Yeah.. i completed it!
BTW. .. i didn't enjoy Taking Father Home
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Good dog
Did the JP Morgan Corporate Chase Challange today with kinglsey.
With over 11,000 participants.. people mountain and people sea, i'm really glad to say that kingsley was so well-behaved. Not a single growl or bark well.. except for that one motorbike just next to the road.. hee hee hee..
The weather was perfect for running.. cool and wet.. however, it meant that kingsley got real dirty though.. but it was good fun. i think he enjoyed it.. wasn't overly stressed... even at the PACKED starting line :)
Check out the 2 runners
One very dirty dog!
Quick.. go buy 4D
With over 11,000 participants.. people mountain and people sea, i'm really glad to say that kingsley was so well-behaved. Not a single growl or bark well.. except for that one motorbike just next to the road.. hee hee hee..
The weather was perfect for running.. cool and wet.. however, it meant that kingsley got real dirty though.. but it was good fun. i think he enjoyed it.. wasn't overly stressed... even at the PACKED starting line :)
Check out the 2 runners
One very dirty dog!
Quick.. go buy 4D
Saturday, April 22, 2006
SIFF - add ons
Am going to watch this too
Noriko’s Dinner Table - Does a family that eats together stay together? That seems to be the central theme of Sion Sono’s film, Noriko’s Dinner Table. Noriko is a member of a ‘club’ that provides the services of a ‘rental family’. Members go from house to house pretending to be a family member of unhappy and lonely individuals. The aim is to undermine the sanctity of the family and ruin the people. It is run by Komiko, abandoned as a baby and desensitized to life. Parallel to the service is a disturbing look at the trend of suicide clubs. Winner of the 2005 Don Quijote Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Director: Sion Sono Country: Japan
Saw this too
Perpetual Motion - Though the set-up is pure pulp, this ostensibly romantic story about contemporary mainland China high society roils and unearths startling depths. Niuniu wakes up to find her husband missing and convinced that one of her three friends has seduced him. She then invites them all to a Chinese new year dinner. Her vindictive plans unfold in one long, seminal night, with the women disclosing the deepest secrets of their hearts. Biting and articulate, Ning Ying’s Perpetual Motion is a milestone for women in Chinese cinema destined to shake things up.
Director: Ning Ying Country: China
Perpetual Motion was really cool. I enjoyed it alot. Lots of witty and funny conversations.. and men bashing too. Oh.. does an art house movie need to have no conclusion?
Sunflower was another movie in a way that didn't have a conclusion. SPoilers ahead.
Although the tension was resolved, the dad disappears.. and you wonder if he really did love his wife.. why would an old man just leave?
strange.
But i really liked the perpetual motion and sunflower. Sunflower touched me.
Err as for Angel's Fall... i didn't and couldn't comprehend it. It was diffcult to understand the story when a 1.5 hr long movie has less than 15 mins worth of conversation. Well.. you can call that oppressive. :P
i'm looking forward to the rest of the movies. Somehow i'm catching lots of asian films this year.
:)
Noriko’s Dinner Table - Does a family that eats together stay together? That seems to be the central theme of Sion Sono’s film, Noriko’s Dinner Table. Noriko is a member of a ‘club’ that provides the services of a ‘rental family’. Members go from house to house pretending to be a family member of unhappy and lonely individuals. The aim is to undermine the sanctity of the family and ruin the people. It is run by Komiko, abandoned as a baby and desensitized to life. Parallel to the service is a disturbing look at the trend of suicide clubs. Winner of the 2005 Don Quijote Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Director: Sion Sono Country: Japan
Saw this too
Perpetual Motion - Though the set-up is pure pulp, this ostensibly romantic story about contemporary mainland China high society roils and unearths startling depths. Niuniu wakes up to find her husband missing and convinced that one of her three friends has seduced him. She then invites them all to a Chinese new year dinner. Her vindictive plans unfold in one long, seminal night, with the women disclosing the deepest secrets of their hearts. Biting and articulate, Ning Ying’s Perpetual Motion is a milestone for women in Chinese cinema destined to shake things up.
Director: Ning Ying Country: China
Perpetual Motion was really cool. I enjoyed it alot. Lots of witty and funny conversations.. and men bashing too. Oh.. does an art house movie need to have no conclusion?
Sunflower was another movie in a way that didn't have a conclusion. SPoilers ahead.
Although the tension was resolved, the dad disappears.. and you wonder if he really did love his wife.. why would an old man just leave?
strange.
But i really liked the perpetual motion and sunflower. Sunflower touched me.
Err as for Angel's Fall... i didn't and couldn't comprehend it. It was diffcult to understand the story when a 1.5 hr long movie has less than 15 mins worth of conversation. Well.. you can call that oppressive. :P
i'm looking forward to the rest of the movies. Somehow i'm catching lots of asian films this year.
:)
Saturday, April 15, 2006
West Side Story
Managed to catch the West Side Story - Musical over the good friday weekend.
It was really good.
The singers could sing their tunes and dance their dance.
Cstumes and dances were colourful.. so much more than in the film. Then again, the film was done so long ago. Honestly, i prefer the musical version.. the pacing of the whole story was much better.
And i'm looking forward to the Singapore International Film Festival... catching a few shows there, namely -
Angel's Fall : Desperate to escape her violent and sexually abusive father, chambermaid Zeynep prays incessantly for help to escape from the brutal realities of her life. Her miserable young life changes drastically after getting God’s gift from a soundman, Selcuk, whose wife died in an accident - a blue suitcase salvaged from the wrecked car. Winner of 11 awards including the Best Film Awards at the 3 Continents Film Festival and the 12th Barcelona Film Festival.
Sunflower: Zhang Yang’s Sunflower tells the story of a family, set against 30 years of Chinese history. It starts in the last year of the Cultural Revolution, when Gengnian, an artist, newly-released, has to come to grips with his new situation. Confronting him is his nine year-old son, who has to adjust to a father that he can’t remember. This film has been described as a modern classic and a worthy addition to the award-winning director’s filmography. Sunflower garnered the Best Director Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
Gourmet Club: A saporous tale from Finland - Dr Paavo Ylonen belongs to a small but exclusive gourmet club, whose members are from the upper class. They each take turns providing the main course, wagering as to who can make out the secret exotic ingredient in it. When the doctor’s gambling debt catches up with him, he comes up with a mystery ingredient that has wondrous effects on the members’ sex lives. Juha Wuolijoki keeps you open mouthed in disbelief whilst maintaining the laughs.
Taking Father Home: When Xu Yun leaves his village in search of his father, it marks a point of no return for the adolescent. Living a life of hardship in rural China, the news of his father having an affair, making it big and with a car to boot, incensed the young adult. His mother’s pleas fail to stop him from leaving. More than a youth’s journey into adulthood, Ying Liang’s feature debut is a hard hit on present-day China, with deep moral and spiritual questioning by the director. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo Filmex.
The Book of the Dead: The Book of The Dead, the puppet animation of director Akio Nishizawa, tells the story of Iratsume, a woman of noble descent, who weaves a giant shroud to relieve the pain of Prince Otsu’s ghost. The ghost is here to search for Mimimo no Toji, the woman he saw before he was executed. However, he mistakes Iratsume for Mimimo no Toji. The story of Iratsume and the ghost of Prince Otsu is far from the conventional love story. It is a story of deliverance and salvation. It received the Special Jury Prize at the Animafest
Synopsis taken from SIFF
BTW.. the Singapore Art Festival is approaching too.. quick.. go book your tickets..
And i so want to go and watch this too...PAMdemonium!
It was really good.
The singers could sing their tunes and dance their dance.
Cstumes and dances were colourful.. so much more than in the film. Then again, the film was done so long ago. Honestly, i prefer the musical version.. the pacing of the whole story was much better.
And i'm looking forward to the Singapore International Film Festival... catching a few shows there, namely -
Angel's Fall : Desperate to escape her violent and sexually abusive father, chambermaid Zeynep prays incessantly for help to escape from the brutal realities of her life. Her miserable young life changes drastically after getting God’s gift from a soundman, Selcuk, whose wife died in an accident - a blue suitcase salvaged from the wrecked car. Winner of 11 awards including the Best Film Awards at the 3 Continents Film Festival and the 12th Barcelona Film Festival.
Sunflower: Zhang Yang’s Sunflower tells the story of a family, set against 30 years of Chinese history. It starts in the last year of the Cultural Revolution, when Gengnian, an artist, newly-released, has to come to grips with his new situation. Confronting him is his nine year-old son, who has to adjust to a father that he can’t remember. This film has been described as a modern classic and a worthy addition to the award-winning director’s filmography. Sunflower garnered the Best Director Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
Gourmet Club: A saporous tale from Finland - Dr Paavo Ylonen belongs to a small but exclusive gourmet club, whose members are from the upper class. They each take turns providing the main course, wagering as to who can make out the secret exotic ingredient in it. When the doctor’s gambling debt catches up with him, he comes up with a mystery ingredient that has wondrous effects on the members’ sex lives. Juha Wuolijoki keeps you open mouthed in disbelief whilst maintaining the laughs.
Taking Father Home: When Xu Yun leaves his village in search of his father, it marks a point of no return for the adolescent. Living a life of hardship in rural China, the news of his father having an affair, making it big and with a car to boot, incensed the young adult. His mother’s pleas fail to stop him from leaving. More than a youth’s journey into adulthood, Ying Liang’s feature debut is a hard hit on present-day China, with deep moral and spiritual questioning by the director. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo Filmex.
The Book of the Dead: The Book of The Dead, the puppet animation of director Akio Nishizawa, tells the story of Iratsume, a woman of noble descent, who weaves a giant shroud to relieve the pain of Prince Otsu’s ghost. The ghost is here to search for Mimimo no Toji, the woman he saw before he was executed. However, he mistakes Iratsume for Mimimo no Toji. The story of Iratsume and the ghost of Prince Otsu is far from the conventional love story. It is a story of deliverance and salvation. It received the Special Jury Prize at the Animafest
Synopsis taken from SIFF
BTW.. the Singapore Art Festival is approaching too.. quick.. go book your tickets..
And i so want to go and watch this too...PAMdemonium!
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Strange but responsive bedfellows: single-issue activism and the media
Interesting article titled, "Strange but responsive bedfellows: single-issue activism and the media".
This reading is about "the various ways old media is connected to newer conduits in communication, such as operating news portals, single-issue movements' information bulletins, or private individuals' blogs. As this case study suggests, century-old media principles (classic rules of newsworthiness, or just lust for fame) sometimes influence the latest forms of public information exchange on the web. It also seems that the liberation of the
public sphere from gatekeepers' heavy hands by non-professional newsmakers often produces highly spurious results, not to mention the democratic potential of the decentralized exchange of ideas in cyberspace."
i haven't had time to read it properly yet... but should be interesting. My blog was cited in the article. It referred to an old entry that i wrote previously on how computers does not contribute substantially to student's learning of basic skills.
Maybe after reading it.. i can comment on it?
This reading is about "the various ways old media is connected to newer conduits in communication, such as operating news portals, single-issue movements' information bulletins, or private individuals' blogs. As this case study suggests, century-old media principles (classic rules of newsworthiness, or just lust for fame) sometimes influence the latest forms of public information exchange on the web. It also seems that the liberation of the
public sphere from gatekeepers' heavy hands by non-professional newsmakers often produces highly spurious results, not to mention the democratic potential of the decentralized exchange of ideas in cyberspace."
i haven't had time to read it properly yet... but should be interesting. My blog was cited in the article. It referred to an old entry that i wrote previously on how computers does not contribute substantially to student's learning of basic skills.
Maybe after reading it.. i can comment on it?
Little Indulgence?
i didn't get a new car after all. Managed to get it fixed.. well.. not completely. May have to go into Malaysia to get parts. Oh well.. we'd see how.
On a separate note... i got myself a new watch... a seriously nice classy, timeless piece. i was really surprised to see the same watch featured in one of my all time favorite magazine, Instyle, which i religiously read every month. It has just the right amount of celebrity gossip, fashion, interviews, food and such...
On a separate note... i got myself a new watch... a seriously nice classy, timeless piece. i was really surprised to see the same watch featured in one of my all time favorite magazine, Instyle, which i religiously read every month. It has just the right amount of celebrity gossip, fashion, interviews, food and such...
i do like my watch... the one in the magazine has a white crocodile strap whereas mine's in black pigskin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
