Great Basketball
October 19th, 2008 by Julia TaylorWell in Beijing we saw some great basketball and the Bucks really coming together around new leadership and new players. Even the three pointer by Warrior’s Rob Kurz was great basketball and probably good for a lifetime of free bar tabs!
I’ll email the two pointer by the Bucks and then with 1.6 seconds left–Kurz’s shot–as soon as they are all uploaded!
Here’s my fav photo of the trip at the reception in Guangzhou with Junior Bridgeman, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Lanier and Willie Hines.
Jr. Bridgeman, Kareem, Bob Lanier and me!
At the Golden Cube in Beijing
Back Home
October 19th, 2008 by Julia TaylorDespite my best posting intentions, China’s internet system and those 5 am arrivals thwarted my efforts. On the plane home yesterday, I woke up at either midnight Beijing time or 11 am Milwaukee time and actually had literary thoughts about jetlag. Here it is–
I sit at dinner, part of relevant conversation with people I have traveled half a world to be with and as I listen, the pull of sleep is so lovely and addictive, I droop to it despite the colors, the smells, and the accented words catching in my ears.
My circadian rhythm is deeply hooked in the context of my place and home. It never forces me to sleep. Instead I’m pulled with a gravitational force to that wonderfully deep sleep and colorful dreaming just before waking. With real effort, I can forego the need to sleep and push through but then when bedtime finally comes, my brain is singing again with all those early morning creative ideas upstaging my exhaustion.
This may be why these trips seem so otherworldly.
5000-year-old culture, Basketball and Milwaukee
October 13th, 2008 by Julia Taylor
Minister Gao and Julia Taylor at the Guesthouse
Besides watching two exhibition games and seeing the sights in Guangzhou, I will spend my free time in Beijing with Einar Tangen, meeting with Minister Gao, visiting his studios and preparing for his visit and exhibition in Milwaukee in May 2009.
Watch for video and pics.
Here are pictures from our March visit to Beijing and Hong Kong to meet with retired Vice Minister of Culture Gao Zhanxiang who is a well-known artist, thoughtful, philosophical leader and President of the Chinese Cultural Promotion Society (CCPS) . The trip, sponsored by the Argosy Foundation, was hosted by Minister Gao and coordinated by Baotong with assistance from Einar Tangen. Our delegation consisted of Peter and Jennifer Buffet, Christian Bartley of the World Trade Center, Dean Amhaus of the Spirit of Milwaukee; Curtis Carter retired President of the Haggerty Art Museum, Jodie Tabak from the Mayor’s Office and myself, Julia Taylor of the Greater Milwaukee Committee.
We visited —a series of contemporary art galleries –very SOHO like.
provided amazing creative moments of watching very well-known traditional artists create in ink, paint and rice paper real-time.
Artists:
Gao Shizun,Famous Artist, Minister Gao’s teacher, professor of art studies, traditional Chinese painter and critic
Liang Yonghe, Traditional Chinese realism painter
Song Yugui, Member of Chinese Artists Association, Traditional Chinese landscape painter
Lu Guang, Member of Chinese artists association
Qin Gongzhuo, Famous artist, a universal expert in poetry, painting and calligraphy
Li Yin, Calligrapher.
This was followed with an intense luncheon discussion on the artists’ views of traditional versus contemporary art in China’s culture.
in a farewell dinner with the Minister of Culture and the Director General of Radio, Film and TV. Our guests included
Sun Jiazheng, Minister of Culture
Zhao Shi, Deputy Director-General, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television
Zhang Rui, Vice Director-General, Bureau of External Culture Relations, Ministry of Culture
Special Guests:
Jiang Kun, famous talk show artist
Xu Peidong, famous composer
Day 1
October 13th, 2008 by Julia TaylorAt Mitchell ready to fly to Guangzhou. Here are a few words to start the 16-hour flight. It’s great to fly with the Bucks—besides being an interesting, fun crowd (a mix of players, management, city leaders and the business community), we each get our own row of seats on the plane! This is third year of NBA exhibition games internationally and a great way to promote Milwaukee to the world.
Right now we are in Anchorage–lot’s of snow so its hard to see Russia!
See what new GM John Hammond has to say…
Common Council President Willie Hines