Posts

Summary by Ping Chu, July 2012

“Through quiet hearts and deep listening, in a room filled with immense positive and creative energy, we discover our similarity. The biases and misunderstanding come from ignorance and fear.
Red Room is a movement, reminding us that the deepest primordial human need is to feel connected and that in our infinite ignorance we are all equal.
Since 2009, Red Room has become an important part of our lives and I hope more people will discover Red Room. Leave the virtual world, turn off the phone, listen deeply, appreciate and support each other, and we find ourselves a member of this positive and creative ecosystem, where happiness can be easily attained.”
Ping Chu, Co-founder, Red Room

只有透過寧靜的心、深度的聆聽,並在巨大無所不在的正向創意能量中,我們一起發現我們原來是如此的相似,所有的偏見與誤解其實是來自我們的無知與恐懼。對我個人來講,『紅房』是一個社會運動,它提醒我們:「在我們最原始的內心需求中,我們是如此的互相連結、互相 依賴。畢竟在浩瀚的未知中,我們都是如此的平等。」
自2009年成立以來,『紅房』已經成為許多人生活中的一部分。真心希望有更多人能知道紅房、走出虛擬的社群、關掉手機、開始用心聆聽、互相欣賞、互相扶持,共同創造一個新的聚落、新的生態系統,讓更多人發現「更快樂」是可以如此的簡單。
朱平/共同創辦人

This magical event is created by whoever participates, with a new vibe each time. The energy is incredibly positive and supportive and even with a high percentage of newcomers each month, the intimacy and the magic never fades.

這充滿魔力的氛圍正是由每一位參與者們在分享的當下共同創造出的火花,它所產生的正面能量之強大,令人讚嘆。雖然每個月都有許多新朋友加入,紅房社群共享的這份親密感與魔力卻有增無減。

Photo by Red Roomers

Kate Huang, April 2012

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 plastic bowls in front of him. Occasionally, people who walked by would toss some coins into the bowls. A beggar who didn’t care so much about begging, people didn’t really care about giving either.

2 days passed, any time I passed by, he was always sleeping. Morning, afternoon, or night.

One day, I happened to come out from the convenient store in front of him, there he was, sleeping still. I approached and tried place the coins in the bowls quietly so not to wake him. As the coins landed, he raised his head, face covered with mask, looked right into my eyes and said “thank you”- sincerely, and firmly. Then rest his head right back on his knees.

That moment I realized, he felt deeply ashamed…

The soul behind those eyes, something that was once respected, was hidden there. The old man kept it carefully, in the space between his forehead and his knees.

Regardless what state our life is at the current time, regardless how people see us, regardless how we view the others, if we are only willingly to go beyond our eyes and ears, see what’s not shown, listen to what’s unspoken, then we’ll see that true quality within each one of us, it is good, it is light.

Blogs: Chinese http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/latte-kate/, English http://kattleyastudio.blogspot.com/

 

Mark Caltonhill, February 2012

世界雙關語遊行日

Short of poetic inspiration lately, Mark Caltonhill apologized for only having “light verse” to offer this month.
He read his most recent composition, “The Day My Legs Turned to Lettuce,” based on a dream in which he was chased down the street by a flock of sheep; followed by two earlier Chinese-language humorous poems: “你很像我的狗” (You Remind Me of My Dog) and “阿兜仔都住天母” (ALL foreigners live in Tianmu).

“…my apologies for the rhymes; if i had chosen the topic, my legs could have been some nice rhymable thing like beans or leeks or … but lettuces they were

also, apparently “peckish” means something completely different in US English; in British English it means “slightly hungry”

enough! here’s the poem:

The Day My Legs Turned to Lettuce

One day, I woke to find my legs had turned to lettuce,
completely green, from my toes up to my … belt-ish,
well, that was no problem as I was feeling peckish,
so I simply showered in vinaigrette and ate green salad for my breakfast.

I opened a self-grown self-serve vegan restaurant,
serving hippies from Lisboa to Sebastapol,
and I also raised packs of long-haired rabbits,
from which I took wool and made alpaca jackets.

I had to take care, though, when going out of doors,
or I’d be chased by herds of herbivores,
by cows and sheep and other animals,
as well, of course, by those damned hippy cannibals.

[CHORUS] One day, I woke to find my legs had turned to lettuce
well, there was no problem when I was feeling peckish,
so long as I did not succumb to that habitual menace,
of ending up as food in caterpillars’ bellies.

A polite Polish policeman once doffed his hat,
as a leder-hosened German enquired “Kaufs du kopfsalat?”,
meanwhile a salad-mad French artist named Toulouse,
screamed at me “Je voudrais manger your bloody let-ouse.”

[Chorus] One day, I woke to find my legs had turned to lettuce,
well, there was no problem when friends were feeling peckish,
of course, come winter, things could get quite hellish,
as only Russians still eat salad when the weather’s wettish.

With my lettuce ankles and lettuce knees,
I needed to hide my legs from ravenous Cantonese,
from chopstick-wielding Japanese politely saying “itadakimasu”,
and cabbage-missing Koreans hoping to make their kimchi at last.

[Chorus] One day, I woke to find my legs had turned to lettuce,
well, there was no problem if I was feeling peckish,
and some day, I know I’ll find true love, perhaps in Venice
from a dirty-minded Italian with a green-foot fetish.

Maybe I should look for love within my kingdom,
for someone with baby-corn fingers with no ring on,
or whose own legs are slender asparagus spears,
but preferably who does not have cauliflower ears.

Sometimes I hide my legs when I go on a date,
elsetimes, I just lean back and spread them on a plate,
nonchalantly saying to my sweetie,
“Darlin’, if you’re hungry, you go ahead and eat me.”

[Chorus] Well, that’s all to tell about when my legs turned to lettuce
completely green, from my toes up to my … belt-ish,
my story’s done, there’s no more to embellish,
unless, of course, it’s you who now feels peckish.
Read more

Edward’s Summary of Red Room, February 2012

每一次的 RedRoom 聚會都是不一樣的體驗,很難從參加一次就能徹底了解它的文化與形式。相較於上期新年聚會我們擁有小而溫暖的分享聚會,這一次只能以空間覆載、分享內容爆炸滿的來形容。老朋友牽新朋友一同來參加這麼多元化的聚會,而當你穿梭在人群裡面和彼此認識時會發現,每一個人的背景都很不可思議和與眾不同。台上朗誦着詩詞、痛快的唱歌,台下的聆聽者喝著紅酒彼此產生體悟上的共鳴,那種感覺只能用激昂、雞皮疙瘩來形容。掌聲外加 encore 給予最大的致意,每個月的聚會我們可以解放平日扮演的自己,找到獨特與不一樣的彼此。

Every Red Room gathering is a unique experience to be had. With that in mind, its difficult to fully appreciate the culture and form of the Red Room based on a single visit. The Lunar New Year event was a warm, and intimate event. This latest one however, was overflowing with explosive characters alongside poetic blends that I was overjoyed to be surrounded by diverse crowd of people with intriguing backgrounds. Old friends and new, it was an exciting social event to say the least. Stage time & Wine, filled with music, poetry and the range in emotion from confident performances, to the shy and hesitant.

(c) Copyright 2012 Red Room.  Material on this site is the property of contributing members of the Red Room Community. Please do not copy any part of  this publication. Thank you.

Nicholas Chen, January 2012

The 2012 Opening Red Room was held tonight with a reduced Chinese New year sized crowd but the creativity and enthusiasm was second to none. We had first time performers and veterans as well incluidng stirring female vocalist who composed a touch song from her grandfather’s diary, a re-emergine bass player without band, but accompanied by 60 sets of snapping fingers, Improv accapella music, trilingual poetry in voice and song, Moon Dust love poem comparing Neil Armstrong’s vsiit to the barren moon and a shy admirer’s revelation process that he would never travel to the moon without the one he loved, a stirring reading from Dr Gino Strada’s Green Parrot book describing the war surgeon’s reconstructive work in the face of massive Russian human rights violations ie explosives traaeted at children during their Afghan invasion followed by a reading of the “What We Want” mission statement of NGO Emergency which provides free medical service worldwide to face down war, terrorism etc, excerpts from Spamolot by Holly Harrington Mark “Marlarky’s” reading in response to critics of Will being dead, my recitations from Will the Bard on the richness of life and special persons who turn difficulties into positives as evidence that Will still lives up in Bhutan with Michaal Jackson, Elvis and others who have not really left the planet. Masterful MC Manav ended the proceedings at 11pm quietly as not to disturb the neighbors. Another inspiring Red Room evening which showed the power of the individual artist, the power of humanity and the timeless values that are reflected and preserved and shared by Red Roomers. Newcomer Charles Hung stated he had participated in these kinds of activities in many cities and cited Montreal in his your 4-5 decades ago and how inspired he was to listen to the Red Roomers. To all who came tonite, you were all wonderful. To those who were away, we felt your presence and essence in spirit and look forward to seeing you next month on the third Saturday of February. Open your hearts, minds, souls and share. Bravo again…listen to the sound of the rain, the whispers of the wind, the souls and sounds of the voices of the ancestors and wise ones of old…come find your inner resonance with your fellow travelers..come to the Red Room is you Aspire and Inspire. In the words of the cognoscente…”Bis”! Encore! Until next month….be safe and may the force be with you…

 

(c) Copyright 2012 Red Room.  Material on this site is the property of contributing members of the Red Room Community. Please do not copy any part of  this publication. Thank you.

Jason, January 2012

Oh, Life by Jason

Please click on link to hear song.
sung at the Red Room, January 2012

Remember the Night, Peter Giordano, January 2012

Remember the Night
A Christmas Cento

December 25,  2011
For Ruth

Glorious, madam, isn’t it?
Open and shut.
Well, that’s good, that’s good.
Holy mackerel, that’s a sweet one!
Well, merry Christmas.
That’s right.
Is it right?
I’m afraid it is.
You know, one of these these days, one of you boys is going to start one of these scenes differently — and one of us girls is going to drop dead from surprise.
It’s been nice up to now.
Well, I’ll be darned. And we have to come here and meet like this.
Yeah, it’s funny, isn’t it?
This is it, huh?
Hey, don’t be so nervous.

Oh, I just can’t believe you’re here at last.
How about a kiss, huh?
Why, bless you, child. It’s a joy to have ya here.
“The End of a Perfect Day.”
I think I remember it.
Oh, boy! Give us a downbeat please…
When you come to the end of a perfect day,
And you sit alone with your thought …
While the chimes ring out with a carol gay,
For the joy that the day has brought…

Merry Christmas, dear.
I guess you can always trust Santa Claus.
And Ecstasy, too!
Aw, ain’t it the truth? Ain’t it the truth?
I love you.
Oh.
I love you.
I – I’m trying to think, I – I –
If you don’t treat a woman with kid gloves, every man wants to punch you in the nose.
There wasn’t anything else to do. You’re so strong, and you argue so well, and I – I love you so much.
Yeah, you certainly proved that.
I love you so. I love you so.

 

(c) Copyright 2012 Red Room.  Material on this site is the property of contributing members of the Red Room Community. Please do not copy any part of  this publication. Thank you.

Kuomin Tseng / Gordon Tseng, January 201

So-called Success 

Fish would think those are winners who swim fast.

Lions may insist those are losers who run last.

It’s ridiculous to mold yourself into their value cast

If you are a bird who can only fly to get your lifetime pleasantly passed.

Read more