水自流 » 开卷有益|Extension

Boxing – Oct 26, 2011

玖伍贰柒 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:38:02 +0000

从M手中拿过赠票，一起三级跳奔上榴莲壳演出大厅的最上层座位，还好，刚刚在大门关闭前到达。Boxing Boys没有中场休息，如果没有按时赶到，唯一的收获就是两张没有开封的戏票。看完后到现在，恕才疏学浅，还不能够用一句很简单的话来描述这出戏。海报上说这是世上第一部揉合了拳击、街舞、戏剧和爱情的默声表演，有这么多特点，出来的结果很可能就是没有特点。历史的规律是惊人的相似，这部演出就是没有特点。初一看，取材于周星驰的《新精武门》，一帮正宗训练弟子遭遇一小队跳街舞的混混。成见里面，好像是混混都在跳街舞，跳街舞的当然不一定是混混。街舞的头喜欢上了练武的女弟子，同样，女弟子也是有个倾心的师兄。最后，街舞兄还是退出了竞争。这是爱情故事。中间穿插了一些笑料和搞笑动作，一些泰式拳击的历史，算是大锅饭端给你吃。属于不推荐范围。

同样是讲Boxing，《铁甲钢拳》(Real Steel)的感觉就让人喜出望外。从广告上看，以为只是一部“揉合”了高科技，主打炫技的美国爆米花大片。跳街舞的机器人和善于谋划的小主人翁，让观众一路跟随着他们的起伏而别无他法。本人而言，每一场比赛都心跳加速，浑身颤抖不已，冷气太冷亦有贡献。Lost中的雀斑女也客串一角，在天台上露上那么两脚跟她的观想性格太符合了，野性包含着闷骚，太爱之。有人说这是部家庭片；有人说里面的谋略很值得学习；我说这是今年你一定要去捧场的电影，看看美国大叔的九阳真经现世。

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春满梨园繁花妍 – Mar 27, 2011

玖伍贰柒 — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 09:38:53 +0000

跟M和F去看这场由新明星粤剧中心举办的粤剧晚会，她们预期的是痴情英台戆山伯，想看的是“光头佬”麦嘉。结果发现星期天的是新中港澳名伶闺秀粤剧晚会，如下图所示。不过，最后压轴戏还是由麦嘉来演出，以了她们一番心愿。

一上台就是【南唐残梦】，听来听去只听懂了“惜往日，朕乃九五至尊”，差点要起身离开。身为广东人，在他们说话的时候能够听懂，而唱时则是满耳南蛮子的声音。因此，只有在折子戏的环节才有稍微那么一点点享受之感官。

接着是折子戏【新霸王别姬】，服装是整个晚会最漂亮的。但则因为不好意思没有拿出相机来，错失了这个机会。然后连续两个折子戏【绝情谷底侠侣情】和【狮吼记之跪池】。请看看照片，看看我们的杨过有什么不同？

中场休息后，又是类似清唱的【书剑恩仇录之月夜观潮】，不予置评。跟着是【对花鞋】、【铁掌拒柔情】和最后的【刁蛮公主之驸马出嫁】。麦嘉将喜剧元素添加到粤剧中去，影响是当然的，可能对普及教育会有不少的帮助。正如一位安替说的，星期六的那场憨山伯让她们肚子笑得疼了许久。

【铁掌拒柔情】

驸马与他的四位猪朋狗友

至于晚会的观众则是中老年人居多，坐在我前面的三位安替一律爆炸头。虽然没有阻挡视线，但也在心里暗暗惋惜，除了爆炸头，我们的夕阳红就没有其他的发型了么。坐在后面的则是某个社区集体组织观看的安扣安替，在大概10点半时就要提前离场，因为大巴来了。

宾得套头50-200mm在这类场景下的表现能力还是不足，一个是光圈太小了，另外也不够锐利。上述图片之ISO都在1000左右，K-7的噪点控制能力还行。

我的火狐浏览器啊 – Feb 26, 2007 (3)

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“话痨” – Nov 07, 2010

玖伍贰柒 — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:55:25 +0000

跟KL与XY坐穿了淡滨尼商场的沙发、板凳、椅子。

这次的“话痨”跟上次的不同，这次的能够独当一面，源远流长，东征西引，触类旁通，上至三皇五帝，下至三权分立，东至太平洋东，西至太平洋西，无所不包。因为不是同一个话痨，因此引号表示特写，表示佩服的五体投地。

犹太人、犹大、耶稣、佛陀、印度教、等级制度、毛泽东、蒋介石、西安事变、张学良、军阀、皇帝、教皇、三位一体、上帝之子、洪秀全、太平天国、曾国藩、朱元璋、岳飞、金国、齐王、奥巴马、布什、神风敢死队、原子弹、陈水扁、国民党、邓小平、香港特区、菲律宾、万圣节、英国王储、女王、戴安娜、贵族、税收、独立战争、甘地、巴基斯坦、共产党、武士道、伴侣选择标准、明星、豪门、门当户对、乐队、组合、中性性格、房地产、邵氏、美剧、康熙、乾隆、刘备、诸葛亮、刘邦。。。

十个小时当然不单单包含上面的关键词。“。。。你让我看见这世界闪烁千万灯火，超越我们所有想像还更美。。。”，放心，我睇唔系基佬。

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对抗 – Nov 03, 2010

玖伍贰柒 — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:06:18 +0000

跑步回来，慢慢适应中，似乎有点疲劳过度；长征才刚刚开始，坚持住开始的一个月，慢慢的就会好起来了。转到Win 7下面来逛逛，发现QQ弹出一个提示框，跟360完全干上了：

亲爱的QQ用户：

当您看到这封信的时候，我们刚刚作出了一个非常艰难的决定。在360公司停止对QQ进行外挂侵犯和恶意诋毁之前，我们决定将在装有360软件的电脑上停止运行QQ软件。我们深知这样会给您造成一定的不便，我们诚恳地向您致歉。同时也把作出这一决定的原因写在下面，盼望得到您的理解和支持。

截图是桌面跟弹出框的结合，由可爱的Kayla免费提供肖像权，俺只能望她老爸的摄影技术之项背。

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抄《东写西读》之二 – Jan 15, 2010

玖伍贰柒 — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:58:42 +0000

花了下午几个小时睡后时间，将这个只有两篇的系列补全，其间洗了几件衣服，回复了几条短信，考虑着如何安排后天开始的斋节食物安排，以及发了几次呆。昨晚跟大伙去Expo的福满楼吃了顿两个多小时的公司所在厂区的商会所谓换届选举就职仪式暨晚宴，请来了名誉顾问、东海岸集选区议员陈舜娘小姐为嘉宾，人家也不容易啊，致辞吃饭颁奖照相敬酒下来也就整个晚上了。好玩的是，她进来以及离去大家都需要起立以示尊敬，这边似乎议员以上级别的都是这样。

元宵节了。阿公说要注意海啸，因为智利的地震。

回家前已经考虑好要将Pentax FA 100mm f/2.8 Macro和Vivitar 24mm f2.8 with auto aperture转卖出去，在家里的时间里也是没有怎么用到这两个定焦镜头，个人还是比较喜欢变焦的，当然现在也没有那么多时间出去东拍西拍的啦，每个月的outing能够去已经算不错的了。FA100mm一定是要卖的，对于我来说太贵，而且用途稍微少了点，但是每个定焦看起来都是有专门的用途。运气不错，将帖子发出去三天内已经将两个镜头出手，其中FA 100mm便宜了20块，而Vivitar 24mm价钱没有变。虽然卖掉两个镜头，但手中的仍然有四支，Mel送给我一支Auto Chinon Multi Coated 28mm f2.8，光圈不可在机身上调，可能以前的胶片机可以。试了一下，表现能力跟Vivitar 24mm的差不多，就是没有那么广角罢了。当初买下24mm的就是以为比kit lens的18mm还要广角，出丑了。另外也大胆的将机身聚焦屏和CMOS上的灰尘弄掉，CMOS上的只敢去吹吹，发现也就那么回事，胆大心细先做调查即可。

Jan 15, 2010

午后梦苕庵

8. p74
就诗歌创作成就而论，明代确实没有大诗人，既无法同唐宋的辉煌相提并论，也不及清代。阮大诚可说是其中的佼佼者。所赏阮诗的并非钱仲联一个，胡先驌称他是“有明一代唯一诗人”，章太炎也有同样的观点，陈三立评价更高“芳絮深微，妙绪披纷。具体储、韦，追踪陶、谢。不以人废言，吾当标为五百年作者。”那几乎就是阮大成坐上明清两代的头一把交椅了。

我们知道阮大成，可能太受《桃花扇》的影响，忠奸分明。即使阮大成的品行确实如此不堪，他在文学上的成就是否值得肯定？托马斯·潘恩说过一句名言：“我们必须提防哪怕是对我们的敌人的不公正。”无论中外，文学史上都有不少品行不佳却才会出众的作家，他们也应得到公正的评价。所谓“人归人，文归文”还是公允的态度。赞赏阮大成的诗，并不是肯定他的为人；否定他的行为，也不应抹杀他的诗才。不仅对古代的严分宜、阮大成，就是对现代的汪精卫、周作人、胡兰成，都应作如是观。

笺注

9. p104
对年轻的读者来说，“磨镜党”是什么东西，似乎需要注释一下。先说“磨镜子”，在玻璃尚未传入中国前，国人用的镜子都是铜制的，时间长了就会黯然无光，于是就有一种专门为人“磨镜子”的人，挑着担子满街跑，自己备有一面母镜，将人家交给他的旧镜子在母镜子上尽力摩擦，就能让旧镜恢复光泽，像新的一样。自从玻璃镜子传到中国后，传统的“磨镜子”职业也就淘汰了。但“磨镜子”又有了新的含义：“古代的镜子是以铜相磨，现代的磨镜是以肉相磨。”《上海俗语图说》中如此解释：“镜子应平坦光滑，才能照见人影，两面铜镜相磨，以光滑对平坦，中间绝无峰峦起伏，以磨镜代表（女）同性爱，大概就是这个缘故？”

[那么如此类比，男同性爱，就是“双棍党”了。 -- 玖伍贰柒注]

幸存

10. p128
二00三年英国出版了一张CD，叫The Spoken Word，收有托尔斯泰用英文朗读他的哲学著作For Every Day中的一段话：“生命的目的在于自我完善，个人道德心灵的不断完善。”还有丁尼生一口气不间断地朗诵他自己诗歌的声音。最近大英图书馆又扩充内容，出版了两张一套的CD《历史的声音》，收录的声音不仅有作家的，还有科学家、运动员、艺术家。最早的声音是十九世纪末英国著名莎剧演员亨利·欧文朗诵的一段莎剧。一百多年后我们藉此能够听到这位当年最有魅力的莎剧演员的声音。柯南·道尔简要地说了福尔摩斯的原型：“我写这个故事的时候，还是个刚从学校毕业的青年医生，特别受了爱丁堡贝尔医生的影响，他有着惊人的观察力，看一眼他的病人，不仅能够说出病症，还能说出他的职业和居住处，并以此自豪。”可能我五年前在大英图书馆听到的柯南·道尔的声音，也是这段话。《历史的声音》中还能听到弗洛伊、爱因斯坦等历史上名人的声音。

奇异的阅读

11. p134
“滞销书”并不是没有读者，而是出版社看不到它能带来丰厚的利润，所以不感兴趣。《奇异的阅读》里有一则掌故，说的是有位叫凯瑟雷诺的老绅士，自娱自乐印了大量历史研究的小册子，一个法国人称他是“小书大作者”（a great author of little books）。他一共写了两百多本这样的小册子，每本只有四页厚。尽管他很想把这些“作品”推销出去，但没有一家出版社愿意为他印刷发行。他只得自己把小册子印出来，然后时不时地出入旧书店，尤其是巴黎的旧书店，乘人不备，偷偷地把自己的作品塞一两本到书架上，然后开开心心回家，觉得自己又在成名的路上跨出了一步。他的这些小书就是通过这样的途径流传出去的。

[这一段是抄错了，本来是要抄下面这段关于评价书的段落。 -- 玖伍贰柒注]

12. p137
美国批评家莱昂内尔·特里林在一篇文章中讲述了耶鲁大学一名教授的趣闻：这位教授在讲解安德鲁·马韦尔《致羞涩的情人》一诗的课堂上，花一个小时讲述作者生平传略和政治生涯，讲到这首诗时只说了一句：“至于这首诗嘛，诸位—-精品—-精品！”这让我想起张中行回忆在北大听俞平伯讲词，到李清照“莫道不消魂，帘卷西风，人比黄花瘦”，俞平伯说：“好好，真好！至于为什么好，说不清楚。”特里林认为，批评的宗旨，在于“把握本来面目的诗作”，超越虚妄的解释和围绕作品积累起来的各种传说。结构、解构、能指、所指，大概属于特里林说的“虚妄的解释”，我看了就头疼；但“围绕作品积累起来的各种传说”正是我们读书的兴趣所在，如果这也要超越，那么谈诗除了说“精品”或“好，好，真好”外还能说什么呢？

Jan 18, 2010

圈椅上的旅行家

13. p142
在《小熊温尼·苔》（The House At Pooh Corner）故事的最后，克利斯多弗·罗宾对小熊温尼说：“苔，答应我，你不会忘记我，即使我到了一百岁。”温尼·苔想了一会儿，问：“那么，那时我有多大？”罗宾回答说：“九十九岁。”温尼·苔点点头，说：“我答应。”

“于是，他们一起走了。但是不管他们走到哪里，不管途中发生了什么事，森林中那一块神奇的地方总会有一个小孩和他的小熊在玩耍。”童话的结尾总是留给人们淡淡忧伤，那是因为我们都将告别童年，并将永远怀念那无忧无虑的岁月。

14. p146
回忆录的书名译成中文是《“喂？我给你接萨特。。。。。。”》，其中对萨特和他那批伙伴有一个总体评价：“所有这些杰出的教授、哲学家、作家、政治界、文化界、经济界的理论家和批评家，都脆弱得叫人难以置信。”这些杰出人物“自我意识要比肚量大，会以真理的名义把反对者千刀万剐，尤其当他们自己犯错的时候，瞧不起任何跟他们想法不同的人，思想奥林匹斯山上作威作福的诸神。他们等待的只是一件事：得到母亲的溺爱，也就是不负任何责任。”

15. p148
。。。英国作家艾伦·狄波顿《旅行的艺术》开头引了这段情节后说，旅行的观察不能跟我们期盼的划上等号，我们大老远跑去一个地方，往往大失所望，看到的不过尔尔，没什么特别的。所以有时不免觉得最精致的旅行还是想象。这种感受大概不止狄波顿一个，美国有两个作家编了一本《最糟糕的旅行–著名作家落难记》，英文原名叫I shall Have Stayed Home，译成“还不如呆在家里呢”或许更切题。其中有位经常外出旅行的作家说，他真想不起来曾经住过的任何一家希尔顿高级酒店了。但却很清晰地记得在约卡塔睡在草垫的那一夜。“真正能留在记忆中的都是些苦难的经历，是我们的那份沮丧，泄气，以及最终的艰难过关。”

而人们阅读旅游文学，也往往更喜欢看到作者的苦难经历，就像曾有过的那句名言：“我们旅行中唯一有把握吸引读者的就是灾难，人们就喜欢那一类事。”为什么呢？就是可以在阅读中庆幸自己免疫受难，甘心当一个armchair-traveller，如德埃圣公爵想的：“如果能以逸待劳，坐在椅子上云游四海，又何必四处奔波？”

抄《东写西读》之一

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抄《东写西读》之一 – Jan 13, 2010

玖伍贰柒 — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:13:17 +0000

如前所述，现转抄如下。

Jan 13, 2010

读《容安馆札记》的札记

1. p7
“幻既出人意外，巧复在人意中，造物可谓善于作文矣” — 毛宗岗“读三国志法”
“A probably impossibility is always preferred to an improbable possibility.” — 亚里士多德“诗学”

2. p13
卡尔在这本传记中引了福尔摩斯《恐怖谷》中的一段话：

“有什么你希望我注意的地方吗？”
“注意那狗在夜间的不寻常举动。”
“那狗整夜什么举动都没有。”
“那正是不寻常之处。”

卡尔把这个称为“福尔摩斯学说”，是福尔摩斯寻找线索，观察问题的独特思想。而钱先生认为这不过是“与古为新”，并从第欧根尼·拉尔修(Diogenes Laertes)的书中找出一连串古希腊哲人的类似对话，如有人问泰勒斯为什么没有自己的孩子，他回答说：“因为我爱孩子。”又如Solon为失去儿子而哭泣，有人对他说这是徒劳无用的，他回答道：“正因为徒劳无用，我才会哭泣。”又有人问某哲人，为何在没人的地方笑，他回答：“这正是理由！”

3. p16
风尘如此，官场也如此。钱先生进一步引梁绍壬《两般秋雨庵随笔》的一则故事，说某人到广东，遇见一妓，两人缠绵难分，那妓女恨不得马上嫁给他。这人回家后告诉友人，友人后来也去广东，找到此妓，说起这人的名字，那妓女已完全不记得了。梁绍壬由此说到他的一个朋友刚到北京，遇见达官贵人，那些大官“垂问备至，居处饮食，成询问详悉。”开始还以为那些大官有古大臣之风，过了不久发现那些大官“言属而意不属”，根本不是真的关心，无非是应酬客套而已。因此说，与官场人交往，正如与风尘女子交往，当不得真。

《三国》识小

4. p26
这些可以说是所有《三国》读者的共同心声，照理会读得大快人心，读得赏心悦目，读得为之雀跃。但事实是，我期待了那么久的书，却几乎读不下去。太圆满了！解气是解了，却陷入了空虚之中。正如叔本华说的，人生因为无法满足愿望而痛苦，一旦获得了满足，同时也就消除了他的愿望，可怕的空虚和无聊就会袭来。“人生是在痛苦和无聊之间像钟摆一样回来摆动着。”在我看来，痛苦是沉重的，却有一种悲壮的感觉，如古希腊人说的，悲剧有一种净化心灵的作用，读《三国演义》就有这种作用，我可以一遍又一遍地读；而空虚的感觉，如米兰·昆德拉所言，是难以承受的轻，这也是《反三国演义》让我读不下去的原因。

梁山不好汉

5. p31
施先生用心理分析的手段，挖出石秀隐藏在内心深处对潘巧云的性欲望，被压抑的欲望却以另一种姿态出现，“嫉妒戴着正义的面具在石秀的失望了的热情的心中起了作用。”当他发现潘巧云的奸情后，产生了“因为爱她，所以要杀她”的奇妙思想，“睡一个女人，在石秀是以为决不及杀一个女人那样的愉快”。血腥唤起了石秀变态的情欲：“黑的头发，白的肌肤，鲜红的血，这样强烈的色彩的对照，看见了之后，精神上和肉体上，将感受到怎样的轻快啊！”

Jan 14, 2010

牛郎织女与袁枚的胡子

6. p52
牛郎织女原是天上的两颗星，大约在汉代开始变成了神。《古诗十九首》中有这样一首：“迢迢牵牛星，皎皎河汉女，纤纤擢素手，札札弄机杼。终日不成章，泣涕零如雨。河汉清且浅，相去复几许。盈盈一水间，脉脉不得语。”到了南北朝，又增添了故事情节，南朝殷芸《小说》中说：“天河之东有织女，天帝之子也。年年机杼劳役，织成云锦天衣，容整不暇整。帝怜其独处，许嫁河西牵牛郎，嫁后逐废织纴。天帝怒，责令归河东，但使一年一度相会。”以后故事不断被添油加醋，而成为民间传说中经典爱情故事。

王太守八宝豆腐及其他

7. p58
关于豆腐，《归田琐记》还记了一段故事，说豆腐制作时，用豆、水、杂料等合重若干，等做成豆腐后，份量会超过原先的含量，朱熹因为格不出其中的理，所以终生不吃豆腐。

拖了好几天，断断续续先抄上这几段，怎样才能提供识字能力？打出其中的有些字让人火冒三丈，深深怀疑以前的语文课是不是睡过来的。这两天上火，无名火？是食物的关系。在K的帮忙下，在淘宝上订购了许多零零碎碎的东西，到时候会挂满东西回来。手痒，又进了一个Pentax SMC A 70-210mm f4 macro手动头。这次是从LX手中拿过来的，二百块。他所有卖东西的帖子都疑似有“Selling coz my dry cabinet is overcrowded”这么一句话，见面的时候就问他的干燥箱是多大，为什么老是满的？他在NTU读博士，将他的家乡武汉跟GF的成都搞混掉了。那么这次的理由是因为周六要去看飞行展，所以要用到一个长变焦的镜头。周日开始上了一堂日文课，Motegi老师的英文不是那么铃铛，就当作是泡在日语中吧，进度太快了，要花很多时间，这个本来也是要花时间的。周六时，在ZH家的聚会成了一个关于祈祷练习会，包括了如何祈祷，如何定下目标等一篮子改进目标。也是早到了要反思的时间啦。嗯，其中关于一些个人感观，至少没有上次在听演讲时那么反感，究竟是感情蒙蔽了思维还是别的，不敢深思。其中有些类似的关于TCH跟我提到的“万有引力定律”相似，夜深了，先闲置不议。

回家倒计时：8天。

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it’s gonna be good for you to finish something for once in your life – Jan 12, 2010

玖伍贰柒 — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:33:34 +0000

from Julie & Julia

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What a day – May 16, 2009

水自流 — Sun, 17 May 2009 07:38:04 +0000

Tampines Regional Library十点才开门，但是9点40分时大门外面就站了里外三圈的人，明天可以10点才到，因为还是有足够的位子供人学习。所以不明白他们为什么要提前20分钟在那里像排队一样入去抢购，不过知识是应该被抢购的，另外，电源插座有限可能是其中原因吧。

希望可以在这里呆一天，自从星期三在这花了三个小时记记单词后，感觉好极了。那么在接下来的这段时间，期望完成以下任务：

1. 略读Ways to Urbanisation – Post-War Road Development in Hong Kong (建城之道 – 战后香港的道路发展) by Ho Pui-yin (何佩然) ISBN 978-962-209-052-1
2. 复习ITE的Automotive Technology
3. 继续学习How to Read a Book (如何阅读一本书) 1972年版
4. 看看窗外的芭蕉树（还是椰子树？）

在新书架上扫到这本以绿色为基调的书，主要是给书脊的黄色调和书面的绿色调搭配吸引，尽管有330多页，但这是有中英文对照形式写成，再加上大量的历史图片，因此保守估计这样的字数是博士论文的规格。除了书封颜色的起因，根据简介，这是关于香港道路发展的历史和据此而来的相关政策、文化以及城市布局的探讨，正好可以拿来用《如何阅读一本书》中的方法练练兵。

Ways to Urbanisation Introduction
“This books focus on a crucial internal problem – Hong Kong’s post-war road development from 1946 to present. Observation are made on road development in the post-war period and its impact on the city’s development through the study of areas such as the building and expansion of road network; the establishment and operation mechanisms of the departments responsible for road works; and the formulation, implementation and promotion of transport policy. This allow us to undertake further assessment of issues such as the characteristics of post-war urbanization in Hong Kong, population distribution and land use, and inter-relationships between internal social changes and the city’s rapid development, with an expectation that this world serve as reference for the city’s further development.”

香港先天条件不足，自然资源匮乏，山多平地少，人口庞大，但仍取得今天的成就，关于改城市布局的资讯就尤为吸引人。全书根据年份从1946年开始每20年为一个阶段分成上中下三篇：

Part One: Opening up a New World (开辟新天地)
Part Two: New Opportunities, New Challenges (新机遇新挑战)
Part Three: An International Metropolis (国际都会)

比较感兴趣的有如下几章：
P12 Expansion Limitations (扩张局限)。1941年英国顾问David J. Owen认为要集中在城市的核心区域如中环、湾仔、尖沙嘴开发道路网络，利用填海工程创造空间。
P14 The First Blueprint (首份蓝图) / P15 Emergency Counter-Measures (应急对策)。1948年Patrick Abercrombie发表的Hong Kong Preliminary Report (香港初步报告书) 表明全港道路设施首次被纳入整体城市规划。这份报告着重强调香港的地形复杂型，建议采用主要干线的建设；合理设置支线与干线的接驳点；多设停车位；安置和转移人口密集区。但这建议以及后来类似报告直到1960年代初才被采纳。
P21 Long-Term Strategy (长远策略)。1966年跨部门讨论The Colony Outline Plan (殖民地规划大纲)。而1968年由Freeman, Fox, Wilbur Smith And Associates完成的Hong Kong Long Term Road Study (香港道路长远发展研究) “以1966年人口统计为基准，推算香港各区在未来20年人口增长趋势、人口分布及生活水平，从而预测未来公共交通的需求量，设计公共交通未来的发展方向”不失为一个亮点。
P25 Population Distribution and Road Development (人口分布与道路发展)。虽然大型道路工程与各区人口增长趋势和分布有一定关系，但不一定以疏导人口为首要任务。
P32 New Management Thinking (管理新思维)。根据历年Highways Department (路政署) 财政支出分析资源分配和利用与经济发展速度和需求的隐性联系。同时依据路政署雇员的专业人员所占比例提升说明整体城市规划与合理发展离不开专才。
P35 Integration with Pearl River Delta (融入珠三角)。包括兴建深圳西部通道工程和港珠澳大桥。

关于这本书，就先告一段落。回望记录下来的摘要，又不免有种担心会遗失某些重要的知识点。其实如果不这样抽出几章认为比较重要的篇幅，最后很有可能原样奉还给图书馆。从书架上拿下来时想从中获取的似乎是香港的道路发展历史以及发展过程中遇到的问题和应对策略。这本书只是大略的描述了一下各个时期的发展侧重点。现在更为关注的却是她如何组织庞大的资料，将它们揉合到一起，然后能够出版。

————— 现在时 —————

今天继续迷失在自己的世界里面，道路曲折，只能希望远处的光明不灭。昨天在图书馆呆到6点多就去牛车水跟Tech Cheng和David碰碰面，然后东转西走一直到半夜才回来。下面给出MLTR的25分钟，STC说歌词是个故事来的，以前也听过，不过还是比较喜欢That’s Why (You Go Away)和Someday。

Michael Learns to Rock – 25 minutes

2009/5/11
> 1:00 AM 两天时间新币对人民币就上涨了3分啊，亏了一点点，很小的一点点而已
> 4:36 PM Brother, I do miss you and the time when we were at BC. to Ricky
> 7:10 PM VERR_VM_DRIVER_NOT_INSTALLED (rc=-1908)
> There’s two ways to fix this. I would try the first method first, and the
> second only it that didn’t work.
> Method 1 – Simple Command
>
> Simply open a terminal window and type ‘sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup‘.
> This will take a little bit of time, but once it’s done, you should be able
> to open your virtual machines like normal. If for some reason this doesn’t
> work, try the second method below.
> Method 2 – Uninstall/Reinstall
> http://www.randyjensenonline.com/blog/virtualbox-verrvmdrivernotinstalled-rc1908-error-fix
2009/5/13
> 8:36 AM 汶川，一周年，杭州，飞车，深圳机场，无期徒刑？
> 8:54 AM 眼睛不能没有眼泪，亲戚或余悲，他人亦已歌。
> 9:02
> AM 內容始終都是為提升人類的靈性，描寫當今時代的精神面貌，並預見世界大同的來臨。作品有小說、詩、散文、和中英對照，巴哈伊信仰的原則和精神無所不在，有令人喜歡的藝術形式，也有內容的獨特性。珊瑚礁文化事業的創辦人是李開璇。
> http://www.hoychin2009.blogspot.com/
On Fri, May 15, 2009
> 10:40 AM Friday mood………..
2009/5/16
> 8:20 AM Andy的养鸽专业户头衔终于摘掉了，一切顺利就可以了，加油
2009/5/17
> 1:10 AM 要重新接着上儒僖课程？我的答案还是hold住先

© 水自流 for 水自流, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baha'i, Book, HongKong, Library, MLTR, Music

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黑暗森林和星际迷航 – May 10, 2009

水自流 — Sun, 10 May 2009 15:26:31 +0000

谢谢你，妈妈。

在多美歌上方的电影院前面看着不会闪动的屏幕，只有四部电影可以选择，另外几部要么时间不对，要么就是不敢兴趣，其实X-man还不错，但是LQ同学不赞成，因此选了这部Star Trek。结果发现这第一次不知道电影放的是什么的选择物超所值，之前看过广告，只是没有将那个广告与这个电影名字相互联系起来而已，也说明了还生活在华文的世界里面。在长达两个小时的时间里面，好好的享受了一场科幻大餐。好莱坞里面该有的元素里面都有，不按常规出牌的新兵和一个来自将感情视为叛徒的种族的高材生，两者的搭配刚刚好能够把来自未来的农民打败了，其实说到底还是未来的高材生打败了未来的农民。大概有几条定律贯穿其中：现在的事件并不对时空穿梭者造成影响；黑洞是一个奇点同时也是一个虫洞；导演想怎么干就怎么干。如果看到了这个电影的中文翻译，那么就不会带着未知走进这个奇异的境地，这种感觉真好。

在浑厚的背景声中，企业号重新出发去寻找新的文明和新的星球。自然的想起了刘兹欣的三体第二部黑暗的森林，在这本书中作者抛出了正如书名一样的宇宙定律：猜疑链和宇宙总体能量守恒。一直受里面情景的影响带着悲观主义情感看到最后才感到一点点希望，虽然里面软肋多多，但在处理宏观场景上提高了许多，而且具有深厚的物理功底。

具有色彩的黑洞

On Sun, Apr 26, 2009 at 8:37 PM
> 8:37 PM 八百步，http://hi.baidu.com/800bu，书籍分享
2009/4/27
> 8:09 PM 在外做工的缅甸人回去探亲时需先给大使馆交一些税，好像是这样的
> 9:36 PM 有矛盾出现的时候会是因为背景不同，还是一直以来点点相互不和的终于爆发？
On Tue, Apr 28, 2009
> 9:04 AM swine flu
2009/5/3
> 12:47 AM 看到三体Ⅱ中的面壁者环节，赞一个，还不知道目的是什么呢
> 5:58 PM 妈妈，我将变成萤火虫。 – - 神风特攻队队员给家人的信
On Mon, May 4, 2009
> 6:46 PM 五四精神今何在？什么是五四精神？
On Tue, May 5, 2009
> 9:55 AM “Swine flu has been officially announce to have reached the 5th level….” I got this SMS half an hour ago
2009/5/7
> 3:55 PM somebody said:白天求生存，晚上求发展。那么我就像在北极的极昼，始终是不见黑夜啦。 via: YTY
> 4:26 PM Shirani’s daughter is getting marry on June.
> 9:32 PM 去学校上课不用量体温了，但还是有一个形式上的问卷要回答。根据LQ从NYP发回的报道，好像学生每天要排队通过两台测体温的设备咧
> 11:35 PM 昨晚同事吉哥做到凌晨5点多，他好像效率比较低（幸好活的质量还可以），所以每晚他都是很晚才回去。。。
2009/5/8
> 8:12 AM 挂了一年多的马士拉沙末的通缉头像可以拿下来了
> 9:55 AM Ah Chit记住了《春晓》的读音和意思，很有语言天赋的家伙
> 2:52 PM http://www.crestock.com/blog/design/vibrant-chinese-propaganda-art–part-1-revolution-revolution-revolution-171.aspx
> 我们的革命
On Sun, May 10, 2009
> 10:46 AM 升级Ubuntu到9.04，但是原来的输入法ibus不能用。尝试了半天又把scim装上，还是不能调用出来。根据这个http://forum.ubuntu.org.cn/viewtopic.php?f=120&t=88151&start=15帖子，在～/.xinput.d下的原来文件en_US删掉，建立一个新的zh_CN空白文件，在里面输入
> QT_IM_MODULE=xim
> XMODIFIERS=@im=SCIM
> GTK_IM_MODULE=xim
> 再去~/.profile里面的
> export XMODIFIERS=”@im=scim”
> export GTK_IM_MODULE=”scim”
> export QT_IM_MODULE=”scim”中的原来ibus的改成如上所示，然后登出就可以输入中文了
> 虽然输入时弹出框在左上角，但是还是比没有的强阿

推荐首歌，听着不错，想起往事：
Marc Terenz – Love To Be Loved By You

晚安，爱着我的人。

© 水自流 for 水自流, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Moive, Novel, Sicence Fiction, Star Trek, 刘兹欣, 三体

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斋月煌煌之平稳过渡 – Mar 07, 2009

水自流 — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:54:15 +0000

又是周末了。早上让手机很不情愿了来回闹了三次，终于在6点35分起来，然后抓紧时间吃完同样的早餐，数字跳到7点10分。于是，躺着看了半个小时的书，再接着睡到大约12点才起来。实在太困了，对那会哈欠打了十多分钟的经历仍旧无可奈何。慢慢的有在进行斋节的感觉了，毕竟到下午时肚子就会提醒要吃东西了，而不像开始的一两天用精神力将自己的大脑欺骗；至于会不会像Joe那样小宇宙不断变大的示例，现在还不好下断论，也不必抱太大希望。

2009/3/3
> 7:45 AM 6:08起来，喝了一杯蜜糖茶水，再来一杯速熟粥，一杯牛奶加果汁泡crunch，一杯茶水，少许白开水
> 7:48 AM 大约7:05出门，一路看着路灯陆续熄灭，迎接太阳的升起
> 7:50 AM 没有了昨天日出前的匆忙，也没有昨天那种保障感，只要维持这样的进度，完成这个节日不成问题，问题是这样不能够感受到肉体对自己的考验
> 7:51 AM 其实，肉体并没有罪，是自己的思想或灵魂要求太多，而将这个需求的欲望扣在可怜的肉体上面
> 2:40 PM 不饿咧
> 2:41 PM 老毛病又发作了，还不清楚是几天前的习惯造成的，还是禁食影响，可能性偏向前一个，昨天也站了老长一段时间
2009/3/4
> 9:17 AM 如昨天一样，不过早上时脾气差了一点，要找个机会跟他说说，嗯，习惯了就好了
> 9:18 AM 其实就是交谈的艺术问题，对牛弹琴不是那么容易弹的。嘴唇有点干，希望下午不会渴。
> 1:30 PM 会不会情况一天不如一天？因为今天感觉比昨天要饿咧，估计是神圣感或者可以说是新鲜感在减弱的缘故
2009/3/6
> 8:15 AM 昨天下午比较饿咧，估计是之前的“储蓄”给消耗完毕了。昨天上午在上班的路上看到一起车祸，一辆摩托车撞倒一辆自行车了，自行车车主好像给送到医院去了，因为没有看到他在里。虽然在斑马线上让路给行人是路规，不过要经过这类接口时还是要万分小心，特别是靠近高速公路的路口
> 8:26 AM 连续三天的ITE夜间课程，自己快脱水了，不过在回来的公交车上又温习了一次“殷商舰队玛雅征服史”，稍微降低了劳累感。鉴于此，今晚就不参加在Margaret店里面的每月聚会了，早点睡觉是王道啊，sorry a. By the way, 希望能够早睡。
> 8:31 AM 两会。“空话套话，比“雷人议案”更雷人” – - 早报中国的头二条。
> 8:36 AM 新加坡最高法院下周末举行模拟法庭，即14日和15日，详情：www.thelivingcourthouse.gov.sg
> 10:26 AM 对了，William Jiang

“所有的经历都是财富，每一朵乌云都镶有金边。” via 最好金龟换酒

在“追”着看王小慧的《我的视觉日记》（My visual diary, fifteen years in Germany），有人说她的经历“如同已生活过一百年”，而我要说的是，有些人天生就是成功者。注：看你对成功如何定义。再注：这本书有点像她的前半生传记，因此，在图书馆拿起这本书想要偷师看看摄影究竟是怎么一回事的目标落空；但是却获得了其他的东西，比如凄美的爱情和对人生终极目标的反思，以及，呃，第12章”Images of Women”中的照片，冏。今天不在状态，是由于睡到中午的缘故，因此下面我就做一个抄书的小学生。

1. 通过她的回忆关于安斯佳（Ansgar Schmid）对死亡的看法，也是这段话让我动了将它以及其它一些段落抄上来的想法。每个人对生活的体验都是独一无二的，自己的感觉如此，别人的感觉如那，也因此从个人的角度来说无所谓谁的死比较有理想或者比较有价值，因此你已经到了那一边了。

生命终结了，痛苦也终结了。这个世界上美好的东西太少了，但真正极致的美总是给人以悲伤，总有悲剧色彩，因为它和消逝、幻灭总是不可分的。他信奉哲学家海德格尔的论点：存在的真正根基是虚无，我们被虚无抛出，又被虚无吞没。我们囿于日常生活对存在这种毫无根基视而不见，一旦有所领悟，就会主动走到虚无之中去，这样才能超越日常生活，实现独特的自我。。。人生有那么多死的可能，病死是种无可奈何，老死未必有意义，而人总有一死，无谓的死天天发生：车祸、凶杀、战争。。。唯有为爱而死才是最神圣的。只可惜很多人没有这种机会体验一种真正的爱、一种值得为之献身的爱。如果说为爱而死是最值得的死，而生活本身又是一个大舞台，舞台只是浓缩了的生活的话，为什么不能在生活的舞台上扮演一次罗密欧呢？只是无人喝彩而已，但这喝彩本身是无所谓的事。。。

2. 选择

人总应该学会放弃一些东西，难的是放弃一些看来不应放弃的、放弃了可惜的东西。人也总在选择中决定自己的路，不同的选择常导致完全不同的发展方向，有时会失之毫厘，差之千里。只是在你选择时往往不清楚它正确与否，是否要花很大代价，这代价是否值得以及这个选择对你未来生活道路的重要性。

3. 为她丈夫俞霖泪录的李清照词，《武陵春》：

风住尘香花已尽，
日晚倦梳头。
物是人非事事休，
欲语泪先流。

闻说双溪春尚好，
也擬泛轻舟。
只恐双溪蚱蜢舟，
载不动，许多愁。

4. 规划。脚踏实地，适当的幻想以及坚定和合理的计划。

人应当看到未来，但这未来不应该是一个空洞而遥远的，你的这个目标应该成为你的现实，而现实不是光去想而是要去做的，所以你要去创造这个属于你个人的现实。为了创造这个现实，你应当赢得人来帮助你；你要改变你的环境，而不要环境改变你。你的生活是在现在，所以只有现在是重要的，而现在每分每秒都接近你的将来，都要为你将来的设想其作用。。。“我是谁？”“我想要什么？”“我的生命的可能性是什么？”。。。

5. 调整

。。。那里人的微笑与热情，特别是那份悠闲轻松劲儿给了我强烈感染。我感觉到从未有过的轻松与快乐，我问自己为什么要去苦苦追求那空洞的孩子的梦？在这种虚幻里悲喜沉浮？虽然我很羡慕。。。能享受那天伦之乐，但他们不会有像我这样的自由，可以将全部精力投入我喜欢做的是，也可以随心所欲地去旅行。这就像有时人不知道自己的潜能一样，我亦不知道自己占有了那么多的财富，这便是自由。为什么不去充分享受自己所占有的，而去梦想那不切实际的东西呢？

还有后小半部分没有看完，选择这些阶段时的“独白”也是自身的映射。休息时才会不时想到要吃东西，比如说现在。昨晚看了Tom Cruise主演的“刺杀希特勒”，总体来说较闷，而在那实施接管的时间段里看着身体不能动，呼吸沉重，因为知道他们终究会失败。

预祝大家妇女节快乐。

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Master your time – Sep 05, 2008

水自流 — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 08:09:55 +0000

三个星期又很快过去了，秋风扫着落叶在Bedok街上跳起了美丽的华尔兹，远在异乡的游子看着满街飞舞的树叶心里不免在算着还有几天才能去真正有秋风的家。

按照惯例，先上先还的书，后上后还的书。先看让男人看一眼就想看第二眼的女人，再看想看第三眼的女人。作协体练练就好了。下面是上次借的：

《赢得客户的12个关键电话》 5分
张煊博/编著
有实际的案例，还算不错啦，但是一个个性要人推一把才能动的木头能从中得到多大的效果就不得而知了。

《青灯》 5分
北岛/著
希望看到不同侧面的北岛，但是大部分都是该老兄环游世界的情节。

《想说忘记不容易》 4分
许戈辉/主编
大杂烩。

《望七了》 4分
傅聪/著
略略的翻了下，大部分是弹琴的技巧或者注意的地方，不懂。本来是想补补古典音乐的知识，但这不是好的选择。为什么望七，是因为他到了古来稀的年纪了。

“The McGraw-Hill Handbook of Business Letters”
by Roy W. Poe
看了其中的一封信范本就原样归还，名曰“某时间”。

“Ruby on Rails for Dummies”
by Barry Burd
每次都keep住这本书，真的安装都还没有弄好。

“The Olympics For Beginners” 4分
by Brandon Toropov / Illustrations by Joe Lee
“You will learn, in these pages, about humanity itself, in conflict and at peace, at its best and at its worst, as it has reflected itself through the great prism of the Olympic Games. If that story is of interest … and we think it is a remarkable story indeed … read on.”
应该可以是一本很好的书，但是偏向于讲述当年的人什么时候拉了什么形状的屎，就变得不那么有趣了。

从上面统计得出要多花的时间挑书，要不然就要多花力气背着书。

接下来是刚刚还的：

Master Your Memory
by Tony Buzan
中文的类似书籍也曾看到第一页就放弃，英文的也不例外。

Introducing Psychology
by Nigel C. Benson
本来是本有趣的书，又以“某时间”原银奉还。

王国维文集
以“这么深的书能够在20天看完么”为由送回去了。

阿尔法狗 – 异军突起的行业领袖 (Alpha Dogs) 5分
唐纳.芬恩/著李江波廖少宏/译
例子虽老，也有点意思。

文学与翻译
许渊冲/著
满深的

神之简史 – 人类对终极真理的探寻 (GOD: A Brief History)
约翰.鲍克 (John Bowker)/著高师宁等/译
巴哈欧拉说上帝派来了很多先知。可惜这本书我没有怎么看，而且更像一本维基百科。

这本是手头上的，在怀疑就借这么一本我可以好好的读完吗？

Trigonometry: The Easy Way
by Douglas Downing
很多次，在梦中在算着离高数考试的日子还有多少天了，上一次是只剩下14天，而自己还没有怎么看过书本呢。我想，这个梦要陪伴我一辈子了。也许是这个梦系列的原因让我从书架上拿下来这本书，其实当时还不太确定”trigonometry”的中文意思是什么，粗略翻阅的印象是关于角度和三角形的教科书，金山词霸中对”trigonometry”的定义是：“the branch of mathematics that deals with the relationships between the sides and the angles of triangles and the calculations based on them, particularly the trigonometric functions.”

祝大家周末愉快。

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Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture: Archieving your childhood dreams – Sep 18, 2007

水自流 — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:29:06 +0000

在浏览VOA的邮件列表中时不经意发现一条关于Randy Pausch的新闻，其实是给标题中的“最后一堂讲座”给吸引住。前天(July 25, 2008)他因胰腺癌并发症去世，早在2006年他已经知道自己时日不多。一个人的乐观精神是天生还是后天培养的？

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture: Archieving your childhood dreams

transcript: http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/Randy/pauschlastlecturetranscript.pdf

… … But, you know, it certainly would have been reasonable for me to leave 48 hours after that sabbatical, but it wouldn’t have been the right thing to do, and when you do the right thing, good stuff has a way of happening.

Get a feedback loop and listen to it. Your feedback loop can be this dorky spreadsheet thing I did, or it can just be one great man who tells you what you need to hear. The hard part is the listening to it.

Anybody can get chewed out. It’s the rare person who says, oh my god, you were right. As opposed to, no wait, the real reason is… We’ve all heard that. When people give you feedback, cherish it and use it.

Show gratitude. When I got tenure I took all of my research team down to Disneyworld for a week. And one of the other professors at Virginia said, how can you do that? I said these people just
busted their ass and got me the best job in the world for life. How could I not do that?

Don’t complain. Just work harder. [shows slide of Jackie Robinson, the first black major league
baseball player] That’s a picture of Jackie Robinson. It was in his contract not to complain, even
when the fans spit on him.

Be good at something, it makes you valuable.

Work hard. I got tenure a year early as Steve mentioned. Junior faculty members used to say to me, wow, you got tenure early. What’s your secret? I said, it’s pretty simple. Call my any Friday night in my office at ten o’clock and I’ll tell you.

Find the best in everybody. One of the things that Jon Snoddy as I said told me, is that you might have to wait a long time, sometimes years, but people will show you their good side. Just keep waiting no matter how long it takes. No one is all evil. Everybody has a good side, just keep waiting, it will come out.

And be prepared. Luck is truly where preparation meets opportunity.

So today’s talk was about my childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and some lessons
learned. But did you figure out the head fake? [dramatic pause] It’s not about how to achieve your
dreams. It’s about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care
of itself. The dreams will come to you.

Have you figured out the second head fake? The talk’s not for you, it’s for my kids. Thank you all,
good night.

下载（附带字幕）：http://www.myoops.org/cocw/independent/

还有其它的资料集合：
Randy Pausch关于时间管理的演讲：http://www.quhuashuai.com/2007/12/randy-pausch-time-management-lecture/
& http://www.quhuashuai.com/2008/01/randy-pausch-time-management-lecture-transcript/
說好了這一刻不掉眼淚……Randy Pausch的最後一堂課：http://blogs.myoops.org/lucifer.php/2007/11/08/randypausch

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James Blunt – Cry – May 03, 2008

水自流 — Sat, 03 May 2008 05:33:22 +0000

I’m reading the simple version of “The Chamber” which written by John Grisham. I like the paragraphs in which mention about Eddie:

“Eddie was different.”
“You mean, he didn’t hate?”
Sam continued. “Eddie was a tender child. He was like his mother. There was a black family on our place. The Lincolns. Joe Lincoln had worked for us for many years. One of the boys, Quince, was the same age as Eddie, and they were best of friends. When Eddie started school, he got real upset because he rode one bus and his African friend rode another. He was always asking questions about why the African in Ford Country was so poor, and lived in bad houses, and didn’t have nice clothes, and had so many children. He suffered over them, and that made him different. I tried to explain things to him.”
“Such as?”
“Such as the need to keep the races separate. There’s nothing wrong with keeping Africans in their place. Eddie left home when he was eighteen.”
“Did you miss him?”
“Not at first, I guess. We were fighting a lot. He knew I was in the Klan by then, and he said he hated the sight of me.”
“You thought more of the Klan than of your own son?”
Sam stared at the floor. “He was a sweet kid,” he said quietly. “We had an old boat and used to fish, that was our big thing together. Then he grew up and didn’t like me. He was ashamed of me, and of course it hurt.” He looked up at Adam. “What kind of father was he?”
“I don’t know. That’s a hard question, Sam.”
“Why?”
“Because of the way he died. I was mad at him for a long time after his death, and I didn’t understand how he could leave us, how he could decide we didn’t need him anymore. And after I learned the truth, I was mad at him for lying to me all those years, for changing my name and running away. It was terribly confusing for a young kid. Still is.”
“Are you still angry?”
“Not really. I try to remember the good things about Eddie. I guess he was a good man, a good father who just had this dark, strange side to him.”
“Tell me about his death. How did it happen?”
Adam waited a long time before answering. “He was going through a bad time. He’d been in his room for three weeks, hiding from the world. Mother kept telling us that he was getting better, soon he’d come out. We believed her. He picked a day when she was at work and Carmen was at a friend’s house, a day when he knew I’d be the first one home. I found him lying on the floor of my bedroom, still holding the gun. One shot in his forehead. There was a neat circle of blood, and a typed not beside him. The not was addressed Dear Adam. It said he loved me, that he was sorry, that he wanted me to take care of the girls, and that maybe one day I would understand. He asked me to clean up the mess and call the police. Don’t touch the gun, he said. And hurry, before the girls get home.” Adam cleared his throat and looked at the floor.
“And so I did what he said, and I waited for the police. We were alone for fifteen minutes, just the two of us. He was lying on the floor, and I was lying on my bed looking down at him. I started crying and crying, asking him why. There was my dad, the only day I would ever have. I heard voices, and suddenly the room was filled with police.”
Sam was leaning on his elbows, one hand over his eyes. There were just a couple more things Adam wanted to say.
“Lee stayed with us after the funeral and told me everything. I couldn’t stop thinking about you and the Kramer bombing. It took about a year for me to figure out why Eddie killed himself when he did. He’d been hiding in his room during your trial, and he killed himself when it ended.”
Sam removed his hand and stared at Adam with wet eyes. “So you blame me for his death, right, Adam? That’s what you really want to say?”
“No, I don’t blame you entirely.”
“Then how much? Eighty percent? Ninety percent? How much of it’s my fault?”
“I don’t know, Sam. Why don’t you tell me?”
“Just add my son’s name to the list, is that what you want? The Kramer twinc, their father, then Eddie. That’s four I’ve killed, right? Anyone else you want to add?”
“Dead bodies?”
“Yes. Dead bodies. I’ve heard the rumors.”
Sam jumped to this feet and walked to the end of the room. “I’m tired of this conversation!” he shouted. “And I’m tired of you! Here I am twenty-three days away from the chamber, and all you want to do is talk about dead people. Just get out of here!”

On 13th May, James Blunt will perfomance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The first song I heard from him might be the famous one was the “You’re Beautiful“. And this “Cry” I just started listening this morning is fantastic.

James Blunt – Cry

I have seen peace. I have seen pain,
Resting on the shoulders of your name.
Do you see the truth through all their lies?
Do you see the world through troubled eyes?
And if you want to talk about it anymore,
Lie here on the floor and cry on my shoulder,
I’m a friend.

I have seen birth. I have seen death.
Lived to see a lover’s final breath.
Do you see my guilt? Should I feel a fright?
Is the fire of hesitation burning bright?
And if you want to talk about it once again,
On you I depend. I’ll cry on your shoulder.
You’re a friend.

You and I have lived through many things.
I’ll hold on to your heart.
I wouldn’t cry for anything,
But don’t go tearing your life apart.

I have seen fear. I have seen faith.
Seen the look of anger on your face.
And if you want to talk about what will be,
Come and sit with me, and cry on my shoulder,
I’m a friend.
And if you want to talk about it anymore,
Lie here on the floor and cry on my shoulder,
Once again.
Cry on my shoulder,
I’m a friend.

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mar 01, 2008

水自流 — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:57:04 +0000

I like this book very very much which written by Mark Haddon (personal website). I like Christopher’s acting and his thinking eventhough he is not a normal guy. I like the imagination. I like the way Mark wrote in this book.

Chapter 181
I see everything.

That is why I don’t like new places. If I am in a place I know, like home, or school, or the bus, or the shop, or the street, I have seen almost everything in it beforehand and all I have to do is to look at the things that have changed or moved. . . .

But most people are lazy. They never look at everything. They do what is called glancing which is the same word for bumping off something and carrying on in almost the same direction, e.g. when a snooker ball glances off another snooker ball. And the information in their head is really simple. For example, if they are in the countryside, it might be

1. I am standing in a field that is full of grass.
2. There are some cows in the fields.
3. It is sunny with a few clouds.
4. There are some flowers in the grass.
5. There is a village off in the distance.
6. There is a fence at the edge of the field and it has a gate in it.

And then they would stop noticing anything because they would be thinking something else like, “Oh it is very beautiful here, or “I’m worried that I might have left the gas cooker on,” or “I wonder if Julie has given birth yet.”

But if I am standing in a field in the countryside I notice everything. For example, I remember stnding in a field on Wednesday, 15 June 1994, because Father and Mother and I were driving to Dover to get a ferry to France and we did what Father called Taking the Scenic Route, which means going by little roads and stopping for lunch in a pub garden, and I had to stop to go for a wee and I went into a field with cows in it and after I’d had a wee I stopped and looked at the field and I noticed these things

1. There are 19 cows in the field, 15 of which are black and white and 4 of which are brown and white.
2. There is a village in the distance which has 31 visible houses and a church with a square tower and not a spire.
3. There are ridges in the field, which means that in medieval times it was called a ridge and furrow field and people who lived in the village would have a ridge each to do farming on.
4. There is an old plastic bag from ASDA in the hedge, and a squashed Coca-Cola can with a snail on it, and a long piece of orange string.
5. The northeast corner of the field is the highest and the southwest corner is lowest (I had a compass because we were going on holiday and I wanted to know where Swindon was when we were in France) and the field is folded downward slightly along the line between these two corners so that the northwest and southeast corners are slightly lower than they would be if the field was an inclined plane.
6. I can see three different types of grass and two colors of flowers in the grass.
7. The cows are mostly facing uphill.

And there were 31 more things in this list of things I noticed but Siobhan said I didn’t need to write them all down. And it means that it is very tiring if I am in a new place because I see all these things, and if someone asked me afterwards what the cows looked like, I could ask which one, and I could do a drawing of them at home and say that a particular cow had patterns on it like this

(the photo is absent here)

And I realise that I told a lie in Chapter 13 because I said, ‘I cannot tell jokes’, because I do know 3 jokes that I can tell and I understand and one of them is about a cow, and Siobhan and I didn’t have to go back and change what I wrote in Chapter 13 because it doesn’t matter because it is not a lie, just a clarification.

And this is the joke.

There are three men on a train. One of them is an economist and one of them is a logican and one of them is a mathematician. And they have just crossed the border into Scotland (I don’t know why they are going to Scotland) and they see a brown cow standing in a field from the window of the train (and the cow is standing parallel to the train).

And the economist says, ‘Look, the cows in Scotland are brown.’

And the logician says, ‘No. There is at least one com in Scotland, of which one side appears to be brown.’

And the mathematician says, ‘No. There is at least one cow in Scotland, of which one side appears to be brown.’

And it is funny because economists are not real scientists, and because logicians think more clearly, but mathemticians are best.

And when I am in a new place, because I see everything, it is like when a computer is doing too many things at the same time and the central processor unit is blocked up and there isn’t any space left to think about other things. And when I am in a new place and there are lots of people there it is even harder because people are not like cows and flowers and grass and then can talk to you and do things that you don’t expect, so you have to notice everything that is in the place, and also you have to notice things that might happen as well. And sometimes, when I am in a new place and there are lots of people there it is like a computer crashing and I have to close my eyes and put my hands over my ears and groan, which is like pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL and shutting down programs and turning the computer off and rebooting so that I can remember what I am doing and where I am meant to be doing.

And that is why I am good at chess and maths and logic, because most people are almost blind and they don’t see most things and there is lots of spare capacity in their heads and it is filled with things which aren’t connected and are silly, like, ‘I’m worried that I might have left the gas cooker on.’

© 水自流 for 水自流, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Mark Haddon, Novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

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The Songs of Distant Earth – Apr 17, 2008

水自流 — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:26:24 +0000

刚看完一本名叫The songs of distant earth的科幻小说，作者是Arthur C. Clarke (亚瑟·克拉克, 16 December 1917–19 March 2008)。这本书属于牛津书虫系列，所以很缩简和简略。在这个版本里面有五个短篇小说：

１. The Nice Billion Names of God
We know what the lamas are trying to do. But we didn’t know why. It’s the craziest thing but old Sam’s just told me the reason. He’s getting a bit excited now that we’re getting close to the end of the list. You see, they believe that when they have listed all His names – and they think that there are nine billion of them – God’s purpose in making the world will be finished. There will be nothing more for human beings to do, and indeed, no further reason for humans to go on living. When the list’s completed, God steps in and simply closes everything down … bang!

喇嘛借助电脑在短短的三个月内将上帝的九十亿个可能的名字列出来后，人类也就失去了存在的意义，一切又回归混沌。

2. The Secret
On Earth, we spend our whole lives fighting gravity. Every step we take, every movement we make, is hard work for our bodies. In seventy years, how much blood does the heart lift through how many kilometres? But here on the Moon, where on eighty-kilo human weighs only about thirteen kilos, a body has to do only a sixth of that work.

科学家在月球上发现仓鼠的寿命从平常的两年提高到１０年，仅仅是因为月球的重力只有地球的六份之一。但是这个消息不敢被发布。

3. The Wall of Darkness
‘Along the line of the Wall, Brayldon, our univers comes to an end – and yet does not. Before the Wall was built, there was nothing to prevent people going onwards. The Wall itself is only a man-made thing, but it has the same strangeness as the space it now fills.’

He held the piece of paper towards Brayldon and slowly turned it round and round.

‘Here,’ he said, ‘is a simple piece of paper. It has, of course, two sides. Can you imagine one that has not?’

Brayldon stared at him in amazement.

‘That’s impossible – quite impossible!’

‘But is it?’ said Grayle softly. On the table his hand searched for and found a long, thin strip of paper. He ran his fingers along the paper strip, then joined the two ends together so that the strip had the shape of a circle.

‘The scientists of the First Age,’ he went on, ‘had minds that could understand this fully, but this simple example may help to show you the truth. Watch. I run my finger around the inside, so – and now along the outside. The two surfaces are quite separate; you can go from one to the other only by moving through the thickness of the strip. Do you agree?’

‘Of course,’ said Brayldon, still puzzled. ‘But what does it prove?’

‘Nothing,’ said Grayle. ‘But now watch…’

Again Grayle brought the two ends of the paper strip together, but now he had given it a half-turn so that the circle of paper had a twist in it. He held it out to Brayldon.

‘Run your finger around it now,’ he said quietly.

Braylon did not do so; he could see the old man’s meaning.

‘I understand,’ he said. ‘You no longer have two separate surfaces. It is now a single continuous piece of paper – a one-sided surface – something that at first sight seems quite impossible.’

‘Yes,’ said Grayle softly. ‘I thought you would understand. A one-sided surface. Of course, a piece of paper only has two dimensions, but it gives us a simple example of what must happen, in three dimensions, at the Wall.’

在五篇当中就这篇看得很糊涂，主人公们生活在一个只有一面的表面上（？），在他们世界的尽头有一堵高高的墙，没有尽头。他们想法子爬上墙的最上面，一直往对面走，发现又回到起点，就像是卷起的一张纸。

4. No Morning After
‘We can make what we call a bridge – it’s kind of tunnel through space, like the one you’re looking into now. It’s difficult to explain, even to one of your mathematicians.’…
‘We had no idea you knew so much about science,’ said the Thaarns. ‘But there’s no time to discuss that. The important thing is this – if you stepped into that tunnel in front of you, you’d find yourself immediately on another planet. It’s a short cut, as you said, but through the thirty-seventh dimension.’

五百光年以外的一个名叫the Thaarn的星球上，科学家发现了地球所在的太阳将在３天内爆炸，他们尝试着联系地球人，幸运的是他们终于通过一个喝醉酒的数学家脑电波取得联系，让他警告地球人要通过一个有他们提供的３７维通道逃到另外一个地方去。由于是醉酒状态，再说他要说出来也没有人相信，地球人灭亡了。

5. The Songs of Distant Earth
With the starship comes knowledge, and love, and pain.

The lights had been turned down; the music had begun. No one who was there that night ever forgot that moment, when the first strange and beautiful sounds filled the hall. Lora stood, lost in wonder, not even remembering that Leon stood by her side, holding her hand in this.
It was a music that she had never known – the sound of things that belonged to Earth, and to Earth alone. The slow bear of deep bells, the songs of patient boatmen rowing home, of armies marching into battles long ago, the whisper of ten million voices rising from the great cities, the sound of winds dancing over endless seas of ice. All these things she heard in the music, and more – the songs of distant Earth, carried to her across the light-years…
Then a clear high voice, rising like a bird into the sky, singing a song that went straight to every heart. It was a song for all loves lost in the loneliness of space, for friends and homes that would never be seen again, that would be forgotten for ever in years to come.

这个是Arthur为了反击评论家说他的作品冰冷没有血性而作的，没有太多的描写未来的世界，而是着重与两个人之间的事情以及对地球的思念。遥远的距离，再也不能相见，最后也终会遗忘，但是来自地球的声音会唤醒血液中沉睡已久的回忆。

书中的Lora让我想起Tell Laura I love her：

Ricky Valance – Tell Laura I love her

还有＜新難兄難弟＞中的粱朝伟和梁家辉的演绎哦：http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HTw7Pso80o

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狮城日志：新加坡国家图书馆 – Apr 06, 2008

水自流 — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 10:30:36 +0000

周六跟Ricky去SMU和国家图书馆转了一下，在两个地方各呆了３个小时。可惜没有SMU的学生证，只好在李嘉诚图书馆下的foodcourt那里呆着。至于国家图书馆，只到Central Reading Library转了一会，座位并不是很多，所以很多人都在就地坐着。首先看到的就是在下面转抄了一些由美国人Bill Porter（他的笔名是Red Pine）翻译的唐诗英译本。书名为“Poems of the Masters 千家诗”，里面提到“詩”是由“誌”演变而来的，言和志合在一起的意思就是”the language of the heart”。

Singapore National Library

之后大家跟Yingjia，Chloe和Kavin去看Yingjia选中的Vantage Point（刺杀据点）。这是在新的电影院看到的最精彩的电影，分成6个部分，在各个部分用不同的视觉对同样一件事情进行描述，到最后会发现在短短几十分钟内的事情都交代清楚。老张拍的英雄分成的3部分在这个面前就像小孩子一样。Lost里面Jack的扮演者在里面演的是一个背叛的特工，戏份少得可怜。里面也有美国电影里面常有的汽车追逐环节，对那辆蓝色的普通车辆特有兴趣，因为碰撞了那么多次都能开得那么快，问题是碰撞得那么严重安全气囊完全没有打开，是好车还是坏车呀？最后关头让一个小女孩在路中央一站拯救了美国总统拯救了全世界，是因为恐怖分子头头无意识的让开她，也从一个侧面证明孟子性本善学说。对了，你相信美国总统都有个替身么？

Poems of the Masters 千家诗
China’s Classic Anthology of T’ang and Sung Dynasty Verse
translated by Red Pine (Bill Porter)

春晓 Spring Dawn
孟浩然 Meng Hao-Jan
春眠不觉晓 Sleeping in spring oblivious of dawn
处处闻啼鸟 everywhere I hear birds
夜来风雨声 after te wind and rain last night
花落知多少 I wonder how many petals fell

登鹳雀楼 Climbing White Stork Tower
王之涣
白日依山尽 The midday sun slips behind mountains
黄河入海流 the yellow River turns for the sea
欲穷千里目 trying to see for a thousand miles
更上一层楼 I climb one more story

静夜思 Thoughts on a Quiet Night
李白 Li Pai
床前明月光 Before my bed the light is so bright
疑是地上霜 it looks like a layer of frost
举头望明月 lifting my head I gaze at the moon
低头思故乡 lying backdown I think of home

清明 Grave Sweeping Day
杜牧 Tu Mu
清明时节雨纷纷 On Grave Sweeping Day the rain powrs down
路上行人欲断魂 a traveler on the road feels his heart sink
借问酒家何处有 where he asks can be buy some wine
牧童遥指杏花村 a herdboy points off to Apricot Blossom Village

登山 Climbing a Mountain
李涉 Li She
终日昏昏醉梦间 All day I feel lost as if drunk or in a dream
忽闻春尽强登山 than I hear spring is over and force myself to climb
因过竹院逢僧话 passing a bamboo count yard I meet a monk and talk
又得浮生半日闲 and spend another afternoon beyond this floating life

Singapore National Library

Li Ka Shing Library

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Naw Rúz – Mar 20, 2008

水自流 — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 09:42:37 +0000

Naw Rúz，新年的意思，根据巴哈伊历法，每年的3月21日是新年的第一天，也就是从冬天转到春天的第一天，这一天也是The Bahá’í Fast（March 2 to 20）的最后一天。今年新加坡的Bahai New Year dinner是在Meritus Mandarin Hotel举行，偷偷的说一句，根据环境判断，这个dinner是俺有生以来参加过的“最高级别”的一个dinner。我是作为Melic和Lalitha的客人坐在第10号餐桌，这个位置几乎是最好的了，就在舞台前侧边，总共有48桌。据说有许多人要票都没有，估计明年会扩大规模，每张票大概65新币左右吧，我的是Melic请客。印象比较深刻的是其中由Roger Jenkins说的三个故事，第一个是在森林中几个动物的故事，引申出巴哈伊教的一个关于one humanity的教义；第二个是从一张纸两面涂有不同颜色引发出要尝试着从他人的角度看问题，而不是一开始就争吵；第三个故事是从“渔夫与金鱼”框架中换成现代的场景，一个人的开心与否是内心决定而不是身外物。

Naw Rúz 2008 progamme

7:15pm Arrival of Guests
7:35pm Fasting – The Experience of a Bahá’í Youth

7:45pm Arrival of Guest-of-Honour, Minister for Defence, Mr. Teo Chee Hean
Devotionals
Welcome address

8:05pm Dinner commences

Fusion Unplugged
on instrumental performance blending the East and the West

8:45pm Wings
a play on transformation by the Bahá’í children

Where is the Love
a dance by the Bahá’í Youth

花之语 – Language of Flowers

Sting O Carmel
The Little Light of Mine
songs by a group of friends

Stories of Harmony & Unity
a performance by Roger Jenkins

10pm Finale
Sounds of One Heart Beat

10:15pm End of main programme, the celebration continues….

Devotional

Wings

“Sting O Carmel” & “The Little Light of Mine”

讲故事

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First Youth For Peace Interfaith Symposium – Mar 16, 2008

水自流 — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 08:13:30 +0000

The struggle between happiness and unhappiness is the story of human existence. The struggle between peace and war is the history of the human race. The power that leads us to eternal victory amid these struggles is the power of good within us. — Daisaku Ikeda

星期天（Mar 16）赶到Expo Hall 4去看一场演讲，主题是”Humanizing Religions, Creating Peace”。主讲人是Mr George Yeo (Minister For Foreign Affair)。能有这个机会去看看这样的活动，当然是Melic帮忙拿到门票给我。既然是”Humanizing Religions, Creating Peace”，那么新加坡的主要宗教都派了代表出席这个活动。虽然大部分的演讲辞都听不懂，还是能够感受到要达到不同信仰相互了解相互包容的努力。会上也发布了一本书，名字叫《180° Yearnings for Peace – self.family.community.PEACE.youth.education.humanity》，书中摘录了各个宗教的一些短句，分成self，family，community，peace，youth，education，humanity各篇。除了讲话，参插其中的文艺表演也是超赞的，比如Masjid Ba’alwi Mosque的那首非洲歌曲和Central Sikh Gurdwara Board的民族舞蹈。

《180° Yearnings for Peace》

Foreword

Everyone wants peace but peace is not easily achieved. Peace does not come without struggle. Sometimes it has to be fought for. In Singapore, all young men have to do National Service and bear arms. To have peace, we must be prepared for war. That is the hard reality.

Defence and foreign relations can help to create an external environment favourable for peace. Internally, however, we must also be at peace among ourselves and within ourselves. Very often, it is internal discord which invites external interference. When a person is not at peace with himself, it is difficult for the famly to have peace. When a group is unsettled for whatever reason, its relationship with other groups gets affected. Racial and religious harmony in Singapore cannot be imposed from the top by the government although the government’s role is important. It has to be built from the bottom up, starting with the individual.

This Symposium brings together youths belonging to different races and religions in Singapore. The values and beliefs which divide us are not superficial. We will fail if we try to homogenize them. While we should seek common ground, we should never think that all the differences can be bridged. Therefore, the first condition for peace is an acceptance of diversity. If we can find it in our hearts to celebrate diversity, that will be very good but it is not always possible. However, we are united by a common yearning for peace and that is a good starting point for our interaction.

Programme of “First Youth for Peace Interfaith Symposium”

2:30pm Fringe Events
a) Dance by SSA Sunflower Dance Ensemble
b) Song by Masjid Ba’alwi Mosque

3:00pm Arrival of Guest of Honour
– Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo

3:05pm Official Opening of SGI Exhibition by GOH

3:15pm Culture — Soka Chorus

3:20pm Opening Address
– SSA Young Men Division Leader

3:25pm Peace Lecture by Guest of Honour (videos: http://beyondsg.typepad.com/beyondsg/2008/03/minister-yeo-at.html)

3:45pm Book Launch
Presentation of Token of Appreciation

3:55pm Speeches
a) Spiritual Assembly of the Ba’hai of Singapore
b) Mahakaruna Buddhist Society
c) Church of St Mary of Angels
d) Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple
e) Young Sikh Association (Singapore)

4:10pm Cultural Performances
a) Central Sikh Gurdwara Board
b) Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society
c) SSA Young Men Division Callisthenic Group

4:20pm Grand Finale

4:30pm End of Event

展览馆内景

很喜欢他们表演的那首非洲歌曲

George Yeo和各个讲演者，最靠右的是巴哈伊教的Ming Hui，第一次到Melic的家里就见到他了。

Central Sikh Gurdwara Board表演的舞蹈

© 水自流 for 水自流, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Religion, Taoist, The Bahá'í Faith

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Origin of the Human Race – Mar 12, 2008

水自流 — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 07:28:37 +0000

Do you believe in God or not? Well, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know what the God it is. Just enjoy the funny story below:

Origin of the Human Race

A little girl asked her mother, “How did the human race appear?”

The mother answered, “God made Adam and Eve and they had children and so was all mankind made.”

Two days later she asks her father the same question. The father answered, “Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race was developed.”

The confused girl returns to her mother and says, “Mom, how is it possible that you told me that the human race was created by God, and Papa says they were developed from monkeys.”

The mother answers, “Well dear, it’s very simple. I told you about the origin of my side of the family, while your father told you about his side.”

And I started a new page in which I will collect the materials of the Bahai Faith.

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English language – Mar 10, 2008

水自流 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:45:48 +0000

昨天跟Melic说我在这里对方向感一点都没有是因为在客家话里面一般去市区都是“上”的方向词在前面，而现在我住的地方去乌节路其实在地图上是往下走，因此就弄混了，另外一个这里道路方向在左跟国内相反也是一个因素。刚才收到他的一封邮件，就在下面。另外前天还有一封主题是storytime的邮件，我还没有开始看呢：http://www.fln.vcu.edu/struwwel/bubeng.html。之所以这么快将这个内容贴出来是因为可以在my dame room上网了，不过不知道是不是临时的，刚才只是check了一下，竟然有一个可以连上（update: 事实证明，只高兴了一会，正奸商）。OK，废话不说先，请enjoy：

An interesting piece on the English language!

(1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

(2) The farm was used to produce produce.

(3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

(4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

(5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

(6) The soldier decided to desert his desert in the desert.

(7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

(8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

(9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

(10) I did not object to the object.

(11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

(12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

(13) They were too close to the door to close it.

(14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

(15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

(16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

(17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

(18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

(19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

(20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let’s face it – English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented in England or French fries in France . Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers taught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

You lovers of the English language might enjoy this

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is “UP.”

It’s easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don’t give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.

When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.

When it doesn’t rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I’ll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so………. it is time to shut UP …..!

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