Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 18/10/2025We are all, ultimately, alone and vulnerable in the vastness of natural forces, seeking refuge in a circle of light, and finding comfort in reaching out to others who share that experience with us. In the closing couplet, Han Yu asks, “How is it that...?”—his poem is an answer to that question. 010
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 18/10/2025I think it is the mark of great art that it repays whatever amount of effort you put into interpreting it. This poem speaks to what we used to call the “human condition”. It is what the kids these days call “relatable”. 210
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 18/10/2025The closing couplet switches register to a conversational tone, as the poem moves from the world of a lone consciousness in nature to communication between two fellow travelers, who find themselves reminded of how far they are from the security of home. 110
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 18/10/2025The lamp inside produces a gentle and comforting vision with its warm halo of light, small and circumscribed; the rain in the fading darkness outside impinges on that interior, vulnerable coziness with a feeling of vast and implacable cold. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 18/10/2025The ensuing line of this parallel couplet juxtaposes “night fading” and “dream awakening” as two related time markers, and the “lamp emitting a halo” with “the rain bringing a chill” as two descriptions of inanimate (are they?) objects performing actions. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 18/10/2025When Han Yu rouses from his dreamy, hypnagogic state, the tumultuous, moonlit visions in his mind’s eye are replaced by the serene image of a dim lamp casting a halo of light in his room. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 18/10/2025The froth on the whitecaps could appear to be flakes of frost buoyed up by the water. In the dreamscape of his imagination, sky and river merge, liquid and frozen water coexist—everything is mixed up and in motion. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 18/10/2025The POV switches in the second couplet from inside/auditory to outside/visual in the eye of Han Yu’s mind. Imagining what the rushing water looks like under the bright moon, the light playing across the currents could be mistaken for reflected streaks of lightning. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 18/10/2025The second line takes us inside to the human perceiver, Han Yu in bed, listening to the sound of the rushing water outside, first ebbing away, then rising again in an endless cycle. The natural world is oblivious of him, time flows on unceasin; his own life is a small current in that larger flow. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 18/10/2025The first line of the poem opens with doubled reduplicative compounds that do not so much describe the torrent of water outside where Han Yu is sleeping as capture it in language that mimics the unending flow itself, its persistence and power. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 18/10/2025I’ve been thinking a lot about this poem since I translated it. It is a short, powerful snapshot of a perceiving mind away from home. (Han Yu was moved around a lot because of the vicissitudes of his political career.) 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 17/10/2025This #poem came up during my grad seminar on Tang #poetry, and I decided to take a crack at a #translation. Han Yu (768–824) was fond of writing in a looser ancient style, but this piece is a rare example of his using the later regulated style of four couplets of five-syllable lines. 1110
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 10/03/2025This is one of the best political speeches I have heard in a long time. Mark Carney is not a firebrand, and his French is mediocre, but I wholeheartedly agree with everything he has to say here about Canadian values (currently under threat from US aggression)... youtu.be/Qv6JIMtX8Qc?...youtu.beFULL SPEECH: Carney addresses Canadians as new Liberal leader and PM-designateYouTube video by CBC News 1100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 02/03/2025Mental health break with the #guqin #古琴... www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b6Q...youtube.com水仙操 (L'immortel des eaux) (The Immortal by the Water)YouTube video by 蘇思棣 (Sou Si-tai) - Topic 030
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 02/03/2025I found a break from the bleakness in this #poem: “The City Limits” by AR Ammons (1926–2001). consider the radiance... ...each is accepted into as much light as it will take #poetry #solace #light 010
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 25/02/2025Oops. That cocktail picture came out blurry. Here is a better version... 000
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/2025BONUS FALLACY And the prize for most widespread and profoundly damaging fallacy goes to... 21/20. Correlation Equals Causation It does not. 000
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/202520/20. Poisoning the Well Presenting information in a way that is intended to discredit or undermine an argument, rather than addressing the argument itself. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/202519/20. Appeal to Consequences Arguing that a statement is true or false based on its consequences, rather than its actual truth or falsity. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/202518/20. Shifting Burden of Proof Shifting the burden of proof from one party to another, often unfairly. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/202517/20. Appeal to Ignorance Assuming that because something has not been proven false, it must be true. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/202516/20. Appeal to Tradition Arguing that a practice or belief is valid because it has been done a certain way for a long time. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/202515/20. Narrow Definition Defining a term or concept so narrowly that it excludes counterexamples that actually exist. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/202514/20. Equivocation Using ambiguous language to obscure or distort the meaning of an argument. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/202513/20. Bandwagon Arguing that because many people believe something, it must be true. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/202512/20. Appeal to Emotion Using emotional reactions rather than logic to persuade others. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/202511/20. Slippery Slope Arguing that a particular action will inevitably lead to a series of negative consequences without providing evidence for these consequences. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/202510/20. False Analogy Making an analogy between two things that are not sufficiently similar to support the conclusion being drawn. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/20259/20. False Dilemma Presenting only two options when there are more options available. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/20258/20. Appeal to Authority Using the opinion or position of an authority figure to support an argument. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/20257/20. Straw Man Misrepresenting or exaggerating someone’s argument to make it easier to attack. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/20256/20. Ad Hominem Attacking the person making the argument rather than addressing the argument itself. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/20255/20. Red Herring Switching to another topic that is only superficially related. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/20254/20. Whataboutism Pointing out that the person making the argument, or people admired by them, have done what they are arguing against. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/20253/20. Cherry Picking Citing only the evidence that supports the argument, while ignoring evidence that undermines it. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/20252/20. Nitpicking Disproving a minor point or piece of evidence, then claiming the entire argument is disproven. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/20251/20. Moving The Goal Posts Redefining the terms of the argument as one progresses. 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 24/02/2025𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺, 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘭𝘭-𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧... 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟮𝟬 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻 #𝗔𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (which I have to guard against using myself) 👇🏼 100
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 23/02/2025Somehow, Aparna Halpé always pulls together the best looks from wildly disparate elements. The woman has #style. You can come see her and @solidaridadtango.bsky.social play at Drom Taberna in Toronto, today at 3–5pm. Fantastic live #tango #music, food, and drink. Would love to see you there! 020
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 23/02/2025The really stupid thing is that there are a ton of Canadians on all the US teams. 44% of NHL players across all teams are Canadian. Only 27% are USian. In the end, all pro sports leagues are just a bunch of corporations playing each other. 120
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 23/02/2025Oh crap. I responded to this email to jam the signal. Does that mean I'm hired? 000
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 23/02/2025@deonandan.bsky.social late ❤️ day gift for you... 050
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 23/02/2025Elon Musk instructed federal workers to summarize their weekly accomplishments in an email, a tactic he previously used to downsize staff at X. “Please reply to this email with approximately five bullet points of what you accomplished this week and CC your manager.” You know what to do... 021
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 22/02/2025They think they are "owning the libtards" with their childish pranks. 061
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 22/02/2025There's a sadistic narcissist out there punching babies... IAN HANOMANSING: We are opening the phone lines today to hear what people think of a sadistic baby-puncher. This is not reporting; this is giving credence and attention to the worst ideas and people, who crave our attention and fear. 010
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 22/02/2025A very #Canadian picture #Canada will not be part of the #USA 020
Graham Sanders (he/him) @gmsprof.bsky.social · 22/02/2025@ianhanomansing.bsky.social Even entertaining such a preposterous proposition as annexing our country is to lend credibility to it. It’s insulting to all the citizens of our nation. Those who feel life would be better under the boot of a deranged narcissist do not have an opinion worth reporting. 000