Pursuit of Jade

I'm now on Oʻahu helping my nephews with cleaning out the last room in our parents house. They have Netflix! When I was here in March I began watching Pursuit of Jade because it popped up when I opened the Netflix app. It looked like a historical piece with swords, horses, & martial arts so I started watching it. I immediately liked the story line of a strong woman not allowing her circumstances to limit her! 

She is also physically strong, carries unconscious person home through snow along with rest of gear.

But I did have a little problem with a gyrfalcon being used like a carrier pigeon. Gyrfalcons are definitely trained by humans. But not as messengers. Like other birds of prey, gyrfalcons are trained by humans to hunt for them. They are also found in far north latitudes, like Arctic Circle far north & are not really common in lower latitudes. And yes, I realize the gyrfalcon shown is a CG bird; it moves like one. But I still have problems with it being a messenger; on the plus side, it does not talk like Nemo does! (That is a story for another time.)

Gyrfalcon came to Yan Zheng when he whistled; which is plausible.

Yan Zheng gets ready to send gyrfalcon off with message; which is not plausible.

At any rate, I really enjoyed the story line of the female protagonist Fan Changyu, a strong woman running the household, even though there was a little romance involved. SPOILER ALERT - I was intrigued to find out the true identity of the injured male protagonist, Yan Zheng, & also how he helps Fan Changyu. But then, as Xie Zheng, his true identity, leading his mounted troops in to battle, I was impressed by the riding of the actor! I Googled actor Zhang Linghe to find out if he was a rider before becoming an actor & was taken by surprise at how popular he is. Though apparently more for his good looks than his acting. Or riding. (I could not find any information about his riding experience.)

He seems to me to be a good actor, but what do I know; I am more interested in his riding than his acting. I think that is because in these period dramas that include horses you rarely see an actor that is really riding a horse. The "action" scenes with galloping are usually close-ups showing the actor & a portion of a mane or neck of a robotic horse.  But in the scene that Zhang Linghe impressed me, it starts with a close-up of Marquis Wu'an rallying his troops, then the camera angle widens to show the charge all while still focused on Zhang Linghe. The reins are held in his left hand in a calm, quiet manner; in his right hand he carries a well-balanced long qinglong ji spear. As he gives the command to charge, he leans forward, signaling to the horse with his body the intent to move forward at speed! He does it so naturally! I watched it 5 or 6 times ... or may be even more. 🙄

Holding the qinglong ji.

Initiating the charge.

It really is him on real horse & not stunt double.

The female protagonist Fan Changyu is played by Tian Xiwei; she cannot ride. I think the final episode is the only one where she is on a horse by herself. They are starting out from the camp to capture some bad people; they are only walking but she has a death grip on the saddle. Many other actors in many other shows also have at least one hand holding on to the saddle. 

Compare the body language of riders as well as horses

Notice her grip on the saddle.

So far I have not seen many other main actors that are shown really being able to handle a horse; however, another one in Pursuit of Jade is Lin Muran, who plays Sui Yuanqing. He is also carrying a qinglong ji as he rides. And then there is Luo Yun Xi as Tantai Jin in Till the End of the Moon; but he is only riding & does not carry anything in his free hand so it is not as impressive, but he still appears to ride well. Not many of the historic shows have the main actors riding horses. I think this is for 2 reasons; either the characters are such high ranking people they are transported in carriages or palanquins or the characters are lower ranking & walk almost everywhere. Not much in between except for the cavalry.

Lin Muran riding with qinglong ji. It's a real horse, you could see legs in action before close-up.

The saddles in these shows look interesting. I am not sure if this is what Chinese saddles during these time periods were really like but I would guess they did not look like this; I think these saddles are used to keep the actors safe. Instead of a pommel there is a metal loop that can be easily grabbed. Nice that they are looking out for the actors & I'm pretty sure most people don't even notice this piece of the saddle. Or even the saddles at all. 🤔 

I miss my saddle. I did a trade & got a saddle with a seat sized for a child's butt on a horse-sized  tree. It allowed me to ride horses comfortably instead of slipping around on a seat that was made for a person with a larger butt. I left my saddle in Washington when I moved back because I knew I did not have the space or funds to buy or maintain a horse. My friend in Washington that I used to ride with would be able to make more use out of my saddle; she had 4 horses & would invite others to ride with her so the horses could all get some exercise & a change of scenery. I miss those days. 😿 

On the way to the house from the airport I had Curtis stop at Uloha; the largest outdoor outfitter in Hawaiʻi. I know I already have an MSR camp stove; but it is somewhere in a box in the house. I want to put this MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe (along with a couple of fuel canisters) in with my hurricane supplies so if I am unable to use the regular stove in the house I can still heat things up & boil water & do other things that might be needed in a disaster. I love this little stove; it weighs just 2.9 ounces. Along with a 3.9 ounce fuel canister, which weighs just 7.4 ounces, it was so easy to take along on our hiking trips. (Especially when Kai was so little I had to carry everything! Well, except for his extra water, snacks, & extra layers of warm clothes in case we got separated on the trail.) FYI I have to pick up the fuel canisters in Kona because I can't fly with it in my luggage. 

MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe.

Tropical Depression Amanda has disintegrated. It is now just a post-tropical remnant low. It did not get very close to the Central Pacific region.

Episode 49 of the eruption at Kīlauea is now forecast to begin some time between the 12th & the 15th.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Steve & Michelle! 

Another Fermentation & Pickling Class

I helped with another Fermentation & Pickling Class that was sponsored by the Kohala ʻOno Food Hui. Sandra was again leading the class, with assistance from Kathy, Michelle, & me. We made the same things we made 2 weeks ago: sweet cucumber pickles, mak kim chee, & sauerkraut. But this time we used what we learned from the 1st class & were able to get out much quicker.

Marian fills her jar with mak kim chee.

My Team - (L to R) Marian, Vanessa, & Delilah filling jars with mak kim chee.

(L to R) Bill, Marian, Vanessa, & Delilah massage cabbage to make sauerkraut.

Most of the class with most of what we made.

After the previous class I had asked Sandra if she had any shiso starts or seeds or knew where I could get some. She did not. But Michelle did! She said it grew like a weed at her place! She brought me 2 small plants today; they are the red variety. As soon as I got home I planted them in the raised planter; I hope they do well there.

Foreground: ʻuala; back right corner: shiso.

The ʻuala in the front of the photo has a purple skin with purple flesh. The leaves & stems have more purple in them than the Okinawan sweet potato which has purple flesh but a beige-colored skin. I think I have the Stokes variety of purple sweet potato. I add the leaves to my smoothies for more fiber; I like that they have a higher anthocyanin content from the purple pigment in the leaves than other ʻuala varieties.

I checked on the kalo this afternoon after I planted the shiso. They are all doing well. But I need to get out there & weed out all the grass. And I also need to move the Palehua so it is easier to tell them apart from their neighbors when they start crowding each other. Right now the planting order of the varieties from the inflow to the end of the trench is: ʻEleʻele, Palehua, Moi, & Bun Long. Both ʻEleʻele & Palehua have purplish coloring on the stems; Moi & Bun Long do not. I want to change the order to ʻEleʻele, Moi, Palehu, & Bun Long so I can tell them apart easier. 

 

The Mandarin lessons on Duolingo have 2 additional lesson types that ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi does not; one is a listening exercise & the other is a speaking exercise. I'm guessing the speaking exercise is so that you pronounce those 5 vowel types correctly! Here's what the listening exercise looks like.

Tropical Storm Amanda has been downgraded to a tropical depression. It has maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour. It is moving southwesterly at about 3 mph. 

Episode 49 of the eruption of Kīlauea  is likely to take another 7 to 13 days.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Kip, Marcia, Gloria, & Peter!

 

 

IASA #4-17

Helped crack macadamia nuts for Kohala Jodo Mission fund raiser.

 

IASA #4-16

Had lunch with Jen & Susan at Waimea Butcher Shop.

 

What Was That?

As I was watching Love of Nirvana this evening, the table started shaking as if Moʻo was sitting on it & scratching herself. I quickly looked over at the clock; it was 9:46 pm. Why did I look at the clock? I knew from the feel & proximity, it was not Moʻo. It was an earthquake! Since I had my headphones on to listen to Love of Nirvana, I did not hear the low rumble that frequently precedes the shaking; living on Moku o Keawe you kinda get used to the occasional shake & signs that its on its way. It lasted about 10 seconds.

In that period of time, I was able to easily walk to the cat gate to check on how the cats & Moʻo were handling the shaking. I think this is the largest earthquake they have experienced, the other 2 or 3 were much milder & shorter. I could see the cats were trying to figure out, Is this a very large person approaching us? From the cat gate I could not see Moʻo lying by the front door; after the shaking stopped she came over & just stood in front of the gate, facing away & looking towards the front door as if guarding us from whomever this very large person was. Nothing got knocked off of the shelves, there was no damage to the house; just a little excitement for a few seconds!

Location of the epicenter.

Data submitted by citizen scientists. One of those blue boxes at north end is me.

About 15 minutes later, they all calmed down & resumed their usual night time napping. I gathered screen shots & other info to put this together for you. Later I returned to my usual night time Chinese TV series rabbit hole. 🙄

Screen shot from Love of Nirvana.

The window for the next episode of the eruption at Kīlauea has now been adjusted to be between the 24th & the 27th.

IASA #4-15

Made (L-R) sweet pickled cucumbers, sauerkraut, & mak kimchee in pickling & fermentation class.

Fermentation & Pickling Class

Today I helped with the fermentation & pickling workshop hosted by the Kohala Ono Food Hui. We made sweet cucumber pickles, mak kim chee, & sauerkraut. Sandra was the main workshop leader with Michele & I assisting.  

Sandra leads class in reading info on fermentation & pickling.

Sandra demonstrates testing pH of sauerkraut she made a month ago.

Chopped won bok being brined in gray tubs.

Students & instructors.

The final products.

I started rewatching The Imperial Coroner this evening; this is the one that got me started down the rabbit hole. The things that got me interested in this series was the diagrams of the coroners report & how Chu Chu the coroner & Commandery Prince An role play the attack on the victim to try to figure out what happened.

Chu Chu inspects corpse & identifies what she has found.

Commandery Prince An plays role of murderer while Chu Chu acts as victim.

The Hanzi is interspersed with the regular listening portions of the Mandarin lessons on Duolingo. Here is the Hanzi for the words "this is". In this exercise they are showing the stroke order for the 2nd component of the phrase. One thing I have noticed is that the Mandarin word order is like English word order, not like ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi where the order is reversed for when using adjectives. 

Episode 48 of the eruption of Kīlauea is currently forecast to begin some time between the 24th & the 26th.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Clancy!