| Tian's profileBoundless T-zonePhotosBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
January 30 节前大清仓卖了两支股票和所有的基金. 节前恐惧症, 还是realized gain比较实在. 不得不相信专业技能, 俺的个股还是没跑过基金. 不过话说回来, 也是俺选对了基金, 对不? 过年了, 早没地儿要红包了,只好自己给自己发了, 呵呵. January 28 Voi che sapete
Voi che sapete, by Cherubino from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. I was captured instantly when I heard it in the mini-series of Pride & Prejudice (BBC version). Lizzy sang it to Mr. Darcy at Pemberly. The voice came across as pure, deserious, and pacific. I mistook it as an aria by Susanna in the end of that opera. I was trying for weeks to get that piece but without any result. Becoz I was totaly wrong; it is voi che sapete by Cherubino in Scene I!
I think I am very spontaneous opera listerner/beginner. Each time I fell in love with a piece either from a movie, or from a CD search, or from the excerption in a concert. I have to admit I am sometimes very cynical and don't trust those over-populated musicians or works. I'd like to find out the ones glittering in a deserted place, that echo in my heart. However, in the end I realize that masters are masters and they deserve the names people give them. Their works seems more likely to have an echo in audience. Probably we (I) only heard those "pops", but blind to the far more abundance of their other pieces. Le Nozze di Figaro is an example. Its sinfonia has been widely used during wedding ceremony. But there are many other arias in this great work that wait for us to explore. Luckily I found some, though not in an institutional way. But they all come across in more or less the same type:
1. Bach Cantala: Ich esse mit Freuden mein weniges Brot
2. Brahms: O Heiland Reiss die Hammel auf
3. Mozart: Voi che sapete
4. Rossini: sinfonia of La Italiana en Algerie
I spent three hours finding this piece and knowing all its background, meaning of lyrics, and various version by different sopranos. I let the beautiful voice spread all over my little dorm, eyes closed and lay back in the chair. It played again and again; and I didn't ever felt overwhelmed. I was lost in the music and let it lead me through a world of paradise... And now I cannot stop playing it, on this post-snow sunny Sunday afternoon. I know I am "wasting" my time again; and I know I have so much to do: prepare for interviews, get my car washed, go to the gym, and get the laundry, oh, right, read my cases (though I already developed the habbit of reading cases right before classes ;-P. But I also know, I need to stop, take a break, and reeeeeeeelax. It reminds me of a scene in the movie the Shawshank Redemption when Andy locked the guard and played an aria by Maria Callas (also a piece from Le Nozze di Figaro). Although he was punished later, he found a moment of freedom in prison. I believe his mind and soul were wandering over the high walls and chasing after freedom. On that particular moment, he is free, by all means. On this particular moment, I desire that type of freedom too; luckily voi che sapete does so.
btw, I put the aria on my blog and hope you will like it as I do. The English meaning of voi che sapete is "tell me what love is". January 22 SnowingWahaha, it is snowing, finally. I love it! Everything looks so pure in white, including my red bug ;-) Luckily I got a brush in my trunk. Though not for its original use, the brush helped a lot in getting rid of the snow on the rear window. Xiaohan is coming to Boston for interviews and she is so lucky to have the first snow in 2007! And tonight I got a good "excuse" to drive in the snow as well. It wasn't that slippery yet; but i did pay more attention than usual. The Mulan was closed; we went to Shanghai Gate in the end. We dropped by her classmate apt on Back Bay Street. Back Bay is old town Boston and populated with colonial style 4-storyed apt building. It reminded me of London the first day I came here. I felt like in a fairy tale world there. Charles River has frozen already. Yeah, go skating! I know I look very childish here. I can still remember the first snow in Beijing; I reacted exactly the same way, hehe. Anyway, it is good to feel something exciting in this busy season. I am already tired of the interview prep and boring cases. Snow is a natural stimulus for this new semester, isn't it? January 21 西游记Third stop: Los Angeles第三站 – 洛杉机 Los Angeles 洛杉机跟我想象的很不一样, 这里不同于纽约或巴黎这样的大城市, 虽然它也很大, 并且从面积上讲, 可能更大. 但是整个洛杉机城市布局很分散, 被教科书称为现代城市规划上的败笔. 洛杉机地区由很多county构成, downtown L.A.被称为罪恶之城, 几乎已被人们抛弃 (deserted). 白天那里是金融中心, 到了晚上, 就是毒贩和黑帮横行之地. 大部分的人工作和生活都在附近的county里, 出门就上高速, 随便到哪儿, 至少得要半个小时以上, 也难怪被称为设计上的败笔了. 以前只听说过在纽约开车很恐怖, 不亚于在北京的CBD高峰时上窜下跳. 这次到了洛杉机, 才算见识了这里”彪悍”的民风 (特指开车). 这里的freeway有5-6条道, 而且比通常的高速上的lane要窄. 这都不算了, 更恐怖的是, 所有的车都左窜右跳, 并道不打灯, 从右车道超车也见怪不怪了, 而且都是以70迈以上的速度狂飙. 也难怪有人考了5次才拿下驾照, 要是我, 估计拿了驾照也不敢上路, 顶多就在local上开. 提到洛杉机, 第一想到的肯定是Hollywood. 这里号称全世界的”梦工厂”, 所有做着星梦的俊男靓女都蜂拥而至, 希望有朝一日也能麻雀变凤凰. 这里凤凰是不少的, 去Sunset Blvd 日落大道上遥望一下豪宅就知道了; 但是这里的麻雀更多, 能飞上枝头的可谓幸运中的幸运. 我们常说”谋事在人, 成事在天”. 娱乐业这个行当, 运气的成分居多吧. 也难怪这里流传着一个笑话, 当看到一个美女的时候, 问她是做什么的, 答案是”我是演员”; 接下来的问题便是”那你晚上在哪家餐厅工作?” 由此可见在这里打拼的年轻人有多么的不容易. 娱乐业嘛, 向来如此, 娱乐大众之前, 通常都被命运娱乐一番. 环球影城(Universal Studio)是环球影片开辟的一个主题公园, 里面也有它的片场, Desperate Housewife的场景就设在里面, 还有当年Hitchcock拍片时常住的小屋. 片场之旅还让我们亲临了爆炸, 地震, 暴雨, 灾难等场景, 电影真的是可以以假乱真的, 不知道是现在技术太先进了, 还是我们观众太容易接受视觉上的冲击和错觉. 环球影城里面有很多它卖座大片的娱乐项目. 个人觉得好玩的是4D的Shrek, 当中有喷口水的场景, 结果真有水从前座喷到脸上, 现场效果俱棒. 想当年是在HK看的Shrek 2, Kick请我的, 还”骗” Getty Center是全美最有钱的私人博物馆之一, 光这个建筑群就耗费了十三亿美元. 为了这个博物馆群, Getty先生还买下了附近的山头, 以保留自然的原样. 可惜整个建筑群对我而言毫无出彩之处, 及其普通的设计. 因为导游在讲解的时候, 不得不从它的用材和实用角度介绍, 可是, 材料(material)和实用(utilitarian)不是每座建筑都必须有的吗? 话了那么多钱, 只不过堆砌出了一堆钢筋水泥和玻璃的建筑群, 实在是浪费! 美国的艺术品收藏实在没法跟欧洲比, 虽然美国人财大气粗, 可惜印证了那句话, 艺术是无价的. 就算再有钱, 也只能买到欧洲二流的作品, 而真正伟大的作品, 都保留在了艺术的发源地. 在洛杉机的最后一天去了Sabuli(?)海滩, 据说有钱的大明星都在那里的海滩上买别墅, 也是娱记出没最频繁的区域. 南加虽然天气很好, 冬日里也是阳光普照, 可是却无法让我感到赏心悦目. 也许它太娱乐, 太物质, 太浮华, 太杂乱无章. 就连这里的山头都是乱七八糟的, 毫无绿色可言. 也许它根本就没有错, 错的是我自己. 心态老了, 喜欢有四季的地方: 春有花开, 夏有烈日, 秋有落叶, 冬有白雪; 喜欢有安静的湖泊或是河流; 喜欢有历史有文化有音乐有艺术的城市. 去过这么多城市, 还就只有巴黎符合这最后一点. 去过三次, 每次都有不一样的感觉, 每次都感觉很新鲜, 就连同一个卢浮宫或是奥赛博物馆, 都会带给我不同的体验. 美国去过的城市里, 也就波士顿能靠点谱了. 又瞎扯了, 回到洛杉机上, 我们晚上去了Santa Monica, 傍晚的海滩海鸥点点, 落日余晖里一对新人在幸福的牵手, 小孩在嬉戏, 年轻人在打闹, 每个人都在享受属于自己的那份海滩. 加州的海滩很多, 大部分都是很平民化的, 是属于日常你我的海滩, 没有游客支起的沙滩椅, 没有熙熙攘攘的小贩叫卖, 有的只是下班了的白领, 跑步的, 骑单车的, 一家老小出来散步遛狗的. 我喜欢这个平民的感觉, 让我觉得很真实.
Los Angeles is the second largest city of the States. But it is also mentioned in some architecture textbooks as the “example of bad urban planning”. I can understand that partially, as the whole metropolitan area is very much dispersed. Car is a necessity living in L.A.; and freeway is the mostly used transportation means every day. Half-an-hour drive is regarded as “close-by”. L.A. is the center of world entertainment industry. Hollywood is the world factory of dreams, attracting millions of people here chasing their dreams. L.A. is a paradise for the already successful, and a hell for those still on the way to success. Getty Center is one of the most wealthily funded art center, although I still couldn’t fine the aesthetic value of the $1.3Bn spending on its architecture yet. However, I feel glad that “art is priceless” has been proved true here. I like the beach of Santa Monica. It is nothing special, no celebrities, no expensive houses, no crowded tourists. It is a beach of common people, where kids play, couples walk, white-collars jogging. It is so close to our daily life, no cover story (as Sabuli), no stripped benches and umbrellas for tourist, no shouting peddlers either. I like the atmosphere of Santa Monica beach; it makes me feel natural and being true to life. January 17 Sauna in ShadHave been to Shad so frequently last term, but hadn't been to the sauna room. Such an insophisticated user. Felt so relaxing after 15min sauna and it wasn't crowded at all there. Probably lots of people haven't found that corner room yet ;-P
En, need to get back to regular exercises and lose those weights gained during the winter break ;-P January 15 感慨今早从雍二的blog上链到几个成都小mm的博客
立即被里面的文字所感动
想当年....我也是用这样的笔触写下文字
可是现在....爬格子是需要心境的
心境变了, 变快了,变忙碌了,变麻木了
于是文字也就平淡了
真希望还是她们22岁的花样年华
眼中有希翼,有感伤,有快乐,有忧郁,还有不经意时嘴角露出的甜蜜 January 14 西游记 Second Stop - Grand Canyon第二站: 大峡谷
大峡谷更常见的名字是科罗拉多大峡谷 (Colorado Grand Canyon), 理由很简单,整个峡谷是由科罗拉多河经过了几百万年的冲刷所形成的, 绵延446KM, 最深处达1600米.我们去的是位于亚利桑那州的部分,分南脊 (South Rim)和北脊(North Rim). 南北两脊海拔高度不完全一样,北脊稍微高出南脊.两脊之间的距离, 从400米到24公里不等. 两壁的岩石可以明显地看出地质年代的分层, 随着Corolado Plateau的形成, 当年的河道也就随之”升级”成了大峡谷.很多徒步探险者会从南脊往峡谷下走,走到峡谷的最底部,然后再往上爬到北脊, 整个trekking估计历时至少得要一个月.更危险的是,整个大峡谷国家公园里面没有手机信号,估计是为了维护大峡谷的自然环境,所以没有建基站.直接的后果就是,如果探险者在路途中央遇到了危险,根本无法联系外面的急救人员,因而每年总有那么一些为了理想而长眠在峡谷中的探险者. 我们去的时候, 北脊已经关闭了,国家公园只有南脊开放.本以为去的时候适逢冬季,又是圣诞假期,游客应该不多.没想到美国人跟我们一样不怕冷,也是携全家上下一同出游, 整个国家公园里面的lodge和hotel几乎爆满,连我们打算多住一晚都没有房间了. 如果说人人都有一个American Dream的话,那么我从来美国之前就dream着去Grand Canyon.在我”无知”的理解里, 那赭红色的峭壁岩石, 汽车奔驰过后在沙漠中扬起的尘土,就是所谓美国精神的源泉和体现, 一种无所谓向前行的冒险者精神.就像黄河壶口瀑布一样,我认为那是我们中国人精神的源泉和体现.我很幸运,这次不仅看到了一望无际的大峡谷,还经历了整整一天的”沙漠之行”.
大峡谷的日出很有名.可惜有名的事物总是一票难求,就跟光明顶上看日出一样,不在次数多少,而且运气大小.我们这回运气不太好,日出的时候云层太厚,甚至还有下暴雨的迹象.大清早强行拉练,冻得半死,等了一个小时,
科罗拉多大峡谷, 美得惊心动魄, 美得让我不能呼吸. 峡谷两岸的岩石, 如刀削般陡峭, 在阳光下反射出不同层次的赭红, 头顶的云层, 在上面撒下若隐若暗的背影, 风在耳边瑟瑟而过, 但是身在阳光包围之下却感到如此的温暖. 大自然是多么的鬼斧神工, 而我们人类, 在自然面前又是多么的微不足道. “人定胜天”吗? 我刚说过拉斯维加斯是”人定胜天”的例证. 可是现在我要推翻自己的结论, 人是无法战胜自然规则的, 顶多是在规则之下做有限的改进罢了. 国家公园在山脊上设立了无数的观测点, 移步一景, 每个观测点上看到的峡谷貌似一样, 细看却是神态各异. 而当时当地的天气情况, 如阳光透射度, 云层厚度, 空气透明度等, 会令同一景点的景物在不同的时候呈现出不同的神态. 大峡谷中的岩石,就如一面面镜子,折射出大自然的千姿百态. 站在山谷上面, 俯瞰脚下层层叠叠的岩石峭壁; 放眼望去, 是望不到尽头的峡谷和遥想中的科罗拉多河. 自然是伟大的,我们人类是渺小的.
在前往大峡谷的路上,我们绕道去了Hoover Dam, 据说在中国的三峡水库建成之前仍是世界上最大的水库. 这是当年的Hoover总统在上世纪30年代为了拉动美国大萧条的经济而进行的政府投资项目. 这对大多数美国人来讲估计还是意义重大的, 到这里的美国游客络绎不绝,导致短短的不到10mile的路程我们开了足足有1个多小时. 开到大坝上面, 从上望下看,很难明白这就是世界上最大的水坝; 但是它在美国历史上的地位, 也许远远超过了实际的价值.
Grand Canyon is breathtakingly beautiful. It is awesome! Standing on top, I feel the magnificent power of Nature, and the insignificance of man. 西游记 First Stop: Las Vegas第一站: 赌城拉斯维加斯 拉斯维加斯绝对是个”人定胜天”的例证. 美国人硬是在贫瘠到鸟不拉s的内华达沙漠中央建立起了一座城市, 一座能跟纽约的人口和金钱turnover相媲美的城市. 虽然之前去过大西洋赌城, 美国仅次于拉斯维加斯的赌城(东海岸).
除了这家Venetian酒店, 拉斯维加斯主要街道上林立着不下10家风格迥异的酒店, 每家不仅规模大,而且家家出”奇招”以制胜.蒙李同学的照顾, 俺们住在号称世界上最大的酒店, Mirage, 有超过5000多间客房, 大厅里面还养了两只白老虎供游客观赏. 可惜该饭店放在现如今的拉斯维加斯已经算不上什么了,新的酒店层出不穷,各个标新立异, 争奇斗艳: Wynn的规模据说已超过Mirage; New York New York外面的roller coaster; Bilager(?)外面的音乐喷泉: Paris外面的Eiffel Tower, 还有一家前面的埃及金字塔. 整条街就是个世界大熔炉,啥都有了.酒店里面,就是日夜不停运作的赌博机和台桌, 还有赌红了眼的赌徒. 几乎每个酒店都设有剧场, 常年上演固定剧目, Phantom和Mama Miya这类经典剧目也是常客. 也是蒙li同学的关照,俺们免费看了La Reve, 一个很著名的水上杂技表演. 之前还觉得杂技嘛,不就是骗骗小孩子的吗.没想到美国鬼子的娱乐业就是发达,整个舞台设计, 灯光, 舞美, 那是决定的让人眼前一亮, 不服不行. 这些酒店里面的club也是好莱坞明星乐于光顾的场所. 稍微有点名气的club, 几乎天天出现在娱乐版的头条.
拉斯维加斯是资本主义物质世界高度发达的标志, 说物欲横流也许有点过,因为像我们这些穷人还是去得起得.它就像是富人给我们建造的个海市蜃楼, 赚所有人的钱, 不管穷人还是富人, 从另外一个角度想, 这是个平等的世界.
First stop: Las Vegas What happens in Las Vegas, Stays in Las Vegas. You won’t know what L.V. means unless you’ve been there. I was skeptical before I went there, based on my experience in Atlantic City. But No.1 is No. 1 and L.V. has every reason to outperform the No. 2 Atlantic City. Gamble, Sex, and Drug always come together. However, L.V. offers more than the three. The design and actual architecture in Venetian Hotel brought me to the mirage of Venice in the middle of a dessert. La Reve, the show on water, proves Hollywood or the US have the most creative producers in the world. Americans can even rebuild the Eiffel Tower and pyramid in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is so artificial, but in an amazing way. However, I know, I am just a visitor there; L.V. is not my life, but can be a stop on the road. 西游记 – Going West
序
重回学生身份,终于又有了寒暑假.不同的是美国放的是圣诞节,而我们过的是春节.不过也好,圣诞节对老美来讲是个全家团圆的节日,大家都窝在家里庆祝,像我们这样在外面”闲逛”的人,还能落个人少清闲,机票打折的好处. 所谓”西游”,无非是从美国的东海岸到西海岸罢了,从地理角度上讲,的确是西游.不知道什么时候世界管亚洲这片叫东方,美洲欧洲叫西方.想想看,地球是圆的,本无所谓东西.唯一不同的是,当年英法西葡等欧洲海盗强国夺了先机,讲零度子午线定在了伦敦, 从现代地理教科书的角度, 我们(中国)就处在了世界的东方. 扯远了,这次美国西游第一个感触就是, 美国的确幅员辽阔.以前只知道美国领土面积世界第四,实际飞下来,从波士顿到拉斯维加斯,足足飞了6个小时,够得上横穿整个大西洋了,从伦敦飞波士顿也不过6个小时, 更何况波士顿到拉斯维加斯的距离,还不是美国本土上最远的航线.
这次游历的五个地方, 各俱特色, 从另个侧面也体现了美国的多元化, 不仅是种族,还有地域的文化差异. 拉斯维加斯的物欲, 大峡谷的惊艳, Arizona原始的广袤, 洛杉机浮华与彪悍, 圣地牙哥的蔚蓝, 还有新奥尔良的蓝调与无奈. 每到一处, 都让我更近一步了解这个国家, 却也让我更加地不了解这个国家,因为很多的问题,都没有了以前简单的答案,政治和文化本身就是复杂的,自相矛盾的,想得越多,反而越加的迷惑.
此次西游,历时24天,经历了四个州,结识到5个新朋友, 找到一个拉拉, 还与两个多年未见的老友重逢, 收获颇多, 虽然俺现在是如此的思念天寒地冻的波士顿, 呵呵.
Preface I’ve been on my backpacket for the past 24 days. It feels so good to be on the road again. This time, from East Coast to West Coast, though within a single country. Maybe too used to crossing the border in a two-hour train in Europe, I was shocked when noticing my flight from Boston to Las Veges taking me over 6 hours. What a six-hour flight mean? Yeah, you can cross the Atlantic Ocean from London Heathrow to Boston Logan airports. Sometimes I hate to be quantitative, but figures always speak for themselves. US is a huge country, not geographically, but ethnically and culturally (if it does have some culture). Going West, a title reminds me of the adventure era of going east by the then-powerful Spanish and Portuguese navigators. The earth is round. In that sense, there should be no absolute sense of East or West. But we, human beings, are proud of defining the way we live. Fortunately enough for those Anglo-Saxons, they got to be the one to set the zero-degree meridian in UK. Thereafter, we (Asia) have a name of East, and they (Europe and America) get the name of West. Whether it is West or East doesn’t matter today, because we all know, the earth is round and we would never be lost once we are single-direction headed. Five destinations, twenty-four days, exposed me to more than five aspects of this country. Las Vegas is material; Grand Canyon, miracle; Arizona desert, wildly natural; Las Vegas, foppish vanity; San Diego, relaxing; and finally New Orleans, blacks and blues. Of course, these places cannot be described by just one or two words. Each has its own variety. However, the more I think, the more confused I am. Probably there’re no simple-answer questions. World is a complex, requiring no quick responses. Last but not least, I got to know five new friends, developed a lala relationship ;-P, got in touch with two old friends. Trips would be different because of you, my dear friends ;-) |
|
|
