Thanks, Eddy...and thanks to all the people who have organized, and places of business who are selling tickets for this weekend of music at Laba.

We all are looking forward to it — and excitement is building!

I just want to add this about our band:
"War Horse" is Ian on guitar/vocals, Chuck "Jacques Le Blanc" on bass/vocals, Nick La Flame on accordion/vocals, Ma Tu on drums, and myself on guitar/vocals. We're going to do some new originals and a few new covers. It will be an interesting set.

Thanks again to everyone helping out with this weekend of music in Kunming!
Nevada

Hey, "Bad Boy" — since you asked the question, let's put it this way: How many days am I gonna dress up? I'm goin' as a cowboy. I've been going as a cowboy, or the Lone Ranger, all my life. That's why they call me "Nevada". So I pretty much dress up EVERY day...Easy, see? Friday the Hump for the Great Apes, Saturday at the Camel and at the Mask for bands and DJs and Hip Hop. Probably Sunday, somewhere, and then, see, I dress up again as a cowboy to teach my students on the "real" Halloween. Fun, eh? It's all fun. I'm sure this weekend, in San Francisco, for example, is gonna be about a 5 day blast...that's the way it rolls...in Kunming, too.
Nevada

Elliott: Cas & I want to thank you for all that you have done for us and for everyone. We had some great brunches, pizza nights, sports nights — well into the early mornings — and for making Lbones such a wonderful place to eat & meet.

We're gonna miss the friendly, community atmosphere you created.

The latest news:"Chinese officials have found five fake Apple stores in the southwestern city of Kunming, and ordered two of them to suspend business while they're investigated, a local government website said Monday.

Officials couldn't do anything about the other three stores — which prominently displayed Apple signs and logos — because they did not find any fake Apple products for sale, according to a report by a local newspaper posted on the Kunming city government's website."

The moral of the story is that you can sell real products in fake stores but not fake products in fake stores. Go figure.

Laughingstock or Admiration?

I think a question could be asked here: Is China being laughed at because just about everything, including entire Apple Stores and products are knocked off, faked, and sold in China and around the world?

Or: Do people around the world admire China for the savvy and skill to do such a good job with their abilities to fake and copy?

The surprising thing about this recent story is that everyone, including news agencies in every country, are picking up on the story. I'm not surprised. I know this store and have always thought it was fake. I never questioned that it was a real Apple franchise selling real Apple goods. I do know there are licensed dealers to serve and repair Apple computers as my American friend had to use one and present his warranty and registration for his Mac.

But hey, if you're a musician and have bought a Fender amp in Kunming, you know it's fake. They won't give you a real guarantee. If it breaks down, like mine did, like my friend's did, hey, they just give you another one. They don't send it "back to the Fender factory" for repair.

My guitar, an Epiphone which I bought in Guangzhou for a lot of money in a reputable music store, couldn't, wouldn't, supply me with a guarantee. They asked for my email address and said they'd send it to me. After many emails to them and without receiving any replies, I gave up. It's probably fake. But it's a great guitar!

Point is, we're not talking about t-shirts with misspellings bought on the street proclaiming to be some hot shot international band — which we obviously know are fake. We're talking about walking into regular stores which sell known brands of equipment and electronic devices, like Apple phones and computers, and we're sold fake products. No one bats an eye. Why?

Well, perhaps the products aren't perfect — but maybe they are "good enough" - for the price one pays. And are they really that inferior to "the real thing"?