Find this post unique... I figured out some stories... But couldn't figure out the Fudan student...

 

I am no longer on top of all the college news...

 

FWD from MIT BBS

1.清华"铊毒女皇" 孙维 , 又称"五毒教主" 2.云大"六合神锤" 马加爵 , 又称"南帝马
爵爷" 3.复旦"一剑无血" 张亮亮 , 又称"南北双娇猫见愁"之"南才子" 4.北师"跨国副
总" 吴莹莹 , 又称"痴女物语" 5.燕山"魔兽铜须" 郑新 , 又称"包皮教主郑寻欢" 6.清华"硫
酸雨" 刘海洋 , 又称"京师灭熊王" 7.人大"极品男" 朱明江 , 又称"火车狼王" 8.南
大"留美天才" 朱涵 , 又称"神剑双朱父子兵" 9.水产"白眼神乞" 向海清 , 又称"东海
寄生虫" 10.北大"铁臂神功" 宋韩明 , 又称"南北双娇猫见愁"之"北神医" 

LA Impression 2 - The Crystal Cathedral

 

In the travel book of L.A., the Crystal Cathedral is listed as a major attraction in Orange County. I wondered why a church building could produce such a buzz and how could people after all want to visit a religious location if they have no interest in Christianity. Many of my questions find the answers quickly after I arrived at the parking lot of the Crystal Cathedral.

 

What struck me head on was the mere size of its parking lot. It was “HUGE”. It was so big and made me wonder if I got to the right place. As far as I could recall, only a football stadium could afford a parking lot of this size. Outside of the parking, state sheriffs were on duty to direct inbound and outbound traffic. It took me a while to find a slot and find my way out of the parking. The sign on the parking was quite unique too -- “Live broadcasting. In-car service only.” I figured during their peak hours, churchgoers or visitors may only get a spot on the parking in their vehicle. What a wonderful place, I told myself.

 

The church building itself, the architecture with numerous steel frames but complete glass walls and roofs, was interesting (just). Maybe the architecture is quite spectacular among church buildings, but compared to sky liners in Shanghai or Hong Kong with flaring glass finish of different colors. This building is, in my opinion, a humble little brother.

 

What was truly amazing was its inside. The sanctuary was immensely spacious. It easily seats more than 10,000 people. Pipe organ was among the world’s largest. Several pipes were floating in the corners with attached stings from the roof in the same way we would place our satellite speakers to create surrounding effects at home (just my conjuncture without much knowledge of music). I happened to read about such musical instruments costing millions and being incredibly expensive to maintain. Almost instantly, as a business professor, I was amazed by the financial strength of this congregation when most churches I visited in the past seemed to be quite restricted financially. With musical instruments at this level, everything else at the church was absolutely first class. The vocalist was former Miss America; the choir was directly by professional musicians; the person who shared a testimony was a sizzling hot Hollywood super star, the guest speaker on the stage wrote bestsellers of New York Times… it just appeared to me that everything great had come together at this place to make the Sunday at church dramatic in its own way that resembled the fantasy of Hollywood or the Disney Land, which was only a few miles away… It was like a drama with everything that goes right and every script clicks… but how about its service? I suddenly had a fear that all the greatness in such a dramatic, and arguably unrealistic manner, would get in the way of the meaning of church services, which at the core should be simple and true.

 

Dr. Robert H. Schuller was no disappointment. He not only kept up with my expectation but in fact surprised me with the wisdom and power of his message. The message itself was about the choice of the cross as the symbol of Christianity. He mentioned his personal visit to Lenin’s private residence (the revolutionist in the former Soviet Union) and the atheist’s resistance to Christianity because of the difficulty to deny one’s self in order to be renewed spiritually. The key of the message was not new to me. What touched me was the pastor’s unfailing enthusiasm (at the age of over 80), positive perspective of thinking, extensive impact on others, and the openness to new ideas.

 

The church and its congregation impressed me, but the pastor shook my soul.

 

Many days after my visit to the Crystal Cathedral, I bought the book from Dr. Shuller’s mentor Norman V. Peale titled “The Power of Positive Thinking.” I am hoping the book will shake me again and will equip me with the true power of positive thinking.

 

I didn’t expect the journey to L.A. a spiritual one. But detours in life could turn out to be very spiritual.

A picture that touched me....

春运中的母子

 

LA 印象1- Getty Museum 

 

去加州很多次了，但是没有一次可以有安静的心去欣赏加州的美。这次去洛杉矶出差，没心思工作，也就完完全全把自己放松一下了。

洛杉矶给人的第一印象是大而杂乱。。。 拥挤的公路上不同肤色的人相互超车，人们显得没有礼貌。我知道自己在洛杉矶，对这样的状况有心理准备，也没觉得很吃惊。但这样的背景却更加烘托出Getty Museum的别致，优雅和宁静。

 

神往Getty Museum很久了，到洛杉矶之后很快找到了地址。开车一个小时，才来到被山峦怀抱的洛杉矶郊外。这里距离好莱坞不远，原来想应该很嘈杂，但完全没想到Getty Museum建在一个山顶，和好莱坞的繁华完完全全搭不上界。

 

在山脚下把车停好，就可乘坐Getty Museum的悬浮列车上山。列车一开门，眼前豁然开朗，原来整整一座山都被规划在Getty Museum里，Getty Museum本身的建筑就好像一件精致的展品，和周遭的环境切切的融合在一起。

 

博物馆里很多不同的展品。我最感兴趣的是印象派画家的作品和从以色列巡展过来的第一世纪西奈山修道院（Mount Sinai Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine）里收藏的宗教画像。

 

印象派画家的作品价值连城。我不是很懂行，但也很喜欢印象派的肖像，跨越百年，跨越文化，却能和欣赏的人交流，不能说不是一个奇迹。Getty Museum有莫奈，凡高的作品。我却被德加（Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas）的一幅作品“The Convalescent”深深打动。我把它翻译为“病愈”吧。这是一幅病愈之后少女的肖像。没有过多的修饰，甚至人物的衣着也缺少细节，但整幅作品的核心是少女忧郁的眼神。一百年之后也让我猜想是什么让她的眼神如此忧郁。

 

西奈山修道院收藏了近两千年来各式各样的基督教画像。两千年来人们用不同的笔调，不同的想象去描绘天堂，描绘心中的上帝。有的雍容，华贵，画面充满了金色。有的简约，质朴，天堂上帝和周围的生活差不多，只是多出了无忧的笑容。我更喜欢后一种诠释，大概和中国人对理想生活，世外桃源的解释有联系吧。我总是认为，天堂就在人的心里。

 

在Getty Museum，我花了整整一天。从博物馆出来的时候已经是晚上七点了。站在Getty Museum的山头，往下俯瞰，是洛杉矶和好莱坞的轮廓，天边的落日把天印得很红，很美！我想Paul Getty是一个了不起的人，人们没记住他的财富，却深深感谢他的收藏，记住了他的博物馆。

 差点忘了，Getty Museum是完全免费的。

 

 

序：在大国的门槛上
 
英国《金融时报》中文网主编张力奋
2007年3月13日 星期二
 
 
观
察问题，大体少不了两样东西：一是基本事实，二是思维框架。进入21世纪，得益于全球化与互联网高科技的信息开放，获取事实或数据已相对比较容易；一旦大家都拥有基本事实，那么看问题的思路或角度就变得更重要，对最终得出的结论也更有决定意义。观察转型中的中国经济与社会，也是如此。

近几年，中国经济的崛起已成为全世界的谈资，但各有各的谈法。大家手上这本小册子, 收集了近期英国《金融时报》与FT中文网对中国经济现状的评论精选，涉及眼下正经历的的一些热点现象或关键词：经济崛起、可持续增长、中国与印度、能源、环境代价、人民币升值、金融改革、IPO、 私营企业家、房奴、股市泡沫、中国新富。希望这个集子能体现FT记者、专栏作家与读者对中国的独到见解与视野。

上世纪七十年代末，邓小平先生摒弃闭关锁国，推行改革开放，重新启动中国现代化进程。在“韬光养晦”中，中国一路走来，已近三十年。此间，中国由单一贫弱与低水平的经济体，演变成一个新兴经贸产业大国，从根本上改善了中国国力与大多数中国人的生存状态；“中国制造”也让全球的消费者从中获益，提升了其生活水准；在改变自身的同时, 中国也正在改写全球的政经商贸与能源格局。以一个发展中国家的身份，中国成为近年来全球经济增长的主力，这在现代经济发展史上是少见的。然而，反观历史，中国的国情发展常常让自己也一时感到诧异或措手不及。过去几年间，中国经济在世人眼皮下，似乎不自不觉间，突兀崛起，惊现“经济强国”的雏形，政经砝码与日俱增，从西方人的眼睛里看到了“大国”的影子，把自己也着实吓了一跳。西方预见“中国时代”的来临，迫使中国人不得不调适自己的心理与定位，开始其现代史上真正的一次“大国”探寻。

二十世纪九十年代后，中国经济活力的一个标志是：几乎每隔几年，中外经济学家们就不得不换一套思路，采用新的语言或概念，来描述分析中国新的经济现象。中国经济的命运，正是在这些框架与概念的转换中，慢慢脱胎换骨，与国际游戏规则的共同语言日益投机，渐而接轨上路。但经济崛起的一个结果是，中国的影响力、购买力与“定价权” 迫使它放弃“韬光养晦”，重新界定其国家定位以及与世界的关系。

就拿日益激化的“中国鞋”争端来说，撇开中国与美欧的分歧不说，在欧盟成员中，制鞋国与穿鞋国的心思就很不同；即便同在一国屋檐下，做鞋、卖鞋与穿鞋的这三方，也因自身的利益而在立场上南辕北辙，更枉谈彼此都能接受的多边“鞋议”？

中国正在急速地融入世界，其全球影响力仍将继续攀升。但是，中国远不是世界的全部，也永远不会是世界的全部。中国的优势也会如潮水涨落。一旦拥抱了全球化，那么未来中国发展的脚本，就将不仅由中国一国执笔，而是全世界共同参与创作。“大国之路”仍遥远而漫长。目前，外界担心说，受强势经济影响力的庇护，中国是否会踌躇自大？会否“朝南坐”而趋向贸易保护主义？其经济自由化的步伐会否放缓？急速上升的国力如何转为中国的和谐发展？

2006年，中国开始摆脱对“崛起”的羞怯，朝野上下初显“大国”情结。但是，“大国的想象”，毕竟还远非现实。严格地说，中国可能只是刚踏在“大国”的门槛上。如果说，“大国”已进入中国的视野，那么，其今后路途的通畅和谐， 很大程度上取决于它如何应对每一发展阶段的细部问题。到头来，任何宏大的工程，都是无数细节的呈现。大国工程，自然也是如此。然而，所有细节的背后，都逃脱不过设计的理念与制度转型。

诚愿中国走好关键的每一步。
 

This is my favorite mountain...

 

Hope the damage to this old town will be minimized soon.

 

 

云南苍山突发森林火灾
http://www.sina.com.cn 2007年03月08日15:23 新华网

 

　　新华网昆明3月8日电(记者周重要、李倩) 国家级自然保护区云南省大理白族自治州苍山8日上午突发森林大火。

　　据在现场指挥扑火的大理市市长段丽介绍，着火地点为江峰寺后山，过火面积大约2000亩。火灾发生后，当地森警、消防官兵、民兵、专业扑火队员及当地干部群众1500多人已紧急上山进行扑救。

　　火灾发生后，当地迅速启动应急预案，开展火灾扑救工作。大理白族自治州委书记顾伯平等领导已在现场指挥扑火。

　　由于这个时节正值旱季，风力较大，截至记者发稿时，大火仍在继续燃烧，扑火工作正在紧张有序进行。