Dumb and Numbar

Blogbus is getting intolerable.
I'll be moving my blog to "www.ecilaer.com".
Please bear with me for some time till I spruce up the new website .
Thank you for your patience.
Check out photos from my latest trip @ http://www.douban.com/photos/album/10425876/?start=90

Realice

昨天坐城际高铁去了一趟天津，发现久别三年，老城已然新貌，万象欣欣向荣。

出租车全换成了和上海大众一样的雅绿，不再是过去破旧的红色富康。城市规划馆走下来发现有河有海的城市果然可以设计得很美。中新生态城是一大亮点，朋友催促我也赶紧在津置业，待时机成熟抛出获利。

生态城现在还是一片大工地，但是格局已经初见雏形。一片连绵不绝的塔吊看上去颇为壮观。生态城雄心勃勃的100%绿色建筑的目标让人不禁想象这样的新城有多么舒适。城中设计有一个金融商务区，据说已经有150家500强企业已经承诺入驻，并且将与北京直通高铁，地下做成联通的地下城。和金融区隔水相望的南边将坐落着一大片的住宅，有别墅也有公寓楼（朋友说就是这片房产可以投资）。东北部是旅游休闲区，西南有一些工业，当然都是要保证零排放无污染的。

原来玩模拟城市，最喜欢的就是天津这样临海的大片大片的未开发的土地，就像白色画布，可以任意涂抹。

祝愿天津生态城成功，愿我能在生态城里有个小小的落脚点。

注：这是黑勋爵、前英国创新部大臣、欧盟贸易委员，英国工党三剑客之一的曼德尔森先生出的回忆录在编辑时删掉的一些角料。曼叔的语言功底果然非同寻常，让我不禁想一读他的回忆录为快。

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别踩我的黑色麂皮鞋！Don’t step on my black suede shoes.

【译文】黑色麂皮鞋是我的大爱，穿这样的鞋已成为一种习惯。穿着它们，外加其他一些小小的奢侈，我才得以在登顶英国政坛一步之遥的人生恶浪中稍微走得顺一点。有人说麂皮鞋爱磨损，因此鞋主需自备数双备用，另外由于不耐穿，因此也很浪费噢。嗯，也许这是事实，但是我只是一个简单的人，我的小钱和小小的闲暇时间要静悄悄地花。我生活中有几个质朴的欢愉：我那240万镑、坐落于伦敦中城的丽晶美屋；我那些只能称好不能绝赞的油画收藏；一些简约但值得珍藏的现代家私；各种色系的开什米套头衫和完美剪裁的西服。当然还有黑色麂皮鞋。
I have always liked black suede shoes — wearing them has become something of a habit with me. They are one of the little luxuries that smooth the way as I attempt to navigate the choppy waters of life near the top of British politics. Some people say they scuff too easily, that one needs to keep multiple pairs of them available and that because they do not last for long they are an indulgence. Well, yes, perhaps that is true. But I am a simple soul who spends the little spare time and money he has quietly. I have a few simple pleasures — my cozy little £2.4 million Regency House in central London, a selection of goodish but not great paintings, some simple but collectible modern furniture, cashmere jumpers in a variety of colors, immaculately tailored suits. And black suede shoes.

许多人偏爱棕色麂皮鞋，我黑勋爵老曼不属于这些人。棕色的麂皮鞋是保守党的制服鞋。你看看老克（注：肯•克拉克是英国保守党议员，前英国财政大臣）。我挺喜欢他，他看欧洲的视角比较理性。但是，他与棕色麂皮鞋密不可分的联系却把整个棕色麂皮鞋的品牌都败掉了。所以给我一双质量过硬、稳稳当当的黑色麂皮牛津鞋或路夫鞋，我就开心了。不需要太贵，找杰明街上的约翰楼伯店定制一双普通的就可以，如果要得急，丘奇店出品的也无妨。
Many people prefer brown suede shoes, but not me. Not Peter Mandelson. Brown suede shoes are Tory shoes. Look at Ken Clarke. I like him, he has sensible views on Europe, but by associating himself so strongly with brown suede shoes, Ken has rather damaged the entire brown suede shoes brand. So, give me a good pair of solid black suede Oxfords or loafers, and I’m a happy man. Nothing too expensive, just your run-of-the-mill bespoke number purchased from John Lobb on Jermyn Street — or even Church’s at a push.

真实的戈登布朗 The real Gordon Brown.

以记者为首的一些人会试图说服你戈登布朗是一个脾气暴戾、以自我为中心的反社会分子，不配替布莱尔擦鞋（布莱尔大多穿的是丘奇店的黑色粗皮鞋）。
Some people, journalists mainly, will try to tell you that Gordon Brown is a grumpy and self-obsessed sociopath who was not fit to shine the shoes (black leather brogues from Church’s, usually) of Tony Blair.

哼，政坛里可没有这么单纯的事。面具下，在唐宁街10号著名的黑色大门关上之后，我看到的是截然不同的另一个布朗。他是脾气不好，甚至有些自我陶醉。就非专业人士看来，他惯常的处事方式可能确实让他看着像反社会分子，但他有着关怀的心，他忧国忧民。他希望我们伟大的祖国和可爱的人民得到的都是最好的。
Well, nothing in politics is that simple. Behind the mask, when the famous big black door of Number 10 was closed, I saw a very different Gordon Brown. A man who could be grumpy, yes, even a little self-obsessed, and who frequently displayed characteristics that might, to the untrained eye, look sociopathic. But he was a man who cared. Who cared about Britain. Who wanted the best for our great country and its mostly marvelous people.

这些以记者为首爱唱反调的人从来不了解戈登君有多么无私。应该把他看作是致力于公共服务的中世纪隐者工作狂，不求奢华，甚至不修边幅。
What the naysayers, journalists mainly, never understood is that Gordon is utterly selfless. Think of him as a workaholic mediaeval hermit, dedicated to public service.Totally uninterested in luxury and even in his own appearance.

有一天，我试图向戈登君抛出穿鞋的敏感话题。我问：“戈登君，恕我直言，你的鞋都是在哪儿买的？”他从大会议桌另一头瞄了我一眼，然后摆出一幅典型的布朗苦情脸，“问我在哪儿买鞋？”我说是的。我觉他的鞋不衬首相身份，不由想知道他采购鞋具的去处。布朗君看上去有些惶恐。“额……，我想是我老婆从鞋店给我买的吧？”欧天哪。欧天哪，我说道。他难道是说我们伟大祖国堂堂首相大人穿的鞋不是预先定制的，而是直接买从鞋桩上取下来的制成品？戈登君身体前倾过大会议桌，严肃的下巴开始微微发抖。“彼得，我没有耍聪明的心思。我才不管是否穿着得体，一定要穿对西服和鞋子。我只想把首相的工作做好。”
One day I tried to raise the delicate subject of his shoes. “Gordon, if I may be so bold, where do you purchase your shoes from?” He looked at me, across the cabinet table, with that famous Brown glower. “Where do I get my shoes from?” Yes, I said. I thought they looked not quite as prime ministerial as they might. From which establishment was he sourcing his footwear? He seemed flummoxed. “Er… from a shoe shop, I think. Sue gets them for me?” Oh dear, oh dear, I said. Did he mean to tell me that the prime minister of this great country was wearing shoes that had not been made, bespoke, for him? His shoes were (how does one say it?) off the peg? Gordon leaned across the table, that stern jaw starting to quiver: “Peter, I’m not interested in artifice. I don’t care about looking the part, in wearing the right suit, in wearing the right shoes. I just want to get on with the job.”

就在那一刻，我必须坦言我严重哽咽了一下。我不得不背过身，同时一刻豆大的泪珠夺眶而出，滑下我的鼻梁，扑通一声落正好落在我其中一只黑色麂皮鞋的鞋尖上。
At this point I must confess I got a serious lump in my throat. I had to turn away and as I did so a great big giant tear rolled its way out of my eye, down the side of my nose and landed — plop — right there on the toecap of one of my black suede shoes.

查理惠兰的鞋Charlie Whelan’s shoes.

如你所想的那样：破旧不堪的鞋面，鞋底上沾着怀特豪尔街红狮酒吧的窖藏啤酒混着陈年薯片的污秽。
Just what you would imagine: old, scuffed, with splashes of lager and bits of old crisps from the Red Lion pub in Whitehall embedded in their soles.

那天，我告诉托尼君我将先他出版回忆录。 The day I told Tony I’m publishing my memoirs ahead of his.

 “托尼君，你冷静点。”我拿出最宽慰的口吻说道。我辅佐的前首相先生和我通着电话，心情非常少见地不爽。他刚得知我的回忆录将先他的上架。很遗憾，他的信息渠道是某报纸的一次恶劣爆料（又是记者在作祟）。“彼得君，你想抢我风头。”
“Tony, Tony, Tony, calm down,” I said in my best soothing voice. The former prime minister I had got into office was on the phone and in one of his very rare grumps. He had just heard, regrettably via a squalid item in a newspaper diary (journalists, at it again), that my memoirs would be first out ahead of his. “Peter, you’re trying to steal my thunder.”

我受够了！托尼君他老这么想，老觉得世界围绕他在转。当时正值大选之后，我在康兰家饰店里想要聚精会神地选一款新沙发。好沙发必须像低调书就的散文。结构如果太重修饰，行文如果太浮夸，那你写出来的东西就没救了。简约的线条配上悦目的中性色彩和恰到好处的色调，这才是你想要的。
Right, I thought, I’ve just about had enough of this. With Tony everything must always be about him. Here I was, post-election in the Conran Shop, trying to concentrate on looking for a new sofa. A good sofa must be an essay in understatement. Too much ornamentation on the frame, or garishness in the pattern, and you’re a goner. Simple lines and a nice neutral color in just the right shade, that’s what you want.

我横陈在店中央的一款燕麦色沙发上，双脚架上沙发，长叹一口气。 I lay down on an oatmeal-colored sofa right there in the middle of the shop, put up my feet and sighed. “

托尼君，你得理解，以你为中心的时代已经过去。除了戈登夫妇和查理、爱德华、米利班德、道格拉斯君以及大半个工党议员之外，我们在过去的16年3周2天零12小时里一直都在朝着你的愿想升华着我们的人格和欲念。但是，现在我要自己主宰时间了。托尼君，我要行使自己的话语权！
"Tony. You have to understand, it’s not about you any more. We have all, apart from Gordon and Charlie, and Ed Balls and Ed Miliband, and Douglas Alexander, and Sue, and half of the parliamentary Labour Party, we have all sublimated our personalities and desires to your wishes for 16 years, three weeks, two days and 12 hours. But now it’s my time, Tony. I’m having my say!”

我的爆发让托尼君乱了阵脚，突然间他软成了调解的口气。这再次印证了我对托尼君的认识：如果有人回咬一口，他就会变成一只惊恐的大猫。“哦，啊，嗯……我老婆说让你快来家里吃个饭吧？”
Tony was shocked by my tone but suddenly conciliatory, confirming once again that he is a great big scaredy cat the moment anyone bites back: “Look, c’mon, y’know… Cherie says come round for dinner soon?”

终于这一次，托尼君让我占了上风，还挺爽。但我也意识到坐在康兰家饰店门庭沙发区的我，低沉磁性的嗓门越发洪亮。厚板玻璃窗另一头已经聚集了一小撮人，我想可能里头有些是猎名人的游客，另一些则是工党的选民。
It felt good to be in the driving seat for once with Tony. But I was conscious that my voice had been rising and booming out across the quiet of the sofa section at the front of the Conran Shop. A small crowd had gathered on the other side of the plate glass window, a mix of celebrity-seeking tourists and Labour voters I presume.

我知道店长已经站到我跟前俯视着我。他说他很抱歉，但是请我把脚从沙发上放下来。我起身才发现我的黑色麂皮鞋已经在燕麦色沙发上留下了一大片鞋痕，而我的鞋也因此被刮花。今天真是诸事不顺。我买下沙发，拦了辆出租，直接又往我的鞋匠那儿奔去。
I was conscious that the manager of the shop was standing over me. He was most apologetic, but would I mind terribly taking my feet off his sofa? I noticed as I rose that my black suede shoes had made a substantial mark on the oatmeal-colored sofa and that this had, in turn, scuffed my shoes. It wasn’t shaping up to be my day. I bought the sofa, hailed a taxi and headed, once again, for my shoemaker.

（完）

最近在迷这位法国歌手，已经入了两张CD。2004年的那张请朋友帮忙下载了，下载地址在：

http://www.rayfile.com/zh-cn/files/6bec742e-8d62-11df-9ed5-0015c55db73d/

<img src="http://img2.douban.com/lpic/s1641852.jpg"/>

其中，他和Keren Ann合唱的一首歌可以试听一下：http://api.ning.com/files/DW7lD2W-Q9C76zZjsQApcamDfoLR9jKsjBhHH7gOHNz6gsaheUQNonuej2dFNhhjqlxcHmDakv9pegtQc4sp-Ub036Jwdpfv/verucasaltetfrankblack.mp3

各种带香气的植物是大自然神奇的造化，香气调和成的香氛则是人类爱美的造物。

出差回来，时差紊乱，既然无眠就盘点一下我的香水吧：

最早用过davidoff的cool water。这款应该是许多人都用过的，很凉爽的感觉，不过闻多了有点头晕。这款是为数不多整瓶用完的。
然后用过Carolina Herrera的212系列，买了一排的小瓶装，觉得On Ice那款最夏天，不错用。用完一个大瓶的，现在第二瓶大瓶的灰色包装的还在用。
朋友送的有Hugo Boss红色包装、Burberry Touch、Moschino Friend、YSL08夏日限量和YSL09年男香，都挺喜欢，不过都还没有用完，慢慢消耗中。
自己还买了欧舒丹的Verbena unisex香水和A&F的Fierce，也还在用。
这次出差在迪拜机场无聊逛街，忍不住又入了Loewe el和Porsche design summer ice限量版。
现存的还有零零散散的小瓶香水，包括D&G、Jil Sander和其他。

个人喜欢比较冷调、清爽、淡淡的没有侵略性的、尾香绵长的香氛，Touch和YSL夏日那两款都比较符合。具体到组成香，喜欢木系的杜松、香柏、橡木、檀香；果系的柠檬、柑橘、莱姆和柚子；花草系的马鞭草、薰衣草、香根草、香茅、肉豆蔻、薄荷等。

期待哪天去巴黎香水店，在《香水》中那样的瓶瓶罐罐中挑出自己喜欢的味道，DIY调制一款。