Author: Wilfrid

Categories
Foreign Movie Reviews

Once In A Summer – A Sad, Sad Korean Movie

The excerpt of the movie’s synopsis says “A beautifully-shot, heart-warming love story … as the summer drew to a close, the couple faced a challenge to their willpower.” I picked “Once In A Summer” because of the words “heart-warming love story”. Over our quick dinner, Cynthia asked what we were watching. You see, the “penalty” of rejecting my call due to a business meeting is that you will have no idea what you get yourself into. Korean, I answered. Oh no, she responded. Don’t worry, it’s not a tear jerking movie, I reassured her. How wrong I was. The words “heart-warming love story” should have been replaced by “heart-wrenching love story”. I kid you not. At the end of the movie, I gave my Movie Review Squad a how-would-I-know expression. “It’s a Korean movie! What do you expect?!”, both Cynthia and Tong Kiat chuckled at my apparent ignorance.

“Once In A Summer” has prompted me to read up a little bit on the history of South Korea. Apparently after World War II, American and Soviet troops had occupied the southern and northern halves of Korea. In 1960, a student uprising in South Korea led to the resignation of president Syngman Rhee, whose government had become autocratic and corrupt. I suspect the movie is set before this historical event when the students were gathering their forces from various parts of the country. (See footnote on amendment.)

Suk-young (Lee Byung-hun), one of the students who found refuge in a remote village where he met the beautiful Jung-in (Su-Ae). Without giving out any spoiler, “Once In A Summer” is less on Suk-young’s journey in finding out what happened to his first love years after (again, from synopsis) and more on how these two people fell in love and faced the political challenges of that time.

It is a beautifully filmed movie and I am especially impressed with the set and costumes that the actors wore that give you a convincing movie that happened in the old days. Acting-wise, oh well, Cynthia must have poured out 1 litre of tear until she has missed out some of the plots because she was too busy crying (direct quote). Lee Byung-hun is not new to me (who can forget his performance in JSA – Joint Security Area?) but Su-Ae is. All I can say is that she can really act out a sad, sad movie.

Overall a good movie for those who love this genre of movie. Below is the official trailer. I have also found a soundtrack of the movie. However, if you plan to watch the movie, you may wish to watch it later as it probably gives out too much spoiler (click here to view).

Edit: Now I do recall that the movie does make a reference to Moon Landing and hence, the story is set in the year of 1969 when Armstrong first landed the moon. The 1960 uprising as above-mentioned refers to the installation of the Second Republic of South Korea. Hence, if the movie does follow the history, it is the Third Republic era when the government sought to reduce political activism by the college students through several educational reforms.

Related Site: Official Movie Site for Once In A Summer.

Categories
My Hobbies Oil Painting

My 1st Oil Painting – Fruits and Wine (2007)

Click here to enlarge

Trivia Quiz: What activity can be messy in nature, requires lots of paper towels, yet fun and enjoyable, and with a scent that can make you go high the longer you do it?

Answer: Oil Painting, that is!

Well, this is it. My very first oil painting (click onto the picture to take a closer look). At the back of my head, I know one day I will regret on posting something so amateurish in my website. However, true to what my website is about – where good things are meant to be shared – I am exciting to share with you what I have learnt so far.

(Quick look at how this painting compares to the real setting)

When I first told people around me that I wish to do oil painting, I have some interesting responses. Mark, for instance, thinks that I can do it because he has seen some of the doodles I have posted in my site. I think he has more confidence in me than I have with myself. Tong Kiat is more pragmatic. He suggested watercolour instead as the medium of oil painting can be smelly. Breathing in too much of it can get people high. Turned out that his sister has painted in oils before and he even knows someone who can be the critic – as I cannot afford a tutor – for merely S$20. A friend of mine (better not write her name down) even volunteered to be a live model. Again, amazing confidence she has in me. And Cynthia’s response can at times be flattering as she thinks that whatever comes out of my hands are good.

Took me nearly an hour to unpack all the stuffs and set up my oil painting studio. The entire set, including the brand new lamp that I got it from Ikea today for S$19, costs me just over S$200 and I think it is a worthwhile investment. This first oil painting of mine titled “Fruits and Wine” took me 1.5 hour to paint and am definitely looking forward to my next one. The books I have read all suggested to paint something simple as a beginner because success breeds success. I guess I just wish to skip the boxes and single fruit for now.

Click here for my oil painting “gallery”.

Categories
Silly Me

1 Litre of Blood (A Visit To My Dentist)

You've been warned!

Yesterday, my dentist’s assistance called if I wished to have a routine checkup. Impressed by the proactiveness of my dentist, I promptly agreed to a 9.30am appointment. The truth is, I am still traumatised by my “routine” extraction of my wisdom tooth back in 2003 that took like an hour till Doctor Goh was exhausted and about to call in another dentist as an emergency.

Four years have passed and the clinic now equips with a large LCD TV that shows the X-Ray results instantly. The patient records are stored in a server and the good doctor now has a tablet PC with him. After all the greetings and long-time-no-see, I told him that I currently do not have a dental benefit. So, need not to say, all the cosmetic and non-essential procedures are out. He asked if I have seen other dentists and I told him that I have not. He took a closer look at the X-Ray results and said: Good news! No cavity. Just polishing and scrapping. I almost leaped in joy and screamed: Yay!

The polishing has a salty aftertaste. The scrapping though, I felt like time has frozen. Before the start of scrapping, Doctor Goh has already warned me that this could be “sensitive”. Working from the inner side of my teeth at the lower jaw – right to left, then the outer side, and then the same for my upper jaw, I had an image of a download progress bar right on top of my head. After a 12.5% completion, Doctor Goh announced that he has to up the power of the scrapper to 10 and asked me to protest if the pain was too much (like I could with all the tubes inside my mouth). “Uh-oh, this is going to hurt,” I thought to myself and true enough, the “download progress bar” moved a bit faster but the pain was barely bearable. From time to time, the good doctor asked if I was okay and I bet he couldn’t see the tears behind the shade that I was asked to wear. When he scrapped the inner side of my upper jaw, I felt drops of hot blood dripped onto my tongue. What a gruesome sight. No wonder the nurse did not look too happy.

I have no idea how much blood I have shed during the procedure, right after the procedure, and even now. I met up with Mark for lunch and I couldn’t even chew the meat inside the porridge. Just before I left the operation room, Doctor Goh looked at me proudly and said that not many patients can withstand that level of pain. I looked at him with my teary eyes and said: sure, it was like a good massage. Then he gave me some good advice. If I am to see him more often, the scrapping will not be that traumatising.

Uh-huh …

Categories
Experience Sharing My Hobbies Oil Painting

First Experience With Oil Painting

Consultants are as such: we try to learn something fast, repackage the information, and sound as though we know the topic in depth. As you can see, my first oil painting is still amateurish and this article is definitely not about how-to-paint-oils. But rather a sharing of the fun experience I have when I temporary converted the common bedroom into a humble painting studio.

As shown in the picture above, I have a humble setup painting from “life”. To give you a better appreciation of what are the items for, I have created two larger images with some labels on them.

An easel is a stand that holds a canvas or a board. Traditionally, easels are made of wood. I chose a modern folding one. If you pay attention, easels are commonly used in the shopping malls for advertisement.

Since I am not going to spend an insane amount of cash to paint on canvas, I use oil painting tablet and have it stuck onto a board with double-sided tape. A good light source is important because light brings out the colours of the subject. I made a simple view-finder (aspect ratio must be maintained) to help me in sketching.

I have oiled my palette with linseed oil before first use and guess what? I oiled the wrong side. Moving on, we have the paints and lots of brushes. Dippers are the small tiny containers to hold the turpentine (to make the paint thinner) and linseed oil (to thicken the paint). Paper towels are useful in cleaning the brushes between colour switching. Some paint with a palette knife while for me, as of now, I use it to scrap the paint off the palette at the end of the painting session.

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews

Clerks 2 – Humour With Characters You Grow To Care

Spoilt by a good number of potentially entertaining movies now showing, my Movies Review Squad saved me the headache and picked “Clerks 2” (Me: Why Clerks 2? Him: It’s funny … Me: Ah-huh. Him: … and it is rated R(A). Me: ON!). “Clerks 2” is a sequel to a 12 years old movie, full of at times gross jokes and at times jokes based on the current entertainment news, and with characters you grow to care as the story unfolds.

Bulk of the movie is set in and around a fast food restaurant in one day – Dante Hicks (Brain O’Halloran)’s last day of work leaving his best friend Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson), his boss-cum-friend Becky Scott (Rosario Dawson), and New Jersey behind for a new life. “Clerks 2”, suffice to say, tells a story of friendship, romance, and dreams in life all mixed with 80% jokes and trash talking and 20% quality dialogues between the characters. Many comedies leave the audience nothing when they walk out of the theater (somehow “Hitch” came into my mind). There are something about these characters that make them stick into your mind after the movie ends.

Related Link: Clerks 2’s Behind The Scene Clips.

Categories
Book Reviews Non-Fiction

A Review of Books of Oil Painting For Beginners

Sunflower by Louise DeMore

It is beautiful oil paintings like the one on the left that inspire me to pick up this new hobby (“Sunflower” by Louise DeMore). I have a belief that every hobby needs 10 years to mature and to turn into something more serious. If you pick up guitar as a hobby today and keep practicing it on a regular basis, 10 years later you should have decent skill to please a crowd (if that is the case, please come back to this site and tell me that I was right). Same theory applies. If I pick up oil painting now, in my 40s, my friends should be proud of hanging my paintings in their homes. By 50s, people may start collecting my paintings. Who knows?

Smart readers of my website must be asking: is this guy for real? It may not look very real right now but between you and me, I have already invested more than S$160 into acquiring all the basic stuffs that I need to start painting oils (as of now, I wonder if Cynthia has discovered the large painting board, bags of equipment, and an … easel – all hiding inside the common bedroom). I still have not created my first oil painting yet and to tell you the truth, it is a bit scary – given the fact that I hated art classes at school.

One of my friends insists that art in general (including music) cannot be taught. It is either you have the talent or you don’t have it. You may get a teacher to get you going with the basic but the rest will depend on your talent no matter how hard you practice or train. I wish to follow one of the painter’s philosophy – “Don’t worry about talent; it means nothing without perseverance”.

In his recent interview by the Reader’s Digest, Will Smith said: Give me the book, and I do not need somebody to stand up in front the class. I am no Will Smith but I am happy to start off my new hobby with tons of books I have borrowed from the National Library. If you wish to start painting oils, you may wish to get hold of some of the books listed below. One thing I noticed as I moved from one book to another is that there may be contradicting teaching points. Some prefer to use pencil to create a draft and some give reasons why not to do it. Some prefer to use diluted black colour as the underpaint and some say otherwise. Even for brushes, different painters have their preferences. Some are more the old school type while others encourage you to start painting before you learn how to draw. Some insist that all painting must be modelled after real life objects or subjects while some use photographs or even imagination. Of course, another advantage of absorbing multiple books at one go is that there are bound to be some techniques that one author penned them down in details while others did not.

Painting Oils (First Step Series) by Louise DeMore

A wonderful book with examples relatively simple enough to demonstrate the techniques. I especially like her 5-step approach in completing any kind of painting. She likes to use warm colour a lot and the examples look even beautiful to look at. What I like about the book too is that the examples given seems achievable for even beginners to attempt. The author seems to have lots of experience in teaching students.

Oils by Peter John Garrand

Garrand’s book has some interesting tips that others may have missed out such as how to look after the brushes and how to stack the canvases amongst others. The examples though are not that easy to follow. His teaching more encourages people to start painting and go back to drawing techniques if you find that you cannot improve anymore.

Oils for the Beginner by Alwyn Crawshaw

One of the best narration, very well explained, and I felt motivated just by reading the words. Lots of useful information and seemingly achievable examples. Crawshaw has lots of passion and experiences in painting.

You Can Paint Oils by Linda Birch

Beautifully written for absolute beginners. The steps are clear and the example are simple enough. Perhaps Birch has illustrated many children’s books besides teaching painting and drawing, she tends to teach drawing from imagination (compares to others who paint based on a real setting).

Oils by Patricia Seligman

Although this book belongs to the “Step by Step Art School” series, it is definitely not for beginners. Even some of the techniques seem unconventional. The examples, though, are professionally beautiful. One example even gives a “paper-folding” effect on an oil painting. In no way I am going to draw those examples in the very near future, I am sure.

Oil Painting for Beginners by Francisco Asensio Cerver

I bought this book at Kinokuniya because first, it didn’t cross my mind that I can borrow oil painting books from the library and second, it is relatively affordable (S$15.65). It turns out to be a good buy as it is packed with information and examples. And it is always a good idea to have a book within reach to refer to at all time for beginners.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Daughtry – One of My Favourite “Idol” Album

Thank God. Finally an English album review, and not only that, but also a male artist to grace my website. New readers of my site must have thought that I only listen to Japanese female artists’ music (which unfortunately Koda Kumi will be my next review target as Norah Jones’s new album is a major let down to me).

Chris Daughtry may have disappointed the “America Idol” viewers that he only got to as far as being a semi-finalist, his eponymous debut rock album that he has written and co-written doesn’t. The first week sales of “Daughtry” has beaten the American Idol winner Taylor Hicks’s eponymous debut album.

“Daughtry”‘s opening track “It’s Not Over”, also the first single, is a good representation of what the album overall sounds like. Well crafted verses, memorable chorus, and a twisting bridge. The song is written by Daughtry and several others including Brett “Ace” Young who was also an “Idol” contestant. Daughtry has opened a poll in their band website letting their fans to pick their second single. The fourth track of the album “Over You” happens to be both the fans’ pick as well as the band’s. Personally, I wish they would have picked something different from the first single. Perhaps a slow ballad like “Breakdown” that is solely written by Daughtry himself or the last track “What About Now” would have been nice. Interestingly, Slash is featured in one of the track “What I Want”. The track is a bit short (less than 3 minutes) but is a good one to listen to. “There And Back Again” stands out as my favourite (and not necessary yours) because it is unique. The opening rift and the subsequent melody sounds like the new “Metallica” meets “Puddle of Mudd”/”Nickelblack”.

Music-wise, the sound of the album definitely reminds me of “Puddle of Mudd” and “Nickelblack”. The strength of the album, I would say, is Chris Daughtry’s gifted voice as well as the accessibility of the melody (read: radio-friendly which some of you may see as a major weakness).

There is nothing ground breaking in “Daughtry”. It is yet another “Idol” album that you will keep playing again and again in your leisure time.

Categories
Diary

My Scorecard Results for Jan 2007

It is time to tally up the score and see how I am doing in the month of January based on the targets I have set at the beginning of the year. I know, some friends of mine are a bit concerned over how well this tool is going to help me in reaching my goals. One friend of mine feels that it is not the scorecard but because I have more will power this year to accomplish what I set out to do. Whilst it is true that I need the will power to get things done, having a easy-to-remember scorecard helps me to stay focus day after day.

Scorecard results are often visually presented by the “traffic light system” (green is good, yellow is average, and red is bad). There are thousands and one ways to compute and present scores. I am a simple man. If I miss the target, I get a zero. If I hit the target, I get a 5 (hence nothing in between 0 and 5). If I reach the stretched target and beyond, I get a 10. Anything in between the target and stretched target I proportionate the score. As for the “traffic light system”, I use the 5-band descriptors and 3-colour coding system (click here to see). This is commonly used in places such as Metacritic.com.

I have made some minor revision to the original scorecard. Since I am not pursuing a career at present, I drop that measurement. In time to come, I believe “net revenue generated” may be a better replacement. Also, based on my current financial situation, I revised down the traveling budget. As for the “home cooked food” measurement, getting a percentage is tedious as at times we do cook lunch during weekends (original measurement was targeted at dinner time). So I opt for a number instead. Besides, it is a lot easier to count this way. I have also revised down my “return on total saving” target because in reality, it is pretty hard to hit that 5% to 8% given how unsound my financial management is.

Lesson learnt from the operation perspective is that data collection at times can be a challenge. Sometimes I forgot if I have already registered the progress. One easy way to solve it is that each time I write down a piece of information, put a simple descriptor to it. For instance, I may have … +1 pasta, +1 pork, +1 fish, +1 beef … for my “home cooked food” measurement. And I may have … +0.5 jog, +0.75 swim, +0.5 dumbbells … for my “exercise hours”. It saves me a lot of time that way.

In the month of January, I have missed my “exercise hour” by 2 hours. I don’t think it is a big issue. And all thanks to the New Year celebration or otherwise, I would have zero hangover. “Gaming hour” is a surprise to me because I really did not think I can achieve that stretched target … given the fact that I did buy World Of Warcraft’s Expansion. Pretty amazing will power there.

Looking ahead, I have a Melbourne trip planned for this Chinese New Year so my half-yearly “traveling budget” target is settled. I have planned out something “extraordinary” to do in Q2 (2nd quarter) and Q4. Now I need to scrach my head to think of what to do in Q1. Chucked half of my saving into a 2.65% fixed deposit. It is a far cry from the yearly “return on saving” target. Time to do some readings and talk to my friends who are good at managing their money. As for the quarterly “public performance” target, I have more or less memorised 5 of my songs. One of which has reached the “gold” standard (consistently able to perform with minor not-too-noticeable mistakes) while the rest are at “silver standard (noticeable mistakes at times). Once they reach the “platinum” standard, I am ready to perform. Hopefully that will be before end of March (Cynthia keeps asking me to book the venue and Jason keeps offering to jam with me on stage!). Last but not the least, I still do wish to publish a book or two. Somehow, the two books that are supposed to be collaborated with two of my friends kind of slowed down a bit. However, I have already drawn out the character map for a story that I wish to write on my own. Now I need to plan out the events. I have 3 so far and target to have at least 12.

Category Measurement Frequency Target Stretched Target Result Score
Life Traveling Budget Utilised Half-yearly S$2,000 S$3,000 n/a n/a
Life No. of Extraordinary Projects Quarterly 1 2 n/a n/a
Health Exercise Hours Monthly 8 10 6 0
Health No. of Home Cooked Dinner Monthly 15 20 16 6
Money Return of Total Savings Quarterly 3% p.a. 5% p.a. n/a n/a
Hobby No. of Public Performance Quarterly 1 2 n/a n/a
Hobby No. of Books Published Yearly 1 2 n/a n/a
Habit No. of Hangover Monthly 2 0 1 7.5
Habit No. of Gaming Hours Monthly 40 30 28.5 10
Categories
Diary

I Have Decided To Gain Weight

Who would have know?!

Decisions in life are often made with a blink of thought. For instance, I bought my pair of dumbbells without much thought about what to do with it except that one routine I know of. Or over the dining table having a lovely company of Cynthia and my buddy Tong Kiat, I suddenly announced that I want to gain 15 kg. Why 15 kg? That was my consultant instinct to pluck a number from the air. Interestingly, based on my height – according to Cynthia – 15 kg is about right. Tong Kiat shook his head in disbelief. Not because of 15 kg but rather … I am taller than him. Sigh. Men are the competitive species.

15 kg is the goal. But how to reach there is the question. Searching the Internet high and low, I have uncovered a whole new dimension called … Body Building. You know, before this week, I look at those “muscle men” thinking that they have nothing but muscles (men are the competitive …). Now, I do appreciate the kind of hard work and discipline that goes into each of those muscle that by the way, each muscle has a name. And each named muscle has a certain routine that designed to make them grow bigger and stronger.

After hours of of sieving through tons of advertisement and not too useful articles, I have found a couple of good sites that explain and illustrate how to gain muscles using dumbbells. One site has listed a seemingly unending list of routines to train different kinds of muscle. Excellent! Let my ritual begins!

Lifting dumbbells is actually pretty fun. I mean, it is fun to exercise. Looking back at all those hours spent in the corporate world, my body was so conditioned to sit for hours, feeling tired and drained after a long day at work, and only wanted to be a coach potato watching TV programs when I returned home. Compares to now, gosh, I am so full of energy! Even at night! Grrr!

I was used to puzzle over how Cynthia can spent hours reading about the different kinds of exercise from the Internet and the books and was used to think that exercise is like common sense. You just need to move your body. Now, I think differently.

And I shall close off this blog with my buddy Benny’s advice (in his exact words) on training with dumbbells (he knows how over-enthusiastic I can become):

Start small and work your way up. During my NS days, lots of guys (myself included) suffered serious muscle tearing in attempts to out-do one another. Ironically when that happens, your muscles will swell by 25%. After that, any endeavour to feed yourself or even wipe your a*s will be an achievement in itself. Generally, it takes 3 weeks minimum for the pain and swelling to lessen/go away. ~ Ouch.

Related Readings: BodyBuilding.com, Building-Muscle101.com.

Categories
I See I Write

Cat Deeley – The Star Behind “So You Think You Can Dance”

I better publish this blog before it gets too dated. Earlier this month, Singapore has aired the finale of “So You Think You Can Dance Season 2”. I have not missed a single episode of both Season 1 and 2. “So You Think You Can Dance” (SYTYCD) is a great concept. Unlike “American Idol” that focuses on individual competition and finding an unique voice, SYTYCD is a competition that focuses on partnering with different contestants from different genres and requires each contestant to go out of his or her genre that includes ballroom, tango, hip-hop, contemporary, disco, and others – some I have not even heard of. It may sound easy but it is not. That is why partnering contestants from different genres will ultimately help one another to grow. And that is why contestants learn from one another more so than aiming to eliminate one another. Another thing I observed is that dancers are the emotional bunch. You can really see how they give in hundred-and-one percentage. I saw tears in SYTYCD more than other reality shows.

That is the brief introduction of the show. Season 2, in my opinion, is more successful than Season 1. The panel of judges and the team of choreographers are pretty much the same. It is the replacement of the host with Cat Deeley that makes all the difference. I can see that Cat Deeley enjoyed the entire season thoroughly and she did interact with the contestants on stage and off stage a lot (perhaps due to her background). The little compliments she gave, the small talks with the contestants on stage, the little jokes she had with the judges … I think she is the real star behind SYTYCD. And how can the faithful audience forget the scene when the hot Russian dancer Dmitry approached Cat Deeley with a sexy dance after his solo performance that resulted in Cat blushing from head to toe? Or when executive producer and one of the judges Nigel Lythgoe commented on Cat’s dress (covered with small silver reflective rectangular pieces) “If we would have hung you from the ceiling on a wire we could have spun you around. You were like a disco ball tonight.” Cat’s reply (with a big smile) was, “Listen, if you fix the wires you can hang me any way you like.”

There is still no news on a potential third season. I hope there is one on the way.