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Delightful things about winter
I sliced my orange in half, releasing a fresh citrus scent, and was delighted by the gorgeous purply red colour inside. I took a closer look at the segments hidden inside the thick-skinned citrus. They were bursting with juice. Before eating the orange, I paraded it around my house to show the beautiful colour to my family (they weren’t quite as delighted as I). A small pleasure in a small thing. Perhaps this is the type of observation that Sei Shōnagon might have recorded in The Pillow Book. I recently learned about this Japanese author/poet/philosopher in Eric Weiner’s book, The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers.…
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Travel Mode
I studied the vending machine for several minutes before inserting my coins and making a selection. Each button had a series symbols made up of letters from the Korean alphabet. Concentrating on each block of symbols, I haltingly pronounced each segment. Very slowly. My lips could form the sounds, but my brain did not comprehend the phrase. Until one fortuitous word. The first two blocks were identical, followed by a basic vowel. 코코아 Like Grover’s word of the day on Sesame Street I carefully joined the three syllables. CO – CO – A “Hot chocolate!” my feet did a little excited dance. It was revelation. For me. Because it was…
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Solar energy and AC/DC
“That’s how AC/DC got its name,” my husband says confidently though I can’t be sure he’s not joking. We are standing in front of the hydro meter on the side of our house with the sales manager from the company that will be installing our solar panels. She has just explained the installation of an inverter that will change electricity from DC current into AC current and send it to our breaker panel. After the visit, I mention this to my daughter and she adds her learnings from grade 9 science, “AC stands for alternating current and DC is direct current.” Now I am impressed. But still sceptical about the…
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Alone Time
Imagine you are in Florence. In the popular Uffizi gallery. Standing in front of Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. It’s the one with the Goddess herself standing nude on a large scallop shell casually covering her unmentionables with her arm and flowing auburn hair. The painting is famous. People come from all over the world to see it, or buy a replica on a souvenir. There is generally a crowd gathered around the masterpiece. Necks stretched to get a peak. In this instance you are completely alone. The room is empty. Serene. This a moment in Stephanie Rosenbloom’s book, Alone Time: Four Seasons, Four Cities and the Pleasures of Solitude.…
