I’ve always gotten bogged down in Joyce’s Ulysses. There are some books you need to be in the right headspace to attack.
I should probably read the Bible and the Koran, speaking of literature I’ve never had the mental energy to take up.
Quiet, simple, and in other ways not distracting.
The Young Monk: A Story in Simplified Chinese and Pinyin, 600 Word Vocabulary by Jeff PepperI’d like to know more about the capabilities and limitations of AI, a rabbit-hole that I have only recently stumbled upon, but which I am tumbling down hard. Particularly, how to best use it for language acquisition as I am currently learning Chinese and would like to increase my literacy so I can open myself up to a whole new world of books.
I’m also curious about pratfalls and physical comedy all of a sudden.
Being able to read Chinese, even if is dumbed-down stories for beginners and I still have to look words up every few sentences. But it feels like I’ve stumbled upon a door to a whole new universe.
EPIPHANIES.
But, if you think about it, writing is miraculous. In the scheme of gifts that nature grants, it is way out beyond left field. Encoding ideas and images in simple characters in a way that can evoke emotional or cognitive responses in readers is kind of a superpower. (As is reading.)
1.) love; 2.) a glorious turn of phrase; 3.) discovery; 4.) walking; 5.) swimming; 6.) stumbling upon an interesting and / or novel idea; 7.) movement; 8.) travel; 9.) street food; 10.) quiet; 11.) health; 12.) recognition that when things are at their very worst, they must get better — because everything is impermanent; 13.) an intense stretch; 14.) Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass;” 15.) undiscovered country; 16.) the hanging moment; 17.) a mystery-laden world; 18.) a moment of flow; 19.) a mountain path; 20.) a clear stream; 21.) the way of non-adversariality; 22.) a thing stripped to its simplest form; 23.) the moment breath turns the tide; 24.) animals being animals; 25.) a brief instant of free fall; 26.) the recognition that something that used to cause me angst or fear no longer does; 27.) when body, movement, and the world fall into alignment; 28.) first contact with someplace / something new; 29.) connection; 30.) the first sign that the struggle is paying off.
The Rise of the Monkey King: A Story in Simplified Chinese and Pinyin, 600 Word Vocabulary Level by Jeff PepperWhen I can’t read two sentences without drifting off, I sleep. When the sun comes up, I awaken.
Yes, yes. We read these things called books. They hurt much worse when you dropped one on your toe (but much less than the stone tablets of the preceding generation,) but at least you wouldn’t be out $1,200 (USD) if they took a bad bounce.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 