gurdymonkey | Zen and the art of sneezing on the downbeat.

1. Ever have one of those sneezes that builds slowly? The kind you know is coming but taunts you for several seconds before knocking you backwards with the gale force blast your own body produces?

There is something in the O Club that makes my nose itch. I've noticed this on other occasions while taking taiko, but tonight was extra special, possibly because of the humidity after days of rain, possibly because there was a crew setting up for a conference in the ballroom down the hall stirring up who knows what sort of dust and crud. We spent the entire period on "O-Kaji" again. It's not all that technically difficult, it's just got a bunch of repeats. No, actually it's got a bunch of variations on repeated phrases, because it if just had repeats, it would be a lot easier to memorize the whole thing. And it would be a lot easier to concentrate on remembering which variation comes next if my nose wasn't going, "Here it comes. Wait for it. Wait. Any second now. Soon. Soon. Hah, faked you out that ti- WHOOOSHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Though it must've looked pretty funny when it finally happened because Clint cracked up, then demanded to know if I'd deliberately tried to hold on until I could sneeze on the beat. Yeah, right, I'm that good. Would you like to buy some real estate on an old Superfund site while you're at it?

Sensei says that we're going to do a 'recital' on the last day of the session again. That would be Tuesday, 5/26/09, if anyone wants to come out to Alameda Point and see what we do.....

2. I picked out a pair of photos I thought Mom would like, printed them, framed them and put them in the mail this afternoon. I guess it beats paying FTD for something that's going to die. This one and this.

3. This time tomorrow I'll be waiting to board a flight to Newark. I will attempt to sleep on the flight, but you know how that goes. Car rental confirmation arrived yesterday. I think I can get everything I plan to take in a carry-on. Knowing the TSA, I think it's best if I gift-wrap James and Sylvia's wedding swag after I arrive.

4. Oh, and pardon me while I take this geek moment to post this link to the World Digital Library.

"The World Digital Library (WDL) makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world.

The principal objectives of the WDL are to:

Promote international and intercultural understanding;
Expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet;
Provide resources for educators, scholars, and general audiences;
Build capacity in partner institutions to narrow the digital divide within and between countries."

Maps, books, manuscripts, film and sound recordings from all over the world and from various periods. What's there is just the beginning. http://www.wdl.org/en/