斋食月

八月素食，与奥运主题相比，似乎不够喜庆。好在人微言轻，无足挂齿。十九日是百日祭，不是百年祭。

这个月，索尔仁尼琴（Solzhenitsyn）走了，有位原名苏铸的华老人走了。索氏的书我读不下去，当然并不妨碍我对他的尊敬，也不妨碍我对GULAG的了解；华老人据说在失去权柄之后醉心书法，兰亭序写得极好，人生总有寄托，幸事。

开幕式后的周一，同事问我：你一定很骄傲吧？我寻思了半天，说的确很棒，可是没觉得骄傲。同事诧异，究原因。我说，太铺张浪费。当然，我前面说过，我人微言轻，无足挂齿。至于后来的lip-synch，我只是一笑了之。红衣女孩在我眼里并无多cute，声音倒是不错，可是我也没有如很多人描述的那样泪流满面，惭愧。

后来沸沸扬扬的年龄puzzle，一位俄罗斯朋友甚至写来电子邮件特意要和我探讨高低杆选手的实际年龄问题。我突然想起北京站前卖发票的人，和满大街关于证件的小广告。

然后刘翔就改名叫刘退退了，有人支持有人骂，朋友在电话里义愤填膺要寻求真相，我心说：多大一事儿呀？

我看到一张国家体操队训练馆的照片，墙上贴着的标语是：
“上级逼，下级逼，互相逼，自我逼。不吃苦中苦，难有大突破。不经逼中逼，难上冠军台！”

原来体育在我们国家是这样玩的。这样的金牌，不要也罢。

[dahuaidan]

回复achie的评论:
希望中国得崛起能给中国老百姓带来好处，不要”兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦“。

[achie]

回复江入大荒流的评论:
怎么一说到红烧肉，俺就口水直流呢。

[江入大荒流]

朋友取笑我：灾区人民都吃上红烧肉了，就你还素食呢！

[achie]

是啊，这么大的聚会恐怕是后无来者了。。。John Burns今天在纽约时报撰文，将令人眩晕的开幕式全景观视为古罗马以来最雄伟的公众展示之一。但是，最后能让他三十五年前在天安门一个准马拉松坚持到终点，以及周日马拉松各国运动员到终点的，是很多普通老百姓的加油声。
Mercy Corps有一点做得比较好，不定期的对他们四川赈灾的活动做一些报道，从个人的角度。其中Roger Burks八月九日的一篇短文很让我感动：
“Transformation is happening throughout the country, but I think that the real change is hundreds of miles away from Beijing's stunning Olympic sites — in earthquake-stricken Sichuan Province.

It's in Sichuan where displaced Chinese families are determined to drive their own rebuilding and recovery. It's in Sichuan where donations and volunteers from other Chinese provinces are telling those families that they're not alone. It's in Sichuan where local organizations are helming the relief efforts, ushering in a new era of civic action and social support.

Even with the inevitable obstacles and missteps, this change is amazing to witness — and difficult to leave. I'd already fallen in love with China's people and spirit on previous visits, and last week only deepened that for me.

After I'd flown to Beijing from Sichuan's capital, Chengdu, on Friday, I found out that — just minutes after our plane took off — another aftershock had hit the region. I immediately started pulling up stories to see what I could learn: what areas were most affected and how many were hurt. It's never easy to hear about a disaster and consider the consequences, but it's especially hard just hours after meeting survivors who have already lost so much. ”