Apple's Orchard

今天偶然看到电视里American Idol的比赛，这场许多歌手都选了Michael Jackson的歌。有个印度男孩唱Beat it,太没气势了，听完之后赶忙到Youtube上找了个原版的听，才觉得把刚才闷在胸口里的气呼了出来。就象评委说的，这首歌是untouchable的。其实我根本不算Jackson的歌迷，我对所有的歌都有一搭无一搭地随便听听，不记歌名也不记歌词。但他的歌是我最早接触的西方流行音乐，有些歌简直就和"难忘今宵“或者”十五的月亮“一样，听得次数太多，想记不住都不行。 ”Protection For Gangs, Clubs And Nations Causing Grief In Human Relations It's A Turf War On A Global Scale I'd Rather Hear Both Sides Of The Tale See, It's Not About Races Just Places Faces Where Your Blood Comes From Is Where Your Space Is I've Seen The Bright Get Duller I'm Not Going To Spend My Life Being A Color“ 为什么能写出这样歌词的人仍然执着于他皮肤的颜色呢？

早晨上班时正看到在海湾停了多日的澳大利亚游船White Cloud离港。可能烧的是柴油？“白云”上冒着股股黑烟，很反讽。同事R说起他和船员聊天时得知他们不雇佣美国人。而原因是他们怕了美国人动不动就诉诸法律。话说他们曾有个美国雇员在船上摔了一跤，受了伤，就把船主给告上了法庭，而且还胜诉了。从此该船再不敢雇佣美国人了......

夏天来了，俺们这海滨城市又热闹起来。船只游人显著增多，隔三叉五地还开艘游轮过来，停在海事博物馆旁的小小海湾，把本来个头儿很大的Wisconsin战舰衬得小了好几号。每每望去，总觉得与周围无论建筑船只都不成比例的游轮似海市蜃楼。有位同事很神往地想像着，普通游轮都这么大，泰坦尼要来了是啥感觉呢?

我们前往海滩的次数也更加频繁起来。说起来Virginia Beach实在是个很没特色的海滩，唯一的特点就是长。从Google Map上看似乎可以一直沿着它往南走到北卡南卡。温带的海滩没有热带那么漂亮的颜色，没有棕榈树、椰子树，也没有悬崖礁石...除了还算细腻的沙子，只有与海岸一样绵长的酒店和住宅。不过好处是并没有那一处被圈出来私用，都是公众海滩，原意的话，你或许真的可以一直走到南卡......

"He [human] is distinguished from the other animals by virtue of the fact that he has elaborated what I have termed extensions of his organism. By developing his extensions, man has been able to improve or specialized various functions. the computer is an extension of part of the brain, the telephone extends the voice, the wheel extends the legs and feet. language extends experience in time and space while writing extends language. Man has elaborated his extensions to such a degree that we are apt to forget that his humanness is rooted in his animal nature."

"Whenever people talk, they supply only part of the message. The rest is filled in by the listener. Much of what is not said is taken for granted. However, cultures vary in what is left unsaid"

- Edward T. H, The Hidden Dimension

"As the world becomes more accessible, we access it more, and we waste more time doing so."

"I've trade away experience in oder to gain convenience. So often, that is what technology accomplish."

-Robert Campbell, "Making monuments right before an era comes to a close"

在市场推广部门一位同事的座位上翻看公司以前申请AIA奖项的项目小册子，最后一页上写着"As Louis Kahn said 'God is in detail'"
Me: I though it is said by Mies van der Rohe.
D：Really? Not Louis Kanh?
Me: I don't think so.
D: Let's check online.... Devil is in detail...
Me: Not devil, god...
D: right, god... You are right. It is said by Mies...No wonder we didn't win the award...

我对面的同事M忽然很兴奋......
M:Dow jones is soaring up about 500 points today.
J: What happened?
M: China buys US' debts...Thanks, Suping!
Me: &*(&)&**_#@^%^&%^@%....

老爸寄来的照片

很多天了，第一次有个很放松的晚上，没有任何deadline。本来想去gym, 最后却窝在家里看了个电影，一部1988年老片子Dangerous Liaison。里面很多熟面孔，John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer，Keanu Reeves，Uma Thurman，都那么年轻。