http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointilism


A clue to the next chapter...

This is a continuation of the previous video but focused more on the rising role of China and India in the coming years. I haven't really spoken too much about this but in my late high-school years, and throughout my college years, I traveled to China and India and several other Asian and European countries. The world was just beginning to recognize an impending shift in power, population, and economic resource and I could feel the potential as I walked through the streets. Cities in China are exploding with bright and eager minds. As a high-school senior, I was fortunate enough to speak to a class at Beijing University. These students were working harder than anyone I had ever met. Everyone of them that I spoke to was taking at least 30 credits in ONE semester. They were telling me about studying 110 hours per week on average. I knew then that a global power shift was inevitable. When you have that many people working that hard on becoming smarter and more effective players in the world scene, the tide will inevitably shift in their favor. It is a matter of simple odds. Of sheer volume. Anyone who saw the Opening Ceremonies at the this years Olympics knows exactly what I mean.

I think we are alive in truly fascinating times and I hope you will take a moment to reflect and share your thoughts about this and what it means.

http://release.theplatform.com/content.select?pid=x7aVOMrlfkkijQwcLllwk6WjB5JE0zrF


What DOES it all mean?

This video was produced by the Sony Corp. for its annual Executive meeting held in June, 2008.

I am pleased to announce that we will be starting our new year in quite an epic way. In January 2009 we will leave Virginia to play a show in Bandung, Indonesia! We are all really excited to experience a new culture and visit a part of the world we never imagined we would visit. I expect the trip to be full of adventures and, as usual, I will recount all of them here.
The message box in our myspace account has been full of greetings from our fans in Indonesia and I wanted to share a sample exchange because we are thrilled by this kind of interaction.

hey guys, i heard you're all gonna be playing in Bandung in January..
thats really really great to hear.
i'd like to hear your comments on this upcoming show..
dont worry, you'll love it there!

cant wait to see you guys here in this wonderous land
Have fun on tour until then dudes.

cheers.

- dylan. 16. Jakarta, Indonesia.


Hi Dylan, we are so excited to come and play for you. This is a great honor for us to be able to travel so far from our home because of music.
In our preparation we are trying to learn as much about Indonesia as possible. Please, tell us what you would want us to experience in your country? What is life like right now for you? Are you a student? We really enjoy getting to know the people and cultures when we travel. We are so excited to meet you so please say hello to us at the show!
-Jacob/mae

hey guys, first of all i would like to thank you for replying my message :) (or as we say in indonesian, Terima Kasih!)

firstly to answer your line of questions, yes, i am a proud 11th grade student from a school named Global Jaya. Most of your fans here are mostly from there i suppose haha :) life is going good for me so far. What about you guys?


Well, to answer your question, i would want you guys to experience the Indonesian hospitality. We are a friendly bunch ( i guess hahah).
You will encounter all sorts of interesting faces and places that arent found anywhere else in the world. You will experience how the communities here devote and commit themselves to an independent media form of choice, such as art or music or clothing, or others. and most importantly you will experience the euphoria, emotion and full energy of the friendly crowd, singing along to "Suspension" passionately, like it were their last song.

A good option would be to explore the city and recognize the culture that we've been built on. Bandung is a great city to be in, whether it be just hanging out or just passing by, you'll always feel that welcoming feel when you're there. When youre there, you will be prepared for an experience of a lifetime.
and finally, enjoy yourselves and have fun there! I guarantee you'll have a great journey and i can guarantee you guys will talk about this experience long after you return home.

also, Bandung is one of our most popular culinary destinations, so get your stomachs ready for that! :)

well, thanks again for replying to my simple message.. and i'll be looking forward to seeing you guys real soon! I'm excited, yay!

cheers.
Dylan.

Congratulations cousin!!!

Dancing with the Razorbacks...

1. The beautiful Greek Amphitheater at the U of Ar where we played Thursday night.
2. Dave has been getting experimental with audience participation recently. Two weeks ago in Maine we hosted an on-stage hot dog eating contest that was quite fun. The only downside was after two girls ate 13 hot dogs they both ended up throwing up off the side of the stage during Skyline Drive. Um... Yuck.
So, in Arkansas he tried a less disgusting approach to crowd participation. "Has anyone ever seen Dancing with the Stars?" he asked right before Embers and Envelopes. "Well tonight we are going to be hosting Dancing with the Razorbacks."
He asked for volunteers and the hands went up all over the arena. We brought up teams of two and they each would dance for the duration of the song and then leave the stage. While some of the dancers were good, others were quite bad and quite funny.
Somehow I was able to snap this shot right before the drums came in on Embers.
3. I know Zach posted his Paul Begala photo but I figured I would get mine out there too. I was getting a coffee in the St Louis airport and Mr. Begala was standing next to me talking to a congressman. He was just on the Colbert Report a few nights ago and I have seen him many times on CNN discussing politics. I gave him a copy of Singularity and he gave me a copy of his new book. He was very nice and even remembered Zach's and my name several minutes later as we passed each other again.
4. What more can you ask for?
5. Saturday was a beach day. I went for a quite walk on the north end of Virginia Beach after lunch and listened to a few chapters of my new Einstein biography and the entire new Coldplay record. The weather was perfect.

I hope you are well.
- Jacob