The Unheralded Cab Drivers Speak in Hong Kong

Occupy Central in Hong Kong affects business for cabbies, so WSJ asks them what they think.
It is well enough for professors, advisers and pundits to comment on events around the world.  But I think it's quite a journalistic privilege to go to where these events are and speak directly with the people who are in the midst of it.  I used to travel a lot: from the US and UK, to Kuwait and the UAE, to Singapore and Egypt, and very much enjoy striking up a conversation with my cab driver.  Perhaps like bartenders and hairdressers, these cab drivers are among modern day society's unheralded buddies and advisers.

Blood-Swept Lands and British Sea of Tears

The blood swept lands and seas of red,
Where angels dare to tread.
As I put my hand to reach,
As God cried a tear of pain as the angels fell,
Again and again.

As the tears of mine fell to the ground
To sleep with the flowers of red
As any be dead

My children see and work through fields of my
Own with corn and wheat,
Blessed by love so far from pain of my resting
Fields so far from my love.

It be time to put my hand up and end this pain
Of living hell, to see the people around me
Fall someone angel as the mist falls around
And the rain so thick with black thunder I hear
Over the clouds, to sleep forever and kiss
The flower of my people gone before time
To sleep and cry no more

I put my hand up and see the land of red,
This is my time to go over,
I may not come back
So sleep, kiss the boys for me

The Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, by an unknown British soldier.

This poem was the inspiration for British artist Paul Cummins and his 888,246 ceramic poppies, bleeding from the Tower of London, each one commemorating the British dead in World War I. 

Syrian Boy Ekes Out a Living in Istanbul Streets

Issa is one of 100,000+ Syrian refugees in Istanbul, and plays his plastic flute to make $10 a day.

It's heartbreaking to see Istanbul officers confiscate Issa's plastic flute and to spend half his earnings to buy another one.  But in that hard scrabble that is life for Syrian refugees, $10 probably isn't bad at all.  I know that those who live on $1 a day or less belong to the ultra-poor of the world.  Little Issa rises above that.

Mobile Word Games I Play On The Go

 

Letters appeared one at a time, and I selected and placed letters for any of those 15 boxes.  The objective was to earn as many Moxie points as possible.  The target words, that is, on Animals, grabbed the most points.  I often scored in the 2000s range, gradually increasing my best in this range over time.  On this one occasion, I topped 3000 for the first time.  I loved playing this game, but I loved it so much it became a bit ridiculous.  I was playing in the car, mainly at red lights.  But on occasion, when the traffic was slow moving, I found myself playing it.  I had to delete this app. 

 

So You Think You Know Words is painstakingly tough, but I love the challenge it poses and the patience it takes.  Several letters are set up in a grid, and they all form three words, set up as empty boxes and hinted at with a clue on top.  I went as far as I could tolerate, that is, in figuring it all out on my own knowledge.  But I also searched on Google for information on the clue, and on occasion searched for the answers.  I managed to complete two puzzles, as you see. 

7 Words is my favorite.  I work with clues for 7 words, which I construct from blocks of two- to four-letter segments.  Sometimes there is a theme, such as this very cool one.  I had to take a screen shot.  It's a daily puzzle, and I've been playing it for two years.  Only once have I needed help completing it. 

My Birthday-Time Synchronicity

 

It must've been mid-autumn 2012 and late in the afternoon, as I picked up my daughter at school.  Since returning home in at the end of 2011, and switching from a BlackBerry to an iPhone, I had taken more photos and videos on the go.  I had an older version, and the pixels on the camera were only a few.  But I loved the convenience of it.  That afternoon, the cool, crisp sky was drenched in dark, brush stroke pink, and it was stunning to watch the setting sun.

Here, you see, one of those photos won wallpaper usage.  But this time, though, it was a synchronicity.  It was my birthday that July 31st 2013, and when I checked my iPhone the time mirrored that date perfectly.

A Sweet Visit on Mother's Day

It was May 2012, and my daughter and I were out shopping for gifts and cards for Mother's Day.  My mother was seriously ill at the time, and was recovering in a rehabilitation nursing home.  She had since passed away (July 2013), but this little visit to this quaint shop was sweet.