Okay, it's March 26th or 27th. Can't remember. It's almost 9 a.m. I'm driving to work. It's raining and congested. Just passed Alamedo del Prado on the 101. There's a Christopher Ranch truck next to me. So anyway. I had another really cool kind of story idea as and the inception of this goes all the way back to my trip to Japan. I believe I was in the park. It's the park across the metro tracks from Takashita street. There's a Shinto shrine there. It has a visitor center which has a gift shop. I think we're waiting for maybe Heidi to go back to me. In that gift shop I found a set of stamps. They were stamps. The primary of kanji characters in each character had some word that meant something nice. Or something stamp worthy essentially. I don't know. Maybe 30, maybe 60. That you could buy for like $200. And I thought they were gorgeous. And I just wanted one. And I wanted to try and find a word that was. You know, appropriate to use permanently. You know, as a signature. I think the name was obviously not in one of the stamps. And I thought, oh, maybe those Japanese word that means praise worthy. I'm sure there is. I don't know what it is right now. But I couldn't find a stamp that had a word close to that. I mean, there is a word thankful. And, but. There was no literal phrase worthy. And so I thought, oh, well, maybe. I didn't think about it again after that. I thought, I guess I just got to, you know, make my own stamp or something like that. But, you know, after that, I think we later went to a Toyota, the stationary store. And so again, a stamp section. And I looked again. I couldn't find it. And it wasn't until we went to a Toyota again, where I noticed that someone was having a stamp made. And there's actually. A custom. And I thought, oh, I guess it's just for fancy signatures. And I later learned when we were in Kyoto that it's not just a tradition. I mean, it's, it's a requirement in. You know, as much as your driver's license is a requirement, you must have a stamp in your name so that you can use it as a signature. I don't know why people don't just sign things, but. The stamp, I guess, is more official and. It's more appropriate to their way of making contracts. And so. I also learned from my another, I guess she was American. And she had an interesting name. I can't remember. It started with a C, I think. But she was telling me how she had a hard time. That this is their way that they use stamps, but you can actually have a stamp made in less than 15 minutes. If you, if you go to the right store. She told me, a Toyota, you know, would do that for me. And. I never really got around to it because I thought about it and I was like, well, it's still going to be a. I guess a Japanese word from a homad and that's doesn't really characterize who I am. I mean, because my name is so common, it'd be like getting a stamp for John. And then what's the point? You know, the name is so common, it makes the stamp irrelevant. It's like a stamp of a happy face at that point. Your signature would be more, you know, unique than your stamp. So I thought, well, I think I need to make your custom stamp. And so the only, and I was like, what would be a good custom stamp? And that will maybe I could make like a combination of Arabic, English, and maybe some other, you know, script as my initials or something. But then again, that's just my name. It's not another kind of description. There's no, it's really, you know, my name was given to me. It's not who I am. And I wanted something more personal, more indicative, and more identifiable as to who I am. And so I thought, well, why don't you kind of go through some like, you know, sketch storming. That's what I was. The word smithing there. Sketch storming, like brainstorming through sketches. Until you find something that gives you meaning, start with something that, you know, you're curious about. Are you think really defines you? And so I am. I really, really fascinated with the eye of horror symbol and the meaning behind it. And the myth behind it. I mean, there's not myth, but perhaps the variations of its origin. And the debates around whether or not one theory is better or superior than another. So I started with that symbol. And I said, maybe, you know, I can make a puzzle out of it where the letters. And I was like, the story is flight of forests. You know, its initials would be F-O-H or F-H for that matter if you don't count the of. And so I looked for an F. Is there an F anywhere in the symbol? And I looked for an H. And I kept drawing and redrawing the symbol, getting the use to the strokes over and over again, trying to feel the strokes. And to see if I'm making a similar stroke, you know, when you, we forget that as we write, we are. We are going through a series of memorized strokes. And of the pen. And I believe it was when I was drawing the eye. Kind of in a shorthand way where I was drawing the top of the eye and sloping down on kind of the. The chic line that is kind of indicated by the. The, you know, the downward 45 degree angled. Tail like stroke there with a curve, a little curly cue at the end of it. And I discovered, oh, this kind of feels like an F. And so I kept drawing and redrawing an F kind of like a calligraphy style F. And I could feel it. I could start to see that, yeah, this, the F is there. You could, you could definitely create an F out of that one particular stroke. I kept drawing it and redrawing it and then. I started thinking about. And this, a story idea came to me where. You know, how. And I forget exactly what. Was the kind of initial thought that led to the story. And I was definitely trying to. Get at the heart of why man is fascinated with birds. Why. Birds. Are often associated with spiritual or higher beings. And why. And I'm passing this red tree. That's sitting in front of. It's right at the CHP rain station. There's a beautiful red tree. It has no leaves on it and sitting right in front of the forest. And it's just such a beautiful site. I have to photograph that one day. But so anyway. I think that's what happened. I was like, oh, wow. This F is now starting to feel like I'm drawing. Just the lines of a bird in flight the way an artist would if a bird was off in the distance. Would you just, you know, in a quick. S or, you know, italicized stroke, you know, would. Is that a bird? You know, like sometimes a bird as it's. Flying. You can. Depending on the way it flies or if it's about to turn. It's it's wings could look like a horizontal. S or a cursive. F. So. I was thinking to myself, oh, so maybe there's a story around the birds. Because I'm trying to incorporate how is this symbol, the symbol for flight of forest. As opposed to the eye of course. And. And possibly the eye can also be incorporated into story a little bit more. And yeah, so. Maybe the king eats the eye of the birdie kills. So anyway, this the story that I came up with was. Initially, I called it a tribe on a hunt for buffalo. But and I've got obviously this pre historical set, you know, a story. Something and most of the stories on the scroll will come across as stories told. From an oral tradition. That have now been captured on a scroll. So. The story behind the flight of horse symbol. If one could imagine and again, this is. I can imagine the author of the letters to Florence or at least the off the moderator. Would describe or retail the story in an effort to explain the symbol. And it would go something like this. A king was out on a hunt one day. And it was it was a time when. No water had fallen from the sky for many, many moons or sons, many moons. And. The land was opening up. And. The sun was getting angry and angry every day. And. The people were. The their breaths. Yeah, their breaths were leaving them. And they were taking the endless sleep. And I as their leader did not want to suffer from that same fate. I did not for I knew if I died, if I lost my breath, then that would be the end of my people. So I elected to. Go on a. A journey. I elected to find the rain. I said I would go out and find the rain and bring it back and tell it to come back. I tried begging pleaded with me not to, but they were also suffering and they. They were also there. They could barely speak for their breath. Was tired. I was tired. I had to do it. I made my way up. And I walked for days and days until I realized. I'll have to drink the red water of an animal before I can find the rain. I went and I got my spear out. And I went and searched. A four walker. When I found. And I spent hours. I didn't look and there were no four walkers. But I heard the song. I see a tribe of birds up above. And there were many. It was a, it was a special tribe. I had never seen such a tribe before. It was a tribe of tribes. And there were all the birds in the land were flying together. Not. And more with each other, but they were flying. In lines the way the. And walkers walk. And they were obeying one another as they would turn. All would turn as they would. Climb up higher. They would climb up. And they watched them all land and settle. And they sat peacefully. And I said to myself, I must have the red water of a bird. For this will truly help me find the rain. And I aimed my spear and struck one of the larger birds. And the flock flew away and hovered above me. And watched as I ate. And I drank, as I drank from the red blood of this bird. And when my, when my thirst was quenched, they stared at me. And I saw in their eyes all of a sudden the eyes of a human. A two walker. And I thought to myself, oh, when the birds were on the ground, they were walking on two legs like the two walkers that I live among. And then to my surprise, one of them spoke, spoke with the tongue of the two walkers and made and used the tongue the way I used the tongue. I understood it wasn't like the sound the bird makes, but the sound the two walker makes. And he said to me, why did you kill? One of, why did you kill one of us? And I said, because I am dying, my breath is weak. And I am trying to find the rain. And I haven't found the rain for many moons. And I fear if I don't find the rain, my people will die. And then the bird spoke. I think he was their king. And he knew I was a king and he spoke to me like a king. He said, we know where the rain is. And we can show you where the rain is. But you must promise never to harm a bird as long as you live and as your people live. You must make it a law in your land. For if you do not, we will surely turn. We will surely lose our feathers and turn into your enemy and seek you out. And make sure that your life in the underworld will be a horrible one. And the king said, please, I beg of you, I promise you with everything. With every power that I have, I will go to my people and tell them that the bird is truly a God. For it can find the rain if you ask it. And it can turn into your enemy if you harm it. And it can be a friend if you let it. And the bird king said very well and he picked me up. And he took me and I watched where we flew and we went to the rain. Now, he took me to my people and my people watched me land with the flock. And each member of the flock picked a member of the tribe and flew us to the rain where there were many forewalkers drinking from sweet water. And the land was green and not opening up. And the birds looked at us and no longer spoke with the tongue of the two walkers. Instead, they spoke with the tongue of the feathers and left us and they separated into their own tribes again. And the cranes went to the north and the ducks in geese went to the south. And the golds went east and the raptors went west. And it was a good day. And I went to the and one day after many moons when I was feeling strong again, I followed the path where I had first encountered the birds. And I found sitting on the ground there still scratched into the earth. I could see where the markings where I had eaten the eye and the... And I drew the symbol. I drew the story into the earth for all to remember. And I took a knife, I took the stone of my spear and I carved that symbol onto my chest so that I will forever remember the gift of the birds and how there was... And always remember that the birds can speak to the humans and they can and they possess a knowledge. They possess the way, the path to the water and to a better life as long as we let them. And this symbol remains today as a story of how we respect the bird and we respect the bond between man and bird. The bond between man and the ever changing land. The bond between man and the spirit that flies high above and has the sight that we do not. And when man struggles because he is blind, he must remember to follow the sound of the bird, to follow the path of the bird. But he will find what he is looking for. He will find the source of the water, he will find the source of knowledge, he will find richness and salvation.

So that's the story behind the flight of course, symbol. I went more into the story than I did the symbol but like the eyebrow in my opinion can be seen as like more than one bird. So if you the eye itself is obviously a line coming out of the edge of the eye that points towards the side of the face I forget the anatomical term for that but that line you know some people argue it's it's almost like a sideways tear drop the way they draw the eye or somewhat argues like a mirror you know the symbol of the ock is contains that kind of symbol and and by the way the the ock is the symbol for life in ancient Egypt and yeah so and that's and to me you know the that that ock without the cross ash is you know when you draw you can you see the eye you can actually add a pupil to it and and get an eye and when you draw the straight line which might be the nose the the straight line leading up to the eye in the symbol one could argue that you know you add a little hash mark there and you've got the ock symbol right there but the ock can also mean man and it's simply you know a standing man now obviously they drew man differently they drew them with two legs you know and often in an act of some sort even you know the word for man is simply I think a seated man or a standing man you know they have a square torso and the sides of that square just extend downward to form the legs and you know there's a head on top of the square and then two arms at either side of the top of the square but I think yeah that this is perhaps some one could argue that the ock is kind of like a proto glyph that could kind of work as the symbol for man so the eye of Horace you know in my opinion contains the symbol for man and just now I'm on Gilman here trying to get to work and passing ocean view school and navigating the lane here that's eventually going to turn into one blah blah blah digression anyway so you know we've got the F that essentially we see two of them you know you see the one in the eye and in the eyebrow and that to me is you know a way of indicating that the flock of birds we have the you know the story was originally perhaps the king as he goes back to the site where he ate the bird he draws several of them on the ground and in addition to that he draws an ock as to where he was standing and perhaps the and how he became one with the bird uh in that kind of symbol that shows the the cheek meeting the eye and the downward symbol being man and that is the moment at which the you know man gained the knowledge and understanding that he he needed the bird he didn't uh not all that that the animals provide information in their behavior and and that one mustn't just eat them but one must learn from them and especially uh birds they are useful for they they the birds that fly are the ones that and bear knowledge of things like how to find water um what season of the year it's going to be uh when when the birds first arrive it's spring and you know when the birds leave it you know those are those are everything that uh and we can we can link this back to uh nomadic behavior or the trans humans because we can say that those were the people who tried to follow the birds uh you know there was uh and then there were those who instead of following the birds they knew that the birds came back they followed them without walking and so there are some parts of the world where the birds will always live and so um uh the you know the man draws the uh the first version of the flight of horse symbol uh on the spot there and the the king we will say his name was horse and uh the flight of horse refers to horse being carried by the flock and he was carried because he sought he he was uh in desperate need of knowledge and he he needed to learn how to survive and the birds taught him that what does man do for the bird he does not hunt them he allows them to live and thrive and in fact um um maybe we can uh incorporate the concept of the birds that don't fly like the the chicken um or the ostrich the imu uh lift fesent a little fesent's may fesent's fly um and say that um maybe the the horse was actually um well i'm not gonna say he was a bird maybe i don't know think about it we can say that the bird king uh decreed that uh or he cut the wings in half of a bird or he had with a magic spell took the flight away from a bird so chicken for example uh and and the man watched and uh like the bird king said these are the birds you may eat and uh the king was grateful and promised never to hunt the flying birds and that's how uh the stories kind of evolved or that's this is kind of what i thought of this morning