Choose Strong
For Tim.
博文
(2022-02-09 08:04:50)
Sincereachingforties,Billhasbeenconstantlyamazedbytime.Theyearshave
broughtchangesinhimthatheneverthoughtpossible.Withoutmucheffort
ofhisown,thepastbecomesclear.Half-wayaroundtheglobefromhishometown
andwiththebenefitofhindsight,hecouldstringearlyeventsandseebetter
howoneledtoanother.Talkingwithhisnephewoverthephoneduringthe
ChineseNewYear,heurgedhimtotakeonchallengesandtoldaboutatur...[閱讀全文]
(2022-02-05 09:08:01)
WhenIchancedtheotherdayuponapoembythe2nd-centuryADRomanpoet
Juvenalandwhichstartswiththefamous"menssanaincorporesano,"itclicked
instantly.IwonderifBruceLeehadreadthisbeforehesummedup"Donotpray
foraneasylife;prayforthestrengthtoendureadifficultone."
ThefollowingwascopiedshamelesslyfromWikipedia:
>orandumestutsitmenssanaincorporesano.
>fortemposceanimumm...[閱讀全文]
(2022-02-02 08:48:27)
Jan2022waseventful.ThedayafterIreceivedmyfirststripe,coachGenewas
testedpositiveforOmicron.(Hesufferednothingandreturnedaftertwoweeks
of,asheputit,boringCovidvacation.)Ididnotgetthebuginspiteof
huggingandshakinghandswithhimthatnightormaybeIjusthadnosymptom.
TheschoolwasclosedforthreedaysandErictookover.
At50andapictureofhealth,theheadcoachlookedglowing.OneofmasterJean
Jacques...[閱讀全文]
(2022-01-29 09:49:09)
ReadingadictionarytolearnEnglishwould'vesoundeddumbwhenIwaspreparing forstudyingabroadinthelate1990s.Bythen,myclassmatesandIhadalready gonethroughmorethan10yearsofregularclasses.Manyofushadpassedthe nationalgradefourandsixexams.Forme,betterEnglishequalledhigherscores. Tryingtobecomealivingdictionarywouldmeanboredomandwasteanddoomtofailure. Talkingaboutexams,Ilivedfor...[閱讀全文]
(2022-01-26 08:47:44)
Ire-read"Sapiens:ABriefHistoryofHumankind"byYuvalNoahHararievery
year.Itremindsmethatmuchoftheworldismadeofstoriesinourcollective
thoughts,e.g.,countries,corporations,herachies,money,theCommunist
Manifesto,theDeclarationofIndependence,etc.,etc.Harariexplainswhatmany
modernismspromiseandhowtheyhavefared.Unlikemosthistorybooks,
"Sapiens"discussestheconditionofhuman...[閱讀全文]
(2022-01-22 08:54:35)
ThemovieTheGladiatortellsthestoryof"Thegeneralwhobecameaslave.The
slavewhobecameagladiator.Thegladiatorwhodefiedanemperor."Terrificas
itis,thetaleisbutonemanifestationofarecurringtheme,whichIhave
observedsincecomingtothewestin1999,andespeciallysinceacquainted
throughtheirwritingswithafewGreekandRomansages.The"true"emperorin
thefilm,MarcusAurelius,wasoneofthem.
...[閱讀全文]
(2022-01-19 08:18:51)
Mostof2021wasspentnursingthetendinopathyfromdownhillpoundingin
cushionedshoes.Nothingdisabling,theinjurynonethelessneverhealed100%and
inevitablysetmebackinsquating.IhadtostopSuryaNamaskar(SunSalutation)
inthemorning.Itwaspuzzlingthatsoontherightkneestartedtohurtatthe
backwhenbendingineitherthefrontalorlateralplane.Idon'tdoafull
lotussitanymore.Groinandkneepaineverytimegettingupf...[閱讀全文]
(2022-01-15 19:34:33)
TheAmericanHeritageDictionary,4thEd.(AHD4),dispatchesthewordwithoneline:
conj.Forthereasonthat;since.
butIhavemetmoreinterestingusagesrecently.
Oneisintheverydictionaryitself.Thefirstmeaningofthewordforlorn,
AHD4states,is"appearingsadorlonelybecausedesertedorabandoned."
AppleInc.'sdictionaryapponmylaptopstillthinks'because'isa
conjunctionbutaddshelpf...[閱讀全文]
(2022-01-11 09:37:00)
InthemiddleofMondayeveningclass,coachGenecameandwrappedabandof whitesporttapearoundtheblackpatchattheendofmybelt,apromotionafter sixmonthsofhardwork.Everyoneclapped.Neitherthestripenorthemoment couldmoneybuy. After40,thiswasoneoftheraremomentsIfeltrecognizedforsomething. Duringthepastnineyears,Ilostaquarterofbodyweight,ranlongdistances, andliftedweightandsuccessescamequie...[閱讀全文]
(2022-01-08 08:00:00)
ChineseofBill'sgenerationorolderneednolectureonfrugality.Scarcityand especiallylackoffoodintheirchildhoodtaughtthemlessonsnoteachercan. Moreover,ifittakesonly30daysofpersistenceforaphysicaldrilltobecome anexercisehabit,ideassuchasstretchingadollarorsavingforarainyday haveseepedintotheirbloodandbecomeaninstinctafterthoseleanyears. Inthe1980s,however,thingswereturnedupside...[閱讀全文]
