More Brush Painting

Here are some more beautiful brush painting examples painted by Sweewawa:

In a Silent Way

Song of the Day: In A Silent Way/It's About That Time - Miles Davis (from the 1969 album In a Silent Way)

Quote of the Day: “Don't play what's there, play what's not there.” --Miles Davis

Thought of the Day: I love the above music and quote from Miles Davis. I think Miles' approach to music is similar to Chinese brush painting. The approach is minimalist, with the emphasis being on each stroke or note subtly changing the blank space to create a feeling when perceived by eyes or ears, respectively. The silence is like a golden low-lying moon, and the tones created by Miles and his band are like dots of stars and planets on a cold winter night horizon.

Brush painting cards

Wanted to highlight a particularly nice example of Sweewawa's brush painting card project:

All Blues

Song of the Day: All Blues - Kenny Burrell

Quote of the Day: "Encourage all your virtuous dispositions, and exercise them whenever an opportunity arises, being assured that they will gain strength by exercise as a limb of the body does, and that exercise will make them habitual...Give about two of them [hours] every day to exercise; for health must not be sacrificed to learning. A strong body makes the mind strong." --Thomas Jefferson

Thought of the Day: I have had a fair amount of free time lately, which is a real luxury after three and a half tough years of medical school. First, it has been great having time to exercise. I've been trying during this time to follow TJ's suggestions in the above quote. Second, I've had a wonderful time playing some music. Currently I'm working on learning the masterful jazz guitar technique exhibited by Kenny Burrell on his take of the Miles Davis tune "All Blues". Ah, free time!

Fireside Post

Song of the Day: Whiskey Lullaby - Brad Paisley

Quote of the Day: "You've got to be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." --Yogi Berra

Thought of the Day: Sitting here in front of a warm fire at home on a cold December day. The song of the day is a tune I heard on the radio once, very simple and sad. I'm not a great fan of country music but I do have to say that country musicians are masterful storytellers. I'm about to start writing thank-you letters to various residency programs at which I have recently interviewed. I have found that the act of trying to write sincere thank-you letters itself gives one a glimpse into how good a fit the program is for you. If you struggle to find the words for how you enjoyed the interview day and visiting the program it is a sign that it might not be a great fit.

Pittsburgh

Song of the Day: One Of Us - Joan Osborne

Quote of the Day: "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." --Aldous Huxley

Thought of the Day: Back from Radiology and Preliminary Internal Medicine interviews in Santa Barbara, New York City, and Pittsburgh, whew! It feels good that I'm more than half way done with interviews now. Also finished my Abdominal Imaging rotation, and got Honors! I'm still quite excited about going into Radiology. The song above is a splendid piece by Joan Osborne. My uncle Don plays this one really well, heard it at Thanksgiving.

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Calligraphy placemats

Song of the Day: The Lighthouse's Tale - Nickel Creek

Quote of the Day: "One of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicine" --William Osler

Thought of the Day: The song above is a beautiful tune Sweewawa and I have been learning the last few days. How much more fun it is to do music and art than to waste time watching TV!! Below also see Sweewawa's latest art project -- the calligraphy / brush painting placemat!

Drunken Madness

During Thanksgiving we played quite a lot of music. We recorded Sweewawa playing the Guqin, a Chinese instrument with over 2000 years of history. We got the instrument about 6 months ago, shipped to us from China via a California online dealer. Sweewawa has gotten quite good on Guqin in a short time -- below is her first musical Guqin offering for this blog, a tune entitled "Drunken Madness" written around 200 AD. Perhaps Sweewawa will add some history of the tune in a later blog post.

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Getting Better all the Time

Song of the Day: Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

Quote of the Day: "Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thought of the Day: Have been very busy these days on the interview trail many days a week. Have been struck with the fact that the people I meet in all Radiology departments are the types of people I like to hang around -- intelligent, creative, well-rounded, relaxed people with good perspective on life. I know from this that I've chosen the right field. The salary and lifestyle perks of Radiology are nice, but in the end what's important is the people you interact with all day long as a Radiologist.

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Dr. Kowawa, AI

Song of the Day: Blue Sky - The Allman Brothers Band

Quote of the Day: "X-rays will prove to be a hoax." --Lord Kelvin

Thought of the Day: I have been quite busy over the last few weeks with two things: my Internal Medicine AI (Acting Internship) and interviewing. The acting internship is a position originally born out of shortage of available interns during WWII. The AI, or subinternship as it is called in some places, is where a 4th year medical student assumes the role of an intern on the medical team. After WWII ended most medical schools kept the AI concept in place as they realized it not only served as a solution for staffing shortages but also served as an excellent educational experience for medical students. In my AI I make "orders" in the computer system for drugs, therapies, lab tests, etc, and assume full responsibility for my list of patients. The only thing that differentiates me from the other interns (first year MD's) is that my "orders" must be co-signed once entered in the system. It's a very different ballgame from 3rd year rotations and is a fun challenge! You learn medicine differently when forced to make actual decisions about drug dosages, which labs to order, etc. The other thing that has been keeping me busy is interviewing for Radiology residencies. So far I have interviewed at UVa, U. Maryland, and Drexel/Hahnemann. The interview process is fun but pretty draining. For the last few weeks my interview days have been my "days off", so I haven't had much time for relaxing! Will write more about the interview process in the coming days.

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Keep movin'

Song of the Day: The Forgotten (Part 2) - Joe Satriani

Quote of the Day: "Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still." --Chinese proverb

Thought of the Day: Saw Joe Satriani on Friday night, this was time #3. He was awesome, and Sweewawa loved it! Can cross that one off the To Do list of life . . .

The Wards

Song of the Day: Love Thing - Joe Satriani

Quote of the Day: "A little better is a lot better than a little worse." --Dr. Kowawa

Thought of the Day: This thought just percolated its way to my lips this morning while I was talking to a patient about her condition and progress since yesterday. I think it's a keeper :)

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Sherlock Holmes

Song of the Day: Home - Joe Satriani

Quote of the Day: "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." --Confucius

Thought of the Day: Getting ready to start my Internal Medicine Acting Internship tomorrow -- will be a real challenge! One important thing I realized is that my last two months of Diagnostic Radiology and Radiation Oncology have been two of my most favorite months during medical school. While I did enjoy my IM 3rd year rotation, I do feel that I was happier and felt more comfortable in the company of Radiologists and Radiation Oncologists -- this for me represents an important indication that I've picked the right field. But nevertheless I'm still looking forward to a month of Internal Medicine, I think it's very intellectually fulfilling to wear the Internal Medicine Sherlock Holmes detective hat.

Cheers,

Dr. Kowawa

Obamallamadingdong

Song of the Day: Song of the Day: Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton -- this one goes out to my Sweewawa

Quote of the Day: "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone." --Bill Cosby

Thought of the Day: If Obama can nail the debate tonight I think the race is settled. I'm still strongly considering a vote for the Democratic ticket this year, though I am a conservative, but am a little afraid that Obama will end up taxing us to oblivion.

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Skiing!

Song of the Day: One More Cup Of Coffee - Bob Dylan

Quote of the Day: "Waste not time; for that's the stuff that life is made of." --Benjamin Franklin

Thought of the Day: Over the weekend booked our ski vacation for this winter. We'll be skiing for 4.5 days in Snowshoe, WV, basically the best place on the east coast (no Vail yet for the grad student budget). I love the act of planning a ski trip, because it suddenly means that any temperature is in a way good news. If it's nice and warm outside then you get the benefit of a beautiful day for frolicking. If it does start getting cold, I can at least rationalize that we'll be more likely to get good snow in time for the trip! My glass is always entirely full (preferably with a microbrew).

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Imax fun

Today Sweewawa and I went to see 3 Imax films at the Richmond Virginia Science Museum Imax Theater: Everest, Ring of Fire (about Volcanos, not Johnny Cash), and a cute film about Beavers. It was a blast, I'd highly recommend all 3 films. Beavers are some hard-working little creatures, they put medical students to shame I'd say.

Song of the Day: Cryin' - Joe Satriani -- a really beautiful track from Joe, this one is just dripping with feeling

Quote of the Day: "Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman." --Ludwig Van Beethoven

Thought of the Day: I think one of the major keys to satisfaction in all types of relationships is balance. He or she with the keen mind will be adept at recognizing people's faults and hidden agendas, for we all have them. If you take this insight to the extreme, you will end up pushing everyone away and be left intellectually true but alone. If you take the other extreme and give everyone, even the undeserving, the benefit of the doubt and unconditional love, then you will be left getting walked over and abused. So while the potential opposites of having a razor sharp mind and having a completely open and trusting heart each have their attractions, happiness I believe lies somewhere in the middle.

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Interview season

Have gotten 5 interviews for Radiology so far and am pretty excited! I begin interviewing on Wednesday, will do lots of preparation over the next few days.

Song of the Day: Circles - Joe Satriani

Quote of the Day: "Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them." --Lily Tomlin

Thought of the Day: Cat urine is the most vile substance known to mankind. I think the military should work on feline pee bombs, any afflicted opponent would surely surrender imediately. The culprit, our cat Thenie:

Debate #1

Watched a part of the debate last night after returning from Octoberfest at the Capital Ale House -- thought that Obama came across as more confident and knowledgable. This should help at least partly answer the questions about his lack of foreign policy experiece -- he's proved he has a handle on the issues.

Songs of the Day (two of my favorite songs of all time):

Days Of Wine And Roses - McCoy Tyner

Always With Me, Always With You - Joe Satriani

Quote of the Day: "The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists." --Ernest Hemingway

Thought of the Day: The Germans know how to celebrate: with beer, good food, dancing, and music. Happy Octoberfest!

Professor Satchafunkalis

Sweewawa, Hartwell and I will be going to hear Joe Satriani on Nov. 24th @ The National in Richmond, VA. I'm excited. This next month I'll highlight a few of my favorite Satch tunes each week.

Song of the Day: Day At The Beach (New Rays From An Ancient Sun) - Joe Satriani (from Flying in a Blue Dream)

Quote of the Day: "Autobiography is only to be trusted when it reveals something disgraceful. A man who gives a good account of himself is probably lying, since any life when viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats." -- a good thing to consider when maintaining an online blog . . .

Thought of the Day:

Dictionary: moxie (mŏk'sē)

1. The ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage.
2. Aggressive energy; initiative: “His prose has moxie, though it rushes and stumbles from a pent-up surge” (Patricia Hampl).
3. Skill; know-how.

Especially in the field of medicine, this is an important personality trait to have in your bag of tricks. Start by cultivating bullshit, then see if you can nurture it into moxie.

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Sweewawa Calligraphy

Some beautiful calligraphy done by sweewawa this evening:

Live Young

Song of the Day: One Of These Days - Neil Young -- my experience with recently joining Facebook made me think of this old Neil Young tune . . .

Quote of the Day: "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau

Thought of the Day: My plan to keep stress levels a little lower with regular exercise and doing something relaxing (e.g. listening to music) each day seems to be working pretty well . . . now I gotta work on getting enough sleep too.

Pluggin' away

Song of the Day: Michelle - Ben Harper (from This Bird Has Flown, Beatles tribute album)

Quote of the Day: "The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism." --Sir William Osler

Thought of the Day: Keep pluggin' away, it's worth it.

Radiation Oncology

Today started a month long Radiation Oncology elective. So far it looks prettty interesting.

Songs of the Day:

It Was A Very Good Year - Frank Sinatra

Body And Soul - Frank Sinatra

My Way - Frank Sinatra



Quote of the Day: "By medicine life may be prolong'd, yet death
Will seize the doctor too." --William Shakespeare

Thought of the Day: Ain't no day bad enough that a good helping of tiramisu can't make it better.

Lewis Ginter

Song of the Day: Everybody Here Wants You - Jeff Buckley

Quote of the Day: "The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home." --Confucius

Thought of the Day: Today Sweewawa and I headed to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden for a stroll in the cool afternoon sunlight. This was the first time we had visited the gardens, and we were both blown away by the beauty.

 

 

 

 

Belding Principle memories

For some reason this song popped in my head . . . from my old Charlottesville, VA band The Belding Principle. Found a recorded version from 6/28/02 at Miller's bar in C-ville. The song is called MB 3000, and we wrote this free-form tune on a brainstorm based on a popular magazine found on a coffee table, some snacks lying around, and an electronic children's toy . . . here's the lyrics and the tune:

MB 3000

Thanks for the fun
Let's try again
Try me
Turn off switch includes
Anything but jealosy

That's all you need to know
Love sounds that animals make
I asked for the bird
But I got the cow
That's all you need to know
Love sounds that animals make
I asked for the cow
But I got the bird

Libido, copious like the cheetos
Cheetos of the world
The dipping kind is time
Oh wait, those are fritos

That's all you need to know
Love sounds that animals make
I asked for the bird
But I got the cow
That's all you need to know
Love sounds that animals make
I asked for the cow
But I got the bird

MB 3000 -- The Belding Principle

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Catchin' up

Song of the Day: Red Shoes - Rene Marie -- heard this track a couple of years ago on NPR while driving. I became an instant Rene fan and later that year the missus and I had the good fortune to see her live at the University of Richmond.

Quote of the Day: "Beware of the young doctor and the old barber." --Benjamin Franklin

Thought of the Day: So the ankle is still swollen up quite a bit from my run-in with the tree root last Sunday. But I plan to get back into exercise anyway starting this weekend. 4th year of med school has turned out so far to be quite stress-inducing, with balancing electives & applying for Internal Medicine internship & Radiology residency simultaneously. I think the key to staying sane and chill during this time is: exercise every day, try to get a reasonable amount of sleep, and listen to some music or do something else relaxing every day. Let's see how it goes . . .

Thinking of You

Thinking Of You - Joe Satriani

Exam tomorrow . . .

Seems like taking tests is all I do lately. This one is in Diagnostic Radiology, so it's important that I do well.

Song of the Day: So What / Impressions - Herbie Hancock -- from Directions in Music, Live at Massey Hall, also features Roy Hargrove (t), Michael Brecker (s), John Patitucci (b)

Quote of the Day: "Art is a jealous mistress." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thought of the Day: Life is a lot like a turkey. Anyway you slice it it's still a turkey.

Cheers,

Dr. Kowawa

Smartphone

So excited just got my new Smartphone, a Samsung SCH-i760. It's I think the coolest one offered on Verizon. I like it because it acts like a Windows PDA, and has a handy slide-out horizontal keypad for sending emails on the go. This baby should help ease the residency interview process . . .

Here's what she looks like.

Song of the Day: Just What I Needed - The Cars

Quote of the Day: "Time is generally the best doctor." --Ovid (BC 43-AD 18)

Thought of the Day: I find the day usually goes better if I try to smile pretty frequently, make jokes and have an infectiously positive attitude. Having said that, I also find it's very difficult to do that on the sleep deficit I'm usually running . . . hence the scowl.

Nerding it

Song of the Day: Cryin' - Joe Satriani -- this one goes out to th'pupu.

video form:



Quote of the Day:



Thought of the Day: I like to turn mine to 11.

Cutest video ever

Google Chrome

Dr. Kowawa has tested and likes Google Chrome, Google's new web browser application.

Sunny Monday

Songs of the Day: The Maids Of Cadiz - Miles Davis / Gil Evans

My Ship - Miles Davis / Gil Evans

Quote of the Day:

"Do.
Or do not.
There is no try." --Yoda

Thought of the Day: Silence is an entity that can be both like a golden ray of sunshine and like a silver dagger.

Blues for Pablo

Check out this neat find on Youtube, Gil Evans & Miles Davis recording of Blues for Pablo:



Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Sprained ankle

Around 1 PM I set out for a fun run, had my iPod ready with some Del McCoury band tunes and went to Deep Run Park. When running through the woods I stupidly stepped funny on a root, and my right ankle bent about 90 degrees until the top of my foot was perpendicular to the ground. Ouch. There goes running for a few weeks, today I'm studying Radiology on my laptop and periodically breaking to ice and NSAID the damaged limb. Hope a recovery won't take too long . . .

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Song of the Day: Out Of The Woods - Nickel Creek

Quote of the Day: "To be brief is to be wise" --Sir James Paget, a surgeon and pathologist in London during the late 19th century. Paget's disease (osteotitis deformans) is named after him.

Thought of the Day: Just joined Facebook over the weekend. So far it looks pretty cool, like it'll be an easy way to stay in touch with my peeps.

Message in a Bottle

Song of the Day: Message In A Bottle - The Police

Quote of the Day: "Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. --George Washington

Thought of the Day: Hadn't realized that our first president was a libertarian at heart! As of right now I'm undecided as to whether to vote for Obama, McCain, or the libertarian candidate . . . we'll see how it unfolds over the next couple months.

Radiology

Have spent the last weeks working hard on my applications for Internal Medicine internship and Radiology residency. Also have been busy trying to learn as much as I can about Radiology during my Diagnostic Radiology elective. It's been quite a challenge balancing all these tasks at once! Sometime soon may post my Personal Statement, the essay about myself which I send to all potential internship and residency programs.

Song of the Day: No Ordinary Love - Sade
-- one of my favorite songs I used to play with Ezra Hamilton in our weekly duo gig at the Blue Moon Cafe in Charlottesville, VA (back in the day before medical school when I wasn't a boring nerd). Check out the awesome riff that begins at 4:37. I learned it note for note and still get chills in my spine listening to it.

Quote of the Day: "Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity." -- Charles Mingus (great jazz bass player)

Thought of the Day: Confidence goes a long way in all endeavors. No matter how much you prepare for any situation, when it comes down to it you have to just be in the moment and do the best you can with what you have. This is especially true in medical school when you are constantly surrounded by residents and attending physicians who know much more than you do. Each day I try to know my strengths, be cognizant of my weaknesses, and put my best foot forward. And I strive to keep learning more . . .

USMLE Step 2 CK

All the time I spent studying for this important exam actually ended up paying off, as I received a 238/99. The two-number score is the highest one can get (the three-number score does have a bit higher range). So I thought I'd share for medical readers my approximate study plan for this exam:

Day 1

morning:

First Aid for Step 2 (Cardiovascular, Dermatology, Endocrinology, Epidemiology, Ethics, GI)

afternoon:

usmleworld 64%

Day 2

morning:

First Aid for Step 2 (Hem/Onc, ID, MSK, Neurology, OB)

afternoon:

Kaplan 71%

Day 3

morning:

First Aid for Step 2 (Gyn, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Pulmonary, Renal / GU, Emergency, Rapid Review)

afternoon:

usmleworld 65%

Day 4

morning: Crush (IM, Cardio, Pulmonary, GI, Endocrine, Nephrology, Rheumatology, Hematology, Oncology)

afternoon:

Kaplan 72%

Day 5

morning: Crush (ID, Dermatology, Neurology, Immunology, Genetics, Geriatrics, Preventative, Psychiatry, Gyn, OB)

afternoon:

usmelworld 66%

Day 6

morning: Crush (General Surgery, Ophthalmology, Ortho, Neurosurg, ENT, Vacular, Urology, ER, Peds, Pharm, Radiology, Lab, Ethics, Etc)

afternoon:

Kaplan 73%

Day 7

morning: Secrets 1st half

afternoon:

NBME 1 (3 weeks before) 650

Day 8

morning: Secrets 2nd half

afternoon:

usmleworld 67%

Day 9

morning: Deja 1st half

afternoon:

Kaplan 75%

Day 10

morning: Deja 2nd half

afternoon:

USMLE CD 44, 43, 45

Day 11

morning: Internal Medicine Case Files

afternoon:

usmleworld 68%

Day 12

morning: First Aid for Step 2 (Cardiovascular, Dermatology, Endocrinology, Epidemiology, Ethics, GI)

afternoon:

Kaplan 77%

Day 13

morning: First Aid for Step 2 (Hem/Onc, ID, MSK, Neurology, OB)

afternoon: usmleworld 69%

Day 14

morning: First Aid for Step 2 (Gyn, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Pulmonary, Renal / GU, Emergency, Rapid Review)

afternoon: Kaplan 79%

Day 15

morning: Crush (IM, Cardio, Pulmonary, GI, Endocrine, Nephrology, Rheumatology, Hematology, Oncology)

afternoon:

USMLE CD 44, 43, 45

Day 16

morning: Crush (ID, Dermatology, Neurology, Immunology, Genetics, Geriatrics, Preventative, Psychiatry, Gyn, OB)

afternoon: usmleworld 70%

Day 17

morning: Crush (General Surgery, Ophthalmology, Ortho, Neurosurg, ENT, Vacular, Urology, ER, Peds, Pharm, Radiology, Lab, Ethics, Etc)

afternoon: Kaplan 81%

Day 18

morning: Secrets 1st half

afternoon: usmleworld 72%

Day 19

morning: Secrets 2nd half

afternoon:

NBME 2 (1 week before) 800

Day 20

morning: Deja 1st half

afternoon: Kaplan 83%

Day 21

morning: Deja 2nd half

afternoon: usmleworld 74%

Day 22

morning: First Aid with notations

afternoon:

USMLE CD 44, 43, 45

Day 23

morning: first Aid with notations

afternoon: Kaplan 84%

Day 24

morning: First Aid with Notations

afternoon: usmleworld 74%

Day 25

take exam

general goals:

- take notes in the margins of your First Aid for Step II, review this book before the exam

study BOTH usmleword and Kaplan (do it in 46 question blocks, timed, THEN read ALL answers)

Autumn is approaching

Wanted to commend my wife Sweewawa on her excellent translations. Her project reminds me of a neat phenomenon in music. Lots of great jazz musicians spend lots of time "shedding" (practicing) by learning note-by-note the solos of famous jazz musicians that preceded them. You learn the "licks" and then when it is your time to improvize on stage you draw from your experience of having "translated" previous solos. Sweewawa is doing the same thing now with her translations, made all the more cool since these are not truly "note-for-note" but instead require her to create brand new wordings (like musical phrases) from the original Chinese. Love the last translation, it's beautiful!

Song of the Day: Autumn Leaves - Cannonball Adderley -- Autumn is fast approaching, I can feel it in the air today as we experience the deluge of Storm Hannah and the cooler temps. What a better way to celebrate it than with this classic jazz standard featuring Miles Davis on trumpet and Cannonball Adderley on sax. My favorite version of this tune.

Quote of the Day: "I always tell the truth. Even when I lie." --Tony Montana (Scarface)

Thought of the Day: Was recently being "pimped" by some radiologists on some obscure knowledge, and was asked "How did you know that?" when I got the answer right. Made me think of something from my childhood. When I was very young and I would come up with some miscellaneous fact that surprised my parents they would also ask "Where did you learn that?". My response: "My brain told me."

Lord Li's Lyrical Poems, #5

Evening makeup is ever so fresh,

when the lipstick gives her a rosy kiss.

Slightly shown is the clovelike little tongue,

as the cherry pops open,

with a spell of sweet, ripe song.


Wine stained the sleeve a crimson hue,

Grapes left the cup a mellow fume.

Chewing a scarlet puff of thread,

the languorous beauty has been leaning there for a while,

yet she suddenly spat out the pulp to her Tanlang,

with such a naughty smile.



Another love poem for his charming wife: Empress Zhou.

Among the millions of poems for beautiful women in Chinese literature, this one probably picked a most unique angle —— instead of describing her eyes, her face, her body or her dress, Lord Li’s pen simply followed the beauty’s mouth —— not a word more about anything else.

This poem is a great example of his rhetorical talent: for example, he described the tip of the beauty’s tongue as a slightly shown clove. This analogy not only left the reader a flirtatious image in such a graceful way, but also unnoticeably transcended your visual appreciation to smell —— you are not only seeing her alluring lips now, you are also smelling the aroma of fresh cloves, as the scent comes out with her sweet words.

Yet the most impressing thing is, the poet managed to capture a moving sense of beauty from the lady’s lips ——

Instead of putting her lipstick on, the lipstick gives her a rosy kiss;

Instead of opening her mouth and sing a song, her mouth, like a ripe cherry, burst open with a spell of song;

And the wine dyed her sleeve crimson, and the grape lent her cup fume… It is those details that had brought movements and life to the poem.

While a mediocre poet does his best to adorn the reality, a genius poet creates his reality. He touches scenes that would’ve appeared so lame in our eyes with a magic wand, and turn them into living beauty.

The last scene is so charming —— the beauty, languidly leaning against her bed, suddenly spat out the chewed up thread in her mouth towards her lover, referred to as Tanlang.

Tanlang is the nickname of a famous poet and calligrapher in Chinese history. Legend says that the young poet was so handsome, that when he went out hunting, thousands of young ladies in the entire city would gather around following his horse, tossing cherries and other fruits towards his carriage in hope to get one glance from him. (…the 2000 years ago version of Beatlemania, I guess…)

Another talented poet decided to be the copy cat, and rode around the city dressed like he was going for hunting as well. Unfortunately, this dude was an ugly fellow, and merely attracted a bunch of laughing kids throwing eggs and rocks to his head…(^_^)

From then on, the word “Tanlang” has been used by girls to address their lovers, or dreamlovers. Lord Li here used “Tanlang” to refer to himself. He did not use this reference just once either. In fact, this very reference appeared a few more times in his latter works. As we know, narcissistism exists among most artists.

—— “yet she suddenly spat out the pulp to her Tanlang, with such a naughty smile.”

This last line captured all the cuteness of the young Empress when she was tipsy and naughty, as while as lending you a vivid glimpse of their ten-year long sweet, lovie-dovie marriage.


(The painting above was done to depict the night life of one of Lord Li's ministers: Han Xizai. After Han had repeatedly missed early-morning audiences with the emperor, Lord Li was curious about what he was up to and sent some court painters to "spy" on him. Thus came the famous painting: Night Revels of Han Xizai, stored now in the Forbidden Palace Museum in Beijing.)

Jeff Buckley

Song of the Day: What Will You Say - Jeff Buckley -- What would he have said and done had he lived longer . . . . we lost a great artist too early

Quote of the Day: "The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them away." --Ronald Reagan

Thought of the Day: When you build a fence I take offence.

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

"Lazy" Monday

Having "fun" today writing my personal statement for residency applications. It's tough to strike a balance between singing your own praises and not coming off sounding pompous.

Song of the Day: Love's In Need Of Love Today - Stevie Wonder -- this whole album (Songs in the Key of Life) is one of my favorites. Heard Stevie was one of the featured speakers at the Denver Obama event.

Quote of the Day: "Ya gots to work with what you gots to work with." --Stevie Wonder

Thought of the Day: Haven't closed my mind to the possibility of voting for Obama in this election, even though I am more on the conservative end of the spectrum. Maybe I'll just vote Democrat until the Republicans start acting like Republicans.

Obama speech in Denver

An historic speech from the mile high city:

Not so lazy Sunday

Song of the Day: When Doves Cry - Prince

Quote of the Day: "If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up some place else." --Yogi Berra

Thought of the Day: We've added some links at the bottom of the page to some great nonprofits: The Hunger Site, The Breast Cancer Site, The Child Health Site, and The Animal Rescue Site. These all represent an extremely EASY way to do a little good work each day. Simply visit the sites, click on the "Click Here to Give" button and you're making a difference. It helps if you're so inclined to also occasionally visit the sponsors of the site so that they stay encouraged to continue their sponsorship (but this is not required). So please visit these every day! Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Labor Day weekend

Song of the Day: Misty - Sarah Vaughan -- this was one of one of my favorite tunes to play back when I used to do a weekly Jazz guitar duo in Charlottesville, VA. Sarah Vaughan's voice is floating.

Quote of the Day: "Treat the patient, not the Xray." --James M. Hunter

Thought of the Day: Yesterday we went to Belle Isle and walked along the James River. The river level was up a bit following all the rain we've had lately. The view of the river from the suspended footbridge is not unlike the Chinese brush painting displayed in the previous post. And we also had the good fortune to see blue herons relaxing in the river flow. Below is a picture I found online that adequately captures the feel.

Lord Li's Lyrical Poems, #4

The Fisherman


1.

Thousands of rumpus waves azure

on the deck become a snow shower.

Yet down by the river a row of peach and bay

allege Spring in their tranquil way.


Wine in the jar,

line on the reel,

to trade this for anything else in the world,

would be an unsound deal.


2.

Like a leaf the boat drifts,

on a breeze the oar rests.

And the barely visible line,

through a puny hook it threads.


Flowers spread on the shore afar,

Wine joggles in the bottomless jar.

The path of freedom is hereby paved,

miles and miles on the endless waves.




In the collection of historic biographies written in the Song Dynasty (~ 1200 A.D), Lord Li’s life started as follows:

Lord Li, the sixth son of King Li Jing, was born dubbed dikoros. Handsome and talented, he was favored by his father from an early age. His extraordinary gift in literature extended itself into the fields of painting, calligraphy and music as well.

The young prince was born dubbed dikoros —— two pupils in one iris. This was the very first legend about him among many that were to follow in his short and mysterious life. Dubbed dikoros may be due to a normal variant that is extremely uncommon in human beings. One of the first Emperors in Chinese history, Shun, was said to be dubbed dikoros. Interestingly, Alexandre the Great and Anastasios the First from the Byzantine Empire were believed to be dubbed dikoros as well. Dubbed dikoros in more than one culture, because of its rareness and mystery, had long been viewed as an omen for Kingship.

What’s more, at the age of 18, Lord Li was engaged to the Prime Minister’s elder daughter, Zhou (later on referred to as Empress Zhou). Zhou’s nickname, Er Huang, happened to be the same as the name of Shun’s legendary wife.

Every omen seemed to be hinting that Lord Li, the sixth prince, was the one chosen by God for the Crown. Yet the truth was, the Royal Crown was one of the last things Lord Li had ever wanted.

For various reasons, King Li Jing appointed his younger brother, instead of his oldest son Prince Hong Ji as the crown prince. This aroused deep grudge between the two Princes.

Prince Hong Ji was a war hero and had served in the army for more than 20 years. The four younger princes after him all died of illnesses during their early childhood, and Lord Li was the very next one in line. Because of his born extraordinary look —— dubbed dikoros, and the excessive fondness he received from their Emperor father, Lord Li lived in the shadow of jealousy and suspicion from his older brother throughout his teenage life.

The young prince’s devotion to art and poetry might not have been completely voluntary. While he was, by nature, predisposed to art, Lord Li’s dream of being a hermit (as he referred himself as the ‘hermit in the palace’ in many of his works) and his deep resentment towards Politics was very likely due to the hardship he had to go through as a member of the royal family.

After all, it might have been his very disinterest in the crown that made him the only survivor during the merciless power struggles in Li’s family.

The two poems on the fisherman were written by Lord Li on a famous piece of painting, “Fisherman by the river in Spring” at the age of 20, when he was still a prince. The painting was brought to Lord Li for entitlement by the artist. Tradition had been that the person asked to entitle an artwork would usually leave a few lines in the corner. Thus came these two short poems.

In Chinese history, many a famous hermit made their living by fishing. Thus the image of a fisherman strongly suggests a hermitic lifestyle in literature works. There has not been a single word left by Lord Li that expressed his disapproval on his brother and uncle’s way of living openly. Yet the deep and eager craving for escaping from the Palace into a carefree world that leaked out from most of his early works betrayed him. A sensitive and innocent soul by nature, he was stifled almost to death in the palace, a place to which he did not belong.

Lord Li’s resentment towards Politics reached its peak at the age of 22, when his uncle, the crown prince of Nan Tang was poisoned to death by his elder brother, Prince Hong Ji. Prince Hong Ji himself died in that same year of a “sudden illness” as put by the history writers.

In 961, King Li Jing passed away. Lord Li, the 24 year old prince ascended to his enthronement. The mysterious omen of Kingship from his dubbed dikoros in early childhood eventually turned itself into reality. The responsibility of a King fell upon his shoulders —— the shoulders of the one whose only dream was to be a hermetic poet, with wine in the jar, line on the reel, idling his way in a long Spring day.


(The painting on top of the page was done by one of my favourite artists, Ni Zan, in Yuan Dynasty. I used it as an illustration for the one Lord Li signed on, as the two pieces belong to the same style and had a common theme. The original painting, 'Fisherman by the River in Spring' with Lord Li's handwriting on the top was among one of the numerous precious art pieces in his Royal Art Gallery that was burnt into ashes during the fall of the Kingdom of Nan Tang.)

Plato on Veins

Song of the Day: Vein Melter - Herbie Hancock

Quote of the Day: "Now after the superior powers had created all these natures to be food for us who are of the inferior nature, they cut various channels through the body as through a garden, that it might be watered as from a running stream. In the first place, they cut two hidden channels or veins down the back where the skin and the flesh join, which answered severally to the right and left side of the body. These they let down along the backbone, so as to have the marrow of generation between them, where it was most likely to flourish, and in order that the stream coming down from above might flow freely to the other parts, and equalize the irrigation." Plato, Timaeus 77.d

Thought of the Day: Today had a very fulfilling time working with the non-Invasive Cardiovascular Radiology team. We encountered a patient who was a renal donor candidate, and found some (asymptomatic) anomalous venous vasculature on doing Magnetic Resonance and CT studies. I plan to do a presentation on the findings for the team, and found the above quote from Plato quite relevant for the project.

Lord Li's Lyrical Poem, #3

This is a poem on Autumn. Some say that Lord Li wrote this for his first queen, Empress Zhou. The lines follow her from early in the morning, as she did her hair, to late at night that day, as she sleeplessly sat by the window making sighs.

Empress Zhou was a famous beauty at her time. She was engaged to Lord Li when they were both at the age of 18, she died at the age of 28. She was an extraordinarily good Pipa player and dancer, an expert on perfume making and was very interested in poetry as well. Their 10 years of marriage left us many a uniquely touching love poem. This is believed to be one of them.

But some commentators claim, that by describing the sleepless beauty, the poet was actually expressing his own worry and upset. The poem was written shortly after his enthronement in 962, when Southern China under his reign was facing severe military threats from the north, as well as numerous economic and political problems from within.

There had been a long tradition of using the image of a beauty to express the writer's own feelings and thoughts in Chinese literature. It is highly likely that Lord Li here did the same thing. He was an unmatchably talented poet and musician, yet he was barely competent as a politician, let alone a ruler. The passive attitude of avoiding the troubles and hiding into his own creative world comes up again and again in his works.

This romantic detour from reality inspired many of his famous poems, while leading to the fall of his Kingdom in the end.


Through your thick hair a jade pin goes by,

like a spindle,

weaving together the dark clouds in the sky.

You put on a light colored shirt,

and a thin silk skirt.

You paint your eyebrows dusky brown,

those gentle curves,

for some reason they always frown.


Across the thin bamboo curtain,

whistles the Autumn wind,

on the wide banana leaves,

echoes the Autumn rain.

And the raindrops trickle on,

throughout the sleepless night.

While all you can do my love,

is sitting by the cold window,

with a long and faint sigh.

Lord Li's Lyrical Poem, #2

:), Thanks, Dr. Kowawa:)

Here comes another one——


Fair as snow right after their evening makeup,

The court ladies swirl in and line up.

Flute’s melody echoes afar,

through clouds and wind it travels with ease,

Pipa sings tirelessly,

stanza after stanza with unprecedented beats.


Who is standing by the wind,

scattering the fragrant powder?

Tipsy with endless moods,

your finger taps gently on the baluster.

As the horse shoes step into the bottomless night,

the moon unveils her luminous mirror.

So put away the the candles with golden stands,

'tis the quiet moonlight

what I truly want to treasure.

Radiology beginning

Since I've last written we travelled to Atlanta, GA and I took the Step 2 CS. Quite a challenging exam! It was a bit of a nerve-wracking experience taking this from 3-11 PM doing 12 simulated patient encounters with standardized patients! After the exam we went to Charleston, SC where we had a wonderful time hitting the beach (despite foul weather) and roaming the streets of historic Charleston. Now it's back to the grind, have just started my first month of Radiology. I'm starting with Non-invasive Cardiovascular Imaging, which is a blast.

Song of the Day: Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) - John Lennon

Quote of the Day: "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." John Lennon, from "Beautiful Boy" . . . philosophy and poetry weaved seamlessly into this wonderful tune

Thought of the Day: Love the Lord Li poem and the concept of Sweewawa's project. This last poem dances around the subject matter without making direct statements. I found that it takes a couple of reads before it makes sense, but I think that's part of the beauty of the piece.

Lord Li's collection of poems

Today Ms. Kowawa decided to take on a new task: to translate Lord Li's poems one by one in a chronological order into English.

Lord Li (Li Yu), 937-978, was one of the greatest poets in Chinese history. I wrote an introductory essay about his life a couple weeks ago. The essay can be found in the blog.

Lord Li's works were closely tied to his life, which can be seperated into mainly 3 parts: birth-age 25, Prince; Age 25-40, King; and age 40-41, prisoner.

This poem was written before his enthronement. Vividly describing a morning dance party , it casts a light on his earlier life as a worry-free young prince.



While the sun rises high above,

aroma from incense cones slowly wakes up.

The carpet of red silk wrinkles,

as she walks up step by step.


The gold hairpin slips in a swirl dance,

The scent of flower buds drives away the tipsiness.

Flute and drum’s fainting sound,

from other palaces it echoes around.

John Hartford

The song of the day comes from an album my sister recommended -- John Hartford's Aero-Plain. Love this instrumental track, and the whole album is making my Step 2 CS studying a little more tolerable . . .

Song of the Day: Presbyterian Guitar - John Hartford

Quote of the Day:

There's music in the sighing of a reed,
There's music in the gushing of a rill,
There's music in all things, if men had ears,
Their earth is but an echo of the spheres.

-- Lord Byron

Thought of the Day: It's cool that China and the USA are both in a way winning the Olympics right now. China counts # of golds, and it is the clear winner in that respect, whereas US pays more attention to # of medals, of which it has more. It's good for this multi-national household which is cheering for both nations!

Still studying . . .

Still studying for Step 2 CS. Will take the 8 hour exam from 3-11 PM on Thursday in Atlanta, GA. Then we'll take a couple day vacation to Charleston, SC. Looking forward to a little R&R following this intense summer of study!

For the song of the day today I include a link to one of the songs from my old band from Charlottesville. The band was called The Belding Principle, a play on words and reference to the cheesy 80's sitcom starring PrinciPAL Belding and the gang. I miss those days of fun music!

Song of the Day: The Belding Principle -- Permanent Fixture

Quote of the Day: "The fool doth think he is wise. But the wise man knows himself to be a fool." --William Shakespeare (the great playwright who spelled his name 8 different ways!)

Thought of the Day: Some of the best advice every given to me (from a family friend) is to be true to your word. If you say you're going to do something, do it. Even if it ends up being a real inconvenience, your word and character are more important than convenience.

Sketches of Spain

I absolutely love the Miles Davis / Gil Evans work Sketches of Spain. Just recently found a version of the work by the Norwegian Wind Ensemble. It's breathtakingly beautiful as well.

Sketches of Spain

This is the track list:

1. Concierto De Aranjuez (Adagio) - Norwegian Wind Ensemble
2. Will O' The Wisp - Norwegian Wind Ensemble
3. The Pan Piper - Norwegian Wind Ensemble
4. Saeta - Norwegian Wind Ensemble
5. Solea - Norwegian Wind Ensemble

Olympic Soccer Goals

Exclusive Summer Olympics news & widgets at NBC Olympics.com!

Fitter Happier

Most of today spent on studying for the USMLE Step 2 CS (the clinical skills portion of the exam). Uggh, am pretty tired from just having completed the CK. Got back a little while ago from a nice run in Deep Run Park, a park near our apartment. Did my hard run while listening to Radiohead's OK Computer on the iPod. Quite an album. Two songs from it I'll single out for songs of the day:

Songs of the Day:

Let Down - Radiohead

Fitter Happier - Radiohead

Quote of the Day: "Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water-bath is to the body." --Oliver Wendell Holmes

Thought of the day: Just a comment on the quote above -- typically I really geek out while exercising and listening to audio lectures about different medical topics on my iPod -- I know, GEEKY! But today I listened to the whole of OK Computer while running, and it was quite a refreshing experience. My mind whisked away from the stresses of medical school and was left only to enjoy the sounds of Thom's floating lyricism over seas of guitar and keyboard melodies while watching the ponds, branches, leaves and bugs fly by. This really helps to "reset the clock" and make me feel nice and relaxed. Unfortunately, now it's back to the books . . .

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

p.s. lyrics for Let Down:

Transport, motorways and tramlines,
starting and then stopping,
taking off and landing,
the emptiest of feelings,
disappointed people, clinging on to bottles,
and when it comes it's so, so, disappointing.

Let down and hanging around,
crushed like a bug in the ground.
Let down and hanging around.

Shell smashed, juices flowing
wings twitch, legs are going,
don't get sentimental,
it always ends up drivel.
One day, I am gonna grow wings,
a chemical reaction,
hysterical and useless
hysterical and

let down and hanging around,
crushed like a bug in the ground.
Let down and hanging around.

Let down,
Let down,
Let down.

You know, you know where you are with,
you know where you are with,
floor collapsing, falling, bouncing back
and one day, I am gonna grow wings,
a chemical reaction, [You know where you are,]
hysterical and useless [you know where you are,]
hysterical and [you know where you are,]

let down and hanging around,
crushed like a bug in the ground.
Let down and hanging around.

8 for 8 in 2008

Just watched Michael Phelps win his 8th gold in this 2008 Olympics. Go USA!

Song of the Day: Hoe-Down - Aaron Copland

Quote of the Day: "Try to learn something about everything and everything about something." --Thomas H. Huxley

Thought of the Day: Cats are like dogs except smarter and less friendly.

So What?

Finished my 9 hour grueling Step 2 CK exam today. Whew! It was harder than the practice exams I did, hope my guesses were on target. For some reason, during the exam, this song popped in my head and stuck:

Song of the Day: So What - Miles Davis

Quote of the Day: "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." --Friedrich Nietzsche

Thought of the Day: Wish I could say I were the Michael Phelps of USMLE, but I'm not so sure ;)

This is it!

Tomorrow's the big test . . . getting psyched to rockit. Song of the day is a prayer offering to the higher powers:

Song of the Day: For The Love Of God - Steve Vai

Quote of the Day: "Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway." --John Wayne

Thought of the Day: Rah!

Almost there . . .

Two solid days of studying left, then I take the USMLE Step 2 CK exam. Aiming to beat my score on Step 1 by 20 points at least. Am just about to studying a boat load of flashcards while listening to my song of the day and the rest of the album . . .

Song of the Day: Chameleon - Herbie Hancock

Quote of the Day: "If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves." --Thomas Edison

Thought of the Day: It's tough studying so hard for so long, at the expense of fun activities. I wish I could play more guitar, go see live music, hang out at bars on occasion, and do more outdoor activities with my wife. But I guess that sacrifice is in part a necessary element of succeeding in medical school. I must be careful though not to continue putting off living indefinitely . . . life is too short.

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Three Days to Go

Three days until my big exam. Getting a little nervous . . . just went for a swim to calm my nerves a little bit. Now back to the books.

Song of the Day: In A Sentimental Mood - John Coltrane

Quote of the Day: "Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances." -Thomas Jefferson

Thought of the Day: One thing I've learned over the years is not to underestimate the importance of sleeping well.

The Buddy

Song of the Day: Videotape - Radiohead

Quote of the Day: "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind." -Dr. Seuss

Thought of the Day: Last night we had a scare as our beloved cat "The Buddy" jumped off our 2nd story porch and then was nowhere to be found. After much searching and a mostly sleepless night we still had no The Buddy and were fearing for the worst. Then this afternoon we got a call -- turns out an elderly neighbor had opened the door to his apartment and The Buddy had just run right in. The little furball must have realized his mistake early (that this wasn't the way into our building) and got really scared, and spent the night behind this neigbor's toilet out of his reach. Thankfully this morning the nice fellow was able to get The Buddy free, saw his tags, and gave us a call. What relief!! Definitely was a wake up call for us about (a) how fragile life can be and (b) that you should not take those close to you for granted. One sweet twist to the story -- our other cat Thenie, who acts almost a little autistic (really doesn't meow much or like to be picked up or anything) really surprised us during the whole endeavor. This usually completely silent cat spent the night alternating between meowing loudly off the porch or meowing at our bedroom door. Thenie is usually SO aloof, but this traumatic event really showed how important we are to her. Sometimes we don't give "autistic" Thenie the benefit of the doubt but we certainly should from now on . . .

Go USA!

China and USA are tied for 1st in overall medals, this is good since we're rooting for both nations. Today still studying hard for USMLE Step 2 CK . . .

Song of the Day: Teardrop - Massive Attack



Quote of the Day: "The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease." --Voltaire

Thought of the Day: If you use a little imagination, Barack Obama looks like a cross between an elephant and a turtle.

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Step 2 CK studying . . .

Another full day of studying for the Step 2 CK, with only a break in the middle for a walk at Deep Run Park.

Song of the Day: I'm On Fire - Bruce Springsteen

Quote of the Day: "We aim above the mark to hit the mark." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thought of the Day: John Edwards is a doofus. Delightful article on the subject from Ann Coulter

Pics from Beijing

Find More Olympics Photos at NBC Olympics.com!

Beijing Olympics

Olympic Medal winners at NBC Olympics.com!

Year-long Project

Today I'm going to start a year-long project, where each day on the blog I'll post a song of the day, quote of the day, and thought of the day (something I've learned or thought about). Let's see how this turns out . . . Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Song of the Day: Soul Intro/The Chicken (Live Version) - Jaco Pastorius

Quote of the Day: "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." Albert Einstein

Thought of the Day: A little music during the day is a healthy way to relax and celebrate life.

Ode to Melancholy ----- the Story of Lord Li

Li Yu (936-978), known as the "Lord Li", among the countless number of renowned poets and writers in the 3000 years of Chinese civilization, is my favourite one.

He was born during the time of civil wars, when China was divided into mainly 3 parts: the North, ruled by the Song Dynasty, the West, ruled by the Shu Dynasty, and the South, which covered the richest provinces both economicwise and culturewise in the country, Tang Dynasty. Li Yu, the prince of Tang Dynasty, ascended to the throne at the age of 22. Both his father and grandfather's royal tombs are still in my hometown, JiangXi, and he himself loved spending summers in Lu Shan, where one of his villas still lies.

Li Yu has been considered as the first true master of Chinese lyrical poems. Before him, lyrical poems existed as a sugary hip-pop form of literature, used mainly as love song lyrics for Geisha's performances. Li Yu was the first one to express his own feelings, thoughts, philosophy, love and pain using the form of lyrical poems, and he did it with words that are so natural, so fluently and effortlessly arranged---as if improsvised on the spot---yet so deeply moving and thought provoking, that he brought this form of literature to life. He single-handedly changed the lyrical poem from being the toy of singsong girls to being a serious art which was to dominate the Chinese literature world for the 800 years that followed.

On the other hand, his poems gave you such a vivid sense of flowing music with melodies and pauses created by his ingenious arrangements of rhymes and structures, that no other poems were preferred over his by the singsong girls as well.

Asides from the talent in literature, he was also a famous brush painter, calligraphor, Gu qin player, and book collector. There were over 20,0000 rare books in the palace of Tang, each one picked by his own eyes and notated with his own handwriting.

Lord Li was also deeply interested in the philosophy of Zen and Buddhism. He spent vast amount of time and money inviting Zen masters from all over the country for talks as well funding their endless tours and temples.

In 977, The Dynasty of Tang was defeated by the North and China was united. Most of Lord Li's collections of books and paintings were burnt down in a fire set by himself---He had planned to die with his works and pride at the news of "enemy at the gates". Before doing so, he sent away all his concubines and servants to run for their own lives, instead of making them his Majesty's sacrificial objects as the tradition at his time suggested. The only person who stayed with him was his beloved queen---Empress Zhou.

Suicide requires enormous courage, a thing this sensitive artist probably lacked. Lord Li, at the age of 39, became the prisoner of the Emperor of Song. He had to move to the North now. He was put on a boat and left his hometown, Nanking, once and for good.

Lord Li quickly received enough pain and humiliation to make one question whether a suicide earlier would have been the wiser choice ---- locked up in a small yard with his wife and a few servants, he had to dress up as a servent to wait on the Song Emperor whenever a banqeut came up, his beautiful queen was often called in by the Song Emperor for "chats" and sent back after midnight, when all he could do was sitting in his small jail-like home, drunk, waiting for her to come back.

It was during this time, when he composed some of his most famous poems. Writing was the only world left for him to hide into. This personal pain of his moved millions of souls to tears in the 1000 years to come. Nietzsche once said: Among all the words, I only love those written in blood.

Lord Li, in this sense, is indeed a lovable writer.

July 7, 978 was Chinese traditional Valentine's day. It was also Lord Li's birthday. He composed a short lyrical poem, which, in a veiled manner, lamented on the loss his country. He was drunk, and asked a singsong girl to sing this poem for him. The music spread to the nearby Palace of Song, and the lyrics offended the Emperor.Lord Li was bestowed a poisonous cup of wine which ended his 41 years of legendary life.

He was posthumously created the Prince of South by the Song Emperor. His queen committed suicide two months afterwards. And that, was the story of Lord Li.

Here comes his last poem, the one for which he unreluctantly paid his life.




Ode to Melancholy


On pedals and leaves the moon gently cast,

her endless calls for the past.

East wind sighs on and on,

alluring you with sweet memories

of the desolate hometown.


Carved balustrates and jade steps

still await thither,

'twas only your own youth

that silently withered.


How long of a way does melancholy go?

Just like a river,

to the east it forever flows.



Sweewawa

Studying . . .

Been studying for the past two weeks for the USMLE Step 2 exam. Radiohead's latest offering has been in the background during a lot of this time. A sublime album.

Hmmmm . . .

I love July. Think I'll write a song about it. Yeah.

Favorite Libations

For fun here's a list of some of my favorite beers in the world. Will update this as I experience new ones! Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Beers:

IPAs

Island Brewing Company's Island IPA -- from our local brewery in Carpinteria, CA this is one of my favorite IPAs. In winter / spring also try their seasonal Big Island Double IPA.

Dogfish Head -- 90 Minute IPA -- a front-loaded, powerful yet refined IPA deserving of the praise it has received

Bear Republic -- Racer 5 IPA -- found this one at my local Capital Ale House in Richmond, VA and fell in love . . .

Lagers

Grolsch Lager -- the beer with the funny stopper has the skunky goodness; this one is one of Dr. Sweewawa's favorites too

Samual Adams -- Brewer Patriot

Pilsner

Pilsner Urquell -- this Czech beer is one of the best in the world

Ales

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale -- one of the best beers from the California region, mellow delicious

Boddington's Pub Ale -- this ale from Manchester, UK has a unique in-the-can widget that aerates the beer on pouring giving it the characteristic creamy head and smooth body

Anchor Steam Christmas Ale -- every year the folks in San Francisco create a new recipe for this christmas offering, for the purpose of "joy and celebration of the newness of life." It's always a winner.

Miscellaneous

Kasteel Triple -- this is an amazing Belgian beer I first tried at (of all places) a Vietnamese retaurant in Richmond, VA called Mekong. Simply amazing, one of the best beers in the world

Van Steenberge's Piraat -- another very special Belgian beer that we tried at the Mekong restaurant. Wow!

Favorite Champagne

Piper Heidsieck -- enjoyed a bottle of this fine champagne with my parents to celebrate finishing my 3rd year of medical school!

Cabernet Sauvignon

Line 39 Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 -- this wine costs about $10, is from the Lake County region (nestled between Sonoma and Napa), and has delightful hints chewy fruits

Chateau Diana 1221 Cabernet Cuvee -- blend of Sonoma and Napa grapes, complex nutty fruity flavory with persistent pleasant finish

- find link for Chilean Cab, "Natura"

Pinot Noir

Freestone Vineyards 2008 Fogdog Pinot Noir -- "has an intense perfumed bouquet of violets, red cherry, tangerine, spice and black tea, with subtle hints of roasted coffee and creamy oak in the background" ... really enjoyed this one, though pricey at $30 a bottle

Norwegian Wooten

Victor Wooten performs the Beatles' Norwegian Wood. Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

The music by the guillotine --- Guang Ling San

The Rice pudding and Qu Yuan

---- in memory of the Duan Wu Festival


One of my earliest memories has to do with rice pudding. When I look back upon my childhood, there is a hint of the faint scent of bamboo leaves in almost anything I can remember. Peel off those dark green leaves with thin ropes around them and the white, jade-like sweet rice with a spell of inviting smell would appear in front of your eyes. Sometimes I think it’s all the fun from my childhood memories as well as the rice puddings that are wrapped in those leaves.

The time to eat rice puddings comes once a year, on the Duan Wu Festival, also referred to as the Dragon Boat Festival. Growing up in the city, I never associated with that name. I never saw any dragon boats with my own eyes anyway. Many years passed, numerous rice puddings with different fillings---mung beans, sweet beans, pork, etc were consumed before suddenly, on one Duan Wu Festival, right after I unwrapped a rice pudding and was busy licking my sticky fingers, a thoughtful question came to my mind:

“Dad, why do we make rice puddings on Duan Wu Festival again? I mean, I know the legend says you’re supposed to throw them into the river to feed the fish----isn’t that kind of odd?”

“So the fish wouldn’t eat the body of Master Qu Yuan.” said my Dad.

It turned out that I had sadly missed the whole point of this festival. It is a festival in memory of one of the greatest poets in Chinese history, but I hadn’t even heard of his name after consuming 80 rice puddings at the very least.

Qu Yuan lived during the Warring States period, when China was split up into seven states, and died around 270 BC or so --- about 200 years later than Confucius. His contribution to Chinese folksongs and poems are as unique and huge as that of Homer to the Greek epic. But, instead of being a blind lyric poet, Qu Yuan descended from the royal house of Chu (one of the states during the Warring States Period), served in high offices and was a political activist until his exile.

Qu Yuan foresaw the danger of Qin (another state) and strongly opposed the alliance with the state. Those who read Chinese history know that in another 50 years or so, Qin would finish conquering all the other 6 states and unite China, but people around Qu Yuan had no way to tell. The young scholar-official placed his pride and integrity above everything else, which unfortunately made him an unsuccessful politician. It wasn’t long before he became the target of slander from the corrupt and timid ministers who voted for allying with Qin around him. His most loyal counselor was banished and he himself was exiled.

The exile must have been a most depressing experience for Qu Yuan, but Chinese culture benefited from it. It was during this 10 year long trip the sad scholar collected numerous folksongs from the towns and villages south of the Long River, organized them into verses with high literature values, and wrote many narrative poems himself expressing his fervent love for his state and his deepest concern for her future.

These works are some of the earliest scholarly poems in Chinese history. They paved the way for poem development in the 2000 years that followed, set the tone for all the beautiful haiku that were to appear, as well as reaching the peak of narrative epic, a position that’s not to be challenged in the entire Chinese literature history.

But the poet remained an innocent fellow. For, you see, an innocent soul is the number one necessity for poetry.

A best illustration of his innocence is the story the fisherman. Qu Yuan wondered to a river and met a fisherman hermit by the bank one day. His long white robe had mud stains on the bottom and curved hem on the edge. A gust of wind blew across the river, bringing the mixed smell of fishes and wet grass as well as boat songs from the distant islands. His wide sleeves and loose sash rose with the wind, his white jade ornament that hung from the sash jingled accordingly. He was tired and curious as he had always been during the trip, he started a conversation with the fisherman.

They talked about his unfulfilled dreams, his loyalty for the King, and his unfair exile. “So why don’t you let go of yourself and drift with the waves?” Said the fisherman on the boat.

But the poet could not. Whether he WOULD not, or COULD not, we don’t know----maybe both. “The entire world is drunk, I am the only one sober. The entire world is filthy, I am the only one clean.” was his reply. He refused to join the current, let go of his own beliefs and drift in the waves.

I found this story to be a very symbolic image. You stand by the river of life, watching the gigantic trend carrying away millions of souls, trying to decide whether you should jump in and join them, or stand by as a lonely observer. The river Qu Yuan once stood by runs through ages, runs across all nation’s history, runs nonstoppingly past our feet. It is that same river that Copernicus once stood by, pondering on whether the Earth circles around the Sun; It is the same river that Monet once stood by, trying to capture the beauty of a sunrise in a “impressionistic” way that is to be blamed by every single art critic in Paris; The main character in Romain Rolland’s novel Jean Christophe, Olivier, once saw the French social trend in his time as river, how he was thrilled by the workers’ strikes, how he was curious about the socialism movements, but he could not join in. All he could do is to stand on the bank, watching the river flowing past him, with its angry waves smashing the bank and wetting his shoes.

Thinking about all these people, I started to understand Qu Yuan more. He was a loner in his time, abandoned by his contemporaries. The trend of culture would not accept him, the drinking party would not accept him. He stood by the noisy river, lonely and sober. He was both doomed and blessed for that.

He pondered and reflected too much. He would often take long walks by a well, look upon his reflection in the water and be his own person, thin and gaunt. His intimate relation with water ended in an ultimate tragedy.

In 278 BC, just as he foresaw, his home state, Chu was eventually conquered by Qin. He felt that he should pay his last respect for his hometown, for a culture that he long loved with both his political passion as a minister and his 10 years of folksong collection as an exile.

He arranged a simple yet beautiful ceremony, a sacrifice to the lost Chu culture during which his was to offer his own life. He waded into the Miluo River with a big stone tied to himself.

Then comes the origin of the rice puddings and dragon boats. Local people rushed to save him, which later became the ceremony of dragon boats competition. But the scholar disappeared in the endless waves, not a shoe of him was found. People made rice puddings and threw them into the river, saying to the fish----please do not eat our beloved poet and minister.

Qu Yuan’s story ended in water. He was carried away by the waves at last. But I would like to think, that it was only his body that was carried away. He left his flesh to the blind trend, and kept his soul for himself, in the reflecting well.

Whether the king of Chu conquered Qin, or the king of Qin conquered Chu made no difference to our lives in two thousand years. Even the hometown of Qu Yuan, Zi Gui village by the Three Gorges, went under water after the dam was built. The river of life is powerful, it washes away everything, pointless or memorable.

If you are not a fan of ancient poems, the only trace Qu Yuan had left that you would know about is the rice puddings. I started eating rice puddings by the age of 3 or 4, and did not care much about Qu Yuan until high school. Splendid stories of the ancient heroes, they inevitably fade away and morph into the mundane life.


Dr. Sweewawa