PARISien

A day with a Parisian skateboarder (Soy Panday). Music by Ohia "Farewell Transmission"

Emoticons (^_^),),),),)

An emoticon is a symbol or combination of symbols used to convey emotional content in written or message form. A list of some of the most common emoticons follows. As displayed here, they all use a relatively consistent form, but each of them can also be transformed by being rotated, having the hyphen omitted, and so on.

Icon	Meaning	Icon	Meaning
:-)	classic smile with nose	:'-)	happy crying (generally associated with mockery)
:-(	classic sad with nose	|-O	yawn
:)	classic smile without nose	:-D	laughter (originally 'Big smile', often used as that as well)
:(	classic sad without nose	%-( or :-S	confused
8)	smiley with glasses without nose (or 'Big eyes' smile)	=)	'smiley-face' eyes without nose
:-B	buck-tooth	B-)	Batman / smiley with glasses
:-#	with braces	T.T	crying, blinking
_-_	Asleep	:-@	scream
>:3	A lion, or an evil smile	:@	what??? (seriously?)
:-|	indifferent	:-0	surprised
>O	"Ouch"	:0]	smiling
;0]	winking and smiling at same time	;-)	winking smile with nose
;0	winking with open mouth	;)	winking smile without nose
(:-D	gossip, blabbermouth	`:-)	one eyebrow raised
8D	Awesome	:P	tongue sticking out (silly, or feeling lousy)
:-&	tongue tied	O:-)	I'm an angel
c^:3	Left Mouse	:-X	My lips are sealed, or "mum."
~:>	chicken	:-K	Fangs sticking out.
x-(	Angry, bummed out	=0	surprised
:-*	Kiss	XD or xD	Bubbly; happy; laughing hysterically
;:^)B>	Beard with buck teeth and nose:	(::[]::)	bandaid; offering help or support

Some funny ones:

._____. whale face (my favorite one)

(^_^),),),),) happy caterpillar

-^;-;^- bat

=^..^= cat

@}->-- rose/flower

La Ritournelle by Sebastien Tellier

Haïkus

First post... hopefully, there will be many more to come !!! I am warning you. What I am going to post will be an accumulation of stuff about almost everything from the latest results of the Peruvian soccer league ;-) to the recipe to make bread. A bit of science, philosophy, politics, gastronomy, photography, comics, literature. I might include some posts in French and German as well !! That will be the opportunity for some of you to practice the language of Victor Hugo and Goethe. First topic:

Haïkus or also called Zen poems

I warned you...it is going to be eclectic and surprising. If I can make you discover something new, then that will make me happy. New does not necessarily mean useful !!!

Zen stories are usually very short but incredibly deep with a clear message. Here is one of my favorite Haïkus. For information, Haïkus are Zen poems, following the 5-7-5 structure with seventeen syllabes.

Buddha of snow

Samuko to mo ro
hi ni na atari
yuki botoke

Cold you may be
but don't warm yourself by the fire,
Buddha of snow

Yamazi Sokan (1458-1546)

The story appears very trivial...but have look at it more closely. With clear influences from Zen Buddhism, there is an emphasis between the snow Buddha and the fire.

'The images themselves are also very simple, yet powerful. Simplicity is also one of the rules of Haiku, which state that there should be no more than two or three simple and immediate images present and that these should be able to be related to first hand experience.

There are two parts to the Haiku, the last line surprises the reader by telling us that the poet is talking not only to a Buddha but also to one made of snow. The poem also contains a kigo, or season word.

The use of alliteration and imagery has a powerful effect that adds to the feeling of simplicity (in line with the concept of ‘simplicity and momentariness’ in Zen Buddhism, which stresses that any given moment in time should be appreciated).

The use of the word ‘snow’ is especially powerful here, and also might relate to the idea of ‘change and impermanence’ in Buddhism, as the snow will not last as winter turns to spring.

The poem also conveys a sense of ‘sabi’ – the link between the simple and the profound that is common in Haiku poetry.' From the website: openlearn.open.ac.uk

Another famous and sarcastic Haiku:

O snail
Climb Mount Fuji,
But slowly, slowly!

Issa

PS: Average snail speed: 100 m/h

Mount Fuji height: 3373 m

Two other good Zen poets/philosophers: Bassui Tokusho and Ryokan.

So, that's it ! Now, you know, what Haïku means !!!!