京剧的诱惑

终于有机会接触京剧，也有幸可以跟一个北京老师去认识和学习正宗的国艺。老师说先从跑龙套开始，我说行，不过‘念做唱作’我都要学，老师答应了！！！

  

不过因为自身的条件限制，不能唱高调不能念京片儿，当生肯定有难度，旦我当不了，丑我又不愿意，所以最后选择了专攻净（花脸），起码唱起来声音没那么高，也不会变成娘娘腔。当然，现在才刚刚开始学的我，将来会是怎么样还不知道呢！！

从京剧的历史文化传统等开始学，到化妆穿衣和走步动作，我都觉得很有意思。特别是老师要求我每天有空就要吊嗓子开腔，可惜这最基本的要求我确实难以做到。但是我可以从老师身上学了一些中国的国粹。

  

我感觉现在年轻人对这些一点兴趣都没了，除了玩魔兽唱K，年纪大一点的就Clubbing喝酒夜总会，男的炫耀身家飙车泡妞，女的炫耀名牌包包名牌衣服。可惜了我们中国5千年历史和很多很多不同的文化啊！！！我要多学习，把普通话学好，希望有一天可以大声的跟人说我是半个北京人，而不会被人嘲笑！！努力努力！！

有趣過癮的Q&A

                

問：有一些人對聖經說是矛盾及邪惡的解釋是斷章取義.
答：聖經上就是這樣說的啊, 要另外解釋的嗎? 那是人的解釋還是神解釋的?

問：了解上文下理, 以及當時文化背景後, 你便會真正了解.
答：那要不要去以色列當一回猶太人才行? 聖經不是給全世界的嗎?

問：看完整本聖經, 你才會真正明白它的意思.
答：沒有人吃下一整隻臭蛋, 才會斷言蛋已經壞吧.

問：信了之後你才能明白, 信教正如吃蘋果，你未吃前永不清楚那蘋果的味道.
答：正如吸毒之後才能明白毒品的害處, 或者吃過糞便才清楚它是臭的嗎?

問：天國近了, 你們應當悔改.
答：已近了二千幾年了, 還有多近?

問：在我個人經驗裡及祈禱中, 我感覺到神真實的存在.
答：幻覺是精神分裂或思覺失調的病徵, 另外亦會出現在被催眠和妄想症身上, 患者會聽到或／及看見一些不存在的事物.

問：神無所不在.
答：在南京大屠殺的時候也在嗎?

問：神無所不能.
答：神能否造一塊他自己搬不起的石頭呢?

問：神照著自己的形像造人, 所以人體結構精密, 完美.
答：人類的闌尾(位於盲腸末端), 除了會發炎而需要切除外, 還有甚麼用?

問：誰可否定神的存在?
答：無法證明不存在, 不代表就是存在. 也沒有人能否定真神阿拉和孫悟空, 它們是否就是存在?

問：神在很多地方行過神蹟.
答：其他宗教的神在其他地方也有神蹟, 我該信誰?

問：神的存在已在聖經確鑿地記載了.
答：孫悟空也一樣存在呀, "西遊記"中有記載.

問：神愛世人, 神就是愛.
答：神愛非洲饑荒的兒童和地震中受難的人嗎?

問：苦難是神給我們的考驗與試煉.
答：有甚麼要被強姦或是被病魔折磨才能鍛煉得到?

問：神以他獨生子的性命, 流寶血赦免我們的罪.
答：如果明知死後會復活, 耶穌"死"的意義極其量只是做場戲給我們看!

問：人的智慧是不能了解神的
答：那以你的智慧又怎么知道它真的愛你?

問：上帝的善不等於人的善.
答：如果上帝的善不等於人的善, 那對於人來說他就是不善.

問：人有人的邏輯, 神有神的邏輯.
答：非人的邏輯, 那對於人來說他就是沒有邏輯.

 

問：單靠理性, 不能完全明白.
答：不理性地相信, 即是一種迷信, 盲信.

 

問：信主的人得喜樂.
答：喝醉了的人也比較開心, 但這都不是高水準的快樂來源.

問：信主的人有明確的人生目標.
答：人生的意義各人不同, 是靠自己去賦與意義與努力爭取, 而不是每個人都一樣像傀儡或奴隸般時時刻刻"榮耀神"

問：信主的人要謙卑, 順服, 並要常常榮耀神, 讚美神.
答：神原來很喜歡別人的讚美啊, 怎么跟歷史中暴君的特性一樣呢

問：不信者下地獄, 如未曾接觸過福音者, 則視乎在世時的行為.
答：傳福音就好比四處下毒, 假如不吃解藥(不信教)便會中毒身亡(下地獄), 所以應正名為"傳禍音".

問：科學不能解釋一切.
答：誰說它能? 但科學精神在於追求真理, 探索未知, 而不是將解釋不到的事情訴諸鬼神

問：神是超越科學的
答："超越"在這裡真正的意思是"不符合", 某廁所不符合衛生標準, 可以說成"超越"衛生標準嗎?

問：一切問題, 神自有答案.
答：假如閣下就這樣放棄用自己的腦袋思考, 抱歉浪費了你的時間看完這些Q&A.

                 

Alfa and Other Thoughts

One of the most frequent conversation between Alfisti always start like this......"Did your Alfa breakdown today?"

 

 

 

Yes, within one month after I collected my car brand new straight from the showroom, it did weird things somehow from time to time.

 

1, Open the door lock using the remote key but the boot pop up too......maybe it wanna breath some fresh air from the back!!

2, It decided not to engage 1st gear from Reverse until I tried 3 times......maybe it wanna rest for a while before get going again!!

3, It thought its better to stay in 2nd gear until 6500rpm instead of 2500rpm which is supposed to do so normally in D mode......maybe it wanted some fun or in needed for speed!!

4, Plug-in my ipod but it became CD changer mode.......maybe it thought it is a better mode to play music!!

5, It drinks 13L juice per 100KM, much more than the manual says......maybe it was just a little bit thirsty sometime!!

 

Hey, it thinks for itself and decide what to do without your command, what a great AI it has huh.......

 

But think of it this way......Who would you want as a lover?

(1) An inflatable doll which is very low maintenance, cost very little to upkeep, has no mood-swings, does not throw tantrums, does not suffer from no "break-down", won't have headaches, will do it anyway you want it, won't have that time of the month..... etc.

 

      

OR

(2) Would you rather a supermodel who pouts, whine, moan, groan, throw tantrums, is high maintenance, makes you jealous each time other men look at her, will complain about headaches, has mood-swings, run off with her girlfriends at times to paint the town red, is spontaneous, won't do it anyway you want but ask you to do it the way she wants,..... etc.

 

 

I take the supermodel anytime dude!!!

 

By the way, the main difference between Alfa and Lexus：

"Lexus is a high class Toyota while
Alfa is a cheap Ferrari "

Wet Ride, Stay Dry

Imagine this scene......

 

Rode out 6am in the morning with beautiful sunrise on the horizon, nice seabreeze from the coast, heading north to Melaka for 6 hours ride, 30 mins later......

 

Next second, the rain poured like hell, and from head to toes, even my undies all gone wet......

 

Kept on riding, 30 mins later......

 

All dried out by the blowing wind and the sun started burning on my face, my arms, my neck, another 30 mins later.......

 

Stopped for gas refill, found that I sweat my undies all wet again, bugs on goggles, and my face covered by dust......

 

Pushed off after refreshment and clean-up, 30 mins later......

 

It Fxxking started raining again......then dried out after 30 mins ride once again......then sweat like after shower under the sun AGAIN......

 

 

 

Road goes on and on, and we wish the journey never ends. Highways, Mountains, Dust, Wind, Rain, Sun, Gas Stops, these are the ingredients of Harley Davidson.

 

We are experiencing what we are supposed to experience as a Harley rider, this kind of life either a hit or miss, but sure it hits my heart and hits me hard.

 

Can't wait for another ride, road trip like these are a must for my monthly runaway plan now. Swinging my leg over the seat, rumbling the engine to 160KM, then head for a never ending highway. But you won't see my smiling face under the mask though!!!

 

 

 

Power of Black

Here is my blackout collection, fall in love of the color of black and dark custom series. However, instead of posting my own pictures, I rather use the pix I searched on the web. I tried to take my own but they came out either not showing the true color due lighting or out of contrast. Items shown here are identical to what I have, simply using those model numbers or product IDs will do a great job during my search.

 

Following are those big toys, Dark Custom series Harley Davidson Nightster (XL1200N) and  Alfa Romeo 159 GTA Nero (Nero means black in Italian).

 

  

 

Comes with them are my open-face vintage Helmets (Shoei Heart and Bitwell) and Gloves (Willie G), and I even brought in a set of Nero 19" Ti（Turismo Internationale) rims with Pirelli Pzero Nero 245/35/19 tires from Italy for my GTA

 

    

 

Get into my wardrobe, most of my dark clothes are not searchable from the web, except the following branded items.

 

   

 

Personal items are all black too, from credit cards (Citi Bank) to Wallet (Willie G Chain), from Laptop (Toshiba M808) to Playstation (PS3 Slim 160G)

 

     

 

And also from Camera (IXUS120is) to Mobile (Nokia E71) and from Ipod (Nano 5th G) to Lighter (Zippo Willie G)

 

    

 

Even my watch (Citizen Pilot EcoDrive), Sunglasses (RayBan Aviator), Bracelet (Corlante) and Perfume (Armani Black Code) are all black, no exception

 

   

 

BLACK is the word, DARK is the world. Inventory is still stacking up, more to come!!

Nice Place to Hang Out......Riders Only!!

Finally I found a nice place to hang out with my Harley friends, and we can even spend a $20 for bike wash/wax while we are having a drink or bite!!

 

 

 

"Handle Bar" - This place is so American and so roadside feel, perfect place for bikers. Hardly find such a place out of America. Owner Chris and his wife are truly bikers, owning a customised Harley Soft-tail, a Ducati Monster and a BMW R1200G.......and even a Jeep Wrangler. They spent over 10 years and a lot of effort to have this bar set up. I am dreaming to have such a pub or bar one day, where ever it will be, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, HK, or even back in Sydney.

 

 

 

There are so many interesting things to talk about this bar, but I better save my words and bring you down there personally to feel the American way. Let me know if you are keen for that, we meet up once every two weeks anyway. Girls are most welcome, hahaha!!

又再次成為Alfista

事隔5年，終於又再次成為Alfista了，一直對意大利車情有獨鍾，現在為可以正正式式的成為Alfisti 的一員而感到自豪。之前擁有過的GTV V6，給我的印象真的有點像我的法拉利和朋友的林寶堅尼，發動機的聲音和特性，只有意大利車才可以造得出來，Poor man’s Ferrari 平民法拉利的稱號果然當之無愧（不过怎么价钱就不能够再平民一点呢？）。雖然沒有機會開過瑪莎拉蒂，不過從發動機的聲音中我相信它們都會有同一血統的特性。

 

 

 

熟悉我的朋友知道我常常換車，他們都會問：「什麽車可以令你沒那麽快玩厭？」答案是。。。意大利車。但意大利車總會令人有容易壞，維修貴，偏門，另類等等印象。無可否認，意大利車（相對而言）不像日本車般任勞任怨，也沒有德國車的理性設計和紮實質感。不過，論個性，風味，駕駛操控感，意大利車最能逗我開心！意大利車‘過癮’之處真的很多，例如：

 

1. 由買車第一天到賣車的最後一天，也可能找不到很舒服的駕駛坐姿，不過卻讓我樂此不疲的天天都想開。

2. 坐過我車的朋友，都會說這車好看不好坐，不過開過的朋友就會說從沒開過這麽好玩的車。

3. 懸掛總是軟軟的，但轉向極Sharp，快劈彎路功架深不見底。

4. 它外表迷人浪漫，但‘戰鬥’快跑時發動機可以像野馬般嘶叫。

5. 馬力不特別大速度不特別高，但引擎轉數從起步到紅線區都不會有遲疑，像是叫你還可以再跑快點。

6. 電氣系統有時會不‘聽話’，但熄車再起動便沒事。

7. 意大利車最好每天駕駛。如不常開，引擎電器毛病反而較多。

 

甚至連Top Gear主持人Jeremy Clarkson也說過‘If you have an Alfa, you have taste’， 當然他也說過經典的一句話，‘It depreciates as fast as it accelerates’，玩意大利車就是要有這樣的心理準備！！如果你知道車王Michael Schumacher現在日常的坐駕就是Alfa而不是法拉利，你會不會心動呢？如果你知道法拉利的始創人Enzo和著名汽車設計師Pinnifarina都是Alfa的門徒，你又會不會另眼相看呢？？而你又知不知道在世上可以造出身價超過400万人民幣的車寥寥可數，而Alfa是其中之一呢？？

 

其實，近年的意大利車如法拉利、林寶堅尼，瑪莎拉蒂和阿爾法羅密歐等已經很入世了，可靠耐用程度已經有明顯進步，不過它們還是很有個性的機器，你仍然是要去適應它的脾性（尤其對乘客的投訴更要習慣），可能這就是意大利車所謂的Passion了。

 

 

月底我的159 3.2 V6 Q4就到新加坡了，試車的時候對那Selespeed系統印象深刻，所以對其期望很大，畢竟是世上少有能夠接近F1的系統，相比法拉利的F1和林寶堅尼的E-gear雖然不同等級，但好玩程度不徨多讓。奧迪和大眾的DSG或是宝马的SMG的性能可能更好更快，不過玩起來意大利的設計還是比較有樂趣，甜美动人的發動機高頻嘶叫加上換檔時的補油聲和跳動感確實讓人身心舒暢！你能夠把DSG如行雲流水的操縱？能夠把SMG發揮到極限？等等。。。先把Selespeed搞懂再說自己是高手吧！！

 

最後，很多朋友問我爲什麽不選擇寶馬或是奔馳，還有奧迪，沃尔沃和薩博等等比Alfa便宜又可靠的欧洲车，原因很簡單，因為它是意大利的Alfa Romeo，而不是滿大街跑的‘普通高級’房車，在我不同的試車過程中，不論是寶馬奔馳還是其他，我找不到一點點讓我心動的元素（除非我是衝着車標買車），買Alfa就是隨心去買，要理性的話我建議朋友們買其他車好了（就是可以帶你由A去B的任何車），有個性的Alfa可能不太適合你們。

 

就是因為Alfa Romeo是一輛這樣有性格的車，對所有Alfisti 來說，還需要找其他的理由去让自己擁有它嗎？？

 

Goda il Giro，Bon Voyage！！