Monthly Archives: April 2009

快樂之道

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Gradually I learned to be indifferent to myself and my deficiencies;

I came to centre my attention increasingly upon external objects:

the state of the wold,

various branches of knowledge,

individuals for whom I felt affection.

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— Bertrand Russell’s The Conquest of Happiness p.14

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2009.04.28 Tuesday ACHK

Work

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First of all: what is work? Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earth’s surface relatively to other such matter; second, telling other people to do so. The first one is unpleasant and ill paid; the second is pleasant and highly paid.

* Ch. 1: In Praise of Idleness
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2009.04.22 Wednesday ACHK

開山祖師

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在《尼各馬科倫理學》中，亞里士多德通常專注於在各種領域中找出介於兩個極端之間的平衡點；例如正義、勇氣、財富等等。舉例而言，

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勇氣是兩種感覺（恐懼和自信）之間的平衡點，並以此平衡點為基礎採取的行動（勇氣的行動）。

太多恐懼、太少自信會導致懦弱，

而太少恐懼、太多自信則會導致草率、愚蠢的抉擇。

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亞里士多德說找出事物的平衡點是找出幸福的關鍵，而幸福本身則是最終的至善形式。介於兩者之間的那個平衡點也常被稱為中庸之道（Golden Mean）。

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— 維基百科, 亞里士多德

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2009.04.18 Saturday ACHK

Story

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* “My stories run up and bite me in the leg— I respond by writing down everything that goes on during the bite. When I finish, the idea lets go and runs off.”

o Introduction to The Stories of Ray Bradbury

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2009.04.14 Tuesday ACHK

Four Quartets

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Then he meditates on the meaning of eternity, using a figure of which Eliot is very fond, “the still point of the turning world” (the center of a turning wheel remains in the same place) is really the source of movement:

[…] Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance

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— Wikipedia, on Four Quartets

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2009.04.13 Monday ACHK

清晰

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知道自己學識淵博的人, 會努力追求其學問的清晰明白，

而想在大眾面前表現自己很博學的, 則會將學問弄得晦澀難懂。

（173節）

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–尼采

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2009.04.11 Saturday ACHK

千面英

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PART ONE: The Adventure of the Hero

Chapter I: Departure

* 1. The Call to Adventure

The adventure begins with the hero receiving a call to action, such as a threat to the peace of the community, or the hero simply falls into or blunders into it. The call is often announced to the hero by another character who acts as a “herald”. The herald, often represented as dark or terrifying and judged evil by the world, may call the character to adventure simply by the crisis of his appearance.

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Chapter III: Return

* 1. Refusal of the Return

Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to bestow the boon onto his fellow man.

* 2. The Magic Flight

When the boon’s acquisition (or the hero’s return to the world) comes against opposition, a chase or pursuit may ensue before the hero returns.

* 3. Rescue from Without

The hero may need to be rescued by forces from the ordinary world. This may be because the hero has refused to return or because he is successfully blocked from returning with the boon. The hero loses his ego.

* 4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold

The hero returns to the world of common day and must accept it as real.

* 5. Master of the Two Worlds

Because of the boon or due to his experience, the hero may now perceive both the divine and human worlds.

* 6. Freedom to Live

The hero bestows the boon to his fellow man.

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— Wikipedia, on The Hero with a Thousand Faces

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2009.04.08 Wednesday ACHK

Nowhere 2

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Now-here

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Jonathan befriends the wisest gull in this new place, named Chiang, who takes him beyond his previous learning, teaching him how to move instantaneously to anywhere else in the Universe. The secret, Chiang says, is to “begin by knowing that you have already arrived….”

— Wikipedia, on Jonathan Livingston Seagull

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你所追求的東西, 可能一直在你身邊, 只是你沒有留意.

— Me

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2009.04.05 Sunday copyright ACHK