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• The Innocence of the 1870s America

  Saturday, May 31, 2008 1:01AM / Standard Entry

  

  I splashed out quite a lot of money on clothe yesterday^^^^^Check out  one of my new clothe!!! Pretty Japanese style~~~

   

   

  Hey^^Rick!!! I just jumped to the end of  the novel and thought that I could understand the whole story pretty well, so I spent one hour wrting this revirew~~~This essay is dedicated to you and I hope you can check it out and see if there is any problem with it.

  One more thing: from now on i will post one new pic on my blog post~Also the Chinese version will come out soon~Hope you guys can enjoy it~Thx~~ Dont forget to comment~~

  Cheers~

  Rick's Correction Version:  Edith Wharton ironically describes the period of the 1870's as an 'Age Of Innocence' which turns out to be an era when those upper-class people lived in concealment, mental isolation, obscure social traditions and with a lack of imagination.  Newland Archer is engaged with the charming and sweet-natured young lady, May Wellan, who, as is indicated in the book, is the obedient follower of old New York traditions.  She accepts all of the rules and strictly abides by them.  She can’t even make a decision of her own before consulting her mother, Catherine Wellan. Newland Archer enjoys challenges to traditional conventions, so he questions social conformity in private, but in public he belongs to those ever-binding traditions. “This is a world balanced so precariously that its harmony can be shattered by a whisper.”  When a Polish Countess, Ellen Olenska, an American woman, who is stuck in an unhappy marriage abroad, escapes from her husband with the assistance of her secretary and returns to New York.  Upon meeting Ellen, Newland’s world and his thinking become forever altered.  He falls in love with Ellen, and the love between them becomes deeper and more passionate even after marrying May.  His affair with Ellen, if divulged to the public, is bound to become a disastrous scandal and devastating for all lives involved in this melodrama.  Newland apparently knows the consequences of an elopement with Ellen, however the clearer this becomes the more troubling it all is on his conscience.  By the end of the novel, his desire to be with Ellen brims over until he hears of her impending departure, only to be totally dissolved with the news of May’s pregnancy, the actual reason for Ellen's return to Europe.  He eventually surrenders to conventional wisdom and remains with his wife.  In society's mind, Newland is a good husband and father and his children all lead a good life, but I refuse to believe that this is a happy ending for Newland, for his life lacks passion, expression and satisfaction.  Although the many years together pass by seemingly in a state of bliss for the couple, Newland finally realizes that it doesn't matter if marriage is a dull duty as long as it retains the dignity of duty.  In reality, he actually lives with the dullest woman, one incapable of emotion, passion, or even communication.  May even refuses to speak with Newland about his affair instead choosing to keep it hush-hush until the day of her death when she confides in her son, implicitly telling him that she had always known.  Finally, 25 years after May's death, Newland and their son wish to visit Ellen in Paris, but sadly, the still emotionally-detached man refuses to visit with her choosing rather to hold on to his memories instead.

  Edith Wharton 讽刺地把1870年的美国描述成纯真的年代，其实那个年代一点也不纯真，那个年代只不过是社会名流们相互隔离，欺骗，隐瞒并且对那些莫名其妙的社会俗套观念进行全天候的相互灌输。Newland Archer与本性纯良，长相甜美的年轻女子May Wellan定了婚，May Wellan在书中是被描述为一个忠实的社会习俗的遵守者，她全盘接受这些习俗并且毫无违背的遵守他们。她甚至不能做一个决定如果她不事先询问她的母亲Catherine Wellan。Newland Archer本性上是喜欢挑战社会旧观念的，他私底下对那些社会上俗套的东西提出了质疑，但是在公开场合他仍然是一个遵守社会习俗的人。“这是一个处在微妙平衡中的世界，如此的微妙以致这种平衡能被一声耳语给击得支离破碎”。，当Newland Wellan遇到一位由于不幸的婚姻离开丈夫一个人来到美国纽约名叫Olenska的波兰公爵夫人（她原本就是个美国人），他的世界从此被彻底的改变。他爱上了公爵夫人，即便是他与May结婚之后，他和公爵夫人之间的爱仍在加深。可是，如果他有外遇的丑闻一旦被曝光，就会导致灾难性的结果，足以摧毁他们两人的生活。Newland很显然知道这一点，但是他知道得越清楚他就越憎恨这个世界，这些不可理喻的习俗。在小说临近结尾的时候，他对公爵夫人的爱已经深到使他想与她私奔的地步，但是最终却被公爵夫人所拒绝。当得知May怀孕之后Newland选择了继续他自己原本的生活，他对公爵夫人的眷恋也渐渐的退却。他最终还是想社会习俗投降。。。。Newland是一个好丈夫好父亲，他的儿女们都过着相当不错的生活。但是我不能断定这就是Newland所要的结局，这个结局是不完美的，因为他的生活缺乏激情，缺乏沟通，缺乏满足感。经过了这么多年的婚姻生活，Newland认识到只要你保持着这种责任感，这种有责任感所带来的荣耀，婚姻也就不再是枯燥的重任。但无可否认的是他确实与一个这个世界上最呆瓜的女人生活，她不擅长沟通，不懂得表达感情，她甚至不能告诉Newland说她已经知道他有外遇的事情，直到她临死的时候他才把他的大儿子叫进她的房间，并把这件事情告诉他。

  
  

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• Research Paper^^^^^^

  Thursday, May 29, 2008 9:46PM / Standard Entry

  Translation B

  Name:Erica Chan

   

  The Rise of Taike Culture

   

  If you are the one who likes watching Taiwan entertainment programs or TV series, you’ll be very familiar with the term-taike, which is commonly used by many teenagers to re-identify themselves. Taike is the combination of the two Chinese characters, “台” and “客”, which mean Taiwan and guest separately (Net.2.). “This term has historically been used predominantly by mainlanders in Taiwan as a pejorative for ethnic Taiwanese they view as unsophisticated and crude” (Net.1.).

   

  So what does a taike look like? If you are walking in the street, you may, in most cases, see this scenario “a woman walks into a 7-Eleven wearing plastic slippers, jeans under a short skirt, an "Abibas" shirt and her motorcycle helmet. She purchases a bottle of rice wine, several cans of Vitali, and a pack of Long Life cigarettes, gets on the back of a scooter already occupied by three family members and rides away” (Net.1.). This is the kind of person classified as taike, however, if you now beckon to the woman and contemptuously call her “taike” to see how angry she will be. Well, you’d be wrong. She won’t shout back “you bastard”, nor will she chase you five blocks punching you with a handbag. She will simply smile and take it as a compliment, because nowadays the term has already become part of the Taiwanese self-identity.

   

  Also, examples that were offered by others included: “The cup wedged between the seats of a cab for the driver to spit betel nut; watermelon dipped in soy sauce and wasabi; the ubiquitous sausage-seller; hometown rock hero Wu Bai's Mandarin love songs sung in a strong Taiwanese accent; the woman who uses and re-uses her Mitsukoshi shopping bag” (Net.1.).

   

  Almost 50 years ago, when Taiwan was still under the reign of KMT (Chinese Nationalist Party), people whose behavīor and dress were considered as uncultured and crude would be pejoratively called taike, for one reason that the chair of the KMT, Chiang Jieshi, was historically a mainlander who still held attachments to China. During that time, “learning a local dialect such as Taiwanese, Hakka or aborigine-languages was strictly banned in the classrooms by KMT” (Michael 2008). However, as China’s economy has soared since the opening-up and the central government requested to reclaim Taiwan as an integral part of China, Taiwanese, who no longer consider themselves as a Chinese, feel the pressure and desire an identity of their own.

   

  Many Taiwanese now consider Taiwan as a somewhat independent state. The relationship between mainland China and Taiwan is precariously balanced by Taiwan’s politicians, which may be completely devastated by even a simple mistake. The current political situation urged Taiwanese to search an identity of their own, which aroused an anti-KMT emotion among local Taiwanese (Michael 2008). And it was this emotion that determined the success of DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) in the presidential election in 2000 when Chen Suibian made history by becoming the first non-KTM President of Taiwan, because he won by instigating and making full use of the rising Taiwanese spirit (Michael 2008). And then, “school curriculum that had focused on Chinese history and geography center on Taiwan, and those dialects that used to be banned by KMT is now compulsory in elementary school” (TIME, 2008).

   

  Moreover, today’s pop stars and artists have also embraced the newly emerged local culture, for example, “The taike icon MC Hotdog snubs a supermodel for the down-to-earth Taiwanese gal in his hit tap song I Love TW (Taiwan) Girls.”(Michael 2008), and some of them even go to an extreme: criticizing those pop stars who prefer foreign culture to local one. For example, S.H.E., a very famous band, was criticized for their newly released song (Chinese or ZhongGuohua in pinyin), the lyrics of which was considered as “trying to flatter the Chinese in order to break into the huge market”. Some critics said: “it is a tragedy for them to do this. They were born in Taiwan, but they gave up their true identity just to earn more money. Their parents, teachers and elders should be responsible for this!” Of course, those critics were exaggerating, but what underlies those remarks is manifest: local culture is crucial in showing someone’s identity.

   

  Wu Pengfeng is an actor with the Golden Bough theater troupe. Asked if he was bothered by being seen as "very tai", as the term is used in its adjective form, he said you had to consider the speaker. "It depends on who's talking and how they say it," he said. "If it's a young person, they probably don't mean it as an insult. But if it's an older person, it could be impolite. It depends on their tone (Net.1.).

   

  Although there is no doubt that taike is becoming more and more popular, it is still an impolite term for some people, especially the older. But for most people, when talking about taike, they take it in a very positive way, and teenagers use the term playfully rather than as an insult, just as Sophie Chiang, Eslite Reader's editor-in-chief, said:“Taike is being released from its stereotypes and becoming a lifestyle term. To embrace it, you maybe accept a more liberal lifestyle or you are bolder or braver. ... It's about the power of naming and identity”(Net.2.)

   

  Summing up, the rise of taike culture indicates Taiwanese’s struggle to reshape themselves, since they cannot deny the fact that they share the same ancestor as mainlanders, they choose to distinguish themselves by restoring some of their old cultures.

   

   

  940 words

   

   

  Bibliography:

   

  Schuman Michael, Strait Talker, TIME 171(11), 2008:23

  Net:1:Momphard David, New taike' not the old insult, Retrieved May 15, 2008, from www.taipeitimes.com

  Net:2:Site Admin,Taike — trademarking a partially reclaimed pejorative, Retrieved May 15, 2008, from http://pinyin.info/news/2007/taike-trademarking-a-partially-reclaimed-pejorative/

  
  

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• 回忆~~

  Tuesday, May 27, 2008 11:26PM / Standard Entry

  沉思中~~~~~

  总是有些事情要发生
  有些日子要到来
  提醒着时间的匆匆
  像这样一个普通的时刻
  祭奠着我们生命中最美好的一段时光
  我们都是被时间远远抛下的蜗牛
  就算再努力追赶也还是在某个角落以自以为飞快的速度挪动
  然后发现形形色色的事情以光速飞跃
  
  所以好像在这种时候
  不得不回忆起那一段典藏的时光
  那个用彩色粉笔在黑板上倒数时间的教室
  那个每天中午都在棋牌室和停尸房间转换角色的教室
  那个在厕所对面的阴暗角落里有常常遗落着老鼠屎的窗台的教室
  那个在第七层所以很难得有空调让我在夏天升腾起莫名自豪感的教室
  那段收藏在浓缩在这个小小教室的时光
  要用多少篇幅去形容你留给我的无法抹去的动人感觉
  
  记得在高一高二还很期待六月份的到来
  最想过的六一儿童节和最值得期待的长达四天的假期
  还有可以开始漫长暑假的倒计时了
  高考假放完以后
  六楼七楼都是空荡荡的
  跟朋友跑上去 高高俯瞰着街对面的操场
  感叹一下原来我们还青春
  再羡慕一下开始享用三个月假期的众人
  
  突然之间自己也可以每天站在教学楼的最高层向下望了
  有人在走廊把足球踢出窗
  引起众人预测足球以那样的初速度能不能飞到巷子对面的四中
  上班主任的课还是很不识相的睡倒直到好心的班主过来亲自叫你起床
  不停的考试跟周围的人较着劲虽然有时候会不厚道的作作小弊
  厚道的班主强悍的数学恨铁不成钢的物理
  是我们平常最津津乐道的话题之一
  最自豪的是在班里一整年几乎都霸占着每次文科考试的前几名中的某个名额
  真材实料的哦
  虽然在高考的时候我的政治是死得一塌糊涂
  但是1班却几乎横扫各个科目在被2班压制了一年之后扬眉吐气了
  大家都high了`
  
  那个时候中午最爱去很远生意却很好的粿条店吃东西
  热腾腾的汤很有味的剁椒
  连那里的肉饼和鱼丸好像都比别处更加好吃
  跟阿姨混得很熟还有他们养的猫
  如果去得早能吃到米粉那一整个下午都会变得很有精神
  1班的人还经常去艾之味
  印象最深的是用很好的猪骨熬汤做汤底的酸菜肉丝面
  虽然高考以后再去就不那么好吃了
  还有第一次吃很香第二次吃却变得很油腻的炒面
  有的时候一帮人浩浩荡荡跑去吃饭还要拼桌
  有时候三三两两过去遇到了相视一笑打个招呼
  留下1班人n多足迹和饭钱的地方呢
  
  1班的一大帮子人
  同校五年之后才认识中间穿插了许多纠结的事才要好起来的小婷
  看似很娘娘腔其实也像女生一样心思细腻有时候会神经质的班长大人
  个子不高读书却很强悍性格很可爱常常会一鸣惊人的penguin
  有时候啰里八唆让人想打一巴掌有时候也会倾听的咸鱼
  曾在校队篮球却打得不怎么样的因为很强壮被我称为野兽的体委
  互相看不顺眼直到高考后才冰释前嫌的陈同学
  还有可爱的小受小广小鸠立林小飞……
  当然还有因为经常跑去别班混认识的超级纯良的小丹丹
  是这么多人的存在
  我的高三才显得不单调不无聊不空白
  
  那段日子一去不复返了
  我踩在一年之后的尾巴上看那个阳光灿烂的日子里奋笔疾书的我们
  黑色的水笔灰色的铅痕橡皮留下的碎屑
  抬头就想到即将到来的世界杯和NBA总决赛
  写完题不想早交卷又不想检查就发呆想想金中的人们在做什么
  规划漫长的暑假要充满小说漫画电影和总也不够的睡眠
  现在的我却在想微积分的结业考试该怎么办
  回家以后是不是可以把电脑里没看完的电影电视剧看完
  一去不复返了  

  
  

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• 20年之痒

  Saturday, May 24, 2008 10:21AM / Standard Entry

  HAHA~~This is my first Chinese blog~~When i finished this blog, I had no idea how to translate it, because the SYNTAX between Chinese and English is so different and I am afraid that the meaning may be utterly converted even though I do a good translation.    Maybe I can translate the title for you guys. It's much easier~~HAHA 20年之痒(The 20 Years Itch) 被蚊子叮了留下的红色痕迹 皮肤会有微弱或忍不住要在上面画十字的痛痒 看到了喜欢的衣服却因为囊中羞涩不能买 会有遗憾并且努力安慰着自己却又带着小小怨念的心痒 就像结婚七年会想要稍微出一下轨来找回原来生活的样子 就像退休之后还是忍不住要到办公楼附近转悠 就像对门的邻居中了彩票要去祝贺又要在背后碎碎念 就像生活了快20年还什么都不懂得 不知道要用怎样的语言才能形容这个快要完整的20年 就像某天突然发现第二天那个很有喜感的爸爸突然要变成50岁的老人 在我20岁生日的十二个月又四天之前的那一日 有人说那样的心情叫做百爪挠心 不甘心不情愿不知所谓 只觉得那个时刻突然到来好像无比重大 虽然只是地球照旧的旋转过一周却无法忽视 因为总觉得19和20之间隔着很热血的青春的坎子 总觉得29和30之间被填满了各种各样扰人的琐事 总觉得39和40之间什么都会变的平淡和千篇一律 那么49和50之间.好像也有什么在那里 是像铜豌豆一般坚韧的存在 所以.那么的不一样 好像地球的转动也突然间停了半拍 停滞在空气里的那一瞬 刻下了好多好多属于我们的记忆 如果我可以这样自以为是的说 happy birthday... 越俗烂的言语 是不是越能显得自然 心里面那些细碎的念头 是不是就能小心翼翼的掩饰起来 因为你那天说过 不是你变老了 只是我长大了 这样的俗烂的言语 你也在努力掩饰什么吗？

  
  

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• DIctionary for Men and Women~~~~

  Friday, May 23, 2008 10:12PM / Standard Entry

   

  This is a blog post I got from J-Lee. I came across this post and found it really interesting and hilarious. I have to say sorry to J-Lee for not getting his consent before I copied this blog~~but it's really really interesting and I cant wait to share it with you guys~~~HAHA

   

  DICTIONARY FOR WOMEN'S PERSONAL ADS
  40-ish..............................49
  Adventurous.....................Slept with all your friends
  Athletic............................No boobs
  Average looking.................Ugly
  Beautiful...........................Pathological liar
  Contagious Smile................Does a lot of pills
  Emotionally secure..............On medication
  Feminist............................Fat
  Free spirit..........................Junkie
  Friendship first...................Former slut
  Fun..................................Annoying
  Gentle..............................Dull
  New Age...........................Body hair in the wrong places
  Open-minded.....................Desperate
  Outgoing...........................Loud and Embarrassing
  Passionate........................Sloppy drunk
  Poet.................................Depressive
  Professional.......................Bitch
  Romantic...........................Frigid
  Voluptuous........................Very Fat
  Large frame.......................Hugely Fat
  Wants Soul mate................Stalker
  Widow..............................Murderer
  
  WOMEN'S ENGLISH
  
  1. Yes = No
  2. No = Yes
  3. Maybe = No
  4. We need = I want
  5. I am sorry = you'll be sorry
  6. We need to talk = you're in trouble
  7. Sure, go ahead = you better not
  8. Do what you want = you will pay for this later
  9. I am not upset = of course I am upset, you moron!
  10. You're very attentive tonight = is sex all you ever think about?
  
  MEN'S ENGLISH
  
  1. I am hungry = I am hungry
  2. I am sleepy = I am sleepy
  3. I am tired = I am tired
  4. Nice dress = Nice cleavage!
  5. I love you = let's have sex now
  6. I am bored = Do you want to have sex?
  7. May I have this dance? = I'd like to have sex with you
  8. Can I call you sometime? = I'd like to have sex with you
  9. Do you want to go to a movie? = I'd like to have sex with you
  10. Can I take you out to dinner? = I'd like to have sex with you
  11. Those shoes don't go with that ōutfit = I'm gay
  
  And finally.....
  
  A recent scientific study found that women find different male faces attractive depending on where they are in their menstrual cycle.
  For example, when a woman is ovulating she will prefer a man with rugged, masculine features.
  However when she is menstruating, she prefers a man doused in petrol and set on fire, with scissors stuck in his eye and a cricket stump shoved up his backside.

  
  

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