Here it comes again

Jobless freelancer (that's me) reporting back on her mundane life.Here goes!

First line: are you aware when you're staring at the stars, the distant cosmos, that you're actually looking at the past? Since the light that gets reflected on your retina is emitted light years away and there's a beautiful time delay. That said, present is an illusion.

Here's my health food concoction, a mix of melons, fungi and carotenoids.Truth be told, I haven't cooked for a whole week.


Dear desk is back in place!


Here comes again, the annual celebration of light or firework competition here in Vancouver. The participants this year are Canada, US and China. We waited till 10pm when it's dark enough to set the stage.





Unlike previous year where gigantic blooms were set against grandiose theme, today's would be what I call a delicately crafted piece of fine musical. They used a medley of traditional chinese music, Harry Potter theme,and Castle of Sky (Ghibli). Interesting isn't it? I did film the whole event but the pathetic camera wasn't built for videotaping. Sparks were overly saturated and you couldn't even tell their colours. Here's the last few minutes of stunning, maniac closure. I guess they just tossed the leftover bombs and called it a day.



The winner will be announced this Saturday at the finale. And there's a gay parade going on Sat as well. I will go and grab some photos...of nudes.

And it's been a year since I came to this city, which I'm leaving.

Mind Game, Kemonozume

Some awesome kickass work I'd highly recommend. Watch it if you have time (if you do have time) coz it'll suck you in to the very last minute. I'll comment later.

Mind Game (Movie) watch online


【内容介绍】

在业界中引人注意的Mind Game由汤浅政明(Yuasa Masaaki)监督，是一部剧场版动画，改编自Robin西(ロビン西)的同名漫画。影片制作由曾创作《Animatrix》、《Spriggan》及《Memories》的Studio4℃负责，把动作、 2D及3D揉合于一身，曾在294部参赛作品中脱颖而出，获日本2004年度“文化厅多媒体艺术祭”大奖。音乐由日本Boredoms摇滚乐队成员山本精一创作。

故事讲述主角西(Nishi)(CV=今田耕司)在火车上遇上了他的梦中情人Myon(CV=前田沙耶香)，之后被Myon及她的姐姐邀请到他们经营的烤鸡肉串酒馆，然而，西却被向Myon追讨债项的人枪杀(由腚贯头而死)。当西死了上天堂时，觉得自己死得很难看，很后悔自己无意义的人生。不想再过这样无意义的人生！我要做，无限地，自由地，笔直地！！这样下定决心的西的执念让他再度复活！！他违反神的意旨，并决定回到地上的世界，那是西被枪打中屁股的瞬间，从那一刻西的新的人生开始了！！然而，当他回到这个世界后，又很快被鲸鱼所吞，在鲸鱼的胃里，西遇上了一名老人，原来他已经在此生存了30年了……以“人生的可能性”为主题的痛快之作。

***

ケモノヅメ (TV-anime, 13 episodes) > More

深蓝

原作：魚喃 キリコ

电影和漫画还是有不少出入的，不过这篇本来就很难改编成电影，作者亲自参与制作也就这效果了。慢镜头多到让人郁闷（然后瞌睡）。

这算同人图吧，想想有点好笑。我喜欢桐岛憋着的脸。

鸡冻

100s - なぁ、未来 (Naa, Mirai)


BAAD - 君が好きだと叫びたい (slam dunk


100s - もしこのまま （如果就这样

あのさ、今日わね...

挖出岡本仁志的Happy Trash(download)，脑海中的景象是地铁、阳光下泛泡泡的汽水、然后是迎着热浪在沙漠中驰骋的冒险者。试图画沙漠和吉普车但觉得很麻烦又捉不到感觉，凭前奏画了下面这幅。除了黄色作为基色比较符合我原来的设想外，其他的就...不知道哪儿杀出来的。



Happy Trash的歌词，Revin大人翻译。（不过我觉得Happy Trash翻译为快乐的垃圾比较妥当，哦？）

Happy Trash（愉快的废话）
翻译 by Revin

在铁轨上渐行而去 four people
泛起气泡的姜汁汽水
摇曳着 夏日即将来临

毫无预计 没有安排 a brazen faced 浮现
那个啊 今天呢
没什么大不了的事

It's over now 我们 cloudy looks 对于重要之事
It's through
一边开着玩笑 一边消耗着时间？

仿若等待到厌倦的狂欢节般
那样的话 不如放弃？
Happy trash

飞翔的士兵 有着怎样的面容？
在干燥沙漠中勇敢奔驰 四驱车

It's over now 在与生俱来的时间中 见到了
It's through 轻易变换的人心 虚幻？
敏感地 逐渐闭合
走到街上 Happy trash?

值得炫耀的情爱
冷淡的关系也不错 my tears
好像还很疼？
为感情而流逝 do not feel well

It's over now 我们 cloudy looks 对于重要之事
It's through 一边开着玩笑 一边消耗着时间？

仿若等待到厌倦的狂欢节般
那样的话 不如放弃？
Happy trash

***

再来推荐一个，100s的Honeycom.waredownload，非常悦耳+迷幻+都市化，主唱的假声挺厉害。这支歌是瞎唱的，歌词无意义，几乎无意义。



***

最近也尝试画了些漫画草稿，人物经常走形的，壮士还需努力...



あのさ、今日わね，好像有很多话要说但语言表达跟不上，类似便秘。

Coca-cola Bird's Nest Commercial

I saw this commercial before the movie. Very imaginative and cute.Even if you don't like coke, you'd have to give them some credits for coming up with the most creative campaigns.

I was watching Wild China on CBC and they showed beautiful clips of wild alligators seeking each other's scent glands under the chin during mating seasons. They way they poked their heads just a little above water and posing deadly still is very enticing.It's amazing how these archaic animals survived natural selection till today.

No money, no lover, no flower

大家好，我是无业游民。

- 知道标题的歌词是哪里来的吗？

实际上无业了就游不动了，自由也成了路边野花。唉，好像顺序倒错了，我本来是想上来大喇叭广播一下Jady已身为人师！！而且还是偶们母校RV的人师！鲜花掌声轰轰的献上！现在轮到我嘲弄你个朝六晚七的上班族了！哇呀，我好难想象上班族打扮的你！（捶桌子跺脚）

整理东西的时候翻出一张涂鸦，是五六月份长智齿的时候画的，我觉得很切实的反应了当时的悲痛心情，如下：



今天的练习，题为“夕阳下、芦草边，半裸筋肉男的惆怅背影”
副标题为“及其不自然的过于硕大的肩胛骨肌和那块我说不出名字的某块肌”（已用虚线修改轮廓）



***

我去看了黑暗骑士！(Dark Knight是这么说的么？）英文听力退化了，有个关键的地方我没跟上，搞得后三分之一场很雾水一直纠结。回来看了Wiki的剧情介绍还是不太明白（停！没看的人这里打住不要往下读了！我给你们一行字的时间让你们转移视线快啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊。）就是那两个人被拴在汽油桶那段情节，Gordon那组人是故意不救大律师（其实是Rachel）的还是单纯的没赶上？

我个人喜欢的两个出彩的地方：蝙蝠侠的机车设计，还有对正义与邪恶模棱两可的解释。不需要另一部救世主大片来灌输什么是正义，那两艘船没互相引爆我还觉得太过理想化呢.You either die a hero,or live long enough to be a villain这句话太经典了。然后再引用蜘蛛侠的经典名言With great power comes great responsibility，而这强大的责任感（或负罪感）正是蝙蝠侠背的那口黑锅。Joker演的太精彩了，当他一步步逼近，一字一句清晰的重复着Why- so- SERIOUS?　我毛骨悚然，这一时分堪称影视经典。

我第一次仔细研究了一下电影票，发现有个所谓amusement tax的东西。娱乐都要缴税，艺术家不好当啊！



***
Genius Party Trailer


Genius Party (Studio 4C)的英文字幕版出来了，这里下载。Genius Party是日本动画公司Studio 4C的短篇集，共七个短篇，分别由不同的导演担任。可以说是试验性创作派队。

我比较关心渡边信一郎导的Baby Blue，没想到讲的是两个青梅竹马的高校生，还走新海城的青春路线，里面没少老渡拿手的黑白颗粒式电影和怀旧风。就算情节说穿了再怎么烂白我还是被感动了，啊，二十五岁？的我的内心深处仍然荡漾着十八岁的少女情怀（呕呕呕呕呕）

Baby blue截图


湯浅政明的夢見るキカイ是意识流幻想作品，有点像Tortov，感觉不错！







推荐大家去看一下！

崖の上のポニョ

The movie's premiering today in Japan.

Gake no Ue no Ponyo official site

Trailer


Credits (image taken from official site)


Pon~yo ponyo ponyo ponyo ponyo pon~ (humming)

call my name

最近对这首歌非常着迷，应该说是阶段性的巨浪再次袭来，让我一遍又一遍的重放。我很想念GC早期的作曲和编曲风格，那是一种简单、朴实、写意的描绘。就像call my name开头撒下的阳光，在懒洋洋的节拍中荡漾开来，多么经典的情歌。我总觉得这首歌在早8点前听最佳，虽然歌词描绘的是午后的憩息场景。我有多久没在8点前起床了，想也不敢想。在晒的发亮的人行道上、或是需要撑伞的阴雨天独自行走时打心底里涌出一股子冲动，一定要听一下call my name，哪怕前奏也好。第一句，是首次Live的行礼，那般的温暖和真诚让整个会场明亮起来。因为这单曲的封面是绿色的，PV也是绿色的，我很难把这首歌和绿色的景象分离开来。以至于灌入心中的阳光也是绿色的，幸福理所当然也是绿色的，如缠绕于午后窗前的藤蔓。

四个字 - “经典情歌”！！！

call my name
曲：中村由利
词：AZUKI七

总是眺望着
白色的墙壁与 Rembrandt
星期天的早上与你并肩而坐
阳光刚好从开启的窗户照射进来
就像突然想起般 call my name

一同消磨闲暇的时光
这是多么奢侈的一件事啊
试着收集一些廉价的赝品
一周换一张

对于落单 明明害怕的要死
说什么一个人比较安静
在彼此的心中
这已是件不必讳言的事了啊

已经叫习惯的名字 好几次
在只有我们两人的房间里
呼唤着我
只是 这个声音
温暖地响起 比任何东西都甜美 be aware
我已快要被你那看不见的情感所信服了

我也并不是二十四小时
脑子里都是你
只是在一起的日子非常快乐
不想失去它是其中的一个原因

对某个回答提出新的问题
对那个疑问再做出下一个回答
不管过了多久也都还待在起跑点上
好像一动不动般以极慢的脚步前进

与你共同走过的日子
偶然重迭着 持续转动命运之轮
描绘着那样的印象
请以颤抖不褪色的
不变的声音 please call my name
就像突然想起般 call my name
我已快要被你那看不见的情感所信服了

O Summer

A still window frames a moving scenery
Baffles cut them into rectangles of minute details
Each an interesting study of nature out in the wild
Who planted the firs and bushes around the pool
A different shade of green sitting on a younger green
Seeping through the blind against overhanging clouds
hurrying to my gaze
The wind is blowing south to the imagined oceans
I wish the room is afloat, always embracing the thunderous
snores of the giant planet, blow these old bones apart

燃烧吧！赚钱的欲望！

因为要办工签、移民的手续还要在这儿耗一阵子，我还得找份零工赚些小钱。这种感觉又回来了，在网上报纸上寻找机会、修改简历、发送。如同往大海中投掷飞镖。

希望海底有那么张靶被我的乱镖戳中，哪怕是1环。

昨夜的梦

昨夜我在梦里探宝，走进神秘花园和异国土地，看到风中撒下炫目的金沙。长着鸟头的飞兽在我头顶一晃而过，我记得那双眼睛。

梦到了桂子，我们为了一点小事冷场，也许是大不了的事我却在抽象的哭泣。我似有很多理由爆发，又摸不到其中任何一个理由。醒来倍感疲惫，没有哭过的痕迹。我回想着到底怎么回事，只有，莫名其妙想笑，并且，消失找不到了。

名叫Michael，长得像Heroes里的Peter的探险家说要去挖掘18世纪的古生物，结果战争开始，他在某地停留任教。

异常激烈的梦，我都没睡好。

[转载]作为一个苏州人的感言

原文在这里，考虑到文章太长直贴全文会在这炎炎夏日造成部分读者的烦躁与心血管功能紊乱，我挑了部分：

注：作者是个大一学生。

古城结构
苏州,是一座真正意义上的具有2500多年的古城,不算最古老,但是在中国大地上能完整保留下来的古城中苏州古城是最大的.很多人听说过或者旅游过平遥古城和丽江古城,的确保存的十分完好,几乎千年来未曾改变,但是规模实在太小,而且经历的文明史也仅有千年之余.苏州城是由春秋吴国伍子胥主持设计和修建的,是世界上独一无二的亚字形古城;字形古城,也是吴国的国都,具有强大的城防,设有水陆城门10座----平,齐,娄,相,葑,蛇,盘,胥,阊,金.至今地名仍以此沿用......

外资
靠外资拉扯大的,没了外资就是穷光蛋;苏州就是靠洋奶妈养大的,最难听的就是"苏州只不过是外国人的走狗罢了!";许多外地的网民就是如此挖苦苏州,诋毁苏州的形象,如果你去各大BBS有关苏州的版面上就能看见更毒辣的抨击,我自己的忍耐力很强,但是我相信看了这些话的其他苏州网民肯定受不了,于是口水战,谩骂战爆发起来了,哎...苏州到底得罪谁了?
　　仅仅针对外资而言,它在苏州所占比重确实很大,达到了20%不过中国撤走所有外资的话,仅凭苏州本土的企业就足够压倒中国众多城市.外资是所有资本来源中应用力最强,来源口径最广的,苏州所走的是开放路线,即以本土市场交换国外技术的战略,这绝对不是一句空话,绝对不是肆意开放土地让外国列强来殖民来掠夺资源,在苏州经济萧条的时候正是外资和先进的流水线技术拯救了苏州,那时大范围的下岗风暴让苏州许多家庭面临生活危机,外资企业的进驻极大地改善了苏州的就业状况,而且外资企业的待遇优于小规模的私企和效益不佳的国企.对于当时的苏州来说提高市民生活水平的任务高于一切.

野妄？
随着苏州无锡经济的迅猛发展,各项经济指标超过南京的时候,有些无所事事之徒开始捏造流言,说"苏州对江苏省会的位置虎视耽耽,早有赶下南京的意思,甚至还谋划着想要直辖."这种对于政治的胡言乱语对其他无知的网民的误导作用是相当大的.大多人应该知道苏州自古是个消费中心和东部文化中心，政治影响在苏州并不大，苏州也从来没当过省会城市，从前不会，现在不会，将来也不会，苏州是江苏省最荣耀的一员，如果光凭经济实力就和省会南京起干戈这是很荒唐的事情。山东青岛比济南强但也没听说青岛想成为省会呀。省会有政治优势，但同时过强的省级市级政府的干预，会使经济运行多了一层障碍，从而缺乏自主性。我能有证据澄清苏州没一个人会垂涎省会的地位，更没想过直辖这回事。想想江苏这两个字的由来，江宁和苏州，各取一字，倘若江苏没了苏州，那江苏也就不复存在了。况且苏州向来与兄弟城市和平相处，互助互利，优势互补，共同为长江三角洲地区的繁荣而努力。

古街特色
有人爱拿苏州观前街和南京新街口相比，因为两者是各自城市最大的商区。观前街是中国十大商业街之一，是古代苏州繁华的继承和发展，而新街口是高楼包围的商业湾，而非商业街，在南京真正意义的商业街是夫子庙和湖南路，但商铺规模和档次较低。在我看来新街口和苏州石路商区是同种类型，但比石路规模大些，影响力更广。新街口不缺商业气息，缺少的是南京城的韵味，纯粹是个有商业而没有历史积淀的街口。如果把夫子庙和新街口合二为一，那才更接近观前街。观前街汇集了苏州几十家百年老店，吴良材眼镜、采芝斋糖果、黄天源糕点、朱鸿兴面馆、陆稿荐卤菜、叶受和药糖、三万昌茶叶、乾泰祥羊毛、得月楼、松鹤楼......而在新街口呢，我从来没有发现过一家能代表南京文化的老字号。湖南路充其量是条布满专卖店的商业街，旁边的美食街开的都是法国料理、韩国烧烤、日本寿司，就没见过一家地道的南京菜馆，这个又如何与苏州的太监弄和嘉馀坊相比。同为中国十大商业街的夫子庙更象是小商品市场+品牌专卖店+宠物市场，夫子庙前卖的都是金陵鸭子和鸭血粉丝，可是味道和别处的没有特别之处，这样的商业街可算不上成功。南京的新百、中央商场，苏州的人民商场、国际商城、长发商厦都是华东地区营业额排名前20的大型商场，也不存在好与差的分别。

民营
有人不了解苏州民营经济的状况，不知道苏州的民营企业，我可以稍微说一下，沙钢集团在全国百强民企中排名前5；“好孩子”儿童用品公司生产全球40%的童车，同时占领国内80%的市场；隆力奇集团是国内最大的纯生物化妆品药品综合企业；波司登羽绒服连续多年坐稳国内羽绒服头把交椅；还有永钢、梦兰、法泰、美佳、欧迪咖啡等一大批成功的民营企业。
　　我还得重声一次，苏州的发展中外资贡献很大，但主力军仍然是苏商自己的民营企业，国有企业在苏州经济中所占比重已经很微小了。苏州五个县级市常熟、昆山、张家港、太仓、吴江统统排在中国百强县前十的位置，昆山还蝉联第一，这不仅仅是外商台商的贡献，更多的是苏州企业在市场竞争中发挥了优势，全面复苏，这一点通过GDP是确实能够反映出来的。

检讨
说了那么多，我最后想真实地表达一下自己对苏州不满的地方。
　　首先，是基层政府机构，环卫、城管、河管，从新闻里看得也多了，遇到垃圾问题就互相踢皮球，推卸责任，办事效率低，服务为民的思想还比较淡薄，而且此类工作人员的年纪一般都不小，官僚思想很重。我希望环境管理这类工作应该让给更有热心的人去办，吃皇粮不干事的应该趁早离开岗位。
　　 其次，是苏州各级城管人员的作风问题，很显然是吃软怕硬，怕上级的突击检查，对被管人群缺乏尊重，执法不够文明。对于只想混口饭吃的城管应该早日滚蛋。
　　 再次，是各派出所的民警，生性不够勇敢，出勤速度慢，行动拖沓。这种连自己都不一定保护得了的警察拿什么来保护苏州市民呢？
　　 最后，就是小部分中年市民，这一部分人文化水平低下，个人卫生习惯差，讲话谈吐欠文明，有的人思想比较偏激、反动，为人斤斤计较，贪图小利，纪律性很差，闯红灯、骂街这类丑事一般就是这些人干的。其实这类苏州人还真不如外来打工人员。
　　 谋事在人，成事也在人，从老到少一并做好了，所有人都热爱苏州这个城市，就像奥运圣火在苏州传递时那样投入热情，那苏州将会成为让世界瞩目的城市，希望我、你、还有他一起努力。只有新一代苏州人强了，苏州将来才会更强！

***

这是幼时的温总理...

我的胃袋开始难受了

今天整天都在吃，要不就是在为吃作准备。晚上10点左右我的胃袋开始难受了，那是种混杂着膨胀、微痛、呕吐，还牵搭根肋骨的奇怪不适。呜哦，让我吐！

上午去了Richmond的渔人码头，顾名是渔人在自家船上摆摊卖鲜货的集市，有虾、三文鱼、黑鳕鱼、螃蟹，价钱厚道。卖得最多的还是虾，几乎家家都有，5块钱7斤这样的买卖你能拒绝吗？yy母女俩就没拒绝，还分给我一斤。虽然我爸从小对我的教育就是“过犹不及”，我屡屡犯、次次犯，回到家后把虾用盐水葱姜滚过就端着盘子在电视机前吃了，确切说是像嗑瓜子那样嗑了。二分之一盘下肚时我犹豫着剩下的留着当晚饭吧，否定的理由是冷了就不新鲜了，继续嗑；四分之三下肚后我看着薄薄一层盘底想，留着太尴尬不如扫荡干净，于是盘子终于见底了。

啊，至上的满足！

下午去R家包馄饨，又吃了一堆，还有西瓜，还有鸽子汤。

啊，肚子鼓出来了！

晚上在Kitsilano海滩散步，看到一名来在英国的街头艺人耍火棒。这人的“技术含量系数”并不高，但凭借三寸不烂之英国舌也招揽了不少金子。回头想想这人逐步吸引围观者的整个过程倒是门潜意识的艺术。

回到家，我的胃袋开始难受了！

以上是无聊人士的日常散谈。

你一定要做个十三点！

在豆瓣上遇到一帮能聚在一起不分昼夜大砍特砍十三点样的砍的网友，我觉得似乎能把自己最神经质的一面毫无顾忌的丢出来。多么轻松惬意。

我发觉我十三点的一面正与日俱减，不久将变为十二点、十一点、......两三点。

有次看画展的时候一老头子对他孙子说，Never stop being crazy! 我好羡慕能有这样的爷爷。

Am I slowly turning back to normal?

Wild, beautiful China

Wild China (or beautiful China) is a BBC-CCTV collaboration that showcases China's landscapes and wild life. It features 6 episodes of one hour duration each and is currently showing on CBC network. Great tourism and cultural campaign for the Olympics =D

CBC network, Eastern Time
Thursdays, 10:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fridays, 1:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.

Or you can resort to LD, small window youtube

Eipsode info on wiki



***

I watched Wall-E again yesterday and gladly noted there're two major flying scenes which seem to pay tribute to Miyazaki. I'm sure the old man will grin behind his thick glass frames. It's beautiful, the speed and freedom in dimensionless air.

Pixar's big dreamers

Finally I learnt to sit down to devour a thick book called 'To infinity and beyond: The story of Pixar Animation Studios', a biography of the growing power (at its zenith). If you're interested in the success story of the company, it's a good read.

Hitting the 72 page mark just before jumping to a major milestone, namely their first feature length film 'Toy Story', what's covered before gives a good history of the core founders at Pixar. You, or I, realize the early talents are interconnected in a full circle of creative power. Before the famous John Lasseter, the prototype of Pixar was just a computer division at Lucasfilm. George Lucas has been kind to this division that focuses on special film effects but didn't have the extra bucks to stretch its full potential. Later on came Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apples Inc.) who bought Pixar from Lucasfilm and threw faith/money in it for 10 years before seeing profits. Then hopping on board is the true believer of character animation John Lasseter who acted like a boisterous user interface that binds technology and art in a creative marriage. It's a touching story of coincidences, opportunities and most importantly, hanging onto your dream when things are striking out. To simplify matters, I would say Ed Catmull is the technology, Steve Jobs the money, and John Lasseter the art. None without the other.

I was kidding YY if she'd work for Pixar. Her reluctance was instantaneous but I guess there's a misunderstanding. Software or hardware engineers are not underated compared to pencil holding artists. For a start, Ed Catmull is a computer geek. If not for 3D rendering tools, the studio won't have existed. They have a solid R&D division and a patented working system based on their own research. Isn't that appealing!

Here's a story from the book that makes you realize Wall-E won't be there if not for a twitch of fate tens of years ago.(ie, if Andrew Stanton quit animation industry before John's offer)No Stanton, no Wall-E. There're countless hypothesis if fate goes the other way. Say, if Lasseter goes back to Disney (although he does now but would be totally different then). Maybe Pixar would stay as a small company of 50 people till the day they go down and down. There might be another brilliant studio rising along the way. Pure randomness. The crucial part is, they are visionaries who persevered.

Urgh, I didn't realize there's an icon for blockquote; or the html code for blockquote is blockquote.

As it turned out, Lasseter couldn't have called at a better time. Stanton had been trying to find steady work as an animator, but found himself unable to break out of the in-betweening or assisting ranks.' I got turned down at Disney three times over the course of three years; never got in for any opening for any kind of job that I wanted. My friends would give me a call or recommend me if their companies had work, and I'd get in, but I'd never get in at their level; it was always a more junior position. My short films were the one thing that gave me some sort of an identity, because outside of that I was just another penciller, a number in the industry, and not a great one at that.' The realization that he was in danger of being permanently pigeonholed was slowing crushing his spirit, and he said, he had even begun to consider leaving animation altogether.

'When John hired me, I told him, 'I don't know how to use the computer.'But he told me that he wasn't hiring me for my technical skills. He said, 'I want you because you have something in your short films that really appeals to me.' He was hiring me for me, for my sensibilities. That has made me give 200 to 500 percent ever since I stepped into this door and made me faithful until the day I die. Because it not only saved my potential career, it invigorated me as an artist; it made me believe in myself. I don't know that I ever believed in myself to the level that I did once I got in here because of that opportunity.;

***


Coldplay的新专辑不错，推荐一下。

很喜欢伴都美子翻唱的青春の影(下载)，本以为是唱消逝光年的，看歌词又不然。我日文太烂看不懂，不过理解偏差不大的话这是说曾经能在一起的恋人最后离开了，道路漫长还要继续走这个意思吗？啊，又一首哀怨歌=.=

1974年的原唱，曾经是那一代人的青春呢，这么想还蛮怀旧的。喜欢上这样的歌的自己感觉像个老头。


青春の影
作詞・作曲：財津和夫

君の心へ続く長い一本道は
いつも僕を勇気づけた
とてもとてもけわしく細い道だったけど
今君を迎えにゆこう

自分の大きな夢を追うことが
今までの僕の仕事だったけど
君を幸せにするそれこそが
これからの僕の生きるしるし

愛を知ったために涙がはこばれて
君のひとみをこぼれた時
恋のよろこびは愛のきびしさへの
かけはしにすぎないと

ただ風の中にたたずんで
君はやがて見つけていった
ただ風に涙をあずけて
君は女になっていった

君の家へ続くあの道を
今足もとにたしかめて
今日から君はただの女
今日から僕はただの男

阳光

伸手可触的距离，遥不可及的距离，造诣出丰富的假象，孜孜不倦的变幻着发酵着，滋生出更多的幻境，利滚利的生长绞缠，变成心中不见阳光的密林。终年潮湿的盆底冒出几簇厌阳的蘑菇。

在无距离概念的干燥真空中，渴望触摸阳光、水、空气，这些生命的必要元素。看着那盆被真菌侵蚀得奄奄一息的秃木，我想到了火，以及想象中在铁板上烤得喷香的碳烧蘑菇。火种的余热在这不具特别意义的夏日逐渐散去。

一直眺望着白色的墙和Rembrandt，温柔的话语在耳边响起，也只有像今天这般、阳光灿烂的二三时，才会偶然想起。

眼药水

最近担心起眼睛过度疲劳就买了瓶眼药水,现在的眼药水很多都有“Artificial tears”（仿真眼泪）的标示。我平躺下把眼皮支开，每只眼挤下两滴后转动了下眼球，感觉泪腺被轻微刺激到了。这么一想觉得好笑，我这是买仿真眼泪来刺激生理眼泪么？那为什么不买些大蒜洋葱在眼前晃晃，再不然看些催泪的电影？15毫升的小瓶子卖5到10加元，我一直觉得“水”产品是最暴力的，爽肤水、香水、花露水，这些实验室调制出的buffer配置起来并不复杂。贵在微量的有效成分，那是化学合成和提纯的问题了。可考虑其量微不足道，就算合成多么耗费成本，对了一桶子纯净水后再分配到迷你的小瓶子里出售还是获利多多。可是再想，眼泪能代替眼药水，天然护肤品又一大堆，为什么花高价去购买自己可以解决的对策。那就别买了，你这变态的反消费者，哈哈。再次证实很久前就有的理论，如果社会充斥着我这样的货色就别谈发展了,失业吧大家。

补充：眼药水的主要成分是glycerine和hypromellose，一个是油一个是融水性的糖，都起润滑作用。

意义

我不热衷房地产、汽车、薪水、福利和税收，但大伙儿凑在一起就免不了这些话题，仿佛是社会人的社交必修。一想到我对这些话题没太大感觉我就有点苦闷，说明我缺乏物质追求和社会奋进态度，归结为懒散的理想主义者。对于这个问题我今天稍微考虑了一下。如果我一个人生活这般状态是可行的，死后无牵挂，有无财产我都无所谓。可我有父母，就不是一个人，所以这种想法很狗屁。如果以后剩下我一个人了活着的意义是什么？这会改变我的生活方式。最终还是想不明白。也许只是近阶段高度麻痹疲劳，又也许我涉世太浅资历贫乏，我想不明白哪些可丢哪些不可丢，以及自己是否能战胜孤独和恐惧真正独立。这些都毫无头绪。

我这一届的还有上一届的有数不清的牛逼，我曾熏陶于这么个精英拔萃的环境。我也曾经想过如果自己也是圈中的一头牛现在是否有浮出人世的卓越想法，但毕竟自己没有血汗的付出，这一点让我自卑。原来我还是有自卑感的，不禁莞尔。赶紧趁30岁前多长些学术见识吧！

The yodel storyteller

Just came back from Jewel's concert held at River rock theatre in Richmond. Upon realizing the theatre's located in a casino, I thought, hey, this place is tailored for Jewel! =D Her easygoing self fits beside neon lights and busy people, maybe a cup of beer to complement the picture.

I took two photos before concert starts. No recording device is allowed throughout the concert. Why didn't I sneak a few shots with my cell phone? I don't know.Our seats are in the 2nd row on the side.R says Jewel's side profile resembles Paris Hilton XD No doubt they're both blondes but one can sing the other does not.



Stage prop is simple: a corner table with a book and a vase (fake flowers?), two guitars and a mic.That's it.Jewel style.


As the lights dimmed, Jewel came on stage in black boots amidst a round of applause and whistles which quickly died away as she belt out 'Some~~~~where over the rainbow~~' It gave me quite a start. My hands jerked a little for two reasons: 1.It's very very very loud (Yes I'm in 2nd row). 2.She sounds wild. I'm not sure which effect weighs more on me, the amplifier or her soulful singing.

As usual, I don't remember the set list. The first couple of songs are picked from earlier albums, most of them from 'Pieces of you'. She told stories of her childhood and teenage hood in between, made fun of Celine Dion (a slim person like her spotting double chin when straining her neck to hit high notes), and 'a scandalous encounter' with Bob Dylan who invited her to his dressing room for an artist chat without coming onto her. Guess what Jewel's thinking 'O he must be gay!'And many more jokes that sparked sporadic laughters from the audience.She could be a great stand-up comedian =D

Jewel pulled the usual vocal tricks freewheeling between deep, powerful operatic voice to innocent saccharine whispers. Seeing her live before on TV, nothing's sparkling new to me. Still for some reason I found it a bit hard to breathe. Tension grabbed my chest disturbing the usual rhythm of breathing in and out, as if the presence of her voice wields like a knife resting on my blood vessels. At that moment I realized how authoritative she is on stage. It's impossible to turn away. My favourite pieces tonight are 'Hands', followed by 'Life Uncommon'. I was downright touched by her exuberant strength and spirit. A wondrous belief that we can truly free ourselves from life's slavery is starting to overwhelm me... as she determinedly strummed her guitar. What a hearty vibration.

However I was a bit sad? the sensitive love songs no longer touch me, like 'foolish games', 'morning song', 'you were meant for me' etc. Her performance is beautiful but I am simply numb. Like I've never experienced this emotion before, never known any heartaches. Jewel's a romantic poet falling in and out of love. The weight of every break-up and scratch apparent in her moaning, so are the sweet blesses. I can't help a little disappointment that my empathy has unknowingly slipped away.So be it!What an apathetic thought I had.I probably need a painful stab.

She also performed three or four pieces from the new country album. The title track 'Perfectly clear' is a still mental image, 'a pretend picture' she had in her mind: A man and a woman stand in the doorway. The sky is blue. The man was all packed, ready to go, and fumbling for some awkward words to say. The woman said to him 'Save it.'Not until she started to sing did I feel how heavy the picture was. 'Five years of kisses packed in your bag' - I thought of my friends and their winding relationships, and this burden called time. Why are we made nostalgic?

The last piece she sang was 'Who will save your soul'. I've heard the little talk before, won't blame the repetition though. Jewel wins my uttermost respect as an artist and a role model with enriching experience of overcoming endless struggles. Way to go girl! (no longer a girl, but...) She came back for encore and performed three more songs. The last one was a traditional folk song 'Chime Bells' and she didn't shy showcasing her yodel tricks. 'The crazy yodel singer' - no doubt.

Jewel yodeling Chime Bells - Atlantic City 12.02.2006


If there's only one word I can use to describe Jewel, that would be 'soulful'.

Backup descriptives are 'crazy', 'fun', and 'crazy fun'. XD

***

最近在读三岛由纪夫的《假面的告白》，是本自传体的自我心理解析。很早以前草草翻阅过《潮骚》，给我留下不错的印象。可是这本不知是谁翻译录入的，不仅读不通顺还错别字连篇，外加内容涉及成长的心理纠结，说白了就是很变态，这么一来我读的一头雾水觉得更加变态了。真是变态中的变态变态，到底在说什么呀你？！嗯？三岛？？！

Wall.E

Trailer

Wall.E: Official site | Wiki | Imdb

Thought I should blog in English for a change. My respect for Pixar stepped up a stage after watching Wall.E(short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class).When it comes to animating and humanising 'inanimate objects'in 3D, Pixar's definitely the pioneer. Toy story, or the short series featuring lamps and bicycles are earlier examples of bringing 'dead objects' to life. Wall.E's directed by Andrew Stanton, who wrote and directed Finding Nemo that won the academy. This guy's got all the right spots for emotional tenderness be it a fish or machine. As for me Wall.E ranks even higher than Nemo as our main characters have few voice lines and emotions are better conveyed through gestures and details. Ah, another academy to pocket. I'm not sure if the Americans should be proud or sad of Pixar's total prowess and monopoly.

Wall.E is SOOOOOO ADOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORABLE~~~~~ (shaky screams that dissipate into the vast universe and bounce back to earth)

Well, well, this's hardly a review. What can I say, I have the urge to watch it again in cinema!

Quote from wiki
In an interview with World Magazine's Megan Basham, Stanton explained his singular vision for WALL-E: "(W)hat really interested me was the idea of the most human thing in the universe being a machine because it has more interest in finding out what the point of living is than actual people. The greatest commandment Christ gives us is to love, but that's not always our priority. So I came up with this premise that could demonstrate what I was trying to say—that irrational love defeats the world's programming. You've got these two robots that are trying to go above their basest directives, literally their programming, to experience love."

Wed:Columbia Icefield

午夜时分冲了个澡，现在正等着头发风干。一想到上周三满载的活动就对纯粹回叙产生恐惧，反正也在等水蒸发，还是写些什么吧。

行程：Mt.Robson - Jasper National Park - Athabasca Fall - Columbia Icefield - Banff - Calgary

这一天基本在山脉中穿行。'The Rockies'盖指加拿大西岸因板块积压而产生的山脉群，再往南延伸就去了美国的黄石公园。导游在昏昏欲睡的车厢内一路给我们上地理课，什么加拿大一共有多少个省（说出来给100美元的奖励），一共有四座山脉又分别是哪四座，公园又分哪些级别。我确实记得有四座山脉，因为他伸出一个肥手掌把大拇指折了下去，说“喂喂，不要睡觉，看我这里。”Rockies大概就是他的无名指，其他三座我已印象模糊了 - 初中的地理课怕就是这么废掉的，我记性相当差。可是相当羡慕熟知山谷河流的人啊，如同把握着地球的血脉那般自信优越。诶，后来呢，有个CBC女孩熟练的背出加拿大的省份，导游笑嘻嘻的抽出一张巨大的百元美钞 - 复印件，我们起哄说“啊呀，早就猜到了！什么美元嘛！骗子！”云云，嘘声不断。不过我还蛮中意他的恶趣味的，当然不止这一次。

天还没亮我们就上了路，开车不到5分钟来到Mt. Robson观望点，可因为时辰过早山峰还沉睡在厚重的云雾里，我们啥都没看见。导游叹口气说“Nada, nada”（西班牙语的“么有”)。早知如此何不昨晚来看呢？明明离旅馆那么近。硬要把那团不知何物的朦胧想象成海拔3954米的洛基山最高峰还真需要点抽象派的基因。尽管如此，桂子还是拍了张Nada,nada的云雾以示留念，原本是这个模样：



我们在清晨的寒露中盯着云雾，自由想象了一番Robson的雄伟，悻悻的上了车继续赶路。开过Jasper National Park的里程碑就进入世界遗产级的野生公园了，这里有麋鹿、大脚鹿、黑熊、棕熊等。看到黑熊(black bear)要尽量装傻，漫不经心的走开，绝对不要直接眼神接触。放松、望天、转身、慢走、逃亡 - 理论上是这么个逃生路线。反之遇到棕熊(grizzly bear)想也不要想就拼上老命的逃吧，因为它来者不拒什么都吃。沿途看到俩麋鹿过河拍了下来，亲眼捕捉到平常电视里才能看到的镜头真稀奇。好几次听到“熊！熊！”的惊呼声，先是从邻座一排传来赶紧别过头张望，Nada；失望中又听到自己这边的人喊“熊！熊！”又是一阵激动别过头看，Na~~da，NADA！车太快眼太慢，始终没看到熊是这次旅途的唯一遗憾吧 =D

妈妈带着女儿过河


下一站是Athabasca瀑布，四天里一共看了3个瀑布，这是第二个。我们投票选出最棒的瀑布，人气最旺的当属Athabasca，也许是观看台离瀑布最近更能体会水流的凶猛吧。实在说不上有啥特色。



终于迎来了整个旅途的最高潮 - 哥伦比亚冰原！这是坐落于Banff西北角的大冰原，白色大盆嵌于山谷间终年不化，冰层厚达300多米，面积足以容下20个Stanley Park（哇哈哈）。别看这冰封的庞然大物竟在偷偷摸摸的爬行，每天向前迈进几厘米。如果我静止不动的躺在半山腰，一个世纪后也该随泥沙填入下游的水塘了。地球表层以人类无法察觉的步调变化着，我们跟新换代，数万年后这些山脉重组，水流改道，一想到这些隐隐等待着的巨大变化就觉得不可思议。不过比起微不足道的向前爬行速度，听说向后退步的速度是向前的百倍，这样子下去这冰川什么时候就完全消失了？我们乘坐坦克车似的特制爬山车来到Athabasca冰川表面，从远处看这里慢步爬行的人和车都成了密密麻麻的小黑点。大家在冰上胡闹了一阵，拍照、装冰水（据说非常非常的纯净，那又如何，你敢喝么？）、看俩韩国女勇猛的肥腿（如下）、呼吸冰冷的空气、环顾周围的高峰。冰窟窿都是圆柱形的，为什么？冰水下是碧蓝碧蓝的蓝色，和折射有关。

肥腿


窟窿


背景像假的一样 -.-


看完冰川后来到Banff小镇，完全是打发我们购物的。在镇上晃了一会儿再开向Alberta省最大的城市Calgary。Alberta富的流油（字面上），连省税都免了，只需5% GST。晚饭有个小插曲：我们只有30分钟时间吃饭，还不幸点了需要亲手一块块扔下去煮的小火锅。等水开的那个心焦、下料时的急躁、打包时的无奈......屁股都还没坐热就拎着食物出了门，服务生以不可思议的眼神盯着我俩神经病。原本因为时间瘪三我们很少说话总有点微妙的不爽，半小时内煮菜涮锅狼吞虎咽打包买单出门集合，上气不接下气时还是忍不住狂笑了出来。一笑释然，这真是干什么呀？

这样的经历回忆起来也很有趣，完毕。

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Tuesday:Kamloops & Valemount

照这个样子写下去我会越记越少的，因为忘得越来越快-.- 今天整理照片看到自己油光光的肥脸+颇有弹性的啤酒肚着实打击不小，决定这个月增加户外运动！除了西瓜就啃黄瓜！除了绿豆汤就是稀饭！的夏天！

！！！！！！！！！ ！单独一排感叹号以表自己的决心！

周二：上午前往Kamloops（甘露市）参观人参养殖工厂，下午去省立公园看Spahats瀑布，夜宿Valemount。



第三天吃中饭的时候我们开始回忆之前的行程。我问桂子，第一天去Kamloops干什么来着，那人不假思索的说：“生姜”。沉静片刻后我们放声大笑，怎么就千里迢迢去看了生姜，明明是人参。

Kamloops翻译过来叫甘露市有点歧义，虽是南北Thompson river汇合的宝地，但当地的土壤既然适合种植人参就说明没啥“甘露”，而是半沙漠的温带气质。回来后看了些有关人参的科普，总体来说北美的花旗参生长在“热”地偏阴、皮色呈黄；亚洲人参生长在“凉”地偏阳，皮色显白。我突然想到还有几盒花旗参含片摆着没吃就立刻播出一颗咀嚼，可以降火气的“阴”树根啊，一边想着脸上的痘一边读盒子侧标说明，瞄见保质期为2006年某月当场喷出来！- 小插曲。继续说，人参需要四到五年的成长期，在所谓的'virgin land'（处女地）播种，这期间根茎吸足了养分土地便彻底荒了，需闲置至少5年养精蓄锐。从生化的角度来说......人参的主要成分是类似女性激素的植物激素，激素的作用就泛滥了，当然也包括了壮阳=D 光考虑这根浓缩了5年的养分我就觉得它怪可怕的，活像个集聚灵气的老妖，下为两具绞缠一体的干尸：



放眼望去笔直的一条道在坡中消失又在远方浮出，尽头是大片被阳光染金的云朵和若隐若现的山脉。真后悔怎么不挑这样的地方念大学 XD 话说这里确实有所大学，叫Thompson Rivers University，也设有SFU的分校区。趁着旅行团包餐时间我们在周围的“破旧回收”店逛了逛，捡了两本便宜书买回去。一本三维立体图册成了我们路上的极品消遣，我看出了斗鸡眼，桂子倒成了专家。



参观过尼加拉瓜大瀑布后看什么瀑布都兴奋不起来了，Spahats也是如此。导游说你看山洞里隐约藏了尊菩萨，我使劲寻找菩萨的轮廓勉强能凑上。那么老外看到会不会说，你看那儿隐约有座耶稣像？是啊，我们无时无刻的想象和搜寻着神的踪迹。那为什么不是耶稣呢？桂子答，你看她体形更为婀娜......Spahats起始于火山爆发，冷却的岩浆上滚淌着冰河世纪的洪水，水火交融形成现在的景观。读着它的成长史我只能想到“水生火热般的酷刑”。



开了500多公里的山路来到名叫Valemount的小镇，一路风景壮丽。山路险峻不好开，我们有几次跟在稻草车和液化罐后头慢慢磨蹭。风一吹松散的稻草就嗖嗖的往后乱飞，超车的时候我们终于看清那些罐头上标着“液化氯”，心里咯噔一下。穿过巨大的水汁汁的阴云时又飘起了局部毛毛雨，而对面阳光却照亮了山的尖尖角，东边日出西边雨的变幻气候在山区内格外频繁。我是乡下人太过激动，照了好一泡照片到头来发现毫无特色可言，要不是有先后顺序还真说不出是哪儿的野景。都说无名的过路风光是最棒的，乘搭巴士更是乐的逍遥自在。



夜宿Valemount的小旅馆，服务连三星都够不上，四周风景确是五星有余。头一次在加拿大住旅馆没有经验，发现没有牙刷牙膏只好出去买味道古怪的漱口水。在'Welcome to Valemount'的迎客牌旁蹲下拍照留念，桂子说“你像蹲着大便的”。



开心，结束。

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