Playing with fire

Last weekend a new game was born. All you need for this game is a digital camera with a viewing screen, some kind of torchlight, and a dark space. The players take turns writing in the dark with the flame, while the camera shutter is open. Then the other players guess what the picture is supposed to be... and voila! Fire charades. The game is over when the torch runs out of fuel, or when the camera runs out of batteries.

Here's how they turned out:
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If you want to leave comments, you can guess what they are!

Slaying the haggis

I was recently invited to an interesting event entitled "A Robert Burns Supper". The only prerequisite for the guests was to wear a bit of tartan, Scottish for plaid. I began the evening with a bit of Scotch Whiskey and a chat with a nice fellow dressed in a kilt.

If you are wondering, as I was, who this Robert Burns character is, you may be surprised to know that in America he is the man with the most statues dedicated to him. He is none other than Scotland's national poet and the writer of our beloved New Year's tune, Auld Lang Syne.

As the evening progressed, there were rumours of a haggis in the building and the intention to 'slay' it. There was also talk of something called "stripping the willow" and madrigal singing.

If you think I may be making all of this up, you should check out the Robert Burns home page. In it, you will see his poem Address to a Haggis.

As it drew near haggis time, we were all invited to sit down at tables. Then we were asked to stand up. Then we were to recite the aforementioned ode to the haggis. The suspense continued to build. Shortly thereafter, the haggis was brought in, and indeed, the ceremonial sword was raised. The haggis was slain. Gradually, a smell came creeping insidiously across the room. It smelled like liverwurst, but several times more potent. I had witnessed haggis for the first time in my life. It was a large haggis, more than a pound of sheep's parts. Some people tried to eat it. It was then set hopefully on the buffet table where it remained untouched for the rest of the night.

After that, we listened to some beautiful madrigal songs, written by Robert Burns himself. After that, there was riotous dancing to Scottish music. Lot's of hand holding and clapping and skipping and laughing. It was wonderful.

If you are looking to have similar festivities in your neck of the woods, you will have to wait until next year. The official Robert Burns Supper day is January 25th.

Getting lost in Chinatown

After all of my excitement about Spanish and voice classes, I decided to stick to night classes, get a job and continue studying these things on my own. The classes that I did decide to stick with were Traditional Chinese Medicine and Mandarin. Consequently, I've lately been spending even more time in Chinatown than I usually do, which is quite a bit. San Francisco has the biggest and most beautiful Chinatown in the USA, and is always the first place I go when I have nothing to do but stroll around the city.

I began one day by hovering around outside the many herbal shops. I haven't started studying Mandarin yet, so I still feel a little funny going into the tiny shops with no ability to ask the questions I have in mind.

In one of the more popular shops, there were several people sitting at counters being served by herbalists holding tiny hand scales. After they made their diagnoses, the herbalists went directly to one of the hundreds of drawers filled with herbal remedies and pulled out the herb for the prescription.

The drawers full of herbs are particularly satisfying to look at. To see the herbalists open and close them, with full knowledge of what to me seems secret and exotic, is a sheer pleasure to my senses. There are hundreds of unlabled drawers, but the herbalists know just where to find what they are looking for.

Traditionally, in China, a doctor became more famous the longer his patients stayed healthy. It was the exact opposite of the medicinal practices in the USA, where doctors only get paid when their patients are sick. It worked sort of like a subscription plan. You paid your doctor when you were healthy, and you stopped paying when you were sick. This gave them the incentive to cure you.

In Chinese Medicine, the body is known to have organs, but not the ones that we are used to. For example, in Chinese Medicine, there are organs such as the Pericardium, whose function is to protect the heart, and the Triple Burner, which regulates water metabolism.
All of the organs are known to be predominantly yin or yang. Disharmony in an organ is largly seen as being caused by internal (emotional) or external (weather, pollutions, etc.) influences. The herbs recommended by the practitioner are intended to bring the body's yin and yang levels back into balance and rev them up to provide resistence against changes in the seasons.

There are lots of things to do in Chinatown other than lurk about herbal shops. My other favorite thing is to prowl the alleyways for restaurants and other hidden treasures. In one recent escapade, I happened upon a Thai Buddhist temple dedicated to the god of the oceans, Ma-tsu. There was a complicated divination procedure that, for a small donation, one could get an answer to any question.

The process was this: First, I lit five insence sticks, put them in front of the five statues of Ma-tsu and knelt in front of the main statue. I was to consider my question for which I sought an anwer. With the question in mind, I threw down two crescent wood pieces that were flat on one side. I had to reword my question as many times as it took for the pieces to land flat side down on the floor. This happened on the second try. Then I had to pick a stick out of a jar, go to the wall, and take a corresponding piece of paper to the number on the stick.

After all of this, I was to go to 'Mia' who appherantly was the house fortune reader. She would interpret my fortune for me. In answer to my question, she said, "Make no change until spring or summer. Just do good. No change." Well, being fairly satisfied with that answer, I thanked the god Ma-Tsu and continued on to find other adventures.

Shortly thereafter, I came upon what looked like a very busy 99 cent store. It seemed odd to me, because it was very busy, whereas other 99 cent stores I passed along the way were empty of customers. Eager shoppers were picking up everything from plastic cups to handheld mirrors for careful inspection. I soon realized that this was no 99 cent store, it was a 69 cent store. Enlightened with this new information, I found myself picking up every item to see if I could possibly need it. There were lots of plastic things and combs and wrapping paper... all the junk that you would see in a 99 cent store, but for only 69 cents! I was entranced. I picked up a notebook, after all, who doesn't need a notebook? I read the decorative front covers. All of them had fuzzy language riddled with typos meant to induce longing and reverie. Stream of conciousness inscriptions like "Ocean breze, Victorian house, a fuzz kitten, a heart full of paddion." After spending way too much time deciding which and how many to get, I walked out empty handed with the conclusion that it makes no difference whether it's 99 cents or 69 cents. Next time I'll stick to the temples and herb shops.