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。

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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！

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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.

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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.”

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