While on a very occasional hotpot gathering with my girl friend's pals, one of the ladies said she would go to Capri and Sorrento for holiday in June.
Capri is such an enigmatic place. There are so many stories associated with it. Maugham's The Lotus Eater, Bryson's Neither Here Nor There . . . The place is at least an imaginary paradise to reader like me. It worths wondering whether the place is that beautiful, that someone would sacrifice his belongings for a reclusive life there. And even the sarcastic Bryson cannot stop praising it. The only problem is, it is too far away.
Regarding Sorrento, most of us would have mixed feeling with it. If we are asked what "Sorrento" is, the overwhelming answer would be the same naming estate in TST, rather than the lovely Italian town. Could it be treated as a certain kind of cultural difference, or a form of "East meets West"? The answer could not be easily told.
When so many places are "untravelable", like Japan, Philippines, Thailand . . . , it is fortunate to be affordable to go to Italy, in the sense of time and finance.
2011年3月31日 星期四
2011年3月30日 星期三
一平安 - 20110329
昨午，有點空閒，獨自到一平安吃了碗拉麵。既可大快朵頤，亦可支持日本。
抵店，只十二時初，人客小貓三倆。坐在吧枱前，享受難得閒適。日本客人有二，皆中年漢，分別獨個兒拿著獨賣新聞，靜靜坐下看報用膳。日藉女侍應也不多招呼，明顯是熟客。不知是心理作用還是甚麼，日漢都愁眉深鎖。在幽暗燈光下，氣氛更爵士。
點餐，不用看餐牌。對我來說，一平安那碗什錦拉麵實是唯一選擇。兩片叉燒出奇香滑，兩件腩肉更是豐腴。配角糖心蛋半隻、芽菜木耳各一撮、蔥花一把、紫菜一塊，和麵條拌在濃綢豬骨湯裏，剎是銷魂。
埋單，七十多塊錢，當然貴。不過，這種偶一為之的奢侈，還是需要的。猶其是在災難、蠢材交替出現的日子，我們還要為自己加油。
希望人如店名。
抵店，只十二時初，人客小貓三倆。坐在吧枱前，享受難得閒適。日本客人有二，皆中年漢，分別獨個兒拿著獨賣新聞，靜靜坐下看報用膳。日藉女侍應也不多招呼，明顯是熟客。不知是心理作用還是甚麼，日漢都愁眉深鎖。在幽暗燈光下，氣氛更爵士。
點餐，不用看餐牌。對我來說，一平安那碗什錦拉麵實是唯一選擇。兩片叉燒出奇香滑，兩件腩肉更是豐腴。配角糖心蛋半隻、芽菜木耳各一撮、蔥花一把、紫菜一塊，和麵條拌在濃綢豬骨湯裏，剎是銷魂。
埋單，七十多塊錢，當然貴。不過，這種偶一為之的奢侈，還是需要的。猶其是在災難、蠢材交替出現的日子，我們還要為自己加油。
希望人如店名。
Twins - 20110328
One of my best friends just became the father of twin girls. Amazing.
Nowadays, we are not short of news about twins, triplets or so. Thanks to technological advancement, as well as the tendency of late marriage, more couples could get babies at older age, by implantation. Getting pregnancy via unnatural way could increase the chance of resulting in multiple embryos. Nevertheless, my friend is an exception, as he is still strong and young enough to have a pair of identical offspring, naturally.
It is hard to imagine how baby twins be nurtured. When one cries, the silent other would be contaminated. Feeding one baby is already a tiring job, and to tackle two at the same time is simply torture. Changing diapers is a similar beast, with an even more heartbreaking end-product. And there are endless comparable things to count, if ones want to.
No matter how daunting it looks, all my best wishes are with my buddy and his wife and twins.
Nowadays, we are not short of news about twins, triplets or so. Thanks to technological advancement, as well as the tendency of late marriage, more couples could get babies at older age, by implantation. Getting pregnancy via unnatural way could increase the chance of resulting in multiple embryos. Nevertheless, my friend is an exception, as he is still strong and young enough to have a pair of identical offspring, naturally.
It is hard to imagine how baby twins be nurtured. When one cries, the silent other would be contaminated. Feeding one baby is already a tiring job, and to tackle two at the same time is simply torture. Changing diapers is a similar beast, with an even more heartbreaking end-product. And there are endless comparable things to count, if ones want to.
No matter how daunting it looks, all my best wishes are with my buddy and his wife and twins.
2011年3月27日 星期日
雷曼原則 - 20100325
自從迷你債券泡沫爆破後，衍生了一個討厭的族群，曰「雷曼苦主」。
這些人，宣稱被銀行欺騙，買下雷曼債券。及後雷曼倒閉，債券變成廢紙，有「雷曼苦主」因而損失百萬計財產。為了討回金錢，「雷曼苦主」無所不用其極：遊行、集會、示威等是平常事。最離譜是，「雷曼苦主」成天在不同銀行門口搞事，如有市民到銀行，披麻帶孝的他們便大叫「有客到」，何其賤格。
不過，賤格歸賤格，有銀行真的屈服，以高折讓價贖回迷債。由是觀之，只要夠惡、夠人多、夠無賴，縱然多無理，願望也可能達成，妄稱之為「雷曼原則」。
現在，「雷曼原則」有廣泛使用之勢。有的成功，有的仍須努力。例子：力爭政府六千元「獎金」的新移民；或盲搶鹽後，想將居奇不成的囤積品退貨的人等等。
甚麼尊嚴呀、願賭復輸呀，都無關宏旨了。
這些人，宣稱被銀行欺騙，買下雷曼債券。及後雷曼倒閉，債券變成廢紙，有「雷曼苦主」因而損失百萬計財產。為了討回金錢，「雷曼苦主」無所不用其極：遊行、集會、示威等是平常事。最離譜是，「雷曼苦主」成天在不同銀行門口搞事，如有市民到銀行，披麻帶孝的他們便大叫「有客到」，何其賤格。
不過，賤格歸賤格，有銀行真的屈服，以高折讓價贖回迷債。由是觀之，只要夠惡、夠人多、夠無賴，縱然多無理，願望也可能達成，妄稱之為「雷曼原則」。
現在，「雷曼原則」有廣泛使用之勢。有的成功，有的仍須努力。例子：力爭政府六千元「獎金」的新移民；或盲搶鹽後，想將居奇不成的囤積品退貨的人等等。
甚麼尊嚴呀、願賭復輸呀，都無關宏旨了。
Evil Money - 20110324
"Money is the root of all evil". The proverb is proved so right, once again. This time, mainland immigrants are the whistle-blowers.
Our rich government, in order to offload some of its asset, by trial and error, decided to pay each and nearly every adult $6,000. Originally, a group of people would be left out from the scheme, that is, the non-permanent HK citizens. Swift enough, mainland immigrants cry out the so-called unfair treatment. And for the sake of harmony, our besieged government agreed to pay $6,000 to those noise makers, on the condition that the beneficiaries are poor ones.
It is real unfortunate. The saga reveals the incompetence of our government, the insatiable greediness of mainland immigrants and the contradiction between us.
The swaying attitude adopted by the government could earn nothing but woes from everybody. It is a joke to get so many thumbs down by spending hundreds of billions of money.
Our Chinese brothers are dubbed as locust. Wherever they go, everything would be gone. They would not let go any benefit. They just don't care how disgusting their image are casted. They have already occupied the pantheon of selfishness.
Our rich government, in order to offload some of its asset, by trial and error, decided to pay each and nearly every adult $6,000. Originally, a group of people would be left out from the scheme, that is, the non-permanent HK citizens. Swift enough, mainland immigrants cry out the so-called unfair treatment. And for the sake of harmony, our besieged government agreed to pay $6,000 to those noise makers, on the condition that the beneficiaries are poor ones.
It is real unfortunate. The saga reveals the incompetence of our government, the insatiable greediness of mainland immigrants and the contradiction between us.
The swaying attitude adopted by the government could earn nothing but woes from everybody. It is a joke to get so many thumbs down by spending hundreds of billions of money.
Our Chinese brothers are dubbed as locust. Wherever they go, everything would be gone. They would not let go any benefit. They just don't care how disgusting their image are casted. They have already occupied the pantheon of selfishness.
2011年3月21日 星期一
神諭 - 20110321
據說，日本大地震，可能是報應。
東京都知事石原慎太郎說，日本人沉迷私慾，遭受天譴，海嘯是上天對日本的洗滌。及後，群起攻之，石原撤回言論。雖則如此，我們也零星聽到類似東西，論者包括基督徒。
天譴論其實漏洞多多，最明顯是沒有邏輯。它是譩測。引發地震和海嘯的原因，當和形而上的東西，例如神，扯上關係，就永遠不能驗證真偽。如李天命說，這些觀點，連假都不如。
另外，如果天譴是建基於沉迷私慾；那麼，為甚麼受蹂躪的地區，是日本相對貧窮，及老人與少年聚居的東北部呢？天如要懲罰沉迷私慾者，理應是東京受襲才對吧。上天為甚麼要「試煉」垂垂老者及天真小孩呢？
沉迷迷思，還不如沉默吧。
東京都知事石原慎太郎說，日本人沉迷私慾，遭受天譴，海嘯是上天對日本的洗滌。及後，群起攻之，石原撤回言論。雖則如此，我們也零星聽到類似東西，論者包括基督徒。
天譴論其實漏洞多多，最明顯是沒有邏輯。它是譩測。引發地震和海嘯的原因，當和形而上的東西，例如神，扯上關係，就永遠不能驗證真偽。如李天命說，這些觀點，連假都不如。
另外，如果天譴是建基於沉迷私慾；那麼，為甚麼受蹂躪的地區，是日本相對貧窮，及老人與少年聚居的東北部呢？天如要懲罰沉迷私慾者，理應是東京受襲才對吧。上天為甚麼要「試煉」垂垂老者及天真小孩呢？
沉迷迷思，還不如沉默吧。
2011年3月15日 星期二
哈日的層次 - 20110315
日本大地震，引發恐怖海嘯，情境駭人。房屋遭沖毀，汽車沒頂，還有走避不及的市民被吞噬。
除了零星無賴幸災樂禍，香港人普遍對日本人寄予同情。日本民族的質素尤其使人刮目相看。災難後，新幹線停駛，市民便默默的排隊等巴士；便利店開門，沒有人趁火打劫，囤積居奇，市民只選購必須品，店子開門個半小時後還有點貨賣；外國人急了，日本人還有餘力幫忙。陳志雲說：「遇到莫名其妙的事，不要驚、不要亂、不要放棄」。日本人做到了。比較一下地鐵稍延便屌晒鬼的香港人，更不用說大陸人，正常人能不哈日嗎？
不是地震，也不知道香港人對日本地理的熟悉。正如李純恩在專欄說，香港人懂日本多過中國。仙台青森函館岩手，如數家珍；甚麼湖南河北陝西山東，一竅不通。雖然就品味計，未必是壞事；但被外人知道，還是會被看輕的。儘管香港愛國同胞甚眾。
無論信不信神，也應該為日本人祈禱。
除了零星無賴幸災樂禍，香港人普遍對日本人寄予同情。日本民族的質素尤其使人刮目相看。災難後，新幹線停駛，市民便默默的排隊等巴士；便利店開門，沒有人趁火打劫，囤積居奇，市民只選購必須品，店子開門個半小時後還有點貨賣；外國人急了，日本人還有餘力幫忙。陳志雲說：「遇到莫名其妙的事，不要驚、不要亂、不要放棄」。日本人做到了。比較一下地鐵稍延便屌晒鬼的香港人，更不用說大陸人，正常人能不哈日嗎？
不是地震，也不知道香港人對日本地理的熟悉。正如李純恩在專欄說，香港人懂日本多過中國。仙台青森函館岩手，如數家珍；甚麼湖南河北陝西山東，一竅不通。雖然就品味計，未必是壞事；但被外人知道，還是會被看輕的。儘管香港愛國同胞甚眾。
無論信不信神，也應該為日本人祈禱。
2011年3月8日 星期二
Intuition - 20110308
While reading the news highlight in the train, I noted a piece of information that a young lady was stabbed by a man, and the man later committed suicide.
My reflective response was, how come a young man could be so cruel to his ex-lover. And the usual association went on.
Later, I knew that I was totally wrong. The man was in his middle age, and should be the lover of victim's mum. It was not a love-turn-hatred story between two immature youngsters. According to the press, the cause of terror was money.
I was dumbfound. And the prevalence of intuition makes me look stupid, a bit.
My reflective response was, how come a young man could be so cruel to his ex-lover. And the usual association went on.
Later, I knew that I was totally wrong. The man was in his middle age, and should be the lover of victim's mum. It was not a love-turn-hatred story between two immature youngsters. According to the press, the cause of terror was money.
I was dumbfound. And the prevalence of intuition makes me look stupid, a bit.
2011年3月3日 星期四
大債仔 - 20110303
財政預算，劣評如潮。經過一星期一面倒的口誅筆伐，政府終於撤回注資強積金戶口的建議，改以現金六千元發還市民。
這是一項德政嗎？唔。
想一想，上市公司，收入是靠股東提供的。年結，扣除營運開支，尚有盈餘。盈餘誰屬？表面上，是公司的；實際上，是股東的。現在，公司發盈喜，決定派股息。正常股東，會希望股息以現金支付，還是如長期債券般，卅年後才發還？如果公司揀後者，等執笠好了。
除非這公司不怕執笠，如我們的政府。與其說政府是公司，不如類比債仔。天下債仔，大小各異，其性則一。賴皮也。借來錢財，視為己物。當債主登門討債，初則放軟手腳，繼而惡言相向。都是常態。
怎樣才能討回錢財？都是靠非常手段。如今次，要聲言發動革命，和債仔「玩鋪勁」，才能打動之。
這是一項德政嗎？唔。
想一想，上市公司，收入是靠股東提供的。年結，扣除營運開支，尚有盈餘。盈餘誰屬？表面上，是公司的；實際上，是股東的。現在，公司發盈喜，決定派股息。正常股東，會希望股息以現金支付，還是如長期債券般，卅年後才發還？如果公司揀後者，等執笠好了。
除非這公司不怕執笠，如我們的政府。與其說政府是公司，不如類比債仔。天下債仔，大小各異，其性則一。賴皮也。借來錢財，視為己物。當債主登門討債，初則放軟手腳，繼而惡言相向。都是常態。
怎樣才能討回錢財？都是靠非常手段。如今次，要聲言發動革命，和債仔「玩鋪勁」，才能打動之。
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