It has been one of those rainy days that just demotivates a person. I have been spending some time installing some programming tools on my desktop and server, while I wait for my enrollment process to move forward for the University of Alaska Southeast Teacher Certification program. I suppose I’m more and more feeling that in the long run, I may end up doing computer work, and it would be smart to keep my skills up. Frustrated with the Eclipse IDE, I decided to try out VSCode, which is Microsoft’s entry to the Open Source IDE market. It’s a kind of weird reversal, running Microsoft software on a Linux machine. But so far it seems to work better than the buggy Eclipse.
A tree I saw the other day. Not very well focused.
[daily log: walking, 1km]
Month: September 2019
Caveat: Poem #1142 “The day’s prelude”
at some point before the sun comes up, before the looming fog brightens, above the waiting forest, behind the slate gray sky, with eagles' assent, but bears' surprise, it begins: purple light
– a nonnet
Caveat: Tree #256
Today, the Ides of September, Arthur and I once again sought to catch a halibut, but alas, we returned to port having only hooked a number of ugly bottom fish of poor quality. Halibutless. The sea was flat and sunny, though. I saw some seagulls cruising on an improvised raft (hard to see, center of this picture, looking past the southern end of San Juan Island toward San Ignacio and Baker, in the distance).
Meanwhile, trees continued their efforts to touch the sky.
[daily log: walking, 1.5km]
Caveat: Poem #1141 “The origins of meaning”
pain expressed like desire internal states with utterances perturbations in air or glyphs projected with light hopeful, vain intentions to use an apparatus known as language
– a reverse nonnet
Caveat: Tree #255
I found this tree.
[daily log: walking, 3km]
Caveat: Poem #1140 “The philosopher in the wilderness”
worried thoughts bold plans internal doubts
early dusk
optimistic words verbal hesitations pertinent questions
black caterpillars
long pauses happy suggestions convoluted rationalizations
aimless slugs
they might
hope
to change
minds
and nevertheless
we remain
obdurate
looming fog still forest patient spider
irresolute conversation
– a quennet
Caveat: Tree #254
This is another view of a tree that spent a night in flames two weeks ago.
[daily log: walking, 1km]
Caveat: Poem #1139 “A speculative solipsism”
A speculative solipsism: I imagined being a bear. The world was an endless verb. All objects were nameless. Feelings thrummed through me. The seasons changed. The trees drooped. Leaves fell. Bare.
– a nonnet
Caveat: Tree #253
Down the road a ways, I ran across a tree. Quelle surprise.
[daily log: walking, 2.5km]
Caveat: Poem #1138 “A fiction emerges from and disappears into nothingness”
"True," she said. She sat down and looked around. "The gods can't see us." He just listened, musing. "Perhaps when the sun comes out..." A deer poked its head out at them. The clouds made the sky a dull, gray slate. He stood, restlessly, pacing the ground. The deer, now startled, disappeared. Droplets of water scattered. "What if we..." he began. He gazed mountainward. She shook her head. "There's nothing." He slumped. Wept.
– a reverse nonnet followed by a nonnet, an effort to tell a compact (and fictional) story
Caveat: Tree #252
The past few days I’ve been busy with my somewhat unsuccessful effort to remodel the plumbing in the well-head shed (“doghouse”). I’m not very good at eliminating all the leaks – I’m too inexperienced a plumber.
Today, with sporadic rain, I decided to work indoors instead, and have been doing “academic stuff” related to my efforts to enroll in the University of Alaska Southeast’s teacher certification program – a much more overwhelming and bureaucratic process than I had hoped for. Sigh. Life goes on.
Here is a tree over on lot 73.
[daily log: walking, 3km]
Caveat: Poem #1137 “The dock arch’s denizens”
The cormorant sits on the dock's arch, but it maintains a sidelong gaze as if unsure where to look. Other times, two ravens, or some gray seagulls, socialize there. Mostly, though, no birds sit.
– a nonnet
Caveat: Tree #251
This might be more than one tree. But I liked the mist.
[daily log: walking, 1.5km]
Caveat: Poem #1136 “Well”
Pipes arrayed in efforts to control things providing pathways to distribute water pulled deep from under the ground cool and calmly indifferent meeting the world after long dark years
– a reverse nonnet
Caveat: Tree #250
The tree is sideways in the river. I wonder if maybe I’ve posted this sideways tree before? It’s not easy to scan through all the trees at this point.
[daily log: walking, 3km]
Caveat: Poem #1135 “On fear”
Fear cleans out your veins: the sea surges with silver... your day in a boat
– a pseudo-haiku
Caveat: Tree #249
Our friend and neighbor Joe from down the road joined us and we went out on a singularly unsuccessful fishing trip today. We went seeking halibut at Roller Bay, then “Shipwreck” (off San Fernando Island), then the northwest side of Balandra Island. We caught exactly one smallish lingcod. Then we tried for salmon along Cemetery Island and the Coronados, trolling into the south entrance of Port Saint Nicholas. Nothing – a few black bass that were smaller than some of the bait.
Here is a tree, also struggling.
[daily log: walking, 2km]
Caveat: Poem #1134 “Ode to past goats”
there used to be goats they'd go out onto the dock and become confused
– a pseudo-haiku
Caveat: Tree #248
Set the trees free.
[daily log: walking, 2.5km]
Caveat: Poem #1133 “A haiku is just a stone”
I've been uninspired so I compose these fragments and toss them like stones.
– a pseudo-haiku
Caveat: Tree #247
And then I went out and saw a tree.
[daily log: walking, 2.5km]
Caveat: My Artistic License
As many of you already know, I have acquired an RV. It is known as “the GDC,” per its previous owners Mark and Amy.
I installed its new Alaska license plates today. I now have a legal license to practice my art, whereas up until now my artwork was unlicensed. This artistic license was included for free as part of my vehicle license plates:
In case the above is unclear, it is a joke based on the slogan on the new license plates.
Art and I dropped my friend Peter off at the ferry this morning. It’s back to just us chickens, now.
Caveat: Poem #1132 “Autodidact”
The cosmologist confronted the awkward fact: he was just self-taught.
– a pseudo-haiku
Caveat: Tree #246
Peter and I went on a hike in the morning, up the trail that runs up the side of Sunnahae mountain – but we didn’t intend to go to the top, which would have been an all-day hike. We went about 2 miles up and turned around a came back down.
Here is a tree we saw along the trail.
Here is me looking like a sinister Korean right-wing ajeossi of the sort you’d meet on a mountainside in Korea.
I’m wearing a hat that Peter gave to me that says “외국인” [oegugin = “alien, foreigner”]. This is funny.
[daily log: walking, 6km]
Caveat: Poem #1131 “As countries will do”
In a backwards way, from motorways to mountains, the country evolved.
– a pseudo-haiku
Caveat: Tree #245
Arthur and I took Peter out fishing. From a fishing standpoint, it was somewhat disappointing – we caught no salmon, and when trying for halibut we only caught ugly bottomfish. But I think Peter enjoyed himself, and anyway he got to see an aspect of life here that many don’t.
Here is a tree seen on an island.
[daily log: walking, 6km]
Caveat: Poem #1130 “Poeming”
under the raining between all the grayish skies the earth rests, greening
– a pseudo-haiku
Caveat: Tree #244
I saw this tree beside a totem in Klawock.
[daily log: walking, 3km]
Caveat: 辛라면
One reason I enjoy my friend Peter’s company is that we both have a rather geeky, quasi-philological approach to the Korean language. This is not necessarily the best approach to language learning, but it is what it is.
Our neighbor Jeri brought by some home-made kimchi that had been given to her by another friend of hers. Just imagine: Alaska-made kimchi – such is globalization. To taste-test the kimchi, I broke out my stash of Korean style spicy ramen, of the famous brand 신라면 [sinramyeon]. As Peter and I ate kimchi with spicy instant ramen for lunch, we ended up speculating on the Chinese character, 辛, prominently displayed as the brand mark for the product, as in this picture below.
We both assumed it meant “new” – the most common stand-alone meaning for the Korean syllable 신 [sin]. I also speculated it might be a family name. But neither of those are the case. After a bit of searching on the online naver.com dictionary (the best online Korean dictionary) we found that in fact the definition is given as follows:
1. 맵다 2. 독하다(毒–) 3. 괴롭다, 고생하다 4. 슬프다 5. 살생하다(殺生–) 6. 매운 맛 7. 여덟째 천간(天干) 8. 허물, 큰 죄(罪) 9. 새, 새 것(=新)
That definition #1? “Spicy.”
So in fact sinramyeon means exactly what the English label says: “spicy ramen.”
The kimchi, by the way, was quite acceptable.
Later, Peter and I drove down to Hydaburg, to look at totems and witness the isolated, mostly-native Haida village. We saw bilingual street signs.
It rained all day.
After that, on the way back home, we stopped and saw the totems in Klawock, too. Peter gave a stump speech in the Klawock city park.
Caveat: Poem #1129 “So a cloud, then”
having friends visit is like noticing a cloud with striking colors
– a pseudo-haiku
Caveat: Tree #243
And still, there are trees.
[daily log: walking, 3km]
Caveat: Comings and Goings
At 6 this morning, I drove my friends Mark and Amy to catch the ferry. They left their RV here (per the plan) – so now I have another project.
During the day, I worked on finally finishing the move of the storage tent – which I jokingly call my “studio” – to it’s new spot on the western lot. Here it is.
Then I drove back to the ferry terminal and met my friend Peter, coming in. Here he comes…
Caveat: Poem #1128 “Only potential”
Potential is shown for artistic endeavor - actual art, no
– a pseudo-haiku