希臘神話【潘妮洛普】: 觀點與角度 (下集) / Margaret Atwood's "The Penelopiad": Point of View (Part 3)

Here are the chilling words from the 12 maids' point of view, as they sang in unison, their feet twitching and dangling in the air.

我們是女僕／你殺了我們／你背棄我們
我們在空中舞動／赤裸的雙腳抽搐／這算哪門子公平
追著女神、女王或淫賤女子／跟前跟後／你只顧找自己的樂子
我們做得太少／和你相比／你便覺得我們不好
你有長矛／你有語言／供你差遣

我們擦光／死去的情郎／濺在地上椅子上
還有樓梯和門上的血／我們跪在水中／而你死命地瞧
我們的赤腳／這算哪門子公平／你舔舐我們的驚恐
那讓你快樂／你舉起手／看我們墜下
我們在空中舞動／你背棄我們／你殺了我們

(節錄田含章中文翻譯ISBN：9867291743 )

Facing the accusatory eyes of her 12 maids in Hades, Penelope was visibly apologetic for not being able to protect her maids and regretted not being strong enough to stand up like a woman, tell the truth, and take the blame. From Penelope's point of view and through her voice: "... Now that I'm dead I know everything, ... Those of you who may catch the odd whisper, the odd squeak, so easily mistaken my words for breezes rustling the dry reeds, for bats at twilight, for bad dreams ..."

So, the next time, when you find yourself wandering alone in the dark forest, what look like tree branches could be the 12 maids' legs twitching in the air as they are hanged by their necks; and if you listen carefully, you will know that the sound of winds blowing through the leaves are actually the soft, silent moans, sorrow and woes of the thirteen women still in Hades.

Epilogue後語: I highly recommend Ms. Atwood's book "The Penelopiad" and the play of the same title, in which both the writer and the playwright ably tell the story of Homer's "The Odyssey", through the point of view POV of his wife Penelope and the 12 maids. "The Penelopiad" was premiered in the summer of 2007 by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in the UK where it received excellent review. The theatrical adaptation I saw was co-produced by the RSC and the National Arts Centre in Canada in the fall of 2007.

Other sources of info:
* Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Penelopiad ;
* Chinese translation of Margaret Atwood's "The Penelopiad" 田含章中文翻譯ISBN 9867291743 : http://www.locuspublishing.com/product.asp?book=1111MH002&pageMode=abridgement
* Globe and Mail review: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070804.wpenelope0804/BNStory/Entertainment/Theatre/

希臘神話【潘妮洛普】: 觀點與角度 (中集) / Margaret Atwood's "The Penelopiad": Point of View (Part 2)

Meanwhile the suitors were closing in like hyenas eyeing the prize woman and her physical and monetary assets. To fence them off, Penelope concocted up a scheme with her 12 maids in which the latter would sacrifice their bodies to satisfy the lusts of the suitors, thereby sparing Atwood of a Penelope rape scene. The maids were less fortunate. (Lesson #3: Always read the fine prints of your employment contract.)

When a tired Odysseus came home and found his house full of men, he did what any rational husband would have done - he killed all the suitors and hanged the 12 maids for not keeping the place clean. While Homer concluded his story by saying Odysseus and Penelope lived happily thereafter, Atwood couldn't help but pointed out the gender inequality and the raw deal given to the thirteen women of ancient Greece. After death, Penelope and the 12 maids ended up in Hades, which is sort of a dead zone in hell (i.e. very dead) and they were stuck there for eternity; while Odysseus was no where to be found, probably womanizing with the likes of Helen of Troy in heaven.

The maids were obviously bitter about the whole experience and their unison monologues, songs and dance of death told the sad story of woman slaves in those days. (Lesson #4: Gender Equity is still an issue, three thousand years after Homer.)

...... to be continued 下續

希臘神話【潘妮洛普】: 觀點與角度 (上集) / Margaret Atwood's "The Penelopiad": Point of View (Part 1)

“Now that I'm dead I know everything”

『我現在既然死了，就什麼都明白了 』

Do you ever imagine what your point of view (POV) could have been if you were to live another person's life or see the world through the eyes of others? It could be argued that the recent popularity of reality TV and gossip news of celebrities is just a reflection of our collective "voyeurism" desire to glimpse into other people's lives and escape the more mundane and even miserable ones of our own.

However, from a writer's perspective, the use of a different point of view (POV) can be a really powerful tool to tell an otherwise too familiar story. Such is the case with Canadian writer Margaret Atwood瑪格麗特‧愛特伍when she tells the story "The Penelopiad"【潘妮洛普】that is loosely based on Homer's " The Odyssey" 荷馬的【奧迪塞】. Now many of us have read the Greek legend and are quite familiar with the main character Odysseus 奧迪修斯who fought the Trojan War特洛伊戰役. He could have gone home to his wife Penelope for supper had he not poked the eye of the Cyclops whose Dad happened to be a God. The angry father cast a spell on his son's bully, or bad food, and Odysseus and his men spent the next 20 years wandering in the Mediterranean high sea trying to find their way home. (Lesson #1: Don't poke people's eye).

While readers are familiar with Odysseus' odyssey, little was told by Homer about life on the dark side of the moon, the long 20 years endured by Odysseus's wife Penelope. Ms. Atwood skilfully used the POVs of Penelope and her 12 maids to reveal what had happened. In the play "The Penelopiad" that I saw recently, Penelope and the maids had died and were in Hades recounting the missing 20 years. Essentially, after a long wait, Penelope found out that: (a) Odysseus was not coming home for supper any time soon; (b) her husband was not with the "septic bitch" Helen of Troy, root cause of Penelope's jealousy and misfortunes; and (c) she did not know where Odysseus was. (Lesson #2: Keeping track of the whereabouts of your young husband is harder than you think.)

.... to be continued 下續

[Photo Credit: Globe and Mail]

秋風起,紅葉落 ∕ Fall Rhapsody

遊山之時,有感而發,速寫景色如下:

楓樹梧桐紅如火
秋風落葉人煙罕
蓬萊島上鳥雀稀
北雁南飛弱水寒

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

Here are my thoughts to go with the photos I took:

Hiking in the hills of Canada,

Leaves crunching under my boots.
Fall is the most splendid,

The pictures sure portrait my mood !!

萬聖節的故事: 二零零七年 / Halloween Story: 2007

It is that time of the year when people want to hear scary Halloween stories. So, here is one that has been told and re-told since 1950 ...

Nobody knew when they arrived. But little Tommy Green sensed something was amiss when the new visitors took over all the service stations in town and even opened this fancy new restaurant right in the middle of nowhere. Tommy's hometown was not exactly what you would call a big town by any stretch of the imagination. If you counted all the dogs and cats and chicken and added them to the total human population, you might come up with about three hundred detected life forms, max (Tommy learnt this from watching Star-Trek reruns on the only available TV channel in town, when it was not broadcasting Gospel Hours).

The town folks, including Tommy's parents, were all happy with the service they were receiving from the new arrivals. Sure, the military had always warned the residents not to have close encounters with strangers from outer space, especially those who had landed on nearby Roswell. But wasn't it the same military who had always denied the existence of UFOs and little green men until the latter arrived en mass one Halloween night? Besides, who wouldn't like to be pampered and served left right and centre, as if you were indeed the master of the universe!! Rumour had it that the visitors had even written a special manual on how to serve human and were inviting people to visit their out-of-this-world class resort at Roswell.

Anxious to find out what was going on, Tommy decided to talk to his big buddy Johnny Stout. You would recall from a previous episode that Johnny was the one who had saved the cat from the well and bailed out Tommy as well. When Johnny heard Tommy's idea of sneaking into the fancy restaurant to take a look-see, he was not amused. However, his curiosity got the better of him and he agreed to go along, but just this once.

In the dark of the Halloween night, after all the trick-or-treaters were off the street and the restaurant was closed, the two of them entered the kitchen through the back door. It was dark inside and they could hardly see anything. Luckily, Johnny had brought along a glow-in-the-dark head band from last Halloween and they were able to find their way into the office. Under the dim green glow, Johnny was flipping through the special manual on how to serve human when all of a sudden the light in the office came on and the place was swamped with hissing little green men. Horrified, Tommy instinctively started running toward the back door exit. Johnny was right behind him and would have been able to make it if not for the manual he was carrying.

As Tommy dashed through the backdoor and headed into the forest, he turned back and saw Johnny's green-lit face poking through the half-opened door. Just as he was being pulled back into the building by his captors, Johnny yelled to his little buddy: "The manual, it's a cook book!!!"

(Note 1: My 2007 Halloween Story is adopted from the original "To Serve Man" written by Damon Knight in 1950)

(Note 2: Here is my Halloween Story from last year: Nov 1, 2006.)

Photo credit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone)

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Knight
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kang_&_Kodos

http://www.amherst.edu/~rjyanco94/literature/mothergoose/rhymes/dingdongbell.html

馬拉松賽跑訓練: 身体和意志 ∕ Running Marathon Training: Mind over Body

I just finished running my 9th marathon, the 3rd this year. My time wasn't that great, not even close to my PB (Personal Best), but I am glad I did it. During the summer months, I had been quite busy and in the last four weeks leading up to the event I unsuccessfully tried to increase my mileage. Alas it was too little too late and I ended up with 21 km (instead of 33 km) being my longest LSD (Long, Slow, Distance) training run.

If my goal had been the half-marathon, it would have been just right. However, I had set my sight on the full-marathon, and the battle between body and mind began at the 21.1 km mark during the race. With each pounding of the foot, my body was telling me to give up and accept the inevitability of my first DNF (Did Not Finish). On the other hand, my mind just would not accept defeat and reminded me to "Draw not from the well of physical strength, but from the mental belief that you can do it." Well, it was true: My well was running dry and there was little left to draw from. In the end, the mind won and the lingering self-doubt cast by physical discomfort dissipated.

After what seemed like ages, I finally crossed the finish line with not a gram of energy left. As I was resting in the recovery area wolfing down a bowl of chilli, I was still amazed by how the mind had been able to take control despite the body's protest. That leads me to believe that where there is a will, there is hope and that no matter what, as long as the mind is willing, the body will not give up.

(Reference: My last article on Marathon Training: http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/09/marathon-training-dnf.html )

靜坐常思己過,閒談莫論人非 / Finding Peace in Solitude

Often in the middle of chaotic augments, I remember the old Chinese saying: 『靜坐常思己過,閒談莫論人非』which roughly translates to: "Find solitude to think about one's own shortcomings; don't gossip about other people's weaknesses." This is not exactly the same as:『各家自掃門前雪,莫管他人瓦上霜』, which means "Clear the snow in your driveway and don't worry about the frost on your neighbour's roof". The former is reflective of one's imperfection and therefore the need to stay humble before passing judgements, while the latter advocates the virtue of minding your own business. However, going to the extreme, both can be deadly when people stay passive and apathetic, refuse to help others and lose all sense of community/social responsibility.

Having spent the last two blog posts on 「港男港女」, I find it necessary to stay out of the fray on an issue that I cannot quite related to - having been in Canada for so long - and find some peace in solitude, at least for the time being.

(Photo: Canadian River Scene in Early Fall / / 攝影图片: 十月初秋加拿大河景)

【從風雨而飛】的新開始 ∕ A New Beginning after the Storm

Having spent more time this morning reading Elvis' blog posts he left behind in HK, I am beginning to have a better grasp of what he was trying to say. While 臥虎 has identified a few overarching issues (such as sexual politics and gender equity) based on the exchange btwn Elvis, Daisy, and others; my friend might have missed the essence of the author's more basic message, and that is: We are all products of the society and it's up to us to take actions and make things better (as opposed to: If you can't beat them, join them).

While I doubt very much if the vacated 擂臺 in HK will ever regain its previous glory, popularity and excitements, I look forward to reading Elvis' new UK-based blog 【從風雨而飛】。I am sure he will find new adventures in Europe and continue to enlighten his readers in HK and across the pond with interesting stories and viewpoints.

Reference:【從風雨而飛】
http://www.following-the-wind.blogspot.com

某「臥虎藏龍」先生对【怒插港女】的評語 / Sexual Politics, Gender Equity, and Showing Off

(序: 網絡是跨越世界的公用媒介,讀者中不乏臥虎藏龍之人仕。某先生因其職責關係,故此只能用筆名發言,請諒。)

微豆: 您看完了【怒插港女】網誌上的数篇文章,有怎樣的感想?

臥虎: 首先我覺得那語帶相關的題目非常刺眼,如果作者說是開玩笑,那實在就是一點也不好笑,選用的暴力字眼是太過份了。

微豆: 但那些文章內容呢?

臥虎: 作者的寫作能力是出乎意料的好,文章引用了很多中西參考書籍,可說是受過教育和社会洗禮的知識份子。但雖然他打響了『男女平等』的口號,以保衛男性尊嚴為名,但主題卻仍走不出了「色性」的出發點。

微豆: 我不大明白您的意思,可否作個舉例?

臥虎: 如果作者是以『男女平等』作為大前題,那麼他就不需要用Tracy和George做愛的故事來做背景,諷刺「港女」的弱點。那是sexual politics, 不是gender equity。說俗一點,前者是「媾女」,後者是「人权」。

微豆: 那麼您对那個和【怒插港女】作者打对頭劇,住在九龍塘高尚住宅區,賺中環高薪的28歲女律師覌感又如何?

臥虎: 網絡森林,龍蛇混雜,我們怎知道作者的真實身份、年歲、和背景。如果【蘭開夏道】作者自報的個人資料是凖確,我就覺得她是非常淺簿和自視過高,以為在港大畢業,在外國浸了数年鹹水,就完全明白了歐美上流社会的舉止風俗,看不起那些「落後」的中國「土包子」和「土包女」。真正來說,她自傲自豪的時裝la mode,在羅馬、巴黎、紐約就真是a dime a dozen。

微豆: 但您不能否認,她在香港是受高薪的職業女律司,值得「一麈 」罷?!!

臥虎: 如此說來,我與部長往外國參加的國讌,與各國大使館ambassadors和 military attachés 打交道的相片,豈不是都应該登上網誌,自吹自擂?我總覺得一個人的成熟美,一個人的self acceptance,不論是男是女,都是有之內而形於外,不用攻擊別人來抬高自己。「港男」「港女」的是是非非,噓噓嚷嚷,我想都是我們成熟過程中的一個小枝節。

微豆: 多謝您的評語,我知您職責在身,不能暢所欲言。待我們留意事情發展,看看兩位網主,会不会隔洋掛免戰牌罷。

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

References:
【怒插港女】網主之 "不叫"
http://strikingkonggirls.blogspot.com/2007/08/blog-post_30.html

【蘭開夏道】網主之 "以貌取人"
http://daisy-lancashire.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html#4549805276543643612

馬拉松賽跑訓練: 出師未捷? / Marathon Training: DNF?

I will be running my 9th marathon, and the 3rd one this year. As much as I want to get myself psyched-up, I cannot help but feel bitten by the greatest fear of all marathon runners: DNF, which stands for "Did Not Finish", or in non-technical, layman's term: "You blew it, bud!!"

While runners are usually competitive in nature (either against others, themselves, or time), many do recognize that human beings are not built to last forever, as much as we want to push the limit. In endurance sports, I find that it's usually my body's muscular-skeletal structure that yields first before I reach my aerobic capacity limit and hit the anaerobic wall. If you take the target running pace of 90 steps per minute (which is also the ideal pace for cycling), and multiply it by 60 minutes, that comes to 5,400 strikes per foot over a one hour period. Thus for runners whose finish time is from 3 to 5 hours, each foot will have struck the road surface 16,200 to 22,000 times, with a force equals to 2-3 times the person's weight.

In prep for the upcoming race, my weekend LSD (long, slow, distance) run is now maxing out at 22 km, which is far below my usual 33 km mark. Given the inadequate training, all I can hope for is to finish the 42.2 km race in reasonable time without incurring any injury. I sure don't want to have a DNF, at least not till I finish my 10th marathon next year.

As I heard Grete Waitz (who won the New York City Marathon nine times!!) once said: "... We all have a finite running life ..." In other words, no matter how good an athlete is, he/she will eventually use up all the foot-strikes and run into the 'yield' sign, and finally the 'stop' sign. I think that is true for marathon running as well as life in general. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ References:
* Grete Waitz: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grete_Waitz
* 8th Marathon: http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/05/2007-marathon-training-for-spring-2007.html
* 7th Marathon (Rome): http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/04/rome-marathon-maratona-della-citta-di.html
* Other blog posts on marathon training: http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/01/training-for-marathon-trail-running-or.html
http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/01/marathon-race-personal-best-pb.html
http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2006/10/training-for-marathon.html
http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2006/10/running-marathons.html