Though not a true rain forest—Congo’s annual rainfall totals less than a hundred inches [2.5 meters]—the forest is often flooded, allowing [a Pygmy] family to set out on a fishing trip. In her hands the mother cradles a coal—the makings of a fire.

A Spring Feast of European Masks

This year's Miao Li International Mask Festival features an exhibition of European masks. Five display areas represent different mask cultures in European history.

1. Helmet Legend

Helmets are mainly used for military purposes to protect a warrior's head, face and neck from attack. The Persians and Assyrians invented leather and iron masks. Ancient Greek designers developed sophisticated bronze masks. Persian, Assyrian and Greek masks usually covered the entire head.

2. Dionysus Festival

Greek drama is viewed as the origin of Western opera. The former originated from Greek religious ceremonies. Music, dance, costumes and masks were vital elements of these occasions.

3. Masks of Commedia dell'Arte

A great deal of the inspiration for today's carnival costumes comes from the commedia dell'arte, or Italian comedy, which originated in the 15th century Renaissance. Performers, wearing masks with exaggerated facial expressions, played the role of different characters from folk tales and literature.

4. German Black Forest

Carnivals in the Black Forest take place each February. The common denominator is a parade. The principal figure wears an expensive costume consisting of a painted suit, a wooden mask and heavy bells crossing his chest, which are rung by his twists and turns.

5. Venetian Masquerade

Venice is a unique city in terms of the development of the mask in European history. Before the 18th century, masks were an integral part of city dwellers' lives, since both men and women wore them to attend important social events. Nowadays, stimulated by the re-emerging carnivals and festivals around Italy, Venetians have once again fallen in love with masks.

Bad day

不知多少人一天的生活是从闹钟开始的？对于这支曲子，很多人更喜欢它的MTV，所以，今天的点评也先从MTV最初那段先声夺人的“闹钟”开始——尽管，整部MTV之所以叫座，是因为它的故事与几米漫画里的《向左走向右走》颇有异曲同工之处……

诚然，就情节而言，MTV的后半部分最有创意、也最为动人，但实质上，前半部分略显凌乱的“蒙太奇”手法更耐人寻味——闹钟、起床时的挣扎、洗漱时的倦怠、男女主人公出门时的疲累以及拉门动作的重复，无不在告诉观众，所谓的“Bad day”并非某个具体事件所致，而是因为主人公被抛掷于某种无可释然的“章程”之上。一再重复闪现的闹钟正是这种“章程”的化身。

闹钟叮铃铃作响，在预定的时间内，你一天的生活也拉开了序幕。闹钟似乎就是一个信号，告诉你——你的生活须得在计划框架之内，有条有理，井然有序。对生活于都市的现代人来说，没了时间的束定就等于没了理性与法则的制约。然而，这种过于条理化、过于机械式的重复却是现代人生存疲累、缺乏激情的症结所在，所以，“你”才失去了心中曾有的“热情”，“你”才找不到童话里的“魔法”，“你”才在一片蓝天下看不到令人向往的“蔚蓝”。

抛开颇有创意的MTV，歌中的的话语可以理解为“我”对“心上人”的安慰，甚或是两个“自我”的相互安慰——“‘你’没了生活的激情，‘你’告诉‘我’不要再去坚持，只是因为‘你’一时心绪不佳，所以，唱首悲伤的歌，扭扭身，很快就会雨过天晴……”这也许就是Daniel Powter的可贵之处——我们无法挣脱某种既定的生活轨道，无法摆脱某种莫名的无奈愁绪，但我们仍然可以Hope against hope，怀抱心中哪怕是最后一点希望来面对人生。

歌词：

Bad day                  by  Daniel Powter

Where is the moment when we need it the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
You tell me your blue sky's fade to gray
You tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces every time
And I don't need no carryin' on

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Well you need a blue sky holiday
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carryin' on

You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day

(Oooh.. a holiday..)

Sometimes the system goes on the blink
And the whole things it turns out wrong
You might not make it back and you know
That you could be well oh that strong
And I'm not wrong

(yeah...)

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
You've seen what you like
And how does it feel for one more time？
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

歌手简介

* 歌手Daniel Powter——2005年MTV欧洲音乐奖提名最佳新人

* 专辑《Daniel Powter》——2005年荣登英国金榜第5名，一张为郁闷的现代人重新找回生活激情的流行音乐大碟

* 歌曲Bad day--2004年可口可乐公司为期两周的广告活动宣传曲；2005年英国金榜亚军单曲、连续十周占据瑞士单曲榜冠军、如旋风般地在法国电台创下点播奇迹并将近两个月蝉联榜首……

怎样来定义Daniel Powter（丹尼尔·波特）？歌手？钢琴家？才情兼备的诗人？大器晚成的音乐人？听了专辑《Daniel Powter》里的两支曲子Bad day和Free loop以后，您或许会认为，以上所有称谓戴在他头上都不为过。专辑《Daniel Powter》发行于2005年，其中的十首心情小品，均是他一手创作。

在Daniel Powter的创作空间里，歌词、旋律与嗓音有着一种奇特的呼应与对比。他笔下的歌词大都以日常生活中的所见所闻为主，反映的是现代都市生活的疲惫、忙碌与无奈；而歌曲的旋律却在忧郁与无奈之间，迸发着充满爆发力的激昂与热情；作为一名歌手，Daniel Powter能在真假音切换中运用自如，使每首歌曲跌宕起伏、错落有致，而且，诗人的特性更让其假音流露着对现代都市的无尽嘲讽，尤其在歌曲Lie to me和Hollywood中，这种嘲弄和讽刺被挥洒的淋漓尽致。

Daniel Powter出生于加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省的小城Vernon（沃农），受邀参加过Live 8（柏林分场）大型演唱会。2004年，单曲Bad Day首次曝光于法国的可口可乐宣传广告中，之后立即引起轰动。Daniel的同名处女专辑《Daniel Powter》由他与制作人Mitchell Froom和Jeff Dawson共同完成，专辑中的10首曲目首首精致动听，以其具有感染力的节奏以及朗朗上口的特质很快荣登英国金榜第5名。

主打单曲Bad Day是专辑中流行风味较浓的作品，而另类歌曲Free loop则在舒缓的钢琴伴奏中显得更为柔情