Er redete mit dem vieh, den vogeln und den fischen and its poems

我從小最喜歡的書之一就是這一本所羅門王的指環。  作者在書裡引用了不少詩句，我還滿喜歡這種風格的。  有古典的氣氛。  我想把這些詩句收集起來已經很久了。  今天來試試看，順便利用現在網路的方便，也查一查這些詩的出處。  想想應該滿有意思的。 (補: 我滿希望知道是誰誰把這些詩翻譯成中文的。  很多地方都翻得好極了！)

序

從來沒有一個王，象所羅門王那樣，
從開天闢地以來也難湊到一雙，

因為所羅門王能和蝴蝶說話，

就像人與人聊天一樣。

                        --魯雅。吉卜寧

Preface

There was never a King like Solomon

Not since the world began

Yet Solomon talked to a butterfly

As a man would talk to a man.

--Rudyard Kipling 

(上面的這首詩出自叢林奇談的作者吉卜寧，這是一串的童詩，每一個詩講述一個動物的來源。 前三首是吉卜寧為他小孩編的童詩，後來集結成篇，題為 "Just so stories".  因為當作者為女兒講故事的時候， 如果作者把自己編的詩句念錯了，他女兒就會睜開眼睛，把正確的詩句唸出來糾正老爸。   第一版的插圖還是吉卜寧自己畫的哩。)

鴨子在沙沙作響的茅草中遊嬉，

好吃的梭魚卻從水邊躍起。

因為岸上響起了一陣腳部的聲音，

一隻蒼鷺忽地驚起，

伸在前面的 ---- 是牠長長的脖子。

                       --華茲華斯

The duck dabbles mid the rustling sedge

And feeding pike starts from the water's edge

And heron, as resounds the trodden shore,

Shoots upward, darting his long neck before.

--Wordsworth,  (An evening walk)

(書裡面我最喜歡的一首， 這個作者華茲華斯是常常出現在這本書，可以想見勞倫茲很喜歡這個詩人。  這一首詩我稍微查了一下，非常的長，詩人的對象是自己的妹妹。  我還沒有看整首詩，根據介紹整首詩主要是描寫那一傍晚的在水邊的情境。  以這裡的節錄來看，他的描述實在很細膩，用的詞句也是音韻十足。  我可能會想借來看。  而這是作者還在學校的時候寫出來的。 不知道是大學還是高中。  年輕時就顯露這樣的才能，也難怪可以被選作英國的桂冠詩人！)

一。 動物的麻煩

把一桶桶的醃魚打翻了胡鬧，

又在男人的禮帽做巢。

甚至連女人七嘴八舌的說笑，

也不得不為他們時高時低的尖笑

怪叫， 勢減聲消。  

                            --羅拔。布朗寧

Chapter 1.  Animal as a nuisance.

Split open the kegs of salted sprats,

Made nests inside men's Sunday hat,

And even spoiled the women's chats,

By downing their speaking

In fifty different sharps and flats.

--Robert Browning, (The pied piper of Hamelin)

(這首詩出自德國小鎮 Hameln 十三世紀的故事，一個穿著彩色衣服的吹笛手幫這個小鎮解決了老鼠的問題，可是小鎮不肯付講好的酬勞，於是吹笛手用他的魔術把小鎮上 一百三十個小孩全數帶到山腳下，山腳下裂出一個大洞，笛手和小孩消失在洞裡。 這個故事經過格林童話的傳衍，很多人都知道了，這首詩是英國布郎寧以詩的方式呈現。  單用念的就很過癮，好像在看電影一樣！ 很棒的詩，這一段是描述老鼠為患小鎮的一個過場。 勞倫茲拿來用在這裡真是再好不過！)

三十年來，你一直在我的跟前，

高地低谷，都能見到你的笑靨，

但是我卻不認得你，直到今天，

現在，不論我走到那裡，眼向那邊轉，

處處只見你，一天至少也有五十遍。

                                        --華茲華斯

I have seen thee, high and low

Thirty years or more, and yet

'Twas a face I did not know;

Thou hast now, go where I may,

Fifty greetings in a day.

--Wordsworth, (To the small calendine)

(Calendine, 白屈菜。  明明是黃色的花，為啥叫白屈菜？  這東西聽說到處都是。  算是野草吧。有時候是這樣的，眼睛真的會突然一亮。。。  這首我也好喜歡)

二。不礙事的魚缸

萬物相形以生，

眾生互惠而成。

     --歌德 (浮士德)

Chapter 2.  Something that does no damage: 

The Aquarium

Wie alles sich zum Ganzen webt

Eins in dem andern wirkt und lebt

--Goethe, Faust 

(No comment, can't even read German, I will write another paragraph about the German title of the book...)

三。魚缸裡的暴行

他笑得多麼開心，

他爪子伸得多麼近，

只要他微笑的小嘴可以容得下，

隨便什麼小魚都歡迎。

                            --路易。卡洛 (愛麗絲漫遊奇境)

Chapter 3.   Robbery in the aquarium

How cheerfully he seems to grin,

How neatly spreads his claws,

And welcomes little fishes in 

With gently smiling jaws.

--Louis Carroll (Alice's adventure in Wonderland)

(這首詩出自愛麗絲夢遊仙境，這是我小時候知道的書名。  我查了一下，這本書出於一八六五年。  可以想像古典氣味濃郁，裡面用了大量的詩和韻文。  有些資料上說愛麗絲創作這首詩來模仿另一首有勸善用意的詩， "Against Idleness and Mischief".  這裡愛麗絲的詩也有警世的意味。  詩中描述的鱷魚往自己身上澆水，讓自己的鱗甲發光閃亮，他又秀出笑容表現出和藹可親的樣子，表示自己容易接近。  這些描述是多麼有趣味，而表達的內容又是多麼實際，如果要記得，又有什麼比一首小詩更容易。)

四。可憐的魚

是浪中之草？是泥中之光？

還是黑色的火焰在跳躍？

造化弄物，

無晝無夜，

無止無休，無聲無息，亦無竅。

                                        --魯伯。布魯克 (魚)

Chapter 4.  Poor Fish

Weed in the wave, gleam in the mud--

The dark fire leaps along his blood;

Dateless and deathless, blind and still,

The intricate impulse works its will.

--Rupert Brooks, (The fish)

從玫瑰的花心偷到一抹暗紅，

從沒有星星的天空，剝下一層藍色青青，

還有眼後的那一勺黃金，

綠沉，紫寂，

黑黑的背影上， 該有多少彩光現現隱隱？

                                                --魯伯。布魯克 (魚)

Red darkness of the heart of the roses,

Blue brilliant from dead starless skies,

And gold that lies behind the eyes,

Lustreless Purple, hooded green,

The myriad hues that lie between 

Darkness and darkness! 

--Rupert Brooks, (The fish)

(我好奇這所羅門王的指環這本書的中文翻譯者是怎麼翻這些詩的？ 如果這些詩還沒有翻譯出來，那他們還要一首一首譯嗎？  實在很厲害！  這首原文的詩我看了一遍沒看懂。  我知道是在講魚，裡面有一些非常漂亮的句子。  像這本書來做一篇文章的開頭就非常引人遐想。  不過我也得說，我覺得中文譯者也有滿多的地方隨意揮灑。  我的意思不是他們亂來，而是很多地方直譯反而失去美感或著在中文裡造成奇怪的印象。  而翻譯者的功力大概就在此顯現。  另外，此詩的英文作者似乎滿喜歡用魚作題材，他的另一首詩題為 Heaven ， 那首詩裡他描寫魚在池塘裡想像池塘外的世界 : 到底有無池塘外的世界，如果有是怎麼樣的。。。  我找的那篇文章說那首詩是用魚比擬人，實際上是描寫很多人都好奇死後到底有沒有其他的世界，很有趣)

六。 對動物的惻隱之心

受苦為慈悲之母

                    --柯勒瑞凡

Chapter 6. Pitying animals

Pity--best taught by fellowship of woe.

--Samuel Taylor Coleridge

七。如何選購動物

兄弟姊妹們，

聽我來相勸；

勿將心許狗，

由他撕成片。

            --魯雅。吉卜寧

Chapter 7. Buying Animals

Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware

Of give your heart to a dog to tear.

--Rudyard Kipling, (The power of the dog)

(The power of the dog by Rudyard Kipling

There is sorrow enough in the natural way

From men and women to fill our day;

And when we are certain of sorrow in store,

Why do we always arrange for more?

Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware

Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy

Love unflinching that cannot lie

Perfect passion and worship fed

By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.

Nevertheless it is hardly fair

To risk your heart for a dog to tear.

When the fourteen years which Nature permits

Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,

And the vet’s unspoken prescription runs

To lethal chambers or loaded guns,

Then you will find – it’s your own affair, –

But … you’ve given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,

With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!),

When the spirit that answered your every mood

Is gone – wherever it goes – for good,

You will discover how much you care,

And will give your heart to a dog to tear!

We’ve sorrow enough in the natural way,

When it comes to burying Christian clay.

Our loves are not given, but only lent,

At compound interest of cent per cent,

Though it is not always the case, I believe,

That the longer we’ve kept ’em, the more do we grieve;

For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,

A short-time loan is as bad as a long –

So why in – Heaven (before we are there)

Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?)

八。動物的語言

學習每一種鳥的語言，

記住他們的名字，

知道他們的秘密，

那麼，無論你什麼時候碰到牠們，

都可以和他們談一會兒天，說一會兒地。

                                    --朗費羅

Chapter 8. The language of animals

Learned of every bird its language,

Learned all their names and secrets,

Talked with them whene'er he met them.

--H. W. Longfellow, (The song of Hiawatha)

(第一位屋薩 (USA) 作家！  這是一首很長篇詩，在寫一個北美美洲人的傳奇故事)

九。馴悍記

雖說大自然的爪子染滿了凌弱暴寡血腥，

見了這等行徑，

也是心驚。

        --但尼生， (回憶)

Chapter 9. The taming of the shrew

Though Nature, red in tooth and claw

With ravine, shrieked against his creed.

--Tennyson, (In memoriam)

(我覺得這幾句翻譯和原詩不合。  就因為他的最後一句 "shrieked against his creed."  我一直想不通到底是誰的 Creed.  後來看到這一整段的全部後，才解開我的心中之謎。  

Who trusted God was love indeed 

And love Creation's final law

Tho'Nature, red in tooth and claw

With Ravine, shrieked against his creed

這首詩也很長，其中最有名的一句是：

'Tis better to have loved and lost

Than never to have loved at all.)

十。盟約

跟在後面的四隻腳。

                        --魯雅。吉卜寧

Chapter 10. The covenant

Four feet trotting behind.

--Rudyard Kipling, (Four feet)

一種感覺的力量，

超過人的一切估計。

                        --華茲華斯

The strength of feeling, great

Above all human estimate.

--Wordsworth, (Fidelity)

(華茲華斯的詩是在描述事件裡的一隻狗，我看到一篇介紹的文章，文章裡提到當時有不少批評華茲華斯的詩不是詩，而是 prose，也就是散文大白話。  我現在摘錄這一段，因為我覺得實在是很有趣！

Not that people didn't laugh at Wordsworth's poem "Fidelity" at the time. In the preface to their revolutionary Lyrical Ballads, published in 1798, Wordsworth and Coleridge warned that readers would not find here the florid conventions, the aristocratic affectations, the formality they recognised as literature: "Readers accustomed to the gaudiness and inane phraseology of many modern writers, if they persist in reading this book to its conclusion, will perhaps frequently have to struggle with feelings of strangeness and aukwardness: they will look round for poetry, and will be induced to enquire by what species of courtesy these attempts can be permitted to assume that title."

Nine years later, when Wordsworth published a poem about the death of Gough, reviewers were still sneering at the banality of his poetic voice. His unemphatic telling of the discovery of Gough's body and his loyal dog in "Fidelity" was particularly mocked. One reviewer, who as predicted in the preface to Lyrical Ballads could see no poetry whatsoever in this "poem", made that philistine point by satirically reprinting "Fidelity" as a block of prose. "The language is not only prosaic," said another, "but generally flat, and in some places absolutely mean" - "mean" having definite associations of social inferiority.  (source, the guardian, )

有趣的地方就是，我同樣覺得很多新詩也只是散文。  這裡的摘錄就是當時的人故意把 Fidelity 這首詩重新排版印刷成散文形式。  文章裡提到在 華茲華斯出版這一首詩之前，有一個人先他出版了另一首詩，也是談論同一個事件。  我去看了一下，互相參照立刻可以比較出不同。  華茲華斯的詩真的要大大個口語的多。  因為另一首詩詞語，讓我有強烈的莎士比亞的感覺。  這真是有趣的事情！)

十一。老家人

如果有樣東西因為我的關係

能活能動，能對未來有所助益

那就夠了，我們就算盡了力。

                                  --華茲華斯 (追想)

Chapter 11.  The perennial retainers

Enough, if something from our hands have power

To live, and act, and serve the future hour.

--Wordsworth, (After-thought)

即興而起的甜美歌聲，

唱出心中無限事。

                     --雪萊(百靈鳥)

Full heart 

in profuse strains of unpremeditated art.

--Shelley, (To a Skylark)

A Robin-redbreast in a Cage

Puts all Heaven in a rage

                                --William Blake, (Auguries of Innocence)

關一隻紅胸膛的知更，

普天下俱為之忿。

--布雷克

(這首詩很有名，尤其是前面幾句話

To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower 

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 

And Eternity in an hour)

雖然沒有人說得出原因，又有什麼關係？

既然眼睛見過，心裡總是有數的。

如果兩方面都在有意湊合，他們的愛情也就不用提，

要不是一見之下鍾的情，他的情就不能算真的情。

                                                        --馬羅

The reason no man knows, let it suffice

What we behold is censured by our eyes.  

Where both deliberate, the love is slight;

Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?

--Marlowe

(我覺得這首詩的最後一句不是翻譯得很好，有點囉嗦。)

她耐心地坐在石碑上，

對著憂愁微笑。

             --莎士比亞，第十二夜

Green and yellow melancholy,

She sat like Patience on a monument

Smiling at grief.

--Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

十二。道德和武器

有才者虛懷若谷

有力者恥於傷人

                --莎士比亞，十四行詩

Chapter 12. Morals and weapons

They that have power to hurt and will do none,

that do not do the thing they most do show...

--Shakespeare, Sonnets

將利劍止在空中，

不讓它落在已墜的人身上

                          --莎士比亞

Thou hast hung they advanced swords i' the air, 

Not letting it decline on the declined.

--Shakespeare, (Troilus and Cressida)

如果這就是大自然的安排，

人的進化，發展豈不令我們心寒？

                                       -- 華茲華斯

If such be Nature's holy plan,

Have I not reason to lament

What man has made of man?

--Wordsworth

(詩的摘錄，有時候超越整首詩的價值。  這並不是說一部份大於整體。  而是說，讀者藉由引用者的解貼和設計，使的文章多了不同的節奏和和意涵。  摘引的章節不一定是原來的意思， 因引用的句子還多引用者對句子的解讀。 )

這本書的德文書題實際上是： "他和牛和鳥和魚說話。"

我很好奇地查了一下題目，一切都很正常， Er 是他；redete 是說話；mit 對著什麼或著是同什麼；Dem 和 den 是冠詞; vieh 是牛; fischen 是魚。  唯一有問題的是鳥這個德文，我花了大工夫，怎麼查這個字都是肏的意思。  最後我查 Vogel 才查到是鳥單數，鳥多數 Vögel，才看到也有後面加個 N 的。  他的動詞是肏的意思。  昏倒，因為我怎麼查都不是名詞。  有一篇文章就說這字有太多 Pun 的用法了，就是有太多不同意思的雙關語。

Do contents reveal anything?

油管 is really a time sink.  You can probably find infinite categories of stuff there.  But when I checked my history, I  could see that I only watched limited range of stuff.  I already realize this fact.  But I wonder if I just listed the category of videos I think I watched, and  compared to the ones actually listed in the history.  Would there be any difference?  

My guess:

camera videos

Star war videos

NBA videos

Bag videos

Animal videos

Sitcom videos

News videos

News show videos

Campers videos

My history:

camera videos

Star war videos

NBA videos

Bag videos

Animal videos

Sitcom videos

News videos

News show videos

Campers videos

Ping Pong video

video game video(rare)

Music videos

Car videos

yoga videos(rare)

lord of ring video(rare)

backpacking gear  videos

crime story videos

EDC videos

Gift ideas videos

ukelele teaching videos

Tennis videos

Tech reviews videos

Norton Grahm videos

shoes videos

PBS science short videos

Movie clips videos

Pet accessory videos

I really watched a lot of camera videos because I want to get a new camera for a few years now.  Every year this time around, I'd watch a lot of videos for things I want to buy, like camera's one of these, it's just never realized.  

I was watching Manda so it did trigger some desire to follow the back stories.  I was following Obiwangkenobi's line last night.  I have to say I liked him quite a bit, a bit sarcastic but moderate.  I am not a die hard star wars fan though.  I am binging on the videos right now, just a filler I guess.  

Sitcom videos is a constant filler, unlike Manda.  Although it rotates from frenids to biigbbangs or something else.  My mom is very annoyed by it.  For it is a constant chatter, when I came back from work.  I don't know, it makes happy.  They are funny, it seemed that I constantly need funny???  I have hard time to endure silent times.  They say there's a constant chatter inside you.  But I know that sometimes it's just dead silent in there.  And it scares me a lot.  A lot.  

I watched quite a bit of backpacking related videos, which include backpacking, campers, EDC...etc.  I wonder if I put together a list of products I watched, what would I look alike?  

Backpack

Tents

Quilts

Trail runners

campers vans

cameras

Ukelele, maybe?  

It looks like a traveling man.  This image has been in my mind for a while.  I even wanted to setup a tent in my backyard.  I looked at bugout videos as well.  I shuddered at this image.  Because I feel this image showed me that I want to get away from my current situation.  

Almond 的中文

 幾年前，不記得幾年前了，不過一定是很久了。  剛剛又去翻了一下字典確定一下。  Almond 的翻譯是 "杏仁" !  可是我也一直覺得很奇怪，因為中國城賣的杏仁和 almond 味道很不一樣，形狀也很不一樣。 但是我沒又特別去找為什麼。  前天我妹妹來和媽媽一起讀聖經，留下來一道吃個中飯。  聊天的時候，媽媽說蘋果的種子不能吃有毒，不知道梨子的子是否也有毒。  妹妹說都是有毒的。  昨天媽媽又和我談論，所以我就順便查一查。  這一查，才看到很多和梨蘋果同一種 (科學分類裡的同一目) 的植物都帶些微毒性。  其中包括櫻桃，桃子，李子，梅子，蘋果，杏仁，還有 almond。  我當時以為我看錯了，我想 almond 那怎麼可能有毒。  我們常常吃，而且吃的都是種子！？  往下追蹤竟然發先連中文名字都不對了！  現在叫扁桃！  我看的是維基百科。  他上面提到現在大陸所有的美國甜杏仁都改名叫做扁桃仁。  但是文章也提到現在台灣還是普遍叫杏仁。  我也看到一篇 2015 年的文章裡提到大陸改名的事情。  文章也提到新疆種植的八旦木實際上就是 "美國甜杏" 。  可是在開放後從美國進口時，把美國的東西叫做 "美國甜杏"，在大陸市場上的身價是遠高於自家的八旦杏。  我覺得這是一個很有趣的現象。  首先，我覺得如果東西實際上是一樣的，那的確是要改正過來。  但是，改成扁桃卻不知道是有啥根據？  如果和 "八旦木" 一樣，為啥就不用八旦木呢？  

我查了一下雅虎奇婆，只要提到 "扁桃" 兩個字的一定是 "扁桃腺"，沒有兩個字單獨純在的。  台灣自身沒有把 Almond 改過來一方面可能是沒有自身利益衝突，另一方面大陸自己在百度網站內也有稱之為 "八旦杏"， 如此一來， 還是 "杏" 仁啦。。。  我現在只對扁桃兩個字很好奇。  這兩個字得出處是哪裡？  扁桃腺的扁桃兩個字一定是有出處的。  我甚至懷疑會否是日本人的翻譯？  

Repeated Random

我在工作的時候，我突然想起來在我有記憶以來，只要是我自己一個人時候，我都不知道怎麼辦才好。  我不斷回想。  回想，記憶裡只有自己一個人的時候，如果沒有事前的計畫，手邊沒有一本書，或是一個錄音帶。  我自己做甚麼？  回想的結果就是發慌。  比沒有舵的船更糟糕，因為心裡就好像暴風，或著是暴風雨前的寧靜，這不是我所能忍耐的。  但是，我真的忘記我小時候有沒有找事情來給自己填滿空白。  因為現在，我只有力氣忍受，愈來愈少精神來找東西來填滿這個動了。  這個洞也越來越大。

------------------------------------------

媽媽今天早上吃完早餐又開始抱怨她的膝蓋。  我才他一定是很不舒服吧。  他一開始抱怨舅舅，舅舅給的椅子搖搖晃晃，他站上去不穩摔下來。  然後他又說舅舅都不給他講，舅舅跟我講了，我也沒有告訴他。  他是這個家的家主，我們都不知道嗎？  

我一整個早上都沒辦法做甚麼。  我不斷跟自己說，我需要改變想法，去做自己的事情。  都沒能做啥。  我也發現自己如果早上去工作前，媽媽說了甚麼讓我不爽的話，我一整個工作時間就全給這些想法鳩佔住。  這是一個問題。  我看這個問題和前面的一個是一個銅板的兩面。  

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昨天又看了一遍 Gladiator。  還是很喜歡，這一次特別注意老凱薩的女兒。  這個女兒和小凱薩對話的過場，沒有一個浪費的鏡頭。  很厲害。  鳩阿金在這裡的戲和他小丑裡的戲，是那麼不一樣。  都是巨惡，很厲害。  

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還是在重複。  八百多篇的重複。 

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Question

 What am I doing in my alone time?  

Movies, 

I used to copy texts from books. 

Yard work. 

Moody

I hate being alone.  I hate nothing to do.  And yet, I am alone a lot, and yet I spend most of my alone time doing only those things listed above.

I sometimes feel my cat was more mature than me.  I feel he would find something to do, like a hunt, or walk around his territory everyday.  And then be content and sit under the sun somewhere hidden.  But I know myself.  I would be nervous and moody while doing nothing or thinking nothing at all.  Just be nervous and moody.  

When I was younger, my mother would find things for me to do.  I remember going to swimming everyday, or going to hiking, or reading books at book store.  She brought me to all these places and showed me what to do.  Mother thought we were weak to begin with so she brought me and my sister to pool everyday.  Otherwise, I would never know how to swim.  She read article of her professor from the university, she brought me and my sister to hiking in the Mt. Elephant.  She herself is an avid reader, she brought us to the book store, and bought us shelves of books.  

But as times went on, my sister started to pick up things to like, music to listen, instrument to learn, food to cook.  My mom can simply sit and watch while my sister lived her life

All these iteration was useless.  Why am I here writing these again and again?  

What is it that I want to do when I am alone?   Just one?  

 

Some random thoughts

Just saw Abyss last night.  I did not remember I watched it until the end.  I'd watched before...  lol  

I was not impressed then, I enjoyed it a bit more.  But not the movie as a whole.  I think some of the shots were awesome, and I care about the story before the battle of deep sea explorer machines.  I found I did not care about the plot, I did not care about the characters, I did not care about the aliens.  It's pretty much a failed movie except the cinematography and some special effect.   

I always think if you cannot give a story a satisfying ending, don't give it an ending.  The ending of the movie was cheap.  And the most important thing was by the time Ed could not get back, I can already foretell what's going to happen!  What's the point?  I think the story should ended during the battle of deep sea explores machines, with warhead exploded and Alien race rose from the sea bottom and destroyed human race.  Now, that would be an awesome movie ending.

I was reading Job in the Bible.  The first chapter, first few sentences before 撒旦 talked to God.  It showed Job telling his sons to clean themselves, but afterward he himself offered the sacrifice, just in case his sons did something that might offend God.  How does this description compared to the beginning of the book?  

He is a careful man.

He is a loving father.

He is thinking of God constantly

He is fearful of offending God in anyway from himself, or from his Children.  

I want to say he does not trust his kids.  But again, I thinking it's normal.  For parents are always on the look out for his kids, right?  

舅舅的第一個紐約印象

 昨天舅舅來訪，他去看牙醫順道來看看。  聊著聊著，提到美國的治安問題。  他認為美國的治安問題和經濟成正比。  他就舉了一個例子，他以前其實就提過。  只是我現在把它紀錄下來。  

1980 年外婆來到美國，舅舅和舅媽帶著外婆去紐約市，那也是舅舅第一次去紐約。  我想他是剛從 德州 Lubbock 畢業搬到麻州就業就業不久。  他說那是剛到紐約市的第二天，下榻在六十六大道。  聽他說六十六大道是很好的區域。  他們那天正到百老匯大道，要過馬路。  結果突然一聲槍響， 大街兩邊等著過馬路的行人作鳥獸散！  這就是他對紐約的印象！

89 年舅舅也帶著外公去南加大附近，那時洛杉磯大暴動剛過，他們這次開著車在等一個紅綠燈，突然， 一部車追著另一部車，呼嘯而過，同時槍聲大作，街上的車子也是紛紛走避於街旁！這是他對洛杉磯的印象！   

他又提到他的一個朋友在 80 初走在波士頓的東北大學校區，頸子上掛著一條金項鍊。  他的朋友當街被一個人猛的抓住項鍊，拖著走了幾步，直到項鍊斷裂，那搶匪拿著項鍊揚長而去。  

這時我問：那時候的台灣會有這種事情發生嗎？  媽媽和舅舅說：沒有ㄟ。  那為啥來美國？  錢啊。  不知道這和苛政猛虎的比喻有無關聯？  還是金山和猛虎的比喻？  

寶寶走了

 今天，我的貓走了，到生命的另一邊去了。  媽媽煮了很好吃的走油肉，小瑋幫我挖了一個大坑。  今天天氣很好，寶寶很會挑時間。  

早上四點過一點起來看看寶寶怎樣了，那時他還有心跳和呼吸。  我幫他擦了屁股，因為只要他的腿在踢，就是有屎流出來。  我不斷地聽他的心跳，他一開始想要叫， 可是居然一點都發不出聲音，我知道平常這時候他都要吃東西喝水，我趕快給他一點水和一點高湯。  他還是叫了聲音出來。  我還滿安心的。  我趴在他身上，希望可以給他一點暖意。  這樣告了個把鐘頭，到五點多，跟他說，我再躺一躺，就在你旁邊。  我躺在沙發上，朦朦朧朧中感覺有人叫我小杰。  那聲音有點熟悉， 可是又說不上是誰。  直到六點多， 我起來，媽媽也正好起來，再檢查寶寶的時候，他的心跳已經聽不到了。  我跟媽媽說，寶寶走了。  媽媽來碰了一下貓，說摸起來還沒有那麼冷，就算走也只是剛走。   我真的感覺我在迷糊中聽到的是寶寶在叫我。  

啾啾這兔崽子觀後感

 啾啾這兔崽子 

(Jojo the rabbit)

我覺得這部戲很可愛。 裡面有奇怪的角色，和一般我們所熟習的時代角色有大的反差。 電影真的反應出一個孩子的眼光吧。  我對啾啾和他的朋友 Yorki 交流時真是太有趣了！ 戲一開始的時候，啾啾和油奇獨處的常常會顯露出高人一等的樣子；但是到了結尾的時候，啾啾才真情流露的去擁抱油奇。  油奇所代表的角色實在令我覺得有趣極了。  他似乎是唯一一個角色從來沒變過，總是傻呼呼的， 雖然被時代推著走，卻從來沒有迷失過自己！  我為什麼會那樣說呢，他從來都是那個 十歲的胖小男孩，從沒以假裝長大，像啾啾一樣；當大夥在喊： "啾啾這兔崽子！" 的時候，油奇並沒有跟著喊，只是一臉焦慮的看著他的朋友！  最後在啾啾逃跑後，他還追了過去！  他 最後的一句台詞是，"我要找我媽媽去了，我需要依偎在他懷裡。"  實在是太可愛了!!

這部戲的顏色也讓我想到童話故事。  人物的穿著打扮，言行舉止，真的，導演是一個藝術家。 很有神韻的抓到一個十歲小孩的夢中道具，然後一一配合的布置了這部電影。  但是，另一方面來說卻又像一個鬼故事，讓我這樣想的是一開始猶太女孩的出現，蓋茲太保的來訪，行刑的場所。  這種奇怪的反差其實更像一個小孩的夢吧?   只是小孩不見的可以說得那麼清楚，而導演卻可以從服裝，場景，角色，對話等等，祕密的展示他的夢境。

導演在電影的結尾放了一段詩很棒。  我覺得像無論是哪裡的人，在經過二戰那種慘痛的經驗，他們是否可以忘記那樣的感受呢。  他們應該忘掉那樣的感受嗎。  無論答案是甚麼， 時間不斷在走，他們又有許多新的感受。  就算不能完全抹滅，還要繼續強烈的生活，繼續去體驗感受。  

“Let everything happen to you

Beauty and terror

Just keep going

No feeling is final.”

這是這是德語詩人兼作家的 Rainer Maria Rilke 的詩， "Go to the limits of your longing"

英文翻譯:

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.
These are the words we dimly hear:

You, sent out beyond your recall,
Go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.

Flare up like a flame
and make big shadows I can move in.
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.

Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me.

Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.

Give me your hand.

(譯者：Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows)

德語原文：

Gott spricht zu jedem nur, eh er ihn macht,

dann geht er schweigend mit ihm aus der Nacht.

Aber die Worte, eh jeder beginnt,

diese wolkigen Worte, sind:

Von deinen Sinnen hinausgesandt,

geh bis an deiner Sehnsucht Rand;

gieb mir Gewand.

Hinter den Dingen wachse als Brand,

dass ihre Schatten, ausgespannt,

immer mich ganz bedecken.

Lass dir Alles geschehn: Schönheit und Schrecken.

Man muss nur gehn: Kein Gefühl ist das fernste.

Lass dich von mir nicht trennen.

Nah ist das Land,

das sie das Leben nennen.

Du wirst es erkennen

an seinem Ernste.

Gieb mir die Hand. 

(詩集 Book of Hours: love Poems to God) 

教育後觀後感

Educated 

by tara.westover

這本書從兩年前出現在圖書館裡和 Libby 上後，從沒有不被人借閱的時候。  很奇怪的句子。。。 

終於有幸的看完了整本書。  文筆流暢，明白易懂。  作者的經歷的確是非常與眾不同。  

我非常推薦這本書。   

我覺得這是一本真正烏森人的書。  並不是說這只會在烏森國才會發生的事，這種完全唾棄政府的信仰，世界各處都有類似的思想吧，但是可以把這個思想徹底執行的人大概在烏森國最多吧。  這也是為啥烏森是最自由的國家之明證。  

可是作者對這個事情卻是很痛心的。  他最後提到他的兄弟姐妹們時很痛心的說：自從他被父母下了驅逐令還警告家裡的其他人別和作者來往之後，唯一和她來往的只有家裡的三個經濟能夠自立的弟兄，其餘靠著父母吃飯的手足，都不與之往來。  

我覺得他被父母驅逐真的是一件很慘的事。 這樣的家庭一定自他小時候就非常緊密的活在一起，不像其他人家只不過是吃飯睡覺在一個屋簷下，偶而周末出遊。  作者從小就沒上過學，每一分每一秒都在家園的周圍度過，父母教導每一件事情，也在自己的兄弟姊妹身上見識自己將來的各種可能性。  他現在被踢出來了，這是怎樣巨大的事情！

他和父母的決裂是從他對他二哥的觀點產生了巨大的變化後開始。  在他的書裡描述了二哥的兇頑，不斷用肢體和語言的暴力來傷害家庭裡的女性。  作者在長大，在二哥結婚後，發現二嫂也面對他小時候所目擊類似的暴力時，他清醒過來。  可是當他和父母提出了這個問題後，他卻發現父母完全不站在他這邊。  他父母只認為這最小的女兒已被外面的環境所改變了。  他父母最後的手段不是去尋找他二哥是否有暴力傾向，而是要他們最小的女兒認罪回家。  作者不同意，他認為他自己的記憶是沒有錯的。  

有些描寫他二哥的作為，又讓我感到很樣本化。  我在大學的時候有一陣子常看 serial killller 的故事。  那裏所寫到的那些 SK 很像他對他二哥的描述。  或者可以說，現代很多描述宗教教育下的男性，有不少類似的文字。  我對自己有這樣的感覺的很猶豫。  另外，我自己也有類似他二哥的行為。  程度和表現上或許沒有那樣粗暴，但是在心理上擺佈人的手法上有類似性。 

我看過一篇對此書的評論，他認為作者對二哥的描述在讀者來說無法證實。  只能以作者單一的視角來認識事情的本質，有失公允。  我傾向同意。  但是，我覺得作者並無意誤導讀者。  不然作者不會把和自己不一樣的記憶也記錄下來。 

對於記憶的不同，我自己也有這樣的經驗。  我們家的人在談論以前的事情時，有時真的是天差地遠。  

討論一本書可以從很多視角切入。  這一本書也是如此。  我其實滿喜歡她把自己小時候寫的東西和現在他思想比較衡量。  我覺得這是這本書的價值。  並不是衡量出來後的事實，而是在比較小時候和長大後的想法，作者的選擇和行動！

The Weather Experiment 觀後感

寶寶是個好貓貓，他是一個黃金貓。

他有漂亮的大眼睛，還有迷人的鬍鬚！

I finished the book a while ago.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and keep wanting to write something down after finishing it.  Keep wanting to write a whole essay with a central theme keep delaying my effort to write anything!  le sigh.  A scatter brain can only produce random thoughts with not collective theme.  I will go where ever I want to go then.  Ah, a beauty of Randomness...  

It's been a while so let me think...  The book starts with something weird, if I remember correctly.  It first talked about the view on science became a fad in the beginning of the 19th century.  I remembered that book started with an English artist, who claimed to use science for his technique when painting cloud and natural lights.  The I remember the book started by talking some English people started to catalogue different kinds of clouds.  After that I remember the book talked about telegraph, and he mentioned about morse codes.  Then there're people studying storms patters, what is a storm?  With European Navy in Caribbean sea, and every ship can pass the news around, it's like a net with notes.  People could start to draw maps and how storms progressed.  And I also remember some people at USA studying pattering of falling trees in New York or somewhere near USA northeastern, many people also started to advancing hypothesis what is a storm?   Then there was a scientist tried to study the atmosphere by flying hot air balloon, and take measure of pressure, humidity...etc at different heights.  Then there's the tragedy of Robert FitzRoy, who was famous for being the captain of Darwin's trip, in which Darwin formed hypothesis of Evolution.  RF was also an accomplished sea captain.  His legacy was in establishing Meteorology department for England.  He was the first one to use the word "forcast".  He is the one who put first daily weather report in the newspaper.  He also distribute barometers for all the seamen, including local fishermen.  Because He himself used barometer extensively to watch for storms and gales.  I remembered a story, where he avoided a catastrophe while he and his family were returning form New Zealand.  He also established land stations around England Isles to gather weather reports using telegraph.  His tragedy came first with Darwin's theory of Evolution, the second came with his weather prediction.  He killed himself at the end, by using his razor.  

I felt that the tragedy of RF was the theme of the book, especially after he published the first weather report, which has the similarity as current scientists predicting climate change.  One of the interesting thing about RF's weather report was that the purpose of which was to save seamen's lives.  So he had this gale warning system set up so that when the warning was on, no ship should go out.  The owners hated this system, because they would lose money.  But the majority of the seamen liked the idea.  I remember some full time scientist also made fun of the report.  I agree that RF is not a full time scientist.  But he did use the scientific knowledge well for his own purposes as a seaman.  He firmly believed barometer was the key to avoid major disaster on the ocean.  And he used this knowledge and awareness to do good for his fellow ocean goers.  I can imagine the weather report at that time would not be as accurate as now.  I remembered when I was younger in Taiwan people joke about the phrases they used in forcast, "晴時多雲偶陣雨", which pretty much covered all the weather conditions...  lol  But it's the thought that really counts.  And I think from that thought, came the improvement.  

I think this kind of book is really important.  Because it gives many people a glance of what science is.  What does the role of a scientist has in a society.  But most important of all is that, the book presents a lot of characters who was not trained scientists, but they either have faith in scientific method, or they have a single pursuit of a truth behind a phenomenon(weather related, or telegraph...), or they have a practical experience using the knowledge derived from scientific method.  They all contributed to our understanding to the world around us.  To me it is important, because science is not just for scientists.  It's a method for everyone to use, to verify knowledge, so called facts, believes, even to test what science is.  

Although I do wonder now, that science seemed to became too deep, too elitism.  But it is important to remember that both science and art are born from the common men.  And in the midst of them, through argument, hypothesis, trials and errors, a continuing pursuit for truth, time and energy spent, by our fellow people, science became that way.  But in the most basic and humble forms, everyone can employ it for their practical use.  

Motherless Brooklyn 小說觀後感

這本書我借了又還借了又還前後三次。  這一次終於下定決心看完。  看完後，有點吃驚， 因為他和電影完全不一樣。   

我不知道 Tourette's 真實的情況是怎樣的。  但是，我覺得這本書把這個病症描述的很徹底。  

我其實還是跳著看，所以有的地方看不大清楚。  

最後一百頁讓我感覺比較爽快，因為前面的部分令我感覺迷惑。  似乎看不到一點答案。  最後一百頁的時候，一下子謎團解除，而且，主角逐漸知道方向在哪裡， 也有助於謎團給我的懊惱，或著是說給主角的懊惱。

書本的故事是真正在描述紐約客的觀點，主角甚至一輩子沒有離開過紐約市！ 

我覺得這是一本很普通的偵探小說。  美國的偵探小說往往更著重於角色的描述，而這種描述也往往有一種很通俗的寫法。  這種寫法在電影，小說，甚至電腦遊戲裡都有。  Max Payne 就是一個代表。   很大的程度上，這本小說很有這種味道。  我認為小說裡值得一提的是主角的變化。  主角和他的三個夥伴都是孤兒，對於把他們提拔長大的人有著很深感情，但是當這個人死了後，只有主角認真的要找出原因和兇手。  我覺得救世主角的這份感情和執著，讓這本小說出色！  

在這裡也可以稍微談到電影，我覺得在電影裡，我只對主角有認識，但是在書本裡，我把其他人和主角的關係才搞得清楚一點。  這很重要，因為這才增加主角的價值。   在電影裡，我覺得就很難做到這一點，書本裡常常回憶和回到過去，雖說也要好幾個段落，甚至章節才能涵蓋過去。  但是在電影裡，要做的這麼細膩就很困難。  我想這也是為啥電影裡需要一個大壞人做反角，比較容易上電影有張力。  

kept I for 理由 blog

我寫這個網誌已經很多年了, 竟然已經累積八百多篇。 我自己回頭看一看也很驚訝！

當初，我為什麼要寫這個網誌呢？  原因只有一個，就是這裡沒有人看！  基本上只是想要把這裡當作日記。  這數量遠遠沒有日記的水準。  但是，畢竟也記錄了自己所看到的， 所想的，所聞的，所嚐的。  

我很希望可以更進一步，就是整理自己的的思緒，如果我有任何思緒的話。  幻想未來的可能性。  當我前天情緒極度波動的情況下，我坐在車上想要開向某個方向，卻完全不能想出一個地方，腦袋或許不是空白，卻象煮滾的開水，只有水蒸氣和很大很大的泡泡冒出來。  這令我的懊惱成倍的增加。  

幻想未來的可能性並不是為了空白的滿足精神上的需要， 而是希望能繼而計畫，最後執行。  我很清楚自己的弱點就是， 當一個想法或著希望產生時，我在精神上已感到完美結果的喜悅。  但是這喜悅卻令自己不敢前進！  因為腦袋幻想的完美和手上產生的粗糙，是自己完全不能接受的！  這在我現在不再畫畫很有關係！  但是越不畫，在日月的推遲下就越糟。  現在還在講自我的建立實在是慢了，但是再不講，連一步步的腳印都不可能有了。  我還寫這個網誌幹嘛？！  真要見證自己的慢性自殺嗎？！

試試看哪！  幻想未來，計畫現在，執行計畫。  我連想的勇氣都沒有，其餘不用想了。

一首惠德曼的詩的一段

Walt Witman

I'm not to speak to you, 

I am to think of you.

When I sit alone,

or wake at night alone,

I am to wait, 

I do not doubt 

I am to see you again.  

I am to see to it

that I do not lose you."

Which poem??  (Leaves of Grass)

from Bone season 6 Ep14

What's in my mind right now - Speed writing without thinking

Blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank...................

What if we just switch channel.  You know, to finish bones series. 

Oh, no, another porno thought.  oh, wait why do you stop

Grrrrrr.....  Stop stop stop, what like that motherless brooklyn novle??   

Tick tick Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick

You do know it just meant blank blank blank blank blank blank blank, right?  

Seely Booth Temperance Bones Angel Sweets Dr. Saroyan...   Can't help it, was watching it...  

Need to deliver to my cousin some grocery.  

Today is really hot, humid.  That indian actress was really cute.  She's young.  That's why.  

Oh, no. 

Nothing, do I want to hide something even from myself?  

Yeah, I was afraid for another horny thought.  But it turned out no.  She's cute.  

Shining, one of those first glance and shine type.  immediately grabbed the eyes.  

What am I thinking?  

Or maybe i should call now?  

I was delivering to Aunt HuYin some food my mom made.  She really kind wanted to talk.  I still want to make a video for Ashby.  I know she's still upset about Ashby.  That devotion, that bond from that young age, that closeness, plus Ashby's uniqueness.  The difference between a pet and human friends, was the closeness that we could get when maybe only a human baby and its parents can feel.  When baby became boy, people starts to be careful about education which creates distance.  When the kids became adults, parents scared to become a burden to the child which also creates distance.  Pets, does not have that problem.  That closeness was never lost, especially when human would never put their pets to the human standards.  They are pet, simple as that.  You can pour all the love of a baby you want towards it.  You can also educated it, make it cultured.  When that happened, it somehow does not creates distance, but strengthens the bond.  Because you instill a bit culture in them and it makes the pets even closer to you as a human-esque being.  How about that, I cannot find my draft to do the video, I think I have my first draft!  

萬疾之王 備註

I forgot to mention something interesting to me from the book, Cancer Emperor of all maladies.  

To name something is very important in science.  The reason why it is important can be shown in the example of naming leukemia.  

The disease of leukemia was not discovered by Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow.  John Hugh Bennet was also mentioned in the book.  Dr. Bennet tried to guess the reason or the cause of the disease, he thinks it's a "suppuration of blood."  Dr. Virhow on the other hand did not guess the cause of the disease, he saw blood in white color so he named it "weisses blut", later changed it into a more academic name in latin root, "leukemia".  The book elaborated that by not assuming the cause of the disease, the name opened up for a real scientific inquiry into the cause of the disease.  

I think it's quite interesting.  

I checked Wiki, there're many doctors described the disease of Leukemia before Dr. Virchow:

"Velpeau (1825), Donné (1844), Bennett (1845), Craigie (1845), Virchow (1845), and Fuller (1846)"

The name of Leukemia was adopted, the reason is because the name described something in its appearance but not its cause.  

萬疾之王 觀後感

I just finished the book: Cancer, the emperor of maladies.  I spend 2 -3 years on and off, to finish the book.  It was what should I say...an incredible book, long and detailed, the narrative was very easy to follow with clear sentence, and organized in such a logical order, that I could understand.  

This is a book of history, a history of cancer, a history of how we human identify it; how we tried to treat it; it filled with history, science, and politics.  Science was not the central topic of the book, but the book cannot escape from discussing it.  How and what science is, became a intense focus here.  As I am experiencing the pandemic of Coronavirus, some of the points in the books became even more relevant, and brings me to a new perspective.  

I think one of the most intriguing  idea I got from the book was the argument of how science should be conducted?  Should the government or an organization pour all its resource towards a planned goal?  Or should we let scientists decide where their scientific interest lead them?  It came from a historic sentence in the book when somebody told President Roosevelt, 

"...In the winter of 1945, Vannevar Bush had written to President Roosevelt, 'The striking advances in medicine during the war have been possible only because we had a large backlog of scientific data accumulated through basic research in many scientific fields in the years before the war.'" (Book chapter 43)

The example could said about DNA, 

"..., Avery and his colleagues reported in 1944 that genes were carried by one chemicals, deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.  What scientists had formerly disregarded as a form of cellular stuffing with no real function -- a "stupid molecule," as the biologist Max Delbruck once called it dismissively..." (Book Chapter 37)

DNA was discovered 1869 by Swiss Researcher, Friedrick Miescher.  This paragraph I think really highlighted Mr. Bush's words.  And for this book about Cancer, which showed how we use this knowledge to design the Targeted Treatment we used now.  The whole thing could be traced back to the mid- 19th century.  This is really fascinating!  

The view on science itself was often expressed against a goal oriented grand scientific plan for a nation.  And author used the whole book to prove this thesis.  I think this was expressed best in the chapter 15, but what's the reason of writing this?  Because in the political realms, this view was impatiently shut down.  In terms of politics, timely results is everything.    When the lobbyists pushed for a war on cancer,basic science was shunned.  If we looked at the pandemic right now.  We can suddenly understand why some people would rush to swallow medications that's not much use to them, instead hurt them sometimes.  From the present, we can also understand why so many doctors would try radical surgery or chemo therapists were trying to find more toxic chemicals try to cure cancers.  Because like some examples from the this book, dying patients have no time.  

But I'd say some people well versed in politics will say, well, it's a problem of direction.  They choose the wrong way.  But I feel that urgency would always trump the importance.  Which meant that looking for effective chemotherapy will always comes first.  The basic science of biology will always be in the background, especially in term of political debate.  

For me personally, I can see how messy it is to find cure, even now.  I remember when 蕭婆婆 got the cancer 20 years ago.  One of my uncle's friend was in research of cancer tried to comfort my aunt, targeted treatment was mentioned.   But she past away not long after.  I did not know the detail.  But I know, the treatment was not effective.  But 5 years ago, one of my uncle's friend, got breast cancer.  And she's still alive today.  I think the treatment must've been improved now.  It's a long struggle, it's messy.  I hope it helped me to understand.  Because I only like to do things when I totally grasped the procedure, the effect.  But often,  it is not the case.  I still need to move forward as mess was left behind, and hope that continuous action can get  a fix in the future... 

Togo afterthought

我花了兩個晚上看了一部電影叫做 Togo.  在講一隻狗的故事。  這是一個真實的故事。  事情發生在西元 一九二五年的一個大風雪中。  當時為了要救一個偏遠村落的眾多小孩，Seppala 君和當時的一群狗狗雪橇手在大風雪中接力把救小孩的藥給送到那個村落。  總共是廿個雪橇手，一百五十隻雪橇狗，共六百七十英里。  其中兩百六十英里是 Togo 跑的。  這事情是當時的大新聞， 被稱作： Great race of mercy 和 The great serum run.  

我很喜歡這電影。  這裡面有很多危險場景，當然是電腦繪製，但是我覺得有超過一半的場景是去 阿拉斯加實地拍攝的。  畫面通常不是很重要，但是我覺得現在能夠看到實地拍攝的場景是很難地的。  那些狗狗的表演也因為真實，常常讓我驚嘆！

電影不斷在過去和現在的場景交替出現，我覺得這應該是很正常的事。  因為要給觀眾看到 Togo 和 Seppala 君和其夫人那種濃厚的關係，這種手法有其必要。  但是在節奏上掌握得很精當，不會給我有任何搶鏡或混亂的感覺。  另外在回憶的時候，我覺得演 Seppala 君的 William Dafoe 君和演Seppala 夫人的 Julianne Nicholson 在情感上掌握的十分恰當， 不會過分感情化。  也因為這樣， 感情壓抑更襯托出激動的時候，情緒翻湧的強度足以撼動我的心情。  

狗的名字叫做 Togo，來源是 東鄉平八郎。  我查了一下，名字其實是聽過的， 但是有點不確定。  是日本最有名的海軍元帥。  成名之戰就是和日俄戰爭中，率領日本海軍一舉擊潰太平洋列強之一的俄國，當時無人看好日本。  在電影裡， 給這隻狗取這個名字是因為 Seppala 君一開始也不看好 Togo，甚至兩次想把它給掉!  Togo 最後以八個月的年齡取得雪橇狗的資格。  在電影裡，Seppala 君給這隻狗取這個名字， 因為他覺得 Togo 和 東鄉平八郎一樣， 都是 "underdog" ！

食譜: 杏仁豆腐

There was a time when my uncle's friend was sharing her  世界日報 with them.  We got a chance to read them as well.  It always came with a special magazine 世界周刊 on Sunday.  My mom loved the recipes from those special magazine.  She clip those recipes into her folders like when she's younger.  That's an old habit of hers.   She used to do that for herself, then when we were born, she used to do it for us, from newspaper like 國語日報.  

We are in a heat wave these few days.  Lucky for me, Mom was already preparing for it.  She dug into her collection of magazine/newspaper clips.  There it is: 水果杏仁豆腐!  2009 08 30 世界周刊, by 葳莉.  

The name has "Tofu" in it, but it does not have contain tofu.  It combined evaporated milk with unflavored gelatin to make something looks like Tofu.  It was really good.  It taste cold and refreshing withou overwhelmingly sweet taste.  I really liked it!!  

The recipe is here:

Ingredient:

Evaporated Milk (1 can of 354 ml)

Almond powder Instant (5 tsp) (My mom made from Raw almond, roasted, then food processed)

Gelatin (unflavored, 21g, little inner page should be 7g/pack)

Pure Almond Extract (1/4 tsp)

White cane sugar (10 tsp for gelatin mix in Large container, 5 tsp for the last step)

Can fruit (1 can of 425g)

Steps:

1. Open and Pour out Evaporated Milk to a Large container.  Put the empty can aside.  

2. Put Almond Powder (my mom roasted the raw almond and ground the almond using a processor) instant 5 tsp into the empty can, filled it with hot water until 2/3 full, stir until the powder and water mixed, then fill the can until full.  Then pour everything into the Large container with milk.  Repeat the process, mix second Almond Powder instant  with hot water , and pour into the large Large container. (total 2 cans of mixed Almond Powder instant water mix) 

3. Repeat step 2, but with 21g. of Gelatin, with only 1 can of hot water!  Pour into the Large container, then add Pure Almond Extract(1/4 tsp), and White cane sugar (recipe asked for 10 tsp, my mom added only 5, and it tasted just fine).  Wait for it to cool, then put in the refrigerator for consolidation.  

4. Pour a can of fruit in a Large Bowl, and use the empty fruit can to put 2 cans of cold water in the Large Bowl.  Then added White cane sugar (Recipe asked for 5 tsp, my mom added 2.5 tsp, it tasted great), mixed it well.  In the Large container, use half of the gelatin, cut the gelatin into small rectangular shape, 3-4 cm height, pour into the Large Bowl.  Put in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours, or until the almond flavor from the gelatin seeped into the the mixture.  Take it out and serve after 1-2 hours.  

5. The other half gelatin can be stored for up to 2-3 days to make another batch!!  

Cannot use flavored gelatin.  

I want to make a video out of it.  Need to plan how.  

Random

Mei said her sister has some clothes for my mom.  So I went and got it today.  

It was quite empty compared to the last time I went to Boston, maybe last year?  Mei kept telling me there're more people today since Covid-19 broke out.   And most of the stores were still closed, many of them boarded.  Those are for the protesters though.  There were temporary signs forbidding parking at meters for special events, which I guess are protests.   The whole thing felt kind eerie.  

I went to a Chinese market, it still filled with people though.  And the places are so small and narrow, there's no room for "social distancing".  Then I drove Mei to brookline.  It was quite pretty, so I got off the car to take a walk.  There are so many brick houses, and everywhere I see interesting landscapes.  Not every house are designed, but most are.  So as long as you keep the house relatively quaint, it will be just fine.  The place I live was already quite pretty, but brookline really breathes with age, which brought something entirely different.  

I am not jealous though.  Just thinking about the upkeep makes my head ache.  lol  

The clothes were quite small for Mom, but she will keep some.  Mei asked me if I want to go in to see her sister.  I said no.  Mom thinks I should, at least to see how petite her sister is.  Mom cannot imagine such a petite lady.  

I saw Balitmore Oriole while walking around the Brookline neighborhood.  Its coat was shining with orange and black stripes.  I think it is Baltimore Oriole...  

----------------------

My sister went to Connecticut.  She told me that one of her brothers there past away.  Sadly I did not have much memory of that brother.  But my sister was quite emotional, said that brother really reminded her of our father.  That brother also came to Boston Chinese meeting every month when the Chinese group first started in 1990s.  Mom was shocked when she got the news as well.  

rant

i haven't really talked significantly today.  then i just ranted to my mom about some talk shows she loves to watch, saying those shows talk none sense and ridiculed the show right in front of her.  

WHY??????????????????????????????????????????????????????

i already told myself not to engage in such conversation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

those people talk with what they thought, i did not.  and i literally ranted!  

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

樹和他的蟲子們

I cut my shrubs all day today.  all 8 of them.  I know they were infested, but not sure the extent of it until I started to cut them.  It was kind gross and scary, the powder just flied out of the shrubs as I was cutting them.  And the white egg sacs were all over the leaves on the tree and off the tree, like a snow or sugar coating.  I told mom and then we went to a garden center in Tewksbury.  The people there seemed knowledgeable.  When I showed them the picture, the person there said it's a hemlock.  But they showed me a solution to kill the bugs not by spraying, but by feeding the root system and when the bugs drinks the sap from the shrubs, they will be killed.   Sounds like the Roundup, but instead of killing weed through roots, this time, bugs.  And it also said don't do it until the flower season past, otherwise I guess the bees will get hammered.  So we came home and I said I will finished cutting the shrubs first and wait until flower season is over to apply the chemical.  

But man, oh man, it was like a convection sugar...  It was spooky.  At night I was trying to research what is a hemlock.  The name refers to 2 kinds of plants actually.  One is poison hemlock, the other is actually an evergreen, looks just like my tree.  Yew in Chinese is 紫杉；hemlock is 鐵杉。  The only telltale sign maybe its fruit.  Yew produced a red berry like fruit, hemlock the evergreen produces something that looks like a small pine cone.  I also remembered the garden center person mentioned my bug's name is wooly adelgid.  So I looked it up, but I thought my bug is actually mealybug, although I do wonder why I never see a bug similar in pictures.   But the wooly adelgid's picture was not right either, the reason the eggs showed in pictures were shown lying along the leaf shoots, and although eggs are white, but the shape is rounded.  And finally, I saw another page by Umass Amherst about pest for taxus and other plants, one of them is cottony camellia scale.  Their egg sac are white, underside of leaves, and long rectangular shaped.  I think this is the bug!  

I was thinking of cutting all the shrubs, but it's expensive to cut and replace.  I hope my spiders and other bugs could hunt the infestation, but looking at the spread, I don't think so.  But I resist the idea of spray in fear that it could harm my other bugs.  Looking the chemical I got today, it's worse...  I don't see another way out though.   

PS, I see mealybugs now, lots of them, while I was cutting crown of the trees.  I saw spiders and other bugs.  I am really nervous I might killed the whole squad of them.  I am thinking I might have multiple pests, scales, and mealybugs...  

老房子

I watched a few Old House video today.  One was about patchy lawn, another one about how to prevent ice dams, another one about whole house energy audit, and the last one was how to fix a crack in the concrete foundation.  

I suddenly see this show as an important and integral part of the whole construction industry.  The show is mainly educational.  But while they demonstrate many how to's, explain the process, and industrial standard, they also let common people feel empowered to do it by themselves.  And they showed people what option they have if they want to find  contractor.  Like the one with crack in concrete foundation, I was amazed on new industrial inventions; and the ones in whole house audit, it showed off the infra light camera to discern the cold and hot space within a wall, and the low pressure test?  I mean we had energy guys came in to do the work, but they did not use low pressure test.  That would be way cool...  

I will recorded what I saw today about lawn:

1. They used a thatcher on one lawn, but not on a new lawn, the guy said it can wait for another 3 years before using a thatcher machine.  

2. They used a  core aerator machine to pull plugs of soil out of the lawn, so the water, air, and nutrients are easier to go into the soil.  

3. Then in order to improve the soil, the guy always used compost.  He throw the compost on the lawn directly all over the place, then use the back of the rake to flatten the compost.  He said to put half to one inch of compost.  

4. Then he used a high phosphorus fertilizer to promote the roots growth.  Phosphorus promotes root growth, the nitrogen promotes upper, grass blade growth.  The best time to do the seeding is fall.  Summer is too hot, disturbing the soil too much, it will dry out.  And then your seeds need to compete with Crab grass and other weeds.  

5.  Rye grass is more shade tolerate.  Blue grass is sun tolerated.  

Oh, and I also watched crab apple tree pruning and how to deal with ants.  

Tomorrow, I am going to cut my yews, it was infested with mealy bugs to the point, they are on my lawn as well.  My strategy is to do extreme cutting, it's going to be ugly and the tree might die during the summer...  But I don't want to do the spray thing...  If all fails, I'll have to cut my yews down.  Then my front house would be bare...  

南瓜花捲

Mom wanted to make a traditional Chinese pumpkin braided rolls.  She already had a video prepared for quite a while now.  I think if she slept well on Saturday night, she would be doing this yesterday.  But I accidentally put Sound of Music on at 9:30 pm.  She could not stop watching it until the movie finished.  She did not sleep all night after the movie.  I guess there're certain point at night that she has to go to bed, otherwise, she does not have time to get enough rest.  

She's not well today though better than yesterday.  I helped her doing the rolls by providing muscles while she was doing chili.  The first thing was to cut the pumpkin to small pieces, seeded it, and steamed it until tender.  Then we meshed the steamed pumpkins without skins.  We mixed the meshed pumpkin with flour and yeast.  The flour and pumpkin ratio probably around 2:1.2, in weight?   We made 南瓜饅頭 before, but the color was disappointing, it's off white, virtually no yellow at all.  This time, we made sure no extra water were added, mixing with just flours using moist from steamed and meshed pumpkin.  I knead the doll for almost 2 hours because I'm not sure how much flour did I need.  The above ratio was only a guideline, so that when I want to do it next time, I could have a baseline of flour, rather than adding 1 cup, mix, adding another cup, mix....to see if the dole was ready.  

I used the whole pumpkin, but at the beginning, I only planned to use half.  I used all, because the recipe video mom used did not give us a quantity of the pumpkin used.  It only mentioned how many yeast, and how much flour, which was 800 g.  Anyway, I end up using whole pumpkins with 800+ g.  

Those 2 hours of kneading was quite frustrating.  the dough was shaggy for a long time, I tried to knead and wait for 15 minutes a couple times.  But it stays very shaggy, I even pull out a little piece and tried window pane test.  After almost 2 hours, I gave up, the dough was forming and improving.  But when I pulled a little piece from it, the edge was still shaggy.  The dough did start to spring back to shape.  Mom checked the dough and said it's ok now.  But she must observe my frustration.   

We wrapped and oiled the dough and wait  for about an hour and half.  The dough grew in size nicely, the color was pure gold.  and the result was pretty good as well.  It's soft and slightly sweet, without sugar!  Hope we could recreate the process next time.  

Robin the bird

在烏洒的麻州有一種鳥非常容易辨識。  每年見到這種鳥就知道春天來了。 他褐色的背上有一點黑紋，胸腹部是橘色的。 就是那個橘色，讓人一見就不容易忘記。  我查過他的名字，叫做 Robin。  介紹的文章還說這種鳥在歐洲也有的。

但是，如果仔細看就會發現歐洲和烏洒的 Robin 很不一樣！  原來，同樣的名字卻是兩個不同種的鳥。  光從圖上比較，我覺得烏洒的 Robin 有脖子，歐洲的沒有。  另外身子大小也是明顯不同。 烏洒 Robin 的頭飾黑色的。  所以我再深入的查一查，發現 烏洒的 Robin 屬於 Thrush Family；歐洲的 Robin 屬於舊世界的一種鳥叫做 Flycatcher (或著應該是全名是 舊世界 flycathcer)。  烏洒的 Robin 實際上應該是北美洲 Robin，冬天的時候會飛到南方甚至墨西哥去避冬，春天回到北方甚至加拿大北部和烏洒的阿拉斯加。  另外，北美洲的是歐洲的兩倍大！

有趣的地方是， 討論串提到， 在英國歐洲 Robin 通常是冬天的鳥，當人們看到他時，人們就知道冬天來了。  這和北美洲布一樣。  另外，我想當歐洲人的移民第一次見到北美 Robin 時，第一時間就叫 Robinobin，一定是那鮮豔的橘色。  一般動物的名字總是以第一印象為主， 全世界大概都是一樣的。  但是， 生物學家不一樣。  到了現在， 還往往要用 DNA 再次鑑定分類。  但是，科學的第一步就是看見不同，聽見不同，嚐到不同，碰到不同，之後再逐漸斷怎樣不同。。。  DNA  似乎否定了某些感官上的不同，但是其實 仍離不太遠吧。 



















                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     






















.

外婆過世

這是我剛剛出生一兩個月的事情吧。 我外婆過世了。  外婆的死因是蜘蛛網膜出血。 

媽媽昨天提到這事情。  我剛剛出生，住在日本的外婆堅持要回來帶外孫。  他們家的老大雖然在大陸十年前就有孫子可以抱了。  可是外婆抱不到，因為海峽兩隔。  或許這也是他堅持回來的原因, 雖說媽媽叫他不要回來。  2013 年我去蘇州的時候，大姨提到那時在日本的外婆是很累的。  因為外公的喜好，外婆剛從美國回來不久就為了打掃在日本的屋子，忙得不可開交。  或許也正是外婆剛從美國回到日本， 母親不要外婆回台灣帶孫子。  但是，他還是來了，結果一到桃園機場，就摔了一跤（忘了是誰說的，要考證）。  

媽說，那一天，我剛好滿月，可是帶我的奶媽有事情離開，他當時一個人在景美，分身乏術。  外婆那時在南昌街他們的舊家。  毛婆婆打電話說外婆頭痛的厲害。  媽媽只好先把我放到大嫂愛秋家。 同一時間，外婆已經被送去宏恩醫院了。  之後，頭痛依舊。  媽媽在和舅婆通過電話後，他們轉到中心診所。  外婆以前就常去中心診所，一去就去看他們經常去的腸胃科醫生（頭痛卻去看腸胃科, 不懂），黃天賜醫生。  醫生一看外婆的眼睛，就斷定是腦血管破裂。  馬上轉腦神經科。  這故事我聽過很多遍，但是我從來沒問過爸爸作為中醫有沒有說什麼。  昨天就問問看, 媽媽說爸爸沒有看出來是腦神經吧。  

問題診斷出來後，接下來的問題就是要否開刀？  爸爸在把過外婆的脈後認為已經不行了，媽媽說她相信爸爸的診斷，認為開刀只是帶來痛苦，並不能挽救回來。  結果外公很生氣，甚至還跟葉婆婆說媽媽不孝。  最後在這個情況下，外婆進入了開刀房，再也沒有醒來。  之前，外公要媽媽給手術醫生三萬塊的紅包。  在我的認識裡，這種事是很常見的事。  媽媽說住院, 紅包都是媽媽自己的錢。  

寫出來只是稍微紀錄一下。  

7/20/21

媽媽看了我寫的到舅舅家紀錄的故事。  稍微又補充了一下當時的情況。 我出生十一月廿日，剛好滿月的時候，十二月廿日外婆去住院。  住了將近一個月，都是媽媽陪伴，他的精神恍惚，連護士都看的出來。  他說那時他在中心診所那邊到處吃飯，都是買最好的。  因為精神上實在有點撐不住了。  後來是中心診所的護士長問媽媽， 怎麼只有你一個人陪在這裡。  護士長知道了情況後跟他說，你一定得要把在日本的老爸叫回來。  護士長的言下之意就是，情況不會好了。  外公也即刻來了，但是只請了一週的假。  七天一到，就在外婆要開刀的那一天， 他大概想開刀了就好，也就要回日本上班了。  那天護士長問媽媽：你爸哩？ 我媽說他要回日本上班了，他只請了一週的假。 這個護士長認為開刀在即，怎麼能現在離開？！  護士長竟然親自打電話到機場的飛機公司，那時外公都已經坐在飛機上了，被人請下飛機。  

根據媽媽的說法，護士長也不認為要開刀。  開刀當晚就進入深沉昏迷，在也沒有醒來。  媽媽還說外婆雖然在深沉昏迷中，可是還是會流眼淚。