When East meets West
Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:47 amAs Valentine's Day approaches once again, I can't help myself but to wonder and get amazed on the four-letter words L-O-V-E. It is so powerful and can work miracles even in long distance situations. The following may consider the essence of why there is Jade Rune.
Historical accounts stated that the story of America began, after all, with a vision of the East- it was the quest of Cathay and the Indies, their riches and mysticsm, that Christopher Columbus navigated the Atlantic Ocean and found America instead which led the general European awareness. That vision remains alluring. And that epic meeting hasnt yet come to a conclusion. Until these days, his discovery in 1492 was being observed on October 12 in the U.S. and Spain as the Columbus Day. We’re only approaching the dramatic turning point at the beginning of the 21st century with the advent of the globalized, high tech information technology- internet, mobile phones, etc. commmunications between the two different parts of the globe facilitate results including east meets west love stories.
One can say that Rudyard Kipling's 1889 famous published poem, "The Ballad of East and West", is worth quoting and understanding the refrain which opens, and closes, the poem in full
Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgement Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!
This may be surmised as saying that 'it is uncontestable that geographic points of the compass will never meet in this life, but that when two strong men [or equals] encounter and face each other, the accidents of birth, whether of nationality, race, religion or
family, do not matter at all - the Asian is equal to the European'. Another phenomenon is, what is the similarity of the great balladeer Julio Iglesias, Jr., Hollywood actor- Kevin Kline, Motley Crue's bassist- Nikki Sixx, NBA legend Karl Malone & the late Rune Holt? All of them are famous Americans and a Spanish whose common denominator is that all were married and some has been to Filipinas or half-Pinays. One cant help but to wonder the allure of east meets west.
Historical accounts stated that the story of America began, after all, with a vision of the East- it was the quest of Cathay and the Indies, their riches and mysticsm, that Christopher Columbus navigated the Atlantic Ocean and found America instead which led the general European awareness. That vision remains alluring. And that epic meeting hasnt yet come to a conclusion. Until these days, his discovery in 1492 was being observed on October 12 in the U.S. and Spain as the Columbus Day. We’re only approaching the dramatic turning point at the beginning of the 21st century with the advent of the globalized, high tech information technology- internet, mobile phones, etc. commmunications between the two different parts of the globe facilitate results including east meets west love stories.
One can say that Rudyard Kipling's 1889 famous published poem, "The Ballad of East and West", is worth quoting and understanding the refrain which opens, and closes, the poem in full
Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgement Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!
This may be surmised as saying that 'it is uncontestable that geographic points of the compass will never meet in this life, but that when two strong men [or equals] encounter and face each other, the accidents of birth, whether of nationality, race, religion or
family, do not matter at all - the Asian is equal to the European'. Another phenomenon is, what is the similarity of the great balladeer Julio Iglesias, Jr., Hollywood actor- Kevin Kline, Motley Crue's bassist- Nikki Sixx, NBA legend Karl Malone & the late Rune Holt? All of them are famous Americans and a Spanish whose common denominator is that all were married and some has been to Filipinas or half-Pinays. One cant help but to wonder the allure of east meets west.
