削球手

我的小學時代最瘋魔各級學生的活動我想非乒乓球莫屬！每當小息大家就會衝去操場的球枱開波，由於球枱數量有限，當然以球技決定誰有得繼續打誰早早出局離場，老實說我打的機會不多，所以長大後很珍惜有得打的時候，看電視轉播也津津有味，香港有線電視體育台經常播出中國及世界的乒乓球比賽，旁述解釋得相當不錯，也令我認識到一類型打法獨特的球手，就是削球手：

削球手的打法是消耗戰，任你狂攻猛打，他慢條斯理，好整以暇的一一化解，以柔制剛，一分球打上十多廿板是等閒事，戰至酣時，來回數十板亦有之，對進攻球手的體力消耗，可想而知......藉着技術和膠皮的性能，削出的球時而帶有千斤沉重的下旋，時而帶有輕飄飄令對方容易出界的上旋，這都是本身沒打球的觀眾難以察覺的。

Pie rule

自問玩了多年棋類遊戲，不過去年才首次認識到pie rule這個規則。捉過棋的朋友都知道，下第一手的多多少少總有點著數，尤其是雙方棋力旗鼓相當，不少棋類都會由擲毫決定誰下第一手，變得有點幸運成份。於是有人想出用pie rule: 此例可以兩人（甲乙）分餅來說明之，無論由誰來切，難保會有偏差：給自己的一半大一點，相對地對方就蝕底了，最公平的方法莫過於由一位（例如甲）負責切，但乙有權選要那一半！運用在國際象棋，就是甲執白先行一步，乙方可選擇：（1）執黑繼續下，（2）轉為執白，讓甲方轉為執黑繼續下；理論上甲第一步不會選對白或黑棋特別有利的走法。這玩法有趣吧！

現代天才：尼采

之前介紹過Netflix的天文學相關紀錄片，此外也有很多文史哲的，早前看過介紹佛祖、蘇格拉底和孔子的Genius of the Ancient World，再接再勵看了講馬克思、尼采和佛洛伊德的Genius of the Modern World，想透過本帖分享一下尼采(Nietzsche)幾個我認為相當有啟發性的理論想法。首先，我和尼采一樣都不是基督教徒，當然我的思路和他的層次相差太遠，「反對」宗教的能力及程度也有很大距離，他指出基督教教義中心思想是天堂永生，在人世過得很苦的人可因此有所盼望，可以忍受此苦，例如封建社會無法脫離奴隸階層的群聚，尼采認為這不是提升人類水平的途徑。他提出「超人」的概念，那是指做人有目的，為達到目的排除萬難包括受苦，會得到真正快樂。俗語有云：「天才與白癡在一線之間」，很不幸地發生在尼采身上，他44歲就精神病發，人生餘下十二年都沒有再復原。他最後的重大著作包括Will to Power更被希魔濫用為自己獨裁霸權的理論基礎。其實尼采對未來世界的預言甚為準確，他在病發前已對自己的理論有所保留，明顯擔心被野心家曲解；他又擔心不再被宗教主導的現代社會世人會甘於安樂不求進取（他稱之為last man）照照鏡子不就有這樣的人嗎？

Duckosarus

標題是我為歷史頻道網頁介紹的一隻新發現的「怪龍」所創作的名字，如有雷同，實屬巧合:) 去年Nature發表了關於此恐龍的文章：研究人員推測這貌似鴨的恐龍七千五百萬年前生活於蒙古戈壁沙漠，這是第一隻被發現的兩棲類恐龍，能在水和旱地生活。早一陣子無線電視節目「後生仔傾下偈」請來嘉賓盧思穎，談及她小時候的夢想是研究恐龍，我想能發現如此奇怪的化石肯定是該領域專家最大樂趣。

土耳其首都.音樂.足球

剛剛在FB看史檔介紹伊斯坦堡，作為一個歐洲史及藝術史的學生，對該城的重要性當然略有認識，但現代土耳其共和國的首都其實是安卡拉(Ankara)伊斯坦堡竟然不是土耳其的首都！原因何在？Google輕易找到多個相關網頁。定都伊斯坦堡的顎圖曼帝國可算是現代土耳其的前身，在第一次世界大戰戰敗後，伊斯坦堡被盟軍佔領；後來領導土耳其重新獨立的Mustafa Kemal Ataturk（此姓氏由後來土耳其國會贈予，意為土耳其人之父！）以較接近國家中部的安卡拉作為基地，成功後就定都於這個新政權勢力龐大的地點，並無把首都遷回伊斯坦堡，也有和舊政權劃清界線、破舊立新的意義。寫本文時當然也找點土耳其音樂人的作品來聽聽，我介紹以下兩位：
Tahir Aydoğdu玩的是傳統土耳其箏

Ozan Musluoğlu則是一位爵士低音提琴手
無獨有偶，前幾天在有線電視BeIN台看了半場土耳其聯賽賽事：勁旅費倫巴治對阿克希薩爾竟然輸波；又在意甲賽事羅馬對拿波里看到前者的新晉土耳其射手Cengiz Under大顯光芒。

有色雕像

有去開藝術館的朋友，可能一想到雕像，會想到白色的石像；羅浮宮的勝利女神，費羅倫斯的大衛，雖然歲月留痕不是全白，總是很難想像古代雕像可能是有顏色的！不過有學者研究過好些古代雕像上殘留的化學物質，發現有顏料的跡象；三藩市有博物館辦過以「有色雕像」為題的展覽及出版相關書籍，各位可以看看此帖，內有一些專家推測作品未褪色前可能的原來模樣。

貝多芬第九首演

去年在圖書館發現了一本由History電視台出版的The Greatest Music Stories Never Told，由於要出門無暇閱讀，所以等到上月才去借，由公元前1400年講到2007年，共一百個音樂故事，第一個就是之前寫過的"The Oldest Known Piece of Music" 而我認為最感人的故事要算是貝多芬親自指揮他的第九交響曲首演，由於已經耳聾，他指揮得比樂團演奏慢了一點，當全曲已奏完，台下觀眾拍爛手掌之際他還繼續，是女歌手Caroline Unger走到他面前請他轉身，接受歡眾的讚美！

Conquering Dystopia

From the YouTube video of the bassist Hugo Doyon-Karout, I "discovered" another band Conquering Dystopia. To my surprise, it is an instrumental death metal band (which has released their album via crowdfunding!) I suppose guitarist Jeff Loomis is probably the most famous musicians in the band 'coz he also played guitar in Arch Enemy and Nevermore. Bassist Alex Webster is from Cannibal Corpse, who really showed off his chops. Check out their album on Spotify. Kinda reminded me of the good old days (late 80s) that shredding was popular.

Beyond Creation

I think it has been a while since I last recommended metal bands. I listened to way too much Canto/Mandopop lately so I have to balance with some metal. Spotify recommended a track by "Beyond Creation" based on the Death song I just listened to. Like Death, the band is very technical, lots of opportunities for the instrumentalists to shine, even including the bassist (Hugo Doyon-Karout) The band has released two albums so far. The latest was "Earthborn Evolution" from 2014. Really looking forward to their upcoming release. In the mean time, ​check out this YouTube playlist with lots of awesome bass playing:

達摩，少林，武功

我喜歡觀看各種體育項目，當中除了球類，也包括格鬥；十幾年前更親身練過一點太極，又曾「試班」跟少林師傅學過一套復興拳；一直對天下武功出少林，而少林武功則由達摩祖師手創的講法深信不疑！現今網絡資訊發達，要求證及找更多資料實在容易，讀完此文方知完全不是那樣一回事。文中提到以下幾點：

• 達摩不會武功，基本上沒有任何史書傳記記載他會武
• 達摩不是少林僧，由梁武帝撰寫的「禪門第一祖菩提達摩大師碑」說達摩畢生，只是一個遊方和尚，「莫知其所居，未詳其姓氏」，最終圓寂，也不是在少林寺，而是在「洛州禹門山」。
• 少林武功和禪學思想關係不大
• 有名的少林棍法其實由明朝名將俞大猷所授，少林原本的反而有所不及
• 易筋經很可能由道士所寫，主旨是壯陽術

我想我讀得太多武俠小說（尤其是金庸的）了！

星之源

曾幾何時我對天文學極有興趣，那是在我對電腦移情別戀之前！去年整理香港的舊物時找到小時候視為寶物的天文書籍：崑崙出版公司印行，董時新編譯，Herry Sherwood原著的「無線電宇宙」，售價為HK$3.2；年少無知的我，對書名固然感到有趣，相信更引人入勝的是副題：「來自宇宙間智慧生物的訊息！！」不過除了看過書中的星雲圖片，其他內容基本是不明所以，三十年後才真正地讀一遍（當然不是全部看得懂）基本上是介紹用無線電「望遠鏡」可從太空各處（太陽系內外）接收到的各種電波，以及由此對宇宙星球所增加的認識，不過全書沒有提到從電波成功解讀任何來自宇宙間智慧生物的訊息！無獨有偶，在此之前在書店見到一本The Jazz of Physics, 作者是一位玩爵士樂的物理學家，書中提及他曾經研究宇宙起源，包括Big Bang theory等等；在Netflix也看了好幾套和天文有關的紀錄片，例如：
Edge of the Universe : 這個系列提及用無線電望遠鏡尋找太陽系以外類似地球般有機會孕育生命的行星。
The Farthest Voyager in Space：介紹七十年代發射的兩隻太空探測船
Secrets of the Solar System：探討太陽系一些未解之謎，例如木星這類gas giants如何誕生

有趣的是，由於這些都是舊片，提到「未來」太空探測船可能會有甚麼發現，而2018年已經是那「未來」！2011年出發探測木星的Juno已經接近木星多次，提供了大量出人意表的數據；而Voyager一號更是第一次有人類製造的物件離開太陽系，進入Interstellar space（也是爵士巨匠John Coltrane一張唱片名稱，印證jazz和physics關係不淺呢！）

後記：去年寫過的天宮一號回歸地球事件，昨天又有新消息，最新預測的回歸日期是3/25-4/17之間。

Sports highlights: the All-Star games, Torrey Pines

By now I am used to NFL Pro-Bowl and NHL All-Star game happening on the same day (at around the same time too) I didn't really plan to watch either game (especially after NHL has chosen Kid "Loud Mouth" Rock as the guest performer) but ended up watching both. The Pro-Bowl started rather lopsided with NFC having a big lead but the AFC came all the way back under the leadership of Derek Carr (yeah, we still like the Raiders in this household) Glad we watched the game. For NHL, I did watch some of the semifinal (skipped the show) and the pre-recorded final. Also glad to see "our" division, the Pacific, winning it! However, the most exciting event of the day was probably the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines GC in San Diego. Of course the reason I watched was it was Tiger's first PGA Tour event after his long break. By the time I tuned in (after the Pro-Bowl has started), 4 players tied at -11 on top of the leaderboard. (Tiger was done with -3 and even for the last round) Then all of them went down hill from there and three ended up going to the playoff. After the first playoff hole, two left but couldn't break the tie for the next few holes (Former world #1 Jason Day wasn't able to convert a few relatively short putts for victory) The playoff has to continue on Monday! Then it was decided only after 1 hole: Alex Noren's ball spun back from the rough around the green into water. Tiger's next tournament won't happen 'til Feb. And NASCAR is coming in Feb too. That's what off-season is like for me.

Naxos唱片：三十年成功之路及新作介紹

作為香港人又是古典音樂愛好者，對本土品牌Naxos著實引以為榮，早一陣子在第四台廣播聽到去年是該公司成立三十週年紀念，可算是一直陪伴我聽古典音樂之路，以前聽Naxos其實是因為他們的CD特別便宜（五美元左右），那是由於Naxos找來錄音的主要是名氣稍遜但水準絕對不弱的樂手樂團（很多來自東歐），後來曲目比價錢成為更值得支持Naxos的理由：Naxos出版了不少現代音樂家的新作（又或者是「老字號」作曲家比較冷門之作）去年為紀念三十週年推出的三十碟套裝又是賣大包之作（Amazon只售$43.75）

回顧完過去，是時候推介一些去年㡳今年初方推出的「熱辣辣」新作：

本碟是Naxos現代音樂錄音一個好例子：女作曲家Narbutaite來自東歐立陶苑，家人深受當年鐵幕下的政治迫害，反映於這幾首作品之中，詳情請見Naxos官方Podcast介紹（BTW，值得各位古典迷subscribe）。

聽過沉重的作品，轉轉口味聽Romantic Viola Sonatas，拉過中提琴的我聽得特別有感情。

The oldest known piece of music

This is my first post of 2018! And I would like to talk about music written (many many) years ago. According to this article, hymn honoring the Sumerian ruler Lipit-Ishtar was found on a 4000 year old clay tablet which includes instructions and tunings. And there is another "not quite" old Greek tune called “Seikilos Epitaph” from first century A.D. which is complete enough that modern musicians were actually able to perform! This is a beautiful rendition played on harp.

Best Jazz Albums of 2017 Part II: the Top 5!

I have finally sampled all (and deep-dived a few) of the Best of Jazz 2017 I posted earlier. And I really dig the followings:

• Akua Dixon - Akua's Dance: This one is probably the most mainstream among all the recommendations even though she played a non-mainstream jazz instrument (cello). After all, she did cover Sade's The Sweetest Taboo, which I actually like (the original too, of course)  Her music reminded a little bit of Regina Carter. I also enjoy the acoustic guitar works on this album. It would have been perfect without that lone vocal track IMHO.
• Binker and Moses - Journey to the Mountain of Forever: I wouldn't expect a duet of sax and drums can sound so exciting. As you know, it's challenging even for a sax trio with bass and drums as the rhythm section without a chordal instrument like piano or guitar to supply the harmony. I admire their ability to pull this off. Of course, it featured more band members in the later part of the album and those tracks are as good. 
• Tony Allen - The Source: this is one funky album that is growing on me.
• Harriet Tubman - Araminta: there are only 2 tracks available on Spotify for this album but you get an idea of what this guitar trio plays: jazz that really rocks. 
• Camilla George Quarter: she is yet another exciting (female) sax players that I hear in the last few years. Again, the vocal track is the only "distraction" for me.

The Magic of Mushroom

最近在Netflix介紹下看了一套以題目為名的紀錄片，大家不要以為和迷幻有關，只是科學吧。一直以為菇是植物，原來生物學中fungi自成一類，在植物和動物之外，反而比較接近後者！本片用鏡頭特別放大拍攝菇類靠孢子由一處彈到另一處繁殖，實在有趣；而在我們吃菇看到的「帽」之下，原來有延申極廣的根網絡，深入其「寄主」（例如樹）後，從後者吸到水分，同時又為其提供礦物質（如氮）。這個也是菌類分解有機物的機制，本片指出其重要性，如沒有此機制，地球上會堆積更多廢物！除了以菇類製成抗生素，片中又提到發明家利用菇類根網的特性，把木屑和菌放在模內，可製成類似發泡膠的物料。此外，大家都會聽過一味中藥：冬蟲夏草，其實也屬菇類，醫學界正研究以此藥抑壓癌細胞擴散。本片實在值得一看。

宋詞. 菩薩蠻·花明月暗籠輕霧

今天介紹一首很香艷的詞：李後主描寫他的美女情人小周后和他偷情又驚又喜的心態（其姐大周后時為李後主皇后）；全文（此頁有註釋）：

花明月暗籠輕霧，今宵好向郎邊去。剗襪步香階，手提金縷鞋。
畫堂南畔見，一向偎人顫。奴爲出來難，教君恣意憐。

薪火相傳

家中孩子放假太多空閒時間，要他上網學點東西，例如寫網頁之類，才發現我一直極少用Mac OS X的TextEdit，試用了一會，第一件事要Format做Plain Text（否則default是Rich Text Format)，而打double quote會自動被轉換，又要修改設訂，總之麻煩重重；還是開個Terminal使用慣熟的vi或emacs好了，就這樣新一代emacs用家後繼有人了。

（後記：在IT老友介紹下找到Atom這個較為現代的Code Editor ，emacs體驗之旅暫時告終）

玩筆

上半年沒有購入甚麼新筆，下半年終於不再忍手，購入數支各有特色的筆：

• Delike New Moon w/ Bent Nib: 在FB見到人家用Delike示範書法，寫得很好（當然功力比硬件重要），而筆外型和我支Kaweco Sport有九成相似，更有書法尖（又名美工尖）！年幾前買的英雄牌書法尖墨水筆是漏墨王，經已放棄；決定再試一次書法尖，在eBay找到一支比仿Kaweco Sports款更漂亮的New Moon，好不容易等到從國內寄抵我家，拿上手比照片看來高貴呢。這支書法尖做出來的粗幼效果比英雄牌要含蓄一點，但出墨順暢無漏墨問題，性價比相當高，是每天都用得著的筆。
• Duke Emerald Black Barrel Guan Yu Calligraphy Bent Nib: 寫書法尖寫得上癮，決定試試另一極端，在Amazon找到這支可以很粗可以很幼的「大關刀」，十分好玩。
• Noodler's Ink Konrad Flex Nib Clear Demo: 早一陣子在eBay買了「無間」Rhodia迷你記事簿，賣家是網店Goldspot，自此每週收到他們的宣傳電郵，大減價相當吸引，上個月終於「落搭」購入一個Noodler's的特價筆墨套餐，包括此筆和兩隻墨（一黑一白！）是自從去年賣掉我的Namiki再寫flex nib, 依然喜歡。 

Comcast X1 box English audio

As a long time soccer fan (and a sports junkie), I try to watch as much as I can on TV. In US, that means often I would watch channels that broadcasts in Spanish. I knew some programs actually have English commentary "as a second language" on Comcast but I just couldn't figure out how to listen to that, until today. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Click the Xfinity button on your remote, then choose the Settings icon, then choose Language, SAP Language. And in my case, choose English.
Step 2: Back to the program you are watching, click the "Down arrow" button, toggle on SAP, it will switch to English (which was chosen in Step 1)