Wednesday, April 27, 2011

轉:给清华大学的一封信


 清华,你好!
      和你的故事要从头说起,虽然并没有什么真正的开头可言。2008年,我参加自主招生考试,被清华降分录取。夏天自己拎着大包小包来学校,报道的地点已经有媒体围追堵截,要求我畅想校园生活,我那时说“记录生活的日子结束,生活开始了。”——奋不顾身飞蛾扑火,有“时间开始了”的自我感动劲儿。
        如今我已大三,却还没有真正融入校园生活。现在在学校还常常迷路,同学讨论的成绩与保研,我也大都一头雾水。嘟嘟囔囔对学校的不满却说了很多,拿人不手软,吃人不嘴短。时值百年校庆,我想说给学校的,也不是感恩与颂圣,只能硬着头皮继续怨言。
         因为身在学校,所以不能仅抱怨些片儿汤的话。白衣飘飘的年代没了,就别再紧紧拽住时间的裙角嗫嚅呻吟;学术之不知礼之不存,也已经没有再捶胸顿足的必要;大师离去,微斯人吾谁与归。大势如此,学院当然不能幸免,所以也别再长歌当哭了罢。
        然而,除去以上这些,我对大学仍有抱怨,仍有不满,仍有震恐,仍有大惊小怪,仍有不情之请。
       大一、大二的时候,我喜欢拽着人聊政治。当然,大部分情况是我支离破碎地复述着我在网上看到、饭局上听到的只言片语,骇人听闻。我的同学们总是左顾右盼坐立难安,一副盼着人把他们解救走的样子,实在被逼急才敷衍笑道:“中国就是这样的。”
       我那时还觉得奇怪,二十出头正是对政治敏感的时期,即使是纯生理上也应有些喷张和兴奋,可他们是如此漠然或畏葸。那时,常常涌到我嘴边的话是:“你们到底在怕什么?”
       现在我发现,他们并不是漠然,我的同学们不是不关心,而是自动维护着政府——仿佛维护着自己将要继承的遗产。清华人是可爱的,愤青少,领导多,内心大概还是有天下兴亡为己任的悲壮,表现出来却是高屋建瓴,虚头八脑的老干部摸样。
     陈冠中的小说《盛世》里有个叫做韦国的青年人,理想是进入中宣部,因为“一个国家民族不能只靠物质力量,还要有精神力量,人民才会团结在一起。硬实力重要,软实力一样重要……我是学法律的,可以替中宣部的每一项决策提供坚实的法律依据,配合依法治国的国家政策。”
    韦国加入读书会,组织同学有系统的驳斥网上反动言论,举报反动网站,举报“危险”教授。是年青一代的美丽领袖。
      韦国说:“我今年已二十四岁。二十岁那年我做的十年计划,正一步步实现,但我不能自满。毛主席三十岁的时候在做什么?中共中央局五个委员之一。这样一想,我知道我要加倍努力了。”
      我身边就有韦国这样的年轻人,越是高等的院校,就越多的如斯荒谬。这也不难理解,北大清华的学子一路都是教育和体制的少年既得利益者,成熟了,自然也是要沿着同一轨迹,而不能跌落到食物链的底端。于是,大学成了掠夺政治资本的地方。
       我曾经旁观过学校的干部们做事,与教育和世俗标准下少年得志的成功者打过交道,他们毫无障碍地接受学校给予的一切价值观,自诩主流,一百年不动摇、一百年不怀疑;他们青出于蓝地运用官场技巧与规则,成者为王,败者为寇。
      有时,我看着他们滔滔不绝地在课堂、在会场说些“主流价值观”的话,心想:“他们真相信这些,真可怕。”过了一会儿,又打了个寒战:“他们其实并不相信这些,那就更可怕了。”
     天真与成熟、愚昧与清醒、单纯与复杂、糊涂与揣着明白装糊涂,我无法分辨他们是哪一种,也无法分辨哪种更可怕。
     可是,你分辨,或者不分辨,他们就在那里。我的同学们,我的精英同学们,以后必然会成为社会的中流砥柱,学术圈或者官僚体系的主要组成部分,手握生杀大权。空气中有种紧张的成分,未来里藏着某种令人毛骨悚然的东西。
     百年校庆快到了,学校里大兴土木黄沙飞扬,新的大楼和建筑一天天显现规模,学术成果在日夜赶工,我刚路过操场,看到四千人规模的团体操在训练彩排。
     百年建筑清华学堂去年年底在修缮过程中被烧,现在仍罩着绿色的大罩子,依稀只能看见脚手架。忽然想到,文革时清华“百日大武斗”中损毁的建筑,也早就被修复痊愈了吧。记忆失,而永远不会复得。回顾既往岁月,将会把历史理直、理顺,甚至磨灭,下一个百年,又不知后人会怎样回忆起现世。
       百年校庆快到了,逢此盛世,锦上添花的话也不缺我一个人来说,泼冷水却是我所擅长的。往小了说,“母校就是你每天骂八百遍,但不许别人骂一句的地方”;往大了说,“为何我眼里常含泪水,因为我对这土地爱得深沉”。那么,就此搁笔,是动情是矫情,就听收信人的吧。

                                                            清华大学新闻与传播学院  蒋方舟
                                                                    2010年3月20日

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Easter Easter, American Easter


Looking back to the past 20 years, I spent the most fabulous Easter in an american way, a real american way. Through the lovely, hilarious and smart little Spencer and Kaitlin, I saw myself running in the backyard of my apartment in my childhood. Well, I am nostalgic, I really am. 

Little Spencer and Kaitlin showed me around the huge garden their grand parents have, where there are a little bit of everything: pear tree, apple tree, peach tree, kiwi tree, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, onion, lettuce, walnut, bamboo blablabla... Incredible!!

a piece of land growing baby onion and lettuce

 They said there's an pineapple growing here. LOL baby pineapple

Bamboo, from where I am from! they named it in different ways!! 

This is their house, I had one too long time ago

where smart fish is. called"xx"

Spencer's watermelon wood!!  LOL

Our little hero Spencer holding his war trophies firmly, a handful of baby onion. XD 

Kaitlin: Let's add some color to the egg and my day=)

Lizard Lizard. 

haha, my easter eggs overflowing the basket, my smile overspread in the air 

Hmm, hard-shell made-in-U.S. black walnut and made-in-china nut cracker

Spencer!!!  your poker face???  

Desserts come in the end, always tasty

After trail and error, we got our silver easter egg!!
Clue 1. you are flying high when you feeling so high >> go to the swing, found clue 2
Clue 2. caught one >> Spencer suddenly rushed to the pond, hah, there's an egg near the frog, caught it!
Clue 3. this egg maybe hanging around, but this color is waiting to be found >> go blue!!!
Clue 4. if ABC is 123, then this silver egg is found: 1,12,15,14,7|20,8,5|2,1,13,2,15,15|20,18,1,9,12>> Let's run to the bamboo trail!!!! and smart Spencer got his silver egg!! Hooray !!

P.S.
Hopefully one day I could afford a piece of land in my hometown and play the game with my kids again



Monday, April 25, 2011

Shell Interview, 經驗分享......

很高興的去了Easter,  回來還要准備本來沒打算去的Shell.

中間和朋友去jogging 一下, 強身健體.

10pm prepare for interview.

坐定不久, 真的是困啊困, 看來沒有從上周的咖啡因中恢復過來.

12am 吃一個蘋果補充體能, 繼續看.

12:30am, 實在頂不住了, 開始小憩, 然後圖書館大叔很神奇的把我趕出了reading room... 那兒可是wifi 最好的地方啊... 大佬!

我睡眼朦朧下樓, 找個地方測試, 效果ok.

1:00am, 准時 unknown number. 一上來就說, 聽不清, 能不能用fixed line... 大半夜的我哪兒去找fixed line啊... 然後我們能很清楚的交流下次面試的時間等具體情況. 再然後你就拜拜.

這態度...  我只能破口大罵一番 法克魷! 草泥馬! DeLayNoMore!

好吧, 我回HK之後再和你玩

我貌似相當精神不濟, 以上言語可能混亂, 情見諒.

等正式in完之後再出分享貼, btw, 其實YJS網上的資源比較豐富, 值得參考.

睡覺

Sunday, April 24, 2011

New Yorker, at Boston

Arriving, 5:35am...

Boston Sports Club, at 6:30am... This reminds me the story 
An ibanker squeezed sleeping time for sports and then died...

HOO, Starbucks

Church, Grand


Heiheihei, at MIT

STAT?? well, looks weird but the best in MIT campus


Harvard: Galileo was wrong, the earth is the center of the Universe!!
CCP: you know too much...

Founder John
had better not touch his feet since students are 'going to the John'

Hmm...
Enter, to grow in wisdom

Environmentally friendly

User Friendly...
@MIT Hostel, free for all...
our CUHK should have learned from them... it's time for CUSU to act!!!

This is MIT

Train Station
player and audience. This is called 'harmonious society', not the 和諧社會

Even they know more about what we need to know.... so sad...

Back to New York City!

The last supper at NYC

... ...
30-dollar Chinese Bus pulled up on the high way, caught by the corp... 


P.S.: Boston is an old lovely tiny town, where I would definitely prefer to live than in New York City, Though the weather was awful when I was there. Harvard is Harvard, MIT is MIT, that's where the elite make progress.

香港雜評: 梁文道:無知

香港雜評: 梁文道:無知: 十幾年前,有部比較敏感的紀錄片要在灣仔一家現已歇業了的戲院獨家放映。我記得這部電影甚至早在上映之前就掀起過一場小風波,問題出在它的題材,而港人當時對回歸的疑慮卻又揮之不去。就在這時,曝出令人吃驚的消息,那家電影院負責檢票帶位的工作人員竟然宣佈罷工。這些中老年人平日的工作無非就是用手電筒在黑暗中替觀眾指路,老闆都不怕,基層工人又有什麼好害怕的呢?許多評論家一邊以不屑的語氣嘲笑這些阿叔不自量力,一邊嚴肅地抨擊香港人那提前到來的自我審查。

忽然想起這件小事,是因為日本地震之後那些搶鹽的中國百姓,和當年那批戲院員工一樣,飽經嘲諷。在電視上見過日本人搶購瓶裝水的情形,原來是一條人龍每人兩瓶(不是限購,而是自願只買兩瓶,以免後來者無水可買),忽然就目睹我們的同胞慌慌亂亂,擠作一團。人家是遭逢地震、海嘯,加上核危機,真真正正面對了物資匱乏;我們則只是輕信謠言,先是以為海水受到核污染,深怕日後食鹽有毒,後是聽說鹽可防輻,多多益善。這種對比實在太過鮮明太過強烈,難怪許多「有識之士」都覺得荒謬可笑,甚至引為國恥。接下來,輿論當然又要往「國民性」和「國民素質」上頭做文章,層層剖析中國人欠缺常識的深層原因;慨嘆百年之後,中國人的素質還是遠遠及不上日本。

每次看見「國民性」和「國民素質」這些很宏大很玄妙的字眼,我都會特別謹慎。不是想否認文化特質的存在,而是我以為,所謂的文化特質和民族性都不是解釋某些事件、行為的好工具;相反,它們才是真正需要被解釋的問題。只要拆解下去我們便會發現,有不少被訴諸為「國民性」和「國民素質」的事物和行為,其實都可以用一些更局部也更現實的因素說明。

例如搶鹽。我們批評那些人沒有常識,然而這真的和常識有關嗎?我不曉得有多少沒去搶購的人清楚瞭解核輻射與鹽的關係,起碼我自己就完全沒有這方面的知識,同時我也很大膽地懷疑這究竟是不是一個常識。假如我們有許多人既不知道被核輻射污染過的海水會不會連帶生出污染了的海鹽,亦不知道海鹽究竟有沒有抵抗核輻射的功效,那麼我們為什麼不趕快跑去搶鹽,反而還信心十足地把那種種傳聞視之為謠言,將搶鹽的群眾看作群氓呢?可見真正的問題並不是那些人比較有常識,而是在大家同樣不具備相關知識的情況下,何以有些人趕去買鹽,有些人卻老神在在地拒絕跟從。

我反省了一下自己不去買鹽的原因,發現主要是我有點信心有點辦法。所謂信心,其實是對某些權威的信心,如果專職健康問題的部門沒有聲明,學院裡的專家也沒有出來呼籲存鹽,我就不用跟著去著急了;所謂辦法,就算碰上了鹽荒,我覺得自己也不愁吃不到鹽,也許是我能找到門路,也許是我買得起外國產品。這些不是我在搶鹽潮起的當兒就明確意識到的,但我的確模模糊糊地有種安定感。

這種安穩的感覺才是許多人在謠傳四起的時候不隨波不逐流的原因。這些人的日子可能過得比較好,圈子比較大,平常接觸的世界比較廣,社交的連線去得比較遠,並且他相信這些網絡的韌度,所以覺得自己不會在災變面前手足無措,一下子就墜落到沒有人可以依靠的孤立境地。

反過來說,那些因為搶鹽而被嘲笑的人群,豈不就像當年那幾個想要罷工的戲院員工?他們也確實是「無知」。他們不知道這個世界更龐大更複雜的運作方式,不知道自己可以信賴什麼;他們尤其不知道,有事的時候可以去找什麼門路。知識分子或者自詡為比較有常識的人,常常容易忽略某些基層的處境,甚至訕笑在他們眼中很不可思議的行為,因為我們看不到,這個世界還有太多人活得不像我們這麼安穩。如同那幾位檢票帶位的戲院員工,聽說自己的工作扯上了敏感的話題,他們不確定自己會不會因此生活自此無著;他們只能恐懼,然後做出最直接的反應。總是如此,最沒有辦法也最不能掌握社會邏輯的人,最容易產生恐懼。

所以不要笑!都是中國人,為什麼有人擔心下個禮拜沒鹽吃,有人憂慮會被自己掌握不了的政治議題連累?

Friday, April 22, 2011

Gossip IIIII

咖啡已經一周多沒喝過, 跑步每天都多跑了一些, 睡眠還是持續不足...

很羨慕有朋友半夜睡覺呼嚕打得翻天響,自己還淡定的不行.

這其實也不只是心態那麼簡單吧.

上了大學後, 從讀書無用, 到痛罵讀書無用.

最終還是自己沒讀好書, 有點可惜了我大學時光.

也沒有堅定的心, 也很容易被擊倒.

一開始說過程更重要, 然後自己卻更加注重結果忽略過程.

是不是真該有一次摔得粉身碎骨的經歷, 才明白?

Thursday, April 21, 2011

香港雜評: 蔡子強:政治學金句

香港雜評: 蔡子強:政治學金句: "書寫人生】隨着日本大地震的震撼開始降低,利比亞內戰又重新進入媒體和公眾的視野當中。

只是幾年前,法國曾扮演讓利比亞和卡達菲重返國際社會的橋樑角色,當年,薩爾科齊甚至以紅地毯歡迎這位北非獨裁者訪問巴黎,惹來國內人權人士猛烈批評,甚至內閣中的人權部長,亦看不過眼,反唇相稽。無他,當時正值美國剛把利比亞從「流氓國家」名單中剔除,西方開始對該國大量投資,當中尤以法國最為熱衷,說穿了就是利字當頭。

不料幾年之後,到了今回,法國空軍卻在多國聯軍中,一馬當先,不單為落實聯合國的禁飛區命令,執行攔截任務,更率先對利比亞政府軍進行空襲,幫了該國叛軍一個大忙,可謂一夕間變臉,反目成仇。難怪卡達菲也目瞪口呆,在接受德國電視專訪時,也忍不住咆哮:「我的好友薩爾科齊已經瘋了。」

這讓人想起「政治上沒有永遠的朋友,也沒有永遠的敵人」,這句政治學上的千古名句。

這句名句源於兩度出任英國首相、三度出任英國外相的十九世紀英國政治家帕默斯頓爵士(Palmerston),原文是這樣的:

「我們沒有永遠的盟友,我們也沒有永久的敵人,我們的利益才是永遠和永久的,而我們的責任就是去追隨這些利益。」

(We have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.)

這就是帕默斯頓爵士心目中政治的本質。

為何薩爾科齊政府會出現態度上的急轉變﹖

有分析,突尼斯的茉莉花革命,與埃及的群眾起義,揭發法國執政者與兩國獨裁者的親密關係,讓他們十分尷尬。因此當利比亞出現類似群眾起義之後,薩爾科齊急於與獨裁者劃清界線,變身「正義朋友」,挽回形象。更重要的是,距離明年總統大選只有一年多,薩爾科齊若要爭取連任,在經濟沒有多大起色的情況下,他就要在其他領域做出成績,又或者說得不好聽,是轉移視線。於是,利比亞便如此成了他的一張政治牌。

西方政治學還有另外一句名言,那就是:

「外交就是本土政治的延伸。」

(Foreign policy is an extension of domestic politics.)

對外用兵,以此轉移國內百姓視線,讓民族主義、愛國主義高漲,群眾熱血上腦,蓋過他們對執政者的種種不滿,自古皆然。熟讀中國歷史的讀者,對此當然不會感到陌生。

而今次法國在利比亞的行動,亦為此提供了另一絕佳註

Monday, April 18, 2011

Gossip IIII

面完试,还是头疼,真觉得自己病了...

不是吧, 我已经不知道什么是病的感觉了

之前认为我是紧张过度, 其实我确实很紧张,越想越紧张...

不知道为啥我连面试都这么紧张, 好久没试过这样了

因为怕没offer 吧..

在美国读了些书, 本以为人淡定了, 然后发现我越来越不淡定了

上帝为了惩罚我, 更让我天天喝咖啡...

以后去starbucks还是吃cheesecake 算了

做啥貌似都没动力, 我不能figure out why.

anyway, 我不要太晚睡, 希望明天能舒服些

Japan and the global supply chain: Broken links | The Economist

Might be the time to shift to 'just-in-case' from 'Just-in-time'

Japan and the global supply chain: Broken links | The Economist

LAST year Iceland’s volcanic ash disrupted air transport across Europe and gave the world’s manufacturing supply chain one of its biggest tests since the advent of the low-inventory, just-in-time era. Now, Japan’s quadruple disaster—earthquake, tsunami, nuclear alert and power shortages—has put the supply chain under far greater stress. Three weeks after the massive quake, the extent and likely duration of the disruption are still unclear.
There are some enlightening similarities between the shocks that manufacturers are now suffering and those that buffeted the banking system in the 2008 financial crisis. In both cases two of the biggest surprises were the unexpected connections the crisis uncovered, and the extent of the contagion. The problems began in a seemingly well-contained part of the system—subprime mortgages in the case of finance, in manufacturing’s case a natural disaster in an economic backwater—but quickly spread.
Like the sudden evaporation of liquidity that the banks experienced, factories are finding that parts that had always turned up reliably have stopped coming. As with financial regulators’ discovery of how poorly they understood the “shadow banking” system and arcane derivatives contracts, manufacturers are discovering how little they know about their suppliers’ suppliers and those even farther down the chain. When Lehman went bust, other banks struggled to measure their exposure because Lehman turned out to be not a single institution but a tangle of many entities. Assembly firms are now finding that their supply chain looks much the same.
Manufacturers around the world are now racing to secure supplies of the scarcest components and materials, pushing up their prices. Carmakers in Japan and America have had to scale back production. Toyota fears a scarcity of 500 rubber, plastic and electronic parts. It is not yet clear how much worse things will get as existing stocks run down. Nor can Japanese suppliers be sure yet of how soon they can get back up to speed: hundreds of aftershocks, some strong enough to disrupt production, have rumbled on since the main quake. Given the loss of a very large nuclear plant and shutdowns of others, power shortages may extend for years.Just as some financial institutions proved “too big to fail”, some Japanese suppliers are now revealed to be too crucial to do without. For example, two firms, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical and Hitachi Chemical, control about 90% of the market for a specialty resin used to bond parts of microchips that go in to smartphones and other devices. Both firms’ plants were damaged. The compact battery in Apple’s iPods relies on a polymer made by Kureha, which holds 70% of the market, and whose factory was damaged.
Even before the extent of the disruption becomes clear, it seems certain that Japan’s disaster will have a lasting impact on how manufacturers manage their operations, says Hans-Paul Bürkner, boss of the Boston Consulting Group, who was in Tokyo this week. “It is very important now to think the extreme,” he says. “You have to have some buffers.”
Over the past decade or so the just-in-time concept of having supplies delivered at the last minute, so as to keep inventories down, has spread down the global manufacturing chain. Now, say economists at HSBC, this chain may be fortified with “just-in-case” systems to limit the damage from disruptions.
For instance, suppliers who have near-monopolies on crucial parts and materials may be pressed to spread their production facilities geographically. Their customers may, as a precaution, also switch part of their orders to smaller rivals. Hiwin, a Taiwanese firm with 10% of the market for “linear motion guides”, used in industrial machines, may gain share from customers of Japan’s THK, which dominates the market with a 55% share and which faces power cuts, suggests CLSA, a stockbroker.
Assembly firms will be under the same financial pressures as before to keep their inventories of supplies down. So a new growth industry may emerge from the crisis: that of holding and maintaining essential stocks on behalf of manufacturers.
Industrial firms, having spent years becoming ever leaner in their production techniques and, in the process, making themselves more vulnerable to these sorts of supply shocks, will now have to go partly into reverse, giving up some efficiency gains to become more robust. One consolation is that their problem of “too crucial to do without” suppliers looks a lot easier to solve than the conundrum of the “too big to fail” banks.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Gossip III

最近几天,性格和北卡的天气一样,变化无常.

后来发现睡不着觉了, 吃饭也不香了, 胃又不舒服,难道上帝要我减肥..

其实,茶肚子装不下coffee...

头晕脑胀,实在百无聊赖, 现在才九点三.

明天晚上还有面试, 挺想去的公司. 还是没精神继续准备, 也没想好怎么entertain那位senior consultant.

我还在自我介绍里说我有 vigor 和 perseverance.  这是叫 伤不起..??

anyway. 我要睡了, 祝好运

Saturday, April 9, 2011

New Yorker, United Nation



CHINA

Horrible... the civilian population were accidentally stepped on bombs and lost their legs...

found after nuclear attack in Japan

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
railway joining Chengdu and Kunming, two cities in China
ironic, made of 8 elephant ivory, right before banning of ivory trade

remind me of GUNDAM....

School box, filled with love and care

Sports box, with love and care

Place refugees live temporarily

We need to, intelligently, distribute our money to places where it can make the best effects.

Friday, April 8, 2011

New Yorker, Lovely Live Music


Central Park-Jazz Player

Central Park-M.J. dancer

Central Park-No Name

Randomly walked in the sea port, (sorry I forgot the name but I do love you guys).I can even enjoy the night view of Brooklyn Bridge, as the vivid music lingering around

Interaction with audience

singer like a doll


handsome keyboard

funny Gypson


Charming Chorus