Le Blogger

I used to dabble a bit in poetry writing, and thinking about it I wonder why I stopped. The deeper question is, perhaps, is writing poetry or poetry writing? Depending on ones views, you can make some inferences, though they are just that, guesses as to what a person's character is, based on their answer to the question above. Without actually having meaningful conversation in person (and even better is to converse a few times), it is often extremely difficult to gauge in any way character. I would think? All this is very vague, if you get what I mean (do you?).   But back to the original question, I think poetry is a form of writing, well defined (or is it)? If we look at examples of "good" poetry, it's typically a more condensed form of writing than the essay or short article (or is this again a misconception?). A question arises, is a blurb poetry? A gazette? When in doubt, refer to some definitions. So I looked up the following definitions in Merriam Webster

In the still, silent hours before morn, My mind is not tired, it cannot rest. The rest of me is distraught, torn; Why does the Sandman mock and jest? No sprinkles of magical dust, To banish thoughts so bountiful Such that the mind ne'er goes to rust, Forever sharp and never dull. Still sleep must come, for a new day Fastly approaches. Until then, ***** Addendum : This post from several years ago (possibly as early as 2005), I can't remember where the poem is from. In any case, it should see the light of day!

A few days ago I was pondering the question of how our notion of common sense, perhaps considered by some to be a form of intuition (maybe), develops in the mind. Questions such as these seem to be more pertinent to me recently, whether because I am aging, or because I happen to have young children at home (I think the latter is predominantly the cause), I'm not entirely sure of. I phrased this statement in this way because common sense is complicated. On the one hand it is thought to be something "intuitive," but what is intuitive can be environmentally and socially influenced. So I thought, a good way to understand how common sense develops is to first understand and compare what might be considered common sense. In my mind, this is not a "lecture" after all, just a jot down of several notions that flashed into thought. I want to use a few of these concepts of what I consider common sense for more in depth analysis, and this blog seemed a good space for me

A week ago at the breakfast table, I noticed D reading an interesting article in the Economist. "What if Leonardo da Vinci visited 2019?" What would be some of the first things Leo would want to notice and compare? More generally, worth asking too, what if some other historical figure with known documented life events were to visit our time today, in the 21st century? What if Napoleon visits (what would he comment on foreign affairs)? What if 武則天 visits (would she comment on the feminist movement)? What would a farmer, from 1000 A.D., notice in 2019? "What-if" questions like these, while purely speculative, help to set a framework for inquisitive research. The Economist made mention of "oil" known as "naphtha." A quick search defines this as C10H8, used in mothballs and probably burned in oil lamps centuries, 400-500 years, ago during the Renaissance. Leonardo likely had some lamps in his workshop from which he could "burn the midnight

I went to an exhibit at the Farglory Museum in New Taipei City in the fall of 2018 showcasing various teapots, 藝壺百映 [Multifarious Splendid Art Teapots]. On display were teapots of various sizes, design, color, material, and even some that on first glance did not resemble a "conventional" teapot at all. I'm thinking teapots such as those in "I'm a Little Teapot" the children's song , not quite (the awesome) Benedict Cumberbatch version of it . The teapots were collected and exhibited following the 7th Taiwan International Gold Teapot Prizes Pottery Design Competition and Exhibition 2018. On showcase were over 200 individual teapots, some selected and awarded from the competition and some from previous years. Selection of teapots is probably a very personal choice (for those that collect teapots, that is), and much may be conjectured of a teapot's owner by those privy to it, I would think. The teapots on display were all functional (I would guess th