Where has Joanne gone?

July 4, 2009 · 23 Comments

It has been a long time since I updated my blog. Here’s a glimpse of what happened while I was gone.

At Singapore Changi Airport, traveling to the other side of the globe for a short holiday!

7 hours later at Narita International Airport, Tokyo. Had no idea that DFS items bought in Singapore are not allowed on board transit flights. The lady at the security scan area was so hostile and wanted to open my airport sealed up bag of products. I refused to let her do so and eventually spoke to a much nicer man from the information counter who advised me to run and have the items checked in.

7 hours later at Narita International Airport, Tokyo. Had no idea that DFS items bought in Singapore, sealed and with proof of receipt are not allowed on board transit flights. The Japanese lady at the security scan area was so hostile and wanted to cut open the see-through bag. I refused to let her do so and eventually spoke to a much nicer man from the information counter who advised me to run and have the items checked in. Either there should be some kind of international understanding for DFS-bought items or Singapore Changi Airport Nuance-Watson staff should have advised me, otherwise it would have been S$400+ worth of products gone! I wouldn't have been too happy with that.

12 hours later, at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). I was so stifled from being in the cabin but there was another domestic flight to take! LA is 15 hours behind Singapore time.

12 hours later, at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). I was so stifled from being in the cabin but there was yet another domestic flight to take. It wasn't for another hour before I finally got to Vegas. The Southwest plane take off was so steep, the landing so bumpy I was sick the entire journey. Not exactly a good way to start the holiday! Las Vegas is 15 hours behind Singapore time.

From the famous Caesar Palace in Vegas...

...to a 4-hour road trip up to California Disneyland where I stayed for one night before returning to Vegas and then back to Singapore.

Upon returning to Singapore, I was off to Bali for a shoot 15 hours later.

One and a half days later, the team brought me back to Singapore to continue the shoot...

...before I finally end my 2 weeks of flying around in Hong Kong for the last leg of shoot.

A lot has been going on for me, and my body clock has just been turned upside down. I do hope to share with everyone my trip and experiences soon. Meanwhile, for those of who aren’t following me on Twitter, you might want to look for me there, because updates are more frequent as long as there’s internet connection.

Take care and have a good weekend!

→ 23 CommentsCategories: Dailies 普通话 · Travel 旅游
Tagged: ANA, Caesar Palace, California Disneyland, Intercontinental Bali, JW Marriot Hong Kong, Las Vegas, LAX, Mandarin Oriental Singapore, Orang Utans, Singapore Airlines, Singapore Zoological Gardens, Southwest Airlines

The Elephant Man

June 13, 2009 · 36 Comments

Movie Poster

I feel an incredible need to write about this after watching it on DVD, before it fades in my memory. The Elephant Man is an old 1980 black and white movie that tells the true story of John Merrick, a severely deformed man in 19th Century London.

The immaculate detail and labourious task of researching and replicating the appearance of the Elephant Man, in a time where prosthetic make-up was in its primitive stages ought to grant it an Academy Award for Best Make-Up but that was in an era where the category wasn’t even set up yet.

The movie really doesn’t escalate into anything dramatic and pretty much hinges on the life of John Merrick, first as a circus freak, and then taken under the care of Frederick Treves (played by Anthony Hopkins) at the London Hospital. What was deeply thought-provoking was the fact that how sometimes we all have a self-centredness that renders what we assume is objective and valuable ironically the opposite. How we think advocating change would bring good to others, when really, it only serves our own purpose because the view is from within. Treves questioned if he was no different from the circus manager, because his good intentions only serve to draw greater attention to John Merrick, albeit they come from a different class of people. The fact that the Elephant Man remained a perverted representation of the human form, only housed in a legitimate vicinity, was a painful reminder to me that this was a man whose fate had been pretty much sealed the moment he was born.

John Merrick suffered immense cruelty from people who made use of him for the wrong reasons, constantly mocked at and frightened of others as much as they are of him. For me, the tear-jerking moment was when he was invited to have tea at Treves’ house with his wife, and the Elephant Man said to her that he wished his mother was there to see him with such wonderful friends, that perhaps she would love him for who he is upon seeing that, because he had tried so hard to be good. The desire for his mother’s acceptance is so untainted and pure, like a child, that my maternal instincts kicked in, developing a sort of imaginary love for this child trapped in a monstrous body.

He only wished that he could sleep lying down.

An act that we’ve all taken for granted was one that would kill him.

Can anyone imagine what’s it like to be him?

No.

No way anyone would even come close to understand what it’s like to be ridiculed, ill-treated, viewed with fear and scorn, and the physical discomfort (even this word is an understatement) of having an engorged skull, a displaced bone and wisdom tooth resulting in an inability to move the jaw, breathing issues, skin problems and a list of other physical inconveniences.

This story marks the triumph of human dignity over all the hatred, prejudice, ignorance and fear.

Movie Poster

Watching behind-the-scenes interviews was highly enlightening because I feel a sense of victory for the team when they discuss in retrospect the initial problems, fears, concerns faced from the time the script was born, to pitching the story, casting, make-up, choice of shooting in black and white and so on. What was particularly interesting was their explanation for shooting in original black and white. It helped to set the old Victorian mood, and indeed gave the set a sort of character and aged-ness that was endearing. The other reason was to ease the gangrenous appearance of the make-up for the Elephant Man because it was believed that what some would find repulsive and unacceptable in colour would be less so in black and white.

: It took 12 hours to put on the make-up and 20-hour work days to try and get the prosthetics right so that it was realistic and do-able on the actor’s face.

They borrowed the one and only cast model of the original Elephant Man from the museum for the make-up artiste to work his mold and create parts for the actor. It was a huge challenge creating something that was as close to the real thing as possible, and it made me realise that when you really put your heart, mind and soul into something, anything can be done. The human will is extremely powerful and more often than not we fail to exercise it to its fullest potential.

The actor who played the Elephant Man. He is very sense the typical British man with a dark sense of humour that brinks on arrogance, evident from behind-the-scenes interview.

John Hurt is the actor who played the Elephant Man. He is very sense the typical British man with a dark sense of humour that brinks on arrogance, evident from behind-the-scenes interview.

I have a lot of respect for John Hurt, the actor who played The Elephant Man, for sitting through 12 hours of make-up and then going on set to deliver his performance. For us, 12-hours is a full working day. For him, the day has just started. The commitment and passion he put in for the role is immensely inspiring and for all that is worth, he is totally unrecognisable and convincing as John Merrick.

Dashing and effortlessly stunning. Anthony Hopkins plays the surgeon Frederick Treves.

Finally, I’ve never been a fan of Anthony Hopkins because he is most memorable to me as Hannibal Lecter and I don’t really like intelligent, psychotic serial killers. But after watching this old movie, my ignorance is replaced with a new found admiration. He is very engaging, handsome, charming and unpretentious in his role as Frederick Treves. His eyes are so telling, he really doesn’t need to say anything.

Watch the trailer again and see how his eyes reflect disbelief, horror, sympathy and love upon first laying eyes on The Elephant Man.

→ 36 CommentsCategories: Movies 电影 · Thoughts 思潮起伏
Tagged: anthony hopkins, black and white film, john hurt, john merrick, the elephant man

无辜的《双子星》

June 12, 2009 · 15 Comments

刚刚接到记者的来电，说要问我关于我在博客上发表的文章。我想，难道要我谈动力火车的新歌吗？还是问我” 不死心还在“（谁那边儿）? 哈哈！

原来是要我问我对《双子星》的看法，因为他们竟以为我谈的团队精神是在指《双子星》。天啊，我在网上还算蛮活跃的，喜欢多看，多听，多学，所接触的作品不只《双子星》吧！无辜的《双子星》就这样被牵连。

如果刚好我所发表的符合了任何人对该剧的看法，请别把我的话套上去，因为我必须澄清我并没有真正的坐下来看戏，回到家有时已经到结尾了，听到一点对话还有伴奏的音乐，对剧情不是特别熟悉。所以呢，爱上插曲是我文章的主题。

哈哈，亲爱的记者，你想太多啦！

→ 15 CommentsCategories: Dailies 普通话
Tagged: The Ultimatum, 双子星，

动力火车的动力

June 10, 2009 · 21 Comments

最近因为看了《双子星》所以认识了由动力火车唱的插曲。上网一搜，发现原来他们和信乐团合唱这首歌。坦白说我喜欢动力火车的版本，因为他们的声音很适合这首歌曲的感觉，高音的部分感动了我。

我不是摇滚音乐的粉丝，但是我都很喜欢动力火车类似曲风的歌曲。他们的声音激情中不牵强，深情却不造作。我对信乐团一点都不熟悉，但觉得他们在这首歌里没有动力火车唱得有感情。尽管如此，这班搭配还是很舒服。从MV里看一班很man的男人组在一起弹奏，很有吸引力。很多时候把一群男人放在一起，竞争的心态不由自主地会涌现。大家为了出位，会做一些突现自己地举止，反而就影响了整体的感觉。在MV里，大家都陶醉在自己的乐器里，共同制造音乐，起了互衬的效果。

我想任何团队的作品都一样。音乐也好，电视，电影也好，一定有人扮演主角，有人扮演配角，有人扮演路人。如果大家都强着要出风头，肯定会影响最终的效果。最近看到的作品就给我类似的感觉，没有群体的配合，感觉不是每个人的心态都在同一条阵线上，所以出来的效果不融洽。

有时候要让实力突现出来，是需要以退为进。

如果你正面对竞争，觉得自己的才华被忽略，不要灰心，因为好的东西必须经得起时间的考验。有位导师给我的金玉良言我想与大家分享：

机会来了，你准备好了吗？

→ 21 CommentsCategories: Dailies 普通话
Tagged: 不死心还在，双子星，Shin，信乐团

Ballet & me

June 4, 2009 · 28 Comments

It’s ballet week for me! First, it was “Anna Karenina” put up by the National Finnish Ballet as part of the Arts Festival, and then it was the Japanese movie “Dance Subaru!”. I’ve always wished my mother enrolled me in ballet during my childhood years because I thought it’s so pretty to be able to dance. The common reason I was given then was that I will end up with thunder thighs and calves when I stop dancing. I guess looking at some real-life examples, it seems true to some extent, but it still hasn’t prevented me from wishing.

Now that I’m in my adult years, learning ballet would require time commitment, which I am unable to fork out, so I guess I’ll have to contend with living out my childhood dream through the ballet put up by the professionals.

Ticket to Arts Fest "Anna Karenina"

The tragic Russian love story based on the novel written by Leo Tolstoy.

I’ve never watched a ballet performance before so I may not understand the choreography and jargon for ballet. Because I am familiar with the story, I pretty much could understand what is going on. With no dialogue, a lot is deduced from the body language of the dancers, and the emotions on their faces.

I had my first encounter with “Anna Karenina” when I was in secondary school, (if my memory didn’t fail me). We were watching this movie in class for some reason, and I found it quite fascinating, even though I couldn’t quite understand the nuances totally at that time. Then I came across the book and bought it because I was familiar with the name, but it was a thick book and very difficult to read because the language was translated from Russian and it was weird. It took me several years to finally finish it. To put it simply, the story is about a married woman who was torn between two men in a time and place where the morals and societal boundaries were firmly in place. In defending her right to love, she is forced to give up her position in society and her son. After which, she grew increasingly paranoid that the the man she chose and loved was no longer attracted to her the way he was before. The culmination of incidents left her in a state of confusion and saw her ending her life tragically.

To present such an emotionally nuanced story through ballet didn’t quite work for me that night. Don’t get me wrong, the dance was brilliant, but it simply wasn’t the best way to tell the story. Petia Ilieva played Anna and she danced beautifully, but it was hard to feel the complexity of the emotional struggle through someone so distant (even though I was fifth row from the front). For someone who might not have read the book or watched the movie, the choreography does give the audience an idea of the dynamics of her relationship with the men. When Anna was romancing Count Vronsky (performed by Nicholas Ziegler), both Illieva and Ziegler would wrap around each other effortlessly, moving like a single body, limbs displayed in long, languid movements. When it came to Anna and her husband, Illieva still moved with much grace and fluidity, but such moments were short and often interrupted by her struggle to get away.

The tragic ending didn’t have as much impact as it does on film, but the solo sequence by Illieva was tormenting and made believable the need to end her life the way she did.

DVD of the movie that I watched many years ago when I was a student.

There was a table outside the theatre that was encouraging members of the public to be premium members of the National Library Board with a promotion of being able to borrow unlimited DVDs for a 2 week period, extended also to existing members. I signed up on the spot and borrowed 5 titles, with the original “Anna Karenina” I watched many years ago amongst the pile! I hope to share my reviews on them soon.

The movie Dance Subaru! currently showing at Cathay.

Dance Subaru! on the other hand was a little disappointing.The predictable plot of a young girl who had a passion for dancing, yet was unable to receive proper training due to familial objections, motivated by the common dream shared with a loved one who did not live long enough to see the dream fulfilled and finally going against all odds to realise her dream would be forgivable, if there was more dancing. Good dancing that is. DBSK made a cameo appearance, which fell flat because it did nothing to move the story along. The female lead Meisa Kuroki who plays Subaru is pretty but perhaps a little too cool to interest me beyond Act 2. The girl who played young Subaru was more interesting to watch, and danced better too. Sure, Subaru is an arrogant rebel but to share the same dream of ballet with her mother and brother, both of whom she lost to the same type of cancer at a young age and then growing up in a cabaret, where ballet dancers perform strip tease, I would think there would be more underneath that steely exterior that drives the need for her to prove herself and achieve her dream.

However, the lessons in this movie are valuable. It teaches perseverance and emphasises the need for performers to achieve a clear state of mind that is highly charged for optimal performance; the importance of being consciously aware of the people and emotions around us (i.e. message in the air) and keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Unfortunately, the story which is primarily character driven needs someone with dance steps to wow if their goal was to make an impressive Asian dance movie. After a while, it began to feel a little contrived to hear the rest of the cast complimenting Subaru for her great dancing when there wasn’t much to see. What she lacked in the technical department, she was supposed to make up for it emotionally, but lest for the last act, the rest were just too bland for my liking.

But don’t take my word for it, watch it and tell me what you think.

→ 28 CommentsCategories: Dailies 普通话 · Movies 电影
Tagged: anna karenina, dance, dance subaru, japanese ballet, national finnish ballet, singapore arts festival 2009

别错过当公主遇上王子

May 29, 2009 · 40 Comments

当公主遇上王子今晚第一集，大家一定要8点正准时收看哦！
Princess and Prince first episode is on tonight at 8pm, don’t miss it!

今晚要开工，不能看，希望大家会喜欢！

→ 40 CommentsCategories: Dailies 普通话
Tagged: DYT, 戴阳天，Dai Yang Tian

Of horses, heels and shit?

May 25, 2009 · 40 Comments

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I love horses.

There is just something in the way a horse is built that oozes with masculinity and strength. When you peer into the eyes of a horse, it tells you the life of that animal. Whether you see a mischievous glint of a sprinter with hooves on fire, or a beast that has spent too much time in a place that doesn’t excite it anymore, their eyes provide us humans with just that glimpse into where their emotions reside.

I fantasise about owning a horse and riding it the way racers do on racing day because when man and animal work together, dreams are conquered and sweet victory lingers long after the horse returns to its stable. In Singapore, there are no horse ranches and riding clubs are rather exclusive, so my best chance of watching thoroughbreds would be at the Singapore Turf Club. I’ve only been to the Singapore Turf Club once and had to sadly turn down the recent invitation to world-class horse racing on the 17th of May due to my work commitments. I was however, very privileged to be invited to a gala dinner on the 15th at the Pan Pacific hosted by Singapore Airlines and Singapore Turf Club as part of the Singapore International Race festival leading up to the SIA Cup race day.

Mr Huang Cheng Eng, Executive Vice President, Marketing & The Regions, SIA had the crowds applauding with his "shit" jokes.

It was a night of good food, good entertainment and good company, but what I took home with me went beyond the tangibles. It was the speech by Mr Huang Cheng Eng that really left a deep impression. In fact, most people in the room hung on to every word of his speech. Why? Because his jokes were shit.

Wait a minute, I don’t mean to be rude, but the man designed his speech deliberately so! He actually had management parables, some disguised as “shit” jokes, told to him by the various horses that were competing on Sunday when he went to visit their stables. His humour caught the guests by surprise who were nodding and laughing with applause. Some of you might have heard of these stories, but just in case you haven’t, the gist of his speech contained the following parables, in no particular order.

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! Soon, a farmer passed by and heard the little bird chirping. Seeing the poor creature covered with dung, he decided to help the bird get out of the mess and placed it under a shrub. By this time, the bird was feeling warm and chirpy. and A cat passing by heard the sounds, saw the bird and ate it up.

Morals of the story?
1) Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy.
2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
3) When you’re in deep shit, it might be better just to keep your mouth shut.

A turkey was chatting with a bull. “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, “but I haven’t got the energy.” “Well, why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings?” replied the bull. “They’re packed with nutrients.” The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

The moral of the story?
Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, “Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?” The crow answered: “Sure, why not.” So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

The moral of the story?
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

A priest was driving along and saw a nun on the side of the road, he stopped and offered her a lift which she gladly accepted. She got in and Crossed her legs, forcing her gown to open and reveal a lovely leg. The priest had a look and nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun looked at him and immediately said, “Father, remember psalm 129?” The priest was flustered and apologized profusely. He forced himself to remove his hand. However, he was unable to remove his eyes from her leg. Further on, while changing gear, he let his hand slide up leg again. The nun once again said, “Father, remember psalm 129?” Once again the priest apologized. “Sorry sister, but the mind is weak.” Arriving at the convent, the nun got out, gave him a meaningful glance and went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to retrieve a bible and looked up psalm129. It said, “Go forth and seek; further up, and you will find glory.”

The moral of the story?
Always be well informed in your job; Or you might miss a great opportunity.

These horseshoes were designed to kick start the Singapore International Festival with something a little more colourful and fun, and it couldn't have been more attention grabbing.

Kudos to Tata, the photographer who had to step in rhythm with the escalator in order to get this picture.

This is what you get when you put two of my favourite things together — horses and high heels. While horses exude the charisma of strength and agility which I associate with men, heels simply ooze sex appeal, which I associate with women. The way heels are made, the curves of the body, the girth of the heel, the materials used and finishing are immaculately put together to flatter the feminine silhouette. These Fashionista Horseshoes are the perfect epitome of masculinity and femininity combined.

There were ten of these horseshoes measuring seven feet and painted in various fashion themes to kickstart the Singapore International Race Festival, but only two displayed outside the ballroom. Nonetheless, it was quite an eye-opener.

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Look closely and you'll see the ingenious marriage of the horse and the heel, making it look like an oxford shoe.

The surprise of the evening, as put forth by the host, was the dessert buffet, the fortune teller and the man who writes Calligraphy on Chinese fans. By the end of the main course, which was a lovely steak, everyone was ready to have a picture with one another over a macaroon or two. The atmosphere was cordial and relaxed which reminded me of my college prom night where everyone would crowd together and take pictures.

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Many people had the names of their horses written.

The fortune teller would ask for your name and then tells the parrot, "Pick a card for so-and-so". The little bird will totter out of the cage, use its beak to separate 1 card out from the deck and totter back to its cage.

I had to have my fortune told! It's nice isn't it?

Doing a stand-up for the in-house video.

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For friends around the world who came down specially for the race, it was a night that sparkled with merriment, a prequel to the highly charged, adrenalin-pumping action that was taking place on Sunday. Since I couldn’t be there to support my favourite horses, here’s what Felicia witnessed on race day.

That night I met some very wonderful people. From the SQ girls who greeted the guests by the door, the dedicated waiters and waitresses serving our tables, to the jovial friends from around the world and of course, the hospitable hosts from Singapore Airlines and Singapore Turf Club. Thank you for the lovely evening and hopefully I can be there on race day to watch the horses compete next year.

→ 40 CommentsCategories: Special Events 特别节目
Tagged: Gala Dinner SQ, Horseshoes Fashionistas, KrisFlyer International Sprint, Pan Pacific Marina, SIA International Cup, Singapore Airlines, Singapore International Racing Festival, Singapore Turf Club, STC

Weekend of Celebrations

May 11, 2009 · 85 Comments

This weekend was full of celebrations. First it was Vesak Day where I was down at Courts Megastore for a short appearance. Then Sunday was Mother’s Day where I decided to cook for my mom as a way of celebrating. The special dish: Sweet and sour prawns. I didn’t take any photographs because I had to clean up the kitchen and the dish was pretty much finished by my family before I thought of snapping a photo. I ripped the recipe off the here . Quite easy to follow and taste pretty decent!