011. The Two Hunchbacks (Los Dos Jorobados) In a village there lived two hunchbacks whom everyone knew. One of them, [being] of a brave temperament, liked to go out in the summer nights to take in the fresh air at the threshing floors, because [there] he could be alone and safe from the occasional mockery,…
Month: August 2022
Fēn dào yáng biāo (分道揚鑣 – 分道扬镳)
分道揚鑣 (Fēn dào yáng biāo) (1) lit. to take different roads and urge the horses on (idiom) (2) fig. to part ways Source: “History of the Northern Dynasties – Wei Clan – Biography of Duke of Hejian” (《北史·魏諸宗室·河間公齊傳》), Gaozu said: “Luoyang is my territory, you [each] should raise the horse bits and go separate ways….
010. Prince Tomás
010. Prince Thomas (El Príncipe Tomás) There was [once] a king with a son who recently turned fourteen years old, and both were in [had] the habit of going to the gardens of an abandoned palace every afternoon. There was a beautiful fountain in those gardens where they both used to sit for a long…
SUP 08/20/2022 – Bon Air Landing Park, Greenbrae CA
Since I did not want to brave the wind and waves in the bay for this week (or any week for that matter), I decided to paddle in protected waters, and Corte Madera Creek seemed like a good option for my purpose. Bon Air Landing is a public park in Greenbrae that allows for direct…
Fáng wēi dù jiàn (防微杜漸 – 防微杜渐)
防微杜漸 (Fáng wēi dù jiàn) – Lit. to nip at the bud Explanation: Preventing an undesirable event or thing when it first appears, putting an end to its development. This idiom originated from the “Book of Later Han – Biography of Ding Hong (丁鴻)”, [in which it said]: Like carefully correcting one’s governing and reproaching…
009. The Lavender Flower
009. The Lavender Flower (La Flor Del Cantueso) Once upon a time there was a widower who had a very beautiful daughter whom he adored. He loved her so much that, to avoid upsetting her, he never thought of remarrying so that he wouldn’t have to give his daughter a stepmother. Very close to the…
Fǎn lǎo huán tóng (返老還童 – 返老还童)
返老還童 (Fǎn lǎo huán tóng) (1) to recover one’s youthful vigor (2) to feel rejuvenated (idiom) (3) lit. to stop being old and becoming young again The idiom “Recovering One’s Youthful Vigor” originally meant someone [who was] advanced in age returning to his youthful days; but now, it describes someone [who is] advanced in age…
SUP – 08/06/2022 – Gallinas Creek to China Camp State Park, San Rafael CA
I worked in San Rafael for two and a half years after graduating from UC Berkeley in 2013. It was my first job, the salary was so-so, but the learning environment was great. Here was where I would spend much of my time with interesting colleagues and projects. And at the end of the day,…
008. Little Asparagus
008. Little Asparagus (Periquillo) [Note: per the Spanish dictionary https://dle.rae.es/periquillo, Periquillo is a type of candy made of sugar; it is also the diminutive form of “perico”, which can be a parakeet (animal), toupee (headdress), asparagus (vegetable), urinal (toilet). In our context, Periquillo most likely means “Little Asparagus” for how small and thin the child…
È guàn mǎn yíng (惡貫滿盈 – 恶贯满盈)
惡貫滿盈 (È guàn mǎn yíng) (1) lit. strung through and filled with evil (idiom); filled with extreme evil (2) replete with vice (3) guilty of monstrous crimes (4) sins strung fully [on a string] This idiom comes from “Shang Shu – Taishi” (尚書 – 泰誓, or the Book of Documents – Great Speech / Declarations):…