青皂黑黝乌漆墨
丹赤红彤朱绯胭
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
China Welcomes You
Mentioning “China”, some would smile, some frown; visiting China, some would be awed and impressed, and some frustrated and disgusted. China is like any other country in the world with its shares of accomplishments and disappointments. As China welcomes the world to the Olympics, the world needs to hug back and say: “Welcome back, and let’s together make China and the world a better place”.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Kibbutz Living
“Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world”
Struggling and adapting, what failed categorically in Russia and China has nevertheless survived in the unexpected Land of Holies. Kibbutzim in Israel, however, are not what they used to be. Community members mostly eat their meals at home, receive salaries according to contribution, and the commune may now be professionally managed. Palmachim, 30 minutes southwest of Tel Aviv, is a typical example of the present day kibbutzim.
I was greeted by 80-year-old Mr. Zvi who looked like Jack Lemon’s twin brother. One of the founding members of Palmachim in the late 1940s, Mr. Zvi spoke with nothing short of great pride and confidence. The first place we went was the dinning hall which is at the heart of the kibbutz. Communal meals were essential and necessary to kibbutz living at the beginning when most of the members were in their youth and owned no personal properties. As community has grown, most people now choose to spend their private time with their family members. The dinning hall still serves meals, and a simple lunch costs less than 30 shekels (or US$ 8.60)
On a land of dirt and sand, Palmachim was built from scratch on the Mediterranean coast. Today it looks like a resort cluster near Caesarea that may cost US$ 10,000 per square meter.
There are a few different building types in this 500-member community: single family homes close to the entrance, two-level multiplexes along the beach, and various two- to four-unit apartment buildings in the middle. The kibbutz has an expansion plan to virtually double its current size, but most of the new buildings will be up for sale.
This “new” capitalistic management system as almost all kibbutzim in Israel are desperately adapting seems to have turned the original socialistic ideal right on its head. “The new system”, as Mr. Zvi tactically put it, is expected to save the financially struggling utopia. People now receive salaries and are paid differently based on their individual contribution. With advancement in agriculture and relocation of the cow ranch, many people work in the nearby city of Rishon LeZion during the day, and return at night. Some of the buildings are current rent out to outside companies. The kibbutz can no longer provide free housings, so the new condos will need to be purchased by the community members. These are just a few examples.
“We all voted for it”, said Mr Zvi. The despair and disappointment were as evidently poignant as the hot and salty Mediterranean breeze. China has been doing the same transmorphing for almost 30 years. The otherwise long extinct Marxist mammoth is now the world’s most coveted commercial paradise and is hosting the spectacular coming-out-of-Commie-closet extravaganza this August. So, Mr. Zvi, everything will be sababa, but I didn’t say it to him.
Nurseries are located between the dinning hall and the living quarters. In such way, the kids are safe and not likely to wander into the sea without being noticed. Kibbutz children are raised together. The parents don’t give up their newborns but share the responsibility of taking care of all the children in the commune. This is similar to how cubs are raised in hyena packs. Lactating hyenas feed any needy cubs in the pack, and spoil is also shared with no discrimination. Despite hyenas’ deceivingly lowly appearance, I have the highest respect for them, probably the most efficient and tenacious survivalists in Serengeti. I don’t know any kibbutz kids, but I bet almost all Israelites know this kibbutz boy. His name is Ben Gurion, the founder of the modern state of Israel. When the national airport in Tel Aviv is named after him, I guess he must have done something right in his life.
The last stop was the kibbutz museum. When building the community, people discovered many items of archaeological importance. Right at the crossroad of culture highways, the Judea Hills witnessed and, many times, endured the coming and going of many great peoples: Phoenicians, Canaanites, Israelites, Egyptians, Syrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Byzentiums, and Arabs. The list is of course not exhaustive. When the dust settles, millennia of dynastic changes, gruesome conquests, massive losses of human lives, all seems to amount to little more than a few fragmented potteries, eroded coins, and cracked skulls buried deep in the dirt.
Greed, probably the greatest motivation in human history, has propelled us from the Stone Age to the Information Age, yet with an equally staggering price tag. I suspect with confidence that the renunciation of greed for personal gains was part of the reasons that the ideal of kibbutzim was developed and implemented on this restless land. Sadly, the world is not ready for it, neither was it kind to Russia and China in the 20th century. Change is inevitable for survival, but may not be a betrayal. The question whether to die for an ideal or to live another day trying to fulfill it later has been answered, both in Masada some 2,000 years ago and in present day Palmachim.
Shalom, Mr. Zvi and Palmachim. Behatzlacha!
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world”
Struggling and adapting, what failed categorically in Russia and China has nevertheless survived in the unexpected Land of Holies. Kibbutzim in Israel, however, are not what they used to be. Community members mostly eat their meals at home, receive salaries according to contribution, and the commune may now be professionally managed. Palmachim, 30 minutes southwest of Tel Aviv, is a typical example of the present day kibbutzim.
I was greeted by 80-year-old Mr. Zvi who looked like Jack Lemon’s twin brother. One of the founding members of Palmachim in the late 1940s, Mr. Zvi spoke with nothing short of great pride and confidence. The first place we went was the dinning hall which is at the heart of the kibbutz. Communal meals were essential and necessary to kibbutz living at the beginning when most of the members were in their youth and owned no personal properties. As community has grown, most people now choose to spend their private time with their family members. The dinning hall still serves meals, and a simple lunch costs less than 30 shekels (or US$ 8.60)
On a land of dirt and sand, Palmachim was built from scratch on the Mediterranean coast. Today it looks like a resort cluster near Caesarea that may cost US$ 10,000 per square meter.
There are a few different building types in this 500-member community: single family homes close to the entrance, two-level multiplexes along the beach, and various two- to four-unit apartment buildings in the middle. The kibbutz has an expansion plan to virtually double its current size, but most of the new buildings will be up for sale.
This “new” capitalistic management system as almost all kibbutzim in Israel are desperately adapting seems to have turned the original socialistic ideal right on its head. “The new system”, as Mr. Zvi tactically put it, is expected to save the financially struggling utopia. People now receive salaries and are paid differently based on their individual contribution. With advancement in agriculture and relocation of the cow ranch, many people work in the nearby city of Rishon LeZion during the day, and return at night. Some of the buildings are current rent out to outside companies. The kibbutz can no longer provide free housings, so the new condos will need to be purchased by the community members. These are just a few examples.
“We all voted for it”, said Mr Zvi. The despair and disappointment were as evidently poignant as the hot and salty Mediterranean breeze. China has been doing the same transmorphing for almost 30 years. The otherwise long extinct Marxist mammoth is now the world’s most coveted commercial paradise and is hosting the spectacular coming-out-of-Commie-closet extravaganza this August. So, Mr. Zvi, everything will be sababa, but I didn’t say it to him.
Nurseries are located between the dinning hall and the living quarters. In such way, the kids are safe and not likely to wander into the sea without being noticed. Kibbutz children are raised together. The parents don’t give up their newborns but share the responsibility of taking care of all the children in the commune. This is similar to how cubs are raised in hyena packs. Lactating hyenas feed any needy cubs in the pack, and spoil is also shared with no discrimination. Despite hyenas’ deceivingly lowly appearance, I have the highest respect for them, probably the most efficient and tenacious survivalists in Serengeti. I don’t know any kibbutz kids, but I bet almost all Israelites know this kibbutz boy. His name is Ben Gurion, the founder of the modern state of Israel. When the national airport in Tel Aviv is named after him, I guess he must have done something right in his life.
The last stop was the kibbutz museum. When building the community, people discovered many items of archaeological importance. Right at the crossroad of culture highways, the Judea Hills witnessed and, many times, endured the coming and going of many great peoples: Phoenicians, Canaanites, Israelites, Egyptians, Syrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Byzentiums, and Arabs. The list is of course not exhaustive. When the dust settles, millennia of dynastic changes, gruesome conquests, massive losses of human lives, all seems to amount to little more than a few fragmented potteries, eroded coins, and cracked skulls buried deep in the dirt.
Greed, probably the greatest motivation in human history, has propelled us from the Stone Age to the Information Age, yet with an equally staggering price tag. I suspect with confidence that the renunciation of greed for personal gains was part of the reasons that the ideal of kibbutzim was developed and implemented on this restless land. Sadly, the world is not ready for it, neither was it kind to Russia and China in the 20th century. Change is inevitable for survival, but may not be a betrayal. The question whether to die for an ideal or to live another day trying to fulfill it later has been answered, both in Masada some 2,000 years ago and in present day Palmachim.
Shalom, Mr. Zvi and Palmachim. Behatzlacha!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The White City of Bauhäuser
A world heritage site by UNESCO, Tel Aviv boasts over 4,000 Bauhaus buildings, which originated in pre-WWII Germany and make no distinction of form and function. One of the best examples is supposed to be 34 Frug Street in the city center. Pretty illiterate about architecture, I think I can appreciate its function, but its minimalistic match-box form is quite plain and unremarkable.
Its rectangular balconies may have maximized the usable area, but the edginess and stiffness in form bring on tension and stress. The ornamental gap, a nice addition, seems to serve no functional purpose. The dimensionally matching overhang looks like a sharp blade cutting abruptly into a vanilla cake, which seems to help further psychological strain. The size of the windows may suffice for lighting and ventilation, but enlarged windows, while enhancing the functionality, might help reduce greatly the surface tension of the blandness of the flat white exterior wall. Often found in luxury condominiums, the roof awning supported by a colonnade does produce a much needed spatial relief from solid planes, but, judged from the street, its practical purpose eludes me. So an amateur’s opinion, I think the distinction of form and function at 34 Frug Street is quite clear, and they do not seem to complement each other quite well. But again, the days I spent in studying architecture is zero. So for the moment, I will pretend to agree with UNESCO.
A few more examples of Bauhaus structures around Dizengoff Square are stored in my unwilling camera.
Its rectangular balconies may have maximized the usable area, but the edginess and stiffness in form bring on tension and stress. The ornamental gap, a nice addition, seems to serve no functional purpose. The dimensionally matching overhang looks like a sharp blade cutting abruptly into a vanilla cake, which seems to help further psychological strain. The size of the windows may suffice for lighting and ventilation, but enlarged windows, while enhancing the functionality, might help reduce greatly the surface tension of the blandness of the flat white exterior wall. Often found in luxury condominiums, the roof awning supported by a colonnade does produce a much needed spatial relief from solid planes, but, judged from the street, its practical purpose eludes me. So an amateur’s opinion, I think the distinction of form and function at 34 Frug Street is quite clear, and they do not seem to complement each other quite well. But again, the days I spent in studying architecture is zero. So for the moment, I will pretend to agree with UNESCO.
A few more examples of Bauhaus structures around Dizengoff Square are stored in my unwilling camera.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Useful Hebrew Phrases
shalom
lehitra'ot
boker tov
toda
toda raba
tov me'od
bevakasha
ken
lo
regga
rak regga
beseder gamur
sababa hegozim
ma shlom cha?
baruch hashem
savlanut (= patience)
bidiyuk (= exactly)
lehitra'ot
boker tov
toda
toda raba
tov me'od
bevakasha
ken
lo
regga
rak regga
beseder gamur
sababa hegozim
ma shlom cha?
baruch hashem
savlanut (= patience)
bidiyuk (= exactly)
Monday, June 23, 2008
Carlin (1937-2008)
The first Carlin piece I saw was “flying on the airplane” in which he challenged some conventional use of words, which, if you think about it, doesn’t really make much sense. Examples include “pre-boarding process”, “non-stop flight”, “check the vicinity of your seating area for any personal properties you might have brought on-board”, etc. A language teacher myself, I was much inspired thereby and did discover that our daily communications were often overwhelmed by hackneyed clichés and true meanings often were lost in the process.
Many comedians do such routines in which they challenge conventional wisdom, but nobody has been more direct, poignant, and precise than Carlin. He never hesitated in spitting out the naked truth about religion, ugly facts in politics, shameless abuse of language, capricious trends in society, and the list goes on. Walking away from lucrative contracts doing clean, safe and brownnosing Vegas shows, Carlin reinvented himself, or went back to his true roots. His life long anti-establishment motif is utterly absent in the cautious Seinfeld or the hilarious Williams, yet the influence is apparent in the neurotic Black and the slightly gay Maher. He could fire more rapidly than the obnoxious Miller yet still sound more eloquent than the witty Letterman. Carlin was really among the very few who were able to stun, challenge and entertain his audience at the same time.
Carlin, thank you for all the grievances and complaints. I will miss you...
Many comedians do such routines in which they challenge conventional wisdom, but nobody has been more direct, poignant, and precise than Carlin. He never hesitated in spitting out the naked truth about religion, ugly facts in politics, shameless abuse of language, capricious trends in society, and the list goes on. Walking away from lucrative contracts doing clean, safe and brownnosing Vegas shows, Carlin reinvented himself, or went back to his true roots. His life long anti-establishment motif is utterly absent in the cautious Seinfeld or the hilarious Williams, yet the influence is apparent in the neurotic Black and the slightly gay Maher. He could fire more rapidly than the obnoxious Miller yet still sound more eloquent than the witty Letterman. Carlin was really among the very few who were able to stun, challenge and entertain his audience at the same time.
Carlin, thank you for all the grievances and complaints. I will miss you...
Sunday, June 15, 2008
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