I haven't a lot to say this week about recent news and events. I think I'm becoming like the Jokerized Americans David Sirota writes about in this article at the Lever. Even the Roe disaster (see this good article at the Lever), for example, doesn't make me do more than go, 'wev' much of the time. We've been fighting this almost my whole life and will NEVER WIN BECAUSE THE DEMS DON'T WANT THAT, so I thought I'd relax and get all academic and delve into a bit of Roman stuff.

Mayday, Mayday...

Mayday is an internationally recognized radio word to signal distress. It's used mostly by aircraft and boats, and most of us are happily only familiar with it through TV and fiction.

Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing the letter "S" by telephone, the international distress signal "S.O.S." will give place to the words "May-day", the phonetic equivalent of "M'aidez", the French for "Help me." —"New Air Distress Signal," The Times [London], 2 Feb. 1923

I much prefer thinking of May day as the Beltane.

The May pole was a focal point of the old English village rituals. Many people would rise at the first light of dawn to go outdoors and gather flowers and branches to decorate their homes. Women traditionally would braid flowers into their hair. Men and women alike would decorate their bodies. Beltane marks the return of vitality, of passion.

This is also Labor day in most of the world.

The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions chose May 1, 1886 as the date when the eight-hour day would become standard. The unions organized a general strike in support and on the first, hundreds of thousands of workers protested and held rallies across the country.... Over 90 countries, including North Korea, celebrate International Workers’ Day on May 1. Poland also celebrates its Constitution Day on May 3, so the two dates combined result in a long weekend called Majowka.

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

Reading biographies is one of my methods for getting a feel of a culture or time period. It helps create a deeper understanding of historical events and common cultural assumptions. In 2002 in the Beijing hotel gift shop bought The Life of Mencius by Qu Chunli written in a historical novel format. The book changed the way I perceived China. Followed up later by reading the author's book The Life of Confucius.

The American idea of China's need to "save face" to avoid conflict and maintain honor had always been presented as a weakness. The two books presented the idea, by treating an opponent with honor and respect future cooperation is possible and conflicts might be resolved peacefully. Saving face was a diplomatic tool to avoid hardening a position leading to a violent conflict. It appears China may no longer be concerning itself with the honor of United States elite.

Wang Wenbin - spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2:18 min)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1mFZc6zBsU]

Transcript