Friday, 16 December 2011

Date from Past Lives 今生有约

Date from Past Lives
Time passes, turbulent and hasty,
leaving behind, a tattered reality.
Lingering fragments: people, stories,
repeating, repeating, vicissitudes . . .
Dreams, faint and weary, 
plumes from an inner world
of bygone opportunities.
Love, brings colours:
Red, green, mauve . . . and many others.
Ardour, like water, so enlivening,
fortifies verve and vigour.
Passion, like flowers,
adds joy to spring, never mind winter.
But
Vivid rainbows will soon fade, 
into the same old boring shade.
The most dazzling brilliance,
is just a fleeting transience.
Vivacious water,
left stagnant and still,
breeds abhorrent foetor
Floral defiance, won’t last till winter.
Fall will come, to claim their splendour.
Resplendence shall wilt, surrender,
Drift, to its ground of burial.
Time, callous and relentless,
goes round and round, in abiding cycles.
Blissful eternity
is a straight and simple fantasy.
In the loop of perpetuity,
we have a date,
again . . . and again, 
since antiquity.
______________
Do we have past and future lives? If so, which part of us goes on, and which part stays behind?
If they have the technology to replicate every atom in my body, and arrange them in the exact configuration of this moment, they’d end up with a cadaver. They will not be able to clone my spirit, my soul, whatever the name, because absolutely nothing is known about it. But I know it’s there, driving the unripe corpse I see in the mirror.
Scientists have observed the transformation and conservation of everything we can see or measure. Long before them, Buddha had said just that about the “universe” we perceive: no beginning, no end, neither growing, nor diminishing.
Can the life force in us, something we are totally ignorant of, something that defies gross simplification by human theories, be the only exception?
In Man’s Last Song, Song Huan and Sari discussed life and death 
“ . . . scientifically speaking, every bit of our body is reincarnated. If we had a soul, a detachable consciousness, it’d get recycled just the same, like everything else in the universe. No reason to assume we’re exceptional right?”
“No. None at all.” She agrees, and imagines the chain of biological events: People — maggots — flies — frogs with meaty legs — back to people . . .
Perhaps the people we know, the things we do to each other, are part of a universal current of events like a stream of water molecules, each having an effect on the others. Perhaps every point in time and space - including our spirits - has a history and a future, all interconnected? The concept of Karma does not seem to contradict anything science has observed so far. 
上面的一首英文诗, 没有中文版,我给它的中文题目是“今生有约”。往生的缘,今生所受,来生果报等等概念,对中国人来说并不陌生,已经有太多真正有道之人就此写诗作偈,哪里轮到我来卖弄文章?
“笙歌”第贰章之六“生死之谜”里面有这样的一段:
当夏丽谈到轮回的时候,宋焕有个较科学的看法:“从科学的角度看,轮回应该是有的。我们身体上每一粒分子,无论用什么方法处理,都会被大自然回收回用。我们的灵魂,纵使大家不明底蕴,但照理不会是宇宙中唯一的例外吧!”
听起来也有点道理。那么人死了喂蛆,蛆大了变苍蝇,田鸡吃苍蝇,中国人再吃田鸡。也算得上一个生生相息,充满因果的大循环吧?这不是轮回是什么?
从科学的角度来推测,轮回没有什么出奇。现代科学能够观察到的宇宙一切,虽然不断改变形态,但总体上脱离不了佛祖两千多年前所说的:“不生不灭,不增不减。”
假如科学有办法把我身上的每一颗分子精确重组,最后也只有死尸一条。关于这躯壳背后的生命力,叫灵魂也好,中阴身也好,精神也好,人类只有神话一大堆,基本上是一无所知,当然谈不上复制。对于这分我们一无所知的力量,有人假设是宇宙中唯一的例外,可以超脱万物互相牵引和循环动力:要嘛烟消云散,要嘛上天堂下地狱搞个永无了期。这算不算是人类无知自大的表现呢?
滔滔江水投奔大海,里面的每一颗水分子看来都没有能力影响水流。但过程中每一分一秒的形态,都是每一颗分子和宇宙万物牵引互动的“果”,也是下壹秒所发生的形态之“因”。莫非“业力”就是这样连接时空,贯彻生命?生命里的每一刻都有前因后果。“报应”是宇宙常规,丝毫没有全能上帝或牛头马面之类的迷信色彩。
还是不要越想越远了。就看看自己生命中的每一个人吧。茫茫人海里能够遇上,肯定有其缘起之因。至于如何珍惜对待,广结善缘,便要视乎个人的业力了。

Wednesday, 30 November 2011

Beautiful North (2) - Canada 美丽北国(2)-加拿大


A secluded corner in Ontario, encountered only by fate, is enchanted with northern magic. In its charm, mundane reality loses substance. Magic can of course be a spell also. Failing to harness its power, one could be trapped by its beauty, sapped of life, never to escape.
I find the northern seasons enthralling. The spring air is filled with hope, not moisture. Summer is exuberant, indulging with light. With the first sign of autumn heralded by maples and sumacs, the aestival landscape turns brightly colourful in front of our eyes. Then day by day, leaf by leaf, the transient brilliance of the fall would be claimed by the winter snow. Vast forests are now bare, allowing us to see through, looking forward to spring, in great silence.
Even in the artificial environment of the cities, the climate up north reminds us of nature's ruthless vicissitudes. By comparison, the gentle south seems prosaic and uneventful.
加拿大的风光很多人都认识。不过在安大略省遥远的北方有一角落,彷如仙境,与世隔绝,不着外间人迹。这里每一寸的土地都有魔力,令烦嚣的现实显得虚幻。当然魔力的另一面可以是诅咒,令着了魔的人沉溺,失去斗志。
我特别欣赏北国的四季鲜明。北方的春天充满希望,一点也不湿闷讨厌。夏天活力洋溢,处处生机。但繁华茂盛转眼即逝,秋杀瞬间把苍绿取替,换来短暂的缤纷。还来不及赞叹枫叶和漆树的绝艳,严酷的北风已经横扫大地。举目所见,铅华尽洗。昨天浓密的树林变得凋零疏落,一眼可以看通。万籁俱寂当中蕴藏着无限的活力,耐心地等待春天的再临。
北方,就算在现代城市的人造环境之中,仍然保留了几分大地的无情,提醒着人类只不过是大自然的一分子。相比之下,南方温和纵容的天气反而显得平庸乏味。



O Canada! 枫叶之国

Light image 光影
Twilight 薄暮彩霞

Where people recharge the land 户外茅厕:回馈大地
Human Cottage 人间小筑
Mist Salutation 雾之礼

Dog 狗
Cat 猫
Deer?鹿?


Garden Salad 自种自足
Summer Fair 夏季游乐场


Thursday, 3 November 2011

What Next for Guo Du

On Saturday, I’ll post the final episode of Man’s Last Song. I’ve been posting a section of the novel every week or so since last October. In twelve months, I have only missed one deadline by a few hours (according to Hong Kong time.) Starting next week, Song, Rhea, Ma, Huan, John, Melody, would no longer be part of my routine. The feeling is reminiscent of watching Daughter No. One packing her suitcase, getting ready to leave home to start university. Another milestone: YES! and sigh . . . 
So, what next? 
I have started the next novel. I see Man’s Last Song as a reflective mosaic of our paradoxical civilisation that has become increasingly incompatible with human nature, and threatening to the only life-supporting environment we know. The next novel is a tale of ironies: One protagonist discovers life through personal calamities. Another gets lost in a quagmire of unexpected success. They live right here in our contemporary world — a likely place for either to happen. Finishing the bilingual versions would keep me occupied for a year or two, hopefully no more.
I intend to be busy with other tasks too. Up until now, I have not seriously sought publishing. I dithered uncharacteristically, worrying about compromising the indulgence which I have been enjoying in my writing so far. Having been a business operator in my past life, I also expect publishing to be more like a business than literary creation. I would need to package, promote, capture, just like in the old days. There is also a degree of cowardice in my hesitance; I do not feel like facing rejections, something that I know is inevitable even to established writers.
Thanks to the encouragement of my amazing friends, I have decided to grow out of these what ifs at long last. I will start planning to get Man’s Last Song published. Whatever the outcome or format, not trying would be a waste in many regards.
When I first started writing, I also had a wish that one day I might be able to help promote bilingual writing after I have learned enough through practice. Have I learned enough?
What about the Guo Du blog? 
Last August, before someone suggested the idea to me, I hardly knew what a blog was. Having participated in Blog-sphere for the past year, I now know a bit more about this fascinating universe of information and disinformation, entertainment, propaganda, and idea (great and dumb ones) exchange. 
Unexpectedly, I have made many virtual friends who have given me substantial support. The surge in visits during the first hours of a new post never fails to surprise and energise me. I have no idea who these readers are, just as I am sure they have no idea how much their dependable support means to me. In rainy days when I could not summon up the energy to get another post ready, I would think of them, take a deep breath, and turn the computer on. To them, I would like to give my heartfelt thanks. Thank you thank you. Bow bow. I know I’ll miss you.
Perhaps I should keep the blog going with the occasional opinion? I do not want to have to comment on something for the sake of posting regularly. It is also my wish to detach from, rather than getting closer to, pointless disputes. Furthermore, my views change as the world changes, and I do not believe in such a thing as the absolute truth in human affairs. But we live in the Propaganda Age, and are all potential victims of humongous official lies. If I could occasionally help to cast doubt on a 100% lie with a shimmer of partial truth, I might do my karma some good while keeping the blog going, and waiting for the new novel to acquire life. Why not? Oh well, don’t think I would be able to help it anyway.

过渡下一步

我將會於星期六上載「笙歌」的終結篇。自從去年十月以來,我以連載方式每過十天八天上載一章,從未間斷,轉眼已經足足一年。下星期開始,宋笙,瑞涯,宋煥,馬依力,尊信,莫弦音等人,將不會在我的日常工作中定期出現。現在的心情有點兒像當年看著大女兒收拾行李,準備離家往外地上大學的前夕一樣:寬慰興奮之余參雜了好幾分唏噓。

過渡下一步會做些什麼呢?

我已經開始了第二部小說。「笙歌」對我來說好像鑲嵌圖,一塊快的故事組成了一幅令人費解的浮世繪:人類的社會,竟然會越來越違反人性;熱愛生命的萬物之靈,似乎用盡力量去危害自己唯一的生存空間。新故事比較當時入世,不過仍然充滿諷刺和矛盾。故事中的一個主角,由於遭遇到人生的大災難而得以解脫。另外的一個人物,卻由於意外的成功而迷失了方向。又中又英,恐怕得搞上一兩年。

過了這個里程碑,我還有其它的打算。到目前為止,我還未有認真地替」笙歌「尋求出版機會。找人家出版,會不會影響幾年來放任不拘的寫作習慣呢?以往在商場打滾的經驗告訴自己,出版比較接近生意,不再是文字創作那麼單純。要懂得包裝,推廣,抓機會。心裡面願意「重操故業」嗎?反正左思右想,顧忌多多,自己也覺得有點不像自己。

還是要感謝幾位朋友的鼓勵和推動,我終於決定為「笙歌」的出版作出積極的行動。道是行之而成。行之而敗也是道。無論結果如何,不作嘗試是一種多方面的浪費。

剛開始寫作的時候還有個心願,希望有一天能夠為推動年輕人中英雙語寫作的興趣和水平作出貢獻。這一天來臨了嗎?如何開始?還得想想。

「過渡」這個博客的前景又如何?

回想去年八月,友人第一次提議我在博客刊登「笙歌」的時候,我連博客是什麼也不大瞭解。事隔一年,我對這個充滿了真假資訊,娛樂,宣傳,八卦,和交流參差意見的平台,總算有了基本認識。最意想不到的,是在虛擬世界中認識了一批給了我很多實在支持的朋友。每次我上載一章「笙歌」之後,幾個鐘頭內的訪客便會驟然上升,給予我一種難以形容的力量。我雖然不知道這批讀者是誰,但很想在「終曲」之前,利用這個機會向你們衷心道謝。孤零零一個人維持這樣長篇的連載刊登,難免會有氣餒的時候。每當心裡面陰霾密布的日子,我便會想起你們,然後來個深呼吸,又再繼續努力。「笙歌」得到你們這批知音人的無聲鼓勵,實在令我十分感動。 謝謝。再謝謝。兩鞠躬。我將會非常懷念你們。

那麼「笙歌」之後,偶爾來一篇半篇「隨筆博文」吹吹牛又如何?為了定期刊登而找個意見發表,絕對非我所願。為表達而表達的意見,無非文字污染。無謂的辯論,跟人家是其所非而非其所是,對我來說是浪費人生。再者我對事物的看法不同於有原則有信仰的高人。我經常會隨著世事的千變萬化而有所改變。裟婆世界之中根本就沒有百分百的永恆真理,又有什麼好評論的呢?

不過話雖如此,我們生活在「誰的聲音大,收視率高,誰的謊話變真理」 的二十一世紀,大家隨時都有可能淪為龐大的現代化宣傳勢力的受害人。假如我能夠間中將腦袋里模糊閃爍,疑是疑非的「半事實」提供大家參考;又假如這樣能夠稍為引起幾個人對國際級高純度謊話的警惕,也算得上是半件好事,善哉善哉,何樂而不為呢?反正我也心知肚明,儘管心裡渴望遠離塵囂,不問世事,無奈腦袋不爭氣,整天像鬼上身一樣,念頭不絕,幻覺無窮。


既然如此,亦只有暫時隨緣,不定期地在「過渡博客」小題大作,發洩發洩吧!

2011/11/3

Wednesday, 26 October 2011

Why use credit cards? 干嘛要用信用卡?

Why use credit cards?
I like to use cash. Why use a credit card unless it’s to keep track of claimable business expenses, do internet shopping, or spend money that I don’t have at a criminally high interest rate?
They try to make me worry about losing cash. Sure, that might happen once or twice in an entire lifetime. But credit cards could also be lost, resulting in more hassle and greater potential losses if I fail to notice and report in time. The total value of credit card frauds due to lost cards is US$50 billion per year.
Are credit cards more convenient? Not if you live in the city with an ATM on every block. I also find it reassuring to have a couple of weeks’ worth of petty cash in my pocket: My money, in my pocket, for the time being. It feels good.
Most importantly, when using credit cards for no reason other than the persuasive power of advertisements, I know I’d be penalising the average small business operator (who must trim every penny to remain competitive), and benefit banks who have done ZILCH in the transaction except sitting there, waiting to take a cut from someone else’s labour. 
They try to bribe me with bonus points. But bonus for what? Look at all that junk. Do I really need them? Am I going to spend like an idiot in order to move some of these unneeded items from the warehouse to my home? 
Last of all, frequent use of credit cards puts me on everyone’s junk mail list, and leaves a trail of my whereabouts. And what if my ass caught fire in the next financial kaboom? With all the plastic in my wallet, it might just give off toxic fumes.
干嘛要用信用卡?
我喜欢用现金。除非是方便商务开支,或者是在网上购物,或者是为了先花未来钱而不惜付出比高利贷更冷血的利息,我看不到有任何理由用信用卡。
袋现金怕丢?信用卡也有丢的时候呀!正常人一生总会丢一两次荷包吧,如果丢的是现金,丢了便丢了。假如是信用卡,又来不及报案,可能会引致相等于信贷限额的损失。每年由于失卡所导致的损失是 五百亿 美元哦。
方便?够现金方便吗?住在城市,每一条街都有提款机。我通常喜欢袋里有大约两个星期的零用钱。自己的钱暂时在自己的裤袋里,内心非常踏实,付钱时也神气。
最重要的原因,是银行广告看多了,有理无理也刷卡的话,会无心“惩罚”了辛苦经营小生意人。对他们来说,每一分一毛也得用努力赚取。我又怎么忍心损他们而不利己,把他们微薄的利润分给坐在那里喝香槟等分钱的银行家呢?
但是刷卡可以有积分,换礼物哦!我看看那些所谓礼物,都是些对我毫无价值的垃圾。搬回家干嘛?还是少刷卡,帮帮小商人省回手续费,比做慈善捐献更实际。
最后,不刷卡可以减少个人资料给人家买卖的机会,也可以避免把行踪私隐和消费习惯泄露于奸商。还有!下次金融大灾难的时候,假如不幸屁股着火,荷包里的塑料卡,分分钟会冒毒烟,令灾情恶化,还是少碰为妙。

Wednesday, 5 October 2011

小说 “笙歌” 第七章 之(3)“情为何物(下)”


第七章  之(3)「情為何物(下)」
老馬大發愛情偉論,大家聽得津津有味


老馬昨天下午從淺水灣回來便立即趕緊做飯。飯後我們四個在空中花園各手執一杯(我喝豆漿)談天說地。尊信帶頭提到老馬與莎緹的遠程關係。我看大男人的心裡其實跟小女人同樣八卦,只不過外表假裝瀟灑而已。

尊信問的還是那個老問題:你跟莎緹這對怪人,就算不同住,也沒有必要一東一西呀!你幾十歲啦老友,每次探老婆都要跑馬拉從,捱不了多久啦!

老馬做了個蠱惑鬼臉,回答道:我們需要自我空間嘛。

我插了句:“直徑二十五公里的自我空間?

老馬說:哎呀,靚女,有愛情推動,25公里算啥?

換了別人叫我靚女,我可能會回贈一句死老坑。但老馬叫我靚女時,好像蠻有誠意,令我覺得自己的確很年輕漂亮;老實說有些輕飄飄。他既然提到了愛情兩個字,我便打蛇隨棍上:好呀!原來馬師傅知道情為何物,我今天非要請教不可了。說罷,我給寶貝笙打了個眼色。

想不到老馬竟然一本正經地解釋起來:一般人(我估計他指的一般人並不包括自己)都只會口裡歌頌愛情,不會真正思考情為何物。其實男女之情基本上是動物本能;這種自然愛欲,隨緣生滅,並不值得小題大作。他看著宋笙和我,笑道:就像你兩位的邂逅一樣。

Sunday, 2 October 2011

Bush has surpassed Galileo in Western Science?

In the middle of the 18th century, Carl Linnaeus coined the term Homo Sapiens. By giving ourselves this name, we declared that the most outstanding characteristic about our species is the ability and propensity to think. At the time, having emerged from a long dark history of superstition and religious suppression, Europe was doing a lot of thinking, and had produced many momentous figures. Their critical and adventurous faculties were leading the world into a dramatically different age.
From Copernicus to Galileo, then Newton to Einstein, numerous talented thinking monkeys had used their brains to help us better understand the physical environment and ourselves. This way of thinking may not be perfect. But it was extremely useful and generally valid in everyday life, and remains very much so, just as Newtonian science. Observation, curiosity, a tenacious experimental spirit, critical and uncompromising analyses had contributed to the overwhelming success of modern science since Galileo, the effect of which we still enjoy and suffer today.
Galileo risked being barbecued alive for suggesting the earth goes around the sun because objective evidence said so. He was lucky; he only spent his last years under house arrest. But the spirit of Galileo illuminated an intellectual dimension that the Holy Fathers could no longer keep in the dark. 
911 had finally put a stop to that tradition, officially and publicly. Bush might therefore claim to have surpassed Galileo as the most significant figure in modern science. The Nobel committee, having awarded Obama a Peace Prize, might as well give Bush one in Physics.
A very well informed world of Homo sapiens which witnessed the free fall of three towers, defying known scientific understandings, continues to believe in the official story. Except a brave group of 1500 or so American scientists and engineers, most people are willing to see the sun orbiting the Earth because Washington says so. Some in the scientific community even attempt mumble jumble rationalisations to justify the obviously impossible. Well, many of the brightest men did the same in Galileo’s days, but they had the excuse of not yet having called themselves Homo sapiens.
The scientific (or unscientific) queries surrounding 911 are plain and basic. I will not repeat the numerous objective and irrefutable arguments already presented by others. Those who are interested can do their own research. www.911truth.org is by far the best starting point. 
I wish to put forward a few common sense questions for those who don’t wish to be bothered by scientific principles:
1. The first two towers collapsed by free fall, ostensibly due to explosions caused by the airplanes, with remarkable symmetry, leaving the neighbours fortuitously intact. Can the collapse be simulated in an experiment? This is a significant discovery for engineering because future demolition can be made MUCH cheaper (hey, just a couple tanks of airplane fuel splashed all over the place and wham!) if we can understand and master this phenomena. 
Is it being studied in any of the civil engineering labs around the world? Why are we ignoring this opportunity of a lifetime to come up with a new cheap way of controlled demolition that no longer requires painstaking “controlling”?
2. Perhaps it was a freak accident, although TWO freak accidents happening at the same time could itself rewrite statistics and probability. Never mind. 
But there was a third building! Building 7 (the 3rd tower that also collapsed by free fall, something that 85% of Americans are no longer aware of because the media are quiet about it in the spirit of Orwellian Minitrue) was not hit by a plane. It caught fire, somehow, and fainted. It collapsed in the same fashion, by free fall.
The Holy See — sorry, correction, Washington — said it collapsed due to office fire. Well, no towering inferno has ever fallen like this in our entire history. Is anyone in the universities curious enough to analyse this unprecedented structural behaviour with significant implications? 
3. Finally, forget Newtonian science. It might have died. Forget Einstein. We are now in the Age of Bushian science. What about social regulations, something that Bush would have nothing against? 
Three landmark grade skyscrapers in New York collapsed in an apparently impossible manner ten years ago. Some said it was due to a peculiar structural design fault. Has the building code been revised since? Were the designers sued in litigious America? What about other buildings designed and built on similar principles? If they caught fire like WTC Building 7 — a definitely possibility — will they collapse likewise? Has anything been done to safeguard or reinforce these structures to prevent recurrence? You’re talking about possibly saving lives — American lives!
So far, no other building elsewhere in the world has collapsed in a free fall fashion due to “office fire” — the official reason. Does that mean American design and engineering should not be responsibly exported until they have a better idea (expressed in accordance with the fact-seeking conventions of Western science) why Building 7 collapsed?
Western science is much more than a set of theorems and principles. It’s a way of objective thinking that refuses to compromise. This intellectual approach had emerged from a long struggle against the deadly drip of the Church, but can it survive the sophisticated strangling of the modern Church and its powerful propaganda machine? If not, isn’t Bush the latest defining figure in Western science, possibly surpassing Galileo, Newton, and Einstein in a reverse sense?

小布什对科学的影响超过了伽利略 http://guo-du.blogspot.hk/2011/10/blog-post.html
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Published 2 October 2011 on Guo Du Blog

小布什对现代科学的影响超过了伽利略?

在18世纪中叶, 瑞典人 Carl Lennaeus 第一次用“智人”来统称人类,大家都觉得很恰当顺耳,便一直沿用下来。我们自称“智人”,当时来说也不是完全没有道理。欧洲经过了长期的宗教愚昧,当时已经从漫长的黑暗年代中苏醒过来。一代接一代的伟大思想家和科学家,正为西方的学术传统开花,改变欧洲,改变世界。
由哥白尼到伽利略,由牛顿到爱因斯坦,一代代伟大的智人学者,用他们的脑筋,智慧,勇气,孜孜不倦的研究精神,客观的分析方法,和不屈不挠的探讨精神,将西方科学发展到人类前所未见的高峰。虽然现代科学观跟牛顿定律一样,有不足之处;而科学对人类长远的影响究竟是祸是福,仍然有待时间分晓。不过在正常情况之下,现代科学的威力和所带来的方便,则无容置疑。
伽利略可以说是现代科学之父。他当年冒着被活活烧死的危险,努力证明地球不是如教廷所说的是宇宙中心。他还算幸运,最后只遭到终身软禁。但他寻求真相的无畏精神和客观方式,已经开了智人的窍,燃亮了黑暗愚昧的死角。结果一发不可收拾,最终连代表上帝的教皇也无法继续把事实扭曲和蒙蔽。
伽利略之后,是几百年的百花齐放,把欧洲科学带到前所未有的巅峰,推动了全世界。直到美国911事件,才正式告一段落。所以说小布什在西方科学历史中的地位超过了伽利略,也不为过。负责诺贝尔奖的老人家们,反正连好战的奥巴马也颁了个和平奖,那么也应该考累颁个物理奖给布什,以示对美国特别的公平。
我为何有此说法呢?
婆娑世界的“智人”,目睹 911三座高楼垂直倒塌,完全违反自然定律,竟然可以继续相信华盛顿的官方解释。除了美国有一千五百多个科学家和工程师仍然拒绝改变科学来迁就官方胡言之外,大部分人可以面不改容地相信太阳围着地球公转。人家白宫都这样说,还会假?不少有识之士,还放弃了几百年的西方学术传统,胡说八道的乱扯一通,找很多完全站不住脚的谬论来支持官方言论。这也难怪。伽利略的年代,绝大部分的知识分子,也是千方百计的证明地球是宇宙中心。不过他们当时还没有自称 “智人” 哦!
911 技术上的大量疑点,已经有很多人用浅易明白的科学文字分析得很清楚;我便不浪费时间再在这里重复了。有兴趣的人,可以上网浏览。www.911truth.org 我觉得比较全面,是埋手的好地方。
我倒想讲讲几个与科学没有直接关系的 911 现象:
1。 既然两座现代摩天大楼差不多同一时间,以同一个模样垂直倒塌,丝毫没有倾斜,骚扰邻居,效果可以说十分意外,但比较令人满意。既然无意中发现这个现象,我们可否在现代化实验室里再加以了解和分析呢?因为掌握了这个技术,将来拆卸巨大建筑物的时候,可以大派用场。只不过两箱飞机油,漏出来随便燃烧,便可以干手净脚地拆掉两大栋房子。这种技术,掌握了可以立即上市发财。
为什么到现在还没有人研究呢?美国的学者们都没有了好奇心吗?
2。 可能大厦的倒塌,还有其它万中无一的偶然巧合所造成。但两栋一起碰上这万中无一的巧合,也可以说是机会率统计学上一件可圈可点的大怪事。算啦,见怪不怪。
但倒塌的不是两栋哦还有世贸第七楼,没有给飞机撞上,只不过在旁边看热闹,也一样以垂直方式塌了下来。怪吗?根据调查,百分之八十五的美国人都不清楚有第三栋楼房倒塌的历史了,可见自由传媒的合作态度,其实十分重要。
罗马教廷 — 不对不对,是华盛顿白宫 — 解释说“第七楼”是由于惹了火上身,所以也塌了。呃,一栋现代楼房由于火灾而垂直倒塌,是人类懂得建造多层房屋以来的第一次。美国是先进国家,科学发达,难道没有一家工学研究院对这个史无前例的现象存有半点的学术好奇,决心研究研究?
3。 好!不再那么土了。二十一世纪了,不要再罗嗦牛顿定律啦。忘记爱因斯坦吧。让我们从不科学的人文角度看看911所带出的社会问题吧。
纽约的三座摩登大楼,同一天烧不了几个小时便意想不到地倒了。据说是设计上的问题。美国的结构设计,完来有这么大的一个“漏洞”, 事后有没有彻底反省,以防止事故重演呢?美国人最爱诉讼,有没有追究设计责任呢?全美国还有不少其它建筑物的设计,与世贸类似。看到了第七栋火烧几小时便倒塌的惨剧之后,有没有作出相应的检讨和加固手段呢?十年了,纽约的建筑条例有没有作出改善和修订呢?美国式的结构设计,是否仍然可以安全负责地输出到世界上其它的国家呢?
中国农村的“豆腐渣”工程,当然顶不住大地震。但烧它个一天半日,肯定不会整座垂直倒塌。是否证明技术上已经超过了美国的摩天大厦呢?
西方科学领导了人类几个世纪的发展的原因,并非单单几条公式和定律,而是它经过了长期宗教压逼所磨练出来的求知精神和不妥协的客观求证态度。这种一度令西方文化攀上历史高峰的学术态度,似乎因世贸大楼的倒塌而被逼严重倒退。所以布什对西方科学的影响,有可能比伽利略,牛顿,和爱因斯坦的都深远。

Bush has surpassed Galileo in Western Science? http://guo-du.blogspot.hk/2011/10/bush-has-surpassed-galileo-in-western.html



Wednesday, 28 September 2011

小说 “笙歌” 第七章 之(2)“情為何物(上)”


第七章  之(2)“情為何物(上)”
兩個漁翁相聚,一定談魚說蝦。
運動員碰頭,說的不是訓練心得,便是體壇花絮。
但情人通常都不會研究愛情本質。
瑞涯來個例外,宋笙竟然把愛情比喻地深吸力!


瑞涯自從兩星期前開始寫日記以來,只不過漏了幾天,便已經不能肯定日子了。她決定請求尊信給她造個萬年曆。

無所謂的日子,再次變得重要。她要把生命的足跡紀錄,以供後人參考。音樂有如耳邊風,來去不留痕跡。筆記則可以把光陰紀錄備案,好待回憶。奇怪的是,當她重溫過去幾天寫的日記時,覺得自己在偷窺別人的內心世界,有種奧妙的抽離感。

日記,還有一個不可告人的副作用,一個不可以寫下來的企圖。她故意把日記放在鋼琴上,希望某君趁她不留意的時候,由好奇心驅使,翻它兩翻。。。

Sunday, 11 September 2011

小说 “笙歌” 第六章 之(8)“瘟神”



第六章  之(8)
瘟神
無論宋煥如何深愛夏麗,她現在已經是個死人。
而生人與死人,似乎無法親嘴。


 綠水青山枉自多,
華佗無奈小蟲何!
千村薜荔人遺矢,
萬戶蕭疏鬼唱歌 。。。

媽媽你在讀甚麼呀?
這是詩。
很好聽哦!你寫的嗎?
你喜歡嗎?是毛澤東寫的,送瘟神的詩。
甚麼是瘟神呀媽媽?
瘟神是專派小害蟲把人吃光的魔鬼!
哎呀!小害蟲那麼小,怎麼吃人啊?
它們鑽到人的肚子里,一點點把他們溶化,再小口小口的喝掉。它們數量很多很多很多哦小甜豆!
它們會不會喝我們呀?
不會啦,傻瓜。
是不是它們喝飽啦?
可能吧。也可能我們不好吃囉!
我知我知!因為我們已經死了!
你發神經!我們不死!我們永遠不死!你亂說一通,是不是想媽媽打你的嘴巴!
對不起 。媽媽。
沒關係,小甜豆。媽媽不想生你的氣。不要哭。來,過來,給媽媽抱抱。
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瘟疫自古就有。

據專家說,以前平均每世紀發生兩三次。但那是古時,是在專家們出生之前。自二十一世紀來,全球性的大瘟疫每隔幾年便肆虐一次。至於廣泛流感與瘟疫的具體分別,誰也說不清,主要看傳媒給它個甚麼名字。有些報章頭條的世紀大瘟疫,最後不過帶走一二十個老人家。但當大家聽慣了危言,開始不以為意的時候,又會晴天霹靂地出現一個三甲級的瘟神,殺人類個措手不及,死亡慘重。

瘟神的病毒兵勇,好像有整盤攻擊計劃:

Monday, 5 September 2011

What’s Wrong with Hong Kong?

The thoroughness of Hong Kong’s ineptitude in governance is matched only by that of an idiotic emperor towards the end of a failing dynasty. It's a historical aberration. 
I rarely rely on the mainstream “international” media for information, and nearly never waste time on Hong Kong papers. Being without a TV for decades now, I’m blissfully ignorant of the stupefying local politics and media brouhaha. I do have friends who give me the occasional glimpse of the state of affairs in Hong Kong, after they’ve made it more comprehensible with their intelligent filtering.
During a luncheon gathering yesterday, I learnt of a number of recent headlines through chit chats. Predictably (or, more hypocritically, I should lament sadly) Hong Kong’s political deterioration hasn’t slowed down since I last took notice.
There has been much fuss over the security at the University of Hong Kong over the visit of Vice Premier Li Keqiang. It sounded to me the security in a concert by a Cantopop singer would have been at least as tight. But the Vice Chancellor of the University had to endure a Cultural Revolution style grilling over the security arrangement, by a bunch of students who had been groomed by so-called “politicians” rather than the rapidly disintegrating education system. The Vice Chancellor, of course, care more about keeping his job than defending principles or the nominal dignity his position demands. Well, Hong Kong is a preposterous metropolis which prides itself for having everything. But honour, vision and courage are notable exceptions to this ostentatious claim.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong Rail, after decades of running the world’s most efficient and reliable metro system, could not find a local person of whatever ethnic origin to head the corporation. Have they heard of something called a succession plan? Someone from New York has been headhunted to run the Hong Kong system which has been operating a hundred times more impressively than its NYC counterpart. Oh well, that’s not surprising, considering that the Chinese University’s website on Cantonese pronunciation is a joint venture with Yale. 
While politics in Hong Kong is surrealistically comical, many operational areas have remained excellent. The efficient airport, a mostly reasonable police force, and a top class public transportation system are some of the things Hong Kong can still be proud of. Perhaps that’s why they’ve been targeted for the next phase of decline.  
Then there’s the $6000 per eligible citizen pay-out scheme. Not many government would have this much trouble handing out cash. Tiny Macau has done the same thing annually in the past few years without any trouble. But then it’s not a fair comparison. Macau uses common sense. Hong Kong likes to seem to be more complex and sophisticated, depending on the workload of the civil service.
The thoroughness of Hong Kong’s ineptitude in governance is matched only by that of an idiotic emperor towards the end of a failing dynasty. It's a historic aberration. In any other political system - be it a rambunctious “multi-party” political show, a One-Party-Many-Factions experimental system, a fanatical theocratic state or an outright dictatorship - the leaders must possess certain quality to struggle for power and to maintain sufficient support in a real world. Hong Kong “politicians” have been fortuitously exempted from a comparable selection process. Political vision, skills, cunningness, courage and gambling instincts required of leaders and power brokers are all absent in the transition from a colonial past to self-governance.
Administrative robots expertly house-trained by the colonial master are now pitifully inadequate to run Hong Kong as an SAR. Many Hongkongers have this naive and arrogant delusion that Beijing has taken up the role of Britain, manipulating events from behind. Well, this is not the only thing that Hong Kong likes to flatter itself with. China has a long and scary list of critical issues to deal with. I’m sure the childish and inconsequential politicking in Hong Kong are very low on that list, if they are there at all. Sure, main sovereignty issues - i.e. foreign affairs and the military - must firmly remain in the hands of the Central Government. Beijing probably “influences” the financial and economic big picture the same way Wall Street controls the US Federal Government. But the rest? Only Hongkongers are joyously innocent and obtusely confident enough to imagine their self-important SAR being micro-managed by the Central Government.
China has nothing to gain in meddling with Hong Kong’s piddling bickering. In fact, when the time is right, and that would be very soon, Hong Kong would be given the kind of boisterous democracy that many have been flatulently demanding. Why not? It would have no material impact on China’s political landscape and, in the worst scenario, which would be a likely one, Hong Kong can join Taiwan to provide a negative illustration of the shortcomings of a copycat populist democracy to the rest of China - something that is very difficult to achieve through philosophical debates otherwise.
Hongkongers’ big challenge now is to identify a passable candidate who can do the job of Chief Executive when direct election comes. If none can be found after a big stretch of the imagination, then we better start looking for a way to blame Beijing for the failure, or headhunt one from New York.

James Tam 5/9/2011