Kookys & Dreams

Im still trying to get a better feel of how the entire Windows Live! thingy works. 
I was totally caught off-guarded when i was still searching for the latest MSN Messenger 7.5 when all i found was Windows Live! Aside from that, its latest messenger Live does look rather promising. With many new functions like video calls, folder sharing and more, users may soon discover the immense capability of Microsoft's latest messenger. To add more juice, get  Messenger Plus! Live  too from Patchou. 

Also check out Mess.be for more messenger add-ons stuff.

If there's one thing that Zinedine 'Zizou' Zidane has shown us, its not the shame nor the many discrediting names and titles the press throws at him. For all his time as a professional football player, I have come to realise that he had secretly been learning the lost skills of the Shaolin Martial Arts - "Tie Tou Gong" (pronounced 'Tee-air Toe Gonng') or loosely translated to be "Steel Head Kung Fu". This was especially apparent in his last World Cup Final against Italy where he demonstrated his prowess on a much deserving opponent, Materazzi. Perhaps he had wanted to pass on this lost skill to someone amongst the crowd, or perhaps he had wanted to test out his newly acheived prowess and Materazzi seemed to fit the bill of a good target. One thing's for certain - he's keeping a tight lip on why he did it.
I've taken the liberty to reconstruct the event where we can see in clearer perspective on how the powerful stance was carried out with deadly accuracy and near fatality only because he spared his life.

1) Summon all your 'Qi' or inner energy by assuming the "Striking Serpent Stance". Take note of how the arms are gradually forming a 'pulling' position' to steady oneself as energy is harnessed from the surrounding atmosphere. Breathing technique here is important otherwise a wrong breathing regulation could result from a serious injury, mainly uncontrollable laughter and later tummy cramps and aches.

2) After summoning ones' inner energy, immediately change stance into a "Horse Stance" or "Ma Pu". This is to prepare oneself for the attack as well as to steady oneself during the attack. Apart from looking good, this stance is also often used in ancient China for anyone who is suffering from severe constipation. The practitioner will often assume this stance with his/her pants down, and after inhaling a large amount of air, lets out a deafening yelp that can often be heard several 'li's away (a li is an ancient Chinese measurement equivalent to approximately 540 meters). In this process, stubborn stools can be forced out from ones' bowels thereby achieving great relief. Although often proven to work for most constipation sufferers, there has also been several undocumented reports of this stance going awry, most noticeably of the bowels and intestines being flushed out instead.

3) As the opponent closes in, focus on aim as to where the intended strike will fall and with summoned might and strength, exhale as one let loose the fury that's been built up inside. The Westerners call this process "blowing your top off". Any additional pain and hurt from past experiences i.e. dumped by girlfriend, abused by parents, molested by uncle, ostracized by friends etc. may be psychologically useful in attaining an almost invincible status of having a "Steel Head". As humans are made up of many acupressure points, one must learn all these points to understand what one wants to achieve from such a strike. In Zizou's case, he had chosen the point of between 'Immobility' and 'Near Fatal' point. Study the picture shown to understand where the points are.

4) When executed correctly, the opponent should feel the immense impact as well as the emotional hurt and pain from the striking party. This will then cause the opponent much grief from such a strike as can most often be accompanied by tears from crying, shouting and wailing as well as moaning and groaning whilst being on the ground. Some may even experience a strange convulsion followed by foaming from the mouth. The more emotional hurt one experiences, the more pain the opponent will feel. This was well demonstrated in Adam Sandler's movie "The Waterboy".

5) This ancient Shaolin skill is not for the uninitiated or better known amongst the modern world as 'the wuss'. One must make sure that the opponent flies 6ft away just like in the Hollywood movies or at the very least falls to the ground from the head-butting impact. If the opponent does not flinch or did not fall to the ground moaning in great pain, one must either follow up with another strike in the same area or resort to another Shaolin skill known as "Hoh Zhi Cai Tao" (pronounced 'Ho Tze Ts-Ai Tao') or literally translated to be "Monkey picking the Peach". Having such a fancy name, this move basically requires the practioner to just grab on the opponents' testicles without remorse and crushing it while tearing it away at the same time without regret. If the battle is won with such methods, one must remember to pull out a bunch of the opponents' pubic hair as trophy that the move was executed with perfection and that it was won beautifully without resorting to dirty tactics and moves.

Mistakes should never be a burden to one man’s life
But make up to be an experience to the lives of men
Yet experience is a name man gives for his mistakes
Which was a burden to the lives of these men

Naturally this occurs especially in students of a beginner's level. There can be many reasons as to why students are afraid to approach their instructors for a dance and these can be mainly attributed to be psychological in nature. Evidently many students belonging to this category in discussion have limited moves, patterns and skills sufficient to complete a song, much less impress upon their partners. Hence the vulnerability of appearing as a ‘bad’ and/or ‘boring’ dancer may be branded on them, which may have a lasting stigma on their careful journey of becoming a proficient Salsa dancer. This is also particularly apparent for beginning Male and/or Leader students who have to initiate turn patterns for the dance. The lack of experience and skills are a major hurdle to even initiate a dance with anybody to say the least. Albeit the advantages of receiving CONSTRUCTIVE suggestions and pointers after dancing with an experienced instructor, the possibility of being harshly criticised, being ‘marked’ and/or stigmatised by ending the dance after a single bar of the song will always be a fleeting thought amidst the minds of many beginner dancers. Finally, the reserved culture we grew up in proves to be a significant impediment to approaching someone for a dance. To initiate a dance with an instructor is like going out on a blind date wearing nothing but your underwear – you feel utterly naked. To be in physical contact with a beautiful and ‘hot’ instructor is like you’re looking to kill yourself quickly in her good books and on the salsa scene. You just wouldn’t want to diminish your chances……not too quickly at least. Fact is there are many more psychological factors that affect the students’ initiation of approaching their instructors for a dance, but it is really this culmination of factors that intensifies their fears of ‘losing face’ and ‘looking stupid’.

Overcoming these fears requires a great deal of bravado, exposure, an understanding to these fears, and best of all a close support group of fellow dancers urging each other on. To be well exposed to the salsa scene will allow students to prepare themselves as to what to expect when initiating dances (mainly rejection), as well as to familiarise oneself to the environment so as to develop a certain amount of comfort level required to jump that first hurdle. To be able to understand the fears that restricts their unwillingness to approach instructors for a dance will do well to allow students to logically rationalize that their fears are gratuitous and will stymie their growth of becoming a proficient dancer. Having a close support group of fellow students attending dance outings together can be remarkably invaluable to the learning experience of many. By lending support and sharing experiences, students can build up their courage of initiating a dance in a quicker and more pleasant way.
And then again you may also use this group in a more ingenious manner of having the loser of a bet to dance with the instructor. Whatever works right?
Finally, if all of the above suggestions fail, having two glasses of wine (or whatever is your poison) within a short period of time will certainly aid in the process of loosening up and acquiring gusto.

Having being led out of the dance floor in less than one bar of Salsa music, I guess I speak for many in terms of why students are afraid to approach instructors to dance. Still I must put up a disclaimer that these are all my personal opinion and may or may not reflect entirely to everyone.

Its saucy man, that's what i'm telling ya. I mean I love dancing. In fact if I could I would like to make a career outta it, but hey, my bones are probably too rigid and as a whole i'm probably too stiff. Did I ever mentioned that I would love to learn Ballet? Yeah well... minus the leotards if possible. Anyways, it was just awesome. The moves were just fascinating, but the highlight of the dance is really this: I get to hold a girl's hand as well as her left shoulder blade in a really close fashion. Its electrifying! ......well I feel like that only when I'm with a girl that I felt I could develop a relationship with. Still not many of us could get the chance or reason to be in such a position with a stranger, let alone a girl.
At this point, I've just finished my first basic lesson and although still alil weak on my lead and moves, I felt I was quite competent on the basic level. Maybe I'm too stuckup or just blowing my ego, but I felt most girls do enjoy dancing with me. How else can I explain a very well endowed older lady asking me for my contact number. It actually give me the creeps.
Most of the times I send them on an electrifying experience by looking at them straight in the eyes. In a comfortable kinda way and not the leary type of course. So most of them would be too shy to react and basically just look down or anywhere else. Except for one - who always stares beyond you as if looking through your head into something further. She was so expressionless you wonder if she was trying to seduce you or simply turned on the "Stepford wives" mode.
I managed to exchange contacts with a couple of ladies which I feel I could partner up with and we're looking forward to practicing on the dance floor at Union Square. Couldn't wait.