The notion of redemption, especially the redemption of pain, is a fascinating one to me, and remains more or less the only thing driving me to study religion, both ancient and modern. The etymology of “redemption” I can’t help but look at a word’s older meanings when trying to understand the concept it represents. Without … Continue reading
Of late (Έργα) In the time leading up to my recent graduation, I’ve been doing landscaping work on weekends in order to pay the bills. I took a few weekends off to graduate, but I’ll be picking it back up this weekend to keep myself afloat economically, until something bigger and better comes along. There … Continue reading
Please excuse the use of verbal communication throughout this post. Last night, while training home with some friends after watching an incredible performance of classical guitar at a coffee shop in a suburb, it was somehow decided that it would be interesting to hang out with friends while not using verbal communication. I believe this … Continue reading
Let me preface with this: I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. While I find this subject matter extremely interesting, I’m a total novice and nothing I say should be taken as truth. The strokes According to the literature and instruction I’ve encountered, every movement of the brush on paper in calligraphy falls … Continue reading
As is the norm in my life, I haven’t blogged nearly enough about what’s actually taking up the bulk of my time these days. I’ve been learning freaking characters. Rather early on in my stay here, I caught word of a calligraphy club at our university. I made sure I wasn’t going to miss an … Continue reading
OK, this is starting to get old. One stupid post is really bringing the weirdos in. Thanks, sis. But there are some redeemingly cool hits in there. Oh, and by the way, the title of the blog post contains a 3 in cuneiform: 𒐈. If it’s not displaying correctly for you, you can use this … Continue reading
The name of the city I live in is transliterated a lot of different ways. I’ve seen it mostly as Chungli around here, yet Google Maps (and Earth) has it listed as Jhongli. According to how I was taught Pinyin, it should be Zhōnglì, but Taiwan does everything different than China, so no surprise there. … Continue reading
I’ve been trying for some time now to obtain a visa for my impending trip to Taiwan. This has proven most bothersome. I’ve had to travel to New York each time to deal with the Taiwanese Consulate in person. The first trip I took up there, a Friday, my application was declined. The reason given … Continue reading
In looking up a word online (I was puzzled as to why OpenOffice accepted “dialog” as a viable spelling but not “dialogue”), I stumbled across an interesting usage note: Usage Note: In recent years the verb sense of dialogue meaning “to engage in an informal exchange of views” has been revived, particularly with reference to … Continue reading
I’ve been working on getting a scholarship to study in Taiwan for Fall 2008. Of course, I’ll definitely need to brush up on my Chinese before I go. Back in the States, I’ve already taken two quarters of Mandarin. The coursework was primarily in Pinyin, which means I didn’t really learn many characters. My pronunciation … Continue reading