I just finished reading Escape From Camp 14, the heartbreaking story of Shin Dong-Hyuk\申東赫. He was born a slave in a North Korean concentration camp, the son of prisoners. His father may have been imprisoned because two of his brothers (Shin's uncles) ran off to South Korea decades before Shin was born. He never found out why his mother was incarcerated. He grew up on little food, less education, and much work. His life was in jeopardy to any guard's whimsy. He was so removed from the world that he didn't even know what money is. You have to read the book to get a glimpse of just how wretched his life was. I read the book in a couple days; his life in Camp 14 continued for 23 years. He was lucky to survive, and even luckier to escape.

The founder of North Korea, Kim Il Song, ranks high on the list of history's most atrocious tyrants; his son Kim Jong Il may have been a bit better. Now power is in the hands of Kim Jong-Un, and maybe his Western education will bear fruit. He needs time, because he is in a very delicate situation. He is young, and there are a lot of entrenched powers at work who could depose him in a moment. He has to tread carefully. For the time being, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, watch for signs of reform, and look forward to a more humane North Korea.

That said, the day after I finished reading this book, some American basketball player visited North Korea and praised all three generations of Kims as "great leaders." On the one hand, it is good that North Korea is allowing foreign athletes to visit, because exchange, and knowledge of the outside world is sure to help thaw things out. On the other hand, it is immoral to promote any form of government that you would not live under as a typical citizen. Unless Mr Basketball Player would live in a typical North Korean city, subject to possibly being placed in a place like Camp 14 just like all the other people in that country, then he should keep his mouth shut. Of course we know that jocks are jocks, and professional jocks even more so, but you would think maybe this man might have learned how to think somewhere along the line. Apparently not.

Let us all spend a moment in thought for the people of North Korea, and hope their lot improves quickly. Good luck to North Korea.

If this doesn't win a Nobel Prize, it just proves that the Swedes are out of touch with the realities of life.
vastly important scientific breakthrough:: click here::

If animals ate junk food ~~~

今年第一條蛇已經報到了。晚上回家時，大門前有一條龜殼花，六十公分、瘦瘦的。用竹竿推開時，鑰匙環上的手電筒突然暗了，所以不確定去哪。大概很冷吧，十四度而已，可能回家睡覺去了。The first snake of the year has arrived. When we came home, there was a thin little viper by the front door, about 60 cm long. Just as I pushed it away with a bamboo pole, the flashlight on my keychain failed, so I don’t know where it went. Probably back to bed, because it was pretty cool for a reptile: 14C.

In the preceding post, I mentioned that we enjoyed immensely a performance of the Songs of the Wanderers by Cloud Gate Dance Theater with the Ensemble Rustavi of Georgia. The Rustavi sang superbly, a perfect complement to the dance. But what on earth were the songs about? I have a sneaking suspicion that here is a translation of what they sang:

"We have come a long way to sing,
But probably nobody understands our language.
If you understand Georgian, please clap your hands.
Does anybody in the audience understand Georgian?
Of course nobody in this part of the world understands Georgian.
Please clap your hands if you understand this language.
As I suspected, nobody understands our language.
People in our own country don't understand our language.
So it is.
Since nobody in the audience understands this language,
permit me to tell you that
the food they served on the flight over was
barely edible.
But we bravely ate it
because we were hungry.
But can you imagine?
The flight was delayed for four hours,
and they never gave us an explanation.
Speaking of explanations,
can anybody explain why those people are prancing about on the stage?
We don't dance like that in Georgia.
But they are nice people,
so we will keep singing.
We enjoy watching them prance about like that.
Would anybody like to hear me gargle?
Do you think I can make the others in this choir laugh?
Would anybody like to hear me yodel?
Please, choristers, do not show a smile,
or somebody might guess what's going on…”

with apologies to the Ensemble. It was really a beautiful performance, but I just couldn't help wondering.

"Amis" rhymes with ah-GEESE, and is the name of a tribe of Taiwan aborigines, living on the east coast. With 140,000 people, the Amis are the largest tribe in Taiwan, but modernization is taking its toll. Sawtoy of the Amis Kakeng Ensemble is working to bring new life to the culture through music. He studies, builds, and plays instruments that have not been seen for decades. So when he told us he was going to revive a "secret instrument" that had been extinct, we jumped at the chance and planned our trip to Taitung, but unfortunately, at the last minute, something came up and he was called away. We decided to go anyway. It turned out to be a very rich trip.

Actually, you could say the week started to get interesting on Tuesday when we encountered a wandering Jew. 我們星期二下午到臺北，看到一位穿迷彩褲、袋禮弁、長鬍的猶太人在街上闊步走，自言自語。等紅燈時，他衝上去問一位小姐，「妳不會英文吧」，把小姐嚇壞了，我就接手。「你幫我送到Citibank，因為提款卡不能用，找不到公用電話，我要打給銀行，對方付錢，上帝真是考驗我這個遠離阿根廷的家的牧師~~」果然不能用。快五點了，銀行沒開，請他明日早一點。「那你教我怎麼回飯店。」「哪一家飯店？」「大的那一家。」還好，我猜對了，是凱撒，指指點點教他怎麼走。

星期三我們坐飛機到臺東，在原生應用植物園吃火鍋，吃完幾乎走不動。去看駝鳥吧。消化了一些，到卡地布部落參觀高獻庭刻的禮刀，傻眼~~~他的工、設計、沒話說，真是奇才！星期四先去拜訪旮亙的少多宜團隊，然後到都蘭月光小棧見韻儀與兔子，祝他們印度行平安。剛好卑南木雕大師倚命也來了，還有兩位他的朋友。下山到東河舊橋看展，然後到黃師傅打鐵店選購雅美族斧頭。接著到臺東糖廠選排灣琉璃珠，要串項鍊，秀慧叫我們乾脆自己做做琉璃珠看看。難！難！卑南巨星剛好在臺北，但推薦我們到鐵花村聽斯乃泱唱歌，天樂！

星期五「有人在家」民宿的官官建議我們到丹寧象素食館吃；老闆娘愛象，到處都是象，但不是真的象。凡所有象，皆是虛妄。吃到一半立榮打電話來說飛機誤點。正好，我們到海邊走走。到了臺北，到中正堂，吃春水堂，晚上看雲門流浪者之歌。撼！You don't see a lot of yarmulke in Taiwan, but on Tuesday afternoon, when we were in the city, we saw a bird-thin middle aged man, long beard, yarmulke, black coat, camouflage pants with long legs sticking out, and a tasseled shawl striding along muttering to himself. At a stop light, he approached a young lady and demanded, "You don't speak English, do you!" She was terrified, so I asked what he needed. He needed directions to Citibank, because his ATM card wasn't working, he couldn't find a pay phone to make a collect call, of course he didn't see the sign I was pointing out, and how could god do this to a good rabbi far from his home in Argentina? We took him to Citibank, and verified that his ATM card didn't work, but it was almost 5PM, so we could do little more than tell him to try again the next day. "Tell me how to get to my hotel." "Which hotel are you staying in?" "A big one." Fortunately, I guessed the right one, and aimed him back at his hotel and unleashed him on them. The next morning we caught a flight to Taitung, and stuffed ourselves past the point of walking at a firepot place where they offer a wide variety of greens. Then we went to a Puyuma tribal village to visit Kuciling Katatepan, who carves astonishing ritual knife scabbards. Thursday morning we stopped in on Sawtoy to say hello, and proceeded to Atolan to visit Balahu before she and Rabbit fly to India. Another Puyuma sculptor, Iming, dropped by with two of his friends, and we had a nice chat before going to visit a smith. I was after an Orchid Island sculptural hatchet, and bought beautiful one. The smith attached a handle for me. Then back to Taitung to visit a Paiwan glass bead workshop; Paiwan beads have a history of over 1,500 years, and each pattern has its special significance. As we chose beads for necklaces, our friend Hsiuhui asked, Why don't you make a bead yourself so you understand? I knew it wasn't easy, but yeah, it's not easy. In the evening we went to a concert by a Puyuma singer, Snayang. She was very nervous, as it was her first solo concert, but she gave a memorable performance. At lunch on Friday at the Denim Elephant Vegetarian Restaurant, we got a call from the airline saying the flight would be delayed. Okay, so we went to the beach, returned the rental car, caught the delayed flight, returned to Taipei, and went to the National Theater for a performance of the Songs of the Wanderers by Cloud Gate Dance Theater + the Ensemble Rustavi of Georgia, Georgia as in Caucasian, not next to Alabama. A powerful performance, then home. Quite a jaunt.

後趙暴君石虎死，燕王雋(前燕慕容雋)論攻後趙。通鑑晉永和五年(西元三四九年):

折衝將軍慕輿根曰：「中國之民困於石氏之亂，咸思易主以救湯火之急，此千載一時，不可失也。自武宣王以來，招賢養民，務農訓兵，正俟今日。今時至不取，更復顧慮，豈天意未欲使海內平定邪，將大王不欲取天下也？」

慕容霸(後改名慕容垂)云，難得而易失者，時也。毛主席之暴亂，甚于石虎，千載一時，而臺灣失之矣。

當年(民國八十年前後)民進黨舉辦很多大型街頭示威，很多人問，哪來那麼多錢？謠傳中共輸錢與民進黨，不知其為實否，但若屬實，手法實在太高明。當時中共雖已開始改革但不穩，臺灣卻勢達頂尖，本可干預北京政權(甚至也有人說天安門學運與國民黨有直接或間接關係)。但是因為臺灣內部分裂，爭權奪利日益劇烈，所以錯過這個時機。

讀到通鑑上文本有此感慨，讀到下文蔡謨高見，不得不服：秋，七月，[褚]裒帥眾三萬，逕赴彭城，北方士民降附者日以千計。朝野皆以為中原指期可復，光祿大夫蔡謨獨謂所親曰：「胡滅誠為大慶，然恐更貽朝廷之憂。」其人曰：「何謂也？」謨曰：「夫能順天乘時，濟群生於艱難者，非上聖與英雄不能為也，自餘則莫若度德量力。觀今日之事，殆非時賢所及，必將經營分表，疲民以逞；既而材略疏短，不能副心，財殫力竭，智勇俱困，安得不憂及朝廷乎！」

哈哈！服了！

我要發財了！我種的咖啡樹結果了！雖然只有兩顆，但全烏來只有這兩顆咖啡果。下一步就是要想辦法給白鼻心穿上尿布。I'm going to be rich! My coffee trees have grown berries! ~~ two of them. These are the very first coffee berries grown in Wulai. Now all I have to do is put some diapers on the local civet cats.

昨天到永和韓國街買了石鍋，今天用木碳煮雜糧，又香又可口！真是享受！Yesterday we bought a stone pot in a Korean store. This evening I cooked grains (various types of rice and so forth) over charcoal. Delicious! Can't be beat.

I've known quite a few of those in my time.

修密的習性與修顯宗的不同。修密的人讚揚佛陀、讚揚上師。修顯宗，尤其是中國的修行法門，稱讚佛陀，但他老人家修他的，我修我的，各人業障各人了。
虛雲老和尚說，佛來斬佛，魔來斬魔。

不經一事，不長一智。除夕那一天，雅婭給我們一桶紅菜(『紅鳳菜』)，我們想，哇哈，紅菜補血，這次捐血血紅素一定非常高！

結果，今天到捐血室一驗，血紅素反而比平常低很多，險些不到低標準。奇怪，紅菜吃那麼多，這是怎麼一回事？護理長說，老人家說紅菜中午吃補血，晚上吃破血。想一想，我也聽過，回家上網查，確實有此說。好像有道理！好，現在知道了，再下來就不敢晚上吃紅菜！

大家恭喜!
A happy new year to everybody!!

and I mean everybody!!

新年恭喜

萬事如意

春節貼福字，要正要倒？作家馮驥才攷證，「倒貼福字主要扗兩個地方。一個地方是水缸和垃圾桶上，由于這兩處的東西要從這邊倒出來。為了避免把家裏的福氣倒掉，便巧用『倒』字的諧音『到』，倒貼福字。另一個地方是扗屋內的櫃子上，表示福氣一直來到家裏、屋裏和櫃子裏。至于大門上的福字，一向都是正貼。大門是家庭的出入口，一種莊重和恭敬的地方，所貼的福字，須鄭重不阿、端莊大方，故應正貼。」

My wish is that someday I can learn hwo to sepll.

For crying out loud, don't drop it!

Not all news is bad news. The Chinese government is brokering peace talks between the Burmese government and the Jingpo (Kachin \ 景頗). I trust that once things settle down, the government will make peace with the Karen and others. In the meantime, the government should stop fighting.

Click

這兩天在少輔院舉辦成長營。每次看到這些孩子，我深深感受，他們不是壞種，而是倒楣：絕多數的倒楣，是生長家庭從來沒教過他們怎麼做人。有的院生說，進了少輔院之前，從來不知道有對、錯這種事。一旦捲入漩渦，想要自拔可沒那麼容易。

跟他們溝通、跟他們相處只有兩個字：「付出」：不求回報。我們比較正常家庭出來的人，很難想像他們的生活。舉一例就夠了：一個很有才華的學生從小受家暴，遍體鱗傷，但他有一天居然說，爸爸對他比對哥哥好。怎麼可能！？他說，哥哥小學時，爸爸都把哥哥鍊在狗籠子裏。

所以他們有一道一道的牆，不是那麼輕易地讓你進入他的心。

但是不能放棄。一個院生，一年半來，我每次跟他講話、給他打氣、一直找他就對了，而他頂多淡淡地回我一聲：「嗯」然後轉過頭。這兩天門開了：這次活動，他一再拉著我講話、有說有笑、勾肩搭背。

能為他們付出，是莫大的福氣。但也很累！星期五活動結束，回家只想趕快睡大頭覺。

回家、洗澡、睡！齁~~~~

旺！

齁~~~~

旺！

四點。傳來了狗吠聲。盡量不理它。可是一直吠，不只一個，還有一個太熟悉的聲音：我們家的皮狗Yumin。認出了另一個聲音是Byajing，但他們吠的很不尋常。

我出去叫他們，叫了幾聲，他們不回。這就怪，因為Byajing通常一定衝回來報到。只好拿起手電筒，循聲音去找。他們在竹林裏，叫的很奇怪：不是吠蛇、吠貓、吠野狗。我又叫了幾聲，決定很無奈，要過溪溝入竹林。好想睡。到了一個地方，離他們二十步吧，但再過去很難走，烏漆摸黑，竹林太密，甚麼也看不到。我好想睡。我又叫了幾聲，說我要回家啦！就回家躺了。

回家躺了，他們還吠，我也睡不著。五點多，撒毖也被吵醒。Byajing沒回。我們商量，一定要去看看。撒毖留在溪溝的這邊，我過去看看。還好那塊竹林我很熟，不然即使帶手電筒也馬上迷路。西嶺上有月，但竹林裏全黑。到難走的地方，只能硬著頭皮下去。我離他們大約七、八步時我就停下來了，因為我不知道他們吠甚麼。我再叫他們，他們突然停下來了，不出聲。這時有點緊張，因為我猜可能是山豬，如果是山豬，而山豬惹火了，我在竹林中難躲。我拔刀，等。

一個很重的動物往右邊上坡衝，只看到Yumin白白的尾巴端在追。Byajing回到我身邊。我想，好了，兩位平安，我回家。

走過竹林，才要過溪溝，手電筒沒電，熄了。我嚇了一跳；早一分鐘熄的話，要嘛我爬著回來，要嘛坐下等天亮，因為實在太暗。菩薩保祐。撒毖幫我照，我過了溪溝。

Byajing跟了。皮狗年紀大了，我們快到山門，他也來了。安全起見，我給他上了狗鍊。回到家已經六點了，我就跟Yumin講，不能這樣，要注意安全‧…他已經睡著了….

Punishment doesn't seem to do much good, except to slake our thirst for vengeance. But it doesn't solve a lot of problems.

We just got back from a two day activity at the Reformatory. I believe that these boys are not bad, they just need to be taught, because nobody has ever taught them right from wrong.

You figure out where you would like your tax money to go: to lock up people so they become more hardened criminals, or invest in counseling, teaching, therapy, whatever it takes to make them useful, productive citizens. It is difficult, but it can be done. It should be done.

The boys in the Reformatory are all teenagers, and I have yet to meet one who comes from a normal family. They surround themselves with walls and walls, for protection. You can't ask to see results. But you do. I have made a point of greeting one brooding boy, saying good words to him, trying to talk with him, cheer him up. For a year and a half, he said little more than "Uh" and then turned away. But these two days, a door opened: as soon as they entered the activity area, he rushed over to hug me, joked with me, slapped my back, sat next to me to chat, and smiled all the time.

Volunteering at the Reformatory is wonderful, but it's also exhausting. When we got home, we wanted nothing more than a good night's sleep. We hit the sack and were soon sound asleep. Sound asleep. Sound. Sound. Arf arf. At 4, I was awakened by persistent barking, but I didn't recognize it. It was far enough away to ignore, but another voice chimed in, a suspiciously beagly voice. I dragged myself out of bed to go outside and call, but there was no response. Not good, because Byajing invariably responds.

I finally decided that I had to go look. I got the best flashlight, the one I got after the time that snake fell on my head :: click:: and followed their barking. I reached a streambed that borders a bamboo grove. Very reluctantly, I crossed the dry streambed and entered the pitch black bamboo grove, following the sound. At least it's too cold for snakes to be very lively. Black as a coal mine. It's a good thing I know that grove so well, or I would have been lost in a minute, flashlight or no.

The dogs were not barking at a snake, a cat, or a stray. What is more unusual, Yumin was growling, and he almost never growls. I reached a spot about twenty paces from them across very difficult terrain. I called a few more times, and told them I wanted to go home to bed. I did.

But I couldn't sleep. The barking continued, and at about 5, Sabiy woke up. She was also worried that Byajing was not responding, so we got our flashlights, I strapped on my laraw (headhunting knife), and got a leash and a saw, just for good measure.

I told Sabiy to wait on this side of the streambed, and entered the bamboo grove. I crossed the difficult part, and figured I was about ten paces from them. I called again, and they stopped barking. There was a tense silence. I was concerned that they had a boar, and if it charged, maneuvering would be quite difficult amongst the thick bamboo. I drew my laraw.

After a minute or more, suddenly I heard a large animal crashing uphill off to my right, and saw Yumin's white tail in hot pursuit. Byajing came to my side. Finally! I called Yumin again and headed home.

Just as I reached the side of the streambed, my flashlight died. Grief! If that had happened one minute earlier, I would have had to either crawl back, or sit down and wait for dawn. Crossing the bamboo in pitch dark is out of the question. But Sabiy lit the streambed for me with her flashlight, and we headed home.

Yumin is, after all, getting on in years, so he trotted up behind us, evidently forsaking his foe. I put the leash on him just to make sure, and we came home. When we reached the house, I gave him a little talk: You're getting on in years, you have to pay more attention to safety, it can be dangerous…. Yumin was already fast asleep.

At least somebody got some sleep! 

晉成帝永和四年東，「蜀土先無獠，至是始從山出，自巴西至犍為、梓潼，佈滿山谷十餘萬落。」通鑑疏：「其丈夫稱阿謨阿叚、婦人阿夷阿等之類。」

語言多麼寶貴，但多麼脆弱。當年獠人佈滿山谷十餘萬落，而傳至今代的獠語，僅此幾詞。其餘盡失。

臺灣的南島語言，如達彥(泰雅)、賽夏、鄒等，非常古老，但面臨絕響。需要大眾的關懷、支持、學習、傳播。最重要不過的是，需要鼓勵小孩子說族語。

按：謨，莫胡切，五部；叚，古雅切，段五部(音同各，古落切，五部)；夷，以脂切，十五部；等，多肯切，古一部，寺从止聲，諸市切，一部，陰陽對轉由曾攝入止攝，古或~ng或 ~g韻。故推測「阿謨阿叚」音*amaka，「阿夷阿等」音*angiepadeg.

In 346 AD, the Liao tribe entered what is now Sichuan province. They covered the mountains and valleys with over ten thousand villages. A footnote records that "they called a man *amaka, and a woman *angiepadeg." This is all we know of their language. The rest has been lost.

Language is fragile, and should be treasured. Here in Taiwan, we are in danger of losing ancient languages such as Dayan (Tayal), Saisiyat, Tsou (Cou), and others. They need our support, and they need to be learned and used. Otherwise, they will be lost.

Last year I posted ::click:: about making a traditional saw handle. The piece of wood I had turned out to be flawed, so I tried other wood, and had bad luck. Finally, today, inspiration: rattan! Light, strong, comfortable. Ideal!

三條小朋友味口不差，加上我們住山上，所以通常買狗飼料，買十五公斤裝的，一次買兩三包，免得常常跑寵物店。
通常喜歡在小店買東西，不太喜歡支持聯盟，但因為我十點下課回家，「魚中魚」天天開，開到深夜，貨品又多，所以這兩年多來就在新店魚中魚買狗飼料。很好笑，去年有一次剛好下午有事，安排回家路上去買，就碰到他們全體職員吃尾牙去了，沒開哈哈，怎麼那麼巧？
今天下午有課，晚上沒有，所以安排吃完晚餐就順著回家路上去買狗飼料，到了店，咦？怎麼黑黑的，燈沒開？全體職員吃尾牙去了，沒開哈哈…..

中研院李教授::點::是語言學權威，學了五百個泰雅語字，學了文法，所以他到泰雅部落去教泰雅耆老說泰雅語。當然，泰雅語是他們的母語，可是教授來開導，他們就很有禮貌，上課去了。
教授教一句：爺爺打孫子。好，下一步，變被動：爺爺被孫子打。扗坐耆老惴惴不安，說，這句不成立，因為沒有孫打祖之理。
教授被質疑，很不高興，說文法就是這樣，憑甚麼說他的句子不對？泰雅說，我們的話，沒有這種句子，沒有這種道理。

Professor Lee is a noted linguist, a great scholar. He learned five hundred words of Tayal and some grammar, so of course he went to a Dayan (Tayal) village to teach the tribal elders how to speak their native language. Of course, Dayan is their native language, but since the professor deigned to come instruct them, they politely went to class.

The professor said: "The grandfather hit the grandson. Now, in the passive, this becomes, The grandfather was hit by the grandson."

The tribal elders were quite upset. They said that such a sentence was not possible in Dayan, because a grandson would never hit his grandfather.

Professor Lee was displeased that his sublime authority and profound erudition were questioned. That's the grammar, what right did they have to have doubts about his sentence? The elders said, In our language, this sort of sentence is not possible, because it is unreasonable.

How uppity of these mere natives to question a linguist of international repute!

I really like this clip: :click:: If you're going to be famous and influential, this is the way to do it.

The most potent force in the universe is Murphy's Law. This morning was bright and cloudless. Sabiy went to work at noon, I stayed home and worked outdoors. Around 5, I phoned and asked, "Are you having the car washed?" She said, "Yes, yes! How did you know‽" I said, "It just started to rain."

Many are probably familiar with Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse. Now he has published The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? I just started it, but there is probably a lot of food for thought for people who live on the intersection of Chinese and Westernized , or Aborigine, Chinese, and Westernized societies.

here

It's interesting to note that the Christian Right, which is usually so eager to quote scripture at us, has not brought their god along to the discussion about gun control. What Would Jesus Do? their mantra goes. I am not Christian, but I cannot visualize Jesus Christ buying rifles and ammunition.

張潮：幽夢影：
多情者不以生死易心、
好飲者不以寒暑改量、
喜讀者不以忙閒作輟。

上寬下謙法師討論雞生蛋、蛋生雞：「依佛法，沒有先後：雞中有蛋、蛋中有雞。」莞爾：「用我們佛法的講法，不雞不蛋。」Vn Kuanchien discussed the old quandary of which came first, the chicken or the egg? "From the standpoint of Buddhism, there is no sequence of which came before which or which came after which: the chicken contains the egg, the egg contains the chicken." Smiles: "In Buddhist terms, we would say, neither chicken nor egg."

難怪成佛需要三大阿僧祇劫。光是背唯識的名相，大概需要花兩個半大阿僧祇劫。
但清德法師講的好：不需要去背那麼多，需要的時候，查字典就好了。

特殊的因緣。昨天下午到少輔院講課(徹底誤人子弟)，這兩天參加成佛之道研習營，不小心被選為司儀，今晚還到補習班上課。短時間內面對三個迥然不同的團體，真有趣。Yesterday I gave a talk at the Reformatory. Today and tomorrow we are going to a Buddhist studies seminar, in which I was somehow selected to be Master of Ceremonies. This evening I taught a class in TOEFL Listening. Within a very short time, I addressed three extremely different groups. Quite a contrast!

臺北車站二樓美食街，一個中年男子與一個二十來歲女子對坐，父女吧。桌上幾袋麥當勞的東西。男的講幾句，女生哭了，男的站起來走了，停了幾次，可是還是走了。女生啜泣。

哪一個比較悲慘？被罵哭？或者吃麥當勞？

哭，過了一回就好了，比起垃圾食品放進身體，哭泣比較輕微。

A father and daughter sitting face to face in a food court, with several bags of Mickey D on the table; daughter, maybe early twenties. Father said something, daughter started sobbing, father stood up, walked away, hesitated, but finally walked away, leaving the daughter sobbing.

Which is more tragic, getting bawled out and crying, or eating Mickey D?

Crying is probably preferable. Get it out of your system, and you’re okay, far better than introducing junk food into your body.

Recently we took a three day trip to southeast Taiwan. When we came home, beagle Yumin was nowhere to be seen. We called a while, and he didn't come, but we were so tired we soon went to bed.

The next morning, Sabiy saw Yumin lying in the doorway of the doghouse. She called him. Without looking up, stuck his right forefoot out, and licked it to show us he was hurt. Apparently he had got it caught in something, and it was swollen and a bit injured. He slept a lot; mountain dogs recuperate quickly, so we weren't too worried.

This is the season to trim trees, so weather permitting, I have been busy. While I saw trees, Yumin ensures my safety, trotting back and forth to ensure that no kitty cats encroach on our territory. His foot seems okay, although the injured part has not healed entirely. There’s still a little spot that hasn't healed, but he romps and howls and it doesn't slow him down a bit.

It never snows here, but it does get down almost to freezing, so in the winter, when I have stripped the bark from wood I want to dry for burning, I sweep the bark into a nest for the dogs. They love to curl up there, outside the front door, even preferring it to the doghouse.

The nest gets stirred up, so from time to time I shoo the dogs and sweep it all together again. This afternoon as soon as I started sweeping, Yumin came and plopped himself in the middle of the nest, to get a good seat. I prodded him to get up and go. Yumin stuck his right forefoot out and licked it, "Yaba, poor me! I'm injured, I simply can't get up and move out of the way."

Overheard in the Museum of Prehistory 在臺東史前博物館
婦：「哇，妳看，死豬！妹妹，趕快過來跟死豬合照！」
Lady: "Wow, look, it's a dead pig! Sister, hurry over here and I'll take your picture with the dead pig!"

http://www.nmp.gov.tw/

學歷史最根本的錯誤，迺「以今律古」。古人有古人的時代、環境、想法，不能要求他們的想法跟我們一樣。
資治通鑑、晉紀、顯宗成皇帝咸康八年：(慕容皝征高句麗)『皝將還，韓壽曰：「高句麗之地，不可戍守。今其主亡民散，潛伏山谷；大軍既去，必復鳩聚，收其餘燼，猶足為患。請載其父屍、囚其生母而歸，俟其束身自歸，然後返之，撫以恩信，策之上也。』皝從之。發釗父乙弗利墓。載其屍，收其府庫累世之寶，虜男女五萬餘口，燒其宮室，毀丸都城而還。」
次年，顯宗成皇帝建元元年，『春，二月，高句麗王釗遣其弟稱臣入朝於燕，貢珍異以千數。燕王皝乃還其父屍，猶留其母為質。』
現在用這種外交手挽恐怕不行~~

"The past is a different country.” When you read history, you have to bear in mind that they had different ways of living and thinking, so you can't expect them to act like we might.

For example, this passage from the year 342 AD, when the King Huang (of the Mujung Hsienpei, or Bayan Siberians) quelled the kingdom of 高句麗 Goguryeo (Kokuryõ) / 고구려 in what is now central and northern Korea, and parts of Manchuria and Siberia. His advisor Han Shou said, "The land of Goguryeo is indefensible. We have chased their king and scattered their people, but they just hide in mountains and valleys. When our armies leave, they will gather again, blow life into the embers, and be another problem for us. We should take the king's father's corpse and capture his mother alive and bring them back with us. When the king ties himself up and surrenders, we will return them to him and pet him and soothe him and treat him faithfully. This is the best policy." Huang took this advise. They dug up the tomb of King Chao's father, Ifuli, and carried away his corpse. They took the accumulated treasure of generations, as well as over fifty thousand men and women, burned down the palaces, destroyed the capital, and went home."

In the spring of the next year, 343 AD, "King Chao of Goguryeo sent his little brother to vow allegiance, and offered thousands of extraordinary valuables. King Huang returned his father's corpse, but kept his mother as hostage."

To be honest, I am having some trouble envisioning this as a viable policy today: got a problem with a country, go to their capital, dig up their president's father's corpse, carry it home, and wait for results. Yup.

Actually, it probably would have worked about as well in Iraq as Bush's invasion.

PS: They returned the king's mother twelve years later, in 355AD, when the king displayed appropriate remorse and loaded them down with gifts. I can visualize the Bayan king saying, Well, she was getting old anyway.

東至過了，要想春聯。今天有一對，大概不能用：
日暮星出該入眠
狗吠蚊咬怎能睡

This is a very important point to be considered in the debate about gun control: click here::
The key words here are muscle memory.
If someone who has studied martial arts for a couple years gets in a tight situation, most likely they will just flail, and all their training goes out the window. You have to train your body until the only moves it knows are the ones you want.
So it is logical that the same thing holds true for guns. If you shoot your gun at a range, standing carefully, with ear protection and so forth, your gun is probably going to get tangled up in your shirt when you really need it.
Please remember that police do not advocate guns for everybody. They know what it's like to use a gun for protection.
The gun lobby does not care about public safety or the welfare of the nation. All they care about are their profits, and oh did you see how somebody in Pennsylvania shot up seven people just a week after the shooting in Connecticut? That's three victims killed, three police officers wounded, and the shooter killed by police, so let's say at least seven bullets were consumed (would have been seven hundred bullets if it had been LAPD). Okay, seven bullets, plus the profit from selling the gun, you know the old saying: a penny here, a penny there, it all adds up. No wonder the NRA wants police in every school: profit! profit! profit!

Overheard in Atolan
「世界滅亡那天一定要請假。」
"On the day the world ends, be sure to take the day off."

The sun rose this morning in direct alignment with the center of the Milky Way. That happens only once every 25,800 years, so I hope you saw it. If you didn't, you're in for a long wait.

我們剛從臺東回來，心得非常豐富，要慢慢整理，將會逐步寫出來。We've had a very rich week. Sunday afternoon I went to a class by the Tayal weaver Yuma Daru (although I spent the time taking care of her daughter Lungah Baunay and chatting with Baunay.) Then I went to a knife show and visited the bowyer Cho Hanching, after which I went to Pulima, the first annual aborigine art festival. Then I went to hear the great Puyuma/彪馬、卑南 singer, Sangpuy.

Monday morning we crawled out of bed before dawn and caught a train to Taitung on the southeastern coast, where Sawtoy, leader of the Amis Kakeng Ensemble, introduced us to artists from the Amis, Puyuma, and Paiwan tribes (renewing old friendships in some cases). Sawtoy taught us how to make the tipolo, traditional Amis bamboo flute. And so forth and so on. A lot to digest, a lot to write about. I will keep posting.

When you read the horrible news from Newtown, Connecticut, remember that somebody made a profit from those dead children and teachers. Somebody made money by selling the guns and the ammunition. This is why the NRA is so rabidly opposed to gun control: better that innocents die than profits suffer. Amitabha.

臺北市政府舉辦「原住民文史特色采風研習班」，請Amis旮亙樂團的少多宜團長講阿美文化、音樂。托團長與周家平助教之福，我們也參加了。Amis旮亙樂團的少多宜團長示範阿美族樂器，如鼻笛、竹筒琴、膜笛。下午教我們做弓琴。

At a workshop hosted by the Taipei City Government, Sawtoy, the leader of the Amis Kakeng Ensemble, demonstrated several aboriginal instruments, including the infamous nose flute (ngusut tipolo, click here::), the bamboo kazoo, and the tiftif, a sort of jew's harp that sounds like a didgeridoo. In the afternoon he taught us how to make and play the bow harp.

gimme a dozen

Now is 12.12.12;12:12.12. Those of you who cannot stand the excitement may be seated.

This will be the last in a remarkably inane series of posts celebrating such events as 08.08.08;08:08:08 and, for example, 050505. The reason this is the last post is not that I believe the world is ending this year, but rather that there aren't thirteen months in 2013, so I'm sort of stuck. The next good series begins in 2101, and I, for one, have no intention of hanging around until then.

In the highly unlikely event that the world does end on solstice of this year, we will be spared several days of X'ma$ carols. Look forward to it!

Kids like to play in puddles. It's human nature. I think that parents who don't let their kids get all muddy or play in puddles should be charged with child abuse.

扗少輔院當志工一件很榮幸的事是，可以給小受刑人介紹偉大藝術：他們日常生活中完全遇不到。昨天介紹「布藍詩歌」的「命運女神」~~誰聽懂拉丁文？我印了拉丁文歌詞，中文對照，一句一句帶他們唸。我還帶他們唸拉丁文。我說，「跟我唸，以後你可以跟人說你念過拉丁文的詩。」他們反應不錯，一句一句念；命運的擺佈，他們體認極其深刻，看到兩位偷偷擦淚。
但我唸到一半時，我突然想到：我這一生有些比較特殊的經驗，而帶一群少年囚讀誦中世紀拉丁詩，應該可以排前幾名。

A great privilege of doing volunteer work at the Reformatory is that I have the chance to introduce these young men to great art. Most had never even heard of Bach or Guernica, but they respond avidly.

This week I played O Fortuna from Carmina Burana for them. First I introduced the manuscript and poems, then played the piece once without explaining it. I asked their reactions, which were vivid and right on target. Then we passed out a handout, with the lyrics in Latin and Chinese. With these kids, you have to keep a tight hold on their attention, so I had them read along with me line by line, Latin and Chinese. Who understands Latin? But we struggled along word by word, and before the poem was finished, I noticed two of them surreptitiously wiping away tears: the vagaries of fortune is something they know far more about than people their age should.
But halfway through the poem, it struck me: I have had some unusual experiences in my life, but leading a group of teenage prisoners in reciting a medieval Latin poem has got to rank pretty near the top.

O Fortuna 命運啊
velut luna 像月亮一樣
statu variabilis, 變化無常；
semper crescis 月盈、
aut decrescis; 月虧。
vita detestabilis 可惡的人生！
nunc obdurat 有時給苦難
et tunc curat 有時給幸福，
ludo mentis aciem, 隨命運捉弄人！
egestatem, 無論貧窮
potestatem 與權貴
dissolvit ut glaciem. 都像冰雪融化消亡。

Sors immanis 可怕
et inanis, 虛無愚癡的
rota tu volubilis, 命運之旋轉輪，
status malus, 你無情地轉動，
vana salus 你惡毒兇殘，
semper dissolubilis, 搗毀所有的幸福，
obumbrata 陰影籠罩
et velata 撲朔迷離
michi quoque niteris; 你也把我打敗了；
nunc per ludum 你開心，你邪惡，
dorsum nudum 我赤裸的背脊給你，
fero tui sceleris. 無情折磨我。

Sors salutis 一帆風順時、
et virtutis 美侖美奐時、
michi nunc contraria, 命運跟我作對。
est affectus 在感情中、
et defectus 或虛弱時，
semper in angaria. 我永遠不能自主。
Hac in hora 在此刻
sine mora 一定不要遲疑，
corde pulsum tangite; 好好彈琴弦，
quod per sortem 因為命運
sternit fortem, 會擊敗最無畏的勇士，
mecum omnes plangite! 大家跟我一起悲歌哭泣！

Oops…. A construction company hired to help renovate an 18th French chateau was supposed to knock down a small building on the estate. They got a little detail wrong, and bulldozed the chateau instead.
Click

東晉郭璞為古今卜卦高人，嘗遇光祿顏含，欲為之筮。含曰，年扗天、為扗人、修己而天不與者，命也。守道而人不知者，性也。自有性命，無勞蓍龜。

含年九十三而卒。(約卒于西元三六零年左右。)

This December has 5 Saturdays, 5 Sundays, and 5 Mondays. This happens only once ever 824 years. Enjoy it, because we aren't going to see the next one!

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.