《满城尽带黄金甲》

剧情简介：

　　 满城的菊花，意态舒展。人的忧思，却绞缠于胸。
　　金碧辉煌的宫廷里，心绪不宁的皇后领着王子们在等王。宫闱上下，因为这个即将到来的重阳，忙碌得有序而繁密。

　　一场盛大仪式准备就绪，王却悄然回宫，他好像要有意冷落那些恭候已久的人们，不给他们一个稍微镇定的机会去察言观色，暗自忖量。独自一人的时候他开怀大笑，他的笑里好像有很多的秘密。

　　王是这样的王，仿佛振一振袍子，也有雷霆迅至。

　　大的王子是祥，他的秘密太沉太重，矜贵之躯，也被这秘密打发成落魄的形骸。

　　小的王子是昌，他的笑容灿烂，但是金玉之体，转过身来是温厚端笑，变过身去，嘴角竟有了一丝冷凝。

　　王后是这深宫禁院里最美的女人，也是天下最美的女人。这样的女人，肚腑中藏着最惊心的秘密与最湿冷的筹划。

　　大王有令，要一个满目祥和的重阳。大王容得了天下的胸襟，却装不下一个秘密。

　　满城菊花。长安仗剑。

　　郁郁不舒、纠葛不尽的命运，带来雷霆暴雨的气象。菊花甬道上，纷沓而来那些藏在秘密中又挤破了秘密的人！

　　暗战、刀光，斩不断痴缠与无情，只有阴霾压境……

　　满城的菊花。肃杀。

幕后花絮：
　　张艺谋执导、耗资3.6亿元打造的电影《满城尽带黄金甲》，定于圣诞黄金档12月21日全球同步上映。3.6亿元的大制作，费用花在哪里，相信金碧辉煌的皇宫已花掉不少金钱。

　　据香港《明报》报道，《黄金甲》除了台前演员强劲，有蜚声国际的周润发、巩俐及实力派影帝刘烨、最佳新演员周杰伦演出外，幕后班底亦甚有来头，由奚仲 文担任服装设计，配乐方面更由曾为《花样年华》、《十面埋伏》及《霍元甲》等担任音乐总监的梅林茂操刀。而制作费达3.6亿元，话题不比演员阵容逊色。

　　据报道，张艺谋为了将富丽堂皇的大唐盛世呈现眼前，花上不少财力、人力和时间，他出动接近300个工人，以5个月时间，日以继夜在横店影视城内重建原 大的故宫，宫内宫外每个细节都一丝不苟。 报道指出，宫内金碧辉煌，所有布置包括门及600条柱，全数雕菊花为图案，并漆上金黄色，加上色彩鲜艳的玻璃装饰，在灯光映照下，金光灿烂。而整个皇宫更 铺上特别订制、长达1000米的丝绒地毡。 报道说，宫内处处贴金，宫外亦一样极尽奢华，整个皇宫的外墙同样雕满菊花图案，总长度超过600米，俨如一幅巨型菊花壁画，加上用超过300万菊花铺满 13万平方尺(面积相等于约25个足球场)的花海，登上宫内的露天长廊则铺上一条逾500米长的红、蓝色地毡，沿途摆放

Elections Are Over. Time to Raise Ministers' Salaries!

ST Nov 29, 2006
Ministerial pay 'lags behind benchmark'
But decision on whether to relook salaries rests with PM, says SM Goh

By Sue-Ann Chia

BRATISLAVA (SLOVAKIA) - MINISTERS' salaries are pegged to that of the private sector, but they still lag behind the benchmark.

It is therefore likely that when civil service pay is reviewed, ministers' salaries will also be looked at, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday.

Last week, the Government indicated that salaries of civil servants are likely to go up as it must keep its wages competitive to recruit and retain talent in a tightening labour market.

At an interview yesterday wrapping up his visit to Europe, Mr Goh was asked about the likelihood of the pay increase, including for ministers.

He replied: 'Since the year 2000, six years have gone by with very good growth rates in some of the years, so it's time to have a look at the salary of the civil service as a whole, including the salary of the ministers.'

Right now, he said, ministers' pay packets are at 50 per cent of the benchmark, when they should be at two-thirds level.

According to the formula agreed upon for over a decade now, ministerial pay is benchmarked to the salaries of the top earners in six chosen professions. It is set at two-thirds the median income of the top eight earners in each of these six professions - that is, the pay of the individual at the mid-point of the list.

It must be fun being a minister. Because unlike the rest of Singapore, you'll never have a bad year.

What do I mean? Well, let's say a cardiosurgeon in Singapore does very well in his career this year, makes a lot of money and is the top-earning cardiosurgeon this year.

Next year he may not do so well. Maybe he will have fewer patients. Or perhaps he just won't have so many complicated cases, so he has to charge less for doing simpler surgeries. Consequently, he will earn much less.

That's life. Some years are good, some years are not so good.

Ministers, however, have no such problem. Their salary is pegged to whoever is earning most, in a given year. When our top cardiosurgeon is earning a lot, the ministers will peg their salaries to him. When our top cardiosurgeon has a bad year, the ministers will just drop him out of the list.

They will then peg their salaries to some other doctor for whom 2007 does turn out to be a great year (eg the most successful neurosurgeon or oncologist in Singapore, for example).

Don't you just love the subtle phrasing in the following paragraph:

According to the formula agreed upon for over a decade now, ministerial pay is benchmarked to the salaries of the top earners in six chosen professions.

"According to the formula agreed upon ...".

Heheh. Agreed upon by whom? The people of Singapore? The Opposition MPs? The NMPs? Or just between Lee Kuan Yew and his merry men in white?

01 November 2006 Japan Radio: Love FM The Request Show Interview

01 November 2006 Japan Radio: Love FM The Request Show Interview

To hear the interview: http://www.n-canny.com/others/1.11.06%20-%...pan%20Radio.mp3

DJ: Song playing just now is John Hoon's Sirius.

DJ: Lets us welcome our guest today John Hoon! Nice to meet you. (In Japanese greeting)

JH: Hello, I am John Hoon.

DJ: You speak well in Japanese, I am learning Korean, u want to hear “Hello, I am Sachico, nice to meet you”

JH: Wow, you are good!

DJ: I am happy to hear that! Jeong Hoon speaks good Japanese, how does he practice?

JH: Actually now I am still learning, I am only at the beginner’s level; but during the recording of the album, I realized that is very important to really understand the lyrics and meaning, that is why I paid extra attention to pronouncing the words.

DJ: Korean and Japanese pronounciations have wide differences and some are quite difficult.

JH: Korean and Japanese really have many differences. For example, if you speak in Japanese but with Korean way of pronouncing, it sounds weird, that is why I specially take note of this when I start to learn Japanese.

DJ: John Hoon’s listening skills is good, especially in the areas of differentiating pronounciations.

JH: I think I am not that good. Please don't praise me in that way.

DJ: We are very happy to hear John Hoon solo album on the radio. JH clear cut, soft voice plus his accurate Japanese pronounciation is touching when we listen to his songs. We also want to thank John Hoon for letting hear such a beautiful voice.

DJ: Yesterday you had a 2nd activity at Japan North Kyushu, what was it all about? What are your feelings towards it, can you tell us?

JH: First of all, this is my debut in Japan, I had a Concert cum Hand-Shaking Session at Tokyo first. Yesterday I went Fukuoka the first time, for my debut-making activities. I was very nervous, initially I keep hoping even if there is only one person or maybe more people will come to my debut and together with my supporters, I definitely will spread the happy atmosphere of the performance stage to everybody. In the end, many people turned up, not only fans from Fukuoka but also fans from other parts of Japan came specially to see me. Shoppers there also watch me perform. Everybody below the stage listened to me attentively, I am very touched and happy and it motivates me to want to perform better.

DJ: John Hoon really is a diligent, serious person, not too bad man! Yesterday at the event, John Hoon singing was great! During the interview, he not only sang in Japanese, but he also truly understood the lyrics and meaning, and sang with his heart and feelings, it is very touching!

DJ: As a singer cum actor, now John Hoon is starting to be active in his singer promotional events, so he will become very busy. Please take care of your health, do not fall sick because of fatigue.

JH: Thank you everyone.

DJ: John Hoon has officially made his debut in Japan and released 5 Stella Lights. What does the name of the CD mean?

JH: 5 Stella Lights actually refers to the 5 songs in the CD which have 5 different types of star lights. Every star has different shine and colour, just like the 5 songs have different meaning. Then the 5 star lights (5 songs) gather and form into John Hoon. The other meaning is that it also encompasses John Hoon hopes of becoming a shining star.

DJ: This theme is really very romantic; it completely fits the John Hoon now.

JH: Thank you.

DJ: As for the songs, those that have love stories and other different feelings, when you sing you have to express yourself with strong emotions, it must have been difficult!

JH: Now I am 26, so I have some experience in relationships but a lot or a little I am not sure. But I use my love experiences as a basic fundamental to express the different songs’ feelings and mood. Like I said just now, using Japanese to convey the lyrics is difficult for me, but good thing there are many Japanese staff helping me in all areas then I can finish recording this album smoothly.

DJ: This time the Mini Album 5 Stella Lights comes with a DVD, inside the DVD there is Sirius MV and also scene production videos, I watched a little just now, the acting is great!

JH: PV? I didn't really act.

DJ: No no, you are too modest. When you were holding the camera taking pictures, looking in front, it seems as if there is really someone there, the kind of eye expression really feels like acting.

JH: Although is only joking, to have higher cd sales, I did put in effort to act.

DJ: The good result is out, so there is surely no problem!

JH: Thank you.

DJ: The John Hoon we see in the scene production video and the John Hoon we normally see is the same.

JH: Yes that's right.

DJ: The free things also include next year calendar.

JH: I feel a little bad about the photos on the calendar. As the photos are taken very long ago, they are not done in one day. Some are taken in the day, some in the night, my face in the day and night feels different, that is why the photos look different. I dont like some of the photos but they are still chosen. Some of them look weird, so I feel a bit shy, ashamed towards them. Sorry I feel like L aunty. (Jap-Chinese Translator does not know it means.)

DJ: Let the fans admire the pictures! In the 5 songs, there is lyrics-writer Kyoko-San and producer Akira-San whom have produced impressive work.

JH: Yes.

DJ: What are your plans after this?

JH: I am making my debut tour around Japan, meeting people and I will sing in front of everyone. Then in December, I will hold a concert in Tokyo. I dont have many songs now so I will sing other singers songs. I want to perform on the dazzling stage to express my songs to people.

DJ: Lets us look forward to John Hoon concert in December at Tokyo. You came Fukuoka yesterday, what impression do you have of Fukuoka?

JH: I have heard a lot about Fukuoka before coming, and I have always looked forward to coming. Coming here is like being in Korea, there is sense of closeness to home. The food taste good too. Many Kyushu people are pretty. I feel really happy to come Fukuoka. I will come again if there is a chance.

DJ: Please do come to Fukuoka again.

DJ: As there are many listeners today, please say some things before you leave.

JH: Ever since I make a debut in Japan, there are people who know me as a singer, there are those who know me from Goong, and there are people who probably do not know me at all. Whatever it is, I will work hard, please support me. Thank you.

DJ: Last Wednesday, JH officially made debut in Japan and the album is selling now, everyone, please do support. Before you leave, please introduce one song.

JH: Still Believe.

Searching for 'our alien origins'

Searching for 'our alien origins'

By Andrew Thompson BBC Horizon

Dr Wickramasinghe thinks life could have originated in space

In July 2001, a mysterious red rain started falling over a large area of southern India.

Locals believed that it foretold the end of the world, though the official explanation was that it was desert dust that had blown over from Arabia.

But one scientist in the area, Dr Godfrey Louis, was convinced there was something much more unusual going on.

Not only did Dr Louis discover that there were tiny biological cells present, but because they did not appear to contain DNA, the essential component of all life on Earth, he reasoned they must be alien lifeforms.

"This staggering claim is that this is possibly extraterrestrial. That is a big claim I know, but all the experiments are supporting this claim," said Dr Louis.

His remarkable work has set in motion a chain of events with scientists around the world debating the origin of these mysterious cells.

The main reason why Dr Louis's ideas have not been immediately laughed out of court is because they tie in with a theory promoted by two UK scientists ever since the 1960s.

Space qualified

The late Sir Fred Hoyle and Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe have been the champions of "Panspermia", the idea that life on Earth originated on another planet.

They speculate that life was first brought here on the back of a comet. Over the last decade, Panspermia is being taken ever more seriously.

The US space agency (Nasa) is now increasingly interested in searching for extra-terrestrial life.

Bacteria seem to me to be born space travellers Prof Chandra Wickramasinghe

A new robotic submarine is being developed to explore the oceans of one of Jupiter's moons. This submarine is on test at the moment in a lake in Texas.

Finding life elsewhere in the Solar System would be a vital bolster to the Panspermia theory.

Another section of Nasa is devoted to the study of bacteria found on Earth that can survive extreme conditions.

Finding these types of bacteria makes it more likely that micro-organism could survive the hardships of travelling through space on the back of a meteoroid.

Professor Wickramasinghe explained: "Bacteria have got to endure the extreme cold of space, the vacuum of space, ultraviolet radiation, cosmic rays, X-rays.

"That sounds like a tall order but bacteria do that. From what we know survival out in space is more or less ensured. Bacteria seem to me to be born space travellers."

From another place

Last summer, Horizon had exclusive access to a trip taken by Professor Wickramasinghe to India to investigate at first hand the red rain phenomenon.

He met Dr Louis and together they visited the people who had witnessed the red rain.

He was able to see the recent work of Dr Louis which shows that the red rain can replicate at 300C, an essential attribute of a space micro-organism that might have to endure extreme temperatures.

Bacteria might survive the journey through space

All this has convinced Professor Wickramasinghe that the red rain is a form of alien life.

"Before I came I had grave doubts as to whether the red rain was really an indication of life coming from space; new life coming from space," he said.

"But on reflection and after talking to Godfrey, I think I would now fairly firmly believe that it did represent an invasion of microbes from space."

Many scientists remain highly sceptical, however, but if Wickramasinghe and Louis are correct it will be the strongest evidence so far that the theory of Panspermia might be true.

It also raises the intriguing possibility that if life first originated on another planet then it must mean all Earth organisms, including humans, evolved from alien life.

Horizon - We Are The Aliens is broadcast on BBC Two on Tuesday 14 November at 2100 GMT

How can limbo just be abolished?

The Pope may be about to abolish the notion of limbo, the halfway house between heaven and hell, inhabited by unbaptised infants. Is it really that simple?

Pope Benedict XVI's anticipated pronouncement on limbo will have been informed by the International Theological Commission - a group of leading Roman Catholic theologians who have been meeting to consider the issue.

The Pope, himself, has been quoted in the past as saying that he would let the idea of limbo "drop, since it has always been only a theological hypothesis".

He was quoted as saying that limbo has never been a "definitive truth of the faith".

So what is limbo?

According to the BBC's Religion and Ethics site [see internet links, right], the church held that before the 13th Century, all unbaptised people, including new born babies who died, would go to hell. This was because original sin - the punishment that God inflicted on humanity because of Adam and Eve's disobedience - had not been cleansed by baptism.

This idea however was criticised by Peter Abelard, a French scholastic philosophiser, who said that babies who had no personal sin didn't even deserve punishment.

It was Abelard who introduced the idea of limbo. The word comes from the Latin "limbus", meaning the edge. This would be a state of existence where unbaptised babies, and those unfortunate enough to have been born before Jesus, would not experience pain but neither would they experience the Beatific Vision of God.

But limbo has long been a problem for the Church. Unease has remained over reconciling a Loving God with one who sent babies to limbo and the Church has faced much criticism.

The current review of limbo began in 2004, when Pope John Paul II asked the commission to come up with "a more coherent and enlightened way" of describing the fate of such innocent babes.

This review is part of a wider re-examination of the notion of salvation that has been taking place within the Church.

Many Catholics would see the abandonment of limbo as a good thing - there is little doubt that some interpretations of the teaching may have caused untold misery to the millions of parents whose children have died without being baptised.

But there are those who argue that it is not simply a "hypothesis" that can just be swept aside; that the notion that unbaptised children do not go to heaven has been a fundamental part of Church teaching for hundreds of years.

Then, of course, there is the argument that if this can be abolished, what else is disposable?

Not popular

According to church historian Michael Walsh limbo is so unpopular it has all but dropped out of Catholic consciousness.

It has not really been standard teaching for decades and it has not been part of official teaching since the early 1990s, when it was omitted from the catechism - the Church's summary of religious doctrine.

"Most priests don't talk about the notion of limbo anymore. There is a understanding that it just simply doesn't wash with people," says Mr Walsh.

But, there are a number of conservative and traditionally minded Catholics who say they are shocked by the notion of getting rid of limbo.

Father Brian Harrison, a theologian, told the BBC News website that while limbo may have been a "hypothesis", he argues that the clear "doctrine of the Catholic Church for two millennia has been that wherever the souls of such infants do go, they definitely don't go to heaven".

He argues that this is borne out in the various funeral rites for unbaptised children practised by the Church.

"A papal decree reversing the firm Catholic belief of two millennia that infants dying unbaptised do not go to heaven would be like an earthquake in the structure of Catholic theology and belief," he said.

Some argue that the question of limbo has taken on fresh urgency because it could be hindering the Church's conversion of Africa and Asia, where infant mortality rates are high.

An article in the UK's Times newspaper this week suggested that the "Pope - an acknowledged authority on all things Islamic - is only too aware that Muslims believe the souls of stillborn babies go straight to heaven".

The theological commission ends its deliberations on Friday. Most commentators believe the Pope will not make any decision immediately. Until he does, the fate of limbo is in - well, limbo.

“莲花剑淬胡霜重，柳叶衣轻汉月秋”——少年英雄夏完淳(上)

“莲花剑淬胡霜重，柳叶衣轻汉月秋”——少年英雄夏完淳(上)

夏允彝(1596-1645)，字彝仲，号瑗公，上海松江人。夏完淳父，其兄夏之旭。崇祯初年，陈子龙、夏允彝、徐孚远、彭宾、杜鳞征、周 立勋六人组成几社，取义于“绝学再兴之几”之意，为“几社六君子”。崇祯二年(1629年)，张溥主持在吴江召开“复社”成立大会——尹山大会，合南北各 地文社为一社。包括江南应社，松江几社，苏州羽朋社、匡社，浙西闻社、庄社，浙东超社，江北南社，江西则社，历亭席社，昆阳云簪社，武林读书社，山左大 社，中州端社，莱阳邑社，黄州质社等。复社不同于东林党，未结成政治力量，而是主张以学救时，以学卫教。尤其是夏允彝对东林党有清醒的认识，“东林之持论 高，而于筹边制寇，卒无实着”，认为东林党人“急功名、多议论，恶逆耳、收附会”。崇祯十年(1637年)进士，任福建长乐知县，五年而县大治。吏部推举 天下贤能知县七人，夏允彝居第一，将重用，因母丧，回家“守制”。

崇祯十七年(1644年)，闻清军入关，赴扬州走谒兵部尚书史可法，与谋 兴复。闻福王已在南京即帝位，马士英、阮大铖把持朝政，遂还。擢为吏部考功司主事，疏请“终制”，未赴任。次年，清兵下江南，遣安抚使至各郡罗致遗臣。夏 允彝坚拒不见，避居曹溪。后乃与陈子龙、徐孚远、沈狄龙、李待问等在松江起义抗清。吴淞水军副总兵吴志葵乃其门生，夏允彝招之来松，劝说攻取苏州，自任随 军参赞。吴志葵短于谋略，部下水军懦弱，不敢进攻。独有福山副总兵鲁之屿率勇士三百人，斩胥门而入。夏允彝急催吴志葵出动全部大军跟进，吴志葵犹豫不决。 鲁之屿失援战死，三百人悉遭覆没。夏允彝大惊，请吴志葵速与清军决战。吴志葵怯，欲退兵登舰。夏允彝力争不得，于是流泪遍拜诸将士，以大义劝说他们不要退 兵，乃继续屯于苏州城下。相持多日，苏州城终未攻下。清兵出击，水军退至泖湖结寨，夏允彝仍回曹溪家中，作《千秋岁引·丽谯》词感怀：

千秋岁引·丽谯
夏允彝

泽国微茫，海滨廖廓，万堞孤城逼天角。
云外龙车碧树悬，霜前雁字当窗落。
苎城花，秦山月，都萧索。

刺史风流携琴鹤，暇日高吟倚轩阁，酾酒新亭几忘却。
三柳沙明绕郡楼，九峰岚翠扶城郭。
铜壶响，晓更催，宛如昨。

后 闻松江府城被清兵攻占，又闻好友徐石麒领导嘉兴起义失败殉国，好友侯峒曾、黄淳耀等领导嘉定起义失败殉国，以及吴志葵的水军在黄浦江被清军全歼，就说： “某人之军，师败，则死之。”决定自杀殉国。有人劝他渡海到福建去，再图恢复。夏允彝说：“吾昔吏闽，闽中八郡咸怀思我。今驾一航南趋，图再举事，固善。 然举事一不当，而行遯以求生，何以示万世哉！吾将从虞求(徐石麒字虞求)、广成(侯峒曾字广成)游耳。”松江的清军统帅素闻夏允彝名，必欲一见，说：“夏 君来归我，当大用；既不愿为官，只求见一面”。夏允彝在门上大书道：“有贞妇者，或欲嫁之，妇不可。则语之曰：‘尔即无从，姑出其面’。妇将搴帷以出乎？ 抑将以死自蔽乎？”

夏允彝在生命的最后日子里，僻居乡间，满怀悲愤地写下了自己经历明朝覆亡的亲见亲闻，取名《幸存录》。写毕，告知儿子夏 完淳要破家酬军，以助义师。又写信致陈子龙与挚友相诀，望子龙勿死，勉励他继续奋斗。九月十七日遣散家人，作绝命诗：“少受父训，长荷国恩，以身殉国，无 愧忠贞。南都既没，犹望中兴。中兴望杳，安忍长存？卓哉我友，虞求、广成、勿斋、绳如、悫人、蕴生，愿言从之，握手九京。人谁无死，不泯者心。修身俟命， 警励后人！”从容自投松塘而死。兄夏之旭本欲同死，夏允彝不肯，将妻子和儿子托付给他，乃作罢。相传，夏允彝投水时，家人遵嘱立于水旁。水很浅，才到夏允 彝胸部，他将头扎入水中，窒息而亡，后背的衣服都未沾湿。夏允彝的死讯传开后，震撼了当时许多义军志士，他们或写诗作文悼念夏允彝，或义无反顾地投身到抗 清复明的斗争中。

当初在几社时，徐孚远、陈子龙、夏允彝曾畅言其志，徐孚远曰：“百折不回，死而后已。”夏允彝曰：“吾仅安于无用，守其不 夺。”陈子龙曰：“吾无闇公(徐孚远字闇公)之才，志则过于彝仲，顾成败而不暇之计也。”结局果如其言。徐孚远在清兵破松江后，从鲁王政权漂泊海岛，复赴 台湾投奔郑成功，最后死于台湾，可谓“百折不回，死而后已”。陈子龙屡次组织反清，最后兵败投水赴难。夏允彝在清兵南下时，意识到“是不可为，而义不可 已”，赴水殉难，以死激励抗清义士。徐孚远(1599-1665)，字闇公，上海松江人。终于台湾，为台省大儒，作《桃花》诗明志：“海山春色等闲来，朵 朵还如人面开。千载避秦真此地，问君何必武陵回。”。

夏完淳(1631-1647)，乳名端哥，别名复，字存古，号小隐，又号灵首，夏允彝 子，祖籍浙江会稽，大禹之后。聪明早熟，天资极高，且受父亲影响，矢志忠义，崇尚名节。五岁读经史，七岁能作文，八岁随父赴北京，受到前辈赏识，九岁即出 书《代乳集》。后随父赴福建长乐，十二岁返乡，拜其父之友陈子龙为师，又受知于复社领袖张溥，在文章气节方面，深受二人熏陶。录一首随作小诗《绝句》：

绝句
夏完淳

扁舟明月两峰间，千顷芦花人未远。
缥缈苍茫不可接，白云空翠洞庭山。

十三岁，与杜登春等有志少年组织西南得朋会(后改名求社)，为古代的少年先锋队，夏完淳任会长。通过同学关系认识后来的妻子钱秦篆，钱秦篆年长夏完淳一岁，娇艳而又能歌善舞，于是夏完淳追求她，天天写情诗，有名的如《卜算子·断肠》、《寻芳草·别恨》：

卜算子·断肠
夏完淳

秋色到空闺，夜扫梧桐叶。
谁料同心结不成，翻就相思结。

十二玉阑干，风动灯明灭。
立尽黄昏泪儿行，一片鸦啼月。

寻芳草·别恨
夏完淳

几阵杜鹃啼，却在那，杏花深处。
小禽儿，唤得人归去，唤不得愁归去。

离别又春深，最恨也，多情飞絮。
恨柳丝，系得离愁住，系不得离人住。

钱 秦篆难免芳心怦动，就在夏完淳老师陈子龙的做媒撮合下，1945年春两人正式拜堂成婚。可惜啊，小两口甜甜蜜蜜的生活没过多久，清军就南下侵略，烧杀抢 掠，无恶不作。一次夏完淳问岳父钱栴(1598-1647)：“今日世局如此，不知丈人所重何事？所读何书？”钱栴惊愕，一时无从回答。国难当头，为了保 家卫国，夏完淳便跟随老爹夏允彝、老师陈子龙、岳父钱栴一起起义抗战。后来松江起义失败，夏允彝投水殉国，死前嘱咐儿子继续战斗。

那么夏完 淳就跟着陈子龙继续抵抗。明年春，打听到太湖长白荡有支义军，头儿叫吴易，就把剩下的家产全部变卖，折成军饷送给吴易，并在吴易手下当了参谋长。吴易的部 队是江南第一支抗清义师，曾攻克吴江县城，也曾出动配合苏州之役，后来兵败溃散，吴易覆舟后泅水得生，召集散亡，重整旗鼓。在吴易军中，夏完淳斗志高昂， 留有《即事》、《鹑衣》等战斗诗歌：

即事
夏完淳

复楚情何极，亡秦气未平。
雄风清角劲，落日大旗明。
缟素酬家国，戈船决死生。
胡笳千古恨，一片月临城。

鹑衣
夏完淳

鹑衣东去独登台，歌舞军中转听哀。
赵信城头秋月满，李陵碑上暮云开。
吴江落日围山尽，震泽微风入阵回。
沧海一椎亡命后，桥边黄石待人来。

三 月间，吴易军大败清兵于分湖，“斩伪将二十三员，歼敌三千余级，获船五百余只”。这一仗，打得“水流尽赤，草腥不绿，兵威褫其三蘗，雄名振于七郡”。太湖 义军一时声势浩大，夏完淳写了一道奏章，派人到绍兴送给鲁王，报捷并请鲁王坚持抗清。鲁王听说上书的是个少年，十分赞赏，授夏完淳中书舍人，封吴易为“长 兴伯”，隆武朝也给吴易加官晋爵，以示鼓励。但是打仗有胜有负，在第二次海盐之役兵败之际，夏完淳与大军失掉联系，从此终止了他的游击生涯。六月，吴易部 计划攻打嘉善，清嘉善知县刘肃之知道打不过，就假装投降，邀吴易赴宴。吴易为人豪爽，毫不提防，遂被刘肃之偷袭逮捕，壮烈殉国。

吴易 (1612-1646)，崇祯十六年(1643年)进士，未谒选而京师失守，走附史可法。初，吴易行事不拘于礼教，人家都说他难起义兵；后来在军中，经常 跟一群小子打马吊、喝酒；被捕后，也没有必死之心。因此一些自命清高的人都鄙薄吴易。但是吴易始于起义、终于殉国，大德未亏、大节昭然，比之清谈之辈，简 直天上地下。吴易牺牲前作绝命词一首：

绝命词
吴易

落魄少年场，说霸论王，金鞭玉辔拂垂杨。
剑客屠沽连骑去，唤取红妆。
歌笑酒炉旁，筑击高阳，弯弓醉里射天狼。
瞥眼神州何处在，半枕黄粱。

成败论英雄，史笔朦胧，与吴霸越事匆匆。
尽墨凌烟能几个，人虎人龙。
双弓酒杯中，身世萍逢，半窗斜月透西风。
梦里邯郸还说梦，蓦地晨钟。

吴易家有个侍女叫香娘，吴易死后，清兵中有人要非礼她，香娘跪下求道：“虽然我只是个侍女，无守贞之义。但是想到吴公不忘故国，我又怎么忍心忘却吴公呢？”于是苦苦哀求，声泪俱下。那军人原本是汉人，为上头胁迫降清，听了甚是感动，就把香娘放了。

吕 宣忠(1625-1646)，字亮工，浙江桐乡人，吕留良侄子。南京陷落，吕宣忠与吕留良起兵抗清，率亲信数人渡江航海晋见鲁王，言：“臣本书生，年二十 有二，臣学颇知通变。今臣有死党数百人，可为内应于浙西，惟大军速济。”鲁监国加其总兵都督佥事，然而当时鲁王将领多是南逃军阀，无心恋战，逡巡不前。吕 宣忠又进言：“北虏恃马，我多步卒，易见短，莫若用水师以胜之。浙直(指南直隶)相接，左右多水乡，北骑从塘上來，我於叶密处出其不意，猝以舟师进前，缚 芻为人，以诱其箭，箭易尽。我用鸟枪以砲其马，马踣人尽墮水，足以夺其锐气。预连太湖之师扰其后，我击其前，则嘉禾不受兵，而苏松皆可图也。”其时吴易驻 军太湖，恰好上疏称欲连吕宣忠部，于是鲁王加吕宣忠扶义将军，率其师出援太湖。三月，与清军大战于澜溪，破之。五月，鲁王败，吴易部也屡遭败绩，吕宣忠穷 蹙战败，走匿太湖洞庭山中。不久被俘，而吴易也遭擒获，于是吕宣忠和吴易等五人同日就刑，临行过市，吕宣忠大呼：“今日，大明义士报国之秋也，请诸君观 之！”就刑之时，五人面如死灰，唯独吕宣忠昂首不屈，始终不改颜色。就义之前，吕宣忠在狱中写有一首《长歌》：

长歌
吕宣忠

倒江拔海自天下，尔势倾动无坚城。
茅檐寒士春冻死，桃李涕泣愁飞莺。
日月黯墨不可得，天地流泛谁为撑？
百事反覆机事深，闭户之外无山林。
谁能远游及春水，片言慰我苍茫心？

义 师失败后，夏完淳并没有灰心绝望。他的爱国思想，他的抗暴复国的决心和信心，仍然坚定不移。为表明自己的心迹，改名为复，寓意光复，故从此又称夏复。夏， 鲁王“赠夏允彝右春坊右中允，给与祭葬，谥曰文忠”。使者至，夏完淳写谢表，连同抗清复明志士数十人名册，交与专在海上往来通信联系的秀才谢尧文，使赴舟 山呈与鲁王。夏完淳时时翘首南向，想望故国的旌旗；也酝酿奔赴南方，投入故国的怀抱。在这一年当中，夏完淳继承父志，写下他的历史著作《续幸存录》，记述 弘光一朝的大事，总结其经验教训，识见超卓，如“南都之政，幅员愈小，则官愈大；郡县愈少，则官愈多；财赋愈贫，则官愈富。斯之谓三反。三反之政，乌乎不 亡？”；还写下大量洋溢爱国主义精神的诗篇，如《长歌》采取《楚辞》香草美人的比喻，隐微曲折地寄寓自己的爱国心情：

长歌
夏完淳

我欲登天云盘盘，我欲御风无羽翰。
我欲陟山泥洹洹，我欲涉江忧天寒。
琼弁玉蕤佩珊珊，蕙桡桂棹凌回澜。
泽中何有多红兰，天风日暮徒盘桓。
芳草盈箧怀所欢，美人何在青云端。
衣玄绡衣冠玉冠，明珰垂絓乘六鸾。
欲往从之道路难，相思双泪流轻纨。
佳肴旨酒不能餐，瑶琴一曲风中弹。
风急弦绝摧心肝，月明星稀斗阑干。

而《采桑子》则抒发亡国的哀愁：

采桑子
夏完淳

片风丝雨笼烟絮，玉点香球。
玉点香球，今日东风不满楼。

暗将亡国伤心事，诉与东流。
诉与东流，万里长江一带愁。

对抗清烈士们，夏完淳是敬仰有加，如《舟中忆邵景说寄张子退》一诗，这是一首悼念死者、寄给生者的诗：

舟中忆邵景说寄张子退
夏完淳

登临泽国半荆榛，战伐年年鬼哭新。
一水晴波青翰舫，孤灯暮雨白纶巾。
何时壮志酬明主，几日浮生哭故人。
万里飞腾仍有路，莫愁四海正风尘。

1647 年春，谢尧文在漴阙候船，被清兵拿获，解送清苏松提督吴胜兆处系狱。幸好此时吴胜兆准备反正，将该案压下。吴胜兆部通过陈子龙与浙东义师联络举兵，陈子龙 与夏完淳感到这次兵变非常重要，败则必死，只能决死以赴。于是清明时节，众义士一起会葬了夏允彝。夏完淳又与挚友来到吴江，替吴易筑了衣冠冢，作《吴江野 哭》追悼恩公，并作《鱼服》誓死报仇：

吴江野哭
夏完淳

江南三月莺花娇，东风系缆垂虹桥。
美人意气埋尘雾，门前枯柳风萧萧。
有客扁舟泪成血，三千珠履音尘绝。
晓气平连震泽云，春风吹落吴江月。
平陵一曲声杳然，灵旗惨淡归荒烟。
茫茫沧海填精卫，寂寂空山哭杜鹃。
梦中细语曾闻得，苍黄不辨公颜色。
江上非无吊屈人，座中犹是悲田客。
感激当年授命时，哭公清夜畏人知。
空闻蔡琰犹堪赎，便作侯芭不敢辞。
相将洒泪衔黄土，筑公虚冢青松路。
年年同祭伍胥祠，人人不上要离墓。

鱼服
夏完淳

投笔新从定远侯，登坛誓饮月氏头。
莲花剑淬胡霜重，柳叶衣轻汉月秋。
励志鸡鸣思击楫，惊心鱼服愧同舟。
一身湖海茫茫恨，缟素秦庭矢报仇。

孰 料吴胜兆保密工作做得不好，被叛徒出卖；浙东援军遇飓风又遭已守候在岸边的清军，会师失败，吴胜兆的部下趁机叛变，导致起义流产。事后清廷大举搜捕反清义 士，陈子龙与夏完淳均在通缉名单上。五月，陈子龙被捕，投水牺牲。夏完淳避在嘉善岳父家中，曾秘密西行受阻；于是决定返回松江探望母亲后，渡海至鲁王处再 图大举。不料六月底回乡探望母亲时，一举被抓获，骨肉难舍之情溢于言表，押走前他写了一首《拜辞家恭人》留给母亲：

拜辞家恭人
夏完淳

孤儿哭无泪，山鬼日为邻。
古道麻衣客，空堂白发亲。
循陔犹有梦，负米竟谁人？
忠孝家门事，何须问此身。

夏完淳被捕还有另外一种传奇说法：
被 俘的陈子龙，作为要犯关押在船舱里，从苏宁之间的塘河解往南京。夏完淳率一群同道，手持利刃，埋伏于囚船必经之处，摩拳擦掌，准备营救他的恩师、同志和战 友，哪怕是以卵击石，他也要孤注一掷。战斗终于打响，大约是在傍晚时分。浓浓的暮色里，年轻的夏完淳犹如一头捷豹，率先纵身跃上囚船，手起刀落，血肉横 飞。双方混战一开始，手铐脚镣的陈子龙便从船舱里冲出，以头颅和身体参与战斗，那些押解他的兵士蜂拥而上，陈子龙与敌人一起滚进塘河，手足被缚的他只能饮 恨而亡。那时，混战也已结束，营救方寡不敌众，一番殊死拼杀之后，夏完淳力竭遭擒。

There is No God (And You Know It)

There is No God (And You Know It)
Sam Harris

Somewhere in the world a man has abducted a little girl. Soon he will rape, torture, and kill her. If an atrocity of this kind not occurring at precisely this moment, it will happen in a few hours, or days at most. Such is the confidence we can draw from the statistical laws that govern the lives of six billion human beings.

The same statistics also suggest that this girl’s parents believe -- at this very moment -- that an all-powerful and all-loving God is watching over them and their family. Are they right to believe this? Is it good that they believe this?

No.

The entirety of atheism is contained in this response. Atheism is not a philosophy; it is not even a view of the world; it is simply a refusal to deny the obvious. Unfortunately, we live in a world in which the obvious is overlooked as a matter of principle. The obvious must be observed and re-observed and argued for. This is a thankless job. It carries with it an aura of petulance and insensitivity. It is, moreover, a job that the atheist does not want.

It is worth noting that no one ever need identify himself as a non-astrologer or a non-alchemist. Consequently, we do not have words for people who deny the validity of these pseudo-disciplines. Likewise, “atheism” is a term that should not even exist. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make when in the presence of religious dogma. The atheist is merely a person who believes that the 260 million Americans (eighty-seven percent of the population) who claim to “never doubt the existence of God” should be obliged to present evidence for his existence -- and, indeed, for his benevolence, given the relentless destruction of innocent human beings we witness in the world each day. Only the atheist appreciates just how uncanny our situation is: most of us believe in a God that is every bit as specious as the gods of Mount Olympus; no person, whatever his or her qualifications, can seek public office in the United States without pretending to be certain that such a God exists; and much of what passes for public policy in our country conforms to religious taboos and superstitions appropriate to a medieval theocracy. Our circumstance is abject, indefensible, and terrifying. It would be hilarious if the stakes were not so high.

Consider: the city of New Orleans was recently destroyed by hurricane Katrina. At least a thousand people died, tens of thousands lost all their earthly possessions, and over a million have been displaced. It is safe to say that almost every person living in New Orleans at the moment Katrina struck believed in an omnipotent, omniscient, and compassionate God. But what was God doing while a hurricane laid waste to their city? Surely He heard the prayers of those elderly men and women who fled the rising waters for the safety of their attics, only to be slowly drowned there. These were people of faith. These were good men and women who had prayed throughout their lives. Only the atheist has the courage to admit the obvious: these poor people spent their lives in the company of an imaginary friend.

Of course, there had been ample warning that a storm “of biblical proportions” would strike New Orleans, and the human response to the ensuing disaster was tragically inept. But it was inept only by the light of science. Advance warning of Katrina’s path was wrested from mute Nature by meteorological calculations and satellite imagery. God told no one of his plans. Had the residents of New Orleans been content to rely on the beneficence of the Lord, they wouldn’t have known that a killer hurricane was bearing down upon them until they felt the first gusts of wind on their faces. And yet, a poll conducted by The Washington Post found that eighty percent of Katrina’s survivors claim that the event has only strengthened their faith in God.

As hurricane Katrina was devouring New Orleans, nearly a thousand Shiite pilgrims were trampled to death on a bridge in Iraq. There can be no doubt that these pilgrims believed mightily in the God of the Koran. Indeed, their lives were organized around the indisputable fact of his existence: their women walked veiled before him; their men regularly murdered one another over rival interpretations of his word. It would be remarkable if a single survivor of this tragedy lost his faith. More likely, the survivors imagine that they were spared through God’s grace.

Only the atheist recognizes the boundless narcissism and self-deceit of the saved. Only the atheist realizes how morally objectionable it is for survivors of a catastrophe to believe themselves spared by a loving God, while this same God drowned infants in their cribs. Because he refuses to cloak the reality of the world’s suffering in a cloying fantasy of eternal life, the atheist feels in his bones just how precious life is -- and, indeed, how unfortunate it is that millions of human beings suffer the most harrowing abridgements of their happiness for no good reason at all.

Of course, people of faith regularly assure one another that God is not responsible for human suffering. But how else can we understand the claim that God is both omniscient and omnipotent? There is no other way, and it is time for sane human beings to own up to this. This is the age-old problem of theodicy, of course, and we should consider it solved. If God exists, either He can do nothing to stop the most egregious calamities, or He does not care to. God, therefore, is either impotent or evil. Pious readers will now execute the following pirouette: God cannot be judged by merely human standards of morality. But, of course, human standards of morality are precisely what the faithful use to establish God’s goodness in the first place. And any God who could concern himself with something as trivial as gay marriage, or the name by which he is addressed in prayer, is not as inscrutable as all that. If He exists, the God of Abraham is not merely unworthy of the immensity of creation; he is unworthy even of man.

There is another possibility, of course, and it is both the most reasonable and least odious: the biblical God is a fiction. As Richard Dawkins has observed, we are all atheists with respect to Zeus and Thor. Only the atheist has realized that the biblical god is no different. Consequently, only the atheist is compassionate enough to take the profundity of the world’s suffering at face value. It is terrible that we all die and lose everything we love; it is doubly terrible that so many human beings suffer needlessly while alive. That so much of this suffering can be directly attributed to religion -- to religious hatreds, religious wars, religious delusions, and religious diversions of scarce resources -- is what makes atheism a moral and intellectual necessity. It is a necessity, however, that places the atheist at the margins of society. The atheist, by merely being in touch with reality, appears shamefully out of touch with the fantasy life of his neighbors.

This is an excerpt from An Atheist Manifesto, to be published at www.truthdig.com in December.

Irwin’s ‘final lesson’ was his most valuable

Pub Date: 16/09/2006 Pub: ST Page: S14
Column: THE WAY I SEE IT
Day: Saturday
Edition: FIRST
Headline: Irwin’s ‘final lesson’ was his most valuable
By: ONG SOH CHIN
Page Heading: REVIEW
Source: SPH

THE WAY I SEE IT
BY ONG SOH CHIN
Senior Writer
LAST week, a stingray stuck a fatal barb into conservationist Steve Irwin’s
heart. Immediately after, his fellow Australian, feminist writer Germaine Greer, got a whole sling of verbal arrows when she wrote an article in The Guardian newspaper suggesting that Irwin had got what he deserved. Enraged fans attacked her for being a “bitter feminist” — as if that had anything to do with the price of fish — and even Queensland’s Premier Peter Beattie got into the act, calling her argument “extreme radical rubbish” and stating he wished he could triple the tax on her Queensland rainforest property. He said: “We should double the taxation. If I could do it, I would double it or triple the taxation on it.”

Okay, maybe Ms Greer was a little insensitive to Irwin’s grieving picture-perfect family, but what she said — about Irwin disrespecting the space that animals need — is painfully valid, whether or not we want to listen. And more often than not, we don’t. Thankfully, on Monday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) came out in support of her sentiments. Its spokesman, Mr Dan Mathews, said on salon.com of Irwin: “He made a career out of antagonising frightened wild animals, which is a very dangerous message to send to kids.”

Irwin’s tale reminds me a little of the tragic story of Mr Timothy Treadwell, an American conservationist who saw himself as a protector of bears. Mr Treadwell spent a lot of time in the Alaskan wilderness filming bears and “befriending” them. He would talk to them, give them names and even got up close to touch them. In October 2003, he and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were mauled to death by two bears. Parts of their remains were found in one of the animals, both of which were eventually killed by park rangers.

Last year, German filmmaker Werner Herzog released a highly acclaimed
documentary on Mr Treadwell called Grizzly Man, using the reams of footage Mr
Treadwell had shot of himself and his beloved creatures.It never made it to Singapore, presumably because the distributors thought it had limited appeal. Documentaries don’t normally do well here.

I caught the film — one of the most compelling documentaries I have ever seen —
in New York where it did not draw much attention too, probably because it
opened at around the same time as another documentary, March Of The Penguins.
Everybody and their grandmother went to see the penguins. In the United States,
the movie went on to make US$77 million (S$121 million), becoming the second
highest-grossing documentary there, after Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. Elsewhere around the world, it was a big hit too. In its opening week in China, the film earned two million yuan (S$400,000), taking up a quarter of the total movie takings and making box office history, reported Xinhua. Worldwide, the movie earned US$45 million and even enjoyed a short run in Singapore. Its success was understandable. The penguins in the movie were cute and resembled nuclear families — in short, they seemed human.This was reinforced by the movie’s tagline, “In the harshest place on earth, love finds a way”, which implied that penguins were capable of a human emotion.

The American version had actor Morgan Freeman narrating, but the original French version unfolded like a bedtime story, with actors supplying the actual voices of Daddy, Mummy and Baby Penguins. Many parents dragged their children to see March Of The Penguins, thinking it a delightful and educational movie. But the lesson learnt — that animals think and behave like human beings — is a harmful and erroneous one. It was precisely that kind of mistaken arrogant thinking that killed Mr Treadwell and, to a lesser extent, Irwin. While Irwin never pretended that all the animals he encountered were cute and cuddly, he did, as Ms Greer pointed out, “barge into” their space to “manhandle” them.

Her ultimate fear, she concluded was that “a whole generation of kids in shorts seven sizes too small has learnt to shout in the ears of animals with hearing 10 times more acute than theirs, determined to become millionaire animal-loving zoo owners in their turn”.

Children have always been fed a highly anthropomorphised diet in popular culture, thanks to cartoon characters like Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Big Bird,Speedy Gonzales, Nemo and all the creatures in Madagascar.But one can easily distinguish between reality and fiction in cartoons. Clown fish do not talk in real life: That much is ascertained pretty quickly. But when films like March Of The Penguins claim to be documentaries and conservationists like Irwin make it a point to poke and prod crocodiles, that line quickly becomes blurred.

It’s one thing to dress your poodle up in baby clothes, it’s totally another thing to assume that your poodle likes it. Irwin’s downfall was assuming he knew better than the animals and that he had the upper hand. A few years ago, he was lambasted by the public for dangling his infant son in one arm while feeding a dead chicken to a crocodile with the other. He then baby-walked his son in the compound.

In his defence at the time, he said he always had the situation under control.
But he could not have been absolutely sure that the crocodile would not lunge unexpectedly — just like that stingray. The irony now is that Irwin’s death may teach the world a lot more about animals than his life ever did.
Human beings can sometimes be animals, but animals will never be human.
sohchin@sph.com.sg

“也许就是一幅景象，我却早已不在其中”

“也许就是一幅景象，我却早已不在其中”
——纪念本地英文诗人叶纬雄
吴启基

　　虽然早在1996年就听闻本地著名英文诗人叶纬雄(Arthur Yap)患上癌症并接受电疗，当本月19日上午他逝世的消息传来，依然令人惋惜。

　　两年多前，本地著名英文诗人叶纬雄(Arthur Yap)的喉癌恶化，经过与病魔抗争，终于不治，在睡床上安详过世，享年63岁。

　　叶纬雄得病前烟不离手，讲话轻声细语。以前住在金声路一代的老甘榜里，喜欢骑脚踏车到处溜达，也常和许多乡村孩子一样，拿着鱼竿钓鱼，玩弹弓打鸟为乐。不同的是，他从16岁开始几乎遍读英国小说家罗伦斯(D. H. Lawrences)的所有作品。

害羞内向的诗人

　　中学毕业后，叶纬雄在一家英文中学教书，后来得到英国文化协会的奖学金到英国深造，在里兹大学研读英国文学和语言学，最后在大学教书。他回国后继续教书，博士学位是在新加坡国立大学考获。

　　他病重时，两个妹妹一直照顾他的生活和饮食。

　　本地诗人兼剧作家杨清河(Robert Yeo)和叶纬雄是同学，当时两人就读于圣安德烈学校。他回忆说：“叶纬雄是个害羞和内向的人，除非你主动找他开腔，否则他不会和你说话。”

　　学者兼作家卡巴·星(Kirpal Singh)说：“他这个人也有趣味的一面　。以文学创作来说，他是新加坡最好的诗人之一。他是真正深爱诗歌、忠于文学的特例。”

　　青年马来文及英文诗人阿芬·萨义特(Alfian Sa'at)说：“我喜欢过3名新加坡英语诗人，其中最欣赏的莫过于叶纬雄。他爱用我们熟悉的新加坡式英语写作。”

　　叶纬雄是新加坡本土的第一代英文作家与诗人，他也画画，画的是许多大小方格的几何抽象图形，颜色丰富是其特色。他也曾多次展出画作，参加国外的联展。

融入新式英语

　　叶纬雄和其他著名的英文诗人汤普(Edwin Thumboo)、李子平、杨清河、吴宝星、卡巴·星等齐名。只是他因患病及生性低调，很少参加文学集会。

　　叶纬雄从1971年开始出版诗集，处女作获国家书籍发展理事会的诗歌奖。1983年，他得到新加坡文化奖及在泰国曼谷颁发的“东南亚文学奖”。他的作品曾译成多国语言。

　　新加坡的英文文学开始于英国的殖民地时期，从50年代到60年代国家独立后，忽然涌现一批大有作为的青年作家，大多是诗人，他们后来在文学与学术界占有重要领导地位。

　　诗评家在论及叶纬雄的作品时说：“他能够把新加坡式的英语融入正统的英文。”英国作家与英国文学专书也对他的作品有好评。

叶纬雄诗作两首

里兹北山路　(North Hill Road ,Leeds)

晚上11点的灯色正在忙着交换讯号
和，高的天空，闪亮的星星
柏油路上的黑洞洞
上面有或许的冬天枝桠垂下来
雾中的马路高耸起来
刚好融入飞起的高坡

我已经在屋里
纸墙上有些散落的留言
所有的书排在架子上
让我想到一杯热咖啡
从窗口望下去，我看见我自己
正从斜坡路上走上来
　
这个影像一直重复
也许就是一幅景象
我却早已不在其中

全然　(Absolute)

早上已经迟来
晨光在墙角聚合
窗玻璃上有雨滴
不太确定的缠援，是昨夜的殘留
　
奇怪你已入睡
时常会早起
看到树叶在冷空气中旋动
在这间屋子的一角
我将拍摄这张照片
把它悬挂起来
连天空也框了进去
　
仔细看看
我会驱除黑暗
还有，我会吵醒你
我将把晨光集合如花束
不是为我而芳香
（我可以从你眼中读出
你还没学会相信）
之后和早晨之后
早晨就是早晨
而且是全然的早晨

Website gave clues to killer's intentions

Website gave clues to killer's intentions

Numerous photos apparently showed Gill posing with weapons

If the man police say killed one woman and injured many others in a shooting spree at a Canadian school was hoping for some respect from his fellow goths, there was little forthcoming.

"Pathetic in life... even less in your miserable death," said one posting on the blog Kimveer Gill had set up on a goth culture website.

"I can't understand how you can kill people only because you think they suck!" said another.

Kimveer Gill was 25 years old and was from Quebec, according to the details he put on his profile on the website.

He introduced himself by saying: "His name is Trench. You will come to know him as the Angel of Death."

He looked really mad... He looked like he really wanted to kill people Witness Mathieu Dominique

On Wednesday he entered a school in Montreal, in a trenchcoat and with a mohican haircut, and opened fire randomly.

One young woman was dead, several people were in critical condition, and more than a dozen others were injured by the time his rampage ended with his own death.

Police arriving on the scene exchanged fire with the gunman, but they believe Gill put a gun to his head and killed himself.

"He looked really mad... He looked like he really wanted to kill people," student Mathieu Dominique told the Canadian Press.

'Life sucks'

Gill's own postings on the site continued until 1041 (1441 GMT) Wednesday, only a few hours before he opened fire at Dawson College.

They said he had been drinking whisky, and that his mood was "crazy" and "postal".

Gill said he wanted to die in a hail of gunfire

There was little information on the killer except what he himself posted on his web profile, including what appeared to be his personal philosophy: "Work sucks... school sucks... life sucks."

The site carried numerous pictures showing the future killer dressed in a trenchcoat, brandishing a gun and a hunting knife, and in a red and white mask.

The pictures appeared to have been taken in a bedroom, which was adorned with gangster and horror film posters.

Some bore slogans expressing his anger.

One was a mocked-up gravestone with the epitaph: "Kimveer. Lived fast died young. Left a mangled corpse."

Another slogan proclaimed: "Life is like a video game, you gotta die sometime."

Massacre game

And it appeared Gill delighted in video games celebrating death.

Under "likes" he expresses admiration for Postal Dude, the player's character in the controversial computer game Postal.

The killer had had no dates recently

The game's title derives from the American expression "going postal", used to refer to someone who goes on a shooting spree to exact revenge for some perceived slight or injustice.

The game, which has been banned in some countries, involves a series of mundane tasks that culminate in a bloodbath.

He also said he liked to play Super Columbine Massacre, an internet-based computer game based on the 1999 shootings at a Colorado high school in which 13 people were killed.

He posted the results of numerous "about yourself" quizzes on the site, one of which concluded that: "Your life is bleak and sinister. You feel anger at the world and you feel like the victim... However deep down you are lost and crying out for help."

In answer to a survey he said he had no fears, and that the goal he would most like to achieve this year was to "stay alive".

Other answers included: Have you ever been in love? "Yes"; Do you get along with your parents: "No"; In the past month have you been on a date: "No"; How do you want to die: "Like Romeo and Juliet, or in a hail of gunfire."

黄根成：会议期间禁止户外示威 新加坡已相当开放 但更关注安全问题

黄根成：会议期间禁止户外示威
　　新加坡已相当开放
　　但更关注安全问题

● 陈能端

邝启聪（摄）

　　国际货币基金组织和世界银行常年大会期间，政府最关注的是安全问题。

　　副总理兼内政部长黄根成昨天在“健康人生”嘉年华会上回答记者询问说：“恐怖袭击对新加坡来说是严重威胁，我们是袭击目标之一。作为主办国，我们不能掉以轻心，我们有责任保护与会者的安全和利益，我们也须确保国人的安全。”

　　黄根成表示，他明白有些人觉得新加坡应该更开放一点，让公民社会组织（Civil Society Organisation）举行示威，但他重申这些利益团体并非没有发表意见的管道。

　　他说：“在常年大会上，公民社会组织可在新达城会展中心一楼的划定区内集合，他们有机会讨论课题，或和与会代表交流。这些组织当然不能进入会议室里，因为那是为国家和银行代表准备的场所，但是他们还是能在新达城内发表意见。”

　　对于新加坡禁止户外示威的立场，黄根成解释说，他知道有些人认为新加坡应该更开放一点，“我们已相当开放，但我们更关注安全问题，这并非外人所能理解的”。

　 　他强调，自纽约九一一恐怖袭击和我国逮捕回教祈祷团成员等事件后，新加坡就一直非常关注国家安全课题。“即使到了今天，回教祈祷团在本区域依然相当活 跃。由于这些原因，我国不能为了让外国人在街头游行而改变法律，做出妥协。我国必须一视同仁，不管是新加坡人还是外国人，他们的举动得符合本地法律。”

　　他说：“我们和世界银行讨论过，他们了解我们的立场，我们也了解他们的立场。”

《论语》名言警句

《论语》名言警句

1.学而时习之,不亦说乎？有朋自远方来,不亦乐乎？人不知而不愠,不亦君子乎？
2.巧言令色,鲜亦仁！
3.吾日三省吾身：为人谋而不忠乎?与朋友交而不信乎？传不习胡？
4.君子食无求饱,居无求安,敏于事而慎于言,就有道而正焉,可谓好学也已。
5.不患人之不己知,患不知人也。
6《诗》三百,一言以蔽之,曰:“思无邪.“
7.吾十有五而志于学,三十而立,四十不惑,五十而知天命,六十而耳顺,七十而从心所欲,不逾矩。
8.温故而知新,可以为师矣。
9.学而不思则罔,思而不学则殆。
10.知之为知之,不知为不知,是知也。
11.举直错诸枉,则民服;举枉错诸直,则民不服。
12.八佾舞于庭,是可忍也,孰不可忍也！
13.成事不说,遂事不谏,既往不咎。
14.子谓<<韶>>:“尽美矣,又尽善也.”谓《武》:“尽美矣,未尽善也。”
15.朝闻道,夕死可矣。
16.君子怀德,小人怀土；君子怀刑,小人怀惠。
17.放于利而后行,多怨。
18.君子喻于义,小人喻于利。
19.见贤思齐焉,见不贤而内自省也。
20.父母在,不远游.游必有方。
21.父母之年,不可不知也.一则以喜,一则以惧。
22.君子欲衲于言,而敏于行。
23.德不孤,必有邻。
24.朽木不可雕也，粪土之墙不可圬也。
25.敏而好学,不耻下问。
26.有颜回者好学,不迁怒,不贰过。
27.君子周急不继富。
28.子曰:“贤哉,回也！一箪食，在陋巷。人不堪其忧，回也不改其乐。贤哉，回也!”
29.质胜文则野,文胜质则史.文质彬彬,然后君子。
30.知之者不如好之者,好之者不如乐之者。
31.知者乐水,仁者乐山。知者动,仁者静。知者乐,仁者寿。
32.默而识之,学而不厌,诲人不倦,何有于我哉?
33.不愤不启,不悱不发.举一隅而不以三隅反,则不复也。
34.饭疏食,饮水,曲肱而枕之,乐在其中矣。不义而富且贵,于我如浮云。
35.其为人也,发愤忘食,乐以忘忧,不知老之将至。
36.子不语:怪,力,乱,神。
37.三人行,必有我师焉.择其善者而从之,其不善者而改之。
38.君子坦荡荡,小人长戚戚。
39.鸟之将死,其鸣也哀;人之将死,其言也善。
40.可以托六尺之孤,可以寄百里之命,临大节而不可夺也。
41.士不可以不弘毅,任重而道远。
42.笃信好学,守死善道。危邦不入,乱邦不居。.天下有道则见,无道则隐。邦有道,贫且贱焉。耻也；邦无 道,富且贵也,耻也。
43.不在其位,不谋其政。
44.君子居之,何陋之有?
45.子在川上曰:“逝者如斯夫!不舍昼夜!”
46.吾未见好德者如好色者也。
47.后生可畏,焉知来者不之不如今也？四十,五十而无闻焉,斯亦不足畏也已。
48.主忠信。毋友不如己者,过则勿惮改。
49.三军可夺帅也,匹夫不可夺志也。
50.岁寒,然后知松柏之后凋也。
51.知者不惑,仁者不忧,勇者不惧。
52.食不厌精,脍不厌细。
53.食不语,寝不言。
54.寝不尸,居不容。
55.未能事人，焉能事鬼？
56.未知生,焉知死？
57.夫人不言,言必有中。
58.过犹不及。
59.非礼勿视,非礼勿听,非礼勿言,非礼勿动。
60.己所不欲,勿施于人。
61.“死生有命,富贵在天。”君子敬而无失,与人恭而有礼,四海之内皆兄弟也.君子何患无兄弟也?
62.自古皆有死,民无信不立。
63.君子成人之美,不成人之恶；小人反是。
64.君子以文会友,以友辅仁。
65.名不正,则言不顺；言不顺,则事不成；事不成,则礼乐不兴；礼乐不兴,则刑罚不中；刑罚不中,则民无所错手足。
66.其身正,不令而行；其身不正,虽令不从。
67.欲速则不达,见小利则大事不成。
68.言必信,行必果。
69.君子和而不同,小人同而不和。
70.君子易事而难说也。说之不以道,不说也；及其使人也,器之。小人难事而易说也。说之虽不以道,说也；及其使人也,求备焉。
71.君子泰而不骄,小人骄而不泰。
76.可与言而不与之言,失人；不可与言而与之言,失言.知者不失人,亦不失言。
77.志士仁人,无求生以害仁,有杀身以成仁。
78.工欲善其事,必先利其器。
79.人无远虑,必有近忧。
80.君子求诸己,小人求诸人。
81.君子不以言举人,不以人废言。
82.小不忍,则乱大谋。
83.人能弘道,非道弘人。
84.过而不改,是谓过矣。
85.君子忧道不忧贫。
86.当仁,不让于师。
87.有教无类。
88.道不同,不相为谋。
89.不患寡而患不均,不患贫而患不安。
90.既来之,则安之。
91.益者三友,损者三友。友直,友谅,友多闻,益矣；友便辟,友善柔,友便佞,损矣。
92.侍于君子有三愆:言未及之而言谓之躁,言及之而不言谓之隐,未见颜色而言谓之瞽。
93.生而知之者上也；学而知只者次也；困而学之,又次也；困而不学,民斯为下矣。
94.日知其所亡,月无忘其所能,可谓好学也已矣。
95.仕而优则学,学而优则仕。
96.纣之不善,不如是之甚也。是以君子恶居下流,天下之恶皆归焉。
97.君子之过也,如日月之食焉:过也,人皆见之；更也,人皆仰之。
98.不知命,无以为君子也；不知礼,无以立也；不知言,无以知人也。

do not ask me why but i see it as a form of mindless activity and it is no different frm going gah gah over an idol.... both are a spiritual commitment, just that it's a different level....

i'm just harping on this fact, finding articles to support my stand... i just want to know that i'm nt alone... it's really as simple as that... i cannot stand it when people tell me that atheism is a religion... & i just have to dig out this line said by u a few centuries ago to remind myself that this is nt the first time i felt hurt....
maybe i'm just looking at the wrong direction.... somehow this just doesn't work out... to put it simply, i cannot... i repeat, i cannot understand, nor accept u...

maybe it was started a simple event of me attending an event that meant alot to u.... right, my focus was to support u... however, what was ur aim of bringing me there? to want my support? or is it something more than that? what did that action mean? so what if there was no skit? u know my stand towards god, why did u want me to see the fucking lyrics praising ur god? what did the actions before that mean? what are u trying to convince me? i don't wanna know... because i know ppl lie, i know ppl lie when they wanna salvage friendships.... to put it simply, i cannot trust u in the religious sense because i've never trusted any other christians who said that they truly wanted to help someone, because i know they don't say it.... but it's always in the name of religion, not because they just wanted to help....

she said u wanted to share... what did u want to share? haven u shared enough? i understand and respect the reasons as to why u converted to christainity. do u understand why i chose to become a free thinker? and recently declare that i'm a atheist? think... have u even asked? have u respected my decision to be who i am? U wanted to share, U wanted me to benefit from what U have benefitted. i understand perfectly, & i'm grateful, trust me i am very very grateful to u for wanting to share the special moments that u had with god. but this is where u and other christians are no different, they had wanted to share too, they try so hard to share, going around with their bibles & how the world will come to an end. how are u different from them? i'm sure they shared their special moments with god too. i do not condemn them, nor have i condemned u for ur beliefs.

what i hate, and hate to the core, is people who cannot respect why people chose to be anti christians. they think it's because of the passionate evangelising of other christians that pushes those potential "god lovers" away frm the religion... u have this stupid belief that people who don't belief in him will burn in hell. u have this stupid belief that people are born sinners & that stupid jesus saved us frm the burning depths of hell... spare me this shit. unless i burn in hell for nt being a christian & come back again to reality, i'll tell those non believers that non christianity gives u the privilege of burning in hell.

u do not understand that i cannot accept ur religion because of this simple belief that i do not accept ur bible & ur beliefs. u hold on to this belief that one day i will trod on the same path as u & try by all means and ways to tell me that atheism is a religion, fuck u....

if the last thing u want is to have ur friend try to convince u that god doesn't exist, stop doing what u think is beneficial or right for others. u do not know my life, u do not know the people i've known, u cannot understand me, u do not decide my course of action or my form of belief for me.

i'm srry i cannot understand ur life and relationship with god because i think that only schizophrenics have relationships with people that don't exist. i tried to reach out to u. i tried to read ur bible. i tried to understand ur life. u failed to understand mine.

i am a anti - christian, i am anti - christianity. get this clear. i will nt repeat again because it makes no one happier...


this is where all this ends.... i know u no more...

忍

tml we'll b getting back our pw... ok this feeling sucks... i bet when i get back my As, the feelings will be 10 times worse than this... no wait, nt 10, few hundred more times, thousand more times... ok wadever...

somehow, by learnin what is democracy & comin into contact mutated forms of democracy has made me lost faith in true democracy...
in fact, true or nt, any form of political system sucks cus even though it may be built on the basis of compassion, humans will successful distort it to fit his crazy ambitions, or to modify it till it suits his imbecile mentality...
so one way or another, we can safely come to the conclusions tt humans r dense to e extent of inventing things to harm themselves... how i love the human race so so much

and if u said today's meeting was a "discussion", i guess it was more of a persuasion which took e nice teachers a whole good few hours, narrating stories, reacting scenes, recounting events, sharing observations just to convince us of their decision was not made based solely on their own judgement but with the xco's suggestion taken into special consideration...

if u dun study maths (neither do i)
let me do the math for u
they STRESSED on 50-50% (so they can now kiss my ass)
so u haf more comm members than teachers...
let's say this is nt fair to e teachers so u multiply 1 vote of e teacher by 2 times...
so on the assumption tt e comm members can think for themselves, if the teachers r persuasive enough, they can just get a few committee members to stand on their side & they can win by majority of votes...
but apparently, to e teachers, a smaller no. of votes (of teachers) mean much more than a larger no. of votes (of comm) so no matter how much we love or hate one person & wish to kick/keep him/her out of e new comm, it is impossible... let me stress again I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E
so since u think that lesser votes can win more votes, pls dun even promise a 50-50% because it just goes to show how crap teachers can be...
furthermore, if u've already made ur decision wayyyyyy wayyyyyy before anything else, pls dun waste ur saliva by tryin ur best to convince us of e o so many reasons as to why we must keep/kick him/her as compared to what the comm previously had suggested. and pls dun repeat time & again tt e teachers have time & again seriously taken e suggestions of e comm cus e more u say it, e less convincing it sounds... so save us both. just S-H-U-T U-P.

so now, i dun really have much expectations of anything.... except to keep my key & use e cupboard as long as possible....

URGH.... PISSIFYING......

somehow i needed an explanation for myself after all that has happened....
and somehow i'm always searching for a way to die... just that i don't cut my hand & bleed to death... that's somehow too disgusting...

i tot that she would understand...
or maybe she's always been telling me that she understands me too much that i take for granted...
or maybe it's just that i didn't feel like having someone see through me at that point of time when i felt utterly crushed, jealous & irritated...

so what if my econs improved... SO WHAT? it was just a stupid subject that i managed to get a C with e sacrifice of other subjects... F for chinese?! F can u fuckingly believe me? and i'm flaunting my F around like nobody's business... dismissing it casually as i didn't study....

and i'm trying so hard nt to say i regret taking chinese... that passion doesn't mean excelling in a subject... C to others seem like nthing... it means a whole lot of shit to me...

and u just pushed me to a corner...
i cried what the fuck, i cried and u just tell me that it's just a test... i'm sorry for telling u to shut up but i mean it even till now... shut up....... pls just fuckingly shut up...

i want to tell myself not to give up....

i hate people.... i should be a loner die and decompose

somehow after all this... i can't cry.......

There r alwys things like tt.Things more impt than urself, than ur dreams. 我已忘了怎么飞翔了...

揭開自殺的哲學迷思　．林沛理

哲學的理性智慧未能解答生命之意義。我們只能用生之歡愉來克服唯心的死亡誘惑。

近日打開報紙，總看到自殺的新聞。飽受壓力的教師、與男朋友分手的少女、被家長責罵的孩子、長期失業的中年漢、發現丈夫有外遇的妻子、身患重病的老翁—在我們的城市，每天也有人嘗試結束自己生命。

法國存在主義作家卡繆(Albert Camus)說自殺是唯一真正屬於哲學範疇的問題。然而對一般人來說，自殺不是抽象的哲學課題，而是在日常生活中要面對的殘酷現實。自殺的新聞震動我們，因為它觸動我們內心深處一個時常蠢動著的可能性。

真的，只有像史賓諾沙(Spinoza)這類思想上的美學家—企圖站在生活之外，把生活當作景色來欣賞的冥想家—才會說自由的人從來不考慮死，只考慮生這種話。任何人只要誠實一點，並且對自己靈魂深處發生的事情有比較敏銳的感受能力，都大概會體驗過內心死亡天使的悸動。一個人即使多麼堅強，在他最孤單無助的一刻，也可能會想到用自殺來減輕負荷。當然，我們並非常常陷入這種可怕的「谷底經驗」(nadir experience)﹔但只要是正常人便一定會有「存在的焦慮」﹕先是不安地面對眾多選擇，然後承擔成敗未卜的疑懼，最後則是為錯誤與挫折而自責自怨。心理學家稱這種咬嚙性的小煩惱為「日常生活中的輕微心理困擾」。在這樣的處境下，自殺的念頭成為現代人思想軍火庫裡一項武器，幫助他們對抗日常經驗的一切傾軋、隔閡以及缺陷。

由此看來，自殺的傾向並非植根於病態的精神失常或錯亂，而是潛伏於最普遍的人性和生命。現代文明不但沒有舒解這種焦慮，反而處處挑釁我們的死亡本能(death instinct)。德國社會學家韋伯(Max Weber)認為，現代化的主要過程，是不斷把人類生活理性化地組織起來。誠然，資本主義社會一切講求邏輯、效率，問題是邏輯、效率背後涉及多少人性的犧牲﹖城市人變成生產機器之中一顆隨時可以更換的螺絲釘、芸芸眾生裡一張蒼白難認的臉。他們日復一日地重覆固定的生活模式，從未接觸過自己存在的根本。在這個意義上，為數不少的城市人其實早已死了，靜靜地死在自己的內心裡。自殺一族不過是以比較吵鬧的方式結束自己的生命吧﹗

在層出不窮的自殺方式中，最惹人遐想的是跳樓，不僅因為它展示了最大的決心和勇氣(是尋死的勇氣，不是求生的勇氣，如果可以這樣區分)，還由於它豐富的象徵意義。資本主義扭曲了人與土地的關係，因此從高樓(資本主義的象徵)躍下，便很有一種回歸土地、抗議資本主義的絃外之音。在《文明及其缺陷》 (Civilization And Its Discontents)一書裡，佛洛伊德指出人類每向前邁進一大步，都會造成某種損失—犧牲舊有的安全感，製造並加強新的緊張。其實每天只要翻開報章，我們都可以看到「文明及其缺陷」﹕財政預算案公布、股市創新高這些大新聞佔據著頭條和顯著的篇幅，而自殺的報道卻幾乎是自慚形穢地瑟縮在邊緣毫不起眼的一角。從這個角度看，自殺是對不斷繁榮、不斷發展的社會的微弱抗議，是城市人發出的絕望的求救信號。

歸根究底，自殺只有一個原因—絕望，而一個人絕望，往往不是為了身外物，而是對他自己。我們最後無法忍受的，不是被剝奪了的財富、地位，甚至愛情，而是那個赤條條、空蕩蕩的自己。換句話說，自殺是唯心的、非理性的、反詮釋的，最終甚至是不可解的。旁觀者和局外人只能按自己的假設提供解釋和建構意義，沒有人可以了解死者在那段頹唐孤獨歲月的心路歷程。

然而自殺始終是社會難以接受卻又無法漠視的事實。因此，知識界和傳媒總是樂此不疲地為自殺提供方便、合理的解釋，企圖用理性來駕馭、馴服死亡。自殺新聞的顛覆性也在這裡—它提醒我們人類徹徹底底，也可以說是裡裡外外，是有限的。

尼采說我們只需要一個生存的目的，就可以找到一千個求生的方法。任何人只要面對生活本身，必然也面對死亡。倘若自殺的傾向是與生俱來的死亡本能，我想我們只能用生之歡愉來克服死之誘惑。哲學家的智慧只告訴我們，面對死亡，生命毫無意義。在這同時，千萬個對這些思想一無所知的城市人自得其樂地生活下去，買車買樓、結婚生子。很明顯，生命的意義必須在普通人的生活裡尋找，而不是在人類偉大的理性裡。■

二十卷十二期 《亞洲週刊》

我不知为什到现在还是没法打开心中的结。
我不否认，我一直在寻找原谅的机会，一个复合的巧合。
像似我做错了似的。。。
你曾经尝试过，我也何曾不晓得，我也知道你不想失去一个朋友。
可能是我无法再相信你，可能是你没有诚意，我不知道。。。我真的不知道。
也许恨一个人，就是一个负担，一个不必要的负担，一个令人憎恨的负担。

我也曾经尝试过，请不要怀疑我，我没有恶意，你呢？
我是因为自私，才有这种想法吗？
也许我俩都觉得很痛苦。。
但也许这个事，是没有了结的可能性了。

我拜托你，就让我走吧....

就在那一刹那，我和你就不在有任何瓜葛，我和你就不曾相识，也不会相识，我和你就成了世界上距离最遥远的人。。。

to nurture Cedarians into women of substance & character creative, confident, & ready to lead & serve
因为有相聚. 才有分离
因为离别.才会有回忆
因为没有永恒.所以才珍惜