關於 just a nobody意思 ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

翻聽Bob Dylan的《Desolation Row》湧起一股莫名的觸動，感覺就像走過了一條漫長的荒涼之路。頭兩句不知怎的讓我想到最近的香港：

They’re selling postcards of the hanging
They’re painting the passports brown

他們販售吊刑的名信片
他們把護照髹成啡色

然後我便分外留神聽接下來發生甚麼事：

The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
The circus is in town
Here comes the blind commissioner
They’ve got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker
The other is in his pants
And the riot squad they’re restless
They need somewhere to go
As Lady and I look out tonight
From Desolation Row

美髮店擠滿了水手
馬戲團就在城後
然後來了一個特首
他們將他發入吽竇
一隻手綁住走鋼線高手
另一隻插在褲袋裡頭
還有防暴警察全在煩躁無休
他們需要某個地方抖抖
像這位小姐和我遍夜尋求
由荒涼之路口

然後找到哪裡去？似乎是酒館。

Cinderella, she seems so easy
“It takes one to know one,” she smiles
And puts her hands in her back pockets
Bette Davis style
And in comes Romeo, he’s moaning
“You Belong to Me I Believe”
And someone says, “You’re in the wrong place my friend
You better leave”
And the only sound that’s left
After the ambulances go
Is Cinderella sweeping up
On Desolation Row

灰姑娘，她似乎幾開放
「講嗰個就係嗰個。」佢笑咗
然後將雙手插進後袋
貝蒂戴維斯的風格
然後來了個羅密歐，佢喺度呻吟
「你係屬於我㗎我相信！」
然後有人話：「你來錯地方喇朋友，
你最好離開。」
然後唯一留低的聲音
在救護車走了之後
是灰姑娘的掃地聲
在荒涼之道上

我很喜歡這一種講故事的歌，因為這才叫做「吟遊」。當現在的歌失去了這種吟遊性，就空餘下一堆感質。我們已經不再用灰姑娘來形容負責打掃地方的女人，我喜歡這樣的形容，但設定跟原著是反轉的：掃完地，一到十二點，她就準時穿回自己的玻璃鞋。

然後已經好夜好夜了：

Now the moon is almost hidden
The stars are beginning to hide
The fortune-telling lady
Has even taken all her things inside
All except for Cain and Abel
And the hunchback of Notre Dame
Everybody is making love
Or else expecting rain
And the Good Samaritan, he’s dressing
He’s getting ready for the show
He’s going to the carnival tonight
On Desolation Row

現在月亮就快都看不見
繁星也開始隱淡
占卜未來的女人
甚已將她的所有東西收起
所有除了該隱和亞伯
以及聖母院的鐘樓佗俠
人人都在做愛
或其餘的在等雨
然後有個好撒馬利亞人，他在換裝
他已經準備好出騷
今晚他將會前往嘉年華
在荒涼之道上

突然輪到《哈姆雷特》的女主角奧菲利亞登場：

Now Ophelia, she’s ’neath the window
For her I feel so afraid
On her twenty-second birthday
She already is an old maid
To her, death is quite romantic
She wears an iron vest
Her profession’s her religion
Her sin is her lifelessness
And though her eyes are fixed upon
Noah’s great rainbow
She spends her time peeking
Into Desolation Row

現在奧菲利亞，她就倚在窗旁
我真為她擔心
在她廿二歲生日時
她已經是一個老女僕
對她，死亡是幾浪漫
她穿了一件鐵的背心
信仰就是她的自白
白活就是她的罪名
雖然她已定睛望着上方
那道挪亞的偉大彩虹
但她仍是費上時間來偷望
那條荒涼之路

而你有沒有聽過愛恩斯坦拉小提琴？這一個卻不是那一個，因為他太潦倒了：

Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
With his memories in a trunk
Passed this way an hour ago
With his friend, a jealous monk
He looked so immaculately frightful
As he bummed a cigarette
Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
And reciting the alphabet
Now you would not think to look at him
But he was famous long ago
For playing the electric violin
On Desolation Row

愛恩斯坦扮成羅賓漢
帶着他車尾廂的回憶
在一小時前才經過這裡
和他的朋友、來自善妒寺的僧侶
他看起來不染得可怕
尤其在他討煙的時候
接着他走去嗅着水喉
叨唸着字母
現在你不會想望到他
但好耐之前他都風光過
奏着電子提琴
在那荒涼之路

從荒涼到荒淫？

Dr. Filth, he keeps his world
Inside of a leather cup
But all his sexless patients
They’re trying to blow it up
Now his nurse, some local loser
She’s in charge of the cyanide hole
And she also keeps the cards that read
“Have Mercy on His Soul”
They all play on pennywhistles
You can hear them blow
If you lean your head out far enough
From Desolation Row

猥褻醫生，他將他的世界
藏在一隻皮杯裡
但他所有無性的病人
他們正嘗試吹起它
現在他的護士，某個本地的失敗者
她是山埃孔的話事人
而她亦藏了一張卡片寫着
「願主垂憐他的靈魂」
他們全都玩着尖哨
你可以聽到他們在吹
如果你把頭傾得夠遠
從荒涼之道

卡薩諾瓦是意大利聞名的詩人情聖，這一段特別令我着迷：

Across the street they’ve nailed the curtains
They’re getting ready for the feast
The Phantom of the Opera
A perfect image of a priest
They’re spoonfeeding Casanova
To get him to feel more assured
Then they’ll kill him with self-confidence
After poisoning him with words
And the Phantom’s shouting to skinny girls
“Get Outa Here If You Don’t Know
Casanova is just being punished for going
To Desolation Row”

對面街他們已釘上帷幕
他們已準備好一場盛宴
《歌聲魅影》
牧師的完美形象
他們用湯匙向卡薩諾瓦灌藥
讓他稍為有安全感
然後他們用自信來殺掉他
之前用文字毒害他
然後魅影向瘦削的女孩們喊道：
「如果你不知道就請你們離開
卡薩諾瓦已經受罪因他
前往荒涼之道。」

接下來這一段，我懷疑是在描寫納粹的集中營：

Now at midnight all the agents
And the superhuman crew
Come out and round up everyone
That knows more than they do
Then they bring them to the factory
Where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shoulders
And then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castles
By insurance men who go
Check to see that nobody is escaping
To Desolation Row

現在午夜所有特工
和超人類團隊
出來圍住了所有人
因為知道了不該知道的
然後把他們帶到工廠
那裡有心臟病機器
綁在他們的肩膊上
然之後那煤油
從城堡裡帶下來
有人會以防萬一
檢查一下看看是否無人能逃
逃往荒涼之路

Bob Dylan這首歌可能戲仿了英國詩人ES艾略特的長詩《荒原》，這首詩的一大特色是沒有人能看懂一個字——每個字都懂，湊起來卻不成意思。之前跟大家介紹過的艾茲拉龐德，勉強把《荒原》翻改成可讀的版本，加了很多註腳，務求令世人讀得通它的真意。這個情節，Bob Dylan也收錄在《Desolation Row》第九節裡面：

Praise be to Nero’s Neptune
The Titanic sails at dawn
And everybody’s shouting
“Which Side Are You On?”
And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
Fighting in the captain’s tower
While calypso singers laugh at them
And fishermen hold flowers
Between the windows of the sea
Where lovely mermaids flow
And nobody has to think too much
About Desolation Row

讚美歸於尼祿的海王星
鐵達尼啟程於黎明
而每個人都發出喊聲
「你到底站哪一邊？」
而艾茲拉龐和ES艾略
在船長的塔上決鬥
卡利索普歌手取笑他們
漁民手執鮮花
在大海的窗戶之間
那裡有可愛的美人魚流過
此際沒有人想太多
關於那荒涼之路

是的，Bob Dylan是在模仿ES艾略特式的混亂，而在最後一節揭曉了混亂的原因：

Yes, I received your letter yesterday
(About the time the doorknob broke)
When you asked how I was doing
Was that some kind of joke?
All these people that you mention
Yes, I know them, they’re quite lame
I had to rearrange their faces
And give them all another name
Right now I can’t read too good
Don’t send me no more letters, no
Not unless you mail them
From Desolation Row

係呀，我尋日收到你嘅信
（大概在門鎖壞了的時候）
你問我最近過成怎樣
是一個需要笑的笑話嗎？
全部這些你所提及的人
係呀，我知道佢哋，佢哋都幾無趣
我需要重新構建他們的臉容
給他們全都搞混了名字
此際我已經不太擅於閱讀
不要再寄更多的信給我了，不要
除非它們是你寄自
於荒涼之路

聽過這麼多段，就像走完了一段漫長的荒涼的路，有一種想哭的感覺。Bob Dylan的音樂經常都給予的這種荒涼感，只有經歷很多的人才會有這種感覺，寫得出這種詞，流下了這滴淚。

作者

[商業寫作技巧] Jeff Bezos Final Shareholder Letter as Amazon CEO

今天又來分享Presentality的商業英文寫作技巧~

★★★★★★★★★★★★

看貝佐斯致亞馬遜股東的最後一封信，學一些英文寫作小撇步!

上禮拜4月 15 日，亞馬遜創辦人 Jeff Bezos 發表了他 CEO 任內最後一封致股東的信。 歷年來亞馬遜的 shareholder letters 都廣受好評，甚至被許多專家封為美國最會寫股東信的企業之一。

這封信到底寫多好？我們就一起來看看。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

我們先看信的內容架構。大概只有五個部分而已：

1. 回顧：1997到今天，一路走來的成就
2. 價值：計算亞馬遜對社會各方創造的價值
3. 員工：亞馬遜其實對員工不錯，而且承諾未來會更好
4. 環境：亞馬遜對環境永續做的貢獻
5. 結語：世界要我們平凡，但我們要堅持獨特

★★★★★★★★★★★★

這封信的內容架構簡單清晰，聚焦回應股東對亞馬遜的主要批評點。

🎯 針對「亞馬遜對世界是好是壞？」：貝佐斯列出公司對社會各界— 使用者、新創公司、小商家等等 — 所做出的貢獻。

🎯 針對「亞馬遜如何對待員工」：貝佐斯列舉證據，表示亞馬遜其實對員工不錯，但又反過來說：我們未來一定會做的更好！

🎯這兩個寫完，他又加碼闡述亞馬遜對環境永續的貢獻

這就是我們的第一個寫英文文章的重點：

✍️ I. Make it simple & focused

What are the top things your audience is thinking about? Focus on that. Don’t add a lot of other complicated stuff. Simplify and focus.

你的讀者心裡在想什麼？他們對你最大的質疑點有哪些？你的開頭就直接切入重點，回應他們的疑點。

寫英文 — 尤其商業英文 — 最重要的就是簡潔、明瞭、聚焦。

其實呢，我們從貝佐斯用的文字上也看得出來：好的英文是簡單到大部分的人都看得懂的，就像這一段：

If you want to be successful in business (in life, actually), you have to create more than you consume. Your goal should be to create value for everyone you interact with. Any business that doesn’t create value for those it touches, even if it appears successful on the surface, isn’t long for this world. It’s on the way out.

沒有什麼很艱澀，高學歷的人才會用的字。大部分都只有一個音節而已。可能只有 “isn't long for this world” 有些人會需要查 (就是不會活很久的意思)。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

✍️ II. But… Be Conversational

但你有沒有注意到，內容有一點點重複？那一段的最後兩句：“isn’t long for this world” 跟 “It's on the way out” 根本是完全一樣的內容啊！這根本就跟英文寫作老師教我們的原則 — 可以刪的字就刪掉 — 相反對不對?

沒錯。因為這封信的語氣 (並非所有商業寫作)，就像是聊天一樣。我們在聊天的時候，是否會為了強調一個重點，用稍微不同的方式，重複同一件事？

所以呢，如果你想要寫出輕鬆一點的語氣，可以適當的「重複」。參考以下的兩種寫法：

•She is the corporate group’s top-ranked sales representative
•She’s by far our best sales rep, just insanely good. Like, nobody else comes close.

第二種比較浪費篇幅，但是否比較親切呢？

★★★★★★★★★★★★

✍️ III. Make it about PEOPLE

當然，除了語氣之外，還有另一個層面非常重要 — 就是說「人」的故事。

貝佐斯在這封信放了非常，非常，非常多的數字：亞馬遜雇用130萬人、超過二億人使用 Prime 服務、近兩萬商家使用平台銷售、亞馬遜為股東創造出1.6兆美元的財富，等等等等的…

看了這些數字，你是否覺得有點無感？

貝佐斯也知道大家看了太多龐大的數字，會漸漸無感，所以他文字一轉，從冰冷的數字，進入到溫暖的故事：

...more than 7/8ths of the shares, representing $1.4 trillion of wealth creation, are owned by others. Who are they? They’re pension funds, universities, and 401(k)s, and they’re Mary and Larry, who sent me this note out of the blue just as I was sitting down to write this shareholder letter:

貝佐斯把焦點帶到一個散戶小股東家庭身上，並且用他們寫給他的一封信，來強調亞馬遜對「普羅大眾」的貢獻。這個很值得大家效法：別只是一味的丟出數據 (理性)，也要不時的回到「人」的故事 (感性)，才能打動別人。

他用的轉折也很值得學習：列出一個清單，但把你下一段要寫的焦點，放在清單的最後一個，如：

There are many ways to improve your life: eating better, sleeping more, worrying less, and saying NO.

然後轉換主題：說一個有關 saying no 的故事。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

好啦，上述都有點簡單對不對？

💡還需要貝佐斯(或是他的寫手)更高段的一些寫作技巧嗎? 需要的同學請按個讚和留言「It’s all about PEOPLE.」。

完整信件: https://bit.ly/3v9P1a9

【給自己一個機會紅起來】❤️
Give Yourself A Chance To Shine

如果說宇宙的力量可以分為五種，那那五種力量就是金、木、水、火和土了。

世界萬物萬事都能以這五行去分類，而每個人的八字就是這五行的獨特混合體。這混合體遇到外在人事物的五行力量時，就會產生不同的吉凶禍福局面。

我個人經驗是，就算有著同樣八字的雙胞胎，也不會有一模一樣的命運，因為面相有細微之分，姓名的字義、音韻、筆畫和含義也會有不同的靈動力，影響著雙胞胎的命運。

看命，關鍵就在於找出自己需要的五行是什麼。這很考經驗，不是把八字裡的五行加減乘除一番就能斷出。如果這第一步搞錯，全盤的分析就會錯得一塌糊塗了。

在捉準需要的五行後，再來就是引導客人如何在衣食住行方面去補運，進而趨吉避凶。坦白說，如果客人不照著做，其實來看命也沒什麼意思。

知道未來好或不好，然後就聽天由命嗎？那豈不是只是花錢，來聽我說出你人生電視連續劇的劇透而已嗎？

我見了那麼多客人後，自己有個感想。如果人生一切都很安好，但自己就是開心不起來，這樣活著如行屍走肉，太痛苦了。

在批八字時，我都會告訴客人該用什麼顏色來旺自己。不要小看色彩學，每個顏色都有它們的五行。我也多次以色彩學，幫助一些客人應徵成功，在疫情期間依然能奏效。

但在七彩繽紛的顏色當中，只要我一提到紅色，客人們的反應普遍都很大。

什麼？那麼亮啊？
我的老婆說看不慣我穿這色！
那不是天天過年嗎？
我以前的命理師也是這麼說，
但我就是沒有做。

我的答案：你穿了幾十年這樣的顏色，也不見得你好。想命好一點，何不試一下我說的顏色？

紅能分出深淺、濃淡、明暗和不同的色度。沒有人叫你每天穿得像紅包似的。你每天穿黑，也不見得你像包青天那般的黑白分明。

附上A小姐和B先生「走紅」後的個別見證。

寫這電郵見證的B先生，在九月與我做了個後續諮詢。我遠遠看到他時，就已在想，怎麼身上絲毫沒有改變，而且還一副苦瓜臉？

他說，當初我三月見他時，他剛買了一堆衣服。顏色雖不利他，但他不捨得丟，而且老婆也不支持他穿紅色。公司裡的人也都是穿暗色的。

我說，那些新衣你也穿了幾個月了，可以拿去捐給有需要的人，佈施也不算浪費。老婆固然好意，但命是你自己的，你痛苦只有你自己知。

對待自己的命運，我們應該持有科學家的研究精神。你不去做這個實驗，你永遠不會知道我說的到底對不對。做這個實驗不難，不妨叫你的太太給你一個機會去改變。

換衣服顏色而已，又不是叫你換老婆。😂

與其內心糾結直到頭腦打結，我永遠選擇踏出第一步試一下。Never try, never know.

我一生人經歷了那麼多起起落落，老實告訴大家，命好起來時，心豁然開朗時，那種感覺真的很爽。不信，你試一下。

————————————

If the energies in the Universe can be categorised, they would come in the 5 forms of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth.

All manifestations, be it things or events, in this world falls under these 5 elements, and each and every one of our Bazi is the combination of these 5 elements. The interaction between these elements in our Bazi and those in our circumstances will result in myriad of happenings, good fortunes or otherwise.

My personal experience tells me that even though 2 person may have exactly the same Bazi, but their destinies may turn out different. Reasons being the discrepancy in their facial features, the meanings, tonality, character strokes and essence of their names.

The crux of reading your own destiny lies in uncovering which of the 5 elements is or are mandatory for you. This calls for plenty of practical experience. It is not simply doing simple math of plus, minus, multiply and divide. If this first step is wrong, the whole deck of cards will surely collapse.

After deciphering the correct element, the next step is do guide the client on how to use it to boost their energies in all aspects, from external clothing and living environment to what they eat so as to attract good tidings and ward off misfortunes. Frankly, if the client is uncooperative, the whole of point of Bazi analysis would have been lost.

To know how your future will unfold but behave like a sitting duck? That’s just like buying a movie ticket to watch a preview of your life drama, isnt it?

I had this thought after seeing so many clients: if one’s life is seemingly smooth sailing but one remains unhappy, such zombie-like existence is very painful.

During a typical Bazi analysis session, I would always recommend the client certain colours favourable to him or her to boost the luck. Never underestimate the power of colours. Each colour has its own elemental nature. I have used this successfully several times to help clients succeed at their job interviews, even during this pandemic period.

However as soon as I mentioned the red colour, reactions from my clients tended to be bigger than usual.

Why?
Such a bright colour?
My wife said she’s not used to me in this colour!
That’s like Chinese New Year everyday!
The previous master I consulted said so too, but I did not heed the advice.

My answer: if you have been wearing your same old colours for the past many years and getting not much favours from Lady Luck, why not give my suggestion a try?

There are many tones and shades of Red. Nobody is asking you to dress like a big red ang bao (red packet) everyday. Dressing black everyday doesn’t make you Justice Bao either.

Attached are testimonies from Miss A and Mr B after they went red.

Mr B. came to me in September for a follow-up consultation. When I saw him from afar, I was thinking why there wasn’t any sign of change in him. He even sported a sour face.

He told me that after seeing me in March, he had just bought some clothes in colours that were unfavourable to him. He couldn’t bear to throw them away, and his wife didn’t really support him wearing red either. He said his colleagues were all wearing darker colours.

I told him that those clothes he bought had already served him for several months and he could donate them away. That would not constitute wastage. His wife may have good intentions but your destiny is your own business and only you know your sufferings.

We ought to treat our destiny with the spirit of a scientist. If you don’t experiment, you will never know if my methods work. This experiment is a simple one, ask your wife to support you this once.

It’s only changing the colour of your clothes, not asking to change your wife. 😂

Rather than getting oneself in knots, I will always choose to take the first step. Never try, never know.

My life’s journey has been that of ups and downs. Frankly speaking, when the winds begin blowing in your sails, and lift your spirit, those emotions are exhilarating. Don’t believe me? Try it out yourself.