Hallstatt: My Dream Village .....

Hallstatt, Austria in May. 2012

Rainbow ～ 我心雀躍，當我看見天空的彩虹。。。

Rainbow accompanied me practicing Yoga this evening around 18:10 in Taipei.
 My Dear friend, Did you see the beautiful rainbow after the rain?
傍晚六點十分左右，台北天邊出現了美麗的彩虹，陪伴正在練瑜珈的我。
親愛的朋友，你是否瞥見在大雨後，可愛的彩虹？


很像很像。。。。

The Rainbow'  

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety. --William Wordsworth 


我心雀躍，當我看見天空的彩虹。。。

The Importance of being Earnest ："不可兒戲“

上星期，在台北國家劇院演出了四場的"不可兒戲“ 
The importance of being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.  

由楊世澎導演，余光中文字翻譯，

主演者為盧燕，楊謹華，黃士偉、段旭明 ，姚坤君，楊千霈。

男演員口齒清晰，創作表演俱佳！老牌演員盧燕更是受觀眾喜愛。

星期六下午，總統夫人周美青女士也到了現場觀賞。

I personally love the Comedy very much, almost a satire I would say, because it has humorously and vividly revealed the injustified value in the high society of England during that period of time. And the dialog was absolutely funny, remarkable and witty. What is Love? What is Marriage? What is the true value of your own identify? 

Here are some reviews of this play: 


 In contrast to much theatre of the time, The Importance of Being Earnest's light plot does not tackle serious social and political issues, something of which contemporary reviewers were wary. Though unsure of Wilde's seriousness as a dramatist, they recognised the play's cleverness, humour and popularity with audiences.^[29] George Bernard Shaw, for example, reviewed the play in the Saturday Review, arguing that comedy should touch as well as amuse, "I go to the theatre to be moved to laughter."^[30] Later in a letter he said, the play, though "extremely funny" was Wilde's "first really heartless [one]".^[31] In The World, William Archer wrote that he had enjoyed watching the play but found it to be empty of meaning, "What can a poor critic do with a play which raises no principle, whether of art or morals, creates its own canons and conventions, and is nothing but an absolutely wilful expression of an irrepressibly witty personality?"^[32]

In The Speaker, A.B. Walkey admired the play and was one of few see it as the culmination of Wilde's dramatical career. He denied the term "farce" was derogatory, or even lacking in seriousness, and said "It is of nonsense all compact, and better nonsense, I think, our stage has not seen."^[33] H.G. Wells, in an unsigned review for the Pall Mall Gazette, called Earnest one of the freshest comedies of the year, saying "More humorous dealing with theatrical conventions it would be difficult to imagine."^[34] He also questioned whether people would fully see its message, "..how Serious People will take this Trivial Comedy intended for their learning remains to be seen. No doubt seriously."^[34] The play was so light-hearted that many reviewers compared it to comic opera rather than drama. W.H.Auden called it "a pure verbal opera", while The Times wrote that "The story is almost too preposterous to go without music."^[14] 

Who loves your Soul?

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And love your beauty with love false or true,
But One man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face....
多少人愛戀你的神釆飛揚，
愛你的美貌，而用情或假或真，
但有一個人愛你朝聖的靈魂
也愛你臉上變化的憂傷....      ---Yeats 

C'est La Vie : 風流小館。Restaurant L'Air

Can you guess where I am at ? 

金華街.....

I did feel like sitting at the conner of New York City...., or Paris....

看完喜劇 "The Importance of Earnest " ，想要很放縱的享受法國風情...

我們坐在明亮落地窗的大門旁，

來來往往的人潮每五分鐘就對它門前的menu 無比的好奇。。。
創意淡雅美麗的前菜，鮑魚蘆筍，火腿干貝，令人驚艷；

它的甜點法式port cherry crepe 及創意Taramisu Crepe , 都好棒。
挻希望他們用有質感的桌巾；燈光別打那麼強，刺眼的~~~~
主食，還待進步! 

House Wine，不錯...

服務親切，還有位中文說很好的法國女仕主管，來為我們介紹..
很開心! 

有一種愛叫做放手。。。。。

睡夢中驚醒，只禳我睡三小時...
就這首每次聽，都會哭的歌曲，
有種愛叫放手。再聽一次，再.....睡...


如果兩個人的天堂　像是溫馨的牆　囚禁你的夢想
幸福是否像是一扇鐵窗　候鳥失去了南方
如果你對天空嚮往　渴望一雙翅膀　放手讓你飛翔
你的羽翼不該伴隨玫瑰　聽從凋謝的時光
浪漫如果變成了牽絆　我願為你選擇回到孤單
纏綿如果變成了鎖鏈　拋開諾言
有一種愛叫做放手　為愛放棄天長地久
我們相守若讓你付出所有　讓真愛帶我走
有一種愛叫做放手　為愛結束天長地久
我的離去若讓你擁有所有　讓真愛帶我走　

如果兩個人的天堂　像是溫馨的牆　囚禁你的夢想
幸福是否像是一扇鐵窗　候鳥失去了南方
如果你對天空嚮往　渴望一雙翅膀　放手讓你飛翔
你的羽翼不該伴隨玫瑰　聽從凋謝的時光
浪漫如果變成了牽絆　我願為你選擇回到孤單
纏綿如果變成了鎖鏈　拋開諾言
有一種愛叫做放手　為愛放棄天長地久
我們相守若讓你付出所有　讓真愛帶我走
有一種愛叫做放手　為愛結束天長地久
我的離去若讓你擁有所有　讓真愛帶我走

為了你　失去你　狠心扮演傷害你　為了你離開你　永遠不分的離去

有一種愛叫做放手　為愛放棄天長地久
我們相守若讓你付出所有　讓真愛帶我走
有一種愛叫做放手　為愛結束天長地久
我的離去若讓你擁有所有　讓真愛帶我走　

天使與魔鬼。。。

現在的我，相信直覺；

因為思考與分析，太容易；

相信自己的第一直覺，是最不受干擾，最清澈的恩典...!

若因為你，我更了解自己更深解眾生，

我想你是，上天遣派來馴服我的天使；

若因為你，我更厭惡自己更懷疑世界，

我想你是，地獄稍來考驗天使的魔鬼，

最終我直覺，天使或魔鬼，都是自己的建構，自己的幻想，

你不是天使更不是魔鬼，

你是我的愛人。

比掛

比：表兄友比肩而站，一片融合互持、比和之意。主吉象。水溶入土中、膠和在一起，是個很親密的卦象，尤其是論男女之情。事業投資有親密的伙伴相助，共同扶持打拼，事事當然越佳順利進行。 特性：勤勞，認真，善良，謙恭，務實，踏實，重生活享受，品味人生，安排娛樂。異性緣多，感情煩惱也多。 解釋：平等、比合 。 運勢：運氣平順，與人相親處事則吉。可獲貴人提拔，但不可得志而非份橫行急進，否則遭破遜也。 愛情：兩相情悅，可得良緣。 家運：閤家和樂，家運亨通。宜處事有序使運吉。 胎孕：孕安。 子女：兒女溫順且侍親至孝，親情融合之象。 週轉：必成、找同年之之兄弟、朋友可成。 買賣：莫太貪心。交易反覆難成，勿貪則有利可成。 疾病：為腹部反耳痛之症，或腎臟下部之疾，近病者速醫可治。 等人：會來。 尋人：不在杏花處，則是有婦人相留，不可尋，恐生不測之禍。此人會自己回來。 失物：東北、西南方可尋，但有損減。 旅行：吉利。 訟詞糾紛：宜和，有小人。以和順態度處理可調。 求事求職：有貴人，可有利。 考試：金榜題名。 改行有利，可得友人支持。開業者可大發利市，但須注意有人背叛。

How to cut the tie of Samsara?

There are two ways to purify one's obscurations; conventional and ultimate.  The conventional way is to engage in the practices of visualizing, chanting, engendering remorse, and making resolutions. The ultimate practice is to purify the deluded state of mind by means of the three fold purity, by simply rest in  rigpa, in non dual awareness.

 The connects one's mind with all the negative karma or imprints from the past is conceptual thinking !!!
The moment conceptual thinking is absent there is nothing to tie samsara together; it is cut, just like a rope that has been cut cannot bind. Look into what samasara is based on, and see it is the moment to moment delusion. This string of deluded moments is known as the continuous instant of delusion, and is the basis of samsara.  Among the five aggregates, it is called formation. The only thing that can really cut samsara is the moment of rigpa.  Rigpa totally makes samsara fall apart. ( p.103) 

 ---Repeating the Words of the Buddha by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Am I focus enough...? :) 

Going to Book Club

願～～

過零晨十二點了，他有這麼個浪漫到無敵的願望，
小時候覺得，很正常嘛，愛情不都應是這樣？
現在是長大了呢？還是失望了？
總覺得，這個隨影隨行的相伴，有如夢幻泡影...
雖如此，還是很喜歡：

我願是滿山的杜鵑 只為一次無憾的春天
我願是繁星 捨給一個夏天的夜晚
我願是千萬條江河 流向唯一的海洋
我願是那月 為你 再一次圓滿

如果你是島嶼 我願是環抱你的海洋
如果你張起了船帆 我願是輕輕吹動的風浪
如果你遠行 我願是那路 準備了平坦 隨你去到遠方

當你走累了 我願是夜晚 是路旁的客棧 有乾淨的枕席 供你睡眠

眠中有夢 我就是你枕上的淚痕

我願是手臂 讓你依靠
雖然白髮蒼蒼 我仍願是你腳邊的爐火 與你共話回憶的老年

你是笑 我是應和你的歌聲
你是淚 我是陪伴你的星光

當你埋葬土中 我願是依伴你的青草
你成灰 我便成塵
如果啊！如果－
如果你對此生還有眷戀
我就再許一願 與你結來世的因緣

Mozart's home town: Salzberg

Salzberg 

Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria (after Vienna, Graz and Linz) and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Its "Old Town", with its world famous baroque architecture, is one of the best-preserved city centers in the German-speaking world and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

]Origins of name

The name Salzburg literally means "Salt Castle", and derives its name from the barges carrying salt on the Salzach river, which were subject to a toll in the 8th century.

Mozart Piano, May 2012

The Imperfectionist by Tom Rachman : 我們不完美！

Tom Rachman 

Mr. Rachman’s transition from journalism to fiction writing is nothing short of spectacular. “The Imperfectionists” is a splendid original, filled with wit and structured so ingeniously that figuring out where the author is headed is half the reader’s fun. The other half comes from his sparkling descriptions not only of newspaper office denizens but of the tricks of their trade, presented in language that is smartly satirical yet brimming with affection. --New York Times

In the case of The Imperfectionists, written during six-month sabbaticals from the Herald Tribune, structure is fundamental to the architecture of the storytelling. Individual chapters are told from different points of view, from the paper’s correspondents and stringers to its editor, publisher and financial officer.

“I felt that if I represented the whole enterprise with each of the jobs, it would help to make the whole project coherent,” says Rachman.

“I also liked the idea of combining two forms of fiction I loved into one book. I had ideas for stories and I thought that if I could tie them together with a common thread, then perhaps I could combine the slightly longer-term experience of reading a novel with the episodic experience of the short story.”

THE IMPERFECTIONISTS

By Tom Rachman 272 pages. 

Related

Books of The Times: ‘The Imperfectionists’ by Tom Rachman(May 6, 2010)

• Excerpt: ‘The Imperfectionists’(May 2, 2010)

Tom Rachman’s Web Site

• Sunday Book Review: ‘The Imperfectionists’ by Tom Rachman(May 2, 2010)

  
  

Angel 好好的保護~

像每一個人一樣，Angel 內心深處有一個脆弱的點，容易迷失... 
須要好好的發現，好好的保護，好好的擁抱，好好的珍惜.....!!

At Liz Brasseries, Sogo FuShing Taipei

Angel has an Achilles Spot, a invincible weakness that needs to be discovered, embraced,  and protected ..... 

Turandot at Taipei Theater 。公主夜未眠 ....

It is a thoughtful idea by Warner Taiwan to show these live concerts in the Theater, since music lovers do not have much opportunity to watch these wonderful live performances in Taipei, unless we travel....

Opera: Turandot 杜蘭朵公主 by Puccini
Performance Place: Spain
Acting Scene: The Imperial Palace, 北京紫禁城
Performance Director: Chen Kai-Ge 陳凱歌

What are these 3 Questions?

第一個謎題：「有一個幻影在黑夜中飄盪，穿過層層黑暗，重重人群，全世界都在呼喚它，懇求它。這幻影在白天悄悄退去，而在心中生起，每個晚上新生，白天死去。這幻影是什麼呢？」


公主接著問第二個謎題：「有一樣東西像火一樣旺，但它不是火。有時很激烈，有熱、力、和激情，如果不動它就冷掉。

如果你死了，它就變得冷卻，若你有征服的夢想，它就沸騰！它有一個聲音，聽了會使人顫抖，它生意盎然地跳動著！」


第三個問題：「你點燃了冰塊，但是回報你的是更多的冰塊。它是純白的，也是黑暗的，它可使你自由，但也讓你成為奴隸，如果讓你為奴，你就會龍袍加身。這點燃你的冰塊是什麼？」

Our Beloved Aria:  " Nessun Dorma "
Sleepless in the Night, 公主夜未眠 ....

http://youtu.be/O0Sx5lbVlQA


引述英文翻譯如下:
No one sleeps, no one sleeps... 
Even you, o Princess, 
In your cold room, 
Watch the stars, 
That tremble with love 
And with hope.
But my secret is hidden within me; 
My name no one shall know, no, no, 
On your mouth I will speak it* 
When the light shines, 
And my kiss will dissolve the silence 
That makes you mine.
No one will know his name 
And we must, alas, die.
Vanish, o night! 
Set**, stars! 
At daybreak, I shall conquer!

以下則是中文的譯詞：
誰也不許睡！誰也不許睡！
公主啊！妳也一樣，
在你冰潔的閨房，妳將注視著，
因為愛情和希望而顫抖的星星。
但是我的祕密深藏在我心中，
沒有人知道我的名字！
喔！不，我只能在妳的芳唇上說出它。
當明天破曉的時候，
我的熱吻將打破沈默，
使妳成為我的人！”
無人得知他的名字，
我們將難逃一死。
消失吧！黑夜！
日落，星辰！
天明時，我終將征服一切。
～～～～～～～～～～～～

Pink Leather Jacket ...

Having Dinner in Justin Signature near Warner ~

 I am Not impressed by its food but still I am Happy with my new hair piece...

像每一個人一樣，Angel 內心深處有一個脆弱的點，容易迷失... 須要好好的發現，好好的保護，好好的擁抱，好好的珍惜.....!!

The Death of Ophelia

Canabel 

Millais

Waterhouse

The Fact is that I truly do not want to become Ophelia, a total tragic figure !! 

  

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia tragically drowns in the lake. The Pre-Raphaelites were fascinated by horticulture, so Millais recorded plants indigenous to the English countryside: a willow tree, a dog rose and a mallow sweet. Other flowers are more symbolic: roses for innocence, violets for faithfulness and poppies for death. The figure was painted separately in the studio, in a bath heated by candles. Unfortunately the ‘heating system’ broke, the model caught a severe cold, and Millais was sued by her father.

Ophelia

Of all the pivotal characters in Hamlet, Ophelia is the most static and one-dimensional. She has the potential to become a tragic heroine -- to overcome the adversities inflicted upon her -- but she instead crumbles into insanity, becoming merely tragic. This is because Ophelia herself is not as important as her representation of the dual nature of women in the play. Ophelia's distinct purpose is to show at once Hamlet's warped view of women as callous sexual predators, and the innocence and virtue of women.The extent to which Hamlet feels betrayed by Gertrude is far more apparent with the addition of Ophelia to the play. Hamlet's feelings of rage against his mother can be directed toward Ophelia, who is, in his estimation, hiding her base nature behind a guise of impeccability.
Through Ophelia we witness Hamlet's evolution, or de-evolution into a man convinced that all women are whores; that the women who seem most pure are inside black with corruption and sexual desire. And if women are harlots, then they must have their procurers. Gertrude has been made a whore by Claudius, and Ophelia has been made a whore by her father. In Act II, Polonius makes arrangements to use the alluring Ophelia to discover why Hamlet is behaving so curiously. Hamlet is not in the room but it seems obvious from the following lines that he has overheard Polonius trying to use his daughter's charms to suit his underhanded purposes. In Hamlet's distraught mind, there is no gray area: Polonius prostitutes his daughter. And Hamlet tells Polonius so to his face, labeling him a "fishmonger" (despite the fact that Polonius cannot decipher the meaning behind Hamlet's words). As Kay Stanton argues in her essay Hamlet's Whores:

Perhaps it may be granted...that what makes a woman a whore in the Hamlets' estimation is her sexual use by not one man but by more than one man.... what seems to enrage [Hamlet] in the 'nunnery' interlude is that Ophelia has put her sense of love and duty for another man above her sense of love and duty for him, just as Gertrude put her sense of love and duty for her new husband above her sense of love and duty for her old. Gertrude chose a brother over a dead Hamlet; Ophelia chooses a father over a living Hamlet: both choices can be read as additionally sexually perverse in being, to Hamlet, 'incestuous'. (Stanton,New Essays on Hamlet 168-9)

But, to the rest of us, Ophelia represents something very different. To those who are not blinded by hurt and rage, Ophelia is the epitome of goodness. Very much like Gertrude, young Ophelia is childlike and naive. Unlike Queen Gertrude, Ophelia has good reason to be unaware of the harsh realities of life. She is very young, and has lost her mother, possibly at birth. Her father, Polonius, and brother, Laertes, love Ophelia tremendously, and have taken great pains to shelter her. She is not involved with matters of state; she spends her days no doubt engaged in needlepoint and flower gathering. She returns the love shown to her by Polonius and Laertes tenfold, and couples it with complete and unwavering loyalty. "Her whole character is that of simple unselfish affection" (Bradley 130). Even though her love for Hamlet is strong, she obeys her father when he tells her not to see Hamlet again or accept any letters that Hamlet writes. Her heart is pure, and when she does do something dishonest, such as tell Hamlet that her father has gone home when he is really behind the curtain, it is out of genuine fear. Ophelia clings to the memory of Hamlet treating her with respect and tenderness, and she defends him and loves him to the very end despite his brutality. She is incapable of defending herself, but through her timid responses we see clearly her intense suffering:

Hamlet: ...I did love you once.
Ophelia: Indeed, my, lord, you made me believe so.
Hamlet: You should not have believed me...I loved you not.
Ophelia: I was the more deceived.

Her frailty and innocence work against her as she cannot cope with the unfolding of one traumatic event after another. Ophelia's darling Hamlet causes all her emotional pain throughout the play, and when his hate is responsible for her father's death, she has endured all that she is capable of enduring and goes insane. But even in her insanity she symbolizes, to everyone but Hamlet, incorruption and virtue. "In her wanderings we hear from time to time an undertone of the deepest sorrow, but never the agonized cry of fear or horror which makes madness dreadful or shocking. And the picture of her death, if our eyes grow dim in watching it, is still purely beautiful". (Bradley, Shakespearean Tragedy 132-3). The bawdy songs that she sings in front of Laertes, Gertrude, and Claudius are somber reminders that the corrupt world has taken its toll on the pure Ophelia. They show us that only in her insanity does she live up to Hamlet's false perception of her as a lascivious woman. 

C'est la Vie : Victoria Style Taipei

Smile .......

在敦南Sogo 逛逛，走到了附近的一家小店，好女孩兒的Cafe 喔...，
淺淺的紫色白色Victoria Style, 吵吵的，敦化南路....
但好玩的是＂豆漿Cappuccino " .., 還可喝噱頭囉；
喜歡＂法式咖啡凍冰咖啡＂；餐點平常不予評價~~不過，
都是男服務生態度服務超級好...！

C'est la Vie in Taipei : Wine and Food

Palmer 1994, Romanee 1996, Bollinger at Stay, Taipei 101
The Restaurant Stay at Taipei 101 serves the best French Cuisin in Taipei !!

Beautiful and colorful Macaron at Ballavita Salone De Joel Robucheon, Bellavita, Taipei 

Beautifully presented !! I always think these colorful deserts were made for displayed, to appreciate in your eyes, not for tasting ...

好漂亮好漂亮...., 好想學會怎麼做的喔....！
來學做法國點心去~~~

Ayako Uehara Concert in Taipei : 上原彩子

上原彩子，史上第一位女性柴可夫斯基大賽得主，
的確極度特殊且精彩。她的情感極細膩，
演奏時專住的凝聚力仿佛全場只為她的音樂而呼吸；
坐在第一排更會聽到她發出激動的聲音，很可愛，有點Glenn Gould 的影子；
她的深度強烈的聲響以及遊戲般的玩耍於琴鍵間，更是令人感動。。。
表情羞澀的上原彩子，是個完全的活在音樂裡的藝術家。很棒！

Munch's Scream sold to a Chinese Collector

Four versions of The Scream exist. 

One sold on Wednesday for $120 million, two others were stolen in 2004. Describing his haunting vision, Munch wrote this poem,

 “I was walking along the road with two Friends / the Sun was setting – The Sky turned a bloody red / And I felt a whiff of Melancholy – I stood / Still, deathly tired – over the blue-black / Fjord and City hung Blood and Tongues of Fire / My Friends walked on – I remained behind / – shivering with Anxiety – I felt the great Scream in Nature – EM.”

Beauty Beyond Genders....

靜與慌....

At MoCA Taipei 

那天，你整理著行囊，
提著重重惆悵與滿心的迷惘;
未知的路即使佈滿荊棘，
卻也像是裝上翅膀的希望......


我們底戀啊， 像雨絲，
在星斗與星斗間的路上 ；

我們底車輿是無聲的，
曾嬉戲於透明的大森林
曾濯足於無水的小溪 ；

那是
擠滿著蓮葉燈的河床啊 ，
是有牽牛和鵲橋的故事 ，
遺落在那裡的 ...
遺落在這裡的 ..

我們底戀啊， 像雨絲 ，
斜斜地 斜斜地織成淡的記憶 ，
而是否淡的記憶
就永留於星斗之間呢 ？
如今已是摔碎的珍珠 流滿人世了 ....

不，你說，
我們底戀啊，
像那點點熣燦永不消逝的星宇，
徜徉瀾漫在未來的記憶裡...

想你，
在星宇間雨絲織成的天紗，
網住了風采氣宇，凡與不凡，
靜與慌...

Vienna 2: Musikverein

Mysterious thing, acoustics. Despite decades of scientific research and the development of arcane mathematical models to determine how to produce the best-sounding space for live classical music, no one can really predict how a new concert hall will sound in the flesh. But here in Vienna, I think I've found an answer: instead of hard scientific data, what you need is about 50 life-size, gilded, topless female sculptures. They are stationed all around the perimeter of the Goldener Saal of the Musikverein (you probably know it, even if You've not been lucky enough to go there - it's the hall where the Vienna Philharmonic play their New Year's Day Concerts), and since 1870, these impassive visions of neoclassical femininity have watched silently over everything from the premieres of Bruckner symphonies to Leonard Bernstein's performances of Mahler.

Goldener Saal of the Musikverein 

May, 2012 

金色筆記: 故事片斷

故事片斷：
她哭泣的說 ......


請你別再用批判的言語，
對於長久受傷的心靈而言，
經不起一絲絲懷疑與苛求，
生病了也許，請別一再刺痛滿佈瘡痍的身心。
求你，兩千五百個日子，怎不知？
如今，
無論你再如何掩飾，
都無法抹去如惡夢般的畫面；
無論試圖刻意很用力的遺忘，
在當下脆弱的心靈，像大海裡浮沈的一朵紅玟瑰，
不斷的被無情海浪衝擊，
芳香依然，卻脫水，撕裂...

別問為何天使變成了魔鬼？
天使謊稱她一直都是穿了仙女翅膀的魔鬼，
那又何須辯解？

別騙我，你要好好待我，好好照顧我了....
曾經好期望公主王子的無憂無慮，
但是，你的承諾可以隨時瓦解，隨時讓人卻步...
即使那是個從小就响往的城市，
想來，令人駭怕...
雖然，我是如此的想去...
曾是我最愛的威尼斯，如今美麗的沙城沉沒在水裡，
怎麼也沒想到
她成了這一生最不想去的城市...