소 잃고 외양간 고치기 cow lose-AND stable fix-GER […like] fixing the stable after losing the cow.
The proverbial meaning is obvious, and matches English’s “Closing the barn door after the horse is gone.”
It’s a sunny Spring morning. The sky is hazy. Next week is my one-year anniversary of departing Hongnong. It feels like yesterday. I miss some aspects of it – it was a complex and life-altering experience in a way that the year since then has not been. But it wasn’t sustainable for me. So I cannot regret having left, and having come here. This has been a much more low-key, stable-feeling, emotionally sustainable year. More on meditations on renewal, later.
Talking Heads, "Cities." From 1979's Fear of Music. I have found several cities to live in, over the years, taking the song's advice. Lately, the city I live in is Seoul, of course. Previous favorites included L.A., Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and México, D.F. Hmm, why am I saying this? I don't know.
I love the Talking Heads, even after all these years. They never get old to me. I guess you'd call them formative, or essential, or foundational to my musical taste and character. This evening, I ran across a great review at The Atlantic of a book-length review by Jonathan Letham of the Fear of Music album. This is what put this song on my playlist.
The lyrics:
Think of London, a small city It's dark, dark in the daytime The people sleep, sleep in the daytime If they want to, if they want to
[CHORUS] I'm checking them out I'm checking them out I got it figured out I got it figured out There's good points and bad points Find a city Find myself a city to live in.
There are a lot of rich people in Birmingham A lot of ghosts in a lot of houses Look over there!…A dry ice factory A good place to get some thinking done
Down El Paso way things get pretty spread out People got no idea where in the world they are They go up north and come back south Still got no idea where in the world they are.
Did I forget to mention, to mention Memphis Home of Elvis and the ancient greeks Do I smell? I smell home cooking It's only the river, it's only the river.
