≠paleink2004-09-09 05:16:38


Dynamic Life Under My Heels

Dynamic Life Under My Heel
‘Babe, give me your best memory,
But it doesn’t equal pale ink.’
Song ‘Pale Ink’ by the Jimmy X band

When asked by anonchiya to write a recommendation towards English
books through my own experience, the request was not only an
honour, but also a chance to search back the rolling memories
between then and now, them and us. Introducing my view
with Chinese proverb adapted for lyrics in song ‘Pale
Ink’ by the Jimmy X band (Harlam, 2003) with mixed feelings
toward books - a nourishing, contradictory trajectory, just like
what life is, seeded in these scenes, from which I breath, struggle
, reflect, growth, and march on. I hope that you might be prepared
to relax into the lines of possibility of who and how I might be-come, with them,
with you.
A massive my fellow men’ complaints - English has been stealing our
ancestors’ show and glory in our history since 1066, a smiling date
in England in which a victory in battle by Alferd saved
the English language (British History, 2002). Imagine being
reluctant to speak with alien tongues by shutting our inherited mother tongue up.
Yes, feel that pain. So do I.
Just as Ben Okri reminds us: ‘We began before words and we will end
beyond them’ (Okri, 1996) May China overwhelm, suppress
other ‘invaders’, take over our past harvest, amazing the
entire world once again, provided that victory can only be
secured by understanding our opponents, language would lie at
the heart of this conquest.
Making a defeat needs some necessity of survival, “no pain, no gainJ
there is an immediate solution i.e. to start with novels,
savouring its fun along bitterness. After putting into your heart,
head and soul into the others, yours vision will crack wide open.
There are two main thrusts to good books, at least from my point of view,
known not only containing the penetrating insights into the authors’
scenario, but for the beautiful language they demonstrate for a
audience equipped with a flavour of fun-loving spirits on top with
which they expressed their souls too. Many books I
recommended includes both of these features, some contributes
mainly to one.
Historical fiction, The Lord of Rings (Tolkien, J), The Queen’s Fool
(Philippa Gregory), and Absolute Friends (John Le Carré)
are highly appreciated.
The Lord of Rings a wonderful epic with wonderful characters!
Philippa’s profound linguistic background gave a series of
strikingly successful history events of the reign of Mary Tudor,
daughter of King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon on
The Queen’s Fool. To the extent that there is a central message in this
book to deliver that Hannah is becoming happier at risk amidst the
political and religious turmoil of the time. She has there a new
world to create, and an ardent faith in accordance with which to create it. At this point
, it contains coincidental hidden values in the film
Gang of New York

“It is winter, 1553. Pursued by the Inquisition, Hannah Green, a
fourteen-year-old Jewish girl, is forced to flee Spain with her father.
But Hannah is no ordinary refugee. Her gift of "Sight," the
ability to foresee the future, is priceless in the troubled times of
the Tudor court. Hannah is adopted by the glamorous Robert
Dudley, the charismatic son of King Edward's protector, who
brings her to court as a "holy fool" for Queen Mary and, ultimately,
Queen Elizabeth. Hired as a fool but working as a spy; promised in
wedlock but in love with her master; endangered by the laws
against heresy, treason, and witchcraft, Hannah must choose
between the safe life of a commoner and the dangerous
intrigues of the royal family that are inextricably bound
up in her own yearnings and desires.” (Book Description)


Absolute friends, a classic narrative story of tragic-cosmic
writing about ‘the two men meet first as students in riot-torn war
Berlin of the late sixties again in the Cold War, and most
terribly, in today’s unipolar world of terror, counter-terror and the war of
lies…’ (Relevant information could be viewed from http://www.hha.com.au).
Full of wisewarnings come to his political insights in our contemporary world,
war and its disaster is part of his warning about our Today and Tomorrow…
The Making of Modern Japan (Jansen, Marius R), The East and West (Patten, Chris) serve as useful
resources about today world events attached with Asia…. Written with
grace and wit, interwoven with touching and struggle moments
in his work and life in Hong Kong before the handover in
1997… As Oxford Chancellor, Patten shows off his mastery
academy of professional English in the East and West, even tough he
downplayed his political role (my prior supervisor’s opinionJ)
Classics literature, A la recherche du temps perdu, In search of lost time (Proust, M),
and Persuasion (Jane, Austen, 1811)
Jane Austen Persuasion Miss Austen maturest works was
written in 1812-1816 such as Persuasion and Northanger Abby
rather than her well-known first novels, i. e. Pride and
Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. In Persuasion, her ironic record of
everyday fact flowing in and out the shocking events would have
attached with her ‘sensational’ sense: ‘sudden death, accidents,
discoveries of unfaithfulness’ which shatter our
presumption towards life that life could have been peaceful and
wonderful, but very large was not; which echoes Russell
(Russell, 1996) claims that human existence was a miserable business.
‘Anne Elliot, the heroine is reserved, elegant and reflective ..she had
fallen in love with a very desirable young man, went worth, but
his connections and moreso his position in society made it not
all desirable for anne's beloved friend, lady l to allow her to
continue her relationship.
now 7 years later they meet again to renew their love and affection; he
being a captain now and possessing a large enough fortune. Though
at first he receives the attentions of louisa musgrove and
anne the attentions of her cousin, mr. elliot, the heir to her
father, they soon come to realise that what felt from the heart is the
truest meaning of love. with the help of her many friends anne
soon returns the affections she once held for captain
wentworth.(Book description)’
Proust, one of the proudest figures in,
Classics literature of the past century, was crowned in Western
world on the literature scenes which displayed his unique
Proustian prose; the prose was to glory in the course of twentieth
century, but surely the influence of Proust could get a foot
on the literature ladder further on.
In search of lost time It is a book of more than four thousand
pages, written in the early twentieth century. The beauty
of this book has a twofold function. It offers us not only his
enjoyable adventure with a series of interesting spectacles,
surprising experiences, and his friends, lovers, and his fellow travellers
from different social class with whom he established along the
course of his journey in his living language; but the thought-provoking
from trivial events of our everyday lives to let us mirror,
mediate, and introspect our own days.
He starts off with his bright and tidy introduction, introduces us a circle
of people in his trips in a manner that entertains us, makes all
his characters play their parts in his plots, and is unerring in his
‘curtains’. In a general way, he recorded faithfully society how it
is rather than with how it should be …these trips take him his lifetime, but they brought him into a new world and outlook, too.
‘What we call our thoughts seem to depend upon the organization of
tracks in the brain in the same sort of way in which journeys
depend upon roads and railways’ (Russell, 1996).
Coming back from England this summer I put Jack Kerouac's On The Road
under my heel. On the Road was becoming the icon of
Beat GenerationBeat Mususmit
would be a bloody and bitter signs that stream into American
culture and history, which was still evolving since 1957. On The Road
, inspired by Jack’s gift for rhyme, propel forward lines in
print that ran through its meaning with music notation. Its words
sung in the fields, alive on the streets and flickering into
manuscripts, its influence would not be denied. Along the line of On The Road
, stories are carried by …trips – it worked in the same
way that Proust did in the Search of Lost Time
There is the best figure to claim in all the readings that I had, Russell
Betrand, the British philosopher, logician, essayist, and
social critic, best known for his work in mathematical logic and
analytic philosophy
. ‘ Over the course of his long career, Russell made
significant contributions, not just to logic and philosophy, but to a
broad range of other subjects including education, history,
political theory and religious studies. In addition, many of his
writings on a wide variety of topics in both the sciences and the
humanities have influenced generations of general readers.’
(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
The purpose what I stressed here is that reading Russell’ works is a
journey of mental delight, not only enrich our knowledge, but also
should set as a model eassyist, fully language honed for the
expression of the finest emotions and tuned to perfect pitch for
feelings, strung to the heart. Russesll’s works took it along that way
. Russell books It is time to mention some popular novels, such as Trading
Up (Candace Bushnell)
,
author of sex and the city, Best of Friends (Cathy
Kelly)
and so forth.
Admittedly, there is a gap between masterpieces and popular ones...it is
hard but not impossible to copy the linguistic masters’ style for
the everyday expressions, in particular, English serves as a
second language instead of a first language. A witty solution is to develop
strategic competence that may be called into action to
compensate for breakdowns in communication… one way is to
interact with today’s novels and magazines with simplified
beautiful, up-to-date codes which could work at their self-help best for us
to improve more expressive and energetic language. British edition
Cosmopolition and
Glamour
are recommended. Two ebooks library are
attached.
Comprehensible input of language is indeed a useful skill but not enough,
an individual’s frequently initial output could render to language
revolution, as understanding language and producing
language are different skills, and that the second can only be developed
by pushing the learner to produce output – actually to say
and write things.
What I wrote now was to accept and absorb English as a layering, not as
a replacement but as an enricher to our lives.
It was drafted out one time when I just finished an 8,000 words progress
report to my supervisor, there could be some typos, slips
between lines and insufficient description under the conditions
of my stained body and brainJ. Most books I read
before I entered into my current research, now I live with seemingly
endless academic reading and writing rather than the books which I really
desire to read and the researchers who are really fascinated to
me. What a bliss it is if I could read what I love…
Last but not least, I am grateful to all those around 70 who give me
support, inspiration, joy in the course of my study journey.
May books lighten our road forever!
With much love,
wild@heart
2004-09-06
Harlam C (2003) Just One Book
The Oxford Companion to British History (2002)
Okri, B (1996) Birds of Heaven, Phoenix
Russell B (1996) What I believe, Routledge
Austen J (1811) Persuasion, In the Complete Novels of Jane Austen (1928)
EBOOK LIBRARY EBOOK LIBRARY
还搬,而且我的名字后2004-09-09 09:08:55
太过份了,我已经很可以多次提醒不让您重复到处搬我的东西,您怎
danmiao2004-09-10 07:34:39
因为重复出现,我才没有错过好帖,不必太在意,不会有朋友介意