2006年9月30日星期六
New York Film Festival
I am not old enough to write memoir. But certain themes come back to me again and again and bring me the unexpected joy of being. Something simple and fantastic. They shape the form of my present life and I as an individual. Among these beautiful things, the stories around New York Film Festival defenitely are the pearls on the crown . It is not so much about the films I saw or the celebrities encountered in the cinema, but my friends and the joy we had together.
Two years ago, gosh, I can not believe that was two years ago. We went to see the openning night of the 42nd NYFF, the filmmaker-actress Agnès Jaoui and her writing partner-lead actor Jean-Pierre Bacri and their wonderful movive "Look at Me". The satirical comedy about the ordinary looking daughter and egotistical self-regard father made a funny duet. We mimiced celebrities to have our red-capet pictures taken, and then had bubbletea in the sweet Oct night. Then, was the night for the Holy Girl. The unspoken desire and the thin line between seduction and rejection made such a good reflection of my life back then. Yesterday, we went to see the Queen at the openning night of 44th NYFF. Again, a wonderful movie with lots of British jokes. The young Blair back then, was fighting his war for popularity against the aging Queen and her resistence to recognize the dead Princess of Walsh. At the end, the Queen invited the young priminister for a walk and she recalled her education was to put duty first and then self. However, the time has changed and the people want to see the Royals to show their emotion, like Diana. I wonder will the Queen and Tony Blair see the film themselves?
I am in the middle of a novel by Bernhard Schlink, The Reader. It is about a thn 15 years old Michael and his lover, 36 years old Hanna in a small post WWII German town. When their relationship turned sour, Hanna disappeared. Seven years later, Michael met Hanna again in the court where Hanna was accused of crime as a Nazi camp guard. When other defendants ardently rejected any involvement in the crime, Hanna honestly reflected on her past behavior. When the proceding judge accused her of not helping out the victims in a great fire which led to their death, she replied, with her famous moral puzzel, "what should you have done in that situation?" The novel runs deeper in its reflection on the War as being a second generation after the War. But it is in fact not about the War, but uses it as a mirror to reflect on the fundamental moral puzzels of human race.
2006年9月28日星期四
Magic Mom
卡伦一走进厨房就问, “Where is your magic mom? Is she home yet?” Magic mom? 我想了半天，才回过味儿来，原来她们一直这么称呼妈妈。温蒂笑着说，“你来晚了，她已经回北京了。我们刚才一直在聊她呢。”可不是，温蒂不停地说妈妈是如何的神奇，能够在很短的时间内一个人包饺子、包包子、做烧麦，甚至自己酿制甜酒，简直是个奇迹！想想妈妈在这里的日子，我都是饭来张口，到点儿才到厨房吃饭，从来也不知道原来妈妈已经凭借高超的厨艺，吸引了一批粉丝。卡伦忙不迭的补充说，我妈妈真是了不起，要是她的妈妈来了，肯定不敢一个人出去坐地铁、到唐人街买菜，甚至一个人在厨房做饭。因为要是进来个外国人，而且进来的大都是外国人，她的妈妈一定不好意思跟人家搭讪。我的妈妈不仅一个人进进出出，在曼哈顿一个人逛街，而且到美国人的超市、西班牙裔的超市、日本人的超市、韩国人的超市、广东人的超市购物，从来都不怵。就连我们楼里打扫卫生的西班牙裔的大爷、大妈，都对妈妈念念不忘，好像是第一次了解了普通中国人的生活。
不是我夸我妈，她还真是有两下子。我们一起到拉斯韦加斯看著名的无上装表演，还没过半场，妈妈就在波涛汹涌的剧场里睡着了。哪像周围的国内代表团的同志们，一个一个看得聚精会神，生怕不能理解节目里的微言大义。
今天看到一个新说法：大陆陈已倒，台湾陈还在。
Mission Impossible
We are dealing with impossible mission everyday. Today, the challenge is a in-class presentation about a chapter of my thesis. My friend told me I was nervous like a shaking leaf in a winter chilly wind for the first 5 minutes. My gosh, I was lucky to get over it in 5 minutes! Anyway, I get some interesting feedbacks.
Sometimes I wonder why I am not born to be a genius. How life will be different if I were a genius? Then, I change my mind after I read the brief description of a talented mind, a cambridge mathematician died at age of 32. This week CU dedictes a panel discussion to him for his achievement in math which for the most part we still not understand today.
"Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan was born December 22, 1887, in Erode, Tamil Nadu, India. He showed a consuming passion and genius for mathematics at an early age. An orthodox Brahmin and devout in his religious beliefs, Ramanujan attributed every mathematical equation to his family deity, the goddess Namagiri. In 1912, he sent his now famous letters containing his equations to Professor GH Hardy, who persuaded him to come to Cambridge. An obscure clerk at the Port Trust of Madras, Ramanujan was to become a Fellow of the Royal Society and of Trinity College, Cambridge, while proving, in association with his mentor, G.H . Hardy, results that continue to astound the world of mathematics to this day. Between 1914 and 1918, Ramanujan produced 3000 theorems, many that are still being deciphered today. However, Ramanujan fell prey to the harsh winters of England and was diagnosed with tuberculosis which was exacerbated by the rigors and stress of academic life, his feeling of isolation in an alien culture and the scarcity of vegetarian food. He returned to India in 1919, and died shortly after, on April 26 th, 1920 at the age of 32. "
2006年9月27日星期三
Adam Smith Rule
The demand and supply in a market is driven by an invisible hand, so said Adam Smith a couple of hundred years ago. So we should let the market to rationalize demand and supply. In this respect, we can also generate some information from market price about demand and supply. One good example of this kind is from a recent annuncement of CUCSSA, about its annual National Day Grand Party. Here is the ticket pricing information:
$3.00: CUID; $4.00: Student ID, spouse of CUID (one spouse per CUID!), seniors older than 55; $5.00: Female non-student ID holder; $10:00: Male non-student ID holder with female partner; $20.00: Single male non-student ID holder.
Assume the ticket price equals the real price minus CUCSSA subsidy. From the pricing policy, we can generate the following conclusions:
1. A female CU student is less likely to meet Mr.Right in the party. Because the high subsidy to encourage CU male students to bring in their wives and non-CU males to bring thier female partners ($10 reduction). Also single non-CU male won't show up simply because of the high price .
2. A male CU student is likely to meet Ms. Right in the party. Given that married male students have to pay extra $4.00 to bring in their wives, they are less likely to attend at all. Also the price for external single competitors is really high ($17), so those externals are less likely to participate. There is almost no price difference between female CU students and non-CU female single ($2), the non-CU females will be willing to come.
See you can learn a lot about the CUCSSA 2005-2006 Working Committee from the above information: it is dominately male CU students!
2006年9月26日星期二
新生活运动和八荣八耻
蒋介石推行过新生活运动，其核心就是效法英美生活方式，试图改造中国国民之习性。据说1934年蒋介石发起新生活运动,主要是为了配合武力上"剿共",同时在一定程度上,也为抗日战争作精神准备.新生活运动以蒋介石重新解释之后的礼义廉耻为中心准则,同时吸取近代资本主义国家的某些公共道德和社会生活方面的某些精神文明,以整肃国民日常生活,改良社会风气,并以促成国民生活的军事化、生产化、艺术化为追求目标。
根据维科百科全书的介绍，1934年2月19日，蔣介石於南昌發表演說，為歷時十五年的新生活運動揭開了序幕。「新生活運動」這個名詞，最早見於一九三四年二月十七日蔣介石在南昌於調查設計會所作的演說〈新生活運動發凡〉。在這次演說中，蔣介石指出「所謂革命者，即依據一種進步的新思想（主義），以人力徹底改進各個人以至整個國家之生活形態之謂。簡言之，革命即生活形態之改進也。吾國革命之所以迄今尚未成功，即在於全國國民之生活形態始終無所改進。」，是以蔣介石提出的「新生活」是「先求全國國民於食衣住行四項實際的基本生活能澈底改進之一種社會教育的運動」，是使國民革命得以成功，中華民族得以復興的手段。
早在一九三二年四月蔣介石對中央政治學校學生所作的演說〈人格與革命〉中，即已提出除了「親愛精誠」四字以外，尚要加上「禮義廉恥」方能「挽救墮落的民德和人心」、「改造革命的環境」、「確定我們革命的基礎」，因為在蔣介石的眼中，當時的中國人實在是沒有禮義，不知廉恥，自私自利，所以才會面對亡國亡種的危機。後來蔣介石發起新生活運動時以「禮義廉恥」為其中一端重要的思想，可說是他對於挽救中國危亡之方的一貫看法。
“禮義廉恥”（四維）是新運的中心思想。蔣介石要民眾把“禮義廉恥”結合到日常的“食衣住行”各方面。新運想要做到的，不僅是表面的市容清潔、謹守秩序，而是“要改革社會，要復興一個國家和民族”1。蔣介石理想化地希望新運能使人民改頭換面，具備“國民道德”和“國民知識”，從根本上革除陋習。
若干年以后，礼义廉耻再次成为政府公共政策的热点，也就是当下的八荣八耻。根据维科百科全书的介绍，， 社会主义荣辱观是中国共产党中央委员会总书记胡锦涛于2006年3月4日下午在第十届中國人民政治協商會議第四次会议的民盟、民进联组会上发表的“关于树立社会主义荣辱观”的讲话中提出的，一般又称为“八荣八耻”。据中国共产党的官方解释，提出“八荣八耻”的目的在于引导中国广大干部群众特别是青少年树立社会主义荣辱观。社会主义荣辱观被评为2006年春夏中国主流报纸十大流行语之一。它的主要内容就是：
以热爱祖国为荣、以危害祖国为耻；以服务人民为荣、以背离人民为耻；以崇尚科学为荣、以愚昧无知为耻；以辛勤劳动为荣、以好逸恶劳为耻；以团结互助为荣、以损人利己为耻；以诚实守信为荣、以见利忘义为耻；以遵纪守法为荣、以违法乱纪为耻；以艰苦奋斗为荣、以骄奢淫逸为耻。
不知道这是历史的巧合， 还是因为礼义廉耻的确是中国文化的精髓。以下是王晓峰同学仿赵丽华作的诗 《不以为》：
以热爱祖国为荣，不以危害祖国为耻； 以服务人民为荣，不以背离人民为耻；以崇尚科学为荣，不以愚昧无知为耻；以辛勤劳动为荣，不以好逸恶劳为耻；以团结互助为荣，不以损人利己为耻；以诚实守信为荣，不以见利忘义为耻；以遵纪守法为荣，不以违法乱纪为耻；以艰苦奋斗为荣，不以骄奢淫逸为耻。
2006年9月24日星期日
我们为什么需要诗歌和诗人？
网上正在恶搞诗坛"芙蓉姐姐"赵丽华，张颐武同学也发言说他不评论赵丽华诗歌的好坏（其实字里行间都透露着他的鄙视，认为赵丽华糟蹋了现代诗歌口语化和参照日常生活的传统），只是他对于诗歌因为如此而在网络上“复兴”而感到悲哀。他认为对于赵的恶搞折射了现代人对于诗歌的态度。具体地说，赵加剧了普通人对于诗歌的误解，白白地坠了诗歌的清誉。他的评论一如既往地带着文学批评贵族的优越感，和他对自己影评的评价和对陈逸飞同学的推崇备至如出一辙。
不管怎么说，他间接地提出了一个很好的问题， 为什么现代人还需要诗歌和诗人？这个问题看起来很蠢，但是需要小心的对待。就好像我们小时候被灌输的那样，如果诗歌和阶级一样只是一定社会生产力条件下的产物，那么随着物质的极大丰富，是不是诗歌和阶级一样也要灭亡了呢？过去，诗歌是诗人对于生活的思考，由于他们所拥有的言语霸权地位，他们的声音超越了平头百姓的声音，被历史记录下来。反过来，平头百姓又利用诗人的声音来表达和释放自己的思想和情感，因为他们自己在表达能力或者表达权力上的不足。与杜甫同时代的人，谁没有经历过新婚别、无家别和垂老别呢？但是唯有杜甫的“三吏”、“三别”成了历史的绝唱。和李白同时代的人未必没有李白的书生意气，但是只有他能够信手拈来，神闲气定地写出“人生在世不称意，明照散发弄扁舟”这样的千古佳句。
法国革命以降，随着贵族阶层的解体和教育的普及，诗歌也渐渐和其他文学形式一样，成为人人可及的表达方式。去除了表达权利的障碍，余下的就是个体表达能力的差异了（当然表达的能力从某种程度上说仍然受到个人社会阶层的限制）。在一个人人都有写诗权力的时代，我们为什么还需要诗人呢？网络上对于赵丽华诗歌的恶俗的模仿，至少说明，这些恶搞的人具有自主创作的可能性。 但是这些人和赵丽华至少有两个区别。首先，赵丽华的写作再不济也是她个人的原创 （在此假设她的确没有剽窃他人的作品）。其次，她有借助诗歌来进行个人表达的意愿。过去我们读海子，但是大多数人不再读海子了。北岛在长岛上愉快地享受着他的游泳池；其他的诗人，不知道干什么去了。
这第二点也是诗人和诗歌存在的根本。诗歌存在需要两个基本的条件：首先，个人要有强烈的表达欲望。其次，她或者他要借助诗歌而不是其他的形式来表达。关于第一点，里儿克在《致青年诗人的十封信》中开张名义地提了出来。 他认为青年人必须反观自己内心的深处，自问有没有一个叫自己非如此不可表达的理由。如果有，那么这个人就要服从自己的使命，以诗歌作为自己安身立命的根本。这种强烈的表达欲望，是张扬个体意志的机会，这一点在现代的网络上并不少见。随便浏览几个博客网站，到处都能碰上小资们在无病呻吟，我的也不例外。但关键的区别在于，个体所要表达的是什么。诗人可以进行非常私人的写作；但是如果一旦这些作品发表出来，它们所代表的应该是对于现实的关怀，对于人性的审视和怀疑，是对于美的关照， 而不是机械的复制或者对于流俗的拷贝。所谓的机械写作，在20世纪初曾经被大规模的试验过，但是不知道有没有作品流传下来。关于这一点，不妨想象一下“深蓝”和一个象棋高手的区别。至于对于流俗的拷贝，在这一点上张颐武有一些道理，口语化和日常生活化不意味着把Simpsons 的每一集都记录下来也是诗歌。随着所谓社会的进步，人与人的差异日以减小，身份的危机前所未有的加剧。一个人与另一个的区别，借用《生命不能承受之轻》中托马斯的观点，不过是在达到性高潮瞬间的不同表现。诗歌不是口语，即便是以口语形式表达出来的诗歌，也是诗人对于存在的思考。网络的流行并没有泯灭这个观点，相反的，网络红人的迅速出现和消失，正说明了这个道理。
至于第二点，使用诗歌作为表达的方式，讨论起来有点麻烦。对于为什么有人非得写诗不可，我也不太明白。这一点有待进一步的阅读和研究。但是每一次我打开聂鲁达，尝试对照他的西班牙语原本和英文的翻译，我都能够感觉到他的语言的力量，我想这就是所谓上天所赐予的能力。
技术的进步（不加引号的）使得每个人都可以通晓过去只有艺术家才能掌握的创作方式，比如电影可以用DV来制作，广播技术已经为广大的播客所掌握，行为艺术比比皆是。网络上每天都诞生无数的作家，他们每天生产无数的小说、诗歌和部落格。如果说过去的艺术成产过程像怀孕和分娩，现在大概比较像自慰了。诗歌是理性和激情的对话，在诗歌面前，我哑口无言。所以我恳求大家去恶搞别的东西，放诗歌一马，让它在小众中间继续生存吧。
Who's baby?
We went to the Lincoln Platza and randomly picked a moive, Sherrybaby. It was about Sherry who returned home to New Jersey after serving a three year prison sentence. Eager to reestablish a relationship with her young daughter, Sherry soon discovered that coming back to the world she left behind is far more difficult than she had planned. She did not have the social network to support her and she was very poor in anger management and emotional control. The director and screenplay writer Laurie Collyer gives a lot of sympathy to the charactor, nevertheless, the film is lack of a coherent story line and the story is poorly told.
Before my mom left, we went to Met for a recent exhibition Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde. here is a brief introduction:
"This is the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to Ambroise Vollard (1866–1939)—the pioneer dealer, patron, and publisher who played a key role in promoting and shaping the careers of many of the leading artists during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It includes 100 paintings, as well as dozens of ceramics, sculpture, prints, and livres d'artistes commissioned and published by Vollard, dating from the time of his appearance on the Paris art scene in the late 1880s to his death in 1939.
The exhibition features works by Bonnard, Cézanne, Degas, Derain, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Maillol, Matisse, Picasso, Redon, Renoir, Rouault, Rousseau, Vlaminck, Vuillard, and others. Highlights include five paintings from Vollard's landmark 1895 Cézanne exhibition; a never-before-reassembled triptych from his 1896–97 Van Gogh retrospective; the masterpiece Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? from Vollard’s 1898 Gauguin exhibition; paintings from Picasso's first French exhibition (1901) and Matisse's first solo exhibition (1904); and three pictures from Derain's London series, painted in 1906–07 at Vollard's suggestion. The exhibition also includes numerous portraits of Vollard by leading artists, among them Cézanne, Bonnard, Renoir, and Picasso. Whether it was commissioned, exhibited, or owned by him, each of these works at one time passed through Vollard's hands."
The exhibition introduces each artist and their relationship with Vollard in a separate room, so you start with Cézanne, Van Gogh, and then Matisse, Renoir, and Picasso. There even a room for Vollard's portraits by different artists he sponsored . Picasso said Vollard had more portraits painted than the most beautiful woman in the world. Vollard had an exceptional taste for new art and the vision to take on new artists, even when he was in his early 20s. He opened his gallery at 27 and sponsored the most important exhibitions for Cézanne right away. He is not a collector, so the exhibition is not from his own collection (even though it is a large collection); the art works are organized the way as they were in the original exhibtions in late 19 ceuntry and early 20 ceuntry. Vollard is really a charactor and his best friend is Renoir at the time. There is a very short documentary of old Renoir and Vollard at the master's studio. Instead of working as a art critic or theorist to shape the world vision about new art, Vollard achieved that by commission works from artists, put them on his payroll, and sell their works on their behalf. He discovered new artists and reserve their works. When he died in 1939, his belongs might outbid any avant-gard gallery at that time. Due to the difficulty to resolve the cases around his will and the approaching war, his collections were kept in several countries including France, Canada, and U.S. and others. It was amazing to see them come back again in one exhibition. Other extraordinary achievement of Vollard is that he was highly interested in making prints and books for new artists, so many of the European artists were able to be known outside Europe. After WWI, he turned his interested into writing about his work, his relationship with artists, and the art history he was part of it. By all means, he was the power engine of the art world then. Having no legal child of himself, he left the world with his vision, his passion for art, and his unique talent in making the new art accessible to ordinary people.
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