最近为了新戏 「乐在双城」忙着改造型。这已经是我第二次上发廊。竟然需要动用到四大精英，真是让我受宠若惊。
到底是什么改变需要如此真容强大呢？
敬请期待。
In preparation for my new drama “Happiness in Twin Cities”, I had to undergo a major hair revamp. This is already the second time at the salon and I am so well taken care of by 4 extremely dedicated and professional hair experts.
What is this major transformation all about?
Haha, you will find out soon!
Written by The Straits Times journalist John Lui. Appeared on 4 September 2010 in Life! Section.
An industry friend brought this article in The Straits Times Life!, September 4 2010 to my attention while I was on set filming Channel U telemovie “Love in a Cab” (directed by Han Yew Kwang, who happened to be mentioned in Lui’s article). He asked me, just a couple of days before the article was printed, what I thought the role of a director in a drama/movie was. I shared with him my thoughts and by some bizarre cosmic coincidence, this article by The Straits Times journalist John Lui appeared after.
John Lui, who is neither an actor nor a director, offered his perspective as a journalist/member of the audience. His writing does come across slightly harsh, and industry people might think he is yet another self-righteous journalist who really is in no position to criticise and doesn’t know any better. After all, “Who is he to comment?” and “What does he know since he’s never been a director himself?” It is a natural defence mechanism (an emotional reaction) when you are personally invested in the topic of discussion. But as we question the validity of his points based on his lack of expertise in this particular discipline, we should realise that because he has no vested interest nor emotional attachment to this particular topic, that he also offers greater objectivity.
I guess you can think of him as a mean journalist who has an axe to grind with local directors, or he could just be writing to meet his quota, or whatever other 101 reasons you can think of to discredit the article, but the way I see it, he is also drawing attention to an industry pattern that not many people (both inside and outside of this industry) are aware of. And even if they are, either do not have the platform, or the interest and motivation to air their views. He is trying to send a message for change to happen, even though he might have made some people feel victimised along the way.
I have my own views on the matter and do not agree whole-heartedly with what he said, but then I’ll save that for another entry.
Do share with me what you think.
最近在电视上的作品少了，但这是因为我还在拍摄当中。
之前接到了《仁心侠旅》的节目，所以不停出国。目前还剩两个国家的拍摄。预告片应该很快会在电视上能看到所以希望大家拭目以待。
在出发之前和回来之后的空窗期间，我正在拍一部电视电影《等一等爱情》。
在戏里，我和许立桦的缘分横跨十年。
拍摄时很开心，但因为抽不出时间发表文章，所以没办法在博客上和大家分享。
希望大家有兴趣的话，可以 follow me on Twitter (@JoannePeh).
Since “Your Hand in Mine”, many of you have not seen me on television much. That is because I am still in the midst of filming.
A couple of months back, I started filming “An Activist Journey“, where I travelled to an Asian country each time, to learn about a specific social issue and what some people are doing about them.
Currently, I am left with two more countries and I believe the trailer and official website for this programme will be out soon.
In between my trips, I am filming a telemovie, “Love in a Cab”. Julian Hee stars in this feature film with me as we crossed paths over a 10-year period.
I have a lot of fun on set with an extremely young and dynamic crew, but because I don’t have time to upload the photos, I’m not able to share much with you on my blog. However, you can follow me on Twitter (@JoannePeh) if you’d like to be updated on what I’m up to.
Stay tuned!
Picture taken on set
Last weekend, I walked into a Lego shop at Takashimaya to look for a present, with absolutely no interest in what I always thought were “boys’ toys”. Instead I was completely charmed.
Now I need to go to Legoland!!!
Someone putting on the final touches of this Lego display in Legoland, to commemorate the inauguration of President Barack Obama
They made the people from bricks too! Not those with features painted on yellow bulbs as heads!
Barack Obama in Lego. WOW!
After my research online, I decided I want to build my own city, and thanks to the Twitteers who gave me a list of shops to go to in Singapore, I found one of the sets that would make the city.
Ta-da...my very first second set of Lego! (P.S. I had one set in childhood)
Huge box, small packets!
If you want to chart my progress, and see which are the two sets that I’ve ordered and are currently on their way, remember to follow me on Twitter for the latest updates!
Meanwhile, check out the remaining sets I’m waiting to get my hands on, that will help me complete my city.
Cafe Corner
Town Plan
Market Street
Look at what some others have done!
This was built by Ralph Savelsberg.
See the remaining town he built.
Bumper Car Ride built by Danila Dandily Martyakhin
A close-up in daylight.
There are countless talented Lego builders on the Internet. If you’re keen to see the evolution of Lego Police stations, you can check out Joshua’s blog.
As for me, I think his evolution is not quite complete, because he left out the Space Police collection.
Space Police Central
Lego really opens up a world of role play and possibilities!
If you’re a Lego Fan or if you know someone who’s really good at it, please share.
A couple of days ago I posted a discussion on Facebook to find out what some people think of grown adults being seen reading fiction meant for children, teenagers or young adults.
While most who commented thought that there’s nothing taboo about it because we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, pun intended, there is also a point raised by Diane Leow, that somewhat explains why some adults, who are not necessarily resistant to reading children/teenage fiction, will never be seen holding the book in a public place. A media student herself, she said that “the media industry is so critical on what we read (some newpapers are crap vs “good” newspapers) and what we wear etc. etc. that one can’t help but be self-conscious about what they read. “
As for me, I think it’s important to read young adult fiction because in a way, they represent what is the current fad and in order to communicate and relate to them effectively , we need to immerse in their sub-cultures.
Actually, I started this thread because one random day, I had the sudden urge to read ”The Diary of A Wimpy Kid”, so I “un-embarrassingly” asked my friend if I could borrow her daughter’s collection.
My Current Reads
I finished the first book the day I brought home the collection and I have to say it is very entertaining because it is a straightforward and unapologetic perspective offered by a teenager, whose particular stage in life is never comprehensible to the adults.
The truth is our parents were all teenagers once, so why can’t they seem to understand and stop nagging?
Because more often than not, they try to relate to the current teenagers by applying what they went through during their own years, completely disregarding the societal, environmental, economic changes that have occured since then.
It is the same stage in life, but it happened in a different time and place, so it’s no longer applicable to the current teenagers. Very often, parents’ attempts to communicate end up being “incessant nagging”, from the perspective of the teen, which eventually results in the 3Rs – resistance, reluctance and in some cases rebellion.
For me, I find it hard to go back to a previous stage in life once you’ve moved past it. The only way I can, is to immerse myself in the literature of that time, to hopefully gain something that I’ve lost along the way. Not that during my time, the Diary of the Wimpy Kid was around though. Which is why I bought “A Wrinkle in Time“, to return to the kind of stories that I was familiar with when I was a child.
Somehow, children’s book written around the same time, like those by Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl, packaged lessons that both children and adults can learn in an imaginative world.
It’s nice to go back in time once in a while, to remember what it was like when we didn’t have so much baggage to lug around.
Posted in Dailies 生活点滴, Thoughts 思潮起伏
Tagged A Wrinkle in Time, Children's books, Dog Days, Enid Blyton, Hans Christian Andersen Award, Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, Madeleine L'engle, Newbery Medal, Roald Dahl, Rodrick Rules, Sequoyah Book Award, Teenage fiction, The Diary of the Wimpy Kid, The Last Straw
My involvement with YOG began when I was invited to be one of the torchbearers. It was one of those opportunities that probably come once in a lifetime!
It was a huge privilege and honor to represent MediaCorp TV and my particular Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame started on the 7th August at lamppost 73 along Marymount Road.
Steven Chia was representing News and Shan Wee for Radio.
We had to report at CHIJ Toa Payoh that rainy morning and was told not to bring anything that couldn’t fit into our shorts pocket.
Here's Shan passing me the torch along Marymount Road.
The torch weighed 700g and wasn’t as heavy as I thought it would be, which I think is significant because the YOG spirit was never meant to be a burden.
The fact that many torchbearers come from all walks of life goes to show that YOG is not just for athletes or youths. It’s an event that everyone can participate!
After I completed my 100m, I hopped on the bus and headed to RI where there were a few interviews carried out.
Speaking of which, there was one that got some buzz on the Internet forums.
This is a perfect example on how using emotionally charged words in headlines can completely twist the story and mislead the reader.
I don’t know for sure, but I highly doubt it’s the reporter’s call because if that was her angle, it would have unveiled itself in the story. You see, she would have to interview people to get quotes to support her story.
Some potential interviewees would be:
The torchbearer after me – to ask if she felt she waited too long for me to arrive;
my support runners – if mine was the slowest run of the day;
and definitely the organizers – to find out the consequences (if any) as a result of my “selfish” act.
Now wouldn’t that be a story! But since there was nothing in her story to suggest that she was trying to fault me for my “selfish act”, I presumed the headline was designed by someone else after the story was written, which is not uncommon practice according to what I studied in journalism school.
I believe that if someone impartial were to read the article without first seeing the headlines, that would not be the natural conclusion they arrive at. Although I wouldn’t go as far as to completely rule out the possibility.
It’s easy to misunderstand the first paragraph in the absence of a full context because the reader has not been informed of it. The article did not include what was briefed to the torchbearers prior to our run; nor did I tell the reporter what my support runners said to me during my run. Even though these mundane information provide a context, which will allow the reader to better form their judgement, they just don’t add value to the story and is often not the focus of an article, in a newspaper whose main aim is to sell papers!
Having said that, it’s sad that whoever chose the headlines had to put a dampener on the celebration of something as rare as this. It was a day where strangers came together, regardless of race, age, gender, occupation, to support and cheer one another on like friends and made us truly one united people.
I’ve never been more proud that my country is hosting the YOG.
Go for the Gold!
The last time I attended the National Day Parade live was at the National Stadium when I was performing in the band during my secondary school years. After that, I had to contend with watching the parade from television every year.
This year, it was held at Padang and by serendipity, I managed to get last minute tickets (at 5.20pm!) to the parade.
There was a massive crowd around City Hall area as everyone tried to catch a glimpse of the sky performances. We weaved through the mass of people and finally got to the venue, hot and confused. Thankfully there were a lot of ushers around to point us the right way.
I’ve never seen so many uniformed men converge at one venue!
We were supposed to be seated at the Green sector, but we were told there were no more seats, so we ended up at the Yellow sector and this was the sight that greeted us when we popped our heads out of the scaffold spectator stand.
I’m guessing you have to come early to “chope” seats? Anyway, we ended up sitting on the steps which was a lot less stress-free because it would be really disruptive to the rest if we needed to answer nature’s call.
The sea of red is gorgeous!
The backdrop complements the celebrations, especially when night fell and the lights took over.
I found out from the magazine in the goodie bag that there were 7 different designs of it.
I plucked out the candy portion and ate only the biscuit!
The President driving past our section.
I love the sounds of these jets! I especially like the display where 2 jets criss-crossed one another and when one of the jets took a vertical climb up into the sky.
The entrance and exit points for the formation performers were on the side I was sitting on, so I could snap these “behind-the-scenes” photos!
The flash on my camera reflected off the costumes of these performers.
Sparks and aerial performer really took the show to another level! The lights casted on the columns of the Supreme Court really made the show exceptionally colourful!
The costumes made them look like characters off some video game. Quite scary!
The aerial shot of this was gorgeous from the screen, where Kit Chan was perched at the tip of the crescent moon. It was the perfect formation for us to recite our pledge.
Posted in Special Events 特别节目
Tagged August 9, Kit Chan, NDP2010, Singapore National Day, Singapore's National Day
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