I am the Song - Charles Causley

I am the song that sings the bird.

I am the leaf that grows the land.

I am the tide that moves the moon.

I am the stream that halts the sand.

I am the cloud that drives the storm.

I am the fire that strikes the stone.

I am the clay that shapes the hand.

I am the word that speaks the man. 

Talk and learn

Assignment: Keep a new acquaintance talking about himself or herself without allowing him to become conscious of it. 

Completed: Talked to a cab driver tonight. Found out about his family, his values, his perspective on marriage, the cost of living in Singapore, what he used to work as before he became a cab driver, how much load a cement mixer truck carries (6 m3), how the construction industry was dying a slow death (and consequently cement mixer truck drivers) before the casinos, the two most common ailments of cab drivers (high blood pressure and kidney-related disease), how his wife was more scared of his gambling habit than his having affairs, the stress of providing for a family of four, how he got sweet-talked into buying $40-worth of Taiwanese pudding desserts during CNY at Chinatown last year and why he is avoiding the area this year, how old his two daughters are, and so on and so forth. It was nice for me to learn so many things from this elderly cab driver, who told me to remember his licence plate number and his cab company. Thank you for reading up to here.

An ode to collective nouns

A Leap of Leopards (Charles Causley)

A leap of leopards,

A sleuth of bears,

A clamour of rooks,

A husk of hares. 

               'Knawed that a'ready,' said Jacker.

               'No you never,' said Jan.

A muster of peacocks,

A team of ducks,

A murder of crows,

A leash of bucks.

               'Knawed that a'ready,' said Jacker.

               'No you never,' said Jan.

A wing of plovers,

A sounder of swine,

A herd of curlews,

A drove of kine.

                'Knawed that a'ready,' said Jacker.

                'No you never,' said Jan.

A watch of nightingales,

A pod of seals,

A nye of pheasants,

A spring of teals.

                 'Knawed that a'ready,' said Jacker.

                 'No you never,' said Jan.

A chattering of choughs,

A bevy of quails,

A fall of woodcock,

A gam of whales.

               'Knawed that a'ready,' said Jacker.

               'No you never,' said Jan.

Persepolis

Finished reading Persepolis during lunch last week and "sold" it to a colleague who borrowed the book. In the book, the author writes about and illustrates her life growing up under two regimes in Iran, first under the Shah and then under Islamic fundamentalists, as well as her student life abroad in Europe. Her parents were forward-thinking and forward-looking. They believed in education and teaching their children to think for themselves. Hence, she grew up as someone with a mind of her own. And indeed she does have some tough views about religion. Her parents sent her abroad to continue her education, fearing that she would get into trouble with the law because she was so outspoken. Others in her extended family paid a far heavier price for resisting the regime. I was reading the book in the ride to the office this morning and nearly teared because some parts were really tough to read and to bear. My nose dripped instead. This book is a keeper for me.