by Tina Tseng
Ever get the feeling that all men are the same? They’re always tired when you want to talk and never sensitive enough to your feelings? It seems like men the world over behave the same way when it comes to girls. They fall for women with great figures; they prefer playing basketball to shopping on a beautiful Saturday afternoon; they’re always talkative in business meetings but always half-dead when dealing with relationship quarrels. The list can go on and on, yet despite all the similarities, men from different sides of the globe can actually be quite different from one another (and I’m not talking physically here). Coming from a Latin American background, I have experienced first hand the differences between latinos and chinos when it comes to the business of women. Hugs and Kisses Can’t ever get enough of that? Afraid to be teased if your friends saw you hugging a girl that’s not your girlfriend? Don’t want to be the subject of gossip among your classmates? Or is it because you still want peace with that nagging girl of yours? Well, come to Latin America – it is the land of hugs and kisses. The first thing any guy will do when they see a girl friend (intimate or not) is give her a big bear hug with a kiss on the cheeks while softly whispering “Good morning” in her ear. Girls, how often do you get that kind of affection from a Taiwanese guy? The hugging and kissing can be heart-melting if the guy happens to be the senior hunk from the varsity soccer team. But what if it was that classmate with sweaty armpits and pimpled face who warmly greeted you? You’d wish you were here in Taiwan. And matters get even worse if it was your own boyfriend hugging that hot classmate of his. That was one thing I never understood, even after living in Latin America for 15 years, why the girls never got angry at their boyfriends for hugging another girl right in front of their eyes. Being a Man If you were a guy living in Latin America, you better act like one. And by that I mean opening doors and carrying bags for girls, giving them your coat when the weather is cold, walking in the back of a crowd of girls to ensure their safety, and basically helping out whenever help could be used. Call it machismo, but Latinos make it their duty to protect women. And, like hugging and kissing, this kind of treatment goes to all female friends. It may seem like they treat girls as if girls were incapable of carrying their own bags or watching out for their own safety; but the truth is, most women would choose this kind of machismo over that where the guy feels he is the boss and it is okay for him to sit on the couch and watch TV while the girl does the cooking and cleaning. The problem with Latin hospitality is that women are not used to such behavior and may take it the wrong way, only to find out that the guy already has a girlfriend of five years. Ouch! Words Say it All? If hugs and kisses and gentlemanly actions meant no more than friendship, then it must be the words that carried the feelings. Latin Americans are a group of people who expressed their feelings effusively. It is “te quiero” (I love you) day and night. And unlike in Taiwan, it is not just a girl thing. Latin American men are as ready as any woman to tell their loved ones how much they feel for them. If a Latino dug you, you’d know for sure. Whether the confession comes through a poem, a song, a letter, or simply his own spoken words, it is bound to be carried out with a sincere look and a kiddy smile. There’s no way any girl could say no to such an innocent face. He will make you forget all your principles and make you believe that you are the whole world to him. Perfect if it really came from his heart. The thing is, love is not “love” in the Latin world. The words “I love you” may come from a simple crush. The good part is, even if you do reject a Latino, he’d gain his composure back in no time and kid around with you as if nothing had happened. It’s Fiesta Time! Ever since childhood, boys in Taiwan are told by their parents to study hard, get a good job and earn lots of money. Don’t bother fretting over women; they’ll come your way once you’re rich. Men live under the social pressure of achieving some kind of success in their careers. Thus, Taiwanese males make it a mission to conquer all studies and climb to the top of the professional ladder. For them, work comes first. Latinos, on the other hand, take work in a much more relaxed manner. Partying once a week is an absolute must. In Latin America, it’s not so much worrying about getting the work done as it is about where to go on a Friday night. (Little wonder why Latin Americans are the “mañana” [tomorrow] people.) Men there spend more time practicing the salsa dance than working in their offices! Girls, are you moved by such Latin affection? Are men who know how to sway their butts to the music while never forgetting to say “I love you” your type of guy? Or like me, do you still prefer the more hands-off, subtle way of expressing feelings, and like having guys work hard so that maybe you yourself wouldn’t have to work as hard? But then again, who says you have to choose between a latino and a chino? Just as long as you know who makes the good husband, and who the lover!
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By Kristen Huang
In December 1997, Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware successfully sued the owner of a nightclub in a neighboring city. She had fallen from the nightclub’s bathroom window to the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. It happened while she was trying to sneak out, through the window in the ladies room, to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. In this case, Ms. Walton was awarded $12,000.00 and dental expenses. In May 2000, a Philadelphia restaurant had to follow the verdict of paying Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania $113,500.00 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her coccyx. The beverage was spilled on the floor because Ms. Carson herself threw it at her boyfriend thirty seconds earlier during an argument. Surprised by the verdict rendered in these cases? What led these people to file such lawsuits—especially since it was their own fault? Why did the court determine that they won? Many people in the U.S. have begun to feel appalled that they might someday be sued by a stranger. Let’s start from the beginning. The fear of lawsuits in the U.S. results from a sue-for-anything philosophy that was created in the 1960s. At that time, judges and legislators gradually became aware of the abuses of racism and other forms of discrimination. Thus they decided to create a neutral system in which people have the right to sue for anything and every dispute could be solved in a neutral way. Soon, however, lots of people and enterprising lawyers learned how to utilize this new “right,” as the law did not draw boundaries about who could sue for what. Even if you don’t have any money to hire a lawyer, you can make an arrangement known as a “contingent fee,” in which the lawyer’s fees are contingent upon the fact that a monetary award is given to you. That is, if no award is made, payment may not be required; if an award is made, the fee will be a percentage of the recovery. Sometimes, the plaintiff and the defendant would both agree to settle out of court. In these cases, the plaintiff still receives a considerable sum of money. Whether you have deep pockets or not, court costs and expenses of litigation can be taken from the amount awarded or settled upon. Filing such lawsuits has become a way to make quick bucks. High contingency fees motivate lawyers. They push questionable cases through the courts because they are willing to take risks for huge profits. The use of the justice system—with the “loser pays” rule—represents opportunity to them. There are now many websites and commercials for personal injury lawyers: “Have you been injured? Call me!” From another point of view, however, lawyers do have the responsibility to represent their clients, to put forward persuasive arguments in the best way they know how. As a result, suggestions have arisen such as limiting lawyers’ fees. But how will this reform work? No one can tell. Here is another famous case. A jury in Albuquerque, New Mexico, awarded nearly $2.9 million to an 81-year-old woman who was burned by a cup of McDonald’s coffee that she spilled on herself while driving. To many people, it might be ridiculous that she sought compensation for the injuries caused by her own negligence. In the fist place, the compensation she received seems excessive. Secondly, personal responsibility appears to be ignored. Some argued that she should not have received money since her injuries were caused by her own carelessness. As an adult, she would have known that she could get burned if coffee was spilled on her skin. Furthermore, why was she awarded so much money, which means that her lawyer received a nice fee as well? Big corporations would like to settle out of court in these sorts of civil cases, because it might be cheaper than going to court. What we forget is that the damage those corporations have to pay will all be added to the cost of their goods. But controversial verdicts are simply the result of an imperfect system. The legal system was originally intended to provide justice but can be abused by smart lawyers. Some people argue that big corporations care little about public safety, and such verdicts mean that it is time for ordinary citizens to get justice. Some argue that juries are easily affected by the victims’ emotional appeals. But so many frivolous lawsuits cannot be ignored. Whatever the case, it is only in America that an ordinary citizen can file a civil suit against an international billion-dollar corporation and win. by Zona Hsieh
What kind of stereotypes pop into your mind when you think of Texas? Cowboys drinking beer, farmers working under the scorching hot sun, and cotton, corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, and potatoes eight inches across? Or if you met a guy who comes from Austin, the state capitol, what kind of person would you expect to meet? Just before finals last term, my linguistics professor asked me and several of my classmates to do her a favor—to receive three American students from Texas for some academic research. Our job was to show them around campus and visit scenic spots in Taipei. Plus we also taught them some basic tips about living here, such as how to use the MRT system. Among the three students who came, the one I particularly got along with was a guy called Austin. Austin from Austin. I have to confess that before I got to know him I, too, had many Texan stereotypes: fried chicken, giant steaks, “howdy y’all,” and George W. Bush. However, after getting to know this Austin better, I understood that these stereotypes are very oversimplified. Unlike the other American students, Austin Lee was a Chinese American. His father is a chemical engineer and graduated from NTU. Born in Austin, he claims that his mother’s English was not so great, so she just named him after their hometown. Although their family moved to the United States before Austin was born, he still has some relatives in Taiwan. As a result, Austin did not have the kind of prejudices that foreigners usually have about Taiwan. For example, the other two Texan girls were warned to be careful. They were told not to eat the food sold in night markets unless they didn’t mind getting sick, and they were advised not to expose their arms and legs, since they were told that Taiwanese culture was so hidebound that girls did not wear short-sleeves or shorts even during the boiling hot summer. Besides, according to Austin, most white people in Texas could not even differentiate between Taiwan and Thailand, which means some foreigners might consider the famous transvestites in Thailand as one of Taiwan’s specialties. Most westerners can’t seem to distinguish Taiwan from other developing countries. All they know is that Taiwan seems to make 50% of the products sold in America. No wonder they mix up Taiwan with Thailand. But what about us, who associate Texas with all kinds of stereotypes as well? It was Jane Austen who put the words “pride” and “prejudice” together. For people are always content with a superficial understanding according to their own pride, and thus we are obsessed with the prejudice of their first impressions. If all the mistaken impressions could be supplanted by informed realizations, it would be much easier for people to surmount obstacles and achieve harmonious happiness. Back to this Austin from Texas, perhaps it was his unbiased and love-to-try-anything-new character that made him fond of almost everything Taiwanese. No culture shock for him. But one thing that struck him very strongly was that he realized it was very embarrassing that he couldn’t speak Chinese fluently, even though his family was from Taiwan. For example, it always annoyed him when he went to a restaurant with the other Americans and they all relied on him to order food, but he was unable to read the menu. He confessed that he regretted not having studied Chinese as a child when his parents told him to, for he always hated Chinese school. He thinks most Chinese Americans don’t realize who they are and what they are missing out on when they don’t try to learn Chinese. Besides, he also admits that sometimes it’s like he lacks any culture at all, since he doesn’t really feel American but can’t call himself Chinese either since he can barely speak the language. I didn’t get many chances to be alone with Austin after I met him, for I went abroad as well by mid-July. By the time I came back he had already gone back to Texas. I didn’t really have a chance to say goodbye to him, but somehow I know that our friendship will not just end like the passing summer days. Having a friend like him is a feeling that doesn’t just fade away but manages to stay with you for a very long time. By Jolene Tien
Have you ever logged on to a website or read a newspaper and found that certain names occur repeatedly? Or have you ever tried to register an account on a website but felt frustrated that your name was already taken? Coincidence? Do some names have special qualities and that’s why so many people are named after them? Do some names even have magic power? Most of us at NTU were born in the 1980s. According to the US government’s Social Security Online, the top 15 names for babies born in the US during the 1980s are: You probably won’t be astonished by these statistics. These are exactly the English names of all our friends. Or maybe your own name is on the list too? Now let’s take a look at the situation in Taiwan, where it is much more difficult to share the same name with others, since most of us have two Chinese characters in our given names which can be freely chosen from many possibilities. Still, some parents seem to dote on certain names. The most popular names for girls are 雅婷 (Ya-Ting) and 怡君 (Yi-Chun), and the most popular names for boys are 宗翰 (Tsung-Han), 建宏 (Chien-Hung), and 志豪 (Chih-Hao). Perhaps this is because many Taiwanese choose names for their babies based on the suggestions of a fortune-teller, who will provide parents with a list based on the date of birth, gender, and other cryptic reasons. They also have to calculate of the total number of strokes in the name, since different stoke counts are thought to lead to different fortunes. Even if parents don’t believe in fortune-telling they often try to name their babies with a lucky number of strokes. Another explanation is that names are thought to represent different qualities based on gender. Boys are often named by words that reveal masculinity and erudition, or contain associations of patriotism and politics. On the other hand, girls’ names are mostly related to sentimentality and beautiful ornament. There is also a traditional Chinese concept that men represent the outside (public) while women represent the inside (domestic). Consequently, the variety of boys’ names is comparatively larger than girls’. In western cultures parents not only consider the meaning of names, often derived from religion or mythology, but also are concerned with the images and feelings that names bring. For example, Abraham is a name that clearly reveals its religious origin. Other popular Biblical names are Joshua and Benjamin, which use Josh and Ben as nicknames. A girl named Alex brings us the image of a smart, efficient, slightly boyish, and hip girl. For a while it seemed as if every movie heroine fitting that description was called Alex—Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, Cher in The Witches of Eastwick, Debra Winger in Black Widow, Jane Fonda in The Morning After, Jennifer Beals in Flashdance, and most recently, Lucy Liu in Charlie’s Angels. Other names like Jersey or Dakota used to be boys’ names, but are now more often used for girls. Names also change with time. Some names might be quite common in the past century but not so much nowadays. For example, Mavis and Wilbur could be grandparents’ names, but few kids seem to be called that now. Such “old names” exist in Chinese, too (such as 武雄 or 素珠). It would be very odd to meet friends our age with such names. Naming sure isn’t an easy job. Nevertheless, since we are living in an electronic era, we have many chances to name ourselves, either for an internet ID or some other form of virtual identity. So don’t forget to find a name that is perfect for you! By Jack Chou
Immortality. What a bittersweet story. Since the dawn of death, the dreams of men have revolved around this tantalizing and utterly unattainable fantasy. Cults and religions have sprung up around empty promises of life beyond destruction. Poetry and paintings have been devoted to immortals in their states of eternal perfection, whether that state be the Holy Heaven or some pagan paradise filled with lotus or ambrosia. And within the heart of every person there resides the desire to leave behind something by which coming generations might learn of our existence, so that some semblance of immortality may yet be purchased. It is safe to say that, for most of us, there is no price too great to pay for a chance to taste the fount of eternity, to live and live and live, and to be young forever. But what if the bargain were your soul? What if to live, you had to kill? Would you still wish to taste the fount of youth if the magical elixir were human blood? Would you still want to live forever, if you had to do so as a vampire? Do not be so hasty to decide on damnation, for there’s more to undeath than sweet life everlasting, and it’s only fair that you should learn all there is to tell. Banish from your mind what preconceptions you may have about the vampire, especially if they involve a count with a cape in a castle with coffins. For while Bram Stoker’s Dracula can certainly be credited with the rise of modern vampire lore, he’s a mere fledgling compared with the history of his species. The legend of these bloodsucking ghouls goes back an entire millennium and across an entire continent, to the snowy reaches of Russia in 1047. There, a certain Russian prince was described bitterly by his subjects as a “Upir Lichy”—that is, a “wicked vampire.” In another hundred years the vampire found its way to England, where it assumed a different name (sanguisuga) but retained the same insatiable thirst for human blood in the Chronicles of William of Newburgh. By this time, the creature had changed into a warlock capable of summoning plagues and manipulating the weather to suit its designs. Village folks passed their nights in terror of waking to find a pale shadow by their bed, yet could not come up with a way to rid their land of this supernatural menace. The vampire’s reign of fear and death had begun. If those early accounts were not enough to carve an uncomfortable pit in the collective European consciousness and bury the vampire superstition deep into it, then the rise to infamy of two members of its royal caste during the Middle Ages certainly did the job. The 15th century saw the birth and ascension of a Romanian prince by the name of Vlad Son of Dracul, or more dramatically, Vlad Dracula. Though he is remembered in historical texts as a stalwart defender of his homeland from invading Turks, Dracula’s cruelty to his own people was legendary as well. His particular brand of sadism involved a form of torture called impaling, where a wooden stake is driven through a person’s anus and into the intestines. The twitching victim was then erected like some hellish Christmas tree so that gravity continued to skewer the body until the stake exited through the mouth. Dracula was fond of decorating the premises of his estate with those brutal banners; he was even fonder of feasting while presiding over the impaling of his latest batch of victims, and it was said that he often dipped his bread in the spilled blood for a taste of the suffering he’d inflicted. It is little wonder that the Impaler, as he was aptly nicknamed by those he terrorized, was the basis for Bram Stoker’s demonic bloodsucker. Following in Dracula’s footsteps a hundred years after his reign was Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary, probably the most vampire-like human being in history. Not only did the actions of this Hungarian noblewoman match the Impaler’s for depravity, she coveted blood in a way that could only be accurately described as vampiric. She believed that she could remain young forever if she bathed in the rejuvenating blood of virgin sacrifices, and scoured the countryside on a regular basis so she could fill her tub with the precious, burning liquid each night. Folklore has it that her castle had massive underground dungeons built to hold her doomed, wailing captives, and that the floor of her spacious private chambers was littered with the drained corpses of young girls whose dead eyes stared sightlessly at the countess as she lapped and rubbed their blood over her aging skin. Though Bathory was eventually charged and executed for her crimes, it was only after she had literally emptied the vicinity of her fortress of women. To this day we do not know just how many girls she killed. The glamour of the modern vampire, so different from the horror stories of blood and torture in a time long past, can be attributed to authors such as Anne Rice, who have given the vampire a virtual makeover to better suit them to an age where gods are superstitions and nights are as bright as day. Gone are the dank tombs, the reek of death, and the insurmountable fear of holy symbols. Instead we have a monster that’s merely a man made immortal, a vainglorious creature whose metamorphosis has only quickened its drunken love with its earthly form. That it must kill to live rarely distracts it from its enjoyment of life eternal, and indeed this is but a reflection of the conscience of modern man, or the lack thereof. The modern vampire is an affluent, stylish being that lives for the moment, though it fully intends to live for all time. From a character of gothic horror and damnation the vampire today has become the hero of a sort of escapist fantasy. An escape from mortal futility, a fantasy of perfect immortality. That’s what it all comes down to, in the end. So, have you made your decision? By Jeremy Chou
Walking down the streets of Taipei you may encounter people with oversized T-shirts, floppy trousers, platinum pendants, and even dreadlocks. If you go clubbing, chances are that you will see people locking, popping, and breaking on the floor. Tune your radio to ICRT and you will find hip-hop music constantly being aired. Groups of teenagers practice hip-hop dance outside the National Theatre and Concert Hall, using the French doors as mirrors when there is no performance inside. The ambience of hip-hop, though not omnipresent, has permeated the island. Hip-Hop is a cultural movement that originates from African American and Latin American youth in New York. Rap music, DJ, graffiti, and hip-hop dance are regarded as the four essential elements of hip-hop. Some consider beatbox to be a fifth element. Rap music is a form of rhyming lyrics spoken rhythmically over instrumentals. A rapper, a.k.a. MC (Master of Ceremonies), improvises rhymes over the beat created by a DJ. Gradually, more and more rap music is recorded in a studio rather than improvised in a club. The Grammy Awards have officially recognized rap music as an independent genre since 1989, and currently it includes six categories. A DJ generally refers to the one who selects and plays music discs in a nightclub, at a party, or on the radio. But DJing, in the sense of hip-hop, focuses on the techniques of scratching, looping, mixing, cross-fading, beat-juggling, and pitch-tuning on the turntable. Graffiti is a form of street art which appears on the walls of garages, factories, abandoned buildings, construction sites, and even on the exterior of freight trains. Graffiti painters use spray bottles to create extraordinary and exaggerated images. It started out as an illegal practice and conveyed anti-social sentiments. Now it has become more brilliant than before. Today, graffiti art battles are even held in public. Hip-Hop dance, in its broadest sense, includes breaking, locking, popping, house, hip-hop jazz, and freestyle hip-hop; recently, bebop, reggae, and capoeira have jumped on the bandwagon as well. Dancers of those styles not only dance to hip-hop music but also to funk, breakbeat, R&B, and reggae. Dancers have battles on the street or in a club, and may sometimes perform on stage. Though hip-hop is not taught in art academies for the time being, some distinguished hip-hop dancers in private studios have been dubbed choreographers. Beatboxing is the art of creating beats and melody with the human mouth, which usually involves the imitation of instrumental sounds and the simulation of turntable effects. A skilled beatboxer can generate a percussion of beats and a stream of melody simultaneously, virtually serving as a human beat jukebox. Hip-Hop can also be deemed as a kind of mentality – a philosophy of life, which is characterized by defiance to mainstream values, gratification in spite of hardship, and creativity without limit. In Taiwan, local dancers could only learn the steps by watching videos. Today, dancers from the US and Japan are frequently invited to Taiwan to introduce the latest trend in street dance, while some Taiwanese dancers go abroad for training. Outstanding professional dance crews include Feliz FuFu, Popcorn, Attention, Original Rhythm, Dance Soul, TBC, and Lohan Force, many of which have studios in the Xinyi District. These studios are packed with teenagers on weekends and during vacations. Most are high school or college students; a few of them even form amateur dance crews with a view to participating in public performances and contests sponsored by corporations and the local government. Recently, the Taipei Municipal Government even listed eight sites that are “most suitable for practicing hip-hop dance.” In addition to the dance element, rap music and remixed pieces are produced in Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Hakka, though most of them remain underground. Those who do the MC part usually take part in DJing and beatboxing as well. Famous local hip-hop music producers include: 參劈, 大囍門, 大支, and MC Hotdog. Furthermore, a tiny group of graffiti artists have begun to search for walls to paint, at the risk of being chased by the police. Hip-Hop emerged as a counterculture, yet part of its power has been incorporated into commercialism and may lose its original spirit. For example, African American kids in New York often wear oversized T-shirts in order to cut down on the expenditure of buying bigger clothes as they grow up. The irony is that oversized T-shirts are now sold at high prices in shops. Some brands of sneakers have become expensive as a result of their association with hip-hop, and they are selling like hotcakes. Moreover, local entertainers sometimes make fun of hip-hop gestures and misuse hip-hop jargon, distorting its image. Many people seemingly have another big misunderstanding about hip-hop. They usually confuse hip-hop music with techno music since both of them are said to be suitable for dance and require a DJ. Nevertheless, the line between hip-hop and techno is actually quite clear. Techno music is digitally synthesized and contains heavy doses of electronic sounds. Techno lovers, a.k.a. ravers, can barely dance expressively, and they tend to take psychedelic drugs, such as MDMA, to gain pleasant sensations. By contrast, true hip-hoppers refuse to take hallucinogenic drugs and detest monotonous and emotionless techno music. If you are interested in learning hip-hop dance, the Street Dance Club, a.k.a. Popular Dance Club in NTU could be a good choice for beginners. It is hailed as the largest club in NTU since it recruits more than 200 members every autumn and holds grand presentations twice a year. Another club named Hip-Hop Culture Research Club is more concerned with music reviews, MC skills, and DJ techniques. Some of their members make real rap music with a turntable. You can gain access to both club boards at telnet://ptt.cc/. Here are some websites about hip-hop culture that you may find interesting: http://www.vibe.com/ (reports about rap artists and reviews of rap music) http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/ (for underground hip-hop samples) http://www.style2ouf.com/english/videos/index.php (for downloading dance battle clips) http://www.electriccafe.jp/movie.html (Japanese dance clips) http://www.merrymonarc.com/ (the best dance studio in Taiwan) http://doobiest.x.net.tw/ (information about local hip-hop events) By Steffi Liu
I’m sure you’ve all heard of LASIK eye surgery. Reports and advertisements on it can now be seen everywhere: on TV, in magazines, and on the internet. These ads make it appear like it’s the greatest blessing nearsighted people are ever going to have, because they can get rid of their irritating glasses or contact lenses forever. But is the surgery really as amazing as they claim? While most of the information presented to us is positive, there still may be some aspects of the technology that remain unrevealed, information which the mass media and advertisements believe unnecessary for us to know. Therefore, I decided to get some information myself. I went to some clinics and interviewed people from medical schools. I found out that while many people expect the surgery to cure their visual deficiency, the basic theory of the surgery actually means more harm to the eye. By sculpting the cornea, the transparent covering in the front of the eye, the inappropriate curvature causing myopia is fixed, and the eye is then able to create images on the retina again. Nothing is done to the abnormal part of the eye, it is the originally normal part that is altered. Normal vision will return when the cornea has recovered from this “injury.” And will there be side effects? What we know so far is that this varies from person to person. Most people don’t have side effects at least in the first few years after their operations. But up to this point long-term research is still unavailable. Since the technology is still young, we can’t know what might happen in the future. Yet one thing I did learn is that the eyes might become weaker so that they need more protection or care; for example, long-haul flights should be avoided. Another thing people often wonder about is how good their eyesight will be after the surgery. Actually, no one knows. It depends on how well a person recovers from the surgery. Before the procedure there is an evaluation to see if you are an ideal candidate for the surgery, including your age and how bad your myopia is. Your post-surgery vision may also be estimated; usually they give you a range, say, 0.5-1.0. Since every case is different and not every operation will be equally successful, it’s not like you are guaranteed to get your normal vision back. But there is another problem. Most of the information that is presented to us in our daily lives may be biased, or even kept from us entirely, because the LASIK clinics want to encourage us to view their technology in a positive way, and to create in us a desire to buy it. Does wearing glasses really make you look so bad? Are glasses or contact lenses really so irritating that we must turn to LASIK surgery? Try to think about how advertising has shaped public knowledge, especially about this nascent medical technology, making us focus on the dark side of our lives and look to the surgery as a way to make us happy. by Logan Goh
“It took me about four years before I dared to try the stinky tofu, but now I like it.” Hear ye, hear ye, citizens of Taida, there comes to our campus a new English lecturer who enjoys Taiwanese food. Lo and behold, ladies and lads, this interesting chap is our very own Mr. Giles Witton-Davies (朱杰佑)! Upon my arrival at his office, Mr. Witton-Davies welcomed me with a big friendly grin. Judging by his gentle British accent, I could tell in an instant that he hailed from the mighty United Kingdom of lore and legend. And, in fact, he was born in Oxford, the very site of the renowned University, not to mention the cradle of countless ingenious minds throughout history. An Englishman who enjoyed living in Spain Though I should have expected no less, I was still surprised to learn how exceptionally experienced Mr. Witton-Davies is at his profession. He told me he has been an English teacher for more than twenty years, when he found his first job in Italy. He then spent sixteen years in Spain before coming to Taiwan. “I was very young at that time,” he explained, “I was curious to see the world, so I went first to Italy, and then to Spain. I loved Spain so much. The Spanish people have a very happy way of life; they don’t care about money…” Other than his native language, he also has a good command of Spanish due to the long years he spent in Spain. Nonetheless, he has found it particularly difficult to learn Mandarin in Taiwan, partly because whenever he tried to speak Mandarin to the hospitable citizens of our country, they always replied in English! I guess this is something to be proud of, as it shows that more and more Taiwanese nowadays are capable of speaking and understanding English. As for life in Taipei, Mr. Witton-Davies had difficulty adapting to his new environment at first, because Taipei was a little too crowded compared to Spain. Moreover, the people here seem to be working too hard all the time. “I sometimes think they don’t enjoy life enough,” he added. Fortunately, when it comes to Taiwanese food, it was love at first taste. He’s happy to have found so many restaurants for vegetarians in Taiwan. He also praises the scenery in Taiwan as some of the most beautiful that he has ever seen. Revolutionary methods of teaching children English Mr. Witton-Davies specializes in the methodology of teaching children a second language. I therefore asked him if there was one best way of learning English for students of all ages. He suggested that a more effective way would be practicing as much as possible and increasing one’s exposure to English through reading and listening. These methods might sound like a cliché, but useful advice is always more easily said than done. He doesn’t believe that simply repeating sentence patterns is an effective way of learning English. Memorization of grammar rules does no more than kill children’s motivation to learn. “It just doesn’t work,” he emphasized, “Children like to do things with the language. They like to do activities, make things, listen to stories, and play games. In this manner, they’ll learn in a quite natural way.” How I wish I had been taught by Mr. Witton-Davies, so that I wouldn’t have “wasted” all my precious youth memorizing those inhuman rules that I still have trouble playing by even now! English gentlemen aren’t always so gentle I am always curious about other people’s philosophy of life, so I asked Mr. Witton-Davies about his belief of life. He smiled and dwelt upon it for a while. Then he said it would be a profound sympathy and love for the environment. It is like a primitive religion, one which believes in respect for nature and all its creatures. Which is why he would rather ride a bicycle than drive a car. He often goes up Yangmingshan by bike, but don’t be surprised, because Yangmingshan is just five minutes’ ride from Mr. Witton-Davies place in Tienmu. “People in Taiwan are usually very proud of their economic development, but I think they should be even more proud of the beauty of their country,” he said. When asked whether he brought his sons along on his cycling trips, he answered that he used to carry them on his back, but nowadays they have grown a bit too heavy. I then inquired about his sons’ education in Taiwan. Doesn’t he feel that the stressful educational environment in Taiwan plus the chaotic political atmosphere are unsuitable for growing children? He has a different point of view. He thought that kids in Taiwan were quite well behaved, as we don’t have as much trouble with young people committing crimes, taking drugs or fighting as in most western countries. “The idea people here have of an English gentleman is totally wrong,” he told me, chuckling. “Believe me, you might not feel safe walking down the street in England or Spain at night.” Anyhow, he added, he would definitely not send his children to cram schools. “I don’t want to spoil their youth,” he explained. Near the end, he shared a little secret with me: he is currently obsessed with playing the Flamenco Guitar, a kind of Spanish music. He showed me how the music sounded. I felt like dancing when I heard the fast-paced melody. And there you have it, my friends! Line up for his autograph and preorder his CDs while you can, because after his first performance in the upcoming “The Night of DFLL,” you might discover that the new kid in town is not only here to stay, but he’s gonna teach you a thing or two about painting the town red! Personal Information: Name: Giles Witton-Davies Degree: M.A., Univ. of Lancaster Specialties: Speaking proficiency and testingLearners’ errors, correction, and fossilization Teaching Children EnglishTask-based learning By Ellen Cheng
London’s East End, the 1880s. A dark and vast city of gas lamps and fog, like an archipelago of lights in a murky ocean. A sordid collection of alehouses and whorehouses unmatched in infamy. A wretched hive of scum, deceit, prostitution… and MURDER… “Jack the Ripper” was the moniker given to the serial killer who killed a number of prostitutes in London’s Whitechapel district in 1888. Hundreds of letters allegedly from the murderer were sent to the police. Two letters in particular, which were written by the same individual, actually gave rise to the name “Jack the Ripper.” It is unclear just how many women the Ripper killed, though it is generally accepted that he killed five. Unfortunately, due to the lack of forensic knowledge and professionalism in the investigation of the crime scenes and the handling of evidence, the officers of Scotland Yard were unable to identify Jack the Ripper. This Mysterious Monster’s identity has remained unknown for the past hundred years. If these murders had taken place in the present day, with our wealth of forensic knowledge and techniques, the Ripper would surely have found a quick way back to Hell. Case One: Martha Tabram. The first victim, Martha Tabram, was stabbed 39 times in the torso, neck, and private parts with a knife or dagger. The examination report didn’t mention that the throat had been slashed or her abdomen extensively mutilated; in fact, there wasn’t even a description of the corpse. At that time, the coroner’s job was mostly done by the local doctor. A Dr. Rees Llewellyn was called in to examine the body. In the examination report, he wrote that her clothes were “disheveled” without describing precisely how. Describing how the clothes were disheveled can provide a lot of useful information: Did the attack happen while she was undressing? Did the murderer arrange her clothes afterwards? Were the clothes taken off, torn, or ripped? Back in the 18th century, clothes were treated as a way to identify the victim rather than as evidence. Therefore, the clothes were usually thrown away or even donated to the poor after the victim had been identified. Since Martha was stabbed 39 times, the crime scene should have been covered with an enormous amount of blood. However, the report mentioned nothing about how much blood was lost or a blood pattern analysis. Fingerprinting, blood typing, and other staples of forensic technique had not yet been developed for police use. Even photographing the victims was not part of the standard procedure. There was no crime laboratory at Scotland Yard until the 1930s; it is little wonder then that the death of Martha Tabram was investigated with perhaps even so little care. Case Two: Mary Ann (Polly) Nichols. Mary Ann’s throat was slashed twice from ear to ear, cutting through her windpipe and esophagus. She had been killed where her body was found, even though there was very little blood on the ground. Most of the lost blood had soaked into her heavy and thick clothes. The corpse was taken to the mortuary on Old Montague Street, which was part of the workhouse there. While the body was being stripped and washed by the groundskeeper, ghastly details were discovered – her abdomen had been wounded and mutilated. Twelve hours later, the police called Dr. Llewellyn back for a more detailed examination. We know that the longer you wait to examine the corpse, the more difficult it is to estimate the time of death. Since at that time, the process of measuring body temperature was not involved in the examination, the only thing used to determine the time of death was the word of eyewitnesses. However, since the corpse had already been “cleaned up” before the examination, Dr. Llewellyn was unable to verify in detail what the Ripper had done to her. The photographs of the corpse were taken by a big wooden box camera. This kind of camera was difficult to move and could only take photographs from the front; therefore, the corpse would have had to be leaned against a wall or hung up with steel hooks while the pictures were being taken. What’s more, only a few victims’ photographs were filed away, while others were either lost or stolen. The few photographs that remained were often small and fuzzy, but enlargement would have only made them worse. Besides, no photographs of the crime scene were taken at all. Therefore, there were no other visual records concerning the case of Jack the Ripper. It is impossible to determine how many mistakes were made or pieces of evidence were lost. But there is one thing that we can be sure of: the Ripper must have left lots of clues to his identity: fingerprints, hair, and bits of fabric that could have been found on the victim or at the crime scene. These clues have been lost forever. Case Three: Catharine Eddowes. Catharine’s body was found in a dark alley with a mutilated face. A cut that went through the lower left eyelid had literally burst the eyeball like a grape. There was a deep cut over the bridge of the nose extending from the left border of the nasal bone down near to the angle of the jaw on the right side. The tip of the nose had been sheared off. The tissues of the neck were severed all the way down to the bone, the breasts had been sliced off, and the arms were mutilated by several jagged wounds. The whole of the surface of the abdomen and thighs had been removed, and the abdominal cavity had been emptied of its viscera. Since the crime scene was located outdoors, the corpse had already begin to decay. The most important piece of evidence in a murder case is the victim’s body; thus anything that’s related to the body should also be carefully preserved. When a murder takes place nowadays, the police would seal the crime scene and call more officers to protect the area while waiting for the coroner to come. Meanwhile, photographs of the crime scene would be taken, and there would be police officers observing the crowds – because according to criminology, murderers love to hide in the crowd and to watch people fuss over their handiwork. Another important piece of evidence at a crime scene is footprints. However, not even one footprint was discovered at the Ripper’s crime scene. It’s hard to imagine how a bloodstained Jack the Ripper could have walked away without leaving any footprints. Modern forensic tools would have discovered those hidden clues; as it was, the investigators were apparently satisfied with their job and left it at that. The Ripper’s victims might be considered a coroner’s nightmare since their bodies contained human fluids from different customers and were discovered in unsanitary conditions; however, a determined detective with the right knowledge and technology at his disposal would still have been able to latch onto the trail of the visitor from Hell. Even after years and years of study on the case of Jack the Ripper by a legion of scholars and experts, his identity remains unproven today. Due to the lack of evidence and photographs, and carelessly written examination reports, it is impossible to solve the question even with modern forensic knowledge. If the crime scenes could be transferred to modern times, the collection and preservation of evidence would be handled much more professionally, and the identity of the Ripper, be he monster, demon, or man, would be a secret no more. by Cathy Lai
Are you tired of Hollywood movies? There are other choices, especially movie festivals that show non-commercial movies. While Hollywood movies feature famous stars and special effects, these films are more humble and yet more honest and true to the idea of the cinema. These filmmakers are artists rather than businessmen. They convey messages and feelings and concerns about society. Take one recent Taiwanese movie: Splendid Float (豔光四射歌舞團). A-wei, one of the performers of the splendid float, is a Taoist priest in the daytime, and transforms into a dazzling transvestite named Rose at night. While the Splendid Float was touring around giving performances at weddings, funerals, and all kinds of feasts, A-wei meets A-young and falls in love. But A-young is drowned. In the film’s final scenes A-wei and A-young dance one final dance, like a dream, indistinct, hazy, and sorrowful. According to one of the actors in the film, the last few scenes are both illusory and real at the same time, which means that when people cross the boundary between life and death, or between male and female they can be rid of the constraints of social conventions. This is the true heaven, in which there are no more taboos and all conflicting elements eventually fuse together. This is what the director and screenwriter, Zero, wants to convey. And this the real meaning of the slogan, “Let the Splendid Float guide you to eternal heaven,” which in the film becomes a profound pun. I learned that there were also some strange occurrences when they shot the final scenes on location. First they had a traffic accident when they started rehearsing, and then when they went to the riverbank park under the Hua-jiang Bridge, the director received a text message from one of the actors who then claimed that he never sent it. The cast became frightened and hurried to burn incense and paper money as an offering to the spirits of the dead and begged for their tolerance when shooting the scene. They shot without incident ever since. Splendid Float is the first film to feature drag queens in Taiwan. It makes us think again about gender issues. But it also records Taiwanese customs faithfully, and is woven with colorful illusions and visions. The music has also been highly praised for its reflection of Taiwanese motifs. Splendid Float is a marvelous film. Yet the movie did not get enough financial support, so that the director is still in debt more than NT 2,000,000. Zero had been planning and working on the film for many years, and it was always her dream to make this movie. She has spent more than seven years working on documentaries to record images of homosexual people in Taiwan. Her movies express her concerns about life, and often make audience ponder over life’s many paradoxes. Taiwanese films are valuable since they are culture conscious. They present local customs, our attitude toward life, our way of thinking and living, and what dilemmas we face. In Splendid Float I see a typical Taiwanese film, having both an easygoing tone and a deeper meaning at the same time. According to one of the actors, there are no “typical” Taiwanese movies, because there are many styles. Whatever the case, we must be aware of the fact that we have our own distinctive culture and therefore should cherish our own rather than envy others’. There are artists making efforts to document our culture and to express their concerns over controversial issues in Taiwanese society. Seldom do these moviemakers get enough financial support, and their audiences are small. But we should do our best to support them. These are great films and we can feel touched so much that we love our culture even more. |
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May 2024
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