放左人地隻狗

昨天跟Coffee玩的時候，我放了他的狗帶讓他多走動，豈料他越玩越癲，還走了出行人路不肯回來。我當時真的很怕他走掉了，不知怎樣賠給人，結果要驚動主人，我們合力把他捉回來。幸好主人沒有怪我，還問我是不是很喜歡狗呢。

教改

替一學生補習英文已有兩年多，現在她已升上了中二。她大概以為我甚麼都識，有一天她帶了些數學功課來問我，一看之下完全摸不著頭腦，我驚覺自己連中二的數學也不會做。但同時間我又很想告訴她不用太認真，還是俾心機學好英文吧，你長大了不會有任何人問你圓椎體的體積怎樣計，但學好英文卻一生受用，起碼可看多些書，看電影有更深了解，認識多幾個朋友。

為什麼學生要花那麼時間學高深的數學，除了加減乘除比較有用之外，數學對一般人一點用處也沒有。世界上有多少人做數學家、科學家、工程師？百中無一吧，而且相信現在很多數學都可用電腦計，為何為了百分之一人的利益要其餘百分之九十九個小孩受那麼多苦、浪費那麼多年的寶貴青春？那個年紀應該學些對人生真正有用的東西，如投資理財、EQ增長、電影欣賞、如何維持一段戀愛關係等。唔，不知飯焦的空缺找到人補上沒有？

Creature Comforts

I woke up early today and caught this absolutely hilarious show on Pearl, Creature Comforts, from the creators of Wallace and Grommit. Enjoy!

A friend

This is my new best friend. His owner runs the pet shop nearby. I play with him everyday before going to school. He's very cute but unfortunately not too affectionate. All he wants to do is bite things--stuffed toys, his leash, my hand. Maybe he's teething?

Is Global Warming Real?

Today NASA chief Michael Griffin commented in a US radio interview that "I am not sure that it is fair to say that (global warming) is a problem that we must wrestle with".

The salient facts are these. First, the accepted global average temperature statistics used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change show that no ground-based warming has occurred since 1998. Oddly, this eight-year-long temperature stasis has occurred despite an increase over the same period of 15 parts per million (or 4 per cent) in atmospheric CO2.

Second, lower atmosphere satellite-based temperature measurements, if corrected for non-greenhouse influences such as El Nino events and large volcanic eruptions, show little if any global warming since 1979, a period over which atmospheric CO2 has increased by 55 ppm (17 per cent).

Third, there are strong indications from solar studies that Earth's current temperature stasis will be followed by climatic cooling over the next few decades.

Click here for full story. Is global warming just middle class guilt or is this some oil industry funded propaganda? So confusing!

im memoriam

Susan, Asia-phile extraordinaire and coolest mom, as she appeared in a scene from my smash hit Innocent, cast against type as a devout church goer...Getting up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday to be an unpaid extra...Providing shelter and companionship for wayward young men....I'll always remember your kindness, your generosity, your sense of humour and your stoicism. Rest in peace!

劇本反思

很多寫劇本的年青人總以為悶哼哼便代表有深度，或者故事出自個人經歷便一定真摯，其實深度是要經過宏觀的反省才能引起觀眾共鳴，而藝術往往是經過很高技巧的創造才能反映capitol T的Truth。Tarkovsky,Bergman等大師的作品，哪個不是精雕細琢？但沒有人會說這些作品虛假，因為他們把自身的經歷提鍊成為更大更universal的課題，比如Scenes from a Marriage靈感來自Bergman自己的婚姻，但卻道出男女關係的真諦。

怎樣才能引起觀眾共鳴？我覺得還是離不開技巧，就像畫畫，若連基本功也沒有，畫一樣物件也不像，怎能感染到人？(當然不是所有畫也是figurative，不過這是另一個涉及現代藝術的issue這裡暫不談。)寫劇本也有基本功，怎樣才能讓觀眾投入故事，怎樣令人同情角色，有一定的方法可依。最重要的是明白電影是影像語言，要通過劇情才能讓人進入角色。而劇情不單是事件，行街傾計食飯(獨立電影最常出現的三種場景)通通不是劇情，劇情是對角色有直接影響的事件，好的劇情是能夠讓觀眾看到角色在某個situation作出的決擇和反應，不獨是交代某一件事的發生，比如說不應有一場戲單單說主角搭巴士，而是要他追巴士追九條街後衝上車大駡司機為何飛站，以凸顯主角的某種性格。

Robert McKee說過，角色不是真人，對白也不是日常對話。自然是演繹的一種風格，不要以為把一大堆「今日煮乜野餸好？」之類的對白放進劇本便代表自然。

第一世界的人生活安穩，普遍沒有深度，所以應有自知之明，向娛樂性出發，豐富劇情。若又沒深度又悶便很大鑊，可惜有自知之明的人不多，所以Tarrantino在這世代已算出類拔萃了。

以上是我對寫劇本的反思，是說給自己聽，提醒自己的，沒有針對誰，請勿對號入座，當然號碼對的人也應坐低，不要浪費這張飛。

The resurfacing of Chris Carl Chung

In Form 1 he's known as Chris. In Form 2 he changed his name to Carl. In Form 3 he insisted that we call him Chris Carl Chung, but we ignored him and called him by his Chinese name, 鍾兆基. Half a lifetime later he's resurfaced, and is called neither Chris nor Carl, but Cecilia. All this time I had assumed that he's dead (not altogether unreasonable, considering that he moved to SF at the height of the gay plague). But in fact he's a post-op transgendered gal living in San Francisco, working as a human rights commissioner. According to F, who had just visited him there, he's the same as before except he's wearing woman's clothes and make-up. Plus he's now got a brand new pussy--what balls!

男極圈送檢

你今日投訴左未大行動再收到成效，據報，影視署決定把5月分的兩期東方男極圈交往淫審署評級。東方日報在學生報事件中對學生嚴厲評擊，這次輪到自己被審裁，會否激發起另一浪關於言論自由的討論，還是令表達空間再收窄？

周末看了甘小二的「舉自塵土」，說個關於中國農村基督徒的故事，但不是福音電影。女主角小麗是個貧農，丈夫得了矽肺病，女兒的學費沒著落被迫退學。她為了生計協助村裡的惡霸在政府預備起鐵路的地上起房子，打算騙賠償費。後來教友為她籌得生活費，她馬上中止丈夫的治療，把錢用來付女兒的學費。片子以客觀的角度描述小麗艱苦的生活，沒有批判她間接弒夫，就如導演說，「審判是上帝的事情」。If only 明光社也有這樣的胸襟。