Saturday, November 28, 2009

Edison


Keep it simple.

To be a good author, one must possess the magical ability of entering into the mind of others, condensing their thoughts and arranging them in a form that everyone can relate to, regardless of gender or age.

"The fact that he does not tell me the truth all the time makes me not sure of his truth at certain times, and then I work to figure out for myself if what he is telling me is the truth or not, and sometimes I can figure out that it's not the truth and sometimes I don't know and never know, and sometimes just because he says it to me over and over again I am convinced it is the truth because I don't believe he would repeat a lie so often. Maybe the truth does not matter, but I want to know it if only so that I can come to some conclusions about such questions as: whether he is angry at me or not; if he is, then how angry; whether he still loves her or not; if he does, then how much; whether he loves me or not; how much; how capable he is of deceiving me in the act and after the act in the telling."
~Lydia Davis, Story.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Frangipani


The truth is...

I like park benches, way back from the start, be it night or day. I like the moment spent on a park bench; I sit, stop my thoughts and take time to find myself, painfully aware of the empty space beside me, knowing full well that this emptiness is borne out of choice.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Chaos


Purple City.

The older I get, the further back I look. And memories wave at me, like friends from long ago. Sometimes, the momentum of an event spawn out of just one decision gives rise to a force so great that it carries itself, beyond our expectations. Is this the vector of chaos?

It is foolish to change the vector of chaos. You shouldn't try to control it but fall into it.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Pane


Purple Rain, on Window Pain.

The rainy season is back again and I am spending many a days watching the rain drops through my window. So many things in life, I have learned through my window, be it this one or the other windows at places I've called home. I used to know someone who would trace the droplets of rain as they trail past the window of a moving car. I did ask her why she did it and now, I can't recall her answer. But answers don't matter. It is the unspoken or un-captured word that speaks volumes, for it becomes a symbol. And so the year end rain comes and floods the earth, washing away the clutter that has accumulated over the past year, leaving everything fresh and renewed.

I never meant to cause you any sorrow.
I never meant to cause you any pain.
I only wanted to one time see you laughing.
I only wanted to see you laughing in the purple rain.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Freedom


Norway and the morning paper.

We'll be rich in memories of all the places
We've captured without camera
We've seen the pyramids
We've seen the Lourve
We've seen Orion upside down

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Yellow



爱情原来是个
精心设计的谎
每个人都被安排
为某个人而受伤

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Hot


Baik. I want to ride my bicycle

Today would have been a nice day
for riding my bike.
To make memories, of this very place

Friday, November 13, 2009

Cold


Bikes and Canals.

Hot fries on a cold day, reminds me of a special place.

These canals, it seems, they all go in circles,
places look the same, and we're the only difference.
The wind is in your hair, it's covering my view,
I'm holding on to you, on a bike we've hired until tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Oatmeal


Tea Time; Yesterday's tea, today's debris.

Time will say nothing but I told you so,
Time only knows the price we have to pay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.

If we should weep when clowns put on their show,
If we should stumble when musicians play,
Time will say nothing but I told you so.

There are no fortunes to be told, although,
Because I love you more than I can say,
If I could tell you I would let you know.

The winds must come from somewhere when they blow,
There must be reasons why the leaves decay;
Time will say nothing but I told you so.

Perhaps the roses really want to grow,
The vision seriously intends to stay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.

Suppose all the lions get up and go,
And all brooks and soldiers run away;
Will Time say nothing but I told you so?
If I could tell you I would let you know.
~ W.H. Auden, If I could tell you

Monday, November 09, 2009

Time


Still Life.

It all began with the apple, Adam's to be more specific. Had he more fortitude, Memento Mori would be the least of our concerns. Now, sons and daughters of Adam live from day to day, governed by Matter and that which we know as time and space. But what is the true nature of Matter, assuming for a moment that it does have a nature, and can it exist outside time and space?

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Tulip


My name is red.

"What if you slept? And what if, in your sleep you dreamed? And what if in your dream, you went to heaven and there plucked a strange and beautiful flower? And what if when you awoke, you had the flower in your hand? Ah, what then?"
~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Possession


可以是件好事

The material is all that we understand. Which explains why we are always looking for something to have and to hold. But is there anything beyond? Is it really true that we cannot know any more of the world than we can perceive through the senses? I think it is natural that one of material would seek solace in the material.

Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence? No. Commit it then to the flames, for it contains nothing but sophistry and illusion
~Hume

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Literal


Absence of light

We do not live in our own time alone, we carry our history with us. Goethe said that "He who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth". We shortchange ourselves if we choose to limit our reasoning to specific confines or epochs; to certain Only-s, only this and only that. But we often do so because it is comforting; the unknown frightens. Just like darkness or the absence of light. To stop at a particular epoch is to miss out on on all the discoveries of the next age. To stop at Augustine or Plato is to miss out on Aquinas or Aristotle. And what a big loss that would have been or has proven to be.

"Aquinas created the great synthesis between faith and knowledge by embracing the philosophy of Aristotle... He believed that God has revealed himself to mankind through both the Bible and through reason. Therefore, reason and the Bible are both aspects of the truth which overlap... The Bible says that it is wrong to harm people. But we all know that it is wrong to harm people even if we haven't read in the Bible that we must 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'."
~ excerpts from Sophie's World, Jostein Gardner.