算把啦...

很好，大家都看世界杯，facebook 也沒有人談政治了...

民主黨早已是一個靠「地區工作」(也就是靠飲飲食食，攏絡選民)，面目模糊的政黨，和民建聯在很多方面都差不多。他們提出這個方案，最大的好處是為他們提供「就業機會」。議員也要食飯的，像李華明呀，劉慧卿之類，還有之下各級大小議員，不做議員不知可以做甚麼。還有很多 「靚」 跟你搵食的，你唔食佢地都要食。(所以我從來都反對全職議員，又開辦事處「服務市民」甚麼的。) 現在多了十個議席，直選便容易了，像劉慧卿，要不是上次中聯辦要玩死田北俊，早就落選了。區議員更是這種 「地區工作」政黨的強項。最好加至六百個議席，他們便最高興...

這個黨還經常強調要和「中央」溝通。溝乜X野通呀! 那是一個滿手鮮血，靠屠殺自己國民維繫的政權呀!

可是說了這麼多，唔想咁樣，可以點樣? 和中央「爭取」民主根本就是不可能的事(你以為人家是傻的嗎?) 你要麼搞暴力革命; 不幸大部份人都認為這太「激進」，那就只好認命，人家施捨甚麼你便要甚麼好了。現在民主黨「爭取」到這個，也是聊勝於無，總不比原本差，也不一定對繼續「爭取」普選有太大負面影響(反正也不會爭取得到)。只是你先前話說得太盡，一臉正氣的，甚麼沒有路線圖絕不支持云云，現在轉軚便難看點...




那邊廂社民連也是「爭唔落」。本來我很支持別人以暴(議會暴力，街頭抗爭) 易暴(政權暴力) 的，但你怎能說出癌上腦這種惡毒語言...

Never ignore a coincidence

Doctor Who Episode 5.12: The Pandorica Opens

Moffat once said that The Eleventh Hour will be the most scrutinized hour of their television lives. At that point it sounded like it is because it is the first episode with an entirely new cast and crew, but just like almost any other line of dialogue that he has written, there is another level of meaning: after Episode 12, everyone is now trying to find out what clues have been hidden back in Episode 1. Except that a few obsessed nerds on the Internet has already noticed that right after Episode 1 and proposed all sorts of mad theories. For the first time ever, though, these mad theories have a chance of being actually true: like the fact that something is wrong with Amy's house, and that her entire life doesn't make sense, is now officially confirmed by the Doctor.

This episode does not answer any questions, but instead adds further mystery to them and raises new questions. Just a few examples:

• What's the voice talking about the "silence will fall"? And why exactly the TARDIS explosion and the end of the universe lead to silence? (Other than that there is nothing left in the universe to make a sound - but that's not too meaningful is it?)
• When exactly was the Auton Rory constructed? No matter which point you pick, it doesn't quite make sense.
• Who really is Amy? Why did she change her name?
• Who/what is River Song?
• What exactly are the effects of those cracks? If the fact that Amy does not remember the Daleks and nobody remember the Cyberking is due to it, does it mean many aliens have fallen through it? Why?
• Why is there a damaged Cyberman?
  
• Who controls the TARDIS and makes it explode? And if somebody have that power, why not just go ahead and do it? What's the point of lining up a list of aliens and construct a box? Is that elaborate setup actually something to save the Doctor?
• Are the Dreamlord and the TARDIS-building plot in The Lodger important, as they are the only episodes not featuring in this one?
• Do those wrong badges and clocks really represent something?
  

The episode, by itself, doesn't seem to make sense if you think hard enough about it. But nothing is as simple as it first appears, and everything is related to everything else, and hopefully, like Moffat's other episodes in the past, it will make complete sense at the end - only this time it is not one episode, but one series. Though perhaps not everything will be explained. After all, there are no laws in the universe that require everything to conclude within one series.

Next week: my guess is that it will not try to resolve the cliffhanger, but directly shows Leadworth and Amelia in 1996(-ish). The big resolution almost surely will involve some timey-wimey stuff, like the doctor somehow escapes, travel back in time to multiple places to do something so that a whole series of events that lead to the escape itself will happen. It certainly will be mindblowing, and will take at least several days, if not weeks, of the collective wisdom on the Internet to work out a consistent explanation, or to decide that it just makes no sense.

Oh, and "Time can be rewritten." Let's see how the big reset button will be used this time.

Parmars, again

Now that I finally have nothing to do with them, I can wholeheartedly "recommend" this fantastic 1-bedroom flat offered for rental by Parmars Estates. (The link may not last very long but don't worry, I have backups of it.) There are lots of good things not in the descriptions and the pictures though which I think I should highlight to potential tenants.

• The advertised rent is 425 pounds per calendar month. You may naively think the same rent is to be paid across the entire rental period, but actually, the rent will increase by 7.5 pounds after every 6 months. You will be informed of this, of course - after you have paid the application fees (and are thus effectively tied to them).

• And if you think you can quit after 6 months, sorry, the contract length is actually one year, not the commonest 6 months. If you want a 6-month contract then it won't be the same rent.

• It says "white goods" and you will also be told "everything is included". However, when they finally produce an inventory (after you paid all fees, obviously) you will find out that the washing machine is not listed, and when you ask them then they will suddenly tell you that it is not included and what you see is only left behind from the previous tenant. Maybe it is not "white" enough. Don't worry, it works, just that I don't know how much longer it will still work - you will soon find yourself enjoying its screaming.
  

• And if you find there are things, like a TV, left behind by previous tenants when you first view the flat, and are promised they will stay, then be assured, they will disappear when you move in.

• They charge a deposit which is 1.5 times the rent, not the usual 100 pounds+rent. But never mind. Make sure you chase them for proof of participating in the Tenancy Deposit Scheme though. This may come handy when you try to get your deposit back at the end of the tenancy. You will find that your deposit is indeed held very "securely" and will take you lots of patience to recover them.

• Here is what can happen. Two weeks pass and there is no contact. Then they say the inspector is "on holiday" and will do the inspection next week. Next week comes and nothing happened and you only get another "next week" promise. Another week passes and they say the inspection report is sent to landlord and waiting for his approval. But just keep bugging them, at least there is one tenant who got it back in 5 weeks time. And make sure you talk politely too, or else they will accuse you of talking "nastily".

• If I say this I'm guaranteeing myself huge trouble, but this is my true personal experience. All I***** lettings agents are f***ing l***s. Don't get anywhere near them.
  

• I'm not sure why, but whenever you come back to your flat and open the door, there will be a cold breeze blowing out. Scary isn't it. And soon you will notice the flat's level of humidity. Look at some parts of the c******. And look behind the d**** too. And I'm very very sorry about this, I've already tried my best: take note of the b*** s******. Good luck.
  

Funny alien awkwardness

Doctor Who Epsiode 5.11: The Lodger

(Actually I've already watched Episode 12 when I write this but I'll pretend I haven't)

• Nothing much to say here: ok episode, funny light comedy. Matt Smith is really an alien. Only he could have done those things convincingly.
  

• The ending (as usual) doesn't make any logical sense. How did a crashed spaceship land on top of a flat without anyone noticing or without damage to the flat? Why is building a time machine the most important thing to save the ship? And fair enough if they try to build any time machine, but a TARDIS? A TARDIS is a bigger-on-the-inside timelord technology! And now perception filter can alter memory as well...

• I was expecting the ending of this episode to lead into Episode 12 like Utopia and Turn Left did, and 40 minutes on this still seemed to be the case. Which makes the resolution slightly disappointing. (Unless, someone is also building a TARDIS in the non-existent second floor in Amy's house... Or if Amy's house actually is a TARDIS...)

• This is the most boring Doctor Who Confidential ever. A scientist talking super-excitedly about the Prime Meridian, the solar system and wormholes. Anyone who watch this show regularly (i.e. not because they happen to have flipped into this channel), would have known all these already. I switched over to watch football, fortunately. Or maybe not.
  

A pile of good things

Doctor Who Episode 5.10: Vincent and the Doctor

• I was not expecting anything from this episode, believing it is the usual historical character episodes where they tack a (very unconvincing) alien explanation to whatever mystery that character was involved (Agatha Christie's 10 days disappearance, Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Won), but was pleasantly surprised it wasn't the case.

• On reflection, that would be wrong, so so wrong to stick those ridiculous jokes to someone who suffered from mental illness. In fact the episode tackles the issue of mental illness at a Saturday 7pm slot, to the point of giving a helpline at the end; this bravery should be commended upon.

• In the "lots of sunflower outside van Gogh's house" scene, Amy was very... "inviting". (I mean, very inviting to be portrayed...)

• Richard Curtis. Big name that I don't know. Nor the films he has written. I suppose now I know how those films are like. Dr Black's 100-word speech, when read on paper, may not appear that outstanding, but the way Bill Nighy delivered it, the acting from everyone, the direction, the music, all added together. And the next scene showing Amy's sadness when she found out that, after all, history have not been changed and van Gogh still killed himself. And the Doctor's speech. Very moving, beautifully and marvelously written and shot. As good as "Father's Day". They will go down history as some of the best scenes this show has ever made.

• The giant chicken monster is poor, but this is completely irrelevant. The sheer brilliance of the last 10 minutes overcomes any shortcomings of the previous 35 minutes. Though one have to ask, why does it always have to be like this (Utopia, Cold Blood, ...) But still, I'm more than happy to take this. To quote the Doctor:

The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things.
The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa,
the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant.
And we definitely added to his pile of good things.

Perennial war

Doctor Who Episode 5.8/5.9: The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood

• Unlike many others I don't think these episodes are too bad, possibly because of me never seeing the classic series. Usual monster-of-the-week type episodes of course, nothing too complicated and even a bit silly, but most episodes are like that anyway.

• Humans and Silurians sharing the planets? That's obviously impossible is it? Certainly no human would agree to it? But I wasn't too bothered about this point. Then just before the Sunday BBC3 repeat, the news was reporting the Israeli military operation of the Gaza aid flotilla.

  The Doctor should really take a closer look at human history. Humans are totally hopeless.
  

• The final scenes are epic, of course. But the most important question remains, who is the big bad that caused the crack? It couldn't be a returning aliens this time, I suppose; if it were then everybody would have known it by now (The Master and Davros were all over the Internet before Series 3 and 4 even began to air.) Is it the Doctor? The TARDIS? River Song? (I recently accidentally discovered that "song" (or more precisely "sông") in Vietnamese means "river" in English - I suppose this is just a very very big coincidence...)

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Truth is probably here:
http://forum3.hkgolden.com/view.aspx?type=CA&message=2348732

England squad

Um, did that man actully say that he only takes players who play regularly and are in form? Look at the list and it is all "safe" choices (i.e., big names) with quite some players starting maybe less than half of the matches for their clubs, even when not injured. When I looked at the starting line-up against Mexico, it felt very refreshing, and for one moment I thought he would really ditch "the system" developed around Rooney-Gerrard-Lampard (who invented it anyway?), otherwise known as put-in-11-star-players-first-and-then-work-out-a-formation. But I quickly realised it is just a friendly, in a real match he is likely to revert to the tried and tested system which has been proven to give you partial, and only partial, success.

As for individual player selection:

Heskey: By dropping Bent they now officially bring three strikers to the World Cup. I mean, one of them score even fewer goals than the Columbian goalkeeper Higuita or the Paraguay Chilavert, how can you seriously count him as strikers...

Walcott: But never mind, in 2002 they also bring effectively three strikers since there was never any real intention to use Walcott anyway. He is a tragedy, really; had he not included in the 2002 squad, and hence not under that much spotlight and ridicule, there might just be a chance for him to develop into a better player. Given that SWP seems to play rather well at the national level, perhaps Walcott's exclusion is justifiable. (Btw, if I'm not mistaken, he was a striker, not a winger. Why do some Premier League managers seem to always fashion strikers into midfielders (Walcott, Kuyt, Babel)? )

A Johnson: should be given a chance really.

Parker and Huddlestone: these are poor people included in the preliminary squad only to make up the numbers.

Dawson: a pity, can't figure out any reason why Upson is preferred.

Overall, the team feels more or less the same as in 2006, although less injury-worn. But still can't see this team going any deep.

Quotes 20100530

... 然而我以為問題永遠不該是「為什麼下一代不能忍受」，而是「為什麼上一代可以忍受」；我們不能把這種環境看作正常的環境，接著質疑下一代人不能吃苦的理由，反而該如實看見這種環境的苦，然後探問是什麼使得上一代人身在苦中不知苦。

說穿 了其實很簡單，那就是希望，以及對希望的想像。流水線上機械化的動作確實難熬，但上一代人仍然盼望回家結婚蓋房子，每一個小時的工作都能換算成未來的磚 瓦，每斷一根手指都意味著樓上的房間多了一扇窗子。所以這種苦是值得吃的，再多的犧牲也都是有意義的。
...
現在呢？你現在回到農村生活還能算是一個好生活嗎？替孩子付出和城裏人差不多的開支，帶父母到城裏看和城裏人一樣昂貴的病；還有哪一位工人會希望 回村安家過日子？住在城裏吧，你不知道要等到何年何月才能憑積蓄住得起一間自己的房子（更 不用說戶口變遷的困難）。... 回去是不行了，留下來也看不到往上流動 的道路，眼前的勞動就真的只能是勞動了，猶如每日推石上山。

假如一代真的不如一代，那實在不是下一代的意志力的問題，你應該問他們要意志力來幹什麼。

梁文道：這也叫一代不如一代？

* * *

工人十二連跳，都是九○後的小青年。他們來深圳打工，與上一代民工不同。老一輩的，從農村到大城市來賣力，省吃儉穿，儲了現金回鄉下買地蓋房子。但現在，農村的土地已經給別人圈掉了...

國情通識課，陶傑

* * *

即使借用航海術語，政府也不敢說意義明確的「向普選出發」、「普選起程」或「普選啟航」。政府沒有路線圖和目的地，只能說意義模模糊糊的「起錨」。起錨不 一定是出發，起錨之後，是可以再下錨的。船隻停泊，初次下錨，鈎得不穩，也會再下錨，令錨頭鈎緊海床，泊得穩固。因此，「起錨」模糊得很，可以是再停泊一 次，預計原地踏步，很蠱惑的口號啊﹗

此外，海盜要綁架停泊在海中的船隻，也會命令船長起錨，隨賊船而去的。政府的起錨口號也有大吉利市的時候，就是香港的「民主號」慘被中共的「集權號」海盜綁架，不准原地停泊，要跟他們回賊巢，使到立法會的功能組別用區議會方案「溝淡」之後，禍延千秋萬世。

陳雲：是起錨，不是起程