臺灣的民主，被怒吼犧牲掉。

今天聽到：「沒有人要吃紫米，因為假的太多。政府無能，沒辦法管食品安全。」

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

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

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

昔云，國家興亡，匹夫有責。

今云，國家興亡，匹夫都責備。

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

LINK:

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

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

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

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

臺北小市民生活歷史綴筆，投報篇

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

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

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

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

早上睡意猶濃，聽到陽臺玻璃「噔」一聲，就知道報紙飛上來了。

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

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

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

Udis?

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

LINK

post 2500!

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

This is worth reading and pondering.LINK:

also worth learning about: toxic stress.LINK::

伊能嘉矩著「平埔族調查旅行」記載大屯莊(今淡水市靠北的屯山里)的情形：

大屯社原是漢人所命名的，社蕃自稱Keipakton(圭北屯社)‧…大部分的社蕃已忘記自己的固有語言，只有一個六十一歲的老人，他是社內年齡最大的人，還記得一些蕃語：

頭          aohu

頭髮       aopa

耳朵       tsana

眼睛       mata

鼻子       arum

嘴          arivun

手          arei

腳          ahha

腹部       atten

一則感慨于語言的消失，一則很懷疑，怎麼那麼多a開頭的字？我懷疑，老人家是不是一直掏記憶：鼻子。鼻子。阿~阿~鼻子叫做阿rum!

也許吧。

A hundred years ago, a Japanese anthropologist, Ino Kanori, recorded the last remembered words of the aborigines in northeastern Taipei:

Head = aohu; hair = aopa; nose = tsana; eyes = mata; nose = arum; mouth = arivun; hand = arei; foot = ahha; abdomen = atten.

On the one hand we perceive the tragedy of a vanished language. On the other hand, we wonder why so many words began with a? Visualize the serious anthropologist questioning the aged aborigine, who scratches his head and casts back for vocabulary that sank into forgetfulness decades before: nose, yes, yes, ah, ah, let’s see, nose, ah, ah, ah rum! and the serious anthropologist diligently records: nose = arum. 

後趙、石勒曰：大丈夫行事，宜磊磊落落，如日月皎然。

In 322AD, Shih Le, founder of the Later Chao dynasty, said, When a real man does things, that should be as direct and powerful as a rockfall, as clear and open as the sun and moon. 

通鑑九五、一

Fascinating: A young boy buried 24,000 years ago in Mal’ta, near Lake Baikal, has DNA that matches Western European genes, and also matches the DNA of about 25% of living Native Americans.

Link:::

People my age will be among the last to have personal memories of the Kennedy assassination.

I was in fifth grade in Stoneman Elementary School in San Marino, California, which in those days was so conservative that the John Birch Society was suspected of having leftist sympathies. We were not only Democrats, but also named Talovich, so obviously we were dirty Russian commies: case proved. Fortunately, I was too dense to take much notice of this. (San Marino in those days was lily white, populated by good solid Republicans with good solid names like Smith, Taylor, Hunter, Miller, and for variety Vosburg. The racial minority at Stoneman was a Jewish family trying to pass under the name Bloom, and then the Yugovich twins, Eddy Godycki, and Talovich. The Yugoviches were of course highly suspicious, but at least they voted Republican, and although Eddy Godycki was a Democrat, and clearly a dirty Rusky commie, he also kept up on all the latest television shows, which removed a bit of suspicion about his loyalty, but the Taloviches read books instead of watching television, which proved that we were dirty Rusky commies.)

That day we were in class when the principal came in, whispered something to the teacher, and then both of them turned and gave me a long look. My immediate reaction was, Uh-oh, what’s my brother done now? Years later I realized they looked at me because I was the highly suspicious Democrat.

A few minutes later, a public announcement was made that John F Kennedy, the President of the United States, had been assassinated in Dallas, Texas. We were let out of class, and all the students milled about on the playground in confusion. We had never had a President assassinated before, and didn’t know what we should do. A kid came over with the news, “Eddie Godycki’s crying!” For a moment we were all stunned by the shame of a boy crying in public, and the next moment, every kid on the whole playground was crying, tears streaming down our faces, our tribute to our fallen President.

Amitabha, rest in peace.

顏氏家訓、勉學：

梁朝全盛之時，貴遊子弟，多無學術…‧無不熏衣剃面，傅粉施朱，駕長簷車，跟高齒屐，坐棋子方褥，憑斑絲隱囊，列器玩於左右，從容出入，望若神仙。…當爾之時，亦快士也。及離亂之後，朝市遷革，銓衡選舉，非復曩者之親；當路秉權，不見昔時之黨。求諸身而無所得，施之世而無所用。被褐而喪珠，失皮而露質，兀若枯木，泊若窮流，鹿獨戎馬之間，轉死溝壑之際。當爾之時，誠駑材也。

漢唐盛世，讀書人可投筆從戎，錚錚佼佼丈夫也。至宋理後，白臉書生主世，中華力衰勢弱。但至少，古代白臉書生，望之翩翩欲仙，而今之白臉書生，低頭族耳，彎腰駝背，甚無氣勢。

手彈棉被已經不容易找到，但二十年前在三重李大川買的幾床被，墊被好像古代雅士的胸懷：自有山壑。講白一點，都是窟窿。最近訂了一床八斤的雙人墊被，今天去拿了。她們裝棉被套好像變魔術，一攤二綁三翻好了。新的墊被很厚很酥很想趕快關電腦去睡。It’s hard to find old-style handmade cotton blankets anymore, but Li Dachuan in Sanchung still makes them. We had a nice thick foundation blanket made, and picked it up today. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sleep.

李大川棉被店

新北市三重區重新路一段71號

02 2972 3320

This is hardly surprising: a white supremacist took a DNA test and found out that he’s part black. This is even less surprising: he doesn’t believe the results of the test, once they’re out.

People who hate exorbitantly generally know they have that trait themselves. So what does this tell us about those vile church people in Wichita who defile funerals howling Dog Hates Figs?

Link:

Irony is delicious. 

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy: “We now conclude that independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption. That speakers may have influence over or access to elected officials does not mean that those officials are corrupt. And the appearance of influence or access will not cause the electorate to lose faith in this democracy.”

link

touche!

安皇帝隆安三年、北魏拓跋珪問博士李先曰：「天下何物最善，可以益人神智？」對曰：「莫若書籍。」珪曰：「書籍凡有幾何，如何可集？」對曰：「自書契以來，世有滋益，以至於今，不可勝計。苟人主所好，何憂不集！」珪從之，命郡縣大索書籍，悉送平城。

In 399 AD, Kui, the ruler of the Toba Hsienpei kingdom Northern Wei, asked the learned man Li Hsian, “What is the best thing in the whole world, which can improve people’s spirit and knowledge?” Li answered, “Nothing better than books.” The ruler asked, “How many books are there? How can they be gathered?” Li answered, “Since the invention of writing, books have multiplied generation after generation, so by now, there are more than can be counted. If the ruler considers this good, there is no need to worry that they will not gather.” The ruler followed his words. He ordered local officials to gather books and send them to the capital. 

通鍵百十一、二下

LINK  << Interesting information that dog breeds originated in Southeast Asia. But Byajing says this is nothing new, she knew it all along.

custom hearse

I wouldn’t be seen dead in a hearse like this.