Muzikarama 2007 was a success! Of the three Muzikaramas in total, this was the best so far. Good to hear that! Sang Singa Purba can rest in peace for now, until our Wawas performance in December (more on that later).
I was a musician, inevitably, and played my usual variety of instruments: the accordion, the keyboard, and some auxiliary percussion (the claves and finger cymbals, in particular). No piano this year, because the keyboard sufficed. Some of the most memorable music moments in this year's show were the dangdut song Tapi at the beginning, the various musical medleys in scene 2 and 5, and the Mr Bean theme in scene 3. Yes, THAT theme!
I started off on the wrong note (what could be worse?), but managed to make my way to the correct note, then started proper. No one noticed. Well, as far as I could tell anyway. It was hilarious.
In scene 5, I missed a finger cymbal ting!, which left me in a regretful mood for some time after the show, but what to do? Life goes on.
We managed to redeem ourselves from our mistakes last year. The Propstars were excellent with their efficiency, we musicians filled in the gaps between scene changes, and Muzikarama began and ended promptly. The whole thing ended in about 1 hour 20 minutes (the fastest ever)!
After the show we had a long and lively debrief. I do not remember where we went after that (to eat somewhere, I presume) but we enjoyed ourselves proper. Well, until next Muzikarama!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
La Veillée on Suria!
The title suggests the near impossible. But yes, I heard a Tiersen piece on Suria! This occurred on Thursday at about 8.25pm. The news program on Suria (called Berita) usually has a slot at the very end of their broadcast reserved for interesting events. Well, for Thursday, they screened a fashion show for the disabled. I thought it was interesting, of course, until I heard La Veillée. Then I was all ears.
It's quite interesting that they used La Veillée to accompany the catwalk ladies. Don't you have to get permissions for this sort of stuff? They were all on wheelchairs, and rolled around the spacious catwalk.
Yup.
The early morning meal I had at 5.25am just now was quite simple, owing to the fact that I had only a few minutes before we were recommended to stop eating. I bit into some bread, and consumed three dates. There was a cup of tea (now that goes well with bread and dates) and some cold water after we ran out of tea. That will do for today.
My brother didn't wake up at all; he slept like a log. By right we still can continue fasting if this happens, but fearing severe stomach cramps or something, my brother didn't fast today. He'd just finished his lunch.
It's quite interesting that they used La Veillée to accompany the catwalk ladies. Don't you have to get permissions for this sort of stuff? They were all on wheelchairs, and rolled around the spacious catwalk.
Yup.
The early morning meal I had at 5.25am just now was quite simple, owing to the fact that I had only a few minutes before we were recommended to stop eating. I bit into some bread, and consumed three dates. There was a cup of tea (now that goes well with bread and dates) and some cold water after we ran out of tea. That will do for today.
My brother didn't wake up at all; he slept like a log. By right we still can continue fasting if this happens, but fearing severe stomach cramps or something, my brother didn't fast today. He'd just finished his lunch.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Ramadhan Est Ici!
Ramadhan is here! It is a month of interesting food combinations, early morning vigils, marathon prayers, and some say indigestion. Oh, and fasting.
When else would you wake up in the morning and eat RICE? (I don't even like rice in the first place.) And have TEA to go with it? (I like teh-O, but not with rice, please.) So, for this morning's sahur (sahur means early-morning meal), I raided the fridge and oven. Discovered yesterday's french toast in the oven, kueh kaswi (is that how you spell it?) and dates in the fridge, and fixed up a mug of hot Milo. Délicieux.
I now seem to understand why some mosques have very short tarawih prayers (performed only during Ramadhan) and some have very long ones. It seems that at Ar-Raudhah Mosque, three imams who have memorised the Qur'an have been invited to lead in the prayers. So the prayers are longer because they choose to recite longer excerpts of the Qur'an.
Compare this with Al-Mukminin Mosque in Jurong, where shorter verses are read. The prayers finish earlier. Even faster at Ba'alwie Mosque, somewhere in Bukit Timah, I think. My mother likens the prayers there to exercise.
I've chosen to focus on unfinished business this Ramadhan. I've to confess I couldn't finish All my Chronicles and compose a song for the SP Symphonic Band, two of the most pressing things that need to be done. But I'm having fun thinking of new NightWalk scares, though. heehee.
I *Must* update my blog. A new skin coming up!
When else would you wake up in the morning and eat RICE? (I don't even like rice in the first place.) And have TEA to go with it? (I like teh-O, but not with rice, please.) So, for this morning's sahur (sahur means early-morning meal), I raided the fridge and oven. Discovered yesterday's french toast in the oven, kueh kaswi (is that how you spell it?) and dates in the fridge, and fixed up a mug of hot Milo. Délicieux.
I now seem to understand why some mosques have very short tarawih prayers (performed only during Ramadhan) and some have very long ones. It seems that at Ar-Raudhah Mosque, three imams who have memorised the Qur'an have been invited to lead in the prayers. So the prayers are longer because they choose to recite longer excerpts of the Qur'an.
Compare this with Al-Mukminin Mosque in Jurong, where shorter verses are read. The prayers finish earlier. Even faster at Ba'alwie Mosque, somewhere in Bukit Timah, I think. My mother likens the prayers there to exercise.
I've chosen to focus on unfinished business this Ramadhan. I've to confess I couldn't finish All my Chronicles and compose a song for the SP Symphonic Band, two of the most pressing things that need to be done. But I'm having fun thinking of new NightWalk scares, though. heehee.
I *Must* update my blog. A new skin coming up!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Uncharted Territory
The FOC 07/08 NightWalk will be put on hold. The FOC 06/07 Chronicles are still unfinished (I've been slowing down in the sentence production dept lately) and the FOC 07/08 Chronicles are 1/4 complete. But this I can say: the NightWalk 07/08 was a success!
So, what do I speak about? Here it is.
One of the hardest things to do is to look at something very familiar as if it is your first time seeing it. Look around your home, as if you are a visitor, coming for the first time. At the bustop where you wait for the bus to school every morning, look at your neighbourhood around you. Recently I tried looking at a 50-cent Singapore coin as if it was something new, a coin from a country a thousand kilometres away. Not easy.
But looking at my neighbourhood as if for the first time was easier. Because usually you would know where everything is, all I had to do was imagine I didn't know where everything was! But what if you have lived in it all your life? (I have lived in mine for 10 years now.)
One of the comforts of familiarity comes from knowing what to expect, where everything is, what lies behind that door. Once you let go of this feeling, disorientation and uncertainty arrive...
Try it yourself!
So, what do I speak about? Here it is.
One of the hardest things to do is to look at something very familiar as if it is your first time seeing it. Look around your home, as if you are a visitor, coming for the first time. At the bustop where you wait for the bus to school every morning, look at your neighbourhood around you. Recently I tried looking at a 50-cent Singapore coin as if it was something new, a coin from a country a thousand kilometres away. Not easy.
But looking at my neighbourhood as if for the first time was easier. Because usually you would know where everything is, all I had to do was imagine I didn't know where everything was! But what if you have lived in it all your life? (I have lived in mine for 10 years now.)
One of the comforts of familiarity comes from knowing what to expect, where everything is, what lies behind that door. Once you let go of this feeling, disorientation and uncertainty arrive...
Try it yourself!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Chronicle of MIT FOC 06/07 in Progress
Finally! I have embarked on the chronicling of MIT FOC 06/07, now slightly more than a month into writing. The first draft was begun just after Christmas last year, and now I am into the second draft.
It is very overdue.
And because of that, I fear I do not have much to write about. I have resorted to interviewing people to glean more information for my text, but the fact is, people do not necessarily say all they remember, some being too unimportant to count as a memory. But hey, that's how I write! The small facts make the text come alive.
My writings thus far have been too passive. I need more active sentences, to convey the excitement of the moment. So I've been reading books lately, to seek inspiration. And nice words to use.
Aperient. Vituperation. Apotropaic. What do they mean? Read the completed chronicle and find out!
The whole text must be finished by mid-February, or end-February. The main problem is getting the events linked. The method used is to write about anything that comes to mind. Soon, you have a lot of discrete sentences and paragraphs begging to be organised. When that happens, write a second draft!
They will be printed, perhaps in book form, then placed in the MIT clubroom for all to read. In the meantime, I might as well publish the chronicle of MIT FOC 05/06, of which I was a camper. I just did a word count, and found out that it contained 6005 words, had 150 paragraphs, and was 11 pages long! Enough material. I will publish it.
Next up, The MIT FOC 07/08 NightWalk!
It is very overdue.
And because of that, I fear I do not have much to write about. I have resorted to interviewing people to glean more information for my text, but the fact is, people do not necessarily say all they remember, some being too unimportant to count as a memory. But hey, that's how I write! The small facts make the text come alive.
My writings thus far have been too passive. I need more active sentences, to convey the excitement of the moment. So I've been reading books lately, to seek inspiration. And nice words to use.
Aperient. Vituperation. Apotropaic. What do they mean? Read the completed chronicle and find out!
The whole text must be finished by mid-February, or end-February. The main problem is getting the events linked. The method used is to write about anything that comes to mind. Soon, you have a lot of discrete sentences and paragraphs begging to be organised. When that happens, write a second draft!
They will be printed, perhaps in book form, then placed in the MIT clubroom for all to read. In the meantime, I might as well publish the chronicle of MIT FOC 05/06, of which I was a camper. I just did a word count, and found out that it contained 6005 words, had 150 paragraphs, and was 11 pages long! Enough material. I will publish it.
Next up, The MIT FOC 07/08 NightWalk!
Monday, January 22, 2007
The 26" saw has been obtained!
Well well well, after a hiatus of approximately a month, here I am again. I got the 26" saw!
May I indicate that it wasn't any of those saws I mentioned in the previous post. It is neither the ones produced by the enthusiastic boss, nor the one that cost $12.30.
It is one with a wooden handle, bought at $15 from a shop in Maude Road, seven days after the writing of the previous post (27th December). There were 2 establishments around that area selling 26" saws. Well, I went to one, and they presented me the saw of the aforementioned length. I felt it was OK, but not enticing enough. Quite skinny. I was looking for one with greater taper, from tip to end. I performed some bending motions and rapped it with my knuckles, to the amusement of the shop auntie and her assistants. But still not good enough! So I put down the saw and kindly stated that I will see to other shops first.
The second shop that I went to was a roundabout affair. I had been led here from Toh Guan Road in Jurong East. The man there said he had 26" saws, but they weren't in the warehouse at that moment (11am in the morning I think). He said he would fetch them from the business at Maude Road, but it would arrive only in the late afternoon. Well, I thought I might as well go there to see it for myself. True enough, he called shortly after, and suggested the same. I acceded to the suggestion.
This business was also a lucky break. It wasn't listed on the Yellow Pages or whatever guide. But it had a 26" saw! It was called Chee Fatt Co. Nearly closing time, but I was allowed to go in, quoting the name of a lady whom I was to look for inside. I went in, enquired about a Cynthia, and was led to a table covered with papers at the back of the office. There was Cynthia.
She despatched a workman to get the 26" saw. It came, and I did the works. Bent the saw to alarming extents, rapped it, even brought out my bow and used it. I do not remember any amazed or curious looks from the other people in the business, only one workman who smiled. They were all behind me, but I imagine they must have felt as such.
It was purchased. Originally priced at $19, I got it for $15! What more can I ask?
It is now safely at home. I intend to sand it, so it is even thinner, so that I can bend it to even greater extents. (It is really tiring and cramping on the fist, bending it all the time.)
May I indicate that it wasn't any of those saws I mentioned in the previous post. It is neither the ones produced by the enthusiastic boss, nor the one that cost $12.30.It is one with a wooden handle, bought at $15 from a shop in Maude Road, seven days after the writing of the previous post (27th December). There were 2 establishments around that area selling 26" saws. Well, I went to one, and they presented me the saw of the aforementioned length. I felt it was OK, but not enticing enough. Quite skinny. I was looking for one with greater taper, from tip to end. I performed some bending motions and rapped it with my knuckles, to the amusement of the shop auntie and her assistants. But still not good enough! So I put down the saw and kindly stated that I will see to other shops first.
The second shop that I went to was a roundabout affair. I had been led here from Toh Guan Road in Jurong East. The man there said he had 26" saws, but they weren't in the warehouse at that moment (11am in the morning I think). He said he would fetch them from the business at Maude Road, but it would arrive only in the late afternoon. Well, I thought I might as well go there to see it for myself. True enough, he called shortly after, and suggested the same. I acceded to the suggestion.
This business was also a lucky break. It wasn't listed on the Yellow Pages or whatever guide. But it had a 26" saw! It was called Chee Fatt Co. Nearly closing time, but I was allowed to go in, quoting the name of a lady whom I was to look for inside. I went in, enquired about a Cynthia, and was led to a table covered with papers at the back of the office. There was Cynthia.
She despatched a workman to get the 26" saw. It came, and I did the works. Bent the saw to alarming extents, rapped it, even brought out my bow and used it. I do not remember any amazed or curious looks from the other people in the business, only one workman who smiled. They were all behind me, but I imagine they must have felt as such.
It was purchased. Originally priced at $19, I got it for $15! What more can I ask?
It is now safely at home. I intend to sand it, so it is even thinner, so that I can bend it to even greater extents. (It is really tiring and cramping on the fist, bending it all the time.)
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