Month: November 2006

  • Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, which meant the end of the old Russia, Rachmaninoff with his wife and two daughters left Saint Petersburg for Stockholm on 22 December 1917. They never returned to the home country afterwards.

    After Rachmaninoff’s departure, his music was banned in the Soviet Union for several years. His compositional output slowed, partly because he was required to spend much of his time performing to support his family, but mainly because of homesickness; he felt that, when he left Russia, it was as if he had left behind his inspiration.

    The falloff in Rachmaninoff’s output was dramatic. Between 1892 and 1917 (mainly living in Russia), Rachmaninoff wrote 39 compositions with opus numbers. Between 1918 and his death in 1943, mainly living in the U.S., he completed only six.

    As the years went on, and he became more and more aware of the fact that he would never again return to his beloved homeland, he was overwhelmed with melancholia. Most people who knew him later in life described him as the saddest man they had ever known. Nevertheless, his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, today one of his best-known works, was written in Switzerland in 1934.

    Wikipedia on Sergei Rachmaninoff

  • 黑夜給了我黑色的眼睛
    我卻用它尋找光明

    你,
    一會看我,
    一會看雲。

    我覺得
    你看我時很遠,
    你看雲時很近。 

    顧城:〈一代人 〉、〈遠和近〉

  • 眼淚繼續不斷地發出聲音滴落在月光的白色水窪中,好像是光原來的一部份一般咻地被吸進那裡面去。眼淚滴落時在空中浴著月光,像結晶般美麗地閃閃發光。而且忽然一看時,我的影子也在流著淚。連眼淚的影子都看得一清二楚。發條鳥先生有沒有看過眼淚的影子?眼淚的影子和普遍一般到處可見的影子不一樣。完全不一樣。那好像是從甚麼別的遙遠世界,為了我們的心而特地來到的東西……嘿,發條鳥先生,我想你一定不明白。

    村上春樹《發條鳥年代記》第三部刺鳥人篇‧下、第38章

  • 一條客家村有一個老人病危,傳道員勸他入教為能進入天堂。最後他在臨終時領了洗。有些婦女隨後請神婆來招他的魂,問他現在是否像傳道員說的到了天堂。神婆轉述他的回答說:「真的,幸好領了洗,現時我在天堂」。這件事在村中迅速流傳,令其他人紛紛慕道入教。

    夏其龍〈香港客家村落中的天主教〉

  • 「阿始啊,」車子快開進青山時島本開口了,「我那時候真希望飛機不能起飛。」她說。

    我想說,我也是這樣想。不過我甚麼也沒說。我的嘴乾巴巴的,說不出話,只能默默點著頭,悄悄握著她的手。我在青山一丁目的轉角停車,讓她下車。

    「我可以再去看你嗎?」島本下車時小聲問我:「我不會惹你討厭吧。」

    「我等你。」我說。島本點點頭。

    村上春樹《國境之南‧太陽之西》第十章

  • 『你還年幼,以為法師無所不能。我以前也這樣認為。我們每個人都曾經有那種想法。但事實是,一個人真正的力量若增強,知識若拓寬,他可以依循的路途反而變窄。到最後他甚麼也不挑揀,只能全心從事必須做的事。』

    娥蘇拉‧勒瑰恩:《地海傳說》 卷一、第四章

  • At the end of the year the first Mrs. Shelley committed suicide, so Shelley and Mary could marry and return to England.

    Issac Asimov: Introduction of The Rest of the Robots

  • 鄧永鏘先生又說拙欄英文「大錯特錯」了。他說我「資格不夠」,叫我「多與英國人溝通」,論據顯然是:他「曾在北京大學教導博士生英文」,所辦英語學習中心「由查理斯王子揭幕」、「由戴卓爾夫人揭幕」。我當然沒有這些資格。我的資格只有三個字:古德明。

    古德明  2004-08-11
    蘋果日報  征服英語

  • [太陽報]Twins寧願睡覺唔去遊行
    01/07/2003

    今日是七一香港回歸祖國大日子,亦是部分市民上街遊行的一天,對於Twins而言,回歸是有煙花欣賞的開心日子,至於遊行,兩人異口同聲地說:「響屋企訓覺,唔會參與。」
    尤其是蔡卓妍(阿Sa)更反對遊行這種表達方式,她說:「遊行係唔文明做法,我唔會參與呢個活動。」阿嬌則說:「我對政治冷感,就算有時間都唔會去遊行,寧願留響屋
    企訓覺。」

    x    x    x    x

    [東方日報]演藝界遊行 聲討壹傳媒
    28/08/2006 

    《壹本便利》偷拍藝人鍾欣桐換衫,連日來受盡事件傷害的阿嬌會再踏出一步,決定參與全港演藝人士大遊行,譴責《壹本便利》的惡行。阿嬌得知演藝人協會決定發起遊行後說:「我一定會去。」阿Sa亦表示:「娛樂圈要團結,大家唔應該短視,一定要堅持到底。」

  • 如果我有甚麼強的地方的話,那就是我沒有可失去的東西這一點。

    村上春樹:《發條鳥年代記》第三部刺鳥人篇‧上,第40頁