Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Corn Bee

Alice brought back from Pie Ranch four ears of popcorn corn. I watched while she showed two people how to braid them together. It made me think of corn fields, barn cats, and Bella, a dog Alice met at the corn harvest, husking and braiding bee earlier that day. Must say, I was more interested in the smell of Bella on Alice than I was with corn.


Sunset, ocean smells.
Bella and people sit in a circle
Braiding popcorn for Winter.

That might make a nice Japanese waka poem if Alice ever paints Bella - or me! - with the corn.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Chinese "Thank You" Scrolls

This Summer and Fall, Alice has had some Chinese scrolls on the living room walls. They looked different every few weeks. Some new ink artwork one week, some more bright red "chops" the next. Finally, some caligraphy was added.
Many people helped to create them. Ao and Pat's Jasmine helped Alice find the blank scrolls in a Beijing shop. Sopranos Janice and Yumi did the art. Janice painted Stanford Taiko on the Great Wall of China for Mrs. Bing, and Yumi painted Steve and Jindong along with some of those they conducted in China this past June and July. Carolyn K. and Lisa did the Chinese caligraphy, and Yumi added some Japanese caligraphy for Steve since he and his family can speak Japanese. The Great Wall scroll has the title "Cosmic Flames" in honor of the piece of music Stanford commissioned for chorus, orchestra and taiko for performance in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing right before the Summer Olympics 2008.
More than a hundred singers and musicians who performed Cosmic Flames so far have added their own chops. Alice added a chop with my Chinese name included in her Chinese chop. So I'm on those scrolls, too! Perhaps more than a hundred others who went on that Stanford/China Music Tour will add some more chops and perhaps also some more caligraphy.
This week my Roger is in China. Perhaps he might have a scroll made there? It's weird, Alice says. Steve's Dad* was a POW from Japan stuck in Siberia after WWII, and Roger is visiting this week an infamous POW camp in China where horrific "medical" experiments were done on Allied POWs. I wonder what a Chinese/Japanese/English scroll might look like to commemorate this weekend? Perhaps something with many individual's sayings and chops? Like those old well-loved scrolls with many people's additions. Layers and layers of meanings....

*I.A. Sano "One Thousand Days in Siberia"

Sunday, October 12, 2008

My Thoughts about "Credit Crisis"

I've been hearing lots on the radio news about the "Credit Crisis". Thanks to my many past lifetimes on many continents, I know exactly what is going on and why. So do those cows on the Vineyard.
It's just like those two dogs who barked and growled at me on my big daily walk today from behind their fences. They think they need to bark. They can't help it. They want to tell me they are big (when they are not) and powerful (they are not) and THIS is only THEIR yard I am walking by. They are really just afraid and haven't lived as many lives as I to know barking and growling does not get you anything good. I only bark if I really have a good reason and when I do I usually only give a big dog bark once or twice until my person pays attention. Firm, concise. No whining. No fear.
Fear. By USA congresscritters and executive branch wienies who think they won't get relected unless they pander to fill-in-the-blank lobbyists and voters such that there must be Class A Nuts-o-Rama laws allowing the idiot credit gamblers to run amock. Allowing people to continue to get credit with credit cards at ridiculously high interest rates - over 35%! - when they can never pay for it. Pika's person calls that debt slavery. Or allowing banks to gamble more than 30 dollars for every actual dollar they have. Those stupido "Ninja" home loans.
One has to be responsible. For example, I make sure my paws are clean every night. You never know when you might have to walk through snow where fluffy clean paws will be necessary. I save nubbins of Greenies for the times my Greenies stocks get low. I make sure to take care of my health by having a good sunsoak every day if the sun is out until I am panting hot. Kills of lots of bad internal bacteria and viruses you know! And no matter what, never ever panic.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Estoy un perro faldero!

Some people are as happy in their skin as I am. I have no problem being a lap dog. Nor with being so cute I am often mistaken for a girl dog despite being quite male.
Being a lap dog is a great job. Never out in the cold with frostbitten paws. No shortage of nice food and clean water. Nice people to give one massages.
We even have uber he-man support in California Governor "Aaaaahnult" Schwarzeneger who vetoed a state law 'tother week which would have killed the lapdog's primary job while in cars with their people. Can you imagine someone tried to stop us from doing our jobs with our people while we drive around?!
Found out today in Spanish-speaking places we lapdogs are known as "perro falderos". Skirt-dogs. Now I know why I like to peek out from under Alice's skirt at the world when she wears a long one and I'm on the ground under her chair.
Viva los perros falderos!!

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Tavi

Here is a dog I've met only by smell. And he, Tavi, has met me only by smell. One day we will meet in person.
Tavi is a working dog. He takes care of his Priscilla and watches everything in the house. Here he is on duty watching a man looking for termites and other bugs in the house. Tavi, like all dogs with good noises could tell the man where any bugs are if any, and more importantlu, where the biscuit box is. Rewards for good dogs. Or just because life is great, no?
And, that is a bottom line thought.