So, our brains were all melting after this episode. Despite being a big Moffat fan I'm less and less convinced about the grand scheme of things. I think his best episodes are the ones when everything has to be resolved completely in one episode (Blink, The Girl in the Fireplace). I can only hope I will be proved totally wrong. Below are some questions that are either big mysteries that will be resolved, or just glaringly big plot holes.
Doctor Who Episode 6.02: Day of the Moon
Observations:
(1) Amy and the Silence:
Amy surely is somehow related to the creation or origin of the Silence: "You will bring the Silence". Is this related to her "quantum" pregnancy and the little girl?
But at the same time it is the Silence who bring the girl up by putting her in the spacesuit - possibly even create her (from Amy?) in the first place. The quick flashes as she wakes up in the proto-TARDIS clearly indicates that the Silence did something to her during that long period of time.
Back to the Future, anyone?
(2) Doctor-Silence similarity:
It is a mad theory, but I can't help notice that the Silence are in some sense similar to Time Lords. They attempted to build a TARDIS; they can manipulate people's memory, which is not dissimilar to Time Lord's abilities (for example, the Doctor planted the memory of "something blue" into Amelia in The Big Bang). This "dark" side of the Doctor (?) is described in Moffat's short story Continuity Errors, where lots of ideas have found their ways into the TV series (a planet-sized library; time-travelling archaelogist; "a hero to many"; rewrite a person's past to achieve a particular aim for himself).
The girl can regenerate, so surely she is at least part- Time Lord. Why would the Silence want to bring up a (part-) Time Lord?
(3) Spacesuit-Cyberman similarity:
The spacesuit is some sort of a womb to sustain life, and it chases down the little girl to "eat" her, much like the cyberman head opens and tries to "eat" Amy in The Pandorica Opens.
(4) Cracks vs Silence:
By creating this memory-erasure plot point, now Moffat can insert anything back in the show's history at any point - just say that the characters have forgotten them. So Series 5 he has this crack thing which erases anything he doesn't like, and now he can insert anything he likes.
Nitpicks:
(1) Episode 1 cliffhanger:
Why didn't the Doctor question Amy why she shoots? (He probably have deduced a lot of things by now, though; just not saying.) And why didn't he confront the astronaut / the Silence immediately, which is his usual behaviour?
(2) Dead Silent:
Can a dead slient remove itself from people's memory? I mean, after I killed it, if I looked away do I forget it? If yes then people all over the world would be busy looking at dead alien bodies repeatedly wondering "What is that?" and forgetting... If no then since 1969 there should be plenty of documentation about the Silence?
(3) Doctor forgetting:
The Doctor also forgets what the Silence looks like initially. So presumably he should also forget all the events soon afterwards, like humans forgetting the killings in 1969??
[EDIT 20/5:] (4) Telepathic spacesuits?
Actually I just came across this: the little girl calls the President and says the spaceman is coming at her, so she's not inside the spacesuit yet at that point, so how can she call the president (unknowingly using the spacesuit's communication-system-hacking technology)? Unless you tell me that the spacesuit is telepathic or something...
Nice bits:
(1) So the reason that River Song is an archaelogist is to give her a Tomb Raider moment then... visually spectacular too. Give her more things to shoot please...
(2) Another heartbreak when River realises that was her last kiss...
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Monsters are real... on Saturdays
So, the evil genius brings us a new series of the show. Sadly, the excitement to the premiere of the show was unfortunately overshadowed by, to everybody's shock, the death of Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) a few days before the first episode.
I probably won't be writing about every episode this time - on reflection, series 5 was not as good as I thought and many episodes were a bit "meh" and there's no point in writing much. Hopefully it will be better this time round.
Doctor Who Episode 6.1: The Impossible Astronaut
A year ago, we have the Series 5 opening episode. Every time I watched it becomes better and better; in my view it was the most perfect way possible to introduce a new companion. Moffat must have that idea for his whole life. This series opener, of course, is very different. No new doctor or new companion to be introduced, but packed with shocks. It is mindblowing as usual, and bold, very bold.
The good:
You really can't fault Moffat's witty writing; there are so many brilliant quotes. Just two samples:
Funny, referring to the show itself:
Time isn't straight-line. It's all... bumpy-wumpy. There's loads of boring stuff, like Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons. But now and then there are Saturdays. Big temporal tipping points when anything's possible.
And touching, an Alzheimer's disease's take on the opposite time travelling nature of River and the Doctor:
Trouble is, it's all back to front. My past is his future. We're travelling in opposite directions. Every time we meet I know him more, he knows me less. I live for the days when I see him. But I know that every time I do he'll be one step further away. The day's coming when I'll look into that man's eyes - my Doctor - and he won't have the faintest idea who I am. And I think it's going to kill me.
Particularly sad if you re-watch the scene in Silence in the Library when River realises that was the last time she saw the Doctor.
The bad:
Steven Moffat has introduced so much mystery and so much timey-wimey into the show that, unless you have a sci-fi brain or are the most hardcore viewer, any casual viewer would have absolutely no idea what is going on.
They are brilliant in making trailers, but despite my (half-hearted) attempt to avoid spoilers, I already know too much and some of the shock has been lost. In the Christmas special, the trailer is very exciting, but that's all the best bits and the episode itself was disappointing. Not as bad as that here, but still some shock is lost.
This episode introduces so many mysteries that makes people wonder that - even with a genius like Moffat - maybe it will run loose and never gets resolved, like Lost.
Various little questions/observations:
I won't repeat the obvious ones here, but
- Is Amy really pregnant, and if so, does Rory know about it??
- Apparent hints of a close Amy-River relation:
River: "It's a lock, how's a girl supposed to resist?"
Amy said something very similar in The Beast Below.
- Just to remind everyone: the 10th doctor have been to the moon landing four times, with Martha.
- While it is always assumed / implied / explicitly said that the timelines of River and the Doctor are in exact opposite order, this leaves quite some problems. For example River did not know Rory back in The Big Bang, which presumably is in her future, but she knows him now. This point is also raised by someone on Twitter, but I'm not so convinced by the great Moff's answer. I suppose genius also makes mistakes sometimes... Also how does River time travel from 50xx-ish to 2011? I think the following timeline, from River's point of view, do not seem to have major logical problems, barring the ending bit at The Big Bang:
TPO-TBB-TIA-DotM-ToA-FnS-SitL-FotD
But who knows, maybe after next episode everything here will become nonsense.
- I believe The Doctor sends out the 4 envelopes not in order to save himself or for any particular reason, but simply because he knows it happened and therefore he has to make it happen to make timelines consistent etc. (Typical Moffat ontological paradox stuff.)
- And surely the timeline (the Doctor's "real" death) needs to be rewritten at some point? And understandably, some people are not happy with such arbitrary rewriting of time. I prefer the closed-time-loop, predestination paradox view of time travel, but Doctor Who has a mixture of both.
- How's next episode going to end? Presumably they won't deal with the Silence completely (after all, they have just been introduced), but Episode 3 seems to be a totally ordinary type of episode. Do they just all "forget" about the Silence again?? Huge anticipation of the enormous shock, as widely rumoured/reported...
Verdict:
As usual nothing seem to make any sort of sense in the first part of Moffat's 2-parter. Silence in the Library also received quite some stick when it came out, but Forest of the Dead is really good. So I will reserve judgment till next week. This may not be the best DW episode, but certainly miles better than most other
stuff on TV at the moment, including the reality or "talent" shows that are occupying the prime time slots. Give the 7pm slot back to DW!
Prologue: And the absolutely ridiculous:
Just who is the idiot that came up with the idea of the show "Don't scare the hare" just before DW? It is ridiculously stupid, even if it were on a children's channel. Many people, including me, have the misfortune of watching it because we tuned in a few moments before DW. The premise of that "family game show" is that the players have to perform tasks and answer questions, and if they got it wrong they will scare the hare - a robotic rabbit. Yes, seriously. With a bizzare looking host. Just why should i care not to scare this silly-looking robot? And how do you scare a robot anyway? The only thing it does is to move forwards and backwards - very slowly. Hardly looks like it is frightened; in fact it looks more scary than most monsters in DW.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
港式茶餐廳
天啊，這麼多年後，終於有人在這裏開了一間 (自稱是) 港式的茶餐廳。此前的不是茶樓 (一條友點飲茶？) 就是呃鬼佬的 buffet，還有也是沒有中國人幫襯的 takeaway。那些侍應居然還會說半鹹淡廣東話呢，於我等不懂北方土話者實是喜訊。雖然食物的味道頗為一般... 甚至有點不對勁... 但大致上是 authentic 的，況且勝在近，差不多就在樓下。我香港樓下反而沒有茶餐廳呢 (以前有一間，給領滙摺埋了，轉了做麥記...)
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Man Utd's reaction to the officials' decisions
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and his assistant Mike Phelan were interviewed after the matches with Wigan and Chelsea:
Seriously, could you shut up now Ferguson? If you are so furious about referee decisions then perhaps you could support video reviews?
Q: What do you think of Rooney's elbow on Wigan midfielder James McCarthy?
SAF: I don't know how he stayed on the pitch. Nothing done, the referee's in front of it. It was incredible.
Q: The match was refereed by Mark Clattenburg, what do you make of his performance?
SAF: When I saw who the referee was I did fear it. I feared the worst. You want a fair referee - or a strong referee, anyway - and we didn't get that. These are decisions that change the game. And he's going to be refereeing every week.
Q: But Luiz's foul on Rooney also escaped punishment, what is your opinion on it?
SAF: There's nothing in it. As it is Wayne, the press will raise a campaign to get him hung or electrocuted, something like that.
MP: We can't dispute the referee's decision. He's kept the game flowing and we're happy with that. There should not be a witch-hunt. The referee was consistent with all his decisions. We should lie low a little bit and let the powers that be take [control of] the game.
Seriously, could you shut up now Ferguson? If you are so furious about referee decisions then perhaps you could support video reviews?
Friday, January 28, 2011
夕陽大智話司徒
(陶傑, 壹週刊 20/1/2011)
司徒華先生病逝，全港淒然。
老先生尚在時，許多人出於政治對立、嫉妒奪權，罵司徒華，話說得太盡。十三年來，輿論自我審查，辱罵司徒華的傳媒與日俱增。至少有三分二；後來連泛民中的丐幫也加入聲討。
老先生一去，個個都把臉湊上來叨光——不錯，政治容許一點點虛偽，但虛偽得如此中國式之低下，會不會令人想嘔吐呢？
我與司徒華先生難攀深交，也不常見面，但每次見面，談敍必深。在香港，能交得上朋友的，年紀都比自己大一輩。「友直、友諒、友多聞」，多聞，即是有經歷和見識。從民國過來的一代，年紀比我大，經歷比我苦，八千里路雲和月的感觸和智慧比我深，無論做生意還是讀書人，學問往往也比我多，至少都是一冊活的歷史書。
司徒華患病期間，我與他見過幾次，談到「五區公投」。司徒華沒有趁這趟水，他的觀點，與我相似，就是發起「五區公投，全民起義」的那一位半個仁兄，聲嘶力竭，甚似悲壯，其實人格不可信。
中國人的老話：「修身、齊家、治國、平天下」，是有道理的，因為中國政治比其他國家污穢、殘暴、鄙劣百倍，從政的人，人格必須用特殊材料鑄成。「共產黨員是 用特殊材料造成的」，這句話在中共打天下時流行，意思是：從政的人，尤其處於抗爭的草野，道德要高潔，意志要剛強，不為財色名權誘使，更不為嚴刑拷打屈從。
司徒華先生一生獨身，不嫖不賭，從沒欠過錢，我相信，是那種刀槍架在胸口也寧死不屈甘心赴義的人。這個品種，屬於黃花崗七十二烈士、宋教仁和秋瑾那個系列，不敢說在大陸已成絕響，但在世界仔和精甩邊橫行的香港，像司徒華先生這般質地的，極為稀有。
發起「公投起義」的一兩位，以中國現代革命史的遠大目光視之，一看就知道靠不住。有的人當紅得令時。一身名牌，不可一世；從巔峰下墮深淵時，卻又垂頭喪氣惶惶如喪家之犬。在他身邊的「戰友」，必見識過如此嚴寒酷暑的喜怒大形於色的作風，與澳門賭場三更貧五更富的江湖賭客無異。這種性格，平心而論，有其可愛的一面，幹其他職業，是他自己的事，「政治」卻是眾人大我之業。但在中國人社會，讓這種性格的人士一統天下，做泛民的大盟主，即屬笑談。
若是修身不成，齊家也不力，教子無方，在鄰近地區惹上官非，關押在囚，很奇怪，真的讀通「幾狼都有」的中國歷史，就會明白，蔣介石把兒子送去蘇聯，誤成史達林的人質，以致後來圍剿延安，小辮子抓在蘇共手裡，就是不敢直搗黃龍。以史為鑑，不但可以知興替，更可以趨吉避凶。越是表演賣弄知識者，有無智慧，在這個骨節眼邊，會露底的。
中國政治黑在哪裡？黑在連身家性命、妻小家奴，隨時都變成犧牲品。劉邦父親讓項羽活捉，項羽揚言要把劉邦老爹烹殺，劉邦笑嘻嘻說請分我一杯羹。共產黨自己打天下，不但六親不認，毛澤東連自己的老婆楊開慧也甘心送給國民黨囚殺。子女管教不好，又到處亂跑，不慎因刑罪被囚，此時是一己親情為重，還是香港的「民主大業」為先？
當然，人貴有親情，但如果是這副婆媽的尋常德性，就不可奢望做什麼民主旗手。司徒華晚年時看出了這一點，他聽我說起項羽烹殺劉邦父親的典故，唯有苦笑。此時只有我明白，為什麼他為香港人付出如此巨大的幸福成本，為何他比別的「吹水革命家」更義無反顧，因為他沒有妻小，因為他甘泊於單身，如同遠古的瑪雅族女戰士，為了能扛弓箭，把一邊乳房割掉，這又是何等氣魄、何等犧牲？
老先生反對五區公投，其中一個原因是「對人不對事」。這一點，我讚賞他的眼光。「誰是我們的敵人，誰是我們的朋友，這個問題是革命的首要問題」，任何草根「民主」領袖，競選時先以自己陣營的隊友為嚙咬目標，搶自己人的票，其人必不擇手段，時機一變動，隨時是能把丹東送上斷頭台的羅伯斯庇爾。「對人不對事」，沒有什麼錯，譬如同樣聲稱「推翻滿清，建立民國」，同一句口號，由孫中山、黃興、袁世凱三個人分別喊出，你信哪一個？可不可以只因為袁世凱喊得最聲音嘶啞，就認定袁世凱更稱職？
讀通中國歷史，好處是這種人辦，先例千百年都不缺。戊戌政變失敗，因為譚嗣同誤信袁世凱，以為袁氏可助光緒，把榮祿抓起來。林旭不信袁，對譚嗣同說：不錯， 袁世凱也心繫變法，但他有把柄在榮祿手裡，不可以押寶在這個人身上。譚嗣同沒有聽，他的頭腦太簡單了，結果六君子一起浴血。
中國政治的DNA，千 代不移。了解中國政治的基因遺傳學，必料事如神。「五區公投」不論成績，一年不到，牽頭的那個「民主」幫會，突生詭譎的裂變，爆發一場微型的「天京之變」，原因正是有人的把柄被中方抓住，不得不退位，明明選出新主席，其後又多了個太上皇。毛澤東一九六二年退居二線，幾年後的文革之亂，鄧小平「誰不改革誰下台」，豈不同一基因？大半年來，「起義」不成，內鬥酷烈；「公投」不果，私寨火併方酣，小農越追求「民主」，一股土匪的天性，越是兇烈。幸好香港有殖民地文明基礎，「民主」幫會再分裂，只限於互相臭罵的「文鬥」，否則井岡山剿殺AB團的慘禍，早已上演。
司徒華先生晚年的一擊，好歹要待兩年後方見功過，並未因此進八寶山，未見有得益，罵他「出賣民主」的人，十個月來，是龍是蛇？其質素與能力，破壞有餘，凝聚無力，食豬紅屙黑屎，即刻有了結論。
這種活劇，只要綜觀中外歷史，即知不足為奇，畢竟人性的弱點和陰暗面太多了。政治天真，在權慾面前，論人面之險詐，誘惑之下，看人性之脆弱，許多人是沒見過 「大蛇屙尿」的一個快樂族群，一切只看表面。司徒華老先生的功過，湊熱鬧開講的人有許多，我不想加進一把嘴，只想為他老人家表一點小小的清白。他奮鬥終身，不會輕易葬送一生英名，我相信他，故略以納稅人的局外身份，兼誌一點所見、所聞、所思。
司徒華先生病逝，全港淒然。
老先生尚在時，許多人出於政治對立、嫉妒奪權，罵司徒華，話說得太盡。十三年來，輿論自我審查，辱罵司徒華的傳媒與日俱增。至少有三分二；後來連泛民中的丐幫也加入聲討。
老先生一去，個個都把臉湊上來叨光——不錯，政治容許一點點虛偽，但虛偽得如此中國式之低下，會不會令人想嘔吐呢？
我與司徒華先生難攀深交，也不常見面，但每次見面，談敍必深。在香港，能交得上朋友的，年紀都比自己大一輩。「友直、友諒、友多聞」，多聞，即是有經歷和見識。從民國過來的一代，年紀比我大，經歷比我苦，八千里路雲和月的感觸和智慧比我深，無論做生意還是讀書人，學問往往也比我多，至少都是一冊活的歷史書。
司徒華患病期間，我與他見過幾次，談到「五區公投」。司徒華沒有趁這趟水，他的觀點，與我相似，就是發起「五區公投，全民起義」的那一位半個仁兄，聲嘶力竭，甚似悲壯，其實人格不可信。
中國人的老話：「修身、齊家、治國、平天下」，是有道理的，因為中國政治比其他國家污穢、殘暴、鄙劣百倍，從政的人，人格必須用特殊材料鑄成。「共產黨員是 用特殊材料造成的」，這句話在中共打天下時流行，意思是：從政的人，尤其處於抗爭的草野，道德要高潔，意志要剛強，不為財色名權誘使，更不為嚴刑拷打屈從。
司徒華先生一生獨身，不嫖不賭，從沒欠過錢，我相信，是那種刀槍架在胸口也寧死不屈甘心赴義的人。這個品種，屬於黃花崗七十二烈士、宋教仁和秋瑾那個系列，不敢說在大陸已成絕響，但在世界仔和精甩邊橫行的香港，像司徒華先生這般質地的，極為稀有。
發起「公投起義」的一兩位，以中國現代革命史的遠大目光視之，一看就知道靠不住。有的人當紅得令時。一身名牌，不可一世；從巔峰下墮深淵時，卻又垂頭喪氣惶惶如喪家之犬。在他身邊的「戰友」，必見識過如此嚴寒酷暑的喜怒大形於色的作風，與澳門賭場三更貧五更富的江湖賭客無異。這種性格，平心而論，有其可愛的一面，幹其他職業，是他自己的事，「政治」卻是眾人大我之業。但在中國人社會，讓這種性格的人士一統天下，做泛民的大盟主，即屬笑談。
若是修身不成，齊家也不力，教子無方，在鄰近地區惹上官非，關押在囚，很奇怪，真的讀通「幾狼都有」的中國歷史，就會明白，蔣介石把兒子送去蘇聯，誤成史達林的人質，以致後來圍剿延安，小辮子抓在蘇共手裡，就是不敢直搗黃龍。以史為鑑，不但可以知興替，更可以趨吉避凶。越是表演賣弄知識者，有無智慧，在這個骨節眼邊，會露底的。
中國政治黑在哪裡？黑在連身家性命、妻小家奴，隨時都變成犧牲品。劉邦父親讓項羽活捉，項羽揚言要把劉邦老爹烹殺，劉邦笑嘻嘻說請分我一杯羹。共產黨自己打天下，不但六親不認，毛澤東連自己的老婆楊開慧也甘心送給國民黨囚殺。子女管教不好，又到處亂跑，不慎因刑罪被囚，此時是一己親情為重，還是香港的「民主大業」為先？
當然，人貴有親情，但如果是這副婆媽的尋常德性，就不可奢望做什麼民主旗手。司徒華晚年時看出了這一點，他聽我說起項羽烹殺劉邦父親的典故，唯有苦笑。此時只有我明白，為什麼他為香港人付出如此巨大的幸福成本，為何他比別的「吹水革命家」更義無反顧，因為他沒有妻小，因為他甘泊於單身，如同遠古的瑪雅族女戰士，為了能扛弓箭，把一邊乳房割掉，這又是何等氣魄、何等犧牲？
老先生反對五區公投，其中一個原因是「對人不對事」。這一點，我讚賞他的眼光。「誰是我們的敵人，誰是我們的朋友，這個問題是革命的首要問題」，任何草根「民主」領袖，競選時先以自己陣營的隊友為嚙咬目標，搶自己人的票，其人必不擇手段，時機一變動，隨時是能把丹東送上斷頭台的羅伯斯庇爾。「對人不對事」，沒有什麼錯，譬如同樣聲稱「推翻滿清，建立民國」，同一句口號，由孫中山、黃興、袁世凱三個人分別喊出，你信哪一個？可不可以只因為袁世凱喊得最聲音嘶啞，就認定袁世凱更稱職？
讀通中國歷史，好處是這種人辦，先例千百年都不缺。戊戌政變失敗，因為譚嗣同誤信袁世凱，以為袁氏可助光緒，把榮祿抓起來。林旭不信袁，對譚嗣同說：不錯， 袁世凱也心繫變法，但他有把柄在榮祿手裡，不可以押寶在這個人身上。譚嗣同沒有聽，他的頭腦太簡單了，結果六君子一起浴血。
中國政治的DNA，千 代不移。了解中國政治的基因遺傳學，必料事如神。「五區公投」不論成績，一年不到，牽頭的那個「民主」幫會，突生詭譎的裂變，爆發一場微型的「天京之變」，原因正是有人的把柄被中方抓住，不得不退位，明明選出新主席，其後又多了個太上皇。毛澤東一九六二年退居二線，幾年後的文革之亂，鄧小平「誰不改革誰下台」，豈不同一基因？大半年來，「起義」不成，內鬥酷烈；「公投」不果，私寨火併方酣，小農越追求「民主」，一股土匪的天性，越是兇烈。幸好香港有殖民地文明基礎，「民主」幫會再分裂，只限於互相臭罵的「文鬥」，否則井岡山剿殺AB團的慘禍，早已上演。
司徒華先生晚年的一擊，好歹要待兩年後方見功過，並未因此進八寶山，未見有得益，罵他「出賣民主」的人，十個月來，是龍是蛇？其質素與能力，破壞有餘，凝聚無力，食豬紅屙黑屎，即刻有了結論。
這種活劇，只要綜觀中外歷史，即知不足為奇，畢竟人性的弱點和陰暗面太多了。政治天真，在權慾面前，論人面之險詐，誘惑之下，看人性之脆弱，許多人是沒見過 「大蛇屙尿」的一個快樂族群，一切只看表面。司徒華老先生的功過，湊熱鬧開講的人有許多，我不想加進一把嘴，只想為他老人家表一點小小的清白。他奮鬥終身，不會輕易葬送一生英名，我相信他，故略以納稅人的局外身份，兼誌一點所見、所聞、所思。
Sunday, January 09, 2011
一路走好？
民主派元老逝世，許多後輩哀悼，最後的一句，叫「一路走好」。香港人潛移默化，語言喜歡模仿中國大陸。
...
這就叫話語權了，各位香港的小朋友。風俗不同，文化有異，不把話語權牢牢抓在手裏，包括粵語，主動向北面的詞彙 依偎過去，「一國兩制」就蒸發了，這樣，各位敬仰的「華叔」，就一路走不好了。這一節很基本的語文課，是「華叔」生前沒有教過的。 Understand？
是「早安」，不是「早上好」。說「晚安」，從來沒有什麼「晚上好」。是「新年快樂」，不是「新年好」。好好好，哈 哈，好你個白癡大頭 B呀？
《一路走好？》 陶傑 09/01/2011
本人慶幸出世得早，讀書時的中文還沒有被大陸的惡俗「漢語」污染。現在的學生大概認為那些才是正確的中文吧？
我讀書的那個年代，只有 「一路好走」，沒有「一路走好」的。「走好」根本不合中文 Grammar，這些把 adverb 放在 verb 後面的大概又是從英文「翻譯」過來 (live well, work hard, walk alone 之類)。中文只會說 「好食好住」，或者反過來「食得好，住得好」(要加個「得」字)。俗語有云，「好行夾唔送」也。
還好他們只是把 Good morning 翻譯成 「早上好」，而不是 「好早上」...
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
《消滅香港》之 尖沙咀天星碼頭
規劃年底清拆 變身露天廣場 尖沙咀巴士總站將成歷史
港府計劃於年底清拆尖沙咀天星碼頭巴士總站，能否汲取拆中環天星碼頭的教訓，令是次清拆行動和氣收場，大家拭目以待。本港的其中一個地標又將成為集體回憶。尖沙咀碼頭巴士總站未來的規劃及用途，現時尚未有最終定案。
「消滅香港是香港政府城市規劃的唯一目標。」 (胡恩威, 《香港風格2．消滅香港》)
你看，不管拆了之後做甚麼，總之一定要拆，拆了再說。
商場就商場吧，「或」甚麼？
「露天茶座」這個「旅遊概念」說了十多年他們也不嫌悶。「露天茶座」這東西外國遍地皆是，真是「行過左都唔覺」，你自己覺得有趣便以為遊客會有興趣嗎？便是大陸客也不用來港看這些吧，大陸本身已有這麼多「山寨景點」...
這正是你所想的吧 因為...
...你遊客要來看這些西方推介的、只有香港才有的特色，我偏要拆掉它們，弄些「復古羅馬式」給你看。這不是蠢能解釋得了的...
市場學系，厲害厲害...
...連建築設計也關你們事。
原來「空間感不足」是因為「建築物高度太矮」，冼日明教授的市場學理論真是高深莫測。或許他說的「空間」是指「樓面空間」...
經典句式：要在X與Y之間取得平衡。為甚麼起商場就是發展？而「復古羅馬式」就是國際視野？
這本來就是「來港旅客必遊的地方」，你唔好攪攪震就已經謝天謝地了。人家好端端的，卻要說甚麼「重新提升」，「追上時代」，「加深歷史感」，一副董朝時的甚麼 「自我增值」口吻...
港府計劃於年底清拆尖沙咀天星碼頭巴士總站，能否汲取拆中環天星碼頭的教訓，令是次清拆行動和氣收場，大家拭目以待。本港的其中一個地標又將成為集體回憶。尖沙咀碼頭巴士總站未來的規劃及用途，現時尚未有最終定案。
「消滅香港是香港政府城市規劃的唯一目標。」 (胡恩威, 《香港風格2．消滅香港》)
你看，不管拆了之後做甚麼，總之一定要拆，拆了再說。
初步的建議是，該地段會興建商場或供遊人休憩的廣場。
商場就商場吧，「或」甚麼？
根據規劃，尖沙咀海傍未來將大變身，其中尖沙咀碼頭巴士總站計劃遷往尖東永安廣場，多條巴士線將「大執位」，巴士總站原址則擬發展為復古羅馬式設計的露天廣場，設有露天茶座及表演場地。
「露天茶座」這個「旅遊概念」說了十多年他們也不嫌悶。「露天茶座」這東西外國遍地皆是，真是「行過左都唔覺」，你自己覺得有趣便以為遊客會有興趣嗎？便是大陸客也不用來港看這些吧，大陸本身已有這麼多「山寨景點」...
... 「遷移尖沙咀碼頭巴士總站是一環扣一環，計劃之中，天星碼頭的上蓋會被清拆，小輪的生意會有影響。如果乘客量愈來愈減少，最終就會取消航線，又成為港人的集體回憶。」
這正是你所想的吧 因為...
現時反而應該考慮遷走巴士總站後，對民生的影響，因為該總站歷史悠久，市民早已習慣坐船之後，隨即可以轉乘巴士。不少遊客更是專程去坐巴士及小輪。
...你遊客要來看這些西方推介的、只有香港才有的特色，我偏要拆掉它們，弄些「復古羅馬式」給你看。這不是蠢能解釋得了的...
中大市場學系教授冼日明認為，
市場學系，厲害厲害...
清拆尖沙咀碼頭巴士總站是有急切性。他指出，尖沙咀是本港一個重要的旅遊區，現時最大的問題空間感不足。事實上，尖沙咀碼頭巴士總站的建築設計已經相當落後，仍然停留在60、70年代的思維模式，不能反映本港作為大都會的形象。
...連建築設計也關你們事。
「本港缺乏一個較有代表性的公共空間，供市民及遊客使用。以地理位置來說，尖沙咀碼頭巴士總站一帶是適合舉辦慶祝活動的地點。所以，尖沙咀碼頭巴士總站實在應該提早清拆，以便可以發揮得更好。」他說，在原址興建一個新廣場，其實可以彌補現時鄰近的文化中心的空間感不夠的情況。從本港的旅遊資源來考慮，尖沙咀是重要地點。目前，尖沙咀碼頭巴士總站所佔的地方反令到尖沙咀的吸引力減低，與鄰近連接的文化中心及星光大道顯得格格不入。尖沙咀碼頭的行人道亦相當狹窄，每逢假期節日非常擠迫，本身的建築物高度太矮，實在有改變的必要。
原來「空間感不足」是因為「建築物高度太矮」，冼日明教授的市場學理論真是高深莫測。或許他說的「空間」是指「樓面空間」...
至於天星小輪，冼日明認為其運作方式已經老化，未來需要活化。一方面可以保留本身的特色，但也要增加時代感。本港在保育與發展兩方面都要取得平衡，更要具備國際視野。
經典句式：要在X與Y之間取得平衡。為甚麼起商場就是發展？而「復古羅馬式」就是國際視野？
「尖沙咀碼頭巴士總站應該一早便清拆，但現時好像得個講字。... 天星小輪也可以扮演歷史回顧及文化回憶的角色，為自己重新提升，成為一個來港旅客必遊的地方，若果本身的內部設計追上時代，又加深歷史感，藉此可以有很高的生存價值，即使日後的票價調升也可以維持營運。
這本來就是「來港旅客必遊的地方」，你唔好攪攪震就已經謝天謝地了。人家好端端的，卻要說甚麼「重新提升」，「追上時代」，「加深歷史感」，一副董朝時的甚麼 「自我增值」口吻...
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Two mafias meet, at last
Is anyone surprised that the 2018 World Cup go to a Mafia state? Surely everybody is afraid of its boss? (Which is not its president, obviously.) And an organisation so corrupt from top to bottom, under the great leadership of that Sxxx Bxxxxxx guy, surely is to affiliate itself with the biggest Mafia? Looks like a perfect partnership to me.
That said, even ignoring all "political" side of things, it's hard to argue against it. When I first heard about England bidding for it, my first reaction was "you're kidding me." The British media have an inexplicable optimism about the whole thing. (Just like every time they think they are going to win the World Cup with "the strongest squad in N years".) Seriously, why should anyone let them host it? They only won the World Cup once when they happened to be the host (and the ball never crossed the line).
And I dislike the idea of joint bids. It's like having joint winners in "最受歡迎女歌星" (or similar awards) every time. I seem to recall there was a 4-country bid to host some tournament. Sooner or later we will see a 16-country bid thus occupying half the places in the tournament...
And... Qatar? (My jaw dropped and I moved to within one inch of the screen when I saw it - and a student happened to be outside at that instant...) I mean... why? ...how? ...who?
And some responses:
Similarly,
Now that is to the point. I am long against the "no political influence" principle of FIFA. It probably started with good intentions, preventing dictatorship governments using football to serve their political agenda, etc. But now it has become a shield for FIFA so that they are not accountable to anyone or any government (at least some of which need to listen to people). I sometimes wonder, are they even immune to police arrests? Why should all footballing matters in the world decided by this "elected" president of this organisation (elections with even less democracy than Hong Kong's)? Look at their insistence on not using video technology. How can anyone break this big protection racket in this football governing body now?
I dream about a world where some people stand up against Sxxx Bxxxxxx, start a rebel footballing faction, with its own players, clubs and tournaments. With video technology in refereeing decisions, of course. (I know, it's not going to happen. That's why it is a dream.)
That said, even ignoring all "political" side of things, it's hard to argue against it. When I first heard about England bidding for it, my first reaction was "you're kidding me." The British media have an inexplicable optimism about the whole thing. (Just like every time they think they are going to win the World Cup with "the strongest squad in N years".) Seriously, why should anyone let them host it? They only won the World Cup once when they happened to be the host (and the ball never crossed the line).
And I dislike the idea of joint bids. It's like having joint winners in "最受歡迎女歌星" (or similar awards) every time. I seem to recall there was a 4-country bid to host some tournament. Sooner or later we will see a 16-country bid thus occupying half the places in the tournament...
And... Qatar? (My jaw dropped and I moved to within one inch of the screen when I saw it - and a student happened to be outside at that instant...) I mean... why? ...how? ...who?
And some responses:
Running two World Cups together was clearly a mistake... It inevitably led to people with votes in 2018 doing deals with people involved in 2022.I suppose "mistake" is a polite word. Clearly the FIFA lot designed this on purpose; the more such deals, the more chance of making bribery out of it.
England 2018 bid chief executive Andy Anson
Similarly,
Premier League chairman Richard Scudamore said the fact England have facilities already in place appeared to have counted against them. "They have decided to take the World Cups to developing areas," he said. "What's gone against us is not having to build 20 new stadia...""Taking the World Cup to under-developed countries" is such a grand sounding and politically correct agenda, but do you really believe that such a corrupt organisation will be so well-hearted? You know, building stadia is another great way of getting your hands on bribery money.
Fifa is an organisation that doesn't have to answer to anyone. What did we expect?
Former England manager Graham Taylor
Now that is to the point. I am long against the "no political influence" principle of FIFA. It probably started with good intentions, preventing dictatorship governments using football to serve their political agenda, etc. But now it has become a shield for FIFA so that they are not accountable to anyone or any government (at least some of which need to listen to people). I sometimes wonder, are they even immune to police arrests? Why should all footballing matters in the world decided by this "elected" president of this organisation (elections with even less democracy than Hong Kong's)? Look at their insistence on not using video technology. How can anyone break this big protection racket in this football governing body now?
I dream about a world where some people stand up against Sxxx Bxxxxxx, start a rebel footballing faction, with its own players, clubs and tournaments. With video technology in refereeing decisions, of course. (I know, it's not going to happen. That's why it is a dream.)
Monday, November 29, 2010
An almost optimal algorithm for locating long runs of zeros in streaming data
The problem. We are given a large number N of data streams, where each data stream consists of n nonnegative integer values arriving over time. At each time step, before the new values arrive, we choose k of these streams, where k << N, and after the values arrive, we get a score equal to the total of the new data values from all k streams. There are various restrictions on how to choose these k streams, the details of which we do not go into here. The objective is to maximize the total score over the course of the n steps.
Our results. Although that is the intended objective, we developed an algorithm that achieves something quite different, in that it locates the streams with long runs of 0s. In fact it also picks out the boundaries of such runs almost optimally, e.g. it switches to another data stream precisely when the next data value is going to be large.
The algorithm. The algorithm can be described very simply as "madness in the author's head".
Evaluation of results. We run our algorithm on the English Premier League 2010/11 season data. This means N > 500, n = 38, k = 11 (or 15). At the time of writing, only 15 weeks have passed, but we already obtained some impressive results:
Figure 1: The algorithm selected this data stream in the weeks shown (in red rectangle). Note how it narrowly missed the two large numbers around the region.
Figure 2: The algorithm picked the precise moment to switch from the first stream to the second, avoiding the two 1s.
Our results. Although that is the intended objective, we developed an algorithm that achieves something quite different, in that it locates the streams with long runs of 0s. In fact it also picks out the boundaries of such runs almost optimally, e.g. it switches to another data stream precisely when the next data value is going to be large.
The algorithm. The algorithm can be described very simply as "madness in the author's head".
Evaluation of results. We run our algorithm on the English Premier League 2010/11 season data. This means N > 500, n = 38, k = 11 (or 15). At the time of writing, only 15 weeks have passed, but we already obtained some impressive results:
Figure 1: The algorithm selected this data stream in the weeks shown (in red rectangle). Note how it narrowly missed the two large numbers around the region.
Figure 2: The algorithm picked the precise moment to switch from the first stream to the second, avoiding the two 1s.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
中國影帝
[轉貼]
有個人說：三聚氰胺我們一定要嚴查到底！於是趙連海被判兩年半。
有個人說：汶川地震我們一定要嚴查到底！於是譚作人被判五年。
有個人說：政治改革我們一定要至死方休！於是劉曉波被判十一年。
「有個人」真是個愛國愛民的好官啊...
有個人說：三聚氰胺我們一定要嚴查到底！於是趙連海被判兩年半。
有個人說：汶川地震我們一定要嚴查到底！於是譚作人被判五年。
有個人說：政治改革我們一定要至死方休！於是劉曉波被判十一年。
「有個人」真是個愛國愛民的好官啊...
讀寫障礙
其實現在報館還有沒有校對這個職位的呢，還是記者編輯們都有讀寫障礙？
本來我對這些事早已 「冇眼睇」 (要是每次見到也寫出來，真是從早到晚寫不完)， 但你們也實在頻密了點 ...
容祖兒低留慰問咭及唱片
http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/101107/18/l4fb.html
事件一直不之之了
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/template/apple/art_main.php?iss_id=20101106&sec_id=15335&art_id=14632111
被當地兄妹在家中大除掃時撿獲
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/template/apple/art_main.php?iss_id=20101113&sec_id=4104&subsec_id=12731&art_id=14657172
本來我對這些事早已 「冇眼睇」 (要是每次見到也寫出來，真是從早到晚寫不完)， 但你們也實在頻密了點 ...
容祖兒低留慰問咭及唱片
http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/101107/18/l4fb.html
事件一直不之之了
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/template/apple/art_main.php?iss_id=20101106&sec_id=15335&art_id=14632111
被當地兄妹在家中大除掃時撿獲
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/template/apple/art_main.php?iss_id=20101113&sec_id=4104&subsec_id=12731&art_id=14657172
Friday, October 01, 2010
Ten unrelated things
1. It is time of the year again for school catering outlets to raise their prices. Good, at least one third of the students won't know last year's price.
2. And it is also time of the year to see International students, usually Chinese, going to the canteen with no idea what a "typical" meal looks like and grabbing a weird combination of food items. Usually it costs a lot (although they have no idea what a reasonable price is) and, more importantly, doesn't fill the stomach. Although, to be fair, it is indeed very difficult to pick anything reasonable. The only obvious choice is:
.
.
.
chips.
3. Why are (almost) all Erasmus students Spaniards? (Ok, there were two French yesterday...)
4. And girls? (At least those that I need/choose to deal with. Today the office was about to send another one to me. As soon as I hear it is a he, I redirect him to the next door.)
5. Of course, nothing wrong with Spaniards, nor girls, nor Spanish girls; I already had "Final Year Projects: I teach you in a Spanish way" twice in the past. (Readers of this blog should be old enough to get this.) Which probably won't happen this year, unless they assigned some extra load on me. That is when I had 20 vivas ("oral defence", in some sense) in a single week a couple weeks ago.
6. The average student here seems to have absolutely no stock market experience, unlike those in Hong Kong. I have yet to supervise one project student which really know how the stock market works.
7. I hope you don't mind me indulge myself a little bit here:
It doesn't happen very often, you know. Last year I think I topped only once and was then quickly surpassed. And I should spend half the time I spent on this game on a real stock market:
8. "A holding midfielder, right back, and center back away from an excellent starting XI and all injured." Actually according to BBC you can just about put out a team like this
Van Persie
Fabregas Frimpong Diaby Walcott
Gibbs Vermaelen Bendtner Ramsey
Almunia
The missing one is Denilson, who is daydreaming at the centre circle.
9. In the past two weeks or so there were at least 3 occasions of strangers in the street saying "Ni hao" to me, in different places and from different "types" of people (non-Chinese, obviously). Didn't know that many people know Putonghua. However, when I think about it a little more, it reveals something very disturbing (to me)... you know, in the past unknown strangers usually speak Japanese to me. Perhaps as years gone by I looked more and more like...
10. How should we "celebrate" the (63+1)th national day in 2013?
2. And it is also time of the year to see International students, usually Chinese, going to the canteen with no idea what a "typical" meal looks like and grabbing a weird combination of food items. Usually it costs a lot (although they have no idea what a reasonable price is) and, more importantly, doesn't fill the stomach. Although, to be fair, it is indeed very difficult to pick anything reasonable. The only obvious choice is:
.
.
.
chips.
3. Why are (almost) all Erasmus students Spaniards? (Ok, there were two French yesterday...)
4. And girls? (At least those that I need/choose to deal with. Today the office was about to send another one to me. As soon as I hear it is a he, I redirect him to the next door.)
5. Of course, nothing wrong with Spaniards, nor girls, nor Spanish girls; I already had "Final Year Projects: I teach you in a Spanish way" twice in the past. (Readers of this blog should be old enough to get this.) Which probably won't happen this year, unless they assigned some extra load on me. That is when I had 20 vivas ("oral defence", in some sense) in a single week a couple weeks ago.
6. The average student here seems to have absolutely no stock market experience, unlike those in Hong Kong. I have yet to supervise one project student which really know how the stock market works.
7. I hope you don't mind me indulge myself a little bit here:
It doesn't happen very often, you know. Last year I think I topped only once and was then quickly surpassed. And I should spend half the time I spent on this game on a real stock market:
8. "A holding midfielder, right back, and center back away from an excellent starting XI and all injured." Actually according to BBC you can just about put out a team like this
Van Persie
Fabregas Frimpong Diaby Walcott
Gibbs Vermaelen Bendtner Ramsey
Almunia
The missing one is Denilson, who is daydreaming at the centre circle.
9. In the past two weeks or so there were at least 3 occasions of strangers in the street saying "Ni hao" to me, in different places and from different "types" of people (non-Chinese, obviously). Didn't know that many people know Putonghua. However, when I think about it a little more, it reveals something very disturbing (to me)... you know, in the past unknown strangers usually speak Japanese to me. Perhaps as years gone by I looked more and more like...
10. How should we "celebrate" the (63+1)th national day in 2013?
Leicester City sack manager Paulo Sousa
At last.
I don't know what went wrong; most likely it is not entirely the manager's fault. But clearly winning one game out of nine and staying rock bottom of the table is not acceptable, and something got to change. Particularly when we were promotion candidates last year and now the only thing we should be looking at is to avoid relegation.
I don't know what went wrong; most likely it is not entirely the manager's fault. But clearly winning one game out of nine and staying rock bottom of the table is not acceptable, and something got to change. Particularly when we were promotion candidates last year and now the only thing we should be looking at is to avoid relegation.
Richard Bevan, chief executive of the League Managers Association, said: "How can a chairman expect to deliver success at a football club when a talented manager is recruited and dismissed within two months?Never mind success, he delivered disaster within two months.
"Knee-jerk dismissals, and the chopping and changing of managers will not deliver success on the field and is incredibly destabilizing to the entire club.Fair points, but just keep the second half of the final sentence, would you? Presumably the League Managers Association is an association to speak for managers' benefits, so don't speak like as if you are so caring about a club's success.
"Leicester City Football Club has had 14 managers since 2004 and six whilst the current chairman has been at the club.
"Clearly the club has to examine its manager recruitment strategy as their current approach does not work.
"It is damaging to the club and its fans and is an inappropriate way to treat talented managers and their careers."
Monday, September 27, 2010
保住 X X X
有朋友問我，釣魚島事件你怎麼不發表一點意見，譴責一下日本。我說，雖然腳下一片自己的土地也沒有，但對於領土的問題，我也是很在意的。最早的時候，我在 一個論壇上看見這事，我義正辭嚴的寫了一句，「保住釣魚島」，結果該論壇告訴我，我試圖發表非法的內容，請修改。我百思不得其解，直到把帖子改成了「保住 尖閣列島」，這才順利合法的發表了。
韓寒，《保住非法字符》，《蘋果日報》2010年9月19日
Sunday, September 05, 2010
梁文道：她也是個母親
菲傭 Molina流着眼淚告訴藍佩嘉：「有時候我會在晚上哭。我會想，我正在照顧別人的小孩，那誰來照顧我的小孩呢？這麼多年來，我都不在他們身邊，他們總是 問我，媽媽，你為甚麼總是不在？我說，我雖然不在，但這是為了你的未來」。
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Q&A: 躁狂抑鬱症
躁狂抑鬱症近日成為城中熱話，我們因此特別請來著名精神科醫生阮蒙能明回答大家的一些疑問。
躁狂症成因為何?
躁狂症一般是因為小孩年少時過度「受父母關心」，致恃寵生驕，加上家境優秀，「要乜有乜」，養成哈哈霸霸，唯我獨尊的性格。另外吸毒者由於腦神經受損，也較易獲此病。
躁狂症有何病徵?
躁狂症患者病情受控時，除了面色比較難看(即俗語所謂「X口X面」)外，一般表現正常。但病發時會有攻擊性，像潑婦罵街般罵人，打人，毀壞物件等。
怎樣診斷病人是否患躁狂症?
如上所述，躁狂症病徵和一般「發老脾」，醉酒鬧事等極為相似(另請看「治療」一段)，臨床上無法分辨，須由專科醫生詳細診斷。
那專科醫生又如何診斷?
很簡單，由於躁狂症患者皆家境良好，醫生只須收取高昂診金，付得起者即為躁狂症患者。
躁狂症如何治療?
躁狂症無法根治，只能盡量控制病情，首要為病人減壓，如到外國散心等。飲酒亦是一種治療方法，因此常有躁狂症病人醉酒鬧事，此乃治療一部份，易與病徵混淆。
遇到躁狂症病人病發應如何處理?
應盡量避免刺激病人情緒，盡量迎合，如病人打你左邊面，應把右邊面也給病人打。
躁狂症患者病發時的犯罪行為應受懲罰嗎?
執法人員首先應避免執法，如因無法分辨而已被捕者，應只控以最輕控罪，並委派最仁慈的法官審理。病人會出示付出高昂診金之後得到的病歷證明，法庭應以治療代替監禁等懲罰。上文已說明，部份醉酒犯事行為乃治療一部份，況且監禁只會傷害病人自尊，亦令病人無法接受療程(即無法度假)，會使病人病情惡化，法庭不應以此摧毀病人一生。另由於躁狂症無法根治，因此病人大多會接二連三犯案，這不應作為加重判刑的理由。記著，躁狂症患者是病人，不是壞人，他們本質是好的。
我們又怎知每個躁狂症患者本質都是好的?
上面已說明，躁狂症患者有良好家庭背景，因此本質都是好的。
但為什麼「有良好家庭背景」就等於「本質都是好的」?
你是那家媒體的?
躁狂症成因為何?
躁狂症一般是因為小孩年少時過度「受父母關心」，致恃寵生驕，加上家境優秀，「要乜有乜」，養成哈哈霸霸，唯我獨尊的性格。另外吸毒者由於腦神經受損，也較易獲此病。
躁狂症有何病徵?
躁狂症患者病情受控時，除了面色比較難看(即俗語所謂「X口X面」)外，一般表現正常。但病發時會有攻擊性，像潑婦罵街般罵人，打人，毀壞物件等。
怎樣診斷病人是否患躁狂症?
如上所述，躁狂症病徵和一般「發老脾」，醉酒鬧事等極為相似(另請看「治療」一段)，臨床上無法分辨，須由專科醫生詳細診斷。
那專科醫生又如何診斷?
很簡單，由於躁狂症患者皆家境良好，醫生只須收取高昂診金，付得起者即為躁狂症患者。
躁狂症如何治療?
躁狂症無法根治，只能盡量控制病情，首要為病人減壓，如到外國散心等。飲酒亦是一種治療方法，因此常有躁狂症病人醉酒鬧事，此乃治療一部份，易與病徵混淆。
遇到躁狂症病人病發應如何處理?
應盡量避免刺激病人情緒，盡量迎合，如病人打你左邊面，應把右邊面也給病人打。
躁狂症患者病發時的犯罪行為應受懲罰嗎?
執法人員首先應避免執法，如因無法分辨而已被捕者，應只控以最輕控罪，並委派最仁慈的法官審理。病人會出示付出高昂診金之後得到的病歷證明，法庭應以治療代替監禁等懲罰。上文已說明，部份醉酒犯事行為乃治療一部份，況且監禁只會傷害病人自尊，亦令病人無法接受療程(即無法度假)，會使病人病情惡化，法庭不應以此摧毀病人一生。另由於躁狂症無法根治，因此病人大多會接二連三犯案，這不應作為加重判刑的理由。記著，躁狂症患者是病人，不是壞人，他們本質是好的。
我們又怎知每個躁狂症患者本質都是好的?
上面已說明，躁狂症患者有良好家庭背景，因此本質都是好的。
但為什麼「有良好家庭背景」就等於「本質都是好的」?
你是那家媒體的?
Monday, August 02, 2010
新聞改寫練習
依家 D 新聞硬係詞不達意 ，等我幫你改寫下：
#1
終審法院法官包致金的姪女，今年初在司徒拔道一宗交通意外中，掌摑警員，她早前承認襲警、不小心駕駛及拒絕酒精呼氣測試三項罪名，今早在東區裁判法院，被判感化十二個月、罰款八千元及停牌一年，感化期間要到美國進行針對精神問題的住宿治療度假，為期三個月，返港後再進行戒酒治療，並定時提交進度報告，如果感化官膽敢不滿意進度，可要求法庭延長感化期被告可要求掌摑感化官。 裁判官指，被告已有兩次襲警記錄，今次的案情更嚴重，但如果不判罰，會對公眾帶來錯誤訊息，但被告的感化及心理報告指出，她患有燥狂抑鬱症經常哈哈霸霸，導致有酗酒問題醉酒鬧事，考慮到被告有好的學歷及家庭背景我同人地叔父一場同事，認為她應該接受治療，因此不考慮判監。
#2
擁有兩個學士學位、放棄百萬年薪設計師工作的保育人士馮炳德，繼去年因襲警罪判囚兩個月後再惹官非，去年1月他參與爭取雙普選遊行時，被指用手肘撞向警員令其跌倒而被裁定襲警罪成，昨被判囚15周及賠償受襲警員8000元。裁判官判刑時直斥馮視法律特區政府高壓統治為無物，我地喜歡屈你襲警便屈你襲警，又指遊行並非「擋箭牌」咁你有冇法官親戚吖，警員亦無理由受到欺負和虐待演技不被認同的侮辱，最後更拒絕馮保釋等候上訴的申請。
下面呢段就唔改了，只係等你引以為鑒：
退休高等法院法官阮雲道幼子阮家輝，日前疑醉酒中酒精毒暴斃；十年前因涉嫌藏毒而免被起訴、卻惹起軒然大波的阮家輝，本月五日被 鄰居揭發他在何文田寓所暴斃，相信死去多時，初步懷疑是飲酒過度致酒精中毒致命，並無可疑，其父至今仍未能接受愛兒死去的事實，其遺體將於今日進行火葬。
#1
終審法院法官包致金的姪女，今年初在司徒拔道一宗交通意外中，掌摑警員，她早前承認襲警、不小心駕駛及拒絕酒精呼氣測試三項罪名，今早在東區裁判法院，被判感化十二個月、罰款八千元及停牌一年，感化期間要到美國
#2
擁有兩個學士學位、放棄百萬年薪設計師工作的保育人士馮炳德，繼去年因襲警罪判囚兩個月後再惹官非，去年1月他參與爭取雙普選遊行時，被指用手肘撞向警員令其跌倒而被裁定襲警罪成，昨被判囚15周及賠償受襲警員8000元。裁判官判刑時直斥馮視
下面呢段就唔改了，只係等你引以為鑒：
退休高等法院法官阮雲道幼子阮家輝，日前疑醉酒中酒精毒暴斃；十年前因涉嫌藏毒而免被起訴、卻惹起軒然大波的阮家輝，本月五日被 鄰居揭發他在何文田寓所暴斃，相信死去多時，初步懷疑是飲酒過度致酒精中毒致命，並無可疑，其父至今仍未能接受愛兒死去的事實，其遺體將於今日進行火葬。
Friday, July 02, 2010
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
Doctor Who Episode 5.13: The Big Bang
Jaw-dropping. Mind-boggling. Magical. Wonderful. Amazing. I don't know of enough adjectives to describe it. This is the work of a pure genius.
So my predictions were mostly right. The episode did start with Amedia in 1996 - but I wouldn't have thought that it was the exact same scenes as in The Eleventh Hour, down to the first shot of a red, revolving pinwheel! (That's the reason why that slot is included in Episode 1...)
Then you have loads of complete surprises in the next 10 minutes, each being so mad that any single one can make you fall off your chair.
And again I was correct that the escape from the Pandorica is timey-wimey, although a hundred times simpler than I thought. I'm surprised that half of the Internet cannot get their heads round about the escape, asking things like "but how did he get out in the first place"! It is just a self-consistent time loop, people! There is no beginning and no end! You're watching a time travelling show and cannot understand a self-consistent time loop?! How did you comprehend the DVD easter egg and the transcript of conversation in Blink?
And the now infamous forest scene. It's not about the jacket, really, it is about the doctor saying something completely out of context and the tone in which he say it.
Just like many other Moffat episodes, you have everything in one episode: fun, sad, romance, wit, and of course, mind-boggling time travel. The emotional scenes with the Doctor preparing to fly the Pandorica, and speaking to sleeping Amelia, is very moving. And of course there is the
"something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" line. Pure genius. From now on this saying will have a completely different level of meaning. Why had nobody ever thought of that in the past 47 years?! I think Steven Moffat must have first thought of it and then constructed the entire series around the idea...
And yes, I predicted it too, that not everything will be resolved in this series.
Some people will complain that the episode makes no sense, particularly with respect to the "remember and people can come back" thing. I still think the series is mostly internally consistent logically (but see below), despite not really offering any scientific explanation. But there were never any "real" scientific explanation anyway. At the end, I think the issue is whether you prefer "logic without science" or "science without logic"; I know which one I prefer.
So here is my list of complaints, or notes about unresolved points:
Jaw-dropping. Mind-boggling. Magical. Wonderful. Amazing. I don't know of enough adjectives to describe it. This is the work of a pure genius.
So my predictions were mostly right. The episode did start with Amedia in 1996 - but I wouldn't have thought that it was the exact same scenes as in The Eleventh Hour, down to the first shot of a red, revolving pinwheel! (That's the reason why that slot is included in Episode 1...)
Then you have loads of complete surprises in the next 10 minutes, each being so mad that any single one can make you fall off your chair.
And again I was correct that the escape from the Pandorica is timey-wimey, although a hundred times simpler than I thought. I'm surprised that half of the Internet cannot get their heads round about the escape, asking things like "but how did he get out in the first place"! It is just a self-consistent time loop, people! There is no beginning and no end! You're watching a time travelling show and cannot understand a self-consistent time loop?! How did you comprehend the DVD easter egg and the transcript of conversation in Blink?
And the now infamous forest scene. It's not about the jacket, really, it is about the doctor saying something completely out of context and the tone in which he say it.
Just like many other Moffat episodes, you have everything in one episode: fun, sad, romance, wit, and of course, mind-boggling time travel. The emotional scenes with the Doctor preparing to fly the Pandorica, and speaking to sleeping Amelia, is very moving. And of course there is the
"something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" line. Pure genius. From now on this saying will have a completely different level of meaning. Why had nobody ever thought of that in the past 47 years?! I think Steven Moffat must have first thought of it and then constructed the entire series around the idea...
And yes, I predicted it too, that not everything will be resolved in this series.
Some people will complain that the episode makes no sense, particularly with respect to the "remember and people can come back" thing. I still think the series is mostly internally consistent logically (but see below), despite not really offering any scientific explanation. But there were never any "real" scientific explanation anyway. At the end, I think the issue is whether you prefer "logic without science" or "science without logic"; I know which one I prefer.
So here is my list of complaints, or notes about unresolved points:
- The universe takes a rather long time to collapse... 2000 years, no less.
- A restoration field? Why would anyone build a prison which not just keeps the prisoner in stasis, but even restore life (and everything else)?
- The Doctor said Amy "grew up next to the crack for so long". Really? Amelia prayed to Santa, presumably not too long after the crack appeared, and then the Doctor arrived to seal it off.
- Why exactly erasing the Doctor from the timeline makes him travel backwards in time with two of them at the same time/place?
- Who is the shadowy figure in Episode 1? Presumably it is the Doctor, although they choose not to show the same scene.
- I suppose Amy's change of name may even be attributed to the Doctor implanting this to her as he gave his bedside story.
- If the universe is rebooted, why did River Song still remember the Doctor? And she should be sent back to prison at some point after this episode, since she needs to be taken out of Stormcage in the Byzantium episodes. Just in case Moff forgets...
Saturday, June 26, 2010
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...
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:
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.
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.
Friday, June 25, 2010
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.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
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)
(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.
Friday, June 11, 2010
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.
Friday, June 04, 2010
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...)
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
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
Monday, May 24, 2010
Championship playoffs
Disappointingly but not too surprisingly, Leicester did not make it to the Premier League. It is a very good chance this time, particularly with Nottingham Forest being knocked out; and one of the Blackpool player is on loan from Leicester so he won't be eligible to play should Leicester meet Blackpool in the final. Next year it would probably be much more difficult. It has to be said that the quality of the football we are playing is simply not as good as the other teams.
I would have preferred Cardiff to beat Blackpool, depsite Cardiff being the one that knocked Leicester out. Blackpool was not even in the top 6 until the very last week (?). More importantly, their boss is Ian Holloway.
One thing that has been puzzling me for quite a while now is how some apparently idiotic managers have good results in the Championship. I don't know how well Ian Holloway did it in Blackpool, but back when he was in Leicester he always appeared like a clown, giving nonsense answers to questions. In contrast, the current Leicester City manager, Nigel Pearson, seems to behave sensibly, knows what he is doing and do not speak nonsense. I hope he continue to do well for the club.
I would have preferred Cardiff to beat Blackpool, depsite Cardiff being the one that knocked Leicester out. Blackpool was not even in the top 6 until the very last week (?). More importantly, their boss is Ian Holloway.
One thing that has been puzzling me for quite a while now is how some apparently idiotic managers have good results in the Championship. I don't know how well Ian Holloway did it in Blackpool, but back when he was in Leicester he always appeared like a clown, giving nonsense answers to questions. In contrast, the current Leicester City manager, Nigel Pearson, seems to behave sensibly, knows what he is doing and do not speak nonsense. I hope he continue to do well for the club.
Weird dreams
Doctor Who Episode 5.7: Amy's Choice
- I have only watched very few X Files episodes. I quite like the episode Field Trip ("hallucinogenic mushrooms digesting humans with yellow goo"). In some ways this episode is similar to it, with a twist that after waking up from the "first" dream, they are still in a dream. Here they could have made the two dreams much more equally believable, but the outcome is that one is completely obviously fake. Still, the premise is an interesting one. So the idea is interesting, but perhaps not executed very well in this episode.
- More importantly though: are they *still* in a dream? (Now this is the maddest theory ever...)
- They are seriously showing old people getting beaten and being thrown down a roof at Saturday 6:30-ish? I know they are alien-possessed but still...
- It is entirely possible to get out of a dream by realising it is a dream. During my school years I used to have regular nightmares that feature a succession of unfortunate events that any single one of them is plausible but together it is just impossible to happen. The typical scenario would be: on route to an exam, I discover that I've forgotten to bring something, but there is enough time to get back home to get it. But then when I'm getting back home there is a traffic jam caused by some accident. Then I decide to take another mode of transport and then discover the thing I want to get is with me all along. Eventually I managed to arrive the exam venue just on time, only to discover to my horror that I have been revising for the wrong subject all along. Or something like that.
One day it suddenly occurred to me that since it is simply impossible that such things happen together, as soon as the second unfortunate event happens it must be a dream. The next time I had that sort of dream, I got out of it by recalling this reasoning. And then the same dream never happened again.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
低水平抄襲與浮誇演技
某發展中國家之抄襲風氣，向來絕不遜於自稱「大國堀起」之天朝。
最近某人 review 一份該國「學者」之論文，看了老大半天，最後才忽然發現該文乃是 100% 抄自另一篇論文。還說是 assistant professor 云云 (雖然該國大部份 assistant professor 也不見得須要甚麼 qualification...)
查該某人於海外任教已有相當時日，學生多來自該第三世界國家，早已見慣該國學生抄襲之事。
最近又有一人，被揭發整個 project 每一行 source code 皆是抄襲回來。該(男)學生被 tutor 召見，先是無言以對，繼而悽然淚下，掩面飲泣，煞是可憐。及至步出門口，更是步履蹣跚，須扶牆而行，彷彿突聞至親噩耗一般。其演出卻是略嫌浮誇，況且他還沒行至走廊盡頭便已回復正常。他可不知該 tutor 閱人無數，三個月前才見另一同國籍之學生也是如此這般演出：上午得知 fail 了 degree，下午才猛然醒起自己母親身患重病，三日後再見此人已是不似人形，像三天沒吃沒睡，每一步皆可倒下一般。
該某人對自己任教之科目，更早已採「隻眼開隻眼閉」之態度，唯近來抄襲之水平實在太低，該某人一時技癢，竟連捉十多人。其中一位明顯為 source 者，已被不停給予機會從實招來，他卻含着一泡淚水，硬是不說，真是使人愛莫能助。
該人任教之學校也相當詭異，學生的祖母永遠只在考試季節去世，學生心情未能平復，大大影響考試成績。
最近某人 review 一份該國「學者」之論文，看了老大半天，最後才忽然發現該文乃是 100% 抄自另一篇論文。還說是 assistant professor 云云 (雖然該國大部份 assistant professor 也不見得須要甚麼 qualification...)
查該某人於海外任教已有相當時日，學生多來自該第三世界國家，早已見慣該國學生抄襲之事。
最近又有一人，被揭發整個 project 每一行 source code 皆是抄襲回來。該(男)學生被 tutor 召見，先是無言以對，繼而悽然淚下，掩面飲泣，煞是可憐。及至步出門口，更是步履蹣跚，須扶牆而行，彷彿突聞至親噩耗一般。其演出卻是略嫌浮誇，況且他還沒行至走廊盡頭便已回復正常。他可不知該 tutor 閱人無數，三個月前才見另一同國籍之學生也是如此這般演出：上午得知 fail 了 degree，下午才猛然醒起自己母親身患重病，三日後再見此人已是不似人形，像三天沒吃沒睡，每一步皆可倒下一般。
該某人對自己任教之科目，更早已採「隻眼開隻眼閉」之態度，唯近來抄襲之水平實在太低，該某人一時技癢，竟連捉十多人。其中一位明顯為 source 者，已被不停給予機會從實招來，他卻含着一泡淚水，硬是不說，真是使人愛莫能助。
該人任教之學校也相當詭異，學生的祖母永遠只在考試季節去世，學生心情未能平復，大大影響考試成績。
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The "Name of a mediocre monster" of "Location of a filler episode"
Doctor Who Episode 5.6: The Vampires of Venice
- Actually, I just moved house and did not have time to write this. In any case, there is not much to write. Very typical, "average" episode, with CGI monsters, explosions, lots of running around, lots of jokes, etc. Probably good enough for an 8-year-old. Not bad by any means, just that we've seen too many similar episodes.
- The pre-title sequence, though, is the weirdest ever.
Friday, May 07, 2010
The time traveller's wife/murderer and the not-so-nice assassins
Doctor Who Episodes 5.4/5.5 - Time of the Angels / Flesh and Stone
- Steven Moffat's son referred to the scene where the angel jumps out of the TV as the scariest thing he has ever watched on TV. Well he clearly haven't watched that Japanese horror film. Having watched so little film and TV, I initially didn't realise this is where the idea came from, though.
- I don't like the fact that they now changed the physics of the angels (if there is still any physics that is):
- First, in Blink an angel cannot move when someone watches it, in a way similar to the standard quantum mechanical interpretation of a wave function collapses into a single state when an observer measures it. Now the angels don't seem too bothered looking at each other, they can move while the audience (us) is watching, and they may even freeze just because they think they are being looked at! (Maybe Moffat is trying to tell us that the Copenhagen interpretation really doesn't make any sense...)
- Secondly, they no longer kill "nicely" by pushing people back in time (although it never made much sense to me.)
- Thirdly, you will now die if you look at the eyes of an angel. The idea of "that holds the image of an angel becomes an angel" is nice, but I'm quite sure Sally Sparrow has taken some images of the angels...
- Actually, imagine if there are two different species of angels, one of those you must look at them without even blinking, and the other you cannot even look at them or you will die, and the two species look identical...
- The countdown bit is quite surprising and creepy.
- The sequence inside the forest doesn't quite work for me: the angels thinking they're being watched? The Doctor getting angry in The Beast Below is fine, but again here (twice) seems too much. But there are two good things: the "angels turning their head" moment is going to become a classic. Also, clearly there is a future doctor jumping back to this point in time! ("Clearly" when you watch it for the second time that is...)
- There are more and more evidence that Moffat is playing his timey-wimey ideas throughout the whole series, so instead an episode making sense in the last minute, it might take an entire series to make complete sense only in the last few minutes of the finale! (at which point all the mystery about Rory's badge, the wrong clock, duck pond, future doctor holding Amy's hand, two men in black appearing in a deja vu manner, etc. will be solved!)
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Obesity of the Daleks
Doctor Who Episode 5.3: Victory of the Daleks
As you see, here I follow the tradition of setting the titles to "xxx of the Daleks"...
embarrass myself...
As you see, here I follow the tradition of setting the titles to "xxx of the Daleks"...
- Bringing Daleks back once and for all is clearly the right thing to do. You just can't keep on
killing them off completely (apparently) after 45 or 90 minutes every year, only to invent more and more convoluted ways of bringing them back again next year... - Redesigned Daleks: I don't really like them, but clearly I have no say about this, I don't even watch the classic series. The main problem is that they are now too plastic-y; they should be metallic. Also the head and the neck's proportion isn't quite right w.r.t. the rest of the body. But I'm not too bothered by it: in any case, Daleks are the sillyest alien that humankind have ever created (come on, pepperpots?? with a sink plunger?!) so no matter how ridiculous looking they are it doesn't matter too much.
- Plot: the story barely makes sense, but this is like other alien stories where the aliens always create incredibly convoluted and stupid plans when they could just blast the Earth out of existence in 30 seconds (or 20 minutes... according to the Doctor anyway.) But then you don't have a story to tell so I suppose this is not avoidable.
- Spitfires in space: I can just about accept the "gravity bubble" technobabble; after all the purpose of the episode is to put all British icons (Churchill, daleks, spitfires) together.
- Daleks with union jack: this is pure genius.
- I don't like Mark Gatiss' writing. Last time "The Lazarus Experiment" was a disaster to me. In that story and in this one, it is like "Crisis 1 arises, solved after 10 minutes, then Crisis 2 arises, solved after another 10 minutes, and so on", rather than developing slowly towards one big climax near the end. Daleks pretending to work for humans is a potentially very interesting idea, but they revealed their true intention after 15 minutes or so into the episode!
- I don't know what Steven Moffat is doing in this series: they are releasing far too many trailers so that when you watched the episode, it feels empty because all the good stuff have already appeared. I mean he was the one who put in the "spoiler" joke in the Series 4 Library episodes! Imagine if the Smilers and the spitfires in space were never in any trailers...
embarrass myself...
Friday, April 23, 2010
Snooker World Championship 2010
So I was at Sheffield again to watch the first session of the Marco Fu vs Martin Gould match.
I arrived very early and while walking up there, Mark Allen (who was going to play at the other table) walked right across in front of me.
I sat in row G this time, a bit closer to the tables. Probably wasn't caught on TV, I hope.
As for the match itself... well. Fu never failed to disappoint me. It started quite well for him, but perhaps it was only the other guy starting rather shabbily. At one point Fu was leading 4-1, but he did not manage to take advantage of this; during the latter half of the session Gould clearly showed sign of much increased confidence and pull it back to just 4-5 behind. It was therefore not surprising that when the match resumed the next day Fu eventually lost 9-10.
It appears to me that Fu's playing style has always been very "forced" and uncomfortable unlike many other players who play much more naturally. He is having a dreadful season; I have no idea how he managed to get into top 8 last year, and it looks like he may still be lucky enough to hang on to a top 16 place.
On the other hand, I can't quite believe what I'm seeing about that Martin Gould: at the time of this writing he is already 11-5 up against Neil Robertson. He just gets down and makes all sorts of insane pots and never misses a thing!
I arrived very early and while walking up there, Mark Allen (who was going to play at the other table) walked right across in front of me.
I sat in row G this time, a bit closer to the tables. Probably wasn't caught on TV, I hope.
As for the match itself... well. Fu never failed to disappoint me. It started quite well for him, but perhaps it was only the other guy starting rather shabbily. At one point Fu was leading 4-1, but he did not manage to take advantage of this; during the latter half of the session Gould clearly showed sign of much increased confidence and pull it back to just 4-5 behind. It was therefore not surprising that when the match resumed the next day Fu eventually lost 9-10.
It appears to me that Fu's playing style has always been very "forced" and uncomfortable unlike many other players who play much more naturally. He is having a dreadful season; I have no idea how he managed to get into top 8 last year, and it looks like he may still be lucky enough to hang on to a top 16 place.
On the other hand, I can't quite believe what I'm seeing about that Martin Gould: at the time of this writing he is already 11-5 up against Neil Robertson. He just gets down and makes all sorts of insane pots and never misses a thing!
Friday, April 16, 2010
"Forget" or "Protest"
Doctor Who Episode 5.2: The Beast Below
The following is the message I recorded for myself. After typing them, I will press the "Forget" button and forget about this episode...
The following is the message I recorded for myself. After typing them, I will press the "Forget" button and forget about this episode...
- There is one thing good about this episode: the pre-title opening sequence was brilliant. Probably the best since, er, Turn Left? Genuinely terrifying.
- Plot is the most important thing I look for in any science fiction/fantasy. One of the reasons that I like Steven Moffat's scripts is that they all begin in a completely mad and bizarre manner but by the end of the 45 minutes everything fit together and actually make sense. Unfortunately, this episode doesn't make any sense, as already pointed out by so many people so I won't bother repeating. What a disappointment when this is something from Moffat.
- He has another usual problem of tending to put too many ideas into one story when any one of them is good enough for an entire episode, resulting in many good ideas being casually thrown away. Sometimes it works great like Blink: time travel and several "predestination paradoxes"; "quantum locked" stone statues; DVD easter egg with one half of some dialogue; that half dialogue fitting in two different situations; all in under 45 minutes! But perhaps there are cases that don't work... I had thought that these brilliant ideas will be "diluted" as he took over and became executive producer with 6 stories to write instead of 1 or 2. However here it is not diluted, in fact there are enough stuff to give 2 episodes. The Smilers are terrifying, but do not tie to the plot whatsoever.
- The part where Amy votes is confusing: the fastforwarding gave the impression that the information is somehow fed to her so quickly that she made the choice subconsciously, when in fact (apparently) it isn't the case.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Amy (is about to be) in Wonderland
Doctor Who Series 5 Episode 1: The Eleventh Hour
I don't usually write Doctor Who reviews since (i) so many people have done this and there is really nothing original I can add and (ii) this will take too much time. Instead of writing a coherent article I will just write down some random points.
I don't usually write Doctor Who reviews since (i) so many people have done this and there is really nothing original I can add and (ii) this will take too much time. Instead of writing a coherent article I will just write down some random points.
- As usual Steven Moffat has a remarkable ability to turn everyday objects creepy. From stone statues in Blink, to cracks in the wall this time (by the way, there is plenty of that in my flat...), and invisible (or rather unnoticeable in this case) room in your very own house. Enough to scare any kid. This also taps directly into kids' terror, like the "monster under the bed" thing in The Girl in the Fireplace.
- At the same time, as the Grand Moff and many others have said so many times, it was indeed also very "fairytale", not just the story concept but also the visual effects and music.
- Moffat has created a complex character in Amy Pond; there is much more to analyse then her skirt length. Unlike most other stories, time travel is always an integral part of Moffat's plot, and it is "The Girl in the Fireplace" all over again. This time the little girl was disappointed by the doctor, and her personality was consequently shaped in subtle ways while she grew up, which are all very reasonable when you think about it, and gives a more natural explanation as to why she is willing to go with the doctor, comparing with previous companions (a kid believing in a time machine is much more plausible; and she waited 14 years...)
- The heart of little Amelia, though, was still inside the grown-up Amy. The doctor's return allowed Amy, and the viewers, to let out their "inner child" again. This is best summed up in the dialogue:
"I grew up."
Moffat is in fact the one who fixes this for every grown-up viewer!
"Don't worry, I'll soon fix that."
- I was skeptical about Karen Gillan's acting, but it seems so far so good. The "then why did you say five minutes!" speech was quite powerful. And the girl who played young Amelia deserves special mention; her performance was so excellent it is hard to believe she had no prior acting experience.
- Murray's Gold's music for the episode is once again superb. (Sometimes you have to wonder why these people are working for the BBC; surely they are destined for bigger things?) From the scene where Amelia packed her little suitcase waiting the doctor to come back; to the TARDIS left Amy behind for the second time; to Amy finally walked into the new TARDIS; all are accompanied with little sequences of music that are exceedingly simple but very effectively conveys the emotion and that are also, once again, very fairytale, very Tim Burton, very Alice in wonderland (never in my life have I thought of writing these words in my blog! "Alice goes down a rabbit hole" is the first and last thing I know about it. I know the other Alice, the one who cryptographically communicates with Bob, better...)
- The alien plot was somewhat disappointing. Although many would say this is not the main point in this episode, one would expect Moffat to pull out something better than this, given the quality of all his previous contributions. Still, you never know; numerous mad conspiracy theories are already being rumoured, based on (quite reasonable) observations like contradictory signposts on which years the events happened and the crack pattern shown on the TARDIS console etc. In the past it was always fans reading too much into these, but this is Moffat, he never put things in for no reason. The "silence will fall" etc are far too straightforward, clearly Moffat is up for something more twisted than this?
- Nobody seem to question why this is called the eleventh hour? Even this makes sense, in three different ways at the same time!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Daft
Every year, around this time, I have the most frustrating work of marking these people's programming assignments. Which is even worse this year, because for the first time ever, the cryptography module has become the most popular third year module. The frustration arises not just from of the amount of work, which is bad enough, but also from other things.
(1) Why do people insist, year after year, assignment after assignment, to write something like this?
File privateKeyFile = new File("C:/Users/ChanTaiMan/Desktop/ChanTaiMan.prv");
Am I supposed to create a directory like this to run your program? Or am I supposed to edit everybody's program for such things before compiling it? And there are always a few people to offer a "user friendly" option of popping up a dialog box to input such things. To them
java ProgramName ChanTaiMan
is as alien as the Martian language. (Not to say options like -a, -b: I suspect they never did an ls -l in their life.)
And that is because they say their IDEs can't do this. All IDEs are evil! Nobody know how to use command line arguments anymore!
I would so much love to give these people just a zero mark! If only I could!
(2) OK, you can't write programs, you can't even understand sample programs given to you, so you copy your classmate's program. But why, why people can't even use "find and replace" properly? Rename one occurrence of the variable and leave the other unchanged?
(1) Why do people insist, year after year, assignment after assignment, to write something like this?
File privateKeyFile = new File("C:/Users/ChanTaiMan/Desktop/ChanTaiMan.prv");
Am I supposed to create a directory like this to run your program? Or am I supposed to edit everybody's program for such things before compiling it? And there are always a few people to offer a "user friendly" option of popping up a dialog box to input such things. To them
java ProgramName ChanTaiMan
is as alien as the Martian language. (Not to say options like -a, -b: I suspect they never did an ls -l in their life.)
And that is because they say their IDEs can't do this. All IDEs are evil! Nobody know how to use command line arguments anymore!
I would so much love to give these people just a zero mark! If only I could!
(2) OK, you can't write programs, you can't even understand sample programs given to you, so you copy your classmate's program. But why, why people can't even use "find and replace" properly? Rename one occurrence of the variable and leave the other unchanged?
Sunday, January 24, 2010
從前有一隻青蛙...
很久以前，我看過一個短篇科幻故事，名叫 "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed"。看完後我覺得那故事很 disturbing，不過我也沒有深究為甚麼。
還不過幾年前，大家還恥笑董建華這句話：
隨著中國「發展」，香港必將淪為中國一個普通城市，這是歴史宿命，多一條少一條高鐵，也差不了多少。不幸的是人的想法也變了。今天還有誰會覺得「求救」是令人「無地自容」？
那個科幻故事是說，有一些地球人滯留火星，其中一人有一天突然發現，花草樹木的顏色不同了， 慢慢的連別人和自己的眼珠顏色、頭髮顏色、甚至說的語言都變了。他想離開火星，其他人卻不介意那些轉變，或者「詐唔知」不去面對那些轉變。那人最後也不再堅持...
很多年後，地球才再有人來火星，卻找不到原來的地球人，只發現一些「火星人」 ...
青蛙心想，跳出去沒有水，會死的，其實熱水也很好呀！火力愈來愈大，青蛙卻愈來愈興奮。它死前的最後一句話，是：「 嘩哈哈！ 」
* * *
還不過幾年前，大家還恥笑董建華這句話：
「香港好，中國好。中國好，香港更好」 --董建華幾年後的今天，人人都已從心底裡由衷相信，香港必須要和中國融合，不然便會死。
... 最後連董建華也承認他曾去信中央，請求京官幫忙。但他這一下「求救」，教香港人無地自容，恨他無本事帶領香港擺脫困境，怨其丟盡香港的面子－－明明是全國最富庶的地方，卻公然厚著臉皮向「阿爺」（北京）伸手討好處。其實香港人雖然都在北望 神州，欲在中國崛起之際分一杯羹，但很多人卻覺得交往過程應是公平地互惠互利，而非中央單方面的「偏愛」，無條件不斷施予優惠，做中國的「敗家兒」...
他們說， 90後的一代將來畢業後，香港必已被邊緣化，沒有高鐵，他們就不能方便地回內地工作，沒有出路。 --蘋果日報, 引述某被訪者
... 宜家香港上至政府下至小市民個個淨係識背靠祖國做寄生蟲...
... 真正既邊緣化唔係有冇高鐵
而係香港政府同香港人自願放棄經濟上既獨立性...-- extracted from 某高登 post
隨著中國「發展」，香港必將淪為中國一個普通城市，這是歴史宿命，多一條少一條高鐵，也差不了多少。不幸的是人的想法也變了。今天還有誰會覺得「求救」是令人「無地自容」？
* * *
那個科幻故事是說，有一些地球人滯留火星，其中一人有一天突然發現，花草樹木的顏色不同了， 慢慢的連別人和自己的眼珠顏色、頭髮顏色、甚至說的語言都變了。他想離開火星，其他人卻不介意那些轉變，或者「詐唔知」不去面對那些轉變。那人最後也不再堅持...
很多年後，地球才再有人來火星，卻找不到原來的地球人，只發現一些「火星人」 ...
* * *
青蛙心想，跳出去沒有水，會死的，其實熱水也很好呀！火力愈來愈大，青蛙卻愈來愈興奮。它死前的最後一句話，是：「 嘩哈哈！ 」
Sunday, January 17, 2010
每日新聞圖片
兩名內地大款得戚地表示支持興建高鐵。
工聯會立法會議員王國興向會外高呼「撐高鐵創造就業」的示威者表示，工聯會成功爭取「反對高鐵工程優先聘請本地工人」，至於「示威工程優先聘請本地臨記」則在泛民拉布下暫未成功反對。
和諧黨副主席檢閱首名乘高鐵來港的女兵。
Sunday, January 10, 2010
「西班牙人」
再說，就算有極少數廣東人吃貓，也不能泛稱「廣東人吃貓」，就像不久前，有北京人殺了他自己全家（父、母、子、女、妻、妹），絕不能延伸說「北京人殺自己全家」，若形成「北京人殺自己全家」的說法，自然和「廣東人吃貓」一樣，是大大的謬誤。倪匡，《「廣東人吃貓」》，蘋果日報 10/1/2010
倪匡大概對「新中國」的「現代漢語」還是不太了解，網上就充斥著類似以下的大陸文字：
利物浦糟糕的戰績讓領隊賓尼迪斯本賽季承受著巨大的壓力，歐冠盃提前出局讓球迷們對西班牙人的失望之情到達了頂點。媒體也一度把賓尼迪斯和皇家馬德里、國際米蘭聯繫在一起，有消息稱西班牙人很可能在今夏取代摩連奴在國際的位置。
你不知就裏的話還以為球迷對所有西班牙人都感到失望，所有西班牙人一起取代摩連奴！這大概是從英文「翻譯」過來，英文可以說 (在文中提到過該人之後) The Spaniard, The England international 之類，你譯成中文，最少也應說「該名西班牙籍領隊」、「該名英格蘭國腳」 。就是英文也有那 the 字啊！不過大家也見怪不怪了...
Thursday, January 07, 2010
反高鐵，保香港
...
第一個假設是，假設內地的有錢人不斷來香港幫襯，帶挈香港地產發達，小市民可以分享唾餘，有份掃地捧餐做實Q。內地（主要是廣東）的人民和商人要來香港交 易，是因為香港有內地買不到的商品、服務、治安和生活品質。然而，這不會長久如此的...
...
高鐵的第二個假設是，香港長期維持優秀可靠的服務，可以吸引內地人幫襯。...
一旦香港的服務與內地拉平，內地人也毋須幫襯香港。
...
愛國者應理解國情，內地大勢不妙。香港應該保持適當距離，自求多福，而不是去銜接危機。內地人發達繁華，不稀罕你去銜接；內地災難爆發，香港去銜接也沒用。高鐵是一塊雞肋，不是一塊肥肉。一塊雞肋何須稀罕？
...陳雲：《反高鐵，保香港》，信報 7/1/2010
我不認為甚麼菜園村之類是反高鐵的強力理由(雖然是些比較冠冕堂皇的理由)。
反而支持興建的那些甚麼「促進中港融合」，「接上內地發展」之類才是最危險的糖衣毒藥。
不論物質上還是文明上，香港都比大陸先進 - 至少現在還是。這正是香港的優勢。你快快「融合」 掉，香港就和大陸一模一樣，沒有獨特之處，只會「死快D」。所以香港應盡可能減慢被大陸同化的速度，作一個好榜樣給內地學習。
再說，那是個每天都在殺人的政權啊！你跟它「融合」幹甚麼？你沒聽說人家要出兵了嗎？將來有了高鐵，石崗軍營出市區也很快捷嘛。
PS1.
出賣香港利益的，時時見報，就是這一伙了，七百萬人，記住他們的樣子。時機成熟，一起跟他們算賬。陶傑，《賣港》，蘋果日報 16/12/2009
PS2. 咁鐘意起, 起成咁好唔好? (我見到果洲個圈真係笑到停唔到...)
http://w3img.westkit.net/0286b67a82a0da64237c0d25c061c357.img
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Going into 2010 the cold way (almost)
At this very moment, I could have been typing my final words in 2009 in a zero degree Celsius room, with a torch, a mobile phone and a 2-hour laptop battery being my only power source. Thankfully it wasn't like that.
On this very last day of 2009, I lost electricity at home. It's the stupid laptop power adaptor again; this is already a replacement but this time it even brought down the power of the whole flat. The circuit breakers inside the flat did not trip, but every socket and every light switch was dead.
I was fearing the worst and planning how to endure a long dark night in this holiday period without lighting and without heating - surely an unconventional way to go into a new year - when the guy from the letting agent came over and fixed that. Which I'm very grateful to and perhaps I should just slightly change my view about the agent.
On this very last day of 2009, I lost electricity at home. It's the stupid laptop power adaptor again; this is already a replacement but this time it even brought down the power of the whole flat. The circuit breakers inside the flat did not trip, but every socket and every light switch was dead.
I was fearing the worst and planning how to endure a long dark night in this holiday period without lighting and without heating - surely an unconventional way to go into a new year - when the guy from the letting agent came over and fixed that. Which I'm very grateful to and perhaps I should just slightly change my view about the agent.
An unusually nice journey
You don't often hear me say that, but my return journey this time could not have been better. Having picked a closer and smaller airport this time (which I should have done years ago - you see, the algorithm running in my head does produce something that converge to the optimal solution,
just very slowly), it turns out that one leg of the flight is less than 1/3 full, the passport control and baggage reclaim was exceedingly quick, and the train timetable somehow allowed me to catch unexpectedly early trains. The only worrying bit was that there were actually officers from customs standing there inspecting passengers' stuff, but I even managed to escape that. (Why can't they learn from Heathrow where there's nobody inspecting anything round the clock?)
just very slowly), it turns out that one leg of the flight is less than 1/3 full, the passport control and baggage reclaim was exceedingly quick, and the train timetable somehow allowed me to catch unexpectedly early trains. The only worrying bit was that there were actually officers from customs standing there inspecting passengers' stuff, but I even managed to escape that. (Why can't they learn from Heathrow where there's nobody inspecting anything round the clock?)
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
「港足奪金」之曾蔭權在做甚麼
曾蔭權真是一個X街...
... 當晚唯一的遺憾，是行政長官曾蔭權於頒獎禮期間突然宣布有話要對記者說，害我「拿拿臨」仆過去採訪而錯過親眼看港隊站上頒獎台最高一級的機會。...
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Bring in video technology into football!
Is it just me, and nobody else really cares? So many blatantly wrong decisions have been made by referees over the years and that FIFA lot of people insist on not doing anything about it. It is beyond stubbornness, it feels more like something dirty is going on behind the scenes. And if not from within then what about the fans? On facebook, the largest group about this has, errr, less than 2000 people there, with most other groups less than a hundred. Even groups about 港女 etc. can get into tens of thousands much more easily and quickly.
Referees are humans and in such a high-tempo game, it is simply impossible to ask referees to make correct decisions instantly. Almost all other sports is using video technologies now, even snooker does!(*) An organisation that keeps on saying "fair play" is the same one that tries everything possible to stop referees from making correct decisions. Is it ironic enough? How much longer do we have to tolerate this?
FIFA stands for Football Injustice Forever Association. It is a total disgrace.
(*) To be precise, snooker only uses replays for replacing balls, not making decisions.
Referees are humans and in such a high-tempo game, it is simply impossible to ask referees to make correct decisions instantly. Almost all other sports is using video technologies now, even snooker does!(*) An organisation that keeps on saying "fair play" is the same one that tries everything possible to stop referees from making correct decisions. Is it ironic enough? How much longer do we have to tolerate this?
FIFA stands for Football Injustice Forever Association. It is a total disgrace.
(*) To be precise, snooker only uses replays for replacing balls, not making decisions.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
James May's Toy Stories
"He is completely insane!"
"That, and a bit magnificent."
- Valerie and Brannigan, Doctor Who "Gridlock"
This is a completely mad TV programme. The show takes several no-longer-fashionable toys (well, most of them), and blow them up to build real-life-scale things. You may not realise their names, until you see them. The first episode is about making an Airfix model (something like this) of a Spitfire, except it is 1:1 scale, and they asked a group of kids to do it, at an old factory where real Spitfires were produced. Other mad ideas include making a garden out of plasticine and actually putting it in the Chelsea Flower Show, and building a over 4 km long track out of Scalextric and actually run slot cars on it.
Other than satisfying the nostalgia of us "old" people, the best thing about this show is that it at least tries to do the impossible of tempting children of this generation to do things that require long hours of concentration without looking at a computer/TV screen. These toys are no longer fashionable precisely because they take time. I also like its engaging factor, where it often involves hundreds or even thousands of people to build the thing and to participate. The Scalextric episode for example, (not aired yet but from the lots of youtube videos flying around) involve lots of people, since one person can only be looking at a very small section of the track at one time. Very much like a community event where every kid living around are out, running along the track. Seeing people getting excited about such events at least gives a (however small) hope of reversing or stopping the trend of the dumbing down of toys (and everything else).
Update: here, before it gets removed...
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
In memory of a youthful heart
I suppose I owe quite a lot to him. Many years ago, since we lived relatively close to them, our family often visited theirs. My childhood memory mainly consisted of playing toys in other people's homes; this one was no exception.
There were probably some lego sets around, although my main activity appeared to be reading lego catalogs. For some reason this cement mixer and this classic space set had left very deep impression in my mind.
During that time I had one of my early encounter (if not the earliest) of a computer; in fact it might be an Apple II but I'm not so sure now.
He used to work in the UK for some time. Every time he came back he brought us lots of UK stamps, in two categories: those used for regular everyday mail, in large quantities and with many duplicates, and those that were relatively rare and only have a few copies in each batch. Then we have the task of splitting these stamps into 4 sets "fairly" (one for each of the kids there). We could spend an entire afternoon doing this.
He once gave me a thick and heavy book (the biggest book I had at that time), something like a Reader's digest compilation on topics related to the Earth, and a 1970-ish atlas used by Geography classes back when he was in school (in which you can see the version of Hong Kong coastline before the more recent landfills, and a whole lot about the British Isles).
I also stole, from the books he left behind after he emigrated, a (I believe?) C. J. Tranter's A-level Pure Mathematics textbook; it's very "British" and certainly treats topics very differently from a modern-day text (for example it starts with the question of what happens if we integrate 1/x, shows that it must be "log-like" and from this defines the constant known as e before finally moving on to its numerous other properties). Among other things it gave me my first exposure to the convergence of series and the natural logarithm.
These were probably useless stuff to him anyway, but were good to me. I really appreciate this because I myself hate to give things away to people; if you ask me to give you my atlas back in secondary school, I won't be too happy about it (even worse if you have taken it without me knowing it).
During all these years he never seemed to get old; he always spoke in a slow, cheerful and somewhat child-like tone. This probably is a reflection of an youthful heart.
In the past year or so, somewhat being kept out of the loop, I have only been barely aware of what has been going on with him. During a certain period of time there appeared to be positive progress, but the inevitable eventually happened. At least I believe he didn't have much regrets. He can rest assured the books had made their impact on a kid.
There were probably some lego sets around, although my main activity appeared to be reading lego catalogs. For some reason this cement mixer and this classic space set had left very deep impression in my mind.
During that time I had one of my early encounter (if not the earliest) of a computer; in fact it might be an Apple II but I'm not so sure now.
He used to work in the UK for some time. Every time he came back he brought us lots of UK stamps, in two categories: those used for regular everyday mail, in large quantities and with many duplicates, and those that were relatively rare and only have a few copies in each batch. Then we have the task of splitting these stamps into 4 sets "fairly" (one for each of the kids there). We could spend an entire afternoon doing this.
He once gave me a thick and heavy book (the biggest book I had at that time), something like a Reader's digest compilation on topics related to the Earth, and a 1970-ish atlas used by Geography classes back when he was in school (in which you can see the version of Hong Kong coastline before the more recent landfills, and a whole lot about the British Isles).
I also stole, from the books he left behind after he emigrated, a (I believe?) C. J. Tranter's A-level Pure Mathematics textbook; it's very "British" and certainly treats topics very differently from a modern-day text (for example it starts with the question of what happens if we integrate 1/x, shows that it must be "log-like" and from this defines the constant known as e before finally moving on to its numerous other properties). Among other things it gave me my first exposure to the convergence of series and the natural logarithm.
These were probably useless stuff to him anyway, but were good to me. I really appreciate this because I myself hate to give things away to people; if you ask me to give you my atlas back in secondary school, I won't be too happy about it (even worse if you have taken it without me knowing it).
During all these years he never seemed to get old; he always spoke in a slow, cheerful and somewhat child-like tone. This probably is a reflection of an youthful heart.
In the past year or so, somewhat being kept out of the loop, I have only been barely aware of what has been going on with him. During a certain period of time there appeared to be positive progress, but the inevitable eventually happened. At least I believe he didn't have much regrets. He can rest assured the books had made their impact on a kid.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
二數相乘，有口訣云：天天，地地，人人，天地人，盡負一...
怪哉，於此二十又一世紀，中學國文科尚棄文言如糞土之時，若干有志之士，竟以文言編維基大典，所涉更非限孔孟老莊、唐詩宋詞，諸般數學，凡 Quaternion 至 set theory 皆具文誌之，誠可貴也。
Saturday, July 11, 2009
more delays
As usual, this is the place for my rant about flight experiences. But this time I found out it may serve a new purpose: it might help some other people feel better by knowing other people (me) have even worse experience than them.
I won't bother you about what the trip is for, what exactly does the airport code DUS stand for etc, but instead just go straight about the travel itself.
Outward flight: LHR->DUS
The outward flight only had, relatively speaking, minor troubles. The flight was delayed by roughly 2 hours, but it is not the interesting part; the reason for the delay is more interesting. It was because "the toilets are not fully operational", resulting in a need to find a replacement plane.
When we arrived at DUS another trouble surfaced: all except a handful of the passengers lost their checked luggage. I didn't have any checked luggage, but other people travelling on the same trip did, and I got to see a hundred people hanging outside a small room filling forms etc. In fact, it looks like another flight also had the same problem...
Inward flight: DUS->LHR
I need a bullet list for this:
I won't bother you about what the trip is for, what exactly does the airport code DUS stand for etc, but instead just go straight about the travel itself.
Outward flight: LHR->DUS
The outward flight only had, relatively speaking, minor troubles. The flight was delayed by roughly 2 hours, but it is not the interesting part; the reason for the delay is more interesting. It was because "the toilets are not fully operational", resulting in a need to find a replacement plane.
When we arrived at DUS another trouble surfaced: all except a handful of the passengers lost their checked luggage. I didn't have any checked luggage, but other people travelling on the same trip did, and I got to see a hundred people hanging outside a small room filling forms etc. In fact, it looks like another flight also had the same problem...
Inward flight: DUS->LHR
I need a bullet list for this:
- During the whole week the weather was fine, but just when we were about to get a train to the airport, there was heavy rain. As a result, the train to the airport was delayed by 15-20 minutes. This was still fine, but...
- At the airport, we found out that the flight was delayed by "only" 50 minutes. This was still ok, except...
- I needed to catch a train at St Pancras. I've put in 2 hours between the original landing time of the flight and scheduled train departure time, which should be more than sufficient, particularly with Heathrow Express. And normally the plane can fly a bit faster to catch up at least some of the delay. But
- The plane circled at least 3 times above London before finally landed. And after landing, as the pilot put it, "to add to the misery", the air bridge to the terminal didn't work and we had to take a shuttle bus even though it was just 30 seconds walk away from it. And the shuttle bus needs (due to some ground traffic regulations on the airport ground) to make a big detour and travel round a loop.
- Then, long queues as usual at UK Border. Actually this time it was slightly faster with some more counters open.
- (If you need proof that worst-case analysis is useful:) then I missed a Heathrow Express train, and had to wait exactly 15 minutes when they have one every 15 minutes.
- Then there were further delay on the Hammersmith-and-City tube line which means overall it is actually not faster than taking the Piccadilly line directly to St Pancras.
- I was fearing the worst (I seem to recall the only other train departs at midnight and arrive at 3am or something like that), when actually there was one at 23:15 which I was able to catch. Usually such late trains stop at every station and takes about 1.5 hours, but this one was even worse due to construction work which required a hugh diversion costing some extra time.
- So I finally arrive Leicester at 1:38am. This was "only" 98 minutes later than scheduled, and when you take all these incidents together, it isn't too bad.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
偉大的中國人！
在柏楊「醜陋的中國人！」一書(2008年版)中，收錄了一篇(其他人寫的) 「偉大的中國人」，當中提到:
幾十年來，「國家在各方面的發展都得到驕人的成就」(更何況上文說的是台灣，沒有「黨」的領導，自然更差)，已進化到這樣，還在外國上報：
粵漢不滿阻塞交通 扮「握手交朋友」走近推落跳橋男子
China bridge jumper 'gets a push'
二十多年前，有一個男子，一時想不開，爬到台北市館前街某大飯店的十樓頂上，揚言要自殺。頓時招來了滿坑滿谷看熱鬧的觀眾，警察大人如臨大敵，一面在樓下撒下了安全救護網，一面派人上樓去勸說，新聞記者端起照相機，取好鏡頭，準備獵取那最珍貴的一剎那，那男子卻也作怪，任憑警察老爺說破了嘴，他仍堅持非自殺不可，可又不肯立刻就跳，就這樣一點鐘兩點鐘乾耗著。中國人看熱鬧的耐心是天下第一的，抬頭仰望兩三小時，脖子再痠，也不肯休息片刻。眼看對面火車站前的時鐘已經敲出十一點了，跳的還不肯跳，看的還不肯走，這時候，有一個提著空菜籃的主婦，嘴裡嘟嚷著道：「要跳還不趕快，老娘等著看完了還要去買菜！」
幾十年來，「國家在各方面的發展都得到驕人的成就」(更何況上文說的是台灣，沒有「黨」的領導，自然更差)，已進化到這樣，還在外國上報：
粵漢不滿阻塞交通 扮「握手交朋友」走近推落跳橋男子
China bridge jumper 'gets a push'
Friday, May 15, 2009
嚴正聲明
本人特此聲明，本人從無授權曾蔭權代表本人，亦從無直接或間接投票支持曾蔭權，其一切言論並不代表本人立場。
PS.
PS.
有人說，鎮壓壓出了繁榮。我只知道，是經濟改革改出了繁榮。是人民，用市場經濟打破了毛澤東的枷鎖，才創造了繁榮。現在有人總結說，繁榮是鎮壓的產物。面對全球經濟危機，我不知道他們是否正在準備介紹鎮壓的經驗，來拯救世界經濟。-- 《改革歷程》
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
World Championship Snooker 2009
This year I didn't go to Sheffield to watch the above event, because the tickets were already sold out (or more precisely, I'm not bothered to try the phone lines for the "resale" service. There are always plenty of empty seats in each match.) But the BBC streams everything on the web.
Marco Fu plays Joe Swail in the first round. I was quite worried, but somehow Fu got past this easily. Swail wasn't playing that badly, all he lacks is probably luck. Anyway, Fu's next round opponent was Shaun Murphy. Fu lost 3-13 with a session to spare. When he was trailing 1-7 overnight I wasn't too concerned - I saw him won six straight frames to come back from 9-15 to 15-15 a few years back. Never did I imagine that he could lost 2-6 in the next session this time.
He just played very, very badly. It is interesting that players can have complete different performance from day to day.
As for the other players, I'm glad to see Ronnie O'Sullivan crashed out, particularly when he was "potted out", not "bored out" as some may claim for his other losses before. The fact that he has "motivation" difficulties (which is probably genuine, we have students like this) is his own problem, and it doesn't automatically mean that the whole sport is dying.
I managed to see the very last part of Stephen Hendry's 147 live. I have to say, though, that the pockets are incredibly huge and takes almost anything in.
John Higgins eventually won the title. He really is an all-round player, not as exciting to watch as many young players but fully deserves the title.
Marco Fu plays Joe Swail in the first round. I was quite worried, but somehow Fu got past this easily. Swail wasn't playing that badly, all he lacks is probably luck. Anyway, Fu's next round opponent was Shaun Murphy. Fu lost 3-13 with a session to spare. When he was trailing 1-7 overnight I wasn't too concerned - I saw him won six straight frames to come back from 9-15 to 15-15 a few years back. Never did I imagine that he could lost 2-6 in the next session this time.
He just played very, very badly. It is interesting that players can have complete different performance from day to day.
As for the other players, I'm glad to see Ronnie O'Sullivan crashed out, particularly when he was "potted out", not "bored out" as some may claim for his other losses before. The fact that he has "motivation" difficulties (which is probably genuine, we have students like this) is his own problem, and it doesn't automatically mean that the whole sport is dying.
I managed to see the very last part of Stephen Hendry's 147 live. I have to say, though, that the pockets are incredibly huge and takes almost anything in.
John Higgins eventually won the title. He really is an all-round player, not as exciting to watch as many young players but fully deserves the title.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Leicester City promoted
So Leicester City is promoted back to the Championship, and as champion of League One at the same time, with two games to spare; although at one point it looks like losing momentum and wastes all the huge lead that was made in the middle of the season. It is important to get out of this League One in the first season, or otherwise it may take ages to get out, just like Nottingham Forest and Leeds.
Now let's hope "the management" don't make any more silly moves and make sure the team at least survives with some comfort in the Championship next season...
Now let's hope "the management" don't make any more silly moves and make sure the team at least survives with some comfort in the Championship next season...
Friday, April 17, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Thursday, April 02, 2009
賊喊捉賊
港足聯賽 爆踢假波疑雲
香港足球圈之「盛況」早已人所共知，多年來在一少撮人圍威喂的「緊密合作」下，把球市搞得「有聲有色」，每場賽事觀眾多達數十人。不知何故，近年竟能更創高峰，甲組球隊數目愈來愈多，有人更一人搞兩隊波。如果我是班主，一定提供一條龍服務。試想: 賭仔有波賭，開賭有錢搵，球員有波踢，唔駛踢也有錢收，可謂百利而無一害，對香港經濟將帶來巨大貢獻...
香港足球圈之「盛況」早已人所共知，多年來在一少撮人圍威喂的「緊密合作」下，把球市搞得「有聲有色」，每場賽事觀眾多達數十人。不知何故，近年竟能更創高峰，甲組球隊數目愈來愈多，有人更一人搞兩隊波。如果我是班主，一定提供一條龍服務。試想: 賭仔有波賭，開賭有錢搵，球員有波踢，唔駛踢也有錢收，可謂百利而無一害，對香港經濟將帶來巨大貢獻...
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