How Grateful I Am To Be Part Of The Mystery

A Gosling In The Forest

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 10:10:22 GMT

It's December and there are rumblings of who will be dominating the Oscars next year, as the studios prepare to release the last of their fall movie product to woo critics and audiences alike.

Half Nelson swept the awards at the Gotham Awards, so it's probably gonna be an indie frontrunner. I saw the trailer the other day, and I must say that I'm eagerly awaiting this movie. I've heard rumblings that Ryan Gosling stands a good chance at a Best Actor nomination with the supposed performance of his career; but then again, I've also heard that Forest Whitaker delivers a knock-out performance in The Last King Of Scotland and many critics are saying the Oscar gold is his to lose. And then they also say the same for Helen Mirren's performance in The Queen, so really -- if everything's so locked, where's the fun?

Can't wait for the dark horses to emerge.

Where Did That Time Go?

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 15:48:53 GMT

I said before that if you didn't hear from me for more than 2 weeks, expect the worst.

It's been exactly 2 weeks since I last posted. It doesn't even seem that long. I really don't know where all that time went. Life has just been a little bit strange these days.

I'm sorry some of you have not heard that much from me, in terms of posts, comments and whatnot. I can't even say that there's that much going on, I just really am at a loss as to where all the time has gone to.

The way I see it, this is a happy problem. Anything which makes time pass faster while I fester away at this job - that's a good thing. And yet, I'm getting older, and my youth is slipping away (gosh, do I even have 'youth' anymore?) as I speak.

It's coming to December.

I will post again within the next couple of days - I'm pretty sure I will. This is just to let all of you know I'm still alive.

Turn On The Lights

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 04:26:55 GMT

Haven't updated in a while, and I return with thoughts on TV and Lost! There are spoilers for Lost, but everything else is okay.

I'm really loving Heroes! Why no one has done something like this during the last three X-Men movies is beyond me, but when you bring the idea of superheroes down to a weekly serial, you get so much more opportunity to explore the moral ambivalence, the blessing/curse ideas and the whole grappling with identity issue. And Heroes is just doing that so well, on top of some killer cliffhangers that even Lost has not been able to top. It's also doing monster numbers for NBC, so I'm glad they have finally managed to find some success.

But seriously ... and I say this with a heavy heart because Heroes is just so bloody awesome, it's not my favourite new show. That title actually belongs to another show on NBC, one which I only recently checked out. I wish I could say that it hooked me after two episodes (which is all that I've seen), but the truth is, I think I was hooked ten minutes into the first episode. Not an easy feat at all, considering it had nausea-inducing shaky camerawork, a subject matter related to a sport I have never comprehended, and only one actor that was known to me in a cast of unknowns. (And gosh, it's set in Texas, of all places.) The show is called Friday Night Lights. I'm doubting it will ever get here (the subject matter would kill it automatically, even though very little of the show focuses on the American football; plus the movie which is was based on didn't get here either, and that did some decent box-office Stateside), which is a downright dirty shame, but I will enjoy it for the moment. The ratings have not been kind (some theorise that this is because it's just too realistic in its portrayal, and TV is for escapism), and it's not clear if the show will finish its first season. I'm crossing my fingers that it does, because I don't think I've seen a show like this for a long time. It's incredibly earnest, it portrays small-town life in rural America with respect, it wears its heart on its sleeves, and almost every episode I've seen I just want to reach into the television and be next to these people and tell them how everything will be alright. It features a Zach Gilford, whom I have never heard of prior to this show, but he practically knocks his role out of the park. He becomes the guy you want to root for right from the start, even though he displays streaks of imperfection. This is his role of a lifetime. What a wonderful show -- don't take this away from me before it finishes out its season.

And on to Lost, for which I have to say that I have been rather disappointed this season. The second season was so good, and yet something seems to have gone wrong so far.
- I've really had enough of Jack, Kate and Sawyer being captives, and if I see anymore "situations" reflecting their love triangle and the damn choice that Kate has to make, I'll be forced to drink
- That really wasn't much of a cliffhanger, because how is Kate supposed to run off the island anyway?
- I wasn't surprised that someone got killed off, considering the show added five names to their regulars list this season (and really, how useless are Rodrigo Santoro and Kiele Sanchez at the moment?), but why did it have to be Eko? So right, now everyone introduced last season from the tail end of the plane have bit it, and we didn't even find out why Eko was flying from Australia back to the USA (this is the point that annoys me the most)
- They are not doing enough with Henry Ian Cusick -- they build up the whole Penny thing at the end of season 2, and nothing!

Movie Rankings (Sep 2006)

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 06:49:25 GMT

Six movies this past month. We've got three more months to go before the year's end, and I seriously doubt The Fountain, Little Children and The Science Of Sleep (three of my most anticipated movies coming out this fall) will hit screens here before the end of the year, so let's see where the ranking goes. To create some measure of suspense, this will be the final instalment until December! Three months' worth of new movies till we meet again!

Tony Takitani : Incredibly arthouse, this Japanese film moves at a snail's pace, but the art direction is quite possibly one of the best I have ever seen.
The Host : This Korean movie takes a classic spin on the typical monster movie, infusing it with strong characterisation as well as socio-political commentary.
Singapore Dreaming : I don't think I could write any more on this movie.
Friends With Money : The general acting was there (you can't quite go wrong with these actresses), but I was rather disappointed with almost everything else.
The Devil Wears Prada : A whole lot of fun, with Meryl Streep once again proving why she's one of the best actresses ever.
Little Miss Sunshine : I haven't laughed that hard at a movie for quite a while. Abigail Breslin is a rare find, and Arkin, Carell, Collette and Kinnear are at the top of their game here.

2006 Movie Rankings (as of Sep 2006)
1 (1) C.R.A.Z.Y.
2 (2) Mad Hot Ballroom
3 (3) Adam's Apples
4 (-) Little Miss Sunshine
5 (4) Everything Is Illuminated
6 (-) Singapore Dreaming
7 (5) 4:30
8 (6) Jarhead
9 (7) Capote
10 (8) Nine Lives
11 (9) Chinese Restaurants : Beyond Frontiers
12 (10) Pretty Persuasion
13 (-) The Devil Wears Prada
14 (11) If You Were Me 2
15 (12) Junebug
16 (13) Brokeback Mountain
17 (14) The Squid and The Whale
18 (15) The Road To Guantanamo
19 (16) We Feed The World
20 (17) Sunflower
21 (18) V For Vendetta
22 (19) Hard Candy
23 (20) The Fearless Freaks
24 (21) Breakfast On Pluto
25 (22) Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)
26 (-) The Host
27 (23) Thank You For Smoking
28 (24) The Matador
29 (25) Paradise Now
30 (26) Bush's Brain

You Need To See This

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 15:32:49 GMT

Please, please, please, please don't let this pass you by.

I'm just so damn proud of this movie. Who would have thought it would be a New York-based 'quitter' (if you want to use some government-sanctioned lingo) that would end up making the best ever film about Singapore? I laughed out loud at many parts, the audience (almost full house) lapped it up, and at some points I thought I heard sniffling. Wonderful.

About half an hour in, I was already thinking to myself : I can't believe I watched The Host last weekend over this. (And ladies and gents, The Host isn't a bad movie by any means.) I actually love what Mr Miyagi said about this, most especially this line : "I was drawn into the stories as soon as I unconsciously gave up trying to look for flaws in the movie. It picked up after 10 minutes and became a compelling flow of stories which you won’t just identify with. You’ll live them, you’ll dream them."

Yes. Of course there are flaws. It's not a perfect movie. It's not Hollywood production values. It's not arthouse noir. It's not even started on the festival circuit yet. It's not going to win Singapore a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar (not because it isn't good, but because the powers that be are likely to submit 4:30 instead, because "arthouse mah, we also can do it like the North Asians and the Europeans").

If I wanted to nitpick on it, I could go watch it again and spend the entire time looking out for flaws (though I suspect I'd still have a really good time watching it). Most often, we are hardest on ourselves, and I think maybe this goes the same for our films too.

"The ending, like not very resolved leh."/"The plot, like not unrealistic leh."
Of course we wouldn't say the same thing if it were a European film. It'll just be "oh, it's just a typical European film".

"Wah, she was really over-acting man." (no, I don't think anyone overacted in Singapore Dreaming)
Please remember Halle Berry's Oscar-winning "performance" in Monster's Ball.

"How come we are always talking about all these things one? Condo lah, country club lah, credit card lah..."
Because this is a film about Singapore. And this is what a lot of people here talk about. (People who make comments like that are usually the 'have's, and as a friend once told me, we always compare up, and it's difficult for us to compare down. In other words, it's easier to envy than to count our blessings.)

So, I'm not suggesting that you should go watch this because it's gonna win some big prize in the film world. And it's not because we should support every single piece of local cinema (you guys know me - I have my standards to uphold). I'm suggesting that you watch it because this is a film about us as a society, about what the Singapore mentality is like; and it's a film made for us, to showcase that. 4:30 (and I'm comparing these two movies because they are the best local films I've seen) could foreseeably be a Japanese, Korean or Taiwanese movie, but Singapore Dreaming is quintessentially a Singaporean film. You've got to ~~live in this country~~ spend a good amount of time in this country in order to be able to make a film like this.

I won't go on about the plot. I thought that despite the movie's 'heartland' focus, it steered very very deftly away from slapstick Jack Neo schtick. I think the superb acting (especially Yeo Yann Yann and Alice Lim) helped, plus the very realistic screenplay (I would never be able to write a screenplay as realistic as that). It was also wonderfully subtle - it works as a commercial piece, and it can also be 'arthouse' if you want to dig deeper, unlike Jack Neo who sledgehammers his theme across all the time. Neil Humphreys from Today paid the movie this compliment : "Damn fine film. I've seen my first 'Mike Leigh' film on Singapore. And I had to wait 10 years to watch it." You know, Mike Leigh films are seldom this commercial, so I'd say this might be one-up on that.

Anyway, most of you know that as things stand now, I don't see myself in Singapore beyond the next 2-3 years. I love my country. It will always have a special place in my heart. But too many things here have made me disillusioned.

Wherever I may end up, I'm pretty sure I'll be bringing along a copy of this DVD. One evening, in the future, maybe I'll invite some friends home. I'll put the DVD into my portable DVD player and we'll sit round my 14" television set by the light of a kerosene lamp and I'll show them this movie, explaining all the little quirks in the movie. And then, after it ends, I'll turn to them, maybe with tears in my eyes, and I'll say "This movie is about my home. There ain't no other place on earth like it." And they'd ask "So why did you leave?" And I'd say "Because I always wanted to sing".

Air Flown Pork

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:04:20 GMT

That sound you hear is the sound of pigs taking flight.

Ben Affleck - BEN AFFLECK, people! - picked up the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival.

In other news, I saw the pilot for The Nine last night, and I can't wait to catch the second episode (still not as good as Traveler though). The Nine - ABC Wednesdays this fall, after Lost. I think Jessica Collins is gonna be The Nine's breakout star. She was pretty amazing, and gorgeous in that vulnerable way. If she replaced Ellen Pompeo on Grey's Anatomy, that show would be perfect.

Movie Lookback (Aug 2006)

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 13:44:26 GMT

Much belated, but here goes. Plus this year (and by that, I mean, the 2005 crop) is probably one of the most amazing years for movies ever, so I'm expanding the list to 30.

I caught 6 movies this month.

Hoodwinked : A modern-day spin on, well, Rashomon as well as Little Red Riding Hood. Most of the funny parts were in the trailer, but well, I liked it enough. A rather awesome Ben Folds song can be found on the soundtrack.
Hard Candy : Incredibly difficult to watch at times, but Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson were revelations. Not as predictable as I'd thought, and like Mysterious Skin from last year, you just can't look away even though many parts make you uncomfortable. As with most guys in the audience who watched it, at one stage I was grabbing my balls. Seriously.
The Squid and The Whale : Really funny, well-acted and well-written. Deserving of all its accolades. Reminds me that when America does arthouse, it often knocks it out of the park, more often than the 'European' film with the 'European' ending. You know what I mean.
Saint Jack : This was entertaining, only to see Singapore in the 1970s. Plot was a bit blah.
Pretty Persuasion : This was like Cruel Intentions in a way, except that Evan Rachel Wood was maybe about ten times better than Sarah Michelle Gellar. The script was snappy, satirical and oh-so-funny. You find yourself laughing at things you really shouldn't be laughing at. I think back when she was on Once And Again, playing the anorexic teenager feeling the stress of her parents' divorce as well as her puberty, I already knew Evan Rachel Wood had great things in her future. Seriously, it's only a matter of time before she wins an Oscar. I also recently found out she's dating ~~Billy Elliot~~ Jamie Bell. I shudder to think how gorgeous their children will look.
Adam's Apples : Adam, a Neo-Nazi and ex-con, sets out to bake an apple cake. (I never get tired relating this synopsis.) I already raved about it previously.

2006 Movie Rankings (as of Aug 2006)
1 (1) C.R.A.Z.Y.
2 (2) Mad Hot Ballroom
3 (-) Adam's Apples
4 (3) Everything Is Illuminated
5 (4) 4:30
6 (5) Jarhead
7 (6) Capote
8 (7) Nine Lives
9 (8) Chinese Restaurants : Beyond Frontiers
10 (-) Pretty Persuasion
11 (9) If You Were Me 2
12 (10) Junebug
13 (11) Brokeback Mountain
14 (-) The Squid and The Whale
15 (12) The Road To Guantanamo
16 (13) We Feed The World
17 (14) Sunflower
18 (15) V For Vendetta
19 (-) Hard Candy
20 (16) The Fearless Freaks
21 (17) Breakfast On Pluto
22 (18) Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)
23 (19) Thank You For Smoking
24 (20) The Matador
25 (21) Paradise Now
26 (22) Bush's Brain
27 (23) Inside Man
28 (24) Le Grand Voyage
29 (-) Hoodwinked
30 (25) L'Enfant (The Child)

I'm A Traveler

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 16:48:26 GMT

The new fall TV season kicks off in the US in a couple of weeks, and I CAN'T WAIT!! Seriously, I think this is one of the best fall seasons I have seen in yonks - so many shows brimming with potential. Not to mention, I will finally get to find out what happened on Lost.

I've already sneakily caught the pilots of two shows, but based on everything that I know and have read about the new fall season, here are the shows that I'm most looking forward to, in order.

1. Traveler (ABC)
I must say that NBC's shows this season have the highest curiosity factor for me, because they really seem to be hitting for a homerun. And yet, despite all that, the show that I'm most looking forward to comes from ABC, allegedly its highest-testing pilot for the season. Traveler, unfortunately, due to its themes about a terrorist plot, will only bow in January next year (ABC didn't want this show to get lost in the shuffle, and they didn't want to debut it so close to the Sep 11 anniversary). I caught the pilot, and well, some shots felt like CSI:NY, but it was so action-packed and filled with so many twists and turns - one part I totally should have seen coming, but didn't, and so I had to pick up my jaw from the ground - that you just CAN'T WAIT for the second episode. Unfortunately, like I said, that will be in January.

2. Heroes (NBC)
A group of people from all over the world (okay, mostly from the US, seeing how that's like the only place on earth with UFOs anyway), struggling with their lives in some measure, all discover that they have some supermagic powers. It's X-Men on TV! Have not seen this, but have heard good things about it. Can't wait.

3. The Nine (ABC)
Nine people survive a bank robbery, but what happened in the 52-hour standoff? And how will they relate to one another after a life-changing experience like that? I'll be there, finding out.

4. Jericho (CBS)
I've actually seen this one, and the music already got me (The Killers start off the pilot, Snow Patrol end it), but I can't wait to find out what happens when a nuclear attack takes place in the US and the small town of Jericho, Kansas seems to be the only place unaffected.

5. Friday Night Lights (NBC)
Sure, it has the game I'll never understand - American football - as a backdrop, plus it's set in Texas, but this is what many critics are predicting will be NBC's breakout hit this fall, and Zap2it has picked this, Heroes and The Nine as the Top 3 shows to catch this fall. Plus it has Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton - I'm totally there.

6. 30 Rock (NBC)
I've heard that this is hilarious (it's a comedy), and it's set behind-the-scenes of a Saturday Night Live-esque variety show. NBC has two such 'behind-the-scenes-of-a-show' shows this season, and this is the less promoted one, and given its timeslot, probably the less successful one too, but critics were almost unanimously in agreement that this was also the better one.

7. Six Degrees (ABC)
I think this show started out as possibly #1 on the list. Reasons? One critic, after watching the pilot, mentioned that "you can understand why this show follows Grey's Anatomy (in the schedule)", which already got me all manners of excited. It also comes from JJ Abrams (Alias, Lost), plus it plays on that whole 'six degrees of separation' thing, and it's set in the wonderful city of NYC. It also stars Hope Davis (love her), among others. What's not to love? PLUS on my flight back from the US in May, I actually sat next to this guy who had just been to LA for some screenings (basically he works at the TV station here, so he was deciding what new fall programs to buy) and he just plain raved about this show, ranking it #1 among all that he had watched. (He was yet another person a bit underwhelmed by Aaron Sorkin's Studio 60, calling it "difficult to market in Singapore", so I'm not sure if it'll come here at all. I guess it depends on the ratings.) It slipped down to #7 because there have also been a handful of critics that have come off unimpressed. I always say - remember Grey's Anatomy. Nobody really thought much of the pilot, and look where it is now. You know, you never know.

Fearless Emmy Predictions!

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 15:53:22 GMT

Drama Series
24, Grey’s Anatomy, House, The Sopranos, The West Wing
Who Should & Will Win : ~~Lost~~ Grey’s Anatomy

Comedy Series
Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, Scrubs, 2.5 Men
Who Should Win : Arrested Development
Who Will Win : The Office

Lead Actor (Drama)
Who Should Win : Kiefer Sutherland, 24
Who Will Win : Martin Sheen, The West Wing

Lead Actress (Drama)
Who Should Win : Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Who Will Win : Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under

Supporting Actor (Drama)
Who Should Win : Gregory Itzin, 24
Who Will Win : Alan Alda, The West Wing

Supporting Actress (Drama)
Who Should Win : ~~Katherine Heigl~~ Chandra Wilson, Grey’s Anatomy
Who Will Win : Jean Smart, 24

Lead Actor (Comedy)
Who Should & Will Win : Steve Carell, The Office

Lead Actress (Comedy)
Who Will Win : Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback

Supporting Actor (Comedy)
Who Will Win : Jeremy Piven, Entourage

Supporting Actress (Comedy)
Who Will Win : Jaime Pressly, My Name Is Earl

Reality Competition Program
Who Should Win : Project Runway
Who Will Win : Dancing With The Stars

Holy Macaroni!

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 10:23:26 GMT

So let me set out the context a bit. There's this project that I've been working on for quite a while. Was doing it during the germination phase, and then worked on some of it as it started to pick up. Along the way, Female Colleague 1 (FC 1) joined the team and started helping me with it. Then, with my reservist training last month, plus the fact that I am leaving soon, FC 1 and another Female Colleague 2 (FC 2) took over the reins on the project. If I want to be selfish about things, it was perfect timing -- because the instance they took over, all the work started piling in. It was incredibly voluminous, to the point that Supervisor (S), Male Colleague (MC) and myself were roped in to look at certain parts, though the bulk (and the toughest) part was looked at by FC 1 and FC 2.

Then yesterday morning, we were going for a meeting for the project. S, FC 1 and FC 2 were in TBTR's office talking about how they were going to engage the other parties at the meeting. MC and I were not around, because we were late for work (hee). Later on, S came round to my cubicle.

S : Here, this is for you. [places an envelope on my table]
Me : (to myself) What's this? (then seeing that it's a Robinson's -- some retailer here in Singapore -- voucher envelope)
S : A reward for working on the project.
Me : No need lah.
S : Just take it. Don't worry, it's not [TBTR]'s money. [Big Boss] paid for it. Everyone in the team got one. [TBTR] fought for you to get one too, since you started off the project. (Because seriously, among the 5 of us, I've been doing the least for the project in the past month or so.) But FC 1 and FC 2 got more, since they are leading the project now.
Me : Sure, of course, that's fair. (Oh, it is, trust me. I wouldn't want to be in either FC 1's or FC 2's shoes)

We had to rush off for the meeting, but in the afternoon, I opened up the envelope, and in it, was a $50 shopping voucher (I was expecting maybe $10 or $20). It was a really kind gesture by Big Boss (whom we initially had a terrible working relationship with), who saw FC 1 and FC 2 spending late nights in the office, and decided to reward our team. This sort of stuff never happened at my previous work place. I'm guessing FC 1 and FC 2 got $100 each, which is awesome and deserving for them. This is the kind of gesture that makes me feel so valued, so appreciated, and at the same time, so sad to be leaving.

Movie Lookback (Jul 2006)

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 09:28:58 GMT

I watched 3 movies this month.

The Road To Guantanamo : I've talked about this before.
Thank You For Smoking : Funny, biting satire about the tobacco industry that's both smart and slick.
Brotherhood : Korean movie about the experiences of national service. One of the biggest wastes of good money this year.

1 (1) C.R.A.Z.Y.
2 (2) Mad Hot Ballroom
3 (3) Everything Is Illuminated
4 (4) 4:30
5 (5) Jarhead
6 (6) Capote
7 (11) Nine Lives
Yeah, I know a movie is more than the sum of its parts, but I think to date, I have watched the Robin Wright Penn-Jason Isaacs segment of Nine Lives about nine times already, and it still astounds me as to how insanely good it is. Therefore, this movie makes a 4-spot climb up to #7.

8 (7) Chinese Restaurants : Beyond Frontiers
9 (8) If You Were Me 2
10 (9) Junebug
11 (10) Brokeback Mountain
12 (-) The Road To Guantanamo
13 (12) We Feed The World
14 (13) Sunflower
15 (14) V For Vendetta
16 (15) The Fearless Freaks
17 (16) Breakfast On Pluto
18 (17) Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)
19 (-) Thank You For Smoking
20 (18) The Matador

From Hell

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 08:57:27 GMT

Am back. And boy was it gruelling.

I think of the however many years of liability I still have to defend my country (when, as they say, the red button gets pressed), this national reserve training was by far the worst. It was an assessment of sorts, and while we came out of it with a decent-enough result, it was just painful getting through it all.

The intervening weekend (ie. about 8 days ago), I wanted to post, but the truth was I only left the army camp at around 6pm on Saturday, rushed to attend a wedding dinner, and then barely felt as if I had rested enough before having to go back into the camp at 9pm on Sunday. 27 hours of freedom, if you want to call it that way.

The past week was especially gruelling. Exactly a week ago, I was in the middle of nowhere, togged out in army fatigues, with camouflage paint all over my face, a rifle slung across my chest, perspiring like a dog, while helping to churn out a plan on how to defeat the 'enemy'. And here I am today, typing into a computer, in the middle of the business district, working on things that have a greater sense of reality to them. It is pretty surreal, if I think enough about it. And well, I was pretty much living and breathing 'ARMY' the past two-and-a-half weeks, so it's difficult to pull yourself away from that. This morning, I could not remember my password to log into my Windows XP.

Last week saw us on a 4-day-3-night mission, basically with little sleep along the way. We slept whenever we could, and it's amazing to see grown men just sprawled out on the jungle floor, tired for sleep and not caring where their heads lay. I was quite lucky in certain respects -- I managed to snag a bench for a 4-hour snooze on the first night and then the next time I slept was 2 nights later in the passenger seat of a military vehicle, sleeping for about 3 hours in an upright position. My head hung down like a dead person, but I was just so dead tired anyway. I woke up with aches around my joints. I'm just not getting any younger. I cat-napped a couple of times, but was just physically and mentally drained after the mission ended.

Some dude apparently lost 7 kilos in the two weeks. I probably dropped a couple of kilos.

Well, it's all over now. And it's best to my civilian life for another year.

Off To Camp

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 15:10:58 GMT

What a strange few days it has been.

I mean, no big news, really - I didn't go to any concert, I didn't have some huge revelation, I didn't win the lottery, I didn't buy anything expensive. Just one of those weekends that's pretty, uh, different from how I usually spend my weekends. Maybe more about that in a couple of days.

Been working my butt off the past two days at work, cos I will be heading back to the army (time to dust off those army fatigues) over the next two-and-a-half weeks, beginning tomorrow. So I've just been trying to complete as much of my work as possible.

This evening, at around 6.20pm (which isn't really late at all, as far as the working day goes), my supervisor came round to my cubicle for a short chat about some work that she was helping me follow up on. After the shop talk, we joked for a while about someone from another organisation, and then she told me : "If you don't have time to do the letter, just leave it. [My co-worker's name] can help you do it tomorrow".

That was pretty awesome. It wasn't late anyway, and she meant it genuinely, that I really didn't need to stay late to finish the work. I was preparing a file for her (as she is off to Chicago next week and would need the materials), and the letter she was talking about was the last piece of work I had to do for the day.

About 15 minutes later (still an early day, cos the sun hadn't set yet), my co-worker came round with my supervisor (they were on their way home) to wish me well as I serve my country for the next couple of weeks or so. My supervisor commented that I probably didn't have enough time to finish the letter, and my co-worker immediately chipped in : "If you haven't started on it, then forget about it. I'll do it for you tomorrow, it's okay".

How do you expect me not to miss these people when I leave my company next month?

The Road To Hell

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 04:17:20 GMT

I had to wake up bright (actually, it wasn't even bright out yet) and early on Saturday morning at 6.15am to head down to Marsiling for a 8-km march with my army reserve unit, in preparation for my reserve training in a couple of weeks. 8 kilometres isn't very far, but I guess after all these years (and the fact that we only go back for training once a year), we're just not that combat-fit anymore. I don't know about everyone else, but I had to take an afternoon nap (of about an hour) after that. Maybe it's just cos of lack of sleep. We're marching 16-km next Saturday, and this will take us into at least noon, when the sun will be baking.

That same evening, I met up with some of my ex-colleagues (or rather, soon to be colleagues, when I return back to the ol' ~~shithole~~ 'hood) and we went to Ministry of Sound to club. I'm not that keen on clubbing, but it's always fun hanging out with them, so I went along. The problem really was that the music there is just not up my alley. I mean, yes, we danced and all, but at the end of the night, I couldn't tell you one song that was played on the main floor. Not knowing the title of the song is besides the point, I don't think I could even point out the song if I were to hear it like, right now. We spent a bit of time in the hip-hop room (once again, couldn't recognise any of the music though I think they played that "Numb" song by who is it? Mike Shinoda? -- but at least they had lyrics) as well as the retro room (which honestly was just quite sad, these were songs from the 1970s we were talking about). Probably my first and last time at the place. We left around 3am and needless to say, I was bushed.

If not for the fact that a lot of my friends were there, I don't think I would have bothered. It's ridiculous to pay good money to dance to music you don't even recognise, not to mention like. I guess that's why despite all that, Poptart @ Home is still such an 'event' whenever it happens. Because you just don't hear music like that at any of the clubs nowadays -- it's all just house, hip-hop or retro. And it's not true that "you can't dance to indie music", which is something I've heard people say before. I dare anyone to listen to Hot Hot Heat and not wanna bop your head or move your feet.

Anyway, on to the main point of my update. Last night, I went to watch The Road To Guantanamo -- one of the more current (and urgent) movies in the current global political landscape. For sure, the movie stays with you, and I tell you, it evoked so many thoughts in me while watching it -- mainly about politics, the media and human rights. It was incredibly sad (and horrifying) what the Tipton Three went through. About half the movie is spent chronicling their adventures in Pakistan and Afghanistan. One of them was getting married in Pakistan and they decided to go visit Afghanistan while they were at it -- not as freedom fighters, but genuinely believing that Afghanistan was not going to be invaded. (The Hindu Kush looked stunning -- it's really sad that that part of the world is seeing such strife.) The three went through quite a lot of hell in Afghanistan already as it is -- being at the wrong place at the wrong time -- and you know as you watch it, that the shit isn't over. It's not called The Road To Guantanamo for nothing.

Us human beings are capable of such evil. At what point do you completely lose respect for humanity? I can't believe there can be people out there who preach about democracy and freedom and human rights, and these are the same countries that condone their soldiers throwing away someone's Koran while he is practising his religion. It is a completely depressing movie, and I think any self-discerning citizen of the "Western democratic world" would be disgusted after watching it. The sad reality is this : The face of war has changed. Now you've got terrorism, civilian militia, freedom fighters (yes, all of this existed before, it's just become more militant than before), and civilian populations get drawn into and affected by whatever governments and their armies decide they want to do. Throw religion into the mix and you've got a time bomb waiting to explode. But this change can never be an excuse to do onto civilian populations the kind of atrocities that may happen. We can never use terrorism as an excuse for genocide.

The civilian Jewish and Rwandan populations were innocent back in the time when they were being wiped out, and so humanity rose to this and spoke out, and something was done, albeit too late. But if we justify the wiping out of a creed because of their religious beliefs, and use this as a position of defence when justifying the horrendous actions to our populations, then that is wrong. And we must not be blinded to not see this.

Emmy Numbs!

Fri, 07 Jul 2006 04:25:27 GMT

The Emmy nominations were announced yesterday, and I have quite a few gripes!

Most significantly, where was Lost?!?! It won Best Drama last year, and totally disappeared from the nominee list this year! And the second season was even better than the first! House probably pipped it though, since Grey's Anatomy, 24 and The Sopranos were pretty much shoo-ins, and then you have the Academy's unfathomable dedication to The West Wing (it will probably still be nominated next year, even though the show has ended). And well, House is watched by a lot more people than Lost is. But STILL!!!

At least Henry Ian Cusick got nominated (though he will surely lose -- he is up against Michael J Fox, James Woods and Kyle Chandler!) for Best Guest Actor (Drama) -- Desmond quickly became my favourite character on Lost, and I really hope he returns in the third season.

I'm surprised that Desperate Housewives didn't get a nomination for Best Comedy, but my surprise stems from the fact that the Academy would show some discernment with a full-of-buzz show like this. Honestly, I don't think it deserves it (but this is me having only watched the season premiere and finale), since I love all the other shows nominated more than it (except for Curb Your Enthusiasm, which I haven't watched), and would have put My Name Is Earl and Everybody Hates Chris (which both got snubbed) above the Housewives anyway. The season finale gave me the feeling of having spent 50 bucks on bad food and still feeling hungry.

Other gripes :
- WHERE THE HECK WAS KATHERINE HEIGL?!?! -- Did none of you at the Academy watch the Grey's Anatomy finale?!?!?! She went through every possible emotion known to mankind in that one, and it still wasn't enough for you?!
- Most of the cast of Will & Grace got nominated again -- seriously, enough already.
- William Shatner -- I had enough of you in the first episode of Boston Legal.
- Sandra Oh of Grey's Anatomy -- okay, really, she's not that good.
- [not a gripe] Nominating Steve Carell (The Office), Kevin James (King Of Queens), Jaime Pressly (My Name Is Earl), Will Arnett (Arrested Development), Gregory Itzin (24), Jean Smart (24) -- well done, Academy!!
- You're still nominating Six Feet Under?!?! (Okay, at least you didn't give it a Best Drama nom, that would have been unforgiveable)
- Where was ~~Veronica Mars~~ Kirsten Bell??? (Yes, I know this is a lost cause.)
- Christopher Meloni (Law & Order SVU)? Seriously? You didn't have enough choices for Best Actor? What about Hugh Laurie or James Gandolfini?? (I have this theory that Patrick Dempsey can McDreamy as much as he wants on Grey's Anatomy but will never get nominated, because seriously, and I think the actor knows this too -- his best work was on Once And Again.)

Sports Night

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 02:14:55 GMT

So it's Italy versus France in the World Cup final.

To be honest, I stopped caring the moment Spain got knocked out (thankfully, this was around the time when Wimbledon started, and I generally find that a lot more interesting), and then cared even less when England finally got put out of its misery, one stage earlier than I had predicted. That was joyful news and it capped off a great night, especially cos England was supremely arrogant this time round (they would win a World Cup on arrogance, that's for sure), and the shenanigans (Wayne-gate, comparable to Gomez-gate over here some time back) just proved my point. This is one of the most accurate articles I have read so far on the (well-deserved) England defeat (mel_24, you should read that if you have the time, and this is just plain funny).
[Note to the British guy who wrote the obnoxious letter : Australia has as of this year, officially joined the Asian Football Federation, or whatever it's called, meaning that it does not need to face a play-off against a South American nation to qualify for World Cup finals from now on. Meaning that all it needs to do is beat a few lowly Asian teams and it will probably qualify. It already beat Japan 2-1 this time round, and I doubt Iran or Saudi Arabia would give it too much competition in the future. Your team, on the other hand, has to qualify in Europe. Good luck to you. I hope 1994 happens again in 2010.]

Anyway, trivia : apparently, a European team has never won a World Cup when it is held outside Europe. Of course, these coincidences or patterns are meant to be broken (a la Germany never losing at Dortmund), so let's see how 2010 plays out.

I only watched about 15 minutes of the England-Portugal quarterfinal (of all the quarterfinals), and have not watched any of the semifinals, and probably won't stay up to watch the final (I mean, it's Italy v France after all, I don't think I could find any two teams that I could care less about). I just feel that the result is an unimportant one, especially if Italy were to win it (which I had heard will happen, even before it had played Germany, like hmmmm....), simply because of how the Italy-Australia Round of 16 match played out. I still feel that Australia got cheated out of that one, and Italy won cheaply. It's because of that match that I don't think I could interest myself in, nor regard Italy as deserving of winning, the World Cup. Yes, you can argue to me that Italy might have won it in extra time or on penalties, but I can also argue the same for Australia. So, really, I don't care what happens on Sunday over in Germany.

But I hope Federer wins Wimbledon again on Sunday!

The Countdown

Tue, 04 Jul 2006 03:52:17 GMT

Yesterday morning, the phone call finally came.

It was my previous company, telling me when I will have to return, and giving me an approximate indication of where I will be going when I head back to the old 'hood.

It's an okay posting, nothing too frightful, though the fact that it's not something I've done before does scare me a little. I've been asked if I think I can handle it, but well, how do you give an honest answer about something you've never done before? It's like someone asking me if I think I will be a good husband or a good parent.

Anyway, I sat on the news for a while, and then towards the end of the day, went into TBTR's office to let him know. My opening line was "can I talk to you about my last day?" And he smiled and beckoned me in.

We chatted for a bit, and I told him that my last day would be on a Tuesday, and the next day I would have to report back to the old 'hood. A little bit strange, to be going off work on a Tuesday evening, knowing that the next day you will be at an entirely different location in the midst of entirely different people doing entirely different work. Because the old 'hood said I could get a few days' flexibility, I asked TBTR :

Me : So when do you want me to go? [someone is slated to take over my cubicle, so there is some pressure on time]
TBTR : [My company] wouldn't usually bargain too much. If they say you have to report back, then just do so when they ask, it's okay.
Me : Okay, but I will be on reservist till the week before, so I could write to them to extend for a few more days till the end of the week if it helps with the handing over of work and duties.
TBTR : However many days you extend, it won't be enough anyway.

And his last line just floored me. I think it's one of the nicest compliments a boss has ever given me, and I think I shall remember that line for the rest of my life, because it will capture all the good memories I have had of this place the past 2 years.

Two years is a long time, and you don't just forget two years of your life. I remember how when I first started, I was scared and worried that I would not be able to handle the work at this new place; but now, I almost can't bear to leave.

I said okay, looked around TBTR's room for a bit, wondering if I should say any more, or if he had any more to say. I told him again my last day as he clicked on his laptop for a bit, as I noticed his face was getting a little bit flushed. He told me to inform everyone else, and then I thanked him and left.

I sent out a short email a while later, and one of my colleagues shouted from another cubicle for me to go over. I hung out there for a bit talking to two of them, and also began to notice that the eyes of one of them started to get a little bit watery after a while. I excused myself and said I had to go, and went home.

Come that Tuesday some weeks down the road, I think I will be the one with the flushed face and the watery eyes. I will miss this place so much.

June Movies

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 18:41:39 GMT

Didn't do a countdown in May, but here we go for June!

First up, what I watched these 2 months :
The Matador (May) : I believe Pierce Brosnan had such a great time making this movie, because it shows. He and Greg Kinnear play off each other so effortlessly in this indie gem about an assassin trying to finish one last job.

Paradise Now (June) : This won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Well, it's good, and definitely relevant for its time (it delves into the psyche of suicide bombers), but it just didn't stay with me as much as I'd thought it would.

Love Story (June) : No, not some Korean romance weepie, this is home-grown director Kelvin Tong's arthouse offering. He won Best Director at the Singapore International Film Festival for this. The movie is rather interesting and made for some good conversation, but it is certainly an acquired taste.

Nine Lives (June) : I bought the DVD for this cos I heard good things about it. I cannot relate to this film as fully as director Rodrigo Garcia probably intended, for the simple reason that the 9 stories in this film revolve around 9 different women, with each woman taking centre-stage for each story (which lasts about 12-15 minutes). The impressive thing is that each of the stories is shot in one continuous take, which is amazingly difficult to do - not just for the cast, but more so the crew. I mean, you'd wanna catch this just for that craft itself. My favourite story features Robin Wright Penn in the lead role - my gosh, she nails every emotion down pat, and I think a lot of people were expecting her to pick up a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for this (of course, she got snubbed, cos nobody ever saw this film). I've seen the Robin Wright Penn segment 3 times already, and it's still amazing to watch.

4:30 (June) : Hands down (yes, hands down) the best locally-made film I have ever seen, I enjoyed almost every single moment of this film, and came away thoroughly impressed. It's when you watch something like this, and then compare it with the over-rated Be With Me from last year, that you begin to realise how talented director Royston Tan is. Go watch it in theatres real soon, because if first-week box office (it's opening against Superman Returns this weekend) aren't good enough, it's going to have a very short run, which is not what it deserves. Lead actor Xiao Li Yuan carries the entire film on his small shoulders, and is such a stunningly expressive and natural actor that he could end up garnering some arthouse honours for his work here. He certainly outacts the entire ensemble in Be With Me combined (and I think this is a testimony to Royston's craft), and also puts some professional actors to shame. Wow, wow, wow.

1 (1) C.R.A.Z.Y.
2 (2) Mad Hot Ballroom
3 (2) Everything Is Illuminated (yes, the Ballroom-Illuminated tie is broken)
4 (-) 4:30
5 (4) Jarhead
6 (5) Capote
7 (6) Chinese Restaurants : Beyond Frontiers
8 (7) If You Were Me 2
9 (9) Junebug
10 (10) Brokeback Mountain
11 (-) Nine Lives
12 (8) We Feed The World
13 (11) Sunflower
14 (12) V For Vendetta
15 (13) The Fearless Freaks
16 (14) Breakfast On Pluto
17 (15) Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)
18 (-) The Matador
19 (-) Paradise Now
20 (16) Bush's Brain

Adios, Espana

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 21:39:51 GMT

I woke up at 2.40am to head down to the McDonald's only to see Spain go down 1-3 to France. Sigh.

I have to say that I was very sad that Spain crashed out like that, but I will (try to) be objective about things :

- France really did up their game from that Togo match, and tonight they were the better team, 39% ball possession notwithstanding; I guess you can say that the better team tonight did win, so no 'football is a cruel sport' war cries coming from me
- Spain played pretty well too, especially their fluid passes in midfield and relatively clean style of play, but France defended solidly, and poor Fernando Torres (looking really small amongst some of the French players) was just marked left right centre, with not much chance to show his stuff
- That Zidane goal was pretty awesome
- David Villa shouldn't have been substituted - he was definitely getting more balltime than Torres was
- Spain has a young team - I seriously think they expected more from themselves (at least quarterfinalists I would guess, to match their 2002 achievement), but this squad can only become better in 2010
- Hands down probably the most entertaining game I've seen this World Cup (since I've pretty much been watching the shit ones)

So France finished second in their group behind Switzerland and the Swiss are out. Spain finished on top of their group, smashing Ukraine 4-0 enroute, and Ukraine is still in.

With Espana out, and the only remaining hablar Espanol team being Argentina, I guess I'll be back to rooting for the underdogs. Since the ARG-GER match could seriously go either way, it pains me to root for FRA against BRA, and the ITA-UKR match is just a waste of time - that kinda only leaves me with Portugal. It'll be pretty awesome if the two Portuguese-speaking sides get into the Final 4.

PS. And check this out! It's the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, where Australia set an international football record by thrashing American Samoa 31-0! They couldn't even concede one lousy goal to the American Samoans?

World Cup Stories

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 02:27:13 GMT

I just met a colleague at the pantry, and this conversation ensued.

Colleague : So did you watch the game last night?
Me : Nah. I don't have cable, and RTM wasn't showing it. Did you?
Colleague : Yeah, I saw the England game.
Me : Oh, so how did they play? (I was genuinely interested.)
Colleague : Boring lah. It's so frustrating. They could have ended the game with a better scoreline, but they are just content to sit back and do nothing. They started off defensive, couldn't do anything during open play, had to rely on a free kick to score, and then get defensive all over again, and then they start playing dirty. Time-wasting lah, all that nonsense. Ecuador was already crumbling after the first goal, and England could have made a couple more attempts to increase the scoreline.

[Gosh. I didn't watch the game, but just from his response alone, I could already imagine how the game was played. Same old same old. Not sure if this was how they played back in 1966, but if it is, I don't think it's gonna win them the World Cup 40 years later.]

Me : Well, I hope they don't win.
Colleague : England?! You mean win the whole thing?! No! Of course they won't! [I loved his reaction.] Although next round, Portugal ... hmmm, they might still pull that one off though.

Well, I think after Portugal's 2 red cards, we might have to endure more trumpeting from the English corner for yet another game. Although Beckham already dramatically puked during last night's match, so that's another yet-to-be-heard excuse coming our way I think. Luckily they didn't lose to Ecuador, otherwise we'd be hearing English footballers' analysis of the weather over Stuttgart this morning. Even meteorologists don't work that hard.

Last week, I had lunch with a friend who's from Wales.

Me : So which team are you supporting? I'm throwing my support behind Spain.
Welsh Friend : Oh, I'm predisposed towards supporting any team that plays against England.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

And last story -- I just have to state for the record what a jinx I can be sometimes. I got up (late, unfortunately) to watch the France-Togo match on Sunday morning, and being a bit hungry at that hour, I was nipping back and forth between the kitchen and the TV (RTM) to see what was going on. The 0-0 scoreline at half time delighted me to no end, especially since the Switzerland-Korea match was similarly deadlocked. So after I had finished at the kitchen, and properly sat down to watch the game, barely 2 minutes later, France scored. Ugh.

I'm hoping to be able to wake up to catch the Spain-France match on Wed morning. If RTM isn't showing it, then I gotta head over to McDonald's, and you can bet I'll be there in red.

Tonight I'm planning to watch the Italy-Australia match, so since I'm a jinx like that (seriously, the only time I wasn't awake and catching online commentaries of England's matches was the England-Sweden game, which is the only one they didn't win), I'm fully expecting Australia to pull an upset.

Come On Croatia!

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 14:32:26 GMT

I caught the first half of the Croatia-Japan match at my uncle's place. It's the first World Cup match I was watching live.

What the heck? Apart from the missed penalty (which was undeserved in the first place) and a couple of bizarre yellow cards, it was completely boring.

Croatia, you are capable of playing much better than this, so please just SCORE!! Why is your ball possession only 43%? You have 11 men on the field, you know?! Go go go go go!!!!

Edited after full time
That was such an incredibly boring game, I couldn't believe I was watching the World Cup. Please someone concur with me, otherwise I'd just be reminded why I think football is a waste of time.

Whoa Nelly!

Sat, 17 Jun 2006 17:51:04 GMT

Who would have predicted a 2-0 victory for Ghana over Czech Republic?!

As I said earlier, Group E really is the Group of Death. All we need now is a victory by USA over Italy to really throw this group into utter chaos.

Why isn't England in this Group? Then I won't have to bite my nails hoping Germany or Ecuador will beat them, because they wouldn't qualify into Last 16! Damn it!

Season Ending

Fri, 02 Jun 2006 09:45:09 GMT

Let's get some entz stuff out of the way. Sure, most of this took place in the course of my US roadtrip, but it's not like any of these would have been instrumental in making or breaking the trip. Yeah, the season finale of Lost kicked all sorts of ass, but not watching it would not have made the trip any less special. Spoilers have been lj-cut, so read on carefully if you want.

Movies
No update for the month of May. Was so busy with the election stuff in the first week of May, then preparing for my trip in the second week, and well, the rest of the time I was away. I did catch this Italian film (Manual of Love, or something that translates to that) which was not particularly inspiring, The Notebook (it is a testimony to Rachel McAdams' great acting, because she single-handedly saved this wreck) and The Matador (featuring Pierce Brosnan in a role in which you can tell he's having a lot more fun in than any of his James Bond flicks).

TV
Here is a rundown of the season finales that I caught while in the USA. Only Lost has spoilers.

Lost (with spoilers under the cut)
OH MY GOODNESS. That was the reason why the plane crashed?! Brilliant, absolutely brilliant, and yet opening another new world for next season.
After Charlie and Claire kissed, and it kinda faded to what I thought was a commercial for spearmint chewing gum (what with the arctic setting), I thought "Hmm, so Lost has decided not to leave us with a cliffhanger this year eh?" before it kicked in once the dudes started speaking Spanish. I can't wait to see how it all pans out next year. Please, Lost producers, bring back Henry Ian Cusick because he really rocked as Desmond (my ~~favourite~~ favorite character this season). I think they will do so, because it seems strange for Sonya Walger to leave us on that cliffhanging note and for her darling Desmond to not be alive. (Though Sonya is already on CSI:NY, so I'm not sure if her Penn character is supposed to feature greatly next season.)

And is Harold Perrineau (Michael) gone for good? The only thing that I seem certain about now is that Locke and Eko will be found alive -- Terry O'Quinn and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje are too superb in their acting to be killed off like that.

The West Wing (no spoilers)
I haven't been watching this show for a few seasons now, but I had to watch its send-off. It hit every note perfectly. There was a time when I really adored this show very much, and it was good to see it go off on a high. Its season finale was full of moments designed to wring tears from your eyes, and damn if it didn't work on me.

Grey's Anatomy (no spoilers)
Help!! This show is beginning to grow on me! Okay, nothing to be ashamed about, except that I was really decidedly underwhelmed by its first season (and I hate to be proven wrong), and had even stopped watching for a bit when the second season started here. But I caught the first hour of its three-hour season finale, and oh my, how did this show suddenly get this good? That scene with Katherine Heigl breaking down in front of Jeffrey Dean Morgan gave me goosebumps. I nearly cried, because who doesn't want a love like that? This whole Denny-Izzie storyline has gotten me so intrigued that now I have to start watching it again.

Trust me, Grey's Anatomy is going to sweep up so many Emmy nominations when those get announced. It has the buzz, the momentum, and a pit full of amazing actors -- it is making ER an inconsequential afterthought. (I still hate Meredith though.)

Desperate Housewives (no spoilers)
I stopped watching this show after the first season because I was less than impressed by the whole thing. I only caught the first episode of the second season and then gave up. The season finale landed with a thud, in my book. It was so godawful that I actually switched over to Law and Order : Criminal Intent (believe it or not) ten minutes in. I switched back to watch the final 15 minutes of the finale, and the melodrama nearly killed me. Even the ending was so "is that it?" and unexciting that I'm almost certain some TV viewers will be saying farewell to the housewives come next season. No wonder Grey's Anatomy has begun beating this one in the ratings.

Lagging

Wed, 31 May 2006 13:52:12 GMT

I actually touched down back to Singapore at around 5am this morning. By the time I got home it was close to 6am. Took a shower, checked some email and didn't even manage to shut my eyes for more than a couple of minutes when it was time to head to work.

It was good to go to work, actually. Catch up with all my friends from work whom it feels like I have not seen for the longest time. You know, during my final night in Seattle, I was thinking - San Francisco seems just so long ago. I had three meetings to attend today at work, so I didn't even get round to clearing the backlog of emails, much less post.

I got home, and now I'm so tired I'm ready to hit the sack. Goodnight y'all, and I'll hope to write more on my best ever vacation soon.

Seriously, if not for that pretty major disappointment towards the end of my holiday, this trip would have been so close to perfection I could cry.

Quick One

Mon, 29 May 2006 05:51:10 GMT

I registered my first disappointment in my trip yesterday. Other than that, this has been PERFECT.