Overheard in 林口
甲：我讀大學的時候到北部來，吃肉粽，味道怪怪的。南部的說南部的肉粽好吃，北部說北部的肉粽好吃，常常吵架。
乙：這樣也能吵架！

An exciting story from the 4th century, Chinese with English below:
西伯利亞，地名來自突厥語的「師比」，亦作「胥紕」、「鮮卑」，意為瑞獸(或指白虎)；鮮卑後為族名，起于東胡。
鮮卑有宇文、段、慕容、拓拔諸部。前燕文明帝慕容皝有弟仁、昭、翰；仁、昭叛，至西元三三三年，翰知皝不容己，攜二子逃入段部鮮卑；段遼敗，亡入宇文部鮮卑。宇文君為宇文逸豆歸。
接下來，資治通鑑記載：
晉咸康六年，宇文逸豆歸忌慕容翰才名。翰乃陽(佯)狂酣飲，或臥自便痢，或被髮歌呼，拜跪乞食。宇文舉國賤之，不復省錄，以故得行來自遂，山川形便皆默記之。燕王皝以翰初非叛亂，以猜嫌出奔，雖在它國，常潛為燕計；乃遣商人王車(姓王名車)通市於宇文部以窺翰。翰見車，無言，撫膺頷之而已。皝曰：「翰欲來也。」複使車迎之。翰彎弓三石餘，矢尤長大，皝為之造可手(適手)弓矢，使車埋於道旁而密告之。

二月，翰竊逸豆歸名馬，攜其二子過取弓矢，逃歸。逸豆歸使驍騎百餘追之。翰曰：「吾久客思歸，既得上馬，無復還理。吾向日陽(佯)愚以誑汝，吾之故藝猶在，無為相逼，自取死也！」追騎輕之，直突而前。翰曰：「吾居汝國久恨恨(恨恨謂不捨、相愛)，不欲殺汝；汝去我百步立汝刀，吾射之，一發中者汝可還，不中者可來前。」追騎解刀立之，一發，正中其環，追騎散走。皝聞翰至，大喜，恩遇甚厚。
The name Siberia, Сиби́рь, comes from sibi, or subi / senbi, a Turkic word for an auspicious animal, likely the Siberian tiger. Senbi, written 鮮卑 Hsienpei / Xianbei was the name of a mounted tribe.
There were four main divisions of the Senbi; the Yuwen, Duan, Mujung, and Toba. Mujung is probably a transliteration of Bayan, a chief, a leader. They founded a kingdom called the Earlier Yen. King Huang had a brother named Han, who was a great general and so widely admired that in 333AD, he decided to remove himself from the spotlight and go to live with the Duan. He took his two sons. The Duan chief, Liao, lost battles and his kingdom, so Han went to live with the Yuwen, under their king Idogui.
We pick up our story with records for 340 AD. Idogui was jealous of Han's talent and fame. Fearing for his life, Han feigned alcoholism and insanity. He would lie down in his own urine and excrement. He let his hair down and sang and danced in the streets. He would kneel down and beg for food. All of the Yuwen were disgusted by him, so the spies stopped following him and tracking his movements. This way, Han was free to go where he pleased, and he paid careful attention to the location of all the mountains, rivers, and terrain.
King Huang of Yan knew that Han had not been disloyal, and ran away because he was distrusted, but even though he was not with his own people, he would secretly help Yan (another long story we won't go into). So King Huang sent a merchant, Wang Che, to trade with the Yuwen, and have a look at Han. When Han saw Che, he didn't say anything, but struck his chest and hung low his head. King Huang said, "Han wants to come home." He sent Che again to receive him.
Han used a bow of 300 pounds, and his arrows were especially long with big heads. King Huang had a bow and arrows made just for Han's hand. He had Che bury it beside a road, and secretly tell Han where it was.
A month later, Han stole Idogui's finest horse. He took his sons, retrieved the bow, and ran home. Idogui sent over a hundred of his most ferocious horsemen to chase after him. When they caught up with him, Han said, "I have been a wanderer for a long time and I want to go home. Now I have a fine horse, so there is no reason for me to go back with you. I fooled you by pretending to be silly, but I still have my old skill. Don't push me, or you will be bringing on your own death." The horsemen didn't think much of him, so they charged straight at him. Han said, "I have lived in your land for a long time and I have great affection for you, so I don't want to kill you. Walk a hundred paces from me, and stick your sword in the ground. I will shoot one arrow. If it hits the sword, you can go back. If I miss, you may come at me." One of the horsemen stuck his sword in the ground. Han took his bow, fired one shot, and the arrow struck the ring mounted on the handle. The horsemen scattered.
When King Huang heard Han was back, he was delighted, and greeted Han with honor and grace.
And of course they eventually wiped out the Yuwen.

人生很重要的一件事是：發呆。平常碌碌轉，需要一些時間把腦筋放空，胡思亂想。發呆是創意的根源。平常認真、充實，發呆就可能有奇穫(例如現在討論的這個構想，就是發呆所致。)

現代人一有空就拿手機出來，傳簡訊、打電玩。這樣的話，怎會有創意？靈感都被電子架空。難怪現代人只懂得跟隨流行、人云亦云。

An important part of human life is staring off into space, daydreaming. Your mind needs some time to idle, turn over ideas, and rearrange thoughts. This is an important source of creativity. (It goes without saying that this should not be your main activity…)

Every moment they have free, people nowadays text others or play video games. Their inspiration is stifled by electronic cheap thrills, so no wonder creativity suffers, and is replaced by blindly following trends and fashions.

Some time today, spare a moment to remember Kennedy. "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask rather what you can do for your country."

後趙明帝石勒很了不起。羯族，少年為奴，卻成為後趙開國君；

謀略深邃，推動經濟，建立攷制，一生敗筆就是聽了母親的話，沒殺石虎。

石勒說，「大丈夫行事，宜礌礌落落，如日月皎然。」念之、念之！

(石勒生于西元二七四年， 崩于三三三年。)

現在教書，需一直降低要求來迎合學生的程度。

Thar she blows, Moby Dick has been spotted. No, Moby Dick is not spotted,

he's all white. Moby Dick has been seen, and renamed Willow.

here

司馬光生于宋真宗天禧三年，即西元一0一九年十一月十七日：今天是他老人家的生日！蛋糕滿滿的都是蠟燭，怎麼吹呀‽
既然知道是他的生日，要怎麼慶祝呢？去打破水缸吧。
We are approaching the thousandth birthday of Ssuma Kuang (Sima Guang), one of China's greatest historians, as well as an influential writer, politician, and scholar. He was born November 17, 1019.
When he was a boy, one of his playmates fell into a ceramic vat of water and was drowning. The other children scattered in panic. Ssuma Guang quickly broke the vat with a rock, saving the boy. His calm, decisive action was widely admired.
So go break a vat today in commemoration.

One of the best headlines ever. Has anyone notified Dave Barry?
Fake Heinz Ketchup Bottles Explode
here

資治通鑑咸康元年(西元三三五年)：王述性沈靜，每坐客辯論蠭起，而述處之恬如也。年三十，尚未知名，人謂之癡。王導以門地闢之。既見，唯問在東米價，述張目不答。導曰：「王掾不癡，人何言癡也！」
當今臺灣，若民眾一問，總統有所不知，則罵為「不問不聞。」總統不是辦事員，不需悉知瑣事。

一0一、一一、一一、我們到大溪，嘻嘻~

I don't wish to honor the scum of the earth by wasting precious brain cells to remember their names. That guy in Norway who shot 77 people is in prison now, and complaining, complaining, complaining. :”here”: He doesn't like handcuffs, because they chaff his wrists. He can't turn on or off the lights in his three room suite. His biggest complaint is the pen he has been given, "a nightmare of a tool" that causes his hand to cramp, "an almost indescribable manifestation of sadism." My heart bleeds for him. If he doesn't like his prison, I suggest the Norwegian government send him to a prison in India, China, Pakistan, Thailand, Burma, or Afghanistan for the remainder of his term.

Romney gave a very nice speech conceding defeat in the Presidential election. To be honest, I'm glad he gave this speech rather than the other one.
Romney落選致詞比陳水扁當選致詞還有風度。

前天參加卑南歌手桑布伊的專輯發表會~~~沒想到我也會參加專輯發表會吧！可是他唱的，真的就是評論家說的：「滄桑亙古彷彿來自天地太初」，連我這個鐵石心腸的人也感動。極力推薦桑布伊專輯：Dalan路。

Taiwan is fortunate in having many talented singers, dancers, and actors, and unfortunate in that the best are often barely noticed by the general public. Many Aborigines produce superb work that is neglected by the mainstream. This is a loss, because their work could contribute a great deal to the culture of society here.

Friday we went to the release of a new CD, Dalan (The Path). The singer is Sangpuy Katatepan Mavaliyw, a young man from the Puyuma (Beinan) tribe in southeastern Taiwan. He sings traditional songs in the Puyuma language, with modern accompaniment. His voice comes straight from the earth, powerful and pure. I recorded two short clips of the conference. The first is part of the song Milihuwan, The Grand Creator. The second is Malikasaw, The Cheerful Waggle Dance. I was deeply impressed by his singing, and hope to hear more from him.

If you have a chance, by all means, get his CD to enjoy these wonderful songs.

「賽夏族的也會搖！」

an interesting comment on Aung San Suu Kyi and the situation in Burma by a Jingpo (Jinghpaw/景頗, Kachin):
"Daw Suu Kyi's popularity in Burma is not as universal as many Western admirers assume. She is adored in the lowlands, where fellow ethnic Myanmar predominates and her image adorns homes, shops, cars, and T-shirts. That reverence fades in rugged border regions, occupied by ethnic nationalities who have fought decades-long wars against Myanmar's -dominated military."

A global poll shows that worldwide, Obama is favored over Romney in every country except one, our staunch ally in the fight against terrorism.