为什么你不是行长

为什么你不是老板?这句话不够具体,应该是,为什么你不是行长?

记得某领导有次对某下属(小领导)教育道,如果你的下属什么都“是”了,那么他就不是你的下属了。你之所以还是职员,还是基层员工,还不是行长,原因就是你还有很多“不是”。

未上班先迟到,上了班全身的不自在,未到中午就打瞌睡,午休一睡不想起,下午未到4点就盼着下班,这就是你的不是。事情赶着你,而不是你赶着事情,这就是你的不是。做一天和尚敲一天钟,这就是你的不是。眼高手低,每天念叨着指标,却厌烦事情的具体细节,这就是你的不是。

诸多的不是,造就了你的现在,也使得你不是行长。

或许,你根本不想当行长?

周星驰曾经说过(电影台词),不论你觉得我好还是不好,我始终是一名演员。Nicholas Cage曾经说过(也是台词):

I remember once imagining what my life would be like, what I’d be like.  I pictured having all these qualities, strong positive qualities that people could pick up on from across the room.  But as time passed, few became qualities that I actually had.  And all the possibilities I faced, and the sorts of people I could be, all of them got reduced every year to fewer and fewer until finally they got reduced to one – to who I am.  And that’s who I am —- The Weather Man.

当你连自己是什么都不知道的时候,你是不可能做到“是”的,然而你是什么呢?Well, you are what you do. 挺有意思的一点是,英语中问某人职业时,有一种用法是 What are you, Hummm, 你是什么?你是医生,你是主持人,你是军人,你是工程师,你是销售人员,你是老板,你是银行从业人员,你是金融界人员,你是,你是。那为什么你会是呢?有意思的是,Nicholas Cage关于这点同样有答案,在”Lord of War” 中,其妻子不解为什么他要去贩卖军火,他很坦然的答道,because it’s the only thing that I’m good at. 那么你是否good at你现在的工作呢?

缺乏对职业的认同,将会使得你一事无成。

为什么你不是行长?

Kindle

Got many e-books but tired of reading them on a computer screen? Then Kindle is your best solution. It’s another product that smart enough to match up the i series from Apple: iPhone, iPad, iTouch, you name it. It’s smart because it successfully built up an environment, a sound and solid ecosystem for the users, you can get Kindle, you get the access to millions of books or electronic documents at almost 70% discount, not to mention the free ones, and most important of all, you can read them in Kindle.

The e-ink technology assure that you’re going to have the best reading experience of your life, if you ever read a paper book. Some people say it’s just like reading a paper book when holding a Kindle on the hand, but I say it’s more comfortable than reading a paper book. Just like what God did back then, he didn’t create human beings first, but built a perfect world, if you know what I mean.

Why not just buy an iPad? If you ever used a Kindle, to read books, to shop in the Kindle Shop, to subscribe newspaper, magazines, then you would never make such hilarious question, for they’re so different, made for totally different purposes. You don’t read on a multi-functional entertainment device, you glance, then you forget when you push the home button and start a new application, web browser, game, camera, and so forth. And I seriously doubt that you would put a serious book into an iPad, cause magazines would be your number one choice. Yeah, it’d be best that we can have them both, but remember, they are not substitute to each other.

Copycats in China seem still don’t get this idea, for the fact that the manufactures are video game companies, hand-writing device firms, but not the book selling corporations. That’s why people here don’t tend to use this kind of product, they don’t have stuff to put into, just like an iPhone with no App Store, plus the product they make is not iPhone, not even close.

P.S. Geek time, the following features are the ones that I reckon as most important ones that help make Kindle a historical product.

  • The E-Ink Technology, makes it more real than reading a paper book.
  • The Kind Shop, vast resources on Amazon.com at very cheap prices.
  • The Conversion Service, enables you to convert almost every popular formats into Kindle-fit format. Do not just copy a PDF document to your Kindle, you’ll get disappointed.

Only Story That Matters

Prison Break 之后我发现难以对描述当下生活的美剧提起十分的兴趣,Big Bang Theories, Lie to Me, Desperate Housewives, True Blood, Vampire Diaries, House, Chase, Human Target, 24, even West Wings, none of them, 只有 Mad Men这种复古风格的miniseries 可以让我反复观赏,2010年HBO也开始了类似的尝试:Boardwalk Empire, 时间定格在1920年,买回光碟时尚有一丝期待,但是随之而来的只有失望和沉闷。

Boardwalk Emprie所做的只不过是让一群21世纪的现代人穿上20世纪20年代的服装而已,口音不像,措辞生硬,偶尔有一、二句复古对白但也非常勉强,我不知道IMDB的8.9分,只比Mad Men低0.1分,是怎么来的, I don’t even care to review the reviews. 一个美国黑帮的壮大史?两个男主角?Who cares? 该片底气不足的证明是大量使用20年代的音乐及每隔10分钟出现的女性胸部,丝竹乱耳,淫色惑目,他们已经没有其它招数来吸引观众了,比如说,单纯的故事情节, which is what Mad Men all about.

如果没有Mad Men,Boardwalk Empire应该会是一个中规中矩的连续剧,起码比此文开头列的那些中的大部分要好,他们都是肯德基,或许有些是麦当劳,但都是Fast Food, which taste good but provide zero of nutrition. B.E. 只说了三个字,禁酒令,一个单词,Prohibition. How boring is that… 若没有女性的乳头这片子怕是难以维持生计了。

P.S. I do like that outdoor commercial of Chesterfield, cause it really tastes good.

That’s What the Money is For

背景:一个拳赛的夜晚,Don(公司合伙人,创意总监,或者可以理解为CEO,离异) 的同事们都去了看比赛,Don 还在为著名行李箱品牌 Samsonite(我最近还在电视上看到它的广告)的广告创意头疼,刚好Peggy (文案设计员, Don 的前前前任秘书)路过,Don就把Peggy留下来一起研讨创意。其实当晚是Peggy的生日(公司很多人都知道,除了Don),Peggy 的 boyfriend 约她共进晚餐(在一个不错的地方,类似于深圳的地王大厦顶层餐厅,如果有的话),但没有告诉她邀请了Peggy的家人及自己的家人一起,以求个惊喜。Peggy 以为只要15分钟左右,便留了下来,但Don 的讨论似乎无穷无尽,非得找到一个完美的创意为止,于是便有了附件音频中所描述的情节。其中Don 与 Peggy 最后的争吵实在精彩,事实上是Don 的发言非常精彩。第四季度我看了不下6遍了,但仍在不断地给我一些小惊喜,spectacular. 今天晚上加班的时候,试图将Don的这种工作方式灌输给一位女下属,结果自然是反弹的相当厉害,晚上再看到Don的这段过招,感同身受,唉,女人就是女人。所有不把工作放在生活之上的业务员都不应该去当业务员,尤其是银行的业务员。

字幕就不提供了,都是吐词非常清晰的60年代美国口语。注释如下:

1、3分53秒处 Peggy援引的例子是讽刺Don 曾经因为喝醉而采用一个面试人员(Danny)的点子,后来客户采纳了这个点子,使得Don 不得不雇佣他。

2、4分20秒处 Peggy是要Don尝试去做她的工作,将一张白纸变成 glo-coat(一种家用地板彩蜡) 的广告。glo-coat 是一个赢得了一个名为Clio 的大奖的广告。

故事最后当然是 Peggy 快步走进洗手间哭泣。

摘录Don 精彩发言如下:

Don: “Oh now I’m supposed to feel like crap, oh I’m so sick that I ruined her birthday. Do you know when my birthday is?”

Peggy: “I was your secretary!”

Don: “Well enjoy your evening! By the way,  you’re twenty something years old, it’s time to get over birthdays.”

Peggy: “And you never say thank you!”

Don: “That’s what the money is for! You’re young, you will get your recognition, and honestly it’s absolutely ridiculous to be 2 years in your career and counting your ideas! Everything to you is an opportunity! And you should be thanking me every morning when you wake up along with Jesus, for giving you another day!”

Peggy 应该是剧中安排的Don 的女性版,她只是需要Don 这样一个人来激发她的潜质,这也是为什么Peggy 在哭完之后接受Don 的邀请去共进晚餐,哦不,是夜宵。

In Loving Memory of Barbara Yung

14号不是祭奠日,而是升天日,要祭奠就要在她最痛苦的时候祭奠,也就是13号,也就是今天。汤先生固然难辞其咎,但Barbara脆弱的性格也与这个悲剧无法分开。只是未尝只是一个悲剧,Barbara的人气会永远稳定在那里,不会下跌,至少在上一代人及我们这一代人如此,再过几十年,也许也会一样吧。这至少圆了她的一个愿望?

年少气盛的帅哥,事业如日中天,用情不专,浪荡花心,本是娱乐圈的常态,男人总要经历几个女人才会成熟,女人却会固执以至于偏激地相信直觉。

26年前的现在,26岁的Barbara应该是呆坐在家中,穿着粉红色的睡袍,机械地喝着白兰地,沉沦在得到与得不到的矛盾中。再过6、7个小时,她将死去,或谓解脱,算是对汤先生对事业的一个回答,或谓陷于永恒的矛盾,以至于到了彼岸却仍无法逃脱苦海。那句写在日历上的绝笔 “Darling I Love You” 将她的形象无限升华,朱茵与周迅再怎么努力也是茫然,这样的黄蓉只有一个,观众也只要这样的黄蓉。

经典的痴情女与负心汉的例子,这样的例子天天在身边上演,却罕有这样的极致,除了在26年又22年前的Sylvia Plath,还是剑桥。看来这个小镇真有点特别。

 

衰竭的蝴蝶


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7 Sins

John Doe was no wonder a Roman Catholic, cause he thought people should save themselves in the way he chose. Or he was a derivative of the Catholics, that he believed so strong that only his ways of salvation are just, which no doubt would lead to tyranny and dictatorship, which we had about one hundred years ago.

I, perhaps like some of you, understand, in a way, his motive, or the feeling on those who he reckoned as sinned. Gluttony, Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Sloth, these are natural, or doom-to-be-developed weaknesses of every human beings, we do not hate those who possess the sins, but who indulge and self-justified, especially when we think we are not one of them. And that, is what Detective Somerset and John Doe would both agree with.

One’s just naturally think less of those who are no match with him, the cause of which is the occur of shallowness, that’s why John Doe puked on the superficial man who he met on a subway platform, the man was labeled as superficial only because he liked talking about the girls the weather and other trivial things of daily lives. And he deserved that.

Shallowness itself is not a sin, but the indulgence or the blindness of which makes it a real sin, that’s why Socrate was a saint, “I know that I know nothing”.

Lots of people today do have that kind of sin, the choice to lead a superficial life, and they call it a way to fulfill the commitment of the pursuit of happiness. “Is that supposed to be funny?

However, in the modern society of Capitalism, such sins are tolerated, as long as they don’t develop into crimes. We call it “Freedom”. It’s no doubt a Protestant way to deal with such problem, and lots of us seem to intend to keep it.

Quotes from The Rock

温故而知新,何其正确的一句话,每天都温故,那是快考试了,每隔几年再温故,那是一种欣赏。总有那么几部片子,是让人禁不住要去温故的。

General Hummel: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Thomas Jefferson.
John Mason: “Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious,” according to Oscar Wilde.

真有趣,美国人 Hummel 引用的语句来自美国 Foundering Fathers 之一的 Thomas Jefferson, 而 Mason 则是引用本国怪才的妙论予以应对,除了国籍的对应之外,还有性格的对应,Oscar Wilde 那种桀骜不驯却又才华横溢的个性,与 Mason 也十分般配。编剧真的是用心良苦,而第一次观看影片的大众却容易在高潮迭起的情节中忽略了这片匠心。

What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is natural manure. Our Convention has been too much impressed by the insurrection of Massachusetts, and in the spur of the moment they are setting up a kite to keep the hen-yard in order. I hope in God this article will be rectified before the new constitution is accepted. — Thomas Jefferson

漫话日本漫话

儿时看日本漫画(动漫),老是奇怪,以至于厌烦,内容中冗长的心理描写,因为这些描写往往出现在电光火石的一瞬间,在扣人心弦的一刹那,让人巴不得砍掉这些描写,直接看剧情发展的结果,球是进了还是没进,敌人最后被干掉了么。小学时尚不会熬夜,到了晚上12点已经困倦万分(该死的香港台老是把牛逼的动漫放在这么晚的时间播放,还要加上M的标签),好不容易等到了,结果心理描写、回忆过去就占了一大半时间,只好带着纠结又沮丧的心情入睡。后来实在被折磨的没办法,就彻底投身到美国漫画(卡通?)的怀抱中,因为简洁、明快、幽默、讽刺(其中之佼佼者应是”Daria”),对日本漫画嗤之以鼻。但随着年纪渐长,一遍又一遍重温的,居然是日本漫画,而且往往有”温故而知新“的惊喜。

漫画只是一个躯壳罢了,他们是在写小说,写寓言。好比看京剧(代指中国戏剧)一般,谁纠结于具体物化的细节,谁就看不懂京剧。西方人认为精神应该是通过物化的细节来表达的,我们走相反的路,而且一直很有效。

富坚义博(Yoshihiro Togashi)深谙此道。

要看日本之漫画,首先要明白日本之精神。那是一种极度内敛的精神力,源自于汉文化中的士的精神,而又自成一派。日本地震,行人有序,表面如此而已,其实他们每个人心理都在挣扎着,都在用意念来稳定自己,强制自己,内心有无数的声音在交互碰撞。漫画只不过取材于现实而已。

日本人是内敛的,是高度在乎别人对自己的说法的,高度在乎自己是否合乎“礼”的。子路“结缨而死”,就是这种精神的代表。

真正多姿多彩的并不是漫画中人物的异能,而是他们的心理活动,所以作者要花大量的篇幅来描写,来展示,至于球是竖着进还是横着进,敌人是被一招致命还是被联合干掉,载体罢了,不重要的。

以此为标准,富坚义博实在无愧大师的称号,以此为标准,《幽游白书》被评为“名著”也不为过,因为它真正超越了简单的除恶务尽,正义必胜的剧情,而提出了多个关于生活哲学的多个命题。

比如户愚吕弟,他是坏人,他的人生选择与挣扎不能引起你的共鸣?比如小角色“阵”,失去了意识仍站在擂台上,岂不是很好的体现了武士道精神?最后的魔界大比武,与正义必胜有一毛钱关系?刚开始你以为妖魔鬼怪都是反派,中期发现人类才是最大的恶的来源,到后来发现两者都已经交融在一起了,什么反派与正派,都已经不存在了,最后的武斗,我们看到富坚义博所要展示的最高宗旨,武道。武道是每个人,每个妖怪自我实现的唯一途径。技不如人,不要紧,就算弱的跟桑原一样,又如何呢,他身上的武道输给任何人么?只要你体现了武道,无论你站在哪一方,都是不要紧的,用中国话来说就是,你是条汉子。

什么魔界、灵界、邪王炎杀黑龙波,都是载体罢了,只看到这些,以为幼稚,就大错特错。

圣斗士星矢,灌篮高手,足球小将,其实都是这个主题,但都太单薄了。唯一能抗衡的,应该是<Hunter X Hunter>。

其实我是能理解为什么日本人要参拜靖国神社的。他们都是为国家而死的,相当大的一部分人,是怀揣着一种举国认同的信念死的,在日本人看来,他们体现了“仁”,体现了国家精神。这点与德国法西斯不同,法西斯主义从来就不是日耳曼民族的精神,只是一种独裁者喜欢利用的理论而已,离上升到国家精神的层面,还很远。日本的侵华,是武士道精神被法西斯理论所挟制的结果,这里就不展开了。

总的来说,优秀的日本漫画,所体现出来的命题都是很值得深思的,随着年纪的增长,会有不同的看法,这就是其魅力所在。由此看来,中国的漫画要走的路还很远,或者几乎已经无路可走,因为我们已经不怎么认同我们原来的国家精神了,该死的满人,该死的CCP,该死的左派。

Mathematica, Compute Everything

It’s time to take my iMac to the next level of  usage, a real computer, not just an office assistant, a web browser, or a game platform, which sucks.

Mathematica, a perfect software to begin with.

拜伟大祖国所赐,又一次免费使用大型软件,这次省了近2000刀,添点都可以再买一个iMac了。

本来想学龚博士所推荐的MatLab的,但偶然发现这个,然后进行 background-check, 便改变了最初的选择。龚博士有空也看看这个软件?


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