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There are good lucks signs all around China – you don’t have to be a pig to receive these messages. We walk through a lovely old land house neighborhood that borders the water and a beautiful park with cypress and there are black and white birds, lovely, large, sitting atop the trees, and I ask, “what are those birds?” and someone says, “They are Chinese birds. They bring good news.”

Of course, I think, good news, good luck, good life.

It is the city of love and marriage – everywhere I look there is a bride in a gown – then there are two, four, six, eight, ten brides in gowns – they are everywhere – and so are the lovers kissing near the sea shore – there is the nice looking Qingdao man who gives us a ride in the boat to the rock that is called “old men” – there is the woman who approaches me with a tee shirt that says in English – LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT – Love is in the Air.

We head to a Korean restaurant as there are many in Qingdao and I’m fearful of “dog” so I avoid the meat – what covers the table are sweet potato glass noodles with wood ear mushrooms, ice soup with soba noodle and cucumbers with ice floating on top, sticky rice with tripe, pancakes with kim chee and of course, tall, cold Tsing Tao in our glass.

One of the delicacies in China is the dessert vendors who have tiny Hawthornes on coating in a sugar candy coating – seven to a stick – yum!!!

1. Clams
2. Tsing Tao beer
3. The men (or as my friend tells it – naked men drinking Tsing Tao beer eating clams)

They serve Tsing Tao in Qingdao on draft – yum yum yum!

On perfecting one’s life – forgetaboutit – be in beta – the testing, the probing, the inside out and outside in – that’s life.

The finish line is death.

Under the archway at the Shanghai Airport are the rings for the Olympics – the whole country is preparing for this great event – and the words read “LET ME WIN. IF I CANNOT WIN, LET ME BE BRAVE.”

I am always the tortoise – never the hare – I watch the Cannes Film Festival advertising winners and the ad shows runners for Nike pushing the envelope and in the background, Johnny Cash, sings the Nine Inch Nails song – I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel – and I think music, words, images – the power of advertising to tug at some primal emotion is so strong that I am again, affected by media, and passionate about having stumbled onto grace.

Do we need to repeat this one – it’s true – when their is dissonance, step back and observe – is what he is saying matching what he is doing – if the answer is no – there is no confusion on your part – they are the pretty lies he tells himself.