Friday, January 29, 2016

Experimenter The Best Film of 2015


Experimenter
by Laijon Liu 20160130

Culture constructs society, culture constructs men
Your black suits, white shirts, formulated speech, and fashion
Like poems those in meters and rhymes, musical
Melodies and beats to ear, how we self-exam
Assembly lines, bosses own your laboring hours
That you punch time card on time, off work on time
No, you don’t save life in ER, you don’t fire guns
But the boss’ poker face and his dictating tones
Program your hearts and arms, make you, them tremble

I wish you work for the money, for money only
Moral rights, patriot terms, responsibility are such confuse terms!
Leaders spill their saliva, howl in front of mic
Like they always know and right, and your faith on them is duty
Cops watching the streets, like everyone is suspect or guilty
Skin color separates our race, even our shit is the same
Asians look the same, and Earthians all act alike:
Obedience, Conformity, Tradition… words must harmonize
And we stand in line, wait for turns, or together dance in trance.


Note:

You can't stop the dancing mobs
but you can turn the music off,
You can't correct the faulty system
but you can correct the head boss, 
A king only gets to wear his jewel crown
when his subjects live in his wonderland.

Every student should watch this film and talk about it in class. But for people who don’t really understand about individual rights to make decision for anything and any time may not fully get it. If most of people, the Earthians fully understand of concept of Liberty, Human Rights, the equal power of every person in our society, countries governing system, military, workplace… our world would never face danger and currently in economic and social mess. I’ve worked a few jobs, almost have had argument with every boss, whenever I feel their tone of speech, order of work, and management unfair to co-wokers or me I always arrange a meeting with boss, many times my close friends advise me not to meddle others’ affairs, as long as I can protect myself, because bosses usually have great instinct know the hard nuts not to crack in his company, I often project that bad image, but I just can’t control my urge not to offer my word of advice to bosses, yeah, a few jobs I quit, 2 jobs I get fired, and after that I fear too, my bank account often shows a few hundreds, and the following weeks I suddenly become the one praying, begging, lying, embellish my college drop-out resume, trying many ways to impress interviewers for a low position, a minimum wage.
It’s hard to be a poet, artist; it’s harder to be an activist; but the hardest is an activist at workplace. but I am lucky, I don’t have a family to feed, so I don’t need to sallow the bitter pill and walk away, like my co-worker once says: “Just let it slide.”
I am anti-'authority', the one intimidates, bad people wield 'their' 'power' no matter they are giants or dwarfs. My junior high teacher in China told me if I don’t stand back in line and behave like everyone else does, quit be rightoues, opinionated and bumptious, otherwise I would at least sit jail for 20 years in Chinese society. Chinese learn from elementary school to shut up, sit straight, listen, act respectfully, please teachers, not to reason with parents, fear authority. Oh, I am lucky. I move out and live in US. God bless Me! But there are still many ridiculous social rules in America (Free Country that praise individuality, think different thru their white or black iphones, social network every commute minute while drinking coke or pepsi:-), people like herds they love to fall into groups and camps, if you see a man dress like Bond, swagger in the office like he own the place and workers on that floor, you know he is the boss, and you suddenly feel that you are a chick want to fly away from the cuckoo’s nest, weary.
Awards, Labels, Authority, People’s Choice, Celebrity, Money Tower, Media Channels, Religion Organizations, special artifacts… too many devices to make us to obey, conform, sigh.
Also, I don't think it's realistic to walk away from a bad management or corrupted society, only in the West people have that freedom and choice, you can walk away if you don't abide the rule, find other places or company, however natives think twice to walk away if they live in a bad society or bad company, everywhere is the same in that culture, you get punished if you do not conform, it's a pirate boat, your job is to hit the switch, to electrify someone. a few eager to do evil so to impress their boss. My personal experience, 5th grade elementary school in China, teacher found out I didn't turn in the homework and left, she had about 10 boys to chase me to my home, and tried to bring me back, I tried to bribe them with 50c RMB in early 1980s, and 2 of them refused and pounced me on the ground sat on my chest, beat me to tears. kids are fast learners, easy to influence, eager to please. Most Western people follow stupid rules and 'authority' because they are stupid, tools are easy to fool, watch the voting seasons. But in China, the kings and bosses have to make example out of head-strong heroes, so everyone knows the consequence, make sure people follow the order keep hitting the switch, that's conformity there. they drive people with voilence and fear. in that kind of social order, walking away or disobeying order is big No No, people can only run, get away, or be smart, find a way to behead the king in public, so the public sees your upcoming reign, like David kills Goliath, but he becomes a king too. that empty bucket down and and another rises full, the cycle never ends. 
Experiementer is the Best Film of 2015, go watch it, conform! :D


The Best Film of 2015:
Experimenter link
I guess this film not gonna win this year's best film award, but its content should be the head of herd.





















Wednesday, January 13, 2016

The Revenant Film Poem


The Revenant Film Poem
Laijon Liu 20160113

hear the winds brushing the tall trees, my son
hear the rumbling in the distant clouds
far west, the frontiersmen trapping in deep woods
there the antler moose and the grizzlies roam
there the icy rivers and gushing streams
there the gentle rains and fragrant breeze

America the beautiful, in Her cruelty and raw
Her pair rough hands make you free and brave
Her snowy rocky cliffs make your heart climb and leap
Do not fear the huntsman's powder guns
Do not fear the encircling gray wolves, do not!
Go, claim this land your home; Go, regain your breath.


Note:
I have watched The Revenant, very beautifully shot film, I think there are some Native symbolic images I need to learn more about, but the father-son, Natives-White Settlers/Explorers how they fight each other and also help each other too, the America this Land and traveling men, the hunter and forest, the protecting mother grizzly and huntsman, the harsh environment and men, even Natives are kind of in a rocking boat in winter seasons... all wrapped in 2.5 hours. And the film is also inspired by a true story? I guess the true story is less poetic than the film. Of course, the film main theme is to revenge, father for his son's death, but along the ways thru many times escape of death the character recovers and becomes spiritually stronger too, not fear of death so he be on the road to fix what's right. It's settler's story, immigrant's story, a Natives story, American story, more and more I learn it's not what I can do to contribute this society, this country, my home, no matter how rich or talented I am how great things or miracle one has done, as for everyone, it's not a man makes America great, but this land America makes us great. The environment makes men, always shapes us into a better form thru many trials of hardship. so what kill you not make you stronger? but some injury can't be recovered.
Big Film!

ps. there's also another good immigrant film I love: Brooklyn








Monday, January 4, 2016

好诗几首

绝版诗话

辛笛 (1912-2004)
航 http://baike.baidu.com/item/航/16414519

帆起了
帆向落日的去处
明净与古老
风帆吻着暗色的水
有如黑蝶与白蝶

明月照在当头
青色的蛇
弄着银色的明珠
桅上的人语
风吹过来
水手问起雨和星辰
从日到夜
从夜到日
我们航不出这圆圈

后一个圆
前一个圆
一个永恒
两无涯涘的圆圈
将生命的茫茫
脱卸与茫茫的烟水



----------------------------------------

香港新詩 七個早逝優秀詩人

覃权(1944-1978)
https://yvonnefrank.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/%E8%A6%83%E6%AC%8A%EF%BC%88%E9%99%84%E8%A9%A9%E9%88%94%EF%BC%89/

薄暮

霧裏的弓月
低低的躺在冷寂的
海平線上
這是僅有的
一隻船
淡淡地發著光



-------------------------------------------

悒鬱的芦沟桥 【截选】
彭耀芬(1923-1942)

你去那边的大地
我怀中躺有一颗种子
你埋在世纪的土壤里吧
可是胜利回来
不可忘记给我墓头插上一朵花。



----------------------------------------------------------


断章
卞之琳 (19102000

你站在桥上看风景,
看风景的人在楼上看你。

明月装饰了你的窗子,
你装饰了别人的梦。

Fragment

When you watch the scenery from the bridge,
The sightseer watches you from the balcony.

The bright moon adorns your window,
While you adorn another’s dream.

---------------------------------------------

我的寂寞是一条长蛇
冯至 (1905—1993

我的寂寞是一条长蛇,
静静地没有言语。
你万一梦到它时,
千万呵,不要悚惧。

它是我忠诚的侣伴,
心里害着热烈的相思;
它想那茂密的草原——
你头上的、浓郁的乌丝。

它月光一般的轻轻地
从你那儿轻轻走过;
它把你的梦境衔了来,
象一只绯红的花朵。

-----------------------------------------------------
My favorite great Poet, Ms. Zhai Yongming, Her poetry book, billignual on Amazon, she has experienced the old, the straved, the mad, the modernize, and current China, born 1955, her sense and sensibility and talents is not for many poets to match, often I wonder culture makes people society and their government system, a few great poets are lucky to born in those special times bear a great purpose to record down their first hand experiences, to tell a correct balanced narrative of history for future to correct and justify. Her Poetry Book on Amazon: the Changing Room by Zhai Yongming translated by Andrea Lingenfelter
http://www.amazon.com/Changing-Room-Selected-Yongming-Jintian/dp/0981552137/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452189006&sr=1-1&keywords=the+changing+room+zhai+yongming


我的蝙蝠
翟永明

蝙蝠是我的密友 是我的衣服
是我的头发追随我
隐姓埋名的缘由
漫长的冬天与我常住

他是畜类中最钟情的一种
空虚易碎的心最能打动
茫茫无边的鬼魂
悬空的夜晚 有他的睡眠

...

蝙蝠是我的影子
他的思想跟踪我
获取确切的情报 直至
盲目的爱情使他神志恢复
孤零零的流浪
他执意的飞行永远无法接近鸟类
因他生就的苦难相难以自由
睡不着的夜里 他倒挂着
与我作对 加强四周的黑暗

My Bat
Zhai Yongming
trans. Andrea Lingenfelter

Bat is my secret friend the clothes I wear
the hair trailing behind me
the reason I go incognito
abiding with me thru endless winters

he's the most devoted domestic animal
a fragile and empty heart is easiest to touch
the vast countless ghosts
nights suspended in the air embrace his sleep

.

bat is my shadow
his mind tracks me
gathering reliable intelligence until
blind love bring him back to his senses
lonely wayfarer
his persevere flight never close to birds'
for his look of inborn suffering is hard to escape
on sleepless nights he hangs upside down
opposing me deepening the surrounding darkness

.

-------------------------------------------------------------

野兽
黄翔

我是一只被追捕的野兽
我是一只刚捕获的野兽
我是被野兽践踏的野兽
我是践踏野兽的野兽

我的年代扑倒我
斜乜着眼睛
把脚踏在我的鼻梁架上
撕着
咬着
啃着
直啃到仅仅剩下我的骨头

即使我只仅仅剩下一根骨头
我也要哽住我的可憎年代的咽喉

 -------------------------------------------------------


山里的小诗
冯雪峰

鸟儿出山去的时候,
我以一片花瓣放在它嘴里,
告诉那住在谷口的女郎,
说山里的花已开了。































A Park Bench

A Park Bench
Laijon Liu 20160104

there under a tree in the corner
for spring to dress you with broken petals
and fall blankets you with withered leaves
O, memory rusts with time

some weekends, children fly by on scooters
rippling echo waves of their sunshine laughters
there under the summer moonlight, in your bosom
you hear how young couple's conversation construct
and there are times, gray hair men with cane
temporarily sit with you, staring at barren winter garden
and slowly walk into the passing seasons, never return.