Elaine Paige - "The Windmills of Your Mind" (recorded in 1984)

I first came across this song 14 years ago. Now I finally cared enough to read the lyrics of this masterpiece and got totally enchanted. With a simple stereo trick, this specific interpretation of the Oscar-winning theme song is a memorable example of how lyrics, melody, and production can oscillate in a coherent sonic framework that spans the lexical space to a higher dimensional one. Make a comparison with some other versions on Youtube, and you will see what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=windmills+of+your+mind&search=

Also, I imagine there will eventually be a surround sound implementation of this song. 

Wikipedia:

The song illustrates a person's mental state after a romantic break-up, relating the way emotionally charged thoughts and memories can run in tortured circles. With its succession of similes ("Like a circle in a spiral/Like a wheel within a wheel"), hypnotic rhythms and complex imagery, it is a song that can "stick in your head." The lyrics even refer to this phenomenon: in among a collection of disjointed memories is "a fragment of a song," in the 1968 recording, and "a fragment of this song," in the 1999 recording.

Lyrics:

Round
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel thats turning
Running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Like a tunnel that you follow
To a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern
Where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving
In a half-forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble
Someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Keys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly?
Was it something that you said?
Lovers walk along a shore
And leave their footprints in the sand
Is the sound of distant drumming
Just the fingers of your hand?
Pictures hanging in a hallway
And the fragment of a song
Half-remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong?
When you knew that it was over
You were suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the colour of her hair
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind

Source: Dusty Springfield | The Windmills Of Your Mind lyrics

Restlessness was growing like weeds for the last few days. One must be aware of the fundamental issues when this happens. However, it's a challenge to make a systematic summary with the time budget for a blog post. So, what I would do is to let it flow with my thoughts.

1. Conversation.

During a conversation, especially when it's 1 on 1, I have this craving to talk about myself without frequent breaks as openings for the other person, whether the conversation is done orally or text-based. This reaches its extremity if the conversation was initialized after long work, an exciting event, or some active mental activities. In other words, this tendency of "pseudo-communication" is a signal of self-absorption. Honestly speaking, it's frequently seen among people who work individually or whose private life holds the stronger proportion of the overall life. For one of the fundamental reasons behind this, maybe 兔八爱 is right. Witnessing the skyrocketing demand from society for individuals, we rate the result of our every single effort based on increasingly strict metrics. The intrinsic desire for acknowledgement drives us more ambitious than decades before (even though we tend to deny it, claiming "I want VERY LITTLE", often for fear of getting perceived as competitive or demanding, or avoiding making any insecure promise.) and believe that the amount of effort deserves equivalent rewards, or at the very least, sufficient exposure. Hikikomori is the shock therapy in response to the highly demanding modern life, while self-absorption could be the more ordinary yet popular excrement we produce from the values we inhale everyday, spreading across the gray area. Since it's a disease and a chronic one, it has to be cured through conscious yet gradual therapy. There are other more low-level causes behind this specific case of mine, ....to be continued .....

For the syndrome of my bad conversation habit, my self-discipline would then be:

1. Never speak twice in a roll, if it's about myself.
2. If others are listening, finish my talk ASAP.
3. Don't forget "and you?" in any case.
4. Listen carefully, think twice, and slow down.

All in all, conversation is a ball game: serve your ball nicely and friendly, and enjoy the fruitful hitting-back loop.

Happened to see it on ICAD'07 here at McGill. Previously I knew Doug was gonna have a piece for the conference. But when the old lady came in and sat down silently right behind my back, I felt a heartattack: it was Pauline Oliveros! Then She (acordion), Doug (live electronics and video), Jonas (sax), and a guitarist I'm not familiar with put up a 40-min structured improvisation. It was my first time to watch such a long impro and I felt really exhausted. Honestly, this wasn't a show that could keep you concentrated because the musicians tended to keep themselves in a safer loop for quite amount of time before they reached a unanimous breakthrough. Pauline's acordion was largely background drone and subtle linking, and Doug's electronics stayed out of the spot light most of the time. The guitarist and Jonas appeared to be the front people. The video, which wasn't working for the first half, turned out to be an attraction, the guitarst's violin bow behaviors were mapped to the video of a true violinist's live show (with a laptop guy and a sax player). The gestures and the guitar sound seemed to be quite synchronous, which to some degree implies the cliche of modern live impros XD

I recorded the first half of the show before my cam ran out of batteries (- -). After the show when seeing Pauline dragging her luggage out of the Tanna hall, I realized that she just got off the plane.

Here come the words about the divorce of 小林武史 and Akko.

There go my wishes for their new musical surprise.

My Little Lover can be seen as a self-titled story about 小林 getting Akko while in another relationship. Then not for very long it was Akko's turn to taste their own medicine. I have no intention to babble about the affair. Just the thought of "no new MLL albums anymore" makes me sad.

I'm not among the average jpop fans who took hits like "Hello, Again~昔からある場所~" or "Man and Woman" as the equivalence of MLL. It's the subtle spectrum of Akko's delicate vocal presence, delicate as a piece of spider silk floating on the breeze with only one end still tied to the web, and the air that holds it, that is, whatever texture that soaks it up, guitarish, Electronica.... Among all the other similar JPop lineups such as Judy and Mary, MLL had a unique touch composition-wise and production-wise in whatever genre/subgenre that they got their hands on. If during the mid-90 soar of guitar bands, their figure was somewhat obscured by more masculine forces like Mr. Children (who didn't quite impress me), then the moment the breathtaking <New Adventure> came up, they immediately proved themselves multi-faceted artists, skilled in making a variety of styles of music. Accompanied by the built-up atmosphere, the laid-back performance of Akko can always evolve into several short peaks in a fish-out-of-water fashion, with no clear-cut verse-chorus energy formulae. We saw the reprises of this trademark composure in their more "higher voltage" works such as "Satellite" and "深呼吸の必要". No brainless toilet-flush grooves. Their light-weight, chillish productions and the mini-epic arrangements find no parallel in JPop of their times (I consider people like Chara part of J-indie).

Anyways, in memory of my favorite mid-90's jpop band, let's not forget:

NEVER DATE YOUR COLLEAGUE!!!

 Yeah~~~ 6fu rules~~

最近有很多人看越狱，在 bbs 上很多的讨论都在谈这部节目，我觉得这部电视剧开始看之后就很难停下来，但内容不太好。第一个问题就是那些演员，都不切实际，不是，只有一个很好的演员：T-Bag。他很吓人，另外的都不太让人相信。而且那个故事也不太现实， 在现实中美国的监狱情况不是这样，犯人不能在监狱长的办公室工作，监狱诊所没有美女大夫（更不用说是州长的女儿了），在真的监狱所有的犯人都是24小时被监控的，不可能有单独活动的时候。 当然我们不喜欢电视剧和现实完全相符, 但是这种节目应该是稍微现实一些。虽然有这么多的问题我还是理解为什么这个节目很流行：悬念。我自己看的时候就停不下来。
   绝望主妇：也不太现实，但是比越狱好一点儿，至少在美国确实有很多那样的人, 这个也不能停下来。这个节目悬念也很厉害，但是绝望主妇至少有些角色设计。Lynette和Tom的家庭生活好像真实生活一样，Bree和孩子们的关系也差不多。绝望主妇有一个很大的非常不现实的一点，没有胖胖的人！每个人的身材都很漂亮，别忘了，这是在美国！
   终于到了六尺风云，很多中国人都没看过，它讲述了一个提供葬礼服务的家庭的故事。我觉得这个故事很贴近现实，跟美国的生活一样，没有什么悬念，但是很有思想，能打动人。角色也都很有特点，从第一部到第五部都很合适的连在一起，从头到尾是一个完整的故事。也许有人会觉得这部片子故事发展太慢，但这是我最喜欢的一部美国电视剧。有空看看吧。

Source: 马克在中国

I'm just happy to death today~~~

And no one but myself will know why, hahahahahaha.

For once, I decided not to cold-shoulder Chinese festivals as always.

Bought an alarm radio clock at Source for mom, after her sustained requests for 3 years. This $30 RCA model is actually quite neat. It's often an irresistible temptation to stuff in fancy/ridiculous functions at the cost of ignorance of major UI flaws (take a look at all those crap MP3 players and software such as iTunes and Windows Media Player). Fortunately, the manufacturer of this clock made notable efforts in its interface and several long-missing features, such as "nap" (setting up a countdown alarm before you can enjoy your nap for up to 2 hours), are finally implemented. Such an easy function takes the cake, which I don't understand why giant companies like Sony never incorporated this tiny little feature into their $80 lines. The volume of the alarm is unadjustable but designed to be fade-in style. I think this is not necessarily a drawback because A, you don't really need a full scale of variable volume for this, and B, limited volume choices might not fit everybody (you could lose a date if the "soft" one turned out to be a whisper). Instead, a fade-in first allows you a few seconds for fighting your reluctance and then starts to show no mercy. Makes perfect sense to me. Another simple achievement is the "forward" and "backward" buttons. Surprisingly, this component for time setting scheme has been an idiosyncratic domain where not every model would agree upon what this RCA model and millions of MP3 players choose to do: use two and only two buttons. A short press makes a slow go and you get a fast run when you hold the buttons. Simple as that, even an $80 Sony one doesn't have it!

I do have to say that using one single LED screen for displaying both time and radio frequency is a good try, but here in the RCA model only when the time-setting mode is at the "current time" can the frequency tuning be viewable. If you are in the middle of setting your alarms and you wanna tune the radio, you'll be blinded to your radio tuning behavior by the alarm view unless you switch back to the "current time" mode. This is obviously a bug, though it's somewhat durable because I can hear the radio and that has been what most of us would rely upon during tuning back in the analog age. Aside from all these you have the time-zone switch, an LED intensity dimmer, as commonly seen in a few more recent models. In terms of garbage features, I'd say the "Aux" function has pathetically fallen into this category and quite ironically, it is the only feature I would complain about. I thought this was going to be an exciting iPod-ish idea, which could allow you to plug in your external music players, whatever it is, and make your own music collection selectable audio material for the radio alarm mode. I was dead wrong. They actually just want the radio to be able to play a speaker.... Well, it's my fault to expect too much from my $30 investment ....- -|| But anyways, I was quite happy about this purchase and I believe my mom will like it just as I do.

Just the moment I was stepping out of the door of Source, a backward glance earned me a gift for myself, a neck massaging pillow, for only $10! It uses 2 AA batteries, and you can carry this small little baby everywhere. Recommended for computer parasites like me. Unfortuately it was the last item they had. But I seriously need it. My neck has been giving me trouble every few weeks.

Then for a voltage converter I went to an electronics store run by indians. We had a pleasant talk there. One of them claimed that he truly hopes China could take over the world so that poor people can get what they deserve. They then cite an example that many socalled Sony earphones are actually garbage worth only 5 bucks, but if they are not made in China, they are sold for 30 bucks. Well, I have to admit it made me happy to hear such words but still, I feel sympathy for the Chinese manual labors and their families, who pay for innocent foreign compliments like this with their living in hell....

黎鸣：为什么中国文人永远都只会互相拆台？

● 黎鸣

    中国人如一盘散沙，这几乎已成定论。前面我还讨论了“中国人的文明合力为什么长期以来等于零”。我今天要分析其中最重要的原因之一，即：中国文人永远都只会互相拆台。中国文人的永远互相拆台，从漫长的中国历史来说，这几乎就是造成中国人如一盘散沙的既历史又现实的最核心、最根本的原因，更是造成中国人文明合力等于零的既历史又现实的最核心、最根本的原因。注意，中国的统治者也多半都是文人。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    关于中国文人，过去已有很多说法。如：文人相轻，文人无行，文人无用，文人卑鄙，文人窝里斗，文人窝里反，文人窝里残，文人忌妒杀人，文人挑拨离间，文人当面说得好听，后面毁谤伤人，等等等等。但这些骂中国文人的说法，对具体的文人来说或许并不公平。因为从历史的角度来看，他们也是某种意识形态的严重的受害者。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    事实上也是。中国历史上的每一次言论罪、文字狱的发生，几乎都是文人害文人。包括在近半个多世纪以来历次的政治运动中，大量的文人被冤、被斗、被杀，冤人者、打人者、杀人者，实际上也都是文人，或至少因文人而引起。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    中国文人的品质基本上决定了中国文明的品质。中国文明尽管号称有五千多年悠久的历史，但是真正能够与其他文明较一短长的时期，基本上只在两千多年以前，尤其在先秦春秋战国时期的大约五百年之间。而在近两千多年里，中国文明却基本上已经无法与西方文明相比，而且越是接近现代越是无法比。人家始终在蒸蒸日上，而我们却始终在堕落下垂。尤其到了近二百年，中国文明实际上已经堕落到了全人类文明的谷底。根本的原因是什么？ ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    我认定，根本的原因即从汉代开始的独尊儒术。正是因为独尊儒术，造就了两千多年来中国文人永远互相拆台的恶劣的文化品质，进一步更造成了中国人如一盘散沙的中国文化和文明的长远的败局。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    中国的伟人全都只出现在先秦，秦汉之后的中国，基本上是一大人类思想文化的荒漠。除了一代一代的皇帝，就是一代一代互相拆台的中国儒家文人，以及为他们供给吃、穿、住、行以及奢侈品等等而充当奴隶的中国老百姓，其中的大部分都只能是属于文盲的农民。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    今天文章的任务，即是要分析中国儒家文人之所以永远都只会互相拆台的根本原因。
    按照孔夫子及其儒家的教导，中国文人最高的人生追求，即当官（所谓“学而优则仕”），如果遇上天机，则称帝，登上最高“独夫”的宝座，更可获得江山独有的子孙永继。中国文人还有更高的追求吗？没有了，已经到顶了。即使《大学》中说得最好听，也不过是：“修身齐家，治国平天下”，真“平天下”了，又如何呢？天下人都有吃有喝，有操有生，于是天下便“大同”了。“大同”于谁呢？“大同”于他一人，最多“大同”于他一家，他一群。这就是中国文人，乃至全部中国人作为“人”的价值的最高儒家“意识形态”的“出息”。正是这种最高儒家“意识形态”的“出息”，不仅害了中国文人，害了全部中国人，更害了中国的文明。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    说白了，之所以中国文人永远都在互相拆台，其中最根本的原因，即因为他们全都是从儒家的“独食”中豢养出来的文人，他们全都是一心一意只想当官的儒家文人。儒家文人全都只把“当官”看作是人生最高的追求，而这，正就是他们彼此不能不永远互相拆台的根本原因。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    文人们永远互相拆台，究竟对谁有利呢？惟一只对既任极权专制的“独夫”有利，他永远可以分而治之，分而制之，他永远可以高枕无忧，而不必担心有任何人可能阴谋篡权。但显然，这种情形简直就是对整个中国文明的无穷无尽的灾难。然而这种灾难究竟谁是祸首呢？究竟是谁为历代的“独夫”们设想了如此绝妙的恶毒计谋呢？正是孔夫子及其儒家的长期以来已获得了“独尊”的“意识形态”。他们教导人们如何把话说得尽量最好听（就像孔夫子在《论语》中所说的那样），他们教导人们如何尽最大的努力自我表白“忠心”（诚意正心修身齐家），却不必操心能否真正履行；他们教导人们一心只追求“入仕”，却不必要有任何真实的本领，更不必要有任何“形上”（他们也根本不知道有任何“形上”真理的存在）精神的追求。儒家讲“爱人”，纯属无源之水、无本之木，完全是说给别人听的虚言，根本就不入心。他们真正的“心”，只一心想当官。一但当了官，他们就将应有尽有，只惟一没有了对他人的“爱”。儒家文人们懂得什么是真爱吗？他们根本不懂。关于这一点，漫长的中国历史已经作出了最好最权威也最令人痛苦和愤恨的证明。请问：历来的“圣人”、大儒，谁是真正的爱人者？有吗？中国人为什么永远都在盲目轻信，为什么永远都在自欺欺人？ ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    互相拆台的中国文人，加上彼此如一盘散沙的中国老百姓，他们共同摧毁、抵消了中国文化和文明前进的动力。两千多年来，中国老百姓只为了吃饭而活着，中国文人只为了做官而活着，然后是打打杀杀，王朝凌替，农民起义，翻来覆去。在这漫长的历史时间里，中国人究竟为全人类创造了什么样高尚的文明呢？说来可悲，除了产生了几个大名鼎鼎动了真情哀号的诗人，如李白、杜甫、苏东坡等等（也包括司马迁的《史记》以及所谓四大名著《三国演义》、《水浒传》、《西游记》、《红楼梦》等等的哀号）之外，中国人到底为全人类创造了多少值得现在的中国人骄傲的思想领域的丰功伟绩呢？没有，根本就没有。说得非常不好听一点，两千多年来，在孔夫子及其儒家“意识形态”的严密垄断和控制之下，中国人几乎就像是做了一场长达两千多年之久黑暗之中的“白楼梦”，相比于西方文明，中国人思想的“文明”，真正是“一片白茫茫大地真干净”。而今天，我们之中居然还又有那么多人，仍然在继续崇拜孔夫子及其儒家“意识形态”的垄断控制，还继续又想回到过去黑暗之中的“白楼梦”中去，这真是中华民族何等的悲哀？？？！！！ ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    比较一下中西方文人。西方文人不仅有对无限先验上帝（自然、宇宙）的信仰，更有对无限超验真理的追求；而中国儒家文人在儒家“意识形态”的教唆之下惟一只有当官的追求，其他一切都只不过是手段，包括“孝悌忠恕”，乃至“爱”，也均是虚话，或仅仅限于家庭血缘内部的冠冕堂皇的假话，而并不具备宗教或形上真理的真正神圣普世的高尚。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    当官的路是极有限的，更是一条窄到不能再窄的“独木桥”，千万人竞争渡过“独木桥”，无怪一心一意只想当官的中国儒家文人们只能你推我搡，互相拆台，甚而更等而下之，玩弄人世间最卑鄙龌龊的手段，以挤垮乃至置他人于死地而后快。可以说，整部中国的历史，所记录的内容，全都是中国文人彼此挤渡“独木桥”的丑态表演，而毫无一丝一毫作为真正“人”的追求真理、追求智慧、追求人类真爱的影子。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    西方文人（在过去多数是教士，在近代，多数是自由职业者，如思想家、科学家、教师、律师、医生、记者、作家等等）在信仰上有共同“上帝”（自然、宇宙）的无限，在追求上有共同真理的无限。共同的上帝（自然、宇宙）信仰，共同的真理追求，构成了西方文人在不同的领域，甚至相反的领域，为实现共同文明的目标而可能进行合作的基础。他们之间即使依然存在着严重的对立，甚至你死我活激烈的对抗，但他们所从事的事业，总可能在最后“真理”的意义上达到共建文明之塔的奇效。关于这一点，亚当．斯密认为存在着一只“无形的手”，黑格尔则认为存在着“理性的狡计”。然而在中国的文人中，在中国人之中，却不可能存在这只“无形的手”和“理性的狡计”，因为中国文人（包括中国人）既无共同上帝（自然、宇宙）信仰的无限，也无共同真理追求的无限。中国人活着只为了吃饭，中国文人活着只为了当官。中国文人除了互相拆台，不可能形成整体文明的正合力，或只能使文明合力等于零，甚至等于负值。这就是中国人的历史，这就是中国人两千多年来的文明“捣蛋”史。而这一切，全都来自孔夫子及其儒家的“意识形态”的“谆谆教导”。而今天的中国人还在对孔夫子及其儒家感恩戴德，崇拜倍至。可以断言，中国人继续崇拜孔夫子及其儒家，其实就是继续准备从事对自身历史文明的“捣蛋”。我请同胞们认真听一听我的忠告。醒一醒吧！ ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    为了继续证明我的观点，我请网友们随便拿来两本西方和中国的《思想史》，尽管到今天为止，中国还没有出现过一本像样的《中国思想史》。网友们一定可以发现，自古到今，虽然西方人之间思想斗争不断，甚至严重对立，例如唯实论与唯名论，唯心论与唯物论，经验论与唯理论，保守主义与自由主义，等等等等，但它们在总体上，却为整个西方文明之塔，我又另外称之逻辑之塔，或思维之塔（或树），作出了自己各自不可忽视的贡献。正是因此，西方文人们所做的总的工作形成了巨大的正向进步的文明合力（合作之力，互相补台之力），从而大大地推动了西方文明的发展和进化。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    再来看中国的《思想史》，整个都是支离破碎，互不搭界，你敲你的鼓，我打我的锣，很多人其实说的是梦话，根本谈不上有“思想”，从而中国文人们永远都只会互相拆台，而根本产生不了任何整体文明进化的实质性的合作。不说别人，就说孔夫子。孔夫子表面上对老子尊崇，说老子是人中之龙，却完全篡改了老子的“道德”观念。对于老子的“道德”，既不说好，也不说坏，完全丢掉，自己另搞一套，既要用“道德”二字，意义却完全被篡改了。这不是中国文人的互相拆台是什么？你不同意老子，你可以批判啦，批判之后，再进行补充啊。有了批判，反倒可以有合作。孔夫子就是后来历代中国文人阳奉阴违、拆别人台的最早最坏的榜样。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    我同样欢迎网友们的批判，但我真为那些开口只会咒骂，而且是极其下流龌龊的咒骂的人们感到可鄙，孔夫子及其儒家的拥护者之中竟然还有如此把自己当作畜牲的人渣。连起码的人话都不会说。你有理你批判啦！即使骂，也请骂出道理来，我欢迎。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    （２００７，５，１２。）

Source: 黎鸣：为什么中国文人永远都只会互相拆台？———天益：学习型社会领航者

爆冷...[小白兔系列]

第一家公司 
老板：兔兔，今天工作忙不忙？ 
兔兔：不忙。 
下班时老板对兔兔说：你明天不用来了。 
兔兔：为什么？ 
老板：因为你不能多为公司干事，所以才会不忙，公司要你何用？ 
*第二家公司 
老板：兔兔，今天工作忙不忙？ 
兔兔：很忙。 
下班时老板对兔兔说：你明天不用来了。 
兔兔：为什么？ 
老板：因为你做事没有条理性，所以才会整天忙，公司要你何用？ 
*第三家公司 
老板：兔兔，今天工作忙不忙？ 
兔兔：还行。 
下班时老板对兔兔说：你明天不用来了。 
兔兔：为什么？ 
老板：因为你做事不理性，所以才会有什么"还行"不"还行"的，公司要你何用？ 
*第四家公司 
老板：兔兔，今天工作忙不忙？ 
兔兔：刚忙完。 
下班时老板对兔兔说：你明天不用来了。 
兔兔：为什么？ 
老板：因为你做事效率太低，做完就不能检查一下么？公司要你何用？ 
*第五家公司 
老板：兔兔，今天工作忙不忙？ 
兔兔：有些做完了，也检查过了，现在在做其他事。下班时老板对兔兔说：你明天不用来了。 
兔兔：为什么？ 
老板：因为你做事缺乏系统性，有些事不会一起做么？公司要你何用？ 
*第六家公司 
老板：兔兔，今天工作忙不忙？ 
兔兔：我的工作都做完了，正在帮别人做。下班时老板对兔兔说：你明天不用来了。 
兔兔：为什么？ 
老板：因为你做事没有打算，你不会自己规划一下明天要做的事么？公司要你何用？ 
*第七家公司 
老板：兔兔，今天工作忙不忙？ 
兔兔：今天的工作做完了，明天的工作也了。下班时老板对兔兔说：你明天不用来了。 
兔兔：为什么？ 
老板：因为你做事不考虑整体，你不会帮同事分忧解劳吗？公司要你何用 ？ 
*第八家公司 
老板：兔兔，今天工作忙不忙？ 
兔兔：今天的和明天的工作都做完了，现在在帮同事的忙。 
下班时老板对兔兔说：你明天不用来了。 
兔兔：为什么？ 
老板：因为你太爱出风头，你的帮忙很可能造成其他人的懒惰或 压力，公司要你何用？ 
*第九家公司 
老板：兔兔，今天工作忙不忙？ 
兔兔：等一下，我思考一下再回答你。 
下班时老板对兔兔说：你明天不用来了。 
兔兔：为什么？ 
老板：你目中无人，我问你话竟然一再搪塞我， 公司要你何用？ 
*第十家公司 
老板：兔兔，今天工作忙不忙？ 
兔兔：我......我......不、不知道......该、该怎么、回答你。 
下班时老板对兔兔说：你明天不用来了。 
兔兔：为什么？ 
老板：因为你连做事忙不忙都不知道，公司要你 何用？ 
*第十一家公司 
老板：兔兔，今天工作忙不忙？ 
兔兔：去你的，老子辞职了~~~~~~~~~~ 
老板：嘿！有个性，我们公司就不放你走!

Source: 百度_冷笑话吧_爆冷...[小白兔系列]

熬夜加班者的“健康参考”

　　尽管我们提倡在工作时间内完成工作任务，但是在重要工作或突击性任务来临时，晚上加班往往是不可避免的。在这里，军医为时常“赶夜车”的参谋、干事、助理员们提出几条“健康参考”。
　　不要半夜吃方便面，最好以水果、面包、清粥小菜来充饥，以免火气太大；切忌吃得太油腻、太生冷，以免食淤腹中。补充水分，最好以绿茶为主，可以提神，又可以消除体内
　　多余的自由基，让您神清气爽。但是胃肠不好或睡眠不好的人，则可以改喝一些枸杞泡的热茶，可以明目，而且不会引起胃肠反应以及加班后持续兴奋不能入眠的现象。
　　加班后即使再晚，也应当留出一点时间清理卫生，不要回到宿舍倒头便睡，最好能用热水烫一烫脚，让紧绷的神经得到放松。用过化妆品或护肤品的女同志，熬夜前一定要记得把脸洗干净，以免粉层或油渍在熬夜的煎熬下，引发满脸痘痘。
　　熬夜之后，第二天中午时千万记得打个小盹。夜里1:00以后不睡觉，人体的代谢作用由内分泌燃烧，会产生很多毒素，通常熬夜的人得慢性疾病的几率比抽烟或喝酒的人都来得高。所以每天尽量在22：00至24:00以前睡觉，不要常熬夜，若需要熬夜加班，一星期最好不要超过一次。

Source: 百度_邹城吧_熬夜加班者的“健康参考”

From ゆり花日和

女優では
菅野美穂さんのお芝居が好きです
男っぽさと女っぽさが混在しているような感じ
悪女も天使も演じられる

Never thought that we'd share this same taste.

There were times when people raved about singer-songwriters (of course, producers a plus) so badly that all debut commercials and liner-notes were patched with stick-out prints as "all music, lyrics & arrangements by XXX". Look and see how many who don't write/produce their own stuff at all are left now. To be prudent, the answer would be "much less than, say, 10 years ago". Even 张学友 did his.

I'm not saying that they are lying at all and it is a good thing to be productive. Aside from what all post-80's an 90's are capable of verbosing for an hour after reading billions of bytes of post-modern music reviews for all these years: "musical structure, texture, form, genre, timbre..." I mean, still, culture remains to be the invisible hand behind music scene. As a logical outcome, no music 2.0 services have really found their escapes out of such a hand and they are all equipped with the socialization features, for instance. The funny part is that text can be this invasive to our vulnerable subliminal territories: simply "all music, lyrics ... by XXX", and it raises a new guy 3 feet higher and makes us see the old guy differently. One reason is probably our active rejection of reasoning in aethetics, a hobby inherited from somewhere once upon a time. But..... "WHY THE HELL SHOULD THE 'MUSIC, LYRICS & ARRANGEMENTS ALL BY...' MATTER TO THE AUDITORY IMAGE IN MY BRAINS??" Well, to be fair, music has always been manipulated even before recording industry came into being and lots of literature has explicitly summarized on how musically unrelated metadata affects its popularity. I won't fight the reality. But if your chocolate company had assigned you to listen to 椎名林檎, for example, and required that you make your judgement before signing a contract with another chocolate company , you would've been more cautious to have iterated through her early brit-poppy works till the latest 涉谷系-ish, and then said nervously, "she used to be an average jpop singer who was also fond of cosplay, and her recent releases picked up some interesting sound effects and more dynamic compositions, it is said that she participated in compositions and productions, yet her vocal interpretation and voice recording remained largely canonical and she contributed barely anything new to the genre that she seems to belong to, a suggestion would be that she should probablly need more vocal imaginations, more decent vocal production techniques, or new lineups". Then you could lose your contract if the expected answer was different or even contradictory. In real world, you are in trouble if her fans hear this like Jaka, but you'll always find someone who shares your view. This is one beauty of culture. But opinions proliferate most wildly in the masses short of information literacy. And music 2.0 has beheld considerable drawbacks in efforts such as social tagging: tagging vandalism. It's not just opinions but the data itself that can be easily abused, such that given similar personal and musical properties, selling or burying specific artists becomes so much easier.

Since when did your teacher tell you that vocalists are no comparison with those musically "omniscient" stars or stars that at a point became suddenly "omniscient", especially given the fact that you are not even a witness of how they complete their studio work? In a home studio settings, there is probably not much of a choice. But when it comes to the commercial domain, I reserve my suspicion. Every engineering project (e.g., modern music production) is teamwork, with each member contributing their own expertise. Furthermore, production is a nonlinear, multi-dimensional, interactive, iterative, and dynamic process, in which, for example, any but a verbal suggestion can play a crucial part. A vocalist has the right to interfere in aspects more than oscillating his/her vocal tract and manipulating the airflow, which in itself is no easy job. Even among singers that are not professonally trained, the differences between banal narration, personal touch, and fresh creation are discernable, even quantifiable with computer software. Under certain intimate cooperations, vocalists can become the axes that cause the composers to gear their composing strategies towards them. You never know what is under the hood, but, as in programming and probably all engineering fields, module separation and specialization plus loose coupling promises a better reusability and robustness. Anyways, artists are not the ones at fault. They make their living as we do. My point is: When you say, Artist X, you mean Team X. Music production should be addressed as a group honor and not be reduced to no more than a personal medal. So-called musical omnisciency doesn't really exist and even if it does, it is not a reason for excessive attentions or a guidance to purchases, because it's neither a judgement call for the resulting quality or popularity, nor is it truer than, say, "Santa will bring you what you want" at all. It's your ears and mind that play the ultimate jury. Unfortunately, people have unattended hearings and short memories. They can only remember something as long as a brand name. That is where businessmen worked themselves up to rig upon, because they know that people are fast typers and enthusiastic broadcasters as well, and if not, they have children.

It is really a redundant and meaningless behavior to blame anybody like I did in my previous post, which was actually an overreaction to 戸川純's being ignored. Enough crap being said, I think subjective rages towards artistically incomplete works have developed into the popular culture torrents such as remix and mashup and so on, audience now have the right to write their own adaptations and sequels if they have less interests in total creation. I can possiblly rip off all 椎名's vocals from her <加爾基 精液 栗ノ花> and staple the rest of it with whichever female voice I love. It is done with the little help of our friendly neighbors: computer, electrical, and mechanical engineers, who continually combine their expertise and the objective, or even.. tiny little..., love of music. Despite the fact that even the MaxMSP's authors are blamed so broadly for some non-accommodating designs, laughed at their own musical works, and perhaps have never been acknowledged as part of the music world, they don't seem to care much themselves. I believe they are the ones who don't have the word "deity" in their dictionaries.

I've tried bands like Kataklysm and Cryptopsy (both Canadian, C is from Montreal), but they might not have been the best choices for introductory level brutal death. Nile finally converted me to this world. Brutal death can be demonstrated in an acoustically clear way. Not surprisingly, it takes a discerning set of ears to figure out what exactly is happening in such a chaotic sound mixture, which had probably foretold the dichotomy of melodic death and brutal death. It is when the holistic and analytical listening overlap in time that the audience can possibly receive maximum physical and spiritual resonance. In the world of folk and singer-song-writers, the overall sound is perceived holistically for an average listener while the lyrics is digested through analysis. In the hell of death metal, things get tricky. Those devil engineers rarely expect you to have an easy grasp of their buttons and knobs, "they are all there, learn it or get lost". Then a bunch of melodic people started out to create more user-friendly interfaces and made money, while the brutal guys keep themselves to their own open-source games.

I have to show my gratitudes to all entertainment 2.0 pushers. 戸川純 is again pushed to my front door by VeryCD + Google Reader. If there is still anybody who sees 椎名林檎 as a talent, please go back to 戸川純. 椎名 is nothing compared to her, and I doubt she would ever be. This is the difference between high-school isolation and innate madness. Getting the record onto your player, when 戸川 sings (or signals), there is nothing as exploratory a gesture as heard from Meredith Monk or Diamanda Galas, but only something closer to Primus, some kind of jolly baby cries, for her own existence. There is zero self-esteem as can be easily smelled from 椎名, and besides 戸川 has superior singing techniques, operatic, punky..., you name it. Should 椎名 realize that her porous vocal tract is not meant for normal melodies, she could have found better strategies. But no, she's not crazy, unfortunately, and it has nothing to do with "oh, she's not even 20, better future is awating".  Well, I'm going to collect all 純ちゃん's albums, before she succeeds in her further suicide attempts.

回复：请问下,女生适合学黑嗓吗?

黑金最多用的就是黑嗓，如果你听到一个乐队大多用的是黑嗓的话，你可以80%的断定这是黑金，之所以不能100%断定是因为有些旋律金属、民谣金属、还有维京金属有时候也用黑嗓。原始黑金的唱腔是最让人发指的，记得一个朋友说过判别原始黑主唱的方法就是听他们唱歌有种想抓或者挠东西的欲望。 
1，在呼吸道没有疾病的时候（感冒，气管炎之类）开始练习。 
2，训练地点最好找一个空间比较小共鸣比较大的地方，例如厕所澡堂之类的地方，这样容易自我纠正以及避免扰民。 
3，练习前喝一大杯热水，这样容易更好的控制声袋，也能保护好嗓子。 
4，姿势也很重要，●标准的姿势是：成马步半蹲，双手扶住膝盖，头微低，重心略向前。这样有助于控制气息。 
5，现在开始深吸一口气，快速的呼出，伴随着轻微的发声，发声内容具体是什么具自己爱好而定，再重复，之后越来越快，重复20~30次。很多人管这个叫“狗喘”，可见要找到“狗”的感觉才是正确的（别笑，这很管用！）。●这个过程在初步练习时每次都要进行，这是基本功。 
6，之后开始用意大利发声法发声，有点男低音的感觉。要点是：●不要挤声音，把嗓子尽量张开，具体体现为用手轻触喉结，如果嗓子张开时喉结随之向下垂就是正确的。发声内容具体是什么具自己爱好而定，唱首歌也行。 
7，然后可以在第6步的基础上开始靠近黑嗓了，不要刻意模仿。要点是：●稍微收缩一点声袋，但是保证第6步的方法。有一点点黑嗓的感觉即可。●这个过程比较漫长，大家要作好心理准备。 
8，当第7步的状态灵活自如时就可以渐渐脱离第6步的方法了，向黑嗓靠拢。●要点：渐渐抬高6步中喉结的位置，这时会感到嗓子有一点酸，这是正常的，如果是疼痛或者想咳嗽都说明第7步没有练好。尽量用低音发声以引起声袋的大频振动，说白了就是与嗓子喊劈的感觉效果是一样的，注意！只是效果一样，原理不同！不是真劈了，那样就无法正常说话了。具体要注意的就是掌握一个原则，不要用挤嗓子的方法模仿黑嗓，这样往往事倍功半。这步练成之后的感觉就应该有点象死嗓的感觉——具有所谓“咆哮”的意思，通常称为“ 
深喉”派的死嗓。★顺便加一句，在这步的基础上突出一点中音再加入一些鼻腔共鸣就是“水腔”派的死嗓了。 
9，现在要练习标准的黑嗓了。●●●●●注意注意！！【进行这步时一定要建立在第8步完全掌握的基础上！！一定一定！不然就有嗓子完蛋的危险！！】我的一个朋友就是在练这一步时嗓子出血以至于现在说两句话就要咳嗽半天。具体掌握一个标准：能在正常的说话和第8步的发声之间自由转换，并且嗓子不酸不累不紧。再次强调！！切记切记！！如果不行的话不要强求，能练出第8步的深喉派死嗓也很牛了！如果第8步完全掌握的话，进行下面的练习。●将舌根位置缩紧，可以对着镜子看看嘴，在张大嘴的情况下看不到小舌就是正确的。同时也会发现喉结也完全上移了。在这个状态下用第8步的方法扩大一倍的音量发声。初期可能嗓子会有一点酸痛感，这种感觉应尽量缩短，方法是调整舌根位置的缩紧程度，同时保证效果尽量不改变。这时发出的声音可能偶而会有黑嗓的感觉，应该抓住那些瞬间体会要点。嘴成“一”字型也有助于效果的体现，所谓“一”字型就是先将嘴闭上，两嘴角分别往两边张，之后微张嘴的口型。现在的发声应该尽量和Mayhem主唱的声音靠齐。用胸腔的气，这样会很有力。换气时要快，呼气要慢，呼气的快慢决定了一口气能唱多长的歌词。一口气就唱一句歌词，这样会有轻重音的体现，具体平均到一个字用多少气同样可以用舌根缩紧的程度来控制。这一步需要大量的练习，有兴趣可以把日常用语也运用这个发声法，这很能锻炼气息控制与轻重音。不过不要跟所有人都这么说话啊！●另外练习当中不要喝水，这样对嗓子不利。 
10，第9步练习后就可以发展自己的特色了。具体方法因人而异，大家可以自己实验。改变口型和声袋的震动频率都可以有不同效果。具体的提高体现在一口气的长度以及灵活控制声袋震动频率的程度。 
摇滚唱法。。

作者： 蓝冰的鱼儿 2007-6-4 13:18 回复此发言

Source: 百度_死亡金属吧_请问下,女生适合学黑嗓吗?

“仁”的精神

　　“仁”的精神是中国文化与人生智慧的象征。“仁”不仅在各种道德中是最基本的也是最高的德目，而且在世俗道德生活中也是最普遍的德性标准。在《论语》中讲“仁”有104次之多，可见“仁”的重要。

　　“仁”既是道德规范，又是区别善恶的标准。哪些事应当做，哪些事不应当做，都要用“仁”这把尺子加以衡量。孔子还分别提出了仁的一些具体条目，例如恭、宽、信、敏、惠，认为“能行五者于天下为仁矣”。恭即庄重、自尊。宽即宽厚，对他人宽厚，对自己严格。信即诚实，讲信用，不说假话。敏即勤快、认真。惠即帮助他人。这五条都做到了，就是真正实践了“爱人”的信条。在爱人的基础上，形成了“老吾老以及人之老，幼吾幼以及人之幼”、“不独亲其亲，不独子其子”的宽广情怀和安老怀少的社会风尚，形成中华民族大家庭社会生活中浓烈的人文情怀和生活情趣。

　　在我们这个星球上，有60多亿人口，6000多种语言，2500多个民族，200多个国家，繁多的宗教信仰，人与人之间由于利益不同、观念不同、信仰不同，难免会发生冲突和矛盾，要实现和谐共处，必须提出取得广泛共识的“全球伦理”。1993年八九月间，为纪念“世界宗教会议”召集一百周年，来自世界上大小120多个宗教团体的六千余名代表在芝加哥召开了“世界宗教议会”大会。为建立起公认的全球伦理，代表们在大会上经过长期讨论和反复修改，通过并签署了《世界宗教议会走向全球伦理宣言》，宣言把“己所不欲，勿施于人”确定为“全球伦理”，并指出“这个原则是有数千年历史的宗教和伦理和传统所寻获并持守的”，“这个终极的、绝对的标准，适用于人生各个范畴，家庭和社会，种族、国家和宗教。”这意味着中国文化的博大精深的人生智慧已经被世界各国有识之士所接受，为全人类追求和平、美好的生活作出了重要的贡献。

Source: 国学资讯 - 中国人的人生智慧 -

Went out for a walk after dinner. Came across a baseball practice game in the open park nearby. It was actually my first time watching a real-world baseball game, before which all my motives and knowledge of baseball was from <Touch> and <H2>. The audience were french-speaking, so the familiar Japanese voices (of course the fine soundtrack that occupies my baseball memories, too) were nowhere to be found. The major eyeball attractions of these baseball Animes, the smooth three-outs and life-saving homeruns, proved to be mostly artistic exaggerations. Homerun is no easy cake. Today I saw two promising hits that did make the ball fly high. Unfortunately they all ended up getting intercepted by the outfielders. But I saw a very agile base-stealing, which seemed to have been left untouched in those two classic Animes.

Summer is right here. Dandelions were mailing their numerous tiny white parachutes on the evening breeze. They traveled all the way across the baseball field in the air, passing through the pitcher, the batter, the catcher, and everybody on the site, who were freezing, intensely waiting for the next exciting move.

Ahhhhhhhh, why wasn't my camera with me??!!!!!

汉字是国家统一和民族发展的象征

文字不但是记录语言的视觉符号系统，而且也是一个民族的民族性和民族认同的核心内容。在中华民族的形成过程中，汉字作为汉语的最重要的交流手段，作为记录汉语信息的载体和传媒，在汉民族和以汉民族为中心的整个中华民族的政治、文化、经济生活中，一直起着无可替代的重要的作用。

汉语是世界上一种最为奇特的语言，其方言种类之多，语音差异之大，为世界各大语种所仅见。设若闽南人和东北人以各自的方言交谈，彼此只能是“对牛弹琴”，但如改用汉字笔谈，则相互间又不会有任何窒碍。正是由于汉字符号系统具有这种强大的超方言性，同一概念，尽管在汉语众多的方言里是用不同的音素来表述的，但记录下来的汉字符号却只有一个。自秦代统一文字以来，讲说各种方言的中国人都认同这个符号，认同这个符号系统所承载的历史文化内涵。因而，汉字能够被中国不同的方言地区或不同民族的人们所接受和认同，成为汉民族乃至整个中华民族共同使用的书写符号。我们很难想像，如果古代中国人不用汉字，而是像古罗马人那样用拉丁字母来拼写中国大大小小的各种方言，其后果将会怎样？有位上一世纪在中国生活了多年的美国传教士威廉斯（S.WellsWilliams）已经为我们作出了回答。他说，一旦废止汉字，用字母来拼写汉语方言，那么中华帝国就会不复存在，中国就会分裂成许多小国。正如傅东华1940年在《书同文考》中所指出的，秦朝“同文之举，正所以继往开来，而首定我中华民族二千年来，文化政治统一之基础，其功不在禹下”。冰心也说过，中华民族始终是统一的，汉字的凝聚力居功甚伟。

Source: 国学资讯 - 汉字——中华文明的历史丰碑 -

黄文炜：日本良好的国家形象从何而来

● 黄文炜

    请看几个世界性的舆论调查报告结果：美国《时代》周刊公布一项调查，27个国家不到三万民众评估12个主要国家，显示中国国家形象第五，日本国家形象位居世界第一，高出了中国多达12个百分点。另外据美国智囊机构“芝加哥环球事务理事会”日前公布的在世界各地进行的舆论调查结果显示，日、美、中三国中最值得信赖的国家是日本。调查在16个国家进行，内容为“是否相信日本、美国和中国在世界范围内会采取负责任的行动”，认为“非常相信”和“一定程度上相信”中国的总数平均为38%，日本为46%，美国为41%。而英国一家机构近日对外公布了一份关于全球和平国家排名的报告，挪威名列榜首，亚洲国家中只有日本闯入前十，位列第五。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    从调查结果看，很明显，日本和日本人在国际上是很受欢迎的，而且日本的国际形象要好于中国，在世界上的好感度属于领先地位。国内有人对这一调查结果不理解，认为“日本的历史问题没有被人们所认识”，听了这话真让人哑然失笑。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    的确，那些舆论调查是针对国家的现状而言的，而非对国家的历史的评判与总结。这也提醒我们首先面对现实看问题。日本确实有不堪的过去，但是今天日本的民主体制、对外经济援助、国民良好的礼仪和公德，大大化解了历史问题带来的负面影响。一个并非联合国常任理事国的国家，却负担了联合国近20%的费用，这样的“国际贡献”是让人信服的。国家形象是多则面的，日本的以先进的企业管理制度和汽车等品牌产品为代表的经营文化，以动漫、电子游戏为代表的娱乐文化，以众多专利技术为代表的科技文化以及严格的节能环保政策等，都是为世界所称道的。推广国家形象，日本政府也是下了功夫的，日本一直是通过有计划地重点推广日本的时尚文化而在世界上树立自己的国家形象。前任首相小泉纯一郎以及现任的安倍晋三都曾公开表示，加强推动日本的文化吸引力是当前要务。安倍晋三去年在就职演说中提出“日本文化产业战略”，推动从生鱼片到日本动画的各种“日本酷”文化产品。当代日本正从工业社会向生产流行文化的社会转变，这是容易让世人产生亲近感的潇洒转身。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    此外，国家形象还与个人行为息息相关，日本旅游者的足迹遍布世界各地，他们在一定程度上起到了宣传日本的作用。这里补充一则舆论调查，英国著名旅游网站曾访问了1.5万名欧洲酒店业人士，调查他们对各国游客表现的意见。结果日本游客被评为最整洁及有礼貌，获选为全球最佳游客。而中国游客形象如何呢？至今在国外一些公共场所张贴的提醒游客注意公共道德的醒目的中文标识就说明了一切。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    日本的国际形象优于中国，这个事实该让我们反思。和平国家形象实际上是日本最大的国际招牌，但是长期以来，中国无论从官方到民间，都在回避日本战后走和平发展之路的事实，即使心里默认，嘴上也是不愿承认的。这种自欺欺人的态度妨碍了中日之间的平等沟通。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    让中国人因为历史的阴影一叶障目误读日本的时代成为过去吧。我们应以一种普世价值来重新认识日本，再也不能站在预设的意识形态立场看待日本，试图把自己的观点强加于世界舆论的想法更是荒唐可笑的。无论对国家还是对个人来说，“活在现在”都是一种理性、务实的生存状态。 ( http://www.tecn.cn )
    （原载《日本新华侨报》，作者授权天益发布

Source: 黄文炜：日本良好的国家形象从何而来———天益：学习型社会领航者

14 years ago, Me and WG were on our way home from the record store near the only shopping mall in our district. Like my mom, I was the one who carried less money and spent even less (nothing). WG was already trial-listening to the albums (10.5RMB for each tape. He got, I don't know, 12??) on the bus. "OK", said he, "Only #1, #6 are worth a second listen". Then he switched to the next album and repeat this routine, like a skilled album reviewer. That was a weird experience and I couldn't stand such an obvious waste of money.

My entire family has always been conservative in any investment, especially in entertainment. On music, our model goes always like: purchase a few tapes or CDs at some point (usually compilations or serial compilations) and play them for a decade. My family was perhaps among the first ones in China that obtained their first CD players. It was a relatively better designed double-deck Pioneer model, with which you can shuffle tracks between decks at the cost of mechanical degradation by frictions. More importantly, it came with two sample CDs, one classical, and the other the 80's contemporary instrumental music. Of course, since it was Pioneer, the performers of both records were Japanese. They are not bad but absolutely not a match with 菅野よう子 or 岩崎琢 that we got 10 years later. We were not left with many choices, however, but to stick to it, because, A, all the record stores had yet to make the tape-to-CD transition, B, the CD player had settled down and it would look awkward to go back to our 10-year-old tiny Sony tape player with the 1-meter-high brand new home stereo on the side, and C, all the neighbors were watching us eagerly when passing by. What happened next was predictable. Since then, we had been listening to the two CDs for N years (plus one Elaine Paige compilation that my parents bought for 3 Pounds second-hand in Scotland, fortunately), until we had the next one downtown (a pirated Roxette's greatest hits). During the N years, we had tried little but to listen to it again and again, did a little bit of shuffle. Over the years, Elaine Paige's operatic vocal touch for popular songs and the Japanese interpretation of western art music stuck firmly in my brains and I became emotionally attached to these albums. But we had rarely thought of a better way than what is so natural in the digital age: delete most of your MP3 files, leave only the best (love at 1st hearing). But honestly, if I could turn back time, I would turn on the radio instead (the machine came with one, apparently).

I used to be one of those people who took the advantage of the Chinese illegal music markets to have large number of imports. But the problem of mine was that it was so easy for me to lay myself down to specific albums (loves at the 1st hearings) until I have been through them 100 times (e.g. I went through 沟口肇's <白色の恋>OST hundreds of times in a year on a daily basis) and so hard for me to throw anything out ever. So I rarely pioneer in any trends, although not always the last arriver.

It is a major challenge for people so stubborn at preserving memories/souvenirs, like me, to delete anything. So tapes, CDs, and then computer files piled up firmly. It is only at the gate of the digital age where I finally adopted my old friend WG's philosophy: no matter how much you have invested in it, with money, downloading time, or Google searches, if it is not the best, throw it out. Why? Because maybe you won't even give it a damn to them again in a decade after the first listen, given the right of random access to any tracks in any albums, or maybe your mind would be polluted by something you resist deep-down inside if you let yourself rest with the fact that you have slept with it for quite a while. Yes, as your archive expands, you will receive visitors' "wow!"s, from which you earn a bit of self-esteem. When they ask you to play some music for them, you find yourself always go to the same box, same ten pieces of CDs, and everybody is OK with this. But where do you place your next favorite goodies, the ones that you would bring to a solitary island, if your shelf is already full? On the other hand, the other me would argue, if you throw the second best down to your basement inventory and replace them with the new ones, how would another version of you from ten years ago react, if he saw this when getting off his time machine. Where are your best memories going? But somehow right now, I hate burning preservation CDs without ever putting them back into the CDROM again or buying external harddrives one after another. That is when my daily listening falls into a loop like this (in Matlab code):

function [file_survivors] = daily_listening(list_newrelease, list_LastFM_encouter,

　                                                         list_peer_recommendation)

file_survivors = [];

list_download = [list_newrelease, list_LastFM_encouter, list_peer_recommendation];

queue_MP3 = download_via_P2P(list_download, emule, soulseek,....);

for k=1:length(queue_MP3),

rating = listen_for_20sec(queue_MP3(k));

if rating < '5 stars',

    continue;

else,

    file_survivors = [file_survivors, queue_MP3(k)];

end;

end;

clear queue_MP3

The problem is it's a breeze to drag 20 albums home in a day, so effectively your daily listening becomes no more than trying to remove most of the bad guys. You know it's pointless to download only the reviewers' picks. Even if the picks worked for you, you would want more like that...and next... more often than not, you get a huge whiplash.

You would turn to the push-services like Last.FM or iLike to embrace a new age, but again, it's so hard to callback the very moment with a specific piece, by using current randomization and similarity-matching algorithms. You need something to remember.

That is probably why scientists and artists play the hardest game of life. They will be sentenced to failure if ever trying to look back, while I'm still struggling to dismiss more files on my harddrives to my recycle bin, but always ended up with a folder only a few megabytes smaller than ....three years ago.

The more frightening thing would be... what if we become so addicted to this recycling world, where everything is deletable and retrievable, or more realistic, where an endless list of new possibilities awaits to show themselves in unpredictable fashions and at unpredictable timings. You divorce your wife, husband , kill your unborn babies, knowing that it's not a boy and you have no problem getting pregnant again? Or retreat to the other side of the battle, marry an enterprising man, raise kids from Age 25, gain back your body attraction by 30 and stand firm as an independent goddess? Work hard till 30, start mate-hunting with your financial resume, sign a contract with a physically+mentally healthy one, and then start breeding? Or none of these, go love your same gender people or even brothers and sisters as in <sister lover>, who are supposed to understand you the most or who are from and will remain in the same economic entity with you?

The world will web ruthlessly. The networking goes on and on and new exciting encounters ambush us every now and then. We meet new people, looking forward to new experience. We are restless, fearless, in the mean time, however, all emotionally masked with self-defense and trigger-happiness. Not so much in a more civilized society to some extent, but definitely the case in a developing one.

Well, to think this way, "is this song worth a listen for my mom, my brother, the work-mate, and ... her?"

then delete it or not, it would make more sense,

wouldn't you think?