Categories
Silly Me

The Stupid Things I Did At The Malaysian Custom

A supposed to be surprised MMS to Cynthia but the telecom network failed to deliver

You wouldn’t believe what I did at the Malaysian Custom last Friday.

When I was young and needed to travel overseas on my own, my dad always made sure that all the new items I carried across the border would have the original packaging removed.  Each and every item.  As I grow older, I deduce that if the items are for self use, it is OK to carry them over from one country to another.  Where does the line being drawn?  I have no clue.  I am sure travellers visit places overseas and buy souvenirs for friends.  Some are pretty big ticket items (like the Swiss watches).  Who would shop overseas and declare all their goods at the Custom and get themselves taxed?

Seriously?

Last Friday morning, as Cynthia left our home and headed to the airport, she smiled at me and said, “See you in Malaysia tonight!”  I smiled back and said, “No no no!  See you in Singapore next week!”.  The truth was, I did not give Cynthia a firm yes that I would drive all the way and visit her over the weekend.  Call it a semi-surprise visit or an internal struggle yet to be sorted out.  I hadn’t even packed my bag that early Friday morning.

I knew she has to work over the weekend and I have thousand and one things I could do in Singapore.  But then … why not make someone happy and besides, I always love a little adventure.  I had no idea where and how to get to PJ Hilton.

So I packed my bag in a hurry (still needed to go to work for half a day), brought along a new brainless book, grabbed my Spanish classical guitar, and … that should be enough to keep myself entertained.

Except, I had this sudden urge to attempt to write some songs during this road trip and I have stumbled upon a nice neat toy a while back that condenses the entire home recording studio into a hand-held device!  I just had to buy that before heading to Malaysia!

Fast forward to the Malaysian Custom, one friendly officer asked me to open the car boot and he pointed at my shopping bag and asked, “What is it inside?”

“Erm … it’s a recorder,” I replied gingerly and already cursing my own stupidity.

He took it out from my shopping bag and clearly had no idea what it was.  It is definitely not something you can commonly see in all good electronic stores.  Carrying with him my brand new toy, he consulted his group of officers (must be like 6 or 7 of them gathering by the desk … very intimidating!)

“You need a permit for this,” he smiled.

In any other given days, I would have loved his friendly smile.  I said, “I don’t understand.  It is just a recorder.  More like a MP3 player!”

“I know, I know!  Well, you will need a permit in order to bring this into Malaysia.  But I shall tax you instead.  It is much better that way,” he said.

“Tax me?!  But it is for my own use!” I gently protested.

“Do you have a receipt?” he asked.

Now, how stupid I was?!  I could have said: no, but I remember it cost 10 bucks.  Instead, I passed him the receipt.  He took out a calculator, punched in some numbers, and said, “The tax is 30% and that will be RM 175.”

I was nearly in tears!  I pleaded with him that I bought it just before lunch and I planned to use it to record my guitar this evening (I didn’t dare to show him my mint condition S$1,500 guitar at the back seat that has a receipt inside … the best place to keep a receipt is with the item itself, no?).  I even tried to strike up a conversation with him on music.  To tell you the truth, he must be the most sympathetic and friendly Malaysian Custom officer I have ever met.

After much deliberation with all sort of analogies I could think of (he was very patience too!), he did not bulge and kept telling me that he was just doing his job.  Reluctantly, I took out my wallet ready to hand him RM 175.  He was taken aback and said, “Don’t you want a receipt?  You have to pay the tax over there.”  He pointed at somewhere far.

That’s it.  I wasn’t going to walk!  It would be a walk of shame!  And I would be haunted by this stupid moment of mine for the rest of my life!  I counter suggested that I should just throw away the packaging right here right now.  He was shocked slightly and smile, “Sorry Sir, I have already seen the box!”

“But it doesn’t matter!  I will rip the box apart.  And you won’t see it again!  Besides, I wouldn’t be able to sell that in Malaysia right?” I insisted.  OK, my heart would bleed because I do keep all my toys inside the original packages all the time.  But between RM 175 and heart pain, I would choose the latter.

As I attempted to take the box from his hand, he stopped me and said, “Let me ask my supervisor.”

The supervisor looked really cold and stern.  Actually he did look very scary.  I was not sure if I could muster enough courage to face him.

The officer presented my case.  the supervisor kept quiet at first and then let out one command in Malay.  He didn’t even bother to look at me!  The officer returned and asked, “What passport are you holding?”

Huh?!  Now only you ask that from me?!

“Singaporean passport!” I held my breath.

“Next time, please don’t do that again,” he said.  I was in such a relief that I even shook his hands!

Gosh, isn’t that a bit out of proportion?!  30% tax?!  For something that I actually use.  Lesson learned.  Always listen to what daddy say.  He has more grey hair than me for a reason.

Categories
I See I Write

Got Kicked Out From Tourist & Transit Hub @ The Singapore Flyer But Overall Experience Is Positive

Singapore Flyer

I genuinely wanted to know more about where else to sightsee in Singapore.  At the ground floor I saw an outlet called “Tourist & Transit Hub” and I thought I’ve hit the jackpot.  There were brochures at the counter and the place did look like a tourist information centre.  I have no idea why the place is named that way but knowing how ‘unique’ Singapore is, I thought it was meant to be yet another cool branding strategy to reinforce our “Uniquely Singapore” image.

I approached the counter and asked if I could take some brochures.  The not-so-attentive staff motioned me a ‘yes’ and so I took one brochure of “Attractions Directory – Visitor Information” and another one on the Singapore Flyer itself.  Very well!  The centre has a comfortable ambiance.  There was a huge flat panel TV surrounded by a good number of comfortable sofa – all empty.  In front of the TV was a small round table with some local newspapers.  At one end of the centre was an Internet kiosk and there were two men surfing the Internet in this wonderfully air-conditioned place called “Tourist & Transit Hub”.

While waiting for Cynthia and my mother (from HK) to finish their fish spa (more write-up about that later), those empty sofa seemed like a big magnet to my tired body.  As my butt making its way to those seats, I heard a female voice from behind me.

“Can I help you,” said the not-too-friendly staff.  “Erm, not really at the moment.  I just wish to sit down and read through the brochures,” I replied politely waving the brochures in the air.  “This place is for group tourists only,” said she.  I was speechless for a moment standing just an inch away from the sofa and there was hardly a soul in the room!  “How about individual tourists?” I asked.  “You can’t sit here.  Sorry,” she insisted.

I couldn’t think of anything else to do but to leave.  Actually, if she was to allow me to stay, I really wouldn’t mind giving up my seat should the group tourists actually turn up.  How about renaming the center to “Exclusive Group Tourist Lounge”?

Inside Singapore Flyer

I-have-only-my-stupidity-to-blame aside, the Singapore Flyer is actually a charmingly huge structure able to see – as quoted by my mother who has seen the Flyer advertisement in Hong Kong – Malaysia and Indonesia.  (She actually said Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta and I said no way.)  The Singapore Flyer has 28 capsules and it takes 30 minutes to complete one round.  Deep inside my heart, I knew my mother wanted to take the Flyer so … well, she is above 60 so her ticket was S$24.  Both Cynthia and I have to pay S$30 each to go up. 

Being an engineer at heart, I marvelled at the beautiful and symmetric structure.  Although there is probably nothing much to see by now except the Integrated Resort construction site, the highway, the sea, the Marina Bay area, and some of the city buildings, I think it will be a nice view once the Integrated Resort is completed.

The Singapore Flyer is not perfect.  My humble wish-list would be:

  • Make each capsule a mini-museum of Singapore history and introduce the current attraction spots.  It doesn’t have to be elaborate, can be made subtle, and if done right, add new meanings to the experience.  Look, the Flyer has trapped up to 20 tourists in each capsule for 30 minutes and they are not going anywhere.  Why not help them to know Singapore more?  It is actually getting quite boring after the first 3 minutes.
  • Dedicate an area for a museum of the Singapore Flyer itself.  What was the building process, how high is the capsule at topmost position, and etc.  People like to boost about what they have done overseas.
  • Have some automated mechanism to clean the capsule every now and then during the day.  Singapore rains often and if it is the view we are selling, it is quite a turn off to see through those dirty windows (like in our case).
  • Turn the entire area into a mini-carnival.  Add in the clowns and live music, stores to play games and win soft toys.  Make it a fun and colorful place that is memorable.  Right now, the Singapore Flyer looks like some sort of business centre to me.
  • (Perhaps rename “Tourist & Transit Hub @ The Singapore Flyer”)

My mother, Cynthia, and I at the Singapore Flyer

There aren’t many interesting shops in the Singapore Flyer except one – the fish spa where there are tons of fish in the tank ready to nibble your feet’s dead skin away.  My mother is the brave one but Cynthia, I am not so sure.  After reading an article by my blogger friend EastCoastLife on “doctor fish therapy”, I insisted that Cynthia should try.  The package (30 minutes fish spa and 10 minutes shoulder massage) was quite expensive, S$38.  According to ECL, it only cost her S$10 per half an hour!

They both love the results feeling the renewed freshness of the skin.  Cynthia observed that her feet looked whiter.  My mother loved it so much that she grabbed my sister for another session the next day.  Now that my mother is back in Hong Kong, we all know what she misses the most here (definitely not us, sis!).

Categories
J Pop Music Reviews

Wish By Yuna Ito – Of Moon Rabbit, Urban Mermaid, And A Titanic Theme Song

Yuna Ito

Strange to say, I thought Yuna Ito’s 2nd album “Wish” is much better than her debut “Heart” in so many different ways but yet, the sales figure so far doesn’t agree with me.  Perhaps the movies “Nana” and “Nana 2” that she has acted in and her accompanying soundtracks did help to push the sales of her previous album.  Usually, Cynthia cringed at almost all my Japanese collection screaming, “She doesn’t hit it, she doesn’t hit it” (i.e. pitchy problem especially at high notes).  This time, as I yet again tortured her with yet another Japanese album and surprisingly, she screamed – in excitement I suppose – “Yes!  She hits it!  Is she the same girl who sang ”絢香”

Of course, having showcased the last track of the album the other evening with Yuna Ito’s own interpretation of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” certainly helps.  It is a difficult song to pull it off.  It is big (Celine Dion!) and it has a wide vocal range.  Yuna Ito can easily be one of the better J-pop singers (I do have lots of respect to the Japanese jazz singers by the way) and being born in America, her English pronunciation is a notch above her peers.  It seems to me that her vocal skill has improved since her last album.  Her middle voice in “Wish” is richer, more pleasant to the ears.

Her duet track with Celine Dion “あなたがいる限り ~A World to Believe In~” is perhaps the biggest track of the album although my personal preference would be the more memorable tracks towards the second half of the album: “A Long Walk”, “Moon Rabbit”, “I’m Here”, and “Wish”.  From what I have read, Celine Dion was impressed with Yuna Ito’s interpretation of her Titanic theme song and Dion proposed the idea of a duet with a song taken from her latest album.  I am not a fan of “A World to Believe In” though I appreciate the novelty.  “Wish” falls under the category of some tracks work for some but not others.  Some songs tend to have unusual key switch and also between minor and major.  You will have to sample the album to see if it is your cup of tea.

Probably a rare moment to hear Celine Dion singing Japanese.

Categories
Country Folk & Jazz Music Reviews

Taylor Swift – A Young Country Singer With Potential

Taylor Swift

Look, to be able to release an independent record (2006) at the age of 16 written and co-written all the 11 tracks in her debut and be nominated as the Best New Artist for Grammy in 2008 certainly demands attention, if not respect.  Taylor Swift does have a music talent and her voice does communicate a certain level of honesty and youthfulness.  My only reservation is on the genre itself.  To me, every country song tells an emotional story.  Be it as a wedding that took place against all adversities, a girl who waited for a traveling soldier who didn’t return from the war, a poor family but yet happy with contentment, the impact of a divorce to the children, and etc, I think a country singer needs a certain level of maturity to tell stories of multiple facets.  Being a teenage country singer and writer, the topic of her self titled debut pretty much circles around teenage love affair, which is good and bad.  Good if you can relate to it and not getting tired of it for the entire album duration.  Bad if you expect a country genre to be more, country, to have more impact.

For a 16 years old (when the album was released and she is now 18), Taylor Swift does have some mad vocal skills – although I must say, she doesn’t quite have the big voice as my favorite female country pop singers such as Carrie Underwood or Martina McBride, nor have that characteristic country voice of Martie Maguire from the Dixie Chicks or Gretchen Wilson.  I hope to see a smoother transition of her low, mid, and high registers in her subsequent albums.  And her voice may not sound unique – at least to me – and I find it hard to identify her voice amongst some other teenage pop singers.

From the song melody point of view, Taylor Swift’s debut does have a good number of catchy tunes.  Overall a well rounded album and since she is still very young, she does have a great potential in this music industry.  Below is one of her singles “Teardrops on my Guitars” inspired by a true story of hers.  I am sure you would love it like I do.  And you may understand why she has become so popular these days.

Categories
Diary Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Of The Spiderwick Chronicles, Shopping, And Wedding Dinner

The Spiderwick Chronicles

“I have nothing to wear,” I screamed in desperation.  “How about that blue shirt of yours?” Cynthia suggested.  No way I was going to wear that for a wedding dinner because I have already worn that on another one.  OK, don’t panic.  Simply hit the Orchard road and pick something.  The dinner was at 7.30pm.  I have just woken up from a nap because I had to get out of my bed at 4am to send my mom to the airport.  And while I was in Orchard, why not catch a movie?  My movie partner in crime TK tried to convince me to go for the 5.30pm show, I could go to the wedding dinner directly, and he would take care of Cynthia’s dinner and send her home.  Sounded like a good plan except … I needed to return home and iron the shirt that I was going to buy right before the wedding dinner (story continues after the movie review).  So Cynthia and I went for the 3.30pm show instead.

We have no expectation for “The Spiderwick Chronicles”.  I booked it because TK suggested it.  Based on a series of children’s books written by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, the movie adopted 4 (out of 5) books from the chronicles.  Like I always say, good stories usually make good movies.  “The Spiderwick Chronicles” is quite a neat piece of work with clever plots and enough wonders to captivate.  We were so worried that it would turn out to be that children’s fantasy movie starring a nerdy boy wizard with a pair of out-of-fashion spectacles (yuck!).  It’s not.  And it does have some frightening scenes too.  More for mature kids I guess.

Some critics don’t like the film’s over reliance on special effect.  I think, until the day when magic does exist in this world and we could actually film it, special effect is the way to go.  I thought they have done a pretty good job on that (perhaps I am bias because I did study computer graphics).  The acting to me is average (compares to Bridge To Terabithia).  The storyline is not as complex – and perhaps less violence – than Pan’s Labyrinth.  “The Spiderwick Chronicles” does seem like a mix of “Jumanji”, “Panic Room”, and “King Kong” to me.  I swear, that griffin riding scene reminded me of the online game “World of Warcraft”.  My character rides that thing day in day out!

A movie that probably won’t wow you but has enough entertainment value to captivate you in this land of faeries, troll, and goblins.

Now, back to my crisis.  There aren’t that many men’s shops in Orchard as compares to the ladies and I have this path of ‘destruction’ starting from the Esprit near Cineleisure (which has been relocated), to Takashimaya, tunnel to Wisma, and ends at Topshop.  I wish I had more time for shopping!  In the end, I picked a simple, casual, and tight fit (erm … not that tight) white shirt and a skinny tie from Topshop.  We thought it would be fun to try something different and …

… OK, I think I have overdone that a bit for a wedding party.  But hey!  Who cares?!  And it is good to see so many familiar faces at my ex-colleague (now buddy of course) Anderson’s wedding dinner.  Almost like a mini reunion.  Surreal to say the least.  You see, my ex-workplace has such a high turnover rate that seeing each familiar face reminds me of a particular juncture in that shit hole of my career.  Some memories are fond, some are less so.

Anyway, it is a good party and good to catch up with some good friends whom I haven’t seen for a while.  The next wedding (from the same ex-workplace) is … a few weeks down the road.  And I think I am the MC … *gasp*!

Categories
Diary

Mom And I Braved The Rain To Scale Up Bukit Timah – Fungus, Lots Of Fungus

Bukit Timah: (1) shiny at the base of the hill, (2) rainy at the top, (3) the summit stone

It was all bright and shiny at the base of the hill when mom asked if she should bring along her little brolly.  Sure, why not.  It’s raining season in Singapore.  Back in where my mom lives, it is her favorite pastime to trek into some of the mountains with my dad in Hong Kong.  But there is no mountain in Singapore!  When I told her that we were climbing up a hill yesterday, her eyes lit up in disbelief.  There are mountains in Singapore, she asked.  Of course not, I answered.  Just that in Chinese language, there is no difference in the informal word usage of hill and mountain.

Bukit Timah is in fact rather low.  If you visit this little bump on a rather flat disc of Singaporean land with a high expectation, you will get disappointed as it is no Mount Kinabalu.  Having said that, if you take the little trails that go round the hill instead of the straight main road that leads to the summit, there are sufficient up and down slopes that can last for hours and make the trekking interesting.  We did just that and felt that we have climbed up the hill a couple of times.
Bukit Timah metal on the ground
It was the first time I actually led the expedition.  I normally go with my buddy KF the branding consultant and follow his lead blindly.  Starting from the base of the hill, I told the World War II story of how the British and the Japanese armies fought over this little hill of Bukit Timah and I showed my mom where the military cave was (I was trying to replicate what I’ve heard from KF, he is such a great storyteller).  Just when I told her that at times I could hear the gunfire from the military training camp nearby, the sky got dark, air pressure was dropping, and there was a helicopter hovered above where we were.  So dramatic!  And if that was not dramatic enough, I spotted a piece of metal on the ground (see picture on right) and just when I was about to give it a few kicks, my mom screamed, “Stop!  It could be a landmine!”  There is no landmines in Singapore, I laughed!  And she told me about her recent holiday trips to Vietnam and Cambodia.  I shrugged, gave the piece of metal a few kicks, and there was no ka-boom.  Now you know where I got my dramatic genes from.

Raindrop falling from the sky soon after we passed the cave.  There was still a long way to go and I was determined not to cut short our expedition.  The sky roared with thunders and my mom opened her brolly.  Somehow the thought of umbrella and lightning was not very comforting.  Maybe that was why I did not bring my golf umbrella with me.  The golf umbrella could be useful, my mom said.  And she told me that in Hong Kong, people bring along a long stick during trekking to wand off wandering snakes.  “Look ma, there are no landmines in Singapore, there are no snakes in Singapore too!” I retorted.  Right at the moment, inside the dark bushes nearby, I detected a movement.  I strained my eyes and it did not look like the usual squirrels that seem to be the only inhabitant of the hill.  It has a long slender body and I just could not make out if there were legs attached.  OK, let’s move on quick as the sky was falling!

I put my towel over my head and I was complete drenched.  Every cloud has a silver lining and for us, in this wet wet weather condition, we saw quite a number of fungus spawned from everywhere (see the pictures below).  Something that I haven’t got to see before.

Mushrooms in Bukit Timah Hill

Categories
Whacky Thoughts

How To Change The World When Everyone Is Bitching – Dealing With Egoist, Skeptic, Victim, And Follower

The view from my cubicle

One weekend, Cynthia passed me a newspaper cutting written by The Straits Times journalist Sumiko Tan on how her text message conversation with her friend inspired her to write an article on why some people tend to tell white lies to comfort others.  Sumiko was having lunch alone one day, sent a text message to her friend on how sad and lonely she felt, and her friend’s honest reply of “you have no friends, you are a sad person” made her wonder why he did not comfort her instead.  But of course, she knew he was telling the truth.  Truth hurts.

When Cynthia passed me the article, she said, “I like Sumiko Tan.  She always writes something I can relate.”  And it suddenly hit me, I too want to write something that my regular readers can relate (or try writing at least).

One fine afternoon during lunch, one colleague of mine said to me, “You can be so easily impressed by people.  I mean, you are so optimistic.”  Her comment puzzled me initially and I queried if there is anything wrong feeling that way about others.  We didn’t reach any conclusion.

That little incident took me back to the time when I was first given the opportunity to lead teams.  I have had this belief that everyone has talents.  Finding the right set of motivations, to me, is the key to unlock these precious talents from the people around me.  This notion seems to work fine but it doesn’t necessarily translate to results.  A few years later, I met one mentor of mine who taught me: exploit one’s strengths, not weaknesses.  At that time, it was quite an eye-opener because unlocking one’s talent is one thing, apply that to yield desirable results is another.

This little revelation changes the way I manage people.  On one end of the equation are the tasks at hand, on the other end of the equation is a set of talented skills the team has.  Any gap in between would have to be filled in by the untapped talent of the existing team (through training for example) or a new hired resource.

But why stop at the team level?  Why not apply the same observation to our bosses and beyond?  I mean, they all have their ins and outs and why not recognize their weaknesses and work with their strengths?  I don’t know what your working environment is like but nearly all the places I have been to, I have met some co-workers who spend much time thinking and bitching about their bosses, their departments or projects, the organization, the government, the planet, and etc.  Most of the claims I have heard are taken out of context or formed due to a lack of an appreciation of a bigger picture.  Some claims are factual but I usually find that the constructive views resulting from these facts add more values to our lives instead.  I guess we all bitch either publicly or privately at times (to bitch is human?).  But dwelling on so much dark energy that consumes us doesn’t seem healthy to me.

This blog entry is not about them.  It is about how you can perhaps change the world when faced with adversity as described above.  After years and years of sitting through all these bitching sessions – which I have tried to avoid by all means if I can but you know how it’s like when you are stuck in a meeting room, a lift, or a team lunch or drink appointment – I can loosely categorize the active contributors as: the Egoist, the Skeptic, the Victim, and the Follower.

You can easily spot the Egoists from the crowd.  Nothing or no one is good enough for them, except a rare few.  They see all the flaws around them so much so that they forget that they are not that perfect either.  The only way to defuse the situation is to gain their respect and slowly influence their point of views.  This certainly takes time because most likely, you are not good enough for them either.  You will need a lot of patience or to wait for some humbling situations to occur.  People do change, given time.  Orchestrate some opportunities if you can to accelerate the process.

The Skeptics doubt people and beliefs in general and it is a darn hard job to sell the vision of the future or to convince the ”˜invisible’ ability of our leaders to them.  Any plan that is to come, unless hundred and one percent proven, are plans that may not succeed.  Any one who advocate these plans – our bosses most likely – are not the ones to be hundred percent trusted.  In any given day, it is of course good to put on the caution hat to anticipate some of the foreseeable challenges ahead.  But to face with the Skeptics who constantly wear that hat could be tiring to some of us.  Worst of all, Skeptics are usually part of the team that can influence the outcome and we know no one wants to be proven wrong.  So, go and guess the results yourself.  Proving them wrong would not work because it only takes one incident of shit hitting the fan when they turn around and say, “See I told you so”.  I guess one way is to constantly remind them how the situation has improved over time (averaging the occasion shit hits the fan situations) and hope that they are less vocal about their thoughts and to put them into something more constructive instead.

The Victims are the one who think that the whole world is acting against them.  Bosses are there to give them a hard time and everything is beyond their control.  To help the Victims – which is a lot easier than dealing with the Egoists and Skeptics I must say – is to rebuild their confidence and self-worth.  Let them know that while many things in life are beyond our control, there are more we can influence.  The frustration is of course more often then not, the Victims keep slipping back to the victimized mode and you find yourself repeating the same advice again, again, and again.

The Followers don’t necessarily have strong views about persons or situations in general.  They feed on what others say and help fueling the entire bitching session by agreeing with the points in totality.  Without them, the emotions wouldn’t rise high and the fists wouldn’t hit the sky.  So what shall we do with them?  Absolutely nothing because once you perform the heroic task of neutralizing the Egoists and the Skeptics and the Victims, there will be nothing left for them to follow.

The question is: why do you even bother to neutralize the situation?

Yes, it is much easier to avoid getting involved with all these bitching sessions.  However, if you have a stake on the team and if you do care about some of them as friends, indifference is probably a less desired strategy.

At least, morally speaking

PS. The above is a picture taken from my cubicle.  Unfortunately, the sea view is behind where I sit.

Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

Ben In The World By Doris Lessing – Sympathetic Love And Desperation Mashed Into One

Ben In The World - Doris Lessing

I have written and rewritten this entry so many times that it is no longer funny.  So I shall get straight into the point.  The beauty – which ironically the word beauty is the least appropriate word to describe the story – of “Ben in the World” is that Doris Lessing has created a main character so far fetched from the current reality (a yeti? a primate?), put this hideous being into an imperfect world of greed, abuse, violence, indifference, and desperation (a.k.a. our reality) and you wonder, who or what is more hideous?  The main character, Ben, or the rest of the scumbags?  And because Ben is so out-of-this-world, it gets you curious in finding out who he is and what he is.  But that is not all that “Ben in the World” has to offer.  Just when you thought you have seen it all and let your common sense anticipates how the storyline unfolds, you are vastly disappointed.  The storyline simply defies all expectations, fails to resolve the way you want it to be, and this frustration motivates you to make connection with the main character of the book and you wonder, who is more frustrated?  You or Ben?  And when you finish reading the very last sentence, it suddenly hits you.  It is you whom Doris Lessing is talking to.  It is you who should feel ashamed of being indifference to the less fortunate, physically and mentally challenged ones.

OK, I am ashamed of who I am.

I think what Doris Lessing does is witty.  Through the little actions and conversations of her characters, she invokes metaphors that aid self-reflection.  In “The Fifth Child”, the focal point is onto Ben’s family, especially his mother Harriet.  I must say while I view “The Fifth Child” as a story with a powerful plot that comes down to maternal love, unconditional love, I was greatly curious about what this abnormal child of Harriet really like.  What pleases him?  What does he want in life?  How does he perceive external environment?  Is he evil?  And “Ben in the World” picks up where “The Fifth Child” leaves off.  If the original story is about maternal love, unconditional love, I would say this sequel is about sympathetic love and desperation.

The last sentence of the book still lives vividly in my mind.  Oh God, I want to unread that.  PS. That sentence only makes sense if you read the book.

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Categories
J Pop Music Reviews

Yui Aragaki (新垣結衣) – Sora (そら) – Girlie Voice, Good Song Choice, But Doubtful Vocal Skill

Yui Aragaki (新垣結衣) - Sora (そら)

My potential borderline fetish to girls with girlie voice aside, if you intend to watch or have already watched “Sky of Love” and have 20 bucks to spare, there is no harm in getting the main actress’s debut album.  You may get to like the show a little bit better and who knows?  Perhaps you may even like this album a little bit better.

To be fair, there are quite a number of accomplished artists who have a pure and feather-like girlie (or child-like) voice.  Top of my mind, the Swedish jazz singer Lisa Ekdahl is one of my favorites.  Her interpretation of “Cry Me a River” bleeds hearts.  French singer Vanessa Paradis is another good example.  Her voice doesn’t change much since the “Joe le Taxi” days back when she was 14.  I am a huge fan of the Japanese singer songwriter YUI and she too has this characteristic voice of purity and innocence.

So, how does Yui Aragaki’s cute and lively voice match up?  The song choice for her debut “Sora” I must say is pretty good.  The songs are melodically memorable.  Yui Aragaki has contributed in the writing of the lyrics for two songs.  One of which “Heavenly Days” is featured in her movie “Sky of Love”.  If you like that song (see below), there is a high chance that you will like the entire album as the songs are pretty consistent.  And there is a high chance that you will repeatedly listen to the album like I do.

Song choice aside, the first comment from Cynthia was that Yui Aragaki is “pitchy”.  Perhaps my ears are pretty damaged by the years of exposure to the high pitch Japanese female voice or the sound of the heavy metal or both, it is hardly noticeable to me.  But I trust Cynthia’s ears more than mine.  On the brighter side, she did not complain that Yui Aragaki is too high pitch (like she always does whenever I put the J-pop music on).

“Sora” opened at number 3 in Oricon’s weekly ranking with moderate (or perhaps disappointing) sales of just over 100,000 within three weeks of debut.  I suspect the movie “Sky of Love” may help the album sales in some ways.  After all, there is no rationale when it comes to fan-based affection.

Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

The Fifth Child By Doris Lessing – Horror Or Tragedy? You Decide

The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing

Doris Lessing needs no introduction in my site (please refer to the previous entry).  I had one other book in mind when I visited the library last week but it was not available.  So I have decided to pick another book authored by Doris Lessing.  Spoilt by options, I chose a rather short novel (160 pages) – “The Fifth Child” – as well as its sequel “Ben in the World”.  The sequel was selected by pure chance.

Reading Doris Lessing reminded me of one of the literature values the famous Italian writer Italo Calvino promoted in his “Six Memos for the Next Millennium” – Quickness.  The pace of “The Fifth Child” is extremely fast especially for the first quarter of the book.  The two main characters – David and Harriet – fell in love, bought a huge mansion in London, had their first child, then second, then third, then fourth and in the same period, other family characters were introduced to paint a ‘happy’ and ‘cheerful’ environment for the couple who was determined to be happy and had as many children as possible – all within 40 of pages.

Then Harriet was pregnant with the fifth child.  And that is when the story turns into a tragedy.  This thing that was born has no better word to describe than perhaps, troll or goblin or medieval human being.  Doris Lessing’s subtle sensitivity shines through the passages of horror and shock that each character has to bear.  The ‘happy’ family was shattered, no longer lived in harmony, and there came the irrational actions of Harriet’s heroic struggle to love her son without reciprocation, against the will of her family.  Nobody would understand.  I too would not.  However, under Doris Lessing’s pen, Harriet’s unconditional, yet difficult, love towards this thing inspires the readers how powerful maternal love can be.  The feeling described is so real that, to me, it almost read as a horror story that I could not stop reading.

I have just started reading the sequel “Ben in the World”.  So far, it is even better than “The Fifth Child”.  If you have the stomach for this kind of novel, you may wish to give it a try.

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