Recently I've taken to listening to the BBC while working since I'm doing rather repetitive grunt work at the moment. Normally if I'm writing, I can only listen to instrumental music, preferably baroque music, with the odd earworming infinite repeat of certain bands that aid me in my madness. I'm sure you can suss that out if you check my lastfm stats.
However, I've been really enjoying BBC, particularly BBC 4 "Literate Speech" for the indeed literate and often very witty discussions, and the comedies can be hilarious. It's like reverting back to the Golden Age of Radio.
For comedy, I particularly recommended His Master's Voice, a political satire that has just started, and I'm Sorry I Haven't Got a Clue, an extremely long-running program that bursts with innuendo and bon mots.
For a more serious bent, there is Start the Week, a discussion group of four newly published authors about their books and related topics. Very literate, very well-informed. It's hard to imagine mainstream media of this quality in American.
You can also poked around and find local programming in the arts scene in Scotland, say, which can be fun. I think I'll avoid the Welsh language programming for the moment though.
7.11.2007
7.07.2007
7:07 on 07/07/07
First pitch for the Red Sox game tonight in Detroit was at 7:07 pm on the 7th of July, the 7th month of the 7th year of this Millennium.
Good timing, I'd say. Today most numerologists and astrologers are going nuts, I reckon.
Good timing, I'd say. Today most numerologists and astrologers are going nuts, I reckon.
7.06.2007
A Picture in the Hand is Worth Two in the Gym
Ah, good news to brighten a dreary June gloom Berkeley day.
Tomorrow begins the Hiroshi Sugimoto exhibit at the de Young in San Francisco. I became aware of Sugimoto-san's work while in Nepal from an international version of Time or Newsweek, so I am very excited that I'll get the chance to see this exhibit while in the Bay Area. It runs from July 7th to September 23rd. I'll probably have to go at least twice!
There was a book signing by Sugimoto-san tonight, but oh well, can't be everywhere all at once.
In other related news:
It's rare that I find photography that I like so today when at my gym I discovered some photos that I really admired in a new exhibit I was of course excited. The quality of the exhibits at my gym, Berkeley Ironworks Rock Climbing Gym, has been mediocre at best so today was quite a surprise. The photographer of the new exhibit, Ryan Zeitler, seems to have a deft touch with abstraction and landscapes. His website is Sharp End Photography. However, once I visited his site, I realized that all the pictures out of what he has available for viewing that I like best are of course the ones that he has put up in the gym in his Focus Exhibit. All of his other photographs of climbers and outdoor scenes are well done, but I'm enthralled by his compositional skills.
Tomorrow begins the Hiroshi Sugimoto exhibit at the de Young in San Francisco. I became aware of Sugimoto-san's work while in Nepal from an international version of Time or Newsweek, so I am very excited that I'll get the chance to see this exhibit while in the Bay Area. It runs from July 7th to September 23rd. I'll probably have to go at least twice!
There was a book signing by Sugimoto-san tonight, but oh well, can't be everywhere all at once.
In other related news:
It's rare that I find photography that I like so today when at my gym I discovered some photos that I really admired in a new exhibit I was of course excited. The quality of the exhibits at my gym, Berkeley Ironworks Rock Climbing Gym, has been mediocre at best so today was quite a surprise. The photographer of the new exhibit, Ryan Zeitler, seems to have a deft touch with abstraction and landscapes. His website is Sharp End Photography. However, once I visited his site, I realized that all the pictures out of what he has available for viewing that I like best are of course the ones that he has put up in the gym in his Focus Exhibit. All of his other photographs of climbers and outdoor scenes are well done, but I'm enthralled by his compositional skills.
7.04.2007
New News on Old Persian
Over at the Language Log today, there is a brief article on the discovery of an Old Persian administrative text on what looks like to be a clay tablet. Old Persian was thought to perhaps only have been used for inscriptions, but this looks like evidence that the use of it might have been more widespread that thought. I've only briefly studied Old Persian at the University of Texas, Austin, with Dr. Mark Southern when he was there, and it was striking how similar it was to Sanskrit.
However, the reason that I posted about this is that the article mentions one of my mentors and my teacher of Khotanese at Harvard, Professor Prods Oktor Skjærvø.
It is gratifying to see that the Language Log has mentioned the various Iranian language primers that Dr. Skjærvø has generously made available for free download at a webpage entitled Iranian Studies at Harvard University. I know he worked hard on those primers with a lot of feedback from his students.
So you can now get started on Old or Young Avestan, Sogdian (which I studied with Dr. Skjærvø for two years) or Old Persian. Just remember that I believe that it was Émile Benveniste, the famous linguist who called Sogdian "the devil's own language." Don't say that I didn't warn you.
There are also two Kurdish primers by W. M. Thackston, and two course readers for Dr. Skjærvø's Intro classes for Zoroastrianism and Manicheism.
All in all an Iranian cultural feast gratis.
However, the reason that I posted about this is that the article mentions one of my mentors and my teacher of Khotanese at Harvard, Professor Prods Oktor Skjærvø.
It is gratifying to see that the Language Log has mentioned the various Iranian language primers that Dr. Skjærvø has generously made available for free download at a webpage entitled Iranian Studies at Harvard University. I know he worked hard on those primers with a lot of feedback from his students.
So you can now get started on Old or Young Avestan, Sogdian (which I studied with Dr. Skjærvø for two years) or Old Persian. Just remember that I believe that it was Émile Benveniste, the famous linguist who called Sogdian "the devil's own language." Don't say that I didn't warn you.
There are also two Kurdish primers by W. M. Thackston, and two course readers for Dr. Skjærvø's Intro classes for Zoroastrianism and Manicheism.
All in all an Iranian cultural feast gratis.
6.29.2007
Turkish Maps and Legends
Yesterday I helped a friend pack a container for moving, and the result of carrying hundreds of pounds of a tasteful book collection down two flights of stairs is aching hamstrings. These tender 'strings of mine reminded me, naturally, of the mountains and passes that comprise the heart of Inner Asia, especially since for light bedtime reading I've been working through Peter Hopkirk's corpus. This morning when I woke up rather too early for my lackadaisical tastes I finished off his Trespassers on the Roof of the World: The Secret Exploration of Tibet.
A lot of Westerners attempted to reach Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, by traveling through the extremely sparsely populated and desolate plain in the north of Tibet, the Chang Tang. The harsh climate and the eventual discovery of their parties usually defeated them before they were able to reach Lhasa, and in any case, the so-called race to Lhasa had been won by a Bengali, Sarat Chandra Das, one of the so-called native explorers, or pundits, trained in surveying.
In any case, thinking about the northern part of Tibet reminded me of something I stumbled on recently about Khotan. Kashgar would be usually be the gateway for any 19th century Western explorer who attempted to enter Tibet from the north or who wanted to explore the Tarim Basin, and when I recently did a Google search on Khotan, as I periodically do, I was somewhat surprised to find some new information that had been added to the wikipedia entry for the Kingdom of Khotan.
Under the sub-heading of Culture, there is this new (at least new to me) bit of information:
But that's not all. There is a fascinating map in this text showing the distribution of Turkic tribes. Here is some more information on how to read the map.
Well, of course I had to look and see if there has been a translation of this text, and sure enough, after rummaging around on the Internet with my extreme flopping fish google-fu, I found this:
Actually, it wasn't Google, but the good old Harvard Hollis Catalog. But don't discount the difficulty to find this reference though.
There was also this reference from my notes:
I'll probably have to scour the Interlibrary loan for that one though since I'm not sure where I stumbled across that reference. In any case, the vitriolic tone of the above passage from the "Turkic Lexicon" might provide another nugget or two of information about Khotan, something I'm always on the lookout for. I wonder if the city was named explicitly since the reference given in the wikipedia article is singularly uninformative and somewhat hard to find in the U.S.
A lot of Westerners attempted to reach Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, by traveling through the extremely sparsely populated and desolate plain in the north of Tibet, the Chang Tang. The harsh climate and the eventual discovery of their parties usually defeated them before they were able to reach Lhasa, and in any case, the so-called race to Lhasa had been won by a Bengali, Sarat Chandra Das, one of the so-called native explorers, or pundits, trained in surveying.
In any case, thinking about the northern part of Tibet reminded me of something I stumbled on recently about Khotan. Kashgar would be usually be the gateway for any 19th century Western explorer who attempted to enter Tibet from the north or who wanted to explore the Tarim Basin, and when I recently did a Google search on Khotan, as I periodically do, I was somewhat surprised to find some new information that had been added to the wikipedia entry for the Kingdom of Khotan.
Under the sub-heading of Culture, there is this new (at least new to me) bit of information:
In his Diwanu Lughat at-Turk, the 11th century Turkish scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari included a verse describing the Muslim conquest of Khotan:
- Like river torrents
- We flooded their cities
- We destroyed their monasteries
- And shat on the statues of the Buddha.
But that's not all. There is a fascinating map in this text showing the distribution of Turkic tribes. Here is some more information on how to read the map.
Well, of course I had to look and see if there has been a translation of this text, and sure enough, after rummaging around on the Internet with my extreme flopping fish google-fu, I found this:
Maḥmūd Kāshgarī, 11th cent.
Türk şiveleri lügatı = Dīvānü Luġāt-it-Türk / Maḥmūd el-Kāşġarı ; inceleme, tenkidli metin,vİngilizce tercüme, dizinler, Robert Dankoff, James Kelly.
Duxbury, Mass. : Tekin, 1982-1985 (Printed at the Harvard University Printing Office)
3 v. : folded map ; 28-29 cm. + 7 microfiches (11 x 15 cm.). ( Doğu dilleri ve edebiyatlarının kaynakları ; 7. Türkçe kaynaklar ; 7 = Sources of Oriental languages and literatures. Turkic sources ; 7 )
Actually, it wasn't Google, but the good old Harvard Hollis Catalog. But don't discount the difficulty to find this reference though.
There was also this reference from my notes:
Mahmud al-Kashgari, Diwan Lugat at-Turk ("Turkic Lexicon"), translated with Introduction by Zifa-Alua Auezova and Index by Robert Ermers, Almaty "Daik-Press" 2005. ISBN 9965-699-74-7.
I'll probably have to scour the Interlibrary loan for that one though since I'm not sure where I stumbled across that reference. In any case, the vitriolic tone of the above passage from the "Turkic Lexicon" might provide another nugget or two of information about Khotan, something I'm always on the lookout for. I wonder if the city was named explicitly since the reference given in the wikipedia article is singularly uninformative and somewhat hard to find in the U.S.
6.26.2007
Unknotting Knoxville
A few farewell photos of Knoxville, mainly of the part of town called the Old City. The Old City is a few square blocks that consist of very old buildings under heavy development. Unfortunately it's penned in by a highway and the railroad, but it is rapidly gentrifying with design and architects' offices. 
Great bit of graffiti. My sister tell me that this local artist is well known and that people will pry off the plywood at building sites to keep she often sketches on. 
Summer thunderstorm sky over downtown Knoxville.
The old JFG Coffee building where they roasted coffee since 1926. It's been recently closed and operations moved elsewhere. 
Repurposed bowling alley as car lot. Doesn't get any more post-modern than that, does it? Bricolage amongst the suburban detritus.
Great bit of graffiti. My sister tell me that this local artist is well known and that people will pry off the plywood at building sites to keep she often sketches on. 
Summer thunderstorm sky over downtown Knoxville.
The old JFG Coffee building where they roasted coffee since 1926. It's been recently closed and operations moved elsewhere. 
Repurposed bowling alley as car lot. Doesn't get any more post-modern than that, does it? Bricolage amongst the suburban detritus.6.25.2007
My Grandparents and Father Jules Daigle
I have kept few mementos of my adopted maternal grandparents. I had a leather bag full of things belonging to my grandfather, but that bag molded over in the Southeast Texas heat and humidity while in storage in a shed. I think somewhere else in storage I have some of his things, but I don't have anything of my grandmother's since I was not in Texas when she died, and she had been sick for so long with Alzheimer's, that most of her possessions had been discarded or absorbed into the family.
Last night I was looking through a stack of my sister's books, and I found my grandparent's copy of A Dictionary of the Cajun Language by Rev. Msgr. Jules O. Daigle, M.A., S.T.L. It's signed by Monsignor Daigle, but unfortunately there is no date. Here is the information that I've been able to find about Father Daigle from here:
Jules Daigle, born December 4, 1900, is the son of Oscar Daigle and Eliza Landry and the 6th of 17 children. Father Daigle spent the first 2 years of his career in Baltimore, Md. and the final four he studied in Rome. He boasted that all of his professors went on to become Cardinals. Father Jules Daigle, who was ordained at the Vatican in 1926, returned to Louisiana where his sermons in Cajun French drew overflow crowds. After 48 years as a priest, he retired in 1974 and began a writing career. By 1984, using his own money, he published his 600 page dictionary which immediately became a best seller and supported many charities. His influence has spawned successful education programs teaching French to South Louisiana's children and adults even after his death on January 2, 1998.
He was also the author of a book called Cajun Self-Taught. Apparently, he was fluent in eight languages and a main proponent of the preservation of Cajun French. He certainly had some acerbic things to say about topics such as "Is Cajun bad French or just different French?" and "Other myths about the Cajun language". He had earned the right to be cantankerous, for he states in the introduction that he has been using the language for 84 years.
On the backside of the front cover in what I think is my grandfather's handwriting is his and my grandmother's names and their address. They must have purchased this somewhat close to the end of my grandfather's life, for the address indicates that it was after they had sold their house and moved closer to my mother so that she could care for them as they grew infirm.
I was able to find one book review of Father Daigle's dictionary:
Mary Patricia Trenkle, The French Review, Vol. 59, No. 5. (Apr., 1986), pp. 836-837. Although Father Daigle was convinced that Cajun was a separate language from French based on a variety of factors such as vocabulary, question formation, the uses of après, donc, and voir, abbreviations and repetitions, Trenkle remains skeptical. I leave that matter to the experts in the field and those that like to smash their heads against the language versus dialect debates.
I've always regretted not having been taught Cajun French by my grandparents, especially after I started studying French in high school. They didn't teach it to their kids, but it wasn't until recently that I realized the stigma attached to speaking it from the beginning of the 20th century to about the 1970s. From the same page above that gave me that biographical information on Father Daigle:
The French language was once so dominant in Louisiana that official state documents were published in French and English. In 1898, the State Constitution provided that "the French language may be taught in those parishes and localities where the French language predominates". But in 1921, the Louisiana Constitution prohibited the teaching of French in public schools. Children were spanked for merely uttering French words on the school grounds.
It's been said that the stigma against Cajun French was because que ce n'est pas le bon francais, but the stigma must've been stronger than that, for my grandfather even went so far as to change the ending of his name, Babineaux, to an -o, Babino, to make the name appear more Italian. I'm uncertain when he did that, but my maternal aunt, being the maverick that she is, changed her name back to the original spelling several years ago. I should look and see if I can find the documentation for the spelling change of his name. I'll have some more posts about this kind of stigmatization later.
I'm sure my sister will hold onto the dictionary. It doesn't look used at all, but I'm sure my grandfather and grandmother had little need of it, except as a reminder of their heritage and to honor Father Daigle.
Last night I was looking through a stack of my sister's books, and I found my grandparent's copy of A Dictionary of the Cajun Language by Rev. Msgr. Jules O. Daigle, M.A., S.T.L. It's signed by Monsignor Daigle, but unfortunately there is no date. Here is the information that I've been able to find about Father Daigle from here:
Jules Daigle, born December 4, 1900, is the son of Oscar Daigle and Eliza Landry and the 6th of 17 children. Father Daigle spent the first 2 years of his career in Baltimore, Md. and the final four he studied in Rome. He boasted that all of his professors went on to become Cardinals. Father Jules Daigle, who was ordained at the Vatican in 1926, returned to Louisiana where his sermons in Cajun French drew overflow crowds. After 48 years as a priest, he retired in 1974 and began a writing career. By 1984, using his own money, he published his 600 page dictionary which immediately became a best seller and supported many charities. His influence has spawned successful education programs teaching French to South Louisiana's children and adults even after his death on January 2, 1998.
He was also the author of a book called Cajun Self-Taught. Apparently, he was fluent in eight languages and a main proponent of the preservation of Cajun French. He certainly had some acerbic things to say about topics such as "Is Cajun bad French or just different French?" and "Other myths about the Cajun language". He had earned the right to be cantankerous, for he states in the introduction that he has been using the language for 84 years.
On the backside of the front cover in what I think is my grandfather's handwriting is his and my grandmother's names and their address. They must have purchased this somewhat close to the end of my grandfather's life, for the address indicates that it was after they had sold their house and moved closer to my mother so that she could care for them as they grew infirm.
I was able to find one book review of Father Daigle's dictionary:
Mary Patricia Trenkle, The French Review, Vol. 59, No. 5. (Apr., 1986), pp. 836-837. Although Father Daigle was convinced that Cajun was a separate language from French based on a variety of factors such as vocabulary, question formation, the uses of après, donc, and voir, abbreviations and repetitions, Trenkle remains skeptical. I leave that matter to the experts in the field and those that like to smash their heads against the language versus dialect debates.
I've always regretted not having been taught Cajun French by my grandparents, especially after I started studying French in high school. They didn't teach it to their kids, but it wasn't until recently that I realized the stigma attached to speaking it from the beginning of the 20th century to about the 1970s. From the same page above that gave me that biographical information on Father Daigle:
The French language was once so dominant in Louisiana that official state documents were published in French and English. In 1898, the State Constitution provided that "the French language may be taught in those parishes and localities where the French language predominates". But in 1921, the Louisiana Constitution prohibited the teaching of French in public schools. Children were spanked for merely uttering French words on the school grounds.
It's been said that the stigma against Cajun French was because que ce n'est pas le bon francais, but the stigma must've been stronger than that, for my grandfather even went so far as to change the ending of his name, Babineaux, to an -o, Babino, to make the name appear more Italian. I'm uncertain when he did that, but my maternal aunt, being the maverick that she is, changed her name back to the original spelling several years ago. I should look and see if I can find the documentation for the spelling change of his name. I'll have some more posts about this kind of stigmatization later.
I'm sure my sister will hold onto the dictionary. It doesn't look used at all, but I'm sure my grandfather and grandmother had little need of it, except as a reminder of their heritage and to honor Father Daigle.
Waitin' and Grabblin'
Ah, the delicious dichotomy of sexual mores that is the South.
One can see several billboards around Knoxville promoting abstinence. Yes, and by abstinence, I mean sexual abstinence, not abstinence from deep-fried foods and the flesh of swine roasted over various types of wood. These billboards have been around since I visited here previously in 2005, but they appear to be in good repair. The name of the organization is called Just Wait. Apparently, it is a local organization, for the homepage declares eagerly that:
"We have gone from teaching in 3 counties to 13! We have gone from a staff of 3 to now more than 10! We now see over 25,000 students and have the privelege of sharing the life-changing message of abstinence until marriage."
I had assumed that this was a national organization. One wonders where the funding is coming from. Their graphic design is somewhat effective, I suppose, in a cheery vacation bible school sort of way. The most eye-catching of the billboards is the image on this t-shirt, which at least gave me pause to investigate what was going on further. I'm not so sure about the veracity of their slogan "Safe Sex Isn't", but apparently, you can add sexual education to the list of topics such as politics and religion that aren't to be discussed in polite company but can be trumpeted from billboards.
Now for the grabblin', brought to my bemused attention courtesy of the weekly here in Knoxville, The Metro Pulse. And what is grabblin', you naturally ask? Welp, according to catfishgrabblers.com, it is:
"... the art of fishing with your hands. In the spring of the year the catfish move to shallow water to lay their eggs. Spawning is triggered by the increasing length of the days and the warmer water temperatures. Spawning in the Tennessee River area usually starts about late May."
For further details, I refer you to this page. And why do I bring this up in a discussion that is presumably about the sexual mores of the South? Simply put:
Yes, it's a take-off on the infamous Girls Gone Wild video series whose highly repetitive commercials afflict those cursed with insomnia and who happen to stumble (or is it thumble with a remote control?) upon one of the many channels that hammer these products ad nauseum and ad infinitum in the wee hours of the morning.
However, Girls Gone Grabblin' simply must be infinitely more charming, for who can resist the following ad copy:
"Believe it or not! We now bring you the first and only Girls Gone Grabblin' DVD ever produced. Be one of the first to watch & be amazed as 35 Southern Women bring you the thrill of catching catfish weighing up to 44lbs. with their hands and wrestling them to the bank."
Folks, I too find it hard to believe that this is the first and only Girls Gone Grabblin' DVD produced. But I predict that in this specialized case, the supply will create the demand, for who can resist the allure of not 10, not 20, but 35 Southern women catching catfish and wrestling them? It would take a stronger and far more virtuous man that I, given my predilection for all things deep-fried and the fact that these are not, I repeat, are not farm raised catfish fed Purina Mills Catfish Chow so they'll taste right once cleaned.
Grabblin'. You couldn't make this stuff up.
One can see several billboards around Knoxville promoting abstinence. Yes, and by abstinence, I mean sexual abstinence, not abstinence from deep-fried foods and the flesh of swine roasted over various types of wood. These billboards have been around since I visited here previously in 2005, but they appear to be in good repair. The name of the organization is called Just Wait. Apparently, it is a local organization, for the homepage declares eagerly that:
"We have gone from teaching in 3 counties to 13! We have gone from a staff of 3 to now more than 10! We now see over 25,000 students and have the privelege of sharing the life-changing message of abstinence until marriage."
I had assumed that this was a national organization. One wonders where the funding is coming from. Their graphic design is somewhat effective, I suppose, in a cheery vacation bible school sort of way. The most eye-catching of the billboards is the image on this t-shirt, which at least gave me pause to investigate what was going on further. I'm not so sure about the veracity of their slogan "Safe Sex Isn't", but apparently, you can add sexual education to the list of topics such as politics and religion that aren't to be discussed in polite company but can be trumpeted from billboards.
Now for the grabblin', brought to my bemused attention courtesy of the weekly here in Knoxville, The Metro Pulse. And what is grabblin', you naturally ask? Welp, according to catfishgrabblers.com, it is:
"... the art of fishing with your hands. In the spring of the year the catfish move to shallow water to lay their eggs. Spawning is triggered by the increasing length of the days and the warmer water temperatures. Spawning in the Tennessee River area usually starts about late May."
For further details, I refer you to this page. And why do I bring this up in a discussion that is presumably about the sexual mores of the South? Simply put:
Yes, it's a take-off on the infamous Girls Gone Wild video series whose highly repetitive commercials afflict those cursed with insomnia and who happen to stumble (or is it thumble with a remote control?) upon one of the many channels that hammer these products ad nauseum and ad infinitum in the wee hours of the morning.
However, Girls Gone Grabblin' simply must be infinitely more charming, for who can resist the following ad copy:
"Believe it or not! We now bring you the first and only Girls Gone Grabblin' DVD ever produced. Be one of the first to watch & be amazed as 35 Southern Women bring you the thrill of catching catfish weighing up to 44lbs. with their hands and wrestling them to the bank."
Folks, I too find it hard to believe that this is the first and only Girls Gone Grabblin' DVD produced. But I predict that in this specialized case, the supply will create the demand, for who can resist the allure of not 10, not 20, but 35 Southern women catching catfish and wrestling them? It would take a stronger and far more virtuous man that I, given my predilection for all things deep-fried and the fact that these are not, I repeat, are not farm raised catfish fed Purina Mills Catfish Chow so they'll taste right once cleaned.
Grabblin'. You couldn't make this stuff up.
6.24.2007
"Boy, thou uproarious shark of heaven..."
Heavens, how have I not read Kim until now? I am assuredly on a Raj-era India literature kick, but I lay the blame squarely (or rectangularly as the case may be) at the feet of Book Eddy here in Knoxville, those purveyors of $1.50 soft cover books that I cannot resist. I'm also working my way through Orwell's Burmese Days, although that is a dreary trudge given that it is mainly set in the hot before the monsoon in Burma and supremely depressing in the inability of anyone to really communicate with one another.
Does not the title of this post suit Kim, even though it is taken from A Clockwork Orange? One of the great characters in literature, comparable to the immortal and redoubtable Zorba the Greek in sheer joi de vivre.
If you have a taste for it, and mine waxes and wanes dependent on some mysterious cycle unknown to me, there has been a fair amount of post-colonial criticism of Kim as well, most significantly and beginning with, I assume, Edward Said, "Kim, The Pleasures of Imperialism," Raritan, 7(1987): 27-74. One can also sample online a paper in a similar vein by a former student, Nandi Bhatia, at my alma mater, the University of Texas, Austin. The paper is titled, "Kipling's Burden: Representing Colonial Authority and Constructing the "Other" through Kimball O'Hara and Babu Hurree Chander in Kim."
I did not know that John Lockwood Kipling was the curator of the Lahore Museum that figures prominently in the beginning of Kim. If that's a fair representation of Kipling Père, then he was a burra sahib indeed in language skill and art acumen. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I'm certain that Stanley Abe's "Inside the Wonder House: Buddhist Art and the West," in Curators of the Buddha, ed. Donald Lopez (1995) deals with Kipling's depiction of the Lahore Museum. Perhaps Dr. Abe was able to give an accurate account of Kipling Père's true abilities.
I also seem to remember that a former professor of mine at the University of Texas, Dr. Janice Leoshko, writing something on this very subject. Ah, here it is:
Janice Leoshko, 'What is in Kim?: Rudyard Kipling and Tibetan Buddhist Traditions', South Asia Research, (Fall) 2001, pp. 51-75.
Quite an interesting topic, given the state of knowledge about Tibetan Buddhism at the time of the composition of Kim (1901-1902, I believe). I cannot remember offhand if L. A. Waddell's work on Tibetan Buddhism with the lengthy title of Buddhism of Tibet or Lamaism, With Its Mystic Cults, Symbolism and Mythology and in Its Relation to Indian Buddhism had been published at this point. Yes, it had in 1895. My, Waddell seems to went off his nut later on in life, if the following publication is any indication: Phoenician Origin of the Britons, Scots, and Anglo-Saxons (2nd ed. 1925). I wonder if anyone has written a biography on him.
There is this, English in Tibet, Tibet in English: Self-Presentation in Tibet and the Diaspora, by Laurie Hovell McMillin. Sounds like just the thing for exploring some of these issues based on the table of contents. One of her chapters covers Kim.
There is still the question, at least in my mind, of Kipling's sources for the Kulu and Kangra districts and the religious practices there. I shall have to procure a copy of Dr. Leoshko's paper once I have significant library resources.
Good lord, Peter Hopkirk has also published a book of note on Kim. Entitled Quest for Kim: In Search of Kipling's Great Game, it is said that "the author visits the locations of the novel and discusses the real-life personages that may have possibly inspired its characters." I believe this man has had entirely too much fun mucking about Central Asia and writing about the Great Game and the exploration of Central Asia and Tibet.
Does not the title of this post suit Kim, even though it is taken from A Clockwork Orange? One of the great characters in literature, comparable to the immortal and redoubtable Zorba the Greek in sheer joi de vivre.
If you have a taste for it, and mine waxes and wanes dependent on some mysterious cycle unknown to me, there has been a fair amount of post-colonial criticism of Kim as well, most significantly and beginning with, I assume, Edward Said, "Kim, The Pleasures of Imperialism," Raritan, 7(1987): 27-74. One can also sample online a paper in a similar vein by a former student, Nandi Bhatia, at my alma mater, the University of Texas, Austin. The paper is titled, "Kipling's Burden: Representing Colonial Authority and Constructing the "Other" through Kimball O'Hara and Babu Hurree Chander in Kim."
I did not know that John Lockwood Kipling was the curator of the Lahore Museum that figures prominently in the beginning of Kim. If that's a fair representation of Kipling Père, then he was a burra sahib indeed in language skill and art acumen. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I'm certain that Stanley Abe's "Inside the Wonder House: Buddhist Art and the West," in Curators of the Buddha, ed. Donald Lopez (1995) deals with Kipling's depiction of the Lahore Museum. Perhaps Dr. Abe was able to give an accurate account of Kipling Père's true abilities.
I also seem to remember that a former professor of mine at the University of Texas, Dr. Janice Leoshko, writing something on this very subject. Ah, here it is:
Janice Leoshko, 'What is in Kim?: Rudyard Kipling and Tibetan Buddhist Traditions', South Asia Research, (Fall) 2001, pp. 51-75.
Quite an interesting topic, given the state of knowledge about Tibetan Buddhism at the time of the composition of Kim (1901-1902, I believe). I cannot remember offhand if L. A. Waddell's work on Tibetan Buddhism with the lengthy title of Buddhism of Tibet or Lamaism, With Its Mystic Cults, Symbolism and Mythology and in Its Relation to Indian Buddhism had been published at this point. Yes, it had in 1895. My, Waddell seems to went off his nut later on in life, if the following publication is any indication: Phoenician Origin of the Britons, Scots, and Anglo-Saxons (2nd ed. 1925). I wonder if anyone has written a biography on him.
There is this, English in Tibet, Tibet in English: Self-Presentation in Tibet and the Diaspora, by Laurie Hovell McMillin. Sounds like just the thing for exploring some of these issues based on the table of contents. One of her chapters covers Kim.
There is still the question, at least in my mind, of Kipling's sources for the Kulu and Kangra districts and the religious practices there. I shall have to procure a copy of Dr. Leoshko's paper once I have significant library resources.
Good lord, Peter Hopkirk has also published a book of note on Kim. Entitled Quest for Kim: In Search of Kipling's Great Game, it is said that "the author visits the locations of the novel and discusses the real-life personages that may have possibly inspired its characters." I believe this man has had entirely too much fun mucking about Central Asia and writing about the Great Game and the exploration of Central Asia and Tibet.
6.21.2007
Hiroshi Sugimoto, how do you do it?
Experiment at the Quarry Lake in Knoxville. I need to figure out how to do a long exposure with this new camera without everything washing out. I had borrowed my sister's tripod to do this since I could tell from Google Maps that this pond was a cerulean blue.
Well, 'magine my surprise. Sugimoto-san had an exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum in D.C. when I was there last week. Somehow I missed that in my trip planning.
Dang.
And his exhibition at the Asian Art Museum isn't 'til this fall. When I'm not likely to be in the Bay Area.
Dang.
Nevermind, his show at the Hirschorn was last year. Still won't get to see his show at the Asian Art Museum.
Dang.
Here's a photo to calm down with.
Rock and fire, baby... rock and fire
Here's me at the Tennessee Smokies game on Tuesday night, trying my hand at the pitching booth. I think that radar gun wasn't calibrated correctly. That young lady next to me was condescending after she asked my age. I should write a complaint.Phyllis and I had a head to head challenge. I barely beat her, but she couldn't hit the backstop!
Here's a picture of my sister below. That girl's getting more tat work than a white trash carnie.
Always good advice.
Baseball pastoral.
Knoxville Perambulations
Quite a bit of ground covered today in Knoxville with a walk of over 4 1/2 hours. I walked up to the Harold Lambert Overlook Park, which is across the street from my mom's and sister's apartment. This is where the Civil War era Union fort, Fort Dickerson was located. The views across the river are obscured by the luxuriant summer growth, but it was a nice hike up and I learned a fair bit about the siege of Knoxville by Confederacy forces. I then walked downtown, stopping frequently to take photographs of various architectural details as is my wont.
Since I had ample time to cogitate, I was struck as I always am when I cross the South Gay Street Bridge on foot by the thought that I can't imagine a more thorough bungling of riverfront property than in Knoxville. Building an expressway right next to the riverside and having only one pedestrian bridge for access from downtown is just about the height of stupidity, especially since there is frantic development downtown gutting old buildings and putting in lofts. What a waste of real estate and a sad reflection of the overwhelming influence of car culture.
I worked my way up Gay Street, and I finally ended up in an alley between an abandoned building that I was taking photos of and a building that apparently houses the printing press that churns out University of Tennessee t-shirts. There was a gentleman there who was sitting in the shade, and it looked like he had been there a while, given the number of empties he had next to him. He asked me not to take his photo, which is natural, given that he was drinking in an alley. He didn't look homeless; rather, he looked like he just wanted a quiet place to drink. We chatted for a while about various things. For a man in a deserted alley, he seemed eager to talk, telling me of his sexual exploits in Vietnam while he was there during the war.
After excusing myself, I walked back up the street to purchase an iced coffee, my summertime drug of choice, and walked across Gay Street to pop into Yee Haw Industries, a self-described industrial letterpress. I really like their Southern influenced design work, and it's a shame that I'm so skint at the moment, otherwise there were several extraordinary posters I would have walked out with. This poster for a Freakwater show is just wonderful. They have a nice storefront, which I neglected to take a picture of.
6.20.2007
Specialized English Vocabulary for Khotanese
Today I've been working on an index for the third (and as far as I know, last) volume of Studies in the Vocabulary of Khotanese. (See below for full bibliographic information.)
Khotanese is a Middle Iranian language with a large amount of Buddhist literature extant, hence the interest. Khotan itself was a thriving center of Buddhism in Inner (or Central Asia) for most of the first millennium after the birth of Christ, so the study of Khotan and Khotanese literature is important in understanding the spread of Buddhism from India to the rest of Asia. I'll be talking more and more about all things Khotanese as I get to various topics since this is one of the main areas that I am researching.
I've been working on this list in the hope of eventually creating a composite index of Khotanese words. Not necessarily a dictionary, but merely an index that lists where words are discussed since Bailey's dictionary only lists words of Iranian origin, and you often have to check in a variety of places to find a particular lemma. And this gets wearisome, so a master index is necessary. It's not like using a single dictionary while working in other language; I often have to check in three or four places without any guarantee of finding what I'm looking for. Eventually, with a master index in hand, the time to work through a text should be cut way down, but of course, I have to put in the time to create a list in the first place.
The 3rd volume of Studies in the Vocabulary of Khotanese is an ideal place to start since it is itself an index for all three volumes and the lemmata correct mistakes, problems, or ghostwords in Sir. H. W. Bailey's Dictionary of Khotan Saka. Incidentally, if you'd like to purchase a copy of this extremely rare dictionary for my use, it's only about $700. You'd have my eternal gratitude, of course.
So I'm going through making an index of the lemmata or headwords with a minimal amount of information such as location in the volumes and the translation of the particular term, and I have run into a surprising number of words that I had to look up so I thought I'd share them and their definitions with you in no particular order:
1. beestings - n. first milk given by cow after calving
2. supervenient - adj. surprising, unexpected
3. efflate - to fill with breath; to puff up.
4. simplex - having only one part or element; "a simplex word has no affixes and is not part of a compound--like `boy' compared with `boyish' or `house' compared with `houseboat'
5. raphe - n. seam joining two halves or parts of a body part (Anatomy); median line of the cell wall of a diatom (Botany)
6. clyster-pipe - n. injection of a liquid through the anus to stimulate evacuation; sometimes used for diagnostic purposes
Learn Khotanese, improve your English vocabulary!
For the pedants: Emmerick, R.E., and P.O. Skjærvø. 1997. Studies in the Vocabulary of Khotanese III, (Veröffentlichungen der iranischen Kommission herausgegeben von Heiner Eichner und Rüdiger Schmitt Band 27). Wien: Verlag der Osterreichischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften.
Khotanese is a Middle Iranian language with a large amount of Buddhist literature extant, hence the interest. Khotan itself was a thriving center of Buddhism in Inner (or Central Asia) for most of the first millennium after the birth of Christ, so the study of Khotan and Khotanese literature is important in understanding the spread of Buddhism from India to the rest of Asia. I'll be talking more and more about all things Khotanese as I get to various topics since this is one of the main areas that I am researching.
I've been working on this list in the hope of eventually creating a composite index of Khotanese words. Not necessarily a dictionary, but merely an index that lists where words are discussed since Bailey's dictionary only lists words of Iranian origin, and you often have to check in a variety of places to find a particular lemma. And this gets wearisome, so a master index is necessary. It's not like using a single dictionary while working in other language; I often have to check in three or four places without any guarantee of finding what I'm looking for. Eventually, with a master index in hand, the time to work through a text should be cut way down, but of course, I have to put in the time to create a list in the first place.
The 3rd volume of Studies in the Vocabulary of Khotanese is an ideal place to start since it is itself an index for all three volumes and the lemmata correct mistakes, problems, or ghostwords in Sir. H. W. Bailey's Dictionary of Khotan Saka. Incidentally, if you'd like to purchase a copy of this extremely rare dictionary for my use, it's only about $700. You'd have my eternal gratitude, of course.
So I'm going through making an index of the lemmata or headwords with a minimal amount of information such as location in the volumes and the translation of the particular term, and I have run into a surprising number of words that I had to look up so I thought I'd share them and their definitions with you in no particular order:
1. beestings - n. first milk given by cow after calving
2. supervenient - adj. surprising, unexpected
3. efflate - to fill with breath; to puff up.
4. simplex - having only one part or element; "a simplex word has no affixes and is not part of a compound--like `boy' compared with `boyish' or `house' compared with `houseboat'
5. raphe - n. seam joining two halves or parts of a body part (Anatomy); median line of the cell wall of a diatom (Botany)
6. clyster-pipe - n. injection of a liquid through the anus to stimulate evacuation; sometimes used for diagnostic purposes
Learn Khotanese, improve your English vocabulary!
For the pedants: Emmerick, R.E., and P.O. Skjærvø. 1997. Studies in the Vocabulary of Khotanese III, (Veröffentlichungen der iranischen Kommission herausgegeben von Heiner Eichner und Rüdiger Schmitt Band 27). Wien: Verlag der Osterreichischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften.
6.18.2007
Biscuits and Gravy? Minor League Miscellania
I went to a Tennessee Smokies baseball game tonight, and I was somewhat puzzled by the above ball cap I saw in the souvenir shop.
Which team is that?
Turns out it's...
the Montgomery Biscuits, Double A team in the Southern League. Only a team affiliated with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who have their own name problems since the devil he lurks in them mangrove swamps, could be named thusly. Can you imagine the ribbing these guys get from the other teams? I thought the Austin Ice Bats were kinda strange, but hey... the Biscuits? How do you get your game face on when you're a Biscuit?
My favorite sports team mascot and image remains the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs of the Central Hockey League. There is just something about a crawfish as a mascot for a hockey team that I find compelling, especially as one that looks as angry as this.
Addendum:
For more minor league hi-jinks, the manager for the Mississippi Braves totally wigs out and crawls around on the field after getting ejected from a game. Video is here.
Tacqueria Mexicana
So while I moseyed on down to the Book Eddy today to replenish my stock of casual reading, I was afflicted by the sticky heat. Today was much more oppressive than it's been the past couple of days, probably because we're due for rain.
I was feeling dizzy from the heat, aided no doubt by lack of sleep, but I did leave victorious with my spoils:
Lost Horizon - James Hilton. A fine piece of idealizing Tibet and introducing the myth of Shangri-la (or more properly, Shambala) to a wide audience. Strange that I hadn't read it yet, but that will be rectified.
Plain Tales from the Raj - edited by Charles Allen. I'm sure it's ammunition for post-Orientalists, but I found Charles Allen's book, The Search for the Buddha: The Men Who Discovered India's Lost Religion (I prefer the British title, The Buddha and the Sahibs: The Men Who Discovered India's Lost Religion), quite compelling, albeit not as well documented in that pedantic academic way as I would like.
And a translation of Milarepa's biography. More on the reason behind purchasing that later, hopefully.
After leaving Book Eddy, I had intended to walk downtown to photograph some of the old buildings being renovated, but I thought perhaps I should fortify myself first. So I popped into Tacqueria Mexicana in the same strip mall as Book Eddy. It's combined with a Mexican grocery store, which has some great Mexican football league hats. I covet the Club Deportivo Cruz Azul one the most.
The waitress seemed quite surprised when I, a gringo extraordinaire, came in. It was long after lunch, and I suppose they were setting up for dinner. She shyly asked me what I wanted to drink in Spanish so I got an agua fresca, tamarindo. Delicious. I tried to summon up my restaurant Spanish, feeble at the best of times, but I kept getting it mixed up with Nepali. No matter, dos asada tacos got me two great tacos, a plate full of pico de gallo, chopped onion, and cilantro. For less than $5, I had a great meal and the pleasure of shocking the waitress and checkout person since I think gringos are not the usual patrons of this establishment. Incidents like this drive home just how divided culturally the U.S. is in some way. I think I'll go back and order a torta some other time after brushing up on some pathetic Spanish.
As I was ruminating and paying the bill, I noticed on the counter a brand of condoms I was not familiar with: Rough Rider. Marketing for condoms must be a fun gig, but who the hell came up with that name? I suppose the ad copy just writes itself. Turns out this particular brand is appropriate for Knoxville since there is a statue of a Rough Rider downtown.
I was feeling dizzy from the heat, aided no doubt by lack of sleep, but I did leave victorious with my spoils:
Lost Horizon - James Hilton. A fine piece of idealizing Tibet and introducing the myth of Shangri-la (or more properly, Shambala) to a wide audience. Strange that I hadn't read it yet, but that will be rectified.
Plain Tales from the Raj - edited by Charles Allen. I'm sure it's ammunition for post-Orientalists, but I found Charles Allen's book, The Search for the Buddha: The Men Who Discovered India's Lost Religion (I prefer the British title, The Buddha and the Sahibs: The Men Who Discovered India's Lost Religion), quite compelling, albeit not as well documented in that pedantic academic way as I would like.
And a translation of Milarepa's biography. More on the reason behind purchasing that later, hopefully.
After leaving Book Eddy, I had intended to walk downtown to photograph some of the old buildings being renovated, but I thought perhaps I should fortify myself first. So I popped into Tacqueria Mexicana in the same strip mall as Book Eddy. It's combined with a Mexican grocery store, which has some great Mexican football league hats. I covet the Club Deportivo Cruz Azul one the most.
The waitress seemed quite surprised when I, a gringo extraordinaire, came in. It was long after lunch, and I suppose they were setting up for dinner. She shyly asked me what I wanted to drink in Spanish so I got an agua fresca, tamarindo. Delicious. I tried to summon up my restaurant Spanish, feeble at the best of times, but I kept getting it mixed up with Nepali. No matter, dos asada tacos got me two great tacos, a plate full of pico de gallo, chopped onion, and cilantro. For less than $5, I had a great meal and the pleasure of shocking the waitress and checkout person since I think gringos are not the usual patrons of this establishment. Incidents like this drive home just how divided culturally the U.S. is in some way. I think I'll go back and order a torta some other time after brushing up on some pathetic Spanish.
As I was ruminating and paying the bill, I noticed on the counter a brand of condoms I was not familiar with: Rough Rider. Marketing for condoms must be a fun gig, but who the hell came up with that name? I suppose the ad copy just writes itself. Turns out this particular brand is appropriate for Knoxville since there is a statue of a Rough Rider downtown.
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