紅色字=新增
This is 2.1 edition with my English translation
Chinese characters in RED mean the added parts of the update 2.1
The
上週三講座結束後 校園記者問我些問題 她最想知道的 是台灣如何培養出更多像我一樣有才 特別 又敢言的人 (在此先警告大家 這是一篇長得要命的文章 建議搭配茶水點心)
After my lecture last Wed, a university journalist came to me for questions. What she wanted to know the most was what Taiwan had to do to make more outstanding, special, and daring talents like me. (Warning: It's a long ass article. Snacks and drinks advised!)
「相信我 當我還是學生時 跟今天在座學生看來無兩樣」她一臉驚訝 於是我乘勝追擊
「承舊習與官僚體系的存在 不止於政治 且深入學校 家庭 整個社會。
"Trust me! I was no different from our students today when I was one." She looked surprised, and I threw her more info:
"Following the tradition and bureaucracy has been widely spread into not just politics, but also our society, schools, even our famly/home. When we were young, our parents taught us the survival codes which they were influenced by the public media at the time. When we were students, we depended on our teachers for all the answers in order to get into better schools(for potential better future we expected from the TV we watched). After school, it felt totally normal to become someone's bitch for stable income. Because the majority seems to agree on the lifestyle, we put on big girl panties and let the uncomfortable feelings numb. Artists are born with high sensitivity and the incredible bravery to express how they feel even if it's completely strange to the majority(All of a sudden, we understand why Musik ist eine heilige Kunst...). They are the weirdos our laziness-and-safety first society don't approve of. That was why I encouraged everyone in the lecture to take place for our "free trade agreement". I don't have "one" answer to your question, but I can tell you that the more we observe, the better.
回到家後 這個問題像鬧鬼一樣久久不去
After coming home, this started to haunt me.
小時候 父母以絕對權威獨裁。「小孩子不懂」的片面說詞與「武力威嚇」軟硬兼施 以達自訂目標。所謂的自訂目標 其實是來自可及媒體變相廣告 因此 我的父母也曾奢望我成為醫生 律師 工程師。由於叛逆的個性 父母的期望從財庫前線變成補給區 一直咬著牙讓我順利念到音樂碩士的真正目的 無關興趣或才能 只是希望我能像她們看過的許多音樂老師一樣 嫁給醫生。只要問他們我最喜歡的歌劇或最愛的歌手是誰 就能從他們的回答中感受到我的無奈。
When we were kids, our parents played the dictators with full authority. "You're too young to understand" plus "physical punishment" became good cop bad cop strategy to encourage us following the goals they hoped for. The goals were the products covered by advertisement variations from the public media. Therefore, my parents, at some point, wished I were to become a medical doctor(the closest I ever got was to become a vet but they rejected the idea), a lawyer, or an engineer. Realizing my rebellious being, they turned their wish from making me a money maker to being a bank. How so? The only reason they supported me through my masters degrees in music had nothing to do with my talents or interests. They just hoped that I would turn out to be like lots of music teachers who got married to doctors. If you doubt this, just go ask my parents what's my favorite opera, or who's my favorite singer? You'll know what I mean.
受訪時 也向校園記者表示 目前最完善的網路資料庫還是英文 簡體中文激增欲後來居上 先不談準確度 繁體中文明明歷史更久 網路可及資料卻明顯落下風 我向她坦承 我們這代得扛起責任 具能力者有義務鍵入更多資料 幫助使用相同語言的年輕一代事半功倍。同時 得鼓勵所有人從各種不同角度觀察研究 新聞常成為當權者洗腦工具 因此 我們得同時參考來自不同國家 不同語言 不同黨派 不同社會階級的觀點 才有可能抽絲剝繭 免落於有心人手成為工具
I also told the journalist that the hugest online database is still English. Simplified Chinese is catching up. Shall we not talk about the accuracy! Traditional Chinese has a much longer history, but in comparison to the simplified one, the lack of our online data is treacherous! I confessed that it's the duty of my generation to key in more information online helping our youngsters achieve goals in a breeze. In the mean time, we must encourage everybody to observe things from more different point of view. That means we glance things from the platforms based in multiple countries, multiple parties, and multiple social ranks. Otherwise, we could end up being tooled and fooled.
去美國求學最寶貴的 是碰到"教你釣魚"而非"餵你魚吃"或甚至"把你當成魚吃"的優秀教育者
感受最深的 是音樂專門個別課 在台灣 單是外文歌曲 譬如義文歌曲 很多老師光是歌詞正音 就能跟學生我一句你一句填鴨整堂課 下課後到下次上課的週間 學生們就只能理所當然地死記聲音而已 當面臨新的義文歌曲時 學生們還是得仰賴老師浪費一堂課正音。
The most precious thing I got from the US was to meet excellent educators who "taught how to fish" instead of "gave me fish" or even "digested me like a fish". For instance, in a private music lesson in Taiwan, many teachers would ask students to repeat every line of foreign lyrics after them to feed the pronunciation for the entire lesson. Between this to the next lesson, usually about a week, students felt so natural that memorizing the cold and tuned syllables were enough. Next time, when they get new repertoire in the same foreign language(s), they still depend on the teachers to waste an hour of lesson feeding the diction. A good teacher(of course there are always some not so good!) teaches rules of diction at the beginning and points students the way to find related data. From then on, none has ever needed to waste a lesson stumbling through the basics, and students can bring more artistic and mind dazzling issues up sooner!
許多台灣學生在第一堂課中就能馬上出聲 乍看之下美國學生在第一堂課中似乎毫無實際進展 不到幾週 就會發現台灣學生每學新歌就得利用課堂時間正音 而美國學生已經卻早能背唱整首歌 於同時提出更深入的藝術層面問題。
Many Taiwanese students make singing noise at the very first lesson. When one compares this to an American student, one may think that the American student is not learning anything practical to the singing matter. Just give it a few weeks, one can find that Taiwanese students still waste lesson time for diction, and the American ones have already memorized the whole thing with more developed ideas.
好的老師帶你上天堂 但沒知識 沒良心或沒信心的老師 怕失去長期飯票或權威 泯滅道德勇氣 以"留一手"的方式 維持自己學術權威 或希望學生永遠無法脫離他們的銀行。有位「很有求知慾」的老師 在請我去提供幾次聲樂教練之後 叫我千萬不要告訴任何人他曾請過我當教練。他很樂意求知 但他從來不告訴自己學生他如何得知。三人行必有我師 果然知易行難。學生若無智慧或勇氣看穿 就只能一輩子當肥羊。
A good teacher shows you heaven! And the ones without knowledge, morality, or self-belief, would not provide students all they knew in order to keep their glow or to keep the students on their payroll. One "enthusiastic" teacher asked me to coach him a couple of times, and told me never to tell that to others. He was very eager to learn but he never shared how he learned to his students. Confucius' idea of learning from anyone is easy to preach than live in. If the students can't see or don't have the guts to reveal the cover, they can only stay cash cows for life.
炎黃子孫最厲害的能力其實是自我感覺良好 好聽點是容易安逸知足 難聽點是懶惰傲慢加貪生怕死 每次看到我課本裡的＂造紙術 印刷術 羅盤 火藥...＂等老祖先了不起的創見 就忍不住想問＂然後呢？＂ 進步建立於不停地改變微調 若無法放開心胸學習與接受 ＂小時了了大未必佳＂的戲碼就會不停上演。而目前 我們號稱的民主政治 也快落入如此無間地獄
The specialty of Chinese peops is to easily feel good about himself! Easily contented or lazy and arrogant, depending on sugar covering it or not. Every time I look at my textbooks saying "Our ancestors had groundbreaking establishments as paper-making, printing-press, compass, dynamite,...", I always ask "what then?" The improvement of anything is based on never ending upgrade no matter how little the update is. If we don't learn to accept with an open mind, we'll keep looping this shit show of "Only winning the beginning". Now, our so-called democracy is falling to this infernal abyss.
當我在美國為孩童(幼稚園到小學)表演時 常在演出結束的Q&A時段 受到震撼教育 讓我理解成人卡通飛天小女警 真的是給美國小孩看的。讓人啼笑皆非的問題有：
1. 你們有副業嗎 還是這是你們的副業
2. 你們能靠藝術養活自己嗎
3. 你們都幾歲了
在台灣 師長可能會教導我們口下留人 其實這是假慈悲的狂妄虛偽 表示我們有成見在先 對受訪者沒信心 同時輕忽這類問題提供的機會導向最美好的人性光輝-愛- 表面正向的答案 讓孩子覺得學習藝術有希望 反之 孩子會察覺的 就是藝術感召無限 如此精神食糧 能讓人不顧慮現實而熱愛。學會愛 人類才能永持和平與希望 。西班牙作家José González Torices在童書中使用成熟語法與題材 表示：「只要我們認真解釋 孩子們聽得懂的程度 遠高過我們預期」。人民是國家的寶貝 政府更不能敷衍我們草率行事。哪個國家不想拚經濟 全世界的人薪水增加就只是通貨膨脹 我們該要求的 不是月入百k或更甚 而是有機會用雞屎般的收入 也能享受猶如入百k或更甚者的精神生活。印鈔票大家都會 知道怎麼樣用5元活出500元的生活品質才是高手。
When I performed for K5-10th Graders, they could shock us with daring questions. Well, now I understand that "Powerpuff" is for children in the US. The questions were:
1. Do you have another job? Or this is the other job?
2. Can you support yourselves with this?
3. How old are you anyways?
In Taiwan, we were taught to give people a break. It's actually a hypocrite mercy. It means that we hold prejudice that we are lack of trust to our performers. Ignoring these questions is letting go the opportunity for children to learn the precious humanity, LOVE. When the audience is given supposedly-positive answers, they see the delight being artists. Otherwise, they get to wonder "what is this divine power that can drive these crazies to keep going even so? " That is how art inspires and complete our spiritual need. It is the love that overcomes any rough reality. We can only have peace and hopes once we learn how to love. Spanish author, José González Torices, wrote mature topics with an adult-like tone for children. He believed that "If we explain things well, kids can actually understand a lot more than we've expected." People are the treasure of the countries. Any government must not shush us and rush anything through ruthlessly. All nations want to make more money. If we all make more money, it's just the meaningless inflation. What we should aim for is not how to make more money. Printing more bills is easy. The real pros are the ones who know how to live a million-dollar life with 100 bucks.
不知道沒關係 夠聰明的話 花點時間虛心學習就能進步。可惜 目前的現狀看得出在位者可能關心議題 卻不肯花時間 於是解決方法就只是趕流行 不加思索照單全收：
It's fine if one doesn't know yet. If there's some intelligence, one can learn to accept and improve. Unfortunately, our government appeals to be concerned without spending time studying the whole picture. Their solution seems to be fashionable but not thorough.
1. 證書 文憑 推薦函
由於對自己辨才能力沒信心 懶或不懂實作成果 因此學校與各機關充
現在台灣到處充斥提供證書文憑推薦函的機構 以及厚顏無恥提供"拜碼頭"機會自肥的投機推薦人。就如同目前時局一般 不能再以簡單二分顏色犧牲選票 我們得相信自己的能力 願意花時間多了解再做選擇 同時候選者也有義務把自己的專業經驗與理念 翻譯成清楚易懂的白話文。只簽看得懂的條約 只選不假唱高調的紮實地球人。
1. Degrees, diplomas, recommendations
The lack of knowledge or confidence makes a great deal of choices based on degrees, diplomas and recommendations. That's why there are a ton of scholars who are inexperienced or lack of actual practice in the field educating our next generation who are supposed to gain a skill instead of just studying a skill. I've met a pianist who holds a DMA in collaborative piano with no knowledge in recit playing whatsoever. During the rehearsals, when the conductor was showing how, this bold one asked the conductor "when to come back". That hurt! Dude, you've spent big US dollars getting your DMA with zero knowledge in Opera one-o'-one, and you dare to walk out the opportunity to learn this vital skill for free? Are you insane? And why do we give this kind of hypocrites who has no passion in his own field the chance to educate our youngsters?
There are also tons of institutes printing degrees, diplomas and certificates for Taiwanese people. Let's not forget the greedy ones preying by providing recommendations. It's like our politics. You can no longer only make one of the two choices.(Although the US claims that Taiwan has multi parties democracy, the fact is that our presidency has only rotated between two parties.) We have to stop being lazy choosing party A from party B. We must spend time reading what the candidates write on the voting sheet first, and then, we finally make a more thorough decision. It's the candidates and the governors' duty to describe their goals, beliefs, and professional opinions in layman's terms. We only sign the contracts we fully understand. We only vote for the down-to-earths.
2. 假民主 裝進步 真虛偽 -互相漏氣求進步 越譙越好 世界通行-
2. Jaded democracy and true hypocrites -Pointing out each others' flaws for a better cause. The more we try, the better it gets. It's worldwide!-
A. 虛情假意的交通法規
A. Our shallow traffic regulations
A1 2012年底終於有時間學開車 繼摩托車交通筆試後再次滿分過關 但其中有許多讓我看了就頭痛的規定 根據當時的教材看過此題大意:
我要轉右轉 而對面來車要左轉時 正確答案-我該讓對面來車先左轉(因為左轉比較困難)- 這是我們唱高仁義道德 罔顧實際道路先行權。(現實情形發生的機率有多高?)
A1 I finally learned how to drive by the end of 2012. Since my last paper exam for riding a scooter, this was the second time I got 100% correct answers on the sheet. I was having a huge headache choosing from this one:
You're driving to a cross road. What should you do when you're about to make a right turn while the opposite director of car is signaling for a left turn?
The correct answer is, "You should let the left turn car go first (because it's harder to make a left turn)"
Instead of teaching you right of way, our government preaches "virtues". Guess what's gonna happen when two drivers are facing the actual situation?
A2 只會抓沒戴安全帽 超線照相 而不積極取締逆向 或危險行車者(尤其是酒駕與行車邊操作手機者) 並無法降低危險事故發生機率。若大家都嚴守交通規則 交通事故發生能降同不可抗力發生之天文數字分之一比率 這比安全帽保護還可靠得多
A2 They only care for the riders without wearing helmets and the cars stopping beyond the stop lines. If our government doesn't care for the dangerous ways on the road(especially drunk drives or the ones drive while operating their digital gadgets), the rate of traffic accidents can not be lowered at all. If we all follow traffic regulation completely, the ratio of accidents can finally be lowered to one of an astronomical number. At that point, wearing a helmet or not doesn't matter that much.
A3 僅於車廂內播放的"先下車 後上車"的怪象
全台跑透透的我 到目前為止沒有榮幸在任何月台 或上車前聽到"先下後上"的廣播。總是在成為乘客後 才有機會在搭乘工具內聽到宣導。此時訊息播放 對於即將要下車的旅客而言毫無意義。搶先是人之常情 要實際上達到宣導目標 應該針對尚未上車被期望違反常理禮讓的旅客。
A3 The strange thing of only broadcasting "Wait for all the passengers to get out first" to the passengers about to leave the carts
I am a regular traveler in Taiwan. So far, I have no honor hearing "Let the passengers leave the cart first" when I am waiting for it on the platform. I always hear it in the cart when I am about to get out. There's really no point telling the ones who are about to get out that "you should get out first". The desire of wanting to take the first place doesn't need to be taught. If our government means to let the passengers leave the trains first, they should be playing this message to hold the ones about to get on.
A4 捷運上為時已晚的政治廣播 以及偽外國口音的站名發音-無言 無解-
由於怕被責備或愛做文章 因此每站開門時的站名包含普通話 閩南語 客家話 與英文 通常播到英文版的某某站到了時 車門已關上準備前往下一站。而偽外國口音的站名發音讓我無言！要幫助外國同胞在本國活動順利 故意把地名發音弄成揣測外國語音 不但對他們參透本國文化毫無幫助 且有貶低歧視之味。好吧！為了達到Politically correct(政治正確)目的 外國口音可能避免被有心人以"使用哪種方言對外"來大作文章!?
A4 When you hear it, you've missed it! Just want to be politically correct. We even have faked foreigner accent announcing our names of stations. WTF?
We are all so afraid of being discriminating to one another that we must tell arriving stations in Mandarin, Minnan, Hakka, and English. Usually, when it gets to the part, "We are now arriving XXX", the door has closed and the metro has started for the next destination. They even pronounce the name of the station with faked foreign accent! If the government wants to help foreigners get acquainted in Taiwan sooner, and when you don't let them hear the common pronunciation more often, you are really not helping but looking down on them in a matter of fact.(You ignorantly think all foreigners pronounce the words the way you mock?) Alright, just to avoid the calling of "discriminating" by the Taiwanese to be politically correct?
A5 讓人苦惱的捷運博愛座
博愛座應該到處都是 政府也不用雞婆規定誰該坐那兒 經過基本教育後 相信你的人民有博愛精神 會讓位給有需要的人(要不然是有人要開罰單嗎?) 否則這項規定等於是昭告天下 自己人民沒有分辨能力 除了圖型說明外 還需要"讓位標章"才行。可憐的現代年輕人 在捷運尖峰時間擠得不得了 有的怕被指指點點於是寧可讓車子能少擠進一人也得空下博愛座。當政令的原目的失焦時 就需要我這種奇怪的阿姨 跟旁邊站著打瞌睡的學生說 "給我博愛一下吧! (我可一點也不想當你倒下的墊被)"
A5 "Priority" seats cripple everybody
"Priority Seats" should be everywhere, and our government shouldn't need to specify who gets them. After provided national education, you should trust your people being able to tell who are in need of the seats.(Are you gonna ticket us for that otherwise?) The more specific it gets, the more you insinuate the lack of trust for the intelligence of your own people to the entire world. So sweet of you that we not only get picture descriptions but also the "I am disabled" badge for people who need the seat but don't look like anyone in the picture. When a good act becomes out of focus, it takes an Auntie Strange like me to tell the snoozing student, "For love sake, please take a seat!"(Subtext: I don't want you to fall on me later!)
B. 無意義的細節
B. Meaningless specification
B1 博愛座 同前 博愛精神為定義 無需標示族群成為變相歧視
B1 Priority seats as we just discussed. The idea should be told with no need to label.
B2 梅花卡-越譙越好 但仍有進步空間-
兩年前曾因一時好奇 查詢本國等同美國傑出人才綠卡項目中的梅花卡 當時看完馬上於已成歷史的無名一譙 所謂的傑出人才不外乎有錢人 奧運前三名 以及諾貝爾獎得主。當場笑掉大牙 任何有資格參與國際比賽 任何有資格被題名世界級獎的 對全世界任何國家都是極稀有不可多得的人才 當時本國移民法如此囂張 明訂奧運銅牌以前 還諾貝爾獎得主咧! 於是 我跟人開玩笑說 好家在我原本就是台灣人 要不然今天反過來 用我通過美國傑出人才審核的資料送台灣審查 保證當不成台灣人。幸好 有譙有差! 剛本來想找出當時文字敘述時 發現本國政府已在神不知鬼不覺的狀態下 把讓我笑破肚皮的內容改過。
在此幫政府鼓掌一下 不過忍不住手癢還得再建議(譙?) 政令越簡單越好 細節讓處在當下的人根據時局判斷。傑出人才不需要明細項目 而應該是＂能提供具體證明 說明台灣不可或缺此傑出人才＂。人類文明的進化 建立於隨時不斷增加項目的新知研究。訂出瑣碎項目像是作秀假裝自己懂很多 其實是阻止自己獲得遺漏項目的優秀天才。也許 繁瑣的目的不是為了周全 而是為了有未來新增的需要 以修法自肥。
B2 Taiwanese Green Card for Extraordinary Abilities -It got better, but could still get better.-
Out of curiosity two years ago, I looked up how to get the Taiwanese green card equivalent to the US one from the National Interest Waiver Program on the official website. After reading it, I immediately wrote a post on a blog which had been shut down for good. The extraordinaries mean rich men, Bronze and up winners from the Olympics, and the Nobel Prize Winners. I literally laughed my ass off from the chair. You know how hard it is to represent any country on the international stage? You know how rare those talents are to our entire human history? How ignorant and arrogant our government was to detail Olympic Bronze and up metals and Nobel Prize winners? I joked about that with my friends, "If I were an American, sending the application with the identical package which got me approved by the US government in NIWP division, I could never be a Taiwanese." Guess what, someone must have heard it! Just now when I tried to copy the same words online, our government had smoothly updated the regulation with more understanding. What a bummer!
Bravo! Still, I can't stop the itch of suggesting(criticizing) more. Policies should be as simple as possible. Details can be determined by the professionals at the time. We don't need to specify the exact categories of abilities we need. It should be as simple as "Being able to prove the necessity of the existence of one's extraordinary ability in Taiwan". Human civilization is based on continuous discovery of new things(categories and well). There's no need for the government to show off how many divisions they've known. It's only a pretense of its limited information and a stop sign to the essential but yet unknown possibilities in the future. Or perhaps, the goal of more specifications is not to be thorough, but to simply generate endless meetings for editing more details in the future.
C. 假藝術真作秀
C. By the name of Art, we act!
C1 自以為開明的"一刀未剪"更顯示無知
本國新聞局拍"藝術"馬屁 自豪一刀未剪"西瓜"! 貼上藝術標籤 等於神打! 而沒上標籤的藝術 就被偽善良風俗之廠宮喀擦得亂七八糟! 尤其當女人的事業線被電視模糊化後 讓我瞬間覺得人類文明倒退。既然推崇藝術 就不該怕自然美的女體(難道政府其實欲保護我們免於假奶攻勢?) 更何況連點都沒看到？標示 分級 與播放時間區隔有理 讓心智年齡尚未成熟者或不喜該級內容者避開。電剪除了是不尊重作者的行為之外 也等於是不信任人民的表現。
C1 Praising the "Uncensored " only shows the ignorance
Our GIO(Government Information Office, in charge of censorship on public media) kissed Art's ass and approved the "watermelon movie" entirely uncensored. The title of Art is as good as the title of God! Without the label, beware to be castrated out of the blue! I felt the humanity routing backward especially after seeing the blurred cleavage of the ads on TV. If one calls the name of art, should one be afraid of the natural beauty of a female body?(Hmm! Is it trying to protect us from the artificial boobies.) And man, we can't see shit already! It's necessary and reasonable to divide programs for different schedules and audience. With that being done, the minors or the ones who don't appreciate can avoid what they should not or do not want to watch. Editing anyone's creation without the artists' permission means the lack of respect to copyright. At the same time by allowing censoring, the government shows no faith in the maturity of its people.
C2 有為青年越來越老
高喊口號 要增加年輕國民就業機會與其競爭力 卻又怕落人口舌而把資金與獎項拚命頒給已有國際名聲的成就者。事實就是無論頒給誰都會有人不爽 但本國政府只喜歡為台灣之光錦上添花 對於剛起步真正需要雪中炭的年輕才俊置之不理或百般刁難
C2 Young talents are getting older and older
Politicians keep saying that it's a must to increase jobs and opportunities for the younger generation. At the same time, it's so afraid of being criticized that most fund and resource go to the elder ones with international acclaims already. The truth is that there's always someone not happy with whichever decision one's made. Apparently, Taiwanese government only supports the ones who don't really need. Our government has either ignored or given a hard time to the starting talents who deserves the attention.
C3 年資不代表才華高低 只能解釋成對該項目的忠誠與穩定度
當我二十七歲時受邀參與台灣某歌劇製作擔任指揮 官僚的部分"審核人員"(歌劇實作數能單手掌握) 以"習慣性反對"裝懂 用"太年輕"為其中一可笑理找我麻煩。於是 我大方的回應 若台灣能找到其他二十七歲 就有做超過20部歌劇經驗的人才 請務必使用他 我大可把這些時間省下給下一部於美國的歌劇製作。結論是 在台灣一輩子做超過二十部歌劇的人屈指可數 當我秀出離開牌時 這些為反對而反對的智障 終於放棄耍官僚 讓製作順利進行。
曾有個以年資自以為是的傢伙 有種跑去老闆面前撂話 說我薪水多少 他的也要多少。老闆嚇得要死 跑來叫我不要透露薪水內容。於是我跟老闆說 如果這個快到演出還不會背又這麼多嘴的傢伙 跟我一樣出席所有人的彩排 同時任指揮 大鍵琴手 以及同劇場另齣戲的歌手 你怎麼能有良心不給他一樣多錢？於是老闆滿意微笑 再也沒聽過其他人挑戰我的潛能
有些嚴重自卑者 為了建立自信 會習慣性對別人施下馬威。有個愛倚老賣老的前輩 自知實作經驗不如 又擔心罩不住我 於是在招募我的時候還故意說: 我相信你一定能從某某人身上學到很多東西的! 這種行為真是幼稚 你對我根本一點也不認識 怎能知道我已知或未知何物? 如此行為 只會讓我為之與目前僅空泛自稱為國家著想趕流行卻毫無概念的台灣政客畫上等號 不齒！藝術就是藝術 好就好 爛就爛 喜歡就喜歡 不喜歡就不喜歡 複雜化事情並不會隱藏這種無知。
C3 Years are not relevant to abilities, they are only proves of loyalty and stability
I was invited to conduct an opera in Taiwan when I was 27. Some of the bureaucratic "panel" disagreed with my position to pretend that they might have known a thing or two. "Too young" was one of their ridiculous excuses. Once I found out, I replied with, "If there's any other talent in Taiwan who has done more than 20 opera productions at the age of 27, I'll be happily excused and save this production time for my next production in the states." The fact is that you can hardly find people who have done over 20 opera productions in their entire lives in Taiwan. When I showed the "kiss my ass goodbye card", those low intellects who rejected for no good reasons panicked all of a sudden and asked me not to give up on them. When they let me do my job, the production went easy breezy!
Some older person once went to my boss, and told my boss that he demands as much money as I get. My boss freaked out and asked me not to tell how much my number is. And so I said, "Well, for this person who's so lousy and still not fully memorized of our play, if he goes to every rehearsal as I do, conducts as I do, plays the harpsichord as I do, and sings a character for the other production as I do, how dare you not to pay him as much!" My boss got the message with a smile, and I've never heard anyone else challenging my value.
There are people who are highly insecure. They like looking down on people to hide their insecurity. An insecure Senpai of mine recognized me outnumbering his productions and worried about me being not cooperative during the production. He approached me with, "I believe you'll learn something from so and so!" This act was so childish! Dude, you've known nothing about me. You don't know shit about what I've got or not. By doing so, you only shows how shallow and limited you are, just like our politicians who rush for fashion without understanding why. What a shame! Art is simple. Good and bad. Like it or not! Complicating things does not hide the ignorance.
C4 自作聰明的翻譯名
還記得大學時常常調侃大陸影片翻譯名(通常會趨近原文直譯 而不像台灣翻譯通常暗示故事情節) 但目前台灣充斥的許多翻譯 改循特定演員 或為求票房而讓所有片名看起來沒什麼分別。當命名以商業取向為先 比起他國 本國戲劇相關業者登國際舞台時 無法單純用中翻英 得多浪費記憶體記住兩個幾乎完全不相干的名稱 相形之下 原先受嘲弄的直譯者 就會瞬間省下解釋時間 更快進入狀況。
同樣的狀況 也不停地在我與外國朋友網路遊戲時浮上檯面 當我用所見中文翻成英文時 他們對於我手上拿到的道具一點概念也沒有 於是我就得多花時間把這些東西轉到他們的平台上才行 這種沒有世界觀的中文翻譯 對於台灣國際化一點幫助也沒。允許翻譯莫名其妙被篡改的行為 就是不尊重智慧財產的表現之一。如果有人對這些名稱如此無法釋懷 就麻煩這些人自己去原創遊戲 不要強姦別人的!
C4 Atrocious translation
I remembered making fun of the movie title translation by Chinese people in the Mainland China.(Taiwanese peops were used to the translation of titles which indicated the stories of the films.) Nowadays, tons of translation follow certain actors, or the titles of ticket selling trails. They end up looking so alike that people get confused all the time. When one's priority is for sales, art suffers. Our theatre peops have to use extra space memorizing unrelated titles in Taiwanese Mandarin and the original language. Otherwise, they won't be understood easily by translating their Mandarin titles into English when they discuss movies in an international film festival. In the mean time, those who have experienced Chinese titles have already moved on to a further discussion without wasting time figuring out which movie it is.
The similar situation occurs to me when I play online games with my friends using English platform in the US. They have a hard time telling what I've got by hearing my translation based on the Chinese I read. Thus, it takes me more time to identify things by switching back and forth between platforms. This kind of self-indulging translation does not help Taiwan get onto the international stage. And those we've used to make fun of can get there sooner. If someone is so attached to these names, would he please create his own game without raping others'?
D "譙"的力量大
D The power of criticism
大部分號稱民主的政府機關好大喜功 不一定知道如何利民 只想不在國際舞台丟臉 當我們想要改變的時候 就只是蒐證 然後不要客氣地譙
Most of the countries with so-called democracy like to show off. They don't usually know how to make people's lives better, but they certainly don't like losing face at the international level. When we like to change, we collect evidence and share it without holding back!
D1 梅花卡的規定變了
D1 The improvement of the the green card division of the Extraordinary Ability
同前 有譙有差 一定有其他跟我產生共鳴的人說出奧運前三與諾貝爾獎得主的狹隘 因此政府改了說詞 請大家繼續努力!
As I elaborated, if you made a point, it would be hard to miss. There must have been others making fun of the limited Bronze and up from the Olympics and the Nobel Prize winners. Finally the government heard it and made a difference. Let's keep it up!
D2 客家桐花祭原廣告歌曲不見了
D2 The disappearance of a tune from an advertisement
2013年4月15日於臉書上一句 "桐花季的廣告配樂還可以聽起來再壯烈一點..." 不曉得是否刺激到臉皮薄的廣告製作或作曲家 於是之後的廣告就沒有那首壯烈的背景音樂了
I made a comment on my facebook page, "Can that background music of the advertisement for the Hakka festival be more like the lord of the ring..." Somehow this common reached the producer or the composer of that ad. I'd never heard that background music in the ad anymore.
D3 似褒真"譙"還附上範例
D3 Sugar-covering the criticism with examples
幾年前從紐約市搬到個大眾交通工具極不便之地 上官網發現身為外地人的我 根本無法參透無圖站名(非路名)PDF的奧義 於是寫了封email給地方政府的網頁與交通負責人 介紹自己受聘於當地大學 認為該地充滿發展價值(哈!?) 若要幫助外地人在此投資發展 同時舒緩當時馬路工程造成的交通不便 大眾交通工具的推廣極為重要 因此 一張以顏色數字區隔的公車路線圖 能讓剛來的外地人立刻上手 附件為紐約市同時有破百條路線的公車圖給您作參考(該地區全部公車路線至今不破20) 要是您不知如何作圖 可以付我錢幫你做...。譙完之後自我感覺良好一下 某天上網查詢時發現網頁維護 隔幾天後發現該頁最底下出現公車路線圖連結 忍不住稱讚這些臉皮薄的傢伙 我也開心地跟當地人邀功 說我的一封email 幫他們生出一張易懂許多的地圖。很可惜的是 剛剛上該網頁 發現他們又因班次改變重整 地圖又不見了。看來我回到那鬼地方時 又有email可以譙了!
A few years ago, I moved to a place with horrendous public transportation unlike in Manhattan. I spent hours searching for public transportation info on the official website, but it was such a pain in the ass trying to figure out what the bus routes are by opening PDF files with the names of the stations(landmarks instead of the roads). And so, I wrote an email to the person who's the webmaster and the person who's in charge of traffic in the county. I described myself as an educator hired by a local university and I saw great potentials to attract foreign investors. It would be a tremendous help for the new comers and to ease the traffic tension created by the road construction at the time. I attached the bus map of Manhattan to the email showing how over 100 of bus routes can be easily indicated and read with colors and numbers. I also told them that I could make the map for them if I were compensated.(Until now, that county only has fewer than 20 bus lines in total.) I felt good about myself after hitting "send". One day, when I searched on the site, "under construction" was shown. And a few days later, there wasn't no drastic change but a link to a new MAP on the bottom of the page. I couldn't help but praise the ones who took the criticism well and fixed things. Proudly satisfied I was to share my triumph to the locals, "Hey! My email brought you a much better map!" Sadly, I just took a look of the website and discovered that the full map was missing again because of updated routes. It seems that I'll have another email to type once I return to the ghost town.
3. 趕流行貪一時之懶的結果
3. Following the fashion because of the laziness to take responsibility
A. 做球給人(政府)欺負
A. Born to be bullied
一般人因為懶一時 或無知相信口頭敘述 甚至只依自以為的倫理道德 縱容不和理約定。被有心人反撲時 除了獲得同情的淚以外 也只能怪自己。
Because of the laziness to figure out, the naïveté to verbal agreement, or the self-assumed morality, people let the one sided contracts stand. If we get feasted by the bullies later, we can only blame ourselves.
A1 合約必須要雙方同意 擬訂好後得在時效內簽約 否則得重談
A1 Contracts should be the agreement from both sides. Contracts must be signed within a certain time, otherwise, the terms will be established again
曾經碰過想請我表演的人 以"初次製作 熱愛歌劇 預算不多"為前提 向我提問合作可能。口頭上
Once there was someone inviting me to perform in his production. "First production, love of operas, small budget" was out front to negotiate for our potential collaboration. After initial discussion, no contract was sent to me. However, they requested me to attend the "first production meeting".(It's obvious that it's just the inexperienced funder who likes to line up all the minions to demonstrate his authority.) I stated, as the professional productions I've participated in, I'm only obligated to the performances and related rehearsals without being present in other occasion especially when I am still not bounded to any contract. They then told me that the meeting was for contract signing. I replied with no hesitance, "I don't sign any contract right on the spot. Contracts are supposed to be reviewed, edited, and agreed by two parties before being printed out and signed." They took my absence well and emailed me the terms after their first meeting.(Apparently, I was the only one who had not signed the contract like the rest of them on that day.) The terms were just outrageous. It not only showed that they had absolutely no idea of how to run shows but also the lack of the sense to basic equality from two parties. It was one sided and full of abstract words like "following the common morality". And of course, I had to fix things like: Instead of only fining my end for 10 times of my fee if I broke the contract, I made the fine both ways; instead of abstract "obeying the theater moral", I re-wrote the whole term into very specific rehearsal regulations; I completely crossed out the paragraph of "privacy consent to the terms of the contract".(Sorry, unless you're homeland security, you should stay as open as the rest of the companies I've worked with.) And yes, my huge modification pissed of whoever made the contract. They called me and told me that we could TALK about my terms more. I directly asked the person, "What is there to TALK about? What I want is in the contract I've modified. If anyone doesn't like it, all one needs to do is to fix and send back to me until we both agree on the terms." And this person said, "We're not gonna break whatever you've included!"(Gosh! This dude does not know how some Taiwanese labors suffer! Even our government breaks the promises to sue its own people for money. And who are you by the way?) Luckily I maintained myself calmly and answered, "Contracts are to provide both parties from the happening of the worst scenarios. Otherwise, there's no need to sign anything."
就這樣拖了不知道多久 某次與主辦人喝咖啡 意外地發現他為圖"職業樂團"之名 與對方簽約
I had not heard from them for quite a while. One day, I was invited to a cup of coffee by the organizer and I found out that they decided to hire a Taiwanese "professional" orchestra for the gig. Just like that, the "small production" all of a sudden went up to an over a million NTD production, and they had to raise more money for that act. The message I interpreted was, "we raise money for a so-called professional orchestra which has very little experience in operas, but we don't appreciate an opera professional who has done more than 30 productions as much." I decided to not only stand my fix of contract but to add more numbers since the production had expanded. Otherwise, I would feel horrible for myself and to those who had hired me for the same scale of productions. Well, they called again and asked me to talk with them face to face. That was the time I suggested them to find someone else because I not only demanded all my terms but also requested for more fee. Just like that, they told me that they would sign my fixed contract but they couldn't afford more. My next message followed, "Now, it's not just my fixed terms plus more digits, I would only give you half of the rehearsal period I agreed with." They finally got the idea of my lack of enthusiasm and understood the point I tried to make about the importance of time being while making a contract. All the others which had worked with me understood the value of hiring me because of the time and budget I could potentially save for them. It's always the ignorant home parties which like to waste time acting weird to fake its professional status.
懂事後 我最恨的就是霸凌 不管是個人 機關 政府 國家 或更甚。台灣學校追隨美國流行 四處充滿反霸凌標語 可是成人的世界與政府卻滿是霸凌擺爛的亂象。
Since I get more developed, the ones I hate the most are the bullies. They could be people, organizations, governments, countries, and more. Taiwanese schools post tons of "anti-bullying" ads to follow the trend from the US, but our adult world and government are just full of bullying crap.
B. 吃定只會按讚的人
B. The ones who clicks "like" without actually reading the content will be the targets
以為在趕臉書流行 完全不看內容 只會拚命按讚 其實就是最有可能落入有心人士設計好圈套的受害者。這就像簽約不看內容 拿自己前程與名聲冒險一樣愚蠢。有種按這篇文章讚的人 就要承擔哪天可能會因此被拿來背書的風險。
有人說媒體裝新聞真廣告 指責媒體報導不實 會讓媒體猖獗的其中一個因素 就是我們貪懶 光讀標題就按讚 有人連標題都沒看完就按讚 因此讓社會充斥著內容與標題相違的現象 無心之讚就變成有心人操作的武器
The peops who click "like" by just reading the title or even without finishing the title are the best targets to become victims. It's like signing a contract without reading what's in there. It's putting one's reputation and future at risk. If you dare to "like" this article, you have to take the responsibility when I quote your support one day!
Some complains that the news become the variations of commercial advertisement and accuse the public media being untruthful. One of the reasons they dare to do so is because we reveal our ignorance and laziness while glancing through public materials on the daily bases. If one allows himself to being irresponsible to all the "like" he has clicked, how can you expect the rest of the world being responsible and truthful for the information they provide. And worse, the careless "like" can one day be turned into the weapon against us.
4. 不怕挫折貫徹始終
4. Deal with the frustration and keep it up
時代改變 價值觀會改變(原始人裸體 受教化後開始為裸體感到莫名羞愧 然後又有人出現推廣天體...) 但是施受愛 真誠 理性 耐性 是維持和平進步社會永遠不能缺少的特質。＂革命尚未成功 同志仍需努力＂ 反核 關廠工人 追究先斬後奏至人死地的大埔案 以及真相未白的仲丘命案... 加上現在草率通過的兩岸服貿等 都需要持之以恆的關注。就算堅持沒換達預期結果 這股堅持仍然能表達我們緊盯政府機關 讓＂歪哥＂不敢貿然行事。在此邀請大家 撥點時間認真關心一下同胞與社會 成為監督執政者屁股疼的警鈴！
The time has changed, and our value has varied from time to time.(We've started from being ok with nudity, being ashamed of nudity, to being proud of nudity...) Things can change fast but the key to a peaceful and stable society has never gone far from having LOVE, TRUST, RATIONALITY, and PATIENCE. "We've not accomplished the revolution yet and we must continue."(by Dr. Sun-yat-sen) We show great care about the issues, anti nuclear powerplant, labors who became victims by the businessmen are our government, tearing down the Chang's before being approved officially which also caused Mr. Chang fall into emotional black hole and sadly presumably commit suicide later, suspicious death of Chung-Chiu who was a soldier about to be released from the mandatory service, and now the "free trade agreement" being approved within 30 seconds in the meeting, and etc. Shall we never give up! As long as we continue, even though the outcome doesn't always appeal as we like, we're making a strong statement of not letting go of any injustice. People who tempt to take advantage of us will be alerted and held by our public awareness. Here, I encourage you all to spend time caring of others and our society. Let us guard and protect our democracy and freedom like an alert of a pain in the ass to our government and those who try to feed on us.
感謝當今學生教我寶貴一課 這七千多字 是被你們激發出來的!
而有耐性讀完這洋洋灑灑七千字的朋友們 我對你們相當有信心 若具如此毅力讀完整篇 必有周全檢視人才能力 讓我們真正擺脫無意義的黨團色彩 發掘真正人才 幫助心愛的寶島台灣
Thanks to the students on the street today for the inspiration to throw out 12000+ words(7000+ in Chinese and 5000+ in English)!
For the ones who have the patience accomplishing to this line, I have faith in you. With this kind of stamina, we have the chance to peal off the covers of meaningless parties and discover the real good talents to help our beloved Formosa.
