09.29.08
Posted in Historical Trivia, Uncategorized at 7:39 pm by Administrator
My sons and I were reading one of Ray Bradbury’s books recently called, Fahrenheit 451 when we found that Ray Bradbury was going to be speaking and signing books at the West Hollywood Book Fair. Here’s a pic of the Sci-fi section of the fair, which was held yesterday. It was actually much larger than what is shown in the pic as this is only one section of the fair, but this is basically what it looked like.
Yes, my sons are old enough to read books on their own, but every so often we read one together at which time I like to take the opportunity to read more about the authors so that my boys can get a feel for what these authors are like. This time we got a special chance to “hear” one speak in person. Here’s one shot I got of Ray Bradbury speaking.
He appeared to be a very fun and pleasant man. I think he’s about 83 years old, now, but he’s still very mentally alert. Even at 83, he continues to write, and this coming Feb 26-April 5, 2009 one of Bradbury’s productions will be playing at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, Ca. The production is called, “Falling Upward.” I believe Fahrenheit 451 is currently playing at the Fremont Theater in Pasadena.
It was interesting enough to read about Ray Bradbury’s biography, but much more fun to hear him speak in person. Evidently, many of the things he’s written about is from his own experiences. Certainly they are embellished and expanded upon in his books, but the ideas began from his own encounters such as the “tatooed man” he met at the fair when he was a kid, which later became popularized in Bradbury’s “Illustrated Man.” I believe the Addams’ Family stemmed from his love of Halloween. Actually, the main theme I got from Bradbury’s presentation yesterday was, “Do what you love, love what you do, and don’t do it for money.” All the things he wrote about where things for which he had a love or passion.
I was thinking of reading Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles next, but as it turns out, I happen to have a copy of his Dandelion Wine here at home. Before Brian and I got married and had kids we used to love to visit the used book stores. As a result, we have a collection of books that can keep us busy for a long time! I’m still able to pull out books here that I didn’t even know we had! To give an idea of how old some of these books are, the price on the book reads, .75 cents. In that respect, I can relate to part of the plot in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 of the characters who collect books. How horrible it would be if books were outlawed and had to be burned. How grateful I am that we continue to have freedom of speech and the means by which to preserve our thoughts and memories. Too bad everyone didn’t write books, or at least write so that part of them could carry on to the next generations. I think of how Anne Frank’s memory continues to carry on many years after her passing because she took the time to “write.” When I look at all the books at the bookstores or the libraries, I think of all the people behind those books. They poured out their thoughts on those pages for us to know and remember them by. And that reminds me of another blog that I visit at times. This blogger is a knitter and a writer, and she wrote some very insightful comments about what it’s like to be an author of a book. Her name is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, and her post can be viewed on this page on the post dated September 15 titled, “It’s all the scary part.” She reflects on her thoughts just as she is about to launch her newest book, Free-Range Knitter.
If you like to read, why not try your hand at writing, even if it’s only a personal journal.
Marlakins
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09.28.08
Posted in Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, History, Uncategorized at 11:27 am by Administrator
Like many people, I watched the Presidential debate last Friday. While it wasn’t the most exciting debate, it did reveal some things to me that I wasn’t clear on such as the stance on nuclear energy by both McCain and Obama. I was originally under the impression that McCain was for nuclear energy and Obama was not in favor of nuclear energy, but Obama clearly stated during the debate that he was “not” against nuclear energy. While I realize that it’s not likely that the use and development of nuclear energy will go away, I was hoping that our future would not increase the use and development of nuclear energy until they figured out a way how to “safely” dispose of the nuclear wastes. I am concerned with what I’ve read about nuclear wastes and the problems with disposal and storage of it. Actually, I first became aware of the problems when I developed AA in 1999 and was doing research on the causes of AA.
I enjoy many modern luxuries just as much as the next person, but had rarely considered at what cost we use these luxuries. As I did more reading up on radiation, I started to become aware that it’s not only at the nuclear power plants that we are exposed to radiation, but actually varying levels of it is everywhere, and we really can’t completely escape it. What I had not realized is how much closer it is to us than I ever knew and how damaging radiation can be even at low levels. Not long after I started this blog, I even started a small series on some of the info I had learned about radiation, but never really finished what I wanted to write about. The first of my post on it can be read here. I managed to write up 5 parts total, which continue on into posts I made in November 2006 Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5, but stopped short of the more controversial aspects of our use of nuclear materials in favor of more pleasant things going on in my life at the time. But the recent presidential debate reminded me of an article I read a few days ago called, Nuclear Waste Piles Up at Hospitals by SEANNA ADCOX, Associated Press Writer dated September 25, 2008. Here’s a little clip of it:
“BARNWELL, S.C. – Tubes, capsules and pellets of used radioactive material are piling up in the basements and locked closets of hospitals and research installations around the country, stoking fears they could get lost or, worse, stolen by terrorists and turned into dirty bombs.”
The full article can be read here.
One tidbit of trivia that I found in the above article answered a question I had a while ago when during my AA recovery I had wondered “what do they use to irradiate our blood products?” I called the blood bank and asked the lead guy there, but the only answer I got was that they use low level radiation. No other specifics were given. Apparently, from the article above they use cobalt or powdered cesium. The answer seemed simple enough. Why didn’t the guy at the blood bank just tell me that? Security issues? Ignorance? Hmmm.
When I was diagnosed with AA in 1999, Brian and I researched the causes for AA and from that we stumbled upon some info on depleted uranium. Even before the first Gulf War, there had been concern about the safety of depleted uranium used in the U.S. and U.K. military’s munitions and armored shielding. Claims were made that radiation from the uranium 236 used in the munitions and shielding were causing an increase in cancers, leukemias, and other genetic mutations among the civilians and particularly the young children. Children were being born severely mutated to the point that they could not survive. The Presidential debate reminded me of my old concern about this nuclear energy and its wastes so I did a quick search on it to see what new developments have come about. I came across a blog embedded with an interesting video called, The Doctor: Depleted Uranium and Dying Children. I have no way to verify this information first hand, so for now have to just go with my gut instincts on this one from the things I’ve read and understand about depleted uranium (DU). That along with reading about the history of U.S. military actions, I am inclined to think it is true and am very saddened that there does not seem to be much interest or care about this at all among the general public. I see this video and wonder, “Where is the outcry? Where is the compassion?”
Marlakins
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09.22.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:05 pm by Administrator
Our family just celebrated my mom’s 75th birthday last night. Her birthday was actually on Saturday, but September has lots of birthdays for family and friends and my uncle had his big birthday bash on Saturday night. His birthday is actually on the 30th of Sept at which time he will turn 86 years old, oye! His birthday bash was a bit entertaining since it has been a long time since we’ve gotten together with that part of the family. Technically, they’re not blood relatives, but very close friends of the family. So close that we’ve called each other uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. Anyway, it was fun to see old faces again, but my have we all aged! Ha! “Our” kids are now adults and ready for their own kids! Yikes! Anyway, back to my mom, this year we decided to try a restaurant that we haven’t tried yet. Being that my aunt has not been to the Grove yet, we decided to try Kado, a Japanese restaurant on Fairfax. It is located on the second floor at the edge of the 3rd and Fairfax Farmer’s Market. Aside from the bar, the dinning is separated in three ways–regular dinning lounge, Teppan, and a sort of sushi bar/conveyor belt-type-thing. . . We saw this style at the airport in London and also on some Anime cartoons, but this is the first one I’ve seen here locally. This is what it looks like.
You can still order directly from the sushi bar, but they also have items circulating around the conveyor belt from which to chose. If it’s like the airport, the prices of each item depends upon the colored plate the food is on. We didn’t eat at this section nor at the regular dinning lounge. For this evening, we decided to try their Teppan. It’s actually very similar to Benihanna of Tokoyo or Tokyo Waco. They even did the usual “volcano” trick.
In addition to Teppan, we ordered sushi such as seared ahi, California rolls, tekka maki, unagi, and Kado’s ceviche. Here’s a pic of what their ceviche looks like. Was tasty, but I will say that I think Katsuya’s ceviche is better.
And here’s their California roll with snow crab. I particularly appreciated that they serve “real” crab in their rolls. But it should be noted that you have to “ask” for it, otherwise you get the imitation crab meat. The snow crab does cost more, but hey, at least it’s real food.
I didn’t take any pics of the teppan since everyone was already digging into it before all of it was cooked, but it’s basically fried and grilled stuff. I did take a pic of my mom’s birthday dessert.
My mom’s a diabetic, so unfortunately she couldn’t eat all of her dessert, but she did taste it! 
Here’s me mom and dad. Poor dad is currently on antibiotics, so his taste buds weren’t behaving.
As it turned out, everyone was pretty stuffed by this time anyway, so we passed on the desserts this time. Here’s a shot of my family. At first I wondered what all the “spots” were from. Then I thought “maybe” it from all the frying and cooking going on as the chef was just cooking at my parents’ table next to ours. I’m thinking that those were fried oil floating around in the dark and illuminated by the camera flash.
Here’s a clearer one “before” the cooking started of my boys and me.
A bit dark in there, but the food was okay and the price was comparable to other restaurants of the same caliber. For those who may want a bit more light, there is an outer dinning area, which looked more lighted than in here. Overall, I give Kado an “amateur” B rating, heheh.
Marlakins
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09.18.08
Posted in Church Issues and Bible Interpretations, Uncategorized at 11:30 pm by Administrator
Ever since my AA diagnosis in 1999, it has become a habit of mine to check in on other health forums from time to time (some more so than others). It is always sad when I read of others passing away. I read of such a passing today, and it reminded me of one common thing I read amongst the grieving is that “at least the deceased is no longer suffering from their disease.” I “think” that concept comes from the Bible where it mentions that when we are resurrected we will have incorruptible bodies. Along with that belief, it’s common for people to take for granted that we obtain incorruptible bodies “immediately” after death and that we see God immediately. But I’m not so sure that’s supported in the Bible. The reason why I wonder about that is because of how resurrection is explained in Revelation. For instance in Revelation 20:4-6 John writes about a 1st resurrection and a 2nd resurrection. Those in the 1st resurrection reign with Christ for 1000 years. And verse 5 of Revelation 20 states,
“But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”
If everyone sees God immediately after death, then why is there a first resurrection and then subsequently a second resurrection of everyone else who was not part of the first resurrection? There is a gap of 1000 years between the first and the second resurrection. It appears that the first resurrection is a “group” or multitude of people who according to verse 4, “had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands.”
Also, there are reference to people who have passed on as being “asleep.” Ephesians 5:13 says this:
“ Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”
1 Corinthians 11:29-30 says this:
“29For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
30For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.”
Sleep in verse 30 seems to mean death of our earthly body, not just falling asleep for the night.
1 Corinthians 15:50-52 says:
“50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
This passage seems to be referring to the rapture where some will just be taken up immediate in contrast to those who “sleep.” Paul writes that “not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” Sleep seems to refer to all those who have died before the rapture takes place. Then the “trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
It appears that we don’t get our incorruptible bodies until the trumpet sounds, and not immediately after we die/sleep (unless it’s right at the time of the rapture). In the meantime, those of us who have died “sleep.” It appears that at the time of resurrection we are “all” judged for our deeds, good or bad. And it has made me wonder in what state we will be resurrected.
1 Corinthians 15:53-54
“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
In spite of being transformed to incorruption, why does Revelation say,
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
God wipes away all the tears in their eyes. Why are there tears in heaven? Perhaps all our pains and sorrows are not yet gone until after judgment. And then when judgment is done, God will wipe away our tears.
Marlakins
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09.12.08
Posted in Uncategorized, knitting and crocheting at 4:11 pm by Administrator
Today is sort of gloomy here in Los Angeles. The gloom on top of the current political issues are a bit depressing for me, so I thought I’d move on to something that I find more pleasant–yarn and the things that can be made with them, heheh.
The other week my mom asked me to make her a few bears to give to her senior citizen buddies. They’re having a party this weekend, and she asked me if I could make senior citizen bears. Well, I hadn’t made any senior citizen bears before, but I thought I’d give it a try. I made three females (grandmas) and one male (grandpa). Here they are:
I made the ears a mix of dark and light colors to give that salt and pepper look, along with glasses and pudgy bodies and crocheted shawls or neck decor. I used some jewelry wire that I had on hand to shape the glasses. My dad suggested that I try adding aprons to some of the females as grandmas tend to like to cook a lot. I’ll try that next time, I think. These are just a tad bigger than the bears I made last Christmas, per my mom’s request. As a size comparison, here’s a pic of the smaller ones I made(this little pink one was my favorite, so I kept it), which has more of a kid look. This looks like a grandma and grandkid to me.
Here’s a closeup of the grandpa and grandma.
And the other two grandma bears. Sisters, perhaps.
And that’s it for my senior citizen amigurumi. I suppose I could fashion canes, too? But that might be overdoing it, heheh.
Have a great weekend!
Marlakins 
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09.10.08
Posted in Church Issues and Bible Interpretations, Uncategorized at 11:41 am by Administrator
I stumbled onto this video this morning and found it very interesting. Generally I try to keep away from political issues on the blog, but this one struck a chord with me, and thus I had to check out who this Voddie Baucham is. Can’t say I was too impressed with Margaret Feinberg’s commentary. I think Baucham described her approach perfectly by stating that Feinberg was running “fast and loose” with interpretation of the Biblical text.
This is the first time I’ve heard Baucham speak, and I will say that I was impressed with him. So I did a quick Google on him and found this audio. Again, after listening to him, I was impressed. I will be keeping my eye out on Voddie.
Marlakins
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09.09.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:44 am by Administrator
My computer is bogging down on me, so let’s see how far I can get with this. Last Saturday, I took my boys to the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture. Thought they might enjoy seeing a little bit of their heritage, heheh. Although it was advertised as the largest Filipino Festival in So Cal, I was a bit disappointed with it because I was hoping for a bit more. For one thing, the “dancers” we saw there did Hawaiian and other Polynesian dancing, but no Filipino dancing like the tinikling, which is more from the region I was from. I was told that there was another group that did the dance, but I missed it. Anyway, here’s a video of it in case anyone is interested in seeing this Filipino folk dance. Instead, we got Filipinos doing Polynesian dances. . .
But that’s okay, it was entertaining, anyway, and at least they did have another group of performers who “did” perform traditional Philippine music and dance, but from the southern regions like Mindanao.
There was also demonstrations of Sayao, a type of Filipino martial arts.
And another demo, but this time with a girl vs a boy.
There was also a booth for Filipino Kali, which is aka Filipino stick fighting, a martial art using sticks and also knives and swords. This was what was on display and for sale there.
The owner of this booth is also a Kali instructor and was very kind. He showed me how to hold the sword and even took a pic of Andrew and me.
I didn’t think of it until after I saw the picture that it was a bit goofy to be “smiling” while posing with a sword, ha! But oh well, it’s the only shot I got with one. I seem to have misplaced this guy’s literature, but he is the owner and instructor of a Kali studio in Vermont in LA. Too bad I don’t remember his name. For a glimpse of Kaili in action, here’s a video with Dan Inosanto, a Filipino Kali master who trained under Bruce Lee.
The food lines were too long, so we didn’t bother eating. And before we left we got to see Christine of Happy Slip fame! For those who may not know who she is, she is a very funny gal who makes videos that poke fun of Filipino ways. Satirical comedies, if you will, on Filipino-American culture. I have to admit that when I first saw her videos, I had to laugh as it really hit the nail on the head. For anyone who’s hung around Filipinos long enough, I’m sure they’ll agree once they see her videos. Here’s one of her videos called, “Tanks,” spelled the way Filipinos pronounce “Thanks.”
And that’s about it for now!
Marlakins
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09.03.08
Posted in Uncategorized, knitting and crocheting at 11:15 pm by Administrator
Once my cousin sent me an article on clutter. The author of the article set some guidelines to help one organize and decide what to keep and what not to keep to minimize clutter. While I did agree with some of the suggestions, there was “one” suggestion with which I didn’t agree. That one suggestion was, “If you’re not going to use it within six months, then throw it out. You don’t need it.” Eh, I don’t know if it’s just me, but I have lots of things I want to eventually get to that often takes me longer than six months to get to. BUT, I do eventually get to quite a bit of them, however long it takes (commonly longer than six months). Below is one example of something I had planned on learning about a year and a half ago. I finally got around to getting a hold of the pattern and testing it out using some supplies that I’ve had for longer than six months. I can say, I’m glad I didn’t toss my supplies out just because they were hanging around longer than six months.
Anyway, I can now tick off one of my “to do” items, which was to get a hold of one of Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Baby Surprise Jacket patterns and give it a whirl. I was first introduced to this pattern when I bought my first sock yarn at The Knitter’s Studio in Los Angeles. I was going to attempt at making hand-knit socks, so this was going to be my first purchase ever of sock yarn. They had a lovely selection which included a brand of yarn called “Koigu.” The sample item knitted next to the yarn was not a sock, but a cute little baby jacket. The sale’s gal must have noticed my interest in the baby jacket, so she explained to me that it was an EZ BSJ (Elizabeth Zimmermann Baby Surprise Jacket). She explained that it was knit up in “one” piece and folded up to make the jacket. I found that intriguing, not to mention it looked very cute, especially in the Koigu yarn. But I wanted to stay focused and not be an impulse buyer, so I picked out some sock yarn, and headed home. But I never forgot about that EZ BSJ. And now about a year and a half later, I finally got a hold of the pattern in Elizabeth Zimmerman’s book called, The Opinionated Knitter. Since it was hard to visualize how this pattern was going to work, I decided that I would just use up some inexpensive acrylic yarn to test the pattern out first. Here’s what the knitted item looked like just before I cast off on the needles.
Now I know other knitters have said this, but I just have to say it again. Elizabeth Zimmermann was a genius! I mean, who would think of knitting a jacket in one piece like the one above? It’s like origami knitting, ha! Here’s what it looks like when it’s folded according to the pattern.
Here’s the back view.
The only seams on this jacket is along the top of the shoulders and across the top of the arms. As I mentioned previously, I don’t like sewing up seams in knitting, but I had to make sure I did this right because these two seams are right where they can easily be seen. So I made sure to pay attention. Here’s a view of the seam along the dark brown and blue.
I’m not so happy with how dark these pictures turned out. Next time I’ll have to make sure there’s more light, I guess.
For anyone interested in trying this pattern, the EZ Baby Surprise pattern is quite easy to follow. All that’s needed to know is knit stitches, increases and decreases, and some finishing skills to sew up the shoulder seams. I finished this jacket this morning, and later in the afternoon I picked up some buttons for the front. The pattern calls for five buttons. I did make a slight alteration to the pattern around the neck because the edge looked a tad raw to me. The pattern just left the neckline alone. So I single crocheted around the neck area, and then went back the other way with a backward crochet. Here’s a close up of the neckline area and a closer view of one of the buttons I picked out from International Woolens. These were hand painted.
Now I feel confident to try this with nicer yarn. I also want to try the other variations to this pattern such as adding in a collar or a hood and even extending the arms a tad. I’m hoping soon I’ll get to learn modular knitting. I know I’ve been wanting to learn that from more than six months, too. And there ain’t no way I’m planning on throwing out my books just ‘cuz they’ve been sitting around unused for more than six months and likely will sit there for another six months. Sheesh, imagine how many things I’d have to buy twice or more if I had to use it up in six months or throw it out? Just goes to show that we can learn things from people either on what to do, OR what “not” to do. . .
Okay, off to my next project.
Marlakins
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09.01.08
Posted in Book Reviews, Uncategorized at 10:25 am by Administrator
It’s a lazy Labor Day morning here in our house. The boys, including their dad, are all still asleep. So it gives me a quiet moment to organize a bit around here. First thing that came to mind is that I really should return some library books. But before I do that, I’d like to comment on a couple of them. The first book is called, A House Divided, by Pearl Buck. It’s the last of her trilogy, House of Earth, which is comprised of The Good Earth, Sons, and A House Divided.
Like the first two books, I whizzed through A House Divided. There was so much in there about culture and feelings and types of people, that again, I am amazed at Buck’s skill at observing people and making sense of it. The House of Earth trilogy focuses on the family of Wang, starting with Wang Lung, in The Good Earth, continuing with the lives of his sons in Sons, and then continuing on with the grandchildren, primarily the grandson of Wang Lung and first and only son of Wang the Tiger, Yuan, in A House Divided. The trilogy is a type of historical fiction where the story itself is fiction, but the setting is based on historical facts such as the conditions of the farmers during those times, the presence of warlords, the rise of the revolutionaries, and so on.
Aside from the fact that Pearl Buck’s writing style is excellent, I particularly enjoyed reading about all the customs of parts of China, the viewpoints of the family’s four generations along with the changes that took place as the world changed with the the birth of each successive generation, and the personalities and character descriptions. I think seeing those four generations and the thoughts and events around their lives, helps me to see myself and others with a broader view. It helped me to understand and “accept” that while there are some nice things to enjoy in life, some things will likely always remain the same, namely injustices. I think the reason why this trilogy touched me so is because it dealt with some of the issues that have bothered me, namely, the oppression of people at the hands of the very rich.
The concept that stands out to me is that there will always be those oppressed and those who oppress them. Certainly I already knew that, but it was a bit of Buck’s insight that helped reinforce the reason “why.” In A House Divided, Yuan is very sensitive to the sight and knowledge of the poor. There is actually a duality in him wherein he hates that there are those who suffer and have so little or nothing, while others have so much and openly mistreat those less fortunate. Yet at the same time, he hates to see the poor in all their wretchedness and eventually even thinks that the poor should not be in a place where they are so easily seen. The filth and deformities disgust him at times. While Yuan’s heart wishes good for all the people, it is his cousin, Meng, who becomes an active revolutionist. One event in the book deal with a scene where Yuan and Meng were walking along the street when they heard some noise and commotion. Drawing nearer, they found that there was a drunken foreign soldier beating the rickshaw puller who had taken him to the pleasure house. Here’s an excerpt of part of that story:
” He was shouting in his drunkenness and anger and staggering stupidly upon his clumsy feet. Now Meng when he saw how the white man struck the other, started forward and he began to run swiftly and Yuan ran after him. As they came near they heard the white man cursing foully the ricksha puller because he dared to ask for more coin than the white man wished to give and udner his blows the man cowered, shielding himself with his upraised arms, for the white man was large and rude in body, and his drunken blows were cruel when they fell.
“Now Meng had reached them and he shouted at the foreigner, ‘You dare–you dare–!’ and he leaped at the man and caught his arms and pinioned them behind his back. But the sailor would not submit so easily, and he did not care that Meng was a captain or what he was. To him all men not of his kind were the same and all to be despised and he turned his curses on to Meng, and the two would have jumped upon each other then and there in mutual hatred, except that Yuan and the ricksha puller sprang between them and fended off the blows, and Yuan besought Meng, saying in an agony, ‘He is drunk–this fellow–a common fellow–you forget yourself,’ and while he cried he made haste to push the drunken sailor through the gate to the pleasure house, where he forgot the quarrel and went on his way.
“Then Yuan put his hand to his piocket and brought forth some scattered copper coin and gave them to the ricksha man, and so settled the quarrel, and the man, who was a small old weazened fellow, never fed well enough in a day, was pleased to have the thing end thus, and in his gratitude he cackled out a little laughter, and he said, ‘You understand the doctrines, sir! It is true enough one ought not to blame a child, nor a woman, nor a man drunk!’
“Now Meng had stood there panting and very hot with anger all this time, and since he had not freed his anger fully on the sailor it was more than half in him still, and he was beside himself. When he saw how easily the beaten man was assuaged with a few copper coins and when he heard the poor laughter and the old adage he put into words again, Meng could not bear it. No, in some strange way his clean right anger against the foreigner’s insult to his own kind souted and without a word his eyes blazed out anew now upon the ricksha puller, and he leaned and gave the man’s face a blow across the mouth. Yuan saw Meng do this thing, and he cried out, ‘Meng, what is it you do!’ And he made haste to find a coin again to give the man for such a cruel blow.
“But the man did not take the money. He stood in a daze. The blow came so swiftly and without any expectation, that he stood with his jaw hanging, and a little blood began to stream out from the corner of his mouth. Suddenly he bent and picked up the shafts of his ricksha, and he said to Yuan simply, ‘It was a harder blow than any the foreigner gave me.’ And so he went away.
“But Meng had not stayed a moment after he gave the blow. He strode off and Yuan ran after him. When he came up to Meng he was about to ask him why he gave the blow, but first he looked at Meng’s face, and then he kept silent for to his astonishment he saw in the bright life of the streets that tears were running down Meng’s cheeks. Through these tears Meng stared ahead, until at least he muttered furiously, ‘What is the use of fighting in any cause for people like these, who will not even hate the ones who oppress them,–a little money sets everything right for such as these–’ And he left Yuan at that instant and turned without another word into a dark side street.”
I found that little part in the book very interesting (along with other concepts in the book) because it is so true that so many people want to help, but many times, the ones to be helped don’t receive or accept help for one reason or another no matter how hard we seem to try to help. It makes me wonder what is the best way to help people? Perhaps different people need different types of help according to their knowledge and ability? Because it does seem true that there are just some people who don’t know how to help themselves, or even who are not willing to help themselves. What do we do with people like that? I suppose we still need to help them, too. Because of the nature of people, there will always be the poor. Personally, I don’t think being poor is the worst thing in life. I just don’t like it when the poor are so poor that they can’t stay healthy and have the very basics for life such as food and clothing.
In all three books of the trilogy, The House of Earth, it seems evident that even those who try to help others end up inadvertently hurting the very people they try to help or who they originally had pity upon. It’s as if they all started out with good intentions, but the end just amounts to the same of what has been going on throughout centuries. Each generation thinks they are different and better than the previous generation, but essentially they are all the same as history continually repeats itself.
Okay, people are starting to stir here, so must leave off here for now. As far as A House Divided, I give it a two thumbs up. There are actually other concepts in the book that I think worthy to comment on, but maybe later. My youngest son recently read Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies. I remember reading those books in high school, and upon discussing those two books with him, I think they also fit in with the philosophy of human nature and the repetition of history. Perhaps I’ll comment on those later. I’m also reading a book called, The Terrible Secret by Walter Laqueur. I’ll probably want to comment on that later, too, ha!
Happy Labor Day!
Marlakins
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