Easy Solution Proposed by State Librarian

At day after Christmas breakfast, Paul reminded me of reading an article in Sentinel if I finished other sections. It turned out to be a special to Sentinel by Greg Lucas, California State Librarian. The whole writing is not long, but very thoughtful and inspiring.

Greg Lucas: Here’s an easy resolution

By Greg Lucas, Special to the Sentinel

Posted: 12/26/15, 7:01 PM PST |

Looking for a truly transformative New Year’s resolution that’s unbelievably fun and super easy to stick to?

Read.

Books. Magazines. Newspapers. Flyers. On-line. On a park bench. In clouds. In libraries. Paper. Parchment. Braille.

Just read.

Any number of amazing things stem from reading. Not the least of which is gaining a better understanding of the world around us.

If there’s anything this world needs, it’s more understanding.

Read and change the world.

Reading also makes us healthier.

Reading reduces stress, improves relationships and can protect against Alzheimer’s. Adults whose spare time involves creative or intellectual activities – like reading – have a 32 percent slower rate of cognitive decrease than those who don’t, according to a 2013 study by Chicago researchers in Neurology.

Researchers in Great Britain made participants engage in an “anxiety-promoting” experience. Those who then read for a few minutes had stress levels drop by 67 percent, a higher percentage than those who listened to music or played a video game to unwind.

Reading can conjure happy memories. Immersing yourself in the lives of characters makes you more empathetic. It can be easier to overcome your own obstacles by reading about someone overcoming theirs.

The benefits of reading for young kids are well-documented.

The U.S. Department of Education says that helping a kid “become a reader is the single most important thing that you can do to help the child to succeed in school — and in life.”
Not only does reading help children in all academic subjects, the department says, reading is also “the key to lifelong learning.”

The consequences for kids who don’t read are tragic:

Less proficient readers are more likely to be high school dropouts. Two-thirds of students who aren’t proficient readers by the end of fourth grade end up incarcerated or on welfare.

The U.S. Department of Justice says, “The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure.”

Reading also makes you richer. The math is elementary — greater reading comprehension equals a better-paying job.

Helping someone become a better reader is by far the most cost-effective investment of taxpayer dollars.

Boost someone’s reading proficiency and they’re far less likely to go to prison. A better reader will land a better-earning job and, by doing so, needs less government support. Higher wages means more tax revenue government can devote to other challenges.

Change the world. Change yourself: Resolve to read in 2016.

The Santa Cruz Public Libraries have plenty of options to choose from. The librarians who work there have plenty of ideas on which reading material might be of most interest to you. They’ll also have recommendations if you’re helping a little kiddo become a life-long learner by reading to them.

You can also help someone else learn to read better. There are literacy programs throughout the state. One-on-one volunteer literacy tutoring occurs at over 800 California libraries. All are eager for volunteers.

Your life will be changed along with that of the learner. What can be more transformative than that?
Greg Lucas is the state librarian.

Also available at http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/opinion/20151226/greg-lucas-heres-an-easy-resolution

Jazz for All

Last Sunday night, I was invited to Paul's "Philosophers' Seminar" special night at Cafe Limelight. The top item on the agenda was view "Wynton Marsalis with Eric Clapton" at the Lincoln Center, NY, September 13, 2011. It is a life-changing experience.

Courtesy of http://wyntonmarsalis.org/discography/title/wynton-marsalis-and-eric-clapton-play-the-blues

I was always living under the impression that Jazz was reserved for the elite, or for the white, as some of my favorite writers complained. But the concert has changed my mind. First of all, I witnessed a collaboration between Marsalis and his ensemble. Everyone was working for the same goal: giving the excellent music for their audience. Next I could not help noticing a rare support. Whenever one person was playing, his neighboring partner would show his encouragement and admiration, which would spread to the whole ensemble. Last but not least. there was a strong atmosphere of welcoming inclusion, rather than exclusion. Such a spirit is truly rare in our life.

Inspired by the performance, our group decided to forego the rest of items on the agenda. Instead we shared and devoured two big pizzas!

Ithaka: Let's Enjoy the Process

Cousin Milton mailed us Ithaka by C. P. Cavafy after receiving our sympathy card for the passing of his wife Helen. I did not see it until a week later, but have been fascinated ever since.

In a goal-oriented world, enjoying the process is not part of an equation for quick success, thus not appreciated. Ithaka, however, has again brought us back to the basics: when we set out on our life journey, pray the road ahead is long. Be prepared for all kinds of adventures, but do not fear; absorb all the knowledge along the way, so we can be wise in the end. Ithaka, the destination, might not live up to our expectations. But in the process, we have already experienced everything for the first time and gained all the riches life can offer. This is the reason why we do not need to hurry the voyage but keep Ithaka, our destination, in mind.

Such a simple truth is not unknown to me. More than two decades ago James Prestini mentioned it almost daily when I started to work for him. But time dulls our senses and obstacles in life may turn us into cynics. This is one of the reasons we still need art and literature in a digital age. Beauty in poetry, for instance, is able to directly communicate with us, especially when we encounter disasters or crises, such as the loss of a dear family member.

Enjoying Lumina String Quartet's Chamber Music Concert

Last Sunday, we were invited to attend our niece's concert, part of the eighteenth annual Lumina String Quartet's Chamber Music Institute for Young Musicians in The Palace Theatre, Stamford, CT from August 5 to August 18, 2015. Each of these Sunday afternoon concerts will feature youthful string quartets playing works by the greatest classical composers. 

It is really an inspiring experience to see young musicians aged 9 to 18 playing classics so eloquently and professionally, including Haydn, Schubert, Weber, Mendelssohn and Borodin. On that particular afternoon, there were 8 performances playing quartets, quintets and sextets, Our 15-year-old Emily played her cello with four other players (three violinists, and one more cellist). Their complete unabridged quintet performance of Schubert's work is simply divine and energetic! Three of us, Sue, Paul and I, are bursting with pride!

Enough Said but Seldom Remembered: a Life Lesson

Yesterday, Paul and I watched two movies before and after visiting Mother. They are none other than Agatha Christie Biography by PBS and Enough Said with James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

At a first glance, the two films have little to do with each other. One is about a famous mystery writer and the other, about two single parents with empty-nest syndrome. Passing over the superficial difference, we will discover a profound similarity: do not take love for granted. It needs to be cultivated.

The young Agatha was married for love to her aviator Archie Christie, but neglected to maintain it by leaving him to golf, which led him to finding love somewhere else. With the double disaster of her mother's death and her divorce, Agatha disappeared and emerged as a new woman who not only found her new love in archaeologist Max Mallowan, but more importantly, never left her second husband alone anymore.

The same is true with  Enough Said. After a couple of dates, the single mother Eva assumed that she had Albert for sure, and lashed out with all the poisonous remarks she had heard from his ex-wife, thus causing a spectacular breakup.

Another remarkable similarity about the two movies is that both Agatha and Eva/Albert are not shy in admitting their mistakes and taking action to go on with their new life. It takes both courage and foresight.

Revisit Boston in June 2015

Last fall, I accompanied my sister's family to take my younger niece to her dorm at MIT. After settling her down, we all went to visit a few notable places in Boston, such as Boston Common, and Beacon Hill's Acorn Street. As time went swiftly by, my initial recollection of Boston was vague at best. However, my second visit enabled me to have an entirely new and in-depth experience.

June 4th to 6th, 2015, Paul and I were invited back to attend the niece's commencement. After nearly 2,700 graduates' names were read at the ceremony, we were longing for a break from Cambridge. Going to Boston by crossing the Charles River was definitely a welcome idea. Like reading any classics, my two nieces prepared for us a tour of visiting nothing but the best in Boston. 

We started by revisiting the Common, then famously cobble-stoned Acorn Street with the flag still flying, plus a golden retriever snoozing in the sun on the sidewalk, and finally Newbury Street, a new shopping street (as a result of urban renewal?). To Paul's great disappointment at losing his perfect late afternoon light shooting time, we had to cut short our sauntering on Newbury, so as to meet our dinner reservation at the Gaslight Restaurant on Harrison Street. After dinner, we walked in the neighborhood, and saw again urban renewal efforts. Many red brick buildings and factories are converted into numerous art galleries, restaurants, or beauty and fitness centers. On our way back, we took Berkeley Street, and saw the incredible Berkeley Community Garden with more than 150 plots.   

After seeing so many red brick buildings, both residential and commercial, private and public, we could not help but wonder why Boston would prefer red brick ever since 1803, when the General Court passed a law to minimize the danger of fire hazard to buildings. I Googled our query and located a comprehensive study by Mary Nastasi. Apparently, red brick symbolizes at once familiarity and a safety blanket. As one of the oldest cities in America, Boston is longing for its glories past. Red brick, rather than modern concrete and steel, is perfect to convey such a sentiment for historic styles and materials of decades past (Shand-Tucci, Douglass. Built in Boston: City and Suburb, 1800-2000).

What a progressive and traditional city Boston is!

Our Encore Reunion with Screen International

On 6 May 2015 on the 3rd floor of Meichentiandi, four of us met, Fan, my former boss, Wang, my former colleague, Paul and I. We got together the first time as editors of Screen international, a film magazine by Chinese Filmmakers' Association.

Mr. Fan treated us to our reunion dinner. We had a great time, reminiscent of our time spent at Dianying xin zuo which hired almost exclusively new graduates from Fudan University, Shanghai Teachers' University and Shanghai University. Unfortunately, starting from the mid-eighties, we became restless and started to plan to study in countries such as America, Australia, and Japan. Four out of 14 editors were left behind and their positions were later merged with other journals or studios.

That evening, we had an unexpected guest joining us. As a former intern at our editorial department, Mr. Ren is now the head of Shanghai Animation Studio, and director of Creation Department of Shanghai Film Studio. Before the dinner ended, Ren extended us an invitation to visit his newly opened Shanghai Film Archive. We all welcomed this encore reunion of sorts.

The following Wednesday, May 13, we visited the archive. Afterwards, Wang acted as our host by driving us across the river to Pudong, walking and having coffee by the water's edge at  Riverside Promenade (Bingjiang Da Dao), a counterpart of the Shanghai Bund. At dusk, he took three of us to the Ritz-Carlton and treated us to an exotic dinner there. That was a life-changing experience: we saw not only a 270 degree panoramic view of the Shanghai scene, but also how the topmost class in Shanghai live and experience luxurious leisure.

Our 40-Year Reunion Gathering at Fudan

At 8:50 a.m., May 16, 2015, Paul and I were the first ones to arrive at the gate of Fudan University after taking Metro No. 3 and Bus 133. 

It was a quiet morning, except for the constant stream of passenger cars entering the gate, something you did not see 40 years ago. Mao's statue was still standing, but none of my classmates was to be seen. In a flash I was thinking that we must have missed the meeting, until I spotted Leon with his camera walking from the campus.

Compared with the first day of school when 30 new students were gathered to form Class 78-3 on 26 March 1975, that day we saw only 23 people, adding Paul and a former instructor/husband of our classmate. Quite a number of classmates could not make it due to various personal reasons.

Perhaps because we all increased in age and size, the campus seemed small. The well-known Denhui Lou looked dilapidated, needing at least one coat of paint, whereas our Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures was converted into an archive of campus personnel records. New constructions and developments were either across the road or somewhere else in the city. While it was all true, I still could not help wondering why the cash-rich university could at least try to preserve the original campus.

A delicious welcome banquet finally lifted my spirits. Like human life, a university needs to have its stages of life too: once it has developed new branches and extended locations, the old campus tends to be like any parents' houses: familiar but dated.

 Thus we started our 40-year reunion, an activity achieved purely by volunteer work, individual contributions and substantial financial donations by two classmates, Mary and Yiming.

Our 40-Year Reunion at Le Royal Méridien Shanghai

On the evening of 16 May 2015, Fudan Foreign Language Training Class of 1978-3 (复旦大学外语培训班78届3班) had a four-hour long reunion dinner and gathering at Le Royal Méridien Shanghai. It was a sit-down meeting to concentrate on three agendas: 1) Recollecting our years in 1975-1978; 2) Clarifying past misunderstandings; and 3) Showcasing our personal achievements in those 40 years.


In general, I agreed with my 21 classmates' conclusion that the experience from the Language Training Class was positive, which has become the source of our tenacity and persistence in our lives and work. From the photo above one can see that the reunion tended to be on the serious side, especially with a couple of people complaining about the wrongs they had endured all those decades. Some classmates spent nearly half the gathering's duration enumerating their personal and professional success.

Despite all of this. Paul and I had a great time, reconnecting with my classmates, and roommates. It is one of my three reunions in Shanghai in May 2015.

Rediscover Stitch 'n bitch : the Knitter's Handbook

It has been exactly a decade since I purchased Stitch 'n bitch : the knitter's handbook for the collection of Applied Arts at SCPL. Being a selector, I was too busy buying and weeding books to enjoy Deborah Stoller's true talents.

It was not to happen until a couple of months ago, when my expectant great niece was looking for someone to knit Big Bad Baby Blanket for her new baby. Since I am a knitter of some sort in the family, I was awarded the glory. The recommended web site offered free advice on yarn selections, but not the knitting pattern which was copyrighted by Stitch 'n bitch : the knitter's handbook. Thus I was forced to be personally encountered with the book. Needless to say, the blanket was well received later by my grateful great niece.

My latest encounter was Cat bed in Miscellaneous section. I always wanted to give Chippy a bed, but nothing really took my fancy until I saw Princess Snowball Cat Bed. After assembling the bed this afternoon, I put Chippy next to it. Without any coaxing, or catnip, she sniffed it twice and immediately climbed into her new bed and slept from early evening through night.

I am truly glad that our library has 6 titles by Deborah Stoller, which is a great resource for serious as well as weekend knitters. Unlike other knitting/crocheting books skimping with instructions, her selections are excellent and classic, peppered with good and timely advice before readers have any doubts or questions.

New Knits for a New Baby

Thanks to Paul, the Afghans site has been updated and seven new baby knits, uploaded to the bottom of page 4. As a knitter, I have to admit again that his photo representations are so much better than my original pieces, with brighter colors, crispier designs and so much more details. The following is but a example

Thank you for viewing and enjoying!

Tuesday Evening with Rosie's Author

Yesterday evening, my former boss came to pick me up. Together we drove over the hill to attend "Book talk and signing with the author of the Rosie project" at Orchard City Banquet Hall, Campbell Community Center.

It was an eye-opening experience for me on many levels. First of all, my former colleague is doing really well at Santa Clara County Library. She organized the book talk event, which was so successful with the fully packed hall that Graeme Simsion, the author, could not help recalling his first Rosie project signing in an Australian rural library. His independent book seller took only ten copies for the event, but was still unsure if he could sell them all.

Secondly, the Rosie project (and its sequel the Rosie effect) is the first book to be officially acknowledged by the Asperger's syndrome community, due to the author's accurate and sympathetic approach towards people who suffer from the disorder. He never laughs at them, but with them, making them proud enough to come out of closet. The author draws his sympathy largely from his background and interaction with fellow programers, a code name for people with Asperger's syndrome in the late 70s, when there were no official courses for computer science.

Born in New Zealand, Graeme was told that he had written the best essay at age of 13, but disillusioned soon after that he was not smart enough to be a physicist, especially not in the field of quantum physics. Working as a computer programer in Australia, he was soon approached by Don who wanted to do a MBA with him, for they had shared "the same problem." Although Don never earned his MBA degree as the author did, they had been staying in touch. The author witnessed Don's troubled marriage, but dedication to the same woman after she was sick for more than two decades. Care-taking made Don's life worth living. Through Don's life, he also saw the unhelpful labeling of Asperger's when psychologists mislabeled their patients in the early days.

Thirdly, the author, Graeme Simsio, delivered his book talk like a real comedian. He thinks that the key to a good story is that it can make you cry, make you laugh and make you think. During his writing, he likes to plan by writing on cards. His advice on overcoming writer's block: lower one's standards, and write anyway. 

Last but not least, I had a peasant reunion with my former boss and colleague. I even got a nice gift pin of three girls to remember the occasion with.