Haikus: January 2008

HAIKUS: January 2008

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, January 1, 2008, 12:00 am
Home in Mountain View writing poem
"Monuments of Magnificence" inspired
by Robert Pinsky's talk (Jan. 10, 2007)

I'm not dancing but
writing a poem— may this bode
well for the New Year! Tuesday, January 1, 2008, 2:06-2:16 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Christian Thielemann conducts
Felix Mendelssohn (Listen), CD, YouTube
Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave), Op. 26 (1830)

The sea is roaring—
Neptune's is triumphant with
his trident as wand!

Tuesday, January 1, 2008, 4:32 am
Home in Mountain View finishing poem
"Monuments of Magnificence" thinking
of all the things that are monumental.

Study things monumental—
I think of hemoglobin
and honor Max Perutz. Tuesday, January 1, 2008, 2:05-2:14 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Domenico Zipoli
Elevazione for Oboe, Cello and Strings (1715)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Thoughts elevated
to things sublime and holy
when this tune is played

Tuesday, January 1, 2008, 2:30 pm
Saint Mark's Episcopal Church
600 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto
San Francisco Chamber Orchestra
"Prodigies: Mozart & Mendelssohn"

Half-hour early yet
church is already full for
Prodigies concert. Tuesday, January 1, 2008, 3:00-4:00 pm
Gamble Garden (Haikus & Photos)
1431 Waverley Street, Palo Alto
Lived in Palo Alo for 12 years but
never visited this garden till now.

Missed the music of
Mozart and Mendelssohn—
found joy in the Garden.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008, 10:42-10:47 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johann Sebastian Bach
(Listen) CD, YouTube (1718)
Brandenburg Concerto #2 in F major, BWV1047

Bach's music opens
my eyes this morning as I
welcome a New Year. Wednesday, January 2, 2008, 10:47-10:59 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ludwig van Beethoven
(Listen), CD, YouTube (1802)
Romance for Violin & Orchestra #2 in F, Op. 50

Soft and tender tunes
from Beethoven for romance
to the young at heart.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008, 2:10 pm
Kaiser Hospital, Mountain View
Opthalmology Exam: Air pressure test.
Recalling Emerson's "transparent eyeball"

The sage is like
an eyeball— so sensitive to
all life in the world. Wednesday, January 2, 2008, 2:45 pm
Kaiser Hospital, Mountain View
Opthalmology Exam: Photographs
of my left & right retinas are normal.

Blood vessels like tree
branches flowing out of sun-
like optical nerve.

Thursday, January 3, 2008, 10:28-10:33 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Yundi Li plays
Frederic Chopin
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)
Impromptu #3 in G-Flat, Op. 51 (1843)

A flowing rhythm
like most of Chopin's music
always warms the heart. Thursday, January 3, 2008, 10:42-10:48 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Leonard Bernstein conducts
Ludwig van Beethoven
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube: Von Karajan) (1803)
Symphony #3 in E flat major, Op. 55 "Eroica"

Heroic music
for those in deep despair
to rise like a phoenix.

Friday, January 4, 2008, 10:15 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Luigi Boccherini
(Listen) CD, YouTube
Guitar Quintet #4 in D, "Fandango", (1798)
Blizzard storm raging as I wake up to "Fandango"

Clapping my hands and
stomping my feet, I dance
to the Fandango fire! Friday, January 4, 2008, 11:15-11:22 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Paul Dukas
(Listen), CD, YouTube
Sorcerer's Apprentice (1897) (Fantasia, 1940)
Dianne Nicolini plays this during rainstorm

Rain, rain, and more rain—
Sorcerer's Apprentice pours
even more water!

Friday, January 4, 2008, 7:30-9:30 pm
Friends' House, 957 Colorado, Palo Alto
Waverley Writers' Poetry Reading
I read three poems: "Imagination & Music",
"Money to Burn", "Meeting Goethe at Heidelberg"

Crowd is smaller due
to the rainstorm, so I read
three poems instead of one. Friday, January 4, 2008, 7:30-9:30 pm
Friends' House, 957 Colorado, Palo Alto
Waverley Writers' Poetry Reading
During break, Jayne asks me about
Lu Melander who introduced me to CPITS

CPITS opened my mind
so I learned from the kids
as well as teaching them.

Friday, January 4, 2008, 7:30-9:30 pm
Friends' House, 957 Colorado, Palo Alto
Waverley Writers' Poetry Reading
Barry Spector recites poem he paid $1
to street vendor at Harvard Square in 1969
with sign: "Any poem you wish written for $1"

Frog princess didn't
care for his warts to kiss him.
There will be lots of loving—
Tonight the moon is green. Friday, January 4, 2008, 7:30-9:30 pm
Friends' House, 957 Colorado, Palo Alto
Waverley Writers' Poetry Reading, Tom Digby
reads his poem on wizard's reversible spells: "How
the Porcupines Learned to be Teddy Bears Again".
After Waverley's Reading, he gives me ride home.

Cuddly teddy bears
turned to porcupines by wizard
so dragon won't eat them. But they
forgot how to turn themselves back.

Saturday, January 5, 2008, 9:06-9:18 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Bedrich Smetana
(Listen) CD, YouTube
Ma Vlast: The Moldau, (1874)

Composed in three weeks
after losing his hearing
Smetna wrote Ma Vlast. Saturday, January 5, 2008, 9:32-9:41 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ludwig van Beethoven
(Listen), CD, YouTube
Piano Concerto #1 in C, Op. 15 Finale (1797)

Robust performance
of Beethoven's rondo to
weather through this storm.

Saturday, January 5, 2008, 6:31-6:36 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: George Frederick Handel
(Listen), CD, YouTube, (1717)
Water Music: Suite #1 in F major, HMV 348

With all this downpour
do we need Handel's Water
Music for more rain? Saturday, January 5, 2008, 8:45-11:55 pm
Cubberley Pavilion, Palo Alto
Tuxedo Junction Ballroom Dancing (YouTube)
James Kleinrath teaches Intermediate Tango

Learned new tango steps—
right & left turns, spin pivots:
now practice, practice.

Sunday, January 6, 2008, 11:04-11:08 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Sir Edward Elgar
(Listen), CD, Shelley's poem
In Moonlight in E flat, Op. 50, (1908)

Elgar's In Moonlight
may put an end to this rain
if we praise the Moon. Sunday, January 6, 2008, 11:27-11:31 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Pietro Mascagni
(Listen), CD, YouTube
Cavalleria Rusticana: Intermezzo, (1890)

Opera of passion,
jealousy, rage, and revenge,
led to duel of death.

Sunday, January 6, 2008, 11:58 am-12:07 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johann Sebastian Bach
(Listen), CD, YouTube, (1723)
Double Violin Concerto in D minor, BWV 1043

Double the pleasure
when Bach's Double Concerto
for Violins is played. Sunday, January 6, 2008, 3:30-5:30 pm
Los Altos Library: Surprise first email
from old friend Valerie full of poetry
and her childhood memories of infinity

Starry winter night...
Song of wind through the trees...
Snowflakes' gentle grace...

Sunday, January 6, 2008, 8 pm-10:36 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Camille Saint-Saens
(Listen) CD, YouTube, Samson and Delilah (1877)
Book of Judges XVI (c. 1150 BC)
Milton's "Samson Agonistes" (1671), Film (1949)

Samson tamed lion
but tamed by Delilah—
now eyeless in Gaza. Sunday, January 6, 2008, 11 pm-2 am
KSFO 560 AM: Coast-to-Coast AM
George Noory interviews Gregg Braden
"The Field, Miracles & Heart Emotions"
Book: Divine Matrix; DVD: Science of Miracles

Force field connects all—
Our heart can change atoms
for miraculous healing.

Monday, January 7, 2008, 11:24 am-11:31 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ludwig van Beethoven
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube: Karl Bohm, Toscanni)
Symphony #5 in C minor, Op. 67 (1807)

Beethoven's four notes—
Waking, Dream, Sleep, Turiya
for Enlightenment! Monday, January 7, 2008, 11:58 am-12:07 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johann Sebastian Bach
(Listen), CD, YouTube
Concerto for Harpsichord in G, BWV 1058, (1728)

Albert Schweitzer loved
and played Bach's music because
it's so uplifting.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008, 12:21-12:30 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
(Listen) (YouTube) (CD) (1888)
Andante cantabile for Cello & Strings, Op. 11

Beautiful music
to listen while I'm cooking
eggs for my breakfast. Tuesday, January 8, 2008, 1:01-1:36 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ludwig van Beethoven
(Listen), CD, YouTube
Symphony #4 in B flat major, Op. 60, (1806)

"Slender Greek maiden
between two Norse gods"
Schumann calls Fourth Symphony.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008, 12:00-4:00 am
KSFO 560 AM: Coast-to-Coast AM
George Noory interviews Joe Nickell (Poetry)
"A Skeptic's Paranormal Investigations"

A Sherlock Holmes mind
probing where evidence leads
to solve the cases. Wednesday, January 9, 2008, 12:07-12:16 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johannes Brahms
(Listen), CD, YouTube
Three Hungarian Dances, (1880)

Young men leaping with
full exuberance to Brahms'
Hungarian Dances.

Thursday, January 10, 2008, 1:44-1:52 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Maria João Pires plays
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(Listen), CD, YouTube: Horowitz
Piano Concerto #23 in A, K. 488, Finale, (1786)

Composed during Lent,
Mozart withheld this piece for
himself and his friends. Thursday, January 10, 2008, 1:53-2:08 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Michael Tilson Thomas
conducts Hector Berlioz, (Listen), CD, YouTube
Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14,
4th Movement, "Marche au supplice" (1830)

March to guillotine—
sharp blade falls and severed head
rolls into basket.

Friday, January 11, 2008, 1:00-1:35 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Pierre-Laurent Aimard plays
Ludwig van Beethoven
(Listen), CD, YouTube
Piano Concerto #2 in B-Flat, Op. 19 (1798)

Display piece for young
Beethoven in Vienna
with much playfulness. Friday, January 11, 2008, 11:30 pm
Home in Mountain View reading
surprise Jan. 21, 2008 issue of "Fortune"
in my mailbox: "The $100 Billion Woman"—
Melinda Gates running world's biggest foundation

She helped her parents,
worked hard, now reaps her reward—
here's karma at work.

Saturday, January 12, 2008, 10:23-10:27 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Itzhak Perlman & Yo-Yo Ma
play Antonin Dvorak (Listen), CD, YouTube
Humoresque in G flat major, Op. 101 (1894)

Dvorak's Humoresque
played by the best two performers—
great delightful treat! Saturday, January 12, 2008, 8:45-11:55 pm
Cubberley Pavilion, Palo Alto
Tuxedo Junction Ballroom Dancing (YouTube)
James Kleinrath teaches Intermediate Waltz

Learned new waltz sequence—
open natural, right turn to
shadow spins, chaisse close.

Sunday, January 13, 2008, 12:36-12:47 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Richard Goode plays
Ludwig van Beethoven (Listen), CD,
YouTube: Sviatoslav Richter
Piano Sonata #12 in A-Flat, Op. 26 (1801)

Schubert and Chopin
both admired this piece that they
borrowed themes from it. Sunday, January 13, 2008, 1:00 pm
Showers Drive, Mountain View
Boarding the 1 pm Shopping Express
Shuttle Bus to Stanford University
All seats filled except my favorite.

It's strange every seat
is taken except the one
I like waiting for me.

Monday, January 14, 2008, 1:41-1:52 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Christian Thielemann conducts
Felix Mendelssohn (Listen), CD, YouTube
Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave), Op. 26 (1830)

Sounds like Beethoven—
down in the cave of despair
before his Eroica! Monday, January 14, 2008, 2:04-2:10 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Eugene Ormandy conducts
George Frederick Handel (Listen), CD, YouTube
Xerxes: Ombra mai fu "Largo", HMV 40 (1738)

Communing with tree
in the garden, King Xerxes
found his true treasure.

Monday, January 14, 2008, 5:30 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
On way to my computer desk picked up
random book on return-desk, M.H. Abrams,
"Doing Things with Texts" (1989). Reading
Chapter "The Deconstructive Angel" (p. 240)

Interpreting the
meaning of a text shows
that you are the master. Monday, January 14, 2008, 6:00 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
M.H. Abrams, "Doing Things with Texts"
William Blake escapes from an "infinite Abyss"
with vast spiders revolving the black sun.
Chapter "The Deconstructive Angel" (p. 250)

Beside a river
by moonlight, a harper is
singing to a harp.

Monday, January 14, 2008, 7:00-8:25 pm
Stanford Humanities Center
2008 Harry Camp Memorial Lecture
Prof. Simon Schaffer, University of Cambridge
"Newton on the Beach: The Information Order
of Principia Mathematica" (Ocean quote)

He finds a smoother
pebble or a prettier shell
while the ocean of truth...
Monday, January 14, 2008, 7:00-8:25 pm
Stanford Humanities Center
2008 Harry Camp Memorial Lecture
Prof. Simon Schaffer, University of Cambridge
"Newton on the Beach: The Information Order
of Principia Mathematica"

An amazing mind
gathers data and finds laws
of this universe.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008, 11:32-11:39 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Anne Akiko Meyers plays
Jules Massenet, (Listen), CD, YouTube
Thaïs: Meditation, (1894)

Sitting in stillness
the soul soars around space
and finds there is no time. Tuesday, January 15, 2008, 12:30-12:36 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Laurent Korcia plays (1890)
Maurice Ravel / Isaac Albeniz, (Listen), CD, YouTube, In the Style of a Habanera; Tango

Spanish tango tunes
for romantic couples to
dance the night away.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008, 11:30 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Bookmarking "New York Times" articles
Reading "Monkey's Thoughts Propel Robot"

Monkey's brain signals
made a humanoid robot
walk from far away!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 12:12 am
The Oval, Stanford University
Waiting for Midnight Express Bus
and watching beautiful Half Moon

Tonight the half moon
is nearly horizontal—
looks like Bowl of Light!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 12:05-12:15 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: David Zinman conducts
Samuel Barber, (Listen), CD, YouTube
Adagio for Strings, Op. 11, (1936)

An arch ascending
like a big sigh exhaling
and fades to silence. Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 12:23-12:29 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Borodin Quartet plays
Alexander Borodin, (Listen), CD, YouTube
String Quartet #2 in D major (1881)

Exotic music
whisks me to Persian bazaar—
Baubles, Bangles, & Beads.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 12:41-12:47 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Gustavo Dudamel conducts
Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven
Symphony #7 in A major, Op. 92, finale (1812)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube: Von Karajan)

Beethoven's Seventh
written in Teplitz after
meeting with Goethe. Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 1:01-1:25 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Sharon Isbin plays
Joaquin Rodrigo, Concierto de Aranjuez (1939)
Inspired by gardens at Palacio Real de Aranjuez
(Listen) CD, YouTube

In the grandiose
gardens of Kings, this music
longs for paradise.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 5:00-6:40 pm
Stanford Humanities Center
2008 Harry Camp Memorial Lecture
Prof. Simon Schaffer, University of Cambridge
"Newton on the Ganges: The Asiatic Enlightnment
of British Astronomy" (Tafazzul Husain Khan)

Newton believed that he
rediscovered the knowledge
of ancient sages.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 9 pm
After Prof. Schaffer tells me the last quote from
his Monday's talk was from a Newton manuscript
cited in Frank Manuel's Religion of Isaac Newton,
I found it in the South Stacks of Green Library
and typed the quote on my Schaffer web page.

The Blessed can live
anywhere they choose, moving
in the whole heavens

Thursday, January 17, 2008, 12:09-12:23 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Claudio Scimone conducts
Tomasso Albinoni / Remo Giazotto
Adagio for Organ & Strings in G minor, (1945)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Music to relax
and meditate on higher
realms of peacefulness. Thursday, January 17, 2008, 12:41-12:47 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Sir Georg Solti conducts
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony #41 in C, K. 551 "Jupiter" (1788)
(Listen) CD, YouTube

Mozart's "Jupiter"
Symphony— celebrating
Olympian gradeur.

Thursday, January 17, 2008, 4:00-5:45 pm
Stanford Humanities Center
2008 Harry Camp Memorial Seminar
Professor Simon Schaffer, "On Seeing Me Write:
Inscription Devices in the South Seas" (PDF file)

British exploring
the South Seas, encountering
natives with tattoos.
Thursday, January 17, 2008, 11 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Bookmarked & read "New York Times" articles
"Big Brain Theory: Have Cosmologists Lost Theirs" (Boltzmann's Brain & The Arrow of Time)

We reincarnate
in multiverses— Isn't
this idea Buddhist?

Friday, January 18, 2008, 12:27-12:42 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Evgeni Kissin plays
Beethoven (Listen), CD, YouTube, Analysis (1809)
Piano Concerto #5 in Eb "Emperor", Op. 73

Bold melodies and
heroic spirit, this piece
was Liszt's favorite. Friday, January 18, 2008, 2:11-2:14 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Helen Jane Long plays
Helen Jane Long, Stars (20th century)
(Listen) CD, Porcelain album

Through the dark, echo
expression of lost wind and
out of it all— stars.

Saturday, January 19, 2008, 10:06-10:34 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Jon Nakamatsu plays
George Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue (1924)
(Listen), CD, YouTube, (Voted #10 Music)

Blue on blue on blue—
Waking up to George Gershwin's
Rhapsody in Blue. Saturday, January 19, 2008, 11:10-11:47 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Osmo Vänskä conducts
Ludwig van Beethoven (Voted #9 Music)
Symphony #5 in C minor, Op. 67 (1807)
(Listen), CD, (YouTube: Karl Bohm, Toscanni)

Do you love me?— Yes
Beethoven, but I'm leaving
you to catch my bus!

Saturday, January 19, 2008, 7:30-8:18 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Franz Welser-Möst conducts
Ludwig van Beethoven (Voted #1 Music Piece)
Symphony #9 in D, Op.125 "Choral" (1824)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube: Karajan, Bernstein)

I'm running out on
Beethoven again— this time
for ballroom dancing. Saturday, January 19, 2008, 8:45-11:55 pm
Cubberley Pavilion, Palo Alto
Tuxedo Junction Ballroom Dancing
Steve Rebello teaches Intermediate Two-Step.
Practice sessions with Ann, Steve's assistant.

Run, run, pivot. Wrap-
around, reverse, cuddle step,
overhead turns, basic.

Sunday, January 20, 2008, 12:48-12:55 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Katia & Marielle Labèque
play Manuel de Falla
La Vida Breve; Spanish Dance #1 (1905)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Life's short. Art is long—
Study Art that's timeless.
Live in the Eternal. Sunday, January 20, 2008, 12:00 pm
Home in Mountain View phoning Jack
on free Stanford Flicks at Memorial Auditorium
at 7 pm & 10 pm: "Across the Universe" (2007)
featuring 34 songs of the Beatles (film cancelled)

Flying blue jay way
across the universe—
All you need is love.

Sunday, January 20, 2008, 2:30 pm
Mountain View, Trader Joe's Parking Lot.
Seeing Rainbow amidst dark clouds.

Rain sprinkles though sun
is out. Amidst the dark clouds—
Rainbow in the sky. Sunday, January 20, 2008, 3:55 pm
Mountain View, Friend takes me shopping:
Rite-Aid, Trader Joe's, Milk Pail, Safeway

Shrimp Cup-of-Noodles,
eggs, sesame sticks, garlic,
sprouts, oatmeal, and milk.

Sunday, January 20, 2008, 9:30 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Thoughts on experience after reading Kristof's
'Hillary, Barack, Experience' (NY Times, 1-20-08)

Experience without
wisdom is living life not
having any insight. Monday, January 21, 2008, 12 am-3:15 am
Mountain View: Jack gives me a ride home
from Stanford, and we talk about strategies
in sports, baseball and Mickey Mantle

Haven't seen my friend
Jack for three weeks. Now
we chat baseball for three hours.

Monday, January 21, 2008, 1:08-1:50 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Herbert Blomstedt conducts
Felix Mendelssohn (Full Score)
Symphony #3 in A minor, Op. 56 "Scottish" (1842)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Hearing Mendelssohn,
I recall his grandfather
Moses' love story. Monday, January 21, 2008, 3:38-3:48 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Pieter-Jan Belder conducts
Johann Sebastian Bach (Voted #3 Music Piece)
Brandenburg Concerto #6 in B-Flat, BWV 1051
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube: Allegro, Adagio), (1710)

Bach means "tiny brook"
but to me he's an ocean
of radiant light!

Monday, January 21, 2008, 9:45 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Reading Stanley Fish Blog (NY Times, 1-13-2008)
George Herbert's 17th century poem "Matins"

Teach me God thy love
to know... Then by a sunbeam
I will climb to thee. Monday, January 21, 2008, 9:45 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Reading Stanley Fish Blog (NY Times, 1-13-2008)
Stanley Fish's gloss: George Herbert's "Matins":

Sun is Son or Christ.
Beam is the Cross that Christ has
already climbed for us.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008, 12:15-12:45 am
Half hour walk from Stanford Green Library
to Palo Alto Cal-Train Depot under heavy rain
with backpack under my small black umbrella

Walking down Palm Drive
with downpour of rain pelting
my small umbrella. Tuesday, January 22, 2008, 12:48 am
Caught Bus #22 at Palo Alto Cal-Train Depot
January's Full Moon is called Wolf Moon
at 13:35 Greenwich Time (UT) or 5:35 am (PST)

It's Wolf Moon tonight
but no wolves are howling
except the wind and rain.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008, 1:05-1:39 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Herbert von Karajan conducts
Peter Tchaikovsky (Listen) (CD) (YouTube)
Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48 (1880)

Serenade for Strings
from Tchaikovsky's sad heart
will soothe those in sorrow. Tuesday, January 22, 2008, 3:00 pm
Mountain View Post Office Box: Finding surprise
January 5th Letter from Steve Georgiou on his
upcoming March 26 talk at East-West Bookstore

He sends an image
of Robert Lax, a poet
sage whom I adore.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008, 3:30 pm
Friend takes me grocery shopping at
New Castro Street Market, Mountain View

Bok choy, bean curd, tofu,
water chestnuts, lotus root,
and vegetable dumplings. Tuesday, January 22, 2008, 5:00 pm
Galvez Street & El Camino, Palo Alto
Waiting for Stanford B-Clockwise Bus

Surrounded by dark
gray clouds, a lake of blue—
Ah, Mediterranean!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008, 7:00 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Bookmarking New York Times (1-22-2008)
George Bernard Shaw quote in Health Letter

George Bernard Shaw said:
"In heaven an angel is
nobody in particular." Tuesday, January 22, 2008, 7:30 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Bookmarking New York Times (1-22-2008)
Newly discovered: Madagascar Palm Tree

Madagascar Palm,
Tahina spectabilis—
blooms in a century!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008, 11:36-11:44 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Osmo Vänskä conducts
Ludwig van Beethoven (Analysis)
Symphony #1 in C major, Op. 21 (1800)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube: Karajan, Mehta)

This is Beethoven's
baby— we see only a
claw but not the lion. Wednesday, January 23, 2008, 11:44-11:53 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Claudio Scimone conducts
Tomasso Albinoni / Remo Giazotto
Adagio for Organ & Strings in G minor, (1945)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube) (Recalling Aug. 15, 1979)

I'm in Chartres on
Assumption Day looking at
Virgin Mary's Veil.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008, 7:00-9:15 pm
Pigott Hall (Building 260), Room 113
DLCL Winter Film Festival
Nikita Mikhalkov's "Burnt By the Sun" (1994)

The happy home of
Colonel Kotov destroyed by
the vengeful Mitya. Wednesday, January 23, 2008, 11:30 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Reading Robert K. Merton's (Schaffer Lecture)
"On the Shoulders of Giants" (1985) (obituary)

Bernard of Chartres
said it 600 years
before Newton wrote it.

Thursday, January 24, 2008, 10:43-10:45 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Yo-Yo Ma plays
Antonio Vivaldi,
Four Seasons: 'Winter', Op. 8, #4 (1723)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Yo-Yo Ma wakes me
up with his rendition
of Vivaldi's Winter. Thursday, January 24, 2008, 11:35-11:46 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Valery Gergiev conducts
Alexander Borodin,
In the Steppes of Central Asia, (1880)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

A journey of a
thousand miles begins with a
single step— Take It!

Thursday, January 24, 2008, 11:53 am-12:01 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Aram Khachaturian
Masquerade: Waltz (1941)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Masquerade ball with
a bull, an eagle, a swan—
shape shifted from Zeus! Thursday, January 24, 2008, 12:36-12:44 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: John Williams
Star Wars: Imperial March (1980)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

The Empire Strikes Back—
Darth Vader from the dark side
is here to fight you!

Thursday, January 24, 2008, 3:30-4:45 pm
Green Teas Event, Barchas Room,
Special Collections, Stanford Green Library
Joseph Manning, Classics Department
"Egyptology Collection at Stanford"

Wolja Erichsen's books
with pipe smoke still inside—
scholar's treasure trouve! Thursday, January 24, 2008, 7:00 pm
Pigott Hall (Building 260), Room 113
Alice LaPlante, Former Stegner Fellow
& Author of "The Making of a Story"
"The Splendid Gift of Not-Knowing"

Writer's block may be
used to generate fresh
and creative work.

Friday, January 25, 2008, 11:46-11:59 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Hilary Hahn plays Brahms,
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, finale (1878)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Her phrasing of Brahms
is guided by melodic
shape like a sculptor. Friday, January 25, 2008, 11:59 am-12:02 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: David Fallis conducts
Joan Ambrosio Dalza, Spingardo, (circa 1508)
(Listen) (CD), (YouTube)

Morris Dance music—
Waving kerchieves I leap
with bells at my ankles.

Friday, January 25, 2008, 5:00 pm
Bing Wing Green Library, Stanford University
Friend reads John Hollander's poem "Fidget" and
shows me cover of "New Yorker" (Jan. 28, 2008)

Grand Central Station—
Sunbeams from window, only
a cat in its path. Friday, January 25, 2008, 5:00 pm
Bing Wing Green Library, Stanford University
Friend asks me to explain the meaning
of cover of "New Yorker" (Jan. 28, 2008)

Sunburst ray from Bast—
and none but the cat
can withstand its power!

Friday, January 25, 2008, 7:30-9:10 pm
Stanford Theatre, Palo Alto, Margaret Lockwood
& Michael Redgrave in Alfred Hitchcock's
"The Lady Vanishes" (1938)

Where did Miss Froy go?—
Vanished in thin air on
the train or by foul play? Friday, January 25, 2008, 9:20-10:45 pm
Stanford Theatre, Palo Alto, Nova Pilbeam
& Derrick DeMarney in Alfred Hitchcock's
"Young and Innocent" (1937)

Rescue in mine shaft
used again in North by
Northwest with great effect.

Friday, January 25, 2008, 10:52 pm
Palo Alto Cal-Train Depot
Caught 10:49 pm Bus #22 just in time
after Hitchcock films at Stanford Theatre

A kind bus driver
stops to let me on after
he left the station. Saturday, January 26, 2008, 12:00-4:00 am
KSFO 560 AM: Coast-to-Coast AM
George Noory interviews Alex Jones on
"The Elite's Master Plan" (Goldwater CFR quote)

The New World Order's
conspiracy to take
over and rule the world?

Saturday, January 26, 2008, 10:48-11:01 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Erich Kunzel conducts Giuseppe Verdi, Aida: Triumphal Scene (1871)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Triumphal march as
army walks into palace
cheered by roaring crowds. Saturday, January 26, 2008, 11:06-11:18 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: John Eliot Gardiner conducts
Franz Schubert, Symphony #9 in C, (1826)
(Listen) (CD), (YouTube)

Schumann found Schubert's
piece ten years after his death—
first performed by Mendelssohn.

Saturday, January 26, 2008, 11:30 am
Showers Drive, Mountain View
Caught 11:30 am Shopping Express
Bus in time for Stanford University

Respite from the rain—
Sun is out— Enjoy! Enjoy!
before more storm hits. Saturday, January 26, 2008, 12:00 pm
Stanford University: Walking by Clock Tower
striking 12, and "Listen to the Silence" banner
in front of Cubberley Auditorium

Small boy stops scooter,
covers his ears from bells—
Listen to the Silence!

Sunday, January 27, 2008, 11:37-11:45 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Sir Edward Elgar
In Moonlight (1904)
(Listen) (Scores) (CD)

Candlelight, moonlight,
more romantic than sunlight—
Less light for lovers? Sunday, January 27, 2008, 12:10-12:29 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Sonata 4 in E flat major, K.282 (1775)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Today is Mozart's
252nd birthday—
Let's play his music!

Sunday, January 27, 2008, 1:30-3:14 pm
Mountain View: Friend takes me shopping at
Long's, Trader Joe's, Milk Pail, and Safeway.

Green beans, sesame sticks,
eggs, sprouts, onions, carrots,
broccoli, clam chowder soup. Sunday, January 27, 2008, 4:30 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Caroline Kennedy's OP-ED (NY Times, 1-27-08)

Barack Obama
is like her Dad JFK—
She's supporting him.

Sunday, January 27, 2008, 7:00-9:20 pm
Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University
Stanford Flicks: Julie Taymor directs
"Across the Universe" (2007)
with 34 Beatles songs from the 1960s
starring Jim Sturgess & Evan Rachel Wood

I've just seen a face—
She loves you and I love her.
Strawberry fields forever. Sunday, January 27, 2008, 10:00 pm-12:00 am
Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University
Stanford Flicks: David Slade directs
"30 Days of Night" (2007)
Vampires terrorizes town of Barrow, Alaska
Sun below horizon for 65 days (Nov. 18-Jan. 22)

Barrow, Alaska
in winter without sun and
vampires roam to kill.

Monday, January 28, 2008, 11:37-11:45 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Maria-João Pires
& Ricardo Castro play Franz Schubert
Rondo in A for Piano-4 hands, D.951 (1828)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Drifting between sleep
and wakefulness, I listen
to Schubert's music. Monday, January 28, 2008, 1:04-1:38 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Mitsuko Uchida plays
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto #21 in C, K. 467 (1785)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube) (1978 in Luxembourg)

Luxembourg garden—
Two swans greet me and I feel
Plato's presence here.

Monday, January 28, 2008, 6:00 pm
Stanford Green Library: Peter Robinson's
email on Emily Dickinson & his verse on poetry

Poetry is but a bird of words
when released from my hands
fly to nest in our hearts. Monday, January 28, 2008, 6:00 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Response poem to Peter Robinson's verse

This bird in my heart
released to fly into a
wind of words— poetry.

Monday, January 28, 2008, 7:00 pm
Stanford Green Library: After Peter Robinson's
email on Stanford's Emily Dickinson Event
I read "Emily Dickinson's Letters" (Atlantic, 1891)
to Thomas Wentworth Higginson (April 26, 1862)

When a little girl,
I had a friend who
taught me Immortality. Monday, January 28, 2008, 7:00 pm
Stanford Green Library: After Peter Robinson's
email on Stanford's Emily Dickinson Event
I read "Emily Dickinson's Letters" (Atlantic, 1891)
to Thomas Wentworth Higginson (April 26, 1862)

My companions are
Hills and the sundown,
and a dog large as myself.

Monday, January 28, 2008, 8:00 pm
Stanford Green Library: After Peter Robinson's
email on Stanford's Emily Dickinson Event, I read
Joyce Carol Oates' essay (Emily Poem 1331)

Not Knowing and not
precisely Knowing not—
This is Wonder's beauty. Monday, January 28, 2008, 8:20 pm
Stanford Green Library: After Peter Robinson's
email on Stanford's Emily Dickinson Event, I read
Joyce Carol Oates (Critical Inquiry, 1987, p. 814)

Emily is like
Rilke in her focus of
states of consciousness.

Monday, January 28, 2008, 9:30 pm
Stanford Green Library: After Peter Robinson's
email on Stanford's Emily Dickinson Event,
I read Emily Dickinson's Poem 365
"Soul at the White Heat"

Dare you see a Soul
at the White Heat— beyond Blaze
dive into the Light! Monday, January 28, 2008, 11:00 pm
Stanford Green Library: After Peter Robinson's
email on Stanford's Emily Dickinson Event, I read
Higginson's meeting with Emily, Letter (Aug. 16, 1870)
Michael Ryan: "My Favorite Poet: Emily Dickinson"

Truth is such a rare
thing it is delightful to
tell it— Let's share it!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 2:02-2:08 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Sir Edward Elgar
Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 20 (1892)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

A sweet serenade
for a stroll in the park
on a warm sunny day. Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 2:47-3:02 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Gioachino Antonio Rossini
William Tell Overture (1829)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

"Schiller wrote William Tell
in six weeks with Swiss maps
on his walls" said Goethe.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 3:30 pm
Mountain View: Finding "Words with Wings"
CPITS Workshops with Children (Winter 1996)
Anthology for Burlingame Public Library

Dove painting banner
"Words with Wings"— children's fresh
seeing make our mind fly. Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 6:00 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Composing web page on Emily Dickinson
and Peter Robinson & my poems on poetry.

Stamps showing woman
releasing a dove— will it
fly into our hearts?

Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 12:20-12:26 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Sir Charles Mackerras conducts
Antonin Dvorak (Listen) (CD) (YouTube)
Slavonic Dance #10 in E Op. 72 #2 (1887)

Dvorak patterned
Slavonic Dances after
Brahms' Hungarian Dances. Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 12:26-12:41 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Pinchas Zukerman plays
Johann Sebastian Bach (Listen) (CD) (YouTube)
Violin Concerto #2 in E major, BWV 1042 (1723)

Waves upon waves send
your ship sailing afar till
you reach other shore.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 3:50 pm
El Camino, Showers Drive: Seeing long asymptotic
clouds while on Bus #22 heading for Stanford

Cirrus clouds sweep up
curving to infinity
straight toward the Sun. Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 6:00 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Reading Emily Dickinson's Poem 130

The Birds are back, so
is the Bee— having bread
and wine with Emily!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 7:00-8:15 pm
Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford University
Celebration of Emily Dickinson's Life & Work:
"Soul at the White Heat". Directed by Amy Freed
in consultation with Hilton Obenzinger. Performers:
Julie Eccles, Kay Kostopoulos, JoAnne Winter.

Brilliant performance
of Emily's life through
her poems and letters. Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 8:20-9:20 pm
Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford University
Celebration of Emily Dickinson's Life & Work:
"Soul at the White Heat", Panel Discussion with
Albert Gelpi, Hilton Obenzinger & Amy Freed.
Gelpi cites Emily's Poem 959 (Book review)

Still softly searching
for the site of Heaven—
but looking oppositely.

Thursday, January 31, 2008, 12:02-12:11 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Sir Georg Solti conducts
Ludwig van Beethoven
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube: Karl Bohm, Toscanni)
Symphony #5 in C minor, Op. 67 (1807)

One, two, three, four!— Most
famous four notes in music—
and the fifth is silence. Thursday, January 31, 2008, 12:28-12:44 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Vernon Handley conducts
Ralph Vaughan Williams (Listen) (CD) (YouTube)
Serenade to Music (Oct. 5, 1938). Rachmaninoff was in
the audience at Royal Albert Hall when it was played.

Rachmaninoff wept
when he heard this— inspired by
Merchant of Venice.