Where have you been?

Well, danged if I haven't gone and updated my pages.

True, I've been posting the "365 Secrets of Happiness" right along. But the "Great Fire Wall" of China has made posting so difficult that I just fell out of the habit.

The main reason I'm writing this is to share with you a picture that someone sent to me. It's of the infamous Charlie Manson with a friend and mentor of mine; see the whole thing here.

I still have to use a proxy to post, so there's some limited functionality, making it a chore. But I will be doing more, I promise.

Meanwhile, keep up with me on Facebook!

Braggin'

Man. All through my early years with a camera, ever since my uncle taught me to develop my own pics at age 14, all I wanted was to shoot for the National Geographic. My first "real" camera was a Nikon F, just like "they" used. But my life took another turn, and it was not to be.

And now, the National G has published one of my WIFE'S pictures online. Dang, she beat me to it. Brat.

They're having a photo contest in conjunction with an upcoming exhibition in Washington, D.C., and as the prime example, the height to which everyone is to aspire--they used one of her shots!

Here's the page, with her pic at the top, "front and center."

And here's her Flickr page with all of her Terra Cotta Army shots (and others in Xi'an).

Personally, here's the shot I would have chosen.

Anyway, she's hot!

In lesser news:

Back in September, the local newspaper published two articles about my current project: to visit the 142 key Buddhist temples designated by the Chinese government as being of special interest. Here are the first two, in case you missed them:

Putuoshan and Ningbo

Shanghai and Hangzhou

Well, today they published another, about Xi'an (the same trip where Lila shot the Warriors).

And late last week, Baicai Magazine (a local arts-and-culture online mag) published a more in-depth look at one temple I visited in Ningbo.

So there you have the China Baquets' recent grabs at fame. Enjoy!

Please standby

Hi, y'all.

Yes, it's been ages since I've posted.

And no, I'm not abandoning this site like I have all the others. (Shoot, it's paid up through 2018!)

I've just jumped both-feet-first into a new real-world project that I'll be writing about a LOT when it slows down. But after completing a ton of research I've just visited 18 temples in four cities in ten days. And tomorrow Lila and I leave for six more days, in Xi'an, where I'll document a few more temples.

More on that later.

For now, just know that I'm well and happy. When I settle back in, I'll be re-styling some of the procedures on these pages, but www.jamesbaquet.com will go on.

Meanwhile, the 365 Secrets of Happiness keep posting, here and on Facebook. Enjoy!

Choose Wisely

After five years here, I still can't speak much Chinese, let alone read it.

So, what to do when, at the ATM, I was confronted by a screen full of Chinese characters, and the choice to "Exit" or "Confirm"?

Add to this that someone walked in and was waiting behind me (even as I was taking the picture).

Sometimes it's just a "we can't print a receipt" notice, or "be careful there's no one suspicious around."

But this one was a list of five items, ending in a special phone number.

I pressed "Confirm" and nothing bad happened.

Yet.

Catching Up

Saturday? Already? Where did the time go?

Let's see: On Wednesday, I went out to meet longtime dear friends Tim, Wendi, and Rosalee for lunch and an afternoon of catching up.

Then, Thursday, I left the house early, and spent the whole day with TW&R going to Dapeng Fortress in Longgang. (That's Rosalee in front of the fort's Tianhou/Mazu temple in the picture.) The bus ride was a couple of hours each way; Tim and I debussed into typhoon rains on the way back, and had dinner at Taj, so it was 10-something when I got home.

Friday, I got up planning to get some work done, and was stymied by a happy discovery.

I had written to a couple of scholarly friends (both American PhDs in Chinese) earlier in the week, asking about an interesting list. Here's part of the letter I wrote Tuesday:

* * * * * * * *

I'm reading Sun Shuyun's book, Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud. Mainly it's an account of her retracing of Xuanzang's journey [to India during the Tang Dynasty], but incidentally she says a lot about the state of Buddhism in China in the late 20th century.

This passage really caught my attention:

In the early 1980s the government had issued a decree allowing a limited revival of religion. ... The decree allowed for the 142 most important Buddhist monasteries damaged or destroyed in the Cultural Revolution to be restored or rebuilt.

Would you happen to know where I could find a list of those 142 temples?

* * * * * * * *

One correspondent wrote back immediately to say he didn't know where the list was, but he'd check into it. But Friday morning, my buddy Robert wrote to say he'd found it! Believe it or not, it was on the Chinese version of Wikipedia!

There went my Friday. I spent the day deciphering the Chinese of the list, organizing the information, and starting to locate the actual temples (with the help of Google's all-new English-language maps of China).

There's a project brewing here...

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Here's what's been published since my last blog post on Tuesday:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Visit an Aquarium (fishy fun; Wednesday), Sit Under a Tree (get inspired; Thursday), and Just Breathe (like you mean it; Friday)
• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: The Wishing Tree (be careful what you wish for...)
• Buddhism Simplified: The Mendicant Life (the hobodhisattva?)
• Meet Joe Campbell: Sources #9: German Philosophy (especially Oswald Spengler--who?)
• Meatless/Mooless Monday: Find a Friend (online or off, it's easier with support)
• China: Tiger and Dragon, Tian Hou Temple, Sungang Village, Shenzhen (Yin and Yang)
• The Philippines: Ruins, Fort Santiago, Manila (beauty in decay)
• The Rest of Asia: Earth God Platform, Ping Shan, New Territories, Hong Kong (back to basics--worshipping stones)

And don't miss the weekly Newsletter that summarizes all of this week's posts! (Which won't be but a few more than are listed here!)

Indian Music

After spending the day writing (and, as a warm-up for the evening, having Indian food for lunch), I went to Miracle Meals for dinner with Indian friends Aswini and Sudha. This was a prelude to attending a small concert of Indian classical music, specifically a raga called "Mian Ki Malhar" for bringing the monsoon rain, and a dhun ("tune") based on Bhatiali, which are folk songs of Bengali boatmen. This dhun ended in a song by Rabindranath Tagore.

Here's a picture of the performer, Pandit Debojyoti Bose, playing his instrument, called the sarod:

A program note: I've decided to retire the Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi for a while; no new material has come from Ananda, and I want to spend some time developing other projects. The page will stay there, though, so new readers can find it.

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Here's today's new material:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Remember the Point (a special "video version")
• Buddhism Simplified: The Five Companions (seekers on the way)
• America: Heartstone, La Cienega, NM (the end of an argument)

On "Excalibur"

Lila came late Friday (after having dinner out) and we got started on our movie weekend. Altogether over the weekend we watched Rio Bravo (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Rick Nelson, Walter Brennan); Primal Fear (Richard Gere, and the powerful debut of Edward Norton); Dungeons and Dragons (meh--nice enough), and the remainder of John Boorman's amazing Excalibur, which we started last weekend. (We also tried to watch Cuba Gooding Jr. in The Devil's Tomb--but we're trying to forget that.)

I've always loved Excalibur, and by coincidence, I ran into a little insight about it last week. Stefano gave me a book for my birthday called Witches, Druids And King Arthur. Not the sword-and-sorcery fantasy it sounds like, it's actually written by a historian, and reviews what we know--historically--on these topics.

The author, Ronald Hutton, writes that Arthur's status as an historical figure rose and fell during the 20th century. For a while, more or less mid-century, scholarly opinion held that he was a real person. In the 70s, though, doubt was creeping in until, in 1977, the final blow was struck: David Dumville, whom Hutton calls "Arthur's executioner," wrote a piece that pointed out "simply and crushingly" that there was absolutely no evidence for an historical Arthur. (Hutton goes on to say that, while the public never got that message, academics thereafter shied away from attaching themselves to Arthur as anything but a literary figure.)

Excalibur? Oh, yeah. Hutton says that when everything was ducky, the 60s, free love, hippies, etc., the portrayals of Arthur were commensurately earnest. But the tide turned. "[T]he youth culture had shifted again," writes Hutton;

the Year of Dumville was also the year of Punk Rock. The 1970s had brought Britain not spiritual rebirth but inflation, unemployment, energy crises, industrial unrest and an increasing extremism in street politics. The mood of optimistic idealism among the young in the first years of the decade [riding in the wake of Camelot -J.B.] had given way to an exuberant nihilism. To those who embraced the latter, Arthur was yet another despised authority figure or part of the childlike romanticism associated with the now even more despised hippies. When Arthur returned to the screen, in John Boorman's Excalibur, it was once again in the glamour and melodrama of medieval legend. In place of the earnest hippiedom of Arthur of the Britons [a purportedly "authentic" representation of Arthur on the BBC], the grotesque armour and brutal ways of Boorman's knights were the chivalric equivalents of Punk.

Funny to run across this reference when we were in the midst of viewing the film (having watched part the previous weekend).

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The weekend's and today's (Monday's) posts:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Choose Happiness (Saturday), Look into a Microscope (Sunday), and Visit the Sick (Monday)
• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: God in Us (as close as can be)
• Meet Joe Campbell: Sources #8: Pop Culture (no Ivory Tower for this guy)
• Meatless/Mooless Monday: I KNEW IT! (smart people go Veg)
• My Bio and more: Lazarus People II: Extras (living, breathing set dressing)
• Japan: Ueno Pond, Tokyo (from a 2006 trip with Lila)

Look Who's a Meatless Celeb!

Not much happening today. But one nice thing: The big Meatless Monday page mentioned us in their "Who's Going Meatless" links. Kinda cool to be displayed in the same space as Sir Paul McCartney!

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And now, the newly published material:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Try Something New With Your Hair (a new 'do is good for you)
• Buddhism Simplified: The Great Departure (the Prince finally leaves the palace)
• Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: "If all the other clocks are wrong..." (a reality check)
• China: One Day in Luohu (lock shmock)

And don't miss the weekly Newsletter that summarizes all of this week's posts!

Cool, Clear...EH?!

Another quiet day at home, reading, writing, and sleeping. Today's highlight: No water from 9 a.m. to after 5 p.m. No oatmeal, no morning shower, no laundry. It's back on now--but will it last? (In summer, the campus where I live is a ghost town, and lots of repairs are done at this time. If I were smart, I'd travel, like many of my colleagues...)

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This is what was published today:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Greet Someone (just say "hi")
• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: God is the Snake and the Thief (an e-x-p-a-n-d-e-d view of God)
• Meatless/Mooless Monday: Petition for Official "Meat Free Monday" (getting governments involved)
• The Rest of Asia: Shiva Jnana Dakshinamurti, Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman Temple, Singapore (Shiva as teacher of knowledge)

Recharging the Batteries

A quiet day at home, writing (including my Shenzhen Daily columns for next week), reading (Zen Baggage and others), thinking (about more projects to do), sleeping. The jetlag is nearly unlagged at last.

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Here's today's new stuff:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Be Early ("If you can't be on time...")
• Meet Joe Campbell: Sources #7: Jung (tapping into the psyche)
• The Philippines: The Redoubtable Jeepney (better than a buffalo?)

A Trip to Town Today, and a Trip to Guangzhou Soon

I "went into town" today and bought my blood pressure pills; ate a veggie sub at NYPD Pizza; and went shopping at Metro for groceries. I also started reading The White Tiger for fun (and it is fun).

Reading Zen Baggage has me hot to go visit some major temples. While researching temples in Guangzhou, I found this great homepage by a Singapore-based Buddhist: http://waynedhamma.blogspot.com/ I highly recommend browsing around. (Lots of good stuff on Guangdong temples in the archives for October 2008-January 2009).

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Here's today's new material:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Write a Poem and Give It to Someone (revive a lost art)
• Buddhism Simplified: The Dancing Girls (the "last straw" for the Buddha-to-be)
• Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: "Being born in a garage don't make you a Buick" (enlightenment isn't hereditary)
• America: Bodie, CA (a genuine "ghost town")

My Birthday Weekend (and books, and films)

My weekend: I had a wonderfully quiet birthday weekend (sorry, Sis, no margs--yet).

The waitress didn't "get" the use
of Lila's new wide-angle lens

That's more like it: Detail of above shot

After sleeping through most of Friday evening, I woke up around 1 a.m. and worked until about noon Saturday. I napped a little, then Lila arrived with lunch. We napped a bit more, then met our friends Stefano and Farah at Miracle Meals for dinner (see pictures above). Then we came home and watched a movie. (By the end of the weekend, we had watched "Time Bandits," "The Outlaw Josey Wales," "Silverado," and part of "Excalibur," all films that I brought back from the states, and mostly bought in Japan.)

A crashing typhoon hit Saturday night, so Sunday I stayed in, and Lila went out only to pick up dinner. We watched movies and veged.

When she left this morning, I never went back to sleep (though I'm getting ready to now); my sleep cycle still isn't perfect, but it's close to right.

* * * * * * * *

Home Again

After well over 24 hours on the road, I'm back in my room in China. The flight and the "ground leg" in Hong Kong and China were no problem, but I had a terrible time at L. A. International Airport ("where the big jet engines roar...")

Before I launch into my rant, let me first accept responsibility for not checking the restrictions. But, having traveled mostly inside China in recent years, I wasn't prepared for...well, you'll see.

I was bringing quite a few books, as well as hundreds of pages of photographic slides. Film is heavy, you know. My first clue that there might be trouble was when I picked up my bag at 3:30 a.m. to carry it out to the airport shuttle and the handle broke off in my hand. I lugged it on out by another handle.

At the airport, I discovered "Self Check-In." It's kind of cool: a touch screen process that even verified my vegetarian meal request. The problem is, there were only 4 or 5 people to accept the luggage for over 20 check-in stations. This is probably OK for people whose luggage was within restrictions.

Mine was not, as we discovered when the human being named Chang came to take my two bags. One of them was 78.5 pounds; only 50 is allowed. OK, says I, what's the fee? One moment (tappity tappity on the keyboard): five-hundred-and-fifty dollars.

WHAT?!

Next stop: Hong Kong!

(2:40 am in L.A., 5:40 pm in China)

We always rush at the end.

I saw my long-time buddy Kerstine today, and we went out and met Mike Daly and his sweet wife Akemi for lunch.

After Kerstine dropped me at home, I returned most of my stuff to storage (minus what has been winnowed out) and packed. I spent the evening doing last-minute scanning, and now it's time to jump in the shower--less than an hour until the airport shuttle arrives to take me to LAX for my 7:30 am flight. Next stop: Hong Kong!

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This is what was published today:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Visit a Historic Site (touch teh past)
• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: A Lamp without Oil ("No oil, no light")
• Meatless/Mooless Monday: Other Mondays (more healthy ways to start the week)
• The Rest of Asia: The Ruins of Saint Paul's, Macau (an alternate view of the old facade)

Doubly Blessed

(Just after midnight in L.A., just after 3 p.m. in China)

Today I saw two of my bestest friends in the whole world. I am actually multiply blessed to have deeply cherished friends in several countries. Some are new friends (I mean, since I left America in 1997); others predate that exodus.

I saw one of each today: Wayne, a friend for over 20 years (!), since my Campbell Hall days; and Robert, whom I met in China a couple of years ago (and who has since returned to the states).

Robert and I visited Hsi Lai Temple, where I used to work, and for whom he does translations. Wayne and I went to La Nueva Posada, the restaurant I missed out on last night because it was closed.

Another friend or two tomorrow, and then back to China early Thursday morning.

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Here's today's new stuff:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Visit an Amusement Park (step right up)
• Meet Joe Campbell: Sources #5: Art and Creativity (more 20th-century shamans)
• The Philippines: Malate Church, Malate, Manila (over 420 years old)

Birthday Party I

(Monday 11:55 p.m. in L.A., Tuesday 2:55 p.m. in China)

I did some final shopping today, for my Parabola magazine and some books and special socks.

I came home and did some scanning (not much, as the scanner is acting up) and then we had my "birthday dinner" (a few days early). As the "usual place" was closed, we went to another excellent Mexican place, but the usual suspects were there. Nice. Another one will happen--in China--next weekend.

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Here's today's new material:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Tell a Tall Tale (the art of storytelling)
• Buddhism Simplified: The Four Sights (the young prince sees suffering)
• Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: "Out of the mouths of *ssholes... " (truth comes from many sources)
• America: El Santuario de Chimayo, NM (a healing place in the mountains)

Visiting Day

(Sunday 11:45 p.m. in L.A., Monday 2:45 p.m. in China)

Today my wife's family came to visit, followed by my old buddy David Thom and his mom. (David's dad was the Episcopal priest who prepared him and me and a few other 12-year-olds for confirmation. I'll be writing more about his dad soon.)

Aside from that, I've been working on the scanning and so on. Just three more days in L.A.!

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Here are the things that posted today:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Be Someone Else (happiness in make believe)
• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: Taste the Snow (direct experience)
• Meatless/Mooless Monday: Get "Stuffed" (a new book on the sins of "big food")
• My Bio and more: The Lazarus People I (people I met on set)
• Japan: Roadside Statues (where abandoned saints are honored again)

Rip and Scan

(Saturday 7 p.m. in L.A., Sunday 10 a.m. in China)

Since my trip to storage on Thursday, I've spent the last couple of days at home, working like a demon. I've ripped all of my CDs (about 150) and sorted lots of photos and old papers. I'll start scanning these tonight.

I've started making plans to see friends in the next few days--only four more play days left. Time flies.

I've also made some revisions to the style of my pages (while I'm here, where Blogger has full functionality). Note the added Search box and "About Me," and the changed Navigation box (if you're viewing on my pages; this has no effect on the FaceBook version or the RSS/email subscriptions).

And that's the news--such as it is.

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The Saturday and Sunday morning posts:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Learn that When One Door Opens... (you can't have it all; Saturday) and Get Wet (we are water creatures after all; Sunday)
• Meet Joe Campbell: Sources #4: Modern Literature (the masters of the 20th century)

A Busy Day, and Old Home Week

(Friday 12:45 a.m. in L.A., Friday 3:45 p.m. in Shenzhen.)

Today (Thursday) was very productive.

I went shopping (clothes and a small slide scanner) and took a trip to my storage. I did a lot of sorting there, and brought things to work on at my parents' house, like CDs (ripping as I speak), slides (to start scanning tomorrow), old school papers and other scraps (either scan and pitch, or just pitch), and a few books that will probably go back to China with me (either physically, or in scanned form).

Also today, I saw Julie Fincher. You might remember me mentioning my old neighbors, who used to babysit me. Julie is their daughter, now a realtor in Oregon. Her sister Sandy came too, with her husband Ken (now both my FaceBook friends); and two of my three siblings; it was Old Home Week.

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And now, the newly published material:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Buy a Piece of Art (and live with beauty)
• Buddhism Simplified: Among the Beautiful People (another ploy to keep the prince happy)
• Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: "Even a rat's got a job to do" (non-discrimination)
• China: The Boy Emperor's Tomb, Shenzhen (part of Shenzhen's history--and legend)

And don't miss the weekly Newsletter that summarizes all of this week's posts!

You Too, Youku?

I spent the day visiting with my family and researching some purchases (didn't have any transportation today, so stayed in).

I also saw a show I hadn't seen before ("Criminal Minds," not bad) and a "CSI:NY." Later, I'll wrap up the "Buffy" episodes I missed from Season 2.

And that leads to a funny story: As some of you may know, tight internet controls in China have made it impossible to see YouTube since before March of this year. One alternative is to watch "Youku," a Chinese version of YouTube, but without all those messy copyright issues.

So earlier today I tried to watch the missing "Buffy" episodes on Youku, and got this message:

"The clip has been blocked in you region."

Wait: you mean the Chinese site is blocked in America? HA! (But really, I'm sure it has to do with copyright being enforced in America. "Buffy" has been licensed to Hulu.com, and that's where I'll watch it tonight.)

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This is what was published today:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Go to a Farm (smell that country air)
• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: Everything is God (no comment necessary)
• Meatless/Mooless Monday: "Livestock's Long Shadow" (shocking truth in a government report)
• The Rest of Asia: Four Generals (?), Man Mo Temple, Central Hong Kong (enigmatic figures attending dual gods)

In Transit Tuesday to Tuesday, July 7

(It's just after midnight in L.A., but well into Wednesday afternoon in China.)

Well, this sucked. I spent 12 hours on a flight of 6,916 miles--without a sound system. The four movies--Pink Panther 2, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Duplicity, and 17 Again--could be seen, but not heard.

Incredibly boring.

They offered us a compensation voucher to fill in, but were a little vague about what we'd get--maybe miles (not for me, though, as I'm not "in the club") or a discount on my next flight with United.

Then, in San Francisco, they kept delaying my flight to L.A. due to repairs. It only cost us about an hour, but we were notified about 10 or 15 minutes at a time, as the mechanics gave them new estimates.

Aiya.

Go Go Ganesh!

Hi, everyone. I'm blogging from the Hong Kong Airport using my laptop and a free wireless connection.

I had an interesting experiment in "religion" on the way here.

When we were crossing the border, a car in front of us was held up for over 20 minutes. The "Chinese way" is to not think of all the cars in line, otherwise they would have that car move and let the others go. But no, we sat and waited.

With nothing else to do, I started "silently chanting" to calm myself down.

Then, as we sat longer and longer, with the exhaust from the back of the car (the back hatch is opened for luggage inspection), I thought, "This is for the birds."

So I said, "I'll close my eyes and chant, 'Lord Ganesh, move that car' five times, and see what happens." (Ganesh is the elephant-headed Indian god who, it is claimed, clears away obstacles, especially at the beginning of an enterprise--like this trip.)

So I closed my eyes and chanted. And when I opened them, the car was being taken out of line so we could progress.

Coincidence? You be the judge.

Anyway, I made it into the airport three hours before flight time. In a bookstore, the title God is not Great caught my eye. Its subtitle is "How Religion Poisons Everything." This will be my vacation reading, and an amusing contrast to my little "experiment." So far, it's fascinating, if a bit juvenile. More as I progress.

For the record: I don't believe that one's internal monologue can directly affect outward events. But here's a true story:

An Episcopal priest I used to know was at the home of a more evangelical member of the congregation, a woman with the delightful name "Charity." She was making lunch and, unable to find the mayonnaise, raised her hands, looked toward the ceiling, and prayed: "Lord, help me find the mayonnaise." Then reached into the fridge and pulled it out.

The priest, a "man of reason," chided her: "Charity, please. Do your really believe that God helps people find mayonnaise?"

She held up the jar and said, "But Father, here it is!"

So the question is: If prayer doesn't cause God to "help one find mayonnaise," what does it do? Focus one's thoughts? OK, that will get you mayonnaise. But it won't move a car in a border-crossing immigration line.

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Here are today's posts:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Take a Road Trip (hit the road--to happiness)
• Buddhism Simplified: The Wedding Competition (competing for his bride's hand)
• Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: "Rinse it now or scrub it later" (nip it in the bud)
• America: Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL (see the brachiosaurus!)

Mostly Movies and Presently Packing

It was a quiet weekend.

Lila went straight from work to Hong Kong; I stayed home all day and went out to meet her at Poly Plaza when she came back, where we ate at Papa John's (running into our Indian friends Ashwini and Sudha there). We walked across the street and strolled through Coastal City Mall afterward (Lila was convinced she was dead, and this was heaven). Then we came home and watched some new movies she bought in Zhangmutou this week: the John Wayne/John Ford classic The Searchers (who could find a better wife than one who picks up classic John Wayne when she sees it?) and the Disney short The Wind in the Willows, source of the "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" we took in Disneyland in January.

Sunday we stayed in. Stefano and Farah and family stopped by after a visit to the nearby zoo, to say goodbye; since I'm leaving Tuesday, and when I come back they'll be in Indonesia, it will be a few weeks until we're together again.

Other than that, it was such a rainy day that we just stayed in. Lila cooked (pasta fagioli--yay), and we watched several more movies: Night in the Museum 2 (so-so), Angels & Demons (surprisingly better than The Da Vinci Code), and the TV-quality Texas Rangers. We tried to watch Miracle at Sage Creek, but the preaching in this "faith-based film" was so heavy-handed I turned it off after a few minutes.

Now it's Monday morning; today I'll be rustling around to pack for tomorrow's trip to the states. Lila is in HK today, so she'll be back this evening and to say goodbye in the morning. Chances are the next blog entry will be late Tuesday California time (early Wednesday morning China time).

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Here are the things that posted Saturday, Sunday, and today:

SATURDAY

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: See a Play (the play's the thing to make you happy)
• Meet Joe Campbell: Sources #2: Nature and Biology (more on Campbell's inspiration)

SUNDAY

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Read a Poem (just one, to be savored)
• Articles: A Lifetime Reading List a la Joseph Campbell (from his Mythology class at Sarah Lawrence College)

TODAY (MONDAY)

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Hug and Be Hugged (get squozed)
• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: God, Scripture, Devotees (identity)
• Meatless/Mooless Monday: "Livestock's Long Shadow" (the effect of cows on the environment)
• My Bio and more: Every Dog Has a Story (two old pals)
• Japan: The Seven Lucky Gods: A Pilgrimage (actually the first of many I completed in Japan)

Feels Like Home

Since March we've been living in Xili, "out on the edge of town." I seldom get into the center of the city: maybe once a week, max.

So, naturally, I've begun to feel a bit like a recluse, an outcast, an even stranger stranger in a strange land. An Outlander.

Imagine how I felt, then, when, in the space of less than two hours, I saw about ten people that I know when I went in for lunch today. Some of them I've known for years (like three or four years; I've only been here five!); others are just nodding acquaintances. Several are in the hospitality biz (restaurant and cafe owners and managers I've cooperated with in the past). Not one was a teacher.

I guess I belong here after all. It feels like home.

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And now, the newly published material:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Get Your Spiffy On (put on the Ritz)
• Buddhism Simplified: Choosing a Bride (maybe marriage will settle the young prince down?)
• Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: "If you screw around, you'll get the clap" (a crude statement of the Law of Karma)
• China: The Boy Emperor's Tomb, Shenzhen (last resting place of the last Song emperor)

And don't miss the weekly Newsletter that summarizes all of this week's posts!

"Master" VCD

My day began with a wake-up call from a man who is partially responsible for what little sanity I have left.

Venerable Chuan Dong (unceremoniously nicknamed "VCD" by yours truly) is a monk on the staff of the Buddhist academy where I taught last year. Unlike most of the people I met there, he was conscientious, fair, and open-minded. It was largely his influence that restrained me from mayhem.

He also has a sense of humor, identifying himself as "Master" Chuan Dong ("Master" spoken with dripping sarcasm) whenever he calls.

He has just finished a year of studies at a special Buddhist institute in Shanghai. As he wrote to me later in the day:

With the valuable experience I got when learning both English and Buddhism [at the institute], I found that interpreters who know both are urgently needed in China. So I am resolved to practice for this goal without indolence. I have to work harder.

Atta boy. I mean monk.

The rest of the day was just more hacking away at my writing tasks. Ho-hum.

---

This is what was published today:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Give Someone Flowers (make a nose happy)
• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: The Voice of God (from the top of an elephant)
• Meatless/Mooless Monday: "summer express :: 101 simple vegan meals ready in 10 minutes or less" (simply amazing)
• The Rest of Asia: Da Er Ge Ye (Older and Second Brother), Thian Hock Keng, Singapore (a smoking demon and his pal)

Eat, Sleep, Type

I'm leaving China next week for ten days, and before I go I have a lot to do.

In addition to getting ready to go, I have to get as far ahead as possible on this homepage. I also have several weeks' of columns to post for the Shenzhen Daily ("Buzzwords" on the "Speak Shenzhen" page on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) and get several hours' of editing done for a design textbook my school is publsihing.

So all day today, I was strapped into my chair, as I will be most of Thursday and Friday. No reading, no "Buffy," no fun. Just eat, sleep, type. (Hey, the name of my new autobiography! Eat, Sleep, Type. Nah.)

---

Here's today's new stuff:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Go Play in the Mud (the simple joys of getting dirty)
• Meet Joe Campbell: Sources #1: Native American Stories (one of Joe's lifelong passions)
• My Photo Galleries: Eight Immortals Paintings at San Yuan Gong, Guangzhou (a fine example of the "Ba Xian")
• The Philippines: Simbaan a Bassit (Small Church), Vigan (an evocative cemetery)

The Graveyard Book

When our friend Martin left, he left us a handful of wonderful books. (As I mentioned, he is a great reader, and one of the common experiences of expat life is the "pass-along" when someone leaves.)

I've already finished one of the books he left, Neil Gaiman's M is for Magic. I had read a bit of Gaiman before (American Gods, and his and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens), so I was delighted to get my hands on this one. It did not disappoint. "Chivalry" was one of the best short stories I've read, about an old lady who finds the Holy Grail in a second-hand shop; and "Troll Bridge," about a boy's deal with a troll (you guessed it) under a bridge, nearly made me weep.

But the best of the lot was an odd, quite long, story at the end, "The Witch's Headstone." It was amazing, but it felt somehow unfinished.

When I read a few reviews of M is for Magic, I found out why. "The Witch's Headstone" is Chapter Four of a longer work, called The Graveyard Book. And, as luck and rampant piracy would have it, I found The Graveyard Book online. Today I read it.

It tells the story of "Bod," actually "Nobody Owens," a little boy who raised by the residents of a graveyard. The structure, the title, and even some stories, were meant as homage to Kipling's The Jungle Book, which I've read twice since coming to China. But Gaiman's book embodies a mystery-with-a-small-m, about the murder of Bod's family, while being filled with Mystery-with-a-big-M about living between two worlds, the world of the living and that of the dead.

It's meant for kids, but I couldn't "put it down" (well, I read it on my computer, so I guess I couldn't "turn it off"). I highly recommend it.

---

Here's today's new material:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Improve Your Karma (doing good does you good)
• Buddhism Simplified: Three Beautiful Palaces (luxury can't prevent suffering)
• Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: "Lotsa mechanics in this world, not many drivers" (everybody wants to fix problems)
• America: A Tibetan Mandala, Los Angeles, CA (a visual prayer)

Serene Sunday and Mild Monday

After lunch at Miracle Meals Sunday, Lila went shopping for souvenirs for me to take to her family in the states, while I went grocery shopping at Metro (today's favorite Chinglish sign: "MERTO DWN BRAND," meaning "Metro's Own Brand").

When she came home, we had dinner, then watched two Jackie Chan films: The Tuxedo and Around the World in 80 Days. Both were fun, but neither was anything special.

Today (Monday) was a quiet day, with a few small milestones:

1. I finished my grades for the semester and sent them in, making me officially "free" as a teacher (but I need to finish some textbook editing for the school this week).
2. I went back to Season 2 of Buffy to "sweep up" episodes missed due to faulty DVDs.
3. I got an official username for the "365 Secrets of Happiness" page on Facebook. It's now found at http://www.facebook.com/365SecretsofHappiness

That's it for a mild Monday!

---

Here are the things that posted yesterday and today:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Have a Picnic (eat outside; Sunday) and Buy a Hat (and Wear It) (the hat makes the man...; Monday)
• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: God in the Wicked and the Good (be discriminating)
• Meatless/Mooless Monday: The Gourmet Vegan (free online magazine)
• My Bio and more: Our Wedding (the great event and the surrounding activities)
• Japan: A Bodhisattva's Camera (a rumor about photographic history confirmed)

Bye Bye Buffy (Sort Of)

We had a quiet day at home, cooking food left from last Sunday's solstice celebration, and watching numerous episodes of Buffy.

It has been months since I first entered the "Buffyverse" with Angel (typically, starting with the later series first), and I'm nearly finished. Actually we watched the last episode today, but the darned pirated discs I bought were faulty and I missed the latter half of the second season. I've found them online though, and will go back and watch them this week. (They're supposed to be pretty hot, involving Buffy and Angel in an apocalyptic deal where Buffy actually kills Angel, the love of her life.)

You can tell vacation is here, huh, if I have time to dwell on crap like this?

We also watched Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler and Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in Australia. "Meh" and *yawn*.

---

The Saturday morning posts:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Tickle the Ivories (make some music--even if you can't)
• Meet Joe Campbell: Idea #8: Transparent to Transcendence (a closer look at a provocative idea)

Let the sumptuousness begin!

There are many reasons to become a teacher, and many more not to. (You shouldn't become a teacher because you "love kids," for instance; that won't carry you through the hard times. And you sure as heck shouldn't become a teacher for the money!)

So why did I become a teacher? Two main reasons stand out:

1. They pay you to keep learning throughout your life
2. The vacations are sumptuous.

Today I taught my last class of the 2008-2009 school year. I'll file my grades early next week, and report back August 31.

Let the sumptuousness begin!

---

And now, the newly published material:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Carpe Diem (Seize the Day) (live while you live, die when you die)
• Buddhism Simplified: The Royal Plowing Festival (early inklings of he Buddha-to-be's insight)
• Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: "Keep your g*ddamned nose out of other people's business" (just plain common sense)
• China: Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an, Shaanxi (a monument to the monk Xuanzang)

And don't miss the weekly Newsletter that summarizes all of this week's posts!

A Blah Buffet, and They Take My Kodachrome Away

As the end of the semester nears (it's tomorrow), there's a bit more to do: marking tests, calculating grades, and going to another end-of-term buffet with virtually nothing for a vegetarian to eat. So I loaded up on good veg food with Stefano at lunchtime at Miracle Meals. Dinner was salad and purple sweet potatoes. I think I'll go to the kitchen and make a burrito as soon as I post this.

I've also been meaning to tell you about one of those "end of an era" things: Kodak discontinued the manufacture of their hallmark Kodachrome film this week. Beginning in the mid-70s,I shot it for years (before I went digital in 2001), and can tell you that it holds up decades longer than Ektachrome (clear, sharp, and bright even now); I didn't start using Fujichrome until the late 90s, so I'll report back on its stability in a decade or so. Here's the announcement, including some reminiscences on the film immortalized in a song by Paul Simon (They give us those nice bright colors / They give us the greens of summers / Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, Oh yeah), and a gallery of great Kodachrome shots.

---

This is what was published today:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Walk Mindfully (feets, do your stuff)
• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: Different Qualities of Water (though equal, not all places are wholesome)
• Meatless/Mooless Monday: "God Does Not Eat Meat" (a funky fantasy on a meatless world)
• The Rest of Asia: A-Ma Temple, Macau (the place that gave Macau its name)
• Articles: Transparent to Transcendence (correspondence on an idea from Joseph Campbell)

Adios, Amigo

For several years now, we've had a good Basque friend from Spain. Martin Juaristi is one of the most interesting and talented people I've met in Shenzhen: a true intellectual (name a book, he's probably read it--in English if that's its original language). He's also a cartoonist.

Back when we thought Shenzhen Buzz was really going somewhere (another story for another time), we put Martin's talents to work in two areas. He drew our mascot (a brilliant effort; gallery here, story here) and he wrote several engaging and amusing columns about the Shenzhen art scene.

And now he's leaving. It's what expats do, I guess, but we haven't seen enough of him in the last year or so. At lunch today, he told me he's teaching in Tianjin (Beijing's port city) in the fall, so we hope to see him on a Beijing trip.

That's Martin's muy mysterioso portrait above; and here's one of the great illustrations he did for us:

---

Here's today's new stuff:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Thank Someone Special (because gratitude must be expressed)
• Meet Joe Campbell: Idea #7: Comparative Mythology (Campbell's forte)
• My Photo Galleries: Polaroid Manipulations: California Missions (an unusual process)
• The Philippines: First Burial Place of Jose Rizal, Paco Cemetery, Manila (the country's national hero)

It's Hot

Nearing noon, it's 90F/32C. Combined with the humidity, though, the "heat index" (how hot it feels, the "human-perceived equivalent temperature") is 104F/40C.

I don't think I'll go jogging today. I mean, I never do, but I'm not starting now.

Ah, summer solstice in the tropics...

---

Here's today's new material:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Be Prepared (if you're ready, troubles can be less troublesome)
• Buddhism Simplified: Devadatta and the Swan (in which compassion triumphs over custom, and the boy prince makes a lifetime enemy)
• Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: "It's better to sit on your ass..." (the value of doing nothing bad)
• America: Virgin of Guadalupe Shrine, Baja California, Mexico (sacralizing the land through folk practice)

Happy Solstice!

Yesterday (Sunday) was the summer solstice. To celebrate, we had friends over and Lila prepared "summer-y" foods: a salad with fresh fruit, veg burgers with all the fixin's, and fried potatoes. We also had Pink Lemonade Snapple (and lots of water).

The weather forced us to stay indoors (93F/34C, with 60% humidity), so we watched Lila's and my favorite movie, Rat Race, after lunch. Stefano and Farah brought two of their three daughters (we missed Laura!); our "best man" Alan came; and Aswini and Sudha, our Indian friends. A nice way to celebrate.

Today (Monday) brings nothing special. Back to work (final exams, and last week of classes) and trying to stay cool.

---

Here are yesterday's and today's published items:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Be Your Age (not act your age, but exercise the right to be who you are; Sunday) and Count Your Blessings (you may not be able to count them all! Monday)
• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: Man is Like a Pillowcase (all contain the same "cotton")
• Meatless/Mooless Monday: A Little History (did you know the "Meatless Monday" dates back to the days of wartime rationing?)
• My Bio and more: Shenzhen Vice (a meeting with one of my city's many great men)
• Japan: Yukata! (the Japanese know how to stay fashionably cool)
• Articles: I forgot to tell you: I published a new article on the mythological and psychological significance of The Wizard of Oz last Saturday.

Miracle Meals

Lila went to Hong Kong today. I stayed home and spent several hours dealing with Blogger, Feedburner, and Facebook. My "automatic publishing" set-up isn't working; the problem seems to lie partially with Blogger, and partially with Feedburner.

In the evening I went out to meet her. We shopped at Holiday Plaza for food for a little "summer solstice" do we're having tomorrow, then went and tried a new vegetarian restaurant in Overseas Chinese Town ("OCT"), not far from our house.

My friend Thomas Bird heard me mention the other day that I'm a vegetarian. Turns out he became a veg at age 9, when his mom told him where beef came from. He had just reviewed this new restaurant for That's PRD Magazine, and suggested we give it a try.

In Praise of Beans and Rice

A couple of Sundays ago, I was sitting with my Italian friend Stefano, his Indonesian wife Farah and her mother Sri, Stefano's three kids, and his yoga guru from India. We were in an Indian restaurant with lots of things on the table, including daal (lentils) and veg biryani (rice).

I told them this story:

When my Grandma Baquet was running a house with six young 'uns in it, Saturday was laundry day. (This is when it was all done by hand, kids.) So she'd sweat some onions and garlic in a pot then put in pre-soaked kidney beans and some salt pork, and simmer it all in plenty of water. As the day went on, she'd just add enough water to keep it going.

At dinner time, with the laundry done, she'd cook some rice, and voila! it was dinner.

When my folks got married, my dad's sister, Aunt Til, taught my mom how to cook "beans 'n' rice," the family standard (a sign of our New Orleans heritage). Saturday was "beans night" in the Baquet household all my life. Even when my big brothers were old enough to start dating and--for social reasons--insisted that they couldn't eat beans, Mom would cook two meals: beans for Dad and whoever else wanted them, and something else for those that declined.

Beans and rice are still the family staple.

And not only for Baquets. You do know how important this dish is, don't you? There's even a Wikipedia article about it, which confirms that "the consumption of the two in tandem provides all the essential amino acids." That means protein, especially important for us vegetarians. While most of the beans I eat at home these days come out of cans, I still eat them several times a week.

So, I concluded to my friends, I may live half a world away now. My wife may be from the Philippines, and my closest friends from India, Italy, Indonesia, and even some places that don't start with "I." I may speak a strange pastiche of English and a handful of other tongues (lots of Chinese, Japanese, and Sanskrit in my vocabulary, along with increasing amounts of Tagalog). "But," I said, gesturing to the daal and biryani dishes on the table, "I'm still eating beans and rice."

(The family story above is as I remember it; some details that occurred before I was born may be wrong. Consider it my "personal legend"! I'm sure a family member will come along and gently correct any errors.)

---

And now, today's newly published material:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Go a Little "Martha Stewart" (a little surplus elegance never hurt anybody)
• Buddhism Simplified: The Prince's Compassion (even as a boy, the Buddha-to-be was compassionate)
• Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: "Ya eat garlic, ya burp garlic" (what goes in, comes out)
• China: Yuansheng Temple, Yangzhou (a "squatter's palace" that must have been fine 70 years ago)

And don't miss the weekly Newsletter that summarizes all of this week's posts!

September Twilight

A great day. After class I headed into town for lunch at a Pakistani place with friends Stefano and Farah; then book shopping, some errands, and a veg sub for dinner at NYPD Pizza (I used to eat there several times a week before we moved to another part of town).

I wanted to share a little "failure to communicate" dialogue from one of the oral tests I gave today. "September" is a sweetheart, but there was a little pronunciation problem (and a dense teacher):

James: September, do you ever watch English movies?

September: Yes!

James: What's your favorite movie in English?

September: Twelfth Night.

James: Really? You like Shakespeare?

September: Yes. It...no, wait, no Shakespeare... About a man, I don't know how to say English, he eats the blued [rhymes with "food"]

James: Eats blood... Vampire... Oh, Twilight?!

September: Yes, yes. The man is very handsome and romantic.

James: But he drinks blood!

September: Unh. [means "yes" and maybe "so what?"]...

My fault. I should have remembered that many Chinese speakers of English have an L/N confusion. She probably said "Twy Night" (like two distinct words) and my old English-teacher brain jumped to Shakespeare. Poor kid. Overall she did OK.

---

This is what was published today:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Wait (it's gonna change...)
• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: One Man, Many Relationships (more beautiful similes for the multiplicity of God)
• Meatless/Mooless Monday: Meatless Monday Recipes (from the kitchen of a Facebook friend)
• The Rest of Asia: Prayer Room, Hong Kong International Airport (a quiet room in a busy place)

"Security Device" Secured

It was a quiet day at home, just working on the site. One nice thing happened, though.

When I opened a bank account at HSBC in Hong Kong in late March, they said they would send me a "security device," a little doodad that generates a password for doing your online banking.

One of the perils of expat life is not knowing always being sure exactly where you live (officially). ("Where's home?" people ask, and the answer never comes easily.)

So I asked my mom to watch for the doodad's arrival at my parents' home in California (my "legal" residence), and checked with the school office here occasionally (my "local" address).

It never came.

Today a friend found it in a box in the teachers' office, a room I don't even have a key for. Postmark: April 4.

Oh, well. At least it's here.

---

Today's publications:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Find a Way of Living (since we "lost our 'religion'" yesterday, what do we replace it with?
• Meet Joe Campbell: Idea #5: The Hero's Journey (one of Campbell's first and perhaps his best-known work)
• My Photo Galleries: Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall, Guangzhou (from a trip to Guangzhou in May)
• The Philippines: Kidlat Tahimik (a cultural icon, and Lila's revered teacher)

A Red-Letter Tuesday

A Red-Letter Tuesday

A couple of milestones passed today:

1. I went to the police station to get a visa for another year (much easier than last year, in the Philippines); and
2. I signed my contract for next year.

So as of today, my next year's activities seem fairly secure.

I saw our friends Aswini and Sudha in the police station, too. It was nice to run into them.

---

And now for today's posts:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Lose Your "Religion" (but not necessarily your belief)
• Buddhism Simplified: The Education of a Prince (Siddhartha goes to school)
• Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: "'Tolerance'" is a load of horsesh*t..." (hot or cold, but not lukewarm)
• America: Deer Park Monastery, Escondido, CA (Thich Nhat Hanh's family in California)

Monday Monday

Back to work. Not much to report, so I thought I'd take a shot of something that has been cracking me up.

Take a look at this "baby goods" shop. Nothing unusual, right?

Now take a closer look at the sign:

You can just make out that, in the upper left, it says "Blue Spirit" next to the blue moon.

Kinda cute, yeah?

But then look at the website address.

I don't think they had an "English consultant" in on this, because there's something very unattractive about the idea of a "blue baby" isn't there?

---

Lots of posts on Mondays:

• 365 Secrets of Happiness: Break a Bad Habit (quit smoking or...?)

• At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: One Substance, Many Forms (several similes on the many manifestations of God)

• Meatless/Mooless Monday: The Cows and the Amazon (Beppo Grillo's Blog on the cattle/forest nexus)

• My Bio and more: Meeting a Master: Venerable Ji Qun (link to an article about my encounter with one of China's great modern Buddhists)

• Japan: Statue Molesters, Japanese Style (rub that bronze...)

Sweaty Sunday

Lila and I braved the heat and humidity today for some almost-Mexican food and sightseeing.

We ate at Amigo's in Shekou. In fact, we ate too much, a bad idea before sightseeing in the heat.

Then we took a cab to seek out Chun Niu Tang ("Spring Cattle Hall"), a Ming-period building a short ride from where we ate. We had to cast around a bit to find it, but finally there it was, just in front of the "Nanshan Dangxiao" (Shenzhen Party School) bus stop on Dongbin Lu just east of Qianhai.

The hall was once used for a rather odd ceremony. Quoting this article in the Shenzhen Daily:

ACCORDING to the traditional Chinese calendar, Feb. 4 or 5 marks the start of the spring ploughing season with a special ceremony--the whipping of a cattle statue made of earth--held to encourage farmers to begin sowing their crops.

In Shenzhen, the Chunniutang, or the Spring Cattle Hall, was established during early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to hold the ceremony at the northern foot of Nanshan Mountain, near the current Nanshan Party school on Dongbin Road.

...

Whipping the earthen cattle was one of the most important official ceremonies at that time in Shenzhen, then called Xin'an County, with the county's magistrate himself hosting the ceremony to guarantee a good year's harvest. [Xin'an County then covered the area now occupied by modern Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Dongguan. -James]

...

The hall, 23 meters wide and 43 meters deep, originally had 15 rooms in three rows forming a typical traditional Chinese compound.

But over the years, due to the lack of protection, only the back hall, the enclosing wall, and an ancient well, all in a dilapidated state, have withstood the passage of time.

...

Here's Lila's shot of the main hall (the only full building still standing):

Though it is indeed "dilapidated," you can see that it was once a graceful old thing.

After that, we headed up to Nantou (as Lila said, "Might as well; we're already sweaty") to see the nice little museum at Xin'an Gucheng (Old City).

We then walked through the "Ancient City" itself, and into Zhongshan Park, to the large statue of Sun Zhongshan (Sun Yatsen). From there we gave up, hailed a cab, and headed for home, a shower, and a nap before a late dinner.

---

• One item was published this morning, the daily "365 Secrets of Happiness" entry entitled "Count Sheep" (a technique for calming the mind, even during the day).

A Lazy Saturday

Saturday was a lazy day. We mostly stuck around the house.

We watched most of a film, The Namesake, before the DVD went wonky; then we watched Kill Bill Vol. I thinking that we had Vol. II on hand. We didn't, so now that's on our "to see" list.

Oh well.

And that, as they say, was that.

---

A couple of things were published this morning:

• In 365 Secrets of Happiness: Build a Bridge (make new friends)
• And in Meet Joe Campbell: Idea #4: "Follow Your Bliss" (his most famous--and perhaps most misunderstood--dictum)

Another Mega-Post

Once again, instead of a daily blog, I'm hitting you with a summary of the week almost identical to the Newsletter.

Yup, another hellishly busy week in which I've been posting far ahead on most pages (some are now finished through the end of July) while developing two more Projects, the Centerings and Free Daily English Lessons (which may not be daily after all--some friends have told me that the trial lessons are so complete, they could only do one or two a week!) So we'll see how that turns out.

Meanwhile, here's what was published this week on www.JamesBaquet.com:

Wisdom Blogs:

☼ 365 Secrets of Happiness: 7 new posts: Listen to an "Old Favorite" Album or CD, Have a Mini-Reunion, Create a Plan to Save Some Money, Start a Collection, Stop the Noise, Go to Starbucks, and Build a Bridge. We're starting to get comments from the "fans" on Facebook (around 90 fans so far), but no comments on the page yet.

☼ At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: 2 posts: Red or Green? (about the many ways God appears) and The Blind Men and the Elephant (ditto).

☼ Buddhism Simplified: 2 more posts on the life of the Buddha: Siddhartha and the Sages and The Death of Maya.

☼ Meet Joe Campbell: 1 more post on Campbell's ideas: Idea #3: What Exactly is a Myth?

☼ Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: 2 posts: "You gotta scratch your own balls" and "Blah f*cking blah." (No nasty letters yet; is anybody reading this stuff?)

Projects:

☼ Meatless/Mooless Monday: 2 posts: More "Meatless Monday" on Facebook about other Facebook MM pages, and Mega-Meatless Monday Resource about a major "Meatless Monday" homepage. Don't miss my Meatless/Mooless Monday page on Facebook either.

About James:

☼ My Bio and more: Post on Hannah and Her Sitter (Lila's niece and I read in a mall)

Places:

☼ America: Post on The sign of refreshment, Rock Springs, WY (a Coke ad)

☼ Japan: Post on The Froggie is In (dance and mental health?)

☼ China: Post on Under a Spreading Chestnut Tree... (what is this strange set-up?)

☼ Philippines: Post on Banaue Elders (I mean really elder)

☼ Asia: Post on Guia Fortress Chapel, Macau (I break the law on the highest point in Macau)

June 6, 2009: Content Summary

This is my first daily (or near-daily--maybe not on Sunday) summary of what's been done.

Since it's the first, and I've been publishing stuff for a week now, it may be a bit long. Looks more like the weekly newsletter!

Anyway...

Here's a summary of this week's publication on www.JamesBaquet.com:

Wisdom Blogs:

☼ 365 Secrets of Happiness: 6 new posts: Just Do It, Create a Bliss Station, Get on Your Bike, Find a Guru, Get a Bird, and Get a Kid. I also started posting this on Facebook.

☼ At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna: 2 posts: Can You See the Stars in the Daytime? and Water and God Have Many Names

☼ Buddhism Simplified: 2 posts: The Buddha's Family and Society and The Birth of the Buddha

☼ Meet Joe Campbell: 2 posts: Idea #1: Metaphor and Idea #2: The Four Functions of Mythology

☼ Aphorisms of a Derelict Yogi: 2 posts: F*ck can be a mantra if you say it right and Even an ugly girl can have a nice ass

Projects:

☼ Meatless/Mooless Monday: 3 posts: Easing into Meatless or Mooless Mondays (three ways to go veg); Lest We Forget (one good reason to go veg); and Make a Cow Happy! (about HappyCow.net). I've also started a "fan" page for MMM on Facebook

ABOUT JAMES

☼ My Bio and more: Post on Achille Joseph Baquet, My Dad's Dad

PLACES

☼ America: Post on The Fry-Bread Seller, Acoma "Sky City," NM

☼ Japan: Post on "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil"

☼ China: Post on The Stone Pagoda Temple, Yangzhou

☼ Philippines: Post on The Rice Terraces of Banaue

☼ Asia: Post on Sri Krishnan Temple, Waterloo Street, Singapore

That's all for the past week; watch for more on Monday, June 8th

Peace.

Welcome!

[Note: This was how the blog started in May, 2009. I have since added posts from other blogs, earlier and later ones, as well as generally sprucing things up. Consider most of what's here "historical," with some updating.]

This blog is your main contact, your portal (if you will), to the splendors of JamesBaquet.com (*cough*).

What will you find here?

• Links to other happenings on the site
• Updates on what Lila and I have been doing
• Things that don't fit into other pages on the site, including books I've read, movies I've seen, people I've met, and random observations
• 2023: The contents of my old sites (primarily The Temple Guy and You Are That <-- the reanimated pages)

I urge you to subscribe to this blog [Update 2023: This is no longer possible] so you don't miss a drop of all the Jamesy goodness. If daily James in your inbox is a bit too much, you might want to consider subscribing to my newsletter instead for (more or less) weekly updates.

Either way, "Keep in touch"!

Everything on these pages is © 2009 by James Baquet.

A One-Question Quiz about the Equinox

[This essay was originally posted to a blog on Weebly. In transferring it I have updated and made corrections where necessary.]

On March 20 at 11:44 a.m. (GMT), the sun was directly over the equator on its annual journey northward.

Here's a question. This equinox is properly:

Celebrating Lila!

[This essay was originally posted to a blog on Weebly. In transferring it I have updated and made corrections where necessary.]

[Unfortunately, whatever it was was embedded in a Flash video, which can no longer be played. So I can't even figure out what it was! Tantalizing...]

I don't think anyone realized just how impressed the Disney people were by Lila when we visited the Anaheim park in January of this year...

---

Comment(s):

megan:

too cute!

---

Twitterers: Are you thinking about following me?

[This essay was originally posted to a blog on Weebly. In transferring it I have updated and made corrections where necessary.]

My dear Twitterers,

If you are looking to:

• share what we've learned about happiness
• engage in substantive conversations
• explore the boundaries of spirituality
• talk about life, the universe, and everything

then by all means follow me.

Today is the first day of the next year of your life

[This essay was originally posted to a blog on Weebly. In transferring it I have updated and made corrections where necessary.]

When you're an expat in China, you find that the "New Year season" is exceptionally long.

Anywhere from three to seven weeks after the "real" New Year's Day on Jan. 1 comes Chinese New Year. This year it was on Jan. 26, so from late December until well into February, I was saying "Happy New Year!" In fact, even this week, having just returned to school after a six-week break, I was wishing HNY to people that I hadn't seen since "last year" (Jan. 9).

"The Midas Touch"

[This essay was originally posted to a blog on Weebly. In transferring it I have updated and made corrections where necessary.]

I'm nearing the end of The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho, and he's just told the story of King Midas. It's a cautionary tale: Midas was given one wish by the god Dionysus, and in his greed he asked that everything he touch turn to gold. The end is well-known: even his food and drink are turned to gold and, in Coelho's version, he dies of hunger and thirst in a week. (In some versions he learns his lesson and Dionysus restores him to normalcy).

"Your Last Lecture"

[This essay was originally posted to a blog on Weebly. In transferring it I have updated and made corrections where necessary.]

Over on eduFire a member asked: "If you were giving your last lecture, what would you say?"

Here's the answer I posted:

• PAY ATTENTION! Mindful participation in your own life is the key to everything.
• PLAY NICE! Compassionate involvement with others is the key to everything.
• WISE UP! Developing wisdom in any way possible is the key to everything.

Yes, I know: I said they were ALL the key to everything, but only because...THEY ARE!

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Comment(s):

Lisa:

Very well put, and yes, all three are THE KEY to everything,

Peace and smiles to you :)
Lisa

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