Friday, April 18, 2008

戊子年四月 春

親愛なる君へ :

持續了下好幾場雪後,低溫爆冷的天氣終於漸形漸遠!草皮上的新芽一大片一大片地竄出來,和月前雪堆裡枯萎發黃『菜乾』相比,真是令人感嘆造物者之功、自然界的生生不息!

天氣一暖起來,人心就蠢蠢欲動了!活力就來了!

那天看到一群學生在遊行,標榜『不要種族歧視,接受多元種族並存』!挺有衝勁的!校警車在旁緊緊地跟著,生怕鬧出意外事件!不用說,示威學生多半是黑人和南美洲人!
說實話,我支持多元種族並存!也確切感受過美國白人的歧視心態!他們這種自大且井蛙之見的心理,大部分來自封閉的「大美國」意識型態!眼界走不出去,自然會覺得世界就應該是繞著美國轉!這當然很迂腐、很可悲、也很可笑!但是不可否認,美國的強大,支配著很多看不到的不公平!
話又再說回來,小黑和小拉丁們自己也要爭氣!我沒有種族上的偏見!但是在美國,黑人們真的該自己好好檢討!就拿學校的電腦室來說,永遠是小黑們最吵,永遠是他們堆在一起看球賽、講手機!常常可以聽到黑人女生笑的很大聲!要是你跟他們好言相勸,有時還會被白眼!而且那種「白」是真的很白,因為他們膚色的關係!哈哈哈!
如果再蠻橫一點,他們就會擺出一付被歧視的樣子,跟你沒完沒了!見識過黑人女生吵架嘛!包你一句話都說不出來!…

真的,我真的沒有歧視他們!但在美國待了近三年,就連一個讓我覺得跟他相處起來舒服的黑人都沒有!那更別談成為朋友了!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Puppy of April: Clover

This cute little puppy is Clover. He is the mix of beagle and German shepherd. Judging from Clover's paws, bones, and teeth, I think he will become a strong big dog in the future. However, Clover may need extra serious training to fit in his keeper's life and become a good pet at home.

Why?

First of all, I notice that Clover walks always with his tail up. The shape of his tail looks like a knife when he walks and runs. This symbolizes and implies one of the good innate abilities that a hunting dog should have. I guess this comes from one of beagles' characteristics.
Secondly, Clover was not afraid of my staring at his eyes directly. He looked back to me calmly and did not avoid my eyes. This means that Clover thinks his position is the same as mine (or even higher than mine). He also showed his courage by looking back to my eyes.
Finally, Clover did not respond to my calling every time, but showed greater pleasure to go to his master (recognized in his mind). He just represented his loyalty and integrity.

I am not a person who has purebred-complex about dogs. I always believe good dogs need serious training no matter how noble their blood is. What I mean " serious training" here does not require every dog to be trained like a police dog. The training should satisfy the keeper's daily life, not causing troubles like frequent and loud barking. More importantly, well-experienced keepers or trainers will adjust "methodologies" according to dogs' temper, characteristics, and innate abilities.

Morning Breakfast in Mid-Autumn Festival

I haven’t been able to watch TV on a regular basis for a long time/or since I was in the U.S. This has formed my habit of not watching cabl...