The Ji Village News

季庄新闻–Haidong Ji’s Blog

后来再次搬家。在现在住的地方，方圆500米左右，竟有近十个教堂。在我们公寓的隔壁的这个就小有规模。周日说教三次，次次人满为患，以至于我们的车周日都不能呆在在教堂边的停车场，因为信徒要用。这也算个小Mega-church。信徒大都西装革履，穿着得体，进行着每周一次的顶礼膜拜。一般周三晚上还有《波耳波》的学习小组，聚到一起讨论。另外，这个教堂办幼儿园，小学，初中，和高中，校长就是牧师的老婆，确保给青少年打下信仰的根基。感觉美国这种夫妻店教堂不算少。

搬到这儿后，我曾来过几次。见教堂里视频设备、投影机、录像机、光盘制作、多媒体生产一应俱全。牧师声如洪钟，余音绕梁，三日不绝。他站在舞台上，高谈阔论，无所不知，无所不晓。说教前会颁发当天的说教提纲，和《毛泽东思想》、《政治经济学》、《辩证唯物主义》的讲义形式类似，不过内容相反而已。提纲要义之间会留下空白，供信徒记课堂笔记。说教结束时，牧师已经讲得红光满面，汗流浃背。只见他会微闭双眼，抬起胳膊指向天空做祷告。祷告的声音一般很大，有时身体会颤抖，好像神灵附体，在和主通话一样。结束后，他会交待芸芸众生在这个星期里要高举上帝主义耶稣思想的光辉旗帜，按老人家的指导去做事，以祈祷的方式早请示，晚汇报。演讲完毕，会有人唱小曲一首，这意味着收钱的时候到了。一般是一个托盘，从条形椅一个人一个人地传过来。《波耳波》上说是一个人收入的10%应该奉献给主。一般教会会员会有事先写好地装在信封里的支票，放到托盘里。托盘到我手，我会扔进3到10刀了事。不交也行，但可能遭到别人的白眼。有人会故意把纸币折叠一下，造成很大方的假象给别人看。也有的教堂办自动收款：每个星期，天上的老汉会从你的帐户里自动取钱。更有甚者，有的教堂的大厅里竟安装自动提款机，不允许你用没带零钱的借口。

钱收完了，众生起立，悠扬的管风琴声响起，此时乐队唱诗班入场，电吉他、鼓、钢琴、管风琴、萨克斯风等音乐齐奏，巨大的等离子宽屏机上打出圣歌的歌词。众生看着歌词，随着音乐，唱起了感谢上帝和我主黄恩浩荡的颂歌。会有人击掌附和。虽不如扭秧歌那么夸张，但也有人扭动用汉堡、薯条、和可乐填充的丰乳肥臀，载歌载舞，渐入佳境，忘我地投入，感谢在主大爱光辉照耀下的温暖。实乃一副我醉君复乐，陶然共忘机的景象。欲知详情，可参见电影《Borat》主人公的教堂经历，挺真实的。

我去了几次，很快就没了兴趣。做完礼拜后，看到教堂大厅里张贴的反堕胎的海报以及偏激的支持实际上无条件枪支拥有权的传单，感觉真得很倒胃口，就不打算来了。个人以为美国诸如此类的教堂并不少见。

后来我去过几次海明威纪念馆旁边的那个浸礼教教堂，再次感受到牧师的虚伪。也曾开车到那个北岸浸礼教会，但感觉不一样了。慢慢的，就不去教堂做礼拜了。

渐渐地，我看到了一些教徒的阴暗，自私，虚伪，与险恶：自以为是，缺乏包容，对持异见者高棒打杀，以圣洁的名义做罪恶的行为，并产生了像Jerry Falwell，James Dobson，Pat Robertson这些以道德权威自居的影响力极大的人渣，更不用说不少教会里的猥亵儿童、强奸幼女的至今仍逍遥法外的恶魔。并且，历史上以宗教之名的战争和杀戮，还少吗？

所以我现在大部分时间是无神论者，有时也会觉得冥冥中会有管事的存在或存在们，但那只是暂时的心灵安慰罢了。个人很欣赏美国单口相声艺术家乔治-卡林的关于宗教的一个段子。以我看，他说得很幽默，也很真实。

未完待续。

I just came across another music video for the same song, Welcome to Beijing, made by retirees in Heze (菏泽), Shandong province. This is a knockoff of the one made by the celebrities that I posted in the last entry. I enjoyed both. Lyrics at the end of this post.

It is not uncommon in China for cities to have a retiree or senior citizens university (老年人大学). It provides a place for them to socialize, learn and practice crafts, photography, calligraphy, traditional music and opera, movie discussions and such, hobbies that they didn’t have time to do before. I bet they had fun making this music video.

Heze is a city just a little bit west of my hometown. Its claim to fame is that it is the capital of peony flowers in China. I believe it is also home to 水泊梁山, the setting to one of the classic Chinese novels, 水浒传. I can certainly tell the hint of the southern Shandong accent during their singing. Y’know, every time I hear my local dialect spoken, I get that warm and fuzzy feeling of home. Heze’s version of Mandarin is a tad different from my hometown’s, but it is close enough.

Another thing that put Heze on the map is that it has the first biomass power plant in China. The power plant is located in Shan Xian 单县, a county within the Heze Municipality. Here is a video about it, courtesy of the Green Brothers from China’s Green Beat.

Here is the translation of the lyrics for Welcome to Beijing. I copied it from here, with my own modifications to make it more accurate, in my view. Translation is not easy, the poetic beauty in the Chinese version is hard to come across without a lot of thought and time.

Lyrics 歌词:

Let’s embrace another morning and enjoy its ever new air.
(Ying jie ling yi ge chen xi, dai lai quan xin kong qi.)
迎接另一个晨曦，带来全新空气。

With the fragrance of tea, it smells different. But it feels great, full of friendship.
气息改变情味不变，茶香飘满情谊。

Our door is always open. We are waiting for you with open arms.
我家大门常打开，开放怀抱等你。

After a big hug, we’ll feel closer to each other. And surely you will love this place.
拥抱过就有了默契，你就会爱上这里。

Our guests, no matter where you come from, please make yourself at home.
不管远近都是客人，请不用客气。

We promised to get together here. So welcome!
相约好了在一起，我们欢迎你。

We cultivate Chinese Evergreen in the garden. All the time, it is producing a new legend.
我家种着万年青，开放每段传奇。

In the soil rich in traditions, we plant. Hope everything we plant here leaves you with a great experience.
为传统的土壤播种，为你留下回忆。

Our guests, no matter we’ve met before or not, please feel at ease.
陌生熟悉都是客人，请不用拘礼。

Even if you have been here for many times, we still have a lot to talk about.
第几次来没关系，有太多话题。

Welcome to Beijing; we will open a new world for you.
北京欢迎你，为你开天辟地。

Its vibrant charm is full of vitality.
流动中的魅力，充满着朝气。

Welcome to Beijing; let’s breathe together in the sunshine.
北京欢迎你，在太阳下分享呼吸.

Let’s establish new records here in China.
在黄土地刷新成绩！

Our door is always open. We are open armed, ready to embrace the world.
我家大门常打开，开怀容纳天地。

5000-year-old China is flashing a youthful smile, waiting for the day.
岁月绽放青春笑容，迎接这个日期。

Our guests, no matter where you come from, please feel at home.
天大地大都是朋友，请不用客气。

We paint pictures and write poems to express the joy for your coming.
画意诗意带笑意，只为等待你。

Welcome to Beijing; like moving music, our hospitality will warm your heart.
北京欢迎你，像音乐感动你。

Let’s try to challenge ourselves.
让我们都加油去超越自己。

Welcome to Beijing; people who have dreams are all bravo.
北京欢迎你，有梦想谁都了不起。

If only you keep the courage, miracles will happen.
有勇气就会有奇迹。

Wow, there are less than 10 days left before the Olympics starts in my home country! I am getting excited, and plan to watch it on TV here. I think I will take one or two days off just to see the opening and closing ceremonies.

I have been living outside of China pretty much since summer of 1995. I’ve also made trips to Europe and Mexico, and will definitely go back to Europe in the future. I’ve been back to China a few times during this time and will visit more often, for both personal and hopefully, business reasons.

My view toward China and the United States has changed quite a bit over the years. This sounds like a cliche but it is true: there is a lot of misunderstanding, miscommunication, and conjecture on both sides of the Pacific. Pundits and mainstream media on both sides are not helping things.

Jeremy Zawodny, a smart and nice guy from his web appearance, since I’ve never met him in person, asked a question a little over a year ago: Should I go to China? Below is my response:

Oh yeah, I think you definitely should go without any hesitation whatsoever.

This is from a freedom and democracy loving Chinese living in Chicago area. Draw whatever conclusion as you like. After all, you asked for it And, if you have time, swing by my village in Shandong province, not too far from where Confucius was born and grown up, I will have my 97 year old grandma fix you some nice pork dish and noodles

Unfortunately, my grandma wouldn’t be able to greet anybody now, she died in May. She was born around 1909, 2 years before the Qing dynasty collapsed and the first republic was established in 1911. In her life time, she experienced many wars and turmoil: the first world war; resistance against Japanese invasion; the second world war; the civil war; the establishment of the People’s Republic; the many disastrous social engineering experiments conducted by Mao, chief among them is the Cultural Revolution; and the opening up since 1978 with general stability, with the 1989 crackdown as a glaring exception. In a way, her life experience symbolizes the Chinese experience in the last century or so: war and turmoil, with the exception of the last 30 years or so, which happens to be the time when China started opening up.

Anyway, I cannot speak for anybody else, but just like the comments I left on Jeremy’s blog, I’d like to extend my personal welcome to all athletes, spectators, and tourists: welcome to my country. Let’s hope this event will bring everybody closer with better understanding!

Here is a nicely done music video from the Beijing Olympic Committee: Welcome to Beijing!

福音营结束的前一天，来了一位现居加拿大、大陆来的物理博士，好像拿到一个神学学位不久，现已”专心事主”，不搞科学了。他年纪稍大，文革时已是青少年。他讲起了自己的经历和挣扎，以及颁依基督教后如何得到心灵的平安。讲到动情处，竟然哽咽。我感觉他倒没有表演的成分，现在想来，可能有太多的自怜，缺少了自省、自强、和自立。更何况历次运动中，感觉有些人在一段时期是受害者，在另一段时期却加害与别人。

不管怎么说，无论种族、肤色、国籍、贫富、性取向等，任何人都会有苦闷、挣扎、和彷徨。所以我听他讲这些，有点共鸣和小感动。演讲完后，照例又是”决志”的召唤：有谁愿意接受耶稣无条件的爱，获得重生和永生，有谁接受为我们洒宝血的耶稣为主，等等等等，请举手。这种”决志”召唤会进行好几次，延续几分钟，声音有点飘渺，伴随着轻柔的钢琴或风琴，给拿不定主意的”兄弟姐妹”充足的时间来考虑。

当时我坐在那里，带我来的那一家人齐刷刷地看着我。加上潜移默化的感觉信仰基督教可能对自己的幸福有利，就略带羞涩地举起了手，成为一个”重生”的基督徒。

后来和贤妻谈过这个经历。她问：会不会所承诺的无条件的爱对你有感召力？想了一下也不无道理，但我们大部分人的父母的爱难道不是无条件的吗？会不会我们在爱的表达上出了问题？在各个社会、各个国家里，让受控对象产生负罪感、内疚感、耻辱感都是控制的猥琐手段。”你不好好学，对得起我吗？”，”我这样做，还不是因为疼你，爱你？”，等等。如果爱和关心是以这种方式表达，期待回报，还能称之为爱吗？另外，很多人从小很少得到父母的正面的支持和鼓励，长大变得不能独立，需要外界的正面评价来获得心理的平衡，不是很悲哀吗？

我举起手”决志”后，”主内的兄弟姐妹”都过来祝贺。我羞涩地跟着重复了一些”决志”祷告，获赠《波耳波经》一部。兄弟姐妹纷纷在书内页里签字留念。那位物理博士的留言是”耶稣说，我就是道路，真理，和生命”。他们教导我要经常祷告，并且给我推荐住处附近的教会。这本书我保存至今，算是个纪念。

“福音”营回来后我开车大老远地去了中文教会，说话啦呱地也还不错。我感觉有些国人信仰基督教的一个原因是出于孤独和社交方面的考虑。在国外大都有语言、风俗、饮食、社交、工作、生计等方面问题，聚在一起聊一聊是一种解脱。个人感觉搞一些同乡会、校友会可能是更好的选择。

实际上我对土生土长的美国人的教会也感兴趣，但被告诫不要去天主教会。

后来我们搬到城里住，离我去的中文教会更远了些，就改去芝加哥北郊的北岸浸礼教会，这不是一个华人集中的教会。浸礼教比较有意思。这个教堂讲坛旁边有个浴缸，罪人”决志”后，要到这个浴缸里泡一泡，有洗清罪过、重新做人的意思。当然不会有搓灰、修脚、按摩、三陪等服务了，如果有，肯定会门庭若市。我去的那段时间里，不曾见到有人受过洗礼。 顺便提一下，一些基督徒还会给刚出生的小男孩搞割礼，在我看来真得很荒唐愚昧且残酷。好像犹太教的割礼更普及。

现在回想起来，这是个很不错的教会。牧师夫妇来自底特律。他们很会说，这当然是很吸引人的地方。但更重要的是有一段固定的独处的时间。有时把他们的说教当成耳旁风，回顾一下这个星期的进程，想一些事情，没有外界的喧嚣和干扰，之后就觉得很轻松。或许这和佛教的打坐有异曲同工之效？

我也参加了这个教会的为青年人办的星期日学校（Sunday School）。感觉这个星期日学校的主持人很不错。和一些黑人、白人、菲律宾裔人及拉美裔的美国人谈谈《波耳波》，聊聊天，很不错。客观上说，有收益，因为交流总是好的。

未完待续。

王博的这篇博客使我想起了Bible的中译名。世界的各个宗教大都有自己的经文，像伊斯兰教的经书被译成《可兰经》，佛教的称之为《佛经》等。但基督教的经书名却被译成《圣经》。从有神论者和无神论者平等的角度来看，称一支宗教的经文为圣，是不妥当的。如按佛经的兼音兼义的译法，或可译之为《大波经》？但这好像有些猥亵的味道，和宗教的仁义道德、正人君子的倡导相悖。所以个人以为这个基督教书名的翻译，和伊斯兰教经书的翻译一样，音译比较合适。称其为《波耳波经》好像更自然一些，这样不会像《圣经》听起来那么高人一等，高于其他经书。两本书，同样的内容，一本叫《圣经》，一本叫《波耳波经》，感觉就是不一样。

说一说我自己的宗教经历。

从中学到来美之后几年的时间里，潜意识里面，对基督教有一种仰慕的感觉，可能这和西方的先进及其宗教经文的中文译名不无关系。甚至在装模作样、半信半疑、对事情没有把握而做一些自私的许愿的时候，会加上”上帝保佑”这四个字。我在厦门大学读书时，当时的图书馆二楼靠近化工学院的那个角落的房间是外文阅览室。我曾在那儿读美国总统的英文演说。读到结尾的”愿上帝保佑美国”时，会有激情澎湃的感觉，觉得人家美国，真是味儿。（美国有很多好的东东供我们学习，也有很多教训值得我们借鉴。世界上任何一个国家，都是如此）现在的小布什，会动不动地在别人写好的演讲稿里加上”愿上帝继续保佑美国”，请注意继续这两个字，好像美国是上帝的宠儿一样。数年前我曾问过太座，更加民主自由的、主要搞社会民主主义的瑞典，她的领导人会不会在演讲中说”愿上帝保佑瑞典”呢？老婆很诧异，一副匪夷所思的样子：有没有搞错！说这样不着边际的胡话，还不会被大部分的国民笑死？

记得在厦大某年12月24日晚，我曾去鼓浪屿的教堂，主要是图个新鲜。在那儿待了个把小时。唱诗班里有一位玉女，看起来清纯脱俗（也可能愚昧无知），让我向往一下。大学里到一个同学家去玩，第一次见到了《波耳波经》，随便翻了翻。初到美国读书时，我曾幼稚地到图书馆专门借了本Bible看，主要出于新鲜感。也碰到一些港台同胞拉着去晚上研习《波耳波经》，听他们说这个天上的无所不知、无所不晓的万能的家伙，用特异功能的神奇使处女怀孕，给可爱的待娶的约瑟夫带了顶绿帽子，救世主耶稣就这样诞生了。但耶稣又为我们而死，用他的鲜血洗清了我的罪行，你不信，对得起他老人家吗？但我还是没信。

1997年在美硕士毕业后我在一家咨询公司上班，在一个客户那里认识了一位香港来的女士。她和她先生热心传教。1998美国纪念日（Memorial Day)放假，一些中文教会在印第安纳搞了个”福音”营，管吃管住，他们就邀请我去。我正好没事情做，有点孤独和无聊，就想到外面散散心，交交友，吃点白饭也不错。并且我的克莱斯勒的子公司道奇生产的霓虹灯牌新车也刚买没多久，没出过远门，很想开一开，就跟着去了。

在营地的几天里还算可以。来说教的大多是港台同胞，来听教的好像大陆的多一些。他们搞得还算生动活泼。对我来说比较有吸引力的是有饭吃，有球打，再加上其它户外活动和还算说得过去的音乐。当然大部分时间是说教和别人的”见证”，来证明上帝和死而复生的耶稣对他们的爱与关心，以及在他们身上弄出来的种种奇迹。说到动情处，场内有人击掌，有人啜泣，有人说阿门。一丁点的事儿都会有人起来祷告。祷告比较有格式化：感谢天上的老汉和他的儿子，期望你保佑我们在一起要做的这件事情；祷告者在这时会嵌入个人的、但以”主”名义说出来的对将要做的这件事的期望和看法；感谢我主把迷失的羔羊季海东带到我们这儿；再次感谢我”主”；阿门一下，祷告结束。如是饭前祷告，这时候大家就可以动筷了。我虽没参加过其他的基督教营地活动，但以我的看法，其模式可能大同小异。

未完待续。

My son

Party after the parents/children T-ball game. Parents team lost.

Showing off my athletic prowess during the parents/children and coaches game, my first-ever baseball game.

My son made it to the first base, where I was at.

My son’s beautiful birthday cake, baked by Mom!

My son’s birthday party with friends.

Bunny

Watching a baseball game

Running

经济不景气，老婆找工作不顺利。但考虑一旦找到工作，就有搬家和买房卖房的问题，所以我们打算先把我们住的这两室一厅卖掉。住了八年多了，孩子一年年的长大，房子本来就不大，也该换换了，更何况现在是卖房的黄金时期！

老婆花了很多时间整理、打包，该捐的捐，该扔的扔。本人作为“劳工”，出了苦力，把箱子搬下楼，倒腾到储藏公司存放，以便给别人看房子时营造出“有空”的感觉。整理旧物时翻出过去的杂物和照片，感慨一番。

前天老婆拿出了一袋碾碎的红辣椒，问道，“怎么样，留不留？”。我就想了想，觉得这袋辣椒粉该有至少十年的历史了，应该是刚开始工作时在中国城买的。那时嘴馋时，会自己做一些炒猪肉之类的菜。切猪肉时馋到牙根都会咬得紧紧的程度。炒完猪肉后，再加八角、五香面、辣椒、葱、姜、蒜、豆角、白菜、和土豆（家乡话叫地蛋）等一起乱炒一通。发挥好时歪打正着，也算过瘾。但随着时间的推移，这种事情也做得不多了。

老婆从十二三岁时就开始吃素，多年来做过不少的烹饪尝试。做好之后，当然希望我点评一下。对于太座的一些实验，评论的拿捏很是问题。好在她善解人意，对我的心理想法，想说但又不能说的话了如指掌。有时她的实验结果不如意，晒笑一声，酸不啦叽地告诉我：“请享用”。我诚惶诚恐，说好不切实际，说不好也不行，哼哼叽叽，陪笑了事。

不过受她的影响，我对很多区域和国家的膳食产生了兴趣，不论是印度、中东、韩国、日本，还是墨西哥、意大利、法国等，东西南北，样样通吃。一个一成不变的规律是：无论哪国餐饮，方便之后，都会觉得饿。东方的食品，对于我来说，吃过后腹胀，气体会多一些，味道会浓烈一些，尤其是吃些面条粉丝之后。如厕时，老婆孩子都会叫我赶紧关门， 并打开通风机。我乐于从命，端本书，坐半天，不到双腿麻木不出来。

但全球各个区域的烹饪，都有其相辅相成的气味。老婆鼻子灵，闻得出来。当我中午到稍微有点正宗的中国或韩国餐馆吃饭，回家后，不用问就大致知道我吃了哪里的菜肴，进而调侃道：“今天又吃好东西拉馋了吧！”

I’ve been self-employed for more than one year now, and feel that there are a few things I need to adjust.

Part of the motivation of self-employment is to spend more time with the family, but that didn’t happen in the last year. In fact, I actually spent less time with my son than before I quit the job. And I’ve neglected his Chinese a little bit. That needs to be changed.

I’ve also struggled with how to best manage my time and routine. During my last full-time job, I had a stack of A4 printout that was no longer being used, and planned my day on the blank side of the paper. I would write down the date on top, scribble down tasks I needed to do that day, as detailed as possible, then prioritize the list by writing a number in front of each task, from 1 to 9, with 1 having the highest priority. I would go through my day based on that list and cross tasks off as I finish them. If tasks didn’t get completed during the day, I would copy that off to the next day. It worked really well for me.

For whatever reason, I’ve fallen off that wagon. I will start doing it again. I also need to discipline myself to go to bed earlier.

Managing schedule is another challenge. Sometimes clients call around the same time. I suppose how to balance that is an issue many of us (independents and/or small business owners) face.

We are also tidying up our condo, and hopefully will sell it soon. A little plug here: it is in a great location, walking distance to Metra, EL, downtown library, cinema, bookstores, restaurants, parks, all that good stuff. Dear reader, if you or somebody you know are interested, send me a note.

I’ve also volunteered for a few things. Accept my apologies here, my friends, for I truly didn’t have time to finish them at the moment. Some got started, but I need more time.

Maybe this is all part of the mid-age thing, being busy and having many things to take care of.

The script below is available in MSDN. I used it a few months ago but it took me some time to find it again, so I decided to put it here for my own reference.

Purpose: find out information on distributor and publisher databases, articles, and publications in Sql Server replication.

–********** Execute at the Distributor in the master database **********–

use master
go

–Is the current server a Distributor?
–Is the distribution database installed?
–Are there other Publishers using this Distributor?
exec sp_get_distributor

–Is the current server a Distributor?
select is_distributor from sys.servers where name=’repl_distributor’ and data_source=@@servername

–Which databases on the Distributor are distribution databases?
select name from sys.databases where is_distributor = 1

–What are the Distributor and distribution database properties?
exec sp_helpdistributor
exec sp_helpdistributiondb
exec sp_helpdistpublisher

–********** Execute at the Publisher in the master database **********–

–Which databases are published for replication and what type of replication?
exec sp_helpreplicationdboption

–Which databases are published using snapshot replication or transactional replication?
select name as tran_published_db from sys.databases where is_published = 1
–Which databases are published using merge replication?
select name as merge_published_db from sys.databases where is_merge_published = 1

–What are the properties for Subscribers that subscribe to publications at this Publisher?
exec sp_helpsubscriberinfo

–********** Execute at the Publisher in the publication database **********–

use AdventureWorks
go

–What are the snapshot and transactional publications in this database?
exec sp_helppublication
–What are the articles in snapshot and transactional publications in this database?
–REMOVE COMMENTS FROM NEXT LINE AND REPLACE with the name of a publication
–exec sp_helparticle @publication=’ ‘

–What are the merge publications in this database?
exec sp_helpmergepublication
–What are the articles in merge publications in this database?
exec sp_helpmergearticle — to return information on articles for a single publication, specify @publication=’ ‘

–Which objects in the database are published?
select name as published_object, schema_id, is_published as is_tran_published, is_merge_published, is_schema_published
from sys.tables where is_published = 1 or is_merge_published = 1 or is_schema_published = 1
union
select name as published_object, schema_id, 0, 0, is_schema_published
from sys.procedures where is_schema_published = 1
union
select name as published_object, schema_id, 0, 0, is_schema_published
from sys.views where is_schema_published = 1

–Which columns are published in snapshot or transactional publications in this database?
select object_name(object_id) as tran_published_table, name as published_column from sys.columns where is_replicated = 1

–Which columns are published in merge publications in this database?
select object_name(object_id) as merge_published_table, name as published_column from sys.columns where is_merge_published = 1