Raye's Journey

If you want to write about the moon, you can't just write about the moon
You have to write about the cold soul above this sky
Write about the clear light filling the cup, write about drinking alone with the shadow
You have to write about the Twenty-Four Bridges flowing water, silently flowing
And then write about a thousand miles of distant dreams
Write about the Nine Heavens Palace, write about the swaying osmanthus shadows
Write about the lights of the mountains and rivers from a bird's-eye view
With a turn of the pen, away from the noise
The cold dew wets the osmanthus flowers,
The frost awakens the traveler
In the end, only
Flowers in the cup, moon in the cup

This is the preface for this week's report

Mid-Autumn Festival - Spent with a Group of People#

I am very happy to participate in the Mid-Autumn Festival event at the bookstore. We spent time together reading Ji Xianlin's "The Moon is Bright in My Hometown" and enjoyed delicious tea. We also watched the making of handmade lanterns and participated in a poetry quiz and lantern riddles.

(Supplement: Before I participated in this event, I never thought that there would be such a cultural bookstore on my way to work every day, amidst the hustle and bustle of pedestrians and flowing cars, next to the bicycle parking area with ringing bells. It's like a hidden gem in the city.)

The pictures were taken by the store manager's video account.

Participating in these activities as an ENFJ personality type was not stressful at all. The bookstore manager, Miss Yi Ran, is very beautiful in her classical cheongsam, exuding an indescribable beauty. However, the group activities felt a bit like a Chinese language class in elementary school, haha. But the subsequent discussions surprised me, as everyone shared their own feelings and stories related to the moon (although I and another classmate talked the most about it).

"Every year on this night, the moonlight is like a thread, and it is always close to people even if they are thousands of miles apart." This is what I shared and my favorite line among all the moon-related writings for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Although there are countless famous works about the moon, the most well-known is "Spring River Flower Moon Night," which stands out among all Tang Dynasty poems. There is also Su Shi's "When Will the Moon Be Clear and Bright," which is mentioned every year.

I still remember last year's Mid-Autumn Festival. I was playing sports with my friends at the company that night. When I was leaving the company and waiting for the bus, I suddenly looked up and saw, between the two tall buildings, a gap where a bright moon was hanging in the sky. Although I had never experienced the feeling of "the moon rises above the eastern hill, lingering between the Big Dipper and the Cowherd" myself, I felt a sudden echo of the line "Every year on this night, the moonlight is like a thread, and it is always close to people even if they are thousands of miles apart." So I posted it on my social media.

During a break in the event, I also discovered a corner of the bookstore with many records left by people, and I took some pictures.

My favorite one is this! There are so many records, and this is what Jia Baoyu said. Besides the "Four Books," there are too many made-up ones. Why can't I make up my own?

Finally, here is a quote from the store manager:

After experiencing the ups and downs of life, if a person can still maintain the innocence and simplicity, there must be many people around him or her protecting them, both openly and secretly. And to let go of one's guard, reveal the scars behind the Chu River and Han Border, and put down the hardness, is also a kind of courage. May we all shine together.

📺 TV Shows & 🎮 Games#

Astrea - The Best Card Roguelike Game of 2023 | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Highly Recommended#

The independent game reviewer Lizard Jun recommended the best card roguelike game of 2023: Astrea.

I bought the game without even finishing watching his analysis video, haha. The game's mechanics are very simple, purification and corruption. For monsters, corruption means gaining health, while for your character, corruption means losing health, and vice versa.

At first, I didn't understand the subtlety of this design and thought it was just a name change. But soon, I couldn't help but notice that corruption is not necessarily a bad thing for your character. It can also grant more powerful skills as your health decreases.

In addition, the dice replacing cards mechanic further enhances the randomness. The distribution of dice faces and effects determines your strategy, whether it's an extreme profit route, a moderate one, or a conservative one. All of this needs to be considered in conjunction with the characteristics of your character.

Of course, the Tower of Slaughter is still a top-tier game, but this game does have some new designs and ideas. That's all I have to say, I'm going to play it now.

The Morning Show | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Highly Recommended#

Apple TV has released 4 episodes of The Morning Show, which is the first TV series I started watching on Apple TV.

The plot is a bit flat, with several twists and turns in the middle.

But if you stick with it, you will find that Cory's lines are full of linguistic artistry. I came across a post on Douban:

If you interpret Cory's lines in "The Morning Show" literally...

For example:

1. Kill the people - Impress the audience
2. Kill this story - This story cannot be published (the lines in this show are full of "kill" haha)
3. What doesn't kill you... Almost kills you (Listen to what you say)
4. We can sit around counting beans or... (We can sit down and count beans, meaning to be meticulous)

There are many more examples, which is why I can't bring myself to fast forward through the show. The language, body movements, and expressions of the characters are so rich. Not to mention, it is filled with satire of American political correctness.

Some Thoughts on Following American TV Shows#

Recently, I have been summarizing some methodologies. In my opinion, persisting in doing anything for a long time is no less than a practice. We are all more or less stimulated and attracted by some accidental dopamine, but if we want to truly persevere, we will inevitably encounter the dilemma of lacking like-minded people, sharing, and motivation. We will eventually enter a fog, and methodologies are the guide to overcoming the inherent flaws of dopamine.

So I also want to share some insights into how I follow American TV shows, mainly discussing whether bilingual subtitles are necessary.

Actually, I don't think bilingual subtitles have much value. You might think it's helpful for learning English, but come on, why bother learning English while watching a TV show? At the beginning, you might enjoy comparing the bilingual subtitles to test your English proficiency. But soon you will find it too tiring, so you might as well just watch with Chinese subtitles.

I usually watch TV shows on Netflix or Apple TV, and there's no problem watching with Chinese subtitles. It doesn't affect my viewing experience, and occasionally I hear familiar words and speak a few sentences with my own English that just passed the CET-6 exam.

Of course, I deliberately follow some shows in their original language, mainly on Max or Hulu. Although it was quite challenging to watch with full English subtitles at first, I soon realized that most of the dialogue in TV shows is unnecessary. As long as you grasp the main storyline, it's enough. Moreover, because it's all in English subtitles, you can often catch the interesting points in expressions that are difficult to translate into Chinese.

📝 Starting to Write - Summary of 2023#

There are only three months left in 2023, a year that has taught me so many new things and is a perfect time in my career. I have overcome some of the immaturity of starting out in the workplace and started to plan and think about my life, cultivate some habits, and ponder future questions. So, one day this week, I started writing a summary of 2023.

If I had to choose one sentence to represent 2023, it would probably be:

I am a traveler on the road, but I can't help but be fascinated by the beauty of the mountains.

With this, let it be the beginning of the 2023 annual report. Stay tuned:

The hurried 2023 is coming to an end. In this year, there have been stress, disappointment, moments of darkness that everyone experiences, the melancholy of standing alone on stage, and the enthusiasm of capturing every railing. But no matter what, I will never forget the scattered moments in my memory. It is these moments of friendship, reading, traveling, the joy of regaining what was lost, the enlightenment of deep thinking, and the persistence of seeking that intertwine, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, outlining different landscapes for each person and depicting unique mountain and water scenery.

When I first read this line by Zhang Xiaofeng, I felt that my restless soul was instantly cleansed and purified. Between the shimmering water and the vast forest, as a traveler driven by the itinerary, facing this picturesque scenery, it is still worth indulging in a few moments.

I also used this line in a previous weekly report summary: "A traveler on the road, where are you going?"

💭 Some Thoughts - Less Lifestyle Articles?#

I always want to find high-quality technical articles, but when I look around, it seems that when people write blogs, they prefer to do life records, and there are relatively few technical articles. I have thought about writing less, but

Why should there be fewer lifestyle articles? Actually, I don't think it's necessary, but from a personal perspective, I hope to write more technical articles. Although life and work are already tiring enough, shouldn't writing blogs be a way to relax? Haha. But I still think that since the blog is a way to motivate me to write, it must have enough value.

Currently, the purpose of the weekly report is to share my unplaceable desire for expression and serve as a habit of recording. However, the requirements for technical articles are too high, and I am hesitant to write when I haven't fully understood something. But why bother? One symptom of procrastination is perfection anxiety. I still hope that the proportion of technical articles in my writing will increase.

📮 Newsletter#

From now on, all my records will be automatically synchronized to my personal channel, https://t.me/RayeJourney

But I will also excerpt some of them and post them on my blog:

1. Your Loneliness, Though Defeated, Is Still Glorious - I really liked this podcast episode. Everyone is like an isolated island, but through this podcast, I can feel an invisible connection.
2. 【Lizard Jun's Talk on Card Roguelike Games】Why is the Tower of Slaughter the "Only God" in Card Roguelike Games? Starting from the Randomness of Roguelike Games - Lizard Jun's game analysis. The Tower of Slaughter is definitely the top existence among all the card games and roguelike games I have played.
3. 【Game Review】Astrea - The Best Strategy Card Roguelike Game of 2023
4. A Reflection on Volar Types
5. The Most Amazing Piece of Music - "Eighteen Beats of the Hu Jia"
6. Advanced Guide to Infuse - Get to Know Apple TV's Ultimate Companion
7. If You Interpret Cory's Lines in "The Morning Show" Literally...