See how the Yellow River’s water move out of heaven.
Entering the ocean,never to return.
See how lovely locks in bright mirrors in high chambers,
Though silken-black at morning, have changed by night to snow.
… Oh, let a man of spirit venture where he pleases
And never tip his golden cup empty toward the moon!
Since heaven gave the talent, let it be employed!
Spin a thousand of pieces of silver, all of them come back!
Cook a sheep, kill a cow, whet the appetite,
And make me, of three hundred bowls, one long drink!
… To the old master, Tsen,
And the young scholar, Tan-chiu,
Bring in the wine!
Let your cups never rest!
Let me sing you a song!
Let your ears attend!
What are bell and drum, rare dishes and treasure?
Let me be forever drunk and never come to reason!
Sober men of olden days and sages are forgotten,
And only the great drinkers are famous for all time.
… Prince Chen paid at a banquet in the Palace of Perfection
Ten thousand coins for a cask of wine, with many a laugh and quip.
Why say, my host, that your money is gone?
Go and buy wine and we’ll drink it together!
My flower-dappled horse,
My furs worth a thousand,
Hand them to the boy to exchange for good wine,
And we’ll drown away the woes of ten thousand generation!

(Courtesy AlgoMantra)

Here>>> http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94718524

as the year draws once again to a close, the path of time leads inexorably towards the future, sam pauses to take a minute and remember the good albums & things that came out in 2008.

top ten albums 2008

1. the-dream, love/hate
2. r. kelly, 12 play: fourth quarter
3. gza, pro tools
4. ceramic dog, party intellectuals
5. lil wayne, tha carter III
6. tv on the radio, dear science
7. nas, untitled
8. the sweetback sisters, chicken ain’t a chicken
9. anthony braxton, quartet
10. mitch hedberg, do you believe in gosh?

special mention: john mayer, continuum. most of this album sucks, and his attempt towards blues-guitar-god status is hilariously berkleebad, but the four or five good tracks on this album are so beautiful, just good musicians playing good music, and pretty bad lyrics. thank you john mayer, i really do appreciate that.

best song - re:stacks, bon iver
best movie - cloverfield
best album that wasn’t released in 2008 - erykah badu, worldwide underground

i’m inventing new words. my newest invention is a word called “the beauty.” the beauty refers to clumps of rabbits. about 7 clumps. a clump is about 5 rabbits each. each clump is held together with any sticky substance. and once you start thinking about the beauty, you can find it in a lot of things. you just allow yourself to appreciate the beauty. the beauty is everywhere, it just requires some supplies.

Troy Davis is going to be killed by the American government later today despite an absence of physical or DNA evidence, as well as reports of witness intimidation.

Take action here.

In other news, music critic Alex Ross has won a MacArthur genius grant.

this shit is incredible

On September 24, South Africa is celebrating National Braai Day (Braai == Glorified Barbeque). It’s a big deal. Here, Desmond Tutu weighs in sensitively on the plight of vegetarian during the fest. Don’t forget to brush up on your Braai-specific Zulu/Afrikaans/English jargon, here. Ex-pat Southern Africans need not worry, Braai-Connection will leave no man an island during the event.

“Wagner” (1942), an illustration by Arthur Szyk in the Deutsche Historisches Museum.