The rains have gone. I'm no longer wearing my silk overcoat emblazoned with a golden dragon--and pretending to be a character from a wuxia. 

Staggered lunchtimes.

Good morning, Cubao!

Even whispered wishes from afar travel through ether and reach the mage's ears.

Good night, Cubao!

The gnomes are planning a soju night.

One Message To One Of 253 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with two syllables in your name: Even in the hottest summer there will be chilly nights, but do not make the mistake of exposing yourself to them.

Aubrey came down to dinner in the dining room.

Gave a bag of goodies to Toto.

Night chores. 

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then snuggling in bed with a Netflix movie.

Staggered dinnertimes; Angelique has class through 9:30 PM and Aubrey preparing for her night shift,.

I observe that it is the conservative person who suffers the most tragedies in life.

Forty winks.

A delivery arrived.

Worked half an hour on second layer.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center with Angelqiue and Aubrey. Toto drove for us. Went to the bank, changed dollars to pesos, sent some money to my younger son Chito, paid our electric and phone bills, did major groceries, and had lunch out.

Drizzly weather all since last night. Enjoying the chill in the air.

Good morning, Cubao!

Morning rain festoons spider webs with strings of white sapphires.

Asked David to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then snuggling in bed with a Netflix movie.

Good night, Cubao!

The students camp out in the professor's basement to perform healing on a young man.

One Message To One Of 252 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with two syllables in your name: To cleanse your intestines, take two glasses soursop juice within the day.

Dinner at home with Angelique; Aubrey preparing for her night shift.

Bought a glass of jalu-jalo for Aubrey at the neighborhood hawker's stand.

David watered the plants in the roof deck, side balcony, front balcony, and ground-floor gardens and cleaned the service passage.

Worked half an hour on first layer.

An early lunch at home alone, then Angelique and Aubrey came down to lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on construction lines.

A delivery from Australia arrived.

Good morning, Cubao!

The sun paints the landscape with shades of green and gold.

Good night, Cubao!

The fairy princesses draw curtains over their windows at 6:00 PM.

One Message To One 0f 251 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with six syllables in your name: Avoid overeating. If you have a lot of leftover food, simply share it with others.

Aubrey arrived from the mall. Dinner at home with Aubrey; Angelique and Jazz are ordering take-out food and taking their dinner upstairs. 

Asked David to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Night chores,

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then snuggling in bed with a Netflix movie.

Aubrey is having her eyebrows threaded in a mall salon.

Commenced construction lines for Painting #7 for my next exhibit.

This painting begins today, April 3, 2022.

Angelique and Jazz arrived with their newly-refracted lenses.

Gave this authentic Ifugao hut, or ulog, which functions as a spirit house, to Mico. It is the equivalent of the Mindanao torogan, which I also have.

David watered the plants in the roof-deck, side balcony, front balcony, and ground-floor gardens, and then gave Keiko Kashigawa, Yukiko Taka, and Cloudy anti-flea shampoos.

Worked half an hour on twenty-eighth glaze. This, fifth, painting is finished (March 5 - April 3, 2022).

Ready to commence Painting #7 for my next exhibit.

Worked half an hour on twenty-seventh glaze.

Lunch at home with Aubrey; Angelique and Jazz are off to have their lenses refracted downtown. 

The day flows like a measure of vanilla syrup in a coffee cup.

Good morning, Cubao!

Slept nine hours last night,

Two-hour, deep tissue massage. Ended past midnight.

Brian fried calamares for us.

Jazz is in a basketball game and will come home to dinner later.

Good night, Cubao!

The gnomes are packing bags and preparing for a short vacation in the north.

One Message For One Of 250 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with two syllables in your name: Never take safety for granted. It is best to be wary all the time.

Dinner at home with Angelique and Aubrey. We had Chinese take-out and cheesecake.

Brought some food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then snuggling in bed with a Netflix movie.

One-hour, early evening nap.

Bought a ream of ziggurats at D.'s store.

Angelique and Jazz came down to a very late lunch in the dining room.

Spent some time at the side porch writing desk.

I maintain that my former grade school classmate I. was murdered while in hospital.

Aubrey came down to a later lunch in the dining room.

Worked half an hour on twenty-sixth glaze.

Finished watching all 36 episodes of China's 2021 wuxia Word of Honor, a "BL", or Chinese boys' love drama (not to be construed as gay drama). It's about male soul mates, male friendship and loyalty, hero-worship, masters and disciples, seniors and juniors, and the ability to carry on as a man in the world. It is controversial because one of the lead performers, Zhou Zi Shu, was blacklisted after having photo shoots at shrines in Japan dedicated to war criminals who invaded China during World War II. As of this writing he seems to have been "deleted" from China, where electronic searches for his name come up with no results. Thank God he exists on Netflix. I cannot understand why, in some countries, nationalism always gets in the way of art. It is particularly tragic when great talent is involved.

If you are not into wuxia, don't watch this long movie. I was able to because I had the stamina to watch the equally lengthy Romance of the Condor Heroes and Return of the Condor Heroes a year or two ago. I won't even bother to provide a synopsis (or synopses) because wuxia have a myriad of characters and subplots. All I will say is that it is about the hunt by different individuals and rival sects (among them the Five Lakes Alliance, the Beggar Gangs, the Ghost Valley, the Window of Heaven, the Wudang Sect, the Gentle Wind Sword Sect, the Xianxia Sect, the Taiyue Sect, the Jujing Gang, the Cao Gang, the Feisha Gang, the Healer Gang, the Funiu Sect, the Scorpion Sect, the Mount Hua Sect, the Mount Dagu Sect, the Mount Emei Sect, and the Purple Wave Sect) for the five pieces of the much-vaunted and much-treasured Glazed Armor and the key to opening an armory designed by the chief of the Longyuan Cabinet that contains all the secret records of existing martial arts groups from the beginning of time. 

The protagonists are members of three different sects: the wanderer Zhou Zishu disguised as Ah Xu of the Four Seasons Manor, the chief of Mount Qingya's Ghost Valley Sect Lao Wen Kexing, and 14-year-old Chengling of the Mirror Lake Sword Sect and later of the Yueyang Sect of the Five Lakes Alliance. If you make it through Episode 7 (each episode is only approximately 40 minutes), you'll be hooked through the end. As in the Condor series, the Mandarin pronunciation of "sifu" is "shoo-fuoh". 

Wuxia are theatrical rather than cinematic, and demand a particular style of acting, perhaps the Oriental counterpart of Shakespearean acting. Entrances and exits are done as in Chinese opera, or kao ka. I am, however, an avid wuxia fan. They demonstrate China's cultural superiority over many other cultures on earth. Their exquisite sets and props--massive stone, wood, architecture, fabric, calligraphy, musical instruments, weapons, crockery, jewelry, food, and stunning landscapes, cityscapes, and townscapes that lend themselves well to drone photography--reflect items in reality, emphasizing that art imitates life and not the other way around. (I especially love those marketplaces, those inns, those restaurants, and those bedrooms.) On top of everything, they have the most fantastic and technically brilliant special effects unmatched by any other production on the planet. Indeed, their characters were flying in the air long before Superman was.

I noticed only two oversights:

--In Episode 22. When Gu Xiang ran to get away from Cao Wei Ning, the actress stopped running outside the gate, thinking she was already off-camera.

--In Episodes 24 and 27, Lao Wen Kexing is shown playing the flute--in very good condition--that he smashed to pieces in a previous episode. (The flute seems to have been made of white jade and not bamboo, and presumably difficult to replace.)

Photos from production stills

Brian reported for work to clean our side porches.

Worked half an hour on twenty-fifth glaze.

A delivery for Aubrey arrived.

A very early lunch at home alone.

Good morning, Cubao!

The day gnomes build enchanted sundials on the rooftops.

Good night, Cubao!

Seek out the lone star and listen to its message.

One Message For One Of 249 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with two syllables in your name:  Never say or do negative things yourself that you don't want your children to emulate.

Asked David to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then snuggling in bed with a Netflix movie.

Soju night for me. Am having the classic/original.

Angelique is having dinner out with friends; Jazz will pick her up later.

Dinner at home alone; Aubrey preparing for her night shift.

Worked half an hour on twenty-fourth glaze.

Swung by the neighborhood grocery. Brian escorted me.

On this planet peace is preparation for war rather than the other way around.

Upon retirement you realize that your former supervisors were just a series of nobodies who just happened to be employed before you.

Worked half an hour on twenty-third glaze.

A very hot afternoon in Cubao. I feel like a bun in a stainless steel steamer.

Every playwright is a poet, but not every poet ventures into writing plays.

Lunch at home with Angelique; Aubrey asleep after her night shift.

Good morning, Cubao!

Golden showers fall once again from the dragon tree.

Good night, Cubao!

Gnomes enjoy slow, wagon rides through dark woods.

One Message For One Of 249 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with five syllables in your name: Do not use art to escape from your personal problems. Both your art and your life will suffer.

Angelique came down to dinner in the dining room.

Asked Brian to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Night chores.

Aubrey came down to dinner in the dining room.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then snuggling in bed with a Netflix movie.

Staggered dinnertimes; Angelique has online classes through 9:30 PM and Aubrey preparing for her night shift. In the meantime Angelique's friend Kate spent the early evening here while waiting for vehicular color coding to be lifted. 

Dusk falls. Compound tenants and next-door neighbors greet me a Happy Birthday as they pass the driveway. I once again feel like the protagonist in the ending of A un dios desconocido, minus the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca.

Worked half an hour on twenty-second glaze.

A box of pastries from Mico.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Angelique and Aubrey came down to lunch in the dining room.

Worked an hour on twenty-first glaze.

A sweltering hot afternoon.

Staggered lunchtimes; Angelique still resting upstairs and Aubrey asleep after her night shift.

Back from jalan-jalan at the center with Toto. Replenished utilitarian stuff for the kitchen.

It was a Sweet 60
Then a Serene 61
A Solitary 62
A Stunning 63
A Superb 64
A Suave 65
A Soaring 66
A Spectacular 67
A Splendid 68
A Shining 69
A Sleek 70

And now a Sparkling 71! 

Good morning, Cubao!

If you feel that your relationship does not set you free, you are in the wrong relationship.

If you feel that your religion does not set you free, you are practicing the wrong religion.

The hermit only grows stronger and more able after years of seclusion.

Good night, Cubao!

In the summer, gnomes hang night hammocks from the branches of trees.

One Message For One Of 244 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with seven syllables in your name: Do not wear expensive jewelry if you are frequently surrounded by envious people.

Angelique came down to dinner in the dining room.

Asked David to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then snuggling in bed with a Netflix movie.

Staggered dinnertimes; Angelique has online classes through 9:00 PM and Aubrey preparing for her night shift.

Asked Brian to fry squid rings in breading for us.

 Worked  half an hour on twentieth glaze.

Delivery of a bag of The Darkness Coffee--VERY STRONG coffee--arrived. This coffee is made in North Coburg, Victoria, Australia.

Time is the key to real happiness, because, when one has all the time to oneself, one is truly free.

Bought a glass of jalu-jalo at the neighborhood hawker's stand for Aubrey.

Worked half an hour on nineteenth glaze.

Lunch at home with Angelique and Aubrey.

Good morning, Cubao!

The gnome caregiver encourages his ward to oversleep.

One Message For One Of 244 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with four syllables in your name: Try asking help from the spirits of trees.

Good night, Cubao!

Sleep well in the astral company of your protector.

Angelique came down to dinner in the dining room.

Asked Brian to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then snuggling in bed with a Netflix movie.

Staggered dinnertimes; Angelique has online classes through 9:30 PM and Aubrey preparing for her night shift.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Angelique and Aubrey came down to lunch in the dining room; Aubrey then went to sleep after her night shift.

Worked an hour on eighteenth glaze.

Brian is now doing a thorough, general cleaning of our kitchen.

An early lunch at home alone; Angelique resting upstairs and Aubrey asleep after her night shift.

Your Messenger message:

"Magandang gabi po sir Tony. Pasensya na po sa pagme-message ng ganitong oras. May nais lang po sana akong ikonsulta sa inyo.

"Yung pinsan ko po kasi madalas po managinip lately. "Noong mga nakakaraan po linggo nanaginip po siya ng isang malaking octopus na umatake sa taong kasama ng pinsan ko. Sumunod na gabi po ay nanaginip naman siya ng pusa na hinahabol at kinakalkot po siya habang may bitbit siyang baby. Nakakapanaginip rin po siya ng ahad na kinakain ang kamyamg buong kamay. May panaginip rin po siyang dumi ng tao sa toilet bowl na kahit anong gawin niyang flush ay ayaw mawala at pilit bumabalik. "Nitong mga nakaraang araw po nananaginip na naman po siya ng ahas habang nasa classroom po siya at yung iba po ay nakapululot sa kanya at sa kanya mga kamay. "Ano po kaya ang nais ipahiwatig sa kanya ng kamyang mga panaginip? "Maraming salamat po sir."

My reply:

Hello _____!

All of these dream images are messages from the dreamer's psyche.

I hope I am wrong, but it seems to me that the dreamer has committed something unacceptable to himself and to his family. Some possibilities are:

--he has gotten himself deeply into debt

--he impregnated a woman but neither wants the baby nor the woman

--he did something terribly wrong at work and does not want others to know what he did

Just advise your cousin to keep doing good deeds to reap good karma. Karma--both bad and good--is usually IMMEDIATE and does not wait for another lifetime to be expiated. As long as he learns to be pure of heart once again, he wll attain peace and happiness.

Good morning, Cubao!

The box containing great treasures is a great treasure in itself.

Two-hour, deep tissue massage. Ended midnight.

Your Messenger message:

"Good evening, Sir Tony. I hope you could help provide clarity about my dream.

"Last night, I dreamt of my deceased grandfather. I served vegetable soup to him in my dream. I couldn't remember what exactly he said to me in my dream, but I remember waking up crying because I missed him. It's going to be 2 years since his passing. Thank you, Sir."

My reply:

Hello _____!

Your grandfather wishes to be remembered. Place a framed photo of him on your family altar. If you neglected to light yellow joss sticks when he passed, do so now--two yellow joss sticks every night for a week, every other night for the following two weeks, and every week for the rest of the year. After the passage of a year, light three red joss sticks in his memory every week.

Good night, Cubao!

Even in the silence of the night, the heart sings.

One Message To One Of 244 Friends, One Every Night Of The Year

You with two syllables in your name: Remember only the good things in the past, and take them with you into the future.

Asked David to bring some food over to M.'s cafe staff.

Night chores.

My favorite time of the day has come again: an evening shower, and then snuggling in bed with a Netflix movie.

Staggered dinnertimes; Angelique and Aubrey bought a Japanese dinner out and are eating upstairs. Angelique has online classes through 9:30 PM and Aubrey preparing for her night shift.

One-hour, afternoon nap.

Angelique and Aubrey went to the center to shop for clothes.

Resumed work on fifth painting for my next exhibit. Half an hour on seventeenth glaze.

Lunch at home with Angelique and Aubrey.