2016年4月14日 星期四

《橡皮鴨游世界.香港站(Rubber Duck Project - Hong Kong Tour)》

各位同學是否仍記得三年前,有隻大黃色膠鴨仔游到來尖沙咀,維港一時間化身成大浴缸的事呢?猶記得當時尖沙咀站滿了市民遊客拍照打卡,人人都喜歡這黃色鴨仔。大家又可有想過?這麼的一隻大鴨仔背後的理念以及怎樣組裝呢?不是吹漲隻鴨放到海裡就行了?
世事怎會如此簡單,透過此書,筆者認識到一件事,凡事大做就不會簡單的了。由展覽拍板開始,籌備工程到展出一點都不容易。造鴨仔的帆布本身已一噸重,底座六噸加一噸木材。在測試時因物料太重,結果要車衣女工帶著衣車到現場即做,縫一條線要由十二壯漢圍著衣車團團轉協助,想想其中的場面多有趣及困難,而這只是其中一項難題而已。
此書詳細記錄了關於黃鴨仔各種事項由策劃到實踐的艱鉅過程及細節,「漏氣」事件及快速的「救鴨」行動當中的危機處理,亦探討這個項目能獲得重大成功的原因,更有很多可愛的插圖十分吸引看罷此書等於上了一堂有趣的策展課。


2016年4月7日 星期四

為何會把世界閱讀日定在4月23日?

聯合國教科文組織(UNESCO)自1995年起,把4月23日定為「世界閱讀日」(World Book & Copyright Day),希望藉著這個重要的日子,向大眾(尤其是年青人和兒童)推廣閱讀和寫作,以及宣揚跟閱讀關係密切的版權意識。但為何會把世界閱讀日定在4月23日﹖原來「4.23」在文學界有種特殊意義,相信大家都認識莎士比亞,這位偉大的文學家便是於1616年4月23日逝世,除此之外,許多傑出的作家如Maurice Druon、K.Laxness、Vladimir Nabokov、Josep Pla和Manuel Mejia Vallejo,都在4月23日出生或辭世,為了緬懷這些偉大文學家的貢獻,以及對他們的作品表示尊崇,特別將這一天定為「版權日」,同時也是象徵世界文學的日子,期許大家能徜徉在文學創造的無言之境,品味語言文字的藝術之美。

『世界閱讀日』請大家關注閱讀、出版及智慧權益的發展,籲請各國的學校、圖書館、出版社及其他非營利組織,多多舉辦各種活動,以喚起世人重拾閱讀的興趣及對著作版權的重視。尤其當今多媒體閱讀型態並存,更須體認書寫、書本、閱讀,永遠是自省思維、溝通內涵的必須工具。

推動這個活動以來,歐洲、美洲、澳洲等地區的一些城市都作出響應,如圖書館的成立、出版漫畫教育年輕人認識版權、畫家義賣捐助殘障兒童、大型出版社捐書給學校、慈善團體及非營利組織捐書給醫院、監獄、圖書館等。亞洲地區也有少數地區應節辦活動,但仍以折扣優惠促銷書為主。

2016年3月8日 星期二

The Complete Classical Music Guide Book Report by S3A Kasy Cheu 

The Complete Classical Music Guide is a book with comprehensive information about the elements of classical music and the specialties of different musical periods, ranging from the Baroque era to the 20th century.
This book also gives us an in-depth look into the backgrounds and the key works of the composers of each musical period. For instance, Frédéric Chopin is one of the composers that is mentioned in the book. 
As a pianist myself, this book has given me an insight on what I learn on a daily basis. I've always assumed there are only four main musical periods, the Baroque Period, the Classical Period, the Romantic Period and the 20th century, however, after reading this book, I've realised that there is way more than just that. If we subdivide the musical eras, we actually have seven musical eras. How fascinating! 
This book has not only been an eye-opener but also made me realise how little I've learnt throughout all these years of taking piano lessons, what I normally learn in piano lessons is just a small chunk of what makes classical music so astonishing. 
This book has made me understand more about the backgrounds of the composers, which is crucial when playing classical music, because musicians, in order to play the pieces the way they were originally intended, need an extensive amount of knowledge about the pieces, in a nutshell, the background of the composers, when and why were the pieces composed, etc. These knowledge are not easily found on the internet due to how little people actually know about them. Therefore, this book is really helpful for musicians out there that are trying to interpret the pieces as well as they could. 
I highly recommend this book to any musicians, whether or not you are a musician that plays classical music, it is also a great book for those who are eager to learn more about the history of music.