Looking at my Google Analytics for this website, I thought it would be interesting to review the top 10 pages that people have found through the Google search engine. So, here I present to you the Best of the “Zen Garden”:

1. Are Filipinos Asian?

Enough people have asked, that this question warrants some further exploration. Indeed, Filipinos are unique in that many people have been confused as to whether we are Pacific Islanders or Asian. Despite our Spanish heritage and influence, The Philippines is indeed a part of Southeast Asia just as Singapore and Thailand and other countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Here I try to explain our true origins, which also links Filipinos to the aborigines of Taiwan.

2. Keith Jarrett Tour Dates!

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, then I’m sure you’re aware that I am a devout Keith Jarrett fan. But, to my surprise I’ve been getting a lot of hits to this page from other Keith Jarrett fans looking for his touring schedule. He’s currently not on tour at the moment, but I feel obligated to keep this page current, since it gets a lot of hits from Google.

3. I Carry Your Heart: by E.E. Cummings

A couple of years ago (as a prelude to Valentine’s Day) I decided to re-interpret E.E. Cummings’ poem “I Carry Your Heart With Me”, not changing the words but re-interpreting the lines. E.E. Cummings has always had a very unique style of presenting words in a poem (called orthography), so I thought, “why not restructure the words who I would normally write one of my poems”. And, I haven’t gotten any complaints from any E.E. Cummings scholars, so thanks for understanding. I first heard of this poem from the movie, “In Her Shoes”, starring Cameron Diaz and Toni Colette.

4. The 10 Wealthiest People in the World

Apparently, people are often wondering who the wealthiest people in the world are! Back in September I wrote a post that listed the 10 wealthiest billionaires at that time. I noticed that in 2008 the top person kept fluctuating between Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, but according to certain sources, in September, the wealthiest person in the world was Carlos Slim Helu, a Telecommunications billionaire from Mexico.

5. Yes, Filipinos Are Asian!

This post was a reply to a blogger who, with a very racist mindset, posted that Filipinos were wannabe “Fake Asians” who latched on to Japanese culture in an effort to identify themselves as Asian. Fact is, people the world over are influenced by Japanese culture. Well, this person’s blog has since disappeared after I linked to him within this post and told him that Filipinos definitely ARE Asian and have always been a part of Southeast Asia. There is so much confusion as to whether Filipinos are Pacific Islander or Asian, I just had to do some research on this. And despite our Spanish heritage as stated above, Filipinos are Southeast Asian.

6. Amy Poehler: Rap For Palin

When I first saw this on SNL that Saturday night, I was laughing so hard. And how surreal was that? To have Alaska Governor Sarah Palin actually on the show, sitting there and groovin’ along to the beat! I quickly found the video on the SNL website (at the time I couldn’t find it on YouTube), and suddenly I started getting a LOT of hits to this one post. I still watch the video now and then. Seeing a very pregnant Amy Poehler rapping about Sarah Palin is just too funny.

7. Quiz: How Liberal or Conservative Are You?

I’m sure that people who are extreme right-wing Conservatives or left-wing Liberals know where they stand and don’t need to take this quiz. But, during the whole Presidential race of 2008, many Republican Conservatives were accusing Senator Barack Obama (now President-elect Barack Obama) of actually being too far to the left… a Communist… a Socialist. I’ve always considered myself more Liberal than Conservative, but at the same time I am a bit conservative in some respects. So, for those who wanted to find out exactly where they stand and want to see some percentages, this is a good Quiz to take.

8. Akiane: Amazing 12 Year Old Art Prodigy

A fellow musical colleague of mine emailed me a link to a story about a young art prodigy named Akiane Kramarik. I was amazed at how gifted this young girl was, and quickly found a YouTube video documenting the girl’s amazing story. The amazing detail and clarity of her work reflects experience well beyond her years. At the age of 10 she was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show and on CNN.

9. A Quote From “The Forbidden Kingdom”

Music is a connection between Earth and Heaven…

I was watching this movie on DVD and the above quote caught my attention. At the time I just thought it was pretty inspiring. But, I didn’t expect to get as many inquiries about this quote via Google. Hmm… interesting.

10. Tina Fey Meets Sarah Palin on SNL!

The presidential election of 2008 proved to be an exciting one, and I’m sure it will go down in history as one of the most notorious as far as “negative campaigning” goes. But, Tina Fey’s uncanny resemblance to Sarah Palin was just too hard for SNL to resist, and TV ratings turned out to be their best in 10 years, as everyone anticipated Tina Fey’s impersonations of the Alaska Governor. The culmination was when the “real” Sarah Palin finally her match in what turned out to be a very funny, yet surreal experience!

. . . .

And this pretty much wraps up the 10 most popular posts here, based on Google search engine results. And special thanks go to Google Analytics for compiling the results. Maybe I’ll do another Top 10 post at the end of the year, in case the list changes…

Another great performance by Tina Fey once again as Alaska Governor Sarah Palin!

But the big twist was the presence of the REAL Sarah Palin making her first appearance on the show.

It was funny and somewhat surreal at the same time. And supposedly SNL’s ratings for this much anticipated show drew the most viewers. The best ratings in 14 years.

Anyway, that was a pretty weird meeting between Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin and the REAL Sarah Palin. They avoided each other while they passed each other onstage, as if two parallel universes would’ve collided if there was any sort of actual contact. Bizarre, yet hilarious!

I’m rollin’ from head to toe with laughter this morning, watching this SNL Rap For Palin! Kudos to Amy Poehler for doing a great job on it, while 10 months pregnant? Yep, I heard she’s like a month overdue!

And hats off to Governor Sarah Palin for being a good sport and actually appearing on SNL to meet her comedic match, the lovely and talented Tina Fey.

Sarah Palin Rap Lyrics courtesy of TKBB:

one two three

yo i’m palin, i’m out!

Naturally, if you missed the VP debate last night you can always catch it on YouTube. The full debate has been provided courtesy of C-SPAN, as a service to the public and global community.