Photo Credit: Benn Bell
Zoltar vs The Buddha
Today’s Fun Fact
Taiwan Japan’s First Colony
Taiwan was Japan’s first colony. It occupied Taiwan for 50 years until it had to hand it back to China after WWII. Then it broke away from China in 1949 and declared itself an independent republic. China has never recognized its independence and still considers Taiwan to be part of China today. The US has a special relationship with Taiwan. From 1954 to 1979, the United States was a partner with Taiwan in a mutual defense treaty. The United States remains one of the main supporters of Taiwan and, has continued selling arms and providing military training to the Armed Forces. This situation continues to be an issue for the People’s Republic of China, which considers US involvement disruptive to the stability of the region.
TS Motherfucking A
Jerusalem (1988)
Who packed your bag?
I packed my bag
Where was your uncle’s sister born?
Have you ever met an Arab?
-James Fenton
TS Motherfucking A
Philadelphia (2023)
Any electronics in your bag?
Yes.
Take it out.
Take that phone holder off.
Take your shoes off.
I don’t have to take my shoes off.
Why?
I’m 75.
You’re 75?
Yes.
Ok. Step aside through here.
Any metal on you sir?
Yes, on my hat.
Step through the scanner.
Ding ding ding…
Rescan him.
Why do you have to rescan me?
Rescan him.
Any soreness here?
No.
OK. I’m going to pat you down.
Pat pat patty pat.
Thank you.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
-Ghost Dog
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami
Book Review by Benn Bell
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is the fourth Murakami novel that I have read. The others are Kafka on the Shore, Norwegian Wood, and Hardboiled-Wonderland and the End of the World. I would be loath to say which one I liked the best. Probably Norwegian Wood is the greatest departure from the other three, but they all stand on their own and are all equally excellent in my view.
I love the way Murakami blends magical realism and naturalism into his novels and the way he sprinkles his writing with cultural references (mostly Western).
Wind-Up Bird is the chronicle of a man who first loses his cat and then loses his wife. It is partly a detective story as the main character searches for his cat and his missing wife. Along the way, we meet some fascinating characters and find ourselves at the bottom of a deep dark well contemplating the mysteries of the universe.
Some of the themes Murakami explores are Identity and journey to the self, polar opposites, the forgotten war, parallel universes, past and present; marriage and love, alienation, aloneness, and isolation; loyalty and trust, subconscious, and reality, and finally the power of fate.
This is a big long book and perhaps a little rambling, and at times incoherent, but it is pure Murakami and if you have a taste for his writing it is a joy to read.
Haiku For You #27
Strawberry Moon
The oak leaves lit by
the Strawberry moon are like a
flight of bats on the wing.
For Want of
For want of a bird
The sky was lost
For want of a nail
A shoe was lost
For want of a life
A knife was lost
For want of a toy
A child was lost
-Ghost Dog
The Way of the Samurai 2
Throughout your life advance daily, becoming more skillful than yesterday, more skillful than today. This is never ending. Matters of great concern should be taken lightly. Matters of small concern should be treated seriously. Among one’s affairs there should not be more than two or three matters of what one could call great concern.
-The Hagakure
Be Here Now
Buddhist Quote of the Day
Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. The past no longer is. The future has yet to come. Look deeply at life as it is in the very here and now. The wise person knows how to live in mindfulness day and night.
-Shakyamuni Buddha
The Way of the Samurai
From the Hagakure
Everything in this world is but a marionette show.
Brace yourselves for the monstrous marionettes you are about to see.
-Ubu Roi
Truth and illusion George. You don’t know the difference.
No, but we must carry on as though we do.
-Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Venus and Mars
Guest post by Robbin Caroll
The essence of his energy preceded his physical presence
He was unconditional love, understanding, and gentle strength
He was passionate, patient, and kind
His heart was full of tenderness and love, yet he was fiery and
fierce
He loved her like no other could
His fingertips ever so gently moving slowly over every curve and
inch of her body as he whispered “I love you, I love you, I love
you”
He knew the shape of her body, the essence of her soul, the
workings of her mind, and the Goddess that layed within his grasp
He knew her inside and out
He saw what no other could see
The deepness of her heart and soul
The beauty she hid within the cold walls of her delicate being
He felt what no other could feel within the ethers of her limitless
and abundant heart and soul
She was mysterious and mystical, his Goddess and his nymph
She was his map and he was her soul’s great expedition
He left no stone unturned and no crevice unexplored
She could feel his touch ever so softly as her body started to
tingle within the warmth of her femininity
Her body defied her
She dropped her sword and shield
Removed her armor
And gave herself to him freely
She exhaled in ecstasy as he entered her divine sacred space
willingly, tenderly, gently, and passionately
Together their passions erupted and their sacred juices flowed
into beingness
The two light beings joining became one vibrant light of love in the
infinite universe…
~RC~
Ghost Dog 