24 Apr 2010 – Fantastic Dancing

Was first premiered at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival September 2009. If you are into ballet and dance, this is a must. Am not so into ballet but wow! how pleasing to the eyes with such physic and graceful movements on top of a masculine face who could act. Touching and inspiring with wonderful cast of actors and dancers. Would certainly want to watch it again, some years later, even when it is over 2hrs!

Based on the autobiography by LI Cunxin/李存信, a poor village boy was plucked at the age of 11 by Madame Mao’s cultural delegates and sent to Beijing to study ballet. When he was 18, LI was awarded one of the first cultural scholarships to go to America, and subsequently been offered a soloist contract with the Houston Ballet. The cultural exchange to Texas USA saw him being seduced by the freedom in a westerner’s world. That discovery was fueled after realising that his Party has lied to him about America. He started a relationship with an aspiring American dancer, Elizabeth Mackey. They rushed their marriage so that LI could remain in the USA while avoiding defection as he wanted to be able to return to China to visit his family.

But the Party detained him at its Houston Consulate. This caused a 21-hour international incident; American and PRC diplomats debated the issue. LI was eventually allowed to stay, but his citizenship was revoked – he had effectively defected. Cut off from his family, LI continued to dance. He abandon his duties, his parents and his country because of love and freedom, not for fame or money. He’s a man who is torn between two worlds cultural identities.

Currently, LI Cunxin is a stockbroker, living in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and children.

Ballet dancers, like most artists, never make much money, and I was the only wage-earner to support three children, plus I was helping my parents and six brothers in China – LI Cunxin

22 Apr 2010 – Yesterday, Interesting Hump-Day!

Wed on the MRT, an unusual sight with someone dressed in a kilt. Asked for permission to take his picture and we exchanged cards, only to realize later that Matthew was on his way to the Food Asia Expo, Stewart’s Whisky… cheers and good luck. Must try to go before it is over on Fri. Asked about his tartan and was told that it is Dress Stewart. During my Dublin boarding school days, tartan skirts were my favourite skirts to wear. These patterns consisting of criss-cross horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours and originated in woven cloth, but now they are used in other materials. Tartan is associated with Scotland and Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns. It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that specific tartans became associated with Scottish clans.

MRT to Pasir Ris (posting 30 Apr 2009)@Aloha Loyang Resort to spent some time with HimSuan & family who are here from Goa for their yearly visit. Being unfamiliar in that area, I decided to walk from the Bus/MRT Interchange to the resort. It was hot but the fear to taking a taxi is even hotter! How fast Michael & Rachel have grown but that is the usual case when you see them only once a year. They have strong feet to be able to walk with us from one end of the park to the other and back again. A certain area in this park reminds me of Shakib Gunn where we held a memorial kite-flying day. Thanks to Jane and Doris who brought dinner over.

Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind – Lionel Hampton

20 Apr 2010 – Not Hell…

Arrived in SIN 19 Apr 0100hrs and my punishment was that I did not have the correct change for the taxi-fares. First the sights & grunts when he heard my destination (app 15mins from the airport), then driving like there is no tomorrow, with one hand on his mobile and his obnoxious loud voice shouting… all the signs were there to expect the worst! The meter flashed S$8.20 at journey’s end and since it was after mid-night, am very well aware of the surcharges but not that much. Trying to pull a fast one by telling me that the fares was S$22 got me to question him.

Frustrated, he realised that I am not that gullible and a S$50 note triggered the devil out, cursing me left and right since he could not make change. Told him to wait as there is a 7-11 around the corner. Explained the situation to a kind young man who made change and he told me to take note of the taxi number. Paid S$16.20 to get cursed up and down again. Thoughts of asking for a receipt but then I do cherish my life… the lunatic was so angry that he nearly hit another car on his way out after I unloaded my own luggage. Was initially tired but could not sleep until after I wrote the complain to the company. If I get stalked or beaten up, the culprit is a middle-age Chinese taxi driver/SHB 8952U who drove me from the Budget Terminal to Marine Crescent on 19 Apr 0100hrs…

Prefers the BMW/Bus-MRT-Walk most times but sadly not available after midnight. Would have walked if I had no check-in bag. Have encountered enough of rude SIN taxi drivers, but this one tops the list. Welcome to SIN and to their courtesy & smiling campaigns! To use the phrase, Taxi Driver from Hell will be an insult to Hell in Norway and might also be an insult to the other hell!

Hell is located in Lånke/Stjørdal/Nord-Trøndelag/Norway- about 352 people live in the center of Hell but the whole village’s population is app 1,500. Been thru’ Hell many times in the 1970s en-route from Oslo to Tromsø for summer jobs during college days from Dublin. Due to it’s name, Hell has become a minor tourist attraction. The station sign reads Gods-expedition, an old spelling of the Norwegian word for cargo handling=godsekspedisjon would be the current spelling. The name Hell stems from the Old Norse word hellir=overhang or cliff cave. The Norwegian word hell=luck. The Old Norse word Hel is the same as today’s English Hell, as a proper noun. In modern Norwegian the word helvete=hell and god=gud.

Looking forward to be at Storlidalen in Trollheimen, Trøndelag area this Aug for god-daughter, Guri’s wedding… pray no more volcano’s fury! Hope to get some hiking in the mountains. Might make a visit to Hell again 🙂

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell – Buddha

19 Apr 2010 – I ‘m back… in SIN!

Sat: delicious dim-sum lunch**** unable to provide the name of the place (cannot read Chinese… no joke!) or take anyone there but thanks to Henry & John, I am introduced to the best Cantonese cusine. Chinese food often taste better than the looks and presentations while Japanese food is the other way round! Had to walk the rest of the day to let all this sumptuous food digest. Love to snap pictures of the old and new. The contrast is a constant reminder that every situation and story have their flip-sides!!

St John’s Cathedral (built 1849) against Bank of China (built 1990).

Night scenes from Gough Street area

Sun: the tram also known as dingding is the best way to see any city. Here in HKG, it is inexpensive (HK$2) and being on the upper deck commands a good view; in addition, it does not move too fast. Quarry Bay@Happy Restaurant***** had the best black vinegar chicken… to die for! Pleasant day to walk by the coast around TaiKoo Shing and Quarry Bay Park where people were fishing and enjoying their Sun. Appreciations to Henry & John who knew how I hate crowds, and took great consideration to that when choosing eateries & places of interest. How can I ever thank them enough for their hospitality and graciousness. Henry LIM, wishing him all the best with his job and stay in HKG and JohnWT CHENG, all the luck for his business ventures.

People living deeply have no fear of death – Anais Nin

15 Apr 2010 – Happy Bdays to Aileen KOH & Lynne ONG

Hong Kong/香港 literally translates to Fragrant Habour in Cantonese. Perhaps true at one time but looking at the hazy sky and smog certainly confirms that the air quality’s fragrance is quite contrary to its name! Situated on China’s south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive+expensive! skyline and natural deep harbour. With a population of over 7mil, land mass of 1,104 sqkm and 6,200 people per sqkm, people mountain people sea=people everywhere must have been an expression originated from here!

Arrived yesterday in lovely cool weather with the smog and cloudy sky. Thanks to Henry, I have a place to stay, most conveniently located in the Causeway Bay area with all the happenings. His cosy flat is even smaller than mine, has good views of the skyscrapers in the area. St Mary’s Church the is the neighbour building and it is the only church I know of that can be mistaken for a temple, but then a place of worship is a place of worship, may it be church or temple, mosque or synagogue! The food, shopping, weather etc is a nice change from hot SIN. Food is not hot spicy like in SIN but delightfully tasty and very yummy!

Instead of controlling the environment for the benefit of the population, maybe we should control the population to ensure the survival of our environment – Sir David Attenborough

13 Apr 2010 – Movies/1

Off to Hong Kong bright and early tomorrow until Sun. Will make time to blog as there is a laptop with internet access where I am staying.

Dragons are legendary and mythical creatures from many cultures. The two most familiar interpretations of dragons are: European dragons from various European folk traditions, derives from Greek δράκων(drákōn) which probably comes from the verb δρακεῖν (drakeîn)=to see clearly. Dragons are often held to have major spiritual significance in various religions and cultures around the world. In many Asian cultures dragons 龍/lóng were, and in some cultures still are, revered as representative of the primal forces of nature, religion and the universe. They are associated with wisdom—often said to be wise and possess some form of magic or other supernatural power, unlike Vikings who are humans!

How to Train Your Dragon*** a comedy adventure set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons. Cute animated effects with a touching fairy tale ending. Again the good conquers the evil! Somehow the song Puff the Magic Dragon, a dragon lives forever but not so little boys kept going in my mind after the movie!

This is Berk. It snows nine months out of the year, and hails the other three. What little food grows here is tough and tasteless. The people that grow here, even more so. The only upsides are the pets. While other places have ponies, or parrots… we have dragons.

My Rainy Days/Japanese** High school student Rio has never cared about anyone but herself due to her traumatic past. Her friends exist only so she can use them for her gains. One day, she meets a 35-year-old college professor Kouki and falls in love for the first time. Rio feels confused by her emotional change.

As for me the thing that I took away or concur with is that the more you are in love, the more painful it is.

The Concert/French*** Andrei was the greatest conductor for the Bolshoi Orchestra during the Brezhnev era. After refusing to abandon his Jewish musicians, he was fired at the height of his glory. He is still working at the Bolshoi 30years later, but as a cleaner and comes across an invitation addressed to the management from Thtre du Chtelet in Paris for the orchestra to come and perform there. Andrei has this idea to bring together his old musicians to Paris, passing them off as the Bolshoi Orchestra…

7 Apr 2010 – On the Go Again!

Will be off to Kuantan/E Malaysia tomorrow bright and early and back in SIN Sun. Do not know if there will be a chance to blog? Sun: AmyR baked a yummy pineapple cake and it was warm and fresh with the morning coffee. Thanks Amy and belated Happy Passover. Easter lunch not quite the traditional food but Richard from NZ requested for Paragon’s Crystal Jade’s Dim Sum**** Good food will always be tasty no matter what kind or where or when it is eaten.

Mon: breakfast with Jane, Yong Tau Foo=stuffed tofu, is a clear soup containing a varied selection of vegetables stuffed with  surimi=fish paste These are then sliced into bite-size pieces, cooked briefly in boiling broth and then served either in the broth as soup or with the broth in a separate bowl. Essential accompaniments are spicy, vinegary chili sauce and hoisin sauce. The market@North Bridge Rd- Special Yong Tau Foo*** is one of the stalls with an A for hygiene and A for the food too! Have not been to this market since before the renovation, 5 years ago.

Tue: met Henry for early lunch and looking forward to visiting him in HKG next week. A Single Man**** excellent acting from Colin FIRTH as George, a 52 year old British college professor who is struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner, Jim. George wonders if there is a meaning to life without his partner and is consoled by his closest friend Charley who is wrestling with her own questions about the future. A young student Kenny, who is coming to terms with his true nature, stalks George as he feels in him a kindred spirit. This is a romantic tale of love interrupted, the isolation that is an inherent part of the human condition and ultimately the importance of the seemingly smaller moments in life.

A few times in my life I’ve had moments of absolute clarity, when for a few brief seconds the silence drowns out the noise and I can feel rather than think, and things seem so sharp and the world seems so fresh. I can never make these moments last. I cling to them, but like everything, they fade. I have lived my life on these moments. They pull me back to the present, and I realize that everything is exactly the way it was meant to be.

4 Apr 2010 – Happy Bday Richard YUNG

Easter/Påske (Norwegian), Pesakh (Hebrew), is the central religious feast for the Christians. After Good Fri is Easter Sun/Resurrection Day, when Jesus rose from the dead and stayed around for 40 days before he ascended into heaven. Easter and the holidays do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars. Instead, the date for Easter is determined on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. In Western Christianity, Easter marks the ending of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline in preparation for Easter. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday.

It’s pretty much common knowledge that Easter is a Christian celebration of Christ’s rising, but this holiday also has pagan origins. Where did the colored eggs, cute little bunnies, baby chicks, leg of lamb dinners and lilies come from? They are all symbols of rebirth and the lamb was a traditional religious sacrifice.

Good Fri: family dinner at Les & Ivy’s Sentosa Cove condo. While I was in KCH, a naked body of a young Chinese woman was found drowned in a lap pool of a bungalow just down the road from the condo! What really happened? 

Sat: Tea with Leonard@Max Brenner Chocolate Bar*** Tried to get a ticket@Esplanade for Antonín Dvořák‘s New World Symphony (Czech: Symfonie č. 9 e moll „Z nového světa“), unfortunately sold out. C’est la vie, win some (Buko Nero****) and lose some! Instead had a lovely dinner@Leong Kee’s (Klang) Bah Kut Teh***/pork ribs herbal soup and a pleasant cool drizzly evening walk around the colourful Arab St area.

Reincarnation, resurrection, rebirth, reawakening, renew, revival, etc. For me all those words=learning at various stages in life. Casting away ignorance, prejudices, destructive and negative thoughts or ideas clearing space & room to move forward towards maturity; evolving and flying freely like the beautiful butterfly after the gestation in a cocoon! Am now truly ready for a double rebirth with Resurrection Day falling on the same day as ChingMing 🙂

The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances – Robert Flatt