What happened?
我喜欢打屁股.
WHAT?!
我喜欢打屁股!
(I like to hit my butt!)
He did not escape mom’s angry lecture.
Don’t play on the stairs!
䷒䷊
a lapdog no profit
a chicken no blame
beware shifty stairs
-
pitter-patter, pitter-patter, THUMP!
-
They watched our neighbor install an inflatable Santa Jack Skellington pulled by Bonedeer led by Zero onto the roof of their garage.
He drew an oblong circle,
Added a couple eyes
And a toothy grin.
我画了一个 skeleton face.
(I drew a “skeleton face”)“Huh?”
He pointed at the chalk drawing on the wall.
我画了一个 skeleton face!
“你说那个是骷髅头?”
(Are you saying that is a skeleton head?)
对!
(Correct!)
“英文叫 skull.”
(In English, that’s a skull.)
我画了一个 skull.
He beamed a toothy grin.䷱䷆
a scorpion broke
off the tripod leg
bronze green canine -
± 100 Posts!
a novice reads the I Ching
How shall I consider 100 Posts?
63:3 to 3
Heading into our third weekend together, this will be my 100th post. (Technically I hit it earlier, but I deleted a few stray Posts along the way.)
I pick up — and drop — hobbies with alacrity. I wish I weren’t so fickle, but I’m not the only one. There are many conflicting pulls on our time. Doing one means diminishing another, so I cycle through my recreations.
Over the past two decade, we’ve seen social media platforms rise and fall. Glittering potential dissolving into pernicious squabbling. A brilliant dawn fades into tragedy.
Will this be an apex or a milestone? I don’t know. If it’s near the top, then early gratitude for these magical 16 days. If the latter, then I look forward to many more Posts together.
~
63. After Completion 既濟
䷾ (water over fire)Success in small matters. Good fortune in at the beginning. But things might end in chaos. Equilibrium on a knife’s edge, calamitous disorder on both sides. Water over fire, steam gives power but fraught with danger. With the wrong attitude completion leads to decay. Practice constancy.
Changing Line 3
(yang becomes yin)Conquer demon territory. Establish a bastion in the borderlands. It will take capable leadership and persistence. Three years. A bold initiative will become a protracted campaign. Employ people of character. The work will exact a brutal toll. A petty man will lose it all.
3. Difficulty at the Beginning 屯
䷂ (water over quake)Life grows through the abyss. Great potential is attainable with good character. Be adaptable and dynamic, as clouds and thunder. Birth is a treacherous moment. Associate with noble people.
~
Good start, don’t get cocky.
Victory is attainable at great cost.
Shape order from chaos with good company. -
Mama was not amused that we indulged his conflation of “tofu” with “potato” to create a little lunch ditty.
Tofu 豆腐 Dòufu
Potato 土豆 Tǔdòu
Potato (Pəˈtādō)
Tomato (Təˈmādō)Dòufu
Tǔdòu!
Pəˈtādō
Təˈmādō!Dòufu
Tǔdòu!
Pəˈtādō
Təˈmādō!䷙䷈
dou — dou — dō — dō!
-
Stephen Brian, 2022
He was one of the first folks to play with us,
On our first visit to Friday Night Game Night,
(Jim and Troung’s place.)He was a little geeky — me too!
(Two dudes playing board games every week)
I best remember his aura of kindness.My days in Houston ended in 2013,
Never got around to that 3P game of Konig von Siam.
(He liked heavier games, I’m into lighter games.)Just found out he passed away this year.
We’ll get that play one day,
(Between rounds of of Tichu)
On that next plane.䷤䷂
sincerity
arrayed like a king
good fortune in the end -
Sister disappeared into the kitchen closet while [Redacted] was washing his hands.
Are you in the Dawg Place?
No, I’m in the Pantry Place!
That’s the Dawg Place!
It’s called: the Pantry Place.
哪个狗地方在哪里? (Where is this dog place?)No, it’s the Dark Place!
䷤䷁
straight square coffer
filly canine nocturne -
The long plastic sinew metamorphosed into a chain, a sill, and a header.
They grabbed the red jump rope,
Dragged each other across the tile floor.
She had us pull it taut,
Leapt over it, head first towards the corner of our dining table.
We held it high,
Limbo’ed underneath the glossy line.
Ohh! My back!䷥䷐
the hog bear the paint
a car carrying ghosts
hamster on a clavichord -
The dinner jousted over the undulating dearth and glut of technology.
They took the iPad during our zoom call,
And hid under a pair of blankets,
To squirm, laugh, giggle, squawk, fidget, and squeal.
They insisted I join the call on my iPhone,
To transmit this fuzzy, pulsing grey blob to the family.
“At your age, grandpa got our first video camera, much less eight.”䷻
She wants her own phone, like her friends.
“You don’t need a phone, just use my my number.”
“When I was a boy, we only had one phone in the whole house.”
“Mommy shared a phone at the apartment headquarters.”
“How come you old people always talk about the past?”䷼
bitter festival
pigs and fishes
an ocean of bits
wooden boat -
Catwings, Ursula K. Le Guin and S. D. Schindler, 1988-1999
A four book series around the theme of family.
- The four are forged into a family, escaping the city and finding a new home.
- Jane is rescued, growing the family.
- Alexander leaves his family and finds a new home.
- Jane leaves the woods and finds Mom again.
This theme is tuned perfectly with its audience.
At this age, the kids are realizing their individuality beyond us.
This family isn’t forever.They will soon explore the outside world,
It won’t be easy —
Dangers lurk, both harsh and soft.And there are rewards,
To find new friends,
Together create their own new worlds.At home, the parents prescribe the horizon.
Soon (too soon!) they’ll fly away.
And one day,
Hopefully,
They’ll come home.~
I came across this series via Le Guin’s No Time to Spare, an excellent collection of blog postings. This highlights my egregious oversight in never reading her before. Hopefully 2023 will be the year to dive into her work.
S. D. Schindler’s illustrations are delightful. It’s a shame that Overdrive only hosts the Catwing audiobooks. Hopefully they’ll get the digital rights in order so they can distribute the written books.
Thankfully, our library has copies of the physical books.
-
How shall we consider the election today?
novice reads the I Ching
19:1,3 to 46
In reading classic texts, one should be wary of the context. These are invariably Imperial documents. They were written by men in power to influence men with even more power. Literacy was an ultimate privilege.
Reading them is a balancing act. Books that survived the ages must have provided great value to their readers. But we shouldn’t uncritically marinate in their archaic values.
Then again, questioning paradigms is the point of divination. This is a tool to help us surface our self-imposed unconsciousness.
So let’s ask the oracle of ancient kings concerning this day of democracy.
~
19. The Approach 臨
䷒ (earth above a lake)
Success approaches by obtaining the trust of others. Be boundless in teaching. Lead by patient persuasion. Share the truth. But growth may be short-lived, calamity might be around the corner.Changing Line 3
Complacency in the approach will result in stagnation. However, doom is not predestined. Remorse against comfort and vigilance against ignorance will protect from harm.46. Pushing Upward 升
䷭ (earth above the wood)
Like a tree pushes upward through the earth, greatness will rise. Rooted in good character and heaping small efforts. This accumulation can climb high. Practice devotion to continual progress.~
Success is near, so is calamity.
Don’t get comfortable, continual refinement.
The constant pressure of little victories leads to great progress.