A Hullabaloo in 2502

It's that time of the semester when things are starting to be put into motion. The formalities and introductions are done. Soon it will be a continual parade of marking exams, papers, and speaking presentations. And that is not counting all of the work I have to do at CUHK. I am already dragging a bit, feeling tired and sore, my age slowly creeping up on me and making its presence felt.

Events in the past week have made me take a step back and evaluate the things I hold dear to me. I can be a very selfish and stubborn person, but I am trying to better myself in every way possible. I know that things will continue on the right path.

List time.

Things I've been reading, watching, or listening to:

Beowulf- book
Misery
Leaving Las Vegas
Get Him To The Greek
A plethora of screamo (I hate this term, can we just call it passionate hardcore?) like Daitro, Suis La Lune, Sed Non Satiata, Envy, Touche Amore, Loma Prieta, etc.
End of a Year- You are Beneath Me
Animals as Leaders- Animals as Leaders

Much more that I am spacing out on.

Finally, one more week left in the MLB regular season. Giants are up by one game with six to play. If they make the playoffs, I will seriously consider moving to San Francisco in 2012. If they make the World Series, I will definitely move there in 2012. If they win it all, I may spontaneously combust. You heard it here first.

Is This Really Happening?

Well, is it?

The Big Show

Read a great piece today on the sad story of former Major League Baseball pitcher Eric Show, best known for allowing Pete Rose's record-breaking hit as well as sporting one of the tightest mustaches of the 80s. An eccentric by sporting standards, he had his share of bad luck follow him around and ended up addicted to drugs. Read it here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=5543839


In other news; Umbrella etiquette: Why does no one in Hong Kong have it? If you've ever been out in the rain in Hong Kong, you'll know all about it. Not to be confused with Sunbrella etiquette. Get at me before I lose an eye to a Tai-tai's umbrella spoke.

Crackle

The thunderstorm with heavy, relentless doses of lightning that rocked Hong Kong last night was pretty intense. Some of the bolts seemed to touch down nearby, and at one time a crackle and flash of dull red exploded just outside the window, bathing the inside of the apartment for a few seconds. Heavy stuff.

Speaking of heavy stuff I listened to Trenches- The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole today. Mid 90s Zao meets  Isis at a Deftones show. Pretty good for a 2008 release in an overcrowded genre. If you want it, let me know.

Why the sudden rash of music posts? Not sure. I've been listening to more recently, at least more than I had been for the past few months. Sometimes you just want to vent, type the words to make them more real, jot them down for posterity. An audio album in the written word.

Better to be diligent than idle.

Every Red Heart Shines Toward The Sun

"The Great Leap Forward Poured Down Upon Us One Day Like a Mighty Storm Suddenly and Furiously Blinding Our Senses."

"We Stood Transfixed in Blank Devotion as Our Leader Spoke to Us, Looking Down on Our Mute Faces with a Great, Raging,       

and Unseeing Eye."

"Like the Howling Glory of the Darkest Winds, This Voice Was Thunderous and the Words Holy, Tangling Their Way Around Our Hearts and Clutching Our Innocent Awe."

"A Message of Avarice Rained Down Upon Us and Carried Us Away into False Dreams of Endless Riches."

""Annihilate the Sparrow, That Stealer of Seed, and Our Harvests Will Abound; We Will Watch Our Wealth Flood In.""

"And by Our Own Hand Did Every Last Bird Lie Silent in Their Puddles, the Air Barren of Sound as the Clouds Drifted Away. For Killing Their Greatest Enemy, The Locusts Noisily Thanked Us and Turned Their Jaws Toward Our Crops, Swallowing Our Greed Whole."

"Millions Starved and Became Skinnier and Skinnier, While Our Leaders Became Fatter and Fatter."

"Finally, as That Blazing Sun Shone Down Upon Us, Did We Know That True Enemy Was the Voice of Blind Idolatry; and Only Then Did We Begin to Think for Ourselves."

No, this is not an excerpt from a novel about The Great Leap Forward, although it is in fact a "social" critique of the events that occurred in China between 1959 and 1961 where tens of millions of people died of starvation. The above words are actually song titles from the second album by California based post-rock band Red Sparowes entitled Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Sun. The song titles recount the Great sparrow campaign, an ill-conceived attempt by Mao Zedong to improve Chinese agriculture but which actually triggered a major ecological imbalance in the environment, thus leading to mass starvation. The music itself is your standard post-rock. If you don't know that term, then the music probably isn't for you. It's epic, depressing, poignant, and shrill. And there are no vocals to be found. Hence, song titles that read like a story. If you want to listen to it I can send you a copy. Otherwise, find it on your own.

Why this? Why not? There has to be a comparative literature piece in here somewhere.

Food Coma

What did I do during my last week of summer vacation? Thanks for asking. Well, I went to Macau for a Shue Yan English Department retreat and ended up eating so much I was nearly incapacitated. Lunch, meeting, coffee break, meeting, 12 course dinner, bed, breakfast, meeting, lunch again. I ate goose liver, baby pigeons, oyster cream soup, and whatever else had the misfortune of being placed in front of me (minus the chicken feet). Then, the day after our return from Macau, another all-you-can-eat buffet of gluttonous goodness, all thanks to the fine folks at SYU. They satiate us with food and then unleash us upon unsuspecting freshmen and sophomores for the next 15 weeks. How cunning they are.

I'm teaching 15 credits at Shue Yan and taking 6 credits as a student at CUHK. Will I be spreading myself thin? Will the wife forget who I am when I return home at midnight with dark circles under my eyes and literary theory books in tow? Only time will tell.

Will I have the time to retype and upload my Taipei recap? To the 3 of you who actually care about reading such mundane topics, the answer is...if you insist.