Lotus and Cedar: 中英法文學寫作 Reviews of English Chinese French Literature and Authors

Showing posts with label 中英法文學寫作 Reviews of English Chinese French Literature and Authors. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL WRITERS FESTIVAL: Denise Chong 鄭霭玲

OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL WRITERS FESTIVAL

20131029: I am really glad I was able get a ticket to the Writers Festival this evening to hear what my favourite Ottawa writer had to say abt "Living History".

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"Living History" with Denise Chong and Charlotte Gray
Hosted by CBC’s Lucy van Oldenbarneveld
Knox Presbyterian Church, Oct 29, 2013 18h30

Bio: Denise Chong is the author of the family memoir The Concubine's Children; The Girl in the Picture, a story of the napalm girl from the Vietnam War; and Egg on Mao, a portrayal of human rights in China. She lives with her family in Ottawa.

"..... International bestselling author of The Concubine's Children, Denise Chong returns to the subject of her most beloved book, the lives and times of Canada's early Chinese families. In 2011, Denise set out to collect the history of the earliest Chinese settlers in and around Ottawa, who made their homes far from any major Chinatown. This generation of immigrants lived at the intersection of the Exclusion Act in Canada, which divided families between here and China, and two momentous upheavals in China: the Japanese invasion and war-time occupation; and the victory of the Communists. Her new book, Lives of the Family: Stories of Fate and Circumstance, explores the trajectory of a universal immigrant experience, one of looking in the rear view mirror while at the same time, travelling toward an uncertain future...."

Photo/text Credit:

* Writers Festival: http://www.writersfestival.org/events/fall-2013/living-history

Related links:
* Wikipedia: Denise Chong

* Knox Presbyterian Church Ottawa.

* Wikipedia: The Concubine's Children

Below is my favourite Denise Chong book "The Concubine's Children". Twenty years after its first publication, it has recently been translated to simplified Chinese for the PRC readers.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Plebs ??!! - Andrew Mitchell's Pleblem

Here is the Sept 21, 2012 headline from The Telegraph, UK on-line:

"Andrew Mitchell police row: Why has the word 'pleb' caused such outrage? Andrew Mitchell has been accused of calling a bunch of Downing Street policemen “plebs” but what does the word actually mean?"

So, what did the UK's Secretary of State for International Development mean exactly?

According to The Telegraph:

".... Critics of Mr Mitchell are particularly upset about his alleged use of the word “pleb”. They have seized on the term as a sign that Mr Mitchell was deploying a class-based insult. This is because the term is a short form of “plebeian” – the Latin word for people of the lower classes. It was originally derived from the Latin word plere, meaning “to fill up” or the Greek word for crowd, plethos. Both theories conjure up images of an unruly mob. Ancient Roman plebeians were often merchants or small businessmen with a fair amount of power. They were neither slaves, nor the ruling “patricians”, just ordinary citizens.

However, in today’s language, the word “pleb” has taken on further connotations of coarse and vulgar. The term has since become common parlance in public schools, such as the prestigious Rugby School where Mr Mitchell was educated. In this context, it is used to mean a pupil who does not come from the gentry ...."

With the recent killing of two policewomen, Mr. Mitchell should have been more sensitive with his attitude towards police officers. Instead, he has created a problem for himself and his party!!! Plebs, you say?

Photo Caption/Credit: "Ugh, Plebs!! No, we cannot invite the Symingtons. Way below our class. They insist on buttering their own bread!!" (Source: http://cheezburger.com/6253750784)

Supplementary info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleb

".... The plebs were the general body of free land-owning Roman citizens (as distinguished from slaves and the capite censi) in Ancient Rome. They were the non-aristocratic class of Rome, and consisted of freed people, shopkeepers, crafts people, skilled or unskilled workers and farmers. Members of the plebs were also distinct from the higher order of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian ( /plɨˈbiːən/; Latin: plebeius). This term is used today to refer to one who is or appears to be of the middle or lower order; however, in Rome plebeians could become quite wealthy and influential. .....

Modern usage: In Great Britain, Canada, France, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South African English pleb is a back-formation, in Dutch it is plebs; a derogatory term for someone thought of as inferior, common or ignorant. The term is often, though not always, synonymous with prole. plebby is a more recent derivative used to describe an action which was inconsiderate and/or ignorant. ....."

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Rex Murphy's Favourite Word: "Chalcenterous"

During the June 28, 2012 CBC News/The National broadcast, Rex Murphy told Peter Mansbridge that one of his most favourite English words is "chalcenterous" as in "chalcenterous courage", which apparently is an essential attribute of being a (Newfoundland) politician.

As suggested by Rex, I look up its meaning and sure enough, chalcenterous means: having bowels of brass, which implies being tough.

Indeed, an on-line Chinese dictionary http://www.websaru.com/chalcenterous.html also lists "chalcenterous" as an adjective that means 铁石心肠的 (hearts and guts made out of iron and rock), 坚强的 (hard, solid, strong), 铜筋铁骨的 (tendons of bronze and bones of iron).

So far so good !!

However, according to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didymus_Chalcenterus, the word chalcenterous is actually the name of a Greek scholar called Didyumus Chalcenterus.

"..... The surname "bronze-guts" came from his indefatigable industry: he was said to have written so many books that he was unable to recollect what he had written in earlier ones, and so often contradicted himself. (Athenaeus records that he wrote 3500 books; Seneca gives the figure of 4000.) As a result he acquired the additional nickname βιβλιολάθης "book-forgetter" ....."

So it appears to me that "chalcenterus - bronze guts" was originally used to describe the old scholar's writing capacity but 2075 years later, is interpreted as being solid, strong and tough.

Anyway, I don't think any politicians here in Ottawa will fit the "chalcenterous" bill. Some might have scribbled thousands of talking points, but not books. And definitely, not too many can be described as having "chalcenterous courage" if all they do is to use weasel words to answer a direct question from Rex :DDDD

Ref: http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/about/correspondents/rexmurphy/

Thursday, October 06, 2011

史蒂夫喬布斯对設計一門的看法 / Quote from Steve Jobs on the Meaning of Design

在大多數人的詞彙,設計一門像單板一樣,是沒有深度的小兒科,不外乎室內裝潢,窗簾戓沙發面料選擇等皮毛功夫。

但我認為,這種看法是非常膚淺。

設計是人類基本的創作力,像靈魂一樣,透過一件物品的本質和功能, 有層有次地向外發展表現, 是有諸內丶而形於外。

(微豆意釋)

“In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains, of the sofa.

But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design.

Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.”

(Steve Jobs 1955-2011)

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多謝網友 Inner Space 的留言資料:

"... The apple with a side face of steve off was created by an Hongie youth studying in HK poly U

【明報專訊】蘋果公司的標誌結合去世的前總裁喬布斯的側臉剪影，被全球網民熱烈討論及轉發，設計者是香港的大學生。創作者香港理工大學設計學院學生、19歲的麥朗說，8月喬布斯辭任蘋果總裁時，他已製成該圖標，但當時無人注意，直至日前他再次於網上發表，短時間內收到來自全球數以百萬計的回應。麥朗表示他在考慮就著作權議題聯繫蘋果公司，因為他的設計是以該公司的商標為本。 "

Photo Credit: 明報(轉載法新社)

Saturday, April 30, 2011

中國【百家姓】: 姓氏的起源 / The Hundred Chinese Family Surnames: The Origin

根據【中華人網】: 《中華百家姓一覽》
　
"..... 「姓氏」在現代漢語中是一個詞，但在秦漢以前，姓和氏有明顯的區別。姓源於母系社會，同一個姓表示同一個母系的血緣關係。中國最早的姓，大都從「女」旁，如：姜，姚，姒，媯，嬴等，表示這是一些不同的老祖母傳下的氏族人群。而氏的產生則在姓之後，是按父系來標識血緣關係的結果，這只能在父權家長制確立時才有可能。因此，當我們讀到「黃帝軒轅氏，姬姓」以及「炎帝列山氏，薑姓」時，可以明白，中華民族共同始祖炎黃二帝原分屬兩個按母系血緣關係組織起來的部落或部落聯盟，一姓薑，一姓姬，而他們又分別擁有表示自己父權家長制首領的氏稱;列山，軒轅。姓和氏有嚴格區別又同時使用的的局面表明，母權制已讓位於父權制，但母系社會的影響還存在，這種影響一直到春秋戰國以後才逐漸消亡。

《百家姓》本是北宋初年(約公元960年)錢塘(杭州)的一個書生所編撰的蒙學讀物，將常見的姓氏篇成四字一句的韻文，像一首四言詩，便與誦讀和記憶，因此，流傳至今，影響極深。《百家姓》本來收集四百一十一個經贈補到五百零四個姓，其中單因姓四百四十四個，複姓六十個。....."

当然,宋朝那四字一句的《百家姓》是以韻成文,沒有排名先後,不過根據【維基百科】,近代有學者推測,那首一百個最常用的姓氏,次序应排列如下：

".... 宋朝(960年─1279年)

王，李，張，趙，劉，陳，楊，吳，黃，朱，孫，郭，胡，呂，高，宋，徐，程，林，鄭，范，何，韓，曹，馬，許，田，馮，杜，周，曾，汪，蘇，董，方，蔡，梁，石，謝，賈，薛，彭，崔，唐，潘，鄧，任，史，錢，侯，魏，羅，葉，沈，孟，姚，傅，丁，章，蕭，蔣，盧，陸，袁，江，晁，譚，邵，歐陽，孔，詹，俞，尹，廖，閻，洪，夏，雷，葛，文，柳，陶，毛，丘，龔，康，蒲，邢，郝，龐，安，裴，折，施，游，金，鄒，湯，虞，嚴，鍾。...."

当然,現在中華民族的《百家姓》排名次序,又是和宋朝的版本大有出入。

".... 2007年4月2007年中國公安部對全國戶籍人口的最新統計：王姓成為中國大陸第一大姓，有9288.1萬人，佔中國人口總數的7.25％。這個排名跟2006年1月中國科學院的統計有差別。

王，李，張，劉，陳，楊，黃，趙，吳，周，徐，孫，馬，朱，胡，郭，何，高，林，羅，鄭，梁，謝，宋，唐，許，韓，馮，鄧，曹，彭，曾，肖，田，董，袁，潘，于，蔣，蔡，余，杜，葉，程，蘇，魏，呂，丁，任，沈，姚，盧，姜，崔，鍾，譚，陸，汪，范，金，石，廖，賈，夏，韋，傅，方，白，鄒，孟，熊，秦，邱，江，尹，薛，閆，段，雷，侯，龍，史，陶，黎，賀，顧，毛，郝，龔，邵，萬、錢、嚴、覃，武，戴，莫，孔，向，湯。...."

為了作更深一步的硏究,我在此貼上兩集 YouTube 視頻,以供各位讀者參考。不知道您能不能夠像片中那小學生一樣,將400多個《百家姓》順序一字不漏地唱讀出來!!

Friday, April 22, 2011

微觀世系統,臥虎亦藏龍

微豆臥虎,相識已久,
臭味相投,似成世交。
唯獨微臥倆人,性格差異,
行藏舉止,如同天地日月。

豆兒品性開朗, 思想四季萌芽,
網上博誌,品味繁多,
扯東拉西,無所不談。
笑曰: 貂不足,狗尾續!

虎兒深藏不露,腦中機關算儘,
畏首畏尾,防人問鼎,
政壇刺客,先斬後奏。
嘆曰: 狡兔死,走狗烹!

但物極必反,剛亦需柔,柔亦善剛。
豆兒感性用事,心纒情之一物,難忘僧道草石之緣。
虎兒理性弄事,冷眼人間善惡,莫怪政客手下無情。
故曰: 微豆臥虎,臭味相投,相得益彰,順理成章!
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說文解字:

1. "系統": 系統思維/ System Thinking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinking)

2. "臥虎藏龍": Chinese proverb - Just like lions crouching low in the grass and dragons hiding behind clouds, you never know who are out there waiting or observing in silence. It is made famous in the western world by the movie based on a 1920 kungfu story of the same name. 中國北京1920年代武俠小說作家王度廬的【鐵鶴五部】中的第四部。【臥虎藏龍】以九門提督之女玉嬌龍和沙漠大盜羅小虎的愛情悲劇為主線。玉嬌龍出身名門，身懷絕技，為父兄官譽不能不嫁給魯翰林，卻始終深愛大盜小虎。她偷了【九華秘笈】而處處受江湖人物圍攻堵截，只好切斷貴族家庭關係，跑去和小虎一溫綺夢，然後又孤劍單騎，遠走大漠。(臥虎藏龍http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E8%87%A5%E8%99%8E%E8%97%8F%E9%BE%8D) (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crouching_Tiger,_Hidden_Dragon)

3. "貂不足,狗尾續!": "狗尾續貂" is a Chinese proverb that literally means when you run out of expensive mink fur, use cheap dog fur and hope nobody can tell the difference. 西晉八王之亂,趙王司馬倫矯詔晉惠帝禪位，自稱皇帝，專惠帝為太上皇。改元建始。由於濫封爵位過甚，時人為之諺曰：『貂不足，狗尾續。』 (司馬倫http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E5%8F%B8%E9%A9%AC%E4%BC%A6)

4. "機關算儘": A poem in the Dream of the Red Chamber that foretells the character王熙鳳 is too smart for her own good. 【紅樓夢】批死了王熙鳳的名句『機關算盡太聰明，反算了卿卿性命。生前心已碎，死後性空靈。』

5. "問鼎": In Chinese history and culture, possession of one or more ancient dings鼎 is often associated with power and dominion over the land. Therefore, the ding is often used as an implicit symbolism for power. The term "inquiring of the ding" (问鼎) is often used interchangeably with the quest for power. 【晉書•王敦傳】『既素有重名，又立大功於江左，專任閫外，手控強兵，群從貴顯，威權莫貳，遂欲專制朝廷，有問鼎之心。』(鼎http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ding_(vessel))

6. "先斬後奏": The privilege bestowed by the Emperor to kill/execute first and report later.大臣官員若持有皇帝御賜的粗尚方寶劍則享有先斬後奏的特權，不但代表着無上權力，也是大臣官員的殊榮。(尚方寶劍http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E5%B0%9A%E6%96%B9%E5%AF%B6%E5%8A%8D)

7. "狡兔死,走狗烹":　Historical quote from 范蠡, who upon successfully helping Emperor 越王勾踐 to regain his empire, submitted his resignation based on the observation that "When all the birds are killed, the bow will be put down; and when the last cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog will end up in the pot." 西元前494年，吳王夫差為報父仇與越國在洞庭山決戰，越王勾踐大敗，僅剩5000兵卒逃入會稽山,。范蠡進諫：「屈身以事吳王，徐圖轉機。」勾踐臥薪嘗膽,夫婦在吳國為奴三年。范蠡是越國「十年生聚，十年教訓」的策劃和組織者。為了實施滅吳戰略，他與文種擬定興越滅吳九術之一的「美人計」，在薴蘿山浣紗河訪到德才貌兼備的巾幗奇女——西施，西施深明大義獻身吳王，裡應外合興越滅吳。范蠡事越王勾踐二十餘年，卒於滅吳，成就越王霸業。但范蠡認為在有功於越王之下，難以久居，「飛鳥盡，良弓藏；狡兔死，走狗烹」。他深知勾踐為人「長頸鳥喙」，可與共患難，難與同安樂，遂與西施一起泛舟齊國，變姓名為鴟夷子皮，帶領兒子和門徒在海邊結廬而居。(范蠡http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E8%8C%83%E8%A0%A1)

8. "僧道草石之緣": Again, I am quoting from The Dream of the Red Chamber 紅樓夢, which was originally known as The Story of the Stone 石頭記. The Story was told supposedly by a couple of travelling Buddhist monk and Taoist priest 一僧一道。In the preface (a story within a story), a sentient Stone, abandoned by the goddess Nüwa when she mended the heavens aeons ago, begs a Taoist priest and Buddhist monk to bring it with him to enjoy in the worldly world. It could have been an ordinary vacation story, except that when in heaven, the Stone (Divine Attendant-in-Waiting 神瑛侍者) kindly rescued a withering plant that was dying of thirst. Feeling eternally grateful, the sentient plant (The Crimson Pearl Fairy 絳珠仙子) has promised to repay the Stone with her earthly love and womanly tears. So once a promise is made, the universal mechanism of 因果緣份 is set in motion and the debt must be paid in full so the cycle can be completed. An otherwise ordinary vacation story is thus turned into a heart-wrenching love story with a tearful beginning, middle, and end. The main story begins with the Stone, Divine Attendant-in-Waiting, being reincarnated on earth as the main character, Jia Baoyu 賈寶玉　(賈is phonetically equivalent to "假fake", and Baoyu　means "precious jade＂, a stone).　The Crimson Pearl Fairy (絳珠仙子) is incarnated as Baoyu's sickly cousin, the emotional 林黛玉Lin Daiyu, who loves Baoyu. The Stone, however, is predestined in this life to marry another cousin, 薛寶釵Xue Baochai. This love triangle against the backdrop of the family's declining fortunes forms the most well-known plot line in the novel. As promised, Lin Daiyu has to repay the Stone with all the womanly tears and love she embodies during their earthly journey. Well, it is a heavenly complicated novel .... 女媧鍊石補天，剩一塊石未用。這補天頑石（通靈寶玉）經過修鍊已經有了靈性。一僧一道攜它變幻為美玉帶入塵世。適逢神瑛侍者對一株絳珠仙草有澆灌之恩，又動了凡心下凡遊歷人間。絳珠仙草後修鍊成女體，聞訊亦隨之下凡，打算把一生所有的眼淚還他。僧道二人欲了結這段公案，並將石頭（通靈寶玉）夾帶其中。元宵時節，霍啟不慎丟失了英蓮。葫蘆廟失火禍及甄家，落魄的甄士隱被一僧一道點化，解出《好了歌注》出家。窮困的賈雨村反而由貧入官。賈府是金陵四大家族之一，受有功勛，分為寧榮二府，族中最長者為賈母，最疼生來口中就含有一塊通靈寶玉（補天頑石）的孫兒賈寶玉（神瑛侍者）。賈寶玉生來不喜讀聖賢書，卻愛與青春女性玩耍，為此與其父賈政關係緊張。林黛玉（絳珠仙草）此時入居賈府。劉姥姥為了生計，也一進榮府。學堂內發生一場大混戰，賈府男子眾人，醜態盡出　....... 。（紅樓夢http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E7%BA%A2%E6%A5%BC%E6%A2%A6）

Sunday, November 14, 2010

學習英語: 沒有法則的英文 ∕ Learning English: When Exceptions Become the Rules

來來來!

我們齊齊學英語!!

首先讓我們

聽聽作家Kathryn Lindskoog的意見,

讀讀她在近作

"Creative Writing - For people who can't not write"

寫的一首打油詩:

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England.
We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes,
we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,
and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing,
grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and
get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English
should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship...
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language
in which your house can burn up as it burns down,
in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and
in which an alarm goes off by going on.

And in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother is not Mop?

哈!哈! 好一個沒法則的語言
When Exceptions to the Rules Become the Rules !!

References:
*「維基百科」: 英語語言發展史
* Wikipedia: English language
*「維基百科」:英語

Photo Credit / 图片:
* Amazon dot com

Saturday, September 11, 2010

瑪格麗特‧愛特伍: 《洪荒年代》 / Margaret Atwood: The Year of the Flood

"預視人類未來"

"..... 加拿大作家瑪格麗特‧愛特伍近日出版新作 "The Year of the Flood",描述一群稱為上帝的園丁（God's Gardeners）,預測大洪水將臨，因而致力於制定因應對策。在這飽受自然災害威脅的地球，僅少數人類和變種生物存活下來。這群人類以亞當一號（Adam One）為首，盡全部心力於保護地球上所有的物種免於大水侵害。

愛特伍為一著作豐富之小說家，著名作品如《仕女的故事》(The Handmaid's Tale, 1985)、《盲眼刺客》(The Blind Assassin, 2000)和《末世男女》(Oryx and Crake, 2003)等。她的新作品 The Year of the Flood 背景和《末世男女》一樣設在2003年，描述在大地反撲、自然災害不斷的情況下存活下來的人類的命運。愛特伍強調，兩本小說雖有類似的時空和場景，卻沒有直接的承繼關係，The Year of the Flood 並非其前作的續集。..."

(Source of text above: 台灣匯文網)

Thanks to Kempton's Sept 9, 2010 blog article entitled "2010 Calgary International Film Festival Picks: In the wake of the flood", I am able to locate the trailer and post it here for your enjoyment.

As I mentioned during the interview by 2weeks1gather, I am a big fan of the Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, who is also now the inventor of "book-tour performance arts". I have read many of her books and have thus far written four articles abt the great dame, as shown below:

* 希臘神話【潘妮洛普】: 觀點與角度 (上,中,下集) / Margaret Atwood's "The Penelopiad": Point of View Part 1; Part 2; Part 3
* 兩週一聚 (二十一期) 「假如你是一本書......」【瑪格麗特‧愛特伍 : 認同与生存】 / 2weeks1gather (#21)「If you were a book...... 」【Margaret Atwood: Identity and Survival】

Presently, I am drafting an article abt Margaret Atwood's "Life Before Man" 瑪格麗特‧愛特伍: 【在未有男人(人類)之前】. Hopefully, I will be able to post the final version on Lotusandcedar soon.

References:
* Kempton: Sept 9, 2010 "2010 CLIFF picks in the wake of The Flood"
* Source of video: In the Wake of the Flood (Teaser) from filmswelike on Vimeo.
* 兩周一聚六月訪問微豆: E-interview
of Haricot by Readandeat of 2weeks1gather that was published on June 27, 2010

Friday, August 20, 2010

談鍚永前輩 / Mr. Tam Shek Wing

網友 Space 兄前一陣子文興大發,借用近代書畫家談鍚永前輩姓名, 拆字出了上聯刊登敝博,又邀請小弟續对下聯。微豆才疏學淺,在方寸大乱之際,急急在網上左尋右找有關談先生的資料及他研讀彿學的心得,之後拾人牙慧,搬字過紙,草草寫了以下狗尾續貂的所謂下聯。Space兄拋玉得磚,墾請萬勿見笑小弟之劣作!!

談錫永, 大言炎炎(談)
談金談易(錫), 豈是蜻蜓點水(永)

王亭之, 侫槃無人(妄)
諦全善兼(聽), 喜是玄音不繞(之)

說文解字:
(l) l. 「妄聽之」的解釋: 根據維基百科,談鍚永前輩的筆名王亭之是源自『姑妄言之,姑妄聽之』的「妄聽之」。
(2) 「妄」字的解釋: 佛教之安樂無為、解脫自在的境界，稱為侫槃寂靜。寂靜最高的境界是無我無人,故「侫」去「亻」曰「妄」。
(3)「聽」字的解釋: 彿教有「諦聽」，「全聽」，「善聽」，「兼聽」，故集成「諦全善兼」。
(4) 「玄」字中部拉直不繞,變成「之」。

References:
(1) "... 王亭之（1913年- ）是香港的佛學家及專欄作家，亦是紫微斗數(中州派)、玄空風水及中國畫的專家。現時已移居加拿大多倫多。..." (Source: Wikipedia 王亭之; Baidu 談錫永,筆名王亭之)
(2) "... 侫槃是梵文的音譯，舊譯「泥洹」。侫槃含義多種：息除煩惱之火、貪欲滅盡、瞋恚滅盡、愚痴滅盡、滅掉生死苦果，達到安樂無為、解脫自在的境界，稱為侫槃寂靜。..." (source: www.hkbuddhist.com 慶祝香港「佛誕公眾假日」- 世尊創立人間佛教)
(3) "... 「諦聽」就是要認真聽,注意聽,不要聽錯了。「全聽」就是不要斷章取義。「善聽」就是要善於聽話,即使是不好聽的話,也要能聽出其中的好意。「兼聽」所謂「兼聽則明,偏聽則暗」。(source:聽諦是什麼?)
(4) " ... 玄,點解?..." (Source: 玄)

Related blog info:
* Lotusandcedar: "港式粵語: 『你喺乜嘢新鮮蘿白皮呀?』/ Colloquial Cantonese Hong Kong Style".
* Tam Shek Wing: 談錫永畫室 <<--- Photo Credit
* Cantonese Culture Promotion Society: 粵語文化傳播協會

Monday, June 28, 2010

–30– 故事完 / End of Story –30–

Have you wondered why there is always this mysterious -30- at the end of an official transmission, such as a govt announcement, news release, speech, backgrounder, etc. Here are the answers (which I bet not every communication officer knows):

"... –30– has been traditionally used by journalists to indicate the end of a story.

There are many theories about how the usage came into being,e.g. It was telegraphic shorthand to signify the end of a story in the Civil War era. Other theories include that the "-30-" originated when stories were written in longhand; X marked the end of a sentence, XX the end of a paragraph, and XXX meant the end of a story. The Roman numerals XXX translate to 30. ..."

(Source: Wikipedia "-30-" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E2%80%9330%E2%80%93)

Still feeling mystified? Here is an article from American Journalism Review:

"So Why Not 29? Why did reporters for years end their stories by writing -30- ?"
By Hadass Kogan, from AJR, October/November 2007

"Each October for the past eight years, students in Louise Reynolds' Introduction to Journalism class at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland, have been offered extra credit if they can solve one of journalism's lingering mysteries: Why did reporters for years end their stories by writing "-30-"?

"Journalism is so full of funny phrases and traditions," Reynolds says. "I wanted the kids to know there was a long tradition behind each of these terms and style rules and know that it didn't come out of nowhere."

The use of the symbol was once so prevalent that it made its way into Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, which says 30 is "a sign of completion." But the tradition of using it to cap off a piece of sprightly copy dropped off considerably when the computer replaced the typewriter — the what? — in America's newsrooms. So it's a term whose meaning is lost on many younger journalists.

The venerable "-30-" caused some mischief in late July at the New York Times when a reporter typed it at the end of his article about the shooting of two police officers in Brooklyn. The published version of the story said that a trial was scheduled for February 30, which doesn't occur even in the leapest of leap years. Said a subsequent Times correction: "The error occurred when an editor saw the symbol '-30-' typed at the bottom of the reporter's article and combined it with the last word, 'February.'"

So where did the term originate? Some say the mark began during a time when stories were submitted via telegraph, with "-30-" denoting "the end" in Morse code. Another theory suggests that the first telegraphed news story had 30 words. Others claim the "-30-" comes from a time when stories were written in longhand — X marked the end of a sentence, XX the end of a paragraph and XXX meant the end of a story. The Roman numerals XXX translate to 30.

But these are hardly the only explanations, theories and guesses for the rise of "-30-". It is rumored that a letter to an East India company ended with "80," a figure meaning "farewell" in Bengali. The symbol supposedly was misread, changed to 30 and took root. Some say the mark comes from the fact that press offices closed at 3 o'clock. And there's the theory that 30 was the code for a telegraph operator who stayed at his post during a breaking news story until his death 30 hours later — versions of that story even include that the unfortunate operator hit two keys on his machine when he collapsed. Which ones? That's right, 3 and 0.

Julie Williams, a professor of journalism and mass communication at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, says the guessing game over "-30-" has taken on a life of its own, in part because the ambiguity leaves it open to a wide array of interpretations. "Because it's so obviously not intuitive, you can't tell what it means," she says. "I think people were anxious to come up with explanations for it."

Or maybe "-30-" is just another way for journalists to suggest that theirs is cooler than other professions. "I'm not sure that it's any more of a mystery than a lot of other things," says Linda Steiner, who teaches at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. "I think journalists have always liked to create odd or weird names for things that they do or conventions that they have."

For most, the origin of "-30-" is less important than what it represents, a remnant of a bygone era when shouts of "copy" echoed through the newsroom and computers seemed the stuff of science fiction.

"It was just what one did. I don't know the origin or what I was told," says Peter Binzen, 84, a longtime reporter, editor and columnist at the Philadelphia Bulletin and Philadelphia Inquirer. "I don't suppose any reporter under 50 has used it."

Don Harrison, 79, editor of Milestones, a monthly newspaper published by the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, and a former Philadelphia newsman, says that "-30-", as well as "#" and "end it," were essential for writing stories on deadline. "You had to use something when you were typing because you would write two or three paragraphs on deadline," Harrison says. "Then the copyboy would pick it up and send it to the composing room. It was necessary [to have] some way to say, 'This is it, it's over... Put a head on it and put it in the next day's paper.'"

Stephen Dixon, a former professor at Johns Hopkins University, even titled his 1999 book "30" to acknowledge the thematic endings the main character (who happens to be a former newsman) experiences throughout the novel. His publisher added the subtitle "Pieces of a Novel" because he worried that nobody in the Internet era would understand the book's title. Perhaps the publisher was on to something — Dixon ended up writing a letter to the editor complaining about a book review that seemed to totally miss the meaning of the novel's title and its relationship to the theme of endings in the book.

Chicago newsman Charles Madigan not so cheerily named his new book, a selection of essays about the decline of the newspaper business, "-30-: The Collapse of the Great American Newspaper."

So even though it's an anachronism, "-30-" continues to make its presence felt. After not using the symbol for years, Binzen even chose to end his 56-year newspaper career in 2005 with a farewell column that concluded with, what else, "-30-".

Kogan (hkogan@umd.edu) is a former AJR editorial assistant. She thought 30 was just another number before embarking on this assignment. "

(Source: http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4408)

-30-

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

香港打工仔 / Work and Die in Hong Kong

The following has bee circulating among Chinese bloggers since the fall of 2008. I went to Google and tried to identify the authour but without success. Anyway, to whoever wrote this piece, thank you !!!

香港打工仔

　　失業半年返職場，劏雞還神燒炮仗，開工本應喜洋洋，誰知世態變炎涼

　　掃地阿嬸識雞腸，看更得過文學獎，學士碩士唔馨香，皆因博士也在場

　　助理一職百人搶，人工一定唔理想，五六仟蚊算中上，十二個月無雙糧

　　萬人之下一人上，簽約兩年要裝香，資源增值假現象，強逼發揮你所長

　　冷氣滴水修故障，電腦中毒你當殃，修理馬桶最平常，老細座架要保養

　　打字影印寫文章，有空送信兼抹窗，早場做到午夜場，七天工作真無良

　　週一驗貨到南昌，週二見客在新疆，週三蒙古收爛賬，週四重慶釘木箱

　　週五東莞曬臘腸，週六返港天已亮，週日加班無補償，晚上終於胃潰瘍

　　對住老板要讚賞，奉承上司扮羔羊，對付下屬要表揚，對待同事要禮讓

　　公司文化漸端詳，不懂都要頂硬上，同事有功必定搶，下屬有錯不原諒

　　老細鬧我正粉腸，開會猶如打靶場，被人插到胃氣脹，鬧完仲要拍手掌

　　返工慘過去當娼，皆因形勢比人強，無奈只有扮智障，只為月底那份糧

　　笑臉迎人裝模樣，像是置身於歡場，這種壓力無法想，長此下去會缺氧

　　打算請假來休養，老細面孔像晚娘，再講除非嫌命長，返回座位暗神傷

　　妻兒少見無印象，晚餐白飯豆瓣醬，家裡只有四面牆，卡啦OK 廁所唱

　　身心疲累自惆悵，真想回鄉去插秧，或是少林當和尚，不知不覺進夢鄉

　　夢裡見到文天祥，廟前幫人看面相，招手要我捧個場，端詳面相看手掌

　　贈言我來日方長，各行各業可多嘗，虛心學習要忍讓，只要奮發心向上

　　挖角升職薪水漲，有家有樓有車輛，撥開雲霧見太陽，天空海闊任飛翔

　　臨行美金作打賞，天祥雙眼直發亮，睜眼還是四面牆，身旁還是孩子娘

　　擦牙洗面打開窗，早餐多士凍鴛鴦，以上所講無誇張，全是打工眾生相

Related article:
七十二行: 寫字楼後生 (一) / 72 Occupations: Office Boy (Part 1) http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/04/72-occupations-office-boy-part-1.html

Photo Credit: Wikipedia "辦公室"

Sunday, August 30, 2009

兩週一聚 (二十一期) 「假如你是一本書......」【瑪格麗特‧愛特伍 : 認同与生存】 / 2weeks1gather (#21)「If you were a book...... 」【Margaret Atwood: Identity and Survival】

兩星期前在 Vince 処報名時,自以為這題目是易如反掌 a piece of cake ,但到真正在今早提筆寫的時候,才明白為什么網友「周游」說這是一條『頗難度高的題目』。雖然我在香港中學時代時曾晝夜不眠,啃了好几本厚厚的中國文學巨著,包括【西遊記】丶【鏡花緣】丶【水滸傳】丶【三國演義】等,來到加拿大後又趁着在Grande Prairie, Alberta 当夜班 graveyard shift 看更時,讀透了那本看破紅麈丶中國四大名著之一的【石頭記】(紅楼夢)。但是喜愛並不等於深愛,深愛亦不一定表示認同,認同亦未必有需要將「彼」書和「此」我成為「個體」。無論我閱讀了多少本中外奇書,能夠令我如Vince說『披起書衣﹐自我介紹』的卻真是廖廖可數。

如果我真是要和一本書打上關係,我是会選擇渥太華出生的女作家瑪格麗特‧愛特伍（Margaret Atwood )在 1972年出版的【Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature】,在【生存】這本書中, 愛特伍用「受害者」四個不同的思想角度,透過加拿大文學家的寫作,來分析這個年輕國家在世界上生存的覌點和見解 (i.e. the what, why, and where of 'here is Canada as a nation' and 'yes, we have our national identity') 。她的結論是加拿大作家無論是寫有關大自然 (Nature the Monster)丶野獸 (Animal Victims)丶原居人 (First Peoples) 丶家庭 (Family Portrait) 丶移民 (Failed Sacrifices: The Reluctant Immigrant) 等等,他∕她們的基本主題焦點都是「生存」,而故事多会認同主角為「受害者」,勿論victim是用正面或負面眼光和行動來達到這生存目的。

对我這個在歐美主流文化中生活多年的華裔,愛特伍【生存】這本書是引起我內心很大的共嗚。撇開我自己不談,中西歷史倒有很多有關認同和生存的例子:

• 在二次大戰前守舊封建社会,女性要三從四德,嫁鳮隨街,嫁狗隨狗,被丈夫遺棄或中年守寡的女人是二手貨丶過期品,她是討不到男人欢心丶失敗的「黃臉婆」,什至是刻死老公的「掃把星」,她的孩子是「油瓶仔丶油瓶女」。舊社会的女性受害人不單只是要受難,還要自咎負上責任,被迫与罪咎認同 (and in the judeo-Christian western culture, it was Eve who offered the apple to Adam, thereby committing the Original Sin and getting us all in trouble)。

• 二次大戰後有些街坊小童在亍边讀連環图丶在戲院看李小龍的時候,与「財叔」丶「三毛」丶或「唐山大兄」等故事人物認同,立誓長大後要殺滅日倭,要為無辜死在「蘿白頭」武士刀下的南京百姓,和上千過萬同胞報仇雪恨。他們是与同族受害者認同。

• 近代年青人在政治風暴中与某黨某派宣傳書籍丶印刷品丶口號認同,鬥跨鬥臭XYZ,或正如上任美國總統布殊說:『You are either with us or against us!!』世界的戰爭衝突分水線是和各國的宗教和價值覌認同有直接關係。

• 最近很多網民与無辜被「人肉搜索」的受害人認同,大家要為改善網絡世界內外的生存條件而聯合反抗「黃色暴力」。中國的「人肉搜索」第一案, 在2008年4月17日於北京市朝陽區人民法院亞運村法庭開庭審理。。

以我個人來說,認同是我在北美西方主流社会裏,每天要面对的現實,是每分每秒為生存而作出的衡量過程丶决定。在日常生活工作環境中,華裔洋化多點保守華僑会搖頭嘆息說:『你們這群忘本丶黃皮白心的「香蕉仔」丶「香蕉女」!!』,是如魯迅在【阿Q正傳】說的「假洋鬼子」;但是板起唐人的臉孔丶態度丶覌點和「老外」(多么親切的招呼!) 打交道,又恐怕会被主流社会拒諸門外,備受歧視丶排斥。

正如我在2008年8月24日答覆網友 Inner Space 說: "我認為 (華人在海外生存的) 關鍵是在乎:
(1) 內覌: 每個人对自己的認同和接受程度;
(2) 外覌: 社会对這個人的認同和接受程度。”
而認同的覌念是隨時日磨練而轉變,是人類生存的演變過程之一。

結語: Vince 出的「假如你是一本書......」兩週一聚題目,的确令我想起了很多埋藏在心裡有關「認同与生存」的問題,所以也就趁此机会借題發揮。雖然我在這篇文章披上了愛特伍【Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature】的書衣來介紹自己,但俗語有云:『穿上龍袍,亦不似太子』,我在此只是沾Margaret Atwood 的光,也有可能誤解了她原書的本意。但正如我前述: 喜愛並不等於深愛,深愛亦不一定表示認同,認同亦未必有需要將「彼」和「此」成為「個體」。我雖不認同我是「受害者」,但对愛特伍的寫作思想卻是深有敬意,所以在此冒昧做了一個作家思想和讀者回应的聯繫,請各位幸勿見笑!! (I do sound very Chinesy here, do I ?? <;-)

請到「兩週一聚」師奶亭処參閱其他∕她会說話的書:

http://2weeks1gather.wordpress.com/

********************
Updated 20090901:
********************
Below are my blog articles on Margaret Atwood's "Penelopiad":

希臘神話【潘妮洛普】: 觀點與角度 / Margaret Atwood's "The Penelopiad": Point of View

* 上集Part 1: http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/10/margaret-atwoods-penelopiad-point-of.html
* 中集Part 2: http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/10/margaret-atwoods-penelopiad-point-of_20.html
* 下集 Part 3: http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/10/margaret-atwoods-penelopiad-point-of_2901.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Related Links and References:

* "假如你是一本書......" http://memoriesblossom.blogspot.com/2009/08/blog-post_18.html

* "中國文學" http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E6%96%87%E5%AD%A6

* “Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival:_A_Thematic_Guide_to_Canadian_Literature (also Photo Credit to Wikipedia)

* “「人肉搜索」第一案是惡魔還是天使” http://news.wenweipo.com/2008/07/16/IN0807160084.htm

* "酒吧女老闆遭「人肉搜索」被當二奶攻擊" http://news.wenweipo.com/2008/07/16/IN0807160086.htm

* 2008年8月24日答覆網友 Inner Space http://mindnecessity.blogspot.com/2008/08/icon-815-32-shawn-johnson-199010.html
- Inner Space: "... 在海外的中國裔外國人，多存 mixed feelings.... ”
- Haricot: "我認為關鍵是在乎:(1) 內覌: 每個人对自己的認同和接受程度(2) 外覌: 社会对這個人的認同和接受程度
我是用「內覌」和「外覌」的社会心理學角度,來解釋為什么海外的中國裔,会有如您說『... 多存 mixed feelings ... 第一類, 第二類, 第三類, etc ...』。換句話說: How a person sees and reconciles him/herself + how society labels and accepts or rejects this person => Mixed feelings => Choice of reactions and actions.”

* "Chinesy" Urban Dictionary http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Chinesy
- Chinesy (adj): not to be confused with chinese, a crude term referring to people with oriental descent who exhibits the following collection of characteristics: stinginess, having zero social life, the extended development of the left cerebrum (i.e., very adapt at mathematics and will most likely involve themselves in a career related to engineering), and in most cases, the ability to play a popular imported Japanese game that requires the player to imitate dancing by stepping on arrows embedded within a platform.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

“中風: 女腦科專家之第一人身經驗" / "My Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolte Taylor

There are many scientific theses and medical journals on stroke, a disease that often kills or paralyzes its victims. But none is more revealing than the first person account by brain scientist and stroke victim Jill Bolte Taylor whose video presentation below provides us with her insight into the concept of "self" and the way her brain functi0ned during and after her stroke.

Here are my other blog articles of interest:

1. 軀体、靈魂、自我 (上册) / Body, Soul and Self (Part 1 of 2) http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/04/body-soul-and-self-part-1-of-2.html

2. 自閉症作家唐娜、威廉姆斯的【此地無人】/ Donna Williams' "Nobody Nowhere - The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic" http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/04/donna-williams-nobody-nowhere.html

Reference: The above video clip is from http://www.ted.com/ with the following text:

"... Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another ..."

Related Links:

1. "Jill Bolte Taylor" Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Bolte_Taylor
"... Jill Bolte Taylor (born 1959) is a neuroanatomist who specializes in the postmortem investigation of the human brain. She is affiliated with the Indiana University School of Medicine, is the national spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center, and is the consulting neuroanatomist for the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute. Her own personal experience with a massive stroke, experienced in 1996 at age 37, and her subsequent eight-year recovery, has informed her work as a scientist and speaker. For this work, in May 2008 she was named to Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. "My Stroke of Insight" received the top "Books for a Better Life" Book Award in the Science category from the New York City Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on February 23, 2009 in New York City ..."

2. "Stroke" Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroke

3. 【中風】: 維基百科http://zh.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E4%B8%AD%E9%A2%A8&variant=zh-hk

Lotus and Cedar

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Intellectual Property Rights / Copy Rights

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL WRITERS FESTIVAL: Denise Chong 鄭霭玲

Friday, September 21, 2012

Plebs ??!! - Andrew Mitchell's Pleblem

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Rex Murphy's Favourite Word: "Chalcenterous"

Thursday, October 06, 2011

史蒂夫喬布斯对設計一門的看法 / Quote from Steve Jobs on the Meaning of Design

Saturday, April 30, 2011

中國【百家姓】: 姓氏的起源 / The Hundred Chinese Family Surnames: The Origin

Friday, April 22, 2011

微觀世系統,臥虎亦藏龍

Sunday, November 14, 2010

學習英語: 沒有法則的英文 ∕ Learning English: When Exceptions Become the Rules

Saturday, September 11, 2010

瑪格麗特‧愛特伍: 《洪荒年代》 / Margaret Atwood: The Year of the Flood

Friday, August 20, 2010

談鍚永前輩 / Mr. Tam Shek Wing

Monday, June 28, 2010

–30– 故事完 / End of Story –30–

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

香港打工仔 / Work and Die in Hong Kong

Sunday, August 30, 2009

兩週一聚 (二十一期) 「假如你是一本書......」【瑪格麗特‧愛特伍 : 認同与生存】 / 2weeks1gather (#21)「If you were a book...... 」【Margaret Atwood: Identity and Survival】

Sunday, August 16, 2009

“中風: 女腦科專家之第一人身經驗" / "My Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolte Taylor

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