作为一个山东人，我从小就知道饭桌不仅是一个吃吃喝喝的地方，更是一个举行仪式、交换人情、或者卸下面具、坦诚相见的地方。人们有感情无法表达，所以发明了节日，人们有语言无处可诉，所以发明了筵席。 在我的老家，饭桌上有一套严格的规矩。例如，女人不上桌。在家里请客，女人不和男人们一起入席，需要另外坐一桌。还有，父子不同席。父亲和儿子不安排在同一桌上坐席，父子一般也不在一起喝酒。以前，如果谁家父子在家里对饮，是要被外人笑话的。我们村王二伯有两个儿子，都爱喝两盅，家里没有酒具，就因陋就简，用烧红的铁丝套在坏电灯泡上，截出几个玻璃量杯一样的酒壶。恰好邻居来串门，在屋外听见父子三人在说话，大儿子说：“爹，你先喝了我这一泡。”二儿子说：“爹，你不能光喝俺哥这泡，也得喝我这一泡。”邻居纳闷，以为所说的“一泡”是尿，推门一看，原来喝的是酒。从此，传为笑谈。 ...
母亲从遥远的故乡来到我住的城市，帮我们照看儿子。自从大学毕业以来，第一次跟她在一起生活这么长时间。偶尔陪她一起出去散步，听她讲起故乡发生的各种奇事，那些不被报道、湮没在风中的故事，经过她朴素的描述，变成一场场悲惨的戏剧，默默地上演，默默地落幕。 故事从我的大伯母讲起。她和大伯没有生育，从贫困的盐碱滩的一户人家领养了一个刚刚满月的女儿。乡下养孩子跟养狗养猫养猪一样，哪舍得用尿布？每一个婴儿都穿“土裤”，土裤并不是裤子，而是一个大口袋。里面装着从田野里取来的、在锅里炒过的细砂土，把婴儿往里一戳，拉屎撒尿都在里面。有一天晚上，大伯母发现女儿要拉屎，突发奇想，直接叫黄狗来舔。黄狗跳起一口，咬到婴儿的屁股上，鲜血直流。大伯母四下看看，发现大伯没在身边，就装作什么也没发生，把婴儿插回到土裤里。没有打狂犬疫苗，也没有打破伤风，甚至连伤口都没有处理，过了一段时间，婴儿的屁股自己长好了。现在这个女儿已经出嫁，对大伯母十分孝顺。 ...
我对书的痴迷，可以从经常做的一个美梦看出来。我常常梦到在路边书摊或者书店里，遇到打折的好书，精挑细选，摩娑不已，抱起厚厚一摞，依旧恋恋不舍，直到醒来，发现是梦，一天都会怅然若失。 我喜欢买书，却不怎么读书。每年年初，我都做一个读书计划，但事后我发现，没有哪一年的计划真正执行过。 我找出一本十六、七年前的笔记本，那时候，互联网还没有走进我的生活，没有个人主页，也没有博客，所有的表达都记在本子上。我发现了当时的读书计划。 ...
Abandonment 遗弃，在英国指的是16岁以下的少年儿童的父母或监护人放弃对孩子的抚养，且没有交给他人养育。 如果遗弃罪成立，法庭将允许少年儿童被收养，而无需获得其父母或监护人的同意。 …leaving a child under the age of 16 to its fate. Abduction 诱拐罪 违背16岁未婚女孩的父母/监护人的意愿，将其带走的行为。不管有没有与其发生性行为的意图。不知道女孩的年龄不成为辩护理由。 ...
【特别声明】以下教程只是为了演示如何海淘，目前来看，QQ-EX严重不推荐，我最近三批货物滞留了1个月还没运到。请大家选择其他转运公司。 海淘，就是从海外网站直接购物，然后通过转运公司运到国内，绕开代购中间商的淘货方式。海淘有两个关键环节，一个是B2C电子商务网站，一个是转运公司。 电商网站不难找，Amazon就是最大的一家，从摇篮到坟墓，从图书到衣服，它无所不包，无所不售，作为大陆人，只要有一张可以支付外币的信用卡（VISA或MASTER），就可以在这里轻松购物。 然而，在Amazon购物有一个问题。这个网站除了书和碟之外，大部分商品都不支持国际运输，即便支持，运费也高得吓人。我曾经在那里买过两本50美元的书，运费就要30多美元。 ...
儿子今天满月，我却累得说不出有趣的话。他的妈妈更是，现在是3:30分，从昨晚11点开始，儿子就重复吃奶-哭-再吃奶-再哭的过程。 人类如果继续进化，应该让男人开始哺乳，以分担女人产后的劳累。作为一只对母乳喂养无所贡献的生物，我能做的力所能及的工作是换尿布，以及查新生儿养育的英文资料。我掌握这两门技能的速度很快，已经可以在15秒之内，提起儿子的双腿，换上干净尿布，也可以在15分钟之内，通过英文网站，解决最迫切困惑的育儿问题。 ...
To study economics has never been easy. There are so many jargons, terms, equitions, models, curves and graphs. However, we are lucky to live in a digital age, in which all kinds of learning resource is accessible. I’ve found it could be a better way to study economics through reading the opinion columns of WSJ–the Wall Street Journal. Since Murdock acquired WSJ, the journal has erected a content paywall. Although a few articles are still free of charge, most of them need to pay to access. I subscribed the Kindle version of WSJ with a monthly fee of USD19.00. As a result, I can read the full contents of WSJ on web, kindle and my iPhone. As a Chinese columnist, I pay more attention to my western countparts. To read their articles is the best way to learn the craft of writing. Writing is no more than carpentery. What I need are skill and tools. Talent is not for learning, but still is. That’s where my confidence has come from. ...
As a Chinese blogger, accidents are essential parts of the virtual life. Your ip could be blocked. You DNS could be contemplated. Your registry could be terminated without prior notification. And the server running your blog could be unplugged. So, when someone told me that this blog could not be visited, I thought it was just another accident directed by the GFW–Chinese censorship machine. However, finally I had found that it’s unaccessible even penetrating the wall by using a paid VPN. Every time when I typed the url of this blog, I got this message:“Your Tumblr is suspended.” I was greatly puzzled. According to the Term of Service of Tumblr, an account will be suspended when it publishes harmful materials such as pornography, racism and hatred contents etc. But I have never posted any entries like that. Why me? There are several effective ways to learn the craft of English writing, among which the best method, I think, is writing complaint letters. The key element of writing well is not skill, but the impulse, the dire need of expressing yourself. I wrote a complaint email to [email protected]. I got their reply very soon. ...
The best column article ever written. Nobody Understands Debt by Paul Krugman. Why we need columnists? Once I asked a friend who is a programmer and geek: “Do you read columns in Chinese?” “Seldom do I read these stuff. Though you are a columnist, I have to say, most columnist are cheaters and not worth of a dime. " His answer really discouraged me. But I think he is right. Many columns published on newspapers and magazines, only few are worth of reading. But in the world of English language, this is not true. Columnists enjoy a large scale readership. Their opinions are not only powerful enough to change the public opinion but also change the policies of government. Mr. Paul Krugman-the Nobel Prize for economics winner, is a good example. His column in the New York Times is so popular that some readers claim that the only reason to subscribe the Times is to read his OP-ED. ...
这一年过得真快，2010年12月31日－2011年1月1日，我和老婆参加了跨年诗歌朗诵会。在新年钟声敲响之际，大家齐声朗诵卡瓦菲斯的《城市》。 匆匆一年，有猫相伴。白菜头不是宠物，而是家庭成员。这一年，它带给我们太多的安慰、快乐、以及短暂悲伤后的惊喜。 这是一张很普通的照片，于我，却有惊心动魄的含义。2011年2月12日，站在杭州的中轴线上拍下这张照片。2个小时之后，一张辞呈已经打好。 ...