I’m saddened to hear about the 5.9 scaled earthquake that has struck the Gansu state of China in the last 24 hours. It is an area that I have a great appreciation for, having visited twice. I don’t often travel such great distances multiple times, but after my first visit to Gansu, I had to go back for more…more mountains, history, massive carvings in cliffs, temples, monasteries, noodle shops (their capital, Lanzhou, is known throughout China by name, the way…
Now I’m writing the introduction to what it was like to leave the nation I’d lived for about seven and a half years during the Covid epidemic’s breakout. China was where it began. That’s not in question. Nor is it an issue to me beyond the fact that I was a resident of China at that time, so I was near some of the early real social earthquakes as they happened, and some of what I’m writing in this book…
Creating my next book has me considering a Frame Narrative style for the fifteen/sixteen chapters in six or so main sections that I’ll be putting together a bit like the last book with the pictures of China. And, so what that made me think about is the Voice. The voice of the book needs to have particular ears perked for it, in my mind anyway. You’ll notice that I mentioned many who helped with that in the last one. While…
I was going to share a new post that I wrote today, but found one that I am going to be installing from before I left China instead. It is a found-post that didn’t get uploaded. Following that, I’ll comment on a few of the things I mentioned and include a trimmed down version of what I’d prepared, since I largely said six months ago, what I wrote this afternoon. I think one of the reasons I didn’t post it…
Hi there~ I’ve got a holiday at the moment so I’m working on the eclectic photo-project that will come to be and my mom will be 79 next week, so I’m sharing 79 images from the next collection with you. I’m trying to keep the thing to no more than 600 pages. It’s not easy though. So, I’m breaking it into three sections. The first is almost complete. Below are a few. They will circulate at random and have no…
~This is an “I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written” note. . . But check this out~ Between one trip to Beijing, three trips to Shanghai, the festival in the mountains at which I was a guest of honor on a yellow tea mountain, and planning for this year’s Dragon Burn, at which I’ll be a newcomer and excited as a bun in an oven to be there, I’ve had less free-time than normal since I got back…
Learning the language here is interesting. It uses the brain in a new way. I’m realizing that it’s as much muscle memory for the spoken factor as it is like decoding a not-so-hidden cypher that ties itself up in complexity in order to create a labyrinth of the mind that is available for deciphering and making it through, for those who are able to give it enough time and attention. To get better with the language is something that I…