Since Monday is the official day for experimentation around here, I thought I’d try something new.  This project is a little different than the other ones I’ve done so far, and without reader participation it’s not going to be any fun at all, so I may have to give it up after a few weeks.  Also, I will warn you right up front: it may be mildly educational.  So, with that in mind, let’s proceed.

A true wandering wordsman must wander not only among the words of his native tongue but those of other languages as well.  All languages are connected, and there are few better examples of this fact than the use of kanji characters in Japanese.  These pictographs were originally developed in China, but they found their way across the sea to Japan, and now all Japanese writing consists of either these symbols or other characters that were derived from them (except for things written with the Roman alphabet).

Now, you might think that, while Japanese is obviously linked to Chinese, this oriental language can’t possibly be all that connected to English.  But everyone who’s ever drunk a Kamikaze, and every tycoon who’s ever had a factory destroyed by a typhoon or tsunami, should know better.  And we know about kanji, too.  We see them in martial arts movies, and on countless tattoos.  But let’s see if we can’t learn a thing or two about what they mean.

We’ll start with something easy: counting to ten.

The kanji character for the number one is the simplest there is.  It’s a single horizontal line.  It looks like this:

一

For two, we add a second line, and get this:

二

And I’m guessing no one will be too shocked to discover that three turns out like this:

三

So now you’ve got the pattern.  Unfortunately, this is where they decide to pull the rug out from under your feet.  The number four isn’t four horizontal lines, and none of the other numbers up to ten follow any easily recognizable pattern.

Okay, here’s the audience participation section.  Which of the following characters do you think represents the number four?  Put your guesses in the comments section.  And remember, there’s no prize for getting it right, so don’t bother looking it up.

A. 九　B. 五　C. 十　D. 七　E. 八　F. 四　G. 六

The answer will be revealed next week.

Cloud charged forward, sword on high
To world of Reno rid
Suddenly, he found himself
In golden pyramid

Reno limped back toward the rail
Barret was frozen stiff
“If . . . you live . . . we’ll fight again
But that’s a real big ‘if’”

This week’s puzzle:

Two former warriors, assisted by a drug addict and a woman on the run, work together to save a company from some terrible publicity, among other things. Communication difficulties abound, but they’re hardly the worst of their problems.

Last week’s puzzle:

A not-entirely-unpredictable catastrophe changes two men’s lives, though perhaps not as much as they might have hoped. An uncoordinated man and a woman with a medical condition travel to a precarious place, where she imparts to him some life-changing information.

And the answer is . . . ▼

Fierce division the nation did haunt
So King Henry sought to bring detente
It had limited scope
And it pissed off the pope
But he issued the Edict of Nantes

Event: Henry IV issues the Edict of Nantes
Year: 1598
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Nantes

“You read the bible, Brett?”

“Y-yes.”

“Well there’s this passage I got memorized.  Sort of fits the occasion.  Ezekiel 25:17:

“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.  Blessed is he who, in the”

“Hey, Jules.”

“Now what the hell is it, Vincent?  I’m kind of in the middle of something important here.”

“Brett’s passed out, man.”

“Aw, hell no!”

Jules had originally memorized the passage not because he was impressed by its religious significance but because he thought it was some cold-blooded stuff to say to an individual before he put a bullet in him.  He had been saying that stuff for years, and now, apparently, it had lost its punch.  These days it seemed that your typical punk didn’t have the patience to listen to an entire bible verse on the wrath of God.

This would not stand.  Jules Winnfield was not about to have his concentration broken by some loser snoring through his monologues.  He was going to have to come up with an update quicker than you can say, “Wh-what?”

Mr. Winnfield and Mr. Vega stepped out of the apartment, had a smoke, discussed various affairs both pertinent and totally unrelated to the current situation, and then returned.  Jules tapped Brett on the cheek with his friend Mr. Nine Millimeter to ensure that he had his attention again, and then he spoke:

“The righteous man has it rough, but he’s on my side.  If you’re wicked, then I will smite you but good.  And that’s how you know I’m God.”

At this point Brett lost consciousness again, though this time in a decidedly more permanent fashion.

At the top stood Barret
Like an avatar of fury
“I’ll kill ev’ry last Shinra scum!
I’m judge, ex’cuti’ner, jury!”

“You okay?” Cloud asked the man
Face streaked with bod’ly dross
Barret grunted. “Can’t let up
That chopper holds the boss”

As he spoke, a man jumped down
To the cold steel platform
His hair was red, his suit was blue
His smile strangely warm

“I knew I would see you again
Too bad that it’s for work”
Barret growled, “Who are you?”
Cloud said, “Reno. A Turk”

“The pillar’s coming down,” he said
“Whether or not you care
As punishment for your group’s bombs
It’s really only fair

“Your intervention’s meaningless
Sector Seven is through
So, really, we don’t have to fight”
Growled Cloud: “Oh yes we do!”

“Have it your way,” Reno said
As he drew out his cane
“I just want it on the books:
You chose the way of pain”

This week’s puzzle:

A not-entirely-unpredictable catastrophe changes two men’s lives, though perhaps not as much as they might have hoped. An uncoordinated man and a woman with a medical condition travel to a precarious place, where she imparts to him some life-changing information.

Last week’s puzzle:

A man who is famous but not rich has spent his entire life surrounded by people who tell him what he can’t do. He is nearly killed while doing something he hasn’t attempted since he was a child, and afterward he decides that a normal life is probably best, after all.

And the answer is . . . ▼

Coubertin had some quite lofty aims
To revive old Prometheus’ flames
Fortune favored the bold
(Who won silver, not gold)
At the first modern Olympic Games

Event: Opening of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece
Year: 1896
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Summer_Olympics

I really do regret to say
That there is no new post today
A precise cause I cannot state
Though one can always speculate

Most like the weekend a role plays
I was away about three days
Returning home late Sunday night
To a world near devoid of light

And inspiration sometimes lacks
For us poor literary hacks
In vain we struggle, all for naught
To come up with one useful thought

I rose early on Easter morn
(A fact of which none did me warn)
A practice known to cause heads pain
And oft disorganize the brain

I could go on, let tongue wag loose
But really there is no excuse
No post today (it’s not just late)
And all one can do now is wait

They came up through a manhole
But their path was by trains barred
Aeris looked around and said
“This feels like a graveyard”

The trip upstairs was solemn
They had lost Biggs, even Jess
There was no chance for last remarks
They’d no time to digress