千篇一律 cookie-cutter

千 (thousand) 篇 (article) 一 (one) 律 (rule)

Aren't you?

陰德陽報 let not thy left hand know; blessings to follow

陰 (shade) 德 (virtue) 陽 (sunlight) 報 (repay)

Hannah Arendt dreamed of it (see the letter transcribed below) and so did Truman Capote, Robert Lowell, Saul Bellow. Mario Puzo accepted an offer he couldn't refuse, and began writing the Godfather saga here.

This estate ended up saving many poor creative talents with little resources. Even many with resources.

It was Yaddo, in Saratoga Springs, New York. I was happy to visit this lovely city while I was a Teaching Associate at Cornell University, on assignment at Skidmore College. Now it is a serene treat to visit the collection at the New York Public Library. ("Yaddo" is named by little Christina Trask, a daughter of the philanthropist couple, who imagined the word to be the opposite of "shadow". "Call it Yaddo, Mama, for it makes poetry!")

Artists' colonies, including Yaddo, no longer sound as charming as they once did. And I have no idea what the future paperless generations will make of typed correspondence of yore;

"Dear Mrs. (Elizabeth) Ames, I have been thinking, or rather dreaming, of Yaddo ever since I came back to New York. I told you how happy I was there and I want you to know how deeply grateful I am for these wonderful days. Nothing could have helped me more and even the daily struggle in New York against disturbances, noise and all kinds of distractions is now easier to bear. I hope all is well with you and Polly Hanson whom, please, give my most cordial regards. I am sure that I can come back for a little longer after my trip to Europe and I thank you very much that I may. I shall feel honored to join the Yaddo Library and am sending you my book under separate cover. With warmest greetings, yours, Hannah Arendt"

***
There are anonymous philanthropists currently at work. They must be aware of the gift of happiness their "good karma" might bring them. 陰德陽報 .

怒蠅拔劍 angry at nothing

怒 (anger) 蠅 (fly) 拔 (draw) 劍 (sword)

You draw a sword upon the sight of a fly.
Mighty anger caused by... a trifle.
A fly, no less.

Feel sheepish?
Just don't let anyone see you doing that.

Haaaaai - yaaaa.

兎死狐悲 mourning for fellow creatures

兎 (rabbit) 死 (die) 狐 (fox) 悲 (sad)

The bunny dies, so the fox is sad.
He's forgotten all about their differences.

The loss of a fellow comely furry creature?
Surely that's enough cause for the blues.
Not odd at all.

今始初聞 it's news to me

今 (now) 始 (start) 初 (first) 聞 (hear)

News is losing its novelty.

Do you still exclaim, "Wow, that's news to me"? "News" seems almost too readily available these days. We are subject to important "news" several times a day. Even when the information is actually fresh, you wonder if it has already been regurgitated through various channels of media.

I am more likely to say "Wow, that's news to me" when I hear about gossip involving someone I know.

Personal news. Perhaps that's the appeal of Myspace, Facebook and Twitter.

It's become easy for anyone to break any kind of news. It's still uncommon to see a well-written, in-depth analysis of news, stuff that matters.

That would be news to me.

五里霧中 lost in a fog

五 (five) 里 (1/3 mile) 霧 (fog) 中 (middle)

You can't see two miles ahead of you.

When there are too many uncertainties involved, it would seem as if you are surrounded by fog. The present seems confusing, and the future seems unclear. 五里霧中.

***
"And by the way, the communication system was not that good. There is a fog of war – trying to sort through the fog as the commander in chief."

-George Bush, in an interview with The Dallas Morning News

環肥燕瘦 fat, skinny, beautiful regardless

環 (ring) 肥 (fat) 燕 (swallow) 瘦 (slender)

Beauty, according to 環肥燕瘦, comes in all sizes. Whether you look like a butterball or a chopstick, a beauty, apparently, is still beautiful.

The bony bird ("swallow") beauties are traditionally represented by a lady by the name of 趙飛燕 (pictured far right)
The "ring-like" rotund beauties are represented by lady 楊貴妃 (approximated on the left by a non-butterball actress).
***
No doubt, the 21st century favors one type over the other. Quoted from USAToday:

Air India has fired ten of its flight attendants for being "exceptionally overweight," an airline spokesman confirms to Reuters this morning. The Times of London writes "the state-owned carrier handed the staff their papers over Christmas after they failed to slim down to meet company weight restrictions, which are calculated according to height and age... "



(cat image from wall001 which doesn't load sometimes)

送舊迎新 adieu, old year; ring in the new year

送 (send) 舊 (old) 迎 (greet) 新 (new)

Happy New Year. 新年快樂.
(simplified, 新年快乐)

新 (new) 年 (year) 快 (quick) 樂 (cheer)

Also,

謹賀新年
謹 (prudent) 賀 (congratulate) 新 (new) 年 (year)

Yes. Prudent New Year to you, too.