Saturday, May 26, 2012
Off I go again...
One thing that came out of a business trip in Asia last October was a Sony NEX 5N. In the months that followed, I used the camera extensively in New York city as well as other places. Will it do the job it was supposed to do when I first bought it? I cannot wait to find that out.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
From Ashes to Ashes
I was cleaning a fire pit from the Sweet 16th party the night before. The party was in my back yard with over 80 people and ended with a joyous note, among the DJ music. It was an exciting party and everything went great, from the food to the DJ, and all the songs and dancing.
I was up early because my daughter needed a ride to her friend's house. From there they would start the first anniversary walk to remember the passing of that friend's mom--who died in at a prime age of 40s.
Back in the yard, now so empty and quiet compared with last night, I started power-washing the residual ashes and soot. Then I had a flashback of my last glimpse at my grandfather, as his body was wheeled into an incinerator at a local funeral home.
When my grandfather came into this world, I was not there to see it. But when he left this world, I was there to see it. And I did not like what I saw. For some reason at the time we had to leave during the incineration. After we drove out of the funeral home, from a distance, I saw a wisp of smoke arising leisurely to the air. A few hours later, when I saw "him" again, "he' only existed in scattered ashes on a concrete floor. A staff member swept the ashes, with a broom, into a dusty pan, then transferred them into an urn. She had no emotion on her face. To her she was just doing her daily job. She probably had handled the remains of many individuals--all strangers to her--in the past. It never ceases to amaze how life starts from a void, flourishes, gradually declines and inevitably decays into oblivion. From its inception, life follows a preordained course, irreversible, unalterable and relentlessly immune to human pathos.
As the last drop of water rushed into the grass on my yard, carrying with it some remaining soot and dust, I turned off the wash gun and moved to something else. Just like yesterday, it was a shinny and warm day.
And the sun also rises.
I was up early because my daughter needed a ride to her friend's house. From there they would start the first anniversary walk to remember the passing of that friend's mom--who died in at a prime age of 40s.
Back in the yard, now so empty and quiet compared with last night, I started power-washing the residual ashes and soot. Then I had a flashback of my last glimpse at my grandfather, as his body was wheeled into an incinerator at a local funeral home.
When my grandfather came into this world, I was not there to see it. But when he left this world, I was there to see it. And I did not like what I saw. For some reason at the time we had to leave during the incineration. After we drove out of the funeral home, from a distance, I saw a wisp of smoke arising leisurely to the air. A few hours later, when I saw "him" again, "he' only existed in scattered ashes on a concrete floor. A staff member swept the ashes, with a broom, into a dusty pan, then transferred them into an urn. She had no emotion on her face. To her she was just doing her daily job. She probably had handled the remains of many individuals--all strangers to her--in the past. It never ceases to amaze how life starts from a void, flourishes, gradually declines and inevitably decays into oblivion. From its inception, life follows a preordained course, irreversible, unalterable and relentlessly immune to human pathos.
As the last drop of water rushed into the grass on my yard, carrying with it some remaining soot and dust, I turned off the wash gun and moved to something else. Just like yesterday, it was a shinny and warm day.
And the sun also rises.
Fire pit at the party |
Friday, May 18, 2012
New York, New York
Sunday, May 13, 2012
A Janitor's Philosophy
This heart-warming story on a 52-year-old janitor's college graduation today is a story about the triumph of human dignity and perseverance. The graduate, who is an immigration of mother tongue in Albanian and came to the U.S. in 1992, shares his view on life and human values.
"I love Seneca's letters because they're written in the spirit in which I was educated in my family — not to look for fame and fortune, but to have a simple, honest, honorable life."
"The richness is in me, in my heart and in my head, not in my pockets."
I often run into janitors at work late in the evenings. One always has a big smile on his face. He told me he is from Cambodia and grateful that he can provide for his family back at home even if he has not seen his wife and children for years. Another is also light-spirited; I heard her singing in Spanish as she was cleaning up a big glass door in the hall way, as if she was doing something really fun and exciting. The third janitor is a Polish lady, probably in her sixties. She apparently took great pride in her work that she once reprimanded me for wasting an extra plastic trash bag, like a grandma reprimanding a child. These people, apparently at the "lowest rank "of the society, certainly have a lot to teach us all.
"I love Seneca's letters because they're written in the spirit in which I was educated in my family — not to look for fame and fortune, but to have a simple, honest, honorable life."
"The richness is in me, in my heart and in my head, not in my pockets."
I often run into janitors at work late in the evenings. One always has a big smile on his face. He told me he is from Cambodia and grateful that he can provide for his family back at home even if he has not seen his wife and children for years. Another is also light-spirited; I heard her singing in Spanish as she was cleaning up a big glass door in the hall way, as if she was doing something really fun and exciting. The third janitor is a Polish lady, probably in her sixties. She apparently took great pride in her work that she once reprimanded me for wasting an extra plastic trash bag, like a grandma reprimanding a child. These people, apparently at the "lowest rank "of the society, certainly have a lot to teach us all.
Mr. Gac Filipaj , a janitor at Columbia University, graduated from the university after over a decade of hardwork. (Photo Credit: Jason DeCrow with AP) |
Saturday, May 12, 2012
植物甲胄
贵州歪寨村藤甲胄。据说制做需两个人花上两三年时间。首先要到山里找寻上了年份、粗细一致的青藤。选好藤条后,要将其放在阴凉处慢慢阴干,约两个月后开始编织藤甲。编好的藤甲,放入 桐油里浸泡两天,然后再取出慢慢阴干,每次泡、晒工序需三个月,需经“九泡九晒”,因而制作一套最为坚固的藤甲,时间最长需要两三年时间。 |
This interesting news report on the ancient mail armor made of veins (photo, above) reminds me of the type I saw last year in a small town in Japan, only made of lacquered bamboo (photo, below).
“‘早在战国末期,我们的先人就用一万藤甲兵拖垮十万秦军……三国时期,我们的藤甲兵还打败了诸葛亮的蜀军,后来诸葛亮用火攻将我们的先人打败,才辗转到这里落脚安家。’日前在贵州安顺市幺铺镇歪寨村村口,迎接记者的56岁布依族汉子韦达庆说起先人的历史。
在这个偏僻的小村落,村民们和韦达庆一样,都对先人的历史深信不疑。韦达庆说,上世纪50年代这里家家户户都还在制作藤甲胄。60年代开展社会主义教育的“四清”运动来临,村里的藤甲被烧了个一干二净。出于对先人的敬畏,一位老人从火堆中捡回部分藤甲残片藏起来。2005年,村里人依照残片的样子和老人的回忆,经过一年多的研究,编了拆、拆了编,终于复制出与残片质地一模一样的藤甲。如今,藤甲成了歪寨村的标志,也是村民们引以为傲的宝贝。”
“‘早在战国末期,我们的先人就用一万藤甲兵拖垮十万秦军……三国时期,我们的藤甲兵还打败了诸葛亮的蜀军,后来诸葛亮用火攻将我们的先人打败,才辗转到这里落脚安家。’日前在贵州安顺市幺铺镇歪寨村村口,迎接记者的56岁布依族汉子韦达庆说起先人的历史。
在这个偏僻的小村落,村民们和韦达庆一样,都对先人的历史深信不疑。韦达庆说,上世纪50年代这里家家户户都还在制作藤甲胄。60年代开展社会主义教育的“四清”运动来临,村里的藤甲被烧了个一干二净。出于对先人的敬畏,一位老人从火堆中捡回部分藤甲残片藏起来。2005年,村里人依照残片的样子和老人的回忆,经过一年多的研究,编了拆、拆了编,终于复制出与残片质地一模一样的藤甲。如今,藤甲成了歪寨村的标志,也是村民们引以为傲的宝贝。”
Thursday, May 10, 2012
与神摔跤的人
"And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when [the man] saw that he prevailed not against [Jacob], he touched the hollow of [Jacob's] thigh;...And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And [Jacob] said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me...And [the man] said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince has thou the power with God and with men, and hast prevailed...And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (KJV Genesis 32:24-30)
JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL (Genesis 32:24,30) |
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
原丑?
小孩不久要过生日了,我打算准备一个20x30平方英吋的photo collage poster board,供她的同学在谈笑之余,也在反面签名。周末开始寻找她从出生起的照片。地下室里有一个大的硬塑料盒子,里面堆满了许许多多各个时期的相片--我甚至还找到了她出生前B超仪的scan image。在过去的时空里旅行总是件感情复杂的事情,“半生有梦化飞烟”总是感叹的内容之一。不过这次的发现是,尽管人是否生下就有罪仍然是个可辩的问题,但许多人似乎都注意到了人一生下都很难看这个现象。记得我的一个同事曾说起她的几个小孩时,“Babies are ugly. All babies are ugly”。大部分婴孩相貌都差不多(这或者是为什么换婴事件在历史上屡见不鲜)-如果算上出生前用仪器照出的“馄饨未分”的样子更是如此,而且都同以后的长大后的样子差别很大--庆幸地是绝大多数人成熟后都比刚出生时好看些(包括我在内)。这个现象,不妨称之为“原丑”吧。原丑似乎是客观而且普遍存在的,它不会因为父母对婴孩的爱的程度而消失,只会在成长中改变。(如果在神学上作衍生的话,那就是人的原罪也不会因神的爱而消失,只能在灵的成长中变化。)
At the Window (2004) by Loretta Lux |
Saturday, May 5, 2012
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