gaming developments

I'm sure you'll be delighted to know my primary team in Final Fantasy IX have reached level 20 status (out of 99) and have been successful in their effort to traverse the dangerous city of Burmecia, a gloomy and dismal dungeon now the king and all the citizens have fled from the dark mage monsters. Poor Vivi, sad and mystified about their resemblance to him, is determined to find the answer. Meanwhile, the second team, separated from their friends, continue on their way to Tremo to rescue a friend who has been petrified. I left them yesterday after they'd found a cave where they can heal and regain magic power after fighting battles outside in a large forest where the worst enemies are called Mandragoras. Although I'd been warned they were dangerous, when it turned out they look like mischievous dancing tomato plants, I went ahead and battled them anyway - barely winning after being hit by various spells and other damaging attacks. A frequent trick in FF games is that some of the most powerful enemies appear to be the least offensive. This seems to be common in real life too.

Today's good thing and bad thing in the news are both about the same thing and fairly close to home at that - the Keystone Pipeline. Of course, in my opinion no news about the exploitation of the Alberta Tar Sands can possibly be good news because of the massive environmental destruction and all that implies.

The good news is that of all the states where farmers have agreed to easements on land that the pipeline is planned to traverse, farmers in the state of Nebraska continue to refuse the increasingly large amounts of money now being offered. These are brave and principled people.

The bad news is that on Saturday night there was yet another TransCanada Pipeline disaster when a pipeline providing natural gas to four thousand homes near Winnipeg, Manitoba exploded. These events are becoming more common all the time.

Now I'd better get back to my FFIX team near the cave. So far they've reached level 13, but because I need them to be a bit stronger before they take on the next dungeon I'll be doing something called grinding (battling to gain money/gil and experience points). The cool thing about Final Fantasy's earlier games is that you can make the characters strong enough that getting through the hard parts is much easier. I'm all for that.

Crow thought it might be nice for me to get one of these clever harnesses with an attached perch, but since he's six feet tall and wears boots, I balked at the idea.

♡

gaming my winter

If you're wondering why there's a picture of a fantasy air ship here rather than one of my pictures it's because a few days ago I began playing one of the best games I've ever watched someone else play, Final Fantasy IX. Years ago when I first acted as co-pilot (for puzzle solving) and general passenger, numb played it through the television on our old Play Station 2. It was great for a number of reasons then, but I find it's equally enjoyable now playing it (with frequent assistance) on the little hand held PSP*. The story itself does a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life. For all the action packed moments Final Fantasy IX has just as many quiet heartfelt ones. The strength of the narrative lies in the fact that its characters deal with real human emotions: fear of death, loneliness, identity, self worth and belonging.

Apart from painting pictures of Zen stories I feel I haven't had much to say in general recently; and Crow mostly keeping stchum about his opinions of continuing world events makes it difficult for me to illustrate his more amusing anecdotes. Naturally my preference is to write posts about good things. Yet for every tidbit I find that looks cool I find at least ten more that go from being worrying to downright catastrophic. Perhaps I can do a weekly post of one each of a positive and negative  news item. It may not turn into a regular blog habit, but here's a start (and just for fun I'll let you decide which is which):

From the Guardian: According to Oxfam the 85 richest people in the world are as wealthy as the poorest 3.5 billion put together - that's half the world population.

This hardly needs more comment from me but it's interesting to note that the World Economic Forum opens in Davos, Switzerland this week. I wonder what else they have up their sleeves?

From New Scientist: A sprinkling of stardust is as magical as it sounds. The dust grains that float through our solar system contain tiny pockets of water, which form when they are zapped by a blast of charged wind from the sun. Combined with previous findings of organic compounds in interplanetary dust, the results suggest that these grains contain the basic ingredients needed for life. As similar dust grains are thought to be found in solar systems all over the universe, this bodes well for the existence of life across the cosmos.

This is nice simply because it means there's a good chance there is intelligent life somewhere in the universe.

I'm not sure just how far I'll get playing Final Fantasy IX, but while I wait for inspiration it's much more entertaining in general than reading the news (which I'll continue doing anyway).
♡
* I've been reminded it's a PSVita - not that anyone would care :)

transient

During a long journey a famous spiritual teacher arrived at a King's palace. As he walked across the broad courtyard through the doors none of the guards tried to stop him when he entered and made his way to where the King himself was sitting on his throne.

    "What do you want?" asked the King, immediately recognizing the visitor.

    "I would like a place to sleep in this inn,"
    replied the teacher.

    "But this is not an inn," said the King, "It is my palace."

    "May I ask who owned this palace before you?"

    "My father. He is dead."

    "And who owned it before him?"

    "My grandfather. He too is dead."

    "And this place where people live for a short time and then move on - did I hear you say that it is not an inn?"

the end

♡

winter wonderabout land

 I wasted an hour this morning looking for a picture of me taken when I was seven as I sat on a huge bank of drifted snow in front of our tiny 1950s country house. It's the time of the year when those of us who live in the northern hemisphere can bore each other for hours about just how deep the snow used to get and 'if you think this is cold' stories. Of course the snow was deeper when you were only three feet tall and it was colder too when you were sent outside to play for at least an hour most days. Yes, it's winter again as you can see from this picture of Crow who was barely visible enough to sketch as we braved one of our recent Maritime blizzards. We would have stayed home, like all sensible people, but for a sale on cases of his favorite brandy that I got to carry. That's what friends are for, right? He was good enough to share later on as we thawed out by the fireside in his library.

The only problem I have now is that it appears I waited too long to buy my favorite watercolor paper as the only real art supply store in town has temporarily sold out. Only two pieces left to last me for two weeks so I guess I'd better make good use of them.

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with another short story I found and a picture of one of our neighbors, a lady who knows how to keep herself and her friend comfortable in cold weather.

 
A new monk arrived at a monastery where the brothers spent their time making copies of ancient texts. Saying he wanted to make copies of the originals to avoid duplicating errors that might have been made, he went down the cellar stairs.

Several hours later the monks, wondering where their new friend was, finally found him weeping in the deepest vault. When they asked him what was the matter he answered, 'The word is celebrate, not celibate.'

♡

maybe

Once there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Maybe,” said the farmer.

the end
or maybe the beginning..

*****

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year or at the very least, equanimity in the face of whatever changes may come.

♡

santa Crow visits the rich

Crow here. It's been nearly a year since the night I agreed to help the old fellow from the north with some deliveries on Christmas Eve. Quite frankly the dear gentleman was at his wits end, knowing as he did that so many poor children needed gifts and food that night and much more besides. He did what he could as he always does. My task was the much less arduous one (or so I thought) of taking presents to the children of the rich. As you well know there are far fewer of them, such a tiny number of good rich children, in fact, that I was quite confident of being home well before midnight.

At twilight several of his more experienced reindeer arrived pulling a spare Santa sled and off we tootled into winter's darkening sky. Our first stop at a gated community provided my first inkling that this job might not be quite the doddle I'd imagined it would be. As I slipped down the chimney I'd been happy to see the glint of festive lights in the the hall and the living room, but when I stepped across the grate I discovered they weren't holiday decorations at all but motion detectors. Suddenly sirens sounded, steel barriers dropped down to cover the windows and three snarling dogs rushed into the room where I'd just begun to open my sack. I barely made it back up the chimney with my trousers intact.

Having never been one to renege on an obligation I set off with a will to the next mansion on my list. The living room there was a grand space filled with art and fine furniture but once again, just as I set foot on the floor, before I could begin opening my bag, alarms sounded, a spotlight lit my person and a nasty smelling fog filled the room with blue smoke. Coughing and choking I scrambled back up that chimney too.

As I'd had no success at the gated community I decided instead that we'd try for a country house on the list. Knowing nothing about private security systems that employ infrared cameras that read thermal heat signatures, nor about radar detectors - both of which can detect anything larger than a mouse up to five miles away - the reindeer and I were surprised when portals in the roof opened and out popped a brace of cannons. Although we attempted to signal our good intentions by ringing sleigh bells and singing carols, we were forced to turn away when the heavy artillery opened fire.

We made our sad way back to Santa's workshop in dread of his disappointment. How surprised we were by his merry laughter as he commended us for our attempts and said, 'Don't worry boys, next year I'll let them fight it out with the Amazon drones'.

Happy Christmas everyone!


(If you're interested in reading further about security arrangements of the rich - as opposed to The Rich - you can find more here and here. They're actually far stranger and more paranoid than Crow described. Sad but true.)

♡

right and wrong

A weeks long meditation retreat that was being held in the mountains of Japan was attended by many students of the great master. During the gathering one student was caught stealing. The matter was reported to the master with the request that the culprit be dismissed. The master ignored the case.

Later the student was caught in a similar act, and again the master disregarded the matter. This angered the other students, who busied themselves drawing up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief, stating that otherwise they would leave in a body.

When the master had read the petition he called everyone before him. “You are wise brothers,” he told them. “You know what is right and what is not right. You may go somewhere else to study if you wish, but this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave.”

A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the brother who had stolen. All desire to steal had vanished.

the end

*******

I never know which of these stories will get me to draw a picture next - they must be lessons I need to hear myself. Anger may be a righteous reaction, but it never seems to solve anything.

♡

the princess and Crow

Once there was a princess who awoke one day to find a small spot under her eye. It was a little nothing to begin with but, as a king's daughter, she was a bit spoiled and refused to leave her bed. When royal doctors came to treat the problem she sent them away and instead kept touching the sore spot until it got worse and worse. Finally the king proclaimed a large reward for whoever could cure his daughter. After some time, Crow arrived claiming to be a famous physician.

Saying that he could definitely cure the princess he was admitted to her chamber. After he had examined her, he exclaimed, "Oh, I'm so sorry!"
"What is it?" the princess inquired.
Crow said, "There is nothing much wrong with your eye, dear child, but there is something else that is really serious."
The princess was alarmed and asked, "What could be so serious?"
He hesitated and said, "It is most unfortunate. I simply can't tell you about it." No matter how much she insisted, Crow refused to tell her, saying that he could not speak without the king's permission.

When the king arrived, Crow was still reluctant to reveal his findings. Finally the king commanded, "Tell us what is wrong. Whatever it is, you must tell us!"
At last Crow said, "Well, the princess's eye will get better within a few days - that is no problem. What is a problem is that the princess will develop a tail, a very long tail, that may start growing very soon. If only she can detect the first moment it appears, I might be able to prevent it from growing." At this news everyone was deeply concerned.

And the princess, what did she do? She stayed in bed, day and night, directing all her attention to detecting when the tail might appear. After a few days, her eye got well.

..and she never saw even a hint of a tail.

the end

♡

why meditate

An elder monk who finds a young monk sitting in a meditation pose inquires, 'Why are you sitting in meditation?'

The younger replies, 'By sitting in meditation I hope eventually to become a buddha'.

The elder monk picks up a brick, walks across the carefully tended Zen rock garden and begins rubbing the brick against one of the ancient stones.

The younger one laughs and asks, 'What are you doing?'

To which the elder says, 'I am polishing this brick in hopes that eventually it will become a mirror'.

the end

♡

making a difference

 Zen master Ryokan was walking on the beach not long after a storm had blown over. Hundreds of starfish that had been washed up by the waves were beginning to die in the sharp sunlight. Ryokan picked up the starfish one by one and threw them back into the sea.


A fisherman who had been observing Ryokan came up to him. “Why do you do this? Every time there’s a storm, this happens on every beach for hundreds of miles. You can’t save them all, so what difference does your attempt make?”

“It will make a difference – to this one,” replied Ryokan, as he flung yet another starfish into the water.

the end
*****

This is definitely a lazy (and recovering) person's post but it's another one I like a lot.
Thanks to you all for the good wishes.

♡