Author: Wilfrid

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J Pop Music Reviews World Music

Love Psychedelico – Abbot Kinney – An Uplifting Album

Celebrating their 10 years of music career, the Japanese band Love Psychedelico has released a new album “Abbot Kinney”.  I still like their debut “The Greatest Hits” the most (how appropriately titled!).  But “Abbot Kinney” is growing on me.  I guess I was looking for that dark melodic track “Last Smile” in this new album – like I have been searching on their previous albums – and couldn’t find any.  Having said that, “Abbot Kinney” is a lot brighter, the tunes are a lot happier.  It is mood uplifting and the album has a coherent feel.  Even down to the very last song – their rendition of “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?”.  Love Psychedelico is one of my favorite bands of all time.  Their music style is unique.  Below is the official sampler of their new album.

Categories
Diary

A Small Reunion Dinner

When asked what we do during Chinese New Year, I often begin the lengthy recount of our culture and tradition with a reunion dinner that happens during our Chinese New Year Eve period.  Family members get together in a dinning table (or a dinning hall depending how big one’s family is) to celebrate and to catch up, especially with the elders of the family.  How often do we get to meet our relatives?

A lot more often when we have a baby in the family.

Ever since my little niece Bethany landed on Earth, I see her mother – my sister – almost daily.  And her daddy – my good buddy – too.  Not only that, my mother has also decided to travel from Hong Kong and stay with Cynthia and I because of little Bethany.  She is a little magnet that pull this small family together.  I cannot remember when was the last time we have a reunion dinner together.  It would be nice if my dad could travel to Singapore too.  Perhaps when Bethany is old enough, we shall travel Hong Kong and celebrate our reunion in our birth town.

I often think that babies are sound polluting machines.  Little Bethany seems calm and well-mannered when she is in my home, or in my car.  Most of the time, she sleeps like a baby.  She is a baby!  This is her second long visit to where I live.  And I have to admit, the more often I see her, the deeper bonding I am developing with her.  Imagine parents who see and handle their babies every minute of their waking hours.  That bonding must be strong.  It is something that is hard to explain, best to experience.

Observing things that we do with Bethany, I ponder upon the necessity of daily routine act of affection with your loved ones.  Something that we may have overlooked, something that may have been overwritten by other daily routines.  As I was holding little Bethany in my arms, the first time after she was born, I could not help but to think …

… I reckon if she was to camp to my home for a few days, I could still play computer games while she is sleeping in my embrace.  Her daddy Benny doesn’t seem to be convinced.  I should do a live demo the next time they visit us.

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

20th Century Boys 3 – A Closure, Finally!

It’s a no-brainer.  If you have already followed the Japanese movie adaption of the manga series, you wouldn’t wish to miss the last installment of the trilogy.  If you have not heard of “20th Century Boys”, I doubt if this 156 minutes film would make much sense to you.

I was struggling to like the first installment when it arrived in Singapore, 2008.  By the time I have watched the second installment (2009), the trilogy has grown to me.  Perhaps because I was beginning to recognize the characters.  The “20th Century Boys” casting is massive.  And I need a super memory to familiarize myself with who is who.

The last installment offers good closure to all the loose ends of the previous installments.  That is satisfying.  Although at times I wonder how far this child play would go, I can tolerate some elements of childishness in this last episode because like it or not, if you look deeper inside, men are in fact boys.  And since I too am born in the 20th century, I can relate that rock music should save the world.

PS. Someone should start creating a new manga series called “21st Century Girls”.

Categories
Announcement

And The Winners Of The Contest “Treasury Of The World” Are …

A big thank you to those who have supported the contest and have submitted your entries.  To be honest, running a contest like this can be pretty scary.  I have no clue what the response would be.  And I must say I am surprised by the quality of your responses.  Some of you have even scored on the last two questions that are created by me, above and beyond what the museum has suggested.  I wrote them just for fun.  One wrote in and guessed that the small bottle set is of the size of a nostril (?!) and the diameter of the bracelet set fits the size of a [censored].  Wow, some of you can be entertainingly creative (and you know who you are)!

And thank you for sharing the stories of “museum and you” with me.  I thoroughly enjoy reading each of your story.  It seems to me that most of you who replied do not visit museums often (and what better way to kick start this new hobby with a pair of free tickets!) but enjoy visiting one for something you can relate to or to gain a new perspective.  There seems to be a diverse range of art that each of you wish to see.  Almost all of you prefer to visit a museum alone and to take your time in admiring the art.  Or to visit an exhibition with someone who shares the same common interest.  One wrote in and said that there is always a chance to bump onto hot chicks inside a museum.  Perhaps I shall open my eyes wider next time I visit one!

Congratulations to those who see your name in the picture taken after the draw.  You have won yourself a pair of tickets to “Treasury of the World” exhibition at Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore (Feb 12 to Jun 27, 2010).  Additional info such as opening hours can be found in the original post.  I will contact you shortly via email on how to claim your ticket.  From what I was told, it is as simple as turning up at the museum and announce your name.

Categories
For the Geeks Game Reviews

Mass Effect 2: A Masterpiece With So Many Things To Fall In Love With

After spending more than 50 hours to explore every aspect of the game, I would say that Mass Effect 2 is indeed a masterpiece.  No spoilers here of course.  In my over two decades of computing gaming, there aren’t many games that keep me engrossed, playing over a sustained duration.  The Mass Effect franchise could well be one.

But change, can be hard to swallow.  That applies to the world of gaming too.  Mass Effect 2 (ME 2) has fundamentally revamped some of the gaming elements of Mass Effect 1 (ME 1) and you can tell from the fan base that some of these new elements may not go well with some.  And I initially too.  Having said that, now that I have played through the game once, overall speaking, the combat system is more engaging (more complex too!), some dialogs have more depth (you can interrupt them too), the story is a lot darker, and ME 2 is more visually pleasing.

Mass Effect can be classified as action role-playing game.  I am not a shooter type of gamer.  ME 2 is certainly more demanding than ME 1 when it comes to the lengthy combat scenes.  But I live.  I also enjoy the real time interruption to conversation that may change the outcome of the scene.  As far as decision making is concerned, there are plenty in ME 2.  From the very technical aspect of the game to the political influence that one can play, some decisions got me thinking hard on what I should do next.  Judging on how some of the little decisions I have made in ME 1 affect ME 2, I won’t be surprised to see how these decisions I have made in totality will affect the upcoming ME 3 – the end of the trilogy.

It is frequently asked if one should start with ME 1 now that ME 2 is out.  The answer is an absolute yes.  The gaming experience of the two is different.  And you get to experience the best of both world (there are still things I miss dearly in ME 1).  Ideally, you should complete ME 1 fully – that includes all the side missions and planet exploration.  Not only the decisions you have made get imported into ME 1, you will get a little boost in resources, character level, and paragon-renegade inclination (the equivalent of hero and badass).

The Mass Effect franchise as a whole has a great replay value.  After a game completion (“playthrough” as we called it), you may start a new career with a different class and or gender choice.  You may create a new career from one of your existing characters and continue advancing from where you left off.  There is a big boost to all your subsequent characters after you have completed the game in terms of experience gained as well as initial resources.  I enjoy playing the character in either gender, preferably in either alignment.  The voice over is different.  The outcome of the story can be different (romance sub-plot as well as the “good” and “aggressive” decisions you make).  Hence, the overall experience can be different.

Now that we have established that if you are an avid gamer, you have got to check out the Mass Effect franchise, the next question would be: Is the Collectors’ Edition worth it?  For an extra S$20?

It has a mini comic booklet that is nice to have, but I can live without.  A mini hardcover art book that is very nice to have, and I love to own.  A making-of DVD, that makes me appreciate the game better.  Access to Cerberus Network (a.k.a. a portal for the digital download of new contents) that at present has: 2 in-game collectors’ items that I use one but not another (I don’t like the look of the other), a mini-mission called Normandy’s Crash Site that fans would like, and a new squad member that comes with a new loyalty mission – very good to have.  Free to be downloaded if you have the access.  All in all, no regret in spending the extra cash for all of the above.

Below is the cinematic trailer, which I am sure some of you may enjoy watching.

Categories
Linguistic

Ding! Leveled Up On Our Spanish Learning Journey

I guess in life, if things are not hard earned, they are not as rewarding.  Spiritually speaking.  That applies to your recent promotion, you love life, those pineapple tarts that you have spent hours and hours of cooking to find that perfect balance, those regular practice sessions for climbing that one mountain, and etc.  Not to over-dramatize, like I often do, the Spanish examination at Las Lilas is not that tough.  Objectively speaking.  But as always, I hardly see Cynthia doing revision and she gets a score of 96 for the level lower intermediate 2.  I have studied days and nights, in any location you can imagine (except my bathroom !por favor!), even spent much time revising Spanish in our recent trip to Bandung, I am still behind Cynthia’s supreme linguistic ability.  The good news is that the gap is closing!  I have hit a score of 90, the highest I have attained to date.  To be fair, I think our teacher Natalia has been generously lenient when marking my examination paper.  And she is very encouraging too, recognizing the effort I have poured into this new language.

Some ask how many levels are there in my Spanish language course.  I have no clue.  Unlike Cynthia and some of my classmates who are eying at the end level, I am more focus on how far I can go.  And we shall see.

In this new level – intermediate 1 – one lady has left us, three ladies have joined.  Male species remain as the minority in our class.  More so than before.  I am not surprised.

Categories
Announcement

Win Tickets to “Treasury Of The World” Exhibition At Asian Civilisations Museum Today!

Note: This contest is officially closed. Thank you for your support and participation. Winners will be announced shortly.

You guessed right.  I have FIVE pairs of tickets to give away.  It is open for all readers.  The only catch is, you have to turn up at the museum’s front desk any time during the exhibition to collect your free tickets.  And the exhibition is in Singapore, after making its appearance at prestigious museums like the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  Read on to find out how you can win a pair of tickets today!  This contest will be closed on Feb 8 (Mon).

From what I learned during the blogger event hosted by the museum, “Treasury of the World” is a stunning collection of exquisite, jewelled works of art in the era of the Mughal Empire (here is the link to Wikipedia).  The lavish lifestyle of the Mughals (1526-1858), their love of beauty and precious objects, British ambassador Tomas Roe once described Emperor Jahangir who was dressed in his finery the treasury of the world.

You may have heard of Taj Mahal.  It is built during the reign of Shah Jahan and is one of the monuments created during the era of the Mughal Empire.  With such a colorful history, although I am more of a painting admirer kind of person, I am keen to check out what being lavish means in that era.

Here is how this contest works.  You have to email your full name to me by Feb 8, 2010 (my email address is here) together with the answers to my questions listed below.  Winners will be announced in my website and tickets are to be collected at the museum.  You may not need to answer every question and to get every answer correct.  However, getting them right or even attempting to get them right will increase your chances of winning.  I doubt if I would get an overwhelming response.  But if it is so, I will videotape the lucky draw process to demonstrate my … erm … fairness.  Of course you won’t see my face.  But rest assured that I will hire someone very pretty to do my job.

Question 1 is mandatory.  Your response will give me something to write, when I announce the winners.  Questions 2 through 8 are based on the slideshow I have put together below (materials courtesy of the museum and The al-Sabah Collection), this blog entry, and a little bit of luck.  Are you ready?

  1. Tell me something about your visit to museums.  For example, how often do you visit a museum?  What kind of art do you enjoy seeing?  What do you get out of an exhibition?  Do you visit alone?  And etc.
  2. (Optional) Who is described as being the treasury of the world?
  3. (Optional) What is a sarpech (slide #1)?
  4. (Optional) What was the original number of stones (slide #2)?
  5. (Optional) Whose image is on this pendant (slide #3)?
  6. (Optional) How many inscriptions are on this stone (slide #4)?
  7. (Optional) How tall is that small bottle set in cm (slide #5)?
  8. (Optional) What is the diameter of the bracelet set in cm (slide #6)?
  9. Which is your favorite website?

Thank you for your participation.  Below is the slideshow that I have put together for you.  Feel free to mouse over the image and give it a pause if you wish to read the text. Images courtesy of © The al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait (LNS 959 J).

Venue is at Special Exhibitions Gallery, Asian Civilisations Museum 1 Empress Place, Singapore 179555.

Admission charges as follows. 

  • $8 (adults) / $4 (concession); Family package at $20 for up to 5 pax.
  • Free admission for children aged 6 and below and seniors aged 60 and above every day (locals and PRs only). 50% off for foreigners aged 60 and above.
  • 50% discount every Friday, 7-9pm

Opening hours: Mon, 1pm-7pm; Tues to Sun: 9am-7pm (to 9pm on Fri).

Categories
Diary

A Twitching Motorcyclist

Update: On the next day after this blog entry was published, on the same highway, similar location, similar timing, another motorcyclist was down, apparently hit by a car.  Two lanes were closed.  Tow truck, ambulance, police car were present.  I saw bloodstained on a piece of white cloth.

I am much saddened today, or at least for a larger part of the day.  As though I am lost in my own world, unable to articulate what borders me in exactitude.  Nor do I have the means to pull myself out of this strange emotional distress.  Like every other morning, here in Singapore, on a highway that is often jammed, one would wonder: what causes the jam?  At times we see accident vehicles on the road shoulder.  Or the yellow tow trucks in blinking yellow light; sometimes the police cars in blinking blue light; more often these days, ambulances in blinking red light.  Or more likely so, we see no sign of incident by the time we get through the jam.  It is just another day, on a busy highway, here in Singapore.

This morning, there was another jam on the highway.  As I drove slowly on the fast lane, I saw a stationary vehicle on the middle lane.  In front of that vehicle was a motorcyclist, lying on the ground beside his bike twitching in pain, under a bright hot sun.  His helmet had landed on the far side of the fast lane.  If my window was down, I would have heard him bellowing in pain.  Such pain and my heart ached for him.  Cynthia turned to me and asked, “Shall we call an ambulance?”  The driver of the vehicle got out of his car, walking slowly towards the fallen motorcyclist.  It must be a lot for him to take in.  It must be a lot for all those who witnessed the aftermath to take in.

*     *     *     *     *

Many friends ask why I do not cycle in Singapore, especially those who know that I was once an avid cyclist in UK.  The heat and humidity in Singapore is one.  But that can be overcome.  What deters me from cycling here is the fact that the roads in Singapore are not built with the cyclists in mind, the motorists in Singapore are not trained to take care of the cyclists on the road, and most cyclists in Singapore do not follow the basic safety code.  I think some of my friends don’t buy my answer.  And I wonder why.  Being a living example does not mean that the circumstance is safe.  It means that one is lucky.

But it is true.  In UK, inside the main towns, it is not uncommon to see a narrow cyclist lane drawn between the pavement and the road for the motorists.  Motorists often give a good margin when overtaking the cyclists.  And the cyclists in UK signal by hands when changing lane, follow the traffic rule, do not cycle on the pavement meant for the pedestrians, do not cycle on the wrong side of the road, and they use a head light and a rear light when cycling at night.

Some ask, will I pick up cycling again when the construction of the round-the-country cycling lane is completed?  If the cyclists are to cycle like how the motorists here drive (they are often the same people, are they not?), no thanks.  I’d rather have other forms of exercise.

I am sad today perhaps because I cannot make this country a better place to drive, and to cycle.

Categories
Reflection

Alcohol And I – A Story Of Our 2 Years Of Separation, Thus Far

Last weekend, I have quietly celebrated the 2-year anniversary of not having a single drop of alcohol in my blood stream.  I even faked drinking that glass of champagne on stage, during my friend’s wedding when I was the emcee and my sister’s wedding in Hong Kong and in Singapore.  Of the many questions I have received over these two years, the best one came from a young lady I met in the True Blood HBO blogger event: How do you function without alcohol?!  Since then, I have heard various versions of the same question.  It never fails to bring laughter onto the table.

How do I function without alcohol?

Looking back, I often wonder how did I function with alcohol.  Of course, those who know me in person would ask: Why this decision?  You could say that I have waited two years to publish this story.  Every now and then I think of how this should be written.  Obviously, it is a very personal matter.  And since I have decided to share my experience in the light that may empower others to live an alcohol free life, I have to wait until my approach is proven to work – at least for me – in order for my story to be credible.  To set the expectation right, this is a story of constructive sharing, and not a public confession.

At least that is my intend.

*     *     *     *     *

I can’t say that I enjoy drinking alcohol even though I have consumed drinks with an alcohol content ranging from a single digit up to 40%.  I have tasted what goes beyond 40% too.  Like that stuff the Greek drinks.  I can tell which alcohol label tastes better than others of a similar category.  My first significant encounter with alcohol was when I was 18, in UK, intoxicated by that one tall can of Carlsberg Special Brew.  My first encounter with a religion that bans alcohol was also 18, in the same school.  Prior to that, I have never heard that alcohol is not acceptable, religiously speaking.

Is alcohol bad?

Combing through what I have observed in my adult life thus far, it appears to me that we conjure more reasons to consume alcohol than not to – with the exception of those whose their religion has forbidden them to consume alcohol.  Drinking wine with your meal is good for health.  Drinking Vodka keeps you warm in the winter.  To celebrate, we open champagnes.  You join a party in a pub wanting to socialize with your friends and what do you end up ordering?  Sure it has to be a beer or a glass of wine or some hard liquor.  Someone is going to pressurize you to do so.  Someone is going to challenge you to drink more.  It is as though not able to hold one’s alcohol is an undesirable attribute, one to be laughed at.  Com’on!  You can do it!  Just one more drink!

*     *     *     *     *

I do not detest alcohol, certainly not those who consume it.  To drink or not to drink, is a lifestyle choice.  Some battle with alcoholism for years only to see their lives slowly destroyed by the rounds of relapses.  Some able to drink alcohol as and when they wish to, stop as and when they wish to.  As for me, I am old enough to come to the conclusion that I am not so good at moderation.  When I observed that my list of reasons for consuming alcohol seemed to have expanded each passing day, that was one of the signs to quit, for good.

The list would look something like this.

  • When I was having a good meal, I was used to open a bottle of wine – be it at home or in a restaurant.  But what is a good meal?  How about an OK meal?  Surely an OK glass of wine wouldn’t kill an OK meal?  Or vice versa?
  • When I was having good companions, a beer or two seemed like a good thing to kick start the mood.  Later on, on the days when I was not having any companions, while waiting for someone, I enjoyed reading a book or a magazine with a mug of cold beer in a warm day like every other day in Singapore.  Did I drink to kill time?  Or was I finding time just to drink?
  • When I was having a bad day, alcohol seemed to help.  When I was having a happy day, alcohol also seemed to help.  Later on, when I am having an OK day, alcohol again seemed to help.  Help what?  Alcohol seemed to have become a painkiller, an endorphin potion, and an multi-vitamin pill – at the same time.

*     *     *     *     *

But you know what life is like.  Anything that makes you feel good, is bad for you.  May even kill you.  Looking back on alcohol consumption, what I miss most is how it facilitates the process of art creation – be it as writing or song crafting.  Being able to tap onto my pool of chaotic, unpredictable, and unrestrained creativity is, for lack of a better word, addictive.  So, what triggered the decision of staying away from alcohol and how did I do that?

The answers to the above questions could be a lot less dramatic and inspiring than you expect, which is not necessarily a bad thing if you ponder upon it.  Problems of this world often are solved by common, non-extraordinary solutions.  I dislike some of the side effects alcohol have in me.  We are still who we are, even in a state of intoxication.  We are still responsible to the things that we do, that we say, regardless how stupid these things may sound in the morning after.

But that was not the final trigger.  Wikipedia was.  One day I was researching on why I have alcohol flush when I drink.  The result is against everything I have come to know.  It could kill me faster than those whose faces don’t turn red when they drink.  So I woke up one day and have decided to quit drinking.  I must say quiting is not easy but it is a lot easier than I thought.  Strange as it may sound, replacing alcohol with hot green tea works for me.  Hot green tea seems to have given me a similar level of high.  Similar, not the same of course.  I suspect that it is less on the drink’s content and more at the symbolic level.  At one point, I have stocked up boxes and boxes of green tea bag at home.  And that wall of green tea was my last defense towards my bottles of wine and hard liquor that are still siting motionlessly at home tempting me to open and consume.  For months, I have been drinking cups and cups of hot green tea every evening.  Now, I am still drinking hot green tea every other evening, though not as often.  These days, I am into Ginseng tea and tea made with flowers.

I am happy that the days of drinking is behind me.  Day 208 of being a teetotaler, I drew a picture.  On day 730, I write this entry.

*     *     *     *     *

If you wish to abstain from alcohol, you too need to find a personal reason that does not change by any circumstances.  And you have to find a way to replace your habitual drinking routine.  I still remember half a year into this voluntary abstinence of alcohol, I joined my friend for a drink in an Irish pub and I ordered a huge mug of diet Coke.  Think of the amount of money you could saved by that one decision that you make.

Categories
Movie Reviews Romance

I Enjoy Watching New York I Love You

Despite the mixed review, if I am to examine why I find “New York, I Love You” a pleasurable film to watch, the list would look something like this.

  • I enjoy reading short stories.  Short stories often has a faster pace, a metaphor, and a twist as resolution.  When I was younger, I found short stories incomplete.  Now that I am older, I find short stories at times more charming to read.
  • I enjoy watching romance drama.  It touches on my soft spot – emotionally speaking.
  • I like “Paris Je T’aime (2007)”.  A large production team with a different mix of directors, actors and actresses.  And the same producer has created a New York version this year.
  • Picture house type of films talk to me.  Some stories in this film are pretty artistic in nature (read: slower pace).  And that set me thinking.

And because the production team is so huge, it is hard to maintain the consistency in terms of mood, pace, and quality.  So, watching “New York, I Love You” is like having a tapas sampler in a restaurant.  Not quite a full meal but probably satisfies those who enjoy a feast of variety better.  Some stories stand out better than others.  Like the old man and the old lady walking in the street chatting with one another.  It is so heart warming.  His wife’s constant reminder in him “lifting his feet” (the old man apparently has undergone a hip surgery recently), their struggle with the pace of New York, and the theme of companionship so vividly portrayed.  Some stories have witty dialogs and twists.  Some do not go anywhere – plot-wise – but help painting a slice of the city.  Such variety.  From the youngest character to the eldest, from one race to another, one language to another, even the director team appears to have come from different backgrounds.

Maybe because of the lack of a cohesive theme and storyline, some find that the stories do not add up.  Maybe some wish that this is better than “Paris Je T’aime (2007)”.  For me, I enjoy taking in the short stories as they are.  And besides, I like the soundtrack too.