Tokyo 2012: Day 1 & 2

Off to Tokyo! Why waste a super long weekend right? So I flew off straight after an early reunion dinner.

My, was my first day exhausting. I didn't really sleep much on the plane or at all (no, not because I wanted to catch as many movies as I wanted, but I couldn't get to sleep) and didn't sleep till like 2am the following night. That's almost 40 hours without proper rest! Haha, I could practically take a seat and doze off at any time at some point. Anyway, what exactly did I do to warrant such fatigue?

Once we touched down, we took the Narita Express to Shinjuku. The limousine bus to our hotel doesn't run till afternoon, so we had to take that. Those planning to take the Narita Express should consider buying the "N'ex + Suica" package where you can buy the N'ex ticket and Suica card (like our Ezlink) for ¥3,500 (one-way) or ¥5,000 (two-way). The Suica card would come with a stored value ¥1,500 and is very useful for getting around the city via The JR line. You can find out more from the Narita Express website where I found out this good deal.

Anyway, when we reached the hotel, we couldn't check in yet, so we left our luggage there and went for an early lunch at our "usual" tempura shop.

We also took a short turn at Tokyu Hands at Takashimaya which was very near our hotel. I couldn't resist buying a number of Tintin file folders and some other cute stationery. After that, we went to check in and quickly rushed off to try to get tickets to watch a K-pop concert. This was quite off-the-fly in a way even though V had intended to catch it but we didn't get tickets. We tried our luck at the venue where we asked around for people selling tickets. No, not really black market stuff and we found someone who was willing to let go of pair at cost. So there! We secured our tickets for my first K-pop concert, the "YG Family Concert in Japan".

The YG Family is the entertainment company that manages groups Big Bang and 2NE1 and also other artistes like Gummy, Seven and PSY. Well, I'm not a fan of K-pop, but I was game to experience the glitz and ra-ra which I knew it would pack. And indeed! It was a very enjoyable concert as I fell under the spell for 4 hours with the flashy lights and catchy beats. You fall into a mindless high, dancing along with the songs. We practically stood for the whole 4 hours. Well, I must admit that the singing wasn't great as there were parts that you knew they were out of tune, especially the group segments, but it was still fun. And my, were most of the boys pretty. I felt that Tablo's songs were quite nice and Gummy was one of the better female singers (she reminded us of Tanya Chua). There was even a special appearance of Tetsuya Komuro playing the piano, a famous composer from Japan, as Gummy sang a cover of "Departures", a song he composed for Globe.
After the concert, I realised that it was actually quite an expensive concert at 12,800 yen. Wow! That like S$200 plus!

I was really tired after all that standing and lack of sleep, plus hunger was setting in as our last meal was the tempura about 9 hours ago. We were simply too tired and the shops were closing anyway, so we settled at getting cup noodles and oden at the Family Mart just opposite our hotel.

 

That was about 10pm or so I think and by the time we ate, bathed and dilly dallied a bit, we were totally concussed. V had to wake up early to go for her 1-week Jap class but I dazedly slept till 12pm. Ha! I had intended to wake at 9am but that obviously didn't happen.

Anyway, we decided to take it easy the next day and just walked around Shinjuku a little bit after lunch. It was raining anyway so the mood for shopping wasn't that great plus we started out late. I must get up earlier the next day! But I did buy more stationery and bought a heat tech camisole and scarf at Uniqlo, plus some items friends asked me to help them get. Dinner was again oden from Family Mart as we wanted to go back early. Guess what! I believe it started snowing not long after we got back. We would have missed it if I hadn't saw on the TV news that it was snowing, by which we gathered at the window to see it.

My first snow in Tokyo I believe (saw some forgettable ones in Fukouka and lots in Hokkaido before though). Hope tomorrow will still be snowing so that we can touch it.

Ok, so that's it for the 1st two days in Tokyo. Good night.

Gone before CNY

This sounds kind of morbid, and probably not the best time to even write this, but it is strange that some of my relatives had passed on not too far from CNY over the years. I wouldn't call it coincidence, but still...

Both my grandmothers passed on within 1 or 2 months before CNY in the past, so there were 2 years we didn't celebrate CNY.

More recently, my uncle, one of the older brothers of my mum passed away 2 days ago. I wasn't close to him but still, it's a death in the family and my mother's brother. The reason for his death was due to a bad fall he had 1 or 2 months back where his fractured ribs punctured his lungs. He was in intensive care and couldn't breathe on his own. And there were complications due to health problems and age, so his body couldn't function very well. And also probably the 1st hospital he went to wasn't as well-equipped to deal with his situation, so they had to move him. He never really recovered. At least he's not in pain now.

Sad to say, I've heard from my mother about the unhappiness in his family and their family struggles, and he hasn't been living a good life for some years now. Sad.

"Wicked" twice over

Well, I guess I've told quite a few friends that my friend and I didn't really enjoy Wicked : The Musical the first time I watched it (in London). Not that it was a bad production as everything was executed perfectly, singing great, etc. But somehow the songs/music didn't stick (I'll get to that later) and well, that time, I felt it very "teenage" or "high school musical" style then, which is in a way true, with the high school popularity phenomenon and meanness as such. I don't know, because I expected to like it then especially since I liked the story of Wizard of Oz (Judy Garland version).

On a side note, I was educated by my brother long ago that Wizard of Oz was actually a reference to the American dream - Dorothy represented the American dream, the Tin Man the industrious man, the Scarecrow the farmers, and the Lion, I can't remember. The Wizard also was representative of something (also can't remember), probably the government or something.

Anyway, with the coming of Wicked to Singapore, under peer influence (it's always fun to go in a group), I decided to give it another go to somehow "redeem" it since quite a few people did enjoy it. I thought, maybe I was jet-lagged then as I caught the show the first day I arrived in London and our seats weren't great. Or maybe my expectations were too high. I can't really pinpoint why.

So how was this?

Of course, I can't help but want to compare with the London show even though I could barely remember that. I found myself able to 'feel' a little more about the story and relationships; being able to feel some anger about who's the more wicked and also let myself be a little moved by the relationships. And I could see the humour in the show (I don't remember that aspect the first time), even though because it's not my first time watching the show, it felt a bit stating the obvious (it's just me lah). Well, I would say on the whole, it seemed like a better experience than before, although I still felt there's something missing in it for me. Why? What? The first act still seemed a bit long to me though.

As for the cast, Jemma Rix (as Elphaba) was of course the highlight with her unwavering and soaring vocals. The cast here somehow gave me a sense of being more "matured" to me. Haha! don't know why. Maybe it's Suzie Mathers as Glinda. I recall the one in London was more "girly" or "bimbotic" and probably projected the more "full of herself" character of Glinda. But this Glinda was less "girly" in that sense. In addition, I somehow felt London's execution of the choreography moves were more precise. But I could have remembered wrongly.

Now, on to the music. Sitting back on my second viewing, I could pay more attention to the music and songs. Well, the music ain't your usual "sticky" stuff, so it still didn't leave that much of an impression on me, except maybe for snippets or parts of songs. But it did struck me that they weren't easy songs to sing because of that and the lyrics were quite smart.

I guess one of the drawbacks I had of catching the show a second time was that I knew the whole story, so the little references that would "surprise" someone and make you go "oh...so that's..." (if you're familiar with Wizard of Oz) didn't garner the same response from me as the general audience. Which was a pity as I guess it would have made it more fun. Sorry, but I couldn't help but smile when Elphaba supposedly "melted" because I knew she didn't die. Actually, I think I kinda knew that too when I watched it the first time round. I wonder why? Maybe because she could stand in the rain earlier on?  It would have made a difference too even if I knew the story if I had enjoyed it the first time around. Too bad.

50/50

One of the better movies I've watched these few months, 50/50 is both touching and funny at the same time, which made me laugh (some parts were hilarious) and cry, in a good way. I wouldn't mind watching it again.

(Loosely) based on the life of screenwriter Will Reiser, the story tells of Adam Learner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is diagnosed with a rare cancer (involving his back) and has a 50/50 chance of survival. His girlfriend couldn't handle it and leaves. His buddy, Kyle (Seth Rogen), hangs around, goading him to do stuff, and sometimes seems irritating, as if making use of his illness to hit on girls. But it's not true, he cares and sticks around like a true friend. He actually buys a self-help book on how to walk the path with Adam. Maybe that's how he copes with it and behaves as he normally would, maybe as a way to say, things can still be the same. Maybe it's hope. Then there's the cute counsellor whom he falls for, and finally asks out when he has a successful operation.

It's good, exploring how to react and communicate with people with cancer. Incidentally, a friend had shared an article on "How To Talk To Someone With Cancer". I think most of us will be at a loss when faced with something like this. It can be confusing, emotional, awkward, etc., but we should remember to be a friend. Personally, I wouldn't know what to say to the person if I were told something like that; I think I would most likely just hug the person first and see how we can move from there.
Some of the really funny parts include the part when he was high on weed after his first chemo, then also the times with his buddy. Then there were the times spent with the counselor (e.g. the 'hand pat' and 'cleaning out her car').

And I really like Joseph Gordon-Levitt...so cute. From Third Rock from the Sun, to 500 Days of Summer, and then now 50/50 (hmm...these shows all full of numbers). He was in Inception too, but as a supporting actor. Maybe I should hunt for Third Rock to watch.

2011 resolutions review and making 2012 ones

A quick look at my resolutions causes me dismay. Out of the 8 resolutions, I only completed 2.5. Yikes!

What I've completed:

• Posting my reflections in my Faithbook - although I wasn't super conscientious, but I did it.
• Write a story - in fact, I completed 2 plays, one short and one long(er)
• Serve in church - children's ministry

What I failed to do:

• Complete a book in the Bible
• A monthly Sabbath
• Write new songs
• pick up my violin again
• Learn Japanese
• Cut down on Facebook

So, for 2012 resolutions, I decided to be less ambitious for now. Just 2 so far (the Bible stuff would be inherent, no need to write down lah)

1) Learn Japanese
2) Violin refresher? Even if I have to re-learn it on my own

Adele's 21

Not too long ago, I wandered into That CD Shop at Raffles City and seeing a "3 for $49.90" promotion, went on to selecting 3 CDs, even though I don't really have space for more CDs at home. To justify, the albums would have cost over $70 if not for the offer. :P

One of these three was Adele's 《21》, which is currently one of the top-selling albums for 2011. Well, having listened to it many times, I'm still wondering why it's the top-selling album. Don't get me wrong. I like the album and it's not a bad one. Her voice is great and the songs are all nice, even the lyrics carry weight. Maybe the mystery lies in the long article here. Ah well, to each his own.

I know the really popular tracks on the album are Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You, and I've also heard Rumor Has It playing a lot on radio. But personally, my favourite song on the album is Set Fire to the Rain. Maybe it's the contradictory nature. How do you set fire to rain? So here it is.

New Year's Eve

It's been a while since I caught this and well, have been caught up with stuff.

New Year's Eve is a multi-story movie that explores relationships, regrets and hope. Don't expect a hype-up mood to give you a ra-ra to the countdown, which was the whole premise of the show happenings with the various characters on New Year's eve (NYE).

You have the Vice-President of the NYE Ball Drop committee (or something to that effect), Claire (Hillary Swank), who was managing the Ball Drop for the first time.

Then there's the timid Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her resolutions that she wanted to fulfill...all in one day, but with the help of a dispatch boy, Paul (Zach Efron).

There are the 2 couples fighting to give birth to the 1st New Year's Day baby, vying for the cash prize.

The chef, Laura (Katherine Heigl), and her ex beau, Jensen (Jon Bon Jovi), the rock star, as the latter tries to win her back.

The costume designer cum divorcee (Sarah Jessica Parker) with her teenage daughter (Abigail Breslin).

The eligible bachelor, Sam (Josh Duhamel) with the 1-year pact with a woman he met one year ago.

The anti-New Year comic artist (Ashton Kutcher) and the aspiring back-up singer (Lea Michelle) stuck in the lift.

The dying man (Robert De Niro) whose wish is to see the NYE ball drop for the last time.

And many more.

For me, the early part of the show wasn't that engaging for me, but what turned things around was when Hillary Swank's character gave that moving speech addressing the stall in the NYE ball raising. As it moved those in the show, it moved me. And that was when the show took a more emotionally driven direction, though I felt it still didn't get one so connected still, maybe because the emotional highs of the scenes (whether happy or sad) weren't held long enough before the change of scene, which often felt to me to brush off that climatic moment with a scene that wasn't in the similar mood. I guess that's the way it is with this kind of shows.

However, the show did bring across some good messages about new hopes, new promises, fulfilments, relationships,  reconciliation and kindness. You can say each story had an icing on the cake, or maybe a silver lining. I liked the part when Griffin Bryne (Seth Meyers) finally gave up on winning the cash prize as he saw the other vying couple needed the money more. I believe their child was born earlier, but he gave a later time.

I also liked the funny turn when Claire and Sam crossed paths and the audience were like surprised, because most of us were led to think that Sam's wait was for Claire (there was some 1 year thing going on for both of them). But a quick reassessment of the remaining folks still yet to make that nice ending easily brought us to derive the complete relations of the cast. However, the "grand entrance" of Sarah Jessica Parker at the end was a tad too contrived with the horse carriage and all. I guess it was to create that "magic moment" but I felt maybe it's just because its SJP's style. But how do you get that through the streets on NYE?

The acted blooper scenes at the end were pretty fun to watch, rounding up the show.
Before I end, I was surprised how far Michelle Pfeiffer has aged. Yes, it's been quite a while since I saw her on screen. And Abigail has grown so big and getting prettier! Still remember her as Little Miss Sunshine.

Calm in the Eye of the Storm

Storm. The tumultuous emotions that comes with hope, confusion, desperation, pain, fear etc. that leads one to make certain decisions just to want to nullify it.

Eye. The sudden resolution and numbness, maybe even feyness, of which one feels an unreal calm to carry out that decision. Dazed.

Return of the storm. The aftermath of the fateful deed when the reality of the consequences sets in; when confusion, despair and fear returns, of whether you have done the right thing or will regret it, of whether you will fully recover and heal. Of whether you will pull through. Flashbacks of the past plague you and all your thoughts are in a mire.

If everything follows this sequence, does it mean the sunshine will really come after? One will never know unless you survive.

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition

Event: Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition (100th Anniversary, 1912-2012) (link)
Venue: Marina Bay Sands ArtScience Museum
Showing: 29 October 2011 - 29 April 2012

I first got interested in Titanic because (you've guessed it) the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. But what really struck me deep was not the love story, but the tragedy of the whole event, which could have been prevented to a certain extent and the lives lost. How something of such technical "perfection" could fall as such. The under-used life boats, the poor lookout, etc. And all these were even more apparent and brought me back to what I had "researched" before when I visited the exhibition.

As no photography was allowed, I won't have photos to show you, so hopefully I can describe my experience as best I can. The exhibition was bigger (and better) than I expected and I think I took almost 2 hours covering it, leaving the museum near closing time at about 10pm, with no dinner (I was exploring the Dali exhibition before this). Definitely worthed visiting. Tickets are at $24, and if you're local, you get 15%. OCBC card holders get 20% off.

At the entrance, you'll be given a "boarding pass" which has been printed with the name of a real passenger on the Titanic. You're supposed to check the name against the list of survivors (and casualties) at the Memorial Gallery later. Here's mine (front & back), Mrs. William R Bucknell.

Upon entering, you're greeted with the image of the bow of the ship where the commissioned photographer will take a picture of you (which you can place orders for later), as if you're really boarding the ship.

The exhibition starts off with an introduction to the conception and construction of the colossal ship. One can't help but be amazed by the engineering feat. And as you continued, you are shown the re-created staterooms, dining luxuries, cabins and the various types of dinnerware, toiletries, amenities, etc. with comparisons between the first, second and third class passengers' utilities. I loved the music they were playing, but my Track ID failed to identify what the pieces were. The disparities between the classes were wide, but generally, the third class passengers experienced much better lodging and amenities than as they would have experienced on other ships. And of course, there's the famous Grand Staircase, where you can again, have your photo taken.

Following that, one would be led into the Boiler Room, where you would know the work that goes on in the bowers of the ship. You would also find out how the watertight chambers worked, but sadly failed to keep the waters out eventually, as more than half the chambers were filled with water due to the collision. As the shipbuilder, Thomas Andrews, said in despair, it was impossible for Titanic to survive.

Then came one of the most beautiful part of the ship for me, the promenade deck. The illusion of a 100-feet deck was created with facing mirrors. And stepping out from the boiler room zone, you are immediately greeted with a beautiful star-filled night sky. As you leaned over the railing, the play of lights simulated waves. It was almost real, beautiful and peaceful. I could have stayed there for ages just basking in the gentle breeze (yes, that was included too) and quietude of that moment. But it made it all the more tragic of what was to come on that fateful night.

With reluctance, I left the solace of the promenade and came face-to-face with the iceberg. A big block of freshwater ice loomed in the next room for us to get a feel of the freezing conditions in the North Atlantic of that night. It was really very cold and imagine that saltwater ice is even colder! Most of the passengers who died didn't really die of drowning, but of the cold. And the pain of it was that the earlier launches of the lifeboats were not filled! If more could have gotten into the boats, there would have been more survivors. And also, it was noted that there weren't actually sufficient boats available. Even worse, the lookout didn't have binoculars (he misplaced it), by which was the reason the warning came too late. It was sadly a combination of the various factors that turned this into a tragedy that could have been avoided.
One of the unfortunate events too was that a portion of the passengers were actually transfers from other intended passages due to coal strikes happening throughout the UK. Many of the other ships couldn't sail. Titanic managed to consolidate the coal resources that were available from these ships for her passage across the Atlantic. Unlucky, you might say, for these people.

The most touching part would probably be the accounts or stories of the people who died, including the personal effects of those who perished. As one reached the Memorial Gallery, we are faced with the list of those we were saved and lost (here's where your boarding pass comes in). By this time, probably with the help of the music and having soaked up the whole ambience and story, I was already feeling sad once again for Titanic and its passengers. This particular line quoted struck me as I held back my tears. One passenger, Ida Straus, when asked to board a lifeboat (the priority was given to women and children), said "I will not be separated from my husband. As we have lived, so we will die: together". It just tore through my heart...one can only sigh. And there were many of these personal accounts that would set your heart aggrieved.
However, I did read an interesting account of a supposed passenger, Howard Irwin. He was supposed to take the ship, but was kidnapped and eventually escaped from his captors. His friend, Henry Sutehall, Jr., nonetheless brought his possessions on board thinking it was one of Howard's habits of arriving at the last minute. You can say that Howard's kidnap was a blessing in disguise. Henry sadly died on the fatal voyage. Both of them were musicians and the recovery of Howard's possessions revealed an old score of "Love's Old Sweet Song" by JL Molloy (I think it was from Howard's possessions).

As the exhibition came to a close, the setting was as if we were underwater, with glass floor under our feet and artifacts sunken in the sand (ocean floor) to simulate depths of where Titanic sank. There was also a small section on Singapore's response and reports on the event.

So there, a journey through the depths of the Titanic. And oh yah, "I" survived.

Dali: The Mind of A Genius exhibition

It is to my vague memory that I somehow didn't visit the Dali Universe in London (near the London Eye) way back in 2006. So with the exhibit drawing to a close, I "rushed" to visit the Dali exhibition at MBS on its last 2nd day.
I don't know how I should describe his works. His genre is surrealism, and I guess his most famous creation would be his melting clock series.

 

Anyway, as a prep, here are the symbols and their meanings that Dali used in his pieces. 

Drawers - secrets
Ant - death and sexual desire
Crutch - death and resurrection
Grasshopper - fear and anxiety
Butterflies - soul
Egg - life, love and hope
Snail - human head
silhouettes - spirit and apparitions

Hard outside, soft inside - lobster, egg, bread, melted watch.

I didn't take that many notes at the exhibition but just some things that stood out. If you noticed, the faces of most of the sculptures don't really have distinct features.

 

There was one pretty creepy one (to me) of Alice (of Wonderland) though. But to Dali, Alice was the ideal representation of surrealism.

There were also a few angel sculptures and this one's pretty unique in its way, called Vision of an Angel where the thumb in bricks was supposed to represent God I think. A tower maybe?

Of the exhibits, I kind of liked this one called Man with Butterfly. I don't know why I liked it, but maybe because of how "balanced" it was; how it can stand like that on its own and maybe a sense of symmetry. It was almost life-like to me.

Another aspect of his works was that they could contain double meanings in their symbolism.

Besides sculptures, Dali does paintings and drawings as well, but those weren't  really my cup of tea. But 1 particular form (furniture) that stood out for me was this particular display mounted on the wall/ceiling (probably the way they were mounted & arranged had some influence on me).

Personally, I think I very much preferred Charles Rennie Mackintosh's works (interior design & furniture). He's one of my favourite designers especially after my experience with his creations in Glasgow.

It was an interesting exhibit nonetheless.