by Sabrina Wu
I hate literature. Yes I know I’m a DFLL student, but I have to confess that Homer’s battlefields fail to shake my world and Milton’s Christianity doesn’t inspire me. These “masterpieces” enlighten nothing in me. However, one man did make a difference to me, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), the only writer that can make me want to read all his works without even being assigned to do so. To understand Oscar Wilde’s philosophy, let me give you some of his most quotable quotes: * Wicked women bother one. Good women bore one. (Lady Windermere’s Fan) * One should always be in love. That’s the reason one should never marry. (A Woman of No Importance) * To be Greek one should have no clothes; to be medieval one should have no body; to be modern one should have no soul. * I can resist everything except temptation. (Lady Windermere’s Fan) Isn’t it amazing that a person who lived more than a hundred years ago talked like this? Wilde was famous as one of the leading characters of the “Aesthetic Movement,” which asserted “Art for art’s sake” and, in terms of literature, that form is more important than content. Therefore Wilde often parodied high-society’s masquerades. However Wilde himself wasn’t such a comedic character. There is something much sadder about his real life. Finishing his best work, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), Wilde was charged with “gross indecency” (what they called homosexuality in his time) and was put in jail. Even worse, his family considered him such an embarrassment that they refused to keep his name (his descendents restored the name Wilde only in 1998). In 1897, Wilde was released from jail, but these incidents had destroyed his career. He died in 1900 a broken man. So why do I enjoy Oscar Wilde’s writing so much? Try to imagine a man who was a talented writer who happened to be gay, who was charged by the world and put in jail, and who was rejected by his own family, but whose works still show nothing desperate. Instead, Wilde’s writing is filled with wit and satire of high-society’s dandies and ladies. Wilde chose to keep all his personal misery to himself. Reading literature can be entertaining, it doesn’t have to be a “mission” to find philosophy or holy grandeur. Just enjoy the lines and feel the passion that passes through his words.
0 Comments
by Jolene Tien
When my teacher told us to meet at Treasure Hill for the first time I had no idea where it is. I walked across Tingchou Road then turned right into a narrow driveway, just wide enough for one car. I hesitated. It just didn’t look like the way to a settlement of squatters. I was quite sure I was on my way to a public parking lot. Anyway, I decided to keep going. When I passed through the parking area there was another road. This is the road to Treasure Hill. As I walked along it there was no one else in sight. The sky grew darker and I could hardly tell where the road was going to take me. I felt alone, not even believing that I was still in Taipei City. The road sloped down to the settlement of Treasure Hill, and I couldn’t help running all the way down to the bottom. I felt exited and happy just like a playful kid. I didn’t expect this act could make me feel so relaxed. The Treasure Hill community is basically a fringe hillside settlement of about 100 urban squatters and their families. In the 1940s many immigrants arrived from China in a very short time. The shortage of housing was partially solved by self-help squatter buildings mushrooming in various sections of the city, and Treasure Hill was one of them. Many of them were later designated as urban parks for future land use. However, people who live in Treasure Hill are mostly people from the social underclass, single veterans, students, and Southeast Asian immigrants. They cannot afford to move if the city government decides to tear down the buildings and turn the settlement into an urban park. The aesthetic value of its chaotic surface, though debatable, is a clear reflection of the community’s pattern of daily life. The organic structure of the settlement and its fascinating small alleyways have also drawn many film directors to shoot at Treasure Hill, films such as “Goodbye South, Goodbye!”(南國再見,南國), and a current one, “My Whispering Plan” (殺人計畫). As a cultural landscape the Treasure Hill settlement involves discourses about its relationship with the surrounding natural environment, local history, and community identification. After a series of organized protests, the city government took a few steps to survey the feasibility of a revised plan for the area. Soon the responsibility for Treasure Hill was transferred from the Department of Parks and Recreation to the newly established Bureau of Cultural Affairs, who decided that Treasure Hill could become an art village, giving space for many art groups to hold activities. And all of this just a few minutes from Taida! by Jessie Su
Takashimaya, Core Pacific City, IDÉE, Sogo…I could see the jaw-dropping of my high school girlfriends out of the corner of my eye as I asked them to help sort out my receipts which I have scattered all over my house. “Um…these aren’t all from last week, are they?” Angela ventured awkwardly. “Of course not,” I answered. “How could I do all my shopping in a week with the anniversary sales set so apart?” “Whatever did you buy, anyway?” Jenny asked. I pointed to a pile of bags with department store logos on them in the far corner of my room. It only took seconds for the three girls to pounce on and rip open those bags, and even quicker for their eyes to bulge out of their faces. “Hang on…did you buy anything other than clothes?” Echo looked at me incredulously. I shrugged my shoulders. “What else is there to buy? Oh, I think I did manage to get some new makeup, if you’re interested.” “I can’t believe this!” Jenny waved a receipt (was it Sogo?) at me. “You spent NT$2384 for two pieces of branded apparel, when you could have gotten at least five more pieces of clothing at Shihlin Night Market?” “Jen, get a grip,” I laughed. “It’s not the first day you knew me to be a brand-idolizer.” My friends all rolled their eyes in disgust, but I didn’t care. Yep, that’s me, all right—a 21-year-old Taiwanese Carrie Bradshaw, or in Japanese “Nadesiko”(大和拜金女), the ultimate material girl of Taipei. My family’s pretty well off, but its economic status doesn’t really allow me this kind of luxury, therefore I spend only the money I make—the pay from two tutoring jobs and working part-time as a translator. My mother is forever telling her girlfriends that the only way I’m ever going to be “happily settled” is if I marry a guy who is rich enough to let me buy anything I want and would still have money left for us to eat and live well. My sixteen-year-old brother sniggers whenever I open my closet door and stand there for twenty minutes pondering on my attire for that day. “Sis—you’ve got clothes that actually fall out every time you open the closet, and you still think you have nothing to wear?” he questions, and I pretend not to have heard him. What would he know?—he’s still wearing uniforms! Yet I am not the worst case you can find; just take a night stroll either near the Chunghsiao East Rd. and Tunghwa South Rd. intersection or the Taipei City Government Center, and you’ll see that there’s plenty more where I came from. One of my girlfriends from middle school is a typical Cher Horowitz (in case you’ve forgotten, that’s the name of the protagonist in the all-time Material Girl Classic—“Clueless”)—she carries a Louis Vuitton pocketbook, wears Fendi earrings, dresses in Morgan style, and wears Nine West shoes, and she’s my age. I, at least, wear what’s more my level—Levi’s jeans, Polo shirts, and Esprit jackets. So what’s with the brand-idolizing? The people around me have different perspectives on this, but we all agree on one thing: it’s not the brand, but the quality that counts. Would you want to buy a don’t–know-where-the-heck-this-brand-is-from digital camera for $6900 only to find that the picture quality sucks and doesn’t have a warranty period, or would you spend double the price for a Nikon which takes high quality pictures, comes with all the accessories, and you’ll always know where to have it fixed? Same idea. Many people have questioned me on the subject of spending money for necessity or vanity. Well, let me show you an example: when I was in high school, my mother took me to Sogo to look for my first-ever toner. My mother was dressed in her aerobics outfit while I was in my school uniform, and the lady at the Shiseido counter didn’t even bother to ask us if we needed any help. Now, several years later, I approach the same Shiseido counter in my Tommy Hilfiger top with a plaid skirt and boots, and the ladies come scurrying up to me asking me if I wanted to try on their newest product. In this era where “consuming is a virtue,” the idiom “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is out of style. For those fresh out of college, men and women included, consuming serves as a therapy to conceal their anxiety of work pressure. The “in” phrase of today is: “You got the look.” Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go to Shinkong Mitsukoshi before it closes up. Oh—and by the way, my name’s Samantha. by Jack Chou
You step through the portal, and immediately the world around you changes. Darkness falls over your eyes and pools at your feet. A monotonous drumming sounds all about you, beating away like some ceaseless, lifeless heart. From the gloom comes tormented screams, and in the unlit sky overhead a posse of black birds swarms, cawing in demented triumph. In terror you try to flee, but an obstacle looms before you: an obsidian monolith, as silent and eternal as death itself. You cannot comprehend its existence any more than any other detail of this nightmarish hellscape, but you can feel it calling to you, daring you to understand. When you open your mouth to reply, however, the voice that bleeds from your lips is not yours but that of a dying man: “The horror. The horror.” Welcome to the Audio-Visual Center Library, located on the third floor of the Audio-Visual Educational Center. Here dwells horror beyond your bleakest fantasies—as well as action, comedy, drama, and romance. But leave your superhero costume at the door. This is not a catacomb of ghouls and demons, but merely a library of audio and video material, where adventures patiently await intrepid adventurers in wrappings of vinyl and plastic. Opening at 8:30 weekday mornings, this secluded playground welcomes any who wish to delve into its treasures. Your student ID is required but not necessary—I for one cannot remember the last time they asked me for mine. A watch or cell phone with the sound turned off might be a good idea, though, because it is very easy to lose yourself in this delightful labyrinth. You’ll need a solid chink of reality to cling onto, lest you remain lost in there until the end of time, when darkness robs your vision and silence fills your ears, and you’re notified that it’s closing time: 4:45 in the afternoon. After all, what’s stored here is an impressive mosaic of some 2000 videos tapes, 6000 audiotapes, 100 DVDs, and myriads of other incarnations of entertainment to choose from, as well as stalwart ranks of multimedia machines to help you enjoy your selection. All you have to do to enjoy yourself is to find an adventure you fancy, secure a console, and proceed to conquer the most epic of adventures on the seat of your pants. Be your selection a romantic secret date in a rural setting of rain and mist, or a fight to the death with your nemesis in a holy church, you’re guaranteed to remain spellbound till the end of the show. Here you’ll have the happy chance to unmoor yourself from this reality and float into a whole other world, and though the place was designed as a warehouse of teaching material, it can be all enjoyment within this cozy little alcove far above teachers, classes, and all that madness. Yet this place is an unappreciated paradise, for the most part. It hardly ever entertains the crowds its plusher counterpart, located in the lofty attic of the Main Library, always seems to attract. Its affluent collection of material broods in tightly-packed legions, rarely disrupted by inquisitive viewers, and the pieces of equipment stare blankly at each other with nothing to say. It is a perfect yet silent playground, and its neglected toys reside on dusty shelves. Prior to writing this article I spoke at length with a couple of the staff members, guardians of this lonely outpost in our university’s extensive keep of knowledge. They agree that their charge doesn’t get as much attention as the other multimedia library and cite the selection of material as the main reason. Though this library has more in the way of entertainment, its collection caters to college of liberal arts students in general and DFLL students in particular. Teachers from our department choose the majority of the contents (the underlying message, I believe, is that we can stop pestering the staff with recommendations and go bother our teachers instead), and senior staff members spend the rest of the budget on maintenance while occasionally picking up a title they trust DFLL students would be glad to see. Students from other departments have a better chance of finding the information they need in the Main Library’s multimedia division, and thus are less likely to venture here. What’s more, the AV Library’s location compromises some of its popularity. While its counterpart is situated on the fourth floor of a main thoroughfare of diligent students, many of whom would often retreat there like wayfarers shying from a busy highway to a roadside cafe, our AV Library enjoys its relative seclusion at the price of obscurity. It would seem that while this place is dedicated to benefiting students from our department, it also suffers to an extent from that dedication. Other reasons, like limitations due to a modest budget of NT$100,000, and shorter hours since it has proven to be uneconomical otherwise, further hinder students from fully appreciating its value. I imagine there is still another reason: the contents are obscure too. For while it is no difficulty to navigate the ranks of shelves and cabinets, it takes patience, even research, to find a movie you know you’ll enjoy. Unlike the collection in the other multimedia library, which is presented in all the pomp and glory of their original coverings, most of the items here are stripped of attractive advertisements, bearing instead a plain label to retain some excuse of individuality. The uniform, banal wrapping makes it hard to find your flavor, and often one must risk disappointment, even distaste, as a consequence of not judging the content by its cover. It is a pity that the treasure stashed here must put up with this trivial inconvenience on top of all those other disadvantages. This article, written in hopes of greater appreciation for our very own AV Library, would be incomplete without a movie guide of some sort. I’ve already shown where free movies can be found; now I’ll suggest a few good movies for you to find. Horror/Suspense—What is cinema without a healthy helping of blood and gore? Parental advisory warnings are another thing missing from those labels, but don’t say I didn’t warn you! Psycho Legendary master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock introduces the schizophrenic, baby-faced killer Norman Bates in this cinematic classic. To call it a slasher flick would be exaggeration, since the amount of blood-letting in this movie is a mere drop compared with the ocean of red its many inferior successors seem to enjoy deluging us in. Nevertheless, you would think twice about stopping at lonely motels after watching this movie. The Birds What better creatures to mete out death and destruction, what better messengers of Armageddon, than our winged friends who are the closest things to angels in the real world? Hitchcock proves once again that there is much to be afraid of in the world we live in. Shutter your windows, bar the door, and learn to fear the sound of wings just out of sight. Rosemary’s Baby An ironic, cinematic prelude to the real life horror perpetrated by the infamous Manson Family, director Roman Polanski could not have imagined how fate would transform his masterpiece into a cruel jest to haunt him for the rest of his life. A spooky concoction of paranoia, cultism, and betrayal, this movie will chill you to the bone. The Devil’s Advocate Almost a modern remake of Rosemary’s Baby, this version features ten times the nudity and gore, along with Al Pacino’s gleeful, charismatic portrayal of the Dark Man. References to Dante and Milton make the movie even more enjoyable and “educational” for DFLL students who’ve had to sell days of their youth to a couple of epic poets obsessed with Hell and its ruler. The Silence of the Lambs No supernatural force is needed in this movie to scare you, just the inhumanity of humans. The evil and brilliant Hannibal Lector, whose cannibalistic tastes have already earned him two recent sequels, is also introduced here. Action—Guns, bombs, heroes and villains, one-liners and bimbos. Enough said. A Fistful of Dollars The classic western starring Clint Eastwood. Scenes that were later reduced to clichés by mediocre imitators, such as undertakers measuring the cowboy for his coffin before a duel or the hero making his appearance by walking unscathed out of an explosion, still retain their classic favor in this movie. And it’s always fun to watch a gunslinger gun down baddies by the half-dozen. Terminator 2: Judgment Day The near-invincible action figure before he sacrificed his immortality for the job of governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger was still believable when he allowed James Cameron to direct his acting. This sequel is generally recognized as the best of the Terminator trilogy, though Arnie didn’t get to march out of an inferno as a metal skeleton this time. But hey, he didn’t do that for the recent California fires either. Die Hard 2: Die Harder Of the Die Hard series the third installment is the uncontested masterpiece, but our AV Library only offers the second movie. Die Hard 2 is still very enjoyable as an action flick, and introduces the concept of the unlikely hero in Bruce Willis’s portrayal of John McClane, a clumsy beat cop who’s always unlucky enough to get into the worst of scrapes but always resourceful enough to find his way out of it, and save the day along the way. McClane is married, has to empty an entire clip to hit one evil henchman, needs to reload his gun, and actually gets beaten up pretty bad. Which makes him a more convincing and likable action hero than many others. Face Off Director John Woo takes action flicks to another level by adding all the angst, internal turmoil, and symbolism that have always been a major part of successful dramas. Masterfully crafted action sequences prove that violence can assume an artistic form. Comedy—If the first misconception about comedies is that they have to make you chortle, the second would be that they have to have happy endings. But none of these should fail to bring a smile to your lips. They’re from different sub-categories respectively: satirical comedy, romantic comedy, and slapstick comedy. Dr. Strangelove Also known as How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, this dark comedy by legendary director Stanley Kubrick bespeaks one possible ending to the Cold War. This is also a must-see for students studying drama, because the three major characters are all played by the same actor! Play it Again, Sam Woody Allen with Humphrey Bogart as spirit guide chasing after his best friend’s wife? It’s always romantic when a dreamy wimp falls in love with a rare beauty, and it’s always a comedy when it stars Woody Allen. Friends Episodes from this immensely popular sitcom hardly need introduction. Our AV Library only has seasons one and two, but they’re enough if you want a quick chortle. Romance—I have so little experience in this genre I was tempted to hide it under comedy, but I need to show that I’ve got every category covered. Casablanca The romance classic mentioned in countless other love movies. The characters might wear unfashionable clothes and are in black and white, but true love is timeless. When Harry Met Sally Another must-see of the genre pairs cutie Meg Ryan with an unlikely beau, city slicker Billy Crystal. The pseudo documentary style leaves no doubt that this movie is all about love. A good watch with a friend you always wish you were more than just friends with. The Glass Menagerie Written by playwright Tennessee Williams, this is a sad story about the unfulfilled love of a crippled girl—a unicorn who wished her horn broken so she might cease to be different from the one she loved. Science Fiction/Fantasy—Fans of this category have long been labeled escapists, but there are deeper meanings to these fantasies. Our AV Library fortunately seems to share that insight. Metropolis The granddaddy of the genre, in full black and white and silent glory. Dark yet humorous with biblical references, this movie set the tune for all serious sci-fi movies to follow. 2001: A Space Odyssey Based on the novel by Arthur C. Clarke and directed by Stanley Kubrick, this film makes up for a slightly slow plot and a controversial ending by introducing unforgettable symbols such as the alien monolith and the killer computer Hal. Blade Runner A masterly cross between the genres of sci-fi and film noir starring Harrison Ford. As a detective or action movie it is slow and dull, but as a sci-fi movie discussing the meaning of being human it is incredibly powerful and poignant. Directed by Ridley Scott. Aliens It’s too bad that the library doesn’t have the first Alien movie, but Aliens was probably what turned this series into a cult classic. James Cameron proves that he is still better at sci-fi action films than mushy star-crossed love tragedies. A good dose of futuristic combat and classic scenes will make you wonder what people ever saw in E.T. anyway. The Lord of the Rings Look no further for epic fantasy. This trilogy needs very little introduction from me; just remember to look for it in the DVD section. Drama—You might also call it miscellaneous, because I have trouble pinning the following films in one specific category. But then again, the best movies are always made up of a good portion of many good things. The Graduate A disquieting yet amusing story set in a very normal scene with everyday characters, you’ll often not know whether to smile or frown. The great use of symbolic settings, a young Dustin Hoffman, and the beautiful soundtrack by Simon & Garfunkel make this movie a timeless classic. A Clockwork Orange An incredibly disturbing and thought-invoking story about a young hoodlum. Stanley Kubrick actually had to have this movie withdrawn from circulation for a while, it’s that disturbing. The Godfather: Part I and II The mafia epic written by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the first two parts of this trilogy are must-sees. For all the violence and cruelty so cleverly and casually portrayed in these movies, they are, above all else, about the family. Apocalypse Now Also directed by Coppola and loosely based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, it follows one man’s trek through war-torn Vietnam and into the darkest reach of the human soul. Braveheart Mel Gibson is actually likable in this revisionist movie about Scottish hero William Wallace. Watch closely the death scene where he cries “freedom,” you’ll see that he was actually saying “Oscar!!!” Considering the sheer amount of material available in the AV Library, it’s obvious that I’ve not been able to introduce even one percent of it. The rest is for you, the bold explorer, to discover for yourself. Find some time off, invite yourself into this delightful paradise, and prepare to journey away from the hubbub of the real world. You’ll be able to appreciate our AV Library more, as well as learn something no teacher could teach while having fun at the same time. So see you at the movies, and spread the word! by Joey Chung
I step into the bustling freshman oral training class on a sunny Thursday afternoon, filled with excited chatter and loud exchanges from the fourteen students. Tim Casey enters the room, towering over me and the rest of the class as he takes his position and I find an empty seat and take out my camera and equipment, ready to remember the most important details of the coming hour. He looks calm and relaxed, and with his signature gentle smile and patient soft tone he starts his class. The topic for today is Hemingway’s “Cat in the Rain,” something I too read when I was a freshman in his class. The class begins their discussion of the story, going around the room giving each student a chance to speak. Then, as is the tradition, the class breaks into in smaller groups for a more everyday topic, shopping, something of particular interest apparently, as the room is now filled with exciting anecdotes of browsing, window shopping, and harassment by sales clerks. Today Mr. Casey is decked out in a light brown sports jacket and a dark checkered shirt, both of which seem to have been worn for some time, but which like him evoke a certain dignified sense of increased age. And then I’ m reminded of the fact that he is, after all, around sixty, and that he has been around for quite some time. Tim Casey’s story as it turns out seems like a movie script, complete with twists and turns, and to me it also reads like a testament of different times in American and world history. He grew up in Michigan and studied pre-law, with the original idea of studying law in graduate school. He was accepted to the University of Michigan Law School, but instead chose to enlist in the army. He later became a marine and was stationed in the Philippines, Okinawa, and, of course, the hotbed at the time, Vietnam. Why would he want to forgo a luxurious and successful life as a lawyer and sign up to be a potential war casualty? He was quiet for a while and looked away, seeming to reminisce of old times. I too, try to picture my teacher in military fatigues and dog tags patrolling the swamps of Vietnam. “The times” he replied, “were different.” Kennedy inspired enthusiasm and hope, and the feeling of wanting to contribute to country and society. And he was fed up with Michigan, a place he had never left, and fed up with school. He was an indecisive young man and wanted alternatives. He wanted something different. He wanted to see the world. And so he did. I wonder how many of us today would actually have the courage to do the same thing. During his three-year army stint from ‘65 to '68, he had a five-day vacation. Out of curiosity he came to Taiwan. He remembers seeing what is now the eastern side of Taipei, with its miles of rice paddies, bicycles, farmers, and distant mountains. He was truly fascinated with the Far East, the land, and its cultures. During his last year in the army, he was again tired of his situation and wanted to escape. He was accepted into UC Berkeley where he received a degree in English–the furthest he could get from the atmosphere of the army. Later he was accepted to San Francisco State. But during the difficult economic times of the 1970’s he switched his major to economics. But times were hard for students and after finishing school he just started traveling, wandering from town to town, visiting friends, seeing the land, doing whatever he wanted, living out of his old VW, and taking whatever odd jobs he could to pay his living expenses. His three strangest experiences were picking raspberries, baling hay in a barn, and working the night shift in an IBM factory. Finally he landed in Colorado, where he fell in love with skiing and tried out as a ski instructor. While in Colorado, he took Chinese classes taught by Vietnamese refuges. Later he wanted something different again and so enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Comparative Literature at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he finished all of the available Chinese courses in a year and a half. After that, he felt like it was time to escape again, to revisit Asia. He felt disgusted with the times, the way the U.S. was heading, the politics. He ideally thought he would stay in Taiwan and master Chinese in nine months, then go to Japan to study Japanese. However, he never accomplished the last part of that plan and he ended up staying here, and that was 23 years ago. He pauses for a few seconds, lost in thought. I look around his office as a short silence broke out. At this moment in his life, after seeing so many places, one his favorite quotes is by Goethe: “One who hasn’t studied another language never really understands his own,” a concept that he feels applies to culture as well as to language. His office gives the same feeling that he does, as a person that has seen and been through a lot and who, finally, is content and happy with where he is and what he’s doing: the perfect balance of cultures, people, and experiences. Upon arriving in Taiwan he taught English at cram schools, just trying to make enough money for learning Chinese and traveling. Later a friend mentioned that they were hiring at NTU. He sent in his resume and was hired. Asked about his plans for the future he says he’ll stay and teach for a few more years until retirement, and then remain here hiking, traveling around Asia, and resuming his often neglected Chinese studies. He remarked that Taipei is now a far cry from thirty years ago, now that it’s filled with art and concerts and coffee shops. He has seen Taiwan grow and mature, and this is where he wants to be. I also asked him about his general ideal of teaching; he replied that the best way to learn something was just to do it. I then wondered what he was like when he began to teach at NTU 23 years ago. He says when he first arrived he was more of the older brother or uncle type, the type that was the fresh new foreigner and could reply to any question about trends or fashion in the U.S. and seem cool. Now he has moved to the grandfather stage and the times have finally caught up with him. In the past students were more focused on their studies and had little idea about other parts of the world. Students today are more internationalized and open-minded, and they are given many more opportunities. At this age in his life, he admits, he has a hard time keeping up with student life. After our interview I saw him with a map, asking a secretary in Chinese where a certain theatre was. He wanted to see a particular film, not widely released in Taiwan, Bowling for Columbine, a film he feels documents the many reasons why he prefers to stay here rather than in the U.S. It turns out to be showing only in Shimending. I chuckle at the thought of him walking the streets there, but then I realize that he is not the kind of person that would let sixteen year olds, loud music, and bright lights scare him away. I realize that underneath that soft and gentle appearance is a man who can certainly take care of himself. Still, I went off to class thinking about Tim Casey walking the alleyways of Shimending, and it was a wonderful thought. by Inky Chang
It is human nature to appreciate beauty, and with the rapid development of plastic surgery nowadays, people now have a new, high-tech way to change the way they look. As long as you can afford the operation, it’s quite simple to have a face-lift in order to make you look ten years younger. Or you could have a straight nose, or double eyelids, anything you wish. Surgeons who perform plastic surgery play the role of magicians. For example, in Korea, some parents have their children’s frenulum, which links the tongue and the oral cavity, cut short. This way, they think, children’s tongues can become more agile so that they can speak English fluently. Or some people believe they can prevent their skin from aging by getting injections of a kind of virus called Botulinum. However, the incredible demand for plastic surgery reveals several problems. It is natural for people to be concerned about how they look, but too much emphasis on appearance results in neglecting inner beauty and cultivation. Korean teenagers, for example, ask their parents for large amounts of money to get plastic surgery as a gift for turning twenty. Then they would just wait for the scars (another negative result of the operations) to heal. What’s more, one can never become too beautiful. Surgery on your nose, for instance, can easily lead to other surgery for other body parts. Anyone who desires to change his or her appearance should think carefully about some other factors, too. First, how healthy are you? If you have any medical condition such as hypertension, you should be very careful. Second, are you willing to accept the outcome, whatever it might be? Any surgery has risks and perhaps some side-effects. Make sure to ask your surgeon before the operation. Lastly, be sure to do some research about hospitals and surgeons, as medical skills and ethics are equally important. Actually, I don’t approve of plastic surgery unless one’s life is at stake. ( For example, some people are born with crooked craniums, so they need surgery in order to survive.) However, here in Taiwan, with the gradual deterioration of traditional values, there is a new vogue among young people, the major consumers of plastic surgery, who are unhappy with their bodies. People are willing to travel long distances in order to undergo miracle operations for losing weight or for a totally different face. One day a surgeon may be able to put on a surgical fashion show just like a clothing designer! by Kate Hsieh
Ever go in someone’s living room and find a half-completed jigsaw puzzle on the table? It doesn’t really take a puzzle freak to be overwhelmed by the urge to try to fit in another piece or two. What makes puzzles so irresistible? That’s the real puzzle. How did puzzles first come to be? Whose idea was it anyway? What kind of person would try to cut a picture into irregular pieces and willingly spend hours trying to put it back together? The first puzzle was created in London by a mapmaker whose name was John Spilsbury, sometime around 1762. He glued a map to a thin piece of wood then used a handsaw to cut out the map into little pieces along the borders of different countries. Spilsbury’s creation was an immediate success. (It was a priceless idea, though not to the unlucky Spilsbury, who died at the age of twenty-nine without seeing the great success puzzles were to become.) The subjects of puzzles were usually geographical, like a European map, or historical, like portraits of kings. Since the original purpose of his creation was to assist the teaching of geography, there was no reason to cut the pieces into complicated shapes. And puzzles were primarily purchased by upper class parents, who wanted their children to benefit from the latest teaching methods. Puzzles had yet to develop into a mass phenomenon. A single puzzle could cost as much as an average worker earned in a month. It wasn’t until 1840s that puzzle makers in Germany and France began to cut their puzzles in the interlocking shapes so familiar to us today. They also replaced expensive and unwieldy wooden boards with pasteboard, and therefore reduced the costs. Still, only upper-middle class consumers could afford them. In the early years, most puzzles had fewer than fifty pieces because the cutting was a long and difficult process. But the situation got better for puzzle makers in 1876 with the invention of the “jigsaw.” Puzzles could now be made more quickly and easily, with far more pieces, including smaller ones. The improved technology enabled the mass production of puzzles, and led to the decline of prices. Now that low-priced puzzles were obtainable for every class of consumer, puzzles soon became all the rage. Now we come to the last few pieces of our puzzle-the twentieth century. North America was caught in a puzzle mania. During the Great Depression, when most other forms of entertainment were impossible, Americans set a record by buying six million puzzles a week. Although that kind of intense interest eventually waned, sales numbers remained stable until 1989, when the revolutionary 3D puzzle appeared. Today, you can buy 3D versions of everything from the Eiffel Tower to the White House, from the Titanic to Apollo 13. For devoted fans, there are some challenging puzzles, such as single-color sets with no picture, or with straight-edged pieces that actually belong in the middle instead of outside. And there are “Impossibles,” puzzles with edge pieces disguised to look like inner ones, or even extra pieces that don’t belong. Do you feel like giving one a try? Now the puzzle of the history of puzzles is complete. Puzzles are indeed a mind-challenging and fantastic recreation. Everyone enjoys the pleasure of finding the right piece and watching the pieces come together into a beautiful picture. I don’t know about you, but I suddenly have a craving for a puzzle, so why not come along with me to get one and have a great time. by Rachel Liao
Are you on a diet but still swallow drinks with lots of artificial color and sugar? Do you dislike coffee but don’t know what to sip on cold days? Then how about tea? According to medical research, tea can help people keep fit and even fight cancer. So throw away those unhealthy beverages and let tea be your first choice. Tea was originally a medicine, and it became a popular drink in the Tang Dynasty. Thereafter, drinking tea became the most important part of the culture in China. Other Asians started to drink tea because of China’s influence; an example is Japan’s “Tea Ceremony.” In 1636, the Dutch imported tea from Amoy to Taiwan. Hence, people started to plant tea here too. The northern part of Taiwan, such as the Wenshan area, is noted for its Pao-Chung tea. And southern Taiwan is famous for Oolong tea. You may ask, what’s the difference between Pao-Chung, Oolong, and Tieh-Kuan-Yin? Do they really have different tastes? Actually, tea leaves can be made into various kinds of tea due to the different extent of fermentation. For example, green tea is not fermented at all, but black tea is 100% fermented. Pao Chung tea is fermented lightly, so it keeps its smell. On the contrary, Tieh-Kuan-Yin is stronger since it’s highly fermented. Tea is considered healthy because it contains catechin (兒茶素), which naturally dissolves fat. Medical research has proven that frequent tea drinkers have less body fat than other people. In addition, tea can keep us from getting chronic diseases, such as diabetes or hypertension. By the way, green tea has more antioxidants than other kinds of tea. Doctors say that drinking green tea can help us look young, and most important of all, prevent cancer. Though drinking tea benefits your health, pay attention to the timing. If your stomach is not strong enough, don’t drink tea before meals. And unless you want to stay up all night, remember not to drink tea at night. You can easily get bottled tea at 7-11, but why not try to make tea yourself? Some experts suggest that winter or spring tea is best for this. Make sure you put at least half a pot of tea leaves into the teapot and fill it with hot water, around 85 to 90 degrees. After infusing tea leaves for about 25 seconds, pour out the tea. If you infuse tea leaves too long, theophylline (茶鹼) will be released, which really hurts your stomach. You may also want to know what we can do with the used tea leaves. Tea leaves are good fertilizer, so you can bury them in the soil to fertilize your plants. Besides, they are a natural deodorant, so why not put some dry tea leaves in your fridge or bookcase to give them a pleasant smell? Tea not only helps you lose weight painlessly but it is also extremely healthy. Whether you are a weight watcher or not, drink more tea! |
Authors
The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
|