I am writing an off-the-cuff post (again) because I haven't written anything of substance here for quite some time, and I don't think I will be at leisure to finish any of the mini-essays I have in mind for this blog for some time to come.
Yes, I write to you from Twickenham, cradle of Gothic literature. In fact, I am booked (with a winsome friend) to attend a conference on Gothic literature in the local area, on the 2nd of December. If you read my blog, and you are also in attendance, do come over and talk to me.
I am off work, but still have to deal with a multitude of chores, not least of all the preparation for my upcoming trip to Japan. I depart these shores on the 26th of this month. I will be gone for about three weeks, and don't expect to have much time for blogging during that period.
Well, I have little to say that I can actually say in the time available to me, so I will simply attempt to bring the one or two (or zero point four) people who are actually interested, up to speed with events in my part of Twickenham.
I got up at about nine thirty today, which was earlier than I had expected, and immediately found that there were items of post awaiting me. One of them was to do with travel insurance, one was to do with the student loan that I still have not paid off, and one contained two copies of a German short story anthology in which I have a story. The original title is 'The Cypher', but it is translated as 'Die Nummer'. The original may be found on the Internet, if anyone is interested. Unfortunately, I cannot read German, but I shall, no doubt, compare the translation to the original later, just out of childish curiosity.
After breakfast and ablutions, I went out to post a form for travel insurance, buy a new phonecard, and so on. I have stopped buying the Post Office phonecards, because they're a rip-off. I went instead to a corner shop; they seem to be the phonecard specialists at the moment, selling a greater variety of phonecards than they do porn mags, or almost, anyway.
Then I popped by Langton's Bookshop, not to purchase any books, since I am pretty skint right now, but to talk to the man behind the counter, Mr Jon Foulkes, who has recently read about himself on my blog, and who I must, therefore, refer to carefully from now on. (Hello Jon.) But seriously, if you're the book type (rather than the rugby type) why not pop in to Langton's Bookshop and get a more personal service (oo-er!) than you'd ever get in one of the bigger bookshops, where they all stock the same list of celebrity books. (There you go, free advertising!)
Before finally returning home, I dropped in to Waitrose to buy some carrots, breakfast cereal and fruitbread. I also purchased a copy of The Independent, which I have been reading a great deal recently. I like the angle they have, and especially the fact that they seem more committed to covering environmental issues than other newspapers. The cover story was about a recent environmental report that indicates China as the biggest threat to the environment that the planet has ever known.
The story almost paralysed me with depression, only increasing my feeling that we're all doomed. It's my opinion that the Chinese government care even less about the environment (and even more about money) than the American governnment. There is very little concept of global community within Chinese culture, the concept of guanxi and its related notions placing emphasis on obligation to those with whom you have guanxi (or 'connection'), and leaving you to let everyone else go to Hell. That is my totally honest, non-PC opinion. Shoot me down in flames if you can and must. If the fate of the planet is in the hands of the Tibet-annexing, tiger-exterminating Chinese, then we are really doomed.
They write nice poetry, though.
Well, it's almost four in the afternoon, and I have to write e-mails to sort out what will be happening with the Twickenham writers' group while I'm away in Japan, and to make appointments, and so on and so forth.
I feel that I should leave you with some edifying message, some American-style 'moral of the story', or some BBC-style 'and finally' lighter news item. But really, what is there? I'm doomed, you're doomed. Let's face it, God made man in his own image, and that image is rapacious, arrogant evil. If we had any decency we'd all kill ourselves.
Well, talk to you later. Take care.
Q.
HI Quentin,It’s so nice to read your words once more and I am sorry for the effects this world has placed inside your heart. I just read Dans journal and he too is starting to feel the effects of the way things now in this world are acting with the earthquakes and floodings and bird flu, etc.All we can do is try to conserve and spread the words to who we can.You are so right about the governments being the root of this evil. They incourge not discourge.Our future generations will all be dammed if it doesn’t happen during our time.I do hope you enjoy your trip and don’t forget the photos. It would be a nice touch seeing Japan thru your eyes.You will be sorely missed however, I am happy you are having a holiday and time out of work.Enjoy and God Bless and protect you.loveEve
Tracked from btbtd
Hello btbtd. If you have any comments, I would welcome them, especially if you have anything to add on the subject in terms of the view from China.Wo hui shou yidian zhongwen. Keshi, wo bu neng yong je ge diannao xie zhongwen. Duibuqi. Yoashi nin you dui wo xie de dongxi de yijian, qing nin gei wo shou.Well, please excuse my very poor Mandarin. Hello Eve.I will probably try and write a little bit about Japan while I’m there, but I should caution people, I am not particularly fond of Japan. I know some people will think that my comments on China, too, have been negative. Well, okay. But I’m open to discussion. I don’t hate Chinese people or anything like that. I even have Chinese friends. But I don’t see the point in being ‘politically correct’ and tiptoe-ing around very important issues. I am not a hear-no-evil, see-no-evil, speak-no-evil type. To put things in perspective, I don’t hate Chinese/Japanese/fill in the blank as appropriate people. I just hate people. I do not condone racism, but I believe in the validity of cultural criticism. I do not think all cultures are alike. I think we are all different combinations of positive and negative. Mainly negative. So I will criticise anyone I like, regardless of creed or colour. Thank you. And let’s continue with criticism of Japan, in the form of a link.Oh yes, and the good old US of A.
By the way, that should be ‘shuo’, not ‘shou’ in the Madarin above. Damn, I feel so stupid. 我的中文真地不太好。対不起。
Well if they write good poetry, surely you could forgive them the destruction of one teensy weensy (wafer thin) little planet…?
Well, I only wish that the influence of Taoism were more evident in Chinese culture. I mean, it’s certainly evident in the painting, and I think in the poetry, too, but not, I think, in the fact that China is – apparently – the biggest consumer of rainforest hardwoods in the world.But perhaps in this case Taoism means going with the flow of capitalist destruction, and not doing anything to question or check that flow. Who knows?Did you watch the video clip on the USA link? Really scary. And funny in an utterly appalling kind of way, too.
Hi Quentin,Please pardon me of my poor English and Pinyin.I guess you meaning of pinyin like this:我会说一点中文, 可是, 我不能用这个电脑写中文.对不起, **你对我写的东西的意见, 请你给我说.I just a English learner, and try to read some Englsih articles in internet.by the way: I don’t like talking about politics.
Hello btbtd (or should I call you Shawl Qiu?).Thank you for visiting.Yes, you seem to have read my Pinyin correctly. On my screen there are question marks in some places amongst the hanzi that you have written. I don’t you if you put them there, or whether it’s just my computer that can’t read the characters properly. Unfotunately I don’t have any Chinese language software, so I have to try and write Chinese using Japanese Kanji. But I will try and fill in the blanks here:我会説一点中文、可是、我不能用這個電脳写中文。対不起。要是你有対我写的東西的意見、請你給我説。It’s really difficult to write Chinese with Japanese software, so I don’t think I can do it very often. There’s no Kanji for 你 for a start. I had to cut and paste that from your comment.Well, if you don’t like talking about politics, what do you like talking about? Perhaps I will write something that interests you in future.
Thank you for your replied, I so astonishing with you useing Japanese input language wrote Hanzi. You can call me btbtd or “Shawl Qiu”, talking everything I like, except for politics.but listen and read politics is my hobby, at public talking about politics in Chinese mainland is so dangerous. the government blockade all sensitive subject, they don’t like people talk politics and propagate they. for example “Tiananmen Square protests of 1989”, the people to be born at 1980 and later, all most people could not know about this. nowadays, the Chinese government ban most words and URL at Chinese internet.if you at Chinese internet, you couldn’t open most URL, like these: http://www.wikipedia.com/, http://www.rfa.org, http://www.voachinese.com/ and using Google search engine, your input the sensitive keyword and press enter key soon afterwards the browser will be display the “Could not locate remote server” page.additional: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989
Hello Shawl Qiu. Thank you for replying and for explaining your previous comment about not talking about politics. 謝謝你. I have, indeed, heard that some information on the Internet is impossible to access from Chinese computers. I think that we all have a biased view of our own culture and the history of our own country (for instance, in Britain we don’t usually learn about the Opium Wars in school), but I hope that the Internet will help people from different countries learn more about how our actions in the world have affected and continue to affect other people in other countries. I learnt a little Zhongwen at university and in Taiwan (where I was a teacher for a while). I would also like to visit Mainland China someday.
Hi QuentinWelcome to China, I think if you come in China at Spring or autumn you can have a nice weather. The party usual for the purpose of political power and ethnic honor, they to be sure keep secret of the next generation at the education of not beneficial them point.Please excuse of my poor English again.Your meaning is you can read some Chinese?that’s Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese or either?I think your Chinese is so good and I Comment for you using Chinese as good.Lest of my poor English let you frown.
Yes, I think I would like to visit China is autumn, as autumn is my favourite time of year. I can read and write a little Chinese, yes. I learnt Simplified Chinese at university, but because I lived in Taiwan, I can also read the Traditional Chinese characters. I’m afraid my spoken Chinese is not as good as my written Chinese, because it is very hard to pronounce and also to distinguish the words of a native Chinese speaker, but I always think that if I get the time and opportunity one day, I would like to improve my Chinese.