Categories
Diary

So This Is Ginkgo … And A Perfect Number 200

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That is the number when you add the age of my family of four together. Or shall I say, between the four of us, there is a life experience of 200 of years by March next year. I often wonder how much knowledge is lost from one generation to the next. I wish to learn how my father takes those award winning photographs (for real). I wish to learn the art of calligraphy from him and in particularly, his way to compose Chinese articles. And above all, Tai Chi. He has own set of students and from the DVD he sent to me, I saw smoke coming out from his head while he exercised. No special effect I swear.

But to extract these knowledge from my father requires talents. No way I can learn that unless we can each live for another 200 years. Cooking, however, is much easier to do. From young while boys next door spent time outside playing basketball and dating girls, I always enjoyed staying at the kitchen watching my mother cooked. So I may not be able to shoot basketball even if there is a prize of one million dollars nor charm girls on the streets and in the club, I enjoy being able to cook my own dishes each and every day if I want to – for myself and those who stay with me.

Still, I can probably cook only a fraction of what my mother can cook. So while she is in town, what better things to do than to take this opportunity in expanding my repository of dishes? Amongst many, there is ginkgo.

Like my sister who has recently settled in Singapore, I find it hard at times to reconcile what I know in Chinese terms to what are being called in English. Till today. After all, from where I was born, Cantonese is the day-to-day spoken language and nothing else. I first heard the word “Ginkgo” from one of my friends who is in need of some memory booster. He was thinking of taking the ginkgo pills that his mother is taking. You know what life after 30 is like for some of us. People forget things, repeat stories, and repeat the same story to whom he or she hears the story from.

Lately I visited the Japanese restaurant Nambantei (featured in my previous blog) and had ginkgo nut sticks. It tasted bitter and if not for its supposed benefits, I would not have finished it.

I took my mother for Chinese herbs shopping as I wanted a refresher course on soup making. My mother asked if I wanted to eat “白果” and looking at those nuts on display and recalling what I have eaten at that Japanese restaurant, I suddenly realised that “白果” is in fact “Ginkgo”. When we returned home, I volunteered to clean those nuts and it is a rather tedious process as it turns out.

First, the shell is hard. Mere mortals like us won’t be able to crack them with our bare hands. So I armed with a hammer and hit each nut with the right strength. Very much like peeling crab craws. If I hit too hard, I smash the entire ginkgo and it looks pretty gruesome. Healthy ginkgo flesh is soft to touch with a certain moist (the moist left a funny smell to my fingers that smelt like … [censored]). Bad ginkgo flesh is hardened and with black patches. There are attrition in each batch of genkgos. Just throw away the bad ones and keep the good ones.

Ginkgo fresh from the shell has an outer fleshy coating. It is relatively tedious to peel off this coating. The best way is to boil them for 5 minutes. And then peel off the outer coating as well as breaking each ginkgo into halves and see if there is a tiny “stem” inside. That thing is bitter and should be removed. No wonder the ginkgo nut sticks at that Japanese restaurant tasted bitter.

We use ginkgos to cook dessert and I must say, the taste is wonderful. So much hard work in preparing ginkgos. Even though ginkgo has a few good medical benefits (quote from Wikipedia: it improves blood flow to most tissues and organs, protects against oxidative cell damage from free radicals, and blocks many of the effects of platelet aggregation and blood clotting that are related to the development of a number of cardiovascular, renal, respiratory and Central Nervous System disorders), taken in large dosage in a prolong period (5 per day for children) can be poisonous. Like all things in life, consume in moderation.

Talking about the benefit of improved blood flow, this morning I woke up and … [censored].

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews

Black Snake Moan – A Bit Of Sex, A Bit Of Jesus, And A Whole Lotta Blues

What happens when you put together a bitter old man whose life has beaten him so bad and a young girl who has a “disease” or a “spell” of wanting to have sex with men at least once a day? A young white girl physically chained up in a black old man’s house. Now, can a bit of Bible and the blues music from the old man’s heart cure this young girl? You will have to watch this movie to find out.

Feeling bad that we have left Tong Kiat out for the last two movies Fantastic Four and Ocean 13, after I have received a message from him that he would be landing at 4pm, I sprang into action and picked “Black Snake Moan”.

You may not need to understand blues music to appreciate “Black Snake Moan” but certainly it will help. The show begins with Son House (aka Eddie James House, Jr.) – an influential American blues singer and guitarist – talking about blues music and his appearance continues at each relevant stage of the movie. The movie title is derived from a song by yet another blues artist named Blind Lemon Jefferson. And lastly, the influence of blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist R. L. Burnside is all over the cast. The grandchildren of Burnside, Cedric Burnside and Kenny Brown, are in Lazarus’s (played by Samuel L. Jackson) band; the character name of the reverend is Reverend R. L.; and there are remarkable similarity between Lazarus and Burnside’s features. In short, the entire movie from casting to soundtrack is heavily blues influenced.

And because of that, it is understandable why Samuel L. Jackson (as “Lazarus”) and Christina Ricci (as “Rae”) are in their shabby clothing most of the time living in a rather shabby house. Even the cars and the town itself are shabby. To me, blues music is from the heart talking about love and human conditions. And neither topic is a happy topic in real life most of the time. Almost throughout the movie, Samuel L. Jackson is unshaven and messy while Christina Ricci is presented with not only no make-up but also a bruised-up face resulted from an assault.

From the storyline perspective, it is original. The acting of Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci (I am a fan of both) are great making most part of the movie an enjoyable experience to watch. The dialogue between them gives them much opportunity to develop their relationship. Did you know that Jackson can play blues guitar and sings? I surely did not. And Christina Ricci who has experimented with self-mutilation after her parents’ divorce – strange as it may sound – seems to have made for this role. The last movie I have watched with her acted as the main actress is “Prozac Nation” (an adaptation from the famous book on depression). I think she is a specialist for this kind of movies.

Interestingly, as Rae’s boyfriend (imagine what sort of man would date a girl who has slept with half of the town), it is none other than Justin Timberlake as the character Ronnie who suffers from extreme anxiety (what a movie filled with weird characters). Seems to me that Rae is the only antidote Ronnie can find in this town and they are in love. I personally question Justin Timberlake’s acting ability. Fortunately his part is not long and he does manage to squeeze out an ounce or two of tears when needed too. Oh well, when not needed to as well. (Afterthought: Why am I so critical to Justin Timberlake? Is it because I am a guy? It is not uncommon that a film pulls in an eye candy – a girl usually – to lighten up the show. And funny as it seems, Justin is probably the prettiest thing in the whole movie.)

Again, is “Black Snake Moan” for everybody? Let me ask you, is blues music for everybody (answer is probably no)? I enjoyed the show a lot and probably agree with some critics that this could be the best movie of 2007 so far. Tong Kiat and Cynthia find it “different”. You may wish to check out the trailer by clicking here.

Categories
Diary

What TV Shows Are You Currently Watching?

From left to right: Rome, Angela's Eyes, Desperate Housewives, Heroes, Ghost Whisperer, After Hours

When I was a bachelor, I seldom watch TV. In fact, I could live months happily without a TV. I was used to think that TV takes up too much of my attention. I preferred entertainments such as listening to music and reading books. Now, I am a changed man.

I often wonder what others are watching. For me, “Heroes” has to be on top of my list. By far the best and most original TV series I have watched with ordinary people discovering their extraordinary powers while in search of their destiny. Once in a while a hero dies. So long as the soft porn star still lives, I am happy (please don’t tell me the ending if you have already watched the series on the web).

Cynthia got me into watching “Desperate Housewives”. I was initially sceptical over the recycled plots (on relationship and murder) for each season but the stories are actually quite interesting. I in particularly like the narration especially in the beginning and the end of each episode. And yes, I think Eva Longoria (as “Gabrielle”) is very hot.

“Rome” from HBO is actually a TV series worthy of watching due to its artistic value. The first season of 10 episodes tells the story of Gaius Julius Caesar (played by Ciarán Hinds) through 2 commoners. The costumes, rituals, and the scripts are well attended to. Some of the concepts are foreign to today’s tradition but then again, “Rome” is a story back in the old days. I was worried that this season would not be as good because of the death of the iconic Julius Caesar from the previous season. Fortunately, the adult version of Gaius Octavian’s rise of power added much power to the plot. I am eager to see how the story unfolds.

I recently got hooked onto “Angela’s Eyes”. Cynthia does not like the main actress Abigail Spencer because she looks too cold and fearsome. I find this attitude of hers attractive. It is a cross between Alias and some crime related drama and Angela’s special ability is her eyes – she can see through lies. That sort of put her in an interesting situation in her social life.

Of course not to forget to mention that my beloved Jennifer Love Hewitt’s “Ghost Whisperer” will return this Friday with a new season. I did not miss a single episode of the last season. Neither will I miss any this season.

Lastly, I also watch After Hours. I know I know … many friends of mine are frown upon my, shall I say, lack of taste or lack of class. Some episodes are not so watchable but some episodes are quite light and nice. For me, it is a change from all the Western series and “After Hours” is not strictly a Chinese series either. Just nice for me.

So, these are my indulgence during evening hours. What are ones you are currently watching?

Categories
Announcement

Annoucement: Introducing The New “Music Reviews” Page

Note: The Music Review Page is now taken down due to a change of blog engine. 

Ever since the beginning of 2007, as suggested by one of my buddies, I have tried to write a small music review on each of the music album purchased. Initially I did it for some selected music albums I have bought and in some occasions, from my friends’ feedback, I realise that I may have helped them in their decisions in some way or have uncovered some artists whom they were not aware of. And that was also the time when I was inspired to re-brand my website to “Where Good Things Are Meant To Be Shared” as I consolidated the meanings behind the sharing of the new movies I have watched, good restaurants I have visited, books that I read, and etc – all brought together under one cohesive theme. These days I try to write a review on all my album purchases religiously.

After written over 30 reviews on music alone, I realise that unlike movies whereby people have more overlapping genres they are interested in, music preference can be quite unique to some. I know friends who listen to mostly jazz. Some enjoy chill-out music. I know friends who particularly don’t enjoy listening to pop music. I can rarely find friends who like metal music. Even harder to find those who have a passion for Japanese music. But of course, when it comes to pop and rock, majority enjoy the instant gratification these artists offer.

In view of that, lately I have added a new sub-category for music genres. My thinking is, if someone enjoy reading my review on one particular genre, he or she may wish to see what other reviews I have written for that genre.

From time to time, I do listen to suggestions. A buddy of mine suggested that I shall add a scoring system for my reviews. So a 5-star would be a music album or a movie that should not be missed. I have considered for quite a while and decided against it. It is because I don’t think any reviewer or critic can tell anyone what to do without either generalising all people as having the same preference or thinking that his or her own preferences count for something that the public should follow. I am talking in the domain of art whereby an apple to apple comparison is almost impossible. So what I do is to highlight the highs and lows of each album or movie and let the reader decides if the lows can be overlooked or the highs are enough to tilt the balance of decision. My rating may not mean anything to you because I am not you.

In anticipation that readers are making the purchase ahead of my reviews, I always try to release the reviews for the “most-wanted” artists before others. But it is still not ideal. If you take a look at my “Music Review” page, there are still 11 albums outstanding under “Coming Soon”. I seldom buy albums that I immensely regret so in a way, if you see some albums that you wish to purchase and I have them, most likely they are worth your time to check them out (that is if your music taste is not totally opposite of mine). Better still, you can MSN me (info on banner of this site) and I am more than happy to give you my 5-cent.

It is because of all of the above (and you as the readers of my site) that I have created a “Music Reviews” page that houses most of my recent reviews. You are welcome to check this page out from time to time to see what are coming soon and to catch up on some reviews that you may have missed. Just a click of a link on the main menu to the left.

In case if you are not aware of, my site has the build-in search functionality for all the contents – articles, blogs, forum, and etc. Thank you for dropping by from time to time. Happy surfing. All suggestions are welcome.

Categories
Snippet of My Life

Snippet Of My Life Episode 1 – Underwater Condos

Should you blog for yourself or should you blog for the visitors who read your blog? Where does self-indulgence begin and public demand of affection end?

Dan and Young at 98.7FM asking callers to finish off the sentence “Singapore needs more …”. One lady caller replied “animal lovers”. On the same stretch of road a day ago, I jam braked my car to avoid killing a monkey that was strolling along the street. A dog from my neighbour barks incessantly. I dream of hundreds of ways to shut it up.

Met JS for lunch. We talked about building houses in Singapore. I want one with a basement. Not just one but twelve. I want a lift that gets me to B12. Carbon dioxide sinks so I want a garden at B12 with 24 hours daylight to suck up the CO2. I don’t want to faint at my basement for the lack of O2.

I want a house with twelve levels of basement underwater. Like an aquarium. JS laughed. It’s impossible he said. I said have the concept first and leave the details to the scientists! And to the scholars of Singapore! Rubberized concrete. Suspension system. Whatever it takes. I want to build a condo underwater.

Global warming. Water level is rising. Environment around us is changing. Way too slow. Incremental accommodations of the change paint us deeper into a corner. Same mechanism that wiped off the Greenland Norse civilisation (Google it). Underwater condos and houses are our future.

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer – Is This Better Than The Previous One?

Same reason why I have to catch Ocean 13 asap, I found myself inside Orchard Cinelesiure the second time in the same week. And what’s up with Cinelesiure? It is perpetually crowded with youngsters dressed in hip outfit. Is this the school holiday period? Check this out. We spotted Singapore Idol contestants Joakim and Paul Twohill both dressed in black sitting outside the cafe at level 4. Paul Twohill still has the same hairstyle.

Why do I watch Fantastic Four? Democracy. We all take turn to pick our favorite movies. Why does Cynthia pick Fantastic Four? When I asked her that question, she gave me that look as in … “Duh? Why do you need to ask? Isn’t that obvious?” Me being who I am, just kept asking. Turns out that she is a fan of the comic book (oh no … another thing in common with Benny, my sister’s boyfriend) and she finds the dude (Chris Evans) who can turn into a fireball at will cool and adorable. Fine. With that, I have secured my license to drool over Jessica Alba for the entire 92 minutes of the movie in whichever angle I want.

Many deem the first installment a total failure. Majority of the reviews on average rated it as below average. Some people I talked to find the first installment entertaining especially those who walked in with no or low expectation. So, why do movie goers still have such a high level of anticipation for “Rise Of The Silver Surfer” (source: a number of blog sites I visit as well as from friends around me)?

That I have no clue. I personally am not a fan of Fantastic Four. Taking the team of four apart, they do not have strong individual identity nor can be a standalone hero. Yet as a team, they are not as diverse as X-Men nor as colorful as Hellboy and his fellow agents. I think I shall stop here or else Cynthia won’t iron my casual clothing anymore.

“Rise Of The Silver Surfer” is no doubt better than the previous installment. On top of the same old problem they have to fight, now they are faced with a problem as big as galactic annihilation. Something out there is destroying planets. Can Fantastic Four stop it in time? This storyline itself has handed Fantastic Four the wow factor that the only sci-fi movie that comes close is perhaps “The Fifth Element”. Actually I am jealous. Why doesn’t Spiderman fight something of that galactic level? Why don’t the X-Men be united – heroes and villains and humans – and fight something of that galactic level? Supported by the nicely done computer generated graphics and the sound effects (love some of the soundtracks), the film does give the movie goers the feeling of watching something epic taking them to the four corners of the world. The film also devotes time to develop the characters, which is what I enjoy watching.

So is “Rise Of The Silver Surfer” a must-watch? I think the flaws in this movie may unfortunately limit it to “for fans only”. Jessica Alba (as Sue Storm) kind of looks awful in this movie. What’s up with her makeup? I begin to doubt if she can act at all. Talking about acting, Ioan Gruffudd’s (as Reed Richards) acting is not impressive. One scene seeing him dances is, to me, purely unwatchable. I still prefer him acting in the Medieval setting like his role as Lancelot in King Arthur. And I can’t feel the chemistry between these two who are supposed to get married. I can’t comment on Michael Chiklis (as Ben Grimm) because most of the time he is a rock. Chris Evans’s (Johnny Storm) acting is okay and to the least, I do feel the brother-sister love between him and Jessica at the crucial parts of the show.

So, what’s my final say? A movie with enough to entertain if you can overlook some of the flaws.

Categories
Hard Rock & Metal Music Reviews

Marilyn Manson’s “Eat Me, Drink Me” – The Antichrist Superstar Turns Human (Or Not)?

If I am to name five artists who inspire my music creation journey, that would be Tori Amos, Pink Floyd, PJ Harvey, Prince, and Marilyn Manson in no particular order. That explains the length of this blog and I challenge you to devour every word I wrote – the finest piece of review I have to date perhaps.

Fans fall in love with Marilyn Manson’s unique dark music, his wit offstage, and his satirical views on government and religion. This unique blend of attributes gives forth an artist that there is none other than Marilyn Manson himself. Arduous fans support him to death while religious groups and government spokespersons protest against his artistic works records after records. It is not hard to imagine when he shamelessly voices out his religious opinions taking on the symbol of an Antichrist. His state opinions were being blamed for triggering the Columbine High School massacre just because the shooter was listening to Marilyn Manson during the shooting. As interviewed in Michael Moore’s controversial documentary “Bowling for Columbine”, Marilyn Manson argued that part of the American culture is to trigger fear and to find a common scapegoat. In this case, an entertainer is being picked while Bush was dropping bombs at Afghanistan causing more casualty than Columbine massacre. His views on government, fear, consumerism, and the American culture of guilt hiding and the use of violence as a mean to an end that is dated back in World World II – can be intriguingly intelligent.

Marilyn Manson is a stage name derived from Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson representing the two extremes of the spectrum in the American history. His music style is hauntingly dark and each album of his takes on a cohesive theme. With the talented Trent Reznor (who later formed Nine Inch Nail) collaborating with Marilyn Manson for that one record, “Antichrist Superstar” is perhaps his most notable work to date. And with “Antichrist Superstar” spins a trilogy of two more records “Mechanical Animals” and “Holy Wood”. His subsequent record “The Golden Age of Grotesque” was inspired by the seamy underside of Weimar Berlin specifically the underground artists back in 1930’s in the pre-Nazi Germany era. For those who are new to Marilyn Manson, I would recommend either the more accessible “Mechanical Animals” or the more tuneful “The Golden Age of Grotesque”. I will get to his latest work “Eat Me, Drink Me” in just a minute. If you are not too fussy on the lack of final polishing on the record production and if you usually listen to rock music but not nu-metal, “Eat Me, Drink Me” may be a better choice for you as his other records can get a bit “noisy”.

Marilyn Manson does not seem to have problem in attracting talents in assembling his band lineup even though some left or were fired along the way. John5 joined as the live guitarist for “Mechanical Animals” and was officially part of the band until lately. Twiggy Ramirez, an old time bassist and guitarist who contributed much to the music of the band, was ousted from the band after the “Holy Wood” album due to creativity differences. For “The Golden Age of Grotesque”, producer and bassist Skold was introduced into the band and have become a major source of music writing together with lead guitarist John5 who stepped up after the departure of Twiggy Ramirez. Probably due to difference in lifestyle, John5 – the only member with a clean image – left (or was fired from) the band after “The Golden Age of Grotesque”. There are fans who miss Twiggy’s guitar playing and there are even more fans who miss John5. In any case, Skold is now the new lead guitarist of Marilyn Mason with a new bassist coming on board from Prodigy to replace his previous role in the band.

While stifled by the circumstances of marriage with Dita Von Teese (once made it to the cover of Playboy magazine), Marilyn Manson withdrew from the music creation scene for a couple of years until he met his new 19 years old girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood. All of a sudden, instead of writing songs based on his opinions in the expense of shutting everyone around him, he started to write songs singing for someone. It comes as no surprise that “Eat Me, Drink Me” is inspired by his recent divorce and his new found love. Theme-wise, it is still as dark as before, more towards depression. However because the songs are more personal, he sings with emotions that can easily come across from the final recording. Music-wise, “Eat Me, Drink Me” was recorded in his own home studio with his buddy Skold and together, they played all the tracks from lead to bass guitar to drum programming to vocals. Bassist Skold has proven to be an all rounded producer and musician. “Personal Jesus”, a remake of one of Depeche Mode’s songs that was featured in his greatest hits album “Lest We Forget”, was created entirely by Skold with Marilyn Manson only contributed on the vocal track. Due to all these circumstances, “Eat Me, Drink Me” is heavy on the guitar and vocals and Marilyn Manson’s music continues to be tuneful like “The Golden Age of Grotesque”. One may observe that “Eat Me, Drink Me” is less produced and as close to unplugged as you can get with Marilyn Manson.

So, has our Antichrist Superstar turned human with songs that are sung with his heart and not opinions that humor the systems in the satirical way? Lyrics-wise, “Eat Me, Drink Me” explores the concept of “devouring someone whom you love dearly” or for that matter, “getting devoured by the one you love most”. In his own words (and definitely not mine), like Christ whose body and blood is consumed by the Christian community, Marilyn Manson is turning himself into a symbol to be … devoured. Intriguing concept I know but Marilyn Manson being the shock rocker himself, no topic is a taboo.

Is this change of his music direction for good? According to him, although he does not regret songs in the past that were written based on his opinions, he wish to have spent more time writing songs for the audience – even if it is for that one person. Besides music creation, Marilyn Manson does lots of watercolor painting having his own art exhibitions. He has a new upcoming film of which he is playing the director role.

With all that said, I think Marilyn Manson is a very talented artist if people can look beyond the way he sings, the way he looks, and the music themes that are less than mainstream.

I do not intend to embed the new promotional video clip “Heart-Shaped Glasses” again in this blog. You can view it in my previous blog. Now that I have listened to the entire album, in that video clip, the beginning instrumental track (with Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood having simulated sex) comes from the song “Evidence”. And inside the car when Evan was asking Marilyn Manson to drive “faster, faster … faster, faster, faster”, that is from the song “Are You Rabbit?”. The artwork of him and Evan holding out a knife while taking pictures with a Polaroid and the final car crash scene, those are from the song “Just A Car Crash Away”. Lyrically, tell me if I have a warped mind or not, I think this song no doubt is for his new girlfriend. But I think it is partially inspired by his science experiments when he had to dissect something (I have personally dissected a frog once in my life).

The chorus of “Heart-Shaped Glasses” goes something like “Don’t break, don’t break my heart and I won’t break your heart-shaped glasses. Little girl, little girl, you should close your eyes, that blue is getting me high, making me low”, which sounds kind of normal. But for the rest of the song “She reminds me of the one in school when I was cutting … and she’ll never cover up what we did with a dress … And I don’t mind you keeping me on pins and needles. If I could stick to you and you could stick me too.” – those words got me thinking especially when this album is about devouring someone you love. Maybe I am warped, maybe I am used to Marilyn Manson’s music … either way, I am one of his zealous fans.

PS. I wrote this blog without Wikipedia. The page on Marilyn Manson is down. It is hard! Thank you YouTube for all the interview videos and all the wonderful materials in the Internet especially MarilynManson.com that contains lots of interviews from various reputed magazines. And of course, I have been following Marilyn Manson’s career for a long time. I can even recite his progress backward.

PPS. Cynthia is looking for a pair of heart-shaped glasses right now. What’s the odd of a guy gets to live with someone who loves to listen to Marilyn Manson as well? Priceless.

Categories
Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

Ocean’s 13 – It’s Brad Pitt and George Clooney Again!

These days I wake up shocked by the reading on the clock. I have got to do something about it. 4.30pm I sent two text messages to my Movie Review Squad. Unfortunately TK was stuck in the office doing testing on what my best guess would be … something to do with satellite coordinates. Normally I would postpone the outing but my mother will be landing in Singapore this Thursday. Quick! Go watch some movies before having to give my mother undivided attention for … 2 weeks or so.

Did you know that Ocean’s 11 is a remake of a 1960 heist film? The Ocean franchise has the trademarks of an intricate plot, a cast loaded with movie stars, and treasure to steal. Ocean’s 13 is no different except first, the plot is much easier to follow than 11 and 12 (of course the downside is there is not one big “ah-ha” resolution of the plot in the end that makes you absolutely want to watch the movie again). And second, both Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones are not amongst the cast. Julia Roberts was pregnant during the filming of the movie. Too bad. I really think having two ladies in the team kind of balance out Ocean’s team configuration nicely. On the plus side, having Al Pacino as Willie Bank added much weight to the acting. As for the rest of the crew, I always enjoy how Brad Pitt and George Clooney acted together in the Ocean series finishing off each other’s sentences. I can’t believe that I am writing this in my blog but Brad Pitt is actually very … cool! I enjoy Matt Damon’s acting as well. Such a talented actor he is.

If you have already watched Ocean’s 11 and 12, there is no reason why you should give 13 a miss. I remember how confusing it was when I first watched Ocean’s 11 due to the number of characters. Familiar does pay off for Ocean’s 13. What if you have not watched Ocean’s 11 or 12 yet? I hardly think it matters. The stories are pretty independent from each other.

Ocean’s 13 is a good movie. Go watch it unless you are not into this movie genre.

Categories
Songwriting

Restoration Of A 4-Year Old Song Exact To The Month Of June

Last weekend I had a stiff right shoulder. And because of this stiffness I got to appreciate how wonderful our shoulder joints are in terms of the degree of movement. If I had a stiff neck, life would have been a whole lot easier. I just need to move my head with my body pretty much like how Batman turns his head (you may wish to watch Batman to refresh your memory). With a stiff shoulder, there was an unforeseeable range of movement I could not do. Like trying to disengage the shower head that was hung above my head. I would feel the pain and my arm would just gave way. I must have hurt my shoulder through my intense exercise ritual.

Fortunately, I could still strum my guitar. Bored with the set of 9 songs I have memorised for our band’s upcoming live performance, I have decided to take the memory lane and play some old ones. There is a constant fear in me that I may forget some of the songs that I have written long time ago (as I have not got my old songs recorded). But then again, if there is a song I cannot remember of, which means I have not played that often, which means it is not so good a song, which means it deserves to be forgotten? (Noooooo!)

“Be My Sign” was written on June 24, 2003 – a 4-year old song exact to the month of June. Since I only record down the chords and the lyrics, I rely on my memory for the melody. I must have played the chords of the song ten times and I had no recollection on what the melody was like. If there are two virtues I have on top of the millions positive ones of mine (kidding … a few good one perhaps), that would be patience and perseverance. Slowly, the melody reappeared from nowhere and …

… Oh my God! I still love the verses but the chorus was … bad. I still remember Cynthia’s first comment to the song – there is no oomph. Ouch. And it took me 4 years to realise that.

But fear not. Now that I am relatively older and relatively wiser, time to rewrite the chorus. In a way, the feeling I had four years ago is still valid to this exact moment I am in. I am still waiting for that “sign” from high above to tell me where to go and what to do next. I avoided doing too much rewrite to the original lyrics. The first thing I did was to increase the tempo of the song from 72 to 80 making it a little bit upbeat. Next, I shifted the key up from Em to F#m and gave the chorus a surprise key shift from F#m to Am. I then rewrote the chorus with a hook in mind supported by the new melody and chords that give it a bang in the spirit. After that, I gently rewrote the bridge from shifting the key down to F#m and then back to Am. As the song climaxes, I changed from 1 chord per bar as heard in the bridge to 2 chords per bar in order to give the audience an illusion that the beat of the song has doubled. But it is not. I would imagine Jason’s solo guitar going crazy at this point and the chorus or rather the hook will then descend into this madness to end the song with a high note.

Gosh. I got excited just by writing it. The new version of the lyrics is printed below.

As for our band’s progress. Our drummer Lester is now busy with his new baby as well as house hunting so we may need to think of alternatives. Meanwhile, my guitarist Jason is trying to do drum programming and if he succeeds, we will go for recording and possibly releasing the songs via the Internet. And if we manage to find a music video director and someone to film our video, we are heading to YouTube and MySpace. Gosh, I wish I could take back what I said about patience being one of my virtues. For the time being, three of us will continue to practice and aim to do an unplugged open-mic live performance somewhere in Singapore.

Oh dear … yet another long blog. I really should find ways to condense what is in my head.

BE MY SIGN

Verse 1
Day after day staring at the sky
Waiting for that sign that will change my life
Little by little I melt inside
Whispering voices control my mind
Days pass by lying by my side
I wait for that one sign
Bit by bit I’m torn apart
Won’t you come by open up my heart

Chorus
Won’t you open up my mind won’t you take me high above the sky?
Won’t you open up my wind and tell me who am I inside?
I’ve been waiting for that sign falling from the sky
Won’t you open up my mind?

Verse 2
Night after night I weep and cry
I’ve lost that hope used to live inside
Inside my heart inside my mind
I face the wall no matter how I try
I try to run I try to hide
These pills I take paralyze my mind
Night after night staring at the stars
Waiting for that sign that will change my mind

Chorus
Won’t you open up my mind won’t you take me high above the sky?
Won’t you open up my mind and tell me who am I inside?
I’ve been waiting for that sign falling from the sky
Won’t you open up my mind?

Bridge
Won’t you take me to your side?
Won’t you let me come inside?
Won’t you come into my life?
Won’t you be my sign? (repeat bridge)

Ending
Won’t you open up my mind won’t you take me high above the sky
Won’t you open up my mind and tell me who am I inside? (repeat ending)

Note: Originally written on June 24, 2003 with some restoration work done on June 8, 2007.

Copyright © 2007 by Wilfrid K. F. Wong. All Rights Reserved.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Maroon 5’s “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long” – I Like The Previous One Better

Before I sound too excited and enthusiatic like I always do, for the record, I like Maroon 5’s previous album “Songs About Jane” (2004) much better. It is more musical and less commercial. The slow songs in “Songs About Jane” are memorable. Most of the slow songs in “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long” are lame. Some have promising beginning but fall short on the chorus.

Maroon 5’s line up has not changed much. The drummer Ryan Dusick left the band due to injuries and is replaced by Matt Flynn. That shouldn’t change the band’s sound that much but somehow, some of the upbeat songs are more dynamic, which I like. The songs are leaning more towards the mainstream pop rock than previously that are more towards soul and funk rock. Perhaps, a new drummer does make a difference to the sound of the music after all.

I can understand why people like this new album. Cynthia and I have watched Maroon 5 performed in one of American Idol’s result nights. I found the song upbeat and pleasant to listen to and Cynthia has immediately fallen in love with it.