Trump Administration Fights Roadblock to Pursuing Comey Case

© Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

© Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

© Todd Heisler/The New York Times

© Graham Dickie/The New York Times

© Doug Mills/The New York Times
Many great literary works are compilations of shorter tales, set in a framing story. Among the best known are One Thousand and One Nights and Sanskrit epics including Mahabharata. Among the most enduring in post-classical Europe is Boccaccio’s Decameron, whose stories have also proved popular with painters. Over the next couple of months I’m going to summarise those that have been well depicted in this new series, and show those paintings.
Despite the number of scholars who have researched Giovanni Boccaccio’s life over the last seven hundred years, much of it remains vague. He was either born in Florence, or perhaps near the village of Certaldo to the south-west of the city. His father worked for the Bardi bank, but he is thought to have been illegitimate and his mother hasn’t been identified.
We do know that he was born on 16 June 1313, and while still a child his father married a woman from a rich family, then moved to Naples. At the time, that was a major cultural centre, and as a young man Boccaccio immersed himself in that. His father expected him to become a banker, and Giovanni started work as an apprentice in his father’s bank in the city.
Boccaccio had no interest in banking though, and persuaded his father to let him study canon (ecclesiastical) law at the city’s university. When he was in his twenties, his father introduced him to the Neapolitan court and cultural circles around Robert the Wise, King of Naples. Among Boccaccio’s most important influences at this time was the scholar Paolo da Perugia, who had amassed much information about classical myths. Boccaccio became a scholar, particularly of the classical world, a writer rather than an ecclesiastical lawyer, and his future started to crystallise when he wrote his first poetry.
His early works became sources for Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde (Troilus and Cressida), and the Knight’s Tale.
Boccaccio left Naples in 1341, as tensions were growing between its king and the city-state of Florence, and returned to live mainly in Florence, although he also spent time in Ravenna. He developed great admiration for the work of Dante Alighieri, who had died in Ravenna twenty years earlier, and the great poet Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) (1304-1374), whom he regarded as his teacher.

Giorgio Vasari is now more famous for his biographies of the important painters of the Renaissance and earlier, but was also an accomplished artist himself. His tribute to some of the greatest writers of the period is Six Tuscan Poets from 1544. From left to right, I believe these to be Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch), Guido Cavalcanti, Giovanni Boccaccio, Cino da Pistoia, and Guittone d’Arezzo.

William Bell Scott’s undated painting of Boccaccio’s Visit to Dante’s Daughter shows the writer paying indirect homage to his illustrious predecessor. Boccaccio wrote the first biography of Dante, at about the same time he was writing the Decameron.
During the 1340s Boccaccio appears to have been developing the idea of a book in which seven characters take it in turns to tell stories. When the Black Death struck Florence in 1348, killing Boccaccio’s stepmother, this provided him with its framing story. He was already building his collection of tales to form the bulk of the book, and it’s thought he started its writing shortly after the Black Death. What is more doubtful is whether Boccaccio was living in Florence when the epidemic struck. However, as it raged through the whole of Tuscany in that year, hardly sparing a village, it’s most unlikely that he didn’t observe its effects somewhere, perhaps in Ravenna.
In 1349, Boccaccio’s father died, leaving Giovanni as the head of the household. In spite of that, he pressed on and had largely completed the first version in 1352. He revised it in 1370-71, and ever since it has been widely read, translated into all major languages, and its stories have inspired many works of art.

Egide Charles Gustave Wappers painted Boccaccio Reading from the Decameron to Queen Johanna of Naples in 1849. Queen Joanna I of Naples (1328-1382) had a reputation that was more than controversial, but Boccaccio was a supporter, and wrote a complementary account in his collection of biographies of famous women, De Mulieribus Claris (On Famous Women).

This miniature by the Master of 1482 and Follower conflates Boccaccio, the Black Death in Florence, and the framing story of the Decameron: Giovanni Boccaccio and Florentines who have Fled from the Plague was painted in about 1485 on vellum, in what must have been one of its first illustrated editions.
The Decameron opens with a description of the horrific conditions and events that overwhelmed Florence when the Black Death struck, then takes us to a group of seven young women who are sheltering in one of its great churches. They decide to leave the city rather than waiting amid its rising pile of corpses, to spend some time in the country nearby. They take some servants and three young men to accompany them there.
Once settled in an abandoned mansion, the ten decide that one of the means they will use to pass their self-imposed exile is to tell one another stories. Over the next two weeks, each tells one story on every weekday, delivering a total of one hundred, hence the title of the book.

Raffaello Sorbi show the group of ten during one of the story-telling sessions in The Decameron from 1876, with the city of Florence in the distance.

Salvatore Postiglione’s undated, ornate and almost illustrative Scene of the Narration of the Decameron is unusual for omitting one of the seven young women, but links visually to their other musical and craft activities.
Relatively few of the hundred tales in the Decameron have been committed to paint. Some are little more than brief fables, or what used to be known as shaggy dog stories. Others are more lengthy novellas with intricate twisting plots. But many have been painted from the Renaissance until well into the twentieth century, and were particularly popular with the Pre-Raphaelites.

The tale of Griselda has cropped up in folk stories across Europe before it was told as the final tale (Day 10, Story 10) of the Decameron. It was then taken up by Chaucer in the Clerk’s Tale, and by Charles Perrault. Francesco Pesellino painted it in this Scene from the Life of the Griseldis from around 1450.

One of the most significant series of paintings of the Decameron is Sandro Botticelli’s Story of Nastagio Degli Onesti, of which this is the first. Boccaccio includes this horrific tale as the eighth story on Day 5, shown by Botticelli in four panels that were commissioned as a wedding gift for a couple whose marriage was partly arranged by Lorenzo the Magnificent (Lorenzo de’ Medici), ruler of the Florentine Republic in the late fifteenth century, and Botticelli’s patron.

One of the earliest and greatest examples of Pre-Raphaelite painting is John Everett Millais’ Isabella (Lorenzo and Isabella) from 1848-49. When exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1849, it was accompanied by lines from John Keats’ poem Isabella or the Pot of Basil, referring to the story of the ill-fated love of Lisabetta for Lorenzo, the fifth told on Day 4.

Later in the nineteenth century, Marie Spartali Stillman painted The Enchanted Garden of Messer Ansaldo (1889), showing a scene from the fifth story of Day Ten. This was also painted by John William Waterhouse in 1916-17.

Perhaps the most popular of all the stories in the Decameron with visual artists has been the romance of Cymon and Iphigenia, here shown in Frederic, Lord Leighton’s luscious and languid painting from 1884.
I hope that you will join me in looking at many more wonderful paintings exploring Boccaccio’s stories from the Decameron in the coming weeks.

这辆上个世纪的面包车(Toyota Hiace SBV Manual, 1999, Petrol 2.4 Litre),闲置两年后,似乎油耗又增加了……曾经还偶尔在高速上跑出百公里<11L 的油耗,如今直逼 14L。在 van 之前,我开惯了 1.2L 排量、百公里6L 的小车,如今每次想到耗油量这件事,钱包和良心都在痛。再加上俄罗斯入侵乌克兰后,油价涨了超过 60%,以至于平常不太舍得在城市间随意开长途游玩。
| 日期 | 加油(升) | 公里数 | 百公里油耗 | 行驶场合 |
| Sep 28 | 39.85 | 319 | 12.49 | 长途高速 |
| Oct 5 | 43.75 | 347 | 12.61 | 长途+市区 |
| Oct 31 | 46.72 | 336 | 13.90 | 市区 |
| Nov 13 | 43.48 | 311 | 13.98 | 市区,略堵 |
ps,耗油量似乎是和车速或发动机转速有关的,刚拿到车时,曾经在野外欢乐地飙车到 140+km/h,却很快就没油了,差点抛锚在野外。算了算,耗油量似乎达到了 16~20 升。于是后来基本都把转速控制在 3000 以内,车速也很少超过 100km/h。
关于耗油量影响良心的自我调解思路,主要有三种:
1、是系统的错:市场上并不存在排量和油耗更低的产品,能够让我牺牲马力和速度,而拥有同样的厢体空间。 ——其实有些自欺欺人了。最新款 Hiace 的油耗号称低于 9L/100km,但需要花几万刀换车。而且主要的问题并不是经济上是否划算,而是我还不能确定,未来几年甚至几个月,还会用这辆车在这里生活多久。
2、大家都这样:这个油耗,对于家用车很高,但对于那些成天开着 SUV 买菜还洋洋自得的,也就那么回事……
3、住在 van 里,开的距离会更少。和同样生活方式而住在房子里的我自己相比,住在车里,不存在 “从家往返目的地” 这回事,而是直接在每个目的地睡觉,所以少了很多往返里程。
1 2 这种理由,是无法说服我的良心的;所以能够勉强自我安慰的也只有第 3 个理由。但就像 “因为我穷,所以即使什么都不做,也比住豪宅的人环保” 一样,仍然是一种自欺欺人。毕竟,在我的词典里,当大家都抵制消费一件东西时,如果这个东西我本来就不会消费,或者抵制了也不会影响日常舒适性,那么这对我而已算不上真正的 “抵制”,至少不应该因此把自己放在道德高处去审视别人。
![]()
你上一次见到「索尼手机」,是在哪一年?
就在前两天,伴随着微信一句冷冰冰的「该账号已自主注销,停止使用」,索尼官方的索尼 Xperia 服务号已经彻底停用。而索尼手机的官方微博 @索尼-Xperia 也已经大半年没有过更新了,最新的一条动态还是今年 3 月 8 号的节日祝福——
这意味着,索尼 Xperia 手机已经终止了在中国的宣发动作。
![]()
而更早之前,索尼手机在华的硬件业务就已经停摆——索尼中国官网上有记录的最后一款国行手机还是 Xperia 5 V,这已经是 2023 年的产品了。
![]()
至此可以说,索尼手机在中国大陆的业务,在这个 11 月彻底陷入人走茶凉的状态——索尼手机,至少在中国,大约的确已经断气了。
说起来,索尼这样一个集合了半导体制造、影视工业、虚拟娱乐、音乐媒体的八十年老店,那个号称「卡在全球影视工业脖子上」的企业,造不好手机也不是一天两天的事情了。
![]()
图|Android Authority
事实上,尽管索尼作为移动通信行业的早期参与者之一,在功能机时代身傍 Walkman 和 Cyber-shot 的金字招牌,创下了斐然的业绩,但它在智能机时代却是从一而终的水土不服。
这一切的转折点,就是在那个改变了移动电子市场走向的 2007 年。
2007 年不仅是 iPhone 问世、市场普遍认知中智能手机时代的开端,同时也是索尼爱立信(Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, SEMC,以下简称索爱)进入手机市场之后最成功的一年。
那一年,索爱通过转化 Walkman 品牌而推出的 W 系列音乐手机,以及转化卡片机 Cyber-shot 的 K 和 C 系列照相手机,在功能机市场里大杀四方,创下了 1.03 亿台的历史最高销量——
![]()
索尼爱立信 W800i,最经典的 Walkman 手机之一|TechRadar
然而巅峰之后就是低谷。从现在的视角回头看,索爱在 W/K/C 系列上的简单成功,事实上给索尼的手机业务留下了一个影响至今的症结:过度重视硬件带来的优势,却忽略了软件适配。
而在另一方面,索爱也和诺基亚、微软一样,忽视了 2007 年 iPhone 面世时背后蕴含的「改变手机在生活中角色」的巨大潜力。2011 年,时任索爱 CEO 伯特·诺德伯格(Bert Nordberg)在一次华尔街日报的采访中承认:
可以肯定地说,索尼爱立信在 2007 年 iPhone 问世时应该更加重视它。
然而,索爱就算是在意识到智能手机的浪潮不可逆转之后,奋起直追的动作也没能做得干脆利落。
在 iPhone 之后的几年,索爱被夹在 iPhoneOS、Windows Mobile 和 Android 之间,从 Xperia X10 到 Xperia S、P、U、T、J、E 等等试了个遍,为我们重新上演了一个「功能机巨头在智能机时代匆匆忙忙、连滚带爬」的剧本。
![]()
当一家公司不知道自己在做什么的时候,就会出现这样的产品线|Medium
新的转折发生在 2012 年。
时年,索尼正式收购爱立信集团手中的 50% 索爱股份,让索尼爱立信全资并入索尼集团成为子公司,建立了索尼移动通讯(Sony Mobile Communications, SMC,以下简称索移)。
更重要的是,这一次并购不仅将手机业务的控制权完全收购索尼集团,同时也让 Xperia 产品线并入了时任索尼集团 CEO 平井一夫(Kazuo Hirai)的「One Sony」战略里面。
![]()
经常被昵称为「姨夫」的平井一夫|CNET
至少从索移合并初期那几年的产品来看,平井一夫的 One Sony 战略是取得了一定成效的。随后的 2013 年,索尼在 CES 上发布了那款奠定 Xperia 家族设计的大作—— Xperia Z。
除了历久弥新的 Omnibalance 全平衡设计语言之外,Xperia Z 还是当时 One Sony 技术大联合的代表,从电视的 Bravia 到传感器的 Exmor 都能在 Xperia Z 身上找到,更不用提开创性的 IP55/57 双防护标准,一举奠定了 Xperia 后来「三防旗舰」的名号。
![]()
图|TheNextWeb
而市场也给了 Xperia Z 足够的正反馈。
合并重组之后,索移的手机年销量从 2012 财年的约 3300 万台提升至 2013 财年的约 3990 万台,并在 2014 财年达到了约 4000 万台的顶峰。
![]()
只不过,这 4000 万台 Xperia 不是索移走向巅峰的开始,而是出道即巅峰。更何况,放眼当时的全球智能手机市场,这也是个微不足道的数字——2014 年,索尼的全球手机市场占比仅为 2%,别说跟当时正在全球市场攻城略地的小米华为比,这个销量连当时 LG 手机的一半都达不到。
按照国内品牌的统计方法,已经属于 Others 里的 Others 了。
![]()
没资格上桌的索尼|Dazeinfo
至于 2016 年,索尼从 Z 系列转向 X/XZ 系列之后,市场早已抛开索尼完成了进化——
一方面,苹果和三星借助专利护城河和供应链保护,牢牢把握住了全球高端市场,Xperia 虽然售价不菲,却始终没能让售价和品牌效应挂钩、挤进高端市场。
另一方面,2016 年已经迎来了国产手机的爆发式增长,借助当时积极主动的出海战略,迅速抢占了索移鲜少参与的中低端市场。两边一上一下,把索移、LG、HTC 等等老品牌给夹在了中间。
之后,Xperia 的 XZ 系列一直没能摆脱阴影。根据数据机构统计,从 2015 到 2019 短短四年里,索尼手机的销量从约 2500 万台跌至 300 万台出头,蒸发近八成。
虽然 XZ 世代的产品脍炙人口,但从销量走势上看,却无疑是索尼造手机历史上最大的滑铁卢。
![]()
在那之后,我们就听到索尼移动宣布放弃「追求销量和市场份额」的目标,转而「聚焦盈利」——换句话说,就是「我要把精力放在赚钱上面」。
从 2019 年开始,索尼陆续推出了号称「整合与重启产品线」的新 Xperia 1/5/10 系列,产品范围也从原来的鱼龙混杂缩减到了单纯的「大杯、中杯、小杯」。
从新 Xperia 数字系列中,我们可以看到索尼非常明确的战略转型:从原先 Z、X、XZ 系列面向大众消费市场,转为面向纯高端的「超专业用户市场」,想要让 Xperia 成为摄影师和导演口袋里的第二台电影机。
![]()
比如和黑卡共享一英寸传感器的怪物 Xperia Pro-I|TechRadar
这个战略乍看上去非常正确,更不用提还能更直观地发挥出 Alpha、Bravia、CineAlta 部门的技术功底,但市场用教训 RED Hydrogen One 的方式同样狠狠教训了一下索尼:手机这种形态的产品,恰恰是不需要过分专业的。
哪怕到了新 Xperia 数字系列的世代,索尼依然无法将 Xperia 手机上的各种专业功能有机的结合起来,变成一套能够发挥自身优势的完整移动工作流。
![]()
比如强行模拟相机换镜头而不允许连贯变焦的照相大师 app
而这个阶段的索尼似乎已经完全钻进了牛角尖,开始搞不清硬件和软件的关联性了。
2021 年索尼尝试与魅族合作就是一个绝佳的例子。「除了软件什么都有」的 Xperia 和「除了硬件什么都有」的 Flyme 原本可以是一段天作之合,最后却以装个负一屏和应用市场草草收场。
![]()
最后的结果甚至不如直接给 Xperia 刷上 Flyme 系统|酷安 @捡破烂科技
魅族或许只是玩不转硬件,但索尼才是那个既没有壮士断腕的勇气、也没有改弦易辙的魄力的家伙。在那之后,索尼 Xperia 不出意料地在「超专业手机」这个小市场里越过越窝囊。
最后,索移在 2021 年结束了独立运营,被并入索尼集团的电子产品部门,以产品份额在国际市场上常年不足 1%、日本本土市场不足 6% 的「傲人成绩」艰难支撑到 2025 年。一边卖不出去、一边坚持不降价,最后以这种极不光彩的形式退出了中国大陆市场。
![]()
从索尼 Xperia 手机的历史就能看出,Xperia 系列可以说是「生的仓促、死的窝囊」。
但最让人意难平的就是,索尼明明手握世界顶尖的半导体技术和工业设计水平,也造出过类似 Z3、XZ1 之类脍炙人口的产品,最后却还是落成了这样一副囧境,不让人感到惋惜是不可能的。
![]()
Xperia 10 VII|SONY
同时,索尼这两年的「战略转进」并不限于中国市场,原本非常倚重的美国市场也在 Xperia 1 V 之后没有了更新。尽管索尼同样说「没有彻底退出美国手机市场的计划」,但这样的冷处理在某种程度上,其实也是一种回答了。
类似的情况也发生在欧洲销区,尽管欧洲主要市场的索尼官网上都列出了最新款的 Xperia 1 VII,但大多数都是无货或不开售状态。外媒 Android Authority 在 7 月的一篇报道中就直言:
索尼移动业务的未来比以往任何时候都更加不明朗。
归根结底,无论说它不懂软件,还是眼高手低,其实还是索尼自始至终没有搞懂「手机究竟应该做什么」这个最根本的问题。
都是把手机当作试验田,谷歌将 Pixel 的软件置于第一位,首先保证了「这手机能用」,然后才是各种加分的硬件选项,甚至可以依靠 Pixel 的系统来提拉硬件的表现。
![]()
单从硬件角度看,Pixel 10 也就是中端机水平|TechRadar
索尼的 Xperia 则恰恰相反,从来都是大方的把最近最强的硬件放到手机上,却根本不考虑自己写的软件系统能不能把硬件实力转化为让消费者愿意使用的动力,最后的结果就是纯专业用户觉得缺功能、纯日常用户觉得学不会。
![]()
Xperia Pro 设想的随身 4K 转播就是个高不成低不就的使用场景|CineD
然而索尼现在即使想要掉头回到普通消费者市场,也是完全不可能的了,已经被主流厂商瓜分完的普通消费者市场早就已经没有了索尼的容身之地。
但索尼 Xperia 手机会就此绝迹吗?
在爱范儿看来,索尼手机仍有其生存空间。抛开日本本土市场那一丁点销量不谈,索尼接下来做 Xperia 手机,很有可能是给其他手机厂商看的——
![]()
传说中的 Xperia 1 VIII|Notebookcheck
索尼的手机业务虽然只差拔管了,但毕竟传感器的业务依然是行业龙头,最新的 LYT-8 系列相机传感器更是成为了今年的出货主力。
后面的 Xperia 手机,很有可能会被索尼用作自家传感器的「专职展示平台」,保留公开销售渠道,但实际面向的客群,已经是 B 端的传感器采购商了——
有来自供应链的消息称,索尼将在 2026 年初推出新一代 1.1 英寸的大底传感器,而这将会是明年一系列「超大杯」影像手机的标配。
![]()
图|Medium
总之,就像夏普一样,功能机早期的辉煌在智能机的时代并不算数,反复的市场预期误判,让索尼纵使身处供应链顶端的地位,也终究还是没能破解「日本手机走不出日本」的魔咒。
毕竟现在的真索粉要买一台索尼手机,不是只买二手——而是只能买二手了。
![]()
#欢迎关注爱范儿官方微信公众号:爱范儿(微信号:ifanr),更多精彩内容第一时间为您奉上。
After they have talked with the notorious thief Vanni Fucci, Dante and Virgil move on and meet a centaur, identified by Virgil as Cacus, who had been killed by Hercules. Dante’s classical reference here is a little strange in that he gives an account of the killing of Cacus according to Livy, rather than Virgil’s version in his Aeneid.


The centaur flees, leaving the pair to meet three more tormented souls. A lizard-like creature then attaches itself to one of them named Agnello, a member of a prominent Florentine Ghibelline family, and their two bodies become one. Another is pierced by a serpent through his navel, and Dante witnesses other horrific reptilian transformations.


Having found five citizens of Florence in this rottenpocket of Hell, Virgil leads Dante through shattered rock to the eighth, where each of the souls is burning with fire in the pit in return for their fraudulent lives.

Virgil explains that among them are Ulysses and Diomedes, who are united in a single flame, telling an invented story of their final and fateful voyage. Dante didn’t have direct access to Homeric accounts of the adventures of Odysseus, so based this on Virgil’s contrasting retelling of the deception of the Trojan horse.

After that, another flame identifies itself as Guido da Montefeltro, and relates some of its life as a sly Ghibelline military leader who later repented and became a Franciscan friar.
Virgil takes Dante on to the ninth rottenpocket, where those who used fraud to incite division are suffering for their crimes. The gruesome sight awaiting them here is of gross mutilations, bodies chopped up and torn apart so that their organs spill out. They meet a succession of dismembered and dissected spirits, including Mosca de’ Lamberti, both of whose hands have been cut off. He had been responsible for creating the rift between Guelphs and Ghibellines that scarred Florentine history for so long. Another body passes by carrying its severed head like a lantern from one of its hands. The head tells them that he is Bertran de Born, a Provençal troubadour who sowed discord between King Henry II of England and his son Prince Henry.


Dante is so astonished by this display of butchery that he stands and stares at the bodies, but Virgil reminds him that they must move on.

The pair then reach a viewpoint over the last of the rottenpockets, from which arises a foul smell. The souls there are all covered with festering sores and scabs, and can only crawl over one another.

There they hear the story of Capocchio, an alchemist who falsely claimed to be able to transform base metals into gold.
The artists
William Blake (1757–1827) was a British visionary painter and illustrator whose last and incomplete work was an illustrated edition of the Divine Comedy for the painter John Linnell. Most of his works shown in this series were created for that, although he did draw and paint scenes during his earlier career. I have a major series on his work here.
Gustave Doré (1832–1883) was the leading French illustrator of the nineteenth century, whose paintings are still relatively unknown. Early in his career, he produced a complete set of seventy illustrations for translations of the Inferno, first published in 1857 and still being used. These were followed in 1867 by more illustrations for Purgatorio and Paradiso. This article looks at his paintings.
John Flaxman (1755–1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman who occasionally painted too. When he was in Rome between 1787-91, he produced drawings for book illustrations, including a set of 111 for an edition of The Divine Comedy. In 1810, he was appointed the Professor of Sculpture to the Royal Academy in London, and in 1817 made drawings to illustrate Hesiod, which were engraved by William Blake.
Jan van der Straet, also commonly known by his Italianised name of Giovanni Stradano (1523-1605), was a painter who started his career in Bruges and Antwerp in Belgium, but moved to Florence in 1550, where he worked for the remainder of his life. Mannerist in style, he worked with printmakers in Antwerp to produce collections of prints, including an extensive set for The Divine Comedy.
References
Robin Kirkpatrick (trans) (2012) Dante, The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso, Penguin Classics. ISBN 978 0 141 19749 4.
Richard Lansing (ed) (2000) The Dante Encyclopedia, Routledge. ISBN 978 0 415 87611 7.
Guy P Raffa (2009) The Complete Danteworlds, A Reader’s Guide to the Divine Comedy, Chicago UP. ISBN 978 0 2267 0270 4.
Prue Shaw (2014) Reading Dante, From Here to Eternity, Liveright. ISBN 978 1 63149 006 4.

When a group of devils armed with long hooks threatens Dante, Virgil hurries him along towards the next rottenpocket in Hell. They work their way around some of the damage wrought by Christ’s harrowing of Hell following his crucifixion. With those devils still hanging around, they then reach a pit of boiling tar, in which the spirits of barrators are trapped. These had traded in public office and bought influence in courts of law.
The devils pull out one of the souls for Dante and Virgil to talk to, but quickly return to hacking with their hooks.


Unlike others, he springs free and escapes their lunges as he plunges back into the pitch.


Dante and Virgil leave the devils attacking other barrators, and walk on in silence. Dante reflects on one of Aesop’s fables about the frog, the rat and the hawk. He blames himself for the tormenting of the devils behind them, but as he looks back he sees them on the wing again heading towards them. As they cross into the next rottenpocket, they realise the pack of devils can’t pursue them beyond that point.
Next are hypocrites, who are dressed up in hooded habits like monks. Although those are coloured bright gold, they’re weighted with lead, forcing the hypocrites into eternal labour against the mass of their clothes.

Dante meets two Bolognese friars, Catalano de’ Malavolti and Loderingo degli Andalò, who formed a fake religious order. They point out a figure staked out naked on the ground, who is Caiaphas, the High Priest of Jerusalem who advised scribes and pharisees that Christ’s death would be a good solution.


Virgil moves Dante on towards the damaged crossing to the next rottenpocket for thieves. After negotiating their descent, Dante sees its pit full of snakes, binding the hands of the souls there and covering their naked bodies.



A snake strikes one of the sinners at the back of the neck, causing the ghost to burst into flames then turn into ash, which falls onto the ground and reconstitutes itself.


There they talk with one of the thieves by the name of Vanni Fucci, a black Guelph from Pistoia near Florence who had stolen holy objects from a chapel and betrayed an accomplice for execution in his place. The snakes then take charge of him, winding their coils around his neck and body, and putting him into a reptile straightjacket.
Dante and Virgil move on and meet a centaur.
The artists
William Blake (1757–1827) was a British visionary painter and illustrator whose last and incomplete work was an illustrated edition of the Divine Comedy for the painter John Linnell. Most of his works shown in this series were created for that, although he did draw and paint scenes during his earlier career. I have a major series on his work here.
Gustave Doré (1832–1883) was the leading French illustrator of the nineteenth century, whose paintings are still relatively unknown. Early in his career, he produced a complete set of seventy illustrations for translations of the Inferno, first published in 1857 and still being used. These were followed in 1867 by more illustrations for Purgatorio and Paradiso. This article looks at his paintings.
John Flaxman (1755–1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman who occasionally painted too. When he was in Rome between 1787-91, he produced drawings for book illustrations, including a set of 111 for an edition of The Divine Comedy. In 1810, he was appointed the Professor of Sculpture to the Royal Academy in London, and in 1817 made drawings to illustrate Hesiod, which were engraved by William Blake.
Joseph Anton Koch (1768-1839) was an Austrian landscape painter, who worked mainly in Neoclassical style. During his second stay in Rome, he was commissioned to paint frescos in the Villa Massimi on the walls of the Dante Room there, which remain one of the most florid visual accounts of Dante’s Inferno. He completed those between 1824-29. He also appears to have drawn a set of illustrations for Dante’s Inferno in about 1808.
Bartolomeo Pinelli (1781-1835) was a Roman illustrator and engraver who provided illustrations for a great many books, and specialised in the city of Rome. He made 145 prints to illustrate Dante’s Divine Comedy, most probably in the early nineteenth century.
Jan van der Straet, also commonly known by his Italianised name of Giovanni Stradano (1523-1605), was a painter who started his career in Bruges and Antwerp in Belgium, but moved to Florence in 1550, where he worked for the remainder of his life. Mannerist in style, he worked with printmakers in Antwerp to produce collections of prints, including an extensive set for The Divine Comedy.
References
Robin Kirkpatrick (trans) (2012) Dante, The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso, Penguin Classics. ISBN 978 0 141 19749 4.
Richard Lansing (ed) (2000) The Dante Encyclopedia, Routledge. ISBN 978 0 415 87611 7.
Guy P Raffa (2009) The Complete Danteworlds, A Reader’s Guide to the Divine Comedy, Chicago UP. ISBN 978 0 2267 0270 4.
Prue Shaw (2014) Reading Dante, From Here to Eternity, Liveright. ISBN 978 1 63149 006 4.

From their tragic encounter with tormented souls in the Suicide Wood, Virgil leads Dante onto a barren and sandy plain, where groups of spirits are in different postures, naked under steady showers of flakes of fire. These fall on their flesh, and set the sand afire underneath them. They are being punished for their differing acts of violence against God: blasphemers lie flat on their backs, sodomites are moving at all times, and usurers crouch with purses strung from their necks.

The two talk with Capaneus, a huge man who was once a powerful king and waged war against the city of Thebes, and a blasphemer who was struck by a thunderbolt for his arrogance towards the (classical and pagan) gods.

Among the sodomites is the prominent Guelph encyclopaedist Brunetto Latini (c 1220-94), who may well have been Dante’s mentor at one time. Also identified are Priscian a Latin grammarian, Francesco d’Accorso a legal scholar, and Andrea de’ Mozzi a bishop of Florence, together with three other Florentines.
Virgil explains some more of the topography of Hell, how waters originating from a statue on Mount Idaeus (Ida) on the island of Crete flow down to form its three principal rivers, the Acheron, Styx and Phlegethon. The statue of the Old Man of Crete has a gold head, silver arms, brass torso, and iron below, apart from a terracotta foot. This follows the mythical ‘ages of mankind’ in descent, and its tears feed the waters of Hell.


Dante is next led down towards a vile monster with the face of an honest man but the body of a serpent, its body seemingly tattooed with knots and whorls, and a sting at the end of its great tail: this is Geryon, in classical myth a cruel king who was killed by Hercules, and here forming an image of fraud.
Before reaching that monster, the pair see some usurers on the ground. They are identified as contemporary members of prominent Florentine and Paduan families known for their riches and usury.

Virgil then jumps onto Geryon’s back, and encourages Dante to have courage to join him there. Once they have both boarded, Virgil tells Geryon to fly off, and the monster carries them down through a hundred spiralling turns to the foot of a high cliff.






Virgil and Dante have now descended to circle eight.
The artists
William Blake (1757–1827) was a British visionary painter and illustrator whose last and incomplete work was an illustrated edition of the Divine Comedy for the painter John Linnell. Most of his works shown in this series were created for that, although he did draw and paint scenes during his earlier career. I have a major series on his work here.
Gustave Doré (1832–1883) was the leading French illustrator of the nineteenth century, whose paintings are still relatively unknown. Early in his career, he produced a complete set of seventy illustrations for translations of the Inferno, first published in 1857 and still in current use. They were followed in 1867 by more illustrations for Purgatorio and Paradiso. This article looks at his paintings.
John Flaxman (1755–1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman who occasionally painted too. When he was in Rome between 1787-91, he produced drawings for book illustrations, including a set of 111 for an edition of The Divine Comedy. In 1810, he was appointed the Professor of Sculpture to the Royal Academy in London, and in 1817 made drawings to illustrate Hesiod, which were engraved by William Blake.
Joseph Anton Koch (1768-1839) was an Austrian landscape painter, who worked mainly in Neoclassical style. During his second stay in Rome, he was commissioned to paint frescos in the Villa Massimi on the walls of the Dante Room there, which remain one of the most florid visual accounts of Dante’s Inferno. He completed those between 1824-29. He also appears to have drawn a set of illustrations for Dante’s Inferno in about 1808.
Bartolomeo Pinelli (1781-1835) was a Roman illustrator and engraver who provided illustrations for a great many books, and specialised in the city of Rome. He made 145 prints to illustrate Dante’s Divine Comedy, most probably in the early nineteenth century.
Francesco Scaramuzza (1803–1886) was an Italian painter who specialised in mythological and historical narratives. He became obsessed with Dante’s Divine Comedy, and for much of his career worked on producing paintings and drawings of its scenes. He worked mainly in Parma, in Italy.
Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844) was the greatest Danish sculptor, and one of the foremost in Europe. He worked most of his life in Italy, although the Thorvaldsens Museum with much of his work is in the city of Copenhagen, in a place of honour by the Christiansborg Palace. From humble origins, he trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Art, where he was extremely successful. He arrived in Rome in 1797, and remained there until 1838, when he was welcomed as a returning hero in Copenhagen.
References
Robin Kirkpatrick (trans) (2012) Dante, The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso, Penguin Classics. ISBN 978 0 141 19749 4.
Richard Lansing (ed) (2000) The Dante Encyclopedia, Routledge. ISBN 978 0 415 87611 7.
Guy P Raffa (2009) The Complete Danteworlds, A Reader’s Guide to the Divine Comedy, Chicago UP. ISBN 978 0 2267 0270 4.
Prue Shaw (2014) Reading Dante, From Here to Eternity, Liveright. ISBN 978 1 63149 006 4.

展开讲讲 · 81 · 脱口秀英雌传:女性如何用笑声改写叙事
这一期播客,我很喜欢。梳理最近几年(2017 – )大陆女性在脱口秀节目中的脉络和演变。
我并不是一个日常去 fo 脱口秀综艺节目的听众。经常是一些精彩段子传到网上了,我才专门去视频网站看看。所以节目里谈的这些成体系的脉络,大多对我是很陌生的。我也并不知道主播们说的内容是否正确,有没有遗漏或偏颇。但是从这种时间脉络的整理视角中,可以看出,行业、演员、听众、社会环境……的各种时间上的演变,在性别状况领域的一种积极的生长。也能很开心地感受到,当主播们梳理出这些变化时,表现出的兴奋和激情。
最让我感触的点,首先当然是杨笠说的(1:11:50):不需要掌声,不需要笑声,只要大家还在说,
现在这个场子里,有多少伤口正在悄悄愈合,这是血肉正在疯长的声音。
以及说这话的杨笠本人,已经坐在评审席上,让新的演员们觉得有人 “罩” 着,让演员们确信,她们的段子背后的的内涵,评审席上是有人能够理解的,从而形成时间上的代际氛围。
这不是我走的路。但我很开心,看着这一条路被人们越走越通畅。
我最近接触到的一些,走其它路的人。和我的路、和脱口秀或成为网红的路,都不相同,却也是同一个目标,甚至更加努力投入的人。他们的路走的并不顺畅,无论物质还是情绪价值上,都算不上 “成功” 或者仅仅是自洽。我隐约能看到他们的痛苦、茫然、甚至面对那些成功路上的人,会有一些冷眼、批判(很多批判我是很赞同的)、嫉妒。对此我也还不知道如何去剖析和面对,当然也可能都只是我的错觉。总之替人家开心就好。
另一个点(52:30),当女脱口秀演员们,担心自己编成段子的悲惨人生,观众们听了会更偏向心疼难受,而影响演出效果。鲁豫作为评审,说:
你今年讲,其实就比你去年讲、前年讲,要好很多。大家可能还会心疼,但氛围已经好了非常多。观众的接受度和边界,也在被你们一次一次地讲这些话题当中,被拓宽。
我在之前很长一段时间,都困扰于如何和大家的幽默感兼容的问题。这些年几乎每一次聊天讲笑话抖包袱的时候,我都会审视,这是不是一个站在传统男性视角,让女性听着不适的油腻段子。有些笑话被我审查掉了;但有些我觉得还可以说。因为我确实有不少女性朋友,甚至是一直在性别领域努力着的朋友,能够毫不顾忌地互相指出反思不足的朋友,我们之间可以开心地享受一些,表面看起来看是地狱笑话的地狱笑话。
但也有一些时候,我自以为的幽默,仍然会让对方感到不适或反感。其中一些大概是因为大家还不熟,还没有度过性别身份造成的防备。而另一些场景,也只能说,幽默感这个事情,在不同地域、时代、不同个体、不同经历前后,都是不一样的。——如果说性别方面的幽默感隔阂,我没有判断的权利;那么,当我调笑几句哥伦比亚大学运动中的学生,就因此被人归类到警察那一边,甚至被归到香港警察那一边,我觉得这真的不是我这边的幽默感问题了……
当然,在这样的时候,我通常会让步、乃至道歉。尤其在性别场合,我觉得我应当让步,也不介意让步。但我内心始终有一个声音:不是的,大家对幽默的态度不应该是这个样子的。而且,这种关于语言的自我审视,其实和在大陆社交网络下,每一句话都要进行敏感词的自我审视,二者在形式上是很类似的。这确实让我很难受。但如今这个氛围,当大家在性别、政治、阶层、生活方式…等多个维度都需要用三观来寻找同温层的时候,这种纯语言上的不兼容,显然不应该成为权重过大的妨碍社交连接的因素。所以我通常继续在让步;而也有一些时候,确实单纯因为和一些人的语言方式及幽默感上的不兼容而渐行渐远。
所以,当我看到这样一种趋势:有越来越多的人,对着越来越多的,原先的感受更偏向于伤痛、提防的东西,如今可以更多用笑的态度去面对了。我对此非常非常开心。当然,那种关于自我言论油腻性的日常审视,还是要继续(摊手
膝盖骨乐队 Kneecap,8.5/10
评分给高了一点,是因为我部分地代入了音乐教师 Dj Próvai 的角色,于是它似乎成为了对我而言最好的中年电影之一。
不再是那种俗套的中年电影:在生活压力或者虚无中产生情绪,寄情于(事业 or 自然 or 某种兴趣爱好 or 性爱)之中,最终(成功 or 不成功)的故事。
而是,在碌碌生活中,仍然坚信自己的某些想法是对的(譬如怎样普及爱尔兰语),尽管无力去做什么,却仍然保持着心底的理念,不让屁股决定自己的脑袋。然后,某一天,恰逢其会,遇到了更有天赋和激情的小朋友们,就可以随时行动起来,为他们提供支持,用自己的经验和技术,让那些 idea 更有机会实现。
同时,一方面,在社群中维持某种程度而又不喧宾夺主的 ego;另一方面,在自己原有的社会连接中,纠结而微妙地平衡着,和各种被动或主动地岁月静好的人们、为你好但理念非常不兼容的人们、以及用非无政府主义的态度搞事情的人们,或者试探、或者坦承、若即若离。
以及,经常遇到小朋友们听不懂年代梗的尴尬。
:我这个录音棚比不上 Abbey Road 啦。
:Abbey 啥玩意?
:……
:大家看啊,Roland 808 鼓机!
:这是啥?看着像 80 年代的垃圾?
:……是我们要用来录音的设备。
(Update,才发现这两个梗都被放到官方预告片里了 lol
《出走的决心》,8/10
看片一向不及时的我,最近才终于看了《出走的决心》。两周前的大年夜,电影的原型,苏敏阿姨官宣离婚。我原以为,在这个消息的鼓舞下,电影会看得更心旷神怡一些。但,仍然看的很憋气。尤其是一些家务的场景,联想到之前《好东西》里,被大家盛赞的那段,妈妈家务劳动时的各种音效。对比之下,是不一样的感受。
电影最触动我的一个镜头,是阿姨刚买了户外帐篷,在屋里支起来的时候。作为住过上千次帐篷的人,也很多次在屋里给别人搭起,当作有趣的行为或景致。然而,看到电影里的画面,才第一次意识到,原来这个场景,在意象上,可以成为「一间只属于女性自己的房间」。

憋气的场景看多了(这里感谢姜武的爹味演绎^^),以至于会觉得,这算不算是电影不足的地方?——电影把生活环境描写得过于极端了,很多典型的生活困境,和典型的油腻男气息,都集中在一起。在我的想象里,这会让一些观影的人,因为自己并没有这么惨,而为自己找一些不出走的理由?譬如,很多家里老公会做饭,会给老婆打伞,多数家庭至少言语和睦,偶尔也能一起出去旅行,躺在床上刷手机的当然也不止是老公,女人也很多……于是,人们把电影和自己的现实一对比,哦,原来我没有那么惨,所以我没有出走,也是 ok 的。
但是,当我和别人说起这个想法时,发现对方的回应是:她老公已经算不错了,没有酗酒、家暴、吸毒、赌博、传销、网贷……虽然我觉得对方大概也是在开玩笑嘲讽,但每个人的认知底线也确实不同吧。我确实不擅长去想象别人的边界感。
现实中,我也会给身边困住庸碌生活中的人,家人、朋友、爱人,提供安慰,或者带他们玩各种有趣的东西。——这当然不是为了让他们更好地做牛做马;但是这些行为,会不会也为他们的各种意义上的「不出走」,加了一把力呢?我不知道。回想起来,很多次我带他们体验有趣事物的时候,真的在以一种希冀的目光看着他们, 希望他们突然说出, 不, 这样不够, 我还要更嗨。
然而并没有。
然后我发现就这么看电影时把自己看哭了。然后开始反思,我确实容易陷入这种「沉默的羔羊」式的自我感动,从起初想要不顾一切带着羊离开,到后来淡然着,看着羊们一次次地,偶尔露出些不清晰的对离开的憧憬,但很快又缩回去。——也可以理解成,被无形的文化之手抓了回去。而我对自己的淡然状态,是否应该又罪恶感呢?是否只是在享受廉价的自我感动呢?仍然不清楚。
讨论《一部未完成的电影》,朋友说,前面那些冗长的,十年前的回顾,是有意义的,是把当年那些美好的日子,和如今(片中的 2020 年)相对照;就像片尾曲,用了邵夷贝李志的《黄昏》,同样是让人回想曾经美好的时光。
笑。我突然意识到一件事情。对我来说,十几年前,并不是什么美好的过去,那时的我,已经确定这个体系无可救药,所谓「历史的垃圾时间」,早在那之前,就已经开始。然而,更年轻的人,或者「觉醒」的时间更后面一些的人,每个人都有各自认知中的「过去的美好时光」。十几年前,或者几年前,对他们来说,和更后面的日子相比,可能仍然是美好的,充满希望的。
而当对「美好时光」的时间点,有着相似的认知的人,彼此相遇,或者很多相似的人成为主流,他们之间的共鸣会更强一些。譬如导演认为 2010 年美好,而安排了这样的情节,那些同样认为 2010 年美好的人,就能感受到这一点。
这样的时间错乱的例子还有很多。
譬如,有人认为,新浪微博刚开始的氛围,也是很美好的。但对我而言,新浪微博出现的背景,是民间各种自建 twitter 网站被审查、夭折,然后大鳄们在尸横遍野中进场,之后的明星进驻,和原本的互联网风格相比,也很走偏。而且审查一直存在(限流和 shadow ban 大概是后来的新发明了……)。所以从来就不是什么好东西。
譬如,有《好东西》的粉丝,根据小孩的年龄,推算铁梅放弃做记者时,到底发生了什么?算出来是在 2014~15 年,「中国调查报导从初冬转向严寒」。——但那个时间点,真的没什么特别显著的事,中国新闻在那之前很多年,之后很多年,一直是严寒。
譬如,朋友说厌恶春节,因为当年武汉疫情时,万家宴的歌舞升平,给了他很大冲击。我想了想,类似的反差感里,让我冲击最强的,还是 2008 年汶川地震后,山东作协主席王兆山的诗,之后就大多是麻木了。
说这些,不是在倚老卖老,也不是在为自己的麻木做辩解;而是说,如果大家只是因为在觉醒的时间节拍上不搭,或者觉醒的姿势不大一样,而无法深切共情,是件完全可以理解的事情,不要因此而影响彼此的同温关系。
经常有人,很认真地问我:是什么时候、什么事情,让你的性别意识、或者反贼意识,觉醒的?问话的人,眼里闪着光芒,大概期待着我说出一些事件,然后说「呀,我也是」或者「我知道那个」,在共鸣中进一步增进友情。然而对我来说,确实不存在某个明确的觉醒时刻,就是从一开始就怀着最朴素的正义感,在各种事件熏陶中,一点点加深认识。但这样的说法,似乎经常让对方不满意?我也不知道要怎样处理这些。
跟女孩子骑了一程重型摩托车,渐渐发现,每次她在红灯路口停下来时,动作都很一致:左脚撑地,右脚踩住刹车,——但这样的姿势,如果离合器在空档位,是没有办法直接从静态起步的,所以这段时间,其实是挂在一档,左手要一直捏住离合器。感觉手很累。
相比之下,我的动作则散漫很多。停车时我通常会右脚撑地,离合器挂在空档,左手完全松开,启动时用左脚踩进一档,然后直接前进。——但这种姿势和地形有关,如果停在斜坡上,车子前后溜动,缓一点的坡,可以勉强用脚撑住;陡一点的坡,就需要用右手捏住刹车,而捏久了觉得累,就也切换成右脚踩刹车,左脚踩地的姿势,但此时已经是空档了,启动时需要先换成右脚踩地,未免手忙脚乱。
但女生骑重机的最大问题在于,240kg 的摩托车,倒了是真的扶不起来。而任何车身的不稳、摇晃、倾斜、甚至一阵强风吹来,也都会导致撑不住,而最终倒下。所以,我的那些(勉强用脚撑住、换脚踩地、手忙脚乱)的情景,对她们而言,是完全不允许出现的状况。于是,这种停车时,手一直捏住一档离合的姿势,大概是适用于所有情况的统一最优解?我这种野路子出身,并不知道这样的姿势,是对方长年骑车的自我经验总结,还是经过了一套「女生如何骑重机」的专门学习培训?回头问问去。
另一方面,这种容错率很低的,对远超自己体重的机械驾驭,在骑行过程中,是否在精神上也是一种时刻紧绷的状态,当心自己随时会翻倒?——大概是的。虽然不同人在精神紧绷程度上存在差别,但应该不会像我那样散漫放松。而我也时常会忽视这种差别,停车时发现对方后座行李歪了,顺手扶了一把,却给对方造成了惊吓。
对方骑重机的效果,确实是非常的帅!对车子的驾驭技术也比我好,为了能骑上这么帅的重机,所付出的努力,也肯定比我多。——那么,设身处地,从我个人的角度,换做我是那个体重轻的女生,我是否愿意为了骑重机,而投身到更多的规则和努力之中?
从这个角度分析下去,其实和「女性生存状况」、以及「在日本生活的方式」,其思路上都有些隐喻的成分。当然,首先要批判的是环境因素:
在承认这一点的基础上,从文化规训、以及个人选择的维度上,
待续。
标题致敬 David Graeber 《规则的悖论》,但目前想写的这些,大概和书里的内容没什么关系。
湄洲岛,传说是妈祖林默的故乡。北宋年间,岛上出现了最早的妈祖庙(灵女祠),经历朝扩建为大片宫殿,文革期间全毁,1980 年代后,由散落到各地的香火信徒集资重建的仿宋建筑群。被妈祖信徒们戏称为「东方麦加」……
除了在码头附近的大型祖庙外,湄洲岛上的几乎每个村落,都有各自的妈祖庙,盖的都不小。去不同的堂口进香,也是信仰和交流体系的一部分;尤其是在一些祭日,人们会扛着妈祖像,把所有的庙都逛一遍。
但其中一些庙,路不熟的话,并不好找。于是我上岛时,被唤醒了踩地图之魂,骑着电动车,把所有妈祖庙都找了一遍,标上准确的 GPS 位置。

每座庙的 GPS 位置(WGS 84),由北向南:
| 地点 | 纬度 °N | 经度 °E |
|---|---|---|
| 湄洲祖庙 | 25.09379 | 119.14317 |
| 上英宫 | 25.09035 | 119.12628 |
| 上林宫 | 25.09007 | 119.12889 |
| 上兴宫 | 25.08973 | 119.13972 |
| 寨山宫 | 25.08211 | 119.12082 |
| 莲池宫 | 25.08169 | 119.12598 |
| 回龙宫 | 25.08014 | 119.11606 |
| 龙兴宫 | 25.08008 | 119.12268 |
| 进福宫 | 25.07523 | 119.11157 |
| 湖石宫 | 25.07453 | 119.12075 |
| 天后行宫 | 25.07068 | 119.11253 |
| 文兴宫 | 25.06453 | 119.12972 |
| 白石宫 | 25.06218 | 119.12382 |
| 天利宫 | 25.04815 | 119.11863 |
| 麟开宫 | 25.04398 | 119.11643 |
| 麟山宫 | 25.04026 | 119.11625 |
大约有一半的妈祖庙,是比较好找的,就在主路的边上,甚至在高德地图就能搜到。但其中也有坑,譬如,我第一个去的是「莲池宫」,按地图上搜到的位置,找过去,却关了门。因为是第一家,我并不知道岛上的庙,是什么样子的,于是以为自己不走运,很多庙不在祭日都会关门;正在遗憾,看到里面仿佛有人,敲门问了问,才发现,这家莲池堂,其实是个耶稣教会………

真正的莲池宫,藏在另一个方向的村子里,穿过几条土路才会看到。所有的妈祖庙,其实都是这种金碧堂皇的样子,平日一直开着门。

岛上还有很多其它的庙:有耶稣教会、有完全不供奉妈祖的佛寺、有很小只的土地庙、关帝庙、海神庙、有家族私姓的祠堂、有看着很像妈祖庙,但不知是做什么的「三一教」……海边的「天后行宫」,在妈祖庙背后,修了个更大一号的如来大雄宝殿,于是感觉并不是很靠谱,有人介绍岛上除了祖庙,有 15 家妈祖庙,就没有把天后行宫算在里面。
但有些神灵,是可以放在妈祖庙的侧位一起供的,譬如,齐天大圣……

有的庙正在修葺,就让妈祖像暂居到村子的土地庙/城隍庙里,因为妈祖更大牌,所以城隍要把中间的位子让出来~


有的已经建好了新庙,于是旧庙广场上,用来晒鱼干。

所有的庙旁边都有戏台,还有很多社区的老年中心,也挂牌建在庙场旁边。但大家也经常直接在庙里活动:织网、打牌……赌金还不小。

庙修的都很精美,但赞助者的签名,就磕碜了点儿。

希望小朋友考出好成绩。

路过其它小庙在举行仪式,搭台唱戏。但感觉不同信徒之间,是有些隔绝的。很多时候问路,几百米外的妈祖庙,对方并不知道在哪里,甚至没听说过。

岛上有很多游客、有夜市、很漂亮的画了彩虹线的海边公路。游客们穿着小清新的样子,打卡拍照。但似乎很少有人会去这些庙里逛逛。似乎是两个世界。


观影会上看纪录片,流亡的巴勒斯坦妇女们,合作编织一条传统工艺的挂毯,以此为线索,把个体的流亡叙述,联系在一起。电影拍的不错。观影者们,也纷纷映照自身经历,讨论各种美好的文化,被战争或强权摧残,是多么可惜;以及作为物理或精神上的流亡者,如何从文化叙事的角度,相互连接、支撑。进而强调口述性历史的学术意义。
然而,几乎所有的反映难民的作品或讨论,都是类似的视角,赞扬受害者原先的文化或者美好的生活,从而凸显破坏这些的行为,是多么的不义。
这样的视角看多了,忍不住想:从摧残文化的角度去谴责战争,真的是合理的么?
1.
我所在的文化里,有很多糟粕、或是庸碌,是我们日常在坚持努力抵抗着的。读到这篇文章的人,同样也有很多,是日常和这些文化氛围对抗着的少数派。如果有一天,我们也遭遇战火,成为难民,那么,在这个关于难民或离乡者(diaspora)的叙事中,我们之前在群体内部的反抗,那些苦苦坚持着的自我,就,消失了?变得全无意义?甚至,在和 diaspora 同温层的交流中,仅仅是提到这些,都变得不应该?
关于 diaspora 如何不自觉地被迫形成群体性,以对抗整体的政治性,在学术界大概也不是什么新鲜话题。我只是从被湮没的个体的角度,又一次想到这些。
2.
:这部电影让我很感动……我不想让我所在的文化,或者我自己,从历史上消失,被抹去。
:我也很感动,——但是,如果,我不在乎自己没有留下任何痕迹。这样的我,仍然会面对不公而反抗,也会为遭受不公的你们去反抗,那么,我的这些反抗,是否会因为我不想坚持自己的传统文化,就变得更弱一些呢?
就像我不是因为自身利益才支持女性主义那样,我反抗的,是更纯粹的不公。而不是什么相关利益,或者附加的理由。
3.
我承认,在难民群体中,用文化来团结大家,保持连接,在人们的现有认知中,是很有效的方式。但是,这样的操作,平空又多了一道工序:对自身文化的美化和维护。网上关于巴勒斯坦、乌克兰、乃至香港的争论,很多也都流于这个模式——
黄丝:香港原有的美好传统,被摧残得不剩什么了。
小粉红:就你们那点破传统,譬如啥啥啥陋习,有什么可保留的?(这里的很多例子,其实我是同意的……)
黄丝:艹,你们的啥啥传统才叫做垃圾,blah blah
然后争论的重点,就歪成了「这个文化是否足够好,是否值得保留。」——然而,如果这个被摧残的文化,它不够好,那么它反抗强权的合理性,就会减弱吗?
我还以为这篇早就写成 blog 了,想引用的时候,却发现并没有。当年只是在 mastodon 发了一条。那么还是贴过来吧。感觉最近想写的很多话题,都与之隐约关联。回头再慢慢展开(大概会写一堆「同温层里标榜个人主义」的画风……
(2022年,疫情后,谈论「润」的人自然渐渐多起来。)
这段时间关于「润」的讨论,无论只是讨论,还是已经在行动,给我的感觉,更偏向于一种「被迫」才考虑的状态。社区里,大家经常交流,过去的哪个事件,成为了下决心跑路的底线。——于是联想到自己。但感觉我当时,并没有这样的底线事件,或者说,远远不是到底线才润的,甚至也不是为了更好的生活水准;仅仅是护照可以方便去更多地方,以及不想让自己说话时受委屈。
这正是我这些年怨念的地方:各种动荡下,原先那种「为了探索新世界才做啥啥」的情怀,没人谈起了;一切都塌缩回「保障自己物质或情绪上生存」为导向的行动策略。以至于,我期待的,原先为了探索的人终于聚在一起讨论的内容,也变成了被迫跑路后讨论如何在异地找个稳定工作。——熟悉我的人应该知道,我并不是在物质无忧的条件下说这种风凉话的。事实上,需要把物质前提,在意到什么程度,本身也是文化导向和自我审视的结果。总之就是希望大家能更好玩一些。
关于车里用的燃气炉灶方案。因为只是简单的 van,而不是正式的房车,不存在内嵌的燃气系统,只是每天把各种气罐炉头搬来搬去。简要地说,每天使用最多的方案是:
从大号液化石油气罐(POL),先转成美式一磅罐卡口(UNEF 1″),再转接到户外圆罐炉头(Lindal B188)上。
这样的组合,可以随时把其中的一些环节,替换成其它款式的气罐和燃气用品。
户外常见的气罐接口,大概有这五种:

① POL,也就是最常见的大号「煤气罐」,准确地说,叫「液化石油气罐」。我这边日常可以买到的,有 3.7kg 和 8.5kg 两种容积。大的更划算,但我的床板下面只能放进小号的,换一瓶气大约 $20,Bunnings 和很多加油站都有换。
还有一种 LCC 27 接口,是 POL 的升级版。近年来政府渐渐把 POL 气罐,升级成更安全的 LCC 27 接口。这个是向下兼容的:原先用在 POL 上的管线,仍然可以拧进 LCC 27 的气罐;反之则不行,LCC 27 专用的管线,不能用在 POL 气罐上。所以,使用 POL 的管线,就不必在乎每次换到的气罐,是旧接口还是新接口。

② 3/8″ BSP-LH,另一种大号石油气罐的接口,通常只有专门的户外型房车才会使用。加油站很少见,更换气瓶也远不如 POL 方便。可以很方便地改成 POL,户外店有转接头卖($15)。
③ UNEF 1″ / BOM,北美常见的一磅重的绿气罐,北美的加油站和便利店到处都是,但澳洲和中国很少,只有专门户外店才有。
④ Lindal B188,又名 7/16 UNEF,户外背包露营时,最常见的扁圆气罐。虽然北美有很多炉头,都是 ③ 的 UNEF 接口,但毕竟 UNEF 接口过于笨重,自己背而不是车载露营的话,国际通用的炉头,更多的还是 ④ 的接口。
⑤ 常见的火锅店长气罐。虽然工艺远不如 ③ ④,但是更便宜也更好买,所以很多用 Lindal 圆罐炉头 ④ 的人,都会常备一个 ⑤→④ 的转换头($5)。(长罐到美式一磅罐 ⑤→③ 的转接头我从来没见过,大概因为美式罐太笨重了)
还有一些不常用的接口,譬如和 ④ 很像但是不带螺纹的气罐、以及一些笨重烧烤台用的 1/4” BSP……与本文无关,就不面面俱到地提及了。
一张图显示我日常的炉灶系统:

于是,日常使用最多的组合方案,包括:
日常煮食时,炉头和锅放在旁边的桌板,或者直接放在地上也可以。并不需要专门把气罐搬出来用。

其它车内需要用到燃气的装置,还有:

以及,必须的,一氧化碳监测仪,$25

ps,关于灌装。所有的一磅罐、户外圆罐、火锅长罐……厂家都是禁止用户自行灌注燃料反复使用的。但所有这些罐子,都存在着自行灌装的黑科技,以及相应的很便宜的转接头卖。其中美式一磅罐因为自带减压阀,比其它罐子更安全一些。个人感觉重复灌几次,还是没问题的。网上也不乏号称一个罐子反复用了一辈子的。但我还是不推荐读者贸然使用,请自行斟酌。如果只是偶尔用一下小罐子,多买几个一次性火锅气罐也就是了。

卖转接头的网店图。——但是连卖家的演示图,也是错误的。灌装时应该把大罐子倒置,让沉在下面的液态的石油气流进小罐子,而不仅仅是挥发的气态。
我的双眼可以看见时光的流逝,目睹一切有生之物的死亡。在我的眼中,人类的肌肤干缩衰老,春天的树芽枯萎掉落,岩石粉碎成灰,只有长寿的精灵族中的少年在我看来不受影响。即使是如此,他们在我眼中也像是即将凋谢的花朵。
–《龙枪编年史》
这些年 emo 的主线之一,就是看着曾经能够一起讨论的朋友、乃至喜欢的人,渐渐地沉到各种坑里。——「坑」当然只是我的视角,他们都很快乐。
改变不是瞬间发生的。曾经还一起是好友的时候,我就能隐约感觉到这样的痕迹。甚至很多次的离开,也都与此有关。但离开后我无数次地回顾,质疑自己曾经的选择。每一次看到他们下沉,我都在问自己:如果我当时不离开,选择努力去沟通、改变,是否结果就不一样?于是我的离开,算不算一种逃避?我看着他们时,那种比看其它路人更深的难受,是否因为我没有继续尝试而内疚?
有时我试着去努力,但最终并没有掰赢,围绕着他们的更强力的文化;有的我从一开始就明白自己无能为力;有的我一直不知道答案。
甚至改行去学一些东西,也有很大程度是为了,把这些「隐约感觉到的痕迹」弄清楚。我做到了。关于如何从各种细微痕迹中,看到文化对人产生影响,以及如果当事人不警省或者放弃坚持,如何不自觉地渐渐沉入其中。——但这也只能让自己更清楚地看到那些变化的过程和原因,而不知如何去影响、扭转。
这一切仍然在重复。我仍然能交到各种,三观上有共同语言的朋友,其中大多数是比我年轻很多的人,乃至都没必要去考虑从朋友继续发展的可能性。但在很多人身上,我仍然有发现各种下沉痕迹的感觉。我仍然对他们一二十年后变成什么样子,表示悲观。
很多「痕迹」,在别人看来,可能是无理取闹的:当你刚刚毕业,抱怨上班很烦很累,却仍然去打卡的时候;当你交流社会经验和办公室技巧的时候;当你只是因为寂寞而去各种社交的时候;当你因为被客户认同又能赚到钱而欣喜的时候。
这就是阅历吧,我恨这种感觉。
我知道这一篇充斥着巨大的 ego。其中的很多环节,并不是必然的断言,只是我个人在这个时代的主观经历中,总结出的感受。不对劲的也很可能是我自己。我也能看到新的一代人的,可能的好的一面:虽然大多数人沉的更深,但幸存下来的人,也有更多的机会和氛围,变得更清醒,清醒到有足够能力来意识到,之前说的那些加诸自身的细微文化影响。希望能抱抱他们。
看到年轻人旅行回来,继续打着鸡血,说「____那里很好,想时不时去呆上一阵」,突然意识到,自己最近这几年,纠结的点之一,在于:已经没有那样的地方了。
——任何看上去很好,可以待着很欢乐的地方,或者人群,都需要我放弃一些方面的思考,才能去融入。而能够在这样的环境下安然欢乐,很大程度上,也是因为选择了去无视某些,这个环境里没有被提到的东西。然后,这种「无视」本身,作为一种文化,也会让安然其中的人们,发生变化。
那些没有提到的东西,包括但远远不限于:各种权力的体现(政治、性别、阶层……)、消费主义、对认同感的依赖和屈从、对多样性的接受以及主动探索……这些年研究文化对人的影响,也就对那些「无视」导致的变化,感知更加明显。
可以说,那些坚持去思考的东西,叫做「执念」。但「执念」这种说法,仍然只是为了舒适而放弃某些东西后的自我解释。
而我这些年的变化,也是从「要不要为了在这样的地方快乐生活,而改变呢」;
变成「不想改变的话,就真的没有这样的地方了吗?再努力找找吧」,然后因为找不到而焦虑,渐渐又因为意识到这样的地方不存在而焦虑;
再变成「这样的地方不存在,那又能怎样呢」,然后再分析,那样的一个理想化的环境,——无论是期望现实中存在的,还是在脑海中凭空构造的,——它对我的吸引力,是由哪些因素导致的呢?很多因素,经过这样的分析后,都可以选择从自我身上去剔除(aka 修仙)。
Stop finding neverland,不是因为要脚踏实地了,而是接受「没有」的状态,让自己根本不再需要,任何形式的 land,作为支撑。
当然,能够去玩得很开心的地方,我自信还是能找出很多的。但世界总体,仍然只是旅程。