By Steffi Liu
Have you ever thought of the possibility that the environment around you can look very differently from the way it does right now? Javacheff Cristo, who defines himself as an environmental artist, has been making this idea come true. He creates a special form of art by wrapping buildings and objects so that they don’t look familiar anymore. What he has worked on includes fountains, towers, bridges, and even a piece of the Australian coastline. Cristo was born into an industrialist family in Bulgaria; he studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Sofia and escaped from Prague to the West. He met his wife, Jeanne-Claude, in Paris when he was commissioned to do a portrait of her mother. They have been working together since his first outdoor work, although they declared that Cristo was the artist and Jeanne-Claude was the manager and organizer. Wrapped Coast, Little Bay is located 9 miles, southeast of the center of Sydney. The cliff-lined shore area that was wrapped is approximately 1.5 miles long, 150 to 800 feet wide, and 85 feet high. One million square feet of erosion control fabric (synthetic woven fiber usually manufactured for agricultural purposes), were used for the wrapping. 17,000 manpower hours, over a period of four weeks, were expended by 15 professional mountain climbers, 110 laborers, architecture and art students from the University of Sydney and East Sydney Technical College, as well as a number of Australian artists and teachers. The coast remained wrapped for a period of 7 weeks from October 28, 1969. Because of the subjects he chooses, works of Cristo’s tend to be monumental and temporary. He usually spends a lot of time waiting to get permission to work on chosen buildings, and has to undo his work in the end so that everything returns to original state. Since he believes that nothing exists forever, the fact that his artworks may not last long doesn’t bother him. As for the size of his works, he never considers them huge, “It appears to be monumental only because it’s art; human beings do much bigger things: they build giant airports, highways for thousands of miles, much, much bigger than what we create.” Cristo does not classify his work as just painting or sculpture, although it has elements of both. He thinks it’s more like environmental planning, or architecture, though he believes that it’s really not necessary to label it. “We believe that labels are very important, but for bottles of wine, not for art, so we usually don’t like to put a label on our art.” The ideas they want to convey count more – by temporarily disrupting one part of the environment, both rural and urban areas around the world, the couple believe that people will be able to perceive our human environment with new eyes and new consciousness.
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By I-mei Ling
Perhaps you’ve never appreciated the power of nature in Wordsworth, or you’re still mystified about the value of T. S. Eliot’s works. Maybe you don’t even like literature. However, don’t despair. Forget about classics for a while and delve into the other world of popular literature/genre fiction. These books may not survive after a hundred years, but they can still be entertaining and enlightening. The following is a list of books which, hopefully, will provide a good read on a day when you don’t feel like studying: 1. Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia—“You must know me only as Sultana. I cannot reveal my true name for fear harm will come to me and my family for what I am to tell you.” Thus begins the story of Sultana, and her fascinating, yet chilling narrative of life as a Saudi princess. Imagine being able to purchase seventeen gowns of the same color at one sitting in London, but having to witness relatives, friends, or strangers circumcised, raped, imprisoned, or stoned to death. Chapter after chapter, Sultana relates her anger for victimized women and her struggles to prevent tragedies, though in most cases, in vain. Power does not come with wealth, as long as she is a woman. This book is no Nobel winner, but it is guaranteed to leave a lasting impression. 2. The Other Boleyn Girl—In this book, Philippa Gregory pulls off a spectacular retelling of the history of Anne Boleyn , told from the perspective of her overlooked sister, Mary Boleyn (hence the title). Despite the historic setting, the author narrates the story in simple English, and succeeds in making the readers live and breathe in Tudor England. The characters are three-dimensional with their strengths and flaws, and their problems on love, lust, incest, and homosexuality are sprinkled throughout the book. A must for fans of historic fiction. 3. Crocodile on a Sandbank—If you like mysteries, you’ve probably read through Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, or contemporary works such as Sue Grafton’s alphabet mystery series. How about something that’s not your typical murder mystery? Featuring an unconventional Victorian gentlewoman, Elizabeth Peter’s Crocodile on a Sandbank will transport you to nineteenth-century Egypt complete with the Nile, mummies, tombs, and a kidnapper lurking in the shadows. The mystery may be weaker compared to the classics, but the plot is tight, the setting intriguing, and the characters well-delineated. There’s even a good dose of humor. And there are a dozen more books after this one, resulting in an unusual, remarkable mystery series. 4. The Nanny Diaries—If contemporary stuff is more your thing, take a peek at New York City’s wealthy elite through the eyes of an NYU senior working as a nanny. Former nannies, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, have turned their experiences into fiction, using anonymous names for important characters, including the protagonist (Nanny), her employer (Mrs. X), and even Nanny’s boyfriend (H.H., aka Harvard Hottie). Underneath the glittering wealth lies a strong undercurrent of serious social problems, such as insane competition, extramarital affairs, overworked people, and most of all, children starving for love. Achingly painful yet managing to be side-splittingly funny at the same time, The Nanny Diaries will not only keep you turning the pages, but also cause you to think after you close the book. 5. The Blue Castle—You probably all know Lucy Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. However, Montgomery has also created a lot of hidden gems which are also worth reading, including The Blue Castle. Twenty-nine-year-old Valancy, unmarried and unattractive, has never experienced great joy or pain. However, when a doctor diagnosed that she has only a year to live, Valancy decides to change herself. Once a docile daughter, she starts to speak her mind, shocking her bossy mother and relatives. For example, when her mother reprimands her behavior, “Valancy, your poor father would turn over in his grave if he could hear you,” Valancy replies, “I dare say he would like that for a change.” Though the plot may seem cliché, the writing is exquisitely handled, the dialogue delightfully witty and humorous, and the characters stand out, from clownish Uncle Benjamin, hypocritical Mrs. Frederick, sweet Cecily, to the enigmatic Barney Snaith. A story that has a strong message without being didactic. 6. Redwall–When it comes to fantasy, you’d probably think about dragons, warriors, magic spells, and so on. Brian Jacques’ Redwall is your typical action adventure fantasy, a battle between good and evil, but this time the characters are all animals–mice, squirrels, sparrows, moles, and even a terrifying adder. The protagonist, a clumsy but good-hearted mouse, Matthias, will have you rooting for him to the end, and the villain, Cluny the Scourge, isn’t just pure evil either, he’s got brains. Oh, and there are about seventeen books in the series for those who can’t get enough of this imaginative universe. You won’t find any deep meaningful pearls of wisdom in this book, but if you like a good ol’ fashioned epic tale (featuring animals, for a change), then this is for you. If you’re interested, you may find any of these books at Page One bookstore in Taipei 101. Of course, you might discover a lot more exciting books, whether it be an action-packed thriller or a cheesy romance. Happy reading! By Heather Ma
Imagine you and your friends are sitting in a restaurant which serves wine, beer, and genuine western food. The lights are dim and the atmosphere is relaxing. The CD plays jazzily in the background, and a handsome waiter smiles at you when he passes by. It resembles a scene in paradise, but I never feel carefree, because I am alert and concentrating on making people comfortable. That’s my job–waiting tables. I’ve long been interested in the restaurant business. In order to learn the business in practice before graduation, I recently gave up being a NT$500-per-hour tutoring job and turned to a restaurant in which I earn a mere 90 dollars per hour. I was assigned to the bar area, from where my adventure started. The first morning I reported for duty, the restaurant wasn’t open to customers yet, and it took me ten minutes to find the staff entrance. The first thing I learned: the door for customers, which is located on the main street, is always eye-catching, bright with neon signs and decorations like Christmas trees. But the door for the staff is hidden in a back alley, old and shabby, with stacks of cardboard cases and sacks of garbage. You’d never know these two doors were to the same restaurant. In most restaurants the kitchen is right inside the staff door. I was glad to see that every cook wears a cap and apron in the kitchen, and thus that the food was guaranteed hair-free and without the sweat dripping from their foreheads. You can eat without worry unless you ask them how many times a YEAR they wash their black aprons. All you can do is to pray. Pray that they don’t dry their hands off on their aprons or that the food never touches them or that anything sticking to them from last year doesn’t accidentally fall into your clam chowder. I asked the cooks how they dealt with the rats. The answer was: fatten them up and keep them in the kitchen! A joke, of course. I see rat traps everywhere. But where there is food, there is a rat. Trust me, even five-star hotels feed their own rats, too. In the morning I come to work half an hour to a hour before opening. Wax the whole bar and wipe the chairs. Carry two buckets of ice cubes from the kitchen to the bar. Everything the customers can see has to be prepared well before they come in. So I was told the number one rule is, if you are late to work, just arrange the things that customers can see first. But later I realized this rule applies not only to the opening time, but also to the cleaning. For anything that customers can see, even a fingerprint is not allowed. On the contrary, for things that they can’t see…hmmm…anything could happen. Managing a restaurant is not merely about food, but also about a bunch of trivial things and rules. For example, one thing that you would never think of about running a restaurant is that they even have a designated gathering place for staff after escaping from fire accidents! Running a restaurant is not easy. Being a waitress is even more difficult for me. I study hard and am a good student. But working in a restaurant, nobody cares that you are from NTU or on the dean’s list. If you are looking for a place where true equality is practiced, a restaurant is the place! As a business student, I’ve learned much about how to manage a company. But here, I learn the restaurant business from scratch and build my confidence in the realm of food and drink from square one. Who would ever remember that Heineken is from Holland, San Miguel is from the Philippines, Miller and Coors are from America, Guinness is from England, Tiger is from Singapore, Carlsberg is from Denmark, and Corona is from Mexico? The only thing I know is that Taiwan beer is from Taiwan! But working as a waitress, you have to know all of them, because some customers really care. For ketchup we use Heinz (the most well-known brand in the world), and for chili sauce we use Tabasco (also the most well-known brand). Mustard, A1 sauce, HP sauce, horseradish…sorry I can’t remember anymore. So many kinds of sauce I never heard of, let alone their brands. Besides, I have the names of newspapers to memorize. We have the Wall Street Journal, Taipei Times, Taiwan News, China Post, Apple News. When customers ask me what newspapers we have, I can feel a fierce desire in me to shout at them “Why don’t you just walk ten steps and see for yourself?” The truth is I want to serve them perfectly. It’s just that there are too many trivial things that drive me crazy. That’s not all. I have to remember which condiments go with which meal, and what sauce goes with which appetizer. Before this, cheese was nothing more than cheese for me. Now, it’s about Swiss cheese, Cheddar cheese, American cheese, and bleu cheese. Chances are most of the frequenters here know the menu much better than I do. Usually it’s them helping me instead of me helping them. What’s absurd is that, before, I could enter any restaurant and easily point out what they should improve. But now things have totally changed since I started working as a waitress. I have to chat with customers while making drinks for others. Meanwhile, I have to be attentive to the customers’ facial expressions or body language, which to a certain degree reveal their feelings toward the food, but still remain appropriately alert to mean customers who could probably cheat you with counterfeit money or some nasty tricks. The job is all about multitasking. Out of all those things, I could neglect one of them unconsciously, and in doing so dissatisfy a customer or enrage the boss, eventually forfeiting possible tips and reducing my already low wages. The more challenges I confront, the more attraction I find in the restaurant business. One thing very important is that whether the restaurant kitchen is dirtier or cleaner than your own, it’s always good to have someone thoughtfully serving you delicious food that is difficult to make by yourself. In addition, restaurants also provide an enjoyable atmosphere as well as a place to celebrate special occasions with loved ones. There are several things that you cannot provide for yourself, like fancy food and an enjoyable atmosphere. We make them all for you. Because in your smile we see the value of all our hard work. By Tina Tseng
FOR SALE: 24 small children that come with their original warranty papers and clothing. All are ages 2-5, and have many years of experience in the Japanese language. Shipping costs vary depending on order size. The above description was taken from a real eBay auction posted on February 20, 1999. If you think no one would take such a posting seriously, then you’re wrong. The auction ended with five bidders. Out of curiosity, I looked up the seller’s member profile and read through his buyer feedback. To my surprise, out of the thirteen responses, nine were positive comments about his delivery of children. Here is some of the feedback: “Timely shipment, but three of the kids were Mexican! Please advertise properly.” “Kids delivered as promised. Hard workers.” “Quickest response time I’ve ever seen, but some suffocated on the way over.” I bet Pierre Omidyar never saw this coming when he founded eBay in 1995. The online auction mechanism was meant to be a positive place for people to set up their own businesses and find great bargain deals. In Omidyar’s words, “Ebay has helped people pursue their individual passions and discover their own power to make good things happen.” As it turned out, people did go for their own passions, and, boy, what passions they have! Everyone at some point in his or her life must have wished to exchange lives with someone else for a day or even a month. Instead of going to your school, meeting your friends, and living in your own home, you could literally lead another life. How is that possible, you may ask? Well, sure enough, go to eBay! A college student in Tallahassee, Florida auctioned his own life at USD 10,100. For that price, he will not only fill the bidder in on everything about his life but also help the bidder hook up with all his ex girlfriends. At least he’s selling his own life and not like this other guy who set his fiancée up for sale with a starting bid of USD 1.00! The most recent one I’ve found is someone putting her father’s ghost up for sale. The story goes that this woman’s son believed that his grandfather’s spirit was haunting their house. To appease her son, the woman decided to auction her father’s spirit form, which took the shape of the old man’s walking cane. The bid ended at USD 75,000. Whether that money really changed hands hangs in the air. You may be wondering, doesn’t eBay have regulations against the selling of prohibited and illegal items? Sure, eBay has a whole list of “Prohibited and Restricted Items” on its website, but with more than 3.6 million postings added daily, it is impossible for the company to screen advertisements. Used clothing, for example, has to be thoroughly cleaned before being sold. (How can they tell from a picture?) Human parts and remains, faces, names and signatures, downloadable media, brand name misuse, forged autographed items, and counterfeit items are a just few categories on the restriction list. But, really, how hard is it to type out the words “authentic” in front of the item description? Where there’s a rule, people will always be bound to break it. But isn’t it fun to see what kinds of weird things you can come up with and try to sell them off at outrageous prices? Next time, instead of suing someone, how about listing the person for sale on eBay? By Cathy Lai
Have you met future you or past you in person? Have you met your counterpart in another department? I’m talking about two systems for freshmen to get socialized when entering the university: upper- and under-classmates and “study buddies.” When you first enter a new school you aren’t even sure where anything is and everyone else is as shy as you are. At this desperate moment, someone who looks like an experienced elder student can come to rescue you. The next year it’s your turn to do something in return—to take care of a newcomer, your under-classmate. Upper-classmates teach under-classmates what to do in school. In most cases, your upper- and under-classmates have the same student number as you; the only difference is your entrance year. Once upon a time six upper- and under-classmates from the Taipei First Girls’ Senior High School went to dinner. The participants included a junior in high school, an NTU freshman, a sophomore (me), a junior, and a senior. We also had an upper-classmate who had graduated from the university. We talked a lot about our lives and it all seemed so familiar. The high school student talked about how much she wanted to enter NTU. The freshman talked about her great visions for the future and her desire for success. As a sophomore I confessed that I spent a lot of time on the bbs, playing volleyball, and wasting time on other trifles. The junior said she lived almost the same life as me, but she was desperately trying to change. The senior appeared more open-minded and relaxed. She had bowed to the inevitable destiny—that is, graduate and find a job. However, she sometimes regretted all her wasted time and wished she could have had more professional knowledge. The girl who had graduated just listened to our tragic play and remarked: “It’ll be alright! See, even I fit into society well!” I sensed through all of this how many similarities there were between us. I see my former self in my under-classmates and I have the hunch that I may have exactly the same fate as my upper-classmates in the future. Now we are in different phases of life, but in the end we all go through the same things. “All the world’s a stage!” The future appears to be too serious. Let’s see if the “study buddies” system works any better. Can it help us find a potential life partner, a husband, or a wife? When you enter college, you choose a Public Relations representative to work for your “happiness,” which means he or she might be able to find your “better half.” His or her job is to collaborate with representatives from other departments and decide (in very mysterious ways) who your “study buddies” are. After three days your study buddy will contact you (because certain “chasing guidelines” suggest that three days is an appropriate period—you can’t make the other party feel that you are hasty or desperate, but you also don’t want to make them think you are waiting too long). Rumors say that the “study buddies” system produces romance. And it’s not just a rumor. One of my classmates makes a perfect couple with her study buddy in Electrical Engineering, which makes me very envious. Other study buddies help my classmates with their school work, such as calculus and computer science, or with their extracurricular activities, which makes me envious, too. Because none of my study buddies contacted me. I wonder why. I AM a good person! I’m NOT ugly or fierce. It’s said that some people investigate before really contacting their study buddies, and some people even pay bribes to acquire a good-looking, popular study buddy. I think this hurts people’s feelings a little bit. As the old saying goes, “Never judge anything by its appearance.” It is true that we all imagine romantic situations: to find out that your study buddy is a popular superstar, you chat with him or her about everything and become good friends, and in the end he or she becomes your boyfriend or girlfriend. Such plots happen by chance, not by strategy. If you consider study buddies as a dating game, it’s really a distortion of its original meaning. I think we shouldn’t expect too much out of it; it’s just to make friends, to get to know other people. Oh dear it seems I’m being too serious again! Students needn’t be so worried about their well-being; your perfect mate will just show up one day. Just don’t forget to have fun seriously—I mean, with the right attitude! By Jeremy Chou
Screwdriver. Singapore Sling. Tequila Sunrise. Cosmopolitan. Hurricane. Have you ever been perplexed with these fancy cocktail names? Or been enchanted with their diverse colors and tastes? Want to make a punch at a gathering or party? Now let’s unveil the secrets of cocktails. A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink which uses vodka, gin, rum, tequila, whiskey, brandy, or liqueur as base, flavored with fruit juice, grenadine, soda water, tonic water, syrup, honey, etc., and usually served chilled. There are more than 60 kinds of glasses or vessels for cocktails. A fussy bartender will stick to the right glass for a specific cocktail. There are five methods in making a cocktail: shake, stir, build, blend, and float. Though the ingredients of a specific cocktail may vary, the methods of making them are rather fixed. 1. Shake: Fill up a cocktail shaker with ice and then pour in the ingredients. Close the lid and then shake it hard, making the ingredients thoroughly mixed and chilled by the ice. Then the drink is strained into a glass. (Straight-up cocktails are poured out through a strainer into an empty glass, while on-the-rocks drinks are poured out through a strainer into a glass full of fresh ice. Ice cubes from the shaker are held in the strainer after the straining process.) 2. Stir: Fill up a container with ice and then pour in the ingredients. Slide a swizzle stick or a barspoon down the inside of the wall and then rotate at least six times. Strain the drink into another glass and serve. Stirring a drink with ice dilutes it by around 10%. 3. Build: Add ice into the glass that will be served. Pour in all the ingredients and everything is done. 4. Blend: The ingredients are poured into a blender cup with ice and then placed on the electric blender base unit. Then the drink is thoroughly blended, becoming a smooth and thick mixture, which is then poured into a glass. Blending a drink with ice dilutes it by at least 40%. 5. Float: Floating is also referred to as layering. After the first beverage is poured into the glass, a spoon is lightly rested on top. Carefully pour the second beverage over the spoon, forming another layer. Two or three separate layers of beverage create a fantastic visual effect. Here are some cocktail recipes: Blue Hawaii 4 parts vodka, 4 parts lime juice, 3 parts blue curacao Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a double rocks glass. Float with Galliano if possible. Garnish with a pineapple slice or a cherry. Pink Lady 3 parts gin, 3 parts grenadine, 1 part lemon juice Shake all ingredients with an egg white or some cream. Strain into a cocktail glass. Sex on the Beach 3 parts vodka, 1 part peach schnapps, 3 parts cranberry juice, 3 parts orange juice Build in the order given in an ice-filled highball glass. There have been more than 1000 named cocktail recipes, and new formulas can always be concocted with ingenuity. Look for more recipes on the internet and see if you can invent some other fantastic ones. http://www.cocktaildb.com/ http://www.kingcocktail.com/Rcpemenu.htm In Taiwan, licenses for professional bartenders have been issued since 2001. Most utensils and ingredients are available at malls or supermarkets. Try to be an amateur cocktail maker and treat your friends. FAQ Q: What is the origin of the term cocktail? A: Actually, there are many answers. Here are some of the most popular: 1. The term originally denoted “a tail like a cock,” referring to a non- thoroughbred racehorse with a cock-tailed horse in its pedigree; hence cocktail is associated with the concept of hybrid or mixture. 2. The word derives from the French word “coquetier” – an egg-cup. In New Orleans, circa 1795, Antoine Peychaud held social gatherings and served brandy toddies in egg-cups. 3. It originates from the French “coquetel,” a mixed drink known in the Bordeaux region for several centuries. It was perhaps carried to America by General Lafayette in 1777. 4. During the Revolutionary War, Betsy Flanagan served as a barmaid in a tavern, which was frequented by American and French soldiers. One day, some soldiers stole male pheasants from an Englishman and had a meal of roast chicken. While drinking, they toasted to Besty’s drink and said, “Here’s to the divine liquor which is as delicious to the palate, as the cock’s tails are beautiful to the eye.” Then a French officer replied, “Vive le cocktail.” 5. It derives from cock-ale, a meal of bread fortified with mixed spirits, which was fed to fighting cocks before a contest to inflame them. It was later taken up by humans. Cock-ale was popular in England during the 17th and 18th centuries. 6. It comes from cock tailings. A cock in the 19th century was a tap or spigot, and tailings referred to the dregs of a cask of spirits. The tailings would be drained out through the spigots and sold as a cheap drink. Colonel Carter was said to be the initiator. 7. A Toltec noble offered a mixed drink by the hand of his daughter, Coctel, to the Aztec king, Axolot VIII. The king endowed the drink with her name. Later on, the term was brought to the United States by soldiers returning from the Mexican War. 8. Claudius, a doctor in ancient Rome, mixed a drink consisting of wine, lemon juice, and dried herbs. He named it “cockwine.” 9. It is so called because it is a drink that will cock your tail (knock your socks off). Q: What is the “punch” served in a large bowl at a party? A: The word “punch” is probably a loanword from the name of a Hindi beverage – “panc,” which is a mixture of arrack, lemon, tea, sugar, and water. In the 18th century, arrack was imported to Northern Europe and became the base of a “punsch.” Today, punch refers to a juice-based mixed drink, usually blended with spices and liquor. Q: Can I use beer or wine as the base of a cocktail? A: Beer is made from grains, whereas wine is made from grapes. Both are not distilled after fermentation, so they are different from bases for a cocktail. The definition of a cocktail is stricter than that of a mixed drink. A mixed drink with beer or wine as a base may not be recognized as a cocktail by some. However, a few non-alcoholic mixed beverages are viewed as cocktail by others. Cocktails in Literature “He could hang about a bar-room discussing the affairs of the nation, for twelve hours together; and in that time could hold forth with more intolerable dullness, chew more tobacco, smoke more tobacco, drink more rum-toddy, mint-julep, gin-sling, and cock-tail, than any private gentleman of his acquaintance.” ~Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, 1844 “Did ye iver try a brandy cocktail, Cornel?” ~ William Thackeray, The Newcomes, 1855 “Here, Bill, drink some cocktail.” ~Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown’s Schooldays, 1857 By Kristen Huang
It seems that the most popular illness now is “depression disorder.” Almost every day doctors and experts are talking about depression on TV, in magazines, or in the newspapers. The World Health Organization even considers depression one of the three major diseases of the twenty-first century, along with cancer and AIDS. But do people truly know what depression disorder is? Some suffer depression but are not aware of it; some are just in a blue mood and don’t really suffer from depression. How do I know if I am depressed or just in a bad mood? What is depression disorder? Depression disorder, also called “melancholia,” is a disease, just as diabetes, heart disease, or any other illness. This disease is caused by an imbalance of brain chemicals, together with other factors. Normally brain chemicals serve as messengers, helping nerve cells communicate with one another, and they also affect our mood. When the available supply of the chemical messengers is low, nerve cells can’t communicate with each other effectively. This results in the symptoms of depression. Some people’s knowledge of depression is wrong. First, as with any disease, depression is not something to be ashamed of. Instead of a character flaw or a sign of a weak personality, depression is just an illness that requires medical treatment. Without proper treatment, the illness may do injury to a person’s relationships and career. A recent survey in the US indicated that depression is second only to heart disease in causing lost workdays. Secondly, depression is an illness that influences the entire body, not solely the mind. It is different from the “blue mood” which one can snap out of, as it not only affects mental situations but also harms psychological health—just as no sufferer of diabetes can snap out of the disease. One study even shows that major depression is the leading cause of disability. According to statistics, one in five people suffers depression during his or her lifetime; at any given time, millions of people are suffering from depression. The disease is also the leading cause of alcoholism, drug abuse, and other addictions. It is not only harmful to our lives but also affects the lives of those around us. Depression is not just a mere trifle. Who becomes depressed? Depression affects all ages, races, and both genders. However, women suffer from depression nearly twice as much as men do. According to research conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health, the lifetime prevalence of depression is 15%; it could even reach 25﹪among women. Also, people with certain risk factors are more likely to become depressed, such as traumatic life experiences, suffering from other diseases and taking medication, substance abuse, hormonal changes, or a family history of depression. In some cases, the reason remains unknown: all we know is that the imbalance of certain brain chemicals caused the illness. What are the symptoms? There are a number of signs and symptoms helping doctors determine whether a person has depression: · Depressed, persistently sad, empty, or irritable mood almost every day · Frequent feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, helplessness, or guilt · Frequent thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts · Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed, including sex · Insomnia, sleeping too much, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping · A sudden change in weight or appetite (loss, or overeating and weight gain) · Constant fatigue or loss of energy, being “slowed down” · Difficulty concentrating, making decisions, or remembering · Observable agitation, irritability, or restlessness · Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain If one has more than five symptoms lasting for two weeks or more, he or she probably has been suffering from major depression; with three or four symptoms lasting for three months, one might have dysthymia; if two of the symptoms above last for a long period of time, it could be either chronic depression or dysthymia. However, this is for reference only since symptoms may vary from person to person. If you doubt whether you have depression or you have some of the symptoms above, seek the assistance of a doctor. Treatment of Depression As mentioned above, depression is not something one can snap out of, just as no one can snap out of diabetes or high blood pressure; therefore proper medical treatment is necessary. Although some people suffer depression during their lifetime, it is still treatable in more than 80% of those who have it. Nevertheless, fewer than two-thirds of people with depression ever seek proper treatment. The reason could be the lack of understanding that depression should be treated by a medical professional, or they feel too ashamed to admit having the problem. The depressed feeling itself could also be a barrier for those people to take action. We should be alert to such a situation because untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide. Statistics show that suicide has become one of the ten major causes of death in Taiwan, and subjects in nearly 70% of these cases are people suffering from depression. Be sure to seek help from a medical professional if you have doubts or suffer from some common symptoms of depression. Though there is no definite test to examine depression, doctors still have certain ways to do it. Firstly the doctor will try to exclude physical causes, such as thyroid dysfunction, and then ask a series of questions covering family history, past and current medical problems, and current state of mind. Past episodes of depression will also be taken into consideration. After these processes, the doctor will use the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) to determine if the patient has depression, and if so, which form. Treatment is then administered. The treatment usually contains medication or therapy or both, depending on the form of depression. Thus a proper diagnosis is of vital importance for determining the treatment. Different types of antidepressant medications are available. Patients usually tend to stop medication too soon as they begin to feel better or see improvement in the first few weeks. In most cases, however, to see the full therapeutic effect, antidepressant medications should be taken regularly for at least three to four weeks. For people with chronic major depression, medication may have to be maintained indefinitely. Self-screening 1. Do you often feel overwhelmed or unable to deal with the stresses of everyday life? 2. Do you often feel sad or upset for no apparent reason? 3. Do you lack energy, motivation or concentration? Do you fail to make decisions? 4. Have you lost interest in activities that you were once enjoyed? 5. Do you experience episodes of intense, panicked anxiety? 6. Are you often agitated, nervous or irritable? 7. Do you have difficulty sleeping? Or are you sleeping too much? 8. Do you manage to make yourself disappear? Do you feel like hurting yourself? 9. Do you often feel miserable? Where can I get help? Since depression influences so many aspects of life, it is crucial to know who and when to talk about it. Reaching out to the right people at the right time may bring great support and improve the chances for successful treatment. The following websites include more information about depression and some hospital psychiatry departments. http://www.psychology.org.tw/miindex.htm (Phone numbers of hospitals) http://www.tcpc.gov.tw/index.asp (Taipei City Psychiatric Center) http://www.psychology.org.tw/psypath.htm (Introduction of common mental illnesses) http://www.chgh.org.tw/ (Cheng Hsin Rehabilitation Medical Center) http://www.mhf.org.tw/2003new/index.php (Mental Health Foundation) http://www.ilife.org.tw/ (Local society) http://www.taconet.com.tw/psydanny Remember depression is a medical condition that should and can be treated. If you doubt that you or someone you know has depression, it is important to seek help. The doctor can offer an answer for you. If you simply feel down, don’t worry! by Emma Hsu
If you make a trip to New York, where American Hip-Hop culture flourishes, you might enroll at a hip-hop class like my friend I-mei did. But what if you got to go to the capital of the Czech Republic? After savoring I-mei’s story in The Foreign Exchange, I decided to take up the quill and jot down a related personal experience: a ballet class in “the Pearl of Europe”–Prague. As a birthday gift for myself I spent every penny I had earned for the past three years, plucked up all my courage and set out on a journey to Europe as a lone backpacker. Being a dance lover since my very first glimpse of a pink tutu, I managed to seize every opportunity to attend dance classes during the trip. I had longed to visit Prague, and made it the city where I stayed for the longest time. My friend Jirka, who ran a Chinese tearoom in Prague, was more than willing to help me find a dance studio. After explaining a dozen times that it was his friend, not he, who wanted to register for the ballet class, he got me into a dance camp which lasted for a week. Upon arriving in Prague I followed his vague and ominous instructions (“Tanecni Dance Center, metro red and green, then tram uphill until some dense woods where bodies of tourists might be buried”) and located the studio in the suburbs of Prague, just in time before class began. To picture the interior of the studio most vividly, just think of Edgar Degas’ painting Dance Class. Smooth hardwood floors, silver exercise bars, huge windows, black velvet curtains, and a beautiful piano standing in the glorious sunshine. Anyway, I was nearly ecstatic at the sight of a piano in the corner of the enormous studio, but after glancing at my fellow students I realized that I was the only ugly duckling in view. And all those skinny, pretty, long-necked girls seemed bewildered when they looked at me, and I was filled with uneasiness. This place is nothing like New York or any other big multicultural city. It’s more like The Stepford Wives, in which all you see are Caucasian women with blonde hair and blue eyes. The bell sounded. The sun shone through the windowpanes. All the students were on the floor stretching and chatting in an indecipherable language. They all looked between fifteen and twenty, and o-la-la, there were even two cute guys with brown curly hair. Everyone was dressed in black leotards and skin-colored stockings, and judging from their appearance they had probably been studying ballet for some time. The instructor and the pianist entered and everyone applauded for them, and in no time the students stood by the bars. In case you aren’t familiar with how a ballet class is conducted, it always consists of about 40 minutes of exercise with the aid of a bar as tall as your stomach, and 60 minutes of free movements such as jumps and turns in the center. The teacher spoke so quickly and I didn’t have the chance to interrupt and say, “Excuse me, I don’t understand a word!” And as soon as he finished, the pianist began to play. So I had no choice but to guess what to do from some French terms he used and to mimic the girl in front of me. The exercises were familiar though the combinations were very varied: “plié” ( bending knees), “battement” ( kicking one’s leg to the nose, ear or back of head), “tendu” ( pointing one’s toes on the ground), “jeté” ( like “tendu” but the toes are a few centimeters above the floor), and so on. I was amazed seeing the girls lifting their legs to the very front of their nose, which I could never accomplish due to my insufficient training. After working on the bar we gathered to the center of the studio. The teacher composed very complicated combinations of movements and only demonstrated them once. Then, the students automatically separated into two groups. I was in the second group and stood in the upper right corner, which meant there was no chance to be a copycat since every exercise began with the right side. Instead, those standing behind me had to depend on me, and oh my, you can only imagine my awkwardness. Then I discovered the secret behind the instructor’s quadruple turns: the floor was really slippery. After class I was totally drenched and exhausted. But I felt happy to have experienced the Eastern European discipline of classical dance training. I took my leave, and while descending the staircase I saw a girl sitting on the steps putting on her shoes. I gestured and said, “You were very good in class.” After a pause she apologetically beamed and replied, “Sorry, I… I don’t speak… English.” Oh well, that was the end of our communication since we never met again. But wasn’t this better than living in a youth hostel with eleven roommates and having a hangover every morning? If you are interested here is the address of the dance studio and some tips on how to get there: Address: Tanecni centrum Praha Konzervator, Street U Vetrniku 3, Praha 6 Note: Prague is divided into several regions like Paris. The most well-known sight-seeing sections (New Town, Old Town, the Jewish Quarter, Little Quarter, and Prague Castle) are all in Praha 1, meaning downtown Prague. The bigger the number is, the farther it is from the city center. How to get there: Take metro line A and alight at station “Hradcanska.” Then take tram 1 or 18 uphill until station “Vetrnik.” The next thing you should do is cross the street and look for a tall grey building behind some houses. If you can’t find your way ask people and they should be willing to help. May your days in Prague be merry and bright! by Logan Goh
Sean, a senior this year, is the last person that you would associate with literature. He is 180 centimeters tall and huge like a younger version of Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Conan the Barbarian.” “People look at me and think that I am an engineering student,” he confessed. However, he is indeed a student of DFLL, and what is more, he likes literature. When asked whether he thinks that studying literature is impractical, he surprised me (again) by saying, “I think it is the most practical of all subjects. Because, after some years, you will start to perceive things that otherwise you wouldn’t have noticed. I’m glad that I chose this department.” Sean is probably one of the very few exceptions who take literature seriously. On the other hand, my classmate, Jill, often feels confused about studying literature. “I’m a junior right now, and, of course, everyone has to consider their future career. When I study literature, I often ask myself: Is this useful? How am I going to use this? Can I use it as a tool or something?” she explained. Jill seems to be a model that is easier to identify with. Which side do you belong to? The Incredibles: DFLL students One hundred years ago, Mark Twain had already declared the awkward situation of literature. He cynically defined a literary classic as “something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.” As a DFLL student, of course, I cannot help but disagree with him. A more precise definition should go like this: “A classic is something that everybody wants to have read, but only the incredible DFLL students are willing to blow off the dust from the cover to read.” DFLL has always been the last and only fortress of western literatures in NTU. While other “normal” college students are busy using the BBS, dating, or clubbing, some of us bury our heads in the brick-like Norton Anthology and wander around the wonderland constructed by Homer, Chaucer, Shakespeare, etc. Nonetheless, how poetic do you think DFLL students are? Do they really enjoy doing what they are doing? What is their happiness index? In order to find the answers, I have carried out a survey with the help of several professors to explore the literary preferences of DFLL students. Moreover, it is also time to examine whether the department is still able to fulfill the needs of students in the changing world. The majority of students like literature During the suffocating mid-term exam week, I managed to “conspire” with several professors in the department to distribute survey questionnaires to students along with the exam papers. About two hundred sheets of questionnaires were given out, and 146 of them were answered and handed in. Hence, the students surveyed are about one forth of the approximately five hundred students in our department. The classes surveyed were carefully chosen to make sure that both literary courses and language-oriented courses are included. Surprisingly, statistics (Chart 1) show that 50% of the students surveyed are interested in western literature, while only 4% of the students are not. As for the other 47% percent, they are sitting on the fence and remain uncertain. Although 50% is a high percentage, our department chair said, in response to these numbers, “I think there are only about 10% who really take literature seriously. By that I mean they intend to pursue literary studies in the future.” DFLL students are split into two halves in terms of their literary preferences. Liberal education vs. vocational education The high percentage of “not sure” replies reflects East Asian cultural values, which tend to stress moderation. However, it can also be interpreted as the uncertainty in the hearts of many DFLL students. As the tide of capitalism sweeps across the entire world, literature, like many other humanities subjects, inevitably falls into the category of “impractical.” Literature is “impractical” simply because it cannot be used to produce a physical product, and frankly, a major in literature doesn’t look quite as sexy on a resume as one in law or accounting. Hence, DFLL students always need to confront a strong inner conflict, which is the tension between capitalism and humanism. In a larger context, DFLL students are also torn between the spirit of liberal education and that of vocational education. Under the influence of capitalist globalization, many universities are facing the unavoidable trend of “vocationalization,” in which universities have become factories producing “robots” that fit into the need of the massive corporations. God’s love rejected For the convenience of the survey, western literature was divided into five categories: poetry, fiction, drama, creative writing, and literary theory. As expected, fiction is the most popular genre of all. People always like to listen to stories. So do DFLL students. On the contrary, literary theory is voted as the least favorite. “Literary theory requires students to make maximal use of their reasoning ability, but most people prefer not to do so,” said Prof. Chang Han-liang. “Our students have not been properly trained, because the necessary courses haven’t been offered.” Interestingly, the preferences in different genres of western literature are similar whether the students are freshmen or seniors (chart 3). The favorite works selected by the students differ tremendously, however, from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter to Ovid’s Metamorphoses. But students seem a good deal more focused in their distaste. Many of the DFLL students surveyed, freshmen in particular, hate the Bible. “Everything will be fine without the Bible,” a student added. In response to the great hostility toward the Bible, Prof. Chiang Tai-fen explained, “My purpose is to let the students experience or feel the essence of western people. So they have to understand how western people view the Bible whether they believe the Bible or not.” Literature and Language are the same As anticipated, a few students surveyed wished to have more “practical” English courses. It is not at all surprising, because language is a useful tool in finding a job. Nonetheless, language and literature are viewed by some people as, in fact, inseparable. “They are not two classes. To me, they are the same. Through literature, you improve your English,” the chair, Prof. Chiu Chin-jung, emphasized. A student surveyed moves a step further by suggesting the department divide students into language and literature groups during the junior or senior year, but Sean, the literature-lover, thinks that it is “a bad idea.” He said, “When you study a foreign language, it all comes down eventually to literature. You can’t separate these two things. It’s not just learning a language. You have to have something to talk about. Studying literature is the only way to make your conversation full of content. I think the idea of a Department of Applied English is ridiculous!” By Jolene Tien
While South Korean dramas and movies are booming all over Asia, Japanese pop culture still dominates in Taiwan. In Japan, one formula for success has not changed since the days of silent movies – big tears equal big yen. Thus there is a convention that love stories will have unhappy endings, with one or both of the lovers often expiring in the last reel. In the 1990s, however, this formula began to look creaky, until Isao Yukisada’s Sekai no Chushin De Ai o Sakebu (Crying Out for Love at the Center of the World) brought the formula up to date. Sekai no Chushin De Ai o Sakebu was a best-selling book in Japan, selling more than three millions copies, beating even the all time best-selling Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. The film can not only compete effectively on the big screen but play well on the small one. Both film and TV adaptations were a great hit in Japan, and the movie and the novel were a huge success in Taiwan, too. The TV version is due to be broadcast beginning in January. The story is a pure romance between a boy and a girl in high school. It shifts smoothly between the present and 1986, when the main events unfold. In the beginning the lead character Sakutaro, tells us that his lover is dead, thus revealing from the beginning that the story will have a sad ending. A series of flashbacks illustrate the joyful beginning and tragic end of their relationship. He begins to reminisce about his youth – and his love for a girl named Aki. Tall, athletic and vivacious, Aki is the very picture of a healthy beauty – and hopelessly out of reach for the all-too-average Saku. But Aki takes an interest in him (his clunker of a motor scooter is a draw), and Saku is soon in her thrall, though he would rather die than show it. They begin hanging out together, sending requests to an all-night radio show. Then they start exchanging audio diaries on cassette tapes and become something more than pals. The culmination is a romantic (if chaste) night on an uninhabited island – and the revelation that Aki is desperately ill. Soon afterward, Aki goes into hospital and her condition continues to worsen. Meanwhile, Saku is informed that Aki has leukemia. After her death, the absent-minded boy asks his grandfather, who also lost his beloved, “Do you think another world exists, where we can see our beloved again?” His grandfather replies: “Sorrow and deep mourning are only one side of love. If you think that the only things that exist are things you can see, our lives would be quite dull.” Every episode is heartwarming, even if the story is somewhat cliché. Yet the director has created intimate moments that have a feeling of immediacy and discovery. In the novel, the conversations between the two teenage lovers are also moving. People today seem hungry for “pure love.” At any rate, this genre is back in full force. Check out the novel, the movie, or the TV drama, and see how you like them. Crying for Love at the Heart of the World by Kyoichi Katayama, China Times Publishing Co., 2004. For information about the film: http://www.e-power.com.tw/movie_love/ on TV: beginning January 3, 2005 on Videoland Japanese Channel |
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May 2024
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