The Utterance

Madonna, the Real Queen: 2012 Super Bowl halftime show

2012-02-07T16:52:00.000+08:00

When Madonna talked to the audience in her interview with Anderson Cooper, she said "I have eight minutes to set it up and seven minutes to take it down and twelve minutes to put on the greatest show on earth." (Read Here) Yes, she did it, and that 12 minutes are not just fabulous and innovative, but truly qualified as "the greatest show on earth."

Many would argue against this statement, and as you can read from the comments on Youtube. Those who dislike the show criticize her for lip sync as well as lame dance, and there are even comments saying that she represents some kind of dark occult that might have endanger the social norms. The last critique is ridiculous. If you want to view the pop culture through such standards, then there is no pop culture. Can you imagine living in a world of drought, just like the middle ages when the "orthodox" religious beliefs rule everything? But even in that period of time, festivals were still allowed and the pop culture was lively among laymen. Those who believe in such standards probably detest the fantasy world of Dante or Rabelais, and they probably hate the Carnival of Venice, the Rio Carnival, and the Mardi Gras in Sydney or New Orleans.

As for those who criticize her for lip sync and lame dance, they have been too harsh on her. She is 53, and putting on a show this grand is never easy. For those who have never perform on stage, they would not know how difficult it is to sing and dance at the same time, particularly on a stage this big. Go ask a Broadway musical performer! In fact, the last song Like a Prayer was a live performance, and even though I do think Madonna is not a great singer, she did it quite well. I do agree that her dancing movements are less powerful than she did before in her concerts, but the varieties of dance and the incorporation of acrobatics, marching, as well as cheerleading enrich the overall performance marking Madonna's innovation and creativity.

Except Give Me All Your Luvin (featuring Nicki Minaj & M.I.A.) is the new song from MDNA (2012), the rest is famous and catchy old songs. Vogue and Music are so popular that even the non-fans of Madonna would be able to sing a bit of them. When old songs are performed, naturally they bring about nostalgia, which certainly helps create the desired ambience. According to Fredric Jameson, this nostalgia marks the weakness of postmodern arts, that is, its inability to represent and fashion the contemporaneity (see Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, 21). However, this 12 minutes show is a nostalgia with a reshaped form in which bold innovations are inserted to renew the old images of these songs. In other words, Modonna's world of Roman soldiers, Greek gods, cheerleaders, acrobatic performers, street dancers, choir singers, as well as marching ensemble is a world of multifarious artistic forms, and none of these component parts is irrelevant to or detached from the modern lifestyle: the cheerleaders and marching ensemble in Glee, the Greek gods and Roman soldiers from the latest Hollywood films, the world-famous acrobatic performance from Cirque du Soleil, the street dance that everyone enjoys on Live to Dance in the US or Got to Dance in the Uk, and lastly the church choir whose singing can also touch those who are not a member of Christianity. Everything is identifiable and easy to capture for those in the auditorium or in front of the TV.

Multifarious pastiche is the nature of contemporary pop culture, but Madonna's creativity and sincerity turn such a pastiche into a fine artistic expression. The ensemble is not simply an arbitrary combination of forms. Each component part is placed carefully in relation to the overall performance. This is why they do not contradict but complement each other, and the ensemble not only charms the crowd, but also confirms their mental image of the contemporary pop culture. Thus, this successful portrayal of the modern life and entertainment renews Madonna's old songs and the nostalgic ambience is replaced with the passion of the cheering crowds. Her creativity makes her the real queen of contemporary pop culture, a true icon for twenty-first century pop fashion. Some might want to compare her with Lady Gaga, but the truth here is "Madonna is irreplaceable." She has passed the phase to use grotesque or bizarre performances to legitimize her status. Now she renews herself from her own past. She evolves from within, and this is why she is amazing.

求得龍年運簽之感

2012-01-31T02:59:00.001+08:00

日出東方福雲散，乾坤清氣盡光明。
二十四時都清洁，求財作事皆有成。

常言道「太歲當頭座，無福必有禍」。今年為龍年，恰是本命年，故於春游台南時，在古廟北極殿向上帝爺玄天上帝求一隻運簽。幸運地得到上帝爺眷顧，給了隻上簽。或許也該是時候到了，蹇運走盡，上帝爺不過就事論事，據實以告。又或者是平時之努力與行為處事為上帝爺認可，加上誠心善念，所以賜予這隻上簽來肯定並鼓勵。

神明的意圖永遠無法被證實，但就簽意觀之，明顯的「必有禍」應該是不成立了。事實上是福就不會是禍，若是禍怎樣也躲不過，人生本就福禍相伴，如此人生才有意義，而來的禍越大，對生命的體悟也就越深刻，越能珍惜緊接而來的福。

既然上帝爺給了如此大的肯定，則太歲本命年必然是福祿並置的昌旺之年，更當把握時機，努力精進。「舉頭三尺有神明」，冥冥之中是有一股力量在引導往良善正確的方向前進的。就算是迷信好了，至少人帶著希望，日子也就過得比較清鬆，對自己更有信心，對未來也就不再徬徨。

Is he gay? Is he interested in me or not? Damn, this is confusing

2011-11-09T15:03:00.001+08:00

Halloween is really a big thing, not because of the embedded cultural factors but mostly about dressing up for a cool and fun party. Indeed, this is why people expect Halloween. A very close friend told me that Halloween is also a weird time when strange things happen. According to her, people would get more excited and thus act more bluntly than usual. I kind of agree with her, but honestly, I think the reason is booze and the party mood.

So I went to a quite cool Halloween party in a local gay club. In where I live, gay club is something totally different from what you normally know. Though the club clearly stated that they were a gay club, from my point of view it was simply a dance club with a bit more gay crowds than others. Since options for night life is miserable here, and true gay clubs seem nonexistent, naturally you see mixed crowds everywhere. Anyways, we only had this gay club here, and yes, I use "had" because it only lasted for about 6 months. In fact, I heard this Halloween party was their last night! I believe there must be some more gay places in my town, but unfortunately, as being away from club scenes for too long, I totally have no clue of them. So it is really sad that the only gay club I know is gone forever...

This Halloween party was fun even though there were lots of "fake" gays who simply went there to enjoy the lustful attention from gay guys. I don't mind them as long as they stay away and don't dance. It is obvious these straight guys came with either their gay friends or other female friends. I really don't think a straight would go to a gay bar alone.

Then this guy with a pretty face caught my attention. Obviously he came alone since he didn't really talk to anyone and kept playing with his iphone. He came without dressing up as anything and his demeanor said he seemed to be straight. Gray polo shirt, jeans, and a beer, nothing fancy or pretty. I don't think a gay guy would dare to show up like that in a gay club! I told my female friend about him, and then she started to look for him. I am pretty sure he noticed us because later he just stood facing us and chatted with the girl next to him.

To my surprise, he came near our table, made a silly smile, and then quickly turned and went back to the girl to whom he talked. Then the girl pushed him, and he came near us again, but this time he waved his hand and said hi. Again, he quickly turned and went back to his girl friend. Since he wore a pair of funny sunglasses, I could not tell whether he said that to me or my girl friend. Instinctively, I thought that was for my girl friend, but she told me that this is a gay bar, so it must be for me. Confusing, as I say, I don't even believe that the club is truly a gay one.

Nothing happened since that, and he kept standing in front of us, but he started talking to another girl who hit on him. They seemed to have a great time and exchanged phone numbers, I guess. So I thought I was right about him being straight. Later, someone bumped into my right arm, and naturally I turned my face towards that person. That was him. He said sorry and then quickly walked away to where he had been the whole night. But just that short period of time, one second only, I am pretty sure we exchanged an eye contact because I saw nothing but his brown eyes in which I do remember there was a sparkle. But at that moment, I told myself that was the reflection of the light. Then nothing happened, and he kept talking to that girl.

All my friends said I got picked up, but deep down I don't think so. I am pretty sure I got picked up if this happens in a real gay club, like GAY in London where I had experienced numerous similar situations. But here... that is questionable. They all laughed at me for being stupid and cowardly, and I do agree. After being single for too long, it is quite difficult for me to react with confidence to this, especially when I cannot even define whether he was smiling at me or not. This is really confusing, and it bugs me. Not that I want to develop something with him, but that puzzle lingering in my mind. It felt good to have an admirer! Shame on me for being so superficial.

If he is straight, why would he go to a gay bar alone? Why didn't he just make it easy and introduce himself right after that silly smile? So my very dear friend is right. Halloween is truly a weird time in which strange things happen.

A Coward

2011-10-30T14:00:00.000+08:00

A coward is a man
Who dares not make a move
To that rare chance
Offered to him
On the golden tray.

A coward is a man
Who dares only to give a smile
Without saying his name
Bestowed on him
On his very first day

A coward is a man
Ignoring the present
Indulging in the past
That is a glory to him
As if life is simply a dying fame

A coward is a man
Losing his self
Pretending to be a real man
That is a goal to him
As if life is simply being a man

He's not a man
For his tries are so lame
I'm not a man
For this smother I place on my fate

---------- Minchih Sun 2011-10-30

講台語的心晟：台語的藝術性與情感性

2011-10-24T14:16:00.000+08:00

還記得小學時牆壁上張貼的禁說台語標示，那時候在學校說台語是會被處罰的，有的會被打，有的則是罰錢，但有趣的是在這種壓制台語的學習環境裏，台語並未從生命中消失，仍一直是日常生活的慣用語。比如中午去買吃的，隨口一出就是「頭家」，接著就混著國、台語一起使用。說的人不覺有異，聽的人也多回應得很自然。

身為一個所謂的「芋頭蕃薯」，國、台語雙聲帶是那麼自然，根本就不須訓練就已能靈活運用、駕輕就熟。最好笑的就是當有事不想讓家裏的「國語人」知道，就用台語說，但事實上我們都知道他們多少聽得懂一些。或有時要捉弄「阿嬤」，就故意一直說國語，逼著她說那聽起來頗好笑的「不輪轉」的國語。

與朋友們去唱歌，點歌單裏總是混著國、台語歌曲，甚至有時故意把國語歌唱成台語，或者用國語唱出螢幕上的台語歌詞。故意把台語唱成國語通常是好笑的，而台語再怎麼好的人，每當遇到要把國語給台語化時，也會有卡住、轉不過去的時候，這時滿室哄堂，大家都「笑到彎腰去」。

其實從小到大根本就沒有所謂的學台語這件事，也不曾想過台語是須要去學的。靈活使用台語的能力，完全是從跟家人、朋友的日常說話中培養出來的。

這麼說吧，環境對語言的學習是有決定性影響力的，若是缺乏環境與使用習慣，想熟悉台語的用字遣詞、腔調與聲律根本是不太可能的。其實學什麼語言都一樣，單想靠學校或是補習班的教學，把語言當成是死板板的文法規則，完全忽視語言是活生生的人用以溝通的有機工具，這只會產生令人厭倦的壓力，讓人討厭語言的學習。

現今的中小學英語教育不就是這般成效不彰嗎？報紙、新聞常常在說台灣的英語教學成果不理想，而教育研究者也不斷試圖改進這種不堪的狀態，但基本上都不過是治標不治本的空談。原因就在台灣根本就不是個說英語的環境，加上考試導向的語言教育從未考慮語言的實際使用問題，一般學生想說流利的英語好像是要去登天一樣。少數英語學得好的多是因自身的興趣使然，也因此他們的努力並非僅是記憶與背誦，而是在他們的日常生活中去靈活使用英語。

現今這種把台語規則化以利教學的傾向越來越明顯，但這真的是一個適當的方式嗎？說實話，適當的方式是什麼尚未有定論，可能也不會有定論，但相信家裡有小朋友的家長們必定對小學台語教學敬畏三分。那充滿著莫名其妙的拼音文字的台語課本，真令人匪夷所思，好像是在教什麼神祕難解的外星語。最恐怖的是老師也搞不清楚書裡印的是什麼，小孩更說不出倒底學的是什麼。漸漸的，學台語變成是令人討厭的東西。為什麼學台語一定要弄得這麼複雜呢？為什麼只能用拼音文字來寫台語呢？

事實上在台灣說台語並不是個奇怪的現象，換句話說，台灣並未缺乏學台語的環境。就算北部人多說國語，台語也沒有在台北消失，更有許多台北人是用台語在買一碗麵或一杯飲料。到了南部，台語更是普遍，且國、台語混用根本就已是家常便飯。打開電視，有哪部連續劇不說台語，哪個綜藝節目不說台語，甚至連廣告都已台語化了。

其實很好笑，有些小孩是說得一口好台語，但怪的是學校的台語作業卻是一團糟。其實這也不難了解，那種莫名其妙的拼音文字根本就不是台語，不過是有心人士刻意強調某種意識型態下的變態產物。當語言被政治化，政治的操弄剝奪了語言活生生的生命表現，所剩下的不過是情緒性、技術面的逞強。試想當電視上台語節目的字幕用拼音文字時，那是多麼可笑的現象？

在台灣應該沒有人不認識江蕙吧！是的，江蕙的台語歌是那麼的動人，不管聽的人懂不懂台語，多少能引發聽者「心內的感動」。聽不懂的會說是她真摯的歌聲使然，聽得懂的人更會說是那真誠歌聲唱出了歌詞的意境，唱進了人的心坎裏。

江蕙歌聲中真摯的情感當然不可否認，但更是台語本身獨特的腔調與聲韻，搭配上文字引發出的意境美，才使歌曲直通人心。事實上台語的聲律早已為一般台灣人所熟悉，就算是不說台語的台灣人，也因日常生活中的接觸而對台語有了一種親切感。所以當江蕙的歌聲進到了耳朵裏，心也就隨之起了反應，情感隨著樂曲的流動而起伏著。

曾經客居異鄉的遊子，或是對生命有所體悟的浪子，對江蕙的《落雨聲》必定是感觸良多。聲韻與音律的結合，加上文詞所引發的強烈情緒，那滴滴答答的雨聲竟隱含著多少心中難以言喻的傷感。「寂寞的雨聲，捶阮心肝」，這簡單的一句話，讓多少男子漢、女丈夫落下隱忍多時的淚水。在雨聲的催撥之下，思鄉情緒一發不可收拾，但異鄉遊子卻只能在腦海中回憶著故鄉的景色，也只能對著空幻但熟悉的風景敘說心中無限的惆悵。

「人孤單，像斷翅的鳥隻。飛袂行，咁講是阮的命。」當唱到這裏，想必許多人的心理會突然生出一種莫名的酸楚。方文山的詞不僅完美呈現了台語聲律本有的情感表達，更利用中文詞彙的意境來強化聲律中的悲悽與無奈。這種不堪與無奈，都已是事後的悔恨，就像那一句「出社會走闖塊甲人拼輸贏，為著啥，家己嘸知影。」常常就是「嘸知影」，才造成遺憾。當江蕙用她婉轉哀淒的聲調唱出「你若欲友孝世大嘸免等好額，世間有阿母惜的囝仔尚好命」，不管是否曾經歷過痛失至親的大悲，聽者已淚如雨下。想必大家都有相似的經驗，每每唱到這一句必哽咽唱不下去，因為曲詞裏的意思那麼明顯、那麼痛。

江蕙就像看盡人間悲苦與滄桑的歌姬，用她細緻但卻滄桑的聲音詮釋出「樹欲靜而風不止，子欲養而親不待」的人生大道理，告誡著要把握人生，否則「哭出聲，無人惜命命」。方文山的詞烘托了台語本身聲律所能引發的意境，而江蕙的美聲更把意境唱到人心裏去。這麼優美而本色的詞，突顯台語本有的特質，這不是什麼奇怪的拼音可取代的。

台語自古以來不就都藉著中文詞彙來強調自身語言的獨特性嗎？歌仔戲，或是更早以前的明代泉州戲《荔鏡記》，不就是以中文來創作，而用方言唱出的嗎？《荔鏡記》一本在明代前後可能流傳甚廣，學者更推論今歌仔戲《陳三五娘》即本此劇而出。試看第三齣裏丫環對著小姐說「啞娘萬福」，後又替小姐感嘆「一點春心今來交代乞誰」，這完全是本色語，雖中間夾雜較俚俗的用字遣詞，但也因與民眾的日常用語親近，更易使人進入情節中，把情緒帶出來。

其實文字與聲律間的關係早已存在數千年之久，更因歷史的演進，關於某聲對應某字的運用我們多已熟悉。從文化的觀點來說，這只不過是語言實際存在的一種方式，並無關於政治的壓制或反抗。更重要的是這種文字的使用手段，不僅延續了台語的生命，更雅化了原屬方言的台語，使她更具文學與藝術性。

同樣是江蕙的歌曲，《無言花》中「你敢有聽見花謝若落土，破碎是誰人的心肝」，不正是雅化後的台語表現嗎？又蔡振南筆下的《花若離枝》不正是一闕好詞嗎？這樣帶著文學性的藝術表現，純粹是抒發人的真實情感，也因刻意撿選文字及文意，使美聲有意境，得以絲絲動人、扣人心弦。

在台灣說台語本不覺有什麼特殊之處，但每次在異鄉聽見台語聲，才發現原來台語有那種莫名的親切感，帶來親近故鄉的興奮。待的時間長一點，更是懷念說台語的感覺，但只能一個人呆對著窗外月色用台語自言自語，或者連上網路對著螢幕唱江蕙的歌。

因為台語，故鄉的記憶變得更真實，也因文字而引出埋藏的回憶。台語早已是講台語的人的鄉愁，她一直在腦海中迴響著，更永遠在血液裏奔流著。

秋夜愁

2011-10-16T17:23:00.002+08:00

秋意重，露華濃，人生恨重重。
但寄憂思明月中，夢醒時分愁又逢。

殘荷低頭，流水無蹤，
轉眼又是寒梅冬，冰封之鯉不得踴。

銅豌豆，敲不痛，打死不屈投。
昂然骨象誰人懂，六月雪得驗其風。

癡呆稫擁，糊突富攏，
聰明多是白作工，薦福碑前看虛空。

柳暗花明路，但刻書卷中，身唯剰傲骨，未知何方容。

---------- 孫敏智 2011/10/16

Life is like a dream

2011-10-14T13:13:00.003+08:00

Life is like a dream
And I am dreaming my life
From dawn to dusk
It's not a grind

When the night falls
I am again alive
Awakening from dreams
Bereft of life

A sober torso
With a dreary mind
In the bleak realm
The undead sighs

Scorn the real
Cos all is a sign
Embrace the ideal
Cos vain is fine

With the God of vine
With his sweet sweet wine
Dream is nothing
But a perfect life

I am letting myself swirl
In the dreams of life
Taking flight
I shall drift with my frenzied right

---- Minchih Sun, 2011-10-14

In search of a new direction for the contemporary Chinese theatre aesthetics: review Lun Xiju 論戲劇 (On Theatre)

2010-09-24T13:01:00.004+08:00

This book review was originally written in Chinese and published on Wen-Hsun 文訊, 298, August, 2010. After reading Lun Xiju, I find it necessary to write a review since what Gao Xingjian 高行健 proposes is something so basic but meaningful that in fact endows the contemporary Chinese theatre with strong aesthetic concepts deriving from traditional Chinese aesthetics and thoughts which would further open up new possibilities for contemporary theatre presentation and appreciation. Moreover, his concept of Chinese theatre and literature is not limited to the production of arts for Chinese only, but a well-developed theory for both artistic creation and aesthetic appreciation. Although what he has developed is closely related to Chinese theatre, his great concern for human beings makes his concept applicable to the production of arts in general. Therefore, with the intention to share Gao's precious thought with those who are unable to read Chinese, I translated my own work into English as follows.

Lun Xiju 論戲劇 (On Theatre)
By: Gao Xingjian 高行健, Fang Zixun 方梓勳
Taipei: Lian Jing 聯經, 2010, 216 p., NTD 270
ISBN: 978-957-08-3582-3

In one of his poems, Gao Xingjian implies that playwrights are like flying birds looking at this world from up in the sky. In the preface of this book, Fang Zixun explains that Gao’s works embody through his created figures a wisdom that is brought about by deep contemplation; they are not preaching but aesthetic. (p. 4) Aesthetic is an artistic experience one obtains from contemplation, and certainly it is nothing about preaching. However, aesthetic in theatre always has such implication aiming to speak to someone and teach about something; in theatre, what is spoken is the feeling of the playwright, and what is taught is the idea and meaning shown in the performance. In Gao’s mind, theatre aesthetic lies in the disclosure of what life is, and theatre must achieve this so as to bring the audience a “clear awareness” of humanity, of life, and of the society they live in. This “clear awareness” makes the beauty of theatre so appealing and generates deep meanings to the audience. Based on this understanding of theatre, Gao states that theatre should have the depth of thought as its support, a deep thought that recognizes and discloses all dilemmas and conflicts that can be found in life.

Gao’s theatre is an art of performers. In this book, he elaborates two important ideas: the “omnipotent theatre” and the “omnipotent performers”. The former relies on the existence of the latter whose actions and representations are, as he conceives, the practice of the “theatrical suppositionality”, a term he invents to indicate the necessary condition in playwriting. Although Gao admits he is influenced by Brecht’s concept of theatre, he makes it quite clear in this book that their concepts are in fact different from each other. He says his performers are required to have the “clear awareness of the third party”, a concept he developed from his understanding of Zen Buddhism and his rediscovery and reception of the art of acting in traditional Chinese theatre. This “omnipotent performer” is always clam and in contemplation, and he is equipped with the feature of the “triplicity of acting” – again, a concept deriving from the acting of traditional Chinese theatre that considers performers as having three psychological conditions that formed the “triplicity”: me as myself, me as a performer (the role), and me as the character in performance – that turns him into a “neutral actor” who can go in and out of his roles freely, control his performance precisely, and capture the instant reaction of the audience. As he states, this “neutral actor” is in fact in the second psychological condition having a “clear awareness” to act as the third party. Having done so, the communication with the audience is achieved. His concept of acting is based on the art of traditional Chinese theatre, and he reinterprets traditional concepts according to contemporary perspectives.

“Clear awareness” is originally a Buddhist term, but Gao turns it into a means for aesthetic practice to depict and explore “the interrelationship between an individual and the group”. Not only the performers should do so, but the playwright must also base his creation on such concept. According to him, when such aesthetic representations are shown on stage, the audience will naturally contemplate, in a calm and sensible way, what they have seen, heard and experienced in theatre. Fang says this abstract thinking runs through Gao’s overall concept of theatre. (p. 15) Gao explains that the depth of thought is a thorough understanding of human beings and life embedded in plays that can only be achieved by means of “clear awareness”. (pp. 154-7) Gao further points out that this “omnipotent performer” is always sincere whose attitude and vivid performance is the benchmark for aesthetic appreciation and the charm of theatre. He says that lacking the depth of thought and the required “theatrical suppositionality” in plays would easily make a performance become an empty vehicle for certain ideas or simply a game of language. These are what he considers the problem of contemporary theatre. He observes that contemporary performances usually lack theatricality and any necessary dramatic features, and it is common to see in these performances the dissipation of characters, or simply the cancellation of characters. This trend only turns performances into a simple written text or, worse than that, a speech. (p. 98) He believes the reason why theatre is theatre relies on the sense of calling of the playwright to reveal the truth of human life, and also on the performers’ actions in theatre “to hold tears in their palms, to crumble the world with their hands, to pull their hearts out of their bodies, and to expose their true souls”. (p. 142) His words are not just a serious criticism to contemporary theatre. His calling truly serves as a fine antidote bringing our attention back to the essence of theatre and aesthetic.

In the last chapter, Gao combines the form of manifesto and essay to declare his concept of “omnipotent theatre” and its required artistic expressions. Except this chapter that shows us a formal attitude, all others adopt the form of dialogue by using colloquial words and phrases. This form of dialogue makes reading interesting and easy to understand, and thus it allows the reader to explore easily Gao’s creativity and aesthetic concept. This book is truly an important resource for further researches on the theatre and literature of Gao Xingjian, but we should also acknowledge at the same time that the importance of this book is more than its being a resource for research. What this book offers is a new direction for contemporary Chinese theatre aesthetic that is not just for theatre practitioners and researchers but for whoever is interested in this art. By means of its logical presentation using plain spoken language, the general public can also achieve a lucid understanding of how theatre and its means for representations talk about human nature and sensibilities. Through this understanding, readers will realize that theatre is an art that teaches human beings to recognize again what “Humanity” is.

藝評台評論

2010-05-10T18:04:00.002+08:00

三月看完了 Ballet Preljocaj 的《白雪公主》 Blanche Neige / Snow White (2008) 後，我寫了篇舞評〈舞動在當代潮流下的白雪〉。很幸運的我的評論通過了「藝評台」審查發表在國藝會網站上。

國家藝術文化基金會為了推廣藝術，策劃了藝術人士討論藝術的網路平台「藝評台」。這是個很好的概念，但我發現似乎知道的人並不多。其實台灣的藝評，尤其是表演藝術，一直不發達。希望國藝會更努力推廣「藝評台」網站，因為藝評的發達可以幫助藝術市場的興盛，而唯有藝術市場興盛平民大眾才能獲得更多的藝術欣賞機會。藝評不應該只是侷限在某些說話有力的人，而是納入更多新聲音、新理念來強化藝術評論的發展，如此一來藝術才有新的機會與希望。希望大家多去看戲、看展覽，看完後多多去「藝評台」發表意見，那它的存在才有實質上的意義。

In reply to some questions raised

2010-03-19T13:19:00.010+08:00

I am here clarifying some of my points in my previous post: Outrageous! The paranoid Canadian Customs 加拿大了不起啊，不把旅客當人看, and hopefully my words here can answer the questions raised in one of the comments to that post.

As I stated in my post, the terms "the arrogant Western mindset" and "rudeness" are used to express the attitude of the officials of Canadian Customs towards that woman while she was interrogated. Indeed, when we use the term "Western", regardless whatever words may come after it, the expression itself has already caused certain problem. This is exactly the same as we use the term "Oriental". However, if we are more sentitive to the use of terms, we would find that the use of the term "Oriental" usually has greater effects than the use of "Western". As Edward Said points out, the term "Oriental" itself shows a prejudiced interpretation - resulting from the Occidental tradition - of what seems strange, bizarre and exotic in the East. Since the East is interpreted according to the Occidental way of perceiving the objective world, the East is naturally placed in a position that is inferior to the West and subjects to the norms, attitudes, values, and even rules of the West. Of course, we could argue with such a theoretical structure Said constructs by posing a different way of looking at the world, such as using Chinese way of looking at the world to interpret whatever that is not Chinese, but that would be only a vain effort and would definitely go into ethnocentrism and nationalism. In other words, Said has given us a therotical structure that is based on facts, of course the old historical facts, and such a structure does explain how the West looks at the East before the modern time. We should be careful here that even though his interpretation of the interrelationship between the West and the East is quite correct, that in fact cannot be fully applied to the modern time. Culture changes according to how human beings live their life and how traditional values are modified and mutate accordingly. However, generally speaking, this binary view of which one is superior to the other somehow can still be observed. That "Western" view over the "Eastern" world still acts like a ghost lingering in our real everyday life.

Do I say that there is a definite Western way of thinking, a mindset, that is arrogant and rude? Of course, there is such a way of thinking. But do I refer this thinking to "all Western people"? No, I did not and will not do so. There are prejudiced thinking, rudeness and arrogance in whatever people from whatever cultural backgrounds. As I have said clearly, I am referring only to those who are involved in the case. Does this make me a racist? Of course not. The commentator of my previous post seems to overinterpret my words and have put me in an awkard position at which I must justify myself. The same is the question he raised that whether Taiwanese tourists are barred from entering Canada. Maybe my phrasing is not clear enough so that the commentator once again overinterpreted and exaggerated my words. My intention is to say that the Customs should treat people nicely instead of looking at them like they don't deserve any human rights. The last question the commentator raised is the problem of the media here in Taiwan. I agree that due to this nationalistic patriotism, we may be misled by the media here. However, according to the following reports on this issue, we cannot help but believe that there are something fishy about the actions of the Canadian Customs. Moreover, though I agree that we should be, at certain extent, skeptical to the power of the media, we must also realize that we are living in the world of media without which we may not know anything that is crucial to our life, especially our quality of life.

As I am typing here, and also the commentator's reading and leaving messages, isn't this the function of the media? Media offers us chances to find out what is wrong, what has not yet been fully discussed, and what that must be fought against. As my blog title says "when all is done and said, how says you", we should all try our best to say something. In fact, I owe this specific commentator my gratitude because his comments allows further discussion that is not just about the case concerned, but about cultural conflicts that urgently requires our attention, about human rights that should not be only a slogan, and about the latent problem of the media.

Outrageous! The paranoid Canadian Customs 加拿大了不起啊，不把旅客當人看

2010-03-17T12:49:00.010+08:00

廣告真實版加海關刁難台婦外交部討公道
中時更新日期:"2010/03/17 02:16" 仇佩芬／台北報導

中國時報【仇佩芬／台北報導】

「李ＸＸ，五十歲，不會英文，一個人獨自飛行」，在溫哥華機場被加拿大海關人員攔下，強搜行李、沒收手機，立即離境。這不是廣告場景，而是台中李姓婦人的真實故事。外交部上周日（十四日）接獲當事人投訴，對於加拿大無理對待我國民眾感到不可思議，已透過駐加代表處向加國海關「討個說法」。

事情發生在上星期。五十歲的李姓婦人九日拿到加拿大核發的觀光簽證，十日隻身搭乘長榮航空飛往溫哥華，探視移民加拿大的妹妹。她不會說英文，但認為溫哥華機場有華語翻譯，還有妹妹接機，應該不會有問題。

出示簽證和回程機票仍強搜行李

沒想到通關時，被海關人員帶進小房間，質疑她簽證過期、僅持單程機票，懷疑有逾期停留「企圖」。李婦立即出示簽證和回程機票，證明自己單純是觀光探親，卻引來海關人員一連串無理對待。

海關人員先翻開她的行李，找不到有問題的物品，只好質問她：「才到加拿大十幾天，為什麼要帶十幾件內衣？」、「妳丈夫每個月薪水只有十幾萬，為什麼妳能花五萬多元台幣買機票？」、「為什麼妳的丈夫沒有一起出國觀光？」

李婦透過華語翻譯要求電話聯絡在機場大廳等候的妹妹，或是台北的家人，證明自己身分沒有問題。但加拿大海關人員嚴拒，更當場沒收她的手機和寫有電話號碼的筆記本。

隻身不通英語被迫簽自願離境書

海關人員透過華語翻譯向李婦表示，她「只有兩個選擇」，一是拘留三天，一是即刻離境返台。不通英語的李婦驚慌無助之下，簽下「自願離境」同意書，被迫搭上最近一班長榮飛機返台。

李姓婦人的女兒鉅細靡遺地寫下母親的遭遇，投書到外交部部長信箱。外交部北美司長曾厚仁獲知時驚呼：「加拿大怎麼會做這種事？太不可理解！」北美司立即拍發電報給台灣駐溫哥華代表處，責成代表處要求加方出面說明，並數度與當事人及其家屬聯絡，即時告知外交部處理情況。外交部北美司承辦祕書徐允功表示，由於當時李婦簽署的是「自願離境」同意書，加方可不聯絡我駐加人員，以致影響當事人權益。外交部希望加方能提供海關的工作紀錄，給當事人一個合理的解釋。

外交部提醒國人，美、加地區對國境安全的要求十分嚴格，民眾赴美加地區前，要備齊證件，也要注意不要攜帶可能引起懷疑的藥品、出版品等。另外，入境加拿大時，即使已通過移民員驗證關卡並已提領行李，海關人員仍有權盤查，並可依法拒絕入境。

Even though this Taiwanese woman doesn't speak English and her husband isn't a millionaire, having a good traveling visa issued by the Canadian representative in Taiwan and a booked return ticket should indicate clearly that she has the right to enter Canada as a tourist without being discriminated against.

The actions of the Customs are rude and illogical. This woman asked if she can call her sister who waited at the hall, but the Customs rejected her and even took away her mobile and telephone book. Later she was offered two options: 1. stay in costudy for three days, or 2. sign the paper that delcares her will to leave the country on the next available flight. Okay, if the person has been considered by the Customs as suspicious and dangerous to the country, it is reasonable to see these two options offered to the person involved. However, if we look carefully at this case, we would find that there are no firm reasons to justify the action of the Customs.

First, if this woman is considered a terrorist, then the Canadian goverment should have taken the actions similar to the U.S. Customs, which means to arrest the person first and delcare immediately that her current status might be dangerous to the country. Then the issue will be dealt with on the level of national security. This also means she will not be held in custody for three days, let alone being put on the next available flight.

Second, if the Canadian Customs think she has the intention to stay in Canada, then they should have checked whether she has the confirmed return ticket and should immediately contact the immigration office and also their representative office in Taipei for relevent information. In the meantime, before they can finally confirm any possible status, the person involved should not be discriminated against, meaning she should receive a good reason for being held, and also proper treatment while she is held in custody.

In this case, the rude Canadian Customs just treat her like shit: they go through her personal belongings and ask "why do you have so many pairs of underwear?", "How can you travel to Canada when your husband only makes something like 3500 Canadian dollars a month?", and even questions her visa, which was issused by their official representative office in Taipei a day before she boarded the flight to Vancouver. If the visa is invalid, it is impossible for her to board the flight, as we all know this fact from our travel experiences. All these questions are unbelivable and they remind me of my personal experience when traveling to some underdeveloped countries. In fact, as I remembered, those underdeveloped countries, though they were rude when asking questions, they still treat me like a person, not a dog.

What makes us angry here is their taking advantage of this Taiwanese woman. They know she cannot speak Engish and knows nothing about immigration laws, so in order to protect themselves from further complaints, they force her to sign the paper declaring her will to leave the country on the next available flight. That is a legal paper that forfeits the right of the person concerned to enter the country. Thus, there is really nothing we can do afterwards. Worse than that, this woman will be recorded on their immigration records (or usually called the blacklist) as someone "not welcomed". We should know that once you are recorded on the blacklist of whatever country, it will be very diffult for you to travel to other countries in the future, let alone getting a visa from countries like the U.S. As I infer from this case, forcing the woman to sign the paper clearly shows their intention to protect themselves from future complaints. They might have already known that they made a mistake and thus gave only two options for the woman to choose. Who would choose to be held in custody for three days? I would if this happens to me and I will do whatever I can to sue those involved in this event.

So what is about Canada now? People used to say the people there are nice, but in this case we only see arrogant Western mindset and rudeness. Are women inferior, especially women from Asia? Are Asian people inferior, especially Chinese? Would they dare to do the same to a U.S. or a European citizine? If they don't welcome us to see their beautiful country, then why bother to spend so much money and time to fly there? Even they don't welcome us, they should still treat us like "normal" human beings, right!

Tim Burton's Alice is in Underland

2010-03-09T17:50:00.007+08:00

Yes, Alice is in Underland, not in Wonderland, as the New York Times review says. Wonderland is for children and we are all too old for and also too bored with that. Only Tim Burton's Underland can fulfill this grown-up taste for sarcasm and that bitter dark humour.

In this film, anyone who enjoys the dark world created by Tim Burton will find himself again indulge in that splendid fantasy. Alice in Wonderland shares the same idiosyncrasy of Burton, as can be seen in his The Nightmare before Christmas (1993), or the most recent ones like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007). This created fantasy world always has a grayish tone, even though the colours shown are bright, sharp and vibrant. It is this grayish tone that successfully transforms a children's fatasy into an appropriate entertainment for grown-ups only. When Alice falls into that tree hole, she is destined and also forced to face her fear and rebellion, whether it is the confusion about her arranged marriage, about her childhood experience of that imagined world, or about her life in this reality that is full of all sorts of so-called normal standards of behaviours. Thus, her falling down into the tree hole seems to probe deeply into her complex emotions and thoughts, and only through her adventure in that imagined world in which no more normal standards are practiced can she really re-collect her courage to fight against her own confusion and fear. Does this make Alice someone abnormal, someone lacking the humanity proper to live in reality? Of course not! In fact, with Burton's unique understanding and his excellent presentation of the story, Alice and all other imagined characters are fully equipped with all sorts of human nature, which is once hidden deep inside our body but is now teased out, purified, then magnified and thus performing livily in front of our eyes.

Each character seems to have a certain human nature as his/her peculiarity, but at the same time he/she is not just the representation of that certain human nature. They all have their own complex personality and the highlighted human nature is to give the character his/her uniqueness and grotesqueness. In fact, it is this grotesqueness shown through the character's gestures, voice, and attitudes, or in other words, the complete action of the living body, that captures the audience's eyes and enchants them. The Red Queen's huge heart-shape head is not just a bodily deformity, it actually corresponds to her mental instability, that is, the fear of not being loved and the hatred of the normal standard of beauty. Due to her power over all other trivial living creatures, each one of them tries so hard to turn themselves into someone with any forms of deformity so as to keep themselves alive. This creates a funny aesthetic that takes the ugliness as the beauty and the defomity as the perfection. In fact, why can't the ungliness be beautiful? Why can't the selfishness be righteous? Who says the ugly and selfish person is doomed to be a loser? In her world, everything is turned upside down. Helena Bonham Carter successfully shows us what a wicked and desperate woman is and through her performance we get to see that we all have such personality somewhere in our body which we are so fear of and have to hide and suppress in the reality.

Anne Hathaway's White Queen is another funny creature, and she is such a criticism to hypocrisy and mannerism in our real world. That exaggerated gesture constantly shows her weakness and lack of emotions. She is the ice queen living in her while bubble world. Although her world is a world of goodness, it submits to the crazy reign of the Red Queen. Her great excuse is the two outrageous monsters: Bandersnatch and Jabberwocky. The White Queen can be seen everywhere in reality though those who have that quality mostly show it in a very subtle way. They belive they are elegant, pretty, good, and even generous, but the truth is they are ignorant of whatever is real. Is it wrong? No, of course not. It is just a type of human nature the producer of the film wants us to see.

Also, the Mad Hatter gives us a highly complex personality. He is somehow schizophrenic, especially when he goes mad. Yes, when a person is mad, it is likely he is schizophrenic; when a person is born mad, nothing can justify his maddness. He used to be a nice Hatter willing to spread the happiness to everyone. But when the village was burned down by that monstrous Jabberwocky, he lost himself and dwelled in his little dark world waiting with unstable mindset for the saviour, Alice, to return. The contrast of his two extreme personality is clearly represented in two scenes: the first is broken utensils and rotten food on the banquet table; in contrast to that is the wonderfully decorated banquet table in Alice's memory of her first visit to Wonderland. The more Alice probes into the heart of the Mad Hatter, the crazier he becomes. Isn't this what we all feel when someone goes too deep into our heart? When someone keeps asking us to face something that we try so hard to forget? The Mad Hatter is the most successful grotesque character in this film, and Johnny Depp once agian surprises us with his brillant perfromance. He is so interested in performing characters that are mentally distorted, but what he did well is there is always a tiny difference between all his mentally distorted characters. It is this reason that marks his brilliance in acting.

There are more characters that bear such grotesqueness related to the reality world, such as the Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the twins that are contantly in disagreement and argument that is formed according to their illogical and rediculous understanding of the condition. The exaggerated human nature of these characters in Wonderland is in fact observable in the real world. As we see, after Alice comes back to her engagement party, she suddenly finds that the twin sisters are the Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and Lowell somehow reminds her Stayne, the Knave of Hearts. Her refusal to Hamish's proposal results from her experience as the White Knight successfully slaying the Jabberwocky, and this achievement further pushes her to seriously look at herself. Thus, in the end of the film Tim Burton gives us a courageous modern woman whose confidence leads her to the real adventure, taking up her father's job and sailing to the Far East for commercial activities. This is unbelievable to the people of the mid-19th century! Burton is great at playing with this theme: if this is an adventure, then why not make Alice the pioneer of the female self-awareness!

What if Dalai Lama decides not to come back to this life again?

2010-02-25T14:53:00.002+08:00

After his visiting to the U.S., Dalai Lama talked to the reporter that he considers not to come back to this world again, or he could choose a person to represent his authority before he leaves this world. This is startling, even to a non-Tibetan like me. In fact, as I remember, he has made such statements couple years ago, but still, hearing these words again frightens me.

I am not a Tibetan, and thus I will not be able to feel what they feel when they hear this. However, as a Chinese Buddhist having known and familiar with the reincarnation system in Tibetan Buddhism, I feel sad and frustrated. Dalai Lama is considered the reincarnation of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and also the most praised and worshipped goddess in Chinese culture. She represents great mercy and love, and it is widely believed that whenever a person suffers from any kinds of pain and calls her name, the Bodhisattva will come and help release the person from pain. Thus, when the representation of this icon in this world decides not to come again, does this mean that we, the pathetic human beings, are finally left for eternal pain waiting for the Judgement Day, as is described in Christian tradition?

Of course not, I personally believe (according to my religious belief) that all gods are loving and they will not leave us. Dalai Lama is only making this statement according to the difficult political situation of Tibet. He understands well that his presence represets all Tibetans, and as long as he holds the idea that Tibetans and their culture should not be suppressed by the Chinese government, China will never welcome him and his people. Indeed, this is a dilemma, and he is left with no solution but not to come again. But such a decision will have a great influence on Tibetans because it is impossible for them to imagine the world without Dalai Lama. Thus, he says it is possible to name his successor while he is alive. In fact, this could be a good way since no more reincarnation is involved, and the new successor will be a new individual without all the past history which may be a hindrance for him to rule Tibet. In other words, this new leader is more like a political ruler than a religious icon, whose lack of religious power may make Chinese government fear less.

But still, this dilemma is still not solved. If the new successor is no longer the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama, he will never be Dalai Lama, even with the current Dalai Lama's consent. Tradition exists according to his internal laws, and once they are destroyed it will take a very long time for the new laws to develop and function. Tibet as a political regime has been in difficult condition, and it is undoubtedly true that their culture are greatly damaged due to the political situation. Religious belief and tradition are the reason why this culture can still survive and also the reason why Chinese government fears it so much. If Dalai Lama breaks this tradition, I wonder how this culture can be maintained without losing the essence of it. Dalai Lama says that as the time progresses, Tibetan culture should also progress and change so as to match the contemporary world. I agree with him, but I do not think that destroying the core of the culture is the best way to force an old culture to progress. Also, I believe the Chinese government will not change their attitude just because the new Dalai Lama is no longer the reincarnation of the previous ones.

I am unable to imagine a Tibet without Dalai Lama, and I am also unable to imagine a Dalai Lama who is not a Dalai Lama. Call me superstitious! I do believe in this magical reincarnation system, and I do think Dalai Lama has the wisdom and knowledge that has been passed down through such system. This is the difference between me and him. He is an old man with great wisdom and knows what life means and the rules of the world. I am only a human who tries to use my little knowledge to understand the world. Maybe his not coming back would in fact benefit his beloved people. But as a human being, I just don't think that such decisions can solve the dilemma between Tibet and China.

Studying vs. Living

2010-02-25T14:09:00.005+08:00

Recently a friend, or more precisely speaking my previous student, contacted me about her current studies and whether she should go for PhD studies. After reading her message, I suddendly realized that I must thank her for cotacting me. This message says that she trusts me as a friend, and more than that, it helps me develop and reaffirm my own ideas about life.

She says:

唉,真的深深體認,書念越多越覺得知識匱乏,
最近看了些關於研究的書,不斷提到後現代,後結構,
就越念越焦慮,因為都搞不清楚這些是什麼,想要搞清楚一點,但後面又有一堆書等著我

然後又忍不住反問自己,努力爬上金字塔頂端的目的是什麼
腦袋裝了有用的東西沒好好利用也是白費,但更進一步的想,
即使想要把有用的東西好好發揮(利他),可以做得到嗎?
這是我在思考的問題,我有認真的考慮PhD的事,錢是一個很大的問題,自己的能力是另一個問題,
但除此之外,我更考慮到的是,花個幾百萬所得來的學歷真的可以發揮到他的實質價值嗎(我不是指之後可以賺多少錢回收)

Here is what I think:
關於方法學以及相關的理論，尤其是後現代論述，我們需要做的是盡其所能的去了解，並思考這些論述對於學習、研究、寫作有沒有幫助。若是覺得沒有，那麼我們應該暫時將它放在一邊，等過一段時間後再來重新接觸它。

並不是所有研究都需要運用到極為高深的理論。做學問需要「就事論事」的態度，不是所有研究都是哲學、文化、文學研究，所以這些論述只是用來幫助我們思考，並且輔助我們在某些觀點上的不足。當然的，去知道、了解世間萬物是一種很棒的學習態度，但是我們更必須培養對「知識的認知」與「發掘知識界線的觀念」。要把自己抽離出來，站在第三者的角度來檢視自己，如此一來我們才能真正的知道自己是什麼、欠缺什麼、需要修正什麼。換句話說，讀書做學問就是一種修行的態度，它幫助我們修持自身的行為、舉止、思想、態度。當我們走進了這一條途徑，慢慢的我們會發現在這條路途中停不下來，會一直更想深入某種未知的領域。而這種衝動便是所謂的動力，也是做研究中不可或缺的最基本的元素，它比起所謂的知識程度或者研究方法來得更重要。

藉禪宗的話來說，「當下」就是人應該要注意的行動基準。換句話說，若是繼續讀 PhD 已經是已經考慮的問題，那麼就應該著手進行它。不要去思考什麼不行的問題。直接去做、直接去生活就是「當下」的意義，而禪宗也就是藉此為方法來幫助其子弟們「悟禪」。我不是要說人都要去「悟禪」，而是藉此觀念此來幫助我們了解，與其在世俗中受苦，何不在世俗中努力生活。苦海無邊，煩惱不斷，那就盡己所能的渡過苦海、斬斷煩惱。人永遠不會知道下一秒鐘的自己會是如何，就算是經過精心設計，仍是有不可預知的變數在中間。那何必煩惱？就把握「當下」，努力去做吧。

Later she talks about Foucault:

然後看了 Foucault 談到死亡的美學,就覺得像這樣的天才發展出來的想法應該也只有世上少數金字塔頂端的人有那樣的機會去探索體認他的看法,對於其他多數的芸芸眾生,每天都為了基本的生存而掙扎,談什麼美學呢
又或者我們太習慣於很表淺的生活,所以不習慣去想,或不願意去想這高層次的生命議題,就像我曾問過我爸對於死亡的看法,他給我的回答是他不想談,因為他覺得死了就死了,對於自己的死似乎顯得無能為力

This part is crucial since it makesme think in deep what my thought is on life, living and death:
美就在生活之中；美學就是生活的學問。不可否認， Foucault 是那金字塔頂的人，但他仍是在這俗世欲海中沉浮，也因為他意識到生命的沉浮不定，迫使他去更深入的思考到底人究竟是什麼、生命的意義到底是什麼、死亡會什麼是可怕的？一般人對死亡那種晦暗不明的回答很是有趣的，這種回答其實是包含了恐懼、無能為力、放棄與因為放棄後所得到的豁達。但是畢竟人是不捨其一生中所擁有的一切，就算有了那一點點的豁達，也會因恐懼的升高而抹煞了因豁達所引發的釋然。死亡就是死亡，既然會死，何必去想？既然不用想它，那麼何不把握當下，努力去成就生命的美好？與其說是死亡的美學，它更是生命的美學、更是俗世生活的根基。佛學說要為死亡做準備（如《西藏生死書》中對生命與死亡的詮釋），但這事實上是要求我們努力去成就此生的美好，而不是去畏懼死亡的恐怖。

Foucault 並未放棄人生，雖他與佛理哲學無太大關係，但我們仍可發現到他的概念與禪思想並無衝突之處。他的AIDS病症事實上是督促他不斷思考的原動力。人都需要有極大的創傷、挫折來使他意識到自身的意義。當然我不是說人都需要經歷如此恐怖的病痛，但我們卻可以藉由閱讀、學習來發現「人的意義」，由別人的真實經驗來輔助我們那麼微小的、平庸的思想。

當一個人書讀的越多，知識累積的越深，他將發現他自己也是金字塔頂端的一員。甚至慢慢的他更發現到，原來每一個生命個體都是一個金字塔，只是他是否願意將自己推上那塔頂罷了。

Microsoft is the worst online service ever

2009-11-27T13:47:00.003+08:00

I can understand Microsoft's strategy to compete with Google, but forcing hotmail users to use Bing is just rediculous and unreasonable.

Maybe I am making a wrong comment here. Hotmail might be down for maintenance problems. But I just cannot accept that whenever I try to access hotmail page I am automatically redirected to Bing. The worst is that I cannot even log in to my hotmail account. What happens after clicking the sign in tab is just the reloading of the Bing. What kind of online service is this? What if people do have urgent and important emails? They should publish news about the problems of their service instead of redirecting users to that useless Bing page without telling them what happened to hotmail.

Honestly speaking, I have never used Bing, and I am sure I won't use it. The reason is I am so used to and also pleased with Google. Bing cannot give anything that is more useful or fun than Google. If redirecting their clients to the Bing is really the strategy of Microsoft, I must say it is a lousy one. People won't use that service just because you force them to see it everyday. It is possible that such action might even provoke users' resentment towards Microsoft. I cannot understand why such a big and experienced company would adopt such lousy strategy. Maybe I should seriously consider giving up hotmail even though I have been using it for more than ten years. After all, gmail actually performs better than hotmail.

傻子在這裡，瘋子在那裡？：我們需要更豐富的表演藝術

2009-09-21T18:07:00.001+08:00

看戲本來就是種休閒娛樂，為的就是要調劑身心、紓解現實生活的重擔。現實生活中充滿著太多的不如意，所以欲求不滿的我們只好躲進那五光十色的戲院裡，期望著短暫的精神滿足。

就在那戲台上，各式各樣的人生經歷不斷被搬演著，歷史的、現實的、神話的、虛幻的人物活生生地在我們眼前活動著。隨著幕下而又幕起，觀眾席中的我們，心情也隨著那一幕募的場景變換時而歡喜、時而哀傷，或時而憤慨、時而興奮。此時的我不是理智且獨特的單一個體了，而是像被神靈附身般只能任「靈」擺佈，只不過這個「靈」並不是無形不可見的菩薩神佛，而是實際的人。

撥動我們情緒起伏的是活生生在我們眼前活動著的演員，而操控這些演員的則是個有著極為專業名稱的人──導演。事實上導演從不是直接地控制我們，他總是間接地經由演員、佈景、聲音效果、燈光變化將我們的情感引發出來，進入我們的深層意識中挑動我們的情感反應。坐在觀眾席裡，我們就像傻子般任他操弄，因為在那劇場黑盒子裡，我們沒有說話的權力，也沒有介入演出的勇氣。我們相信看戲就是要乖乖地坐在觀眾席中，噤聲不語以免吵到旁邊的觀眾，或者說這樣才能專心一致的感受舞台上的風景。舊時代熱鬧的看戲習慣，在那一波波東來的西潮裡早被侵蝕殆盡，現存的只是西化後的審美態度。短短一百年時間，傳統的觀戲態度變成了落後、不文明的代表。這種轉變不是是非對錯的問題，它純粹是價值觀隨著時代的改變而不斷出現自我修正的文化現象。

黑盒子另一端光亮的演出空間就是個實際存在的生活空間，裡面發生的點點滴滴滿足了我們窺視的慾望。我們都是喜歡偷窺別人生活的，偷窺引發的刺激感是那麼的強烈。當舞台上出現可笑的動作時我們大笑，而當主角遭受到莫大的痛苦時我們也悲傷了起來，因為那些都不是發生在我們身上的。因此看戲時我們只隨著劇情的起伏而笑或哭，從不會認真地思考要怎麼去解決劇中人所遭遇的困境或窘境。相信自己是理性個體的我們，在這黝黑的觀眾席裡變成了一群感性的傻子，不假思索地相信與認同導演刻意安排的一切。

當傻子並沒有什麼不好，因為在劇場黑盒子裡，傻子是不斷的在接受訊息，不斷的重新認知世界，也不斷的在回傳訊息。換句話說，傻子絕不會兩手空空地走出劇院。就算看了一場糟糕透頂的戲，傻子也會意識到戲是如何糟，也學到了經驗。最後，傻子變成有經驗的傻子，他了解到什麼叫做戲，也更深刻的體會到生命的意義，人生的目的。

俗語說演戲的是瘋子，因為演員在舞台上總是要變成別人，拋棄掉他的自我不再做自己。我們總認為瘋子整天胡言亂語，不知道他自己到底是什麼，但是瘋子才不認為他是瘋子，因為他的所作所為對他來說都是有意義的，只不過他認為的意義對我們這些所謂的正常人來說是不合邏輯、缺乏意義的。演員在舞台上不做他自己。舞台上的言行舉止通常是不合常規、甚至是有違禮教，但是舞台上的這些語言、行為、態度卻是戲發展下去的動力，所以說演戲的都是瘋子。可是現代劇場中的演員並不像舊時期的演員一般，雖仍如瘋子般的在舞台上胡言亂語，但他們早已喪失了自己選擇作為瘋子的權力。他瘋狂的狀態並不如真實的瘋子般具有自主、自由的特性；相反的，他的瘋狂全是被操控的，是一種刻意的安排。在背後指使這一切的就是導演，一個劇場中至高無上的領導者、現代劇場的獨家產物。

這個操控著演員行動、玩弄著我們情感反應的導演才是個真正的瘋子，他才不在乎現實世界該是怎樣，也不在乎那些綁手綁腳的規則。他要說的是如果沒有規則、如果事情不是這樣的、如果我們不再是我們所想的那樣，那事實到底是什麼？或者，他根本不在乎事實到底是什麼，他純粹只要利用他所能掌握的身體、聲音、影像勇敢地、大聲地說出他的想法、心事、厭惡、喜好等。一個導演應該在幕起後迅速地控制著我們的思考，並引導著我們進入他的世界裡。剎那間，理性的我們遇見了瘋狂的導演，因他既感性又藝術性的視覺、聽覺震撼，我們一次又一次地進入了如被附身般的痴傻狀態。就算是布萊希特這樣要求觀眾理性參與以及批判性態度的導演，不也是藉著對所有舞台元素的控制，尤其是演員表現的強列要求，將他的觀眾轉化成理性的社會批評家嗎？但觀眾席中的社會批評家真的就像導演所要的那樣，是一群具有高度理智的人嗎？或者，這群社會批評家不過就是因導演意圖安排而產生的理性的傻子。

布萊希特是厲害的，因為他有辦法將一群平凡的人，一群從來就不會意識到社會規範問題與發掘社會不公的人，轉化成富有批判能力的社會觀察家。也因為他勇於揭發社會上諸多的不公平，將不可說的、不能做的禁忌呈現在舞台上，突顯出他瘋狂的一面。若是為了名利，為了政府補助，他就不會用那麼瘋狂的行徑來做戲，戲劇史上也就不會有史詩劇場與疏離效果這些催生現代戲劇發展的重要理論。

我們每個人都可以是所謂的戲劇鑑賞家，也都可以是戲劇批評家，因為鑑賞家、批評家就是對戲有經驗的傻子，因為他的經驗豐富，他甚至可以進入戲的生產領域中敦促戲劇的發展。可是何以當代社會這麼缺乏這些人呢？原因很簡單，戲太少了。更重要的是沒有做戲的瘋子。現在做戲的人缺少瘋狂，並太過理性地在做戲。缺乏瘋狂的心態，所以不感性，做出來的戲只不過是形式的呈現，不過是一種模仿式的前衛。也因過度的理性，導致做戲的人棄觀眾於不顧，不斷地重複著他們理性思考中認為非常重要的藝術實驗。我們不能否認藝術需要不斷地被實驗，但是實驗的目的不是為了更深入了解人生嗎？不是為了將作品呈現於觀眾眼前嗎？更何況實驗本質上就是瘋狂的舉動，沒有異於常人的瘋狂想法，實驗不過就是重複別人的動作，就是抄襲。在這種抄襲的、形式化的、公式化的戲裡，觀眾的存在變得可有可無，因為戲根本與觀眾的生活、人的問題的探索一點關係也沒有。可以說是戲本身不斷地排斥著觀眾，而觀眾也在經歷過無數次的失望、不解與受辱後，不願意再次進入劇場裡。因為經驗事實告訴他，原來戲這樣無聊、這麼難以理解、這般遠離他的經驗世界。

但弔詭的是做戲的人全然不知就是他們自己將觀眾推出劇場大門，還不斷推出更難懂、更遠離人們的作品。之前的小劇場工作者打著藝術名號指責觀眾缺乏藝術性，怪罪社會對他們的藝術不重視。他們搬出了亞陶、葛羅托斯基、和謝喜那的理論來捍衛他們的前衛性，卻誠然不知他們對西方表演理論充滿著誤讀與不解。事實上對觀眾最不客氣的葛羅托斯基從未完全將觀眾排除在外，更重要的是他高度藝術性的實驗是一種對生命全面式的探討，一種意圖詮釋藝術與生命間錯綜複雜關係的嘗試。一個偉大的瘋子；他最瘋狂的就是把人的身體直接作為實驗的對象，並且對觀眾做出了最嚴厲的要求。他的瘋狂成就了他的藝術，也讓所有對戲懷抱希望的人一直遺憾無法親身經歷葛式表演的震撼與感動。

身為看戲的傻子，我不需要去忍受一齣讓我傻不下去的戲。當戲的主人無法附身於我身上時，我只好走出戲院，投向其他能撼動我身、心、靈的娛樂的懷抱。做戲的瘋子更不需要去迎合觀眾口味，因為那只會俗化戲的品質。做戲就是意圖將觀眾全變成傻子，如果只是一味地追求形式上的變化而不顧意義呈現，那只會僵化戲的內容。當代劇場的貧乏並不是因缺少願意當傻子的觀眾，而是欠缺有勇氣的瘋子，沒有願意用戲來探討生命意義的瘋子。我們急需如亞陶般瘋狂的劇場人，一個能夠用舞台語彙驚嚇我們，但卻能讓我們意識到自身存在的矛盾的做戲的瘋子。

另一位大師的離開 Merce Cunningham

2009-07-28T13:49:00.007+08:00

Merce Cunningham (right) and John Cage (left)
photo from A Sky filled with Shooting Stars

2003年11月，在倫敦 Tate Modern 的 Turbine Hall，那是我第一次親眼見到 Merce Cunningham，也是我第一次感受到什麼叫做純粹的舞蹈（dance for dance's sake）。為了紀念 Dance Umbrella 舞蹈節 25 歲，同時也是MCDC (Merce Cunningham Dance Company) 50 歲生日，舞蹈節特別邀請 Cunningham 編排新舞作 Anniversary Events 作為當年舞蹈節的閉幕演出。音樂由音樂家 Takehisa Kosugi 現場指揮並演奏，服裝設計是 James Hall，而整體環境與裝置藝術由冰島/丹麥裔藝術家 Olafur Eliasson 設計。與不同藝術家配合是 Cunningham 一貫的風格，而與不同類型藝術家合作的過程反映出 Cunningham 所謂的「機會」（chance）的概念，也是這種由易經六十四卦而推演出的「機會」（chance）的舞蹈理念讓 Cunningham 能夠不斷的革新舞蹈，甚至於 90 歲高齡還能推出令人驚嘆的作品。

Cunningham 作品的魅力到底在那裡？若要詳述他的舞蹈理念與作品特色，那恐怕不是一本專書就能說的完的。單就 Anniversary Events 這齣作品來看，我們最能直接感受到的就是所謂的純粹舞蹈運動。 Cunningham 認為舞蹈就是舞蹈，它不是用來說故事的工具，因此它不用配合音樂傳遞任何因果關係或者表現任何高潮。換句話說，他將舞蹈從傳統的規範中－尤其是指傳統芭蕾說故事的特性，或是指一般（民俗）舞蹈傳達情緒的傾向－釋放出來，讓舞蹈只是舞蹈運動、律動，不再附屬於敘述性或情感表現性的需求。這種讓觀眾眼睛所見的、身體所感受的純粹的舞蹈動作就是他作品魅力之所在。因為當其他的元素，如音樂、表現性、敘述性、裝置、服裝等等，都只是個別單一的演出成分，並且不與舞蹈動作本身產生關連性時，身體的運動或律動，即是身體本身具備的力量在三度空間的呈現，就成為了演出的中心點，不斷的吸引著觀者的目光。此外，因為舞者與舞者間也不具備著相互的關係，而且舞者們的動作是常常同時於不同的位置發生，這種如同萬花筒般的呈現，給予了觀者目不暇給的觀賞經驗。可以說，對音樂有特殊喜好的觀眾，會在他的作品中直接感受到音樂欣賞的審美樂趣，因為舞蹈不過就是強化了音樂的呈現。相對的，對舞蹈有偏好的，音樂或其他元素則是強化舞蹈的具體呈現，讓觀眾體驗到舞蹈動作的力度與精準。在觀賞的過程中，觀眾不會感覺到任何的壓力，因為沒有故事內容去追尋，沒有高潮可期待，也沒有所謂的「了解」作品的目的，更沒有任何意識或觀念的強迫接受。有的純粹是不同藝術元素單純的、不斷的在呈現，而觀眾可以自行選擇他/她所要看的、聽的、甚至是感覺的，反正在這一個空間中，Cunningham 給的就是這麼多，而且是樣樣周到，任君選擇。

Anniversary Events 演出時的場地是一個空曠的四方形空間，在空間上方裝置藝術家放置了一個如同太陽（或是滿月）的圓形發光體。地板上貼滿了如同走位安排又像是迷宮般的白色膠帶，共分成兩處，一個是大長方形，另一個是較小的四方形。入場時觀眾皆不知所然，大部分的人只是欣賞著空間中的裝置。當突然間的，舞者走入空間，進入到四方形的區域時，所有觀眾才發現舞蹈開始了。這時 Cunningham 早已經將他的魔法散步在空間中的每一個角落。這個演出是沒有空間的分割的，沒有表演區也沒有觀眾席，更沒有樂池的存在。整體演出就好像 60 年代的 Happening 再次出現，它雖是在一種固定的、特殊的場地中出現，但它沒有故事，也沒有意圖去陳述任何觀念或是理想。唯一可以稱之為意圖的是「只是要舞動」。演出過程中觀眾與舞者融成一體，唯一可以區分出誰是舞者的是他們身上穿的線條韻律衣。舞者沒有表情，有的只是極度專注的眼神，而這成為了區分舞者與觀眾的線索之一。進入白線區域之前，舞者就如同觀眾般行動，但當他/她的腳踏上白線的那一剎那間，手抬起了，腳尖也墊高了。Cunningham 的舞蹈動作是需要深入了解的，因為他並未丟棄掉原本芭蕾的身體提升，同時的因為受過 Martha Graham 的訓練並在 Graham 舞團跳了六年，骨盆區域作為重心的舞蹈動作是不斷的與提升的身體產生衝突，但是卻又在身體動作的轉換間獲得了衝突的紓解，因此身體的力量在一上一下的動作間暴發出來。這種因身體本身衝突而爆發的力量是不容小覷的，因為就是這種力量讓觀眾不得不將眼光停滯在舞者身上。

事實上，連舞蹈動作本身也是以「機會」（chance）概念推演出來的。這不是說舞蹈動作並未經過篩選，而是藉由「機會」的運用將舞蹈動作編排成可以於觀眾眼前呈現的作品。這種舞蹈演出理念充滿在整體演出空間中，就像空間中的裝置是一種機會的呈現，它自己獨立存在可供欣賞，但這種存在是機會性的與舞蹈並存，各自不相干擾，各自邀請各自的觀眾去欣賞它自己。音樂也是，服裝也是，甚至於舞者本身也是一種機會性的存在，最後連觀眾自己也是因機會而出現在空間中，他/她不再是觀眾，而是整體空間中的構成部分。作為一個觀眾，我發現我不再是被動的接受體，而是一個主動的積極參與者，雖然我不是參與實質的律動，或是裝置的陳設，或是音樂的呈現，但是我卻是此空間得以存在的構成元素之一。當然的，白線內的區域仍是不容一般人跨越，因為干擾舞者仍是不當的並且有危害舞者安全的顧慮，而且這仍是表演，但我或其他觀眾於空間中其他部分的任意行動，不斷的改變著空間內部的形態，也不斷的創造出新的機會形式。固定的、傳統的表演空間變成了流動的有機空間，而這種流動空間使觀眾對舞蹈、音樂、裝置等等產生了不同的感知，就像是機會式的，必須在那一個點、那一個時間才會獲得那一種獨特的感受。

不僅是舞蹈動作上 Cunningham 革新了舞蹈的目的與內容，他在新科技的運用上更是將舞蹈與科技化時代連接起來。他的 DanceForm 電腦化編舞記錄與分析系統，接續著 Rudolf Laban 的 Labanotation (Laban Movement Analysis)，開創了舞蹈分析與記錄的新時代。在這麼多的偉大舞者間，就只有 Cunningham 將舞蹈學習、分析、記錄與新科技完美連結起來，為舞蹈未來的發展打下新基礎。Merce Cunningham 的離開著實令人傷感，尤其是他與 Pina Bausch 的離去竟只差不到一個月的時間。不過以中國傳統觀念來想，九十高齡是喜喪，是應該為他感到高興，只不過 Merce Cunningham 與 Pina Bausch 這麼令人感覺驚喜的舞蹈藝術家的逝去，還是令人覺得不捨與傷痛。

政府使用公權力是否可以不顧人民的死活？

2009-07-21T13:41:00.004+08:00

圖片引自yahoo新聞，自由時報 2009/7/21

我們不能否認違章建築應該被拆除，因為違建不僅可能是侵佔國有土地，更有可能導致公共安全的問題。然而新店陽光運動公園的拆除事件並不只是單純的違建拆除問題，它涉及到是基本人權的問題以及政府執行公權力是否適當的問題。

「限時三天，強制驅離」，就是這句話把我們拉回到五十年前的威權體制，一切都是政府說了算。它要執行的公務是不容許任何差錯的，就算今天要犧牲掉人民的權益，它也在所不惜。回顧歷史，兩千年前的秦始皇不也是罔顧人民需求、生命，就為了要建造出可以保家衛國的萬里長城嗎？以建物的功能來看，萬里長城是偉大的，而陽光運動公園同樣具有一種促進人民生活幸福的功能。但以執行者的目的來看，秦始皇的萬里長城不過就是他為了永保帝業的方式之一。同樣的，陽光運動公園的建造實質上不過就是試圖為即將來到的縣市長選舉作準備。政治一直是現實的，而人是無法不為權與錢而服務的，因此政客試圖維持其既有利益也是理所當然的。柏拉圖的理想國不過就是個永遠無法實現的烏托邦，而烏托邦也只能活在知識分子的想像中。

由於已知烏托邦永不能實現，而政客對於權力的獲取又是不可避免的，知識分子只好退而求其次的以古雅典的政治制度作為出發點，推想出了一種折衷的民主的政治－－人民具有權力，政府是為人民服務的機制。但是在這種制度下真實的權力的獲取與運用仍是隱藏的，不過它卻是以另一種虛假的開放的形式顯現在人民眼前。藉由民主制度，一般人民被賦與了部分的權力，而這些權力是用來監督由他們自己選擇出來的政客，並且是用來確保他們能在政府機制的保護下幸福的、快樂的生活。不論真實的權力的獲取與運用是否適當或者能被顯現出來，至少民主的機制是要保護其下廣大的民眾，並盡其所能的服務民眾和滿足民眾的需求。這種機制允許了政客對權力的貪婪與慾望，不過它同時也禁止了政客過當的行為與舉動。所以他仍是反威權的、仍是以民為主的政治體制。

如果民主的體制是反威權、是以民生為重的機制，那麼新店陽光運動公園的事件不就顯示出台灣的不民主與威權的復甦？就民主制度來看，國家的機制是有權對不合理、違法、危害人民生活安全的事物以公權力介入處理的。但前提是在執行公權力的過程中，人民的福祉是必須被照顧的並且維護的。回頭看陽光運動公園事件，我們發現到台北縣政府，作為國家機制的代理人，並未顧及到當地居民的生活狀態，而只是一味的為達成目的而執行其公權力。

首先，不斷更改拆除線就是一個問題。若是公園設置早就安排妥當，為什麼拆除線會不斷更動？水利署的說法是要不斷探勘河道並作出修正。但為什麼這聽起來像是推拖之詞？這不禁使我們懷疑國家機制代理人的能力是否出現問題？人民需要深入了解的是代理人出現了什麼樣的問題。如果最後發現代理人不能勝任他現有的位置，那麼當地的人民，作為機制監督者，應該以他們被賦與的權力對此代理人作出懲罰，那就是不再以選票擔保他的能力。

第二點，現時強制驅離本身就是一種反應威權的行為。並不是說民主機制下不能採取強制性行為，而是在採用強制性行為時，機制代理人是否已對當地居民的需要與生活作出安全性與穩定性的承諾。相信一般人都會對已居住了五十年的老房子產生感情，要搬家畢竟是不捨的，不過大多數人民並不會只因感情因素而拒絕搬家（當然的我們不能否認因感情而出現非理性行為的人的存在）。今天事件會演變成頭條新聞的主要原因即在機制代理人並無任何保障當地居民生活的計畫，並且還以公權力擁有者的身分對人民作出傷害其生命安全與生活安全的行為。中華民國憲法明定國家保障人民生活安全的條文，然而在這個例子中可笑的是國家機制代理人直接挑戰了憲法，換句話說，他挑戰了台灣的民主制度。

最後，公權力執行的方式是值得我們討論的一點，而這一點與上述的配套措施有緊密的關連性。限時三天是可以接受的，如果拆除法令早已發佈，而相關配套措施已決定並可執行，並且是對當地居民屢勸無效的狀況之下。依照相關報導，似乎拆除令是已經發佈並已宣導，但是問題的癥結在於拆除線的變更以及對居民後續生活安排的缺乏。再一次的，執行的魄力似乎並不等同於人民福祉的計畫與照顧。如過一位國家機制代理人只是個政策執行者，那麼任何人，只要是會執行政策的人，都可以是國家機制的代理人，那麼為什麼還要用選票擔保他的能力呢？

就在昨天，台灣的風度偏偏的總統再次地擔保了這位台北縣縣長的能力，也再次地強調了他執行公權力的合法性與「魄力」。我雖不是台北縣民，雖仍是馬總統的支持者，在聽了他對台北縣長的支持後，我不禁懷疑起馬總統是否真的具備了操控國家機制的能力。這讓我不斷想起了「權力腐化人心」這一句話。傳統中國的士是以仁為己任，為求仁他入世，也是為求仁他出世。仁，不就是人嗎？而士的任務不就是將仁的觀念普及於世間嗎？（關於中國傳統價值觀與士的論述可參考余英時的著作）儒家思想是重人的，何以現代台灣社會對人是如此的看輕？為什麼人不具任何價值了？身為領導者，他是否應將他的人民擺在比選黨主席這件事更重要的位置上？是否一縣之父母官應將其縣民作為親身之子女般看待，而不是拆了他們的房子任其風吹雨淋日曬，之後再說是為了他們的生活休閒著想所以拆房子蓋公園？是否人沒房子住了，可以去住公園？這是什麼邏輯，這是什麼政府！

Goodbye Pina Bausch

2009-07-01T14:41:00.004+08:00

One of the greatest dancers in dance history; a sincere dancer who devoted every minute of her life to her beloved dance. Pina Bausch is not only a dancer. She is a real artist, a philosopher, and a saint.

It is her passion for life that brings a strong humanist concern to her dance. This humanist concern, whether it is a concern about human emotions or a concern about the contemporary social disorders, is embedded in every gesture and movement of her dance, and therefore the viceral expressions of her body (and the bodies of her dancers) transforms classical balletic body - mechanical bodies with all sorts of techniques - into a real human body that is full of emotions and consciousness.

It is the rediscovery of what human body should be that makes her dance so beautiful and powerful. These bodies are no longer objects that are used to show techniques but lived human beings who tell stories to their audiences. Through the dancer's use of body, different emotions and consciousness are expressed. And through the reorginzation of these emotions and consciousness, a story is presented in front of the eyes of every spectator. We all agree that using only bodies, instead of using any known languages, to tell stories is difficult. Bausch was such a great choreographer who was able to tell a story beautifully with only the bodies of her dancers.

Using body to tell a story about us, about our world, differentiates her dance from our normal perception of dance. Dance ceases to be a form with a simple storyline that is always about something unreal, about princes and princesses. Showing bodies with difficult techniques, like a circus, stops being the primary concern of dance; however, this does not mean that her dance lacks any techniques. Thus, her dance cannot be called dance anymore because such an old-fashioned concept of dance is not what she presented us. It is Tanztheater, a new form of dance. The style of Tanztheater has influenced many choreographers all over the world, including another world-famous dance group, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre.

A story is told and the conscious bodies are full of emotional power. It is the combination of these two distinct characteristics that draw the audience to attend the performances. The performance is about us, and what we see and feel is what we truly experience in real life. Nothing is better than something we experience that is so vivid that touches our deepest emotions. We know it is only dance but we cannot help outselves crying and laughing because the power of these dancers' bodies overwhelms us.

How sad that Pina Bausch left us so early. Thank you for giving us so many great dances, and thank you for giving us Tanztheater.

Brüno: a mockery of gay stereotyping or a promotion of homophobia

2009-06-23T13:17:00.005+08:00

photo from wikipedia

Again, Sacha Baron Cohen will try his best to blow us away with his forthcoming film Brüno. His previous works,Da Ali G Show or Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, are hilarious, if we only look at them from the perspective of 'farce' disregarding the hidden cultural conflicts and prejudice. Yes, as a 'normal' consumer (of entertainment, media and culture), I agree that his works provide me a great chance for a good laugh. However, being an 'abnormal' consumer of the modern society, I found his works quite disturbing and highly problematic.

Transforming himself (a straight male in real life) into a gay fashion reporter from Austria, what exactly does Cohen want to say to his audiences? The Bruno character has been seen in Da Ali G Show, and the behaviour of this specific character is the stereotyping of 'what a gay man should be'. The New York Times reports that such a character reinforces the stereotype of homosexuals and thus might validate homophobia. The report says that the film in fact is to show what the life of the minority group - the homosexuals - is and to mock those who are afraid of these flamboyant boys (or queens). However, his approach and jokes, as the report says, seems too deep for the normal consumers to understand. Indeed, we always tend to pick up the face value of whatever we see, especially in comedy or farce - what makes us laugh is never something that needs to be thought of. If what we laugh at in this film is Bruno's very gay behaviour, tones, and expression (and I believe this is where the most of the audience find hilarious), then the character only makes the public confirm their imagined image of homosexuals. Of course, Bruno's gayness (highly visceral, all about the body) could be a mockery of how we choose to detest and then ignore the existence of these people. But this requires the audience to really look into the details of the film and think. In the meantime, such critical context, as in Borat, is only a vague concept that is placed deep inside the film. Hence, normal audiences will never be able to pick it up. They will never know it is them who are mocked by the characters on screen. Since whatever is critical in his work is always a vauge concept (such should be a modern trend in our contemporary society - everything is vauge and face value rules), the reuslt of this film might be a reinforcement of the gay stereotypes covertly promoting homophobia.

Though I have decided that this film would have helped those confirm their imagined image of homosexuals, I still would like to see it. It is not a crime to have a good laugh at the cinema. Maybe there is really something meaningful and critical in the film, and we have to see it ourselves to tease it out.

Men En Pointe: great techniques and funny parodies / Les Ballents Trockadero de Monte Carlo

2009-05-12T15:38:00.009+08:00

Ballet ceases to be a high art when the princess and her maids are actually cross-dressers directing the audience's attention to the lower stratum of the body, an area that is invisible in the traditional view of classical ballet. This is what Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo did to classical ballet, but we must admit that such an approach is healthy and it liberates classical ballet from the confines of heavy traditions, which only draw classical ballet further away from the contemporary audience.

What concerns us most here is the parody of classical ballet. By using all male dancers, the group has destroyed the traditional view on the image of ballerinas. The graceful up-lifted movements and the elegant gestures of female ballerinas are replaced by the clumsy and rough actions of male dancers. Indeed, it is the all male dancers that attracts the audience in the first place. But that is not enough to keep the audience in the theatre because surprises can never last long. Thus it is the parody and mockery of the form of ballet and the content of classical repertoire that maintains the popularity of the group for more than three decades. However, parody and mockery cannot be achieved by any amateur lacking knowledge and techniques of the object imitated and exaggerated. If a performer intends to parody the dying swan, he must know what originally has been done, or he would lose his focus and only give us a dying swan that may be highly hilarious but lacking any artistic touch, meaning we laugh out loud and then forget it all.

The dying swan presented by Trockadero is different; it is a parody done successfully and at the same time a means to maintain the tradition of classical ballet while broadening the possible audience for classical ballet. The dying swan gives us the sense of death by exaggerating every single ballet movement and gesture. Though the hyperbolism creates a ridiculous aura on stage which is in contrast to the sense of death, this hyperbolism in fact transforms death into something light and funny, something we can positively look at and deal with. In Bakhtin's words, this hyperbolism makes us laugh and laughing helps us conquer the threat of death. Thus what is old is swept away and all we need do now is to welcome the newly borne (see Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World, trans. Hélène Iswolsky, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984). This transformation of death into ridicule is achieved through the use of body, again, as observed by Bakhtin that the use of body, especially the lower stratum of body, is the characteristic of carnival nourished by the folklore (ibid.). In his view, such body has become a grotesque body that on one hand represents the suspension of the hierarchy and instiutions, and on the other hand brings in the celebration of a humanized and positive world (ibid.). The Trockadero dying swan is such a grotesque body: it derides the classical image of the dying swan. This classical image aims to bring the audience into a dark and destructive tragedy in which a beautiful and sublime feeling is generated. Such sublime feeling is created by dancer's endeavour to fight against the gravity (the higher the better, a traditional view on the beauty of ballet) but finally fail and lie motionlessly on stage. In order to show her gestures and movements beautifully, she has to follow all rules for representing the dying swan on stage. But here, our dying swan does not care about the rules and she does not bother to jump higher or to use her graceful hand to reach the invisible thing high in the air. All she wants to tell us is she is dying and she is afraid of losing her feather. Losing feather symbolizes death and thus she is also afraid of death. In original Swan Lake the dying swan does not lose any feather. Of course, losing feather could be done beautifully but for Les Ballets Trockadero it is used to ridicule the classical image of the dying swan. This new dying swan ignores all the rules and traditions of classical ballet, derides the classical image of the dying swan normally perceived as graceful and beautiful, and introduces the audience a new form of dying swan that is not only humanized and funny but helps us overcome the sense of death and the negative emotions.

Ballet is an artistic form that is all about supreme techniques. The dancers of Les Ballets Trockadero are not some amateurs doing funny clownish works. They actually are classical ballet dancers being trained properly. This is the reason why their parody of classical ballet is successful. They have known all the rules and traditions required for classical ballet, so when they are on stage parodying those big pieces, they are able to show us how ridiculous certain movements and gestures can be. Moreover, the power of male dancers in fact enhances the female balletic movements and gestures. When they jump, they jump higher. Though the weight of male dancers seems to cause problems when they are doing en pointe and spinning, when they actually do it, it is more powerful than female ballerinas. The energy released from the body of these male dancers are vivid, and such energy enhances the effect of the grotesque body. Indeed, seeing men in tutu is already grotesque enough, and when they start mocking the graceful gestures of ballerinas, it increases the power of parody. Besides, when they suddenly shows manly actions on stage, it just makes the whole scene ridiculous and absurd.

When things are done in a funny way, it is easier to attract audiences. We cannot deny that people do intend to see beautiful things, but in the meantime people also intend to see funny things. As described on their official website, their aim is to keep repertoires of classical ballet from dying out since many of them are not performed anymore. However, reviving pieces is problematic. If plainly giving these pieces again on stage would work, those big theatres and ballet companies would have done it now. We could argue here that the approach Les Ballets Trockadero adopts is correct concerning drawing the interest of the audience. Classical ballet has almost become a museum art because it can only attract the eyes of the connoisseurs. In the old days, due to the lack of entertainment forms, classical ballet could still maintain its popularity and the connection with the public. But now in a world of consumerism filled with varied kinds of entertainment forms, classical ballet finds its connoisseurs decreasing. Older generation dies while the new one only recognizes films and TV shows. In order to promote classical ballet, it is necessary to do something to attract new audiences. Some ballet connoisseurs may argue that their way of presenting classical ballet is actually harming the precious artistic heritage. Such would be the perfect representative of those crying out for "art for art's sake" and the "autonomous right of the arts". I agree that something must be retained, but I don't agree that we should just preserve arts as if they can be put in a museum. Art is about human life, especially those only happen on stage and require the participation of audience. Concerning Les Ballets Trockadero, something is retained, such as the choreography and the balletic techniques, but more is added to the tradition that makes classical ballet more interesting and close to the people. While the use of all male dancers is one that attracts the audience, the more important characteristic of this group is the use of parody in classical ballet. Thanks to these parodies, classical ballet ceases to be a high art reserved only for ballet connoisseurs. Now, a boy can also be a princess, and a prince doesn't need to be always brave and strong. Thanks to the hyperbolism and the grotesque use of body, classical ballet liberates itself from its own limits and dedicates itself to those who want to enjoy the beauty of the body.

Seeing the performance of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo is like partaking in a carnival; the carnivalesque aura is generated by both the dancers' grotesque bodies and the participation of the audience.

Green Tara: the powerful and the most beautiful female form of Buddhist deities

2009-04-03T13:24:00.005+08:00

According to the legend, Tara came from a tear drop of Avalokiteshvara (or named Guan Yin in Chinese Buddhism). Though the legend says she vowed to be a companion of Avalokiteshvara, she is in fact another representation of Avalokiteshvara and thus is also a Bodhisattva. Due to her close relation with Avalokiteshvara, she symbolizes great strength and compassion.

In Hinduism, Tara is one of the Mahavidyas (mother goddesses representing the supreme wisdom). According to the Hindu myth, when Shiva was poisoned by the churning of the ocean, motherly Tara appeared and saved him. She wears only a tiger skirt and holds weapons which symbolizes her power and strength.

It is clear that the original symbolism of Tara, motherly love, strength, and power, is borrowed by Buddhism. After relating Tara to Avalokiteshvara, Buddhist Tara is endowed with greater symbolic meaning, such as compassion, individual salvation, and altruistic spirit. In order to develop such spiritual qualities, meditation is required and therefore Tara becomes one of the major tantric deities.

Tara in Buddhism has another significant meaning which helps lift the status of female practitioners. As H.H. the Dalai Lama said:

There is a true feminist movement in Buddhism that relates to the goddess Tārā. Following her cultivation of bodhicitta, the bodhisattva's motivation, she looked upon the situation of those striving towards full awakening and she felt that there were too few people who attained Buddhahood as women. So she vowed, "I have developed bodhicitta as a woman. For all my lifetimes along the path I vow to be born as a woman, and in my final lifetime when I attain Buddhahood, then, too, I will be a woman. (see wikipedia under the category of Tara)

Her mantra is

OM TĀRE TUTTĀRE TURE SVĀHĀ

OM is a sound of respect, of all time, of all space. It does not have any literal meaning but only represents the reality and now.
TĀRE means to seek salvation from mundane dangers.
TUTTĀRE means to seek personal salvation from spiritual sufferings.
TURE means to seek Bodhisattva path in which we not only seek personal enlightenment but also practice great compassion for all who suffers.
SVĀHĀ is to hail and to praise.

As is stated on Wildmind, this mantra is more like a play on the name of Tara (concerning the sound of her name and the sound of the mantra). The website also says that it is better to leave it untranslated since the meaning of original sanskrit is hard to capture and is difficult to express by our normal language now.

Since she is such a powerful goddess who keeps providing great strength to whoever worships her, along with her great mercy to help all to realize their wishes immediately, praying to her should bring us great enlightenment.

Long Shan Temple: the treasure of Taiwan

2009-03-26T14:47:00.004+08:00

Long Shan Temple in Lu Gang, Zhang Hua（彰化鹿港龍山寺）, was built in 1786. The temple is dedicated to Guan Yin（觀音）, Avalokiteśvara, also known as the Goddess of Mercy. It is listed the national heritage in Taiwan. The temple is a work of art, and every detail of the painting, sculpture, and architecture, and even the arrangement of buildings, all shows highly exquisite artistic presentation. The temple collapsed when the earthquake hit in 1999, and the restoration work was finally completed in 2008. During the restoration, there were disputes concerning whether the restoration should conduct new construction so as to ensure the strength of the structure or they should only try to restore the temple's original look. I am no expert on such issue, and after visiting the temple, I can only say the restoration work was done well.

The main entrance gate

The second entrance gate with the platform for Chinese opera attached behind.

Those dragon columns are made of stone and the carvings are amazing.

The platform for Chinese opera performances. It is usual for temples, especially really old and important ones, to have such platform in front of the main hall so that the gods/goddesses could enjoy performances (often presented to thank gods/goddesses).

The main hall, dedicated to Guan Yin and her disciples.

Inside the main hall. The lamp is a beautiful artwork.

The rear hall, dedicated to other deities (other buddhas and Bodhisattvas, which are widely worshiped by Chinese).

The back wall of the main hall with 大觀在上 (the literal meaning is a great view from the above) written (or carved) on the wall. The phrase 大觀在上 is borrowed from I Ching meaning that we should position ourselves on a higher level and broaden our views. Besides we must have a mild and humble attitude. By doing so, we would be able to observe everything in the world properly and to adjust ourselves in the right way.

Decorations on the door of the main hall. The flower basket is from someone who must have realized hie/her dreams after praying to Guan Yin in this temple.

This window is amazingly beautiful. There are two windows like this next to the door at each side of the second entrance gate. The central pattern is made from one piece of wood. Both windows have the same pattern and are preserved well.

Decorations on the roof. Both seem to depict fairies riding on phoenix.

More decorations on the roof.

A small lion stone sculpture. Seems to indicate the strength of the lion, which can support the weight of the roof. In the meantime, such mean animal can protect the temple from any possible attack, whether it is a man-made one or a supernatural one.

Small elephant stone sculpture with a monkey (same material) on top of the elephant. I believe this also indicate the power of animals, which at the same time act as the supporter and protector of dharma, the universal truth common to all individuals in all times, and the teaching of Buddha.

The use of animals may firstly, as mentioned above, indicate that the teaching of Buddha and the religious power can tame these wild animals and turn them into good protectors of dharma. Moreover, this use of animals show the artistic talent of the designer of the temple, which adds certain entertaining effect to the overall design of the temple. It amuses the visitors and ease the possible all too serious and rigid atmosphere a temple, especially an important one, may usually have.

郭冠英的邏輯？？？語言暴力是言論自由嗎？

2009-03-25T17:50:00.006+08:00

如果說污蔑台灣以及台灣人民是愛台灣的表現，那麼，按照這種邏輯來看，對陳水扁以及那些貪污者的不齒與厭惡不就變成了愛護他們的行為了嗎？這位郭才子的腦袋到底在想什麼？再者，不斷用謊言、惡言表達極端且偏激的主觀意識，這樣的行為有什麼好了不起的？是不是因為成為了為社會負面教材所以了不起？

口口聲聲說是要捍衛言論自由，但到底這是一種什麼樣的言論自由？他所定義的言論自由似乎是一種無限上剛的語言暴力，不管這種語言內容是多麼不得體、傷害人、或是污辱人。試想，罵人不好聽的話都會吃上官司，甚至是被判罰緩，更何況是具有國家公職身分的人用極度污蔑性的字眼來嘲諷國家與全體人民。如果一般民眾在運用語言暴力後會受到法律的制裁，那麼國家官員是否亦比照辦理？解職作為處分只不過是行政處置的結果，但是遭受到他污辱的台灣民眾是否就應該白白被打一巴掌，莫不吭聲？

「我是捍衛憲法，捍衛民族的英雄，我應該做個更大的位置，或許是總統，可能台北縣長，可能立法委員，可能新聞局長。」（NOWnews on Yahoo news, 98/03/25）真是大言不慚！我真的不懂他捍衛了什麼憲法規章。謾罵自己同胞什麼時候變成了是捍衛民族的方式了？

媒體應該開始拒絕採訪他，不間斷的密集採訪似乎更滿足了他偏執的英雄主義，因為他把他自己當成了捨己為人的聖徒。採取一種似乎是左派抗爭的虛假形式，試圖將其承受的責難轉化為政治性壓迫，他只不過是為了滿足自身的虛榮心，並不具備任何實際的、神聖的革命意圖，而小丑般的行為再再證明了他的怪異與膚淺。

如果身為中國人是他的驕傲，那麼請他就乾脆地放棄台灣護照吧，請他投向那熱情的祖國的懷抱吧！

台灣並不差，差的是那些假借愛台灣名義不斷傷害台灣的偽君子！郭才子在邏輯不通的狀態下，早已將自己歸類於偽君子一類，所以才會繼續大言不慚地發聲。中國人固有的文人精神就在他滔滔不絕的講話中被損害殆盡。

中文／英文：針對回文者的回應

2008-12-29T19:44:00.004+08:00

Anonymous said: 那你说美籍华人怎样中文不好，英文学得好呢？不一定要中文不好，英文一定不好。这是两种不同的语言。

原文：學英文 :【中文不好，英文一定學不好】

首先，我必須說明我的立場。原文論述的對象是現在台灣中小學生，而論述的內容則是他們的英語學習情況。在台灣英語是第二語言，而此條件定義了學習者必定不是以英語作為思惟的基礎，也因此，學習者於思考時運用的語言必然是國語（中文），亦即是他們的第一語言。（在此或許又會有不同的聲音出現，因為許多台灣人認定其第一語言為台語、客家語或是原住民語。我尊重各種不同的立場，但我們必須承認中文╱國語仍是中小學語文教育的主幹，亦即是間接承認其第一語言的地位。）

這位不具名回文者提出了十分正確的論述：英文與中文「是兩種不同的語言」。但令人匪夷所思的是，他╱她卻是以「美籍華人」作為評斷中文能力與英語學習間的關係。首先，不知回文者是否只是為了抨擊我的觀點而回文，同時的，我也懷疑他╱她是否讀完原文。

所謂美籍華人，就常理以及直觀上的判斷就是具有美國籍的華人。先不論美籍華人是否是第一代、第二代，也不論是否是混血兒，此一名稱賦予大眾的直覺反應是生活在美國，並以英語作為是第一語言的華人。當然的，美籍華人同時也可能包含那些具美國籍，但卻生活於大中華區的華人。雖居住地在大中華區，其家庭背景、生活環境仍因其美國籍身分而可能是以英語作為主要溝通工具：如父母親或親戚因素、就讀學校、工作環境與朋友關係。不論居住的位置再哪裡，英語必然的成為這些人的主要語言，而他們對英語的熟悉度與認同感，勢必強過在台灣以中文作為第一語言的學習者。因此，回文者說他們中文不好但英文卻很好的論述，實是不當，並且是幼稚、不明事理。換個角度想，這問題會變成：為什麼美籍華人英文好，但中文卻不好？因為中文不是他們主要使用的語言。

回文者說英語與中文是兩種語言，兩者之間的關係是無法比較與評估的。如果評估的對象純粹是單純使用英文的或中文的個體，當然地這種對語文間關係的評論是不具特殊意義的。然而今天我的對象是以一種語言為思惟基礎來學習另一種外來語言，此時兩種語言間的關係必然的會成為需要被探討的問題。我們須要了解為什麼某些人英文學習會出現重大問題、為什麼無法對英文產生熟悉感、為什麼理解英文是天方夜譚？理解上以及學習上的問題是否是起因於對語文使用的不熟悉？是否是於思考上、邏輯推理上出現阻塞？這些問題都可以被歸納至個體整合的思惟能力上，換句話說，也就是自身對用來思考的語言即已出現問題。畢竟思惟仍是藉語言使用而進行的，它無法脫離語言而獨立存在。就如同對現實世界的認知一般，認知系統最終仍是依賴語言使用而運作。這就是為什麼原文提出了中文沒學好、不會使用，將造成英語學習上的困難。

有些人可能英文比中文好，而且中文還真的很糟糕，但這些人畢竟是少數。對這群人我們可以說他們在語文學習上是具先天優勢的。然而大多數的人是英文學不好的人，而其原因不可能純粹是英文學習（背生字、練習文法、口語對話、學習態度等）的問題。事實上，當我們仔細去研究這些人於中文學習上的狀態時，將發現很多是連中文作文都有問題的。我所強調的很簡單，當無法順利、流暢的使用作為母語的語言時，要如何能學好外來語種，更何況身處的環境並不以外來語種作為溝通工具？

I La Galigo -《加利哥的故事》：跨文化的新混種表演形式 (Hybrid)

2008-12-16T14:22:00.002+08:00

對所有的觀眾而言，看完《加利哥的故事》後一定會感覺這齣戲很特別，舞台上所演出的並不是一般傳統的、大家習以為常的戲劇表演方式，而是一種無法被清楚界定出來的劇場呈現模式。說它是戲劇，藉講述者交代被刻意精簡過的情節、缺少角色個性及模仿的（高度型式化）演員演出、並不斷穿插不同類型的舞蹈形式，好像並不符合傳統敘事劇場的結構。說它是音樂劇，它卻又沒有利用音樂來交代情節主題，並且不斷利用講述者、演員行動及燈光變化來打斷音樂的連續性。就演出形式而言，很明顯的它更不是歌劇、舞劇。就一般觀眾而言，他們也許可以說這就是「表演藝術」，但對已具備相當戲劇知識以及觀戲經驗的觀者來說，這種說法太過籠統。《加利哥的故事》作為「表演藝術」具備了什麼獨特性？這是我們所關切的主題，唯有藉由分析它到底要對觀眾傳達什麼、如何傳達，我們才能了解它到底是一種什麼樣的表演藝術。

表演的「形式」及「意義」（內容）是緊密相關且相互影響的；形式即是美學的展現並且蘊含著意義，然而意義的存在卻又引出形式的轉化（關於型式與內容的理論性爭論以及兩者間與美學的關係，可參考朱光潛《談美》；文化社會學者Pierre Bourdieu也曾就Flaubert的作品申論型式與意義的關係，並探討此種關係如何受社會狀態與階級變化的影響而轉變，進而開拓出新的美學意義，參考Bourdieu, The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature）。《加利哥的故事》所要表達的是它已具備的整體的表演形式，而其意義來自於形式轉化後的獨特性。觀眾看見的是它的美學展現，這種美學展現不僅抒發、強調文本中的情感，更是它所欲傳達的意義。羅伯．威爾森認為「藝術的價值即在於其自身的形式之中」（Maria Shevtsova, Robert Wilson, London: Routledge, 2007: 52），而他也堅持他的表演都是「形式化的」、「並無其他特別意義」（同上：53）。這種觀點的發展來自十九世紀末開始的寫實主義（反對浪漫主義的資產階級戲劇 - Bourgeois Theatre），然而此種觀點的成熟實質上包括了對寫實主義的反動（如象徵主義的興起）以及之後蓬勃發展的實驗劇場運動（雖說Mayerhold, Artaud, Brecht, Tairov及其它偉大的導演們早已是我們所認知的主流，但再他們的時代裡，他們實驗性的實踐 - 發揮其理念於劇場中 - 確實顯示出實驗劇場的精神）。不同的觀念不斷相互衝擊，創作者持續的實踐理念，因此不僅追求劇場自治的目標越趨明顯，也提供現代新導演養分與基礎。當然的，每一場演出都有其特定、所欲傳達的意念（通常是導演或劇作家的意圖，也或許是對當時社會、文化或藝術的批判），而整體演出中的各個元素都是意圖突出並強調這個意念。因此，當我們試圖去分析威爾森《加利哥的故事》時，首先須將整體表演拆解並重新結構，才能看出其表演形式的獨特之處並了解其獨特的美學意義。

如威爾森所言「愛是永不止息」（《加利哥的故事》節目單，2008：6），《加利哥的故事》所要傳達的基本訊息就是愛的力量。因為愛的力量，中土世界得以繁榮，金色雙胞胎誕生。也因為愛，造成兄妹間的分離、中土世界的混亂，最後成為無神的世界。就劇情的結構而言，羅達．葛羅爾的劇本將原本達六千頁的神話史詩，精簡為以兄妹間禁忌的愛為出發點的傳說故事。精簡後的內容保留了史詩的核心，更因故事的濃縮使得愛的力量被突顯了出來。劇本於表演中的獨佔地位被削弱了，而劇本釋放出的空間則由威爾森的舞台創造力填滿。就舞台展現而言，演出前的紗幕上填滿了難以辨認的外國文字，這明確地告訴觀眾這是一齣跨文化的演出。雖然是鏡框式舞台，簡單乾淨的舞台空間卻打破傳統，呈現一種儀式化、神聖的感覺，點出史詩的特性與舞台上即將發生的神人關係，更明白說明這不是傳統文化的再現，而是一種新的、超越文化限制的威爾森式舞台展現。右後舞台有一道突兀的樓梯，它超現實的存在好像要告知觀眾這是一個神人互存的世界，而最後樓梯昇起象徵了神決定離開中土世界。講述者坐在右前舞台，他走出了鏡框的限制，也打破了劇場的幻覺，就像布萊希特（Bertolt Brechet）的演員一樣，他不斷告訴觀眾事情是這樣發生的。左後舞台的樂隊不斷運用音樂的力量強調舞台動作的情感，而極簡的舞台空間突出了音樂的複雜性。樂師的位置是獨特的，而他們更換樂器的動作再一次打破幻覺。不僅是傳統印尼音樂被使用，利用傳統樂器創新傳統音樂更是反應布吉司人文化的獨特性。而燈光的使用則是威爾森最吸引人的地方。燈光不再只是照明，它變成了演員，而每一次燈光轉變，都是不同情感的表達。它不只代表了某一個角色的特性（如灰色代表神的世界與Patatoqué、紅色為Batara Guru），更強調了演員演出（如用聚光燈強調金色雙胞胎的不願出世、天幕顏色轉換帶出Sawérigadin的沮喪與憤怒）與音樂進行（如開場時的明暗、戰爭與換景時燈光的迅速變換）。將燈光轉化為演員演出情感，這似乎實現了阿皮亞（Adolph Appia）燈光的理想。

然而整齣戲中最能突顯形式獨特性的莫過於舞台上演員的行動與道具的使用。去除語言使用，藉身體的動作傳達情感是威爾森演員最重要的特質，也因情感需要被累積，所以他的演員時常出現極度緩慢的行動，而「慢」也成為了威爾森式表演的一大特色。與其說是表演，演員舞台上的動作是形式化行動的組合與再組合，其目的在於帶領出行動內蘊的情感。這些行動組合具備了如同梅耶荷（Vsevolod Meyerhold）所謂精準的、高度形式化的特性。除了姿態展現（表達角色特性，如Patatoqué立於代表神的昇降台或稻米女神的坐姿）以及因戲劇需求而出現的模仿性行動（傳達特定情緒，如角色間對話的動作、戰爭及日常行動的誇張模仿或像Wé Cudaiq的立姿與手勢），更利用舞蹈延續部份或整體情感。舞台上的舞蹈經常是某一姿態或行動的延伸，它可能是快的（戰爭或濃烈的情緒）、慢的（哀傷、失望或期待），而它的形式混合了傳統印尼舞蹈、東方形式化動作、芭蕾、現代舞以及純粹律動。形式的混合反應出威爾森對劇場的理念，它不是製造幻覺的工具，而是引發情感的空間，而這需要運用所有可以引發情感的媒介（尤其是舞蹈）。另一項媒介就是道具的使用，而演出中道具的使用就像是劇場空間內的裝置藝術（如精細雕琢的生命之樹、由演員手執的鳥類模型、代表神的昇降台以及代表海浪極度輕盈的布條）。雖然像裝置藝術，每一項道具都有功能且輔助劇情發展及整體情緒傳達（如生命之樹的終結與分解）。除此之外，高度藝術性的服裝、化妝與面具（如Wé Cudaiq精細製作的禮服與代表不同動物的面具與化妝），它們本身即代表角色特性或傳遞出特定的情感，搭配上演員行動更突顯出形式化的表演性質。事實上，就連演員本身的行動都便成了裝置藝術，動靜之間取決於情感延續或斷裂。演員、服裝、化妝、面具與道具共存於舞台空間，地位相同、目的相同。不同形式並列於舞台空間，他們並非相互融合，而是各自以其特有方式具體化共有的情感。

威爾森的劇場是一個具備了多重形式同時並存，但卻充滿力量與情感的表演空間。這是一個無法被明確界定的表演形式，而是跨越了文化與型式限制的新混種表演形式。它的目的不在於再現文本的文化背景。它純粹只是要藉導演的劇場理念介紹即將失傳的史詩，並傳達出文本中特殊的情感力量。威爾森對演員的要求與運用演員的方式，以及他對劇場呈現的理念，反應出克雷格（Edward Gordon Craig）的導演藝術家觀念。將劇場空間中的所有元素加以整合，並混合各個獨特的表演形式來強調情感表達，此種「完全劇場」的觀念，呼應了華格那（Richard Wagner）的總體藝術。雖然與華格那以音樂為主的取向不盡相同，但威爾森的劇場表現手法證明了他是一位真正的劇場藝術家，而新表演型態的創立，也勢必對現代戲劇產生一定的影響。

Should we believe in the Michelin Guide on its new investigation of Chinese food?

2008-12-03T17:48:00.006+08:00

"You don't have to be French to appraise French cuisine and you don't have to be Chinese to appraise Chinese cuisine."

That sounds fair, but that is also a false consciousness. I believe a 'non-French' criticizing French cuisine in front of a 'true-French' would definitely be harshly ridiculed. So when Micheline awarded three stars to the Cantonese restaurant, Lung King Heen (龍景軒), in Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, it must prepare itself from the possible criticism from both Chinese and Cantonese speaking readers.

First of all, the guide and the inspectors probably did not have sufficient understanding of the dining habit of Chinese. We rarely dine at a hotel restaurant. Usually it is special occasions, such as wedding banquets, that will bring Chinese to those restaurants. The reason of not going is nothing about pricing but 'habits'. It is normal for Chinese to consider these restaurants as places for tourists due to their location within the hotel. It is because of the size of hotel restaurants and the prestige of international hotels Chinese choose them for holding banquets. Though the quality of food is often considered, it does not mean these restaurants would be the first option for Chinese when they want to 'eat out'. If you travel to Hong Kong, you will be amazed by the long queue outside of some very famous but 'small' restaurants. These restaurants offer what the locals, the Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, and the overseas Chinese, consider 'the best Chinese/Cantonese food'.

The problem arises. Why these truly great ones are not awarded by the guide? Why aren't they investigated by these prestigious Michelin investigators? Of course, we cannot deny the quality of food offered by Lung King Heen in Four Seasons. However, what I could not understand is how such a restaurant that is not overtly acknowledged by Chinese as top over the top would receive a three-star status!

Let's come back to the notion of false consciousness. The guide creates a fantasy for its readers. Through its star system, it classifies the taste of food of these restaurants as 'divine', 'super good' and 'good'. So, what it suggests is only these listed restaurants are good ones, and the rest can be completely ignored because the food is not even 'good'. In the meantime, through the investigation of its investigators, the guide also guarantees the service, environment, and taste (which is used here to connote 'the value of life-style') of these restaurants. While the guide lifts up the value of these restaurants, it at the same time devalues the others. Therefore, what the guide reveals is a superficial world whose standard of value-judgment is no longer based on the quality and taste of food, but on the quality and taste (life-style) of upper-bourgeois society. It is through the strategies used to devalue could the upper-bourgeois society maintains the distance between itself and the unspeakable and inappropriate others. However, what is tricky here is the deceptive nature of the use of strategies. It is never obvious and always hidden behind a veil. As the guide shows us, it never tells you what is not appropriate. All it says is something good and prestigious, and all it tries to sell is these good and prestigious products. Since the nature of these products are highlighted, it becomes a fantasy that must be pursued. Pursuing this fantasy is nothing different from the accumulation of capitals. Pursuing leads to accumulation which is the nature of capitalism. Only this time what has been accumulated is something symbolic.

The guide helps to reinforce the consciousness of the upper-bourgeois society, which is also a class consciousness that has been applied to their domination of the world. Through the publish of the guide, it strengthens its status as a prestigious guide specially for the prestigious readers. Within this cycle, everything has been fetishized and nothing is true and about the real society. As for the other groups/classes, due to the power of media, the dominated status, and the same living environment as the dominant class (a world of commodities), they naturally follow that consciousness taking the world as a fantasy that must be pursued. However, since they lack the proper capital and knowledge to conduct such actions and maintain their positions, what they have developed is only an ideology, which is a set of obscure consciousness that is borrowed from the upper-bourgeois society. This ideology is a false consciousness that has been manipulated by the upper-bourgeois class for too long and has been turned into rules by which other people must abide (and naturally we all abide because of its been turned into norms).

There are more great restaurants in Hong Kong, and the taste of food of some restaurants should be way better than the one that is recently awarded three stars. How could we trust those stars? How could we listen to those so-called experts who probably don't even know what Chinese food is? After all, there are so many different types of Chinese food, and each has its own special taste and exquisite quality!

Gays in Films: with reference to Eternal Summer and The Love of Siam

2008-10-14T19:46:00.008+08:00

When films stop hypnotizing their audiences with a colorful gay life filled with camp and stereotypes, we start to realize what we normally consider as abnormal, crazy and inferior is actually no less grotesque than what we really are.

As modern man, we claim to be tolerant of all sorts of things happening in this modern world. We also claim that we have the ability to tolerate and accept different ideas or actions. However, what traditional norms teach us remains the truth, and we never live without being manipulated by these norms. Because norms have such power over our thinking and behaviour, we naturally evaluate everything around us according to the value these norms bring us. This explains why certain ideas or actions are considered different or even unacceptable. When ideas and actions are measured against traditional norms, their value has been inserted with what is socially acceptable and what is traditionally incorrect. Norms become rules. Even though we think we modern man are different and open-minded, old way of thinking and habitual behaviour still haunt us and we live so unconsciously by these rules.

Indeed, homosexuality is the victim resulted from these rules. It cannot be explained and reasoned through traditional norms, and therefore its value is traditionally incorrect and socially unacceptable. Biology teaches us that only the unity of a man and a woman could bring a new life. Rules further this statement by saying this unity creates a family in which father, mother and a child construct a trinity which perfects the God. Perfecting the God perfects the form of human beings, and the structure of this unity becomes the most important foundation for the construction of human society. According to this way of thinking, homosexuality should not be allowed because it breaks the rule and therefore it prevents human beings from perfecting themselves which would further ruin the structure of human society.

Human beings are animals with conscious thought and the ability to express emotions. It is in fact a natural thing for a man to be emotionally attached to another man, or a woman to be deeply in love with another woman. When this happens, it is such a difficult task trying to suppress these natural emotions. Can we really judge that this sort of emotion/love is wrong just because it is against the rules, against what norms teach us? Yes, for those who live by rules can, and they do whatever they can to turn this natural emotions into evil thought and disgusting actions. When they are unable to stop it, they make fun of it which makes them silly and ugly. They try their best to degrade such natural human emotions so as to maintain their rules. In fact, what they are protecting is their dominant power over the world.

Hence, whenever a gay character appears in a film (especially regarding mainstream Hollywood films), his behaviour is always related to the idea of camp. His appearance and character is always stereotyped. This seems to tell the viewers "look, that is a gay man" or "look, that is a lesbian". Are homosexuals different species from the outer space? No, they are just human beings who happen to love the same sex. They are neither abnormal nor crazy. The reason we see crazy characters in films lies in the fear of those who live by rules. Because of their fear they must place homosexuals in an inferior position so as to educate the public that homosexuality is incorrect that should be mocked and punished. This prejudice reinforces the stereotype of homosexuals, and thanks to this prejudice homosexuals become a grotesque group of people lacking flesh and blood in mainstream films.

Under the commercial pressure and the control of the dominant group, mainstream films probably have no other solutions to deal with gay characters. Even worse than that, they probably have to invent one such character so as to elevate the importance of other characters and the rules. The most obvious example is Anthony and Standford in Sex and the City. They are totally useless (of their function) in the film and are clear examples of stereotypes. Of course, there are great gay mainstream films, such as Philadelphia and Brokeback Mountain, but still we see the power of norms in these films. We can never live without it intervening in our thought. The struggle of sexual identity, the reluctance of admitting this forbidden love, the problem encountered in public life, and the death that seems like an unavoidable destiny for all gay people. Among these, death is the most harsh punishment for breaking the social rules, and the most extreme condition is to impute AIDS to gay people. In general, Hollywood presets us through its released films a pretty negative attitude towards gay people. We cannot blame them for doing so. After all, those films are made to suit the public taste.

Being placed in an inferior position or being doomed to a difficult life or a terrible destiny seem the only topic that is suitable for gay people in films. Though I personally consider Eternal Summer and The Love of Siam highly beautiful and successful, they still could not escape their destiny, that is, showing the public that gay love just doesn't seem right for our current society. True, at the present moment, it is still such a long way for those following rules to take gay relationships as healthy and normal and to look at this condition without any prejudice. Since we can never be free from the power of social norms, what we could do is to accept it with conditions. By still giving cruel destinies to the gay characters, we take the chance to educate the public that gay people deserves their right to be taken as normal human beings.

Both Eternal Summer and The Love of Siam dealt with coming out issues and both really show us the cruel destiny every gay person will eventually meet. The director could have shown us a happy ending that makes us feel that everything has changed, including the mentality of human beings. However, directors of these films chose to show us what young gay man would face if they decided to step out the closet and face the crowd. At least, the topic chosen gives the public a chance to see that gay people are not just stupid and crazy as those in Hollywood films. Through the acting and the plot, the public gets to know that gay relationship is exactly the same as straight ones, and the emotions expressed are just normal human emotions. There is no stereotyped promiscuous gay relationships anymore, nor is there flamboyant young gay men. What is presented is only a pure but aching love.

Both films have quite a lot of similarities. They are all produced in Asia, they all deal with young gay man, and they all present a relationship that is obscure and depressing. The tone and pace of both films are almost the same and the use of highly sad but beautiful melody reinforces their similarities. Probably the similarities come from the cultural background of directors. What directors try to locate is the psychological development of these young gay men. How they confront themselves when they realized their sexuality. How they approach the possible solution when they try to adapt themselves in the society. Though the outcome is full of pain and sorrow, at least they learn their way to survive all difficulties. The slow pace in both films helps develop the plot and clearly shows the psychological struggle of the characters. The blue tone in Eternal Summer reflects the memory of characters which intensifies the relationship that eventually leads to nowhere. The green and bright tone of The Love of Siam indicates the attitude of characters, their way of dealing with troubles, and the learning they cannot avoid. Both films use music to elaborate emotions. Music is not just a decoration but becomes the soliloquy of these confused and terrified young men.

Though these films cannot avoid giving its gay characters a harsh and difficult life, they at least tell the public a different story which may, in a very slow way, change the public's prejudice towards homosexuality. Though these films follows the old path of Philadelphia and Brokeback Mountain, we must not forget that changing people's idea is never an easy task and it requires a lot of hard work. In fact, such films being produced, released and welcomed in Asian countries is already a success. This means the old and conservative society has opened its door to something new and different. A change is a sign of new hope. This means maybe someday we can see Taiwan pass the law for same sex marriage, giving homosexuals its rights to live as the others. Rules can be changed we should do our best to change those inadequate ones.

趕走了壞總統，卻來了個笨總統！

2008-09-23T13:25:00.003+08:00

說馬英九是笨總統，實是一種恨鐵不成鋼的心態反應，然而馬英九最近的作為真的是笨總統的最佳代表。

曾幾何時，他的溫文儒雅、風度翩翩是如此吸引著台灣的選民，也造就出七百多萬選票的記錄。七百多萬選民賦予他艱鉅的重責大任，希望藉由他的清廉、穩重與睿智，將台灣的政壇與經濟帶出陳水扁時代的貪瀆、胡鬧與悲情。然而，誰也沒料想到溫文儒雅竟是懦弱的假象，而風度翩翩竟是徬徨無知的偽裝。因為他的懦弱，使得弊案無法以迅雷不及掩耳的速度偵查完畢，更無法對貪贓枉法之輩做出最嚴厲的處分；也因為他的徬徨無知，導致他成為總統府裡那不食人間煙火的理想主義者，好像只要有理想一切都會成功，而一切問題都是可以用理想來解決的。

治國不是在寫博士論文，不是用想的就可以做好，也不是待在辦公室建構理想就叫做治國。總統的任務不是每天去參加一些莫名其妙的餐會，也不是每天跟高層閣員關在辦公室討論與實際民生實無絕對關係的理想。當然的，理想是不可或缺的，有了理想國家未來發展才有目標與希望，但這不能夠脫離掉現實的社會狀態與人民迫切的需要。雖然當前政府推出的政策對台灣發展實有益處，但實際運作上卻是漏洞百出、脫離現實。試問，如果執行上出現誤差與不適，那以建構出的理想化政策是否需要適度修正，或是需要重新檢討？如果當總統真的是在寫論文，如果當前政府執意繼續這似乎完美，但卻無法實際解決問題的理想化政策，那我可以確定馬英九這篇如何當總統的論文是必要被退件重寫。

最近的毒奶粉、毒奶精事件再次顯露出當前政府對民生事件的無知與無能。怎麼一件單純的民生事件會讓政府如此的慌張失措？為什麼？是否就像俗語說的：「什麼人玩什麼鳥」，因為在上位者的個性、想法使然，因此他找來辦事的人也都是像他一樣的個性與想法。這樣一種懦弱、無能的政府，我要它幹嘛？可否請馬英九快一點振作起來，可不可以果斷一點、勇敢一點，可不可以有魄力，可不可以拿出當總統的樣子？不要在當躲在城堡裡的公主了，「be a man and show your guts」!

I want a beach holiday now!

2008-09-09T18:11:00.002+08:00

Beautiful Koh Chang!

It is such a beautiful island. Though it takes forever to travel down there from Bangkok (9 hours, including the time when the bus broke down and then caught fire. How lucky we were!), I would love to go back once I have the time and money. Nice beach, warm water, excellent seafood and Thai curry (more like Cambodian style, a bit sweet and more creamy), and wonderful (cheap as well) massage! Such a great place to relax our totally exhausted body!

Poverty vs. High Fashion: how naive fashion can be

2008-09-02T13:36:00.003+08:00

Vogue India editor Priya Tanna's message to critics of the August shoot: "Lighten up," she said in a telephone interview. Vogue is about realizing the "power of fashion" she said, and the shoot was saying that "fashion is no longer a rich man's privilege. Anyone can carry it off and make it look beautiful," she said.

"You have to remember with fashion, you can't take it that seriously," Tanna said. "We weren't trying to make a political statement or save the world," she said. International Herald Tribune 2008/09/01

Of course, the chief editor, the fashion editor, the photographer, the models and even the costumers and make-up artists don't have the intention to make any "political" statement in those pictures. What they think and want is only to give an image that can highlight the beauty of those fashion products, especially when they are all made in the style of so-called "ethnic". However, what is very wrong in these pictures is their very bizarre and even sick sense of beauty. Do they really think the contrast between poverty and high fashion in those pictures could help gain more potential costumers? In fact, instead of promoting fashion products, the contrast in these pictures seems ironically to mock the fashion industry. The laughter the woman made in the picture seems to laugh at those who purchase these somehow useless luxurious products.

It is extremely naive to say that high fashion can be enjoyed by anyone when "the power of fashion" is clearly pointed out. It is just illogical. If I had the money and were the person who has the privilege for such life-style, I wouldn't want other people to copy my life-style and dress as I do. Such distinction must be retained, and it has always been retained in the society since our society, whether highly developed or not, can never escape the condition of being classified. In this classified society, those who obtain the power and are thus the privileged class always try their best to make themselves different, and in order to do so, they must create something that can only be owned by themselves. This ownership, due to the scarcity of products being owned, defines the value and the status of the owner in the hierarchy. In fashion, a special industry that serves this specific class, we always see big brand names producing products highly "valuable" in quality but very "few" in quantity. Only by doing so could these brands, involving in this competition for being recognized as high fashion, survive and carry on their service. Therefore, we see the power of fashion is manipulated by those who want it and those who can have it. It is not available for every agent in the society. When the middle class only have limited access to high fashion, let alone the others. So, it is just naive to say that "fashion is no longer a rich man's privilege".

The second problem with these pictures are on the use of poverty. The editors in Vogue India must be very insensitive towards the food shortage and poverty problem happening in the world now. How could the editor tell the public to "lighten up" when the issue of poverty is manipulated in this way? Indeed, those models must have got paid by posing for the picture, but what concerns us is being a published media their use of poverty to highlight the wealthy life-style is irresponsible and leads the public to ignore the real problem. Moreover, this use of poverty also causes a highly sensitive issue, that is, treating the poor as a tool just to satisfy the weird and distasteful taste of the rich. We need people to care about the global problem, but the message in these pictures only say "we are rich because we are and therefore we can exploit whoever and whatever we can". As the editor said, no "political statement" is intended in these pictures, but she should know that messages are naturally transmitted and reinterpreted when pictures are made public. Even though you don't intend to give any ideas in the picture, since it is a public one, it is open to all who wish and have reinterpreted the message in it. Of course, we don't need to "take it seriously" because it is just a fashion magazine. We are not asking these fashion magazines to be educational, since it will be hard for them, but at least they can be more sensitive towards different real-life problems.

"You have to remember with fashion, you can't take it that seriously", this statement seems very wrong. Does it mean that fashion is not important and should be treated as something stupid and useless? Does it mean that those who love fashion and are involved in fashion are not serious people? Does this mean that this business is "not serious" at all? Does it mean that Vogue, being the most influential fashion magazine in the world, should be looked at in that sense? It is just amazing to hear such words form the editor of that publishing house. Instead of giving excuses and defending their obviously wrong approach, Vogue India, and even Vogue headquarters, should just simply apologize for their wrong approach. The statement just makes the whole incident ugly and may hurt to a certain extent the image of Vogue.

菩薩說：「不要煩惱」！

2008-08-26T16:32:00.005+08:00

雖然是不太可能會發生的，但仍是抱有那一點點的希望，希望我就是那幸運的頭彩得主。中了頭彩就再也不須為了錢的事擔心，無債一身輕，也可以安心去做一直想要做的事。雖然還沒中，光想就已經很爽了。

錢雖不是萬能，但沒錢卻是萬事不能。其實我也不貪心啊，就只希望不要被錢追著跑。反正好手好腳，也有那麼一丁點兒的一技之長，賺錢對我來說根本不是問題。但是現實生活總是如此殘酷，平安悠閒的日子總是會遭遇那莫名的晴天霹靂；就好像日子過得很悠閒，連神佛都忌妒了起來，非要丟一份苦差事給你，非要你從那清幽的幻境中醒過來，然後用那正面鼓勵的語氣對你說：「吃得苦中苦，方為人上人」。見鬼了，我從來也沒想過要當人上人啊，不過就奢望能清心寡慾的過我想過的日子啊。怎麼事情會變得如此複雜？

事實上，接到的苦差事基本上是無法用人力來解決的，唯一出路就是「中樂透」。能試的方法都做了，狀況仍是沒有改變，因此在我左思右想、考慮再三之後，我決定去廟裡求個籤詩，希望神佛能行行好指點我到底是該怎麼做。剛好有人提議高雄前鎮區草衙的觀音廟「朝陽寺」很靈驗，既然跟觀音菩薩有緣份，不妨就去那兒求吧。

在跟菩薩稟明來意及所求事項後，我拿起筊杯問是否能賜籤指點，菩薩很爽快的答應了，而過程很順利、也很快。雖說第一支籤一直出現笑杯，在我告訴菩薩「如果不是這支籤，直接給蔭杯」，很神奇的杯一下去就是蔭杯。之後連續三籤都直接給蔭杯，到第五支籤就直接出三個聖杯。抽到的是第四十五籤，詩云：

花開今已結成果
富貴榮華終到老
君子小人相會合
萬事清吉莫煩惱

好詩，花開富貴，榮華到老！原本我以為小人意指惡人，不過在google它的意思後才知道小人乃指小孩，其寓意來自「孔夫子過番逢小兒」。

雖說抽到一首好籤詩，但這並不代表一定會得樂透。可能只是菩薩要我不要煩惱，諸事皆吉，就算困難重重，也能得貴人相助的吧！只不過現實問題仍未解決，如何能不煩惱呢？真是難啊！

海外帳戶做什麼用？

2008-08-18T18:31:00.004+08:00

今天如果我真的很有錢，我想我會去開瑞士銀行的帳戶。因為就算那1%的管理費看起來似乎是很多，總資產的投資收益應該能夠支付，甚至是遠大於那管理費的金額。（如果錢進了投資銀行反而變薄了，那誰還會敢把錢放那兒，投資銀行的面子、聲譽往哪兒擺？）更何況先決條件是「我已經有錢到可以去瑞士銀行開戶了」，那我還會在乎那區區的管理費嗎？問題並不是在於瑞士銀行的帳戶上，而是為什麼存入「瑞銀帳戶」（請謹記，那不是一般的商業銀行，而是服務極度有錢、並同時熱衷於不斷累積財富的有閒有錢人的私人高級俱樂部）中的錢會一次以如此大筆金額（例如說2000萬美金）轉出？同時的，會使人注意且懷疑的在於這轉出的對象，竟是通常為了避稅（甚至有可能是以洗錢為目的）的境外公司。這種不合邏輯、且引人注目的做法，不知是貪贓枉法的人想太多了，還是他們的腦袋就真的只有那麼丁點兒大。最可笑的是，偷吃完還忘了擦嘴，還四處炫耀偷來的東西。雖說他們是打死不認帳，好像沒法子制他們（就像藉出國以規避查緝、或是藉道歉以擾亂視聽），但別忘了現世報這種東西真的是存在的，否則怎麼事情會突然【ㄅㄧㄚ、ㄎㄤ．】呢，還是從國外丟臉丟回台灣呢？

道歉誰都會講，什麼時候都可以講。問題是，道歉的內容是否傳達出真心真意的懺悔，還是不斷的試圖掩蓋，甚至是企圖引導偵辦、扭曲事實。就這一點來說，道歉者的態度實不可取，也凸顯了道歉者的無恥下流。真是什麼人玩什麼鳥，一家子都同個樣子。如果沒做壞事（就算做了，至少是天衣無縫且利益均分），別人幹嘛沒事找你們家麻煩？如果真沒做，幹嘛攜家帶眷逃亡國外？讀書有需要連保姆都帶去嗎？真是暴發戶的行為！（這時候，法國社會學家Pierre Bourdieu關於taste品味及hierarchy社會層級的論述，真是實用啊：個人慣習habitus是與生俱來的，並隨著人的成長而不斷變化，但層級間的差異是無法抹滅的。因此，就算一個人得到了政治及經濟的資本而晉升上層社會，此人仍是不為上層階級所接納，因為在舉手投足間，此人會無意識地透露出其低下層級的特性，而此特性是永遠不會被上層階級所接受的。換句話說，他只能模仿上層階級的生活行為與品味—成為純粹追趕品味流行的文化消耗者，但卻永遠無法成為生活行為與品味的生產者。此為簡略敘說Bourdieu的理論，關於distinction以及habitus的論述，見La Distinction, critique sociale du judgement, 1979，英文版本由Richard Nice翻譯，Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, London: Routledge, 1984，無中文譯本。）

這一家子真是厲害，一個謊蓋一個謊，越說越多，也就越說越真。就像【紅樓夢】裡點出的「假作真時真亦假，無為有處有還無」，這一幅哲理深奧的對聯道出了賈家興衰，似乎也呼應著現世裡這一家人言行舉止的矯揉造作。不該是他們的，永遠都不會是他們的；假或許可以成真，但無就是無，強奪毫取的結果，在這講法律的社會裡一定要付出相對的代價的。

Just need a shout! 總是應該如此困難嗎？

2008-08-15T16:40:00.002+08:00

古人說：「人生不如意事，十之八九」，我想在現代生活壓力下，這句話應該改成「人生不如意事，十之九點九九」。為什麼生活變成是一種無法解決的痛苦？這種痛苦的持續使人喪失「積極的」活下去的勇氣，更可怕的是它使人開始放棄「生活」，放棄試圖轉換苦痛的努力。也因為自身無法轉換痛苦與憂慮，只好求神拜佛，試圖藉由宗教的力量得到心靈上的安慰。

事實上，人是自覺的，並不是純粹的盲目，所以人都知道這種宗教性的心靈安慰是無法抹滅掉實質心靈的煎熬與不安。更由於心靈的安慰劑對實際生活並無功效，所以開始懷疑宗教，甚而批評它，抑或是貶抑它。被丟棄掉的神像不就是個實例嗎？宗教是否有其效用，實是見仁見智。最近我常在想，也可能是因為農曆七月的關係，若是鬼（無形的眾生）存在，那神明應該也是存在的。若是無形眾生有穿天透地的能力，那神明更應具備了廣大無邊的神通力。這不是存粹的迷信之說，而是藉由相對對比的推論。換句話說，拜神問卜應該是有效的，不是嗎？然而，何以如此多的神明，懷著強大的感應神力，卻聽不見世間眾生的苦痛、無法抑或不願幫助眾生呢？我不認為我是個迷信的人，畢竟學社會科學的背景讓我只看事實存在的必要性。就是因為在這玄密的神靈之說中，我看見了事實的存在，使我不得不相信它。雖說相信，懷疑的心仍是蠢蠢欲動，也因此問題不斷跑出來。是我不正常嗎、瘋了嗎？

或許吧，當壓力大到我再也無法承受之時，也許瘋了是最好的解決之道吧。到底求神拜佛有沒有效？到底修心、修行是為了什麼？若現世、當下問題無法解決，哪還有心力顧及來世呢？難道不應該求當下的順遂圓滿嗎？所求不遂正是苦痛的來源，所以要求啊，但是神佛有聽見嗎，會伸出援手嗎？

In the world of Sex and the City

2008-07-07T15:44:00.004+08:00

I always like Sex and the City. Though I firmly believe the movie is truly lacking taste, in whatever sense, I still like it. I guess this is because I am so intoxicated by the current social fashion that leads us to go after brand names and pursue a fantasy life only aiming at fulfilling all our material desires; in other words, I am such an obedient citizen in this world of consumerism.

A movie that gives us a fairy tale trying to evoke romanticism can never be a wrongdoing. Sex and the City satisfies us by confirming a happy ending between Carrie and Mr. Big. All obstacles they met intensifies the bond between these two single New Yorkers and makes their marriage at the end highly sacred. Marriage is sacred, as I believe those who approach it through a religious and moral perspective would say so, but the one we saw here is sacred with a different sense. It is sacred because it is a marriage, it is sacred because this marriage compensates them for all difficulties they had encountered, and it is sacred because we have had this idea of marriage being sacred since religion interfered in our way of life. If Carrie really thinks that their decision to be together is based on two adults agreeing to live together, why bother to conduct such an action of 'getting married'? In real life, this question would not sound weird, but in a movie that is expected by people of whatever kind this question should not exist but be replaced by a happy marriage. They must be married! The form is not important as long as their marriage is witnessed by a legitimate power. Therefore, this marriage responds to Snow White and Cinderella preaching the idea of fantasy life that is in essence hollow and meaningless. In order not to provide the audience a meaningless world but to satisfy their taste for romanticism, the movie must present a wedding that could bring the audience to tears which can reinforce the sense of sacredness in this wedding ceremony.

A world of illusion was created and the audience all indulged themselves in this false reality. Indeed, there is nothing wrong for a movie to create such atmosphere that fulfills audience's dreams and unsatisfied desires. This movie is centred on Carrie and its only theme is to tell its audience that Carrie and Big are finally married. All other characters are obviously decorations lacking their flesh and blood. Unlike the TV series, which is more about real life and gives other characters their personality and emotions, the movie has gone into the direction of presenting a total meaningless fantasy life. Its storyline is a pure melodrama that is so irrelevant to our real life. The idea of 'everything will be as perfect as we hope' is such a cliche that sounds naive to the modern audience. The spirit of praising the right of being a single woman has been diminished to the great in the movie. Only at the end we see Samantha finally expressed this idea. The weak storyline turns Sex and the City into a cheap melodrama that kills the original spirit of the TV series.

Due to the lack of a strong storyline and the creation of a fantasy life unreal to our modern audience, the movie seems quite distant to our real life. As a consequence, this movie didn't give us anything but a vague and hollow emotional experience. However, the power of consumerism functions very well in this movie. It is amazing to see how this movie advertises fashion brands and other commercial activities. The most interesting one is on Carrie holding a new Chanel bag shopping for a dress in Diane Von Furstenberg store. In this scene, Carrie tried her best to show the Chanel logo on her bag, and the camera accidentally panned to the window on which the name of the store is printed. The other scene would be Samantha, due to her frustration with Smiths, shopping overly in Gucci and then having the concierge carry all bags to her car. And of course the scene of the New York fashion week is another example. I guess the advertisements of these commercial brands and activities are the most 'realistic' part of the movie, which is also the only part that matches the original spirit of Sex and the City and draws the attention of modern audiences. This presentation of commercial activities is a reflexion of our modern consumer culture. It vividly shows that these refined clothes, shoes or bags symbolize a person's taste and social status. When a person is rich enough to purchase these items, they should because they make a person happy and beautiful. In the other way, if a person's financial condition is not that good, then there is another way to enjoy these objects, that is, to rent them from the internet. Carrie's personal assistant is such a type of person. She thinks that using these bags are necessary and she should rent one when she is unable to afford one. She was so happy to receive her first LV bag from Carrie. All these indicates that the satisfaction of material desires is the source for happiness and we, being sensuous beings, construct the meanings of our life through such an action. In other words, the movie presents us who we really are and how we live our material life. Again, this should be considered as the most and the only realistic element in the movie. The value of the movie lie in this approach. It is not to comment whether this life-style is good or bad. It is simply presenting it because it is truly how we live, especially for those who live in big cities who has the information for material life which is considered by them as a way of life-style that provides them a status and taste in life. Besides this element, there is nothing in this movie that can be taken as real and related to our daily life.

In fact, when the storyline of a movie cannot construct meanings for its audience, it turns into a melodrama in which a fantasy life that is both meaningless and detached from reality is created. This type of drama can only be taken as a pure entertainment without any taste and artistic value. It is nothing special, and you can laugh or cry over it without worrying you may need to use your brain and gain further feelings. However, presenting something real and close to our life would definitely lead a movie to another direction, which would bring certain emotions or ideas to its audience and make them think after they go out of the theatre. Most movies fall into both categories meaning they acquire both quality. When a movie has more realistic element than the fantasy one, it probably would be considered as more artistic and meaningful than those whose fantasy element outweighs the realistic one. As for Sex and the City, it is obvious that its fantasy world is very well constructed. Though there's a message about consumerism, it is hidden under the hollow and meaningless storyline and would easily be overlooked. Besides, it is not the intention of the movie to criticize consumerism. It presents it because it is what happened amongst us in our modern everyday life. Hence, this movie is still only a fantasy that aims to give its audience a definite answer to the unsolved problem between Carrie and Big.

Epiphyllum 曇花一現！

2008-06-17T12:30:00.002+08:00

Epiphyllum Blossoming! The flower looked amazingly beautiful and elegant with pleasing fragrance. I didn't even know there were buds. This type of flower just enjoys giving surprises. Their buds are always hidden in between their huge flat leaves, and the blossoming will only happen at night. What's worse is the blossoming only lasts 4 to 5 hours, meaning the flowers die before dawn. We will never get to see their huge and fragrant flowers during the daytime.

站筊 - A standing divinity cup: a miracle

2008-05-27T15:06:00.005+08:00

First of all, I guess I need to explain what this thing is. It does not have a proper English name. I tried to google it but can only find "bamboo rope", which is quite incorrect. "Bamboo Rope" means something else and it refers to the object described in an ancient Chinese text. I also found another one "divinity cups" that seem quite correct for the meaning of using it. So let's call this object "divinity cups".

In Chinese tradition of praying, "divinity cups" are very important. They are used as a means to communicate with gods and goddesses. If you have a certain question, usually a yes or no question, you can pray to the gods and ask them to give you the answer by using this object. They consist of two pieces with the same shape. Using it is very simple and all you do is throw them on the floor. If one piece has the flat side facing up while the other one's flat side faces down, then this is considered a yes answer. If the flat side of both pieces all faces down, then this is a no answer. If the flat side of both pieces all faces up, then we call this answer "a smile" which means your question is not clear, or the gods consider the question inappropriate. If this happens, you need to ask the question again or reformulate your question.

The procedure of using "divinity cups" is debatable. Most people, especially those who work in the temple, say that for yes answer you must get three yes in a row, meaning throwing them three times consecutively all with yes answers. If you get a no answer for the first throw, then the answer is no for sure. As for the smile for the first throw, you must repeat your question again or ask in another way. However, there are also some who think only getting one yes would suffice. For me, I go for three yes since it is never that easy to get a yes answer from throwing this object. Getting three yes in a row could really mean the answer should be correct.

But in my case, what we have talked about is not applicable because I got a standing one! Scientifically speaking, the possibility of getting a standing one when you throw them on the floor is almost close to zero. The endings of the piece are sharp angels. It is not possible to put it in a standing position, let alone throwing it. But I got this, as the picture shows, a week ago.

This has meanings! We learned from the elderly that if such condition happens, the god must want to indicate something. So I went to the great Mat-Zu Temple in Tainan (台南大天后宮). I asked Mat-Zu (The goddess of the sea and the queen of the heaven, 媽祖) if this standing divinity cup means anything. I used another way to ask for answers, that is, to ask for a poem from the goddess. After drawing for more than 20 poems, I finally got the one. It was a great one saying something amazing and great will soon happen to me, my future will be prosperous, and I will have what I wish come true. I am very happy!

Indeed, as the elderly says and the staff at the temple as well, a standing divinity cup is a miracle and a good sign. This way of saying corresponds to the poem I received from Mat-Zu. I believe in it and I am so happy that such miracle really happened to me!

A Chinese bulbul nest at my garden!

2008-05-27T13:11:00.007+08:00

Couple weeks ago, I found a well built bird nest at my garden. It has a shape of a bowl, a perfect shape indeed, with some feather decorated around the nest. I totally have no idea when it was built, and it seems like it was done within a night. The location of the nest is interesting because it is on a very small tree which is only a bit higher than me. Though the nest is covered by branches and leaves, I can see what's inside the nest very easily.

I was wondering what made this nest. The birds were never here after they built the nest, and this really confused me. About two weeks ago, I finally got to see my guests. I was curious so I googled online and found out they are Chinese bulbuls (白頭翁). I guess they weren't here before because they haven't decided if this is the place to stay.

After spending couple days observing this couple, I finally decided to see what is happening there in the nest. Being curious, I crept towards the nest and had a peek. There were four small eggs in crimson and white colours. Amazing! Since then, I noticed the bird was always in the nest.

About five days ago, I found the bird was not in the nest. So I did the same thing again, and this time I was so thrilled to see four newly hatched tiny chicks.
Their eyes were still closed and they looked totally naked! in fact I was quite frightened by their look.

It is amazing to see how quick they grow. Only four days, they look so different.

I guess my action around the tree irritated the parents. They just came back to feed their chicks and was not happy to see me taking pictures of their babies. Though both of them had food in their beak, they were still making sound, more like a yell, trying to threaten me away. All right, all right, I'll go away!
It is very touching seeing the parents feeding their chicks.

Now I am expecting the time when the chicks have their feather fully grown and ready for their flight. I guess I will be very sad when they fly away. This small family has become a part of my family, and we are all so used to their noisy singing in the morning.

Some people say that it is a good sign to have birds building a nest and producing offspring at your house. I stick to this idea, and I really think this small family will bring us good luck.

Where are the theatre audiences in Taiwan now?: on the cancellation of Isabella's room

2008-05-16T13:12:00.007+08:00

The director of the Taipei Arts International Association (TAIA) regretted to announce the cancellation of the performance Isabella’s room in Taipei. Isabella’s room is created and directed by Jan Lauwers who established Needcompany in Brussels Belgium in 1986. The main reason for the cancellation is on the fire of the theatre in Seoul Korea, which forced that theatre to cancel the performance and withdrew from cohosting this production. Though TAIA decided to put on this production in Taipei by themselves, they still could not overcome the financial burden arising from putting on an international production. Indeed, it is never an easy task to fly international theatre groups to Taiwan for just couple days performances without having sufficient financial support from business corporations or the government. Besides that, ticket sales is always a huge concern for those who aim to promote good art to the people in Taiwan. In this case, due to the unsatisfactory ticket sales of this performance, TAIA finally decided to quit it.

"Where are the audience?", the director of TAIA told the news journalist. I have the same question in my mind as well. It seems they only show up when the performance is done by someone important, someone they know very well, someone who has been frequently talked about. It is never about the performance itself but always on the name of the group, the name of the director/choreographer, and the name they should know. Take Cloud Gate as an example, as I have observed, their performances seem always successful because the tickets are hard to get. Whenever you attend their performances in Taiwan, it is always full house. As for open air performances, it is basically not possible to get a place to stand or sit if you are there only 30 mins beforehand.

This is a good sign indeed because it says the people in Taiwan do have a sense for arts, and Cloud Gate really does a good job to promote modern dance to these people. Their dance is beautiful and is full of symbolic meanings which aim to examine and reevaluate contemporary social fashions and modern life. It lifts up the artistic taste of Taiwanese. However, if the people here do have that sense for arts and theatre, why only certain groups with big names can attract the audience. This should be the question we should all bear in mind.

Take Le Theatre du Soleil as another example. Their production Les Ephemeres attracted many theatre goers when it was performed in Taiwan. Its performance was very successful. However, as I was there, I noticed the whole performance (6 hours long in total) was presented only three times among 6 days schedule. (The National Theatre of Taipei broke it into two parts and separated them for three days performance, which is common for presenting this production.) Since Ariane Mnouchkine intentionally designed a small auditorium, the total amount of audiences for this production in Taiwan should not be big. Furthermore, when I attended the performance, I found most of the audience were either theatre participants or students. Of course, there must be some people who do not fall into these two categories, but it will not be hard to guess the social and cultural background of these people. They came because they knew the group. What is funny during the intermission is because of the huge white tent used for the performance, most passer-by asked the staff what that thing is for and what this group is about. Some of them even guessed this occasion to be a circus and said they know that name. I guess it is because Le Theatre du Soleil recalled their memory of the great circus Le Cirque du Soleil.

This misunderstanding raises interesting questions. Do Taiwanese go to the theatre for arts, for entertainment, or just for the name? Do the people in Taiwan really have a taste for arts? In fact, before the Les Ephemeres was presented, it was hugely reported on TV, even the news channels. But still, we saw people talking nonsense right outside of the tent. They don't care if this is arts, all they care about is if this is what they have known. If they don't know it and it belongs to the field of the arts, they would just walk away. If it is about arts and it is what they have heard of, then they will talk about it and maybe join the activity. Because that is something they already know, so they must participate in it so as to be in the same level as the others. This reaction reveals the cultural competence that happens all the time. This symbolic competence guarantees a person's right for the better, and it offers symbolic power to the person which puts him/her in the right level in which he/she expects to be. All the information they gather and learn of is from the media, education and interpersonal communication. The formation of their mentality is attached to their family, social, cultural, and economic background. These two factors deeply influence their actions towards arts. This is why they have difficulties participating in cultural activities when these activities are unknown to them. When the government and the media take arts as secondary and never really develop a healthy policy to promote arts, no wander performances cannot attract enough audiences. This explains why promoting arts in Taiwan is such a mission impossible.

I was very sad to hear about this performance been cancelled. Tough I have not yet seen Isabella’s room, I believe it is a very interesting production. If the government has had a healthy policy for the arts and urged the educational system to place the arts as one of the priorities, arts in Taiwan would have been more lively and progressing. We all deserve the right for appreciating arts, and arts can help construct a more civilized and harmonious society. Everyone is a potential theatre audience; they just haven't realized that yet!

Let's pray for those who suffered from the earthquake and the cyclone

2008-05-14T15:35:00.002+08:00

It is always sad to know people suffering from natural disasters. The earthquake in Szechuan and the cyclone in Myanmar have taken away hundreds of thousands of precious lives. According to the news last night, Myanmar has so far lost almost 68,000 lives. As for the earthquake, the number of fatalities is still increasing reaching 12,000.

I am a Buddhist, a sincere one who reads Buddhist sutras everyday. My Buddhist study taught me to respect monks and nuns. Not long ago, I was in shock seeing the Chinese police violently suppressed the Tibetan monks. Though the Chinese government said that there were only few casualties and the monks were safe and unharmed, some of the monks told the foreign journalists that the police actually attacked monks and killed them. Then, few months ago, the Saffron Revolution in Myanmar led to the disappearance of thousands of monks and nuns. It is not difficult to guess where these monks and nuns are now. We can never trust a word from the brutal military regime of Myanmar. I am referring to these two incidents because Buddha taught us to treasure lives, especially those who devote themselves to the teaching of Buddha. Moreover, according to Buddhist scriptures, humiliating and killing monks or nuns are serious crimes, which will bring terrible consequences.

We always say that in this modern world nemesis will not come after your death because there are just too many evil actions. Now it will come soon after the evil is practiced. Though I hate to think in such a negative way, I kind of think what happen now seems to reaffirm that statement. Both Myanmar and China pay the price for what they have done to the monks and nuns. In fact, I think this thought is contradictory to the teaching of Buddha. He taught us to love and treasure lives. Then why such sad disasters happen, not to those who practice evil but to the innocent people?!

I cannot figure out any possible answers. I guess if I could, I would be one of the Bodhisattvas. All I know is to pray and try to help those who are suffering now. I believe the existence of these divine beings, and if we pray sincerely, they will help those people. For the dead, Bodhisattvas will lead them to the pure land, and for the others, Bodhisattvas will give them courage and strong will to restart their new life. "Om Mani Padme Hum"!

The Secret - Thinking for the Positive and Be Sure of It

2008-05-13T12:54:00.009+08:00

I have just read The Secret, edited by Rhonda Byrne. I found this book very encouraging, and reading it reinforces my belief in the inner power. I always believe in the power of thought and feelings. This belief derives from my contemplation on "I think, therefore I am" proposed by Rene Descartes. What The Secret elaborated is highly similar to Descartes' "Thinking Thing". Descartes believed that if a person wonders whether or not he/she exists in the world, this doubt is his/her thinking, which reaffirms his/her existence in the world.

As a thinking thing, we human beings are born with the ambition and power to manipulate material objects around us. Our intention is to conquer the nature. However, being a thinking thing also leads us to wonder if this ambition can be succeeded. Hence, we set up limits for ourselves, which are perfect for us to explain our failure in trying to achieve what we desire for. Because we are unsure whether or not God exists and we constantly encounter failure, we slowly conform ourselves to the rules set up by the church. Limits, rules, whatever forms they represent, are not bad because they help constrain us from doing something immoral and evil, but we have to admit it is them that stop us thinking and lead us to live a life that is the copy of others and full of negative perspectives. When we don't think anymore, we become nonexistent beings.

Through the positive conversations and statements, The Secret showed us what we human beings truly can do. This book told us we have the power for change. Our life is controlled by ourselves, and we all deserve a better and happier life. All we need do is to set up a goal and think about it. Never think about anything negative or destructive. Hold this happy feeling and deliver it to the universe. Slowly, we will have what we want come true. I guess the reason we can achieve our goal is because we are facing our life with a healthy and positive attitude. With this attitude we will not lose ourselves. Also, this attitude gives hope that pushes us to achieve our goal.

There is nothing magic and mythical in this book though what it talked about sounds like that. It is in fact about how we should use our mind and thought to make our life easier and happier. I like what it said, never worry about how this achievement would come, only concentrate on what you want and think that you have had it. It does give a wonderful feeling when you have that thought.

Proud to be a Taiwanese

2008-03-24T14:36:00.003+08:00

Thank Buddha, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was elected the 12th president of Taiwan ROC. And finally, Taiwan has a president whose behaviour, mentality, and mannerism truly matches what a president should be.

Mr. Ma brings us new hopes for Taiwan's future development. We, Taiwanese, have suffered from the economic and political downfall for the past 8 years. The government led by DPP only brought us difficult lives, only lowered our living quality, and the worst of all, only gave us a shaky regime. Many who support DPP and Frank Hsieh may oppose to what I said here, but if we really look at the people around us, think about our everyday life, and compare Taiwan to other developed countries, then we know what I said above are solid facts.

After 8 years of suffering, Taiwanese can no longer take it anymore. This time we used our legitimate power to show the government that we have had enough. Winning by a 16% margin, 220 million votes, KMT not only succeeds in taking back the government, but also succeeds in winning the people's heart again. Though it is a good teamwork that helps KMT win this election, we can't deny it is also Mr. Ma's charisma that completes such a difficult mission. This election is not just a dream come true for those who really concern Taiwan's future, it is also an excellent demonstration of how democratic this society is.

However, some radical supporters of DPP have shown us really bad attitudes. They have used horrible words to humiliate the people of Taiwan. It seems that only when their candidate wins the election could Taiwan maintain its democracy. How ridiculous! Didn't we all vote? Wasn't this an election that is based on people's free will? There's a woman, who has lived in Japan for most of her life, saying that she will give up being a Taiwanese because she could not stand Taiwan being "not Taiwanese" under Mr. Ma's presidency. This sounds just like a crying kid whose toys were taken away by the teacher. It is totally childish. I don't understand this logic and I am so curious about her logic. If she doesn't want to be a Taiwanese, go back to Japan and shut up! Stop giving irresponsible comments. Stop humiliating the people of Taiwan. We don't need a foreigner to tell us how to live our lives.

After the election, Mr. Shieh said that losing the election is only his and the party's failure, not the failure in Taiwan's democracy. I agree with him totally. At least, the candidate showed us a good attitude, and we should praise him for his frankness. His words highlights Taiwan's democracy.

Now we have a president that we want, and we all have a great expectation on him. This will not be an easy job, and he has to work very hard and be very careful. I have the faith that he can do it. From now on, Taiwan is different. Change has started, and we are ready to head to a prosperous future.

Is riot necessary?

2008-03-20T12:32:00.005+08:00

It must be really hard for Dalai Lama to say that he would consider retreating himself if the insurgents in Tibet insist on the use of violent means. After hearing his speaking with BBC and CNN, I started to think about if riot is the only way for Tibetans to seek independence.

Dalai Lama is a Buddhist monk. According to the principle of Buddhism, killing is not allowed and should be avoided. Therefore, how could he stand out for the riot which will definitely cause lots of casualties? As a religious leader, this is against his religious belief, and as a political leader, it is also against his concerns for the welfare of all Tibetans.

What China has done in Tibet is certainly wrong. The way they dominates that land is truly what Dalai Lama called "a cultural genocide". However, this dominating power is way stronger than the dominated, and it is truly useless to fight against it. Of course, due to the coming Olympic Games, China probably will not dare to start another military suppression like the one happened 20 years ago. But we should all bear in mind that China has never really cared about their human rights records. Giving a riot and using your human body to fight against machine guns is basically committing suicide. Besides, this gives China a very good reason to "destroy all possibilities that will cause any instability in China". Indeed, Tibet now is a part of China and that saying shuts people up. No other country would dare to interfere China's domestic politics.

So, as a spiritual and political leader of Tibet, Dalai Lama would never put his people, even any living being, in such a risky situation. What else can he do besides telling people not to start a riot? If Tibetans still consider Dalai Lama as their leader, they should really think about cooperating with Dalai Lama. In fact, I believe those who participate in the riot and accuse Dalai Lama of not being supportive of Tibet's independence are ignorant and unreasonable. It is these people with their aggressive behaviours that reinforce China's belief that Dalai Lama, as an exile leader, is responsible for any violent disturbance happened in Tibet.

China, in the meantime, should really start the conversation with Dalai Lama. Since he has expressed his point of view on the current situation in Tibet and has urged Tibetans not to show any unreasonable actions, the Chinese government should take this chance to communicate with him so as to seek possible solutions to Tibetan problem. This is a great chance for China to show the international society what a powerful and civilized country they are. Olympic Games is coming, and if China really starts the conversation with Dalai Lama before it, this would add good points to the reputation of China. For a country that is progressing greatly now, winning a good reputation in the international society is definitely positive to the economic development of the country. It can also bring good effects to the tense relationship between China and Taiwan, which is another big problem that waits to be solved in the future.

原來一筊就可以了！

2008-03-10T16:59:00.002+08:00

長這麼大、求神拜佛那麼多年了，到昨天我才知道，原來在廟裡擲筊問神明事情，只要有應一筊就可以了。求籤詩才需要請神明連續應三筊。不過媽祖廟的工作人員有說，不管是求籤或問事，都要先點香拜過，然後擲筊先問神明現在是否在廟堂大殿。如果神明應筊，才可以開始問問題或求籤；如果沒筊，那就要先等一下，不可貿然問之。其實拜拜的規矩還多的，不過我相信心誠則靈；只要帶著虔敬的心去參拜，神明都會保佑我們的。話雖如此，規矩不知道的就算了，知道的就應該要好好遵從。不管是媽祖還是菩薩，都應該不喜歡明知故犯的人吧！

關於萬人考大學活動

2008-02-29T18:15:00.005+08:00

目前學生程度差是事實。學生程度不佳是整體教育制度不健全的結果，並對〝大學〞產生一定程度的傷害，但高等教育品質低落並不完全是學生的錯。辦學績效差、研究素質差，這不是單以學生素質差做藉口就可以說得過去的。辦學及研究是大學內部人士的表現，這與學生表現並無太深入的關連性，反而是與主事者、師資、論文發表、及研究成果密切相關。所以現在劣質大學以學生表現作藉口，企圖掩飾本身能力不足，實在是丟臉。

我舉雙手贊成萬人考大學活動這個部落格提出的大學改革觀點，因為目前高等教育的整體品質，簡直是到了可笑的地步了。不過再去考一次大學是沒什麼意義的，這對大學退場機制也沒有幫助。就算把爛校爛系都填滿，讓他們招不了生，他們仍能藉由推廣教育中心、學分班、或碩士班苟活下去。爛大學還是會存在著，難道要一直考下去嗎？最好的方式其實還是以大學評鑑做基準，配合教育部的行政權，直接對狀況不佳的校系減招、停招，之後推動大學合併進而將爛學校淘汰掉。不過要現在這樣一個政府去作對的事，我看是比登天還難的。

現在的政府那麼喜歡公投，那何不去搞個【劣質大學退場公投】呢？最好在綁上總統大選，不就一次將所有問題都給解決了嗎？

品德教育的重要性與「身教」的影響性

2008-02-25T15:52:00.000+08:00

當教育部官員口出不堪言語時，相信大多數的台灣民眾，不僅是心中充滿著訝異，更是憂心如此現象將對下一代產生多大的影響。教育部的官員是教育的守護人；他們的責任在於推動更優良的教育體制，在於培養新一代成為具備良好知識與健全心態的國民。這些官員們皆是受過高等教育的專業人員，他們早應具備對全國大眾負責的基本觀念。除此之外，由於擔負著如此重責大任，他們必須更小心自身的行為言語。因為他們說的每一句話，做的每一件事，皆會被全民以高標準檢視。然而最近教育界出現的現象，實在令人懷疑這些人是否勝任教育監督者的角色。這不禁令人擔憂，是否台灣的整體教育水準向下沈淪，走向以仇恨、以負面性思考為出發的劣質教育。

「身教大於言教」，以身作則應是從事教育者皆應謹記的道理。若是從事教育者本身的行為言語出現偏差，想當然的被教育者的言行舉止定會受影響。現在的新一代，不論是言語上或行為上常出現偏差性行為。先不論這些行為是否是模仿自媒體上的報導，但媒體的報導絕對會影響兒童及青少年的行為舉止。當然的，媒體具有對事件誠實報導的責任，而一般大眾也絕對有知的權力。問題的癥結點在於，被報導的對象是擔負教育責任的政府官員。他們負面性的言語及行為，不啻是對從事教育工作者的侮辱，更是點名教育事業嚴重失敗。

現在常聽見學生們，用電視上聽來的字眼開玩笑。這些字眼很明顯的已經影響了新一代，也變成了玩笑用語。事實上，難聽的字眼並不是第一次被使用。他們變得如此流行的原因，主要還是在於媒體的強力報導及說話者的專業身分，這強化了這些負面性言語的影響力。就算學校教師用更多的方式來導正學生，效果仍有限。因為兒童及青少年的邏輯思考仍在養成階段，容易受強烈性言語的影響。一但接收到強烈性言語，便會試圖模仿並使用。除此之外，新一波教改後，我們發現新一代的學生極度缺乏判斷是非的能力。以往的倫理道德教育（如國文課程、公民與道德等）大量削減，卻不見強化思考邏輯的訓練，取而代之的是打著強化在地認同，但卻是教導族群分裂與仇視的負面性教材。這些無意義的教學，無形中剝奪了受教著知與學習的權力，更可怕的在於訓練出來的，是一批無自我意識及判斷力的新一代。在這種情況下，所有負面性影響深入於學生的生活中，偏差性行為也隨之產生。這種教育模式，不就像當年中國紅衛兵的養成嗎？

現在的政權早已徹底摧毀台灣的教育，這一代的受教者早已成為政權擁有者的失敗實驗品。八年的時間，教出了對自我傳統文化毫無認同感、無自我意識、無批判性邏輯，並只會運用負面性思惟的學生。相信目前的教育工作者，對教育事業必定感到一種莫名的無力感。然而教育為萬年事業，沒有教育就沒有國家發展。我們只能期望未來新政權能及時挽救當下危機，期望他們能運用兼具能力與品德的教育官員。唯有在上位者能以身作則，台灣教育才有希望，才能真正培養出優秀的下ㄧ代。

Pilgrimage: Ma-Tzu（媽祖）& FIve Heaven's Delegate（五府千歲）

2008-02-19T12:08:00.011+08:00

On Sunday, Feb. 17th, I had my first religious pilgrimage. It was fun, and I was so amazed at what I saw. Being a Chinese living in Taiwan for all my life, I thought I know my own culture. But after joining this pilgrimage, I realize that what I thought I know is only a small part of this great culture. The pilgrimage is not just a journey we make to visit the temple. It is in fact an expression of our sincere devotion to the Gods and our ambition to maintain cultural traditions, which is truly a visual presentation of our spiritual beliefs. Isn't this spiritual belief an inevitable element that constructs our culture? In other words, my experience is indeed an experience of the Traditional Taiwanese culture, and it guides me to have a deeper understanding of our traditional culture.

This pilgrimage is held by a temple in Ku-Shan, Kaohsiung（鼓山清雲寺）. They hold this pilgrimage every year during the Chinese Lunar New Year. The main destinations are Chao Tien Temple in Peikang（北港朝天宮） and Tai Tian Temple of Nan Kwun Shen in Beimen （北門南鯤鯓代天府）. On the return leg they also visit a small temple close to Nan Kwun Shen named Bao Ang Temple（蚵寮保安宮）.

The journey is to take the Gods back to the temple where they are from. It is also the chance for all supporters of the temple to visit other temples and to gain good luck and good fortune. Gaining good fortunes through worshiping and visiting temples is a historical cultural tradition which derives from agricultural society long ago. However, I found that we can interpret the meaning of this journey differently. It is a trip, a trip equipped with good reasons. It would be difficult for people to go traveling in the old days due to the lack of transportation means and the hardship of living. A pilgrimage hence becomes the chance for people to release themselves shortly from difficult realities. What is interesting here is this idea is not exclusive to the old days only. What I saw on the day of our pilgrimage still shows certain levels of this idea. After praying to the Gods, almost everyone rushed to the store to buy souvenirs. Instead of considering the pilgrimage as a sacred mission, the vibe of the participants is more relaxing and entertaining.

Chao Tien Temple is always busy like this during this period of time every year, and it will last until the end of March. This temple, built in the late 17th century, is dedicated to Ma-Tzu, the Goddess of the sea, the empress of the heaven. In Taiwan, many temples for Ma-Tzu originated from this one, so all these temples have to come back here every year. Visiting their source is the root of this kind of pilgrimage. And this activity brings tons of people into this small village.
The temple is currently under refurbishment. In oder to maintain the complete look of the temple, they put a huge photo in front of it. Since this is my first time there, I was quite sad that I could not see the building. But at least the picture gives me the idea what the temple looks like. I shall visit that place again when the construction work is complete.
People are all trying to get into the main shrine. The temple is quite small, and it is interesting to see all these people (including me) trying to get into there.
When a God arrives, they will first play the drum and then the bell to welcome the God. Then the God will be removed from his/her palanquin to the table in the main shrine. The Gods stayed there for 15 minutes. I am not sure if the timing is sufficient for these Gods to chat! The interesting thing is whenever a God arrives or leaves, they always announce through the speaker where the God is from and what the God will do now.
A mix of people and different Gods.
The main shrine in Chao Tien Temple. There are in total 7 Ma-Tzu statues inside the casket.
The backyard of the temple. I love the shape of incense burners in this temple.
When we were on our way back to the buses, there are more people coming into the village. This is going to last until the end of March.

The palanquins from our group. The first one is for wooden plates, which are used to indicate the presence of the heavenly troops whose function is to work for the Gods, and the second one is for Gods.

After Chao Tien Temple, we headed to a small one named Bao Ang Temple. They went there because after a year's service, the heavenly troop has to change. So they have to visit this temple to receive another troop from the Five Heaven's Delegate.
When we got there, the leader of the group started to communicate with the Gods. This is a highly formal ritual. The leader started to move in a rhythm like dance and used all different kinds of weapons to show the divine power of the Gods. The palanquin for wooden plates would run towards the leader whenever the leader said something or set small firecrackers. After this, the palanquin ran to the table and started hitting the table. This is like coding. Then another man appeared to explain what the palanquin indicated through this action. We didn't get to see this part when we were in the previous temple, and I believe they did not practice this there, either. There were too many people, and I guess it is not allowed there. Ma-tzu has a higher status and probably it is not considered as respectful and appropriate to show any violent scenes in front of her.

Then when everything is done, all the men removed the Gods and placed them inside the temple again. For this, the process is exactly the same as when they were in the previous temple.

After a 15 minutes stay, we left that temple and went to the last one, Tai Tien Temple of Nan Kwun Shen. This temple is special for the Five Heaven's Delegate. According to the legend, they were all worriers who had great contributions to the country (or the local area). Due to their great work and good intention to the welfare of people, the Emperor of the Heaven（玉皇大帝）granted them the power and status to be the representative of himself in our world. Therefore, these Gods are also widely worshiped in Taiwan.

Nan Kwun Shen is also built in the late 17th century, and it is like the headquarters of all temples for Heaven's Delegate. It is huge and the decoration in the temple is such a precious artwork. Unfortunately, the temple is also under renovation now, and they are in the process of building another temple dedicated to the Emperor of the Heaven at the back of its main building.

There's an interesting legend about this temple. At first, there was a lower status child god occupying this land. When the five delegates traveled to this area, they though that this place is perfect for their temple. But the child God didn't want to give the land to them, so they started a 3 day fight. Of course, we cannot be sure who actually won, but the legend said that both of them reached an agreement, that is, the front (the bigger part) of the area would be used by the delegates and the small part at the back shall be for the child God. So the temple in fact is composed of two different temples, and if we count in the one that is under construction work now, it will be three in total. So people there always say if you visit this temple without paying your respect to the child God, you will have tummy ache! I don;t want a tummy ache, so I did not dare to disobey this rule. This thing is used to light up incense sticks. This is so special. I don't know how this works. All you do is stick incense sticks upside down into this thing for a while, then they will be lighted up. It seems like they burn coal inside it.
The leader of the pilgrimage practice the same ritual again. There were a lot of people in this temple, and during our stay there, new groups kept coming in.

I was really enjoying this pilgrimage, and I think I will join them again next year. Seeing the ritual being practiced right in front of my eyes is such a fascinating experience. Being a Chinese, I believe in the old Taiwanese saying, that is, "Once you pray to the Gods sincerely, you will be blessed and protected by them."（有拜有保庇）

跟土地公公、婆婆借金：竹山紫南宮

2008-02-13T15:19:00.007+08:00

大年初三，雖然天氣陰冷，想在家嘛也是沒事做，就決定北上紫南宮去拜拜。經過電視節目的報導，紫南宮早已是名聲大噪，我也是在看了關於土地公公借金的報導後才知道這個地方。不過假日去真是個錯誤，尤其是因農曆年長假，竹山真的是人滿為患。剛從南二高下竹山交流道就開始塞車，本來我想是因為集集與溪頭也走同一條路，但塞了一小時終於到目的地後，我們才發現幾乎所有車都是往紫南宮方向。下車後的景象更是嚇人，滿滿的都是人。好不容易擠到廟前，那人擠人的情況，加上人手一把香，真令人想打退堂鼓。不過想想都到了，就拜吧。

買了金紙，燃了香，我們很勇敢的往廟裡走。好不容易擠進去後，發現金紙根本沒地方放，大家都是往神桌上丟。這次拜拜就像是在打仗，速戰速決。出來後我跟我姐想，既然都來了為何不求金呢？所以我們又很努力的擠進廟內。求金的方式其實很簡單，先對土地公公跟土地婆婆稟告求金目的及用途，之後直接擲茭，第一次就允聖杯即可得600，第二次才得聖杯就只有500，依次遞減直到金額為0。但這次情況不同，這麼多的人擠在裡面要怎麼求啊？

當我們終於擠進那窄小的主殿裡，聽到此起彼落的擲茭聲，但卻找不到茭在哪。這時我突然靈機一動，跟隔壁正在擲茭的阿桑借。我想是土地公公跟婆婆有保佑，阿桑很爽快的答應我們。很順利的我跟姊姊都有借到錢，而且從擠進去到求到錢出來，前後只有10分鐘。在那樣人擠人的情況下，我想我們算是很有效率的，之後我們就去排隊領錢嘍。倒是排隊領錢比較花時間，而且他們的做法就像是去銀行開戶一樣，要準備駕照、身分證或健保卡，否則是領不到錢的。最重要的是這借到的錢，必須於一年內歸還，還金金額隨喜，但一定要大於借來的金額。還有，土地公公的錢是用於正途上的，所以不可以買樂透，更不能賭博。

就我讀到的相關報導，2006年紫南宮借出2300萬，收回3000萬，而廟方也將大部分金錢運用於慈善及社會服務上，尤其是著重當地的服務。其實這廟方借金做法，雖無法判斷是否真是神明指示，其運用及社會效益是具相當正面性意義。至少它給了許多人一個希望，一個能夠重新找回信心與力量的機會。其實這個土地公公、婆婆銀行真的很賺錢，看他們新建的廁所（金筍迎客），不是號稱六星級而已，它真的是六星級，男廁裡面還有噴水池呢！

希望這次土地公公、婆婆給我的借金，能幫助我在這金鼠年賺大財，能心想事成、一帆風順。我也一定在規定時間內，歸還借金並好好答謝土地公公、土地婆婆！

Meinong (美濃), Lovely Comos

2008-02-11T14:47:00.000+08:00

Interesting plant. I have no idea what this is, but the colour of the flowers (they don't really look lke flowers) is perfect for Chinese New Year.

Chong-Cheng Lake (中正湖). Though the weather is not good, quite gray, it actually gives a pretty poetic tone.

Cosmos, amazing! I love these flowers. They are blossoming happily and proudly in the cold wind. Their blossoming gives us a sense of warmness and the hope for the future.

I love my Nokia phone. Though the camera is only 1.5 megapixel, the quality of the pictures is pretty good.

Happy Chinese New Year

2008-02-05T17:24:00.000+08:00

The Year of the Golden Mouse! The first birth sign of the Chinese horoscope, which means a new start for a 12 year cycle. Also a new start for everyone.

I made this little card for all my friends. Wherever they are, I wish to celebrate this holiday with them!

美濃覺玄寺的大向日葵

2008-01-29T17:42:00.000+08:00

美濃真是各地靈人傑的好地方，那裡的大向日葵長得特別大！這些向日葵長在覺玄寺（原名寶蓮禪寺）裡，我想除了美濃本身的好山好水外，是因為有諸佛菩薩的加持，所以他們才長得特別漂亮。

覺玄寺除了向日葵外，他們的蘭花也養得很棒。寺裡的義工很有創意的將蘭花養在樹幹上；大樹開蘭花，讓參觀寺廟的群眾有驚喜的感覺。覺玄寺最有名的就是幫人指點解惑的黃師姐，她是幫助准提佛母於此人世間渡化眾生的修行人。她是個講話很有趣的人，國台語夾雜、速度很快且一針見血。眾生不論有何疑難雜症，准提佛母都能藉她的口告知眾生應如何趨吉避兇。不過最近她因身體上的勞累，對問事有人數上的限制，希望能與她說話的人要碰運氣了。除了她很準之外，她對修行所秉持的態度是值得讚揚的。我很欣賞她常說的一句話，「修行是修我們的這顆心，把心定下來，讓心快樂。當心是快樂的，一切都會是順心如意的，那也就無所謂的苦痛了。」如此簡單的一句話，點名了佛教義裡的中心思想。聽似容易，然而執行起來卻是困難重重啊！

一黨獨大更需要謙卑地為人民服務

2008-01-16T16:48:00.000+08:00

立委大選在一連串的爭議中，終於順利劃下句點。雖說國民黨勝利是意料中的事，他贏得如此漂亮仍是另人驚喜。其實就目前台灣的政經狀態來看，國民黨此次的勝選，是全國人民對民進黨投下的不信任票，是人民對貪腐、無能政權的吶吼與唾棄。就民主政治的形態來看，此次的結果就是人民力量展現的實例；一般大眾應相信自己那神聖的一票，因為那是我們欲打倒惡質政權唯有的武器，是唯一能讓我們實現希望的工具。

然而在投票結果出爐後，如此低的投票率實在令人憂心。這是否代表了有許多的台灣人早已放棄台灣的希望？加上民進黨及泛綠政營低的可憐的得票率，是不是只有泛藍支持者在這次選舉中投票？其實大多數民眾都對目前的執政黨極度不滿，包括我在內。原因大都相同，最重要就是生活變得越來越辛苦。當一個執政團體無法讓其人民生活的安心、快樂，很自然的人民便會怪罪這執政團體無能。而當人民有能力去選擇新的執政團體時（尤指民主社會，人民具高度決定權），人民便會以選票修理無能者。但是此次的投票率實在太低，不禁使人懷疑舊有泛率支持者，是否並未參與投票。若是如此，國民黨的勝選並不代表他們贏得泛綠支持者的心。他們能贏，在於泛綠支持者的投票率過低。不過，就南部的投票結果而言，國民黨是成功的，但實質上得票應是來自中間選民的支持，而非深綠支持者。

然而真正令人憂心的現象，在於民眾的消極性。低投票率的成因，主要是在於有須多人選擇放棄其投票權。或許是對台灣政治的過度消極，或對生活困境的無力感，這些人選擇逃避，選擇放棄希望。他們忘記了自身的投票權，其實能幫助他們選擇更適合的執政團隊。消極性的逃避，只是不斷延長現有的困難與痛苦。唯有選出新的執政團隊，台灣才能有新希望，生活上的痛苦才有可能減輕。就民眾的消極性而言，未投票者其實包含了泛藍、泛綠及中間選民。不論是國民黨，或是民進黨，他們目前需要努力的，在於去以優秀的政見及謙卑的態度來贏得這些人的心。畢竟台灣是民主政體，台灣的人民對民主應該要有良好的認知。低投票率即代表台灣民主的不健全，代表人民對自身的權力不了解，而兩大黨應負起教導台灣民眾民主教育的責任。

可惜的是民進黨至今為止，只反省了一天。對於輸了選舉，他們不斷地為自己找理由，低投票率可笑地成為民進黨輸了選舉的最大原因。怎麼可能深綠支持者，會不將他們的一票投給他們摯愛的民進黨？若是深綠支持者未投票，那民進黨的得票難道是來自於深藍嗎？這種想法，邏輯上實在說不過去。輸了裡子也輸了面子的民進黨，似乎不認為他們以已去人民的支持，仍想著可以在總統大選扳回一成。或許他們真的相信，此次的失敗只是因為低投票率，若總統大選時若能動員起來，應該還是五五波，不見得會輸掉政權。如此強硬的態度，加上仍是十分惡質的施政方式，我想民進黨想扳回一成，或期待的鐘擺效應，都將只是癡人說夢。

同時的，國民黨在取得國會絕大多數後，是否會像以前一樣，又犯大頭症，驕傲了起來？至今為止，國民黨對勝選仍是採謙卑政策。這是個很好的開始，加上馬英九先生提出，絕不會於國會中採極端方式抵制執政者，我想國民黨對此次的勝選，以及三月總統大選，是十分戒慎恐懼的。事實上，一黨獨大的國會不見得是好事。少了在野的制衡，國民黨或許會變成國會怪獸，將無法真正為發展國家希望、為人民做事。加上總統大選若是國民黨再勝，那似乎是又由民主社會走回去威權專制的感覺。這是個十分有趣的問題，因為若是屏除馬英九先生的候選人身分，就目前剩下的候選人狀態而言，實在是想不出有誰真的適合總統職位。或許有人認為謝長廷先生不錯，但他過去於高雄市市長期間，有太多的問題仍須他說清楚、講明白，他的政策也沒有新意、跳脫不出現有的架構。此外，八年的民進黨執政實在令人失望，也叫人看不出未來。試想八年換了這麼多的院長、高級官員，再給四年會有所改變嗎？相信民進黨內部，也沒有多餘的人可以換了吧！換句話說，就我自己的立場而言，我想馬英九先生應是最適合的總統人選。雖說是投人不投黨，因為他身為國民黨候選人的關係，他當選後台灣又成為了一黨獨大、說了就算的體制。

一黨獨大也是民主體制，只不過這一大黨需要更謙卑，需要為國家人民做更多有發展、有意義的事。其實國民黨是有能力的，尤其是在於經濟與外交上。但讓人擔憂的是，國民黨一直以來都戒不掉大頭症的問題。若是他們能從現在起，都能秉持著謙卑的態度，都能將個人利益拋掉，那台灣在國民黨一黨獨大的體制下，仍能保持高度民主性。其實過去蔣經國時代不也是一黨獨大嗎？雖然民主化不及今日，但那時的經濟發展及外交努力，著實令人懷念。真的很想、很希望再次看到那樣的榮景，台灣仍是有希望的。那些放棄投票權的人，不管支持的對象或政黨為何，都應該去投票。把票投給真正能為你自己帶來幸福的人！

My Water Lily 蓮花開了！

2008-01-08T20:27:00.000+08:00

I am so happy to see my water lily blossoming! Water lily is one of my favorite plants. They look so graceful, and I really enjoy their fragrance. It's not strong but very light. You must stay very close to the blossoming so as to smell that fragrance! Though there's only one blossoming, I can see four more buds waiting for their turn to blossom. When they are all blossoming, it definitely would be very beautiful.

By the way, I found my Nokia E50 is such a nice gadget. All these pix are taken using this mobile. Though they look kind of blurry, I quite enjoy that "kind of blurry" effect!

台北縣平溪鄉 Pin Xi, Taipei. What a lovely place!

2007-12-27T16:17:00.000+08:00

Pin Xi is so beautiful. It takes about 40 minutes on the bus from Mu Za (木柵) Taipei. If you take the train from Taipei, it takes about 1.5 hour. Though bus ride is faster, I recommend train ride. Pin Xi Line has the best scenery to offer. When I was on the train going into Ching Tung Village (菁桐村), which is the last stop on Pin Xi Line, I was so impressed by the mountain views!

In fact, besides the scenery, there's basically nothing to do. All you do is walking! I quite like walking there because the train tracks are right in the middle of the village, and if you are lucky enough, you get to see Formosan Blue Magpie (台灣藍鵲)! I was really excited when I saw them flying in the sky. By the way, the air is so fresh and the water is so clean. It is a paradise. However, being a city boy, I guess I can only handle 2 nights there! I probably will go mad if I live there.

I was so amazed to see dogs sleeping like that (like corpse!) on the train track! I guess they know exactly when the train will come.

Wong Ku Station (望古站), what a tiny stop!

Waterfall! A pretty interesting one, which looks like eyes!

Mountains there are so pretty, especially when clouds start to swamp around them. Lovely scene, which is like a Chinese painting.

Palace Restaurant. I believe this is the most famous restaurant in that area. It is a traditional Japanese house with a lovely Japanese garden. The house is very clean and beautiful. The food they serve is amazingly tasty. I tried the steamed taro with ribs. Yummy!

I stayed in Tokyo Guesthouse, which is right behind Ching Tung Station. It is very small but very clean. The owner of the guesthouse is so nice. My friend wanted to fly the sky lantern (天燈), and she taught us how to do it. Comparing to other guesthouses around, Tokyo Guesthouse is really the best option in Pin Xi. She told us the best time to visit is around the 15th of lunar January, which is around the Lantern Festival. During that period of time, we can see tons of sky lanterns flying on the sky at night. I am thinking of re-visiting the area on that time. It will definitely be a wonderful experience.

眼跳法 (The reading of twitching eyelids)

2007-12-12T14:13:00.000+08:00

You don't need to believe in what I said here. Take it as a precaution since we can never predict what we will experience. If you happen to receive a bad omen, all you need to do is to be more careful of and cautious about your everyday living. If you are lucky to receive a good one, then just be happy. However, we should always remember "Extreme joy begets sorrow!"（樂極生悲）I don't think our ancestors developed this to teach us to be superstitious. It is only a guide that helps us to avoid bad things that probably will destroy what we have built up in our life. In other words, these omens should not be taken too seriously, nor be ignored completely! We always need to use our knowledge and experience to carefully decide what we should do in our life.

眼跳法 (The reading of twitching eyelids)

子時 (23:00~01:00) 左有貴人右有飲食
Left: Will receive help from other people Right: Will have the chance for a good meal

丑時 (01:00~03:00) 左有憂心右有人思
Left: Will worry about something Right: Someone is missing you

寅時 (03:00~05:00) 左有人來右喜事至
Left: Someone you expect will come Right: Good fortune is on its way

卯時 (05:00~07:00) 左貴客來右平安吉
Left: Someone who will help you is coming Right: Will be safe and good

辰時 (07:00~09:00) 左遠客來右主損害
Left: Friends from far away will visit you Right: Will receive damages

巳時 (09:00~11:00) 左有飲食右主凶惡
Left: Will have the chance for a good meal Right: Will receive bad fortunes

午時 (11:00~13:00) 左主飲食右有凶事
Left: Will have the chance for a good meal Right: Will hear about something bad

未時 (13:00~15:00) 左主吉昌右有小喜
Left: Good fortunes Right: Small nice things will happen

申時 (15:00~17:00) 左有損財右有女思
Left: Will lose money Right: Your partner is missing you

酉時 (17:00~19:00) 左有客來右遠客至
Left: Will have guests visit you Right: Will accommodate friends from far away

戌時 (19:00~21:00) 左有客至右主聚會
Left: Will accommodate guests Right: Will have the chance to attend a gathering

亥時 (21:00~23:00) 左主客至右主官非
Left: Will accommodate guests Right: Will have legal issues

Burtal Murder of Jamie Bulger, the petition

2007-12-12T13:20:00.000+08:00

The following message describes a brutal murder happened to a 3 year old boy in 1993 in England. I was so shocked when I read this message. At first, I thought this is a joke, but sadly I found this news was published on BBC in 2001. This story is horrendous. What made these two 10 year old boys do such a horrible thing? What turned them to be such a monster? However, the most difficult question is on "Should we keep them in custody forever because what they had done is unforgivable?" or "Do they deserve the right for a new life after spending so many years being good in custody?" I have a hard time thinking on these questions. If they have really shown their regret for what they have done, then, thinking on the notion of "Everyone deserves a second chance", they should be granted the right to a new life. However, their brutal actions to Jamie Bulger is such a evil crime which gives us no reason to grant them any new chance. If you have read down here, please read the following message.

Do you remember February 1993 in England , when a young boy of 3 was taken from a Liverpool shopping centre by two 10-year-old boys? Jamie Bulger walked away from his mother for only a second, Jon Venables took his hand and led him out of the mall with his friend Robert Thompson. They took Jamie on a walk for over 2 and a half miles, along the way stopping every now and again to torture the poor little boy who was crying constantly for his mummy. Finally they stopped at a railway track where they brutally kicked him, threw stones at him, rubbed paint in his eyes, pushed batteries up his anus and cut his fingers off with scissors. Other mutilations were inflicted but not reported in the press.

N.B. :- Remember, a 3year old cannot possibly defend themselves against a 10 year old, let alone of 2 them.

What these two boys did was so horrendous that Jamie's mother was forbidden to identify his body. They then left his beaten small body on railway tracks so a train could run him over to hide the mess they had created. These two boys, even being boys, understood what they did was wrong, hence trying to make it look like an accident.

This week Lady Justice Butler-Sloss has awarded the two boys ( now men ), anonymity for the rest of their lives when they leave custody with new identities. They will also leave custody early only serving just over half of their sentence. They are being relocated to Australia to live out the rest of their lives. They disgustingly and violently took Jamie's life away and in return they each get a new life!

Please.... . If you feel as strongly as we do, ( and if you haven't already signed this petition ) that this is a grave Miscarriage of justice - Hit the forward button and add your name at the end, and send it to everyone you can !

If you are the 700th person to sign, please forward this e-mail to: cust.ser.cs@gtnet.gov.uk and mark it for the attention it to Lady Justice Butler-Sloss.

Proud to have a gay son!

2007-11-30T15:41:00.000+08:00

Not long ago I read an article that interviewed parents with gay children. I was deeply touched by these brave parents. I am also very happy for these gay children because they really have good parents who protect and support them.

Among all these parents, one mother impressed me greatly with her words. She is a very special person. In our religious belief, some people are considered as special ones because they can hear or see gods and goddesses who have chosen them as their representatives in this world. So they will act as a mediator between people and the divine power so as to help people lead a better life in this world. This mother is such a person. She claims she can hear Guan Yin（觀音）, the bodhisattva of great mercy and compassion, the most well-known and worshiped deity for Chinese. When his only son confessed to her one day that he is only interested in men instead of women, she was so shocked and felt that her life started to crumble. This brave mom prayed to Guan Yin and asked if she had done something really bad that caused such a terrible thing to happen. Then one day, she heard Guan Yin talking to her.

Don't be scared and sad. The world is changing now, and everything is different now. If your boy is interested in men, then why don't you support him and protect him. If he can receive great happiness from being with another man, then why don't you be happy for him as well. Isn't seeing your boy being happy the most important thing for you? If you force him to be with a woman, he will not feel safe and comfortable, and this only causes problems that makes his life difficult and sad. Be a brave mother, support him and be happy for him!

She said she cried when Guan Yin told her this. But it is these words that changed her perspectives and gave her strength.

We don't know if this story is real, but what she tries to deliver is so positive and constructive. If the deity considers homosexuality as "just two human beings who feel and care for each other", why we try to make such a relationship a sin, a taboo? I am not concluding that the Buddhist deity totally promotes homosexuality. I am only saying that homosexuality is also about two human beings deciding to be with each other, just like heterosexuality.

We need to educate people, especially those who thinks homosexuality as a sin, that two men or two women being together are just as normal as a man with a woman. We need to educate the younger generations not to hate or tease gay people. I feel so sad when I hear kids making fun of the word "gay", and I always tell them the meaning of this word is "pleasure and cheerfulness". If we can have more parents to support their gay children, these young gays will not need to go through difficult times when facing their sexuality. If we can education our young generations to look at this topic without prejudice, definitely we can eliminate hatred towards gay people.

Photos of Greece 希臘式生活

2007-11-30T15:06:00.000+08:00

These three pictures are part of my beautiful memory from the last visit to Greece. I did not post them here because I used them to attend a photo competition held by BENQ. Unfortunately, I failed, but I do think my photos are pretty, and they are truly a precious part of me.

I always believe that taking breaks is an expression of our attitudes towards our life and the photos taken are evidences of our life experience. Images I took are always random ones. However, it is these random images that truly reflect my feelings, emotions, and mind. Of course, we are human beings that rely so much on words, which I consider a good means for us to preserve our fragile memory. Words are used to describe these image. They help me remember what I thought and felt at that special moment. Moreover, due to our good habit to think, I can always develop more for these random images, which means that my mind start to link what I thought to what I see and what I have experienced that finally constructs a little plot for these random images. I love images with plots. It makes these images interesting. I guess this is why I do not appreciate post-modern arts, which is always about what you see is what you get! I always think, "What you see isn't always what you get!"

懸吊空中的炙熱太陽終於在晚間 8:45 沒入地平線之下。希臘的夕陽真的很美，它的美讓人忘了呼吸，讓人忘了時間的存在。呆坐在沙灘上，眼睛直直地望著沈入海中的橘色光輪，剎那間意識到海風早已轉涼，肚子也開始咕咕叫了。此時好友正從海中走向我，遠遠的就大叫「吃飯時間到了」。就是喜歡希臘人隨性、大剌剌的個性。不管有多煩惱、多苦悶，下午悠閒的游泳、晒太陽是一定要的，而晚上的娛樂活動更是不能少。清涼的夜晚才是一天的開始，是一天的精華；一路吃吃喝喝到凌晨，誰管明天還要上班、開會。「活在當下」真是讓希臘人發揮的淋漓盡致，而這種生活態度還真不錯。不就是過日子嗎，一定會遇見煩惱痛苦。好過是過，歹過也是過，何不放鬆自己好好享受生命的美麗！

好友驕傲地告訴我「它沒有名字，只有當地人才知道，完全沒有干擾的寧靜海灘」。真的，往前望去是永無止盡的藍，少了觀光客的喧雜吵鬧，這般寧靜的海天交映著實令人心曠神怡。沒人知道那兩根平行豎立的柱子有何作用，但不見蹤影的船伕早將固定船隻的欖繩套上柱子。對不會預設立場、也不會多擔心的希臘人來說，該做的就要做，就算有問題，反正總會找到解決方法。挺欣賞他們這種事事「處之泰然」的做事方式，然而欣賞歸欣賞，仍是難以拋棄早跟隨我數十載的個性。這樣一個悠閒寂靜的海灣中，游泳、看魚、晒太陽是僅有的活動。以慵懶的步調浸營於海水中、享受陽光的滋潤，這真是最完美的渡假方式。

大多數希臘人都擁有位於郊區或小島上的夏日小屋，到了週末假日他們便迫不及待地逃離髒亂吵雜、酷熱難耐的雅典。眼前這三種不同層次的藍，加上這寬廣的風景，搭配著夏日小屋特有的休閒氛圍，認誰都不願放棄欣賞這般美景的機會。好友說，「用心感受眼前風景，它的美使人快樂、給人力量」。當徐徐海風輕撫著我的臉頰，當舌尖充滿著香醇的希臘咖啡，當無限開闊的美景填滿我那有限的視野，原本依賴在肩頭上的壓力與重擔在那轉念間消逝，放鬆的愉悅讓我莫名的嘴角上揚，心中是滿滿的自信光明。雖說希臘式的生活態度是慵懶，這慵懶並非懶散，而是對現實生活的調劑與平衡。少了游泳、看海、聊天、晒太陽，生活將變得無趣，人也喪失對生命的期待。李涉說「偷得浮生半日閒」，李白謂「人生得意須盡歡」。與其汲汲營營於俗世間，何不停下腳步好好享受與那風景的完美邂逅。

Pakistan Emergency

2007-11-08T16:30:00.000+08:00

The mail I received from Avaaz.org has such a terrible news about the current situation of Pakistan.

We just received this email from Asma Jahangir, head of the Pakistani Human Rights Commission and the UN's Special Rapporteur for freedom of religion worldwide. Now under house arrest in Lahore, she's one of many Pakistanis urgently asking the world community to raise our voice:

There is a strong crackdown on the press and lawyers... The Chief Justice is under house arrest (unofficially). The President of the Supreme Court Bar (Aitzaz Ahsan) and 2 former presidents, Mr. Muneer Malik and Tariq Mahmood have been imprisoned for one month under the Preventive Detention laws...

There are other scores political leaders who have also been arrested. Yesterday I was house arrested for 90 days... the President (who has lost his marbles) said that he had to clamp down on the press and the judiciary to curb terrorism. Those he has arrested are progressive, secular minded people, while the terrorists are offered negotiations and ceasefires.

Lawyers and civil society will challenge the government and the scene is likely to get uglier. We want friends of Pakistan to urge the US administration to stop all support of the instable dictator, as his lust for power is bringing the country close to a worse form of civil strife...

--Asma Jahangir
Lahore, Pakistan

In oder to maintain his power, Musharraf suspends Pakistan's constitution and shuts downs the media and basic freedoms. The martial law he declares allows him to be the real ruler of the country. According to the mail, he seems to be connected with the Taliban, which makes his actions even worse. If the western power still supports Paskistan by offering military aids, under the control of such a tricky man, the aid would probably go to the Taliban. If so, how can we really stop terrorism when the aid to stop terrorism is becoming the aid for terrorism?

Stop dictatorship!

Act now on climate change!

2007-11-05T15:15:00.000+08:00

Sign up for the petition!

Petition To World Leaders:

Climate change is the greatest threat facing our world today - and we are almost out of time to stop it.

You must tackle this problem now, decisively and together. Start working toward a new global agreement this year. Set binding global targets for emissions to avert catastrophic climate change. Take bold action immediately - and we will join our efforts with yours.

On Human Nature: some ideas about Heights (2004)

2007-10-08T15:04:00.000+08:00

Recently, I saw Heights, a film directed by Chris Terrio in 2004. This is a film that probes into the fragile human nature of modern man. Setting in New York, what we see in this film is those modern looking characters, who try their best live as they have hoped in this big international city. Everyone has his/her past, and no one would dare to admit its existence. Their way of surviving in this city is by all means to cover their past history and pretend that their current life is as enjoyable as a Disney show. They would rather live in such a false verisimilitude, which is so close to reality, than unfold their past and be what they really are.

Indeed, this is what we human beings are. We always choose to look at the pretty side and ignore the dark side that actually constructs our life. Therefore, we seal whatever that is considered as inappropriate and wrong, and we pursue a fantasy that is so perfect in which nothing wrong would be shown and everything would be fine and beautiful. However, such a fantasy is only a lie, and lies can never survive the challenge of time. When such incidents happen, it is a time that we shall all face our true self, and it is also the time that we see how fragile human nature is. The story of Heights is a good representation of this weak human nature, and its aim to bring up such issue is to remind us that we shall be true to ourselves. Fantasy will never last long, and the consequence of it always brings us the unbearable failure.

Everyone is the victim, and everyone is the wrongdoer as well. We become victims because we never really face our past. Due to our lack of courage to face the past, we suffer from our actions of trying to build up a fantasy that is untrue. However, this action also makes the victim a wrongdoer. This victim/wrongdoer relationship produces tragic heroes, and Jonathan, a closeted gay man who pursues a fake but wonderful straight life, is the tragic hero in this film. We are not sure if he is truly in love with Isabel, but he does show his affection to her. They really share a perfect life, which is what they have expected. He has such a good intention to build up a family with Isabel. However, he ignores what is truly buried inside his heart, his true self. Jonathan is in fact a homosexual who is still having an affair with his neighbour, Alec, a young actor who has been suffering from Jonathan’s indecisiveness. Jonathan is cheating on his fiancé over another man, and this cheating is what makes his real life a false fantasy. Because of our social norms that consider homosexuality as impure and sinful, he seems to consider his true self as inappropriate and ugly. Living in this homophobic world, Jonathan is a victim who suffers. He tries his best to hide himself so as to keep his real life as perfect and beautiful. For this reason, when his affair with another man is finally revealed, he said to his fiancé that what happened is a shame. But this is his true self. Denying his true self for the false fantasy meaning denying his true existence in the reality. All his words and actions would naturally become meaningless because he is living in this fantasy that is just untrue. His actions and words make him the wrongdoer, who is responsible for the tragic incident. In order to protect his position as a victim and to ensure his social status in the society, he chose to lie to his fiancé, and this action has led him to the unbearable failure, to be the wrongdoer.

Can we blame Jonathan for being such a liar to his fiancé? Can we blame him for doing what he has to do to survive in the straight world? He can easily choose another life, which is a happy gay life with Alec. If he did, he could have shown the world his true identity. However, after having a good job in such a competitive society that normally rejects homosexuality in general, can he really give up what he has already built up and being what he truly is? When this question comes up, I believe most people would choose to maintain what they have had as Jonathan did. This is not about right or wrong; it is always about if you have met the right timing. With the right timing, the false fantasy could be maintained, and the secret private life will not be brought to light. If you are unlucky, like Jonathan, this only leads to one result, that is, you have to choose sides. In fact, when such a circumstance happened, you cannot freely choose where to go. You always have to just accept the result and wait for the verdict from the other victims who suffered from your actions. In this film, Jonathan is lucky to have Alec who is still willing to take him back. But will we all be so lucky like Jonathan?

This kind of problem that would have such a great impact on our personal life usually leads us to the state of being indecisive. It is this being indecisive that truly reveals our fragile human nature. Human nature is fragile because we are used to lies and false fantasies. We consider fantasies the power that encourages us to achieve all kinds of material satisfactions. But we must not forget that the satisfaction of material reality is not the true reality we live in. As mentioned, lies make everything meaningless. A life that is based on false fantasies would be a life that is completely meaningless, and therefore, all material achievements in this life are only vague ones that are alienated to us. So it would not be difficult for us to understand why Isabel determined to stop the relationship and why Jonathan chose to go back to Alec. Their crisis is in fact the best chance for them to examine their false fantasy and to finally see what they are and what they truly want to do. Though human nature is fragile, it can be amazingly strong when we finally identify with our true self.

By projecting Jonathan as an indecisive character, Heights shows us how ignorant we are trying to live in lies and false fantasies. Even we try so hard to protect this fragile bubble it still bursts. Only when we live a life that is true to ourselves could we be free from any forms of suffering. This is not a film that tells us what to do and how to do; it is a film that uses real life as a reflection to remind us that our past and our true identity must not be ignored.

Glenn Close is superb. She is such a great actress whose gestures, even just a glance or a single posture, are already full of energy that is totally theatrical. She plays Diana, Isabel’s mother, and her role in the film is just perfect for her. Playing as an actress, a master for performance, and a director, this role highlights Glenn’s ability as a professional performer. In the meantime, it is such a great pleasure to see Isabella Rossellini in this film. Though I am never impressed with her acting, especially comparing it to her mother, Ingrid Bergman, it is always good to see this beautiful actress on the screen.

Where are the monks and protesters? Human Rights is only a joke there

2007-10-04T12:58:00.000+08:00

I guess this bloodshed Saffron Revolution is officially ended, and nothing has changed at all. Only Burmese suffered again both mentally and physically. Burma is still a country led by the cruel military regime. Democracy is still only a dream for all Burmese.

The UN special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, has returned to New York to report the situation in Burma. I really don't know if his meeting with the regime leaders could change anything at all. From what we have heard on the news lately, the junta determined to clamp down this protest, and they really did. Almost all monks in Burma are mysteriously gone. Hurting and killing monks is obviously a sign to tell the world that the junta doesn't care about their Burmese Buddhist tradition. They would do whatever it takes to clamp down this protest so as to maintain their legitimate power over Burma. Indeed, we saw it, and worse than that, we saw a Japanese reporter being shot within a short distance. Of course, Japan has declared their outrage, but for this shameful junta they simply responded with such a lie, "It was an accident, and he shouldn't be there". This is just ridiculous! They kill people just like killing ants, without a blink at all. What is human rights? Sorry, it doesn't exist at all in Burma!

Today I read a report by a journalist who went to cover the story. His report said when he was there, most people he met told him that they actually expected military force from the western world or the UN to stop this junta. Nobody wants war, but when somebody clearly expresses this intention, then the situation these people are in must be really difficult. This is why they rather suffer from war than live under this junta. This is a message that requires our attention, and this message shows how Burmese yearn for freedom and democracy. All sanctions and condemnations conducted by the world will not change the current situation in Burma, and these sanctions would only make people's life there more difficult. We don't know what this UN special envoy would report to the members of the UN. However, we are quite sure that everything he saw in Burma was deliberately arranged by the junta. Again, this diplomatic action is not successful because it doesn't carry any true voice from the people in Burma.

However, it is such an encouraging news that the UN envoy had met Aung San Suu Kyi. In a sense, this could be interpreted as a friendly response from the military junta. But we should remember that she is still detained and watched by the junta. What can she really say when she is not able to freely express her concerns on Burma?

So, as the journalist concluded in his report, "the protest is officially ended". Burma hasn't changed at all. Those monks and protesters are still mysteriously missing. Human rights is still only a joke there.

Study of The Vajra Sutra, a true wisdom

2007-10-03T13:51:00.000+08:00

Part of The Vajra Sutra, Tang Dysnaty, AD 868, found in Dunhuang （敦煌） in 1900, now in the British Museum

The complete name of The Vajra Sutra is The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra , 【金剛般若波羅密經】. It is also named The Diamond Sutra. This sutra is extremely important in Buddhist studies because through its dialogue form it introduces us the true Buddhist wisdom. This wisdom is nothing about worshiping gods; it is a teaching that guides us to look into our very own self and build up strong will so that we can perceive this subjective world with a true objective mind. This wisdom, though Buddhist, is beyond Buddhism; it is a philosophy that applies to everyone, regardless of ethnic, cultural, and religious background, who lives in this material world. Reciting and contemplating on it would help us look at whatever happened with objectivity which means we will not again use our subjective eyes to interpret any physical existence.

Indeed, when we stop interpreting things subjectively, we start to see new possibilities that are blocked by our subjective mind before. Subjectivity is nothing that we can truly abandon. We are human beings with the ability to think, and therefore we can never be truly objective. A subjective mind is always about what we desire. When desire stays in our mind, all we want is to fulfill this desire and the experience of it is loss and unhappiness. Because of the unhappiness caused by loss, we crave more and we are further away from the true wisdom. Lord Buddha stated that clearly in this sutra, and therefore he constantly told his disciple to give up this habit of trying to use our senses to perceive the meaning of dharma. Dharma is such a great wisdom that only when we try our best to be objective could we have the chance to be enlightened by it. This is why Lord Buddha taught us to give up our subjectivity, to learn to be objective. In his opinion, dharma is not a thing that we can crave and get; it is hidden inside all of us. It is a wisdom which we can develop through our contemplation on who we are and what we are.

Being a Buddhist believing in the teaching of Lord Buddha, I have the habit of reciting sutras and mantras. I don't see myself a very clever person who can easily pick up the meaning of these words, but I try my best to learn and understand them. It took me two years to study The Vajra Sutra. I recite it every day and contemplate on the meaning of the verses while I recite them. It truly helps me get rid of my old habit of being extremely subjective. It calms me down and now I seem to be more peaceful than before. I don't get angry easily, and I don't really crave for material satisfaction now. If you put it in a kind of superstitious way of speaking, my studies on Buddhism truly transforms me to be a better person, and it does make my life more easier. However, I firmly believe it is my understanding of these words and verses that leads me to look at myself and the world with different perspectives.

I found these two four-line verses in The Vajra Sutra very interesting and highly inspiring:

One who looks for me [the Buddha or Dharma] in forms,
Or seeks me in sounds,
[Would be] Practices a deviant path
And will never see the Thus Come One [be enlightened by dharma]
「若以色見我，以音聲求我，是人行邪道，不能見如來。」

All conditioned dharmas
Are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble or a shadow,
Like dew or like a lightning flash.
Contemplate them thus
「一切有為法，如夢幻泡影，如露亦如電，應作如是觀。」

I am still on my way to be more objective. This is a long journey for personal development. I have started it, and my studies on Buddhism has given me a good belief on it.

Bloodstained Saffron Revolution: Let's all pray for Burmese monks & people

2007-09-27T13:29:00.000+08:00

An injured monk receiving medical treatment, AFP, 27/09/07

Unfortunately, the junta chose the worst way to crackdown the protesters. For Buddha's sake, they are monks. They didn't do anything wrong. They just walked on the street and prayed. That's it!

Being a Buddhist, I firmly believe that if you attack a monk, you are doomed. How can you attack someone who has devoted himself wholly to the teaching of the lord Buddha? In this case, the junta would eventually fail because they are conducting such evil actions against monks, against Buddhism.

Though the international community is trying to sort out the Burma crisis, I don't see economic sanctions as good measures to solve this problem. Economic sanctions would only make people's life there more difficult. Only up to certain levels would it affect the junta and its leaders. Mostly, it would be the Burmese people who suffer from sanctions.

China is really the key to this problem. It is such a shame that China only said that they wish to see stability in Burma and declared that they do not wish to be involved in other country's internal affairs. It is not hard for us to know why they have such cold reaction towards this issue. It is all about the 2008 Olympic Games. In fact, I personally think this is a great chance for China to improve its bad image on humanitarian issues. China has such great influence on Burmese junta, and if they want to, they truly can help the junta find a way to cease the crisis. So far, we have known UN has decided to send their envoy to Burma. However, I don't think UN can be a good help without a strong support from Chinese government.

We really cannot do anything to help the monks and people in Burma. All we can do is only be highly supportive. I would pray to Buddha and pray for the people there. Hoping that no more violent crackdown would be on news again. I am also so hoping that the junta can realize the people power is way stronger that they have anticipated. They must stop attacking those monks, and they should return the country to its people.

According to news, Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved to the prison, but no one can confirm if this is true. If it is true, then the junta must have known that the power form the monks and people can throw them out, which is why they decided to move her to the prison. In fact, it is an useless action because Suu Kyi has lived in the heart of all Burmese, and keeping her in the jail would only provoke the protesters further that definitely would form a strong power to overthrow the junta. But, this for sure would go through violent phases. Indeed, no one wants to see more bloody scenes, and we are hoping that it will not happen.

Let us all loudly say the mantra of Avalokiteshvara（觀音菩薩）:
Om Mani Padme Hum

The meaning of this mantra is, as H.H. Dalai Lama explains,
Om: the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha
Mani: an altruistic intention to be enlightened, that is compassion and love
Padme: wisdom
Hum: individuality
This is a practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha. (see the meaning of this mantra on Wikipedia)

The power of this mantra can help us support the monks in Burma. Reciting it will give us good belief and support. Only when we have built up our own belief can we truly support the monks and people in Burma.

"We don't have homosexuals like in your country", I believe you becuase you have killed them all

2007-09-26T13:12:00.000+08:00

"You exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator", Columbia's president, Lee Bollinger, made this comment on the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, before he gave his speech at Columbia University.

Sure he does. Ahmadinejad's speech at Columbia clearly shows us what 'dictator' means. As New York Time concluded,

"There are many reasons we find Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's policies and pronouncements loathsome. High on that list are his denial of the Holocaust, his call to wipe Israel off the map and his country's sponsorship of terrorism. Equally loathsome is Iran's denial of basic civil rights to its citizens, including the right of free speech." Editorial, New York Times, 25/09/2007

Reuters, 24/09/2007

The Holocaust is a fact that is not old enough for us to forget. Some of the survivors are still alive. Denying it means to deny history. How can we deny history? If we do, we would be living in make-believe where everything is controlled by the one who creates this delusion. It is obvious that creating delusion is the easiest way for this man to satisfy his own needs and desires. In other words, he is manipulating the truth by hypnotizing himself and his people so that he can achieve the ultimate resources and power. He is making himself a human-god whose words are the only truth, and surely he controls everything in his regime. Certainly, whoever is against his will shall deserve punishments. Isn't he a true dictator?

It is not hard for us to imagine living a life under such a dictator. You must comply with whatever he said. There is no space for discussion. By using Koran as the principle, Ahmadinejad imposes his ideas on this religious teaching and forms a pure Islamic world, as he called, whose fundamental proposition is not quite the same as what Koran originally said. Indeed, we human beings used to interpret sacred words with our mindset and give final conclusions that favour us only. In order to establish a pure Islamic world, he has made his country a weapon that aims at all non-Islamic countries. What a sacred mission he has that could make Iran a total offering to Allah. Due to the war that lingers for so ling, hating America and other western power has become the norm for most Muslim counties. Ahmadinejad's words and actions only make Iran more noble to its Muslim allies. This is why he insists on the development of nuclear weapons. This is why he supports terrorism. We shall never forget that terrorism is the term we use to signify those Muslims who intend to attack non-Islamic countries. No wonder, Ahmadinejad would support them because they are all Muslim brothers.

So horrible when sacred words are misinterpreted in such a way. Does Koran really teach people to hate each other, to kill each other? Shouldn't religion be about love and peace? Isn't religion a good support to human rights? We can never find a logical answer to these questions concerning what happened in Iran. It seems Ahmadinejad doesn't believe in love and peace. He probably thinks human rights is a ridiculous term that doesn't exist in this world at all. He is such a bad liar when he said "We don't have homosexuals like in your country" in his speech at Columbia University. In November 2005, two young men were executed for the crime of penetrative sexual acts between men. There is one more case in March 2005, one in 2004, and another in 2003. (see reference published on Human Rights News) Again, we see how a man manipulates history and hypnotizes himself. In fact, because of his ability to manipulate truth and his determination to practice his dictatorship in Iran, I believe in his words that there are no homosexuals in Iran. He has killed them all!

All his words in that speech only reaffirms his position as a true dictator. All those words only highlights his image as a liar and as a threat to the rest of the world. Though there are quite a lot of attack on Columbia University, I firmly believe that they have done a good job. Without having them inviting this person to give a speech, we would never have the chance to see how bad he is, how terrible he can be. It is always better to know then not knowing. Being ignorant only brings us more trouble. Only when we get to know what he is like could we figure out certain ways to prevent what he may do in the future. In the meantime, Columbia University has shown us what "freedom of speech" is. Everyone has the right to talk and present their ideas. If we don't let him talk, then wouldn't we be like him as well?

Support Myanmar Monks!

2007-09-24T15:33:00.000+08:00

Buddhists monks and their supporters in Yangon. Thousands of monks have marched in Myanmar's main city Yangon on Monday, piling the pressure on its military junta after a weekend that saw the biggest show of dissent in nearly two decades. AFP, 09/24/2007

Graphic fact file on the anti-government protests in Myanmar spearheaded by Buddhist monks. AFP, 09/24/2007

Buddhist monks rarely express their political views or join any political activities. If they march on the street and clearly express a certain political view, that means the leader of the country is really causing troubles that brings only misery to its people.

Monks in Myanmar must have had enough from the military regime. This is why they decided not to receive any offerings from anyone who has any connections with the regime. This is a very serious protest because receiving offerings, called alms, is an important tradition in Buddhism. The public offer their food or whatever to a monk, and the monk will pray for them that can help them to be closer to the Lord Buddha. Through this, the public receives peacefulness from the monk. For monks, they would not care who you are or what you have done; all they do is to pray for you, to bring peace to your heart.

Supposedly, you can be a very bad person, but the monk will still pray for you. Because they want to help you become a better person, and in the meantime, to help remove sins you have committed in this life. In other words, monks are generous, and they always do good to people without asking for rewards. This is the teaching of the Lord Buddha; it is what they have to do, and they will always do it.

It must be very difficult for the monks in Myanmar to make such a decision. Refusing alms is against the teaching of Buddha which could be considered as a crime for monks. The question here is why they would do such a thing that will affect their practice of Buddhism? I guess the answer is all about Myanmar's ruling junta. It has done no good the country, and it has led its people to poverty and hardship. It is this reason they marched to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who has been detained for almost 12 years. Though these monks did not say anything but only pray for Suu Kyi, this action can be interpreted as a request for the need of Suu Kyi and of course the need for democracy in Myanmar.

The protest still goes on, and there more and more monks, even the public, joining the protest. No one would ever know if the junta would take any violent and bloody actions. We can only hope that it will not happen. The international society, especially those so-called big countries, should support the action taken by these monks and protect them from any possible military assault.

Free Aung San Suu Kyi!

A Myanmar activist holds a potrait of Myanmar's opposition party leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a protest outside the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok. Thousands of monks have marched in Myanmar's main city Yangon on Monday, piling the pressure on its military junta after a weekend that saw the biggest show of dissent in nearly two decades. AFP, 09/24/2007

Mika - Any Other World

2007-09-19T18:37:00.001+08:00

I heard this song when I was in Greece. Once I heard it, it's like brain tumor that stays forever. I just love it, and I really can't say why. The rhythm is pretty and the words are poetic. Though it seems quite gray, it doesn't really get you that desperate feeling. It is more like you have finally realized that life is full of different kinds of difficulties that we all need to learn to let go. Only when we finally let go of all those trivial feelings could we truly relieve ourselves from all forms of confines.

Here is the lyric,

In any other world
You could tell the difference
And let it all unfurl
Into broken remnants

Smile like you mean it
And let yourself let go

'Cause it's all in the hands of a bitter, bitter man
Say goodbye to the world you thought you lived in
Take a bow, play the part of a Lonely, lonely heart
Say goodbye to the world you thought you lived in
To the world you thought you lived in'

I tried to live alone
But lonely is so lonely, alone
So human as I am
I had to give up my defenses

So I smiled and tried to mean it
To make myself let go

'Cause it's all in the hands of a bitter, bitter man
Say goodbye to the world you thought you lived in
Take a bow, play the part of a lonely lonely heart
Say goodbye to the world you thought you lived in
To the world you thought you lived in'

Say goodbye

In any other world
You could tell the difference

"I never ever, I forget my story.
My face is no sad, but inside, I am sad."

Some words about love and life; a reply to a friend's message

2007-09-17T13:41:00.000+08:00

A friend's message:

... It was not until last week that I have to know the truth (from one of my colleagues): his wife has suffered from cancer. I was so shocked by the news. For over a week, I have been thinking of the meaning of life. What is the most precious thing in life? A decent job, money, a partner or self experiences? Jobs and money are necessary for survival but they are not everything. A partner is so diffcult to find. It may be self experiences that really count in the end. After all, life is so short and full of the unexpected ...

Some words I say:

I am so sorry to hear news like this. I hate to know people suffering from any kinds of disease or from any kind of uneasiness. I guess that is my personality. I am quite easy to identify with those people. However, they do suffer, and there is nothing we can do for them. All we could do is to give our support and to be strong for them. I guess this is why I want to work for NPO/NGOs. At least, working in these organizations gives me the chance to be there for these people.

Just look at those poor man in Darfur; genocide is way more scarier than any kinds of physical disease. They need our help in whatever ways that can at least help them feel that life is still worth living. Of course, this is very different from your story, but I want you to know that the meaning of living a life is not just pursuing something so trivial, such a money, position, and material satisfaction. Indeed, material part is important for our living in this world, but it is not the only thing that we should look on to. We are human beings, and we are born with the ability to love and give help. To love someone, like a partner, or to love every living thing. To help whoever needs help. This is a belief that we should always bear in mind.

Of course, you can practice this through material ways, but I firmly believe if you practice this through your heart, your mind, and practice it in everyday life, such as being a good support for the one you care about, then what you receive would be more precious than what you give. Don't we usually hear "I’ll be there for you" in movies? Dalai Lama also says that "offering our support without us being realizing that we are actually offering support always gains us delightful feelings that make us happy." Isn't being happy the only goal that we all try so hard to look for in this life? When a person feels happy, naturally s/he thinks whatever actions s/he does is full of meanings that inherently makes his life meaningful.

Back to your story, I believe your friend is not asking for assistance. He is only telling you something that has become so unbearable in his heart. He is only sharing his feelings with you. Nothing you can do to change the conditions of his wife, but your support would give him strength that helps him to be strong in front of his wife. When he is strong, he can stand by his wife and help her face the unexpected future. Sometimes, I feel cancer is the disease Buddha gives us to remind us what we have lost, namely, love. Cancer patients are weak, both physically and mentally. All they need is the will to live. There are cases that cancer patients survive their disease because of their strong will to live. According to these case studies, the result shows most of these patients receive strong and good support from their friends and relatives. Instead of feeling terrible, we need to offer our love/support to them, be there for them.

I am reading Zhuang Zi （莊子） now. His words are smart, and he does enjoy playing with our trivial notions on the meaning of life and the universe. What is life? Is it something that you really can pursue and change? Why does he tell us to comply with the rules of the universe? Is it because we are never able to overcome nature? But why do we always try to succeed the nature? Don't our trivial goals only bring us unhappiness due to our constant failure to achieve these goals? Isn't life full of delightful feelings and happiness when we finally start to comply with the rules of the universe, or in other words, when we finally stop pursuing trivial things?

I found Zhuang Zi's theory quite similar to the teaching of Buddha. They both ask us to learn to quit our trivial habits in this life and to look at the world we live in. They both mention that the meaning of life is tightly bound to our notion of being happy in our everyday life. Of course, they are not saying that we should pursue happiness. They both highlight the idea that if we can comply with the rule of the universe, naturally we will stop craving, and this would definitely bring us peacefulness. Doesn't a peaceful mind make us happy?

Luciano Pavarotti - Nessun Dorma, the best Prince Calàf ever

2007-09-07T12:45:00.001+08:00

Nessun Dorma, Let No One Sleep, in Act III in Puccini's Turandot is probably the most famous opera aria in the world. I believe most people, me as well, know this aria from Luciano Pavarotti's amazing performance. His powerful and passionate voice is like magic that enchants everyone's ears, that penetrates everyone's soul, that seduces each of us to fall into the art of opera. In the statement mourning Pavarotti's death, Royal Opera House (Covent Garden) said,

Luciano Pavarotti was one of the finest singers of our time; ... [He] was one of those rare artists who affected the lives of people across the globe in all walks of life. Through his countless broadcasts, recordings and concerts he introduced the extraordinary power of opera to people who perhaps would never have encountered opera and classical singing, in doing so he enriched their lives. That will be his legacy. ... He had a unique ability to touch people with the emotional and brilliant quality of his voice. He was a man with the most extraordinary gift but with the ability to contact with anyone. He will be truly missed by millions.

True, he will be missed by millions.

Sad that we have lost such a great tenor. I remembered not long ago we just lost two great film directors, Bergman and Antonioni. 2007 has become a sorrowful year for all of us. It is sad to know people die, but it is even worse to fully understand that what we no longer have is their experience, knowledge and artistry. What worries us most is if we have any successors to these deceased masters. For the films industry, we have started to see some good directors showing their talent and creativity. However, in opera singing, the lack of new good tenors with powerful and magnificent voice connotes the decline of opera in modern time. In fact, the lack of tenors and sopranos is not the only reason that results in the decline of opera. It is our popular culture that brings opera to the end. Not only opera has this problem; most traditional performing arts face the same difficulty to survive now. Every time I hear the decease of a mater of a certain arts form, the same worry would pop up again.

Indeed, Pavarotti's voice is unique. It is "God-given glory" as Placido Domingo addressed. Now God retrieves his property, and we are only left with the recordings of this voice.

Can't sleep? Don't worry, we offer sleeping pills!

2007-09-03T14:35:00.000+08:00

Due to the protest about the noise from the residents around the New Bangkok Airport, the airport authority decided to offer these people earplugs and sleeping pills. Wait a minute, shouldn't sleeping pills be prescribed by doctors? The solution from the airport authority seems pretty naive and irresponsible. This is the most ridiculous news I have ever heard.

The news from the Bangkok Post: AoT gives sleeping pills as panacea

In fact, I have just visited this airport this July, and I am so disappointed in the service of the airport. It is just way too big without clear directions. It takes forever for transfer, and going through the security check point is such a pain in the ass. Moreover, It was so cold in that airport. The use of the air conditioning seems free there, and this is just so environmentally UN-friendly.

This airport should develop a proper plan to reduce the noise and air pollution caused by planes. They could have worked with private sectors or international groups to help the residents around the airport. Simply offering earplugs and sleeping pills is not only incorrect but irresponsible, and this may cause serious problems in the coming future. Long term studies on these pills show no encouraging results. It is even deadly for chronic use of these pills. (See The Dark Side of Sleeping Pills by Daniel Kripke, M.D., paper revised in Aug 2006) If the Airport keeps feeding the local residents sleeping pills, they definitely will pay more in the coming future.

Hostages are free, but what about the future of Afghanistan

2007-08-31T14:56:00.000+08:00

Note: Images from AFP (Agence France-Presse) & Yahoo News Taiwan

Though two of the 23 Korean hostages were unfortunately killed by the Taliban, the rest of them are all free now. They are safe and ready to return to their family. They must have suffered the great torture, both physically and mentally, from the Taliban whose notorious bloody actions for establishing a pure Islamic country have hurt and ruined so many families.

I am happy for those hostages who are safe now. However, the negotiation between the government of South Korea and the Taliban has become a serious problem. In order to rescue these hostages, South Korea has agreed to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in the end of this year. This seems that from now on Taliban can always target on humanitarians, missionaries, and all other volunteers working for international organizations. This is not a hypothesis; it has already happened.

It sad to read news and look at the images about Afghanistan. People there have suffered so much from the extreme control of the Taliban and the war inflicted by the U.S. Even though we see a new government for this poor country, we have not yet seen any progress concerning the country's welfare, let alone the idea to defeat the Taliban. What could we really expect when this group is still so active? Is it really possible to successfully defeat them?

Now we have a new issue coming, that is, this group has found another way to challenge the power that aims to destroy them. This new threat is way more serious than the old tricks, and it truly effects the international rescue actions in Afghanistan. How the super power responds to this new threat is what requires our attention.

What a joke! Can Matsu help us get a seat in the UN?

2007-08-23T12:31:00.000+08:00

Who is Matsu?

Matsu is the goddess of sea in Chinese folk religion. She was a real person dated back to early Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD). Her name is Lin Moniang（林墨娘）born in a fisherman family in 960 AD. She died at the age of 28 in 987 AD. According to the legend, she climbed to the top of the cliff and flew to heaven. When she was born, there were strange things happened in the village, and people believed that this baby was special. She was smart, and very naturally she knew about medicine and supernatural power. Therefore, she constantly prayed for her father and brother's safety as well as all other fishermen while they were out in the sea. Every time she prayed, the bad weather would change and the rough sea would turn smooth. In addition to this, because of her ability to help people in the village, she was believed to be having divinity. So when she flew to heaven, people knew that she had become a goddess.

Her ability to help people and her supernatural power had been widely discussed. Slowly, people started to believe that she is the goddess of sea who had the power to save and help every individual who suffers from pain and misfortune. She started to gain popularity after Song Dynasty that made her one of the most famous goddess in Chinese folk religion. Not just people who work at sea worship her, almost every Chinese knows her and worships her. Even the emperors (such as in Ming and Qing Dynasties) believed in her divinity and named her the Heavenly Empress（天后）.

Matsu is a very important icon in Taiwan. Her temples are almost everywhere, and everyone here knows Matsu and believes in her power. In Taichung（台中）, there is a would famous Matsu festival held by Chenlan Temple （鎮瀾宮）every march. This religious festival not only represents our strong belief in Matsu, but also represents the recognition of Taiwan. It holds all Taiwanese together as a group power to thank Matsu for her protection and compassion. Through this activity, we share the same belief and ideas that in fact reinforce our recognition of Taiwan and our identification of this land. Therefore, when this festival starts, we always see politicians joining the activity, and Indeed, the reason for them to join is to hope that Matsu could protect them and help them win the election. Moreover, they naturally would use this opportunity to deliver their political views and gain the trust from all participants. Honestly speaking, these politicians are truly manipulating this religious icon for their own interest only, which contradicts to Matsu's image of compassion. I wonder how Matsu would feel when she realizes this!

However, as my title goes, can Matsu helps us win a seat in the UN? I guess the answer is no, and this is only another trick played by those tricky politicians.

Why do we really need to join UN when we have been on our own for so long? We still survive! Besides, UN is such a huge organization that doesn't really produce anything efficiently but full of all corrupt situations within its structure. Why do we want to join this organization when we will not be benefited from it?

For those who insists in joining UN, their main concern is on Taiwan's independence. But this is such a ridiculous logic. We are in fact independent now. Joining UN will not make us more independent. It in fact will cause more international troubles that would truly damage our current independent status. The second ridiculous logic they hold is that we must change our name so as to show our independence. They argue that our current name only causes confusion, so we must let all other countries know that we are "Taiwan". True that we do have a name that is not recognized by other countries, but everyone knows Taiwan, and we are already using it as an unofficial name for this country. Why do we want to change the current status and go to the direction that leads Taiwan to destruction? It is never about the name; it is always about the cross-strait situation. China is way stronger than us now, both politically and economically. They are fine with us using Taiwan unofficially. If we start to change this situation, no one knows what kind of damage would bring us. Then why do these politicians want to put their people and the country's future in such a dangerous state?

I could never understand what these people think in their head! By the way, though I believe in Matsu, and I truly think that she knows all languages, I don't think she is able to get us a seat in the UN, not even you bring her statue to the headquarters of the UN in New York, which is what they planned to do and will do couple months later. My reason is easy to understand. She certainly has the power to help us, but for those foreign countries, they don't believe in Matsu! When they are not believing in this god, how could you expect them to receive the message from this god and do what she wants them to do! Taking the whole issue with a superstitious consideration, we could easily know that this effort will surely be a vain attempt. The bottom line is that this is only another politicians' manipulation of Matsu image for their personal interest.

96% of university entrance exam takers can enter the university now: is it a good sign for higher education in Taiwan?

2007-08-10T11:30:00.000+08:00

The university education in Taiwan is going nowhere. What can we expect from the university students now when the university entering score is only 18, which means students only need to score 2.8 out of 100 for each subject!

According to the Department of Higher Education in Taiwan, there are 158 universities in Taiwan including 2 Open Universities and 7 special universities/academies for the training of the police and military. If we count in 15 vocational colleges, which are junior colleges for junior high students, the total number of higher education institutions is 173. Do we really need so many institutions for higher education?

We shouldn't be shocked by this terribly low entering score. There are too many universities here, and each of them wants students. When they cannot get the funding from the government, when they are having difficulty raising money from private sectors, the only way for them to survive is to get as many students as possible. So they keep opening new departments with fancy names that can attract high school students. When the offer is way more than the real needs, in order to take enough students to keep the new department, new universities risk taking in students who are truly not able for higher education. This explains why the entering score for universities is getting lower every year. Not surprisingly, now we have universities with students whose education level is only in junior high school. They don't speak and write English, they totally have no idea of algebra , they cannot identify Dubai on the map, and the worst of all is that they can't even talk and write Chinese, which is their mother tongue.

I agree with the idea that everyone living in this society deserves the right for education. However, what happens here now is not the correct way to do. The ministry of Education should set up standards for universities. They can group them into research universities, vocational training universities and community colleges. Research Universities are set up to further all types of research that can foster the academic quality of Taiwan. Vocational training universities provide students with all required skills and train them to be professionals for their future career. Communities colleges should act as an alternative that provide basic training and knowledge to those who are not qualified for higher education but want to learn and develop their skills. If we do so, each university will has its goal and target students, and students will be guided by parents and teachers to select what really is the best for his/her future. We would be able to avoid such a shameful score.

In Taiwan, what we have now is a very tricky policy from the Ministry of Education. They provide NTD 50 billions for universities that are evaluated as the so-called "good universities". The purpose of the Ministry of Education is awkward here. It is a good intention that they give this money to help universities to be ranked as one of the top universities in international ranking. Indeed, if a university receives a high rank in international ranking, the university must be good in its teaching and research qualities. When they use this money to build up their strength, they are truly fostering the academic quality of Taiwan. However, what about all the other universities? The ministry seems to ignore them completely. If you don't help them and you ignore them, they will be just like this, in such an awkward situation. They still try hard to survive, they still take in low quality students, and they still try to compete with good universities but keep failing. This only brings one result, that is, they can never contribute to the academic environment in Taiwan but only produce bachelors without proper knowledge and professional skills.

It is truly sad that the policy makers do not see this truth. They are totally blinded by politicians and businessmen. I believe some of these new universities are not set up to provide qualities but only to gain money. University education is way more expensive now, and the tuition fee is getting higher every year. For those who consider education as business, this is really a good chance to make money. Corruption has found its way into the academic field already. How could we expect new changes to be happened in higher education when policy makers are so corrupt? Is it possible for us to have a healthy higher education when the whole government is so corrupt? Maybe it is a good thing for the new generations in Taiwan because everyone can go to the university now. However, it is also such a shame. Taiwan probably will become a country with the highest unemployment rate for bachelor holders in the world. By that time, we will have beggars and homeless people with high degrees everywhere!

Antonioni & Bergman: le temps retrouvé

2007-08-01T15:48:00.000+08:00

What a sad news that surprises us all. Both were great film directors, and both died on the same day. Did they have a secret agreement on that? Their decease closes a chapter in the history of films, and it also marks the end of the golden age of Art Cinema.

It was when I was still a film student that I heard about Michaelangelo Antonioni and Ingmar Bergman. I still remember the first Antonioni film I saw was Blowup, and for Bergman was Persona. How interesting, both films are released in 1966. Blowup is Antonioni's first English film, and it is famous for its controversial theme and scenes that still draw the interest of modern film workers. Persona is what Bergman himself considered the most important film he ever made that actually saved his artistic life. Both masterpieces are regarded as the director's rep work.

Who would ever know that these little coincidences could lead to their decease on the same day!

Indeed, I do get this strange feeling when I read about their death. It feels like falling into a huge hollowness that sucks you in and drowns you. True that I don't know them personally, but I did have their films accompany me throughout my college days. They were always the topic we talked about. We always chose their works to write about. They seemed to be around our life all the time. That truly made you feel that you are so familiar with them. In fact, when we are so engaged with someone's works, we start to establish a special connection with them. This connection is a communication, is a dialogue between the screen and us; though it is only a one-way communication, it allowed us to get to know what the director wants to express, to know his/her ideas better. Therefore, after seeing their films, after trying to establish all different kinds of dialogues with their films, I felt that I had known them, that they were already a part of my life. I guess this is why I get such a horrible feeling after knowing their death.

A memory is something you have or something you have lost?! I guess it is both. Even though I still have my memory of both great directors, we have lost them forever. It is always possible to "retrouver", but all we can find now is only the memory.