DAILY PHOTO: Tonsai Beach at Sundown
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Wen Fu 7 “Music” [文赋七] by Lu Ji [陆机]
Matter comes in countless varieties,
And the forms are evershifting, as well.
Writers must dance the varied characters
To dulcet lines where elegance dwells,
Finding the right pace, cadence, and stresses
To blend like harmony in the five hues.
Though the tune fades in and out randomly
And the path is rugged and hazard-strewn,
Those who know the ways of change and order
Will find all falls into place with a flow.
But if one misses the proper pivots
It's like grabbing the tail to steer the nose --
Like yellow painted onto wet, black walls,
One's writing becomes muddy, and it stalls.
The original in Simplified Chinese:
其为物也多姿，其为体也屡迁。
其会意也尚巧，其遣言也贵妍。
暨音声之迭代，若五色之相宣。
虽逝止之无常，固崎锜而难便。
苟达变而识次，犹开流以纳泉。
如失机而后会，恒操末以续颠。
谬玄黄之粗叙，故浍涊而不鲜。
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PROMPT: Live Performance
A local theater group’s performance of “My Fair Lady” a couple months ago… Unless, you count several minutes watching a group of fire jugglers on the beach in Krabi.
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FIVE WISE LINES [May 2025]
It is a happy talent to know how to play.
Ralph waldo emerson
Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.
Hans christian andersen
Don’t abandon kindness, mercy, and sympathy in an emergency.
Qiānzì wén [千字文], Ch. 3
Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
albert Einstein
You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.
Henry david thoreau
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BOOKS: “Wild Thing” by Mike Fairclough
Wild Thing: Embracing Childhood Traits in Adulthood for a Happier, More Carefree Life by Mike FaircloughMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher Site — Hay House
This short self-help guide aims to encourage adults to recapture some of the bliss-inducing traits of children. Over six chapters, it examines the virtues of play, rule-breaking behavior, imagination, resilience, gratitude, flow, daydreaming, discovery, exploration, and awe.
Each chapter, in true self-help fashion, ends with a bulleted set of practical tips and practices. The book has an Introduction and Afterward, but no other ancillary material.
I felt the book was at its strongest when the author was discussing his personal experiences. Otherwise, the book can dip into the “no-duh” plight common among self-help style books — where it seems to state the obvious without adding depth of insight.
I enjoyed reading this book. It’s a nice, short pep-talk — though it’s unlikely to leave readers with any burning revelations or new insights.
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DAILY PHOTO: Koh Phi Phi from Viewpoint 2
PROMPT: Community
Being a traveler, I’m not even sure what my community would be. So, whatever it is, it’s probably not enough. I go to events (festivals, cultural performances, and such) but typically as an [alien] observer.
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“Now Close the Windows” by Robert Frost [w/ Audio]
Now close the windows and hush all the fields;
If the trees must, let them silently toss;
No bird is singing now, and if there is,
Be it my loss.
It will be long ere the marshes resume,
It will be long ere the earliest bird:
So close the windows and not hear the wind,
But see all wind-stirred.
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BOOKS: “A Short Stay in Hell” by Steven L. Peck
A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. PeckMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher Site: Strange Violin Editions
If you enjoy books like Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 or Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy this book will probably be right up your alley. It may not be as unrelentingly (and hilariously) absurd as H2G2, but it’s clever, amusing, and thought-provoking.
The premise is that a devout Christian finds himself in hell because it turns out that Zoroastrianism was actually the one true religion. Fortunately, Zoroastrian hell is neither as grim nor (perhaps, ironically) as fire & brimstone-oriented as the Biblical version, but it is tedious, demoralizing, and — while it might not last forever –it lasts long enough to seem like forever.
Jorge Luis Borges fans (such as myself) will find a nod to his work in the shape of said hell.
I’d highly recommend this book for readers of irreverent and humorous literary fiction. It’s funny. It’s clever. And it’s a quick read.
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Scurry [Haiku]
shore birds scurry,
evading rolling surf,
like playful kids.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 