Haikus: May 2009

HAIKUS: May 2009

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.

Friday, May 1, 2009, 10:01-10:09 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky
The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Flowers (1892)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

How sweet to wake up
this morning to Tchaikovsky's
Waltz of the Flowers. Friday, May 1, 2009, 10:22-10:24 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Edward MacDowell
Woodland Sketches: To A Wild Rose, Op. 51, #1 (1896)
Listen, CD, YouTube

I salute Wild Rose
blooming in the desert
for uplifting our souls.

Friday, May 1, 2009, 11:28-11:36 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony #5 in C minor, Op. 67 (1808), Analysis,
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube: Toscanini), Poem, Notes

dun-dun-dun-DUN!—
Sleep, dream, wakefulness, and
the fourth state— Enlightenment! Friday, May 1, 2009, 11:54-11:56 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: James Horner
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Clash of cymbals, lots
of percussions— wrath of Khan
descends in Star Trek.

Friday, May 1, 2009, 7:30-8:30 pm
Friends' House, 957 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto
Waverley Writers: Featured Reader for May—
Elizabeth Biller Chapman reads 9 poems
from her book "Light Thickens" & "Merwin"

Light thickens around
a deer in the forest— now
spring is reaching you. Friday, May 1, 2009, 9:10-9:15 pm
Friends' House, 957 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto
Waverley Writers Monthly Poetry Reading—
Read my poem "Paris Opera" with 3 Sun Gods
(Greek, Slavs, Egyptian) in "opera" (See Notes)

Read "Paris Opera"
poem weaving 100 "per"
words as quilt for Dad.

Saturday, May 2, 2009, 10:05-10:11 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Swan Lake: Waltz, (1876)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Waking up to Tchaikovsky's
Waltz from Swan Lake makes
me ready for flight. Saturday, May 2, 2009, 12:05-2:05 pm
Building 300, Room 300, Stanford University
FRENGEN265 Film: Fritz Lang's "M" (1931).
Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" & "Vertigo"

Spiral staircase in M
found in Hitchcock's Vertigo—
both with touch of evil.

Saturday, May 2, 2009, 12:05-2:35 pm
Building 300, Room 300, Stanford University
FRENGEN265 Film: Fritz Lang directs "M" (1931),
with Peter Lorre as child killer (Dupuy Discussion)

Is mob court as evil
as M, the child murderer?
Where's sense of justice?. Saturday, May 2, 2009, 2:05-2:35 pm
Building 300, Room 300, Stanford University
FRENGEN265 Film: Fritz Lang's "M" (1931),
Dupuy compares Lang's "M" to "Fury" (1936)

One person is evil in M.
Mob is evil in Fury—
Case is more complicated.

Sunday, May 3, 2009, 10:32-10:49 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ralph Vaughan Williams
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1919)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Fantasia on Theme
by Tallis keeps me dreaming
so I stay asleep. Sunday, May 3, 2009, 11:30-11:33 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Robert Schumann
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: #7, Träumerei (1838)
(Listen), CD, (YouTube: Argerich, Lisitsa)

Scenes from Childhood by
Schumann and Rilke's Letters—
treasures for mining.

Sunday, May 3, 2009, 2:00-5:00 pm
Art Library, Stanford University
Dupuy's Class #4 "Problems of Evil":
Nikolai Ge's paintings: "Last Supper" (1863),
"What Is Truth" (1890), and Golgotha (1893);
Dostoevsky's "Notes from the Underground" (1864)

Ge's paintings of Christ
is portrait of his inner
turmoil and depression. Sunday, May 3, 2009, 8:00-10:15 pm
Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University
Stanford Flicks : Ken Kwapis directs
"He's Just Not That Into You" (2008), (Book)
with Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper,
Justin Long, Ginnifer Goodwin, & Drew Barrymore

Romantic misadventures
of people frustrated
in finding true love.

Monday, May 4, 2009, 12:40-12:51 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony #7 in A major, Op. 92 (1812),
Analysis, (Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Galloping pace of
this music is fitting for
Kentucky Derby. Monday, May 4, 2009, 3:15-6:05 pm
Building 260, Room 002, Stanford University
Prof. Dupuy, FrenGen 265: "Problem of Evil"—
Hannah Arendt, "Eichmann in Jerusalem" (1963)

Ordinary people
can commit evil crimes
like the Holocaust.

Monday, May 4, 2009, 3:15-6:05 pm
Building 260, Room 002, Stanford University
Prof. Dupuy, FrenGen 265: "Problem of Evil"—
Hannah Arendt, "Eichmann in Jerusalem" (1963).
Also banality of evil & "The Wave" (1981) (video)

The Wave experiment
turned high school students
into fascist troops. Monday, May 4, 2009, 7:30-9:30 pm
Stanford Mudd Chemistry Bldg, Braun Auditorium
Professor Alex Filippenko, UC Berkeley
"Dark Energy & the Runaway Universe"
27th Annual Bunyan Lecture (Webcast), News

From supernovas
can measure the universe
is accelerating.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 12:30-3:00 pm
Mountain View: Friend takes me grocery shopping
at Nob Hill, 99 Ranch Market, Walgreens, Safeway

Almonds, broccoli,
bok choy, tomatoes, tofu,
bean curd, eggs, dumplings. Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 3:15-3:45 pm
Friend drives me to Los Altos Library:
Checked out 3 books with themes of "Evil"

Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem,
Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil,
Myers' A Friendly Letter to Skeptics.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 5:00-5:15 pm
Building 110, Room 110-O, Stanford University
Bert Lain arrived earlier to Lissarague's lecture
and tells me about Jean Renoir's son Alain Renoir,
a Professor in Old English at UC-Berkeley

Pierre Renoir's grandson
Alain Renoir was English
Professor at Berkeley. Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 5:15-6:22 pm
Building 110, Room 110-O, Stanford University
François Lissarrague, Getty Villa Professor,
"Satyrs and Centaurs: The Art of Crossbreeding"
Dozens of images on Centaurs and Satyrs (500 BC)

Greek vase paintings
of centaurs and satyrs
raping brides at weddings.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 5:15-6:22 pm
Building 110, Room 110-O, Stanford University
François Lissarrague, Getty Villa Professor,
"Satyrs and Centaurs: The Art of Crossbreeding"

Chiron was good centaur
and mentor to many
Greek heroes of old. Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 7:00-8:00 pm
Art Library, Stanford University
I learn more about Alain Renoir, his books, and a
film footage he gave to Harvard on his grandfather

Such a delight to find
this footage of Renoir—
my favorite painter!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 8:00-10:00 pm
Art Library, Stanford University
Reading about Tzvetan Todorov
& "Memory as a Remedy for Evil"

Good and evil flow
from the same source— memory
helps to ward off evil. Wednesday, May 6, 2009, 1:14 am
Stanford Oval: Waiting for Shuttle Bus
to Palo Alto Cal-Train Station and
watching a near Full Moon in the sky

Flower Moon of May
with halo in the clouds
looks like an eye's pupil.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009, 3:00-5:00 am
KSFO 560 AM: Coast-to-Coast AM
George Noory interviews Graham Hancock on
"Consciousness & Altered States" (Book, Web site)

Coming out of
Lascaux Cave, Picasso said
"We've invented nothing." Wednesday, May 6, 2009, 3:00-5:00 am
KSFO 560 AM: Coast-to-Coast AM
George Noory interviews Graham Hancock on
"Consciousness & Altered States" (Book, Web site)

Cave art done by
shamans who experienced
higher state of awareness.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009, 5:00-6:00 am
Home in Mountain View: Reading
16-pages paper by Tzvetan Todorov
on "Memory as a Remedy for Evil"

Restorative justice
better for healing between
villains and victims. Wednesday, May 6, 2009, 6:30-9:00 pm
Stanford Humanities Center: Dinner & Workshop
Tzvetan Todorov, 2008 Prince of Asturias Award,
Discusssion: "Memory as a Remedy for Evil"

We forget the harm
we've done for we do not feel
the pain of others.

Thursday, May 7, 2009, 11:31-11:39 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Joseph Haydn
Symphony #101 in D "The Clock" (1798)
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube)

Slow stroll in garden—
it's springtime and birds sing
while flowers are blooming. Thursday, May 7, 2009, 1:02-1:40 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky,
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, (1878)
(Listen), CD, (YouTube: Heifetz, Perlman)

Tchaikovsky's birthday
and Brahms too— how nice
to hear their music today!

Thursday, May 7, 2009, 6:30-7:00 pm
Building 260, Room 002, Stanford University
FRENGEN 265 Film: Ingmar Bergman
directs "The Seventh Seal" (1957)
with Max von Sydow & Gunnar Björnstrand

Black and white clouds, chess
pieces, white foam crashing black rocks—
War of Death and Life. Thursday, May 7, 2009, 7:30-9:00 pm
Kresge Auditorium, Stanford University
Aurora Forum: "A Passion for Nature:
Exploring the Life of John Muir": Donald Worster
& Richard White with Jon Christensen

John Muir— outward in
Nature but inward in Mind—
a sage for our age.

Friday, May 8, 2009, 1:00-1:25 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Joaquín Rodrigo,
"Fantasy for a Gentleman" (1954)
Listen, (CD), YouTube

What is my fantasy?—
Enlightenment experience
for everyone! Friday, May 8, 2009, 6:30 pm
Astronomy Picture of the Day:
"Galaxies of the Perseus Cluster
Star gift for friend (9th anniversary meeting)

250 million
light years away— stars
from Perseus galaxies.

Friday, May 8, 2009, 7:30-9:30 pm
Stanford Theatre, Palo Alto
John Ford directs "The Searchers" (1956)
starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter,
Vera Miles, Natalie Wood, & Ward Bond

Monument Valley—
beautiful landscape where rocks
rise to sea of clouds. Friday, May 8, 2009, 9:40-11:45 pm
Stanford Theatre, Palo Alto
John Ford directs "Fort Apache" (1948)
starring John Wayne, Henry Fonda,
Shirley Temple, & Pedro Armendariz

Unbending Colonel
led his men to Cochise
and the valley of death.

Saturday, May 9, 2009, 11:05-11:11 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Franz Liszt,
"Hungarian Rhapsody #6" (1847)
Listen, (CD), YouTube

Franz Liszt's Rhapsody
finally wakes me up from bed
and my dreamy sleep. Saturday, May 9, 2009, 11:30-11:45 am
Breakfast at Home in Mountain View:
Freaky Facts on back of package of
Quaker Instant Strawberry Oatmeal

When an adult lion
roars, it can be heard
up to five miles away.

Saturday, May 9, 2009, 12:40-12:45 pm
Bookstore Fountain, Stanford University
Morris Dancing by Deer Creek Morris Men
and young children group called Wildcats

Great to see young boys
and girls clicking their sticks
to Morris Dance music! Saturday, May 9, 2009, 1:00 pm
Bing Wing Fountain, Stanford University
Watch a small white-tailed bird on a post
chirping merrily just an arm length away

What a joy to see
this small white-tailed bird
chirping so sweetly near me.

Saturday, May 9, 2009, 1:15-1:30 pm
Art Library, Stanford University
News story of mystery message in bottle
found in the walls of Auschwitz (9-20-1944)

Names and ID numbers
of five Poles and Frenchman
in bottle in the wall. Saturday, May 9, 2009, 8:45-11:55 pm
Palo Alto: Cubberley Pavilion
Ballroom dancing: James Kleinrath
teaches intermediate cha-cha

Open break, switch hands,
overhead turn, skating hold,
grapevine and promenade.

Sunday, May 10, 2009, 11:49-11:51 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Edward MacDowell
Woodland Sketches: To A Wild Rose, Op. 51, #1 (1896)
Listen, CD, YouTube (Mother's Day Play Request)

The wild rose blooms not
outside in the garden but
inside the pure heart. Sunday, May 10, 2009, 12:00-12:07 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johann Pachelbel,
Canon in D major (1680)
Listen, CD, YouTube

Request for Mother's Day—
Pachelbel's Canon
as elegant as Mom.

Sunday, May 10, 2009, 3:00-7:00 pm
Art Library, Stanford University
Adding to web page on Dupuy's Class #4:
René Girard's Theory of Mimetic Desire

Amadis always
present in Don Quixote's
desire quest as knight. Sunday, May 10, 2009, 8:20-9:50 pm
Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University
Stanford Flicks : "Call + Response" (2008), Review,
Introduction & Q&A with director Justin Dillon

Child sex slavery
still going on— musicians
try to stop this evil.

Sunday, May 10, 2009, 8:20-9:50 pm
Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University
Stanford Flicks : "Call + Response" (2008), Review,
Cornel West traced rock music history to slavery

Rock music connects
with slavery where only
the black voice was free. Sunday, May 10, 2009, 9:50-10:15 pm
Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University
Stanford Flicks : "Call + Response" (2008),
Q&A with director Justin Dillon (Activism)

Fight slavery with
activism— don't buy
things made by child labor.

Monday, May 11, 2009, 12:37-12:42 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Edvard Grieg,
Peer Gynt Suite #1: Morning Mood, Op. 46 (1892)
Listen, CD, YouTube

Based on Ibsen's play
"Morning Mood" depicts
the joy of our rising sun. Monday, May 11, 2009, 12:42-12:55 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Paul Dukas,
Sorcerer's Apprentice (1897)
Listen, CD, YouTube: Mickey Mouse

Sorcerer's Apprentice
made the brooms carry water
but can't stop the flood.

Monday, May 11, 2009, 3:15-6:45 pm
Building 260, Room 002, Stanford University
Prof. Dupuy, FrenGen 265: "Problem of Evil"—
Hans Jonas, "Memoirs" (2003) on Hannah Arendt;
Paul van Dijk, "Thinking of Günther Anders" (2000)

Evil is inherent
in technology— tools
better than machines. Monday, May 11, 2009, 7:00-8:30 pm
Memorial Church, Stanford University
"Harry's Last Lecture on a Meaningful Life"
George P. Schultz, Hoover Fellow
lectures on "The Power of the Ought"

Here's another "ought"—
Rid the nuclear weapons—
a vision to work for.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009, 10:50-11:11 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Serenade #13: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K 525 (1787)
Listen, CD, YouTube

Mozart's "Night Music"
wakes me up this morning
for some inspiring work. Tuesday, May 12, 2009, 12:02-12:07 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Pietro Mascagni,
Cavalleria Rusticana: Intermezzo (1889)
Listen, CD, YouTube

Mascagni's music
of romance and tragedy—
mimetic desire.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009, 1:00-1:55 pm
Mountain View: California Street
Friend takes me grocery shopping
at Safeway and to Wachovia Bank

Asparagus, blackberries,
Milano cookies, yogurt,
milk and V-8 juice. Tuesday, May 12, 2009, 2:09-2:16 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Jules Massenet,
Thaïs: Meditation (1894)
Listen, CD, YouTube

Massenet's birthday—
composed not at the piano
but solely from his mind.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 11:38-11:43 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Evgeny Kissin
plays Johannes Brahms,
Two Hungarian Dances (1872)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Brahms' Hungarian Dances—
his most popular works
made him rich in life. Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 12:06-12:21 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Nicola Benedetti
plays Ralph Vaughan WIlliams,
The Lark Ascending (1914)
(Listen), CD, YouTube, George Meredith Poem

The lark ascending
to heaven's gates singing
of hope and happiness.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 7:00-8:30 pm
Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
Adam Gopnik, "Why Write About Writing?"
I go to Coleman Barks instead of Adam Gopnik

Meet Eavan Boland—
tell her "Barks reading Rumi"
She says "I'm introducing Gopnik." Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 7:30-9:00 pm
East Florence Moore Hall, Stanford University
Coleman Barks, Rumi translator,
"Three Poems of Rumi: A Discussion"

Sufi Bawa comes to Barks
in his dream and says—
"Do the Rumi work."

Thursday, May 14, 2009, 10:19-10:26 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Georges Bizet,
Carmen: Suite #2: Danse bohème (1875)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

The bull charges as
matador flings red cape—
crowd shouts Olé! Olé! Thursday, May 14, 2009, 10:26-10:32 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Luigi Boccherini
Guitar Quintet #4 in D, "Fandango" (1798)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Rattles and castanets
stir Flamenco dancers
whose hearts are on fire!

Thursday, May 14, 2009, 12:00-1:30 pm
Stanford Humanities Center:Adam Gopnik,
Discussion: "Why Write About Writing?;
or, How Dr. Johnson Can Save Your Life"
(New Yorker, December 8, 2008)

Finding the right tone—
Use "and" instead of "but",
then the narrative flows. Thursday, May 14, 2009, 7:00-9:00 pm
Building 260, Room 002, Stanford University
FRENGEN 265 "Problem of Evil" Film Screening:
TV Crime Stories: "The Capture & Trial of Adolf Eichmann" (1999) with Eichmann's Trial footage

Documentary of Eichmann's
Trial shows that he's
a beast in the jungle.

Friday, May 15, 2009, 9:33-9:40 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Henry Desmarest,
Venus et Adonis (1697)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Shepherd boy Adonis
sleeping in the moonlight—
Venus fell in love with him. Friday, May 15, 2009, 9:33-9:40 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Frederic Chopin
Waltzes, Op. 64 #1 "Minute" & #3 (1838)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Music playing for
40 minutes while I sleep—
Am I late for grace?

Friday, May 15, 2009, 10:40 am
Serra Grove, Stanford University
Swing & See-Saw installed for kids
and a wooden door without a center

Walking through a door
with frame but no center—
this empty space of grace. Friday, May 15, 2009, 10:00 am-6:00 pm
Stanford History Building 200, Room 307
Symposium: "The Descent of Grace" (Robert Harrison, Bissera Pentcheva, Hans Gumbrecht)

The room is packed with
scholars talking about
the deep mystery of grace.

Saturday, May 16, 2009, 1:00-4:00 pm
Stanford History Building 200, Room 002
Elizabeth Horton Sharf, UC-Berkely (Book)
"The Fully Illumined Sage: Reading Twelve
Centuries of Japanese Buddhist Imagery (Sarnath)

So many Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas
to illuminate your mind. Saturday, May 16, 2009, 4:10-4:40 pm
Stanford History Building 200, Room 002
Chat with Rich Farella who thanks me
for Robert Thurman web transcripts.
Tells me of Jamie Hubbard's May 14 talk

Shinnyo-en Buddhism—
practicing Borderless
Garden of Reality.

Saturday, May 16, 2009, 7:59-8:04 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Pascal Rogé plays
Erik Satie, Je Te Veux (I Want You) (1900)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

I want you to come—
O mysterious grace from
the Dome, Om, or from Home. Saturday, May 16, 2009, 8:45-11:55 pm
Palo Alto: Cubberley Pavilion
Ballroom dancing: James Kleinrath
teaches intermediate waltz

Open left turn, telemark,
overhead turn, barrel roll,
slip pivot and waltz.

Sunday, May 17, 2009, 11:24-11:30 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Jules Massenet,
Thaïs: Meditation (1894)
Listen, CD, YouTube

Meditation— not
a blank mind, otherwise why
not just go to sleep! Sunday, May 17, 2009, 11:30-11:34 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Roman Hofstetter,
Serenade in C (Quartet for Strings) (1777),
(Listen: Haydn Op. 3), CD, YouTube

My favorite tunes
for dancing with the world
full of joy and blessings.

Sunday, May 17, 2009, 3:00-7:30 pm
Green Library, Stanford University
Composed web page on Rimbaud's "Aube"
after Robert Harrison cited this poem
in his May 15 talk "Grace & Genius"

The Dawn slipped through my
fingers when I embraced her
and soon it was noon. Sunday, May 17, 2009, 8:00-9:45 pm
Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University
Stanford Flicks : John Patrick Shanley directs "Doubt" (2008), starring Meryl Streep,
Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams

Nun tries to destroy
priest even by lying,
but also had her doubts.

Monday, May 18, 2009, 10:32-10:40 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ferde Grofé,
Grand Canyon Suite (1931)
Listen, CD, YouTube, Robert Harrison
played "Thelma & Louise" Ending (5/15)

Surrounded by cops,
they chose freedom and leaped
into the Grand Canyon! Monday, May 18, 2009, 10:49-10:58 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johann Strauss, Jr.,
Tales from the Vienna Woods, Op. 325 (1868),
(Listen), CD, YouTube, Robert Bird played
Andrei Tarkovsky's "The Stalker's Dream" (5/15)

Surrealistic dream
of flotsam on water at
the edge of the woods.

Monday, May 18, 2009, 3:15-6:50 pm
Building 260, Room 002, Stanford University
Prof. Dupuy, FrenGen 265: "Problem of Evil"—
Rachel Class Report on Samuel Schefler, Consequentialism & Individual Responsibility

Omission is same
as action— no help for poor
is like killing them. Monday, May 18, 2009, 3:15-6:50 pm
Building 260, Room 002, Stanford University
Prof. Dupuy, FrenGen 265: "Problem of Evil"—
Rachel Cristy Class Report on Hans Jonas,
"The Imperative of Responsibility"

Jonas pleads for new
ethics of the future as
we're heading for doom.

Monday, May 18, 2009, 3:15-6:50 pm
Building 260, Room 002, Stanford University
Prof. Dupuy, FrenGen 265: "Problem of Evil"—
52 slide show on "Mourning the Future"
(Bill Joy, Wired 8.04, April 2000)

We need the future
or the human adventure
is just meaningless. Monday, May 18, 2009, 3:15-6:50 pm
Building 260, Room 002, Stanford University
Prof. Dupuy, FrenGen 265: "Problem of Evil"—
52 slide show on "Mourning the Future"
(Voltaire's "Zadig"; "Minority Report")

Looping of the future—
The past causes the future
which anticipates the past.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009, 12:13-12:25 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Felix Mendelssohn,
Hebrides Overture, Op. 26 "Fingal's Cave" (1833)
(Listen), CD, (YouTube)

Fingal's Cave— descent
into the darkness of a
subterranean world. Tuesday, May 19, 2009, 12:25-12:36 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ludovico Einaudi,
Bella Notte (1868),
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Oh beautiful night—
embrace me after a hard
day's work for some rest.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009, 2:15-5:15 pm
Mountain View: Friend takes me shopping
at Nob Hill, 99 Ranch Market (Grant Road),
and Safeway (California Street)

Sunflower and pumpkin seeds,
walnuts, seaweed, tofu, eggs,
sesame chips, strawberry, cheese,
corn flakes, lemonade, and shrimps. Tuesday, May 19, 2009, 7:00 pm-1:00 am
Green Library, Stanford University
Wrote Poem "The Mystery Dream"
inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky's "Stalker" (1979)
and Robert Bird's talk "The Stalker's Dream"

Number twenty-eight
turns horror of this place
into a state of grace.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 2:06-2:16 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov,
Scheherazade, Op. 35 (1888)
(Listen), CD, (YouTube)

Tumultuous waves
from Sinbad's Voyage
as she spins the King to sleep. Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 2:34-2:55 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ottorino Respighi,
Gli uccelli "The Birds" (1927),
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Attar and Hitchcock—
Birds both good and evil.
Ah— Blake's angelic lark!

Thursday, May 21, 2009, 3:00-5:00 pm
Palo Alto, Foothill College Middlefield Lab
Converted Prof. Dupuy's PowerPoint files to HTML
33 slides from May 18th FrenGen265 class on
"Problems of Evil"— "Mourning the Future"

We're heading for gloom
and doom unless we wake up
to save our dear earth. Thursday, May 21, 2009, 6:30-9:00 pm
Building 260, Room 002, Stanford University
FRENGEN 265 "Problem of Evil" Film Screening:
Fritz Lang directs "Fury" (1936)
with Spencer Tracy & Sylvia Sidney

Reversal of Lang's M—
mob is the evil one
trying to lynch Joe.

Friday, May 22, 2009, 1:30-2:20 pm
Los Altos Hills, Foothill Krause Center
Writing email to Jack Mullen when
he shows up. We go outside computer
lab and chat for half an hour

Haven't seen old friend
Jack for six months, staying
home to care for his Mom. Friday, May 22, 2009, 2:20-6:10 pm
Los Altos Hills, Foothill Krause Center
Converted Prof. Dupuy's PowerPoint files to HTML
55 slides from May 18th FrenGen265 class on
"Problems of Evil"— "Mourning the Future"

The past and future—
Which is open? Which is fixed?—
the mystery of time.

Friday, May 22, 2009, 7:30-9:55 pm
Stanford Theatre, Palo Alto
Howard Hawks directs "Rio Bravo" (1959)
starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson,
Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, & Ward Bond

No landscape but great
music and acting that made
Rio Bravo a classic. Friday, May 22, 2009, 10:05-12:10 pm
Stanford Theatre, Palo Alto, John Ford directs
"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962)
starring John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles,
Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien, & John Carradine

Law and order beats
evil outlaw in shootout
that tamed the wild west.

Saturday, May 23, 2009, 1:30-2:45 pm
Stanford Humanities Center
Symposium: Imagination and Memory
Niklaus Largier, UC-Berkeley
"The Art of Prayer: Memory, Imagination,
and Religious Experience"

Seven steps of prayer,
spiritual exercises
bring the texts alive. Saturday, May 23, 2009, 5:00-5:50 pm
Stanford Humanities Center
Symposium: Imagination and Memory
Monica Poza Dieguez, UC-Davis (Art of Memory)
"The Great Theatre of Memory and the Hermetic
Tradition in Early Modern Spanish Drama"

Calderón and Bruno,
Frances Yates and
The Art of Memory

Sunday, May 24, 2009, 8:30 am
Mountain View: DREAM in bed—
Wooden plank with seeming consciousness
avoids oncoming traffic before crashing

Pushed wooden board past gate
onto highway where it avoids
traffic before crashing. Sunday, May 24, 2009, 8:35 am
Mountain View: DREAM in bed—
Wooden board still intact with blackened nicks.
Sharon Olds says we're in a bubble universe

She tells me to skate
with my magic wooden board
over the clouds to Mars.

Sunday, May 24, 2009, 8:45 am
Mountain View: DREAM in bed—
A rose talks to me and tells of its true
nature like Rose in "The Little Prince"

The Rose says "I'm not red,
round, soft, nor sharp thorns,
but Eros Eternus!" Sunday, May 24, 2009, 1:30 pm
Palo Alto: Friend takes me grocery
shopping at Walgreens (4170 El Camino)
(El Camino Real & Maybelle Avenue)

Maxwell Instant Coffee,
Five cans of deluxe mixed nuts
and natural almonds.

Sunday, May 24, 2009, 11:44-11:48 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: John Rutter,
Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind (1975)
(Listen), CD, (YouTube)

Blow, Blow, Winter Wind—
your cold days are over
and Spring is here at last. Sunday, May 24, 2009, 12:10-12:20 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky,
Swan Lake: Finale, Op. 26a (1876),
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Evil sorcerer who
cast spell is defeated—
swan becomes princess.

Monday, May 25, 2009, 7:30 am
Mountain View: DREAM in bed—
Goethe's "Italian Journey" in loose pages
scattered on desk to read all in German

Pages of Goethe's
Italian Journey scattered
like gems to treasure. Monday, May 25, 2009, 8:00 am
Mountain View: DREAM in bed—
Neighborhood warning of attacking leaping frogs.
Duck says to me: "I'm not a frog, I've got wings"

"Watch out! He'll bite you!"—
Not this one I helped save—
This duck is my friend.

Monday, May 25, 2009, 11:37 am-12:02 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Antonin Dvorak,
Symphony #9 "From the New World", Op. 95 (1893)
(Listen), CD, (YouTube)

Each day we wake up—
a New World beckons for us
to do something new! Monday, May 25, 2009, 1:02-1:27 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Franz Joseph Haydn,
Symphony #100 in G major "Military" (1794),
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Military Symphony
played for those who lost
their lives for freedom.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 11:00-11:08 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ludwig van Beethoven
"Piano Sonata #14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 #2 'Moonlight'" (1801), (Listen), CD, YouTube

Wonderful waking
up to Moonlight Sonata—
Beethoven's music. Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 11:43-11:55 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto #2 in C minor, Op. 18 (1901)
(Listen) (CD), YouTube

Hypnotist inspired
him to write lovely music—
and surely he did!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 12:05-12:10 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Joaquín Rodrigo
"Fantasy for a Gentleman" (1954)
(Listen), (CD), YouTube, Notes; Einstein quote:
"Imagination is more important than knowledge"

Fact or fantasy?—
Scientist's research or artist's
vision— which is real? Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 2:00-3:14 pm
Mountain View: Friend takes me shopping
at La Fiesta Produce Market and Safeway

Cherries, strawberries, tomatoes,
mustard potato salad, fish fillets,
poppy seed & ranch dressings,
frozen corn, peas, green beans,
mozzarella cheese, skim milk.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 5:00-10:00 pm
Palo Alto, Foothill Middlefield Computer Lab
Reading "Rare Hepburn stamp fetches $93,800"
Only five stamps exist showing her smoking

Auction of Audrey stamp—
Rarity is in the eye
of the beholder. Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 5:00-10:00 pm
Palo Alto, Foothill Middlefield Computer Lab
Professor Dupuy's "Problem of Evil" Class #7
Found Friedrich Hölderlein's "Patmos" poem

But where danger is,
grows the saving power too—
The god is near us.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 12:12-12:24 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Gioachino Antonio Rossini
"William Tell Overture" (1829),
(Listen), CD, YouTube

William Tell's arrow
split the apple on top of
the head of his son. Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 1:31-1:39 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johann Sebastian Bach
Air on the G String, BWV 1068 (1723)
(Listen) (CD), YouTube: Sarah Chang

Bach's music inspires
us for it comes from
a mind that's oceanic.

Thursday, May 28, 2009, 12:26-12:34 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Richard Wagner
Das Rheingold: Entry of the Gods (1854),
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Wagner's Das Rheingold—
Triumphant gods enter with
blaring of trumpets. Thursday, May 28, 2009, 1:01-1:31 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto #21 in C major, K. 467 (1785),
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Beautiful Mozart
music— so much romance
in the second movement.

Thursday, May 28, 2009, 12:46-12:56 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johannes Brahms,
Symphony #2 in D major, Op. 73 (1877)
(Listen), CD, YouTube; 14 years to write
Symphony #1, one summer for Symphony #2

Out of Beethoven's shadow,
Brahms' Second Symphony
was finished in a breeze. Thursday, May 28, 2009, 6:30-10:45 pm
Building 260, Room 002, Stanford University
FRENGEN 265 "Problem of Evil" Film Screening:
Lars von Trier directs "Breaking the Waves" (1996)
with Emily Watson & Stellan Skarsgård (Discussion)

Her goodness degraded
by his evil wish of her
having sex with other men.

Friday, May 29, 2009, 11:05-11:11 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johann Sebastian Bach,
"Jesu, joy of man's desiring" BWV 147 (1723)
(Listen), CD, YouTube
(Dependent Arising; Dependent Origination)

Desire starts cycle
of birth and death. Why Buddha
spins the Wheel of Time? Friday, May 29, 2009, 7:30-9:55 pm
Stanford Theatre, Palo Alto
"The Green Berets" (1968), starring
John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen,
Jim Hutton, Aldo Ray, and Jack Soo

Film made to counter
anti-Vietnam War protest
with LBJ's blessings.

Saturday, May 30, 2009, 1:00-2:00 am
Mountain View: Reading Charles Baudelaire's
"Flowers of Evil" (1857), translator Keith Waldrop quotes Baudelaire's concept of God (p. xxiii)

"God is the only being
who, in order to reign,
need not even exist." Saturday, May 30, 2009, 1:00-2:00 am
Mountain View: Pondering on Baudelaire's
view of God and recalling my meditation on
sunyata (emptiness) in Buddhism & Taoism

God is empty space
letting stars shine in glory
holding "real" estates.

Saturday, May 30, 2009, 10:24-10:30 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Frederic Chopin
(Listen), CD, YouTube, (1833)
Grande Valse brillante in E-flat major, Op. 18

Chopin's Brilliant Waltz—
so uplifting that all I
want to do is dance! Saturday, May 30, 2009, 1:00-1:15 pm
Art Library, Stanford University
Reading about "U.S. debuts super laser"
House-sized sphere can focus 192 laser beams

Laser beams focused
on a point that is as hot
as the core of stars!

Sunday, May 31, 2009, 10:44-10:47 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Erik Satie,
Je Te Veux (I Want You) (1900), (Listen), CD,
YouTube; Wrote haiku below before finding out
Satie's Gymnopedie #1 was played; YouTube

When "you" and "I" becomes
a "we"— then there's no
otherness but Oneness. Sunday, May 31, 2009, 3:14 pm
Art Library, Stanford University
SJ Mercury News (5-31-2009, 1C): "Wonder Years"
In his last game at Livermore High, Randy Johnson
pitched a perfect game (May 7, 1982) (Perfect Number 6)

6 foot-9 Randy Johnson
threw a perfect game
and wins 6-0.

Sunday, May 31, 2009, 2:00-7:55 pm
Art Library, Stanford University
Typed web page "Poems on evil" from
Charles Baudelaire's "Flowers of Evil"

Demon stirs evil-eyed Witch—
murderous monster in
the brain, blood, and flesh. Sunday, May 31, 2009, 8:45-10:45 pm
Stanford Memorial Auditorium: Stanford Flicks :
Clint Eastwood directs "Gran Torino" (2009)
starring Clint Eastwood and Bee Vang

Old Man Walt becomes
a mensch to young Thao in
fighting the tough Hmong gangs.