He tried to walk the 2×3 balance beam.
He needed a hand.
Then he told me to try.
He gave me a hand.
䷬䷢
sublime and enduring perseverance is needed
then remorse disappears
-
The living room floor was covered in drying dates.
-
The Tao is Silent, Raymond Smullyan, 1977
A mathematician tackles this topsy-turvy religious philosophy.
It’s a collection of 47 short essays that predate the blog-post book fad by three decades.
Smullyan plays with multiple voices, draws from Chinese poets, and utilizes his training as a logician.
His bemused detachment won’t convince a skeptic, but if you’re already digging Taoism then you’ll enjoy this book.
䷟䷉
The book brings back memories of summer, visiting my cousin for two weeks, where I came across Smullyan’s Alice in Puzzleland at the Whittier Library.
I should revisit this book to for a deeper dive, but I want to play jump into other subjects first.
-
A few months late and a few eggs short, but close enough.
This afternoon, I asked why he was still wearing his white pajamas with a white t-Shirt.
She explained, he’s a bunny!
(Duh)
He ran off and bounded back wearing a headband with rabbit ears.䷺䷩
he hurries to that which supports him
-
Giant Steps, John Coltrane, 1960
Last Christmas, my daughter became obsessed with Vince Guaraldi’s lyrical “Lucy and Linus”, which led to Brubeck and then Davis, Parker, and Coltrane.
One night in January, I woke up at 2:44 and couldn’t fall back asleep.
I listened to a podcast and watched a video about World War 2 aviation.
Then, this album.
My friend had just recommended this as one of Coltrane’s best.He’s right.
Coltrane plays on a razor’s edge, running the line between melody and dissonance.
The album starts fast, contradicts itself with crushing moments of slow quiet before returning to vigorous speed.
The songs push a glorious cacophony, rescuing themselves with breathtaking audacity after extended flirtations with raw disintegration.I don’t know music well enough to write a proper critique, but I know myself.
I rarely have patience for just listening to music.
That night I did.
All 37 minutes.It didn’t solve my insomnia.
䷍䷝
Nine months later, we’ve been using youtube for our dinner music. This evening, the algorithm proposed Giant Steps and the boy picked it out. I was a little surprised, but I shouldn’t have been. Bartok’s “From a Diary of a Fly” has been his favorite for weeks.
We listened to the entire album all as he buzzed around as a bee and jumped on the sofa. Kids go through phases pretty fast. I hope this phase sticks.
-
I hope I find that white package somewhere in the bedroom.
We tried playing Tobago.
It’s too advanced for the kids.
But he pulled out the box the next day.
So I set it up on the dining table.
Still too advanced.
But she used it as a springboard to create a treasure hunt.
Now I’m walking around the house with a turtle wearing bunny ears chanting “Koyaanisqatsi” and a shovel made of a ping pong paddle with a roll of paper.䷼䷇
a crane calling in the shade
its young answers it -
Koyaanisqatsi, Godfrey Reggio, Philip Glass, 1982
Finally watched the movie.
I’ve owned the DVD for years but never got around to it.
Now we’re in the streaming era.
Somehow the movie came up over dinner, and I pulled it up on Kanopy.
It took a couple meals
What a ride!
A wordless journey of wilderness to modernity —
A nostalgic modernity that is heading towards the half century mark.䷉䷪
Highly recommended. I’ll be checking out the sequel.
Youtube has trained my mind to reject anything that isn’t a thrill a minute, so I was surprised that the methodical pace did not bother me.
The monumental demolition of Pruitt-Igoe may have helped keep my attention from flagging in the middle.
Of course, any mention of this movie must include a link to Gifaanisqatsi generator. -
Appalachian Spring, Graham, Copland, Noguchi, Glushanok, 1958
This TV program is a collaboration of giants.
What’s there to say?
Lovely performance, well shot.
Of course, this is a must-watch.
In college we watched many dance performances.
This was an exercise in nostalgia.
Thinking of the dancers at Cal.
We’re on the other side of young.
Where are they?
Those dancers on screen are in another world now.
We all are.
There used to be appointment TV, now we watch over breakfast.䷡䷵
This was my first encounter with Peter Glushanok. His camera was as much a dancer as the eight performers and the stage set. Here is a short biographical blurb and a soundcloud account of his electronic music compositions.
-
He’ll be racing her soon.
We played Spot It.
She’s still scared of losing, so we each ran through our own decks.
Except for the first round, she won every time.
I’m a little slower.
She’s much faster.䷏䷡
firm as a rock
not a whole day -
God Is Not One, Stephen Prothero, 2011 & How to Live a Good Life: A Guide to Choosing your Personal Philosophy, 2020
Can you choose your religion?
If you could, these two books would be a good start.
God is Not One is a survey of eight world religions, their beliefs, practices, and varieties.
Every religion asks different questions and finds divergent answers.
For some, belief is not important, even if orthodoxy is primary in yours.
Aspects of these religions might resonate, but each of them are distinct endeavors with varied goals and methods.How to Live a Good Life is a collection of essays by practitioners.
The essays proselytize a little, but given the collection’s liberal bent these are a soft sells.
The book offers a multitude of voices, but leave you to complete the comparison.The two pair well.
A survey coupled with individual perspectives from the inside.䷶䷾
But I’m not sure you can choose your religion.
Maybe you can modulate your level of devotion, but can you choose its object?“Give me a child till he is seven and I will show you the man.”
After listening to these books, I’ve realized my roots are in Christianity, Confucianism, and Taoism.
My parents are Christian, but our heritage is Chinese.
They might have converted, but they couldn’t escape their milieu.
Me too.I don’t believe in the literal claims of the Bible, but I spent my first twenty years in the good book.
The prophets and the apostles molded my worldview.I came across Lao Tzu in my thirties, and only recently read Confucius.
I didn’t expect to appreciate the stuffy Confucius or wacky Taoists.
But unlike other philosophies (such as Epicurus) their writings just fit, like finding the perfect pair of sneakers.
I see unwritten aspects of my upbringing with these dusty tomes.What next?
Drill deeper.
Maybe I’ll find a way to read the Bible that elides its cosmology.
Or study moral order for this fragmented age.
Shall I meditate around philosophical conundrums?Or maybe it will be something else altogether.
Unplanned and predetermined. -
MFKZ, Shojiro Nishimi, 2017
Ribald.
Silly.
Stylish.
They Live with cartoon gore.
A decent way to burn an evening on Netflix, if you dig animation.