| Profil de JiefengRandom Ramblings? 峰言峰语PhotosBlogListes |  Outils  Aide |
|
|
2 février ShowsFinally watched Red Cliff after all these days! I shall not elaborate on how many times I tried to watch but somehow didn't manage to since it started showing... no good timing, missed timing, pple don't want to watch, sold out etc etc... lets just say that I never tried so HARD to watch a movie before. Anw, I finally managed to watched it!
Ok la, not bad. Slightly less Dynasty Warrior. Zhaowei's role as a spy is quite interesting. Lin Zhiling's role as Xiao Qiao has finally 'upgraded' from a vase to a... stupid woman. She is totally redundant but at least she brings a tat of 'unexpectedness' to audience who knew the story inside out, since that part is not inside the original story. It makes people wonder what the f will happen to that stupid woman. She also served the purpose of stirring up audience's emotions - that of anger... (tmd wtf is that cock doing???) So actually she has quite an 'important' role after all.
Oh well, all in all Red Cliff is not a bad movie. The battle scene is exciting, got a bit of Saving Private Ryan feel - (Destroy that enemy bunker! Its machine gun... no, its arrows are decimating our army!). Humourous elements spreaded throughout the film to lighten up the atmosphere. The ending is not bad too. "其实，我们都输了。" A good line to conclude this epic battle - makes you ponder for a while. Overall 3.5/5.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I watched 4 theatre shows in Jan. Frozen Angel, Betrayed Babies from M1 Fringe Festival, Whispers and Design for Living from Huayi Festival. I noticed a trend with the local theatre productions - nowadays we tend to try a lot of tricks, be it 剧中剧, multimedia, etc etc. And one favourite trick these days is to jumble 3 different stories up into one play and tried to make it seems connected when actually they are not.
Betrayed Babies and Whispers both used this trick, and it is actually very irritating for unprepared minds. It is like trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle only to realise in the middle of the show that it is 3 different jigsaw puzzles. Then you try to piece the 3 different puzzles again until, to your horror, it has reached the end of the show and there are still pieces missing! Sometimes there will even be some extra pieces left over to confuse you even further.
Then these days, for Black Box shows, they like to have post-shows dialogue with the director. The directors, upon getting feedback that most audience don't understand what their show is talking about, will say things like:
"Ya... we did considered that some audience may not understand the show, but as a director, we should be one step ahead of the audience, instead of staying at the audience's level. It is purely an artistic choice. However, I really did worried that I may be a little self-indulge, so what you all said is valid also..."
Upon hearing this, I felt a little pissed off. Wtf. After trying so hard to understand the show, you then tell me that it is actually not meant to be understood ?!?
But I totally understood what they meant la. Afterall, I did self-indulge myself at the expense of audience in my own hall productions last time. Haha! But now, after leaving production and going back to becoming an audience, I realised that what is most important in the play, is not all the pattern (more than badminton) used, but simply a good and complete story told in an interesting way. You can use all the tricks in the world, but once it compromises the audience understanding of the story, then, enjoyment level dropped. Simple as that. Look at some of the most enjoyable and loved plays in history (《暗恋桃花源》and Pillowman comes into mind), did anyone fail to understand the story??
Local staged drama production somehow have the tendency to put more emphasis on playing tricks than storytelling in the recent years. Last time I used to like experimental/abstract plays. But somehow these days I enjoyed those kind of plays less. Perhaps I had seen too much of these tricks. Perhaps I had become narrow minded. Perhaps I became old.
返朴归真.
Sometimes after doing lots of complex and complicated stuff, you will realised that the simplest things are often the best.
Personal opinion.
P.S. I really like Design for Living 《生活与生存》. An example of what I meant by "a good and complete story told in an interesting way". It's ending: "李想(理想), 我好像还记得你..." I LOVED it. But of course, its ticket price is about the combined ticket prices of all the other 3 shows that I watched this year. Haha!
One article on Design for Living :
13 septembre Mamma Mia Crappy and absurb story. Haphazard and loosely connected plotline. Mostly old actors and actresses. BUT... for all the wonderful classics you will hear in this musical, and the joyous energy you will experience from the songs and the cast, Mamma Mia is highly recommended! (Especially so for ABBA fans.)
Nice movie!
16 juillet Movie reviewsRED CLIFF (Warning: Spoilers)
  The Good
- Tony Leung and Takeshi (Woo!)
- The Ba Gua Zhen fighting scene
- Whenever Tony Leung and Takeshi appears
- Humourous lines
The Not So Good
-Zhaoyun's heroic saving Liu Bei's child scene.
(Why is it not so good?
1. The Zhaoyun looks too old.
2. It has little to do with the Battle of Red Cliff - not to the point, making the film unnecessarily long.
3. The scene has been depicted much better in Three Kingdom - Resurrection of Dragon by Andy Lau.)
- Zhangfei fight enemy soldiers alone and weaponless in Ba Gua Zhen scene.
(Why is it not so good?
1. It is one thing to fight through the enemies alone when one is behind the enemy line, eg. Zhaoyun save A-Dou. But it is another thing for one to fight through the enemies alone when the enemies is behind one's line. And it was the pinnacle of stupidity for one to fight empty-handed in this kind of situation, no matter how 'invincible' the person is. What is the director trying to show???
I suspect John Woo played too much Dynasty Warrior...
2. Zhangfei was famous for wielding the Snake Spear. Why the hell did he want to fight empty handed?)
- The 10 mins Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang playing gu zhen scene.
(Why is it not so good?
1. I personally love most kinds of art form, including Chinese Music.
(In fact, the next time if I have a chance to write a script for a play, I planned to have a scene in which the actor will write a very meaningful poem about The Importance of Having Peace in Life in Chinese Calligraphy before live audience for a full 30 minutes.)
However, it just happens that I am not prepared to appreciate chinese music for that long in an action war film, after work.
2. The Zhou Yu here seems too nice to Zhuge Liang compared to what is depicted in the novel. There is nothing wrong... I am just not too used to it. Haha!)
- Lord of the Rings' never-ending army scene
(Why is it not so good?
1. Erm... it is not bad la... but it is not good either... Ever since Lord of the Rings, every single films and even TV shows with an army in it will use the same computer graphics to achieve the never-ending effect. It shows serious lack of creativity... and makes it looks like Chinese version of Lord of the Rings.
I understand that John Woo is trying hard to make it an epic la... But he tried too hard.)
- After an agonising 2.5 hours, only 2,000 out of Cao Cao's 800,000 men was defeated - that was less than 0.3% of Cao Cao's army! (Why is it not so good?
1. It is a little unproportional for a 2-episode movie. One may wonder maybe they should just watch the 2nd episode. Afterall it is where 99.7% of the action is.
2. I felt cheated. Haha!)
Conclusion
We can obviously seen from the movie that the director originally meant Red Cliff to be a Block Buster Lord-of-the-Ring-like Epic movie with lots of big casts. However, perhaps due to budget constraint, or perhaps due to alot of big stars fly aeroplane, in the end only Tony Leung and Takeshi were left.
And the story is scripted in such a way that a lot of the plot were focus on secondary actors - Zhaoyun, Guanyu, Zhangfei, Liu Bei (who are those actors anw???), Xiaoqiao and Sun Shang Xiang (WTH has Sun Shang Xiang gotta do with Red Cliff?????). As a result, Tony Leung and Takeshi cannot really shine in the movie.
As a Block Buster Epic film, Red Cliff, having so many Not-So-Good points, has failed completely. Instead it became a 'B' grade movie that is a tad too longwinded. Even though it is still an average 'B' grade movie, I am very disappointed that it isn't the 'A' grade Epic that it should have been.
...Perhaps those big stars quit after reading the script?
Hancock (no spoilers)
In stark contrast compared to Red Cliff, Hancock is only 1.5 hours long. I went to watch with ZERO knowledge of it and its plot except that it was acted by Will Smith, one of my favourite actors. What I got was one surprise after another. Halfway through, the plot twisted in such a way that leave me absolutely flabbagasted. Though the ending is a Ten-Years-Series cliche ending, I left the cinema satisfied and happy.
Hmmm for those who don't know anything about Hancock's story (like me last time), if you want to know, I shall give a one sentence sypnosis that will reveal the first surprise (at least for me) below. Read on if you want to know:
Hancock (Will Smith) is a powerful superhero that had saved lifes and done a lot of good deeds. However, THE PUBLIC HATES HIM. Why? What will he becomes? Where did he come from?
Very highly recommended. An 'A' grade action movie.
24 juin NTU Food Guide - last update 12/8/08Funny that I never did this before during my 4 years in NTU. Only until when I started working in NTU then I started searching around for good food together with colleagues during lunch time. I guess this is the fundamental difference between students and working class -
When asked, "Why do you study?", people reply, "Exams lor."
When asked, "Why do you work?", people reply, "Eat lor."
Different priorities in difference stages of life. LOL!
Anwz over the past 3 weeks the bunch of us had been going to different canteens in NTU. I will hereby attempt to compile a list of best, good, bad, worst and special food in NTU. Note that the compiling process is still on going, to check back for updates now and then. Also, any recommendations are HIGHLY welcomed. I will personally go and investigate before I publish the results. Haha! Also, any Disagreements or Confirmations of the food reviews here are also welcomed.
Here is the half completed guide:
==== NTU FOOD GUIDE ====
~ Students need to eat good food , too! ~
(For locations of the different eateries in NTU, click here. )
UPDATES
12/8/08
Canteen 9: "Do not eat 凉皮. I repeat, DO NOT eat 凉皮, it is tasteless! You can try tomato egg soup noodle though. The soup taste not bad. Not fantastic, but I guess it is one of the specialities of Canteen 9 (other than its ice blended)." ~iw
18/7/08
Canteen 1: "Canteen 1's Western not bad." (Pending investigation) ~Yanli
Canteen 2: "Canteen 2's Beef Stall's tomato fried egg noodle 番茄煎蛋面 also quite good!" (Pending investigation) ~Yanli
Canteen 2: "Canteen 2's Beef Stall's Fish Slice soup dammmmnnnn chui! The meat is old and not 'sweet', while the soup is totally tasteless. DO NOT BUY! In fact, it is highly recommended that you do NOT try any soup base items there, eg soup beehoon, soup mee etc. Just try the Hong Men Niu Rou. It is the BEST! " ~iw
The Palette Western Food Cafe: "Price around the same as Quad ($5+), enviroment slightly better than Quad (in terms of tables, and you can GUARANTEE find a seat there), food slightly lousier than Quad (average only), and it only sell western if I am not wrong. Conclusion: If Quad no seats, come here. Haha!" ~iw
15/7/08
Canteen 9: "Canteen 9's 凉皮 not bad." ~Shea Li (凉皮 is a China dish... it is a kind of Kway Tiao. Pending investigation.)
12/7/08
Executive Cafe: "I personally think that Executive Cafe is not as bad as Max says. Well it is not fantastic, certainly not cheap, but it is fairly decent. If you had a sudden craving for dim sum and is feeling rich, feel free to eat at the cafe. We spent $17 per person, quite filling. Btw, I think they don't charge GST and service charge. What you see is what you get. (I'm not sure cos this meal is paid for by my boss, hee.)" ~iw
8/7/08
NIE Canteen: Western food standard (grill fish) dropped alot, alot... =( ~iw
Canteen 16: "Condemned. Tables too small, zi cha (ku3 gua1 niu2 rou4 rice) not good." (pending investigation) ~Shea Li
Canteen 16: "Indian food (zha chai rice) not bad." (pending investigation) ~Jiang Feng 3/7/08
Canteen 1: "Can 1 has the worst Teh Bing" (pending investigation) ~Singying
Canteen A: "I made the mistake of eating spaghetti at a pizza place, namely Canadian Pizza. Never make that mistake." ~iw 1/7/08
Canteen A: "I like the Vegetarian Stall's daily specials, especially Fish Slice Bee Hoon, Vegetarian Prawn Noodle Soup and Laksa. The Kway Chup not so good." ~Miaoting (vegetarian)
Canteen 4: "The Black Pepper Fish from the Zi Char is REALLY REALLY nice! The sauce is quite special and the favour went into the meat of the fish, which is very tender. Must try!" ~ iw
30/6/08
Executive Cafe: "the Executive Cafe is not good at all! overprice for its little substance..please do not eat there unless u have the money n wanna try out how unfilling the food is..." ~Max
27/6/08
Coffee Club Express: "The Scone there is damn nice!" ~Apple (Erm... I don't know what is 'Scone' la... so anyone can try le then tell me?? Haha!)
Canteen 1: "Can 1 i think porridge really not bad.. lol!" (pending investigation) ~Singying
Canteen 4: "The Black Pepper Fish from the Zi Char is REALLY nice!" (pending investigation) ~ Apple 26/6/08
Canteen A: "Tried the Indonesian Stall grill chicken & fish fillet set today. Not fantasitic... but well, not bad either. Something different la, can try." ~iw
Canteen A: "The BBQ Drumstick Rice not bad. (pending investigation) "~KC
25/6/08
NIE Canteen: "The Chicken Rice and Western there not bad." (pending investigation) ~Jiahong
Canteen 2: "The name of the dessert stall is called '夏日霜' ". ~Max
Canteen 11: "Ah!! I suddenly remember! The 面线 from stall 1 damn good! "~iw
Canteen 12: "The Jumbo Sausage meal consist of one gigantic sausage and on normal size sausage, with melted cheese on top and the rest of the plate filled with fries. Average tasting, but DAMN SINFUL!!! Try it if u dare! Next time I will try its pizza. My colleagues love the Korean food there so much that they go there once a week... zzz... "~iw 24/6/08
Canteen 2: "The Fish Soup there (Noodle aka Beef Stall) is also superb!" (pending investigation) ~Meiyu
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
MAIN ARTICLE
Canteen 1
Never try before. An ancient website says porriage good. Haha!
Canteen 2
Woohoo! The best canteen! Hong2 men1 niu2 rou1 (Beef Meat Trapped in Red Sauce) is a must try! Sorry for the bad translation. Haha! =P Then there is this dessert store that sells favoured shaved ice. I forgot its name, but it is NOT ice kachang. Very special! The texture damn soft. I tried the mango one... Damn nice!
The Western is over-hyped. So so only. Tried Fish and Chips and Chicken Chop. Nothing much.
Canteen 4
Zi Char which won the Channel U Campus Yummy Hunt. Probably the best zi char in NTU. I tried the Hor Fen, quite good, better than many other stalls, but otherwise nothing special... just an above average Hor Fen. Can try.
Canteen 5
Only went there once recently during exam period. They got sell different types of ready made soups in bowls. Tried the Lotus Soup. Better don't try the Lotus Soup. Haha!
Canteen 9
DON'T eat the laksa! Tasteless. Don't know what else is good. But I like the Mocha Freeze there. Only place in NTU that sell freezes?
Canteen 11
Erm... Never stepped into can 11 since I start work. Really don't know how to tell my colleagues what is nice there... But the Beijing streamboat is something special la. Ah, and the sausage plata! Yum yum! But too bad lunch no sell. =(
Canteen 13
Famous for its Korean food which also won the Channel U Campus Yummy Hunt. Hmmm the 'Rice and Meat in Stone' (don't know what it is called, chinese they say 拌饭 - mix rice) is quite special. They put rice and meat and vege into a very hot Stone Bowl, then you are supposed to mix them up together. A bit like Pepper Lunch. Not bad, something you don't eat everyday.
Tip: Colleague say that MUST mix in the special Korean red sauce from the sauce bottle. And not only MUST, must also put A LOT. I mean A LOT.
Erm btw they say don't buy the Korean noodles, cos it taste like maggi mee. Well, I never tried their mee, so I don't. One colleague also said that the Jumbo Sausage Meal from their Western also not bad. I'm going to try it if got chance. =)
Canteen 15
Over hyped Western.
Canteen 16
Never try before.
Canteen A
Sigh. Best known for MacDonalds and Subway?? I heard Jap standard drop le (not that it is very high in the first place), but well I guess it is still the best Jap Food in NTU.
Canteen B
Best Vegetarian stall in NTU. I also love the sugar cane juice there... and also the extremely short queue for the Western there. Haha!
Executive Cafe (near Can A)
Soonguan's friend said there dim sum not bad.
The Palette Western Food Cafe (near Can A)
Who ate there before? How is it?? I never tried.
Cafe by the Quad
Bake rice sucks. But I personally think the beef spaghetti there quite good. Covered with melted cheese, alot of meat also. Damn gao3. Did some research online before I write this guide. Got people say the $3.50 Chicken Rice quite good also. Erm... if you peeps try le nice can tell me. Personally I won't spend $3.50 to eat Chicken Rice. Haha!
NIE Canteen
I LOVEEEE the Fish and Chip Spaghetti there! To me NIE Canteen have the best Western in NTU. Hee. Ah... and overhyped Fishball Noodles.
Coffee Club Express (outside auditorium)
I always only drink Mocha Frappe. Not bad.
Mayflower Resturant (at staff club)
I am curious who the hell will eat there???
========================
This list is by no means exhaustive. If you think there is any food that is really good or really bad, or if there is any place i left out, help me expand this guide by leaving me a comment! Thanks alot! =P
1 mai Iron Man is damn cool! I went in expecting nothing but action. But it has a good story, good humour, better visuals, and a couple of surprises too! Among the Marvel movies, it is on par with Spiderman. 4.5 stars.
(But it may be a bias review cause I LOVE anything that looks like robots... ya know, Iron Man, Transformers, Gundam that kind of thing... Haha!)
22 février 拾壹制作剧终人散。 戏，演完了吗？
两百多名观众看了 2008年 拾壹制作 《剧本》，但又有几个人能了解编剧人的‘一番苦心’呢？
现在，还是 未来 ？ 刻意，还是 巧合 ？ 沉重，还是 轻松 ？ 前台，还是 后台 ？ 演员，还是 道具 ？
台上，还是 台下 ？ 灵异，还是 幻觉 ？ 真实，还是 虚构 ？ 人生，还是 戏剧 ？ 到了谢幕，才发觉，答案是
没有答案。
......
一生参与过六个戏剧制作，做过宣传，道具，音响，技术指导，编剧等。 到最后，还是觉得道具组最好玩。
那天，有一名道具组员埋怨：道具组不能像观众一样在台前看戏! 但是，他并不知道
观众也不能像他一样，在台旁看戏。
我想，我以后应该再也没有机会在台旁看戏了... 谢谢大家在我的最后一个戏剧制作，带给我那么美好的回忆。=）  Props seniors acting cool.
 Hehe!
 鬼啊！！！(Weiling aka ‘小孩子' )
PS.又要继续在这人生的大舞台当演员了。Haiz 最讨厌演戏了... 可以做道具吗？Haha!
25 janvier Beauty World Went to watch Beauty World the Musical last Saturday with a bunch of JC friends. At the ticket price of $44, we sat at the 2nd last row of the huge Esplanade Theatre - Circle 3, four floors from the stage!!! It didn't help that we were completely surrounded by primary school kids, haha!
Everything about Beauty World is good except for the plot and the ticket price. The main set is magnificant - 2 stories showing the inside of the glorious nightclub of Singapore 60s, with live ensemble on the second floor. Whenever it is not needed, it is hidden by lowering a veil. Then there are 2 extremely versatile platforms which can slide in and out of view (into the side of the stage) in front of the main set which can transform into different settings, be it home, tailor shop, backstage make up room, rooftop of Beauty World etc... Because of this design, the scene change is seamless. Plus the 'on the rooftop under the beautiful moonlight in a starry night' scene, with the perfect use of dry ice to create the on the clouds atmosphere... Dammmnnn zai.
Acting and singing-wise... Can't see a thing ah... but supposedly quite good la.
Alas, the plot... haiz... and the price, haiz... Frankly speaking, I would rather have less magnificant set for lower ticket price. 《天冷》's budget is only a small fraction of Beauty World and yet I enjoyed it much much much more!
I swear to God that I will not watch any local english play above $40 ever again, unless it is the BEST seat in the theatre.
Anw the morale of the story is: If the script is not good, at least impress your audience with your set, and keep it cheap... so that they will grumble less.
P.S. So far the only 剧团 that never disappoints me is 实践剧场 (except for 'Tosca', but well, it is 'pay as you want'...), founded by Guo Bao Kun. Their upcoming new show is 都是当兵惹的祸 The Soldier & his Virtuous Wife, directed by Huang Mei Lan. I remembered that last time when I was in Huang Cheng she used to talk to us about theatre theories and stuff, so I think should be quite zai ba. Haha! Anyone interested?
30 novembre Enchanted Oh my... Enchanted is an absolute must watch! Why? Cos it will make your day! =)
True Love's Kiss
Happy Working Song
That's How You Know
Read this recently from Discover Your Destiny with the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma:
'Childhoods is blessed by heaven because it brings a piece of paradise into the cruelties of life. All these thousands of everyday births are fresh additions of innocence and purity which fight against our spoiled nature.'
How true! Fairy Tales meet the Real World. When we came out of the theare, I asked what is the moral of the story. Yongren jokingly replied:
"Come to our world and be corrupted."
Haha!
Another reason why this movie is a must-watch is because it helps purify our souls, even if it's just a little bit. =)
2 novembre Stardust"A philosopher once asked, "Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?" Pointless, really...”Do the stars gaze back?" Now *that's* a question."
“No star can shine with a broken heart.” -Yvaine
Watched Stardust on my way back home from hall. It is another one of those rare gems that are little known and advertised but are extremely nice to watch! Hmmm... actually it is not really little known... The movie is adapted from a novel that is written by Neil Gaiman, an author that is quite well known in the English graphic novel circle. He is the author of Sandman, and is famous for his extremely imaginative, off mainstream stories.
I have read almost all his books, including Stardust. I didn't read the reviews, so I thought Stardust the movie may be another one of those failed novel-covert-films (eg. Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy), that is why I just went to watch without really jioing anyone. In the end, it turns out to be beyond expectations, even for me who already know the story. Watch le I feel very happy... so I strongly recommend all of you to watch. If have love one, watch with your love. If not, watch with your friends. It will make your day. Stay happy! =)
14 octobre Lust, CautionI watched Lust, Caution by myself yesterday. Too lazy to jio friends watch movies these days. Not that I prefer to watch alone. Just that films have become a spur of the moment kind of thing for me. Anwz back to the topic: Lust, Caution.
The film is based on Zhang Ai Ling's novel, directed by Ang Lee. The story's setting is in 1940s' Shanghai, when Japan invaded China. It's about a undergrad Wang Jiazhi (Tang Wei) who was willing to sacrifice everything she had, education, love, sanity, etc. to kill her country's traitor, Mr. Yee (Tony Leong, my idol). It is a very powerful film... how a person could sacrifice everything for her country... how she could transform from a carefree school girl into the role of Mai tai tai, a spy in Mr. Yee's family. Yet despite the things she did, all the sacrifices she made, and the fact that she acted perfectly in the role of Mai tai tai, in the end, in her heart, she was still a simple school girl who craves for Love (objectified in this story as the diamond ring).
 Btw I don't really recommend this film since it may be a bit arthouse to most people's liking, most people like me. Haha! (Most arthouse films got this common characteristic of being very 'slow' and 'draggy' because they portray in very minute details the characters' emotions and character. But in this case Lust, Caution is slow but not that slow la.) However, it is a very powerful film which can impact or touch you emotionally.
PS. Btw I forget to mention to mention another important cast, Kuang Yu Min (Wang Li Hong). He was Wang Jiazhi's senior in the drama society and the leader of the society. It was him who planned the assassination of Mr. Yee. But instead of protecting the woman he loved, he dragged her in to help him in his foolish and selfish ideals. I look down on him. Pui!
PPS. Hmmm I don't know why this film / Wang Jiazhi resonate so much in me leh. Maybe is the students were as passionate in drama as I am? Or maybe I'm actually as lonely as and as empty inside as Wang Jiazhi... because I'm watching the film alone?? Haha! (Next time better jio me for movies.)
27 juillet The Sandman ReviewI've finally finished reading The Sandman (book 1 to 11) by Neil Gaiman. Now I'm reading The Sandman Companion by Hy Bender. I guess The Sandman will be the only the comic that I have to/ am willing to read a guidebook to fully appreciate the story. Anwz I'll give a brief synopsis of what the Sandman is all about.
Basically, the Sandman is all about... the Sandman himself, and the people around him. Sandman, also known as Dream, Morpheus, King of Stories etc etc, is one of the 7 beings who are known as the Endless. He, together with Destiny, Death, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium, was there before or soon after the Universe is created, and are older than the Gods themselves. (The real reason why he is created so early is because Neil wanted to put in all kinds of stories, ancient or modern, alien or human, into the series.) The 7 of them are siblings and needless to say, each have their own functions.
The story starts in 1916 with an English magician trying to imprison Death, but caught Dream instead. Dream was trapped until 1988, when he escaped and dealt out some punishments. Later he set out to recover his artifacts and reorganised his realm (which had fallen into disrepair) and hunted down some rogue dreams. (Book 1 - 2)
After Sandman got everything in order and a heart to heart chat with his elder sister, Death, he prepared to go to Hell to release his former lover, Nada, whom he had condemned ten thousand years ago, from her torment. However to do this, he gotta go through the ruler of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar, who hates him. Will he succeed? (Book 4)
300 years ago, Destruction left his realm, his responsibiltiy and his family to travel the world. No one has seen him since. Delirium, youngest in the family and missing her brother, begged Dream to help her find him. Dream patronisingly agreed. Nobody can seek Destruction and come out unscathed. What will happen? (Book 7)
Interposing between the main storyline are collections of loosely related short stories, stories about... the bargain between Dream and William Shakesphere; a world where cats once hunts humans like mice; the 1st and last emperor of the United State of America (Joshua Abraham Norton really existed!); an ancient king of Baghdad trying to preserve his city's glory in dream; the adventure of a faerie ambassador etc etc... I loved these short stories... (Book 3, 6, 8)
Book 9 The Kindly Ones is one thick book showing the full repercussions of the decisions Dream made in Book 4 and 7. It is the climax of the story. But I think it is abit too confusing.
Book 10 The Wake is the aftermath of the climax and the conclusion of the entire Sandman story.
Book 11 Endless Nights is the last book of the series, showcasing 7 short stories, 1 for each of the Endless... 2 of which I totally don't understand. But the rest is super nice.
The Sandman is one comic that is unique from all other comics. If you like interesting stories, this is a must read. Sometimes it may be a little draggy and boring and hard to understand, but mostly it is highly entertaining and it makes you think. You will get through those 'arghhh' parts in no time. Haha!
P.S. I like Fables better. At least I don't have to read guidebook. (There is no guidebook on Fables also la.) =P
P.P.S. By the way, I found this: The 7 little Endless!!!
("They didn't even look remotely human. None of us did, back then." commented Cain to his brother Abel, who was telling a little baby a story about Dream and Death when they were young.)
 From the left: Desire, Despair, Delirium, Dream, Matthew (the bird), Death, Destiny and Destruction.
26 juin ThroughlySaturday is a xiong day. I watched 2 theatrical dramas and listened to 1 talk in one day! The 2 shows are Beijing Ren, scripted by Cao Yu and directed by Li Liu Yi, and Mabou Mines' Dollhouse directed by Lee Breuer. (News report) The talk is one given by Lee Breuer on theatre and is very thought provoking.
"Everyone has an idea in their mind on what the show is going to be, everyone has a script in their head… the bad guys are going to die, the good guy is going to win, the couple will be together etc etc… You think you are paying money to see my show? No! You are paying money to see YOUR show!"
"What is important in theatre is surprise… When you are driving you can drive with half of your mind shut down. However when a dog suddenly runs across the road you become very alert, because you are surprised. An activity which only uses thousands of brain neurons suddenly requires millions of neurons. That is what I want! I want my audience to watch my shows with millions and tens of millions of neurons!"
Yup, as I said, life needs surprises once in a while. If not, you are not using your brain. =P
Beijing Ren shows the decadence of an once rich family (in Beijing) to total breakdown. The characters inside were all under the 'control' of money and society and were unable to pursue that they really wanted. They were wondering what is the meaning of living this way. All these are in stark contrast with mankind's ancestor (those cavemen), Peking Man or Beijing Ren, who lives simply, without guile and worries.
Actually the theme of Beijing Ren is also quite similar with that of Dollhouse, in which all characters are 'controlled' by a predominant male society like dolls/puppets, which in the end, leads to a tragedy. (Of course the director treat this old 1879 tragedic play the comedic way, which is another discussion for another day.)
Getting out of the stories, aren't we all also like puppet dancing to the strings of society and money?? Which of our action are really our own? Why do I want to study engineering? Why do you want to be nice to me, or your family, or your colleagues? Why can't I say or do what I want? WHY???
Can we live like our ancestors, the innocent and free Beijing Ren ?
*************
Sunday, yesterday, I can't help myself and bought another book on impulse. As you see, the title of the book is very attractive (to me at least): How to Cheat at Everything, A Con Man Reveals the Secrets of the Esoteric Trade of Cheating, Scams, and Hustles by Simon Lovell. Attractive har? =P
I will share with you this little trick I found in the book which you can use to cheat your friends and family. =)
Shuffle a deck of cards. Tell your friend that the two of you will take turns turning over the card. The first one who turn over a picture cards loses. Suggest betting on it, as big as possible, since you can't lose!
Whenever you turn over a card peek at it before you turn it over. Don't hide this, in fact make it quite obvious. If it is not a picture card, turn it over.
Carry on with the game. If your friend turn over a picture, you win. But what if you peek a picture before they got one?
If you peek a picture card simply place it face down onto the pile and peek the next card – if this is a picture card place it face down on top of the first. Keep doing this until you reach and non picture card and turn it face up.
Your friend, disconcerted by this, will reach for other face down cards and flip them over. He can claim you cheat all he wants but you still win the bet.
You see, he turned them face up, not you!
Be prepared to run at this point!
*************
Life is simply enjoyable. =)
28 mai Oops I did it again.I will say what I did at the end of the entry. Anwz here are some updates. I've been doing...
Report. And, last week has been hell.
What happened is this. My IA tutor told us during his last visit months ago that we can hand in our IA report one week after the end of attachment. So, I've been taking my own sweet time slowly typing, relak relak, entertaining my cousin and her husband from Malaysia, strolling along Singapore River with my dad while they are watching Phantom etc etc. UNTIL my tutor called last Monday and told us that we have to hand in by last Friday, no extension possible 'cos he's going on leave after Monday.
I panicked.
I worked like mad to complete my report until I finished what I wanted to write on Wednesday night. Word count: Ten Thousand One Hundred and Forty-Two. For the past week, have been getting headaches for the first three days and feeling extreme fatigue for the entire duration of the week, even until yesterday. Downed 3 Panadol and 2 bottles of Chicken Essence.
Almost died. Haha!
At least now I came back to life, and the movies I have been watched during the weekends are...
Pirates of the Caribbean and Next. My review is this:
Pirates kinda sucks. I yawned countless times in the movie. I even thought the director is trying to change it into an arthouse film. And this time, our favourite Captain Jack Sparrow has became a supporting cast. A little bit disappointing. Maybe my bad review is due to the fact that I was watching alone and I was very tired on that day (Friday afternoon). But coincidentally Zao Bao's review also gave it 2 stars, which is VERY lousy. So, if you haven't watched it, you know what to expect and so you will find it better than expected. =) Btw don't wait for the scene after the credits. It is not worth it. (Made me more disappointed. Haha!)
On the other hand, Next, which I watched on Sat with a friend, is much better! (Maybe it is because I don't have such high hopes for it.) The story is about a magician (Nicholas Cage) who has the ability of knowing his future 2 mins in advance and how he helps FBI stops a nuclear terrorist group. Story is by Philips K Dick (author of Minority Report), who is one of my favourite authors. The ending is... debatable. Zao Bao gives 3.5 stars. Not a must watch. But a good watch. =)
Currently I'm reading...
The Witch of Portobello and Fables.
The Witch is a new book from my favourite author Paulo Coelho. It is a story about the life of a woman called Athena, whom had been murdered at the start of the story... Hmmm... Haha! I'm still trying to figured out what has happened. Anw it has been as inspiring as ever. Nice!
The Fables is a graphic novel (story by Bill Willingham) series about a group of fairy tales characters (such as Snow White, Big Bad Wolf, Prince Charming etc) who had escape the destruction of their homelands and came to live among us a long time ago. The way the characters are portrayed is very fresh and interesting. Eg. Prince Charming is a man who can't stand marriages and had since divorced Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. (Singying, thanks for the recommendation! =) Highly recommended. (Though be warned that it contains adult themes that may not be suitable for those who haven't reach 21. Hmmm... SY, have u reached 21? Haha!)
Hmmm I've also reread Little Prince halfway before I got hooked by the Witch. The absurbity of grown-ups... Must keep in mind to remain young at heart. =P
I've been playing...
Lastknights and Bomberman!
Lastknights is the all time favourite in the office. Bomberman is the new favourite. Play against your fellow colleagues using the same keyboard for endless joy and laughter!
There are other games in http://www.addictinggames.com/ too! Feel free to try if you are VERY free. The perfect time killer. Boxhead is another favourite in the office. http://www.addictinggames.com/boxheadmorerooms.html
I want to watch...
Fantastic Four, Shrek 3, and Wong Kar Wai's Dream (theatre show by Finger Players)
Khakis needed! Anw I dunno what Wong Kar Wai's Dream is about. All I know is ... Wong Kar Wai is one of my favourite directors. Finger Players is the theatre company who did 0501. A friend is working as a crew inside. That is why I want to watch. Details: Tickets - S$50, S$40, S$30, S$20. Student 20% discount. 13 - 15 Jun. Drama Centre. 8pm. Anyone for any of the shows above? =)
Time to reveal what I did again....
I scratched my dad's car again for the xth time. (Lost count liao.)
I've no problem on the road, being one with the car, crusing through like a wind. But when it comes to parking, I'm damned careless. Haiz...
There is one thing I love about my dad: He always forgives my mistakes... without making a big fuss out of it. (That is where he is different from my mum. =P The scratch will cost hundreds to repair.) For that, I'm grateful. Thanks dad! =)
(I'm not that innocent.)
P.S. But I don't think he will send it for repair la. He didn't repair the past 2 times also. =P
8 avril A brief summary of what happened on SaturdayI went MAAD (Market of Artists And Designer) together with a friend. Review: Feels good =). Of particular interest is a Stall of Poets. You just give them your name and a word, they will write a poem impromptu and you can come back and collect in 10-15 mins and pay any amount you like. I gave them 'Jiefeng' and 'Magic'.
*15 mins later*
I got back an envelope, type-written (yes, they used those obsolete type-writers):
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
it's a kind of magic
jia feng
.............
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Yes, they spelled my name wrongly, and there is no stamp.) I paid them $5, for mine and my friend's, and left.
Then we went Raffles City, ate Roti Plata with Egg and Roti Plata with Cheese and Sausage, bought copy of Daily Bugle (the newspaper is owned by Peter Parker's boss) at $1, a Neil Gaiman story book titled Coraline at a comic shop, and saw a very interesting wine glass in another shop. The label on the glass reads:
'A MAN IS INCOMPLETE UNTIL HE IS MARRIED...
THEN HE IS FINISHED.'
*Pondering...* (Should I complete myself? ) Hmmm... Haha! =P
Then there is still time, so we went CHIMES for a walk, admiring the architecture abit, before we went Victoria Theatre for the production, 0501.
The Front of House was dark, and there is eerie sound effect. Big glass jars lies on the floor, small lighted light bulbs in side the jars, wires all over the floor and ceilings.
We were greeted by a usher and were told that we still can't go into the theatre yet, later we will be shown where is the entrance, meanwhile we can take a look at the installation art... (Met Xiangbin, Jingwen and their bunch of TTP friends while we were hanging around outside the theatre.)
The show / experience began there and then, the moment you reach the theatre, even before you go into it, and it felt like we were going for Fright Night. You felt expectant, wondering what the show is about, and abit scared even. It is, for the lack of a better word, interesting!
Then it is time and the usher lead us out of the Front of House, round the side of the theatre, and entered through the back door. And we found ourselves on the stage! (Ok, strictly speaking it is the backstage, with the cyclorama rolled up, so the backstage and the stage is merged into one.) We sat on the stools provided, facing the cushioned seats. All around us are metal tins hanging on ropes from the top. Inside are our program booklets. (Ok, it is not booklets. It is just big sheets of paper rolled up.) In front and behind us are strange installations, cage, stacks of fans, platforms and a dog (real one), with the actors doing their respective stuffs. Minutes later, the dim lights went faded out, one actor abruptly pull a rope and all the metal tin buckets with their program booklets rise up. The show started.
(Hmmm... I did say I this entry is a brief summary, didn't I? Okok, I will keep it short.)
The show ended. Lights up. One actor in front gestured to us, inviting us to walk down the stage and exit by the entrance. (Only after he gestured a few time then we managed to realize he wanted us to leave...)
What I think of the show? It is abstract, beautiful, thought provoking, extreme immersing, dream-like, unique. An experience. Nice. I know you will like it. Too bad you didn't watch it.
A fulfilling Saturday. Satisfied. =)
P.S. Sorry sisters. Can’t meet up with you gals yesterday. My fault.
P.P.S. For those interested to know what is between 'The show started' and 'The show ended', you can look at my friend's blog entry, though I believe it is such an experience that it can never be expressed through words. (Actually is I'm lazy. Haha! =P)
P.P.P.S. For those interested to know what is inside the poet's envelope, it is this:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ILLUSIONS
delusions
magic
capture
mesmerize
dazzle
lie to me
MAGIC!
i want to believe your tricks
when make yourself disappear…
it’s
magic!!!!
let me see that act
where you cut me to pieces
magic!!!
i am whole again.
flowers churn from your hat
birds
emerge from your
empty
hands
magic!!!
` i stand in awe
you
great
magician
magic!!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nice!
6 mars 《暗恋桃花源》Watched 《暗恋桃花源》, directed by Stan Lai (赖声川), last Saturday with 2 friends and a bunch of strangers (friends' friends). The play is damned good. Tech is good. Effect is good. Story is good. Style is good. 3 hours long, 3 hours of pure enjoyment (except for a few parts which is a little boring). The story goes like this: *Spoilers Alert! * The setting is 1940s, in the war-torn Shanghai, under the moonlight. A loving couple, 江滨柳 & 云之凡 is about to be separated. 之凡 is leaving for her hometown together with her family for a few months. Here, lovebirds promised to keep in touch and pledged their undying love for each other forever blah blah blah... (This is the boring part.) At the end of the scene, an disgruntled old man, the director, comes onto the stage complaining to the 2 actors that they didn't get the feel right. ("云之凡不是这样的，她就像一朵纯洁的白色山茶花..." To which the frustrated actress replied, "导演，山茶花怎么演啊???") It turns out that they are rehearsing for a tragic play called 《暗恋》. At this point, strange props and pple starts coming onto the stage. Another drama group has booked the theatre for rehearsal that same night! ( 滨柳 :" 怎么这样？为了这出剧我推掉了《白色巨塔》leh!" ) So the director went off angrily to find the manager, and this other group begins rehearsing for their comedic play, 《桃花源》. (Meanwhile, a mysterious woman was looking high and low for a guy called 刘子骥, which no one in both drama group knows.) The setting is ancient China, in a house. This couple is unhappy with each others. The guy, a loser fisherman, who manage to catch only small fishes, suspects his wife is committing adultery with his landlord, which she is. To keep a long story short, the fisherman left the house in anger after a big quarrel to go to the dangerous upstream to catch big fishes, while the wife and the landlord happily stay in the house and do whatever they want to do. Then is back to 《暗恋》. (A cock assistant 小胖 in 《桃花源》sent its next scene's backdrop to Malaysia, so, cannot they continue.) 滨柳, now married, old and dying, is lying on his bed in a hospital in modern Taiwan. (He immigrated there years ago) After all these years, he still cannot forget 之凡 even though he already has wife and kids. He found out that 之凡 has also came to Taiwan many many years ago, so he puts a notice in the newspaper, hoping that she will see that article and see him one last time... Then is back to《桃花源》. The fisherman rowed his boat upstream and encountered a big storm. (Here is where all the impressive effects came in: smoke, lightning, and fisherman flying here and there (using steel wire)! ) At the end of the journey, he reached a Paradise, where red petals falls non-stop (really non-stop for 15-20mins!); cows, horses and other animals roam freely (pple in animal costumes, damn cok! =P). There he met his wife and the landlord look-alikes (the inhabitants of the paradise), who keep telling him to relax... relax.. relax... Suddenly, there is a blackout. 小胖 had cut the main wire in an attempt to stop the other group from rehearsing... ermm... (Haha!) Ganna screwed, and so, he say he'll repair it during... --------- Intermission --------- After intermission, the 2 groups, unhappy with the progress they are making, decide to divide the stage into half and rehearsal separately. However they keep interfering with each other and the result is utter and complete confusion. (This s the most hilarious part. =) In the end, they decide rehearse one by one. 《桃花源》: The fisherman, now a very serene and peaceful person (after hearing people kept telling him to relax non-stop), decides to go back and bring his wife and landlord to the Paradise after a few days against advice. However, it turns out that many years have passed in the real world, and his wife and landlord've already married with kids (though they are also unhappy with each other). At first they thought the fisherman is a ghost ("那里有牛，有马..." "哇! 牛头马面!!!"), then when they are convinced he's still alive, they thought he's crazy and refused to believe him... ...leaving the poor fisherman alone in the real world... (And for those of you who have read the original 陶渊明 's《桃花源记》, you'll know that the fisherman will never find his way back to the Paradise again.) 《暗恋》: 之凡 , now old and also married, eventually came to visit 滨柳. There, they found out that Fate has played a trick with them. In the vast China, they have managed to meet each other and fall in love in Shanghai despite living in different parts of China. Yet, in the (comparatively) small Taiwan, they were kept from each other despite that they both immigrate there soon after they separated... In the end, 之凡 left, went back to her family, leaving 滨柳 with his. Here, sorrows and regrets lingered in the air... This is the end of the rehearsal. Both groups congratulate each other, pack up and leave the theatre happily. All left. Except for the mysterious woman, who is still searching for her equally mysterious beloved, 刘子骥. --------- The End ---------
It is simply a good show. Spectacular effects, comedy/tragedy contrast, extremely funny scripting aside, it has one thing that I feel all good shows should have - it is thought-provoking. And it really provoked quite a variety of thoughts: 'Many things in this world are elusive - you will never get it no matter how much you chase / want it. You gotta 面对现实.' (Mine.) 'Stan Lai is encouraging Taiwan to merge back with China.' (My mum's, who didn't watch the show.) 'The 2 directors in the play are being 虚伪, cos they are presenting a story abt one trying to find something/someone, yet they turned a blind eye to the woman who is really trying to find someone...' (Overheard when I was leaving the theatre.) 'Love is about... ... ... ...' (A friend's blog.)
A good show. No wonder it is in its fifth or sixth re-runs since its first debut 20 over years ago. For those who didn’t watch, wait for next re-run ba. =)
|
|
|
