Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Fan's coup

我一直没注意‘饭跑跑’的故事。不过就一条花边新闻嘛,林子大,什么鸟都有。

后来偶尔看到了比特海的评论,还有那经典凤凰视频。和菜头是这样认为的


  • 范美忠已经准备了二十年,而郭松民根本没有打算准备一分钟。。。像郭松民这样的人,估计一直都是他思考中的假想敌。(好谈道德高义的人,应该以郭松民为鉴。道德本身在民众中拥有深厚的基础,所以根本无需高声抗辩,厉声指责。)
  • 郭松民丝毫也没有意识到,自己其实是阿虎和范美忠的道具而已。

挺有意思的一个人。基于好奇,我google了这位名人一下。

第一篇:范美忠:我为什么要去中学当老师

  • 原来和菜头说的对,范其实是真是一个有理想的人。他可能故意要以此事件来扩大他的价值观和对教育的影响力。而且,范的确准备了好多年。

第二篇:中学教书生涯的总结性陈词 - 范美忠(以前一个被杭外赶出去的老师

  • 不得了。和菜头其实低估了饭跑跑。原来连阿虎都在跑跑的盘算之中,成为他的道具之一。范的目标,不只是那些卫道君子们。他的计划,其实更大更广。。。而且,因为阿虎之助,已一步一步的靠近了。

第三篇:那一刻地动山摇(范的原文)-- 看来莎朗大妈没被歧视,网民们对范跑跑和大妈是一视同仁的。他们估计也没谁看了范的原文。
  • “我曾经为自己没有出生在美国这样的自由民主尊重人权的国家而痛不欲生!因为我大学毕业十几年的痛苦与此有关,我所受的十七年糟糕教育与此有关。我无数次质问上帝:你为什么给我一颗热爱自由和真理的灵魂却让我出生在如此专制黑暗的中国?让我遭受如许的折磨!但我也曾为自己感到庆幸:我没有出生在抗日战争和解放战争时期,那样我将可能经历战争的恐怖和非正常丧失亲人的哀痛;我没有出生在共和国的前三十年,因为以我这种宁折不弯,心口如一的性格,多半会被枪毙了家人还要忍着伤痛上交子弹费;或者誓死捍卫毛主席和红色中国而其实死得一钱不值;或者经历热烈的青春之后却发现自己一无所有。
      当然,十六岁读初三的时候,我通过电视报纸隐隐约约地旁观了那场那一代人不堪回首的运动,但懵懂无知的我并没有感到痛苦,因为当时我还是一个傻瓜,虽然这场运动对我人生轨迹的影响是三年后我经历了噩梦般的一年军训。但一代人有一代人 的苦难!首先就是大学以后面对商业社会和极权社会的精神分裂的痛苦和欲求自由公正而不得的焦灼与孤独,还有失去家园的生命虚无!但这是在某些人看来似乎是虚无缥缈的近乎神经质的痛苦,是天下本无事,庸人自忧之!我没有遭遇战争,没有遭遇特大洪灾!我怀疑自我与他人的可靠性生命的可靠性但没有怀疑过大地的可靠性,虽然我早就否定了大地作为生命家园的可能。唐山大地震成了遥远的灾难记忆和抽象的死亡数字。但该来的终究要来!在毫无心理准备的情况下,我在离震中映秀最近的都江堰经历了一生中最恐怖的一次经历:5•12汶川8•0级特大地震!
  • 这时我注意看,上我课的学生还没有出来,又过了一会儿才见他们陆续来到操场里,我奇怪地问他们:“你们怎么不出来?”学生回答说:“我们一开始没反应过来,只看你一溜烟就跑得没影了,等反应过来我们都吓得躲到桌子下面去了!等剧烈地震平息的时候我们才出来!老师,你怎么不把我们带出来才走啊?”“我从来不是一个勇于献身的人,只关心自己的生命,你们不知道吗?上次半夜火灾的时候我也逃得很快!”话虽如此说,之后我却问自己:“我为什么不组织学生撤离就跑了?”其实,那一瞬间屋子晃动得如此厉害,我知道自己只是本能反应而已,危机意识很强的我,每次有危险我的反应都比较快,也逃得比较快!不过,瞬间的本能抉择却可能反映了内在的自我与他人生命孰为重的权衡,后来我告诉对我感到一定失望的学生说:“我是一个追求自由和公正的人,却不是先人后己勇于牺牲自我的人!在这种生死抉择的瞬间,只有为了我的女儿我才可能考虑牺牲自我,其他的人,哪怕是我的母亲,在这种情况下我也不会管的。因为成年人我抱不动,间不容发之际逃出一个是一个,如果过于危险,我跟你们一起死亡没有意义;如果没有危险,我不管你们你们也没有危险,何况你们是十七,十八岁的人了!”这或许是我的自我开脱,但我没有丝毫的道德负疚感,我还告诉学生:“我也决不会是勇斗持刀歹徒的人!”话虽这么说,下次危险来临的时候,我现在也无法估计自己会怎么做。我只知道自己在面对极权的时候也不是冲在最前面并因而进监狱的人。
  • 之后我又到前操场闲逛,发现小学部和幼儿园的学生全在那里。卿校长也正在那里,于是我过去跟他聊天。我说:“在我印象中,光亚学校的房子不怎么结实啊!怎么一间都没有倒?”卿校长多少有一些得意地回答:“我们学校的房子修得像碉堡,怎么会倒?我是包工不包料!那些包工头都跟我争,要包工包料,但我坚决不干,我把材料买好!工钱我可以给多点,房子是现浇铸的!地面和墙壁都连在一起!修好我们用仪器检查过钢筋水泥的含量!”原来他也并不是有先见之明,只不过是没有偷工减料而已,并没有什么特别的质量保证和防震设计!。。。。。


范的这些旧贴,蛰伏多年,等着一个机会。汶川地震,给了范这个机会。我甚至怀疑,饭跑跑到底当时是否真的跑了。(附文如下)


---

第二篇原文如下:

中学教书生涯的总结性陈词 - 范美忠[以前一个被杭外赶出去的老师

今年四月一日到七月我在杭州外国语学校教了三个月的语文,这是我第三次到中学教书,与前两次不同,这次是教语文而不是教历史。但共同的结局都是我没法在中学呆下来。如果在杭外都呆不下来,我想中国也就不大可能再有能容得下我的中学了。除非中国的政治和教育制度发生根本性的变化,我将不再考虑到中学教书,尽管按照自己的想法搞中学教育是我最大的梦想。          我自己认为,在中国我只可能从事两种工作,要么是做媒体,要么是搞教育。因为这是对我自己来说最有意义的事情。但它们都同时面临一个问题:缺乏自由。搞新闻缺乏新闻自由,搞教育缺乏教育自由。          

回顾我的三次教学经历,我觉得是很值得玩味的事情。我在大学刚毕业的时候就选择了到中学教书。这次在中学呆了三年,而第二次呆了不到一个月,第三次呆了三个月。说实话,就所谓反动来说,我在四川自贡蜀光中学的时候并不次于后两次。那么我为什么居然还能在那里呆将近三年?首先是因为我是正式去的,已经近于签定了合同。其次是因为我教的是历史,没有考试压力,因此就算有关方面不满意,他们可以让我教高一,或者理科班,反正不让我教毕业班就行了。尽管如此,还是因为我讲建国以来的一些历史事件以及六四还有鼓吹开放党禁报禁而导致学校校长几次找我谈话,并威胁要停我的课,我只好把教学的重点引向文学方面,这种转向固然有我的个人兴趣转变的因素,但在讲历史和政治方面自由受到限制是很重要的原因。但尽管我在这个学校生存下去了,我自身的教学理想则受到毁灭性的打击,不仅是因为整个学校从领导到同事都没有人理解我的想法和做法,他们要么把我视为书呆子,要么觉得我这个人是怪物,一点也不懂得这个社会的游戏规则。我的妥协的结果是我不能讲自己想讲的东西,结果教书仅仅成了谋生的手段。我想做什么不能谋生呢?如果按照传统的模式教下去,无论是培养现代公民的启蒙的目的,还是培养出大师级人物的目的都难于达到,我的工作是没有意义的。于是我产生了出走的想法。          

我说做媒体也是我可以接受的工作。但并非说凡是媒体我都愿意做,只有那种真正严肃关注社会问题并能监督批评政府揭露社会黑暗的媒体我才有兴趣,做起来才有激情。但在目前的中国,即使是《南方周末》和《南风窗》也做不到这一点,更不用说别的媒体。所以出走到广州之后我比在自贡的时候更加绝望,因为那个时候我还可以对广州对媒体工作寄托希望,现在学校教育和媒体都无法按照自己的一些想法来做,那么什么地方什么职业是我的安身立命之地呢?这种迷茫和绝望情绪较之在自贡的时候进一步加深了,与在自贡的时候一样,我经常深夜不眠,也一样经常漫无目的的大街上徘徊,内心饱受煎熬,一个有理想追求的人一个视自由重于一切的人要做点事情真的就那么地难?          

在广州我同样尝试过到中学教书。比较凑巧的是,有一个学校让我产生了一些幻想和期待。这个学校是广州一个著名的私立学校叫广州华美英语学校。因为它的校长是曾留学美国加拿大的博士,而校长助理则是清华大学研究生毕业,也就是说,总得来讲我认为该校领导有可能有比较先进的教育理念。应该说,这个学校也确实还有一些独到的地方,包括对学生课外兴趣活动的重视,对教育理论本身的重视,同时因为很多学生中学毕业就留学美国,加拿大,澳大利亚等地,因此高考的压力很小。          

但最后结果仍然不佳,因为我在课堂上必然要讲一些我想讲的东西,也必然有学生或者家长到学校领导那里告密。结果高中组副校长到我的课堂上听课,那天我不知怎么扯到邓小平和蒋经国的比较上去了,我说蒋开放党禁和报禁,而邓镇压六四,邓比蒋差远了。结果这个副校长一听吓坏了,赶紧到总校校长那儿去汇报,结果老板立即做出决定,停了我当天的后两节课,把工资算给我之后立即让我走人。那么私立学校为什么比公立学校还紧张?因为该校为建设硬件设施已经投资3·5亿,他们怕政府关闭他们的学校,这样他们所有的投资都付诸东流,而且他们实际上也已经放弃了当初回国时候办教育的理想,而把教育本身作为了赚钱的工具。我原来曾把私立学校作为中国教育改革的一个突破口和希望,现在看来在政治制度没有根本转变的情况下,私立学校更糟糕,因为政府不可能关闭公立学校,却随时可能关闭私立学校,同时私立学校的招生完全依赖于其考试成绩,因此他们在应试教育方面搞得更为变本加厉,在思想自由方面更不能容忍。          之后的两年我在做很无聊的事情中度过,灰心丧气之余,我又想逃避到学术当中,于是从去年八月分开始我又开始准备考研究生,大约准备了三个月的英语之后,我拿起了政治书,三天之后政治书的胡说八道就让我终于无法忍受,我知道如果我们的研究生入学考试还要考英语和政治,那么我这一辈子是不大可能读研究生了。而如果中国目前的大学体制不发生变化,那么我这个本科生也不大可能到大学任教了。          

从广州到重庆,从重庆到北京,自大学毕业以后,我第一次回到北京,第一次回北大去看看,经朋友介绍,我到了国务院发展研究中心主办的《中国经济时报》做新视点理论版。一方面我对经济方面的工作缺乏兴趣,一方面因为我约的秦晖和萧雪慧等人的我真正想发的稿件都难于发出来。我再次做得心灰意冷,我不知道自己这辈子还有没有可能按照自己的想法搞教育,按照自己的想法做新闻?尽管该报已经很不错!在我再次彷徨的时候某给我发来了消息,问我愿不愿意到杭州外国语学校教语文?听说这个学校很开放,听说这个学校学生素质很好,听说让我教语文(与教历史相比,教语文更容易回避一些敏感问题,同时我最有兴趣的是文学而不是历史),何况还有郭初阳在一起共事,有啊肯经常可以过杭州来喝酒聊天,那么我即可以做一些自己认为有价值的事情,又可以不感到孤独,何乐而不为呢?          

应该说,杭外最初还是让我感到非常意外,甚至说让我吃了一惊,以至于我一度以为我有可能在这个学校呆下来。以至于我对中国教育乃至中国的未来都产生了幻想。先是跟杭外的汤子良校长的谈话,我觉得这是一个很开明的有着先进教育理念的校长。而b老师的开明和关心则更让我感动,尽管在教育理念上她跟我也有分歧,但给了我足够的教学自由,她非常爱才,并且有容人之量,从她把某老师挖到杭外并且希望我留在杭外就可以看出她的度量,同时她还希望挖来杭高的蔡少军老师。而同教研组也还有几个不错的老师。当然这是跟我以前到过的学校的文科老师比,无论学科水平和教学理念都强很多,而且我们也可以进行一定程度上的交流,并且探讨一些教学上的问题。同时我接触的一些年轻老师在教学上来说都有一些跟我相似的理念,或者在关于社会政治问题上也可以进行一些交流。更让我感到高兴的是,历史老师某也是一个知识渊博并一直关心思想潮流专注于启蒙的好老师,我们可以一起讨论秦晖,李慎之,可以讨论一些历史问题。这样的一个教师群体是一般的学校所不具备的。至少就我的视野所及是从来没有遇到一个学校有这么多教育理念先进的老师。而学生素质之高思想之成熟则更让我吃了一惊,首先来找我的是杭外西溪水文学社社长马金馨(她早已通过新浪读书沙龙对我有了一些认识),她要我对文学社进行一些指导,给文学社做一些讲座,给文学社刊物写一些文章。而她自己在文学,思想和艺术欣赏方面也都相当不错,尽管由于没有碰到过好的语文老师,在知识结构上还有不少欠缺。但给她们一些指导打开她们的眼界这也正是我呆在杭外的价值所在。          

刚到不久我就开始帮文学社做每周一次的阅读周刊。阅读周刊的主编是高一的毛亦可同学,她又让我大吃了一惊。他对建国以来的民运史非常的熟悉,对王实味案件,对储安平顾准对朱学勤谢泳这些人及其文章思想都非常了解,而对七八十年代以来的中国民主运动和思想解放的历史尤其熟悉。已经接近于我在这方面的知识视野,好在我是一个什么书都看的博闻强记的书虫,一般的老师真没法指导她们,而据蔡锦熙老师说,毛亦可的成绩也是年级里最好的,而副主编蔺子也是非常有想法的人。我还接触过初三的同学陆帏谋,他已经看了《大师与玛格丽特》和《无个性的人》等一般学生根本不知道的书,也就是说在外国文学的视野方面比起我已经不是差得很多,这对一个初三学生来说非常难得,而他对现当代诗歌也还比较了解。自然他在知识结构上还有有不少缺陷。更令我吃惊的是一个初二学生周昌伟,这个孩子读书很多,而且在现代哲学的思考上已经达到了相当的深度。那么这样的学生,一般的老师是根本没有能力指导他们的。即使是我在大学刚毕业的时候也不可能有能力指导他们,好在我大学毕业后疯狂地看了六年书,并且走南闯北,从事了多种工作,结识了很多各种各样的人,长了很多见识,才能给予他们一些指导。          应该说,一般学校的学生确实很难接受我讲的东西,有的甚至听不懂我在说些什么,但这个学校的学生素质很高,思想很活跃而且还非常好学,集中了整个杭州乃至浙江全省的好些很优秀的学生,尤其其中一些浙大以及杭师院子弟相当出色,一般的老师或者大学本科生恐怕在很多方面已经不如他们。          

所以说离开这个学校我真的感到非常遗憾,这实在是一个进行素质教育的太好的阵地。刚开始我感到非常满意,在跟朋友通信的时候我都非常兴奋,我说没想到中国居然有这样的学校,这样的领导这样的学生,否则如果所有的中学都象我以前呆过的学校,那中国真是完了。  
        
但时间长了之后我也发现一些不足。在杭州的一些著名中学里有这样一个说法:杭四中是地狱,学军中学是炼狱(该校校长是一个非常愚蠢的人),杭二中是人间,杭高是天堂,而杭外是天堂中的天堂。这个说法基本是准确的。但杭高毕竟还是容不下蔡少军,而杭外毕竟容纳下了两位很号的老师,这也许就可以表明杭外在杭州所有中学里最为宽容的地方。但a到杭外不过一年,b到杭外也仅仅两年。也就是说杭外所谓天堂也就是说学校老师不怎么管学生,布置的作业也少,也基本不补课,那么学生可以有足够的时间发展自己的爱好和特长。但对一个学校来说这是多么基本的东西,杭外居然因此成了天堂中的天堂,而在我看来,该校在为学生创造发展个性特长和创造性的条件方面基本处于不作为的状态,以至于一些学生时间很多,却不知道怎么办。所以汤校长或许是一个有先进教育理念的校长,但在这种不作为方面,他恐怕也负有一定责任的。          最让我感到遗憾的还是学校四个主要领导中的两个——管教学的副校长石世昌和校党委书记林卫民素质极其低下,心胸极其狭窄。有这么好的老师,有这么好的学生,却有这么两个素质如此低下的领导,杭外的未来无疑将会毁在他们手上。          

记得一次吃饭的时候,石世昌谈起杭外投资三亿的新校区非常得意,声称硬件设施是世界一流的。从那时起我从内心就开始鄙视他,一个校长不以本校有优秀的教师有先进的教育理念而自豪却以硬件而自豪,那么这样的校长也就是草包一个。更可笑的是,他听了我的课之后说你给学生讲那么多课外的东西干什么?高考又不考!他还说何况我是教历史的,说出这种弱智的话,他还问我给学生布置了多少作业,好象我给学生布置的作业越多我就越负责,居然有这样的校长?浙江最好的中学那么多好学生就将毁在这样的校长手上!他又肆无忌惮地否定我的教学,他自己是教数学的,对文学一窍不通,却以为自己是校长就可以胡说八道。根本不懂得学生究竟应该如何提高人文素养,还认为我不能管理课堂秩序和组织课堂教学,他根本不明白,我从来不强迫学生听我的课,而我从来不认为课堂鸦雀无声是什么好事情,也不搞那种形式上的以学生为主体。学生现在一无所知,他需要的就是听我讲,打开自己的视野。他居然还说我在课堂上发泄对社会的不满,说这样培养出来的学生就会反叛,却丝毫不理解我告诉学生历史真实和启蒙的培养学生独立思考能力独立人格的想法。可以说,这样一个人,无论是从个人的教育理念还是从做人来说都非常糟糕的一个校长却做在了管教学的位置上,他有农民的狭隘却无农民的淳朴,他甚至在教师大会上公开对女老师的身材评头评足,在杭外传为笑谈。我们的政治体制自然有问题,如果是民主选举,这种素质的人可能上台吗?何况一个学校的大事怎么能仅仅由校长决定?这完全是独裁!          

我最后的离开是有汤子校长,石世昌副校长,汪中民副校长,林卫民书记投票决定的。只有汤投了我的赞成票。汤投了我的赞成票,或者是真欣赏我,或者有其它一些考虑,反正他也知道其他几个人肯定是会投反对票的。石世昌投反对票那是不用说了,而林卫民一开始就对我的到来心存疑虑,说这个人在报纸呆得好好的怎么突然想到中学教书?他在我之前一个月到的杭外,仅仅因为他老婆的职务调动才从一个小地方小学校调动到杭外的,他一来就召开党员大会并要求写党员思想汇报,根本不考虑探索现代教育的出路的事情。我对他的评价是:党棍一个!理应把伟光正踢出中国的教育机构,他们凭什么控制中国的教育伟一个腐败专制的党派服务?          更让人气愤的是,当我的学生集体去找他谈我的问题的时候,他一听说是谈我的问题,就把学生赶出去了,没有任何的风度和民主的作风。理由是这是学校的决定,同时还不满地说:“新高一的学生怎么这样?”新高一的学生怎么啦?学生难道就不能对学校不合理的决定提出抗议?难道就没有权力挽留自己喜欢的老师?他还骗学生说我的档案没了,可我的档案是我自己从自贡蜀光中学提出来放到自贡人人才市场的,骗得了谁呢?郭初阳也跟汤校长谈过,汤的回答是:“如果是我的学校,一点问题都没有,但考虑到方方面面的关系!”而当a老师问起汪校长的时候他则说:“也许这个人太深了,我们都没有理解他!”          

文学社社长马金馨又去找校长谈,因为某老师曾有建议,让我去建设图书馆,并同时给学生开选修课和做讲座,但校长说我不愿意屈才,其实他们连问都没问过我。图书馆负责的石老师也找校长书记谈过,得到的也是相同的回答,她又暗示我说,也许是我说了一个不该说的话,学校怕担政治上的责任,这才是他们不敢留下我的最根本原因,当然还有教育理念的分歧,以及我的个性或者他们所说的狂妄自大。但是给不同的人的解释却是五花八门,可以看出这个学校在对待老师方面缺乏基本的诚意。而我的学生在给我的留言上则说:我以我的博学和热情征服了曾经十分骄傲的他们,是他们当中很多人第一个发自内心佩服的老师,在我教他们三个月的时间之内,他们学到了比过去十五年更多的东西。我几乎可以满足他们所有人各方面的知识需求。我想,不管怎样,一般的老师是不可能得到学生这样的评价的。          

而多少比我平庸得多的老师可以在中学呆得很好,而一个真正得到学生喜欢的老师却无法为我们的体制所接受?最主要的原因自然是我们社会还是专制社会愚民教育,教育为某个党派的利益服务而不是着眼于人本身以及整个国家的未来,这是最根本的原因,但同时校长的低素质也是非常重要的原因,这里就涉及到我们的政治体制,真正道德高尚的人有先进教育理念的人却不可能当上校长,我们的体制是在降低我们民族的道德素质。一个溜须拍马上去的校长还可能容得下人才吗?他们只需要奴才,他们只会考虑自己的官位。学校变成了官场,无疑我们的官场是个逆淘汰的体制。我们希望学校的校长也是由选举产生而不是上级任命,是教师和学生参与治校而不是校长独裁。从这次事件可以看出,老师和学生的声音没有得到任何重视。          

尽管如此,三个月来的工作也还是取得了一定的成效,或者我教的两个班的一些学生也对我的教学方式,内容和观点不能理解适应或者接受,但无疑他们当中的很多人已经被打开了眼界,知道了许多以前闻所未闻的东西,一些同学开始了思考,无疑一些学生的观点立场以及人生道路都可能因此而改变,我让他们当中的一些人看了李慎之的文章,奥威尔的小说,索尔仁尼琴的《古拉格群岛》,给他们介绍了中国现当代诗歌和世界各国文学。介绍了大量的历史和思想类著作,尽管也许超出了他们的接受能力。另做了五期文学社周刊:分别介绍了余华,奥威尔,李慎之,米兰·昆德拉和王实味五个人物,在三个班做了讲座。遗憾的是没有做全校性的讲座。另带学生到枫林晚和南华去买了几次书,视野已经打开,接下来的路要靠他们自己去走,希望接我的课的语文老师别扼杀他们,这样我的教学成果又将付诸东流。也希望我这些学生能主动去影响其它的一些人,这样就能产生蝴蝶效应。          

谈到我离开的原因,学生处的许宏老师说:“这个人有才华,但太狂妄自大,看人的眼神都是藐视的眼神!”,转告我这个老师说:“学校与其说是容不下我的反动,倒不如说是容不下我的态度!”真的吗?我知道他们喜欢奴才。也许我真的很狂妄,因为现在的中学文科老师大多数不是低水平,而是没水平。你叫我怎么看得起他们?校长和一些老师甚至学生以及学生家长也对我丢开教材讲现代诗歌有不满,但如此糟糕的教材叫我怎么能忍受?          

我经常在网上看到有人说现在的中学老师素质低,并且呼吁要以较高的待遇来吸引高素质的人到中学,但在我看来,仅仅考虑待遇问题是不行的,无论是校方的领导,老师都还是学生甚至图书馆人员都肯定我的水平,但我还是被迫离开了。我想,高素质的校长,教育体制改革教学观念的转变,政治体制改革,整个社会的民主化转型还有家长观念的转变都很重要。这里谈到家长我再说一下,家长是最愚蠢的一群人,他们当中的绝大多数只关心分数和考试。而学校也很在乎家长的反应,校长和家长的愚蠢凑到了一起。学校的章潞平老师也成天在考虑如何使家长满意却不思考如何进行教学改革如何对学生进行个性化培养如何才是真正的现代教育,让我对他也看得有些扁了。          

对进行了一些妥协非常注重技巧从而在中学呆下来了的另两位号老师我表示尊敬和钦佩,在中国的应试教育奴化教育反人性教育发展到了极端的情况下,他们的工作必将被历史证明是非常有价值的,而且改变中国命运的一些人也应该是这样的老师培养出来,对那些在夹缝中戴着镣铐跳舞的其他一些老师,我也致以相同的敬意。          

最后补充一点,就在学校通知我不聘用我的前一天,上海《东方早报》记者赵楠还打电话给我要对我进行采访,他说我这样的思想前卫的老师是中学教育的希望,他还说我的学生有福了。一笑,当一个道德高尚的高水平的人却不被体制所容纳的时候,这个体制也就在自杀了,通过一系列事件经历我终于确认了一点,我们这个民族是个非常低劣的没有自由渴望没有一点血性的民族,他们忠的大多数人猪一样地活着,这样的民族堕落甚至灭亡都不必以为不幸的。然儿,这样的官僚和民众都是我们的土壤诞生出来的,忏悔吧,为了我们这个被上帝遗弃的民族!

The Mellon Arena

Construction of Pittsburgh's new arena is set to begin sometime this summer. I realize it needs to be replaced, but I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the Mellon Arena, though it was still called the Civic Arena when I first visited it for my very first rock concert when I was 12 years old.

This photo was taken by Matt Robinson, the same guy that took those amazing pictures of the Stanley Cup I told you about a few weeks ago. He's taken some stunning shots of the city of Pittsburgh, too.

I know the new arena won't be ready for at least 2 years, but I'm already getting nostalgic - I've been searching the Internet and snatching up good photos of the Igloo to use as wallpapers and screensavers, and I found some really great ones that I wanted to share with you. (A few of the following shots are ones I've taken over the years, too.)


It was still known as the Civic Arena when my husband got me into hockey when we first began dating 11 years ago. The name was changed in 1999 when the Pens signed an $18 million 10 year contract with Mellon Financial.



Construction of the arena was completed in 1961. It got its name when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette began referring to the unnamed building as the Civic Arena. The building has a prominent unique feature - a retractable domed roof (from Ballparks.com):
It consisted of eight sections cut at 45-degree angles, six of which are able to rotate on 3,000 feet of rails. The girders, 34 feet above the floor, slope at a 13-degree angle. With each section of the roof powered by five motors, the arena can open completely in about two and a half minutes.



It was originally built for the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, but the accoustics were subpar (especially when the roof was opened) so the Opera group only performed in the building for a few years. The first hockey team to utilize the building was the AHL's Pittsburgh Hornets. They won the Calder Cup in their last season at the arena in 1967, just a few months before the Pittsburgh Penguins moved in.

This is a screenshot I grabbed using Google Earth. (Click to enlarge.)

After a series of additions, seating capacity grew from around 12,000 to its present 17,132 (standing room). Because of the additions, however, some of the lower level seats at each end are listed as "obstructed view seating." Tickets for these sections are less expensive, but television monitors installed in the overhanging structures are needed to help the fans in these seats see all the action. My husband and I sat in these seats for our first Stanley Cup playoff game ever (Round 1 Game 3 in the 2007 series against Ottawa). They definitely aren't ideal, but beggars can't be choosy, right?


The arena has 56 luxury suites and 1,696 club seats. I've been privileged enough to be a guest in one luxury suite in particular several times over the past decade because the company my husband works for owns it. (My apologies for the poor quality of these next two photos - they are scans from pictures taken in February 2000 with an old [*GASP*] film camera. They are the only good pictures I've got of the inside of the box because when I'm up there, I've pretty much always got my camera pointed down towards the ice.)

This is my big sister!

And this is me at 22 years old and in desperate need of a root touch-up. Haha, look at me making myself at home!

The view from the suite is incredible. We were in the suite when Sid scored the famous goal on his stomach against the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 7, 2007. I captured that goal on video using my old digital camera, which only recorded silent clips. Nevertheless, it is one of my most cherished video clips. I don't know why, but somehow in my gut I just felt like something special was about to happen, so I started recording and this is what I got (take a Dramamine - it gets shaky right after the goal because I and the rest of the fans in the arena erupted into thunderous cheers - also, you may need to let the entire video load before playing it because if you don't, you'll see the goal but you'll miss Sid flying down the ice and then dropping to his belly):


Here is a photo I took of the national anthem from that game:

This is a zoomed in shot, but you can still tell that we're pretty high up there.

For those of you who have never been to the Mellon Arena, the following shot is the most accurate photographic depiction of what it is like inside the Igloo that I've ever seen:

This photo is actually a series of 6 photos stitched together using Photomerge in Photoshop CS3. The artist, DMcGrew, took the original 6 pictures in section E28. Click the photo to go to his Flickr album and get this image in wallpaper size. (Click the All Sizes button in the upper left corner of the picture, then choose to download the Original size for best use as a wallpaper.)


This photo is another work by DMcGrew. This time he used only 4 photos. Click the photo for more sizes.

While I eagerly look forward to the upgrades (like having cup holders in the armrests, LOL) in the new arena, I'll also be a little bit sad when the Mellon goes out of service. I'll leave you today with the rest of my favorite pictures of the Mellon Arena. First, here are the interior shots:






And here are some more great exterior shots:



Monday, June 9, 2008

Making Bookmarks for Friends : A therapeutic hobby

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for your prayers and encouragements.

Thank God for preserving me daily.

Just a short update. My condition is still fluctuating. It kind of worsened during the weekends and I rested much. I prayed and read a little of the Bible whenever I can. Thank God that I am better today.

I went for a walk this morning. It was refreshing to be out in the nature once again to behold the beauties of God's creations and to remember His greatness in creating and preserving us.

Today I was also able to work on some bookmarks that I am making for some overseas friends. Thank God for the joy of making these little gifts for my friends.

I will continue to pray and do whatever I can daily, and hope to get better by and by.

Thanks for stopping by. I am praying for you too. Take care.

If you are interested to make bookmarks for yourself or your friends or to sell, do feel free to download some Free Bookmarks Templates from my Homemade Bookmarks and Crafts website.































Sunday, June 8, 2008

A Look Back by Mad Max

Longtime readers of The Show will remember that periodically TSCS has featured an English translation of the blog that Mad Max Talbot has been keeping in French on RDS.ca since the beginning of this season. Well, today it's time for this season's final edition of:


THANK YOU FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL SEASON

I still can not find words to express what I feel 48 hours after our defeat to the Detroit Red Wings.

I will not hide from you that this is far from easy to recover from a setback in the finals of the Stanley Cup. We worked so hard and we were so close to the Stanley Cup that the impact is demoralizing.

While the Red Wings were celebrating their conquest of the Stanley Cup on the ice, I assure you it was very quiet in our dressing room, especially as all the players were exhausted.

There was a palpable sense of great dissatisfaction in the room. No player took to the floor to make a speech. I would say that we were trying more to understand what happened. Don't forget that we were conscious that some players will not return next season, and it's never pleasant to think about this idea. But on the other hand, we must keep in mind the positive of our journey.


After this bitter defeat, I spent the evening with my parents, my two brothers, and one of my cousins who had come to Pittsburgh. Although I was very happy to be with them, I assure you that this evening was not "the most fun in the world."

My parents have been with me from the third part of the final. For them too, it was an extraordinary experience, but there is not much to say in such a situation.

It's so frustrating and summer promises to be long; it might make me say very often that we passed very close [to the Cup]. For an athlete like me, this is never too pleasant to hear. Those who know me know very well know that I am not satisfied “to pass close to the goal”.


However, the message of the leaders of the organization was very clear: they are proud of the long way we have come in recent years, and they have reminded us to be pleased with this progress.

Personally, when I think of this past season, I remember immediately the injury that I suffered an ankle and matches that I had missed. But I believe that I can be happy with my season and my performance in the series.

I learned a lot this season and Michel Therrien congratulated me for having done my part. It does not matter if I was the left wing on the second line or the center of the fourth line, I think I've given everything I had on the ice. It is obvious that I am disappointed with the outcome, but I cannot say that I could have given more.

During the final I had the chance to make the goal that saved our team from elimination when there were still only 35 seconds to go in the fifth match. But I am unable to rejoice greatly. Even if I am proud to have succeeded this goal, we did not win the series and therefore this goal loses its value. If we had won a Stanley Cup, it would be even more special to me.

For what it's worth, we still think it was a special goal, Max.

Before the finale, media stressed heavily on the experience of the Red Wings, but I must say that I was also impressed by the discipline of this team. It's even easier for me to tell you about this aspect of their game since my role was just to disturb. I succeeded on a few occasions, but most of the time they were imperturbable. The Wings players had a specific goal in mind, and I accept that they form a hockey machine, which put on a good system.

THE CRITICISM OF MICHEL THERRIEN

Obviously, I had heard criticism voiced towards our coach Michel Therrien.

I am not embarrassed to say that several people seem jealous in this case. Without the good work of Michel Therrien behind the bench of our team, we would not have reached the Stanley Cup finals. During the season, he made several decisions beneficial to our team and often they were not obvious decisions to be taken. It's so easy to criticize, but Michel is an excellent coach and he proved it with the many young people we have.


A journalist for the Toronto Sun has even claimed that Brooks Orpik would not want to come back with the Penguins next season if Michel Therrien retains his post. The same article suggests that Jordan Staal has a poor relationship with our coach.

In fact, I find these assertions rather strange. We just had a team dinner Thursday evening. Both players were present and I did not feel anything telling. I really do not know where the author unearthed that story and it would astonish me if he has talked to any players of our team to write that article. You really have to take and leave with journalists…

MY PLANS FOR THIS SUMMER

I will be back in Montreal on Saturday to enjoy this summer that could move very quickly. When the season is long like this, I cannot wait to return to Quebec to see my family and friends.

I will remain in Montreal with my good friend Bruno Gervais of the New York Islanders.

For now, I have no specific projects for my vacation. Surely I would take a week to travel, but I do not know yet where. I'll try to take three weeks off to decompress as much as possible.


But no doubt, summer will be very busy and I do not like planning my schedule in advance. I will probably receive invitations to several golf tournaments.

By the way, we will hold the first edition of the Open Golf Gervais-Talbot this summer and it looks like it will be a major event.

In closing, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate my good friend Jean-Michel Daoust who won the championship East Coast League and also I offer my congratulations to Olympic of Gatineau for their conquest of the President Cup and their participation in the cup Memorial.

THANK YOU FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL SEASON

Since this is my last column of the season, I want to tell you that I greatly appreciate your support and your comments.

I am always impressed to see how much you like the Penguins, a team so far from Quebec. Even if we count on several Québécois players, I find it really beautiful to see that people love our team so much.


I greet you and wish you a beautiful summer, it was a pleasure to share with you these chronicles.

Thanks to Friend of The Show Alyse for help with the translation. :)

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Hockey Night In Canada

This is just a quick post for a lazy summer Saturday. I'll get to the Hockey Night In Canada theme song in a minute, first I want to provide you with ten links sent in by Friend of The Show Michelle B. To make things easier for me, I'm posting the headline of each article. Click the links to read them:
  1. Pens find a new breed of fan

  2. Pens gather at Mellon Arena one more time

  3. It's Shero's turn to reward Penguins followers

  4. Penguins face short offseason

  5. Illness, injury hit Malkin - Combination caused late slump in playoff production

  6. Crosby, Therrien let NHL down (← this guy is a joke)

  7. Defeat hangs heavy on Crosby's shoulders

  8. Some Penguins look back over the season, others ahead before heading home

  9. Penguins together one last time (video)

  10. Harlan: Crosby will be back to finals
Yesterday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation announced that they failed to negotiate a new licensing deal with the composer of the theme song to Hockey Night In Canada. Us Yanks may not fully appreciate what this means, but it has been claimed that this song is almost like a second national anthem to our Northern Friends. So, in honor of the occasion, I have something for you...

Two weeks ago, my friend got a Blackberry. A few days later, he told me about this site that has free downloads wallpapers, ringtones, and themes for Blackberries. I went to the site to get the Super Mario Brothers theme and the Jack Bauer 24 ringtone for my own phone (what can I say, I'm a dork) when I stumbled upon the Hockey Night In Canada theme song. Call it a 6th sense; call it woman's intuition (or call it was it really was - a coincidence): I downloaded it because I thought I might be able to use it someday. Well, that someday is here now, and this one's for you, Canada!!! :)

(Click here for the mp3.)


I'm guessing this next one might be popular with a lot of you, too. I finally figured out how to rip audio off YouTube videos. Upon hearing that, my husband immediately requested a ringtone of Mario Lemieux's announcement that the PENS ARE STAYING IN PITTSBURGH!!!!!!! :) :) :) :) :)

(Click here for the mp3.)


Many, many thanks to Michelle for the many, many links!!! Tomorrow, I'll have something from Mad Max. Until then,

GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, June 6, 2008

Greetings from Hockeytown!

I told you yesterday that I issued a call for a bet with any Red Wings blogger who was willing. Someone using the screen name Red_Wings_49 responded but ultimately declined because he blogs on a different platform than Blogger. He suggested that he might show up to defend the Wings in the comments. I welcomed that idea because he was a really cool Wings fan. Then he appeared here on The Show as Kcjacoby to say "Go Red Wings!!!" After a weekend of dealing with a handful of people that WEREN'T cool Wings fans, I completely overreacted. (Can I blame it on my Irish temper, LOL?) He commented again to inform me that Kcjacoby and Red_Wings_49 were one in the same, and immediately I knew I had to apologize to him. I contacted him via email, and he was EXTREMELY classy about my gaffe:

I understand the defense you put up... trust me. I also understand that my usernames are different on both sites... so it's okay.

But I think as a punishment... I should get to write a blog entry... :)
To which I responded:

OKAY, Ken....... how about this??? If the Wings win, I'll let you write a recap from a Wings fan's perspective. (It can replace the bet I was talking about earlier.)

And yeah, I said it - IF, IF, IF they win! (LOL)
Well, we all know what happened after that. And now, without further ado...


Greetings from Hockeytown!

Photobucket



My name is Ken, or as most of you might have seen me on here as Kcjacoby

Jodie thinks that I'm going to be using this space as a place to talk some trash about the Penguins, and rant and rave about the Red Wings... when in fact, I'm going to do the complete opposite.

I'm a hockey fan. Mainly a Detroit Red Wings fan, but there is one thing that I am not… I am not biased to not give credit where credit is due. Hockey is the best sport in the world in my opinion. It is one of the only games where on any given night, the worst team in the league can beat the best team in the league. There are lucky bounces, momentum shifts, and other determining factors that can play so much in such a fast paced, highly skilled game. I believe that sets me aside from your typical fan for another team. I believe that's being a little too close minded, and can only set you up for failure.

The Red Wings and the Penguins provided me some of the best hockey I've seen in quite some time. I was sorry to see the series get blown wide open after the first two games, because right there I had the feeling that it was going to be pretty one sided.

And that was when... the true self of the Penguins showed up.

Game 3 showed me the true heart of the Penguin fans. Yes, the white out was originally done by Winnipeg, but you guys showed it up with flare. To be honest with you all... I was quite jealous. The dedication of the fans like that showed how much you guys wanted the cup. You guys got your game 3 victory, and I will admit I had a little bit of a nervous growl in my stomach.

I was in Erie, Pennsylvania for game 4. My girlfriend goes to college there, when we were out, I was showing off my Red Wings hat. Much to my surprise (sarcasm) I was enticed a few times by some penguin fans that told me 'How it was going to be'. Now, I'm not a fan of trash talknig... I'll simply state the facts, and I'm even superstitious to the point where you will never EVER hear me say, "The Red Wings are going to win tonight" Call that crazy, call it whatever you will... but there are the hockey gods that don't like being displeased with our behavior. Well, I even told Jodie that some prick jinxed it for you guys... I thought game 4 showed some very good hockey, and I was even pissed that such a squib shot made it past Fluery for the goal. Nonetheless... there isn't much that we can do about that now. We had taken the wind out of your sails. You guys hadn't lost there since Feb? That's an amazing record.

Game 5, I was all set on the Wings winning it at home, but I knew that the Penguins were not going to go that easily. We came ravishing back during that 3rd period... I just had this feeling that the cup was ours. (Honestly, who didn't?) But then again, the player that I despise the most on the Wings, made one of his prime errors.. not keeping his leg pads on the left goal post, allowing Talbot to stuff it in the side. We deserved to lose because our defense was horrendous. The Penguins finally put the game away in the 3rd OT. Thankfully... I had to be to work at 5:30 that next morning, and I knew it was already going to be a bad day.

Game 6 came around... and I had this feeling that there would have been no way we would be able to beat the Penguins back home again.

Well, I'm sure we all know the result of that... and I'm not here to rub it in. But I will tell you what I am here to do. I want to congratulate the Penguins on one hell of a year. Its hard for me to even believe that Crosby did all of that with him only being 20 years old. Hell, I don't even think I had a clue about what to do in my life when I was 20... look at him, leading a team that close to the Cup. Amazing. The Penguins overcame a lot of issues this year... and I can only see them getting stronger again next year (salary cap space providing).

And heres a tasty tidbit for everyone to enjoy. Rumors are really flying about the fact that the Red Wings will be getting moved into the Eastern Conference within the next 2 years. Apparently Las Vegas is really wanting to get a hold of a NHL team. That way you guys can learn to love the Red Wings even more!

I really believe all of you Penguin fans should hold your heads up high. That was some great hockey that was played... and even look how far you guys came from being eliminated vs. Ottawa the year before. You guys have come a long way, and I'm sure next year will be even better.

But for now... it is time for us to celebrate the greatest sport in the world... and know that your time is coming.



It is ours...


Go Wings!!! and... (since I need an Eastern Conference team to cheer for...) Go Pens!!!

Thank you, Ken! :)

Thursday, June 5, 2008

The Day After

Some of you may still be reeling from last night's loss. Mark Messier thinks the loss was the beginning of something much bigger. He's right - the Pens took their experience from being eliminated in Round 1 in five games by the Ottawa Senators in 2007 and used it to get to the Stanley Cup finals only one season later. The future is definitely WOW for our Pens. :)


While on MSNBC, I found this solid timeline that puts last night into perspective for us. It details the Penguins' rise out of the ashes of bankruptcy. If for whatever reason you're not interested in checking out the entire article, you MUST at least check out 2001 - whether you love him or hate him, the photo NBC sports picked to accompany the item about Jaromir Jagr's trade is priceless. (It's especially funny because the article makes no mention of how loudly Jagr expressed his unhappiness in Pittsburgh. They let the photo do all the talking.)

Friends of The Show Cassie C. and Mer R. each sent me similar ideas. They thought it would be cool if we could see where we're all located. I found a map that we can all add our markers to at ZeeMaps.com. Don't worry about it tracking you by your IP address - I picked this one because it only adds the information that YOU choose to include. Check out my entry (it's the little sunflower on Pennsylvania) and make sure to add yours - even if you want to do it anonymously! Just click the Add button in the upper right corner to get started.



NHL.com has the transcript to Sid's (and Mario's) post-game presser. Here are some highlights:
Q. Sid, reaction to the fans?

SIDNEY CROSBY: They've been great all year. We appreciate their support. And it doesn't make it any easier for sure. But they stuck through with us all season, and a long time before that, and so we appreciate it.

Q. In the heat of the loss can you put in perspective what has been accomplished this year?

SIDNEY CROSBY: Not right now. I mean it's pretty tough. It's not a fun time. But we will remember this feeling, that's for sure.

Q. You go down fighting, taking it literally to the last second of the game.

SIDNEY CROSBY: That's the way we played all season. And the guys have been through a lot and battled through it and it doesn't surprise me that the guys never gave up.

This is an old picture. Sid probably wasn't smiling when he gave this interview...

Q. Can you put it in perspective how far this team has come in such a short time?

SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, we've come a long way, that's for sure. But it doesn't make it any easier, that's for sure.

Q. Marc-Andre was not happy with the second and third goals. What did you say to him when you came in?

SIDNEY CROSBY: I don't think really anything needs to be said. Without him we wouldn't be in this position. So it's without him we wouldn't be here.

Q. Can you talk about the future of the core of this team and some guys have to be signed?

SIDNEY CROSBY: Like you said, we've got a great group. And hopefully we can keep it together. But it's a tough thing.

Q. They say it only takes an inch.

SIDNEY CROSBY: The last play is an example.
Regular readers will remember that before this series got underway, I issued a call looking for a Red Wings blogger with whom I could make a friendly bet. KCJacoby contacted me and accepted. I agreed to let him author a post if the Red Wings won the Cup, so that post will be up sometime tomorrow. Don't worry - I've been talking with him and getting to know him - he'll no doubt be bragging a little bit, but he's really cool. I think you all know me well enough to realize that I wouldn't let just anyone guest post on The Show!!!


So, is it too early to start a countdown until October???

GO PENS!!!!!!!!