詞二首

(1) 《望江南‧詠某鴻儒名士》

人間世，

天日幾曾昭？

伯起洶洶爭鴨鵝(上聲)，

文宣藐藐走逍遙。

斧鉞自無聊。

***********************************************************************************************************

(2) 《謁金門‧黃粱夢》

車馬逐，

輕取萬鐘官祿。

戟立朱門金縷屋，

枕邊人勝玉。

轉眼兒孫滿谷，

又道行將就木。

微覺飢腸猶轆轆，

黃粱新飯熟。

原作已佚數年。今取殘存數語，補以狗尾，實無足道也。

Misccellaneous / 雜記

(1) Regarding VIIV:

"傷天害理，怙惡不悛；生無顯戮，死必冥誅。"

Too sick to argue with self-proclaimed "rationals" anymore - had 'nuv with them over the past decade.

****************************************************************************************************************

(2) Slacks and minimalism make the perfect match; but with minimalism being the main theme you just have to give up lots of goodies.

Do I regret this choice at times? Yes.

But will I regret it on my deathbed? Unlikely.

****************************************************************************************************************

(3) Got to read some commentaries about the rise of right-wing radicals in European Parliament; of course, the next thing you can see must be either liberals shrieking in fear, or conservatives bragging about an imminent revival.

Coneheads.

So far the only sensible commentary on this topic is a piece published in Der Spiegel a week or two ago - again, something the typical Yank can never understand.

The average Yank politics observer often can't distinguish the European version of the left-right line from their own; and it's particularly stupid on the cons' (and some hell-you-go libertarians') part that they believe Europeans are now embracing "the market" and stuff like that in open arms.

Where do they go wrong? They just miss the whole focking thing: it's NOT the economy, stupid.

Take a look at those European right-wingers; have any of them proposed scrapping the welfare state? Not that I know. And what are the core issues instead? Immigration, ethnic issues, (anti-)European unification, and so forth.

Meanwhile, I don't even have to mention the low turnout for this election - how representative are the results when less than 20%(should be something around 40%) of the voters cast their vote?

So what's that fuss? Stupid.

***************************************************************************************************************

(4) Was a bit hyper and crazy about a month ago; gotta restrain myself a bit.

***************************************************************************************************************

(5) Anyone interested in (or already watched) the film Coco? Wondering if I should take a look.

Yes, the film about Coco Chanel - I'm a bit insane these days.

***************************************************************************************************************

(6) 食嘢時間：

a) 試咗大埔「一樂」 (Anthony Bourdain 做節目去過嗰間) 嘅燒鵝 。

皮脆肉滑醃料味輕，果然好嘢；不過如果鵝瀨可以落鵝汁鵝油應該更正。

b) 六四晚會嗰晚響「華姐」食咗腩河同腩伊。

可能人太多湯唔夠用，雖然食到啲湯嘅牛味，但似乎溝淡咗啲。應該平日去會好啲。

c) 月頭去萬豪食自助餐；3.5隻龍蝦、一大隻蟹、十幾隻螺、十幾隻蝦、打半生蠔，重有幾嚿蒸石班，同埋幾嚿蛋糕。四嚿三，回到本。

龍蝦好正，多膏兼好肉；反而生蠔頗瘦，失色少少。

**************************************************************************************************************

(7) 睇咗林子祥演唱會；呢個年紀重有火有力，好嘢。

同埋隻《相對論》畀張敬軒唱，真係屣料。

又：早知唔好慳，睇埋陳昇張宇黃品源嗰場先啱。

 ***********************************************************************************************************************************

(8) For motor(bike)-racing lovers, the Catalunya round of Moto GP is a must-see - a genuine once-in-a-lifetime classic that you can't afford to miss.

廣州探親遊記 / 食評 (白天鵝賓館+Mistral) 

(1) 月頭返廣州探親...對上一次返去，都已經差唔多七年前喇。

返親去都係住酒店，費事打搞親戚，一般都係住白天鵝。唔知係咪霍英東打咗柴，無咗呢個創辦人「督軍」，唔少嘢退步咗。二樓大堂飲茶，據阿媽同啲妹講係大倒退；三樓粵菜廳好啲，但都唔係盡如人意，食晚飯啲嘢都只係 so-so。住房呢，大致 keep 到，但茶水種類少咗，太后睇見都幾唔滿意。

聽聞間酒店好快就會裝修迎亞運；睇下整過之後又點。不過最緊要係留返現有個中式中庭 - 幾自然又有特色，好嘢嚟0架。千祈唔好玩 Norman Foster...

另外呢，就係見到一大棚我媽嗰邊嘅親戚；一句到尾，就係同我嗰邊啲人完全唔同 - 起碼係一堆正常嘅良民。

尤其係同我同輩咁上下年紀嗰啲，男男女女個個都算係好眉好貌，舉止正常...同人一比，我趙家都算係家門不幸咯 (包括我在內，都唔係好得去邊)。

****************************************************************************************************************

(2) 食評來也 - 先講白天鵝賓館。

晚飯嗰餐叫咗十幾個親戚嚟食，食咗十幾樣嘢，都唔記得咁多。簡單講以香草燒乳鴿 (檸檬草香，同隻鴿好match，鴿肉亦鮮味，無燒得太老)同竹笙鱸魚卷(口味清新賣相精美，竹笙無變酸，魚肉亦爽口鮮甜)最出色，有返五星級中菜水準。其他就一般，略為失望。

飲茶呢，我有份食嗰餐(要返嚟上 training，所以早走一日)尚可：燒賣豬肉係手剁，肉嘅質感鮮明，食味亦適中，係好嘢；蝦餃比較大隻，料中規中矩，我覺得OK，但大妹認為好普通；蝦腸粉身唔削，其實唔錯，但蒸完之後肯定換過碟，放得唔好賣相唔掂；春卷係類似美心高檔線嗰隻咁大條，用料足，啲蔬菜同蝦肉夾埋都幾好味，唔膩滯；蛋撻就比較奇怪：一碟得兩個，都唔知點分嚟食，不過啲餡幾有奶香同蛋香，水準之上。

最好食嘅係兩個飯同餸：黃鱔飯同白切葵花雞。個飯用啲黃鱔唔太大條而連骨，但又整得夠乾淨，火候啱啱好，食落去夠香兼肉質嫩滑；碟雞呢，係霍家南沙農場嘅特產，可以話係少數信得過嘅國內農產品。肉味鮮甜得嚟唔係濃烈嗰隻，反而係勝在餘韻悠長，唔使用薑茸吊味；肉質就爽滑兼備，確係好嘢。我媽都轉登叫多碟拎走，加碗白飯返房用電煲煮雞粥食，聽佢講話係食到停唔到口喎。

不過呢，到我走咗之後嗰日佢哋去二樓大禮堂飲茶，啲嘢就差好遠 - 所以佢哋唯有繼續食雞同鱔飯...

****************************************************************************************************************

(3) 食評二 - 海景嘉福 Mistral (意菜)

嗱，呢餐係有人升職加薪請嘅，所以各位唔好話我富貴嘞...

酒店意菜，服務氣氛都好，用料亦係好嘢，不過功夫就未係最好：

頭盤係白蘆筍配煎芝士釀帶子 - 白蘆筍火候適中，依然清甜；芝士釀帶子更正：入面嘅帶子海鮮味十足，幾乎係近年響街食過最好嘅。肉質亦嫩滑。

之後嚟意粉 (香草蕃茄汁海鮮墨魚麵) - 拆開每一樣都食得出係好嘢，用料一流；但搭埋一齊就總係好似唔夠融和，茄還茄，香草還香草，麵還麵，海鮮還海鮮。同埋個麵雖然算係 al dente，但就好似由外到內質感太一致，略欠層次，墨魚汁嘅鮮味亦好似可以多少少重好。

主菜一個係魚，但唔係好記得係咩嘢；另一個係青蘆筍薯茸配煎牛脷。兩個菜份量都幾細，個牛脷唔錯，火候準 keep 到肉質嫩滑，但薯茸太鹹。個魚好似係用唔知咩嘢包住煎，好似都係略鹹。

甜品 - 兩個妹食招牌 chocolate cake，我就食個 fruit minestrone 配雪梨 sorbet。朱古力蛋糕用 70% 黑朱古力整，味道濃郁，蛋糕質感亦係似腍嘅朱古力，幾好；我個生果湯呢，甜度適中果味清新，襯埋個 sorbet 食真係涼夾爽，但薄荷糖漿味可以重啲，match 到個 vanilla syrup 就更好。

另外呢，自己貪心叫咗杯 Veuve-Clicquot Rose 飲；雖然係 brut，但呢個牌子有度好：口味女性化，所以無咁 dry。同個餐嘅嘢都算夾，亦無話飲完口酸，都幾好。

價錢就免提...咁食法，叫我用自己荷包畀錢，起碼過多十年八載啦。嘿~

****************************************************************************************************************

(4) 記漏咗樣嘢...

上去嗰幾日撞正廣交會，親戚帶我哋去展館門口睇下。一出地鐵站，即刻見到一班行家一個個舉住牌兜生意 (幫外商做傳譯)，當中多數都係大學語文科嘅妹妹仔，係有一個三四十歲嘅男人，連日文法文都做，個款似係 post-PhD 嘅人。計返時間，呢班行家應該都係趁暑假搵多少。

好奇之下(有妹妹仔噃)，走埋去搭訕問下行情，睇下收幾銀個鐘；據答我位妹妹講，佢哋係計日唔計鐘，今年就收人仔兩嚿，生意同個價都差過舊年一截。

宜家諗返，早知咁平，就拎兩嚿支持下，搵個妹妹練半日 oral 啦...返到嚟上傳譯 training 就唔使咁閉翳，下下驚啲 oral 生鏽出醜。

****************************************************************************************************************

(5) 正所謂「樂極生悲」，人生得意到頭來多數都係「衰盡歡」...切戒切戒。

雜記 / Misccellaneous 

(1) 呢個零月嚟嘅熱講題目，不外係諤少同大鼻龍。

老實講，我好悲觀0架 - 呢啲「人」響香港，根本就係主流；就好似啲咩「長江一號」咁，打咗一件，重有成千上萬。

同佢哋嘈，三句唔埋兩句就拎理性持平穩定和諧撻人，重有咩好講？

當然，諤少呢件事又帶到少少感想出嚟；響度亦不妨厚啲面皮，自己抄返自己，玩出口轉內銷：

「一面擁護建制暴力彰顯理性，一面反抗主流論述表現叛逆...呢班友仔，圍骰通殺，幾乎有堅達出奇蛋咁堅...」

點到你唔服？

話雖如此，鬥唔贏佢哋都要鬥到底 - 學某位網友話齋，頂得一日得一日，有奇蹟固然好，無嘅話起碼都叫做盡咗歷史責任。

六月四號星期五，時間都就埋，perfect。    ->計錯數，膠咗...

*************************************************************************************************************

(2) Who drove Arlen Specter away?

GOPers, open your eyes and see it - it's CLUB FOR GROWTH.

Yea, the economic libertarians. Not those social cons (a.k.a. bigots) who make easy scapegoats.

Put simply: defense cons only happen to be there once a while, and they are always on the margin when there's no war; social cons are indeed vocal, but given their faith/value-based nature they can be dismissed as bigots (and thus "what's wrong with GOP") with zero difficulty.

So there left the economic libertarians - who can hide behind the unobjectionable battecry of "LIBERTY" and slews of seemingly sophisticated academic theories (yea, I mean you people - economists).

And there's more help coming.

Decades of deregulation allowed the financial sector to balloon till it's "too big to fail" - so big that even those on the far left dare not call for heads. And hell goes the old saying "Justice has to be seen to be done".

You don't think so? Go ask the masterminds of those "Tea Parties" whether they want the financial sector left to face the block; if they say yes, remind them that their chums like Phil Gramm are likely to be flushed away as well - I'm still sane enough to remember Gramm's good few years as a director with UBS, fetching tens of millions each year.

With guns set aside, those with the bucks are the loudest; and kudos to the libertarians that they manage to go one step further, by having agents at the nation's most rotten core that holds everyone (and their money) hostage; losing the whole executive and legislative branches are no problem at all, and with such a classic display of the art of leverage, they have never lost.

Now, enjoy the sh*t - you latter-day anarchists. You've won, and take it.

**************************************************************************************************************

(3) 之前改過名，換回鄉證要加多 $100。

算到寸草不生，阿爺果然係廿一世紀全球人民嘅好模範。

**************************************************************************************************************

(4) Tried the char-crusted steak with Anthony's Ranch in Sai Kung earlier this month; the meat quality is no worse than BLT's, and the charcoal fragrance is more impressive.

The better thing is that they don't charge for the side-dishes - that's what I like most.

$365 for 14oz (DA Prime) is a bit more expensive than BLT, but taking the sides into account it's another matter. And of course,  you can go one notch below with Choice grade stuff instead.

Anyway, it's worth a try every once a while.

**************************************************************************************************************

(5) 月中，共中書同年十數為野火之會。霪雨可惡，然興不減也。

**************************************************************************************************************

(6) All in all, it's a stressful month for my purse and bank account.

And that I didn't even follow through my original plans about gatherings.

**************************************************************************************************************

(7) 月頭買咗《本土論述2008》；呢本嘢，可以話係我近幾年睇過最深嘅一本書 (咁就叫深，死未)。

入面提到道長同梁啟智有關保育問題嘅論戰；其實，當時響 InMedia 嘈嗰陣我都有份抽水0架 (哈哈哈)...

簡單講，道長中咗招係一回事，但宜家諗返依然頂唔順梁啟智嘅「反本質化」講法；與其話佢提倡嘅係「反本質化」，不如話係絕對嘅開放同無限，最終歸於虛無，或一切如常而無作為  - 許煜話佢係「對於歷史性的 "否定"，使整個論述幾乎變得不切實際」，中晒。至於岑學敏嘅講法就更到肉更唔客氣，大家有興趣可以去書局買咗本嘢 or 打書釘睇睇。

呢本係好嘢嚟0架...最啱各方好友，好似鄙人咁睇完之後感覺良好，然後話畀人聽「我都有少少腦嘅」...

XD

Misccellaneous 

(1) Now becoming so lazy with this diary thing; the mentality is not unlike 高陽's comment on 李慈銘:

"大官大罵，小官小罵；其術已售，不罵也罷。"

Or, in a slightly twisted way, that's the "learned hopelessness" I always mention - even though on the personal level life has been pretty good.

************************************************************************************************************

(2) About LSD's "foul language" thing: I don't have a problem with that. Nay, nil, nought.

Read from another blogger lamenting LSD's failure to advance political debate to a more sophisticated level that highlights theoretical issues, but instead sticking with this somewhat childish mudslinging game that foments cynicism. Somewhat warranted, but given the cards dealt under this system and community as a whole I wouldn't blame them - they are playing it almost the best they can.

Say, what if Long Hair and "Maddog" Yuk-man bombard the Administration with 72 hours of Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Marx, Russell, Sartre, Foucault, and so forth? Or slipping the stuff into debates, bit by bit?

Probably they can scare away everyone into the Pacific at that point, nothing else.

Or, nobody will give a damn, if at all. Just take a look on Emily Lau - who else has been more serious in vetting bills? And she used to shout as well!

But then now she's almost nothing either. How often does she feature in newspaper stories?

Curse, attention, discussion. The thing stays "alive", at least; send everyone asleep, and it may "sleep" forever. Anyone remember the pre-80's LegCo? Be "civilized", and that's what you get.

Of course, I said "almost" up there; indeed, the power of angst diminishes with over-exposure and trivialization. Curse someone 100 times per hour, he becomes bullet-proof - so goes the theory.

Still, we should be happy that somebody does unleash that angst - at a time when the scope of "foul language" expands every nanosecond, enjoy while it lasts.

For a more nuanced and philosophical analysis, read this (in Chinese):

http://hope-season.xanga.com/697224344/-/

***********************************************************************************************************

3. Just 3 months into BHO's presidency, the signs are already ominous - the guy's indeed a "post-partisan", in the sense that he pleases no one by trying to please everyone.

Just look at the economics stuff; touches of Wall-streeters and Rubinomics are all over the place. And there's been little noise backing card-check. So for those on the left seeking retributive justice of some forms, they just got a "facial".

Then you can look at the stem-cell research thing, as well as foreign policies; in short an embodiment of wishful la-la-land thinking that tells everyone it's a wonderful brave new world full of nice people. Now disdain from the right.

Then what's left? Have to wonder for how long he can keep his ratings afloat...with his skin-color.

**********************************************************************************************************

4. Good to see Chas Freeman's intel post nomination foiled; colluding uber-liberals and realists of course cry wolf on the Israel Lobby thing. But for those on the left, at least they should ask Pelosi if this guy is worth the nomination, given his chummy ties with the PRC - not to mention his comments on the June 4th Massacre.

When will those silly Yanks treat the PRC seriously? Not in a millennia, probably.

**********************************************************************************************************

5. A month of ups and downs regarding my running thing:

8/3: 10K race in Shatin, 55:28 (1.5 min slower than SC 10K)

24/3: 10K exercise, 52:28 (improvement again)

29/3: 10K race along Tolo Harbour, 50:36 (PB)

Seems like a bit more practice does help, and hopefully will be able to crack the 50-min mark this fall. And maybe NOT watching the clock helps as well...