星期四, 9月 29, 2005

讓我們一起迷路吧!


29.999999歲的凌晨3點,腦子裡的酒精嗡嗡作響,在銅鑼灣大街上左搖右擺。即使無量煙酒,我仍堅持自己的「走直線」遊戲,沿著石磚間的細線,一路打道回府。然而地上漸漸靠近的巨大黑影,令我不得不將視線提高。原來是龍貓先生站在面前。

「Hi!」打招呼的同時,我正在盤算哪一條線可以繞過他龐大的身驅。
龍貓先生打了個大哈欠,顯然不習慣熬夜。然後遞出一張紙條。
我接過來一看,上面寫著「讓我們一起迷路吧!」,這是宮崎駿博物館的口號。
「龍貓先生,非常感謝你的好意,不過我前兩天才去過呢。」可能對我的答案不大滿意,龍貓先生忽然跳上半空,巨大的身體著地時,所有東西都被彈開了幾尺。我身旁的亡命小巴,就這樣飄浮了半條街。龍貓先生大概認為在深夜出沒應該是很安全的,不過他忘了這裡是銅鑼灣。當我還在猶疑的時候,方圓百尺的女子已經開始發狂,一窩蜂擁過來,不一會就像土著抬獵物一樣,把龍貓先生抬走了。剩下我,手上拿著入場券,撕開票角……。

站在「喜喜」門口。燈光如以往昏暗,一樣的煙味與酒味,和膩到不可再膩的音樂,只有角色是完全重新佈置過的。看門的大漢,左邊變成天空之城的巨人,右邊則是剛果巨蟲。裡頭貓巴士站在吧檯旁,12隻手抱著12個美女,露出招牌笑容。無面男在舞池中,把大喇叭吞進肚裡,一面拚命搖頭。一隻隻煤炭屎鬼,泡在Chivas酒杯裡,浮浮沉沉。卡西火醉倒在沙發上,不停吐火,燒出一個個炭黑的小洞。只有龍貓先生沒到,希望他平安無事。玩得興高采烈之際,湯婆婆和油婆婆進場查牌,突然曲終人散。

當我回到銅鑼灣大街時,雙腳依然踩在線上。
30而立那天,可以站的地方只有一條線。知道自己還不是大人,不過已經沒人把自己當小孩。
「讓我們一起迷路吧」。迷路,是小孩的專利,大人偶而分享一下,算是一種施捨,走出大門,門票就得交還了。

星期二, 9月 13, 2005

2+2=4


看過一篇報導,某數學家用5年的時間,成功證明了2+2真的等於4。這項研究獲得學界肯定,數學家因此聲名大噪。

聽起來有點詭異,2個蘋果加2個蘋果,不等於4個蘋果還能等於甚麼?而「成功證明」四個字,暗示結果可以是2+2不等於4。於是,買4塊錢香蕉,不能給2個2元;家中有2男2女,不能叫一家4口;網球雙打可能不公平,因為2對2並不代表只有4個人在打球。慶幸數學家證明廢話真的只是廢話,不然一條數式,足以叫我們回到侏儸紀。

2+2=4數學式,聽說長達5000多個數學符號。如果我們要驗證其他理所當然的廢話,絕對有機會傾家蕩產。例如人要有夢想,例如不可以傷害別人,又例如廣告要有創意。就算有人冒家破人亡的險去驗證,卻發現這些廢話原來是假的,我們大概也不願接受,就如2+2一定要等於4一樣。到頭來,我們只是在選擇,選擇相信2個2元,真能買到4元香蕉。一概理由,純屬假設。

順帶一提,假設很真實,但不是事實。例如「人是自私自利的」,這只是個假設,不必太認真。如果小時候曾經學經濟學壞師,造成下半世悲觀人生,可以考慮向中學老師申請賠償。

報上還提到,至今仍沒數學家能證明1+1=2。

This is not the future I signed up for

網上看到的,分享一下。

The future was riding on light, dancinng until the sun came up, smartdrugs, technology and progress walking from the bedroom to the desk.

Friends were never more than a button press away. Bandwidth was cheap and plentiful.

Road warriors carried silicon and wore leather. They were dangerous enough to be useful, and smart enough to be trusted.

We had clients, not employers. We made contracts and resolved our won conflicts. We were in constant competition with ourselves to make ourselves better. We worked as hard as we played, and our results proved this.

Our friends never went hungry or dry.

We celebrated ourselves and coming into our own. We saw the future with possibility not with fear. We invested in our future - the future as we saw it: knowledge, hard work that pays off, hard play that makes it all worthwhile. A life, not an existence.

Now we face the world as you have made it. A place where it is illegal to dance. Where we choose between eating and paying rent. Where our work lines your pockets while we live in fear that a job well done today means unemployment tomorrow.

Our future has not died. It lies dormant inside of us, fueling our hope and passion. A day will come when it will awaken, and we will be all this, and more.

Text by Delchi