A shady pastor will pray at the Trump inauguration, setting the tone for the next four years.

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Ninety eight percent of the adults in this country 

are decent, hardworking, honest Americans.

 It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. 

But then, we elected them. 

-- Lily Tomlin

Making music in a slum in Paraguay.

巴拉圭貧民窟的孩子撿垃圾做樂器~~

Маленькому Казаку 5 лет . Lokah balay laqi qani! 臺灣五歲小孩上捷運，大人趕快讓位，不然站了幾分鐘可能會累。哥薩克就不大一樣。A five year old Cossack boy showing his stuff.

It turns out that octopuses are extremely intelligent, but in ways quite different from us.

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A ferocious dogfight, a beagle attacking a great dane.

與大自然相處，尊敬、無畏。When dealing with nature, animate or inanimate, be respectful and unafraid, and all will be well.

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網路笑話

一位內蒙古人來臺灣鹿港旅遊，吃了一碗三十五元的麵線，要老闆開立發票報帳。

老闆問「抬頭要開什麽單位？」

內蒙人答：「中華人民共和國內蒙古自治區烏蘭察布市察哈爾右翼後旗烏蘭哈達蘇木那令格嘎查那令格村那令格二社村民委員會火山歷史文化遺址申報聯合國教育科學文化組織世界非物質文化遺產工作領導小組辦公室主任烏力圖.烏力吉吉爾格啦.巴彥爾太！」

老板說：「賽林涼，麵線錢不要了，林貝會寫那麽多字還賣個懶覺麵線。。。」

今天下午看了不丹電影「嘿瑪嘿瑪」。往戲院路上，我們多方面深入討論，看電影能不吃爆米花嗎？我們討論出來的結果，我們買了大桶爆米花，加一杯熱可可。

電影拙樸有力，跟一般大廠的電影不同。一念之差，一個小小的決定，影響深遠。故事、畫面裏很多細節。整個電影的畫面很美。沒想到的是，演員、拍片，很多華人。

推薦！也許需要看兩次。

This afternoon we went to see a movie from Bhutan, Hema Hema, Sing Me a Song While I Wait.

Before the movie, Chao and I had a long philosophical discussion on the possibility, ramifications, and morphological connotations of watching a movie without eating popcorn, but fortunately, were able to reach a decision, so we got a big bag of popcorn, plus a cup of hot chocolate.

The movie is powerful, and different from big studio, big budget films. The story line is not too complex, but there are a lot of details, and it is beautiful to watch. If you have a chance, this movie is worth watching, and maybe more than once. 

After all, how often do you get to watch a movie in Dzongkha?

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Despotism

Respect and power

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Bill Moyers, Farewell America

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In commemoration of a sturdy little vehicle, xe lam, the Lambro.

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Ah, the good old days! In the good old days, for an afternoon’s entertainment, you and your friends might nail a cat to a stake and take turns ramming it to death with your head. Someone might lose an eye in the process, but what fun! Or you could watch a neighbor flogging his slave,  admire the dead bodies strung up on the gallows (in case you missed the hanging), torment the people in stocks, or listen to the lady next door beating her servant. Then it’d be time for dinner; if you were effete and unafraid of ridicule, you might eat with a fork, but otherwise, eat with your fingers and knife, and wipe your fingers off on your shirt. When you have gnawed the meat off the bone, just drop the bone on the floor for the dogs to eat. When dinner was finished, the garbage was just flung into the open sewer in front of your house, and you abided with the stench. The pigs wandering the neighborhood would eat some of the garbage, and the rest might get washed away in a rain. You stayed in your hometown. You had no place to go, really, because travel was not only difficult but downright dangerous, with bandits eager to cut your throat for your purse, and trying to stay off the gallows. Of course you could go to the gallows yourself if you stole a handkerchief or got hungry and swiped some bread. If your child showed “strong evidence of malice” between the ages of seven and fourteen, they could be hanged, too. If the king didn’t like your religious practice, you might be burned to death, and friends and neighbors would come to watch and jostle for positions downwind so they could get a whiff of your burning body, to sanctify themselves.

Doesn’t that sound just great?

No. We have moved forward, fighting step by step. Before I go any further, I assume that my reader would not wish to be on the receiving side of such events: you would not like to be enslaved, do not think it’s nice to nail cats to stakes, think sanitation is a good thing, would not like to see your neighbor burned to death just because he is a Baptist, enjoy going off on vacation without worrying about getting your throat cut, and so forth.

Now normal people consider the events detailed in the first paragraph inhumane, but at the time (I am basing this description roughly on life in medieval London, although there were not African slaves yet), they were taken for granted.

Every step forward has been achieved only by the hard work of people who were not willing to accept those practices, striving in the face of fierce resistance of those who thought the old ways were just fine.

The people who have achieved these advances are called “liberals.” The people who oppose these advances are called “conservatives.” Issues liberals fight for are taken for granted fifty years later, and after another fifty years, when some issues may well be out of date, they are strongly defended by conservatives. 

I’m old enough to remember when Barry Goldwater was running against LBJ. One of Goldwater’s strongest attacks was that Johnson was promoting Medicare, which Republicans saw as a communist plot to overthrow capitalism. So it is with some bemusement that I see how sacred Republicans now hold Medicare. Things liberals fight for today are taken for granted fifty years later. 

Putin is happy Trump won. The KKK is happy Trump won. American national security advisors are worried to death that Trump won. Where does that put us? Up that creek without a paddle, maybe.

The only bright side is that Trump is backpedaling on his campaign promises like Lance Armstrong on steroids pedaling towards a finish line. But we do not need an unpredictable, vindictive president.

Kindly read the date here out loud.

天生我材，必有用

Another way of looking at autism.

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I don’t know what to make of this. Inuit elders say that the earth’s axis has changed. 

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天氣好，帶兩個小狗出去走走。想回頭，皮狗Yumin向前走，不見了。我叫，他不回來。天要黑，而我不想去拉他回來。Ksasan在我身邊，我自言自語跟她說，「要不要去找妳哥哥回來？」沒想到，她立即起步，飛快向前跑，不見了，沒多久看到她帶著哥哥回來。你說這個狗聰明不聰明？The weather was nice so I took the dogs out for a walk. When it was time to turn back, Yumin kept going on ahead. He was soon out of sight around a bend and wouldn’t come back when I called. Beagle. Ksasan stood next to me obediently. Sort of talking to myself, I asked her, You want to go get your brother to come back? To my surprise, she raced forward and was soon out of sight. Before long, she came back, herding Yumin. Is that a smart dog or what?

We just got back from a three day excursion to the east coast.

I was in a temple, talking with a nun, when somebody strolled by and asked, Aren’t you Americans having an election? What’s going on there? Yeah. I checked the news on my cell phone. The results shocked me. I told the nun, Trump won. She asked, How could anybody vote for a person like Trump? I said, He says he can restore America to the way it was sixty years ago. She was so agitated that she stood up and walked a circle around the room (Buddhist nuns do not get discombobulated easily). How could anybody possibly restore anything to the way it was sixty years ago!? I had no answer for her.

Countries that support America are in despair, and even Australia, the USA’s staunch ally, is considering distancing itself from us. ISIS, Putin, Khomenei, and Xi Jinping are celebrating Trump’s victory. Wonder why. 

Kiss American power goodbye. 

Tomorrow the American people will decide whether we need a President who is fully endorsed by not only the Kremlin but also the KKK. Hillary may have her faults, but the USA can survive them. Nobody seriously believes that Trump can Make America White Again, but he sure can send the country down the tubes. Keep your fingers crossed. Amitabha. 

Much fuss is made about Hillary Clinton’s erased emails, but nobody mentions the twenty-two million emails Dick Cheney erased.

This is good. LINK

My mother’s Golden Rule was, When you’re in a hurry, slow down.

I am working on a rush job translation of a student application. I meant to write:

XX University appeals to me

and I almost sent that out at

XX University appalls me.

Oops! 

This is worth reading.

“When children aren’t given the space to struggle through things on their own, they don’t learn to problem solve very well. They don’t learn to be confident in their own abilities, and it can affect their self-esteem. The other problem with never having to struggle is that you never experience failure and can develop an overwhelming fear of failure and of disappointing others. Both the low self-confidence and the fear of failure can lead to depression or anxiety.”

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He is not well-spoken or intelligent. He is not a very good businessman. He knows nothing about foreign policy. Anything he says, he will contradict in time. He is proud that he wiggled out of military service and dodged paying tax. He holds those who have sacrificed for the country in contempt, and probably secretly thinks they’re stupid to have done so. He has no respect for Democracy or the Constitution. He displays no principles or morals, no love or esteem for anyone. He betrays his wife, lusts after his own daughter, assaults women, and is exactly the same as every bully you ever knew in grade school, but he’s seventy years old. He blusters and threatens, but his deep seated cowardice is obvious. He is not even honest with himself, the only person on this planet he loves.

The funny thing is, even those who are voting for him recognize instantly who I’m talking about. Anybody can see that he is a vile scoundrel, so why would anybody vote for him?

Why do we do things? As often as not, we hide our real motives from ourselves and overlay them with rationalization upon justification. I suspect that Trump followers, aside from the outright white supremacists and lunatic fringe, are distressed deep down that for eight years the country has been led by a black man, and now it looks like a woman will be President. Deep down, they yearn for the “good old days” when the President was a white man: a male.

I believe that if Hillary Clinton were a white man named Clint Hilton, and had exactly the same past (well, aside from giving birth to a daughter), done exactly all the same things, said the same things, made the same deals, and so forth, the election would be a shoo-in, and the only question would be whether Trump would manage to carry any state. But a woman in the White House?

In any event, I will be happy when the election is over and we are done with all this trumpery.

Philippine President Duterte, in a burst of exuberance, announced that he is best buddies with the PRC and has broken up with the USA. Meanwhile, the adults continued their meal and paid him scant attention.

To simplify things, I'd like any woman who met Trump and was NOT sexually assaulted to step forward.... no? nobody?

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An interesting take on the Republican candidate.
He mentions Trump's "ready submission to sharper minds." This could be fatal. The narcissist believes himself much, much smarter than he actually is, so this, coupled with his astonishing lack of foreign policy aptitude, would allow his buddy Putin, among others, to lead him around by the nose.

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This is so prophetic, it’s spooky. For everybody’s sake, let’s hope it doesn’t come true:

“As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their hearts’ desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” 

– H L Mencken (1880 – 1956)

淡定True composure: English follows: 魏晉雅士，重儀態、務治心，泰山崩于前而色不變，麋鹿興于左而目不瞬。西元四七二年，劉宋明帝三十四歲病篤，太子才五歲，「慮晏駕之後，皇后臨朝，江安懿侯王景文以元舅之勢，必為宰相，門族強盛，或有異圖。己未，遣使寄齎藥賜景文死，手敕曰：「與卿周旋，欲全卿門戶，故有此處分。」敕至，景文正與客棋，叩函看已，復置局下，神色不變，方與客思行爭劫(案：行、埋伏；劫、制裁埋伏)。局竟，斂子(案：棋子)內奩畢，徐曰：「奉敕見賜以死。」方以敕示客。中直兵焦度趙智略憤怒，曰：「大丈夫安能坐受死！州中文武數百，足以一奮。」景文曰：「知卿至心；若見念者，為我百口計。」乃作墨啟答敕致謝，酌酒謂客曰，此酒不可相勸，飲藥而卒。

China knew little peace from the third through sixth centuries CE. The gentry placed great emphasis on keeping your calm; if there is a landslide right in front of you, you should be able to keep your expression calm, if an elk starts up just to your left, you shouldn’t even blink. In the year 472CE, the emperor Ming of the Liu Sung dynasty died at the age of 34. His heir was only five years old, so the emperor was worried that after he died, the queen would handle court matters for their son; her brother Wang Jingwen would certainly be appointed Prime Minister, and their family would become so powerful that they might take over the dynasty. So the emperor sent a jug of poisoned liquor to Wang Jingwen, with a handwritten letter saying, “I have dealt with you for a long time, and I want to protect your family, so I have to do this.” When the imperial command arrived, Jingwen was playing weichi (weiqi, go, a board game) with a guest. He reverently accepted the letter, read it, and stuck it under the board. His expression never changed. He concentrated on his game. When the game was over, he put the players in a box, and slowly said, “The imperial order I just got commanded me to die.” He showed his guest the letter. Another guest, a general with troops, was angry and said, “How can you just die like that! We have troops, we can put up a good fight!” Jingwen said, “I appreciate your sincerity, but if you really care, please give a thought to the survival of my family.” He wrote a letter to thank the emperor, poured out the liquor and told his guests, “I’m not going to invite you to share this with me.” He drank the poisoned liquor and died. 

有時候我覺得我很不了解現代生活。我(老古板)以為「撒野」的意思是放肆、不管禮法、不照規矩、不受約束。

最近看到捷運廣告，十月十五日有商人要舉辦「台北撒野生活節」，從早上十一點到晚上九點在指定的場所內可以「體驗撒野生活」。這樣規矩、約束還不夠，商家還規定dress code，你撒野時可以穿甚麼衣服、甚麼顏色，都有規定。

越撒野越拘謹。我沒有撒野，我只有傻眼。

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Yaravi, or Harawi, is music from the Andes. Hope you like it, I do. 

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Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize? What have those Swedes been smoking?

I suppose I ought to explain my disdain for a popular idol. It goes back to LA in the 60s. Who had time to listen to Bob Dylan? We listened to Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, the Mothers, the Fish, Simon & Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane, endless acid rock and buckets of soul. Even the Mommas and Poppas, in a pinch. Dylan resonated with (white) football players and cheerleaders who wanted to show how hip they were by listening to Dylan and the Dave Clark Five. Their parents liked Dylan, too, because he was a palatable way to show that you were in the groove with young people. My Black Power friends thought Dylan was a condescending phony, and the Chicanos listened to their own stuff, really, really heavy on the bass. (Every time you thought it was another earthquake, it’d be a lowrider coming.) Dylan? He may have been a commercial success, but I’d take Ace of Cups any day, thanks. 

今天阿超有團體，我也跟去，想在附近找地方坐下喝咖啡看書。真奇怪，附近所有預計的餐廳與咖啡廳都公休，連附近的博物館也休館。幸好，有空教室，我就準備好好看書。還沒坐好，走進來幾個阿美族語班的學生，幸好我會那麼幾句阿美語，很快就熟了。但是我發現他們竟然以為只有泛泰雅有虜布(口簧)，卻不知阿美有datok，所以我就教他們彈(當然隨身攜帶虜布！)順便糾正男生的馬步。等他們上課時間到了，上課去了，但時常回來再要我讓他們彈虜布、練馬步。好個「找個咖啡店看書」！哈哈哈 Chao had a group, so I tagged along, thinking I would find a coffee shop where I could read until she finished. As luck would have it, all the coffee shops and restaurants Google told us were in the area were closed for the day, and even the nearby museum was shut! Probably due to the lousy weather. Fortunately, they found me an empty classroom, so I pulled up a chair and sat down to read… and in streamed the kids waiting for their Amis lesson (aborigine children are given token lessons in their tribal languages). Fortunately, I was able to come up with some Amis, and soon we were all getting along just great. I discovered that they thought the lubu (jew’s harp) was exclusive to the Tayal tribes, and didn’t know the Amis play the datok, almost the same. Of course I always carry a couple lubus, so I taught them how to play. They were tickled pink. Soon they went to their lesson and I got out my book, but from time to time a couple would drop in the classroom to see if I would let them play the lubu some more. So you think you’re going to have a quiet afternoon reading, hmm? 

FOR MEN

Has there been a woman in your life you love or respect? It may be your mother, your sister, an aunt, your wife, maybe a teacher who inspired you, maybe a nurse who helped you during bad health.

It is no secret that powerful men have trouble keeping their pants on. Washington, Franklin, Harding, JFK, Kissinger, Governor Mark Sanford, and many other powerful men have had their share of adventures with women, but for the most part, they maintained a modicum of decency and discretion. As far as we know, Thomas Jefferson never bragged about raping Sally Hemings. If Monica Lewinsky hadn’t blabbed, the world would never had heard from Clinton about his exploits with her, and no matter what, he has never been divorced, unlike say, Newt Gingrich. Even Senator David Vitter, co-sponsor of the proposed Marriage Protection Amendment, did not brag that he liked prostitutes to dress him in adult diapers.

Think about the women in the first paragraph. How would you feel if someone felt entitled to grope her simply because he considers himself a celebrity?

If Trump were a policy genius, his attitude towards women would still be reprehensible, and his continued keen interest in his daughter’s sexuality would be repulsive. On top of all his other failings, Trump is a man who has only slogans and shouting for domestic problems, makes very little attempt to conceal his racism and contempt for others who have not inherited fortunes from their fathers, and has no concept whatsoever of foreign policy. There is a foul reek to this man that no amount of Tic Tacs can ever cover.

Again, think of the women in the first paragraph. Only a man who is willing for Trump to grope them at every chance can in any good conscience vote for him. 

Allegations surface that a presidential candidate raped a 13 year old, and you think, It's plausible. How have we come to this?

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Meet the greatest female Baroque painter you’ve never heard of, Artemisia Gentileschi.

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這幾天後門外掛的黃色塑膠袋，有隻小青蛙棲在上面。A little frog has been hanging around on a plastic bag outside the back door.

You simply cannot make something like this up. On his Instagram account, Ramzan Kardyrov, the Head of the Chechen Republic, has posted a photo celebrating his party’s overwhelming victory in the recent elections. The overwhelming victory is not surprising, when you consider the long list of accusations of torture and murder leveled against Kardyrov. What struck me as somewhat bizarre, to say the least, is that in the photo accompanying this delighted announcement, he is dressed in medieval armor.

 

Of course, much of his thinking is medieval, endorsing honor killings and polygamy, and one of his aides said he “acts like a medieval tyrant.” But he knows his place. He assiduously licks Putin’s boots: “Putin is gorgeous,” he proclaims. That puts him fair square in company with another of Putin’s great admirers, our own home grown Donald Trump.

突然想，為甚麼沒有迷彩傘？上網看，發現很多。這就證明很有效，因為雖然多，但是都沒看過。

I was wondering why nobody produces camouflage umbrellas. A quick look online showed that there are a lot available. I guess that shows how good they are, because you never see them.

Stop and frisk is the sort of plan that would appeal only to a cowardly bully who has low intelligence and even less commiseration for others. 

Don't defend this reprehensible proposal unless you are willing to be frisked regularly.

I wrote this in 2007 and never posted it.

In Soldiering Ahead (Wilson Quarterly, Summer 2007), Holly Yeager said, “A set of behaviors exhibited by officers best able to achieve operational excellence and motivate good soldiers to stay in the army. At the top of the list: keeps cool under pressure; clearly explains missions, standards, and priorities; sees the big picture; provides context and perspective. The ability to make ‘tough, sound decisions’ on time was also among the most prized skills. Despite the growing value of collaboration, military leaders know better than most that, ultimately, hard choices need to be made – sometimes with lives hanging in balance – and only one person can be in charge.”

I suppose I am out of step with the times. When necessary, I explain to my students that, no matter how intoxicating slogans and ideals of democracy may be, there are two places democracy does not belong: in the military and in the classroom. An entire class of students may write, “I listen a news and am exciting,” but it’s still wrong.

A teacher is not usually placed in such dramatic situations as a military officer, but I would say that a good teacher has the qualities Yeager describes. Teachers need a thorough grasp of their subject, but there is no need to the foibles of fashion and fad. Fashions fade, fads wither, but a good teacher teaches for a lifetime. 

「教育，國之本」，被冷落的孔子誕辰、教師節遵從天意放了假，祝大家平安、惜福。外在環境清理，內在環境不妨觀測一下。

網路妙言：孔明借東風，孔子藉颱風。

Today is Confucius's Birthday and Teachers' Day. It used to be a national holiday, but a decade ago, President Chen decided education wasn't important enough to merit a holiday and canceled it.

This year the Tsai administration decided to partially reinstate Teachers' Day as a holiday, with no day off for teachers. Clever. For some reason, teachers were not pleased.

The typhoon decided things. Today is a holiday for everyone to clean up after the typhoon. It's a good day to reflect what needs cleaning up inside, too.

正要右轉進巷子，後面追撞；司機坦稱工作很累、恍神，一撞緊急踩剎車，結果踩到油門。我們被推上騎樓柱子。我們平安沒事。一個小姐剛好要從柱子前面過，幸好看到我們衝來，閃開、跌倒了；腳、腰有點皮肉傷，救護車送醫院，還好沒事。我一直想，如果她那時低頭滑手機，根本不會看到我們的車，後果不堪設想。願大家平安，千萬不要疲勞駕駛、走路千萬不要低頭！阿彌陀佛。We were about to turn right into an alley when we got hit from behind. The driver told us honestly that he was sleepy and not paying attention. When he hit us, he panicked and slammed on the brakes; unfortunately, he stepped on the gas by accident and drove our car into a column on the sidewalk. A lady was just walking in front of the column. She saw us coming and dodged and fell. Fortunately, she got away with only some scrapes on her waist and feet. I shudder to think what would have happened if she had been immersed in her cellphone and not seen us coming.

May we all be safe, don’t drive when you’re too tired, and keep your eyes open on the street, whether you’re walking or driving! Amitabha. 

看戲，要看演技看劇情；看舞，要看舞技，若是現代舞也要看編舞、舞者讓我們進一步了解身體的性質、含情。

今天看了一場「黑色流明」的演出，據說把街舞搬上舞台。可能編舞者沒看過多少舞蹈表演，所以無法運用編舞技巧、舞台角度、服裝等等。一個好的舞蹈表演，每一個細節有它的必要。好比，一篇好文章沒有多餘的字，每一個字有它的必要。

這場表演一個敗筆也許是，一開始舞臺上空懸人形，很規律擺盪，開場一個低沉男音說了一番口齒不清的話，都有催眠效果：表演開始，沒多久我就睡著了，並發現一個很有趣的現象：睡五分鐘，醒來看一下，馬上可以連接上段，再睡，不會錯過劇情。有兩次睡醒，我竟然忘記我在劇場看表演，而女舞者似乎都沒動過。這也是我第一次看完表演散場時聽到觀眾打哈欠。

街舞有它特殊的味道、效果，在這場表演看不出來。服裝，看不出一個所以然。後來女舞者脫衣，看不出這個必要，也許編舞技窮，以為這樣可以有引起觀眾興趣。

這場表演非常強調效果，尤其電子效果，以效果取代內涵。這個表演還有一個特點：節目單不介紹舞者。是認為舞者不重要嗎？或者舞者不肯透露姓名？

當然不是一無可取，剛開始幾分鐘的音樂不錯，打鼓好聽。

舞者很喜歡看舞、很捧場，我發現觀眾沒幾個舞者在。或許不是演給愛看舞的觀眾看的。

今晚聽了一場極豐富的演講/講故事，Sasunud講述創造的理念、到帛琉傳陶藝的經歷。We went to a very rich talk this evening. Sasunud Mavaliu (Paiwan) told about his artistic endeavors and his experience transmitting the art of pottery to Palau.

Knife by Sasunud 

臺灣馬路舉目可見到韓國車，日本產品氾濫。因為太愛臺灣，所以買藥就要到日式藥局，楊梅開了「宮本日式五金量販」，好像賜給臺灣多大的恩典似的。麥當勞不提，服裝店有幾家是美國連鎖？但是大陸商要來臺灣，我們就怕他們佔了臺灣市場。真有趣。

Is addiction a learning disorder?上癮是學習障礙?

When starving, when in love, and when parenting, being able to persist despite negative consequences—the essence of addictive behavior—is not a bug, but a feature,” Szalavitz writes. Perhaps addicts are wired for extra love, obsession, and creativity in ways that can be productively channeled, Szalavitz suggests, such as in the arts, or in advocating for more progressive drug policies…. The learning they’ve done in overcoming addiction is visible and may make them smarter and stronger in the long run…. With addiction, the vast majority of people do recover,” Szalavitz says. “And that’s a really important thing for people to realize.”  

一個人飢餓、談戀愛、當父母，能夠不管障礙卻能堅持下去，其實這是上癮行為的典型，不是毛病，是特徵。也許癮君子先天需要更多的愛、執著、創意，而這可以往好的方面引導，例如藝術、或者呼籲完善的毒品政策。…他們克復上癮的學習是看的見的，也許長久下來讓他們更聰明、更強健。…絕大多數的癮君子的確康復，大家一定要了解這點。

LINK

十六年前，機場捷運要動土建設，陳總統一聲令下，公司解散了，工程歸零，要等十幾年後，到現在還沒通車。多威風！

柯市長也許很羨慕那種「發威」的權力感：一聲令下，北門高架拆了，交通不便沒關係，需要的話可以花大筆錢恢復原狀；一聲令下，新生南路縮小了~~臺大的人都在看，多威風！管它「外行領導內行」，在臺灣，醫學院的教授一開口就是聖旨，順我者昌，逆我者亡，你想怎麼樣？

巨蛋用的是納稅員的錢建造的，高高在上的市長會疼惜嗎？想得美。不可以想辦法，就是要放它爛，看著納稅員的前淋雨、生鏽、生苔，多威風！

LINK

Let this beautiful song remind you that we are a nation of immigrants.

The songwriter Peter Jones’ great-grandfather John Hunt left Ireland during a famine, at the age of 13. These letters were written to him by his father, from 1858 to 1893. Around 1980, Jones found the letters in a box in his family’s attic, and they inspired this song.

Kilkelly Ireland 1860, my dear and loving son John,
You good friend the schoolmaster Pat McNamara,
So kind to write these words down.
And your brothers have all gone to find work in England,
The house is so lonely and sad,
The crop of potatoes is sorely effected,
The third to a half of them bad.
And your sister Bridget and Patrick O'Donald
Are going to be married in June.
Mother says not to work on the railroad,
Be sure to come on home soon.

Kilkelly Ireland 1870, my dear and loving son John,
Hello to your missus and to your four children,
And may they grow healthy and strong.
And Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble,
I suppose that he never will learn.
Because of the dampness, there's no turf to speak of,
And so we have nothing to burn,
And Bridget she's happy you named a child for her,
Although she has six of her own.
You say you've found work but you don't say what kind,
When will you come on home?

Kilkelly Ireland 1880, Dear Michael and John my sons,
I'm sorry to give you the very sad news,
That your dear old mother has gone
And we buried her down at the church in Kilkelly.
Your brothers and Bridget were there.
You don't have to worry, she died very peaceful,
Remember her in your prayers.
And it's good to hear that Michael's returning,
With money he'll surely buy land,
The crops have all failed and people are selling
For any price that they can.

Kilkelly Ireland 1890 my dear and loving son John,
I suppose that I must be close on eighty,
It's thirty years since you've gone.
Because of all the money you sent me,
I'm still living out on my own.
Michael has built himself a fine house,
And Bridget’s daughters are grown.
And thank you for sending the family picture,
Such lovely young women and men.
They say that you might even come for a visit,
What a joy to see you again!

Kilkelly Ireland 1892, my dear brother John,
I'm sorry I didn't write sooner to tell you,
The dear old father has gone.
He was living with Bridget, she says he was cheerful
And healthy right up to the end.
I wish you had seen him play with the grandchildren
Of Pat McNamara, your friend.
And we buried him down alongside of mother
Down at Kilkelly churchyard.
He was a strong and a feisty old man
Considering his life was so hard.
And it's funny the way he kept asking about you,
He called for you at the end.
Why don't you think about coming to visit?
We'd all love to see you again.

LINK

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Donald Trump defends his vulgarity as just locker room talk. Maybe that’s how he thinks teenagers talk in the locker room, but he is seventy. A presidential candidate should not advocate sexual aggression.

I guess it depends on what kind of people you associate with, but that is hardly how normal people talk in locker rooms.

Click HERE for an inside view of such talk. 

到臺北原住民當代藝術館看Eval Malinjinnan(布農)的個展。說實話，在臉書上看過照片，我到展場面對面看作品，感覺很不同。作品的生命、茁壯、氣度、細節，需要看原畫才比較有感覺。只有十七張畫，但是極為豐富。在濟南路、金山路口，很值得去看！展到十月一日。
也可以到七樓看，有很好的作品。

If you have a chance, be sure to visit the exhibit by Eval Malinjinnan (Bunung) at the Taipei Indigenous Contemporary Art gallery LINK. The paintings are outstanding, bridging traditional ideas and modern concepts. Take heart, there is more to art in Taiwan than that stupid Yellow Duckling!

台大原民中心「排灣藝術家孵出的帛琉陶壺」專題演講(9/23)暨影像展(9/3-10/10)】

製陶是帛琉失傳近百年的一項文化技藝與知識。根據1909年德國民族誌學者Elisabeth Krämer之記載，帛琉婦女會用當地的陶土製作多種功能的陶器，如甕、鍋子、盤子及油燈等。有些製陶技術僅限某些家族或氏族擁有，也有村子以製陶聞名，成品則透過交易流通。但後來隨著新器物的引進，帛琉人已不再製陶，且連最基本的採集及處理陶土的知識都已完全失傳。

2010年，總統出訪帛琉時，對於同是南島的友邦，送上了排灣族的陶壺與琉璃珠，在傳統製陶工藝已經失傳的帛琉引起了震撼。原民會文化園區管理局隨後與帛琉國家博物館簽訂文化交流協議，推動兩地原住民族之學術、文化與觀光交流。屏東縣牡丹村的排灣族陶藝師華恆明先生（族名Sasunud Mavaliu）便於2011年獲選為文化交流大使，於該年四到十月間至帛琉開設陶藝培訓工作坊，協助帛琉復振傳統陶藝。

在這期間，華恆明先生共培訓了七十餘名帛琉學員，其中十餘名足以擔任陶藝種子教師。學員們結業時，帛琉社區暨文化部及帛琉國家博物館特地自十月起舉辦為期一年之「陶藝成果展」，展示學員們作品的同時，也紀念帛琉陶藝復振的成就。華先生因協助帛琉復振失傳近百年的製陶技術並振興相關產業，被帛琉學員們敬稱為Sensei Sunud（Sunud老師）。其後，這些學員持續投入陶藝創作，成品也於2012年及2016年代表帛琉參加了四年一度太平洋地區的文化盛會－太平洋藝術節。時至今日，陶藝已成為帛琉國家藝術的一環。

台灣大學原住民族研究中心特邀請華恆明先生於9月23日（五）到台北分享他這段經歷，也規劃了相關影像展覽（展期為9月3日至10月10日），以介紹這難得的陶藝交流所激起的文化復振，以及其中台灣原住民藝術家華恆明先生的努力。

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「Somewhere over the rainbow 帛琉紀行」專題演講

時間：9月23日（五）18:30-20:30

地點：The Lightened 咖啡廳（台北市溫州街74巷5弄3號）

講者：華恆明先生（屏東縣牡丹村排灣族人，2011年「中華民國-帛琉共和國陶藝交流計畫」陶藝師）

演講背景及報名：http://goo.gl/uU9rUV

報名人數：40人（因場次座位有限，報名後若因故無法出席請務必來信通知）

「帛琉陶藝復振交流紀實」影像特展（無須報名）

時間：9月3日（六）至10月10日（一），12:00-21:30

地點：The Lightened 咖啡廳（台北市溫州街74巷5弄3號）

The Gunfighter, a short film. This is fun.

https://youtu.be/Z4qc34kYHdM

文字遊戲

老子第一句，道可道、非常道、名可名、非常名，湖北郭店楚墓竹簡做：道可道，非恆道、名可名、非恆名。竹簡老子抄寫成書，大約戰國中期。後世避西漢文帝諱，將「恆」改為「常」。例如，春秋齊簡公時田恆，史記寫田常。

廣寒宮的「嫦娥」，漢文帝之前叫做「姮娥」，就是這個道理。淮南子、覽冥：「羿請不死之藥於西王母，姮娥竊以奔月。」張衡著靈憲曰：「羿請不死藥於西王母，羿妻姮娥竊以奔月，托身於月，是為蟾蜍。」

可見最早叫做「姮娥」，甚至「女」字旁應該是後來加上去的，本名也許是「亙我」。秦始皇統一天下文書之前，往往同樣的詞彙有多種不同的寫法。

「亙」字的結構，眾說紛紜，或為弓櫽栝，但于周籀，明顯為二岸中之月；一岸(極)為冬至，一岸(極)為夏至，月恆不出二極，故為亙、為恆。(說文：恆，常也。)

有人說「姮娥、嫦娥」本來就是「常儀」；我們現在的「義」，古人當作現在的「儀」字：說文、義：己之威儀也、从羊我。」从「羊」字，多有「好」義，如善、祥、羑等；「我」亦聲符(義、宜寄切、*ngia、古音在十七部：我，五可切、*nga、十七部)；而今天的仁義道德，用「宜」方是。長話短說，商周娥、儀音相同，所以說姮娥本來是常儀，有理。

常儀又是誰呢？三皇五帝的帝嚳的第四妃。等一下，先說，三皇五帝是哪幾皇、哪幾帝，因為傳說不同，說法也不同。古代交通不便、沒有文書、各地有各地的傳說，常有出入，沒關係，不要放在心上。

帝嚳又是誰？大戴禮記、五帝德：宰我曰：「請問帝嚳。」孔子曰：「… 取地之財而節用之，撫教萬民而利誨之，歷日月而迎送之，明鬼神而敬事之。」禮記、祭法：「帝嚳能序星辰以著眾。」簡而言之，帝嚳在天文有很多發現、貢獻、建樹。

「嚳」字上面是「學、斅」；學，覺悟也；斅，于說文為「學」字篆文。「增韻」：傳業曰學。斅，「玉篇」，教也。尚書、說命：惟斅學半。我們現在分學與教，古人往往通用。「告」，論語、八佾：「子貢欲去告朔之餼羊，子曰，賜也，爾愛其羊，我愛其禮。」告者，每月初一。所以看樣子，帝嚳的名字本身就表示他「序星辰以著眾。」

白虎通、號：「謂之帝嚳者何也？嚳者，極也。」這很有意思。說文，「極，棟也」就是棟樑，屋之極高，故段玉裁注：「凡至高至遠皆謂之極。」古文「天」、「大」、往往混用，「天」往往變成「太」；長話短說，古人將蒼天看為屋，天柱有四(冬至、春分、夏至、秋分)，天柱之上有天極，乃大極，後世加一點謂之太極。如是，帝嚳之名離不開星辰天文。

而帝嚳有四個老婆，老四是娵訾氏之女，就是我們現在講的常儀。傳說中，常儀協助帝嚳占月之晦、告、朏、朔、弦、望。

常儀，另一種寫法是「常宜」，這也沒關係，也有人說是帝俊的皇后，但先不管它。為甚麼不管帝俊呢？因為傳說帝嚳手下有一位忠臣是射箭高手，後來為帝堯射下多出來的太陽，就是鼎鼎大名的后羿。

常儀為帝嚳第四妃，年齡可能差很多；古人尚未受到宋理的束縛，帝嚳駕崩，好好一個女的放著不管可惜，改嫁帝嚳忠臣后羿，很合理。

漢朝有人說常宜(姮娥)是月母，生育月亮的人，或許因為她輔佐帝嚳確認天柱天極。姮娥/亙我為月母，曦和為日神。當然也有人說女媧是月神，伏羲是日神。古代各地傳說不同，不需要太在乎。

各位中秋賞月時，可以跟親朋好友討論嫦娥、姮娥、亙我、常儀、常宜，我敢保證大家很快就墮入夢鄉。到了廣寒宮，看到女主人，幫我問一下芳名。

“When children aren’t given the space to struggle through things on their own, they don’t learn to problem solve very well. They don’t learn to be confident in their own abilities, and it can affect their self-esteem. The other problem with never having to struggle is that you never experience failure and can develop an overwhelming fear of failure and of disappointing others. Both the low self-confidence and the fear of failure can lead to depression or anxiety.”

LINK

A door isn’t a door if you don’t close it properly.

Why not?

Because then it’s a jar. 

新店一家牙醫診所徵助理，限女性；應徵電話，他們第一句問，年齡超過二十五歲嗎？如果答案是「超過」，立即甩電話。牙醫助理上班穿短裙、高跟鞋，病人來看診，牙醫送許多贈品，如牙膏、牙刷等等。

其來有自：沒有德也要有術，可是看過一次的人很少去第二次，因為牙醫技術很差。連最簡單的洗牙，好像在刮肉。加上，看牙醫的人難免有點緊張，小姐穿高跟鞋走來走去，聲音很刺耳。

道德仁義，非禮不成。

~~~禮記曲禮上

這句多麼妙、多麼豐富！

Is it true that D J Trump has donated millions to NAMBLA, an organization promoting pedophilia and pederasty? Could be, could not be, we have no way of knowing until he releases his tax returns. What's taking so long?

“ the more advanced the athlete, the less of a role practice plays….  within an Olympic team tiny differences in performance are unlikely to be the result of training: these athletes train together, with the same coach, day in and day out. Those milliseconds come from somewhere else. "

I never tell my students “practice makes perfect.” Nobody’s perfect, nobody speaks their own language perfectly, and if you think you have to be perfect, you can never open your mouth. I used to tell my students, “practice makes progress,” but I’ve learned better now. If practice made progress, this lady I know would be an opera goddess, but no matter how much she sings, she always sounds like a mental patient receiving dental care without anesthesia.

LINK

Google translation

Chinese

今年元夜時，月與燈依舊。

ENGLISH

Night yuan this year, with the lights still.

Chinese

你那邊幾點？

ENGLISH
Why is the time in your place?

中正堂魚池岸，兩三歲男童狂哭。

母親說，「那是給魚吃的，不是給你吃的。」

父親說，「你又不是魚，你吃魚飼料幹嘛？來來來，吃糖果，不要吃魚吃的東西。」

By the fishpond at CKS Memorial, a toddler crying wildly.

Mother: That’s food for the fish, it’s not for you.

Father: You’re not a fish, why would you eat fish food? Never mind, have some candy, don’t eat fish food. 

蔡英文要作秀，向原住民道歉：當然，意思是摸黑國民黨。

但是聽說族人不高興，因為參加典禮時，禮刀不准帶進去。自古，「群臣侍殿上者不得持尺寸之兵」，有安全考量。但是進去見總統的代表都是精挑細選的，應該沒有問題，似乎可以想個權變之法，例如刀鞘用布條封住，殿上不許拔刀。男子盛裝不帶刀，真的有點怪怪的。

LINK

看到新聞了嗎？

開往桃園機場的遊覽車撞欄失火，造成廿六人死亡，結果發現司機酒駕。

臺南一位仁兄喝了六瓶啤酒，開車撞死了一位保全、撞壞了消防栓、還撞到停路邊的好幾台轎車，還渾然不知。

漢人好可愛，都很喜歡喝酒。

。

每次聽人說，「原住民很可愛」，我的毛豎起來，因為我知道接下來要開始講原住民喝酒的故事。是嗎？原住民只有喝酒嗎？臺灣只有原住民喝酒嗎？

說「原住民很可愛」，是讓自己站在甚麼位置？高高在上。

有的漢人非常關心原住民、深入了解原住民文化，我從來沒聽過這種人說「原住民很可愛」。(說實話，從平起平坐的地位深入了解原住民文化的漢人，鳳毛鱗爪；許多研究員研究時，站在很高的位置，如同研究細菌一樣。)

現今臺灣把原住民當政治資本。如果看倌認為臺灣沒有種族歧視、漢原平等，我保證看倌是漢人。

我不否認部落酗酒問題嚴重。但須問，為甚麼部落有酗酒問題？光復前，日本人給漢人槍，漢人把原住民當獵物。光復後，經濟現代化，幾千年培養出來的體魄、傳統生活技能沒有「經濟效益」；傳教士進部落，告訴族人，所有傳統信仰都是魔鬼的騙局、若穿傳統服裝就要下地獄、若唱傳統歌謠就要下地獄；好心的山服社進部落，告訴族人，所有外面世界的東西你們都必須學習，所有你們世界裏的東西我們都不想學習除了那個小米酒以外可不可以再來一杯？

原住民變成主流社會的玩偶，你們好可愛，唱一首「阿里山的姑娘」娛樂我們、跳一支舞娛樂我們、把姊妹女兒賣來娛樂我們、講講笑話娛樂我們、我們來寫劇本扭曲你們的文化來娛樂我們。原住民能不酗酒嗎？

。

看倌，我剛寫那句：「漢人好可愛，都很喜歡喝酒，」你的感受是甚麼？