The coolest museums in USA

This website has been sending junk mails to me for a few weeks but I finally found one articles I read there that is worthy of sharing. It introduces one cool museum per state in US. For a country with people who in general supports museums in their community (at least that is my impression), I can imagine there is gotta be one cool museum in each state. Still, it is a big task to know all of them! I haven't been to all 50 states myself. And for the states I visited, there are still lots of interesting museums that I am unaware of. For example, who would know there is a musical instrument museum in Phoenix? Speaking of musical instrument, I did have fond memories playing with some at the EMP museums in Seattle (of course not the Kurt Cobain guitars on display there) Now it has been renamed to the Museum of Pop Culture. Another music related museum on the list that I have been to is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. 

2019日本之旅-博物館篇

出發之前一早已購票去吉卜力，那是極受歡近的一個旅遊點，臨飛前才即興找找有沒有展出書法的地方，得知東京國立博物館正在展出清代早期書法，介紹提及鄭板橋及八大山人的作品，雖然和年初展出的「國寶級」顏真卿書法級數相差很多，以六美元的入場費也值回票價有餘，當天去到發現原來還展出了順治康熙乾隆三帝的墨寶，我也由此認識了康熙朝內一位清官陳鵬年的行草作品，深得我心！再欣賞了一會唐代佛像後就離開了東洋館（此館專展出亞洲其他國家的藝術品）到展出日本本身藝術品的「大婆」主館，今期主館重點展覧無獨有偶也是佛像（來自奈良大和四寺），之後欣賞了日本刀（包括長刀Naginata, 寫樂牌墨水筆筆尖即以此命名！），以及日本書法。

左上順時針：順治，乾隆，康熙墨寶，日本長刀

左上起（順時針）：佐藤一齋，春浦宗熙書法，伊藤若冲畫，陳鵬年書法

和前者不同，日本棋院是我嚮往多年，一直想參觀的地方，該處算不上是旅遊點，像我這樣的棋迷主要是想逛逛Gift shop吧，去到才知地庫有資料館/名人堂，展出了很多珍貴的物品，包括本因坊道策「原版」棋譜，本因坊秀哉引退戰的剪報等等！而Gift shop當然就是主打兩位日本「當紅」棋士：張栩和井山裕太，我的戰利品是一把吳清源的扇子。

甚麼是博物館？

逛博物館是我生活一部份：出外旅行自然是指定動作，本地的博物館我也每當有空就會去參觀一番。其實很少會思考：甚麼是博物館？或者說：那些是博物館必具的特色和功能？香港西九龍故宮館引發了很多爭議，背後的政治固然令人反感，這個館能為香港人帶來甚麼？也很值得探討，有學者就認為西九故宮館根本不算博物館：

根據西九故宮博物館現有的資料，丁穎茵感嘆，方案與實際的博物館功能有差別。她指出，博物館一般都有自己的藏品。就像西九的 M+ 博物館雖然未開幕，但購買藏品的過程一直進行中。反觀，「故宮館」展品主要從北京故宮借回來，未有提及本館的購藏計劃，「所以香港那個好難叫做『博物館』，只是一個擺放故宮文物的『展覽廳』罷了。」

本人不是專家無資格評論，不過上文介紹北愛爾蘭北部城市德里（Derry）一座直視探討天主教徒與基督教徒衝突的博物館實在相當有意思：

當地民族主義者（天主教徒）與聯合主義者（基督教徒）的矛盾嚴重。兩教教徒居住區域分隔，亦不會互相入侵對方的社區。當要建一間國立博物館，梳理一個地方的歷史時，政府自然要處理人與人之間的宗教衝突，懷著以博物館化解矛盾的意願來建造。建館者設計圓形的觀展路線。起點一邊是「天主教」版本的歷史，另一邊則是「基督教」視點。無論你從哪一邊進入，最終也會繞一圈再出來，目的是要觀眾嘗試理解另一種想法。 以博物館介入政治風眼，叫這座 Tower Museum 遂先後獲得歐洲年度博物館第二位、愛爾蘭及英國年度最佳博物館的榮譽。

作為中國藝術欣賞及愛好者，相信西九故宮會帶來一些我一直沒有機會看到的珍品吧。

Bright Lights, Cool Minds

最近因為某種不明原因，看的電視節目、讀的書和參觀的展覽不約而同地有著微妙的連帶關係。從Netflix看到的英國BBC一連三集紀錄片Bright Lights Brilliant Minds:每一集主持人介紹他認為廿世紀三個西方史上重要年份及城市組合，分別為：

• 1908維也納：那一年在維也納，對多位來自不同範疇的專家藝術家及政治人物，均是一個重要里程碑，心理學家佛洛依德發表他的戀母情意結理論，音樂家Schoenberg創作無調性音樂，包括前無古人的二號弦樂四重奏（後半部加入人聲），畫家Klimt畫了他最著名作品Kiss，但那個浮華的表面其實暗藏危機：例如該市貧富懸殊，妓女數量極多。而希特拉當年嘗試考入藝術學院不果，最終踏上從政（或成魔）之路。該年波斯尼亞新納入奧匈帝國，亦正是第一次世界大戰的導火線（費迪南大公在當地被暗殺）
• 1928巴黎：這一集講及該年代最耐人尋味的新藝術思潮：超現實主義（Surrealism），那是令我最著迷的現代藝術派別，Dali的畫作別具震撼力。原來該派的誕生源於一位作家Andre Breton，這位「祖師爺」後來又把Surrealism散播到墨西哥以及北美洲。看完這一集不久，我就有幸在史丹福大學Cantor美術館參觀一個超現實主義如何影響各地各年代藝術及藝術家的展覽。那個年代的巴黎的確和美國相當有關係：美國作家海明威、音樂家Gershwin及Cole Porter都在那𥚃取得成功，很多美國人和他們一樣帶著美金在當地自在消費，不過隨著美國股市崩潰（大蕭條），一夜之間富貴化為烏為的美國人唯有紛紛回國。
• 1951紐約：該年聯合國選擇在紐約成立總部，標誌著西方文化政經重鎮從那時開始由歐洲「搬遷」到北美洲，爵士樂及Beat文學那一年在紐約發揚光大，Thelonius Monk及Jack Kerouac分別發表其名作，而瘋魔萬千影迷的巨星如馬龍白蘭度及占士甸均在那年代學習方法演技，也就是周星馳在喜劇之王一片提及的史坦尼斯拉夫斯基影響所生的一派。在看此節目之前我剛巧讀了"The Birth (and death) of the Cool"一書，正正就是討論以上提及的各種演藝文學文化（所謂「Cool」的態度）如何主導著美國潮流（包括電視電影廣告等等）達數十年之久；其「沒落」只是近十幾年的事。其實亦僅是反映風水輪流轉，任何誇張的事物總會回歸基本務實之路，直至下一浪來臨為止。

港澳台遊記:文化藝術篇

近年世界各地大都會對文化藝術的重視程度與日俱增,實在有點發財立品的味道,鄰近的三藩市和聖荷西街頭展示不少官方或民間資助藝術家作品,而機場已成為藝術展覽的重要場地之一,香港機場也不例外!今次在出機場去搭巴士的通道看到畫展及攝影展,在閘口又有茶壼陶藝展,電視台也播放不少介紹藝術的節目.連澳門這個大家第一時間想起錢的地方,其實亦很重視文藝節目,在碼頭也可見展覽的宣傳.

至於今次去台灣,到博物館欣賞藝術是重頭戲之一,總共去了六個!

1)鶯歌陶瓷博物館:早幾年迷上茶道,飲茶之餘又玩茶具,亦對其他陶瓷器愛屋及烏起來,不會錯過旅遊城市的陶瓷藝術展,包括香港公園內的茶具博物館,南加洲的美國陶藝博物館,而陶瓷業頗有歷史的台灣鶯歌區我聞名已久,我們在桃園機場下機,第一站就是參觀鄰近的鶯歌那裡甚有規模的陶瓷博物館.該館除了介紹傳統陶瓷器燒製過程,古代中國至台灣鶯歌陶瓷業發展史,也展出一些當代台灣名家作品及當地廠家的特色製作,相當多樣化.附近的鶯歌老街有很多商店,由於傾盆大雨及無意購買我們就沒有停下逛逛了.

2)故宮:最近迷上書法,故宮收藏大量來自中國各朝代皇室的珍品中,就包括了好幾篇書法藝術的顛峰之作:例如王羲之的快雪時晴帖,蘇東坡的寒食帖等等,可惜兩者目前皆沒有展出,可喜的是今次有兩個和書法相關的展覽:典藏新紀元展示了以近代作品為主的對聯,筆有千秋業則以歷代名家作品介紹書法的發展,其中包括蘇東坡另一大作:榿木詩卷,單看此兩展也不枉此行了,還有扇面書畫展也很精彩,至於其餘的玉器銅器瓷器等等,就不算太特別,香港藝術館也收藏不少.其實故宮最著名的兩件鎮館之寶皆被外借:白菜現在故宫南院,東坡肉則在三藩市的亞洲藝術館!我們唯有買下複製品留念(頸錬及磁石:)

3)台北美術館:展出的都是台灣當代藝術家作品,有些奇怪得creepy,例如李小鏡的動物人混合概念.較為有趣的是舞弄珍藏:主旨是把一些舊作品(如照片)改動再述.
4)科學教育館:以展品介紹數理化概念,也有介紹生態,遺傳學及半導體等等,我最欣賞的是科學攝影,包括微距拍生物,以及天文攝影.

5)三義木雕博物館:旅程最後一站是台中,因為要看之後介紹的薩克斯風博物館,順道經過以木雕聞名的三義市,司機建議參觀一下當地的木雕博物館,對各類藝術品口味很雜的我,其實對木雕頗為陌生,皆因木會腐朽難保存,不過最近讀過潮州老厝一書介紹潮人喜歡用木雕裝飾豪宅,總算加添了一點興趣,而佛像用木雕觀感亦相當調和,在此館我又見識了栩栩如生的木雕花卉鳥獸.
6)張連昌薩克斯風博物館:據音樂討論區網友,全球每三支saxophone有一支在台灣生產,而台灣最多此樂器工廠的地區應該就是鄰近台中的后里.台灣第一位成功製作saxophone的就是張連昌先生,他自小愛好音樂藝術,既擅畫畫,亦和鄉里夾band,當年saxophone十分昂貴,只有他一位做醫生的band友買得起,可是其宅失火,唯一一支sax被燒燬,亦無人能修理,於是贈予有意研究的張連昌,張逐個零件去鑽研,終於研發出製作方法,現在已傳至第四代,本來只為其他品牌做代工,張氏第三代才開始發展自己品牌.博物館簡單介紹了sax的分類,發明者,生產過程及發聲原理,近年迷上吹sax的我看得很過癮.

台灣另一個(偽)文青必到之地當然就是誠品書店!旅行期間我一般早起,不會晚過七點,所以24小時營業的誠品敦南店就是我最佳(或唯一?)選擇!從西門町德立莊酒店5號入口搭5號線坐5個站就到,結果隔一晚又去了一次,並逛了不是24小時營業的文具及音樂部,其實去多十幾次也逛不完,兩個小時也只是看了一點音樂和書法書.值得一提的是台灣不是每一間誠品也賣書，而台北賣書出名的還有重慶南路的書街。

事實上，台灣出版業一向發達，例如村上春樹作品中文譯本，以前有港版和台版，現在大家都讀台灣時報出版社的版本了。至於台灣人自己的作品，幾米的向左走向右走，香港網民幾乎無人不識，司機本來建議去宜蘭，其中一個景點就是幾米廣場，我們為免太趕沒去，改為到台北101附近的以幾米作品月亮忘認了為主題的巴士。

Last but no least,在台中去了由細玩到大的阿苗開的December Gallery,她平時在這裡教畫畫,在網上已看過她多幅作品,今次有緣親身觀賞,深深感受到那赤子之心.

Contemporary Art in San Jose

When one think of art museums in the Bay Area, the top names come to the mind are probably SFMOMA, De Young, ... etc. However, there are also many lesser known "hidden gems." My favorite free art museum is Cantor Art Center (and the Anderson Collection next to it) in Stanford. Another free museum that I frequently visit is Triton in Sunnyvale. It showed works from local photography competitions, for example. I needed to run some errands in San Jose downtown this Saturday and used this opportunity to visit  SJ Institute of Contemporary Art (also free admission)

One series of works featured pages from old magazines with faces covered up faces. I can understand the meaning but to be honest I think it's just too "easy". Another "easy" work was related to geography: it's the US map with state and state capital names switched around. Sometimes "easy" could also be "interesting"

Free admission to museums

Growing up I am used to paying admission fees to get into popular museums like the Space Museum in Hong Kong or the MET in New York. Then I found out a lot of museums have free admission days (like every Wed in most museums in HK or some Sundays in SF) so I would plan my visits accordingly. Finally, there are museums that are free all the time, like the Smithsonian in Washington DC, Cantor Arts Center in Stanford, Triton in Santa Clara (which I just visited yesterday for the exhibition of 10 artists inspired by John Lennon's "Imagine" and 2014 Photography competition) BTW, the $25 admission fee people paid at the MET is actually the "recommended" amount only. I could have paid $0.01 to get in :(

What started this post though, was the HK government backed "Sport For All" day: all government-run sports facilities (e.g. public swimming pool) were open free-of-charge to the public yesterday. Inspired by this, one newspaper columnist suggested that the government should offer full-time free admission to all museums in HK to encourage creativity of its people. At a first glance this seems to be a great idea but then I read the comment sections and saw a ton of naysayers: most think such policy would be abused: those free museums would have been "occupied" by the elders or tourists who simply enjoy free A/C and also kids treating the places as playgrounds (and the displayed pieces as toys!) This is sad but true: a reflection of the quality of the people (or the lack thereof.) There's no such problem with the free museums in the US from my limited experiences.

Carleton Watkins, 吳冠中, Rodin's hands @ Cantor Arts Center, Stanford

炎熱的週日下午歎免費冷氣，除了去mall，還可以去免費museums，例如Stanford的Cantor Arts Center。數月沒去，多了不少吸引的新展品展覽，最意外驚喜是攝影家Carleton Watkins：
坦白說，和油畫相比，我對攝影作品的熱情相差很遠，可能因為我經常被批評技術不濟的關係。除Ansel Adams之外，差不多無一認識；曾經在SFMOMA欣賞過Adams的原作，尤其喜歡他在Yosemite的作品；原來倒不是前無古人！這位Carleton Watkins是最早期的Yosemite攝影家，1860年代他帶著重達2000磅的自製攝影器材（包括大塊感光玻璃板，流動黑房及沖灑用品），由騾隊運載入谷兩度，認真艱巨。其成績與付出成正比，他的作品出色地展現大自然雄奇之美。除了Yosemite，影展還有兩個我都不感陌生的主題：一是三藩市的自然景觀及建築，包括Farallon Islands, Alcatraz, Cliff House等等，二是上月才去過的Columbia River Gorge，他成功地捕捉了Multnomah Falls, Castle Rock等地的神態，"Cape Horn, Near Celilo"的構圖更是特別巧妙。

"Cape Horn, near Celilo" (public domain, linked from Wikimedia commons)

另一個吸引我的是中國藝術部的山水展，既有古代傳統手法的水墨畫，也有新派如吳冠中引入西畫技巧的作品，以及最新一代的攝影及數碼圖像；世界日報原來有介紹此展覽。

最後想提的展覽是從醫學角度探究Rodin雕像中出現的各種病態之手。看過Rodin雕塑作品的朋友相信都會對其人物的獨特姿勢包括手部動作留下深刻印象，其實有部份是因為手部有病而扭曲。該展覽解釋幾種病的成因及治療方法，甚為有趣。

Spring Break 2013

Seems like writing about Spring Break has become my annual tradition (see 11, 12) even though I'm not a college kid anymore (And Berklee has no break between Winter and Spring!) I took only 2 days off work but did a lot during the weekends and weeknights.

It began with my sister's visit 3 weeks ago. I took her to the newly opened SFJAZZ center for a concert by the SFJAZZ Collective, the "house" band of the 20+ year and running festival. It was the first time I've been there too even though I've been curious (or I should say skeptical) about the concept of a building dedicated to jazz (well, I'm not the only one. Even a SFJAZZ collective member said he thought it could not have happened) I should have been to one of legendary jazz bassist Dave Holland's concert earlier in the year but I missed it. Anyway, the theme of the concert was playing music inspired by pianist Chick Corea and rearrangement of his works. Chick Corea was a name I learned when I was a kid listening to HK's Jazz Radio Programme (yes, such thing existed back then. The DJ was all excited when Miles Davis and Pat Metheny visited HK. RTHK3 still has a jazz programme these days) To be honest, for some unknown reason, I am not familiar with Chick Corea's work at all even after all these years listening to jazz. Almost each member of SFJAZZ collective (there were 8 of them, which made them somewhere between a small combo and bigband, an interesting lineup to me) contributed a piece (new composition or arrangement) that night. The Chick Corea piece I like the most that night was "Crystal Silence", a ballad. It has been a refreshing musical experience for my sister, an aspiring pianist herself. In fact, she was so inspired that she went to Hiromi trio's concert after she went back (Hiromi played at SFJAZZ before flying there! What a coincidence :) She's definitely one of the most exciting young talent (and pianist) today.)

Also worthy to mention was the dinner before the concert: we had it at "Off the Grid," a food truck event at Fort Mason. We had pork puns from Koja (a truck that fused Korean and Japanese food) and The Chairman (I wrote about this truck before) And a Kalifornia Kölsch (beer) Pretty good food and even better atmosphere!

Another fun thing we did was hitting all these different coffee shops in the Peninsula 'coz my sis was also an aspiring coffee connoisseur. Check out her journal of her coffee experience during this visit!

Then we did something really healthy: playing badminton together. We haven't done it for maybe 30 years! Still remember the wooden rackets we used in those days.

Almost every time she visited, we would go to wineries. No exception this time and we picked a great day (Monday) to go to Napa. First we stopped in downtown for a lunch at Morimoto. She saw the restaurant and took a picture of it last time so it's a natural choice this time around. The famous bone marrow justified its fame. The other dishes we got were good too, including a wagyu beef wrap. The wrapper was edible rice paper which made it even more interesting. Another place we missed last time was Bouchon Bakery 'coz the line was so long but it's surprisingly short on a Monday. So we all got macarons (actually I shared an eclair too) which are very reasonably priced because of their huge sizes. Enough about eateries, the wineries we visited included Chandon (a pretty surrounding), Opus One (classy looking. Can't believe my sis hasn't been there before), Groth (interesting architecture - Mission style), Paraduxx (we did a tasting here and was very impressed by the high quality), and last but not least, Alpha Omega (our good friend is a member and made an appointment for outdoor tasting for us there. Awesome wine and view!) We were back to the City after a relatively smooth drive. Still, we barely made it to the happy hour at Hog Island at the Ferry Building (yes, long line there. Lots of people went after work I suppose) We had a few dozen of oysters, their unique clam chowder soup that was served with real clams still in the shells, and of course good beer (Racer 5 IPA)

On the last day of her trip, we're back to SF again. No luck with the Golden Gate Bakery of egg tart fame which has been in a loooong vacation. The main thing I wanna took her to was the noon time concerts that occurs every Tuesday at the cozy Old St. Mary's Cathedral. Coincidentally, a warhorse of the violin repertoire, Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata, was performed that day. It was a superb performance.

Then we headed to the shopping area and visited her type of store: the trendy UNIQLO clothing store, and my type of stores: the artsy Lomography store and the smelly Rasputin music store. The other Lomography store I've been to before was the one in the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna and fittingly the Lomography movement was started there (the society that promotes event for the community is headquartered in Vienna and the camera distributor/trademark owner is also in Austria) So, what is Lomography all about? Basically it's a community of photographers that advocate creative and experimental film photography. To me, the most important and interesting aspect is spontaneity and de-emphasizing traditional techniques. A few of my friends have done a lot of that on FB, not with film though. I definitely enjoy looking at the photo displayed in the stores. In fact, I read a travel guide to HK using Lomographic photo and the photo fitted very nicely in the book. Well, as far as actually doing it, it's not really for a lazy guy like me as the films needed to be developed. I didn't actually shoot much pic before the digital era. I did spend some money at Rasputin, $6 on vinyl including Crystal Silence by Chick Corea/Gary Burton (inspired by the SFJAZZ performance obviously) and a Bach album by renowned classical guitarist Christopher Parkening.

The fun was not over (though a bit less :( ) after my sis left town. I had a weekend all to myself. First stop on that Friday was Nickie sports bar on Haight street. The Giants game (a really close win) was just over when I arrived and people were all in celebration mode. All TV was still showing the same Giants channel and no one bothered to switch to other games (I expect facility to show multiple games from multiple sports to be qualified as a sports bar) I did got my request fulfilled: the A's game. (I know nobody cares about the A's in the city) I never like parking in SF but that area is especially bad. The street parking is only for 2 hour. I have no choice but to leave early, way before I needed to but I did squeeze in a few min to drop by Metro Caffe for its cheesesteak sandwich that got a pretty good rave on Yelp as dinner.

The main event of that night was Pharoah Sanders Quartet playing at Yoshi's SF. I have seen his group performed Yoshi's Oakland many years before and enjoyed his music a lot. Even though he was often promoted as a collaborator of Coltrane and you could easily hear Coltrane's influence (well, everybody was influenced by Coltrane!), nowadays Sanders play fairly accessible yet refreshing sounding jazz. The amount of energy from this senior musician was unbelievable.

Saturday was reserved for an all-day bike ride (well, not quite, only on the saddle for 6+ hours) at Mt. Diablo (from Danville to the summit, and down north to Walnut Creek, through Clayton and Morgan Territory and loop back to Danville) 65 miles in total. It's kinda scary (steep downhill and the no man's land) but I'm also proud of riding it all by myself!

It was admission-free day at the Asian Art Museum the next day. Of course I won't miss it! The line was much longer than expected though: it was 3 block long when I arrived 20 minutes after the museum was opened. The museum was heavily promoting the Qin terracotta warrior exhibition which was NOT free but fortunately I wasn't too interested (In fact, I found it amusing that stores sell real-life size statue for garden decoration. Don't people know they were for accompanying the dead?) There were plenty to keep me busy anyway, including the South Asian part (mainly Buddhism and Hinduism from India, which I never had time to explore much of them) I always get something different from the art after reading more Buddhism and religion-related literature. As usual, I spent some time on Chinese painting. This time I paid more attention to the works from the Lingnan school (some Lingnan masters lived in HK after the war) And there was another exhibit dedicated to Chinese painters near our time. Those were artists/teachers immigrated to the States in the last century. They have not only used Western technique but also Western subjects (like the family of then US president)

I wish I had more time to spend at the museum but there was an interesting concert from the San Francisco Symphony's Chamber Series, which featured musicians from the orchestra and a program of unfamiliar works from familiar composers (Bruch, Amy Beach and Hindemith) As a violist myself, I especially enjoyed the appearance of the usually under-represented/appreciated instrument. In fact, Hindemith himself was a violist and he wrote the Octet featuring 2 violists in which he intended to play and showed off a little bit. The yet more unusual moment happened during the Bruch's trio pieces: the clarinetist couldn't flip his sheet music to the right page and the trio had to stop and started over. I was really puzzled and thanks to this review by San Francisco Classical Voice, I found out the confusion was likely caused by not all 8 pieces written by Bruch was performed. Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable performance.

Finally, the "break" was over after attending jazz pianist Vijay Iyer's talk at Stanford, which I'll write in a separate post. (Yes, this has been a loooong post, which explained why my blog was not updated for over a week!)

香港遊：景點篇

作為土生土長的香港人回港探親，像個遊客般參觀香港的景點，其實也未嘗不可。沒有帶同小朋友，當然不會去海洋公園（他們頗期望看看那對金絲猴）今次首個景點是尖沙咀，今日的TST已不是以前逛得熟得不得了的老尖。上次到過新的大廈The One飲茶，新的美麗華商場之前也去過；iSquare及K11卻是第一次去。每次見到新的建築或店舖，總會問問自己那裡以前是甚麼。老尖雖逛得多，這些建築的前身卻也要在Wiki找找才知到。iSquare以前是舊凱悅酒店（報紙相關文章），以前經過無數次，入面卻印象全無，最記得的算是某套電影一個女配角名為Hyatt :P K11這個名字有點奇怪，原來奇得有道理：那是市區重建局重建項目的編號，代表九龍區第11個項目！因重建被拆的舊樓照片可在維基及這帖找到。名牌店舖林立，本來充滿銅臭，難得發展商特地加入一點藝術元素來平衡一下：商場內外均展出不少現代作品，例如用烘麵包砌出來的仿蒙羅麗沙「廣告」畫，體現Pop art精神。

出國參觀藝術館，是指定動作；不過香港也有一個我差不多次次都去的，就是位於香港公園的茶具文物館，今次看過茶馬古道的展覽方知，原來這條又稱南方絲綢之路的古道，是中國最古老的國際通道之一，在戰國時期就已開發，是中原對馬的需求，和西藏對茶的愛好（幫助消化），所形成的跨越青藏高原的貿易路線。

茶具文物館旁的羅桂祥茶藝館上次去的時候在裝修，現時展覽名為「石語刀痕」(圖片)，好明顯主角是印章，其實同場加映還有羅桂祥博士捐出的古代名窯出產的瓷器。中學時代跟麥老師學過少許篆刻，所以對印章特別有感情。一件印章體積雖小，卻可從三方面欣賞：石本身的色澤花紋，印紐的雕刻，以及印文的書法構圖。

看完兩個「分館」順理成章地到尖沙咀的「主館」香港藝術館，位於海濱的現址在91年落成，那是我出國留學之後的事了。今期的Andy Warhol展固然有趣，想不到香港官方收藏的中國書畫實在不乏珍品，文徵明及沈周等等的山水畫均極具吸引力。另有介紹中國古今瓷器製作及彩繪技術的展覽，十分詳細。我覺得最特別的則是外銷畫展覽，所謂外銷畫是指由中國畫師採用西方媒介及參考西方技法繪製，大量出口的作品，這些畫以中國的民風習俗、地形風貌為主題，滿足了西方對中國的好奇心，深獲歐美人士欣賞。展品包括早期尚在摸索階段以至後期技巧已趨成熟的作品，值得一看。

維多利亞公園絕對是香港一大景點，君不見國內遊客特地到此參加遊行嗎？當然，他們也特地到此處舉行的工展會掃貨。我們去維園也是為了後者（遊行在數天前）記憶中第一次去工展會是2001年，那時還在中環添馬艦舉行，對我來說懷舊味道甚重，皆因懂事之後工展會已停辦，聽老一輩說當年工展會頗受重視，工展小姐選舉是香港最早的選美會呢，去評頭品足一番也是樂事，真正重頭戲卻是看看各種產品的demo。那次買了一種名為「賽鋼」可用作填補裂縫的化學產品。今次在維園，媽媽極力推薦，由於爸爸對維園附近的停車場並不熟悉，我事先搜索一下，發現07年就有人問過同樣問題並已被解答，結果我們泊在興發街維園對面的住宅大廈收費停車場二個半小時，盛惠$65，也不算超貴。很多貨品是睇得過癮但買就非必要（最怕坐飛機多帶行李），例如開酒器暖水瓶等等，結果我買了皮帶，姐姐就買了菜刀，還吃了不少小食如羊架、糖蔥餅、楊枝金露等等，這樣就渡過一個愉快的下午。

最後想提的「景點」是個人「認識香港」計劃的一站：我打算每次訪港都去一個以前未去過的地方。以前我就識得港島朋友從未到過大埔，香港雖小，我未去過的地方卻不少，受之前「無街之城」的討論影響，今次選了將軍澳。其實驟眼看起來也和沙田及馬鞍山等有點相似，記得以前行沙田的店舖車站圖書館也常常倚賴商場的通道，避過日曬雨淋，而沙田新城市及相連廣場本身就沒有幾多好逛的對街地舖。將軍澳對我來說有三個出名地方：一、無線電視城，二、壹傳媒，三、首都。前兩者的環境我覺得和大埔工業村也沒多大分別；後者則是外表「正常」的屋苑，只是名字夠霸氣：香港開埠過百年才首次「定都」！首都每座分左翼及右翼，各設獨立電梯大堂，合共十個部份，稱為「十閣」，各有獨立名稱，以全球知名城市分別命名：（第一座起）班芙、佛羅倫斯、琉森、馬德里、米蘭、蒙特利爾、奧斯陸、威尼斯、維也納及威士拿。諷刺的是，十個之中只有三個是本國的首都！和樓盤名稱同樣騎呢。

「認識香港」的下一站應選那裡好呢？也是時候計劃一下了。

紐約+華盛頓：博物館篇

在我心目中，紐約Metropolitan Museum of Art可算是全美頭號美術館，規模及展品名氣皆無出其右。我們精選觀看最有興趣的樂器收藏部（包括古今歐亞非吹打拉弦樂器）、古希臘羅馬雕塑、印象派油畫、美國藝術（例如Tiffany創辦人的兒子設計的擺設及Frank Lloyd Wright設計的客廳），僅有的兩小時過得十分充實。

兩個孩子都對建築頗有興趣，所以不能不帶他們去去Guggenheim藝術館（那是我們紐約之旅最後一站！）該館主攻現代藝術，大量抽象作品，也有一些印象派油畫；當然，建築物本身就是一件藝術品。

在DC Union Station一下車，就見到郵政博物館(Postal Museum)，我到達DC第二天早上便去了參觀。可算是頗為冷門之選，遊人甚少。該館主要介紹美國郵政服務由殖民地時代至今的發展史；美國地廣民居分散，原來多年前民眾及商業郵購刺激郵政服務發展，其中一種重要商品竟然是種子。另外還展出世界各地的郵票，我就看了香港1862年的郵票。該館商店可供購買的相關郵政產品卻很少，只提供目錄作郵購之用！

DC眾多博物館的「龍頭」要算是Museum of Natural History，小朋友對大蛇昆蟲等等展覽都看得津津有味。我們一同看了一套IMAX 3D電影，主題是北極生態危機：冰川不斷融化減少，改變了當地動物的生活；相當煽情。中學時代訪美印象最深刻的DC博物館卻是Air and Space Museum，那是穿梭機一飛衝天去的年代，今次去最吸引我的反而是Wright Brothers在發明飛機前製造的單車！這些博物館同屬Smithsonian Institution旗下（全部免費入場），SI的informational center形如古堡，也是一大景點。它們位處的幾條街合稱為National Mall，還包括Museum of American History（展品林林總總，總之就和美國歷史有關，例如歷代總統及第一夫人的服裝餐具等等用品，又如美國海陸交通網的發展，還有幾支名電結他，和早年測試重要商業電腦程式語言COBOL的部件-一部把程式由打字鍵盤錄到磁帶及另一部大如雪櫃播放磁帶把程式傳到電腦的器材）還展出一支曾在Baltimore飄揚的大型美國旗及相關史事，據聞是美國歌The Spangled Banner的靈感來源。

展品其實不限於館內，National Mall有幾個館外的雕塑花園(Sculpture Garden)，例如展出現代藝術的Hirshhorn museum外就有艾未未（他在美國似乎頗有市場）創作的現代派十二獸首（題材當然源自圓明園那十二個）至於古代雕塑，可在National Gallery of Art之內看到。作為國家畫廊，當然亦有大量歷代名畫。可惜Gallery東館正在裝修，它和西館的古典式建築相反，充滿現代感，是貝聿銘備受讚賞的作品。

在National Mall以外的Smithsonian博物館就有Museum of American Art and Portrait Gallery，美國藝術部顧名思義，全為美國藝術家作品，部份出自黑人藝術家手筆。總的來說，歐洲藝術界的影響固然明顯，遼闊草原山谷風景畫卻顯美國獨有的特色；最特別的是從藝術角度欣賞電子遊戲的展覽。肖像部則包括美國歷任總統以至體壇樂壇巨星。雖然因為關門時間甚晚而參觀，卻比想像中有看頭，算是意外收獲。

另一極具美國歷史學習價值的地方是林肯總統遇刺身亡的Ford's Theater，該館提供導賞團（免費門票須預先索取）解釋事件詳情。和罪案有關的還有間諜博物館(International Spy Museum)，各種竊聽偷錄喬裝暗殺器材及技術層出不窮，小朋友極感興趣；至於間諜界的名人佚事，大人也看得入神。

不過成人世界最受歡迎的應是印銀紙廠(Bureau of Engraving and Printing)該廠同樣提供導賞團（免費門票亦須預先索取，我們八時半到，還拿到九時半的票，實在不錯）展示印刷、剪開紙幣的詳過程。

DC內部裝修最華麗的建築物則是國會圖書館(Library of Congress)，由志願人士帶隊的導賞團詳細解釋每一處裝飾的意義（例如壁畫展示文明由口述到筆錄至印刷的發展過程），館內的國寶級展品包括一本顧驣堡印刷術製成的完整聖經。

國會圖書館收藏了大量書籍錄像照片等等，不過和美國歷史息息相關的重要文稿原本卻是收藏於National Archive，包括美國獨立宣言、憲法及Bill of Rights；還有英國人要求國王改革的大憲章(Magna Carta)

為DC之旅作結的則是新聞博物館(Newseum)，介紹新聞出版的歷史及相關技術的發展，世界各地新聞自由度，還有展出位於世貿911被炸毀的一截廣播發射天線，以及一段被拆下的柏林圍牆。最好玩的莫過於女兒扮新聞主播，我用$5買下錄像留念。

有圖有真相