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Nov. 5th, 2007

  • 9:56 PM
guinea saurus rex
Book 57: The Essential Basho translated by Sam Hamill

A book of travel journals and haiku by a 17th century Japanese "master". Picked this up because it was mentioned in a book by Joe Salerno, my favorite poet. It's very minimalistic, where I was expecting lush descriptions of the Japanese countryside. Some of the haikus are great, though; some wax philosophical, while others are just amusing: "Oh bush warblers!/ Now you've shit all over/ my rice cake on the porch." All in all I feel more snooty and educated for having read it. ;p
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As for a general update, this past week has been interesting. Actually spent Friday night with my brothers (Ben and [info], Ben's girlfriend, and [info]kaleidoscopejoe. Was curious to see how everybody got along since J had never met any of them before. Watched 300, which is an awesome flick, ate lasagna, and bonded over some emo tunes on the ride home. Sat was work all day, then a post-Halloween party at a co-worker's house. Only knew 2 people there, but had a really good time. Everyone was friendly, I had just one drink but was able to just relax and feel comfortable, which is rare for me. Worked all day Sunday. Today I got to watch the Mythbusters movie. AWESOME! A little repetitive, but very entertaining. I just want to take Adam home with me...maybe Carrie, too....haha. Work was crazy! They had me training a new kid by myself, and we got all backed up. Nothing I couldn't handle individually, but the compounded effect got me really stressed. Now I get to work open to close tomorrow...I better be getting my f*ing raise...!!!
  • Mood: hyper hyper
  • Music:dad's oldies in the background

Comments

( 8 comments — Leave a comment )
[info]thegreyeminence wrote:
Nov. 6th, 2007 04:58 am (UTC)
“I just want to take Adam home with me...maybe Carrie, too....haha.”

Be careful: I'd totally fight you for Kari Byron. So would most of the guys I know.

On a related topic… There's a Mythbusters movie? I'm so out of touch.
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[info]liliane wrote:
Nov. 6th, 2007 02:08 pm (UTC)
I DO know how to fight with swords, quaterstaves, and polearms, remember. Plus, really, how much of a fight would there be if the guys thought for a second what me winning implied... ;p

Yes, there is a movie, all about busting movie myths. Shooting of a lock with a handgun, jumping a huge gap in a car for a getaway, using awnings to break your fall off a building and such. You should totally check it out.
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[info]thegreyeminence wrote:
Nov. 6th, 2007 10:06 pm (UTC)
“Plus, really, how much of a fight would there be if the guys thought for a second what me winning implied...”

There is wisdom in this…
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[info]liliane wrote:
Nov. 7th, 2007 02:21 am (UTC)
I am, after all, smrt.
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(Anonymous) wrote:
Nov. 8th, 2007 01:24 am (UTC)
From stephen
Amen to the raise, sister. I didn't know there was a mythbusters movie, they rock. If the cute one wasn't straight, I'd totally date him- he's smart, handy, geeky and cool at the same time.
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[info]liliane wrote:
Nov. 8th, 2007 05:16 am (UTC)
Re: From stephen
Oh, I don't even need to date him, I just want to be amigos! He's definitely too old for me. ;p
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[info]noahjdesclian wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2007 03:47 am (UTC)
haiku
I've never read a haiku in Japanese, but they're supposedly totally different. Basho is considered in Japan to be the absolute BEST poet. Ever. Period. Mentioning Basho might be like mentioning Shakespeare, from what I can tell (though without the difficulty in language). I don't mean to sound like I'm a no it all, but I thought I'd mention something. First, poetry in Japan is used sometimes as a tool for meditation. It's supposed to lead the reader/listener somewhere, not tell them what's going on. The most famous haiku ever is about the noise a frog makes while jumping into a pond (because that's the moment the 'writer' reached enlightenment). Also, Japanese is called a "moraic" language, while English is a "syllabic" language. They use things like "ka" "go" and "na" instead of what we would do, which is split things up like this: 'syl-la-bic' It's only kinda different, but it makes writing haiku much easier in Japanese, and rather silly sounding in English (translation or otherwise...). If you want to hear about the countryside, read some of the literature. It's actually really interesting, though sometimes can get kinda slow. I remember some of "Contemplations in Idleness" or something like that had some interesting descriptions (and, actually, just random thoughts the guy had...though interesting random). Or I can send you pictures!

Anyway, I don't know much about Japanese poetry, but that's what I learned while over there.
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[info]liliane wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2007 05:30 am (UTC)
Re: haiku
Pics would be great!
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( 8 comments — Leave a comment )