LSU 14 – Wisconsin 16

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Devon

1951hatter I cannot really express how disappointed I was with the football game on Saturday. As many commentators online noted, the Tigers have not seen any progression from last year. The quarterback situation remains tenuous and a reliance on one or two running backs, no matter how good, is unsustainable. In addition, our defense seems to have seriously digressed with the loss of last year’s play makers to the NFL. I have long been steadfast in my support for Les Miles, countering arguments of his faults with his many advantages. Reluctantly, I am joining the bandwagon to see my beloved Tigers go in a new direction. I now believe that this should be his last year at LSU.

The Great Flood of 2016

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Devon

During my trip home, two things rapidly became apparent to me – one personal and the other an observation of my people in the Florida parishes. My personal observation is that I lack stamina in doing any kind of physical work. I helped Jacob, my cousin, move from Myrtle Beach, S.C. to Hattiesburg, MS. He is a graphic design professor and just got a new job at Southern Miss. I was working with Jacob, his brother Mike and my brother Jason. All three of them outperformed me and I definitely felt all 380 lbs. of my weight that day. This became even more apparent in the cleanup after the Great Flood of 2016.

Speaking of the flood, it was an unusual period for me. Everywhere around me, the flood waters quickly rose, swamping people and forcing them out of their homes. Along my street, however, it was placid. I was staying at my brother John’s house, behind my dad’s. I was really proud of my father. My stepmother was a wreck of nerves, after having moving her parents, sister and brother-in-law from their flooded homes and having them staying with with Dad and Darlene. Dad was the voice of reason and calm, which still surprises me to this day. He only began to doubt himself, according to his words, when the water started to lap up against the back wall of the carport.

*First picture is from my brother’s porch and the second is from my dad’s carport.

I spent the time at my brother’s house during the flood. I helped him move his equipment up higher and then watched as the flood water rose up coming from Dumpling Creek. His house was already elevated because it lies in a low lying area on the property. It got to about a foot from his house footings. Marianne (his wife) has noted that every time he tells the story, the water gets a little higher. Other than wading in slightly above the knee water going back and forth to dad’s house and the near constant coverage of local news, that was my only experience with the flooding. The aftermath, as it was for most people, was a little more involved.

On the Monday after the storm, Marianne was able to get to Carter’s Grocery in Walker and she bought cake mix because the bread was sold out. She made about 9-12 cakes and heard that they might be appreciated at North Park rec center off Lockhart and Eden Church Road. My cousin Randy Hooper was cooking and he asked us to stay and help out. John, Marianne, Tyler (their son), and myself worked about 5 hours. John and Randy cooked while Marianne and Tyler washed dishes. They also worked with me in distributing food to the refugees. It seems strange to think about people in your own hometown that way, but truly it was real refuge for most of them. After taking care of some business in Covington the next day, I returned to the shelter. Marianne seemed surprised about this. I worked for about 3.5-4 hours helping distribute food and materials, divided up food to be taken to other shelters and relay points, and generally aided the National Guardsmen in offloading donations. The generosity and sense of community from everyone was a joy to behold in such times. People were looking out for each other. We heard that the Red Cross would take over the shelter the next day, so I decided to go find work elsewhere. They bring their own volunteers and donations in, as everything up to then had been totally ad-hoc by people just pitching in and helping.

The next week and a half were spent helping other people. I helped my friend Nathan move a lot of damaged items to the road. He got over 5′ of water and his neighborhood in Denham was completely trashed. Jason came over one weekend and I went out to help him at his dad’s old house in Hammond. It was already in bad shape. His depression on seeing it in such a state depressed me. I also helped over at my step-mother’s parent’s house on two occasions. I helped move some refrigerators to the street and then helped shovel (with a snow shovel) blown cellulose insulation out of the house. Doing that in 95 degree heat (more indoors) with no fan just about killed me. I regret not helping more, but to be honest I repeatedly hit the bottom of my reserves. I was completely unprepared physically. Perhaps then that is the main regret I have, that I could not have done more.

*This picture is of my old man
working harder than I ever will.

In memory of this event, I have included two videos taken off Facebook to demonstrate its scope in my hometown, Walker, and its neighbor, Denham Springs.

Celebration of 2 Birthdays

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Devon

Sullivan’s Steakhouse just off College Dr. has the best steak that I have ever tasted in the city of Baton Rouge. As one of my brothers stated, “It ruins you for any other steak in the area.” Be warned, however, you pay for the quality as it is “a la carte”. I felt like I got mugged, but was still happy because of the flavor of the steak. 5 out of 5 stars.

I went to Sullivan’s with my brother John and his wife, Marianne. They graciously allow me to stay with them every time I come home to Walker. I guess I should invite my nephew because I actually take his bedroom with I come home, but….nah. Sorry, Tyler. This was the second time I have eaten there for my birthday and since John’s birthday is three days before mine, I invited them to eat with me.

Brexit

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Devon

At 2:30 (Beijing Time), I saw on the news that Britain had voted to leave the European Union. With a victory at about 51.7%, the British people decided their own fate, through their own electoral process. The majority was not persuaded by threats from European apparatchiks nor promises of doom from their own government, led by David Cameron. Since he risked his position on the Remain vote, it looks like he may be out.

Already, the markets are panicking under the future uncertainty, when it will take the UK up to two years (or longer) to untangle itself from Europe. The pound sterling has already fallen 10% to dollar, hitting its lowest since 1985. Since this was warned, it means that the British people voted for liberty over their pocketbook. Bravo! Many are already warning that Scotland and Northern Ireland may jump ship to reattach themselves to the EU teat. I say go ahead, despite the fact that one of the EU’s largest financial bulwarks have just been pulled, with Britain signaling to others disenchanted with the EU model that may flee a sinking ship.

Down with the bureaucrats!

*Poster at top was found at Instapundit. It is one of my favorite news sites.

**Update** – That didn’t take very long (couple of hours). David Cameron announces his resignation, stating, “I will do everything I can as prime minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months, but I do not think it will be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination.”

An End to My Employment

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Devon

Yesterday marked the end of my employment of 3 years at Beijing University of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Beihang, for short). I have turned my grades in and hope that no modification of them is needed. Grading is my least favorite part of teaching. Some people are the most earnest students, but quite frankly stink at studying languages. I always feel that there are some who received a better grade than they deserve and a great many more who received less than their due. That is one of the difficulties in judging grades for classes that are oral based. Any mark is almost entirely subjective. For example, a introverted student usually receives a lesser score because of the nature of the class. Being a natural introvert myself, I can understand this. I hope that they themselves consider it fair. One of the things that sooth my conscience was the fact that I only provided half of the English grade, with the rest resulting from an English writing class given by a Chinese teacher.

All in all, I have taught almost 4,000 students at the university, the great majority of them graduate students. I have been deeply impressed by their skills and desire to learn. I have had a few jackasses, but those have been extremely few. A similar experience in the US would have no doubt had more. I should know, since as a student I could sometimes be a jackass with the best of them. I wish them the best in all of their future endeavors. Along with my previous students at Beijing Normal University (2005-2007), these guys have deeply influenced me more than they know. This is especially true to my visiting students and my classes in American history.

I Remember

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Devon

For a nation that proudly touts the five thousand years of Chinese civilization, there remains an event that the government yearly endeavors to erase from the consciousness of the its people.¹ According to this article at Foreign Policy, it seems that they are succeeding, at least within the boundaries of China. I, however, choose to remember. Even today, the beautiful idealism displayed there brings tears to my eyes. I have read and seen in documentaries many accounts of those days. I have read the biographies of many arrested and sent to the laogai. If placed in a similar situation, of standing up to a despotic government, I often question if I would have the strength to stand by my convictions. I state with pride that I would, but in searching the depths of my heart, I must state with certainty that I cannot be certain. I was not there and another such moment for me has not come. Therefore, I can only do what little I can. I remember.

For me, this picture encapsulates the measure of a man. Faceless, nameless and no doubt afraid, he stood up to the Leviathan in the only way that he could. His punishment was no doubt detention and execution, but in this moment he stood up for an entire nation. Everyday in classes that I teach, my students talk about the latest superhero movie or basketball star. Here, among the ashes of history that some would bury, stands a hero greater than Superman or Ironman. I remember.

Here is a poem by the poet, Meng Lang²:

口訣：六四二十七或三九二十七
· 孟浪 ·

血手與血手印之間
隔著氧氣，褪去了塗抹、擦拭
出發的和抵達的，相撞在一起
記憶押著遺忘，有人視而不見
而我要讓你分明看見這無形
那曾經直接的割取和甩脫
頭顱中的火焰躍過，再一次躍過
罪啊，罪，卻學習著消失
二十七年，一整個國家的羞恥

痕跡，犯罪學，學會了逃跑
紮進政府裡面端坐，佯裝無辜
車隊、人群，一條細線，一根神經
被這雙用罪來滌淨的手抽走
狠狠揉捏十幾億張麵團：憤怒的臉
別過去，別過去，終於扭斷
啊，斷然的犧牲，滋養、哺育喪失
轟隆隆，呼啦啦，湧泉般壯麗
二十七年，一整個民族的酵素——

血手印印在天上，誰又在
誣指，是神的塑膠指紋？
我指出了，這虛無並不可取
大地之上，就這一點最後的綠
一片草尖，把無言的露珠抖落
她，托起整個天空的重量
她的一聲歎息自最深處傳來
記憶的口訣，無可挽回，也無可阻擋
從三九二十七，邁向四七二十八

Mnemonic for 6/4: Three Nines Make Twenty-Seven
By Meng Lang

Between a bloody hand and a bloody handprint
Oxygen is interposed; smearing and rubbing have faded
What is setting forth and what is arriving—they collide together
Memory’s guards escort forgetting; some look on but take little in
Yet I want to give you a plain view of the invisible
That erstwhile partitioning and jettisoning, done directly
Those flames in the cranium that overleapt, again overleapt
Sin, ah sin, somehow learning to vanish
Twenty-seven years, the shame of an entire nation

Traces, criminological studies, having mastered ways of escape
Insert themselves in government and sit still, pretending innocence
Procession of vehicles, crowds—a thin, drawn-out line, a nerve fiber
Extracted by this pair of hands that were cleansed by means of sin
Roughly kneading a billion-some balls of dough: angry faces
Turn away, turn away, in the end to be twisted and wrenched
Ah, that wrenching sacrifice, its savor, nursing bereavement
Heavy rumbling, clamor and din, magnificence like a jetting fountain
Twenty-seven years, the enzyme of an entire nation…

The bloody handprint is printed on the sky; who would now
Point falsely? Is God’s fingerprint to be molded in plastic?
I hereby point out, this nothingness is to no avail
On the wide land, only this last bit of greenness remains
From tips of grass shake down that wordless dewdrop
She, the one who bears the whole sky’s weight
Her long sigh is heard from the deepest place
A mnemonic for something—not to be held back, not to be obstructed
Three nines make twenty-seven, followed by four sevens which make twenty-eight

2016.5.27
( Tr. by XM )

¹Before any wumao heads explode, I want it to be understood that I despise all governments, including my own to a great extent. My politics tend toward libertarian. I have always maintained a great respect and love of the Chinese people. The government and party, despite what they wish people to believe, are not the people and thus can go to hell.

²This poem was originally published in the Mingpao newspaper, Hongkong, June 1, 2016. It was passed to me through Ohio State University’s Modern Chinese Literature and Culture (MCLC) Resource Center.

Trip to Taiwan – Jan. 31st-Feb. 11th

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Devon

For the Chinese New Year’s celebration, I decided to leave town like I do every year. I chose Taiwan, which was a poor choice. I had a horrible trip, but not because of the food, people, or the accommodations. It was the weather that did me in. It even started off bad because I missed my flight. DragonAir was extremely kind and bumped me to a later flight (that I almost missed as well).

My first night in Taibei was quite nice. I had a foot massage and treatment that cost me about $30. An old man worked on my feet for about an hour and demanded more money because of their state. He scrapped the dead skin off with a straight razor and some other tools, causing me to lose about 5 lbs. of body weight in the process. I was staying right next to the Shilin Night Market, which had some delicious food.

On my 2^nd day in the city, I went down to Taiwan National University and then over to Taiwan Normal University. I was scouting out the place because I am considering moving there in 2017. I have heard great things about Taiwan Normal’s Chinese language program. While I was down in that part of the city, I went to a bookstore that I know reprints some out-of-print Chinese history books. I bought two for about $25. When I move to Taiwan, they will be seeing a great deal more of me. For lunch, I walked up to Diantaifeng, the most famous restaurant in Taiwan. I waited for 45 minutes, but it was worth the wait. In fact, I went three times (2x in Taibei and once in Gaoxiong). I know there is one in Beijing, but I waited to try the original place in Taibei. Here is some picture:

On the 3^rd day, I went over to the War Memorial Shrine, which honors the Chinese Nationalist soldiers killed in World War II. From there, I walked over to the National Palace Museum. There was a lot of people there, but they also had some magnificent artifacts from Imperial China. In fact, they have most of the items from the Palace museum in Beijing (the Nationalist carried it with them when they fled to Taiwan).

The 2^nd and 3^rd day turned out to be a killer for me. I got a nasty cold. I spent the rest of the trip (8 days) in bed, taking on cold medicine. I traveled down to Taizhong, but saw none of it. I went to Gaoxiong and was only able to get out of bed for few hours to meet my friend Caroline. She is an awesome person I met in Beijing, when she was studying at Beijing Foreign Languages University. In Gaoxiong, I experienced the earthquake on Feb. 6, 2016. No disrespect to the 117 people who perished, but when I woke and determined that a) I was not going to die and b) the building was not going to fall on me. I rolled over and went back to bed. I was that sick.

Despite getting sick, I loved Taiwan. I wished that I had gone sooner and that I was healthy enough to experience all of it.

*Update* April 5th – I have been sick for some while. My cold turned into pneumonia. The doctor at the 3^rd Hospital Affiliated with Beijing University said no, but what does he know. In addition, the constant coughing caused me to have laryngitis. This is horrible since I am a teacher. Two weeks with no work. Blah.

Hong Kong – January 10th-15th

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Devon

I arrived in Hong Kong on Monday the 11th at around 1:30 in the morning and slept on a bench in the airport until about 7:00. After getting into the city, I went to the hostel I booked in Chungking Mansion. I love staying there when I go to HK. It has a certain seediness to it that for some reason appeals to me. My room was not ready, so I walked down Haiphong Street to Broadway and watched the new Star Wars movie. It was good, but didn’t quite catch up to the magic of the original for me. I slept about an hour and then went to Mongkok to look for shoes. Shoe Street did not have any shoes my size (11, 5E). Surprise, surprise. I did eat at one of my favorite restaurants though, Dimdimsum. On the way back to my hostel, I took care of my other business in HK, buying a phone. In the Broadway store at Tsim Sha Tsui, I bought my new Huawai Nexus 6p for 4088 HKD ($524). That is less than I would have paid for it in Beijing.

The next day I ate lunch at the Curry House in Chungking. The Indian boss there is a real cool guy, as is the turbaned fellow selling samosas further down. I love samosas. I crossed Stanley to see if the Space Museum was open. It is closed until March, so I went into the Cultural Center and purchased a ticket for a Cantonese musical – 太平山之疫. It was not until 7:30, so I went off to Jordan station to find some shoes. I walked around Temple Street without success. I had a decent massage from a very grabby, yet nice lady from Hebei. After that, I went to eat dinner at Ebenezer’s Kebabs and Pizzeria on Asheley Rd. This place was recommended by my friend Erin Wells from back in Beijing and it did not disappoint. I went to the local Watson’s for an insert to my shoes and was told by a nice pharmacist that it was difficult because “Chinese people have small feet.” This lady pretty much encapsulated my shoe hunting experiences in one sentence. I just went to the performance, which was spectacular. It was all in Cantonese, with English subtitles. The subtitles were almost superfluous, you could feel the emotions stemming from the performance.

Wednesday was my day to walk around Hong Kong Island. I know that HK has escalators, but I walked up the stairs to hit some calories. I walked up to a Louisiana restaurant recommended by my friend Rebecca. The catfish po-boy was decent, but obviously the chef from New Orleans had never eaten at Middendorf’s outside Manchac. The key lime pie was, however, magnifique. After lunch, I went to the Sun Yat-sen Museum. It is a really interesting place. It was an Edwardian mansion built by a native businessman associated with the British firm, Jardine & Matheson. They played a small note in my Master’s thesis, since they were involved in China’s early railway development and the opium trade. The family of the businessman later sold his house to the LDS Church, which used it for a meetinghouse for 30 or so years. In 1994, the City was given the property (in a land swap, if I remember correctly) and it became a museum. It is a beautiful house and makes a fine museum for the great Dr. Sun.

After going to the museum, I walked over to Hong Kong University. I talked to a person in the History Department as well as in the Chinese Department. The University strangely splits Qing Dynasty history, with the History Department covering modern history and the Chinese Department covering early Chinese history up to the middle of the Qing Dynasty. I went there to investigate the campus as I am thinking of pursuing a PhD there. I went back to the hostel early because walking all over those inclines killed my knees. It was pretty tough going up and down.

Thursday, I went over to the Temple to see my friend AJ, from Beijing. We met up and went to lunch. I then accompanied him to a business meeting in Kowloon. He was setting up a LLC or something. I mostly slept in a meeting room. After this, we separated. I went back to HK island to see meet up with my friend Rebecca and her husband, Jordan Baggs. It was a very stimulating dinner at this Vietnamese food place, BEP Vietnamese Kitchen. The food was great, but the company was much better. She had just come from a business trip to Singapore.

The next day, I took my flight back to Beijing.

On Poetry and a Brother

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Devon

I have had a lifelong love of poetry. My mother was a great proponent of American literature, which she taught to mostly uninterested middle school students. She bequeathed to me a love of Poe, Frost and others. My fascination with the art has gone much further afield than this, of course.

Because of these tastes, I enjoy writing poetry, generally bad poetry. It gives me opportunity to express myself, even if it will never see the light of day or be read beyond these pages. That is not the point, as it is for me and no one else.

However, my third brother, Douglas, has a courageous heart and a willingness to put it out for the world to examine. This is no doubt aided by the fact that his rhyme and prose is infinitely better than my own. I thought then that I would share two of his below.

Swamp Thang
Luminous sheet of green,
splintering forward as we pass.
A log floats ahead,
then ominous eyes appear.

One plank left on a decayed pier,
old boat anchored to the shed,
covered in clumps of grass,
light fading and setting the scene.

Cypress trees loom larger-than-life,
holding moss like coin purses.
Standing majestic for hundreds of years,
blocking out what’s left of the Sun’s light.

This is no place to be into the night,
paddling faster as land is near.
Everyone knows of the curse,
yet the thought creates strife.

The creature goes by many names,
but locals call him Rougarou.
Morphing into a werewolf,
hunting animals and humans alike.

T-Minus
Anything goes,
to evolve, to reincarnate.

Limiting intake,
and to exhaustion and back.

All to melt in a puddle –
to shed my past sins.

Awaiting discovery,
deflowered in reverse.

To be looked upon,
instead of through.

I have arrived.

Thinking of the Future

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Devon

I have been thinking lately of what I want out of this: teaching…China…life? Before, I had a clear goal and a focus to work hard, recover my mojo and pay off a little debt.

I am going to refinance my student loans and pay them off gradually. So that is a burden that will be spread over time, making it seem less painful. I still hope to one day stick it to the Man (by which I mean the student loan cartel of the US “gummerment”).

Teaching has lately become a little less satisfying. I can see myself doing this for a few more years but what is the end game? I don’t think I am that great a teacher, despite what some of my students say. I usually just chalk that up to how bad their other teachers are in comparison. By the way, I am not fishing, so just don’t even try. I just want to find a path.

The love of my life, Beijing, has recently led me to be less enamored. The pollution, combined with an increasing distaste for cold weather, is making me think of warmer climes and cleaner air.

This was the beautiful Christmas I woke up to
as taken from my building.

Everyone I meet says I should meet a girl and settle down. I have to say that my typical response of concrete denial has become a little more brittle in the past year. I sure doubt that this will fix any of my current woes, so maybe this not the answer. I think I just need to find my mojo, my path, and follow it.

I am going on vacation to Hong Kong from Jan 10th to 15th and maybe a later trip to Taiwan. I am hoping that this will lend me some clarity.

A Gentleman of Leisure

The Short Sketch of a Determinedly Unambitious Journey Through Life

Author Archives: Devon