Moving, moving, gone!

Find me here instead!

lisa-cheong.posterous.com

The Animated Funpack Song!

How the NDP organisers ever conceived this harebrained song, I'd never know. *cries*

Perils of being a freelancer

We're now into the second half of the year but I haven't been paid for -ANY- of the big projects that I've completed since March. This is, despite my monthly automated reminders which I send out to the project-owners.  

Maybe I should send people the following email: 

Hi? It's me, Lisa. Remember me? There's this thing I like to do. It's called eating and putting food in my belly. I'm not sure if you like it as much as I do, but without food, I tend to get cranky, tired and hungry. Surprising, right?
Pay me now before I hang a pig's head on your office door! Kthxbai. 

Seriously, thank god for regular clients and savings. (This is why it's so important to have a six-month emergency fund, people!) 

 

Of housing

Dave and I were just lamenting last night about how the lack of a real rental market (ie, one that is not mostly catered to low-end foreign workers and middle-class/top expatriates) means that we can't really get a place of our own here without buying a government-subsidised flat that is within our budgets. And buying a flat would entail getting married, which isn't in our plans. So what are we to do?

But I digress.

Stumbled on this blogpost via Singapore Daily earlier and I actually agree with a lot of the points that he makes. For one, a lot of people don't leave their homes until they get married largely driven by a government policy that homes are for marriage and procreation only! Why else would we deny singles from obtaining their first homes till the age of 35?

Aside from the pertinent points the blogger makes in the post, one serious consequence that I had to witness recently was that this lack of rental market ties singles and the unwed to their abusive families.

Sadly, I have a friend who is going through a personal crisis right now, where she's not ready to marry (also because I think her boyfriend is a douchenozzle). But at the same time, her mother is emotionally abusive and is actually a large part for her recent mental breakdowns - which were serious and actually required clinical help. It's become so bad that we would watch her shuttle from a relative's to a friend's home just to get away from her family.

And she's not the first person who's gone through this, and she definitely wouldn't be the last. One of my older cousin recently told me about how she wished she could move out of her family home much earlier - she's another person who had to seek counselling too.

So really, when the housing market is geared towards the one single driver of 'must marry then can buy house', you leave a lot of people out cold.


THINK HAPPINESS: How to marry when no freedom to love?: "It was recently disclosed that fewer people in their twenties and thirties are getting married in Singapore, and more are getting divorced ...."

Possibly one of my favourite Yo La Tengo songs

Working at the library, but also listening to this Yo La Tengo song on loop. Also a reminder that you shouldn't be so stupid in love, or likewise? Pain after a breakup (or anything similar) will go away eventually?

Stars will fall from the sky
the day that you realize
your pain will subside
if not for the weakest part
of your heart

note to myself

Getting back into the groove of things is hard when you've fallen off the bandwagon. 

But better late than never! 

Books read

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with dutifully updating all the books I've read and movies I've watched (although I've taken to defending 'Something Borrowed' as 'a rom-com that isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be, although it's still pretty bad').

But I finished Frank Bruni's Born Round early this morning, no thanks to my really strange sleeping patterns. It all started when I accidentally fell asleep in bed reading my iPad at around 11 last night. Woke up at 2.45am later, started reading for a while and chatted with Dave online and came across a really good idea for a potential non-fiction book. Started drafting out potential outlines and topic chapters, listing out people whom I think would provide really good interview fodder, and BAM, before I knew it, it was 5am already.

So I tried going back to bed, but couldn't fall asleep, no thanks to the ideas germinating in my head. So I ended up finishing Born Round, which I initially thought would be something similar to Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires. Afterall, they both held the position of food critic for New York Times, right? 

As it turns out, my expectations were so far from the truth. Instead of an expose of what it takes to be a food critic (like Garlic&Sapphires), Bruni's autobiography traces his difficult and often tumultuous relationship that he has with food - from loving it too much to his feelings of disgust with himself for his food and his yo-yoing weight loss and gains. At certain points in his life, he even battled bouts of bulimia and whatnot. 

Probably wouldn't read the book again, but damn. Throughout the book, Bruni would describe the home-made Italian food that his mother and grandmother would prepare, which would just make me want to go back to Rome to gorge myself on the awesome food again. :( 

Day 3

Not sure why I can't pin this on Pinterest, but this was written in 5 minutes in the style of a McSweeny's article and came about while I was playing Angry Birds. 

Freelance Whales & PS22 Chorus "Generator (First Floor) & (Second Floor)"

The PS22 chorus singing Freelance Whales songs with the actual band members? Oh, be still my heart.

30 Days of Creativity - Day 1

Source: instagr.am via lisie on Pinterest

Earlier today, I was at Dempsey Road co-ordinating the details of a magazine photo shoot today. While waiting for the (actual) photographer to finish his smoke, I spotted this tiny shrine in a grass clearing just a few metres away. But that mere distance made a world a difference from the expensive urban, concrete jungle where I was standing that after shooting this photo and stepping out of the grassy field, the photographer quipped: "Welcome back, traveller."

Hello June!

Hello June, you're going to be a great month! Out with the bad and in with the good! Huzzah!



Here comes the sun - The Beatles

Seriously?

I've attended Christian funeral services before. Heck, two out of my three grandmothers who passed away in the last ten years had Christian funeral wakes. Both of those wakes were organised by my mom, who invited her Chinese pastor down 

to lead the service. So let's get this straight - I've been to Christian wakes before and I'm generally okay with them. 

However, I don't think I was ever so annoyed and infuriated about a Christian service until tonight, the one held at my aunt's funeral. 

The pastor who led the service tonight was a pastor from my second cousin M's church. He came down, people started singing. The usual. But after my cousins said their bit about their mom, the pastor started giving a short speech.

Usually from the wakes I've attended, the sermons are quite straight-forward. They talk about the person's life, how the person is a caring and doting family member, how the person loves Jesus, how Jesus died on the cross for you and the deceased, and how the deceased is now in heaven with a new body (very important for people who died of a tragic disease) and how we should all look forward to meeting the person again in heaven. Say your prayers, sing a hymn, conclude the session. 

But nooooo. This guy starts off with the usual routine. He starts talking about my aunt and how brave she was fighting cancer in the past two years, how devoted a Christian she was, and how she would attend church services regularly, etc. Fair enough. Then he talks about how Jesus came down and died for our sins, etc. Except that the sermon started drifting off into dangerous territory. 

He started talking about salvation, and how YOU, the friend/family member of my aunt, should be saved because Jesus died for your sins and he'll give you eternal life. 

WHAT? That was when I leaned back in my chair, folded my arms and gave my best 'what the hell' stare from the long ways back where I was sitting. 

Then BEST PART. When he closed the sermon and everyone bowed their heads in prayer (I didn't, because I was still reeling in shock), he asked the congregation if anyone would like to be saved, and if so, to raise their hand now. 

And my first cousin S raised his hand and was led to the back by another church member. 

WHAT? 

That was when I started to get pissed. Just before the sermon started and my three cousins were sharing their memories of their mom, first cousin S had already talked about how he made a promise to his mom to go to church and be baptised if she got better and recovered. It was so important, in fact, that after all three siblings had said their piece, he repeated this promise again.

I understand why S would raise his hand. It's perfectly understandable given the life-changing circumstances of the death of his mother and the promise that he made. 

And the pastor must have known that as well. It's so infuriating that the pastor took such 'opportunities', when people are at their most vulnerable and shaken, to try to convert them to Christ. Seriously? The family just lost a loved one here, and you're trying to use this time when they're at their lowest to evangelise? 

Argh.

I'm not the only one who feels this way. After the service when we were all hanging around and I asked my cousin L (who is another staunch Christian) whether she felt icked out by the service, and she pretty much agreed with me, adding that 'it's not a numbers game'.

Sigh. Like seriously? Throughout the entire sermon I wasn't really paying attention to the pastor, mostly because I was listening out for the way he pronounced words and how he would add a random T to certain words. So 'god' became 'got' and 'loss' because 'lost'. But when he started evangelising, I started paying more attention to content, and by the end of the sermon, I rolled my eyes so much they could have lodged themselves at the back of my head. 

Let's just hope he doesn't do it again today. Grrr.

This entry was brought to you by 750 words. 

Yr Broom (acoustic) -Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

It's been a trying month for a lot of people I know. But somehow this song started playing in my head this morning. It's a good song, despite the fact that this song is about loving a girl who likes someone else.

Also, it was in my head and I couldn't find the damn song, because I was scrolling through my SSLYBY songs but the recognisable chords don't actually start till several seconds into the song. So there I was, pretty sure that this is a SSLYBY song but can't finding the song. So I thought - hey, maybe it's an Elliot Smith song instead. And I cycled through what must be a 100 Elliot Smith songs but still nothing.

So then I tried googling something else different. And there it is.

Comfort song for trying times.

Dear month of May

You officially suck. Stop being crap to the people around me. 

Bye.

Reply from a former minister

Days before the election, George Yeo made a video message on Facebook to Gen Y voters, where he basically said that if he were voted in, he would be the driving change that Singaporeans are looking for. He also asked Gen Y voters to write in to him and to share their views on how Singapore can be transformed into a better country, and how he wants to be the voice of the youth. Yada yada yada.

So I did. It took me about an hour, and I wrote him a 1,000 word message on Facebook, just detailing some of the cracks in the government's policies and how they affect me and my family. I didn't talk about anything on a grandiose policy-making level, just personal issues in my life and how that made me feel as a voter from the demographic that he was hoping to tap onto.

I didn't expect him to reply, mainly because it was during the hustings period and every candidate was 'walking the ground', shaking hands and making rally speeches at night. Plus, I know how it is to be inundated with an avalanche of emails. (I can take forever to reply to emails at times.)

But this morning I received a reply from him, which surprised me. But when reading the reply, it's like he never really 'got' the gist of my message at all.

Firstly, he said:

Lisa, sorry to take so long to read your email, thanks for your views and your support!

Huh?

I did say in the email that I was moved by his video, and that the only other time I felt this way was at Bishan stadium watching Chiam See Tong speak.

But I also did write:

This Saturday, I will be casting my vote for Workers Party in my East Coast GRC. I've pondered a very long time about this decision, but I feel that I would be making the right choice not just for myself, but for Singapore's democratic future.

And after that I did go on to talk about why I felt that way (unthinking candidates who promote status quo, refusal of the government to accept that certain policies, like the HDB, are broken, a one-party monopoly in Parliament will drive Singapore to ruin in the future) So it's clear where my loyalties are. I don't think I beat the bush around this topic.

Although, I did say that my money was on the PAP to win Aljunied (and how wrong I was). So does that mean that I supported George Yeo? If a gambler places a bet on a team in a match, it doesn't mean that the gambler is a die-hard fan or even a fan at all. It just means that the odds look good enough for the gambler to place some money down, hoping for a win.

What can I say. I guess the Workers Party win was good after all.

Rofl

Haha, Dave's quote makes him seem like he's a curmudgeonly reactionary who has decided to boycott SBS. How dare you block third-party apps? See how you like it when I boycott your buses? *shakes fist*

Lol, I laughed SO hard when I first saw the quote online. Seriously, best thing of the day.

It's only words - BeeGees

Saw this picture posted on Nicole Seah's FaceBook page. Legalities aside on whether it's even feasible for Tin Pei Ling to sue, Albert Tye's choice of words are very... interesting, to say the least.

The words "wicked", "righteous" and "evils" reveals a certain Christian bias. But more importantly, if you think that the world falls into two binaries - wicked versus the righteous - it might limit your understanding on how and more importantly, why pro-opposition people think the way they do.

Do I think people who post sexist, demeaning 'babblings' of Tin Pei Ling are wrong? Sure I do. But at the same time, I don't think they are wicked or are the face of evil. I think it stems from a frustration they feel, whether it is from a level of dissatisfaction with the government or with certain policies. But to say that it's 'EVIL'? That's a little harsh, doncha think?

(Personally, if you ask me, I wouldn't have voted for Tin Pei Ling because I think she is inadequately versed in the shortcomings of govt policies, as seen in the Razor interview where she said something along the lines of 'Oh Singapore's pretty good, I don't see any need for change to policies, except maybe for minor tweaks'.

But seriously? The woman was voted into Parliament by the people of Marine Parade, so please stop all your badgering to kick her out and bring George Yeo back in. She ran for elections, she won (albeit on the coattails of others). That's democracy for you.

If there's an issue you have, it should be with the GRC system. Or if you still can't get over it, you should go down to the constituency and glare at all the residents walking around.)

This is what an emo emoticon looks like

David: \:(
emo emoticon is sad
me: hahaha
emo emoticon is my invention!
David: yeah
go make a giant \:(
and put it on your bloh
blog

\:( translates into emo person with bangs being sad. go forth and use this emoticon as you please, my dear friends! go out into the world, emo emoticon!

Oh hey!

Put This On • Sometimes people ask me about how I created my...: "

via http://putthison.com/post/4949342765/sometimes-people-ask-me-about-how-i-created-my

"

Even better, someone made a picture on the Ira Glass quote! Awesome!

What Ira Glass said

howdy do it: a little ira glass wisdom: "

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.

— Ira Glass (via nefffy, by way of Fresh Air, by way of Yarn Yumminess)

Ira Glass press photo by Stuart Mullenberg via UAB

"

Shared a video of Ira Glass sharing this titbit on Google Reader, but it never hurts to come back to this time and time again.

Financial advice for the poor

So, according to my dad who has started giving me daily updates on how
the stock market is doing, you should buy SIA stocks now, because
they're giving about $1,200 in dividends.

Yeap, would like to buy me some of that too, but I just need to find
about $14,000 in chump change in my purse first before I can even get close to buying SIA stocks. >_<

/Random anecdote of the day

after you've gone

fiona apple - after you've gone live in NYC (2005)

holy crap, has it been six years since Extraordinary Machine was released? i remember watching this video because it was one of the few live shows she did to promote the CD, which had not yet been launched. and the thing is, i don't even remember watching this video on youtube then!

holy crap, i feel old now!

Fiona Apple - Tidal

Right now, I'm doing something which I haven't done in a long while:
I'm listening to an album from start to finish, in the sequence which
the artist and producer wants their audience to listen to.

Some years ago I fell out of love with Tidal. Not sure why that
happened, because when I first got my hands on it at 16, I was smitten
with it. I remember listening to the album in my bedroom, reading the
lyrics in the CD liner and trying to memorise all the words. But when
her sophomore album, When the pawn, came out, I thought it was a
better album, and when the two versions of Extraordinary Machine
(produced by Jon Brion before Sony nixed it and passed it on to
Timbaland) came out, I forgot about Tidal entirely. Like I didn't even
migrate the album onto mp3s, that's how much I drifted apart from the
album.

Why did I fall out of love with the album? Too much raw emotion? Too
emo? (I remember thinking that Sullen Girl (about Apple's rape) was a
very depressing song.) Too much personal baggage with the album?
(Fiona Apple was recommended by a cousin of my then best-friend, and
we definitely had a thing for each other then).

But whatever the reason, it was a pure coincidence that I managed to
chance on Criminal playing over local airwaves yesterday. Coincidence
because I hardly listen to local radio in the car anymore, I'll always
plug in my iPod or iPhone within the first few minutes of starting the
car. And coincidence because IT'S LOCAL RADIO, for crying out loud.
Fiona Apple isn't exactly Top 40, is she?

But whatever the case, I've started listening to the album and falling
in love with Fiona Apple all over again. Lubs.

The Drums | Best Friend | A Take Away Show

Wondering whether I should cough up the $65 for The Drums gig next week. But so far I like what I hear. Like Vampire Weekend meets Surfer Blood.

What I love about this clip in particular:
1) The hipsterness of the band. Come on, their haircuts, their aloof looks and their sunglasses. So hipster until can die!
2) The dancing shopkeeper! What a cute Frenchman.

Democracy in action

Overall, whatever the outcome of today's election, I'm glad almost
everyone in Singapore got a chance to participate in the electoral
process. It wouldn't be a legitimate election if citizens couldn't
cast their vote (rightly or wrongly, in my opinion) for one party or
another.

That said, I'm also very glad that I took the time to read the news,
watch the rally videos, talk about the elections incessantly for the
past what, three, four weeks? For me, the election fever started wayyy
before the 9 days of campaigning, but it got to a point where I would
lie in bed at 3am in the morning, hands itching because I could not
find out what people were saying on the #sgelections twitter feed. At
that point, I literally had to wrestle with Dave for my phone because
he was screaming at me to go to sleep instead of checking up on
elections news instead. Yikes.

I'm also very glad I took the time to attend the rallies. Watching
Chiam See Tong all frail and hunchbacked but still fighting for what
he thinks is right for Singapore made me all choked up.There were
other favourite moments, such as listening to Pritnam Singh and Chen
Show Mao as they encouraged people to think beyond their
municipalities. Or how I felt my heart soar when during the last
rally, Low Thia Kiang talked about how LKY dared him to leave his
stronghold of Hougang and contest in a GRC. "And that's what I am
doing right now!"

That was when I felt so proud of all the opposition candidates
(whether good or bad) for taking the insurmountable challenge of a GRC
and going head-to-head with a cabinet minister in nearly every GRC. We
cannot allow this unequal electoral playing field to continue much
longer if we are serious about the the viability and health of our
democratic system.

You know what, I'm proud of my voting decision today - although it was
one I made long time ago. If you had asked me five years ago when I
was under Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, I would have voted the same way as
well. My only regret is that my parents are overseas and won't be able
to vote in this watershed election, because despite our differences in
values and views (especially with my mom), we've actually see eye to
eye on many of the election issues.

Now I can only cross my fingers that my fellow citizens would have
made the right choice to. That they would have stopped to think about
themselves, other Singaporeans and the future that goes beyond lift
upgradings and other carrots (which are funded for by the taxpayers).
But here's the beauty of the democratic elections. If we can't get
this right, let's try again five years later (hopefully without any
gerrymandering).

My virgin vote, as told by my tweets

<Actually, I could have voted 5 years ago under the Pasir Ris-Punggol
GRC, but was away in the States.>

10.30am: Still in bed, but I see that a lot of people have voted already!

10.45am: <Phone conversation with my Godma>
Godma: Were you sleeping when I called?
Me: Yes.
Godma: Have you voted yet?
Me: No.
Godma: Why not?
Me: Cos I'm sleeping? Hahaha.

11am: Let's go, East Coast GRC! It's hammer time!

11+: I don't usually like Muse, but Uprising is a good song for today.

12.30pm: Took me a longer time to park the car than it did to vote.
Also, sad that there wasn't trumpet fanfare music playing in the
polling station.

Nicole Seah fandom

Video of NSP's Nicole Seah at Whampoa SMC rally, April 30

Thought her first rally speech on the first night was a little fierce and xenophobic (about the remarks on the train), but this speech was awesome. Despite reports of her fatigue, she really pulled it off. She's such an inspiration. Really.

Huh?

Received this advertisement in my inbox earlier today with the headline "Real Women Drink Beer". 

What is a 'real woman'? What about women who drink cosmos, martinis or shots? Apparently not only does a 'real woman' drink beer, but she also engages in the traditional trappings of femininity - the skirts, the heels, the long hair, the cleavage.

This makes me want to chug some beer right now, just so that I can burp in the face of these marketers. But that said, the lychee and honeydew beer sounds awesome. 

Please unsubscribe if you do not wish to receive any more emails from Malted Milk and Beerfest Asia or send an email to emailers@beerfest.asia with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.

What I believe

A first-world country needs a first-world government.

What I believe

In a short summary, but also because it's too long to post on Twitter.

A vote for the PAP is a vote for the status quo. Which is fine if you belong to certain privileged groups: Chinese, middle-class to well-to-do, male, educated, able-bodied and straight.

If you are anything else, you're fucked.

So I'll hold you underwater, breathe with me if you can

Last week, I hung out with Marcus at The Pigeonhole when it hosted its first Open Mic session, inviting seven bands to take the stage and perform their original songs for 15-minute sets. Like any other free-for-all session, the bands were a mixed bag. There were some bands with songs and lyrics so inane I wanted to poke my eye out (okay, granted that one band was an amateur band)... Seriously, think Taylor Swift's inane lyrics, but dumb them down even more.

But I came out of the four-hour session really enamoured with two bands, with Monster Cat being one of the bands that I really really loved. Or rather, this song Underwater is super awesome that I've been listening to it on loop for some days now.

And who says Singapore has no talent?

A quick catch-up with Tegan & Sara on QTV

Tegan and Sara are working on a new album. SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

More random FaceTime fun!

Slightly bizarre photos when taken out of context..

Kid plays ukulele, I die from cuteness overload

How cute is this kid playing the ukulele? <3 SO ADORABLE CAN DIE.

Why Apple is awesome

Melody and Dave giving me the tour of Mel's hotel room in Vegas. Also, should really comb my hair before I take photos of myself.

Singapore Biennale

From the Singapore Biennale description:

Koh Nguang How is a artist, archivist, and curator who has been documenting and collecting materials relating to contemporary art in Singapore since the late 1980s. Koh's documentation of the Artists Village between 1989 and 1999 has become a significant historical resource. In 2005 he established the Singapore Art Archive Project, presenting a selection from it as part of SB2011. Based on the extensive collection that swamps his HDB flat, and a trove of art news clipped from Singapore’s English and Chinese language newspapers, Koh will set up within the gallery an active archival laboratory that replicates the configuration of his apartment. The project merges personal research, private and public space, and public enquiry. A man who collects and archives shitloads of newspaper articles and stores it in his own HDB flat? This is also known as my mom's worst nightmare. (Although to be honest, I wouldn't be able to live with his many newspaper cuttings as well.)

Best thing about the iPhone 4

FaceTime! All without incurring overseas call charges too! :D

Where did the time go?

How is it that we are now approaching the second quarter of 2011? Where did the time go?

30 Day Song Challenge - #11 A song from your favorite band

Tegan and Sara - I've got you

Today's song challenge is a no-brainer. Did you not know about my deep deep love for T&S? Did you not see my button on my ukulele bag, or hear about the two times I flew to Australia to watch them play? Or not see the five band T&S shirts I have?

But that said, I realise I'm not the extreme-est fan out there. Heck, I'm not even a big a fan compared to this other T&S girl I know in Singapore.

That said, I love this band for so many reasons, but the biggest one is probably because their songs resonate with my emotional core. Like this really really old T&S song, for example. Once I told Dave that this was our song because of the line 'when I wake up/ so do you/ when you wake up/ I sleep right through'.

Small things like that.

30 Day Song Challenge - #10 A song that makes you fall asleep

Yo La Tengo - I Feel Like Going Home

Finding a song that matched today's song challenge was a little bit tricky. What do you mean a song you can fall asleep to? For one, I've stopped my teenage habit of leaving the radio on while I sleep because I find that very distracting. And also, falling asleep is something that is entirely separate from the music I listen to. Also, if I choose a song that fits today's theme, does that mean the song is so boring that insomniacs will fall asleep on the first play? Questions questions.

So basically I took today's challenge as a 'night time' song, a song you want to play just before getting to bed and not having to deal with loud and fast music.

I love Yo La Tengo. For me, their songs basically swing between the loud, noisy guitar songs (which is something for a three-piece band) and quiet and introspective ones like this. They also played this song at their Esplanade gig couple of years ago and I loved it so much.

3 minutes early for the meeting

Sitting in the meeting room again, but this time with the not-a-procurement-person-but-not-really-sure-what-he-does. Waiting to see how late the agency and designer will be today, as they normally are. Sigh.

Song Challenge - #09 a song that you can dance to

Zero - Yeah yeah yeahs

Or should I say, a band that I can dance to? YYYs put on incredible shows, ones where you're basically dancing for two-hours straight and your legs start to cramp up because you haven't jumped continuously like this in like, ever.

Also, this was the song where the girl in the seat in front of us dropped her MASSIVE fart bombs during this song that made Dave, Melody and I look at each other worryingly. But for fart-girl, she seemed oblivious to what was going around her because she carried on dancing anyway. Even while farting.

Good times.

30 Day Song Challenge - #08 A song you know all the words to

I Know - Fiona Apple, live at the Largo.

I've always been very bad at memorising lyrics. I can listen to a song a gazillion times but still only come out of it being able to sing two or three lines.

So I've always been very pleased with myself for being able to sing this song without having to look it up on the internet, especially since there are no repeated verses or choruses in this song. Every line is unique.

Also, this song is great to listen to when you're hopelessly pining for a person who is unattainable and into someone else. Still content to wait and be the doormat for that person? Then this song if for you. Good song to cry to as well.


So be it, I'm your crowbar
If that's what I am so far
Until you get out of this mess
And I will pretend
That I don't know of your sins
Until you are ready to confess
But all the time, all the time
I'll know, I'll know

And you can use my skin
To bury secrets in
And I will settle you down
And at my own suggestion,
I will ask no questions
While I do my thing in the background
But all the time, all the time
I'll know, I'll know

Baby-I can't help you out, while she's still around
So for the time being, I'll be patient
And amidst this bitterness
If you'll just consider this-even if it don't make sense
All the time-give it time

And when the crowd becomes your burden
And you've early closed your curtains,
I'll wait by the backstage door
While you try to find the lines to speak your mind
And pry it open, hoping for an encore
And if it gets too late, for me to wait
For you to find you love me, and tell me so
It's ok, don't need to say it.

30 Day Song Challenge - #07 A song that reminds you of a certain event

Little Joy - Next Time Around. This really doesn't revolve around an event per se. But I just sent an email to Angeline detailing some of the things she should do in Paris (superjealous!!), so thinking about the Cannes/Paris trip of 2009, this song popped into my head because I was listening to that album on loop then.

This song has got that summery feel, which I really love. And if places could have theme songs to it, this song would be it. It really feels like Cannes - all happy, warm and sunny, eating pizza outside in the sunshine but not worrying about perspiring because it's not too hot yet.

Subliminal advertising

30 Day Song Challenge - #06 A song that reminds you of somewhere

The Rembrandts-I'll Be There For You

Gold Coast, circa 1999 (i think)! Was a trip that I took with Joie and my family after our PSLE exams. We were a little obsessed with this song, and couldn't stop singing it everywhere we went - on the plane (now I kinda feel bad for other passengers on the plane), in the theme parks and even in our rented apartment.

Fun times.

30 Day Song Challenge - #05 A song that reminds you of someone

Neutral Milk Hotel - King of Carrot Flowers.

I can't listen to this album without thinking about my friend Varun. Before he moved to Melbourne years ago, we'd hang out in his room, talking about music, dissing Muse (this was when Muse had only its 1999 album Showbiz, and was basically Radiohead-lite), counselling him on his relationship problems with his girlfriend and gushing over the awesomeness that was indie music, usually focusing around bands like White Stripes, Radiohead, Elliot Smith and Neutral Milk Hotel.

I remember that I'd usually end up falling asleep by the foot of his bed, only to be woken up by his mother who would ask if I wanted to have dinner.

So yeah.

Just like I predicted

24 hours. That's how long the designer has gone without sleep for.

Blogging from a cold, empty meeting room

I hate it when the meeting is called for 2, but I'm the only one in the meeting room at 2.14pm. Where is the designer? Rawr.

Also, I bet that when the designer waltzes in, he'll make a casual mention to how he didn't manage to get any sleep for the last godforsaken number of days.

Come on come on come on. My tome is precious too. I could be home working on other projects, watching Dexter, reading GoogleReader or playing Angry Birds.

If the meeting is called for 2pm, then you jolly well show up then. Especially when you're the only one with the design file and everyone else is dependent on you to start the meeting.

Argh

Managing your friends is hard. It is especially harder when they don't submit their work on time! Rawr. 

Song Challenge - #04 Song that makes me sad

Elliot Smith - Twilight. Also a song I was listening to a lot when Dave and I weren't together yet, so this was a song I moped around to. Also, Dave was the person who bought me this album - having sent in a letter all the way from Australia. So depressing song, but good backstory?

30 Day Song Challenge - #03 A song that makes you happy

Freelance Whales - Generator 1st Floor.

If I did this song challenge a couple of years ago, I might have chosen a song by Architecture in Helsinki, because their songs are pretty happy and preppy too. But then Freelance Whales came along and became my de facto "happy band". So there you go.

30 Day Song Challenge - #02 Your least favourite song

James Blunt's You're Beautiful. More like You're fucking annoying and your songs make me want to stab a pencil in my eye.

Sick to the bone

It's 12:09am right now. Just received a bunch of files from the designer and will probably work through the night to get them ready for the presentation tomorrow. Not that this is anything new. But somehow its the final FTP deadline and I didn't know about it? Miscommunication, being left out of meetings, I hate working with this agency, but at the same time I'm worried that if I don't work with this agency, then what am I supposed to supplement my income with. Things like that.

Just had a talk with Dave earlier, who says I stress myself out unnecessarily. That may be true, but until then, work beckons. 

30 Day Song Challenge - #01 Your favourite song

Death Cab for Cutie - Soul Meets Body

Not my favourite song per se, but just one of those songs I don't think I could ever grow tired of. When I saw them perform this song in concert, it felt like my heart was soaring. Love. so. incredibly. much.

You can learn more about the 30 Day Challenge here.

Everyday we fuss and fight

sara quin featured in fences’ my girl the horse:

Fences: My Girl The Horse (feat. Sara Quin) from shoottheplayer.com on Vimeo.

"



Such an incredibly soulful song. One of Sara's better recent features lately, as opposed to her feature on Theophilus London's song - Why even try?. That was a wreck. Eurgh.

Misery Bear Goes to Work

It's okay Misery Bear, a lot of people hate their jobs too!

How To Be A Writer « Thought Catalog

How To Be A Writer « Thought Catalog

Food for thought.

100-day repetitive projects

100-day repetitive projects: "

For the past five years, Michael Bierut has taught a class for aspiring designers where students have to record the results of 'a design operation that [they] are capable of repeating every day' for 100 straight days. Here are some of the results.

Zak Klauck: 'Over the course of 100 days, I made a poster each day in one minute. The posters were based on one word or short phrase collected from 100 different people. Anyone and everyone was invited to contribute.' The perfect exercise for a graphic designer.

Tags: design   Michael Bierut"

Since returning from Europe, I've been on a 'practise everyday to get better' mantra. I guess it's a way to keep myself focused on certain personal goals, since I don't have an office job where I get feedback from colleagues and supervisors anymore. Also, I don't get any training, because there is no training budget in a freelancer's work. Also, it makes me happy when I see myself getting better at

Essentially, I spend 15 minutes each on the following items:
- Ukulele practice
- Writing my 750 words @750words.com
- French (this is really flexible. Sometimes I listen to a podcast and I call it a day. Sometimes I work on my Rosetta Stone, other times I just read a couple of pages of a book.)

Some days are harder than others. Some days, I end up only completing two out of three tasks. Some days, all I write for my 750 words comprises of 'How many words more till I finish this entry? How many? Four hundred. Now three hundred and ninety four'. Some days, I don't even spend the entire 15 minutes fully concentrated on the task at hand.

But the thing is - I've only been doing this consistently for 30 days (although Dave has a really long writing streak on 750 words. He's consistently written entries for 100plus days and counting) and already I'm pretty tired out.

And also, I have no point to make.

okbye.

Wii Suck

I'm speechless. The actors in this video look so damn awkward!

Also, possibly why the Wii sucks and why the Kinect is superfrickingawesome.

Movies watched, the Oscars edition

In a lead up to the 2011 year of the Oscars, Dave and I threw a small Oscars movie marathon last night in hopes of getting up to speed with all the film talk that has been going on. Since this is the first year where the Best Film nominee pool from five to ten, that means we just had more movies to watch. After excluding The Social Network, Inception and Toy Story 3 (three movies which Dave and I have seen), that gave us a somewhat substantial seven movies to watch. Quite a feat, but in the end we managed to watch five out of the seven films we had on our list. Winter's Bones and 127 Hours, we're coming for you next.

Thoughts on the movies we've watched, in order of last night's movie viewing sequence. 

Black Swan - Whoever knew that ballet could be such a mindfuck? I have to come out to say that this is as much ballet as I've seen in my entire life. But in typical Darren Aronofsky fashion, anything can be changed into a mindfuck movie. It's got his typical signature auteurist moves, like the way everything fades to white at the end (The Wrestler) , the camera shot of the whole body from above (Requiem for a Dream). But all throughout the movie, I was just thinking about the dedication and tenacity required to be a great ballet dancer. It's really really something.

The Kids Are All Right - Great great writing - also the reason why I placed my bet on it as the winner for Best Screenplay. I think one of my favourite scenes has to be when the lesbian moms were trying to confront their son on whether he had a gay boyfriend, and because they never really specify who they're talking about, the son thinks that the moms are talking about his recent meeting with their sperm donor dad. Hilarity ensues. But also, how gorgeous is the house? That, my friends, is what you are able to afford on a surgeon's salary. I am in love with their huge kitchen top, especially since its the kind where you can actually prepare your food on it. 

Also, I loved how they poked fun of the two actresses, when Julianne Moore was explaining to her son why they don't get their socks off watching lesbian porn. 'Usually they get straight female actresses, and the inauthenticity...' That was so deliciously ironic for me, seeing how Julianne Moore and Annette Benning are straight actresses playing gay lovers. 

But out of all the movies, this film had the most 'emotional pull' for me. Emotional pull meaning how I personally feel drawn towards the characters and the 'spirit' of the film. You walk out of the movie thinking about your relationships, and how a relationship that seems so great on the surface can have deep cracks in it.  

The Fighter - Dear casting directors, please never cast Mark Walberg in any movies again. Seriously, did this guy go to any acting school at all? Next time when Mark Walberg goes into an audition room, take a sack of potatoes and place it near him when he auditions. Look at Mark when he's acting. Look at the sack of potatoes. Look at Mark again. Look at the sack of potatoes. See any difference? No? Geez, that's insulting to the bag of potatoes. 

But an incredibly slow start to the movie. I was really fidgety and making all sorts of nasty comments about the movie and the plot. Also, you see Amy Adams nipples, which is weird because everytime I see her, I think 'Disney Princess'. But now she plays the character of underdeveloped feisty girlfriend who gets into cat fights. Also, how unrealistic is the relationship dynamic between Mark Walberg and Amy Adams? If a guy promises to call and bring you out on a first date and he's a no-show, who marches over to his house to demand an explanation? Won't you just write the guy off as a douchebag? Especially when all you know about him is that he's a boxer?  

The King's Speech - Whoever knew that something as small as a speech impediment could provide fodder for such an interesting story? (When I say small, I mean in terms of other Oscar film themes that usually revolve around epic wars and other dramatics. I don't mean that speech impediments are something to be regarded as something minor.) Colin Firth's acting is great. I love the sets and the cinematography, and how everything feels so English.  

True Grit - How are the Coen Brothers so damn prolific? But again, this has all the styles of Coen Brothers. The lengthy dialogue talking about nothing in particular, the speech (always some kind of a slang!), Jeff Bridges. But I need to watch this again, because I fell asleep at 3am, right smack in the middle of the movie. 

My bets for the 2011 Oscar winners

Best Actor - James Franco for 127 Hours. Initially chose Colin Firth for The King's Speech, but realistically, I think James Franco will draw more votes for gnawing off his own arm. 

Best Supporting Actor -  Christian Bale for The Fighter. Pairing Christian Bale with Mark Walberg just made it so much more painfully obvious how Mark Walberg cannot act. Also, during the end credits where they were showing the two brothers whom the story was based on, it's so obvious that Bale did a wonderful job imitating real life. 

Best Actress - Natalie Portman for Black Swan. It was a toss up between her and Annette Bening, but I think Natalie Portman showed a greater range of emotions, showing a dedicated frigid, sex-shy girl before her descent into madness. Although I'm secret rooting for Annette Bening, I think the votes will go to Portman. 

Best Supporting Actress - Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit. Again, it was a toss up between her and Melissa Leo in The Fighter, who again, acted circles around Mark Walberg. 

Best Picture - The King's Speech - for having the movie with the most well-roundedness that movies need. Good characters, good script, enough emotional pull, good acting, good cinematography and art direction. 

Best Director - Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan and for messing with my mind. 

Best Adapted Screenplay - The Social Network.  

Best Original Screenplay - The Kids Are All Right 

Let's see how many picks I get right tomorrow. 

Oh Coke Light

You taste like gassy ass.

In response to a response

In which I also realize that I am not as left-leaning as other people out there..

Okay, ableism is bad, I get it. That is why I've had to consciously remember not to use words that used to be in my vernacular. Words like spastic, lame, mad, retard. No, I don't want any of your damn cookies for it, mainly because, yeah I get the fact that these words mean things and that they trivialize the physical/mental disabilities and experiences of others who actually have issues using their bodies.

But trichotillomania? You got to be fucking kidding me. Jesus.

I hope this doesn't mean anything

This is scary, but of late, I've been having recurring dreams about my good friend and her father's death. Thing is, her dad has cancer in real life. I hope this doesn't mean anything.

Books read, movies watched

Been on an entertainment slump ever since returning from Europe. Chalk it up to my jetlag, work (new cookbook!), writing deadlines, Chinese New Year festivities, Joie's visit, the boyfriend's coral foot infection (which meant that we stayed in for a couple of days watching Dexter) and iPad/iPhone games (Battleheart! Dungeon Raid!)..

Books read:
1) Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother - Amy Chua. Bought this on a whim on iBooks and pretty much blazed through it in two days. It's also the book which has gotten a lot of questions and raised eyebrows when I told people that I was reading it. But I must say that it is actually quite a good book if you take into account that Amy Chua is not a parenting-expert (and shouldn't be), and she gets her comeuppance in the form of her second daughter at the end of the book.

But after reading the book, I just felt really really exhausted. Amy Chua is driven in her desire for her kids to excel, especially when it comes to playing the piano and violin. And just the way she describes her full-time activity of ferrying her kids around to music classes, sending them for auditions and sitting with them for hours each day making sure that they practise the violin - IN ADDITION TO HER FULL TIME JOB AS A LAW LECTURER - it makes me feel like I want to crawl into bed and just lie there because I'm so tired out from her schedule. (She even makes her children practise their piano and violin on vacation as well. How does she get around the problem of finding a piano? She just calls the hotel in advance to ask if she can borrow their lounge piano during off-peak hours. Remember, a day you don't spend practising is a day you are slacking!)

I guess one thing I was surprised to read in the memoir was that Chua wasn't initially successful at her start of her career. She didn't really like what she did in college, stumbled badly during her first interview with Yale. Her parents didn't even initially approve of her serious relationship with her then-boyfriend, as he was a Jew, and studied ACTING in Julliard.

Should you read the book? I don't know. But if you don't want to, watching this reality-style documentary of musical child prodigies in China is pretty much the same thing as reading the book. And it's over in one hour too.

2) The Imperfectionists - Tom Rachman
Bought this book in Paris when we re-visited Shakespeare and Company, which is actually one of my favourite places in Paris. It's also a sense of relief when you walk in sometimes, and realise that you can actually read and understand *everything* in the store because it's in English, and not have to do this brain acrobatics trying to translate your half-baked French into English.

It's a pretty decent book. Split pretty evenly into 11 stories, each about a different person - but all of them revolving around a flailing newspaper in Rome. But ultimately, the book fluctuates between being very engaging and very boring. It's like they got different editors for the different short stories.

I think what colours my perception is that I totally forgot that I had this e-book saved on my iPad when I bought it. Darn, could have saved some money! Damn.

Movies: Avatar, the last Airbender - Watched it in honour of Joie/Dave/my tradition of watching movies that have a single-digit rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And OMG, this movie is TERRIBLE. Cardboard boxes can probably act better than the guys on the show, the script is stiff, and there is no damn bloody plot to this thing. Out of the six of us watching this movie, more than half of us ended up falling asleep during the movie, and none of us made it through the entire thing. It is THAT BAD.

Snooze-o-meter: 10/5 Avoid at all costs

i'm just a dreamer but i'm hanging on

Kim Jong-il turns 69 in style

Kim Jong-Il is really really great, guys!

Are Justin Bieber's 'Beliebers' out of control?

Bieber's career can only go downhill, says this animated Taiwanese news network thingy.

22 Minutes: Gordon Pinsent Reads Bieber

This video is so damn funny!

Books read, movies watched

(These posts are more for myself than anything else. Feel free to press the 'J' button on your keyboard now)

So far in 2011....

Books:
1) Committed - Elizabeth Gilbert
Whatever, I can deal with your scorn. I will fully admit that I enjoyed the Rome/Bali bits of Eat, Pray, Love (the book) a lot more than the movie... But this was a much better anthropological look into cultures and marriages from a Western perspective. This is a lot more of Gilbert the journalist and breaking down the history of marriage than it is a personal memoir like in her previous book.

And Gilbert fully acknowledges and states her privilege as a heterosexual, white, middle-class American from the get-go too, which helped. Also, picturing Javier Bardem in your mind whenever Gilbert switches back to her personal life doesn't hurt too.

2) What the Dog Saw - Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell does what Malcolm Gladwell does.

Movies:
1) Going the Distance - What can I say. I like rom-coms, this isn't a brainless one. I have a soft spot for Drew Barrymore, and now Justin Long after he wrote that famous letter to the movie critic. Plus, this is a movie about long-distance relationships, something which I can relate to. 
3/5 on Lisa's Cry-O-Meter 

2) Gladiator - Watched it in Rome, only because it came in a special box-set which Xian and David bought, and also because we saw the Colosseum. Very 'macho' movie, about men doing 'macho' things. Think I liked it a lot more than I would have in a Singapore cinema because the memories of the real Colosseum were still fresh for me.

3) The Town - Mmmm.  Bad guy (Ben Affleck) with good conscience does questionable deed in order to save his skin. Jon Hamm uses a total of two facial expressions, which is one expression more than he normally does in Mad Men.

4) The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec - Cute movie, in your usual haphazard Luc Besson style. Spunky female protagonist with a sharp tongue - something which I find very endearing. Also, talking mummies! Love. Also, Qatar Airways blurred out the top cleavage of the actress! So her chest looked like a blurred blob when she was sitting in the bathtub.

5) The Switch - Was prepared for a potentially distasteful movie plot (hijacking someone's pregnancy??), but was actually pleasantly surprised. Although I think it's sort of expecting your whole leg to be chopped off, only to find that your doctor only amputated your foot. A few cute, touching scenes but not enough sexual chemistry between Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman to think that this could actually happen. (Actually I think he had more on-screen sexual chemistry with Ellen Page in Juno than in this movie.)
2.5/5 on Lisa's Cry-O-Meter