Leaving for New England for a cruise/Carlos Pueblo

 Leaving for New England for a cruise/Carlos Pueblo

Saturday I am leaving for New York City to take a two weeks trip to New England and Nova Scotia, Canada even to Newfoundland, Canada.

暫別旅行去也／莊峻華

 暫別旅行去也／莊峻華

週六就飛紐約市旅行去也，這次郵輪旅行是在北美東岸，來回兩次一共16日，下月七日回家，趕上期中選舉，12月10日再出門佛州天珀市搭船，旅行東加勒比海共13ㄖ，還有等待明年初兩巴拿馬運河船票特價，共25日，特此報告全球讀者。

我的歐洲行，寫到法國坎城，下站是義大利利波諾，佛羅倫斯市外港，然後就是羅馬外港，回程路過土耳其伊斯坦堡機場，再來就是兩週之阿拉斯加旅行。

剛好右臂打球疼痛，郵輪旅行可暫休息也。

Enjoying Tibetan folk dance(2)/Carlos Pueblo

 Enjoying Tibetan folk dance(2)/Carlos Pueblo

It's been more than a week that I have been enjoying Tibetan folk dace, preciously the Kangba Tibetan Kuochuang dance. Kangba Tibetan are located on West Sichuan Province, China and Eastern Tibet. Kangba Tibetan are not Chinese, some of them are taller and lighter skin than most of Chinese. The Kuochuang dance moves both feet, arms, and hands simultaneously with current day popular music along with lively charming young ladies as well as handsome boys and gentlemen is very attractive to me. This You Tube video is presented by an artist called Smart Tent lucky with at two groups discipline dancers. Since last week, I have compared other Tibetan folk dances around the U.S. and Canada and I still prefer this Smart Tent lucky programs. Let me introduce three lovely dancers and two lovely songs.

There are more than 20 charming ladies dancers whom I can locate their names in the future if I feel like it. The group perform at ground under a high way bridge at southern part of Chengdu, Sichuan usually lead by a master Yung Cheng, an attractive young girl with perfect performance both feet and arms with her beautiful and colorful uniforms. The Kuochuang dance is required complete expressing of arms and hands along with many beautiful steps to move feet both forward and backward. She raises her arms vertically on one and waves the other softly. Sometimes she would wear a cowboy hat. The other leader is La Tsaou who has a lovely moon like face also wears the dancing uniforms. Most of the time due to working hard and summer heat, she swears a lot yet is still an excellent leader. I forget to mention that Kuochuang dance is a half circled group dance moving around the ground. The number 3 girl is younger and slightly taller than the other two masters, Yuong Jen is her first name. She moves more casually than the other two and I would not category her as a master; however, her dancing is still very attractive. There are times that all three are next to each other and that is a treat we can witness the harmony of their waves and discipline. Of course, I must apology for not mentioning some other pretty girls dancers along with these three.

Two popular songs have been my favorite, one is the evening rain of Lhasa and the other is Tso Ma. Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet and ancient Tibetan Dynasty while Tso Ma is a girl's name. Videos always present songs with singer's voice and followed by just music. Popular hits are very much different from the traditional Tibetan folk music and I love the current one kind.

西藏鍋莊舞（2）／莊峻華

 西藏鍋莊舞（2）／莊峻華

最近一週，我在網路發現西藏鍋莊舞，連續看畢這位睿軒吉祥製作，在中國成都街頭演出，精彩影片，我連忙介紹給愛美和元兒，兩人感受不同，我能諒解，愛美曰可以在郵輪上參加清晨運動，舒展筋骨，元兒僅曰節目目標是我，當然這是文化成長興趣等之殊異，我喜歡這種舞蹈，這種歌曲，這些美女，人生難得之興趣，我已經到達孔子說的，七十而隨心所欲不逾矩，矩是規矩法律，即使年逾七十，當過美國總統，也需遵守法律範圍。

年輕時我喜歡交際舞，就是可以摟輕柔美女，也曾經當過高中土風舞指導老師，熱愛過一位女指導小學老師，只是姻緣不足，鍋莊舞是傳統民族舞蹈之最，我只介紹兩重點，一是歌曲，二是美女，當然這位製作人也是位高手，有獨見創獲者也。

先說兩歌曲，一為拉薩夜語，這是近代歌曲，有位女歌手在2008年唱紅，拉薩是西藏首都，歌詞是北京白話，描述拉薩夜間細雨，幾有鄉愁哀怨，西藏在異族統鐵蹄治下。第二首歌是卓瑪，卓瑪是位姑娘，歌詞上有卓瑪拉，還有桑格花，我都想知道這拉在藏文中之意，桑格花真面目。

鍋莊舞四肢勤動，雙足是碎步進退，雙臂與手之表達，是花朵，是高山，是溪流，是彈吉他等，完全仰賴年輕貌美，身材修長之康巴族姑娘，我算一下雍吉團隊，有超過20位美女，我只先介紹三位，雍吉，拉措，和擁珍，雍吉和拉措是貌美又幽雅舞姿，手臂能語，這位擁珍真是美女，雙臂動作，尚無前述二位之到位鍋莊舞姿，但仍甚美，鍋莊舞一曲下來，姑娘已是香汗淋淋。男士動作幅度較大，而且蹦蹦跳跳，但均有對稱，鍋莊舞是有節奏是有紀律，比起我們台灣原住民舞蹈，和以色列猶太水舞等，稍微繁複，但有基本動作紀律可循。

我在草場散步，開始揮肩，已經奏效，我要繼續帶上郵輪，欣賞西藏鍋莊舞，真是福氣。

American are good at business(2)/Carlos Pueblo

 American are good at business(2)/Carlos Pueblo

The inflation 2022 comes to us and I have witness that American are good at business again. I am quite busy with what I am going to have additional 5 cruise trips in three months and experienced with joy of spending money with some business promotion from banks and the cruise liner. It is very unusual to see a frugal person like me to spend $14,000 on credit cards for cruise trips and get $1,400 cash back and excited about it.

When the Chinese Wuhan Corona Virus Pandemic hit the U.S., the U.S. federal government has distributed several $1,200 per person cash to help to pass some difficulty . The Fed even provides some funds for companies to hire back laid off employees for not interrupting their monthly incomes. There are too much Greenbacks printed so far and the inflation finally comes. The gasoline hits the highest point in years yet Biden makes is back down a little bit. The White House and the Federal Reserve are not afraid of the recession for the time being. both of them decide to control the inflation and the Fed raises the landing interest rate several times in a few months. Finally I have had an opportunity to make a one year certificate of deposit to earn 2.75% interest.

Two of the national largest banks offer me new credit cards to spend some money in 3 months and award me with promotional rebates, $8,000 for $800, $2,000 for $200, and $4,000 for $400, etc. With  several helps from my brother-in-law Yong Teoh in NYC and Amy to purchase 3 cruises trips and airfares, I almost make to the goal $14,000 and get $4,000 cash back. 

In addition to my existing voucher discount $125 per cruise trip, my cruise agent finds additional discount with my new purchase, called the latitude discount which makes me very happy that would make up the airfare inflation. I join to the civic group to help the economic recovery if there is any. The U.S. is like a locomotive to move the world as long as the U.S. is still prosperous, there is an opportunity that the world will be prosperous eventually. American are good at business.

美國人很能做生意／莊峻華

 美國人很能做生意／莊峻華

2022年通貨膨脹，這是武肺漫延全美，局部癱瘓美國經濟後，川普開始就發每人一千二補助金，拜登再發一次，我忘一共發幾次，拜登有發公司薪水貸款，讓公司聘回遣散之職員，然後就遇到2022通貨膨脹，於是白宮判斷，先遏阻通膨，央行生息幾次。按我的節儉習慣，應該是緊縮支出，以應付通膨之無常，但是無意間，我增加外出郵輪旅行，今年已經七次，當然是因為有特價折扣，美國人很能做生意。

愛美曰菜市場物價飆高，於是我就增加我的月費，然後注意牛排特價，兩家大銀行給我三張新信用卡，鼓勵我馬上花費，三個月內達到一定數目，像一張$8000給$800紅利，一張$2000給$200，最後一張$4000給$400，這半年我買機票和船票，一共花$14000，拿到$1400回扣，我在船上吃飯65日，愛美也可省下一些買菜錢，我再三提醒她，當然這$14000支出包括她阿拉斯加兩週船票和機票，還有紐約榮祥10日郵輪船票，我統一購買，用上我的三張$125優待券，也替大家節省。

為共同面對通貨膨脹2022，美國銀行也想辦法來促進生意，有一張大通卡，提出無息付款12個月優待辦法，我想好幾天都想不出如何加以利用？我為達到第三張新卡要求，特別請全家人幫忙，還要加上購買郵輪優待劵，這些折扣將使用在購買單程機票上，避免機票單程增加費。

全球經濟復甦，全賴美國這火車頭，美國避免消條，世界繼續出售貨物給美國，賺取美金，購買美金，購買美國公債，美金成為強勢貨幣，持美金之外國人，都無息貸款美國，當然我不用美金現鈔，使用信用卡，先向銀行貸款，商人早已算上手續費，我無法通吃，無法逃避所得稅，但美國確實是一穩定強盛之國，我毫無抱怨。

Two recent political activities in the United Kingdom/Carlos Pueblo

 Two recent political activities in the United Kingdom/Carlos Pueblo

There are two political activities occurred in the United Kingdom recently caught my attention, first the lady premier fired her treasury secretary for cutting taxes for the rich; second Manchester city police rescued a Hong Kong immigrant protester inside the Chinese Consulate General compound. I have paid very much attention to both London and Manchester in recent years of my visits to both place and I like the politic.

Liz Truss replaces Boris Johnson recently as the Premier for the U.K., she she faces the inflation 2022 and urgently required her attention. She is a conservative party, Tories like the Republican Party in the U.S. She believe a tax cut will stimulate the spending and therefore, cut the tax will trigger the economy and gets the U.K. out of the recession. Trump and his supporters have claimed such credit for at least since 2016. Obviously, the Lower House or House of Common can't get enough votes to pass such bills which would force the new regime to be collapsed and a new election must be held immediately. It is called the non-confidence vote. It will not happened in the U.S. and applied to the U.S. President, i.e. the late Trump's Mexican bolder wall fund rejected in the House. Trump was still finishing his 4 year term as the President without a new election until 2020. I can't tell which system is better than another. I can see the U.S. Fed creates some gap of the interest rate in order to maneuver the rate later when it is needed such as 2008 case. Most of the economic power houses in the world are still watching carefully to move the interest rate; therefore, their rate are still near 0 for the time being. They may make the same move later.

The Chinese Consul General in Manchester lead about 10 fellow consulate diplomats out to beat up protesters mostly immigrants from Hong Kong. I saw a live video presented by the great BBC to show how many Manchester police forces quickly move in to rescue a victim out of the Consulate compound. It is so ridiculous. Chinese diplomats think that they are still in China or Hong Kong.

I have been to both London and Manchester for many times and I love both cities. I have been sitting for two hours for a regular meeting at the House of Common nearby the Westminster Church with a bronze statute of the Lion King Richard. I have marched many miles on the rivers and canals around Manchester. Both are very interesting indeed.