Bruce Lee and Jimmy Hendrix

Today, November 27 is the birthday of Bruce Lee and Jimmy Hendrix. Bruce would have been 76 years old, and Jimmy 74.Two iconic figures in pop culture.

Bruce and Jimmy

Bruce Lee and Jimmy Hendrix were both born on November 27. They would be 75 and 73 years old today.

I Sincerely Apologize

When I think about 2013, I keep hearing the statement "I sincerely apologize", "I sincerely apologize". I'm sure you know that it came from Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto. He has become Canada's king of apology." I sincerely apologize" makes me think of a few things:
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Canadians seem to be more gentle and modest than Americans.We often say sorry, sometimes even more than necessary. Forgive me for creating this stereotype: if a Canadian bumps into another Canadian, he or she would say "I'm sorry" and the response from the other Canadian would be "no problem". But if it happens between 2 Americans, it is possible that these would be the exclamations instead: "oops" and "hey, what are you doing ? Don't touch me!"
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I am an ex-Catholic.I wonder if Rob Ford is a Catholic. Did he go to confession and say to the priest "I sincerely apologize"and ask for forgiveness? He said "I sincerely apologize" so many times to the public and media that some people would doubt if he really meant what he said, that he was really sorry. I saw clearly that he did apologize, but I am not sure how sincere he was.
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I am also an ex-Christian.I left the religion of Christianity, but kept some of the good teachings of Christ. I found much hypocrisy among the Christian leaders, both religious and political leaders.While Jesus teaches about love and forgiveness, many such leaders act terribly the opposite way. They have no compassion and understanding. They are religious, but not spiritual. They are not quite peace makers.They are rather warriors, criminals, and murderers of innocent people.They are very judgmental and revengeful. Love your neighbor as thyself - what? Love your enemy - are you kidding? Who said so? Dear Christian leaders, it is your God and Lord Jesus! So you are a Christian, but you don't follow Jesus' teachings?! 
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If Rob Ford's apology was sincere, then he should be forgiven. Just tell him to put it in writing and sign his own statement "I sincerely apologize". If you are a Christian, please check your own Christian bible.In Matthew 18: 21-22, Peter asked Jesus about forgiveness.How many times should we forgive? Seven times? No, Jesus said "forgive 70 x 7 times". Hey, that means we must forgive at least 490 times. How many times did Rob Ford get drunk and take Cocaine? How many times did he say "I sincerely apologize"? It is ironical that Jesus is spiritual, but many of his Christian followers are only religious but not spiritual. I also find it ironical, even amusing, that some non-Christians or atheists are more Christian than the Christians. For example, Bruce Lee, once said "Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them". 
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Rob Ford said "I sincerely apologize" so many times, but it was not my first time of hearing this apologetic statement.When I went to university in U.S.A., I had a schoolmate Yoshi from Japan.We were talking about Japan's war-time aggression against China, the Nanjing Massacre, and Japan's invasion and occupation of parts of China and Hong Kong.This is what Yoshi said to me "I sincerely apologize". Whao, I wish Yoshi became the prime minister of Japan.Unfortunately, the reality is not good.The current relationship between China and Japan is bad. In addition to the dispute of some islands in the China Sea, Shinzo Abe, the prime minister of Japan has been bluntly told by the Chinese Government that he is not welcome in China, after his visit to the Yasukuni Shrine seen by the Chinese as a shrine of Japanese war criminals.
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For the Canadians to forgive Rob Ford's mistakes is so much easier than for the Chinese to forgive Japan's war crimes against China.How many times did Rob Ford say "I sincerely apologize"? And what is the probability that Shinzo Abe will actually say sorry to the Chinese people? The probability is zero !

Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee died at the young age of 32. Today is the 40th anniversary of his death. Most people know he is the greatest martial artist of our time, but there are things that they may not know: Bruce was a child star in Hong Kong. Quentin Tarantino probably knows, as he was a fanatic of old Chinese movies, before he became a famous director in Hollywood. Besides being a child star, Bruce was a dancing contest champion in Hong Kong. He was also a street fighter there. His father wanted to make him stay out of trouble by sending him back to America where he was born.  

Bruce Lee is great, not only because of his superb martial arts and Chinese kung fu, but also because of his philosophy of life. He rejected the idea that Chinese kung fu must be kept for the Chinese people only. He defeated everyone who dared to prevent him from teaching Chinese kung fu to the Westerners. My opinion is that all the great people in this world belong to the whole humanity, not just to their own race, culture or country. My view is a cosmopolitan view, an all-in-the-family view, with one humanity, one world, one Planet Earth.

Aside from philosophy and opinion, these are some facts that many Bruce Lee fans do not know. Bruce is not only Chinese, but also American and partly German. How so? Bruce was born in San Francisco, so he is an American. His father Lee Hoi-Chuen was an actor in Chinese opera. His mother Grace Ho was a Eurasian of German and Chinese ancestry. My dear American and German friends, you can rightfully claim that Bruce Lee is partly yours. By the way, Bruce, like myself, grew up in British Hong Kong, which went back to Chinese rule in 1997. Dear Brits, yes, you can also claim a part of Bruce Lee. My dear Chinese friends, what the heck, let's be generous and share the great Bruce Lee with the whole world. We can't say no anyway. They have already taken a great portion of him. Rest in Peace, Bruce !