My 5th Grade 8

Took ABRSM grade 8 in Singing on May 26: had never been so unsure about my own performance in an exam before. Singing in a sound-proof room is very different from singing in any other room. Everything sounded dry and nothing seemed right. And singing seems to be more tiring than doing other instruments (at least the instruments I do – probably not any worse than winds). I even got wrong in modulation (aural test C)… almost – corrected it right after giving my initial answer. Wasn’t sure what/how I did in Part D either.

Anyway, after waiting for six weeks, the result is finally here: I got merit with 126. Yay!

The program I chose for that day was:

Ridente la Calma by Mozart

Notre Amour by Faure

Love’s Philosophy by Quilter

Someone to Watch Over Me by Gershwin

with When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (to the music of The Water is Wide) as the traditional song.

The examiner that day was a singer herself. She majored in singing when she was in RCM (forgot from which part of UK). So, I feel kinda happier to get merit in this one than getting merit in my harp exam a few years back. The harp examiner was a pianist and obviously knew nothing about harp. I’m so sure coz I missed notes on one hand for like an octave in many scales (3-octave hands together) and still got it counted as correct.

Anyway, comments show that my “Italian pronunciation required more care” for the Mozart one and “diction needed more care” in Notre Amour. I speak a bit French but not so sure about how liaison works in singing – should have asked for help from my student’s mom who’s a native French. She also mentioned arm movements in two of the songs. Other than these, comments are generally positive.

General comments from the examiner: A pleasing “merit” at this challenging grade! I hope that you will continue to explore new songs and further develop those areas which stll need strengthening.

Oh! Certainly I will =P

So, I’ve now got grade 8 (or above) in Piano, Violin, Harp, Singing, and Theory. The next one should be guitar. Joseph, we needa work harder! LOL

P.S. Special thanks to my teacher, Roy, who tolerated my lack of punctuality; my cousin, Domanica, who took half day off to be my accompanist; my friend, Iris, who played the piano part for me during lessons (hey, it’s good sight-reading training LOL).

 

明報錯誤5

應該是第五次寫這個題目吧！

今天明報娛樂版頭條，報導石堅的安息禮。內文節錄如下：

“堅叔的喪禮採基督教儀式進行，靈堂佈置簡潔，以白色為主，周圍是白布幔，靈堂中央有十字架，並以柏樹裝飾，還有白蠟燭。堅叔的遺照面露慈祥笑容，頭髮與眼眉毛銀白色帶威嚴，穿著唐裝衫。靈堂上播映堅叔生前的經典電影、電視劇片段，而昨晚舉行安息禮拜會頌經唱詩歌。今日的送別禮拜，會由堅叔的孫兒女講述生平。”

行文流暢，沒甚麼錯誤。究竟錯誤在哪裏？

錯在圖片解說：

“堅叔的喪禮以天主教儀式進行，兩旁放有柏樹，莊嚴肅穆。”

基督教和天主教是很相近，但兩者的名稱還未至可以互換使用。觀乎石堅會葬於薄扶林基督教華人永遠墳場，他應該是基督徒，而非天主教徒。基督教和天主教，是各有自己的墳場的。基督教墳場的基本使用條件，是已受浸基督徒，所屬教會是華人教會聯會會員，如果所屬教會不是會員，就要靠會員教會幫忙申請。會員名單中，應該沒有天主教聖堂在內吧！

 

Supermarket Mania on iPhone

Yes, I’ve finally bought the game – on sale now: only USD0.99! Simply can’t resist it.

I basically enjoy playing most time-management games. I’ve got Sally’s Salon; I’ve got Sally’s Spa; Now I have Supermarket Mania! All bought at the price USD 0.99! Great deal!

Supermarket Mania… well, after playing Sally’s Salon and Sally’s Spa, I managed to get Excellent (there’re two ranks: Day Completed or Excellent – obviously Excellent requires more “skills”) in all levels except one: 5-7 Customers Waiting. It took me like two days or three playing through it for I-don’t-remember-how-many times, and still just couldn’t get it! Then I googled it and found someone suggesting one pretty silly and time consuming method but it worked!

So, what’s game about? It’s basically about being a shop keeper. The job is to 1) keep shelves full. If it runs out of stock, customers will only wait for a limited time then they’ll leave the shop; 2) pick up garbages made by teenagers who love throwing things off the shelves – you can stop them by touching the shop guard. If a customer gets tripped over by a garbage, he/she will leave the shop ; 3) catch thieves – touch the guard when the icon above the thieves is shaking then the thieves will pay for it.

There’s a bonus function that will make all customers in the shop go clear the shelves like crazy. It’s available in most levels, but not all. When it’s there, it certainly helps reaching the Excellent requirement.

That’s it! Simple and straight forward.

The problem about level 5-7 is there’s no bonus function there. There’re three thieves and I managed to catch them all. Still, the best I could get was around $2130 but I need $2300 to meet Excellent. So, I followed that rather stupid trick found in a game forum and yet still couldn’t get it.

Ok, the trick is this: Don’t stop the teenagers from throwing things of the shelves. Each garbage worths $1. Let them run around but make sure no customer gets tripped over. In the end, one teenager will stay behind after the shop is closed. He will keep throwing things around and you just keep picking up the garbages. He will keep throwing and throwing… you just keep picking things up.

I tried it quite a number of times but that teenager doesn’t always stay behind! Eventually, there was this time that he’s finally staying behind but then he doesn’t throw things around long enough to let me earn enough money. Then several trials later, I finally have this boy stays behind like forever! I started picking garbage up from somewhere around $1870. And I just keep picking up all the way till it goes up to around $2250. $2250-$1870=$380! Which means… I’ve made 380+ touches to pick up all the garbages (putting the garbages into the bin requires one more touch)! It must have taken like 5 minutes just for picking the garbages!

It was a painful process… but hey, now I’ve got Excellent in all levels! LOL

 

火車站月台廣播

今天從尖東去沙田，坐了一列以馬場為終站的火車，到沙田站下車，甫下車便聽到月台廣播：

“本班列車以馬場為終點站，乘客請勿上車！”

過不到三秒，又再播一次；再過三秒，再播…

如果人在沙田站，要去馬場，聽到這樣的廣播，究竟還要不要上車呢？

 

Predestined salvation?

(Predestined salvation is one of the recurrent topics in our Precept group. Somehow we will get into this topic almost whatever book we are studying. And now we’re in Revelation and this topic was discussed in the group again today. And then I wrote this… And just as anything I’ve written on the topic of Faith, my understanding may change over time.)
Some say that God predestined, before the beginning of time, who is saved and who is not. They say Salvation is predestined (quoting Paul mostly).
If so, then all believers are just gambling against a predestination, hoping that we’re in that book of life.
But if not, is Paul wrong?
Well, let’s take a look at the word “predestined”. This word is “time-bounded”. It is only valid in a world where there is time. So, it is only applicable to human sense, not God. (NB: God is beyond time. If your God is not, well, we don’t share the same God. Period. And if you don’t believe there’s a God in the world, we’re not on same channel. Period.)
If God is beyond time, the phrase “before the beginning of time” is not applicable to God. He knows who is saved “at the end” because He is hlbeyond time. He has been to all time frames of the world, may it be before the beginning or after the end of the world. So He is not foretelling who is saved in the end. He is only narrating what has already happened in the sence of eternity and will happen in human understanding. It is hard to explain in human language because human languages are ruled by syntax which always include tense forms in some way. And that’s why there is this phrase “before the beginning of time”.
So, what does it have to do with 12 Monkeys? James Cole didn’t know that his efforts to save the world is in vain because he (and the scientists “in the future”) is bounded by time. Though he can travel through time, he doesn’t know concurrently what’s going on in both the past and the future. That’s human. We know something is going to happen as the Bible tells so but we were not in the past and we have not been to the future. Even if we were and have, we can only see the the things that happen in the time and space we are capable of perceiving. It’s never the whole picture that we see. God is the maker of 12 Monkeys: He knew the whole story before the movie is made. Unlike the spectators who only know the beginning is the very end after the whole movie is shown, God knew it all along.
And unlike the spectators who can only sit by and watch what is going to happen, God has offered a way out since before the beginning of time.

P.S. And talking about Paul, I must admit that I don’t like his writings. People say he’s a good debater. I simply don’t see his logic (well, sometimes I do but that’s rare). Maybe I need to be a 1st century Jew to understand his arguments. I don’t know. Still struggling. All in all, the Bible is hard to be understood anyways.

P.P.S. Another often recurrent topic in group discussion is works and deeds and salvation. May write on that if I have time.

 

64

今天是二零零九年六月四日。
Today is June 4, 2009.

第二十年。
The 20th year.

 

君子被河蟹吃掉了

南華傳媒旗下刊物，以前有買，但好久沒買，然後，從今確定以後不買！南華傳媒旗下刊物包括：旭茉Jessica、marie claire、HIM、君子雜誌 Esquire、車王雜誌 Carplus、 快週刊、3週刊、旭茉Jessica完全女人手冊、CAPITAL WEEKLY、CAPITAL MONEY、CAPITAL、CAPITAL CEO、CAPITAL Entrepreneur、兒童快報、兒童快報月刊

特別聲明：南華早報SCMP並不是南華傳媒旗下的！

【明報專訊】六四20周年前夕，南華傳媒旗下刊物《君子雜誌》，最新一期頁數突然缺少10多頁。有該雜誌記者在網誌解開箇中原因，指原本刊登的六四專題，因文中出現「平反六四」、學運領袖柴玲的說話等，送印中途被高層下令抽起，指文章「有問題」、「煽動」，南華傳媒至截稿前未有回應事件。

　第247期《君子雜誌》第141頁至174頁之間，原應有34頁，但記者數算後發現只有18頁，另外16頁不知所終。該雜誌有記者日前以「不見天的六四專題」為題，在網誌大爆《君子雜誌》今期原本刊登的六四專題，突然被高層抽起。

　送印途中抽起 高層指文章煽動

　「2009年5月26日，《君子雜誌》的143至156頁被他們抽走了，但他們不能在日曆上抽了六月四日。」該記者在網誌中續指，「文章寫好、相片拍好、layout砌好，甚至已經送往印刷，但最後，因為大老闆的一個電話，專題被抽掉」。其後該期雜誌提及六四字眼的文章，皆要經過修改，「三小時之後，這個六四專題真的可以消失得無影無蹤，彷彿從未出現過」。

　「同事不滿可離職」

　該記者在網誌續指出，「公司高層把我和幾位相關的同事叫到會議室，會議室氣氛很凝重，我們似是犯下彌天大禍。那名高層手拿那份專輯的 copy，上面的文字被黃色的熒光筆畫得一塌糊塗，然後她將『有問題』的句子逐句讀出，說：『這是煽動。』」據悉，這高層是來自南華傳媒的管理層。

　網誌續指出，公司說決定毋須向員工解釋，「若有不滿同事可以隨時離職，還假惺惺的問大家有何意見」。

　訪問毛孟靜林輝 提及平反柴玲

　據知該專題訪問了當年採訪八九民運的毛孟靜和本土行動成員林輝等人，他們一邊乘搭前身是64號、現為66號的新巴，經過前中聯辦等地，訴說20年來的回憶。當中曾出現「平反六四」字眼和柴玲的說話，如「我想，也只有廣場血流成河的時候，全中國的人才能真正擦亮眼睛」。

　這六四專題雖然未見於新一期《君子雜誌》，第24頁「Behind Scene」仍刊登了毛孟靜在巴士上接受訪問的情景。

　本報記者昨日致電南華傳媒，但無人接聽，有不願透露姓名的編採人員表示，事後才得知故事被抽起，當初構思稿題時，只是從軟性角度出發，帶出六四回憶的信息，沒料到最終會被抽起。

　明報記者 彭碧珊

 

olivia – my very first pair of crocs

Raining… raining… raining… I made a good choice for clothes to wear today: 3-quarter pants. But for shoes… there’s simply no choice at home: any shoes at home will end up the same like the ones I wore today – wet, wet, wet…

And so, after Precept, I went to TST Sogo and bought a pair of Crocs – my very first pair of crocs. There’s  Sogo’s annual thanks giving sale going on and so enjoyed a 20% off. Anyway, here’s my very first pair of Crocs – the less ugly Crocs:

Olivia

 

平反六四

從陳一諤到曾陰權，其實…中央是否怕今年六四以至七一遊行人數會下降，所以出來催谷一番？

我最近一直想，其實近年每到接近六四，總有親中人士自己跳出來，主動獻身，大開金口談六四，然後其言論必然激起民憤，這會否是中央的意思，作用正在於提醒大家，六四尚未平反，大家切勿忘記，好等平反那日，還有記得六四的人，明白究竟在平反什麼。要是沒有人記得，平不平反也沒有意思，哪還有道歉的餘地？

記得讀書時讀過魯迅的《風箏》，寫他小時候發狠撕破弟弟親手造的風箏，到多年以後，他才跟弟弟說對不起，可是弟弟卻已忘了小時候那件事。想道歉，但道歉的對象已遺忘你想道歉的事，這是永遠的遺憾，永遠不能再為做過的錯作出任何補救，即使只是說一句對不起。

我可能在做夢，還盼望這夢會成真。

 

司徒華跑出女子百米今年佳績?!

今早躺在床用ipod touch看報紙，驚見司徒華跑出女子百米今年佳績。

再看內文，才發現此司徒華，實為牙買加奧運銀牌女將司徒華（Kerron Stewart），她在五月一日於牙買加國際邀請賽100公尺項目跑出今年世界最佳成績10秒92。

此則新聞出自法新社，原文當然不是中文，此文只是譯文，奇就奇在譯者竟會選擇以司徒華來音譯Stewart，究竟譯者是不是香港人呢？有可能不是，但其文筆用詞十分香港（如果你有看過大陸和台灣的報紙，你就明白兩岸三地的中文有多不同），而且用「華」來譯Wart，只有廣東話才能譯得出來，所以我想譯者應是香港人來的。假設譯者是香港人，那她應該知道「司徒華」這三個字，讀者一看到，只會想起一名年過七十戴眼鏡的廋小老伯（雖然他聲如洪鐘，而且火氣十足），怎可能想到是一名女子，還是牙買加女子，還要跑一百米！

其實，Stewart這個姓氏，對港人來說，應該並不陌生，Rod Steward雖然已是老人一名，但喜歡rock n’ roll的人，不可能不認識洛史釗域，還有，香港有一條Stewart Road史釗域道。何必玩轉司徒華，而不用史釗域呢？

但其實，這個名字根本不必自創譯法，既然說是拿過奧運銀牌，而剛過去的奧運就在中國舉行，那肯定北京奧運官網會有這運動員的中文譯名，上網找一找不就可以了嗎？我剛用了一分鐘在北京奧運官網找了一下，Kerron Stewart是克倫．斯圖爾特。

如果譯者原意是玩食字，那只能說「野可以亂食，字不能亂譯」；如果譯者是真的不懂司徒華，也不懂史釗域，也不懂上京奧官網，那這位譯者真的要惡補一下常識。常識對做翻譯的人來說，實在太太太重要了！