Insight

 I got from Claudio Rodríguez this idea of the poetic insight--he didn't call it that, but he had some things he would say, like being able to tell someone's profession from the the way they walked and carried their body, or seeing a farmer sit for hours without moving the hands or body at all.  The way a dog or cat expresses their age through their movements. ... Maybe the contrast between free and chaotic movements of a dog and the way a dog's movements will be precise when trained. 

Miles Davis said he could tell if someone was going to be a good drummer by looking at the way he moved his wrists even not holding sticks. 

I had a whole chapter about this in a book I never wrote. I'm sure I am the only person who understands the poetic insight in this way.  But that's fine. 

Andadura

 I had my students observe someone's gait, looking at all the possible factors. Shoes, backpack, hands in pockets or holding phone or drink or swaying at ease; length of steps, etc... They did well at this, so I had them do the same with the body language of an interaction between two people, observed from a discrete distance.  The third assignment was to observe... anything at all. The fourth is chosen by the students. They came up with 3 ideas: observing traffic patterns, nature, or their own emotions. 

For some reason, my group likes this particular thing.  They have to speak aloud but they can prepare to say something meaningful.  It's a way of preparing them to read literature, in which concrete objects gain significance because of the way in which they are observed. 

Dream of Mustard

 I asked for mustard and was told there was none. I accepted this, but later was in the back room and saw a whole baggie full of mustard. There was a silly argument. I was angry, not because the mustard was so important, but because they had lied to me and tried to say that it was impractical to use the mustard.

The motel where we were staying was robbed. But I couldn't identity what was missing from our room. Then I woke up. 

In this same dream my brother was sick with a strange condition.