Haikus: May 2010

HAIKUS: May 2010

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.

Saturday, May 1, 2010, 11:03-11:06 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Xue-Fei Yang plays
Narciso Yepes, Romance for Guitar,
Forbidden Games (1952), Video
(Listen), CD, YouTube

This haunting music
from Forbidden Games
echoes its poignant ending. Saturday, May 1, 2010, 1:00-4:15 pm
Stanford University, Building 200, Room 002
John Listopad, "Understanding Buddhist Art:
The Thai Buddhist Temple" (Over 200 slides
on Buddhist temples and art of Buddha's life)

Great presentation by
scholar, art curator,
and ordained Buddhist monk.

Sunday, May 2, 2010, 10:18-10:25 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Maurice Ravel
Pavane for a Dead Princess (1910), (Listen), CD,
(YouTube: 1, 2), (Velázquez's "Las Meninas")

Velázquez's painting
inspired Ravel to compose
this beautiful piece. Sunday, May 2, 2010, 10:53-11:01 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Luigi Boccherini,
Guitar Quintet #4 in D, "Fandango" (1798), (Listen), CD, YouTube

Flamenco dancing
calls forth the Duende
stirring up the spirits!

Sunday, May 2, 2010, 11:45-11:51 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Franz Schubert (1825),
Ellens Gesang III, D839, Ave Maria, Op. 52 #6
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Schubert's Ave Maria—
refreshing, nourishing
nectar for the soul. Sunday, May 2, 2010, 12:15-12:32 pm
Mountain View: Friend takes me grocery
shopping at Safeway (2580 California Street)
as I rush to catch 12:48 pm Stanford Shuttle

Almond milk, soy milk,
Lucerne plain yogurt,
and fluffy angel cake.

Sunday, May 2, 2010, 1:30-7:45 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
May haikus with YouTube links to music;
Added more words to "Words with Is & Ish";
Before & After Photoshop of Phalaenopsis

Used Photoshop to erase
chairs to enhance this
orchid in its glory. Sunday, May 2, 2010, 8:00-10:18 pm
Stanford Flicks, Memorial Auditorium
Kathryn Bigelow directs "The Hurt Locker" (2009)
with Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie
Brian Geraghty, & Christian Camargo

Iraqi war film
on defusing bombs
full of tension and suspense.

Monday, May 3, 2010, 11:29-11:32 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Julia Fischer plays
Antonio Vivaldi, (Listen) CD, (YouTube: 1, 2)
Four Seasons: "Winter" Op. 8, #4

Vivaldi's Winter—
snowflake gifts inspiring
my first poem "I See Joy". Monday, May 3, 2010, 2:20-4:40 pm
Los Altos Hills: Foothill Krause Center
"Phalaenopsis Enhanced in Photoshop"
comparing before & after effects rendered

Named Phalaenopsis
or Moth orchid since it
resembled moths in flight.

Monday, May 3, 2010, 7:30-9:20 pm
Palo Alto, Stanford Theatre: Charles Vidor
directs "Gilda" (1946) starring Rita Hayworth,
Glenn Ford, George Macready, Joseph Calleia, & Steven Geray, Trailer, "Put the Blame on Mame"

"Put the Blame on Mame"—
Gilda's hit song as she strips
slowly off her glove. Monday, May 3, 2010, 9:30-11:00 pm
Palo Alto, Stanford Theatre: Joseph H. Lewis
directs "Gun Crazy" (1949) starring
Peggy Cummins, John Dall, Berry Kroeger,
Nedrick Young, Russ Tamblyn, (YouTube)

Single-take bank robbery
shot from back of car
by director Lewis.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 12:10-12:13 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Gustav Holst,
The Planets, Op. 32: Jupiter (1916)
(Listen), CD, (YouTube: 1, 2)

Jupiter music—
Bringer of Jollity
for He is the God King. Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 1:00-1:35 pm
Mountain View: Friend takes me
grocery shopping at Nob Hill Foods
Four boxes of Van de Kamp fish @ $2

Beer-battered fish fillet
not to my taste, bought
instead crunchy fish sticks.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 3:30-7:00 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Wrote poem Phalaenopsis on orchid
in the Gentle Dental waiting room

I've learned from you how
to be humble and how to
pray with curving grace. Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 7:30-9:00 pm
Stanford University, Pigott Theater
Laurie Anderson with Mark Gonnerman
Art+ Invention Speaker Series (Photo)

Advised Athens Olympics
to forget razzle-dazzle
but "Know Thyself"!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010, 12:06-12:09 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Xue-Fei Yang plays
Narciso Yepes, Romance for Guitar,
Forbidden Games (1952), Video
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Saw this film years ago—
still recall Paulette's calling
"Michel, Michel" at end. Wednesday, May 5, 2010, 2:30-5:30 pm
Sunnyvale & Homestead Road: Kaiser Hospital
Rudy takes me to Dr. Ron Yamaguchi
for pre-operative appointment,
EKG, blood and urine test

X-ray shows kidney stone
that's pea size needing
laser surgery to remove.

Thursday, May 6, 2010, 12:15-12:19 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Alexandre Tharaud
plays Erik Satie, Le Picadilly,
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Satie's Picadilly
march is lively like
circus coming to town. Thursday, May 6, 2010, 3:20-4:00 pm
Mountain View: Friend takes me grocery
shopping at Nob Hill Foods and
99 Ranch Market on Grant Road

Two dozen eggs, tofu,
bean curd, broccoli crowns,
and Roma tomatoes.

Thursday, May 6, 2010, 6:00-10:00 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
"Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts dies at 83"
(Obituary: NY Times; Philadelphia Inquirer)
1952 Topps #59 Baseball Card (retouched)

Rooted for Dodgers
but loved Robin Roberts'
smile on this baseball card. Thursday, May 6, 2010, 6:00-10:00 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Begin Notes to poem Phalaenopsis
to learn more on this Moth Orchid;
Nob Hill had Phalaenopsis @ $19.99

Saw several orchids
at Nob Hill but none as
beautiful as the first one.

Friday, May 7, 2010, 7:38-8:35 pm
Waverley Writers Monthly Poetry Reading—
Featured Reader: Gwyneth Lewis
(Knitting), Reads "How to Knit a Poem"

The whole thing starts with
a single knot— kind of work
that keeps you together. Friday, May 7, 2010, 9:02-10:05 pm
Friends' House, 957 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto
Waverley Writers Monthly Poetry Reading—
Read my poem "Wisdom: Some Questions"

Beware of Keys to Gates of Wisdom—
Did not the Cumaean Sibyl guide
Aeneas through the wrong door?

Friday, May 7, 2010, 9:02-10:05 pm
Friends' House, 957 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto
Waverley Writers Reading— Len Anderson reads
"Ten Things You Need to Know About Heaven"

Every atom of you
is a deity— Heaven
is in the making. Friday, May 7, 2010, 9:02-10:05 pm
Friends' House, 957 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto
Waverley Writers— Elizabeth Chapman reads
"Space Requiem" (granddaughter born April 6)

You'll swim yourself out
from darkness— I will wait
for you Stella by starlight.

Saturday, May 8, 2010, 11:28-11:32 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: George Gershwin
Promenade "Walking the dog" (1937)
(Listen), (CD) (YouTube: Fred & Ginger)

Gershwin's Promenade
in Shall We Dance as Fred
& Ginger walked their dogs. Saturday, May 8, 2010, 12:30-1:00 pm
Stanford University, Bookstore Fountain
Saw Berkeley Morris Dancers performing
five Morris Dances while I took photos

Bells tinkling at ankles,
clicking of sticks & waving
white handkerchiefs.

Saturday, May 8, 2010, 1:00-5:00 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
"Both Young & Old Set Records on Same Day"—
20-year-old Starlin Castro debuts with 6 RBI;
47-year-old Jamie Moyer, oldest to pitch shutout

Youngest and oldest
baseball players set records
in hitting and pitching. Saturday, May 8, 2010, 1:00-5:00 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Picture of the Day: "The Antennae" (May 7, 2010)
60 million light-years away in Corvus constellation
two large galaxies collided forming shape of a heart

Two galaxies collided
in Corvus forming
a heart as they merged.

Sunday, May 9, 2010, 1:31-1:50 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Lise De La Salle plays
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, (Listen), CD,
Variations on a Nursery Song, K. 265 (1781)
(YouTube: 1, 2), "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

This star's twinkle like
a diamond in the sky will
make your wish come true. Sunday, May 9, 2010, 3:50-7:50 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Dallas Braden pitches 19th perfect game
as Oakland A's beat Tampa Bay Rays 4-0
19 Perfect Games; Perfect Games, (You Tube)

Dallas Braden pitched
perfect game against baseball's
highest-scoring team.

Sunday, May 9, 2010, 3:50-7:50 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Rudy shows me photo of Itsukushima Shrine
from Via Magazine of AAA (May-June 2010, p. 12)
Itsukushima Shrine; Itsukushima; Torii

Itsukushima!
Enter the gate to sacred
space and feel serene. Sunday, May 9, 2010, 8:00-9:50 pm
Stanford Flicks, Memorial Auditorium
Lasse Hallström directs "Dear John" (2010)
with Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried
Richard Jenkins, & Henry Thomas

They fall in love but
he leaves for a year to war—
Will their love hold out?

Monday, May 10, 2010, 1:31-1:50 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Nic Raine conducts
John Barry, Somewhere in Time (1980)
(Listen), CD, YouTube, John Barry Bio

Old woman gives him
a pocket watch— he goes
back in time to find her. Monday, May 10, 2010, 5:00-10:00 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Notes to Poem "Phalaenopsis"— Leonardo
da Vinci was the first to describe heliotropism

Leonardo knew divine
proportion as well
as heliotropism.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 3:00-5:10 pm
Los Altos Hill: Foothill Krause Center
"Bizzare hole in space: How did it get there?"
(By Nancy Atkinson, Christian Science Monitor, May 11, 2010), Supernovae Photo Gallery

Black patch of space
in NGC 1999—
young stars made this hole. Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 3:00-5:10 pm
Los Altos Hill: Foothill Krause Center
Notes to Poem "Phalaenopsis"—
Found Lew Welch Poetry Reading
at Santa Barbara, April 22, 1967 (Hermit Poems)

Silent for a year
as a hermit in the woods
alone in winter.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 7:25-8:25 pm
Stanford Humanities Center: Witter Bynner Award in Poetry: A Poetry Reading by Jill McDonough ("Habeas Corpus") & Atsuro Riley ("Romey's Order") chosen by U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan

Jill writes 50 sonnets
on executions, making
horror into poetry. Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 7:25-8:25 pm
Stanford Humanities Center: Witter Bynner Award in Poetry: A Poetry Reading by Jill McDonough ("Habeas Corpus") & Atsuro Riley ("Romey's Order") chosen by U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan

Atsuro poems are
aural, oral, bristling
with musical pleasures.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 8:05-8:14 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Johann Strauss, Jr.,
Artists' Life Waltz, Op. 316 (1867)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Waking up to Strauss—
May this waltz stir energy
for my hike today. Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 8:33-8:45 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Sir Edward Elgar,
Pomp and Circumstance March #1 in D (1901)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Graduation time—
Hold your head high marching
to this Elgar music.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 9:20 am
Mountain View: Hendrick & Connie picked me up
for 2-hours drive to Pinnacles National Monument

Starting out early
for trip to the Pinnacles
that will take two hours Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 11:52 am
Paicines, Pinnacles National Monument
Arrival at gate to the Pinnacles (photo)

Came here last year in June—
wrote 23 haikus
with photographs.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 12:03 pm
Paicines, Pinnacles National Monument
Psi-Tree at Pinnacles Parking Lot (photo)

Greek letter ψ—
quantum mechanics wave function
appears in this tree! Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 1:45 pm
Paicines, Pinnacles National Monument
Bear Gulch Reservoir (photo)

After crawling inside
dark caves and climbing stairs—
breathtaking view of lake!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 7:30-8:45 pm
Stanford University, Cubberley Auditorium
"Stanford Pioneers in Science: Roger D. Kornberg" Paul Berg (Chemistry Nobelist 1980) talks about
Roger Kornberg's work (Chemistry Nobelist 2006)
with Kornberg interview by Paul Costello (photo)

Discovered DNA
enzyme used in transcription
creating RNA.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 9:00 pm
Stanford University, Cubberley Auditorium
"Stanford Pioneers in Science: Roger D. Kornberg" After the program, I introduce myself to Roger. He knows Gerry Fasman, our work, and is glad to meet me finally. I give him my essay Poetry & Prayer.

Proteins— the language
of life, and poetry—
language of the human heart.

Thursday, May 13, 2010, 12:14-12:22 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: St. Lawrence String Quartet
plays Peter Tchaikovsky, Andante Cantabile,
String Quartet #1 in D, Op. 11, (1871)
(Listen), CD, (YouTube: 1, 2)

Waking up to Tchaikovsky's
Andante Cantabile
is so soothing. Thursday, May 13, 2010, 4:00-10:00 pm
Stanford University, Art Library— Read news
"Ask the Experts: Carmen Gillespie on Poetry"
(Bucknell University, May 13, 2010); Queries to
Professor of English on poetry in our daily lives

Poetry encourages us
to understand the world
in more enriching ways.

Friday, May 14, 2010, 12:17-12:21 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Aram Khachaturian,
Masquerade: Waltz (1941)
Listen, CD, YouTube

There's no need to wear
masks to hide your faults
when you know your true nature. Friday, May 14, 2010, 1:55-5:10 pm
Los Altos Hills, Foothill Krause Center
Formatting 77 photos from Pinnacles Hike
taken on Wednesday, May 12 from noon-4 pm

No time for haikus
or documenting time
when taking these photos.

Saturday, May 15, 2010, 12:31-12:45 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Maurice Ravel,
Bolero (1928), (Listen), CD, YouTube
"Ravel's Bolero: Case of Dementia?"

Bolero music teaches
us to look at life
from many viewpoints. Saturday, May 15, 2010, 1:45-2:10 pm
Mountain View: Friend takes me
grocery shopping at Safeway
(2580 California Street)

Fritos corn chips, cheese,
green beans, strawberry
and butter pecan ice cream.

Sunday, May 16, 2010, 11:50-11:57 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Maxim Vengerov plays
Jules Massenet, Thaïs: Meditation (1894)
Listen, CD, (YouTube: Janine Jansen, Yo-Yo Ma)

Massenet's Meditation—
like Saint-Saens' swans
gliding serenely in lake. Sunday, May 16, 2010, 1:30-7:50 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Web page for 76 photos of Pinnacles Hike
taken on Wednesday, May 12 (noon-4 pm)

Need to be selective
among hike photos
taken to write haikus.

Sunday, May 16, 2010, 1:30-7:50 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
"Pinnacles National Monument:
A Nearby Geologic Wonder",
(San Jose Mercury News, April 29, 2010)

Less than two hours away
but 23 million years back—
this volcanic treasure!
Sunday, May 16, 2010, 8:00-10:18 pm
Stanford Flicks, Memorial Auditorium
Martin Scorsese directs "Shutter Island" (2010)
with Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley
Mark Ruffalo, & Michelle Williams

Psychological mystery
thriller on Shutter
Island for the insane.

Monday, May 17, 2010, 11:00-11:04 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Camille Saint-Saens,
Carnival of the Animals: The Swan (1886)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Saint-Saens' "Swan" wakes me—
reminds me of Tufayl's
Awakening of the Soul. Monday, May 17, 2010, 5:10-10:00 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Reading Robert Pogue Harrison's essay
"Not Ideas about the Thing but the Thing Itself"
New Literary History 30.3 (1999) 661-673

Morning is when I am awake—
Dawn in Wallace Stevens
and Thoreau.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 11:46-11:51 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Felix Mendelssohn,
Midsummer Night's Dream: Intermezzo, Op. 61 (1842), (Listen), CD, (YouTube: 1, 2), Notes

Sleep and wakefulness
like 0 and 1, yin-yang,
with dream in between. Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 4:00-6:00 pm
Stanford University, Y2E2 Building, Room 300
"The Humic Foundations of Human Culture"
Robert Pogue Harrison, "Gardens" & "Forests"

God left us in the Garden
of Eden so that we
may take care of it.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 7:30-9:00 pm
Palo Alto, Stanford Theatre: Rouben Mamoulian
directs "Love Me Tonight" (1932) starring
Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald,
Charles Ruggles, & Myrna Loy, (YouTube: 1, 2, 3)

Isn't It Romantic,
Mimi, He's a Tailor,
and Love Me Tonight. Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 9:10-10:36 pm
Palo Alto, Stanford Theatre: Ernst Lubitsch
directs "Trouble in Paradise" (1932) starring
Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis, Herbert Marshall,
Charles Ruggles, Edward Everett Horton, (Review)

Pair of thieves rob
rich widow of her cash
and pearls and taxi away.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 11:04-11:09 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Ophelie Gaillard plays
Gabriel Faure, (Listen), CD, YouTube
Pavane in F-sharp minor, Op. 50 (1887)

Slow processional
Spanish court dance in springtime—
where the garden blooms. Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 3:45 pm
Stanford University, Serra Mall by Art Gallery
Boo-Qwilla: Totem Pole restored after a year
in repair, (Photo in sunlight), (My Photos: 1, 2)

Ah! Thunderbird's wings
restored at last— it's time
for prayer to Boo-Qwilla.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 4:00-6:50 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Web Quilt: 76 photos of Pinnacles Hike
taken on Wednesday, May 12 (noon-4 pm);
Web page: Haikus of 2010 Pinnacles Hike

With all the photos
displayed in this quilt
which ones will I write about? Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 7:00-8:30 pm
Stanford University, Pigott Hall, Room 113
Paul Harrison, Stanford Religious Studies,
"Can Lotuses Bloom in a Sea of Flames?
Buddhism and Conflict in the Modern Age"

Lotuses may perish
in a sea of flames but
they bloom in our hearts.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 7:00-8:30 pm
Stanford University, Pigott Hall, Room 113
Paul Harrison, Stanford Religious Studies,
"Can Lotuses Bloom in a Sea of Flames?
Buddhism and Conflict in the Modern Age"

Sinhalese Buddhist mob
in Sri Lanka killed
Tamils in 1983 riots. Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 7:00-8:30 pm
Stanford University, Pigott Hall, Room 113
Paul Harrison, Stanford Religious Studies,
"Can Lotuses Bloom in a Sea of Flames?
Buddhism and Conflict in the Modern Age"

Peaceful Buddhists—
Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh,
Aung San Sun Kyi, A.T. Ariyaratne.

Thursday, May 20, 2010, 5:30-7:00 pm
Stanford University, Pigott Hall, Room 113
Leonardo López Luján, Museo del Templo Mayor,
"In search of Tenochtitlan: 220 years of archaeology in downtown Mexico City" (News)

Largest Aztec sculpture
found at Tenochtitlan—
earth goddess Tlatecuhtli. Thursday, May 20, 2010, 7:30-9:00 pm
Stanford Humanities Center, Levinthal Hall,
Professor Robert Gimello, Notre Dame,
"Visions of Otherworldly Splendor:
The Aesthetic of zhuangyan"

Buddhist Views of
the Anagogical Value
of Sumptuous Art.

Thursday, May 20, 2010, 7:30-9:00 pm
Stanford Humanities Center, Levinthal Hall,
Professor Robert Gimello, Notre Dame,
"Visions of Otherworldly Splendor:
The Aesthetic of zhuangyan"

Abbot Suger designed
Abbey St. Denis based on
Dionysius the Areopagite.
Thursday, May 20, 2010, 7:30-9:00 pm
Stanford Humanities Center, Levinthal Hall,
Professor Robert Gimello, Notre Dame,
"Visions of Otherworldly Splendor:
The Aesthetic of zhuangyan"

Zhu Bian restored
Pu'ensi temple when Suger
designed St.-Denis Abbey.

Friday, May 21, 2010, 3:15-4:45 pm
Stanford Humanities Center, Board Room,
"The Banality of Religion: Close Readings of the Everyday" Conference, Professor Robert Orsi, Northwestern University, "Abundant History: Marian Apparitions as Alternative Modernity"

Pilgrimage to Umbria—
Margaret Costello
whose body didn't decay. Friday, May 21, 2010, 5:00-5:30 pm
Stanford Humanities Center, Board Room,
"The Banality of Religion" Conference,
Rachel McBride Lindsey, Princeton, "Immersion and Assent: Overcoming in Studies of American Religion and Vernacular Photography"

Photographs in early
19th century have not lost
their magic and aura.

Friday, May 21, 2010, 5:30-6:00 pm
Stanford Humanities Center, Board Room,
"The Banality of Religion" Conference,
Mira Balberg, Stanford, "Immersion and Assent: Overcoming the Impurity of the Everyday in the Rabbinic Law of Purity" (Epictetus: Discourse 4.11)

Epictetus: Purify
your judgments and be
not attached to desires. Friday, May 21, 2010, 6:00-6:30 pm
Stanford Humanities Center, Board Room,
"The Banality of Religion" Conference, Philip Webster, Univ. of Pennsylvania, "Hair Religion: Clement of Alexandria's Use of Hair as a Material Technology in His Construction of Christianity"

Clement of Alexandria—
the soul is visible
through a person's hair.

Saturday, May 22, 2010, 7:20-7:28 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Aaron Copland,
Appalachian Spring (1944)
(Listen), (CD), YouTube
Martha Graham poem

This is Martha Graham's
dance Appalachian Spring
that wakes me this morning.
Saturday, May 22, 2010, 8:17-8:20 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Leon Fleisher plays
Ludwig van Beethoven, "Für Elise"
Bagatelle for Piano in A minor, WoO 59 (1808),
(Listen), CD, YouTube, Commentaries

Elisa was eight
when she played "Für Elise"
for me to my delight.

Saturday, May 22, 2010, 9:30-10:05 am
Stanford Humanities Center, Board Room,
"The Banality of Religion", Jennifer Eyl, Brown University, "Mundane as Semiotic: Paul, Divinatory Practices, and Ancient Mediterranean Religiosity"

Stoics say divination
works from long observations—
Cicero's De Divinatione Saturday, May 22, 2010, 10:05-10:35 am
Stanford Humanities Center, Board Room,
"The Banality of Religion" Conference,
Caleb Carter UCLA, "Pleasure, Profit and Pilgrimage: Merged Paths in Early Modern Japan"

Pilgrimage package
for profit— becoming
Buddha in one's own body.

Saturday, May 22, 2010, 10:50-11:25 am
Stanford Humanities Center, Board Room,
"The Banality of Religion: Close Readings of the Everyday" Conference, Nathan Hofer, Emory University, "The Sacred Becomes Profane:
Political Sufis in Medieval Cairo"

Sufism are more
relational than mystical
sponsored by the state. Saturday, May 22, 2010, 11:28 am-12:05 pm
Stanford Humanities Center, Board Room,
"The Banality of Religion" Conference,
Jason Protass Stanford University,
"Monk in the World: The Poetry of Canliaozi",
aka Chan Monk Dao Qian (1043-1106)

My Zen mind soiled with
mud, how can it chase after
spring winds wild up and down?

Saturday, May 22, 2010, 2:00-3:30 pm
Stanford Humanities Center, Board Room,
"The Banality of Religion: Close Readings of the Everyday" Conference, Professor James Robson, Harvard University, "When the Everyday Goes Astray: On the Banality of the Religious Exception"

Kyoto's Jissoin Temple
surrounded by three
insane asylums. Saturday, May 22, 2010, 4:00-4:25 pm
Stanford Humanities Center, Board Room,
"The Banality of Religion" Conference,
Lindsey E. DeWitt, UCLA, "Transgressive Idealization: Female Figures in the Sacred Narrative of Mt. Koya"

Mt. Koya forbade
all women to climb it
even Kukai's mother.

Saturday, May 22, 2010, 4:25-5:00 pm
Stanford Humanities Center, Board Room,
"The Banality of Religion: Close Readings of the Everyday" Conference, Samira Mehta, Emory University, "The Daily Blend: Everyday
Practices in the Jewish Christian Family"

Two case studies of
Interfaith families
blending both religions. Saturday, May 22, 2010, 5:00-5:40 pm
Stanford Humanities Center, Board Room,
"Banality of Religion", Kyle Bozentko, Boston University, "Where Real Church Meets Real Life: An Ethnographic Study of Hybrid Spiritual Practices in an Emerging Church Worship Service"

Boston Common service—
street people meet Thursdays
to share the Eucharist.

Saturday, May 22, 2010, 7:33-7:36 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: George Gershwin
Promenade "Walking the dog" (1937)
(Listen), (CD) (YouTube: Fred & Ginger)

Gershwin's Promenade
is such a happy tune
that I like to dance to. Saturday, May 22, 2010, 8:45-11:55 pm
Palo Alto, Cubberley Pavilion, Ballroom dancing:
James Kleinrath taught intermediate Rumba
(Janet gives me a dozen Fuji apples afterwards)

Is this gift of apples
a temptation or blessing
from the goddess?

Sunday, May 23, 2010, 11:15-11:20 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: John Barry, "Give Me a Smile"
from The Beyondness of Things (1998)
(Listen), CD, YouTube, Bio, Notes

O give me a smile
like sunshine each morning
lighting warming my heart. Sunday, May 23, 2010, 11:23-11:29 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Joshua Bell plays
Antonin Dvorak, (Listen) CD, YouTube,
Rusalka: Song to the Moon (1900)

Song to the Moon as
it wanes from New to Fullness
while my mind blossoms.

Sunday, May 23, 2010, 1:30-7:50 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Wrote 16 haikus on the 12 presenters of
"Banality of Religion" Conference, May 21-22
based on my 57 pages of notes taken and 4 links
to classic music on KDFC 102.1 FM, May 22-23

Review of highlights
of Conference on religion
of everyday life. Sunday, May 23, 2010, 8:00-10:05 pm
Stanford Flicks, Memorial Auditorium
Garry Marshall directs "Valentine Day" (2010)
with Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Taylor Swift,
Anne Hathaway, Shirley MacLaine, Ashton Kutcher,
Jamie Foxx, Patrick Dempsey, Bryce Robinson

Roses on Valentine's Day—
everyone stressed out
to find one's true love.

Monday, May 24, 2010, 2:04-2:11 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Sir Neville Marriner
conducts Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
The Magic Flute: Overture (1791),
(Listen), CD, (YouTube: 1, 2)

Mozart's Magic Flute—
saw wonderful puppet
performance in Salzburg. Monday, May 24, 2010, 4:00-6:00 pm
Mountain View: Friend takes me to Kaiser
Clinic (eyeglasses frame repair & adjustment),
M&S Watch Repair ($8 new watch battery),
Shopping Nob Hill Foods & 99 Ranch Market

Repaired eyeglasses frame,
watch battery; Roma tomatoes,
lychees, bean curd, green onions.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 2:25-3:15 pm
Mountain View: Friend takes me grocery
shopping at CVS Pharmacy, Milk Pail,
and Safeway (2580 California Street)

Black olives, red grapes,
radish, spinach salad, milk,
Swiss cheese, orange juice. Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 5:00-6:45 pm
Stanford Tresidder Union, Cypress Room
Brought Rudy to Google Hiring Meeting
with free pizza, soda, and cookies

Google's next $10 billion
business is DoubleClick
display advertising.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 7:30-9:35 pm
Palo Alto, Stanford Theatre: Jack Conway directs
"A Tale of Two Cities" (1935), (YouTube), with Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Basil Rathbone, Edna May Oliver, Blanche Yurka, & Donald Woods

Sidney Carton's love
for Lucie made him
sacrifice his life for her. Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 9:45-11:26 pm
Palo Alto, Stanford Theatre: Frank Lloyd
directs "If I Were King" (1938) starring
Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone, & Frances Dee;
François Villon and King Louis XI

François Villon, thief
and poet, rallies people
to fight off Burgundians.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010, 3:00-3:09 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Daniel Hope plays
Johann Pachelbel, Canon in D major (1680)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Insomnia for first time—
music played for two hours
before I woke up. Wednesday, May 26, 2010, 5:00-10:00 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Animated Google Doodle on Isaac Newton's
birthday on January 4, 2010 (Apple Tree, News)

Apple falls from Google
search logo to celebrate
Newton's birthday.

Thursday, May 27, 2010, 12:33-12:37 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Andre Rieu plays
Dmitri Shostakovich, Jazz Suite #2, Waltz #2 (1938)
(Listen), CD, (YouTube: 1, 2)

Shostakovich's waltz
music stirs me to dance
around the Milky Way! Thursday, May 27, 2010, 3:40-5:50 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Apple Computer 1976 Logo showing Newton with book under Apple Tree and an inspiring quote.

Newton— "A mind forever
voyaging through strange
seas of thought— alone."

Thursday, May 27, 2010, 6:00-8:05 pm
Stanford University, Cubberley Auditorium
Stanford's Korean War 60th Anniversary:
Pre-screening "71— Into the Fire" (2010)
Directed by John H. Lee, with Kwon Sang-woo
Choi Seung-hyeon, & Cha Seung-won (Trailer)

Bravery of young students
defending Pohang
during Korean War. Thursday, May 27, 2010, 8:15-10:00 pm
Stanford University, Cubberley Auditorium
Panel discussion "71— Into the Fire" (2010)
with Director John H. Lee, Actor Kwon Sang-woo,
Daniel C. Sneider, Chi-hui Yang, Kyung Hyun Kim,
Scott Foundas & John R. Stevens (Photo)

Random poll showed
anti-American sentiment
in young South Koreans.

Friday, May 28, 2010, 12:50-1:01 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Kent Nagano conducts
Igor Stravinsky, "The Firebird" (1910)
(Listen), CD, YouTube: Stravinsky

When The Firebird was
played in San Francisco,
someone pulled the fire alarm! Friday, May 28, 2010, 2:15-5:10 pm
Los Altos Hills, Foothill Krause Center
Typed various Apple Symbolism from
my library of books on symbols

The round apple symbolizes
totality and unity unlike
multiplicity of the pomegranate.

Friday, May 28, 2010, 7:30-9:00 pm
Palo Alto, Stanford Theatre: Sidney Lanfield
directs "Wake Up and Live" (1937) starring
Walter Winchell, Ben Bernie, Alice Faye,
& Jack Haley, (YouTube: Alice Faye)

The whole world is asleep
in their deluded dreams—
O wake up and live! Friday, May 28, 2010, 9:10-10:44 pm
Palo Alto, Stanford Theatre: Lawrence Schwab
directs "Follow Thru" (1930) starring
Charles Rogers, Jack Haley, Nancy Carroll,
Zelma O'Neal, Eugene Pallette, Thelma Todd

We'll make a peach of a pair—
Two women golfers
in love with their coach.

Saturday, May 29, 2010, 11:15-11:20 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Yundi Li plays Chopin,
Nocturne #2 in Eb, Op. 9 #2 (1833), (Listen),
CD, (YouTube: 1, 2), Complete Nocturnes

Woke up to Chopin's
Nocturne as silver bells
rang softly in my ears. Saturday, May 29, 2010, 11:59 am-12:07 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Jane Glover conducts
Franz Joseph Haydn, Listen, CD, YouTube,
Symphony #101 in D major "Clock" (1794)

The clock's tick-tock stops
as I walk around slowly
Paradise Garden.

Sunday, May 30, 2010, 3:45-4:15 am
KSFO 560 AM: Coast-to-Coast AM, Ian Punnett
interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson (Web site);
"Planets & Space News": Manhattanhenge: 34th St.

Once-yearly solar event—
sunset radiates glow
down skyscrapers street! Sunday, May 30, 2010, 11:19-11:23 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
plays Ralph Vaughan Williams, Listen, CD, YouTube, "Fantasia on Greensleeves" (1934)

Greensleeves music tunes
inspire me to contemplate
on Nature's wonders.

Sunday, May 30, 2010, 1:30-8:55 pm
Stanford University, Cummings Art Library
Typed Apple Symbolism from Barbara Walker's
"Woman's Dictionary of Symbols & Sacred Objects"

Apples cut transversely
reveal the pentacle—
Star of Knowledge. Sunday, May 30, 2010, 11:11 pm-1:00 am
KSFO 560 AM: Coast-to-Coast AM, Ian Punnett
interviews Rick Collingwood (Web site);
"The Power of Hypnosis" (Brain States)

Four states of brain waves—
Beta (waking), Alpha (relaxed),
Theta (waking dream), Delta (sleep).

Monday, May 31, 2010, 11:23-11:41 am
KDFC 102.1 FM: Jon Nakamatsu plays
George Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue (1924)
(Listen), CD, YouTube

Rhapsody in Blue
tunes came to Gershwin
as he was riding the train. Monday, May 31, 2010, 12:25-12:32 pm
KDFC 102.1 FM: Gustavo Dudamel conducts
Beethoven, Symphony #5 in C minor, Op. 67 (1804),
(Listen) (CD) (YouTube: Dudamel, Toscanni)

Most famous four notes
in music— Beethoven's
Fifth Symphony— Wake up!

Monday, May 31, 2010, 4:10-6:20 pm
Stanford University: Walk around the campus
with friend from Art Library to Boo-Qwilla,
Claw Fountain, White Plaza, & Lake Lagunita

Walt Whitman born today—
Sun aligned skycrapers
in Manhattanhenge. Monday, May 31, 2010, 6:30-7:06 pm
Palo Alto, Town & Country Village,
Howie's Artisan Pizza, 855 El Camino Real,
Broccoli Raab & Bagna Cauda Pizaza

Just half hour to eat
broccoli pizza before
rushing for the films.

Monday, May 31, 2010, 7:30-9:10 pm
Palo Alto, Stanford Theatre: John Ford directs
"Stagecoach" (1939) starring John Wayne,
Claire Trevor, Thomas Mitchell, Andy Devine,
& John Carradine (YouTube: 1, 2, 3, 4)

Apaches attack stagecoach
in wild chase scene as
Ringo shoots them down. Monday, May 31, 2010, 9:20-10:45 pm
Stanford Theatre: Fred Zinnemann directs
"High Noon" (1952): Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly,
Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado;
Inside High Noon, Song, Lyrics, YouTube

Do not forsake me,
oh my darling— I must
do my duty at high noon.