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Alice’s Early Birthday Party
So, it’s less than two weeks to Alice’s birthday. Today turns out to be the best day for everyone’s schedule. Like back in 2011, we’re celebrating in the courtyard again.
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Firmiana Leaves Dance in the Autumn Breeze
No other tree conjures up as much literary imagination as the Chinese Parasol Tree (Firmiana simplex). According to tradition, it is only the Firmiana that the phoenix chooses to alight upon. The autumn season is closely associated with this tree, whose broad leaves turn to gold and drop, supposedly one leaf each day. Its lightweight…
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Mono Basin and Little Lakes Valley
The gentle drizzle continues for the whole night, and by the next morning, everything outside the tent is completely soaked. We organize all of the food according to the grid, and then we pack up and set out toward Mono Pass. Cloud cover cools our climb above treeline. Right at the Pass, we stop for…
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Mount Baldy Peak
We left Loma Linda a little after 5:00 am. By 6:20, we were on the trail, ascending up the Baldy Bowl Trail, otherwise known as the Ski Hut Trail. At the Hut, we have breakfast over scenic views. The mileage varies, but on one report, it is 4.2 miles from the Manker Flat parking lot…
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Senior Farewell Banquet
This year, Jon Allen, Ben Chen, and Adeel Husain finish residency. Jon and Ben will be starting fellowship in Spine Surgery, at UC Davis and UC San Diego, and Adeel will fellowship in Adult Reconstruction at the University of Pennsylvania. Research award recipients went to Adeel Husain and Kenny Jahng. Adeel won second place for…
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Landscape through the Zoom Lens
This morning, after my run, I took out my zoom lens and explored the yard. Summer season just started, and a whole new set of foliage and flowers are on display.
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Montana and Colorado
Even though I had gotten up at 3:30 am and arrive at ONT on time, I’m too early; the plane has a mechanical problem, and the airline takes an hour to fix it. It would have been nice to sleep in. Luckily, I make it to Denver just in time for my connecting flight to…
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School of Medicine Graduation Weekend
This weekend’s events, with the Baccalaureate sermon by Leslie Pollard and Commencement address by Jeff Cao, and the story of the Good Samaritan, were a wonderful reminder and challenge to live a life of service. Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him…
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Post-Meeting Sightseeing in Istanbul
Part 3 I visit the church in Beyoğlu on Saturday morning, enjoying the fellowship and the lunch. I even tried out the organ in the balcony. Back at the Çırağan Palace, a wedding is taking place out along the Bosphorus while we party at the ABJS banquet. Ed hands the presidency over to Miguel. On…
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ABJS Meeting in Istanbul
Part 2 At the Çırağan Palace, we hold the first business meeting that afternoon and the welcome reception that evening. The sponsors introduce the new members. The next day starts the scientific session. I got my paper out of the way. Then, a group of us went on the Ottoman Visions tour to the Blue…
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Istanbul Pre-Meeting Tours
Part 1 My first full day takes me into the heart of old town, Sultanahmet, to visit the Underground Cistern, the Hippodrome with the Egyptian Obelisk and the Column of Constantine, and the Blue Mosque. Originally, my plan was to visit the Hagia Sophia first, but the lines are too long. I cross over to…
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California Orthopaedic Association 2013
This year’s California Orthopaedic Association was held at the Terranea Resort and Spa. The COA sponsored two residents from our program: Jon Allen and Wendy Wong. Amy Ladd invited me to speak on Carpal Injuries and Hand Infections.
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Birthday and Trip
This particular birthday started over a week ago. My family brings me to Mario’s Place for dinner before I head off to LAX. The trip takes me across the Pacific to Hong Kong, into China, and then up to the mountainous region in Yunnan, near the borders with Tibet Autonomous Region and Myanmar. There, I…
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St. Anne’s Fugue
Because of the first theme’s similarities to the hymn “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” Bach’s Fugue in E-flat Major (BWV 552/2) is known in the English-speaking world as St. Anne’s Fugue, even though this hymn would not have been known to composer. The contrapuntal form typifies fugue construction, where different melody lines are…
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Springtime 2013
Once again, it’s springtime. With the increased rainfall this season, the plants appear happy. Over the last month, I’ve been photographing the coming-to-life of the garden, starting with bursts of pink from the flowering peaches, then sparkle of yellow forsythia blossoms, and now the elegance of purple wisteria and red-fringed Japanese maples. There is even…
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Thinking of an Old Friend
This piece, YiGuRen 憶故人, Thinking of an Old Friend, is a relatively recent composition. Although melodically simple, the tune is layered in complex meaning. It starts out with harmonics that set the mood before delving into the main section. This part begins abruptly, as if with a flutter of emotions that repeat themselves. The elasticity…
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Tune of the Sea Dragon
This melody has two titles: Tune of the Sea Dragon 滄海龍吟 and Night Rain on the Vast River 滄江夜雨. The former name is more well-known, and it is attributed to the Three Kingdoms strategist, Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮, who is also known as Kongming 孔明 and the Sleeping Dragon 臥龍. Originally a guqin-playing recluse in a…
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Lament at Changmen Palace
This version of Lament at Changmen Palace 長門怨 is from the Mei’an Guqin Manual 梅庵琴譜 of 1931, but the melody is from centuries earlier. The accompanying story, however, dates from the Han Dynasty. When Liu Che 劉徹 ascended the throne in 141 BC and became Emperor Wu of Han 漢武帝, his cousin wife Chen Jiao…
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Photo Workshop with Jim
Jim Ponder, Publications Editor and Writer for Loma Linda University, ran a photo shoot excursion to Crystal Cove. Despite the cold weather, the clouds, sky, and all the other natural elements gave us so many subject possibilities.
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Moon over the Mountain Pass
This piece from the MeiAn School 梅庵琴派, Moon over the Mountain Pass 關山月, alludes to the poem by Li Bai 李白 with the same title. This recording was made a few hours before the actual full moon, capturing its rise from behind San Bernardino Peak. 明月出天山，蒼茫雲海間。 長風幾萬里，吹度玉門關。 漢下白登道，胡窥青海灣。 由來征戰地，不見有人還。 戍客望邊邑，思歸多苦顏。 高樓當此夜，嘆息未應閒。 My translation: The bright…
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Wild Geese Descending on Sandbanks
First published in 1634, the piece, Wild Geese Descending on Sandbanks 平沙落雁, became widely popular in subsequent centuries, existing in many variations and tunings. The music opens with an introduction of harmonic octaves partial scales, evoking the imagery of geese lining up, perhaps flying in formation through distant clouds. The subsequent sections are three parallel…
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Lake Mead and Black Canyon
The slowly brightening sky casts an orange-pink glow on our campsite. After Brad, I’m the next to get up. Suddenly, the car horn wakes up the entire campsite. Max, who slept in the car, had set off the alarm; Brad, who held the keys, was off hiking by the lake. It finally goes off, and…
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Hollywood Sign
The hike to the Hollywood Sign started at the end of Beachwood Drive, just by Sunset Ranch. The horses from the ranch dusted up the first part of the trail—not just from hoofs and horseshoes. After the fork to the left, it got much better. The midday sun was beating down pretty hard. Just before…
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Leaving Hangzhou
As usual, I woke up early yesterday. Packing occupied most of the morning. Then, Cai Hongxin came to my apartment and we chatted for a little bit. He brought me and my parents to tour the other bank of Qiantang River, along the new developments. We had a wonderful time visiting the Nine Creeks and…
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Church at MeiLiZhou
The MeiLiZhou Church is beautiful. After all, the name means “beautiful isle.” Sleek modern lines make up the contemporary campus, and stark natural maple decorate the inside. Engraved Ten Commandments hang on the front wall, illuminated by sunlight streaming in from the windows. Located as part of a resort, the church lies an hour away…
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Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital 7th Academic Week
Having arrived in Hangzhou on the high speed train Wednesday afternoon, which was delayed by a few minutes, Drs. Cai Hongxin and Liu Chao picked me up at the station and got me situated at the Foreigners’ Residence. My parents arrived from Hong Kong and joined us at the warm welcome reception hosted by the…
