清明上河圖

My father-in-law left me some antiques & I found a scroll of painting "清院本清明上河圖". I started exploring the subject & found the painting very fascinating. Then I found the five episodes of the presentation by 蔣勳 on the YouTube. This presentation is informative & easy to comprehend. The viewers can easily get into the topic & appreciate the painting with the action between history & art, painting & life etc. I have to admit that the art is one of the weakest link in our education. It is like music, we groped around the subject most of the time. It can best be described as 事倍功半. While I was in junior high, fortunately, I got hold on a book by 史惟亮, "音樂的創作與欣賞" & read some music magazines edited by 吳心柳 (his real name is 張繼高). With the help of some radio stations & records bought along 中華路, I became very fond of the classical music. It has become part of my life since then. It is amazing that a little booklet or some radio program created by someone can change your life. In the past decades, we had Andre Rieu & Sarah Brightman who popularizes the romantic music. It is a repackage of music to make it very attractive to the public & relate to our life more. In the realm of science, we had Carl Sagan who influenced the public with his famous TV series, "Cosmos".

I am glad now we have 蔣勳 who tries to elevate Chinese painting in a higher pedestal that we can all appreciate its value & meaning. The following is the link of the five episodes of "清明上河圖". With his presentation & YouTube, we don't have to go to Beijing to see the original painting & still be able to get a lot of details. I had visited Shanghai Expo & barely got a glimpse of the "動畫清明上河圖". It is nice to go to stadium to watch football, but it is much more satisfying & fulfilling to watch DVD for the replay & slow motion of the ball game while we have a cup of coffee in hand & enjoying the whole thing in our living room. When you watch these five episodes, pay attention to his comments on the history of Song Dynasty & 宋徽宗. We may not agree with his opinion but his view points are surely revealing & refreshing. Art is like music, without the background knowledge of history, society & artist's life, the art becomes lifeless & boring. Here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts5KkNBU9Yo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=zKngYmsRUh0&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=BhFWk46d5kA&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=llIGwOrnd-s&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=sCoh0Uen4FI&NR=1

我們的台北

五零年代的台北還是一個纯樸的小城. 中山北路巷的四條通,五條通還是大樹林蔭,長安東路和新生北路口還是綠綠葱葱,蛙嗚水流. 曾幾何時,高楼大厦,車水馬龍. 記憶中的台北,已经迅速消失. 滄海桑田,令人低迥不巳. 不过經歷一段混亂的陣痛,台北似乎以嶄新的姿態,耀眼的成績,挤入廿一世紀適合人居的大城市. 台北並且以旺盛的活力,擴張涵蓋週边的小鎮如士林,天母,北投,中和等等. 台北縣已经改名新北市.在不久的將來,無可避免的,新北市將併入台北成為大台北市,就像 Dallas 居民稱他們的城市 Greater Dallas.

台北的轉型是從捷運系统開始,這是交通的革命. 它的載流量和移動效率使它成為城市的主要交通工具. 輔以巴士,計程車和 scooter,構成一個完整的交通網. 小時常見的單車巳经完全消失,無影無踪. 我不知道這是好事還是坏事. 但我小時的樂趣之一是騎單車. 尤其是剛會騎時,那種輕飄飄的感覺是没有任何東西可以相提並論的. 會騎單車後,很自然的可以去騎 scooter 或 motorcycle. 現在單車絕跡,我在納悶我們的小孩子究竟是怎麼學骑 scooter? 每個人学骑單車一定會摔無数次的. Skip bicycle & go directly with scooter,摔起來一定不好受. 言歸正傳,現在買一張悠遊卡,踏上捷運,四通八達,真是 high mobility. 捷運站皆有 escalator 和空調. 人們皆有秩序的靠右边站,先讓人出再入車廂,有條不紊. 每幾分鐘就有一班車,使人不會爭先恐後,減少精神压力,造福不淺. 捷運站皆在交通輻輳之地,其地下通道正是过馬路捷徑. 大的捷運站皆有五六個出口,可以節省很多時間. 如果你常去 Las Vegas, 一定會有這种经驗,就是從這個 casino 到对面的 casino 常要費十幾分鐘的時間. 但如有地下通道,則五分鐘就到矣. 比較上海和北京,台北的捷運在秩序上遠遠勝出. 比諸香港,新加坡和東京,台北捷運的服務和設備也不遜色.

台北天氣濕熱,在街道走幾個 blocks 會汗流浹背,很不舒服. 但出捷運站,直徑半英里以內步行,可以忍受,遠之則以 計程車代步. 如是觀光台北,賞心悅目,很是方便. 捷運台北車站更有另一特色---地下街,Y, K, Z & R. 其中以R街最長. 這些地下街皆有空調,路面平直,各色店面,琳覽滿目,乃消費族天堂也. 另外如果想去重慶南路,可走Z街,直至 10号出口出地下街,完全空調,滴汗不流. 地下街並非台北專有,在 Toronto 和 Montreal 皆有地下通道. 居民在冬天可整日不見陽光和白雪,舒服地享受暖冬活動. 同樣的,台北人也可在颱風的肆虐下,悠遊地在地下街 shopping. 我在R街看到一條最長的書店,它好像是上海書城垂直七層水平攤開一樣,又有點像把所有重慶南路的書店接連起來一樣,令人嘆為觀止. R街是從台北車站沿著中山北路下面,一直到双連站, very impressive.

我的學校生涯大都在台北度過,台北影响了我,也造就了我. 可是那個台北是古老純樸的台北,而不是現今捷運摩登的台北. 日新和建中的紅楼尚在,其餘校舍,面目全改,再也找不到往日的摸樣和温馨的氣氛. 還依稀記得那首純樸的台北市歌,那是小学時,每次慶典常唱的曲子. 也不知什麼原因,在往後的日子裡,煙消雲散,再也不被人提起. 但是经过了半世紀,它卻還活在我的心版上. 我的記憶將隨著時光流逝,我要在忘記它以前把它寫下來.

原詞:
温暖的陽光下,依然矗立著斑駁的古城門.
它好像对我們告訴,劉壯肅公的功績猶存.
台北,台北,我們的台北.

新詞:
温暖的陽光下,到處豎立著嶄新的捷運站.
它好像对我們傾訴,勤奮市民的創新精神.
台北,台北,我們的台北.

Tennessee Waltz

When we are getting older, we tend to think about some of our good old days. To me, one of them is Tennessee Waltz and Patti Page. Perhaps it is too old for our generation since my father-in-law also remembers this song very well. Strictly speaking we belongs to the decade of 1955-1965, a period that influenced us most. I remember the first time I heard 'Tennessee Waltz' was around the first year of my Junior High. Later I also heard 'Changing Partners'. Since I didn't know the title & lyrics of the songs, I had no idea what the content & meaning of the songs let alone Patti Page. Surprisingly, I always got confused about these two songs & mixed them up. When time went by, I entered the college & attended some dancing parties & found that these two songs always popped up. They are in waltz style and so I often waltzed around some girls with these two songs. This was our good old time & I always remember those moments up to these days. While I was in Oklahoma & people there told me they got a world famous singer Patti Page. I started to take note & found the good old Tennessee Waltz & Changing Partners. I am sure most of you are familiar with these two songs & so let's enjoy them again (重溫舊夢) and get familiar with the lyrics. It occurred to me that 'Tennessee Waltz' is a very sad song & 'Changing Partners' is much warmer to the heart. I will not mix them up any more.

(Tennessee Waltz)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XCvfy6Huyc

You can see the lyrics of Tennessee Waltz by clicking 'Show more' button. By the way, 'I introduced him to my loved one' in the text should be 'I introduced her to my loved one'.

(Changing Partners)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG60xIYFl1Q&feature=related

Lyrics:

We were waltzin' together to a dreamy melody

When they called out "change partners"

And you waltzed away from me

Now my arms feel so empty as I gaze around the floor

And I'll keep on changing partners

Till I hold you once more

Though we danced for one moment and too soon we had to part

In that wonderful moment something happened to my heart

So I'll keep changing partners till you're in my arms and then

Oh, my darlin' I will never change partners again

[Instrumental Interlude]

Though we danced for one moment and too soon we had to part

In that wonderful moment something happened to my heart

So I'll keep changing partners till you're in my arms and then

Oh, my darlin' I will never change partners again

Patti Page was the best-selling female singer of the 1950s and has sold over 100 million records. Her 'Tennessee Waltz' recorded in 1950, was one of the biggest-selling singles of the twentieth century, and is also one of several official state songs of Tennessee. Page had anoter big hit 'Doggie in the Window'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AkLE4X-bbU

Patti Page is still around at age 84, living near San Diego in Southern California.

A Free New World

Since I came to America, I left all my books & personal belongings at home. The only thing significant I carried over the ocean was the memory in my brain. Since then I lost almost all my belongings at home due to the flood & family moving. In America I started a new life & gradually I collected physical things. Every time I move to a larger house, I collect more stuff, buy more furniture and so make each new move more difficult. One thing I notice well is my music collection. While I was in graduate schools, I was exposed to a lot of music over radio. Anyone living in Dallas, Texas knows WRR FM 101. It is a 24-hour classic music radio station. After a while of listening I started buying some music with my little saving. When time goes by I found that the media of the music keeps changing & so the hardware player changes too. I remember I bought some records and pretty soon a Wollensak reel tape player in 1967 & an Ampex reel tape recorder with many reels of Beethoven's music. Then came the age of cassette tape. I started to collect hundreds of cassette tapes from 1975 to 1985. And then came the age of CD & VHS (replace record & movie). Pretty soon I found that I collected hundreds of CD & VHS tapes and all the previous tapes (reel to reel & cassettes) were moved to garage. Since 1997, VHS was gradually replaced by DVD & I found that hundreds of VHS tapes were moved to garage as well. The only thing didn't change during all the time was the music contents & they are the only things I am really interested. With Apple's iPod, people suddenly can buy a single piece of music without committing to a CD with some other music that they are not really interested. With new technology, music is put in digital format & becomes a file that can be stored in electronic memory. I found that all my CD collections can be crammed into a 32G iPod & carried with me most of the time. With the late smart phone & cloud computing, it seems most of the information we need can be stored remotely in electronic forms. All we need is a smart mobile device to access the information. Nowadays when we buy books or music, we are given the options to download or save in some remote area called Cloud. Thus we no longer need to move books & physical media while we move to a new house. It also seems possible to make all furniture & cooking utensils some kind of utilities that is part of the standard house design. With this we can move around, stay or live anywhere in the world without moving anything physical except yourself. We thus almost achieve a complete personal freedom in our life, a Free New World indeed.

Spring, A Fresh New World

Spring is here again & this is the First Spring of our Second Spring, 人生第二春的第一個春天. I look around & find that this is a fresh new world quite different from the one we used to have not long ago. The world changes so fast that we are overwhelmed physically & emotionally most of the time playing catch up games. Are these changes for the better or the worse? It depends on what & how you look at the world. For me, most of them are for the better although there are many bad side effects go along with them. The following is something that changes our life one way or the other.

Emails: Replace postal mails & stamps.
Google Search: Dramatically reduces the time in fetching information.
iTune/iPod: Changes the way we listen to music & the music distribution.
YouTube: Makes audio/video media available & shares among people.
Wikipedia/Online Dictionary: Replace encyclopedia & dictionary of book form.
Google Chrome: Makes multitasking run smoothly & effectively.
Amazon: Replaces department stores & book stores.
Skype: Reduces the cost of long distance call enormously.
Netflix: Changes the way we watch movie.
Fidelity/Vanguard: Changes the way we invest & manage money.
Internet: Replaces libraries as Internet behaves like a giant library.
Electronic News: Causes the decline of conventional newspapers.
GPS: Changes the way we drive & reduces the need of paper maps.
Google Map: Changes the way we see the world.
Expedia: Change the way we book airline tickets.

Several springs ago, I mentioned Schubert's "FruhlingsGlaube" (Faith in Spring). Let's listen to it again & hear the message:

Now, poor heart, be not afraid!
Now all, all must change.

Now, poor heart, forget thy pain!
Now all, all must change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_WMgEu63FA

Spring is beautiful, spring is brilliant & spring is full of changes. Let's embrace & engage the spring as the poem from 徐志摩:

春,這勝利的睛空彷彿在你的耳邊私語,
春,你那快活的靈魂也彷彿在那裏迴響.

愛國獎券 和 統一發票

最近在書架上找倒一本舊書,翻看一下,很是有趣. 最令我驚訝的是居然找到一張1960年的愛國獎券和一張1958年的統一發票.可說是老古董,是我們高中時代的產品. 仔細欣賞,勾起不少少年的回憶. 愛國獎券像是Lotto的前身. 在那時二十萬元 是天文数字,就像現在 Lotto 大獎 100 million 一樣. 不同的是愛國獎券有很多小獎,中獎的机會比較多. 仔細查看,這張愛國獎券是八月二十曰開獎. 那時联考巳經放榜,我一定是忽發奇想,繼考上台大電機系,不妨再試愛國獎券的好運. 既然這張安好的夾在書裏當書韱,一定是没中奖了. 1960 八月二十日和我們台大新生註册的日子一定很近. 我還記得那天早上在離台大校門不遠的地方排隊登記. 去了才曉得已經有好多人在排隊. 在以後的日子裏才知道台大的学號是按你的排隊順序决定. 我的学號是 495330. 49是1960, 5是工学院, 3是電机系,30是排隊第三十位. 我想李純儀是包打聽,他老兄一定早知詳情,說不定大清早就在那兒打地舖,因為他是第一號. 陳英亮是495329, 牟在勤是495331, 在我一前一後. 可是我完全不記得和他們有任何交談. 陳英亮音量很小, 猶可解釋. 但牟兄声如洪鐘,我不可能沒有察覺到他的存在. 大概時隔半個世記,一定是記憶力衰退所致. 聽說記憶力的好坏是由公式 exp(-t/RC) 决定,R(Retention Constant), C(Brain Capacity). 這和電容器的漏電公式完全吻合.

統一發票很早就出現,小時候不知其中道理,祇知道這玩意也可中奖. 後來才知道這和財政稅收有關係. 台北市街頭地攤一大堆, 大家現金交易,没人付稅. 於是財政廳才設立統一發票,徵收銷售稅. 凡是有登記的商家一定開發票給顧客,否則可以依法檢举. 我這張發票是1958 四月二十六日,是我們高一,高二的日子. 這使我想起念范氏大代数的年代. '大代数'聽來很堂皇而又重量级. 說來也是,光是厚厚六百頁就挺嚇人的. 每次親戚問起我在学校念些什麼,我就祭出'大代数'來. 他們聽來,嘖嘖稱奇. 又知道我上建中,更是肅然起敬. 現在想想,高中生涯,不失為人生中一段美好的日子. 還記得那些時日,教代数的是鄭孟華. 他有點学究派,似乎不把联考當一回事,和譚嘉培教三角学完全是不同的模式. 他自稱看過原版的范氏大代数,对中文版頗有微詞,認為有些地方翻譯不妥. 看來他當時才三四十歲左右,教了一年,另有高就. 接下去是頂頂有名的王文思先生來教大代数. 他當過建中教務主任,科班出身,是賀翊新校長的左右手. 其人風趣,教來駕輕就熟. 除了吳冶民以外,他可能是建中最好的老師. 一般說來,代数是非常實用的一門課,給我高中一段美好的回憶. 我還記得第一次期中考有一試題如下:
假設 a,b,c 是實数 和 a+b+c = 0; 求証 a^3 + b^3 + c^3 = 3 * a * b * c.

現在看看很簡單, 可是當時還費了一番功夫才解出來.

Moby Dick

When I was a little kid in junior high (about 1957), I saw a movie in 台北双蓮戲院. It was '白鲸記'. I was so excited at the white whale that I couldn't sleep well for a few days. '白鲸記' was refreshing as I had never seen the whale that big roaming the sea & destroyed a whale ship in such a dramatic way. When I grew older & learned that the tale was from the book 'Moby Dick' by Herman Melville. It was published in 1851, a story of a struggle between a mad man & a white whale Moby Dick. I first read the book in Chinese translation and then later moved on to English edition. The English version turned out to be very tough for me. In novel, Melville spent a lot of pages describing the whaling industry & the way they processed the whale on the ship. You need to have a lot of interest and patience to read it in details. It also refers a lot of materials from the Bible. If you are not familiar with stories in Bible, you will miss a lot of metaphors and meanings of the adventure.

When I grew up & watched the movie again. I found that my interests in this novel got more intense. Captain Ahab lost a leg in one encounter with the white whale & vowed to revenge. The whaling ship Pequod, however, was own & operated with the purpose of commercial profit, the welfare to the investors & the crewmen. But the Ahab's motivation & ambition ruined the whole operation, led to the destruction of the ship & the drowning of all crewmen except the story narrator Ishmel. It has been suggested that Hitler's adventure during WWII is awfully resemble to Captain Ahab's saga. Hitler fought on German side & got injured during WWI. German was in a shamble state after WWI with a running away inflation & jobless society. Hitler vowed to revenge. He found & set his demon to the Treaty of Versaillies & Jews. We know the rest of the story & it was so much like the fate of Ahab (Hitler) & Pequod (Germany). At the later stage of the WWII, it seemed there was no hope for German to win the war. But Hitler kept going & so some Germans rose to kill him but failed in the plot. Hitler than dragged all German people in a total defeat. The whole crew of Pequod perished except Ishmael who survived to tell us the story. Fortunately, many Germans survive to rebuild the country. If the scenario happened 2,200 years ago, the German might meet the same fate as Carthaginians---got wiped out from the map & history. A nation or people sometime got extinguished due to the lack of wisdom of the rulers. One example was 準噶爾 around 1757. 準噶爾汗國 and 準噶爾人 cease to exist and 準噶爾盆地 is only a geographical term (地理上的名詞) now.

A ship in a vast ocean is like a country in isolation. The captain is like a ruler with absolute power. In fact a ship with people on board is more like a totalitarian regime than a democratic society. 'Moby Dick' gives us some warning that we should not seek personal revenge by dragging other people in. It also gives us some lesson that we must use the reason (理性) & wisdom (智慧) to avoid conflict and war in dealing with the world affairs.