Two ducks, two Brant geese,
Nibbling on mossy breakfast
Among piling tops.
Seagull soars, circles,
Searching for something. Spots it,
Scoops it up, absconds.
Sidewalk chalk people —
Pink, lime green, yellow, pale blue —
Smile from paving stones.
And more haiku for those who need them.
Yesterday I offered two points to anyone who could identify the original of the pig-snouted image of Kim Jong Un, hacked onto a North Korean site by Anonymous. The prize goes to Georgia Mickey on Facebook, and none of you here on this blog, tsk tsk, though David Corbett, also on Facebook, gets the assist. It’s Zhu Bajie, also known as Piggsy, one of the three bodyguards of the monk Xuanzang in the Chinese classic JOURNEY TO THE WEST. Along with the Monkey King and the Sand Priest, who, like Piggsy, had been cast out of Heaven for various transgressions, he was recruited to protect the monk whose job it was to go to the west (i.e., India) and return to China with the scrolls of Buddhist knowledge. What got Piggsy thrown out of Heaven and given his hideous aspect were the crimes of licentiousness, drunkenness, and greed.
What’s interesting about this image, to me, is that it’s instantly recognizable in east Asia, not so much here. It implies that the Anonymous member who did this hack is either Asian, or extremely well-read.
And two points if you know who the pig-snouted image of Kim Jong Un is echoing. Hint: the rake matters.
The other day I posted about the arrogant elitism of the Museum of Modern Art and its plan to tear down the Folk Art Museum building, which it now owns. One of my readers called the decision to raze the 12-year-old prize-winning building an ugly case of conspicuous consumption, and I agree. Now comes James Russell, a buddy of mine and architecture critic for Bloomberg News, saying the same thing, only much better than I did. Go Jim!
This idea is so good I stole it. Ben Leroy first made a similar offer on his blog, and I loved it. So here it is. If you make a donation to any of the four funds below by the end of this month I’ll send you a book. The book will be a hardcover, first edition SJ Rozan, chosen randomly by Team Rozan from the SJ Rozan HQ vault. It’ll be signed. By me, smart guys. Just send me your mailing address and say which fund you chose. If you don’t want the world to know your mailing address don’t post it in the comments! Send it to: sjrozan AT sjrozan.com. (Gotta write it that way to defeat the bots, but you know how to do this.)
For the long-term medical, rehab, etc. needs of Jeff Bauman, the hero who lost both legs and helped ID the bombers from the ICU.
For the long-term medical, rehab, etc. needs of Patrick and Jessica Downes, newlyweds, runners, athletes, who each lost a leg in the bombings.
Yes, there are lots of other people in need of help. The above are three people I happen to know about. If you want to be more universal about it, you can give to One Fund Boston.
And if you’re a NYer and you want to keep your philanthropy closer to home, The Robin Hood Fund is still taking Sandy Relief Donations.
Feel free to re-post or forward or whatever it is you want to do. Offer’s good as long as the books last. If they run out before the end of the month, people will have to be content with the warm and fuzzy feeling they’re going to get by contributing. But let’s try it.
Thank you all.
Tee shirts in a line:
Red, yellow, green, blue, purple.
Rainbow of runners.
Mass of daffodils:
White with pale lemon centers,
Yellow with egg yolk.
Cold wind, skim-milk sun,
Whitecaps on olive water —
What happened to spring?
The prize goes to President Barack Obama, for, “This has been a tough week.”
Wonder how law enforcement narrowed down their suspects on the thousands of hours of tape? This injured hero told them. From the ICU. With his legs blown apart.
Allow me to cheer these guys on as they object to the tone-deaf, let-em-eat-cake elitist expansionism of the Museum of Modern Art.
These are from a trip to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, to see the Orchid Show.
