My e-book "Elemental Dragons: Cycles One and Two" available at Smashwords!

"Elemental Dragons: Cycles One and Two" is available on Smashwords!

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/140774

Ten interconnected short stories written for the Chinese Year of the Dragon. In the mythical land of Shinwa, dragons play a part in people's lives. Young women find courage and strength in their dragon guardians at a critical point in their country's history. 

Download is only $1.00. Check it out and lose yourself in a new world!

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2012

Asian Pacific Culture Heritage Month (1)

May is Asian-Pacific Cultural Heritage Month, and I'd like to recommend various books and resources to learn more. This will be a running series all this month, spotlighting various Asian cultures. Each blog entry will highlight different aspects of different cultures. These aren't meant to be complete and exclusive lists.

Japanese:
The Classic Tradition of Haiku, Edited by Fabion Bowers
Typhoon! Typhoon! An Illustrated Haiku Sequence by Lucile Maxfield Bogue
A Cat, a Man and Two Women by Junichiro Tanizaki
Geisha by Liza Dalby
The Tale of Genji by Murisaki Shikibu
The Tale of Murasaki by Liza Dalby

Filipino:
The Guerilla is Like a Poet An Anthology of Filipino Poetry, edited by Robert Majzels
Filipino Martial Culture by Mark V. Wiley
Filipino Martial Arts (Cabales Serrada Escrima) by Mark V. Wiley

Vietnamese:
Ca Dao Vietnam, A Bilingual Anthology of Vietnamese Folk Poetry. Edited, Translated and Introduced by John Balaban

Chinese:
The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Introduction by Nigel Hawthorne
The Wisdom of Confucius, Edited by Ephiphanius Wilson
The Illustrated Tao De Ching by Stephen Hodge

Asian-American Experience:
The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker by Eric Liu
Making Waves: An Anthology of Writings By and About Asian American Women. Edited by the Asian Women United of California

More to come!

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2011

Dreaming in Chinese by Deborah Fallows

Language and culture has always been intertwined and interlinked. In order to understand the heart of a second (third or fourth) language, one must understand the heart of the people who speak it. Many turns of phrase, idioms, and general attitudes about life depend on the environment around them.

I recently finished reading Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love and Language by Deborah Fallows. Ms. Fallows spent several years in China, learning about Mandarin and its intricate structure. The language highlights the way the Chinese see their lives, so different from the Western worldview. Ms. Fallows relates a story about the Chinese vs. Western view of love and romance: A Chinese friend of hers admits that she "loves her husband for now." For now? Was it just a matter of convenience?

The Chinese verb ai (fourth tone) means "to love", but unlike English, Chinese verbs do not change tense (in other words, it remains the same for past, present and future tense). They also do not change for number of people (I love, you love, he/she loves, we love, they love.)

So the expression "Wo ai ni!" can mean "I love you", "I loved you", "I will love you" and so on. It can also mean "I love you now, at this moment." If I wanted to say "I loved you yesterday", the sentence would be, "Zuotian wo ai ni." (Yesterday, I love you.). So when the woman says, "I love my husband for now", she doesn't mean it in a temporal sense. It just translates into English that way.

But a mix-up in translation can definitely make the wrong impression about someone's cultural norm. You can't separate the two, language and culture, and Ms. Fallows sees this time and time again during her travels through China. A different mind set, a different way of life, but utterly fascinating.

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2011

Chinese Bookbinding (and Chinese Hanzi)

I went to Barnes and Noble, despite an upset stomach and a headache of horrible proportions. It was only a matter of time before the flu bug bit me, after my three kids having it, one after the other. I saw this book on the discount shelf: Chinese Characters: The Art and Meaning of Hanzi. The black, red and gold cover definitely made it stand out. The pages were sewn together with a red band through holes punched in the margin. Each character occupied one side of a folded page, which was something I'd never seen before.

On the copyright page, a paragraph explains Traditional Chinese Bookbinding:

"This book has been produced using traditional Chinese bookbinder techniques, using a method that was developed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and remained in use until the adoption of Western binding techniques in the early 1900's. In traditional binding, single sheets of paper are printed on one side only, and each sheet is folded in half, with the printed pages on the outside The book block is then sandwiched between two boards and sewn together through punched holes close to the cut edges of the folded sheets."

 My first reaction was "Wow!" because it was unlike anything I'd seen before. The binding is definitely more secure on this book than most of the others in my collection. Since each page is doubled and folded over, it takes some getting used to, but it's a unique collection of Chinese characters and their meaning.

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2011

What am I Reading This Month?

I haven't done one of these in a while...it's only recently that I've been able to squeeze some pleasure reading into my chaotic schedule. Here goes:

How to be a Villain: Evil Laughs, Secret Lairs, Master Plans and More by Niel Zawaki It's a step-by-step guide to joining the forces of Evil and Darkness. This book is a humorous look at every cliche of villainy in literature. After all, you need the catchy name, the flashy costume, the secret lair, the evil henchman, and the Plot to Destroy the World, right?

Aitchison's Linguistics by Jean Aitchison. This is part of the Teach Yourself (R) series. It's an introduction to basic concepts in the field of language and linguistics. There are many different sub-specialities (such as computational linguistics, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics and applied linguistics) that describe the many different branches of study. For the record, a philologist is a person who speaks many languages, while a linguist is interested in the structure and reason for languages (but does not necessarily need to speak all of them). Many start out as one and end up as the other.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu I had a smaller version of this classic treatise on the art of war, but lost it, so I got myself this particular version, printed by Arcturus Press (UK). I like this illustrated version, and I like how this is easily indexed and arranged by chapter and verse.

Lost Languages by Andrew Robinson I've read this one before, but I've decided to re-read it. It focuses on the linguistic puzzles of all time, including the Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Mayan glyphs, and ones that are still a mystery, like the Etruscan writing.


All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2011

Happy Year of the Rabbit 2011

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Gong Xi Fa Choi!

Happy New Year and may peace and prosperity be with you and yours!

Here's what I was working on most of today:

Dragon Maiden

acrylic, metallic acrylic,ink

© 2011 by A. Dameron

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Dragons and more Dragons

I seem to be in a "dragon-y" mood lately, probably because it's the Chinese New Year tomorrow (2/3). Ironically enough, I was cleaning out the garage and found Drawing Dragons by Jim Hansen. I'd bought it from Borders on clearance (it still had the sticker on it) and got stuck in a box and forgotten.

These are featured in my art blog, but I'd like to share these with you here too:

Fire Dragon

acrylic, ink

© 2011 by A. Dameron

Purple Jade Dragon
ink, acrylic
© 2011 by A. Dameron

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Chinese New Year Recipes (2)

This is for the Year of the Rooster

Chicken Fuyung

1 sprig fresh parsley
7 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of black pepper
150 g (5 oz.) cooked chicken
1 large mushroom
3 spring onions
1 tomato
2 tablespoons cooking oil

Chop the parsley finely. Beat the eggs well, add the salt, pepper and parsley. Stir. Shred the chicken, chop mushroom, onions and tomatoes, mix all together and stir-fry in the oil over high heat for about 2 minutes. Add egg mixture and continue to stir fry until egg is set. Sever immediately.

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Chinese New Year Recipes (1)

For the week before Chinese New Year (2/3), here is a series of recipes. It's traditional to cook food that reflects the particular year. 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit, but I'll include recipes for various years.

Fried Rabbit

1 fresh dressed rabbit
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons corn flour
cooking oil for frying
4 spring onions (shallots)
4 tablespoons peanut oil (optional)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
6 tablespoons chicken stock

Wash the rabbit, dry on paper towel, and cut into 8 pieces of equal size. Beat the egg whites until frothy, add the salt and 2 teaspoons of corn flour. Mix together. Dip the rabbit pieces into the mexture,allow to stand for 15 minutes, then deep-fry until tender.

Chop onions and stir-fry at high heat for 15 seconds. Add the rabbit pieces, soy sauce and the stock. Cook at medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Serve immediately.


All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Chinese Horoscopes 101

The Chinese New Year begins on 2/3/11. Unlike the Western calendar, which is solar-based, the Chinese calendar is lunar-based. According to traditional dating, the year 2011 is 4708 by the Chinese calendar.

Chinese astrology is based on a 12-year cycle, and each year is named after an animal. Buddha sent out a call to all the animals on the full moon before he left Earth. 12 animals responded, and Buddha named the years in the order of their appearance: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep (or Goat), Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig (or Boar). The Rat had asked the Ox for a ride to the meeting; the good-natured Ox allowed him to ride on his back. When they drew closer to Buddha, Rat jumped off Ox's back and approached Buddha, thus being the first to arrive. Buddha was impressed by Rat's inventiveness, and with Ox's permission, he named Rat as the first year of the cycle. Ox didn't mind being second.

There are 3 main parts to a person's Chinese horoscope: the animals that govern the year you were born, the ones who influence the month, and the ones who influence the hour of your birth. Each animal has its yin (quiet) and yang (outgoing) aspects, and is governed by a certain element. (wood, fire, water, metal, earth). All these complicated elements factor into a person's personality.

Rat: survival, craftiness, creative thinker, hoarder. 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996,2008, 2020
Ox: endurance, patience, hardworking, stubborn  1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Tiger: impulsive, creative, courageous, reckless    1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
Rabbit: virtuous, nurturing                                    1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
Dragon: wise, mysterious                                     1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
Snake: lucky, cunning                                          1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
Horse: independent, self-sufficient                        1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
Sheep: sensitive, artistic                                       1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027
Monkey: imaginative, fantastical                           1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028
Rooster: proud, direct, candor                             1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029
Dog: loyal, idealistic                                             1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030
Pig: honest, good-natured                                    1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031

Animals governing the months:
Ox: January                                                         Sheep: July
Tiger: February                                                   Monkey: August
Rabbit: March                                                     Rooster: September
Dragon: April                                                      Dog: October
Snake: May                                                        Pig: November
Horse: June                                                         Rat: December

And the animals governing the two-hour periods:
Rat: 2300-0100                                                 Horse: 1100-1300
Ox: 0100-0300                                                 Sheep: 1300-1500
Tiger: 0300-0500                                              Monkey: 1500-1700
Rabbit: 0500-0700                                            Rooster: 1700-1900
Dragon: 0700-0900                                           Dog: 1900-2100
Snake: 0900-1100                                            Pig: 2100-2300

According to this, I'm an Ox (1973), with a Rat month (December), and I was born during the hour of the Rat (2300-0100). [Double Rat!]. Weirdly enough, Hubs was born during the year of the Rat, month of the Ox, during the hour of the Ox. My kids are Michael (Sheep, Snake, Snake), Christina (Dog, Ox, Horse), and Sarah (Dog, Dog, Monkey).

Okay, just realized Christina is the only one without a double animal anywhere. That's weird.

This is only a guide...cosmic influences do affect (some might call them 'cosmic accidents') these factors.



All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Artist Trading Cards, New Phone, and Other Random Stuff

I've been working on multiple projects at once, plus dealing with 3 kids by myself this past week. Hubby was in New Jersey on a business trip, so there was definitely no rest for the mommy-minded! I ended up doing most of my writing and art after the kids were put to bed, about 8 PM. So I'll throw in a load of laundry or stack the dishes in the dishwasher and try to have a few minutes of peace.

Time's been in short supply, so I've been doing quick sketches. I'm working on a series of Artist Trading Cards (ATCs, 2 inches by 3 inches. Think trade-able art cards, like baseball cards) connected with Chinese New Year. Chun Lian are New Year's couplets, traditionally written on horizontal (or vertical) strips of paper and affixed to your door frame. Usually, it's a quote about the coming spring or a saying from the Chinese classical scholars, like Lao Tzu or Confucius.

My phone's been on the fritz lately, so I've had to get a new one. The old one kept dropping calls, and after my son's teacher tried to contact me (and I finally got her message on the home phone), I told Hubs when he got back that I can't afford to have a bum phone. So I got a new one...spent a while transferring my important phone numbers into it, but as long as I can actually receive my calls, it's worth it.

Still working on my creative website, and I'm planning on adding PDFs of some of my writing and some podcasts (connected with this blog and Phoenix Fire Arts). Slow going, but it'll get there.

So there's no rest for the Creative Mommy, never mind the wicked.



All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2011