June 2004 Archives

The film freaks of the NY Times have had their picks. Do you agree or disagree? Or, what's your tally? Me? I'll get back to you on that later. (I did go straight down to S to look for "Scent of a Woman" but it isn't there, alas.)

My friend Sam got married to a wonderful woman today. I'm happy for them. This wedding holds a different meaning to me (but it wasn't because I used to walk the groom home four times a week). It's the first Christian wedding I've ever actually attended. The newlyweds, both from Christian families, share an adamant faith in God and a love for music, so naturally the whole ceremony was filled with psalms - there were even three choirs from two different towns. The happy couple sang as well. And boy were they good at it! Though not a Christian, I somehow learned quite a few psalms when I was little, from my childhood best friend's mother who awarded me with fancy-patterned pencils and books every time I learned five new songs. And at the wedding, I recognized two of the psalms and wanted to sing along but didn't, because now it seemed strange. (The songs had lovely melodies though!) After the ceremony, we all went to the hotel for the gracious banquet. While we were waiting for the elevator, Elton John's "Your Song" was heard. My fellow guest turned around and smiled at me, and at the same time we said, "This song should have been played at the wedding!" Sir Elton certainly is good at making people feel bubbly.

剛剛有多事人提醒我「這麼喜歡Prisoner of Azkaban，怎麼都沒表示一下？」，才想到自己還真的一點「表示」也沒有。儘管辦公室裡已經多名同事都因為本人的強力煽動(翻譯：煩)去看了這部「史上最佳第三集」。這部在今年二月之前原本和我全無瓜葛的電影，在莫名其妙的狀況下變成最期待的夏季電影之一，進而變成今年上半年我最喜歡的影片。 後來看到Newsweek這篇報導，寫得好。値得偷貼過來。 Lightning Strikes The 'Harry Potter' books have finally gotten the wondrous movie they deserve. 'The Prisoner of Azkaban' boasts a brand-new director and a bold new vision. By Sean Smith Newsweek May 31 issue - The first scene of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" removes any doubt that the famous child wizard is growing up fast. The camera glides toward a light pulsing in the night, then through an open bedroom window, where Harry is hiding under his covers, playing with his wand and hoping to God he doesn't get caught. Wait a minute. Has new director Alfonso Cuaron inserted a sneaky allusion to the private habits of teenage boys into the family-friendly franchise? Cuaron's a warm, chatty guy and not one to dodge controversy—his last film, "Y Tu Mama Tambien," was so graphic that it was released unrated—but there's no way on earth he's going anywhere near this topic. "This is NEWSWEEK, man!" he says, then laughs for a very long time. Intentional or not, it's a pitch-perfect bit of subtext, and only the first of many reasons "Azkaban" rocks. Sure, there's a werewolf and a hippogriff and a bunch of other magical stuff, but the real reason this third film in the series outshines the others is that it's about something far more frightening than failing your Potions final or facing Lord Voldemort. It's about being 13. "It's such an archetypal age—the bar mitzvah, the communion," says Cuaron, who replaced Chris Columbus, the director of the first two movies. "It's the moment in which fear is no longer the bogeyman under your bed. It resides inside you. In this story, Harry has to come to terms with his male energy."

之前看到nyc bloggers、London Bloggers和UKBlogger map時，就已經偷偷羨慕好久。剛剛到凱洛家溜達才發現──現在終於我們也有了(上面那個圖是我自己找的，非正宗)！真要多謝Shih-Hsien。 (當然我也曾想要搞一個，但是以本人un-computer-smart的程度，你也知道是不會有什麼結果的。) 真不是簡單的高興兩字可以形容。

全世界我最喜歡的地方，我必須承認，除了家或飛機上以外，還有一個不特定的地方──機場。任何機場。當然，幾次和機場交手下來，某些機場會在某些特定段落和記憶有特殊的連結，不需照片也可以輕易引起種種情緒；有些機場則在「令人過目即忘」方面獨具天份。 小時候的我曾經想住在機場。那是在放棄當間諜的幾個星期以後。 當時最喜歡的玩具是一組樂高機場，設備非常完整，包括停機坪、跑道、塔台、航廈甚至飛機等等一應俱全。現在它仍然是我最愛的玩具，還是我堅持要去丹麥的原因。 「住在機場」對那時的我而言，是僅次於太空漫步最奇妙的狀態。人們到機場總是為了要離開它；這地方是出口也是入口，是此處的終點也是彼方的起點。機場有自己的屬國，然而一閃進自動門就像已經到了異國，四週的氛圍完全不同。不停流動的旅客錢幣護照貨物機體讓人忽略機場的國籍，只有機場廣播響起，頭上的"Baggage Claim"、「外貨両替所」或"Luchtvaartmaatschappijen"標示牌才暗示你，這不是你的家。

這位老先生是現任波士頓大學教授，牛津大學新任詩學教授，但這些都不重要。他寫了一本書：Dylan's Visions of Sin，證明他是愛Dylan的怪咖。 他的故事請見Daily Prophet...喔不，是紐約時報。

想破頭還是不懂為什麼現在很多小孩(泛指一般年紀比我小的人)，照相都要在臉旁邊(尤其是眼部)比個V。最近基測滿分的國中生、大學校園美少女經常上報，每次都看得我很納悶。 例如這樣。 到底為什麼？還是我意見太多了？

「快點，想一個成語。」 「哈利波特？」 ......

倒也說不上是多事之秋，但最近辦公室就是不得安寧，尤其是眾多來電自稱「小老百姓」(還有人文謅謅的說自己是「一介草民」，怎麼，你古裝劇看太多啊？)的人們，往往恨不得自己能用強烈的語氣、「精煉的」措辭殺死電話這一頭的我們。 (要看我初至衙門時與他們的對戰紀錄，請見《不好笑》。) 前天有一位先生，由於不滿意奉公守法的承辦人給他的回答，打電話到局長室申訴。我回答這必須要由承辦人處理，何況他的要求根本於法理不容(當然，我用的不是這五個字)。 我的勇敢發言換來的是他大聲呼喊：「叫局長秘書來聽！」