ㅁ I was a cold fish: there under the dock, drifting, I tasted the sea.
– a pseudo-haiku.
Month: March 2022
Caveat: Tree #1147
This tree oversaw a disused heating oil tank rust on the neighboring lot.
[daily log: walking, 3.5km; dogwalking, 3km]
Caveat: Poem #2054 “Awkward”
ㅁ I was a bug, crawling there, when, whoosh, I had a scare: water washed me down the stair.
– an englyn milwr.
Caveat: Tree #1146
This tree is one of my metasequoia trees (Chinese dawn redwood). A deciduous redwood tree, it appears to have survived the winter and decided to give spring a shot – so I relocated it into my greenhouse.
[daily log: walking, 3km; retailing, 6hr]
Caveat: Poem #2053 “Things to do when you’re an eagle”
ㅁ I rose up through the air on my wings and made sweeping circles, slowly surveying the trees and rocks tasting the salty wind until in the end I chose a spot and swooped down and perched there.
– a nonnet.
Caveat: Tree #1145
This tree is behind the gift shop.
[daily log: walking, 3.5km; retailing, 6hr]
Caveat: Poem #2052 “Failure to comment”
ㅁ "Is there enough rain?" they asked, and the clouds answered, "We cannot comment."
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Tree #1144
This tree is moving at maximum speed – full tilt.
[daily log: walking, 3.5km; dogwalking, 3km]
Caveat: 바람이 불어야 배가 가지
I found this aphorism in my book of Korean aphorisms.
바람이 불어야 배가 가지 ba.ram.i bul.eo.ya bae.ga ga.ji wind-SUBJ blow-PREREQ boat-SUBJ go-CONCESS Only when the wind blows does the boat go.
This means that one can succeed only if there first exists opportunity. I like that verb ending, -어야 – it wraps a lot of meaning in a short ending: “Only in the event that X happens…”
Caveat: Poem #2051 “Grr”
ㅁ I walked along my path today and gave the plants a glare so mean that in the end they fell back, seemingly aware.
– a quatrain in ballad meter.
Caveat: Tree #1143
This tree glowered back at the clouds.
I did work in my greenhouse today. I rearranged a lot of dirt, removed a lot of winter-killed plant matter, and planted small beds of lettuce, radishes and green onions. The sun came out briefly, and since it’s now making it over the ridge to the south, the greenhouse felt its warmth and warmed up just a little bit.
[daily log: walking, 2km]
Caveat: An Apostate Quaker Parable
An Apostate Quaker Parable
A city denizen was out in the countryside and encountered a sturdy Quaker farmer. After ascertaining that the man was a Quaker, he asked the farmer if he believed in turning the other cheek.
“Yes, Friend, I accept that biblical instruction.”
Whereupon the city man struck the farmer on the left cheek. The farmer simply turned his head. Then the city man struck him on the right cheek.
Whereupon the farmer dropped his hoe and started to roll up his sleeves. Now since the farmer was larger and far more physically fit that the city fellow, the latter started to worry, and blurted out, “What are you doing? I thought you said you believed in following the Biblical command to turn the other cheek?”
“Oh, yes, Friend”, the Quaker farmer replied, “I do. But the Bible is silent on what to do when the other cheek is struck, and now I am going to chastise Thee for being an obnoxious oaf.”
Caveat: Poem #2050 “Mystery”
ㅁ A small bird appeared. It hopped along, branch to branch. It warily watched.
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Tree #1142
This tree was foregrounded by a salmonberry bramble.
[daily log: walking, 3km; dogwalking, 3km]
Caveat: Korean Psephology Revisited From Afar
I didn’t follow the run-up to last week’s presidential election in South Korea very closely. In fact I lost track of it happening, and it took a local acquaintance more tuned in to world events than I to point out to me that it had happened last Wednesday.
But looking at and thinking about the results, I’m mostly unsurprised. I remain, as always, intrigued by the electoral map, though.
The ancient province of Jeolla stands out as starkly and quite isolatedly leftist – more so than previous maps I’ve looked at, it seems to me.
Meanwhile, suburban Seoul seems more consistently left-leaning, too. But the rest of the country swung even more rightward, more than compensating for these leftward trends in those limited areas, and ensuring a victory for the conservative, Mr Yoon.
I would almost hazard to say the map looks like evidence of increasing polarization. Which is to say, perhaps an Americanization of Korean politics? I don’t know.
Caveat: Poem #2049 “Not a true fact”
ㅁ I poked the bear's eye with a stick I had with me. This upset the bear.
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Tree #1141
This tree is a palm tree – in seed form. It’s a cold-resistant and shade-resistant variety of palm from China, and they have survived in England and Vancouver Island, so it has a chance of surviving here. So I’m going to try to germinate it and plant it. Because Rockpit needs a palm tree.
[daily log: walking, 3km; dogwalking, 3km]
Caveat: Friday Blogroll
Blogs (and blog-like-objects) in my browser right now (in a few very broad categories).
Rationalist and adjacent
Philosophy, politics, culture
Humor
Technical, computer stuff
Caveat: Poem #2048 “Flood”
ㅁ Numbers emerged like leaking water, filling up the machine's hard drive. Gradually, the space filled. Baroque bits of data spread themselves over virtual planes, surfaces until full.
– a nonnet.
Caveat: Tree #1140
This tree (just pick one) was across the inlet from a dog.
[daily log: walking, 3km; dogwalking, 3km]
Caveat: no llores, dueña del mundo
No llores, América No llores, América No llores, América, no llores por la sangre vertida en las esquinas del Sur, no llores por los hijos de tus mercenarios, no llores por tus bombas, tus cohetes, tu napalm, tus viajes a la luna, tus calles de navaja, tus dólares amargos, tus negros de precinto con sus bastones relucientes como krugers golpeando a sus hermanos de algodón, no llores por los amos de Wall Street, su polvo del mejor, sus trajes bien cortados, sus tiradores de pelo de gacela, no llores América, no llores, tu atronadora voz es la más bella entre los tules del sol, no llores, dueña del mundo, amada América, no llores, irás al cielo cuando mueras, tienes los ojos azules como Dios.
– Julio Llinás (poeta argentino, 1929-2018)
Caveat: Poem #2047 “A poem about its own origin”
ㅁ See, sometimes I wake up in the morning so very early and take the decision to just remain awake, then, and perhaps to try to write down a bunch of syllables: a nonnet.
– a reverse nonnet.
Caveat: Tree #1139
This tree pondered the passing of time.
[daily log: walking, 3km; retailing, 6hr]
Caveat: Poem #2046 “Still, they got the cold part right”
ㅁ the morning was cold the forecast had promised snow but there was just frost
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Tree #1138
This tree is the dailiest tree so far.
[daily log: walking, 2.5km; retailing, 6hr]
Caveat: Байрактар
“No catalogue of horrors ever kept men from war. Before the war you always think that it’s not you that dies. But you will die, brother, if you go to it long enough.” – Ernest Hemingway
What I’m listening to right now.
Unknown, “Байрактар.” This song is quite morbid, and glorifies death and war and patriotism, which are dangerous sentiments. I freely acknowledge that it is Ukrainian war propaganda, which makes me uncomfortable. Yet I found myself transfixed by it – as a composition (video and song, together), it’s coherent and well-crafted, though insanely simple. I’d hazard the opinion that it’s a kind of 21st century bardism. The title, Bayraktar, is the name of a high-tech, Turkish-made, drone-based weapons system, which the Ukrainians have been deploying to devastating effect on Putin’s columns of tanks and supplies.
текст:
Прийшли окупанти до нас в Україну
Форма новенька, воєнні машини
Та трохи поплавився їх інвентар
Байрактар… Байрактар…
Російскі танкісти сховались в кущі,
Щоб лаптем посьорбати довбані щі
Та трохи у щах перегрівся навар
Байрактар… Байрактар…
Зі сходу припхались до нас барани
Для вастанавлєнья велікай страни.
Найкращій пастух баранячих отар
Байрактар… Байрактар…
Їх доводи – всяке озброєня різне:
Потужні ракети, машини залізні.
У нас на всі доводи є коментар –
Байрактар… Байрактар…
Вони захопити хотіли нас зразу
І ми зачаїли на орків образу.
З бандитів російських робить примар
Байрактар… Байрактар…
Російска поліція справи заводить
Но вбивцю рашистів ніяк не знаходить.
Хто ж винен, що в нашому полі глухар?
Байрактар… Байрактар…
Веде пропаганду кремлівський урод,
Слова пропаганди ковтає народ.
Тепер нове слово знає їх цар:
…
Caveat: Poem #2045 “Toward epistemic heat death”
ㅁ "If you are a divergentist, you hold that the social-cognitive universe is expanding towards an epistemic heat death of universal solipsism, and you are at peace with this thought." - Venktash Rao when epistemic death heat comes the universe will end amid an endless chattering of apophenic trends
– a quatrain in ballad meter, on a philosophical topic that piqued my interest.
Caveat: Tree #1137
This tree was there as a dog daydreamed about chasing geese over the water.
[daily log: walking, 3km; dogwalking, 3km]
Caveat: 모래 위에 물 쏟는격
I found this aphorism in my book of Korean aphorisms.
모래 위에 물 쏟는 격 mo.rae wi.e mul ssot.neun gyeok sand top-LOC water pour-GER case [It's a] case of pouring water on sand.
This means to waste energy on something pointless. Running on a treadmill. Life.
I was trying to do an aphorism every week. I’d been doing them on Sundays, but I missed yesterday. I guess I spent too much time pouring water on sand. So I posted this aphorism today, instead.
Caveat: Poem #2044 “No dog”
ㅁ no dog preferred to just sit still no dog would contemplate no dog could ever be a sage no dog can self-sedate
– a quatrain in ballad meter.
Caveat: Tree #1136
This tree, number 1136, was right next to utility pole number 333. The utility poles, unlike the trees, wear their numbers publicly.
[daily log: walking, 3.5km; dogwalking, 3km]
Caveat: Poem #2043 “A dog”
ㅁ a dog will bound along the road a dog will dance and twist a dog will gnaw the leaning trees a dog will taste the mist
– a quatrain in ballad meter.
Caveat: Tree #1135
This tree made it through to morning.
[daily log: walking, 3km; dogwalking, 3km]