I started blogging in February 2003 and have made it habit to blog almost everyday. This page is where I note down my thoughts, opinions and critique of almost everything. Please note that this is an adult blog and would require the reader to be thick-skinned. Oh, and some of the stuff here may be gay related so proceed at your own risk. No refund given for offence taken.
...thrills, spills & flatliners
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WEBLOGS I READ
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With all due respect to MJ and his family and friends, Yasmin Ahmad's passing affected me way much more than his. But why should it be so? She is not a famous pop star, I didn't know her personally. And admittedly, I haven't watched any of her movies yet.
But thanks to the invention called Youtube, I got to know her advertisements she did as a creative director for Leo Burnett. And through her blog, I got a slight glimpse of what makes her tick and drives her.
I can say for certain that what drew me to her are her commercials that are both moving and funny. The common thread that runs through them is love, family, kinship and friendship that runs across racial boundaries.
The most famous one in Singapore is the one she did called "Funeral" for our Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports where we see an Indian woman in a sari eulogising her recently departed husband who is Chinese. Apart from the skin colour and choice of apparels, she mourns his passing as any loving wife would. Yasmin has this knack of throwing characters of different races together in a family or a group of friends that made it seem so natural.
For the ones she did in Malaysia, the same evocative theme crops up again and again, like the Chinese boy and his Indian caregiver in last year's Chinese New Year ad or the cute one where a young Tan Hong Ming professes his puppy love for his school mate Umi Qazrina. Some were controversial like the one she did called "Kongsi Raya" in 1997 when Chinese New Year and Hari Raya occurred around the same time. Perhaps it was controversial because it offended certain people's idea of racial purity and segregation.
Some might accuse her of being emotionally manipulative. But it seems to me that the only way her commercials "manipulate" was that they appealed to the goodness and humanity in each of us.
Personally, what appealed to me most about her work is her belief in a Malaysian Malaysia where race ("Race? That means race car ah?") and religion is insignificant. In a country where politics and patronage is based on ethnicity and faith, she dared to go against the grain. And looking at some comments on the internet, she did ruffle a lot of feathers.
I am convinced her appeal in Singapore is also for that very same reason. Where races still tend to congregate and interact with their own kind, she showed a different vision (some say an "idealised" past) of what it means to be one nation regardless of race, language or religion. Something I hold as dearly as her.
When news broke about her stroke on Thursday, a lot of people were naturally worried but expected her to recover. After all, she has so much more up her sleeves. She can't just leave like that. There were still people she was supposed to meet, like-minded friends to work with. So when the initial news of her death spread on Saturday, many refused to believe it, thinking it was just some unfounded internet rumour. When it was finally confirmed, the tons of facebook postings and tweets showed that many in Singapore from different walks of life were as grieved as Malaysians. I think it's to her credit that never in my recent memory has a death of either a Singaporean or Malaysian shocked and saddened so many people of different races in both countries.
This lady had so many more stories to tell, so many more commercials to make, and so many more racial barriers to demolish. As a matter of fact, she was in pre-production for one feature film in Singapore and was scheduled to do another one at the end of the year. Her passing is really too swift and sudden.
But you know what? I believe all of us can be thankful for all that she has done while still alive. Her absence will be keenly felt in Malaysia each year during festive seasons when people realise that the TV commercials for Petronas is not done by Yasmin.
I can only hope that other artists, directors, playwrights, creative directors, etc in both countries will be inspired by her and her work to explore and celebrate the commonality that binds us all like a blood red thread regardless of our differences.
Yasmin Ahmad (July 1, 1958 - July 25, 2009)
(Note: Links in the post above except for the first three lead to her commercials. Go watch them all.)
Pang Khee Teik wrote in Kakiseni.com in his review of "Asian Boys Vol. 2", "Go, not because it's gay theatre, it's great theatre." And I can say that this bold statement is equally true for "Happy Endings - Asian Boys Vol. 3".
I have written about this play in an earlier post, but now, I write with the greatest conviction that this is the best play I have ever seen so far gracing our local stage and one that you have to watch.
Was it perfect? No, but then again, I don't believe that perfection exist and even if it does, it is subjective. Adapting a book ("Peculiar Chris" by Johann S Lee in this case) to a play is not easy and I guess the playwright had quite a challenge dealing with certain characters and placing them in his story arc set in the future.
It is a moving and reflective tale of innocent first love, missed opportunity, growing up, losing the things that you treasured about yourself in your youth to be the person who you want to be as an adult, fighting for who you are and your own path to happiness. Lots of lumps in your throat sort of thing and all of it were played out smoothly and movingly on stage.
The script was great, the direction and realisation was superb and the cast did a fantastic job. Everyone held their own and became the anchor that grounded the story. Of course, some like Karen Tan shone more than the rest.
It was a bit strange to see the character of Johann, the author of Peculiar Chris acted out on stage. Strange because parts of his real life were mentioned and strange because I had the opportunity of meeting him a few years ago in person, in a way having a brief interaction with this person who is now acted by Ben Xiao on stage. And I guess, in a small way, I am part of the larger story too.
There were a lot of scenes that made me tear but the one that moved me a lot was when Koey Foo's uber-macho dragon boating and partying Nicholas confronted his younger effeminate and flamboyant self, realising what he had lost to become this object of desire.
And when I stood up to give my standing ovation, I could feel the tightening of the muscles around my eyes and my nose as I fought back the emotions. I knew that if I let it go, I would be weeping and sniffling like crazy. So powerful was the emotions it stirred in me and I knew that this is a play I have to watch again before it finishes its run on the 29th of this month.
It is that good.
Rarely have I recommended someone to watch a movie or a play, but for this, I was busy last evening mass-SMSing the 200 or so contacts on my mobile phone telling them not to give this play a miss. This is how strongly I feel about it.
And you my readers, regardless of your sexuality, should really give this play a chance. I believe that some of the themes it addresses go beyond sexuality. It is about the human condition and what it means to live, grow and find your own way to your own happiness. Worth every cent of the ticket.
Late last afternoon after waking up from a much needed nap, I received an e-mail from a friend. Sir Ian McKellen had accepted the invitation and went for the 3pm show.
Sir Ian told Ivan he was very moved by the play, that it reminded him of his younger days as an activist, that it gave him a clearer understanding of what it was like living in Singapore as a gay man. He even asked if he should write letters to our leaders... :)
So quoting Pang again, "Go, not because it's gay theatre, it's great theatre." The playwright has outdone himself.
Date: From 11 - 29 July 2007 Time: 8pm, with 3pm matinees on Saturdays and Sundays Venue: Drama Centre Theatre @ National Library (Level 3, 100 Victoria Street)
I read "Peculiar Chris" at least a decade after it was first published even though I had heard about it way before that.
I was a book snob and I had never really bothered to pick it up as it was "just another local novel".
When I finally decided to give it go, it had been out of print and not on sale for many years. By some sheer luck, I happened to be at a second-hand book store at Holland Village shopping centre during lunch when I decided to see if they might have it. The answer was a disappointing "no", but they kindly took down my number and promised to call if they locate it. About half and hour after I left, I received their call on my mobile.
Bingo! They managed to dig it out from god-knows-where.
Rushing back to the store, I laid my hands on an old and worn book with a brownish-sepia picture of someone I assumed to be Chris looking downwards at an angle. Opening the cover, I saw a few names scribbled on the first page, it had been through at least two or three owners. Unfortunately, the book at present has been borrowed by someone and hasn't been returned.
At my last Google search (a few minutes ago), someone is selling a used though "like new" copy of the book through Amazon at US$72.16. That's like SGD$109.70!!!
BI-ATCH!! WHOEVER HAS MY COPY, I WANT IT BACK!!!
Of course you can get a cheaper copy at €15, but you'll need to be able to read Italian.
Anyway, the book was an easy but engaging read; I finished it within a day. And though I couldn't identify much with the characters in the story, it somehow resonated with me. It spoke of something that I could somehow identify with - a sort of love/growing-up story of a gay male that was set on this tiny red dot that we call home; moving in its own way. And besides, it is the first of its kind in Singapore no matter its flaws.
A few years later, I was honoured to meet the man who the put the tale to paper the old-fashioned way; no typewriter, no word processor, just good old pen on paper.
Interestingly, he seemed somewhat discomfited by the attention he received from Singaporeans who had read the book and met him in person. I guess it was part of a past he had left behind when he moved to London eons ago where no one knew him or had read his book.
And now, 15 years after it was first published, the book has been adapted into a play by Alfian Sa'at entitled "Happy Endings: Asian Boys Vol. 3". The first performance will be tonight at 8pm. Am I excited? You bet. I have been waiting for it since I heard that it's going to be on stage.
Should you watch it? Of course. It's going to be a gay story with a happy ending. We already have too much of those usual tragic suicidal stuff that comes out of Hong Kong, Taiwan or China.
And even if you're not gay, it's more than just about sexuality. Gay or straight, our yearnings, our hopes, our wounds, our tears and fears are all the same. It all happens on a tiny little red dot.
Besides, this is the last gay play that Alfian will ever write; for the foreseeable future that it. So don't miss it lor.
In memory of Kurt Vonnegut (11 Nov 1922 - 11 Apr 2007).
When the last living thing has died on account of us, how poetical it would be if Earth could say, in a voice floating up perhaps from the floor of the Grand Canyon, "It is done." People did not like it here. (Requiem)
So I was bored over the Christmas period and decided to pop by over to the newly refurbished National Museum. Nice! They have really done a great job with the place as the pictures below will attest.
As it has been raining like crazy, the weather was cool and the sky slightly overcast. It felt like I wasn't in Singapore at all. The museum, the location and the church steeple of Wesley Methodist Church next to it contributed to the feeling that I was somewhere else, perhaps Australia. Quite nice I must say. And with so little people there, it was an oasis of calm and solitude away from the crazy and messy Orchard Road which was thronged with shoppers on their final last-minute Christmas orgasm of shopping. *shudder*
The exhibitions were free (for the moment I think) and were well put up. Of course one can't expect Museum of Natural History standard or what lah, considering Singapore's short "officially recognised" history. So most of the stuff shown basically went back to the 1800s. Other than that, it was quite impressive. Unfortunately, I was too cheap to pay $8 for the exhibition on the Habsburgian Maria Theresa of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. But I did managed to catch the very interesting and entertaining video exhibit of Brian Gothong Tan that was projected 360o around on the circular wall of the glass rotunda.
Today's "Art and Life Sessions" (part of "The Singapore Theatre Festival 06") covered a very interesting topic, "New Country, Old Constraints". Though the session was to discuss whether things have changed or do the old constraints still exist (in new guises) the topics aired by both the panellists and members of the audience were very enlightening and engaging.
In this public forum, a very impressive array of panellist was selected. They were Tan Tarn How - playwright, policy researcher and social commentator; Eleanor Wong - playwright and lawyer; Sylvia Lim - Chairman of the Workers Party, Non-Constituency MP and law lecturer; Gayle Goh - JC student and citizen commentator/blogger; and Martyn See - film maker, most famously for "that" movie about Chee Soon Juan, "Singapore Rebel". And making sure that the whole thing did not run amok, the playwright Alfian Sa'at took the chair as moderator.
All of them did a great job in giving their views and take on a lot of issues in a very clear and lucid manner. It was practically a no-holds-barred discussion, and thankfully the audience (which were made up of a cross section of Singaporeans) participated very actively. Some of them were moving and impressive in their own right, Braema Mathi (President of Transient Workers Count Too and former Nominated MP) was especially so.
The topics discussed are way too many to write about here, but there were two things that stayed on my mind.
1) Did you know that as we progressed from third world to first, our political space and freedom has actually regressed? We actually have less of it now then our forefathers did before. Interesting eh?
2) And the most important point to me is the (not new) idea of moral courage. Disregarding all the technical talk about political maturity, consumer choices, voting from heart or mind, or even academic and intelligent discussion on the state of politics in Singapore, the one clear question as posed by Martyn See was whether we as a people or an individual have the moral courage to do the right thing when it's called for. Or as Braema asked, when the crunch comes, will we pass the litmus test? *gulp*
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)
And at this point, I will leave you with some pictures I took at the forum.
The premise of the play was to show up the idiosyncrasies, hidden skeletons, prejudices, drama, etc of the seven members of the Koh family when they were slapped with a home quarantine order during the height of the SARS outbreak; a good ant-colony for Alfian Sa'at to stir some shit.
What they (and we didn't expect) was that all of them (and us) were forced to confront some of the very issues of what it means to be a Singaporean.
The entire story revolved around the mother (played by Neo Swee Lin), her five kids, one son-in-law and a sudden unexpected visitor in the form of a Peidu Mama from China whom she initially mistook to be one of her sons' girl friend but is in actual fact her husband's newly-pregnant mistress; a fact she discovers dramatically towards the end of the two part play.
The first part was rather political (very Alfian), which to some people was a bit over the top. But if you stop to consider the characters and the reasons why they left Singapore, it would become clear that these reasons would still be there when they come back. Hence, it would be natural for it to be sprouted in the bed rooms or the dinner table of a soon-to-be claustrophobic household. Perhaps (according to some of my friends) it could have been given a more complete airing as opposed to short snippets of discussions here and there which kind of left some of the issues not fully addressed. I guess the constraint here would be time.
But the one thing I liked about this aspect was the role of Cindy, the Peidu Mama from China who presented a different set of views about Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew and the pros of living here. Not so much in an ass-kissing sort of way, but from the perspective of someone foreign and used to a country where things don't work quite that efficiently. Here you have a bunch of Singaporeans griping (about legitimate issues and complaints of course :-)) and then you have this wide-eyed young woman from China who tells them that Singapore isn't quite that bad at all.
The second part was supposed to be much longer, but to me, it seemed shorter than the first part. I guess it was because the human drama of the family on the verge of crisis kicked into high gear and really engaged me. This is when the chemistry of the entire cast really kicked in. And they shone. Heck, I was really impressed.
But I have to really take off my hat to two of them: Remesh Panicker who plays the Indian son-in-law Manooj and Neo Swee Lin who plays the mother and who made me cry at the last part.
Remesh has this ability to "don't-have-to-act" (using Ezra's words) to act. Meaning, this guy doesn't need to act, he just... I don't know... delivers the role without putting on too much of an effort. The way he speaks, delivers his lines and create the character is so effortless that it looks too easy and hence is all the more remarkable and impressive.
Then you have Swee Lin whom seems to specialise in playing motherly roles. But in this play, she was really good. I mean come on, she made me cry, which is quite difficult if you know me. I don't really know why my lachrymal glands were triggered by her mother-on-Peranakan-power-trip at the last part of the play, but I guess it was because I see my mom in her. I don't mean my mom went through the exact same trauma as her, but you know, all the frustrations, tears and sacrifices of a woman who gave up so much to raise her family that erupted at the last part brought out my mother in her. Of course it helped that her role and my mom are both Peranakan. But to give you a clue on how strong her effect was, I couldn't speak after the play ended. When my friend asked me what it was that affected me, I had to catch my breath before telling him to wait because I couldn't answer without crying. Wow...
Lim Kay Siu was funny and engaging as the fey but straight professor in a British university with his own lies and charade. However I did find his hamming-it-up a bit over the top. He could have tone it down a bit, but I guess he was having a ball of a time and really wanted to let it rip.
Then there was Chermaine Ang who did a great job as Cindy the Peidu Mama whose son predeceased her. Her research into the role up to imitating the accent of a woman from Beijing really showed. Actually all of them really did a great job. There were no divas and everyone worked as part a well-oiled team. And when I read their profiles on the programme sheet, I was impressed - lots of BA and one (or is it two?) Masters in theatre related studies. These guys are experienced professionals and it shows.
And then finally, the script has to be complimented as well. Alfian who wrote it did a great job in fleshing out the characters and story line. And it was that night when I understood why my friend (who acted in the play) commented on the playwright's brilliance and ability in giving so many facets to the characters. All of them spoke to every one of us in the audience, and all the children reflected almost each and every frustrations of being a Singaporean in Singapore. I think the great thing about it was the human-ness of the characters - all their flaws, agendas and ugliness reflected us as well. And I guess some of us did flinch at some of the portrayals.
At the end of it, though some may find the treatment on some of the political issues of being a Singaporean a bit too much, I felt that it could have been addressed even more. But that would mean that the play may have to be stretched longer. And I am not sure if the actors are going to stand for that since the director Jonathan Lim has done it in a very Dogville style where everyone had to stay on stage; no toilet or smoke breaks in between, except for the 15 minutes interval.
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