Symphony at the Movies

This has got to be the bestest concert I've ever attended. Conductor Ramon Gumba's performance is just awesome. Some conductors wave their hands in tune with the music, while others are one step ahead of the orchestra. Conductor Gumba is of the latter school. I used to wonder what's a conductor's role in the orchestra as the musicians already know the pieces and they rarely look at him anyway. In tonight's case, the conductor is forceful and commanding, driving the pace of the music. We also had Clive James are presenter. Before each piece is played, he would stand up and give a short commentary on the piece or the composer - some funny anecdotes or personal experiences. He would then seat down on a designated seat on stage and enjoy the music.

Full programme as follows:

Prelude from Vertigo
Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975)
Mr. James that when the movie first came out, he didn't tire of watching it because he had an unhealthy obsession on Miss Kim Novak.

Scherzo from Symphony No. 10
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Ah, Shostakovich and his many film scores.

Things to Come: March - Machines - Attack on the Moon Guns
Arthur Bliss (1891-1975)

Mars from The Planets
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
A staple of war movies, the SSO plays this with so much force and volume, my heart skipped a beat.

The Red Violin - Chaconne for violin and orchestra
John Corigliano (born 1938)

Interval
Gabriel's Oboe from The Mission
Ennio Morricone (born 1928)
Wonderfully played by the solo flautist. Others might know this as the background music for Russell Watson's Nella Fantasie.

Main Title from The Big Country
Jerome Moross (1913-1983)
The Big Country is America's attempt to define itself. (The tagline is "Big they fought! Big they loved! Big their story!" No joke.) The main theme is a catchy tune that reminds you of wide open vistas as far as the eyes can see. Something Copland would compose, and Boston Pops would play.

Buckaroo Holiday from Rodeo
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
A witty, almost cheeky song that is certain to bring a smile to your face.

Battle of the Ice from Alexander Nevsky
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Another prolific film score composer. Battle on the Ice is about a Russian price leading his people to fight the invading Teutonic Knights (Germans). Some would say it's a propaganda film. Unfortunately, its timing was wrong. Russia and Germany were allies at that time, so the film was pulled from the theaters. Only when Russia and Germany became at odds years later, then the movie was heavily promoted.

Star Wars V, The Empire Strikes Back: Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) - Main Title
John Williams (born 1932)
John Williams has composed film scores for most, if not all, of Spielberg's movies - Indiana Jones, Star Wars, E.T., Saving Private Ryan, etc. He has been nominated 45 time, and has won 5 Oscars. Mr. James said he's not jealous of Mr. Williams - he just likes to think that Mr. Williams has lost 40 times.

For the encore, the orchestra played the Shower Theme from Psycho. At middle of the performance, the conductor playfully made some stabbing motion at the seated James. The audience wanted more, so we had the Star Trek Theme. I'll tell you, you can't really call yourself a Trekkie or a Star Wars fan if you haven't seen and heard the pieces performed by a live orchestra. The music truly comes to life!

Switching Cars Confuses the Brain

The brain is truly a wonderful thing. I'm always amazed by the fact that I can remember my university ID number, but can't remember a colleague's name who introduced herself to me one minute ago. (So embarrassing having to ask her name again as she was about to go.) Then we've heard of stories about people losing half their brain, but they still retain all their memories, language and motor abilities, which proves (at least to me) that the human brain is truly underutilized, and that the brain can reconfigure itself on the fly.

Another case in point. We had to go to someplace for something. (See how bad my memory is?) Since it's just a short trip, we decided to take my sister's Corolla instead of the seven-seater Zafira. The Zafira, being a European model, has the wiper controls on the right and the turning lamp controls on the left. The control placement on the Corolla is reversed. Driving the Corolla for the first time, I made a couple of mistakes - activating the wipers instead of the turning lamps. By the time we got back, my brain is already accustomed to the controls. I was even feeling happy that I (my brain) was able to adapt quite quickly. Then, I have to drive the Zafira right afterwards. That became a problem because I got the controls mixed up again. Not only that - I can't even find the controls for the headlights. Suddenly my mind drew a blank. I don't even know which stick to try. I had to stop and look around, and eventually found a knob on the right side of the dashboard. I knew about that knob control ever since we had the Zafira, but it just didn't register after I drove the Corolla. Freaky, isn't it?

SQ Movie Marathon (Inbound)

I Not Stupid Too

It's a good thing I didn't buy this movie the last time I was in Singapore. I watched I Not Stupid in a filmfest back in Manila, and we have a VCD copy at home. It's the first Jack Neo film I've watched, so everything's insightful and funny to me.

Cut to the sequel. The parents are busier than ever. The kids have all grown up. The proverbial generation gap is getting wider. On one hand, the parents feel they're losing touch with their kids, but they're not really listening to what they're saying. On the other hand, the kids are not getting the support and attention they need, so they turn to other avenues to vent their pent-up angst. Like blogging. Like skipping class and playing arcade games. Like bullying other kids. Like joining the local bad boys club. Like stealing from the elderly. The movie also touches on a number issues like public caning as punishment, sex education in school, cold war between parents and its effect on the kids, etc. If you think that's a bit too much, it is. The movie tries to tackle too many issues at the same time, we end up with half-baked conclusions by the end of 2 hours.

There are a few overly-melodramatic moments like the one where Tom and Jerry's Dad (Jack Neo) knelt down and begged the elderly lady not to report his snatcher-of-a-son to the police, and the part where Jack beats up his son for stealing money, and the son tells him he didn't steal the money - he's just saving up so he can buy time from his Dad. Awww. How's this for the most incredible moment of the movie? Jack is making a 3G client to some potential clients when his son accidentally called his number. Jack accepts the video call and sees his son being beaten up by an angry mob. Continue on with the multimillion presentation or save the son? Ah, tricky decision. Trying to make up for the years of neglect, he runs off to rescue his son. He, too, gets beaten up by the mob. Somehow, all of this is streamed live to the handset (Nokia, of course) he left at the office. The clients thought it's a wonderful demo of 3G's capabilities, and awarded the S$3M deal to the company. That's a win-win scenario, if there ever was one.

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

Another sequel better left unmade. The first Ice Age worked because the animation is top-notch, the characters are endearing, and most importantly there is a plot driving the whole movie. Not so with Ice Age 2. Here's the basic premise: the ice age is coming to an end, an impending flood threatens to wipe out a community of animals, so they make a road trip. The flood catches up with the guys and they're trapped in a flooded valley with the water fast rising. A miracle happens (involving Scrat and his beloved acorn), and the ground opens up to drain the water. The end.

To make the movie longer, we meet some new characters like possums Crash and Eddie and their unlikely sister the mammoth Ellie. Manny had been worrying that he might be last remaining mammoth on the face of the earth, and Ellie showed up just at the right time. Throughout their journey, Manny tried to convince Ellie that she's not a possum and that it's a good idea for her to do the act with him for the good of the species. Quite funny.

The Brothers Grimm

In terms of entertainment value, this is the best of the bunch. Lots of funny banter, comedic action scenes, and colorful costumes. Still I was so drowsy I started dozing off in the middle of the movie. Not even the wonderful Monica Bellucci is enough to keep me away during the long flight.

Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm takes place in French-occupied Germany in 1811. Brothers Jake and Will Grimm are folklore collectors and exorcism impostors on the side. They were eventually exposed by a General Delatombe, who is the head of the French forces. Now, the brothers are supposed to be put to death, but was given a chance at amnesty if they can solve a case of missing girls in the village of Marbaden. General Delatombe believes the haunted forest of Marbaden is the work of another group of trickster, but the locals aren't too sure. Nine girls have already gone missing, and story goes that in the haunted forest lives the evil Mirror Queen who sacrifices girls during the blood moon to give herself eternal life and beauty. With the aid of Angelika, who has already lost her father and her two sisters, they bring down the Mirror Queen, and rescues all the girls and Angelika's Dad.

My synopsis doesn't really do the movie justice as the special effects are really cool, and some of the dialogue can be quite funny. Watch it if you can.

Book 2006.07.05 - Temple

Airport fiction at its best. I've read Matthew Reilly before in Hell Island. Heavy emphasis on military hardware, non-stop action, and a narrative that reads exactly like a Hollywood screenplay. It's pretty much the same thing with Temple.

Story is about a multi-party quest for an ancient Incan artifact. Our leading man is mild-mannered Professor William Race, a young linguist contracted by the US Army to translate a long-lost manuscript in order to local the artifact. Apparently, the Incan idol is sealed within a stone temple, and is protected by vicious giant rapas (mythical jaguar-like beasts). To make things interesting, ze Germans are also out to get the idol. And so are the Texan Freedom Fighters, and the Navy boys.

If you have time to kill at the airport or on the plane, I really suggest you read this book. Incredible action scenes and unbelievable plots twists - close encounters with rapas and crocs, continual flashbacks to the Spanish Occupation era, complicated fight scenes on land, air , and water, last-minute disarmament of the Supernova, etc. Gotta read to believe!

KL Quirks

• Drivers rarely follow the speed limit. People consistently drive 20 kph beyond the limit.
• The locals use their mobile phones quite a lot, even during driving. My cabbie tells me the ladies are the worst offenders. And they drive quite fast, too.
  
• Don't make a mistake of putting on the seatbelt. I did it once, and the cabbie was a bit miffed.
• There's way too many cars on the road, and majority has only one occupant.
• The populace is predominantly Malay, then Chinese, then Indian. By definition, all Malays are Muslims. I was told the only way a non-Muslim can gain Malaysian citizenship is by converting to Islam. Inter-faith marriages are allowed, as long as the non-Muslim guy or girl convert to Islam.
• Muslims pray five times a day. On Friday, the men have to go to the mosque during lunchtime to pray. The ladies don't go to the mosques, so they go shopping instead during the 2-hour lunch break.
• English use is not that prevalent, compared to Singapore or Manila. The local Chinese speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Fookien, Teochew, etc.
• You have to pay a fee to use the toilet - 20 cents.

Last Day in KL

Already my last day in KL, yet I still have lots of things to do. For one, I wanted to buy some cheap DVDs at Bukit Bintang, then check out the Starhill Gallery. Did a little bit of packing, then headed for the monorail. It's usually crowded on Saturday mornings, but today the platform is just packed. There's a coach waiting, but it's not going anywhere. After like half an hour of waiting, we were told the monorail is definitely grounded. There's a shuttle bus to take us to the next station, so everybody made a mad scramble for it. I waited for the next bus, yet it was still so jammed that the doors had a hard time closing.

Visited Times Square, but all the stalls selling fake DVDs are gone. Tried each and every level - definitely not there anymore. Looks like the anti-piracy cops have been doing their jobs this time. I took the escalators up and up until I reached an unfinished floor. The escalators are not powered on, the floor is plain concrete, no airconditioning, and no ceilings. I climbed up a few more floors, and from my vantage point, took some pictures of the Pudu Prison across the street.

Walked over to Sungei Wang Plaza and it's the same thing. Lots of stalls selling mobile phones, PDAs, and computer parts, but just no fake DVDs. The usual shops are there, but only blank DVD cases are on display. I saw a couple of foreigners huddled around a table flicking through a booklet of DVD covers, and I joined them. I was sort of in a hurry, so I flicked through all of the booklets and gave my list to the guy in charge. He gave me a funny look and said that the minimum order is 5 DVDs. I must've missed the fine print somewhere. I chose two more and the guy says buy 5 get 1 free. After choosing six, he tells me to come back after 20 minutes. Yeah right, just when I'm in a hurry to go back to the hotel so I can pack up and check out before the cut-off time. Oh, and it's pay-first-before-burn.

After 20 minutes of aimlessly walking around, I went back to the shop. The guy took me to a side, pulled out my DVDs from his mailman bag, and that's it. Afternoon, I was planning to tour the Lake Gardens (Taman Tasik Perdana) behind the National Museum, and if I have more time, push on further and visit the National Monument (Tugu Negara). It was so hot the moment I stepped out of the hotel, I changed my plans. Visited the local shrine just beside the monorail station instead, then hitched a free shuttle bus ride back to KL Sentral. Spent the rest of the day working on my laptop at the lobby. One new thing I discovered - there's actually an airconditioned shuttle bus service going from KL Sentral to the airport. It leaves every hour on the hour, and it only costs RM10. Travel time is an hour though compared to KL Expres' 20 minutes, but would you rather pay RM35 or RM10?

Hot-Air Ballooning in Putrajaya

It was supposed to be just another Friday when I overheard some of my colleagues talking about a hot-air balloon activity. Apparently, the company organized one for the local employees. I have no idea what time it is, who are coming, where it's going to be, etc., but sign me up, Scotty. Hitched a ride with my colleague, so by 5:01pm we're on our way to Putrajaya. Apparently, we'll be riding our hot-air balloon somewhere near the Alamanda Shopping Center. We got to the grassy knoll behind the mall just in time to see a bunch of guys setting up shop. Some representatives from Traders Hotel came over to greet up. They're promoting their new corporate services, so they got this Australian outfit to fly the balloon, and give us (and other companies) a free ride to get our goodwill. Sounds like a win-win situation to me. Naturally, the gigantic balloon has the hotel's name and logo printed on it for all to see.

The Aussie blokes pumped the balloon full of hot air, and managed to get it upright, but they had difficulty keeping it in place because there's a wind blowing. After some strenuous pushing and pulling, they decided to wait for the wind to die down a bit. They deflated the balloon, and we went inside Alamanda for some snacks. When we got back to the site half an hour later, the guys were already packing up. The wind's still blowing, so it looks like we won't be going up into the air today. Not happy to go home just like that on a Friday night, a few of the guys decided to have a satay dinner. I would've been happy to go McDonald's or KFC inside Alamanda, but petrol must be cheap here. It took us half an hour of driving (at high speed!) to get to Kajang, the birthplace of satay. We ordered chicken, pork, and lamb satay, and all of them tasted quite good.

After dinner, we had a joyride around the area. Our driver for the night studied in one of the universities nearby, so he's pretty familiar with the place. Drove up a hill, where all the rich Chinese have their mansions, and enjoyed the expansive night city views from there. From there, we went back to Putrajaya to take some more pictures. And what do you know, our driver is a photo enthusiast himself, so he's got a nice tripod in his trunk. Good for me. We left Putrajaya around 11pm, and decided to have a nightcap at Station 1. I was told this is the hip place to be. We got there a little after midnight, and the place is still packed with teenagers and tweens trying to look cool. I commented to my colleague that we're too old for this place, but he doesn't seem to agree with me. The place offers a wide variety of drinks and some finger foods and snacks, and you can play table games while listening to loud music. To pass the time, the three of us played Jenga. You start off with some rectangular wooden blocks, and stack them up into a tower. Everyone takes turns taking out a wooden block and putting it on top of the tower. As the game progresses, the tower builds up with fewer blocks at the base, so the danger of it collapsing becomes more and more with every turn. Played for a couple of rounds, then called it a day around 1:30am.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

For the past few times I've been going to the office, my taxi would pass by this magnificent mosque right in the city. Stuck inside the taxi with my camera, I would jump from one side to another of the back seat trying to get a good shot. Even then, the mosque as seen through the dusty passenger windows or the rear windshield with defogger strips are no good.

Today, as we got close to the mosque, I asked the taxi driver if I can open window to get a shot. He must've misunderstood because he stopped the car in the middle of the street. Not wanting to obstruct traffic, I took some quick shots, and urged him to go. The driver circled around the mosque and stopped at the main entrance for me to take more pictures. I thought of coming out of the cab for a better vantage point, but thought that would be too much already, so I took more photos from inside car. It's a wonder what you get if you just ask.

radio.blog Playlist

I've had my radio.blog up for quite some time now. It works pretty well, except that the hosting site is a bit slow. For my freebie account, I get only 30MB of online storage space and 25MB of daily throughput. It's not much, but fortunately only my sister listens to the songs:

• Billy Joel - Just the Way You Are
• Charlie Wilson - Without You
• David Benoit - Land of the Loving
• Diana Krall - S'Wonderful
• Emil Chau - Ming Dian Wo Yao Jia Gei Ni
• Emil Chau - Nong Qing Hua Bu Gai
• Eric Clapton - Blue Eyes Blue
• George Duke - Born to Love You
• Josh Groban - Cinema Paradiso
• Josh Groban - To Where You Are
• Kathy Troccoli - If I'm Not in Love with You
• Katie Melua - The Closest Thing to Crazy
• Michael Buble - For Once in My Life
• Michael Buble - Quando, Quando, Quando
• Michael Buble - Summer Wind
• Morten Harken - Can't Take My Eyes Off of You
• Paul Jackson, Jr. - If You Go Away
• Robbie Williams - Rock DJ
• Robbie Williams - Somethin' Stupid
• Stephanie Mills - All in How Much We Give

Even the best of songs become stale after a few months of listening, so I'm changing the playlist to an all-BoA one. Wonderful Korean singer. Got the looks and the voice to match. Tracks taken mostly from Valenti, My Name, and Best of Soul.