Unknown at 9:02 AM

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Mrs Henderson Presents

had wanted to watch something w jan, since it was the mid-term. but between 2 crappy comedies Rumour Has It and Mrs Henderson Presents, i tot the latter will b more worth the money cos it has a NUDITY rating. haha...

aniwaes, it was abt dis recently widowed Laura Henderson who was so rich and free dat she bought a derelict Windmill Theatre and opened it w an innovative idea of having non-stop plays all day long. but soon, the other theatres followed suit and she came up w another idea: to haf nudity in her shows.

but in order to haf it dat way, her nude actresses muz b like art pieces, ie. they mustn't move while they r naked on stage such dat they will b qualified as art pieces and the theatre's license will not b revoked.

dis is where the nudity part was tastefully done. they were so innovative in creating ambience and lighting in such a way dat the nudity was really like a form of art. u noe, such dat certain silhouettes cover the 'midlands' or certain pc of satin covers part of the body. in other words, they really steered from the porn factor in striptease shows.

the movie really turned out to b none-crappy. it was funny at times, but it was more serious than imagined. laura's real intention for showing nudity in her shows lies in her only son who died in WWI. she believed dat young as her son was, it was most prob dat he had never seen a nude woman real life. and she believed dat during the trying times in WWII, she was helping those young soldiers to find a relief, such dat they wun b like her son, whose only way of ventilation lies in the postcard w a nude woman.

it sound rather absurd at first, but putting ourselves in those times, it was actually reasonable. heh... maebe dat was a form of NS for the actressess too. *wink*

it also pts out a logic: when there's nothing to lose, creative ideas will come out more than expected. i mean, i draw the conclusion not only from the film itself, but from daily lives too. laura, being old and widowed juz nid a way to spend her inheritance. she dun mind losing money cos she has more than enuf to lose. it was then her GM was able to haf a vast space for creativity.

yup, wun it b better if all boss/superiors/ICs b like dat? unfortunately, a lot of ppl r so afraid of losing/things getting not as they expected, they held such a tight rein, follows dead rules and stifles creativity and brainstorming.

疑人不用用人不疑

unfortunately, i mit countless of ppl who would insist on working their ways and not listen to wat i say. juz my luck dat i am working UNDER the person and has to say YES. still, sometimes roots run deep into the ground.

ha... enuf of grumbling.

aniwaes, after watching the show, we went to haf dinner where we chatted and chatted. nice. tho it was inevitable to tok abt work/sch stuff, it was nice to noe how she was doing. hmmm... and share secrets and updates. lol

and den, we went to kimseng to bowl, since the arcade was a little too crowded and boring looking. had 2 games, where i flopped the 1st round w 60pts and caught up later w 132pts. din strike new highs or new lows, juz enuf to satisfy the crave for fun. but i muz really credit the upturn to the ball dat i changed to, which felt better to handle w.

hmmm... muz get out more often and hang out together. well, life can't b juz work and work. i'd rather get a balanced life than mugging nite and day for a 1st cls honours dat is beyond my reach. well, u can say there ARE ppl who can play hard and yet get 1st class honours, but dat's definitely NOT ME. i'm not of dat calibre, else i'd haf gone to RI instead of RV. duh!

Unknown at 11:04 AM

Thursday, February 23, 2006

A Very Long Engagement

picked up the dvd from ezyvideo, where it was up for sale as a 2nd hand gd. wanted to watch it for a long time, but it was only dis sem after i took up french again dat i had the desire to watch it.

yes, it's in french, but w eng subtitles. from the director and female lead of Amelie of Montmartre. and yes, i admit i haf the passion to watch chim, boring, geeky films (as well as intolerable dumb shows like American Pie), but it's not dat i really noe how to appreciate the shows, juz dat these shows always leave me go WOW silently in my heart and arouse a sense of satisfaction inside me.

add on w a v beautiful plot, and tis wat AVLE had.

as the name of the show suggested, it was abt a very long engagement. mathilda's fiance was sent to the frontline during WWI. after trying to mutilate himself in order to siam his duty, he was 'executed' by being thrown into the no man's land between the trenches of the germans and the french.

mathilda believed dat Manech did not die and went on a search for him after the war ended. and wat? of cos, she was rite.

she has the will and belief

the show wasn't as real life as The Thin Red Line or Black Hawk Down in terms of the war scenes, but it was enuf. Manech was a responsible soldier b4, until his fren was blown to pieces rite in front of him w his innards thrown all over him. after dat, he became paranoid and out of sorts. all he ever wanted was to return to Mathilda. he was so out of his mind, all he said abt the execution he was abt to face was dat: after we step out into the NML, i'll b able to go see Mathilda straight away.

along w him were a few others who also tried mutilated themselves by shooting their own hands. it was cos of their existence dat complicated Mathilda's find, cos no one could really gif an exact account of wat really happened to the prisoners after they were thrown into the line of fire.

mathilda met a lot of ppl during her quest, ppl who knew stuff but reluctant to say anything due to personal reasons, ppl who seemed were wrong abt who really died in NML. one of the sub plots was of the revenge of the gf of the other prisoner, tina, who on a separate quest from Mathilda, knew wat happened to her man.

yup, it was only near the ending when she was caught dat the big picture came in. of the 3 ppl she killed, one was an officer who ordered the prisoners to b thrown into No Man's Land, the other was the officer who destroyed the letter which stated dat the prisoners were to b pardoned by the president, and the last one was the sgt who shot her man down when he tried to surrender to the germans.

wheneve she misses Manech, Mathilda blows her tuba, for it was the only instrument dat sound like the call for distress

and then a chance meeting w a german gal whose bro witnessed the execution led to the fact dat there were indeed survivors from the execution, and reversed the fact dat ppl who were deemed dead actually survived. dat led Mathilda to a crucial last person, one of the 2 surviving prisoners (it wasn't known at dat time who it was he carried out of NML) who left a coded letter to his wife abt where he will escape to shd he come out alive (they were supposed to b dead, so even if they escaped death from the NML, they wld still b executed shd they b caught again).

and the ending was beautifully touching. add on the recap of how mathilda met manech when they were young, their fave code of MMM (Manech Marry Mathilda) which Manech carved everywhere, even on a burnt tree in the NML. add on to the fact dat Mathilda was lame due to polio.

add on Mathilda's childish way of gaining reassurance: if the train does not go into tunnel or the ticket inspector do not come into my cabin at the count of 7, Manech is alive. such predictions always turn out to haf gd news, which makes ppl wonder y she kept doing it. it was only near the ending, when someone came and told her dat he saw the german plane shoot down Manech, dat a recap showed dat she did the same thing on the day Manech left for the frontline:

if i reach the bend b4 Manech's car passes by thru taking the short cut , he will come back alive.

it ended up dat she was unable to make it to the bend on time.

Manech and his tree

add on other subplots like one of the prisoners who, on the day of execution, patched things up w a fren whom they had fallen out of terms w. the saddened mother who willingly took in Manech despite the fact dat he had assumed the identity of her son when he died.

yep, i like the part when Manech woke up and asked the woman: who r u?

and the mum replied w tears of sadness and look of gratitude: I'm ur mother.

and of cos, Audrey Tatou's rendition during the time of reunion. the anxiety, the excitement, the satisfaction, the relief, the sadness, the hope rekindled.

and like Amelie of Montmartre, the director's style was evident. his way of inroducing the characters at the start thru direct narration and clips of their background. numbers and more numbers for french beginners to go gaga over w trying to catch and process them. drawing into the characters' faces to punctuate a significant turn of events.

it's a really touching show. after going thru the frustration Mathilda went thru during her quest for her lover, the ending w them finally reuniting was really worth the tears for celebration.

Unknown at 12:59 AM

Friday, February 10, 2006

Sights Around Punggol (Along The LRT)

had always wanted to promote Punggol, at least to gain some goodwill from ppl who tinks dat it is a god-forsaken place. and, in spirit of marketing, to promote awareness among whoever's reading my blog, esp, tho hopeless, the PRC prog lecturer who spelt Punggol as Ponggo (is he tinking of Congo??) 2 times in the lect notes. perhaps it's the influence of s'poreans who pronounced the name, in the usual slang of singlish dat omits the consonant at the end of ALL words.

aniwaes, some of the photos were taken a few mths ago, in aug and sept, and some recently. i guess one 'sight' abt Punggol dat attracts even ang-moh tourists to visit will b the LRT system...

punggol lrt station

the station itself was v captivating, at least when i 1st came. wat w seeing the station everyday of my life now, the majesty, grandiose of it all has lost its appeal. the above was a view from inside the LRT station, some view dat may seem normal and industrial to the naked eye, but can b captured from another angle.

oh... one thing abt Punggol LRT dat distinguishes itself from sengkang's, dat attracts tourists? the lack of crowd. perhaps not in the morning, and in the evening. but at normal times, the line served basically lazy ah sohs who r doing grocery shopping.

not to mention dat more than HALF the line is still not under operation.

for a small carriage, i'm amazed at its speed, which can't b felt while i'm in it. but looking at it from the distance, it was cruising even faster than a normal sedan.

towards home

aniwaes, in order to save operation costs oso, only one direction of the eastern loop is opened at any one time. one b4 3pm, and the other after dat. altho every trip comes into a full circle, each direction will offer a different introduction to Punggol.

i guess the majority of the population sees the one abt the developed and orderliness of Punggol, which is the direction after 3pm.

matilda hse

considering dat the mrt station was set in the midst of nowhere, emerging from the station was like starting on a journey INTO a developed city. fields abound, and the blocks of flats ahead.

towards punggol cove (the name of the 1st lrt station). budden it's sk in the distance

for 3 stations along a straight rd, the lrt line was flanked by 2 rows of orderly flats w uniform heights, an irony to the 'condo-like', 'different from old HDB flats' facades... they're like cliffs and canyons. the 1st pt of the lrt trip was like a kayaking trip down the river of Punggol Canyon.

preparing to enter the canyons

eating places and minimarts dot the cluster centrals. these were nothing but evidence dat here in this town resides the young couples of s'pore. DINKs, juz-past-DINKs, ppl who r too ~~lazy~~ busy to cook and families like mine who r practically not at home most of the day.

coursing thru the canyons

after passing thru 3 shell-roofed checkpoints, we emerge back into open space, turning juz b4 we hit the face of a small (once-landfill) hill. but of cos, it was a serangoon 'river' away.

lrt station

in fact, this is the region where serangoon 'river' empties into the straits of johor, juz like the river i'd been kayaking down in Punggol Canyon meandering into the delta of flats. it may seem dat i had left the canyon behind, but no.

towards riviera

after crossing the great divide of the town called Punggol Central, which leads directly back to the mrt station, we enter into a relatively new cluster of clusters. my cluster. here, there were some variations. in exchange for a less fancy facade, there were buildings dat finally do not face the general direction of the other flats.

towards riviera

towards kadaloor

but not my cluster tho. long ago, b4 i moved in, my fren ferried me here to deposit some of my stuff and to fix my new desktop. as he drove ard the service rd, he exclaimed, 'whoa... like a castle.'

the meadows

cos my cluster was a combination of 2 clusters, positioned symmetrically abt the shopping strip. it's an immense cliff wall, all uniform, identical twins within each twin, dat extends over 200m. in the dark (my cluster was the only one in the neighbourhood back den, so there was not much light in the new estate), the monster looms above us into nowhere.

it was, juz as ironically, called The Meadows.

i'm not bluffing when i said it was called The Meadows

after the stop outside my cluster, the remaining 2 stations r not in operation. which implied dat my station is the only one dat offers view of the other side of Punggol, the fields, the distant hills, the river, the straits; the nature.

out of kadaloor station

which explains dat in a cool morning, the scenery from here will b spirit-lifting. there will b wisps of mist hanging about the line of trees at the other end of the fields, like a white veil placed upon the tree tops. the water will no longer glitter like jewels under the morning sun, but becomes milky white. the fields were levelled and grasses cropped, but cos of dis, it seems to extend forever into the line of trees, yes dat line of coniferous trees dat shielded the ugly sights of the industrial buildings in JB.

foggy punggol morning

an optical deception, but a beautiful one.

the train will pass by the 2 unopened stations, stopping but not opening its doors. after The Meadows, the train officially exits the built-up areas of Punggol, into the flat lands beyond, and the canyons look distant and unfamiliar once again.

cloudy punggol

there was once a farm, a floral farm along dis stretch of the line. but it seemed dat the 2005 CNY bushfires had taken its toll on the owner, who suffered from the losses from the fire. the place is closed and abandoned.

juz b4 the train turns back into the tunnel of the mrt station, the 'forest' comes up at the side of the line.

foggy punggol

beyond dis pc of wood-lands, was where the old Punggol was, the pier, the beach, the marina. it was the place dat was promised to b an entertainment hub, to draw crowds to Punggol. of cos, it was juz promised.

the line of the other loop still not in operation emerges from the tress like a wild life trail. it crosses w the current line in op and trickles along the same way into the station: the massive mound of aluminium, steel, glass and concrete.

we pass in between 2 'hills' (dunno wat they were for, but they're juz there), b4 emerging into the open and steering into the station proper. back to the starting pt, back in a full circle.

there was sengkang in the distance, rite across the gushing traffic of CTE. there was the quaint, silent line of the western loop. there was the Punggol Canyons and there was the Punggol Wilds. gosh, no wonder ang-moh tourists want to come here. wat other new towns offer such sights, 4-in-1?

frankly speaking, i do hope dat Punggol stays at it is. no more development, no more human presence. of cos, dis is hopeless, cos juz beside the 'woods', a new HDB proj was beginning. soon, the trees will gif way to the flats, and the flats to the high-rise flats. no more scenic views, no more misty mornings. no more wild-life trails, tho the canyon kayaking will continue, and in fact, be extended.

but surely the place can b different from the concrete jungle of tampines and pasir ris, yar?

Unknown at 10:16 AM

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

J'aime Apprendre le Français

also means I Love Learning French literally, given the amt of french words i noe. ha...

juz dis afternoon, was having the lect. my monsieur made us do role play, ie. gif us a conversation and appoint ppl to read aloud.

amazingly, he called me and the 2 ppl sitting beside me to do the scene 1, and guess wat i was appointed to act as?? *hint: look at the pic below...*

look at wat's circled...

i was giggling all the way cos i could neva tink of such COINCIDENCE! and all the while, the whole cls was laughing cos they tot the name MOMO was farnie.

so... there r french who calls themselves MOMO!!! it's a universal name like John and Jane!!! used in china, thailand, s'pore and now FRANCE!! waha!!! and dis momo was singing in the video of dis play. aiyoh... heng i wasn't told to do the part w the singing... ha!!

and oh... pardon my handwriting... we were supposed to listen to the video and note down the missing words...

and den, had csl visit today. nice. i'm bonding well w my kid raymond (junping was allocated to some other new volunteer) and the other kids who shared the table, justin and don. i was rather touched, cos justin literally made his kor kor shift table w him so dat he could b at the same table w me. wah...

and raymond is a clever kid. he'll do sth someday. =)

well, i guess the highlight of the day shd b on my interview for noc, after all, i spent so much time, effort and money on it. and a lot of ppl noe abt it, cos i was spotted in my formal wear at the SLP engin booth, and literally everywhere. aye... aniwaes, of cos the outcome wasn't satisfactory, which was y i din ANNOUNCE it rite from the start. ok... the interviewer told me dat she din want me for the 2nd rd le, cos she has ppl who haf better CAP and more resolve to go SV than me.

oh well... i'm used to rejections. *sore*

besides, i had other stuff to cheer me up thru out the day.

bygones.

Unknown at 11:06 PM

Friday, February 03, 2006

Spent (Almost) Another Day Rotting

it's really v hard to get my butt moving to take out the bks and study at home (i couldn't even bring the zeal to read the First Mag/Men's Health Mag i bot). juz turned on the newly bot (1 mth lah) speakers and practiced hard for P.S. waha...

new speakers

recorded my singing and then realized dat my skill has deproved A LOT. going out of key here and there. perhaps i shd start running liaoz...

and glowing in the dark...

aniwaes, at dis pt of time, penny's song is reverberating thru the drums of my speakers:

《怎样》

Unknown at 1:06 PM