Luciano Pavarotti and Christmas Music

Luciano Pavarotti passed away in 2007. He is considered one of the most prominent tenor in the second half of the 20th century. His distinct brassy voice used to lighten the music world especially during the Christmas holiday season. One of his most famous Christmas concert was performed in 1978 at Montreal Notre-Dame Basilica. I watched it at that time and recorded it in a VHS tape for my personal collection. Every once in a while during Christmas time, I'd play it through my stereo system with good bass & shared it with my family. It sounds grand & moving every time we listen to it. In this performance, I particularly like to point out three songs which are truly classic and transcend religious mood and setting. It reaches our heart with pure ethereal notes, melodies and Pavarotti's voice. You can view this performance at the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnoIZ_RzV9M

6:20-9:00, O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel), composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847. The lyrics reflects on the birth of Jesus and of humanity's redemption. At the end of the carol, Pavarotti delivered the feeling with such a powerful voice that moved every soul in the cathedral. 

Peuple à genoux, attends ta délivrance.

Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur,

Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur !

Translation:

People kneel down, wait for your deliverance.

Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer,

Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer!

20:50-25:27, Ave Maria, composed by Franz Schubert in 1825

The piece was composed as a setting of a song from Walter Scott's popular epic poem, 'The Lady of the Lake'. The opening words and refrain of the song, namely "Ave Maria" (Latin for "Hail Mary"), may have led to the idea of adapting Schubert's melody as a setting for the full text of the traditional Roman Catholic prayer Ave Maria. Regardless of the origin, it has become one of Schubert's most popular works recorded by a wide variety and large number of singers, under the title of Ave Maria in arrangements with various lyrics which commonly differ from the original context of the poem. The song sounds like a hymn, so holy, somber and humble. It is best to feel the music in a grand cathedral like Montreal Notre-Dame. 

25:30-28:40, Mille Cherubini in Coro, adapted and arrangement for voice and orchestra by Alois Melichar. Composed by Franz Schubert originally. 

The adapted song consists of two tunes, one from Schubert's Rosamunde Incidental Music and one from Wiegenlied (Lullaby). Mille Cherubini in Coro is 'A Chorus of a Thousand Cherubs' in English. It is perhaps not the intention of Schubert. However, it doesn't matter as this song becomes a Christmas classic since 1935 and transcends the popularity of the original lullaby. The lullaby itself is brilliant and often mentioned with the lullaby of Brahms and Mozart. Here I attach an Excel file which lists the original lyrics of Schubert and the adapted song by Melichar. There are three stanzas in the original work by Schubert. Here I only list the first and the last stanza as Pavarotti sang only the two stanzas in 'Mille Cherubini in Coro'.

25:30-25:50 The tune from Wiegenlied

25:53:26:57 The tune from Rosamunde

26:58-28:40 The first and third stanza of Wiegenlied

Luciano sang the last 4 lines of the stanza 3. The first 4 lines were played by the orchestra only. 

I created an Excel file which lists the lyrics of 'Mille Cherubini in Coro' in Italian and Wiegenlied in German. I also include the English translation of both lyrics for reference. You can find it in the link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Kwp81ksqfMRm1XcTRRdWl0YkE/edit?usp=sharing

麻將與人生

河北麻將街

麻將在中國是老少咸宜,非常受歡迎的牌戲. 可說除了吃以外,沒有比麻將更 風行. 除了小小孩子以外,幾乎每個階層的人,都有大部分人對此好之不疲. 更有甚者,挑燈夜戰,不分晝夜. 還有病人昏倒,孕婦臨產在即,皆下不了桌,誠屬天下奇觀,嘆為觀止. 世上僅有一事可與此相媲美的是'賭博'. 賭雖比不上麻將規摸龐大,但卻是世界性的活動. 君不見 Las Vegas 的賭博人士,呼之即來,揮之不去. 舍南舍北皆牌局,但見賭棍日日來,永遠有數不完的好賭之士,在 slot machine 前,揮汗如雨,大幹一場. 但並不是每個人都有閒情逸緻去 Las Vegas 或 澳門,加上很多地方不准設賭場,於是 樂透 (Lotto) 滿天飛,滿足了大部分人的好賭天性. 三字經忘了'人之初,性好賭' 這一句,誠屬遺憾.

現在分析為什麼麻將和賭博會這麼普遍? 這是入門門檻極低. 不管博士或目不識丁之人皆能玩之且有可能贏的机會. 其他 games 如圍棋,象棋和西洋棋,高下立見,低手極少有可能勝的机會. 又如橋牌,雖有點像麻將,但是有兩個一組,是 team work, not everybody for himself. 難度相當高,低手勝的机會很少. 很少聽說有拉角子机器選手有八段高手,主要是因為幾乎不靠什麼技巧,全憑或然率也 ie randomness. 麻將雖然門檻比 slot machine or 21 點 高些,但其差距固不大矣. 加上自摸,全靠老天爺 (randomness),所以能夠吸引老少賢愚,仁人下士,趨之若騖. 君若問既然好賭乃人類天性,為什麼麻將獨風行中國而不在外國? 原因有不少,其中之一乃是好賭亦有程度之分. 中國人明顯好賭,喜好佔便宜,投机取巧,迷信好運比別的民族強烈. 搓麻將到某種程度,就像抽鴉片一樣, get hooked and addicted. 常聽說有人在颱風地震天災時,麻將照打不誤,挑燈不行,有電筒,蠟燭代之. 廢寢忘食,置生死於度外,莫此為甚.

清末民初中國有三害:鴉片,八股,小腳. 胡適認為應該是四害,加麻將也. 其他三害似已剷除,可是麻將儼然取代鴉片. 仔細想想,麻將和鴉片有些類似,它讓人處於閉室,坐臥終日,耽於一種不事生產且不健康的活動. 胡適對麻將有研究和考証. 他認為麻將是從明代一種叫馬吊的紙牌演變而來. 當時士大夫們整日整夜地打馬吊,把正事都荒廢了. 据史載明末崇禎皇帝在亡國前夕,開御前會議,居然找不到大臣,原來國難當前,這些國家重臣,皆下不了馬吊桌也. 馬吊牌乃麻將牌前身. 胡適是考証專家. He dug in and proposed '麻將亡國論',諄諄告誡國人,打衛生麻將可也,萬萬不可耽於賭博式麻將,誤已誤民誤國,罪莫大焉. 胡適痛心問道:'我們走遍世界,可曾看到那一個長進的民族,文明的國家肯這樣荒時廢業的? 麻將祗是愛閒愛蕩,不珍惜光陰的愚昧民族的專利品'.

胡先生也許言重了些,像打衛生麻將,處理得當,可能是讓麻將脫胎換骨的絕佳机會. 什麼是衛生麻將? 最好先定義,以免誤解和誤用. 衛生麻將必須至少具備下面幾個條件或限制:

1. 打麻將不超過一小時.

2. 不用錢做輸贏的標準,徹底和賭博分家.

3. 麻將牌子應該用好的軟質材料,搓起來絕不發出噪音,扰人安眠.

4. 說'碰'的聲音不得超過 65 db.

5. 對出牌慢的人不能抱怨, 更不得惡言相向.

6. 不能把輸贏看得太厲害,這是 randomness 相當高的 game.

7. 不能像大拜拜一樣,一下子開十桌,大打麻將,搓聲震天,此風不可長.

Item 3 是魯迅先生反對麻將的最大原因,他一生不得安睡,全是鄰居搓麻將噪音所害,故對之深惡痛絕. 我碰到很多打麻將朋友,他/她們一聽到我打麻將不算錢時,馬上興趣全失,奪門而出. 賭博心態,昭然若揭. 最近聽說有人提出 '申請麻將為世界文明稀有遺產'. 這些人必須記住麻將還不會絕種,有這種遺產想法,實在不合邏輯. 最後有一個問題,值得我們深思. 如上所述,麻將門檻不高,故吸引中下層人士. 又因其 Randomness 成分很高,故 IQ 極低人士亦有贏的机會. 如是一般,老少咸宜,皆大歡喜. 但玄的是為什麼高 IQ 智識份子也樂此不彼,耽於此低挑戰性的遊戲 (low challenging game)?

Life, Random Event?

We sometime hear people say with strong will and perseverance, they achieve great feat and success. Yet there are a lot of events people just can't control and very often they don't expect or see they are coming. There are so many uncertainties in our life that make us wonder whether we can direct or control our life. The very first thing our existence in this world is a miracle and we just don't know how we hit it. It is a probability of 1 out of 100 million (sperms) that you got conceived by that particular sperm which represents you. In fact, we exist because we hit the jackpot. Ironically, after you hit this one, you probably will not hit another jackpot from lotto in your entire life. Think harder, the human activities depend on the environment and human interactions and these in turn depend on some historical event as all events may affect each particular event directly or indirectly. For instance, if 淝水之戰 didn't happen or the outcome was different, we might not exist at all as we might have another set of ancestors and you no longer are you, you might be someone else.

Since we hit the jackpot and exist, how about our spouse? Are we sure he/she is the one we destine to have? For many of us, if we didn't attend the particular university, we certainly would have married someone else. Human encounters are very random, 近水樓台先得月, 一見鍾情. If you never get the chance to see the person, it is highly possible you will never marry the person. Also you can't control which university you will get the admission. Trace a little bit further, you couldn't control which school/department to get in when you took 聯考. Does this mean that your career is also a result of some random event? If we carry this logic link by link, we reach the conclusion that our life is just a chain of random events. Of course we can control something minor such as whether to eat steak or fish for lunch. But something so major like our existence, our marriage, our career, depend on something so random. Aren't we surprised and feel scared? No wonder people pray when they don't know what to do or when they are out of control.

I remember an English lesson we learned in the first year of our high school. The story goes like this. A boy took a trip to nearby city on one hot summer day. While he reached midway and had to transfer to another bus, he found he got 1 hour time to kill. As the day was hot, he walked to a shady place, cool and nice square with a spring fountain and trees. He fell asleep. Meanwhile, something happened around him and random things cooked up. An old couple passed by thinking about inheriting him, a nice young women walked near him and adored him, a pair of bad guys tried to rob him but got scared by a mad dog nearby, etc, etc, etc. One hour almost passed and the boy waked up and hopped up the bus to continue the journey. But he has no idea what happened around him in that one hour, let alone to guess what would have happened if he waked up at the right time. In other words, his life may be a complete different one depending on when he wake up. The interesting thing is that he just has no idea what happen around him during that fateful one hour. Is Life really a chain of random events?

Poem, Music & Language

On Wings of Song

When in the course of our education, we were profoundly influenced by some books or music which etched and imprinted in our mind. They become part of us as we grow up. It is easy to communicate among people about a book and its influence. But it is harder to do the same for music. Language is a basic skill in education and our society. Music is not as it is not a prerequisite to enter a college. Yet music is so popular in our society, be it classical or non-classical music. Everybody sings and everybody listens to music. But if we want to dig in a little bit more, we usually encounter some difficulty. We used to have music books which can't sing for us and so it is hard to convey or describe the meaning or feeling of the music. When time goes by and technology advances, we gradually made some improvement in discussing music among people. First, movie and TV gives us a tool that combines music (audio) with video. If the lyrics is shown with the video while music is playing, people can follow the music easily. However, in most cases the lyrics is not provided on the video, people tend to get lost while music is in progress. With the advent of Internet, it ushers in a new breed of tools and some website like YouTube which behaves like a public library of music with video time line. Although this is some kind of evolution of the technology, it exerts a great influence to the way we listen to music and the way we appreciate music. Here is a good example that I'd like put it in practice. In the blog "Palo Alto Rock" (July, 2013), I provided the links of the music and its lyrics (German, English, Mandarin). If we open two windows on the laptop computer, one is the music on YouTube and the other is the Excel file of the lyrics with time line data. Now we can listen to the music in sync with the lyrics even without the lyrics shown on the video. It is a living music book, a big improvement over the good old silent music book.

Music: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc4QC35LfhU

Lyrics with time line data

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3Kwp81ksqfMaVBJbXVFQXo3dFk/edit?usp=sharing

In this example, the music is 'Auf Flügeln des Gesanges' ('On Wings of Song') by Mendelssohn. The lyrics is German accompanied with translation in English and Mandarin. In Excel the lyrics is listed in three columns with the text of lyrics in one-to-one correspondence. The original music was composed in German (Heine's poem). We can see the text is arranged in pair with rhyme just like traditional Chinese poem. For instance, Gesanges/Ganges, fort/Ort, Garten/erwarten, Oondenschein/Schwesterlein, kosen/Rosen, empor/Ohr, lauschen/rauschen/, Gazelin/Well'n, niedersinken/trinken, Palmenbaum/Traum are all paired in rhyme. It is the same for the text of English translation. Here we can see the similarity between German and English. As to the Mandarin translation, it is not in rhyme. Instead it is a direct translation of meaning of the poem with lucid and fluent Mandarin style without taking in consideration of rhyme. It is just as romantic, artistic and beautiful as the German and English poem. Here we can appreciate the nuance and shade of different language in conveying the same message. 

In Excel file, the C column is the music time line. The repeated German text is shown with * and listed in the Time Line as such. In the last line of the text, 'Und traumen seligen Traum' is repeated once and 'seligen Traum' is repeated one more time to end the song. 

PS: It is easier to access the blog twice with a browser (Google Chrome or AOL browser). With two windows on the screen (by click & drag the window tab outside of the browser), you can access the music (YouTube) in one window and then access the lyrics in other window. You can then arrange two windows in the screen to fit your taste and convenience. While you play the music, you can cross reference the lyric time line with the time line of the video. This is easy to do for most laptop computer. It may not be feasible for mobile device such as iPhone or iTouch. 

茵夢湖

初中國文老師李永華有次上課時,提到一本書, '茵夢湖'. 他說在大學裏人手一冊,很風行. 吾輩莘莘學子,聽得一愣一愣的,到底還太小了. 及至高中,在重慶南路一家書店,偶然看到這本'茵夢湖'. 大喜而買之,回家閱讀乃知是青春男女的愛情故事. 這書不長不短,一天可一氣讀完. 此小說是 Theodor Storm 的作品,他生長在德國北海附近,終年陰氣逼人,陽光稀少,不免養成他的寫作風格,淡淡的哀愁和悲戚總是徬徨不去,卻是呼之即來.

茵夢湖描寫一對男女, Reinhard and Elisabeth, 兩小無猜,天真浪漫,總以為一生都在一起. 可是那一天終於到了,他必須離開本城去受高等教育,他們不得不忍受到別離的哀傷. Reinhard 在學校裏寫了一些情詩,總是珍藏著. 當復活節來臨,他回家看到她時,她長高了,美麗又苗條. 可是不知怎的,她已經有點疏遠了. 他把那些詩 拿出來給她看. 他看見她臉上泛出一陣淺暈漸漸地展佈了她可愛的面龐. 他好想看她的眼睛,但是她卻不抬起頭來,祇把那冊子一聲不響地放在他面前. 離開的日子很快又到了,她送他到火車站,他依依不捨地離去. 匆匆兩年, Reinhard 一天收到一封信,他的朋友 Erich 承繼一份遺產和田莊. Erich 向 Elisabeth 求婚兩次被拒絕,但終於獲得她的同意. 又過了幾年, Reinhard 穿過樹林來到茵夢湖,原來 Erich 邀他來他的田莊,但卻沒告訴 Elisabeth. 這個逝去的愛情就在茵夢湖的這幾天,重新點燃,慢慢升溫,然後漸漸的消失. Reinhard 終於覺悟,這個初愛終於必須結束,他必須離開這裏,奔向自己的前程. Storm 在茵夢湖這段時日的描繪非常含蓄而溫馨,處處感染淡淡的哀愁,若即若離的深情,和永遠跨不過的婚姻鴻溝,讓人感動,誠屬佳作.

故事的第一章和最後一章都是'老人'. 故事是倒敘法,從老人入室休息,看見一道月光從窗戶照進,這老人柔聲喚著 Elisabeth,時間將他拉回到童年時代. 當月光慢慢地轉朱閣,低綺戶,室內變得黑暗時,也就是回憶茵夢湖愛情的終結. 從這裡我想起了 悲愴交響曲來. Tchaikovsky 這首交響由的第一和第二樂章幾乎可以音繪整個 茵夢湖 的故事. 第一樂章的開頭和結尾部分是'老人'的回憶和嘆息. 中間的開展部是他們在茵夢湖的邂逅,千迴萬轉的恩愛深情和無限悵惘的離去. 第二樂章五拍子的民謠風旋律是他們兩小無猜的少時情景. 五拍子的每一小節,是前兩拍和後三拍的巧妙結合,歡欣愉悅但具有不安定的飄搖之感.

Tchaikovsky Symphony #6, Pathetique (悲愴交響曲)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHAfvUFtCIY

1st Movement
5:30---老人 main theme (beginning, 回憶)
10:26---茵夢湖 (音畫)
15:00---老人 main theme (ending, 悲嘆)

2nd Movement
19:26-28:07---兩小無猜, 少時情景

Esther Williams

Have you ever noticed that most of our favorite movie stars faded away quickly these days, William Holden, James Stewart, John Wayne, Stewart Granger, Burt Lancaster just to name a few. The latest one is Esther Williams. She was one of my favorite stars when I was a kid in primary school. She was a marvelous swimmer and starred in many swimming related movies. She was truly a mermaid of the time. She single-handed created a niche movie (water drama) just like Shirley Temple created her own (child drama) movies.

I used to mix Esther Williams up with another movie star, Doris Day. Somehow they got similar body build and the look of all American healthy women. I was most impressed by her movie "Bathing Beauty" (出水芙蓉). She admitted she couldn't act, dance or sing. But she can swim and swim like mermaid. She died on June 6, 2013. Every once in a while, PBS TV station ran some program like 'That's Entertainment' and it always shows some beautiful and graceful swimming routines by Esther Williams. This kind of movie is unique and never duplicated for another actresses. Indeed, there is one and only one mermaid, Esther Williams in our world. I sort of miss something profound that I know I can't get it back. Fortunately we have high tech to the rescue, I can still rent many DVDs to see Esther Williams and her lovely smiles. But mostly, I will always remember her wonderful swimming style, beautiful,elegant and graceful to the eyes.

Esther Williams published her autobiography in 1999. I found it interesting that she went through some kind of LSD (under doctor's supervision) experience. She got information and advice from Cary Grant that LSD somehow got some psychic energizer that dug into her inner soul. She said she was in a state of emotional and financial ruins when this LSD session re-energized her life. She realized that she actually tried to replace her older brother after he died at 16 years old. She worked so hard and moved so fast to support her family as her parents were in despair. In fact, she saw herself as half her brother and half herself. I have never tried LSD, maybe I miss something I don't know. 

Esther Williams influences me since she shows me there is something so beautiful and so graceful in this world. It is the swimming in such an aesthetic form that is beyond the description of any speech. Here is one video clip that captures her beauty and some of her swimming skill. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jUjhrDhFuM

Marion Bartoli

Marion Bartoli

It is interesting to see the second time in history a woman with both two-handed forehand and backhand wins the champion in Wimbledon.  She is Marion Bartoli of France.  She has been around for several years but never won a grand slam until today (7/6/2013).  Watching her play, I was impressed on her hitting balls with pace and deep to base line with precision.  Since mid 1970's many players adopted two-hand backhand and achieved a lot of success.  But we haven't seen many players trying two-handed forehand.  I have played tennis since 1967.  I started with single-handed backhand with some success.  I was able to hit the ball where I wanted with slice backhand.  The problem was the weak pace when I hit it with backhand slice or under spin.  Even later I tried top-spin backhand, the pace of the ball is way too weak comparing to the forehand drive.  After a few years, I started to develop tennis elbow mainly due to the short backhand slice.  I can hit the ball with precision and near the net.  Since I have to stop the stroke in the middle of the swing, it exerts more pressure to the tendon and muscle of my right elbow.  Anyway the combination of them creates a syndrome of tennis elbow.  I like the tennis, fun and low cost.  I can also get much more exercise than playing golf within shorter time frame.  As I get older, I think hard and decide to adopt two-handed stroke so I may be able to continue playing tennis till very old age.  So since two years ago, I bought a tennis ball machine and practiced hitting balls with both hands.  I started with two-handed backhand.  It took me a while to get used to it.  In fact it took me longer than I expected.  After about six months, I was able to hit the balls comfortably and felt that I could swing racket naturally.  I also found that it is quite easy and natural to hit the ball with both top-spin and under-spin.  It is also quite easy to hit the ball on the rise.  The only drawback is the length of the swing and the shorter reach when chasing the ball.  Eventually I found that the best way to play is to use two-handed stroke most of the time and use one-handed way when chasing balls.  After I mastered the two-handed backhand, I started the same thing for the forehand.  It is quite unusual to see professionals adopt the two-handed forehand as most of them have very strong muscle on forehand side and there is no need to use two-handed stroke.  But I found that my forehand got weaker when I got older.  This gave me the incentive to try earnest on two-handed forehand.  After several months practice, I have gained confidence in hitting balls with pace.  I feel very happy these days as I enjoy playing tennis more and get my weekly needed exercise.  I am very glad to see Marion Bartoli won the trophy, a Venus Rosewater Dish in Wimbledon.  Why?  She is the first person wins a tennis grand slam with both two-handed backhand and forehand just as I do now.

謝淑薇 and 彭帥

PS: Su-Wei Hsieh (謝淑薇) of Taiwan and Shuai Peng (彭帥)  of China won the Women's Doubles Championship in Wimbledon.  This is a historical first for Taiwan and China to win a grand slam doubles in tennis.  Both of them also play two-handed shots on both sides like Marion Bartoli.

Rosetta Stone & Palo Alto Rock

Inscription of
Palo Alto Rock

Rosetta Stone

如果你有机會參觀大英博物館,你一定不會錯過一塊黑色的石頭,它是有名的 Rosetta Stone. 這石頭是在 Napoleon 遠征埃及時,一位法國軍士發現的,時年 AD 1799. 這塊石頭上面刻有三種不同的文字,其中有古埃及文和希臘文. 當時已無人能識古埃及文,所以這次的發現,堪稱是劃時代的. 它使當代學者能以利用希臘文重新銓釋和解讀古埃及文化. 我 1982 年時在倫敦看到Rosetta Stone,砰然心動,見証這有厂史性的珍貴文物. 

前些日子同學討論到一些語文的功用和表達方式的效能,見仁見智,尤其是中文和英文的不同和高下. 大家大抵同意在詩詞方面,中文精簡卻有很多含義,比英文高明不少. 可是在法律和科學方面,英文準確度的確勝出. 不過在文學,詩歌領域裡,也涉及主觀問題,因為英文詩有不同的表現法,硬要比高下,未免強人所難. 比較合理的評語應該是'各有千秋,相得益彰'. 

有一天我們的文明也許會毀於一旦,在這洪荒宇宙,比較能夠留下來的是石頭. 所以我想這也許是個好想法,就像 Rosetta Stone 一樣,我們選一種人類的文化遺產,以三种不同的語言,同時刻在一塊石頭上,藏諸名山,善加保存, (served as a Time Capsule). 我暫稱這塊石頭叫 Palo Alto Rock, 別號 NTUEE64 Stone or '人類文明之石'.

在我欣賞中外文學,詩詞,歌謠中,發現有很多診貴的材料可選. 以下是其中之一,冶音樂,文學,詩詞於一爐,極富文明價值. 這是海涅 (Heinrich Heine) 的詩 'Auf Flügeln des Gesanges' ('On Wings of Song'), Mendelssohn 把它譜成一曲, 極富盛名. 我用 Excel ,並排列出三种語言,可以互相翻譯和銓釋,並且可欣賞不同語言的視覺感受及衡量其精簡程度. 音樂是看不出來,祗能用現今科技, DVD光碟一張, inserted in the rock. 也許有一天,外太空的高度文明物種可以 decipher 我們的音樂. 

音樂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc4QC35LfhU

彫刻文

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3Kwp81ksqfMRlJiQW9qZUhiQ00/edit?usp=sharing

Bicentennials of Two Great Composers

Giuseppe Verdi

Richard Wagner

It marks a double bicentennials this year for two great opera composers. They are Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner, both were born in 1813 with only five months apart. They are so influential in the world of opera that some of the melodies & tunes continue to play in people's life. Giuseppe Verdi was an Italian. He dominated the Italian opera after Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. He was also a long-lived composer, quite well to do before he died. He was also unique in setting up a living space for the well-known retired opera singers. This is really rare as most composers struggle to make a living during their productive years. Richard Wagner was a German. He single-handed created German Opera, later called Music Opera. He not only composed music, but also wrote lyrics and story of the opera. His operas typically are long, intricate in plot and character. In contrast to Verdi, Wagner as a person was stingy, quarrelsome and hard to get along. He was not generous as Verdi and he thought most people owe him something because of his genius. However, his influence is enormous as he frequently is listed as the top 10 greatest composers in history. It is worth to note that Cosima, daughter of Liszt, wife of famous conductor Hans von Bulow, eloped with Wagner and spent a few years in Villa Tribschen near Lake Lucerne of Switzerland. Wagner got involved with revolutionary activities in 1848 and he had to leave the country to avoid being arrest. While I visited Lucerne in 1986, I took a one-mile walk from the lake to see Villa Tribschen. It was a nice and well-kept two-story building, a museum now opened to public. I saw a lot of his artifacts and manuscripts including Die Meistersinger which he completed in the villa. Wagner was fortunate that the mad king Ludwig II liked him so much that he financed most Wagner's activities including the Bayreuth Festival.

The following are some of the most popular arias and tunes in the world of opera from these two composers.

From Verdi:

La Donna e Mobile, Rigoretto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAdbrTZ7Wlk

Libiamo, La Traviata

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIHuczctXss

Follie, Sempre Libera ( Folly, Always Free), La Traviata

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnKuht1ST-I

Grand March, Aida

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns_xsduwI-E

Va, Pensiero, Nabucco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XttF0vg0MGo

Questa o Quella, Rigoretto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo2-_7FWhS0

From Wagner:

Bridal Chorus, Lohengrin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C5FOW2ekHo

Ride of Valkyries, Die Walcure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V92OBNsQgxU

Fest March, Tannhauser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9JbruIYqbI

Overture, Tannhauser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7etjqZmAGs

胡適與五四

五月四日的來臨,自然的讓我們想起五四運動. 而這個運動的主要人物之一是胡適先生. 他的一生反映了中國文化新生的時代. 胡適提倡新生活, 新生活就是過'有意義的生活', 凡是自己能說出'為什麼這樣做'的生活,都可以說是有意義的生活. 他寫了'差不多先生傳', 說中國人馬馬虎虎的習慣很要不得.他大力提倡科學,要大家'大膽的假設,小心的求証'. 揭櫫'科學和民主'以救國的想法. 加上他對儒學,中國哲學,古典小說分析,紅學研究,禪宗研討,水經注鑽研,他真是一位中國近代史上不可多得的 Renaissance Man. 我有時覺得他那有這麼多時間做這麼多事,大概他年青時精力過人,加上聰慧博學的緣故.總之他是一位非常值得敬佩的人士.  他本名洪骍,後改名胡適，字適之. 原因是他受演化論影響甚鉅,故以'適者生存'的'適'作其新名. 他終其一生,不改此信仰,以大自然為依歸,看一切人類眾生相. 他是東方最接近西哲'羅素' (Bertrand Russell) 的人物.

第一次世界大戰完後舉行的巴黎和會中，列強把德國在山東的權益轉讓給日本，這山東問題引起了五四運動. 1919年的5月4日，在北京發生以青年學生為主的學生運動，以及包括廣大群眾、包括中下階層廣泛參與的一次示威遊行,請願,罷課,罷工,暴力對抗政府等多形式的愛國運動。广义的五四运动则是指自1915年至1926年北伐战争之间，因山東問題,中国知识界和青年学生反思中国传统文化，追隨「德先生」(民主）與「賽先生」(科學) 探索强国之路的新文化運動的繼續和發展。在這運動中,胡適扮演了重要的角色,也可以說是最有影響力的人物之一.

胡適雖是新時代人物,但仍奉母之命,与江冬秀女士結婚. 可是其一生邂逅女姓頗多,比較親蜜的有曹誠英和 Edith Clifford Williams. 在當時中國傳統社會中,男人娶三妻四妾並不稀奇. 可是胡適終其一生,沒有婚變. 週旋眾多女士中,應對得体,浪漫优雅,乃男人中一傑也.

胡適提倡科學和實用主義,可是他花了好多時間做考据工作,如早年的紅樓夢和晚年的水經江水注. 我們不太了解他的動機,也許他是想用科學的方法處理一些中國古典名作. 水經注是地理名著,拿來科學考証,很合情理. 可是紅樓夢乃文學作品,怎麼考証法? 祇聽說有比較文學,沒聽說有考証文學. 對我來說,水經注也是一部文學作品,其描述山川景色,創意泉湧,精彩萬分,獨步一時. 多年前在長江三峽,乘船遊覽,想捕捉水經所繪景色. 船經巫峽及西陵峽,頓時心曠神矣,真是"山水有靈,亦當驚知己於千古矣". 以下是我們在高中時念過的一課,玆取其中一段,讓大家回味共賞.

自三峽七百里中，兩岸連山，略無闕處；重巖疊嶂，隱天蔽日：自非亭午夜分，不見曦月。至於夏水襄陵，沿泝阻絕，或王命急宣，有時朝發白帝，暮到江陵，其間千二百里，雖乘奔御風不以疾也。春冬之時，則素湍綠潭，迴青倒影。絕巘多生檉柏，懸泉瀑布，飛漱其間。清榮峻茂，良多趣味。每至晴初霜旦，林寒澗肅，常有高猿長嘯，屬引淒異，空谷傳響，哀轉久絕。故漁者歌曰：「巴東三峽巫峽長，猿鳴三聲淚沾裳！」

Names on Eiffel Tower

Joseph Fourier

Do you remember whose picture was displayed near the top of the Eiffel Tower in the count down of the new millennium? The answer is Jules Verne. One of his famous books is '20,000 Leagues under the Sea'. If you don't know what it is, check it out from Netflix for the DVD movie with the same name. It is not only a great story but also the first time submarine was mentioned & created. H. G. Wells and Jules Verne are sometimes called 'The Father of Science Fiction'. Also there is a restaurant Le Jules Verne near the top of the tower. Eiffel Tower was considered to be a monster steel complex or ugly steel piles at the time it was built. When time goes by, it becomes a landmark of Paris and a monument of the city. This shows that it takes time for people to get used to a new idea. The count down of the millennium with his picture is the recognition of his genius & imagination. France is looking for someone like Jules Verne in the new millennium.

I have been in Paris several times & visited the Eiffel Tower. However, I have never known that there are 72 names engraved around the four sides of tower under the first balcony. It is the recognition of 72 French scientists, engineers and mathematicians. I am curious & eager to find out who they are. After the search, I was a little bit disappointed since I only know or familiar with 15 of them, or 20% of the 72. It is nostalgic to read those name we are familiar with while we studied in college especially NTU. Here I list some of them to refresh our memory on the good old days with great scientists and engineers.

Lagrange, Joseph Louis

Lagrange was one of the founders of the calculus of variations.

Lagrange's Identity in Vector Analysis: AXB.(CXD) = (A.C)(B.D) - (A.D)(B.C)

Laplace, Pierre Simon

He is considered to be the Newton of France. He restated and developed the nebular hypothesis of the origin of the solar system and was one of the first scientists to postulate the existence of black holes and the notion of gravitational collapse. Some mathematical transformation, method and tools bear his name: Laplace Transformation, Transformation from time domain to frequency domain in circuit theory, solving differential equations, Laplacian operator. 

Lavoisier, Antonine-Laurent de

He was a French nobleman prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology. He named both oxygen (1778) and hydrogen (1783) and predicted silicon (1787). He helped construct the metric system, put together the first extensive list of elements, and helped to reform chemical nomenclature. He was also the first to establish that sulfur was an element (1777) rather than a compound. He also proposed the law of conservation of mass: Matter may change its form or shape, its mass always remains the same. He is generally considered the Father of Modern Chemistry. 

Ampere, Andre-Marie

He is generally regarded as one of the main founders of the science of classical electromagnetism, which he referred to as "electrodynamics". The unit of electric current is named after him. 

Legendre, Adrien-Marie

He was a French mathematician. Legendre made numerous contributions to mathematics. Well-known and important concepts such as the Legendre polynomials and Legendre transformation are named after him.

Gay-Lussac, Joseph Louis

He was a French chemist and physicist. He is known mostly for laws related to gases, and for his work on alcohol-water mixtures. Gas Law, P/T= constant for fixed V. Idea Gas Law: PV=nRT. I vaguely remember in our high school chemistry class, his name was mentioned as 給 魯 薩 克 . He seemed to invent some method to make sulfuric acid effectively. 

Becquerel, Antoine Henri

He discovered Radioactivity by accident as Rontgen did for x-ray. He stumbled on something mysterious & wisely abandoned the original project to pursue this new Radioactivity. A new door was open to physics since then.

Cauchy, Augustin-Louis

He was an early pioneer of Analysis, formulated and proved the theorems of calculus in a rigorous manner. He was the contributor of Mean Value Theorem in Calculus. It is said more concepts and theorems have been named for Cauchy than for any other mathematician.

Fresnel, Augustin Jean 

He was a French engineer and physicist who contributed significantly to the establishment of the theory of wave optics. Fresnel studied the behavior of light both theoretically and experimentally. He is noted for Fresnel Lens and Fresnel Integral.

Coulomb, Charles-Augustin de

He was best known for developing Coulomb's law, inverse square law just like gravitation, the definition of the electrostatic force of attraction and repulsion. The SI unit of electric charge, the coulomb, was named after him.

Foucault, Jean Bernard Leon

He was a physicist best known for the invention of the Foucault Pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of the Earth's rotation. He also made an early measurement of the speed of light, discovered eddy currents, and although he did not invent it, is credited with naming the gyroscope.

Poisson, Simeon Denis

He was a French mathematician, geometer, and physicist. He obtained many important results, but within the elite Académie des Sciences he also was the final leading opponent of the wave theory of light. Poisson Equation was name after him.

Daguerre, Louis-Jacques-Mande

He was a French artist and physicist, recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of the fathers of photography. 

Fourier, Jean Baptiste Joseph

He was a French mathematician and physicist and best known for initiating the investigation of Fourier series and their applications to problems of heat transfer and vibrations. The Fourier Transform and Fourier's Law are also named in his honor. Fourier is also generally credited with the discovery of the green house effect.

Carnot, Nicolas Leonard Sadi

He was a French military engineer and physicist, often described as the "father of thermodynamics". In his publication, the 1824 monograph Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire, Carnot gave the first successful theory of the maximum efficiency of heat engines. Carnot's work was later used by Rudolf Clausius and Lord Kelvin to formalize the second law of thermodynamics and define the concept of entropy.

It is worth noted that all of them listed above were active in the period of French Revolution, Napoleon expedition to Egypt and the conquest of Europe.

春神

當地球23.5 度頃斜角從南回歸線慢慢歸零的時候,春天之神也靜悄悄的來臨. 記起兒時的歌: 

春神來了怎知道? 梅花黃鶯報告! ....

這裡的初春,可是櫻花藍雀報信. 再加莫更鳥反覆回唱,織成一副協奏交響,錦繡大地. 這是大地自然之美. 人類幾千年來,面對這可愛的春天,能不動情? 於是詩歌,文學,繪畫,音樂,舞蹈,一一湧現,嘔歌春神之來臨. 再再顯示,讚嘆春神之秀麗. 在這些文化遺產中,翡翠鑽石,俯拾皆是. 現在略取其中之一,與大家共賞這春之來臨:春之聲, Voices of Spring!  這裡我們可以看到春神來臨的雀躍,她曼妙的舞姿也讓我們感染了春之喜悅和歡欣.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3Kwp81ksqfMTkpJSE8wSnZwS2M/edit?usp=sharing

春神在空中的凌波曼步,优雅而輕盈,堪稱一絕. 當她妙手空灑花櫻,凌空而去時,花落人家,讓人間充滿了新希望.

我的學思歷程

The power point presentation at EE Department of National Taiwan University March 13, 2013, by 洪敏弘.  (Posted per request from 洪敏弘)

蜂蜜品賞

Sometime ago, AhMo bought some 大崗山 蜂蜜 in LA and claimed it the Absolutely Best Honey in the world. After some exchanges of argument, he decided to give anyone interested in the honey a free bottle. It just happened that he got a new born granddaughter in Northern California. So everyone of us here in the Bay Area gets a free bottle of 大崗山蜂蜜. Under this circumstance, we should of course get together to hash our good old days. I came up with an idea of Honey Contest to settle whether this 大崗山 蜂蜜 is absolutely the best honey. This is really for fun, not a serious event. The real test is which honey is our favorite, no more, no less. Strictly speaking, the Absolutely Best Honey in the world is undefined or not very meaningful.

We held a honey tasting contest in Los Altos Hills on 3/10/2013 at the residence of Charles Hung. It was a '別開生面' 的 party. Here is our setup and rule of the contest: 

1. Get 5 bowls (normal dinner size) label with 1,2,3,4,5. 

2. Peggy (Charles Hung's wife) is assigned as the referee who randomly assign 1,2,3,4,5 to each bottle of honey and put label at the bottom the bottle.

3. Peggy then pours some amount of the honey to the bowls with number one-to-one correspondence, ie #1 bottle to #1 bowl.

The steps 1,2,3 are performed in the kitchen not seen by any participants.

4. Put the bowls outside (dining room) for everyone to try and taste, with cracker, tea or coffee or just hot water. 

5. I prepare a sheet listed with names (vertical) & ranking (horizontal).

6. Everyone put down his tasting result in his boxes with ranking A,B,C,D,E (A is the best)

7. After we finish the test, we then sum up the score (with A=5, B=4... E=1).

8. The highest score is the one that is our favorite. 

9. Check the number with the label of bottle, then we get the winner.

Peggy was in charge. She prepared all the sampled bread, tea, coffee, crackers and hot water etc. The following bottles of honey are selected for sampling: 

大崗山龍眼 蜂蜜, 崗山, Taiwan

Breitsamer Honig, Acacia ( 洋槐) Blossom Honey, 100% Natural, Munich, Germany

Hungary Bees, Wild Acacia Honey, Raw Honey, Hungary

Pacific Northwest, Clover (苜蓿) Glory Bee, Organic, 100% Pure Honey, Eugene, Oregon, US

White Gold Honey, Red Clover, Canada:

The honey selected gives us some international flavor that covers three continents. When everything was ready, Ahmo was nervous, anxious & agitated as he had no idea which bowl contains his Absolutely Best Honey. Instead of trusting his taste, he entered the kitchen and poured some of 大崗山蜂蜜 in his plate and tried to match the color of the honey in the bowls. This is the violation of the contest rule and only AhMo dared to do this. He somehow zeroed in to #3 as his honey by examining the color before tasting. We sure had good time, everyone sampled the honey, smell the aroma and tasted the quality of the sweetness of the honey. Then one by one, we filled in our ranking on the score sheet. Just before the final tally for score, I found that two rows of data were changed, one is mine, the other is Ben Hu. I found that it was AhMo trying to doctor the data and changed the ranking of #3 to 'A' for me and Ben Hu. Of course, this is an outright violation of the contest rule. He also put Z to all numbers except #3 with 'A'. So the contest is really invalid at this point. However, nothing is perfect in our life anyway, I decided to disqualify AhMo's data and correct the doctored data. After all the confusion, we got the final results: #1:19; #2:17; #3:27; #4:25, #5:22. As to which honey corresponding to what #, here is the finding from the kitchen (randomly assigned by Peggy): #1: Hungary, #2: Canada, #3: Taiwan; #4: Germany, #5: United States. Indeed our favorite is 大崗山龍眼 蜂蜜 from Taiwan. So all the worry and nervousness of AhMo actually were unnecessary. He should have just followed the rule and let the real data speak for itself. Here we try to decide which honey is the best. But somehow we forget the best policy to lead our life is honesty. Perhaps AhMo considered the whole thing was a joke and treated as such. 

Honey is like wine in a smaller sense as there are many species of bees and flowers. The combination is limitless. To compare 龍眼 蜂蜜 to 洋槐 (Acacia) honey is like Cabernet Sauvignon to Chardonnay. It is not very meaningful to say Which one is better. It is proper to say I like Chardonnay with fillet of sole and Cabernet Sauvignon with steak. It is more meaningful to compare same kind of honey such as acacia, clover etc. In our test, the honey White Gold from Canada has the lowest score. This is perhaps due to its highly concentrated creamy form. It is actually best for bread as it is like butter, spread and melt immediately. We are just not accustomed to this way of eating honey. 龍眼 蜂蜜 has plenty of sweet aroma that might tip our decision toward it. I actually found that Acacia honey has a very light and pleasant aroma (一股淡淡的清香). It enhances but not overwhelms the taste of the food or drink it applies. Life is a many-splendored thing. If we just focus on the best one and ignore all the rest, we will miss a lot in the pursuit of happiness.

看台新銀與彰銀合併的感想

Per 洪敏弘's request, I post his essay in our blog.

觀念平台－超然且宏觀地看待金融合併

一個金融退役老兵，看台新銀與彰銀合併的感想

 2013-02-26 01:44 

工商時報 政經八百 A7 觀念平台 

洪敏弘前建華金控董事長

最近台新金控旗下兩家銀行，台新銀與彰銀合併的事情，年後成為所有財經媒體的焦點，金融界頓時議論紛紛沸沸揚揚，雖然目前已是退休的旁觀者，但由於過去有幸參與了籌組金融控股公司的合併過程，仍想從金融業發展的角度，發表一些過來人的觀察與淺見，謹請社會各界不吝指正與賜教。 

首先，如果大家記憶猶新，國內由於金融自由化下，共開放了十六家新銀行執照，新銀行的成立，雖然豐沛了國內的融資管道，但大量的銀行游資瘋狂追逐企業放貸的結果，國內淺碟的經濟結構，一下子無法負荷，銀行利差快速下降，放貸品質急劇惡化，超貸案頻傳，終導致銀行呆帳率快速飆升，尤以官股銀行甚至達到8.2％，銀行不得不開始緊縮放貸，融通管道頓時失能，產業及新興產業發展因而受限，遂有一次金改的緣起。

 一次金改後，雖然呆帳已有改善，但利差萎縮的狀況卻不見好轉。同期間，國際間因Glass-Steagall Act法案的修正，吹起金融大型化的整併風潮，讓國內原本不大的金融機構國際能見度更形渺小，於是為解決金融業過度競爭（Over-Banking）的問題，財政部遂開始為國內金融同業整併營造客觀條件，包括制定「金融控股公司法」等，都是符合當時國內金融產業發展的需要，以及迎向國際金融環境變遷的必要作為。 

接著，2008年全球發生金融海嘯，2010年吹起歐債風暴，美國與歐洲釀成金融危機，全球金融機構瀕臨倒閉而搖搖欲墜，還好美國與歐洲擁有全球最有經驗的金融監管機關擔任救火隊，扭轉了數百年知名金融機構一夕倒閉的股牌效應，使歐美及全球安然渡過金融危機。 

這兩波金融風暴，國內金融機構也受到波及，間接印證了金改的成果，雖然坊間有一些未證實的傳聞，卻沒有聽說有金融控股公司向政府請求輸困，真是天佑台灣，國內碰巧在歷經了兩次金融改革後，歪打正著強壯健全了國內的金融體質，真難想像，若沒有這兩次金融改革的台灣會是如何？這樣的成績當然要歸功於所有在競技場中，每天兢兢業業的主管監理機關、金融業者、以及不離不棄的客戶。

儘管如此，我們沒有自滿的條件，因為鄰居中國大陸，1989年才重啟上海、深圳證券市場，1993年國營銀行都還有三成以上的呆帳，短短二十年間，市值排名全球前十大銀行中，中國已占了四家。 

此外，中國大陸的銀行前進世界金融中心，在紐約、倫敦、及香港購置區域總部的消息時有所聞，二十一世紀全球的金融版圖中，中國銀行業者的關鍵地位已經確立。過去近二十年來的改革開放，取經於全球領導業者，參考台灣相關法令與經驗，都構成快速崛起的關鍵因素。 

回過頭來看台灣，針對台新銀和彰銀合併這一事件的新發展，財政部以劇烈指責回應，金管會噤聲不表態支持，個人深感訝然。當年財政部本來規劃要彰銀出售給新加坡淡馬錫，沒想到台新金出更高價。既然已依相關程序完成簽約，明訂彰銀特別股的標售是附帶經營權條件，在簽約的那一刻起，台新金的財務狀況已與彰銀緊緊相扣，如果彰銀倒閉必然遭到拖累，現在台新金已協助彰銀渡過難關，且增加持股，官股股東卻忘了約定，當初向隅的外國股東必然覺得賽翁失馬，這樣的結果，將讓政府失信於業界與國際金融界。 

最後，台新金的提案的確令我相當佩服，因為它解決了1.金控法規定一家金控下同類子公司三年內必須合併，台新銀與彰銀已共同存在超過七年，金管會很頭疼；2.台灣over-banking可再減少一家，同時擴大銀行規模，可到海外發展，也協助台灣產業海外擴充的財務需求。 

個人自1980年起投入金融事業三十年，身歷兩次金改，到數年前自金控退休，仍甚關心台灣經濟發展，甚望院長，甚至總統，都能超然且更宏觀地容納績極正向的民間企業成長。

Valentine and Poem

I was looking for something related to Valentine's Day two weeks ago & encountered something interesting that I'd like to share with you. However, before doing this, I'd like to talk about Valentine's Day. When we were young, we used to buy flowers, chocolates or fancy cards with many hearts to our love one. When time goes by, we may gradually lose the enthusiasm or passion. Now we are all hovering around 70's. If "人生七十才開始" is true, we must revisit & find a new meaning of the Valentine's Day. Most people agree that we must at least try something new in every decade of our life. I am sure most of you have some idea about the new meaning of Valentine's Day & I encourage you to write it & share with our classmates. I remember one event during our last reunion. After everyone got a five-minute time slot on the bus to talk about his achievements or anything worth mentioning, 陳正一夫人,吳紀珠很感性的說了一句話,'你們說了這麼多成就,可是你們都沒有提到你們的另外一半'. It is well said. We all take this as granted after so many years of marriage. It is time for us to invigorate, strengthen and enhance our wedding vow. 

Now here is the thing I'd like to share with you. It is a poem, well written and unique with its technical jargon. I read a few times and found it hard to translate into Mandarin. I know some of our classmates have talents in literature. They are welcome to give it a try. Before I tell you who was the author of the poem, I copy the whole text here for you to appreciate. 

Valentine by a Telegraph Clerk 

The tendrils of my soul are twined 

With thine, though many a mile apart.

And thine in close coiled circuits wind

Around the needle of my heart.

Constant as Daniel, strong as Grove. 

Ebullient throughout its depths like Smee,

My heart puts forth its tide of love,

And all its circuits close in thee.

O tell me, when along the line 

From my full heart the message flows,

What currents are induced in thine?

One click from thee will end my woes.

Through many a volt the weber flew, 

And clicked this answer back to me;

I am thy farad staunch and true, 

Charged to a volt with love for thee. 

In this poem, the author uses several terms we are all familiar with. They are circuit, coil, current, induced, weber (magnetic flux), volt, farad etc. Please use your imagination to understand the true meaning of this poem and try to translate it into Mandarin. Also spend at least a few minutes to figure out who wrote this poem. If you can't figure it out within 5 minutes, you may read my comment in the 'Comments' section. 

小學與我

在我們小學的時代中,最能夠影響我們的是什麼呢? 在那動亂的時代,能夠倖存下來巳經很不容易. 除了幾位比較和善的老所外,幾乎沒有什麼好記憶. 有的是痛苦的回憶和不盡的補習,加上体罰盛行,老師幾乎有虐待狂,導至學生也不尊敬老師. 現在回想起來,小學教育是一場惡夢,不堪回首. 在那場惡夢中,卻有幾許星光,直到現在,還在暗處發亮,讓我低迥不已. 從'來來來,來上學' 到 '小麥,大麥',所有小學課本皆索然無味. 也不知當時怎麼捱過那些日子. 可是在三年級時,忽然間找到一本 "學友" 月刊. 從此以後,每月暢讀學友,愛不釋手. 記得有一期寫了一些有關獵戶星座的故事和天象圖畫. 當時小心靈大開眼界,從那時以後,天空再也不是無聊的東西,反倒是一個很有趣的世界. 有一期寫了有關蘇遠赫定 (Sven Hedin) 的亞洲腹地旅行和洪保德 (Alexander von Humboldt) 的亞馬遜 (Amazon) 森林探秘. 從此以後,不但天空,連地球也是五光十色,生趣盎然. 一直到小學畢業,學友是陪著我長大,我的幻想,夢想,遐想皆有'學友'的影子. 它對我的影響可真不小. 

在小學五六年級時,又有另一種刊物出現,非常合小學生口味,那是國語日報. 這報紙是以國語標榜,加上注音,真是別出心材. 光是印刷就是一門學問. 我現在還認識注音符號可真是國語曰報的功勞. 每週末還有副刊,有一期居然詳述一些恐龍及畫片,真是洋洋大觀,目不接暇,美不勝收. 從此以後,我對地球及生物大感興趣.  國語日報尚有小亨利漫畫. 這一生看過幾百種漫畫,能夠讓我印家深刻的沒有幾種,小亨利可是其中之一.  小亨利是一個啞巴又禿頭的孩子,長相有點滑稽但很可愛. 他童心未泯,雖然淘氣卻常常做一些意想不到的好事. 看了小亨利的漫畫,常常哈哈大笑. 但事後卻回味無窮.這是漫畫的一大功用. 童言無忌,常常一語道破人間真理,令人莞爾.  來美國以後才知道小亨利原來是美國的漫畫,由何凡向美國洽購,加上中文說明. 何凡本名夏承楹,是林海音的先生. 至於小亨利,是 Carl Anderson 的創作,在 Saturday Evening Post 連載兩年 (1932).  Carl Anderson 乃挪威移民後裔,生於 Madison Wisconsin.

國語日報尚有一大德政,那是 '古今文選',是梁容若主編. 從 1951 年起,刊載古今中外好文章,讓大家共賞.其註解詳盡,皆一時之選. 從小學畢業以後,它還一直影響著我. 我在1972年買了一套八大冊 '古今文選',至今受用不盡. 每年中秋時節,總是不忘翻開 '古今文選',重溫蘇軾的 '水調歌頭'. 最近偶而翻到一頁 '最後一課',是都德 (Alphonse Daudet) 的散文,寫一位法國老師教最後的法文課. 襯托出 Alsace 割讓德國的慘痛經驗. 中小學時看到這文章,很受感動. 現在年紀大了,知道 Alsace 的歷史和德法之間的恩怨,真是一筆糊塗帳. 不過時隔那麼多年,再看到這文章,心頭還是震顫不巳.

雖然小學時期很不快樂,但這幾許星光卻能補償那逝去的時光,不讓我覺得索然無味,浪費生命. 想到這兒,真要感謝前人孜孜不懈,創作一些有價值的東西,深深影響了我們.