奧運城市

上兩個月就想介紹一篇文章，關於奧運城市在申奧成功後往往大興土木，建球場體育館宿舍等等，但在奧運結束後即荒廢，其頹敗情狀認真不堪入目，是不折不扣的勞民傷財大白象！政府落得負債累累，受害的當然是市民；而事前政府所指的經濟效益，也只是空頭支票，真正撈到油水會是貪官和朋比為奸的承建商，難怪每次申奧都有不少城市樂此不疲。

奇怪的是，2024及2028這兩屆，竟然無人問津，巴黎和洛杉磯輕易取得主辦權！還記得十幾年前遊巴黎，見不少和申奧有關的橫額海報，不過輸了給倫敦。今天聽體育台的Happy hour節目討論此話題，原來洛城是少數辦奧運真正有錢賺的城市，皆因校際體育活動及旅遊業本已相當發達，大部份設施可使用現成的：包括大學宿舍､體育館､大球場及酒店。希望到時不用加州或美國政府倒貼吧。

California Audio Show 2017

I wrote on this blog the last 2 times I attended the show (2011, 2015) It was on hiatus last year. The 2017 show was at Oakland Airport Hilton (instead of SFO) with fewer rooms (I guess it helped to manage the cost) Still, the manufacturer line up was impressive and I spent a solid 3 hours listening to various systems. The show was "divided" into 4 areas and roughly equal to 4 different classes of equipments:
1) the "sky is the limit" class has 2 rooms: the ultra-expensive Von Schweikert speakers + VAC tube monoblock amp is no doubt the best system of the whole show (well, for that price tag it gotta be)

2) the "still too expensive" class has 1 floor of bigger rooms: the Margules group is the winner here. The system was able to generate a huge soundstage with its own turntable, tube amps and (a very conventional dynamic) speakers. For electrostatic speakers, Sound Lab and Martin Logan were both there. The latter had a pair of huge ones named Neolith (for some reason I just don't appreciate it as much as the smaller systems I listened to before. Maybe the music they played turned me off :P) I would give the edge to Sound Lab. The Acapella spherical horns (speakers) sounded great with vocals too. You can't really go wrong with anything on that floor.

3) the "not too expensive" class is on the 2nd floor with smaller rooms: Audio Note UK has complete tube amp/speakers/turntable system that sounded great as usual (and doesn't require a ton of space behind the speakers) but my top pick went to Volti Audio. The design of having a horn in the middle used by the Rival speakers seem to be the way to go. And it costs less than eight grand! They were also placement-friendly like the Audio Note speakers.

4) the "affordable" class features, finally, equipments that I may buy, i.e. headphone/DAC/amp that I could listen to often. For some reason I am less "in love" with the Audeze planer magnetic headphone this time. I did find some very interesting product by SCHIIT (yeah, weird name) First, I AB-compared the headphone out on a M$ Surface tablet vs Fulla 2 DAC/AMP using a song I'm very familiar with, No Doubt's "Don't Speak" The latter sounded more detailed and fuller with an entry-level Sennheiser headphone. One step up was SCHIIT Modi 2 (DAC) and Vali 2 (AMP) combo (using a pair of Beyerdynamics DT-880. All three combined costs <$500! You can't have a better deal than this)

After checking out hardware, of course it's time for software!  I found THE deal of the show: 5 for $15 vinyl from the "guitar music"  bin of the Audio Nerd. I joked with the guy if he had something against guitar :p He said they just happened to have extra inventory. 

I  hope the show will be back in 2018!

簡體字書在香港書展

一年一度香港書展又來了，記得往年受談論的新聞主要和o靚模有關，不然就是書商趁機大清倉臨尾大劈價，今年有一則不同：來自中國售簡體字的書商抱怨香港簡體字教育不足以致他們的書滯銷，不過寧蝕運費運回國也不打算賤賣。今時今日中港矛盾之深，這樣的說話實在很令人反感，其實問題本身值得思考和討論。我們這一代未必通曉簡體字，但能讀簡體字書的也很多，新一代受新移民家庭影響，相信更加沒問題。從小到大我買過讀過不少簡體字書，包括數學象棋歷史書，都沒有繁體版；也有小說，因為便宜。我認為書籍如果滯銷，相信和內容及售價不夠吸引有關，書商應該自我檢討，何必諉過於人？

Sports highlights: three impressive (or improbable) victories

I am talking about golf's British Open, soccer's Gold Cup (semi-final) and NASCAR's Brickyard 400.

Heading into Sunday's final round, Jordan Spieth had been leading the tournament since Round 1 on Thursday. However, blowing his lead in the final round of a major championship was something he has done before (last year's Masters) And he almost did it again with consecutive bogeys in the beginning of the round. Then he finally lost his lead to Matt Kuchar on the 13th: his tee shot went way way wide. It took a long time to find his ball and then another lengthy delay to find a place to drop the ball (ended up somewhere near the driving range) Nevertheless, he did a good job with damage control: he was only 1 stroke behind after this hole. Then he sank a long put to eagle the 15th and never looked back. I didn't have the guts to watch all these live (glad that I switched channel before the "disastrous" 13th) but I am so happy to see a fellow Texas alum winning a big one. (To be honest, I would not have followed it if not for him. Who won the 2017 US Open anyway? I have no clue) He is now the youngest golfer to have won the first 3 legs of the 4 majors since Jack Nicklaus.

The rematch between 2 former Gold Cup finalists, Mexico and Jamaica, happened one round earlier this time, at the semi-final. Mexico has not trailed at any moment in this tournament so far. And they had many chances during the first half, only to be denied by the excellent Jamaican goalkeeper. Jamaica's play improved in the 2nd half. And the game was 0-0 until the very last minutes. Just when I thought it would end with PKs. Jamaica scored an impressive free kick. The Mexican goalie had no chance. Looking forward to the final between Jamaica and USA! (Even though my buddy looked down on this tournament!)

NASCAR drivers and owners consider the annual Brickyard 400 as one of the more prestigious races (other than Daytona) on the calendar, because it races at the iconic Indy Motorspeedway. Kyle Busch won it last year (as well as the year before, but nothing since then) has been strong and leading the whole race, until he was wrecked by the also very competitive (in fact, red hot all season) Martin Truex Jr (who admitted his fault after the race) The crash left the door open to drivers like Matt Kenseth (who lead after the restart) and Trevor Bayne (who was on a different pitting strategy) Then we have 3 drivers stayed out of the pits: Brad K, JJ and Kasey Kahne (who has been in a long slump with a 100+ race losing streak) Kahne was the first among these 3 that pitted and he got lucky: Kurt Busch crashed right after Kahne left the pit so he became the leader after the subsequent restart. He survived the last restart at the OT and ended his drought! This 18th victory could be the one that revived his once-promising career.

機上娛樂2017暑假篇之二

繼續寫寫其餘在旅程看過的電影/節目。

• 三少爺的劍：本片改編自我未讀過的同名古龍小說。首先出場的是一位劍法高超的劍客，原來他叫燕十三，卻不是三少爺，接著出場的是三少爺的舊情人，真正的神劍山莊三少爺卻躲在妓院做打雜，是為了避開一眾迫他稱霸武林的家人情人，當然事與願違不得不戰。男女角長相都不太吸引，算是打發了點無聊時間吧。其實本片最令我覺得有趣的是最尾演員名單出現了一個久違了的名字：顧冠忠，我認不出舊情人父親就是由他飾演；另一位我認得出飾演三少爺父親的，正是徐少強！這兩位同時出現，相信80年代電視迷都會聯想起當年轟動一時的「中途易角事件」：麗的天蠶變主角雲飛揚本來由徐飾演，拍攝及出街半途，徐突然失蹤，結果找到顧頂上，在劇中的解釋是練成天蠶神功後連容貌也改變了！再Google一下，更發現本片導演爾冬陞在1977年正是飾演楚原執導的三少爺的劍成名，而徐和顧兩人也有份！而當年三少爺的「新情人」由余安安飾演，比這個版本漂亮吧。
• 這個冬天不太冷：這個電視節目由無線旗下三位音樂人參與，一起遊阿拉斯加，三集節目介紹了北極光，通往北極的公路，位於北極圈內的小鎮巴羅（Barrow，竟然有香港人移民當地揸的士！）等等，三位音樂才華實在不弱，在極地彈彈唱唱十分好feel，大家不妨上YouTube看看。
• Beltracchi: The Art of Forgery: 即使對藝術品古玩拍賣市場毫不認識，都會聽過贗品充斥的問題，不過贗品「製作人」的故事，相信大家就不會聽過幾多，始終他們都是「見光死」，難得近年有「落網人」公開其故事，當然他們「從良」後要賺點收入，甚至可以靠影片提高知名度，或者有人欣賞其原創作品而成功轉型也說不定，這個肯定是Beltracchi出鏡的原因。此君本身頗有才華，十四歲就已經能抄畢加索到似模似樣；亦對藝術史藝術家有深入認識，他說他會從藝術家作品集找「靈感」，例如某畫家有一段時期沒有作品流傳，他就會從其他敍述中「創作」一件風格相符的作品。至於如何找舊畫布，偽造作品被收藏家買入的故事，也很有趣。Beltracchi夫婦曾經因為這門「生意」十分風光，不過2010年被補及被判有罪，需還款歸原主兼坐監，真是一場空。

不同場加映：到埗翌日是星期日，大雨無出街，爸爸介紹看港台31台逢星期日下午播放的音樂節目，播的是「Bob Dylan 無處是吾家」我陰謀論地認為在回歸廿週年介紹這位以抗爭音樂聞名的唱作人，是港台又一次暗反「阿爺」:P

還有一天早上channel surfing，在電影台看到警察鬥大盜的《通天大盜》，主角是林子祥（被盜一方保險公司的調查員）及楊紫瓊（心靈空虛以做案為樂的富婆），部份在巴黎拍攝，又有滑雪滑翔機騎馬等exotic玩意，當年（87年）普羅大眾相信沒有像現在般常常有機會外遊玩樂，自然覺得格外有新鮮感。就算撇除這些今日看來很cheesy的情節，我也覺得頗有娛樂性。

機上娛樂2017暑假篇之一

一如過往，坐長途機都是睡不著，今次第一程看了三部電影，兩集電視及一部紀錄片。回程也看了三部電影，兩集電視及一場音樂會錄像。

• Logan：此片算是X-Men系列作品，之前幾套我都非常欣賞，所以對本片十分期待，上畫時本就想拉隊去看可是攪不成。上機前已和兒子討論，他說既以金剛狼為主角，相信會很血腥，事實上的確如此。不過片中時代的Logan，能力已不復當年勇，連打不死之身也走下坡；故事主題是以「人工製造」Mutant為「武器」的公司，因為新技術淘汰舊技術，要把一大批少年武器殺害，以揸出租汽車為業的Logan，就被捲入拯救行動，包括一名有他的Mutant基因的少女。
• Lego Batman movie：早幾年在香港戲院看了第一套Lego Movie，結局揭露原來是現實世界中的爸爸不准兒子亂動他的Lego collections，十分欣賞。本片的主題是惡搞Batman和Joker的關係：前者似乎不能沒有後者！感覺上太過胡鬧。
• John Wick, John Wick 2：由Matrix「型到震」的Keanu Reeves著到官仔骨骨做打不死的「殺神」，其實兩集內容差不多，我還是先看第二集再在回程看第一集呢！第一集中Wick為亡妻留給他的愛狗被殺復仇，第二集則被迫為黑幫大佬殺人再對抗全球追殺令。相信導演很受吳宇森及發哥的英雄片風格及形像影響，原來不只我這樣想，請看此網上文章。
• Jack Reacher：本片有點John Wick X Logan的味道，皆因靚佬湯飾演的主角Jack Reacher也是打不死的戰神，而主線又是打救懷疑被他「留種」生的女兒；當然，片中角色最吸引我的是我一直十分喜歡的舊Sitcom "How I Met Your Mother"女主角Robin(Cobie Smulder)她飾演一名好打得的女軍人，其下屬因揭發軍火商陰謀被殺，她順理成章被陷害，和她常常通訊卻素未謀面的Reacher也被捲入其中，逃亡期間有少許Smulder露bra鏡頭甚養眼；芳鹷十八飾演機警的「女兒」的Danika Yarosh也演得很稱職。
• 骨妹：本身不算梁詠琪fans，其實由她主演吸引力不大，不過很好奇一把年紀的她如何演譯一個骨妹，原來她的戲份是已離開了該行；故事開始時梁和丈夫在台灣生活，無意中在報紙看到一則㝷人廣告，尋的正是她，事緣她的老友剛過世，梁回到她長大及工作的澳門和其他舊友團聚，原來過世友人購了保險受益人是已經翻臉遠走的她！接著就倒敘當年梁(桑拿場19號 )如何入行，如何從「老師傅」（「重口味」江美儀飾演）努力學按摩，如何得到其他同場女幫助，特別是未過世前的18號，如何和18號艱苦地共同湊大後者的私生子；當中的母子情及姐妹情實在賺人熱淚，也算對骨場⻣妹有了少少認識，剛去完澳門的我感覺上好像去了兩次呢。

 
最後介紹我在機上聽了的一張爵士唱片，是鼓手Will Calhoun向Elvin Jones致敬之作，可以在Spotify上重溫（當中有cover Wayne Shorter一曲Mahjong，倒和去香港有點關係呢）：


請留意part 2

文藝香港

早幾年重拾玩筆寫字的樂趣後，會常常去看看（中國）書畫展，幸運地在灣區有個矽谷亞洲藝術中心，當然，在香港機會就更多；今次訪港第一週就在中環大會堂看了三個書畫會：香港中國美術會、九鼎書法會及筆尋嘗畫會的會員作品展。九鼎書法會更是「開正我嗰瓣」：大力推廣古書體，展出很多金文篆隸之作。
今次也看了以本土為主題的畫展，其實本來打算到觀塘的一新美術館，陰差陽錯卻去了香港大學美術博物館（在荷花池拍攝不到荷花，幸好找到此館不算白行一趟）
至於音樂會，下機當晚在D100爵士鍾情FB頁的介紹下去了旺角樓上餐廳（真的叫做Upper，位於「著名」砵蘭街地區一座架步林立的大廈！）的一場音樂會，是由鼓手Nate Wong領軍的Wong Way Down，玩的是Fusion風格爵士樂，包括多首原創作品，這隊樂隊創作及演奏水平均相當高。臨尾Nate用melodica玩了幾首歌，無獨有偶，這是我最最最近期玩的樂器！

在機上讀港版星島日報，介紹HKCO4U（香港中樂團「為你」）這場以年輕樂手為主角的音樂會，如果我沒有記錯，原來自小就喜愛中樂的我從來未曾去過一場專業正式的中樂會！（小朋友演出不算）演出場地地址就是香港中樂團，其實位於上環文娛中心之內。當晚第一個驚喜，就是我久聞大名的炎黃第一鼓閻學敏擔任司儀，他笑說由於近日天氣炎熱，打鼓會火氣攻心，因此當晚音樂會並無打鼓部份，他改為負責介紹作品及樂手。第一首作品以一支低音大笛為主角，玻璃鋼製造的大笛我是首次見識，音質雄渾有勁。而由揚琴伴奏的二胡獨奏傳統作品一枝花，就讓二胡高手施展出渾身解數。接著是香港作曲家廖穎琛的琵琶作品花針，正如鼓王指出該作品利用琵琶發出十幾種不同的聲音，實在變化多端，掃弦手法令我想起力度澎拜的重金屬及Flamenco結他！由兩枝二胡合奏的良宵，老實說也不太特出，不過鼓王說這是兩人對話版卻沒有錯。接著五首均為胡樂（高胡，二胡，胡，低音胡）四重奏：也就是以西樂弦樂四重奏為藍本的一種編制，我也是首次接觸。對於參考西樂的做法，我也感到頗矛盾：一方面，玩西樂流行樂的我，對西式的和音手法比較「習以為常」，而中式合奏大家大致上玩同一個旋律的手法不是那麼「認同」，卻同意那是值得保留的傳統；其實對於「新VS舊」這一點，我找到一篇詳盡的分析。我想各種玩法都有高人可以玩得好聽吧。當晚的四重奏我最欣賞由旅居北京德國音樂家「老鑼」的作品「燃燒希望」，至於當晚首演另一首香港音樂家譚逸昇所編，由三首中港台名曲（康定情歌，月光光，高山青）串成的作品，當然有點「政治正確」的味道，其實也編得頗為有趣，例如所用的chromaticism有點爵士味。（對我來說更有點個人感情：康曲的歌詞「廿八蚊一塊....」當年啟發了我們把樂隊名稱改為SPS，而SPS就曾在上環文娛中心比賽，演出了「電訊盈科」）

週末最後一擊去了另一個（中環近上環）樓上表演場所「花好音樂廳」的Funk jazz之夜，演出包括Mike Stern, John Scofield, Jaco等等的名作，兩位結他手Simon Yu和Wilson Lam，相對後者簡單一部BOSS multi-effect, 前者的Stomp box算多籮籮，總之各有各特色。

後記：在Google老鑼時得知早幾年他因為作品《法海你不懂愛 》惹來宗教界及其他人士抨擊他侮辱佛教人物。老老實實，以我對白蛇傳少少的認識，的確覺得故事中的法海有點多管閒事，我這講法是否要被禁呢？

何文田A3遊

去年十月觀塘綫延綫通車很多傳媒提到新的何文田站依山而建，部分出口遠高於月台，例如由月台到通往愛民邨的A3出口共五百多級樓梯，和廿五層樓相若，被毛記電視惡搞，我一直就想去行行。今天正好要去紅磡張榮記，似乎會坐港鐵去黃埔站並會經過何文田站，不過家人教路，在旺角的話搭巴士(6C,6F)較方便，在張榮記再問如何去黃埔站，原來最近的站就是何文田站！入站前看到的裝飾覺得甚有特色，在閘口這一層行去A3減省了月台上來的樓梯，所以只得百多級而已。

題外話：今天是觀音誕（每年有數天，這天是成道日），我們經過觀音廟，見香火鼎盛。

Cycling and sailing (and a new America's Cup winner!)

I have been loosely following this new edition of the America's Cup since Oracle USA's miraculous victory 4 years ago. I watched a bit of the Louis Vuitton Cup competition earlier this year and was surprised by the new system used by Team New Zealand: instead of winding with arms and hands, they used a bicycle-like pedaling system which winds with leg power. I was very curious and immediately Googled it and found this article. And I missed the TV coverage of all America's Cup races until it's over! This time no comeback from USA. This new pedal system seems to be THE innovation that contributes a lot to the success of Team New Zealand according to this article. Congrat to the Kiwis! (yeah, Larry doesn't win every time)

3 Minutes to Midnight

昨天才聽了一首我熟悉的Iron Maiden歌曲，來自其精選的Two Minutes to Midnight!今天聽的名字多了「一分鐘」，卻是完全風馬牛不相及的結他手Lawson Rollins的新唱片
Lawson Rollins的風格大致可歸類為New flamenco, 即Jesse Cook及Ottmar Liebert那一類，論技術及創作水平，Rollins和他們都不遑多讓；近年他每有新作，結他雜誌都會訪問，和我一樣十分推薦。

拍攝荷花

相熟朋友都知我喜歡帶著相機周圍去但拍不出甚麼好東西，反正拍過的照片將來未必找得到。記得早幾年訪港見過好幾個荷塘，包括饒宗頤文化館及北區雲泉仙館，不過都是在秋冬時候，荷花盛放的五六月早已過了，只剩淍零殘花，僅可拍頽廢之美。最近找到去年一篇文章介紹香港八大影荷花熱點，雲泉也榜上有名，且看有否緣份去其他拍拍。

Steve Wozniak the painter

I went to Paint Nite's event several times before. Basically each event is a lesson by an artist who taught you how to paint a piece from start to finish. These are not serious art lessons but more like social events where you can (or expected) to drink. After attending one, I receive their newsletter regularly. And a recent one is about a painting called "Tahitian Sunset" which is quite pretty but what really caught my eye was the name of the artist who created it: Steve Wozniak. Is he "the WOZ" (Apple's co-founder)? Hmm...... No. 

RIP Geri Allen

I've just learned that the amazing jazz pianist Geri Allen has passed away. I have enjoyed her performances for decades. For those not familiar with her music, just listen to her album "Life of a Song" and you will understand how talented she was.

It's a very sad day for all jazz lovers.

Superhero comics as a reflection of social movements

I watched a documentary aired on the History Channel called "Superhero decoded." At a first glance it was kinda like a promotion for the new Wonder Woman movie! However, I actually learned quite a few surprising facts from it. For example, I have no idea that Stan Lee created the X-Men as a reaction to the African American Civil Right movement! The message was that American shouldn't look down on others because they were different. He also joked that he was lazy to come up with backstories for each Superhero how they acquired the superpower so they were all just born with it :) And the peace-loving Professor X (Charles Xavier) and the aggressive Magneto also represented two schools of thoughts from the two African American leaders: MLK Jr and Malcolm X. Still, the first Marvel black superhero were created a bit latter. That would be the Black panther, a prince from a fictional African country. Then the first African American superhero appeared: Falcon, who was the crime-fighting partner of Captain America.
Back to Wonder woman: She was first created around the WWII as a warrior with superpower from the Amazon. However, as the American society became more conservative, her role also changed in that direction: renouncing her power in order to get a boyfriend! The demand for equal rights by another social group, the women, was reflected in the transformation of Wonder woman, who was once again the mighty hero who beat up bad guys. They showed a few clips of the TV show starring Lynda Carter. She was great in that role. Also reminded me of the childhood days when it was aired on Hong Kong TV.
Another surprising fact for me was that Iron man was created during the Cold war era. Tony Stark was a weapon manufacturer making big bucks but was injured and captured by the enemy and ended up creating the Ironman suit to save himself. The story was "refitted" for the war in Afghanistan after 911, which drew a lot of comparison to the Vietnam war: heavy casualties of US soldiers overseas evoked antiwar sentiment.
Yeah, maybe comic books could be used as supplementary textbooks for Social Studies!

Ferko lawsuit

繼上次寫過馬場風雲，今次又寫寫賽車場風雲。美國NASCAR房車賽每年巡迴全國舉行很多場賽事，某些和NASCAR淵緣深厚的賽車場如Daytona, Talladega, Dover Monster Mile，一年必有兩場賽事，其餘的只得每年一場，多年前曾有人因此興訟，結果卻實在令我驚訝，講的是這一單：德州居民Ferko（也是德州賽車場的小小股東，但和管理層無關）以反壟斷法控告NASCAR未有為該場每年安排兩場賽事，勝訴後的一年他如願以償；但對他生活卻帶來重重打擊：首先他工作的食品安全公司認為他成為新聞人物影響團隊而解僱了他，他在外州找到工作搬離德州，其後他留在德州育有一子的廿歲兒子自殺身亡，Ferko覺得如果他還留在德州的話可能可以阻止悲劇發生，最後他太太因為爭取孫兒撫養權失敗和他離婚；種種不幸可以說是源於該次訴訟，只能歎一句命運弄人吧。

人品與藝術

前一陣子和朋友討論一位歌手的新歌，他說不喜歡那歌手平日說話太「作狀」，我說那對歌唱得好不好沒有影響吧，話題再扯到人品與藝術水平的關係。我第一個想到的「反面例子」是出色的Tenor saxophonist Stan Getz，第二個想到元代書法家趙孟頫，似乎史家對他為人評價不高，想來和他是宋室後人卻在元朝做官有關，事實上的確如此。其實我倒不太在意，他的字我相當欣賞，我認為實在是文質彬彬秀麗的美，把王羲之這一面發揮光大，只是主觀地略嫌不夠豪氣。當然，論人品，趙和奸臣的層次不可同日而語；我記得宋代就有書法藝術水平極高的奸臣蔡京，再google一下，還有更多，當中最臭名昭著自是秦檜，且看看專家有何評價。

Leonid Afremov's paintings

I "discovered" this artist because of this music video:

Some of his depictions of streets of small towns reminded me a bit of Thomas Kinkade. Seems that his stuff are more available (less pricy) according to this discussion.

Here is a video that shows how he paints:

You are what you meme

For those not familiar with the current language, "meme" basically means idea or a thing that represent idea (e.g. a picture) As a verb it means passing around those things. Maybe I should be glad that I started college and career before the "age of meming" As you can see I like to write (>1000 of posts on various blogs) I cannot guarantee all of them are unoffensive to no one. Kids, learn from these 10 "was-accepted-by-Harvard-but-not-anymore" students. Yes, everything you post will count against you.

《着色山水》熱

早前澳洲之旅在紐西蘭奧克蘭轉機，竟然派發免費中文報紙華頁(Mandarin Pages)，當局對中國旅客（及移民？）似乎頗為重視，我當然順手拿了一份，閒來讀一點，早幾天讀到其中一篇關於新發現中國古畫《着色山水》的報導，原來美國密芝根大學在我飛那一天舉行了和此畫有關的研討會，此畫之所以如此受重視，皆因有學者認為可能出自著名詩人兼畫家王維的手筆！專家朱紹良先生對鑒定此畫提出幾個入手點，例如服飾、建築方面，值得參考（以上連結也包括該畫的圖片。）

大笨鐘

小時候所認識的英國名勝中，大笨鐘算數一數二，大個才知那是音譯英文Big Ben，原意和笨無關，Ben好可能是紀念當時一位土木工程師Sir Benjamin Hall，他也是負責監管工程的國會議員，其名字有份刻在鐘上。我一直以為那是整座鐘樓的名字，原來Big Ben只是指那被敲出聲的巨鐘而已，鐘樓其實以伊利沙白女皇命名。