2.26.2007

瞄muse


"又o黎? 日日塞十份吹水癈紙入人pigeon hole..."滿心以為是city的宣傳刊物,手正要把這粉紅尤物擲進垃圾箱之際,幸好讓我瞄到標題下香港文化誌的小字,匆匆縮手,立即便在辦公室讀起來,終於讓我找到一本甚得我心的雜誌。
我不是文化人,更不是藝術人,正確地說,我的生活是半點藝術氣質也沒有:愛shopping,愛扮靚,做facial,家中數十隻公仔,一邊嚷著要減肥一邊吃薯片...但一翻開<<瞄>>便莫名的喜歡上這文化藝術雜誌來。若說莫名也不完全正確,我想我是被這英中混雜的微妙吊詭吸引著。
這雜誌的一大特色是「中英雙語廣播」,但跟其他中英雜誌不同的是,英文與中文不是倒模式翻譯的。在<<瞄>>,兩種語言有獨立生命,時而各有各說,時而互相補足。雜誌Editorial Director這樣解釋雜誌語言的定位:

Muse is a primarily English magazine, sprinkled with Chinese throughout. On first glance, and when you see the Chinese prominently displayed, you may be tempted to search the English article for the exact sentences translated into Chinese, and vice versa. Most of the time you won't find it, for our purpose is not to translate articles or even sentences from English into Chineses. We want the two languages to play different roles...

接著他道出數個運用中文的原則:1. 若翻譯成英文,精髓將流失;2. 香港地道俚語;3. 中文小說、詩詞;4. 中文評論可給英文文章帶來新角度。

隨便以一篇賀歲片的評論為例,中文註腳便給了全文一縷靈魂:

「這套電影令人反胃的程度,遠遠超過在<<美女廚房>>上弄過的任何一道無法入口的菜式」

中文寫得「到肉」,英文也寫得俐落,也引錄一小段在此。

The problem with 鄭中基(Ronald
Cheng) is that he isn't very funny. He's a comedian whose primary skills seem to
be smiling and corss-dressing. He doesn't have the desperate urgency of Jim
Carrey, who plunges with manic intensity after his needs and desires, which can
be very funny. And he has none of the verbal brilliance and comic timing of
周星馳(Stephen Chow).

除了欣賞<<瞄>>遣詞用句外,很「香港」的雜誌內容也是另一我喜歡這雜誌的原因。雜誌內容涉獵很廣,理所當然的有電影節電影介紹,令人驚喜的有香港次文化代表彭志銘和年輕劇作家莊梅岩的訪問。介紹的藝術表演也是跨地域的,既有崑曲,也有莫斯科交響樂。形式媒介也各自各精彩,找到傳統文學作品之餘,又可找到替tvb劇集申辯的篇章。

寫了這好一會,突然感到香港多元的可愛。也感到自己滿屋小飛象、隔陣子總要買對Dior的低B凡俗的同時,其實也容得下一些intelligent thinking和欣賞文藝的空間。正如這中英夾雜、市井俚語和學院派討論共冶一爐的<<瞄>>一樣。只因我們都生於香港。

2.23.2007

Three Dead Bodies & Two Striking Stories




Three bodies were found recently.

Two were found in Italy just one day before this year's Valentine's Day. They have been literally 'in each other's arms' for 5,000 years and still are -- the people made sure they would not be parted when being removed from the earth.

擁抱五千年,義大利雙人骸骨於情人節前夕出土 (路透社) 02月 14日 星期三 12:31AM



路透羅馬電---埋葬於5,000多年以前,並互相擁抱的一對伴侶,周二出土時仍緊緊相擁。而周三便是情人節。

為求保存這擁抱姿勢,科學家並未選擇一塊塊取出頦骨。

(http://hk.news.yahoo.com/070214/3/21th5.html)



One was found in New York the very first day of the Year of Pig. When the 70-year-old widower was found, he had been dead but seated in front of a blaring TV for more than a year. And nobody even knew. Nobody knew, probably because since his wife's death, his TV set had been his only companion, the only person he could scold, laugh at and share his emotions with. Saddest story I have read recently.


NEW YORK (Reuters) 18 February 07 -- Police called to a Long Island man's house discovered the mummified remains of the resident, dead for more than a year, sitting in front of a blaring television set.

The 70-year-old Hampton Bays, New York, resident, identified as Vincenzo Ricardo, appeared to have died of natural causes. Police said on Saturday his body was discovered on Thursdaywhen they went to the house to investigate a report of a burst water pipe.

(http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/17/death.television.reut/index.html)

The moment we die, what else do we ask for apart from a tinest bit of 'love' from someone other than a TV set?

My new blog 'The Sun in a Golden Cup'




My new blog 'The Sun in a Golden Cup' was just born!


I named it after a line from my recent idol Carla Bruni's song, 'Those Dancing Days are Gone'. This interesting song actually comes from William Butler Yeats' poem -- and so do all the other songs in the album 'No Promises'.And she did it all by herself!! So cool.





Come, let me sing into your ear;


Those dancing days are gone,


All that silk and satin gear;


Crouch upon a stone,


Wrapping that foul body up


In as foul a rag:


I carry the sun in a golden cup.


The moon in a silver bag.


...


I thought it out this very day.


Noon upon the clock,


A man may put pretence away


Who leans upon a stick,


May sing, and sing until he drop,


Whether to maid or hag:


I carry the sun in a golden cup,


The moon in a silver bag.



Despite weighty issues like aging and death, the images are deliciously beautiful. ^^


Hope my life will be blessed with, and so my blog will record, images like Bruni's too.