2015-06-27

【Night】

Yahya Kemal Beyatli (1884—1958)

            Kandilli floated upon sleep—

            We trailed the moonlight on the deep.

            We took a shining silver track

           &

2015-06-26

【Paris】

Cahit Külebi (1917—1997)

            When someone mentions Paris,

            I think of a woman with a smoky voice.

            She sings late into the night.

            Her chest rises and falls.

2015-06-26

【The Guest House】

Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī (1207—1273)

            This being human is a guest house.

            Every morning a new arrival.

            A joy, a depression, a meanness,

        &nb

2015-06-23

【Like This】

Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī (1207—1273)

            If anyone asks you

            how the perfect satisfaction

            of all our sexual wanting

            will look, lift your face

         &

2015-06-23

【My Religion Is Love】

Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī (1207—1273)

                I belong to no religion.

                My religion is Love.

                Every heart is my temple.

2015-06-25

【A Patriot】

Hristo Botev (1848—1876)

            A patriot be - for knowledge, freedom,

            The soul's too small a price to pay!

            Mind you, not his soul, my brothers,

            The nation's soul he'll give away!

 &nb

2015-06-24

【Poetry】

Nichita Stanescu (1933—1983)

             Poetry is the weeping eye

                 it is the weeping shoulder

                 the weeping eye of the shoulder

                 it is the weeping hand

                 the weeping eye of the

2015-06-24

【The Rainbow】

Daniela Marian

         The rainbow read my mind

         A letter of remembrance

         He sat down in the place of the heart

         Suddenly his arms spread

2015-06-24

【Sad Love Song】

Nichita Stanescu (1933—1983)

         Only my life will die for me, in truth,

         sometime.

         Only the grass knows the taste of the earth.

         In truth, only my blood misses

         my heart when it leaves.

2015-06-24

Love is noblest because of the poem, 

while the poem is best-known because of love.

情因诗而高贵，

诗因情而流传。

—— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • ——

Branches cuddle up to the mountain's tree. 

But you know not how much I love thee.

山有木兮木有枝，

心悦君兮君不知。

—— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • ——

Ever hurt is a

2015-06-20

【Tonight I've watched】

(Greek) Sappho (c. 630 – c. 570 BCE)

                Tonight I've watched

                the moon and then

                the Pleiades

              &

2015-06-18

【The Essential Quotes】

Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī (1207—1273)

        Moonlight floods the whole sky from horizon to horizon;

        How much it can fill your room depends on its windows.

        You are so weak. Give up grace.

        The ocean takes care of each wave till it gets t

2015-06-18

【The Essential Rumi】

Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī (1207—1273)

         Don’t try to steer the boat.

       Don’t open shop for yourself. Listen. Keep silent.

         You are not God’s mouthpiece. Try to be an ear,

         And if you do speak, ask for explanations.

         You have forg

2015-06-17

【Cyprian, in My Dream】

Sappho (c. 630 – c. 570 BCE)

                Cyprian, in my dream

                the folds of a purple

                kerchief shadowed

               &n

2015-06-17

【Words】

Sappho (c. 630 – c. 570 BCE)

                Although they are

                only breath, words

                which I command

                are immortal

—— &#

2015-09-02

【Aiden in English】

        Beijing is the capital of the People’s Republic of China. The capital becomes the national center of its politics and cultures, which are usually put at the top of the priority list. The capital also tends to attract more people like moths to a flame.

        Like moths to a flame, that is exactly what Beijing is. Young, bright people with brilliant and imaginative minds hope sky-

2015-08-31

【Aiden in English】

        Other than the amazing sights, sounds, and tastes of Beijing, the city had a sense of history as well. When I went to the Tanzhe Temple, it would be helpful for some history.

        The Tanzhe Temple was around before Beijing was established, which wasn’t hard to learn since the park advertised it. The old Buddhist temple had nearly everything repaired, reconstructed, remodeled, or repain

2015-08-27

【Aiden in English】

        The sky has been important in Chinese history since the beginning of its culture. I mean, which culture doesn’t worship never-ending blue what-cha-ma-call-it above its head.

        The Chinese emperors had constructed an enormous place known as the Temple of Heaven where they could talk to the sky, worship the sky, and watch the sky. Nowadays, there isn’t much sky to watch other

2015-08-24

【Aiden in English】

        You simply can’t go to Beijing and NOT go to the Great Wall. It is very fact that a lot of people come to Beijing every day.

        The Great Wall is one of the most famous spots in Beijing. The most popular sections are known as Badaling and Mutianyu, respectively. And the Great Wall of China is spinning 21,196 km/13,171 miles so that no one would walk the entire route up to dat

2015-08-22

【Aiden in English】

        As far as I'm concerned, a park is a place for sports and entertainment. It is a place for Frisbeeing. It is a place of babies cry in their strollers. But it can also be a place with a lush history like the Summer Palace in Beijing. 

        The Summer Palace is one of a kind place on earth. It was so special that this imperial park was built in the Qing Dynasty so big th

2015-08-21

【Aiden in English】

        Beijing used to have good weather all year around. Nowadays, I don’t think so. But the point is that it had warm summers and fair winters. A water source was extremely close by, which made it a wonderful place for the rulers of China when you would consider all these factors. 

        The Forbidden City is not so “forbidden” anymore. It’s actually quite the opposite. The n

2015-08-20

【Aiden in English】

        Nothing can last forever on earth, so that is why people remodel or reconstruct historical sites. They want to make them last longer. And in a place of 5,000-year-old history, it tends to happen a ton.

        Right next to my uncle’s home in Fengtai District was a public domain called Beijing Garden Expo Park. It’s a small park that is filled with abundant trees and flowers in

2015-08-18

【Aiden in English】

        Sometimes I look back and view scary events, and I can't help mumbling “Hey, that wasn’t half bad!” Now that the moment has passed and the event is in your past, it seems quick and easy. As I look back at one of the most monumental moments of my life, I say that it was a walk in the park.

        A 12-year-old boy flying on a plane by himself seems strange enough. To start, pe

2015-08-10

【Aiden in English】

        Without discipline, nothing can be done. Some kids just are way too violent. I don’t know what their parents teach them. But whatever it is with them, the new generation of kids hurt! 

        Never in my life have I seen such a fearful stick. It gets, even more, intimidating that it’s being wielded by a cranky six years old. The day was another regular one, other than the f

2015-08-03

【Aiden in English】

〖For Kids〗 

        Summer for some kids seems boring. They stay at home, playing video games all day. No worries, you will never be bored again, because Guang Hua Chinese School, aka GHCS, is hosting a summer camp. The camp is for all ages, so you can be stuck with an annoying four years old all day if you are unlucky. Instead of wasting those precious brains over TV screens, you can come into a classroom and learn! I k

2015-08-02

【Aiden in English】

        The “fresh produce” you get at the grocery store isn’t always as “fresh” as you might think. To find the best products, you have to go to the source. And at Styer Orchard in Langhorne of PA, people can pick from the freshest produce you can find. 

        Styer Orchard is a farm where people come in, grab a bucket, go out into the fields, and get some nice vegetables wit

2015-07-31

【Aiden in English】

        Bags were packed. The rooms were cleaned. Windows were open. A week-long 76er Overnight Camp was almost over. But before we left, there were the championships. 

        For the ACC, the teams that made it through the playoffs were the number one seed of UNC and the number three seed of Duck. They were the finalists and had a crowd of all the ACC players and parents watching.

2015-07-30

【Aiden in English】

        The playoffs were here, and everyone was ready. After that huge victory last night, GA-Tech felt undefeatable. Maybe we became overconfident, but really, that game made us the best team in the ACC.

        Notice how I said the word “team” in the last phrase, because, as the theme of the week, today we weren’t a team. There was a clumpy obstacle course, and GA-Tech had the lead

2015-07-29

【Aiden in English】

        You can never predict a game’s result. That’s my newest philosophy. A game is something you can never gamble with. The outcome may seem fixed, but the power of probability isn’t as dominant as many think.

        At present, Georgia-Tech’s record was 1-3 solidly plopping us down in the fourth, and the last seed of the ACC. And the team kept digging a hole that trapped itself with

2015-07-28

【Aiden in English】

        Losing is a tough experience. Everyone wishes to avoid it. But sooner or later though, people have to face it like a man. And also, like a man, people have to recover. However, it depends on how big of a loss it is.

        Our record right now wins 1-1 at the 76ers Overnight Camp. It was decent. The thing about the tournament is that all the teams are qualified, just that the record d

2015-07-27

【Aiden in English】

        Day one was difficult, but day two gets harder, and the challenges grow daily at the 76ers Overnight Camp. Although every day I spend here at the camp means that I get better, others also increase at the same time. So if I want to up my game, I’d better get working on my weakness really quick. 

        To improve your skill, you gotta know what you are not as good at or, rath

2015-07-26

【Aiden in English】

        Basketball, up until now, became a game in which everything was fun and nothing was challenging. But at a summer camp of kids who all wish for a challenge, where each and every kid plays his heart out, it gets difficult.

        The 76ers Overnight Camp is really a hardcore, pure, all-basketball camp that requires a camper to sleep over in a room with a roommate, and the daily routine runs

2015-07-24

【Aiden in English】

        This is the last day of the PSC Basketball Camp. The process of getting to this day was hard and it didn’t come without bumps and bruises. But the week's name was by fast, and it was fun, which is the most important thing by far. 

        As promised we did layup drills in the morning for about 40 minutes, and people were dropping left and right to do pushups. I corrected my scoop

2015-07-23

【Aiden in English】

        Today was the day of terrible layups in the Philadelphia Sports Club or PSC. This day was cursed by the basketball gods themselves, and every layup would be tough. They cursed this day, and we had to suffer.

        I’m not good at layups at all. I mean, sure, I can lay it in on a fast break, but my form looked terrible. So in the afternoon, Coach Dan had us do a 45-minute layup drill. We

2015-07-22

【Aiden in English】

        Every day starts off with simple and normal enough laps and stretches in the basketball camp of Philadelphia Sports Club or PSC. Yesterday was a real beating on my body. Going downstairs was hard, getting up was hard, and walking was hard. Heck, everything was hard. But today it got even worse because we began with yesterday’s injuries. You have no idea how painful squats were. 

        Yet each

2015-07-21

【Aiden in English】

        Today this is what I call a summer camp! Not a room in a hot boring atmosphere where you are being taught about the stuff that will barely get you through life (other than Chinese). Basketball camp in Philadelphia Sports Club or PSC is where the fun happens. At the same time, I can up my skills.

        Okay, I’ve never participated in any basketball leagues, rec., or t

2015-07-20

【Aiden in English】

        I don’t blame some kids to be so annoyed that they have to learn during the summertime. I also understand that annoyed little kids can be tough, but they're still in a line. A line that separates a cool, calm me and an “I’m-going-to-strangle-you” type of me. Obviously, no one wishes to meet my “next-door neighbor”， but at times, he comes to have a visit.

        Names can carry meaning

2015-07-13

【Aiden in English】

        Today sounds easy in an ideal perfect world. Spit out information and let the kids suck it up. Every kid pays attention and the entire class participates in activities. But when reality comes into play, being forced to learn during summer break is anything but ideal for kids. As for being a teacher assistant, this is why I was hired.

        I have never babysat anyone in my entir

2015-07-05

【Love】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

I say goodbye when I approach you, Love,

as this age and this gray would have me do.

There was the shadow of the earth and sun

and, oh, the heart of a heartless boy in you.

—— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • ——

【《爱情》】

阳光斗士•萨巴(1883生—1957卒)

对你，爱情，我开始就已放弃

就像我的老年一定会让我如此。

哦，你有大地，和太阳的黑暗，

有一个没有心灵的孩子的心灵。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2015: Farewell to

2015-07-05

【Ulysses】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

          In my youth, I sailed

          the Dalmatian coast. Tiny islands

          rose from the surface of the waves, covered

        with algae, slippery, beautiful as emeralds in the sun,

          where an occasional bird paused searching for prey.

          When

2015-07-05

【Aiden in English】

        The theme of the trip to adventure the World Heritage in Southern Europe is sort of how time moves on, and the future comes faster it seems. Following the theme, time did move on, and I had to leave. Fortunately, this ending came with many memories. 

        The Greek Isles offered a type of tropicality unlike any other. The balance of relaxation in the sun and the lush history of Gree

2015-07-04

【Divine Comedy•Aphorism】

Dante Alighieri (1265—1321)

• Go your own way and let others talk.

• Morality can often make up for the defects of wisdom, but wisdom can never fill the gap of morality.

• How beautiful the youth is, but can not keep the passing time! To be happy and joyful, who knows if there is such free time tomorrow?

• There is one of the most beautiful voices in the world, that is, the mother's call.

• The arrow hit the target and left Hyun.

• The arrow in the arrow is more impor

2015-07-04

【Aiden in English】

        Vatican City or the Holy See is the world’s smallest country and home to less than 900 residents, including the most famous person, of course, the Pope. It has its own set of laws and even a different language. They speak Latin. No, apparently it’s not a dead language. Although they are Catholics, the citizens of the Vatican seem to have a unique culture to share with the world.

        Mic

2015-07-04

【Old City】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

            Often, to return to my home

            I take a dark street in the old city.

            Yellow is reflected in some puddle

            a few lights and the street is crowded.

2015-07-04

【The Goat】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

        I talked to a goat.

        She was alone on the lawn, she was tied up.

        Full of grass, wet

        from the rain, it blazed.

        That same bleat was brotherly

     &n

2015-07-04

【Aiden in English】

        The Colosseum implies enormous, gigantic, and ginormous. The root comes from the prefix “Colo”, which indicates big. So now that you know, what the word “Colosseum” means.

        Built under Emperor Titus in the 1st century, about 3,000 years after the Great Pyramid of Egypt, the Colosseum hosted a number of gladiatorial shows we still enjoy today. The Romans had a time of p

2015-07-03

【I think of you again, your smile】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

    And my thoughts were brought up again,

    Your smile is like a pot of lemonade,

    I stumbled on the beach between pebbles,

    It's like a mirror.

    The green pineapple of ivy, like a lid,

    Embrace the white and quiet clouds.

    That's

2015-07-03

【Aiden in English】

        Pizza is the new Alexander the Great in Italian cuisine, which conquests countries with ease and turns people’s appetites against themselves. Its origin comes from the beautiful city of Naples with more than 2,500 years of history.

        In downtown Naples crammed in a small, dark side stands a tiny alley with a golden plaque that reads: “Nacque la Pizza Margherita”. This is an official

2015-07-02

【House by the Sea】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

            Here the journey ends: 

            in these petty cares dividing

            a soul no longer able to protest. 

            Now minutes are implac

2015-07-02

【The Frog, First to Try Again Its Note】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

        The frog, first to try again its note

        from the pond which drowns

        rushes and clouds, the racket of carobs

        woven where a sun without warmth

        snuffs its

2015-07-02

【Aiden in English】

        Everyone has heard of Mt. Vesuvius. It’s famous for the powerful eruptions that leveled cities. When it comes to Mt. Etna which towers almost 3,329 meters/10,922 feet above sea level in Sicily, everyone goes “Huh?” Well, you don’t have to destroy cities to be famous.

        Compared to Mt. Vesuvius, Mt. Etna is the tallest and most active volcano in Europe and has many more sites to explor

2015-07-02

【Aiden in English】

        Italy is a country of architectural feats and styles unique to this part of the world. And in Sicily or the center and the largest of the Mediterranean, the culture flourishes with every stop.

        Taormina is a perfect example of a typical Italian coastal resort, not just the cramped houses side by side but the fun atmosphere. This hilltop town is situated 213 meters/700 feet above sea