Archive for March, 2005

March 21st, 2005 河上鄉-神功戲

在河上鄉看了神功戲。
在大學期間從沒有觀賞過，今次算是少有。
他們能夠用竹棚搭出可以上下捲動的佈景、掛燈，
還有 sound panel ，實在是鬼斧神工。
不過我真的對粵曲沒有很大興趣。
未入大學前幾乎沒有接觸過粵曲。
粵曲對我來說始終是很陌生的東西，沒有認同感。
反而京劇樣板戲、劉三姐那些共產黨式的民歌才是我從父母遺傳下來的基因。

很少到上水。
坐車路上，
先是看見一大堆公屋居屋，
毫無特色個性的屋群。
置身於一大群高聳的石屎森林，
到底是屯門、還是上水、還是將軍澳，真是毫無分別。
之後逐漸進入鄉村，一路上黑漆漆的，
有些木廠，水泥廠，陰陰森森的，
好像被城市世界遺棄在這些荒涼的角落，
我真的很難想像在這種地方工作會怎樣。
終於到了河上鄉，和別的圍村也很像，
都是三層樓高的丁屋。
戲棚前面是球場。
這邊在做戲，那邊到了凌晨依然有人在打籃球。
街坊都只是抱著娛樂消遣的心態來看，隨便聊天閒談。
反而一眾大學生抱著學習研究的心態，
一個個數碼相機影個不停，真是有點格格不入。

March 16th, 2005 書城

注：本文章大部份乃是友人 MS 所作，僅此鳴謝。
全港最大、樓高三層的大型書店「新華書城」最近在銅鑼灣禮頓道開張。
城者，圍城也。
外面求書若渴的人想衝入去，裡面滿載而歸的人想走出來，
客似雲來、川流不息，才可貨如輪轉，營運得利。
聞得文盲兄已曾光顧，更因而見報，筆者日前亦慕名入城。
爬出人流如鯽的銅鑼灣地下鐵，橫越高尚尊貴的時代廣場，抄鵝頸橋小路，
走過叫賣聲喧天、濕漉漉的街市，不消半分鐘直抵書城。
說實話，進城以前不免有一種「入寶山」的期許，
因為以往到二樓書店、深圳書城，誠品書店等地的確令人沉醉書海、流連忘返。
但不知是否書店剛剛試業，
所以令我有一種慌亂上馬、華而不實的感覺。

書城共有三層，甫入書店，只見兩個穿鮮黃色上衣的售貨員拿著指示牌，
團團轉地忙著在各層各角貼上，
也有一位宣傳的「動物先生」(忘了是甚麼動物)跟客人揮手，看來站崗已久，
「牠」氣力不從，幸好天氣不熱，
不然那位披上動物皮毛的人肯定焗昏。
大概門口左邊木架上放置的是推薦書目
(如出版良久的克林頓自傳中譯版和一些文史書)，
由於並非太吸引，所以徑自往上而搜尋書籍。

二樓是親子活動中心，除一般兒童圖書外，還大搞綽頭，
留住細路，才可留住大人﹕
不但有PS讓小朋友試玩，聽說將來還有小朋友普通話及英文故事時間，
又會開設陶瓷、普通話、心算班等，果然顧客至尚。
而三樓則舉行「9+2書展」，
展示九省及港澳兩地出版的書籍，
也預告將來會舉辦其他如畫展、論壇等文化活動，
不失為一個文化聚集地。

新華書城是廣東新華集團首間在本港開設的書店，
對於經常往返內地買書(尤其字典)的香港人來說，
它的中資成份令顧客洐生購買便宜書籍的合理期望。
事實上，新華本為內地著名大型書店，這次登陸香港，兼具中港台特色。
一方面它的營業思維、建設規模、書種書價都模彷大陸書城﹕
主要售賣簡體字書，以文學、社會科學、消閒娛樂為主、
字典和理科為次，價錢相宜，走中上檔次。

另一方面，它滲進了台灣書店的品味。
書本擺放在一個個深啡色、略帶古典味的木架上，
(雖然有些書架手工不佳，書板釘位和書架螺絲位不對位，
令沉甸甸的書籍下的書板搖搖晃晃)，
加上具時代感及色彩繽紛的椅子、梳化，
以及手推車等現代資本主義商場的特徵，
令顧客置身中產優閒購物樂、方便購書之餘，
實際上希望顧客買書如買菜，全民皆讀。
除書籍以外，此店兼售精品、飾物、玩具及多款紅酒、餐具等
(令人彷如置身宜家+log on)。
它參考台灣誠品的營運模式，
計劃開設咖啡室及中式茶座，
其中咖啡室更會提供設計、建築相關等較昂貴書籍予顧客閱讀，
但要將在明年二月才正式營業開業。

整體來說，書店的概念是蠻好的，只是開張急了一些。
例如三樓某處以欄架卡住，往內一瞟，只見尚未上價的小書山堆，
在購物區見未製成品，如入餐廳後巷見劏豬一樣礙眼。
此外，書店的書搞民族大融和，中港台文理商放在一起，
排位好像有邏輯但其實無定向，
搞文化融合也要有程序和清晰規劃，
如只把同類的書放在一起而沒有「購物流程」和分類
(如在主要視區、樓梯進出口、廁所等置指示牌)，
往往只會令顧客不愜意，經營情況不佳吧。
再者，我覺得書的質量和閱讀環境才是衡量一間書店好壞的要素。
希望新華可以多評估顧客看書的習慣和志趣，
挑選一些專而精的書籍作招徠，盡快開放茶座歇腳，
非只著重宜家式的精品購物樂。

P.S.~~據報道，繼書城開張之後，駱克道亦開了一間台灣的城邦書店。
民政事務局最近策劃文化產業為香港經濟第五條支柱，研究將銅鑼灣中央圖書館至灣仔軒尼詩道一帶超過三十間書店串聯為書市，成為繼深水埗電腦節、西貢海鮮街、上環海味街等本土經濟項目後的又一力作。
愛讀書的人有福了？

March 15th, 2005 After Concert thoughts - a Busy Life

9/3/2005 Transcribed Night Ended. The attendance is quite good, with warm responses. Thanks for all performers and helpers. Thanks Kuno’s preface, OP’s recording, Vicky’s video and Cherry’s “artistic” photos!
Here are some of the photos on that day:
http://community.webshots.com/user/licheong1105/

Actually I didn’t feel much stress during the concert, nor did I feel much joy after it. My heart is just as calm and unmoved as usual. Making a concert seems a small thing now. There is still much work to do.

Writing and proof-reading program notes had been a long and clumpsy task. I felt the urge to improve my English.

It is good that we still have the energy that amateurs have, which attracted our close friends to come. However, our performance standard is amateur too. Tempo / pulse is unstable, piano tone color is not well controlled, intonation problems is not uncommon. I liked the idea that music should be playful and enjoyable. It is fun to be amateur. However, rather than incapable, the amateur performing standard shows that we had not practise enough . Busy we’re not, “distracted” is the real cause.
I becomed “busy” because I didn’t want to lose any chance. I greedily accepted any job offer I could get and promised to do things that I cannot fulfill. I have often failed to meet deadline, and have often produced poor-quality products because of the tight and scattered time slot. With so much work in hand, my focus is distracted. I could not concentrate in making one and only one high-quality product. On the contrary, I have been producing lots and lots of gabbage.

Hong Kong is a busy society. Many people do more than one job at the same time. One may say that Hong Kong people are hard working. But the truth is, we are too greedy. Capitalism aims at nothing. There is never an end to expanding, wanting more and more. We are not aiming at producing things that we enjoy, but capitals that helps us to make more capitals …. Everyone wants to climb up the social ladder and afraid of losing “chance”, afraid of being knocked out in the game.

All I want is sleep, and free myself from the cage I bounded myself.

Busy people cannot sense any happiness or sorrow. They are simply worn-out. They eat without sensing what is eaten, read without understanding what they’ve read. They are “walking corpse”.

March 15th, 2005 DV Problem

I’ve been making video for the Transcribed Night Concert.
1.5 hours concert needs a whole day editing.
Capturing video from DV to computer hard-disk is a slow process.
I wonder why this foolish way of “capturing” is commonly used in all DV equipments.
Why no one invent hard-disk recording for digital video?
With hard-disk recording, then everything can transfer into computer very easily,
rather than “capturing” from a DV tape.
Of course DV tape has its advantage: it is portable, and can be replaced with blank disk once it is full.
However, one hour of DV tape needs one hour to capture, that is simply foolish,
and there is loss in quality during the process of “capturing”.

Finally I produced a DVD successfully!!
This is the first time I create DVD from my own videos.
But I’m stupid that I did not to connect a better microphone to the DV in the concert.
The visual quality is acceptable ( at least better than VCD),
but the sound quality is poor (poorer than most VCD).

One problem I faced was importing audio in Adobe Premiere.
I initially intended to import my better sound recording from MDs,
which I already changed to .WAV files.
The WAV files sounds excellent in windows media player,
but once it is imported in Adobe Premiere, it has a high hissing sound.
That is totally annoying.
I wonder whether it is problem of Premiere, my sound card, or anything else…
Do you know any solution? (Yes, you, who are reading this article)
Thanks very much!

March 6th, 2005 春眠不覺曉