十兄弟 故事大綱

在遙遠的地方，東西兩國戰事頻頻，兩國國王為要國民共同有抗敵之心，竟私下達成協議，向上天許下詛咒種下一棵詛咒之樹。

"國民不可貪婪個人幸福，要以國家為重，不許兩國國民通婚，否則將禍延下代"

時移亦已，百年過去，東西兩國的一對互相傾慕的男女 ── 蝦叔與蝦嫂，明知道背負著可怕的咒語，也毅然決定私奔，最後尋到一個名為百年村的地方安頓下來。村?的生活太安穩了，人們漸漸遺忘詛咒的存在，沈醉在幸福之中。

一日，蝦嫂發現懷了身孕，夫婦二人既喜且憂，喜得二人的愛情結晶，但又擔心詛咒的應驗；殊不知，原來村民們竟將自己同是東西兩國私奔出走的真相隱瞞，因為詛咒的魔法之下，全村都沒有誕生一個小孩，村民亦都漸漸老化，他們正也渴求能有新生命的到來。便欲以他們作為詛咒的試驗品。

最後，蝦嫂誕下十名可愛小孩 ── 十兄弟，當大家都以為詛咒經已解除，歡天喜地之際，十兄弟竟一夜變大變醜，變成十名無能的蠢材；作為一個母親面對突如其來的打擊，變得一夜白髮，蝦嫂決意嚴苛訓練十兄弟成材。但身為父親的蝦叔因為教子的方法分歧，兩夫妻產生磨擦，感情亮起紅燈；而十兄弟面對母親的望子成龍心態的壓力下而變得反叛。

一向畏妻如虎的大帥遇上傷心失意的蝦嫂，竟擦出了愛火花；為奪芳心，大帥性情大變，不但拋棄四個太太，更從中作梗，令十兄弟與蝦叔身陷險境；就在危急的時候，村民終於說出一個能夠解除詛咒的方法 ── 就是尋找詛咒之樹；只要尋得詛咒之樹，就能夠解開一個秘密，一個解除詛咒、擁有改變命運的秘密。

十兄弟能否打開他們的心鎖，團結一致，通過考驗，又能否尋得詛咒之樹呢？

詛咒之樹本身，究竟擁有什麼解除詛咒的秘密呢？又怎樣改變命運的魔法呢？

香港大學校長徐立之

香港大學校長徐立之是國際著名的遺傳學家，他的求學之路並不是一帆風順的。

徐立之小時候立志做建築師，但升中試成績欠佳，進不了英文中學，沒法投考當時唯一開辦建築系的香港大學。因「背誦」是他的弱項，一些要求死記硬背的科目，他總是考不好。可是他沒有氣餒，並知道自己的弱點和長處，努力尋找適合自己的發展方向。

後來，徐立之考進中文大學唸生物，以剛剛及格的成績（三級榮譽）畢業，但在分子生物學這門課中卻取得優異成績。徐立之的老師認為他是可造之材，游說校方破例讓他做研究生。碩士畢業後，徐立之負笈美國攻讀博士，畢業後埋首做研究。其後，他到加拿大鑽研疾病基因，花了兩年時間也毫無進展。面對困難，他堅持自己的信念，不輕言放棄。憑著一股鍥而不捨的幹勁，研究最終獲得成果。1989年，徐立之成功發現了胞囊纖維症的基因，1991年獲提名為諾貝爾獎候選人。

徐立之在一個電台訪問節目中說過：「面對重重困難，我督促自己要繼續努力。就是這份『順風時揚帆，逆風時加槳』的心態，讓我創出了理想的成績。人生總是順逆交錯，今天不愉快的經驗，也許就是為了明天輝煌出戰。」

My Book, by Me

"Getting published" has always meant something special to us writer types; a book with your name on it says you've arrived. And now, thanks to the Internet, I'm a genuine published author. My publisher? Me.

t took all of a day, using a new online service called Blurb. Its approach is remarkably accessible. You choose a theme, page layout, picture and text sizes, and fonts from a range of options. The software is easy to navigate, if frustratingly slow at times. I uploaded image files from a CD, dragged pictures into place, and watched pages fill up with my original work.

Blurb gives you the choice of writing directly onto your book page or pasting from another document. My passages kept exceeding the standard layout, and reversing that process was tedious. (Blurb says it's fixing this.) That hurdle cleared, though, I previewed and priced my book, then sent it off to Blurb's contract printer. My collection of journal entries and photos from a year in Spain is now Espa?a, the book.

Mom is so proud. But the bigger question is this: What does it mean that, for less than $30, a relative novice can publish a single copy of a commercial-quality book? Blurb and its ilk are democratizing a tired oligopoly, opening up the pipes to… everyone, really. Want to publish your treatise on the government's extraterrestrial conspiracy? Sure! Your kid's refrigerator art? It's a coffee-table book!

It's not as if there aren't enough books out there already: Nielsen BookScan reports that 1.2 million titles were sold in the United States in 2004, and just 2% sold more than 5,000 copies. Says Patricia Schroeder, CEO of the Association of American Publishers: "It's going to be very hard to organize this new load of information." The blogging phenomenon, though, offers a telling analogue. Just like Blurb, Web logging offers individuals easy access to a medium previously controlled by a select few. Now, some 75,000 new blogs crowd the Internet every day, according to blog researcher Technorati. Out of all of those, just 3 are among the top 33 news and media Web sites.

But that doesn't represent a market failure. Rather, blogging has made it economically viable for writers to reach very narrow audiences. So it will be, say some, with books. "Mass market has been replaced by a mass of niches," explains Jeff Jarvis, a former print editor who now blogs and consults at BuzzMachine.com. "The old media term was 'fragmentation.' The new term is 'choice.' The book doesn't have to be big, just big enough."

Blurb and others are greasing the wheels by creating their own alternative marketplaces, like an Amazon for everyone. BlurbNation hooks up authors with proofreaders, editors, and marketers, letting them bypass established publishers and still reach the right audience. So while I don't expect there will be much of a market for Espa?a (honestly, I'm not even sure the title deserves italics), I can still try. The book-world establishment may not be happy with that--but as I say, my mother is thrilled.

Fast Company May 2006

Google無王管辦公室 盛產創意

【明報專訊】科技行業競爭激烈，能夠留下來的成功業者，通常都是創意文化驚人的。像蘋果電腦、雅虎等，就曾為人津津樂道。然而，江山代有人才出。近 年極速冒起、將雅虎和微軟逼得透不過氣的Google，與這些前輩相比，其公司文化就顯得更加大膽。一般僱主眼中的「無王管」和「離經叛道」，在 Google眼中，卻是營造輕鬆氣氛和鼓勵創意的致勝手段﹗

「在美國總部，員工在100呎內必能找到食物，公司一日包三餐……員工還可以帶寵物上班……公司很?重運動文化……」這幾句開場白，讓大家聽得如癡如醉，心想世間真有這樣的公司嗎﹖但以上所說的確是現實，更是Google香港客戶服務經理周厚文的親身經歷。

員工取零食 可舒展筋骨

周厚文五年前在美國加入Google，曾經在其美國總部工作過好幾年，也曾取得最佳員工獎項。他解釋，Google致力營造輕鬆自由的工作氣氛，已到了極致。公司並不視員工在工作時吃零食為分心，反而認為，這樣起身走動取零食，可以舒展筋骨、活動一下和充電﹗

藉朋輩壓力 取代管理層壓力

Google香港及東南亞業務總監于凱元表示，Google的公司文化就是好玩、不拘緊、互動。公司希望員工像一張白紙，「度橋」時能夠提出與別不同的構思，而非一味按傳統方式思考。

但自由和放縱有時只是一線之隔，Google這麼大膽，不怕員工「無王管」嗎﹖于凱元表示，Google信任朋輩的壓力，多於管理層的壓力。Google內有很多叻人，假如有員工嘗試濫用自由，而不努力工作的話，很自然的會感受到其他人的壓力，從而自我糾正。

公餘伙員工 唱K燒烤做運動

以帶寵物上班為例，美國總部的指引是，不能對他人構成滋擾。因此，美國員工都會自動自覺的只帶較細小的寵物上班，還會讓牠們排泄在「寵物尿片」上，避免弄污糟地方。

于凱元表示，Google文化其中一個特點，就是員工之間的高度互相信任。他加入Google兩年多以來(最初年半在美國)，就只看過一封電郵，?員工避免讓寵物進入茶水間。于凱元曾在麥肯錫和飛利浦任管理層，當年就是因為被Google的公司文化吸引，而接受獵頭。

Google的香港辦事處去年10月才成立，其面積和人手只像一般公司的一個部門。因為現有資源和香港的租金問題，短期內，香港辦事處很多東西很難照跟美國，例如讓員工帶寵物上班、公司內設健身室、球場、小泳池等。

但于凱元強調，雖然面積和設施相差很遠，但管理的精神卻是一樣的。例如，他每周會和員工一起吃午餐一至兩次，更會和員工一起去超市買零食，公餘一起打保齡球、唱卡拉OK、燒烤等。透過這些娛樂和體育運動，來激發大家的創意和建立默契。

測量師重拾藝術夢

【明報專訊】奧海城商場大堂，左邊有 一家地產公司，右邊有藝術展覽，在這?做訪問正好，因為受訪者兩種職業都做過。Punk短髮，戴不鏽鋼片戒指的女孩，曾經做過6年測量師，每天的工作就是 在計算機上，每吋每呎地替地產商量度建築成本，今日她撇下高薪厚職，用顏料菲林影像思考人生。曾經在職場上迷惘過的馮菁萍，在考試季節勸喻年輕人﹕「每人 都有一個終極位置，做你喜歡的事才會事半功倍。」

馮菁萍(Ivy)和大部分香港人一樣，認為藝術不能當一份職業﹕「念中學時做過心理測驗，預測我應該做藝術家，當時我還不信，認為搞藝術會乞食。」父母兄長都從商，她亦有實際思維，在理工大學修讀測量學，捱過無數沉悶的課堂。

見畫興奮 讀藝術學士

畢業後，Ivy每天計算建築物料數量，如用多少斤石屎、多少盞燈等，那時適逢1997前地產蓬勃時，Ivy的同事瘋狂得可以每月加班100小時，終於有上司在工作期間因病猝死。

Ivy出席他的喪禮，見到遺下的妻兒，感慨萬分﹕「公司不久便聘請了另一個人取代他，生命的意義究竟是什麼﹖」

Ivy 於是重尋童年夢﹕「我記得自己每次見到畫，會感到很興奮，好想參與它的創作。」於是用了3年和10萬元進修了藝術學士，並以「藝術家」為職業，至今已3 年。她已有10多件繪畫、攝影及多媒體作品在藝術館及商場展出﹕「以前我走進自己有份建成的大樓，心?完全沒有感覺，現在每天都很期待工作。」

追求興趣 寧減收入

記 者問，是否因為沒有經濟壓力，才有資格尋夢﹖Ivy說不，她表示，雖然收入只及以往一半，亦要供養父母，但她寧可做多點合乎自己理想的藝術教育，也不希望 重走舊路，「一定要跟興趣出發，生活才有意義」。Ivy的作品，現正參與信和集團的香港藝術系列「伙花」展覽，於奧海城一期地下展出至5月20日。

明報記者 譚蕙芸

Where the smart money is going: Phuket Post talks to Dr. Allan Zeman

(2005-12-29) Phuket Post

Among the largest overseas investors in Phuket, Dr Allan Zeman’s innovative projects have included the Lan Kwai Fong entertainment area of Hong Kong, his adopted home city, and casinos in Nevada and Macau. Phuket Post caught up with Dr. Zeman for an indepth discussion on investment in Phuket.

Where the smart money is going: Phuket Post talks to Dr. Allan Zeman
INVESTMENT Q&A


Among the largest overseas investors in Phuket, Dr Allan Zeman’s innovative projects have included the Lan Kwai Fong entertainment area of Hong Kong, his adopted home city, and casinos in Nevada and Macau. Phuket Post caught up with Dr. Zeman for an indepth discussion on investment in Phuket.

PP: What is the extent of your investment in Phuket and how does this compare with your Hong Kong interests, both in a professional and personal sense?

AZ: I have a house on Phuket, quite a substantial house by any stretch, [the building occupies a headland above the beach at Laem Singh] the Plaza shopping mall, the Silk restaurant, property developments including the Andara, being built in Kamala, and a hotel under construction, so my investment is quite significant, although minuscule compared to my Hong Kong interests.

PP: Has your outlook on the future of Phuket changed since the tsunami?

AZ: I take my hat off to Phuket. I’m committed to the place. I feel strongly about it. Phuket has international appeal and now everyone in the world knows where it is. The island’s climate is quite remarkable, sunny all the year round. Compared to Hong Kong, its wet season is not worth talking about. Compared to other places, it’s reasonably priced and you can have a first-class holiday experience there. More and more people who are successful elsewhere are moving to Phuket and using it as their prime residence. It has good schools and good hospitals.

PP: What were your thoughts on the tsunami, and the year that followed?

AZ: The tsunami was very tragic, something that people have not experienced before. But Phuket has bounced back. The island and its leaders handled it very well. The rebuilding has proceeded smoothly and is a lot better in many cases than before the tsunami. The government has faced criticism but then that is the same everywhere. It was a horrifying experience, a lesson in how nature can turn on itself and then subside, all in a matter of minutes. I watched it all from my house above Laem Singh beach. Afterwards, the beach was completely washed clean, free of lounge chairs, and everything else, just the way it looked years and years ago. I’ve been impressed since by the early warning system after sitting on a plane alongside Khun Smith, who predicted a tsunami many years ago. He gave me confidence because the government was acting.

PP: How does the Phuket experience compare with Hong Kong?

AZ: I sold two houses just yesterday to Hong Kong residents. Property prices have gone up, not dropped. I feel strongly about Phuket’s future and I’ll continue to grow other businesses. Sometimes, business on the island can be challenging. It’s different to Hong Kong. Government interference in Hong Kong is limited. Thailand is still quite bureaucratic. The system is still quite primitive. One document I had to submit recently needed to be signed 25 times. This is like the old days in China.

PP: Some people here accept the tragedy and then add that the tsunami
also represent an opportunity. Do you share that outlook?

AZ: There’s opportunity after every tragedy, unfortunately. Opportunities come for risk-takers. There’s a lot of opportunity in Phuket. Fortunately the government is protecting a lot of land with regulations preventing development above 80 metres, and there’s no more land available with sea views. Now they are also enforcing the law to prevent building on the beaches and set-backs. That’s all good.

PP: It’s been suggested that Phuket should pursue other sources of income besides tourism. Do you have any thoughts on that?

AZ: Any resort will find it difficult to attract other sources of income. One idea that has potential is the island as a medical hub. The hospitals are very good and many people are already visiting from the Middle East for treatment. As costs continue to rise elsewhere, especially in the US, more people will come seeking treatment. There is talk of Phuket becoming an IT centre but I’m not so sure that’s ever going to happen. Tourism-related industries are what will continue to work here.

###

Copyright of Phuket Post
http://phuket-post.com/article.php?id=119

Notes from a potential reader

Let's brainstorm it together

1)Why does it make us not happy? Work politics; fullfil expectations from others which could be irrational, not reasonable; the hierarchy sytem of an office= pressure everywhere in each group, bottom, middle sandwiches, the managers, overloaded, burnt out.

2) Why we dont choose what we like? Social expectations, parental expectations, peer influence, fear of losing and taking risk, look for security, would rather live a normal and subtle life, have GIVEN UP their dreams after working and SEEING the REALITY. To me, I would say there is a lack of choices because successful cases of doing differently are rare, are ONE in A THOUSAND or ONE in TEN THOUSAND. So they tend to believe they can't do it. Or it is HARD to do it. MONEY is another factor.

3) How can we be successful in this era? -do what others dont do and cant do--> develop your talent.

4)what stop u from developing ur talent? NO TIME, during the process, you are afraid you are not really that talented BUT as yin and I have discovered over the years, it is after all not about our talent, but whether we would put time and effort in developing our talents.

5)Help to develop ur talent? Create leisure time. Help and support from others. One's Own determination.

6) How to 'ng lo'? Despite of looking for our talents, we could look for opportunities and experience something new (travel/budget travel, meet new ppl). With new exposure, new doors will be open to us. We will also understand ourselves differently and we may even find new talents in ourselves.

We can also compare the examples of HK with other countries. And we will find we dont really need to WORK this way. THere are other ways to go. Your book is to open the WORLD to HongKongers and make them believe we dont need to work this way. Your book also lists out ways they can retire but still they can support their living rather easily. Once they are convinced it works, they would like to read your book. Or if your book can write what they desire, they would like to read on too. I think the book can suggest ways on what they can quit their job step by step for those who dont quit are always modest.