Pas Perdus

"Calm...Calm...Calm" announced the PA system and so 4 people seemingly captive (in an asylum?) brings you to a place of wooden walls of infinite possibilities and amazing skill of juggling, balancing, music, precision...one could not keep his/her eyes off the "tricks" they were doing.

Translated from French as "Not Lost" (from an online translator), Pas Perdus is Les Argonautes' latest creation.

The amazing thing was that they could juggle most anything cuboid blocks, balls, etc. And imagine manipulating balls, stilts, wooden wall blocks that balances on only 1 corner. They even played pool using themselves. They had to be really be precise and have a good feel of the materials as well as good calculations of how to balance humans as well as huge objects. There was one part when 1 of them "climbed" to balance his whole body on stilts. This was very dangerous because any wrong move and he'll fall and hurt himself, or even be poked by the stilts. And they are multi-talented. They could play various instruments, like the violin, saxophone, trumpet and drums. And the way they were played, like hitting the drum from 2-3 metres away. etc. And if you've heard of piano four-hands, well, here you have violin four-hands! It's the 1st time I'm seeing something like that. Having learnt the violin when I was small, this left 1 of the deepest impressions for me during the show. Amazing. It's a bit difficult to describe everything. You've got to see it to know what I'm talking about.

(Pas Perdus was one of the programme curated by Esplanade for 'Flipside 2011', in conjunction with the Singapore Arts Festival.)

Dick Lee's "The Adventures of the Mad Chinaman"

When I first got wind of this (from a poster at Esplanade), I mistakenly thought it was going to be a musical. But on a more careful reading of the synopsis, realised it wasn't. I wasn't sure how it would turn out actually. Was it his greatest hits concert? I thought so at first, but it was not really that. Instead, it was like a biographical performance by Dick Lee. And so began the tale of one of our most acclaimed pop composers.

Set up as a living room, we are invited into his world. A world of his influences and inspiration. Dick Lee shared about how he got involved in music that led to a lifetime of composing music, his family, the musicians that inspired him, people who helped him, etc...basically, it's something straight out from his book of the same name "The Adventures of the Mad Chinaman". As he jokingly puts it, "I know some of you can't read, so that's why I'm putting up this show" (well, something like that). It's almost like the talk he gave at the library@esplanade some time ago, but a bit more complete and this time, with him playing the piano and singing his songs. Even though it was almost like a repeat of what I heard before, it was still engaging as Dick has his own sense of humour and charisma to hold your attention. However, I felt he did not play enough songs! I would liked to have watched him perform more of his songs.

Don't expect the pop songs we're all so familiar with that he wrote for others, but really, his personal songs from his own albums, and also from his musicals. They were good songs with stories behind them. As the story was in chronological order, you can quite distinctly hear how his music changed as he moved through the years and the influences he had like Elton John, Joni Mitchell, etc.A sad point of the programme came when he shared about the death of his sister, which I believed moved many, including myself. When he finally came to terms with her death, he wrote "No Goodbyes" which can be found in his 1993 Life Story album.
On a lighter note, you thought you had heard it all but even though the material has been used (and over-used) a dozen times, he still managed to make a dig at politics in fresh new way in the effortless sense as if it were not too intentional (but of course it was).

On an extra note, although I've heard "Life Story" a number of times, it was not until this show that I can't help but feel that "Home" actually bore some similarities to it. Was it just my perception?

Post-GE thoughts

The General Election was just last week and yet, it's beginning to seem distant already. But anyway, it is finally over, and to be honest, I'm quite relieved that it is so. I'm not one that is very political and I didn't like the whole aggressive canter and sometimes, vulgarities going on, which as a conflict-averse, peace-loving person, it was pretty disturbing. Sometimes I feel if people are more vicious online. But I'm glad that it was all still civilised such that no rioting, physical fights, etc. occurred, which is one good thing about Singapore, although the verbal (or online) onslaught was merciless.

As things begin to get settled back to normal, some are still arguing/complaining about how to oust the PAP. As understandable as the unhappiness is, I feel it's time to let go. Not let go of the ideals, but let go of the bitterness and think of what's next in moving forward.

For one thing, I think this elections has really proved to shake up the ruling party. As a friend mentioned, if it were not for the all-round contest, except Tanjong Pagar, the ruling party would not have known the real sentiments of the nation. And shaken up and taken aback they were, from what we have seen from their response. They were simply unprepared for the uprising. Honestly, I feel we should cut them some slack, and with the clear shifts in political power, we should be open to watching them change for the better (I usually like to be hopeful of the good in people). And I'm sure PAP knows now that they can't have political dominance as before and will tread carefully and really listen to people now. At least that is my hope. I feel that all this backlash is actually proof of us still living in the shadow of the past. I don't know how to explain this deduction, but well... Anyway, the PAP entourage is aging but there is new blood too, although I can't say if they'll be competent for the job. Now is the time to watch what they will do, as their seats aren't as secured. With the low margin of 60.14%, they should know that it is clear that the scales can tip either way. Actually, most people are mainly harped up about the ministers' pay in comparison to what as been done, among other things. If they can at least cut that down or put that money to good use, I'm sure they'll win back some support.

And I agree with Professor Ang Peng Hwa, acting head for the division of journalism and publishing at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at NTU, about this statement he made with reference to the petitions going on, as published here.

"...such actions may be a sign that Singaporeans have not arrived "at some level of maturity".

"People should respect the outcome of the election, painful as it may be for the parties involved," he said, noting that the results represent the wishes of tens of thousands of people and comes after a long process of campaigning.
"You just have to respect the outcome of the election, otherwise it (the petitioning) may never end," he said.

We should accept the outcome and move on. It will never end if we keep harping on it. There's always the next round, and the 6 seats gained is already a big step from the 1 seat from previous elections. Who knows how much it might be multiplied in the next election, as those who voted otherwise might have gained confidence upon seeing the work done by the opposition when they carry out their promises. It will be a time of testing for both sides. I feel that the supporters should now focus on seeing how to support the parties they want tangibly. And really, instead of continuing to put down PAP, we should pray for the new government as I believe that the outcome will serve some purpose. We can't change it for now and it's not permanent. No government is infallible but each has its time. So if we want change, pray, whether it's PAP or opposition. Unity.

(as a side thought. maybe the opposition should plant some people in the ruling party)

Strange dream

I had a strange dream the night before.
I dreamt that I was driving and was in a queue of cars at a traffic light. Strangely, though I could slow down, I couldn't stop the car totally no matter how hard I stepped the pedal. It kept rolling forward, little by little; I stepped on the pedal, and it seemed to stop, but then moved forward a little, and I stepped again, and the same thing happened. This happened 2 or 3 times that I was afraid I wound knock into the car in front (which strangely seem to move forward too just an inch).
Of course I didn't knock the car in the end...I either woke up or the traffic light changed.

Hmm...don't tell me I'm still having the 阴影 from my earlier accident? I thought I've already cast it aside like some vague memory, forgotten if not mentioned?

A Juggler's Tale

I hadn't intended to write anything on this production as I really didn't know how to review it. But it was so badly done that I had to make a record of it here (only here). I rarely walk away from a production in the middle even if it wasn't great, so you know it must be quite bad when I was glad there was an intermission for me to escape. Very very disappointed. It was one of the worst productions I've caught this year (thus far). How did this get into the programme of Esplanade's "The Studios" series this year?

Written by Michael Ende, the author of The Neverending Story, I was expecting somthing better and 'fantasy-like' out of A Juggler's Tale. The synopsis was also pretty promising.

Synopsis:

A small circus is facing bankruptcy but a renowned chemical company offers the performers a lifeline – endorse their products and kick-start a big advertising campaign, performing all over the country.  One condition:  the mentally handicapped girl, Eli, adopted by the circus, must be put in a home.  Big dilemma:  Eli is sick from birth due to a historic environmental disaster caused by the same chemical company.

Silence.  Cold winter night. Eli asks circus clown Jojo to tell a story.  Boom! 

All the circus performers are whirled into a Tomorrow Land of enchanting make-belief and imagined alter-egos where good is pitted fervently against evil.

The JUGGLING begins….love, hate, idealism, pragmatism, anarchy, authority, freedom, control, dreamscape, reality, momentary, never-ending.

This unique Singaporean staging of The Juggler’s Tale (first time in Asia), marries creative energies from seven nationalities in the whimsical world of the celebrated German playwright, Michael Ende.  With award-winning Singaporean designers onboard, this production promises to be a spell-binding theatrical experience to charm all audiences, young and old, surpassing cultural and linguistic differences.

Join us in this whirlwind of human relationships, corporate brainwashing and individual core values.  Be touched by a simple yet complex tale of universal love that transcends all obstacles.

But unfortunately, the synopsis was better than what was performed. I don't know if they wanted to do something like "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus", but I could catch no ball on where it was all going, or if it was going anywhere. It's not about understanding the story, as I'm ok with abstract stuff, but it was simply, badly done. The acting was bad, the singing was bad, everything seemed very unprofessional, and half the time, I couldn't really catch what was said, especially by the Japanese guy. I don't have anything against him, but the attempts at translating this multilingual production was half-hearted and there were no surtitles. Yes, it was creative enough to translate by responding to what was said (kind of like reiteration, e.g. "no, I'm sure he has gone to negotiate for us..."), but they were inconsistent. A big portion was not translated and looking at the audience who were of mixed races, it was detrimental, especially the portion when the princess in the fantasy world spoke and sung in Mandarin, with occasional lines of English, that was quite crucial in guiding the story. I didn't have a problem understanding, but I can't say so for the non-Chinese in the audience. They could have projected a translation in some way (maybe on the ceiling or ground or empty walls?), which would have been better...maybe costs was an issue.
Talking about singing, the "princess" was out of tune and others, well, when you're told that they had "sweet voices", you expect "sweet voices"...it just didn't match. They should have forgotten about the singing.

Anyway, let me start from the beginning. Entering the venue,the props and sets were actually quite impressive for the Theatre Studio, but that was all I could say that was redeeming of the show. The moment the play started, I could see it wasn't very promising. My hopes were a little raised when it transited into the fantasy land with the "princess" wheeled out on a nicely decorated platform on scaffolding (almost magical). I thought "maybe the starting wasn't so good as they put more effort into this part; and maybe they're using it as a contrast". But my hopes were dashed the moment they spoke. It was almost like you were rudely woken up from a dream. I was honestly hoping it would get better along the way, but it didn't pick up. They tried to be funny, but failed. I think if they had gone the speechless way, it might have been better, but then again, that would require good, expressive actors. Or at least some flashing of narratives. And the context was quite apt to become a musical, but then again, you'd need good singers.

It could have been so much more if done properly. It could have been magical, especially with an intended circus setting. There were just too many ways that this could have turned out to be better. You see, gestures and speech in fantasy are different and honestly, in this scenario, it had to be lighter, almost like a dance. I believe they would have benefited from a choreographer. They failed to make the audience believe they were in a fantasy world or even a circus, not to mention in a story being told. And underlying story morals weren't clear or strong.

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On an extra note, judging from what I've seen and heard, the synopses for this season were truly very well-written in the sense that they enticed you to watch, but were mostly misleading. I think DNR might have been one of the better plays, except that the synopsis was inaccurate, which kind of spoiled it.

My first time voting

I got to vote for the first time today and excited as I was, it was over in a matter of 2 minutes (including queuing time). Even shorter than the 5-8 minutes walk to the polling station. Went at 9 plus and there wasn't much of a queue. Pretty anti-climatic.

Interestingly, it's been really hot & humid these past 2 days, matching the tense situation of the election period, especially these 2 days, the Cooling Day and Polling Day. The air was pretty still, like in the eye of a hurricane.

Public apology by PM

Finally, an apology. Well, there might be a question of the motive with the ongoing GE and it's way too late, but at least, judging from how 死要面子 (proud) they are, it is still a humbling experience, and it will stay in their "track record" in years to come.

A friend commented (and so did others) that this is a good outcome of having the opposition, or else he might never have apologised like that, and I totally agree. And I agree opposition should have more voices in parliament for a balanced outcome. It's also a sign of the ruling party recognising the hard truth that they have weakened in their 'rule', although there is still a question of "what are they going to do about it" for some of the ongoing issues.

Anyway, my original intent was that I wanted to say that I realised that only his (PM Lee) apology matters since he is the PM and leader of the party. Not any other ministers or MPs. But anyway, none of those gave a direct apology. Not sure though if they were too cautious, or just waiting for such a directive.

Does this change anything? We'll see.

Give the facts a fighting chance

Whichever way we might take it, this article in "Been Thinking About" by Mart De Haan might be relevant to the current election. Here's the link.

Pulling some highlights:

The point of Chris Mooney, the author, was to provide scientific evidence showing how our human capacity for self-deception works. It began quoting the Stanford researcher who said, “A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point of view.”
The article goes on to cover a lot of highly debated political issues. But it ended saying, “Paradoxically, you don’t lead with the facts in order to convince. You lead with the values (i.e. of the person you want to persuade)– so as to give the facts a fighting chance.”

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Since we are so inclined to hear only what we want to hear when it comes to our deeply held convictions, the only answer is for an atmosphere of reciprocal criticism. In other words, our critics can sometimes help us more than our friends. Yet, according to the second article, criticism is most likely to be heard when the conversation is civil rather than marked by threatening accusations and characterizations.

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Leaving Timothy in the city of Ephesus to confront false teachers, Paul told him, “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (2Tim 2:24-26a).

GE & me (2)

Just 2 more days and it's polling day.

Honestly, I've only been hearing the opposition side of things, or rather the supporters since I don't follow the papers so closely (the effects of social media), which everyone says is siding the ruling party. I've been rather alarmed by the 'anger' I hear, even among people I know, and uncertainty has thrown itself in my face. Actually, it's getting kind of "scary" to me that it sounds like some are pushing for blind opposition, i.e. opposing just for the sake of opposing. But I also believe that there are grounds for the dissent, what with the mishandling of issues in recent times. And someone should just stop that big shot up there from sabotaging his own party any further.

For me, it all boils down to which zone I'm in. You can say I'm narrow-minded at not "looking at the big picture", but there are stronger opposition parties and there are weaker ones, and I won't say I'm pro- or anti- opposition or ruling party. I do respect some of the opposition leaders like Low Thia Khiang and Chiam See Tong who are powerful leaders, whom I might have voted for if I were in their constituencies. And I would not vote for certain PAP candidates, like MBT or LSS. So to give the party contesting a chance, I decided to watch the rally speech given by its Secretary-General, which unfortunately, didn't leave me feeling exceptionally inspired and well, I don't feel exactly secure in the candidates for my constituency. I also browsed through their website too, and read their plans for my ward. Hmm... However, I'm also not so sure of my particular ward as the MP managing my area passed on last year.

Ah well, whatever my decision, to vote or not to vote at all, I'll have to live with it and "repent" if anything goes wrong. And maybe I'll stand corrected. :P Politics is a sensitive issue and hope some of my friends don't alienate me because of this because I'm really not so political. Nobody is perfect and no government is perfect. One party can rise at one time, but fall the next. What I can fault the ruling party is that they were too into outward success than inward, too much on the survival of Singapore in the global economy and neglected the survival of Singaporeans, which matters to the former too since we are people-reliant as a small nation with no natural resources. And of course their 死要面子antics that have resulted in their fall in standing. And yes, there's a certain amount of complacency to be addressed. However, sometimes I feel we ourselves might have propagated all this behaviour. What I'm certain is that with the strong contest, there will be a more balanced parliament than before after this elections and PAP will have a wake-up call to be in touch with the community again and be humbled. There should be a nice proportion of all parties, PAP inclusive.

Amidst it all, I heard a small voice going "if you're unsure, pray about it", which reminded me that no matter what I hear from others (or not hear), we should approach matters objectively and not emotionally and most importantly, as it is considered an important decision which will affect our next 5 years at least, seek the Lord. I don't know what will be the prompting or if there will be an absolute answer, but I leave the elections in His hands for if He wishes, who dominates and rules will be given by Him.

All-in-ones

I've been wanting to change my home PC for a long time (with all its crankiness and lug getting to me), probably by the next IT fair in June. And due to space constraints, Have been considering some 'All-In-One's and currently considering 2 soon-to-be-released models by Lenovo. Prices and models unavailable yet...seems like they'll probably be out in June.

IdeaCentre A320:

IdeaCentre B320:

Their specs are generally similar and well, it's a tough choice, although the 'B' might be a more high-end machine.

But then, yesterday I read the release of the new iMac which has tempting specs that seem to have comparable specs (if not better, at least for graphics and maybe speed) and can be custom-configured. And the price might not be too far off, starting at S$1,648 (but the leaps up are big).

As usual, Apple design wins hands down. The issue now is, do I want to give up Windows OS at home?