Night falls

over china, and tomorrow threatens to dawn an old day.

30

para a frente é que é caminho.

To sleep

(pressingly)

and leave dreams to chance

Cérbero

é mesmo assim

quem guarda a entrada guarda também

a saída.

esse mastim de muitas cabeças tanto mantém o dia lá

fora

como a noite

lá dentro.

yin yang impermeável.

e qualquer das bandas

faz muito mal à pele.

eh cão xô

xô cão

xô

One year ago

this is where i was.

and we'll have to leave it at that

for now at least

memories ramify in an unmanageable amount of directions

Kung hei fat choi!

this weekend, macau put on its finery (complete with disneyland beasts, electric plum trees, paper lanterns and oversized gold coins) and rolled out the red carpet for the year of the tiger. today, i take you on a short walk through the city centre, under a slight drizzle.

in the meantime, the lobby of my building pays the ultimate homage to cultural syncretism. under the watchful eye of the god of wealth, traditional lai si hang from the branches of an engineered kumquat tree - while nearby a music box continuously renders a happy medley of 'hark the herald angels sing', 'o tannenbaum' and 'jingle bells'...

Ano do tigre

dissidentechamemos-lhe, por exemplo, liu xiaobo.

Morning catch

do forgive me, i implore, but we shall begin with a morsel of linguistics. for many speakers of south asian languages, you see, the distinction between an f and an aspirated p is rather tenuous. and so it comes to pass that, as i make my way to tellicherry fort, the rickshawala obsequiously drops me off at

thalassery port.

now, no need to worry. forts and ports tend to stick together in these parts - geographically as much as phonetically -, we can't be too far away. and we appear to be just in time to see the morning catch come in, so will you join me for a brief walk down the muddy lanes of the harbour?

look. i've seen this before. those rainbow boxes are all set to be filled up with freshness, orderly waiting in the early morning sun. an all-male company silently assembles, at a gentle pace, their mundu unfolded so as to cover their ankles. but, as we move a bit further, we notice some commotion ahead. come come, jog along.

judging by the abundance of silver in those boxes - and it keeps pouring in -, it's been a good night. no wonder the men are in such good spirits, see how they joke and pose triumphantly around their treasure.

i gather from the experts that these are no sardines, but the proper name of the fish eludes me. poor (standing for nil) proficiency in malayalam may be to blame, but there is more. truth is, no attention is left as soon as the yellow truck back-parks a few metres away, to the electronic sound of jai ho.

ah, it's time for the big boys. for, to the delight of ever more onlookers, out comes an enormous truckload of sharks, which the fishermen glowingly display for the camera, as proud as peacocks.

all around, makeshift benches spring up, laden with all manner of fish and crustaceans. and so it is across a spontaneous, increasingly rowdy street market that we reach the end of the wharf and leap onto the sand.

the crowd thins out. here, lulled by the lapping of the waves, some fishermen slowly pull their boats ashore and chat in a quiet cadence. their cargo is offloaded, the nets checked and mended, their boats safe from the tide. soon, very soon, it will be time to rest.

Cochim

é nome atulhado de evocações. de paraíso perdido com o cheiro da pimenta e arrepios nocturnos de humidade, veio a ganhar - já com os pés na terra vermelha - som de língua antiga abafada pelo vento, sabor a peixe na brasa. juntou-se-lhe o toque da cal esboroada mais a tranquilidade da orla do mar. mas hoje tem as cores da incógnita e a promeaça de ou dar ou tirar.

é só um momento, vou ali ver e já venho.

Em 2010:

. respeite a sinalização

. corte à direita

Diagnóstico

in retrospect this was a warm misty silky verging-on-fresh-dairy christmas day. i hope yours was just as good.

"Restlessness"

what invasive esses are these, three parasitical morphemes like bouts of lunacy, never ever at the right time?

Ring ring

estou sim? good afternoon sir am i speaking to mister [enter proper noun, +human, +male]? yes, [enter proper noun, +human, +male] speaking. sir i am calling from [enter brand name, +air-carrier, +trying-to-be-all-modern-fun-and-alternative] i apologise sir but your flight to [enter proper noun, -human, +attractive-city] on wednesday had to be cancelled and we will have to re-book you would you like to leave two days earlier or two days later? i... well, i... mm, in fact... would monday be suitable for you sir? well, i guess... if there's no... guess it'd have to be monday, i... i will book you on monday then sir thank you. i will send you an updated itinerary by email later today is that alright sir? well, i... thank you sir have a nice day sir and thank you for flying [enter brand name, +air-carrier, +trying-to-be-all-modern-fun-and-alternative].

Salomão says

o coração alegre é bom remédio, mas o espírito abatido faz secar os ossos.

a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

provérbs 17.22

nada a acrescentar. full stop.