promotion of University

Ihave arrived Thai for almost a week!
everything is new and fresh, and, hot!!
I will studied here for one semester, and I 'd attend a gathering yesterday, met with principals in Assumption University. At that time, a video played.

The video is about .... a brief introduction of this University. Everyone is so tidy and energetic, with a tidy uniform. In fact , students here wear scandals, even slippers to go to school!! What a big different!!

And this let me relate on the video tape of Lingnan University, I have seen a tape broasdcast before call <教學新思維>, in Lingnan's part, I could see many students prasie and enjoy the ILP activities, but it certainly not the case, it is constructed, or they might simply pick up one "good" student to perform in the tape.

So, media might contruct the reality, but I do not think the audience would take that all, we would think over the text, I could still remember the reaction of Lingnan students when they were watching the tape, they all take oppositional reading, haha.

Wish you all have a nice summer!! :)

youth magazine

In Hong Kong, the content of the youth magazine are mainly reported entertainment and fashion news. For example, “east-touch”, “milk” and “tea magazine” are the most popular one in Hong Kong. In fact, their contents are very similar. Originally, the contents can be divided by three parts. The first part is the entertainment news about the pop stars, the second part is the fashion news and the last part is critiques about music or films and the columns written by some famous people. These youth magazines are chargeable and the main purpose is just for entertaining. It is not really have much value in educational aspect.

There is another type of youth magazine. This type of youth magazine is free of charge and mainly delivered in secondary school and university directly. For example, “Cult”, “kidult”, “U+” is very common in campus. The main difference of free youth magazine and chargeable magazine is the number of advertisement in free youth magazine is lesser than the chargeable one. The advertisements in free magazine are mainly from the computer company and education centers because the main purpose of these magazines is set for another kind of education outside the classroom. The Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education is great involved in the production of this kind of free magazine. Actually, I found the content of “kidult” is very educational in purpose. It talks about health, travel, books etc. Although sometimes the magazine may invite some idols to be the cover face, the content of the interview is around school, positive attitudes and process of learning. Under the supervision of the Committee on Promotion of Civic Education, the magazine is focusing on the work of building up positive attitudes among the youngsters. Use “kidult” as an example, it claims as a magazine that “totally decided by you (youngster)”. However, as it is a tool to promote civic education outside the school, the production is following the role of the government. I don’t think many youngsters are interested in this kind of magazine. First of all, although it is free of charge, the way of delivery is too passive for the students. Secondly, it lacks of entertainment and fashion that not many people would like to pick it up and take a look. Thirdly, the educational purpose is obvious, my friends ‘s brother who study in secondary school said he is not willing to have an additional class when he want to see magazine just for leisure. I think the purpose of free magazine is good for another kind of education; it seems need more planning to meet the interest of the youngsters. Media need youngsters’ voice to refresh and update the old idea, but it also need to understand what the youngsters are thinking about in order to attract them to join the media industry. I think it is a good try to let the youngsters take part in producing a magazine, but the institutions should make more resources (both man and techniques) in order to maintain the quality of free youth magazine.

Charlotte

Xanga

Xanga is very common among the youngsters or even adults. It is very popular because it has many functions and the members can have great freedom in designing their xanga. Most of my friends are the members of xanga and they are interested in joining different blogings in xanga’s world. In fact, I don’t like xanga as I think it is too popular that I just a feeling of being naked in front of the strangers. Although I know there is a private function in order to ignore the others to see your blog, it is still very insecure to me. Actually, I think the linkage of xanga’s blogings is very terrible to me. Although I am not the member of xanga, I am still a user of it. When I surf the xanga’s blogings, it is just give a feeling to me that the world is very small. I click to some strangers’ xanga freely, just let it to bring me to different people’s world. Then I continuously browse different xanga; at last I can easily link to my friends’ xanga from the other strangers! It is another kind of globalization seems that everyone is your friend and everyone is so close to you. Some people may be seen it as a chance to meet more friends. However, I just think it is terrible that it is no real private space on the Internet. As I said before, I am not a member of xanga but I am still a user of it. Internet or media could be made people “addicted” to them. I hate xanga but I can’t reject its network as I can through it to get many stories or even secrets. This kind of control is the hegemony power that we always talk about. Sometimes we may aware the dark sides of the Internet or media, but we find that we could not resist its influence as we rely on it so much. I can’t imagine that if we someday free on this addition, then can we still survive on this world.

Charlotte

手提電話的揭示

從前的電話只局限於在室內，並且屬於「有線」電話。到後來發明了無線電話，這項發明為人類帶來極大的方便，無論你在室內還是室外，又或者在海外地方，你都可以隨意找到你要找的對象，又或是你的朋友也很方便可以找到你。時至今日，手提電話的功能又怎會只局限於接通和撥號功能呢？現在的手提電話款色多樣化，而且功能多多，除了有接通和撥號這些基本功能以外，手提電話還可以接收短訊、打遊戲機、上網、視像會議、聽收音機 / MP3等，應有盡有，真是一部手機便可搜羅各種資訊，方便至極。

不過你或許沒有想過，就正因為手提電話為我們帶來那麼多的方便，同時也會對我們帶來許多的不便呢？身為一個都市人，經常都精神緊張，長期處於緊張狀態，像我自己，我每天24小時都會開著手提電話，好讓別人容易找到我，但是每當我聽到電話聆聲响起，我便會緊張地快速找電話出來把他接聽。

我這種24小時隨時候命的狀況，使我質疑手提電話的定位，它靠竟是「崔魂鈴」，還是一件方便的溝通工具呢？

這兒我想再引申一個問題，便是正因為手提電話是一件方便的溝通工具，但是它也成為人與人溝通的障礙物，此話可解呢？現在由於資訊科技發達，人與人溝通除了可使用手提電話外，還可以使用互聯網，透過傳送電子郵件、icq、MSN messenger都可以溝通。這一切一切都成為人類溝通的伴腳石，現在人們多了那麼多不同的溝通渠道，人類开始害怕與人面對面接觸、交談，因為害怕有眼神交流，也害怕即時性的答覆。科技發達使人的溝通技巧「大倒退」，人的溝通技考變得被動。有時真的很諷刺，人類不斷改善自己的生活模式，同時也為這個社會不斷製造問題，究竟人類真正需要的生活模式是什麼呢？

Posted by: Rainy Ip

narration in 《向世界出發》

《向世界出發》is a TV program that shows on the weekdays. One week as an episode. There is a different host in each episode to bring the audience to different part of the world, exploring the meaning of life. I would like to give some comments on this TV program.

The theme of second episode is “beauty”. Model Kathy Chow and Miss Hong Kong Carrie Lam is the host of this episode. As the theme of the week is “beauty”, the hosts are the beauties who are accredited by the public. They interviewed with some minority groups in remote mountain areas, showing the way that how the people made themselves to be pretty. Some of the women of minority group have long neck rings, big ear holes or even black teeth. These women thought that such ways means to beauty. This value of “beauty” is very different from us. The program is tried to let the audience discovered what is beauty after watching the program. However, I think the narration of the hosts is very superficial and shallow. I would like to hear deeper analysis from the hosts before I watched the program, but their narration made me very disappointed. They just repeat and repeat the meta-narratives, but they didn’t explain or analyze more about why the minority groups have such notion on the concepts of beauty. Besides, I just wonder why they didn’t explain more about the life of the minority groups. The hosts ‘ opinions are very ridiculous too. When they shared the feeling on the trip, the host said that she just think very painful that the women need to wear the neck rings and make a big ear holes. I was very surprised that how come the opinions were superficial like this or even I think they were stupid to say such kind of things in front of the audience. I want to hear some analysis about how and why the minority groups have changed (or forced to change) their lifestyles when they started to contact with the outside world. However, the program didn’t have such analysis that made me very disappointed.

In the fifth episode, artist Ha Yu visits to Dubai and see how the people live in this rich country. The theme of this episode is “wealth”, therefore the host brought us to see the different luxurious hotels in Dubai and interviewed some rich men in there and asked them how their lives in Dubai after they became rich. The host also interviewed a Chinese woman who married a local man in Dubai. The narration of this story said to be “a dream of all women”. That is to say all women in the world are want to marry with a rich man. I think this repeat the stereotyping of women in meta-narratives. It continuously promote the images of women are subjected to man and materialistic. And I feel disappointed again. Although the theme let us rethink the value of money, the discussion is too shallow that out of my expectation. I expect this program have special insight toward some values and beliefs, but it just repeat the thought of mainstream in order to keep the audience’s interest. This type of program is not same as the traveling program, it is not only introducing a place to the audience, but also to re- examine the values we trust it for long time. However the program failed to do so. It can be realized in some extent because of some limitations in an institution. The program producers need to concern with the audience’s interests, they can’t make something that crash with meta- narratives. Therefore, I understand that I cannot have high expectations in TVB’s programs.

Charlotte

徐步高事件

Dear all,
1.不應刊登死者照片、遺書﹔2.不應詳述自殺方式﹔3.不應簡化自殺原因﹔4.不應美化或感性化自殺行為﹔5.不應強調其個人特質、背景或宗教﹔6.不應藉報道責備任何人。傳媒常將死者自殺原因簡化，如將教師自殺事件簡單歸咎於政府的教改政策，容易誤導讀者。

>>>就針對上述六項建議而言，理論上是可行的，但實際上，正如同學所言，可行性又有多少？眾所周知，沒有血腥、沒有暴力、沒有爭議性，在香港就好像沒什麼新聞價值，從徐步高事件看香港傳媒，以下是一些我認為值得一看的文章。

張圭陽：《香港傳媒成魔之道》http://www.wenweipo.com/news.phtml?news_id=WW0603310006&cat=005WW
梁立人：《香港資深傳媒人成魔之道》http://orientaldaily.orisun.com/cgi-bin/nsrch.cgi?seq=546269

太陽報：《古今論壇「毛澤東看今朝」》
http://hkfool.blogspirit.com/archive/2006/03/24/貼堂剪報-犬羊報.html

獨立媒體：《我們的傳媒，原來只是一堆蛆蟲》
http://www.inmediahk.net/public/article?item_id=102952&group_id=128

獨立媒體：《心裡有鬼》
http://www.inmediahk.net/public/article?item_id=102866&group_id=125

"Ugly Chinese's Ugly English"

I saw an old post of a forum: "醜惡的支那人的醜惡英文" (my poor translation:"Ugly Chinese's Ugly English"), and i want to share somthing to you guys.

This post showed how poor Chinese's English is, they only translated the menu directly and word by word, it was just incorrect literal translation, but actually they are wrong, for example 三文治 should be translated as sandwiches instead of "three text cure"...

At first, I do think that is quite funny, but then I think these kind of "news" was just fulfilled our imagination towards Chinese. The Hong Kong people often believes that they are superior than the Chinese, Chinese are conservatives, primitives, etc., these kind of post was just support what we used to believe, the mainstream maintaining the "image of Chinese", it is the manipulation of hegemony.

In fact, we always keep in touch to such news, let's think of the Social Security Assistance news of the media, the mass media usually condemn the recipeients of the Social Security Assistance for cheating government money, the media trys to suboridate people who do not go to work, they display people who get assistence from government as the "third person", "weak", "lazy", "rob our resources"....it is also the manipulation of hegemony, the mainstream protect work ethics.

Passage below is the original post:
"醜惡的支那人的醜惡英文
自稱為大國的支那教壞下一代,
廣州市北京路某大西餐廳的中英文餐牌
真是大開眼界, 百聞不如一見.
楊鐵樑留言信箱,大家快來學英文.
我相信如此的英文考起香港大學英文系教授.
激死劉家傑
例子: 三文治=Three text cure
多士=many privates
乾炒牛河=fuck to fry the cow river
沙律=sand
豬扒=pick
牛扒=cow picks
西冷牛扒=cold cow in west picks
星洲=star state
意大利粉=idea powder
焗豬扒飯=bureau pig picks the rice
雲吞=cloud swallows
日式烏冬=black winter in day
粥=gruel 河粉=river powder
撈河粉=gets the river powder
萬寶路香煙=ten thousand treasure road
參茶=three tea
支那人實在太醜陋了,自誇神六昇天與國際接軌,
笑死番鬼佬,一知半解,不求甚解.
本文定能讓你半天捧腹大笑 差不多先生(胡適名著)
不愧為東亞病夫.
全世界只有支那人能做出這樣子的英文 (能做出這樣子的餐牌, 食品的質素是怎樣, 請自行考慮) 真的是極度醜惡.非筆墨所能形容 "
http://www.pbase.com/bad_english/bad