Tenleytown mascot

2022/02/10 Update: We’re getting mentions on social media:

For anyone who has hiked the Soapstone Valley Trail, you've probably held your breath when walking along Broad Branch Road on your way into @LoveRockCreek.

Happily, it looks like @DDOTDC has jurisdiction on this stretch of road and is able to install signage & safety measures https://t.co/QeezB2yarp

— Mary M. Cheh (@marycheh) February 10, 2022

Professor Robert Klitgaard from Claremont Graduate University and I discuss his new book, Prevail: How to Face Upheavals and Make Big Choices with the Help of Heroes.

Purchase here: https://robertklitgaard.com/

Credit:

Host: Philip Lu

Set Design: Liqing Peng

Episode 1 Transcript:

lightly edited

Philip Lu: Welcome to Conversations with Lu, I’m here with Professor Robert Klitgaard, University Professor at Claremont Graduate University, and we’re here to talk about his new book, Prevail: How to Face Upheavals and Make Good Choices with the Help of Heroes.

In the face of looming conflict between nuclear powers, this quote from Thoreau comes to mind. Homo sapiens, despite all of their intelligence, will not have the same lasting power as an ordinary deer mouse. Emphasis mine.

I wrote to our Ward 3 councilmember, Mary Cheh’s office (specifically her legislative and committee director, Michael Porcello) about a dangerous intersection in the Forest Hills neighborhood. I received a reply and if this issue impacts you as well I recommend expressing support and contacting her office here.

My email to get the issue addressed:

What began as a year of optimism for the upcoming reduction in the pandemic’s influence has undoubtedly turned out to be a mixed one. My family and I are still hunkered down in DC working remotely while the rest of the country is sending its white-collar workers back in fits and starts. I’ve been doing a ton of reading in lieu of commuting and hope to share my thoughts on what I’ve read soon. During the dip in COVID cases, my first flight since early 2020 was taken in June to Denver to meet up with friends for a roadtrip to explore the West. We also got to see my extended family (one member started their own small business this year) for Thanksgiving, whom I hadn’t seen for nearly two years up to that point. I also celebrated my second holiday season in DC.

Great anecdote shared with me by the bride and groom:

It’s been about three years since I’ve been doing any Vipassana-related activities. Although I’ve relocated to DC, I still consider NY in many respects to be where I call home. I still have property here, my family still remains here, my grandfather is buried here. When I saw that the local NY Vipassana Association (NYVA) needed volunteers to assist when I was in town, I enthusiastically signed up. I have done two other 10-day silent meditation retreats before, but it wasn’t until last weekend that I realized how much effort goes into setting up one of these courses. We started Saturday morning and did not finish until the next day. Bear in mind this was with several dozen volunteers. One of the NYVA coordinators, Janice, helped communicate between the prep teams and servers (volunteers during the 10-day course) well. I got to know several of the volunteers including Eric, who runs his own furniture business, Don, a retiree who lives and breathes Indian culture, and Liqian, a travel vlogger.

What a wild year 2020 has been. I made yet another move, another career change, all in the backdrop of a pandemic. I made my last trip overseas to Vietnam with a stop-over in Singapore during the Tet holiday, not knowing that a month later all movement would grind to a halt. I was fortunate enough to ride out the lockdown with a living that allowed me to work remotely, while many in the world are still eking out survival in purgatory. I am fortunate that my family are all well, including my relatives in Shanghai, who are now conversely concerned with my welfare amid COVID-19 developments in the United States. If there is one thing this pandemic has taught me, it is that nothing stays.

The Danes and our warm homestay hostess. If you find yourself in Saigon, you can do no better than staying at La vie de Hannah.

Sweet nostalgia going back to Singapore and meeting with LKY buddies. Shout out to Will, Chorks, Jean, Yee Wee, and Azira. I still miss you guys.

Socially distanced at Halfmoon Mountain.
Credit: Albert Hans Cramer

November 7, 2020

Descending the Devil’s Nose with Brandon and Albert.
Credit: Albert Hans Cramer

DC buds now scattered near and far: Zenia, Megha, Lisa, Erin, Mona, and Neha.
Credit: Zenia Montero Chang