“The Magi” by William Butler Yeats

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Now as at all times I can see in the mind's 
     eye,
 In their stiff, painted clothes, the pale 
     unsatisfied ones
 Appear and disappear in the blue depths of
     the sky
 With all their ancient faces like rain-beaten
     stones,
 And all their helms of silver hovering side
     by side,
 And all their eyes still fixed, hoping to find
     once more, 
 Being by Calvary's turbulence unsatisfied,
 The uncontrollable mystery on the bestial
    floor.

Wetlands Sunset [Haiku]

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Summer sunset
 glows on the wetlands,
  for a short time.

Goose [Lyric Poem]

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There's a goose, a goose on the loose!
 They scare me, though we have a truce.
 The meanest bird you'll find in the park,
 I bet they started shit on that Ark.

DAILY PHOTO: Bukit Cina [Chinese Hill — 三宝山]

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World War II Resistance Memorial
One (communal) grave/memorial is at the highest point of the hill.
Poh San Teng Temple [a.k.a. Bǎo Shān Tíng]

BOOKS: “Nightwing, Vol. 1: Leaping into the Light” by Tom Taylor

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Nightwing, Vol. 1: Leaping into the LightNightwing, Vol. 1: Leaping into the Light by Tom Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – DC Comics

As in a lot of the Batman stories, in this volume, Nightwing (Dick Grayson) is fighting a two-front war. On the one hand, there is a mysterious central villain du jour, Heartless — an augmented masked criminal who is killing in impoverished neighborhoods by (literally) stealing his victims’ hearts. Then, on the other hand, there is the usual systematic corruption and organized crime of his chosen city, Blüdhaven. These two fights bump into each other here and there but are largely independent of one other (at least as far as one can tell in this, the first, volume of a run.) Barbara Gordon and Tim Drake / Robin participate in the story, but other than that the only hero appearances are cameos.

I enjoyed the pacing and emotional arc of this story. My reading pleasure surprises even me because I think I would ordinarily feel the book had a poor resolution to hook ratio. (i.e. I would feel that not enough was resolved to make this feel like as satisfactory standalone story.) However, there was a resolution that offered satisfaction, but it was just not what I (or -probably- the typical reader) would think of as a normal comic book resolution. (i.e. It was not a resolution achieved by kicking and punching, but rather by soul-searching.)

At any rate, I’d highly recommend this book for comic book readers.

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“O Me! O Life!” by Walt Whitman [w/ Audio]

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Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these
     recurring,
 Of the endless trains of the faithless,
     of cities fill'd with the foolish,
 Of myself forever reproaching myself, 
    (for who more foolish than I, and who
    more faithless?)
 Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the
    objects mean, of the struggle ever 
    renew'd,
 Of the poor results of all, of the plodding
    and sordid crowds I see around me,
 Of the empty and useless years of the 
    rest, with the rest me intertwined,
 The question, O me! so sad, recurring --
    What good amid these, O me, O life?

                                           Answer.
 That you are here--that life exists and
    identity,
 That the powerful play goes on, and you
    may contribute a verse.

Squirrel [Lyric Poem]

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The squirrel freezes -- unblinking --
 But I cannot help but thinking:
 How come its tail is misbehaving?
 A betrayal by spastic waving!

Gray Baby [Kyōka]

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an autumn sapling,
 red leaves on a stiff twig,
  shakes in the breeze;
 i can't help but think of it 
 as a gray-haired baby.

DAILY PHOTO: A Few More Murals from Malacca

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The fully SWATed out paramilitary-man with big dopey cartoon eyes amused me.

BOOK: “Mad About the Mekong” by John Keay

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Mad About The Mekong: Exploration and Empire in South East AsiaMad About The Mekong: Exploration and Empire in South East Asia by John Keay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Site

This book is largely, but not exclusively, an accounting of the Mekong Exploration Commission’s two-year (1866-1868) expedition of the Mekong River. The French undertook this expedition in the expectation that the Mekong, like other of the world’s major rivers, would allow ocean-going ships to traverse deep inland — possibly even up into Yunnan, China. The explorers were quickly disabused of this notion, but they relentlessly kept going – despite suffering from disease and the exhaustion of a trip that involved a lot more portaging and other intense physical activities than they’d hoped for.

As I mentioned, Keay doesn’t stick purely to description of the activities of these nineteenth century explorers. Along the way he also brings in fascinating stories from other periods as well as discussion of what the river is like (e.g. its ecology, infrastructure, role in geopolitics, etc.) these days. So, while it would be excessive to call the book a history of the Mekong, it is in some regards — albeit the highlights reel. Some of the diversions were among my favorite parts of the book. Perhaps my favorite was the story of Tony Poe, whose story is said to be the model for Col. Kurtz of Apocalypse Now. I’d long heard that that movie was based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and it is (the name “Kurtz” is clearly from Conrad’s novella, though Poe’s occupation more closely mirrors the Col. Kurtz character played by Marlon Brando.)

While the book sometimes shines the light more broadly than he Mekong Exploration Commission Expedition, it also narrows its focus much of the way, putting the expedition’s most colorful character, Francis Garnier, front and center. Garnier was not only the most intriguing member of the leadership, he also led the group to what was the end of the line for the expedition, deep in China, when the Captain, Ernest Doudart de Lagree, became incapacitated by disease.

If you’re interested in history, travel, or exploration, I’d recommend this book.

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