[Music] Roman Tam - Through Many Winds and Rains

1. Kenny Rogers famously sang in The Gambler (1978):
          You've got to know when to hold 'em,
          Know when to fold 'em,
          Know when to walk away,
          Know when to run.

What should an artist do when he pass the peak of his singing career?

Should he hold 'em or fold 'em and walk away?

That was the question Roman Tam was facing back in the mid-1980s.

"Through Many Winds and Rains" ("幾許風雨") (1986) is a reflection of Roman Tam's experience after he decided to hold 'em; it became his signature song.


2. Roman Tam was born in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China; his ancestor was from Guangxi Province.

Roman Tam passed away in 2002 from liver cancer.

Two personal details of Roman Tam that might cause some confusion:

(a) Officially, he was listed as born in 1950.

But according to his obituary, Roman Tam was born in 1944.

Given the Chinese practices of his era, the obituary probably gave the correct birth year.

(b) Using "羅文" as his Chinese name, one would expect his English last name to be "Law" or "Loh" or some such.

But Roman's Chinese last name is actually "譚" ("Tam").

 "羅文” is just a Chinese transliteration of "Roman".

Roman Tam went to Hong Kong in the early 1960s.

He held some menial jobs before beginning his singing career in the late 1960s.

Roman Tam caught his break in 1976 by singing the theme song for the Cantonese dubbing of a Japanese TV drama; his career peak around the mid-1980s.

The climb down from the peak was not easy for Roman Tam - many people casted derisions and pigeon-eye at him.

And this experience resulted in a great inspirational song "Through Many Winds and Rains".


3. I like to thank my brother for pointing out to me that "Through Many Winds and Rains" is actually a Cantonese cover of a Korean original.

The original music and lyrics was by Choo Se Ho, the singer was Koo Chang Mo and the song came out in Korea in 1985:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3doU7eKHsM

And twenty years later in 2005:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjL-C9FvXHQ

Beautifully sung!


4. The 1986 Cantonese version by Roman Tam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31wdh95vOvk

His signature song!


5. I believe the video is the original from 1986's TV broadcast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQmiPOe1NqY

But the music is remixed from CD.


6. A new interpretation of the song in 1996 by Roman Tam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TozzJUN3h0

Really nice.


7. Karaoke version by Roman Tam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzZAN4jzpl4


8. A concert version by Roman Tam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrUBbG8Vetc

The video is of very good quality.


9. A cover by Sam Tsang:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5P7OPtB6Ts

And from his album "Hong Kong Legend":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpS6mC3__4g

An interesting arrangement with some Jazz feels.


10. A partial cover by Sammi Cheng in 2001:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNbe-Kd7h5w

Sammi Cheng is known for her off-key singing - so better than I expected.


11. A cover by Eason Chan in 2003:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhUB4N80W1U

As many have noticed in the Comments in YouTube, the Cantonese lyrics have an inspirational element that is lacking in Eason Chan's interpretation of the song.


12. Kenneth Chan is a famous TV host in Hong Kong:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Ih_UKlu2U

This is the first time I hear him sing; not too bad.


13. A cover by Tony Lui:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMeQ6WfKO9g

Although the interpretation is quite off, but nice try.

The venue for the singing is the Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong.

"The Avenue of Stars (Chinese: 星光大道), modelled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is located along the Victoria Harbour waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. It honours celebrities of the Hong Kong film industry." ("Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong", Wikipedia.)


14. Another performance at the Avenue of Stars:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY5oZRPUkgY

I like this version much better.


15. A good cover:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoBM_eQWZNs


16. The Lyrics in Traditional Chinese:


幾許風雨 - 羅文

無言輕倚窗邊   凝望雨勢急也亂
似個瘋漢   滿肚鬱結   怒罵著厭倦
徐徐呼出煙圈   回望以往的片段
幾許風雨   我也經過   屹立到目前

* 一生之中誰沒痛苦   得失少不免
看透世態每種風雨   披身打我面
身處高峰   嘗盡雨絲   輕風的加冕
偶爾碰上了急風   步伐末凌亂
心底之中知分寸   得失差一線
披荊斬棘的挑戰   光輝不眷戀

悠然想起當天   無盡冷眼加嘴臉
正似風雨   每每改變   現實盡體驗
無求一生光輝   唯望鬥志不會斷
見慣風雨   見慣改變   盡視作自然

Repeat *

悠然推窗觀天   雲漸散去星再現
雨線飄斷   似我的臉   熱淚聚滿面
然而不死春天   全賴暖意不間斷
似你的臉   叫我溫暖   伴著我步前
似你的臉   叫我溫暖   伴著我步前


17. The Lyrics in Simplified Chinese:


几许风雨 - 罗文

无言轻倚窗边   凝望雨势急也乱
似个疯汉   满肚郁结   怒骂着厌倦
徐徐呼出烟圈   回望以往的片段
几许风雨   我也经过   屹立到目前

* 一生之中谁没痛苦   得失少不免
看透世态每种风雨   披身打我面
身处高峰   尝尽雨丝   轻风的加冕
偶尔碰上了急风 步伐末凌乱
心底之中知分寸   得失差一线
披荆斩棘的挑战   光辉不眷恋

悠然想起当天   无尽冷眼加嘴脸
正似风雨   每每改变   现实尽体验
无求一生光辉   唯望斗志不会断
见惯风雨   见惯改变   尽视作自然

Repeat *

悠然推窗观天   云渐散去星再现
雨线飘断   似我的脸   热泪聚满面
然而不死春天   全赖暖意不间断
似你的脸   叫我温暖   伴着我步前
似你的脸   叫我温暖   伴着我步前


18. Names, Words and Phrases:

Roman Tam (Traditional Chinese: 羅文; Simplified Chinese: 罗文).

Eason Chan (Traditional: 陳奕迅; Simplified: 陈奕迅).

Guangdong (Traditional: 廣東; Simplified: 广东).

Guangxi (Traditional: 廣西; Simplified: 广西).

Guangzhou (Traditional: 廣州; Simplified: 广州).

Kenneth Chan (Traditional: 陳啟泰; Simplified: 陈启泰).

Off-key (Traditional: 走音; Simplified: 走音).

Pigeon-eye (Traditional: 白鴿眼; Simplified: 白鸽眼).

Sam Tsang (Traditional: 曾航生; Simplified: 曾航生).

Sammi Cheng (Traditional: 鄭秀文; Simplified: 郑秀文).

The Avenue of Stars (Traditional: 星光大道; Simplified: 星光大道).

Tony Lui (Traditional: 雷若天; Simplified: 雷若天).


References:

"Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avenue_of_Stars,_Hong_Kong

(accessed 2012-02-28).

"Roman Tam", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Tam
(accessed 2012-02-28).

"羅文", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/%E7%BE%85%E6%96%87
(accessed 2012-02-28).

"羅文", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%BE%85%E6%96%87
(accessed 2012-02-28).

End.

[Opinion] ESV on Rapid Release?

1. "ESV" refers to the English Standard Version of the Holy Bible:

(a) ESV first appeared in 2001;

(b) ESV has a textual update in 2007 which was not identified by Crossway Bibles, the publisher; and

(c) ESV has a second textual update in 2011 which the publisher will identify as "ESV 2011".

For a translation of the Bible, is the ESV updating the text too rapidly?


2. For web browsing, I have been using Mozilla Firefox since it came out.

Version 1.0 of Firefox came out in 2004 and version 3.6 came out in 2010.

It took six years for Firefox to move from version 1.0 to 3.6.

But since version 4.0's released in March, 2011, Firefox has been on "rapid release".

According to Wikipedia: "New releases are planned to occur at six week intervals. The aim of this faster-paced process is to get new functions to users faster." ("Firefox", Wikipedia.)

Firefox version 10.0 was released in January 31, 2012.

Thus in less than a year, Firefox's version number moves from 4.0 to 10.0.

Now for technology, I do not mind "rapid release".

Computer technology has been changing very fast and I am glad that Firefox is trying to keep up with the latest and greatest.

But do I want the text of my English Bible on "rapid release"?


3. The English Standard Version is a much respected English translation of the Holy Bible.

ESV is the latest English translation of the Bible in a very venerable translation stream.

This translation stream includes the following notable versions:

(a) The William Tyndale translation of 1525-26;

(b) The King James Version of 1611;

(c) The English Revised Version of 1881-1895;

(d) The American Standard Version of 1901;

(e) The Revised Standard Version of 1946 to 1977;

(f) The New American Standard Bible of 1971 to 1995;

(g) The New King James Version of 1982;

(h) The New Revised Standard Version of 1990; and

(i) The English Standard Version of 2001 to 2011.


4. For over 300 years, the King James Version is "the" Bible for English readers.

In conservative Christian circles, it was not until the 1970s that people began to switch to more modern translations of the Bible.

But once the translation floodgate has opened, it proves very hard to stop.

We are in the midst of an explosion of English translations of the Bible.

And as a consumer of Bible translations, I love every minute of it.

But appreciating the proliferation of English translations of the Bible is a very different question of agreeing with whether a translation should keep revising its text on a rather "rapid" basis.

I am having doubts about the wisdom of the ESV releasing two revised texts within a 10 years period.


5. Two reasons why "rapid release" of Bible translations may not be good:

(a) A local congregation may adopt a particular translation such as the ESV so that the entire congregation may share a translation in sermons and worship.

ESV 2001, 2007 and 2011 might wreak havoc with that plan.

(b) Many Christians memorize key Bible passages.

ESV 2001, 2007 and 2011 might wreak havoc with that memory work too.


6. I appreciate the Translation Oversight Committee of the ESV trying to bring the most accurate translation of the Bible to the English reading public.

But I really do have doubts about a "rapid release" of new texts of the translation as a strategy to incorporate the latest and greatest in biblical scholarship.

Maybe that should be left to commentaries and other study aids?


7. Michael Marlowe has a list of the ESV 2007 revisions here:

http://www.bible-researcher.com/esv2007.html

The ESV 2011 revisions are listed here:

http://www.bible-researcher.com/esv2011changes.pdf


References:

"English Standard Version", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Standard_Version
(accessed 2012-02-28).

"Firefox", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox
(accessed 2012-02-28).

End.

[Music] Shirley Kwan - Dream Partner

1. "Dream Partner" ("夢伴") is originally a Japanese song sung by Masahiko Kondo and was first covered in Cantonese by Anita Mui.

I am going to break protocol and list it under Shirley Kwan for the reason that it is her version that has influenced me.

"Dream Partner" has three very distinct Cantonese interpretations:

(a) Anita Mui's original cover came out in 1985 and was influenced by John Travolta's Grease (1978).

It is Anita Mui's version that has the greatest influenced on the Cantonese public.

(b) Shirley Kwan's version was a very interesting cross between Cantopop and Rhythm and Blues.

It came out in 1995 and was part of Shirley's album " 'EX' All Time Favourites".

(c) Erika Lee's version came out in 2010 and is a slow guitar version.

The album name is simply "Erika".


2. A search in YouTube yields many instances of this song.

A version from Shirley Kwan's 1995 album " 'EX' All Time Favourites":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akHtrqlE1IM

I really like the feel of this song.


3. A concert version by Shirley Kwan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcF6vZpZNak

The uploader did not say when this concert was; but it must be quite recent.


4. The Japanese original by Masahiko Kondo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNgk5Ej73JM


5. Anita Mui in 1986:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l8PUGDkhTw

Did she look like John Travolta?


6. Anita Mui -- A remix version for disco:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6hp2LevB08


7. A pretty rare music video by Anita Mui: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_p9V1iTYbg


8. A rare Mandarin version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFYYKCixUbo

Anita Mui was performing in Taiwan in 1990.


9. Erika Lee's slow guitar version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEpf9hWIOtc

The album name is "Erika".


10. A must see sidewalk karaoke version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7IXBEo8HHQ

Miss Chan sang with chutzpah. Bravo!

The sidewalk karaoke is located in Mongkok District, Hong Kong.


11. Aaron Kwok paying tribute to Anita Mui in concert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOSuQR_resI

The concert was in 2004, less than a year after Anita's death from cancer.


12. Cantonese Opera singer Liang Yurong:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdhKM6jv-Lg

Liang is from Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China.

She did not get this song right, did she?


13. Miss Lau is a very good singer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raqhVcAhyk4


14. Barbie sang surprisingly well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryepQjPSlFM

But what was "Kan" doing?


15. The Lyrics in Traditional Chinese:


夢伴 - 梅艷芳

煤氣燈不禁影照街裡一對蚯蚓
照過以倆心相親一對小情人
沉默以擁吻抵抗一切的冰與冷
晚意借北風輕輕的飄起長長裙
多溫馨 (心裡)
風中那笑聲 (淌淚)

＊嘗盡了失意的我將一切都褪去
再到這風中心中竟彷似傷痕纍纍
然後再憶記起當晚跟你在這裡
相依相擁中
交出的心早已失去 (失去 已破碎)
不可以再追 (酒淚)
(DON'T WORRY, DON'T WORRY BABY)

＃今天今天星閃閃
剩下我北風中漆黑中帶著淚
念當天當天跟他一起的每天
今天今天星閃閃
剩下我漆黑中北風中帶淚悼念
當天的心   歡欣
再也再也再也不見
一切已失去   不可以再追

Repeat   ＊,＃

一切已失去   不可以再追
一切已失去


16. The Lyrics in Simplified Chinese:


梦伴 - 梅艳芳

煤气灯不禁影照街里一对蚯蚓
照过以俩心相亲一对小情人
沉默以拥吻抵抗一切的冰与冷
晚意借北风轻轻的飘起长长裙
多温馨 (心里)
风中那笑声 (淌泪)

＊尝尽了失意的我将一切都褪去
再到这风中心中竟彷似伤痕累累
然后再忆记起当晚跟你在这里
相依相拥中
交出的心早已失去 (失去 已破碎)
不可以再追 (酒泪)
(DON'T WORRY, DON'T WORRY BABY)

＃今天今天星闪闪
剩下我北风中漆黑中带着泪
念当天当天跟他一起的每天
今天今天星闪闪
剩下我漆黑中北风中带泪悼念
当天的心   欢欣
再也再也再也不见
一切已失去   不可以再追

Repeat   ＊,＃

一切已失去 不可以再追
一切已失去


17. Names, Words and Phrases:

Shirley Kwan (Traditional Chinese: 關淑怡; Simplified Chinese: 关淑怡).

Aaron Kwok (Traditional: 郭富城; Simplified: 郭富城).

Anita Mui (Traditional: 梅艷芳; Simplified: 梅艳芳).

Barbie (Traditional: 芭比; Simplified: 芭比).

Erika Lee (Traditional: 李悅君; Simplified: 李悦君).

Guangdong (Traditional: 廣東; Simplified: 广东).

Guangzhou (Traditional: 廣州; Simplified: 广州).

John Travolta (Traditional: 約翰·屈伏塔; Simplified: 约翰·特拉沃尔塔).

(Rendition of foreign names in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China are often different from each other.)

Liang Yurong (Traditional: 梁玉嶸; Simplified: 梁玉嵘).

Masahiko Kondo (Traditional: 近藤真彦; Simplified: 近藤真彦).

Mongkok District (Traditional: 旺角區; Simplified: 旺角区).

Rhythm and blues (Traditional: 節奏藍調; Simplified: 节奏蓝调).


References:

"Shirley Kwan", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Kwan
(accessed 2012-02-24).

"EX All Time Favourites", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/EX_All_Time_Favourites
(accessed 2012-02-24).

"關淑怡", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/%E9%97%9C%E6%B7%91%E6%80%A1
(accessed 2012-02-24).

"壞女孩", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A3%9E%E5%A5%B3%E5%AD%A9
(accessed 2012-02-24).

End.

[Opinion] Meditation and the Bible

1. What does one do when one meditate?

That all depends on one's purpose for meditation and the context in which one meditate.

Even if one narrows the context to religious meditation, there is still a bewildering variety of meditative practices.

A Hindu who believes in some form of pantheism might want to achieve unity with the One through meditation.

(Pantheism is the belief that God is everything and everything is God.)

A Zen Buddhist who believes in ontological emptiness might want to empty the mind of all intellectual content through meditation.

(Ontology is that branch of philosophy that answers the question: What is there?)

A New Age believer might want to be in an alter state-of-consciousness through meditation.

Religiously, I am a Christian - this will narrow the context for meditation somewhat.

But even within Christianity, there are many varieties of meditation.

In order to narrow down to a unique set of meditative practice, I must say that I belong to the Reformed or Calvinistic tradition of Christianity.


2. Reformed Christianity puts a premium on the Bible as truth.

Reformed Christians put a premium on the Bible because we believe the Bible is the Word of God.

Reformed Christians put a premium on truth because we believe the God of the Bible is a God of truth.

There are two important relationships between a person and truths:

(a) to think truths; and

(b) to believe truths.

(To believe is to think as true; thus, a person believe a truth if he thinks the truth as true.)

For a person, the faculty that thinks is call the intellect.

Because Reformed Christianity puts a premium on the Bible as truth and because it is the intellectual faculty of a person that thinks truths, therefore, many Reformed Christians believe in the "primacy of the intellect".

Reformed Christians believe in the primacy of the intellect because we believe our thought, desire and action should be guided by truths.

We believe our thought, desire and action should be guided by the Bible because being the Word of God:

(a) the Bible is true; and

(b) the Bible is authoritative.


3. So what does a Reformed Christian do when he meditates?

Lit-sen CHANG puts it well: "Most of us who are Christians use the word 'meditation' to mean reflection or thinking about a particular Scripture passage." (Chang 1978, 44)

Chang further expands: "From a spiritual and biblical viewpoint, meditation means reflection and thinking about God's Word, His laws, precepts, statutes and commandments, things that are true, noble, just, pure and lovely and acceptable in His sight, accompanied by supplication and prayer, praise and thanksgiving." (Chang 1978, 55)


4. If meditation is "reflection and thinking about God's word", then what does "reflection and thinking about God's word" entails?

For generality sake, let "p" stands for any Biblical proposition.

Reflecting and thinking about p means:

(a) reflecting and thinking about what p implies (p => ?);

(b) reflecting and thinking about what implies p (? => p); and

(c) reflecting and thinking about how p is related to the rest of the Bible.

For example, take (John 1:1 HCSB): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

In reflecting and thinking about John 1:1, one would try to answer the following questions:

(a) What does John 1:1 implies?

(b) What implies John 1:1?

(c) How does John 1:1 relates to the rest of the Bible?


5. "How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." (Psalms 1:1-3 HCSB)

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer." (Psalms 19:14 HCSB)

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable —if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise —dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8,9 HCSB)


6. Names, Words and Phrases

Lit-sen Chang (Traditional Chinese: 章力生; Simplified Chinese: 章力生).


Reference:

Chang, Lit-sen. 1978. Transcendental Meditation: A Mystic Cult of Self-Intoxication. Nutley, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Music] Noel Harrison - The Windmills of Your Mind

1. The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, was re-run by a local TV station about two weeks ago.

I catch the opening song, The Windmills of Your Mind, and have been listening to some of the cover versions in YouTube.

The original singer of The Windmills of Your Mind is Noel Harrison, son of the great British actor Sir Rex Harrison.

The Windmills of Your Mind won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1968.

"Coincidentally, his father Rex Harrison, had sung the Oscar winning song ("Talk to the Animals") only the previous year (1967)." ("Noel Harrison", Wikipedia.)


2. According to Wikipedia, The Windmills of Your Mind has been covered by close to 60 singers.

I have listened to over 20 different versions in YouTube.

While listening to the different cover versions, I noticed an interesting phenomenon: many cover versions did not seem to get this song right, even by some very good singers.

After some thoughts, I have come to a conclusion: for a song, the music places limitations on the lyrics and the lyrics in turn place limitations on the interpretation of the music.

For a song, the music and lyrics mutually limits or constrains each other.

The Windmills of Your Mind is basically a psychedelic song from the 1960s; some singers treated it otherwise and therefore did not get the song right.


3. Listen first to a rendition by the original Noel Harrison:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEhS9Y9HYjU

Look at Noel Harrison's eyes as he sang the song - I would not be surprise if he had an out-of-body experience as he sang this song.

Noel Harrison got this song right.


4. If you are affected by the psychedelic feel of this song, then listen to the Muppet version, have a good laugh and you will be fine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu_6hdGZ6gU


5. Chyi Yu is one of my favorite Taiwanese singers, so I am predispose to like her cover of this song.

Chyi Yu is a Buddhist - besides certain clarity to her voice, there is an other-worldly feels to her singing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSGg9EzHnhs

Chyi Yu does not have the psychedelic feel of Noel Harrison's rendition; but her other-worldly style mimics the psychedelic feel.

Chyi Yu does not get this song exactly right either; but her cover is among the best that I have listened to.


6. Val Doonican is a very good Irish singer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9PUiNbyz8s

Close your eyes, listen to the music and the singing but do not focus on the words or lyrics - it was sung beautifully.

This time around, focus on both the singing and the lyrics, and there is a dissonance between the two.


7. I love the love songs by Nana Mouskouri, but her voice is not right for this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4f5AAWKWCw

As an artist must experiment and be creative, I am glad she tried this song.


8. Greek soprano Irini Kyriakidou has a very good voice; but this song is not classical music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XcHq-Bon8Y


9. Even the great Barbra Streisand did not seem to get this song right:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPX9LNYtQmQ

She sang with clarity but lacks the psychedelic feel.

But Barbra Streisand's voice is amazing at 70 years old.


10. Wikipedia rightly singles out Dusty Springfield's version as the outstanding interpretation of this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl8fKAYQuPk

11. The Lyrics:

The Windmills of Your Mind - Noel Harrison

Round, like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever spinning wheel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning
Running rings around the moon

Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on it's face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind

Like a tunnel that you follow
To a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern
Where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving
In a half forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble
Someone tosses in a stream.

Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on it's face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind

Keys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly
Was it something that you said
Lovers walking along the shore
Leave their footprints in the sand
Was the sound of distant drumming
Just the fingers of your hand

Pictures hanging in a hallway
And a fragment of this song
Half remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong
When you knew that it was over
Were you suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the color of her hair

Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever spinning wheel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind



References:

"Noel Harrison", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Harrison
(accessed 2012-02-13).

"The Windmills of Your Mind", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Windmills_of_Your_Mind
(accessed 2012-02-13).

End.

[Opinion] Canadian Auditing Standards

1. Having not touched that "stuff" for many years, I have the occasion recently to review some of the current Canadian Auditing Standards (CASs).

I am very happy to find that there are many significant improvements in the current Canadian Auditing Standards compare to those I were used to as an accounting student.

I think the profession has learned some lessons from the Enron affair and the demise of Arthur Andersen, LLP.


2. It used to be that the main source of GAAS (Generally Accepted Auditing Standards) in Canada was the CICA Handbook.

"CICA" being the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, the senior of the three main professional accountant associations in Canada.

(And needless to say, the acronym "GAAS" was the subject of a lot of funny jokes!)
 
But according to CICA's website:

http://www.cica.ca/CAS/

"The Canadian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB) has adopted International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) as Canadian Auditing Standards (CASs) for the audits of financial statements. The CASs now constitute Canadian generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) for financial statement audits.

The CASs came into effect for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 14, 2010."


3. One thing I learned as an auditing student that has carried with me all these years is "professional skepticism".

CICA Handbook section 5090 requires the auditor to perform an audit with an attitude of professional skepticism.

I am happy that CAS 200 has the same requirement in paragraph 15.

There is a reason why accountants and auditors are not trusting people: the profession requires them to be skeptical!


4. It used to be that the Auditor's Report Date indicated the date on which the auditor has completed the most important auditing procedures in the field.

CICA Handbook section 5405 refers to "substantial completion of examination".

But what is "substantial completion of examination"?

There are a lot of rooms for interpretations.

The new CASs is a definite improvement:

http://www.cica.ca/cas/cas-comparative-mapping-tool/item33273.aspx

"CAS 700 requires that the auditor’s report be dated no earlier than the date on which the auditor has obtained sufficient appropriate audit evidence on which to base the opinion on the financial statements. Sufficient appropriate audit evidence is defined to include evidence that the entity’s complete set of financial statements has been prepared and that those with the recognized authority have asserted that they have taken responsibility for them.

For this purpose, the date of approval of the financial statements is defined as the date on which those with the recognized authority assert that they have prepared the entity’s complete set of financial statements, including the related notes, and that they have taken responsibility for them.

In practical terms, this means that the date of the auditor’s report will be no earlier than the date of approval of the financial statements in final form by the board of directors or other similar body. This represents a significant change from current standards, under which the date of substantial completion of the auditor’s examination is used as the date of the auditor’s report."

I think the profession has learned a lesson from the Enron affair and the demise of Arthur Andersen, LLP.


5. I noticed many more improvements in the new CASs and I am happy for the profession for them.


End.