Tuesday, June 30, 2009

That time of the year again


I somehow feel compelled to make this entry again this year after I made the first one last year.

I am thankful for the opportunity to make this entry. I am thankful for being alive.

Oh sure, there wasn't any magnitude 8.0 earthquake that killed 90,000 this year in one swoop. But as we speak, the severity of the H1N1 virus spread is still uncertain. Already, hundreds have died. And thousands more in unfortunate accidents that shouldn't have happened. There have been a number of horrifying air crashes, some fatal train collisions, a couple of bus explosions, countless miners buried under collapsed shafts. Oh yeah, and we lost one superstar that everyone has been talking about since last Friday, and is still talking about today and maybe tomorrow ... and the next day ...

So I'm thankful, very very thankful, to be able to sit here tonight writing my thanks. For my family. For my friends. For the cats and dogs of SPCA and those wandering the streets. For places, faces, names I've had the good fortune to be acquainted with and especially those I've received help from.

Thank you.

Foxtrot's Tribute to UP


Saturday, June 27, 2009

Walt Disney lives in 熊猫回家路


"那是你们科学家的事. 我不懂." (That's the business of you scientists, I don't know anything about it.)

The statement is a reminder of Walt Disney who challenged, and eventually moved, the authorities. Like what happened in the simple film of loneliness, friendship, love, courage and perseverance that I just saw -
Trail of the Panda 熊猫回家路.

A young boy, Xiao Lu, goes against all odds to save and return a baby panda to his mother, a journey that eventually earns him the fatherly love of the man, Lao Chen, who has taken him in after Xiao Lu's parents perished in a fire the previous year, and the respect of a scientist, Xiao Feng, from the city who has hired Lao Chen to help find a panda for his research work in the early days of panda conservation in Sichuan, China.

In this incredibly simple film, there are only 8 characters - 3 of the human kind, 3 of the panda kind (a panda other and 2 twin cubs, one of which strayed, hunted but rescued by Xiao Lu called Pang Pang) and 2 hunting dogs. But wait a minute, the film is alive with snow covered mountains, deep forests, gushing rivers and plunging waterfalls of Sichuan so I guess these natural sights are characters in their very own right.

All these magnificent characters come together to tell one very linear and yet moving storyline - the focused effort of a young boy in search of a new sense of belonging in the wake of his parents' deaths that results in the rescue and friendship of Pang Pang. And then his selfless and relentless determination to return Pang Pang to his mother in order to protect him although this means another painful loss of a loved one, almost too much for one so young. As the story unfolds, he does not know it yet but the audience does, through his selfless act, he has indeed gained more - a new father.

The little one has taught the adults what they cannot see with their eyes when their hearts are shut. That the living wild offers so much depth that we, the civilised ones, cannot yet claim we have known them so thoroughly. Like the "fact" that adult pandas have the capacity to only care for one cub but Pang Pang's mother has continued to search for him days after his disappearance. Maybe the universal mother's love prevails, the film seems to assert. And this author seems to have been sold on the idea. Such is the magic of Disney films.

I like the film for its simplicity. I like it for its focus. There are no wasted shots. They are all just enough to convey a message or certain emotions. If there is any weakness, I would wish for certain parts to be lengthened so that the audience could sink into the moment and let our emotions develop before we're treated to the next set of feelings. However, I can understand the need for the director to keep the momentum here for a dialogue and character driven film such as this. Speaking of which, if the film had been in native Sichuan dialogue, it'd be even better because there is no way a Sichuanese will converse in regular Mandarin with their own people - not those from the city and much less the rural folks.

I like it for its Disneyishness. That many things aren't just what they appear to be. That facts can still be challenged. That authority may not always be right. But the heart is.

For all these, I shed a tear or two. At the start of the movie when Mao Mao, the mother panda which perished during the 5.12 earthquake, appeared with her cubs. And near the end credits with a sweeping panning shot of the pre-quake Wolong facility that nestled in the valleys of some very aweinspiring snow-capped mountains, my tears (to quote from the film) "比山上的雪水流的还要快" (flow faster than the melted snow water from the the mountain).

So I'm not unemotional even if I didn't feel nothing for Jacko's passing. It's just that, I have other priorities, other things in this world, no matter how big or how small, that are more worth my caring for.

Friday, June 26, 2009

So Jacko died ...


That was the first thing I heard this morning and all day ever since (honestly I'm quite tired of it now). I was not surprised at all when I saw the news on TV Mobile (Channel News Asia segment). In fact, I didn't really feel anything except for oh ... he died. Michael Jackson is no more.

I stepped into the office and colleagues told me he's dead. My reply, yah and so? A friend SMSed and my reply, I was more shocked when I heard Heath Ledger died. A few other friend Plurked and I said pretty much the same. At the end of the day, as I was about to leave the office, our HR lady said she woke up very sad this morning because Michael died. I said it was expected. She was shocked by my answer (probably thinking I had a hand with the crystal ball? Hehe ... ) I said, well, because he's already so screwed up.

Oops ... that's what I think but somehow the words had come out somewhat callous, especially to someone who is a mourning fan. I felt a bit sorry afterwards. But that is what I really think about the death of Jacko. Sure, no one doubts he's probably one of the greatest artistes ever. Sure, we all mourn his passing. But no, his death is not entirely unexpected. The man has undergone tremendous pressure all his life. We have seen umpteen times in the media, whether they were maliciously defaming him or reporting the truth, but his state of mind could very well be splintering.

This morning (or last evening depending where you are), his heart simply stopped beating. It did not want the man to tolerate the nonsense that this world was tossing him anymore. Death may not be the most welcoming ending but it may not be entirely bad for Jacko. It could even be a relief.

One colleague commented that the only sad part is that Jacko was on the verge of staging a comeback and now he'll never be able to do so. But if the comeback had not gone in his favour, and shit continues to be hurled at him by the unsympathetic, even vicious, arms of the entertainment machine. Then, what?

In the words of another indifferent colleague when asked if he's sad with Jacko's passing, "Why? He died a legend." Oh yes, he most brilliantly summed it up in 5 words.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Disney/Pixar's miles of love go UP


The lengths and miles they go to bring magic to all.

The 10-year-old cancer patient was too sick to go to the theater to see the Disney-Pixar movie "Up," so an employee of the studio flew to her house with a DVD copy - which she watched just seven hours before she died, her mother said.
While waiting for the movie to arrive on June 10, Colby's mother, Lisa, said she asked her daughter: "Do you think you can hang on?"

"I'm ready (to die), but I'm going to wait for the movie," she told The Orange County Register her daughter replied.

"Up" is the animated tale of a grumpy old man who, after his wife's death, tries to fulfill their joint dream of visiting South America by tying thousands of balloons to his house and floating away.

"When I watched it, I had really no idea about the content of the theme of the movie," Colby's mother told the newspaper. "I just know that word 'Up' and all of the balloons and I swear to you, for me it meant that (Colby) was going to go up. Up to heaven."

Colby, who was diagnosed with vascular cancer in 2005, saw previews for the film in April and eagerly awaited the movie. A family friend called both Pixar and Disney, which owns the animation studio, and the studio agreed to send someone to Colby's house in Huntington Beach, California, the next day with a copy for a private screening.

Colby was unable to open her eyes to see the movie so her mother described the scenes. After the movie ended, her mother asked if Colby enjoyed it. Her daughter nodded, Curtin said.

She died later that evening.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Blue hair n luvin' it!


Woo hoo! I've finally got my wish :) Blue hair ... hehe ...

Went to Chapter 2 Bugis to get my last free haircut (voucher expires today) and spent close to 5 hours there getting a bleach, colour, treatment, cut, ... and BLUE hair. Initially, I told my stylist Apple that I wanted a dark base and bright highlights, so we finally sorta decided on brown for base and blue for highlights.

When I saw that she wanted to bleach the same portion of the hair for the highlights, I said that perhaps we should do the highlights differently this time because I was getting bored of having it the same way everytime. I think up to this point it's a different blue that she had in mind. She advised against it because bleaching damages the hair so it's better to contain it to a certain area. Besides, if I were to bleach and highlight other parts as well, once the colour begins to fade, there'll be at least 3 colours in the hair. Now, that made sense and seemed gross. So I accepted the fact that we'd do the highlight in the same spot, though quite disappointed.

And here is why I like coming back to Apple cuz she's bold to provide suggestions which pique my imagination and the result of which is rather exciting. So after some minutes, she came over and suggested that I try a blue called, if I remember correctly, "Midnight Blue" on black base. She showed how the highlight would be applied and how she would change my hairstyle accordingly to have the highlight complement the look.

I loved the solution! I could imagine just how cool the haircut would look although I didn't quite know what kinda colour was this blue that I was getting. Apple also said that over time when the colour fades, there'd be stages of different colours ending with ash like what's on her own hair now. Gee ... the organic "aging" of my hair colour sounded very appealing! So of course I gave it a nod.

And when it's all done and I could see the blue, man, it's beautiful. It's velvety dark blue ... I really like it! I would put some pictures here but the camera cannot really capture it well. I'm sure this hairstyle would look fantastic with styling but hmm ... I'm kinda lazy in the morning and not a fan of those sticky hair products so we'll see. Hehe ...

P.S. This reminds me of a French girl who stayed at the Nikko Park Lodge ... she had the most amazing blue hair! Closely cropped very stylishly, she wouldn't look out of place in an anime ...

Friday, June 19, 2009

Electric youth!


We had a special brainstorming session last Wed. Divided into 5 teams, we were sent all over Singapore to gather inspiration, insights and materials which would be shared when we got back to the office in the afternoon.
My team was tasked to Sentosa so it was fantabulous! I haven't been to Sentosa since the last company dinner and dance there back in December 2006, and definitely never been since the new monorail opened sometime between then and now. So I was excited.

As it turned out expectedly, it was a fun-filled morning. It was fairly crowded since it's the school holidays and the crowd grew toward the afternoon as we prepared to leave for office. We managed to interview a few people who seemed very open to provide opinions in this sun-soaked, relaxed atmosphere compared to the perennial rush of the central business district on a mid-week day.

Students, as usual were the most obliging of them all. There's this hyper group that we spoke to and when we requested to have a photo taken of them, one of the girls went, "Pictures!! We love pictures!!!" and urged us to share the shot. Alas, my colleague had to be the photographer so I was the lucky one to have a place in this youthful energy-charged picture.

Ahhh ... how I miss those carefree days under the shades of the palms with feet in warm white sand on a mid-week day!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Walt A Brilliant Design Researcher!


Gee I am so inspired by Uncle Walt. I'm two-thirds of the way through How To Be Like Walt.

I've quite a number of dog ears to mark lessons I've learned with this read. When I'm through, I'll share them all here - quotes, quirks and quacks. Hehe ...

A sneek peek - I'm convinced by now that Uncle Walt was a goddamn brilliant design researcher (^___^*)

STAY TUNED!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

TC plays NSYNC!


This I Promise You. Acapella style. Sweet! I'm definitely a sucker for any band that can appreciate their illustrious predecessors NSYNC! (^___^*) The solo bit is not quite JC yet but ... 加油! You'll get there!

Scrub to 05:34 if you wanna skip the rest of the interview, which is the final installment of 4 parts anyway.

*NICE* 马雪阳 = Hanazawa Rui?


The Chinese F4 are here!!!

ROTFLMAO! Is this a joke? Okay, we had one last month when we were bumming around at Na's housewarming party ... why not a Southeast Asian F4? Burmese Hanazawa Rui, Singaporean Domyoji, Malaysian Akira, Thai Soujiro ... LMAO.

I guess the Chinese one's for real now although I don't quite agree with how the cast turned out.

The initial speculation was that these guys would be playing the key roles. Apparently, they're all participants of talent show Superboys (快乐男声) Oh ... I completely disagree with the choice of Makino. She's got the 欠鞭 (deserving a bash) face.

I'm not sure about the rest of F4 but I think some fans' earlier vote for 马雪阳 Mars (of 至上励合 - Top Combine, coincidentally my friend's cousin) to fill the role of Hanazawa Rui, my favourite F4, is better than the producer's eventual choice. He is quite a looker, isn't he? Plus he's a trained violinist and plays 3 other musical instruments - goes to the
Sichuan Conservatory of Music too. I personally think this kid would make a pretty kickass Rui!



But alas, it didn't turn out this way ... it could be that these guys turned down the roles, choosing to concentrate on the music instead. Bravo to them!

... so when's the Southeast Asian version coming? ROTFLMAO ...

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Once upon a time, why not now?


So she said she'd tell him one day, when he's married with kids, "Once upon a time, I loved you."

I was incredulous. "Why not now?!"

It was the fear of rejection. When he's still available, a rejection hurts both the feelings and the friendship. But after he's committed, the crush would be history and a rejection is only natural, so they can laugh it off together. And remain friends.

My friend likes someone from abroad whom she is almost certain would never leave his home country because that is where his career is rooted. Likewise, she'd be at a loss of how to make a living if she'd moved there. It'd be a relationship of uncertainty and impossibility. And above all the uncertainties and impossibilities is the guessing game of "If".

"If" he even liked her. "If" he'd abandon life as it is to be with her. "If" she'd be able to survive where the language is wrong and her professional specialisation is still special. "If" she'd be able to take rejection graciously. "If" they could still be friends "If" she revealed her feelings to him. So she'll be content for now with a bit of online chat and some vacation meetings. So long they get to speak and see each other.

I wonder "What if" she quits being so rational, be a little reckless and turn all of the "If" into "What if". Like Walt Disney once did not so very long ago. "If" he had asked more "If" than "What if", would there have been an animation industry as we know it today?

"If" my friend would embrace the "What if" of Uncle Walt, maybe she'll stumble upon the light of happiness than wallow in the darkness of her heart's deepest pits.

Friday, June 12, 2009

When happiness takes form


Photo credit: Sya Amin
(I love how he captures life in the most poignant ways)

This is so strange. Forms for getting married?
Are weddings not supposed to be dreamy, magical, surreal?
Form-filling brings castles in the sky crashing down to earth.
Give us a break ok?

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Me


I think Tarot.com defines me correctly today. Well done!

You are weirder than others think, for your most unconventional quirks are not readily seen by many people. You may have an air of dreaminess about you, but you still are able to keep your most intense thoughts private. Your inner space is yours alone; even if your close friends get glimpses, you are not required to take them on a tour of your imagination.


Tuesday, June 09, 2009

69


Today's date (6.9) is my star sign (Pisces). How cool is that?
And this is the 9th post of June. I didn't plan it.
(^___^*)

Happy 75th Birthday Donald Duck!


My favourite duck is 75 today!
Here is Donald's first appearance 75 years ago. Enjoy!



Monday, June 08, 2009

大家都爱成都!


After going through two rounds of selection, China’s 10 happiest cities have finally been chosen by experts and netizens. Almost all of the cities on the list have wonderful environments and many of them are already popular tourist destinations. With a mix of a developed economies and low pressure lifestyles, these cities stand out as some of the most enjoyable places to live.

Chengdu came in at first with a rating of 52.84. Netizens rated Chengdu very high, saying it is a beautiful, relaxed, low-pressure city that has a low cost of living.

Sunday, June 07, 2009

欢欢,你还好吗?


突然很好奇我去年8月见到的小熊猫欢欢现在长得怎么样了。就去 google 了一下。
她好大了哦!很高兴她健康,快乐, 可爱。
真的好想念他们。希望这次9月去成都的时候我还可以和她会面,说声hello!

Trail of the Panda (Behind the Scenes)


Trail of the Panda 熊猫回家路



I am so looking forward to this film - Trail of the Panda 熊猫回家路. This Disney film arrived at Chinese screens on May 8. It's already on GV's "Coming Soon" list here in Singapore so hopefully, it'll be real soon that we get to watch it!

Set against the spectacular scenery of Siguniang Mountain, Balang Mountain and Wolong Giant Panda Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, the film's central character is an orphan named Lu, who finds a lost panda cub (Pang Pang), carries his new friend on his back and starts a thrilling trip to return it to its mother.

The May 12 Sichuan earthquake last year killed panda Mao Mao, who played Pang Pang's mother. Wolong itself was nearly destroyed by the quake and is still being rebuilt. All the six pandas who played Pang Pang are safe and have been relocated to zoos and reserves around China.

Saturday, June 06, 2009

... and a landslide ...


Holy crap! Another 87 whose fate is uncertain, now in Chongqing ... I'm so depressed (>.<*)

Friday, June 05, 2009

What a hard week ...


It's not work. In fact, at work, it's been a good pace. Even had the chance to read a couple of books for some new ideas.

It's the other bad news around the world. The crash of Air France 447 in the Atlantic on Monday morning. 228 killed. The explosion of a city bus in Chengdu this morning. 25 killed. Lives lost just like that.

This day last week, vacationers, honeymooners, businessmen and students were looking forward to the trip across the Atlantic on Sunday. Just last night, some of the passengers on board the bus must have made plans for the weekend, setting off to work in a happy mood this morning because Thank God, It's Friday! I feel ashamed for being disgruntled at inconsiderate commuters during morning peak hour bus and train rides. I should be thankful that at least our lives are secure. We are safe, right ... or are we not?

Speculation abound for what had happened in both incidents. Investigations are still on-going, no evidence has yet to be recovered. Was it an act of terrorism? Was it technological failure? Was it human error? Which is scarier? Hah ... on first impulse, everyone's afraid of terrorism. But think about it rationally, isn't technological failure way scarier? It's like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. No, it's not even ticking. It JUST happened.

Today felt like an incredibly long day. I'm emotionally drained. These 253 people and their families are so far away, we're completely unrelated. But I feel it in my bones as another human being. That we are fragile. So vulnerable. So many things outside our control. One thing we can take charge of though, and that is to live every second of our lives to the fullest.

活了一分种, 快活六十秒. Carpe diem.

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Another idea!


Ideas come easy when one is happy. I'll give up some of the rooms in my "Houses" for the Couchsurfing community, especially in Takayama where I had my first CS experience! (^___^*)