有一个藏族诗人叫仓央嘉措。仓央嘉措，意为“梵音海”，他是第六世达赖喇嘛，生于1683年，一个农民的儿子。多年以后，人们忘记了他的达赖身份，因为他的情诗已经在很多人口中交相传诵。今天读到他写的《见与不见》，深有感触。一种纯净无挣的爱，没有世俗的尘埃，爱的最高境界是“天籁无声、大爱不宣”，正如这首《见与不见》中所说的那样默然相爱，寂静欢喜。
你见，或者不见我
我就在那里
不悲不喜
你念，或者不念我
情就在那里
不来不去
你爱，或者不爱我
爱就在那里
不增不减
你跟，或者不跟我
我的手就在你手里
不舍不弃
来我的怀里
或者
让我住进你的心里
默然 相爱
寂静 欢喜
I Knew I Loved You
Maybe it’s intuition
But some things you just don’t question
Like in your eyes
I see my future in an instant
and there it goes
I think I’ve found my best friend
I know that it might sound more than
a little crazy but I believe
[chorus:]
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
There’s just no rhyme or reason
only this sense of completion
and in your eyes
I see the missing pieces
I’m searching for
I think I found my way home
I know that it might sound more than
a little crazy but I believe
[repeat chorus]
A thousand angels dance around you
I am complete now that I found you
[repeat chorus to fade]
The Kilimanjaro massif is always a magnificent sight, even when its summit is shrouded in clouds. Known as the “sliver mountain, ” Kilimanjaro is the tallest freestanding mountain in the world.
A famous short story written by Ernest Hemingway in 1952 is entitled “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” and indeed, the summit of the mountainous massif is covered year-round with snow, rising majestically above the East African plain between Tanzania and Kenya. About a hundred years earlier, in 1849, the German missionary Johannes Rebmann was laughed at when he returned to Europe with reports of a giant, snow-covered mountain in the heart of the African savannah (大草原). Rebmann hadn’t lost his mind, however,. He was simply the first European to see, with his own eyes, what for nineteenth-century scientists was simply inconceivable: a region of permanent ice and snow cover in central Africa, right next to the equator.
In 1973, Kilimanjaro National Park was founded to better protect the natural monument and preserve it for future generations. The national park includes the Kilimanjaro massif, with its three mighty volcanic peaks. At 19,340 feet, the Kibo peak is the highest elevation on the African continent; the others are Shira (12,998 feet) and Mawenzi (16,893 feet). The park also includes six forest tracts with a total area of around 450 square miles surrounded by a protected forest area of nearly 600 square miles.
The predominant vegetation zones around Kilimanjaro’s volcanic cone are mountain forest upland moor (高地沼泽), and alpine tundra (高山冻原). Precipitation varies quite a lot by elevation, with an average of 12 inches per year in the rain forest zone, and as little as 4 inches a year near the summit. The savannah has an average temperature of 86F, while at the summit the average temperature is close to the freezing point, at 32F.
Difference in elevation also determine the types of vegetation found there. From 2,500 feet to 6,000 feet, fertile volcanic soil sustains the growth of trees and shrubs. From 6,000 feet to 9,000 feet a mountain rain forest takes over, with fig, yes and juniper trees that can grow up to 130 feet tall. Above 9,000 feet up to 13,000 feet, there is prairie-like vegetation including flowers such as the anemone, lily, Kenya thistle, and 10-foot tall lobelia. At around 16,000 feet, the high desert ecosystem begins. At these elevations, the air is so thin that only lichens and a particularly hardy variety of straw flower can survive. A wide variety of animal species also live in the mountainous world of Kilimanjaro National Park. Elephants, lions, leopards, hyenas, wart hogs, herons, storks, and coots find it a comfortable place to retreat.
But the bitter truth is now upon us! Kibo glacier is melting, and very quickly, at that. Since 1972 alone the ice cap has lost almost 95 percent of its mass. Scientists predict that by the year 2020, there will be no more ice on the peak of Kilimanjaro, with unavoidable consequences for the climate of the Earth. The effects of global warming seem to be stronger and swifter-acting here, and, for Kilimanjaro at least, are very likely irreversible. The silver of the mountain is changing into water. Is Kilimanjaro a “paradise lost”?
The old city of Fez consists of a barely navigable labyrinth of streets and narrow lanes lined with houses. Squares, and splendid mosques. In Fez the visitor is enveloped in an atmosphere defined by enticing scents and exotic playes of color.
Once upon a time, a very long time in the past, nearly 1,200 years ago, Idriss I had to flee the henchmen (党羽) of Harun al Rashid, the Caliph (哈利发(伊斯兰教国家政教领袖的尊称))of Baghdad. His escape route led him to a river called the Fez. Here he settled, and feeling safe from his pursuers, made plans to found a city. But Allah did not hear his prayers for peace and tranquility. The great caliph’s murdering minions finally snuck up on Idriss from behind and assassinated him. However, while fleeing the murderers, Idriss had fathered a son, one who would be born only after Idriss’s death and whose life would be spared. This was Idriss II who, boldly following in his father’s footsteps, founded the city of Fez.
A fervent follower of Islam, he honored the prophet Mohammed, praising and praying to Allah for guidance, and Allah heard his prayers. The site Idriss II chose for his city on the waters of the Fez was fortuitous. Reports of the glorious city were soon spread far and wide in songs and poems. By 817/818, a great many believers had moved to Fez to work, to pray and to share in its prosperity. In this way, 2,000 families exiled from Cairo and living in Tunisia made their way to Fez. Within a few years they built a magnificent place of worship, the Kairouyine mosque, in the heart of the city. Fez quickly became the cultural center and religious heart of Morocco. Yet the newcomers were more than fervent believers. They also brought their technical and economic skill to the young, up and coming city. Its favorable location at the crossroads of important trade routes and easy access to the necessary raw materials encouraged the new city’s swift rise to prominence.
The city of Idriss II grew into the most important city in Morocco. Its reputation as a prosperous center and bastion of the orthodox (正统的) faith spread throughout the Islamic world, a position it would maintain until many years after Idriss’ death. In the eleventh century, however, Fez was surpassed by Marrakesh, which held on to its primacy until 1250. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, Fez experienced a renewed upswing in its fortunes, with its university world famous and its scholars accorded particular respect. During this time, the city was home to nearly 800 mosques. Then, in 1522, a horrific earthquake destroyed a large part of the city. Within a few years of the catastrophe, its many buildings were either restored or replaced by new ones, and the city shone once again with its old brilliance. To the inestimable benefit of all who visit and wonder at its beauty today, Fez would change little over the following centuries.
In 1554, Fez came into the hands of the Saadier family, who chose to rule from Marrakesh. From this point on Fez would change rulers many times as several dynasties competed for control of the Mahgreb. In 1833, Mulai Abdallah declared Fez the capital city once again. After invasion by France, Fez became part of the French protectorate on March 30, 1912. In many ways, this changed very little in Fez, which essentially remained what it had long been: a royal residence and center of culture, faith, trade and business.
Fez has a great many magnificent mosques whose architectural and aesthetic qualities are internationally famous. Its Islamic art treasures are world-class. Visitors should be aware, however, that non-believers are still forbidden to enter the mosques of Fez. This has nothing to do with a restrictive reading of the Koran by Moroccan Moslems, nor with any particular religious arrogance. Quite the opposite: a French colonial law, still on the books, prohibits non-Moslems entering Islamic religious buildings. While Fez today is a modern city, it remains the cultural and spiritual capital of Morocco, with its markets flourishing and traditions intact. The legacy of Idriss II has been preserved, still shining in the twenty-first century with its age-old luster.
One of the largest arenas of the Roman Empire can be found in the middle of the Tunisian desert. The amphitheater of the Thysdrus (蒂斯德鲁斯) . An enormous structure, emerged out of the barren desert in just eight years.
In 230, the worthy Roman proconsul Gordianius I commissioned an amphitheater in Thysdrus, completed within just eight years, a structure of exceptional harmony rose defiantly from the desert floor. Bold in design and impressively monumental, Gordianus’s master builder achieved something magnificent in the El Djem amphitheater. This architectonic masterpiece is completely freestanding, neither supported by a slope nor set in a depression. The reflection of the sun on its finely worked sandstone gives the amphitheater an almost indescribable feeling of lightness despite its great size.
The architect designed the structure with an eye toward vistas observable both within the buildings and from within it looking to the distance. Light flows through the arena in all directions. Each level has sixty-four grand rounded arches, giving the building a highly filigreed (饰有金银丝细工的) appearance. The magnificent mosaics decorating the arena floors are unique masterpieces. At El Djem, local traditions and roman building skills meet in a unique symbiosis.
The construction of the arena was an enormous undertaking. The necessary building materials, in particular the massive sandstone blocks, has to be transported tot he site from quarries as far as 20 miles away. Since sandstone is soft and friable, blocks have to be extraordinarily large if they are to function as weight bearing elements. The monumental sandstones of El Djem have survived to this day. Their warm, earthy color absorbs the sunlight directly until they seem to glow with its warmth, giving the building a fantastic radiance that can be observed and enjoyed today, much as it was nearly 2,000 years ago.
The amphitheater of Thysdrus was the last great arena built by a roman Empire that was already in decline. It remains a magnificent architectural monument, fascinating due to its exceptional quality and elegant, nearly perfect harmony of forms. Marked by centuries of wind and weather etching their deep traces, the sandstone, blocks of thysdrus have survived to tell their story.
Although the amphitheater is located far away from the sea and well off the track of all the important trade routes, financing its construction was not at all problematic. The founds come from the production and trade of olive oil. The North African coastal plain had been the olive grove of the Roman Empire since the time of Julius Caesar, and olives had been cultivated here for well over two centuries. This barren land was, paradoxically, the most important supplier of olive oil in the entire Roman world. Profits from the olive oil trade transformed Thysdrus into a boomtown, and the economic upswing led to extraordinary prosperity. the city’s inhabitants were bursting with pride and ambition. The outstanding achievement of the amphitheater is nothing less than a declaration of independence made manifest in stone.
In the year 238, the province of Thysdrus stood at the height of its power. Self-assured and perhaps a little foolhardy, it rose up against the Roman empire, only to have the rebellion violently suppressed when inflexible Rome struck back. Within a few years, the culture of the once splendid city of Thysdrus had come to an end. At the end of the seventeenth century, troops led by the Turkish conqueror Mohammed Bey blew up a large part of the arena, with the ruins becoming quarries for later generations. What remains is the mythos of the games that lives on, set in stone as part of the mosaics, and the ruins of the amphitheater itself, bearing witness to the pride, passion, and pugnacity that once marked Thysdrus as one of ancient Africa’s cultural centers.
中孝介的声线有一种沉郁苍凉的感觉，带给人一种孤独的温暖感。他的歌声之中没有对世事的奢求，也没有对华丽世界的尖锐表现，从他的歌声之中只能体会到一个天然的，人性的，对于生活，对于故乡的怀念和赞美。
很多人第一次听到中孝介的声音的时候，还以为是平井坚改唱民谣了呢！他的假声比平井坚漂亮（唱奄美岛呗出身的歌手假声不好是不行的）。这位歌手是典型的憨厚老实型男人，他最吸引人的就是把岛呗的唱法毫不掩饰地用于流行唱法中。他还做过朝崎郁惠大师的“三弦”。那可是朝崎郁惠啊，连她自己的弟子都没能出现在她的专辑中，可想而知她对中孝介的器重。
Buryberry Trench Coat最初是给英国军方设计的。英国军方当时想定做一种防风防雨的大衣，而且要求大衣不能影响士兵的活动。Buryberry的创始人当时发明了一种面料，把羊毛处理过后，防风防雨，而且面料也足够柔软，这种面料被命名为gabardine（念嘎巴丁，翻译成华达呢）。用这个面料做的风衣很快受到英国军方的喜爱，开始成为军大衣。其实trench的中文意思是“沟”，这是因为一次世界大战的时侯，士兵穿着这样的大衣在战壕里作战，于是这种风衣就被称为了Trench Coat。这也是Burberry的Iconic Coat，至今已有百年历史，也被时装界公认为是时装界永久的经典，世界闻名。
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