Went to the Zouk poetry slam last night, not intending to read. Unfortunately, they needed to rustle up 16 readers for a haiku slam, so they press-ganged me into the proceedings. Fortunately, haiku are very easy to write. Cynical haiku challenging the form, even more so:
1.
Sixty years ago
they tortured, bombed and raped us.
Now, we write haiku.
2.
My cock, seventeen
syllables long! Yet partner
still not satisfied!
3.
Even MTV
has longer attention span
than haiku master.
4.
Merdeka! Next month:
Tang shi slam, pantun slam and
Hindu epic slam!
5.
This competition
is rigged: laughter outweighs depth.
Ha! Take that, Basho!
I ended up in second place (which I'm quite happy about, since I haven't come near to winning a slam since Writers' Festival 2003). I'm currently feeling a need to go back and learn more from the slam scene, which after all represents perhaps the only solid poetry community here, and has managed to breed three especially good and committed slammers - Marc Nair, Pooja Nansi and Bani Haykal, who was featured in the Arts Fest this year as a collaborator in Forward Moves, despite being only of NS age. They're getting published under Word Forward soon. :)
Savinder's pointed out to me how it's difficult for established Singapore poets to go up there and compete in the 3-minute slams, because our pride gets terribly hurt when we lose to a nursery rhymer (happened to me, happens to everyone). But the slam movement is probably the literary movement in Singapore that has the most committed penetration of schools and youth communities. And other established writers - Robert Yeo, Richard Lord, Yong Shu Hoong - are regulars at these events.
I mean hell, I just want to *know* this scene. It'd be great to become a slammer in my own right (I have written performance poems, but they're few and far between), but it feels like it's more important just to *be* there, to *know* what's happening, not to become obsolete.
I've got a terribly polyamorous approach to life. I read in different cultures and write in different genres and sleep in different beds (on occasion) and get staged by different theatre companies and attempt to eat a varied diet of all major food groups at every single fucking meal.
And I want - like the Theatreworks people - to know something of what's going on in different parts of the local arts scene. I know people in theatre and visual arts and writing and maybe film (no... not really), but what about indie music, classical music and dance? What about non-entertainment journalism, activism, fashion, design, high cuisine, architecture, science, history, philosophy, academia? It's not about the "arts" scene, for crying out loud; it's about a network of ideas; a community of people in this country who *think* and *make stuff* for a living.
I mean, we're a small country, right? We haven't developed *that* fast. Don't we know each other anymore?
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Asian Pride Porn
While we're still kinda on the subject of indie movies and porn, Check out this mockumercial by Greg Pak (director of Robot Stories), starring David Henry Hwang.
Monday, June 25, 2007
The Lucky 7 Project
Can't wait for this to come out! It's a collaborative project between Singapore directors, where each one directs one seventh of the show, and then the next one shoots the next section *only* knowing what the last scene was! (It's based on the surrealist format of the Exquisite Corpse).
Better yet, it brings together the best of the new queer directors with the best of the young straight ones - Sun Koh, Boo Junfeng, Ho Tzu Nyen, Brian Gothong Tan... er, forgotten the rest of their names. A few of these people have never put together a feature-length piece before, too.
Wonder if we could write a novel like this?
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Speculative friction
Remember all that brouhaha abut the US Army trying to develop a "gay bomb"? The inevitable's happened... someone's making a porn movie about it. :)
Following the controversial political parody of Gaytanamo, released to huge critical acclaim earlier this year, New York'€™s most filthy-fun gay film studio Dark Alley Media today announced plans to kick the US Government while it’s down.
Gay Bomb will take us into the future and the year 2012. George the Second has refused to step down as leader of the “free world,†and the nations of Europe have banded together to fight the new American military dictatorship. Desperate to fend off its attackers, the US launches the experimental “gay bomb,†designed to make the enemy forces drop their guns and turn fag. But the winds of fate blow in a different direction, and soon America is brought to its knees.
Recent news headlines revealed that Pentagon insiders admitted to having truly considered the gay bomb€ as an example of non-lethal chemical warfare in the Iraq War. The Air Force asked for a $7.5 million grant to develop the idea, which was proposed to the government’s highest scientific authority.
Dark Alley’s Matthias von Fistenberg said, "We’re really not making this up..."
Gay Bomb will begin filming in November 2007, after Dark Alley completes its already jam-packed production and release schedule for the year. Look out for current releases Gaytanamo and Fisting Underground, Part 3, as well as the upcoming Matthias von Fistenberg's Fist Weekend.
From Wired.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Job week
Jabir and I had lunch at Holland Vee today. And while we were walking to Buona Vista MRT, we came across two ladies trying to retrieve berries from a tree with a stick:
A fat Caucasian lady exhorted us two young lads to help the aunties. (She said she'd do it herself, but she was in a dress). Being so compelled, we ended up scouring the longkang for fallen bits of...
...I think the aunties said it was called kam yong. Good for watery eyes. Drink two decoctions, no need to see doctor.
They gave us $2 each for our trouble. I joked to Jabir that we had joined the City Harvest. (Or has the whole of Singapore turned into Orchard?)
P.S. These photos are all taken with my Macbook PhotoBooth programme! (Seriously, it's the most reliable digital camera I've got right now. Just tough to hold my laptop right for location shoots).
A fat Caucasian lady exhorted us two young lads to help the aunties. (She said she'd do it herself, but she was in a dress). Being so compelled, we ended up scouring the longkang for fallen bits of...
...I think the aunties said it was called kam yong. Good for watery eyes. Drink two decoctions, no need to see doctor.
They gave us $2 each for our trouble. I joked to Jabir that we had joined the City Harvest. (Or has the whole of Singapore turned into Orchard?)
P.S. These photos are all taken with my Macbook PhotoBooth programme! (Seriously, it's the most reliable digital camera I've got right now. Just tough to hold my laptop right for location shoots).
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Cost of living
Huh? Singapore's been ranked the 15th most expensive city, alongside New York??? (Click here.)
I mean, yes, it's a cut-throat business finding a car and a home here, but it's way worse in NYC. Or perhaps they assume that New York City includes the suburbs of Little and Great Neck (retch).
And how can Beijing be more expensive than Amsterdam? Or Lagos more than Los Angeles? Or Almaty more than Barcelona? (Don't know where Almaty is? It's the capital of KAZAKHSTAN.)
There's actually something quite beautiful about this topsy-turviness, because it dares to suggest a utopian vision where cities worldwide are at some kind of economic equilibrium, regardless of dominant race, religion, or cultural influence. A completely misleading vision, but seductive nonetheless.
P.S. Last night at "Full Frontal", Tan Tarn How told me his family reads my blog. Of course I'm honoured, but honestly, don't you guys have better things to do? Sheesh! Go read Boing Boing instead; it's way cooler.
P.P.S. Honestly, inasmuch as I like attention, I also value the liberty to be brainless.
CORRECTION: Almaty is not the capital of Kazakhstan; rather, it is Astana. Almaty is, however, the biggest city, and its surrounding regions boast the world's widest variety of wild apples. Kazakhstan is, of course, the country where the apple was first domesticated - before that, they used to have fangs and hairy udders.
I mean, yes, it's a cut-throat business finding a car and a home here, but it's way worse in NYC. Or perhaps they assume that New York City includes the suburbs of Little and Great Neck (retch).
And how can Beijing be more expensive than Amsterdam? Or Lagos more than Los Angeles? Or Almaty more than Barcelona? (Don't know where Almaty is? It's the capital of KAZAKHSTAN.)
There's actually something quite beautiful about this topsy-turviness, because it dares to suggest a utopian vision where cities worldwide are at some kind of economic equilibrium, regardless of dominant race, religion, or cultural influence. A completely misleading vision, but seductive nonetheless.
P.S. Last night at "Full Frontal", Tan Tarn How told me his family reads my blog. Of course I'm honoured, but honestly, don't you guys have better things to do? Sheesh! Go read Boing Boing instead; it's way cooler.
P.P.S. Honestly, inasmuch as I like attention, I also value the liberty to be brainless.
CORRECTION: Almaty is not the capital of Kazakhstan; rather, it is Astana. Almaty is, however, the biggest city, and its surrounding regions boast the world's widest variety of wild apples. Kazakhstan is, of course, the country where the apple was first domesticated - before that, they used to have fangs and hairy udders.
Monday, June 18, 2007
ContraDiction 3
Hey All,
I'm curating an event for IndigNation: a queer literary night, where we'll be reading bits of poems, plays, songs, stories and blog entries by and/or about queer people in Singapore. It'll be held on the night of Sunday, 12 August, 2007, at 72-13 home of Theatreworks.
Anyone who wants to be involved, please e-mail me entries and enquiries by next Saturday, 23 June 2007.
You don't have to be queer to read, but we are specifically hoping to give exposure to overlooked voices in the community - very interested in the writings of queer women and non-Chinese writers in Singapore, for example, as well as hoping to portray a variety of generations and genres.
A bit of background: the first year, ContraDiction was held at Utterly Art, and the second year it was held at Mox. Both events commanded a large turnout, and featured readings by mostly emerging queer poets (the only published ones have been myself, Cyril Wong and Alfian Sa'at).
There's more info on previous ContraDiction events here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IndigNation#Contra.2FDiction:_A_night_with_gay_poets
http://www.plu.sg/indignation/?p=100
Hope to hear from ya!
I'm curating an event for IndigNation: a queer literary night, where we'll be reading bits of poems, plays, songs, stories and blog entries by and/or about queer people in Singapore. It'll be held on the night of Sunday, 12 August, 2007, at 72-13 home of Theatreworks.
Anyone who wants to be involved, please e-mail me entries and enquiries by next Saturday, 23 June 2007.
You don't have to be queer to read, but we are specifically hoping to give exposure to overlooked voices in the community - very interested in the writings of queer women and non-Chinese writers in Singapore, for example, as well as hoping to portray a variety of generations and genres.
A bit of background: the first year, ContraDiction was held at Utterly Art, and the second year it was held at Mox. Both events commanded a large turnout, and featured readings by mostly emerging queer poets (the only published ones have been myself, Cyril Wong and Alfian Sa'at).
There's more info on previous ContraDiction events here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IndigNation#Contra.2FDiction:_A_night_with_gay_poets
http://www.plu.sg/indignation/?p=100
Hope to hear from ya!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Maafa II
Today's Straits Times had three stories about China - the case of young people enslaved as brickworkers in Shanxi, the problem of there not being enough rural immigrants coming to the big cities for unskilled labour, and the rising interest in African students in learning Chinese.
Which suggests the future scenario that soon low-skilled African foreign workers will be imported to China, with human rights abuses comparable to those of slaves. :(
Of course, Africa's a long long way away from China, so it mightn't be economically viable. And who knows if the Chinese economy's going to break down in a decade or so. When he heard the news, my father scoffed and said a few decades ago, everyone in Africa was trying to learn Russian.
Maybe if my copywriting picks up, I'll make enough money to go for a Swahili immersion course in Nairobi. :)
Which suggests the future scenario that soon low-skilled African foreign workers will be imported to China, with human rights abuses comparable to those of slaves. :(
Of course, Africa's a long long way away from China, so it mightn't be economically viable. And who knows if the Chinese economy's going to break down in a decade or so. When he heard the news, my father scoffed and said a few decades ago, everyone in Africa was trying to learn Russian.
Maybe if my copywriting picks up, I'll make enough money to go for a Swahili immersion course in Nairobi. :)
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Tiruvalluvar's "The Kural"
How come love poems don't age? Why can we look at a love poem by Sappho or Solomon or Chu Shuzhen and still feel struck to the quick of the heart? Whereas Hallmark love is cliched and stupid by contrast?
I've been reading a shortened version of "The Kural" by Tiruvalluvar, the greatest of the pre-modern Tamil poets, and all his couplets on manhood and statecraft sound absurd and moralistic today. But his lovesongs:
126. Farewell, Reserve!
Love the axe breaks down the bolted door
Of bashful reserve.
That pitiless thing called Love exploits even at night
Its mother, my heart.
Fain would I hide my love, but it breaks out
Like a sneeze.
I thought I had control, but my love
Breaks all bonds.
Not for the love-sick is the dignity
That will not chase the indifferent.
How wonderful is my grief
Seeking the indifferent!
What do we know of shame when the lover
Does all we long for?
Where is that fortress of feminine reserve
That can resist a host of enticing words?
I said I would hold back, but when my heart went out
I too went with it and clasped him.
Is it possible for those to freeze
Whose heart melts at a touch?
I've been reading a shortened version of "The Kural" by Tiruvalluvar, the greatest of the pre-modern Tamil poets, and all his couplets on manhood and statecraft sound absurd and moralistic today. But his lovesongs:
126. Farewell, Reserve!
Love the axe breaks down the bolted door
Of bashful reserve.
That pitiless thing called Love exploits even at night
Its mother, my heart.
Fain would I hide my love, but it breaks out
Like a sneeze.
I thought I had control, but my love
Breaks all bonds.
Not for the love-sick is the dignity
That will not chase the indifferent.
How wonderful is my grief
Seeking the indifferent!
What do we know of shame when the lover
Does all we long for?
Where is that fortress of feminine reserve
That can resist a host of enticing words?
I said I would hold back, but when my heart went out
I too went with it and clasped him.
Is it possible for those to freeze
Whose heart melts at a touch?
Monday, June 11, 2007
Men In White
Just watched "Men in White"... actually missed the first coupla minutes 'cos I was trying to find a copy of the Business Times for the good review of Georgette.
Yeah, I'd read the negative reviews of the show in the press. But it's written and directed by Kelvin Tong, and I loved "Eating Air", "The Maid", "Love Story"... so I figured I had to at least see this one for research purposes. And hell, it's a cool concept (the same one I used in the play "Hungry"!) and it's a fun trailer, if you understand Mandarin.
But the show...
Well, let's start off with what it did right. A lot of the film is very very funny; the 10:05pm theatre was crowded and people were laughing their way through the first half with pretty regular consistency. Kelvin's got the goofy Jack Neo-style "boiing" brand of slapstick going on here, with rapid non-sequitur jump-cuts, even to animations and hip-hop music videos in Hokkien, Cantonese and English.
But I've gotta mention what another audience member said on the way out - "I feel like I've grown stupider watching this show".
Kelvin's definitely not stupid, but he hasn't quite shown an ability to use comedy for concrete satirical purposes - you can figure out some kind of allegory on how to live a purposeful life in the actions of the ghosts, as well as hints at the undercurrent of government surveillance that's part of the Singapore psyche. But that's not quite stuff that you appreciate subliminally, the way you do in, let's say, "12 Storeys".
And in the meantime, his comedy makes caricatures out of everyone - I really am pissed at the portrayal of the new homeowner that tries to chase the ghosts out from his apartment as a flaming fat queen, whom the contractor insults as a "chao ar kwa". Sure, you can claim that any representation of queer characters in Singapore cinema is welcome. But everyone in the audience is laughing whenever someone says "chao ar kwa". Am I supposed to enjoy that? Am I supposed to enjoy the fact that we're reinforcing the idea that saying "chao ar kwa" is okay???
On reflection, Singapore cinema has a terrible tendency to make fun of Indian Singaporeans in a similar way, portraying them as clownish buffoons - it's done in this film, as well as with a security guard in "Just Follow Law", and arguably via ethnic/gender drag in "Liang Po Po: the Movie". "Army Daze" could also be said to mock Indian culture, but it's an equal opportunity offender, and Kumar and Lathi are given solid enough roles to suggest some interiority. "Unarmed Combat" is fairly unique in the way it features a Indian character as an important role among a Chinese-speaking clique - he's sarong-wearing and comic to a certain degree, but the other characters digest the cultural difference rather than othering him - they teach him mahjong and they've learnt enough Tamil to count to three (which is more Tamil than I have).We need more Malay and Indian film creators in Singapore, and more Chinese language film directors who're willing to create significant roles for non-Chinese characters. (Come to think of it, "The Maid" was already a step forward.)
We have lots of budding queer directors, luckily. :)
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Lezpats
Just had a farewell supper at Domus Cafe with Suzanne Pemberton, an English teacher/writer friend of mine who's going to Sweden soon. She's part of a very interesting community of mostly mature, professional expat queer women - and expat here includes prodigal daughters who grew up in Singapore, vowed never to return, and then came back anyway with their girlfriends in tow. Very different from the RedQueen/PPC set, the Sayoni set and the TwoQueens set.Have more photos, but have to be careful of outing people, probably. Also have a buncha fun fotos of opening night at Georgette on my Careerblog - click here.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Women In Art
Guess I feel a little sappy 'cos Georgette is going up. Wish the animator had included some late 20th and early 21st century artists as well, though - where are the Frida Kahlos, the Cindy Shermans and the Lisa Kusavages?
Thursday, June 07, 2007
I've been having a *lot* of fun with PhotoBooth.
It has EFFECTS. Like black and white...
Coloured pencil...
Sepia...
Glow...
X-ray (wtf?)...
Thermal camera (eurrrrggghhh!!! I've got SARS!)
And pop art:
There is lots more I've done; not sure whether to whip it out just yet.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Feed the body, feed the soul
My depression is laughably hormonal. I've just made cookies for the cast of "Georgette" and I'm happy again. Chocolate chip and walnut with butterscotch and raisins (actually, it tastes rather boring; not sure what went wrong).
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Resolution
Before I ask someone out on a date, I will ascertain that they *know* I am asking them out on a date. Granted, this will make it far more difficult for me to actually find someone to date, but I will not find myself kicking myself for giving movie and theatre comps to people who:
1) have found a boyfriend since two weeks ago when you checked if they were single;
2) think they're way out of your league ("You asked me out? You're so brave!!!")
3) cancel three hours before we're supposed to meet up because they happen to have too much homework; and despite prompting do not reschedule.
And this is leaving out all those guys who seemed okay after a first date, but then always say they're too busy for a second.
The truth is, I really am fan-fucking-tastically lonely. There are people who're attracted to me, but I'm usually not attracted to them. And thus far I have not had one single real relationship. My only ex from three years ago declared that he had only time for an open relationship and insisted that IMing was as good as actual dating.
My friends have been giving me counselling. They say I make things more difficult for myself by being strange, but of course I shouldn't be anyone other than myself. And of course there's the big problem of my being attracted mostly to younger men.
Things reached a fever pitch during the weekend. Loneliness isn't poison; it's starvation, and during fasts you experience hallucinations. Hypodermic chocolate. Origami in the mouth. White rice quicksand. This wasn't helped by the fact that Umbu and Ligerinho had just come back to capoeira class, and no matter how chill they are, it's still very difficult to interact casually with handsome men.
As the roda played and Baiana played the pandeiro, the senses inside me flooded and became one with the ax'e. I beat the atabaque. I compraed. I aued. I gingaed. Queixada. Armada. Parafuso. Meia lua de frente. Meia lua de compaso. Negativa. Role.
It stops hurting when I fight. Esquiva. Cocorinha. Encrucihada. And I don't even fight that well.
I'm actually not as depressed as I sound right now, but I do need introductions.
1) have found a boyfriend since two weeks ago when you checked if they were single;
2) think they're way out of your league ("You asked me out? You're so brave!!!")
3) cancel three hours before we're supposed to meet up because they happen to have too much homework; and despite prompting do not reschedule.
And this is leaving out all those guys who seemed okay after a first date, but then always say they're too busy for a second.
The truth is, I really am fan-fucking-tastically lonely. There are people who're attracted to me, but I'm usually not attracted to them. And thus far I have not had one single real relationship. My only ex from three years ago declared that he had only time for an open relationship and insisted that IMing was as good as actual dating.
My friends have been giving me counselling. They say I make things more difficult for myself by being strange, but of course I shouldn't be anyone other than myself. And of course there's the big problem of my being attracted mostly to younger men.
Things reached a fever pitch during the weekend. Loneliness isn't poison; it's starvation, and during fasts you experience hallucinations. Hypodermic chocolate. Origami in the mouth. White rice quicksand. This wasn't helped by the fact that Umbu and Ligerinho had just come back to capoeira class, and no matter how chill they are, it's still very difficult to interact casually with handsome men.
As the roda played and Baiana played the pandeiro, the senses inside me flooded and became one with the ax'e. I beat the atabaque. I compraed. I aued. I gingaed. Queixada. Armada. Parafuso. Meia lua de frente. Meia lua de compaso. Negativa. Role.
It stops hurting when I fight. Esquiva. Cocorinha. Encrucihada. And I don't even fight that well.
I'm actually not as depressed as I sound right now, but I do need introductions.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Saturday, June 02, 2007
I has a Mac!
(And it have a Photo Booth programme!)
Just bought this baby yesterday at the Computer Fair. My 3 year-old Futjitsu PC laptop wouldn't start up yesterday morning (was probably jealous since it knew I was going shopping), so this MacBook comes in the nick of time (worryingly, it refused to shut down last night because of the DVD player complaining. But it really is supremely easy to set up).
The really tricky bit, however, was payment. I couldn't shell out the entire sum 'cos my venerable clients have been dawdling in sending me my cheques. (Also I've shelled out first to go for a young playwrights' conference in Queensland, but I might get some grants to help me along with that - more info later).
First, I left a $200 deposit via NETS (no credit cards or cheques accepted), and then frantically SMSed my sister for help. (This is in the middle of an insanely crowded exhibition hall where we have to use the International Signal Alphabet to say I'm at the corner of JVC and Canon).
Then, she tried to pay the remaining $2,486 by NETS. It said she'd exceeded her withdrawal limit for the day (my sis has been stocking up on a new wardrobe for her PhD).
She tried paying $2,000 by NETS. No dice.
She ended up paying $1,500 by NETS and $700 in cash (she'd been planning to go shopping for clothes later).
Then we had to call her friend and have him pay the final $285 by NETS.
Honestly, I don't have to be this broke. I have friends in university who get corporate copywriting jobs, no problem. Am I missing some valuable connections here? (More on that later; I have a big job for the end of the year),
P.S. How am I going to pay my capoeira fees and my phone bill today? O noes!1!1!
Friday, June 01, 2007
FTW!!! May texts!!!
Yes!!! Twenty-nine adult books and eight children's books (I went to the library and read to my niece) in one month, coming to a total of 37 books in 31 days!!! A new reading record!!!
In other news, I didn't see much good theatre this month.
*POETRY*
Koh Jee Leong's "Payday Loans"
+Kate Clanchy's "Samarkand"
+Billy Collins's "The Apple that Astonished Paris"
Yeow Kai Chai's "Pretend I'm Not Here"
+Anne Carson's "If Not, Winter: Fragments from Sappho"
+"Sonnets of Michelangelo"
*FICTION*
+Aubrey Beardsley's "Under the Hill"
+Gore Vidal's "Myron
+Richard Crace's "The Devil's Larder"
+Edith Wharton's "Ethan Frome"
+Gail Carson Levine's "Ella Enchanted"
*DRAMA*
+The New York Neofuturists' "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: Best of 2006"
+Friedrich Dürrenmatt's "The Physicists"
Caryl Churchill's "A Number"
Nilo Cruz's "Anna in the Tropics"
Kee Thuan Chye's "1984: Here and Now"
+Noel Coward's "Plays: Four", including "Blithe Spirit", "Present Laughter", "This Happy Breed", "Ways and Means", "The Astonished Heart" and "Red Peppers"
Stella Kon's "Silent Song and Other Plays", including "City of Splendour" and +"Dragon's Teeth Gate"
*NON-FICTION*
Sigmund Freud's "The Schreber Case"
+Mitch Albom's "Tuesdays with Morrie"
James Boswell's "Meeting Dr. Johnson"
+Evelyn Waugh's "The Coronation of Haile Selassie"
Al-Mas'ūdī's "From The Meadows of Gold"
+Michelle Baker and Stephen Tropiano's "Queer Facts: The Greatest Gay and Lesbian Trivia Book Ever"
*GRAPHIC NOVELS*
+Marisa Acocella Marchetto's "Cancer Vixen"
+Lat's "Town Boy"
Barnaby Legg, Jim McCarthy and Flameboy's "Death Rap: Tupac Shapur: A Life"
+Hergé's "The Seven Crystal Balls" and "The Prisoners of the Sun"
*CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED BOOKS*
+Sunny Warner's "The Moon Quilt"
+Tomi Ungerer's "Moon Man"
Joanna Cole and Stephanie Calmenson's "Ready, Set, Read... and Laugh!"
+Giselle Potter's "The Year I Didn't Go to School"
+Debra Frasier's "On the Day You Were Born"
Allen Say's "Allison"
Mary Virginia Fox's "Continents: South America" (Heinemann's First Library)
Charles Winter Johnson's "Internet: A Magic Mouse Guide"
*PERFORMANCES*
Singapore Repertory Theatre's "A Midsummer Night's Dream
Theatreworks's "Sandbox #1", 3rd Night, including excerpts from Leon Lim's "Shahjahanabad", Yak Aik Wee's "Happy At Eccles", Alvin Lim's "Almost Heaven" and Chew Boon Leong's "Happy Together"
"Mentah IV: Please Stand Clear of the Platform Gap", including +"Mat CD" and "Rendezvous Point"
Temasek Junior College's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Ray MacNiece's "An Evening of Monologues, Poems and Songs"
Musical Theatre Ltd and Word Forward's "Musical Express/Poetry Slam"
*FILMS*
+Leste Chen's "Eternal Summer"
+Gabor Csupo's "Bridge to Terabithia"
Amir Muhammad's "Village People Radio Show"
+ Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman's "Born Into Brothels"
Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's "Mirrormask"
+Brad Anderson's "The Machinist"
Zero Chou's "Spider Lilies"
+Way too much "Iron Chef"
*EXHIBITIONS*
+Zeng Fanzhi's "Idealism"
+Voilah!'s " Engraving the World A Selection from the Chalcography Collection of the Louvre Museum"
Singapore Art Museum's "Wong Keen: A Singapore Abstract Impressionist"
Li Qingxing's "Weed Garden" at Soobin Art International
The MINT Toy Museum's Permanent Collection
The Singapore Philatelic Museum's Permanent Collection and "An Nyeong Ha Seyo Korea!"
Jessica Koh and Joanna Tan's "Travelling on Sacred Ground"
+Pablo Picasso's "Vollard Suite" at Singapore Tyler Print Institute
Bhaskar Arts Academy's Painting Gallery
In other news, I didn't see much good theatre this month.
*POETRY*
Koh Jee Leong's "Payday Loans"
+Kate Clanchy's "Samarkand"
+Billy Collins's "The Apple that Astonished Paris"
Yeow Kai Chai's "Pretend I'm Not Here"
+Anne Carson's "If Not, Winter: Fragments from Sappho"
+"Sonnets of Michelangelo"
*FICTION*
+Aubrey Beardsley's "Under the Hill"
+Gore Vidal's "Myron
+Richard Crace's "The Devil's Larder"
+Edith Wharton's "Ethan Frome"
+Gail Carson Levine's "Ella Enchanted"
*DRAMA*
+The New York Neofuturists' "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: Best of 2006"
+Friedrich Dürrenmatt's "The Physicists"
Caryl Churchill's "A Number"
Nilo Cruz's "Anna in the Tropics"
Kee Thuan Chye's "1984: Here and Now"
+Noel Coward's "Plays: Four", including "Blithe Spirit", "Present Laughter", "This Happy Breed", "Ways and Means", "The Astonished Heart" and "Red Peppers"
Stella Kon's "Silent Song and Other Plays", including "City of Splendour" and +"Dragon's Teeth Gate"
*NON-FICTION*
Sigmund Freud's "The Schreber Case"
+Mitch Albom's "Tuesdays with Morrie"
James Boswell's "Meeting Dr. Johnson"
+Evelyn Waugh's "The Coronation of Haile Selassie"
Al-Mas'ūdī's "From The Meadows of Gold"
+Michelle Baker and Stephen Tropiano's "Queer Facts: The Greatest Gay and Lesbian Trivia Book Ever"
*GRAPHIC NOVELS*
+Marisa Acocella Marchetto's "Cancer Vixen"
+Lat's "Town Boy"
Barnaby Legg, Jim McCarthy and Flameboy's "Death Rap: Tupac Shapur: A Life"
+Hergé's "The Seven Crystal Balls" and "The Prisoners of the Sun"
*CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED BOOKS*
+Sunny Warner's "The Moon Quilt"
+Tomi Ungerer's "Moon Man"
Joanna Cole and Stephanie Calmenson's "Ready, Set, Read... and Laugh!"
+Giselle Potter's "The Year I Didn't Go to School"
+Debra Frasier's "On the Day You Were Born"
Allen Say's "Allison"
Mary Virginia Fox's "Continents: South America" (Heinemann's First Library)
Charles Winter Johnson's "Internet: A Magic Mouse Guide"
*PERFORMANCES*
Singapore Repertory Theatre's "A Midsummer Night's Dream
Theatreworks's "Sandbox #1", 3rd Night, including excerpts from Leon Lim's "Shahjahanabad", Yak Aik Wee's "Happy At Eccles", Alvin Lim's "Almost Heaven" and Chew Boon Leong's "Happy Together"
"Mentah IV: Please Stand Clear of the Platform Gap", including +"Mat CD" and "Rendezvous Point"
Temasek Junior College's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Ray MacNiece's "An Evening of Monologues, Poems and Songs"
Musical Theatre Ltd and Word Forward's "Musical Express/Poetry Slam"
*FILMS*
+Leste Chen's "Eternal Summer"
+Gabor Csupo's "Bridge to Terabithia"
Amir Muhammad's "Village People Radio Show"
+ Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman's "Born Into Brothels"
Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's "Mirrormask"
+Brad Anderson's "The Machinist"
Zero Chou's "Spider Lilies"
+Way too much "Iron Chef"
*EXHIBITIONS*
+Zeng Fanzhi's "Idealism"
+Voilah!'s " Engraving the World A Selection from the Chalcography Collection of the Louvre Museum"
Singapore Art Museum's "Wong Keen: A Singapore Abstract Impressionist"
Li Qingxing's "Weed Garden" at Soobin Art International
The MINT Toy Museum's Permanent Collection
The Singapore Philatelic Museum's Permanent Collection and "An Nyeong Ha Seyo Korea!"
Jessica Koh and Joanna Tan's "Travelling on Sacred Ground"
+Pablo Picasso's "Vollard Suite" at Singapore Tyler Print Institute
Bhaskar Arts Academy's Painting Gallery
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Death be Not Loud
Today I participated in a panel discussion at the Creative Arts Programme Seminar at LT13: as alumni of the programme, me, Alfian, Qian Xi and Nicholas Wong (a very precocious 18 year-old Malaysian writer) read our works and jabbered a bit about the importance of speaking truth to power, etc. Nothing terribly unusual. An MOE lady hogged our slot, so we only had about 15 minutes to discuss the Role of the Writer Today.
Anyhow, I'd read my "Loud Poem", wincing at how hackneyed this old work of 1999 had become. The kids loved it as usual. and applauded during the bits where I forgot the lines. I seem to have cultivated this strange absent-minded boy-in-grown-up's body persona.
And then after the event, a girl came up to me and thrust this note into my hand. It was written on blank printing paper, labelled: "MR NG YI SHENG" on the front, and folded into eight.
"Your loud poem saved my life - recovering from one strange cancer and (thankfully wrongly) diagnosed with a debilitating sort of leukemia and scared and failing at school and tired and stupid, I saw someone looking at me with concern I did not want and took out a book (ONEwinged) and opened it at random and saw tictic tictic tictic BOOM - and it captured my small teenage mind and helped me up again.
Thank you."
[not sure if I should write down her name].
Yow. It's very, very strange to think I might have been an inspiration. I'm immensely grateful to this girl for letting me know that my writing - no matter how jaded I feel about it - can make a difference.
Anyhow, I'd read my "Loud Poem", wincing at how hackneyed this old work of 1999 had become. The kids loved it as usual. and applauded during the bits where I forgot the lines. I seem to have cultivated this strange absent-minded boy-in-grown-up's body persona.
And then after the event, a girl came up to me and thrust this note into my hand. It was written on blank printing paper, labelled: "MR NG YI SHENG" on the front, and folded into eight.
"Your loud poem saved my life - recovering from one strange cancer and (thankfully wrongly) diagnosed with a debilitating sort of leukemia and scared and failing at school and tired and stupid, I saw someone looking at me with concern I did not want and took out a book (ONEwinged) and opened it at random and saw tictic tictic tictic BOOM - and it captured my small teenage mind and helped me up again.
Thank you."
[not sure if I should write down her name].
Yow. It's very, very strange to think I might have been an inspiration. I'm immensely grateful to this girl for letting me know that my writing - no matter how jaded I feel about it - can make a difference.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Georgette: the musical
Time to promote my upcoming musical, based on the life of pioneer Singapore artist Georgette Chen!It was developed by Musical Theatre Ltd under their Five-Foot Broadway programme, scored by Clement Yang (with arrangements by Chris Nolan and Esther Yang), and is being directed by Lee Yew Moon. It was given a thumbs-up by a panel of theatre luminaries - see here.
Esplanade Recital Studio
7:30pm [corrected from 8pm!]
Sat 9 and Sun 10 June 2007
For tickets, click here.
Of course, some of my avant-garde artsy friends have chided me for elevating such a conventional oil painter adverse to innovation, reliant on personal charm and connections for her success - but I like her paintings, dammit. And I'm a sucker for a strong woman.
Go watch; it's not groundbreaking, but it's quite nice.
UPDATE: Just posted this on my personal blog - am going flyering with director Yew Moon tomorrow morning. Had to cancel the 3pm show cos not enough people were buying tickets. (Hint hint)
Friday, May 25, 2007
I 8 N Y
Not quite as colourful as the selection of what I ate in Thailand, but a colourful selection nonetheless. Had to leave out the shish kabob and the pork chop smothered in onions as that would've brought it over a square number.
Btw, if you want Wisconsin comfort cooking in Brooklyn, look no further than Schnack, a lovely little joint on 122 Union St whose proprietor Harry Hawk fed me like a king. Fish po-boys, kielbasa dogs, Jeshua's recipe wings with bitter root beer. Nom nom nom. See http://www.schnackdog.com/
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
The Onion speaks truth!!!!
Although it's fake news, the article very accurately describes the reactions of authors on rereading juvenilia. Cf. "Hungry". ;P
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Old lovers
Sorry I haven't been posting a while. Was depressed shortly after I came back from New York.
I'm back on track now, but not only do I miss the place - I'm also acutely aware of the fact that it may be the city where I'm most likely to find romantic fulfilment. Full of beautiful, talented young men. Some of whom actually remember me as vividly as I remember them.
Okay and now they're going to kick my ass for posting their pics online. I'll forebear from describing their individual names and stories unless you ask me in person. They're all amazing in their own rights and I have very different relationships with each of them. Mum for now.
I'm back on track now, but not only do I miss the place - I'm also acutely aware of the fact that it may be the city where I'm most likely to find romantic fulfilment. Full of beautiful, talented young men. Some of whom actually remember me as vividly as I remember them.
Friday, May 18, 2007
last boy @ the Singapore Book Club
I'm being presented at the Singapore Book Club soon! Kristina Tom is speaking and Robert Yeo is facilitating.18 May 2007
7pm
Earshot Cafe @ The Arts House
1 Old Parliament Lane
Admission is free
REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED (snarf snarf gobble)
I'll be getting some pre-event publicity on LIVE 93.8FM in an interview with deejay Mr Eugene Loh on Monday 14 May, 1:45-2pm. Tune in if you give a shit. :)
UPDATE: Eugene's event went quite well, even though the mere mention of homosexuality is taboo, just like religion and feng shui (they mentioned me as the author of "251", "last boy", "Eating Air" but conspicuously NOT "SQ21". Hmmmph.
UPUPDATE: I'm pretty pleased with the way tonight went - although the gathering was small and my reading was uneven (and interrupted!), it was comfortable and intimate and Kristina Tom is a GREAT speaker; she illuminated aspects of my poetry that I barely knew existed and even took the trouble to articulate the context in which the work appeared in the Singapore poetry scene. Hoopla.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
A Visa Card advertisement which I lerrrve
The simple fact is, Takeru Kobayashi and Sonya Thomas are two of my minor idols. They transform the apparently chaotic, animal process of mass feeding into poetry, and they stay skinny doing it too.
Yes, yes, I know that it portrays a stereotyped image of Asians in America as secret kung fu warriors, and that not all convenience store cashiers are stunningly tall and handsome Latinos who understand Japanese.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Reading@Library@Esplanade
This Saturday I'll be doing a reading of poems from "last boy" as well as my slam repertoire at the Singapore Art Cafe in Library@Esplanade. Of course, copies of the book will be on sale. Hope people can drop by!
Library@Esplanade
Saturday May 5
4-5pm
FREE
Library@Esplanade
Saturday May 5
4-5pm
FREE
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Texts of April 2007
Amazingly, due to my habit of leafing through short books while on vacation (especially art books, which are mostly pictures and are thus less taxing on the brain), I've ended up breaking the 30 books in 30 days barrier - and that's even if you discount the children's books I mused on at the Strand. Sure, hardly any of these are of a significant length, but it still feels good to look back on the buffet of text and pretty pixels that has been my more-than-daily fare.
*POETRY*
Boey Kim Cheng's "After the Fire"
Bei Dao's "Unlock"
+Ciaran Carson's "The Twelfth of Never"
James Houlihan's "Thirty-one Superior Poems of Our Time"
James Thomas Stevens's "Combing the Snakes from His Hair"
+Tim Dufrisne's "Nosedive"
+Louise Glück's "Averno"
*FICTION*
+Dai Sijie's "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress"
+John Cleland's "Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure"
*DRAMA*
+Ngugi Wa'Thiongo's "The Black Hermit"
+Elangovan's "Smegma"
+Louis de Bernières's "Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World"
Jean-Baptiste Molière's "Le médecin malgré lui"
*NON-FICTION*
+Dana Lam's "Days of Being Wild"
+"FOCAS 5"
+Simon Blackburn's "Lust"
*GRAPHIC NOVELS*
Wee Tian Beng's "The Celestial Zone 14: An Onerous Battle" and "The Celestial Zone 25: The Xue Ling Union"
+Frank Miller's "300"
Lynn Johnston's "David, We're Pregnant!"
+Tim Fish's "Calvacade of Boys" and "Young Bottoms in Love"
*ART BOOKS*
+Banksy's "Wall and Piece"
David La Chapelle's "Heaven to Hell"
+"David Hilliard", photographs
Slava Mogutin's "Lost Boys"
+"Mark Morrisroe", photographs
+Christopher Makos's "Exhibitionism"
"Anna Gaskell", photographs
+Yumi Yamaguchi's "Warriors of Art: A Guide to Contemporary Japanese Artists"
*CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS AND ILLUSTRATED COMEDY*
Maurice Sendak's +"Where the Wild Things Are" and "Bears"
Amos Vogel's "How Little Lori Visited Times Square"
+Kasper Hauser's "Skymaul"
*PERFORMANCES*
+Toy Factory's "251"
+The Finger Players's "0501"
W!ld Rice's "Blithe Spirit"
Terence McNally's "Deuce"
Personal Space Theatrics's "Myth America"
+The Bowery Poetry Club's "Urbana Tuesday Night Poetry Slam"
The Nuyorican Poets Café's "Slam Open"
+"Altar Boyz"
Nosedive Productions's "Suburban Peepshow"
+The New York Neo-Futurists' "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind"
+Young-Jean Lee's "Church"
*EXHIBITIONS"
Joshua Yang's "Superstring Theory"
The Museum of the American Indian's "Off the Map" and +"Indigenous Motivations"
+"Leonardo Drew" at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.
"Eva Rothschild" at 303 Gallery
+"Chen Qiulin" at Max Protetch
+Powerhouse Arena's "The Male Gaze"
The Guggenheim Museum's "The Shape of Space" and "The Hugo Boss Prize: Tacita Dean"
The Bronx Museum of the Arts's "Here and Elsewhere"
+The Brooklyn Museum's "Global Feminisms"
+Devorah Sperber's "The Eye of the Artist"
+Judy Chicago's "The Dinner Party"
+The remnants of an auction at Exit Art
*FILMS*
Elia Kazan's "East of Eden"
Shawn Levy's "Night at the Museum"
The second half of John Turteltaub's "National Treasure"
Stanley Kubrick's "Space Odyssey: 2001"
Atsushi Funahashi's "Big River"
+Several nights of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report"
*POETRY*
Boey Kim Cheng's "After the Fire"
Bei Dao's "Unlock"
+Ciaran Carson's "The Twelfth of Never"
James Houlihan's "Thirty-one Superior Poems of Our Time"
James Thomas Stevens's "Combing the Snakes from His Hair"
+Tim Dufrisne's "Nosedive"
+Louise Glück's "Averno"
*FICTION*
+Dai Sijie's "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress"
+John Cleland's "Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure"
*DRAMA*
+Ngugi Wa'Thiongo's "The Black Hermit"
+Elangovan's "Smegma"
+Louis de Bernières's "Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World"
Jean-Baptiste Molière's "Le médecin malgré lui"
*NON-FICTION*
+Dana Lam's "Days of Being Wild"
+"FOCAS 5"
+Simon Blackburn's "Lust"
*GRAPHIC NOVELS*
Wee Tian Beng's "The Celestial Zone 14: An Onerous Battle" and "The Celestial Zone 25: The Xue Ling Union"
+Frank Miller's "300"
Lynn Johnston's "David, We're Pregnant!"
+Tim Fish's "Calvacade of Boys" and "Young Bottoms in Love"
*ART BOOKS*
+Banksy's "Wall and Piece"
David La Chapelle's "Heaven to Hell"
+"David Hilliard", photographs
Slava Mogutin's "Lost Boys"
+"Mark Morrisroe", photographs
+Christopher Makos's "Exhibitionism"
"Anna Gaskell", photographs
+Yumi Yamaguchi's "Warriors of Art: A Guide to Contemporary Japanese Artists"
*CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS AND ILLUSTRATED COMEDY*
Maurice Sendak's +"Where the Wild Things Are" and "Bears"
Amos Vogel's "How Little Lori Visited Times Square"
+Kasper Hauser's "Skymaul"
*PERFORMANCES*
+Toy Factory's "251"
+The Finger Players's "0501"
W!ld Rice's "Blithe Spirit"
Terence McNally's "Deuce"
Personal Space Theatrics's "Myth America"
+The Bowery Poetry Club's "Urbana Tuesday Night Poetry Slam"
The Nuyorican Poets Café's "Slam Open"
+"Altar Boyz"
Nosedive Productions's "Suburban Peepshow"
+The New York Neo-Futurists' "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind"
+Young-Jean Lee's "Church"
*EXHIBITIONS"
Joshua Yang's "Superstring Theory"
The Museum of the American Indian's "Off the Map" and +"Indigenous Motivations"
+"Leonardo Drew" at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.
"Eva Rothschild" at 303 Gallery
+"Chen Qiulin" at Max Protetch
+Powerhouse Arena's "The Male Gaze"
The Guggenheim Museum's "The Shape of Space" and "The Hugo Boss Prize: Tacita Dean"
The Bronx Museum of the Arts's "Here and Elsewhere"
+The Brooklyn Museum's "Global Feminisms"
+Devorah Sperber's "The Eye of the Artist"
+Judy Chicago's "The Dinner Party"
+The remnants of an auction at Exit Art
*FILMS*
Elia Kazan's "East of Eden"
Shawn Levy's "Night at the Museum"
The second half of John Turteltaub's "National Treasure"
Stanley Kubrick's "Space Odyssey: 2001"
Atsushi Funahashi's "Big River"
+Several nights of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report"
Sunday, April 29, 2007
New York is desire.
And it hurts. It's all beauty and brazen savoir-faire; two young men kissing, or laughing, or talking without stammering; neither one looking in my direction.
Oh, I exaggerate. But it really has been a joyous horror to be back in the city. Once I was a denizen; now I'm a mere tourist, yet I can almost recognise each face in the street - the twisty-haired film students, the gangstas in sports coats, the mothers and nannies and daddies pushing strollers holding babies of another race. I step onto campus, and the kids don't know me; there's no-one in the middle of Low Plaza who waves to me until I wave back. It's like being transported to a parallel universe where you never happened.
My old lovers say it's good to see me and then they have no time to see me.
I go away and New York keeps on running. There is no Yish-shaped hole left when I disappeared. I missed New York but New York did not miss me. Not much, leastways.
I exaggerate. I spent some good times with some lovers and would-be-lovers. We observed 4-20 and ate Thai food and did organic shopping and in some cases fucked. We slept together and apart and in the same bed but in different universes. Victor demonstrated his mastery of the sai (spinning Japanese daggers) and told me how mad he remains at his parents for making him study martial arts. Johnny related how his family's O-negative blood-type on a shoe helped to convict his sister's murderer, and that he may or may not have slept with Jake Gyllenhall. Chuck bought me sticky rice flavoured with crushed cherry blossoms and wrapped in salty lotus leaves. Adam housed me for four days. Ryder stood me up.
The problem is, I realise that in the heat of the moment I still am the desperate, needy yet uncommitted overgrown adolescent that I was ten years ago. I mope in the 4 am subways and send people text messages composed largely of primal screams. Of course, I'm collected and mature when I'm sitting in front of the monitor, updating my blog, but when I leave the computer room despair can still hit me out of left field.
Jason pointed out to me three years ago that I had never had a lover who returned my love. The statement remains true today.
New York is clubs in Greenwich Village and orgies in Brooklyn and happiness ever after at a City Hall civil disobedience action and a Chelsea loft. It's the expanse of the piers and the power of the museums and the glow of the distant lamps in the darkness of the subway.
Unattainable. Which is why everyone's so amazed that I'm back with two published books and a sold-out play within two years of graduation. I suppose I knew it was a rather prodigious accomplishment in Singapore, but I was pretty surprised that even here my friends and profs can't quite believe it; it's the kind of product you're supposed to yield seven years after commencement and an MFA and a back-room job in a publishing company.
Of course, in America it's an uphill struggle to find a publisher who'll view your work as commercial enough for the press or a theatre company that's game enough to ride with a novice. In Singapore we're pretty desperate for new writers, and we've got passionate folks like Enoch and Keng Sen and Loretta and Ekachai who're willing to work from the ground up. Such blessings.
Much better to be home, where you're recognised and relevant and you're more than a drop in the ocean. Why live where everyone mispronounces your name and dumps you in a huge three hundred year-old melting pot controlled by morally bankrupt politicians who betray their ideology with every breath that escapes their recta?
The city of desire beats you up, like the inside of an egg or a sheet of copper.
It changes you. You burn. You suffer. You grow.
P.S. I've given away or sold all the books I brought, which is something. Photos forthcoming.
Oh, I exaggerate. But it really has been a joyous horror to be back in the city. Once I was a denizen; now I'm a mere tourist, yet I can almost recognise each face in the street - the twisty-haired film students, the gangstas in sports coats, the mothers and nannies and daddies pushing strollers holding babies of another race. I step onto campus, and the kids don't know me; there's no-one in the middle of Low Plaza who waves to me until I wave back. It's like being transported to a parallel universe where you never happened.
My old lovers say it's good to see me and then they have no time to see me.
I go away and New York keeps on running. There is no Yish-shaped hole left when I disappeared. I missed New York but New York did not miss me. Not much, leastways.
I exaggerate. I spent some good times with some lovers and would-be-lovers. We observed 4-20 and ate Thai food and did organic shopping and in some cases fucked. We slept together and apart and in the same bed but in different universes. Victor demonstrated his mastery of the sai (spinning Japanese daggers) and told me how mad he remains at his parents for making him study martial arts. Johnny related how his family's O-negative blood-type on a shoe helped to convict his sister's murderer, and that he may or may not have slept with Jake Gyllenhall. Chuck bought me sticky rice flavoured with crushed cherry blossoms and wrapped in salty lotus leaves. Adam housed me for four days. Ryder stood me up.
The problem is, I realise that in the heat of the moment I still am the desperate, needy yet uncommitted overgrown adolescent that I was ten years ago. I mope in the 4 am subways and send people text messages composed largely of primal screams. Of course, I'm collected and mature when I'm sitting in front of the monitor, updating my blog, but when I leave the computer room despair can still hit me out of left field.
Jason pointed out to me three years ago that I had never had a lover who returned my love. The statement remains true today.
New York is clubs in Greenwich Village and orgies in Brooklyn and happiness ever after at a City Hall civil disobedience action and a Chelsea loft. It's the expanse of the piers and the power of the museums and the glow of the distant lamps in the darkness of the subway.
Unattainable. Which is why everyone's so amazed that I'm back with two published books and a sold-out play within two years of graduation. I suppose I knew it was a rather prodigious accomplishment in Singapore, but I was pretty surprised that even here my friends and profs can't quite believe it; it's the kind of product you're supposed to yield seven years after commencement and an MFA and a back-room job in a publishing company.
Of course, in America it's an uphill struggle to find a publisher who'll view your work as commercial enough for the press or a theatre company that's game enough to ride with a novice. In Singapore we're pretty desperate for new writers, and we've got passionate folks like Enoch and Keng Sen and Loretta and Ekachai who're willing to work from the ground up. Such blessings.
Much better to be home, where you're recognised and relevant and you're more than a drop in the ocean. Why live where everyone mispronounces your name and dumps you in a huge three hundred year-old melting pot controlled by morally bankrupt politicians who betray their ideology with every breath that escapes their recta?
The city of desire beats you up, like the inside of an egg or a sheet of copper.
It changes you. You burn. You suffer. You grow.
P.S. I've given away or sold all the books I brought, which is something. Photos forthcoming.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Short and Sweet
My short ten-minute play "Frostbite" is going up this Wednesday as part of Short and Sweet Singapore, a festival of 10-minute plays. Andrew Lua's directing - he was one of the actors for the staged reading of "The Final Temptation of Stamford Raffles".
Week 2
25 April to 29 April 2007, 8pm
Studio Theatre, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
$25
Tickets here.
Week 2
25 April to 29 April 2007, 8pm
Studio Theatre, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
$25
Tickets here.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Nyuuyooku e iku!
Do not attempt to call my handphone from the night of April 15 to the afternoon of April 30th.
I shall be in New York City. Promoting my poetry book, last boy, definitely among my Columbia friends but also hopefully at open mikes at the Nuyorican and places like that.
Damn, look at me in that photo. So young and crazy (yes I know I'm still young and crazy, but trust me, back then I was so young and so crazy that I was principally a schizophrenic zygote). These are photos from my pal Edward Rueda, now studying journalism. He was a co-founder of the Klaritin improv group, and I was the founding member who kept on slipping up 'cos I didn't know the American cultural references.
Ah, but I wish I had that kind of therapy now. Improv kicks ass, y'all. You walk into the room and you have no idea who you're gonna be five minutes from now.
That, my friends, is the spirit of youth.
Much love, and send me e-mails.
I shall be in New York City. Promoting my poetry book, last boy, definitely among my Columbia friends but also hopefully at open mikes at the Nuyorican and places like that.
Damn, look at me in that photo. So young and crazy (yes I know I'm still young and crazy, but trust me, back then I was so young and so crazy that I was principally a schizophrenic zygote). These are photos from my pal Edward Rueda, now studying journalism. He was a co-founder of the Klaritin improv group, and I was the founding member who kept on slipping up 'cos I didn't know the American cultural references.Ah, but I wish I had that kind of therapy now. Improv kicks ass, y'all. You walk into the room and you have no idea who you're gonna be five minutes from now.
That, my friends, is the spirit of youth.
Much love, and send me e-mails.
Friday, April 13, 2007
我的朋友 My Friends Kawanku
A multilingual rap from a Muar Chinese-Malaysian. I want a translation! Watch out for the middle when he starts to scold Singapore. :)
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Vostra Mano Tamade
I resolved that, since I'm applying for the NAC Venice Biennale internship (hey, who wouldn't want to go to a foreign city to talk about Singapore art and be away from my folks), I'd prove my intent by writing a review of a Tang Dawu exhibit in Italian.
"Vostra Mano Madre (Your Mother Hand)" è la esplorazione ultima di Tang Dawu del rapporto fra l'uomo e la natura. La centrale al suo performance è il tronco dell'albero di
banana, qui usato entrambi come costume ed armatura sculptural. Legato ai gambi della banana e ad una struttura della base del ferro, il artista se torsi come dormentore disturbato, abusato da un assistente mentre il suo pubblico osserva sopra, messo sui banchi taglienti del metallo. La scelta di gambo della banana come motivo è significativa, come l'albero di banana era, fino a che una generazione fa, trovato comunemente nelle giungle e nei giardini de Cingapura, deponenti le uova i racconti non abbondino degli alcoolici femminili che abitano gli alberi di banana, fascini medicinali pieghi composti di corteccia della banana, leggende di un regno antico dell'isola conservato dai pesci spada viziosi da un barricade dei tronchi della banana. A Cingapura postindustriale, tuttavia, i cittadini hanno raggiunto un punto dell'alienazione dei prodotti che i minmizza la frutta della banana in un commestibile banale del supermercato, gli alberi di banana si transformano in manufatti sconosciuto di storia, relegato alla selva. Tang sta riprendendo il tronco della banana come un'icona di mistero tropicale, che spingali, si è coricata in nostre strutture metalliche, nei sogni perturbato di tristezza della civilizzazione.
Aiyah, actually I babelfished it and then corrected what I could using an English-Italian dictionary. Sure got loads of errors. The original reads here:
"Your Mother Hand" is Tang Dawu's latest exploration of the relationship b
etween man and nature. Central to his performance/installation is the banana tree trunk, here used both as costume and sculptural armature. Strapped to banana stems and an iron bed frame, the artist writhes as if in fitful sleep, abused by an assistant while his audience looks on, seated on sharp metal bleachers. Tang's choice of the banana stem as motif is significant, as the banana tree was, until a generation ago, commonly found in Singapore's jungles and gardens, spawning tales abound of female spirits who inhabit banana trees, folk medicinal charms composed of banana bark, legends of an ancient island kingdom saved from vicious swordfish by a barricade of banana trunks. In post-industrial Singapore, however, citizens have reached a point of commodity alienation that trivialises the banana fruit into a banal supermarket comestible, the banana trees become unfamiliar relics of history, relegated to the wilderness. Tang is reclaiming the banana trunk as an icon of tropical mystique, thrusting us, couched in our metallic edifices, into fitful dreams of civilisation's discontent.
The remaining installation is still viewable by appointment at Your Mother Gallery, but it's not much to look at. Curator Jeremy Hiah is fun to talk to, though.
"Vostra Mano Madre (Your Mother Hand)" è la esplorazione ultima di Tang Dawu del rapporto fra l'uomo e la natura. La centrale al suo performance è il tronco dell'albero di
banana, qui usato entrambi come costume ed armatura sculptural. Legato ai gambi della banana e ad una struttura della base del ferro, il artista se torsi come dormentore disturbato, abusato da un assistente mentre il suo pubblico osserva sopra, messo sui banchi taglienti del metallo. La scelta di gambo della banana come motivo è significativa, come l'albero di banana era, fino a che una generazione fa, trovato comunemente nelle giungle e nei giardini de Cingapura, deponenti le uova i racconti non abbondino degli alcoolici femminili che abitano gli alberi di banana, fascini medicinali pieghi composti di corteccia della banana, leggende di un regno antico dell'isola conservato dai pesci spada viziosi da un barricade dei tronchi della banana. A Cingapura postindustriale, tuttavia, i cittadini hanno raggiunto un punto dell'alienazione dei prodotti che i minmizza la frutta della banana in un commestibile banale del supermercato, gli alberi di banana si transformano in manufatti sconosciuto di storia, relegato alla selva. Tang sta riprendendo il tronco della banana come un'icona di mistero tropicale, che spingali, si è coricata in nostre strutture metalliche, nei sogni perturbato di tristezza della civilizzazione.Aiyah, actually I babelfished it and then corrected what I could using an English-Italian dictionary. Sure got loads of errors. The original reads here:
"Your Mother Hand" is Tang Dawu's latest exploration of the relationship b
etween man and nature. Central to his performance/installation is the banana tree trunk, here used both as costume and sculptural armature. Strapped to banana stems and an iron bed frame, the artist writhes as if in fitful sleep, abused by an assistant while his audience looks on, seated on sharp metal bleachers. Tang's choice of the banana stem as motif is significant, as the banana tree was, until a generation ago, commonly found in Singapore's jungles and gardens, spawning tales abound of female spirits who inhabit banana trees, folk medicinal charms composed of banana bark, legends of an ancient island kingdom saved from vicious swordfish by a barricade of banana trunks. In post-industrial Singapore, however, citizens have reached a point of commodity alienation that trivialises the banana fruit into a banal supermarket comestible, the banana trees become unfamiliar relics of history, relegated to the wilderness. Tang is reclaiming the banana trunk as an icon of tropical mystique, thrusting us, couched in our metallic edifices, into fitful dreams of civilisation's discontent.The remaining installation is still viewable by appointment at Your Mother Gallery, but it's not much to look at. Curator Jeremy Hiah is fun to talk to, though.
Friday, April 06, 2007
a wonderful weekend, singapore
an interview with Bertrand Peret and Sandrine Llouquet of Wonderful District, by Ng Yi-Sheng. For details of the event, at 72-13 home of Theatreworks today and tomorrow until 3am, click here.
Bordeaux
Why did you decide to move toVietnam France France Vietnam
Asia , we start with what we know... This is the exchange zone I do not believe in any nationalism; in our digital civilization it has less and less meaning...
Why did you decide to move to
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Nietzsche + Family Circus = Why I Am So Wholesome?
For more DIY combinations of Family Circus illustrations and quotes from philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, click here.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Five Foot Broadway Unplugged
Due to our heavy advertising, everyone already knows that my play 251 is being staged this week. What you probably don't know is that excerpts of my musical Georgette, based on the life of pioneer Singapore painter Georgette Chen, will be presented for free at the concourse this Wednesday and Thursday evening. See below:
This week, from Monday to Thursday, Musical Theatre Singapore will be showcasing the products of its new musical incubation programme. We'll be performing half-hour excerpts of the musicals at the Esplanade concourse, open to all, for free, naturally. :) Come by and clap a bit. Here's a schedule:
MONDAY 2 APRIL
7:30: Alex Yang's "Believe/Crash and Burn" Pt 1
8:30: Alex Yang's "Believe/Crash and Burn" Pt 2
TUESDAY 3 APRIL
7:30: Marcelly Suhaili's "O Crystal Ball"
8:30: Alex Yang's "Believe/Crash and Burn"
WEDNESDAY 4 APRIL
7:30: Jack Tan's "Tuesdays with Joe"
8:30 Ng Yi-Sheng's "Georgette"
THURSDAY 5 APRIL
7:30: Joshua Greene's "Esther"
8:30: Ng Yi-Sheng's "Georgette"
SYNOPSIS OF SHOWS
ESTHER
Writer/Composer: Joshua Greene
A young queen's decision to risk everything foils the murderous plot of an arrogant chief minister against her people. Based on the Biblical story.
O CRYSTAL BALL!
Writer : Marcelly Suhali Composer: Clement Yang
A light hearted love story that involves a young girl next door, a charming rich boy and eccentric fortune teller. It reminds everyone about the power of true love, how it can transcend all obstacles and overcome destinies. It is set in modern day London, England.
TUESDAYS WITH JOE
Writer/Composer: Jack Tan
A musical about a love story revolving around a popular radio DJ, and a girl living in the same apartment block who finds solace in listening to Joe's radio program. As their paths cross, they do not realize who each other really is, but instead only see the other's stubborn outward behavior.
GEORGETTE
Writer: Ng Yi Sheng Composer: Clement Yang
A biography of Georgette Chen, the pioneer Singapore artist, as she struggles to be accepted as a painter in a time of prejudice and war.
BELIEVE/CRASH AND BURN
Writer/Composer: Alex Yang
A school musical about a teenage gangster and his struggle to break free from a society that sees him as a loser.
This week, from Monday to Thursday, Musical Theatre Singapore will be showcasing the products of its new musical incubation programme. We'll be performing half-hour excerpts of the musicals at the Esplanade concourse, open to all, for free, naturally. :) Come by and clap a bit. Here's a schedule: MONDAY 2 APRIL
7:30: Alex Yang's "Believe/Crash and Burn" Pt 1
8:30: Alex Yang's "Believe/Crash and Burn" Pt 2
TUESDAY 3 APRIL
7:30: Marcelly Suhaili's "O Crystal Ball"
8:30: Alex Yang's "Believe/Crash and Burn"
WEDNESDAY 4 APRIL
7:30: Jack Tan's "Tuesdays with Joe"
8:30 Ng Yi-Sheng's "Georgette"
THURSDAY 5 APRIL
7:30: Joshua Greene's "Esther"
8:30: Ng Yi-Sheng's "Georgette"
SYNOPSIS OF SHOWS
ESTHER
Writer/Composer: Joshua Greene
A young queen's decision to risk everything foils the murderous plot of an arrogant chief minister against her people. Based on the Biblical story.
O CRYSTAL BALL!
Writer : Marcelly Suhali Composer: Clement Yang
A light hearted love story that involves a young girl next door, a charming rich boy and eccentric fortune teller. It reminds everyone about the power of true love, how it can transcend all obstacles and overcome destinies. It is set in modern day London, England.
TUESDAYS WITH JOE
Writer/Composer: Jack Tan
A musical about a love story revolving around a popular radio DJ, and a girl living in the same apartment block who finds solace in listening to Joe's radio program. As their paths cross, they do not realize who each other really is, but instead only see the other's stubborn outward behavior.
GEORGETTE
Writer: Ng Yi Sheng Composer: Clement Yang
A biography of Georgette Chen, the pioneer Singapore artist, as she struggles to be accepted as a painter in a time of prejudice and war.
BELIEVE/CRASH AND BURN
Writer/Composer: Alex Yang
A school musical about a teenage gangster and his struggle to break free from a society that sees him as a loser.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Sunday, April 01, 2007
The real phantoms
A few weeks ago we were at the Esplanade when we met some of the Australian crew who were here for the staging of Phantom of the Opera. Remember: tech people are not like other people: they see in the dark, they move without sound, they know how to use cable ties for tourniquets.
March texts!
This month, I've apparently taken on a predilection for Singaporean and Malaysian women's writing and an interest in public health, as well as a reduced interest in film (possibly due to having to watch Eating Air overandoverandoverandoveragain.
*POETRY*
+Terry Jaensch and Cyril Wong's "Excess Baggage and Claim"
+"John Keats: Poems selected by Andrew Motion"
Charlene Rajendran's "Mangosteen Crumble"
+Sharanya Maivannan's "Iyari"
*FICTION*
+Marquis de Sade's "The Misfortunes of Virtue and Other Early Tales"
Catherine Lim's "The Woman's Book of Superlatives"
+Shan Sa's "The Girl Who Played Go"
+Dave Chua's "Gone Case"
+Shalom Auslander's "Holocaust Tips for Kids and Smite the Heathens, Charlie Brown"
*DRAMA*
+Jocelyn Chua's "Restless and Other Plays"
+Euripides's "Alcestis, Hippolytus, Iphigeneia in Tauris"
Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh"
*NON-FICTION*
+Bob Dylan's "Chronicles: Volume One"
Tan Khoon Kiat's "Beyond the Screen: Nurses' Reflections"
"More Than a Calling: Nursing in Singapore since 1885"
+Anthony Bourdain's "Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical"
*GRAPHIC NOVELS*
+Bill Amend's "Encyclopedias Brown and White"
*PERFORMANCES"
Hwa Chong Junior College's "YAWP"
Action Theatre's "The Swimming Instructor"
+"The 2007 Life! Theatre Awards Presentation
+Action Theatre's "Theatre Idols", including Ovidia Yu's "Hitting (on) Women", Desmond Sim's "The People in the Mirror", Chong Tze Chien's "On Sundays the Kites Come Out to Play" and my own "The Final Temptation of Stamford Raffles"
+Sing'theatre's "No Regrets: A Tribute to Edith Piaf"
+Toy Factory's "Titoudao"
Theatreworks's "Drift Net"
+Ho Tzu Nyen and Fran Borgia's "King Lear: The Avoidance of Love"
*FILM*
Lots of Dani Spies's "Quickbites"
The Substation's "Matters Close to Home", including Li Xiuqi's "Seletar Airbase: Singapore's Secret Garden", +Liew Seng Tat and Zan Azlee's "Tudung", Mauri Pasanen's "Traces", Bran de Rijcker's "Township Jive"
+Todd Stephens's "Another Gay Movie"
+Jack Neo's "Just Follow Law"
*EXHIBITIONS*
NUS Museum's "Objects and Desire"
+Reflections: Paintings by Thomas Yeo"
+Jasson Moss's "Imitative Polyphony: I Am Only Music"
National Museum of Singapore's "Families & Friends: A Singapore Album Exhibition"
Raghu Rai's "Maestros: Masters of Indian Classical Music" and "Earthscapes"
+Sandra Lee's "The Plight of the Ever After"
+Pearl Yang's "Peace of Mind"
*POETRY*
+Terry Jaensch and Cyril Wong's "Excess Baggage and Claim"
+"John Keats: Poems selected by Andrew Motion"
Charlene Rajendran's "Mangosteen Crumble"
+Sharanya Maivannan's "Iyari"
*FICTION*
+Marquis de Sade's "The Misfortunes of Virtue and Other Early Tales"
Catherine Lim's "The Woman's Book of Superlatives"
+Shan Sa's "The Girl Who Played Go"
+Dave Chua's "Gone Case"
+Shalom Auslander's "Holocaust Tips for Kids and Smite the Heathens, Charlie Brown"
*DRAMA*
+Jocelyn Chua's "Restless and Other Plays"
+Euripides's "Alcestis, Hippolytus, Iphigeneia in Tauris"
Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh"
*NON-FICTION*
+Bob Dylan's "Chronicles: Volume One"
Tan Khoon Kiat's "Beyond the Screen: Nurses' Reflections"
"More Than a Calling: Nursing in Singapore since 1885"
+Anthony Bourdain's "Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical"
*GRAPHIC NOVELS*
+Bill Amend's "Encyclopedias Brown and White"
*PERFORMANCES"
Hwa Chong Junior College's "YAWP"
Action Theatre's "The Swimming Instructor"
+"The 2007 Life! Theatre Awards Presentation
+Action Theatre's "Theatre Idols", including Ovidia Yu's "Hitting (on) Women", Desmond Sim's "The People in the Mirror", Chong Tze Chien's "On Sundays the Kites Come Out to Play" and my own "The Final Temptation of Stamford Raffles"
+Sing'theatre's "No Regrets: A Tribute to Edith Piaf"
+Toy Factory's "Titoudao"
Theatreworks's "Drift Net"
+Ho Tzu Nyen and Fran Borgia's "King Lear: The Avoidance of Love"
*FILM*
Lots of Dani Spies's "Quickbites"
The Substation's "Matters Close to Home", including Li Xiuqi's "Seletar Airbase: Singapore's Secret Garden", +Liew Seng Tat and Zan Azlee's "Tudung", Mauri Pasanen's "Traces", Bran de Rijcker's "Township Jive"
+Todd Stephens's "Another Gay Movie"
+Jack Neo's "Just Follow Law"
*EXHIBITIONS*
NUS Museum's "Objects and Desire"
+Reflections: Paintings by Thomas Yeo"
+Jasson Moss's "Imitative Polyphony: I Am Only Music"
National Museum of Singapore's "Families & Friends: A Singapore Album Exhibition"
Raghu Rai's "Maestros: Masters of Indian Classical Music" and "Earthscapes"
+Sandra Lee's "The Plight of the Ever After"
+Pearl Yang's "Peace of Mind"
Saturday, March 31, 2007
April: National Yi-Sheng Awareness Month
Heheheheh. Nora Samosir just called me a media whore for having so much coverage of 251. I requested to be called a Media Meretrix instead, so I too can be an MM.
But in fact, I need all the publicity I can get for April, because I have THREE (3) shows coming up for this month.
1. Georgette: a musical on the life of Georgette Chen
Musical Theatre Singapore
Esplanade concourse
8:30 on Wed 4 and Thu 5)
FREE (it's a concert performance of excerpts)
2. 251: inspired by the life of Annabel Chong
Toy Factory Theatrical Productions
Esplanade Theatre Studio
8pm from Thu 5 to Sun 15, 3pm matinees on weekends, no show Monday
$33
3. Frostbite: a 10-minute play
Short and Sweet Singapore
8pm from Wed 25 to Sat 29
Studio Theatre, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
... I have no idea what it'll cost. It's part of the week 2 events, as shown here.
Come watch, bee-yotch.
But in fact, I need all the publicity I can get for April, because I have THREE (3) shows coming up for this month.
1. Georgette: a musical on the life of Georgette Chen
Musical Theatre Singapore
Esplanade concourse
8:30 on Wed 4 and Thu 5)
FREE (it's a concert performance of excerpts)
2. 251: inspired by the life of Annabel Chong
Toy Factory Theatrical Productions
Esplanade Theatre Studio
8pm from Thu 5 to Sun 15, 3pm matinees on weekends, no show Monday
$33
3. Frostbite: a 10-minute play
Short and Sweet Singapore
8pm from Wed 25 to Sat 29
Studio Theatre, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
... I have no idea what it'll cost. It's part of the week 2 events, as shown here.
Come watch, bee-yotch.
Friday, March 30, 2007
FUUUUUUUUCK
Half my essay for FOCAS on censorship in Singapore in the year 2006 is gone because I didn't save properly.
I need something to punch.
I need something to punch.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Yish be not proud
Feedback from bloggers on my NUS Arts Fest reading.
I went to watch the poetry recital Tempestuous Beasts at NUS UCC Foyer with Weewee and Miss Pooja Nansi rocked. The rest were too gay for my liking.
-Alexis K, http://iskcentric.wordpress.com/
in my mind, tempestatous [sic] beasts, judging from the title alone, would be a passionate angsty emotional angry sarcastic literary reading... but instead...haiz. i'm not sure how to describe it. let's just say the feelings wasn't there, lah. it was tame. ... and that guy lee-sheng just annoyed me. what's up with the cape?? a little too much. my mood couldnt take it today. http://nineflavours.blogspot.com/
Yeah, I know I should laugh it off, especially since I'd deliberately made a decision to read my less well-known pieces at the event. But it still hurts a little.
That's one of the paradoxes of my life. I believe strongly in the long-term value of good criticism, but I don't take criticism well, whether it's good (I assume it's flattery) or bad (I believe it and it depresses me).
I say this partly because tomorrow, my extremely negative review of Jocelyn Chua's "A Brief Affair With Infinity" comes out. And I'm friends with both Ruby Pan, the director, and Richard Chua, the Artistic Director of Little Red Shop. It's the maiden production of his theatre group. Whether they remain friends afterwards... time will tell.
I know that Jocelyn's going to take this hard, which is why I made sure to use the review to promote her book of earlier plays - "Restless and Other Plays", available at BooksActually, Kinokuniya and NLB. It really is very good; she consistently places her characters into desperate situations, chaos birthed of perverse hierarchical systems (governmental, sexual, familial, whatever), exploding into grotesque influorescences of violence.
Even so, I know that my lack of mercy will come back and haunt me when 251 opens next week.
Let them criticise. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
I went to watch the poetry recital Tempestuous Beasts at NUS UCC Foyer with Weewee and Miss Pooja Nansi rocked. The rest were too gay for my liking.
-Alexis K, http://iskcentric.wordpress.com/
in my mind, tempestatous [sic] beasts, judging from the title alone, would be a passionate angsty emotional angry sarcastic literary reading... but instead...haiz. i'm not sure how to describe it. let's just say the feelings wasn't there, lah. it was tame. ... and that guy lee-sheng just annoyed me. what's up with the cape?? a little too much. my mood couldnt take it today. http://nineflavours.blogspot.com/
Yeah, I know I should laugh it off, especially since I'd deliberately made a decision to read my less well-known pieces at the event. But it still hurts a little.
That's one of the paradoxes of my life. I believe strongly in the long-term value of good criticism, but I don't take criticism well, whether it's good (I assume it's flattery) or bad (I believe it and it depresses me).
I say this partly because tomorrow, my extremely negative review of Jocelyn Chua's "A Brief Affair With Infinity" comes out. And I'm friends with both Ruby Pan, the director, and Richard Chua, the Artistic Director of Little Red Shop. It's the maiden production of his theatre group. Whether they remain friends afterwards... time will tell.I know that Jocelyn's going to take this hard, which is why I made sure to use the review to promote her book of earlier plays - "Restless and Other Plays", available at BooksActually, Kinokuniya and NLB. It really is very good; she consistently places her characters into desperate situations, chaos birthed of perverse hierarchical systems (governmental, sexual, familial, whatever), exploding into grotesque influorescences of violence.
Even so, I know that my lack of mercy will come back and haunt me when 251 opens next week.
Let them criticise. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
Patti Smith is hot.
You see why I can't tell my parents I'll never marry a woman? (Hey, she was lovers with Robert Mapplethorpe for a while.)
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Books I Have Read June 2005
I've been checking out my journal. Dream documentations, half-finished poems, desperate prayers, lists. I rather like it.
The long lists, for example, are testament to the eccentricity of my reading habits,
"Myths and Legends of Ireland"
“Njal’s Saga”
“The Rig Veda”
John Ashbery’s “Chinese Whispers”
John Bastin’s “Olivia Mariamne Raffles”
Dan Brown’s “Angels and Demons”
Tim Burton’s “The Death of Oyster Boy”
Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”
Nina Epton’s “The Golden Sword”
Otto Fong’s ”Sir Fong”
Joanne Harris’s “Chocolat”
Henry James’s “The Turn of the Screw”
Jonathan Kirsch's “The Harlot by the Side of the Road”
Koh Beng Liang’s “The Last Three Women”
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s “Freakonomics”
Leona Lim's “Our Sisters, Their Stories”
Audre Lorde’s “Zami: A New Spelling of My Name”
Leslie Lung’s “Freedom of Choice”
Melissa Mathison's “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (screenplay)
Campbell McGrath’s “American Noise”
Roman Polanski's “Rosemary’s Baby” (screenplay)
Richard Sale’s “The Xenophobe’s Guide to the Icelanders”
Shinji Saijyo's “Iron Wok Jan”
Teh Yik Koon's ”Mak Nyahs: Malaysian Male to Female Transsexuals”
Ruth Vanita’s “Queering India”
Jules Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth”
Mark Waddon’s “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time”
James L. Watson’s “Golden Arches East: McDonald’s in East Asia”
Cyril Wong’s “Below: Absence”
Arthur Yap’s “The Space of City Trees”
Yong Shu Hoong’s “Isaac Revisited”
The long lists, for example, are testament to the eccentricity of my reading habits,
"Myths and Legends of Ireland"
“Njal’s Saga”
“The Rig Veda”
John Ashbery’s “Chinese Whispers”
John Bastin’s “Olivia Mariamne Raffles”
Dan Brown’s “Angels and Demons”
Tim Burton’s “The Death of Oyster Boy”
Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”
Nina Epton’s “The Golden Sword”
Otto Fong’s ”Sir Fong”
Joanne Harris’s “Chocolat”
Henry James’s “The Turn of the Screw”
Jonathan Kirsch's “The Harlot by the Side of the Road”
Koh Beng Liang’s “The Last Three Women”
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s “Freakonomics”
Leona Lim's “Our Sisters, Their Stories”
Audre Lorde’s “Zami: A New Spelling of My Name”
Leslie Lung’s “Freedom of Choice”
Melissa Mathison's “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (screenplay)
Campbell McGrath’s “American Noise”
Roman Polanski's “Rosemary’s Baby” (screenplay)
Richard Sale’s “The Xenophobe’s Guide to the Icelanders”
Shinji Saijyo's “Iron Wok Jan”
Teh Yik Koon's ”Mak Nyahs: Malaysian Male to Female Transsexuals”
Ruth Vanita’s “Queering India”
Jules Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth”
Mark Waddon’s “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time”
James L. Watson’s “Golden Arches East: McDonald’s in East Asia”
Cyril Wong’s “Below: Absence”
Arthur Yap’s “The Space of City Trees”
Yong Shu Hoong’s “Isaac Revisited”
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
NOW YOU TOO CAN BE AN UBERNERD!!!
Have you ever felt like less of a person because you never memorised any transcendental numbers (e.g. Pi [3.15149] or Euler's constant [2.71828]) beyond six digits?
Well, worry no more! It turns out that there's a transcendental number we can all memorise! It's the Liouville constant, which is defined as...
Basically, it's the summation of 10^-1 factorial + 10^-2 factorial + 10^-3 factorial + etc....
So now it's easy to recite a transcendental number to the first 100 digits! Just begin with "Zero point" and remember to say "one" the first, second, 6th and 24th times and zero all the other times all the way to a hundred (if you're going for a thousand places, remember to say "one" at the 120th and 720th places too).
Have a ball! Show off to your friends! It's better than The Song That Never Ends!
(This is a belated entry for Pi day, March 14th)
Well, worry no more! It turns out that there's a transcendental number we can all memorise! It's the Liouville constant, which is defined as...
Basically, it's the summation of 10^-1 factorial + 10^-2 factorial + 10^-3 factorial + etc....
So now it's easy to recite a transcendental number to the first 100 digits! Just begin with "Zero point" and remember to say "one" the first, second, 6th and 24th times and zero all the other times all the way to a hundred (if you're going for a thousand places, remember to say "one" at the 120th and 720th places too).
Have a ball! Show off to your friends! It's better than The Song That Never Ends!
(This is a belated entry for Pi day, March 14th)
Sunday, March 18, 2007
This is why I want to write weird musicals.
Q: You've said that opera has always been about the gods. What exactly did you mean by that?
PETER SELLARS: Well ... human beings need permission, and usually that's metaphor, to recognize that there are many layers of reality moving at any given moment, and that every small gesture has very large consequences. So opera is this amazing form, which takes a gesture, and understands it through music, poetry, dance, visual art, all at the same time.
"The artist's work is to lift people out of their usual sense of their own cosmos into a higher vision of what's going on up there."
A whole galaxy is in place around these four actions. You thought you were just writing a letter to someone, but in fact, there was a whole symphony orchestra playing. In fact there was a chorus singing. In fact, it's like a bigger deal. Opera constantly gives you that perspective shift; that glimpse of spiritual activity inside of the simplest and quietest moments.
From here.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Theatre Idols + Tempestuous Beasts
I'm finally having my biographical-surrealist play, "The Final Temptation of Stamford Raffles", performed next Wednesday 21 March, 8pm at Action Theatre's 42 Waterloo St theatre. It's just a staged reading, but I've got a solid cast - Gerald Chew, Lim Yu Beng, Janice Koh, Wendy Kweh and Jeremy Lee (the only experienced actor in the current production of the Swimming Instructor, whom I noted has a nose that French desserts should be named after).
E-mail Action Theatre for comps - 2 to a person.Also! The night after, on Thursday 22 March at 8pm, I'm reading at Tempestuous Beasts, an evening of poetry at the University Cultural Centre lobby. It's part of the NUS Arts Festival this year.
Don't like poetry readings in general? Well, check this out: the other readers are Cyril Wong, Alfian Sa’at and slam poet Pooja Nansi - all of us strong performers, and tempestuous indeed. It'll be a good show, I promise - and I'll try to avoid reading the stuff I've read billions of times before. More info here.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Mass Rapid Transitions
Check it out... this is what SMRT has planned for us in the future. Courtesy of Wikimedia and Heman Chong on the artscommunity mailing list.
Of course, given the delays for the Circle line alone (supposedly due 2010, but now hit by sand shortages), we might not live to see the grand filigree come into fruition.
We might want to consider building a dam system to guard against the upcoming global warming trend first. Otherwise, we're Atlantis.
Of course, given the delays for the Circle line alone (supposedly due 2010, but now hit by sand shortages), we might not live to see the grand filigree come into fruition.We might want to consider building a dam system to guard against the upcoming global warming trend first. Otherwise, we're Atlantis.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Adam Rickitt - I Breathe Again
Recently found this old music video that I found incredibly erotic as a teenager in the 90s... note how masculinity is projected as a fabricable construct, the icon himself contextually feminised in terms of aesthetic, scientific and commercial objectification to the point of annihilation. Also, watch those killer abs! Yowza!!! Ka-cheng!!!
Curiously enough, Wikipedia reveals that the artist/model is now a candidate in the British Conservative Party. Omnis mutantur, baby.
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