in fiber and has no artificial additives. Pandas are, though, susceptible to near-sightedness. Forty to sixty percent of wild pandas suffer from cataracts and other eye diseases. To compensate, Pandas have learned to rely on their other senses, such as smell and hearing, so much so that even a blind panda can be a deadly adversary to one who mistakenly thinks it is an easy target and attacks it. However, because Pandas are non-hunting vegetarian Buddhist pacifists, the loss of eyesight does not make a huge impact on their daily lives. The inability to look outward only strengthens the ability to look inward and this aids the Panda on his or her quest for enlightenment.

The lessons we can learn from today's Panda observations are
1.) Instead of lamenting one skill or ability that you do not have, heighten and perfect the skills and abilities you do have.
2.) Just like the interplay of the yin and the yang, disadvantages often create advantages. Sometimes you must often look hard to find them, but they are there.

Now, mediate on those ideas.

Namaste,

Rob Rob