Thursday, March 6, 2014

Summary 160




Up early.  Jet-lagged.  My bird is back.  5:45am is when he shows.  I should head out with my phone and record his little solo.  Just had a skype call with the kids back home.  Everyone’s crashing.  My little one wanted to touch my face.  All you can do is put your face closer to the screen.  Their Thursday is done as mine is rising.  World travel doesn’t get any easier.  You can be in one place legitimately.  You can be somewhere else.  But trying to be in both is like air seeping out your consciousness, a weakening of aorta's steadiness.



We may get a chance to see some of this city today, and the water.  That would be nice.  Tomorrow I’ll be off and up to San Francisco.  Walk around memories; connect with such a commanding network of intimates and limitless business activity.  That place was surging the last time I visited in August.  I can only imagine, it will be more of the same.  And I can get down to my work of bridging that place and the other side of the Pacific.  To do so I need to invest in this American anchor of the span.  But this morning, saying good night to my daughters through a screen, I’d rather not be here.



Perhaps the gym will lift my mood.  Looking over the photos and links of the last 20 entries on this summary 160, I’m homesick. 


Chengyu
1.  记忆犹新: jìyìyóuxīn:  to remain fresh in one's memory (idiom)
2.  破浪: chéngfēngpòlàng:  to brave the wind and the billows (idiom); to have high ambitions
3.  目不交接: mùbùjiāojié:  lit. the eyelashes do not come together (idiom) / fig. to not sleep a wink
4.  人生如: rénshēngrúmèng:  life is but a dream (idiom)
5.  枯木逢春: kūmùféngchūn: lit. the spring comes upon a withered tree (idiom) / fig. to get a new lease on life / to be revived / (of a difficult situation) to suddenly improve 
6.  寝忘食: fèiqǐnwàngshí:  to neglect sleep and forget about food (idiom) / to skip one's sleep and meals / to be completely wrapped up in one's work
7.  振振有: zhènzhènyǒucí: to speak forcefully and with justice (idiom); to argue with the courage of one's convictions
8. 老当益壮:  lǎodāngyìzhuàng:  old but vigorous (idiom); hale and hearty despite the years
9.  沉默是金: chénmòshìjīn:  Silence is golden. (idiom)
10.   莫名其妙: mòmíngqímiào:  unfathomable mystery (idiom); subtle and ineffable / unable to make head or tail of it / boring (e.g. movie)
11.  堕云: duòyúnwùzhōng:  lit. to become lost in a fog (idiom); fig. at a complete loss
12.  能歌善舞:  nénggēshànwǔ:  can sing and dance (idiom); fig. a person of many talents
13. 天晴: yǔguòtiānqíng:  sky clears after rain / new hopes after a disastrous period (idiom) / every cloud has a silver lining 
14.  淑人君子: shūrénjūnzi: virtuous gentleman (idiom)
15.  回心转意:  huíxīnzhuǎnyì:  to change one's mind (idiom)
16. 化敌为友:  huàdíwéiyǒu:  to convert an enemy into a friend (idiom)
17. 心病狂: sàngxīnbìngkuáng:  frenzied (idiom); completely crazy and ridiculous / loss of reason / insane / crazed cruelty
18.  情不自禁:  qíngbùzìjīn:  unable to restrain emotions / cannot help
19.  随机应变: suíjīyìngbiàn:  to change according to the situation (idiom); pragmatic


Music Shared. 

Johnny Coles,  “Little Johnny C”, 1963
The Who, “Heaven and Hell” from Live at Leeds, 1970
Ted Curcon, “East 6th St.” from album “Tears for Dolphy”, 1964
Betty Carter, “Babe’s Blues”, 1958.
Allman Brother’s Band, “Southbound” from album, “Brothers and Sisters”, 1973
Jimmy Heath, “Don’t You Know I Care?” from “The Thumper”, 1959.
Bud Shank, “Barefoot Adventure”, 1960
Teddy Edwards, “I Hear a Rhapsody” 1960
Blue Mitchell, album “The Thing to Do” 1964
Vincent Ahehehinnou, “Ou C’est Lui Ou C’est Moi”, from album “African Scream Contest” “1970s”.
Earl Bostic, “Walk on the Wild Side”,  “The Major and the Minor”, 1938
Mamie Smith, “Jazzbo Ball”, 1921 
The Clash “The Guns of Brixton” from the album “London Calling” 1979 and “Complete Control” from the album “The Clash” 1977
Dewey Redman “Imani” from the album ““The Ear of the Beholder”, 1973
Steve Lacy, “Evidence” 1961
Lester Bowie, “The Fifth Power”, 1978
Grant Green, “Street of Dreams” from the album, “Street of Dreams”, 1964
George Gershwin, “Rhapsody in Blue”, 1924
Roy Campbell, “La Tierra Del Fuego Suite”, 1994

Media shared.

Johnny Coles on Wiki:
Han Dynasty village of SanYangZhuang uncovered:
Franz-Stefan Gady’s critique of German / China rise parallels
Albert Camus, “The Stranger”
T.J. Oshie’s shoot out with Russian team in Sochi Olympics
John Louis Stevenson “Treasure Island”
Konxinga (a.k.a. Zheng Chong Gong) on wiki:   
Protests in the Ukraine in New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/20/world/europe/ukraine.html?hp
Bud Shank, Barefoot Adventure, on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPfpXWdNZUA
Caixin article on PRC media reaction to air quality: http://english.caixin.com/2014-02-18/100640141.html
Patrick Leigh Fermor “A Time of Gifts”

Ambassador Gary Locke’s tenure ending in New York Times.
Spirtz technology on optimal reading points: http://www.spritzinc.com/
“Guns of Brixton” on Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guns_of_Brixton
“Complete Control” on Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_Control
Steve Lacy obituary, New York Times:
Steve Lacy obituary, The Guardian:
Attack at Kunming rail station, in New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/03/world/asia/china.html?hp
Grant Green, “Street of Dreams” on Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_of_Dreams_(Grant_Green_album)
“Revolutionary” a novel by Alex Myers
Interview with Alex Myers:



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