The Letter Z: Zero in on Zeus Z— the last letter of the alphabet relegated to the keyboard's corner for the pinky— it's last but not least as Zeus is foremost King of the gods. Zephyr the West Wind gathers zinnia on Zinfandel Trail for his bride Flora, Dr. Zhivago is studying zymurgy on fermentation— last word in the dictionary. Z derived from Hebrew Zayin (arrow) the sound of weapon cleaving the air— onomatopoeia zap, zing, zip, zoom, as Karas plays zither in The Third Man. Mr. ZIP sings "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" to use ZIP codes, Crazy Wizard warns of hazard— dazzling falling frozen lizards in blizzards, amazing drizzle wakes up Sleepy & Sneezy. Double zeroes on Jim Otto, Robert Parrish, Zest soap bars, Zing sweeteners, Ziploc bags. Zebras in zoos zipping by plains of Zaire, Zepplins flying over Zermatt and Zurich. Zeno's paradox— can't outrun the tortoise, Gray's Zarathustra wins Ascot Gold Cup. Zubin Mehta conducts the Ziegfeld Follies, Zobra the Greek dances at Zabriskie Point. Zen breeze: working with zeal in the zone. David Bowie always on the razor's edge— playing Ziggy Stardust and Lazarus, a star-gazer singing blazing music. Alchemist Zosimos taught zazen & Zohar— ascending the Z-axis to transcendence like Franny & Zooey in constant prayer or Zurbaran's paintings of monks in ecstasy. Chaldean immortal Zanoni knew secrets of the Rosicrucians, after falling in love, he became mortal & died at the guillotine— his soul zig-zagged the Zodiac as a comet. Zzz is the symbol for deep sleep where we see zero images in the void. When asked "What is your favorite activity?" Dalai Lama replied "Sleep" to much laughter. Each day Zen Master Zuigan called "Master" and answered "Yes sir!" Then "Be wide awake!" and "Yes!" Blake said "One must be master" in Four Zoas— "O light, spring up & shine."   — Peter Y. Chou       Mountain View, 1-14-2016

"Zeus with Eagle & Lightning Bolt" Athenian red-figure amphora (circa 460 BC) Louvre Museum, Paris (Catalogue #G204) Zobra the Greek line dancing in 1964 film staring Anthony Quinn Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel Zanoni (1842) on Rosicrucians