The American Bar Association Journal ::link:: reports that an atheist soldier in the US Air Force was not allowed to reenlist because he declined to swear an oath with the words “so help me god.”

This intrigues me. If you don’t believe in god, you aren’t permitted to kill your fellow man.
Dunno why, but Alice's Restaurant keeps running through my head.

Qimpahu:龜殼花：Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus: pit viper

連續三個晚上回家時，在水缸遇到這位小鄰居，恐怕是等著青蛙吧。也許吃飽了，因為後來沒再出現。For three nights in a row, when we came home we found this little neighbor perched on one of our urns. It was probably waiting for frogs, got one, and didn’t come back.

景公出獵，上山見虎，下澤見蛇。歸，召晏子而問之，曰：「今日寡人出獵，上山則見虎，下澤則見蛇，殆所謂不祥也？」晏子對曰：「國有三不祥，是不與焉。夫有賢而不知，一不祥；知而不用，二不祥；用而不任，三不祥也。所謂不祥，乃若此者。今上山見虎，虎之室也；下澤見蛇，蛇之穴也。如虎之室、如蛇之穴而見之，曷為不祥也？」(In the 6^th century BC,) Duke Jing of Chi was out hunting. In the mountains he saw a tiger, and in the wetlands he saw a snake. Returning, he called for his great minister Yen Ying and asked, “These must be unlucky omens, right?” Yen replied, saying, “There are three unlucky omens for a country, and these do not count. The first unlucky omen is there are able and virtuous people that the government doesn’t know about. The second unlucky omen is that the government knows about able and virtuous people but doesn’t use them. The third unlucky omen is that the government uses these able and virtuous people but doesn’t give them a free hand. These are the three unlucky omens, and that’s all there is to it. If you see a tiger in the mountains, the mountains are the tiger’s home; if you see a snake in the wetlands, the wetlands are the snake’s home. If you see a tiger or snake in its home, what can be unlucky about that?”

很可憐：怎麼跟親朋好友解釋是誰把他打的鼻青臉腫？How can this poor guy possibly explain who beat the stuffings out of him? Hahahaaaa!!!!

用龍眼碳燒端午水泡普洱、鐵觀音，與太座賞月、吃月餅，人生如此自可樂！We enjoyed the moon along with some of our best tea. All the best for the Moon Festival!

中秋節賞月，清雅！烤肉，搞得污煙瘴氣~~

但怎麼樣，要烤肉不需要烤自己的肉！

No matter how much you like barbecues, this is taking
‘active participation’ too far!

LINK:::::

Our friends the Japanese are cheerfully wiping out whales and calling it “research” ::LINK::. I guess sort of like the “research” they did on citizens in northern China during WWII ::link::. 

Meet Laniakea. LINK

Let’s round out the figures and say a typical long-distance passenger jet flies at a speed approaching 1000kph. At that speed, you can fly across the Pacific in about nine or ten hours, from Taiwan to LA. Once I flew from Hong Kong to New York and back, about 16 hours non-stop each way (which is really longer than you want to sit on a plane). 

If you could fly to the sun at that speed, without stopping, you would reach the sun in about twenty years. Think of all the inflight movies, and shudder!

How big is our sun? If you take all the mass in our solar system, the sun is about 99.8% of all that mass, and Jupiter is about 0.18%, so you and I, Mars, Venus, the asteroid belt, all that, are what’s left over.

It takes light about eight minutes to reach us from the sun. Okay? And it takes light four years and four months to reach the next star over.

Light from the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, travels 25,000 years to reach us, and the Milky Way is about 100,000 light years from side to side, give or take a few weeks. 

Our sun is just an average star, not too big, not too little. Let’s say there are a hundred more times stars in the Milky Way than there are people on Earth.

Our galaxy is just an average galaxy, not too big, not too little. It belongs to a larger group, called a supercluster, the Laniakea I just introduced you to. There are about 100,000 galaxies like ours (galaxies, not stars) in Lankiakea, and it has 100,000,000,000,000,000 (100 quadrillion) times the mass of our sun. 佛說「恆河沙諸佛」，不是隨便說的，天星比恆河沙多以億倍計。

Laniakea is Hawaiian, and means “immense heavens.” Immense indeed. 

While we are busy wiping out species right and left, we are also realizing that the ecosystem is far more complex, and holds far more variety, than we had imagined.

Off the coast of Australia, scientists have found “deep sea mushrooms” which do not fit into any known category of animal life. 

This article ::LINK:: was issued “as a cry of help,” so if you can figure out where these deep sea mushrooms belong on the tree of life, do take some time to relieve the anxiety which these scientists are undergoing. 

Bet you’ve never heard of Washtub, either. You weren’t supposed to.
In 1950, the US was so worried that the USSR would invade Alaska that the FBI trained SBA: stay behind agents, those who would stay in Soviet occupied Alaska and feed intelligence to US forces. 
A fascinating look at a very tense time: LINK::

Bye bye Martha. Martha was the very last passenger pigeon. She died one hundred years ago today. LINK

Remember that only a few decades before, there were billions of passenger pigeons. John James Audubon wrote about a flock in western Kentucky that took three days to pass overhead. Flocks were so big that simply by perching in trees, their weight broke thick branches.

And then they were all killed, all except Martha and George in a zoo. George died, then Martha, and none remain. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce the invention of the long-awaited

BAMBUBA /竹巴

or, the bamboo tuba/竹製土巴/低音號

My giant bamboo was knocked over in the last typhoon, so I have used this chance to make a Bambuba, complete with bamboo mouthpiece. The bamboo is fresh cut and not entirely dry, so it now weighs about 15kg, so don’t ask me to join your marching band just yet. I am still considering whether or not to carve in tone holes. If I do, obviously the instrument will be tuned to the key of B, for Bambuba.

I am patiently awaiting news from Sweden, from the Nobel Prize Committee, to see if they will award me the Nobel Prize for Music and Magnanimous Contribution to Humanity this year, or if it’s too late this year, then next.

In the meantime, I am busy transcribing the score of Bach’s Unaccompanied Cello for the Unaccompaniable Bambuba. Wait for the world premier!

Today’s nomination for a Darwin Award goes to ::::::: link

” A 9-year-old girl accidentally killed an Arizona shooting instructor as he was showing her how to use an automatic Uzi.”

Where do we begin to count the ways that’s wrong? 

All who are surprised that such a thing could happen in Arizona, please bang your head on a wall until you have some more sense. 

颱風把巨竹吹倒了，現在將做為弓、鼓、鐘、碗等等材料。起勁的話，也可以幫巨人做一雙竹筷。

罪右邊的那枝長一百九十公分左右。

The last typhoon blew over my giant bamboo (sob sob), so now to make good use of the bamboo, to make bows, bowls, bells, drums, or maybe a pair of really ferocious numchuks.

The shortest one, on the far right, is about six feet long.

今早金、木星聯珠 Jupiter and Venus lined up early this morning. Very early. Having taken some photos, being a sensible person, I went back to bed.

also here

聽說有木，謂大丁紅，一條如指粗以打人，內傷不治。

上網查，藥材有丁紅草，顧名思義，是草。

或曰，土杜仲亦名大丁紅、 本杜仲、 疏花衛矛，但又曰泰雅語為supea；supea當為spia誤，而spia當為梓樹。未聞spia有此威力。

我有一弓，傳統達彥製，為spia木。誠徵有志之士，願為科學冒險，有奉獻精神，供我以spia弓打，以驗其果有威力與否。有意者內洽。

When you least expect it, suddenly, out of nowhere! the missing foot!! ATTACKS!! aaaarrraaAAAAAHHHH!!! BEWARE!!!

Golly wolly, are we doomed? An asteroid is headed our way, at a speed of nine miles a second. Look at that headline!

HUMAN LIFE COULD BE WIPED OUT BY ASTEROID TRAVELLING AT 9 MILES A SECOND

The report says, “Human life could be wiped out by a huge asteroid that is heading for earth at a speed of 33,800 miles an hour. With the force of around 44,800 megatonnes of TNT, scientists say that there is a good chance it will hit earth on March 16, 2880.”

2880? Well, okay, good to know, I’ll be sure to note that on my calendar, but I’m not going to worry about it just yet. 

I’m no runner. I will walk or ride a bike all day long, but don’t ask me to run for ten minutes. It bores me. If I have to, I can run on and on, but I’m not fast. But one time I ran very fast.

Since junior high, my avocation has been martial arts, and since high school, mountaineering. Football, basketball, baseball, ball games bore me. In school, ball games were sacred, but they still bored me, even more than running.

I went to high school in Pasadena, CA, not too far from Camp Pendleton, the Marine base. Most of our PE teachers had been Marine Corps drill instructors. The rumor was that they chewed through their chains at night to escape, and came to PHS to teach PE. Sounds about right. Maybe they really did even hold midnight rituals, sacrificing kids (goat and elementary school) to the gods of football and basketball.

To say they were serious about football and basketball is sort of like saying the surface of the sun is warm. We had endless drills. If I did not show sufficient reverence, or maybe even misbehaved (who, me?), Coach would tell me to run ten laps. No big deal, okay, I’d finish ten laps more bored than before, and misbehave again. I mean, do you really have to put the stupid basketball through the stupid hoop every time? Can’t you be creative from time to time and bounce the ball off someone’s shoulder? That takes some good aim, a moving target like that, and it’s even better if you miss and hit something else. I would rather run laps the whole period than shoot baskets.

But what I really wanted to do was practice Kenpo Karate. In junior high, I had the extravagant good luck to become a student of the great Ed Parker, the Big Kahuna himself, at his home base, the Pasadena studio. A good Hawaiian, Parker loved to break heads, ribs, and other vital organs.

One evening when I was 17, say December 1970, I was making my way home to Sierra Madre after a good workout at the studio.

In those days, I wore my hair long, partly because it bugged the teachers at school so much. Long for those days: long enough to reach my mouth in front and hang over my collar in back. For those days, long.

It did get in my way when I was practicing Kenpo, so I knotted together a broken shoestring for use as a headband. This particular evening, I still had my headband on, because I was walking and trotting.

I was following Sierra Madre Boulevard, the route of the Rose Parade, which ends at PHS. I had just passed a Chevron gas station, crossed a street, and was walking by the wall surrounding the gas works. (Through the miracle of Google maps, I see the gas works – Pasadana Propane – is still there, but the wall is moved back from the sidewalk, and lower. 250 – 268 N Sierra Madre, Pasadena CA, if you’re interested. I am checking the next couple street names on Google maps.) Further up Sierra Madre was a dead zone of torn down houses, making way for the new freeway they were putting in, the Foothill.

Although there were very few cars on the road, I thought I might hitch a ride, so once I crossed the street, I turned around, just as two guys appeared from around the wall. They were coming at me. “Hey, hippie, give us the headband.” Everybody knows hippies are all peace and love and flower power and don’t fight. But I wasn’t a hippie. I knew what they wanted. After a good two or three hour workout, I was primed, and more than eager to kick their heads for them, since that’s what they wanted.

We engaged in creative dialogue. “I don’t want to give it to you.”

“Then we’re going to take it.” Chicano accents.

They were black silhouettes against the gas station lights. I saw the one next to the wall was holding a ballpeen hammer, down his right leg. Okay, you go down first. Next to the wall, he couldn’t get a good swing. I was adjusting my angle of attack when suddenly a car roared out from behind the wall and stopped just behind me, cutting off my rear.

My reaction was instant. I turned, lifted my heels, and flew.

They hadn’t expected that, so they were just a bit slow in taking off. I heard them floor the engine. I crossed Del Rey Avenue – a two lane LA size street – in two steps. I ran so fast the car couldn’t catch me.

I reached the first house, on the corner of Bella Vista and hammered on the door. Just as the car pulled up and slammed on the brakes, the door opened. 

I told the young man who opened the door, “They’re chasing me.” He took in the situation in an instant. He stepped back, I stepped in, and we shut the door. The car waited a moment, and drove off.

The family asked if I wanted to phone the police. I didn’t, because first, the police probably wouldn’t care about a long-haired hippie in a headband. And what could they do? I could hardly ask them for a ride home, and Sierra Madre was out of their jurisdiction anyway.

I figured the guys in the car would think I’d phoned the police, so they wouldn’t wait around. I guessed I had spoiled their evening; they were done with me. I waited a while, all was quiet, so I set off again. I was a bit antsy going through the dead zone, but I got home without further event.

Maybe they had noticed that when they showed me the hammer, I wasn’t afraid; instead, I was getting ready to fight. Not easy prey, forget it.

Later I asked around. I had brushed into some nasty guys. They had strayed from their usual base in El Monte or somewhere. Nobody knew why they had come to Pasadena, but people knew about them. The car was full of more nasty guys with hammers and saws for their evening’s entertainment.

In the following months, before I went to Viet Nam, I never heard about their coming back to Pasadena. Maybe they figured that if people in Pasadena run that fast, chasing them is a waste of gas. Could be.

“Captain, Captain, what are we to do? The sea is as smooth as glass, and there is not a breath of wind.”

“Alas, me matey, bad luck is upon us! I fear we are becalmed in 

the doll drums!!

When he was in junior high, my brother Peter and his friend John Tuck killed a rat. Certainly you should be able to find something creative to do with a perfectly good dead rat, right? Especially if you’re Peter.

I don’t know if it’s the same anymore, but in those days, the Vice Principal was in charge of discipline and maintaining order. The Vice Principal at Henry Huntington Jr High (San Marino, CA) was Mr Gilligan. So Peter got to thinking, hmmm, Mr Gilligan’s door opens inwards. He doused the rat corpse in gasoline, tied its tail loosely to the nameplate on the door, lit it, hammered ferociously on the door, and disappeared.

Right on plan, Mr Gilligan waxed wroth, came steaming out of his office to see who dared to hammer on his door, yanked the door open, and the rat flingo!! flew flamingly into his office. Without missing a beat, Mr Gilligan screeched, TALOVICH!!!

Small wonder I had such a hard time when I got into HEH Jr High. Mr Gilligan had some sort of grudge against me. 

“Congress is trying to use the impeachment process to besmirch a political career. It didn’t work well with Clinton. They didn’t convict him. It’s not going to happen with Obama.

"It's political shenanigans. Republicans like to wrap themselves in the Constitution but they have to understand what the impeachment clause is there for – it’s not just because you have political differences with a president. It’s a checks and balances system. It was with the greatest reluctance it was used in the Nixon situation.”

Wise words spoken by none other than John Dean, who knows a thing or two about impeachment. Comments on Nixon, Watergate, and Obama: well worth reading: LINK

LDSD? LSD is more like it!

Link:::

Halong,

too long,

so long,

time for this typhong

to be gong.

我不是要危言聳聽，但這幾天想個問題。九二一大地震後才曉得，地震前幾個月一次大規模停電，來自一處高壓電塔傾倒；而地震後發現電塔傾倒的起因是深處地層下陷，其實是大地震來臨的前兆。

這次高雄氣爆，可不可能是地層移位，讓管子洩漏氣體？

今早很特別：日出邊的雲似有彩虹(照片左邊山上)，沒看過這種情形‧...也許因為不常早起.... This morning there was like a rainbow in the clouds by the rising sun. I had never seen this before, which may be because I don't get up early enough.

今天到北投文物館聽Amis旮亙演奏。他們下個月到蘇格蘭愛丁堡參加藝術節，所以今天找來臺灣唯一的風笛手來助興：風笛一吹就別想聽鼻笛的聲音，但是不失為一個很成功的演奏。很多精彩畫面，我拍了幾十張照片，但是相機不喜歡拍照，所以只有Ka’ing吹莫拉克笛一張照片勉強可以看。Today we went to a concert by Amis Kakeng, who are preparing for next month’s trip to the Edinburgh Art Festival. They found the only bagpiper in Taiwan, who performed gustily: when the bagpipe plays, forget about hearing the ngusut tipolo (nose flute), it’s drowned out. But it was a great performance, with many wonderful scenes. An Olympus camera is not designed to take photographs, so of the dozens I took, only one could be called presentable, Ka’ing playing the Morokot flute. It was a great concert. Too bad you missed it. 

It should be interesting to see how this works out. On the one hand, French wine growers are buying up land in southern England, because due to global warming, in another couple decades France will be too warm for wine, and England will be just right. On the other hand, solar spots are not appearing as they should. Sunspots follow an eleven year cycle, usually, but now, at a period when they should be near their peak, the number of sunspots recently is the lowest on record. So astronomers say we may be heading into a thirty year cold snap. Stay tuned for further developments.

Go ahead and buy up land in southern England. If you can’t grow grapes, maybe you can raise polar bears.

for more on sunspots, start here::

麥德姆颱風來過。沒想到那麼猛，還吹倒了我們的巨竹，嗚嗚嗚嗚哇哇嗚~~Typhoon Matmo has come and gone. It was more powerful than I anticipated. It blew over our giant bambooooowoowawawaaaaaaa 

康熙皇帝云：「從來國運之興衰，關乎主德之善否‧…有德者昌，無德者亡。」

諦哉是言！而今尚民主，民為主，故國運之興衰，關乎人民之修德與否。

Pardon my asking, but 

how stupid do you have to be 

to want to run with the bulls in Pamplona? 

Or anywhere?

If you can possibly go,
be sure not to miss this!
If not here,
then in Scotland.

bagpipes + nose flute

who could resist that?

who could hear the nose flute?

美國權力典章保障新聞自由，為的是讓民眾多了解時事，知道政策得失，因而可以慎重考慮如何投標。

老師教我們，報導新聞必須力求客觀：新聞報導不得有立場；若要為民主服務，立場必須超然。新聞報導中不可以參雜報社的意見。如果主編有意見想發表，那就是社論。編輯高興寫甚麼都可以，但那是社論，必須與新聞分清楚。嚴格講，新聞版不得發表意見；要看意見，請翻開社論版。

當然要新聞完全客觀，是不可能的：最起碼，他們會選擇哪些事情要報導，哪些事情不報導。

請參考美國報紙報導珍珠港事件。日本軍閥偷襲美國領土，而新聞報導依然冷靜、客觀，就事論事報導這件事。

日本投降，美國報紙的頭條寫：日本投降。 

新聞是新聞，社論是社論，河水不犯井水，界線分明。

前幾天看到臺灣某家大報紙的頭條：

教長扯謊

該下台！

第一，「扯謊」字眼太不客觀。第二，「該下台」是意見，不是新聞，不該放入新聞版。

當然，解嚴後，臺灣的新聞越來越離譜。反正，他們寫的越煽情，銷路越好。大概只能怪讀者。花錢買這種報紙、花時間看這種新聞廣播，就是鼓勵他們濫用新聞自由、愚民、妨礙民主。

An intrepid Tea Party candidate in Arizona (where the sun mercilessly shines and apparently cooks brains) went out to block a bus full of illegal immigrant children. Unfortunately for him, they were all American kids returning from summer camp.

LINK

Sounds like a farce. But then, that’s exactly what the Tea Party is. Gives tea a bad name. 

真了不起！多年來最大一次雷震雨：房子震動，安全起見我還拔了一些電器的插頭，免得房子被震、電器燒壞。這是經驗：雖有避雷針，電力太強。幸虧沒事。可真壯觀！

@@@@@@@@@ The biggest thunderstorm in years is overhead. The house is shaking. I pulled the plug on some electric devices, lest they get burned if the house is struck. (This has happened before, even though we have a lightning rod.) Fortunately, the storm is passing, no problem. Wow! 

Approaching his teens, Prince Ethelwulf was a naughty, sassy boy. One day, he gave the Royal Witch a bit too much lip, and she turned him into a toad. Actually, Prince Ethelwulf enjoyed hopping around in the mud, catching flies with his tongue, as would any high-spirited boy. However, an important ceremony was approaching, and it just wouldn’t do to have the Prince hopping around the Royal Chamber catching flies, so the King asked his neighbor, King Edwy, to send over his daughter Princess Osburh to break the spell. Cursing her luck under her breath, Princess Osburh dutifully kissed the toad prince, and Prince Ethelwulf was restored to his former condition.  

But not for long. Once again he got the Royal Witch’s hackles up, and she turned him into a toad again. This time, however, His Majesty immediately ordered the Witch to turn him back into a prince, much to Prince Ethelwulf’s disappointment.

The King summoned the Prince, and said to him, “We have ordered our Witch to turn you back into a Prince because, my son, you shouldn’t have to be toad twice.”

三十年前，跟臺灣學生說，「你可以進步」，他們發奮圖強。

十五年前，跟臺灣學生說，「你可以進步」，他們當耳邊風。

現在，跟臺灣學生說，「你可以進步」，他們就不高興：我已經很完整，憑甚麼說我有進步的空間？ 

§

我在課堂上沒閒功夫講解教育理論：我是老師，你相信我就不會錯。我向來不準學生上課查字典，甚至教準留學生不要隨身攜帶字典：會障礙進步。

一直到兩、三年前，一個大學生上課查字典，我說：「課堂上不準查字典。」繼續講課。

第二天，他媽咪打電話來投訴，說我叫她兒子不要查字典，她兒子受傷了。

§

我們補習班暑假開SAT班，小留學生從世界各地回來準備考試。上課都用英文講。

那天開新班，跟學生講規矩，說課堂上不要用手機: “On the one hand, if you have your phone on, it means you're not concentrating on the material. On the other hand, how do you like it, when you're concentrating and trying to learn something, and you hear the person next to you saying, 「我現在上課，晚一點再打電話給你」? It ruins your concentration, right? We’re here to concentrate and learn something, not phone. So no phones in class.” 馬上有學生滑手機傳line跟媽咪說，老師講中文，媽咪馬上打電話來教務處投訴，老師上課講中文，不是全英文教學嗎？罵的很凶。

我有三個疑問。第一，我不是在說上課不要用手機？你幹麼line給媽咪？

第二，也許學生只覺得新鮮，媽咪抓住機會過度反應，亦未可知。

第三，那堂課，我講解字彙時，舉法、德、俄、拉丁文的例子，媽咪沒投訴。第二節知道有家長投訴我還故意舉排灣語的例子，看媽咪會不會投訴，可是沒有。所以結論是，全世界的語言都可以說，就是不準說中文。媽咪覺得講中文很可恥嗎？ 

§

某國立大學的學生叫老師改變教學法，還威脅老師說，「我們背後有三十幾個家長。」

§

為甚麼我這一代的人當父母那麼失敗？

When I see photos of people doing their “open carry” thing >>LINK<<, I wonder, why are these people so afraid that they have to tote around their firearms?

When I was 17, I was running all over the Viet Nam war zone (from the Delta to the DMZ), through areas where everybody knew there were North Viet Namese regulars, in known VC villages, past firefights, explosions, the usual stuff of wars, and I was never so frightened that I felt I had to carry a gun. Maybe I'm just dumb. But to me, these open carry people look like cowards.

Would the gun people be so enthusiastic about open carry if African Americans and Hispanics also exercised their rights to carry around their guns? >>LINK<<

In the summer of 1974, when I was 21, I worked on a volunteer project with a bunch of VN college students to rebuild a school in Quang Tri destroyed in the fighting. It was about 100 meters from the border with North Viet Nam. At night, we could hear the drumming of their psychological warfare troops, and we could see the gun flashes and artillery flashes of fighting in the nearby hills. We were told to sleep fully clothed and shod, with our documents in our pockets. Every night after we lay down to sleep, our leader told us, "Remember which direction South is. If anything happens, get up and run south, just run, don't ask questions, don't stop, just run south."

But I was never so frightened that I felt I needed a gun. Why are these people so frightened that they can't put down their firearms?

Science never ceases to amaze. A small rodent recently discovered in South Africa, about the size of a shrew, turns out to be more related to elephants, sea cows, and aardvarks than they are to shrews.

LINK

June 28, 1914, exactly one hundred years ago, the Serbian terrorist, Gavrilo Princip almost by accident had the opportunity to shoot the Austrian Arch Duke. He did and this kicked off the First World War, which led to the Second World War, with more than a hundred million people dead.

Meanwhile, my computer has been down, but is back on its feet. Kicking and screaming, it is working with me again. 

Sometimes you look at a candidate's campaign photos, and you can't help asking, WTF??? What was she thinking??

I'm sure she's a very nice, dedicated worker, but .... WTF??? What was she thinking??

世說新語、任誕：桓南郡被召作太子洗馬，船泊荻渚。王大服散後已小醉，往看桓。桓為設酒，不能冷飲，頻語左右：「令溫酒來！」桓乃流涕嗚咽，王便欲去。桓以手巾掩淚，因謂王曰：「犯我家諱，何預卿事？」王歎曰：「靈寶故自達。」 

阮籍曰，禮豈為我設耶！時名士如斯以禮自縛，難怪豁達賢士不與。

Computer problems, no posts, enjoy the silence.

If you aren’t feeling depressed about your job or the economy, then read this piece: even if you are:: LINK

There’s some good news after all. Meriam Ibrahim, the lady in Sudan who was sentenced to death for being Christian will be freed. Congratulations all around. Let’s wait until she walks free to be sure, but it’s still good news.

I am quite sure that the government of Sudan was influenced by yesterday’s post on this blog.

Yeah, sure.

Link

Yes, yes, yes, we know that Islam is the religion of peace, but this is outrageous. A Christian woman in Sudan, married to a Christian, has been sentenced to death because her father is Muslim, although her mother is Christian. Since her father is Muslim, her Christian faith is disregarded and her Christian marriage has been annulled by the court, so she has also been sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery. Good old religion of peace, huh?

LINK

我來華學中文年代，曾一時流行大學生背高中書包。當然要背建中、北一女、中一中之類名校的書包；板橋高中、彰化高中的沒人背。

(板橋高中的名聲是流氓學校)

來華的外國漢學家跟進，當然要背建國中學書包，偶而有人喜歡「成功」就背起成功中學書包；女漢學家只有一兩個，不用問：北一女。

可我不想。往昔臺灣買不到好背包，而書包確實好用，我就想。好了，和平東路溫州街口有人賣書包。(注：從國際學舍到和平東路，沿著瑠公圳走，圳溝邊的樹多，但是不好走，東側很多雜亂小房子，稍微比較好走，到了和平東路右轉，和平東路左右各一車道，兩邊矮房子裏騎樓下各種商店。)我買了一個沒字的軍綠色書包，帶回國際學舍，磨墨提筆，上面很仔細寫：

學小鬼洋

(？右到寫左從，洋崇麼那誰？好不好，左而右從是字國)

自格兒覺得字不錯，很滿意，從此背著上街。

有意料不到的效果：路人的反應。很嚴肅、道貌岸然的外國學者背建國中學，司空見慣，一個野小子背起這個「洋鬼小學」，很多大人不知道該如何反應。多數人裝做沒看到，有人看到欣然一笑。

也有好心人，很體貼問，「書包上面的字，你看懂嗎？」

「我自己寫的，當然看懂。」

于是有人釋懷笑，但大部分人更加困惑。

A fascinating new look at human evolution: “essential molecules had changed even more rapidly in human muscle than in the brain. The rate of change in muscle was 10 times that seen in our closest animal cousin, the chimpanzee.

In contrast, the molecules in the human brain had evolved four times faster.

The scientists believe human muscle needed to alter drastically to free up energy for the brain becoming puny.“

For the complete article, please click HERE.

文化大學某一同學每上課必睡，教授終于忍不住，說，「想睡就不用來上課。」學生一氣就往教務處投訴，理直氣壯說，「上課是我的權利，睡覺也是我的權利。」

二、三十年前有個我不太喜歡的口號：「不要讓你的權利睡著。」現在變成：「睡覺是我的權利。」

我小時在美國受到的教育是：權利佔三分之一，義務佔三分之二。現在臺灣的教育是：我有權利我就要濫用，別人都有義務服侍我。

這樣下去，臺灣不保。

楚懷王說，大福不再。自古有幾人能讀書？今天是人類歷史上教育最普及的時代，而今天的世界上，只以1%的人可以念書到大學畢業。福中要知福，不知福、不惜福，卻糟蹋福氣，臺灣有前途嗎？

Hurray for France! They bought new trains to upgrade their train service. 

One slight problem: somebody forgot to measure things, and it turns out that the trains are just a few centimeters too large to fit into the stations. Not a big problem, only 1300 stations. I’m sure they can remedy this minor glitch with a bit of grease on the sides of the trains.

LINK

The bulls win one! Hurray! 

LINK

It tells you something about matadors’ “bravery” when they keep fighting only when the bulls lose. Let a bull win, and the cowards call off the game. 

從前讀歷史，到魏晉南北朝就搞不清楚：魏篡漢、晉篡魏、八王之亂、中華自亂、五胡亂華、華亂五胡、五胡戶亂、亂亂亂，實在搞不清楚。

共產主義在中華名存實亡，年輕學者擺脫馬恩思想的枷鎖；在歷史，新秀日出，作品成山，成就沛然，這幾年讀他們的作品，魏晉南北朝終于開始理出頭緒。

那是一個燦烈的時代：時代、人物燦爛、悲烈，一點也不令人嚮往，但使我想提筆。其中太多太多精彩的題材：都需要人寫短篇、長篇、劇本、電影展示他們的事跡：尊重地詮釋他們的時代、他們的抉擇、他們的人生。光是慕容家族故事就說不完。羊后的心態很需要探索，可以寫成上等的作品。原來毛寶不是洗衣精，是橫行戰場的勇將。蘇峻幾杯酒改變了歷史，司馬炎立太子壞了晉朝。秦王苻堅的帝國版圖大于盛漢，出征淝水于時為世界歷史最大規模軍事行動，一馬跌而局勢顛倒。十六歲的梁敬帝遶著床逃命，喊「本不願為皇帝，陳霸先推我即位，如今將殺我！」而死于刀下，又一個年輕皇帝(忘了哪一位)為權臣所弒，臨死只求來世不生帝王家。石勒從奴隸成為帝王、劉裕本為無賴的孤兒卻篡晉立宋。阬人、食人，常有的事，人民怎麼活？整個家族記憶中沒過過安寧的日子，怎能活下去？

韋孝寬、達摩祖師、侯景、宇文泰、高歡、佛圖澄、高敖曹、苻生、石虎、好人壞人幾簍筐，都用他們的生命、他們的智慧、愚蠢、遠見、盲點、熱血、冷血寫出燦烈的歷史，躍然紙上。

但其中，幾乎不必點綴而自成最完美的故事，就是嵇康。「康早孤，有奇才，遠邁不群。身長七尺八寸，美詞氣，有風儀，而土木形骸，不自藻飾，人以為龍章鳳姿，天質自然。恬靜寡欲，含垢匿瑕，寬簡有大量。學不師受，博覽無不該通，長好老、莊。」與魏宗室婚，而他二十四歲時攜眷離洛陽索居山陽竹林，阮籍、山濤也來了，有那麼燦爛的一年多，留下竹林七賢的美名，供後人摸索。隨君追思、質疑、叱笑、仰慕。「康居貧，嘗與向秀共鍛於大樹之下，以自贍給。潁川鐘會，貴公子也，精練有才辯，故往造焉。康不為之禮，而鍛不輟。良久會去，康謂曰：『何所聞而來？何所見而去？』會曰：『聞所聞而來，見所見而去。』會以此憾之。及是，言于文帝曰：『嵇康，臥龍也，不可起。公無憂天下，顧以康為慮耳。』因譖康」，文帝不容，加之罪賜死。往刑場，三千太學生出來請拜為師；太學生壞事，文帝認為臥龍不可起，必死不赦。康顧視日影，索琴彈「廣陵散」，曰：「廣陵散于今絕矣！」時年四十。

嵇康之死，于其人于其時，實悲，但為候人留下最完美的故事，不撰而為上品。

嵇康嘆，「廣陵散于今絕矣！」其實是他個人的版本；曲譜記音，但詮釋由個人。曲譜未佚，隋朝找到曲譜，唐代流行民間，宋高宗時收入宮廷，而明代編入「神奇曲譜」，流傳至今。

聽吧，紀念嵇康、竹林七賢、南北朝芸芸眾生。

沒齒鼠見人起大廈，嫉妒成恨，天天啃鋼筋，企傾伏其樓，殊不知，若樓垮，第一被壓死，是自己。

When we got home, I went out back to feed the dogs. A large field mouse was scampering back and forth between the dogfood buckets and the tool rack. I called Byajing and Yumin, intrepid hunters. They wagged cheerfully, ignoring the field mouse. Finally, after considerable coaxing, Byajing went over and sniffed perfunctorily under the rack. Yumin checked the place too.

I have a feeling a conversation was going on, beyond my ken.

Byajing: Hey, Qoli, we told you not to come when Yaba has come home.

Qoli: I know, but you promised me I could play with your toy sticks tonight.

Yumin: Not now, Qoli, get out of here and come back when Yaba has gone indoors and turned off this light. 

Qoli: Well, okay, but I’ll be back after you finish eating.

Byajing: No problem! Now, scoot!

明遺民船山王夫之著「讀通鑑論」，亦可名「讀通鑑吹毛求疵集」，歷代好人、壞人，通通劇罵。船山筆下，無完人，苛察而無已。尤恨外族，或以其生于明末，眼見滿清入關。

船山卻問：「君子之求于人也，可以苛察而無已乎？」下文云「事是君而為是君死，食焉不避其難，義之正也。」

臣不死君難，船山甚不饒人，筆征墨伐。

但是：船山生于明末，眼見滿清入關，其父親、二兄、叔父均護明抗清陣亡，而船山獨活。雖組民起兵，但不了了之；明朝有難，船山何以不死？苛求諸人，至己身則不論。

人，最容易認出自己。一個人一直罵、不饒人、口出惡言，往往就是看到自己。或許船山惡言詈罵前人的不是，實為自責。

今臺灣政事，極少就事論事、計及子孫、為社稷謀福，只有怒吼、毒罵。怒吼的人，是發洩內心的不平？抑或看到自己？

現代教育不重視詩，一則學校教育功利，能賺錢的科目家長才願意讓孩子上。然一則現代詩已離詩本位：失去詩意，寫長短句，跟散文沒兩樣，只有排版不同，詩的意境已無，則何需為詩？
請看看第十四屆台北文學獎的首獎作品LINK。這給你人生的啟發嗎？感動嗎？半夜睡醒，會在你心中裊裊，喚起人生幽趣的憧憬嗎？

Poetry is being neglected in today’s schools, which are geared to producing efficient money making machines. LINK

Part of the problem lies with modern poetry, much of which has lost touch with its muse. All you have to do is plop down some artistically arranged sentences on a page and you’re in business. IMHO, people read poetry to be informed of new worlds, to be moved. You’re not getting that with a poem published recently that had a verse saying:

T T T T T T T T T T T T

T T T T T T T T T T T T

T T T T T T T T T T T T

and so forth. I may not be quoting exactly, but is that something that would haunt your dreams? 

恭喜拉阿魯哇、卡那卡那富的自我定位收到官方認同。

一方面，覺得要分就分不完，我們都是人，管你膚色青紅皂白，管你說甚麼語言，我們都是人，何必細分？但另一方面，確認自己的位置、自己的祖先、很重要。

恭喜他們正名，是為了這個。

唯一遺憾：鄒族人數又變少了！

Congratulations to the Kanakanavu and Saaroa(ɬaʔalua), who have won recognition as being separate tribes. They have long been grouped with the Tsou (Cou), but their languages are quite different. Each of these newly recognized tribes has about 500 people.
LINK

The NRA will tell you to be proud: this proves that Americans have better aim.

The raw numbers tell you something, but not everything, because not all countries have the same population. How many people are killed, proportionately?

In Japan, 1 out of 2,600,000.

In the UK, 1 out of 8,000,000.

In Switzerland, 1 out of 235,000.

In Canada, 1 out of 6,700,000.

In Israel, 1 out of 132,800.

In Sweden, 1 out of 434,000.

 In West Germany, 1 out of 1,200,000.

and in the US,

1 out of 29,000. We WIN!

Let’s make the competition a bit stiffer: Russia has about 5,000 gun deaths a year out of a population of 142,500,000, so that gives them only 1 in 28,500, so you can see Americans have to work harder! We are losing the Death Race! But only by a little, so go out there and get your kids guns so they can do the patriotic thing and pop someone off.

We are still way behind Jamaica, Swaziland, and the Honduras, but let’s concentrate on overtaking Russia first.

If it’s any consolation, we still have a lot more people incarcerated than any other country in history.