兩週一聚第四十八期:「教我如何說再見」之【好頭好尾】 / 2weeks1gather #48: 「Time to Say Goodbye」:【All's Well that Ends Well】

我祖父在生時常教導我們後輩,做人做事要「好頭好尾」,所以当「兩週一聚」始創人迷雪兒問:「教我如何說再見?」我第一個反应就是:「我需要 wrap things up!!!」

或許我是受祖父訓言的影響,又或許那是我職業訓練的 standard operating procedure 標準作業程序,功課未完全交妥,我心就是放不下來。所以由前幾天開始,我補寫了好幾篇「漏網之魚」題目,希望能做一個「好頭好尾」的兩週一聚好幫手,好園丁!!!

從2008年11月30日第一期題目 【我有一部時光機】 開始,我在這園地結識了很多位從五湖四海來的豪傑英雌,雖然我們都要在現實社会裏為生計而頻忙奔走,但能夠在忙裏偷閑每兩週往師奶亭一聚,我認為那實在是一件賞心樂事。

在此我要多謝始創人和各位熱心的義工,不辭勞苦為我們辦理這個網誌,讓大家共享文藝耕耘的成果!! 我更希望能夠和各位兩週一聚友人,繼續在網上聯絡探訪!!!

Note: I use "All's well that ends well" as the English title of this blog article because I had no idea what I was getting into when I decided to participate in 2weeks1gather. Just like any journeys, there were ups and downs along the way, but I am really pleased with the individual and collective outcome!!!

References:

* Meaning and origin of "All's well that ends well" (Source : http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/29800.html)

Meaning:
A risky enterprise is justified so long as it turns out well in the end.

Origin:
This is, of course, best known from the Shakespeare play, but it was a proverb before it was a play title. John Heywood included it in A dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the prouerbes in the Englishe tongue, 1546:

Lovers live by love, ye as larkes live by leekes
Saied this Ales, muche more then halfe in mockage.
Tushe (quoth mine aunte) these lovers in dotage
Thinke the ground beare them not, but wed of corage
They must in all haste, though a leafe of borage
Might by all the substance that they can fell.
Well aunt (quoth Ales) all is well that endes well.

Shakespeare was well acquainted with Heywood's work and wrote All's Well That Ends Well in 1601. It is not only as the title of the play, but line appears in the text too.

HELENA:

Yet, I pray you:
But with the word the time will bring on summer,
When briers shall have leaves as well as thorns,
And be as sweet as sharp.
We must away;
Our wagon is prepared, and time revives us:
All's well that ends well; still the fine's the crown;
Whate'er the course, the end is the renown.

* My other 2weeks1gather submissions: lotusandcedar label: 2weeks1gather

* 2weeks1gather website: http://www.2weeks1gather.wordpress.com/

萬聖節 / Halloween 2010

Many ppl are saying that because of security concerns, there are less and less neighbourhood kids trick-or-treating on the streets (compared to 4 yrs ago when I posted this blog article: 萬聖節故事 / Halloween Story). Instead, parents are holding indoor parties.

If security is the only main concern, as opposed to not wanting kids to eat too much candies, then I think that's a fairly sad reflection on the wellness of our community.

Photo Credit and Reference: Wikipedia/Halloween

「兩週一聚」第四十一期題目: 【夢想之旅】 ∕ 2weeks1gather # 41 【My Dream Trip】

前数年冬天往安大畧省北部 Moose Factory 越野滑雪cross-country skiing和露營winter-camping的時候,遇到一個荷蘭裔少婦,她告訢我有一年北上加拿大Nunavut域的Baffin Island,參加了一個由原居人Inuit領導的長途犬橇隊long distance dog-sled team, 旅遊冰天雪地的Baffin Island。

我是愛好戶外運動者,聽後心動,回到渥太華後立刻搜查資料,發覺單是飛机來回Ottawa-Iqaluit 就是数千元,而到了北域「起發點」後,再另交導遊伙食團費又是数千元,再加上購買在零下40度攝氏用的滑雪冬營器具丶禦寒衣帽襪靴等,又要多化近千元,總数接近一萬元!!!

沒有錯,我是很神往加拿大北部冬季的景色,但一萬元after tax money卻不是小数目,那是可足夠支付我來回古巴兩丶三次的廉價短期旅行。因為五行欠水, 所以北上Baffin Island坐dog-sled雪橇仍只是屬於我【夢想之旅】的系列。

Reference / Photo Credit:
* Wikipedia 雪橇犬

「兩週一聚」第卅二期題目:【如果你能當別人一天】 ∕ 2weeks1gather #32 【Being Another Person for a Day】

在上世紀政治陰謀論之中,美國總統甘迺迪John F Kennedy在1963年11月22日遇刺事件,可以說是最膾炙人口的一案。在暗殺事件發生後數小時，疑兇手李•哈維•奧斯瓦爾德Lee Harvey Oswald被捕,但兩日後,達拉斯Dallas夜總會老闆傑克•魯比Jack Ruby卻能夠在众目睽睽,在警察和FBI保衛深嚴的情况之下,開鎗殺死奧斯瓦爾德。魯比被判死刑後上訢,但在上訢案開審之前,他卻突然患上肺癌,1967年1月3日在獄中死掉。

美國官方亦曾在1964和1979年發表2份調查報告,前者說奧斯瓦爾德是單人匹馬,後者則認為絕不是個人行為。所以如果我能当別人一天,我会選擇在甘迺迪被行刺前24小時,閃進李•哈維•奧斯瓦爾德的腦子裏,明白他行剌的真正動机,知道他有沒有同黨,和分析他的全盤計劃。

不過我会不会丶或是应不应在他(我)開鎗前一秒鐘破壊他刺殺甘迺迪的計劃,直接插手干預歷史,改變世界政治的前途,那我就不知道了。

如果甘迺迪不死 .....
如果冷戰繼續冷 .....
如果熱核繼續熱 .....
如果 ......................。


Photo Story:"Happy Birthday, Mr. President"
(Source: Wikipedia/Marilyn Monroe)

On May 19, 1962, actress Marilyn Monroe was invited to the old Madison Garden to celebrate JFK's birthday. She wore nothing underneath her skin-tight outfit and her sultry voice that day delivered a seductive meaning of "Happy Birthday" to Camelot.

Conspiracy theory has it that Monroe did not commit suicide abt three months later, on August 5, 1962, but was murdered by undercover operatives who felt her "intimate" relationship with JFK was jeopardizing the Presidency and/or the future of the United States.

Did Norma Jeane know she was going to die? Did she call the White House and/or Robert Kennedy for help? Did somebody force her to take those pills?

Candle in the Wind ......
Life of Norma Jeane .....

References:
* 根據「維基百科」甘迺迪遇刺案
" ..... 負責總統遇刺案調查工作的華倫委員會在經過了長達10個月的調查之後，於1964年9月發表了一份官方報告，在此份報告中指出，刺殺甘迺迪的兇手是德克薩斯州教科書倉庫大樓的僱員李•哈維•奧斯瓦爾德，正是他從教科書大樓六層上的窗口向乘坐敞篷車正從樓下經過的總統開槍將其刺殺的。一個後來成立的官方調查委員會——眾議院遇刺案特別委員會（the House Select Committee on Assassinations ，HSCA）從1976年到1979年再次對總統遇刺案進行了詳細的調查取證，並得出結論認為，奧斯瓦爾德刺殺甘迺迪絕不是個人行為。迄今為止，甘迺迪遇刺案仍然存在着很多質疑，引起了人們的廣泛猜測，並且產生了許多關於甘迺迪遇刺案的理論。....."
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_assassination
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_bullet_theory
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ruby
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Harvey_Oswald
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_monroe

兩週一聚第卅一期題目:「萬聖節鬼故事」之【七姑媽的陰眼】 / 2weeks1gather (#31)「Halloween Ghost Story」: 【The Eye of Aunt #7】

我的七姑媽是父親的疏堂家姐,因為她和丈夫(我的姑丈)住在離北角新邨不遠的七姊妹道,大家親戚鄰里,常常見面,所以他∕她們也就成了我家的近親。姑媽身體底子虛弱,但辦事卻很有陰勁,曾做過北角區好幾間幼稚院的「走鬼」老師。

七姑媽是傳統式燒香拜神的婦女,每逢過時過節,或有紅白二事,阿姨阿嫂都会向她請教有關禮教習俗的儀式。因為姑丈是獨生子,所以当姑媽家婆「過身」的時候,所有出喪超渡亡魂的責任就完全落在她身上。以下是她親口告訢我的故事:

『.... 「頭七」回魂那一晚,我一個人獨自在家整理家務,突然我覺得有人扯我的衫尾,起初我以為是你姑丈和我開玩笑,那知我舉頭一看,就見到「阿嬸」上半身在走廊向着我走來,她望著我說: 『阿蕴,扶起我啦!』但当我伸手去觸摸她的時候,她的魂魄就突然消失了 .....』

我那時年紀還輕,聽了鬼故事就嚇到夜晚要開燈才肯上床睡覺,但現在回想,我七姑媽結婚多年,膝下猶虛,对我就好像親的一樣,她身為教師,又怎会順口開河,亂講鬼故事嚇到小孩子嘩嘩叫呢?其實我以前也從阿姨阿嬸間聼聞七姑媽有「陰眼」,會見到站在我們身旁的遊魂厲鬼。

我移民加拿大之後,每次回港都有探訪我的姑媽,直至有一年,我接到家書說,七姑媽患上了「硬皮症」,久病厭世,跳楼死了。據親戚說,七姑媽是在姑丈不留意的時候,開了窗跳出去的。

如果這世界真的是有鬼的話,我相信七姑媽一定是会在陰間繼續服侍她的家婆,煮飯給老公吃,儘那傳統媳婦老婆的責任。不過如果她來探我,我希望她仍是以我童年記憶中的模樣出現。

再想: 現在科技發達,我有沒有「陰眼」倒不是問題了。

Photo Credit:
* http://www.ghostbooksandpictures.com/scary-pictures.html

「兩週一聚」第30期題目:【三件事情】 / 2weeks1gather #30: "Three Happy Things"

今天曾令我快樂的三件事情:

1. 今年十月十一日加拿大感恩節,K因公事要出埠開会,沒有机会和家人在一起吃火鳮歺。所以趁著今天星期日,大家都有點空閑時間,我們就將幾塊在butcher shop買回來的肥美羊扒放入焗爐,又蒸了些青嫩的蘆筍,煑了幾碗甜甜的蛋黃紅番薯湯。剛巧S今天又不用開工,也就和我們一起湊湊熱鬧。美酒佳餚,我們談天說地,很髙興的過了一個下午!!!

2. K請了阿倫來嚐嚐我們在蘇格蘭買的16年陳年威士忌酒,我不是酒客,但由於好奇心驅使,也有樣學樣灌了一囗,卻預料不到那含有43%酒精的液體,会像烈火一樣燒入我的五臟廟,K和阿倫看到我狼狽的樣子不禁覺得好笑。哈哈!由此証實,我實在不喜愛杯中物,也不会有成為AA alcoholic anonymous会員的可能性。

3. 下午用text 告訢T來吃羊扒,人到後不足半小時,風捲殘雲,餘下半磅多的厚肉不翼而飛,我只好打消明天做羊肉三文治午歺的念頭。不過K見到T這樣捧場,也就樂過不了,我看在眼裏,心中也是甜甜的。

明天我最期待的另外三件事:

1. 早晨起床時要提醒自己: Today is the beginning of the rest of my life !!!

2. 沒有羊肉三文治,就試試不吃午歺,做做運動,一靜不如一動。

3. 赴W的約会時勿忘提高士氣,雖然歐美經濟不景,但加拿大仍比很多其它國家較為穩定和安全,有志者,事竟成!! 又,上網搜查資料時要著重政策分析那一瓣,畢竟最近美國政治沸騰,楓葉國多少也会受到影響!!

好! 就這樣决定罷!!

(書於2010年10月31日 萬聖節)

Reference:
* 【兩周一聚】題目集錄
* 【兩周一聚】‘微豆 Haricot’集錄

Related links:
* To read articles under the label 2weeks1gather, please click here: Lotusandcedar articles with 兩周一聚label

兩週一聚第廿九期題目【最大收穫: 十年回顧 2000-2010】 / 2weeks1gather #29 【Progress Report: Ten Years 2000-2010】

我這篇文章是遲了交稿,但回顧2000至2010這十年期間之內,我心目中三個最主要丶最大的收穫卻仍是沒有改變。

* 在工作事業方面,由楼下升級上了楼上,「封爵」儀式在山莊舉行,樞密書記「某甲」先生與各新兵握手,爭取人心,鼓勵士氣是也。

* 在家庭人倫方面,父親去世前數年,我和他和平共處,再沒有以前父子間的磨擦,在他瀰留之際,我這隻黑羊變了白羊。

* 在双子星座方面,我情迷意大利永恒城,來回奔走加拿大歐洲几近三年,終於 lotus 和 cedar 在楓葉國首都團聚。

古書《管子·權修》有云：『一年之計，莫如樹穀；十年之計，莫如樹木；終身之計，莫如樹人。』

「十年樹木,百年樹人」,讓我們共勉,繼續培養人才(包括自己在內),去爭取下十年的最大收穫!!!

Reference:
* 【兩周一聚】題目集錄
* 【兩周一聚】‘微豆 Haricot’集錄

Photo Credit:
* "The Common Red-stem Fig Tree, reportedly over 50 years old" - Taken by an unknown KCOB in Hong Kong (info: http://www.greenpower.org.hk/gp/classroom/tree/election_pop11e.html)

「兩週一聚」第28期:「人間,神話」之【神筆】 / 2weeks1gather #28:【My Magic Brush】

我自小就喜愛塗鴉,可以拿着筆桿子在草槁紙上畫個天花龍鳳,在自編丶自導丶自演的幻想世界中自娛大半天。那時父親是在政府的「畫積」(chart-making) 部做製图員,他見我愛好繪畫,就常從寫字樓帶給我很多廢紙,讓我自由發揮,畫過痛快。所以对我來說,【神筆】是我在孩提時代進入神話世界的橋樑工具,神筆一抖,萬馬千軍是我的下屬,意氣一發,千變萬化是我的戰畧。

可惜的是這天真的時代並不持久,時光飛逝,日月如梭,我在成長的歲月中失掉了【神筆】: 做錯了事要面对現實,不能飛天循地;考試「肥佬」要帶成積表回家,不能逃避捱一頓籐條炆豬肉;情場失意,只能回家抱著枕頭痛哭,不能覆水重收,把故事重新安置。人們說失去童真是成長的代價,但或許總有一天,我會重覓我失去的【神筆】。

Postscript: The irony of the story is that the day I find my【神筆】will also be the day I lose my marbles !!!

References:
* 【兩周一聚】題目集錄
* 【兩周一聚】‘微豆 Haricot’集錄

Photo Credit / info on side-walk art:

* http://www.coolopticalillusions.com/sidewalk-chalk-art.htm

* http://hubpages.com/hub/Pavement-Art-Taking-chalk-drawing-to-a-new-level

「兩週一聚」第二期題目: 【愛】 ∕ 「2weeks1gather」 #2: 【Love】

愛之種類繁多,有與宗教信仰有關的神靈之愛,有如岳飛肩背上刺的精忠報國丶為國犧牲的烈士之愛,而凡人世俗間,貪图物慾之愛,男歡女愛或其它組合,或各種形式的愛更是不可勝數。

但是,人總是要經歷生丶老丶病丶死的四個階段,那麼愛是否就会在人死後而隨風四散,化為煙沫?在「当事人」來說或許那是現實,正如一位好開玩笑的人說: 『如果您在訃聞看到我的名字,請不要來喚醒我!!』但在「未亡人」來說,愛可不是永恒的嗎?

我自己相信愛的存在與否,是和歷史一樣,是完全在乎有沒有人特意記錄和懷念,在個人或集體的回憶中,愛是沒有化為煙沫。但較現實的人或許会說,如果愛已演變為恨,那又有什么值得留戀啊?!但我会反問,無論是愛是恨,当2046号列車到了尾站,您是「下車人」,在那一瞬間,您又会不会回思過往的旅程呢?

References:
* 【兩周一聚】題目集錄
* 【兩周一聚】‘微豆 Haricot’集錄

Related lotusandcedar articles under 2weeks1gather label:
* http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/search/label/%E5%85%A9%E9%80%B1%E4%B8%80%E8%81%9A%202weeks1gather

越野跑 / Trail Running

I did not do any trail running for almost two years. So, I am quite happy to discover that I could still do a 80-minute run without stopping (well almost - with the exception of one stretch where the grade was a good 20+ percent and my uphill run slowed down to a brisk walk). If I can train at this level and be able to sustain myself over 158 kilometres in two days (burning abt 500-700 kilo calories/hour over 6 hours each day), I might even consider doing the Canadian Ski Marathon this winter !!!

電影【貓/鯰魚】: 疑幻疑真的網絡女友 ∕ "Catfish" the Movie: Is your girlfriend real or a manufactured persona?

Since abt 2 years ago, I have been watching an average of four to five movies a month, mostly on Tuesday nights when admission is half the regular price. Added to that list are the numerous re-runs I watch while flying across the Americas or the Pond. Many of these movies are so mundane that my mind will draw a blank if you want me to tell you right-a-way the stories in any great details.

However, I caught a big one called "Catfish" on Oct 12, 2010 at the Empire 7 Cinema downtown and would recommend it to anyone who is active or interested in social networking. The movie is abt a woman whom our protagonist met on-line. (spoiler alert from hereon !!)

At first, our young man was falling head-over-toes for this gorgeous looking singer/song-writer. Before long, they were exchanging intimate photos and texting each other some rather tenderizing messages. But then our Romeo started to suspect something was amissed when the music she played resembled some of the songs posted by somebody else on YouTube. As well, he could only talk separately to the woman and her "mother", but never both at the same time. Suspicion and curiosity started to creep in.

The young man was egged on by his brother and film-making buddy to investigate by paying a surprise visit to the girlfriend of his dream. Based on the snail-mail address, they drove all the way to the little town where his girlfriend lived, turned on the hidden camera, rang the bell, and the "mother" answered the door. She said her daughter was out. They also found out there were other family members living in the household, and of course, their identities and relationships to the (unavailable) girlfriend were all not exactly as advertised.

But as the manufactured identity of his girlfriend began to unravel, and real tears started to roll down the older woman's face, the audiences couldn't help but felt sympathetic toward the accused cheater, especially when she said something like: "... what I have now in real life is only a fragment of what I want ... and she (the gorgeous looking Facebook persona) is someone I could never be ... "

Now, don't you wish, at some point in your life, that things could have turned out better (secret crush on the boy/girl next door, school exams, relationships, careers, lotteries, ...). So what's wrong with posting and assuming the identity of a better "you" on-line and playing out your fantasy, even if it means "cheating", a concept that is not uncommon in virtual reality games?

But, wait a minute here. Are we, as rule-abiding netizens, going to let this Facebook "cheater" get off that easily, even when we have found out that she, in her real middle-age life, has broken no laws, is apologetic to our young man, is a real artist of sort (a painter but not musician), is taking care of two extremely handicapped young adults who are sons of her live-in partner (one would eventually die), and is crying with real tears? And what does the film title "Catfish" have anything to do with all these anyway?

Well, I guess you will just have to go watch the movie to find out the truth for yourself!!!

References:
* Wikipedia: "Catfish" the movie
* YouTube: "Catfish the movie/film - Official trailer"
* IMDB: Please note that some movie reviewers are saying: ... "Catfish" is not a documentary. The movie studio (Rogue Pictures) that is releasing "Catfish" is calling the movie a "reality thriller" ...

九廣鐵路: 柴油火車 / Kowloon-Canton Railway: Diesel Engine Locomotives

As a follow-up to my last article "人生列車: 漆黑隧道 / Life's Journey: Dark Tunnels", here are three YouTube video clips abt the diesel engine locomotives used by the Kowloon-Canton Railway KCR in the 70's and 80's.

七十,八十年代柴油火車 Parts 1,2,3







Related blog article:
* Lotusandcedar: Oct 19, 2010 blog article "人生列車: 漆黑隧道 / Life's Journey: Dark Tunnels"

YouTube:
* Part 1/3
* Part 2/3)
* Part 3/3)

References:
* Wikipedia: 九廣鐵路
* Wikipedia: 筆架山隧道

人生列車: 漆黑隧道 / Life's Journey: Dark Tunnels

I read with interest my friend Space's Oct 17, 2010 blog article "隧道 Tunnel" in which he remembers the first time he went through the Lion Rock railroad tunnel in Hong Kong獅子山隧道. In the postscript, he draws a parallel btwn the numerous dark tunnels of a train trip and the many ups and downs during life's journey. Here is the exchange.

Space:

>> ... 記得第一次跟學校（小學）去旅行，乘搭火車去新界，經過獅子山隧道時，突然陰暗了的車廂，而窗外漆黑黑的一遍，小時確實有些害怕 ...

>> ... 當人生的列車進入隧道，由光明轉到陰暗，再由陰暗變成漆黑一遍，列車仍然要走著，但卻不知道要走多久，才能由漆黑轉到光明，唯有拼命地向前方走著、走著，尋找那一線曙光。到終於跑出了隧道，終於見到光明，但又怎知到還有幾多條，更長的隧道，更漆黑的隧道，就在前方呢？...

Haricot:

Thank you for the childhood memory!! I too remember being afraid of riding the train thru獅子山隧道 when I was little. So, my father would take me out to the open gangway in btwn cars to confront my fear.

Inside the pitch-dark tunnel, I could hear the grinding and screeching of steel against steel from underneath the passenger cars. I could sense the groaning and bumping of the coupling that barely held the cars together. I could feel my face catching the tunnel air as the train rushed forward, its cargo lurching this way and that way. I could smell the thick diesel exhaust coming from the locomotive ahead, a comforting reminder that someone somewhere was in control.

But what I did not know at the time was that many years later, my father's words would still ring true in my ears: "Son, there is nothing to be afraid of !!!"

Photo Credit (top to bottom):
* Kowloon Canton Railway 九廣鐵路 museum: Diesel engine locomotive no. 51, retired (Wikipedia: Kowloon-Canton Railway)
* KCR locomotive no. 54 coming out of the northern exit of the Lion Rock tunnel and entering 沙田大圍 (undisclosed: there are undesirable pop-ups from this site)
* The same exit, after the tunnel has been leased to the natural gas company 隧道被租予煤氣公司作為連接九龍及新界的煤氣管道之用 (http://www.hk-place.com/)

References:
* Please click the following link to read Space's original blog article http://mindnecessity.blogspot.com/2010/10/tunnel-english-channel-bbc-deep-beneath.html
* Wikipedia/KCR: "九廣鐵路 Kowloon-Canton Railway"
* Wikipedia: "筆架山隧道"

傳奇民謠歌手瓊·貝茲 / Legendary Folk Singer Joan Baez

On Saturday, October 16, 2010, I went to see legendary folk singer Joan Baez performing at the Southam Hall, National Arts Centre, Ottawa. It was the first time I saw her concert live, even tho I started listening to her songs decades ago. The house was full and I was one of the 2000+ fans who fully enjoyed the evening !!!!!

Her songs not only brought back memories of the past but also tears to many ppl's eyes. For me it was John Lennon's song "Imagine". I recalled it was during the height of the Cold War when Joan Baez, along with Jane Fonda (aka Hanoi Jane), Peter Seeger and other anti-war performers, stood up and took a stance against the US military actions in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

At the time they were black-listed and labelled by the establishment as pro-communist, un-American, and even traitors. As it turns out, even Robert McNamara agreed many years later that (quote from Wikipedia): "..... Although he was a prime architect of the Vietnam War and repeatedly overruled the JCS (Joint Chiefs of Staff) on strategic matters, McNamara gradually became skeptical about whether the war could be won by deploying more troops to South Vietnam and intensifying the bombing of North Vietnam, a claim he would publish in a book years later...." (the book is "In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam" which I bought during a trip to Cambodia).

Whether you share the pacifist view of Joan Baez or not, the fact that she is still performing in her 70's and has the voice to do it is truly amazing and inspirational to many of us. And I am not saying that just because I sing in a choir !!

To use a hippie-trippie phrase: Let's keep on truckin' (with reduced pollution from the proverbial "truck" of course) and help make the world a better place to live !!!

References/Photo Credit:

* Wikipedia / Joan Baez http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Baez

* Wikipedia / Robert McNamara http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McNamara

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Below is an article from the Ottawa Citizen abt Joan Baez's concert:

OTTAWA (Oct 14, 2010) — The gentle urgency of Joan Baez’s stunning vibrato on We Shall Overcome turned the song into an anthem for the anti-war movement on the 1960s. Back then, it seemed possible for music to galvanize a generation into calling for peace.

That was a long time ago, observed the legendary folksinger during a recent phone interview, and things have changed. In addition to the war in Afghanistan, today’s youth have to deal with everything from environmental catastrophes to economic ones.

“It isn’t like a community of people working for the same thing,” Baez says. “The only thing that’s missing is the feeling of cohesion. By circumstances, that’s what you had in the ’60s and early ’70s. It was a perfect storm. It was by chance that I was there and involved in it, but now without the anti-war movement being the central issue, with 400 issues instead, it’s very difficult for people to feel that cohesiveness.”

Even the optimism she felt when U.S. President Barack Obama was elected is beginning to slide, largely because of the U.S troops in Afghanistan, “which makes absolutely no sense from any angle” Baez can see.

She feels Obama should hold monthly meetings with fellow winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, instead of consulting with military officers on defence strategy.

“Nobel winners, they didn’t get there by just ‘ohm’ing’ and they didn’t get there by sitting on their asses and meditating. They made real social change in situations where people did not think it could ever happen.”

I think Obama needs to check into that now to give him some encouragement, to follow a path that isn’t just dictated by the Tea Party.”

Politics aside, Baez is celebrating 50 years of touring with a stripped-down stage show that recalls her coffeehouse beginnings. Her first tour in decades without a full band was inspired after seeing a concert by her old friend, Kris Kristofferson. “It was himself and a guitar and I thought, ‘How crazy to be lugging everyone else around when one can do this.’ I felt it was a good thing to try,” Baez says.

Baez, who turns 70 in January, maintains a regular touring schedule, logging about 75 shows a year. Her voice has changed with age, and she follows a daily routine to keep it in shape. “Anybody’s voice goes down and I’m not kidding about gravity,” she says. “It’s like any muscle. You don’t ask a tennis player to go out and play a winning match if he’s been sitting around for two months. He has to keep it up and that’s exactly the same principle.

“People don’t think about it but the vocalizing and the vocal training takes a lot of work at this stage, so I either do that or I close up shop and do something else.”

Like maybe retire?

“I don’t really know what that will mean,” Baez says, hinting that she’s been thinking about another album. “You meet a lot of people in this business, they go ‘here’s my farewell tour’ and they go around the world and then they come back and they’re bored so they have another farewell tour. I think I will spare myself the indignity.”

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(Note: This blog article was first drafted in mid-October 2010 and is actually published on Mar 15, 2012)

氣候變化, 破壞臭氧層 / Climate Change, Depletion of the Ozone Layer

The following are my comments posted on blogger Ossegredos de Manuela's Oct 11, 2010 article "Consciência Ecológica"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Manuela:

>> .... mudanças climáticas ( medidas para diminuir a emissão de poluentes e impedir a destruição da camada de ozônio )

I hope you don't mind my comments here:

Back in 1987 when the Montreal Protocol was ready for international signatures, scientists were mainly concerned with the harmful effect of UV radiations on human and other life forms on the planet. The control and banning of ozone depletion substances (ODS) had little to do with Global Warming then (now called Climate Change).

Climate Change measures agreed at the 1992 Rio Convention and subsequent Conferences of the Parties (COP) annual meetings will only protect the ozone layer from the harmful effect of some but not all ODS. The Montreal Protocol is still needed to manage the risk posed by those ODS that are not Green House Gases (GHGs).

Reference:
* Wikipedia: Climate Change
* Wikipedia: Montreal Protocol

朗奴.登勤 / Ronald Duncan

One foot in front of other
Some run perhaps farther
Il était un coureur
Les pieds et le cœur

As promised in my Sept 12, 2010 blog article, I am dedicating my Fall Colours half-marathon run to Ronald Duncan who passed away suddenly on Sept 5, 2010. I shall miss chatting to Ron at Bridgehead as well as 3B&1B in our neighbourhood.

約翰·連儂的70歲生日 / John Lennon's 70th Birthday

Photo Credit 攝影图片: 由上至下

(#1) The John Lennon peace monument, created by American artist Lauren Voiers and commissioned by the Global Peace Initiative, was unveiled at Chavasse Park, Liverpool on Oct 9, 2010. (Source: Based on today's article from www.telegraph.co.uk)

(#2) In this portrait of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Annie Leibovitz relies on intimacy for effect. Her aim was to immortalise the couple's deep love for one another. But within hours of taking this photograph John Lennon was shot dead. Distributed around the world as a 'Rolling Stone' magazine cover, the photograph was instantly transformed. It became a memorial to Lennon and a symbol of the vulnerability of human passion. (Source: Quoted from website of National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburg, UK)

(#3) This John Lennon memorial bench is located in Havana, Cuba. (Source: I took this photo on Feb 11, 2009 and am posting it here on the occassion of John Lennon's 70th birthday anniversary)

Reference: (根據【维基百科】)

約翰·連儂
本名: John Winston Lennon
出生: 1940-10-09 英國利物浦
逝世: 1980年12月8日（40歲）被謀殺於美國紐約州紐約市
職業: 音樂家、創作歌手、藝術家、和平主義者、作家、唱片製作人

約翰·溫斯頓·小野·連儂，John Winston Ono Lennon, 是一名英國搖滾音樂家、創作歌手、作家與積極的和平運動家，以身為披頭四樂隊創團團員揚名全球。連儂與保羅·麥卡尼的合作是20世紀最成功也是最具影響力的創作組合之一，並創作了搖滾史上最受歡迎的歌曲，他在單曲榜史最有成就的作曲家中名列第二，僅次於麥卡尼。因其在音樂界的活躍和貢獻，在1965年獲英國女王頒發大英帝國勳章。連儂在他的音樂、電影、書作中，甚至在記者會與專訪時，總是顯露出一種桀驁不馴、反抗權威的性格與尖刻而諷刺的才思。與他的妻子小野洋子同為激進和平主義者與視覺藝術家，所以其作品亦是極具爭議性。在披頭四樂隊解散後，連儂發行《約翰連儂/塑膠小野樂隊》與《想像》等備受讚譽的專輯，也創作了Give Peace a Chance, Imagine等傳唱度極高的經典歌曲，順利開創了單飛生涯,為陪伴兒子尚恩成長而自願「引退」,之後連儂以專輯《雙重幻想》復出樂壇，但發行不到一個月的時間便遭到槍殺!!!!

禍不單行 / A Bad Day at Work

If you think you had a bad day at work,

watch this !!