Friday, July 01, 2011

Status updates 2011 - Second Half

12/31

鲁迅之所以伟大,因为他批评和解剖的不只是政府,而是国民的劣根性。鲁迅逝世已经七十多年,但国民性的改造依然任重道远。从这个意义上说,我同意韩寒的这段话,尤其是最后一句:“中国共产党到了今天,有了八千万党员,三亿的亲属关系,它已经不能简单的被认为是一个党派或者阶层了。所以共产党的缺点很多时候其实就是人民的缺点。我认为极其强大的一党制其实就等于是无党制,因为党组织庞大到了一定的程度,它就是人民本身,而人民就是体制本身,所以问题并不是要把共产党给怎么怎么样,共产党只是一个名称,体制只是一个名称。改变了人民,就是改变了一切。所以更要着眼改良。法治,教育,文化才是根基。”

我一直都不是特别粉韩寒,因为我觉得他只是用比较生动的语言和比较清楚的逻辑讲了一些很朴实的道理,我觉得把这三样结合在一起并不太难,所以对他的超高人气不是特别理解。这种感觉从十多年前读《三重门》时就一直在那里──很欣赏,但并不觉得这个人值得这么多人这么欣赏(相比来说,我觉得刘瑜就值得那么多人那么欣赏,所以在过去很多年里会反复不停地推荐她的文章)。韩寒最近的文章《谈革命,说民主,要自由》让我对他有了新的认识。韩寒比我大一岁多,过去这十多年我的思想是不断成熟和进步的,我想他也是一样,虽然我们的人生经历截然不同。我基本赞同韩寒的改良主义主张和在这篇文章中表达的观点,对某些部分击节赞赏。读完这篇文章,我第一次感到可以将韩寒引为同道。

12/28

According to recent reports in the Washington Post and the New York Times, the median net worth of the 535 members of the Congress (100 Senators and 435 Representatives) is about 900,000 US dollars. That translates to roughly 5.7 million Chinese yuan. An interesting question to ponder is what is the median net worth of China's political elites. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has approximately 350 members and alternates, and the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has about 175 members. A lot of overlap between the two committees, but that's probably a good starting point.

12/27

Love Brewster

12/25

I uploaded this song and the other two Condor Heroes theme songs to YouTube 6 months ago, when I was reviewing for the bar. They have taken a life of their own since; together they have been viewed 100,000 times, won 200 likes and 0 dislikes. In comparison, it took my blog about 5 years to reach its 50,000th hit. Videos are so powerful.

12/24

Spent this year's Christmas Eve with a couple of economists (in the interest of full disclosure, one in academia and one in industry), some bankers, one biologist, one stylist -- and delightfully, no lawyers. A lawyer as I am, I still greatly relish, perhaps even more than before, hanging out with my fellow (in italics and in quotes) economists. Economics is a science (some would add pseudo-) and is after the truth; law is after the somewhat more elusive "justice." To me, truth remains the more intellectually appealing objective. And in all fairness to New York my love, this Christmas Eve in Hong Kong beats all three Eves I spent in New York, for the wonderful music, wine, company and hostess. Merry Christmas to everybody!

12/21

Listening to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 (1901). This piece sounds peculiarly familiar and romantic to my ears. I guess the reason is that 20th century Chinese musicians, and artists in general, were so heavily influenced by Russian arts that Russian elements permeates the culture that I grew up being immersed in.

Listening to Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 (1881). It seems to me the Star Wars theme music borrowed some elements from this masterpiece.

12/20

上班后发现这个世界上最缺的其实是幽默感。

What's the difference between Nihilism and Buddhism?

12/19

午饭后去360买了个苹果,从篮子里捡出那个红扑扑的苹果的那一刹那,想起小时候很爱的一个童话,叫做“五个苹果折腾地球”。

12/16

scrambling to find a word

When I first went to the United States in 2005, I'd watch "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS in the early evenings. At the end of the program there was a weekly "Honor Roll," in which the picture, name, rank, and hometown of US military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan were displayed in silence. I'd try to remember those faces.

12/12

To my great surprise, I was nominated a "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" at the firm's annual retreat banquet...for my shoddy performance as an evil underwriter counsel who kidnapped the company's Chairman at the printer but was later annihilated by an Orrick-attorney-turned-Superman (yeah it was a superhero-genre mini movie).

12/10

终于找到组织了。今天下午逆行卫奕信径(Wilson Trail)第一段(黄泥涌水塘到赤柱峡道),三小时山路,一路风景旖旎自不待言。牛刀小试,恰到好处。

12/9

Hong Kong feels more like New York when it gets cold. A feeling all the more enhanced by an early morning trip uphill to the US Consulate to enjoy American Citizens Service, for reasons other than being an American Citizen.

12/6

Now that access to free-flowing, soul-soothing jazz has become all but blocked since I moved out of America, I find a renewed passion in classical music. I find it a healthy antidote to the suffocating materialism here in Hong Kong.

12/2

香港终于凉快下来了。从来没有如此想念寒冷。原来寒冷就像所有不可或缺的东西,它在的时候你怨它骂它,一旦消失了又不可救药地想它。

11/29

午饭后去遮打花园走了走,很难想象在喧嚣、拥挤的中环还有这样一个静谧、自然的所在。空气是难得的干爽,微风习习,吹散笼罩在每个人周身的躁动和烦闷,路人的眼睛里露出少见的活气和神采。阳光时有时无,时强时弱,妙处恰在这明暗变化之中。在一池秋水边坐下,眼见竟幻化出碧水荡漾清猿啼的美景。四周一向呆板、压抑的大楼,也卸去冷峻的面具,换上温润的笑脸。远眺半山处,没有被楼群遮掩的那一黛青山,妩媚依然。

11/27

浙江卫视的《婚姻保卫战》比江苏卫视的《非诚勿扰》好看太多了(虽然我是江苏人)。1. 朱丹、戴军搭档比孟非单人主持形式上更活泼;从个体来讲,两位主持,尤其是戴军,非常机智、幽默,成熟中不失清新,相比之下,孟非显得很疲劳。2. 相比于1男选24女,我更喜欢1女选9男的形式,因为这样对女主角性格和人生经历的展示更全面、更丰富。3. 从我刚看过的这期来看,女主角都是三十出头、离过婚,有的带着孩子,这对她们个人固然是巨大的不幸,但她们有勇气走上台就非常值得赞赏,而且这样的故事往往蕴含着对人性极为深刻的解读,笑中含泪,泪中有笑。4. 男女嘉宾普遍比《非诚勿扰》中的嘉宾更真实、更有趣。5. 三位点评嘉宾也更真诚、更有智慧,每场最后的情景表演(心理测试),可谓画龙点睛。

For the first five years of my six-year sojourn in the US, I owned old TVs, but only had access to less than 10 free TV channels (PBS, NBC, ABC, CBS, CW, etc) via antennas. Now in HK, I bought a 1-year-old, 24'' LCD for HK$1000, and signed up a contract of HK$189/month for 80 TV channels (English, Mandarin and Cantonese) and internet. Life's good.

11/21

周五深夜去给参加“乐施毅行者”的同事们送粮食和干衣服,其时大雨滂沱,山色幽明之中,但见在Checkpoint 3小憩的千百勇士或立或坐,有的步履蹒跚,踽踽独行,有的谈笑风生,若无其事。恍然间,脑中竟充满七十七年前那场长征的镜头和画面。周一早上见到荣归的同事,得知他们用38小时走完这一百公里的山路。另,中国人民解放军驻港部队以12小时22分的成绩再次夺冠。

"There is evidence that law review articles have left terra firma to soar into outer space." -- Stephen G. Breyer, Supreme Court Justice.

每次经过办公室旁边的那家De Beers,就会想起那句经典的广告词:钻石恒久远,一颗永流传。

11/19

My next two books will be ruefully entitled "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and affectionately entitled "The Century of Male Homemakers," and published concurrently by Penguin Books in the US and 三联书店 in China. Stay tuned.

11/17

Came back home with a terribly guilty heart after a shopping spree at Sogo in Causeway Bay. Lord, have mercy..

My next book will be wistfully entitled 一个购物狂的忏悔 / Confessions of a Spendthrift and will be published simultaneously by 三联书店 in China and Penguin Books in the UK and the US.

11/14

越来越怕听中文歌了,自己电脑里的歌固然是一首连着一段回忆,可是上网听歌也不安全,这不刚刚开始用人人电台,开始几首还挺清新,都没听过,冷不丁冒出梁静茹的《会呼吸的痛》,正在干活的手开始放慢,大脑开始走神,好不容易熬过去了下一首却是筷子兄弟的《老男孩》,这还让不让人睡觉了!……

11/13

不知为什么微博上面已经有了19个粉丝,于是第19次下决心要用微博。其实至今不用的主要原因是那么多真姓名已经记不过来,实在不想去记那么多假名字。另外不想被完全不了解的人关注,也不想关注完全不了解的人。

11/12

So the five of us (Team Orrick) covered sections 1&2 of the mountainous MacLehose Trail today: 24.9 kilometers in 7 hours (including a combined total of 1 hour break). Drank 2 liters of water and saw A LOT of beautiful scenery. This year's Oxfam Trailwalker (樂施毅行者) will start next Friday morning and cover the entire MacLehose Trail: 100 kilometers, or 62 miles. I will be on the support team and shepherd our people through the last part, sections 9&10 on Saturday night.

10/27

Starving and wide awake three am in the morning, I watched "Bridge Jones Diary" on Lotus Macau...and found it refreshingly hilarious cuz, curiously, my memory from the first time watching it ten years ago almost completely faded out...

10/22

习惯了美国狂野且变化多端的天气,回到家乡感觉气候实在是太温和、太温和了。看来气候对文化也有影响的。

在家读北大袁行霈教授的《中国文学史》及周先慎教授的《明清小说》(爸爸讲课用的教材),过瘾!文学史研究实为人生一大快事。

10/20

今天天气很好,骑车从泰中门口经过,看到曾经的教学楼、崭新的操场,很想进去看看。毕业十年了,十年来第一次在家过秋天。过去的两年,在家的时间加起来不到一个星期。

10/17

Several times in the past, I made a note to celebrate the 10000th day in my life, which I believe is Oct. 6, 2011. But my note was scattered somewhere, and I didn't record it in my new calendar purchased in August. So I had this day passing without realizing it. I incidentally looked at Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook page today, where he celebrated his 10000th day on Oct. 1, 2011. But he is one week older than me, and our 10000th days should also be seven days apart. I'm pretty confident about my calculation: (365*27)+6+(11+30+31+31+30+6)=10000 ( In case this is not obvious, +6 is adjustment for leap years; not counting 1984 because Februray of that year was before my birth). Who is right?


9/8

三十度的桑拿天在海邊的小西灣運動場跑了幾圈之後,重新明白了什麼叫做“汗如雨下”。

9/2

Watched "The Adjustment Bureau" en route to Hong Kong and badly missed New York. Once landed, that little homesickness was quickly dispelled by the indefeasible view of the Victoria Harbour at my little hideout.

8/25

Chen Show Mao is a very interesting figure. I only knew that he was the managing partner of Davis Polk Beijing office, working on mega deals such as the IPO of the Agricultural Bank of China in 2010. What I did not know is that he recently became a prominent opposition politician in Singapore. I wonder how he balanced the two roles. Also, I suspect this is a precedent-setting career path for US-educated Chinese lawyers.

8/23

地震的时候我正在一个餐馆吃饭,开始我以为是外面马路上有重型卡车经过,后来又晃了几下觉得不对,于是站起来,发现其他人都安之若素,显得我很傻的样子。于是我归因为这几天睡得太晚可能有些头晕。到傍晚才知道真的震了。这是我经历的第二次地震,第一次是我出生那天。

8/21

brawl, skirmish, fracas, melee, scuffle, bickering, squabble, fray, altercation...Why does English need so many different words for, dispute?

irk, irritate, annoy, miff, nettle, peeve, rile, ruffle, vex...Why does English need so many different words for, displease?

8/18

A haircut is among the top three things that lifts me up immediately and gives me a sustained invigorated feeling.

Someone turned the temperature of my refrigerator to "Coldest" and my cucumber was frozen into a greenish, cylindrical rock. After I defroze, cut and cooked it (with other things), I found that it has completely lost its taste as a cucumber. I ended up having to pick them all out of the dish. Where is that lifeless tepidity from?

8/12

今晚谭盾在林肯中心的露天音乐会“Martial Arts Trilogy” (卧虎藏龙、英雄、夜宴)很成功。可容纳上千人的Damrosc​h Park几乎座无虚席。

Walking up from 51st Street to Lincoln Center, breathing in the warm and mellow air of early evening, I sensed that the hard shell that have grown on me in the three years of law school was finally starting to melt away. I was once again able to feel the pulse of this city.

为什么我在新浪微博上发过0条微博却有13个粉丝…不理解…

今天把三个月前开通新浪微博帐户时系统推荐的几十个关注对象都删了,只留了刘若英(一直喜欢、刚结婚)和李开复(校友、见过面)。有那么多的经典可以读,那么多精彩的新闻可以看,为什么要去听这些所谓名人的絮絮叨叨呢?就算你有几百万粉丝又如何,更何况我觉得动辄几百万粉丝恰是当下中国社会的一种病态。不过“关注”了三个月也算缘分,虽然啥都没看,啥也没说。抄了份名单(其中不少人本来都没有听说过),以后想起来还可以再去看。

8/10

One of my all-time favorite songs. 还记得去年窝在扬州去北京的火车上铺看了《征婚启事》(《透明》​是那个电影的插曲),看完心里堵得慌。今天知道奶茶终于结婚了,​感叹好人还是会有好报的,虽然来得晚了一点点。祝奶茶一生幸福。

I was running in the upper portion of the Central Park (somewhere between 105 and 110) when a young woman came to me and asked, "Do you know where is 103 St.?" "East or west?" "West." was the reply. "Oh," I said, "you are going in the opposite direction." She was in doubt, "Are you sure, cuz..." I said, "yeah because I come from the east..." As I continued down the path, ten seconds later, I realized I just made a statement that's true locally and globally, figuratively and literally.

今天跑步时有一个独臂人迎面跑来,左前臂整个都没有了,心中一震。

8/9

Elmhurst这些餐馆越来越不如我自己做得好吃了~

8/8

How to maintain an exuberant intellectual life, and hopefully, a decent level of output, after finally finishing 24 years of continuous schooling? This seems to be the No. 1 question confronting me these days. And I guess it will continue to be so in the next 24 years.

7/14

Sense and sensibility

7/10

Eine kleine Nachtmusik

I plan to go through all 9 stages of drunkenness on the night after the bar exam.

经过近两个月的bar洗礼,脑中充满了无穷的思想,随时闪烁着智慧的光芒。

自身的价值观越成熟和成型,有时候对于学法律反而不是好事。我大约有一套基于儒家思想的价值判断体系,而这套体系常常潜在地影响我对于美国法律的理解。

7/7

就这样就很快乐

7/6

就算每天按MBE的速度,也只能日理两百机…日理万机…就是说得雇五十个精兵强将…

当年在理科实验班觉得自己数学很一般,英文很突出。在法学院这三年觉得自己英文很一般,数学很突出。杯具啊。

That was one big room

7/5

"The writers of 'Two and a Half Men' think you are one sick puppy."

7/1

Over-indulgence in sensual pleasure is just one of the many bizarre symptoms of China's restrictions of political freedom. Few other channels to divert people's passion and energy.

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