IS THERE A WAY OUT?

some note

2012-02-09T12:17:00.002+01:00

风格，“选择通过将我们的注意力集中于某种东西，也是我们的注意力狭窄化了，不让我们看到别的东西。然而一个艺术作品之比另一个艺术作品更有兴味，并不取决于该作品的风格选择是否让我们注意到了更多的东西，而是取决于这种注意的强度、可信度、以及是否机智，不管其焦距如何狭窄。
“在最伟大的艺术中，人们总是意识到一些不可言说之物，意识到表达与不可表达之物的在场之间的冲突。”
——《反对阐释》第38-9页

A collection of Requiem

2012-01-25T20:32:00.009+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOWm_rBDRzE (Andrew Lloyd Webber) ( USA)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa7h7TwJzaM&feature=related (Gyorgy Ligeti) (Hungary)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KCRKgtNJzU (Peter Benoit) (Belgium)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2yLuXsq038 (Jósef Świder) (Poland)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADYNeuS8P0k&feature=related (Haydn)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsZEv7kAllo (Verdi)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKRc3312QTM (Berlioz)
http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=16257 (Brahms)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/tcIqZoxV0sA?rel=0 (Mozart)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR8Y2nmSm9U (John Rutter)

breath-taking performance

2012-01-24T09:40:00.006+01:00

Due to the sound problem of my computer, I tried everything that I could think of, for fixing the problem.
Coincidentally, I found a music piece of Brahms, without specific title, stored in my music folder.
The curiosity made me giving a click onto it and the click resulted with a beautiful, heart-melting, music intoxicating. It made believe that the picture which it depicted, is the scene of secular purity, where children and youth lay their dreams and wonder. I tried the first sentence of it, with my own voice, and found out that that sort of melody is simply not made for human voice to imitate.
I started looking for its title through all music files, which we have stored in our computer and also, searched online.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a slightest trace, so far.
Nevertheless, I found the following performance from Youtube. Immediately, I was amazed by the genuine confidence of the violinist.
Oh I wish I could be as great as that!

The link here, is a documentary about her, the violinist who has been active on the stage for more than 70 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2fARPbGGbtE

First day of the Chinese new year

2012-01-23T10:22:00.002+01:00

I nearly forgot that we did some reading-recording session yesterday.
Only after I set myself in the sofa with the computer and the fruit plate which was prepared last night but didn't touch at all, I started to feel that my brain is coming back to me. I remembered that the record was still not edited yet.
I nearly missed the stop, when I was taking the bus, returning from the town. I fell asleep while the bus was stopped at the traffic light and waited for it to turn green. I knew that there were only 2 stops left.
I wonder how could Lucy be able to handle her extremely busy way of life, while I am absolutely fed up with one day already.
Now, back to my housewife's lazy routine.

an Interesting article, but not necessarily to be considered as Truth

2012-01-17T20:32:00.007+01:00

origin of this article: http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/how-to-piss-off-a-german/

Photo by Paul Sullivan, the author.

Paul Sullivan shows you how to really piss off your German friends without even mentioning the war. ( I disagree with this statement already, because the Germans are not afraid of mentioning the war. )

BEFORE YOU READ ON, know that I am genuinely fond of Germans and Germany. For the last three years I have lived in Berlin. I have German friends and deal with German people on a daily basis. My experiences here have been overwhelmingly positive, but you don’t live in a place this long without learning a few things. Here, then, are some surefire ways to upset a German person, should you need to….

Cross at a red light (with small children)

The simplest and best way to provoke some classic Teutonic anger is to meander across the road when the light is showing red. You’ll be risking a fine for jaywalking and you may even be mowed down by a speeding vehicle, but it’s worth it to witness the expressions awaiting you on the other side of the road. Elderly, hunched women, beefy tattooed workmen in overalls, sensible parents authoritatively clutching their young children – all united in their righteous mix of incomprehension, disgust and outrage. For maximum impact, skip across the street with a couple of small children, whistling cheerfully as you go. ( To my observation, this point could be true.)

Stare back at them using binoculars

If staring was an Olympic sport, the Germans would win Gold every time. In places like the UK and the USA, staring at strangers for sustained amounts of time can get you yelled at, punched or even killed. In Germany, staring openly is something that just happens – like breathing, walking or developing a long and unnecessarily complex vocabulary (see below). People here don’t just stare at you, they stare through you, mostly through genuine curiosity but sometimes critically (it’s no coincidence that the most intense surveillance apparatus in European history, the Stasi, occurred in East Germany). Staring back only creates a stand-off which no one can win, so the best counter-attack is to use the element of surprise: whip out a pair of small binoculars and return eye contact at close range. Failing that, ask loudly (through a megaphone if you can find one) if they’d care to take a photograph. （At least, I have not experienced that so far.)

Use fancy English words they don’t understand

Most Germans (of a certain age) speak very good English, which makes them slightly smug, especially when only three non-natives in the history of the world have ever been able to master German. This is mainly because many German words, as Mark Twain once noted, are “so long that they have a perspective.” One of the shortest words in the German dictionary is Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz, for example, which loosely means “No”. The longest word in English, Antidisestablishmentarianism, is pathetic in comparison, so a long-word battle isn’t going to work. Instead, take advantage of English’s arcane vocabulary, sprinkling long-forgotten words like “circumbilivagination” and “epalpebrate” throughout the conversation as if they were commonplace. This method is guaranteed to replace the smugness on your companion’s face with something way more anxious. (hmm, they might feel uncomfortable. but pissed off? not sure.)

Urinate standing up

This one is for men (obviously) and is based on a subtle cultural anomaly in Germany where men tend to pee sitting down. There’s even a name for men who do this: sitzpinklers; those who insist on standing — and therefore spraying, maintain the (mostly female) critics — are called stehpinklers. This is not a massively advertised national trait and applies mostly to domestic situations; even the most house-trained German men don’t wee sitting down in clubs or public toilets. But it’s a very real phenomenon and you may well find pro-sitzpinkler stickers adorning lavatories. So in order to be ultra-annoying, you need only (literally) stand up for your male rights. (My husband says that he would prefer to be a Sitzpinkler without feel ashamed about it.)

Say you don’t like asparagus, especially if it’s white

Germans are – there’s no other way to put this – absolutely, uncontrollably cuckoo-crazy about asparagus (spargel). It’s been dubbed the ‘vegetable of kings’ and ‘edible ivory’. What’s more, it’s not the usual green variety they obsess over, but white asparagus, which the rest of the world generally regards with suspicion. More of the stuff is eaten in Germany than anywhere else in the world except Switzerland. From the end of April to the end of June they literally eat nothing else, day and night, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Normally sensible restaurants transform their menus into a list of asparagus recipes, wooden huts pop up at roadsides, and public toilets absolutely reek of the stuff. While Germans are generally not known to spend large amounts of money on food, they’d sell their own grandmothers to land them some-o’-that ‘White Gold’. So if you are ever invited for dinner during asparagus season, advising them you are not a fan of the stuff, “especially the tasteless white version,” will guarantee you instant enmity, if not a good kicking and deportation. (exaggerating.:-) But to me, to be an asparagus-lover is more interesting than a sandwich-lover.) )

Recycle erroneously

Germans were busy recycling things back when most of us were still learning how to use our opposable thumbs. Hence their recycling infrastructure, refined over various millennia, has very strict rules involving colored bins for different forms of rubbish (plastic, tin, food etc.) and a veritable army of binmen rumbling about the place. As well as the recycling systems that are inherently part of each household, you’ll also find large green, white and brown containers on the street, which are used for correspondingly colored glass bottles. To irk a decent segment of any local neighbourhood or town, simply rock up to these containers with a trolley full of bottles and start placing them in the wrong units. Even a quiet street on a Sunday morning will quickly witness scenes of mass outrage, as old men with sticks and pony-tailed schoolgirls alike sprint from their houses and hang from their windows to shake their fists at your stupidity and ignorance. (this might be true.)

Break the news that no one outside Germany has seen Dinner For One

Asking a German person if they know Dinner For One is a guaranteed way to make their eyes light up. The film is about a bonkers aristocrat (Miss Sophie) who celebrates her 90th birthday with friends who, given they’ve all died off, are imaginary. Her butler, James, comically fills in for each of them, mimicking their voices, drinking their toasts in turn and getting steadily more sloshed. It’s been shown every New Year’s Eve in Germany since the early 70s and is nothing short of a national institution. When your acquaintance, hours later, is done enthusing and quoting, quietly point out to them that, despite holding a Guinness Record for the most aired TV program in history, Dinner For One has never, ever been screened in Britain or the States, and only a few times in Australia. ( I like this movie and always laughed a great deal so far.)

Set your alarm and grab the sun loungers first

Yep – you can even annoy Germans outside their own country. Vacationing Deutsch folk are notorious worldwide for their lounger-bagging. So much so, that in 2009, Thomas Cook set up a booking service to help Germans bag their loungers before they’d even boarded the plane. For maximum vexation, set an alarm to get up in the middle of the night and cover all available sun loungers with towels. (Extra points if the towels are imprinted with a Union Jack). (to this point, I have to say, those Germans are really crazy, if this is true.)

The shared character of global citizen

2012-01-17T08:39:00.004+01:00

Cartoon source: http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~bjackson/1116toles.jpg
Title: The Peace Bridge Chronicles

I think that the characters mentioned in the picture, are shared by most of people in the world. The only thing different. is their level.

having fun with dishes

2012-01-16T12:45:00.006+01:00

origin of above works: http://www.fubiz.net/2011/12/29/dishes-concept/

One possibility of global Vegetarianization

2012-01-14T19:06:00.007+01:00

While having lunch, I told my husband that I have seen a lady took a pack of smoked tofu, which we prefer normally, from the Bio shelf of the supermarket.
My husband then asked me how does that lady look like.
'Very much looks like a vegetarian.' I replied with some attentive retrospect.
To me, vegetarians are really distinguishable from their appearance. Hard to draw an explicit description, but simply recognize them, when you have seen them.
Following the flow of thought, I said, in the primitive stage of the human civilization, the tribes, those showed the strongest power for surviving, were probably the ones good with hunting. Therefore, their living mode were regarded as brilliant sample by the rest of human world, and learned from them.
But then, we have got someone like Shennong, who found the secret of cultivating and passed his knowledge to the others. Now, after dozens of centuries, the production of vegetation in the human world has reached the amount far exceeded the amount of sufficiency. So, theoretically speaking, we are objectively able to quit the habit of meat-eating. If this could become a reachable goal of human being. It would be, probably, not so absurd to presume that some other fierce animals, like tiger or lion, would follow the sample of human being, too.
Upon my statement, my husband reacted with an objection.
He said, some while ago, since there were no rabbit in Australia, the Australians then imported rabbit into their land. But problem appeared short hence, because the procreation ability of the rabbit is simply too strong and it caused a rabbit-horror in reality, people then had to hunt them down.
Considering this fact, I said, we have to bear in mind, that the picture we are imagining now, is the situation when we human being have all become vegetarians. When there would be no more pig farm or cow farm for pork or beef production, chicken farm would be existing only for egg production, cow farm for milk and cheese, then, the consumption on vegetables would be mounted several times of what we consume now. Would it be really not possible to bring a healthy need-supply balance and therefore, the natural restriction of rabbit population and further more, the non-meat-eating harmony among the animal world?

***
rrrrrrrrrrr this topic is so boring. It makes myself impatient already while noting it down.

2012-01-14

2012-01-14T14:05:00.005+01:00

My husband started reading a new book to me. The book is called Brazilian Adventure, which was written by an Englishman in 1930s.
We have reached the end of chapter 2 today. There is some imperialist sentiment spreading from it. Certainly, it is quite natural when considering the reality by then. Sure, there is also an understandably air of arrogance on illiteracy. This kind of attitude can never be entirely erased from the mentality of intellectuals, disregarding the era, or how kind these intellectuals could be. The part that described the reaction of the society, when they had heard of the story about a lost man in his expedition to an unknown world, is amusing enough. The questions which had aroused in their mind, could be something like, 'Had he been made a god? Had he voluntarily renounced civilization in favor of the jungle?' or 'Is Jack Fawcett Buddha?' (p.26)
This time, we remembered to record the reading. The energy consumption is there, then why don't just store it as resource?

I dreamt about Lucy last night again. She was busy with writing new year cards in my dream. That is the only distinguishable plot, which can make sense. Certainly, we never expect dreams making sense. Among other scattered happenings, the mother of Lucy was also appeared. Her outlook was not a bit older than Lucy. She was distributing some valuable things to others.
On another occasion, somebody showed me two glasses, in an extremely treasurable manner. The surrounding looked like a little boutique, or only a corner in somebody's home? Not sure. Among those two glasses, one looked no doubted made of gold, but that was not where the attention lay. The other one, though it looked nothing so extremely special to my eyes, that guy didn't even let me touch it, as if I would have destroyed it. The absurd thing was, that both of us knew that it should be unbreakable, because it was only an imitation of crystal, no matter how much does it look like a real one and even if it contained 12 times of Cr.
I remember this Cr element from my dream very clearly, long after I woke up. So I check online, to find out what it is. According to the online dictionary, the full name of it is Chromium. It is a metal, which is normally applied to stainless steel production. 12 times of the usual dosage. Wow! It should be not only unbreakable, but also far exceeding the strength that one's imagination could ever reach. No matter how much do they look like crystal.

scientific mind

2012-01-07T23:30:00.004+01:00

The other day, while my husband was writing a program of a game, he needed the readings of points on the circle and asked me if I still remember how to calculate it.
I had no idea at that moment. It made me recalling the time when I was learning such kind of thing in high school. That was a horrible period of time, while we had a new teacher as a replacement, when my favorite teacher went to the hospital for curing his liver disease. It was also from them, I learned that the two parts of a married couple could be sooooooooooooooo different.
Anyway, the horrible memory about the past cannot help us solving problems. So, I checked the theory online and found the solution with some brooding.
Nothing is impossible, if one is with a calm enough mind. My husband felt the same happiness as I felt.

No Logo

2012-01-07T22:02:00.005+01:00

The phrase 'it has nothing to do with me' came cross my mind and then, 'No Logo' jumped out suddenly after it.
By searching the trace of link between these two statements, I found the notion 'refusing exploitation', as their common character.
If there are some people who do not want to listen to my advice, I should feel ease to give myself a break. I believe that they will find out the truth someday by themselves, when they would have been bad damaged by the burden eventually, no matter how long it might take until that day or that moment. I have done my job. I cannot even consider this job as my responsibility.
Everything is under the eyes of the God. Let Him handle it in His way.

Joke

2012-01-07T00:32:00.007+01:00

Originally, I thought that I could note down some misunderstanding which my nephew have made today, on question comprehension. But on the way to get here, I have read a joke in Chinese, which made me laugh a big deal. So, I decide to copy it here:

医生问骨折的人怎么受伤的，他说：我觉得鞋里有石子，便扶着电线杆抖鞋，有个傻瓜经过以为我触电了，抄起木棒就给了我两棒子！

While my husband didn't feel funny at all. I told him that the funny part is not in between words, but rather in ones imagination.

some thought among the big sheet of scattered reality

2012-01-06T13:15:00.005+01:00

Don't ever try to manipulate the others.
Don't ever try to trick the others.
Don't ever try to tell lies.
That is not only a matter of morality, but also, of wisdom, because intelligence is not equal to wisdom.

caught cold

2012-01-01T13:36:00.009+01:00

[the firework we could see from the back window on the new year's eve]

It likes a routine, every time after visited Uhler, I would catch a cold nowadays. So I am spending my new year's day with cleaning nose and sleeping now.
But the situation in my earlier life was not like that. By then, I caught cold after every long vacation. Which means, the vacations to some strange towns. Later, for a period of time, I thought that this habit has got tired with me and didn't bother me any more, because I am simply too boring.
Obviously I was wrong, although I am still the same boring person and it is for ever true.

Whenever the sleeping was not tight, dreams then would become even more active than usual. I spent nearly the whole night last night, participating the thoughts and actions of Zhang Younan, a respectful person from Yangzhou, who has been the supportive soul of my moral determination in the recent some 3 years. At noon, today, my mother came to me.
With the closed eyes after I woke up, tears rinsed out. The dream was so clear and real. My mood was already crying in the dream, while I leaned my head onto the shoulder of my mother, but without tears. She was wearing a cotton-padded jacket with small standing collar. The material clothe was patterned with little black flowers scartered on white background. I think that that was the pattern which my mother always liked in her whole life. She smiled, clean and tender. She could have been like that in real life in my childhood too. She sat close to me while I was pooling some fried rice from a plastic bag into a plate, which contained some water. She said something, like question, or enquiring. I left the plate of rice untouched and leaned myself to her. 'Mama', I called her.
I cleaned my nose and then changed the candles, burned some new incense, in front of the picture of my mother and my grandma.

negative creativity

2011-12-20T08:45:00.005+01:00

Yesterday, I made a great effort for holding my temper and playing 'nice', while one of the Internet friends forced me downloading the newest version of QQ, by criticising, lecturing, persuading and endless annoying. The result was that I downloaded some malware which is called hao123 plus some miscoded characters, by mistake. Hence, I spent several hours more to get rid of it, with the help of my husband. Thanks God!
Isn't it better, if I had spent these hours on reading or thinking about how to refine a verse or watching movie or even let the mind to be blanked in ease or sleeping?
The most negative power of these wasted hours, is that they didn't even produce any happiness, but vexed, tensed and angry mood.

I try to tell myself that I should not say 'I hate it!' But I do.

This is a photo that I took this morning, while I was attracted by the sunrise.

not easy

2011-12-19T11:22:00.006+01:00

Checking the song which I composed few days ago and found a lot of mistakes. rrrrrrr really not easy.
Anyway, I tried to write a 《四块玉》today, which grounded on the dream I had last night about Lucy, as the follows:

纸未铺，

神犹怠。

宿梦依稀倩友来，

罗裙轻曼微香在。

石上苔，

窗外霭。

浓淡彩。

Keep practicing Yuan Songs

2011-12-17T14:17:00.011+01:00

It is getting interesting, when the reciting programm turned into creation.

Yesterday, while I was thinking about how difficult is it, if one tries to get a certain or distinguished idea about characters or identities of people online, I got the following lines, by using the original rhyme of 《碧玉箫.关汉卿》：

额下眉横，

休得妄言情；

网上狂生，

徒惹怨嗟声。

吸陈酿凛冽淳，

呼原野草莽清。

莫讶吟，

逸赏蜂蝶兴。

听，

浪猝卷人不静。

Amazing Chinese translation

2011-12-14T10:06:00.004+01:00

These photos were passed to me through email by one of my friend long long times ago.

Qualification

2011-12-14T09:17:00.003+01:00

Last night, while knitting, I said to my husband, if there would be anybody asking me about my qualification, in any case, I would say that I was graduated from the south district primary school in Ningxiang. As a reply, he gave me a strange look.
I think, he might even be a bit scared by my abrupt utterance, which shown no trace of context. He has very reason to presume that I made myself vexed from the trouble of searching for gift boxes. Poor him.
Nevertheless, I mean it, when I say that I am only qualified with primary education. Actually, comparing with those people, who had never finished their school but made great achievement in different fields, I am not even confident to say that. A certificate or degree or any academic title, is really not sufficient to be counted as a proof of ability, or even, knowledge.
However, I can understand the feeling of my husband too. As a German, who is soaked in a society, which has a strong sense of system, he is not used to this kind of statement. But I also believe that he would get used to it soon. Because, as an individual, he is really flexible enough to take all kinds of views and feelings in account.
Responding to his strange look, I said, 'what's a big deal?'

He says, love me!

2011-12-13T23:29:00.002+01:00

Tonight, my husband went to bed short passed 11 o'clock already. Normally, he hardly get tired with his programming exercises in evenings recently, sure, together with his bunch of other free-time activities.
I was rather astonished, when I came out from the shower and saw him in bed already.
'Ah, so early!' I said.
'Ye, my sleep was not so good last night.' He replied under the blanket.
It reminded me of what he said in his dream this morning.
He said, 'love me.'
It was short before the first alarm clock. His voice was peaceful, like a normal whisper.
Since he never remembers his dreams, most of time, I tend to assume that he does not dream normally.
I stroked him a bit and responded, 'I love you.'
I think that he can always hear me, no matter how deep his sleep could be. He would always reply 'Ich Dich auch, mein Schatz', if I say 'I love you'.
However, he didn't reply this time. Probably, my love was the requested object this time? What could be possibly there in his dream? I have not given him enough love these days? Do I have the festival syndrome again?

Coincidence

2011-12-13T08:17:00.007+01:00

Lucy passed around an article, which she appreciates, to a small circle of her friends.
She always reminds me of what Hu Lancheng said, regarding to persons who knew him the best.
The article is really delicious, because it matches perfectly to my preference on taste.
The interesting thing is that it even matches the thought of the poem, which I composed last night, before I went to bed.

Here are some lines of 《阳春曲》written in this morning.

临窗朗月穹天罩，
入耳人车远市嘈。
且休论改代更朝。
洗把脸，
想起糖火烧。

The moon today was not as beautiful as yesterday, but the sky was still rather clear.

playing with the form of Yuan songs

2011-12-12T22:35:00.008+01:00

Some casual note on the morning scenarios of last weekend:

《白净沙》
裙宽发乱妆塌，
清音散字闲家，
雾气窗花霜瓦。
邻园梦影，
鹅毛雪鸟戏丫。

This is the moon which I saw this morning.

《山坡羊》
两河祭祷，
百子歌骚。
谁能不叹先人妙？
志滔滔，
意豪豪，
八风六愿东西跑，
碗里没吃锅里舀。
宝，
还是宝；
魂，
早散了。

Church visiting

2011-12-10T15:59:00.005+01:00

The link to the title, is a website where we can have a virtual view of Vatican church. I got that link from Eurotimes.

Thinking back the other day, when I was on the phone with Elena, I feel really happy that I was not trapped by the negative emotion, when Elena told me that Eileen doesn't want to talk with me. May God bring her peacefulness!

Today, I feel that I have put down some other burdens in my mind as well. The voice was quite clear, I think. I told myself that it is normal for one to have some momentary confusion, which might lead to behaviors mislay from ideal.

It feels good when drawing more conscious on allowing the others to be human being with flaws.

The following lines are drawn while talking with a friend yesterday, while he mentioned how cold was there in Nanjing:

《忆江南》

白日尽，
南京制冷稠。
厚厚城墙捂不热，
瑟瑟寒噤缩了头。
加饭暖肚头。

Connection problem?

2011-12-05T09:44:00.004+01:00

The webpage of the Eurotimes could not be connected today. I have tried many times in vain. Scary.
I only hope that it would not be disappeared forever.
With this lesson, I guess it is better to keep a copy for everything that I posted online in future. Certainly, only when it is worth to be kept as a record.
The weather is turning its face very abruptly today. Cloudy at one moment and sunny at the next. Now, it is snowing, very big flakes, after a short pouring of hail. Totally unpredictable. Really moody.

my knitting works

2011-11-24T16:59:00.011+01:00

the pullover from the year before last year

these are things knitted last year for myself with wool which was given by my mother-in-law and left from the old knitting practice of my husband. Other than these, there are another two sleeveless sweaters and a scarf for aunt Krista.

this one is brand new

Dear my God, with what art that I could justify my way of living?