What comes into mind when hearing the design of Apple series? I think most of you will say simplicity. Yes! The beauty of its brand is rooted in the concept of simplicity which is also the motto for many designers of industry, not only the appearance, but also the application. When people go to stores to find some machines for house cleaning, how many of you will be prone to buying a dust catcher with a considerably thick instruction booklet? From the installation to operation, every step is so complicated that you would rather kill yourself, or the designer who is responsible for this machine. What consumers want manufactures to do is simplifying the process of installation and ues. When I was a high school student, I was taught DOS in computer lesson since windows was not as popular as now. At that time computer with DOS system was not attractive to me and to remember all the commands was such a pain. But the invention of windows has saved people like me who are not good at numbers, operating or science. What we need to do is open the computer, then click. In general people are afraid to face something complicated, and attracted by things that are simple and easy going.
However, simplicity does not mean regression. On the contrary, what is behind the simplicity is the big improvement. In order to provide products which can be simply used by all customers including disabled or illiterate people, scientists, engineers and product designers sometimes need to co-operate and figure out what and how to do. Simplicity is the based on the inspiration, hardworking, and consideration.
Simplicity is also can be used to measure great art. Many literary works don’t have intricate plots and many characters, but they are still considered masterpieces, because the greatness of these works is its simplicity. A simple plot of a novel, or a regular conversation in a play, might reflect the true nature of human beings, or deepest philosophical thought. We can refer to Waiting for Godot, which has a simplest plot, but various interpretations. It is the magical power of simplicity. A mysterious book from which people get a lot of fun might not inspire deepest thought, while a simple and short poem might make you reconsider your life.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
people hate losing more than death
There is a little girl living in a small village with her family. She is six years old. There are five people in her family: her parents, her old brother and her grandmother. Her parents are very busy; they plant, water, haevest in their farm from dawn to dark every day. Her grandmother does some housework.
The little girl goes to kindergarten every morning by herself. The kindergarten is on the other side of the river, so she has to cross the river by boat. Although toys are very old and stories told by her teacher are boring, she likes to go to kindergarten. She never misses her class since she always has a lot of fun in kindergarten. However, when she comes back home, she feels lonely. There are no interesting books or toys in her home. She has nothing to do, but talkes with her grandmother, because her grandmother also feels lonely.
One evening, grandmother tells the little girl about death. This old lady has no religious faith, and she is so scared of death, so sometimes she needs to have someone to talk about death. She expresses that death means people will vanish from the earth. Dead people cannot meet family members and friends any more, and their body will be placed under dark earth, then gradually eaten by worms.
The little girl is terrified by death very much. She run into her room. Her room is in the attic. When she is lying in bed, she thinks life is meaningless and boring, and death is inevitable. The waiting time for death is too long, which makes her feel pain and desperation. She tries to find someway to end her life, but even killing herself is meaningless.
Dinner time is coming. Mother askes her to come downstairs to have dinner with her family members. She refuses, because she does not want to eat anything. Eating dinner cannot save her from the coming death. She is just lying in bed lonley. The room is dark and cold. She even does not want to turn on the light, because brightness cannot help her to escape from death either.
After dinner, her old brother comes into her room. He is ten years old. He wants to play cards with his sister. At the beginning, the little girl is not willing to play cards since she is thinking about death. Playing cards is so meaningless to her! However, her brother is annoying, and insistes on it. She has no choice but chose to play cards. Her brother is very good at playing cards. At the beginning of their game, her brother wins alot, and she loses all the time. The brother is so proud of himself; he laughs at her about her bad luck and terrible technique. The girl becomes angry and starts to play cards seiously. At the end of their game, she eventually wins.
She is satisfied and feels a little tired. She falles into sleep. On the second day, she goes to the kindergarten by boat. She foegets all the dealth thing.
The little girl goes to kindergarten every morning by herself. The kindergarten is on the other side of the river, so she has to cross the river by boat. Although toys are very old and stories told by her teacher are boring, she likes to go to kindergarten. She never misses her class since she always has a lot of fun in kindergarten. However, when she comes back home, she feels lonely. There are no interesting books or toys in her home. She has nothing to do, but talkes with her grandmother, because her grandmother also feels lonely.
One evening, grandmother tells the little girl about death. This old lady has no religious faith, and she is so scared of death, so sometimes she needs to have someone to talk about death. She expresses that death means people will vanish from the earth. Dead people cannot meet family members and friends any more, and their body will be placed under dark earth, then gradually eaten by worms.
The little girl is terrified by death very much. She run into her room. Her room is in the attic. When she is lying in bed, she thinks life is meaningless and boring, and death is inevitable. The waiting time for death is too long, which makes her feel pain and desperation. She tries to find someway to end her life, but even killing herself is meaningless.
Dinner time is coming. Mother askes her to come downstairs to have dinner with her family members. She refuses, because she does not want to eat anything. Eating dinner cannot save her from the coming death. She is just lying in bed lonley. The room is dark and cold. She even does not want to turn on the light, because brightness cannot help her to escape from death either.
After dinner, her old brother comes into her room. He is ten years old. He wants to play cards with his sister. At the beginning, the little girl is not willing to play cards since she is thinking about death. Playing cards is so meaningless to her! However, her brother is annoying, and insistes on it. She has no choice but chose to play cards. Her brother is very good at playing cards. At the beginning of their game, her brother wins alot, and she loses all the time. The brother is so proud of himself; he laughs at her about her bad luck and terrible technique. The girl becomes angry and starts to play cards seiously. At the end of their game, she eventually wins.
She is satisfied and feels a little tired. She falles into sleep. On the second day, she goes to the kindergarten by boat. She foegets all the dealth thing.
About human compassion
"The problem with human compassion", written by Shankar Vedantam, is retional and logical. According to this article, the reason why people would rather donate money to save an abandoned dog than to save mass scale suffering is because our human brains don't have enough capability to deal with a large number of suffering people. People are more prone to save large proportions of suffering people. Therefore, compared to thousands of homeless or starving people and hungry children, one dog can more activate people's compassion. If the dog was saved, people would be satisfied because they rescued a 100% whole dog whose name and stories were known.
In this event, the media played an important role in transmitting a lot of information to people. From the media, people knew the name and stories about the dog, so they can imagine how poor the dog is and how cute the dog is. In the situation of just one dog, many people feel they have enough money and power to save it. However, when they face thousands of homeless people, they realize they can do onthing.
On 2008.5.12, there was a big earthquake happening in China, which killed 80000 local people, including many children because of the collapse of many schools. As a journalist, my husband went to the earthquake site. Before he went to there, he was excited because it was a good chance for developing his career. To him, thousands of killed people were numbers in his brain. However, when he went there and interviewed some families whose children were killed by the earthquake, he felt pain and desperation. He called me and cried that he even could not stand this tragedy. The interviewed parents told my husband what their chilren liked to do, what games they liked to play, and their favourite colors and pets. When my husband listened to these stories, he started to realize that these killed children are not just numbers published in newspapers, they are sons and daughters; they were human beings.
I believe that the reason why we have no compassion to suffering people partly because we cannot imagine the scene in our brains. If you are on the spot, it is a different story and your heart will be pulled out.
In this event, the media played an important role in transmitting a lot of information to people. From the media, people knew the name and stories about the dog, so they can imagine how poor the dog is and how cute the dog is. In the situation of just one dog, many people feel they have enough money and power to save it. However, when they face thousands of homeless people, they realize they can do onthing.
On 2008.5.12, there was a big earthquake happening in China, which killed 80000 local people, including many children because of the collapse of many schools. As a journalist, my husband went to the earthquake site. Before he went to there, he was excited because it was a good chance for developing his career. To him, thousands of killed people were numbers in his brain. However, when he went there and interviewed some families whose children were killed by the earthquake, he felt pain and desperation. He called me and cried that he even could not stand this tragedy. The interviewed parents told my husband what their chilren liked to do, what games they liked to play, and their favourite colors and pets. When my husband listened to these stories, he started to realize that these killed children are not just numbers published in newspapers, they are sons and daughters; they were human beings.
I believe that the reason why we have no compassion to suffering people partly because we cannot imagine the scene in our brains. If you are on the spot, it is a different story and your heart will be pulled out.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
play review about Beauty
When I finished Beauty, I kept thinking that what I would wish If I had the lamp. When I was a little girl, I read a tiny story about a pair of shoes which could take people to wherever they want to go. After reading this story, I could not fall into sleep and I hoped I could gain the shoes. I felt pain and desperate about the fact that the magical shoes could not be mine forever. There were too many miracles in all kinds of stories and books, but Nothing had happened to me. I was born in a boring village where there was no playground for children, and I had never met aliens who might take me to the space freely, or met a fairy who might give me some magical and powerful tools which could make my life easier and more joyful. I was so disappointed about my childhood, no magical shoes, no genie from a lamp, no guests from space.
Let me come bake to the Arabian lamp topic. I can infer that what I would do if I got the lamp when I was a little girl. At that time I definitely did not care whether I was a beauty or not because I even did not know what the beauty was. My heart and brain were full of imagination. My first wish would be the shoes by which I could visit my loved uncle at any time; my second wish would be a white horse with two wings, and I could give it as a gift to my elder brother who ferociously dreamed to keep a horse; third wish was my last wish but I needed more wishes to improve my life, therefore I had to beg more wishes from the genie. Maybe the genie would angry at my greed and then take back all the things given by wishes.
Now I am not a little girl any more. I am thirty years old and I don't believe any magical things. I clearly know myself that neither am I a beauty nor a smart girl, though I am not a fool. For a long time I have realized the fact I am eventually becoming a very common person. If one day I went to beach and picked up an Arabian lamp, how to distribute three omnipotent wishes is a question.
Three years ago I asked my husband a question that what he would do with 10 thousand dollaes. After serious thinking, my husband told me he would send me to South Korea to reshape my face and body. By plastic surgery,I would be a woman whose face looks like a movie star whom he likes very much. We both laughed and knew it was just a joke. But I remembered this joke clearly. To take revenge, I would wish genie to give my husband a plastic surgery making his face look exactly like a movie actor whom I love very much. However,the problem is that I also like my husband’s face. I am not sure whether I would get used to his changed face. Therefore my second wish would let the genie change my husband's face back. I cannot waste my third wish, so I have to wish more wishes from genie. If genie says it is out of rule, I have only one wish left. I would use my third wish to get as much money as Bill Gates has. Money is too important for my life.
Let me come bake to the Arabian lamp topic. I can infer that what I would do if I got the lamp when I was a little girl. At that time I definitely did not care whether I was a beauty or not because I even did not know what the beauty was. My heart and brain were full of imagination. My first wish would be the shoes by which I could visit my loved uncle at any time; my second wish would be a white horse with two wings, and I could give it as a gift to my elder brother who ferociously dreamed to keep a horse; third wish was my last wish but I needed more wishes to improve my life, therefore I had to beg more wishes from the genie. Maybe the genie would angry at my greed and then take back all the things given by wishes.
Now I am not a little girl any more. I am thirty years old and I don't believe any magical things. I clearly know myself that neither am I a beauty nor a smart girl, though I am not a fool. For a long time I have realized the fact I am eventually becoming a very common person. If one day I went to beach and picked up an Arabian lamp, how to distribute three omnipotent wishes is a question.
Three years ago I asked my husband a question that what he would do with 10 thousand dollaes. After serious thinking, my husband told me he would send me to South Korea to reshape my face and body. By plastic surgery,I would be a woman whose face looks like a movie star whom he likes very much. We both laughed and knew it was just a joke. But I remembered this joke clearly. To take revenge, I would wish genie to give my husband a plastic surgery making his face look exactly like a movie actor whom I love very much. However,the problem is that I also like my husband’s face. I am not sure whether I would get used to his changed face. Therefore my second wish would let the genie change my husband's face back. I cannot waste my third wish, so I have to wish more wishes from genie. If genie says it is out of rule, I have only one wish left. I would use my third wish to get as much money as Bill Gates has. Money is too important for my life.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
a few thought about Oil Spill Disaster
After I came to United States, I listen to radio every night to improve my listening skill, though my understanding is always limited by my poor Enlgish level. By listening to radio, I knew the news about oil spill thing for a while.
The fact that the problem is still not fixed and the situation going worse and worse really surprised me. Since I have seen too many Hollywood movies, I have thought that American government could deal with everything just as it has been portrayed in many Hollywood movies. Whatever disasters, including hurricane, flood, volcanic eruption, and even invasion from space, could be handled perfectly by American government or by American Heroes in those movies. However now, I need to face the reality that American government still has no perfect solution about how to control the oil spill after trying all kinds of methods, and that the Hero who can slove this problem still does not appear. The reality is really a hit at me, maybe at many people all over the world including American citizens. American mass now does not expect the government to save the whole world, but only to save the Gulf of Mexico, and give the balance back to this area where many creatures are living. Will the problem be fixed in a few weeks? Nobody including Obama can make sure that. We have to admit that America government is not omnipotent. This disaster provided a good lecture to both American government and American citizens.
I also thought that if this disaster happed in China, what would the reaction of Chinese government and Chinese people be? China media might report how brave the government was, how the government worried about people living in coast line, or how citizens were grateful to the government, and nobody would blame this problem on Chinese government, because comments concerning negative image of government would not be allowed to report by media which are also controlled by the Chinese government. Unlike American people, Chinese people always forgive their government so easily, because we never have expected government to do much for us. As a Chinese, I could say that Americans really have been spoiled by democracy.
The fact that the problem is still not fixed and the situation going worse and worse really surprised me. Since I have seen too many Hollywood movies, I have thought that American government could deal with everything just as it has been portrayed in many Hollywood movies. Whatever disasters, including hurricane, flood, volcanic eruption, and even invasion from space, could be handled perfectly by American government or by American Heroes in those movies. However now, I need to face the reality that American government still has no perfect solution about how to control the oil spill after trying all kinds of methods, and that the Hero who can slove this problem still does not appear. The reality is really a hit at me, maybe at many people all over the world including American citizens. American mass now does not expect the government to save the whole world, but only to save the Gulf of Mexico, and give the balance back to this area where many creatures are living. Will the problem be fixed in a few weeks? Nobody including Obama can make sure that. We have to admit that America government is not omnipotent. This disaster provided a good lecture to both American government and American citizens.
I also thought that if this disaster happed in China, what would the reaction of Chinese government and Chinese people be? China media might report how brave the government was, how the government worried about people living in coast line, or how citizens were grateful to the government, and nobody would blame this problem on Chinese government, because comments concerning negative image of government would not be allowed to report by media which are also controlled by the Chinese government. Unlike American people, Chinese people always forgive their government so easily, because we never have expected government to do much for us. As a Chinese, I could say that Americans really have been spoiled by democracy.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
My home work about Tape
Who are the characters?
There are two characters in this play, an attendant and a person. The person could be anyone of dead human being. He was guided by an attendant to a dark room. At first, he was confident and a little bit arrogant. But when he was told that he would be in this room until he finished reviewing all the lies he told when he was alive by a tape recorder, he was scared, starting losing control and composure. The attendant was a nice person, even he promised to provide beer to the person on his birthday. He was thoughtful and rational. He guided the dead human being to a dark room, providing answers to this curious person. From their conversation, we would know the attendant suffered a harsh training to be a good attendant. Maybe he used to be a person who had spent million years on going through his own lies in this room.
What is the play about?
A person, who was dead, was guided by an attendant to a very dark room. Then they had conversation thta was very strange to readers. The attendant was as patient as possible to answer the person’s all kinds of questions. From the conversation, we gradually knew a lot of things. We knew that the person’s life in this room would not be very joyful. No food and alcohol would be provided, and there even was no bed in the room. Instead of the situation of himself, the person was very curious about the attendant’s life, so he asked a lot of questions about that. Through their answering and questioning, we simultaneously got information that the attendant did not have name and dream, and almost never had had sleep. To be attendant, he had a rigorous process of training. As he said in the play, in long time, he would be a little bit of everything, a confidant, a confessor, friend, stern master and guide. From this, we could infer that many years ago, the guide might be the person, who was guided to this dark room by another attendant, and forced to listen all his own lies told during the time he was alive. At the end of the play, the reason way the person was needed to stay in the room was cleared up, the reason that he should finish listening to all his lies told during his whole life. The huge amount of his lies was recorded in ten thousand boxes of tapes. He was forced to stay in this room. And the amount of time he would spend in this room depends how many lies he told. When this truth was told to him, the person lost his control and composure. He was scared and felt regret, but everything was too late.
How does it make you feel?
At the beginning of this story, I felt curious. The setting of this story was very uncomfortable, and the conversation was strange. However, when I finished reading this play, I felt sad and a little bit scared. I was not sure whether really there was a room such like the room portrayed in the play, dark and ice.
What do you think about it?
I think it is a good play. People, including me, who have read this script, would not stop thinking that how many lies we have told during our life. I do not believe that there is a human being in the earth who never has told lies during his life. Even someone, whose virtue and morality enable him to avoid telling lies, cannot sure that he has never told lies to himself, deeply in mind. In philosophy, especially according to theory of categorical imperative by Kant Immanuel, telling lies is definitely wrong, against human morality, even for the purpose of helping people or saving people’s life. However, to our common people, we cannot assure that in some situation, telling lies is wrong or not. Telling lies as the part of human nature, or as the part of human weakness, is strongly involved in our daily living. When we tell lies, there are two reasons. One is that making our own lives easier. The second one is that we do not want to hurt people who will suffer the ruthless truths. A husband could tell lies to his wife about the reason why he came home late. A son could tell lies to his parents about his scores in school. A subordinate could tell lies to boss that the reason he was late is that his grandmother died this morning. We are living around the lies. But also as human being, do we really care about lies from people or our own lies? We don’t, because we allow for the existence of lies. We acquiesce in the rationality and validity of telling lies. But if there is a room waiting for liars, as the room in the play, I think all of our human being will be there and review our lies. In sum, although the secular world opens doors to liars, the absolutely moral world simultaneously records all your lies.
There are two characters in this play, an attendant and a person. The person could be anyone of dead human being. He was guided by an attendant to a dark room. At first, he was confident and a little bit arrogant. But when he was told that he would be in this room until he finished reviewing all the lies he told when he was alive by a tape recorder, he was scared, starting losing control and composure. The attendant was a nice person, even he promised to provide beer to the person on his birthday. He was thoughtful and rational. He guided the dead human being to a dark room, providing answers to this curious person. From their conversation, we would know the attendant suffered a harsh training to be a good attendant. Maybe he used to be a person who had spent million years on going through his own lies in this room.
What is the play about?
A person, who was dead, was guided by an attendant to a very dark room. Then they had conversation thta was very strange to readers. The attendant was as patient as possible to answer the person’s all kinds of questions. From the conversation, we gradually knew a lot of things. We knew that the person’s life in this room would not be very joyful. No food and alcohol would be provided, and there even was no bed in the room. Instead of the situation of himself, the person was very curious about the attendant’s life, so he asked a lot of questions about that. Through their answering and questioning, we simultaneously got information that the attendant did not have name and dream, and almost never had had sleep. To be attendant, he had a rigorous process of training. As he said in the play, in long time, he would be a little bit of everything, a confidant, a confessor, friend, stern master and guide. From this, we could infer that many years ago, the guide might be the person, who was guided to this dark room by another attendant, and forced to listen all his own lies told during the time he was alive. At the end of the play, the reason way the person was needed to stay in the room was cleared up, the reason that he should finish listening to all his lies told during his whole life. The huge amount of his lies was recorded in ten thousand boxes of tapes. He was forced to stay in this room. And the amount of time he would spend in this room depends how many lies he told. When this truth was told to him, the person lost his control and composure. He was scared and felt regret, but everything was too late.
How does it make you feel?
At the beginning of this story, I felt curious. The setting of this story was very uncomfortable, and the conversation was strange. However, when I finished reading this play, I felt sad and a little bit scared. I was not sure whether really there was a room such like the room portrayed in the play, dark and ice.
What do you think about it?
I think it is a good play. People, including me, who have read this script, would not stop thinking that how many lies we have told during our life. I do not believe that there is a human being in the earth who never has told lies during his life. Even someone, whose virtue and morality enable him to avoid telling lies, cannot sure that he has never told lies to himself, deeply in mind. In philosophy, especially according to theory of categorical imperative by Kant Immanuel, telling lies is definitely wrong, against human morality, even for the purpose of helping people or saving people’s life. However, to our common people, we cannot assure that in some situation, telling lies is wrong or not. Telling lies as the part of human nature, or as the part of human weakness, is strongly involved in our daily living. When we tell lies, there are two reasons. One is that making our own lives easier. The second one is that we do not want to hurt people who will suffer the ruthless truths. A husband could tell lies to his wife about the reason why he came home late. A son could tell lies to his parents about his scores in school. A subordinate could tell lies to boss that the reason he was late is that his grandmother died this morning. We are living around the lies. But also as human being, do we really care about lies from people or our own lies? We don’t, because we allow for the existence of lies. We acquiesce in the rationality and validity of telling lies. But if there is a room waiting for liars, as the room in the play, I think all of our human being will be there and review our lies. In sum, although the secular world opens doors to liars, the absolutely moral world simultaneously records all your lies.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Culture reference about Tape
Tape was written by Jose Rivera., who has also written numerous plays and won severall awards, one of which is Obie Awards. I did research bout Obie Awards. Below is the result of my research, citing from Wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obie_Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards bestowed by The Village Voice newspaper to theater artists and groups in New York City. As the Tony Awards cover Broadway productions, the Obies cover off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions. (There is an unrelated OBIE Award presented annually by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America for creative excellence in the world of advertising.)
The Obie Awards were initiated by Edwin (Ed) Fancher, publisher of the The Village Voice, who handled the financing and business side of the project. They were first given in 1956 under the direction of theater critic Jerry Tallmer. Initially, only off-Broadway productions were eligible; in 1964, off-off-Broadway productions were made eligible.
With the exception of the Lifetime Achievement and Best New American Play awards, there are no fixed categories and the winning actors and actresses are in a single category titled performance. There are no announced nominations. Awards in the past have included performance, direction, best production, design, special citations, and sustained achievement. Not every category is awarded every year. The Village Voice also awards annual Obie grants to selected companies, totaling $10,000. There is also a Ross Wetzsteon Grant, named after its former theater editor, in the amount of $2,000, for a theatre that nurtures innovative new plays.
Other awards for off-Broadway theater are the Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Desk Awards, the Drama League Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Awards.
The ceremony for the 2009-10 season was held on May 17, 2010 at Webster Hall (New York City), hosted by Michael Cerveris and Anika Noni Rose.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obie_Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards bestowed by The Village Voice newspaper to theater artists and groups in New York City. As the Tony Awards cover Broadway productions, the Obies cover off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions. (There is an unrelated OBIE Award presented annually by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America for creative excellence in the world of advertising.)
The Obie Awards were initiated by Edwin (Ed) Fancher, publisher of the The Village Voice, who handled the financing and business side of the project. They were first given in 1956 under the direction of theater critic Jerry Tallmer. Initially, only off-Broadway productions were eligible; in 1964, off-off-Broadway productions were made eligible.
With the exception of the Lifetime Achievement and Best New American Play awards, there are no fixed categories and the winning actors and actresses are in a single category titled performance. There are no announced nominations. Awards in the past have included performance, direction, best production, design, special citations, and sustained achievement. Not every category is awarded every year. The Village Voice also awards annual Obie grants to selected companies, totaling $10,000. There is also a Ross Wetzsteon Grant, named after its former theater editor, in the amount of $2,000, for a theatre that nurtures innovative new plays.
Other awards for off-Broadway theater are the Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Desk Awards, the Drama League Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Awards.
The ceremony for the 2009-10 season was held on May 17, 2010 at Webster Hall (New York City), hosted by Michael Cerveris and Anika Noni Rose.
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