HAIKUS: MAY 2007

By Peter Y. Chou
WisdomPortal.com



These haikus were written as exercises in mindfulness—
an attempt to catch the fleeting moment in my daily walks,
while reading, listening to music, and pondering about life.
(Underlined words are not for emphasis but to web links.)
This web page best viewed with Times font size 14.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007, 1:00 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Edvard Grieg,
Symphonic Dance #2, Op.64 (Listen)


Cool Norwegian air—
the wind swirls around the trees,
the leaves are dancing!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007, 1:30 pm
Connie shows me 27 photos of her
4/30 hike with Cay to the Pinnacles


Beauty of Nature—
a feast for the eyes making
me wanting to hike.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007, 7:15 pm
FilmStud152 Screening, Annenberg Auditorium
Van Beuren, In a Cartoon Studio (1931)


Farm animals cheer—
sketches coming to life in
cartoon studio.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007, 8:00 pm
FilmStud152 Screening, Annenberg Auditorium
Leni Riefenstahl, Triumph of the Will (1935)


Entire Germany
mesmerized by Hitler or
in China by Mao.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007, 9:00 pm
FilmStud152 Screening, Annenberg Auditorium
Jack Smith, Flaming Creatures (1963)


Orgies in frenzy
to scratchy violin tunes—
this is Hell of Bosch.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 12:14 am
Stanford University Oval
Full Moon: 10:09 Greenwich Time


Flower Moon, Budding
Moon
That is full, this is full.
Fullness everywhere.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 11:50 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Mozart,
Magic Flute Overture (Listen)


Masonic music,
knight templars, secret rituals,
and Brother Mozart!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 2:20 pm
FilmStud152 Cinema-Machine: Scott Bukatman
screens Maria Montez in "Cobra Woman" (1944)


She's Amazon Queen,
dances around king cobra,
then zaps her subjects!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 2:50 pm
FilmStud152 Cinema-Machine: Pavle Levi
lectures on Jaques-Dalcroze's eurhythmics


Cinema montage—
physical movements follow
musical rhythms.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 3:40 pm
Conversation with Pavle Levi about Plato
after his talk on Bataille's "Story of the Eye"


From horizontal
to vertical, man's head linked
to his home— the stars.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 8:00 pm
Pigott Hall, Room 113, Stanford University
Germaine Dulac, "Smiling Mme Beudet" (1923)


First feminist film—
Trapped by her bully husband,
she escapes to dreams.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 8:45 pm
Pigott Hall, Room 113, Stanford University
G. Dulac, "Seashell & the Clergyman" (1928)


Chandeliers swaying,
roomful of dancers waltzing—
surrealistic dream.
Thursday, May 3, 2007, 11:00 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: George Frideric Handel,
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (1748) (Listen)


Dan Wagoner danced
in Paul Taylor's Aureole
to Handel's music!
Thursday, May 3, 2007, 11:50 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ludwig van Beethoven,
Piano Sonata #8 in C, Op. 13 (1799) (Listen)


Beethoven is not
in a rage. He's so gentle
and calm in the Pathétique.
Friday, May 4, 2007, 1:30 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Robert Schumann,
Symphony #3 in Eb "Rheinish" (1851)


Rheinish Symphony
Beethoven's bravado mixed
with Schumann's splendor.
Friday, May 4, 2007, 2:30 pm
El Camino & Showers, Mountain View
Waiting for Bus #522 to Stanford


Between two black clouds
a long white tunnel
funneling the light!
Friday, May 4, 2007, 5:30 pm
Pigott Hall, Room 113, Stanford University
Guernica: 70 Years After the Bombing
"Guernica: testimony of war" (1999)


The Light of Conscience
shines on the horrors of war—
Picasso's Guernica!
Friday, May 4, 2007, 10:00 pm
Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
Japan 1960 Film Festival, Mifune in
Akira Kurosawa, "The Bad Sleep Well" (1960)


To fight corruption,
he marries daughter of boss
so he'll expose him.
Saturday, May 5, 2007, 12:12 am
Pondering on Susan's (Natalie Wood)
wish in "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947)


Kris Kringle gave her
a dream house. The sage offers
an awakened home!
Saturday, May 5, 2007, 8:00 am
Mountain View, Home in bed. Dream:
Browsing photos of trees in antique shop


A folder labelled
Wonder— " O wonderful and
yet most wonderful!"

Saturday, May 5, 2007, 10:33 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Manuel de Falla,
La Vida Breve (1905) (Listen)


She's a femme fatale!
The Devil is a Woman
Marlene Dietrich!
Saturday, May 5, 2007, 11:08 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Georges Bizet,
Carmen (1875) (Listen)


The bull is coming!
Matador sweeps his red cape—
the crowd roars Olé!
Saturday, May 5, 2007, 7:30 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ludwig van Beethoven (Listen)
Symphony #3 in E-Flat, Op. 55 "Eroica" (1804)


There's something noble
in this music that stirs up
our soul to action!
Sunday, May 6, 2007, 2:03:04 am
Richard's May 3 Email informing me that
02:03:04, 05/06/07 won't happen again.


This sequence of time
02:03:04, 05/06/07—
every thousand years!
Sunday, May 6, 2007, 1:00 pm
Waiting for Stanford Shuttle Bus, Mtn View
Reading "The Time 100" (May 14, 2007)
Martin Scorsese on "Leonardo DiCaprio" (p. 150)


He's always learning—
Not playing the character
but becoming it!
Sunday, May 6, 2007, 1:30 pm
Waiting for Stanford Shuttle Bus, Mtn View
Reading "The Time 100" (May 14, 2007)
Melinda Gates on "Warren Buffett" (p. 82)


"He's never afraid
to admit what he doesn't
know. He loves to learn."
Sunday, May 6, 2007, 5:00 pm
Stanford Green Library, Reading Byron's
"Fragment from the 'Monk of Athos'"


This man of action
subdued his wild desires for
bliss in solitude.
Sunday, May 6, 2007, 9:30 pm
Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University
Clint Eastwood, "Letters from Iwo Jima" (2006)


Defending island
by digging caves & trenches,
fighting to the death.
Monday, May 7, 2007, 10:06 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Tchaikovsky (Listen)
Capriccio Italien, Op.45 (1880)


Brahms and Tchaikovsky
born on this day, coming from
music of the spheres.
Monday, May 7, 2007, 12:30 pm
Terrace Room, Margaret Jacks Hall, Stanford
Michael J. Sandel, "The Case Against Perfection"


Hubris in parents
designing children using
biotechnology.
Monday, May 7, 2007, 2:15 pm
FilmStud152 Cinema-Machine: Scott Bukatman
screens Fred Astaire in "Top Hat" (1935)


He's a dynamo!—
tapping and gunning away—
Top Hat now Top Gun.
Monday, May 7, 2007, 3:00 pm
FilmStud152: Pavle Levi screens Mifune
in Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" (1957)


Arrows come flying
in staccato rhythm like
machine gun bullets!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 10:00 am
Home reading Mercury News article
"Gates and Buffett get paddled"
by 11-year old Ariel Hsing


She beats world's richest
men— Bill Gates, Warren Buffet,
in table tennis.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 10:30 am
Home reading Paul Brunton's
"Wisdom of the Overself" (1943) that
thoughts are like machine gun bullets


Thoughts from our mind are
like steady bullets coming
from a machine gun!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 11:30 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: J. S. Bach (Listen) (1731)
Double Violin Concerto in D minor, BWV 1043


Bach means a brook, but
his riverrun of music
flows onward upward!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 1:30 pm
Friend takes me grocery shopping at
Walgrens, Milk Pail, Trader Joe's, Safeway


Mixed nuts, broccoli,
milk, blueberries, strawberries,
muesli, orange juice.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 4:00 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
7th anniversary meeting friend


"Two-Pence Blue" issued
on May 8, 1840—
second postage stamp.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 4:30 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
7th anniversary meeting friend


Time cover this day:
May 8, 1939—
novelist James Joyce.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 8:30 pm
FilmStud152 Screening, Annenberg Auditorium
Stanley Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove (1964)


Nuclear explosions—
huge mushroom clouds ending with
song "We'll Meet Again".
Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 10:10 pm
FilmStud152 Screening, Annenberg Auditorium
Byron Haskin, War of the Worlds (1953)


Martian's goose-neck crafts
zapped all, but earth's tiniest
bacteria killed them off.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007, 10:06 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Tchaikovsky (photo)
Swan Lake: Dance of the Little Swans (1875)


The swan is the soul
now earthbound but still singing
heavenly music.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007, 1:30 pm
Stanford Art Library, Reading Lewis Mumford
"Technics & Human Development"
(1967)

Machine age began—
flood control, grain production,
and the calendar.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007, 2:25 pm
FilmStud152 Cinema-Machine: Pavle Levi
screens Kirk Douglas in "Spartacus" (1960)


Spartacus taking
gladiator's training to
be killing machines.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007, 3:00 pm
Pavle Levi talks of living in Jugoslavia
during NATO bombing of Serbia (1999)


Watched NATO bombing
Serbs on TV— like Melies
spaceship hitting moon.
Thursday, May 10, 2007, 10:50 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Luigi Boccherini (album)
Guitar Quintet #4 in D, "Fandango" (1798)


Snapping my fingers,
stamping my feet, dancing to
castanet's music.
Friday, May 11, 2007, 10:22 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Mozart (listen)
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (1787)


Ascending "rocket theme",
"Romanza" and minuet,
rondo finale.
Friday, May 11, 2007, 10:50 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Joseph Haydn (listen)
Symphony #101 in D "Clock" (1798)


Planets moving like
clockwork with such precision—
Where's the Clockmaker?
Friday, May 11, 2007, 3:15 pm
Stanford Barchas Room, Christopher Rovee
quotes Susan Sontag, "On Photography"


"Mememto mori
photographs testify to
time's relentless melt."
Friday, May 11, 2007, 3:30 pm
Stanford Barchas Room, Christopher Rovee
"Photography and the Book in the Victorian Age"


William Morris books—
distrust of machinery,
for the hand-made goods.
Friday, May 11, 2007, 4:00 pm
Stanford Barchas Room, Christopher Rovee
"Photography and the Book in the Victorian Age"


A grand poet's feast—
Wordsworth, Browning, Tennyson,
and books of Shakespeare.
Friday, May 11, 2007, 4:40 pm
Barchas Room, Admiring an original sketch
(12x19 mm) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti of
Robert Browning & Elizabeth Barrett Browning


Poem in his left hand,
he reads to her as she looks
lovingly at him.
Friday, May 11, 2007, 9:00 pm
Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
Japan 1960 Stanford Film Festival
Kon Ichikawa, "Her Brother" (1960)


She loves her brother
so much like a mother hen
caring for her chicks.
Saturday, May 12, 2007, 1:30 pm
Stanford Spring Faire, Looking at Keith Liang's
photography: "Fishing at Gui Lin, China"


Fisherman at dawn
with comorants in their boats
amidst Gui Lin hills.
Saturday, May 12, 2007, 2:00 pm
Morris dancing by Berkeley Morris,
Deer Creek Morris, & White Rats Morris


Bells at their ankles,
clickety-clack of the sticks,
white scarves all flapping.
Saturday, May 12, 2007, 3:30 pm
Green Library, Stanford University, Reading
Thomas Hoving, "Nothing like this Picasso",
Los Angeles Times (May 8, 2007, OP-ED)


There's nothing like it—
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
in history of art!
Saturday, May 12, 2007, 4:00 pm
Reading "Observatory: It's Still Dark Out,
So Why Are the Birds Singing Away?"
,
New York Times (May 8, 2007, Science)


Not light but the noise,
birds are singing in the dark
before traffic starts.
Sunday, May 13, 2007, 11:44 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Itzhak Perlman plays Vivaldi,
"The Four Seasons: Winter" (1723) (listen)


I'm having French Toast
while Itzhak Perlman plays his
pizzicato rain.
Sunday, May 13, 2007, 5:40 pm
Stanford Library, Email from friend
wishing me "Happy Mother's Day!"


Yes!— I'm a mother
to illumined ideas shared
on Wisdom Portal.
Sunday, May 13, 2007, 11:15 pm
Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University
Mark Steven Johnson, "Ghost Rider" (2007)


Johnny Blaze makes pact
with Satan to save his Dad
and destroy Blackheart.
Sunday, May 13, 2007, 11:55 pm
Nicolas Cage plays Marvel comics' Ghost Rider
in Mark Steven Johnson, "Ghost Rider" (2007)


Skull of blazing fire,
riding his motorcycle
through water and air!
Monday, May 14, 2007, 11:15 am
Answering friend who phones
and asks: "Why do we desire?"


What sets off desires?
It's attachments, attachments—
Need for more and more!
Monday, May 14, 2007, 11:20 am
Phone conversation with friend
on the subject of desire.


What do you desire?
"You want enlightenment but
I want peace of mind."
Monday, May 14, 2007, 12:30 pm
Stanford Shuttle Bus, Galvez Street
Pondering on ending of desire.


Can we stop desires?
Buddha says yes! Be mindful—
Practice Eight-Fold Path.
Monday, May 14, 2007, 2:00 pm
Stanford Cummings Bldg, Selecting
free 8x10 color prints giveaways.


Saint Bernard, Jerome,
Saint Francis of Assisi,
Saint John of Patmos.
Monday, May 14, 2007, 2:45 pm
FilmStud152: Scott Butkatman screens
When Worlds Collide trailer (1951) & quotes
Susan Sontag's "Imagination of Disaster" (1965)


Sci-fi films portray
asthetics of destruction
with entertainment.
Monday, May 14, 2007, 3:15 pm
Pavle Levi describes his experience
of 9/11 watching planes crashing into
World Trade Center from his NYC hotel.


Couldn't believe what
I saw in real life. Had to
confirm it on TV!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007, 9:58 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Beethoven (listen)
Creatures of Prometheus: Finale (1798)


Prometheus brings fire
to mankind— that's why he's our
first Guru of Light.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007, 10:12 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: George Frederick Pinto
Rondo on an Irish Air (1801)


I'm an Irish elf
prancing in the park looking
for four-leaf clovers.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007, 8:40 pm
FilmStud152 Screening, David Cronenberg,
Videodrome (1983) Prof. O'Blivion quote:


"Television's real
and reality is less
than television."
Tuesday, May 15, 2007, 8:40 pm
Annenberg Auditorium, David Cronenberg,
Videodrome (1983), Max Renn quote:


"Death to Videodrome!
I'm the Video Word made Flesh.
Long live the New Flesh!"
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 5:00 am
Reading McLuhan's "Understanding Media", Ch. 7
quoting Heisenberg who cites sage Chuang Tzu


Those who use machines
lose their simplicity and
becomes machine-like.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 11:32 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Domenico Zipoli
Elevazione (1715) (album)


Ascension music
composed by Jesuit priest
while in Paraguay.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 12:40 pm
Riding Bus #522 from Showers to California
& Stanford C-Line Shuttle Bus to campus.
Pondering on the ending of desire.


The whole world running
after desires but Buddha's
happy having none.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007, 2:00 pm
Stanford Art Library, Cummings Bldg, Reading
Raymond Williams, "Television"
(1974) and
J. G. Ballard, Crash (1973) "car as sexual image".

I have no TV
or drive a car— satisfied
without these machines.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 2:30 pm
FilmStud152: Scott Butkatman quotes
Marshall McLuhan, Jean Baudrillard,
William Burroughs, Guy Debord


TV no longer
in the box but is now out
intertwined with life.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 3:30 pm
FilmStud152: Pavle Levi screens
Hideo Nakata's Ringu (1998) and
discusses bio-politics of real & virtual


Human and machine
merging together in life
Who's infecting whom?
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 7:15 pm
Free Ukranian film, Cummings Art Bldg AR4
Olesandr Dovzhenko, Arsenal (1928) (Essay)


There was a mother
with three sons. There was a war.
Now she has no sons.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 8:00 pm
Free Ukranian film, Cummings Art Bldg AR4
Olesandr Dovzhenko, Arsenal (1928)


The Arsenal plant—
Wheels come to a grinding halt.
Ukraine workers strike!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 8:20 pm
Free Ukranian film, Cummings Art Bldg AR4
Olesandr Dovzhenko, Arsenal (1928)


Flying like the wind,
horses running in the snow
bringing the dead home.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 8:30 pm
Free Ukranian film, Cummings Art Bldg AR4
Olesandr Dovzhenko, Arsenal (1928)


Where are the machines?
There are no machines, nor sons,
husbands, nor fathers.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 9:30 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Refused to take free boxes of Art Prints


When things are given
free, we desire more and more—
thus the birth of greed.
Thursday, May 17, 2007, 1:00 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: George Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue (1924)


Blue— not that I'm sad,
but joyous blue like blue sky,
blue ocean, blue earth.
Thursday, May 17, 2007, 1:20 pm
World Savings, Mountain View
Christine helps with banking


She's so kind to me—
depositing my check in time
so I caught my bus.
Thursday, May 17, 2007, 2:30 pm
Gentle Dental Office, Palo Alto
Dr. Glerum treats my tooth #14


Dentist's drill whirling,
digging in my "sonnet tooth"
for resin filling.
Thursday, May 17, 2007, 7:00 pm
Dean Sandi Urabe gives me Certificate
appreciation award and laser pen for
service (1995-2007) and tells me


Take the course "Searching
for Spirituality"—
Not seek but find it!
Thursday, May 17, 2007, 7:15 pm
Foothill College Middlefield Campus
Administrative Assistant Phuong Tran
tells me her name means Phoenix


I know the reason
why Phoenix returns to earth
in 500 years.
Friday, May 18, 2007, 10:50 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Camille Saint-Saëns
Phaëton, Op. 39 (1873) (Listen)


Phaëton's pride led to
his fall— the sun chariot
too hot to handle.
Friday, May 18, 2007, 11:11 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johann Strauss, Jr.
On the Beautiful Blue Danube (1867) (Listen)


Such beautiful tune—
Our Earth waltzing with the Moon
across vast blue space.
Friday, May 18, 2007, 10:50 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Franz Schubert
Serenade (1873) (Listen)


Violin strings lift
me up up up high above
castles of the Rhine.
Friday, May 18, 2007, 11:11 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johann Pachelbel
Canon in D major (1680) (Listen)


Serene music such
as this flows gently from
the mind of a monk.
Friday, May 18, 2007, 2:30
White Plaza, Stanford University
Watching Dr. Clue giving directions to
21 Yahoo employees on "Treasure Hunt"


Five teams from Yahoo
embark on a treasure hunt
to sharpen their minds.
Friday, May 18, 2007, 3:30 pm
Barchas Room, Stanford Green Library
Prof. David Abernethy lecture:
"The Stories Behind the Maps"


Maps of Africa
from 1400 onward
tells Europe's history.
Friday, May 18, 2007, 4:15 pm
Barchas Room, Stanford Green Library
Map of Sebastian Munster (1489-1552)
"Another Map according to Ptolemy"


Dark Death with axe at
left. Angel of Light at right.
Narwhales in the sea.
Friday, May 18, 2007, 8:00 pm
Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
Japan 1960 Stanford Film Festival
Kaneto Shindo, "The Island" (1960)


No words, just music,
images, and silence— feast
for meditation.
Friday, May 18, 2007, 8:15 pm
Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
Japan 1960 Stanford Film Festival
Kaneto Shindo, "The Island" (1960)


Mother spills water—
Husband slaps her. Audience
shock more noise than film.
Friday, May 18, 2007, 9:00 pm
Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
Japan 1960 Stanford Film Festival
Kaneto Shindo, "The Island" (1960)


I carry water,
chop wood. How happy I am—
the spirit of Zen!
Saturday, May 18, 2007, 10:50 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Emmanuel Chabrier,
España (1883) (Listen)


Goya, Velasquez,
El Greco, and Cervantes'
Man of La Mancha!
Saturday, May 18, 2007, 11:55 am
Reading Michael Kinsley's In God, Distrust"
Review: Christopher Hitchens' God Is Not Great


Religion poisons
because it's narrow-minded.
Bring on the Spirit!
Sunday, May 20, 2007, 10:38 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Joseph Haydn,
Adagio Cantabile in G (1763) (Listen)


Solo cello plays
melody against simple
chords— so beautiful!
Sunday, May 20, 2007, 11:32 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: George Frederick McKay,
Meditation (1962) (Listen)


Quieten the mind—
Be still and know I am God.
Then the Spirit soars!
Sunday, May 20, 2007, 7:45 pm
Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006)


Ofelia asks her—
"Please sing me a lullaby.
Oh sing me to sleep."
Sunday, May 20, 2007, 8:00 pm
Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006)


The Book of Crossroads
leads you through the labyrinth
where magic finds you.
Sunday, May 20, 2007, 8:30 pm
Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006)


Three tasks to fulfill
before the new moon is full—
Have courage my child!
Sunday, May 20, 2007, 9:00 pm
Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006)


She made the right choice—
not to sacrifice others
to become godlike.
Monday, May 21, 2007, 12:05 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Flute Quartet #3 in C, K. 285b (1782)


Pan plays his flute and
all the animals come out
from the woods to dance.
Monday, May 21, 2007, 2:00 pm
Stanford Art Library, Cummings Building
Reading Sigmund Freud's "The Uncanny") (1919)


The uncanny is
unhomely— arouses dread
and unknown horror.
Monday, May 21, 2007, 2:30 pm
FilmStud152: Scott Butkatman quotes
Marshall McLuhan & J.G. Ballard's "Crash"


Man is sex organ
of the machine. Car is the
body's extension.
Monday, May 21, 2007, 3:00 pm
FilmStud152: Pavle Levi screens
George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978)


Zombies romp around
the shopping mall like people
who are the undead.
Monday, May 21, 2007, 3:30 pm
FilmStud152: Scott Butkatman reads his
paper "Sublime and Uncanny in Films" and
cites Metropolis, King Kong, Frankenstein


Gigantic King Kong
is sublime while miniscule
android's uncanny.
Monday, May 21, 2007, 4:30 pm
Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, 3rd fl.
Prof. Ryuichi Abe, "Ryokan in the Spring 1916" Soma Gyofu (1883-1950) quits Waseda University


Success as scholar.
Failure at home. Can he
find balance in both?
Monday, May 21, 2007, 5:45 pm
Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, 3rd fl.
Prof. Ryuichi Abe, "Ryokan in the Spring 1916"


Playing the Great Fool—
bouncing the ball like children
breathing the spring air.
Monday, May 21, 2007, 6:00 pm
Pondering on Prof. Ryuichi Abe's
talk on Ryokan playing the Fool


The Tarot Card's Fool
is Zero— To become wise,
one must be empty.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007, 11:55 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: George Gershwin,
Concerto in F (1925)


Trumpet plays the blues,
jazzy piano solo—
great for modern dance.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007, 7:45 pm
FilmStud 152 Screening: Cubberley Auditorium
Michael Powell "Tales of Hoffman" (1951)


Puppets come to life—
Moira Shearer's dancing makes
this film a delight.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007, 8:00 pm
FilmStud 152 Screening: Brothers Quay
"Street of Crocodiles" (1951)


The nether world where
puppets walk like zombies, screws
unscrew by themselves.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007, 9:20 pm
FilmStud 152 Screening: John Lasseter
"Toy Story" (1995)


Woody the Cowboy,
Buzz Lightyear the Space Ranger—
Toys coming to life.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007, 2:30 pm
FilmStud152: Scott Butkatman discusses Heinrich
von Kleist
's "On the Marionette Theater" (1810)


Puppets not weighed down
by gravity. Like God, they're
in a state of grace.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007, 3:00 pm
FilmStud152: Pavle Levi screens
John Carpenter's They Live (1988)


Aliens have taken
over. With special glasses
you can detect them.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007, 3:30 pm
FilmStud152: Scott & Pavle discuss Heinrich
von Kleist
's "On the Marionette Theater" (1810)


A woman is an
empty vessel where men pour
their desires into.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007, 8:30 pm
Stanford Pigott Hall, Georges Méliès,
"The Eclipse of Sun & Moon" (1907) (YouTube)


A female moon flirts
with the male sun as they move
closer till they merge.
Thursday, May 24, 2007, 11:11 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Camille Saint-Saëns,
My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice (listen)
from opera "Samson and Delilah" (1877)


Such serene music—
Samson's asleep just before
she cuts off his hair.
Thursday, May 24, 2007, 1:00 pm
Phone conversation on Timothy Walker's
"Defence of Mechanical Philosophy (1831)
attacking Carlyle's "The Mechanical Age" (1829)


Machines improve lives.
A waste land can be transformed
into a garden.
Friday, May 25, 2007, 10:13 am
Listening to KDFC 102.1 FM Radio
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky,
Swan Lake (1877)


The swans are flying—
Souls are spiraling upward
dancing to the stars.
Friday, May 25, 2007, 12:20 pm
Kepler's, Menlo Park, Christopher Hitchens
talks on his book "God Is Not Great:
How Religion Poisons Everything"


Moral guidance from
Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, Proust,
better than Bible.
Friday, May 25, 2007, 12:30 pm
Kepler's, Menlo Park, Christopher Hitchens
talks on his book "God Is Not Great:
How Religion Poisons Everything"


We've more sense of awe
from Hubble Space Telescope
than the Burning Bush.
Friday, May 25, 2007, 12:45 pm
Christopher Hitchens tells joke about
the Zen man and the hot-dog vendor who
won't give him any change to his $20 bill


Hot-dog vendor tells
him why he's getting no change:
"Change comes from within!"
Friday, May 25, 2007, 9:00 pm
Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
Japan 1960 Stanford Film Festival
Yasujiro Ozu, "Late Autumn" (1960)


His film is suffused
with calmness— minimalist
style and strokes of Zen.
Friday, May 25, 2007, 9:30 pm
Zen story on mank who reprimands fellow
monk in breaking his vow for carrying
a girl across a rapid flowing stream.


I dropped her back at
the stream. You're still carrying
her for the last hour.
Saturday, May 26, 2007, 10:50 am
Listening to KDFC 102.1 FM Radio
Johann Sebastian Bach (listen)
Brandenburg Concerto #5 in D (1719)


Flute, violin, and
harpsichord merge to make
a harmonious blend.
Saturday, May 26, 2007, 4:00 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Contemplating Mary Oliver's poem
"Messenger" in "Thirst"


Why is the sun sweet?
Without sunlight, no fruit will
ripen to sweetness.
Saturday, May 26, 2007, 4:30 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Contemplating Mary Oliver's poem
"The Uses of Sorrow" in "Thirst"


"Box full of darkness"
refreshes us every night—
It's the gift of sleep.
Saturday, May 26, 2007, 5:00 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Contemplating Mary Oliver's poem
"Thirst" in "Thirst"


Spiritual rebirth
comes to those who thirst for truth,
beauty and goodness.
Sunday, May 27, 2007, 11:37 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Enrique Granados
Spanish Dance #10 (1890)


I could waltz to this
music all night to the rim
of the Milky Way.
Sunday, May 26, 2007, 12:30 pm
Reading "Lost Whales Stump Rescuers"
on suggestions to save the whales


Place a giant magnet
downriver to attract both
humpbacks to the Bay.
Sunday, May 27, 2007, 4:00 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Reading "Machines & Mechanization"


Man and machine fuse—
Brave New World is here and we
humans are asleep!
Sunday, May 27, 2007, 5:00 pm
Email from friend on Meg Beeler's
insight on "Whale Consciousness"


They've come to bring joy,
wonder and awe, lovely whales
of magnificence!
Sunday, May 27, 2007, 6:00 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Pondering on magnificence of whales


Whales have spirit of
wisdom— thus Pinocchio
became a real boy.
Sunday, May 27, 2007, 8:00 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Reading "The Sublime in Cinema"


Kant says Mont Blanc is
sublime— so is cinema
shown on a white screen!
Monday, May 28, 2007, 12:12 am
Waiting for Bus at Stanford Oval
& looking at Moon with fuzzy halo.


What is beautiful?
Birth and sunrise. What's sublime?
Death, night, and deep space.
Monday, May 28, 2007, 12:30 am
Palo Alto Cal-Train Depot
Pondering on the Beautiful & Sublime


The hummingbird is
beautiful. A humpback whale's
singing is sublime!
Monday, May 28, 2007, 12:05 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Janine Jansen plays Vivaldi,
"The Four Seasons: Winter" (1723) (listen)


Raindrops are pouring
down much too fast— Hurry, run
away from this storm!
Monday, May 28, 2007, 1:30 pm
Friend takes me grocery shopping at
Trader Joe's, Milk Pail, & Safeway


Sesame sticks, eggs,
yogurt, blue- & strawberries,
and salmon fillets.
Monday, May 28, 2007, 6:20 pm
Reading epigraph of chapter on "Magic"
Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earhsea (1968)


A greater skill than
the magic he has learned is
the art of kindness.
Monday, May 28, 2007, 9:30 pm
Memorial Auditorium, Stanford Flicks
David Fincher, "Zodiac" (2007)


Persistence! Dogged
persistence led him pinpoint
Zodiac killer
Tuesday, May 29, 2007, 11:20 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ludwig van Beethoven, (listen)
"Piano Sonata #14 in C-sharp minor, Op.27 #2 'Moonlight'" (1801)


Moonlight covers me
this morning with gentleness—
Thank you Beethoven!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007, 1:43 pm
Listening to KDFC 102.1 FM Radio:
Franz Josef Haydn, (listen)
Symphony #94, "Surprise" (1791)


We're marching along
in life half asleep— Haydn's
WHAM-BAM wakes us up!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007, 3:45 pm
Stanford Art Library, Cummings Building
Reading Laura Mulvey's "Death 24x A Second"
"The Index and the Uncanny" (2006)


Photographers are
stopping the flow of time. They're
the agents of death.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007, 8:00 pm
FilmStud 152 Screening: Cubberley Auditorium
Michael Snow (photo)
"La Région Centrale" (1971)


The camera's eye scans
the mountain ground and zooms up
high to the blue sky!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007, 10:00 pm
FilmStud 152: Cubberley Auditorium
Michael Snow (photo)
"La Région Centrale" (1971)


No Michael Snow or
winter's snow in the film. Why?
Ego would spoil it.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007, 10:00 pm
Michael Snow (photo)
"La Région Centrale" (1971)

With remembrance to Hui-Neng

The earth is spinning.
The sky is spinning— No. it's
your mind that's spinning!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007, 10:00 pm
FilmStud 152: Cubberley Auditorium
Michael Snow (photo)
"La Région Centrale" (1971)


Rocks of Earth, Air of
Sky, Water of Lake. Where's Fire?
At the end— the Sun!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007, 10:00 pm
Michael Snow (photo)
"La Région Centrale" (1971)

Recalling Plato's "Philebus" 16d

The camera's eye shows
us the four elements— from
many to the One!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 10:35 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johann Pachelbel,
Canon in D major (1680) (Listen)


Eyes closed, mind open—
I soar to the highest skies
to drink in the Light.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 11:32 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Léo Delibes, (listen)
Coppelia: Prelude and Mazurka (1791)


The Circle Czardas—
arms folded and boots clicking—
I'm dancing Verbunk!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 12:12 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Fritz Kreisler,
Liebesfreud and Liebesleid (1910) (Listen)


Without sorrow, can
there be joy? Disappointments
make joy much sweeter.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 12:30 pm
Michael Snow, "La Région Centrale" (1971)

Hexagram #43 of "I Ching": Breakthrough


Lake above, blue sky
below: image of Breakthrough—
Water is now crown!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 2:45 pm
FilmStud152: Pavle Levi on Michael Snow,
"La Région Centrale" (1971)


Machinic vision
is omniscient & objective
viewing without us.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 3:00 pm
FilmStud152: Pavle Levi on P. Adams Sitney,
characteristics of Structural Film


Flicker, fixed framing,
looping, optical printing—
structural filming.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 3:30 pm
FilmStud152: Pavle Levi screens
Hollis Frampton's Special Effects (1972) (Notes)


A Black rectangle
surrounded by white beads with
whistling of birds.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 3:33 pm
FilmStud152: Scott Bukatman compares
miniscule to uncanny & gigantic to sublime


Street of Crocodiles
is uncanny, but sublime
is Région Centrale.
Thursday, May 31, 2007, 11:14 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: George Frederick Handel,
Xerxes: Largo (1680) (Listen)


Xerxes rules Persia
but wants to conquer the Greeks
instead of himself.
Thursday, May 31, 2007, 11:55 am
Reading Ramana Maharshi's Talks (1968)
comparing cinema screen to the Self.


Film screen is like Pure
Self which is behind waking,
dream and deep sleep states.
Thursday, May 31, 2007, 12:45 pm
Home in Mountain View pondering
on the equation for happiness.


Happiness equals
desires fulfilled divided
by all your desires.
Thursday, May 31, 2007, 1:00 pm
Home in Mountain View pondering
on the nature of happiness.


As your desires go
to zero, your happiness
becomes infinite.
Thursday, May 31, 2007, 6:04 pm
Foothill College Computer Lab, Palo Alto
Pondering on the Blue Moon of May.


A Blue Moon every
31 months when there are
two full moons a month.
Thursday, May 31, 2007, 8:30 pm
Pondering on Michael Snow's camera
in "La Région Centrale" (1971)


Snow's camera eye paints
sublime land- and skyscapes like
Cézanne and Monet.



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