1. 王爷出差回家前一天晚上，妹妹说，I miss daddy more than my laptop. 我这才想起来王爷把妹妹的电脑带走了，她已经一个多星期没有玩游戏了。好有孝心的闺女，她爹没有白疼她。
紧接着她开始兴奋地谈起等爹地回来后她将要做的一个大 project，当然是关于史上最火的游戏 mindcraft ，她准备如何如何做，说了一大堆，我当然听不懂，但有一点我是明白过来了：
小蹄子，你以为你掩藏得很好么，说一句想爹地超过想电脑就可以蒙混你母后了么？殊不知你祖宗的祖宗早已在半山腰准备了一麻袋的成语等着你呢：此地无银三百两，欲盖弥彰，掩耳盗铃，刻舟求剑，等等，等等。不止一款适合你。
2. 妹妹最近迷动画系列片 Steve Universe 和 Adventure Time，这两部都是 Cartoon Network 出品，我瞄了几眼，里面的新新人类怪模怪样，实在看不出有什么好，我问妹妹喜欢这部动画剧的什么，她说很 creative，并且 funny。
我有点担心她看得太多了，她经常一边做作业一边看。今儿妹妹说了，她打算每周就看4-6 集，每集十分钟，一周算下来也就一个小时。
娘心大慰，谁说孩子自制力差？我看他们很有节制嘛。
妹妹接着解释：我已经看完了两季，还有六季，130 集左右，新的一季要等明年才有，每周看4-6集，正好可以看到新的一季开始。
哦，原来酱紫，而不是什么自制力 blah blah，妹妹永远是生日爬梯上吃蛋糕吃到最后一个的人，用时髦话来说这叫，慢享受，慢生活？
3. 妹妹的Social Study 居然是她七门功课里学得最好的（至少目前从分数上看上去是这样），而不是什么数学，科学之类 “ 传统强项 ” 。
我问她：听说你在课堂上比较积极，难得呀，是怎么一回事呢？
妹妹说：哦，那是因为现在讲的内容在打 Civilization 时就已经知道了。
王爷一听，得意了：这叫知之者不如好之者，好之者不如乐之者。接着伊又犯愁了：接下来让你打什么游戏好呢？
哎，诸位游戏界大佬，为啥不把其他几门课也做成游戏呢？我保你们银子大大地赚。
Halloween, All Hallows’ Eve, 鬼魂精灵重返人间的夜晚，我和妹妹疾走在空旷的街道，穿行在黑幽的林子，天上一把无形的扫把奋力地扫着流云，风很大，把妹妹的女巫帽子刮走了无数次，站在小山坡上隔湖望去，黑云压城，往日璀璨的城市之光只剩下点点寒星，Space Needle 在风中摇曳。
幽暗中身旁飘忽而过的都是非人类的奇形怪状，阵阵松涛中忽地一两声磔磔怪笑或尖厉惨叫，但我并不害怕，咱一旁有女巫护驾，随时可以折一根枝条，随她腾空而去。
万圣重返的情景似乎很久没有经历了，往年都是姐妹俩出门讨糖，我坐在灯火明亮的家里发发糖，今年姐姐没能在家过节，一大早就赶去参加 Portland 的划船比赛，不得已只好我来陪妹妹了，我们专挑黑道走，寻找隐秘所在的孤零零亮着的 jack-o’-lantern, 不曾想却是如此奇妙的经历。
我知道远在大城市纽约正在上演一场盛大的万圣游行，我猜他们一定会跳好几场 Michael Jackson 的 Thriller，看来，就是做鬼也要做在一线城市才繁华热闹有人气，小镇上的孤魂散鬼都是害羞鬼。
回到家，喝一杯热巧克力，再看一次经典中的经典 “Thriller”, 完美。
It’s close to midnight and something evil’s lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes
You’re paralyzed
The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller
Can you dig it?
飓风带来的雨水天，无所事事，看朋友晒回京访游美图，感叹万千，想每个曾在北京驻留过的人，心中必都珍藏着一卷柯达胶卷，虽已无处冲洗，好在有隽永的文字，总能替我们道出一些心中的思念，将泛黄的胶卷重新冲晒出来。手抄几段老舍的 《 想北平》：
“ 巴黎，据我看，还太热闹。自然，那里也有空旷静寂的地方，可是未免太旷；不像北平那样既复杂又有个边际，使我能摸着－－那长着红酸枣的老城墙！面向着积水滩，背后是城墙，坐在石上看水中的小蝌蚪或苇叶上的嫩蜻蜓，我可以快乐地坐一天，心中完全安适，无所求也无可怕，像小儿安睡在摇篮里。是的，北平也有热闹的地方，但是它和太极拳相似，动中有静。巴黎有许多地方使人疲乏，所以咖啡与酒是必要的，以便刺激；在北平，有温和的香片茶就够了。
论说巴黎的布置已比伦敦罗马匀调的多了，可是比上北平还差点事儿。北平在人为之中显出自然，几乎是什么地方既不挤得慌，又不太僻静：最小的胡同里的房子也有院子与树；最空旷的地方也离买卖街与住宅区不远。这种分配法可以算－－在我的经验中－－天下第一了。北平的好处不在处处设备得完全，而在它处处有空儿，可以使人自由的喘气；不在有好些美丽的建筑，而在建筑的四周都有空闲的地方，使它们成为美景。每一个城楼，每一个牌楼，都可以从老远就看见，况且在街上还可以看见北山与西山呢！
对于物质上，我却喜爱北平的花多菜多果子多。花草是种费钱的玩艺，可是此地的 ”草花儿“ 很便宜，而且家家有院子，可以花不多的钱而种一院子的花，即使算不了什么，可是到底可爱呀。墙上的牵牛，墙根的靠山竹与草苿莉，是多么省钱省事而也足以招来蝴蝶呀！至于青菜，白菜，扁豆，毛豆角，黄瓜，菠菜等等，大多数是直接由城外担来而送到家门口的。雨后，韭菜叶子上还往往带着雨时溅起的泥点。青菜摊子上的红红绿绿几乎有诗似的美丽。果子有不少是有西山和北山来的，西山的沙果，海棠，北山的黑枣，柿子，进了城还带着一层白霜儿呀！
是的，北平是个都城，而能有好多自己产生的花，菜，水果，这就使人更接近了自然。从它里面说，它没有像伦敦的那些成天冒烟的工厂；从外面说，它紧连着园林，菜圃与农村。采菊东篱下，在这里，确是可以悠然见南山的；大概把“南”字变个 “西” 或 “北” ，也没有多少了不得的吧。像我这样的一个贫寒的人，或者只有在北平能享受一点清福了。
好，不再说了吧；要落泪了，真想念北平呀！ ”
再读这段上个世纪三十年代的文字，真是沧海桑田呀。曾经读过一篇讲现代都市建设的文章，介绍如何在拥塞的街道拐角修一处小小的休憩场所，劈一角开放的空间，“可以使人自由地喘气”，而我们祖先早在数百年前便已深谙其道。至于城市与自然的相连，美国的中等城市也做得很好，我所在的城市，驱车十五分钟就可以看到农场与田地，听到鸡鸣犬吠。城市周边宁静祥和的田园气象，作为以农为本的大国，我们本来一直也拥有的。可如今的北京，似乎越来越背此道而远驰，真真可惜了这座文化古城。
两星期前正在加班赶文章的王爷给我打电话，说是收到一封校划船队教练的邮件，秋季的分组下来了，可能有些孩子对分组会有些情绪，要我们做家长的好生对待：
“This can be an emotional time, with feeling of happiness for achieving a specific seat, or disappointment for not. Your supportive role is very important! We hope you will help support our message to your athlete: if they are happy with their seat, to keep working hard, and if they are disappointed, to keep a positive mindset, be resilient, and work on areas that need improvement. ”
因为具体分组的邮件只发给了孩子们，王爷让我问问函函情况怎样，并好好安慰一下。我赶紧过去打听：听说 crew 分组下来了，你进 varsity 了吗？
正在做作业的函函淡淡地回道：下来了，进了。
进了？！我颇有些意外，对于没什么体育特长的函函，我从来就没指望她能混出个什么名堂来，而这两年来之所以一直在划船，实在是球类的技巧她玩不转，从小也没练过，只能捡捡划船、越野跑之类的苦力活干干。我的想法也很简单：多运动运动，烧掉一些青春期多余的精力，并且现在的孩子也只能在运动这一项上吃点苦了。
函函上九年级时只划了一个春季，十年级接着划了一个春季之后，暑期她自己主动要求划，于是一整个暑假，一周五次，每天5：40 起床，6点出门，我开车送她到 boathouse，从6：30 练到 8：30，再坐公交车回来， 9点多到家，接着学习和看书，下午做义工。如果没有划船一项，暑假九点甚至十点起来，也很正常。时间就像海绵，挤一挤总能挤出一些来。
除了每周五到六次的划船，函函还给自己报了两节 lifting 课训练肌肉，一开始我表示有些担心：女孩子练什么举重？ 被人家不屑做解释，因为显然，在她眼中，我的这种想法很愚昧。我只好由她去了。
对于划船中所遭受的辛苦，函函不是没抱怨过，以她这个性，同一件事抱怨三次以上的大概就划船了，不止一次沮丧着脸嘟囔：真希望我从来没有开始过（划船）…… 手掌上更是血泡一个接着一个，一天到晚总缠着一条宽宽的绷带，我都不敢凑近了看。但自己选择了的事，轻易放弃更不是函函所能接受的，所以也就一直坚持了下来。
看来一点坚持加上一点努力，总可以取得一点成绩，我跟函函说，时间才是最神奇的魔术师，不知不觉中很多事情竟然就实现了，是之前不曾想望过的惊喜。
函函把教练发的分组表给我看了看，她进的是校队的前四名，这意味着可以划单人艇，双人艇，而其他人只能划四人，八人的。跟函函组队的是K，校队里划得最快的一个，连 Captian M ，一米七好几的大个 Senior 都没她快，据说 K 初中就打进了全国比赛，今年她才九年级。函函说，She is scaring. 跟男孩扳手腕，绝大多数不是她的对手。我给她打气：怕她作甚，再怎么着她也就是一 Freshman，而你已经 Junior 了，大她一截呢。（这话也不知是起到了打气的作用呢，还是在挖苦人 ：）
今天是十月的第一个周日，也是秋季的首次 Regatta, Tail of the Lake Regatta, 早上5点起来了，5：45 要赶到城里集合、开会，把船从 trailer 上卸下来，比赛 7：30 才开始。把函函送到附近的 carpool 地点我就回来了，快九点我们一家三口才赶到 Gas Works Park 看比赛，正好赶上函函的单人艇。
天气出奇的好，躺在躺椅上晒太阳吹湖风，看湖面上一艘艘皮划艇轻快地划过，倒也惬意得紧，加上比赛是 head race，一艘艘艇单发，而不是同时出发，比赛一点也不紧张，至少看客的我这么觉得，本来嘛咱只是来赏天光湖景，顺便凑个热闹的。
比赛结束后问函函成绩如何，竟然双人艇拿了第二，第一名是一对成年妇女；单人艇函函在校队里排第二，第一自然是 K。我原以为双人艇能取得这么好的成绩是因为傍上了 K ，但单人艇能胜过 Captain M, 看来函函也是有一定实力的。
出人意外的成绩总是分外甜蜜，趁此机会啰里啰嗦记下这两年的划船经历。
一位王思念回娘家省亲迟迟未归的妻子，一日步出宫门，忽见路旁已是桃红柳绿，春光明媚，不免更添思念之情，遂修书一封，书云 “陌上花开，可缓缓归矣” 。
这是我读过最情深意重的句子了，比海枯石烂、天崩地裂的故事不知动人多少倍。年岁渐长的我，已负荷不起那份浓彩与喧哗。
爱一个人如此，爱一个国亦是如此。
1776 年的 Continental Congress 真是一个很好玩的地方，也不知是打哪租的房子，门外就是闹市，牛来猪往，非常之接地气。你若跟当地人打听：请问，Congress 怎么走？有人指给你木匠堂会，有人给你指图书馆大厅。走进 Congress，十点钟还是那么静悄悄的，横七竖八七八张桌子，七凑八凑十几把椅子，疑似当地人捐出的多余家具凑合而成的，唯一一位打杂的，Mr. McNair 倒是勤勉，大早就过来给各个座位摆上鹅毛笔和蒲扇，对，蒲草做的扇子，六月的费城实在太热，又不敢开窗户，因为苍蝇更烦人。终于，骑高头大马的，乘轿的，闲庭信步的，各州代表陆续上朝了，要议事要表决必要时还要上演决斗，可热闹啦，还在吃早饭的，大清早就喝上酒的，无聊打牌的，嚷嚷啥时可以回家搞双抢的，等等，不一而足，值得一提的是，每位代表随身带的文明棍，有人耍宝需要点个赞不是，就拿根子在地板上使劲跺几下；遇话不投机吵起来，你骂我 “Landlord!” 我骂你 “Lawyer!”，这多羞辱人呐，于是就举棍子打起来啦！
除了十三个州的代表，Congresss 还有一位主持会议的主席，一边扯着嗓子宣布当天要议的诸事要事，一边手持苍蝇拍，“啪！” 一下，又“啪！”地一下，拍打桌子上的苍蝇；还有一位秘书，专门念前方华盛顿将军送来的战报，投票时他还负责唱票。
说起唱票，就得提一提挂在壁炉上方那块硕大的投票板，每州一格小木板，根据代表的意思，McNair 举着一根长棍将小木板挪到 Yea 或者 Nay 那一行。谢天谢地，当时只有十三个州，十三块木片， 打杂的工作还不至于累死个把人，当没人嚷嚷拿酒来没人嚷嚷热死了要求开窗时还可以在主席台的台阶上坐一会，听听代表们议事，遇到不中意的提议还可以举手表达一下不满意，尽管主席会喝止他：我才不管你中不中意，你又不是国会会员.
会议场面已经够混乱的了，简直比窗外的闹市还闹，仿佛这还不够，McNair 爬窗台上大喊一声” Fire Wagon! “ 这下代表们朝也不上了，一窝蜂跑街上看热闹去了。
1776 年的 Congress 是一个比小学生课堂还欢乐无比的地方。
那一年的六月，华盛顿指挥的 Continental Army 跟大英帝国掐架已经一年了，John Adams 致力于联合十三个殖民地脱离英帝一事迟迟不见任何进展，在 Congress 亚当斯先生是出名的 obnoxious and disliked ，可他一直有一个前所未有的 big dream，要分家要独立成立一个新的国家，而要让这十三位粗鲁无羁的代表全体通过独立的提议, 简直比英谚所说的 “把十多只猫往一扇窗户赶” 还要难。
幸运的是他有时年70岁德高望重的 Benjamin Franklin 和芳龄33的 Thomas Jefferson 为其左臂右臂。一个有 CEO 的 tough mind，坚定不移； 一个有 Founder 的谋略远见；一个有 PR 的笔杆子。这仨人开创了地球上迄今为止最为成功的 Startup，它就是 the United States of America.
这里单表 Franklin 的老道和智慧。
为什么要成立一个新的国家，之前历史上从来没有一个殖民地要求脱离母体而独立存在，对此 Dr. Franklin 是这么回答有着很深英国皇室情节的 Mr. Dickinson:
“Never as such a valuable possession so stupidly and so recklessly managed than this entire continent by the British crown. Our industry discouraged, our resources pillaged. Worst of all, our very character stifled. We’ve spawned a new race here, Mr. Dickinson – rougher, simpler, more violent, more enterprising, less refined. We’re a new nationality. We require a new nation.”
过了两百多年再看这个国家，人民来自世界各地，但又一点也不像某个国家某个民族，她确实孕育了一个崭新的民族。Dr Franklin 洞察力之深邃令人叹服。
当南卡州坚持要求把宣言中抨击奴隶制的一段话移去，Adams 不同意：“If we give in on this issue, posterity will never forgive us.”
但 Franklin 认为:
“That’s probably true, but we won’t hear a thing. We’ll be long gone. Besides, what will posterity think we were? Demigods? We’re men – no more, no less – trying to get a nation started against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed. First thing first, John. Independence. America. If we don’t secure that, what difference will the rest make?”
Dr Franklin 对自己在历史中的地位认识无比清楚，无丝毫虚幻狂妄之念想。
最后投票时，关键一票却捏在最不愿留名青史的 Judge Wilson手里，不愿承担后果的他选择跟大多数人在一起，忠于英皇室的 Dickinson 一脸茫然：“And is that how new nations are formed? By a nonentity trying to preserve the anonymity he so richly deserves?”
Franklin 的回答很酷：
“Revolutions come into this world like bastard children, Mr. Dickinson. Half improvised and half compromised. Our side has provided the compromise. Now Judge Wilson is supplying the rest.”
整个剧既愉悦诙谐，又深邃智慧，大概是我看过最耐人寻味的音乐剧了。
1984 揭示的是极权，totalitarianism，它的特点，它是如何操作的，是一位杰出而短命的作家，以他天赋的异禀，写给世人的警告。书写在1948年，预测的是1984年的苏联。一个人对一个他从没去过的地方三十年后将会发生的变化，竟然能了如指掌，竟然能做出如此细致精准的描写，读着读着，后背脊梁一阵阵冒寒气：我从不信千年百年的预测启示，五十年的预测都常常谬之千里，比如卓别林的《摩登时代》，想象70年代只会疯狂地拧螺丝，LOL.
这次重读 1984，书中很多细节，在我模糊的记忆中找到了一一对应的存在。
下面摘抄的是对极权重要核心的描述和解释：
Doublethink：
To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lie, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy，to forgot whatever it was necessary to forgot, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself – that was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to be unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word “doublethink” involved the use of doublethink.
＂War is peace
Freedom is slavery
Ignorance is strength”
“有一种胜利叫撤退，有一种失败叫占领”, “人民民主专政” 这类口号也是 doublethink 的高级应用。
“Who controls the past,” ran the Party slogan, “controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” And yet the pass, though of its nature alterable, never has been altered. Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting. It was quite simple. All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory.
我国的近代史一直是一本糊涂账。
Two Minutes Hate
The next moment a hideous, grinding screech, as of some monstrous machine running without oil, burst from the big telescreen at the end of the room. It was the noise that set one’s teeth on edge and bristled the hair at the back of one’s neck. The Hate has started.
As usual, the face of Emmanuel Goldstein, the enemy of the people, has flashed onto the screen. There were hisses here and there among the audience. The little sandy-haired woman gave a squeak of mingled fear and disgust. Goldstein was the renegade and backslider who once, long ago (how long ago, nobody quite remembered), had been one of the leading figures of the Party, almost on a level with Big Brother himself, and then had engaged in counterrevolutionary activities, has been condemned to death, and had mysteriously escaped and disappeared. The program of the Two Minutes Hate varied from day to day, but there was none in which Goldstein was not the principal figure. He was the primal traitor, the earliest defiler of the Party’s purity. All subsequent crimes against the Party, all treacheries, acts of sabotage, heresies, deviations, sprang directly out of his teaching. Somewhere or other he was still alive and hatching his conspiracies: perhaps somewhere beyond the sea, under the protection of his foreign paymaster; perhaps even—so it was occasionally rumored—in some hiding place in Oceania itself.
将人剩余的精力发泄到对敌人的仇恨上，任其在Party 的敌人身上肆意宣泄。
Newspeak
“It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words. Of course the great wastage is in the verbs and adjectives, but there are hundreds of nouns that can be got rid of as well. It isn’t only the synonyms; there are also the antonyms. After all, what justification is there for a word which is simply the opposite of some other words? A word contains its opposite in itself. Take ‘good’, for instance. If you have a word like ‘good’, what need is there for a word like ‘bad’? ‘Ungood’ will do just as well – better, because it’s an exact opposite, which the other is not. Or again, if you want a stronger version of ‘good’, what sense is there in having a whole string of vague useless words like ‘excellent’ and ‘splendid’ and all the rest of them? ‘Plusgood’ covers the meaning, or ‘doubleplusgood’ if you want something stronger still…In the end the whole notion of goodness and badness will be covered by only six words – in reality, only one word.”
”Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thought-crime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that ever be needed will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten… Every year fewer and fewer words, and the range of consciousness always a little smaller… The whole literature of the past will have been destroyed. Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Byron—they’ll exist only in Newspeak versions, not merely changed into something different, but actually changed into something contradictory of what they used to be. Even the literature of the Party will change. Even the slogans will change. How could you have a slogan like ’freedom is slavery’ when the concept of freedom has been abolished? The whole climate of thought will be different. In fact there will be no thought, as we understand it now. “
Newspeak 语言范例：
He unrolled the message that he has set aside earlier. It ran:
Times 3.12.83 reporting bb dayorder doubleplusgood refs unpersons rewrite fullwise upsub antefiling.
In Oldspeak (or Standard English) this might be rendered:
The reporting of Big Brother’s order for the Day in the Times of December 3rd 1983 is extremely unsatisfactory and makes references to nonexistent persons. Rewrite it in full and submit your draft to higher authority before filing.
焚书的秦始皇，也没想到过“焚语言文字”。当语言丧失了自我意识，丧失了模糊和微妙，丧失了鲜活的细节，就成了计算机语言了，说这种语言的人，就成了一台台彼此没有分别的低端机器。
Thoughtcrime 思想犯罪
Junior Spy, Thought Police 是极权用来监视和揭发人们思想犯罪的组织。人人生活在恐怖之中，甚至连做梦都担心会暴露内心的秘密和私心。
摧毁一个理想主义者的利器是，彻底摧毁他的尊严，在长时间极度的折磨羞辱之下，开始怀疑自己的记忆和理性，因不堪负重而背叛曾以为豪的信念和执着，从而让他从心底开始鄙视自己，抛弃自己。当这一切发生了，他便成了一个于极权无害的存在，并且，当一个人丧失了原有的归属感，他便只有附着在某个党派或是某个群体中仰人鼻息，从一个怀疑者反叛者，蜕化成一个狂热的拥戴者，再也没有了自己的思维和判断，甚至没有了自己的情感。
小说在这里戛然而止：
Winston, sitting in a blissful dream, paid no attention as his glass was filled up. He was not running or cheering any longer. He was back in the Ministry of Love, with everything forgiven, his soul white as snow. He was in the public dock, confessing everything, implicating everybody. He was walking down the white-tiled corridor, with the feeling of walking in sunlight, and an armed guard at his back. The long-hoped-for bullet was in his brain.
He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark mustache. O cruel needless misunderstanding! O stubborn self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He has won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.
一直以为崔健的“一块红布”是一首情歌: 你用一块红布，蒙住我的双眼，你热呼呼的手牵着我。后来一位低我四年的师弟告诉我，这是一首政治歌曲，再一听，扑面而来的政治讽喻，年轻时的我竟然无知无觉。这首歌的歌词精准地描述了主人公Winston 在故事结束之后的状态，虽然是两种完全不同的文艺创作，由两位完全不同背景的人独立创作的，在我看来，却达到了天衣无缝的接合。
一块红布
那天是你用一块红布 蒙住我双眼也蒙住了天
你问我看见了什么 我说我看见了幸福
这个感觉 真让我舒服
它让我忘掉 我没地儿住
你问我还要去何方 我说要上你的路
看不见你也看不见路 我的手也被你攥住
你问我在想什么 我说我要你做主
我感觉你不是铁 却象铁一样强和烈
我感觉你身上有血 因为你的手是热乎乎
我感觉这不是荒野 却看不见这地已经干裂 我感觉我要喝点水 可你的嘴将我的嘴堵 住 我不能走我也不能哭 因为我身体已经干枯 我要永远这样陪 伴 着你因为我最知道你的痛苦
然而，希望总是于最黑暗之处升起，极权的极端黑暗注定它丑陋且短暂的宿命，为维持极权，必须从肉体到精神上全面禁锢和彻底监控，其操作成本之巨，耗资之费，是任何一个政体都无法长久承担的，势必将迅速被土崩瓦解。希望这是个合理有效的推测。
后院阳台边上有一株高大的樱桃树，结红红果子的樱桃树，每年到了六月份樱桃开始成熟，乌鸦、松鼠和浣熊便如期而至，乌鸦特别爱呱噪，笨重的浣熊压断了不少枝叶，而松鼠已经进化得很聪明了：今年居然学会了钻垃圾桶！每天清晨和傍晚，阳台上一地残枝败叶和被啃过的青皮樱桃。一群败家子！
有一天黄昏正跟妹妹打着羽毛球，忽然发现樱桃树上一双亮亮的眼睛好奇地盯着我们，是一只浣熊，作为夜间行走的动物，现在就出来打食也未免太早了点，也太把自己当主人了吧。我当即把球拍朝它扔去，不成想还打着了，浣熊受了惊吓，爬到更高的枝丫上，同时听到妹妹尖声嚷嚷：不要打，你打到它的鼻子了！
后来妹妹在树下观察了很久，以确保浣熊没有啥大碍。哼，人家这么胖这么皮实，能有啥大碍呢？
第二天，妹妹在竹林里折了一根很长的竹竿，在阳台上一手执杆一手摇着铃铛，这个铃铛是在三藩参观 cable car 时买的纪念品，我本来是打算用来招呼家人吃饭的。刚开始我并没在意，本来嘛小姑娘常会有些奇思怪想，做些奇奇怪怪的事，可她一会在阳台上摇摇铃，一会又回屋里弹弹琴，这样断断续续一上午，我不禁好奇了，问她：妹妹你这是在干什么呀？
妹妹：哦，我想给松鼠建立一个条件反射。
我：哦？条件反射啊，难怪这么辛苦。你怎么做的？
妹妹：我摇几下铃铛，再用竹竿戳戳松鼠下面的树枝。
我：那它有什么反应吗？
妹妹：它抽了抽鼻子，还摆了摆尾巴。
我：然后呢？
妹妹：然后它就跳到另一根树枝上了。
我：通过这个条件反射你想达到一种什么结果？
妹妹：现在我摇铃铛再戳树枝，松鼠学会建立铃声和戳树枝之间的联系，以后它一听见铃声就会跑。
我笑了：你怎么能肯定它会把铃声和戳树枝联系起来呢？它也有可能把你身上这件橘红色T恤，或者你这样一个小姑娘，甚至一阵风跟戳树枝联系起来啊。
妹妹：铃声（的刺激）更明显，并且我已经看到摇铃时松鼠就开始抽鼻子了。
我拍了拍妹妹的头，让她继续从事她的条件反射实验。
BTW，聪明的松鼠，你到底学会了没有啊？
来，看看什么叫流水帐：） 今天妹妹看姐姐划船比赛间隙无聊时记下的昨天华州举办的 Math Is Cool Masters 比赛全过程，请注意描述中数字的精准，事物的罗列，形状的描述，事件的先后，一气呵成不分段落的直述，这，就是一枚标准的理科脑仁：
Yesterday, I got up from a queen side bed juxtaposed from my Mom’s in a cozy hotel room (room 135) located beside the blue green Moses Lake. The time was 7:30, and Mom was already washing her hair inside the shower.After we prepared ourselves for the day ahead, we walked to the restaurant to munch on our breakfast. The room was bustling with people, many of whom were going to the MIC Masters competition about 3 miles away. I didn’t eat much, save for whole wheat bread, a single sausage, potatoes and some fruit. There was also an omelette station that my Mom couldn’t resist trying, though it did turn out runny on the bottom. After breakfast I went back into our room to wash my hair. We packed up and then went to the main office to check out. While I was waiting, I watched William W. play this math game against someone called something like Messi1002 (I don’t really remember). I was able most of the questions, and after about five, we all left, our automobiles facing the direction of Moses Lake High School. Like most places in the east of Washington, the air was sweltering. Inside the building, the cafeteria of the high school was packed with panting, rambunctious kids and their parents. Our Medina teams were obliged to do with an extra table, which happened to be hexagonal, not circular like all the others. For some time, we paged through math books until the announcement at the gym came. The speaker then proceeded to recognize the organizers of this event and told the group that they’ll meet at around 2:30. Right after the announcement, I went to the bathroom and then to room 203, which was on the other side of the building. Apparently we were part of the Elite Division in fifth grade and our proctor was a young female swimming coach of the name Addie Fair (I called her Addie the Fair because she was nice enough). When we began with the mental math, Addie read through entire paragraphs of rules we were already aware of. When this dull speech came to an end, Addie finished by saying “That was a pain in the butt!” The mental math section went by smoothly enough, but in question 7 (how many counting numbers under 50 are multiples of 3 or 8 but not both) I mistakenly answered 20. After writing it down, I realized that I had erred. I hastily erased it (which is against the rules) and wrote down 18 instead. I expected the judges to mark as wrong, as the rules said, but I just wanted to write it down correctly. Afterwards, the individual, multiple choice, team test and relay went by without much memorability. At lunch, I hungrily ate a 6 inch SubWay and a slice of cheese pizza. The other kids decided to play tag in the theater while I read some of the numerous quotes hanging on the walls. At 1:00, the college bowl began and we were paired up against Sunnyside. Our beginning round went poorly, as we only scored four points to Sunnyside’s five. But in the proceeding round against the dreaded Somerset, we successfully beat them eight to nothing. Against Redmond, we got a total of six points, which by William W.’s calculations, should give us a likely possibility of getting into the top four teams in the Elite Division. Now that the competition ended, we beelined to the gym and listen to the awards. At around 2:30 (as expected) the award ceremony began with a dedication to parents and coaches. Individual awards started with the fourth grade division 2 and then continued to jumps from grades seemingly endlessly. By the time we came to our division, I was fantasizing about getting first place, which would abruptly come to an end once the awards were announced. Coming to think of it, getting into the top 8 was an unlikely proposition. As the top 7 were awarded, I observed that Jessica, Neil and William W. already got their trophies, leaving only Alicia Wu to claim the ultimate prize. But to my utter shock, astonishment, confusion and dismay, I was given first place (which also happened to be the first time for me in such a large event). Right after being given the foot tall trophy, I was determined to disclaim it. Our team also happened to win first place in fifth grade by quite a few points. But once William got a hold on the coach envelope, which held our scores, I saw that both of us got the same exact score on the individual. Then I saw the mental math and William had gotten a score of seven and I eight. Evidently the judges did not see the erasing mark. When I showed this to Mom, she determined that I should have received a second place award. My mom quickly showed this to the event organizer. The sheet was quickly edited and in my embarrassment, I was praised for honesty. Outside, William W. and I switched trophies and then my Mom headed towards the car.
不知道你和我竟然只隔着一座湖。一直以为你回到了那个叫 Aberdeen 死水微澜的小镇，你年少时经常在家门口的那座桥下徘徊彷徨，无家可归，以为 94 年那个四月以后你便安歇在那座桥下了。
这是一个小小的公园，是西雅图这座城市的创立者之一 A. A. Denny 的儿子以他出身名门的妻子的名义捐献的，并以她的名字命名，Viretta Park，但这里早已成了你的纪念地和专属地。除了草皮树木和两条板凳，公园里什么都没有，但地势不错，居高临下对着一汪波光滟潋的湖水，四周是修葺齐整的林木和森严的豪宅，路上是遛狗和晨跑的居民，这是一片富裕安逸的住宅区。
而你，多么不搭调，一条寒碜的长木板凳，任由你的崇拜者和歌迷们在上面涂抹发泄，以此来纪念你，只因当年你坐在这张板凳的靠背上，佝偻着背，面对着湖水陷入沉思，在这里留下了最后一张照片，21年了，人们从世界各地赶来送来蜡烛鲜花，更多留下的是伤心愤怒还有疑惑不解。
湖的西面为太平洋，越过太平洋是你不曾到过的一个国家，那里有一个叫许巍的人，他最近出了一张专辑，是献给你的，用的是你的音乐，或者说，灵感是来自你的音乐，填的是唐诗宋词，你可能并不能理解的中华古诗词。
我想说的是，大家纪念你的方式奇奇怪怪，谁叫你是一个奇奇怪怪的孩子呢。
日子悠长而美好…… 