Shakespeare sonnets. Classical poems. Indian ragas. And then there’s the new material: original songs, stories, and comedies. And filmmakers showing us their latest ideas. The Red Room is a place where you can come and enjoy both classical favorites and the newest creative innovations in Taiwan and (due to the number of nationalities represented every […]
Mark Caltonhill performed an extract from his poetry/stand-up routine, including the following new sonnet on one downside of aging: Who will rid me of these meddlesome hairs, sprouting ungodly from within my ears, so dark and flagrant while all around greys, yet hidden from my presbyopic eyes? “Excuse me, not I, a thousand times no,” […]
Matthew Purpura (sang an original song, accompanying himself on guitar) please click on the MPEG file below. the text to his tune follows: Matt Purpura – Touch the Ground I just want to touch my feet to the ground. Stuck in motion, between the ocean and the air. Salt is the only thing we share. […]
RED READING RED (version 2). Dearest Red Room, It’s been a painting since we last spoke. I trust you’re as healthy as ever And getting accustomed to the freedom we seek. My prose has been lacking, being away from you like this. My painting on the other hand, is never without its purpose. Feeling in […]
Radicofani The vast, green Tuscan hills stretched out for miles in all directions. Directly above me, a cobblestone bell tower chimed off some hour in the midafternoon, though which hour exactly, it really didn’t matter. Much farther above me, the clouds formed a gray sheet across the sky. But it was not the monochrome gray […]
Nuclear Family Missile In the 1980’s my father was a senior strategist in Air Force Intelligence. He worked on a secret project to conceal nuclear missiles in the American suburban environment. I grew up with the top half of a Titan II nuclear missile sticking out of my backyard. The aluminum cylinder rose into the […]
尊嚴 就在那， 人群熙來攘往的騎樓下， 老人坐在矮凳， 趴在自己膝上睡著； 跟前兩個塑膠臉盆， 收集著稀疏的銅板， 這麼不積極的乞討， 讓行人也不太熱衷掏錢。 兩天過去， 任何時候經過， 他總是在睡覺… 今天恰巧由他面前的商店出來， 將所剩銅板掏出， 上前放進他的盆子裡， 輕輕的，怕吵醒他， 錢剛落下， 他已抬起頭， 口罩遮蔽的臉， 一雙真誠的眼睛， 直視向我鞠躬道謝， 隨即回到他膝上的世界。 此刻我恍然大悟- 他是深感羞恥的… 那眼睛後面的靈魂裡， 藏了原本被尊重的東西， 彎下腰， 在額頭與膝頭之間的世界， 老人將它小心翼翼地保存著。 Dignity On the busy street of Ximengding, there he was: an old man sitting on the side walk, his head resting on his knees, with 2 […]
The link to the song, Summer Snow in Formosa : http://www.indievox.com/song/46687 Zhuangzi Fly with him to outer space To view the world’s ridiculous face. Travel with him into your inner base To enjoy nature’s original pace. Laozi Real and supreme morality is to follow nature’s simple rule. All civilized forces and artificial actions are harmful and even […]
I want to be your Shiva Man, I’ll stand on top of mountains, see as far as I can, oh. Full 360 degree view, Will bring me round the world, till the day that I find you, oh I want to be your Shiva man, I’ll stand on top of mountains, Doing all the best […]
一位歐洲客戶來臺北拜訪時，問及在哪裡可以看到臺灣的文化。我當時馬上回答：故宮博物院。那時只想著：這是當然的，每個觀光客都會去那裡。但過了一會，卻有點後悔這樣子的回覆。一個博物館怎能代表臺灣的文化呢？應該有更好的回答才是。因為工作的訓練，我習慣在回答一個問題之前，先找出問題的定義。我找到了一個對於文化的定義，它說：文化是一種生活的模式，有一群人真實地相信它，並持續在他們的日常生活中實施。 依照這個定義以及個人觀點，臺灣有幾個獨特的文化。第一個是補習班文化。到台北火車站附近走走，尤其是南陽街，就可以發現高中學生是如何拚命地爭取好成績、大學以及他們的未來。數不盡的小吃、流行服裝、飾品配件、玩具及遊戲，也會讓你對夜市文化感到驚訝。此外，你很難不會去注意到臺北便利商店的密度。在一個小區塊裡，是很容易就發現兩、三間便利商店的。再者，臺灣寺廟的建築也是值得參觀的。即使是在其他亞洲國家也不容易找到如此生動、豐有色彩的、壯觀的屋簷裝飾，如：神明、龍、鳳、老虎、魚及其他雕像。 最後，有一個特別的臺灣文化，但也是很重要的── Red Room，一個聆聽的文化。因為它的確是一種生活模式，有著一群來自不同國家及背景的人們，在每個月，藉由分享他們的音樂、詩、感受、謎語或故事，來表達對這個生活模式的真實信仰。我真誠地向大家建議來參加Red Room，並且享受這個創新且愉悅的臺灣文化。 A client from Europe once visited Taipei and asked where to see the Taiwanese culture. My quick answer at that time was National Palace Museum. “Of course, it is. Every tourist goes here,” I thought at that moment but regretted it later. How could a museum represent the culture […]