感冒的季節

就算是放養的貓，也會越養越有感情，越養越牽挂，倒有些不知叫人如何是好了。

我的感冒還沒全好，今天早上，就看見芋頭打著噴嚏流著鼻涕就來了，呼吸也有些粗，怎麽看都像是感冒了，或許昨天晚上着涼了？而且還連續不停地打了七個噴嚏，眼角也眼淚汪汪，亂可憐一把的。摸摸芋頭的腦袋，覺得它怪委屈的乖乖的樣子。給它喝了小半碗溫牛奶，也不知道有沒有幫助。固體食物芋頭沒怎麽吃（不過在平時它也是這個樣子，只要喝了牛奶，就不好好吃飯），喝完牛奶後有些沒精神地臥在石板地上，希望它自己在戶外鍛煉出的抵抗力能夠讓它自然痊愈。

芋頭從以前就覺得它吃東西和別的幾只貓不太一樣，狂愛喝牛奶不說，時不時會吃快了，然後就自己往外嘔吐。總覺得芋頭的腸胃比別的貓嬌貴一些，平時吃東西也慢條斯理的。

虎妞昨天晚上又在後院的冷氣機主機上睡覺。覺得這幾只貓朋友已經越來越把我家後院當作晚間休息的場所了，雖然它們可以選擇的休息場所其實不少：我們這兩條街的房屋，後院跟後院都相互連著，家家後院都有大樹和各種植物，所以形成了一條全是植被覆蓋的狹長通道，是小貓、狸貓、松鼠、紅衣鳳頭鳥（cardinal）、藍松鴉和其他各種鳥類自由自在出沒的好場所，是他們的家園，從我家窗戶望出去，會有種住在樹林邊上的錯覺。

在這樣的環境裏生活的小動物應該是蠻幸運的。這附近不會有任何人去騷擾它們（除了機動車有時會給它們帶來危險，但只要不過馬路就沒事），讓他們可以隨心所欲地活動。狸貓的動作比較笨拙。但是常來找我的那幾只貓，動作卻非常靈巧，從來不會去故意破壞植物和花盆，不過虎妞這個莽撞的小妞倒是打翻過兩次花盆。除我們家以外，還有幾戶人家也經常給貓咪留食物。它們有的吃，又自由。所以，倒並不覺得把他們關在屋子裏一定是它們想要的。

只是冬天又快到了，總想著怎麽才能讓貓朋友們能夠暖和一點呢。

下雨了

下雨了。

好幾年沒有像這個星期天這樣痛快地下雨，從星期六的後半夜，雷聲和閃電就交錯不斷，看來我不像以前睡覺那麽沉了，可能潛意識裏，打雷會讓我緊張。星期天早晨開始，就開始下各種雨，瓢潑大雨、傾盆大雨、江南細雨、霧雨、一會兒淅淅瀝瀝、一會兒聒噪不停，一直到星期天深夜也不消停。

這麽大的雨，幾只小朋友還是被肚子驅使，頑強又固執地等在廚房外的窗沿上。從前不久開始，一旦下雨，我就會在後院撐一把巨大的紅傘，虎妞很快就學會在傘下面躲避，這個星期天，肥大和肥二也學會在傘下面躲雨吃罐頭，日子蠻愜意。

別看星期天是這樣讓人多愁善感傷春悲秋假惆悵的天氣，星期六卻是個艷陽天！清晨，和Springdrops換上了全新的跑鞋，一大早就沖到森林小徑去慢跑，破紀錄地跑了近50分鐘！納入“高科技”的新跑鞋果然與衆不同，非常輕便，跑起步來輕鬆的不得了，不過cushioning並不是很厚，因此根據一位認識的跑步達人的介紹，這款跑鞋可以練習腳板底的耐跑程度。跑完步後，到附近書店的滿城市都是的咖啡廳一人叫了杯熱拿鉄，一塊糕點，享受頗有成就感的早晨。

然後，在家裏又看了一遍龍貓和千與千尋，下午盡然又興致不錯地到皇后區農場去看農莊動物，竟然看到了前些時候在中國很紅的“羊駝”，十分好脾氣地讓遊人撫摸，還有比豬還肥大的綿羊，一大裙肥碩的蘆花雞，和巨大的奶牛（我覺得美國的農莊動物都要比小時候在中國看到的大好幾圈），農莊還有大片玉米地、向日葵、各種農作物，還第一次吃到了菇蔦（ground cherry）。

從各種意義上講，這都是個非常充實又美好的周末。

一葉知秋

前幾天似乎還是盛夏，今天清晨從窗口向外望，已有秋涼之意。

農曆已過了立秋，雖然到處都還是夏天的感覺，但老祖宗的日曆自有其道理，秋的腳步窸窸窣窣逼近了，只我們尚未察覺。人是失去了直覺、很鈍的動物。

早晨望著後院，看見一片小小的黃葉翻卷著落到草地上，才驚覺農曆是那麽敏銳。貓咪的食欲這兩個星期變大了，記得去年他們也是這樣，離入冬前還有好久就開始猛吃，進入冬天時都肥肥敦敦的。前兩天小胖子“肥大”跟我起膩，蹭著蹭著我胳膊，突然一高興張嘴咬了我一口，好在小胖子力道掌握得好，胳膊上只是輕微有點牙齒感，看來貓跟你感情好，有幾個階段，先是用身體在你身上亂蹭，然後會用頭輕輕拱你，玩高興了就張嘴輕咬，小動物的小狂野畢露。有時候蹭高興了，也會突然躺倒露出軟軟的腹部，希望你亂揉一番，這個時候反而要特別注意他們的小爪子，總是興奮地四處亂揮舞，稍不留神就抓出道道血痕。

充實的周末

在家附近發現了一條森林小徑，專供健身者騎車、跑步和走路。小徑的起點是一個棒球場，終點也是一大片用於開展團隊體育活動的綠地，全程大概3英里，蛇形盤繞在鬱鬱蔥蔥的樹木裏，因此鍛煉的人幾乎從頭至尾都可以被樹蔭庇護。偶爾，樹木間會有一個豁口，露出清晨的陽光。小徑兩側有茂密的灌木，各種野生植物，時不時靜靜開放的山野花朵，會讓你產生真的身處深山中的錯覺，不過其實，小徑的兩側往往是住家的後院，只不過樹木高大茂盛，遮得嚴嚴密密罷了。

在小徑上跑一個來回，大概6英里，去的時候尚有些氣喘疲憊，如果能堅持到終點，折返的時候，心律已經調整完畢，回程的跑步就十分輕鬆。一趟下來，汗如雨下，身心輕鬆，像要飛起來的感覺。

我喜歡我所居住的城市，原因很多，很重要的一條就是，即便是在這樣一個寸土寸金的金融文化中心，也會如此奢侈的到處都規劃出供市民開展各種體育活動的場所：綠地、運動場、足球場、棒球場、森林小徑、自行車道等等。即便是生活在鋼鐵林立的都市，也讓我們永遠都找得到自然，找得到一個呼吸氧氣、揮汗如雨的場所。跑步本身是一件比較枯燥的運動，一個人跑步常常需要聼耳機就是為了打發無聊，不過如果是這樣，又無法聽見鳥叫蟲鳴。和朋友一起跑步，不但不會很累，也可以互相加油，我們在小徑上跑步的路途中，對面不斷有很多老頭往反方向慢跑或走路，其中有好幾個都友好地跟我們打招呼，有一個長得好像愛因斯坦，還遇到了各種品種的狗狗，真的是十分愉快的早晨。

星期日去了植物園。這大概是這麽多年來去植物園感覺最好的一次，因爲園子裏的人稀奇的少，大概早晨的天氣預報原本報導有雨，讓很多人卻步。但周日其實是個大晴天，陽光十分慷慨充足，使我終於曬黑了（oh yeah）。

雖然玫瑰園的玫瑰大半已凋敝，我們卻看到了多年來看到過的最美的荷花和蓮花池。盛夏看荷與蓮，正是季節：胭脂粉、臘梅黃、錦緞紫、雪膚白，夏風中輕擺搖曳，無風時則矜持端莊。但比起矚目的花，我卻更愛荷葉，怎麽也看不夠荷葉的種種姿態：愛那綠色飽滿，葉片肥厚，曲折翻卷的葉邊，在風的逗弄下，更展現婀娜風姿。如在雨後，葉片成大盤，中央匯聚著晶瑩的雨珠，則似躍出畫絹的工筆佳作。愛荷葉者，雖愛夏荷，但愛秋荷更勝之。夏盡秋始，綠意漸退，螢黃與焦紅慢慢暈染葉邊，池中低垂頸項，送夏遠，迎秋至，迎來那肅殺前最後的絢爛季節。黛玉說，李商隱所有的詩中，唯一喜愛的，只有一句“留得殘荷聼雨聲”，讀後便不能忘。

看了莎翁的The Merchants of Venice的電影（Al Pacino as Shylock, Jeremy Irons as Antonio），竟然那麽好看。前段時間看了Ian McKellen的King Lear話劇版，覺得很吃力，所以原本以爲這次也會看得很吃力，但其實看得很投入，有些片段甚至很動容。這幾位演員臺詞和演技之出色毋需贅述，而因爲是電影，因此場景和道具都十分華麗，拍攝手法也起到一種指引作用，對我這樣的莎翁初學者十分有幫助，而臺詞應該也是依照原劇本，十分古雅，卻又並不難理解。記得有兩段篇幅很長的monologue聼得我十分投入，一段是Shylock控訴the mistreatment of Jew (hath not a Jew eyes 那段)，還有就是Bossanio和Portia在酒會上互訴衷曲的兩段（飾Portia的Lynn Collins演得很好也很漂亮，男裝竟然也很亮麗）。

Brothers

This film blew me away. I remember when I first saw its poster at the subway station closest to my office, I thought this looked like a good film, not just because of its head-turning, beautiful cast (Toby McGuire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman), but also that the poster exuded something like a powerful undercurrent. There was certainly a pulling force.


Sam Cahill (Toby McGuire) and Grace Cahill (Natalie Portman) are happily married with two lovely daughters, the image of a poster-perfect family. Aside from having a beautiful wife and children, Sam is a strong-willed, responsible marine captain, eager to serve his country, and loves his fellow soldiers. In short, he is the son that makes all parents proud. Along comes “Uncle Tom” (Jake Gyllenhaal), Sam’s younger brother, the black sheep of the Cahills who can’t seem to get his life in order and has a strained relationship with everyone in the family, except his brother Sam, who genuinely cares for him.


The story begins with Sam about to be dispatched again to Afghanistan, and Tom on parole from serving his time in prison for assaulting a woman (I think). At first it took a little bit of getting-used-to to see the three of them taking on the roles of parents and uncle. But they are very convincing, comfortable in their roles.


Something goes terribly wrong in Afghanistan, Sam is assumed killed in action, but is in fact captured by the enemy and imprisoned in a dark cell for months. The family grieves, and all of a sudden, Tom “grows up” and steps up, lending a shoulder and comforting presence to the devastated Grace and the two girls. Just when the long time strained relationship between Tom and Grace seems to take a turn for the better, and a spark of affection materializes between them, Sam is found and rescued, and he comes back.


But he comes back a changed man, a ghost of his former self, scarred for life from physical and mental tortures endured during his captivity. For me, from this point on, the “real” drama begins. And Toby McGuire BLEW ME AWAY with a gripping performance, delivered with such jarring, and sometimes terrifying force. Of course, both Portman and Gyllenhaal are stellar, but it’s McGuire that really makes this film take off. I could hardly believe my eyes how very different he looks after he comes back. His face almost distorted, his gaze unfocused but intense at the same time, his eyes glassy, and his limbs wiry (a sharp contrast to before), and his gait unnatural. All of his physical changes effectively echo a deeply wounded and suffering soul. He becomes unreachable and almost like a shadow, whereas Tom becomes a bit too comfortable assuming the central male role of the family.


The two little girls deserve a special applause! They don’t pale at all, acting alongside McGuire, Gyllenhaal and Portman. The scene of Isabella’s birthday dinner, oh gosh, I was holding my breath throughout that entire scene, just waiting for her to drive Sam over the edge.


The only thing I felt debatable is the ending. It felt too abrupt, almost like the filmmakers cut off the real ending and decided, “ok, we will just end here.” But everything that builds up to that point is just amazing.


The story of “Brothers” is not original; the film is an American remake of a Danish film. The Danish film, from what I’ve heard in filmmakers’ commentary, seems to have a slightly different take, focusing more on the illicit relationship between the Tom character and the Grace character. The American version probably toned it down, shifting the focus to family. But whether this film intended to or not, it does send a powerful anti-war message, what war could do to a man. A film is a wonderful thing when good looks and good acting are aligned.

Match Point

It is interesting watching Match Point right after watching Brideshead Revisited (2009).  In Brideshead Revisited, Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) reminds me of someone I know, but there is no resemblance whatsoever with that same person upon seeing his performance as Tom Hewitt in Match Point.  This indeed proves Goode is an excellent actor.  But he merely plays a supporting role in Match Point.  It is through him that the real protagonist Chris (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is introduced to a lifestyle of luxury and comforts, his career and future secured by marriage to the all-too-common (but sweet) Chloe Hewitt.  But of course, this is all too good to be true.

Meyers delivers a satisfactory performance.  Its his solo show, really.  But overall, the film suffers from a rather commonplace plot, IMO.  About half way through, I thought, please let there be a murder, or else it would just be such a boring story.  And I was not disappointed.  I rapped my desk with glee (not decent, I know) when the scene came up where Meyers starts fumbling in his father-in-law's shotgun room.   I can't explain why but I was rooting for him to get away with the whole clumsy murder of Nola -- the victim of every man's lust.  I think its because he's such a mediocre and pathetic person that he deserves to get away with it and live his rather mediocre and pathetic (though rich) life into his ripe old age.  I find no one particularly likable in this film.  The Hewitts strike me as careless, heartless and stupid people, living naively and unintentionally, robbed of sensibilities only those who climbed up from below could understand.  Nola is a hapless tragedy who always has everything to lose, and who just can't seem to cling to something better.  And Tom (Goode) is mostly just in the background, serving as a contrast to Meyers, who has to juggle a dozen things at a time to hang on to his hard earned place.

Meyers is the only interesting character, comparatively speaking.  But he is not the first of his kind and he won't be the last.  He stands to lose everything, just like Nola.  The only difference between him and Nola is that luck seems to be on his side. 

At some point in the film, Meyers confides his problems to a friend, and he talks about his feelings towards the two women, Chloe and Nola, calling one "love" and the other "lust".  There is certainly a lot of lust in the film.  But I didn't find an iota of love, not from Meyers, not from Tom, not from Nola.  There is no genuine affection in this film, only a chockfull of greed, vanity, stupidity and smallish people.  Though Chloe's feeling towards Meyers may be genuine, but she is just too a-dime-a-dozen to be likable, a sweet and simple little thing, having everything and anything she desires only because she has the right papa to secure her happiness.