Category: My Opinion

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Animation Movie Reviews

So We Watched Shrek 3 One Day Before Cynthia’s Birthday

Tuesday nights are traditionally the nights when the Movie Review Squad comes out and watch some movies. Tonight (June 5th) was no different – except we were celebrating Cynthia’s birthday one day in advance as well. Buddy TK picked up the bill and that is very nice of him. We were dinning at that Japanese restaurant previously featured in my blog and like the last time, we have to infiltrate the service area of Hyatt Hotel in order to travel all the way from Fast East Plaza to Cineleisure in time for the movie Shrek 3.

Many people try to compare between the episodes like which one is better than which. To me, they are all Shrek and they are all funny in their own ways. Not that I remember any of the plots anyway but you know what the Shrek franchise is like – entertainment with the capital E. Personally I prefer Princess Fiona in human form (prettier that way ya?) and fortunately, Shrek 3 has more eye candies like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Shallow I know but it is not as though you can derive any “moral of the story” from any of the Shrek episodes anyway.

A funny movie with lots of laughter from beginning to end.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Artist Gone Solo Part 2 of 3 – Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries

In Part 1, I wrote about Brett Andersen of “Suede” and “The Tears”. My guitarist Jason and I both agree that most artists gone solo are not as good as when they were with the band (with some exceptions of course) but look, not that the band “The Cranberries” was going anywhere except down. I love their first album and perhaps the second one. “Wake Up And Smell The Coffee”? Just not my cup of tea.

The first two tracks of Dolores O’Rriordan’s “Are You Listening?” are very attractive. It has all the trademarks of the early Cranberries that I like. If you are a Cranberries fan, it is hard not to fall in love with the opening tracks. The downside is, her singing has gone a bit … weird. I don’t think my bassist Cynthia can get pass some of the songs. However, one afternoon I was with my buddy Ken at Mama Africa (a pub in Raffles Place) and they were playing this album. To be frank, “Are You Listening?” is quite a good CD to play when you are chilling out with your friends. Since then I have been listening the album and somehow her singing doesn’t bother me that much anymore.

There are quite a number of good tracks inside this album … very Cranberries style. Like the songs “Ordinary Day” (featured below), “When We Were Young”, “Angel Fire”, “Ecstasy”, and my favorite “October”. All the songs are written by Dolores O’Riordan inspired by her personal life – which explains why it has a mixed of darkness (her previous band and deaths) and lightness (her new baby). Her new band – all seems to have issues of their own except one – appears to be able to play some of the very unique Cranberries tricks (especially the drum) that the resemblance is haunting. Yet this new assemble manages to breath new creativity into the songs. It is an album worth checking out … if you can get pass her new way of singing that is (more glaring from the 3rd song onwards for some I can imagine … my advice is to do a thorough sampling of the entire album).

Categories
Book Reviews Non-Fiction

Strengths Finder 2.0 And Hence My Results … What Do You Think?

My friend Barbara from Philippines whom I have met back in Mauritius one day went online and as we chatted, I realized that she was like me taking a break from career and unlike me, she is a whole lot more productive – she is into charity works. Barbara introduced me to means to find out what our strengths are and we have made a pack – we are going to find our dream job at the same time. Some sort of support group we have.

In “Strengths Finder 2.0”, the author Tom Rath preaches that we should put our effort to develop our talents (hence making them our strengths) rather than to work on our weaknesses. That I am not too sure if I am entirely agreeable to it. According to the author, we all have our natural talents that are inborn. Hard work can only bring us to a level of mediocrity if you are not born with that talent. Personally, I would rather think that working hard on our passion does mean something and without paying attention to some of our weaknesses (like empathy for some), we can only go that far.

Anyway, here are my results. I am still very puzzled on what to make out of it. As in what sort of insights I should derive. I think friends of mine may have some idea on what my strengths are and looking at the listed ones below, are these my strengths? If so, what can I make out of it? It is so generic in a sense. So readers of my site, please lend me your two cents of thought.

In the order of my strengths are …

  1. Strategic – People who are especially talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
  2. Learner – People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.
  3. Activator – People who are especially talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.
  4. Individualization – People who are especially talented in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.
  5. Futuristic – People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.

On a side note, I think the book is a precipitation of a great business idea. The real gem behind that book is that online survey that people would love to take. But in order to take the survey, you have to buy the book. Each book grants one entry to the survey and therefore, you cannot possibly share that book with others. To be frank, part one of the book tries to convince you why focusing on your strengths is important and out of 34 themes that are listed out in part two, only 5 that are relevant to you (hence only 15% is relevant to you). In another words, you put your money to the online survey rather than to the book.

The online survey consists of 177 questions each comes with 2 descriptors. Your job is to decide which of these 2 descriptors best suits you in a scale of 5 (visualize a lever that slides between the 2 descriptors at each end). Mind you, you have 20 seconds in exact to complete each question and the website will automatically proceed to the next question if you take too long to think. No toilet break or whatsoever.

An afterthought of mine is … it is good to reconfirm what my strengths are. The big question is: what’s next? The final report – pretty much like a condensed version of the book – further describes what each strength theme is and to probably help you come to terms with who you are. Each theme is also accompanied with 10 action items so all of a suddenly, there are 50 action items to work on. Some who took the test (as read from forums) wonder why the report only shows top 5 strengths rather than perhaps all 34 themes in descending order. I actually have no problem with that because I think there are only that many actions I can focus on at one time. And since the author preaches that focusing on weaknesses is a waste of resources, knowing what my bottom 29 themes is just a satisfaction to my curiosity.

Having said all of the above, I still wonder if these strengths are really inside of me all these while or because I have been a management consultant for over 10 years, I am conditioned to be good at these 5 areas. And if indeed all these years I have been working on my strengths, I shall be happy and growing and successful by now, which is not quite the case. The only conclusion I have is that there must be some fundamental flaws that blindsided me – something that the book fails to answer. Or perhaps …

… all these years I have been given opportunities to sharpen these strengths of mine but I have not fully exploited them because I did not manage to list down my strengths all these years and come to terms with myself until now?

It is funny how everything seems to make sense if tackle from random directions – however senseless the reality is. I still have my doubts.

Categories
Hard Rock & Metal Music Reviews

Marilyn Manson’s New Upcoming Album

It has been long overdue to categorized my music related blogs based on genres. So here I am, further categorize my blogs based on the genres they belong. I reckon unlike me, most people prefer to listen to certain types of music they enjoy while for me, I enjoy a wide spectrum of what different genres offer.

Enough said. I know at least one of my friends is into Marilyn Mason’s music and if you don’t fancy his music or heard of him, most likely you will find this blog … offensive to the least. My heart felt apology in advance.

Marilyn Manson’s new album is made with just him and another buddy of his. “Eat Me Drink Me”, Marilyn Mason’s new album (to be released on 5th June this year), is as close to unplug as it can get. It is still dark and it is still … shocking. Featured below is a sexy video made with him and his new girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood 19 years of age. Marilyn Manson has gone through a divorce with his wife Dita Von Teese and he has had a fling with The Charmed’s hot actress Rose McGowan. What more can I say? Life of a rock star. Below is a 8 mins video … enjoy (strictly for Marilyn Manson fans only).

PS. Artwork from MarilynManson.com.

Categories
J Pop Music Reviews

YUI’s 2nd Album – Can’t Buy Me Love

Readers of my website may remember how I discovered the Japanese singer YUI after watching the movie Midnight Sun and foretold that she is a new artist to look out for. I even went in great effort to import her first album “From Me To You” from HMV Hong Kong. Within one week of release, YUI’s 2nd album “Can’t Buy Me Love” totally shattered the sales record of her previous album. If fans like me can just buy the record off the shelf without sampling a single song, there must be some kind of craze going on.

YUI’s strengths lie in her talents in songwriting, guitar playing, and her simple yet pleasant appearance that melts the crowd – more than make up for her vocal ability for someone who is only 20 this year. Then again, what is wrong with girlie voice? Jazz singer Lisa Ekdahl seems to sound like a girl no matter how old she was when each of her album was recorded. While YUI’s first album “From Me To You” probably made famous by her movie “Midnight Sun” because she did showcase some of her songs in the said movie, “Can’t Buy Me Love” does not have the same advantage. I have to admit sometimes visual impact can be powerful and of course what I am trying to assess is if “Can’t Buy Me Love” lives up to expectation.

“Tomorrow’s Way” from her first album is probably my one of my top 10 all time favorite Japanese songs right now. “Good-bye Days”, the theme song of her movie did not appear in her first album (her 1st album was released before the movie) but happy to say, it is inside this new album. Same goes to “I Remember You” that was featured in her movie. Though these two songs sound a little bit dated, it is good that they are featured somewhere. The two major singles coming out from “Can’t Buy Me Love” are “Rolling Star” and “CHE.R.RY”. Both are featured below. My favorite song of this new album is perhaps “Umbrella” – a song that may come close to “Tomorrow’s Way”.

All in all, I enjoy “Can’t Buy Me Love” and am glad that YUI has kept up with the good work. Her next single “My Generation / Understand” is nowhere to be seen in this new album of hers. I sense a third album in the making knowing how productive Japanese artists can be. YUI writes all her songs – both music and lyric – and if she can keep up with that pace, it is indeed admirable.

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Hard Rock & Metal Music Reviews

Linkin Park’s Minutes To Midnight – A Change For The Good … Or Not?

Right after I bought LP’s new album from HMV, my buddy TK asked me, “So how’s Linkin Park’s new album? They sound the same right?”. The problem is if I am asked to give opinion on an album that I have hardly listened to, you will probably get an insignificant opinion. That night I answered, “Ya, afterall it is Linkin Park”.

I was wrong. On the surface, LP’s new album has their trademarks all over it. Deep inside, they have changed quite a lot and they have prepared their fans for that right from the first page of the booklet that comes with the album – “As this is written, the album is not yet finished … it is safe to say, however, that this will prove to be a different kind of album for us”. Their first album “Hybrid Theory” – an old name for the band – was a decade in the making. Their 2nd studio album was inspired by Meteora, a historic monastery in Greece. Both “Hybrid Theory” and “Meteora” were huge commercial success around the world (funny when you look back when no record company wanted to sign them up). One time, Cynthia and I drove up to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia just to watch their concert. “Minutes To Midnight” is a reference to the Doomsday Clock … an album that the world was not ready a few years back. Sure, environment topics such as global warming and mass/voluntary extinction of mankind are hotter today than it was then.

LP’s uniqueness lies in the rock rap combo encased in the nu-metal setting. It is still unique as of today. No one has quite master the perfection of the way how Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda sing and rap and finish each other’s sentences. So, the big question is: why the change? Mike rarely raps in “Minutes To Midnight”. The analogy is like when Kirk Hammett of Metallica has decided not to play guitar solo tracks anymore in their latest album “St. Anger”. Both these two albums have hit the top of the chart – the power of fan anticipation I believe.

Another noticeable difference is that music-wise, it is more mellow down. “Minutes To Midnight” would not be a good debut for the band. But since LP has a good repository of great upbeat songs, their concerts will still be electrifying. Besides having more slow songs, LP has also stepped away from their nu-metal formula. As you will see in their 3rd single “Shadow Of The Day”, it sounds a lot like U2’s “With or Without You”. You can even sing “With or Without You” during the playing of “Shadow Of The Day”. The melody of the beginning verse of “No More Sorrow” – a great track by the way – reminds me of Depeche Mode’s “Strangelove”. It is kind of strange that LP, a band that did not sound like any other band has gone for a change and begins to sound like some other bands. The change does not stop where the melody is. There is even a guitar solo at the last song “The Little Things Give You Away”. It is rare to hear a solo track in nu-metal, more rare so for LP.

Their first single “What I’ve Done” is a great track from the album and I suspect that this powerful video will win some awards this year. So another big question: do I like “Minutes To Midnight”? Sure I do because I can understand why bands at times venture out of their comfort zone to create something different and I in general am supportive of such change – like REM’s “Monster”, U2’s “Zooropa” and “Pop”, and Metallica’s “St. Anger”. But I cannot speak on behalf of the majority of LP fans though.

Categories
Diary Foreign Movie Reviews

Undon + Our Mission KJ + Nambantei

While Agent C is on overseas secret assignment (I honestly do not know of the nature of her trip except “business” and “take care of some family affairs”), Agent T has handed me a new assignment: go and find us a Korean or Japanese movie to watch this weekend. Roger that!

Agent T and I both wish to watch “Blades of Glory”. Since Agent C vows not to watch it with us, what better way to spend our weekend than to watch “Blades of Glory”? 3am on a Saturday morning I gave it some thoughts but hey, two guys enter into a theatre laughing over a show with two gay-ish looking guys ice skating as a pair with hands touch each other’s bodies? A little bit gross eh? So I have decided to stick with my original mission and suggested a Japanese movie “Udon” instead. The last show was at 8.15pm and knowing Agent T has a secret military training in the late afternoon (he has, I swear), I texted him at 3am with the minimum number of characters (something I have learned from him) – 2015 can? I switched on my phone in the late morning and got the reply: MC today, can. Excellent! “Udon” it is (by the way, udon is a type of Japanese noodle).

1815 – I exited the highway and faced a traffic jam.
1830 – Agent T called me. I told him that I would be there in 10 minutes (I was wrong).
1845 – Agent T called me again. I asked him to head to that restaurant he wished to go and order for me.
1900 – Running on my feet from Taka to Far East Plaza.
1905 – Received a multimedia message from Agent T with a picture of the restaurant and address (ya, that’s how agents work … receiving the next bit of information as we proceed).

To give myself some credit, I arrived just minutes after Agent T was seated. The Japanese restaurant – Nambantei – is on the 5th floor at Far East Plaza and it is cosy. They serve mainly Teriyaki food – meat grilled over fire. The chef I believe is a Japanese. He remembers what each table has ordered and his assistance is responsible in retrieving the food from the refrigerator and making markings on what seems like a colorful spreadsheet on paper. Tracking inventory perhaps?

Service was excellent. I think they have one waitress for every 2 or 3 tables. When the food is cooked, the chef will hand it out onto the counter right in front of customer’s face. The waitress will then moves the dish that is inches away from the customer to customer’s table. Customer takes the food from the dish and the waitress will then clear the dish. Kind of complex eh? At times I just grabbed the sticks from the dish in front of me – if I managed to beat the waitress that is.

Food was good and I will definitely return one day. We were in a hurry so Agent T took a short cut route. We entered into Hyatt Hotel, infiltrated the service area and took the service lift to the 3rd floor. The interior was dark and I saw beer machines along the corridor. A lot of tables and furniture and beds at the service area and when we exited the hotel, there were a bunch of drivers apparently waiting for their clients’ call. Not too far a distance I saw a sign: Do not trespass – private property. Too late.

I chose “Udon” because it is a different kind of Japanese movie. The hero of the story left his home town chasing his dream to be a stand-up comedian in New York only to return after years of fruitless attempts. It was then when he developed a passion for udon making his hometown a place for “Udon Pilgrimage”. The movie is so real to me that for a moment, I thought this “Udon City” does exist in Japan. If you are looking for something different from the typical Japanese tear jerking romance productions, you may wish to check out “Udon”. My only reservation is that the movie does seem a bit too long. The actress Manami Konishi is quite an eye candy though (see picture on left). Oh, another thing is … try not to watch “Udon” with an empty stomach. You will regret it.

On a final note, both Agent T and I do enjoy the movie.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Joanna’s This Crazy Life – A Decent Pop Album

One evening I wanted to play a different kind of music in my car. So I randomly pressed a disc number and when the music started, I was like … wait a minute, who is this artist? Four songs had passed and I still had no clue. Kind of scary because I did remember that it was a recent purchase. Then came the fifth song and I was like … ah ha! The fifth song of the album is “4th Of July” that has been aired in our local radio stations for quite some time. For the record, I do like that song a lot.

If you like the American Idol style of singing – twist and turn of the melody and all the high notes in the end – you will probably like Joanna’s new album. Some of the tracks remind me the music of Celine Dion. Unfortunately Joana is no match to Celine Dion and I wish she could have more control on her voice when the melody soars in some of the songs. Nevertheless, she does have a strong voice amongst some of her peers at her age bracket (she was 21 when “This Crazy Life” was released last year). And she does put lots of soul and emotion into her songs.

Most of the songs she has a part to play in terms of songwriting. There is one track that I especially like (besides “4th Of July”) is “Your Obsession”. Then I discovered that it is written by Diane Warren. Who is Diane Warren? I cannot even count how many hit songs she has written and I recognised her name immediately. “Because I Loved You” recorded by Celine Dion was written by Diane Warren. “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” recorded by LeAnn Rimes? “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” recorded by Aerosmith? They are written by her too. If you are curious about her accomplishments, simply click here and see how many songs you can recognise. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Since Joanna is not that famous for now, I can hardly find any of her videos in YouTube except “Let It Slide” – her first single. See for yourself if her voice is your cup of tea.

Related Site: Joanna at MySpace.com.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Is It Going To Be Avril’s Best Damn Thing?

I still remember when and where I bought the Canadian artist Avril Lavigne’s first record “Let Go”. It was at HMV Citilink back in 2002 and over the listening station I was impressed with her voice and music style from track one. Avril was 18 then and she was the youngest female artist to have a number one album in the UK Chart (now Joss Stone holds the record). Her follow-up “Under My Skin” pretty much sticks to her original style of maturity and attitude. Just how big a fan I am? I was there when Avril was performing at SunTech Singapore. It was a wild party.

I can picture that Avril’s third album “The Best Damn Thing” is going to make the crowd goes wild under live setting. Many songs have strong dance beat and are easy to sing along with – like my favorite track from this record “The Best Damn Thing” as featured below live. “Girlfriend”, an upbeat song with a strong hook, was released as the second single after the ballad “Keep Holding On”. (RCA Record has been deleting Avril’s videos from YouTube and that “Keep Holding On” video I found is created by a fan that blends the song with anime. Not only that, the original clip has the song “Complicated” from Avril’s first album as well.) Her AOL Music Session for “When You’re Gone” showcases why fans like myself keep falling in love with her slow ballads.

My favorite ballad track has to be “Innocent”. Sad to say RCA Record wipes YouTube so clean that all that are left are cover version (no thanks) or dubbed with videos from One Tree Hill, Charmed, Buffy, and even using the computer game The Sims. I do find this Final Fantasy version of “Innocent” beautiful. Just check it out. If you don’t like the video, just listen to the track.

Would I recommend you to pay more and get the DVD edition? The DVD documents the songwriting process behind “The Best Damn Thing” that I enjoy watching. Avril made this album with different producers and after viewing the DVD, you will probably understand why the songs are so … random. Get the DVD edition only if you are a fan of Avril.

I think if you are looking for some quality lyrics and trend setting melodies, you may wish to look elsewhere. “The Best Damn Thing” is a lot brighter and varied than her previous two albums. It comes with a “Strong Language” sticker too. If you happen to like the songs from the links of this blog, most likely you may wish to add this CD to your music collection.

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Hip Hop R&B Music Reviews

Beyonce’s B’Day Deluxe Edition Finally Got Me

I have this mentality when it comes to purchasing CDs. A legacy that is probably dated back in my days in UK. If there are three of more hit songs I like from an album, the album is worth buying. It is because the cost of one CD was roughly the same as three singles and I did buy singles back then.

When “Deja Vu” first released, I was like: ya, that is cool and I love the new upbeat and trendy sound. “Ring The Alarm” is even more extreme than “Deja Vu”. Part of me finds the song odd while part of me secretly likes it. But two is still not enough to persuade me to buy an album. Then came “Irreplaceable”, a slow ballad with the melody and line that instantly hook onto me (“to the left, to the left, everything you own in the box to the left“). But still, I don’t usually buy Hip Hop albums so I gave it a pass.

Then recently Beyonce released a deluxe edition that comes with an additional set of new songs as well as a DVD. One of the new songs “Beautiful Liar” sung by Beyonce and Shakira sounds okay (if only they could lose that line calling each other by names). It was “Listen” (featured below and from the motion picture “Dreamgirls”) that got me jump out of my chair. The video is emotional and I have got goose pimples all over me every time I watch that video (those watery eyes …). I could not find the version from the deluxe edition in YouTube (without the flashback to the movie that can be a distraction but for the curious minds, here is the link) but I manage to find this live performance. Check out the improvisation towards the end. That was out of the world I am telling you.

Randy Jackson from American Idol often uses Beyonce’s unique improvisation as reference to some of the contestants. Beyonce’s new album has pushed her vocal ability to a new height. There are some slow songs that I particularly like from within the album such as “Flaws And All”, “If”, and “Amor Gitano” that I don’t have time to dig them out from YouTube. Having sung all the praises, I have to admit that some songs in this album are quite hard to accept. Cynthia has found this album towards the noisy part. I wish Beyonce could make more songs that sound like “Listen”. Is she the trend setter like she inspired to be? Only time can tell.

Edit: Found a Korea singer Yangpa gave a rendition of “Listen” live. Pretty interesting stuff.