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我要談論的是男人為自己創造的專屬空間。首先我要告訴你們,為什麼我會在這裡。我在這裡有二個原因:這二個男孩是我二個兒子,Ford和Wren。Ford三歲左右的時候,我們共用一個非常小的房間。空間很小,我的寫作空間佔據了臥室的一半,他的臥室則佔據了另一半,你可以想像,對一個作家而言,將近截稿時房間會亂成什麼樣子。
所以當Wren快要出生時,我發現我需要一個屬於自己的空間,但屋裡已沒有多餘的空間,所以我轉向後院發展。我之前沒有任何建築的經驗,大約花了3千美金及一些回收材料,我建造了這個空間,裡面有所有我需要的東西,而且很安靜。裡面有足夠的空間,最重要的是,我擁有絕對的控制權。
當我建造這個空間時,心裡想,「我肯定不是世上唯一一個得建造一個屬於自己空間的男人。」所以我做了一些研究,我發現史上早有先例。海明威有自己的寫作空間;貓王有二、三個個人空間;這相當特別,因為他當時和妻子及母親住在Graceland;在漫畫裡,超人有秘密基地「孤獨之堡」;當然,蝙蝠俠也有自己的洞穴。
然後我意識到,我想進行一趟旅程,看看什麼樣的男人會為自己創造專屬空間。這是我最初拜訪的地方之一,在德州的奧斯汀,我現在住在那兒。從外表看來,這是一間相當普通的車庫,還不錯的車庫,但裡面就不只如此了。我發現那是一個非常典型的男人專屬空間,裡面有霓虹燈、樂團海報、吧檯,當然,最重要的是,還有一盞美腿造型檯燈。
我很快就發現男人專屬空間不一定是在室內,這個人在他的後院舖了一條保齡球道,就在他的庭園造景和人造草坪旁邊,計分板還掛在垃圾桶上。
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以下為系統擷取之英文原文
So, I am indeed going to talk about the spaces men create for themselves. But first I want to tell you why I'm here. I'm here for two reasons. These two guys are my two sons Ford and Wren. When Ford was about three years old, we shared a very small room together, in a very small space. My office was on one half of the bedroom. And his bedroom was on the other half. And you can imagine, if you're a writer, that things would get really crowded around deadlines.
So when Wren was on the way, I realized I needed to find a space of my own. There was no more space in the house. So I went out to the backyard. And without any previous building experience, and about 3,000 dollars and some recycled materials, I built this space. It had everything I needed. It was quiet. There was enough space. And I had control, which was very important.
As I was building this space I thought to myself, "Surely I'm not the only guy to have to have carved out a space for his own." So I did some research. And I found that there was an historic precedence. Hemingway had his writing space. Elvis had two or three manspaces, which is pretty unique because he lived with both his wife and his mother in Graceland. In the popular culture, Superman had the Fortress of Solitude. And there was of course, the Batcave.
So I realized then that I wanted to go out on a journey and see what guys were creating for themselves now. Here is one of the first spaces I found. It is in Austin, Texas. Which is where I'm from. On the outside it looks like a very typical garage, a nice garage. But on the inside, it's anything but. And this, to me, is a pretty classic manspace. It has neon concert posters, a bar, and, of course, the leg lamp, which is very important.
I soon realized that manspaces didn't have to be only inside. This guy built a bowling alley in his backyard, out of landscaping timbers, astroturf. And he found the scoreboard in the trash.
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還有另一種戶外空間,這有點太精緻了;這是一艘1923年的木製拖船,全用道格拉斯冷杉建造,這個人全憑一己之力將它改造,裡面大約有1千平方英呎的活動空間。
進行調查的初期,我發現一些跟我原本預期中不一樣的地方,坦白說,我看到成堆的啤酒罐、舒適的躺椅和平面電視等,簡直就像一般的居住環境,但有些則打造成工作環境、玩樂空間,或當作收藏物品的空間,最重要的是,我對自己的發現感到非常驚訝。
以這個空間為例,從外表看,這只是一間東北部常見的車庫,位於紐約長島,唯一會引起注意的是上面的圓窗,裡面改裝成16世紀的日本茶館,屋主從日本進口了所有材料,還請了一位日本木匠,裝修成日本傳統的樣式,沒有用到鐵釘或螺絲,所有接榫都是手工雕刻而成。
這是另一個典型的街景,位於拉斯維加斯郊區,但當你打開其中一間車庫的門,會看到裡面有一個職業級的拳擊場。(笑聲)這麼做是有原因的,建造這個空間的人叫做Wayne McCullough,他在1992年奧運中為愛爾蘭奪得銀牌,他在這個場地進行訓練,訓練其他選手。除了車庫之外,他還有一間獎牌展示間,讓他可以沈浸在過往的光榮時刻,這也是男人專屬空間存在的另一個重要原因。
這個專屬空間代表這個人的職業,另外這個代表了這個人的熱情所在,這個房間裝飾得像一艘英國船隻內部,這個人蒐集了1700年到1800年間的各種航海古董,有博物館的水準。
當這次旅程結束時,我發現超過50個男人專屬空間,每個都出乎意料,令人驚訝不已,但它們也-充分展現了建造者的個性,以及建造者花費的心血,這令我印象深刻。我發現,那是因為我拜訪的這些人,都對自己所做的事有超乎常人的熱情,他們相當喜愛自己的職業,對自己的收藏品和嗜好充滿熱情,他們藉由創造自己的空間來反映他們所喜愛的事物,並突顯自己的個人特質。
所以,若你還沒有自己的專屬空間,我強烈建議你打造一個,並盡情投入其中。謝謝大家。(掌聲)
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Here's another outdoor space, a little bit more sophisticated. This a 1923 wooden tugboat, made completely out of Douglas fir. The guy did it all himself. And there is about 1,000 square feet of hanging-out space inside.
So, pretty early on in my investigations I realized what I was finding was not what I expected to find, which was, quite frankly, a lot of beer can pyramids and overstuffed couches and flat-screen TVs. There were definitely hang-out spots. But some were for working, some were for playing, some were for guys to collect their things. Most of all, I was just surprised with what I was finding.
Take this place for example. On the outside it looks like a typical northeastern garage. This is in Long Island, New York. The only thing that might tip you off is the round window. On the inside it's a recreation of a 16th century Japanese tea house. The man imported all the materials from Japan, and he hired a Japanese carpenter to build it in the traditional style. It has no nails or screws. All the joints are hand-carved and hand-scribed.
Here is another pretty typical scene. This is a suburban Las Vegas neighborhood. But you open one of the garage doors and there is a professional-size boxing ring inside. (Laughter) And so there is a good reason for this. It was built by this man who is Wayne McCullough. He won the silver medal for Ireland in the 1992 Olympics. And he trains in the space. He trains other people. And right off the garage he has his own trophy room where he can sort of bask in his accomplishments, which is another sort of important part about a manspace.
So, while this space represents someone's profession, this one certainly represents a passion. It's made to look like the inside of an English sailing ship. It's a collection of nautical antiques from the 1700s and 1800s. Museum quality.
So, as I came to the end of my journey, I found over 50 spaces. And they were unexpected and they were surprising. But they were also -- I was really impressed by how personalized they were, and how much work went into them. And I realized that's because the guys that I met were all very passionate about what they did. And they really loved their professions. And they were very passionate about their collections and their hobbies. And so they created these spaces to reflect what they love to do, and who they were.
So if you don't have a space of your own, I highly recommend finding one, and getting into it. Thank you very much. (Applause)