Oct. 27 | The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen

A fine scholar drinks hot tea and despairs, "We have come too far to quit!"
An influential dog leaps up and exclaims, "It is easy to live in the future. Welcome!"

Snow leopard taste: tea and tsampa
At home: pumpkin butter-nutmeg, allspice

Seven months' trek through Tibet, 1956
Orchard Press, Antique Collector's Club

Snow leopard sight: blue sheep and sign of snow leopard; dark clouds drifting on the mountains
At home: the dog bares her tummy; daybreak
Snow leopard smell: human dung
At home: aquarium store, age 8
Snow leopard sound: hiss of swift torrent under ice
At home: "Welcome to the future!"; rain rattling through gutters
Snow leopard touch: breaking trail, plunging through snow crust
At home: dog leaping into lap
Snow leopard word of the day: bollixed
Snow leopard quote of the day:

"Despite the hard day that has ended in defeat...I feel at peace among these looming rocks, the cloud swirl and the wind-whirled snow, as if the earth had opened up to take me in."

Snow leopard extra: "we have come too far to quit"
At home:

"The next great influence into the spirit of the scholar, is, the mind of the Past, — in whatever form, whether of literature, of art, of institutions, that mind is inscribed. Books are the best type of the influence of the past, and perhaps we shall get at the truth, — learn the amount of this influence more conveniently, — by considering their value alone." — Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar, Cambridge, 1837

"It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." — Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self Reliance, 1841

Snow leopard gratitude: a "fine scholar," David Llewellyn Snellgrove (born 1920) is a British Tibetologist
At home: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Panthera progress: persistent

What is this? Blogging The Snow Leopard project.

Comments

Thoughts on "Depression Hates a Moving Target": What I Mean by Relatable

Relatable — I used this word in my reviews of Depression Hates a Moving Target by Nita Sweeney on Goodreads and Amazon . It's a nice word, but overused of late. So, it feels lazy. What do I mean? I connected with this book. It made me reflect more on my own first marathon experience. It made me want to put on my running shoes and head out the door again. In fact, I did. Now, typically, my mental health doesn't hinder my ability to do the stuff I want to do and my body flies under the radar. Still, I also felt goofy stepping out in my running gear a lot of the time. I didn't see myself as a "runner" or an athlete. And, I had no idea if I could run 13 miles let alone 26.2 when I started. More to the point, could I stay moving for the 4+ hours straight it would take to complete the marathon? To do the training mileage, I knew I'd have to run through streets and trails on my own and that made me nervous, too. Waves of grief wash us to strange shores. Whe...

What is Solarpunk? Good question, great answers from our community

What is solarpunk? My fellow Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers authors Commando Jugendstil and Tales from The EV Studio put together this video for the Turin International Book Fair . It features editors and authors from the solarpunk community sharing their thoughts. Together we're imagining optimistic futures based on renewable energy. My soundbite was: "Solarpunk futures are — green spaces with clean water that are pedestrian, collective, feminist, creative communities. And they include non-human animals. " Mary "solarpunk" Shelley cat did a great job (at 6:15) helping from her rather ridiculous cat tree which she absolutely loves. And what better time to wear this solar-colored "Veganism is Feminism" tee from The Herbivore Clothing Company . Seriously. I'm holding a stack of solarpunk books: Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers edited by Sarena Ulibarri which includes my story "Watch Out, Red Crusher!". Wings of R...

Springy story review: "State Change" by Ken Liu

Why it springs to mind: You'll never look at an ice cube the same way again. Where read: In the 2014 Hugo award-winning Lightspeed Magazine , August. Length: 5,194 words Summary: A woman has an ice cube for a soul. Memorable: How the story invites us to think about the shape of our soul, how it (or our perception of it) influences us and how it changes. What ordinary every day object would your soul be? A silver spoon, a beech stick? A great party conversation starter, this. Quote: “All life is an experiment." Notable: The protagonist Rina is an avid reader (always a good choice). Pairs well with: T.S. Elliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay Origin: The story was written in 24 hours based on a writing prompt. (See Author Spotlight: Ken Liu ) About the author: Ken Liu’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings , the first in a fantasy series The Dandelion Dynasty, is due out from Saga Press ( a new Simon & Schuster imprint ) in 2015.

Shel Graves' Sensorium

Search This Blog