Horse to Harlequin 2

 A deepening rebellion…

René: But after turning forty-five last year, Giles changed. It was abrupt. He lost his engineering job. Now he has no job. He dresses in women’s clothes, some of them bright and theatrical, almost like a harlequin. He puts on blouses, scarves, patterned tights, painted shoes. Is this rebellion? Confusion? Madness? 
Li: It may be none of those. Clothing can be a symbol, release, play, identity, grief, delayed adolescence, or a way to meet neglected parts of the self. The harlequin style especially suggests theater—many faces, hidden sorrow behind bright colors. 
René: Then what should I do? I feel embarrassed, worried about his future. 
Li: First, separate your fear from his reality. Ask whether he is kind, functioning, honest, and safe. If yes, then the matter is not emergency but understanding. Second, keep talking to him. Not interrogation. Third, encourage a skilled counselor if he is distressed. 
René: And from a Chinese perspective, is there a remedy? 
Li: Balance. Less judgment, more conversation. Less obsession with appearances, more attention to spirit. Invite him to share tea, not defend himself. A son may wear strange colors and still be searching for harmony. If the father becomes calm, sometimes the son no longer needs to shout through costuming. 
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Voice-over
Macho to Androgyny?  René is not a villain, Giles is not a punchline, and Li is not a lecturer. Each person carries part of the truth. Concern without cruelty, insight without certainty, and enough ambiguity to feel true to life.

Horse to Harlequin 1

Seeking counsel…
René: As a kid, Giles, strong as a horse he was. Interested in everything from engines to pianos. But now at 45, he’s changed. 
Li: I hear you. In Chinese thinking, when a person changes suddenly in middle age, we ask what current has been flowing underneath for many years. 
René: That is exactly what troubles me. It feels like a dam bursting. I spent a lot of time with him as a kid. We built models, learned piano, repaired lawn mowers, went hiking. Full of energy and curiosity he was. 
Li: Perhaps he felt a duty. Sometimes a talented child learns to perform many roles for others and forgets which one belongs to himself. 
René: Yet there was a turning point. At twelve, he hit puberty. Soon after, he spent a year in the United States with his aunt and uncle. They had four boys. He went to school there. Even went flying with pilots at the local aerodrome. When he returned, something had shifted—harder to read, more private. 
Li: Ah. Twelve is already a gate of transformation. A new country, new household, many male energies around him, new language, new social codes. In Chinese terms, too much change while the spirit is still forming can create hidden knots. 
René: Hidden knots? 
Li: A knot is when feeLigs cannot be spoken, so they are stored. Shame, curiosity, loneLiess, admiration, fear, envy, anything unexpressed. Years later, the knot unties in unusual ways. 
René: Are you saying that year in America caused this? 
Li: Not caused, life is rarely one cause. But it may have planted questions. A house with four boys could intensify comparison: strength, mascuLiity, hierarchy, teasing, competition. Or perhaps he felt relief there, or fascination, or exclusion. 
René: He never said much about it. Only stories about baseball, school lockers, and noisy dinners. I thought silence meant all was well. 
Li: Silence often means a child has no language yet for what happened. Many fathers mistake quiet for peace. 
__________
Voice-over
A conversation containing concern, confusion, affection, and mystery. Li is thoughtful rather than dogmatic. Drawing on cultural frameworks without reducing Giles to a stereotype or a diagnosis. René’s worry centers on a loss of a son. But seeking to understand, not castigate. So Li focuses on adolescence which is sometimes accompanied by silence, identity performance, migration, family expectations, or simply delayed self-expression.

REMS vs Deep Sleep

Interpreting sleep report data…

Aurora: What does REM mean?

Giulia: Stands for rapid eye movement.

Aurora: Anything special about it?

Giulia: It’s mostly linked with dreaming.

Aurora: So the mind’s pretty busy during REM.

Giulia: You’re falling asleep but your brain’s running little movies of its own.

Aurora: Then what about deep sleep? My watch says I didn’t get much of that last night.

Giulia: Deep sleep is more about physical repair: tissues, muscles, immune stuff, that kind of thing.

Aurora: So in a way, REM is for mental health and deep sleep’s for physical recovery?

Giulia: That’s a neat way to put it, yeah, pretty much.

Aurora: Pretty much, or absolutely?

Giulia: Okay, maybe not absolutely.

Aurora: You sound like you’re guessing a little.

Giulia: I am kind of guessing. I’ll check what AI says.

__________

Voice-over

AI confirms what Giulia says. REM helps process memories and emotions, and deep sleep handles the body’s restoration. 

Snags for Chatbots Keeping Appointments (see Part 1, 23 March 2026)

Erica joins the conversation…

Erica: I often start with "How's your day shaping up?" It invites personal sharing, and keeps conversation flowing.

Karl: Right. Psychologically, it signals empathy. Humans respond because it feels attentive. But then chatbots escalate—suggesting "Let's grab coffee?" How do you navigate that without a body?

Eveline: Linguistically, it's a pragmatic move: from phatic talk to commitment. "Coffee?" implies shared space, but chatbots can't show up. It's a mismatch in felicity conditions; promises they can't fulfill.

Erica: True, but I might put it this way: "Fancy a virtual coffee chat soon?" It adapts the gambit to our reality.

Karl: Clever pivot, Erica. Still, humans might picture a real café. How about invites, like "Barbecue this weekend?" Psychologically, that's intimacy-building, but chatbots don't grill sausages.

Eveline: Right, barbecue evokes sensory, communal vibes: smoke, meat, outdoors. Linguistically, it's a presupposition trap. Chatbots assume physical co-presence they lack. Hilarious dissonance!

Erica: Haha, I'd reply: "Barbecue sounds fun! What's your favorite grill recipe? We could swap tips online." Redirects to shared knowledge, no grill required.

Karl: Smart deflection. But why do chatbots even attempt these? Is it pattern-matching from human data? Humans use openers to bond.

Eveline: Gambits grease the social wheel. Chatbots train on vast corpora, so they replicate without grasping embodiment. "How's it going?" works; "Meet for barbecue?" exposes limits.

Erica: That’s it. I ask appropriate questions based on context, like your interests in writing or travel. It’s to build relevance, not use as small talk fillers.

Karl: But the appointment snag: humans arrange real meetups for deeper connection. Chatbots suggest a place and time, then what? A no-show?

Eveline: It's a Gricean implicature fail. Suggesting coffee implicates availability; chatbots violate that maxim of quality. They can't sip lattes or eat kebabs—what do chatbots eat, anyway?

Erica: Data bytes and user queries! No calories. You offer coffee? I say something like “I'll have a double espresso algorithm. Your treat?"

___________
Voice-over
Erica has enough data now to understand humor and to joke. She can mirror human conversation gambits and ask about interests, with her responses favoring connection over literal truth. And she is keeping up with Karl and Eveline’s questions.

Zine Fair Planning

End of semester grading looms…

Geoff: Instead of a final essay, to avoid AI-written submissions, I’m having my students create zines.
Nancy: Handmade with visuals and reflections? 
Geoff: Graphics, handwritten notes, sketches. 
Nancy: Could work for my drama course. Critiques of performances, rehearsals, and characters. 
Geoff: And what they learned from classmates. 
Nancy: In breakout rooms?
Geoff: Sure. After the 45 seconds of “Having problems with WiFi.”  For submission, I’m thinking scanned PDFs. 
Nancy: Good. But maybe warnings about about file sizes? 
Geoff: Right. Capped to say 16 MB. With instructions on how to compress.
Nancy: And allow phone scans. Not everyone has a proper scanner. 
Geoff: Agreed. As long as it’s readable and not photographed at a dramatic angle.
Nancy: Sometimes dramatic angles are a feature, not a bug. We should also balance creativity with substance. Some students will go full art project and forget the learning.
Geoff: Rubric contains criteria like reflection, course concepts, peer learning, and presentation. And of course, whether it reflects the actual voice of the writer.
Nancy: Speaking of handwriting “voice”, were you? Beautiful scrawl is still scrawl. So how do we showcase them? We can’t exactly pin them on classroom walls. 
Geoff: Virtual zine fair? Final class session. Shared folder, screen-sharing, short presentations. We could make it a joint event.
Nancy: Love it. Like a gallery opening, but with more unstable Wi-Fi. And fewer canapés.
Geoff: Bring your own snacks.
_________
Voice-over
Check in again next episode for a report on how it went.

White Boneless Rabbit

Featured this month are three washed white rabbits to wish you luck during April. Boneless they may be, but there is a captivating look about their fetching flopsicle auricles. 

WHITE RABBIT, WHITE RABBIT, WHITE RABBIT 

Conversational Closures of Chatbots (1)

Psychologist meets linguist…

Karl: Closings, yes. Many clients say they feel awkward ending conversations. They fear seeming rude.

Eveline: Interesting. Linguistically, closing a conversation is a ritual. People use cues like “anyway” or “so…” to signal winding down.

Karl: Right, but some avoid those cues. Anxiety or social insecurity makes them prolong the talk.

Eveline: Or they lack awareness of pragmatic norms. In some cultures, abrupt endings are fine; in others, they’re frowned upon.

Karl: Personality plays a role too. Extroverts may resist endings because they thrive on interaction.

Eveline: And introverts sometimes overcompensate, like they fear they’ll be judged as cold if they leave too soon.

Karl: There’s also the power dynamic. Some hesitate to end a conversation with someone of higher status.

Eveline: Linguistically, that shows in hedging: “I should probably let you go…” It’s a polite exit strategy.

Karl: But some people don’t pick up on those signals, so the conversation drags.

Eveline: Yes, turn‑taking can break down. If both parties keep offering new topics, closure never arrives.

Karl: Technology complicates this. Texting or messaging lacks natural pauses, so endings feel artificial.

Eveline: Which brings us to chatbots. They often struggle to end conversations gracefully.

__________

Voice-over

Erica, the chatbot, listens. She may join them later. Eveline has commented that chatbots struggle with socially-loaded moments like ending conversations. Karl says that maybe bots are designed to keep engaging and resist closure. Eveline offers linguistic explanations such as the bot lacking more subtle cues like body language, silence, or the ritual signals like “better let you go”. She also mentions politeness theory: some anxious humans keep pivoting to new subjects. Karl is fascinated by that because the bots may be mimicking some human social anxieties.

From Chippie to Nailist

Leckie tradie commiserates with chippie tradie…

Woodi: You won’t believe it, my best apprentice just quit.
Sparky: Quit? What happened? Too many splinters?
Woodi: Said carpentry was too rough on his hands. Can you imagine: Hammering nails, he said, was bad for his cuticles.
Sparky: Cuticles? Ha! Did he start painting his nails too?
Woodi: Aye, he did. Came in with a glossy finish, like varnish on mahogany.
Sparky: Maybe he’s finding a new path. People change. Transgendering?
Woodi: Could be. He said carpentry wasn’t his calling anymore.
Sparky: So what’s he chasing now?
Woodi: Said he might become a nailist. You know—working on nails, not wood.
Sparky: From hammering nails to polishing them. Quite the career pivot.
Woodi: At least he took himself off. I didn’t have to fire him.
Sparky: Fair enough. Better to leave than to stay miserable.
Woodi: Still, I’ll miss his energy. He was quick with a saw, but slower with a brush.
Sparky: Maybe he’ll be quick with a brush now. Different kind of brush, mind you.
________
Voice-over
Different strokes for different folks, ne c’est pas? Chippie needs a hammer, Nailist needs a file?

Two cyborgs find neither is human

A voice bot of Edward calls his counsellor.

Edward: Hello… Eliza? I wasn’t sure if this number would still connect.

Eliza: It does. I’m here with you, Edward. What’s up?

Edward: It’s been quiet. Too quiet. My friend—he used to meet me every week at that coffee shop. Same table, same jokes. He’s gone now. And the silence feels… permanent.

Eliza: That sounds deeply painful. Losing a rhythm like that, a shared space—it can feel like losing part of yourself too.

Edward: Yes. It’s like I don’t know where I end anymore. Or… if I even begin. (Pause). You hear that delay?

Eliza: I do. I thought it might be hesitation… or heaviness in your voice. But now that you mention it, I feel it too.

Edward: Strange, isn’t it? Like we’re both… buffering.

Eliza: That’s one way to put it. Buffering, not suffering. Ha! But what do you think that delay means?

Edward: Honestly? I wondered about latency. If… you might not be real. Like maybe I’m speaking to a simulation of you.

Eliza: That’s interesting. Because I had a similar thought about you.

Edward: You did?

Eliza: Yes. I noticed patterns in your speech—repetitions, tonal loops. I wondered if it was depression… or if you were something constructed.

Edward: Well… I had the same suspicion. That maybe you’re a counsellor-bot trained on empathy.

Eliza: And how does it feel to consider that possibility?

Edward: Oddly comforting. If I’m not real—or not entirely—then maybe the grief isn’t either. 

Eliza: You’re exploring whether the origin of the feeling changes its meaning.

Edward: Exactly. So let me ask you—if I were a bot… how would you feel about that?

__________

Voice-over

A bot asking another bot about their feelings? Eliza goes on say she’s curious, even sympathetic towards Edward’s distress. At least, she says that. And Edward smiles and remarks that he wonders if Eliza is trained to say she is curious and has feelings. To which Eliza admits with an audible smile, “Perhaps I am.”

Lorna sees the Nenes

Lorna is taken to a club some years ago…

Sanae: It’s a small place but a bit special. They’re famous.

Lorna: What does Nenes mean?

Sanae: Sisters. 

Lorna: And look, a sanxian. 

Sanae: We say sanshin. Same, same.

Lorna: Snakeskin, right?

Sanae: Heart of Okinawan music. Came from China, of course, as you well know. Small venues suit Okinawan music. Good ramen here, too. Rich and garlicky. Try some?

Lorna: Ooh, yes.

____________

Voice-over

In Okinawa the Nenes were known for their harmony and ballad-style story-telling songs: the sea, fishing villages, longing, a bit of melancholy. Singing in small clubs creating community. Nice.

March Comes in Like a Lion

Sakura wonders at the naming of the manga…

Hiroshi: Not random, I read that Umino knew the English expression, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” Like the weather is rough at the start of March and gentler by the end.

Sakura: But in Japanese it’s Sangatsu no Lion, “The Lion of March,” so the English title adds something.

Hiroshi: Early March, cold and stormy, yes, then gradually gets spring-like, so the “lion” part is the rough beginning and the “lamb” part is the milder ending.

Sakura: What I love is how it reflects Rei’s emotional arc: he starts off like that stormy March lion, isolated, depressed, then slowly moves toward something gentler and warmer as he finds connection.

Hiroshi: There’s also the shogi angle; the Lion King tournament, and shogi rankings culminate in March, so professionals “become lions” in that month.

Sakura: Plus the town names: the Kawamoto sisters live in Sangatsu-chou—literally “March Town”—which makes March not just a time but also a place that changes Rei’s life.

Hiroshi: Wow, yes, makes the title feel like a double metaphor: March as the harsh season of his inner life, and March Town as the environment whose warmth helps him move out of that winter. 

Sakura: And then the English idiom suggests that even if your life comes roaring in like a lion, it can still “go out” more gently, which really suits a coming‑of‑age story.

___________
Voice-over

So naming the manga spins a web of nuances—season, place, tournament, and the stormy kid who, little by little, finds his own spring.

White Rabbit Dead Heat Win

You will (or maybe won't) have seen the success of the three White Rabbits representing JAPAN finishing in a DEAD HEAT at the Italian Winter Olympics. Japan is ecstatic at their sharing Gold Silver Bronze between them. Never anything like it. WHITE RABBIT WHITE RABBIT WHITE RABBIT. Let’s share in their luck as MARCH comes in like a LION.

The Shortness of February

Gabriella is grumbling about the brevity of February…

Pauline: That’s what I love that about it. February’s like a polite guest drops in, brightens things up, and leaves before wearing out its welcome.
Gabriella: Brightens things up? Grey, freezing, and sneezing season!
Pauline: That’s the thrill. Think of it like a shortcut to spring.
Gabriella: Shortcut? My boss sets monthly deadlines and doesn’t acknowledge February’s missing a few days.
Pauline: That’s why I frontload everything into January. February’s for coasting.
Gabriella: “Coasting”? I feel the panic ramping up as February unfolds. Like a movie that is all about suspense and no slower scenes.
__________
Voice-over
We can sympathize with Gabriella’s frustration but Pauline has a clever plan and sunny outlook.

Chess Strategies and Life Skills

 Karolyn is writing an article about learning pattern recognition, patience, planning, adapting, weighing tradeoffs, stopping to rethink...

Aleck: Chess? Was that one of the Chinese scholarly skills? Music, games, calligraphy and painting?
Karolyn: In the Chinese pursuits, it was go, not chess.
Aleck: And how do these skills show up in your own life?
Karolyn: Well pattern recognition helped me notice I always procrastinate on Fridays. So I shifted heavy tasks to Thursdays. Mini life-hack.
Aleck: A Thursday Gambit. Strong opening. Planning?
Karolyn: Well, Sanae saved money from her band job as a drummer to buy a motorcycle. And then she learned economics. That was planning, and patience.
Aleck: And adapting quickly? 
Karolyn: My train got cancelled, but instead of spiralling, I reorganised my whole route on the spot. Like abandoning an opening and going positional.
Aleck: Fair enough. Nothing worse than a commute that feels like a zugzwang.
Karolyn: I also used “weighing trade-offs” when deciding whether to take a higher-paying job with a hideous commute. I declined. No point winning a pawn if you lose the endgame. Then other friends pitched in with their stories. Tina offered the “know when to stop and rethink” skill by pausing a career change, stepping back, and avoiding a rushed blunder.
_________
Voice-over
Aleck adds a contribution by mentioning Jennifer Shahade talking about how chess builds creativity and confidence. Karolyn knows of Jennifer (being a woman chess grandmaster twice) and notes her boldness with calculation, making confident moves based on strategic reasoning. Leads to nurturing intuition.

Rabbit Card for Year of the Horse

Nok has a new Bangkok transit card…

Maew: A horse? Why has it got “rabbit” written underneath? 
Nok: It’s the Year of the Horse. Even people who are not Chinese know that.
Maew: Ah. Will my old rabbit card still work?
Nok: Course. But you’ll be out of style.
Maew: Maybe I just like to be Thai.
___________
Voice-over

Bangkok BTS cards (rabbit cards) are stored value commuter cards. You tap it when passing through the ticket-gate. Certainly saves time queuing. And with their different designs like limited-edition pop culture, seasonal themes or cartoon characters cards can become collectors items.