最后都要跑到成都去看大熊猫。真是为看大熊猫么？

 

 

 

 

QUOTE:

Speciation has been observed. In the plant genus Tragopogon, two new species have evolved within the past 50-60 years. They are T. mirus and T. miscellus. The new species were formed when one diploid species fertilized a different diploid species and produced a tetraploid offspring. This tetraploid offspring could not fertilize or be fertilized by either of its two parent species types. It is reproductively isolated, the definition of a species.

 

In recent reviewing of Evolution theory and traditional Chinese wisdoms, I came across an idea of "Abstract Hypothesis". The idea may not be fresh, but I think it is worth being considered more seriously.

 

Modern scientific research is based on a principle methodology: the scientific method. Put it in simple words, this method is to observe, to ask question, to propose hypothesis and to accept or reject the hypotheses by experimenting or searching evidence. There is no requirements that the proposed hypothesis should not be abstract. Practically, abstract hypothesis is difficult to test, but it tends to answer the questions universally. It would be more likely to establish a framework.

 

Are the Yin Yang theory or the Five elements theory simply superstitious? Or they are Abstract hypotheses that require further understanding and research?

 

See more and full size photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/owlyxx

The first two sentenses of the NYT editorial entitled 'Janpa's Offensive Foreign Minister', which was published on Feb. 13, 2006, said:"People everywhere wish they could be proud of every bit of their countries' histories. But honest people understand that's impossible, and wise people appreciate the positive value of acknowledging and learning from painful truths about past misdeeds."

 

How true! We do have a lot of Chinese History that we do not feel proud of. But let the past pass, face them, and learn from them. That, will make our home country strong.

 

It is worth reading the rest of the article which is available online at www.nytimes.com. To access the article you need to register, but it's free. If you can't find the article and still want to read it, please let me know.

from NatureJob:

 

Ph.D. TV

One, people actually die on Scrubs. "Professor Frank, I just don't think this E. coli is going to pull through" is unlikely to drive ratings.

Two, they have patients. The best we can offer are ideas and blips on a graph. Bloody operations are more fun to watch than percolating ideas.

Three, people have been to see doctors. They might reasonably wonder what it's like to be one. By contrast, tell someone at a party you're in science and the next question tends to be "So, how's the punch?" As grouchy Dr Cox would summarize on Scrubs: "Viewers just don't care about graduate students, Bambi."

This really is a shame. Consider me: I'm in my last year of a PhD, looking for a postdoc in a field that's fundable, not super-competitive, yet super-hot for 15 more years. I keep daydreaming about careers that society respects more, like plumbing. My mom keeps calling to tell me about my friends who have bought houses. I spend more time talking to yeast than to people. My doctor tells me I stress too much. Oh, and I need to graduate. Soon. How will all this unfold? Stay tuned. If TV executives happen to be reading this, call any time. I'll be in lab.

曾同学，粟同学和孙同学。

I went to a Fundraiser last Saturday. One of the host is my wife's committee member, she invited her and me as her guest. The fundraiser was for the Mary C. Doxsee Historic Costume Collection. Therefore, the events of the night included a Fashion show of historic costumes and some swing dancing. Those shows are wonderful. But what I am going to talk about today is the Wine and Food pairing prepared by a gourmet and served by the students in the Beverage Management class. I should say, this was the first time in my life I attended such an formal occasion. I was wearing a suit but did not feel overdressed at all (see attached picture of me in Suit). I also broke my record of single night drinking.

 

There were 12 different wines in total. Five white wines paired with 5 lighter dishes; Five red wines paired with 5 heavier dishes; Two sparkling wines paired with Fruit and Cheeses (as desserts). Coffee or Herbal Tea paired with other deserts (Mini Cheesecakes and Sweet Bites). The wines are not very expensive, priced $15-$25, but decent enough. It was no point trying to memorize wine brands because I am extremely bad at names. The only brand name I can remember was RavensWood, since I bought a bottle of 2001 Zinfandel (Napa Valley) a year ago. It was quite nice wine I remember. Some of the wine and food pairs are really excellent.

 

As a rule of thumb, white wines usually pairs with lighter food, such as sea food; Red wines usually pairs with heavier food, such as Steak, Lamb, etc. However, the current trend is more specific about wine and food pairings. This is the knowledge I know very nearly nothing of. I guess one has to drink every day in order to have a better feeling of wines.

 

We went to the fundraiser a little bit late, missed one dish and two wines, but I can cheat since I have the menu with me. The evening starts with 5 white wine and food pairings: Riesling + Chicken Satay w/ Peanut Sauce; Sauvignon Blanc + Goat Cheese Tartlets; Chardonnay + Polenta-Stuffed Mushrooms; Pinot Grigio + Steamed cod with orange-curry sauce; Gewurtztraiminer + Grilled New Orleans-Style Shrimp.

 

The Riesling (kind of Germany grape) tasted sweet but clear. I like the sweet taste and the fruit flavor of the wine. The chicken was not salty at all. It was light and tender. The peanut sauce was a little dense, but paired with the Riesling, everything was alright.

 

The Sauvignon Blanc was as usual spicy and dry. The Goat Cheese Tartlets was one of my favorite. I don't know whether you have tried goat cheese or not. Goat cheese has a very distinctive goat flavor, unpleasant for some people. But it was this distinctive flavor makes the Tartlet charming. The flavor was not strong, rather, only a hint of goat cheese was blended in. The flavor was well balanced, too. In addition, the left over of the uncomfortable feeling of the goat cheese was taken away by the spicy Sauvignon Blanc.

 

The Chardonnay was sweet too (?). The taste of the mushroom was too plain and the stuffings were too course. I missed the Pinot Grigio and the Steamed cod. I heard that the orange-curry sauce was wonderful. The first bottle of white wine I bought in US was a Pinot Grigio, so I have a tip to everyone. Pinot Grigio is not only good to drink, but also good to be used as cooking wine. The Gewurtztraiminer was all gone, but I did managed to get some shrimps. Nothing could be wrong with large shrimps if they were not over cooked.

 

After a fashion show of Historic American costumes, 5 red wines and dishes were served: Pinot Noir + Salmon-Smoked Dill Bites; Merlot + Sharp Cheddar, St. Andre, Drunken Goat (Cheeses); Cabernet Sauvignon + Lamb Keftes with spiced yogurt; Shiraz + Osso Bucco in Puff Pastry; Zinfandel + Chili and Cheese Tartlets.

Of the 5 red wines, Pinot Noir was the only one I had not tried before. I wonder why many people love it so much. And then I got the answer. The wine had a very smooth texture. Dry and refreshing. It compensated well with the fishy taste of the salty smoked salmon. I like smoked food, even though they are not too healthy. It is always better to smoke the meat with real wood. Liquid smoke may smell nice, but will never match the taste.

 

I skipped the cheeses and Merlot for obvious reasons (please look at the picture of me again). Still, I'd advise you, good cheeses are good cheeses, even if you don't like cheese, it is still worth trying.

 

Cabernet Sauvignon is my favorite red wine. You have to look at the color, smell the aroma and taste it to understand. Its rich and natural flavor is most impressive. The lamb keftes taste like nothing at first. When paired with the Cabernet, all the contents of the food came out immediately. This was my first experience of how the taste of food can be brought up front when paired with appropriate wine.

 

Both the Shiraz and the Osso Bucco were strong. Shiraz' tannin content is usually high, tastes bitter at first, but the after taste is wonderful. The Osso Bucco was spicy, a very good pairing with Shiraz.

 

Zinfandel is a California grape variety. It has a dense and thick texture. The Chili and Cheese was made as sauce, served with Tortilla Chips.

 

There were two desserts I liked the most: Manchego & quince paste, and the all favorite Dates and mascarpone w/ pistachios. All are perfect when paired with sparkling wines. The Manchego Cheese is a kind of firm but chewy Spanish cheese made exclusively from ewe's (female sheep) milk. The color of the cheese is golden and translucent. Quince paste is a classical paste for Manchego. Mascarpone is a fresh, very rich cow’s milk cheese. The combination of pistachio powder (I thought of peanut at first, then I saw the green color and the menu), fresh cheese and sweetened date made it an excellent dessert.

 

That was all for the night. I went home with a big red face w/ my wife driving.

 

我觉得人购物，大多数时候只是满足一下欲望而已。从圣诞到新年，CD和图书就买了一大堆，都是买的打折货，免S&H，是很划算。可惜这18张CD，不知道什么时候才能听一个遍。

 

近两个月后，我终于把它们反复听了几遍，所以来谈谈我的看法：

 

这一些CD中，最让我失望的，是马友友的"The Essential Yo-Yo Ma“，同他在勃拉姆斯四重奏和拉罗圣桑大提琴协奏曲中的表演相比，这个合集，太杂太乱。这套专辑彻底打消了我对合集的希望。今后再也没有兴趣购买合集了。

 

最让我惊喜的是Philips出的那套limited edition 10CD版阿劳的“An Anniversary Tribute“。这套在Claudio Arrau 100周年诞辰时发行的CD，涵盖了阿劳从1952年到1991年录音。收录了包括巴赫，莫扎特，贝多芬，勃拉姆斯，肖邦，舒伯特，李斯特，舒曼和德彪西的作品。大概听了两三张，感觉非常好。特别是德彪西的Prelude Book 2，听上去令人兴奋不己。音响效果和录音质量一般，但是阿劳的演绎中特有的沉着的辉煌和有克制的冲动令人信服不已。比如阿劳演奏肖邦的“幻想即兴”，与霍洛维兹相比，一个内敛，一个张扬。阿劳的严谨作风，并没有使乐曲失去魅力。在音乐这种特殊的艺术形式中，演奏者必须在作曲家的原作（乐谱）和自己对乐曲的理解之间找到平衡点。正因为如果，我庆幸自己从阿劳开始听李斯特等重要浪漫派作曲家的作品，正如我从李赫特开始巴赫一样。是年龄使然，还是艺术的精髓就在于简单而隽永的内涵，我不知道。

 

另外两套CD是古尔德演奏的巴赫两卷《平均律钢琴曲集》。古同学演奏的巴赫有强烈的个人风格，有的听起来很好，可谓独辟蹊径，自成一格；但是有时就显现出他的弱点。有时候过于精心的强调还不如自然古拙来得好。相比之下，我更喜欢李赫特的巴赫。我感觉第一套CD（book I），比第二套好一些，也有可能是第一套被我听得多一些吧。按顺序听整体，是我这个老古板不可救药的坏毛病。不过古尔德先生在强调对位时手指按动琴键，犹如老鼠跳过，清脆而谨慎，风趣得很。无论如何，如果没有《平均律钢琴曲集》，搞一套来听听，不会错。一是大可作背景音乐做任何事（读书写字吃饭看电影甚至听音乐，哈哈），二是这钢琴曲集是按大小调顺次排列的，每一个调有一首前奏曲加一首赋格，仔细听一听，可以体味一下不同调的性格。除开无调性音乐不讲，所有种种都是万变不离其宗，逃不出调性的条条框框。

 

还有两张是俄罗斯作曲家的作品。其一，是基辛（Kissin）演奏的穆索尔斯基的《展览会的图画》，但是前面不知为何加了巴赫的改编作品和《云雀》，加之《展览会的图画》本身的特点，每次放这张CD，最后我都不知不觉去见了周公。我不是说我不喜欢基辛，这位小伙子（其实人家已经35岁）的演奏冲满了激情。当代的录音技术更是使他演奏的浪漫派作品增色不少。但是我却没有在这张专辑中听到他。我一直认为《展览会的图画》象一部意识流小说。情绪和空间的变化复杂而生动。所谓“漫步主题”维系的是一条感情的线索，是作曲家对友人的思念。所以睹物思人，在描写画面的同时想到朋友生前的方方面面。如果过分追求“画意”而不细心织造这条感情线索，那么整部作品听起来就会枯燥无味。

 

其二，是阿什肯纳齐演奏的肖斯塔柯维奇的钢琴作品。这张2005年葛来美提名唱片，无论从演奏，录音和曲目编排上都很好。我从大学起就喜欢肖斯塔柯维奇的音乐。现代派音乐也是可以悦耳的。

 

我觉得最有趣的，还是Pierre Boulez的Bartok, Piano Concertos Nos 1-3。首先，这两部作品是由三位不同的独奏钢琴家和三个不同的乐团合作演出的。Boulze之所以有这个独特的想法，是因为这三部作品风格的差异。结果真的是很不错。

 

I shot some photos I bought during the Chinese New year. You can see them in my MSN Space photo album entitled "Holliday Flowers".

 

For larger pictures, please visit this phost on Iwhu:

三、地铁

如果工程也可以拿诺贝奖，那么我认为发明地铁的人应该有一个。

 

同不少地方的地铁系统一样，纽约的地铁中少不了两类人：买艺者和乞讨者。毫无疑问，这两种都是辛苦的营生。我还记得在芝加哥地铁里听到一位黑哥们的歌声。虽然我不是特别喜欢R&B，仍然被他的歌声打动，却不知道应该往摆在他面前的琴盒中放多少零钱。我从来都搞不清楚这样的场合，担心双方都尴尬。也许是受百老汇的影响，纽约地铁中乞讨者往往要先讲一个故事。怀孕的母亲需要食物，归来的老兵辛苦渡日，甚至拖儿带小举家前来。人看了不得不起恻隐之心。给钱的也很多，不给线的也很多，想来人们已经习以为常，无论施舍与否，估计都没有认真听取乞讨者的表演。然而对象我这样的外来客，一切都那么新鲜。

 

真正的流浪者也有自己的乐趣。某站上车一位，衣着是流浪者特有的油灰色，不用看就闻到是经年未洗。那人一手棒一盒饼干，一手拿一个随声听。是Hip-Pop吧，看他随着声音摇摆的样子。他在空位上坐下，好象并没有引起人们的注意。他打开饼干盒，拿起一片，转头对邻居说:"Wanna have one"，邻居说:"I'm fine, thank you"。一切真是那么自然，就象平常的对话。

 

朋友说过在纽约没有人关心你的衣着如何。的确，不仅仅是衣着。这个城市的魅力就在于你完全可以溶入其中，在人群中，你跟其它人没有分别。这种繁华背后的平等（同是又不平等），是大多数地方没有的。乘坐地铁的人们也许是到华尔街，第五大道，百老汇，中国城或是其它地方，这些形形色色的人同你，同他，同我，没有任何不同。这种自然普通的感觉，正是我最希望有的生存环境。

 

如果对城市也可以一见钟情，那么我爱上了纽约。正因为我爱上了纽约，地铁那种特殊的脏乱和气味，也是纽约的一部分，我把这部分忽略了。

I was thinking of submitting some of my photographs to the University Student Art Exhibit. The Deadline is Friday, Feb. 3rd. So I went through all my photo archives, too my surprise, none of the photos were up to my current standard of "good". Frustrated, I didn't know what to do. Is it true that I was never a fair photographer or that my eyes for fine arts had evolved through the years. I guess artists should be full of self doubts, but the frustration and stress still hit me. It really hurts.

 

I looked into the mirror to see whether I could be a good subject. Self-portrait of course. The ultimate project for a brave photographer to work on. Always, it will be hard for anyone to do, for either over- or under- estimation could announce the failure of the project. I striped, only to see in the mirror that age and marriage had already distorted my body. Or the laziness. This finally adds to the frustration I had previously.

 

I am going to fight back.