Month: May 2008

Categories
Diary My Favorite

Mustafa – Every Mall Should Be Like This

My good friend Amie is leaving us this week and she asked if I could help her to transport this huge pan grill of, I assume, hers to home.  Sure, that’s what friends are for.  I often wonder what she does during the office lunch hours.  Had I know she grills meat all this while …

So she wanted to make a stop at Mustafa and buy something.  OK.  Cynthia’s not in town and I’d love to have a dinner partner.  Besides, it’s shopping!  How I LOVE shopping.  So I asked Amie how long she planned to stay at Mustafa.  Apparently, she is a regular resident there and knowing exactly what she wants, she said: 1 hour.  That’s all, I asked.  I really don’t mind to shop till the cow comes home.  Oh yes, I can be your best shopping partner.

Once I spun my car into the main street, guess who was I tailgating?  (OK, I exaggerated a bit.)  I recognized my movie buddy’s car plate!  So I stepped onto the accelerator, pulled up beside his car, gently tapped onto my car horn, and waved at him.  My buddy was so shocked that he didn’t even notice the pretty girl besides me.  Kekeke.  Evil me!

I am always fascinated by Mustafa and the area around Mustafa.  I was so enthusiastic that the waiter at Sakunthala took time to explain how I should eat my Tandoori chicken meal.  Eat with the first cup of curry first (spicy), and then eat with the second cup of soup (sour and salty), and last, eat with the third cup of watery yogurt (cool sour).  It worked!  I finished everything!  Delicious!  Amie laughed because I looked so much like a tourist.

How not to get excited by Mustafa?  Every mall should be like this.  The variety and the sheer quantity of what they are selling is enough to send a thrill down your spine!

First stop: pharmacy.  There are so many pills!  I read from the news that in America, they have discovered sex hormone amongst other prescription drugs inside the drinking water.  People take pills, people visit toilets, water get treated, water get passed back into the reservoir.

While waiting for Amie to do the things she did, I was staring at the tiny boxes of “Spanish Saffron”.  What the heck is saffron?!  Apparently saffron is a spice that is anti-carcinogenic (cancer-suppressing) and anti-mutagenic (mutation-preventing), amongst some other bizarre properties.  Saffron has a certain aroma and can be used to add a luminous yellow-orange coloring to foods.  Interesting, eh?

Next, we passed this huge machine and a guy said, “10 dollar per massage!”  Guess what?  It’s an aqua massage!  How strange.  You are supposed to lie on your back inside this capsule that covers your body with some waterproof blanket.  Then comes the jets of water that cover every inch of your body facing the sky.  Wow …

I found my childhood favorite soap Cussons Imperial Leather.  I seriously don’t recall seeing any of these in NTUC.  Maybe there are.  But I haven’t seen a ‘mountain’ of soap right before my eyes like the ones I saw in Mustafa.  Unfortunately I can’t buy just one piece.  And neither did my friend wish to share the cost.  Well, next …

There are weird brands of perfumes that (apparently from Paris) I have not heard of.  Like: “Do It”.  OK, that is my favorite motto at work and inside Mustafa, “Do It” is placed in a shelf together with all other ”˜sexy’ fragrance.  Uh-huh … maybe not.  Talking about sexiness, I was at the media section with walls and walls of DVDs and CDs – English, Hindu, and other languages.  There was this Indian DVD with a really sexy cover and a NC-16 sticker titled “Dance Attack”.  I guess it is a collection of music videos.  To earn a NC-16 sticker should mean that it has some really hot and steamy stuffs inside, right?  Maybe next time I shall return to Mustafa, alone … hehehe.

In fact, I was so enthusiastic and Amie asked: You came here before or not?  Ya, that one time.  But with a guide, it was a whole new experience.  There were model boats (nice!) that range from S$2.50 to around S$40 depending on size.  There were the whole bunch of Montblanc pens chucked inside a cheap display cabinet.  MONTBLANC pens!  The price tags go all the way to beyond a thousand bucks.  Cramped inside a cheap display cabinet!  Can you believe it?

I like the stationary section.  In fact, I wanted to buy some nice desk decorations for my family and friends.  OK, maybe it is a bit mushy ya?  I must have got Facebook overdosed and have a deep desire to send some real gifts to some real people for a change.  There is one with a very nice tag line: Dear friend, even if you go to hell, I am sure to follow you there.  But then again, I think, if my friends – touch wood – do go to hell, I am not too sure if I wish to follow.

Ha ha ha … technicality, technicality.

I said I didn’t know what Care Bears were and Amie said that I have no childhood.  I didn’t know that Frangipani is a flower and she was surprised (OK, I will read more books).  And when she held out a package named “Canopy” and I asked: What is a canopy?  She stared at me with her pair of big eyes and replied: You don’t know what canopy is?

I looked at the packaging and replied, “I know what canopy is (by looking at the picture) but I didn’t know what ‘canopy’ is (the English word)”.  She replied, “Some people use it for wedding, celebrations …”

Like a kid who just learned a new word, I repeated, “Canopy!”  Amie countered, “What cannot be?  People do use this for special occasions!”  “Canopy!”, somehow the word still fascinated me.  “It can be!” she reassured me.

Before we left this wonderful place called Mustafa where every 5 minutes there was an announcement asking a vehicle or motorbike to park somewhere else other than the disabled lot, my friend pointed at a long wooden stick and told me that Indians use that as a toothbrush.

“Cannot be!” I screamed (this time I really meant cannot be).  I took a mental note of the ingredient and after some research at home, I learned that Peelu is derived from the fibers of the Asian Peelu tree and for centuries, people have chewed its branches for preservative dental care.

*         *          *

You know, I really wanted to write a short blog entry tonight.  In fact, I planned to announce something else but that took a bit longer to complete than expected.  I think most readers may not have the stamina to digest every word I write and that is understandable because there are million other better things to do in the Internet such as Facebook, YouTube, and to visit the celebrity bloggers’ websites.  Maybe one day I shall master the art of writing just enough so as to suit a wider audience.

Meanwhile, to reward my loyal readers, here is one personal thought of mine to share with you.  Over the weekend, my NAD CD player that has been with me since 2000 has died on me (after I put one of my CDs on album and song repeat for the entire weekend).  I have not really appreciated this CD player of mine until I have to use my DVD player and HD DVD recorder as a music player.  The sound was so displeasing to my ears (too ‘bright’ and ear piercing) and all of a sudden, I do miss my inexpensive NAD CD player a lot.

Why didn’t I notice and appreciate the sound of my CD player till it broke down?  (To confirm that it’s not an illusion, this morning, my CD player sprang into action again and the sound is so much better.)

For days, one of the three fluorescent lamps in my bathroom stopped to work properly.  Hence for days, I was bathing in this ‘disco light’ ambiance and it hurt my eyes.  Not only that, I couldn’t kill those annoying flying flies as part of my daily ritual because of the light setting.  So tonight, I have decided to change the lamp.  All of a sudden, the room seemed so bright.  It seemed much brighter than any given day.  But the truth is, the room was not brighter than it was before that one lamp went into a disco mode.  Just that I did not notice how bright it was.

Why do we always take things for granted once we get used to what we have?

Time to give Cynthia a good hug when she comes back from her overseas business trip this week.

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews

Dance of the Dragon = 1/2 Star?! What Are You Smoking? Shoot the Scriptwriter If You Must

Com’on people.  Half-a-star and you buy that?  If someone is sending a DVD of this movie to me as a Christmas gift, I promise I will watch it before Easter (got to love that one critic I heard using cold turkey analogy though).  Putting “Dance of the Dragon” just half-a-star above Paris Hilton’s “Hottie and Nottie” is just wrong.  You hear that “The Straits Times”?  You’ve got to review your movie review framework.

Because this film has such a bad publicity in Singapore, none of my friends wish to watch this “trash”.  But from what I read in the Internet, there are people who enjoy watching this film.  People who are not just from Singapore, but Australia, Japan, and Korea.

So, why do the Singaporeans and the media dislike this production so much?  And what do I think of this film after watching it alone?  Here are some thoughts of mine.

  1. Cinematography – “Dance of the Dragon” is an art-house type of production.  It is meant to be a slow moving film.  The cinematography is beautiful.  Pay attention to the vibrant colors, the angles, and the composition of each frame.  That is art.  One scene, there is an old man practicing Tai Chi on a rooftop.  The fluidity of motion and contrasts with the lines against the backdrop.  Observe how his hands almost touch the lines in the background and never quite cross them.  There are scenes that are juxtaposed with independent plots that happen in different locations at the same time.  The dance scenes especially the one towards the ending, albeit a tad too short, move me.
  2. Soundtrack – The symphonic soundtrack, I think, supports the film and the scene development really well.  I am actually surprised by the quality as it is something that often overlooked in a non-Hollywood production.  For those who think that the music is too slow and boring, well, it is a slow moving film to start with.
  3. Script – If someone’s head needs to roll, that would be the scriptwriter.  What are you thinking?!  I think a lot of negativity stems from a poorly written script with poorly written dialogues and poorly written storyline.  It is an immature, unrealistic, and unnecessary piece of work.  Boo!
  4. Chemistry – The neither-here-nor-there love relationship between the characters can be quite frustrating to watch, especially for those of us who are so used to the dramas of the Korean, the Japanese, and the Hollywood.  Maybe Singaporeans are just not dramatic enough?  None of my Singaporean friends do seem to engage in some deeply passionate love affairs even to the extend of a suicidal love-me-or-I-will-die mentality like in Hong Kong (where I was born).  If it was up to me, I would totally rewrite the love story and put more at stake.  I would have the characters furiously kissing each other, being caught cheating, and being caught in a downward spiral fall into a love so strong that … you are going to cry.  That’s right.  Hire me, you hear me?
  5. A Theme – Horrible scriptwriting aside, “Dance of the Dragon” does have a consistent theme and it runs in parallel both with Jang Hyuk’s as well as Fann Wong’s character.  It is about dare to dream, pursue your dream, and it is not about wining but becoming the person you want to be.  Cool, no?
  6. The Cast (The Korean) – The Korean (heart-throb?) actor Jang Hyuk who made famous in the romance drama film Windstruck (2004) is certainly my favorite actor in this film.  He acts well in both the Korea portion as well as the Singapore portion of the story.  And he is charming!  OK, to be frank, I find his dance moves really stiff.  But then again, if you follow the storyline (at least the horrible scriptwriter gets this one right), it just says that he loves to dance and he dreams to be a dancer.  It never says that he is born with this natural talent that without any formal training, he is going to conquer the world.  Can I relate to this aspect of his character?  Certainly I can.  Certainly many people can.
  7. The Cast (The Singaporean) – OK.  Fann Wong speaks English can sound a bit odd.  Perhaps we are so used to Singaporeans speaking Singlish with the accents mixed with Chinese words and the lah.  I thought she has done better than what I have expected – proper English at least (again, refer to point 3 for bad lines).  Surely she would have done a much better job in Mandarin.  But her language aside, she looks celestial on the big screen.  Those dresses, and shoes, and even her hairstyling and make-up – immaculate.  Look, Fann Wong is not exactly a 18 years old and at her age, she is really stunning.  Do her tears move me?  Sure they do.  Does she look elegant?  Without a doubt.  Do I love her?  Absolutely!
  8. The Cast (The Chinese-American and Hawaiian descent) – Trained in Bruce Lee’s signature martial art Jeet Kune Do, I think Jason Scott Lee has added a dimension of authenticity to the film.  Granted that he should show more facets to his acting (again, please blame the scriptwriter) and you may only get to see a different side of him towards the end of the film, he has a role to play and given the circumstances, he plays it well.
  9. Authenticity – I didn’t know that dance moves can be documented and the film does provide me with a peep into the dancer’s world.  I read somewhere (from a Korean) that the Korean village scenes shot in Singapore is pretty authentic.  And how about the Singapore scenes?  Well, I must say there is a certain level of disconnection between the Central Business District outdoor shots (together with a sparkling new Comfort taxi) and the shots from the film set.  It is as though they are of a different decade.  I am OK with that.  Actually I am quite happy to see some local culture and traditions that unfortunately in a worldwide scale are giving way to the post-modernization and, to some countries, post-colonial era.

OK.  Now I feel a lot better.  Although “Dance of the Dragon” is far from being a classic, it is even further from that miserable unfounded 1/2 star rating.  I suspect that this film is going to do better in overseas, which is rather sad.  Seeing Singapore and a Singaporean actress on a big screen does give a lift to my heart.  Shouldn’t we all be just a tiny bit lenient on “Dance of the Dragon” rather than wearing our “not-bad-equals-to-pretty good” hats?

It’s an art-house movie.  Rate it as one if you must.

Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

Clive Barker – Mister B. Gone – How Open Is Your Open Mind? Can You Read A Book Backward?

Whether or not you will find “Mister B. Gone” rewarding hinges on whether or not you “get it“.  Since I am a responsible netizen, I am going to self-censor this entry with a NC-16 rating due to my personal views on homosexuality and religion.  Besides, why would we wish to expose readers younger than 16 years old to a book full of grotesque and evilness?

But I got it so I find “Mister B. Gone” not entertaining, not pleasant, but a rewarding read.  I am going to tell you what it is in just a bit without giving out spoilers that may affect your reading pleasure – that is if you still decide to read this book after you are through with this review.

Many people think that Stephen King is a master of horror stories.  Stephen King’s stories are not scary, the earlier work of Clive Barker are.  I have read all his 9 fictions up to “Everville”, which is where all the good stuffs stop.  I have read some of his recent works and they are not as inspiring.

I often find Clive Barker’s ideas original.  “The Thief of Always”, for instance, is a rather short story on someone stealing the “always” from the kids.  Imagine, things that “always” happen do not happen anymore.  How cool the idea is that?  I also like “The Great and Secret Show” and its sequel “Everville”.  I have even endured the close to 900 pages “Imajica” and loved it.

So, how do I find “Mister B. Gone” (year 2007, 256 pages, hardcover), a story of a demon who finds himself fished out of Hell and now walks the Earth?

It is known to the world that the author lives with his partner David Armstrong.  And to that end, I didn’t know what to feel when I discovered that the main character is perhaps a gay demon.  OK, it was not explicitly mentioned that the demon is gay but he is emotionally in love with another guy.  Bottom line is, for sure I can’t relate.  But I suspect another group of readers may be able to.

“Mister B. Gone” also makes reference to the Christian Gospel, the Vatican, the Pope, and the Archbishops and cast them into less than positive light.  Again, it is a formula that has been tried and used millions of times and the idea of a battle between the Angels and Devils is also not new.  At times I wonder what would an alternative reality be if someone replaces these ingredients with the Quran, the Ulama, and the Imam and writes the same storybook?  I think of Salman Rushdie (the book “The Satanic Verses”) and Geert Wilders (the short film “Fitna”).  And why does the Christian world so tolerance towards such a blaspheme?

Freedom of speech, I got it (though not totally agree with it).

Nothing is pretty inside “Mister B. Gone”.  Nothing pretty survives inside “Mister B. Gone”.  It is not a horror fiction.  It is more like a fiction of grotesque.  And it is written in such a strange way that this (gay) demon supposes to keep talking to you (as a reader) and begs you to burn the book.  He even threatens you, insults you, and makes you feel very uncomfortable to continue reading the book.  And why would anyone wish to continue reading a book that even the main character is far from lovable – an ugly, mutilated, evil albeit intelligence demon committing grievous crimes that make the World War II atrocities look mild?  Granted that the human counterparts within the plot are not doing things that we are proud of either.  But I wouldn’t philosophically read too much into that.

Enough of suspense.  So, what is it?  If you are observant enough, it may occur to you that the book is created backward based on one random sentence one character says.  I suspected that after I have spotted that tiny sentence and all of a sudden, the title of the book makes so much sense when you tie it back to the ending (at first I thought it was due to “Mister B. Be Gone”, which also makes sense as that line is taken from somewhere in the book).  Usually the author’s note of acknowledgement is at the beginning of the book right?  Guess where this note is?  And I often wonder why the author keeps repeating the key events of the story that happen in the past.  Now, I think if I read the book backward, section by section, I may still be able to follow the flow of events.

Isn’t that brilliant?  A book version of the Eagle’s song “Hotel California” (rumor has it that when played backward, there is a hidden message). 

To be frank, the last 6 pages of the book is very rewarding.  It does change your perception of the story in a big way provided that you can withstand 250 pages worth of torture – a torture not because the book is badly written, but because it is full of agonies and grotesque in graphical details, insults and verbal abuse to say the least.

Categories
J Pop Music Reviews

Utada Hikaru – Heart Station – Classic It May Not But What A Soulful Voice She Has!

If you have purchased Utada Hikaru’s latest album lately, you may wish to check if track 10 is truncated towards the end of the song.  The friendly assistant at HMV (Citilink) was ripping the plastic covers of more than 10 of her CDs open including a newer batch and an older batch and they all have the same problem.  In fact, I have not seen so many CDs ripped open right in front of my eyes in such a short time frame (obviously I don’t buy that many CDs at one go, ever).  The sight and smell of a whole stack of new CDs was enough to put me in a temporary state of euphoria.  Need not to say, since we could not find one that is not flawed, I returned my CD, paid S$1.05 (duh!), and got myself a S$20 HMV gift voucher instead.

Judging by the fact that “Heart Station” is still reigning over the HMV Japanese and Korean Chart, I suspect many may have bought this Malaysian pressed CD and thought that a truncated song #10 is as intended.  But it isn’t.  I headed over to the listening station at HMV Orchard and that one was OK.  Take it back for a refund or exchange (better check on the spot!) if yours is a defect like mine.  Strange to say, I was told that I was the first one returning the CD (I bought it quite some time ago) while all her “Heart Station” CDs in the shop seems defective.  What happens to all who bought the disc?  I have no clue. 

I have still yet to catch the Utada fever (perhaps it is heating up somehow) purely because a number years ago, in retaliation of my fanatic support for the – in Cynthia’s own words – ear-piercing Ayumi Hamasaki, she has joined the Utada camp.  Immature we are, I know.  Besides, they both have different styles.  Utada is more Pop / R&B while Ayumi is perhaps more Pop / Rock?  But Cynthia and I have been … rivals ever since.  She would join the Justin camp and I would pick Justin’s ex-girlfriend Britney (!) instead.

To put things in perspective, the first album released by the then-16 years old New York born singer songwriter still holds the record of the most copies ever sold in Japan (close to 8 millions).  And her “Single Collection Vol. 1” remains as one of my top picks within my Japanese CD collection.

Perhaps I am still very hung up with her classic hits like “Automatic”, “Addicted To You”, and “Wait & See”, her subsequent releases don’t quite hit my spot.  So how does “Heart Station” measure up?

I think “Heart Station” leaves a deeper impression on me than her previous one, “Ultra Blue”.  Her voice, I must say, sound a lot better than her earlier work.  I love the improvisation and the soulfulness.  I especially like her lower register that is uncommon amongst her Japanese peers.  There are some songs within the album that I absolutely love such as “Fight the Blues”, “Heart Station”, “Beautiful World”, “Celebrate”, and “Prisoner of Love”.  There are also some songs towards the end such as 「ぼくはくま」 and 「虹色バス」 that I don’t think I really get it.  What a strange way to end an album.

A melody filled song crafting effort with chunks of surprisingly interesting arrangement is probably one of the reasons why I enjoy listening to this album.  She may not have the stage presence like other mega J-pop stars (I also owned one of her live DVD) but she does have the voice and a list of enviable accomplishments in the past 9 years of her music career.

It has been quite a difficult task to find a video of hers that I can feature here.  The closest one I can get is one anime made by a fan.  Pretty good actually.

Categories
Experience Sharing

Audio Effect: Compressor!

My friends at Facebook know that I have been working on this rather mammoth article on “Audio Compression for Beginners” for days.  The reasons why I am always so passionate towards sharing what I’ve learned are simply twofold – one is rather selfish and one is not.

  1. Nearly all of us who use the Internet regularly use it to search for some information, opinions, or knowledge.  Most of the stuffs in the Internet are written by ordinary folks who do it as a hobby.  Since I’ve been at the beneficiary end for so long, it is only right to contribute whenever, whatever I can.  Besides, someone has to populate, right?
  2. I believe that if I have already spent X number of hours to learn a new skill, spending an extra Y number of hours writing what I’ve learned and share with others forces me to internalize what I’ve absorbed and challenges me to question myself what I’ve learned.  Besides, I sincerely hope that my this website lasts longer than any paper notes and electronic files I have at hands so I can always refer to what I’ve learned.

So, why would anyone care about audio compression besides ooo’ing and aah’ing on my article that is equivalent to my 5 days worth of blog materials packed with over 30 diagrams including a hand drawn illustration that looks like a blueprint of some NASA secret weapons?

Well, it is a skill that helps to make your audio recording sounds professional.  Very much like what the airbrush does to all those photos of the models in the magazines, the gravy and garnish on your main course, and the make-up you wear before your big date.  You’ll need that for your Podcast, video editing, and music recording.  Why?  Because without audio compression, the sound appears to be thin and soft; because you want your home video to not only look but also sound like a Hollywood blockbuster; and because with a touch of technology, your band sounds much better than when you play live – pretty much like most of the bands in the world.

And perhaps you are just curious and wondering what I have been obsessing with these days.  Go on.  Just click it.

Continue to read: Audio Compression for Beginners: Setting Compressor Threshold, Ratio, Knee, Attack, Release, and More.

Categories
Memorable Events

These Are The Days That Put A Smile To My Face

Check out the McGraw-Hill website!  Tons of people to thank (yes, you loyal readers too!) especially the one who trusted me with the opportunity and those who are so enthusiastically supportive during this rather long but excitingly hush-hush journey.  You know who you are!

I know it’s a tiny little baby step.  But still …

Categories
Fragments of My Dreams

Fragments Of My Dreams Episode 9 – Ghost Ship And Phantom Plane

Fragment of my dream

May 1 – Somewhere in my Dreamland – Day

I gather that I must be a small fry inside a battle ship.  It does not take long for me to realize that my work revolves around cleaning and filing.  A kind of small fry that everyone knows (when they need something) yet nobody sees (when I need someone to talk to).  It also does not take long for me to recognize that I have this platonic admiration towards the ship commander – a fine slender fair lady with a face of an angel and a gaze that says nothing (when I busy thinking) yet says it all (when I stop thinking).

I think I am happy working in that ship.  The job is manageable and now that the ship is docked at a small town by the sea, we stay at a modern oriental hotel that adjoins a hospital.  I gather that it must be wartime because from time to time, I see injured soldiers carried into the hospital.  Some with half the body gone screaming in pain.  I hear that there is a plague going on too.  Outside.  Somewhere out there.

It is a different world inside the hotel.  There is not much work at the ship as we are awaiting for further instructions from the Empire.  Hence, there are lots of social gatherings – at the lobby and at our own bedrooms.  How strange it is that on one side of the building – the hotel – there is romance and life in the air.  On the other side of the building – the hospital – there is despair and death at every corner.

One day, we are summoned by our ship commander for a briefing on a recent re-org.  A re-org directive from the Empire?!  I miss the briefing and bump into the commander at one corner of the deck later the day.  She – more human than ever – appears to talk to me (or to herself?) and says, “Can you believe it?  I belong to the same rank as the map readers and the navigators in this new re-org.  A rank 3?!”.

She sighs and I dare not ask what rank 1 and 2 are, set aside where I am in this new organizational chart.

Under the Empire’s instruction, our battle ship is slated to set sail.  The war and the plague have taken the toll on the crew.  As I step inside the ship, there are hardly any people left.  Instead, the ghosts of the dead have returned and carry on their assigned duties, as it was in the good old days.  The ship has to return to battle.  And soon, there will only be ghosts left inside.

May 2 – Also Somewhere in my Dreamland – Night

I gather that I must be a student, in black uniform.  It does not take long for me to realize that I do have friends whom I hang out with often.  I have no clue which century I am at as I rely on my horse to get from A to B.  We study in the evening, with burning candles.  There is a big gig in the Capital, at a stadium, and all the citizens will be there to attain an event with such a grandeur.  Posters and flyers are everywhere.

Days ago I asked my best friend if he wished to go and he said no.  I kept asking each day and the reply has stayed the same.  Today, it is too late to start the journey to the Capital for we both stay somewhere far away.

I hear horse steps outside my house, and then silence.  Greeted at my doorway are my best friend and another two friends of mine – a boy and a girl.  “Grab your horse and let’s go!” my best friend exclaims.

“But we are too late for the gig!” I replies.

Before I can protest, I am dragged out of my own home and he hands me my horse and says, “Follow me”.

Four of us ride through the woodland and in an unexpected opening, I see a small plane.

“A plane,” I inquire.  “That’s right.  Take your horse with you too.  We can all fit into that plane.”  “Who’s flying,” I ask.  “You,” he replies.

Ya right.  I know nothing about flying the plane.  Miraculously, all four of us together with our horses manage to squeeze into the small plane and absurd as it sounds, I am at the pilot seat.

The first thought that comes into my mind is that I should have played a flight simulator game at least once in my life (which century am I in again that has computer games?!).

Through some random pressing of buttons and some instinct with a large portion of luck, the plane takes off.  Everybody is screaming in joy.  Yes, we are going to make it to the gig of the year!

As our plane circles around the well lit stadium (by what, torch fire?), we see the crowd cheering for us.  Now, how the heck do I land this thing?!  But before I can worry about landing, the entire plane has gone dead.  It has lost all its power and is plunging towards the ground.

Strangely, no one seems scared.  At that very moment, so close to death, there is a sense of serenity.  We are all smiling (except me perhaps who is still trying to resurrect the plane).  Time seems to have frozen.  For all we know, we are all dead inside the plane as life and death fades in and out of each other.

We fall, and fall.

And at the last moment, the plane jerks into motion.  I grab the handle and the last thing in my mind is …

I will play a flight simulator game at least once when I wake up from this dream.

Categories
Hip Hop R&B Music Reviews

Kat DeLuna – 9 Lives – Mad Vocals But Flawed Album Execution

Once in a blue moon, I do come cross great vocalists whom even from one of my least favorite genres – in this case Hip Hop R&B – I just have to dig it and own the album.  A bilingual and an opera trained, this 20 years old singer songwriter of Dominican Republic does have a recorded voice that reminds me of Shakira (especially with that Spanish touch), Mariah Carey (Kat is said to have a 5-octave range), and for some of the songs when she belts out the ending notes – Celine Dion.

However, that is what we hear from the CD.  I have been doing some research on DeLuna’s live performance and much like my favorite Hip Hop star Rihanna, there is a certain gap between live acts and what is being recorded.  But wait a minute, you may ask.  What are you smoking and who are you comparing these artists with?

Think Beyoncé Knowles and I shall rest my case.

Some of you may be familiar with Kat Deluna’s first dance hit “Whine Up”.  The album “9 Lives” does have some really great tracks but it also has some tracks that I utterly hate.  So if you take away the 3 bonus tracks that are the Spanish version of the hit songs from the same album, take away the very first track that is more like an unnecessary intro, and the two songs that can do without – “Am I Dreaming” and “Animal” – the album is only left with 8 solid tracks.  The record company has decided to re-release “9 Lives” this time with Akon‘s involvement.  Supposedly, “Am I Dreaming” was slated to be the 2nd single.  They soon postponed this idea and released “Run the Show” instead.  Smart choice I must say.  “Run the Show” has the “Whine Up” touch and to be frank, not even artist like Akon is going to save the track that shouldn’t be there.

My grievances to the album execution aside, those 8 tracks are pretty rare finds and these energy charged tracks should be more than enough to give you the extra boost in the morning before you head to work.  Click here to view the video of “Run the Show”.  If you can purchase track-by-track, do so instead.

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Iron Man – Quite Possibly My Favorite Superhero

For the short attention span readers of my site, if you wish to watch a tiny extra clip of the movie that most people may miss, defy the urge to leave the theatre when the end credits start rolling.  Stay till the very end for a tiny reward.  Now, that’s all you need to know.  Go book the movie and enjoy because I know you want to.

Singaporean viewers (or Asians in general) don’t seem to have the patience to stay for the end credits.  We are in such a hurry to go somewhere else.  Same thing happens for the concerts.  Even before the cheering is over, some will start to leave the seats.  (And dare I say same thing happens in Churches as well?)  In UK and France – where I spent quite some time there watching movies – most audience sit back and stay till the very end of the show.  I do enjoy this “unwinding” process – to listen to the theme songs, to pick up some trivia, or even to find out who sing or play a particular song, and to be reassured that no animals were harmed during the filming process.  If you have already invested 2 hours watching “Iron Man”, what’s another 5 to 10 minutes to you?

I had no clue what “Iron Man” is as I seldom read Western comic books.  Turns out that Iron Man is not as far fetched as some other superheroes nor the story is as stupid as: now I wear my spectacles so you can’t recognise me.  In fact, what I really like is that the main character Tony Stark makes no effort to hide who he is, or what he does.

Nearly all whom I talked to were (or still are?) unhappy with the casting.  Why Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow?  Gwyneth Paltrow only has a small part to play in this first installment of a trilogy so I wouldn’t want to over-analyse on “Why Gwyneth?”.  I personally think she fits quite well comic-book-wise as the blonde slender assistant who is efficient and sort of indifference to her billionaire boss’s rather colorful dating life.  I mean, I can so see her living inside a comic book.

But why Robert Downey Jr.?  As an audience, I have this love and hate relationship with Downey Jr.  I first noticed him in my favorite TV drama Ally McBeal.  Love his acting performance and that particular scene when he played the piano and sang – still lives vividly in my mind.  He did release an album that he wrote and I was tempted to buy (maybe I shall).  I hate that such a talented actor and musician’s career has to be interrupted by his lapses due to substance abuse.  This history of substance abuse, I believe, is also one of the reason why he is chosen as the Iron Man – a plot that will unfold in this trilogy.

Iron Man/Tony Stark does have a somewhat complex character mix.  A billionaire who carries himself well in front of the public media, a charmer to the ladies, a humorous geek (or technology freak, I mean genius), and a very tough guy – with or without his Iron Man suit.  To me, Robert Downey Jr. scores well in all departments.  From what I read, he has added his personal touch to carry the character well beyond the scripts given with added humors.

Special effects are stunningly and realistically beautiful.  From the holographic computer screens (reminds me of the film “Minority Report”), to that sickly detailed Iron Man suit that has equally sick animated moving parts, to the flying motion, explosion, and hand going into the human body (how?!) – all these effects and more guarantee to make you go wow.  “Iron Man” has tons of in-film advertisements as well such as Audi, LG, and even Bvlgari.  The same S$500,000 car that Tony Stark drives is the exact same model (and color I think) as the one now on display right in front of the UOB Centre in Singapore.

The world audience is raving about “Iron Man”.  You may too.  I am eager to see what the other two installments will be like.  Perhaps Tony Stark and his assistance Pepper finally falls in love in the next episode and he dies saving the world (or Pepper) in the last episode?  We shall see.

PS. Daredevil is quite possibly another superhero of my favorite.

Categories
Jamming Session

5 Gemstones – Journal Of Our Studio Jamming Session In Facebook Style (Sort Of)

[Opal]  Now that our drummer’s new baby has safely landed on Planet Earth and our lead guitarist has officially signed his bachelor life away, it is time for our band to come out of this 5-month hiatus and do something.  Just anything.

[Sapphire]  Do I have imaginary friends?  Of course I do.  Everybody do.  I have one who must begin each sentence with his name.  Way before Facebook’s time.  That’s why I don’t find Facebook’s “status updates” function that odd.  For those who are new to Facebook, a journal written in Facebook status update style would look something like [ruby] below.

[Peridot]  As exciting as [opal] can be, I have started a side project with our drummer to transform one new song of mine from our band’s signature rock style to something that sounds somewhat trance, somewhat electronica.  Hopefully, I can package the journey from songwriting, to demo, to a trance version, to finally a rock version in several episodes of Podcast-like materials.  Don’t get too excited yet.  I have yet too many side projects that don’t quite take off.  But still, we shall continue to dream, right?

[Aquamarine]  Prince turned into a love symbol in 1993.  Ayumi Hamasaki has a symbol that pronounced as “A”.  I too want a symbol.  If you look closer at the image above, there are two “dots” on the right side of “W”.  Well, there are no t’s to cross but I do have 2 i’s to dot.

[Ruby]  Now comes the Facebook style updates:

  •  seriously needs to return to his weight lifting ritual and is not happy that his brand new curl bar set is now a white elephant!  He nearly collapsed on the street while carrying his (heavy) guitar and Cynthia’s (equally heavy) bass across 3 blocks of street!
  •  was as disappointed as Cynthia when he realized that the knobs of the bass got oxidized and couldn’t be played due to the fact that she hardly plays her bass!  The replacement bass guitar provided by the studio is just not good.  Boo!
  •  likes Stone Jamz – the music studio at the other end of Boat Quay.
  •  loves the new toy that nearly got taxed by the Malaysia Custom.  His band can now have the sessions decently and conveniently recorded (4 channels!) for after-session review.
  •  is slightly demoralized by the recording.  His vocal track is horrendous!  And the band needs a lot more practice.
  •  is excited (again, so easily?!) as our next jamming session is set on the week of May 12!  Time to give Stone Jamz a call.
  • ‘s clock says 4.45 am right now and he feels really hungry.  Could someone send him a Big Breakfast – the real one and not the virtual one from Facebook please?