Shawshank's 岁月点滴

Walking on the streets of Shanghai, I noticed Shanghai Dialect is rarely heard anymore.
Instead, mandarin and dialects from all over the country filled in. On the subway, a lady sitting to my right opened up with Spanish after a few phone rings; to my left, several lao3wai2 were talking to each other in Australian and American English.
This afternoon I sat in a tea house with a college friend who is from JiangXi, he lamented the earlier years when he had to learn to speak Shanghai Dialect simply to avoid being looked down upon. “Now things have changed” he added, “What dialect one speaks is no longer attached to the judgment upon him.”
Things are always evolving at a faster pace in China. When the older Shanghainese realized the younger generations don’t even know how to converse properly in the dialect they are so proud of, they started campaign to save the dialect as a cultural heritage.
It’s somewhat sad to see the dialect’s further decline in popularity, but meanwhile I am happier to see the city is following NYC and Paris, where you don’t have to speak New York accent English or French to be accepted. This is part of the transformation the city has to go through, from a city-zen’s city, to a country’s city, and to the whole world’s city.

I think I am getting tired of the overwhelming, endless coverage of Steve Jobs. There is no denial that he is one of the greatest leader and visionary, and his contribution to computing is unfathomable. But, aren’t we giving him too much attention? For the past two days, we’ve heard nothing but endless praises, but does he deserve people’s worship and deification?

At the crux of Steve’s success, he was right on two things: (1) He offered an alternative to Microsoft’s success; (2) He fashionized computers. And he delivered two at the right moment, when the individualistic people are struggling to find their own individuality in the internet age. Each of us were born equal, but not the same. Each of us has our own worth and uniqueness. We don’t have to be unique by following the crowd. When people lost their judgement and blind-sightly refuse to buy anything but apple, they’ve turned Apple to a religion, Steve Jobs to Messiah.

If the Christian teaching is true, Jesus might return one day, but not Steve Jobs. So, why not we restore him as a human, and let’s challenge ourselves by borrowing something from the Bible: Instead of worshiping Steve, let’s live his life, his passion, his determination, and bring out the best of ourselves? In short, let’s be like him! Actually it’s not difficult at all, because he has already told us how in his 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech: belief in connecting the dots; a true love and passion in what you do; keep looking and never settle; follow your heart and live the best of your daily life; don’t live someone else’s life, …… By living a life like that, you will find yourself a person you like more each day, and eventually, even the next Steve.

Here once again, his famous speech:

Even the most die-hard fan have to admit Roger Federer’s era is passed. 2011 is the first year he hasn’t brought home any Grand Slam Trophies; his game slips, in especially the mental part. People began to talk about “IF Roger’s mind were stronger, he would have had at least 2,3 trophies”
But people might not have realized, they are demanding him to be God, not a man, as being a man is already not easy:


If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man. my son!
(It’s a poem by Rudyard Kipling, an English poet)