黃昏從臺北回山上，先到忠治部落外的Yummy小吃店吃義大利麵、喝咖啡，真好吃！

回家過烏來部落，遇到娜魯彎，要去接她老公軋輅下班。過Ive家看到Miko與小Sabiy，Miko問我們要不要跨年？我們說，不玩那些。她說，回家躺在床上睡也是跨年。有道理！

沒燄火、不湊熱鬧、沒有擁擠的人群，沒有淹沒腳板的垃圾；吃的很飽，跟鄰居寒暄，回家小狗迎接，跟老婆喝茶，這是最美好的跨年。

祝大家平安，喜氣洋洋。

We came back from the city at dusk, and had dinner at a little restaurant perched over the valley at Kayu. Coming through Ulay village, we came across Naluwan, going to pick up her husband Qalux after work. Then we passed Ive’s house, where his wife Miko and daughter Sabiy wished us well, and asked how we were going to celebrate the new year. Nothing, we said. Miko said, Lying in bed asleep is a good way to celebrate the new year. Agreed.

No noisy fireworks, no pulsing crowds; a filling dinner, quiet chats with neighbors, dogs to welcome us home, and tea with the wife, this is the best new year’s celebration for me.

Best wishes to all for the coming year. 

洋猩曰，一切男子皆女生。

何以說之？

易耳，

請問，

哪一個男子不是女人生的？

祝

行憲紀念日快樂

最近看到有人列出「十大惡人」。一方面，狠狠地罵人，抒洩內心的惡毒，一方面，罵得越凶就越證明自己是大聖人。

我無取于斯。我不想知道他們認為其它的惡人是誰，我寧想十大善人。大善人，不必列那些捐大錢的人，因為他們已經得到了宣揚。

要我列大善人，我第一個想到一位默默無聞的少年。幾年前，他混黑道，錢來得很輕鬆；錢的來原在此不細述，但日夜花天酒地，錢用不完。經過感化，他痛改前非，離開以前的伙伴，搬到中南部找工作。工作，是在工地搬磚塊。看倌搬過磚塊嗎？工作極其辛苦，卻沒有地位，人人頤指氣使，天天低聲下氣。他每天累的不成人形，賺的錢一點點，勉強夠吃簡單的菜。

他這樣改變自己的生活，是多麼不容易的事！沒有哪一個單位給他表揚，但我心中很誠摯地佩服。

討論大陸與臺灣的青少年。法師說，

「四、五十歲的臺灣父母把孩子當寵物，只有寵愛，沒有管教。」

臺灣的民主，被怒吼犧牲掉。

今天聽到：「沒有人要吃紫米，因為假的太多。政府無能，沒辦法管食品安全。」

政府要管事，那麼民眾拼命騙人，連紫米也造假，難道這些經營假貨的人沒責任嗎？我們百姓有沒有守法的義務？或者樣樣事情罵政府就盡了我們的責任？

古代的理想是「無為而治」。政府可無為，因為百姓各司其職，安分守己，不逾矩；孔子說「必也使無訟乎」就是百姓潔身自愛、誠實守法。

美國憲法的設計，說穿了就是盼望政府能力不要太強；美國人至今怕政府能力太強，因為能力強就管太多。

昔云，國家興亡，匹夫有責。

今云，國家興亡，匹夫都責備。

My mother taught painting in a high security penitentiary. The inmates taught her, Say law, never say justice.

LINK:

I ran across a magnificently euphonic phrase today: early Xochipala Olmec art.
Read that again, and listen to the vowels, the cadence. You can remove the early, and just say Xochipala Olmec art. A mellifluous phrase, well worth repeating daily. 

December 8 is National Brownie Day. Let’s get our priorities straight, people. I mean, really, how important can Christmas be when you’ve got a National Brownie Day?

You have to know what’s important in life.
:-目

In Taiwan, what passes for brownies, 布朗尼, is more like devil’s food cake. The best place for real brownies is coco。Brownies: here::

臺北小市民生活歷史綴筆，投報篇

到七十年代，站扗新生南路、信義路口，可以看到觀音山、大屯山、中正山、七星山、陽明山、拇指山、以及南邊崢嶸嶙峋的雪山山脈，無比美。

視野那麼寬廣，因為臺北房子很少超過四層樓，很少人家有電梯，爬樓梯，無形促進國民健康。

很多房子頂樓加蓋，形成另一個城市面。扗頂樓，可以看很遠，但看不到街路巷弄、看不到車輛行人、看不到幾個招牌，卻看到很多空中花園，另有天地。

由于報禁，每天報紙兩三大張，比較不浪費紙，也比較不浪費民眾的時間。送報紙的，多數是老兵，一大早騎著笨重腳踏車大街小巷送報。送到樓上怎麼辦呢？不難！把報紙一捲，手一揮，就把報紙投到陽臺上。他們奇準無比：二樓、三樓、四樓，一樓一樓投進陽臺，很少掉落。我住忠孝東路巷子裏一棟四樓的二樓，一樓空了多年，但囤積在一樓庭院的落雁報，不到十分。

早上睡意猶濃，聽到陽臺玻璃「噔」一聲，就知道報紙飛上來了。

Up until the 1980s, from downtown Taipei you had a good panoramic view of the mountains surrounding the city. You could see all the way down to 三峽 Sanhsia and the beautiful peaks marking the southern edge of the Taipei basin. This was because few buildings were more than four stories.

In the days before the press was released upon the public, newspapers were only two or three sheets. They were delivered by old soldiers, mostly, who pedaled their heavy bikes up and down the streets and alleys at the crack of dawn. To deliver papers to upper floors, they would twist the paper, cock their arms, and let fly. Their aim was astonishing. They would send their newspapers winging up to the second, third, and fourth floor balconies, with rarely a miss.

Early in the morning before the sun began to shine, a thunk! on the balcony glass doors would announce the arrival of the morning’s paper.

Udis?

You would hardly expect it, but for religious tolerance, few countries can top Azerbaijan, which is 96% Muslim.

LINK

post 2500!

教育、國之本：a country stands or falls on how well it educates its citizens: ALL its citizens.

This is worth reading and pondering.LINK:

also worth learning about: toxic stress.LINK::