11:29 AM View

 I’m home for lunch!

One more class this afternoon on the first day of December 2023.

It’s also Friday.  Yahooski!

The class will be a quiz show.  Should be fun if I can get the cats herded.

5:24 AM View

 Friday.

I was woken by the alarm.  I won’t be late for work but I’m behind in my personal regimen.

The lead singer of the rogues died.

Kissinger is dead.  Was he good?  Was he bad?  He seemed bland like Ed McMahon.

6:16 PM View

 I’m home for dinner.

11:38 AM View

 I went home for lunch.

5:17 AM View

 I’m awake! I’m alive!

I’m awake!  I’m alive!

4:49 PM View

 Haven’t done a view for a few days so it’s time.

And what a view!  Autumn is here!

Hedgehog?

 This fuzzy little creature somehow got into the lobby of our school.

Wordle 893 3/6

 Three in a row!

This is particularly good because I had so few colored tiles.

Twenty Questions

I asked Poe AI to ask me twenty questions.  It took me five askings before it understood specifically what I wanted.  It first thought I wanted to play twenty questions,

Here are the questions it finally asked me with my answers:

1. What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

My favorite pastimes are reading, learning languages, reading poetry, following politics, making gifs, and blogging,

2. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Latvia and the Vatican.  I’m of Latvian heritage and want to be a Catholic.

3. What is your favorite book or novel?

Hard question.  Favorite authors are Evelyn Waugh, Flannery O’Connor, Shakespeare, Orwell, Tolstoy, Hunter S Thompson, Chesterton ….

Taking a second stab at it.  The Bible, Collected works of Shakespeare, Scoop by Evelyn Waugh, my anthology of Nicholas Gomez Davila aphorisms, Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton, Oxford Book of English Verse: earlier editions.

4. Do you prefer coffee or tea?

I prefer tea in the afternoons; coffee in the mornings.

5. What is your favorite season of the year?

Where I’m living now:  Autumn.  Summer here in Jiangyin, Wuxi is unbearable.

6. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Whatever powers Mystics have.

7. What is your favorite type of cuisine or food?

Indian food.  Chana Masala is the meal I’d eat before being executed.

8. Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?

Both.  When I was in kindergarten, I didn’t speak to anyone till after the new year.  I am still accused of being in my own world.  But I have to be extroverted to do what I’m doing.

9. What is your favorite movie of all time?

Wizard of Oz.  Top Hat.  Lawrence of Arabia. John Wayne movies.  The Royal Tannenbaums.

10. Do you prefer the beach or the mountains?

The mountains.  People who prefer the beach strike me as being superficial and Barbie and Ken doll like.  Mountain men are not governable and fiercely independent,

11. What is a skill or talent you would like to learn or improve?

I would like to play a musical instrument and speak better French, Chinese, Spanish and Latvian.

12. Are you a morning person or a night owl?

I’m a morning person.  I wake up at 5:00 AM.

13. What is your favorite music genre or artist?

Sinatra is my favorite singer.  I love country music, 70s Rock, punk, alternative, Ella, 90s alternative, New Order.

14. If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be?

I would love to have dinner with Donald Trump.  He would serve great food and be a blast to talk with.  Among dead figures, I’d want to eat with Richard Nixon.  Do much I would want to ask him.

15. What is your favorite way to relax or unwind?

A can of beer.

16. Are you more of a dog person or a cat person?

Cat person.  Cats are quiet and not prone to acting over exuberantly.

17. What is a dream or goal you would like to achieve in the next five years?

Visit Latvia.  See my son get a job and get married.

18. Do you prefer sweet or savory food?

I’m not sure what you mean by savory, but if it ain’t sweet, I like it.

19. What is your favorite form of exercise or physical activity?

Walking and pretending to jump to absurd conclusions.

20. If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be?

It would be one I created.  The character would look like Raquel Welch, want to be with me, have the wit of Norm Macdonald, the reactionary attitude of a Nicholas Gomez Davila, the wit of a Chesterton, the ability to make me laugh like Don Rickles. and the knowledge of history of Richard Nixon.  The name of the character would be Jenny Christina Rossetti. 

Wordle 892: 3/6

 Two in a row!

My 90th birdie of the year.  I’ve had 19 eagles,

4:57 AM View

 Yes.  I get up that early.

I go to bed around 8:45.

Half a Million

 Apparently, this blog has been viewed 500,000 times

I find it hard to believe.  I’ve only had one interaction with a reader in the past few years.

Wordle 891 3/6

 Good way to start the week.

6:48 AM View

Sunday morning and I’m having a coffee.

Engaged with the Dave Collum account.  It turned out it was a crypto bot,  There was also a Gerald Celente account doing that to me a few months ago.

Yesterday, I went to this cultural event in Wuxi.  Its purpose was to foster good will between foreigners and the local government.  The event featured long speeches and some good performances.  You can see the previous entries below, watch this video, or just Visit my YouTube channel to see some video of the performances.

Today, class planning & shopping.

1400 Day Streak

 A 1400 day streak learning French, Spanish & Mandarin Chinese.

I believe the streak was started in the before times.

Meanwhile, prayers for my Aunt Edete who is in palliative care.

Photos & Me

I’m in the group photos somewhere.

 

Some of the Performances We Saw

 We were taken, by the Jiangyin Foreign Friendship Organization to Wuxi to see cultural performances, some of which were quite good.  Here are some photos;

AKIC in a Wuxi theatre

 I’m the guy with the blue jacket.

Jiangyin foreigner group photo taken in Wuxi, China

 

8:15 AM View

 It’s Saturday Morning.  I can’t show you the view most of the week.

6:14 AM View

 I took the picture at 6:14 AM.  Honest!

I slept in for about an hour. That’s it.  Honest!

I am on the cusp of achieving a couple of milestones in the next few daze.  One will involve the number 1400; the other will be about half a million.

This afternoon, the plan is to go to some cultural event in Wuxi.  The only problem is that I don’t trust Tony by himself.

I made mention of Dave Collum in a recent blog entry.  I then got a follow request from a Dave Collum account on X.  Was the account real or fake?

The Gate to the Jiangyin Apartment Community

 In and out of there, I come and go,

It’s a month till my birthday.  What do I want for it?  To be alive to not celebrate it.

5:15 PM View

 Four 5:15s in a row.  And I have made a point of taking these views at 5:15!

Tomorrow is Saturday.  So if you be expecting another 5:15 AM view:  forgetaboutit!!!

I met a lot of parents today.  A nice experience. 

5:15 AM View

 I was listening to a Dave Collum podcast.  He and his host were talking about diet.  I have been fortunate to have never given it much never mind.  I have always been thin and wanting to gain weight.

High Speed Railway Track

 One day, I’ll publish a photo with a train on it.

5:15 PM View

 I’m waiting for the gas man to come.  Once, he’s done his stuff, I’ll be doing a wee bit o’ cooking!

Maybe he’ll come as I type this entry.

There was an American Thanksgiving celebration at school on account of two Americans doing a lot of cooking.  However, hit food was the rice cooked by the wife of Shahid, the Physics teacher.

Public figures who are absolute pieces of crap:  Jacinda Arden, Joe Biden, Gavin Newsome, Lindsay Graham, Justin Trudeau, Anthony Fauci, Letitia James  & Jack Smith.

Who is the guy who was elected in Argentina?   Is he the real deal?  I like his hair.

Waiting to take a 5:15 PM photo.

5:15 AM View

 American Thanksgiving Day.  We’ll be celebrating it at school.

What to be thankful for?  Chesterton, Gomez Davila, Tony & Jenny,

Wordle 887 3/6

A voice in my head — perhaps my guardian angel — told me to change my first guess.  

This is my 105th Birdie and/or Eagle for the year,

4:50 PM View

 Dinner time.  I’ll make instant noodles because I got to go back to school for a pumpkin pie cooking activity.

Some students like to talk about the Kennedy Assassination.  One student claimed he did it: a 

stupid cheeky student who is smart enough to hate school but not imaginative enough to do something about it.  One student looked at the Zapruder film and said the fatal head shot came from the front.

The worst student in my ESL class can talk my head about basketball .  Only one other student has shown an ability to talk a lot.,.

5:17 AM View

 Yes, I’m up that early on the sixtieth anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. 

I’ve been to Dealey Plaza. I’ll publish the photos I took.

4:43 PM View

 

What’s a day in this blog without a view from the dining room window?  If you closely, you’ll see the moon.

The Bombers lost the Grey Cup game again: second year in the row.  And they have to lose them to teams from the East of Canada.

My grade 12s didn’t do their homework.  Why?  I asked them.  “Oh, I forgot!”  The only solace I can take is that’s it not just me.  It’s a Chins wide problem within the company for which I work.  The grade 12 students are unmotivated to learn English.  What’s the solution?  The powers that be are baffled.

Wordle 885 3/6

 My previous hat trick was Wordle 879.

5:50 AM View

 I got a star in this Monday morning view.

I seem to be going through this morning’s routine with great efficiency.  I’ve done my reading, my language practice and my Wordle (five guesses, alas).  So, what am I going to forget?

The Grey Cup game is happening soon.  I may not be able to follow it as I’ll be at school.  Go Bombers!

Indian Motorcycle Riders Club, Jiangyin, China

 

Saw this this morning.  Had to take pic.

3:56 PM View

 Sunday is Grey Cup Day in the former Dominion of Canada.  The Montreal Alouettes 2.0 will play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Hamilton, Canada’s version of stealtown….

Sorry, Canada’s version of stealtown is Ottawa.  Hamilton is the Pittsburgh of Canada.,,,

I went to downtown Jiangyin this morning.  It was groovy!  Nice narrow streets were teeming with life.  But I didn’t go there for a groovy reason:  my stupid soon cost me some kuai because he busted his home while having a blockhead temper tantrum.

Fix you before I fix the phone, I told him.  That was a three hour conversation that should have only taken three minutes.  But it is hard to deal with willful stupidity.

On the subject of willful stupidity, Trump is being persecuted.  Anyone who could take satisfaction out of it really needs to get their head examined, or their life axioms deleted and rebooted.  Sad.

And it is now Shmonday.  The time on Sunday when Sunday is a specter that can’t be shunted aside

Go Blue Bombers!

6:26 AM View

 Saturday night was ruined on account of my son losing his temper, throwing his phone and busting it.  I had to spend two hours talking to him, berating him, and trying to reason with him,

Pathetic to see a adolescent male cry.

This morning, we’ll have to search for a place to repair it.

Evening View from My Bedroom