Twilight (2008)

Language: English | 中文

Flixster - Share Movies

Few things about the movie:

1. Bella: How old are you?
   Edward: Seventeen.
   Bella: How long have you been seventeen?
   Edward: A while.
2. « Clair de Lune » is great!
3. Check the ratings.

關於電影《Twilight》的幾點:

1. Bella: How old are you?
   Edward: Seventeen.
   Bella: How long have you been seventeen?
   Edward: A while.
2. 德布西 (Debussy) 的《月光曲》(Clair de Lune) 好讚啊！
3. 看一下 imdb 的評分 XDD

Few things about the movie:

1. Bella: How old are you?
   Edward: Seventeen.
   Bella: How long have you been seventeen?
   Edward: A while.
2. « Clair de Lune » is great!
3. Check the ratings.

Primavera in Anticipo !

Language: English | 中文

Finally, I can spend some time finishing this post. Yeah, the latest album of Laura Pausini!
 
As you can see in a previous post, the release date of « Primavera in Anticipo », in Hong Kong, is November 13. So, the afternoon, before I headed to the Alliance Française, I went to a neighbouring HMV, but found that they didn’t have it on the shelf yet. So, I decided to stop by the HMV in Causeway Bay on the way.
 
After getting off the métro, I rushed all the way to the store, and headed to the Word Music / Classical / Jazz Section directly once I got there. And there, a shelf full of both the Italian and Spanish versions of the album, just magnificent! After weeks of waiting, finally! I grabbed one, without hesitation, and paid, and rushed all the way back to the métro and to the Alliance Française.
 
For the rest of the day, I really hoped that I could have a walkman so that I didn’t have to wait till I got home to sit back and listen to the music.
 
Here are some photos I took:

with plastic wrapper
 

wrapper removed (another wrapper!)
 

somewhere in HK, the day the album was released
 

somewhere in HK, few days after

It was really exciting when I found that they had put some of her albums on the shelf, as shown in the last picture above. It was like a little exhibition of her works, ha ha, though it only lasted for few days.
 
And the album itself! It is terrific! Especially the duet « Primavera in Anticipo » featuring James Blunt! Before I actually heard the song, I mean, Italian and English? Laura’s voice with James’? I never thought this would work. But, what turns out is just amazing! Just make sure you don’t miss it. I hope they release the next single sooner, and I really want to visit the island they shot the video, and the Bar!

嗯，終於有時間來 PO 了 XD
 
其實是這樣的，十一月十三號那天，是香港的 HMV，Laura Pausini 的最新專輯 « Primavera in Anticipo » 的發售日期。而在我出發去上法文以前，有在我家附近的 HMV 晃一晃；不過很遺憾的是，並沒有看到這張專輯出現在架上。
 
因此，在前往法協的途中，我在銅鑼灣那邊停了一下下，下車後，衝到那邊的 HMV。進到古典、爵士、世界音樂那區後，往右邊一看，看到架子上，擺滿了一排又一排的新專輯：« Primavera in Anticipo »！哈，實在是太興奮了，沒想到香港的 HMV 會那麼賞臉，給一位義大利流行歌手在架子上佔了那麼多空間～遠遠看過去，十幾二十張，好壯觀啊！看來，這應該是跟去年和 Bocelli 合唱 Vivere，再加上這次有跟 James Blunt 合唱 Primavera in Anticipo 的關係，才真正地引起到英國人的注意吧。
 
放上幾張照片吧：

HMV 的封套
 

還有一層封套
 

香港的某處，專輯發行當天
 

幾天過後

真的是很興奮啊，上完課後，立刻就衝回家了；打開專輯以前，特地照個照片存證留念 XD
 
新專輯真的很好聽喔，特別是 Primavera in Anticipo，真的是好聽到爆掉，每次聽到這首，都會一直轉回去，一遍又一遍地重復 XDDD

真希望下一首單曲能夠快點發行，這樣就能看到 MV 了……

Finally, I can spend some time finishing this post. Yeah, the latest album of Laura Pausini!
 
As you can see in a previous post, the release date of « Primavera in Anticipo », in Hong Kong, is November 13. So, the afternoon, before I headed to the Alliance Française, I went to a neighbouring HMV, but found that they didn’t have it on the shelf yet. So, I decided to stop by the HMV in Causeway Bay on the way.
 
After getting off the métro, I rushed all the way to the store, and headed to the Word Music / Classical / Jazz Section directly once I got there. And there, a shelf full of both the Italian and Spanish versions of the album, just magnificent! After weeks of waiting, finally! I grabbed one, without hesitation, and paid, and rushed all the way back to the métro and to the Alliance Française.
 
For the rest of the day, I really hoped that I could have a walkman so that I didn’t have to wait till I got home to sit back and listen to the music.
 
Here are some photos I took:

with plastic wrapper
 

wrapper removed (another wrapper!)
 

somewhere in HK, the day the album was released
 

somewhere in HK, few days after

It was really exciting when I found that they had put some of her albums on the shelf, as shown in the last picture above. It was like a little exhibition of her works, ha ha, though it only lasted for few days.
 
And the album itself! It is terrific! Especially the duet « Primavera in Anticipo » featuring James Blunt! Before I actually heard the song, I mean, Italian and English? Laura’s voice with James’? I never thought this would work. But, what turns out is just amazing! Just make sure you don’t miss it. I hope they release the next single sooner, and I really want to visit the island they shot the video, and the Bar!

Primavera in Anticipo Release Date in HK HMV: 2008-11-13

Just hold on! For one more day!

薄伽梵歌

我很喜歡這本書。每次念完後，就像充完電一樣，變得更有自信，更加清楚自己該做什麼。拋棄利益，拋棄成見，拋棄得失。拋棄對行為結果的執著吧！

關於【薄伽梵歌】：薄伽梵歌 - 維基百科

Mandarin: ao, a

I never realised the difference between a, like 阿, and the a sound in ao, like 凹, in Mandarin. I mean, I always know this. I always know how to pronounce a and ao correctly. I just never broke the diphthong and compared the a- with a, until a few months ago.

Briefly, the pronunciations of the two sounds are as follows:

• a (ㄚ): [a]
  The a (ㄚ) in Mandarin is different from the a like ah in English. To make this [a], you have to break the diphthong [aɪ], like I and eye, into separate parts, and elongate the first part, [a], as long as you can, and drop the remaining part.
• ao (ㄠ): [ɑʊ] (the [ɑ] is longer than [ʊ] here)
  This ao sound is different from that ow sound in English, like out and cow. Ow in English is pronounced this way: [aʊ] (Actually, I don’t know if I am 100% correct, the [a] in [aʊ] is a bit palatalized nowadays.) But the pronunciation of ao in Mandarin is [ɑʊ]. I am sure you know how to make these two sounds: [ɑ] (ah) and [ʊ] (the ou in would). So, I think I can leave it to you here. Just make sure the [ɑ] is much longer than the [ʊ].

Ctrl+C or Switch Off the Machine

There are cases that process will not terminate even if you use Ctrl+C. One of the method is to switch the machine off. - quoted from a UNIX talk hand out.

Beautiful | 純粹地，很美麗的一刻

Language: English | 中文

Yesterday morning, when I came back from the supposed-to-be softball match, which was cancelled due to the heavy rain, just in front of a supermarket, I saw a pair of people walking together, hand in hand, father and son apparently.

I saw they have smile on their faces. The son looked to the father while walking, and the father gave him a confirming look, smiling. I could see joy in their eyes. They way they walked. The way they held their hands. It was amazing. That was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen that done by people.

It seemed to me that they were going to the cinema. So, I decided to follow them instead of heading home. I wanted to see this. And, yes, they entered the cinema, straight to counter, and I saw the father buy a couple of tickets.

I don’t know them. I’m not from India. But, I didn’t know why. I was really happy seeing this. I felt happy for them. I loved the atmosphere. It’s simply happiness. One of the best scene I had ever seen ... so beautiful.

禮拜天早上，本來要比賽的。搭車搭到一半，隊長打電話來告訴我比賽取消了。YES！這樣就多了很多時間給我趕功課了；還能把 MLB 季後賽給看完呢～ (雖然事實是，最後我是在床上睡了幾個小時，彌補我先前寫了一晚 LISP 的身心疲憊)

回家的路上，在我家樓下的超市前，看到一對父子，應該就是父子吧，手牽著手一起。他們的臉上充滿著笑容。家人在一起的那種笑容。走著走著的時候，兒子看了他爸爸一下，爸爸給了他回應的眼光。他們歡欣地笑著，眼睛咪著，一起手牽著手，走向前面……

我想，他們是要去電影院吧。我決定跟著他們。他們進電影院了，我也趕緊推門進去。進去後，父子一起，走到售票員那邊。爸爸買了兩張電影票……

那一刻，不，這整個過程裡，我看到了幸福。我不認識他們，我也不是從印度來的，可是，不知道為什麼，我就是有那種感覺……我覺得，很單純地，很開心。我覺得我們是聯繫在一起的，那種人與人間最簡單的聯繫。這一刻，這整個周圍，都充滿了單純的快樂與幸福……

我好開心。我好滿足……父親與孩子間，人與人間，彼此滿足這最簡單的需求，彼此追求這最簡單而又最真實的目標：快樂……這，真的是很‧美。

Yesterday morning, when I came back from the supposed-to-be softball match, which was cancelled due to the heavy rain, just in front of a supermarket, I saw a pair of people walking together, hand in hand, father and son apparently.

I saw they have smile on their faces. The son looked to the father while walking, and the father gave him a confirming look, smiling. I could see joy in their eyes. They way they walked. The way they held their hands. It was amazing. That was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen that done by people.

It seemed to me that they were going to the cinema. So, I decided to follow them instead of heading home. I wanted to see this. And, yes, they entered the cinema, straight to counter, and I saw the father buy a couple of tickets.

I don’t know them. I’m not from India. But, I didn’t know why. I was really happy seeing this. I felt happy for them. I loved the atmosphere. It’s simply happiness. One of the best scene I had ever seen ... so beautiful.

Laura in Monza!

Language: English | 中文

I was watching the Italian Grand Prix Monday afternoon, when, just before the commercial break, I spotted someone, a woman, which looked so familiar. Sure I know who she is!

Apparently she was watching the competition, staring at a screen, in a VIP room or somewhere, with a red cap showing that she supported Ferrari.

And I sat there, in front of the TV, not believing what I had just seen. I asked myself who she was. She looked so familiar!

Then, after a few seconds or so, it hit me that she is Laura Pausini! The first time EVER I have seen her on TV, in Hong Kong! I bet the broadcasters from Hong Kong had no idea who she was.

Actually, I don’t watch F1. I turned on the TV because I wanted to see if there was the Inter match that I missed. And, with no reason, I stopped at STARSPORTS and, not knowing why, began to watch the Grand Prix. I think I just got luck XD

Check this.

星期一下午，吃過午餐後，呆在家裡看電視。本來轉來轉去，想看看有沒有什麼想看的足球比賽在重播……昏頭昏腦地，不知道為什麼，就轉到 STARSPORTS，然後就開始看那個 F1 大獎賽義大利站，看他們咻咻咻～

在要進某一段廣告前，電視照到某人，看到當下，直覺得很面善，但又想不起來……那到底是誰啊？

她戴著紅帽子，在室內，盯著螢幕看……

想了好一陣子，咦，該不會就是 Laura Pausini 吧……這真的是很讓人難以置信。再想了幾秒，她的眼睛，她的臉龐……沒錯！這就是 Laura！而且，再想想，Laura 有出席過 Ferrari 的聖誕節活動啊！Laura 的出現變得相當合理了！

當下，我真的是喜出望外！難以置信啊！第一次在電視上看到 Laura 出現！我想那兩個轉播的香港人一定不曉得那是誰吧，哇哈哈！我真的是超幸運的，平常根本不看 F1；無原無故坐在電視機前面看 F1，結果那幾秒鐘的片段就這樣給我看到了！哈哈！超興奮，超爽的 XD

這邊有一張照片證明我沒有眼花喔！

I was watching the Italian Grand Prix Monday afternoon, when, just before the commercial break, I spotted someone, a woman, which looked so familiar. Sure I know who she is!

Apparently she was watching the competition, staring at a screen, in a VIP room or somewhere, with a red cap showing that she supported Ferrari.

And I sat there, in front of the TV, not believing what I had just seen. I asked myself who she was. She looked so familiar!

Then, after a few seconds or so, it hit me that she is Laura Pausini! The first time EVER I have seen her on TV, in Hong Kong! I bet the broadcasters from Hong Kong had no idea who she was.

Actually, I don’t watch F1. I turned on the TV because I wanted to see if there was the Inter match that I missed. And, with no reason, I stopped at STARSPORTS and, not knowing why, began to watch the Grand Prix. I think I just got luck XD

Check this.

沒有行程就是最好的行程

最近來到台灣，發現到，沒有行程，就是最好的行程。

奧運台韓戰、中美戰

台韓戰，一打開電視，八比二，嗯，看一下投手，陽一局丟七分，然後……倪福德……咦，都投得很好啊！然後中華隊就漸漸把比分追近，到追平。雖然最後還是輸球，可是，有打開電視看比賽，看到內容了，還是很滿足。畢竟雙眼看得到國內打球的還是有不錯的選手，像是倪福德、張誌家、彭政閔、石志偉、林智勝……陽應該是衰了點。

不過還是要抱怨一下，主審不知道是在機歪什麼，好球帶寬度兩邊不一。有夠機歪。

---

今天當義工，晚餐後，去用餐區那邊坐一坐。電視一開始是播 trampoline 的。真好，決賽，跳一跳就比完了。然後有位大叔來轉台。轉一轉，轉到女子曲棍球。我想，大家會決定看這一台吧，雖然我知道大家都看不懂規則，但這長得像足球；把球打進網子裡去，這香港人都看得懂吧，呵。

我看著計時。好，半場打完了。周圍看一下，人不多，頂多後面幾個香港大叔最多話，常常撚來撚去 (撚：lan，語助，髒話)，談話超有深度、超有水準的。

半場了嘛，好，我就很跩地跑到前面去，熟練地直接轉去 DX7 台，來看棒球吧！咦，中國對美國，這還用看嗎？不過，念在是沒什麼香港人看得懂的棒球，有中國隊的話，香港人多少還是會看一下吧。

看的過程中，後面的幾個大叔就說：「屌～都唔知佢地做乜撚野」(糙，都不知道他們是在幹什麼鳥)。美國打者壞球不打：「打唔撚到個波啊」(媽的打不到球啊)、「做咩唔撚打個波」(媽的幹嘛不打那顆球啊)。四壞保送，打者很跩地把棍子扔一邊去：「做咩啊，發爛渣啊」(幹什麼，不爽啊)。

後來，那幾個大叔還說：「夭，去轉台啦，都唔撚知道佢地做咩。冇人識欣賞。」(暗，快去轉台啊，他媽的都不知道他們在幹啥。這邊又沒有人會欣賞。) 哇咧，我不是人就對了？暗剛剛就是我轉台的啊！你不是要轉嗎？呵呵，不敢厚，沒種就不要轉，我就是要看棒球。爽 XD

當美國的打者上壘、安打、得分；中國隊暴投、三壘跑者回本壘時，我正全神灌注地欣賞每一分每一秒。而在場的香港人，無奈，大概都在滿頭問號吧。而就當七下最後一位打者，打出中外野方向飛球的同時，中外野手掌握到方向了，我看時間也差不多，就起身，轉頭離去，拋下這群滿腦疑惑的香港人。好啦，我看夠囉，你們可以轉台啦～我要走囉 ^ ^

---

對香港人的棒球知識程度不了解的外地人，這邊補充一下。基本上，在香港，我估計一百個人裡有不到一個人看得懂棒球。然後，前一陣子，香港有上一套電影《無野之城》。所謂的「無野之城」，就是「沒有野球的城市」。而在映期時，我有幸看到《無野之城》的宣傳海報，觀察到，海報上出現了什麼「一疊手」、「二疊手」、「三疊手」。「無野」的程度相當厲害，令人敬畏……

奧運台灣戰古巴

早上有點事，要外出，回家後跟一下中華隊對古巴的比賽，發現到……李振昌……六局了，零失分！雖然到最後被陽春砲失了一分，不過，我很想說：哇塞，太神了吧！

李振昌後接下棒子的張誌家，也沒讓古巴隊添得任何分數。我想，這場比賽投手們真的表現得很好，很有魄力。不過打擊還是……

不過，雖然輸球，還是覺得很光榮！

---

題外話，今天當義工時，晚餐時間，在員工餐廳那邊有一台電視，播放奧運的比賽。一開始的是女子曲棍球，後來餐廳的員工過來轉台，轉到沙灘排球。轉的過程中，我有瞄到半秒的棒球比賽。興奮難耐，當場脫口而出了一小聲「淦」。看到一半，有個香港人轉台，轉到女子三米跳水準決賽。嗯，好吧，香港人會看跳水，就算了吧，雖然是重播……我超想跑到前面去，轉台過去看日韓戰。依我的個性，我是「暗我才不鳥你，我要看棒球啊！爽！」的；但轉頭看看，很多香港人都盯著螢幕看跳水 (重播)，嗯，我還是尊重民意吧，不然不知道按下去後會不會有人在那邊「夭～」(暗！)，雖然這會提升我的成就感跟爽度。

奧運棒球台中戰

今天看完《The Dark Knight》後，回到家，一上 PTT，就看到棒球版、幹版雙雙隱版，就知道發生什麼事了……

我沒有空看比賽，只有看一局半，不是很清楚內容怎樣。但早在奧運開始前，看到那個「突破僵局制」，我就覺得很反感了，感覺是給業餘的打的一樣，整個等級降了一大截。前一陣子，看到賽程，更是啞口無言。基本上最吃香的是日本隊了，除了十七號休兵隔天十八號有早上 10:30 的比賽，其他場次全都是晚上出賽。

中華隊呢，20:00 開打的台日戰，戰完超級強隊，晚上十一點多了吧，睡個頂多六個小時，隔天早上 10:30 就要出戰休息時間多出至少十個小時的中國隊……我想這個賽程真的經過仔細打量，相當相當照顧我們的「台灣同胞」。中國人最偉大的了，呵呵。聽說好球帶會變型呢！

不過說到頭來，中華隊的打擊真的要改善改善，後援更是另人搖頭！用這種實力打下去的話，還要輸多少場真的是不敢講。

Started Learning Korean | 我學韓文的第一步

Language: English | 中文

When I was in junior high, I always wanted to learn Korean. And finally, last week, I bought a book and started learning Korean.

This is the book:

莎郎嘿喲！韓語 I Love Korean!

I like this book. Basically, every Korean sentence is accompanied by a Romanized transcript and the same sentence with Chinese characters. And most importantly, a CD is provided.

Thanks to that CD, I found more than ten mistakes in the pronunciation guide section. Here, I am going to list some of them:

Vowels:

1. ㅓ can be [ɔ] and [ʌ], rather than just [ɔ].
2. Similarly, ㅕ can be [jɔ] and [jʌ], rather than just [jɔ].
3. ㅡ sounds more like [ɨ]. Definitely not [ʌ]!
4. I know that nowadays most people pronounce ㅚ as [we], however, the speaker recorded pronounces it as [ø].
5. ㅢ sounds [ɨi] to me. Definitely not [ui]!

Consonants:

1. When ㅅ is followed by [j] or [i], it becomes [ɕ] (like x/ㄒ in Mandarin), rather than [ʃ].
2. ㅈ can be [tɕ] and [dʑ], rather than [tʃ] and [dʒ]!
3. ㅊ should be [tɕ^h]. Not [tʃ^h]!
4. ㅃ, ㅉ, ㄸ, ㄲ, and ㅆ represent consonants produced with more tense, rather than making them voiced.

But, anyway, it is a good book, for beginners like me. Perhaps I will take a Korean Beginner course at university, since I found Korean language quite fun and enjoyable.

其實從國中開始就想要學韓文了，但直到上週，買了一本書後，才算真正地開始起來。

這本書蠻不錯的：

莎郎嘿喲！韓語 I Love Korean!

我喜歡它的一點是，每句韓文，都會附上羅馬字母的表音，以及加上了漢字的原文。而且，很重要的一點是，還附上了一張 CD。

因為那張 CD，我在「發音簡介」那一部份裡，找出超過十個錯處……這裡先列一些出來好了……

母音：

1. ㅓ 的發音應該是 [ɔ] 或是 [ʌ]，而不單單是 [ɔ]；
2. 同樣地，ㅕ 應該是 [jɔ] 或是 [jʌ]，而不單單是 [jɔ]；
3. ㅡ 聽起來比較像是 [ɨ]；絕對不會是 [ʌ]！
4. 我知道現在大部份的人都會將 ㅚ 發成 [we]，可是錄音裡的人是將 ㅚ 發成 [ø] 的。
5. ㅢ 聽起來比較像是 [ɨi] 喔！怎麼會是 [ui] 呢？

子音：

1. 當 ㅅ 在 [j] 或是 [i] 前的時候，發音會變成 [ɕ] (就像國語裡的 x/ㄒ)，而不是 [ʃ]；
2. ㅈ 的發音是 [tɕ] 以及 [dʑ]，而不是 [tʃ] 以及 [dʒ]！
3. ㅊ 應該是 [tɕ^h]，而不是 [tʃ^h]！
4. ㅃ、ㅉ、ㄸ、ㄲ、ㅆ 是表示發音時比較強列、比較緊，而不是單單把清音變成濁音啊！

不過不管如何，這本書還是蠻不錯的，只是有點很入門就是了。現在想說，接下來的那個學期，是不是應該在大學上一上韓文課呢？呵呵，其實韓文並沒有想像中令人討厭嘛。

When I was in junior high, I always wanted to learn Korean. And finally, last week, I bought a book and started learning Korean.

This is the book:

莎郎嘿喲！韓語 I Love Korean!

I like this book. Basically, every Korean sentence is accompanied by a Romanized transcript and the same sentence with Chinese characters. And most importantly, a CD is provided.

Thanks to that CD, I found more than ten mistakes in the pronunciation guide section. Here, I am going to list some of them:

Vowels:

1. ㅓ can be [ɔ] and [ʌ], rather than just [ɔ].
2. Similarly, ㅕ can be [jɔ] and [jʌ], rather than just [jɔ].
3. ㅡ sounds more like [ɨ]. Definitely not [ʌ]!
4. I know that nowadays most people pronounce ㅚ as [we], however, the speaker recorded pronounces it as [ø].
5. ㅢ sounds [ɨi] to me. Definitely not [ui]!

Consonants:

1. When ㅅ is followed by [j] or [i], it becomes [ɕ] (like x/ㄒ in Mandarin), rather than [ʃ].
2. ㅈ can be [tɕ] and [dʑ], rather than [tʃ] and [dʒ]!
3. ㅊ should be [tɕ^h]. Not [tʃ^h]!
4. ㅃ, ㅉ, ㄸ, ㄲ, and ㅆ represent consonants produced with more tense, rather than making them voiced.

But, anyway, it is a good book, for beginners like me. Perhaps I will take a Korean Beginner course at university, since I found Korean language quite fun and enjoyable.

Laura Pausini: Dove L’Aria E’ Polvere

Language: English | 中文

歌手：Laura Pausini
專輯：Resta In Ascolto (2004)

«Dove L’Aria E’ Polvere» 是關於一位小男孩的歌。這位小孩叫做 Ali Ismail Abbas，來自伊拉克。他的雙臂以及所有的家人，都在戰爭中，被飛彈給奪去了。

歌曲的開始，出現了一隻老鷹：l'aquila：

Cronaca del giorno in cui
L'aquila volò
Su confini dove l'aria è polvere

我花了一些時間來想，這老鷹，指的到底是什麼。一開始，我的推論是，老鷹是指那飛彈。在我看到 Laura 的一段話後，更加確定了；她將那飛彈形容為一隻 "金屬大鳥" (grosso uccello di metallo)。然而，除此之外，你不覺得這個 "大老鷹" 有讓你想起某些東西嗎？或者，更白一點，某一個國家？

嗯，除了大老鷹，這裡，還告訴了我們事發地點：dove l'aria è polvere，那空氣充滿塵埃的地方。

然後，歌曲告訴我們發生什麼了：老鷹來到，把小男孩的雙臂奪去了……接著，來到副歌：

Ed un soldato raccontò
Di come il cielo si oscurò

一位士兵提到天空變暗了。這裡，是真的要說天空變黑了？還是，這想要告訴我們，我們的理性，以及人與人間的關係，因為這一次的暴力行為，蒙上了一層陰影？

E in terra pianse lacrime
Urlando ruggine

那士兵呼吼著，在地上哭泣……你是否有想過，一名士兵，也是會流淚的？

接著，Laura 問了我們一個淺顯，卻很深刻的問題：

Ma che cos'è la libertà?
E che significato ha?

什麼是自由？那是什麼意思呢？那真的是承諾帶給我們的自由嗎？自由，那到底是什麼呢？

在第二節主歌裡，一開始，歌詞告訴我們，老鷹犧牲牠的那些英雄；牠向大眾展示牠的功勳、牠的戰利品。然而：

Il bambino è orfano di casa e di poesia
Per l'indifferenza che
La guerra ha dentro sé

那小孩成為了一位沒有家，沒有詩歌的孤兒 (關於詩歌 poesia 的意思，可以參考上一篇 post)……他成為了孤兒，全是因為，戰爭的無情。

然後，在副歌裡，又一個提問：

Ma che cos'è la verità?
E che significato ha?

什麼是事實呢？那又是什麼意思呢？我們能相信電視上，他們所告訴我們的嗎？我們能相信報紙上的東西嗎？他們有告訴我們事件背後的真相嗎？

接著，在第三段副歌裡，重復了一次提問後：

E' il sole che non sorge mai
E' il buio addosso a noi

太陽永不升起，黑暗籠罩我們。這就是自由？還是，這只是令我們的人性，令我們的人格，陷入一個黑暗的時期？

最後，在結尾裡，Laura 以一個強烈的呼喊，做為本歌終結：

[D]immi che cos'è la libertà... cos'è?

告訴我什麼是自由 ... 那到底是什麼呢？相當棒、相當有力的結尾。

一開始，我會覺得這首歌有點強烈，有點難以下嚥；那些痛苦，那些憤怒，那些疑問。可是，當你開始反問自己、開始憎恨我們那醜陋的一面、開始在心裡默默呼吼後，你會發現，其實這首歌，就真的很讚！你會立即愛上它的！

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這裡有一些 Youtube 上找到的影片：

LAURA PAUSINI Donde el Aire es Ceniza TG
一小段報導，附有 Laura 的訪問喔～


Dove l'aria è polvere
歌迷做的影片，有葡文字幕。有的圖可能會令人感到不安。

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關於 Ali Ismail Abbas，可以參考：

• Wikipedia: Ali Ismail Abbas
• BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | My Iraq: Ali Abbas

關於 Laura：

• Official Website
• Wikipedia: Laura Pausini

關於這張專輯：

• Amazon
• Warner Music Italy
• Wikipedia: Resta in ascolto

Artist: Laura Pausini
Album: Resta In Ascolto (2004)

«Dove L’Aria E’ Polvere» is a song about an Iraqi boy, Ali Ismail Abbas, whose arms and entire family were taken away by American missiles.

The song begins with l'aquila, which means the eagle:

Cronaca del giorno in cui
L'aquila volò
Su confini dove l'aria è polvere

I spent some time figuring what l'aquila refers to. At first, I thought l'aquila could be the missile that hit the boy's house. I am quite sure about this because Laura described the missile as a big metal bird (grosso uccello di metallo). However, don't you think that a eagle reminds you of something, or, a country? You know what I mean, right?

Besides the eagle, here, it tells us where the event happened: dove l'aria è polvere, literally, where the air is dust.

After this, the song tells us what happened to the boy: the eagle took away the boy's arms. Then, the chorus begins:

Ed un soldato raccontò
Di come il cielo si oscurò

A soldier speaked of how the sky darkened. Does it really mean that the sky grew dark? Or, is it trying to tell us that our reason, our mind, and our relationship were darkened by this violent, unreasoning act?

E in terra pianse lacrime
Urlando ruggine

The soldier then cried on the ground, shouting. Have you ever thought that a soldier may cry as well?

Then, Laura asks us a simple but meaningful question:

Ma che cos'è la libertà?
E che significato ha?

What is freedom? Is this the freedom that promised to bring to us? And freedom, what does it mean?

In the second verse, it says that the eagle sacrifices its heroes and displays its "stars" and trophies. But sadly:

Il bambino è orfano di casa e di poesia
Per l'indifferenza che
La guerra ha dentro sé

The boy is now an orphan, without home and without "poetry." (You may check my previous post for the meaning of the word poesia.) He became an orphan because of the indifference that war has in itself. How sad, and how cruel! War turns people cold-blooded!

Then, in the chorus, a similar question is asked:

Ma che cos'è la verità?
E che significato ha?

This time, the question is: What is the truth? And what does it mean? Honestly, this is a serious question. What is the truth? Is it what they tell us on TV? Or is it what we read in the newspaper? Does it give us both sides of the story? Can we trust it? How should one judge?

Then, in the 3^rd chorus, after the questioning:

E' il sole che non sorge mai
E' il buio addosso a noi

The sun never rises. The dark is upon us. Is this freedom?

Then, at the end, Laura ends the song with a strong question:

[D]immi che cos'è la libertà... cos'è?

Tell me what freedom is... what is it? Great ending.

At first, I found this song a little bit sharp. The pain, the anger, and thouse powerful questions, they make it a bit hard to swallow, at the beginning. But, after you start questioning yourself, hate how ugly we have become, and shout the anger secretly in your heart, you will find that the song is actually fabulous. And you will start to love it immediately.

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Here are some related clips on Youtube:

LAURA PAUSINI Donde el Aire es Ceniza TG
A brief reportage of the event with a short interview of Laura


Dove l'aria è polvere
A fan-made video with Portuguese subtitles. Few of the pics can be unpleasant and even terrifying.

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For more about Ali Ismail Abbas:

• Wikipedia: Ali Ismail Abbas
• BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | My Iraq: Ali Abbas

About Laura:

• Official Website
• Wikipedia: Laura Pausini

About the album:

• Amazon
• Warner Music Italy
• Wikipedia: Resta in ascolto

So Nice are Hong Kong People | 超有禮貌的香港人

Language: English | 中文

I was running to the train this morning, and I hit a guy. Well, I didn't mean to bump into him, and I said sorry and "Are you alright?" and "Are you fine?" many many times.

Mom says that Hong Kong people are really rude. Sorry but I have to disagree. This guy that I hit this morning, just gave a perfect example of how polite and civilized a Hongkonger is.

Okay. After I hit him, his cell phone fell on the floor. I knew this was a pretty hard hit, probably the greatest one I had ever done on somebody. So, I said, "I'm sorry. Are you alright? I'm really sorry."

To reply, he asked how's my mother doing, literally: "I f_k your mother!" (我屌你老母！)

I felt sorry, but I had my dignity. Actually, I was surprised! I never realized that in fact Hong Kong people are that nice! So gentle, so civilized!

So, he went on, "F_k your mother. My phone, is it f_king broken?" (屌你老母，我個電話係唔係跌撚爆佐啊！)

Again, surprisingly, he asked about my mom. See, this was a strager I just hit, but, instead of barking, he constantly sent my mom some greetings. I was totally surprised, and not able to make any reply.

"I f_k your mother. F_k your mother." (我屌你老母啊。屌你老母啊！) Sitll the same, not finished yet, and with his eyes staring right into my eyes. One thing he should learn about is when to stop asking about someone or something too much and too frequently. Going too far is certainly not good.

He turned, finally, but after about half a meter, he turned back again, facing me, staring, and said, "F_k your mother." (屌你老母啊)

Now, his reaction didn't make me feel guilty at all. So kind. His words just made me feel I had done nothing wrong, and I knew that, actually, I DID NOTHING WRONG.

I hit him, yes, but not intentionally. I said sorry, I apologized, I asked whether I could help him, and I expressed it with my eyes, my reaction. I just stayed there. If he needed help, I would be glad.

But after his reaction, his words, his staring, I found that I stayed there not because I was guilty and waiting for my conviction. I remained still because I was sincere. I was defending the holyness of human being. And since I am human being, no other than what he is, I deserved no such treating. So, I stood there like a statue that represented the mercifulness, the holyness, and the reason of mankind. I stood, and thus I should not move. An I moved, I failed to protect the dignity of being human.

This moment, I was holy, so I felt. It was like every single human was backing me. I felt I was invincible, but at the same time, not conquering.

So, he stared, angrily. And with a few more greetings, finally, he turned. Justice gave me strength, and strength guided me to victory. This day, I am proud, proud of being a human, and proud of having defended humanity.

How gracious!

前幾天，早上，搭火車，在手扶電梯卡了半天後 一堆站在那邊卡位子然後看到火車要開了才在那邊跑的鳥人)，到了月臺了，看到火車，就衝啊。跑的時候，撞到一個男的。

我媽說，香港人很沒有文化，這，原諒我，實在無法同意。因為，我這才體會到香港人是多麼有禮貌的啊！

---

撞到那個人以後，我頻頻表示歉意，屢說：「對唔住 (對不起)」、「有冇事啊 (你還好吧？你沒事吧？)」

出呼我意料，那個人起來後，就接連問候我的媽媽。我想，哇靠，這是多麼樣的親切，多麼樣的友善的行為啊！拜託，我撞到他耶，而且那下撞得恰恰好，他手機 (那時應該是拿在手上) 掉到地上了！可是呢，這位＿不但沒有幹天幹地，還直接問候起我家母來……

「我屌你老母啊！」
(我糙你媽啊！)

你看，你看，還不止一次喔：

「我屌你老母！」
(我糙你媽！)

然後呢，他走向前去，彎下身，撿起手機：

「屌你老母，我個電話係唔係跌橪爆佐啊！」
(糙你媽的，我電話，幹是不是摔爆掉了！)

再一次，＿展現出他的親切。由於這太親近了，我有點不習慣，以至於，無法對＿做出任何回應。我就只能，維持我純真、無邪、友善的眼神，親切地、慈悲地看待＿。

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「我屌你老母啊！屌你老母啊！」
(我糙你媽的！糙你媽啊！)

我想，有的時候，太親切，反而不好。這＿應該要學會的一點是，頻頻追問人家家人怎樣怎樣了，實在是，有點太超過了。這兒有一條線，你應該要看到的。

嗯，然後，過了一會兒了，他轉身了，終於，問候完了喔？喔，還沒，他又回過身了，而且還盯著我：

「屌你老母啊！」
(糙你媽啊！)

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他的問候，使得我不但沒有感到罪過，反之，我發現到：我沒有錯。我撞到他了，是的。我道歉了，站在那邊，向他投射出致歉的眼神；如果他有什麼需要幫忙的話，我會很樂意的；況且，他手機也沒有 (彼娘的) 爆掉啊。

當然，我不是那麼無恥的人，我是在＿頻頻向我家母問候後，才體會到：「這，我並沒有犯錯」。＿有一點讓我覺得很無解是，你以為，透過不斷地咒罵，透過不斷的凶狠眼神、凶狠用詞，就能讓你處在比高的位子？就能讓你變得比較對？就能讓你可以繼續這樣不斷問候人家？

你繼續罵啊，你繼續盯啊。我知道我做錯了什麼，我知道我有什麼是沒有做錯的。在這條「線」內，我可以向你表示歉意；可是，過了這條「線」後，對不起，我是不會改變的：我不會感到抱歉，我也不會感到憤怒；為了一個＿動怒？對不起，我做不到，我辦不到。你是什麼？在那邊幹人家媽的就比較強大？對不起，你處在哪個位子，我很清楚。你繼續幹下去，你的「位置」仍舊不變。

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可能是太難以置信了吧，這＿盯了我好幾次，幹人家媽的好幾回後，啞了。他露出難以置信的表情。我做什麼了嗎？我沒有，我沒有不爽，我沒有回嗆，我臉上的歉意消失了，但我的表情沒有顯出任何情緒。我很清楚地知道，我在哪個「位置」。在目前的這個「位置」，如果我沒有做錯的話，我不必表示出歉意，我不必表示出內疚；這只會讓這種＿以為：「我是對的」，然後繼續在那邊「糙你媽的」。

同樣地，我心裡不能出現波動。如果我跩起來了，這表示我的心情受到影響了。要是我心情受到影響，就等於失去了自己的「位置」；心理受到影響後，砲火回擊的話，這＿想必會不爽，然後，兩個人在那邊對幹，事情的結果必然不好。

所以，我唯一能回應他的是，保持我應該做的。我有做錯的話，我會道歉，就像剛開始時那樣。而現在，我沒有錯，沒有必要道歉，就不能給他那邊道歉。畢竟，做錯事情不道歉，跟沒做錯事情而一直道歉，都是有失事實準則的行為。

沒有什麼比事實掌握在手上更有力的了。這一刻，如同感覺到，背後有無窮的力量給我撐腰。這一刻，我知道事實的真相在哪裡。一直在那邊幹人家媽的，我想，我並不值得受到如此對待。然我的心情也沒有受到波動。我不知道為什麼我能夠感到這樣的不可征服、這樣的滿足、這樣的不動。可能是，就像之前所說的，我知道事實的真相在哪裡。當你知道以後，你就不會被影響到 (moved) 了。

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事情的最後是這樣的，那＿就那邊盯，狠盯，盯好幾遍，然後，就走了。你盯啊，我要怕你嗎？我要顯得悲賤？我要調頭跑掉？我要顯得跩？你敢打我嗎？你要動手嗎？不，你不敢，你不能。因為，你是錯的，你心虛了。糙了人家媽的講了那麼多遍後，狠盯人家這麼久後，我有怎麼樣了嗎？你是爆掉幾根血管了呢？糙人家媽的就代表你是對的？對不起。真實賜予給我力量，力量助我堅持著真理。你繼續糙他媽的吧，我是不會受到影響的。

呵呵，我真慈悲。

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或許，香港回歸偉大的祖國後，變得更有文化了。香港，成為了禮儀之邦、文化古國的一份子，化身成現代、科學、文明的中華民族菁英，在世界各國人民的眼前，化身成中華民族偉大的五千年歷史文化的楷模。這是人民的表率！讓我們向這些優秀的香港同胞，致上無比的敬意！

I was running to the train this morning, and I hit a guy. Well, I didn't mean to bump into him, and I said sorry and "Are you alright?" and "Are you fine?" many many times.

Mom says that Hong Kong people are really rude. Sorry but I have to disagree. This guy that I hit this morning, just gave a perfect example of how polite and civilized a Hongkonger is.

Okay. After I hit him, his cell phone fell on the floor. I knew this was a pretty hard hit, probably the greatest one I had ever done on somebody. So, I said, "I'm sorry. Are you alright? I'm really sorry."

To reply, he asked how's my mother doing, literally: "I f_k your mother!" (我屌你老母！)

I felt sorry, but I had my dignity. Actually, I was surprised! I never realized that in fact Hong Kong people are that nice! So gentle, so civilized!

So, he went on, "F_k your mother. My phone, is it f_king broken?" (屌你老母，我個電話係唔係跌撚爆佐啊！)

Again, surprisingly, he asked about my mom. See, this was a strager I just hit, but, instead of barking, he constantly sent my mom some greetings. I was totally surprised, and not able to make any reply.

"I f_k your mother. F_k your mother." (我屌你老母啊。屌你老母啊！) Sitll the same, not finished yet, and with his eyes staring right into my eyes. One thing he should learn about is when to stop asking about someone or something too much and too frequently. Going too far is certainly not good.

He turned, finally, but after about half a meter, he turned back again, facing me, staring, and said, "F_k your mother." (屌你老母啊)

Now, his reaction didn't make me feel guilty at all. So kind. His words just made me feel I had done nothing wrong, and I knew that, actually, I DID NOTHING WRONG.

I hit him, yes, but not intentionally. I said sorry, I apologized, I asked whether I could help him, and I expressed it with my eyes, my reaction. I just stayed there. If he needed help, I would be glad.

But after his reaction, his words, his staring, I found that I stayed there not because I was guilty and waiting for my conviction. I remained still because I was sincere. I was defending the holyness of human being. And since I am human being, no other than what he is, I deserved no such treating. So, I stood there like a statue that represented the mercifulness, the holyness, and the reason of mankind. I stood, and thus I should not move. An I moved, I failed to protect the dignity of being human.

This moment, I was holy, so I felt. It was like every single human was backing me. I felt I was invincible, but at the same time, not conquering.

So, he stared, angrily. And with a few more greetings, finally, he turned. Justice gave me strength, and strength guided me to victory. This day, I am proud, proud of being a human, and proud of having defended humanity.

How gracious!

Quanto? Quando? T or d?

Language: English | 中文

Few days ago, during the Italian class, a student (Italian: studentessa) from Mainland asked our teacher, Cecilia, "Excuse me, what's the meaning of Quan[t]o?"

I knew she wanted to ask quando. But the problem is, she couldn't produce the d sound. You know, in Mandarin, there is no d sound. Or, in other words, they don't know what d is. So, what they do is just substitute the d sound with the unaspirated t sound, or, more precisely, they think the unaspirated t sound is d.

Anyway, Ceci replied, "Quanto? Hom much. Or how many."

Then, the girl asked again. This time, she tried it harder, "No, quan[t]o! Quan[t]o!" (Ironic, though, that the harder she tried, the clearer that the sound was a t! Yes, yes, it was unaspirated, but, sadly, it was a t, no matter how hard you tried!)

"Quanto?"

"No. Q-U-A-N-[T]i-O."

"Oh, QUANDO! That means when!"

Well, I never had supposed this would happen. It's quite fun, though. It just shows that Italian has good ear to distinguish voiced and voiceless consonants, and that many Chinese don't know the difference. (Actually, I never really awared of the difference between voiced and voiceless consonants, until I was 19 or 20. Even so, I still think I am very lucky.)

前幾天，在上義大利文課的時候，一個大陸來的女學生問老師："Excuse me, what is quan[t]o?"

我知道她想問 quando，可是問題是，她不知道什麼是 d。我想這不能怪她，畢竟，普通話、廣東話等這些漢語裡，都沒有 d 這個音。所以，大部份以這些語言當母語的人，都會以為 d 代表的是一個不送氣的 t 音。

嗯，然後老師就說："Quanto? It means how much, or how many."

女學生說："No. Quan[t]o. Quan[t]o!"

嘿嘿，真的是太有趣了。她越是用力去那邊發那個不送氣的 t (國語裡的ㄉ)，就越是展現出她在發的是個 t，而不是 d。

所以，老師就疑慮地問："Quanto?"

這次，這位女學生就乾脆拼出來了："No. Q-U-A-N-[T]i-O."

老師這才了解："Oh, QUANDO! It means when!"

哈，這實在是太有趣了，一個能夠輕易辨別出 voiced 跟 voiceless 子音的義大利人，碰上一位不會發 d 的、以中文為母語的學生，竟然會發生這種事情！我應該早就想到了啦！我怎麼沒有想過這種事情呢？

Few days ago, during the Italian class, a student (Italian: studentessa) from Mainland asked our teacher, Cecilia, "Excuse me, what's the meaning of Quan[t]o?"

I knew she wanted to ask quando. But the problem is, she couldn't produce the d sound. You know, in Mandarin, there is no d sound. Or, in other words, they don't know what d is. So, what they do is just substitute the d sound with the unaspirated t sound, or, more precisely, they think the unaspirated t sound is d.

Anyway, Ceci replied, "Quanto? Hom much. Or how many."

Then, the girl asked again. This time, she tried it harder, "No, quan[t]o! Quan[t]o!" (Ironic, though, that the harder she tried, the clearer that the sound was a t! Yes, yes, it was unaspirated, but, sadly, it was a t, no matter how hard you tried!)

"Quanto?"

"No. Q-U-A-N-[T]i-O."

"Oh, QUANDO! That means when!"

Well, I never had supposed this would happen. It's quite fun, though. It just shows that Italian has good ear to distinguish voiced and voiceless consonants, and that many Chinese don't know the difference. (Actually, I never really awared of the difference between voiced and voiceless consonants, until I was 19 or 20. Even so, I still think I am very lucky.)

Open or Close? | 開口或閉口？

Language: English | 中文

Recently, I tried to find out the meaning of the song, Un'Emergenza D'Amore, an Italian song of Laura Pausini.

I found out that, everytime I heard the line: Dentro le mie tasche, ovunque andrai, I heard a lovely sound from the word dentro. I spent little time to figure which part, and finally, it was the e of the syllable den-.

Then, it became quite confused. Was it an open e? Or, was it a close e sound? I decided that, though not 100% sure, it was a close e becuase it didn't match it when I tried to make it an open e.

You know, Italians are genius. They are native Italian Phonology Masters. Italian word doesn't have any accent on the stressed syllable, except that if it is the last syllable, to tell whether the vowel is open or close. Even so, just pay attention next time, you will find that they pronouce each word correctly. Open or close vowel, single or geminated consonants, 100% correct, no mistakes.

Of course Laura is one of the native masters. But anyway, I searched the word dentro from the online dictionary De Mauro (link), to make sure if I was correct, and, yes, I got déntro.

Amazing. I was impressed by their genius, again, and also, by the lovely sound of the word dentro. Just heavenly. Divina!

前不久，我在研究 Laura Pausini 的歌── Un'Emergenza D'Amore ──的歌詞。

每當聽到這句：Dentro le mie tasche, ovunque andrai，的時候，都會聽到一個很動人的聲音……我很驚訝，到底是哪個音，那麼動聽呢？後來，找到了，是 dentro 的 e。

接著，問題來了。那個 e，到底是開口 e 呢 ([ɛ])，還是閉口 e 呢 ([e])？

後來，我覺得那是閉口的 e。因為，當我把它發成開口 e 的時候，跟我聽到的聲音，有點不一樣。

有一點必須提出的是，義大利人真的都是發音大師。雖然義大利文裡，除了最後一個音節是重音外，重音都不會標出開口還是閉口，可是，義大利人還是能夠標準地發出。

他們真的很厲害，不管是開口音、閉口音，亦或是長子音，都發得相當清楚。可以說是，比字典還好用。

當然，這次也不例外。我上網查了查 (De Mauro)，得到的是：déntro。義大利人準確的義大利文發音，再一次，使我深感佩服。然後，那個 dentro 真的是莫名其妙的好聽！實在是太美妙了！

Recently, I tried to find out the meaning of the song, Un'Emergenza D'Amore, an Italian song of Laura Pausini.

I found out that, everytime I heard the line: Dentro le mie tasche, ovunque andrai, I heard a lovely sound from the word dentro. I spent little time to figure which part, and finally, it was the e of the syllable den-.

Then, it became quite confused. Was it an open e? Or, was it a close e sound? I decided that, though not 100% sure, it was a close e becuase it didn't match it when I tried to make it an open e.

You know, Italians are genius. They are native Italian Phonology Masters. Italian word doesn't have any accent on the stressed syllable, except that if it is the last syllable, to tell whether the vowel is open or close. Even so, just pay attention next time, you will find that they pronouce each word correctly. Open or close vowel, single or geminated consonants, 100% correct, no mistakes.

Of course Laura is one of the native masters. But anyway, I searched the word dentro from the online dictionary De Mauro (link), to make sure if I was correct, and, yes, I got déntro.

Amazing. I was impressed by their genius, again, and also, by the lovely sound of the word dentro. Just heavenly. Divina!

中『頭』獎了

今天跟著球隊去比賽。到了賽場後，大家先練習練習，熱一熱身。

太陽很大，超熱的，練完後，就到樹蔭下坐下。坐著坐著，一位學長過來，坐我旁邊。然後，跟我說：

「咦，哩位同學，你好似中佐『頭』獎 wo～」
(咦，這位同學，你好像中了『頭』獎了喔～ ^ ^)

那個當下我還不是很懂，他告訴我，手撥一撥頭。撥了，他說不是那裡；還有。嗯，撥到了，看一看，鳥糞……

各位怕禽流感嗎？呵呵，一生人有幾次機會，會給人屎噴在頭上的呢？

“Je suis allé en Taiwan.”

Language: English | 中文

During the french class this afternoon, our professor, François, asked us what we had done the last big big vacation.

"Je suis allé en Taiwan," I began. Then, as what I expected, he said helpfully, "À Taiwan."

I didn't repeat it. I kept moving on. In my opinion, à Taiwan is not correct.

• Using en implies Taiwan is a country, and à implies that it is a city, district, etc.

今天上法文課的時候，老師 François 問我們，上一個長假期，做了些什麼。

我回答說：Je suis allé en Taiwan. (我去了台灣；使用 en 意味著台灣是一個……咳咳)

然後，毫不意外，François 更正我說：À Taiwan. (à 用在地區、城市的前面)

我並沒有跟著說 à Taiwan。我繼續我的故事。畢竟，你知道的，對我來說，用 en 才是正確的，嘿嘿。

During the french class this afternoon, our professor, François, asked us what we had done the last big big vacation.

"Je suis allé en Taiwan," I began. Then, as what I expected, he said helpfully, "À Taiwan."

I didn't repeat it. I kept moving on. In my opinion, à Taiwan is not correct.

• Using en implies Taiwan is a country, and à implies that it is a city, district, etc.

Righty? Lefty? | 左撇？右撇？

Language: English | 中文

Monday, during the football class, when I was practicing kicking long ball, something happened. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't make the ball fly. Maybe just ten to fifteen meters, then the ball started falling, hitting the ground, then it began bouncing and rolling.

I couldn't believe it. It was my right foot! How come? And what was more, my right foot didn't feel right. It started aching, its ankle. Oh, my my...

So, I tried it with my left foot. At first, I just kept kicking it wide. But after few tries, well, suprisingly, I started to do it well. As if it was just a piece of cake! I just learnt how to kick the ball to the sky, all of a sudden, and by myself.

That was really odd. I am supposed to be a righty, although I use left foot to jump and left hand to bat and to use fork (and I occasionally use chopsticks with my left hand).

So, this afternoon, I told my friend about this. He said, well, you are a lefty. No, I'm not, and this is really full of it. I am having a test about kicking long ball and shooting penalty and something this Thursday. I only can hope my right foot will cure itself by that day. I don't know how to shoot penalty with my left foot...

星期一，上足球課的時候，發生了一件事。那時我在練大腳長傳，可是，不管怎麼踢，球就是踢不太起來 (右腳)。而且，更慘的是，我的右腳開始疼起來了……腳踝那邊……踢的時候就覺得不大對勁，沒想到一路下來，就真的傷到了。

逼於無奈，只好用左腳啦。

一開始，都踢歪掉，踢到右邊去；不過後來，試了幾次後，橋好站位，然後，隨便踢，球就隨便飛，輕鬆得很……感覺就像不用學就會了一樣……

怎麼會這樣呢？我明明是右撇子，雖然我是左打，跳遠都用左腳，叉子都用左手，有時候還會用左手拿筷子……這真的很奇怪啊……

今天我就跟我朋友提到這件事。他說：「呵呵，你是左撇子。」我不是吧。

不過真的，挫賽了，要是禮拜四腳還沒有好的話……禮拜四要考試呢，除了考長傳，還要考十二碼射門，有的沒的。我的左腳可還沒學會怎麼射點球啊……

Monday, during the football class, when I was practicing kicking long ball, something happened. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't make the ball fly. Maybe just ten to fifteen meters, then the ball started falling, hitting the ground, then it began bouncing and rolling.

I couldn't believe it. It was my right foot! How come? And what was more, my right foot didn't feel right. It started aching, its ankle. Oh, my my...

So, I tried it with my left foot. At first, I just kept kicking it wide. But after few tries, well, suprisingly, I started to do it well. As if it was just a piece of cake! I just learnt how to kick the ball to the sky, all of a sudden, and by myself.

That was really odd. I am supposed to be a righty, although I use left foot to jump and left hand to bat and to use fork (and I occasionally use chopsticks with my left hand).

So, this afternoon, I told my friend about this. He said, well, you are a lefty. No, I'm not, and this is really full of it. I am having a test about kicking long ball and shooting penalty and something this Thursday. I only can hope my right foot will cure itself by that day. I don't know how to shoot penalty with my left foot...

一月份所看電影清單 | The Movies I saw in January

以下是一月份所看的片單 (發在這邊的)：

• Atonement (2008)
  
  今年難得的文藝好片……結局很強，相當感人、有力的電影。第一次看電影看到眼淚滴下來……
  
  2008-01-03
• Freddy Got Fingered (2001)
  
  白痴智障到不行的片，彈琴那段笑得我好辛苦 XDDD
  
  2008-01-08
• Joyeux Noël (2005)
  
  充滿人性的片子，還蠻感人的……用一波又一波的人性，一次又一次的「人」，打動著你……音樂也是，很感人 (像是 Adeste Fideles，還有 I'm Dreaming of Home)。
  
  此外，本片還可以讓你同時練習法文、德文、英文 (英國口音、蘇格蘭口音、歐洲人口音) 的聽力，外加一些些的拉丁文，一舉多得。
  
  不過想抱怨一下的是，演員就是演不出在唱歌的感覺，產生了一種距離感，可惜 (聲樂的部份是用配的)。
  
  另外，裡面有 Diane Kruger 喔！Daniel Brühl 我整個沒認出來，留了鬍子就變成熟了……
  
  2008-01-09
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
  
  為什麼 Arwen's Song 沒有收在 OST 裡呢？
  
  這次終於看到 Aragorn 在 Black Gate 前戴著 Evenstar 的畫面了，不然想說摔碎掉的那一幕明明是幻象，怎麼到後面就真的不見了……原來一直都被衣服遮住，只有一兩幕可以清楚看到，真的很難找……
  
  Aragorn 說了 "For Frodo." 後，獨自衝過去，然後 Pippin、Merry 看到後跟著，然後其他人都一起衝過去那幕，很讚！
  
  2008-01-13
• The Science of Sleep (2006)
  
  有些地方還蠻搞笑的；結局很棒喔！喜歡 Gael García Bernal 的可以看看喔；看了這幾年他演過的角色，真的是越來越喜歡這位演員了。Charlotte Gainsbourg 蠻像她爸的，同時間還有她媽媽開始老的時候的那種韻味；戲裡跟 García Bernal 演得很對味，表現得很棒！
  
  2008-01-16
• Cloverfield (2008)
  
  看完後，真的覺得……(雷；Spoilers：主角他們是狗屎運嗎，超人喔……有夠神；另外，開直昇機那個人是智障喔，活該……)
  
  很喜歡裡面的 Marlena！
  
  這套片應該會蠻感人的吧？建議一個人去看，還有，不要坐太前 XDDD
  
  2008-01-18
• Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
  
  一向都蠻喜歡看 Will Ferrell 演戲的；看到 "Ali G" 算是個驚喜吧，認不出來 XDD
  
  有吻戲！有吻戲！XDD
  
  2008-01-23
• Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
  
  Cate Blanchett 表現得很好！
  
  基本上這套電影有點比較像是在敘述一段故事一樣，這一件事情發生了，就到下一件……然後戰爭，然後結局。不過還是要重申，Cate 真的演得很好，引發很多的化學作用，使得這套電影變得深厚很多；另外我很喜歡 "Sir Francis" 那鎮靜的臉～
  
  2008-01-24
• Stardust (2007)
  
  關於這套電影，以後會另闢一篇來談談……
  
  嗯，在家看的話，就是得用 5.1，把音量調大，才會幸福啊！今年超完美的生日禮物！
  
  2008-01-17, 2008-01-26
• Look at me (2004)
  
  老實說，有的畫面我笑出來了 XD
  
  2008-01-26

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基本上，一月份是看了蠻多電影的。原因是，剛開學，而且發現到學校圖書館裡其實藏了蠻多好電影的，所以，常常沒課沒事幹的時候，就會看部電影……最近倒是沒那麼快活了 orz

Class Skipping | 翹課

Language: English | 中文

Recently, skipping classes has become one of my daily practices. Well, I am not the kind of people that skip a lot of classes or work. I only skip with good reasons. Like yesterday, I skipped the afternoon's class to see a movie. And today, I skipped because I wanted to stay home and finish my homework. They were all with good reasons.

最近課越翹越多了……不過，我必須澄清，我不是愛翹課的小孩喔。我都是有理由才翹課的。

像是昨天，我翹課是因為我要去看電影；今天，我翹課，因為我想待在家裡，順便把功課寫完！

我絕對是很用功的那種小孩喔！

Recently, skipping classes has become one of my daily practices. Well, I am not the kind of people that skip a lot of classes or work. I only skip with good reasons. Like yesterday, I skipped the afternoon's class to see a movie. And today, I skipped because I wanted to stay home and finish my homework. They were all with good reasons.

Differences between Mandarin and Putonghua | 大陸人會怎麼說

Language: English | 中文

Last week, I went to Beijing with my family, for the Chinese new year holidays.

We joined a group. I'm sure you know what this means, so I won't spend time explaining the dulliness of the frequent visits to some local companies, lisitening to staffs promoting their products, blah-blah-blah.

What made the trip wonderful is, despite some products prmoting routines, we travelled to Beijing by train, through Jingguang railway (Jing: Beijing; Guang: GuangZhou). Indeed it was wonderful, the journey on train, but I will go through this part later in another post.

---

Here, I'll begin with the topic, language.

I lived in Taipei for eight years. I grew up there. As a result, I can speak Mandarin. Even so, I never learnt that Mandarin and Putonghua are actually two different languages until I took a Putonghua course in college (In my opinion, Mandarin is a Chinese language spoken by Taiwanese and foreigners, since they both call the language "Mandarin." Putonghua is more restricted to Mainlanders and some foreigners. As you can see, usually someone from the US wouldn't say "I speak Putonghua" but "I speak Mandarin" instead).

So, how different are they?

First, their sound. There are many words that are supposed to sound the same in both languages but actually not. For example, in Putonghua, Che (車, car) is pronouced this way (IPA): [tʂɤ], but you'll find Taiwanese or most of the foreigners pronounce the word this way: [tʃə]. Another example is that for the word He (河, river), Mainlanders pronounce it like this: [xɤ], while Mandarin speakers do it this way: [hə]. One more example. The word 和, in Putonghua, it is pronounced this way: [xɤ], but the pronunciation is totally different for Taiwanese: [han], when the word implies "and" as in "A and B."

Besides the sound, sometimes, they use different words to call the same things. But this does not matter at all. Usually you can easily grab the meaning even if you speak only one of them.

So, what surprises me is the way they say it. As you know, I grew up in Taiwan, so, when I ask someone "what are you lookiong for," like in a store, I would say "你在找些什麼呢" (ni zai zhao xie shen me ne? / Literally: you are looking for what?), or "有什麼可以幫忙的嗎" (yao shen me ke yi bang mang de ma? / Literally: Is there anything that I can help?).

Then, in this situation, in Beijing, my mother told me, you may find people saying "看什麼看" (kan shen me kan?). Well, for me, this sounds rude and this is just like saying "what the X are you looking at" in English, and I would snort or crack myself up right away I hear it.

Another case. During our journey in Beijing, one day we went to a restaurant to have 涮羊肉火鍋 (Shuan Yang Rou Huo Guo) as our dinner. This is a type of Hot Pot but containing a lot of goat meat (Yang Rou means meat of goat, and Huo Guo is Hot Pot).

So, after we had found a table, we ordered some tea. Then a waitress said, "喝什麼茶啊" (he shen me cha a? / Literally: what tea are you drinking?). I was expecting to hear something like "請問要喝些什麼茶呢" (qing wen yao he xie shen me cha ne? / Literally: then what tea would you like to have?), but what I heard was just like "why are you drinking tea", or even "what on earth you think you can drink tea here". This sounded rude and hilarious and I tried my best not to but laughed, with my face turning to the other side, pretending to talk with my brother.

See, if you think Mandarin and Putonghua are the same, as my professor says frequently in class: think about it.

上個禮拜，跟家人去了趟北京。

嗯，我們是參加旅行團的……所以，就是，很多什麼購物行程，一會兒去去這家藥場，一會兒去去那邊看看玉 (還有貔貅、同仁堂、景泰藍、蠶絲背)；這些我就不花時間敘說了。

縱使是如此，這趟旅途還是很值得回味的，因為我們是搭火車過去的……搭京港直通車，延著京廣鐵路行駛。像是去北京的那一趟，路經湖南的時候是沒水沒電的；最後到達北京，已經晚點八個多小時了……不過，這麼精彩的東西，還是留到下次再跟大家分享吧。

---

還是回到正題好了：說說這次旅途，聽到大陸人們，用普通話表達一些問題的方式。

之前聽我媽說，他去大陸的時候，逛了逛家電鋪，店員看到了，就會丟一句：「看什麼看」。我媽覺得很奇怪。後來有問一問當地朋友，才了解到，原來這是「您有需要看些什麼東西嗎」的意思。

嗯，這我本來還不大相信的，不過這次在北京，有一天晚上，我們去吃了涮羊肉火鍋 (東來順)。坐下來後，要點茶；服務員就有點凶凶地說：「喝什麼茶啊？」……媽呀，我當下真的噗嗤笑出來了……嗯，根據那位當地朋友的公式換算，我想她是在問：「請問您是要喝哪一種茶呢？」……

有夠好笑的，就好像，想要點壺茶喝，卻被罵個臭頭一樣……

Last week, I went to Beijing with my family, for the Chinese new year holidays.

We joined a group. I'm sure you know what this means, so I won't spend time explaining the dulliness of the frequent visits to some local companies, lisitening to staffs promoting their products, blah-blah-blah.

What made the trip wonderful is, despite some products prmoting routines, we travelled to Beijing by train, through Jingguang railway (Jing: Beijing; Guang: GuangZhou). Indeed it was wonderful, the journey on train, but I will go through this part later in another post.

---

Here, I'll begin with the topic, language.

I lived in Taipei for eight years. I grew up there. As a result, I can speak Mandarin. Even so, I never learnt that Mandarin and Putonghua are actually two different languages until I took a Putonghua course in college (In my opinion, Mandarin is a Chinese language spoken by Taiwanese and foreigners, since they both call the language "Mandarin." Putonghua is more restricted to Mainlanders and some foreigners. As you can see, usually someone from the US wouldn't say "I speak Putonghua" but "I speak Mandarin" instead).

So, how different are they?

First, their sound. There are many words that are supposed to sound the same in both languages but actually not. For example, in Putonghua, Che (車, car) is pronouced this way (IPA): [tʂɤ], but you'll find Taiwanese or most of the foreigners pronounce the word this way: [tʃə]. Another example is that for the word He (河, river), Mainlanders pronounce it like this: [xɤ], while Mandarin speakers do it this way: [hə]. One more example. The word 和, in Putonghua, it is pronounced this way: [xɤ], but the pronunciation is totally different for Taiwanese: [han], when the word implies "and" as in "A and B."

Besides the sound, sometimes, they use different words to call the same things. But this does not matter at all. Usually you can easily grab the meaning even if you speak only one of them.

So, what surprises me is the way they say it. As you know, I grew up in Taiwan, so, when I ask someone "what are you lookiong for," like in a store, I would say "你在找些什麼呢" (ni zai zhao xie shen me ne? / Literally: you are looking for what?), or "有什麼可以幫忙的嗎" (yao shen me ke yi bang mang de ma? / Literally: Is there anything that I can help?).

Then, in this situation, in Beijing, my mother told me, you may find people saying "看什麼看" (kan shen me kan?). Well, for me, this sounds rude and this is just like saying "what the X are you looking at" in English, and I would snort or crack myself up right away I hear it.

Another case. During our journey in Beijing, one day we went to a restaurant to have 涮羊肉火鍋 (Shuan Yang Rou Huo Guo) as our dinner. This is a type of Hot Pot but containing a lot of goat meat (Yang Rou means meat of goat, and Huo Guo is Hot Pot).

So, after we had found a table, we ordered some tea. Then a waitress said, "喝什麼茶啊" (he shen me cha a? / Literally: what tea are you drinking?). I was expecting to hear something like "請問要喝些什麼茶呢" (qing wen yao he xie shen me cha ne? / Literally: then what tea would you like to have?), but what I heard was just like "why are you drinking tea", or even "what on earth you think you can drink tea here". This sounded rude and hilarious and I tried my best not to but laughed, with my face turning to the other side, pretending to talk with my brother.

See, if you think Mandarin and Putonghua are the same, as my professor says frequently in class: think about it.

Met Two New Friends

Language: English | 中文

Last Friday, during the training session of the softball team, I met two new friends. One of them is Japanese, an exchange student, Masa, and the other one, Harvey, is Taiwanese. Both of them came from the States, though Harvey now studies here, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

I enjoyed practicing English with a foreigner very much, but speaking Mandarin (with Taiwanese accent) with someone of Taiwanese origin is even more delightful.

星期五練球的時候，認識到兩位新同學。一位是日本人，Masa，另一位是台灣人，叫 Harvey；都是從美國那邊過來的。那位日本人是交換生，只交換一個學期，而 Harvey 則是在中文大學念書的。

隊裡的學長 Ting (香港人) 在跟 Harvey 說，我們很「九唔搭八」(廣東話)，Harvey 聽不是很明白，Ting 就叫我跟 Harvey 解釋什麼是「九唔搭八」... 後來 Ting 不知道跟 Harvey 說了些啥，Harvey 就說了聲「靠杯」。本來以為他是大陸人，問了問，才知道 Harvey 是台灣人，不過是從美國那邊來的，英文頂瓜瓜！

Last Friday, during the training session of the softball team, I met two new friends. One of them is Japanese, an exchange student, and the other one, Harvey, is Taiwanese. Both of them came from the States, though Harvey now studies here, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

I enjoyed practicing English with a foreigner very much, but speaking Mandarin (with Taiwanese accent) with someone of Taiwanese origin is even more delightful.

You have to articulate.

Language: English | 中文

Today is the beginning of the new term of our french classes.

When I was checking which room I should go to, I saw the professor teaching me the last term - Karine Barbier - teaching in her classroom. Luckily, she didn't see me. She was introducing herself to the class at that moment ...

« Moi, je m’appelle Karine Barbier. Karine, c’est mon prénom. Barbier, c’est mon nom. »

She really is a good teacher. The best French teacher I've ever met, I have to say. Unlike the other French teachers (French, of course), she is surprisingly patient with students. I couldn't believe that she'd spent maybe two or three weeks just to explain things that we all should have learnt well in Level 1, like how to make a negative sentence, or not to pronounce the last -s or -t of French words.

I feel sympathy for her as most of my classmates in the Level 2 class actually even shouldn't be here, to be honest, as what she suggested, while they kept making mistakes that Karine had explained many times. I felt so especially when she expressed her exhaustion and deep disappointment through some non-verbal ways, such as putting, or throwing, her books on the desk a little bit harder than usual.

---

Fortunately, this time, it's not Karine. I don't want to see her being tourtured by the class anymore.

So, who's it to be? Well, his name is Bédoucha. He looks a bit like Arabic origin, though I'm not sure, but très french at the same time. He teaches very fast and much more straight forward. He gave me five or six copies in the first class, more than what I'd got from the last two terms.

Before we started the text, he first acquainted us with the vocabulary related to the texts, then some adjectives, and finally the texts.

He is very optimistic and positive. When he asked us question and he got no response from us, then after one or two seconds, he would say « Oui! » or « Bien sûr! », loudly, with passion, sounded much more like answering to himself, as if someone had just answered his question, and then gave us the correct answers, as if he was repeating the answers just given by someone among us. This is good, actually, in some cases, making the whole process smooth and faster.

And one thing I have to mention is, he told us that we have to articulate when speaking French. Then he added, with his lips, teeth, and tongue moving vigorously, that it is like you are chewing something. Yes, yes! This is exactly what I felt when I was getting myself a French tongue! You have to make every sound clear, especially the vowels. Yes, yes. It is like chewing something in your mouth. Really fun!

Anyway, I really believe Bédoucha is just as nice as Karine. He must be a very good teacher. Great!

今天，是新一期法協法文課的開始。

在看要去哪間教室上課的時候，瞄到上一期的老師 Karine ... 嗯，還好她沒看到我。她那時正在跟學生自我介紹 ...

« Moi, je m’appelle Karine Barbier. Karine, c’est mon prénom. Barbier, c’est mon nom. »

Karine 真的是一個好老師。以一個法國來的法文老師來說，她是我看過最有耐心的了。她可以用上整堂課，講解一些學生在上一期就應該學會的東西，像是一些基本的發音，譬如結尾的 -s 跟 -t 不用發音，或者怎樣造否定句 ...

有時候，我真的很替她感到同情 ... 明明是在上 Level 2，可是學生卻連 Level 1 的東西也不會 ... 有時候，真的是很痛苦，看到老師透過她的肢體動作，像是有點大力地將課本放到書桌上，表達她的失望，表達她的無力 ...

所以，看到這次的老師不是 Karine 後，我鬆了一口氣，因為實在不想看到老師在課堂上受苦的樣子。

---

新一期，Level 3 的老師，叫做 Bédoucha。看起來有點像是中東血統的。

剛進教室的時候，有點懷疑自己是不是走錯教室了，不過看看大家的課本後，嗯，沒走錯。Bédoucha 教的速度快很多，也直接很多。首先，一開始，他給了大家好幾張講義，七張吧，比我過去兩期所拿到的還要多。然後，他會先從字彙開始，一些跟課文相關的字彙，然後熟悉過後，才會進入到課文。

此外，老師他是個相當主動、樂觀、積極的人。他說話的聲音非常清楚，很堅決。常常，他丟了問題給我們，然後教室裡都沒人回答的時候，過了幾秒，就會很樂觀地、充滿熱情地說：« Oui! » 或者是 « Bien sûr! »，就好像剛剛有人答了他的問題一樣，然後，他就會快樂地講出那問題的答案 ...

這聽起來雖然好像有點怪，但實際上這加快了課堂的步調，大大提高了效率 ...

此外，值得一提的是，Bédoucha 在糾正一位同學的發音時，說："You have to articulate." 也說到，你必須將每個音都發得很準確；然後，他的嘴巴就開始在那邊，很誇張地動著，嘴脣、舌頭、口腔 ... 他說，這就像是你在嚼東西一樣 ...

那時，我就在想，這不正是我開始掌握法文發音時，所體會到的一點嗎？是啊，就像在嚼東西一樣 ... 不是在嚼，而是當你要發好每個音、音節的時候，你的嘴脣、口腔、舌頭就會在那邊頻繁地、帶有力道地運動著 ... 真的很像在嚼東西一樣，非常有趣！

Today is the beginning of the new term of our french classes.

When I was checking which room I should go to, I saw the professor teaching me the last term - Karine Barbier - teaching in her classroom. Luckily, she didn't see me. She was introducing herself to the class at that moment ...

« Moi, je m’appelle Karine Barbier. Karine, c’est mon prénom. Barbier, c’est mon nom. »

She really is a good teacher. The best French teacher I've ever met, I have to say. Unlike the other French teachers (French, of course), she is surprisingly patient with students. I couldn't believe that she'd spent maybe two or three weeks just to explain things that we all should have learnt well in Level 1, like how to make a negative sentence, or not to pronounce the last -s or -t of French words.

I feel sympathy for her as most of my classmates in the Level 2 class actually even shouldn't be here, to be honest, as what she suggested, while they kept making mistakes that Karine had explained many times. I felt so especially when she expressed her exhaustion and deep disappointment through some non-verbal ways, such as putting, or throwing, her books on the desk a little bit harder than usual.

---

Fortunately, this time, it's not Karine. I don't want to see her being tourtured by the class anymore.

So, who's it to be? Well, his name is Bédoucha. He looks a bit like Arabic origin, though I'm not sure, but très french at the same time. He teaches very fast and much more straight forward. He gave me five or six copies in the first class, more than what I'd got from the last two terms.

Before we started the text, he first acquainted us with the vocabulary related to the texts, then some adjectives, and finally the texts.

He is very optimistic and positive. When he asked us question and he got no response from us, then after one or two seconds, he would say « Oui! » or « Bien sûr! », loudly, with passion, sounded much more like answering to himself, as if someone had just answered his question, and then gave us the correct answers, as if he was repeating the answers just given by someone among us. This is good, actually, in some cases, making the whole process smooth and faster.

And one thing I have to mention is, he told us that we have to articulate when speaking French. Then he added, with his lips, teeth, and tongue moving vigorously, that it is like you are chewing something. Yes, yes! This is exactly what I felt when I was getting myself a French tongue! You have to make every sound clear, especially the vowels. Yes, yes. It is like chewing something in your mouth. Really fun!

Anyway, I really believe Bédoucha is just as nice as Karine. He must be a very good teacher. Great!