2008年9月29日星期一

Radio Gaga

Chanced to use my Creative media player's radio function today. Although not many FM stations available, at least NPR turned out to be rather satisfactory. The point is, the experience brought me back to my college days when we were supposed to listen to original foreign radio programs in order to improve our English listening comprehension abilities. Gosh, the memory of that old radio (I remember it was a "Globe" brand) suddenly became so vivid to me. I remember I used to put it beside my pillow, always turned it on after going to bed, tuned in some foreign channel like VOA or BBC and quickly fell asleep with the amazingly hypnotizing function of the radio. Yet I couldn't remember its whereabout after graduation.

Huang Yunling had a song related to the radio called "Radio that can never be turned off". Youtube has a very short sample of the video. I used a full live version here that was used to accompany the video uploader's Taipei ride tour. Mmm, it is really nice to listen to radio while driving. An enjoyable experience it must be. BTW, Radio Gaga is a song by Queen.

2008年9月28日星期日

Freak out

I have to complain about my fellow students here: Why is it so hard for you guys to write a few lines about your summer experiences? Why is it so hard for you guys to fill a simple bio info form and turn it in? Why is it so hard for you guys to send one picture of yourselves? Why are you still behaving like a group of primary school students that I have to chase after all the time to get things done? I'm almost freaked out.

Bed time in a bad mood.

2008年9月27日星期六

Life is...

Some say, life is like a besieged fortress.
Some say, life is like a huge web of all kinds of relationships that one can hardly escape.
Some say, life is like a broking business that requires lots of skills of speculation and calculation.
An idealist like me would rather deny all such definitions and instead say, life is a mirror.
What say you?

2008年9月25日星期四

A different lifestyle

Had my first real shower in seven days since the surgery. It was a life-saving feeling. My roomie helped me tape the incision part with some plastic wrap before I could fully enjoy the pleasure of bath. I had never experienced such a long non-shower time. I could almost smell myself stink before the watery and soapy enjoyment came to salve me.

In fact, I've realized my lifestyle has changed quite a lot due to the surgery. I have to try to live in an almost totally different way, which rendered little comfort in the first place. Sometimes when I was sleeping on the bed, I kept telling myself: You are already lucky enough. Think about those who can't see, hear, speak or those get handicapped. I just had some level of post-surgery clumsiness that is natural. I should be grateful enough.

Yet anyway, now I really hope I can regain my healthy form asap, even though I have, through my own experience, learned how hard it is for people to live with varied degrees of disabilities.

2008年9月23日星期二

Better in Time

It's been a while since my last post here. I've been more or less missing it, believe it or not.

Had the long-awaited surgery last Thursday. It was done in a way that was like I just had a sound sleep and the doctors hadn't even started yet. When I woke up, I just felt extremely thirsty and dizzy. Then stiffness and pain in the incision area gradually came to grab me. When I saw myself managing to get off the bed and trying to walk, clumsily, I should admit that I somewhat had underestimated the influences the surgery would have upon my life.

Anyway, after several days' attempts and struggles (and I believe I'm still doing so), I've gradually gotten used to the post-surgery lifestyle. It is of course not graceful or desirable. I am a human after all. However, as long as the problem that has been troubling me for years will be killed, no matter how big the pains will be, they will be worth it.

I should thank Nian and both families of ours. Without your love, I couldn't have faced it, so bravely.

When I was staying in the hospital, I saw Leona Lewis' MV "better in time". In an instant, I got hooked up with this beautiful song. Put it here, just hope I will be better in time, with all your love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdluY1vMD2Y

2008年9月16日星期二

Flying a Pigeon

I was stood up today by a professor as she played no-show at our scheduled appointment at 11:00. In Chinese, this is called "flying a pigeon". (This Chinese term was coined based on an old lottery scheme in Shanghai and the fact that the owner who sets free a trained homing pigeon would lose nothing since the bird always knows the way back home.)

Well, I didn't mean to blame her. Just noted this down to remind myself that I have to get ready for any possible unexpected happenings and take precautions.

2008年9月15日星期一

Human Flesh Search

Had two interviews today. First one was more fun as I had chance to talk to a Godlike figure at Mop.com, one of China's biggest online community attracting millions of young users. The conversations were about the controversial human flesh search engine. I just thought that my own search for those sources' contact info showed that I was also doing a human flesh search project. Some time later I myself might become the target. Definitely a double-edged sword. It is a scary thing, to some extent.

2008年9月14日星期日

Poet in Love

I've never imagined me with a talent of writing that kind of classic traditional Chinese poems. I know older generations like my parents can do it somewhat well. Like the poems they wrote and read to me today, across the oceans, in the homesick evening of Mid Autumn Festival.

In fact, the poems don't have to be so literally perfect. Still, I can feel their hearts put in them.

Just like the one I received just now. It was really a pleasing surprise.

Suddenly it reminded me of the one we wrote at the dawn of New Year in 2006.

The following song is one I like a lot. Perfect for this post. ; )

2008年9月13日星期六

Melancholic Shining Moon

The third Mid Autumn Festival abroad.

I have no expectation for relishing delicate moon cakes or any big feast. Like the past two years, CSSA will hold its annual outdoor celebration, where we can pay two bucks for a treat of a small moon cake and a few Chinese dishes, you know, that take-away fast food type (thank God they usually offer quite authentic Chinese flavors). I know I can hardly expect too much.

For a very very long time, I haven't been able to enjoy this festival at home, with loved ones. To a large extent, I'm used to this kind of status, although I don't want to.

Just received your message, asking if I'm OK as I sounded a bit low.

I replied "maybe just my festival melancholy", and you said "I'm with you."

What else can I say except a "Thank you" from the bottom of my heart?

I tell myself, for the next Moon Festival and the ones to come, I will not be alone.

As Leslie sings:

"一再望 这月更亮 但愿我与你岁月长"。

2008年9月11日星期四

Star

Not in the best form to write today. Maybe a minor cold has caught me.

However, still, I should dedicate this song to Leslie, whose birthday is today, September 12. He is a true artist and true man.

2008年9月10日星期三

Song quiz

Guess where my voice was in this song? : )

2008年9月9日星期二

Try to remember

Really sad to know that only twenty-something people went to watch the Peking Opera show last night at the Chang'an Theatre. Is this traditional form of art really so unattractive now to people busy with urban rhythms and modernized life? I can't say it is doomed, yet it is at least marginalized.

Reminded me of a book that I just finished reading today. It is a collection of black-and-white photoes taken by an amateur photographer in the 1980s in Beijing, together with a number of illustrative and reflective articles written by the cameraman's wife. A sort of sad yet helpless sentiment flows out of the pictures and texts recalling those good old days now long gone. It is a sharp contrast between our tranquil and easy lifestyle then, with almost everyone's undisturbed mind, and the society now characterized by consumptionsim and materialism as well as the rush-for-money (or survival?) life pace for people at large.

Let's try to remember.

2008年9月8日星期一

Course shopping

Really pissed off with MSN Live Messenger. Always down suddenly these days during my conversations with friends online. And it takes like forever to even start running the program and get myself logged in. Just re-installed it, yet the problem seems to remain. Shoot.

Anyway, today is the first day of school. The small town of Athens officially came back to life. My main task these two days will be course shopping, showing up in different classes, getting the syllabi, having the first trial taste of what the courses are like, and then making a decision as to take it or not. It was fun, although a bit tiring. Why girls never get fatigue with shopping?

Tried to find Yang Qinghuang's Jing Jing Xiao Yuan (Green Campus) on Youtube or Tudou yet failed. Put another classic here. Remember? : )

2008年9月7日星期日

A vision

A quick post here before going to bed. : )

Learned that some scholar has put forward a new concept of "virtual water", meaning the water use amount during the processes of production and distribution of food and consumer products. For instance, to make a cup of coffee we drink requires 140 liters of water, a hamburger roughly equals to 2400 liters of water, and a computer chip which weighs about 2 grams is manufacturerd at the cost of 32 kilograms of water.

Meanwhile, more and more people abroad have opted to an "old" lifestyle: to carry a water container for self use instead of buying bottled water, because the latter is non-environmentally friendly. Estimates show that the US will consume about 10 billion US dollars worth of bottled water every year, yet only one fifth of the used bottles will be recycled, while to produce the chemicals necessary for manufacturing the bottles will use up about 1.5 million barrels of oil every year, which is able to support 100,000 cars' gas usage.

Quite shocking figures, aren't they?

After watching Wild China, I've more and more keenly felt the critical need to protect our natural environment and resources. No need to talk big here. I think I will be quite motivated and committed.

Mmm, this vision has made my CommDev's final professional project more or less clearer: a user analysis to find out the possibility for non-profits to use Web 2.0 technologies in environmental protection endeavors.

2008年9月6日星期六

Homecoming

Called home tonight. I learned that my dad's cousin had called the other day and expected him to pay a visit to his hometown Changshou, from which he has been away for decades. My mom told me about her concern over my dad's might-be sad feelings aroused after seeing those old hometown scenes (especially when it comes to those involving close family members like my grand parents who had passed away and I had no chance to see them) could do no good to his health, given his age. What I thought was a bit different. I just don't want that going back to his hometown in order to cure his nostalgia, deeply rooted yet well concealed in my dad's heart, should become an unfulfiled dream to him. My mom's concern could be reasonable, yet to me, that kind of nostalgic desire may weigh much more heavier on my dad's mind. I told my mom that, once he makes up his mind and get determined to go, very hopefully he shall be able to overcome those sad feelings. Although my thought might be too simple or naive, I just felt that no one but himself can beat those bad feelings.

The problem is that my dad himself looks so uncertain or hesitant on this thing as he won't say yes or no to such a plan. I don't like that.

However, it seems I suddenly realize the meaning of a sentence in an old Chinese poem: when one gets closer to his long departed hometown, he becomes more afraid to face it. Listening to Hagood Hardy's "Homecoming", I feel my tears rolling in my eyes.

2008年9月5日星期五

Long day

A long day today.

10:00-12:30: CommDev orientation.
12:30-2:00: Helping new CommDevers with their class registration.
2:00-5:15: Working in the library (doing some massive housekeeping work with a big pile of Chinese magazines)
5:30-6:20: A short nap.
6:30-8:30: Dinner at a fellow Chinese CommDever's dorm and meeting with other returning CommDev Chinese gang members after summer break.
8:30-10:30: Reciprocal hair-cut between a friend and myself as well as some nice intimate chat (I regard him as my younger brother in Athens, a very nice guy).

Now I feel really a bit tired. Sleepy. Need to have a sound sleep tonight to get recovered.

2008年9月4日星期四

Where is herself?

Saw a CommDever write on her blog that she felt sort of so lonely and depressed that today's meeting with other fellow students in our program after a long break turned out to be a salvation moment for her. Yet when she got back to her dorm and left herself alone, she began to feel losing herself in loneliness again, feeling blue again. Then a serious philosophical question "Where is myself" started to haunt her mind before she reached a temporary answer that a woman needs to find herself in man's love.

Hehe, she is a girl in her early twenties. Just graduated and almost blank social experience before coming here. Kind of typical Shanghai girl, with a nice family and an almost smooth track of life so far. According to the another friend's comment, her psychological age is almost equivalent to a child. Mmm, I can't say she is childish, yet sometimes she needs to learn a lot of things that one has to face in life. As for her answer, I should say a woman can find a better self in man's love, yet she has to first show a lovable herself, and vice versa.

2008年9月3日星期三

Sign post

Had a talk tonight with B, my fellow CommDever. How should I describe the conversation?

We started with briefing each other about our recent activities in life, and then the main topic moved to our prospects after graduation. A rather non-cheerful topic, given the job-hunt situations out there in the market. B said that they all (referring to other Chinese CommDevers) regard me as a sign post that indicates how good their chances will be, given my overall ability and performance in their eyes. OMG, I've never expected that I will be such a role model, although I'm quite confident in myself.

Anyway, the conversation yielded "no constructive result", yet my feeling is that, since we are now second-years, we have to start thinking about the roads ahead, seriously.

2008年9月2日星期二

Wild China and Dinner

When I was having dinner tonight, I took a glimpse of ppstream's documentary "Wild China(http://www.pipi.cn/movies/77/77781.html)" shot by BBC and an arm of CCTV, and instantly got hooked on it. Really incredible visual tour of China's wild life species, natural beauties, as long as substantial record of human life and society progress in China, and without obvious or blatant political biase. Highly recommended.

The only doubt, for me, is that why the title is translated into "Mei Li Zhong Guo (beautiful China)"? Still because of concerns on the Chinese side about the undesired interepretations of the title that may go against our "harmonious society" image? That's my guess. Hope it's not correct and I'm only over-sensitive.

BTW, speaking of dinner, I have a long-held doubt: Why does the word "supper", which we learned in our junior middle school days as one of the basic English words, seem no longer in use, and people here always tend to use "dinner" instead? Quite interesting.

2008年9月1日星期一

Age of Innocence

Tonight must be a fun night, to my roomie and his gf.

Thanks to many closets in our house , they two made it a perfect place for hide-and-seek, a kid's game that I believe everybody in this world must have played during his or her childhood, as long as there is company.

They for sure enjoyed it a lot, as I could hear their laughers and screams, watch them rush all around the house, in pure excitement.

Suddenly, I felt that they are still kids, and I'm a bit too old to do this, given my uncle-type age to them. : )

Anyways, it's good to at least see a scene that reminded me of the age of innocence.

Original versions of Christopher Wong's covered songs

Made a list of Christopher's covered songs' original versions. Although it is still not complete, it is the best I can do so far. This blog is for its debut. Please allow me to dedicate it to you...: )

〔Moody〕 1987年(寶麗金)

柏原芳恵/イチヂクは木の下で/旁觀者清

徳永英明/幾つものワンシン/我沾濕了的臉

安全地帶/いますぐに恋/暫時戀愛

〔Misty〕1988年(寶麗金)

Nat King Cole/When I Fall In Love/堕入愛河

The Walker Brothers/The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore/一刹那荒謬

〔短篇小説〕 1988年(寶麗金)

齐秦/外面的世界/青葱歳月

Elkie Brooks/Break The Chain/亡命爱情

小田裕一郎/Game is Over/五月過後

〔沒結果的一些感情〕1989年(寶麗金)

井上大輔/Blue Sky/ Blue Sky

One 2 Many/Downtown/玻璃都市

Breathe/Any Trick/演講

童安格/让生命等候/若生命等候

张镐哲/旋转门/哭泣中醒来

〔情歸何處〕 1990年(寶麗金)

The Brat Pack/I’m Never Gonna Give You Up/冲动

Tommy Page/When I Dream of You/情歸何處

Barry Gibb/Stay Alone/再見

黄品源/我该什么样的心来对你/傷盡我心的説話

Glenn Medeiros/The Best Man/火圏

〔Stay With Me〕 1992年(寶麗金)

Sing Like Talking/愛と言えるまで/今夜可否留低

中村雅俊/恋人も濡れる街角/雨中的戀人們

陈升/把悲伤留给自己/舊朋友

沈孟生/说情容易忘情难/解情还需系情人

〔平常心〕 1993年(飛圖)

EPO/ジェラシーと呼ばないで/愛得自然

郷ひろみ/僕がどんなに君を好きか、君は知らない/我還是我

蔡济文/平凡心/平常心

Billy Dean/Somewhere In My Broken Heart/縁盡此生

〔Lyrics〕 1994年(飛圖)

高林生/牵挂你的人是我/少了你一個

Joe Pasquale/Nikki/其实你想不想我走

〔紅塵傾心故事〕1995年(飛圖)

Raidas/傾心

〔Ever Green〕 2004年(環球)

Patti Austin/Say you love me/不再分離(葉徳嫻)

王菲/執迷不悔

Edith Piaf/La Vie En Rose/粉紅色的一生(陳百強)

谷村新司/花/共同渡過(張國榮)

近藤真彦/Just For You/Just For You(羅文)

張國榮+梅艶芳/缘分

Ann Lewis/アン・ルイス(Goodbye My Love)/再見我的愛人(邓丽君)

葉倩文/流金歳月

Santana/Love Is you/早晨(林憶蓮)