"Writing the Events of a Winter Day"

This year the first month,
the days aren’t warm;
When cold hits the village
what do people do?

Idly
Hearing a woodpecker –
Is a monk at the door
Begging?
Crossed with snow,
The pine tint deepens;
Carrying ice,
A creek crashes harsh.

I chant a poem
And turn to silent sitting:
too lazy to answer
The kid’s question.

- Wei Ye

(A Drifting Boat, trans Paul Hansen)

prime number

Stuff White People Like

This may have been said somewhere else already, but among the stuff white people like is self-referential humor that acknowledges their whiteness but fails to actually break through their insularity.

Cold Tuesday

It's funny how quickly a person can go from being happy that the temperature is above zero (and certainly much warmer than -10), to realizing how cold 14 degrees really is.

An irregular feature

I said this wouldn't be a regular feature.

Still on Pacific Standard Time

A couple links in case the cartoon doesn't make sense.

They may not help.

Saturn Day

Based on a true story.

Snowy Wednesday

Still not much going on here, but I thought you might like another cartoon.

Cold and rainy Tuesday

It's almost like I never left the Northwest!

And in completely unexpected news, I seem to have a class for this spring. I'm glad, but quite surprised, to be teaching again.

Back in Indiana

...and still looking for a job.